Chapter 18

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Eric was smirking as he laid in bed beside Alan. That was incredible; he had never done anything like that with Alan before. He felt kind of bad for it, he would probably feel it in the morning.
"…Don't touch me…"
"You asked for it."
"A decision I am regretting. I can't believe that just happened."
Moving to see the face that was turned away from him he saw it was red with blush.
"Don't be like that. Come on admit it, you had fun."
"Please stop." Lifting the covers up from his waist he placed them over his head. Sneaking his hands under the covers Eric felt Alan jump to his touch as his fingers danced over his flesh.
"Eric!" Flipping over and sitting up he tried to catch his breath and get his heart to stop trying to beat out of his chest.
"Never thought I could take it so far did you?"
"Oh I thought you could, it's just, did that really just happen?"
"Which part? The part where I got you to scream my name or the part where your fingers grabbed him hair so tightly I swore you were going to rip my hair out? Oh and I think you left marks on my back."
"Oh God." Sliding back down he pulled the covers back over his face.
"You know, I never knew you had it in you."
"No more, please, stop talking." Staying hidden under the covers he tried to move passed the embarrassment. They had never done anything like that before, it was one of his wildest fantasies, something he read in romance novels. He never thought it would actually happen it him. It was fun though.
"Going to bed?"
"Trying to."
"Sleep well then." Wrapping his arms around Alan's waist, letting him know he wasn't going to try anything, he felt him relax and allow him to move closer so they could sleep without distance.

Lying in bed Eric watched Alan get ready for work. He hadn't been surprised to feel him get out of bed earlier to shower and get moving. Alan probably didn't know the words "sleep in".
"You really need to get up or else you'll make us late."
"I am up. I am talking to you aren't I?"
"You're still in bed and you knew what I meant. Don't you want to shower?"
"Nah I'll shower tonight I guess. The longer I can stay here the better. Besides I'm not like you, I can get dressed quicker."
Rolling his eyes Alan faced the mirror and fixed his shirt collar. Eric was such a lazy ass in the morning. Well all day sometimes but the morning was the worst.
"Hey Alan let me ask, what would you have done if you didn't become a Death God?" The question had been bugging him for some time now. He thought about the fact that Alan wouldn't be sick if he was in another department. He never would have been injured before, would always be safe if he hadn't been a Death God. Plus, he still saw him as a kind person, too innocent for the harshness of being a reaper. He could see him as someone who saved lives, not end them.
"What would I have done if I didn't become a Death God? I don't know I never thought about it. I always knew I was going to become one."
"You mean because of your father?"
"Yea." Sitting on the bed near Eric's feet he put getting dressed on hold for a moment. He was taken slightly off guard by what Eric asked. It was something he hadn't thought about in years.
"But you never met your father though, right?"
"Well not really. I was just a baby when he was killed. But I found his journals when I was still a child. I had been cleaning and came across it. The book was filled with all he learned and experienced. I knew from that day on that I wanted to be a Death God; I wanted to see what my father had. I also found letters from his co-workers and former trainee's for my mother talking about what a kind and helpful person he was to everyone. Not a negative word was ever uttered. I had such admiration for my father that I couldn't imagine myself not following his footsteps. I wanted to become as good as one as he was and help all those I could."
"What about your mother? What did she do? No offense but knowing who you are I would believe you would be in glasses or anything less physical."
"I don't know what my mother did. I figure she worked in some department but she never worked for as long as I can remember. The society saw to it that we were taken care of after she fell ill. And my father had created an account for us before he passed away that made sure we were well off. I mean we weren't rich or anything but we didn't have to worry about falling short on food money."
"I often wondered how you were taken care of being so young and your mother the way she was."
"Yea, the society had sent someone to take care of me and make sure my mother was eating until I was old enough. Then I decided to take over and help her. I stayed with her almost all day except to go to school and do the shopping but we didn't talk much unless it was to tell me what I did wrong so I don't what she did before I was born."
That had to be tough, to spend every day with someone and yet know nothing about them. Alan really didn't know anything about his parents since one died when he was just a baby and the other wouldn't talk to him, it was like his mother died with his father. No wonder he was how he was now. He personally may have hated his father but at least he knew him and he wasn't close with his mother but he could keep tabs on her, make sure she was alright.

Getting off the bed Alan finished getting ready for work. Eric swung his legs over the edge to start thinking about getting dressed.
"Its funny when I think about it, I don't remember my father at all but I have seen pictures of us and he is happy, my mother too. I can't help but think sometimes about how different my life would have been if I grew up with him. Oh well, no point thinking about it now and I know he is looking out for me." Grabbing the cord for his tie he wrapped it around the back of his neck, making sure both ends were even before grabbing the clip to attach it and move it up to his neck. Eric grabbed and slipped on a pair of boxer shorts before moving next to him.
"What is that thing? For as long as I've known you I've wanted to ask. I mean you stick to the books in everything so for you not to wear a tie seems off."
"It's called a bolo tie so it is one and it was my father's. He owned a few but I believe this was the one he wore the most. He may have died with this one. I found it with the letters." Looking closer at the clasp Eric took in all he just learned about the other. He felt bad for just now understanding things he should have known about the others for years. It never dawned on him that Alan would have looked up to his father as much as he did. He would never have used his old man as a role model so the thought never occurred to him. Plus knowing Alan never really knew his father he didn't think he would try to as he got older. Understanding all of this now he was only driven further to save him, not allow this dreamer, this man trying to live up to his father's image yet stay true to who he is, die by such a means as the thorns.

Alan sat at his desk trying to get the giant stack of paperwork to not seem so ominous. Having to work on it tonight though was a definite it looked like. It wasn't as horrible as it sounded after what took place last night he could use something to help things settle and not have it repeat. Eric had been cracking jokes since they left the house this morning about how he was feeling. He seemed to be under the impression that he was…sore…and…unable to sit, hating to burst Eric's bubble though he wasn't as bad as he thought. Fighting the blush in his cheeks he tried to get out the memory, get out any thoughts of the discomfort he was feeling. He was at work and Ronald was extremely observant, with his luck he would figure what took place easily and gossip it around. Oh God what if William overheard, someone kill him right where he was.
"Alan, are you okay? You're face is red." Hearing Ronald he jumped and tried to cover his face and thoughts. So much for letting the thoughts drop.
"Yes, I'm okay. Can I help you with something?" Trying not to think about it and hoping he would drop any thought to push the conversation of him blushing he jumped to the point of why Ronald was here. He knew he was busy with things as well, perhaps William wanted him or something.
"I just saw Eric and he wanted me to give you this. William called him in for an assignment; otherwise I'm sure he would have given this to you himself." Handing the note to Alan he waited a minute for him to look it over before making sure everything was okay.
"He is just telling me he is going to be late tonight, big assignment, a lot of work to handle after. Not to wait on dinner."
"Oh okay, so long as it's all good. Well, see you at lunch." Leaving Alan to his work he went back to his own. He wasn't able to tell Alan this but awhile ago Eric asked him to keep an eye on him, make sure he took it easy. Since Alan was his friend too he agreed but he wasn't completely for the idea. He didn't want Alan to think Eric didn't trust him on his own or anything of the sort. While he personally wasn't looking for anything long term he admired the relationship those two shared. It seemed like something straight from a fairy tale at times. And they didn't act all lovey-dovey to each other whenever they were near. To everyone they were just close friends, brothers even. It was nice to see that around here since everyone else kept a business appearance or were just simple friends that hung out after work at times and talked once and awhile during.
"Oh hey Ronald!" Catching him before he walked back to his desk Alan invited him over if he was interested. He had never been alone at Eric's before, the thought was strange to him.
"Can I taste you're cooking again?"
"Sure, I'll make whatever you'd like."
"Well alright then. Sounds like a deal to me."

Eric hated lying to Alan, even though it was only a half lie he still was. He needed to start collecting souls though and after work was the only time he could. It wouldn't take long, a month tops. It was only a thousand souls how hard could it be? Fifty souls a night, he would be done in about twenty days. And he would make it up to Alan for leaving him alone so long, as well as saving his life. Just the thought alone made him okay with everything else. Walking around he looked for his first target for Will so he could get done with his work sooner and start with the pure soul collection for Alan. The quicker he got done here the sooner he could get back to him. They just moved in together he wanted to enjoy seeing him there. Even if things didn't get as physical as they did last night so long as he knew Alan was there, as long as he could wrap his arms around him while they sleepy then that was all he needed. He enjoyed feeling his light in bed besides him, that was all he really needed in life, well that and to know Alan was cured. So long as he had those two things he was content with everything else.

Alan sat at his table with Ronald laughing as they talked and ate. It was nice having him over. Rarely, if ever, had they hung out without Eric with them. He knew Ronald had wanted him to, to attend a group thing with him but he was unsure about it. Maybe one day he would. From what he learned about them they consisted of nothing more than drinking, music, talking, nothing that would imply he was cheating on Eric.
"Alan, I think you shouldn't have moved in with Eric. The three of us should have gotten a place together so I could eat your cooking every night."
"Eric's cooking is pretty good too."
"Yea but everything you cook comes out delicious, with Eric I feel it's a hit or miss. Especially when he doesn't have anything to cook."
Alan could agree with that, he had saved dinner for them a couple of times when Eric's experiments didn't go well. When they did though they did come out pretty tasty.
"What do you say, convince Eric to sell this place and the three of us will get a place together." He could tell Ronald was joking but he figured he would be more than excited if Eric was cool with the idea.
"No thanks. To be honest with you I didn't want to move in here, but Eric made a great argument and it answered my own question about what to do with my house."
"What to do with your?...Oh."
Alan watched as Ronald's face dropped at the realization of what he was getting out. It wasn't brought up much and when it was they didn't mention it directly but was always there.
"I had no intention of ever moving actually, I liked my house quite a lot. Unfortunately for me Eric has a way with words and it made it really hard to go against his argument." He tried to make Ronald laugh again; he didn't want to him dwell on the fact that he was indeed dying.
"I probably wouldn't want to live with you guys anyway. I bet it gets really loud here at night."
"What gets loud?" He had no idea what Ronald was talking about. Eric lived in a pretty quite area, if anything you'd hear the bugs at night but it wasn't to the point of not being able to sleep. Seeing the playful, teasing, smile cover Ronald's face it hit him.
"That's sick!"
"Oh come on, I'm just keeping it real."
"The fact that you thought of that is disturbing. And knowing you and Eric aren't brothers really surprises me. You both share the same brain sometimes. We are you're superiors you shouldn't thinks such things." It took all he had to keep his face from blushing over what took place last night. Focusing on the food in front he tried to change subjects, it wasn't like he knew what they did. Or did he? He was going to kill Eric if he said anything to him!
"Alan I respect you, I look up to you and Eric, but, I also know Eric pretty well and well, you live with him. Not to mention you two have been together for months now."
"Never."
"Never? As in never, never?"
"Just because we are together doesn't mean we have to become wild."
"Go figure. So does that mean you're still a virgin?"
"No!"
Holy, Ronald was exactly like Eric. He couldn't handle it, neither had boundaries. He hoped the lie would end the conversation not make it worse.
"I have slept with someone before."
"Who, with Eric?"
"Please stop,"
"No come on, this is guys talk at its finest."
"Oh my God." Slouching Alan shoved food in his mouth, this was way more then he could handle.

Eric followed a woman in the shadows waiting for the right moment. He finished his work some time ago now he was hunting pure souls for Alan. It was harder than he thought at first. He came across so many prostitutes, none of them worked, though; he would probably be doing them a favor. It was sickening really, how people that basically threw their lives away got to live while Alan, who loved life, slowly died due to illness. How he wished he could end all of them, but he needed pure souls and Alan deserved nothing but that anyway. The woman he followed was a little on the young side, possibly just turned sixteen. She seemed to be on her way home from a shopping trip as she carried a store bag. Seeing no ring on her finger he knew she wouldn't be leaving a family behind, well no children at least. Making sure the coast was clear and with her back to him he raised his blade.
"This won't hurt; I promise you won't feel a thing." Whispering to her she turned frightened by the voice she thought she heard behind her. He brought his blade across her releasing her cinematic record. Seeing he was correct in his judgment he collected her soul. One down, forty nine to go for today, nine hundred ninety nine more to go in total. At least he got past the hard part which was starting this task. He had debated if he should or not while he searched for the right woman. A part of him had been glad when others kept showing up instead. He kept telling himself that this was for Alan, to save his life, for his light, for their future. A thousands souls was nothing compared to all those that got to spend their time with the person they loved the most. He may live longer than them but that didn't mean he didn't want it too, that he didn't deserve it any less. Forever was a long time when you spend it alone. Finding the right person to spend it with made it bearable and once found you did all you could to not lose it.

Alan sat in the single chair in the living room, the only piece of furniture he brought over from his place, reading after Ronald left for the night. He was getting tired but he wanted to wait up for Eric. He figured he would be home soon since it was getting pretty late and they both did have work in the morning. If Eric was planning to have an overnight at the office he would call, well he hoped he would call at least. Trying to keep his mind on his book he noticed he kept pulling from it. Something Ronald told him wouldn't leave his mind. It was nothing bad or even dirty compared to what they had talked about at dinner. It was just a simple observation, one he noticed as well months ago but was okay with. Ronald was cool with it too he just wanted to bring it up. He said he was surprised that he was seeing Eric, that they were together. They were more or less complete opposites when it came to personalities and he didn't see either of them "swinging that way." He had told Ronald the truth when he said that he didn't' either. He didn't believe he liked Eric as more than a friend for years and when he did like him like that he wasn't sure the feeling was mutual. While relationships like theirs were uncommon he knew Eric liked woman and at that time was in a relationship with one. Hearing Eric tell him he had feelings for him that were deeper than friends threw him off guard as well as making him extremely happy. And himself personally, he always daydreamed about woman, about finding the right one and possibly starting a family with them the way his parents had but falling for Eric the way he had and knowing he could be just as happy if not happier with him he easily gave that dream up. He wouldn't give Eric up just to be a father, especially now that he was going to die. He was happy with how things were now and he didn't need anything else.

Hearing the front door slowly opening and the sound of Eric's scythe gently being placed on the wall near the door he stood to greet him. He was glad to know he was finally home.
"Alan. I'm surprised you're still up." Eric stood in the doorway between the kitchen and the walkway to the front door surprised to see Alan come from the living room. By this time he was usually in bed.
"I wanted to wait for you to get home. I saved some dinner for you. I bet you're hungry."
"Nah I'm okay, I don't want to keep you up any longer. I can skip it."
"It's not good to go to bed hungry. Sit." Forcing him in a chair at the table he quickly heated the leftovers up and gave him a plate. Sitting beside him he just smiled and let him take his time. Eric seemed in a good mood considering he just got home from having extra work to do. Eric smiled over at Alan as he ate, he was glad to see him okay and he was in a pretty good mood. He got his goal of fifty tonight, he wouldn't say it got easier but it certainly felt good to know he was that much closer to saving Alan. Easy or not he could do it, he would do it.

As he finished up he placed the plate in the sink and taking Alan's hand brought him in to their bedroom. Quickly changing they both got into bed. Eric wrapped his arms around Alan to hold him close to his body allowing his head to rest behind his ear.
"Thanks for waiting. I love you." *And only nine hundred fifty souls to go.*

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I hope to get this up last night but I got a little side tracked thanks to watching the OVAs from the second season of the series. I hoped to get another chapter written today as well but it's twenty to 2 and I have work at 5:30 so I'm not counting on it. Please review and leave thoughts. Love you!
~Femalefighter~