Title: Blood of the Snake, a Get Backers fanfic

By: retroelectric

Warnings: Mature Themes, Vampirism, Horror/Supernatural, Strong Language, Yaoi, Alternate Universe

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Get Backers. This is a Get Backers fan fiction, ideas purely fan-made speculations based off the relationship between the Get Backers duo and infused with several elements inspired – and not stolen off the Vampire Chronicles Universe by Anne Rice. It is also important to note that this does not contain ANY of her characters, thus this is strictly NOT a Vampire Chronicles/Get Backers crossover. In this way I do not breach any of Anne Rice's policies regarding fan fiction on her work.

Chapter 22

Ban awoke from a dreamless sleep amongst unfamiliar cotton sheets. He opened dazed azure eyes only to be met with an overly strong beam of sunlight seeping in through the open windows. Then he belatedly realised that he was in Shido's room, and he struggled to think of why he was in here of all places, and the painful throb in his lower left calf reminded him of the happenings several hours ago.

The Jagan Master sat up in the bed, stifling his groan of pain slightly but it did not go unnoticed by the other man in the room. Shido looked up from his book, with an unreadable expression on his face. Ban looked at the wound on his leg, and to his surprise saw that it was expertly bandaged.

Shido crossed the room over to Ban and stopped at the edge of his own bed. Ban gave him a slight smile before Shido spoke.

"You're really troublesome, aren't you?"

"I am?" Ban said as nonchalantly as he could manage in his state, stretching his still sleepy limbs in a cat-like motion. Shido ignored the enticing movement as well as he could.

"I didn't know that you of all people could be so sloppy – as to get stabbed in the leg, by a stupid amateur of all people. Did you know how troublesome it was for me to carry you and attack him back at the same time?" Shido growled, continuing his rant. "Then I had to drive back all the way to Honky Tonk like a madman to return the disk, then back to here. You bled quite a lot in your own car, y'know, on the way to the café. And there's no way in hell I'm going to clean up the car after you. Geez."

Ban was silent for a moment, absorbing the information before speaking. "I suppose I should thank you for all that? Thank you," Ban purred in a low voice, and Shido's cheeks gave the slightest hint of a blush.

"Y-You're welcome," Shido replied uncomfortably, fidgeting.

Ban broke the tension by sliding off the bed, and putting on his shirt and pants after some painful effort. He tried walking – the wound on his leg was painful, but he could manage. Ban thought distractedly to himself that he'd ask Cadmus to heal that for him by means of his powerful blood.

Speaking of Cadmus, Ban wondered whether Cadmus had gotten the message he left for him and Ginji. Ban felt an odd twinge of something that was totally amiss building at the bottom of his stomach – and he didn't know if it was good or not, but he had a feeling that it was something scarily negative. He stumbled a little in his step and cursed mildly, before saying goodbye to Shido with a backward wave.

All of a sudden, Ban felt a strong hand grasping his arm, and Ban turned to look at Shido questioningly.

"Because you don't seem to look that all well," Shido answered, still fidgeting slightly, by way of explanation. "You can't even walk properly. You're not going to Honky Tonk alone in this condition."

Ban nodded appreciatively and slung an arm around Shido's shoulder, and shivered a bit as he felt Shido encircling an arm loosely around his waist, aiding him to walk. Then Ban stopped abruptly – as though with a purpose – in his step even before they reached the door, his senses on overload of the overwhelming scent that was Shido's.

"What are you stopping for?" Shido asked, warily meeting Ban's uncovered midnight blue eyes. Ban thought to himself that he'd get no other chance to do this. He's wanted this for so long, but he was afraid of the circumstances and for what dastardly things Shido would do in return if his lust wasn't reciprocated. But his body simply ached for him to just do it, and he'd already seen the effect he'd had on the other man, and vice versa, so he leaned forward without hesitation and pressed his lips hungrily onto the other man's.

Shido made a small protesting sound but it died away as Ban pressed his lips harder onto his, and it was demanding and full of unspoken lust. Shido could feel his bearings slip away as he responded with equal hunger, if not more, and he fought the pleasure-filled fogginess in his mind and pushed Ban away but not out of anger, arms were still interlocked around his waist.

"Why?" Shido heard himself croak, and he felt Ban trail calloused fingers down his neck.

"I've always wanted to do this, always have," Ban admitted, staring at Shido with vulnerable eyes. Shido had never seen this look before, and he was more than dumbfounded at it. "And I know you have too. I still-'' the word stuck in his throat but he steeled his body, forcing the word out of himself, "l-love Ginji and Cadmus, and I know that you love Madoka… but this is something we have to do. I can't take it anymore. I want you."

Shido couldn't help but to feel his hidden desires rear its head at the truth Ban's words spoke of. His hand involuntarily clenched on the cloth of Ban's shirt. "You want me?" Shido repeated, licking his lip.

Ban stared at Shido with those relentless, yet somehow vulnerable eyes. "Yes, while I'm still human," Ban hissed, his darkened eyes shifting in intensity and the soft gasp Shido made spurred the Jagan Master on as he engulfed him in another desperate kiss.

Their kiss was torrid and scorching hot and so good, that Ban feared if Shido's mouth wasn't completely on his, he'd let loose his own loud moans of lust, so much that Madoka would come bursting into the room, to check what was happening. The stirrings in his pants spurred him further, and by the way Shido grinded his own hardness into his, he knew that Shido was feeling the same as he. It wasn't like it was they were in love with each other, Ban rationalised in his mind, quelling the burdensome guilt he felt, it simply was that the tension between them was getting to be too much and it had to be smothered one way or another.

Ban hadn't realised that Shido had backed him into the bed, and the both of them spilled over onto the mattress, not once breaking contact of each other. Shido kissed differently from Ginji or Cadmus, Ban thought fuzzily, it was full of animalistic lust and hot heat. Ban broke the contact of their lips to catch his breath, and he buried his face into Shido's neck and began licking and sucking without inhibitions.

"Always liked how you smell," Ban murmured as he continued in his ministrations. Shido growled at the sensations, and his large fingers grappled to get Ban's shirt off. Ban moaned again as Shido initiated a most wondrous contact between their still-clothed members, and he couldn't think for a moment as Shido kissed him again, nibbling at his bottom lip and it was like nothing he'd ever felt.

Ban accidentally ripped Shido's shirt off in his haste to touch every centimetre of the other man's skin. He writhed enticingly as Shido laid kisses on his body, worshipping him just for this one stolen moment with each other – his neck, his chest, his stomach, and he tugged at his own pants to get them off and motioned for Shido to do the same.

As Ban laid underneath Shido, clutching his shoulders, breath coming in short pants and filled to the brim with the Beast Master's touch, his own semi-conscious mind screamed of betrayal to Ginji and Cadmus but the guilt was dispelled as soon as Shido touched his very aroused organ and hit his sweet spot over and over again with his thrusts. He partly screamed and absolutely writhed under him when he came, Shido getting his completion just seconds after. Ban knew he could never forget the way Shido murmured his name into his ear.

The two lay sated and panting and sticky in each other's arms. Ban opened bleary and satisfied eyes and saw a trickle of his own come on Shido's chin, and he couldn't help but to lick that bit off him. Shido opened his eyes to stare at him, equally sated.

"Ban," he said, his voice a deep sensual rumbling.

"Mm?" Ban replied lazily.

"What did you mean when you said 'When I'm still human?'" Shido asked, looking at Ban in the eyes.

"I'm… going to be different… soon." Ban said aloud, and with that he knew he was confirming his own musings about immortality and Cadmus and Ginji.

"Meaning?"

"You're warm, Shido," Ban said, purring out his name and deliberately missing the point. Shido clenched his fist forcefully around Ban's hand, eliciting a small gasp out of him.

"Ow, damn you, you didn't have to do that!" Ban said with irritation in his voice, still basking in the afterglow of their lust-filled sex. Shido lifted an eyebrow at him and Ban sighed, giving into the inevitable once again.

"If I do say it, you can't really change it, you know." Ban closed his eyes before speaking again. "You know that Cadmus is a vampire. And one day, he's going to turn me into his fledgling, and that day is nearing. I can feel it. That's why my days as a human being are going to be over soon."

Shido was silent as he processed Ban's words. "And Ginji? What about Ginji? Is he going to be turned as well?"

Ban sighed again, wistful. "That, frankly, is his choice." But what was unspoken was – I want Ginji to be with me forever if I'm going to be immortal. He has no other choice but to go with me.

"And you are choosing to be one of his kind?" Shido pressed on.

Ban suddenly turned to face Shido, looking at him with fiery eyes. "If you had the choice to be immortal, wouldn't you?" Shido opened his mouth, once, twice, but nothing came out.

"Heh. Thought so." Ban said, and lifted his body off Shido and got dressed again, Shido doing the same after the shock of Ban's statement left him.

They stood awkwardly facing each other when they'd dressed. "Thanks, I guess," Shido said carefully. "Thank you for telling me this. You had no idea what was going though my head when I saw Ginji with some stranger who had blood scent all over him, back then. I'm glad to know that Ginji has a choice." Then Shido smiled.

"You know that this is going to be a one-time thing right?" Ban asked, smirking.

"Of course I do," Shido said distractedly as he glanced furtively at Ban's dishevelled state. He couldn't help but to lean in for another kiss, and it was reciprocated hungrily before Ban placed a hand on his chest, effectively stopping him.

Ban's mischievous side came out to play as he spoke with mirth in his voice. "I still hate you, Monkey Tamer."

Shido grinned and laughed. "Likewise, Snake Bastard."

Ban noticed with surprising disgust that Shido was right – the floor of Ban's car was hopelessly drenched with his own blood, the smell turning quite bad itself. Ban ignored it as he tossed to Shido his keys, and stumbled into the bloody passenger seat.

Ban thanked the heavens that the café was only a few minutes' ride from Madoka's house. He glanced at the sky, it was darkened and he knew that Ginji was probably worried that he was late. That is, if Ginji's still alright, Ban thought with a, uncharacteristic feeling of dread as Shido parked the car opposite the Honky Tonk, and the both of them stepped out, heading towards the small café. Somehow, he'd gotten the mysterious feeling that it was Ginji, and not Cadmus that was in trouble, and he could be hurting without Ban's presence to comfort Ginji. The guilt returned full-force back to himself, but he plunged forward and stepped into the café.

Ban wasn't that all surprised when he saw Cadmus sitting on the stool, apparently waiting for him. Ban felt Shido's arm brush slightly on his as the other man moved past him to greet Hevn. He heard the deep rumbling of Shido's voice, and Hevn's pleasant womanly voice greeting him back, but it was eclipsed when he looked around the small space of the café for Ginji.

Ban was most surprised and became even more worried when he didn't see Ginji anywhere in the premises. Brushing it off, he came over to Cadmus with but a small smile. He hoped that his guilt based off his betrayal wouldn't surface in front of the vampire. Ban was about to ask the vampire regarding Ginji's whereabouts, but he stopped.

It was then that Ban noticed that Cadmus was sniffing the air around him, and realisation dawned upon himself – Ban still had Shido's scent all over him, inside him and clinging like a possessive spectre. Ban backed away from Cadmus, but from the accusatory frown on the violet-eyed vampire's face, he knew that he had been stupid. He opened his mouth to say something, but the uncharacteristic tone of the light-haired man halted him in his tracks.

"What is it that you've been doing, Ban?"