Zelgadiss stepped away from the window, letting the drapes fall closed behind him. There was no fire in the hearth tonight, he no longer needed it, no longer felt the cold in the room, the cold within him was far greater.

He stripped off his clothes and slid under the covers of the bed, waiting in silence. It was pathetic, he knew that, he was like an addict waiting impatiently for his fix, but this was not an addiction he could break, even if he wanted to.

It felt like he waited an eternity before he felt the other's presence in the room, though he knew it was only a few minutes in reality. From the shadows of the room stepped the figure he had been longing for, and he felt his heart leap as it always did. He told himself not to feel, to keep his heart buried beneath the cold. It worked, but only barely.

The other smiled, watching him from just out of reach as he fought the silent battle within him. It didn't matter, they both knew what the outcome of this would be, it had been determined long before the other had even arrived. Zelgadiss gave up the fight, he could resist no longer, he needed it too much. Reaching out towards the other he pleaded,

"Xellos, please."

Still smiling, the mazoku let his clothes fall away as he came forward to answer that cry.

Zelgadiss moaned as Xellos pressed their bodies together, and allowed himself to be trapped beneath the mazoku, held down by only the slightest pressure. He knew that he should be doing something, anything, but he could only follow, letting Xellos take the lead. He was embarrassed by this need, but it didn't matter, he lost himself in the strange pleasure/pain this always evoked in him. He wished for what he could not have and hurt because of it, but loved what he was being given and revelled in it.

"I love you." Xellos whispered, as he always did, before forcing himself into Zelgadiss' waiting body. The chimera held back a sob, hurt by the words more than the penetration and longing for the detachment he was able to maintain in everything but this. It had never come to him before, and this time was no exception. His body met Xellos' as the blood pounded in his ears, blocking out the words he whispered and swallowing his deepest desires.

He clung to Xellos tightly as tremors wracked his body and forced a confession from his lips. It was always the same, he would repeat the mazoku's words at the moment of climax, only they could both hear the truth in his cries.

Xellos came after him, silent as always at the final moment, pouring his seed into Zelgadiss before collapsing on the bed next to him. They lay together, panting from the exertion, before Zelgadiss softly whispered,

"Thank you," completing the nightly ritual.

This night however, Xellos didn't leave after hearing that. Instead, he turned to look at the chimera with open eyes and a shuttered gaze.

"Why do you say that?" He whispered, his voice tainted by a hint of menace. Zelgadiss had no answer for him, nor could he have spoken even if he did. That amethyst gaze held him silent, lost in the puzzle of what lay beneath, filling him once again with cold.

"Do you actually appreciate this?" Xellos said coldly, the hint of menace expanding to consume every word. "Do you believe me when I say those words to you?" He moved on top of him again, one hand holding both of the chimera's arms above his head in a grip that was deliberately hurtful. Zelgadiss gasped at the iron grip, but he did not struggle, could not.

"It means nothing to me." Xellos hissed as he slammed into Zelgadiss' already sore opening. The chimera cried out, the pain of his body for once outweighing the pain of his soul. Xellos moved within him roughly, drawing more such cries and forcing tears from Zelgadiss' eyes before allowing himself to climax again. He remained above Zelgadiss, holding himself up as he shook and then continued to linger in that manner even as his body softened and separated from the chimera's.

Zelgadiss looked up, tears still falling down his cheeks to land unheeded on the pillow. Xellos' eyes were closed now, his expression unreadable. Ignoring the pain in his body, Zelgadiss looked up at that face, looked up at the one he loved unconditionally, and whispered,

"Thank you."

Xellos' eyes flew open, shock visible in their depths for a brief moment before he threw himself away from the bed, away from Zelgadiss.

"You're a fool." He declared unknown emotions straining the cold tone of his voice.

"I know."

The mazoku stared at him for a moment longer, a war raging just beneath the surface, only barely visible in the depths of his eyes. For the first time since they began, Zelgadiss allowed a whisper of hope through the cold armour around his heart. He reached out to the shaking mazoku...

Xellos vanished.

Leaving his hand hovering in the air for only a moment Zelgadiss then allowed it to drop to the bed as the rest of his body also collapsed. Tremors wracked his slender form as the tears began to fall anew, the hot streaks on his face contrasting sharply against the cold that consumed him once again.