"Tao? I've been thinking..." Kris said slowly. I briefly looked up from my book, watching his fingertips draw slow circles into my hip. I hummed, showing him I was still listening, and continued skimming my book. 
    "I don't...I don't think Snake is human." Kris admitted quietly. I hummed again, my brain taking several long seconds to process what Kris had just said before my head snapped back up. 
    "What?" I hissed, closing my book around my finger and looking at Kris in alarm. He shrugged quietly, looking up at me with a significantly calmer expression. 
    "I don't know for sure." Kris said, blinking at me. 
    "What made you think he's not human?! What could he be? Is he dangerous?" I blurted out. Kris silenced me with a look and I closed my mouth with a snap. 
    "Do you really think I would let something dangerous stay close to you and Ryu?" Kris asked. I shook my head, snuggling down further under the blankets and sighing. 
    "What is he?" I asked. Kris shrugged again, rolling onto his back and folding his hands over his stomach. 
    "I think he's half human. I don't know, it's just a feeling." Kris said, rolling over to turn off his light. He began to snore quietly within a few minutes, leaving me to stare at the opposite wall. 
    Snake had always seemed so...I don't know if normal was the word for it, but I definitely never thought he wouldn't be human. I poked Kris, wanting to talk to him more, but I was swatted away with a low grumble. 
    I sighed, trying to reason out why Kris wouldn't trust Snake. The only thing that really stood out to me were his eyes, which admittedly were unearthly. But still...Snake? Inhuman?

____________________________________________

    I went to pick Ryu up from school and wasn't surprised to see Snake sitting with him, their hands linked loosely and their heads tilted together. Snake was murmuring to Ryu quietly and I could see a pair of earbuds stretched between them, Ryu's free hand tapping out a rhythm on Snake's thigh. I smiled quietly then honked the horn, rolling down the window. 
    "Get in the car!" I commanded, unlocking the doors. They both jumped up and I chuckled, watching Snake grasp Ryu's backpack gently and then sling it into the backseat. 
    "Hey, Tao." Ryu smiled, sliding into the car and then turning to buckle Snake's seatbelt for him. 
    "You guys are so disgustingly adorable." I remarked with a smile, glancing at them in the rear view before pulling carefully out of the school pick-up zone.  
    "Can Snake stay for dinner?" Ryu asked. I laughed; Ryu was so used to me fawning over them by now that he didn't even remark on it. 
    "Of course. Do you like pasta?" I asked, smiling at Snake. He nodded with a slow smile of his own, busy playing with the ring on Ryu's forefinger. 
    "Thanks, Tao." Snake said warmly. I nodded, turning on the radio in the background. 
    As I drove, I kept catching myself sneaking looks at Snake in the rear view, studying his eyes. Kris said he wasn't dangerous and I didn't believe Snake could ever actually hurt Kris or I, but I was...way past curious. 
    We pulled past the gate and I swung out of the front seat, opening the trunk. The boys started off towards the house but I snapped my fingers and pointed to the bags of groceries in the trunk. 
    "Aww, come on..." Ryu whined, but he still began to drape handles over his arms. Snake joined him, obediently schlepping all the ingredients for the pasta I planned to make tonight. 
    I closed the trunk, the metal warm on my fingertips from the sun, and locked the car. I followed them into the house, kicking off my shoes and walking in search of Kris. 
    I found him sitting at the kitchen table, tapping away on his computer with an open sketchbook next to him. I wrapped my arms around his back, feeling the way his shoulders fit perfectly against mine. One of his hands came up instinctively to along my wrist, long fingers wrapping briefly against my hand and his lips pressed to my arm. 
    I held him silently for several moments, my heart swollen with love and my face nestled into the crook of his neck. Kris turned finally, interrupting me to press his lips to mine and cup my jaw in his warm hands. 
    I leaned into him with a hum of pleasure, keeping the kiss slow and sweet. Kris pulled back with a smile, pressing another kiss to the tip of my nose and hovering there, his eyes staring gently into mine. Dark gold flecks tumbled in his eyes next to the main pure honey color of his irises, brilliant with contentment and affection. 
    "I love you," I murmured. Kris smiled, slow and sweet as the kiss itself, and bumped my forehead with his. 
    "I missed you," Kris said, and I knew he was also saying 'I love you'. 
    I moved back, beginning to put away the groceries the boys had deposited before vanishing upstairs. Kris scraped his chair back and stood next to me, helping me put away the cereal boxes in the highest cabinets. I savored the small secret touches, the brush of his chest on my shoulder when he reached above our heads, or the sweep of his wrist against mine when we both reached to put away the pudding. 
    "I'll start dinner." I said when the bags were empty and there were no more excuses to move against each other. 
    "Remind me to buy more stainless steel pots. We only have the iron stuff now that the stainless steel cracked." Kris said quietly. I nodded, recalling with a slight wince the memory of Kris lifting me up on the counter to kiss me soundly and simultaneously knocking the stack of pots and pans set out to dry onto the floor. 
    "The iron should work for tonight...I don't even know where you found iron equipment these days." I sighed, shaking my head. Kris shrugged, returning to his computer and sketchbook. 
    Several hours later, I was all set to combine the pasta in a large pot and the sauce from a large pan. I called Ryu and Snake down from the loft, instructing them both to set the table. I forced Kris to move his stuff so we could all sit together as a family, and found myself bumping into Snake when I moved back from the sink. 
    "Can I help you?" Snake asked with a warm smile, gesturing to the pot and pan bubbling on the stove. I nodded, drying my hands on the cloth tucked into the hem of my pants, and smiled back. 
    "Of course! Could you just carefully pour that pan of sauce into the pot while I finished drying these?" I asked, gesturing to the dishes on the counter in front of me. 
    "Sure thing." Snake said, reaching out to pick up the pan just as I turned back to the sink. 
    There was a muffled shout of pain and I jerked around, just in time to see Snake drop the pan with another yell. It hit the ground and splattered everywhere, white sauce coating the lower cabinets. Snake cradling his hand to his chest with a gasp of pain and I reached out, setting down the plate I had been drying hurriedly. 
    "What happened?" I asked, looking at the pan lying violently on the floor. Snake had sunk his teeth sharply into his lower lip and I could see tears swimming in his eyes, threatening to fall. 
    "Snake?" I asked, gently grasping his wrist and pulling his hand away from his chest. An angry red burn spanned his palm, already swelling thickly and split down the middle with beads of blood.
    "Oh my god, what did you do?!" I exclaimed, hitting the sink faucet and twisting it to cool water. Snake grimaced when I placed his hand under the stream of water, hissing through his teeth and squeezing his eyes closed. 
    "The handle burned me." Snake managed, his arm trembling with pain. I gently rubbed his shoulder, continuing to hold his hand under the water and looking around for paper towels. 
    "Kris!" I called. He walked into the kitchen a few seconds later, frowning as he saw Snake and me. As he passed by the stove, he grasped the pan before I could react and calmly set it on the countertop. 
    "What happened?" Kris asked, frowning slightly and moving to stand on Snake's other side. My mouth had dropped open when he moved the pan without obvious discomfort, and I moved back wordlessly so he could reach Snake. 
    "I just burned myself on the pan; I think I'm okay now." Snake mumbled, looking down at his palm. The skin was beginning to look better, but it was still angry and swollen. 
    "I have some medical supplies in the cabinet." Kris said, taking Snake's wrist and gently pulling him towards the hallway. 
    I looked from the pan to the sink, frowning. I slowly reached out, tapping handle of the pan as quickly as I possibly could with my middle finger. 
    Nothing happened. 
    I tried it again, leaving my finger on for longer, then wrapping my whole palm around the handle. Nothing. No pain. Sure, it was warm from the fire, but nowhere close to being hot enough to cause the kind of burn Snake got. 
    Very strange...
    What was even stranger was Kris coming back a few moments later with Ryu and Snake in tow. 
    "Peach, could you come to the tv room?" Kris asked calmly. I nodded with a small confused frown, pulling the towel from my pants to set it on the counter.
    When I reached the tv room, Kris was standing by the couch and Ryu and Snake were sitting on it. We all waited a few moments, looking expectantly at Kris, and Kris finally turned to Snake. 
    "I know what you are." Kris said softly. Snake frowned, crossing his arms.    
    "Excuse me?" Snake asked, sounding confused rather than rude. 
    "You're fey." Kris' voice was calm, gentle, measured. As soon as the words fell from his mouth Snake stiffened and Ryu did the same, a single panicked look flashing between them. 
    "What are you talking about?" Snake managed, sounding strangled. He stood and Ryu did the same, both of them standing with their shoulders squared to Kris and I. 
    "You're fey. I realized it when the iron pan burned you. I know iron hurts you." Kris was still speaking in that same soothing, understanding voice, but Snake was growing more and more panicked. 
    "I know you're Dragonkind!" Snake exclaimed, looking from Kris to the hallway leading to the front door. 
    "Yes, that's right." Kris said gently. Snake took a challenging step forward and when Kris did nothing, he stumbled forward a few more steps towards the door. 
    "What do you want?" Snake asked in a low voice, looking cautiously at Kris. Kris shook his head, raising his hands placatingly. 
    "To help. You know iron burns won't heal like your normal injuries do; you need proper medicine. Come with me, I'll get you some pain medication and put a burn pad on your hand." Kris beckoned Snake, but Snake shook his head firmly. 
    "I can fix myself." Snake said, walking carefully past us and looking back to make sure Ryu was still hovering by his shoulder. Ryu was, and Kris sighed. 
    "Snake, we're not going to hurt you." Kris said. Snake nodded, looking distrustfully between Kris and I. 
    "Snake, don't go." I said, reaching out to grasp his wrist. 
    Too fast for me to track with my eyes, Snake knocked my hand away and hunched over towards me. His teeth were suddenly too long and his eyes glowed brightly, cobalt light reflecting off his lip piercings. He hissed at me, his teeth bared threateningly, and I flinched back. 
    Kris' arm was suddenly on my waist, sweeping me behind him while he answered Snake's hiss with a warning growl. Snake pushed Ryu behind him, snapping his teeth audibly at Kris and shoving Ryu back another few feet. 
    Kris' wings ripped through his shirt and knocked me back, fanning out and forming a shield around me. I could hear Ryu shouting from somewhere behind Snake and I put my hands on Kris' shoulder trying to make him stop. 
    "Snake! Kris! Stop!" I said. When that didn't work, I grabbed Kris firmly by the shoulders and turned him. 
    My arms wrapped tightly around his waist and I held him tightly to me, pinning his arms to his sides and his wings to his back. I had him facing the other way from Snake, and was surprised and pleased to look over his shoulder and see Ryu doing the same, looking at me. 
    He was holding Snake tightly, quieting Snake's panicky fidgeting with gentle fingertips along his spine. Kris was also struggling lightly in my arms but I held him as tightly as I could, watching Ryu release Snake. 
    He stepped back, kissed Snake's nose, and then tiptoed up to whisper in Snake's ear. Snake looked briefly at me and Kris, his long incisors hanging down over his bottom lip, and then he nodded to me once. Snake kissed Ryu once, gently, careful not to cut him with his teeth, and then Snake was walking out the door. 
    I released Kris, looking between Ryu and the front door. Kris pulled back, looking around for Snake, and I turned him. 
    "Why don't you go upstairs? I want to talk with Ryu." I suggested. Kris nodded, still looking restless. 
    "I'll go clean the kitchen." Kris said. I nodded, giving him a small smile and a kiss on the dimple. 
    When he was gone I patted the couch, inviting Ryu to sit. We looked at each in friendly silence for several moments, and I finally spoke. 
    "You knew Snake was fey." I said. It wasn't a question. Ryu nodded. 
    "The second time I saw him, he told me." Ryu said softly. I nodded; I knew what it was like to discover the supernatural. 
    "How did you meet him?" I asked, genuinely curious. Ryu took a deep breath, sitting back against the couch and folding his hands.
    He finally looked up at me, taking a deep breath and blinking once. I didn't rush him, wanting him to feel comfortable enough to tell me, and I was rewarded when Ryu finally opened his mouth. 
    "Snake wasn't always Snake. He was once Zane." 

RYU'S POV

21 MONTHS EARLIER

    I slowly slid from my window, feeling the rough wood of the sill scratching at my palms as I dropped to the ground. I landed in a crouch, one arm out to the side and the other sunk into the loose dirt of the flower bed. This pair of foster parents loved to work in the garden, and I knew they were soundly asleep from working all day landscaping the backyard. 
    I had waited until two in the morning to sneak out, craving the freedom the night air gave me. It had been too long exploring my old haunts, and I set my sights towards the rougher part of town. 
    I passed by various bars and clubs, heading towards my favorite club when a fight broke out in front of the bar I was walking past. The gang in front had had too much to drink, and I quickly skirted around the growing heaving mass of people and knives.     
    I foun