Chapter 65 - 65 - Let's Break Up.

Sure enough, Fang walked into the room moments later. He stopped short when he saw Ren in the room.

Ren was waiting for Fang to come over and hug him. The younger boy, however, simply stood rooted to the spot and stared at Ren in a daze.

A heartbeat later, tears poured down Fang's fair cheeks.

Alarmed, Ren rushed over and pulled him into his arms. "Fang? Darling?" he whispered softly.

"I'm sorry," Fang cried, his voice almost inaudible. "I...I caused you so much hurt... you nearly died...!"

"Of course you didn't," Ren said. "Reflection magic tones down the injury, you know," he bluffed without the slightest hesitation. After all, he didn't want Fang drowning in his own guilt.

Fang shook his head stubbornly. "It's unforgivable," he whispered hoarsely. "Ren...this...us...this isn't working. You're always getting injured because of me. Let's... let's break up. I'll go back to the orphanage." He spoke in a rush, afraid he'd not be able to bear speaking these words if he hesitated.

Ren froze.

Fang looked at him fearfully, his purple eyes red-rimmed and swollen. Clearly, he had cried a lot in the last two days.

"You want to leave me?" Ren asked Fang.

Fang bit his lip. "I...I just want you to be safe..." he murmured.

Ren laughed, the sound so bitter that it made everyone wince. "And you think I'll be safe if you leave?" he asked quietly.

Fang hung his head. "At least you'd be safe from the injuries I've been causing you..." he whispered.

"Do you still love me?" Ren asked bluntly.

Fang didn't look up. "Yes," he said in a small voice.

"Do you remember what we promised?" Ren pressed.

Fang nodded.

"And you still want to leave?" Ren asked.

"Things change. People change..." Fang said miserably. "Also, please remove this reflection magic."

"All right," Ren said, his golden eyes dimmed with desolation. "We'll do as you wish. You can have the house and everything in it, and you won't have to see me ever again."

Fang went very pale. "That's not what I meant..." he blurted out.

"Then what the hell do you mean?!" Ren shouted. "You said you want to break up, and I'm giving in!"

"But...it's your house..." Fang said. Cold dread crept all over him. He'd reached this painful decision after long hours of serious thinking...he felt Ren would be better off without him - he definitely didn't want to drive Ren out of his own house and when Ren said he'd never see him again, Fang's heart hurt so badly that he nearly fell over.

Ren stepped back and shook his head. He took a moment to gather himself and then forced out a smile. "Goodbye, Fang. Have a good life."

Then he turned to walk away and ran straight into Pax.

"Are you two out of your mind?" Pax scolded. "Hurting each other like this when you're clearly so much in love...what rubbish!"

"My brother is right," Wolf said. He looked at Fang. "Did you lose all your brain cells? Do you really think that Ren will stop protecting you just because you broke up? How did you even come up with such a harebrained idea in the first place?"

"I just want him to be safe!" Fang cried. "I can't bear to see him hurt, especially when I'm the one who caused it!"

"Then don't you simply need to take better care of this idiot?" Wolf pointed out. "Think, you little fool."

"But I'm so useless!" Fang sobbed. "I hate it when Ren is hurt."

"And I hate it when you're hurt, too," Ren said softly. "If if leaving me is what's best for you, then so be it."

"Shut up," Pax hissed. He was at the end of his rope, dealing with these two idiots who were clearly head over heels in love with each other, and wanted the best for each other, and yet were just too stupid to get their message across clearly.

Daddy! Stop!

Three panicked little voices suddenly shouted and rushed towards them. They leaped up at Ren and bit him fiercely wherever they could reach.

It was only then that the other three humans realised that Ren's hands were glowing with a golden light and seemed a little faded. The glow was slowly spreading to the rest of his body.

Wolf and Pax immediately grabbed Ren's arms and started chanting a spell.

Fang was petrified. What had Ren done?!

Fifteen minutes later, Wolf and Pax finally let go of Ren. The twins were pale and sweating profusely. The three furballs also climbed down, their little mouths smeared with Ren's blood.

"What's wrong?" Fang asked urgently. "What happened to Ren?"

"He tried to open a space-time gateway by himself," Pax said, rubbing his temples tiredly. "Even a thousand magicians may not be enough to open one, not to mention that there's no way to rely on its accuracy. Heaven knows what dimension he'd have ended up in."

A cold fist closed around Fang's heart. "What...what is a space-time gateway...?" he asked.

"It's probably what brought Ren here from his original world," Pax replied. "You wanted him to leave, and he chose the most permanent way to go."

Fang let out a horrified cry. What would he do if Ren really left this world and went back to his original world? Or worse still, if he got injured or ended up somewhere else?!

Wolf put a gentle hand on Fang's shoulder. "Look, kid...you're not the only unstable one here. Ren is just better at hiding it. Unless you really want him completely gone from your life, don't mention things like breaking up so casually."

"I'm not saying that you two have to force yourself to be together," Wolf continued. "But at least wait until both of you are calm and stable to have a serious discussion like this and then decide. Doesn't that make more sense?"

Fang nodded numbly, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he'd almost lost Ren forever just now. If that really happened because of his foolish words, how would he be able to live with himself?