Ryoma nodded and put his book back and then followed Fuji out of the room. Fuji seemed twitchy and wouldn't answer any of Ryoma's questions. If even Fuji was ruffled, then this couldn't be good.

Fuji lead him to a sitting room that Ryoma had never been in before. It was fairly small and intimate with lots of seats around a round coffee table. Waiting inside were the rest of the vampires, looking very worried.

"What's happening?" Ryoma asked as Fuji forced him down in a seat facing Tezuka.

"We're on the verge of war," Tezuka said gravely.

"It's my fault, isn't it?" Ryoma asked, he could tell by the way everyone looked at him that it was true.

"No one knows you're here or that you are alive," Fuji explained, "they all think you're dead. And, since you disappeared in our country, they think vampires did it."

"They?" Ryoma asked.

"Ensinkil and Taranis," Tezuka replied, "they have announced that they meant to attack us in revenge."

"Just tell them I'm here then!" Ryoma told them, "I don't want a war fought over me!"

"Unless we present proof they will believe we're lying," Tezuka explained

"Well, they are idiots," Ryoma said, "of course they'll think that."

"So," Tezuka continued as if Ryoma hadn't interrupted, "Atobe has decreed that you are to travel with him to Taranis for a peace conference."

"A what?"

"They're going to try and avert a war," Kaidoh said from where he was standing, leaning against the wall.

"And I'm going there?"

"Yes," Oishi said, "that way you can reveal that your are alive and well to them in person. They'll have to believe it."

Ryoma nodded, it all made sense. "Will any of you be coming with me?" He really didn't want to spend an entire peace conference with Atobe and his hangers-on.

"Fuji and Kaidoh will be accompanying you," Tezuka said and Ryoma's heart sunk.

"It would be dangerous if Tezuka went with you," Oishi explained, "if they wanted to undo your mating bond for you to marry the princess then all they would need to do would be to kill Tezuka."

"You make it sound like that would be easy," Ryoma said, smirking. He'd seen Tezuka take on a professional vampire assassin and win.

"Thinking like that is very careless," Tezuka reprimanded him. "Oishi is right, I need to stay here."

"Fine," Ryoma said, unhappily. "When will I be leaving?"

"You'll be driving to the station in two days time, there you will meet with Atobe and get the train to Taranis," Tezuka said.

Ryoma nodded, feeling weird, like his body and his mind weren't quite connected together. He wanted to be alone to process all this information, to hide and not come out till all war negotiations were over. But he was a prince and Tezuka's mate. He couldn't do that, he couldn't run away.

"If there is a war," Ryoma said, "the vampires would win, right? You're much stronger than humans."

"Humans have numbers," Fuji said, "and they've had many years to create ways to kill vampires. If there is a war, there will be no easy victories."

"Humans are good at killing," Kaidoh grumbled.

"Hey! Echizen's human!" Momo piped up, glaring at Kaidoh.

"He's right," Ryoma said, his mind wandering back to the eagles in the mountains. "We are good at killing."

"As are vampires," Fuji said, light glinting off his now fully grown fangs. He looked truly terrifying with his eyes flashing scarlet.

"Enough," Tezuka said, his voice calm but authoritative. "We will avoid a war. I have confidence in everyone to see sense and avoid senseless bloodshed."

"We will," Ryoma said confidently.

The next day passed very slowly. Ryoma had no idea what to do with himself. There was no point in starting anything as he'd be leaving in a couple of days any way. He couldn't settle to anything and ended up walking around the castle, completely lost on his thoughts.

A war. A war over him.

It seemed like such a stupid thing to happen. Did people really want him that much? He didn't want people fighting over him. He'd found a place for himself here amongst the vampires of Seigaku Castle. He didn't want to leave.

At least they had a plan to avoid any fighting. He couldn't fathom anyone wanting to go to war once he turned up alive and well. But then, someone had tried to kill him on the journey to Taranis and had hired a vampire assassin to go after him. So, whoever this person was knew that he had survived the first assassination attempt. He had a bad feeling that it was someone from his own country.

What if they wanted him to marry the princess anyway? He couldn't do that. Not now, not now he had Tezuka. He hadn't even been planning on staying around before he'd become Tezuka's mate. But now had Tezuka, he couldn't marry someone else!

What if it stopped a war, a traitorous thought entered at the back of his mind. What if marrying the princess stopped the war?

He didn't want to think about that. He didn't know if it had to do that yet and wondering about it wouldn't achieve anything but making the worried knot in his stomach grow. Either way, he would not marry without putting up a fight.
He didn't sleep well that night and woke feeling tired and irritable. He had to pack today. Packing would make the entire thing more real.

"I wish I could take you with me," he told Karupin. "But I want you to stay here. Keep Tezuka company for me."

Karupin purred as he rubbed himself against Ryoma's head.

"You better keep him company," Ryoma said, "I'll ask him and if you haven't we'll be having words."

The rest of the vampires kept casting him worried looks as he walked through the castle that day, something that Ryoma soon found very annoying. He was going to Tanaris, not to his death!

He spent most of his day in his room, under the pretence of packing. He managed to pack in half an hour, although it took a little longer to get everything into the suitcases. Folding clothes neatly was not his forte, so most of them were shoved in and would, no doubt, be crumpled and creased by the time they arrived. But he really didn't care.

What he wanted to do was say goodbye to Tezuka. And not just a farewell peck on the cheek before leaving, but one that Tezuka would remember and the others would not be around to see.

Tezuka wasn't against sex any more, it seemed, and even if they just ended up making out all night then Ryoma didn't think that was a bad thing. But he wanted to do something tonight. He was sure Tezuka was working at the moment and Ryoma didn't want to disturb him. He'd creep through the secret passageway tonight and spend the night with Tezuka.

Karupin came up to him and leaped into his arms.

"Sorry, you're going to be by yourself tonight," He told the cat, "you could go and sleep with Kaidoh or Kikumaru if you want."

Over the next few hours, Ryoma surreptitiously walked down the corridor to check if Tezuka had returned from his office. By ten o'clock, he was starting to worry that Tezuka was pulling an all nighter, but then he saw the chink of light under Tezuka's bedroom door.

He hurried back to his own room and checked himself in the mirror. He had a slightly less tight pair of jeans on (to make getting them off faster) and a black button down shirt with a lot of the buttons undone. He looked good.

It took him some time to find the mechanism to open the secret passage way, but he found it and then put Karupin out in the hall.

"Have a good night," he told the cat, who looked thoroughly disgusted with Ryoma, and then went through the passageway.

Tezuka was writing his diary when Ryoma slipped past the curtain.

"Tezuka," he said softly, not wanting to shock him.

"That passageway is only there for emergencies," Tezuka said, it took Ryoma a while to realise that he was joking.

"Maybe you should have put a sign on it."

"I should," Tezuka agreed, taking Ryoma's hand that was now resting on his shoulder and squeezing it.

Ryoma wanted to say something, say anything. But he had no idea what to say. The silence settled around him begging him to say something, to tell Tezuka that he didn't want to leave, that he was happy here, that he wanted to be in the castle with the vampires forever. But he couldn't. The words were just stuck in his throat as his brain realised how stupid anything he could say would sound.

He slipped his hand from Tezuka's and walked around so that he was as close to facing Tezuka as he could be (the desk being up against the wall prevented him from being face to face with Tezuka) and offered in his hand.

"Tezuka," he said, his voice low and soft. He hadn't meant to plead, but there was a hint of it in his voice.

Tezuka took his hand and Ryoma lead him over to the bed. He sat down on the edge and looked up at him through his eyelashes.

"You dyed your hair back," Tezuka said, running his hand through Ryoma's silky hair.

"I was bored of being blond," Ryoma said, leaning into Tezuka's hand.

"You look very nice," Tezuka told him. He leant down and kiss Ryoma's lips carefully.

Ryoma ginned and wrapped his arms around Tezuka's neck, pulling him backwards onto the bed.

"Ryoma," Tezuka whispered, pressing kisses over Ryoma's face. Ryoma's grin grew, he liked the way Tezuka said his name in that deep, smooth voice of his.

"Say that again," Ryoma said as Tezuka moved down to his neck. Pressing soft, biting kisses along its length.

"Your name?" Tezuka asked.

"You didn't say anything else, did you?"

"I thought you might want me to compliment your hair again," Tezuka said, smiling when Ryoma huffed, "Ryoma."

Ryoma hummed, "it sounds nice."

"What about mine?" Tezuka asked, sucking on Ryoma's Adam's apple and making him gasp.

Ryoma thought for a moment, he had no idea what Tezuka's first name was. He looked guiltily at Tezuka.

"Kunimitsu," Tezuka told him.

"Kunimitsu," Ryoma repeated, feeling foolish, "you know I'm still going to call you 'Tezuka', right?"

"That's fine," Tezuka said, moving back up Ryoma's body to his face and kissing the tip of his nose.

"I'll call you it sometimes," Ryoma promised, "like when we're in bed together," he ran his hands over Tezuka's wonderful back and shoulder muscles, "like this." He stuck his tongue out cheekily and Tezuka caught it between his lips, sucking on it for a second before releasing it.

"Like that?"

"Being cheeky is my thing," Ryoma said, "you're supposed to be straight laced!"

"Would you like me to go back to being straight laced?" Tezuka asked, his hand sliding up Ryoma's leg, fingers pressing into the sensitive spots, making Ryoma take in a gasping breath.

"Not if you keep doing that," Ryoma replied, fiddling with the top button of Tezuka's shirt, "Some of these need to be undone. Possibly all of them."

"Being cute doesn't suit you."

"You know it does," Ryoma said, leaning up and kissing Tezuka, "and you like it."

"I do," Tezuka agreed, "your buttons need to be undone as well."

"I think they do," Ryoma nodded and started working on Tezuka's buttons. He had to pull the shirt out of Tezuka's trousers to get at the bottom buttons, his vampire was such a dork. He pushed Tezuka's shirt off his shoulders and, after a bit of faffing around with the sleeves, threw it across the room.

"That's going to need ironing," Tezuka said disapprovingly.

"Well," Ryoma said, sliding his hands up Tezuka's chest, feeling all the muscles under his cool skin, "you can do that later."

"What are you proposing we do now?" Tezuka asked.

"Sex," Ryoma replied, "or a lot of kissing and touching. I can pay you back for the other day. Does that sound more fun than ironing?"

"Infinitely," Tezuka said, leaning down and kissing Ryoma deeply. Ryoma moaned and relocated his hands into Tezuka's hair. He loved having Tezuka's hair threaded through his fingers, being able to twist his fingers in and tug at it. He sighed happily, he'd never felt this good during sex before and they hadn't even started.

Tezuka started to undo Ryoma's shirt, his cold fingers making Ryoma shiver when they touched his skin. It felt good though, in a way that Ryoma couldn't describe.

He helped Tezuka get him out of his shirt, where it was thrown to join the other one.

"You can iron mine whilst you're doing yours," Ryoma smirked.

"You can learn how to iron it yourself," Tezuka said, running a finger up the middle of Ryoma's chest to rest on his chin. Ryoma didn't reply, he just pulled Tezuka down for another round of deep, wet kisses.

He was starting to get hard, Tezuka had been rubbing up against his crotch with his leg.

"Tezuka," he whined, "Kunimitsu, please."

"You really aren't patient, are you?"

"No," Ryoma huffed, "so get to it."

"Weren't you supposed to return the favour for the other day?" Tezuka asked.

"Fine." Ryoma said, flipping them over. "Lie on the bed properly," he ordered.
Tezuka looked confused, but complied.

"I don't like people coming in my mouth," Ryoma said as he undid Tezuka's belt, pushing his trousers and underwear away to reveal his cock. It was bigger than Ryoma thought it would be. At least making out had affected Tezuka as much as it had done to him. "Tell me when you're about to come."

"I will," Tezuka promised, his brain trying to catch up with what was happening.

"Good," Ryoma said, swiping his tongue against the top of Tezuka's cock.
He started working his way down Tezuka's cock with his tongue, licking and occasionally kissing the swollen flesh. He felt it grow in his hand until it reached it's full size. Ryoma grinned devilishly against it and looked straight into Tezuka's dilated pupils. He couldn't wait for Tezuka to fuck him. But, right now Tezuka was flushed and panting all because of Ryoma and that was making Ryoma uncomfortably hard. With his free hand he undid his jeans and pushed them down, taking some of the pressure off his cock.

"I'm really looking forward to you fucking me," Ryoma said and then took Tezuka's cock into his mouth.

He couldn't fit all of it in, it was far too big and Ryoma much preferred licking and kissing to trying to force an entire cock into his mouth. But he knew exactly how to make up for it. He used his hands to rub the part of Tezuka's cock that was neglected by his mouth whilst he sucked on the top, his tongue playing with whatever it could reach.

Slowly, he started to bob up and down, trying not to grin when he heard Tezuka finally let out a moan.

"Ryoma," Tezuka gasped, "I'm-"

He couldn't finish his sentence, but Ryoma understood exactly what he meant. He slid Tezuka's cock out his mouth and started to place sucking kisses all around the top and length of it.

It didn't take long for Tezuka to come. Ryoma moved his face away just about in time, although he ended up with a bit of come on his cheek. The rest was over his hands and Tezuka.

"Was that good?" Ryoma asked, already knowing the answer. Tezuka was lying bonelessly against the pillows, breathing heavily, an arm over his eyes and his face flushed red. "It was weird how cold it was, but I got used to it."

"It was very good," Tezuka managed to say eventually, "I don't want to know how you got that good, do I?"

"Let's just say practice makes perfect," Ryoma said, smiling when Tezuka moved his arm to look at him.

"I hope you didn't neglect your duties to lean how to…" he trailed off, obviously trying to think of the polite term for 'blow jobs'.

"Suck people off?" Ryoma suggested.

"That's just as bad."

"I didn't neglect anything learning how to do it," Ryoma assured him. Tezuka didn't look like he believed him, "well… I did neglect a few things. They weren't important though!" He looked around the room, "where are the tissues?"

"On the desk," Tezuka replied, "right in front of you."

"I didn't see them," Ryoma huffed and got up to get them.

He quickly cleaned Tezuka up and then climbed into his lap.

"Want to carry on?" He asked, leaning his body against Tezuka's and kissing him softly.

"Do you?"

"I haven't come yet," Ryoma said, "of course I want to. We just need to get you nice and hard again," he said, rubbing himself against Tezuka's crotch.

"That won't take long with you doing that," Tezuka said, taking Ryoma's face in his hands, "especially when you have something white and sticky on your face."

Ryoma glared at him, "you pervert."

"Here," Tezuka said, grabbing a tissue and wiping the come off Ryoma's face, "you're clean now."

"But you found it hot?"

Tezuka looked away, "I suppose I did."

Ryoma's cat like grin spread across his face as he leant in to nip at Tezuka's ear, "when I get back I'll let you come on my face," he purred into his ear. He felt Tezuka's cock twitch against him and his grin widened.

Tezuka decided that right now the only thing he could do was to kiss Ryoma so hard that he forgot everything. It worked and soon they were wrapped around each other, kissing each other as hard and as passionately as they possibly could.

"You're hard," Ryoma panted, "do you have any lubricant anywhere?"

Tezuka looked blank and Ryoma's heart sunk. If there wasn't any lubricant then there was no way they were going to have sex. He knew there were plenty of other things they could do instead of penetrative sex, but he'd wanted to feel Tezuka inside him. To know exactly what it felt like to have sex with Tezuka before he left.

He groan and rested his head against Tezuka's shoulder, "you don't have any, do you?"

"Not unless someone has put some in here without my knowledge."

"If they had, where would they put it?" Ryoma asked hoping against hope that Fuji had decided to tease Tezuka by hiding some in his room.

"Probably in a drawer."

"Help me look," Ryoma said, jumping up from his spot in Tezuka's lap and heading straight to Tezuka's bedside table. Tezuka followed suit and started to look through his desk.

Their hunt didn't take long. Ryoma pulled out the second draw and found a bottle of lubricant and some condoms lying in it with a post-it note with a smiley face drawn on it stuck to the bottle. Ryoma was suddenly very thankful for Fuji's existence.

"Got it," Ryoma called, tossing the bottle and condoms onto the bed and wriggling out of his clothes.

"That was fast," Tezuka said, walking back to the bed and jumping onto it to join Ryoma. "Where do you want me?"

"Go back where we were," Ryoma said. The mood may have been destroyed somewhat by the lubricant hunt, but now it was replaced with an air of excitement. Ryoma practically jumped back into Tezuka's lap and started taking long, sucking kisses off of him.

"Do you know how to prepare me?" Ryoma asked, pressing the lubricant into Tezuka's hand.

"Talk me through it," Tezuka said.

Ryoma nodded, "cover your fingers in lubricant," he instructed, "and then carefully slide one into my ass."

Tezuka did as he was told, sliding the finger in much slower than Ryoma had expected him to. He drew in a breath through gritted teeth.

"Your finger's cold," he asked explained at Tezuka's confused look, "it's okay, keep going. Move it around a bit once it's in then put another one in."

Ryoma wrapped his arms around Tezuka's neck and pressed his head into Tezuka's shoulder, arching his back at Tezuka's fingers started to scissor inside him, his hard nipples pressing up against Tezuka's cold body, making him gasp.

"Put another in," Ryoma moaned, "slide them all in and out and stretch me."
Tezuka did exactly what he was told, so well that Ryoma might have thought he'd done it before if Tezuka hadn't told him he hadn't.

"I think that's enough," Ryoma panted and Tezuka's fingers slid out. Ryoma grabbed the condoms and ripped one open, sliding it onto Tezuka's cock and covering it in lubricant. He prepared himself for the fact that it would be cold, but the lack of Tezuka's body heat hadn't turned him off yet and it wasn't as if it was as cold as ice.

"Are you ready?" Tezuka asked gently, wiping his fingers off on a tissue.

"Yes," Ryoma replied, positioning himself so that the tip of Tezuka's cock was pressing against him. "You?"

Tezuka nodded and Ryoma slowly started to press down, taking Tezuka's cock inside him centimetre by centimetre. He was so big, Ryoma's mind was too full of the feeling of Tezuka's cock filling him to think if Tezuka was bigger than his other conquests. It didn't matter if he was anyway. Eventually he had all of Tezuka inside of him and he looked up at him to see Tezuka looking at him lovingly.

"Move," Ryoma gasped, "move now."

They started to find their rhythm, with Ryoma moving up and down whilst Tezuka trust in and out of him. Ryoma clung to Tezuka's shoulders, his fingernails digging into the skin. Tezuka's pupils became more and more dilated and his thrusts became harder and faster, something Ryoma was very appreciative of.

Then, he grabbed Ryoma and flipped them so that Ryoma was pressed into the pillows, the vampire instinct inside him taking over and robbing him of his senses.

Ryoma laid back and enjoyed the ride. Tezuka holding his hips tightly and thrusting wildly. And then, his cock hit a certain spot inside Ryoma that had him arching off the bed, the edges of his vision going white as he moaned, his hands fisting the sheets.

"Do that again!" He managed to gasp and Tezuka did as he was told.

He was sure at some point Tezuka made him scream. He had always been noisy in bed, but no one had made him shout like this before. He couldn't think about anything, he was so focused on Tezuka's cock inside him and his wild thrusts. It was better than he could have ever imagined.

He wildly flung his arms out for Tezuka and Tezuka caught his hands, interlocking their fingers and squeezing them lovingly. He leaned down to kiss Ryoma with much more care and attention than he was putting into his thrusts.
It was all too much for Ryoma. All the feelings of pleasure and emotions welled up inside him and he came so hard that his vision went white.

He didn't know how long he was lost in pleasure. He was only vaguely aware of Tezuka coming with a rather un-Tezuka-like grunt and pulling out of him. When he came back to the land of the living, Tezuka was lying at is side.

"That was good," Ryoma said.

"Just good?" Tezuka asked, looking amused.

"It could be better," Ryoma said, the grin returning to his face. "I would suggest going again for practice, but I really want to sleep."

"Then you should sleep," Tezuka said, "you've got a long journey in the morning."

Ryoma groaned, "don't remind me about that!"

"It's the only way, Ryoma."

"I know," Ryoma said, letting out a long sigh. "Stay with me till I fall asleep."

"Of course," Tezuka said, kissing Ryoma softly on the forehead, "goodnight, Ryoma."

"Goodnight," Ryoma said, snuggling into the pillows.

He fell asleep with Tezuka gently stroking his hair.