Post by Hikaru on Nov 9, 2009 5:22:43 GMT -5
After Hikaru left to chase after Nikul, Aydryan had spoken to Jo'elle a bit longer and then went to his office in the back of Fangbangers. His own irritation concerning Nikul was distracting him and making it difficult for him concentrate on the paperwork. However, when the flash of fear came to him from Hikaru, he stopped everything he was doing. He frowned and stood up after the connection was cut off, trying to decide if the fear was a result of something Nikul was doing or.....something else. Deciding it was best to lock up and go after Hikaru, Aydryan closed the door of his office and locked it. As he was moving through the main room to speak to Jeanette the bartender, he was stopped in his tracks of blinding pain exploded along his side. He fell to the ground, curling up around the sensation even after the link between them was closed again. Now he was afraid. The bartender came around to help him up asking concerned questions. It took him a moment to finally convince his body that it was not injured. For a split second he had been able to see through Hikaru's eyes. He had seen the demon, seen the Fae go flying away from his extended hands and then felt the lamp post crush into his chest. Once he able to function steadily, he left the bar in a hurry, running around the side of the building toward the skating rink, but by the time he arrived....there was no one there. He saw spattered blood on the ice. He saw where the ice had been cracked and crushed in several places and he spotted the damaged tree. Carefully, he opened their link and searched along it, finally touching upon a heavily shielded Hikaru. He was able to figure out that his lover had returned to their home. At that moment he began running, disappearing into the shadows toward the nearest entrance to the catacombs. He arrived at their apartment, swinging the door open and closed with a resounding slam and called out, "HIKARU!!!"
Hikaru leaned gingerly against the wall in the living room, his eyes closed, jaw tight. He jumped at the slamming door and instantly winced, grinding his teeth. Still, he didn't dare reopen the link between them. Slowly, violet eyes slid to the entrance to the room “In here.” His strained and clipped voice whispered. His hand was loosely wrapped around his torso, under his unbuttoned shirt, gently exploring the extent of the injury. He had had his ribs broken many times before, but this... was different. His ribs had not actually been just broken, but shattered. His left side a malformed mass of reddened bruise.
As soon as he spotted Hikaru leaning against the wall, he spun on his heal and ran to the bathroom, returning with a wet cloth. A dark frown rode his lips as he stopped before Hikaru. With one hand he lifted the tail of his lover's shirt. As soon as he saw the injury, he hissed, his eyes erupting in watery light. "You should not have moved, Hikaru.....," he let go of the shirt and lifted his other hand. The cloth was warm as he wiped at Hikaru's face, cleaning away the blood that had dried there. His brows were knit in thought as he did this. "They'll have to be pushed back into place and then wrapped." As he spoke, his eye was on the movement of the washcloth. Then his gaze lifted to meet violet eyes, "You'll have to let me in...switch with me...I can handle this better than you. You can manipulate the ribs and wrap it up. Let me suffer this for you." His one eye was filled with concern for Hikaru, his touch gentle. "Please..."
Brows furrowed as violet eyes met turquoise for a moment, his hand slowly reached up and cupped Ayd's wrist, moving his hand to lay lightly against his side. “I.. didn't want.. you to feel this much.” His voice strained further even at that light touch. Ayd's fingers could feel the softness of the side, unnatural with its small bumps of bone underneath. He knew however, that Aydryan had made up his mind, at least in part. “Are you sure... you... want to... do this?”
Aydryan smiled softly and leaned in to kiss Hikaru lightly. His hand rested a breath above the bruised and knotted flesh. Imagination was a wonderful and terrible thing, because it could let your mind visualize beneath that tortured flesh and see the scattered bone fragments. He whispered, "You keep forgetting, Love...that my pain threshold is very high. I can handle this. I want to handle this for you. You have suffered so much in your life, let me take this pain from you. Let me shield you for once. I feel that I have failed so far in this relationship. I never seem to be in the right, or maybe, wrong place."
Hikaru's hand slid up his arm, over his shoulder and gripped firmly for a moment as a wave of pain forced him to pause, then return the kiss. Slowly he let his shields slip down, like pulling a cloth off a painting, giving only the smallest of glimpses. Even dropping the shields, Ayd would be able to feel the pain and he didn't want him to have it crash into him, but gradually build. His fingers tangled in the deep red hair at the base of his head, not letting him pull away as he continued to feather kisses against his lips.
Aydryan's lips were soft beneath Hikaru's as his eye closed, feeling the connection between them begin to clear as the shields were lowered. As the pain grew, his body tightened and his lips faltered beneath Hikaru's. The hand close to the shattered ribs drew away lest he accidentally touch them unexpectedly and cause more pain. The slow tightening of hair at the base of his neck was a sense of strong pleasure, one of his more sensitive places. The two different pains began to blend like black and white paint. And, even as Hikaru opened himself to Aydryan, Aydryan did likewise until the lines began to blur between them.
Hikaru felt as if he were sinking against Ayd, then into him, then he could feel himself kissing his? Lips. He pulled back and blinked up at himself, then frowned. His amazement clouding the pain coming through the link for a moment. He watched his own violet eyes, calmly, knowing that if he was here, then Aydryan had to be in there. The pain returned in a crashing wave, and he shut his eye and pushed it aside. When his eye opened he blinked several times, focusing on the violet eyes again.
There is a difference between feeling a pain that is an echo and then feeling the pain for real. Hikaru's hand had been twisted in Aydryan's hair. It was still there and it reflexively tightened even further as Aydryan drew a shaky breath through lips that were not his own. His perception of sight was different as well....it was normal, but that little bit of pleasure was shut off as his eyes, Hikaru's violet eyes, closed. Slowly, fingers within hair relaxed and Ayd became very still. He had seen himself, seen the amazed reaction within that turquoise eye and knew that the switch had been successful. Now, he became as stone, assessing the injury, feeling the pain, becoming one with it and letting it jitter through his mind until it began to change and become tolerable only because he'd been hardwired to enjoy it. The thought briefly spun through his mind that such behavior or reaction was completely mental. Then he looked at himself again, but he saw Hikaru within the gaze, "Alright....alright...," then he gave a slow smile, "What next?" He actually chuckled softly when he heard Hikaru's voice, then moaned as well. "Ooh....so weird."
Hikaru blinked again then smiled, though it stopped halfway. He wrinkled his nose, then started making faces, manipulating the muscles of Ayd's face, his tongue touching the lip rings. He chuckled with Ayd, then stopped shaking his head. “Yeah...” He reached out and laced his fingers with... his. “This would take a lot of getting used to. I will get the bandages. You stand by the bed.” The tone of his voice was still his, and less strained thanks to the pain being muffled, but it was Ayd's voice that came out of his lips.
His head tilted as he watched his own face go through several expression, a bemused look falling over his own. The tongue playing with the rings prompted his own to search Hikaru's mouth, finding the three tongue rings. Ayd nodded at the words spoken and moved carefully toward the bed. From time to time, he paused, eyes closing as a wave of pain flowed over him and his body tightened. The level of pain itself would keep him from enjoying any true arousal, but he could at least translate it into something else. Only when he felt the bed touch his thighs did he stop attempting to move.
Hikaru turned and left, still playing with the piercings on Ayd's face, shaking his head slightly with a soft chuckle through their bond. “Not sure I could get used to all of these though...” He loved them on Ayd, on himself, they felt... odd. He quickly went to the bathroom and reached for a roll of bandages in the drawer, his fingers catching only air. Frowning he realized what was off. Narrowing the one turquoise eye he managed to grab a few rolls and returned, standing for a moment, watching Aydryan in his body for a few moments, a smile that wasn't Ayd's forming on his lips. Hikaru moved near the bed and set the bandages down on the mattress. Turning to himself, no, his companion, he reached up and gently brushed the hair back from his face. The pain as it was, that he was feeling through the bond was tolerable, and he could push it aside. A single turquoise eye held a wealth of emotions towards the man now residing in his body and bearing his pain.
The violet eyes had been closed as he stood there and waited. A soft pink sheen glistened on his face. He was sweating silently as he simply let the pain move through him. In the past he had been taught to do just that, to pay close attention to pain, to feel it move over his nerves, effect other portions of him. It was a sort of strange meditation and there had been times when the skill had been very beneficial. When he felt cool fingers brush hair from his face, lavender eyes slid open to look at himself, at Hikaru. A slow smile curled his lips as he blinked. The pupils were very dilated and the lids remained at half mast. To anyone else observing, they might assume that the man swaying there was only drunk. His hand lifted to touch the side of Hikaru, his, cheek ... head tilting. Then he whispered, "So this....is what I look like." The smile twitched, "My hair is a mess." Then his eyes closed slowly only to open again, "Help me sit and get the shirt off."
Hikaru couldn't help the smile that formed then faded, his face turning serious. Nodding, he moved around behind him and reached up, sliding the shirt back, off his shoulders, thanking small blessings he had worn a button up shirt that night. He frowned seeing the bruising that had spread across his back and reached up, gingerly tracing the edges then sliding is hand along his right side. “Was I careless?” whispered into the room. On the tails of that he remembered the demon's threat and knew they didn't have much time. He quickly moved the bandages aside so that Ayd could sit on the edge of the bed, his hand held out to steady him if he wanted, or needed.
He rotated his shoulders slowly to help the shirt slide up, hissing softly as the pain spiked with each movement. Aydryan considered Hikaru's question before he answered, "It all depends...perhaps some individuals do not need saving...or deserve it. But, you are a godly man, my love...and thus you must save anyone in danger." Turning slowly, he did indeed take the offered hand. His face was almost serene looking except for the sweat and the subtle tightness around eyes and mouth. His fingers tightened within Hikaru's, his own....as he slowly bent his legs and settled on the edge of the bed. The cool air of the room was a blessing on his skin. Eventually, he lifted his arms up, settling hands upon the top of his head. He pushed the air from damaged lungs and looked up at Hikaru/Aydryan. "Alright.....hurt me sweetly." The smile that followed was to gentle the words.
He kept his touches as light as possible as he worked, keeping the link between them open as he felt with more than fingers, saw with more than his eye where bones had dug in. Carefully prying them away from the lung and back into position. As he worked he spoke softly. “This would be more interesting to do... when everything else isn't happening.”
His eyes were closed as he concentrated on how pain blossomed with each manipulation of Hikaru's touch. In the meditation it becomes like fireworks behind the eyes until the watcher becomes mesmerized. When the softly spoken statement was made, one violet eye peeked upon to look at Hikaru, "Ah but then...this wouldn't have happened." He smiled slowly, carefully moving one hand to lightly touch disheveled red hair.
Hikaru peered up at Ayd through a spill of deep red hair and smiled. “I meant walking in one another's shoes. Might be interesting...” He paused as he plucked at one shard of bone, prying it carefully into place. Feather light, he ran his hand down the side, feeling for any other spots that needed attention and looked back up at Ayd in his eyes. “I think I got them all...”
Brows rose as Hikaru clarified. He had not thought of it that way, but he could understand the interest in switching when they were both whole and well. One side of his/Hikaru's mouth curved upward in a sly smile. But that smile was quickly banished as a particularly difficult piece was manipulated back into place. He would have panted if he could....or fallen back on the bed....but such movements would have caused outlandish amounts of pain and he was reaching his meditational limits, growing tired. When he felt Hikaru's gaze upon him, he opened his eyes and nodded, whispering, "good....now the bandages." He was very pale and a subtle trembling had begun through his body.
Hikaru shifted and grabbed one of the rolls of bandage, then began wrapping it around his torso, carefully. After he had secured the beginning he reached up and guided Ayd's hand to his shoulder. An epiphany struck him just then, just as he became stuck on whose hand was whose shoulder. The hand he held belonged to his body, but it was Aydryan's hand, Aydryan's body as well. He ran his hand up his arm and smiled. The invitation was there, he had felt the wave of exhaustion and knew there was a limit for each of them. With Ayd's hand securely on his shoulder, he went back to wrapping up his chest, reaching around at times, though careful not to touch the bruised flesh and tender bone.
Slowly, his head bent forward, leaning just so, until forehead rested on the hand that gripped Hikaru's shoulder. He'd seen the invitational look, but was unsure what the invitation was...so clouded his thoughts were becoming. Perhaps, Hikaru meant that he would take back his own body now if Ayd wanted that. Speaking softly, using only enough air to do so, "I won't return your body to you until it's settled comfortably." His head tilted until he could kiss the spot beneath Hikaru's ear, feeling the cool tickle of the earrings there. A momentary pause as he realized he'd just kissed his own body. He wanted to laugh, but just couldn't right now.
A single eye closed as a shiver ran down his spine, before he laughed. He laughed for Ayd, because he couldn't. He laughed as he finished wrapping up his own chest and bent forward, his head tipping down to rest his crown on his lover's thigh, knees collapsing to the floor. He laughed as his nerves began to break, something small shattering inside his mind, letting everything, all his doubts and fears, loose to bounce around his brain. His arms wrapped around Ayd's hips, still so careful not to cause more pain. Long fingers curled in the coverlet of the bed, his knuckles whitening as he brought his head up, his cheek pressed tightly to his, Ayd's, right side. His sobbing had been soft, but now anger rose in him, raw and wild. Anger at the Demon, at himself for not being able to protect those he cared about, anger towards God. He gave a choking cry and took a deep breath. The flicker of rational thought went through him, that if he started screaming he wouldn't stop, but the thought faded as the scream came out of his throat and changed, as his rage escaped into a long, loud, wordless battle cry that echoed throughout their room, and through the catacombs. Something that had never escaped his lips before.
Ayd smiled as Hikaru started laughing, but he could feel within the others mind that this was only a beginning to a release. When Hikaru, his, head came to rest upon his thigh, his hand settled in deep red messy hair and pet slowly. Lavender eyes were filled with compassion and understanding as Hikaru, in Ayd's body, let go of all that they both feared and raged over. Ayd felt the emotions as strongly as Hikaru did, but remained quiet, too tired to join his voice to that of his lovers. He listened to the defiant scream, felt it tingle along his nerves, and knew that all within the catacombs would react. Perhaps even those vampires outside the catacombs that were bonded would feel it, a sudden overwhelming defiance against the World. His hands slowly caressed over bent head and shoulders, reassuring and comforting. His mind was silent until Hikaru's had let go all that had been held within. Then he sent those feelings of love and comfort to him. At this moment, they had truly come to the end of what they could endure from this Demon. To the end of what Wood Bourne could endure from this Demon.
Hikaru screamed until his lungs gave out, until he felt hollow and empty. He lay there letting Ayd's feelings fill him, his fingers loosening on the bed covers slowly as his body began to relax. A turquoise eye opened and focused on the shredded painting still hanging on the wall, a cold hardness forming inside him as he turned his eye to Ayd and nodded. He raised up and placed a gentle kiss against his lips, then stood. “We can't stay here.” He moved towards the dresser and opened a drawer, beginning to pull out a change of clothes for the both of them. “It said that if I interfered it would come here again. I will pack.. you just focus on staying still.” He quickly packed, moving to his desk and pulling out his notes from another drawer, slipping them into a manila envelope and adding that to the bag. He returned when he had all the bags by the front door and offered Ayd his hand. “We can stay under the Church tonight.”
Hikaru leaned gingerly against the wall in the living room, his eyes closed, jaw tight. He jumped at the slamming door and instantly winced, grinding his teeth. Still, he didn't dare reopen the link between them. Slowly, violet eyes slid to the entrance to the room “In here.” His strained and clipped voice whispered. His hand was loosely wrapped around his torso, under his unbuttoned shirt, gently exploring the extent of the injury. He had had his ribs broken many times before, but this... was different. His ribs had not actually been just broken, but shattered. His left side a malformed mass of reddened bruise.
As soon as he spotted Hikaru leaning against the wall, he spun on his heal and ran to the bathroom, returning with a wet cloth. A dark frown rode his lips as he stopped before Hikaru. With one hand he lifted the tail of his lover's shirt. As soon as he saw the injury, he hissed, his eyes erupting in watery light. "You should not have moved, Hikaru.....," he let go of the shirt and lifted his other hand. The cloth was warm as he wiped at Hikaru's face, cleaning away the blood that had dried there. His brows were knit in thought as he did this. "They'll have to be pushed back into place and then wrapped." As he spoke, his eye was on the movement of the washcloth. Then his gaze lifted to meet violet eyes, "You'll have to let me in...switch with me...I can handle this better than you. You can manipulate the ribs and wrap it up. Let me suffer this for you." His one eye was filled with concern for Hikaru, his touch gentle. "Please..."
Brows furrowed as violet eyes met turquoise for a moment, his hand slowly reached up and cupped Ayd's wrist, moving his hand to lay lightly against his side. “I.. didn't want.. you to feel this much.” His voice strained further even at that light touch. Ayd's fingers could feel the softness of the side, unnatural with its small bumps of bone underneath. He knew however, that Aydryan had made up his mind, at least in part. “Are you sure... you... want to... do this?”
Aydryan smiled softly and leaned in to kiss Hikaru lightly. His hand rested a breath above the bruised and knotted flesh. Imagination was a wonderful and terrible thing, because it could let your mind visualize beneath that tortured flesh and see the scattered bone fragments. He whispered, "You keep forgetting, Love...that my pain threshold is very high. I can handle this. I want to handle this for you. You have suffered so much in your life, let me take this pain from you. Let me shield you for once. I feel that I have failed so far in this relationship. I never seem to be in the right, or maybe, wrong place."
Hikaru's hand slid up his arm, over his shoulder and gripped firmly for a moment as a wave of pain forced him to pause, then return the kiss. Slowly he let his shields slip down, like pulling a cloth off a painting, giving only the smallest of glimpses. Even dropping the shields, Ayd would be able to feel the pain and he didn't want him to have it crash into him, but gradually build. His fingers tangled in the deep red hair at the base of his head, not letting him pull away as he continued to feather kisses against his lips.
Aydryan's lips were soft beneath Hikaru's as his eye closed, feeling the connection between them begin to clear as the shields were lowered. As the pain grew, his body tightened and his lips faltered beneath Hikaru's. The hand close to the shattered ribs drew away lest he accidentally touch them unexpectedly and cause more pain. The slow tightening of hair at the base of his neck was a sense of strong pleasure, one of his more sensitive places. The two different pains began to blend like black and white paint. And, even as Hikaru opened himself to Aydryan, Aydryan did likewise until the lines began to blur between them.
Hikaru felt as if he were sinking against Ayd, then into him, then he could feel himself kissing his? Lips. He pulled back and blinked up at himself, then frowned. His amazement clouding the pain coming through the link for a moment. He watched his own violet eyes, calmly, knowing that if he was here, then Aydryan had to be in there. The pain returned in a crashing wave, and he shut his eye and pushed it aside. When his eye opened he blinked several times, focusing on the violet eyes again.
There is a difference between feeling a pain that is an echo and then feeling the pain for real. Hikaru's hand had been twisted in Aydryan's hair. It was still there and it reflexively tightened even further as Aydryan drew a shaky breath through lips that were not his own. His perception of sight was different as well....it was normal, but that little bit of pleasure was shut off as his eyes, Hikaru's violet eyes, closed. Slowly, fingers within hair relaxed and Ayd became very still. He had seen himself, seen the amazed reaction within that turquoise eye and knew that the switch had been successful. Now, he became as stone, assessing the injury, feeling the pain, becoming one with it and letting it jitter through his mind until it began to change and become tolerable only because he'd been hardwired to enjoy it. The thought briefly spun through his mind that such behavior or reaction was completely mental. Then he looked at himself again, but he saw Hikaru within the gaze, "Alright....alright...," then he gave a slow smile, "What next?" He actually chuckled softly when he heard Hikaru's voice, then moaned as well. "Ooh....so weird."
Hikaru blinked again then smiled, though it stopped halfway. He wrinkled his nose, then started making faces, manipulating the muscles of Ayd's face, his tongue touching the lip rings. He chuckled with Ayd, then stopped shaking his head. “Yeah...” He reached out and laced his fingers with... his. “This would take a lot of getting used to. I will get the bandages. You stand by the bed.” The tone of his voice was still his, and less strained thanks to the pain being muffled, but it was Ayd's voice that came out of his lips.
His head tilted as he watched his own face go through several expression, a bemused look falling over his own. The tongue playing with the rings prompted his own to search Hikaru's mouth, finding the three tongue rings. Ayd nodded at the words spoken and moved carefully toward the bed. From time to time, he paused, eyes closing as a wave of pain flowed over him and his body tightened. The level of pain itself would keep him from enjoying any true arousal, but he could at least translate it into something else. Only when he felt the bed touch his thighs did he stop attempting to move.
Hikaru turned and left, still playing with the piercings on Ayd's face, shaking his head slightly with a soft chuckle through their bond. “Not sure I could get used to all of these though...” He loved them on Ayd, on himself, they felt... odd. He quickly went to the bathroom and reached for a roll of bandages in the drawer, his fingers catching only air. Frowning he realized what was off. Narrowing the one turquoise eye he managed to grab a few rolls and returned, standing for a moment, watching Aydryan in his body for a few moments, a smile that wasn't Ayd's forming on his lips. Hikaru moved near the bed and set the bandages down on the mattress. Turning to himself, no, his companion, he reached up and gently brushed the hair back from his face. The pain as it was, that he was feeling through the bond was tolerable, and he could push it aside. A single turquoise eye held a wealth of emotions towards the man now residing in his body and bearing his pain.
The violet eyes had been closed as he stood there and waited. A soft pink sheen glistened on his face. He was sweating silently as he simply let the pain move through him. In the past he had been taught to do just that, to pay close attention to pain, to feel it move over his nerves, effect other portions of him. It was a sort of strange meditation and there had been times when the skill had been very beneficial. When he felt cool fingers brush hair from his face, lavender eyes slid open to look at himself, at Hikaru. A slow smile curled his lips as he blinked. The pupils were very dilated and the lids remained at half mast. To anyone else observing, they might assume that the man swaying there was only drunk. His hand lifted to touch the side of Hikaru, his, cheek ... head tilting. Then he whispered, "So this....is what I look like." The smile twitched, "My hair is a mess." Then his eyes closed slowly only to open again, "Help me sit and get the shirt off."
Hikaru couldn't help the smile that formed then faded, his face turning serious. Nodding, he moved around behind him and reached up, sliding the shirt back, off his shoulders, thanking small blessings he had worn a button up shirt that night. He frowned seeing the bruising that had spread across his back and reached up, gingerly tracing the edges then sliding is hand along his right side. “Was I careless?” whispered into the room. On the tails of that he remembered the demon's threat and knew they didn't have much time. He quickly moved the bandages aside so that Ayd could sit on the edge of the bed, his hand held out to steady him if he wanted, or needed.
He rotated his shoulders slowly to help the shirt slide up, hissing softly as the pain spiked with each movement. Aydryan considered Hikaru's question before he answered, "It all depends...perhaps some individuals do not need saving...or deserve it. But, you are a godly man, my love...and thus you must save anyone in danger." Turning slowly, he did indeed take the offered hand. His face was almost serene looking except for the sweat and the subtle tightness around eyes and mouth. His fingers tightened within Hikaru's, his own....as he slowly bent his legs and settled on the edge of the bed. The cool air of the room was a blessing on his skin. Eventually, he lifted his arms up, settling hands upon the top of his head. He pushed the air from damaged lungs and looked up at Hikaru/Aydryan. "Alright.....hurt me sweetly." The smile that followed was to gentle the words.
He kept his touches as light as possible as he worked, keeping the link between them open as he felt with more than fingers, saw with more than his eye where bones had dug in. Carefully prying them away from the lung and back into position. As he worked he spoke softly. “This would be more interesting to do... when everything else isn't happening.”
His eyes were closed as he concentrated on how pain blossomed with each manipulation of Hikaru's touch. In the meditation it becomes like fireworks behind the eyes until the watcher becomes mesmerized. When the softly spoken statement was made, one violet eye peeked upon to look at Hikaru, "Ah but then...this wouldn't have happened." He smiled slowly, carefully moving one hand to lightly touch disheveled red hair.
Hikaru peered up at Ayd through a spill of deep red hair and smiled. “I meant walking in one another's shoes. Might be interesting...” He paused as he plucked at one shard of bone, prying it carefully into place. Feather light, he ran his hand down the side, feeling for any other spots that needed attention and looked back up at Ayd in his eyes. “I think I got them all...”
Brows rose as Hikaru clarified. He had not thought of it that way, but he could understand the interest in switching when they were both whole and well. One side of his/Hikaru's mouth curved upward in a sly smile. But that smile was quickly banished as a particularly difficult piece was manipulated back into place. He would have panted if he could....or fallen back on the bed....but such movements would have caused outlandish amounts of pain and he was reaching his meditational limits, growing tired. When he felt Hikaru's gaze upon him, he opened his eyes and nodded, whispering, "good....now the bandages." He was very pale and a subtle trembling had begun through his body.
Hikaru shifted and grabbed one of the rolls of bandage, then began wrapping it around his torso, carefully. After he had secured the beginning he reached up and guided Ayd's hand to his shoulder. An epiphany struck him just then, just as he became stuck on whose hand was whose shoulder. The hand he held belonged to his body, but it was Aydryan's hand, Aydryan's body as well. He ran his hand up his arm and smiled. The invitation was there, he had felt the wave of exhaustion and knew there was a limit for each of them. With Ayd's hand securely on his shoulder, he went back to wrapping up his chest, reaching around at times, though careful not to touch the bruised flesh and tender bone.
Slowly, his head bent forward, leaning just so, until forehead rested on the hand that gripped Hikaru's shoulder. He'd seen the invitational look, but was unsure what the invitation was...so clouded his thoughts were becoming. Perhaps, Hikaru meant that he would take back his own body now if Ayd wanted that. Speaking softly, using only enough air to do so, "I won't return your body to you until it's settled comfortably." His head tilted until he could kiss the spot beneath Hikaru's ear, feeling the cool tickle of the earrings there. A momentary pause as he realized he'd just kissed his own body. He wanted to laugh, but just couldn't right now.
A single eye closed as a shiver ran down his spine, before he laughed. He laughed for Ayd, because he couldn't. He laughed as he finished wrapping up his own chest and bent forward, his head tipping down to rest his crown on his lover's thigh, knees collapsing to the floor. He laughed as his nerves began to break, something small shattering inside his mind, letting everything, all his doubts and fears, loose to bounce around his brain. His arms wrapped around Ayd's hips, still so careful not to cause more pain. Long fingers curled in the coverlet of the bed, his knuckles whitening as he brought his head up, his cheek pressed tightly to his, Ayd's, right side. His sobbing had been soft, but now anger rose in him, raw and wild. Anger at the Demon, at himself for not being able to protect those he cared about, anger towards God. He gave a choking cry and took a deep breath. The flicker of rational thought went through him, that if he started screaming he wouldn't stop, but the thought faded as the scream came out of his throat and changed, as his rage escaped into a long, loud, wordless battle cry that echoed throughout their room, and through the catacombs. Something that had never escaped his lips before.
Ayd smiled as Hikaru started laughing, but he could feel within the others mind that this was only a beginning to a release. When Hikaru, his, head came to rest upon his thigh, his hand settled in deep red messy hair and pet slowly. Lavender eyes were filled with compassion and understanding as Hikaru, in Ayd's body, let go of all that they both feared and raged over. Ayd felt the emotions as strongly as Hikaru did, but remained quiet, too tired to join his voice to that of his lovers. He listened to the defiant scream, felt it tingle along his nerves, and knew that all within the catacombs would react. Perhaps even those vampires outside the catacombs that were bonded would feel it, a sudden overwhelming defiance against the World. His hands slowly caressed over bent head and shoulders, reassuring and comforting. His mind was silent until Hikaru's had let go all that had been held within. Then he sent those feelings of love and comfort to him. At this moment, they had truly come to the end of what they could endure from this Demon. To the end of what Wood Bourne could endure from this Demon.
Hikaru screamed until his lungs gave out, until he felt hollow and empty. He lay there letting Ayd's feelings fill him, his fingers loosening on the bed covers slowly as his body began to relax. A turquoise eye opened and focused on the shredded painting still hanging on the wall, a cold hardness forming inside him as he turned his eye to Ayd and nodded. He raised up and placed a gentle kiss against his lips, then stood. “We can't stay here.” He moved towards the dresser and opened a drawer, beginning to pull out a change of clothes for the both of them. “It said that if I interfered it would come here again. I will pack.. you just focus on staying still.” He quickly packed, moving to his desk and pulling out his notes from another drawer, slipping them into a manila envelope and adding that to the bag. He returned when he had all the bags by the front door and offered Ayd his hand. “We can stay under the Church tonight.”