"I have often suffered, I have sometimes been wrong, but I have loved. It's me who lived and not a factitious being created by my pride and my boredom." (Alfred de Musset)

"We need to talk, little brat."

At normal times, Fayez being Fayez, he would have thought of many inappropriate ways to answer Akhenaton's sudden declaration.

He would have replied, for instance:

"There's nothing to talk about" - a classic, but effective one.

"If you need to talk, there are professionals who can help you." - a bit harsh, maybe? Nah, it's fine.

"I need to sleep. Talking comes after." - yeah, well. He used to try that one with his mother, but it never worked quite well.

"It's the last time you're calling me a brat, pretty arsehole" - childish much? Ashur would definitively disapprove.

Yes, Fayez was usually quite inventive, when it came to bratty comebacks.

Not today, though. There was too much going on in his mind to even think about a proper answer.

Despite his mates' proximity, he was feeling scared and confused. He could barely focus on anything else than Zephyr still touching his bare hand.

The touch felt as nice as it felt foreign.

What's going on?

He should have been dead by now.

After all, I killed Ana in mere seconds.

Ana -

He let out a tiny, half-choked cry at the thought of his childhood friend.

Shit. Did they hear me?

He bit his finger, but it was too late, for the three men had already heard his wordless plea, one that made their eyes burn.

They moved quickly and smoothly.

Akhenaton gently but forcefully took his abused finger out of his mouth.

Zephyr helped him put his hand back in the glove, and Fayez felt the tiniest bit relieved.

Ashur just hold him closer.

Teamwork.

They understood. He hadn't said a thing, yet they understood what he needed.

More noises slipped from his parted lips.

The noises were light but the pain they carried was crushing.

He didn't cry, though. Not this time.

None of the three men asked him again to explain himself. They just remained by his sides, offering him silent comfort.

He couldn't believe it took him more than three centuries on Earth to discover how soothing a simple touch from a loved one could be.

Eventually, he managed to calm himself down, and sat on the bed, with his back against the wall.

Sensing that he was about to tell them something important, his three mates took a seat in front of him, on the huge king-size bed.

Where to start, though? Fayez thought, as his eyes met Zephyr's loving ones.

Should he stop beating around the bush and just tell them about his hands?

My hands are supposed to be the deadliest weapons but here you are, Zeph. Alive.

Maybe not.

He took a deep breath, and found all the encouragement he needed in Akhenaton's small smile.

"When I was four years old, I had a friend called Ana..."

If his mates found this beginning surprising, they didn't show it, but instead kept listening to him with intense concentration.

"I never had a playmate before her, because I wasn't allowed to leave the castle. See, even at that time, there was already something wrong with my hands."

He discreetly moved his left leg on the mattress, so that his ankle would touch Ashur's thick thigh. The tall prefect gave him a knowing smile, but didn't say anything about it, letting him find comfort in the physical contact.

"Ana wanted to see my bare hands. She wanted me to remove my gloves. My mother had told me countless times to always keep my gloves on, and I knew I had to listened to her. The thing is, I was afraid that Ana would no longer want to play with me, if I kept my gloves on. That's not an excuse, of course."

His voice slightly cracked, and he looked up, to find Akhenaton looking at him with a tense expression. For a brief, horrendous second, he thought that the brunet was mad at him. That he was disgusted with his sordid story. He had probably guessed already what had happened to Ana.

Your son is an abomination. Those were Ana's mother words.

A monster. That's what she had called him, her eyes full of grief, her words full of venom.

Hatred is a sorrow that got infected. He had heard this sentence in a song, and found a truth in it.

Would one of his mates throw this word at him? He wouldn't be mad, if they did. They wouldn't be wrong.

Monster. Monster.

"You're okay, baby brat." Akhenaton said to him instead, in the softest voice. "You're gonna be okay, I promise."

These simple words from his mate were enough for him to stop feeling like he was choking on air, and he quickly finished his story.

"I thought that maybe I could just show her my hands and quickly put the gloves back on, but she was quicker. She touched my hands, and she died. Because of me. She was only four years old. I killed a four years old little girl."

That's the thing, with tears. They are quite treacherous. Despite the pain you're feeling deep down, your eyes remain desperately dry, and when you think you have no tears left, you'll start feeling them rolling down your cheeks.

"I- I hate my hands and I hate myself" he concluded, before hiding his face behind his gloved hands.

But he wasn't allowed to hide for a very long time.

"Look at me, sweet boy."

Only Ashur could make an order sound so loving.

"Good. Now, Faye, listen to me closely."

He took Fayez's wrist in his warm, huge hands and gave it a small squeeze.

"It's not your fault Ana died."

"It is"

"No, it's not." Ashur insisted. "You were just a child. A lonely child who wanted to play with someone. A secluded child with a burden that even an adult would have find too heavy to bear. It was doomed to happen."

He slowly started to pull back the fabric of the left glove, and Fayez hold his breath.

"We weren't completely sure until yesterday, when we confronted the Headmaster about it. This curse that you have - it won't do us any harm, because you are our mate."

He removed the left glove entirely, before grabbing Fayez's right hand.

"You're sure?" Fayez asked in an incredulous voice, although there was no mistaking what he was currently seeing - feeling.

Akhenaton was drawing small circles in the palm of his left hand.

"Positive." Ashur simply replied, before freeing his right hand from their garment.

Fayez only nodded, before he instinctively placed his right hand on Zephyr's exposed stomach.

He closed his eyes, and let himself rediscover his mates through his greedy fingertips.

Akhenaton's skin was warmer, but Zephyr's skin was smoother.

There was something weird, though. He opened his eyes.

"When I touch Zephyr, I feel like... there's something moving inside of him."

Although they forced themselves to quickly relax, Fayez didn't miss how the three men had tensed at his words.

"We should get going. There's a long day awaiting us." Zephyr said with forced enthusiasm.

"Why is there something moving inside of Zeph? What is it?" Fayez insisted, as he tugged at Ashur's shirt.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" Akhenaton sighed.

"No, I am not. You know me."

"Yeah, you're a brat."

As Fayez was about to pounce on Akhenaton - no matter if the guy was much stronger than he was. It's not about the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog - Ashur quickly intervened, grabbing his two mates by the elbow.

"Children. It's enough" he admonished them, before turning to Fayez.

"You want an answer to your question, yes or no?" he asked in a severe voice.

"Yes" was Fayez's immediate reply.

"Then be quiet. This is a serious topic. Zeph, darling, do you want to be the one to give Fayez an explanation?"

Zephyr nodded, and Fayez sat back, feeling a bit ashamed for reacting so stupidly. Ashur was right, he should learn to be quiet and listen in those kind of situations.

The blond vampire didn't seem to mind his rude behaviour much, though. He winked at Fayez, as if saying "Don't make a fuss about it.", before he cleared his voice, and started his explanation.

"What you felt - moving inside of me - I guess it's the Bacteria Tarentula."

(A/N: I swear, why did I come up with such a shitty name?)

"You - you guess? What do you mean? Are you not sure about it?"

Zephyr gave a quick look to Ashur, who only nodded with a fatalistic expression.

"I'm sure about it. It's just that - well, the others barely feel the bacteria. It's too small, and it's hidden too deep in my body. I guess the reason why you could feel it so clearly is because your hands are ... deadly, as you put it. The bacteria must hate your touch, to react so strongly."

That made Fayez pause. He looked at his three mates, who were looking back at him with expectant expressions. Then, his eyes widened, and he asked with an excited voice, which made his mates wince in discomfort.

"Why do you think the bacteria reacted so strongly?"

It was obvious that Zephyr didn't really want to answer this question. It was even more obvious, though, that Fayez had already guessed the answer.

"I think your hands are dangerous for the bacteria."

"Do you think my hands could kill it?" Fayez pressed, now completely unable to contain his elation.

"I - yes. I think so." Zephyr mumbled, in a non-too happy voice.

Fayez was too far gone to realize that his mates didn't seem too surprised, nor too excited by the news.

"Then all I have to do is to touch your stomach long enough for the bacteria to die, and-"

"Absolutely not."

His three mates had replied in one voice, making Fayez look at them. Their voices had been neutral, but there was no mistaking their matching expressions.

They were not going to argue about it.

"Sorry?" he asked increduously.

"We're not letting you do that" Zephyr replied, and for once, the prefect looked as strict and firm as Ashur could sometimes be.

"What? But why? If there's any hope to cure you, why not do it?"

"Because" Zephyr took a deep breath, his expression softening, "Because Ashur had done his research already. He even talked to the Headmaster about it."

"And what did the Headmaster said?" Fayez asked, in an impatient voice.

It didn't matter what the Headmaster had said. They had to try it, and they had to try it as soon as possible. For the first time, since he had been told about Zephyr's disease, there was a glimpse of hope.

"The Headmaster said that it could work, but that you would most likely die in the process."

Silence. It didn't seem like the three men were joking. Zephyr, now in Akhenaton's lap, was biting his lower lips furiously, as if he was fighting his tears. Ashur had taken Zephyr's hands in his own, and was gently rubbing them.

As for Akhenaton, he was looking at Fayez with an intent expression, as if he was silently saying "Be careful about what you're gonna respond to that, brat."

Fayez knew that the three men wouldn't like his reply, but he said it nonetheless. It was only the truth.

"I don't care about dying. All I care about is that Zephyr stays alive."

Sometimes, the truth shouldn't be said. After Fayez had spoken his mind, the temperature in the room seemed to have dropped ten degrees.

There was a long silence, which was making Fayez feel stressed.

Thankfully, Ashur finally broke it, with a calm voice that didn't quite match his expression.

"Ake, Zeph, go to the bathroom and get ready. The first class is starting soon."

The two men obeyed without a word of protest and left the room.

Ashur then turned toward Fayez, grabbing his chin.

"Believe it or not, Faye, but we care about you. We hate hearing you talk about yourself in such a careless manner."

"It's - okay, maybe I don't wanna die, especially not now that I've found you guys, but I value Zephyr's life more than my own."

Ashur sighed, but gentled his touch.

"I would be devastated if Zephyr died, but you're as important to me as my other mates. We're a whole, and nobody will be giving up on their lives."

"But, Ashur-"

"You won't do it, Faye. Is that clear?"

Fayez was about to protest, but then he thought that it would be pointless. Rather, he should pretend to agree, and try to think about a way to still do it later.

He would come up with something, even if that meant disobeying Ashur, and going against his mates' will. He had to.

"It's crystal clear."

Ashur looked at him for a few more moments, his eyes searching. Then he nodded, and after ruffling Fayez's hair, he got up in a gracious move.

"Come join us in the shower, sweets."

"I don't wanna" Fayez pouted.

Ashur only gave a slight laugh at his childish reply, then left the room.

Fayez heard the shower running, and the voices of his mates.

He was unhappy with his mates's decision, but he understood where they came from.

He also wouldn't let any of them risk their lives for his sake.

Despite what he had said to Ashur, he got up, and walked toward the bathroom, because he was weak like that.

As he stepped inside the shower stall, he immediately felt warm hands grab him by his waist.

As Akhenaton started to wash his hair, he closed his eyes, and forgot that he didn't feel confident when he was naked.

He forgot eveything under the warm spray and the equally warm hands, except that he might now have a solution to Zephyr's disaease.

His decision was already made. It was a leap of faith.