I made a mental list as I drove of everything going wrong right now. We had a swearing baby, two unwanted roommates, one wanted helper who was leaving tomorrow, and a kidnapped son. I sighed, tapping my thumbs against the steering wheel as Snake's apartment complex came into view.
    The sky was pitch black and rain began drizzling down onto my shoulders as I closed the car door, cold drips snaking their way inside my collar and down the back of my shirt. I shivered and padded down the cement walkway, ducking under the overhang with a small sigh of relief as I knocked on Snake's door. 
    There was no answer and I shifted impatiently, listening to rain drops patter onto the roof as the storm picked up force. Wind tousled my hair and I banged the door harder, pushing my way inside when Snake cracked the door open. 
    "Snake, Ryu has been taken—Oh, Snake." I broke off, taking him in. He sighed and closed the door behind me, running his fingers through his disheveled hair. 
    "Tao." Snake said, blinking slowly and hunching his shoulders as he slid his hands into the front pockets of his sweatpants. 
    "Snake, you're drunk, aren't you?" I asked gently, kicking off my shoes and pulling him close in one motion. 
    His face folded easily into my neck and he gave a great shuddering sigh, his arms squeezing me tightly. I rubbed his back soothingly through his t-shirt and felt the ridges of his thick scars through the thin material, letting him lean on me until his arms loosened and he pulled away. 
    "No. Not completely." Snake murmured, smelling of beer and cologne. There was a trickle of dried blood in the corner of his mouth and I thumbed gently at it, shaking my head. 
    "What happened?" I said quietly, taking his hand and pulling him over the couch. I sat him down and filled a glass of water from the kitchen sink, handing it to him. 
    Snake was silent, sipping down the glass of water and dabbing the corner of his mouth with his fingertips. I wet a paper tower in the sink and sat next to him, folding it slowly and then holding it to his mouth. 
    "I don't know. He just...flipped?" Snake said, slouching down and crossing his legs underneath him. 
    "Flipped?" I prompted, sponging up the last of the blood and using two fingers under his chin to turn his head side to side. I clucked my tongue sympathetically when I saw another bruise forming on his jaw and washed over it with the paper towel.
    "Yeah. He's not the jealous type, but we ran into one of my old friends at the restaurant and he just threw a fit when we got home." Snake said, staring meditatively at his empty glass and sighing. 
    "He hit you?" I frowned, feeling relieved when Snake shook his head. 
    "No, this was just from me being stupid." Snake said, gesturing to his face. He looked up, frowning at me. "You said Ryu was taken?"
    "His father." I said quietly. Snake was on his feet in a matter of seconds, staggering wildly before I grabbed him and pulled him back onto the couch. 
    "We have to go!" Snake exclaimed, tugging against my hand on his wrist. I sighed and didn't let him stand up, slowly getting up myself. 
    "You need to calm the heck down. We will get Ryu back, don't worry." I reassured, coiling my arm around his waist and letting him lean on me. 
    "No, you don't understand! Ryu's father doesn't give a flying about him; if he took Ryu it's not because he wants to be a father all of a sudden." Snake said, his eyes wide. 
    "We're going to figure it out." I said, swallowing down my worry and opening the front door. Snake kicked it shut behind us and locked it, making his own way down the path and refusing my arm. 
    "I'm not that drunk, I can go look for him now." Snake said, swinging into the passenger seat. I climbed into the car and gave him a judgmental look, shaking my head. 
    "We need you to be able to heal and at least walk before you can help." I said sternly  starting up the car and buckling his seatbelt. 
    I drove in silence for several minutes, watching Snake nervously tapping his fingers on his thighs. He finally crossed his arms and sighed softly, grimacing. 
    "God, I'm so stupid." Snake mumbled, shaking his head. 
    "You've got to stop drinking. Like, completely. It's especially harmful for you, and you always puke." I scolded, looking at the pale tint of his skin. 
    "I know, I know. I only do it when I'm upset." Snake sighed, scrubbing his fingers through his hair.  
    "You don't have to punish yourself like this." I reminded him, resting my hand on his knee and squeezing lightly. He nodded and I punched in the code for the gate, pulling in smoothly. 
    We walked through the front door and met everyone in the living room, Yoichi pulling me aside by the door. 
    "Tao, did you move the blood that was in my room?" Yoichi asked quietly, a puzzled frown pulling his lips down. 
    "No, I haven't touched your stuff. Why?" I asked, looking at the worried way he bit his lower lip. 
    "It's gone." Yoichi said, shrugging it off a few moments later. "Whatever. I'll get more tomorrow morning if I can't find it; I probably just stuck it somewhere in your kitchen."
    "Please find it before I do." I said firmly, briefly imagining grabbing blood instead of coffee one morning and shivering.
    "Do you have enough for tonight?" Kris broke in from the couch, looking concerned as well. 
    "Yes." Yoichi said, shrugging again and sitting down gracefully. 
    "Where's Alek?" I asked, looking around. Yoichi draped himself across Aoi's lap and pouted, looping his arms around Aoi's neck. 
    "He took Minji to his house to keep her safe." Yoichi said. I was prevented from answering by Snake walking hurriedly to the bathroom, sighing as I stood. 
    "I'll get him settled." I said, checking my phone for the time as I walked after Snake. It was already 1:30 in the morning and I filled a glass of water in the kitchen sink, walking to the bathroom. 
    "See. You always puke." I reminded Snake, brushing his hair out of his eyes and handing him the water. He gulped it down and I tugged him up to the loft, tossing a pair of clean pajamas at him and tucking him in bed. 
    "Thanks, Tao." Snake mumbled, draping his forearm across his eyes. 
    "Don't mention it. Turn over on your side before you choke." I ordered, placing a trash can next to the bed and turning off the light. Snake obediently rolled over and I kissed his forehead, pulling the blankets up to his chest. 
    I walked down the stairs and into Kris, frowning when he stopped me. 
    "We're going to go find Shobu tomorrow. Aoi will cast a tracking spell in the morning and then you and I will go get Ryu back." Kris said. 
    "Shouldn't we go right now?" I asked, anxious to get Ryu back. 
    "It's too late. A few more hours won't hurt him." Kris reassured, pulling me into our room. I sighed and nodded, undressing and curling in next to him. 
    "Are you sure he'll be okay?" I asked. Kris nodded, pulling me in close next to him and turning out the light. 
    "I love you." Kris whispered, kissing my forehead. 
    "I love you more." I smiled. 
    "I love you most."

    I woke up to Kris shaking me, his face hovering directly above mine. I blinked awake and he kissed me softly, backing up. 
    "Aoi did the spell, we're ready to go." Kris said. I nodded, rolling out of bed to tug on pants and a shirt. 
    I passed Yoichi when I walked by the kitchen, pausing to look at him. He was paler than normal and busy pawing through my cabinets, muttering to himself. 
    "Are you alright?" I asked, resting a hand on his back. Yoichi looked up and nodded, looking back down. 
    "I'll swing by my old place and get more blood, then I'll be back to help." Yoichi murmured, sounding out of breath. I nodded, giving him a comforting squeeze and catching up with Kris. 
    The ride to Shobu's house was quiet and Kris parked a few houses away, swinging out of the car and waiting for me.     
    Kris knocked on the door, waiting for Shobu to crack it open before kicking it the rest of the way. His kick was so forceful it cracked the door in half and sent Shobu flying backwards into the wall behind him, crashing down among the splinters of wood. 
    "Where's Ryu?!" Kris boomed, striding inside and scowling. I walked in after him, crossing my arms and leaning back against the doorframe. 
    "What?" Shobu groaned, trying to get up and gasping for breath. 
    "Somebody took him; where is he?" I demanded, watching Shobu slowly get to his knees. 
    "What the hell—I didn't touch him!" Shobu snapped, getting up and bracing his back against the wall behind him. 
    "Then where is he?!" Kris growled, arms crossed. 
    "I have no idea! I'm not going to mess with demons for a brat who doesn't even want to be with me!" Shobu said. 
    "If you hear from him at all, call me immediately." Kris ordered, pulling a pen from his shirt pocket and seizing Shobu's arm. He scribbled his number on Shobu's wrist and then turned away, reaching out his hand to me as I walked past. 
    I laced my fingers through his firmly, casting one last glare over my shoulder at Shobu and walking out the front door. We stopped together once we got to the street, trading a lost look. 
    "Where the hell is he?" Kris asked, sitting down on the curb and running his hands through his hair. I moved to stand behind him and he leaned back against my shins, resting his head on my thigh and closing his eyes when I carded my fingers through his hair soothingly. 
    "If he's not with Shobu, who took him?" I murmured, looking down at Kris. He sighed and was interrupted by his phone, pulling it out of his pocket and accepting the call. 
    His shoulders tensed and he closed out of the call after listening for a few seconds, sliding his phone into his pocket and sighing.
    "Hunters." Kris murmured to himself. 
    "What?" I asked, my hand pausing in his hair. Kris tipped his head back and met my eyes, blinking slowly. 
    "Yoichi is gone too. This is about hunters, not about Ryu's dad." Kris said quietly, standing up and taking my hand. 
    "What do we do?" I asked. Kris unlocked the car and started the engine, waiting for me to buckle my seatbelt. 
    "We'll get home and try to think. Aoi is at Yoichi's place now, he'll look it over for a while before coming back." Kris said. 
    My worry grew as we drove, wondering if the hunters would hurt Ryu or Yoichi. Would they kill Yoichi; was he already dead? 
    "They're going to be okay." Kris said, reaching out to take my hand and sigh. I nodded, feeling slightly relieved when he pulled in the gate. 
    His phone rang again and we sat in the car, Kris putting it on speaker for me. 
    "Kris, I can't find him anywhere!" Aoi exclaimed, sounding frantic. "And he hasn't fed since last night, what if he dies?!"
    "Aoi, calm down." Kris said. "We'll be here. Come over when you're done there."
    "No. You guys stay there, I'll keep looking. Don't come looking for Ryu just yet, I don't want you two to put yourselves in danger just yet." Aoi said firmly.    
    "Are you sure?" I asked, worried. 
    "Yes. I've got to go, I'll call you later." Aoi said. The call ended and Kris and I shared a look, getting out to walk inside. 
    Snake was dozing on the couch and he groaned when Kris tossed the keys on the coffee table, covering his ears. 
    "Still want to drink?" I taunted him savagely, hoping he would finally take this as a cue to kick the habit. 
    " off." Snake mumbled back, covering his head with a pillow. I chuckled, digging around in our medicine cabinet for ibuprofen. 
    "Drink up." I said, handing him the pills and a glass of water. I sat down on the couch next to Kris, kicking Snake off the couch and into the armchair. 
    We sat for hours in the living room, occasionally getting up to make snacks or find Snake more pain medication. Kris had his arm around me and a blanket slung across our laps, his face resting in the crook of my neck when he slept. 
    I finally got fed up, looking over at Snake sitting in an armchair, looking sick and worried.     I sighed; I was done sitting here and watching everybody worry. I stood up, tossing the blanket onto Kris and untangling myself from his arms. 
    "I'm going to check out Yoichi's house, see if we missed anything." I said, getting up and walking to the door. It was already late afternoon and Kris caught my arm, shaking his head. 
    "Tao, it's so dangerous—" Kris said. I smiled at him and shook him off, pressing a kiss to his lips.
    "I'll