Author's Note: Real short. Just some things I came up with and wanted to post. There isn't enough Weiss/Nero out there, so I thought I'd write some.

Warnings: Violence, Yaoi, Character Death, Incest



Evanescent Moments

I

Nero forgot all pain as he crossed the narrow bridge to where Weiss stood. His brother was awake. Moving. Reborn like Phoenix from his ashes. Regal, shining amidst the darkness like the light he was.

"Weiss… I won't leave you again… Never…" Nero staggered forward, his injuries slowing him as he reached for his beloved brother. "Weiss…"

Eyes so blue… his hair, so white, as if spun from starlight. His skin pale, yet not unhealthy. He had long ago accepted the darkness. Accepted him… Nero.

Nero's hand had almost reached Weiss' face when his brother moved, his hand fast as lightning. Fresh pain blossomed from his chest, constricting and stopping his breath. He gasped and choked, and it was a moment before he realized the source of it. Confusion and betrayal cut him to his heart.

Why?… Nero looked up into his brother's cold gaze. "Weiss…?"

Weiss' face twisted with a sneer. "I am finished with you."

*******

"NO!" Weiss screamed, trying in vain to wrench back control over his body. "Nero!"

It was no use. He could feel his brother slipping away, but could not stop the madman that controlled him. Could not mend the damage wrought with his own hand. The little shadow that was Nero was flickering out, and Weiss couldn't… No. He could still feel him, so he could still…

It took little effort to slip from his constraints and into the soft twilight realm the brothers had always shared. That half-real junction between their minds. As he expected, Nero was already there.

"Why?"

The despair in the simple question pierced Weiss to his core. "It's not me… None of it has been… Not since the Net Dive." He couldn't stop his voice from cracking, but he didn't care. "I'm so sorry, Nero. I wish I could… could stop him!"

Tears dripped off Nero's chin and he flung his arms around Weiss. "I'm so glad…"

Weiss frowned. "Of what?"

"I thought you didn't love me anymore."

Weiss gulped, slipping his arms around Nero's thin waist. His brother's spirit flickered, growing less coherent. He was disappearing. "I love you. I always will."

Nero smiled weakly. "I love you too… Weiss…"

And then he was gone, his spirit vanishing like mist in their shared realm, the void turning white in his absence. It had never done that before. Even when Nero had left. That meant…

He watched as Hojo discarded Nero like trash; throwing his frail, broken body across the room. He hit the floor, his wings shattering like glass. Like a dead bird—broken, his freedom stripped away.

Inside himself he screamed—kicking, clawing, and tearing at the mental restraints that kept him from Hojo. Had they budged, the feeble computer virus would have fallen to the might of Weiss the Immaculate. But they did not budge. Somewhere beyond it, Hojo was laughing.


II

I should have been afraid of him. Afraid of his sheer power. I'd never encountered anyone as powerful as him. Not even Nero. Not even Omega. He surpassed both. I should have feared him.

But how could I? He had saved me. Saved us. We were, after all, one being when he carried us from the cavern. I only remember scraps of the journey. Little pieces here and there, but nothing clear.

It wasn't until I awoke—Nero beside me—in Banora that I became truly aware of myself and my surroundings. And him. This frighteningly powerful crimson demon. For a moment I thought he would be angry. We had once abducted him—back when he'd been a SOLDIER. Now he was something else. Though we'd been acting on the Restrictor's orders—which our chips forced us to obey—I feared he wouldn't care. But revenge was not his goal, as I soon learned.

He had simply wanted to give us a chance. That was what he told me. A chance to live our lives as we wanted to. No Restrictors, no Omega, and no Hojo.

When Nero woke three days later, the demon told him everything he'd told me. When he was done, I finally found the courage to ask him what he was.

"The Planet's champion. The right hand of Gaia. Her will incarnate. I am her shield, her sword."

"Is there anything left of who you once were?"

He smiled at me over his shoulder—almost as if he were speaking to a child. "Of course. But you asked what I was. Not who."

I don't fear the demon. Because despite his power, he is still a man. Genesis Rhapsodos. My brother and I share his DNA, as all Tsviets do. In a way, he is our only family.

And if I've learned one thing, it's that family is everything.


III

I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised. With how close Weiss and Nero were, it was only a matter of time before they got curious. And I highly doubt that Deepground had taught its subjects the rules society placed on things like intimacy.

I really don't know why I was surprised.

But I was. I'd very nearly approached them, intending to ask them to spar. But luckily I was quick to shut my mouth.

They were up against one of the pure white trunks of the apple trees. Nero's flesh bare, his legs wrapped around Weiss' waist. Weiss' pants were around his knees, his back arching, his naked hips thrusting into his brother's. Their breathing was ragged, small cries escaping Nero on each inward thrust. I guessed that Weiss was hitting that little spot that I knew from experience was quite pleasurable.

Weiss' face was flushed, his silver-white hair slack with sweat. His eyes were closed as he tenderly kissed the nape of Nero's neck. Black fingernails dug into pearly flesh as the younger boy clung to his brother, begging him to go faster… harder…

I knew I shouldn't have been watching, but I couldn't pull my eyes away. Memories were flooding my mind. Memories of a summer night, my own back against one of the trunks, fingers twined in long, silver strands, gazing into teal eyes. Memories of powerful thrusts and soft lips. Pale skin and black leather. Ecstasy and euphoria.

I shook the thoughts away and snuck back to where we'd made camp. I had no right to intrude upon their privacy. The past was supposed to be the past. I couldn't let my memories… my regrets… worm their way back into my heart. I had two young men to look after. Memories could wait.