Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Neutral Territory ❯ Tension and Frustration for Schwarz ( Chapter 27 )

Title: Neutral Territory [part 27/?]

Author: Enigma

Written: begun October, 2001

Rating: R

Pairings: (Omi + Nagi) (Yohji + Ken) (Brad + Schu)

Category: Shonen ai/Yaoi Angst Friendship Romance Action Violence. AU-OOC. Giftfic.

Archive: fanfiction.net & mediaminer.org [author: "E-sama the Llama"] plus Wuffie.net [author: "Enigma"]

Warnings: shonen ai/yaoi, angst, masculine friendship in many forms, various levels of romance, action, coarse language, whiffs of citrus but nothing detailed, possibly graphic violence, bloodshed, tiny bits of humor, fluff, and sap; more warnings will be added as necessary. AU-OOC. Giftfic for Rubious.

Spoilers: Aya's sister's condition and a few other small things, nothing major.

Disclaimer: "Weiss Kreuz" is the property of Koyasu Takehito and Project Weiss. All original characters featured herein (including but not limited to: Glocksten, Charon, etc.) are © Enigma, 2003, and are not to be used without permission. This unauthorized work of fanfiction is intended for entertainment only; kindly do not sue me.

Notes: Omi's first trip to the public library results in an unexpected meeting when Nagi saves his life without being aware of the Weiss archer's identity. Can two lonely teens overcome the limits of their dark purpose in life to find friendship and possibly love in the midst of "neutral territory"?

//thoughts//

{{mental speech}}

*****

Saturday night. Schwarz penthouse.

*****

Even as Omi and his teammates were preparing for their mission, the boy the young blond had dared to kiss the night before was doing the same.

"Why do we *all* have to go tonight, Crawford?" Nagi asked with annoyance while throwing worried glances at his subdued Irish teammate who currently shared the leather couch in Crawford's office with him.

Thanks to Crawford and Schuldich's timely intervention the day before, Farfarello had indeed been able to avoid a serious slide into the darker levels of insanity which occasionally claimed him, but he'd not come out of it in his usual lighthearted mood. Instead, he'd emerged from the straightjacket in a deeply introspective frame of mind which Nagi had mistaken for a depressive withdrawal.

The truth of the matter was that Farfarello was lost in thoughts so strange yet painfully logical that not even the perceptive telepath could understand him and Schuldich had been forced to minimize his mental links with the one-eyed man just to protect his own sanity.

Not bothering to look up from the paperwork he was reviewing after issuing his commands for the night's assignment, Crawford replied flatly, "Because Estet says so, that's why."

Leaning against his lover's desk in a typically provocative manner, the redhead commented with poorly concealed anger, "I'm with the chibi." Flipping some of his flame-colored hair over his shoulder as he tossed a meaningful glance at Crawford, he added, "After the crap we had to put up with last night, I think we should only take Farfarello with us tonight, Crawford."

Finally looking up, mahogany eyes flashing behind his shiny wire-rimmed glasses, Crawford wanted to say he'd like nothing better, but that would be a useless thing to add to the discussion. Instead, he stated, "It is not your decision to make, Schuldich." With a sigh so small it went unnoticed, he held up the paper in his hand and added, "Neither is it mine. These are direct orders and are not open to debate."

Wondering why the white-haired man seated beside him was remaining silent, Nagi asked, "What is the big deal with that German guy anyway? What's he do for Estet that makes him so much more important than we are?"

The low growl in the back of Schuldich's throat was accompanied by a mental plea to his lover to put an end to this before he said something he shouldn't.

Accepting Schuldich's entirely atypical request, Crawford slammed the paper back onto his desk and roared, "That is *enough*! You've all been given your orders, now get out of my office!"

"Fine, fine, be that way, you jerk," Schuldich remarked with an utterly false tone of annoyance that masterfully covered the warm expressions of thanks that flowed to Crawford through their private channel of communication. Hips swaying as he sauntered from the room, he mused aloud, "Hmm… I wonder what drop dead sexy outfit to wear tonight? I just might find a new toy to play with among the wealthy shitheads at 'The White Dog' tonight."

Crawford snorted derisively and refused to be baited into a response, preferring to go back to taking care of some last minute paperwork prior to departure.

Midnight blue eyes blinked in shock as Nagi rose to leave, intending to change into something nicer than what he'd worn the night before as well as a warm raincoat since the weather was inclement. Beside him, Farfarello silently rose to his feet and headed for the door without a word.

"Farf?" Nagi called as he hurried to catch up to the Irishman, "Can you wait a minute?"

Pausing and turning with an unusual grace that somehow reminded the younger teen of a dancer who was more than confident performing the lead role in a Noh drama, Farfarello lifted an eyebrow inquiringly, yet remained silent.

"Um, Farf? Is something wrong?" Nagi asked as they resumed walking down the hallway towards their bedrooms.

The monosyllabic reply wasn't very helpful, but all Farfarello said was, "No." In the state he was in at that moment, further clarification seemed unnecessarily redundant. It simply didn't occur to him that a few more words might reassure his worried Japanese friend and that was a shame since he didn't like to cause Nagi undue concern.

Frustrated as well as worried, Nagi wasn't sure what to say and couldn't find a way to express his concerns for his strangely silent friend even as they arrived at the door to Farfarello's admittedly weird bedroom.

The door which could be locked from the outside if necessary was made of reinforced steel and the walls, floor, and ceiling were heavily padded. There was a minimal amount of furnishings and none of it was the sort of thing that could be dismantled without special tools or used as a weapon during one of the Irishman's occasional spells of dementia. There were rings to which restraints could be attached set into one wall, on the bed, as well as one hanging from the ceiling for the rare times when being suspended inverted as well as being bound was the only way Farfarello could get through a particularly bad episode.

All in all, it looked like the den of a madman or the playroom of a sadist, yet to Farfarello who was comfortable within himself, it was simply "home".

After searching his mind for something, anything, to say to try to find out what Farfarello was thinking and failing to find an answer, Nagi finally sighed sadly and said, "Well, if you're sure you're all right, Farf, I guess I'd better go change."

A curt nod of a close-cropped head was the only reply he received and then the Irishman vanished into his room where he would disinterestedly don the garments which Schuldich had selected for the evening which were laying on his bed.

Even when Farfarello was in his normal happy-go-lucky almost childlike frame of mind, he relied on the fashion conscious German to keep track of his clothing choices when going into public. His own preferences for leather with numerous straps and buckles worked well for nights such as this one, but under normal circumstances those made him even more likely to be stared at openly than he already was. In a country filled with golden-skinned people whose hair was typically dark, his ghostly pale complexion combined with white hair assured stares, but it did grow tedious.

Shaking his head as he made the short journey to his own bedroom in search of the night's garb, Nagi was so distracted by his worries for Farfarello that he didn't even think to log into the internet briefly and see if Omi was online. He allowed his thoughts to spiral around the Irishman as he put on a custom-made outfit Schuldich had ordered created for him by the same Hong Kong tailor he himself employed for the outfits he and Crawford wore when attending Estet functions.

With a sigh, Nagi slipped on a dark yet stylish ensemble before reaching for his charcoal gray, calf-length, rain-repellent trench coat, never once contemplating the way the somber colors would make him blend into the background of a rainy night. All four of Estet's premiere operatives had matching trench coats since Schuldich thought it made them look more threatening or somewhat ominous or just plain cool depending on what day you asked him about it. Yet tonight of all nights, that particular fashion decision was destined to have disastrous ramifications.

Meanwhile, as the other members of Schwarz were getting dressed, Crawford had finished adding notations to the document he'd been working on and rose to place it into the safe concealed in one wall. He had taken only a few steps across the office towards the bold Jackson Pollock original that hid the safe as well as provided the stark room with it's only splash of real color when he was overcome by a powerful vision of the near future. [1]

Stumbling due to the impact of a precognition that he was understandably shocked by, Crawford went down on one knee and grasped the edge of the coffee table which was in front of the couch hoping the solid surface would help him regain his suddenly reeling senses. It did precious little good, though, and within moments, he gave in to the inevitable and let himself settle onto both knees, eyes closed, as he tried to will his heartbeat to stop racing yet failed.

Desperate, Crawford reached out with his mind, seeking the only one he ever wanted to allow to see him in so badly weakened a state, asking, {{Schu? I need your help.}}

Baffled by the unexpected plea yet always ready to support the one he loved, Schuldich stopped trying to decide which boots to wear and replied, {{Sure, Brad. Where are you?}}

Crawford was breathing hard and still battling his blood pressure as he merely sent back an image of the office and a sense of urgency.

"Shit!" Schuldich swore aloud, worried since whatever was wrong had to be severe for Crawford to revert to nonverbal telepathic communication and this most likely pointed to a migraine-inducing vision as the culprit behind Crawford's plea for help. With a growl, he silently cursed Estet's commands which couldn't be ignored just because Schwarz's leader might not be in any condition to go out to a noisy club for the night.

Thanks to the fact that the office and the master bedroom were adjacent to one another, Schuldich was at the kneeling man's side almost immediately. Crouching next to Crawford, he placed steadying hands on broad shoulders and asked telepathically, {{Baby? Are you okay?}}

Raven black hair shifted ever so slightly as Crawford shook his head and replied, {{Help me up, Schu. I don't want the others to see me like this.}}

{{I'll be glad to,}} Schuldich assured, then assisted the taller man onto the leather couch where Crawford settled heavily before pulling off his glasses and rubbing at the pounding sides of his head while moaning very, very softly. Knowing what had happened without needing to be told, he sent worriedly before going to retrieve painkillers and water, {{Damn, baby, another vision? What was it this time?}}

Feeling a little stronger now that he wasn't on the floor and looking like a lost child, the precognitive replied, {{I don't think I can explain it. It makes no sense.}}

Shaking his head angrily over the fact that his lover suffered as badly as he did because of the "gifts" he had no choice but to bear, Schuldich returned to Crawford's side and handed him the things he'd gone to get and urged, {{Why not try me? I'm a good listener.}}

Dark brown eyes filled with a profound gratitude glanced up at caring green ones and even as he swallowed the medicine, Crawford admitted unhappily, {{It was Nagi again.}}

Moving to sit beside his lover and proceeding to massage Crawford's temples for him even if the door was wide open, Schuldich frowned and commented, {{That can't be good.}}

{{No, it isn't,}} Crawford agreed. He didn't bother to remind Schuldich they were flagrantly disregarding their bedroom only arrangements and that they needed to either relocate or cease as he asked, {{Schu? Have you ever seen him cry?}} [2]

"Say what?!" Schuldich spoke aloud in shock then apologized silently, {{Oh damn, sorry about that, Brad. Didn't mean to make your headache worse, but what're you talking about? I thought the doctors at Rosenkreuz said they thought he was physically incapable of crying.}}

{{They did. That's part of the reason this makes no sense,}} Crawford agreed with a pained sigh. {{Ever since I found him bedraggled, abused, and nearly starved to death as a child, I haven't seen Nagi cry even once. Throughout the pain and agony of his training, through the sorrow of his first cold-blooded killing, to the sheer hell he's suffered as a member of Schwarz, he hasn't shed a tear to my knowledge. But in the vision, he was crying like a baby and pleading with someone about something.}}

Horrified by what the American was telling him, Schuldich allowed his hands to still and he peered deeply into Crawford's eyes as he asked hesitantly, {{Crying *and* begging, Brad? Are you sure that was *our* Nagi you saw? Not some other kid who just looked like him? He's never done either of those things. It sounds impossible.}}

Brows drawing together as the intense pain of the vision swept through him again, Crawford shook his head and stated, {{I could only see his face, Schu, but I'm sure it was our Nagi and none other.}}

Deciding this was crucial enough to risk paying substantially for his efforts to help, Schuldich sent gently, {{Show me what you saw, Brad.}}

{{What?!}} Crawford sent back worriedly. The very few times they'd dared to share the often intense visions Crawford had spent the better part of a lifetime learning to handle, Schuldich usually found himself barely able to function afterwards. {{You can't be serious, Schu. We've got a mission tonight and you have to be there.}}

Taking a deep breath and then nodding, Schuldich replied, {{I know that, but unless we can figure this out at least a little, I don't want him to leave the penthouse. And I sure as *hell* don't want Nagi anywhere near that child-abusing asshole Glocksten if this is a vision of something that bastard is going to do to him!}}

"Oh, hell," Crawford muttered aloud without realizing it, "I never even thought of that."

With a scowl, Schuldich admitted, "I know you couldn't have known it, but what you just described is almost straight out of one of that filthy pig's fantasies, Brad. Now, please, share with me even a brief flash of what you saw. Maybe I can find something there you couldn't."

With a deep sigh, Crawford hesitantly agreed, saying, "All right. It was a short, incomplete precognition that I couldn't make out the words being said, and I will only give you a fraction of it, but you have to promise me to break the connection if it starts to overwhelm you, understand?"

Shifting on the couch so that his back was against his lover's strong chest and then leaning into it for the support he knew that he'd need, Schuldich acknowledged, "Absolutely." As he felt Crawford's arms moving to encircle him, he sent, {{I'm ready when you are, Brad.}}

Shaking his head and letting his eyes slip shut as he prepared to do something he knew would bring his partner pain even though he disliked hurting Schuldich for any reason other than what was required in the line of duty, Crawford replied, {{I'm never 'ready' to do this to you, Schu. But it does appear to be necessary.}}

{{Yes, it is,}} Schuldich replied gently, then commanded, {{Do it.}}

There were no additional words shared through their unique bond but instead there was a feeling of unity as they opened their minds far more fully than normal in preparation for the brief yet intense sharing.

As soon as the brief flash of the vision of Nagi face awash in tears and mouth working madly as he begged for something neither could understand since this was a visual image only without sound passed between them, Schuldich's body shuddered and then went limp.

"Schu?! Schuldich!" Crawford exclaimed, then shifted the inert form in his arms slightly to make sure that his lover had merely passed out as opposed to something far worse. Flame red hair cascaded over his arm as his partner just lay there unmoving for the longest minute and a half of his life.

Eventually, though, the German stirred slightly then brought a shaky hand to his forehead before moaning, "I think my head is going to explode."

With an apologetic smile on his lips, Crawford moved to massage Schuldich's temples knowing that always helped him deal with the post-vision pain as he said, "I am terribly sorry for that, love, truly I am."

Casting him a pained green gaze, Schuldich replied, "It's okay, baby. Like I said before, this was necessary." Red eyebrows needled together as he thought over the bizarre image he'd just experienced and he added, "I may have seen it, but I don't believe it, Brad. The very idea that Nagi could act like that still seems impossible."

"I know," Crawford replied sadly before asking, "but did you get a feeling for *why* he might do that, Schu? Without knowing more, we can't prevent this from coming to pass."

With an expression of extreme distaste, the telepath shook his head slightly and answered, "Not a fucking clue." Regretting the unwise motion since it aggravated the headache that had resulted from sharing the vision between them, he turned slightly and buried his face in Crawford's shoulder for a moment as he sent, {{But my money's on that bastard Glocksten being responsible in some fashion. If Estet wouldn't throw a hissy fit about us violating a direct order, I'd say we should leave Nagi out of anything else we have to do with that creep.}}

Heaving a tired, frustrated sigh, Crawford cradled Schuldich close for only a moment more, then helped him to sit back up so they didn't create quite the overly touching tableau while he replied, {{It's his duty to obey their commands as much as it is ours and we both know it.}} He scowled infinitesimally at the annoyed glare this earned him before continuing, {{However, we can certainly make it a point to keep him as far away from Glocksten as possible. Maybe we should even bring Farfarello into our confidence and see if he can help.}}

{{Not a good idea, I'm afraid,}} Schuldich commented as he reached for the painkillers he'd brought for Crawford and obtained a few tablets for himself. Taking them with some of the water left in the glass sitting nearby, he explained, {{He's off in that weird straight line and Euclidean geometry world of his at the moment. I can't make sense of what he's thinking when he's like this and it's anybody's guess how he might react if we tried to tell him we felt our 'client' was any kind of a threat to Nagi.}}

{{Good point,}} Crawford agreed. {{He'd be as likely to simply kill Glocksten outright than to just agree to intercede as needed. Well, in that case, it's just you and me, then, isn't it?}}

Placing the glass back onto the table and then rising so he could finish dressing for their night out, something that would definitely be far less enjoyable than it might have been under other circumstances, Schuldich replied sadly, {{Isn't it usually?}} Running a hand through his hair and trying to recapture his usual jaunty attitude and not succeeding, he added unhappily, {{It's been that way for years, Brad. Why should we expect it to change now?}}

Rising and accompanying his partner to their bedroom since his usual white Armani suit wasn't appropriate for the evening's endeavors, Crawford commented with a sigh that made him sound far older than his years, "I didn't really expect it to change, I merely dared to wish for it." He pushed the door closed with a click, then leaned against it, eyes closed as he added, "How incredibly foolish of me."

Schuldich flashed the precognitive a sad smile and tried to find the words to erase some of the sorrow that had etched a worried crease into Crawford's brow, yet was unsuccessful. Instead, he placed a hand warmly against his lover's face for a moment, wordlessly reassuring him that at least he wasn't alone.

Crawford lightly grasped the hand caressing his cheek then pressed a grateful kiss to its palm before pushing away from the door and silently going to change.

Shortly thereafter, four handsomely attired men left the confines of the Schwarz penthouse never once imagining that by the time any of them returned, things would be very, very different for their surrogate family. If only Crawford's visions were more complete, a tragedy in the making could have been avoided entirely, but this was always the way of things and they would have to cope as best they could just like everyone else does on a daily basis.

*****

To be continued.

Author's Notes:

[1] For anyone who doesn't recognize the artist of the painting in Crawford's office, Jackson Pollock was an American artist who was in the vanguard of the abstract impressionism movement in the US. He used intense colors and a previously unthinkable drip technique to create bold and moving pieces which I feel would appeal to our straightforward precognitive, a man who would have had to invest a princely sum to get an original, I might add.

[2] Even though it is certainly not canon to assume Nagi can't or won't cry in front of others, he is so non-emotional in the majority of the anime that I felt as if this would hopefully be an acceptable twist for him here.

[Posting Run Dedication] This evening's posting run is dedicated to a person who has been following my "Weiss Kreuz" angst epics almost from the very beginning, the one and only Nalan Li! This kind soul has left me reviews at ff.net, in email, on my LJ, and possibly even MM.org which I would check to confirm, but they're having problems at the moment. Always in favor of more angst even as they are also hoping for a positive outcome at the end, Nalan's tastes in fanfiction mirror my own quite nicely and it's a delight to get to give this dedication to someone as wonderful as he/she is.