Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ New Rules, New Ruler ❯ Chapter 7

Part Seven

Brad woke, not sure of what had woken him. He shifted slightly, still not used to the large bed, and Schuldig's warm form beside him. Suddenly he found himself face down on the floor, his arm twisted behind his back.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my bed?" Schuldig yelled in German.

Brad squirmed, but the German was heavier and stronger than he was. "Schuldig," he breathed, the wind having been knocked out of him by the sharp fall from the bed to the wooden floor. "Schuldig, no."

"Schulderich!?! And what am I guilty of?" Brad thought his arm would break.

He thought hard. He thought about Schuldig as he knew him. He thought about the sadistic man who killed for bed and board. He thought about the vulnerable telepath who lost himself in other people. He thought about the lithe young man who had won his heart with every facet of his personality.

Suddenly the pressure on his arm relaxed. He felt Schuldig's body press against his, and red hair dangled in front of his eyes. He heard the muted sobs, Schuldig's face buried between his shoulder blades. He rolled over, slowly, so that Schuldig was lying on top of him. Stroking the fine hair and making soothing noises he comforted his lover.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Schuldig murmured.

"I know. It's ok. I should have known better than to wake a sleeping assassin."

"It was unintentional," Schuldig picked up from his mind, and scowled. "Don't try and take the blame for something I'm guilty of. I tried to hurt you."

"You were scared. You didn't really know who or where you were, and you had no idea who I was or why I was there. But you're okay now." Brad sat up carefully, not dislodging the younger man form his lap.

"So are you," Schuldig admitted grudgingly. They climbed back onto the bed together and Schuldig let Brad take him in his arms and rest his head against Schuldig's back, burying his nose in the younger man's hair.

A slight creak alerted them to Nagi's presence in the hall outside. Brad sat up a little, a saw a single Indigo eye staring nervously around the door at them.

"You can come in," he told the boy. Nagi sidled through the open door, closing it behind him and pressing his back against it.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Uh, nothing." Nagi made to sidle out again, but Schuldig held up a hand.

"Nagi, what are you doing wandering around at this time of night anyway?" Brad asked.

"I, I couldn't sleep. I didn't mean to disturb you. I'll go back to bed now." He handle began to turn of its own accord, Nagi's hands still clutched together in front of him.

"Something's wrong. Tell me what's wrong!" Schuldig demanded suddenly, sitting bolt upright. Nagi flinched backwards. Suddenly he gave a soft cry and dropped to his knees, hands over his ears.

"Stop, Schuldig, stop!" Brad shouted over Nagi's gentle moans. Schuldig paled and lay back.

"I'm so sorry," he whimpered, "I'm so sorry, Nagi. I, I was clumsy. I hurt you. I'm sorry!"

"That's… okay," Nagi mumbled.

"Come here," Brad said. Nagi obeyed. "What's wrong?" Nagi looked away, standing at the foot of the bed.

"He had a nightmare," Schuldig supplied. "About before. Nagi, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pried. Are you going to be okay?"

"Ye-es, I think so. My head hurts a little, and I'm kinda confused. It's all jumbled. You disordered my nice neat mind!" he accused Schuldig, who looked as confused as Nagi felt.

"Come here," Brad said again. Nagi climbed onto the bed, sitting at the end.

"Nagi, come and curl up between us. It'll help you calm down. It was a horrid nightmare," Schuldig said. Brad frowned with concern at Schuldig's language. It was rather young, even for him. "When you have a nightmare, you come and sleep for a bit in your parents bed and it's comforting and warm and gets rid of the nightmares and helps you sleep." Now Nagi was giving Schuldig odd looks as well, but it seemed that he had been thinking somewhat along the same lines as the older man, judging by his appearance at their door.

Schuldig drew the youth into his arms and hugged him tightly. He sank down under the deep duvet cover, pulling Nagi with him. Brad sighed and lay back as well, curling one arm around both Nagi and Schuldig. He could feel Nagi's breath against his chest, and saw the worried pair of deep blue eyes stare into his own. He couldn't see much without his glasses, but he could see fear.

* * *

Poppop-poppop-pop-pop-pop, poppop-poppop-pop-pop-pop, poppop-poppop-poppop-poppop-poppop-poppoppop-pop-pop. Schuldig blinked sleepily across as his partner. He wished he would stop thinking. Dumde dumde dumde dum, dumde dumde dumd edum, dumde dumde dumde dumde dumde dumde dum…

"Shut up!" Schuldig growled. Brad gave him a startled look. "You have had the opening to Hot Butter's Popcorn going through your head for almost an hour! Think of something else!"

"I'm trying," he snarled back.

"Think of something else," Schuldig snapped. His memories from last night were returning, prompted by the small body curled up between them. Nagi was still fast asleep.

"Schuldig, last night…"

"See, and here I was trying not to think about it." Schuldig reached around Nagi's body to catch one of Brad's wrists. "How bad was I?"

"You forgot who I was-"

"Not that bit! I remember trying to kill you. I wish I didn't. I hurt Nagi, didn't I? I was clumsy. And then I frightened him by insisting he got into the bed with us." Schuldig wallowed in self-pity.

"He was also grateful, you know. He was frightened, and it was what he wanted. It's you I'm more worried about. You, you `regressed'."

"No I didn't. I just retreated." Schuldig pulled Brad's arm over so that he was caressing his cheek. Brad stroked tendrils of hair away from the jade eyes. "I was scared. And he was scared. And I remembered when I was little, when I was less scared most of the time, that if I had a nightmare it always made it better when my parents let my curl up with them for a little while."

"You're scared most of the time?" concern tinged Brad's voice, and Schuldig was touched.

"Sometimes. At the moment, when I start to let go. Especially when I wake up suddenly, or get a shock, I start slipping. I don't like the shields they forced up back in Germany. I'm cut off from bits of myself." Brad had suspected that, and it worried him. "I think, I think that's why I keep retreating to my early memories. Not all of them are there any more. Bradley, I think they wanted to wipe my memory!"

"It's okay," Brad soothed. "It's going to be fine. You were always resistant to that sort of thing. You just work on getting some of your own shields back up, then dismantle theirs. Don't try doing both at once, whatever you do." Again, Brad's concern warmed Schuldig's heart.

"I know. I know I'm going to be fine. I don't like what they've done, especially when I can't hear anyone in my head but myself, but I'm fine. I'm just worried how every one else is taking this."

"Your erratic sanity? They're coping." Brad grinned and slid one finger across Schuldig's lips. Schuldig caught it in his mouth and sucked. Brad groaned. Schuldig moved to shift closer to Brad, but a moan from Nagi stopped him short. He'd forgotten the chibi was still in their bed.

He gave Brad a strained look. "I want to…"

"So do I," Brad wrapped his hand behind Schuldig's neck.

"So what do we do?" Schuldig had dropped his voice to a self-conscious whisper.

"Well, we could get up-"

"No, try again."

"We could make Nagi get up-"

"Yes, let's do that!" Schuldig prodded the boy awake. Nagi blinked sleepily at the older assassins. "We want to have sex. Go away."

Nagi flushed and scrambled out of the bed. "Nagi, it's your first day at your new school today," Brad reminded him. "Go and get ready. One of us will give you a lift in."

"I will. Flash red sports car will do considerably better for first impressions than dull black BMW. You've got an image to think of."

"What, introverted computer geek with no friends?" Nagi asked bitterly, before stalking out of the door.

"He really wants home schooling," Brad sighed. "But I honestly don't believe either of us could provide it. Or Farferello."

"Why you talk? Why you not hump me?" Schuldig chuckled, pulling Brad to him by the waistband of his boxers.

"Why indeed?"