"Kaaayyaaaa, this is too far! My feet hurt" a young Eros followed behind his older sister, hands desperately gripping hers in an attempt to slow her down.

"Come on, Eros. We're almost there! Don't you want to see the cool place I found?" Kaya asked as she looked back at Eros. The pout on his face was hilarious but Kaya kept her face impassive, she knew if she laughed Eros would call it quits and try to run back home.

"Mom's gonna yell at us" Eros weakly protested but Kaya just waved his worries off.

"Don't be such a scaredy cat. As long as we're home before dinner, no one will notice a thing~" she said before kneeling down and turning her back to Eros.

"If you're really that tired, you can get on my back" Kaya offered but Eros, being the stubborn kid that he was, just turned his head in refusal.

"It's fine, I don't—" Eros was cut off as he was suddenly scooped up like it was nothing into Kaya's arms.

"H-Hey!" He exclaimed as he was jostled around a bit before Kaya finally stopped moving him.

"Shh, cut your whining" she said as she began to walk off.

"I can walk on my own" Eros grumbled sourly.

"Weren't you the one just complaining about your feet?" Kaya retorted and knowing she was right, Eros kept quiet and continued to let himself be carried.

"..."

It was only a few more minutes before the two had reached their destination and Eros' eyes went wide as he stared at the field in front of them. The pond was full of all kinds of life and his eyes zeroes in on all the flowers that decorated the field.

"Woah..." Eros said in awe and Kaya giggled.

"I know right?" She said as she slowly let Eros down.

"It's so pretty" he said as he stepped up to the pond, watching as the tadpoles swam around freely in it.

The two sat together in the field, backs to the grass and eyes on the clouds that passed by.

"Eros" Kaya called and the boy turned to his sister, curious azure eyes meeting an identical set of Kaya's own.

"I know mom and dad won't tell you, so I will. We're going to be going through difficult times soon" Kaya said and Eros immediately sat up.

"Is something gonna happen...?" He asked and Kaya shook her head.

"Not for now. You're just a kid and I don't want to burden you with such thoughts, but you know who we are. We have to be prepared for anything" She said, sadness shining in her azure eyes as she stared at the similarly colored sky.

"Then that means I have to protect you guys, doesn't it?" Eros grumbled and Kaya sat up, a frown appearing on her face.

"That's not your job, Eros. Your job is to be a kid for as long as you can, because trust me, growing up sucks" she said but Eros just crossed his harms.

"But I don't want to be a kid" Eros protested and Kaya gave a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"There's no need for you to feel like you have to grow up. You'll get there when you get there" she said, reaching over to pinch the boy's cheek.

"S-Stooop..." Eros whined and Kaya let go of his cheek to instead ruffle his hair.

"Promise me you won't do anything reckless, okay?" She asked and Eros nodded.

"Yes"

'And yet you're the one that ended up doing something reckless...'

E r o s

"Eros"

Hearing my name being called, I looked up from my papers only to see Mikhail coming up to me with a look I couldn't exactly understand.

It was like a mix between excited and serious, as if he were containing it. Which was honestly a red flag in my book.

Mikhail's never excited.

"Yes Mikhail?" I said and the man motioned for me to get up.

"Can we talk? Right now" he said and his eyes darted to some of the men who were in the room as well, meaning he wants to speak alone.

"Uh, okay?" I said and followed the man to another room where he promptly shut the door before turning to me.

"I've got them" he said.

"What?" I said and Mikhail walked up to me.

"Not just one, both of them" he said and I just tilted my head.

"You seem very excited by this so I'm going to take it this is good news" I said and Mikhail nodded.

"The car that rammed you guys? Their license plate was a bit distorted in the camera image but I managed to clean it up. I ran it through my computer and it took quite some time but I managed to track it all the way back to the guy who's to blame for all this. Guess who it is" Mikhail said and I felt a surge of sarcasm fill me.

"...Santa?" I asked and Mikhail's face dropped.

"No, it's his elves" he said dryly and I gave a small smile.

"Sorry, sorry" I said and Mikhail just shook his head before continuing.

"It's fucking Northway" he said and I could only stare in confusion.

Northway...as in the other guy in this alliance thing that Silver was mentioning...? That doesn't sound right.

"This dude is the one ordering the hits, it's no wonder how the targets on those lists are so specific" Mikhail said and for a moment, I just wanted to take his words and run with it but I had to be sure that Mikhail was right.

It would be wrong to sick a ballistic Silver on an innocent soul.

"How do you know for sure, that it's him?" I asked.

"Because ever since finding the license plate, this car that is suspiciously and very secretly registered under Northway, has been seen in the vicinity of every location where the murders have been happening. That's not a coincidence" Mikhail said.

"Jesus you went back to review each and every one?" I asked and Mikhail chuckled.

"I mean, this isn't exactly the type of situation where we can make mistakes" he said and I nodded.

"Okay before I say anything more, you said you got both of them" I said and Mikhail nodded.

"Well the other one was also a bit difficult, it was buried under a lot of security and shit but once I found it, all kinds of arrest reports showed up. This Sid dude's a fucking whack job" Mikhail explained and he raised up his hand.

"Arson, assault, theft, vandalism, grand larceny, etcetera. It's really a mystery how this dude is still roaming the streets let alone alive" Mikhail said.

"Because daddy's making the charges get dropped" I muttered and Mikhail nodded.

"Silver is not going to take this lightly" I said after a moment.

"I could imagine, his group got the worst of it which has to mean something. It makes you wonder if these other lists are just a distraction. He even sent one to himself" Mikhail said, sighing at the end of his words.

Nodding, I decided that I would have to figure out how I was going to tell this to Silver without him dying from high blood pressure on the spot.

"Once again Mikhail, you have been an immense help. Thank you" I said and Mikhail gave me an uncomfortable face.

"That's disgustingly kind of you, it kinda makes me want to throw up" he said and I glared.

"Remind me never to be nice to you again if that's the case" I grumbled.

"Have you checked on Cole?" Mikhail suddenly asked and I found myself absently nodding.

"This morning" I said vaguely and Mikhail's eyes narrowed.

"Have you spoke to him?" He asked and I frowned at his words.

"What? Of course I—"

"You know what I mean" Mikhail had cut me off before I could finish and I paused.

"No..." I trailed off and seeing the look on Mikhail's face just said it all.

"I'm not gonna lecture you so don't make that face. I'm just worried about how Cole is faring, as we all know, he's not really the type of guy to openly say how he's feeling" Mikhail said and I nodded.

"Yeah..." was all I found myself able to say in response.

Of course I would know that better than anyone, every time I see him, he's holding back his protests. I thought I would be fine after our conversation in the hospital, but there was still a part of me that was holding back from being able to truly be over this.

It killed me inside to act so distant towards him but that cowardly side of me was once again showing as I couldn't face Cole while he was still in pain from an injury he received while protecting me.

"I honestly think you're overreacting" Mikhail's words had me freezing.

"What...?" I said dumbly. I truly was not expecting the words that just came out of his mouth but Mikhail continued as if what he said wasn't a big deal.

"Anyone can tell that you're blaming yourself, but it's stupid. Everything that happened that day was literally people throwing random bullshit at us all at once, there was no control you could have had at any second over the situation. You've gotta let whatever guilt you built up, go" Mikhail said as he poked my chest, right in the area of where my heart was.

How can he just sit there and make it sound as if it's the easiest thing in the world...?

"I want to...I do. It's just hard" I weakly retorted but Mikhail wasn't having any of it as he shook his head.

"What's so hard about it? Just accept the fact that it isn't your fault, the rest will resolve itself" Mikhail said and I just frowned.

Accepting was the part I was having trouble with...I couldn't allow myself to accept such a thing when Cole had to be bed ridden for those few days. I couldn't allow myself to accept that it just happened and there was nothing to be done about it.

But now here Mikhail was, telling me to let my feelings go as if they were just leaves on a dandelion. It wasn't as if a gust of wind was just going to carry them away, they'd always be here...

"It's not that easy" I stated my thoughts and Mikhail raised a brow.

"But it is. Here, let me say it again so you understand. This. Is. Not. Your. Fault" Mikhail had gripped my arms as he emphasized word for word his message and I just rolled my eyes.

"Alright, alright, alright. Let go of me" I grumbled as I pulled away from him. Mikhail's laughter was short and he let out a small smile after.

"I just want you back to your regular self. I'll take lovesick Eros over whatever this Eros is" Mikhail said and I just huffed.

"Can't help it" I said and Mikhail's smile didn't falter one bit.

"Just go" he said before leaving me to my own thoughts.

I had to return back to what I was doing but after finishing it up and letting Silver know that I wanted to talk with him soon, I decided it was a decent time to head home. It's a bit late so I wasn't sure if Cole would be up but I soon had my answer when I walked through the door and Cole was sitting on the couch with an unreadable look on his face.

Cole didn't even react to my presence until I shut the door and that was when he looked up at me. What's he thinking about that's got him that distracted?

The first thing I noticed was the missing bandages from Cole's body, he must have taken them off sometime throughout the day because they were surely there this morning.

"You're not wearing the bandages..." I said and Cole nodded.

"I don't need them anymore so it's not necessary" he said as he stood up.

"It doesn't hurt anymore?" I know these questions I was asking may have seemed like obvious ones, but I really just needed to hear it from Cole himself. An answer from him always assured me rather than an assumption.

"Not really" my lover shook his head and he narrowed his eyes when seeing my eyeing his shoulder. I would avert my eyes but then that would just probably make it awkward, well, moreso than it already is.

"If you're going to apologize, don't" Cole said and I let out a dry chuckle.

"That would make you upset, huh?" I said and Cole nodded.

"Yes"

"Well, I'm going to anyways. Sorry I'm being so weird right now" I said as I sat down and Cole shook his head, coming to join me on the couch even though he didn't have to.

"I'm just glad you're actually talking to me instead of giving me one word responses" Cole stated and Mikhail's words ran through my head again.

Let it go, let it go, let it go...

"I didn't mean to push you away, if that's what it seemed like. I just didn't want to burden you with my...problem" I started.

Cole sighed a little and I just kept my eyes trained on his hands. They were clenched lightly and the small birthmark on his wrist was completely visible. It's weird that now of all times I'm choosing to focus on such a detail but I know it's because I'm trying to avoid the look in Cole's eyes.

I can't bare to see him sad but it's even worse when I'm the one causing it.

"It's even more of a burden when you don't tell me what's going on. You're the one who told me that it's okay to say how I feel. So I'm going to say them to you" Cole said and his hands suddenly disappeared from my view. The reason being because Cole used them to make me face him, his green eyes searching mine for something but I don't know what.

"I will always protect you, no matter the situation. If you act like this every time I get hurt, then I'm going to seriously be upset with you" he said and I nodded.

"I know and I'm sorry for the way I acted" I said.

"It's okay, you had your reasons, but I can't say that I quite forgive you yet" Cole said and my eyes widened.

"Huh?" I asked and Cole nodded.

"Yeah, you basically left me alone all the time, it was just weird. I was really upset but figured that I shouldn't pick an argument when you were also dealing with stuff" he admitted and a wave of annoyance came over me.

Annoyance with myself that is.

Cole wasn't upset right now but he had been, and I just didn't allow him to express it because of my own stupid feelings. He bottled his own feelings up just so I could deal with mine selfishly.

I really don't get how Cole manages to keep himself so level headed when he has every right to blow up at me. Cole could yell at me for hours and I'd let it happen because it's what I deserve but just the fact that he isn't makes me all the more regretful.

"I'm so sorry. What can I do to make it up to you? You know I'll do anything" I said and Cole hummed.

"I do. And what I want is for you to buy pudding. We've been out for two weeks it feels like I'm having withdrawal" he said and I frowned.

He's such a simple man to please, it's honestly a bit frustrating. It's not like I want Cole to be difficult, but I just want him to have his own selfish moments where he feels he can demand whatever he wants of me.

God knows I'd never object.

"You sure that's all you want?" I asked and Cole nodded.

"Yes"

"Alright, I'll go get some" I said as I stood up but I was pulled gently back down by Cole who then proceeded to take my chin in his hand as he hovered over me.

"You don't have to get it right now..." he said and like an idiot, I just stared back at him.

"Excuse me" I said and Cole frowned.

"You haven't touched me let alone kiss me for almost three weeks you idiot. Pudding's the last thing I want at the moment" he said.

"Oh..." was all I could say as I was the one who is the reason to blame for this.

"And since I'm still upset with you, I'll be the one taking over for tonight" Cole said and before he could go any further, I stopped him with a hand on his bicep.

"I don't have any complaints, really, I never would. However, are you really sure your shoulder is—"

"Finish that sentence and I'll make sure you regret it" Cole's glare was definitely not something to make light of and I immediately shut my trap before I could ruin a good thing.

Cole gave a victorious smile before leaning down, stopping just before his lips touched my own and I found my heart beginning to race with anticipation.

"That's more like it"