Raphael regained consciousness to find himself and Siegfried by the banks of a stream. "You hit me with your sword…" he mumbled.

"You're awake."

"You hit me in the head with your sword," he continued. "You tried to kill me."

"I did not try to kill you."

"Yes you did. You hit me in the head with your sword and thought I was dead."

"I'm…more thorough than that," Siegfried spoke, mind wandering to the horribly dismembered corpse he'd left behind.

"That's because I'm far too pretty to damage."

Siegfried examined Raphael with his eyes. "You'll be fine."

Raphael found the strength within him to sit. "So what happened?"

"We were attacked. I killed them. We came here."

Raphael gained a questioning look as he asked, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

"Because you're being quite short with me and…"

"I said, I'm fine!" Siegfried snapped.

"What are you hiding?" Raphael asked, leaning in, his look showing a reluctant distrust of his companion.

"I'm not hiding anything," he defended, a low growl coming to surface.

Raphael's glare was ice-cold, a look Siegfried was not entirely familiar with from him. The Frenchman stood, checked himself over and said "Come. We'd best be moving on."

"Raphael…I…" Siegfried started.

"Come on," Raphael commanded, walking off without so much as looking at Siegfried.

The two did not exchange words as they continued on their journey. Raphael did not change his stern expression for the entire day. Siegfried looked forward to reaching the next town so that he would have a chance to talk to Raphael in the inn and perhaps see that smirk once more. A smile crept on his face as Raphael again purchased one room. The smile faded once he saw that the room had two beds.

"Raphael," Siegfried pleaded.

"What?" the Frenchman snapped.

"Are you all right?"

"No," he said, pulling back the sheets and laying down.

"I'm sorry, Raphael."

"I don't like apologies."

"Please, Raphael, listen to me…"

"Only if you tell me what you're hiding," Raphael commanded with an accusing stare.

"I'm not hiding anything, Raphael!"

"Then why did you knock me unconscious, Siegfried?" Raphael yelled.

"I was…worried about you," Siegfried said, half in honesty, half to get Raphael off his back.

"Oh, so you injure me to show me you care?"

"Raphael…" Siegfried knelt in front of Raphael. "…I'm…worried for you. What's it going to take to get you to trust me again?"

Raphael turned away from Siegfried. "I don't know."

Siegfried felt frustrated and in his weak anger, stood, turned Raphael back around and forcefully kissed him. As the kiss ended, Raphael's glare was fierce. The Frenchman grabbed Siegfried's wrists and brought him down onto the bed, rolling over, pinning Siegfried down, pressing their bodies close. "Don't lie to me," Raphael growled as he began a grinding motion. He kissed Siegfried's ear lobe, sucking on it momentarily, causing Siegfried to release a moan from deep in his throat. The Frenchman refused to let Siegfried move his arms and kept him pinned to the bed below. "This armor is in the way," Raphael growled. He leaned in close to Siegfried's ear. "Take it off."

"Oh, God, yes, Raphael," Siegfried moaned, those four words being quite common the night before. Raphael released his grip to allow for Siegfried's movement. Ice blue eyes watched the German's every move. They examined his hands closely as he unhinged the steel surrounding his body. They watched every rise and fall of his chest, every muscle's movement.

As the armor was cast aside, Raphael listened closely. He heard a small clinking sound which he would investigate later. He knew Siegfried had been hiding something.

Siegfried exhausted and asleep, Raphael left the bed. King of manipulation, he told himself, proudly. Not that he didn't enjoy Siegfried's company both in and out of bed, he most certainly did. He had full intention on keeping the young man around. As for right now, he needed to discover what Siegfried was hiding.

Raphael reached his hand into the discarded armor and came upon a dagger. What a strange looking weapon, he thought to himself as he examined the piece. There was something oddly…familiar about it. As he held the weapon in his hand, the desire for bloodshed filled him. He wanted to kill with this weapon. He wanted to slice through flesh, spilling as much blood as he could. He could do it. This dagger could help him and…

Raphael threw the dagger to the ground as he regained his composure. He had felt that the dagger was trying to control him. Raphael was not a man to be controlled. Still, the symptoms he had felt were similar to something that had been described to him not too long ago. He shot a fierce glare to the bed. "You said you destroyed it," the Frenchman muttered to his sleeping companion. "Hmph," he grunted, placing the dagger back in its hiding spot as if it had never been touched. "We shall see…" he said to himself as he returned to the bed, curling up in Siegfried's warm embrace. Perhaps a little trust had been lost, but damn was he comfortable.

((Schu notes: It's back. It's finally back. I've found inspiration at last! I dun even know where it came from, but hey, it's back. Sorry this chapter is so short. Hope you enjoyed the breif moment of seme!Raph. He can be on top if he wants to.

Oh, and normally I don't do things like this but…erm…if anyone wants to, I'm currently in the market for an RP partner. I want a Siegfried to poke at online and do yaoi-tastic things with as Raphael. Interested parties, please contact me through email or AIM and we'll set something up

That is all))