Kane isn't all that surprised when the barrel of a gun is pressed against his cheek. He growls and tilts his head on instinct to escape the threat of having his head blown off, but the weapon pursues him, and a firm hand fists his hair. It hurts like hell with the vampiric strength yanking at his scalp. He takes an involuntary, sharp breath.

Reid is rightfully pissed. "You said this wasn't a ruse!"

Gabriel unhurriedly walks around the coffee table. "I won't make the same blunder I made with your mother. Not when I can guard you in Fawnhill. It's the securest option." He's too fucking close to Reid when he pauses, tilting his head with a warm smile. "Kane will pose a problem. He'll doubtlessly come for you. The only option is to take him with us until this entire mess is taken care of. He won't come easily, I'm sure. Precisely why Keirnan and Axel are here is to make certain everything goes smoothly."

Kane grits, "Fuck you, Gabriel."

"Indeed," Gabriel drawls, unimpressed.

Reid shifts nearer to Kane. "You can't bring him to Fawnhill. It would be a death sentence."

Gabriel pretends to consider this and then dares to say, "I would turn him for you. Tonight. If you wished it."

"No!" Reid yells.

"Fucking, fuck you," Kane falters, even though he has a sinking feeling that what he desires won't count for much.

Reid seizes Kane's arm, making the gesture look natural, shaking as the idiot is. His hand drops behind Kane's lower back and the couch, fingers gradually slipping beneath the hem of Kane's jacket and grazing the holster. "You swore. I might have been loopy, but I remember. You vowed no one would touch him. That includes you."

Reid's going to try for the gun. It's risky and stupid, and Kane has a swelling of pride in his heart. Fucking badass. He'd better make the shot count. They'll only get one.

Kane would be lying if he claimed a bit of rust didn't begin to seep into iron resolve from Gabriel's threat. The idea of being turned into a vampire is a nightmare. He'd lose his magic. His maker would be Gabriel. He'd be loyal beyond logic. It's exactly what the bastard desires. Love is a weakness. Fuck. He'd have control over Reid forever.

"It's only an offer," Gabriel says with a prissy laugh. "You needn't worry for his safety. No one dares lay a hand on another vampire's human. He's yours."

From above, Kiernan chuckles.

Reid's fingers have gone still on the gun. 

"Divest yourself of that ugly glower you've learned from Kane. It's unbecoming," Gabriel says with a poorly held-back smile. "Simply put, you're innocent on some matters of importance. Like, for instance, how you've shown indications that you're quite territorial over Kenneth."

Reid scoffs. "Because I don't want you to touch him? Turn him against his will?" His face is beginning to redden. "He's my best friend. I'm not territorial. I'm protecting him."

Gabriel bends closer. "You don't want me to turn him because it's not you turning him. You don't want someone to touch him, because it's not you touching him." He smiles darkly as Reid's expression pinches. "I understand. We all do."

Kane's so humiliated that he's truly worried about losing consciousness from how much blood is rushing to redden his face. He glares at Reid and isn't surprised when Reid's blue eyes stray elsewhere. He's going to thrash the idiot for thinking he has any right to be territorial. He'll drown Reid in the bathtub. Pinch him until he cries. Tickle him for hours. The fantasies of torture are endless. Is that why Reid was so adamant about biting Kane's hand in the hospital? Weirdo.

Kiernan's grasp of Kane's hair gentles. "I could show you."

"The fuck you will," Kane says angrily, only for the gun to shove against his face so forcefully that his teeth cut into his inner cheek. He tastes blood. 

Reid looks dismayed. His fingers unclasp the gun. He holds the weight against Kane's back. The shift of him clicking the safety is drowned out by his outcry, "I don't need to be shown! I know, alright? I feel it. I can feel it. Call off your dog. Please."

Gabriel inhales. "Kiernan, Kane's off limits. You know this."

"Pity," Kiernan says with a lilt of a smile in his arrogant voice. His fingers run through Kane's hair, down to the side of his neck, and a cold palm rests on his pulse point. It's disgusting. The touch is vile. The bastard is going to lose his fingers, one by one, very slowly.

Gabriel straightens. "I have to remain for the auction, but thereafter, Fawnhill. I shouldn't be more than a few hours. You will remain here with Kiernan and Axel in the meantime." With a bent finger, he chucks Reid's chin, smiling warmly. "I know how you like to scurry away and make it difficult for me to find you. There will be none of your games tonight." He steps away, clearly disregarding Reid as being taken care of.

Kane looks at Reid, and this time their gazes meet intensely. He can only hope Reid comprehends the unsaid order because Kane doesn't hesitate, seizing the gun and pushing it away.

Before Kiernan can retaliate, Kane flings his head back, meeting the bastard's face with a satisfying crack. The impact hurts, but damn, it's worth it to hear the strangled cry that escapes Kiernan as his nose is broken.

Time shifts, sluggish with rising adrenaline.

The gun goes off, a hairsbreadth from blowing off Kane's nose. The bullet shatters the glass of a picture on the wall. It's loud, resounding in the small room and ringing in his ears. He can smell the powder. 

Axel's cursing. The weight of the gun against Kane's back vanishes.

Reid looks unsure of who he should shoot, floundering, and then his gaze grows stony and he points the barrel of the gun at Gabriel, who's finished reeling from Kane's rash attack. Gabriel's gaze darkens, and his lips part. If Gabriel orders him to quiet down, Kane's done for. He'll become a fucking puppet.

Reid pulls the trigger. The idiot's admittedly a decent shot, but this close, it doesn't matter; he couldn't miss.

And he doesn't.

The bullet strikes Gabriel in the chest, sending him stumbling back with a shout of pain, fragmenting upon impact. Even a century-old vampire would be left in agony. He sounds like he's in misery. And it's the exact juncture Kane throws his arms around Reid's shoulders, embracing him tightly. Knowing what's coming, Reid holds onto Kane like a lifeline in a tremulous ocean.

Kane rouses his magic, his ears pop, and they displace.

Stomach swooping. Shivering as they pass through whatever cold place one passes through when displacing. Kane's heart is beating wildly, and with his adrenaline pumping, it's impossible to go far.

In a blink, they smack against the floor of the upstairs hallway in a heap of limbs.

There's a feminine screeching. A few party guests lingering in the hallway gawk at the pair that just appeared seemingly out of thin air. Distant classic music wafts into the corridor.

"Fuck," Kane groans. His back is on fire, and a warm trickle runs down the side of his head from where he hit the stone of the wall. He's landed with a bony knee shoved uncomfortably between his legs. He's seconds from shoving Reid off when the idiot begins laughing hysterically, and Kane freezes, his survival instincts prickling.

Reid lifts his head from Kane's chest. He's crying. "I shot Gabriel." His voice cracks: "Kenneth, I shot him."

Kane embraces Reid against his chest. It's an awkward position. He disregards the many sets of eyes on them and places his mouth against Reid's hair, smelling the familiar scent of minty shampoo. "Yeah, you did, and it was fucking badass. You'll shoot him again if you get the chance, got it?"

Reid nods. Laughing a bit more. He rubs his face on Kane's shirt. It's either to wipe his teary eyes or to simply be irritating—either way, it's annoying.

"Get off, so we can get the fuck out of here." He rises and drags Reid to his feet. "Don't think I'm forgetting about that shit back there."

Reid laughs wryly. "You always knew you were my favourite person." He's trying to play it off as casual, but his cheeks are pink. "Now you're my favourite food too." He shrugs. "It's pretty much the same thing."

"It's not the same," Kane snarls. He snatches the gun from Reid's grasp, shoves it beneath the open lapel of his suit jacket, and keeps his finger against the trigger. "You're not ever biting me. Don't even think about it."

"Aw, Kenneth."

Kane tugs Reid down the hallway with a hand clutching the back of the idiot's satiny shirt. "No."

"Just once?"

"No."

They turn down a quieter hallway with white walls and high ceilings. The patterned runner beneath their feet muffles their hurried steps.

Reid whines, "Honestly, I really want to."

Kane swallows. "That's kind of weird, man." His eyes remain ahead, skimming every face and considering threats. It won't be long until Gabriel puts out the word that Reid's to be found and brought to him by any means necessary.

"Is it?

Kane looks behind them. A few party guests in formal wear loiter outside ajar doors, talking. He glances at Reid, and his pace slows. Reid looks distraught. Fuck. Kane's messed up. Again.

"It's not..." Kane doesn't know what he's going to say; I'll give you anything if you just stop making that expression. Because he will. "I don't care; do whatever weird vampire shit you need, but don't go telling anyone. I know how you blab."

Reid grins wickedly. "Will it be our dirty secret?"

Kane scowls and shoves Reid a few steps ahead. "Shut up."

Reid laughs as he stumbles. They never slow down. It's still dire, and the air is tense. They've got to get Hannah and Lucas, then get out of here.

"Don't worry," Reid says suddenly, frowning and serious in a way Kane's only seen when the idiot is hyper-focused on his soaps. Reid makes chopping motions in the air with his hand. "Strictly brotherly bites."

Despite his overwhelming desire to never speak of this aloud, Kane hears himself ask, "What's a brotherly bite?"

"I don't know...your wrist?"

Kane has a vivid daydream of looking down and seeing Reid sucking at his wrist, and it makes his stomach churn. He chokes, "No."

"Arm?"

"No."

Reid piques. "Neck? Really?" He's suspiciously excited about the prospect.

Kane snorts. "Whatever. It's all the fucking same."

Reid lays a hand on Kane's arm. "Kenneth..." He captures Kane's gaze with the sheer intensity of emotion that's behind his blue eyes. "I'll never use any mind powers on you."

"Okay...." Kane's nape prickles. Having to say it makes it suspicious.

"Not ever."

"Stop talking about it."

Reid strokes Kane's arm. "I'll never make you do the dishes, my laundry, or anything else that you don't want to do. And I'll never tell you that's what you wanted all along because..." He pokes at Kane's chest. "I would break your trust. And I'd never do that, even though you'd never know I did."

That has Kane's brows pinching. "Don't fucking joke about that."

Reid pouts and bats his lashes sweetly. The twerp. "I said I wouldn't."

Kane's not a man who's easily rattled. He's delved into dreary crypts with monsters laying in wait, fought beasts with claws and fangs the size of his hand, and even fought a few werewolves that went bonkers and started making humans their chow, but vampires are different. They've always made his skin crawl, and he's always cut off their heads before they could open their damning mouths. They're creatures that whisper venom in ears, gain strength at night, can morph and twist someone's thoughts, and make a man not himself so he'll never recall who he was before.

And Kane knows that no matter what happens, he'll never be able to hurt Reid permanently. When it comes to the twerp, Kane might as well have the strength of an infant and the wherewithal of a brainless man. It's dangerous for both of them. If anything scares Kane, it would be that. The wisecrack isn't funny in the slightest.

Reid stops walking. He groans, "Anyone else."

While Kane was lost in his thoughts, Kiernan had turned the corner. Moonlight streams from a giant window to the vampire's back through heavy, grey velvet drapes. Kiernan sees them immediately. He looks pissed. Crimson stains the collar of his white shirt, and blood from his nose smears his cheek. He must have left the room quickly to find them, not even bothering to clean himself up.

"Reid," Kiernan growls darkly, never halting his approach.

"I hate him so much," Reid whispers.

"Don't look at him," Kane says quickly, seizing Reid's shirt and dragging the idiot backward. Kane doesn't actually know if breaking eye contact will prevent Kiernan from getting in Reid's head, but it's worth a shot.

Kane's finger twitches on the trigger of the gun beneath his jacket, but he's gambling on the fact that there are a lot of witnesses mulling, and Kiernan will try to subdue them less violently. For now, that is.

But then Kiernan halts midstep, head-turning, and listens. The look he gives Kane is one of confused shock.

The building suddenly shakes. Followed by the distant boom of an explosion somewhere downstairs. The many windows of their narrow corridor shatter inward. Glass projectiles become fatal weapons in seconds, flying through the air.

Kane reacts on honed instinct. He yanks Reid close and, at the same beat, awakens his magic. Overflowing warmth and fire crackling at his fingertips creates a magical barrier to protect Reid and, inadvertently, himself from the large pieces of the window coming at them at high velocity. 

Fortunately, Kiernan isn't so lucky. Kane could smile if he wasn't pumping with adrenaline when he sees the vampire take a gnarly piece of glass to the back of his leg. The bastard deserves it and more.

Unfortunately, the vampire is kept from becoming minced because he's situated in the middle of the corridor. The party guests on the outskirts take the brunt, with blood spraying and spurting across the white walls and tiled floor.

Screams and shouts rise above the rumbling. A heavy cloud fills the hallway, cutting off all vision. Kane tugs Reid along, and they cough up dust and stumble towards one of the doors flanking the hallway.

It's unlocked. They rush inside, and Kane quickly closes the door, locking it with a loud click. It's a music room. Shadowed. A grand piano sits on a dais in the middle. Glass from the windows litters the ivory flooring and white couches.

Reid fumbles the gun Kane shoves against his chest. "What just happened?"

"A bomb." Kane digs his phone from his pocket and walks towards the open windows. He dials Hannah and places the device against his ear. His heart quickens with every unanswered ring. Fuck. She's fine. She has to be.

This room gives an excellent view of the other side of the auction house and the parking lot. He's feeling lethargic from using so much of his magic.

Reid comes to stand beside him, uncharacteristically silent, and they stare down at the carnage.

The doors they'd arrived in had been blown outward. People rush out in droves. Finery dirtied with ash and blood. The windows downstairs are similarly shattered. The telltale smoke of a fire ablaze rises from the broken frames and into the star-spangled sky.

The phone finally picks up. "Kane. Did an explosion just go off?"

Kane inhales deeply, relieved to hear her voice. "Yeah..." She'd been out of the blast, luckily. "Are you with Lucas?"

From Kane's peripheral view, he sees Reid take his phone from his pocket. It's vibrating. Reid mouths Gabriel and rolls his eyes before stuffing the device back in his pocket. That means the bastard didn't get minced either. Damn.

"He's with me," Hannah says. "We were poking around upstairs. We're in a quiet hallway off the theatre. Are you guys okay?"

"We're good. It went to shit with Gabriel. No surprise. What floor?"

"Second."

Kane's a floor above. They'll reconvene and then get the hell out. "Stay with Lucas..." Kane's attention is drawn by a tugging on his arm, and he follows Reid's pointing finger towards the parking lot.

"Kane?"

Below, cars beep as alarms go off. Over a dozen masked figures prowl past the many parked vehicles. All wearing the same creepy demonic mask he'd seen at the pyre less than a week ago. They're armed, and anyone unlucky enough to try for the safety of the outdoors is being cut down or shot, execution style. The echoes of gunshots rise above the flickering of the flames.

"Hannah, that wasn't the attack. It was a distraction; there's a motel off of the highway, the King's Inn. Get there with Lucas. Tell him to take out anyone with a mask; don't hesitate."

"No way. I'm waiting for you."

"Don't be stubborn." Kane can't deny the twist of heat he undergoes at her determination, which has no place in such a situation. This is going to get more than bloody, and he can't lose her. "I've got Reid. We'll be fine."

"Then get to us, and we can leave," Hannah says. "Hurry your ass up."

"Stay near the theatre. Twenty minutes, and then you leave." Kane hangs up and runs his fingers through his hair. He glances at Reid; the silence is getting to Kane's nerves, and he foolishly yearns for Reid to spew some kind of bullshit to break the tension. "You good? We need to get out of here."

Reid doesn't look away from the parking lot. His jaw is tense. "Do you think he's here tonight?"

Kane frowns. "Azrael?"

Reid grins. "We could kill him tonight. Hunt the hunter." His grip on the gun is tight, and he's got a bloodthirsty look in his eyes that makes Kane nervous.

Kane snatches the gun from Reid's grip. With a heavy heart, he drags Reid away from the window and deeper into the shadowed room. Their shoes crunch the glass littering the floor as Kane says, evenly, "That's not an option. No."

"No?" Reid startles. "Yes! Let's kill him. He's here!"

"No," Kane says in the softest timbre of which he's capable. He lays a palm on Reid's cheek, and those blue eyes glower like Kane has just perpetuated the deepest betrayal by refusing to run in guns blazing. "You heard what Gabriel said. Azrael's been watching you and us; for all we know, he's planned for you to come to him tonight."

Reid breathes, "But he's so close."

"This is his playground," Kane says grimly. "When we kill him, it's on our terms, not his."

Laying a trembling hand over the palm upon his cheek, Reid's soft skin clutching Kane's scarred and calloused fingers feels familiar. The grin Reid gives is even more so. "No more parties."

Suddenly, the doorknob turns, clicking with the turned lock. Screams and shouts waft from the hallway beyond. They ignore the threat of the door shaking on its hinges as it's kicked on the other side.

Kane smiles. "This'll be our last one." He means it.

Taking a deep breath, Kane pours his magic outward. The door flies open. And then, with ringing filling his ears, they displace.