Soma stared at the bedcover before absent-mindedly running a hand through it. At least he was no longer in hysterics.

There had been someone waiting at the end of the skyride; the girl from staff had been rather baffled (with a healthy dose of concern sprinkled in) when she saw him bawling in his booth, and after making sure that nothing really had happened (Soma hadn't dared tell her of his dear friend jumping out of fear of being called a loon), she had dropped him off in his hotel room with the offer to call if he needed anything.

And now he laid there in his night clothes, staring into empty space like the impersonal furniture of the room would tell him why Agni had fled like that.

He had been reeling mere moments ago, memories that weren't his flooding his mind, rendering him helpless. But now his chest felt hollow. Was that hole where his heart should be the space Agni had left behind? What was the meaning of this empty ache, this longing?

Had it been too selfish of him, to expect yet again for his beloved to return his feelings?

Had he truly learned nothing at all from the way things had turned out with Meena?

His heart ached yet again, with longing and bitter regrets, with hesitant hope for this to be nothing more than a nightmare.

Soma smiled as he handed one of the kids one of those curry buns Mr. Sebastian had created. It was warm and it smelled good, good enough for the kid to smile at him too.

The feeling of accomplishment and some sort of fondness in his heart warmed him from the inside out, and he looked besides him, where his loyal khansama stood.

"Anything the matter, my Prince?" He asked, his voice deep with strain on a winter evening. He had been overworking himself, Soma could tell from the way his eyes drooped a little when he thought no one was looking, or his slightly hunched posture. And he was already thinking of ways to subtly drag him somewhere to rest under the pretense of needing someone to accompany him during his leisurely activities.

"I was thinking we could sit in front of the fireplace after this and drink some hot cocoa," he suggested absentmindedly, "being this cold for too long cannot be good for the body." He grinned and handed yet another curry bun, receiving an excited thanks (one he thought he finally deserved) from the kid in front of him. "I could use some relaxing."

Agni smiled as well, warmth shining in his eyes even despite the cloudy sky. Soma thought he looked like a white sun. "Jo Agya."

Soma blinked his eyes wearily, blinked away the tears.

This had been the third night in a row he had dreamt of those memories that apparently had been his, once upon a time, once upon another life.

He blinked away the tears and let some sort of hesitant determination take over his spirit.

He needed to talk to Agni. To ask about this strange dreams of his, to ask about this shared memories they had, and if he had known all along about their tragic destiny.

(To ask about why he had left so suddenly, leaving his chest feeling so raw and hollow, about why he had left with his heart pressed in one of the pockets of his sweater.)

As soon as Soma entered West. Co, he made a beeline for the secretary that had greeted him last time he had been there. With Agni. He didn't get a chance to make much of a case, though.

"Soma?" He turned around, startled like a deer caught in the headlights. Meena stood there, clad in a secretary skirt and a blouse, so unlike the saris she used to wear when they were still friends, or the vague memory he had of her clothes at the concert, and her hair was tied up in a ponytail. "What are you doing here?" She was still beautiful, and Soma's heart ached… though not with longing.

"I came here looking for Agni," he explained simply, Meena's expression was a thoughtful one, until realisation dawned and her pretty, pretty face became a scowl. "Are you calling me 'your Sun'? Because if you are, I swear to Shiva I'll—"

Soma's hands were up in an instant. "That's not it at all!" He yelped, and suddenly wished he had taken a picture of Agni. It certainly would have lasted longer, and he could have something to convince Meena that this wasn't a ruse to try and get her back. He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. So much time had passed since the last time they had seen each other, and Agni running away from him too just proved he hadn't managed to improve even a bit. "He… we were together for Valentine's, and I was thinking of finally asking him out, but he ran away so suddenly and I…" he sighed again. "I'll understand if he wants nothing to do with me, but I want to at least know why."

"He?" Her face softened, her shoulders untensed, something not unlike confusion and regret crossed her face. "What did he look like?"

Though she already looked calm, Soma decided to keep treading carefully. "He's um, this tall, had white hair and wears typical sherwani no matter where he goes." He fought the urge to smile just thinking of him.

"Arshad?"

"Hmm?" The name was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he had heard it before.

"That's his name." She frowned, deep in thought. "Though now that I think about it, he did present himself to some as Agni. At the time I thought he was just being an egocentric prat, naming himself after the god of the sun, but now…" she stared at Soma queerly, and he felt very vulnerable under her gaze. "Come to think of it, where did you two meet?"

"Chance encounter," he risked. He didn't want to explain the strange dreams he kept having after the incident on valentine's, but saying it had been the time they met at the coffee shop felt too much like a lie for comfort. When Meena still didn't look convinced, he added, "Serendipity, if you must."

Meena's expression finally lost its guarded look to it. "I see," she sighed. "Yes, he stopped coming to work since the beginning of this month. But he didn't tell anyone where he was going. I'm sorry."

Soma tried to smile, thought it came off as more of a grimace. "It's fine, thank you for your help." He was walking away, and Meena felt some sort of desperation smother her chest.

"Soma, wait!" He looked around, his eyes hopeful. They weren't expectant of her, but rather of whatever she had to say about this 'Agni' fella. And she was relieved, because while Soma was rather mild in comparison to some of her coworkers' advances, it was still rather bothersome to deal with such a insistent puppy love. This relief prompted her to talk. "I'm sorry about how things ended up last time, that I couldn't be what you wanted me to, I'm just… I already had a fulfilled life separated from you, autonomy, freedom I did not wish to relinquish. And at the moment, I couldn't think of another way to let you know."

Contrary to what she had thought, to whatever scenario her mind had dared to conjure, Soma just smiled at her and shook his head. "You don't have to apologise, I had no right asking that of you. You kept giving me hints you just weren't interested, but I kept on denying it. If you hadn't done what you did, I would probably still be chasing after your skirts." He chuckled, deep in his chest, but there was nostalgia in his eyes. "Thank you, Meena, for everything. I appreciate all you have done for me throughout my life." And he left, leaving Meena shell-shocked and with the vague urge to cry.

Ciel walked to the door, a sneer on his face for he was about to chew the bloody wanker that dared disturb his sleep at such an ungodly hour. Even if said hour was sometime in the afternoon.

"Hey there, little Ciel, do you happen to have a brother?"

The effect was instantaneous: his slight sneer became a prominent scowl, the annoyance in his eyes became icy rage.

"What kind of arsehole question is that, Kadar?" He asked through gritted teeth, looking like a young enraged panther cub, prepared to strike, instead of the annoyed kitten he usually resembled. Soma saw the tiredness in his eyes, a wound that had not quite healed yet, and understood, too, what it felt like.

He knew what scratching a scab raw until it bleed, again and again, until you got used to the sight of blood in his hands felt like.

So he took a deep breath and steeled himself for what was to come, for the anger his friend was sure to be going through by his rash inquiries, his mindless words.

He almost felt like he had failed once again, but he took a deep breath and steeled himself for what was to come, for the understanding he was hoping to gain from his friends through his heartfelt inquires, his reckless words.

"I've… had strange dreams." He confessed, wondering if going through the whole 'Hey, I'm a reincarnate' talk was a good idea. Little Ciel had never seemed much of a believer of anything; he was not religious, and whenever Soma joked about his horoscope, little Ciel always said to act serious. But little Ciel also appreciated honesty, overall. He would appreciate Soma being straightforward with him. "And it's made me think—"

"—a dangerous activity to engage in…" little Ciel interrupted, earning himself a hopeless look from Soma. He took another deep breath and tried to speak again.

"It's made me think about all the choices I've made in my life, all the wrongs I want to right, and…" he sighed, thinking of the best way to express himself. "I want to start with my friends, with you." Maybe it was the earnest look in his eyes, but Ciel's anger seemed to deflate, and his expression softened a little. "I never apologised for all the hardships I put you through."

Little Ciel still didn't offer him to enter his house, but he no longer looked like he was going to jump on him or order someone to kill him on the spot. Thus Soma let himself relax a little.

"I was going to have a brother," he confessed, his voice cautious like he was walking on thin ice, "but he was stillborn." He crossed his arms. There was no grief in his eyes whatsoever, but he was clearly uncomfortable. "What do you want, Kadar?"

Soma sighed, almost resigned that his friend knew him so well. "I've been looking for Agni. But I don't know where to look." His shoulders slouched a little but he tried not to look as devastated as he felt. "I've seen him in my dreams, too, but the details always escape me whenever I wake up." Desperation blocked his throat, and he breathed in once more to get rid of the remaining sadness.

Little Ciel seemed to be pondering something, biting slightly on his lip, before his eyes widened with remembrance and he looked at his friend again. "I think Sebastian mentioned something, about him going back to India. I can ask about details and text them over this week."

Soma sighed and his shoulders sagged in relief, some sort of contentment in his face. "Thanks, little Ciel, for everything."

"Oh, and Kadar?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't ever ask about my family again." There was a sharpness to his voice, some part of it still left raw; he knew the feeling, so Soma could only nod and comply with his friend's wish.

If there was one thing Agni did not miss about India, it had been the way the heat made his sherwani stick uncomfortably to his skin, sometimes damp with sweat, before rainy season arrived and cooled the weather somewhat.

Still, there was work to be done, and the constant chatter and the mischievous smiles he got from the kids in the orphanage more than made up for whatever uncomfortable feeling he might have had during his coming back. And so he got back to work, back to piling up boxes and putting school supplies in their place, back to ignoring the gnawing guilt in his chest that had yet to go.

"Excuse me," a voice whispered from behind, and it was so familiar it froze Agni where he was standing. "I'm new here, do you think you could maybe help me out?" He sounded hesitant, yet hopeful, and the lack of anger in his voice made Agni hope too for yet another chance.

So he turned around, and with fond eyes looked down on his new workmate. "I would love to," he replied, the smile seeping into his response like molten sunrays.

His new workmate grinned and extended a hand. "I'm Soma, pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Agni, the pleasure is all mine." He took the offered hand and gave it a gentle squeeze and a small shake. Soma's smile stopped being a thousand watt for a second (but his eyes crinkled and his eyes shone), and Agni's heart did not skip a beat at that.

"I finally found you."

And maybe it had been destiny, meeting Agni that day in that small coffee shop. So that their hearts could meet again and heal from the scars their souls bore, from death and beyond. So that they could smile anew, and embrace life like they had always been meant to.

AND IT'S FINALLY DONE.

It's 6am, on my B-day (haven't slept due to a Barbie marathon), but I got this done, after so long, holy damn.

Some scenes are sloppy, because there was meant to be some more to them, but I really couldn't bring myself to write more. I'm literally squeezed dry just finishing this. But some parts I did like how they came out.

Thanks for sticking, or for coming. I will probably fix the typos in the future (there's so many of them!) But after I'm done with DarkSideOfTheMoon1324's request, I'm no longer writing for Black Butler. Thanks for everything, I really liked the feeling of having finished this.