Affliction

|| Commercial Break v2.0 || The translation for "Somos Eterno" is "We are eternal". I think I paid attention all those years in Spanish class >.> **Disclaimer** Lyrics used in this chapter only are from "Under The Rose" by Him


"I dream of the winter in my heart turning to spring while the ice gives way under my feet...and so I drown with the sun..."

Glimmering beneath the fluorescent glow above, a key nested against velvet engraved with "Somos Eterno" down the stem. Where words often failed, Sesshomaru conveyed clandestine emotions through other means. Remaining ever proud, the youkai had not been able to speak aloud such words though every fiber of his being screamed it. Cruising a finger over those words, Inuyasha could feel a pulling at his heart; though his soul begged, needed for this to be reality, the fickle mind refused to surrender. Sensing hesitation from the hanyou, Inuyasha was embraced against Sesshomaru's body, the pure-blood pitting them nose to nose as golden orbs spoke the words of his soul.

A vow had been made the day Sesshomaru discarded Inuyasha only to leave him to recover upon his own - a vow for independence forever from the demon to never fall victim again. Uncertainty ablaze in azure globes, the hanyou drifted his gaze from that of his brother with a silent prayer that he could not see the internal conflict. Overflowing ripples of rejection and disappointment encroached across the daiyoukai's features, ebony brows furrowed as hope began to perish. What vanity was remaining intact had vanquished once Sesshomaru knelt before Inuyasha; with head bowed in defeat, he had nothing left to give other than himself. Fighting against the will of the powers-that-be had proven to be futile, causing nothing other than emotional exhaustion. Able to defeat any dragon with bare hands, able to rid countrysides of an entire populace, ane yet the mighty Sesshomaru had been overthrown by an absurd human emotion - something he should have been able to overcome.

"I've been burning in water and drowning in flame...to prove you wrong and scare you away. I admit my defeat and want back home in your heart..."

Soft fingers traipsed through silvery mane then continued to elfin ears as Inuyasha looked upon his brother with an unclear certainty radiating within his eyes. Sesshomaru had become so vulnerable, soul-bearing, and trusting at this moment. And though the daiyoukai would protest this as weakness, Inuyasha deemed it noble and comforting to see that the icy exterior was indeed a charade...that Sesshomaru's heart beat like his, that he bled when cut, that he feared and adored and made mistakes just the same. Quelled by the desire to comfort and mend the purebred, any reservation regarding the intentions of the youkai were laid to rest. No matter the battle between heart and mind, Inuyasha could not turn his sibling away.

"I hate you, Sesshomaru. Hate you wanting me, needing me, adoring me. I hate the way you make me feel. One moment in bliss and the next as though I were in Hell. I hate this...love...I have for you. Have always had for you."

"Enough. Please. I can hear no more, Inuyasha. It's breaking my heart..."

"I can't live without you dammit. Don't you understand?"

"I share this pain, this...agony."

"That's what makes me love you."

"My Inuyasha," Misery wrecked, saltwater drenched, golden orbs rose to meet the gaze of an azure pair. Life breathed back into that dying hope, restoring faith into Sesshomaru. Once considered puppy-love had now bled into something else, something...blissful. Inuyasha wormed into Sesshomaru's arms, nuzzling a cold nose into the nook of his brother's neck, thoughts still swarming around the consequences that were bound emotionally and mentally concerning the youkai. Sesshomaru was content to just hold his brother and inhale his scent, not concerning himself with trivial matters that the hanyou was known to do. There had been nothing left to prove on either side, leaving both males open to what may come.