There was too much running through my head after I spoke with Ryu. At first, I felt like I was in a dream...that kind when you finally get to be with the person you've waited so long to see again. That romance clip when you fall into each other’s arms and kiss under the sunset. But, that wasn't what happened at all.

Instead, my father died at the hands of the one person in this world I loved. 

I recall Ryu being upset while we were young. He mentioned wanting to kill him from all the beatings I'd taken and honestly sometimes I wished that were possible. Yet, I was against violence...even if that violence was enacted upon me.

Were my parents’ all-stars, no. Did they deserve a second chance or a better ending to their stories than what they were dealt...no. When my dad left, I figured he'd only get in more trouble and run into the wrong person at the wrong time. So, I wasn't surprised by what Ryu told me, but my heart hurt from all the details. Nothing about that was right in my mind...but...he did do it for me.

If Kizuna did find out about me, I would be dead...just like my father. I'd just be another wasted shell...another meaningless existence like I had thought my whole life. So...didn't that mean Ryu did me a favor? Wasn't he just trying to protect me...

Maybe he was just trying to save me from the pain...the heartbreak...

I didn't know, but even in my confusion...it was hard to stay mad. At least that's initially what I thought when I went back to the Tacoma corporation with the next batch of paintings that was requested by Yahiko. The thing was, when I opened the door...Ryu wasn't there: and that only re-ignited the fire in my belly. If he was so pissed off that I met with Yahiko without him before, why wouldn't he show up now?

After my paintings were approved, I just remember leaving. Yahiko said he'd deposit the money into my card for me to use, but I honestly wasn't listening that intently. It was only when I opened the door, being confronted by the ghastly figure, Kizuna, that my chest tightened. His blood-shot eyes rested on me, smirking like a boy who had waited years to rip off the head of his most hated toy. I honestly wanted to get out of his way and far from his presence quickly, saying excuse me, politely, as I walked passed him. Yet, he caught my arm before I could get far enough away.

"Hey, baby, where do you think—" he started.

"Kizuna," I heard Yahiko call, re-directing his attention, "when I say be on time, I fucking mean it."

Yahiko didn't sound pleased. It was enough for Kizuna to release his hold on me, chuckling under his breath that it wasn't the last time I'd see him. I honestly hoped it was and I scurried away, hearing the back and forth rumbling before the door to the cobra's lair shut. I didn't even realize how much my heart was racing until I made it to Ray's door. Maybe it was because I was worried, that in that moment, that he'd put two and two together. My father had the same blue-ish hair as me...it was almost unmistakable. If he knew...if he found out that I was his son...did that mean... 

I shook, rage beginning to swallow me, as I rang Ryu's doorbell. Within minutes, he stood before me. He was in a black tank top, black joggers, and was wiping his hair with a towel that sat around his neck. His cold yellow eyes just stared blankly at me, as I stood in front of him without a word. I'm guessing he just got out of the shower...did he and Kizuna just...

That was enough to push me over the edge, as I pushed passed him into his suite. "Why the fuck didn't you show? Isn't that what pissed you off the last time? Seeing your brother without you around?"

"Ha," he laughed, matter-of-factly, as the door shut.

Ryu walked right passed me to the kitchen, just as annoyed, as he took out a glass from his cabinet: adding some ice cubes.

"You told me to leave you alone, didn't you?"

He wasn't wrong, but that didn't settle my temper.

"You're a big boy, now, right," he added, dumping a bottle of whiskey into his glass, "that means you can handle dealings with my brother all by yourself."

Ryu took a good swig, as I stood steaming, while he walked towards the elongated part of his couch: where he gave me a haircut.

"The fuck did you say?!"

He snickered, sitting down, sipping his drink. "You heard me, Niko—"

His words passed me by, as my anger came to a tipping point: propelling my body straight for that asshole.

"You're in way over your—"

I grasped onto Ryu's shirt, making a fist around his shoulder straps, as I slammed him back against the cushions. His drink fell to the ground, smacking hard against the tile. Even though his expression didn't change, I knew I had taken him by surprise. Hell, I didn't expect myself to straddle him, but my aggression only shouted for him to shut up.

"I've had it with you!" I shouted, staring into his mesmerizing eyes.

"You killed my dad and spoke to me as if nothing fucking happened?! Sure, he was a piece of shit, but for you to do something like that and act as if it was nothing...it's fucking inhuman! Don't you get that?!"

Ryu's face mellowed, as he started to reach for me. "Niko—"

"Don't fucking touch me!" I yelled, as he stopped his advance, "Don’t' move!"

I sighed, trying to calm myself down, but my adrenaline was running high.

"People change...I get that. I get that you're different, I get that killing is easy for you, I get that you killed him to protect me. But for you to kill my dad and seal my fate for your own hard on...I hate that! I hate that you get to decide my life for me without involving me in it! Is that what you think caring for someone is? Just fucking them over?!"

"No," he finally said, the gold fading from his eyes, "I didn't do this to fuck you over. I did what I did because I love you, Niko."

My heart caught as the green, as the Ryu I knew, finally came to the surface. "If Kizuna got your name from your father, you'd be dead. If I didn't pull the trigger, if I didn't find you at that art gallery, then I would've come across your body and lost all reason to live."

Why...why is he saying this...

"I know what I did was wrong, but the less you knew...I just thought it'd be better. But I'd be lying if I hadn't thought of killing him. What he did to you...the bruises I saw on your body...every day I wanted to rid you of that pain. What I did for him was more than he deserved, but it was more humane than letting Kizuna and his dogs rip him limb from limb."

He wasn't lying...and that's what made things worse. I came in here wanting to punch him, but now...

I released my hold on him, moving towards his lips, kissing him. I grabbed a fistful of his hair, still pissed, moving his head down as I ran my tongue up the roof of his mouth. Our tongues interlocked, as my free hand moved up his shirt. His chest was pure muscle and I felt my hands wander over every curvature, just as I had gazed upon his body when he first came into my apartment. Feeling his chest was only exciting me, but not him. My breathing intensified but his remained the same. He probably had so much sex with Kizuna that nothing I was doing was new...it was just new to me, and for whatever reason that aggravated me more.

So, I bit his lip, his chest finally heaving as I sat up on him: staring into his green eyes. That green...I slowly began to wonder if they changed based off of his mood. Or...was it green because...

My hand moved down to his pants, our eyes locked onto one another. I ran my hand over his bulge...only wanting to tease him as I traced how large he was. He was big...but for whatever reason, the friction between us made him sigh heavily. 

He was getting turned on.

That's when I knew it was my queue to stop. I smirked, taking my hands off of him. 

"Don't start something you can't finish," Ryu warned, the yellow peeping back into his eyes.

"What do you—"

He was on top of me so fast that I didn't even know that we changed positions! Now I was being straddled, as he held my hands above my head, staring deep into my eyes.

"Do you know what I hate," he whispered, licking my lips, "being teased. I hate it when you want me close just to push me away again."

Shit.

He kissed me...and I felt like my tongue was being sucked off. I tried to move but his hold on me was so firm that it was impossible, yet arousing. 

"I didn't like it," his hand, like mine had, slipped over my chest and electrifying sensations ran from my belly button to my breast, "when you called my name in your sleep."

He pinched me hard, making my body twitch under him, "Or when you kissed me just to run away." 

His lips were on me again, as he ran his hand down my leg. My manhood was growing...just from that.

"Ryu," I gasped, unwillingly moaning, "Ryu, wait—"

His lips fell from mine as he looked into my eyes. "I want you all to myself, Niko. I want you more than I've wanted anything in life, and now that I have you back...I don't want to let you go."

He was being sincere again...I could hear it in his voice. Sure, maybe I was a little aroused...and it's beyond true that I started this, but the real reason I stopped...the reason I was afraid to continue was...

"But...but what about Kizuna."

He ran his free hand down my lips, eyeing me with lust, "...do you trust me?"

I gazed into his eyes for a while, thinking about those very words. Ryu and I haven't been in each other’s lives for seven years. We've both changed since then...and I was just getting to know who he was...just like he was with me. Yet, since I've been around him, even as 'Ray', I never felt like I couldn't believe him. He said he wanted to keep me safe...

"Yes."

He leaned down to kiss me again as my hands wrapped around his neck.

"Then trust that I have every intention of being with you in the end."