Eirose stood out on the fire escape, leaning over the rail and staring down at the ground three stories below. He sighed lightly as the breeze rustled through his hair.

"There you are," came a voice as the Zaitsu he knew climbed out the open bedroom window to join him on the fire escape.

"You found me," Eirose said quietly, a weak smile tugging at his lips.

"Why have you been hiding again? You're always with Kayla, out here, or hiding under the couch as a wolf," Zaitsu said, holding out a pack of cigarettes towards Eirose. "Do you like her?"

"I respect her and yes, I like her. But not the way that you're thinking," Eirose replied, taking a cigarette and putting it between his lips. There was a small spark from his finger-tip as a small flame jumped from it and lit the cigarette. He took a long drag from the cigarette, closing his eyes and enjoying the nicotine entering his body, exhaling his held breath a moment later.

"Then how do you like her?" Zaitsu asked, watching his friend.

"She's strong, kind, firm, and fierce," he said, taking another drag from the cigarette and turning to face Zaitsu. "And she's in love with my best friend's reincarnation."

"Eirose, the boy awakened, this body is mine," Zaitsu replied, leaning over the railing and staring downwards.

"He wouldn't have turned into you if Damian hadn't forced him to. It's not your life, Zaitsu. Let the boy live it."

"So you don't want me here?" Zaitsu asked quietly.

"I missed you more than I've ever missed anyone, and I'm prepared to miss you again."

"I'm not ready to go back. Eirose, I never crossed over. I was stuck in this world, able to see and hear everything, but not able to touch." He looked into his friend's eyes. "Do you have any idea how painful that is?"

"You just left, I didn't know where you went or why you left. I felt so horrible, thinking I'd done something wrong... I didn't even find out you were dead until three years later!" Eirose's eyes welled up with tears as he flicked his half-smoked cigarette over the rail.

"Eirose..." Zaitsu leaned in to kiss the other man, only to have a hand meet his lips.

"No." Eirose smiled weakly as he held his hand to Zaitsu's lips. "The boy isn't like you, he loves Kayla. You have to respect that."

"But I love you," Zaitsu said, batting his friend's hand away. "Why don't you respect that?"

"I do, and I still love you. I never stopped loving you. I spend so much time with Kayla so I don't forget why I can't let myself touch you."

"That's unfair to me! I want to be with you! I didn't leave you! I snuck out after you fell asleep, I was looking for a ring for you!"

"You wanted to marry me?" Eirose asked quietly, shocked.

"Of course I did, and I still do."

"You can't. The boy wants to marry Kayla," he said, a soft smile on his lips.

"But why should that matter?" Zaitsu asked, a desperate tone in his voice.

"Because we've already been together," Eirose answered, his smile now strong on his features. "The only reason you're in your own body is because you turned the boy's body into your own. It's really his body, his life, and inside his apartment is the girl he loves."

"But I want--"

"Zaitsu, it's not about what you want. Do you know what I want? I want to fall asleep in your arms again. I want to feel your body against mine and to be able to stare into your eyes. To feel your warm breath on my neck and in my ears. I just want to reach up and run my fingers through your hair." He reached up and made a motion of running his hands through Zaitsu's hair. But he didn't completely give into temptation, keeping his fingers just far enough away not to touch the other man.

"Zaitsu, the boy isn't like you. I watched him for eleven years and he isn't like you. When Damian began hurting him in ways he hurt you, I couldn't stand to watch it anymore. I took him and made sure that Andrew and Shozii would find him. They erased his memories of me and Damian, of everything before they found him. He grew up the way that you should've. He's not bitter and full of anger like you are. Please, just give the boy his life back."

"Is that what you really want?" Zaitsu asked quietly.

"Yes," Eirose said, just above a whisper, nodding a little. "I find it funny though," he laughed softly. "I wanted to marry you too, I even bought a ring, I was just too afraid to give it to you. I didn't know how you'd react."

"I bought the ring I was looking at," Zaitsu said quietly. "I made sure to follow it after I died..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny silk pouch. "One of the first things I did after I came back was go and retrieve it."

"Well, I wanted to be traditional, but neither of us like gold, and you never seemed to like any kind of precious stone." Eirose pulled at a chain around his neck, unhooking it and pulling the ring that'd been hidden under his shirt from the chain. He held it in his hand and stared at it for a moment before giving it to Zaitsu.

Zaitsu handed Eirose the silk ring bag and looked down at the ring he'd been handed. Eirose slipped the ring from inside the silk pouch and looked at it in shock as Zaitsu stared down at his own hand, also in shock.

"It's the same ring," they said in a quiet unison. They both held identical thick silver bands with a small onyx stone.

"Can I please kiss you?" Zaitsu asked, looking up at Eirose with tears in his eyes.

"No," Eirose said quietly.

"Alright," Zaitsu sighed, handing the ring back to Eirose. "I guess this is goodbye, huh?"

"It's more than I got from you last time."

"Hopefully we'll get a chance in another life..." Zaitsu said quietly, tears running down his cheeks.

"We will," Eirose said, giving slightly into temptation and hugging the other man tightly. "I'll marry you next time, I promise."

"I love you..." Zaitsu closed his eyes, red energy surrounding him.

"I love you too..." Eirose held on to Zaitsu, determined to hold on until he was gone.

Zaitsu's body grew shorter, his chest more narrow, his skin slightly darker. His body went limp, falling completely into Eirose's arms.

"Goodbye," Eirose whispered, holding the younger Zaitsu up. Lifting him up properly, he carefully carried him through into the apartment through the open window and laid him down on the bed.

He slipped both wedding bands onto his left hand, the one meant for him on his ring finger, the one meant for Zaitsu on his middle finger. Taking off the collar he had to wear for when he went outside as a wolf, he dropped it onto the couch and walked out the door of the apartment, pulling the door shut behind him.

"Have a good life, little one. Get married and have a family. You can escape the war, I know you can," Eirose said under his breath to himself as he walked down the stairs with his hands in his pockets. He never went back to Zaitsu's apartment, and none of them ever saw him again.