To all you readers out there: I. AM. SO. SORRY. for the wait on this chapter, especially with the way the previous one ended. I feel terrible for making you wait, but it's here now!! The final chapter of So Much For Forever! I'm so excited! I hope you all enjoy it, as well as the entire story. Also, I would like to thank all of the reviewers. Without you guys, this probably wouldn't have ever been completed. So congratulate yourselves! *claps* Anyway, without further ado, the conclusion to So Much For Forever.

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Riff stood, frozen as Cain's soft, warm lips pressed against his own. For a moment he couldn't move, couldn't think. And then his body seemed to take on a mind of its own, arms winding around the shorter boy's waist of their own accord and lips moving along perfectly with Cain's. For a second, everything was perfect.

Without warning, his mind exploded in a frenzy of memory and he yanked back sharply from the kiss. He was vaguely aware that Cain was staring at him but all he could do was struggle for air as everything Cain had told him plus a thousand times more flooded his brain.

"Master Cain?" he finally gasped out.

A ghost of a smile passed over Cain's lips and then it was gone as Riff blacked out.

--

When he came to, Riff was still in the library, on the floor. Cain was gone. For a minute, he was disoriented, and then he remembered. It all came back as intense and vivid as before, and he winced.

Slowly, he moved himself into a sitting position, grateful that he was in a remote section of the library so no one had found him. He glanced at his watch and found it had only been a few minutes since he'd passed out. It was still lunch.

Riff sighed and put his head in his hands. He couldn't believe it; any of it. He seriously had screwed up. How could he have forgotten? He'd sworn to Cain back in London that he would be with him forever, and what had he done? Betrayed him, and then forgotten the promise. He was amazed Cain could even look at him after all he'd done.

"Master Cain," he whispered out loud. "Master Cain, forgive me. Please forgive me."

He heaved himself to his feet and gathered his things. He was fully prepared to find his old master and beg for forgiveness in front of everyone, but he was stopped as he tried to leave the library.

"Mr. Reynolds?"

Riff turned, and the librarian handed him an envelope. "This is for you," she said pleasantly.

He nodded distractedly and opened it.

Son,

You're father and I have a conference in New York, and we'll be away for three weeks. You cannot be home alone for all of that time, so you will have to accompany us for the first two or so. You are to leave as soon as you receive this. The office has been informed. We leave in two hours.

Mother

Riff stared at the note. This could not be happening. He had to find Cain, beg forgiveness. He couldn't leave for two weeks! And yet, it seemed he had no choice. "I'll be back, Master Cain, and I'll make it up to you. I promise I will."

***

Cain was worried out of his mind, and on the verge of slight madness. It had been almost two weeks since he'd last seen Riff, and his last sight of the older boy had been him crumpled on the ground.

In the library, when Riff had pulled away from their kiss, for a moment, Cain had thought he'd heard him say "Master Cain," but then he'd passed out. Cain had decided he'd be all right and just left him.

But then Riff hadn't shown up for class. And then he hadn't shown up for school the next day, or the day after. Cain was freaking out. He remembered Riff's injuries back in London, and wondered if his body was weakened now as well, and he had something truly wrong with him. And of course, it didn't help that Riff wouldn't answer his cell phone, texts, or email, and Cain was too afraid he'd get Riff into trouble if he called the house phone.

"Mr. Grady? Are you in there?"

Cain's head snapped up from the spot on his desk he was staring at to see Mr. Evans and almost the entire class staring at him.

"Pardon?"

"We were just discussing the Egyptian's slaughter of the European knights in the crusades. Would you care to join us?" Mr. Evans' tone was joking, but his worry was clear.

"Oh, sorry," Cain muttered, looking away.

The lesson continued, and Cain, try as he might to pay attention, was unable to keep his concentration on Mr. Evans. He eventually gave up altogether.

By the time the bell rang, he'd made his decision. The next day was Saturday. He was going to Riff's house and finding out what was going on. The trick was, how to get in without looking like himself?

--

The next afternoon, he rang the bell of the Reynolds' house. He had recently acquired a blonde wig, and a pair of his father's old reading glasses, which he'd popped the lenses out of; a foolproof disguise.

A butler opened the door, stiff and unemotional. "May I help you?"

"Yes, I'm here to help with the mouse problem in the attic," Cain chirped.

The butler raised his eyebrows. "I was not aware we had such a problem, young man."

"Oh, Mr. Reynolds sent for me," he said.

"For you?" the butler asked, skeptical.

Cain was losing his patience. "Well, my boss. And my boss sent me ahead to wait for him."

The butler sighed, and showed him into the front hall. "You will stay here until your boss comes, is that clear young man?"

Cain nodded and grinned. "Of course!"

The butler walked away, grumbling, and Cain waited until he was gone to drop the phony smile and get down to business. "Now, where should I look first?"

***

Riff was so happy to be home. New York, in his opinion, sucked. Of course, this might have something to do with its contemptible lack of Cain, but even so, he was intensely relieved to be back in San Francisco.

He glanced up at the clock in his room. It was around two in the afternoon, and he was hungry. Deciding that unpacking could wait, he left to go down to the kitchen. He heard the doorbell ring as he entered, but ignored it. His father had probably wanted something or the other done, so he figured it didn't concern him.

After eating, he made his way back upstairs. In the upstairs hallway, he caught sight of a blonde head peeking out from behind a corner, and frowned. "You there!"

The person jumped and turned to look at Riff, and he almost had a heart attack.

"Master Cain!?"

The boy's face lit up and he ran over. Yes, definitely Master Cain.

"Oh Riff!" the younger boy exclaimed, throwing his arms around Riff's neck. "I was so worried! Where have you been!?"

Riff was shocked, and he pushed away to look at his old master. "Master Cain, what are you doing here? And what on earth are you wearing?"

Cain pouted. "I was worried because you had been gone from school so long, so I decided to sneak in and see what was going on. This is my disguise. And speaking of which, how did you know it was me?" He pulled the glasses off in a rather dramatic movement.

Riff stared at him for a moment, blinking, and then he did something neither he nor Cain could remember him ever doing, in either of his lives. He burst out laughing.

"You," he gasped between bouts of laughter, "you thought I wouldn't recognize you? In that!?" He laughed harder.

Cain stood there, at an apparent loss. Riff knew that he had a habit of picking absolutely awful, obvious "disguises" that he thought were brilliant, and Riff had never had the heart to tell him that he was mistaken before. Because of this he knew Cain wouldn't understand why he was laughing, but he couldn't help himself.

Cain frowned at him. "All right, I really do not see what is so amusing about this!" he exclaimed.

Riff pulled himself together, but then did something else that was entirely out of character. He took Cain's wrist and pulled the boy close. "You," he whispered in Cain's ear, gently slipping the wig off of his head. "You are what's so amusing."

He watched Cain gulp. "Riff?" the raven haired boy breathed.

Riff met his eyes with a steady gaze. "Master Cain, please forgive me. I have failed you time and time again. In London, not remembering anything, just now for leaving you and causing you worry; I am not worthy of you. But you still come back for me. Why?"

Cain smiled up at him. "Because I love you, silly. That's why."

Riff heart's leaped into his throat. "You do?"

"Of course I do!" Cain said, pushing Riff's bangs out of his eyes. "How could I not?"

Riff smiled. "I love you, too, Master Cain."

Cain grinned. "I know." And then he stood on his tip toes to bring their lips together. This time, Riff held the boy close, and didn't pull away. Cain tasted as only Cain could, and he never wanted to stop tasting him.

Eventually, they both needed air and Riff pulled back slightly. "I will never fail you again," he promised, pressing his forehead to Cain's. "I swear it."

Cain touched his face gently. "I know you won't."

"I'll be with you forever, and this time I mean it."

"That's all I'm asking for," Cain said, and they kissed again.