("Welcome to the real world, Ea~! Do you want a glass of tea? Or maybe some chocolate biscuits? I've prepared all of it for you, Ea~!")
The mute, shorthaired servant opened the door in front of him. She took the little boy beside him away after bowing her head, leaving him alone there just as usual. He walked in with hands in the pocket, went to ascend the stair and took a rest in his bedroom until the dinnertime came.
("Nee, don't you think you need some rest now? I realize that we're dead already, but you looked paler than usual… Do you eat properly everyday, Ea?")
He stopped at the middle of the staircase. Even though he knew that he couldn't see anything anymore, he still waved his hands in front of his face—making Teito, who was unintentionally passed by, had to restrain his laughter when he saw that.
"I know that you're down there, brat. If you dare to laugh, I'll not hesitate to kill you now."
Teito ran away immediately after that.
Oo—O—oO
Welcome Home
Oo—O—oO
Genre: Hurt/Comfort – Friendship
Rate: T
Warning(s): oneshot, grammar mistakes, hints shonen ai everywhere. Didn't dare to put fluffy warning here, though.
Disclaimer: 07 Ghost belongs to Yuki Amemiya and Ichihara Yukino.
Oo—O—oO
I know it's hard to remember
the people we used to be.
It's even harder to picture
that you're not here next to me.
[Payphone © Maroon 5 ft. Wiz Khalifa]
Oo—O—oO
When he laid himself on the bed with eyes closed behind the white bandage, he remembered such things from his past; a woman's gentle voice that greeted him, a cheerful voice which always he heard whenever he came out from his 'habitat', and even scent of tea that the hooded guy made every time they met in the afternoon. He remembered it all clearly.
And of course, those include that guy's betrayal too.
"Karu?"
He didn't need to guess who the uninvited guest was; there's only one kid who live in this mansion.
"What?"
"The dinner is ready. Aren't you going to eat now?"
"…I'll skip it tonight."
"But—"
The tall man became a bit annoyed. Didn't that kid already heard what he wanted to know? "What now?"
"…just wanna say that Kurena cook your favorite food tonight. But since you've decided to skip it, I think I'll ask Kurena to eat it with me…"
Karu huffed. "Go ahead, then. I can cook by myself, anyway."
Teito pouted—a rare sight to be seen whenever he was with Karu. "So mean. Kurena had cooked it, and yet you said that you don't want it. Don't you ever think about her feeling?"
"Should I care?"
"I hate mean people."
"Once again: Should. I. Care?"
"Mean people will not be happy, you know?"
("Quit being so mean to me! I know that you feel lonely, but you don't need to act like that! If you keep acting like that, you're not different with those who you despised with! Beside, nobody will be happy when they're all mean like you!")
Teito had thought that Karu would shout at him to go away or hit him with anything hard around him, but the wide-eyed boy didn't even dare to think that the tall man would cover his ears with pillows only when he said that.
/Karu? Acting childish?/ His eyes widened frightfully.
"Go away. I don't want to eat now—I really feel sleepy."
This time, Teito jawsdropped while mentally thinking, /World is going to end soon./
#
"E-a~!"
The said Ghost mentally headbanging his head when he heard that loud, cheerful voice. He fastened his step to the library, ready to avoid meeting the hooded Ghost who was not too far behind him. Luckily—or unluckily?—there's nobody at the corridor now, so he didn't need to worry if his identity as Ea would be revealed.
Not that he cared, actually. He could erase human memories as much as he wanted to.
"Ea~! Don't run away! I've brought something for you~!"
Still, that childish and much to cheerful voice made him shivered.
"Come on, don't be shy! And I'm not a pervert-uncle like Zehel, you know! I'll not 'eat' you instead of eating these sweet, delicious chocolate and cheese flavored biscuits!"
Ea almost stopped on his journey when he heard the last one. It's his favorite chocolate and cheese biscuits! He wanted to eat them immediately so no one—including Profe, Vertrag, or even Landkarte himself—could steal them like what was happened the last time Landkarte brought it to the Church, but he didn't want to meet Landkarte now!
WAAAH! Ea's in dilemma now!
"I bet you haven't eat anything yet since coming out from the Book of Hades, Ea~!"
After the older Ghost said that, Ea—scratch, they—could hear his own stomach growled in hunger.
Landkarte smiled victoriously, Ea facepalmed; his pride has been horribly degraded in that beautiful spring afternoon.
.
.
"Delicious, aren't they?"
Ea could say nothing to answer that. He had to fill his mouth with those damned—yet very delicious—biscuits to cover his the shameful feeling he felt. If he didn't drink his tea with both of his hands blocking Landkarte's view from his cheek, maybe the older Ghost could see the cute and rare blush that appeared there. And he had to admit too that Landkarte's being too generous this time; he brought everything he liked the most to fill his empty stomach, yet the hooded teen didn't bring anything for himself.
"…don't you want to eat them too, Landkarte?" Landkarte smiled happily when he heard that question, but shook his head later. "Thank for offering it, but no—you need it more than me. You've missed breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a week or even more than that; I could get them easily by teleporting myself to the nearest restaurant," he answered simply, and then drink his own tea.
Yep. This was definitely Landkarte—nobody could even be more silly and generous enough to share everything with him without getting anything for his own self.
"Besides, I want to see you without that annoying stoic mask of yours too."
"This isn't a mask, you know?" Ea said, pointing at his own stoic face. Landkarte almost burst out laughing when he saw that, but chose to throw that intention away so Ea wouldn't mad at him again. "Well, a bit correction for my last statement; not that annoying, stoic mask of yours. Change it to that 'annoying, meanie mask' of yours then."
That one struck Ea right on his head.
"Just like what I've said the last time before you enter the Book of Hades; quit acting like a meanie even though you don't intend to do it. Covering the lonely feeling you got with that behavior only make you lonelier than before." He took a sip of his tea, ignoring the imaginary arrows that struck Ea's head. "You can express your feeling freely now. Nobody would forbid it—not even me, or Profe, or maybe Relikt. This isn't the fortress where you can only watch the love-and-hate-drama played in front of you, Ea."
"…I know."
"The orphans feel the same with me, you know? They said it to Vertrag and Fest when you're working in the Book of Hades."
One more arrow struck Ea's head. "…that I don't know."
"And they asked you—via me, Vertrag, and Fest—to be the Snow White for the hanami next week."
"Even though I don't know about that one, I'm sure that you're lying, you jerk!"
Now Landkarte could laugh freely; Ea's expression was priceless.
Huffed slightly, Ea continued his super-sacred task: eating the biscuits until there're none of them left behind. The tea that Landkarte made for him was tasty too—he even wondered how a hyperactive guy like Landkarte could make a tasty one like this. "You do know that I prefer reading to acting on the stage, don't you?"
Without giving him any answer, Landkarte just smiled calmly.
A smile that said, 'I know every single thing of you better than anyone else in this world' silently.
Other people might find that creepy; having someone knew everything about you usually made everyone shivered. But Ea was different—he didn't find it creepy or scary. He even hid his happiness very well beneath the stoic mask he wore every time. For him, having someone that really knew what did you feel or how your mind work really made him happy.
"…thank you for the food and tea, Landkarte."
"My pleasure, then. Just ask me if you want them more—and don't try to say that you don't want more of them. Your eyes tell me what's really in your mind, so I can know whether you're lying or not."
…except for this part, for sure.
.
.
It was another beautiful spring afternoon.
He walked around the Church with some snacks in his hands, bowing his head slightly so that no one could see the annoying blush on his cheek. His eyes were searching for a hooded-teen in light-colored robe that was usually playing with the Orphans at time like this.
"Afternoon, Ea."
Ea almost jumped in surprise when he heard Vertrag's voice. He hid the snacks behind his back, and surprised again when he saw the Child who was hiding behind the blond man. "Who is he?"
"Ah, this is 'Teito'." The boy took a peek slightly before hiding behind the man's leg again. Even though he just saw it for a moment, he was sure that the child had the widest eyes that a boy could have. A pair of wide, green eyes that reminded him of someone even though it's in different degree of brightness. "Come and greet him now, Teito."
The boy shook his head softly.
"Teito…"
"I won't."
Vertrag and Ea blinked when the boy pointed something—or someone—that was far behind Ea's back. "He'll mad at me for sure if I introduce myself to this Onii-chan," Teito said innocently and softly, still hiding behind the Father's white robe and puffed his cheek. "I don't want to make anyone angry and get scolded, Father."
The two Ghosts looked to the place that Teito pointed at, and sweatdropped immediately when he saw Landkarte was smiling widely with gloomy aura looming behind him and making the other Orphans hiding frightfully behind Fest and Relikt's back.
/Yandere-Landkarte mode has been turned on,/ The Bishops thought at the same time, while Ea just facepalming on his spot.
.
"Glaring at an innocent child isn't something good, you know."
"Don't care about that," Landkarte replied calmly, and munching on some biscuits that Ea gave him that afternoon. "Waaah! Yummy! Where did you get this one, Ea? I thought you'll not get out from your nest forever!"
Twitch. "I'm not a snake, you know?"
Landkarte just smiled childishly and continued munching on the biscuits.
"And why did you suddenly become like that? You like children so much, aren't you?"
"Hmm… I do like them, since they're so pure and cute and funny to play with. But about that Teito kid… I just don't like the way Vertrag introduced him to you."
Ea almost facepalmed when he heard it. "So, simply put it, you're just—"
"—jealous?"
"…I don't want to say it."
"Maybe I am."
"Jerk."
"Not a new nickname—oh, and why did you suddenly give me these, Ea?" He asked suddenly, pointing at the biscuits on his lap. Ea didn't answer. He just silently looking at the other place, didn't dare to face the Extinguishing Spirit and show him the blush on his cheek. "Ea~? Are you mad at me? Do you want me to apologize at Teito-kun?"
/It's not what I want, moron./
"Nee, Ea?"
"…it's nothing. I'm going now; there's many things I haven't finished last week."
"EEH?! You're going to shut yourself inside that Book again?"
"So what?"
Landkarte pouted. "Quit being so mean to me! I know that you feel lonely, but you don't need to act like that! If you keep acting like that, you're not different with those who you despised with! Beside, nobody will be happy when they're all mean like you!"
Again, there's arrow that struck Ea right on his head.
"Accompany me to enjoy the sunset today, will you?"
"Why should I?"
"Don't you consider me as your friend?" Landkarte stared at him with his trademark puppy eyes, and Ea almost fell on the trap that time—there's no way he would say his true intention of giving Landkarte those snack. Not like he'd be ashamed of that, anyway… "If you really consider me like that, let's go enjoy the sunset later! You've never see it by your own eyes, haven't you?"
Another arrow struck Ea's head.
"Or just consider it as a 'welcoming' gift for me who've just arrived at the Church this morning, okay?"
Sigh. Ea thought he just got another new nickname for the teen beside him now.
"Landkarte."
"Yes~?"
"Have I said that you're the number one person that I can't deal with?"
"Um… you have."
"And have I said that you're the most irresistible person I've met in my life?"
This time, Landkarte smiled widely. "Nope! And thank you for that, Ea~!"
Ea could just wished that Landkarte would stop smiling now mentally; his cheek was in danger of being burnt, didn't he realized it?
#
He couldn't sleep.
Even though his eyes felt heavy, he still couldn't sleep—remembering those time where Landkarte always beside him and greet him every time he came out from the Book of Hades made him restless.
He missed those times.
So much until he regretted being born in Barsburg Family, not Oak family.
If he were Relikt, he could came to the past again and felt the warmth that was gone when Landkarte betrayed them all, couldn't he?
"You jerk…" He muttered softly, then hug the pillow he used to cover his ears back then tightly. "I wish I could see you now… I do feel annoyed whenever I hear your childish laugh or comments; I felt furious too when you hid the Book in the Church's fountain even if your intention was to make me eat properly. But now… when I can't see you or hear your voice…" What's wrong with him? Saying those thought out loud and acting like this… It's not the usual him, he realized that.
But still…
"…I'm sure that you'll laugh instantly if I say that I miss you so much—won't you?"
Slowly after that, he fell asleep—and wandering unconsciously in his dream, walking around the Church's garden with snacks in his hands to find the one he couldn't deal the most and gave them to him.
.
Behind the door that connecting his bedroom with the hallway, Teito could just wondering in his mind about 'why did Karu acted like a broken-hearted girl suddenly'.
.
.
"Karu?"
"What?"
"Do you talk in your sleep?"
Karu and Kurena frowned suddenly. "No, of course. Why do you ask that suddenly?"
"Um, last night I was in my way to go to the kitchen to drink something, and when I passed your bedroom—"
"—did you heard what I said that time?"
"…yes?"
"Have you told anyone about it?"
"…no."
"Good boy—if you ever dare to speak about it again, make sure you've been prepared for the worst."
"…okay. I'll not do it, then." Died in Karu's hand wasn't something that Teito ever wanted ever since he met with this man, anyway.
Teito shivered when Karu's bigger hand patted his head with a creepy smile on the lower of his bandaged face, while Kurena just stared at them with question mark growing bigger in her mind.
.
.
The end.