WARNING: This story contains rape,  violence and non-consensual elements.  Please read with caution.

CONTINUED...

On the other side of the bar, Kyou was wondering why Aloys was there and why he kept thinking the vampire was watching him.

He felt himself get red again and grow hot. He got himself a drink and unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt to try to cool off.

With a sigh to himself, Kyou grabbed a tray of drinks and brought them over to the table he had been waiting on. No one would make eye contact with him and they started to mumble amongst themselves once his back was turned.

Not that he cared much but it was still bugging him. He thought it could be from the other time when those guys had come in, but he figured bloodshed and disputes like that were something that was common among Aloys' kind. Even the spat between the vampire and Mew had done little to deter the snarky comments and the harassment that Kyou had still occasionally experienced.

He placed his tray back on the counter top and leaned against the side of the counter. He glanced over once again at the vampire's table and caught his smoldering glare.

Kyou shivered and turned away before he scurried around the bar. Kyousuke's heart was racing and he put his hands over his flaming cheeks as he tried to direct his mind away from what his brain was deciding to remind him of for the hundredth time tonight.

He heard a voice behind him ask for a Rusty Nail, and without looking, he began to mix the drink. When he turned around to push the drink across the counter, a hand gently covered his for a moment before Kyou had the chance to retract it.

The action made him look up and he saw a man with dark and warm eyes looking at him.

"Is there something else you wanted?" He couldn't help but ask.

"No, not particularly," the man smiled.

In his mind Kyousuke knew that this man was most likely not human, but the aura put him at ease. It made him curious.

"What's your name?" Kyou asked before he could stop himself.

"It's Ryker," he responded with a small smile and a quick sip of his drink. "How are you feeling, by the way?"

Kyousuke's eyes narrowed. "I'm fine, thanks."

"Sorry, that came out weird," Ryker laughed lightly after seeing Kyousuke's reaction. " I asked merely from a medical perspective. I treated you when you were...incapacitated."

Kyou let out an "Oh," before he blushed, slightly embarrassed. "So, you're a doctor?"

"That I am. I usually don't treat humans, but Aloys was quite persistent," he smiled.

Kyou found himself leaning closer towards Ryker.

"Aloys brought you to me? Well, I guess Lyall said something like that, anyway, thank you," he said with a small smile in return.

Ryker nodded. "It wasn't a problem." He took a another swallow before he continued, "Actually, coming over here, I had another motive. You fascinate me."

Ryker leaned closer toward Kyou on his elbows.

"M-me?" Kyou asked with surprise. "I fascinate you?"

The other man chuckled. "Yes. Well, more specifically, your body. You see, I don't think you are all human. Aloys told me about how you met and it's very strange for humans to see us from the Otherworld."

Kyou swallowed. "Is it? I've been able see them since I was little. I don't like doctors because they told me I was delusional and stuck me on antipsychotic medications. But now I know I'm not crazy," he babbled.

It felt strange to be telling someone this, especially someone he'd just met, but maybe Ryker could help him…

"So, do you think I have some sort of sight or something?"

"Well it's hard to tell. It's seems deluded so much that it's probably an ancestor that was from our world, but without more tests it's hard to tell anything."

Ryker finished his drink. "A Buttery Nipple, if you would be so kind," he grinned and pushed his empty glass towards Kyou.

Kyousuke coughed out a laugh, and said, "I'll get right on that," he said.

As he mixed the kahlua and vodka, he thought about what Ryker said. Could he be part something that wasn't human? Kyou didn't like the sound of tests though and he was very much against being a guinea pig again.

He turned back to Ryker, "I don't know…"

"Well, if you are against it, I won't push you. The process in unlocking you're Otherworld blood could be very painful, I won't lie. Anyways, give it some more thought," he slid Kyousuke his business card as he took the drink with a slow wink. "Thanks, Kyousuke. And about Aloys, please don't judge him too harshly. He's been carrying a lot of guilt and pain for a long time.

He may not be an easy demon to like, but he's loyal to his friends. I hope you can see that someday."

Kyou watched as Ryker stood and with a raise of his glass he disappeared into the crowd that was suddenly there of dozens of demons demanding all sorts of alcoholic drinks. He watched the spot Ryker had been for a moment longer before he turned and began to make the various drinks that were being shouted at him.

***

After the hectic rush of drinks were mostly made and he only had a few orders left, Kyou noticed that he was out of fruit. With a frown and an irritated sigh, he made his way to the storage room in the back.

He gathered the correct jars of fruit in his arms and turned around. A few inches away from him was Aloys.

He let out a startled yelp before he was pushed back against the shelves.

"What were you talking about with Ryker?" Aloys asked him roughly.

Kyou was confused for a moment before he gathered himself. "I don't see how that's any of your business."

Aloys growled and pressed him back against the shelves harder.

"You're hurting me!" Kyou exclaimed, nearly dropping the glass jars as he tried to struggle into a less painful position.

Aloys immediately let go and took a step back. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and let out a long suffering sigh.

"Im sorry," he apologized after a long moment of silence. It caught Kyousuke off guard. "That's not why I followed you back here, love."

"Well, then why did you?" Kyou asked with narrowed eyes.

Aloys stuck his hands in the pockets of his slacks. "I wanted to say sorry for the other night…"

Kyou stood there awkwardly with jars digging into his arms. He put them down on a box near him and then rubbed the marks on his arms as he thought about what Ryker said about Aloys.

"Its fine," he said quietly, "I never thanked you for saving me from those assholes from the bar. And from when we first met, actually."

He watched the expressions change on Aloys' face at Kyousuke's words.

"It wasn't… I- you're welcome. It was my fault you were in that situation in the first place," he fumbled, and Kyou could have sworn that the vampire was blushing before he began to stare a hole into the floor. "Is your, ah, neck ok?"

Kyou nodded and put a hand to the spot in reflex.

"Um… Aloys?"

"Yes?"

"Are we...friends?"

The question made the vampire snap back up to Kyousuke's.

"Why would you say that?"

Kyou shrugged casually, but inside he quivering in fear. Now that he asked the question, he was afraid of the answer. "Something that Ryker said, I guess…"

Aloys stared hard at him now.

"Do you want to be, love?"

Kyou nodded quickly before he could stop himself.

"Then sure."

Kyou blushed and turned to grab the jars again. "Well, good. Glad that's settled," he said quickly. "I am going to leave now."

Aloys nodded and moved out of the way. "Right. I'm going home," he said just as awkwardly as Kyousuke felt. "See you...at home."

With that, he left in a swirl of shadow.

Kyou was jittery the rest of his shift, the whole night replaying both conversations in his head. For some reason he felt really good and talked almost nonstop to Mew and even Enoch.

When the night was finally over he let out a sigh of relief and quickly collected his things.

Enoch met him at the back door and lead him to the car. Kyou climbed in and sat with his bag clutched in his lap.

Silence started to choke him as they began the drive back home. He stopped himself at the thought: home. It wasn't just Aloys' home anymore, it was now his as well. He felt himself blush.

"So, Enoch," he found himself babbling to distract his brain from its self, "Um, I know I'm not in any position to interfere, but you might want to be more careful…"

Enoch was quiet and his face was the same as ever, but Kyou felt the need to elaborate and he couldn't stop now even though he wanted to.

"With Kain, I mean… You really shouldn't be doing that in the bar…" he said slowly and with a peek at Enoch.

In the lamp light from the street, he could see a heavy blush across Enoch's dark cocoa skin. It surprised him so much, he didn't dare say any more until they reached the house.

"Well, um, good night! Thanks!" Kyou thanked Enoch hurriedly and exited the car. He quickly went inside, but as he pushed open the door, Kain was pulling it.

This caused them to lightly crash into one another.

"Oh! Sorry!" Kain said in reflex.

He saw it was Kyou and gave the other human a slight glare.

Kyou ignored him and pushed passed inside. He shut the door as he watched Kain scoot into the front seat and with an arm wrapped around Enoch's neck, pulled the demon in for a kiss.

With another blush, Kyou slammed the door shut. He shook his head in an attempt to disregard the scene he witness and made his way to the kitchen to drop his stuff onto the table and eat something.

As he heated a quick meal in the microwave, he thought back once more to the things Ryker had said.

He was thinking so hard, he didn't notice Aloys had entered the room to greet him.

"What are you thinking so hard about, love?" He asked, frightening Kyou to the point he let out a sound that was a mixture of a donkey bray and a chicken cluck.

"Oh my," Aloys said in a choked voice.

"Dont laugh!" Kyou snapped and pouted as he took out his food.

Aloys did anyways. "That sounded very strange, Kyousuke," he commented and followed Kyou into the living room.

The human sat on the couch cross-legged and began to eat. He considered ignoring Aloys but he was uncomfortable with vampire staring at him eat.

Every bite from plate to mouth was followed by Aloys' eyes. It was creepy.

"Do you miss being human?" he asked, than regretted it. He wasnt sure if that was safe subject.

Aloy shrugged and sat down heavily. "Not really. But I don't like being like this either."

"Oh." Well Kyou figured as much, but he hadn't expected Aloys to come right out and say it.

"I miss the sunlight the most," Aloys continued in an almoat wistful tone, "But not in the way you'd think. I miss lying in a warm bed after a good night sleep and seeing the light streaming onto my bed and lighting up everything it touched."

Kyou didn't know how to respond. He thought as he ate. "Sometimes I miss being a child," he said after a moment of chewing.

Aloys looked at him blankly. "I don't see how that is relevant."

Kyou put down the food for a moment. "Well, I miss being impressed by things. I feel like when your a kid, there is so much you dont know, you know? Now, I kind of feel like that again."

The vampire was really looking at him. "How so?"

Kyou felt his face heat up. "Well, this," he gestured at the room than at Aloys. "You, everything. I never knew that I would experiancing this first hand and its really thrown me for a loop..."

Aloy gave a toothy grin and leaned closer to Kyousuke. "You are very strange for a human," he said thoughtfully.

"I'd like to think I'm average, " Kyousuke argued back, alittle offended. "I think you're a very weird vampire."

Aloys laughed. "Maybe thats true."

He leaned forward more and now was almost caging Kyousuke in. "You should get some sleep."

Kyousuke's mouth felt dry. He nodded but didn't move. Aloys was close like they had been at Pandora, like they had been in the study, but he wasn't nervous or afraid this time.

It was a weird feeling that started in his stomach and ended up in his throat and he couldn't explain it.

Aloys seemed to be able to read his thoughts. "I don't know what it is about you that makes you different than the others. It's the strangest thing. "

Guilt squeezed his heart as Rykers words screamed at him like a warning sign as they flashed in his mind. Would Aloys be disapointed to find out that he might not be fully human? Would he lose interest in him? Would he abandon him like so many before when they grew tired of him?

The feeling in Kyou's stomach turned nauseousness and he quickly averted his eyes.

"I'm going to bed," he said, somewhat aggressively, and grabbed his stuff before marching up the stairs without another word to Aloys.

The vampire watched him go with a slight frown as he thought about things he hadn't thought about in years.

The painful memories made him get to his feet, and he also retired to his room as if to escape them.

Inside his room he sat at the side of his bed and looked in a gold gilded hand mirror. His face was sharp, his two colored eyes haunted, and his almost white skin was sickly looking. Aloys bared his teeth at his reflection and what he saw irked him to no end.

He hated being this way, truthfully, but he was used to it. He disliked change, but being stuck like this was also irritating beyond comprehension.

Aloys thought back to what Kyousuke said and he sighed out of habit. After he placed the mirror back on the side table, he laid down, looking up at the canopy.

Sometimes when he closed his eyes he could go back. Back to a time when he could feel the sunlight on his face without constant stinging and the cool spring breeze would whistle in the grass, surounding him as he hid from his teachers.

"Being a child, huh? Well, you make me wonder, too, Kyousuke. I never know what you are going to do next..."