Fan Fiction ❯ Beneath Angel's Wings ❯ Stage 1: Uncertainty ( Chapter 1 )

Matthew Adair's

Beneath Angel's Wings

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A Shounen-Ai serial novel

Chris Kessoku property of Matthew Adair

Johan-Lee Gauthier property of Sharon Gauthier

Hirameki Nagisa property of Heather "Hirameki" Woods

Inanis, Aya, Mekat, and the rest of the Star of Dawn and the Cylis's crew property of Mekat.

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Proem: The Fall From Grace

He shivered in bed, the images rushing back into his mind...

Again he found himself behind the controls of the Starship Zarya, alarms clamoring for his attention as the tiny spacecraft bucked and rattled with the turbulence of the air rushing past it. The vessel's pleas went unheeded though, as their master lay deaf, dumb, and blind in his chair; blood flowed from his wrists and chest, eyes that locked wide open stared pointlessly ahead at the view screen. The sea rushed up towards him, opening its arms to him...

"Control to Zarya, pull up! You need to pull up or you'll---"

But no reply came, except the thunderous crash of steel impacting water, groaning cries of the drowning engines, flesh colliding with the synthetics that supported it.

Chris Kessoku awoke with a start, sweat rolling down his face, shaking and trembling in fear. His head craned backwards, his frail body letting loose a cry that shook the house, as well as the world around it.

***

Beneath Angel's Wings - Stage One: "Uncertainty"

***

The bells rang across Nexus College, chiming the hour over the multitude voices that floated around the campus grounds. Through all of this peaceful chaos drifted a lone paper airplane, gliding along the autumn air only to collide imperceptibly with the face of Johan-Lee.

"Hey!"

Johan crumpled the airplane as he searched for its creator. His search did not go on long- amidst the milling crowd of students was Rachel, waving him over as her shoulder bag sat propped against her leg.

"Hey dork, how's it going?"

Johan sighed as he made his way over to her. "Good to see you're as friendly as ever." It wasn't that her attitude bothered him- he could honestly care less how she called him. No, what was annoying was-

"Yeah, yeah..." Rachel rolled her eyes as she stood, meeting Johan halfway. "You never stopped over this weekend like you said you would."

"…I've been busy." Johan grumbled, walking along side her. Jogging to keep up with his stride, she pressed on.

"Liar, I know you're never busy." Her elbow nudged Johan's side, causing the boy to take a tottering step away from her. "You've been avoiding me Johan..."

He refused to look her in the eyes, locking his gaze forward. "So?"

"Johan..." Rachel stepped out in front of him, standing with authority, blocking his every move to get around her. "You hardly ever hang around with me anymore...hell, you barely even talk to me…"

"And since when did you become the official president and representative of the 'Let's Gripe About Johan Club'? Look," he shook his head, rolling his eyes at her. "Don't put me through this..."

She persisted though, standing face-to-face with him. "Quit it Johan; be serious for once. I'm sick and tired of just being your toy..."

"If I piss you off so badly," shouted Johan, flailing his arms around him, "then just leave! This ain't theater, Ms. Angst-a-lot!"

Rachel turned her back to him, tossing a lock of hair over her shoulder. "Fine by me. Go get yourself another toy, pal, cause this one's had it." Without even giving him the chance to answer, she slipped through a doorway. He cursed at her under his breath...as well as time, once he noticed his watch.

"Ahhh man, not again...The prof's going to kill me one of these days..." He broke into a sprint down the sidewalk, late again for his morning classes.

***

The professor droned onwards in his lecture as Johan slumped back into his seat. He'd been stuck in here for an hour and was positively bored- his supply of manga had already been exhausted, as well as the ample stack of doujinshi- smutty or otherwise-, and thus had nothing with which to occupy himself with. In boredom, his eyes began to wander around the classroom, traveling from face to face as Johan struggled to keep back the occasional snicker or laugh as his mind drifted off with them.

His eyes finally fell upon an unusually unfamiliar sight amongst the room of bored and, in many cases, sleeping students. Just beside Johan was a young man, craned over a notebook on his desk, franticly writing as the lecture proceeded. His curiosity stirred, Johan leaned over to his neighbor, puzzled by his unusual behavior. "Whatcha' writing?"

The boy never looked up. "…Notes." he replied simply, his voice barely audible in it's distant calm.

"Why would you want to do that?"

The boy blinked, his hand stopping for a moment, eyes moving to look at Johan as he faced straight ahead. "Well...don't you?"

Johan taped a finger under his desk, and the boy's eyes caught sight of a tape recorder taped to the desk. "I'm lazy, but I'm not stupid." He grinned as he whispered, "I got all the notes I need right here."

"Ahhh..."

Johan sat there staring at his neighbor for a moment in silence, unsure of what to say next. His fellow student was a thin, fragile boy, and something about him carried an air of the unnatural, but he ignored it, dismissing it as a figment of the imagination, a flight of fancy, an odd little daydream- nothing to be believed, in other words. A mop of blond hair fell over his face, obscuring a pair of icy blue eyes, eyes that stared out half-heartedly from behind round, thick eyeglasses. The hair spilled out in various directions, some of it leaning forwards like palms to hide a narrow, tired face in shadows, some sticking up into the air randomly, before finally spilling down his neck and out onto his back in a cascade of gold. Despite all his beauty, he carried a seemingly worrisome and massive weight of sadness on his shoulders...but for what...?

"You're new here, aren't you?"

The boy looked up this time, perplexed. "…Hua?"

"I've never seen you around here...you new here, or do you just don't get out much?"

The bell rang, sending a current of students towards the door. "Little of both…I am new here though…"

"Thought so." Johan smiled, and offered the boy his hand as he rose from his seat. "Johan-Lee Gauthier, and you...?"

His companion stood, gathering his belongings without so much as acknowledging Johan's extended hand. "Chris. Chris Kessoku. Now please..." He began to walk away, Johan following close behind.

"Hey, that's no way to treat a guy!" he called out, catching up. "Say, where ya going right now?"

"Why do you care?"

Johan shrugged. "Curiosity, that's all. C'mon, quit being so cold, I'm just being friendly with you."

Chris came to a stop in the doorway, turning his head to look at Johan. The brunette stood with an air of confidence in the classroom, face encircled from the top with long hair pulled into a ponytail that sprouted from the base of his head, and from the bottom with short, neatly trimmed stubble. A broad smile crossed it; eyes open in a friendly gaze, taking in all around him. "I'm…" Chris stammered, staring at the young man behind him in surprise, not comprehending why someone would show such interest in him. "I'm going to the library, I...I need to work on this project..."

"What, our composition essays?" Johan thought for a moment. Something told him to follow the boy...if he played his cards right, maybe breaking up with Rachel might not be so bad after all. "Say, would you...ahh..."

"What is it?"

"You mind if I tag along? I got to get mine finished and I'm a few days behind so..."

Chris's jaw dropped. "It's due tomorrow!! You're out of your mind if you think you can get it done in one night!"

A weak laugh passed Johan's lips as he stood there, rubbing the back of his head as blushed. "Well, ah, it is...I've kinda been busy and all and…"

"Good god," Sighed Chris in disgust. "You really are an idiot, aren't you?"

"Ohh? And just how much do you have done, smart guy?"

He stopped, caught off his guard. "Well, I...ah...I mean I..." Chris stood there, fiddling with his hands as he tried to find some excuse. He suddenly felt Johan grasp his hand tightly and pull him out to the hall.

"Looks like we're both gonna have a long night then. C'mon," he started along, taking Chris with him. "We can help each other out."

"Okay..."

***

Chris let off a long, tired yawn, his arms swinging out to either side of him. He suddenly stopped, though, as he heard a shout of pain coming from the computer next to him.

"Hey, watch it!" Johan cringed, rubbing his nose. "You trying to take my head off or something?"

"Sorry!" A sudden red blush filled Chris's face, embarrassed by his carelessness. "I didn't mean to..."

"Ahh, forget about it." Johan let off a whistle of surprise as he looked up at the clock. "Wow, we've been here that long already?"

"Wha..." The time had flown by the both of them. Chris glanced at the clock, shoulders slumping downwards as he realized how late it was. "Crap, 9:25...the library's going to close in five minutes, and we..."

"...have about a whole paper between the two of us." The sentence rolled between the two of them, coming out in one unbroken thought. They quick glanced at each other, but simply shrugged it off as mere coincidence. "Look, the only way we're going to get this done in time is if we can work on it over night."

"I'm shot then." Chris groaned, slowly banging his face onto the keyboard. "Alexi busted the computer before I moved, so I can't use it. MY only chance is to come in early and…"

"Uhuh, no way." Johan rested a hand on top of Chris's head, lifting the boy's face back up. "You're going to wind up panicking about the whole thing all night tonight, you're not going to get any sleep, and when you come in here to get done all you're going to be able to do is sleep. There's no way you can get six pages done in the hour before school starts anyway."

"Then what am I gonna do? That's the only option I've got."

Johan planned his words carefully. Now was the window of opportunity for him, and he had to hit it right. "Look, you can come with me, use my computer, and get the whole thing done tonight. I'll use my friend's laptop so we're not waiting on each other, ok?"

"For someone who acts like a complete idiot..." Chris mumbled, looking over at Johan, "...you're not quite as stupid as you seem."

"Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment." Johan rose and strolled towards the door, giving Chris a simple smile and wink. "Besides, you've got a lot to learn about me."

"Hey, wait a..." Chris headed after him, grabbing his books. "What's that supposed to mean??"

"I can't hear youuuuu!" Laugher filled the hall as Johan jogged off, Chris running in his wake, wondering what in the world his new companion was up to.

***

Shita Tenshi No Uxingusu- Beneath Angel's Wings

***

A CD kept the room full of music while the two young men worked through the night, desperately trying to finish their project. Hours rolled by, various glasses of various caffeine-filled drinks took up the sink, and various curses were uttered until, at long last, Johan waved his finger in the air with comic drama and tapped the mouse button to print.

"My masterpiece is complete!" he cried out, snickering as the printer kicked into action. Nearly stunned by the sudden start of the printer's whine, Chris jumped backwards in his seat. "Whoa!"

"Maybe you shouldn't have had that tenth glass of Jolt, hmm?"

"No, no, that wasn't..." Chris stared closer at Johan's laptop. "Wait a minute, how'd you manage to get done before me?"

Johan kept giggling, swiveling around in a circle on his chair, waving his fingers out in front of his face. "I can do anything better, for I have the magic hands!" A burst of laughter erupted from his mouth, snickering at his own joke. "Many quests and secret missions were undertaken to obtain such masterly skills…"

Chris couldn't help but blush again, stuttering as he tried to answer. "Well, err...I'm...I'm sure your...girlfriend is very...very...she must love you, I bet…" He laughed weakly, but stopped as saw Johan scowl and curse under his breath. Suddenly feeling guilty for striking what seemed to be so sensitive a chord, he started to stammer out an apology only to be stopped by Johan.

"Don't bother, it's ok." Johan muttered. "You're right though, they used to." He shook his head, ponytail bobbing around behind him. "Ahh forget about it, it's nothing." Before Chris could offer any sort of answer, he gave a light kick to the floor, rolling his desk chair over behind the boy. "You're still working on that thing?"

Chris waved a hand over his shoulder at Johan as he focused on the screen. "Oh, I'm done, I'm just going over everything...this one part's bothering me..."

"Yer gonna kill yourself with a migraine or something before you fix it, at this rate." A pair of hands rested on Chris's shoulders, massaging them as he spoke. "Here, just relax, you'll feel better then."

"H...hey..." A chill raced down Chris's spine as taut muscles loosened at Johan's touch. "St..stop that...I'm gonna fall asleep at the...at the desk if you do this..."

Johan ignored Chris's pleas. "Ahh c'mon, you feel better already, don't you?"

"Yeah..." came the answer, Chris's voice soft and low. Just as Johan was starting to get into it though, Chris sat up with a start, franticly typing. "That's it!" he shouted, pounding on the keys, "How could I of missed that...d'oh!"

"See, what did I tell you?" Johan laughed as he gave Chris a nudge, waving his hands in front of the boy's face.

"Oh cut that out!" Chris snapped, swatting Johan's palms away. Fingers racing across the keys, he finally smacked the print button in triumph, slumping back into the chair, sighing with relief as the paper slowly worked it's way out of the printer. Johan's hands took their place on his shoulders again, rubbing tense muscle as he smiled.

"Told you these hands were magic." he whispered, resting his head on top of Chris's, petting his neck. The boy shivered at his touch, trying to work his way away from Johan's grip.

"I...I thought I t...told you to cut it out..." came Chris's voice, a rough, broken whisper as Johan slid his hands down, snickering.

"Awww, c'mon...I'm just trying to reward you for a job well done..."

Johan's fingers slipped under Chris's shirt, tickling up his sides, sending the boy tumbling off the chair, wiggling around on the floor. "What's the matter?" Johan smirked, kneeling over Chris, "You ticklish?"

Chris gasped for breath. "That's...that's not the point!"

A single finger slid along the center of Chris's chest, causing the boy to whimper. "Ohh?" Johan asked coolly, getting face-to-face with Chris. "Then what is it, hmmm?"

"The point...the point is..." Chris's voice stuttered along as he tried to get away. "The...point...is..."

"The point is you have no point." Johan answered, laying against Chris, rubbing his face on the boy's chest as his fingers combed through his hair. "Heh, you're kinda cute, to be honest."

"Th...thanks..." Another wave of blushing turned Chris's face deep red, until he shook his head quickly, crying "No no no NO! This isn't-"

"Ahh, so you DO like it!" cheered Johan gleefully, wrapping his arms under the boy as he pressed his lips tight to Chris's chest, sucking on his nipples as he felt the Chris's every shiver and shudder. With each push of Chris's hand against him, Johan just held on tighter, gripping Chris harder.

"Please...it...it doesn't..."

"Hmmm?"

"It…it doesn't feel right..."

"It's not supposed to feel right." Johan whispered as he stroked Chris's body with his tongue, soft moans passed his lips with each taste of Chris's skin. "That's the bes--"

He jumped back with a start as Chris pulled away, knocking Johan backwards. He curled into a ball in the corner of the room, as far from Johan as he could, tears streaming down his face. Startled and frightened, Johan crawled up close to Chris. "What's wrong…I…I know I wasn't too rough, I mean...was I?"

Chris's eyes narrowed in disgust, piercing through Johan with ferocity. "How the hell would you know?" Stunned, even slightly frightened by the sudden burst of anger, Johan backed up again slowly. Chris looked down, touching two fingers to his chest and shuddered. "Damn it...not again..."

It was only then that Johan noticed what was wrong. Chris's chest was scarred with two large wounds, one over his heart and the other opposite it on the other side of his chest. Both had reopened from all his struggling and had sent slowly oozing streams of blood down the front of the boy's body. Johan felt an unusual, unnerving shame, unconsciously wiping his face of any blood that might be on it

"I'm...I'm honestly sorry, I..."

"Just leave me alone." With that, Chris turned away, staring out a window at the night sky.

"Maybe...maybe you should go home now..." Johan whispered, trying to hide his shame out of a sense of maintaining some pride. A moment of silence passed, and then Chris slowly turned back around.

"Home?" muttered Chris with a sigh, shaking his head. "Home is god-knows how far, and I couldn't go back anyway..."

Confusion abruptly replaced Johan's shame, staring at Chris's face, the boy's icy eyes filled with a strange sorrow. Moments hung in the still air of the room as a shiver rattled through Johan, who stood in shock. He had simply meant to tease the boy, he never expected getting into something this deep. "I thought you lived here in town?" he asked, eyes blank. "Or on campus or something…Honestly, it's not far for me, I can-"

"That's not home." Interrupted Chris, sighing as he drug himself onto the sofa, curling up into a ball at one end, body rattling from constant, unceasing chills. "No place is home for me anymore..." His words trailed off, eyes closing drowsily as he slipped into a deep sleep. Johan stood there for another moment, trying to grasp the boy's words but failing no matter which route his mind took. Finally he gave up, bringing a blanket from his bedroom for Chris, covering the boy before sitting on the floor beside the couch, laying his head by Chris's.

"I'm...I'm sorry...I was just...just trying to have a little fun..."

There was nothing more he could do. He left matters to fate for now and closed his eyes, letting the soft, steady rhythm of Chris's heart lead him to follow the boy into quiet, uneasy slumber.

"I...I just...."

***

To Be Continued...