The apartment was dimly lit, not that J would have cared for light. He couldn't sleep once again. It happened a lot these days, not that he could have exactly made any comparison. He had only been home for a few months now after the accident. He didn't even know if 'home' applied; he had no idea if the apartment he was in actually was his home or just some place he had been given.

He was pretty sure the latter case was correct. By who was the question; to his knowledge some nice people he had met in the hospital had organized everything he needed. Church charity or something; he wasn't sure and had never gotten an answer. The fact was however that nobody knew who he really was, and he didn't know either. His name was J, and that was it. An accident had happened, something related to Dracula, but he couldn't remember. It bothered him to no end.

He sat on the couch alone. The only light in the room was came from the TV which was on, although muted, not like he had been paying attention to it or remembered why he had turned it on in the first place. He sometimes wondered if he liked torturing himself with the thoughts, but it wasn't like he could have done anything else. His past just didn't exist; he didn't exist.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping at this hour?" Someone asked from the darkness all of sudden.

J blinked and jumped up from the couch, then sighed and sat back down. "Arikado," he mumbled the man's name without actually bothering to look who it was. "You know, you don't have the keys to my apartment just so you can sneak in on me in the middle of the night."

"I apologize," the tall man answered, taking a step forward from the doorway and closing the door behind him. "I was just worried. I was told you don't sleep at nights."

J waved his hand, gesturing for the other man to sit down. Genya Arikado was some kind of a government agent; he didn't know much about the man, but it appeared nobody really knew. He had met Arikado in the hospital; it seemed he had been involved in the accident as well somehow. Arikado was the one who had known his name to be J, and that was more than anyone else seemed to know.

"Too much to think about," J said. "And nothing to think about. I just can't sleep. It gets really bad sometimes; I feel like there's something hiding in the darkness of the night that I should know about, but it never shows itself..." He sighed again, then dropped the subject. "Ah, never mind. But wouldn't it bother you to not know if you're alive?"

There was a hint of a smile on the dark-haired man's lips. It caught the younger man's attention, and J stopped to study the other man's face. Arikado was certainly beautiful for a man. "I suppose it would," the older man replied. "But why do you wonder if you're alive? You are, and you're here. Isn't that enough?"

J shook his head and closed his eyes. "I don't know. I think..." He paused then looked at the other man. "I should probably be dead. It's like I never existed anyway. Like I shouldn't be here."

Arikado finally came closer and sat next to him. He patted the younger man's shoulder, his expression somewhat melancholy. "You should not think like that, J," he said with a gentle, calm voice. "Maybe some things are meant to happen. Maybe..."

He trailed off for a moment and studied J's face closely. The young man certainly was a Belmont; he could see familiar traits passed down on the old bloodline. Julius looked quite a bit like a couple of his ancestors. He lowered his head then, regretting that he couldn't tell the younger man what he was thinking.

"Maybe," he then continued. "You should think of it as a second chance."

J laughed, then just looked at Arikado, smiling. "In what?" He finally asked. "I don't exist. How could it be a second chance?"

The older man appeared thoughtful, although J could never say what went on in Arikado's mind. "The accident..." the dark-haired man said, smiling again. "You say you think you should have died there. Perhaps you did, but you are here, nonetheless. I do not think you should question fate, J."

J laughed again. "Sometimes I wonder if you are more than you look, Arikado," he said, grinning. "You seem to know a lot. Fate, hmm. I don't know if I believe in fate, but if you say so..." He trailed off for a second, then added, "So is it also fate that you came here tonight?"

Arikado tilted his head slightly, his gaze studying the younger man. "I would not know. Hmm. What makes you wonder about such a thing?"

"Nothing really, I was just lonely," J replied. "I seem to think a lot more when I'm alone, so having you here makes things... a little easier." He paused and stared at the floor for a moment, then looked at Arikado. "Would it be too much to ask if you stayed here for tonight? I just don't like being alone sometimes."

The dark-haired man nodded slightly. "I understand. I will stay, then." He patted Julius' hand gently, then looked away, catching himself from thinking the younger man as 'Julius' again. He couldn't tell J, and had to remind himself not to think of him as a Belmont. It was better that way. "It is hard to be alone," he continued, the melancholy expression returning.

"Thank you," J said quietly. He sat back and studied Arikado in the little light he had. He sometimes just could not stop wondering about the man's inhuman beauty. The dark-haired man reminded him so much of something, but he couldn't remember what. He sighed, then stretched a little and leaned his head against Arikado's shoulder.

Arikado watched for a moment, then petted J's hair. "Tired?"

"...I guess," the younger man mumbled. "Been up all night and all." He then moved away from the dark-haired man, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Sorry about that, I..."

"It's fine," Arikado answered. He looked at J a moment longer, not able to stop the feeling of regret getting a hold of him. It pained him to look at the young Belmont feeling so desperate when he couldn't do anything. At the same time, he knew what J was feeling so well. "Just go to bed," he added.

The younger man mumbled something but made no move to leave. Arikado sighed and took his hand, then gently pulled him up from the couch and led him to the bedroom. J gave up and crawled into bed, then looked at the other man. Arikado nodded to him and turned away; J blinked, then reached to the tall man and grabbed him by the arm. "Don't go," he muttered, and before the older man had a chance to reply, he pulled the man around and down, then kissed him, not really sure what he was doing.

The dark-haired man didn't resist. If this was what J wanted, if it would provide him a temporary escape from the gloomy thoughts, then he was more than willing to help. He wasn't too good at comforting anyone anyway, but he did know about physical contact. He couldn't deny wanting to stay beside the young Belmont either.

Arikado pulled away slowly, breaking the kiss, then sat on the edge of the bed and reached to remove the shirt J was wearing. He caressed the younger man's skin gently, then advanced down on his body and removed the simple pants J had, along with the underwear. J looked a little embarrassed and pulled the sheets to cover his lower body, but Arikado just looked at him, not appearing bothered.

"I..." J tried to say something, but the dark-haired man shook his head and stood. For a second J feared that Arikado was going to leave him after all, but instead, the tall man started undressing, placing the suit he had carefully on a chair by the wall. J could only watch as the other man continued, exposing his slender, beautiful body to his view.

"...Gods... You're... So beautiful," J muttered. The room was even more dimly lit than his living room, lit only by streetlights sneaking in from between the curtains, and the slight glow of the TV in the next room, but it showed enough.

The older man finished undressing and moved to the bed, a hint of a smile on his pale lips. He was apparently well aware of his beauty. "Thank you," he said anyway. "You don't look too bad yourself," he added as he lay down next to J, then moved to kiss him gently.

J answered to the kiss carefully, not sure if he was inexperienced in this or not. The thought made him almost laugh, and he relaxed, noticing quite quickly that even if he wasn't sure about what he was doing, Arikado certainly was. The dark-haired man fondled his skin softly, running his fingertips over the younger man's chest. Arikado broke the kiss and looked at his companion's face, tilting his head slightly.

"What's on your mind?"

"I..." J chuckled nervously. "I'm sure you can guess. I'm not exactly certain if I've ever done this. Hell, I, uh... We're both male, you know. Is this really...?"

Arikado nodded. "I cannot tell you if you have done this with another man before, but I know what it's about. It's okay. Just relax."

"All right," J whispered. He closed his eyes for a moment and lay still, realizing that he was quite excited. Interested in men or not, Arikado's touch had more effect on his body than he would have thought. He looked at the older man again then slowly raised his hands and buried his fingers into the other man's soft, black hair as he pulled Arikado close for another kiss.

Arikado kissed him gently but passionately, his tongue exploring the younger man's mouth. J tensed on the bed as the dark-haired man's fingers brushed over his chest, stopping to caress his nipples. He mumbled something against the kiss and dug his nails into Arikado's neck.

The older man moved his hand lower on J's skin while he broke the kiss only to nibble on his companion's neck carefully. A sigh escaped from the younger man's lips and he murmured something inaudible. Arikado smirked then closed his eyes for a moment, somewhat regretful that he couldn't ask J for a bit of his blood. He didn't actually need any right now, but he knew the taste of Belmont blood.

His hand found J's erection, and he stopped his caresses for a moment and looked at the younger man's face. "...Is this fine?"

J looked back at him. "I... suppose you... know what you're doing," he whispered, smiling nervously as he studied Arikado's expression. The older man looked calm and it seemed that he knew what to do. J pressed his head against the pillows and closed his eyes, trying to relax. It proved to be impossible as Arikado wrapped his fingers around his sex and started stroking skillfully.

"Ah...?" J suddenly pulled his right hand away from Arikado's hair and covered his lips. He didn't remember if he made too much noise during sex and wanted to make sure he didn't. Arikado shook his head slightly, appearing to be almost amused. He then returned to kissing the younger man's neck, slowly advancing lower. His hand worked on the young hunter's erection, and he smiled to himself, obviously satisfied, when he felt J moving his hips to meet his caresses.

Arikado stopped on the younger man's chest and captured a nipple between his lips. J tugged on the man's black hair, squirming under the touch. The older man was certainly skillful, and he couldn't remember ever feeling so great. He almost laughed at the thought, knowing well that he didn't even remember if he had ever had sex before.

The pale man continued for a while, then shifted his position on the bed and sat next to J. He looked at J and nodded slightly, then leaned down and took the tip of the younger man's erection into his mouth. J bit his lip and strained on the bed, his eyes wide. He pressed his hand over his mouth harder in fear of crying out. He felt Arikado's fingers moving on the base of his sex, and the tall man's tongue advanced over the length, driving him insane.

"Arikado..." he mumbled, not caring about staying quiet anymore. He grabbed the black hair with both hands, in an attempt to hold the older man there while he squirmed on the bed, trying to press against Arikado's mouth. "...Gods... More...?"

The tall man's reply was to take J's erection deeper into his mouth. He sucked on the hard length cautiously, having to adjust his movements to meet J's thrusts. The younger man mumbled something unclear and tried to control himself, but failed miserably.

"Ah, aah... Arikado..." J bit his lip again and closed his eyes. He couldn't take much more; it had certainly been a while since he had done anything. He cried out as he came, then just slumped against the sheets, finally relaxing.

Arikado lay down next to him and petted his hair gently. Several minutes passed in silence; the dark-haired man then leaned closer and studied the younger man's face. "Are you all right?"

J finally opened his eyes and laughed tiredly. "Shouldn't I be? That was... quite nice." He turned to his side, pressing his head against Arikado's shoulder. "I, uh, sorry about that. Been a while since I..." he paused, then added, "Well you know. But do you... do this often?"

"Not really," the dark-haired man replied. "Not often at all." He sighed then and tapped J on the shoulder. "Well, your turn."

"What?" J asked, then glanced down. "Oh... right." He felt somewhat embarrassed, but he couldn't turn his eyes away. Arikado lay there completely naked as the sheets were pushed aside, and he couldn't help but stare. The older man's slender body looked so beautiful, almost perfect. "I'm warning you though," he mumbled, placing his left hand on Arikado's chest. "I don't necessarily know what to do."

The dark-haired man laughed softly. "I would say it can't be harder than touching yourself. Improvise?"

J smiled a little, still staring at the other man. He then moved his hand lower on Arikado's body. He found the touch of the older man's skin under his fingers quite interesting, although a little strange. "Your skin feels a bit cool, you know," he said. "Are you cold?"

"Ah, no," Arikado replied quickly. "My body temperature is just usually a little low. It's perfectly normal." He smiled a little, hoping Julius bought the explanation. He couldn't exactly come up with anything else at that moment. "Don't worry about it."

"Oh, okay then," the younger man answered to Arikado's relief. "I'll just..." He pressed his body against the other man's, finding the coolness rather enjoyable. He drew his fingers over Arikado's abdomen and caressed his side for a moment, then raised his hand a little and wrapped his fingers around Arikado's erection.

The dark-haired man closed his eyes, pressing himself up from the bed a little and against J's touch. Encouraged, the younger man started stroking carefully. Arikado was right; it was kind of like touching himself, except he was doing it to somebody else.

He looked at Arikado's face for a moment, admiring the beautiful man, then leaned in to kiss him gently. He tried to remember what the older man had done earlier, and he proceeded to kiss Arikado's neck. The dark-haired man murmured something, appearing pleased, and J continued his caresses, quite certain that his partner liked what he was doing.

"Damn, are you always that calm?" He muttered between his kisses after a moment. "Not surprising though, but still."

"I suppose I am," Arikado answered. "Do not take it the wrong way, though, J. You are better at this than you think, and I do enjoy this."

J chuckled. "I suppose I'll have to admit this is pretty... interesting."

The dark-haired man smiled to himself, then raised his hand to stroke J's hair. "It's not that different from touching a woman, I would guess. I do not have as much experience as you would think, but... Actually, I guess a male partner is easier in some ways. You know what you would like yourself, do you not? Just do that to your partner and he should find it pleasing. Speaking of pleasing..." Arikado slipped his hand onto J's thigh, then moved it a little lower. "I would say it's safe to say you enjoy this, too."

"Eh..." J froze for a moment, then looked at Arikado's face and grinned slightly. He hadn't even noticed, but he was getting hard again. "I suppose I do." He pressed himself against the older man, then tilted his head, looking thoughtful. "And I guess we should do something about it. Got any suggestions? I mean, uh, I'm not done with you yet."

Arikado studied his companion for a moment, then pulled him closer. "Actually I think I do," he said. "Move to lie on top of me."

J stared at the dark-haired man for a second but did as he said, somewhat curious to know what Arikado was up to. He leaned on his right hand and looked at the other man questioningly. "All right then, now what?"

The older man placed his hands on J's waist and pulled him against him so that their hips were on the same level. "Now you touch us both."

"Okay, I suppose that works..." J said with a smirk on his face. He shifted a little and pressed his sex against Arikado's, cautiously wrapping his fingers around them both. He glanced at the older man, who nodded reassuringly. "Should work," J continued as he started fondling them both.

Arikado watched the younger man for a moment, then raised his hand to caress J's neck while they lay there together, the young vampire hunter working on pleasing them both. He closed his eyes, feeling the regret again as he wished he could have helped Julius regain his memories, but he just couldn't. He silently swore to himself to always watch over the young Belmont, for the family had protected him for a long time. It was time to repay his debt.

"Mmh..." J murmured while he continued. "Um, Arikado... Could you... you know, try getting up a bit or something? I..." He trailed off and blushed slightly. "I'd like to kiss you."

"Certainly," the older man answered and changed his position a little. He was taller than J and didn't find the position too difficult. He reached to take a hold of the younger man's hair then kissed him tenderly, letting his partner take control of the kiss.

J mumbled something between their kisses then just closed his eyes and experimented a little. He came to the conclusion that he had kissed someone like that before Arikado. The older man responded to him eagerly, and he continued.

A moment later Arikado pulled away and looked at his companion. "Did you bite your lip or something?" He asked, sounding slightly amused. "I taste blood."

"I think I did, yeah," J replied. "Is that a problem?"

"No, it's okay," the older man whispered. "Please, continue." He caressed J's hair and closed his eyes again before pulling his partner closer for another kiss. J returned to what he had been doing then, although he found concentrating quite hard. Arikado's body felt so good against his, and trying to keep up with touching them both while kissing the older man was getting difficult.

He pulled away from the kiss for a moment and took a deep breath, then resumed, managing to find a good pace for his caresses. It was better than he would have ever thought, even if he had never imagined doing it with another man. Arikado mumbled something against the kiss and slipped his hand lower to caress his back, squirming under him.

Arikado broke the kiss a moment later and threw his head back, mumbling something on a language J didn't recognize. He ignored it, as he was too occupied himself, and quite close to his orgasm. He gritted his teeth and continued fondling them both; it took only a few more strokes before Arikado cried out and wetted his hand.

"Gods, Arikado..." J stared at the other man, his mind barely registering the fact that he found Arikado quite beautiful right on that moment. He then forgot about that as his body couldn't take it any longer and he released himself, murmuring the older man's name.

Arikado collapsed on the bed, exhausted. J fell on top of him, quite spent as well. "...Thank you..." he mumbled tiredly, clinging to the dark-haired man. "...For staying with me..."

"It was my pleasure," the older man whispered. "I'll stay... Julius," he added then, noticing the young Belmont had fallen asleep already.

He smiled as he carefully placed the younger man on the bed and got something to clean them both with. He then lay down next him and closed his eyes. He would stay and watch things for Julius, and protect him. He owed him that much, and he figured that giving him a reason to take the second chance he had been given would be worth it.

Author's notes:

Another challenge, another fic. Actually I just considered the challenge ('Second Chances') to be an excuse to write pr0n, so sorry for the lack of real plot.

Eh, J's obviously like... 19 or 20 here. Yeah.

- Lady Harken (November, 2005)