So, as promised, this is the end! I still don't own any of these characters. Hope you've looked forward to this moment and enjoyed the journey with me. It's been a blast. Happy reading!

Kazahaya was impossibly tired when he returned to his room that evening. Nothing else of interest had happened during the day, but he'd been too busy restocking even item on every shelf to go looking for the unusual or extraordinary. He would swear sometimes that Kakei had an inner sadist.

So now all he wanted to do was lay down and pass out. He hoped his day would end as boring and uneventful as the last few hours had been.

Rikuo was already in the room when he got there, sprawled out on his own bed, looking as beat as Kazahaya must have. Kakei hadn't spared him today, either, and he'd been doubly burdened with everything heavy that Kazahaya couldn't lift because of his hand.

Looking at him, Kazahaya involuntarily remembered a time when their roles had been reversed- when it had been him on Rikuo's bed and Rikuo who'd walked in. He was quick to suppress the memory.

Now, either his roommate was trying to avoid a conversation (for which Kazahaya couldn't blame him) or he was truly asleep, because he didn't stir at all when the door was closed. Maybe he had the right idea. A little bit of alone time was probably best for now.

Kazahaya decided he wasn't so tired that he'd skip taking a shower, and that would give Rikuo time to sneak out if that was what he wanted. He grabbed a change of clothes and made sure he shut and locked the bathroom door behind him.

Checking the mirror was such a reflex action that he couldn't stop himself before it was too late. But nothing happened. Thoughts of his last time before the bathroom mirror were still livid, but now he saw nothing more than what he'd always seen until a few days ago. It was so usual that it unnerved him. Had things gone back to normal? Had he been imagining all of it? Had he just been looking for someone to blame it on?

No, it wasn't worth thinking about. Or more accurately, it wasn't safe to think about.

He stripped and jumped into the cold shower, resolved firmly to go directly to sleep when he was finished.

Rikuo was still on his bed when Kazahaya walked out, toweling his hair. But now he was facing the bathroom door, looking drowsily up at him.

"Hey," he murmured. He must have really been asleep.

"Hey." He sat down and let the towel drop beside him on the floor.

"How's your hand?"

Kazahaya flexed it experimentally. It didn't even hurt anymore. "Fine." For the third time, Kazahaya couldn't stop his mind from flashing back, this time to that morning when Rikuo had grabbed his hand in concern. He might be an ass, but he could still be a good friend.

The thought left him feeling a little empty. It had been nice to realize that Rikuo was worried about him, but he'd also liked the scorching heat he'd felt when Rikuo brushed his arm, or when he'd laid in Rikuo's bed, or looked in their bathroom mirror...

"It was you."

The blurted accusation raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Kazahaya couldn't say it. Earlier he'd been unsure, be now he had no doubt. All of this had started the day Kazahaya dropped all the jars, the day Rikuo had lifted him out of the broken glass after he'd hurt his hand. Why had it taken him so long to realize it? Was he really that stupid?

There was one thing he knew that Rikuo hadn't been responsible for. Earlier, when Kazahaya had found Rikuo in the storage room, he couldn't pretend that he'd been acting off someone else's emotions. It had all been pure desire, both to know what was going on with him and of another sort...and it had all been him own.

Rikuo rubbed his eyes and sat up straighter when Kazahaya stood up.

"What are you talking about?"

Kazahaya wasn't an aggressor by nature, but he was tired of feeling like he didn't have control, tired of being confused and frustrated. When he crawled into Rikuo's bed and drew him into a deep kiss, he did it to set the record straight- and because he really, really wanted to kiss him.

When he pulled away, it was Rikuo looking lost.

"What are you-"

Kazahaya didn't let him finish. He could feel it right now, leaning slightly over his roommate, their legs touching. He could feel their desire for the same thing.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" he breathed. Rikuo didn't draw back from Kazahaya's hands, but he could feel something inside him, holding back, pulling away.

This was the payment Kakei had promised would be better than money (which Rikuo had seen as he way of getting out of coughing up)? This was what he'd wanted? Kakei didn't understand. Neither did Kazahaya, who was looking at him as if everything should be okay because of that one kiss. It wasn't- it couldn't be.

"Kazahaya, stop it." He took his hand away. He wanted too much more from Kazahaya. If he was tempted any more, he didn't know that he'd be able to stop himself. It wasn't safe.

It would seem that he didn't realize that Kazahaya could feel all of this going on inside him. So he gently reminded him now that it was pointless to pretend.

Rikuo looked away. He didn't want Kazahaya to know what was in his head, in his heart. What if this was just his way of getting back for all the horrible things Rikuo had ever done to him?

Kazahaya laughed, like Rikuo had just spoken out loud. He might as well have. It wasn't like he could suddenly read Rikuo's mind, but was like the subtle pulse of his emotions had been translated into a language he could read.

He took his time laying back and stared at Rikuo standing at the foot of the bed. How long had be been waiting for Kazahaya to wisen up?

Too long.

It wasn't strange at all to be able to feel what Rikuo was feeling. He realized how long it had been since he'd ever felt so close to anyone- not since his sister.

But this was different. Desire made it different.

"Rikuo."

He was holding on so tight. Kazahaya knew everything. He was laying there. He was waiting.

Rikuo closed his eyes. He couldn't make his feet move, so for now that was all he could do until he gained a little more control.

"Rikuo, don't you want me?" Was he wrong now? Were Rikuo's feeling not as strong as he'd thought?

No.

Rikuo met him halfway as he moved to sit up. When he kissed him, Kazahaya could feel that he'd dropped his restraints. He leaned back and Rikuo followed him.

It was too late to stop. Rikuo hoped this was what Kazahaya wanted, because all of his carefully built walls of self control had crumbled the moment he whispered his name.

Desire. It will do that to you.

Some may consider this a half-lie, but there are two more chapters after this, though this was THE END. Again, they are chapter deviations that have nothing to do with actual plot. You can stop here, read either of the next chapters (which I will post after some reviews are in) without confusion, or read them both. Obviously Rikuo and Kazahaya are about to have sex at the end of this chapter. That's what the first deviation chapter is- a more detailed accout of the night's events. If you don't like yaoi sex or lemons, skip it. Deviation chapter two is basically clean, it's a little drabble about the next morning in which Saiga and Kakei cameo. Did both just for fun, sorry that they had to be posted after this, seeing as this is THE END. Thanks to all of you who've read. My last request is that if you're one to leave reviews, please review this chapter separately from the deviations, and review on either of those, or both. Just for purposes of keeping track of feedback on the actual story. Thanks again!