Title: Blood of the Snake, a Get Backers fanfic

By: retroelectric

Warnings: Mature Themes, Vampirism, Horror/Supernatural, Strong Language, Yaoi, Alternate Universe

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Get Backers. This is a Get Backers fan fiction, ideas purely fan-made speculations based off the relationship between the Get Backers duo and infused with several elements inspired – and not stolen off the Vampire Chronicles Universe by Anne Rice. It is also important to note that this does not contain ANY of her characters, thus this is strictly NOT a Vampire Chronicles/Get Backers crossover. In this way I do not breach any of Anne Rice's policies regarding fan fiction on her work.

Chapter 25

It was as though nothing had conspired between the two of them, Ban thought, looking at Cadmus's controlled movements, like a coiled spring; out of the corner of his eye, as he ate his dinner. Ginji had slept without disturbance all throughout the heated incident between him and Cadmus, despite him thinking that Ginji would definitely wake up upon hearing his loud protests. Ban, after careful speculation, didn't know himself if it was a good thing or not. The electric eel had only awoken mid-afternoon, acting more like a normal Ginji – grinning like an idiot and fluttering about as usual. Ban was secretly glad that Ginji's recent turning into Raitei in front of Cadmus hadn't shown a lasting effect on his blond partner's mental stability, and that everything seemed to be normal; at least in that point of time.

His blond partner was in the shower, and from where he sat he could hear soft sounds of Ginji singing happily. Ban carefully hid his small smile behind his mug of coffee. Cadmus had picked out a thick leather-bound book from the library, and from the cover Ban could see it was printed in the Greek language – Cadmus's native tongue. His violet eyes seemed to suck out all of the words into himself as they travelled with astonishing speed over the ancient text. His long, elegant fingers moved to turn each page so quickly that even Ban's trained eyes couldn't catch their movement.

A bit disturbed by the sight, Ban turned his gaze away from Cadmus's form and scraped the last of his dinner from his plate. He moved to stand up to move to the kitchen, intending to wash his plate and utensils in hand – but the blond vampire's accented voice stopped him.

"Ban, I want you to spend tonight with Ginji. I'll make myself disappear for a while."

"Eh?" Ban asked, dumbfounded. His heart started to beat a little faster in an unspoken emotion he couldn't quite place his finger on, as he watched Cadmus's impassive face as he closed his book. "Why?"

Cadmus smiled and locked his gaze to Ban. The Jagan Master started to feel a little uncomfortable at the sudden attention, but he couldn't look away. "Why, you ask? I'd love to keep you all to myself, cherub, but Ginji is your first love – practically your other half, after all. After all our time together, I believe I am still just an outsider. Such is the bond you have… but you should pay more attention to him. I know I'm irresistible-" Cadmus heard a contemptuous snort coming from Ban, "but your relationship with him could use a little… boost, if I may dare say it aloud."

"Aw, aren't you the sweet one, Cadmus-san, even after yesterday," Ban snorted, moving in the direction of the kitchen to wash the dishes. He heard Cadmus making the comment that he was an 'outsider', but he preferred to omit it out of his mind. He smirked, even though he knew Cadmus could not see. "But thank you. I've been waiting for you to say that."

"You're welcome." Cadmus called out after him. The vampire sighed softly after some time, putting his book down on the table. He stood up, and grabbed his coat, and closed the door behind him, making some noise to show Ban he really was leaving. As he stepped out into the lighted pavement, suddenly hit by tempting scent of the blood of humans passing by him, Cadmus could almost feel the coldness of the approaching winter on his marble-like skin.

Ban's ears pricked up a little when he heard noises of Cadmus leaving. He made an irritated, grumpy sound as he ruffled his dark, spiky hair. Trust Cadmus to leave him with Ginji alone after he had made him so sore after last night, Ban grumbled to himself. He finished washing the plate and dried it with a cloth, before he was caught off-guard with a tight embrace by an overly enthusiastic, semi-covered Ginji. He tensed a little, out of ingrained battle instinct, before giving into the embrace, a happy smile gracing his features.

"Ban-chan, Ban-chan, Ban-chan, what are we going to do tonight?" Ginji asked excitably, grinning at his lover.

"We're going out to talk," Ban replied, not fighting the urge to smile in the face of Ginji's enthusiasm. "We haven't talked much lately, don't you think?"

Ginji nodded and gently extricated himself away from Ban. "Okay! Then I'm changing first!" He announced, grinning yet again, gripping the loose towel around his slender waist.

"Go ahead."

Ban watched fondly as Ginji rushed out of the kitchen, and he could hear distantly his movements fumbling about the wardrobe, searching for something appropriate to wear.

Ginji was dressed and ready in a matter of minutes, wearing a simple, long-sleeved cotton shirt and dark, woollen pants. Ban looked over his lover appreciatively, then stepping outside and locking the door after Ginji after the both of them had put on their coats.

An amiable silence hung between the both of them as the familiar, yet somehow distant sights and sounds of Shinjuku hit them. Ginji smiled to himself, happily basking in the look on Ban's features – content and as happy as he was. He looked down, glancing at Ban's hand and feeling the sudden urge to hold his hand in his. Ginji forewent the hesitation biting at him and curled his fingers lightly around Ban's.

Ban wanted to grin but didn't show it, instead frowning half-heartedly at Ginji, but the blond man could see that he wasn't really displeased by Ginji's sudden bravado. "What are you doing, Ginji?" Ban growled, his deep blue eyes mysteriously twinkling, but he didn't pull his hand away from his partner.

"Holding your hand, Ban-chan," Ginji pointed out cheerily. "There are very little people around now who can see me and you doing this."

Ban made a small, agreeable sound, before taking Ginji's hand fully into his, tightening their hold lightly and relishing the contact. He sighed to himself; it had been long since he was able to do something like this with Ginji. He now realised the favour Cadmus was actually doing for the both of them.

"Mm, I love you, Ban-chan," Ginji murmured breathily and startling Ban in his suddenness. Ban hesitated, before replying in a surprisingly gentle voice.

"Me too." Ban was hit with a sudden playfulness and decided to tease Ginji. "Well, if you love me, then… how about Cadmus, eh?"

Ginji giggled playfully, and released Ban's hand for a moment to hug Ban with one arm. "Cadmus-san, hmm… well, I love him too. He's so kind to us, and he is powerful, and he's really beautiful when he lets his really pretty blond hair loose and free," Ginji enthused, as the pair reached the entrance of the darkened park.

"You know you really sound like a girl when you talk about him like that, don't you?" Ban said, merriment in his deep voice."Yeah, you sound like this. 'Ooh, ooh, I like Cadmus-san, he's so pretty with long hair and he's so so kind.Uh-uh, and not forgetting, he's rich.'" Ban imitated comically, making a high-pitched, funny sounding voice, causing Ginji to laugh at Ban's jest.

"I don't sound like that!" Ginji replied, protesting, between fits of giggles. "And I don't like Cadmus-san just because he's rich. He really is a good person, even though he is a vampire."

Ban laughed, and a sudden warming thought tugged from the corner of his brain. Just like the old times, laughing and joking comfortably in each other's presence, without a thought of the world, and a sudden emotion swelled in the back of his throat. He recognised the park as the place where he first met Cadmus, and he laughed aloud.

"Funny how I always end up here, no matter how much I try to avoid it," Ban said. He hoped that Ginji would question his sudden comment. However, Ginji only nodded understandingly and pulled the both of them to a nearby bench. The pair sat down.

"I know what you mean, Ban-chan. Cadmus-san first bit you here, and this is also the place when I… when I you know, turned into Raitei, in front of him," Ginji said, the last part of his sentence hushed. His chocolate-brown eyes showed a hint of pain, and Ban only grasped Ginji's hand tighter in an ode to make him feel better. Ginji smiled, and stared at Ban with a smile tugging at his lips at the Jagan Master's action.

"Don't feel bad about it, Ginji. It should be me who should be sorry for you turning into Raitei, because I wasn't there to save you," Ban said quietly, his voice mellowed. He suddenly thought of the stolen, passionate moment he had spent with Shido, and the 'punishment' from Cadmus, and immediately felt horrible. He felt the sudden, unavoidable urge to spill everything to Ginji about the mission he had taken on with Shido, and what devious things entailed from it.

"Eh, Ban-chan? Why are you making that face?" Ginji inquired curiously.

Ban was silent for a moment, contemplating his options. Should he tell, or should he not? Would it hurt Ginji even more than it hurt Cadmus? It would be too simple for Ban to brush Ginji off, pretend like nothing happened between him and Shido, but he felt like this was something Ginji needed to know. He couldn't keep this under wraps forever, it would bite at his conscience until the day came and it reduced him to a needy state in front of Ginji, begging him for forgiveness, and Ban loathed for that to happen. He steeled himself for this, and allowed himself to be bare, open before Ginji in this time and place.

Ban sounded hesitant as he met Ginji's questioning eyes. "Ginji, I have something to tell you."

Ginji simply gave Ban a look that told him to continue, and Ban did. "I… don't know if this will hurt you or not. But I cannot deny the fact that I have done something behind of you, and…" Ban looked again at Ginji's curious face and sighed, looking down. "I'm not sure if I should say it or not."

Ginji bit at his lower lip. "Um, Ban-chan, don't tell me, you've… killed somebody?"

Ban's head shot up, eyes wanting to meet Ginji's incredulously before laughing at what Ginji thought. "Baka," he said, laughing softly, "No, I didn't. You remember that we had a mission before Cadmus whisked us off to see our new place, right?" Ginji nodded.

"Yeah, and… I sort of took the mission with Shido, you see," Ban continued, fidgeting uncomfortably. "So I got hurt and blacked out – but it was unintentional – really, and Shido took me back to his and Madoka's house – and I think you are really going to hate me for this – but you see, Shido and I had sex." Ban said, hurrying the last few words and avoiding Ginji's eyes, waiting for the inevitable blow. "Um, yeah. You can go kill me now, Ginji."

Ginji was silent for a while, contemplating his lover's sudden revelation. Ban decided that Ginji was being quiet for far too long, and turned to look at Ginji, waving a hand in front of his face. "Um, Ginji?"

Out of a sudden, Ginji burst out into giggles, and Ban was dumbfounded. He didn't know what to say, and simply stared as blond hair fell into Ginji's eyes as he laughed.

After several moments, Ginji gasped for breath and Ban could see that Ginji was smiling sincerely. He wondered what he had said, but Ginji's voice took him away from his line of thought.

"I see, so that's the reason why I wondered why I could smell Shido-nii on your clothes the other night," Ginji realised aloud, grinning. Ban's eyes widened when he heard that and Ginji laughed again at Ban's expression.

"You're not mad? You're not going to jump and kill me or something like that?" Ban asked, carefully choosing his words.

"No, why would I?" Ginji asked, a hint of mischievousness creeping into his eyes and smile. "The way you acted was so cute when you told me of it," Ginji said, his eyes sparkling. "I bet that Shido-nii and Ban-chan will like each other better the next time we have a mission together!"

Ban squawked indignantly, startled at Ginji's deviousness, before finally succumbing to laughter after some moment. Ginji laughed along with Ban, and the Jagan Master could feel a heavy weight lifted off his shoulders, and he felt like he could kiss Ginji at the moment. His face inched closer to Ginji's, and his warm breath came out in puffs onto Ginji's slightly chapped lips before Ban engulfed Ginji in a slow kiss. After some moment, Ban pulled away, smiling. Ginji smiled back, and they were lulled back into another of their amiable silences, simply enjoying each other's company. Ginji finally broke their serenity after a few moments.

"Thank you, Ban-chan, for telling me this."

Ban nodded, before standing up, motioning for Ginji to do the same. "I need to get some cigarettes. Coming? We could continue our conversation on the way."

Ginji nodded agreeably, and they slowly made their way out of the park. The amiable silence accompanied them both on their way to the nearest convenience store, and after Ban paid for his cigarettes; the both of them involuntarily found themselves heading for the overhead bridge which gave an unobstructed view of Mugenjou. It was one of their favourite spots to hang out at when they were living in their car, and being there brought back some memories for the both of them.

Ginji sighed happily, it had been long since both of them had been there, and he admired the dark outline of the tall and looming structure, magnificent in its own twisted, gigantic way. His mind wandered absentmindedly to the memory of the Get Backers' first mission together, and he smiled to himself. He watched Ban's movements as he took a cigarette out of the pack and lit it with his lighter. The familiar, distinctive smell of smoke lingered about them as Ban exhaled smoke out of his mouth, the Jagan Master looking down at the cars zooming past. He took another drag.

Another burning question was tugging at the forefront of Ban's mind, and he decided to simply ask. "Hey, Ginji, what do you think of vampires?" He asked, with a mild tone to his voice. He concealed his anticipation for Ginji's response, not wanting to look overly demanding for an answer in front of his lover.

"Well… I think vampires are creepy, to be honest," Ginji began, tapping his chin after some thought. "And that it is selfish of them to kill people in order for them to live forever… it's just not right."

Ban felt his heart clench a little when he heard that. The burning cigarette hung from his fingers, forgotten. "Then... what about Cadmus?" He asked, his voice starting to be a little hoarse from emotion. Ginji did not seem to notice it.

Ginji grinned brightly as he replied. "But Cadmus-san is kind! He doesn't seem so much like those dangerous vampires in movies, and that is a good thing. Even though he really is powerful and all that, he doesn't kill like a maniac."

This time, Ban's voice really did crack, but only a little, and he hoped – hoped with but all of his heart that Ginji would contemplate what he was about to ask. Ban halted in his steps suddenly; making Ginji stop as well as he placed both his hands on Ginji's shoulders. "G-Ginji… what if… Cadmus were to turn us into vampires like him? Are you willing to live forever with me and him… and to kill forever too?" Ban asked, his voice trembling, scarily vulnerable and meeting Ginji's eyes with his.

Ginji's brown eyes were widened when he heard what Ban questioned of him. After several moments, he looked down, staring at his own shoes. "Why are you asking me this, Ban-chan?" Ginji asked with a hint of dullness in his voice.

Ban let his hands drop from Ginji's shoulders, feeling dread creeping into his mind. It was this question which had constantly tugged at the edge of his subconscious, demanding of answer and completion yet he never had been given the opportune moment to reveal it to his lover, and now that he finally did he felt like he really had said something wrong, had breached a subject which had been considered taboo by Ginji himself.

He didn't know how long he could last without asking Ginji about this, and he knew that it was somehow tugging too at Ginji's thoughts even though the blond man never quite talked anything about it. He was at the edge of screaming and shaking Ginji by the shoulders bodily if he had stalled asking this for a moment longer, and a deep-seated fear tugged at the bottom of his conscience had Ginji took the ultimate decision to not become a vampire like he wanted – had envisioned – for the both of them, for them to be immortal, together, forever.

Ginji watched as the multitude of emotions washed itself across Ban's angular face, and gently cupped Ban's cheek in his hand, stroking the soft skin there. The unforeseen motion caused Ban to look up into Ginji's eyes, revealing the vulnerability in Ban's own deep blue eyes. Ginji revelled in the fact that he was the only person besides Cadmus whom which Ban showed some weakness to, and Ginji succumbed to the urge and embraced Ban.

"Ban-chan… you know I love you and him," Ginji whispered into Ban's ear. "But I am not ready to leave all of my friends to become one of his kind. At least… not yet."

"When will you be ready?" Ban asked, his voice showing a slight hint of neediness for an answer.

Ginji was silent before answering. "You know what I've always wanted, Ban-chan?" He asked suddenly, his voice suddenly wistful. "I've always wanted to spend a peaceful, quiet life with you and Cadmus-san… and there will be no bad guys to harm us, and the three of us would always be happy together, forever."

Ban tightened his arms around Ginji's waist, as though Ginji would disappear into the air if he didn't hold on long enough. "I know, Ginji… I want that too." Ban whispered, satisfied with Ginji's response for now. They had a long time ahead of them, and they were indeed stuck with each other forever no matter how much he wished it to be otherwise. He smiled into Ginji's neck, finally feeling content. Happy.

Neither Ban nor Ginji noticed the flash of white-blond hair from below, on the pavement, as Cadmus silently moved away from his two lovers.