Moth to the Flame

Tohru heaved a large sigh of relief as Hatori drove into the distance. It had taken everything that she had not to tell him that Ayame was with her, but she had promised that she wouldn\'t tell. She could feel Ayame in the front of her shirt, blushing slightly as he brushed against her skin.

“Ano...Ayame-san..” She pulled the fabric of her shirt away and peered down at him, “Hatori-san is gone now, it\'s all right to come out.”

Ayame slowly slithered out of the top of her shirt, once again resting on her shoulders. Tohru glanced at him, smiling slightly before she headed to the front door of Ayame\'s home. She had seen Hatori turn the key, but it was still worth a shot to see if it was unlocked. She jiggled the handle slightly with no success, then sighed and looked at Ayame questioningly.

“I have a spare hidden around the side of the house...” Ayame said in reply to her look. He needed to hurry this up, Akito could realize that he was gone at any moment. Tohru obediently went and found the spare key, letting herself into Ayame\'s little home. She looked around for a moment before finding her way to Ayame\'s bedroom and setting him gingerly on the bed. She smiled down at him and patted his head gently.

“Now, all we have to do is wait for you to change back...then we can get you cleaned up...” Tohru said as continued to smile. Ayame stared up at her, horrified by the idea that she would see the marks on his body. He shook his head.

“I can\'t let you do that...” Ayame said quietly, “You\'ve already done me a huge favour, I couldn\'t ask you for more. I can\'t have you clean me.”

He added a large amount of emphasis to his -can\'t-, hoping that Tohru would simply leave it at that. But, he should have known better. Tohru frowned and shook her head.

“I came all the way here with Ayame-san, and now I\'m going to make sure that you\'re not hurt.” Tohru said in a matter-of-factly tone. Ayame sighed. He really wasn\'t going to get rid of her. Tohru stared down at him, feigning her usual cheerfulness. She had hoped that maybe it would calm him down, but she could still see his little snake body all tensed up. She sat down on the bed beside him and looked down at him, her usually happy and dense demeanor finally cast aside.

\"Ne...Ayame-san...\" Tohru began as she stared down at him, \"If there is anything you need to talk about, I\'m always here to listen.\"

Ayame glanced up at her, taking her words to heart. She was always such a sweet girl and he would give anything to be able to tell her about his dilemma...however, he was sure that was something that Akito wouldn\'t be too keen on. He very desperately wanted to tell someone...and he was still thinking about it when he transformed back. Tohru stared at him wide-eyed, not even stopping to be embarrassed about his nudity. The moment he had transformed her eyes had immediately fallen upon his bitemark and hickey-ridden neck. Ayame sat there staring straight forward, his cheeks red with shame. Tohru\'s hands shot up to his neck, her eyes taking in the sight before her.

\"Ayame-san!! It\'s worse than I thought!\" Tohru ran her fingers lightly over the dark marks, frowning as she traced them. Ayame hadn\'t wanted her to see him like this...but it really had been unavoidable. Tohru\'s light touch sent chills down his spine and he glanced over at her, tears suddenly welling in his eyes. He leaned forward and rested his forehead on her shoulder.

\"I feel dead inside...\" He whispered.

Tohru stared forward, her sould chilled by the words that had escaped his mouth. She could feel the sadness radiating from him, and she could feel tears fighting their way to her own eyes. She heard Ayame let out a small whimper and placed a comforting hand on his back, very careful not to fully embrace him. As he felt her the comforting hand on his back, he let the tears flow freely and a sob escaped his throat.

\"I\'m not a man anymore...\" He continued. That was truly how he felt....though he had never been opposed to having a relationship with a man, this wasn\'t the way that he wanted to have it. Forced...he had never been forced in his entire life. And up until this point in time all of his sexual encounters had been with women. If it had been in any other situation, he would have welcomed an encounter with another man. And now despite all of the pain and anguish that he was feeling, he would have given anything just to be with a woman right then...just to prove to himself that Akito hadn\'t taken everything away from him.

“Don\'t say that, Ayame-san....” Tohru patted his back gently, not sure if what she had said was even an acceptable response. The truth was, she didn\'t know how to respond but she was afraid not to. Ayame shuddered as he felt her hand moving against his back. He could feel how warm she was and sympathy just eminated from her. That was when it struck him...he could take Tohru. She was always willing to help, and that would certainly help him. He shook his head suddenly, pushing these thoughts out of his head and startling Tohru in the process. He sat up straight, looking her in the eye and putting on a solemn face.

“Tohru...you need to leave. Now.” Ayame said as he stared her in the eye. Tohru stared at him, a look on her face as if she hadn\'t understood him. She probably hadn\'t. In all her time with the Souma family, she had never seen him like this, so what was there to understand?

“Demo...Ayame-san. I have to help you clean up...you\'re hurt and I just couldn\'t...” She trailed off as she stared into Ayame\'s eyes...usually they were so bright, but at this moment they looked dangerous. It was like there was nothing behind them. Ayame sat there, fighting with his inner thoughts, staring through Tohru. She wouldn\'t leave...whatever happened wasn\'t his fault, was it? His eyes finally focused on her again, and he reached up to grab her shoulders. Tohru glanced from shoulder to shoulder, confused by his sudden movement. She was even more confused when he began to push her down onto the bed, but confusion was quickly replaced by fear as Ayame straddled her and stared down at her.

“Tohru, I need you now....”

---Disclaimer---
Don\'t hate me for the het...it\'s all in the grand scheme of things. ^^;; I still don\'t own any of the characters, as much as I wish I did. XD;

~Shuen