Disclaimer: I own one character.

AN: Another story. I know. I hope you all enjoy this. And I was wondering if anyone could do me a huge favor, and write a BryanxKai for me. It would mean the world to me. I'm willing to write a story for a story.

Bryan stared at the dark grey tombstone, moonlight eyes hazed. It had been two years since Rei's death, and still, he found himself drawn to the neko-jin's resting place. The Russian knelt down and gently brushed his fingers over Rei's name. With a sigh he set three roses against the marker, their colors bright.

Mango, orchid and gold blended together perfectly, brightening the day. Kai and Tala had been unable to make there weekly visit to the graveyard because of a week long business meeting. He had woken to find the two roses on the coffee table, tied together with a black ribbon.

A small card sat next to the roses, decorated by a white tiger. Tala's looping handwriting had been on the inside, the gold ink shining in the semi-darkness of the living room.

Bry

Obviously we can't make it. I think Kai might throttle whoever decided to have the meeting this particular week. No one seems to realize that Friday is the two year anniversary of Rei's death. Kai's been a wreck all week, and I have to admit, I haven't been much better. You know what to do with the roses.

Love,

Tala

Bryan got to his feet and brushed his hair back, hand slightly trembling. He jammed his hand in his pocket and with a final glance at his lover's marker made his way to his car. The Russian turned up the heater, trying to drive away the shivers that seemed to wrack his body.

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Tala opened the door to the penthouse to find Bryan waiting patiently, arms folded across his chest. The redhead hugged his friend, before stepping back to take the other Russian's coat.

"How have you been?"

The lavender haired man shrugged. "As well as can be expected."

The redhead nodded and hung up Bryan's coat before motioning him into the living room. The moment Bryan walked in he found a glass shoved into his hands. A slight smiled curl his lips as the familiar scent reached his nose.

As he took a drink of the vodka, he allowed his eyes to roam over Kai. The slate haired Russian looked extremely pale and his clothing seemed to hang off his body. It seemed like every time the day of Rei's death came by, Kai became a former shadow of himself. By the end of the month he would be fine, though his eyes always seemed to stay haunted.

Bryan sank down on leather armchair, reflecting on his own changes since the neko-jin had been killed. Rei had been the one person in his life that had loved the Russian in the way he had needed. As a lover.

Bryan's ability to control his temper was almost nonexistent. He had ceased to have a social life, only going out with Tala and Kai. Any team reunions that had come up he had avoided, the memories of Rei at the last reunion too poignant.

His pale skin was almost translucent and his eyes were sunken, their moonlight color subdued. He had allowed his hair to grow to the bottom of his shoulder blades and he kept it tightly bound at the nape of his neck.

Shortly after his lover's death he had to buy a whole new wardrobe. He was rail thin and had trouble sleeping at night. Many of the problems he had at the Abbey had returned with a vengeance.

"Kai, what's up?" Bryan asked as he set his glass on the table next to his chair, eyes on his friend.

The slate haired Russian sank onto the couch, his own glass held tightly in his hand.

"I have no idea. This is the worst it's ever been." Kai downed his vodka in one go, ignoring the burning sensation.

Tala sat down next to his lover, and filled a glass for himself. The three Russians sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. The silence was broken when Bryan went to pick up his glass, only to have it slip from his fingers and crash to the floor. It shattered and he rubbed tiredly at the bridge of his nose.

"Shit."

Bryan slid to the ground and quickly started picking up the pieces, not wanting Tala and Kai to notice the shaking that was making it nearly impossible to pick up the pieces. Tala dropped to the ground and started to help him.

Blue eyes rested on Bryan's hands and widened in shock.

"Bry, you're hands! Why didn't you-"

The lavender haired Russian got to his feet, and closed his hands, forgetting about the glass. At the sudden sharp pain in his palm he unfolded his hand, not really caring about the pieces of glass embedded in his hand.

"Bryan! That was stupid of you." Tala said as he started to pick the glass from his friend's hand.

Kai was staring at Bryan's hands as he held the bowl Tala was putting the glass in. Mahogany and moonlight met and a frown curled the slate haired Russian's lips.

"Bry, you need to-"

Bryan ripped his hand from Tala's grip, ignoring the blood he could feel dripping to the floor. When he spoke, his voice was nearly inaudible.

"I don't! I'll be fine!"

Tala raised one hand, as though he was going to hit the other Russian.

"Bryan, you won't be fine. You can't let this happen!" The redhead's voice was almost shrill, showing his fear for his friend.

Bryan was about to speak when a small voice beat him to it.

"Papa, why are you yelling at Bryan?"

Standing in the doorway that led back to the bedrooms was a small boy. He wore a long shirt that hung down past his knees, showing his bare feet. His hair was flame red and his eyes were the color of a rich wine.

Tala's hand slowly lowered and he turned to face his son, blue eyes sad.

"Rei, go back to bed. Bry's just being stupid."

The little boy nodded. He smiled at Bryan, eyes bright.

"Night Bryan."

The lavender haired Russian nodded his head.

"Night Andreios."

Bryan glanced down at his hand, glad to see that the blood had dried. He dropped the rest of the glass he held into the bowl and without a word left, hands jammed in his pockets.

Kai set the bowl he had been holding on the table before dropping down in the chair that Bryan had been sitting in. Tala sat on the arm and rested a hand on Kai's neck, fingers tangling in the dark hair at the nape of his lover's neck.

"Kai, he can't keep doing this. He's gone to hell since Rei died and at this rate; he's not going to last much longer." Tala said as he closed his eyes.

Kai rested a hand on Tala's thigh. "He should be okay, as long as he doesn't push himself too far."

Tala nodded and they slowly got to their feet, their worries for their friend soothed for the night.

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Bryan dropped his coat on to the couch and moved through his house in the dark. He stripped off his shirt and tossed it on his bed before turning on the light. The room was simply decorated. The furniture was dark and the sheets on the bed were functional black cotton.

Sitting on the dresser were two identical pictures, their dark wood frames glinting in the light of the room. Lying next to them were Falborg and Driger, the two blades resting on black velvet.

Bryan turned off the light and turned on the one next to his bed before he finished stripping. He quickly showered and dried his hair, opting to leave it loose rather then taking the time to brush and bind it. He was too tired to deal with it.

He slid under the blankets, his exhaustion dragging him under. Had he managed to stay awake a little longer, he might have felt the fingers that brushed his hair back and placed a light kiss on his forehead.

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Bryan blinked several times, trying to bring the computer screen into focus. He rubbed at the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache building. They had started occurring about three months ago. They settled over his right eye and made any movement of his head extremely painful. The only way to relieve them was to put pressure on the area and that was a pain in the ass.

The screen blurred again and Bryan sighed as he opened one of his files. He clicked on a second file and realized it was the wrong one when several thumbnails loaded on the screen.

Golden eyes stared at him and he quickly closed the file, not able to deal with the pictures right now. The pictures had come on a CD, along with a second one. Kenny had given the CDs to him shortly after Rei's death. The small computer genius had talked to all of Rei's friends and gathered as many pictures of the neko-jin as possible.

Bryan had downloaded the pictures to his computer, not wanting to risk having anything happen to the CDs. The two discs were locked in a drawer at home along with Rei's journal.

The Russian saved his work and shut his computer down. There were serious benefits to being a computer programmer. He could set his own hours and the chance of human contact was minimal.

He pulled on his black sweater, missing the black shadow that slipped out of his office.