A/N: Please enjoy and review. I'll be cowering in the corner biting my nails.

Chapter Four

Iason's Whim

—

He was at a loss. Not only was he down to just one on his main list, he also was down to almost four months left.

Iason wearily pressed the communication button and waited for the door to open. A moment passed and there was nothing, so he pressed it again. Finally the door slid open and Iason felt his heart shatter as it was not Riki.

The man looked back at him. "May I help you?"

"My apologies," Iason all but sighed. "I have the wrong address." He turned away, not offering the perplexed man any help in understanding what he had done wrong. When he entered the vehicle, he slumped against the car door.

"Where to, my Lord?" the driver inquired.

"Just drive," Iason commanded, staring out the window. He glanced up as he heard a rumbling sound, immediately noticing the dark clouds that were brewing a storm above. He smirked bitterly at the weather that matched his internal turmoil.

There was nothing left. He couldn't find Riki. He had no more leads. The only two left were the ones that were MIA, and he had no idea where to find them. Perhaps this was his punishment? To be reincarnated without Riki so he would live his life in regret and guilt.

The vehicle hovered through the streets, passing by several establishments. He wanted to go somewhere, somewhere where he could just forget everything, even for awhile. Iason made out the name on a bright neon sign, indicating it was a bar. What a perfect place to go to now that he had practically given up. "Stop," he commanded, then proceeded to step out into the now drizzling rain and headed into the bar as he acted upon his whim.

His eyes scanned the interior and he nodded in approval at the lack of fanciness he was accustomed to. It was dimly lit, fairly quiet and not very modern on the inside. There was a pungent scent of various alcohols and a tinge of smoke in the air, but overall it was fairly clean in its smell and environment.

Iason skimmed over the people, noticing that a few men were playing pool, while the other bar inhabitants were sitting at a table drinking. Iason plunked down at the bar island, deciding he would drink away some of his sorrows.

"Rough day, my boy?" the old bartender inquired, setting a glass down on the counter.

"Indeed," Iason softly agreed.

A now full glass was pushed towards him. "Have a drink, you look like you could use one."

Iason nodded in thanks, then began drinking the alcohol. It wasn't exactly to his taste, but he drank it anyways. When he finished, he was pleasantly surprised that it left a nice flavor lingering along with an instant powerful buzz. "Another one, please."

The old man poured him another one. "I've never met anyone who would willingly drink more than one of these." He looked Iason up and down. "It's very strong and usually they drink one and can't handle another."

Iason brought the drink to his lips. "I'm not like most men."

—

The old man looked down at Iason, who was slumped over the counter and then headed into the back room. "Watch over the blonde at the bar counter, Ryker," he advised. "Poor fellas had a real rough day. Don't let him drink himself to death."

"Ya leaving, Pops?" Ryker questioned.

"Luka called and said she has an emergency and needs me to watch over the kids," he answered. "I'm leaving you in charge. I called your brother, he said he'd come by to help. Don't mess up, ya hear? You close up and get this place clean."

"Got it," Ryker assured, then slipped from the back room and gasped as he saw the long blonde haired man at the counter. "Beautiful..." he murmured, staring at him up and down. He seemed oddly familiar, but Ryker knew he had never seen him at the bar. Who would forget a beauty like that?

Ryker made his way over, wiping off the counter until he reached the slumped over blonde surrounded by empty glasses. Feeling concerned, he gently reached out and touched the man's arm that was clothed in a white dress shirt. "Uhm...are you all right?" he whispered, then waited for the man to move. When nothing happened he felt panic arise within him. "Hey! Are you all right?" He gave Iason a shake and was relieved when the blonde moved. "Phew. Are you all right, sir?"

Iason slowly looked up, wondering how drunk he was to be hearing his long lost beloved's voice. His heart nearly stopped when he looked up and saw the tanned face and dark locks of his beautiful mongrel. "Riki..." he breathed in astonishment.

"Huh?" Ryker sounded, before he was nearly yanked over the counter by Iason's embrace. "Hey! Let go!" He looked around and cursed as the bar was empty and his brother wasn't there yet.

Iason pressed his lips to the pale ones, wasting no time and then prodding open the mouth with his tongue. From his memory, he stroked all of Riki's weak spots, earning moans from the mongrel.

"Mmmn...mmmf!" Ryker mumbled, suddenly feeling incredibly weak to the man's touches. When the kiss broke off, he was panting for air and then gasped as Iason slipped his hand into his clothing and teased his erogenous zones. "Uuhh... Wait! Wait, you...you got the wrong guy!" He grasped onto Iason's face, his breath hitching as he stared down into the beautiful blue eyes that were glistening. "Hey..." he softly whispered, just holding the blonde's gaze.

A sudden loud bang had both of their heads turning. "What the fuck is...!" an enraged voice started, but the words died down.

Iason gasped, looking at the figure standing there and then the one he was holding. There were two Riki's. What was going on? He looked to the standing figure. "...Riki?" he softly questioned.

Riki's eyes widened. "Y...You..." he shakily whispered, before violently gripping onto his head and falling down behind the counter.

"Riki!" Ryker screeched, hopping over the bar and rushing over to aid him. "Hey, hey, what's wrong? Is it the headaches again? The visions?"

Iason leaned over the bar, looking down at the both of them. "Riki...Riki, do...do you remember me?" he asked, almost fearfully now.

"Riki, just relax, it's OK." Ryker leaned the trembling Riki against the shelves and then looked to Iason, rising up and then slowly approached him. "Have we met before?" he whispered, reaching out to touch Iason. "I'm sorry, but I...feel like I...knew you once..."

"...You did," Iason answered softly, an overwhelming feeling of relief hitting him as he sensed Riki in this person as well.

"Ryker, get away from him," Riki demanded.

"Why?" Ryker asked in confusion.

"Get the fuck away from him!" Riki screamed.

Ryker moved back and then was pushed away as Riki jumped to his feet. Iason hesitated, but stood his ground. "You..." Riki hissed.

Iason realized that Riki was most likely recalling the darker times of their relationship. "Riki, I—"

"Shut up," Riki demanded, approaching him aggressively and jumping over the bar. He pushed Iason violently, sending him straight into a table.

"Oof!" Iason sounded, then watched as Riki was coming in for another hit. He would accept the abuse, as Riki had every right to be upset. But he had hoped that they would be past this by now. "Riki, Riki, stop this!" Riki punched him hard in the face, and then pinned him down on the floor by straddling him. "Riki!" He felt Riki's hands wrap around his neck, and stared up into the dark eyes he had missed dearly. "Ri...ki..."

"Riki, stop it! You're killing him!" Ryker yelled from over the counter.

Riki gnashed his teeth, squeezing as hard as he could before his grip loosened, his eyes turning lighter and his composure crumbled as he realized what he was doing. He fell forward and wrapped his arms tightly around Iason while sobbing.

Iason was momentarily stunned, but recovered and slowly sat up and embraced Riki. "Riki," he whispered in a broken voice, planting a kiss on the tanned neck. "I missed you."

Ryker watched from the bar, his chest aching for some reason as he witnessed his brother being held so closely by the man. A pang of jealously struck him and he leaped over the bar and slowly approached. He held back the urge to yell at Riki to not touch him, that Iason was his! He paused, wondering why he felt that way.

Riki buried his face into Iason's chest. "I...I thought you wouldn't..." he choked, his voice shaking with crying. "I didn't know...if you...a soul..."

Iason smiled softly, pushing back and landing a kiss on the tear stained cheeks. "I'm here, love. I'm really here."

Ryker crouched down, wanting so badly to be hugged as well. He couldn't shake the feeling of jealousy and hurt that he was experiencing while watching the man he swore he knew hug Riki so close. He frowned as a mental image of him staring up at Iason and their lips meeting surfaced. When did that happen? He hadn't kissed Iason besides when he was pulled over the bar. Where was this memory coming from?

Riki ceased his crying mostly, resting against Iason without a hint of shame. He had long forgiven the blonde for what had happened in their past life. When Iason had wanted to bring him back after he was no longer able to be a pet and had tried to save Guy for him, he finally accepted that Iason did love him and he was more than a pet for him. He was angry at himself for giving into the instinct to kill Iason. But he was horrified of having to endure that painful life again, but he knew now that Iason had returned as his more humanistic version. "I...I forgive you..." he whispered.

Iason felt his throat tighten, tears of relief daring to overflow. "Riki..." he choked.

"You...wanted me e—even when I couldn't be a pet," Riki recalled.

"You were always more than a pet, Riki," Iason assured. "I loved you then, and I love you now." He glanced up at Ryker and opened his arms for him too. "It appears that I now have to balance my love between you two."

Ryker trembled slightly in the blonde's hold, feeling an instinctual spike of fear as if Iason were going to harm him, but he had no idea as to why. "I...I'm confused." He gripped onto Riki's arm, afraid as more memories he hadn't lived began to fill his head. "What's going on?"

Riki looked down at his younger twin who was always a more gentle soul compared to him. He was the side that Riki rarely showed. The part of him that he might have been like if he hadn't been a mongrel born from the Slums. He had worked so hard to ensure his brother didn't suffer as he had once. "Don't worry about it," he dismissed gently.

"O...OK."

Iason landed another peck on Riki's cheek and gave Ryker a gentle squeeze. "Well, I believe we should get off the floor before anyone arrives," he suggested.

"Yeah," Riki agreed, reluctantly breaking free and then helping Ryker up and bumping foreheads with him like they had always done growing up.

Iason watched the action with peculiar interest, wondering what it meant to them. He decided not to interrupt and flipped the table back to its standing position, thankful there weren't any glasses on it that would have shattered.

Ryker looked back at Iason, then padded back to the bar area.

Riki met Iason's gaze. "The bar doesn't close for a few hours. Where are you staying?"

"A hotel and my shuttle," he answered. "Where are you two living?"

"We live in an apartment not too far from here," Riki revealed. "Pops gave Ryker a job here about a year ago, since we kept sneaking in so much he offered to hire one of us for the job. He works here during the evening and night and I work as a bike mechanic in the afternoon at a shop not too far away. It's all I could think to do since there isn't much of a need for hackers on this planet."

"I'm glad you are working," Iason acknowledged. "And not out getting high and drunk."

"Yeah, yeah," Riki grumbled. "Don't lecture me in this life too."

Iason smiled. "I only lecture you because I care." He gave Riki's arm a squeeze. "I have been searching for you for six months, Riki. I came here on a whim because I had lost all my leads of finding you."

Riki blinked, then chuckled at the mention of them meeting on a whim again. "Well, you found me now. But why did you wait so bloody long? I've been haunted and waiting for seventeen years."

"You're seventeen?" Iason inquired, ignoring his complaint.

"Turning eighteen in almost four months," he revealed. "Well, we both are." He pointed to Ryker who was bringing out a freshly washed and dried rack of glasses.

Iason couldn't help but laugh then.

"What? What's so funny?"

"In almost four months?" he clarified.

"Yeah. Why?"

Iason shook his head. "I think our birthday dates coincide."

Riki blinked. "No way."

"We shall have to see," Iason grinned, planting a kiss on the tanned forehead. "Do you know what else is in almost four months?"

Riki averted his gaze. "It'll be a thousand...years...right?" he answered. "Is that why you wanted to find me?"

Iason nodded. "I want us to go back to Dana Burn. Will you, Riki?"

"I...I dunno..." Riki mumbled, shifting uncomfortably. "Why do you want to?"

"I believe that we should go there, and let go of everything that has happened," he explained. "So we can move on in this life."

Riki considered the idea. "I still dunno...I mean we are already here, why can't we move on?

"You don't think that there is some mysterious calculations that are falling into place?" Iason questioned, grasping onto Riki's hands. "You will possibly be eighteen on the anniversary. That is how old you were when I brought you to Eos. I will be twenty five. That is how many centuries I was alive before we met. How can you say that's not a sign of some sort that is signifying our new start?"

"I'll admit it's weird."

"Will you start with me, where our past life left off Riki?" Iason whispered.

Riki hesitated, but nodded. "I will."

Iason kissed the mongrel passionately and hugged him close. "Thank you, Riki."

—

To Be Continued