Wahh! I was re-watching Baccano! The other day…and realized how much I adore Czeslaw! So I looked around on Fanfiction to see if there was anything written about him…and there was hardly anything! (I praise those few who did write for him) Therefore, I decided to write something about the poor little guy…so to all the fellow Czes fans out there, enjoy!
Celia let out a large, overly dramatic sigh as she lay sprawled out on her back atop the large queen bed. She wore a bored expression as she listened to the steady drone of voices, laughter and music coming from downstairs. There was a party going on after all. A party she was not allowed to attend because of her 'age'. Her physical age that is. She looked to be about ten years old…but was truly around two hundred and twenty years of age. It was that long ago, in the year 1711, that she had drank the immortality elixir aboard the Advenna Avis. She had actually been ten then; and regretted drinking such a thing at that age nearly every day since. What good was being a kid forever? It was good to remain a child at heart as you aged…but physically being ten for the rest of your life was awful.
Even though she was friends with most of the party-goers downstairs, and even though they were all immortals just like her, they were all turned at a perfect age. They were all nearly over the age of eighteen, and could all roam around and do whatever they wanted because they looked legal. It pissed off Celia to no end. She was happy for them that they could truly enjoy eternal life, but it was still grossly unfair in her case. She would never be allowed at a party where there was alcohol, she would never be able to get her own place, she would never be able to get a job, she would never be taken seriously and, worst of all, she would never be able to find a great guy and get married. Every girl dreamed of the day they found the perfect man and were able to plan their ideal wedding; but not Celia. The thought did cross her mind, but she tried not to let it stay there for long. It was painful for her to dwell on, because it was a mere fantasy. It would never be a reality no matter how much she wished for it.
She was like an adult in a child's body. With over two hundred years of experience on her shoulders, she was sure she could teach half the people downstairs a thing or two about life. But, no one would ever accept her as an adult because she was still merely a little girl. The only one who seemed to take her seriously was Maiza. He acted as her guardian since she couldn't do much on her own in the world. She was pretty sure the only reason he treated her like an adult most of the time was because he felt bad for her. It was technically his fault that she was like this…for he was the alchemist that had summoned the demon and obtained the elixir so many years ago. She didn't want to punish him and make him feel bad about such a thing, he really was a wonderful man and she owed him so much, but her predicament still sucked to high heavens.
There was only one other like her, one other who had been turned immortal at such an awfully young age. Czeslaw Meyer…he was in the same terrible place as she was. He had been another passenger on the Advenna Avis that fateful voyage; and the only other child. He was only ten at the time as well. He had been through so much hardship since then too…but much worse than Celia had. He had been tortured by his guardian Ferment to test the limits of their newfound immortality. He had not been shown mercy for being a mere child. Eventually Czeslaw had become so terrified of what was happening that he had devoured Ferment by placing his right hand atop his head and thinking 'I want to eat'. All aboard the ship had been informed by the demon that that was the only way to kill a fellow immortal…to devour them and gain their knowledge.
After that, Czeslaw had come to believe that there was no love…only deception. He had wanted to make sure he devoured the other immortals before they could get to him to ensure his own safety. That was, until he visited Maiza and Celia in New York. He had arrived there with the intentions of devouring Maiza…but once he realized there was no danger presented by the kind man, he broke down and hugged him; leaving behind all ill intentions. Once he realized the surprise of Celia being there too…he came to the realization of just how much he had missed his old childhood friend.
Celia had been thrilled to see him too, and vowed that they would remain close friends forever. After all, who else would know what they were going through besides each other? Her life had been better and more eventful since Czeslaw arrived. Before she had followed Maiza around until a situation was 'too dangerous' or 'for adults only'. Since he worked with the mafia…there had been a lot of those situations. Even though she was immortal and couldn't really get hurt, he was still overprotective of the young lass. When he couldn't be with her, he made her stay behind in a secure room that belonged to the Martillo family; the exact room she was in now.
She glanced over at Czeslaw who was lying at the end of the bed opposite her; hands resting lightly on his stomach as he gazed with deep, brown eyes at the ceiling. He wasn't allowed at the party either. It was so unfair! The sound of clinking glasses and lightheartedness resounded from downstairs. They were both adults on the inside…beyond that even! Everyone downstairs knew them, and knew the fact that they were hundred year old immortals. It still didn't matter though. They had to remain overprotected children in the eyes of the others. For now at least…Celia had been coming up with an abundance of ideas lately to prove that Czeslaw and she were just as adult-like as everybody else…if not more.
"It sounds like they're having a lot of fun…doesn't it?" Czeslaw said wistfully, breaking the silence between the two.
Celia groaned and rolled her hazel eyes. "Yeah…so much fun. Lucky them…" she said crossly.
Czeslaw sighed. He didn't mind being up here instead of at the party…he still wasn't completely comfortable around large groups of other people. He knew Celia took it personally because she was often treated like a child more than she wished. He knew how she felt to some degree, but he didn't mind being regarded as younger than he really was most of the time. As long as people took him seriously when he really wanted them to, he was fine. He felt bad for Celia…being suppressed like she was. She had always been kind of wild and eager to see and experience the world; but now, that was a hard task for her. She was his newly rediscovered friend, and he was disappointed in himself for not knowing how to make her feel better.
"You can't totally blame them for not wanting us down there…" he started, knowing immediately that he would be fighting a losing battle.
"Why not? We're older than half of them! We know what we're doing! Just because we look like we're kids doesn't mean that we should be stuck up here while they have so much fun! THIS IS DISCRIMINATION!" Celia shot back, not really yelling at Czeslaw but merely venting some of her frustration.
Czeslaw knew she was being serious, but he couldn't help chuckling. She was such a fiery girl…nothing could hold her down. That had always been something he admired about her. He sat up and ran his small fingers through his short, dark hair. He peered over at his companion and smiled at her.
"Come now Ce-Ce, there's no need to yell. Is it really that bad being cooped up here with me?" Czeslaw said jokingly. He could be a little more easy going around Celia and Maiza as opposed to everyone else. Especially Celia.
Celia sat up too and pouted at him. Even though she claimed to be more adult than nearly everyone else, she certainly didn't look it. "No, Czes, you know that's not what I mean. I wish we were both down there right now having a good time with our so-called friends." Her bobbed brown hair was slightly sticking up since she had been laying on it for so long. Czeslaw decided not to say anything about it; it fit her ragtag personality perfectly. Though she did her best to act mature, he knew that she was still a true kid at heart. Around him was when her most prominent quirks revealed themselves. It made him feel at ease, figuring that because she was the most true to herself around him, she trusted him the most. It was a good feeling to know that she was so comfortable with him; especially since he hadn't experienced (or even given himself the chance to experience) affection in so long.
"I should hope not." He said, still smiling lightly. "We can still have fun, what do you want to do?" he was sure he'd do nearly anything, no matter how crazy or humiliating, to make her feel better right now.
Celia blinked a few times and then looked at the ceiling. She struck her best thinking pose and furrowed her brow. She thought hard…what was there for the two 'kiddies' to do? She kind of wanted to go for a walk, but, even though she was kind of mad at Maiza; she didn't want to worry him by being gone if he came to check on them.
"I don't know…do you want to just talk?" she asked. Both Celia and Czeslaw were equally ambidextrous as listeners and talkers when around each other; so it wasn't such a bad idea to pass the time. Celia found herself suddenly extra happy that Ennis had brought Czeslaw with her. He often stayed with the redhead as they had grown close. She was like an elder sister to him since they had both been lost and without friendship for so long.
Czeslaw nodded and rolled over on his stomach. "Sure Celia…what do you want to talk about?" He hoped she wouldn't just rant about not being able to attend the party. He'd still listen to her, but he wasn't really in the mood for more of that.
Celia sighed and thought hard on coming up with a good conversation. She wanted to have a good, long and involved chat with her dear friend…but what could she start about that was sure to last a while? It didn't really matter…she was sure whatever she started talking about would be something the two could branch off of and go on about for as long as they needed to.
She sighed and leaned her head back against the headboard of the bed. "Well Czes, what would you do if you could grow up?"
Czeslaw was a bit taken aback by the question. He stayed quiet, not sure how to go about answering such a big inquiry. Before he could answer, Celia went on.
"Gosh…I'm sorry to be asking such an outlandish question…but, I've been thinking about it a lot lately." She twiddled her thumbs as she spoke. "I would do so much if I could grow older; there are almost too many things to mention." She spoke with a dreamy tone to her voice. Czeslaw could detect the longing that fringed her words. His smile disappeared at the sadness on Celia's face.
"Poor girl…" he thought. "All she wants is to be normal…" he knew that being normal was totally out of the question for the both of them though. He got down about it sometimes…but not nearly as much as poor Celia seemed to. It also seemed that he was the only one she really confided in about the topic. He had never seen her talk about it to Maiza or any of the other immortals, no matter how friendly she seemed around them.
"Where to begin? I would want to publish a novel. Oh! And sing at clubs, and be able to wear all the really pretty grown up clothes that I see in shop windows! Like the ones Miria wears!" Celia continued. As she spoke more and more, her voice gained momentum and vigor. "I would go to adult parties, and dance the night away! I would get my own house and furnish it however I wanted! And…and I would get married and…and…"
Czeslaw noticed her voice faltering a second too late. Before he could say anything to comfort her, she burst into tears. She buried her face in her small hands and sobbed; her dark hair tumbling forward and covering her face. Czeslaw froze. He wasn't completely sure what to do to make her stop…but he needed to do something! And soon! He couldn't take the sight or sound of Celia being so sad…
Czeslaw slowly scooted over next to her and extended his hand towards her. He hesitated for a moment and drew back, but swallowed his insecurity and let his left hand rest lightly atop her head (his left hand, not the one that might be used to devour a fellow immortal). He stroked her soft hair in a friendly manner and sighed.
"Please calm down Celia…don't cry. It's alright…" he said softly. He could feel her head bob up and down beneath his palm with every sob as he ran his hand through her dark locks. She continued to cry however. It wasn't that she wanted to keep crying, she just couldn't stop. This cascade of tears had been building up for quite some time, and the dam had finally broken. Celia didn't want to make Czeslaw feel bad too…but she just couldn't stop her tears.
"I'm sorry…I-I'm sorry…"she said between hiccups of air.
"Don't apologize silly, I just want you to feel better." Czeslaw said soothingly. "I understand that a life like yours, like the ones all of us immortals have, can seem impossible. I too thought there was no reason to live such a complicated existence for a while. I had given up on love and friendship. But when I saw you and Maiza again, I felt better. Now that I'm here, with everyone, I know that it's not as bad as it seems." His words meant a lot to Celia, they really did, but she couldn't immediately say anything in reply. She did her best to calm her erratic breathing to get a few words out.
"I…I know…I'm b-being such a-a baby…" she said. "You're so s-strong Czes…how do you do it? I always thought I was strong too…but I guess…I guess not."
"Don't say that! You're just as strong as me, if not stronger! The only reason I'm happy now…is because of you! Because of all the friends I have here, I'm not scared anymore." Czeslaw said. He sighed and moved to pull Celia into a warm embrace. "It's not so bad. You see? You have friends who care about and want to protect you. You may not be able to do all those things you mentioned…but still. Try to look on the bright side."
Celia took his words to heart. He was right…her life could be much, much worse. Even though her existence was forever screwed up, she still had countless people to talk to and comfort her. So what if she never got to get her own house and sing at clubs? She still had a makeshift family of other misfits to keep her company on the long and winding road ahead. It did no good for her to mope around like this.
"Czes…thank you. Heh, I'm being so stupid right now…I'm sorry you had to see all that." She said, drying most of her tears and allowing a shaky smile to overtake her visage. "I'm so glad that I have you for a friend…I honestly don't know what I'd do without you. It's nice to have Maiza and the others, but it's good to get another child's perspective."
Czeslaw smiled at this and gave her a bit of an awkward squeeze. He wasn't accustomed to giving out many hugs…but he had the feeling he was getting used to it between Celia, Ennis, Miria, Isaac and Maiza. He would surely have a lot of practice.
"That's what I like to hear." He said. "Please, you don't want to end up like I was a few months ago. Don't dwell on one problem for too long. It's never a good thing."
Celia nodded. "Yes…yes, you're right." She shook her head and took a deep breath. With a few sniffles, she sat up straight and fixed her hair. "Hey, Czeslaw?"
Czeslaw pulled away and looked at her. "Yes? What is it Celia?"
"You never told me what you would do if you could grow up. Not to go back to that conversation after all this but…I'm still kind of curious."
Czeslaw thought for a moment. "Well…I guess if I actually could grow up, I'd do everything you said…with you." A shy blush found its way onto his cheeks as he said the last part. He wasn't sure if it was a good or a bad thing to make such a potentially embarrassing confession…he did have the rest of eternity to live it out; but, he was sure of all people Celia wouldn't make him feel dumb about it.
Celia was speechless at what he had just told her. He would do all the things she said…with her? She had mentioned marriage! Seriously? She hadn't known he felt that way about her. She knew he liked her as a friend, but she hadn't imagined it to be anything beyond that! It wasn't such a bad thing though…she had always had a bit of a school-girl crush on the boy.
"R-really? Well, Czes, I don't know what to say!" Celia started. She felt a blush paint her own cheeks as well. "I'm flattered…oh gosh; I sound so dumb right now…"
Czeslaw let out a nervous laugh as he rubbed at the back of his head. "Yeah...I feel like that too. And, well, that's good. I thought you might never talk to me again if I said something like that…" he said quietly.
Celia giggled and shook her head. "Now why would I do that? We may not ever be able to get married or anything like that, but I'm sure we'll stay together as friends forever."
"Literally." Czeslaw added; causing the two to laugh.
Perhaps an eternity of being overly protected and always being asked if they wanted to see the 'kiddie menu' wasn't so bad. As long as they always had each other, Czes and Ce-Ce were sure they'd find a way to tough it out.