Blood Rain. Amy Blankenship

asked, letting the concern lace his voice in hope of winning the child’s trust.

      Where were his parents? The question had made Kriss feel so sad. His father wasn’t even in this dimension and had probably forgotten all about him by now… Dean had left him and never returned. Kriss felt the warmth of tears make new trails down his cheeks. The only answer he could give was a slow shake of his head as he turned around to face the man.

      â€œAre you hurt,” Vincent had asked as he came and knelt down in front of Kriss so his height wouldn’t be as intimidating to the young boy… he couldn’t have been more than nine or ten years old. He slowly reached out and palmed the dirty cheek, rubbing with the pad of his thumb to wipe away the tears.

      Kriss reminded himself of what this human man must be thinking when he looked at him… that he was covered in blood and wearing clothes that were barely more than tatters. Since almost all of his injuries had already healed and knowing better than to tell a human what had really happened, he answered with the only other thing that was the truth.

      â€œI’m all alone now.” He’d started crying for real then… loud wails mixed with the sound of hick-ups, causing Vincent to pull him into his arms… whispering that it was alright now… that he would protect and care for him.

      And Vincent had protected him… to the point of sacrificing his own life.

      The pain of glass cutting into his palm brought Kriss back to the present. He opened his fist seeing the glass shard sticking out of it.

      This was what Dean found when he stepped out of the bathroom from his shower. He frowned seeing Kriss standing there picking a glass shard out of his palm. Slamming the door behind him caused the other Fallen to flinch and their eyes locked in the window’s reflection. He wasn't in the mood to watch his lover morn his childhood crush all over again. Once had been more than enough.

      Kriss took a deep breath trying to ease the ache in his chest. “I never thought I’d see him again Dean. Part of me actually hoped he would have forgiven me by now. I was just trying to save his life.”

      â€œHe was mortal Kriss. You did much more than simply save his life and you know it,” Dean said tonelessly. “Because of you, he can now experience the pain of death for eternity and revive to bitch about it. The human mind can only take so much. That’s why their lifespan is made to be short.”

      â€œI know,” Kriss growled. “You’ve never hesitated in reminding me of that fact. I made a selfish decision but I was all alone in a world where demons roamed free, and I didn’t think you were coming back. You were gone so long that I was afraid the demons had killed you… I didn’t want to lose him too.”

      Dean sighed and tried to keep his temper under control. “You would have known the moment something happened to me, so your fear was for nothing.”

      â€œI was a child Dean,” Kriss snapped back. “All I wanted was someone to care for me and to let me care for them in return.”

      â€œYou’re such a bleeding heart,” Dean mocked, well aware that the adolescent prince had fallen in love with the Knight during his absence. That little fact had been a hard pill to swallow as he’d watched Kriss mourn the loss of his love. He gritted his teeth wondering if Kriss would once more become obsessed with his childhood crush.

      Kriss flung the bottle of Heat across the room making Dean leaned slightly to the side so he didn’t get hit by it. “Go screw yourself Dean.”

      Dean squared his shoulders, “There’s my bratty prince in all his spoiled glory.”