~o~

Even before he'd seen movement in his peripheral vision, Roxas had known that Axel was awakening. He could sense it. He watched, holding his breath as the beautiful creature stirred, those bright emerald eyes opening to find the blond watching him. Silently, his eyes swallowed the boy up and Roxas' heart sped up.

Axel's lips curved upward into a sinfully seductive smile. He looked pleased and, truthfully, he was very pleased with the blond. He wouldn't have enjoyed killing him, had he tried to harm him while he was at his weakest. Roxas didn't fully understand his power yet, or what he was capable of, or just how much he would suffer for the indiscretion.

Sensing how he felt, Roxas' eyes fluttered as he gasped at the intensity of it and Axel's smile widened. The longer they were together like this and the closer they were to one another, the stronger their mental connection was. Axel had even been able to sense Roxas' thoughts and emotions while he had slept, but Roxas hadn't felt it this intensely before and Axel was pleased by his response to it. It was completely new to him, even after all this time, because he had never been exposed to the vampire for as long as he had been, now. Axel's eyes lidded and his lips curved upward further. He watched his fledgling knowingly while the blond stared at him in confusion, his eyes begging to understand what was happening to him.

"It is part of the process of changing. We are bonded because of what we have done, little one. You feel our bond, which will only grow stronger once you succumb to me," the red-head purred to him, reveling in his enjoyment. "We only need to share blood once more," he murmured, his eyelids lowering further. "Can you imagine it?" Roxas shivered feverishly, goosebumps adorning his skin.

"Changing?" Roxas asked, "Does that mean I'm turning into what you are?" The idea was thrilling and terrifying. Axel shook his head.

"We both know that you are no longer entirely human because of the exposure to my blood," he murmured, "but it must be three times before you will become like me. I will never do that against your will." Roxas was remembering those times they'd shared blood and Axel watched him marvel at him, amazed by the new sensations he was feeling, now. His fingers threaded into soft red hair. There was another question in those blue eyes, something else he wanted to know and Axel let him ask it, even though he already knew the question.

"We both know that I'm not like you, too," he murmured. "I can still to back. So, what could possibly make you so afraid of losing me that you would bring me here?" He asked. "Why would you make yourself vulnerable to me like that?" Axel's eyes searched Roxas' before he spoke, his tone soft and serious.

"The same reason you would offer yourself to me for peace," he told Roxas. The blond held his breath. Axel couldn't know why he had done that. He wasn't ready for it… the vampire only smiled. "You adore me, you want me, and I can feel it, even now. You care about righting the wrongs from the past for me, I sense your thoughts. Yet you are confused? Truly you do not understand how you feel about me? Or would you rather that is what I believed?" Roxas' face reddened. He wasn't sure that he wanted to think about that, so close to Axel, or to embrace those feelings. He shook his head, avoiding the question.

"Why can't you just answer me when I ask you things that I want to know?" he asked. "Don't play games with me. I didn't ask how I felt about you…" The red-head pressed their foreheads together, his eyes sliding shut.

"I know you didn't, but how you feel about me is part of the answer, little one," he replied, "because it is how I feel about you as well. I sense your emotions, as you sense mine. You cannot hide the truth from me." Roxas' heart was pounding out of control. The red-head's lips curved upward, his fingers smoothing through blond hair as he spoke, their eyes meeting again, trying to help him understand. "Not long ago, the thought of loving a human was incomprehensible to me. I hated your kind, your family… I detested my brother's feelings for your father…" he confessed, "but you... If you chose me, to be my love, my mate, forever, turning you and sharing my power with you would be one of the most exhilarating moments of my life," he breathed, his voice lowering as he said it. "I cannot do that if death takes you from me and that is why I did it." Roxas' mind was reeling.

"What…? Your mate? Forever?" he asked. The vampire's lips pressed to his and the blond blinked at the gentle caress.

"Yes," he purred back. Roxas watched him in confusion, frowning thoughtfully.

"You've already accomplished your goal by hurting my family. So I don't understand why you would want something like that. Tell me the truth," he whispered back. "Why do you want me to choose you? Why are you keeping me safe, even at the risk of your own life? It's against your nature. I know it is. That means you wouldn't be doing it without gaining something." Axel was looking into his eyes patiently.

"I always tell you the truth, Roxas," he replied gently, capturing his attention. Axel watched him contemplatively, choosing to acknowledge his suspicions. "You're right. I am merciless and cold when it comes to surviving. I do not care for others outside of my clan, especially humans and I would have been safer, letting you die instead of bringing you here," he admitted.

"Then why did you? What do you want from me?" he asked.

"I never intended to bring you here. When I learned of you, I had no intentions for you beyond using you to bring your family to ruin when I had failed to do so with Cloud," he replied, his voice somewhat distant and cold. Roxas nodded, waiting for him to explain himself, "…but as I watched you, something in me changed, became softer. I even allowed a human girl come here. Here, to my home," he murmured, his tone changing to something more serious. Roxas' expression softened as he continued. "When you started to look at me the way you did before I brought you here, I knew that you belonged with me somehow, some way. I could feel it in the depths of my soul. I wasn't complete, wasn't satisfied without you."

"I already knew that you wanted me for some reason, some purpose, maybe to use me for your own needs, maybe to use me against the slayers, but if you just want me to feel satisfied…" Roxas murmured, shaking his head and frowning, "If that's the truth, I won't let it be like that." Axel kissed him gently, deliberately leaving his head clear and waiting for their eyes to meet.

"I know what you feel, Roxas, and so I will answer you. I want you to understand why I want you choose me, and I want you to believe me, more than you can imagine. I swear to you that the truth isn't as simple as wanting you, or using you and I do wish it was," he told Roxas softly, seriously. What then? He wondered. Roxas searched his eyes, silently begging for the answer. "I am in love with you, Roxas." The blond stared at him breathlessly and Axel's fingers caressed his face gently.

"You're what?" he gasped. Beautiful green eyes searched his own, longingly.

"It doesn't matter if I put myself into danger or not. It's already too late. I am already vulnerable to you, awake or not, no matter how much I may dislike it." He said, his voice soft, "That is why I will kill you if you ever betray me." Roxas gasped softly. Those green eyes were soft and gentle. Axel wasn't supposed to have feelings. He just wasn't. It had made more sense when Roxas had thought he was trying to use him for his own satisfaction but it wasn't right. He knew that now. He knew that everything he had been taught wasn't right. It couldn't have been. He could see it, he could feel it. Axel was opening himself to him, laying himself bare before him. Roxas' heart was pounding wildly when he spoke again.

"You… you don't have to worry about that," he whispered, trying to reassure him. "I won't hurt you. I can't hurt you." Axel watched him for a long moment and asked,

"Won't you? Cloud swore something similar to Reno." The idea of hurting Axel stabbed at his heart. He knew that what he was feeling was more than anything he had felt before and he let the red-head feel his emotions. He didn't have to hold back anymore. He knew that now and he wanted Axel to know that he would never hurt him. He needed him to know. Axel held him closely, hugging him to himself. Roxas shook his head, these thoughts and emotions were overwhelming.

"The way my father described you… I didn't think that you could feel," he told the red-head after a long time, flooded with guilt and remorse. He had been so wrong. "I am so sorry," he told him, begging him for forgiveness.

"There is much that you do not understand," Axel replied gently.

"I want to, I want to know you, I want the truth," his eyes searched green, "please Axel."

"You cannot know unless you are like me," he told the blond quietly, "I can't make that mistake. Not with you. Not ever." Roxas closed his eyes and for the first time, he wanted it. He wanted it badly. Axel gasped, shuddering. His hands were trembling when he touched the blond and Roxas knew that what he had said was true. He looked into Axel's face longingly and his heart was pounding painfully.

"I will never hurt you, I swear to you," he promised, searching those green eyes, wishing he was brave enough to say what he knew was true, that he loved Axel too. His eyes slid shut and he held the vampire as he surrendered to his feelings.

Axel kissed him hungrily, trembling against the blond. So many emotions were washing over him. Roxas gasped at the intensity of it. Axel knew. He didn't have to say it. He'd felt it and it was all Axel needed to know the truth. Roxas met his eyes, trying to catching his breath.

"It isn't enough, I'm sorry. I want to trust you, but I can't," he told the blond, falling silent.

"You can," Roxas told him. Axel shook his head.

"No, not yet," he told him. "…not yet…" Roxas took the red-head's face into his hands and kissed him. Trembling fingers worked their way into his wild hair. His heart was racing. Axel kissed him back, feeling his anxiety and calming him. "What's wrong? Why are you afraid?" he whispered. Roxas took a minute to catch his breath.

"I want to be with you, I want you to love me, I want you to trust me and believe that I won't hurt you, and I know what that means," he murmured back. Green eyes widened.

"You have to be sure," he told him, "there is no going back." Roxas took a deep breath.

"I choose you and I don't want you to ever doubt that, no matter what, whatever it takes." The vampire watched him, sensing his thoughts, his sincerity. Green eyes slid shut and he wanted nothing more than what Roxas was offering him in that moment …but he couldn't accept it. It wasn't something he would allow Roxas to decide without being absolutely sure.

~o~

Cloud tossed and turned as he dreamed, plagued by memories that he'd tried so hard to forget. Something about Reno always made them resurface. It was so vivid, so real, like it was happening all over again and he couldn't wake up, couldn't escape from it, while he regained his strength. He was too tired, too weak.

Power… fear… liberation… danger… they were terms that Cloud had been familiar with from a young age. His life had been chosen for him before birth, just as his children's would be if he did not succeed …and it was a life that he wasn't sure that he wanted. A life of selfless duty, a life of fighting. Leading the Resistance, helping humanity, slaying the nightmares...

His life had always been put into danger. Even being a child was not safe and he had resented it deeply in his adolescence. He'd hated it with everything he was. He had often wished someone would take him away from the life had had never wanted, even through his teenage years. By age five, he knew better than most children than to be out past dark. Childhood hadn't existed for him. He hadn't been able to afford to have one. He was his father's only son. The one afternoon he hadn't been careful enough had changed his life, forever.

It had been a busy day, and he had been helping his mother go to the market. He had always enjoyed going places with her. She had always been softer on him, more kind and it was something he'd always cherished about her. As evening had approached, he had been walking home with his mother, playing with a new ball that he'd been given; a reward for being so good that day. She'd allowed him little moments like that every now and then that the other adults in his life hadn't. He'd smiled, bouncing it and tossing it in the air happily. It had slipped out of his fingers and he had run after it without thinking. They had been walking through a crowd of people that day and in a moment, his mother had lost him.

Cloud had run after his ball, down an alleyway but it had disappeared. It was then that he had realized he was lost and alone. He tried to get back to his mother, calling for her, but got lost in the maze of streets that made up Hollow Bastion, wandering dangerously close to the southern district. Daylight was disappearing and he was starting to cry. The safety of the sun's warmth faded away. People had secured their doors and shuttered their windows. They wouldn't be opening them again until morning. Stars began to light the sky. The monsters would be coming out and he was terrified. It hadn't taken long for one of them to find him.

It had been a vampire that had come out of the shadows and Cloud's small body had gone cold. If there was one, there would be more. Screaming in terror, he turned to run but found more circling in, watching him hungrily, ready to attack but they were waiting, seemingly frozen in place, eerily silent. That was the first time that he saw them.

There was a handsome red-headed man, and then another, walking forward and stepping into the moonlight, assessing the situation. Their presence was all-encompassing and commanding to the other vampires in ways that Cloud could not understand yet. One of them had green eyes and was holding a pair of spoked wheels, spinning them casually. The other had blue eyes.

"He's a child. You know the rules," the man with green eyes told them. He was twirling the wheels, looking displeased, flames crackling around him. "Keep hunting elsewhere." Cloud heard a hiss of displeasure behind him and the man's glittering green eyes narrowed dangerously. He threw a spoked wheel at the offending vampire and snapped his fingers. Cloud heard a scream and the alley lit up as it caught on fire. He was too terrified to look or to even cry.

"You are scaring him, Lea," the other man chided gently. Lea had looked down at him, nodding once. He was powerful, wild, and terrifying, even back then, and he was staring directly at Cloud. With one more look at them, he hissed at the other vampires to leave and at his command, they dispersed.

"You take care of him then, before something else finds him," he replied, his eyes meeting his companion's "Find us when you're done," he commanded. When the red-head nodded obediently, Lea left them, running after the other vampires and disappearing into the night.

Cloud stared at the red-headed vampire that had been left behind, timidly, frozen in fear as he approached. He was so tall and strong, taller than any of the adults he knew. Tears welled up in his eyes when the man bent down to his level. Then he held out his hand to him and Cloud's eyes widened in recognition. He was holding his ball. His little face lit up with excitement and he wiped at his eyes. "My ball!"

"I saw you lose it and get lost," he said with a kind smile, handing it to him. "My name is Reno. Don't be afraid, I won't harm you." Cloud watched him for a long moment before accepting it. The creature watched him stare in fear and awe. Finally he managed a timid smile and a thank you. "You're welcome," he replied. "May I know your name as my reward?"

"Cloud…" he said, sounding small. With a delighted smile, the red-headed man replied,

"Well kiddo, don't you worry, I'm going to get you home safe and sound," he told him. Cloud smiled, really smiled for the first time and hugged him.

"I like you. You're nice. I like your goggles too," he chirruped.

"Oh?" Cloud nodded.

"Yea-huh they're super cool!" Smiling a bit, Reno asked,

"Want to wear them?" Cloud' face lit up.

"Wow, really?" he gasped. He watched the man tug them off, readjusting the band so that they fit on the child's face. Cloud smiled happily and let Reno pick him up. He peered up into the man's face and giggled. Reno hummed gently. "You're really pretty," he told him, touching the markings on his face. He rubbed at them but they didn't come off. The red-head smiled at the adorable child and stood, already growing attached.

"Thank you," he replied. "Now then, which way is home?" he asked. He listened patiently, guided by the child's directions that they lived in the northern district, taking him there first because he didn't know where he was. Cloud had gotten tired by the time they got there and had snuggled into his chest, falling asleep.

Reno stuck to the shadows, observing silently and listening. There was a woman outside, sobbing quietly and wiping away tears. She was waiting, even though it was dangerous to be past the threshold of her home, so late at night. Gently, he woke the child and when Cloud saw her he gasped, running toward her. "Momma!"

"Cloud?!" she cried, running to him and scooping him up into her arms. She held him tightly, and hugged him in relief. "Oh thank God!"

Cloud remembered his new friend as she rushed him inside, past the threshold to their home. He was safe, but as he looked for Reno, he saw nothing. He was gone and it made him sad.

~o~