Names

"Crawford," Schuldig began, one lazy afternoon. The Oracle patiently waited for the telepath to finish the sentence, but the rest of the words never came. The precog didn't ask. Schuldig needed no prompting to talk freely. It was keeping quiet he seemed to have difficulties with.

"Crawford," the redhead repeated.

Again, the call was ignored. If it was a call.

Normal people changed from surnames to given names to pet names with time. Schuldig and Crawford had addressed each other as Schuldig and Crawford from the very moment they met, up until this very day. Normal people needed to express outwardly the evolution of their relationships. Assassins with super-powers were definitely not normal people.

So, at first, Schuldig had pronounced Crawford with a subtle insolence, not enough to sound rebellious but sufficent to let the other man know he wasn't impressed by his new assignment under the Oracle's command.

Soon, 'Crawford' became a vow of loyalty, the word that named the only man in all the organization (maybe the whole world) that had managed to earn his respect.

Then, like a second puberty, things got weird. 'Crawford' turned a very mercurial sound. It was a whine in one moment and a husky whisper the next, an outraged yell one second and a mockery-laced sneer afterwards. 'Crawford' was a short, serious warning, incredulous laughter, a fearful, quiet sigh, and a wistful moan.

However, important things had the tendency to happen all at once, inconsiderate as they were, and it was in Japan, while they were planning and plotting against Eszett, Rosenkreuz and Kritiker, that the sexual tension between them had become unbearable.

'Crawford' had acquired some stability as a word, after that. Lately, Schuldig would say it and mean familiarity. 'Crawford' was trust. Fondness, even. That didn't change the fact that Schuldig could still whine the name, whisper it with urgency or freeze Tokyo with the coldness in it. But there was an undertone to it, a nuance, something that gave away all the experience, all the knowledge, all the past.

For Schuldig, 'Crawford' implied an intimacy that 'Brad' never could. For that reason, he never used the first name to call after his leader. He always called him Crawford. Even after so many years sharing the job, the bed, the life.

"Crawford."

The Oracle finally sighed and gave in.

"What is it, Schuldig?"

The Mastermind smirked.

"Nothing. I just wanted to say it aloud."

"Three times?"

"Yes," the smirk widened into a grin, "or more."

The Oracle shook his head while the telepath's expression turned slightly dreamy.

"…Crawford."