"Aren't you tired?" Justin asked, shutting the blinds and closing the curtains in the small motel room.

"We could take a nap after such a pleasant meal," Bernard suggested, licking the last drop of blood from his lips.

Justin forced a smile, slumping into the only armchair in the room. He couldn't believe Bernard had lured the couple checking in at the same time as them to their room, then simply tossed their bodies into the room assigned to the couple.

Justin had forgotten how cruel Bernard could be, and he wanted nothing more than to end the madness already. They'd been on the road for three days. They were a few miles away from Los Angeles, but the sun was rising soon, so they'd had to stop.

Justin could have ended it all during their previous stop in Colorado. Without thinking, he'd gone to their car to get his phone, which he'd forgotten in the glove compartment. Bernard had nearly run after him but had stopped in the safety of the shadows, stupefied by Justin's recklessness. Realizing his mistake, Justin had pocketed his ring and suffered a few burns on the dash back to the motel. If only Bernard had followed him then, he would have been a pile of ash by now.

"Come here. This bed is big enough for both of us," Bernard cooed, patting the spot next to him.

Justin cringed, knowing there was no way out of joining Bernard. He had to suffer Bernard's presence to succeed in playing his cards the right way. After sitting on the edge of the bed, he had to resist the urge to pull away from the revolting sensation of Bernard running a hand over his back.

"I know you missed me. There will always be a deep connection between us," Bernard whispered, crawling closer and kissing Justin's neck. "You can't deny this, Justin."

"Of course. You're right." Justin nodded, turning around and smiling. He threaded his fingers through Bernard's hair. Justin knew what Bernard wanted and decided to take the first step. Swallowing hard and wishing he didn't have to do it, Justin leaned closer, kissing his maker. The feeling of Bernard's unpleasantly moist lips and the smell of old, musty paper made him sick, but he continued.

Bernard evidently rejoiced in the small victory, laying Justin on the bed. He finally had the blond where he'd wanted him.

"What do you say to a game?" Bernard questioned, stretching Justin's arms above his head.

"For our first time in centuries, you want to play games? I'd rather not. Remind me instead of all those times you pleasured me in bed," Justin proposed as confidently as he could. He knew that any tremor in his voice would change his fate since Bernard truly could read him like no other.

To his relief, Bernard listened to him and was much more caring than ever before. Justin kept his eyes closed during the act, thinking of Brian and their love.

oOo

In the evening, they left once the sun had set, Justin idly wondering what would happen when the cleaning lady found the corpses in the other room.

"Ah, Justin." Bernard's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "I have to change your way of thinking. We're killers, my darling. We're hunting animals."

Justin gritted his teeth. "I'm not an animal! I'm human. I won't kill someone just to slake my thirst. I've lived for so long without killing anyone, I won't start now for you."

"Same old argument? We'll see about that. I just got an invitation from an old friend, so we're headed to a party."

"What kind of party?"

Bernard smirked. "A party like the ones we used to attend in France."

Justin froze. He could clearly remember the savage acts that had taken place at those parties. Humans loved parties, and vampires crashed the celebrations, slaughtering them.

They drove to a small house in the heart of the city. It was surrounded by trees, a perfect location for a vampire. "So where's the party?" Justin choked out, stepping out of the car.

"Oh, the party is in two weeks. Before then, I have to reintroduce you to the delicious taste of human blood, to the glorious feeling of draining a human, taking their life."

"If this is going to be our eternal argument, I stand my ground. I will never kill another human, Bernard. You can't make me."

A feral look appeared in Bernard's eyes. "But you will, my darling."

"Look, I came with you. I left Brian. I realized you're what I want, but you have to respect my wishes."

"That's a foolish wish. It's like a lion deciding to turn vegetarian."

Justin threw his hands up in the air, exasperated. "I drink from humans, I just don't drain them."

"You will," Bernard stated with finality, turning to look at the house. "I want to live here."

"Wait. This isn't your place?"

"Do I look like the kind of person who'd buy a place? I don't do settling down." Bernard gave Justin a longing look. "But I might try it now that I have you by my side."

"Who lives here?" Justin whispered.

"Who cares? We're going to get rid of them." Bernard took Justin's hand, leading the way to the house.

Justin tried stalling him, tried arguing, but his words were dust in the wind.

They slipped into the house and walked around in search of the owners. For a wild second, Justin was relieved, believing the owners weren't home, but then Bernard signaled to him that he'd found the master bedroom. As he moved to join Bernard, he passed a room with a crib near the open doorway. Even though he no longer needed to breathe, his breath caught in his throat.

"Bernard, maybe we could find another house," Justin said hurriedly. "I don't like this one."

Bernard stood rooted in the master bedroom door. "You don't?"

"I'd rather have a small place for us. This house is too big." Justin touched Bernard's cheek. "I saw some 'For Rent' signs on our way here. Come on."

To his surprise, Bernard accepted his suggestion. They returned to the car and Bernard even allowed Justin to drive. When they pulled up in front of a small bungalow near the beach, Bernard barked out a loud laugh. Justin eyed him curiously.

"It was the baby, wasn't it?" Bernard asked, still laughing. He tsked, shaking his head. "You're such a softie, Justin."

"Admit it. This place is much better. Look at the thick blinds," he pointed out.

Bernard tore down the 'For Rent' sign, heading into the bungalow. "Ever the romantic, aren't you? But you're right; this cozy little place is perfect for us."

oOo

During the days leading up to the party, Justin made a thousand plans. He even attempted to coerce Bernard into watching the sunrise with him, but Bernard was always a step ahead. They ended up viewing the sunrise from inside their bungalow, through the open blinds.

Justin made a few other attempts to push Bernard out of their safe place before the sun set completely - luring him with the excitement of spending a night out together. Once, it almost worked, but again Bernard shrunk back when he saw the sun still shining. He even pulled Justin back, chiding him for his carelessness.

In between plans for Bernard's demise, Justin kept in touch with Ethan. His friend updated him on Brian's whereabouts, which were disappointing. It seemed Brian had closed himself off since Justin's departure.

Justin contacted some of the vampires who were going to attend the party, ones he was sure hated Bernard as much as he did, and made a plan with them. It was a rough plan that might change at any moment, but at least he knew he'd have a minimum of five older, stronger vampires on his side.

On the day before the party, while Bernard was basking in the afterglow and Justin was taking a shower, washing away their time together, his phone rang. He didn't take the call, aware Bernard would hear everything clearly. He quickly typed a message, saying he'd call Michael soon. His curiosity was nearly overwhelming, unsure why Michael, of all people, would be calling him.

That night, when Bernard said he was going into town to hunt for food and bring it home, Justin found a window of time to talk to Michael in peace. If Bernard found it odd that Justin eagerly sent him away, he didn't question it.

"Hi!" Justin said as soon as the call connected.

"Hello, Justin. I'm sure you're busy with your new job," Michael started defensively.

"I can't complain. What did you want earlier? I'm sorry I rejected your call like that, but..."

"It's terrible," Michael choked out, making Justin's heart splinter. "I was over at Brian's earlier. I'm not sure if you know, but he's become a recluse since you left."

"Ethan told me," Justin said mechanically. "Is everything okay? If he needs someone to kick him in the balls, I'll take the next plane back," Justin joked, trying to ease his own nerves.

"Funny you'd mention balls," Michael mumbled. "I was restocking his fridge with food from my mom while he was in the shower. His answering machine recorded a call I didn't pick up. I mean, it's his house..."

"Of course." Justin waited for a continuation. "What did the caller have to say?"

"It was from the hospital… the oncology department... I confronted him when he came out of the shower."

Justin nearly dropped the phone. "What? You mean Brian is sick?"

"It's worse... what his tests say..." Michael broke down, but Justin got the gist of it. His beloved Brian was dying. "He kicked me out, saying he didn't need anyone's pity."

Justin couldn't find his voice. All he could think of was how fucked up his life was. If he had the power to kill Bernard on his own, he'd do it the very second the vampire came back from hunting. Then he'd return to Brian and do everything in his power to save him.

"Justin? What are you going to do?"

"I don't fucking know," he snapped. "Shit. I have to go." He hung up when Bernard came through the door with three men. Justin was aware Michael thought he was insensitive and that he didn't deserve Brian. However, even as he was dying inside at learning Brian had cancer, he still had to finish off Bernard, the sooner the better.

Bernard had plans to fuck the men he'd brought home, drug them, then drain them, not necessarily in that order. Justin had learned Bernard didn't mind playing with his food, even after it was cold. Though that was preferable to watching him play with living 'food'. It had made his insides twist when he'd first found out what a monster had Bernard become.

oOo

The next night, Justin separated from Bernard almost as soon as they arrived at the party. He'd gone against all he believed in and had drained two of the three men the previous night. He needed all the power he could gather if he wanted to be the one who killed Bernard, to have the satisfaction of taking his life.

"You must be Justin," a soft voice said from behind a statue.

Justin turned in that direction. He didn't recognize the girl, and he'd seen his fair share of vampires from all over the country.

"I'm Jasmine. You spoke to my Master, Robert, the other day. I'm here to take you to him." She held her hand out.

Justin hesitated for a second. She looked too innocent in her white flowing dress, with her shiny blonde hair and translucent skin, to be the bearer of good news. She led him back into the house and down to the basement.

"Do not be afraid. My Sire refused to show his face at the party so your Master wouldn't see him. They have bad blood between them," Jasmine explained.

Justin snorted. "I wonder with whom Bernard doesn't have bad blood."

"Such true words," a grave voice said from inside the room they'd entered. It was dimly lit, but Justin could clearly see a dozen people scattered around the room. The one who'd spoken, Robert, got up from his chair and advanced toward Justin. "I have to congratulate you, young man. No one has ever stood up to Bernard."

"He's far too enthralled by my presence to see what I plan," Justin explained. "Thank you for helping me."

"Let me introduce you to my friends. Some of them came from other parts of the world just to see Bernard brought down," Robert said proudly.

"You all have too much faith in me, but I will do my best not to disappoint anyone."

Robert waved around the room, pointing out each of his friends, naming them, and telling Justin the roles they'd play in killing Bernard. The plan was quite simple. Susan and Mitchell were going to break up the party before the sun rose, sending everyone away. Justin had to lure Bernard out to the balcony and, one by one, the others would show up, reminding him of the things he'd done to them. Then, by the time the sun rose, Justin would be the only one left out on the balcony with Bernard.

Justin hoped with his every fiber of his being that the plan would work.

With the last details settled, Justin joined Bernard at the party.

"I see you've changed your view on killing. I knew you'd only need a few days with me." Bernard kissed Justin hungrily after Justin had cornered a man. Unknown to Bernard, Justin's hadn't killed him, only taken enough from him to grow stronger. He'd drunk more than Bernard had in the past forty-eight hours and was confident he was strong enough to take him down if it came to that.

Some hours later, Bernard pulled Justin outside onto the balcony. It was nearing sunrise, and Justin was glad he didn't have to entice Bernard out with tricks. He pressed his back to the wall, allowing Bernard to kiss and grope him, while he stole looks at the humans leaving.

"Well, well, well... Got yourself a new toy?" Robert's voice came from the double doors to the balcony.

Startled, Bernard pulled away from Justin to stare in fright at his nemesis.

"Long time, no see. What do you say to an old friend, Bernard?" Robert mocked him, advancing closer.

"What are you doing here?"

"It's a party. You know I love parties. I brought some friends. I bet you remember Mitchell and Richard." He waved to them. "Susan, Liam, Gareth, Helen, Damien, Viktor, and my darling Jasmine."

"Quite a few friends, indeed. Well, you know me. The fewer friends, the better. It's just me and Justin," Bernard tried to sound brave.

Robert made a show of noticing Justin, looking at him in surprise. "Of course! Justin. I thought you two had lost contact."

"We found each other again," Justin butted in, playing his role perfectly. He smiled widely at Bernard. "I was young and stupid when Bernard changed me. Our past is just that—the past."

"I see you have wrapped him around your finger again. Pity. Such a smart boy like Justin..." Robert shook his head.

"Exactly. Justin is smart enough to return to me, unlike your Hector. He was a rebel, too, if I remember correctly. Unlike Justin, Hector was so stupid that he got himself killed," Bernard said menacingly.

Justin sensed the tension rolling off Robert in waves, when he heard Bernard speaking like that about his former partner. "Bernard, Hector was my friend. He was brave. He wasn't stupid. If you must know, he was protecting Robert when he got into that fight." Justin knew that what he'd said was news even to Robert, so he turned to him with the most earnest look he could muster. "He wanted to see how I'd managed to break from Bernard and live on my own. When he heard you were in danger, he rushed to save you, but he was ambushed. I was there too."

"You were?" Bernard asked, shocked. "You knew that revolt was against me?"

"Of course, I knew. I even had Ethan fighting by my side, though he abandoned me when he heard the outcome."

"You're telling me that someone set my house on fire in order to kill me?"

"That may have been an accident, but the main reason why so many of us were there that night was to kill you, yes. You got lucky once again," Justin explained.

"But not anymore," Robert added, backing up a few steps. The others moved with him until they were inside the house.

Bernard laughed dryly. "You want to fight me, but you back away?"

Robert closed the doors, locking Bernard and Justin out on the balcony.

"They're not backing away, Bernard. They're protecting themselves from the sun." Justin pointed to the sun rising above the treetops.

"Oh, so you're willing to die with me. Well, I'm not ready to die." Bernard tried to force his way back into the house, though the others kept the doors locked, and the windows were difficult to break since they were made of missile-proof glass.

"Justin, tell them to open the doors!"

"Why would I do that? This is your demise, Bernard. You didn't believe that I could end you. Well, take another look."

Bernard hissed when the first rays of sun touched his back. In his pain, he glared at Justin, confused as to why he wasn't burning as well.

"I made the right friends back in Pittsburgh." Justin showed him the ring, smiling.

He had let his guard down, not expecting a slowly burning Bernard to jump him. They toppled over the edge of the balcony. Bernard grabbed Justin's hand, clawing at the ring. Justin fisted his fingers, panic bubbling in his chest. He wasn't ready to die. He had to live—for Brian.

Even though Justin had fed more than usual from humans, Bernard was still stronger. Justin knew when the ring slipped off his finger, the sun on his arm making him yell in pain.

Daphne had told Justin that the ring was meant only for him, so he expected something terrible to happen when Bernard slipped it onto his own finger. Bernard's hand turned black and started cracking. To his surprise, as Bernard tried to remove the ring, half of his finger fell off.

While his master was busy attempting to save his hand, Justin crawled toward the shade cast by the balcony. There was a big gash in his arm and both his legs were in terrible shape, but he knew that it was nothing fresh blood couldn't cure. He had more pressing matters to worry about, however, like the deformed Bernard, who was still fighting. He loomed above Justin, looking as crazed and scary as ever.

Justin edged away until his back hit the wall. He knew Bernard could kill him a thousand different ways. Before Bernard could strike him, though, Justin heard an enraged yell and saw Robert flying from the house toward Bernard. Robert pinned him to the ground in the middle of the garden, under the glaring sun.

"No!" Justin shouted, unable to prevent a vampire he barely knew, but considered a good man, from sacrificing himself to end the life of someone who had done so much damage through the centuries.

Even hurt and dejected, Justin had to act quickly to catch Jasmine, who wanted to run past him and save Robert. He held her tightly, as they helplessly watched their masters burn under the sun's rays. When there was nothing but ash left, she let out a final sob before turning and walking back into the house.

It took Justin much longer to rejoin everyone. He was terrified they would hate him for causing their leader's death but, to his surprise, everyone bowed to him, and Susan and Helen kissed his cheeks, thanking him for helping to kill Bernard.

They all tended to his wounds, bringing him one of the housekeepers, who'd somehow remained hidden in the house. It was all he needed to get better, and after thanking them for helping him, he promised to keep in touch, the least he could do after what had happened to their leader.

As soon as he was able, he boarded the first plane back to Pittsburgh.