They were in a tent in between the sixth and fifth districts of the Bargsburg Empire. Capella was sleeping like a baby. Teito was, well, sleeping the only way Teito ever could. And Frau sat there at the end of the tent, watching them.
"Damn brat," he muttered to himself. "Pull yourself together."
It didn't matter if Teito was awake or asleep, Frau often felt as though his words would have the same effect on the boy either way. That kid drove him up a wall. He never listened to him, he always talked back to him, he was always getting himself into trouble...the list went on. How much trouble could just one boy cause? Too damn much.
Much like Frau himself, ages ago. Of course, some might argue that the bishop was still a handful but hey, look how far he'd come. He sure showed them.
Occasionally, on rare moments, it was flattering that Teito reminded him of himself. But usually? He was a fucking pain in the ass. That's why he was the damn brat. And that would never, ever change. But would Frau always be just the perverted bishop to Teito?
Heh, Frau thought. If only.
Frau's train of thought came to a halt as Teito started hyperventilating in his sleep. GASP. GASP. GASP. Frau's eyebrows narrowed as he crawled over in the small tent towards Teito, stepping carefully to avoid Capella. He reached over and slapped Teito with an open hand across his cheek. "Hey! Wake up, damn brat." How dare you scare the hell out of me like that? Yeah, as if he'd ever voice that.
Teito awoke with a jolt, opening his eyes and sitting up. He looked shocked at first, then upon seeing Frau, glared. "You woke me up, you jerk!"
Frau crawled back and returned to his sitting spot by the makeshift doorway in the tent, glancing at the oblivious slumbering Capella. "You were crying in your sleep again."
"Was not!" Teito cried, frantically feeling his face for tears anyway. It was moist. Shit.
"Quiet, you'll wake the kid."
Teito pouted as he laid back down and pulled the blanket on him, turning his back to Frau. "Oh, you'll let him sleep."
"He doesn't carry on like a crybaby when he sleeps." His tone was nonchalant.
Teito turned back to face him. "I'm not a crybaby!"
Frau grinned. "I didn't say that, you did."
"Shut up."
"Oooh, burn." Frau was still grinning. Teito was just so much fun to poke at.
Teito turned his back to him again as if he was going back to sleep. He didn't reply to Frau, which surprised the older bishop. This was a kid who was used to having nightmares pretty much every night but still waking up perfectly able to attempt to test Frau, whether it be his wit, temper, whatever. Yet now all he seemed to want was sleep.
"Don't know why you want to go back to sleep," Frau said. "When all you have are nightmares anyway."
Teito didn't move to look at Frau when he responded. "But the more I have....the more I remember."
Frau looked at Teito, as if staring at the back of his head might help him figure the damn brat out. "Well then try to keep it down. Capella's trying to sleep too."
"Then shut up so I can sleep. And stop waking me up."
"Gee, thanks for waking me up, Frau," Frau said mockingly, with a grin. "Thanks for waking me up when I couldn't even breathe. Really 'pperciate it. I would have been a dead midget."
"Beats being a pervert and hiding dirty magazines in the church library!"
"Hey, a man has his needs, alright?"
"I don't know why I trust you," Teito spat without thinking. Well, that was true with pretty much anything Teito said, he didn't think about it, he just said whatever was on his mind. Tact? Little idea of the concept. But as soon as the words slipped out of his mouth, he was wishing he could take them back. "I-I mean...!"
"Oh, so you trust me?" Frau asked, feigning naivety.
Teito rolled over and glared at Frau, eyes burning with that same fiery passion and anger that Frau was used to staring back at. "Don't make too much of it! You're still just a perverted bishop to me."
"Well," Frau said, waving a lazy finger to finally point at Teito's collar. "I'm your master too, technically."
"I belong to no one!"
"Ooh, feisty. I like that."
Teito blinked. He was sure that Frau was messing with his head, but still, what? "You don't make any sense."
Messing with Teito's head? Well, that was half true. "Says the kid who volunteers nightmares to remember his past." The other half? Who knows.
A gentle voice moaned, interrupting them. They looked over to see Capella stirring in his slumber. The boy rolled over, whining softly, "But wait, I can be strong like nii-chan too!" He stirred a bit more before finally settling under the careful eyes of Teito and Frau.
"Way to go, you woke him up," Frau said, trying to suppress a grin.
"That was your big mouth," Teito replied.
"You're sitting closer to him."
"Are you done talking yet?"
"Shh! You'll wake him up again!"
Teito responded by laying down and once again turning his back to Frau, pulling blankets over his head. "Goodnight."
"About time."
Teito growled under his breath, which made Frau chuckle. This was Frau's way of getting even for all those times Teito refused to listen to him and got them in bigger messes than they needed to be in. Plus, it was just so much fun to watch Teito squirm.
He wondered if.....nah. What a stupid thought.
Teito soon fell back asleep, unknowingly watched the whole time by Frau.
Some time had passed, not much though, maybe only a couple hours. Frau was still awake, of course, sitting there as the boys slept when suddenly silence was broken with Teito hyperventilating once again. His body rocked a little with each GASP. Each time, Frau felt as though he got colder inside.
He crawled over, once again, to Teito, reaching for the blankets that covered him. The boy still lay with his back to Frau and Frau pushed gently at his side. "Hey. Hey. Damn brat, wake the fuck up."
Teito shook, then jolted right up. Before Frau realized what was happening, Teito suddenly clung to him, head buried in his chest. Instantly, Frau knew he was crying but still, Teito had never done this before.
"That bad huh?" Frau asked. He didn't know what to do, it wasn't exactly everyday that a sobbing brat was clinging to him. Should he hug him back? He placed an awkward hand on Teito's back.
Teito stopped sobbing suddenly at the sound of Frau's voice and gasped. In a second, he shoved Frau away from him then turned his back, laying down again, sure not to let Frau see his face. "Nevermind that."
"You got my shirt wet."
"Just leave me alone!" He pulled the pillow over his head. "Great, now I'll never hear the end of it."
"Calm down, damn brat. I didn't even say anything yet."
"Not yet, but you will."
"I was actually about to ask you if you're okay, but you won't shut up long enough for me to ask."
Teito was quiet for a second. Then, "You're lying."
Frau groaned. "Are you alright? That seemed like a pretty nasty one." That wasn't hard. Okay so it was. Dammit. He felt like a moron, he wanted to hit himself. Why did that feel so awkward?
"I'm fine."
"You shouldn't go back to sleep right away."
"I just said I'm fine."
"You need to relax first. Sit up."
"No, I'll wake Capella."
Frau rolled his eyes. "He won't wake up. He's out for the count. Sit up. You're not going back to sleep yet."
Teito groaned but obeyed. He sat up, facing Frau. "Okay, now what?"
"Why don't you tell me what's in those dreams of yours?"
"I don't wanna talk about it."
"That bad?"
"This is stupid." Teito got on all fours and started to crawl in Frau's direction. The bishop was sitting in the way of the exit. "Move."
"Where do you think you're going?" Frau demanded.
"I need air. Move."
"You're not going anywhere. Knowing you, there'll be a whole fleet chasing after us in five minutes flat if you leave this tent without me."
"I said move, you jerk!" He reached over to shove Frau, but Frau caught his arms and shoved him backwards. Teito landed hard on his back when Frau tackled him, pinning him down.
"Listen." Frau's voice was suddenly stern. "You're a damn mess. You're staying right here until you calm down and talk to me."
"Why would you want to hear about my dreams, anyway?" Teito cried, fighting Frau's grasp unsuccessfully.
"Because there's a slim chance that I actually give a shit."
Teito stopped fighting. "Alright. Fine. I'll talk. Just let me up."
Frau studied him for a minute, then backed off. Teito sat right up in front of Frau, looking down.
"I'll tell you everything I remember," Teito said.