Disclaimer: Dun own, so dun sue.
Spoiler(s): 'Round Ep 10 of R2?
Character(s): Schneizel el Britannia & Odysseus u Britannia
Yo. Hisashiburi da na... (It's been a while, huh.)
Right now, I'm entertaining another universe altogether: the world of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. About the relationship of a pair of brothers that had been haunting my mind ever since Episode 10 of R2. Hell, maybe ever since the appearance of the First Prince near the end of the first season.
This is my version on how Schneizel met Odysseus for the first time. I'm only guessing Odysseus' age and that they may be half-brothers. I thought it was a bit strange, considering that Schneizel as the younger brother was very successful as the Prime Minister, but didn't kill off the non-achieving Crown Prince to ensure concrete rights to the throne. So, it thought, 'Hey, there might be a reason behind this and everything.' So that's what this fic was based on.
This is a fruit of my boredom (all work and no play makes me go gaga) and frustration (why is there not a single fic out there bout gentle ol' Odysseus f.ck dammiiiiiit!!). Took me a good 10-hour of typing and self-proofing (and lunch and snoozing and dinner and reproofing) for it to be as it is. My second oneshot on a veeeery long time, with the first one still incomplete after two months. More or less like my ol' Trigun fic, 'Of Book, Spiders and Butterflies' where the protagonist is reminiscing about his past and sh;t. Un-beta-ed, coz I dun think anyone would take interest in this oneshot.
Bdw, it depends on the reader on how this fic is to be perceived as. Feel free to comment and flame. Constructive criticism is very much encouraged.
... 'Gentleness' should be a good title, no? (not giving much thought on this...)
--
Gentleness
--
"Are you alright?"
Schneizel blinked open his eyes, realizing that he unintentionally dozed off on front of his mounting paperwork. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he leaned backwards into his leather seat, hand still on his eyes.
"...ah, you seem fine, just a little scratch there. Here..."
His kind voice rang in his ears even out of his dreams. Louder, nearer, clearer...
"Let me make it all better..."
Straight from his deepest memories; of his first meeting with him.
The feeling of his soft lips on the skin of his knee sent shivers to his spine. Those eyes the tone of grayish azure fluttered from his slight injury to his own eyes, honest and kind, so unworldly so in the era of dictatorship and constant treachery. His smile proved to be the most beautiful he has witnessed in his nine years of living.
His right hand still on his eyes, keeping his eyes closed, wanting to recall that moment, his other hand raised out, as if to grasp on something that was not there. Something important, something dear, something unattainable; the one thing that was the driving force of his life, one of the reasons to his uncountable conquests and accomplishments.
"Does it still hurt, dear brother of mine, Schneizel-kun?"
Schneizel licked his lips, before saying those beautiful syllables, because his name deserves to be uttered only in the most respectable way.
He has finally found his angel...
"Odysseus..."
--
At the age of nine years old, it was the Second Prince's first time to step into the living court of the First Queen, on the royal order of his father. The reason was to 'be of acquaintance with the rest of the family.'
Schneizel almost snorted at this thought; swallowed it just in time as he reminded himself of his regal standing.
Dressed in white silk shirt and black short summer pants, with a loose light blue ribbon-tie loosely fixed and eyes as cold as winter, the young prince quietly taken his steps deeper and deeper into the enormous gardens behind the living quarters of his stepmother.
As he was walking calmly through the gardens, his mind was reeling over on the reason of his father sending him there. He could not understand; his father, a man who didn't even want to 'be of acquaintance' with him or his mother for the last seven months, would like for him to meet and befriend some estranged people of half his blood? Of those he had never met before? How could he trust them, now that he was vulnerable without his personal guards shielding him from any attempts of assassination? Countless of time has he heard and witnessed homicide of the members of the royal family, with even a couple of those assassination attempts on him almost succeeded, if not for his vassals having sacrificed themselves in the process to save his life.
In this world of dictatorship and constant treachery, he could not trust anyone, even his own father, even his own family, even those claimed to be his friends.
'The world is full of lies,' as his father has repeatedly declared over and over again. As the child of this man, Schneizel had taken it to heart.
He tightened his grip on the small laser gun hidden in the gloved palm of his right hand.
And how could they trust him not to try and assassinate the First Prince himself? If he did so, he'd be able to reign on the easy path to the throne, which was rightfully his.
His composed steps came to a close at this thought, in the middle of a rose garden. The calming breeze fluttered through his picturesque self, but he had not taken any notice of it, mind muddled by his dark thoughts.
Yes, he was envious of the Crown Prince; one with no single accomplishments in his thirteen years of living do not have the right to be the first in line to the Britannian throne. Being the first-born son has ensured him of the throne, without the need to contribute to the country and prove himself worthy of his standing. As the Second Prince instead, he has to demonstrate himself exemplary as a member of the royal family to attract the eyes and support of the rest of the Britannian royalty and nobles. He, who has the brightest strategist mind of the whole country, and assisted in the conquest of Area 4 and Area 5, deserved the throne more than that bumbling half brother of his.
'Your stand in this world is determined from the moment you are born.'
His bright blue eyes clouded at that thought, immersing himself more in bitter hatred, not seeing the beautiful red roses in front of him.
Nor realizing that another person was quietly approaching him from behind, closer; and then, at the range of three feet,
"Excuse m--"
The eyes of the Second Prince flared in alarm, with assassination warnings flashed in his head, his defensive martial arts automatically taking over his body as he swiped a well-trained back kick to his assailant, followed directly with a jump kick with his right leg.
Both of which was easily blocked by the man almost twice his height; tenderly so, making sure not to injure him back in return; not as his previous attackers had done before,
But the young prince was blinded to this fact, as adrenaline pumping wildly in his bloodstreams and his only thought was to defend himself, to keep on living.
As the prince spun around and was ready to fire his gun to his assailant, the man swiftly held out an arm longer than boy's legs and gently pushed on his shoulder. This resulted in the boy tripping on the sole of his shoes, and fell to the ground, the miniature gun slipped through his fingers and landed somewhere amongst the rose bushes. A small wince escaped his lips when his exposed knee was scraped by the hard pavements. He almost whimpered as he realized how he had stupidly exposed himself to being attacked in enemy grounds.
That's when he heard a worried voice rung in a gentle tone in his ears.
"Are you alright?"
Schneizel immediately rolled to sit on his back and was breathing heavily from his bout of failed attacks, when he took a first real look at his 'assailant'.
Still standing in front of him was a young man in his early teens, not a boy but not yet a man, face shadowed by the sun behind him. As the teen crouched to his level, Schneizel recognized the royal crest the other male was wearing on the breast of his dark gray dress suit, but that fact had yet to register to him.
Even more so, he noticed how the delicate brunette hair glistened like silk as it softly waved with the breeze, how the smell of light cologne enveloped him kindly so, and how the gentle worried frown didn't suit the handsome face of the young man currently on his knees in front of him.
The soft, kind voice washed over him again like waves of calming breeze. "...ah, you seem fine, just a little scratch there."
He barely noticed the tender touch of the other's hand on his scraped knee, absolutely drowning in the soothing voice and kind eyes –he did not know what had taken over him, as he sat there, as if paralyzed, as if it was alright for this unknown young man to kill him. Long eyelashes concealed the other's eyes as he inspected the injury with gentle hands and long slender fingers.
"Here..."
The teen leaned down, nearer, closer...
"Let me make it all better..."
The feeling of his lips on the skin of his knee sent shivers to his spine. The lips had only brushed his skin for a fraction of a second, but it felt like an eternity. Those eyes, the tone of grayish azure fluttered from his slight injury to his own eyes, honest and kind, so unworldly so in the era of dictatorship and constant treachery.
And his smile— one he had never seen before, one that is so honest and exquisite, he thought it had not existed; this gentle, kindsmile proved to be the most beautiful he has witnessed in his nine years of living.
"Does it still hurt, dear brother of mine, Schneizel-kun?"
At the mention of his name, Schneizel's mind instantly rebooted itself and without delay he jumped back and distanced himself from the stranger, ignoring the trivial pain of his scrapped knee. His eyes were strained grimly at the teen still crouching in front of him, seeming confused at the turn of event.
Never trust anyone; the world is full of lies...
"You shouldn't move so suddenly like that, Schneizel-kun. You are still injured, after all. Come, lets us go medicate it."
Schneizel's mind went through an overdrive, reminding himself of his favorite game of chess. He rethink of his position, and deemed himself vulnerable as he had lost his gun earlier when he fell; 'check'. If the enemy proposed for a truce, he should accept it, if not he'd be risking his life for disobeying the temporary winner of this chess game, his so called--
It was then that he realized the fact that the other male has previously called him his 'dear brother.' At the realization, he strained his eyes at the other teen, this time in another light.
The royal crest on his dress suit proven that the teen was truly his step-brother, the First Prince of the Britannian royal family, Odysseus U Britannia. The air surrounding him was not of arrogance, but more of something he could not comprehend in his young life as part of a ruthless royal family—of kindness, of honesty, and most importantly, of love. A helping hand that was extended was frail but strong in its own right, the gloved fingers were long and slender, the russet hair seeming soft and slightly curled at the end, and the soft smile and kind eyes were silently urging him to accept the proposition, for his own best interest; so honest, so foreign...
One could never win over those eyes, even the person who thought himself to be with the coldest heart. For him, who had not received kindness from anyone other than his mother, this young man was an oasis at the middle of a desert of lies. Albeit hesitantly, the patiently waiting hand was rewarded as the boy accepted it with one of his own.
The smile he received in return was so heartbreakingly beautiful, Schneizel had all but forgotten the initial hostilities he felt for his elder brother. He could not believe a being with such gentleness and honesty has ever existed in this wretched place he called home; least of all as the First Prince that he had despised all his life.
Smiling still, Odysseus leaned over and brushed invincible dust off of Schneizel with his free hand. At close proximity, the boy couldn't help but be reminded of the soft lips on his knee and how it felt on his skin, blushing slightly as he caught himself staring at the aforementioned lips.
After making sure that his little brother was well, Odysseus stood and gently pulled his brother to the living quarters of his mother's palace.
"Well, now. Let's go and check over that wound of yours, shall we?"
As they walked together hand in hand in peaceful silence, Schneizel looked up to his no more an estranged brother, beautiful and strong and kind, and couldn't help but thought,
He has finally found an angel in disguise as a human.
His angel...
--
"Odysseus..."
Behind his fingers, Schneizel opened his eyes. He still remembered, how little trust he had to others, and how he had hated the brother he had never met...
Until that precise moment, the moment when he first met him, his believes was turned upside down with a single gentle smile. That one smile, and more of it in the last twenty-odd years, was his life's turning point. It had reminded him that there is still kindness and honesty left in this wretched world; in the form of his dearest brother, in the form of his family (mother, Euphy, Nunnally...), and maybe somewhere else, elsewhere, at another place that he'd never been before, in people that he had yet to meet.
His brother was also the one that taught him that a gentle smile could win over the coldest of hearts, which included his own. He has since smiled more, winning the hearts of millions with own charming, gentle smile.
Schneizel clenched his raised hand in a fist, a silent vow recited in his mind; a vow made years ago.
He had sworn that he'd never let the beautiful Odysseus dirty his hands with bloody wars and stain his honest and kind heart with underhanded politics and ruthless diplomats. Instead, he would make the whole world as his own, claim the throne as the Emperor of Britannia, and give Odysseus the best life and position as his Second in Command. Or maybe as the King of Britannia, with authority just below his own. And by then they could be co-rulers of the world; him ruling with his charms and his brother with his kindness. He'd forever keep his brother coveted, sheltered in this beautiful cage of innocence and tenderness; away from lies, away from harm, away from the real world itself, left with only the two of them...
He has broken part of the promise by engaging Odysseus to the young Empress of The Chinese Federation for political profit, reminding himself over and over again that this arrangement would be the best for his kind brother, who would have almost an entire continent as his own. For once, he hasn't resented the fact that his plans didn't follow through; he was somewhat glad that the wedding was interrupted and the engagement nullified.
He doesn't mind sharing anything of his, to a certain extent. But he came to realize during the near-marriage itself that, when it comes to his dear brother, he didn't like to share.
He brought down his fist, held it with his other hand, and kissed it, reciting his vow again; this time promising to keep to it, not involving the kind, gentle Odysseus anymore.
"Schneizel-kun."
Those eyes, honest and kind; his smile, gentle and exquisite...
"I understand, ani-ue. I'll do whatever it takes to make this world as you had wished,"
He then extended both his arms upwards, spreading his arms in acceptance, in warmth, in true happiness. A brilliant, tender smile spread upon his handsome face.
"My kind, gentle brother..."
--
...The End...
--
(...dun expect any sequels tho.)