The Horsemen

Hey, I went crazy over this story and just HAD to get it out there. I will be posting more of 'Free at Last' soon. If any of you guys know my writing you know I get obsessed with one thing for awhile, write about it, and then move on. Well this is just the next obsession in the chain. I wanted to let you know that if you go to my Biography page I usually post updates on what's going on and when I'll be posting stuff. So if you're wondering when more stuff is going to come out then just check there. Thank you to my editor gbc5452, he did as much writing as editing in this story and I couldn't have done it without him :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A portal of fire opened in the middle of the large wheat field. It crackled and sparked with lightning and fire for a moment before the first figure emerged through the large tear in the world. The white horse's hooves crashed to the ground. Instantly the wheat bent the slightest bit, bowing at the large white horse and its rider. The rider looked out at his surroundings and he gave a quiet snort, unimpressed. 

The portal cracked and sparked more as the second figure jumped through. The horse's deep brown coat could very easily be mistaken for the fiery red many assumed it was. The ground under the horses hooves burned and smoldered, leaving a burn mark the shape of a horse's hoof on the earth. The rider looked at his companion and then out at his own surroundings much like the first had done. They both turned to watch as the third figure jumped through the portal.

The ground beneath the black horse's hooves began to decay and rot. Turning a sickly green color and crumbling with the trio's weight. The black horses tossed its head and snorted in irritation at the new surroundings. None of the riders turned as the fourth rider jumped through the portal. Which closed immediately after the horses tail left the sparkling red hole in the world.

The fourth horse could not be called white. White was a bright prideful color. This horse was pale, much like the ash after a fire has been put out. It's rider, unlike the others, did not have flesh covering its face. Where the pale flesh to match the horse should be, was only bone and empty eye sockets. Though it had no eyes it still looked around at it's surroundings as it's horse stamped at the ground beneath his feet. The ground beneath the pale horse's hooves instantly died. They looked as if they had been picked years ago. Only their roots still lay solid in the ground, which was as dry as the plants themselves.

"Remember, we are here on business." The pale rider said.

"What business could we possibly have here, Death?" The black horse kicked the ground beneath it while his rider spoke.

"We have business everywhere, Famine." The red rider spoke.

"You know nothing of our current affairs, War." The black rider turned his mount to face War.

"I know more than you do." War spoke.

"Quiet." The white rider interrupted their bickering.

"Thank you, Conquest." Death looked out across the wheat field.

"I cannot stand their arguing anymore than you can." Conquest chuckled.

"He started it." War said quietly. He now noticed the cluster of lights in the distance; A town.

"What year is this?" Conquest asked.

"Somewhere in the new millennium. Early. Ten or so years. "

"How did you guess, War?" Death turned it's bony head to face it's companion.

"This is one of my favorite pieces in time. Much of my work has spread in this century." 

"As has mine." Death laughed.

"Don't we always work as a pair?" War smiled.

"That we do."

"Anyways, if you two are done talking. What is our business here?" Conquest moved his horse between the two to get their attention.

"My dear friends, we are here on vacation of course." The term 'friends' was used loosely.

"Vacation? Death, Famine, War, and Conquest...they do not take vacations." Famine joined the conversation.

"Why not?" Death turned it's skeletal head to the side.

"Because, we are needed. Especially you Death. What? While we're on vacation no one will die? You want to make the human race immortal for a few days? Yes that sounds like a good idea." Famine rolled his eyes.

"I can keep up on my work and still have a little fun. You should be able to as well." Death said coolly.

"It's not like you really do much, this day in age anyway." War came in.

"Quiet! I do plenty!" Famine snapped. The other three riders chuckled. Even Conquest.

"Sure you do. How long do we have?" War turned to Death.

"Long enough. As long as you keep up on your jobs we can hang around this dump of a town and wreak some havoc." Death looked back at the town.

"As long as none of us end up like that damned Mephistopheles. You three did hear what he did, didn't you?" Famine spoke.

"Fell in love with a human. Disgusting." Death spat on the ground, which turned to dust the moment it's spit landed on the earth.

"Gave up his immortality and all of his power for some human male." Conquest shook his head.

"What a moron, choosing humanity of all things. Don't you agree War?" The four riders looked at War who had said nothing.

"Yes. An idiotic choice indeed." War stared longingly at the distant lights.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Jason filled out the last of the paperwork for the day. He sighed and threw down the pen and put the folders away before standing and trying to rush out of the office before anyone gave him another case. He loved being a social worker but when he had started, paperwork wasn't what he had in mind. Sure he got to help a lot of people but there was an equal, if not larger, amount of paperwork involved.

"Heading home Jason?" One of his coworker friends asked as he finished his own paperwork.

"Yup, you?"

"Definitely. Happy Friday!" His friend laughed.

"TGIF, tell the wife and kids I said hello."

"Will do, tell your wife and- oh wait I forgot you refuse to settle down." He chuckled.

"I just haven't found the right person yet." Jason rolled his eyes. Most of his coworkers didn't know he was gay.

"Well instead of going home, why don't you go look? Come to the bar with us tonight."

"Eh, I don't know, Mac." 

"Please? You'll have fun. It's just a few of the guys." Mac said. Jason sighed.

"Okay fine, what time?"

"Yes! Nine, you know where." Jason did indeed know where considering they only ever went to one bar in the whole town. 

"Okay, see you then." Jason left the office and began walking home. It wasn't a large town so the walk was short. He arrived at his farm house on the edge of a wheat field and took off his jacket before micro waving a frozen pizza. He sat down to eat his food as he thought;

'What the hell am I going to wear?'

~~~~~~~~~~ 

"What the hell are we going to wear?" War asked suddenly. As they walked through the field.

"What do you mean?"

"We're in a different time now. Our current attire wont do." War gestured at their armor.

"So true." Death dismounted it's horse, who tossed his head at the loss of the weight. The other three followed Death and used one of their many capabilities to change their appearance.

"You like?" War spun in a circle. The tight leather pants he wore showed off his ass, and the long coat reached his thighs. He kept the coat open to reveal the tight shirt he wore underneath.

"Perfect. Other than one thing." Conquest stepped up to him, making a pair of slick glasses appear in his hands. He slipped them over War's eyes to cover the glowing red iris that would have given him away.

"Thank you." War adjusted the glasses to fit perfectly. The rest of the riders made their own outfit, complete with flesh for Death.

Conquest went old fashioned cowboy. With the hat, jeans, and boots. His sandy blonde hair was mostly covered by his hat, and glasses protected his completely white eyes. Famine went Goth, with heavy black makeup, black pants and shirt, and piercings to match. He too used glasses to hide his completely black eyes. And Death kept it simple with a male human form, a button down shirt and a pair of blue jeans. And of course, the glasses to hide his new pale green eyes.

"Now we have fun." Conquest smiled.

"Stay." All four of them said at once. The horses did as they were told and waited in the middle of the field for the troublesome riders to return.

~~~~~~~~~~~ 

After an hour of trying to find something to wear, Jason finally decided on a brown silk shirt and khaki pants. The shirt matched his eyes and his hair.

"Here we go." He sighed as he grabbed his keys as he walked out of the door.

"Jason you made it!" Mac shouted the second Jason set foot in the bar.

"Hey." Jason waved to all of the men he recognized from work. The men sat and drank, talking about their families and those who weren't married talked about getting laid. Jason looked around the bar as the group of men continued to prattle on about women. He heard the bell on the door jingle and saw the most beautiful man walk in. He wore a dark pair of sunglasses and leather pants that hugged all the right muscles beautifully. The black boots he wore clicked on the wood floor of the bar, making a delicious echo. His black hair was spiked and had red tips. It was impossible to tell how old he was. Jason then noticed the three men walking around him, all wearing the same dark sunglasses. 

"Jason?" Mac's voice brought him out of his trance.

"What?"

"What are you staring at man?" Mac looked towards the door but the men were gone. They now sat at a table of the bar.

"Them." Jason pointed.

"They look kind of weird. What's with the sunglasses at night?" One of the other men at the table started singing the song.

"Shut up man." Mac laughed and went back to their conversation. Jason couldn't stop staring at the man. He seemed to talk quietly with his friend but suddenly turned to look at Jason. He gave a crooked smile and waved at him with only his fingers. Jason blushed and turned back down to his drink.

"What are you doing War?" Famine snapped War away from the man staring at him.

"Just playing with the mortals." War shrugged. Conquest swallowed a shot.

"I'm going to go play too." He said, and walked off to a table full of ladies who had been giggling and staring at the group since they walked in.

"I'm with him." Death stood and walked over to Conquest and the women.

"What are your plans this evening?" War turned to Famine.

"I don't know." Famine shrugged and walked off.

"Always the runt of the litter." War chuckled as he watched Famine walk away. He looked back at the table where the man was sitting and saw he was no longer sitting there. Curious he looked around the bar.

"Hey." The man suddenly sat at his table.

"Hello." War smiled.

"I didn't mean to be rude, by staring." The man blushed.

"It's alright." War liked the mans deep voice. Melodic and soft, yet manly and firm.

"What's your name?" The man took a gulp of his beer.

"War." He answered without thinking.

"What a weird name. No offense." 

"It's short for Warren." War lied.

"Ah, I'm Jason." Jason held out his hand. War looked at the hand and kept his own where it was. Jason looked uncomfortable and sat his hand down.

"I haven't seen you around town before."

"I'm just visiting." War smiled.

"With your friends?" 

"Huh?" 

"Those three guys you were with." Jason nodded towards Conquest and Death at the table of women.

"They're more like brothers. But yes." 

"You four don't really look alike." 

"Half brothers." War shrugged.

"Oh. I always wanted a brother, only child." Jason smiled.

"It's not as much fun as it looks." War laughed. Which caught the attention of all of his 'half brothers'. Conquest stood and made his way towards War. With Death close behind.

"Hey." Jason waved at them.

"What are you doing?" Conquest ignored Jason.

"Having fun, like you said." War shrugged.

"Excuse us." Death pulled War up from the table. The skin around War's arm turned black and began to crack.

"Let go of me." War pulled his arm away. It healed quickly, and no one noticed, but it still was an uncomfortable sensation.

"What do you think you're doing?" Conquest snapped.

"I'm having fun." War repeated.

"With a guy?" Death chimed in.

"Why not?"

"I didn't know you were into guys." Conquest said.

"I'm not 'into' anyone. I'm here for the same reasons you guys are." War grabbed a beer that someone was carrying over to a friend brushing his hand across theirs in the process. The person glared at him before walking over to their table and talking to their friends.

"Well it doesn't look like it." Death said.

"It doesn't?" War turned his head to the side. A moment after he said that, the group behind him got louder.

"Sid? Are you alright?" The man who War had stolen the beer from was staring off into space. His friends snapped their fingers in front of him and shook his shoulder.

"Sid?" Suddenly Sid came out of his trance and glared at one of his friends angrily. He picked up a beer and with no hesitation smashed it into his friends head. Immediately some men came to pull him out of the bar as he bit and kicked them the whole way. 

"See? Fun." War returned to his table.

"Damn I wonder what that was about?" Jason looked at the guy who was walking out of the bar, his friends talking about taking him to the hospital for the bits of glass in his face.

"Don't know." War shrugged.

"Everything okay?" Jason asked, nodding towards Conquest and Famine who had returned to the table of girls, but were keeping an eye on War.

"Everything's fine." War gave a smile and sipped his stolen beer.

~~~~~~~~~ 

"Jesus would you look at this?" Mac said the next day.

"What?" Jason leaned over his shoulder to look at the news paper he was holding.

"Last night, at the bar. You saw that guy that freaked out and tried to kill his friend right?" 

"Yeah, he just hit him with the pitcher of beer and started beating the crap out of him."

"Yeah, well, that's not all that happened. A few blocks from the bar, some guy tried to rape a girl. Kept screaming something about conquering her even when the cops arrested him. And after that, some guy broke into a hardware store and killed himself, get this, with a nail gun." Mac said.

"What?" Jason shouted, squeezing in closer to see the headlines.

"Yeah, and all the food in an entire street started rotting, for no reason. It just started getting all moldy and shit." Mac said, showing Jason the picture of the grocery store, filled with rotten food and rats.

"I wonder what the fuck that's all about." 

"Cops are saying it's a gas leak or something, that it's making people delusional or some bull crap." Mac shrugged and continued reading.

"Weird. I didn't feel any different last night, did you?" 

"No. The guys didn't feel any different either."

"Don't you think if it was a gas leak, everyone would be effected?" Jason said.

"I guess." Mac shrugged.

~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"We made the front page boys." Conquest smiled. The other three men came over to look at the newspaper.

"One day and we already make the papers. We still got it." Death laughed.

"Kiss of Death yeah?" War laughed as he read the article about the woman committing suicide. He recognized her as one of the women at the bar.

"Yup. What about you? I don't see any news about that guy you were talking with killing anyone." Death grabbed the paper from Conquest and began flipping through the pages looking for a story.

"I didn't touch him yet." War said. The three other horsemen looked up at him.

"What do you mean you didn't touch him, YET?" Conquest stood up.

"I don't know, I just didn't feel like it."

"You always feel like it." Famine said, from the run down couch in the abandoned barn. 

"Quiet." War snapped.

"You've lost your touch, admit it." Famine stood up and stepped towards War.

"I said, be quiet!" War drew his large sword from the holster his horse carried.

"Make me!" Famine drew the large double headed ax that he kept.

"Both of you stop it." Conquest stood.

"You're useless! Maybe back in the day you were important, but now?" The weapons clashed together and sparks flew.

"Stop it!" Death's scythe separated the two.

"You two are acting like children. War, kill the human. Famine, stop sucking." Conquest snapped. Death and War chuckled as Famine glared at the three of them.

"Now come on. We must get ready. We have a party to go to." Death smiled.

~~~~~~ 

"Jason, are you coming to the new years party tonight?" Mac asked.

"I was thinking about it." Jason said.

"What about that guy you were talking to at the bar the other night? You should invite him." Mac said.

"I didn't get his number, But- wait how did you know I was gay?" Jason asked.

"I've always know." Mac shrugged.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Jason asked.

"I figured I would let you come out when you're ready."

"And what happened to that idea?" Jason laughed.

"I got bored." Mac shrugged.

"Great job, Mac. Yeah I'll be there." Jason laughed.

"Fantastic. See you there." Mac said. Jason laughed and shook his head. Since he started working with Mac he had been afraid to come out. He never knew how people would react. He had only had a few boyfriends in the past, and none of them had been out. 

'I guess I just held onto their fear.' Jason shrugged as he looked at one of his cases.

~~~~~~~~~ 

"Jason! Have a drink, man." Mac handed him a drink.

"Thanks, lots of people."

"Indeed, and now, we find you a man!" Mac said as he shoved Jason towards a small blonde man.

"Hey, you must be Jason. Mac has told me a lot about you." Jason glared at Mac over the young man's head and tried to make awkward small talk. It was obvious the younger man was interested in Jason, but Jason could only think of the man he had talked to last night.

"Hey." Jason turned to see where the voice came from. 

"Hey, you're the guy from the bar! Warren right?"

"Call me War." 

"Alright, War."

"Jason right?" War asked, even though he knew he could never forget him.

"Yeah. Are your brothers here?"

"Somewhere." War shrugged.

"Nice. So, uh, what do you do for a living?" Jason asked, he wasn't used to being nervous around guys. He tried to make small talk as best he could.

"I uh... I'm involved in the military."

"Oh, really?" Jason shifted back and forth.

"Yeah, not a problem is it?" War raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I don't exactly agree with war, I'm a social worker. Peace, love and all that jazz." Jason laughed. "But I promise I wont hold it against you. So you travel a lot?"

"A bunch."

"That's so cool. I've always wanted to travel." Jason shrugged.

"Do you like what you do?" War asked.

"Yeah, I love helping people. Especially the kids. I was adopted and I always wanted to help people who have been through similar situations." Jason smiled.

"That's good that you love what you do." War smiled. Jason noticed he wore gloves now.

"Whats with the gloves? It's not that cold out." Jason laughed.

"Yeah, uh, bad circulation." War shrugged. Jason was about to say something when a scream interrupted him.

"What the fuck?" A mans voice was heard. Everyone turn towards the yelling people at the food table.

"There's roaches in the food!" Someone else shouted.

"There's rats too." A man said, moving to the side to show a plate of food covered with rats. Several groans and grumbles of disgust were heard.

"Gross," Jason said, "Glad I didn't eat any of the food." He laughed.

"Yeah..." War seemed distracted.

"Something wrong? Besides the pests in the food?" Jason laughed. 

"No." War looked around the room. Finally his eyes stopped. Jason saw his brothers in the corner. They laughed and one seemed quite pleased with himself.

"Whats with them?" Jason nodded.

"Nothing. You want to get out of here? I'm hungry and obviously there's nothing there." War nodded at the food.

"Sure." Jason said. He pulled him out the back door quickly and headed towards a fence.

"Seriously?" War looked back and saw his brothers weren't watching, they were busy watching a young woman choke on something.

"Come on. I know you don't want them to see." Jason lifted himself over the fence, pulling War over.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"Come on, tell me." War laughed.

"No, its stupid." Jason was blushing. They had been at the diner for hours and it was well into the new year. They had to keep ordering food or drinks to stay at the diner but they were having too much fun to leave. War attempted to steer the conversation away from him but was having trouble with it.

"You don't care."

"Yes I do." War laughed.

"Okay fine...since I was little I always wanted to ride a horse, happy?" Jason blushed harder.

"A horse? That's it?" 

"What do you mean 'That's it'? I'm a twenty five year old gay guy who wants a pony." Jason laughed.

"Twenty five?" War raised an eyebrow.

"...thirty, shut up." Jason glared at him.

"I didn't know you were gay." War laughed. Jason blushed.

"Oh, yeah...I hope that isn't a problem." Jason said.

"It's not." War said. "You know, I have a horse." War smiled.

"What? Seriously?" Jason leaned forward, interested.

"Yup. I'm sure he wouldn't mind giving you a ride."

"I don't know..." Jason blushed at the thought of getting on a horse now. It was fine when he was younger but now....

"Come on, my brothers won't be home for awhile." War set down some cash and pulled Jason up from the booth they sat at. 

After the short walk to the abandoned barn War stopped.

"This is where you stay?"

"Just for now. Stay here for a sec." War disappeared into the barn.

"Work with me here, Fury." War stroked the fiery red horse. Fury stamped at the ground and tossed his head. War removed his glove and held it to the horses chest. The fire on the horses hooves receded until it was gone. The horses flickering mane cooled until it was only thick horse hair. The small fires in the horses eyes cooled until only large brown eyes remained. Where the fiery war horse once stood, was now a red brown stallion. 

"Come." War began walking out of the barn and heard the steady beat of his faithful steed following him.

"Jason, this is Fury."

"Fury. That's a comforting name for my first horse ride." Jason rubbed his arm nervously.

"He's fine. Come on." War jumped up onto the horse with ease. After instructing Jason on how to get up, he gave him a gloved hand to help up.

"Oh god this is high." Jason looked down at the ground once he was on Fury's strong back.

"You get used to it. We'll take it slow." War clicked his tongue and Fury began moving forward.

"It's funny, my house isn't too far from here." Jason said once he got used to the steady rhythm of the horses steps.

"We can take you home. Ready to go faster?" War turned his head slightly to the side. Jason nodded and braced himself. War gave a mischievous grin that Jason couldn't see and gave the mental signal for Fury to speed up. Fury reared back and let out a loud whinny before charging forward.

"Shit!" Jason said when he nearly fell off. War pulled him back on to the horses back and leaned forward as he began to gallop full speed.

"God damn he's fast."

"Fastest of all of our horses." War laughed over the thumping sound of Fury's hooves.

"Your brothers have horses too?" 

"Yep. Fury is mine. Rot, Reaper, and General are my brothers." 

"Weird names." 

"It's a thing." War shrugged.

"What are your brothers names?" Jason asked.

"It doesn't matter." War snapped. Jason raised both eyebrows, surprised at the sudden flare of anger.

"My house is right there." Jason pointed. War signaled Fury to pick up the speed and he galloped faster. He stopped the horse near the front of the house and kicked up a large amount of dirt.

"Thanks for the ride. Made a childhood dream come true." Jason laughed as he dismounted the horse.

"Oh man, that's tough on the ass." Jason laughed and stretched.

"You get used to it." War leaned down to say goodbye.

"So I'm going to go out on a limb here and ask for your number." Jason smiled.

"I would, but I don't have a phone. You saw where I'm staying." War shrugged.

"Right." Jason sighed.

"Well then, could I ask for more than a number?" Jason pulled down War's head, and stole a kiss. War fought to keep his powers under control. He managed to hold them back during the spontaneous kiss.

"Yes, you can." War, without pulling away from Jason, managed to dismount Fury. 

"Stay." He muttered to the horse, who tossed his head as if rolling his eyes. Jason reached behind him and opened the door. The two men fell into the house and Jason managed to stand up and pull War up with him.

"My bedroom's that way, make yourself comfortable." Jason pointed down the hall. "I'll just be a second." Jason said, and ran off towards what looked like the kitchen. War walked into the bedroom and looked around the room. He smiled at the homeyness of the house and unbuttoned the first few buttons on his shirt.

"I hope you don't think I'm some slut who coaxes guys into his bedroom after one date." Jason came into the room holding a bottle of wine.

"Not at all." War smiled. 

"Good, now..." Jason pushed War back on the bed and kissed him again. He grabbed a fistful of the short black hair and kissed him harder.

"Damn you know how to kiss." War grunted as Jason moved down his body, unbuttoning the shirt as he went.

"Glad you approve." Jason laughed and pulled off War's shirt. War pulled Jason's mouth to him again and began stripping him of his pants. In no time at all they were both down to their briefs. The room was dark, so War took off his sunglasses.

"Let me suck you." War begged.

'When do I ever beg?' He thought as he pulled off Jason's tight underwear. He revealed the aching hard on. 'I beg when it comes to this man.' He sucked Jason's hard cock into his mouth and savored his flavor.

"Oh god that feels so good." Jason moaned, placing a hand on War's head.

"Glad you approve." War smiled up at him, before diving back onto his cock.

"Smart ass." Jason tossed his head back and moaned. War smiled around his cock. After a few minutes Jason stopped him.

"I'm going to cum if you keep that up." He pulled War off his cock.

"That was the point." War wiped his mouth and licked his fingers.

"Not yet." Jason laughed. He pushed War down on his back and began sucking on his nipples.

"Holy crap." War arched his back.

"Has anyone ever done this to you?" Jason looked up at him.

"It's been awhile."

"How long?" Jason was curious.

"Long." War kept it simple. He pulled Jason up and began nibbling at his neck.

"Well it wont be much longer." Jason gave him a wicked smile. Jason began slipping his underwear off, revealing War's hard pole.

"I like the sound of that." War nibbled Jason's ear.

"Me too." Jason pushed War's legs up to his chest. "Hold these, would you?" He winked at War. He dived down and began licking his tight hole.

"Oh my..." War sucked in a breath as Jason teased his ass.

"You've never had someone-"

"Stop talking." War pushed him back down to his ass. After a few minutes of treatment from Jason's warm tongue War stopped him.

"I want you in me." He begged. 

"I don't have a condom, do you?"

"Just get inside me Jason!" Jason nodded. He positioned himself against War's hole and began slowly pushing in. War grunted as Jason suddenly sank all the way in.

"You okay?" He asked, worried. War nodded silently. Jason began pumping slowly in and out of War's tight ass.

"God you feel so good." He grunted. In no time he was thrusting in and out of War rapidly. The room was filled with the sounds of sex, the grunt, groans, whimpers, and slaps of their love making.

"I'm going to cum." War sighed.

"Me too." As Jason pumped his tunnel full of his hot cum, War became addicted to the feeling of being underneath his man.

'My man?' He thought to himself. He opened his eyes and looked at the stunning face above him. 'Yeah, MY man.' he decided. With one final grunt from both of them, Jason rolled over and War curled up on his chest.

'What would my brothers think if they saw me now.' He thought to himself. 'Having a human man plowing me like some bitch in heat.' He chuckled.

"What?" Jason asked, and began smiling himself.

"Nothing, that was fantastic." War sighed.

"Yeah it was, I hope you don't mind cuddling." Jason hugged him closer.

"Not at all." The truth was that War had never really 'cuddled' before, cuddling was like the complete opposite of his very being, but if this is what it was like then he was all for it. They sat for a few minutes in silence, just holding each other and basking in the afterglow of their love making.

"I hate to ruin this, but I should go." War said, he knew his brothers would be home by now, and wondering where he was.

"That's okay. But I hope we can do this again." War looked up at Jason and saw love in his eyes. It was obvious that it was there, but he knew Jason wouldn't say it. This was their first date, and yes they had ended up in bed together, but saying the big L bomb wouldn't work for either of them at that moment.

"I would love that. But next time," War rolled on top of him, straddling his waist. He leaned in bit right beneath Jason's ear, "We switch places." He whispered in Jason's ear. He felt the shiver go up Jason's spine and they shared a quick kiss before War stood up and pulled on his pants.

"I'll walk you out." Jason picked up his own pants and the two walked outside, Jason only wearing a pair of pants and War slipping on his shirt as he went. He straddled Fury and got comfortable on his saddle.

"I promise we'll see each other around." War smiled.

"Alright. I'll see you later then. Thanks for the ride. And thank you Fury." Jason pet the horse.

"Yes, thanks for the ride." War winked, Jason smirked and waved goodbye as he left. War looked behind him after a few seconds of riding and saw Jason walking back into his house.

He turned back so he was facing forward and gave the signal for Fury to go all out. Flames came forth from the horses body. The once brown red horse now was a fiery red as it should be. His hooves landed on the ground roughly, burning it beneath his feet. The tale became longer as the fires grew and his mane tossed in the wind. The eyes burned the brightest as the horse nearly flew. As they picked up speed War lost his disguise and reverted back to his black and red armor. His eyes burned as his horses did and his sword was a comforting weight on his back.

"Welcome home." Conquest sat on his own horse as War approached.

"Where have you been?" Death came out of the barn.

"Just out for a ride." War dismounted Fury with ease.

"We were wondering where you went. You missed it, Conquest made this chick beat the crap out of her boyfriend." Famine laughed.

"Isn't that my job?" War asked.

"No. She wasn't trying to kill him. Just make him her bitch." Conquest laughed.

"It was epic, you should've seen it. She kicked the crap out of him for awhile and then pushed him down and started riding him like a horse." Famine laughed.

"Ah, well. I'm glad you all had fun. It's about time we got a vacation." War leaned onto Fury.

"Yes, well I think I'll follow your lead and go out for a ride." Death said. He clicked his tongue and instantly his horse was ablaze with pale green fire, and he was back in his skeletal form.

"Mind if I join?" Conquest asked.

"Sure." Death began to trot towards the field. Conquest trotted forward with him and his own horse was set ablaze with white fire.

"I think I'll stay here with War." Famine said.

"Ew." War smiled as he walked by Famine.

"Shut up, bitch." Famine followed him inside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Jason sat on the couch sipping a cup of coffee and doing some paperwork. He couldn't sleep so he figured why not get some work done? He had the uneasy feeling that someone was watching him but shook off the feeling. He lived far enough from town so the odds of someone watching him were slim.

"What does War want with this guy?" Conquest leaned onto the back of Generals head.

"I don't know." Death's eyes burned with their pale green fire.

"Should we do something about it?" Conquest asked.

"Not yet." Death watched the handsome man put away the paperwork and attempt sleep again.

"We should go." Conquest turned and began galloping back towards the abandoned barn. Death kicked Reaper forward and joined Conquest in a short race towards home.

~~~~~~~~~~ 

"Hey." Jason was interrupted by the familiar voice behind him.

"Hey what are you doing here? How did you find out where I work?" Jason set down the pen and turned to face War.

"It's not hard. How many social workers live in this town?" War laughed.

"True. I get off in a few, you want to go out for lunch?" 

"Sure." War smiled. "Let me ditch my brothers and we can-" A scream from outside interrupted War.

"What the hell?" Jason said. He stood from the cubicle and went to a window that several other people had crowded around.

"Holy shit!"

"What the fuck happened?!" 

"What are they doing?!" 

And several other murmurs of confusion and disbelief were heard from the crowd around the window. War couldn't risk touching someone in the crowd so went to a free window. He looked down and saw Conquest, Death, and Famine laughing on the side walk. Watching as all hell broke loose. Several people were already dead on the ground. Rats and insects crawled every which way, vultures stood near the corpses picking at the bodies, and several people were attempting suicide.

"Shit." War muttered. He quickly left the building without looking back.

"War? Where are you going?" Jason followed him out of the building.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" War said, once he got to his brothers.

"Having fun, that's what we're here for. Remember?" Famine said.

"In broad daylight? And so many people?" War whispered, gesturing to the surrounding chaos.

"Yes." Death shrugged.

"You're forgetting why we're here, because you're spending too much time with that mortal." Conquest pointed behind War. War turned to see Jason standing there, too far to hear them but watching them speak.

"What the hell are you talking about? Is it a crime to want to speak to someone who doesn't want to.... you know!" War said.

"Kill? I don't know if you noticed this, but you're one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. You. Are. War." Conquest stepped forward.

"Enjoy it." Death pushed War back.

"Stop that!" War snapped.

"No." Death shoved him again. War pushed Death back who in turn, pushed him hard enough to send him into Jason.

"Shit." War pulled away as fast as he could but it wasn't soon enough.

"Are you okay? What's going-" Jason stopped speaking an a glazed look came over his eyes. War grabbed his arm and began pulling Jason away.

'Shit shit shit shit.' War tried to get him away from a crowd. Suddenly Jason pulled out of War's grip and took a swing at his head.

"Damn it, Jason, stop it!" War snapped. He knew it wouldn't help but it felt good to yell at something. Meanwhile his brothers watched the scene unfold before them. Jason repeatedly tried to strike War but the horseman was much too fast.

"Jason." War sighed. Jason refused to speak and only tried to hit War again. He swung for his head and War quickly ducked, sending his shoulder into Jason's stomach and lifting the much larger man onto his shoulders in a fireman's carry. He began walking down the street, no one noticed the strange sight as much more interesting chaos was going on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"God damn it Jason stop biting that." War snapped as Jason tried to bite the ropes that tied him to a chair. War flipped through the ancient book containing all the information on the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Each horseman had their own copy of the tome given to them when they came into existence.

"Finally." He said once he reached the passage on their powers of touch.

"Good, it says it will wear off in a few hours." War set the book down. Jason continued to struggle and fight against the binding ropes.

"A few hours too long if you ask me." War leaned against Jason's couch. He heard Fury protesting being away from his master.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." War stepped outside. He spent the rest of the day outside caring for his legendary war horse. 

"What the fuck?" War heard from inside.

"Wish me luck, Fury." He whispered before stepping into the house.

"Why am I tied to a chair? Did you drug me? You fucking weirdo!" Jason shouted, struggling at the ropes similar to when he had been under War's spell.

"Calm down, I didn't drug you. You followed me out of the building and while I was talking to my brother some lunatic hit you on the head, I brought you home." War said.

"And the ropes?"

'Shit.' He didn't think about that.

"Uh,well. You were really out of it. And kept slipping so I used the ropes to keep you from falling out of the chair."

'Lame.' he scolded himself.

"Why didn't you just put me on the couch? What the fuck is going on? Untie me, God fuck it!" Jason struggled again.

"Sorry." War pulled the ancient but powerful dagger from his boots and cut the ropes.

"What the fuck is that?" Jason nodded at the book as he rubbed his wrists.

"It's just something I was reading to pass the time." War grabbed the book and turned to leave. He heard Jason's foot steps behind him. As he strapped the book onto Fury's saddle Jason spoke.

"Stop with the shitty excuses. I want to know what's going on." Jason said, stepping down the porch stairs.

"Nothing." War sighed.

"Liar." Jason walked up behind him, "Look, War I'm interested in you. I don't even know if you're gay but since we spent the night together..." Jason shrugged. 

"I am. I guess." War sighed, this was harder than he thought. It was so much easier to just watch a bunch of humans murder each other.

"Okay, but if you can't be honest with me then we have no chance of making a relationship work." Jason said.

"Relationship?" War had honestly never thought about it. He knew he was interested, and lonely. But the thought of actually having a relationship with a human was way over his head. 

"How the fuck did Mephistopheles pull this off?" 

"What?" Jason said.

"What?"

"You said something."

"I said that out loud?" War sighed. This one mortal was making him lose his mind.

"Anyways...yes a relationship. What did you think I meant when I said I was interested?" Jason said.

"I don't know I just... Oh no." War looked up and saw the three galloping figures coming towards them. They were still a large distance away but it was no great feat for the immortal steeds to bring them the distance in no time.

"Is that your brothers?" Jason frowned. "What's up with them? You're all hiding something." Jason said, as War mounted the horse.

"Do you trust me?"

"I've seen Aladdin, don't try that shit, it's corny." 

.

"Jason, do you trust me?" War repeated, putting his hand out for Jason to grab.

"My life isn't going to be the same after this, is it?" Jason asked, looking up at the beautiful young man on the horse. War shook his head. Jason stood there for a moment. He looked up at War and then at the fast approaching riders. He sighed and took the hand up onto the large horse. As soon as he was on War commanded the horse to run. The horse immediately broke into a gallop, nearly knocking off his second rider. He wasn't used to carrying two people.

"Ready for your life to change?" War shouted.

"If I wasn't then I wouldn't have grabbed your hand." Jason said. War smiled and if he had worshipped him, would have prayed to God for good luck. Suddenly the horse surged and gained much more speed. War watched the flames begin to spark from his mane and eyes, and knew that the tail would be doing the same. He closed his eyes and wished himself good luck and pushed the horse to its limit. Flames surged forth and engulf the horse and his rider. His slick black clothes were replaced with the beautiful armor that matched the fiery colors of his horse. The glasses that hid his eyes disappeared and were replaced by the glowing red flames that served as his eyes.

"Oh God, horse on fire, horse on fire, horse on fire.." Jason had his eyes closed. "This isn't possible, this isn't happening, I stopped the drugs in college. This isn't real." he chanted.

"Open your eyes, Jason." War said, his voice changed and now had the eerie echo that all of the riders had.

"Holy shit." Jason said. He turned and saw the other three riders were also now in their true form. The pale green horse, the white horse, and the black horse, all with flames of the same color, chased after the fleeing red mount and his rider.

"You said Fury was the fastest of all four right?" Jason said.

"Yes."

"Well it's not looking like it." War turned to see that, in fact, his brothers were catching up.

"He's not used to carrying two." War sighed. He pulled off to the side and they found themselves on a deserted paved street. Fury ran down the middle of the dotted lines, leaving fiery hoof prints on the street. He would leave a short trail before the prints would fade. War urged the horse faster and was pleased when he picked up even more speed. Now his brothers were falling behind but still desperately trying to catch up.

"How fast are we going?"

"I don't know if you noticed, but this is a horse. He doesn't have a speedometer." War looked back at a scowling Jason.

"He's faster than any car you've driven." War said simply. As if to show off, Fury picked up more speed and his feet nearly melted the street beneath them. Soon, Conquest Death and Famine were only green and white spots in the distance. 

"Where did the black one go?"

"He's still there. You just cant see him. He blends too damn much." War laughed, which had an eerie echo to it. As if four people were talking at once. After a few more minutes Fury slowed. He was still galloping faster than any regular horse but couldn't hold his top speed for that long.

"Do you think they're still chasing us?" Jason asked.

"No, they will have turned back by now." War said. He glanced back at Jason.

"You seem to be handling this well." War said.

"My mother was very religious. She read to me from the Bible every night."

"Not exactly a good bed time story." War joked.

"You're one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse...aren't you?" Jason said.

"Yes." He felt Jason nod his head behind him.

"War."

"Yes." War repeated.

"War, Conquest, Famine, and Death. Right?" Jason said.

"Yes." War repeated for the third time.

"Jesus." Jason sighed.

"Would you like me to take you back?" War asked.

"Is that really a good idea? Won't they be waiting there?" 

"Probably." 

"Then no." Jason sighed and leaned onto War's back. He tried to sleep but the constant movement of the horse under him made it impossible.

~~~~~~~~~~ 

"Jason, wake up." War said. He was now back in his human clothes, sunglasses and all. Fury stood a few feet away, a normal reddish stallion.

"Hey." He stretched. He realized he was sleeping on hard ground and looked around. They were in a field somewhere. 

"That wasn't a dream last night, was it?" Jason rubbed his temples, already knowing the answer.

"'Afraid not." 

"Where are we?"

"Out in the middle of no where." War shrugged and helped him into a sitting position.

"Man, that ground is hell on your back." Jason cracked his back. War chuckled and handed him food.

"Where the hell did you get Jack in the box?" Jason looked up at him.

"I rode into town before you woke up. I figured you'd be hungry." War said. Jason giggled at the thought of War showing up in the drive thru with a horse. Even a normal horse would be weird. One covered in fire would be insane.

"Thanks." Jason chewed on his breakfast jack while staring at Fury.

"What?" War looked at his horse.

"Can I see the book?" Jason pointed to the book strapped to Fury's saddle. War stood up and grabbed the book, handing it to Jason. He read for a few moments and then closed the book and sighed.

"Man this is to much. I'm just waiting for someone to jump out and tell me I've been punked." He laughed. 

"It will get easier. I need to go, though." War said, standing from the dirt.

"I'll be back a little latter. Will you be okay here alone?" War climbed onto Fury's back. Jason nodded but hardly looked up from the book he had opened again.

"Some of it's in Latin. I can translate it if you want when I get back." War pulled Fury around by her reins and clicked her forward. Jason watched him leave before he turned back down to the book.

~~~~~~~~~ 

"Welcome back." Famine said. He was leaning against the door frame of the barn as War rode up.

"War!" Conquest came stepping out of the shadows of the barn.

"Where is Death? We must speak." War said.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Death shouted as he followed Conquest.

"Let me just explain, Death. It's not exactly as it seems." He knew it was.

"Yes it is. You showed that human everything!" Death shouted.

"That's my choice and is of no concern to you." War glared at him. They held the stare for a long moment before Death removed his scythe from his back and hit the end of it on the ground.

Pale green chains spiraled up from the dirt and circled War. They squeezed tight and held him to the ground, allowing him not even an inch to move.

"You're too valuable to the world, War. We can't just let this human go." Death said, he began walking where Reaper and the other horses waited.

"If you hurt him, there will be hell to pay!" War shouted, red flames erupting from his body. The chains held fast, untouched by War's fire. Without a word, the three horsemen mounted and began running in the direction of Jason. As soon as they were far enough away, War jerked his head in the 'come here' motion. Fury trotted over to his master who whispered in his ear. He tossed his head before rearing back and kicking at the magic bindings. After a minute or two of working on the chains they finally broke. 

"Idiots." War said, and climbed onto Fury's back. He galloped after his brothers as fast as his horse could carry him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"Human!" Death shouted as he trotted up to the small, at least in comparison to the riders, human male. Jason stood and Death saw he held the book in his hands.

"I see you've been doing your research." He smirked.

"Yeah, and judging by the way you look, you're Death." 

"Very good." Conquest said, stepping forward.

"Conquest." Jason said confidently. "And Famine." He looked at the black horse and his rider.

"So you know us but we don't know you." Conquest said.

"I'm Jason."

"Tell us, Jason. Why does War have this strange obsession about you?" Death asked.

"I don't know." He shrugged.

"Well, no matter. It doesn't change our decision." Jason saw the distant red flicker of Fury behind Death. He had to stall.

"Decision?"

"Yes. You may not be aware of this, but there is a demon. Mephistopheles, Lucifers' right hand man. Or at least he was. He fell in love with a human and gave up his powers and immortality, he was even offered his wings back," Death nodded up at the sky, "But he turned them all down for a single human." Death said.

"What does that have to do with me?" Fury was growing closer.

"There are easily billions of replacements for a servant of Lucifer. He was a powerful demon, but replaceable. War, however, is not." Reaper carried his rider closer to Jason as he spoke. "There are not billions of replacements for War. We riders are few and far between. We are neither light nor darkness. We are the balance through chaos. If he will not give you up willingly...we will take care of that." Death gave an eerie smile. He reached an arm back and pulled his long scythe from behind his back. Jason had no more options, and no more room to back up. He saw that Fury and his rider were nearly there, but wouldn't make it in time. War urged his mount faster and though he was close, the hoof beats could not be heard on the dirt ground.

"Just one thing." Jason said. Death stopped, curious. He raised an eyebrow in question.

"There's this passage I couldn't read, it's in Latin. Could you translate it for me?" Jason knew it was a stupid question but he had to buy time. Off to the side, Conquest and Famine chuckled. Death glared at them and they were silenced.

"No." He said simply. He pulled his scythe back in preparation to strike and Jason saw War pull his own weapon from Fury's saddle. The red and black blade was bright, even in the afternoon sunlight. The horse galloped closer and closer. The fire in his eyes burned bright and his nostrils flared as the undead horse tried to breathe with lungs that had long since withered away. War made eye contact with him as he drew closer and Deaths scythe began to fall. He said a silent prayer and closed his eyes. 

"No!" War shouted. He leapt from Fury's back and pulled Death off of his own mount. The scythe slid in the dirt, landing several feet away from the fighting demons. Conquest and Famine stepped forward to help but Fury reared up on his hind legs and kicked them off of their own mounts. Too dazed to give them a command, the other three horses stood there stupidly. Fury began slamming his hooves into the ground brutally. Conquest and Famine had barely enough time to move out of the way of the raging horse.

Death reached out his hand as War tried to recover and the scythe began to slide towards him. War knocked his hand away and gave him a solid punch in the face. While Death recovered War attempted to reach his sword. He crawled over to it and was just about to grab it when Reaper was finally given an order. The pale green horse galloped up and stomped its front hooves in the place where War's hands just were, in front of his sword. He looked up and saw the wild devotion in the horses eyes. He stood up and was promptly tackled by Death behind him. War struggled to knock him off of his back while every touch from the other horsemen left decayed flesh, and every touch from War made the horsemen only more barbarous. Suddenly death was lifted from his back and he heard him crash to the ground. He looked to see Jason's hands turn the pale gray color that human flesh became once it touched Death. It was obvious the human had pulled the rider from War's back. War wanted to help him but he had more important things to do.

He slid under the horse blocking him from his sword and picked it up, recovering quickly and turning to face his enemy. Death had had time to grab his scythe and was now facing War, who wielded the deadly sword. 

"Last chance, Death. Lets talk this out like civilized hellions." War smiled.

"Not a chance." Death ran towards War with his scythe poised to strike. War brought up his large sword and the two blades crashed in a shower of colored sparks. They pulled their gleaming weapons apart and moved to strike again. The two ancient instruments struck again and again, their owners in a battle of strength. Death suddenly surged with strength, knocking War off his feet. Instead of delivering the final blow while War was caught off guard, Death began twirling his scythe in a magnificent show of skill and power over his weapon. War quickly got up and drew his sword to the ready once again. Death only smiled and continued the excellent show. War saw his chance and struck, hitting his sword in the crook of the scythe, sending it flying out of the horseman's hand. Death looked shocked and War smiled. He brought his sword down again and was furious when Death barely dodged it. He let out an angry cry and moved to strike again. Death reached for his scythe and was about to grab it when a large boot stopped it from moving. He looked up and saw a smirking Jason standing there. Death's shocked face turned to anger.

"You stupid-" His words were cut off when War's large sword pierced through his back, straight through into the earth. His face turned from anger, back to shocked. Jason flinched at the sickening sound of War's sword being removed from Death's back. Death rolled over and looked up at his once fellow horseman. War sheathed his sword and starred down at the dying horseman.

"That's not possible, we cant die..." Famine said. War looked over at him.

"Have you ever actually read the book?" He snapped.

"You can only be killed by each others weapons." Jason said. 

"Fast reader." War looked at him, Jason shrugged and looked down at Death. Death glared at them before his body disintegrated in a puff of ash.

"What the hell are we supposed to do now?" Conquest stood from where Fury had kept them hostage during the fight. "The world needs a Death." 

"Yes I was thinking about that." War bent down and picked up the scythe. He stared at the weapon before holding it out to Jason.

"What?" Jason starred up at him.

"The world needs a Death, Jason. And it needs one now." War said, "The longer this world exists without Death, the more unbalanced it becomes." Jason looked at the weapon that was being held out to him. He looked around to see the other horsemen watching him as well. He looked where Reaper once stood but saw only a pile of Ash, similar to Death's.

"The horse..."

"You will get your own if you choose to accept the scythe." War explained. Jason reached out with a hand that was still stained by the chilling touch of Death. He stopped inches away from the weapon.

"But I hate the color green." He frowned, then laughed. War smiled and Jason took the scythe. Power rippled through his body, nearly sending him off his feet. The wounds on his hands healed instantly, and then surged as more power shot through them. His flesh became the familiar pale gray of Death and his clothes burned away, replaced by the bleak armor of a horseman. He felt his vocal cords shift and change as they transformed to work for the strange hollow echo that his voice would now have. He felt all of his aches and pains disappear and his eyes burn as they changed to the sickly pale color that the previous rider had. 

"Alright, this is cool." He said, and was surprised to find his voice had the icy chill and echo that all of the others had.

"Wait for it." All three of the horseman said. Jason was about to ask what to wait for when he felt it. He could feel every dying person. All over the world he felt the millions of dying or sick people. He could feel how, when, and why they died. He could since the threads of life, all getting thinner until they broke and the life attached passed on.

"Whoa...." he said. "Do you all feel this?" He asked.

"In our own ways. I feel all of the anger and hate in the world. Conquest feels all of the underdogs I guess. All the ones who want to rise to power and conquer shit. Famine, don't worry about him he's a douche." War said simply.

"Hey!" Famine glared at him but neither Jason, now Death, nor War looked at him. 

"Welcome to the job." War whispered.

"Thank you. What do we do now?" The new Death asked.

"Get you a ride." War smiled. He hopped up onto Fury's back and was about to give Death a hand up when he easily got onto the horse as well. He smiled and galloped off, with Famine and Conquest following behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The four horsemen walked down the empty highway, including their newest edition. Death sat atop his new horse (Who he had rightfully named Maim) to the left of the older riders.

"Welcome to the team, Death." Conquest smiled over at the new member.

"Do I have to always be all skeletal? It's weird."

"I guess not," War said, "It's just that's how most humans portray death."

"I'll stick with flesh thanks. What do we do now?" Death asked, he still wasn't used to the eerie rattle his voice had.

"We get to work. Our vacation is over." War said. 

"That's why you guys were here?" 

"Yes, not that it was any fun." Famine glared at War.

"Quiet!" War snapped. The flames on his armor burned brighter with his anger. They cooled almost instantly when Death placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Gross, so are you two together now?" Famine leaned onto his horses neck.

"Mind you own business, Famine." Death glared at Famine.

"You two are going to be great together." Conquest laughed and nudged his horse forward.

"It's wrong," Famine said, "We are the four horsemen of the apocalypse, God damn it. Where does a happy gay couple fit into that..." Famine snapped.

"Don't be so bitter, Famine. Remember that human girl you fell in love with back in the 1800's?" Conquest laughed. War chuckled and the air was filled with their haunting voices.

"Shut up! The point is I didn't kill off one of our oldest and most important horsemen and give her a job." Famine snapped.

"Sucks to be you then." Death smiled. He felt a strange new confidence in him that he didn't have as a human. He knew the power he held and the responsibility he carried. All of his fears and worries were gone. Strangely, next to all of his strength and confidence, he still felt the care and love he held for War that he had as a human.

"Shouldn't you go and quit your job or something?" War asked.

"No, I don't really have anyone who cares about me." Death shrugged.

"No family?" Conquest asked.

"Friends?" Famine finally joined the conversation.

"There's only one, but I wouldn't really call us friends." Death said.

"He won't notice if you go missing?" War asked, placing a hand on Death's leg.

"Yes. But he won't do anything about it."

"Well then, now that that's settled..." Famine kicked his horse into a gallop and once he picked up enough speed, disappeared into a crackling portal.

"Okay that's cool." Death smiled.

"Isn't it?" Conquest laughed. His horse charged forward and followed Famine into the portal.

"Are you ready?" War held onto Death's hand.

"Yes." Death said honestly.

"There's no going back, Jason." War said.

"I'm Death now." 

"Yes, you are." War smiled, leaning in to kiss Death softly. Their lips burned hot and left them both smiling. War smiled, bringing his horse to a gallop and jumping through the portal. Death looked at the electrified portal for a moment before turning his horse to look back down the highway.

In the distance he could see the flickering lights of the town he had called home for years now. He took one last breath of the warm air into his empty lungs before turning back to the portal and pushing Maim forward. The undead horse let out a whinny as he disappeared through the portal. As soon as the tail disappeared from sight the portal shut. Jason leaving this world, and a new Death entering it