"Leif! Leif! Happy birthday!" Merriwether came running to the table, and accidentally knocked over a cup of coffee. When it shattered on the floor, she stopped and looked down guiltily at the shards of broken ceramic. She bent down, about to pick up the pieces, when Leif stopped her with a light hand to her shoulder.

"Merriwether-sama, please let me do that. Your breakfast is getting cold, and I don't want you to get hurt." Leif smiled down at her, his silvery hair glinting in the sunlight coming from the glass windows near the table.

Merriwether looked up at him and nodded with some guilt. "I'm sorry, Leif, for making you do this on your birthday..." She sighed and looked up at him through the fall of her honey colored hair, remorse showing in her blue eyes.

Leif gave her a gentle smile and replied, "Don't worry yourself, Merriwether-sama. Truly, it doesn't matter very much to me. After all, a birthday is just another day."

Cain looked at his valet in surprise as he stepped into the dining room, having overheard this little conversation. "Leif, it's your birthday? Why didn't you tell me?"

Merriwether jumped out of her chair and flung herself at her brother. "Cain-oniisama! Let's give Leif a party! Please? Just for the three of us?" Her blue eyes met his hazel ones, and for a moment the sunlight made the golden flecks within his sparkle.

Smiling down at Merriwether, Cain shrugged and replied, "Why not?" He gave Leif a mock-stern look, and added, "Of course, that means that Leif is not allowed to do any more work. Right?" Merriwether nodded vigorously, and ran to pull Leif from his task on the floor. Leif looked like he was about to object for a moment, but then smiled and let Merriwether take him firmly in hand.

"Now... hmm. What does one need for a birthday party?" Cain mused a little as he looked around the room and at the sunlight outside.

Merriwether jumped up and answered, "Cake! You need cake, and food, and presents!"

Cain laughed, and said, "Well then, I'm going to bake a delicious cake, and Merri, you'll have to take care of the present, won't you?"

Merriwether pursed her lips, and replied, "That's cheating, Cain-oniisama! You have to give him a present too! You better, or I'll bet Leif will get mad at you!"

Cain chuckled and gave Leif a teasing look, his eyes peeking out from the sun-streaked chocolate curtain of his hair. "Would you be terribly angry if I didn't give you something?"

Leif didn't get to reply as Merriwether retorted, "Of course he'll be angry! Come on, Leif! You're going with me so I can pick out the best present for you!" Leif gave Cain a desperate look, to which Cain shrugged, amusement shining out of his eyes. Merriwether ran out of the door looking for all the things she would need to go shopping, and left Leif behind for the moment.

Looking out the door that Merriwether had just exited, Leif let out a small breath. He looked at his lord, and commented in a quiet voice, "Cain-sama... Surely you weren't serious about-"

Cain raised an eyebrow, and replied, "Baking a cake? How hard could it be?" Leif gazed at him for a moment, before closing his eyes.

"I do hope that you will let the servants assist you, and let them make the dinner."

Cain grinned, enjoying the somewhat helpless aura that Leif was projecting at the moment. "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of everything, so have fun shopping with Merri."

Leif looked as if he were going to say something when Merriwether came bursting into the room. "Leif! Come on!" Leif took a deep breath, visibly steeling himself before following Merriwether out the door. Cain couldn't help but laugh at the resigned expression Leif had had on his face, and then called for a maid.

"Leif! Don't you think this would look nice on you?"

Leif looked at the rather delicate white silk shirt that Merriwether was pointing to. "Ah. Well..."

Merriwether glanced at him with a measuring look before adding in a casual voice, "Or perhaps on Cain-oniisama..."

Leif nodded almost to himself, and mused out loud. "That really is more of Cain-sama's style. perhaps I should see if-"

Merriwether went on in an admiring tone, "Wow... You're still thinking about Cain-oniisama now? You really 'like' him, don't you?" She put special emphasis on the word, wondering what he would say.

Looking at the shirt, Leif replied with a distracted air. "Of course I 'like' him, Merriwether-sama." He didn't seem to realize what he'd said, or how he'd said it, as he glanced around at some of the other items on display in the shop window.

Merriwether smiled, satisfied. "Hmm... Okay, Leif. Why don't we go into-"

Merriwether's energy seemed almost supernatural to Lief as she dragged him from store to store before finally returning to that men's clothing store. After browsing for a bit longer, Merriwether declared, "This is what I'm getting you! Something different to wear than what you always have on!" She laughed, apparently not hearing the weak protests Leif as she pulled out her wallet...

"Cain-sama..."

Cain looked up from his baking with a look of intense concentration, and asked, "Yes?"

The cook gave him a slightly uneasy look, before asking in a doubtful voice, "My lord... you are truly going to bake?"

Cain gave the woman a stern look. He replied in a self-assured, almost arrogant voice, "Of course! I did promise Merri."

"Ah... then... sir, you may want to take the egg shells out of the bowl before you start to beat the eggs."

Cain looked into the container he held in his hand, and pointed to the halves he had dropped into the mix. "Ahh. Those... you don't want them in this?" He looked back at the recipe that the cook had dubiously handed him in the beginning and added, "It never says that you have to leave the shells out."

The cook gave him a truly stunned look before replying in a very patient voice, "No, my lord... you don't want them in your cake. Why don't you take them out?"

As Cain occupied himself with that task, the cook called her assistant over. In a quiet whisper, she told her, "Make sure he doesn't hurt himself or make something that could poison everyone unintentionally." Her assistant nodded, gazing at their young lord skeptically.

"Ah... Cain-sama. My assistant will help you prepare your cake, while I prepare the dinner for -- three, I believe?"

Cain nodded as he picked out the last few pieces of shell out of the bowl. "It's Leif’s birthday, and Merri wants to give him a little party. Don't worry. I won't make anything that's intentionally poisoned..."

Cain smiled at the two women with a light smile that held an undercurrent of darkness, making both want to step away for a moment. After all, there was a reason he was called the Count of Poison... That is, until Cain asked in a slightly lost tone, "So, now what? I'm assuming some kind of sugar or flour is supposed to be put in now..."

The cook shook her head, while the assistant squared her shoulders, going to Cain's side. Taking the bowl from him gently, she started him on something a bit less challenging...

"Cain-oniisama! We're home!" Merriwether's voice rang out through the house as she burst in, looking for her brother. Leif walked in behind her with arms full of boxes, looking just a touch bewildered. As he put the packages onto a nearby table, Merriwether asked the maid who had opened the door where Cain was.

"The young master is still in the kitchen..." The young girl's voicetrailed off as she attempted to stifle the giggle that threatened to escape her lips. After a bit of struggle, her composure won out and she managed to say with an admirable poker face, "Attempting to bake a cake... for the last five hours..."

Merriwether started to giggle, which set off the maid. Both of them laughed for a moment, before Merriwether took a breath. "I'll be down there in a minute..." The maid nodded, and left to fulfill her other duties. Merriwether looked at Leif, who had been watching the whole exchange with an amused expression, and a mischievous smile crept up on her face.

"Leif, why don't you go put my present on? I'll make sure to have the party ready to start in about fifteen minutes. Cook should have already made dinner, so..." Leif nodded and took the boxes to his room, having learned that keeping quiet when Merriwether was in one of her dictatorial moods was the best thing to do.

As Merriwether went into the kitchen, she found herself confronted by the sight of her floured, sugared and seasoned brother sitting at one end of the room. He was staring at the oven with the hopeful eyes of a child about to receive a Christmas gift and his whole bearing was one of tense anticipation. Sneaking over to the cook, Merriwether asked, "How did Cain-oniisama do?"

The cook just closed her eyes, and replied, "Please don't do this to us again..."

Merriwether stifled a giggle as she turned away from the older woman's rather haggard expression in order to pounce on her brother, who had still not noticed her. "Cain-oniisama! You don't have to watch it bake, you know. Don't you want to get cleaned up before we eat?"

Cain started as he finally noticed his sister standing right next to him. She looked as if she was about to hug him, but seemed to decide against it for some reason. She smiled at him instead, and held out her hand. Taking it, Cain stood up and let Merriwether tow him out of the kitchen, trusting that the kitchen staff would set up the table as he got ready. "Merri, did you have fun shopping?"

Merriwether laughed, and nodded. "A whole lot of fun, oniisama... Go take your bath! I'll make sure everything is all ready." Cain smiled a bit at Merriwether's eagerness, and then went to take his bath. About half an hour later, Cain had gotten himself cleaned up and dressed as if for a rather important society function. He had a feeling anything less would get him in trouble with Merri. Smoothing his hair down, he decided that it being half wet was better than nothing...

"Cain-oniisama! You're late!" Cain came down the stairs into the dining room, noticing that Leif and Merriwether were both seated at the table already. Merriwether had on her favorite sky-blue dress, while Leif had on the formal-wear which he wore on important occasions. Merriwether pouted a little at Cain as he came down the stairs, and stood up with a fierce expression on her face.

Cain bowed extravagantly before Merriwether and apologized, "My dear lady, I am dreadfully sorry to have come to your dinner affair in such a rude manner."

Merriwether smiled, and then tapped him on the head with a nearby spoon. "You're forgiven by me, but I'm not sure if Leif is feeling so generous. Shouldn't you say sorry to him, too?"

Cain smiled at Leif, who had been watching the rather silly scene from the food-laden table with a smile. The windows behind him were letting in the last moments of the sunset, washing Leif in a red-golden aura. Cain just could not look away from Leif's gentle expression framed by the fiery sunlight. It was almost like a halo...

"Cain-sama? Are you all right?"

Cain started as Leif stood gracefully, becoming merely his body servant again. "I'm fine. The light was just shining in my eyes for a moment." Shaking his head, Cain sat down and resolved to forget that strange fancy that had captured his mind for that brief moment.

"Oniisama!" Merriwether's half-teasing, half-serious voice made him remember what he had been supposed to do.

"Ah... right. Leif, do forgive my terrible rudeness in being tardy to your party." Leif's smile grew a little wider as he saw Merriwether nod in satisfaction, and showed his acknowledgment in the laughing twinkle of his eyes. Cain noticed Merriwether eyeing the food rather hungrily, and laughed quietly. "Leif, do tell us that we may eat, or else I fear that my little sister may faint away at the table..."

Leif coughed slightly, hiding his smile, and replied, "Oh, please do." Merriwether giggled and stuck her tongue out at her brother before starting to eat.

As the three had done some fairly strenuous things during the day, the food was gone in a relatively short amount of time. During that dinner, the three chatted pleasantly, the same as they would at almost any other dinner -- that is, except that Leif was obviously not serving. The two men smiled indulgently and let Merriwether fill the room with her laughing chatter, while they ate in basic quiet, contributing a few words here and there.

Finally, it was time for dessert. A maid came in to clear the dishes away, before bringing in the cake that had been the fruit of a whole day's work. Merriwether looked at it rather dubiously, and then noted, "Well, it looks fine..."

Cain looked a little embarrassed as he admitted, "Well, I didn't actually put the frosting or the decorations it... but I did bake the cake."

Merriwether, remembering the cook's expression, said with an almost forced smile, "Well, come on, Cain-oniisama! Cut us a piece!" Cain nodded, and then cut a slice each for all three of them. Cain and Merriwether looked at their pieces rather suspiciously, both wondering if it was truly safe to eat.

Leif, noting the looks, smiled gently again. Unnoticed by the other two, he carefully ate a small piece of the cake. As he did so, Leif’s expression changed a little, becoming a bit more cautious as he gazed upon the remainder of his slice. Finally, the two looked up from their slices to see Leif eating his with no signs of ill effect.

"Ah... Leif, how is it?" Cain's voice held a peculiar mix of dread and curiosity as he watched Leif’s expression. Leif stayed quiet for a long moment, making Cain's expression fall. "I see. Well, I am sorry-"

Leif put his hand over Cain's and replied with a soft smile, "It's very good, Cain-sama. I'm surprised that it's this tasty considering it's your first attempt..."

Merriwether looked at Leif with an expression of total disbelief, and then tentatively tried her own piece. She chewed on it for a moment. "Well... it kinda tastes normal..." She added impishly, "But I'm positive that this can't be Cain-oniisama's first try. Right?"

Cain grinned somewhat sheepishly, and said, "Tenth..." Merriwether giggled, while Leif hid his smile behind a piece of cake. Cain took a bite of his handiwork, chewing thoroughly as Merriwether had done. "You're right, Merri. Not bad, but not great..."

Glancing over at Leif, who had finished his piece, Cain said with a touch of asperity, "You don't have to exaggerate quite that much, Leif. It's not that good..."

Merriwether smiled and replied, "Well, a person who 'likes' someone else always wants to say nice things about what that someone has done, right?"

Cain blinked for a moment, and then said in a slightly distant voice, "I suppose..." Cain gazed at Leif with a faintly troubled expression on his face, while Leif avoided looking at Cain entirely, directing his vision toward his now-empty plate.

The silence stretched out for a minute, before Merriwether asked cheerily, "Leif, why aren't you wearing my present?"

Cain seized at what Merriwether had said like a lifeline, and inquired in an all-too obviously forced voice, "Yes, Merri. What did you get for Leif, anyway?"

Merriwether grinned at her brother, and replied, "Well, I actually wanted to get him a shirt, but he thought it was too-" She stopped and glanced at Leif, who looked away from her mischievous expression.

"What? Too expensive?"

Merriwether looked back at her brother with a rather sly, almost too-knowing look. "Too skimpy, actually..." Cain's eyes widened a little as he looked incredulously at his grinning sister, remembering that she had been living on the street before coming here... Cain looked around uncomfortably, and his gaze locked with Leif's over Merriwether's head. Both of them looked away immediately, and Cain started to blush very faintly.

Again, the oppressive silence enveloped the room until Merriwether said in an almost desperate voice, "So, anyway, I got him these really nice silk pajamas. He thought that they were too fancy, but I thought that they would look really nice on him..."

Cain replied, "That's very nice, Merri. I'm sure Leif liked your gift very much."

Leif nodded. "Thank you very much for your much too generous gift, Merriwether-sama. However, you can understand why I did not wish to wear it to dinner..."

Merriwether grinned. "Don't worry, Leif. I wasn't really expecting you to, but I wonder what Cain-oniisama would have said..." She glanced at her brother, and saw that he wasn't really listening to her. Sighing to herself, Merriwether looked at Leif and saw that he wasn't paying much attention, either. With another sigh, she stood up from the table."Cain-oniisama, Leif, I'm going to bed now... Good night!"

Cain stood and gave her a hug. "Sleep well, Merri..."

Leif stood as well, before bowing to Merriwether. "Merriwether-sama, I thank you for your wonderful present and your kind wish to celebrate my birthday..."

Cain nodded, and then asked in a puzzled voice, "Merri, how did you know about Leif's birthday?"

Merriwether gave him a haughty look, and drew herself up. For a moment, she looked much older as she answered in a dark, mysterious voice, "You know what my powers are... do you think concealing anything from me is possible?"

Cain grinned at her and ruffled her hair, making it rather difficult for her to project any kind of mystical presence. "Somehow, I think it was probably due to you snooping in a room you shouldn't have been in..." Merriwether blushed and stuck her tongue out at her brother before she ran up the stairs to her room.

Cain shook his head, and then turned to face Leif. "Leif, you should go to sleep also. Don't worry -- I can undress by myself, after all, and you deserve a day off." Leif looked as if about to protest, but then nodded and bowed.

Cain couldn't help following with Leif's form with his eyes as Leif ascended the stairs. For some reason... Cain shook his head and looked at the table. He knew that it would be cleared after he left, with the net result of the rest of his cake being suitably disposed of.

Looking at the cake, Cain smiled wistfully as he took a piece and popped it into his mouth. "It really isn't that good..." As he said that, Cain could hear the words that Merriwether had said before. "Person he 'likes'..."

For a moment, Cain stared at the candle flickering at the center of the table, lost in what that could mean. As he looked on, the light started to get fainter, until it finally went out. A thin wisp of smoke floated into the darkness that now surrounded him, disappearing into the night. With an almost sad smile, Cain left the rest of the cake and went to find his own bed.

As Cain tried to fall asleep, he felt the faintest tugging of unease at his heart. Something had changed, but he just couldn't figure out what. He made a note to himself to ask Merriwether if she could foresee anything for him , and closed his eyes. In the darkness, he tried to put the strange feeling that had begun at Leif's party aside.

Drifting into the depths of sleep, Cain felt the sharp bite of cold terror -- he could feel another one of _those_ dreams coming, but he was too far into the darkness to climb back out...

*Why now? Why -- Leif? Leif... where are you?*

As he searched in the blackness for a way out, Cain could feel himself sinking in deeper, until-

/Mother? Is that-/

Flash of memory, of absolute fear. Looking around wildly, his now-self in the body he had had as a child, lying in a shadowed niche of a manicured garden. Gazing up, frozen in terror as a child's nightmare came at him with mad eyes and sharp blade-

/Mother.../

Cain shuddered as the tears came. The dream had snatched him from the warm garden to a dark room, one he knew instantly. The darkness taunted him, but gave him comfort because when the light came, _he_ would be there. Then, the creak of a door opening, the tread of boots on floor and carpet-

/No... not this-/

His bare chest against velvet, bracing himself for the coming pain. The anticipation of the first strike, and the fulfillment of that promise -- the whistle of the whip in the air, and the biting impact tearing through skin, through his self-imposed silence-

/Please. Father, don't.../

Crying out in pain and terror, Cain felt the tears streaming down his face. The whip came down again and again, until the sated look was in his father's eyes. The madness mixed with the satisfaction made Cain tremble again, and when his father reached down for him-

/No!/

A flash, a transition, then a moment of rest. Darkness welcome until the light came back, a candle held by a face he knew so well-

*Leif...*

Running into the welcome brightness, disregarding the tears still streaming down his face. Knowing once he reached that warmth, there would be safety-

/Leif?/

Cain stared in disbelief when he saw the expression on Leif's face. The same face as the one his father had worn, dark and cruel, filled with contempt and disgust. Cain was used to it, now -- after all, he had been born amongst feathers, and carried the mark of incest and rape, his hazel eyes with golden flecks. The eyes that proclaimed to the world his father's sin.

He was cursed to be the killer of all the people he loved. Fated to love only to have that love die, leaving him alone again and again. Only Merriwether had managed to escape that, for now. And Leif. Except Leif was just his servant. Only that. But... Something cried out in him that it was wrong on Leif's face, that look of hatred. That look of uncaring...

Reaching out for Leif, for the light to show him the way out of the darkness, he stilled his hand in dismay as Leif's hand moved to snuff out the candle. Somehow, Cain knew that when that candle went out, he would be left in the night by himself, forever-

"No! Leif! LEIF!"

Leif sighed as he looked at Merriwether's present. "It's somewhat ridiculous, buying someone like me silk pajamas..." Still, he couldn't help smiling as he remembered the effort Merriwether had gone into picking just the right thing for him. "For Merriwether-sama, I suppose I should wear this."

Shedding the rather restrictive formal clothes he had worn to the celebration, he put the new pajamas on. Leif closed his eyes for just a minute at the feel of the fabric, and then opened them again to gaze at himself in the mirror. Smiling, he climbed into bed, snuffing out the candle on the night stand.

Staring up at the ceiling, Leif tried to sleep, but just couldn't manage it. Letting out a breath, he spoke out loud the reason why. "Cain-sama..." He closed his eyes, trying to lose himself in the depths of sleep that fled from him. But Leif just couldn't let go of tonight, or the sound of Cain's sweetly hesitant voice had he offered the cake that he had worked so hard on...

*That cake could have been made of wood and I would have been happy...*

Leif felt the bitter, sad smile appear on his face again, and forced himself to relax. Forced himself to forget that Cain would never see what was in front of his face, and-

*What's wrong with me today? I should hope he never sees... or else-*

Leif couldn't get himself to finish that particular statement, and put his hand over his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly, and made himself relax enough so that sleep began to win. As he fell slowly into unconsciousness, Leif wondered if this kind of strangeness happened on everyone's birthday-

"Leif! LEIF!"

Leif threw himself out of the bed when he heard the panicked yell coming from Cain's bedroom, and ran to where Cain was. Everyone else knew better than to interfere in one of their lord's nightmares, as Leif was the only one that could calm the young lord in such a state.

Running into the room, Leif saw that Cain was clutching at his blankets as if grabbing for something. Sitting himself down at Cain's side, Leif gently whispered, "Cain-sama..." Leif had learned that waking Cain up gently was usually the best way to prevent bodily harm to either of them. "Cain-sama... I'm right here- Shh."

Spying a candle on the table near the bed, Leif lit it and let its gentle light illuminate the room. Feeling Cain grope about blindly, his eyes open but unseeing, Leif let Cain take hold of him. He put his arms around gently around Cain, careful not to make him feel trapped or captured. Rocking gently back and forth with Cain in his embrace, Leif continued to murmur low syllables of comfort. Hoping that the nightmare would wind down gently...

Cain saw the dream-Leif laugh darkly as he reached to put out the candle, and cried out. As he was about to leap toward the imposter, somehow there was no more darkness, and the candle didn't matter anymore. Staring out at the dream, all Cain could see was pure white softness as gentle warmth embraced him. He felt the dream fall away and grasped for consciousness gratefully.

"Leif..?" Cain's voice was soft and raw from the screams he had let loose earlier, and played roughly to Leif's ear.

Looking down at his lord in concern, Leif whispered, "Cain-sama, are you all right?"

Cain nodded once and turned up his face, opening his eyes. For a moment, he seemed utterly lost as he gazed upon Leif. Filling Cain's eyes with brightness, Leif looked as if he were made up of light... Dressed in white silk, Leif's silver hair was rimmed by a golden halo as he sat with the gentle candlelight at his back. Looking at him, all Cain could think was of angels...

Leif looked at him with compassionate eyes, and let Cain clutch at him as Cain dealt with the aftermath of the nightmare. Sobbing helplessly as the dream played in his head again and again, Cain's tears stained the pure white silk of Leif's pajamas. After staying in Leif's embrace for what felt like an endless moment, Cain realized what he was doing and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

Leif stayed still, letting Cain calm himself down, and then gently disengaged himself from Cain's embrace. "Cain-sama..." At Leif's concerned whisper, Cain wiped the last of his tears away from his face almost angrily and let out a shaky breath.

Starting to laugh almost helplessly, Cain covered his face with his hands and lay on the bed. "I'm all right, Leif. Just fine." Getting off of the covers, Cain started to shed his sweat-soaked pajamas, leaving the clothes for Leif to pick up.

Cain stared into the mirror for a long, quiet moment as he pushed his hair out of his face. After a time, Cain started and looked at Leif with a trace of guilt. "Leif. I'm sorry... I told you that you should take a rest for today-"

Leif shook his head quietly, and held out a robe for Cain to put on. "Cain-sama, would you like me to heat up a bath?"

Nodding quietly, Cain turned to Leif with a desperate expression on his face. His hands clutching at Leif's shirt, Cain touched his forehead to Leif's chest and stayed in that position for a minute. The quiet stretched out until Cain let out a shuddering breath, and whispered, "Thank you... thank you for not being..." He didn't say any more, and just breathed deeply, controlling himself.

Leif stared down at Cain, and his hands let go of the pajamas that he had just picked up from the ground. For a moment, it seemed as if Leif was about reciprocate the hold, but then clenched his fists and pushed Cain away gently. Leif bowed, and then picked up the clothes he had dropped before leaving to prepare the bath.

Cain stared at the open door for a moment before he flung himself on the bed. The quiet seemed to almost ring in the empty room as he stared up at the canopy, trying to make sense of what he had just realized. His mind kept going back to his sister's one innocent statement. "Person he 'likes'..."

Cain closed his eyes, wondering how he had managed to ignore how Leif had come to mean more and more to him as the years had passed by. As he had grown up, Lief had become more than a protector, or servant. Even more than a friend. Gazing up at that white canopy above him, at the guttering shadows that the candlelight cast, he couldn't help whispering bitterly, "Why did it hurt more inside that you were about to hurt me than when my father was about to?"

That had been the only reason he had been able to distinguish what he had just experienced as a dream. Leif would _never_ do that to him. Never. That was the one incontrovertible fact in his life right now -- that Leif would never betray him. But when he had seen that dream-Leif... The whip had been nothing compared to that tightening around his heart...

"God... Please..." It was half plea, half accusation. After all, why would God ever listen to one such as him? Staring out into nothing at all, Cain began to laugh again, soft broken chuckles. Finally, he sat up from the bed, and rubbed at his eyes wearily. Perhaps if he took that bath, he would be able to fall asleep again... Oblivion sounded nice right about now.

Pushing himself off of the bed, Cain went down to the bathing room, and saw that the bath had been prepared. Looking around, he noticed that Leif was nowhere to be seen, having only left the candle behind. Cain shrugged and took off his bathrobe, easing himself into the hot water. He sighed quietly as the heat started to penetrate his whole body, and then closed his eyes, resting his head against the tub.

After a few minutes in the almost too-hot water, Cain felt totally relaxed, loosed into a world of soft edges and shadows. Sighing, he stretched and luxuriated in the feel of warmth reaching all the way into his bones. He was starting to drift off into the fuzziness of half-sleep, when the door to the bathing room opened.

"Cain-sama..." Leif walked in with towels in hand, and stopped. "Asleep already?"

Peeking out from half-closed eyelids, Cain could see Leif rolling up the sleeves to the pajamas he was still wearing as he walked to the tub. Leif was about to reach down to carry Cain back to his room when he hesitated. A secret smile appeared on his face as he reached down gently, and brushed his hand against Cain's cheek.

Cain shivered as that light touch awoke feelings that he had never allowed himself to feel before, and couldn't help himself from opening his eyes a little bit wider. Even looking at the world with half-blurred sight, Cain couldn't mistake the longing on Leif's face. Before he could think about what he was doing, Cain reached out and captured Leif's hand at his cheek. "Leif..."

Leif's eyes widened as he saw that Cain was awake, and tried to pull away. "Cain-sama... I didn't realize that-" A slow flush traveled up his fair face, and he looked away for a moment. "I hadn't realized that you were awake. I-" Cain ignored Leif's words, concentrating only on Leif's face and voice. What he saw...

Taking Leif's right hand captive, Cain laid his lip to the back of it, letting his breath tickle against the skin. He turned that hand over -- the hand that had protected him and kept him safe for so long -- and laid another kiss to the palm. After doing so, he looked up at Leif, wondering if-

Leif looked down at Cain's wide strange eyes, felt that flash of pleasure-pain that always ran through him when he was too close to his young lord. "Cain-sama... please. You don't know what-" All his other words were lost as Cain's eyes turned downward, and his hot lips traveled up to the hollow of his wrist. Leif could feel his legs weaken as Cain's even hotter tongue flicked out and traced the scar left there by that old attempt.

Cain looked up at him with those strangely compelling eyes, beseeching, wanting. Quietly, almost plaintively, he asked, "Leif... you're not going to leave me, are you? Promise me that you'll never leave me..." His expression demanded an answer as his grip grew even tighter on Leif's wrist.

Leif closed his eyes and let a small tear fall, making a water-track on his cheek. Surrendering to that need... Opening then, he whispered fiercely, "Cain-sama. I will never, ever leave you. I swear on my life." It felt right to kneel, and so he did -- forgetting that it would leave him face to face with his master...

Cain weighed those words, and then nodded once. "Then don't leave me here alone..." Cain stared at Leif with eyes darkened by terrible fear and loneliness -- with echoes of both the nightmare and terror that Leif would leave him too...

Leif brushed Cain's wet hair from his eyes, and then smiled quietly, his heart finally allowed to unguard his deepest secret. "I will never leave you, my lord. Never." Reaching out with his hands, he wrapped Cain's uresisting body in a large, fluffy towel and with a gentle touch, he carried Cain into his bedroom.

Leaving Cain standing in front of the mirror, Leif toweled him down carefully, gently. Standing in front of Cain, Leif was running soft fabric down Cain's stomach when Cain's hand stopped him. Leif nodded and let the towel fall to the floor before reaching to tilt up Cain's chin.

Leif could feel Cain's heart beating at a pace to match his own, altogether too fast for safety. Smiling into Cain's eyes, he received a reciprocal expression of happiness as he lowered his lips to Cain's. There was warm shock of contact as they were swept away by the sensations of velvet mouth to mouth, silk to skin.

After endless moments of dwelling in the kiss, Leif broke it off with a quiet sigh. His lips started to move down Cain's face, leaving a trail of kisses which stopped on the rapid pulse at the hollow of Cain's neck. There, Leif lifted his mouth, and guided Cain to the already mussed bed.

Cain smiled at Leif as they both sat in his bed. His eyes fierce and possessive, Cain reached out and put one hand over Leif's chest. Quiet and unrushed, Cain started to unfasten the white silken pajamas. As Cain undid each button, he laid one kiss where each button had been. By the time the last button was undone, Cain's lips were tickling at Leif's navel, and Leif's breaths had become irregular and hurried.

Leif reached for Cain, smiling as he turned Cain's body so that Cain's back was to him. With light fingers, and following with mouth and kisses, Leif traced the scars that the whip had left on tender skin so long ago. Leif heard Cain cry out softly and shudder as he traced out each mark to its end, taking them into himself. Leif made those scars a true part of him, because they were a vital part of Cain.

But as he did so, Leif felt as if he were burning away with heat of mouth and heart all of the marks that Alexis had left on Cain's soul. He returned what Cain had done to him with that kiss to his wrist, and magnified it a hundred-fold. Leif could feel Cain shaking as tears came unbidden at each touch. After Leif had traced every single scar, he whispered, "Cain-sama...", wondering if it had been too much, too soon.

Leif turned Cain around so that the younger was nestled in his embrace, and wiped away the tears. "If you want me to stop-" Leif didn't get to finish his sentence as Cain's hungry mouth took his lips captive, not letting them go of the kiss until both were gasping for air. Cain embraced him fiercely, Cain's arms trapping his waist and their legs intertwining so that the only things Leif could see or feel was Cain...

"Keep on doing that until you drive all the darkness away -- I want you to be my light. Please-" Cain looked up with eyes wide and strange, golden flecks dancing in the darkness. Cain drew Leif's face down, and gave him a softer kiss. "Please... don't stop. Don't leave..."

Leif held him in a tight embrace, a more intimate version of all of the comfort-giving hugs that Leif had given him in the years that they had been together. "Believe me. I will never leave you..." Then, Leif's smile widened as he pulled himself away from the embrace, letting Cain lie in the bed while he sat above.

As Leif moved his hands to explore the pale skin, he whispered, "And I wasn't planning on stopping, Cain-sama."

Cain frowned and put his finger to Leif's lips. "I'm Cain- just Cain."

Softly, Leif nodded. As he moved his mouth down to where his hands were, he smiled. "Yes, Cain. My only lord..."

Merriwether smiled as she saw the tarot card on the table.

The Lovers...

It had been coming up in her brother's readings more and more often, until she had known for sure that the day was coming... Maybe her brother would have some happiness now. Laughing to herself at the memory of both their stubborness, she snuffed out the candle beside her bed and went to sleep.

Moonlight shone in through the window, and the card seemed to glow with a pearly light of its own. It was a simple tarot card from an oft-used deck, but this particular card had given more happiness than grief to the people involved. Unusual, really, considering the amount of pain predicted by these cards...

As the wind blew in from a cracked-open window, another card flipped over from the deck to cover the first on the table.

The Tower, covering the Lovers.

Darkness coming.

---Finis---

Last edited: 3/8/98