The second and last sinfully short chapter, I promise! Also, with five more to go, We're officially 2/3 of the way through. Be proud of me, damnit :3

Subaru is still a bastard. Sorry XD;; But this time, it's with Seishirou

Thanks to Catie, Colin, and Ryo-chan for betaing! Much love for j00 :D

-- Dear Johnny --

I was smoking again, the last cigarette in the pack. God knows how many I had gone through that day. They blurred together with the kisses, the pricey sake.

I sighed, suppressing a yawn, and looked down at Seishirou, lying beside me. He was holding my wrist in one hand, tracing stars on my palm, his fingers tracing every bit of my skin, almost as if mapping it.

It was strange... when I came back to him, he seemed different somehow. The same mocking smile, the same cold eyes. Maybe it was in his touch, the bruising intensity seemed to contain a hidden hesitance that hadn't been there before. Or maybe it was that I hadn't noticed.

I raised my cigarette to lips that were still inflamed, tingling slightly. Took one last drag, then reached over to stub it out in the overfull ashtray that lay on the nightstand.

He kissed my hand, turning it over, tracing his mark with his lips. I frowned, watching him.

He was tracing those invisible connections, the bond that held us together. Funny, lately I had almost forgotten about it.

His eyes were dark, distant as his fingers trailed up, turning my hand over, brushing over the pulse of my wrist. And my breath caught with realization.

Seishirou was a liar.

His words, his actions, his cold, mocking cruelty. It was all so deliberate. Calculated. All planned to push me away. Not because he didn't feel... but because he felt too much.

He was afraid of getting too close. My lips twitched, the beginnings of a cold smile. How utterly, sickeningly tragic.

I let out my breath, then leaned down to him, nuzzling into his neck, my hand catching his in a tight grip.

I had won.