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Story
+ Angel Hunt ~ Streifen +
Future Effects
Twenty Years brings many changes...
A story collaboration between Angel Hunt and Streifen
Twightlight
[Book 02 : 02]
Once satisfied that his hair will stay in place, the pink and white haired man turns away from the mirror and moves towards the bathroom door, long fingers trailing along the glass encasement as he walks past before he slips out into the large room beyond. Within minutes, the towel that had all too recently been wrapped around his hips is tossed onto the bed; printed briefs and jeans taking its place soon after. Jun uses his foot to latch onto the handle of the dresser drawer while his hands work the brass button of his pants into the buttonhole before he bends in and reaches into the opened drawer to pull a shirt free. The moment his hands wrap around the fabric, a small startled gasp slides free of his mouth when the blonde haired Selestarri’s arms slip around his waist and pull him back. The Angel smiles, closing his eyes briefly when soft lips touch at his neck and his boyfriend’s body presses in tight behind him. With his shirt still in hand, the pink and white haired man turns himself in the Dark’s grip, sliding his own arms up to wrap around his neck just as their mouths meet for a kiss that quickly deepens. Zephyr’s fingers travel down to slim hips, walking Jun back against the dresser behind them before they manage to break. The Selestarri’s lips trail down over smooth skin towards the junction where shoulder meets neck, each small nip and playful bite causing the softest of sounds to slide free of the one in his grip.
“Zeph…” Jun manages as his fingers tangle into dripping strands of white gold, their mouths meeting again for another brief kiss. “If you don’t stop…” he presses in again, moaning softly when the Dark’s hands slide to his thighs and pull him hard against his body, hips grinding during the movement. Pulling back again, deep pink eyes meet spotted blue briefly while he continues. “…it’ll stop snowing before we ever make it out there… and besides…” Tightening his grip in Zephyr’s hair, the pink and white haired Angel breaks the contact again, flashing the other man a sly grin. “…You promised to make me pancakes.”
Zephyr: Slender fingers glide along the glass enclosed shower as Jun exits the bathroom, the thick fog of swirling steam almost completely enshrouding the simple gesture. A smile passes over the Dark’s lips as he steps beneath the showerhead to rinse the soap from his hair, the hot water cascading down toned muscle to puddle at his feet. There’s nothing he doesn’t love about the Angel, the connection they’d forged years earlier only strengthening with the passage of time to become a bond that’s unbreakable. No one could ever hope to capture him more completely than Jun because as far as Zeph’s concerned they simply fail when compared to the one he loves. There is so much about the pink and white haired man that he finds amazing: his deep concern for those he cares about, his stubbornness when he believes in something, the shyness that even now still sometimes makes an appearance, his smile, his limitless, dawn-colored eyes, the feel of that silken skin beneath his hands, the cute little moans and whimpers, or the panting breath on his neck… The Dark stares at the quickly disappearing streaks on the shower glass, heat flaring up through his body. Maybe he’s not quite ready to leave for Sashi’s home just yet…
Shutting off the water, Zephyr steps out onto the thick bath mat, hastily skimming over water drenched skin with a large towel before moving toward the door and carefully easing it open. Jun is just pulling a shirt free from the lowest drawer of his dresser, the bright morning sun highlighting every perfect line and curve of his body. Spots of gold begin to mottle the blonde’s vision as he silently crosses the hardwood floor; the towel left in a crumpled pile, and wraps his arms around the Angel, his mouth seeking the softness of Jun’s throat. It doesn’t matter that they had only stepped from each other’s arms a half hour ago because he never seems to get his fill of the other man. The need to continuously touch him never fades whether it’s been a minute or an hour or a day. How they had ever lived apart he has no idea… Jun turns around without breaking Zeph’s grip, his arms sliding over narrow shoulders just a fraction of a second before lips crash together. Pressing forward, the Dark pushes his boyfriend back a few steps until he’s flush with the dresser, mouths tearing away when breathing becomes a necessity. Needing to taste more, the Selestarri returns to the long line of the Angel’s neck, savoring the smoothness of the skin and the way Jun quietly whimpers when sharp teeth nip playfully.
From far away he hears words, something sounding a lot like a half-hearted protest, but he concentrates instead on slipping his hands down to denim-covered thighs and pulling them tightly together, hips snapping hard in a way that flashes fire along Zeph’s spine. The Angel manages to slide back just a little, hands twisting in long, white-gold strands, a wicked smile moving across his lips when he reminds the Dark about the pancakes. The blonde returns it, fingers trailing up to outline the waistband of printed underwear. “How about I just pour syrup all over you,” his voice is low and teasing, slightly raspy and laced with more then a hint of naughtiness. “And then lick it off...” Zephyr’s lips brush along the line of Jun’s jaw to his ear. “Nice and slow…” A rippling shudder passes through the narrow frame tangled with his own when his tongue grazes the curve of delicate skin. “You taste so much better then a pancake ever could...” The Angel moans again, pink eyes sliding partially closed as they grind together and his body automatically arches, jeans and briefs held in place by the Selestarri’s hands so that the ridge of well-defined hips are exposed. Fire sears with the friction of their skin, burning a path that lights them both up from within.
Fuck, he really wants nothing other than to throw Jun down on the bed and fuck him until he screams, but… as much as he loves messing with the other man like this and loves knowing that his words can have such an effect, the Angel is right, and they aren’t ever going to leave if he doesn’t back off now. He truly is worried about his brother and wants to check in with the older telepath, which means that he needs to calm down and not give in to what he wants. Resting his head on Jun’s shoulder, the Dark takes a moment to try to collect himself, fingers absently stroking along the line of narrow hips. With a sigh, Zeph drops a short, heated kiss to velvet soft lips, everything within him demanding he continue even as he steps away. A pair of boxers appears in his hand when he turns toward the doorway that leads to the great room, gold still flecking his eyes as he tosses a look over his shoulder. “I’ll make these pancakes you’re so insistent about, even if my version would be so much better, but you owe me later,” he teases. “And I fully intend to collect…” With a laugh at the smirk that forms on his boyfriend’s mouth, the Selestarri heads for the kitchen.
Jun: the Angel’s dawn colored gaze remains riveted on the Dark’s lithe form as he moves towards the door, eyes locked on each contour of skin and curve of muscle as the sun shining in from floor to ceiling windows highlights every single detail of his body before he’s robbed of the show when his boyfriend disappears through the doorway and fades completely from view. The pink and white haired man slides tapered fingers up into long feather soft strands, sinking down into a crouch a moment later while allowing a quiet sigh to slip free as he begins the all too familiar process of concentrating enough to calm his body, spending a few minutes to quell the fire the Selestarri had so easily ignited beneath his skin. He’s always sort of wondered if Zeph knew exactly how easily he could turn him on…seriously, half the time all he’d have to do was breathe on him and he’d be ready to go. Actually, Jun smirks to himself as he lifts his head up and stares at the entrance of their shared room, he’s pretty sure Zeph knows this perfectly well and does it on purpose just to fuck with him… He shakes his head in the slightest before letting it fall back against the dresser behind him. It’s not that he’s complaining in any way though because that along with every other small nuance the Dark has is just one more thing he adores about him.
And fuck…to say he was looking forward to his boyfriend ‘collecting’ later on like he said he would, had to be the understatement of the year anyway…
A smile forms on the Angel’s lips as he slides his fingers free of his hair, letting his head drop back down before straightening. Sliding the shirt he still grasps over his head, he moves out into the hall soon after towards the living room beyond. A slight look of disappointment crosses the pink and white haired man’s features when he finds the blonde haired Selestarri moving about the kitchen in prep with his boxers on, teasing words ringing out into the large area a moment later. “You know…” midnight blue eyes glide up to meet pink as the Angel continues into the kitchen himself while rolling the fabric of his shirt completely down over his torso. “I think I liked the idea of you cooking for me naked better…” An amused smirk crosses the Dark’s lips as he reaches back without taking his gaze off his task to slap Jun hard on the ass, pulling a quiet sound from the other man’s mouth.
He slides his hand down and absently rubs at his backside while continuing past, turning towards the counter soon after. The pink and white Angel reaches up to brace, hopping onto the tiled surface before sliding himself around to the front in one fluent movement. Tilting back, slender fingers slip the cupboard door behind him open and reach in to pull a large mixing bowl free just as Zephyr is turning to move towards him. Long pink bangs slip forward as the blonde moves in-between his legs, his own hand sliding over the grip he retains on the bowl as both mouths meet for a kiss that’s soft and sweet. A smile forms on the Dark’s lips when he pulls away, the mixing bowl slipping free of Jun’s grip and into his own before turning back to the center island to resume his task.
“So.” The pink and white haired Angel says while sliding a leg up as he leans across the very edge of the counter, wrapping his arms around soon after and tilting his head to rest his chin at his knee. “What’s your brother working on now? Cause it sure seemed to take him a while to answer this time…”
Zephyr: The taste of the pink and white haired man is still warm on his lips as the Selestarri turns away with the mixing bowl in his hands and steps up to the counter. Leaning over to check on the ingredients already heating in a saucepan on the range, he shakes his head at Jun’s question. “I have no idea. He wasn’t really forthcoming with the details, even when I pressed him in an effort to make conversation. You know how he can be, though…” Trailing off, he takes a wooden spoon from the counter and stirs at the dark, congealing mass before reaching for the container of buttermilk. “I’m sure it’s some article or story for one newspaper or another, probably something that involves a lot of research since he’s so distracted. It’s either that or he’s over deadline and is getting annoyed by the editors.” Measuring out the thick liquid, he pours it into the bowl and adds the necessary amounts of flour and eggs. “Seriously, I don’t even think he really enjoys the writing, just more like it provides a distraction for him. So it’s really like taking on stress and dealing with pushy humans for next to no end result.” God, there are about a thousand things he’d rather do with his time than be constantly harassed by humans. Not that he’s pushing for the eradication of the entire species or anything, because there are some he’s genuinely fond of, but living amongst them was more than enough without constant, direct involvement.
The Dark sighs and stirs the whisk through the batter. “You know I’ve tried to get him involved with the things I do on Nova, because I know he’s lonely, but he insists that the only way to keep everyone content and away from him is to be as withdrawn from our society as possible. Which I understand, I really do, but I also want to see him happy…” The information networks that he runs to keep track of things on Earth, Nova and the Eyrie had started out as a way to watch the Seeker and to make sure that she wasn’t plotting anything against him or his brother, and had gradually evolved to a large network of spies and informants, all carefully placed and most unknown even to one another. The primary purpose remained, mostly because he was still intent on seeing the bitch that had used Sashi and him for so long meet her well-deserved end, but he also was able to secretly control much of what information was passed to those in power. Not that what he does is hidden from most, but the scope of it definitely was, and he’d been careful to make it look as though he only casually listened and sometimes was lucky enough to overhear something that was of interest to others. On more than one occasion he’d offered to get the older telepath more involved, since it was Sashi’s initial takeover of the Seeker’s wire web that had allowed him the access in the first place, but each time Sashi had refused him.
Zeph drops a hunk of butter onto a griddle before turning to look at his boyfriend. “I really do just want my brother to be happy. He’s been through a lot and the loneliness is difficult for him. Over the years he’s gotten pretty good at hiding it, but it’s there—in his eyes, in his voice—and it hurts to see him like that.” The blonde reaches back to stir at the saucepan once again, smearing his fingertips through the indigo colored mixture on the end of the spoon. Turning, he crosses the tile toward the counter where the Angel sits, midnight eyes shifting to meet deep pink. “I know how important it is to have special, amazing things in your life, things you can’t even imagine being without…” Lifting his hand, he offers the blueberry stained fingers to Jun, the other man not even hesitating to wrap long fingers around the Dark’s wrist and draw it to his mouth. Zephyr smiles as the heat of the Angel’s tongue wraps over his fingers as they slip past velvety lips, the sensation lighting a streak of fire down his spine. Their gaze never breaks as the sauce is licked clean in slow, deliberate movements, the hunger for the beautiful man before him rekindling almost instantly. When Jun pulls back with a sly smile, the Selestarri quickly leans in to kiss him, breaking away only when the butter begins to hiss and sizzle.
“Tastes better with you mixed in,” he offers in explanation and then turns to pour the first batch of pancakes. With skill practiced over many years he shapes perfectly round cakes on the griddle before setting the bowl back on the countertop and reaching for the coffee pot. “Anyway, I’m a little worried about Sashi, so it’s good that we’re going to go see him.” He dumps the cold liquid out of his mug from earlier in the morning and refills it along with a clean cup. Handing it to the Angel, he leans against the cabinets and pushes a hand through long, damp strands of white-gold. “Plus you know I can’t refuse a good snowstorm…”
Jun: A small smirk crosses over full lips as dawn colored eyes stare at the Dark before him. “Yeah… about that… You know I’m not built for the cold, seriously, my entire race would probably die if you stuck them anywhere near snow for an extended period of time…” the Angel slides his cup up close to his mouth as a sly grin replaces the smirk soon after, midnight eyes traveling over to watch his movements as he continues to speak directly into his coffee. “So really I think I’m going to require some extra heating while we’re there…” His expression straightens into mock seriousness when Zephyr’s eyebrow quirks and the slight hint of a sly grin of his own cracks at the corners of his mouth. “Come on. You don’t want me to freeze to death or anything do you?” his words pull an amused laugh from the Dark’s lips before he reaches back to slide his coffee cup onto the tile behind him before pushing himself away from the counter and moving towards the heated skillet to flip the switch off.
The pink and white haired Angel takes a sip from his cup before setting it to the side and leaning back against the cabinets behind him, his gaze sliding over to the brightly lit windows framing the large room spanning out. “You know… I still say your brother is a lot like my si-“ Jun’s words stop immediately as he catches himself with a frown, the pause of the other man’s movements only momentary while he remains silent for a few long minutes after. Even now after all these years of being away from that place, he still slips up here and there when it comes to her and he’s not sure if he will ever stop. She may have only been his “sister” for a comparatively short time back then, but she’s still persisted in his thoughts as a blood relation despite knowing full well she is not. “Megumi.” He says finally without pulling his eyes free of the light splashed room at his front. “In ways I guess… only he’s a lot more vocal than she is… I feel bad for him just like I feel bad for her cause you know… they always seem to be missing something. Something super important... Something you just need to be able to live.” Jun sighs softly before turning his head to find his boyfriend’s gaze on him again and he offers him a smile.
“Honestly, I can’t ever tell if your brother even likes me or anything cause he never says much to me but it doesn’t really matter when it comes down to it. He’s your brother and I think he’s cool and all that so I want him to find whatever it is he’s missing so he can be happy too. I think though…” the pink and white haired Angel slides his knee down and hops off the counter a moment later, taking a few short steps to close the distance between he and the Dark. Long tapered fingers slide along Zephyr’s chest, pink eyes watching his own movements as he slowly traces each contour of toned muscle. A smile forms on his lips as the other man’s skin rises in the wake of his fingertips before his gaze slips up to meet midnight eyes he could get lost so easily in. “That maybe he just needs to learn how to open up a bit… cause that’s what did it for us right?” the Selestarri leans down just as he’s leaning up, hands sliding quickly to his hips and grinding his body in so hard that it rips a soft moan from him before he can even stop it. Their lips meet for a very slow, very deep kiss soon after that leaves both men panting by the time they manage to break away.
Jun’s eyes remain closed for a few moments before he opens them to stare down into the bare chest before him while he once again works to calm himself all over again, earlier thoughts and sentences already working themselves from his mind when they’re pressed in this close. Every. Single. Time. He swears, sometimes Zeph makes thinking hard and if they don’t get out now, they really aren’t going to leave because god damn, he seriously wants nothing more right now than to have Zeph throw him across the counter and fuck him until he screams. Actually waiting for the aforementioned ‘collecting’ was going to be a lot harder than it should be, his boyfriend always able to do this to him so easily. Shaking his head in the slightest as his own lack of control even after all this time, the pink and white haired Angel’s gaze slides back up and he flashes him a quick, wicked smile before suddenly ripping himself free of the blonde’s grip and turning to move towards the plate of pancakes resting next to the cooling griddle in the center island. “One of these days he’ll get it…” he says while glancing back, pleased to find he wasn’t the only one having control issues at the moment. “In the mean time, he’s got all of us to keep him company.” turning his attention back to the plate before him, he reaches out to pull one cake free and slides it up to his lips to take a small bite. “So let’s eat and go keep him company…”
Zephyr: Symbols written in blue ink make straight lines down the blank sheet of paper, orderly rows in Chinese that explain to the housekeeper that he and Jun will be gone for several days. Scrawling his name at the bottom, the Dark tears a check free of the bank book and leaves the woman the remainder of her weekly salary plus a bonus so that she can take her small children to the movies. Sliding it halfway under the note, he leaves them both on the countertop and crosses the loft’s great room in search of his boyfriend.
The pink and white haired man stands beside one of the dressers in their room, his back to the door way as he shifts through the contents of an open drawer. Midnight eyes trace over the Angel’s slim outline for a moment, more than familiar with the lines of Jun’s body, every curve and muscle, every inch of pale skin. The blonde knows him like no one else does, inside and out, physically, emotionally, and telepathically, but even with the deepness of the connection between them, Zeph never fails to be amazed by the one he loves so much. The happiness he’s had over the past twenty years is unparalleled by anything that he’d experienced before he met Jun, things that as a kid he had once thought so important were completely overshadowed by the gifts the Angel gave to him. He’s lucky to have someone so special and he knows it, not letting a moment slip away when he’s not thankful to have the other man in his life.
“Just choose the pink one,” he says after a minute has passed, a smirk slipping over his mouth when dawn-colored eyes turn toward him. Shooting the Selestarri a mock-disgusted look, Jun pulls both the pink and black sweater free from the drawer and turns to the bed, dropping the items into the open suitcase before tugging the zipper closed. Zephyr’s own hastily packed bag also sits on the bed, as well as a pair of blue tinted ski goggles and his new ski boots. Each item disappears as he pulls it into the magical pocket dimension that surrounds his body, the weight settling around him with only the slightest amount of discomfort. The Angel slips the fabric of a heavy shirt over his head and the Dark winds a scarf around his neck before stepping up behind the narrow form of his boyfriend. His arms immediately encircle the slender waist, hands teasingly running up and over Jun’s chest as his face nuzzles the long strands of feather soft hair and their bodies meet flush. A quiet sound that only vaguely resembles the protest it’s supposed to be, issues from the other man and Zeph laughs. “What?” He teases, nipping playfully at the curve of the Angel’s ear. “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t going to be cold when we arrived, that’s all…”
Glowing lines of white energy appear in the air as he draws the pattern to teleport, setting the spell to take them directly into Sashi’s study. He’s never able to surprise the older Dark no matter how hard he tries to sneak up since his and Jun’s magic gives them away long before they reach the telepath’s physical presence. However, if Sashi really is locked down with work then he’s bound to be at his computer right now, and so maybe this time their arrival really will be a surprise. Holding tightly to the one he loves, Zeph activates the spell and lets the world fall away in a wash of black…
Lan: the sounds of fingers tapping the keyboard has once again filled the room, the air thick with a blanket of smoke shifting high above them in the study they both sit in. Yellow eyes remain closed to his surroundings, the burning cigarette held in between scarred fingers barely noticed as his forehead remains propped against the wooden frame of the window he rests nearby. He feels a bit drained, tired and a little run down. He had been practicing the control of the fire inside of him for the last few weeks, but not enough apparently to call it good yet. The wings he’d worked so hard to produce, the ones he showed Sashi only hours before and the amount of control needed to keep the Dark from being burned within the flames seems to have taken a small toll on his body.
One day, and with enough time given to refine the magic they forced inside of him, he’ll have full control over it. Enough to where it won’t run him down in any way, enough to where it won’t fight him any longer. What he’d told Sashi had been so true… the will, the desire to master it – these were new feelings, new determinations shifting inside his mind, all there because of the man who so diligently works behind him. A man who’s given him reason to live again, one he wants to protect and hold close and never let go, one he doesn’t want to hurt with an ability he can’t control. One day he will control it. He’ll master it instead of being at the mercy of it. One day he won’t feel so drained simply by extending the thought needed to subdue what he should easily be able to subdue considering it was and has been very much a part of him for more years than he can remember now.
A soft sigh slips free as the white haired Bright slides the smoldering stick up to his lips and takes a long drag, the typing behind him stopping as he does so. Sun warmed eyes slide open a moment later, Lan lifting his head and turning to meet the thundercloud colored grey gaze as a slight reassuring smile forms on his mouth. [I think… I may have to lay down for an hour or two… I am… tired…]
Sashi: Long, tattooed fingers momentarily slip away from the keyboard in order to flip over a page of handwritten notes, the soft tapping of the keys only interrupted for the briefest of moments. Gray eyes stare at the screen as it fills with words, the article he’s working on flowing seamlessly together in the peaceful atmosphere of the study. Cigarette held between his lips, curls of white cigarette smoke twist into the air before joining the thick cloud that hovers near the ceiling, the line of ash occasionally breaking off to land on the table top if he doesn’t get to it fast enough. Even with the majority of his concentration on his work, the telepath is still acutely aware of the one who sits quietly beside the windows, each of his senses filled with the presence that has become so familiar. Lan is once again staring out into the falling snow, his head leaning against the wooden slats that section off the window and a cigarette held loosely between scarred fingers.
Their conversation in the forest from earlier in the morning had left the Dark with a feeling of lightness inside him that he had never experienced, as if he’d been carrying something heavy and had finally set it down. It’s an odd sensation and one that he can’t fully explain other than to acknowledge that it’s occurring. He doesn’t know what it means or why he feels that way, only that Lan is the cause of it, that somehow the Bright is having this effect on him. It scares him too, though, and threatens to bring up a backwash of old emotions that he’s tried hard to forget over the years. All his dealings with others, even Aki and Zeph, have been strained in some form, filled with hurt, rejection, and pain, and he’s afraid that it’s all going to happen again. He’s trying, he really is, but he also knows that in some ways he’s making a mess of things and that even his best efforts may still see everything unravel around him in the end.
The white-haired Selestarri sighs and brings the smoldering cigarette up to his lips in a well-practiced motion, drawing Sashi’s attention away from the lines on the laptop screen and his own tangled thoughts. Sun warmed eyes shift to meet his and a soft smile spreads across full lips, Lan’s quiet words touching his mind just a moment after. The Dark nods, reaching up to brush long strands of raven hair from his face and placing his cigarette in the grooves of the ashtray. [Go ahead and rest, I’m just going to work on this all day.] He knows that Lan needs more sleep, the nightmares that plague him cutting his rest short on most nights and taking a toll on the other man that’s obvious despite how hard he tries to hide it. However, he’s much too well versed in both those subjects for that to ever happen and he sees through the attempts with ease. Now if only he knew a way to help…
The telepath rises to his feet as the Bright does, the tingle of heat rising just beneath his skin when Lan brushes his fingers along the sleeve of Sashi’s kimono. Even the smallest of the gentle touches lent to him have this effect, creating something that he hasn’t felt and that no one else has been able to do in a long time. It takes the edge off the damage within and fills some of the cracks that are all throughout, making him feel as though maybe he can be complete and unbroken someday. Like maybe he can be cared about and special to a person that understands him… Slowly Sashi becomes aware that Lan is still standing close and looking at him and he gathers his thoughts back together and forces his mind to make words. [Yamashita-san has asked what we’d like for—] His sentence is cut short as magic flares sharply across the Dark’s senses, the identity of the two who now stand beside the windows known to him before he even turns around…
Lan: there is no thought, nothing coherent that comes to his mind when a long absent yet horribly familiar scent hits his nose only moments after the two figures slide into view before he and the Dark in the quiet, smoke filled study room.
Two distinct magics. Two very distinct scents. One that belongs to an unfamiliar Dark and the other that belongs to an Angel.
An Angel.
The smell of the second man permeates into him; a sickening scent that he’d never wanted to experience again, one that forces its way inside and twists through his senses without mercy. A smell attached to creatures he swore long ago he’d repay for the cruelty and the pain that had been inflicted upon him over the last nearly twenty years. A scent that carries nothing but horrible memories of the suffering they caused, the hurt he felt, the tears he’s shed, the blood taken, the screams that ring inside of his ears, the nightmares that he can’t escape, the images that rob him of his sleep and the reminder of a life they stole from him. Angels hurt him. Angels do nothing but maim and kill. They are cruel, sadistic creatures that took pleasure in his prolonged suffering over the years. Angels stripped him of everything that he was; his life, the one he loved, his home, his body and his wings. Angels mutilated him. Angels forced the fire inside, forced themselves inside. Angels bring only misery and pain. Pain. Nothing but pain. Angels bring nothing but tears and pain and now there’s an Angel in the room with them.
There’s an Angel in the room with them right now.
Yellow eyes barely have time to widen as the realization of that fact sinks in while he stares down into grey before instantly filming over into white. Old memories rise up in his mind and the screams begin to flare so loudly within his ears. The pain from each and every scar that marks his flesh explodes hard beneath his skin, ripping through his mind’s eye as solidly as the day he’d gotten them all. His thoughts jumble and blur as panic swiftly sets in moments later. Panic and fear as he realizes that they must have finally found him. The must have found him and have come to take him back. He hadn’t run far enough, hadn’t fled far enough from the States to be safe and so they must have tracked him down. They traced him to Sashi’s place and now they’re here to retrieve him, they’re here to take him back. He’ll be taken in again, brought to another lab and it’ll start all over again. But before they take him and strip him down, they’ll kill the person in front of him just like they killed her and they’ll make him watch just like they did before. It’s his fault they’re here and it’ll be his fault if Sashi dies because of it. He won’t watch another person he cares for die at their hands, he won’t let them strip away his reason to live right after he’d found it again, he won’t. He’ll die before he’ll let them take Sashi the way that they took her, he’ll die before he goes back. He promised to stay, promised to show Sashi what it means to love, promised to protect him. He will protect him. He’ll die to protect him.
“No…” the Bright’s desperate whisper is lost so quickly as the fire explodes out from his slender frame before he can think to stop it, ripping into the room that surrounds them and burning everything in its wake save the man standing before him. Without thought and without hesitation, Lan reaches out for the raven haired telepath to pull him close, twisting the Dark’s slim frame behind his body just as filmed eyes jet up to meet stunned pink and equally bewildered blue while the paper walls and tatami mats begin to sizzle and crack beneath the intense heat streaming out all around him. “I won’t let you!” the Bright hisses at the figure before him, his thoughts too jumbled, the fear too strong to notice anything but his pink and white haired mark. Flames twist around his body, unbridled spirals of red and orange heat exploding from Lan as Jun and Zephyr yell out in surprise, having no time to react as thick tendrils stream towards them both.
The only thoughts that repeat through the white haired Selestarri’s mind are his desire to protect the man he clings so desperately to behind him and the need to kill the one at his front in order to do it while the room begins to burn around them all…
Zephyr: What the fuck is going on? Who the hell is this unfamiliar Bright and why is he standing in his brother’s study? Except this isn’t just a Bright, but something else, something more… He senses Angelic and another type of magic, something raw and unrefined, like it’s pulled right from the elements of the Earth itself. How the fuck is that even possible? Before he can say anything, hell before they even fully materialize, those milky eyes are glaring at the two of them, sliding over him in a quick second before shifting their full malice to the pink and white haired man whose waist he’s still wrapped around. Heat, thick and scorching, explodes from the white-haired Selestarri without warning, and both he and Jun throw their arms up in a last ditch effort to ward off the blast.
Pain flares along his skin as the wave washes over them, reddened flesh taking the brunt of the attack. Zeph looks to Sashi, but the slender telepath is being pushed behind the Bright. It would be comical, someone trying to protect a Selestarri as powerful as his brother, if the man wasn’t still leveling a death glare at his boyfriend. Midnight eyes look down at the Angel, his arms just as scorched as Zeph’s. Anger surges deep inside the Dark, cold tendrils that instantly spread throughout his entire body, freezing everything in its wake and locking him in icy rage. Oh fuck no. No one hurts the person he loves, no one. White tinged gold floods his vision, the barriers that contain his magic dropping easily away as he steps around Jun to take the brunt of a burst of fire. The Angel’s cry of pain only adds to the frigid chill that’s quickly threatening to turn his blood into ice. He doesn’t care who the hell this piece of shit Bright is or why he’s standing in Sashi’s house of all places, all he knows is that Jun is being hurt and that’s unacceptable.
The smell of burnt cloth and singed hair add to the choking thickness of the air, the room around them only seconds from bursting into flame. Body tensed, the blonde springs at the white-haired Selestarri, the crystal bladed long sword appearing in his hand as the short distance between them is crossed…
Sashi: Yanked backward by Lan’s grip on his kimono, Sashi stumbles for a moment, recovering just as intense heat fills the room. Although none of it reaches him, he can see the Bright’s skin blister with the strength of it, his mind too filled with fear and anger to bother with protecting himself. The psychic backlash from the white-haired man sinks through their telepathic connection, desperate and terrified by the sudden appearance of an Angel. Gray eyes shift to gold as the raven-haired Dark works to shut Lan out, difficult to do when he cares about the other man and doesn’t want to see him go through this. To have a member of a race that tortured you appear out of nowhere would snap anyone’s emotional restraint, however when most people lost it they only became enraged, but in Lan’s case, things burned. Cries of pain come from across the room, followed by the glow of Zeph’s eyes through the smoky haze. Fuck, he needs to get things under control before one of them gets seriously hurt and his house burns down. His brother is extremely protective, especially of Jun, and there’s no way he’ll hold back when he perceives there to be a threat.
Untangling his kimono from Lan’s fingers, Sashi sinks to the floor in a squat, shining blue symbols appearing under his hands and over the walls and ceiling when they touch the tatami mats. Rotating the lattice until the trigger pattern is beneath his fingers, he threads in the magic to activate the barrier that will protect the house from burning. Straightening up, he reaches out to touch the Bright’s shoulder. [Lan…] He’s a fraction of a second too late, however, because his brother has already launched himself at the white-haired Selestarri, sword drawn and cold anger clearly written across his face. A gout of fire streams from Lan’s outstretched hand, white hot and aimed directly for the younger Dark. Zephyr twists sharply to the side, landing lightly before kicking out and catching the Bright in the chest. The white-haired Selestarri goes flying past Sashi, slamming hard into a section of the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, the smoldering contents spilling to the floor amidst broken splinters of wood. The air flickers as Zeph materializes directly in front of the prone Bright, sword swinging down in a shimmering arc. Lan dodges at the last moment, the blade sinking into the wood beside his head, and scarred fingers reach up to wrap around the metal hilt of the weapon, sizzling sparks dancing up and around Zeph’s hands, forcing him to let go of the suddenly heated sword with a hiss of pain. Even as he pulls away, a new weapon appears in the blonde’s grip, the light half-staff landing with a loud crack across the side of Lan’s face, snapping his head back.
From the corner of his eye, Sashi catches movement through the smoke, Jun treading on silent feet with his sword drawn. [I’ll deal with it,] he tells the Angel, not bothering to glance at him again as he crosses over the ruined tatami mats, symbols spinning into the air as his hands move in quick flashes. Reaching between the two men, he tries to push Zeph away, the younger Selestarri resisting until the wall of glowing magic ripples into existence and forcibly shoves him back. [Knock it the fuck off, the two of you—] Sashi’s words are interrupted as Lan throws himself at Zephyr, maddened with a fear so deep it practically seeps from him and heedless of the barrier that now divides them. Blood drips from his nose and mouth, and a sickening red mark mars the pale skin of his cheek, his milky white eyes seeming not to see Sashi as he moves past. Without hesitation, the telepath unleashes a psionic attack, spearing deeply into the Bright’s mind and short-circuiting his nervous system, sending him into an unmoving heap on the floor.
Turning to his brother, Sashi’s golden eyes meet Zeph’s own, the younger Selestarri all cold and ice as his gaze returns the fallen Bright. There’s very little left of his sanity in that look, the rage of their faction triggered by the attacks and his inherent need to protect Jun. Long fingers tighten on the haft of the short staff, the weapon arcing down so fast that it’s only a blur in the smoke filled air. Sashi is faster, though, and his psionics lash out to knock his brother unconscious as well…
Jun: A cold and terrified milk colored gaze meets his only a moment after the white haired stranger’s scent hits his nose, taking him completely by surprise. Not even the stifling wall of smoke that surrounds them or the blazing fire that dances throughout the room can mot out the faint smell of his own race connected to the figure before them but before the pink and white haired man even has time to react to it, unforgiving heat twists towards he and the Dark, giving them only a fraction of a second to throw their arms up in a futile attempt to shield themselves from the fire aimed directly at him. A mixed cry of pain and surprise is ripped free of his mouth, the Angel’s eyes shooting up to see Zephyr’s flare into gold and before Jun can get out a word to stop him, his boyfriend has pulled himself away from him and is moving through the swirling mass of grey towards the Bright.
Fuck, so not good. He can tell that Zeph is losing it, he’s seen it happen before when shit goes down. He has no clue what’s going on; he doesn’t know who the fuck that person is or how and why he’s able to be doing what he’s doing but there’s no way in hell he’s going to sit back and watch while the person he loves goes so far off the deep end that he gets burnt alive by whatever fucked up magic is streaming off that guy while attempting to keep him safe. Jun’s weapon is summoned only moments after the blonde’s, his body remaining still for the space of a few heartbeats while he watches as the unfamiliar man and Zephyr go at each other to find an opening he can jump into. Quickly seeing an opportunity, the pink and white haired Angel moves swiftly towards the pair, coming to an abrupt halt the moment Sashi’s words reach his mind. He’s about to open his mouth to protest, but only nods instead, despite the telepath being focused solely on the two men as they continue to fight before them.
The thick smoke that shifts in suffocating clouds and the overpowering heat from the fire that dances throughout the study all end abruptly the moment the white haired Bright falls unconscious to the floor, as if the flames themselves had been spilling from his now crumpled form and had suddenly been sucked back inside. Jun is about to yell out to Zeph when he realizes that he’s still aiming to strike the other, only to have his words cut short as he watches his boyfriend go down as well. His own weapon fades in mid movement as he darts forward, falling onto his knees and sliding tapered fingers beneath the blonde’s neck to lift him up and pull him close to his body, relief washing over him as he finds Zeph to be relatively unharmed. The pain from the burn wounds that riddle his arms is completely lost as the Angel reaches up with his free hand and carefully sweeps tangled strands of white gold away from the Dark’s closed lids before his early dawn colored gaze slides up to find the raven haired Selestarri kneeling besides the stranger himself. Cradling the blonde close to his body with a bewildered look pasted on his features, Jun simply stares at his boyfriend’s brother while he tends to the other man before he finally manages to pull his thoughts back together enough to speak.
“Okay… can you tell me what the fuck just happened… please?”
Sashi: The heady smell of blood mixed with magic calls to him like a siren song, urging him to take it all in, to let loose of the control he holds to so tightly. The combination always has this effect on those of his faction, but he needs to contain himself, and the Angel’s question allows him to focus his attention and ignore the dangerous scents. Golden eyes take a moment to lift from the unconscious Bright, sweeping over the two young men before meeting deep pink. The care with which Jun cradles his brother, the protective way he keeps Zeph close to his body and the gentleness as he touches his face, this is the kind of love that Sashi desires. There is no one who loves the blonde more than the Angel, it’s in the slender pink and white haired man’s every word, every action, every thought, every breath... He wants to be as special to someone as Zeph is to Jun, to know that no matter what happens in his life someone will love him for who he is.
Tattooed fingers press lightly against Lan’s chest where they lie near his heart, as if in some way they can transmit the longing inside the telepath into something the Bright can understand. Something without all of Sashi’s fucked up attempts at explaining, something that lets Lan know that he cares for him, even if none of it is clear in his own head yet. He has never shared his home and his life with anyone outside of Aki, but these last few weeks have been so peaceful and so easy, without the constant loneliness or hurt, and he wonders if this is how it feels to be in a relationship. Lan treats him like someone special, someone deserving of love, but whether that’s what the Bright truly thinks of him, or if it’s just the hopeful wishing of his head isn’t known…
“This is my houseguest,” Sashi begins, fiery golden eyes glancing down momentarily to the one he kneels beside. “His name is Lan and your presence is what set him off.” Surprise flashes over the Angel’s pale features, but the Dark continues before Jun can speak. “Your kind has held him captive, tortured him, used him like a lab rat, and tried to strip away all that he is for almost twenty years. They took everything from him and forced their own genetics and the fire magic into him. He lost his whole life and believed the rest of the Selestarri to be destroyed until he arrived here.” Until Lan had come to his home and set his whole world spinning… Long fingers absently trace along the line of the Bright’s bloodstained kimono. “Given all that, can you blame him for striking without warning?”
The Dark’s attention shifts abruptly as a new presence draws closer to the charred study, and he quickly rises to his feet. “In a moment I’ll help you get Zeph to your room, but first my housekeeper wants to know if the place is burning down…”