[It's an underhanded thing that's going to work, because Shell won't move to stop Reign. He already knew how he felt about One, but for him to hold onto that for three years... not to mention everything else he must have heard-- it's not something he wants to deal with when his head feels like it's going to split in half.]

[But he is going to be a little petty and close the door, so Reign can't eavesdrop. He walks over to the bed to give Chuuya the water and pills, hesitating for a few moments before sitting beside him -- but a short distance away. Any more cuddling is probably off the table for now.]

My head hurts still. But it's not that bad.

[He's lying, but only because there's something he wants to say -- something he knows that's gone unsaid all this time. Mostly because he's purposely avoided it. Maybe it was a heavy topic for the morning, but given he'd rather not spend the next few hours trying in vain to defend One's honor, he'll concede at least this much.]

[And maybe -- hopefully -- he can finally make Chuuya understand why he chose to live like this.]

You know... I never told you the real reason I stopped drinking human blood.

I don't know whether Reign knows it's the reason or not. But it had nothing to do with One.