Ritchie watched as Kitty pounced on Evan and Pietro when they walked in the door from their 'shopping trip'.
"You guys are like finally dating?!" she asked excitedly bouncing up and down, dragging the two boys with her from the force of her motion. This was amusing.
Pietro glares at him. "You TOLD her?" he asks looking hurt.
"She asked why you weren't here and I told her you were shopping… But NO~O she wouldn't listen to me… So Tabby guessed," the blonde, blue-eyed boy said shrugging as he grinned. Evan and Pietro were subjected to a thorough Question and Answer session hosted by Kitty. Ritchie was listening, well half-listening, to what was going on before dismissing himself to his room with a yelled promise of 'you will be next Ritchie Foley! And you little boyfriend too!' from Kitty. He closed his door and sat on his bed looking out the window before falling asleep.
---
Virgil snuck out of his house as soon as it was dark. Well, not so much snuck as saying that he was going to eat and his father ACTUALLY believed him! What a day!! He made his way to where he smelled Ritchie's scent and where he could hear his heart beating. He stopped and watched as Ritchie's four friends left the house giggling and laughing and clinging to the person they were with. Virgil melded in with the shadows and made his way to under Ritchie's window. He picked up a few rocks and started to gently throw them at the blonde's window.
Ritchie woke to the tapping sound and walked to the window. That causing Virgil to stop with the tossing of the pebbles for fear he'd hit the person whom he loved. Ritchie opened the pane and looked down smiling at Virgil. "Virgil!"
"You coming down? Or do I have to shimmy up the drain pipe?" the darker boy asked as quietly as he could and still permit the blonde to hear him.
"Give me one minute!" Ritchie said closing the window and carefully running through the house, pleading he needed to walk, to Mr. Pryde. He opened the door and there was Virgil waiting for him, leaning against the lamppost.
"It was a minute twenty but I guess I'll let it slide," he said playfully as he pulled the blonde to him and placing a kiss on his lips.
"What are we going to do tonight?" Ritchie asked, his arms lacing together around Virgil's neck.
"Don't care as long as I've got you," Virgil said dipping down and kissing along the blonde's neck. He'd had a quick meal before coming to the blonde, wanting nothing more than to be able to control the urge and not hurt him.
"My house is empty," Ritchie said in a whisper to him, a hum in his throat to signify he was enjoying Virgil's ministrations. "We can go there…"
"You sure?" Virgil asked him quietly.
"If you're nervous about my parents coming home we can go somewhere else… I-" Ritchie paused trying to think of how to say it and not confuse the other boy and not to make him unsure and leave him alone. "I'm yours…"
Virgil's head snapped back from where it had been. He stared at Ritchie's eyes that showed he thought he'd said something wrong and was about to apologize when Virgil placed a finger on the blonde's lips. "You sure you want that?" he asked trailing his finger over the blonde's face tracing the features.
"Yes. Being without you tore me apart, Virgil! I don't ever want to feel that again! It was the WORST thing that has happened to me… and I mean that…" Ritchie was going to say more but Virgil's mouth on his in a possessive manner stopped all comments from coming.
-------
Ritchie snuggled into Virgil's warmth. They were at a hill that overlooked the city, and they were the only souls there. He was content. He missed just lying in Virgil's arms.
Meanwhile, Daniel was not as content as Ritchie. The blonde needed to know what was going on in his life, so he could chose if he wanted to be a part of it…
Ritchie noticed Virgil's contemplative nature. "V… What's wrong?" he asked blinking up at the African teen.
"Hmm… Don't worry about it…"
"But it's really bothering you…" Ritchie said before Virgil's head snapped up. "What is it?"
"Thought I heard something is all…"
"Like what?"
"It was just the wind…" Ritchie seemed to accept this but Virgil could smell the fear on the teen in his arms. And it increased when footsteps sounded on the gravel trail. Ritchie and Virgil were quick to make themselves hidden. Only problem was that Ritchie's friendship bracelet that his friend Frieda had made him caught and fell near where they had been. It wasn't until the figure picked it up that Ritchie noticed it was missing and cursed inwardly.
"Richard! Richard, I know you're here! Where are you, you wretched brat?!" the man called. Ritchie buried his face into Virgil's shoulder as Virgil's eyes narrowed on the man and wished he'd fall down the hill and hurt himself. "Fine, be a little slut… But don't come home!" With that he left. Virgil rained kisses on Ritchie to let him know it was fine.
A broken sob came from the blonde's throat. "I'm so sorry Virgil… I didn't want you to hear that…"
"Shh… It's all right… If there weren't so many secrets in my family I'd have you stay with us, that man be damned…" 'Or lunch…' he thought as an after thought.
"I don't want to cause problems in your family Virgil…" Ritchie said as he was pulled closer to the teen. Suddenly, it began to sprinkle. "Damn!" the blonde cursed.
"Come on! Erick's is closer than the house you're staying in and mine," Virgil said pulling the teen along behind him. Ritchie was lost for a moment until Virgil pulled him into the yard of a Victorian style house and in the front door. "Erick!" Virgil called out as they stood in the door. A door opened and shut upstairs and a tall boy with dark hair and a mildly tan complexion appeared at the top of them in faded jeans and a T-shirt with Japanese writing, or Chinese, Ritchie couldn't tell.
"He went out, just a few moments ago… To see Duzell, if I remember correctly," he said. "Koibitto! Get some towels! Virgil's here with a friend."
Ritchie sneezed and then apologized. Virgil giggled, while the taller older teen shook his head. "Virgil, stop dripping on the Oriental rug and get into the downstairs bathroom, both of you…"
"Okay Toya…" Virgil said taking Ritchie's hand and leading him to it. Soon, a teen just taller than Toya came in. He had beautiful purplish eyes and light purple hair with soft features came in with towels.
"I thought you'd be here sooner or later, Virgil," he said. Virgil looked sheepishly at him while the other teen smiled. "My name is Yuki," he said handing a towel to Ritchie.
"Ritchie… Ritchie Foley," he said taking the towel with a smile. The two began to dry themselves off.
"Do I need to get a change of clothes for the both of you? I think we still have a trunk of your jeans and t-shirts here Virgil," Yuki smiled.
"Yeah, that would be a good idea if you have them…" Virgil said watching as Ritchie shivered in the cold. Yuki nodded and left the room to find them. Virgil pulled Ritchie to him and wrapped his arms around him tightly. "Warmer?" he asked quietly. Ritchie nodded sinking into Virgil's warm embrace.
Yuki returned a few moments later and gave them the clothes before leaving to let them change. A bright smile was on his face when he saw Ritchie tightly in Virgil's protective embrace. Virgil left a kiss on Ritchie's lips then neck once he was dressed before pulling him from the bathroom.
"You two are staying here," Toya's voice said from the kitchen.
"All right," Virgil called back. "Come on… There's a spare room upstairs we can use…" he said smiling and leading Ritchie up the wonderfully carved main staircase. Once in the room Ritchie laid down on the bed smiling at Virgil who disappeared for a moment, probably to put their wet clothes somewhere, before coming in and joining him.
Ritchie was still pretty cold, though he noticed that Virgil still felt warm. It seemed odd in his mind, but it didn't really bother him. A knock on the door and Toya came in with a tray. "Brought you guys some tea so you can warm up…" he said setting it down on the bedside table. Ritchie caught the look Toya passed to Virgil who looked away with a slight nod before the taller teen left.
The two sat in silence for the most part. Once Ritchie was asleep, Virgil stepped out the room and was immediately grabbed around the collar by Toya.
"Do you KNOW what you're doing?!" Toya hissed.
"Loving him."
"He's mortal, Daniel," Toya said gently.
"I don't care!"
"You're going to get hurt again, little brother!"
"I am NOT!" Daniel said tears forming. "This time, he won't die!" he whispered.
"You talk as if he IS Richard…"
"Something tells me he is…" Daniel said looking away. Toya released his collar and ran a hand through his hair. "Don't you get it? The reason every one is flipping out is because they can sense his soul again… It's got everyone paranoid…"
"And you think that if you tell him again, things will go right back to the way it was?"
"I didn't say that big brother…" Daniel whispered.
"He's still a mortal and this isn't exactly the same world it was!" Toya said as Ritchie woke to an empty bed. He heard Toya's voice and figured Virgil was talking with him.
"You were once to!"
"As were you but not anymore and that DOES make a difference…" Toya said sternly.
"Toya, I don't care."
"Daniel!"
"Don't! Don't tell me that you're going to go along with them too!"
"I'm trying to watch out for you, Daniel!"
"You'll end up hurting me, just like then!" Toya paled and
stepped back from the glaring Daniel.
'Daniel? Isn't that the name of the man I
was in love with…the VAMPIRE I was
in love with in that dream… Pietro said it sounded like a past life…'
Ritchie thought as he sat up in the bed and listened more intently.
"Daniel… I didn't want you staked."
"Love makes you do crazy things… Like risking EVERYTHING to be with someone…" Daniel cast a look to Yuki's door to prove his point.
"Yuki didn't want me risking my life to save his…" Toya said.
"You loved him, and risked everything to turn him, Toya… I just want to be with Ritchie…"
"I shouldn't be complaining… This is the happiest we've seen you since before they killed Richard all those hundreds of years ago…"
'Hundreds of years
ago….?' Ritchie thought. 'Virgil IS Daniel!'
"Then don't complain, just let me be happy. Duzell isn't allowing me such… So
let me stay with Ritchie while I can before he completely forbids it…" Daniel
was pleading with Toya. "You know what it feels like… Jainliang knows how it
feels to almost be forbidden to have one you love… Takato was willing, MORE
than willing but Duzell still wanted to forbid them!"
"I don't want you and Richard forbidden… Yuki and I hope you find someone who you can love like you loved him and he'll love you the same way…" Toya whispered. "Get some sleep. Morning comes soon and I know how the sun annoys you…" With that he went towards Yuki's door. Daniel sighed and opened the door to join Ritchie in slumber only to see Ritchie staring at him an odd look in his eyes.
"Ritchie?"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
