Disclaimer: If I owned Weiss, I'd be a happy little fangirl. But I don't, so I'm reduced to moping in a corner.
AN: This is sort of a little halfway challenge from a muse. I think she forgot she challenged me, but it's been brewing in the back of my head, so I decided to see how it goes.
Warnings: Crawford has a potty mouth. Oh yeah, and there'sa little bitthat could possibly be considered Schuldig/Crawford if you like reading Shounen-ai intosubtexts. Also, please note I know nothing about Crawford except that he's American, a precog, and hardly my favorite character. If I got any facts wrong, please let me know and I'll correct them.
Brad Crawford sighed. How was he supposed to get any work done with Schuldig blaring his blasted German rock music so loudly? He considered for the billionth time getting his office walls soundproofed, but then he remembered how much it would cost. He refused to spend so much on an apartment Farfarello might blow up any day now. He took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose in an attempt to quell a headache before it began.
He glanced at his calendar. Today was the 17th, wasn't it? Why was it circled on his calendar? He racked his brain as he flipped through his planner. Takatori had a dinner tonight that he and the others would have to go to…but such occasions usually weren't notable enough to earn a circled date.
He pulled open a drawer on his desk to put his planner away, bust stopped when he spotted a framed picture of a happy family. He scoffed at the thought. 'Happy? Yeah right.' Still, he took the picture out of the drawer to examine it closer. There was a man with black hair and coffee colored eyes. Looking at the man, Crawford scowled. He hated how much he ended up resembling him. His face softened slightly as his gaze shifted to the woman. She had long, soft brown hair and bright lively green eyes. There, in front of the adults in the formal looking portrait, stood two children. There was a girl, no older then five with long soft black hair and the same blue eyes as the woman. Next to her was a twelve-year-old boy with black hair and coffee eyes, hidden behind neat wire frames. He sat the picture on his desk and continued to stare at it, although he allowed his thoughts to wander.
The first memory his mind came to was admittedly nothing special, but it always managed to make him happy.
He'd been studying diligently for AP exam in one of his classes. His father demanded he take all AP courses, and he was not allowed to score under perfect. There was a knock at his bedroom door, and the fourteen-year old sighed in annoyance.
"What is it?" He snapped.
The door opened, and his sister entered, balancing a plate of sandwiches, a bottle of juice, and two empty glasses in her small hands.
"You missed lunch, and it's passed dinner time…so I thought you might be hungry." She said as she began to set things up on his nightstand. "Daddy said not to bother you, but I wanted to make sure you ate something."
His stressed exterior melted away and he smiled at the little girl.
"Thank you, Maria."
He stood and started to help the girl fill both glasses. She pushed him softly.
"No. You go sit back down." She ordered. "I'll bring you your lunch."
"Did you make the sandwiches yourself?" He asked as she carried him the plate and one of the glasses.
"I sure did." She smiled. "Ham and Swiss for you, and Turkey and Cheddar for me."
He took a bite, and laughed. "You'll make a good wife someday. If I ever let you get married." He teased.
Maria made a sour face. "Boys are stupid." She said. "Except you…you're not stupid."
She beamed up at him, and he returned her smile as they ate in silence. He was about to take a drink of his fruit juice when he stopped, a sudden, familiar pain tearing through his head. He gave a small grunt as he sat down his sandwich and put a hand to his head.
"Brad…are you ok?" Maria asked, concerned. She moved to her brother's side, and put a hand on his arm.
"I'm fine." He lied, forcing a smile.
"Was it…a vision…?" She asked softly, barely audible.
Brad's eyes darted for his bedroom door. It was closed, so it was safe to assume his father wouldn't hear.
"Yes." He answered, almost as quietly.
There was an awkward pause between the two siblings.
"What did you see?"
He sighed. "I'm not really sure…" He began. He stood, and moved to sit on his bed by his sister. "Just promise me…if any strangers come near us you'll run as far away as you can. Do you understand?"
Maria looked at him for a moment before throwing her arms around his waist and burying her head in his side. "I promise." She leaned back. "But only if you make a promise to me."
"What, Maria?"
"Don't leave…ever…" She instructed. "Don't leave like Momma did."
"I promise I'll never leave you."
Brad sat at one end of the long dining room table with his nine-year-old sister. Their father was at the other, surrounded by paperwork, and arguing with a business associate over the phone. Neither child spoke, fearing their father's wrath if they were to 'interrupt' his 'business discussion.' It was nothing new to them, they ate like this every night their father was home. The only time they carried on any sort of dinner conversation was when He had to work late and they ate by themselves.
The monotony of the situation was broken when someone rang the front doorbell.
"Don't people have the decency to wait until after dinner?" Their father asked annoyed. "Maria, go see who it is, and tell them to go away."
Maria nodded, and stood silently, leaving the dining room. When she didn't return after a moment, Brad was sent to see what took so long. He froze as he entered the front hallway. Three men stood in completely black suits.
"I'm sorry, sirs, but—" Maria had been saying to them, but Brad cut her off.
"Maria, come here now!" He ordered. She complied, retreating behind her brother.
"I see you know us, Bradley Crawford, Jr." One of the men said.
"Then you probably also know it would be best if you come without complaint." Another stated.
"We'd hate for someone to get hurt." The third finished, his eyes fixed on Maria.
"What in the hell is going on here?" Their father's voice boomed as he made his way towards them.
"Your son has a gift." One man replied patiently. "We're going to make sure he is properly trained in using it."
"You're out of your mind." Crawford Sr. replied. "There's nothing special about Bradley."
"He has precognitive abilities…or have you forgotten?" Another replied with an arched eyebrow.
"He used to ramble about seeing visions, but he hasn't in years." The stubborn man replied.
"No…" Maria said quietly. "He quit telling you about them because you didn't believe him. He had a vision this morning about three foreigners."
"I thought if I ignored it, this nonsense would stop." His eyes narrowed dangerously on his son. "Apparently I was wrong. Once a freak, always a freak." His gaze shifted back to the three men in suits. "Take him. He's no longer of any use to me."
And as quickly as he had entered the room, he was gone again.
"No…Brad…don't leave..." Maria pleaded, holding onto her brother's arm closely.
"Come on, boy." One of the men ordered. "Say goodbye to the girl so we can be on our way."
"If I go with them quietly…you'll be safe." Brad said as he hugged his sister. "That's all that matters."
He released her, pulling himself free from her grasp as he moved to follow the men out. She just stood there, tear forming in her eyes.
'So far so good…' He thought, remembering the hazy vision he'd had two years earlier. 'Maybe it won't come true.'
"Brad!" Maria exclaimed suddenly. She rushed forward and tried to shove her way through the men to her brother. "I want to come with you."
"You can't girl, now stay put!" One man exclaimed as an invisible force slammed the small girl into the wall. She slumped to the ground, not moving or speaking.
"Maria!" Brad exclaimed, but the same invisible force held him in place.
"She's still alive, but if you want her to stay that way you'll come on."
Brad felt his invisible restraints vanish, and nodded sadly to the men. As he filed out the door, he reached over and grabbed a family picture off a small shelf on the wall.
That was the day he joined Esset. He left his moderate home in California, and was taken to a training facility in Germany.
In the short span of a year, he had almost completely mastered his power. The headaches that had accompanied his visions for seventeen years were gone. He was also now able to focus better, resulting in visions that were no longer as foggy. He could also distinguish important scenes from those that he need not waste his time on. He also had visions more often.
He found himself missing his father's strict study schedule. Compared to what Esset put him through, that had been a walk in the park. He was still studying all of the things he had back home, but they impressed German on him as well. After only six months he was expected to speak nothing but German, except in private conversation. They forced other languages on him as well, but German and Japanese were the two they stressed the most.
Over the course of that year, he met one of the foreigners that he'd seen the day he left. He was a German, barely thirteen, with unusually strong telepathic abilities. He was instructed to keep an eye on the boy, and help him through his training. He felt bad for the boy, who went by 'Schuldig'. Brad wasn't sure if that was his given name or one he imposed on himself, and honestly, he didn't care. The only name he held any sort of preferences toward was his own. He decided the day his father turned his back on his only son, he would turn his back on his father. He was quick to correct anyone that called him "Bradley" as his father had called him, that it was "Crawford, or else."
He sat at the small table in the room he now shared with Schuldig, both working on their 'homework'. Suddenly, Crawford found himself thinking of Maria.
"Who is she?" Schuldig asked slowly in English, the language they were force-feeding him. "She's pretty…"
The older boy scoffed slightly. "Her name's Maria." He stated. He planned to drop the subject there, but couldn't seem to. "She's my little sister."
"How long has it been?"
"A little over a year, I guess." He shrugged, trying to seem unfazed by the topic of their discussion.
"Do you miss her?"
"You're being nosey…" Crawford replied, picking his pen back up in order to continue his work.
"Why don't you call her?" Schuldig pressed the matter. He had a mischievous smirk that suggested trouble. "I'll help. We'll go to one of the offices, and I'll…suggest…they let you use the phone."
Crawford looked from his work to the boy in front of him. "It would never work. We'd never get away with it."
"Hello, Crawford Residence." A voice on the other end of the line spoke.
"Maria, is that you?"
"Brad?" The girl asked excitedly. "Oh Brad, I've missed you so much!"
"I've missed you too." He couldn't help but smile. "Are you doing alright?"
"I had to have n operation after those men left." She said slowly, as if debating if she should mention it. "I hit my head hard…it detached my retinas."
"Is everything ok now?"
"I suppose…" She replied. "I can't see anymore…but I've learned to read Braille, and I've got a seeing eye dog…his name is Rocky."
He could hear how happy she sounded, despite what she said. Yet, it couldn't help but feel guilty…it was all his fault his sister could no longer see. "Anything else new?"
"Father had me transferred to a magnet school. I'm in all AP courses, like you used to be."
"That bastard. He lost me, so he's recruiting you to run his damn company."
"It's alright…it's a lot of hard work…but I'm doing well, really."
Both were silent for a moment, then Maria heard someone talking excitedly in what sounded like German.
"I have to go." He said. "I'll try and call you again sometime."
"Alright." She paused. "Will you be coming home soon?"
"I…I don't know…" He sighed. "I've got to go."
"I love you, Brad." The ten-year-old ventured.
"I love you too Maria."
The beating he received was a small price to pay to hear his sister's voice again. He had considered taking the full blame for it, but Schuldig refused.
'They'd find out the truth anyway…' He'd said
By the time he'd gotten the chance to call her again, he'd worked his way up the ranks of Esset. He'd learned to play the game, negotiate like a pro, and blackmail in order to gain what he wanted when negotiation failed. He'd earned the right to make such long distance calls. He hated the fact that he was slowly turning into the shrewd businessman his father had always wanted him to be, he could deal with anything as long as he could talk to his sister.
This time, she talked excitedly about high school. 'Has it been that long already?' He wondered. She also asked about the German boy she'd heard talking before. She went on about how she was glad he'd made friends.
"How is…Father…?" He finally brought himself to ask. It was more out of morbid curiosity then any real concern.
"He's been sick lately…" She replied. "He had a heart attack last summer…too much stress from work. But he refuses to quit working until I'm old enough to take over the business."
"Do you want to?"
"Not really…" She admitted. "I want to write fantasy novels…but someone has to run it after he's gone."
They didn't talk much longer after that, but the end of their conversation seemed oddly familiar.
"I have to go." He said.
"Will you be coming home soon?"
"I…I don't know…" He sighed. "I'll try and call you again sometime soon, ok?"
"I love you, Brad." The now fourteen-year-old said, smiling through the phone
"I love you too Maria."
And so their ritual continued. Before long he was calling her twice a year instead of once every few years. He kept her updated on his life, well, as much as he could at least. He told her when he got a new teammate. First it was an Irish boy only sixteen-years-old, and soon after, a Japanese boy, just eleven-years-old. He was even able to send her gifts in the mail after a while.
He called her right after the four of them moved to Japan. He wanted to congratulate her on graduating, but the conversation quickly took a different path.
"How's everything going?"
"Father died." She said softly. "The service is tomorrow. They're going to bury him next to Momma."
"What about you?"
"I'm holding up fine, really."
"No…where will you live?" He was more worried that his sister would not be taken care of then anything else.
"I've got an apartment close to the office…" She paused. "Don't worry, I've got Heidi here…I'm safe."
He searched his mind, trying to remember who Heidi was. Then it hit him, her new seeing eye dog. Rocky had passed away a little over a year ago.
"You're welcomed to come stay here if you want." He offered. "You could sign the company over to someone else."
"This is how Father would want me to handle things." She replied, sounding a bit sad.
This time it was Maria who ended the conversation.
"I'd better go…I've got an early meeting tomorrow."
"Alright, I'll call you later. I love you Maria."
"I love you too Brad."
Crawford was pulled out of his thought by the sudden sound of a telephone ringing.
"I'll get it!" Nagi and Schuldig announced simultaneously. Both could be heard bolting for the telephone in the kitchen.
He shook his head. It was either Tot, or one of Schuldig's would-be girlfriends. He glanced back over at the calendar, still unsure of what was so special about today. He was distracted once more. This time by the sound of a steady rapping noise on his office door. It opened and Schuldig poked his head through.
"Oi, Bradykins…it's for you." He said in a sing-song voice, tossing the precog the cordless phone.
"Hello?" Crawford asked, shooting Schuldig the best glare he could manage.
"Bradykins?" A voice asked with a laugh.
"Maria?" He asked, surprised, silently motioning for Schuldig to take his leave. The German shrugged and complied. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you…"
"Well, why wouldn't I call?" She asked.
"Why would you?" He retorted.
"I didn't plan on letting my big brother's birthday slip by unnoticed." She replied. "It's not everyday you turn 27 after all."
Brad was silent. So that's why today's date was circled.
"Don't tell me you forgot your own birthday…" Maria said, laughing again.
Three other voices joined in her laughing before a slightly off-key rendition of 'Happy Birthday' was started.
"You three had better hang up…or else…" He threatened, glaring hard enough that his teammates could feel it through the phone.
A steady snickering was heard from Nagi while Schuldig said something along the lines of "A very grumpy birthday boy needs his spanking." And Farfarello made the comment "Speaker phones hurt God." A clicking noise was then heard.
"Sure you still want me to move there?" She asked.
"Yes…if nothing else, to spare my sanity."
She laughed. "I love you Brad."
"I love you too, Maria."
AN: And there you have the longest one-shot I've ever written. Not bad considering I didn't want to write it at first. I'm thinking about writing fics covering Nagi and Schuldig's pasts. I'm also considering using Maria for another Schwarz-centered fic. Anyhoo, let me know what you guys think of my twisted version of a past for everyone's favorite stick-up-butt precog.
Also, a brief explinationanyone not familiar with AP classes. They're more or less high school classes that can count as college credit. The material's harder, and at the end of the year you take a test. Depending on the score you make, you can count that class as a college class.