"Before he could conceal it, they saw through the mask the anguish of a mind in doubt, loathing to stay and dreading to leave its refuge." ("The Two Towers", The Lord of the Rings Part II, J.R.R Tolkien)

"Dear God, if you exist, please end my life right here, right now".

Ashur snorted a bit at that, then he stretched out his hand and easily pulled Fayez up.

Fayez looked up at the prefect, not even aware that he looked like a complete moron, with his eyes wide open and his mouth agape.

Physically, Ashur looked nothing like Zephyr. He was as tall as his blond lover was small. His skin was a rich brown, whereas Zephyr's skin looked like it would burn under the weakest ray of sun. He had vibrant hazel eyes, a few shades lighter than Akhenaton, while Zephyr had baby blue ones.

Yet, there was also a strange similarity to both men, but Fayez couldn't exactly pinpoint it. He wanted to believe it was their inhumane beauty, but that would have been a far too easy explanation. After all, at least fifty percent of the students at the ISB met this criteria.

Maybe it was connected to the fact that their beauty had an untarnished quality. They looked like they didn't really belong to this planet and, in consequence, couldn't be affected by anything happening under those changing skies. It wasn't only linked to their physical appearance, though. It was also the way they tended to act in public, for they always remained polite, quiet, and almost indifferent.

In that regard, they were so unlike Akhenaton, who always bore a scarred face and a short temper. Fayez didn't like the idea one bit, but he believed he was himself more similar to the brunet, in a sense that he, too, was broken.

Of course, fucking prefect Akhenaton would disagree with the comparison, saying that Fayez was nothing but a spoiled brat, but Fayez knew better. He could read on Akhenaton's face the same anguish he was feeling deep down - only Fayez was better at hiding it, or so he thought.

Fayez was so deeply lost into his thoughts about the fascinating three men, that he hadn't noticed the subtle shift in Ashur's expression. Of course, had he been more observant, he still probably wouldn't have realised that Ashur's good mood was no longer, for he couldn't read the quiet prefect, as they were almost strangers to each others.

"Why is Zephyr's scent so strong on you?"

Fayez startled at that. Ashur's voice had been even quieter than usual, when he had asked this question, but there was an underlying threat to the way he now smiled at him - icily, the smile never quite reaching his eyes.

Fayez then remembered Helmut's warning, on the day he had arrived at the ISB.

Be careful around Zephyr. Ashur and Akhenaton are very protective, to say the least. You won't last long if you get too close to the blond beauty.

Holy Moly Fucking Shit. That was it. That was the day he died, in the hands of a tall and handsome guy.

There were worst ways of dying, right?

"It's not the way it looks, really" Fayez sputtered, feeling perspiration rolling down his temples when Ashur frowns, obviously displeased with his reaction. "Zephyr and Akhenaton can tell you all about it when they're back."

"How about - you tell me yourself instead?"

Fayez was about to decline the offer, but thankfully had enough wit to realise that it had been merely a rhetorical question. He nodded obediently, and started following Ashur in a direction opposite to his own bedroom.

They walked for almost ten minutes, as the castle was pretty big, but it still felt too short to Fayez's troubled mind. Eventually, Ashur opened a discrete door, one that Fayez could have easily passed by thousand times and still failed to notice it.

"Be my guest" Ashur declared, in a somehow ironical voice.

"Thank you" Fayez still replied politely, before stepping inside, Ashur hot on his heels.

He gasped in surprise after taking a look at his new surroundings. He had expected Ashur to lead him to a more neutral place, like his office - or even the dungeons, because come on! this castle looked so gloomy it probably had dungeons - but he certainly hadn't expected the reserved man to bring him to his own bedroom.

The bedroom he shared with his lovers.

Fayez wanted to say something to lighten the mood, like "buy me flowers first?" but he wisely kept his mouth shut. After all, he had no proof that Ashur had a better sense of humor than his sinister lover Akhenaton.

There were two small tables in the room, one with some tubes of paint and paintbrushes on it, the other with a laptop and many pencils. Fayez briefly wondered which one of them was painting, before turning his attention to the rest of the bedroom.

A comfortable-looking couch was facing a huge TV screen and, in the middle of the room, there was a king size bed, which actually looked big enough for at least six persons.

Was it the bed where the three of them ... Did they ... Of course they did, they were all adults, after all, and many adults indulged into sexual activities. Get a grip, Fayez, the vampire silently scolded himself.

"What are you thinking about?"

"You" was Fayez's brutally honest answer, before he bit his upper lips, utterly fed up with himself.

"Me?" Ashur's eyes widened in surprise.

"I mean, you and your two boyfriends" Fayez said reassuringly, before realizing that it sounded even worse. "Not in the way you might think. I-"

"You were staring at the bed, though." Ashur said teasingly, and he looked like he was trying his hardest not to laugh.

"Yes, but I - Ah. I was looking at the bed because... There is a very good explanation to that, I swear."

"You do swear a lot."

"I - Whatever. I was wondering - I was wondering who slept on which side of the bed?"

"Excuse me?"

"Please, Master Ashur. Can we start talking about something else?" Fayez asked, not realizing that it half-sounded like he was begging.

"Fair enough. Please, get yourself comfortable. You can even have a sit on the bed, since it fascinates you so much"

Hating the heat that he could feel spreading on his face, Fayez nodded and carefuly put the edge of his bottom on the light green cover. He did like the room, it gave off relaxing vibes, with the blank wall, the wooden furniture, the comfy couch and the little splashes of green.

Ashur took a sit on one of the wooden chair and said nothing, seemingly content to study him in silence.

"I don't really know what to tell you, Master Ashur. You have to believe me when I say that I wouldn't hurt Zephyr, or even Akhenaton"

Ashur's expression hardened again when Fayez pronouced his lovers' names, but he quickly recovered and put an impassive mask on his face instead.

"I doubt you could ever hurt them, even if they were tied up from head to do and you were trying your hardest. That's actually one of the reason I'm giving you a chance to explain to me why you smell like my precious Zephyr. Now, start talking, and you better tell me everything from the beginning."

Fayez wanted to disagree on that (surely, with time and some intensive training he could take them in a fight) but he knew better than to start arguing with the most respected prefect of the ISB on such a trivial matter, so he did what he was told. Again. Shit, was he really turning into an obedient little puppy, or had he always been like that?

Fayez didn't know exactly where to start, Ashur had ordered him to start at the very beginning, but surely he didn't want Fayez to tell him about his first years on Earth as a clumsy toddler.

Fayez decided to start with his first day at the ISB. He thought that if Ashur wanted him to skip some parts of his narrative, he would say so anyways.

However, the slender guy listened to him attentively, his expression mostly quiet and pensive. He was actually a good listener, but it didn't came as much of a surprise to Fayez. The guy seemed to have the patience of a saint.

He smiled a few times when Fayez started rambling about Helmut and how annoyingly adorable the guy could be. When Fayez told him about Akhenaton's "mental pain game" and the effects it had on him, Ashur's jaw set, although Fayez knew that he had most likely already heard about it.

Fayez kept on with his story, starting to feel more and more at ease and almost forgetting that he had a very wary man in front of him.

"So, you don't drink human blood" Ashur interrupted him at some point, understanding dawning on him.

"I don't. Ever. I know it can seem weird to some..."

"Not at all. My own boyfriend doesn't drink human blood either."

"Zephyr only drinks animal blood? Wow, really? Where does he get it? I couldn't find a single animal in this giant forest" Fayez exclaimed excitedly, as if he was a five-years old boy who had just been promised a whole week-end at a theme park.

For a second, it was Ashur's turn to look uncomfortable, as if he had say something he hadn't meant to say. He eventually replied, with a firm but amused expression:

"He might tell you himself, one day. Now, please tell me about what happened after Lindsay came to find you"

"She said she knew where I could find animals to hunt."

"I'm gonna kill her" Ashur mumbled, making Fayez's eyes widen, because surely Ashur hadn't said what he thought he had, right?

"Sorry, Master?"

"Nothing, please keep going."

When Fayez started to tell Ashur how Zephyr had offered him to drink his blood, he was a bit worried about the prefect's reaction. However, the guy really was unpredictable, because he only covered his face with both hands, and stayed motionless for the longest time.

"Master Ashur?" Fayez eventually said timidly.

Ashur opened his eyes, and Fayez was horrified when he saw how red they were.

Master Ashur had been crying! But, why?

"I'm sorry- Master Ashur!" he exlaimed.

"Why?" Ashur asked quietly, not even bothering to wipe up the wet paths on his face. "What are you sorry about?"

"Huh, because you've been -"

"I've been what?"

"Crying, Master Ashur." he whispered, as if they were sharing a shameful secret.

Ashur's eyes narrowed at Fayez's answer, and he looked at him with such an intense expression that Fayez started to feel uncomfortable, as if he had been the one doing something as embarassing as crying.

"I take it you never cry, Fayez?"

"Not in public" Fayez immediatly retorted, looking quite proud of himself for the admission. "But don't worry" he added, in a comforting, if not slightly condescending manner. "I won't tell a soul that you cried. Your secret is safe with me"

"You can tell people that you saw me crying, I don't mind"

"Wow, really? You don't mind? You're joking, right? "

"You think men cannot cry?"

"It's not that. I just-"

Fayez's thoughts ceased to be coherent when Ashur gently grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at him in the eyes. His touch didn't feel as relaxing as Akhenaton's, but it was still soothing.

Nice. Again. More, touch me more.

"Do you feel like you're not allowed to cry, Fayez?"

Suddenly, there was a lump in Fayez's throat, and he furiously blinked. No. Non, nein. Ashur might feel comfortable crying in front of him, but there was no way Fayez was going to do the same. He wouldn't - couldn't.

"I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. I am not entitled to ask you something so personal" Ashur eventually said in a contrite voice, as if he had been reading Fayez's thoughts.

Fayez hated the self-depreciating expression that had appeared on Ashur's face and he immediatly denied him.

"No, it's okay. I'm not a talktative person, but with you it feels easier than it does with everyone else."

"I'm glad to know that" Ashur smiled to him, a smile so soft and warm that Fayez felt like it had brightned his entire day.

"I actually have weird reactions to you and your boyfriends" Fayez noted absentmindedly. "When I drank Zephyr's blood I -"

Shit. What the fuck was wrong with him? How could he have almost told Ashur what had happened in the woods?

"You what?"

"N-nothing!""

That wasn't what Ashur wanted to hear. He slowly stood up, before kneeling in front of Fayez.

"I thought I had made myself clear. You have to tell me everything about what happened today with Zephyr and Akhenaton. I will ask for their versions later, so you better not "forget" any details."

"Uh, okay, but you won't like it"

"Try me" Ashur's expression was unreadable.

"I had this - this reaction."

"Which reaction?"

"Ah, erm. You know, when a guy desire something - or someone, more likely, there's this part of his body, which-"

Fayez could no longer hold the other man's gaze, so he didn't see how his eyes had softened again, his expression betraying his growing concern and fondness. Fayez felt like he was on the verge of crying, and he knew his whole face must be red. Gosh, why did he had to fuck up everything at the last moment? Now, Master Ashur surely found him disgusting, and was about to beat his ass.

"You know what this is, right? This reaction?"

"Of course, I know. I'm a big boy, thanks a lot" Fayez huffed. "It happened to me a few times, in my sleep."

"In your sleep only?"

"Well, yes. Plus, today in the forest. Obviously."

Fayez didn't try to comprehend why Ashur looked so sad by the admission. At least, the prefect no longer looked like he was going to murder him, which was absolutely great. Let's spend another day in this terrifying castle! Hurrah!

"So" Ashur eventually resumed. "You feel like you can tell me stuff"

"It's like there's something about you which makes me want to tell you things I haven't told a soul" Fayez confirmed, making Ashur smile at the kid's innocence.

"Then, you had this... strong reaction, as you put it, to Zephyr's blood."

"Ah, yes. You're not mad, ain't you?"

"What about Akhenaton?"

"I like it when he touches me. "

"When he touches you?"

"Not the way you think! It's just - I dunno, relaxing. My whole body feels kinda numb and warm when he holds me close."

" I see"

Fayez had no idea what it was that Ashur was seeing, but it surely seemed to give him something to think about. In fact, Ashur remained silent for so long that Fayez started to wonder if he had maybe forget about his presence. When the prefect opened his mouth again, though, it wasn't to say what Fayez wanted to hear.

"You're free to go, now. Don't worry, me or my bratty lovers won't bother you like this again."

"Zephyr isn't a brat. Akhenaton, on the other hand..."

"Don't be so sure about it" Ashur said, in a good-humored manner. "They are both sneaky little shits, in their own ways."

It was told with so much fondness, that Fayez suddenly felt like he was intruding on a very intimate moment. He took a step back, torn between the need to stay in this room with the man forever, and the urge to hide in his own bedroom and cry until dawn - yeah, he was a bit dramatic.

"Good night, Fayez. Try not to meddle with prefects' business, next time. "

"Good night to you too, Master Ashur"

Fayez went back to his modern and spacious, but lonely bedroom, wondering why Ashur's last words had felt so much like a dismissal.

Above all, he couldn't understand why he felt somehow disappointed by the ending.