Homecoming, part 2
By Lufia
Author's notes: I do not own Weiss Kreuz, I'm just borrowing certain assassins for a
while. Catherine Crawford, and Brad and Cat's parents, are of my own creation.
Brad stifled a yawn as he tried to refocus his attention to the road. Didn't this damned state have anything besides trees? He frowned as he squinted at the green and white sign post. Another forty-five miles until their exit. It was far too late in the evening to be driving with this bunch.
Nagi was squished in the middle seat against the driver's side window. His head lolled against the window, eyes shut. Lucky brat actually got to sleep. Beside him, Farfarello was as wide awake as ever, calmly twirling one of his knives in between his fingers. He caught Brad's gaze in the rearview mirror and grinned. He, at least, didn't seem to mind being squashed. Beside him nearest the door, Schuldich grumbled under his breath, still annoyed at having to give up the front seat at the last rest stop.
::Not too much longer, Schu::
Schuldich caught Brad's eye and pouted. ::She's smaller, why can't she sit back here?::
Brad shook his head. ::What would Mother and Father say if I brought her home in less than perfect condition?::
Schuldich made some rather nasty comments, which Brad decided it would be best to ignore. He again returned his gaze to the road.
"I could drive, if you want," Catherine said. She sat in the passenger seat, head leaning against her own window, mirroring Nagi's position. "I drive Mom's Caravan all the time, so I can handle this thing. You look like you need a nap."
"I'm fine, Cat, but thank you." Brad looked over at his sister. She had changed so much in the past eleven years. If she hadn't screamed and attacked him, recognizing who he had become, he doubted that he could have picked her out from the hundreds of girls at her school.
She still wore glasses, at least. But then, everyone in his family did. He couldn't imagine any Crawford not wearing them. They weren't overly large, like his mother's, and they framed her amber eyes well. Her once blonde hair was now a very dark brown, with what she claimed were magenta highlights streaked throughout. He thought they gave it a more auburn tint personally, but there are things one doesn't argue with an artist about. She had grown taller as well, but she wasn't a tall girl. She was only a few inches shorter than Nagi, who always grumbled about his height.
::Did you think she'd stay ten forever?:: Schuldich asked.
Brad sighed. ::It's just so odd, Schu. I don't know.::
::Have you seen anything about what's to come?::
Brad frowned. He hadn't wanted to see anything that was coming. He didn't want to know what his parent's reaction to his homecoming would be. He was too afraid of it being negative. ::No, I haven't::
"Are you okay, Bradley?" Catherine asked, startling him from his internal communication. He jerked the steering wheel, veering into the other lane and nearly side-swiping another car before he realized he'd done it.
"Shit, Brad, what was that?" Schuldich shouted, causing Nagi to flinch and bang his head against the window.
Brad eased the van back into the right lane, hitting the button for cruise control once he saw there was nothing ahead of them. "You startled me," he said, looking down at his sister.
Catherine shrank into her seat. "Sorry. You seemed spaced out for a minute. I was afraid you were falling asleep."
"He and I were talking," Schuldich said, glaring. He blinked, then his expression turned thoughtful. "Although, if he was that freaked out by verbal communication, maybe he is getting too sleepy to drive."
Taking the hint, Brad signalled and slowly pulled off onto the shoulder of the highway. "I'm not that tired," he said. "I could drive for the half-hour it takes to get home."
"It's another fifteen minutes or so once we hit the exit, Bradley," Cat said, unbuckling her seatbelt. "And you don't know the area. We'll get home much faster if I drive."
Nodding, Brad unbuckled his own seatbelt and stepped outside, allowing her to slide into the driver's seat. By the time he had walked around the over-flowing van, she had just finished readjusting the seat and mirrors.
"You are just too tall, Bradley," she remarked. "I had to pull the seat the whole way forward."
"Maybe you're just too short," Schuldich smirked, leaning forward and pulling Brad's seatbelt over his shoulder and buckling it for him.
"I'm not that tired," Brad muttered. But, he let Schu buckle him in without hindrance.
"I know. I'm just being annoying."
Catherine sighed, pulling back onto the highway. Brad was grateful that there weren't too many other cars on the road this late at night. Packing had been hell for all of them, and he knew she was at least as tired as he was.
::But she's not as nervous about going home as you::
::You have a point:: Brad relented, letting his eyes slide shut.
::Why don't you just ask her what your folks said? It'd be easier than worrying::
::For the same reason he won't let himself look into the future:: Farfarello's mind answered them. ::He's scared::
Brad sighed. If Farfarello could pick up on it, then he wasn't doing as good a job as he thought of hiding his anxiety. "Cat, you talked to Mother yesterday, right?"
"Yeah."
"What did she say?"
Catherine flicked her gaze over to him, then back to the road. She was being a much better driver than he had been. "She didn't say much. I called her this afternoon to let her know we'd be getting home a day earlier, and she sounded fine."
Brad nodded, letting his head rest against the window. "I'm going to rest until we get home," he said. "Wake me when we hit the neighborhood."
Catherine eased off the accelerator as she merged into traffic on Jupiter Blvd. There was quite a bit of it for eleven at night. More than she was used to seeing, at least. Then again, the new mall hadn't been completed when she was home at spring break, nor had the club across the street from it. Home. The word had such a nice ring to it. She couldn't wait to pull up into her own driveway and bound up the front steps and into her mother's arms. She only hoped Mom would open them just as widely for Brad.
::Why wouldn't she?::
Catherine flinched, still unused to the standard form of communication among her brother and his friends, among Schwarz. She caught Farfarello's yellow eye in the rearview mirror, and focused on thinking at him. ::Mom's weird.::
Farfarello laughed out loud, causing the other members of Schwarz to groan. Nagi actually kicked him in the leg, which only made him laugh more. He stopped abruptly after a minute, and Catherine was sure that her brother or Schuldich had yelled at him mentally.
::You're going to behave, right?:: Catherine thought at the Irishman. ::You're not going to do anything that would scare the average person? No knives, no blood, no hurting God-talk?::
She heard Farfarello sigh in her mind. ::They say I shouldn't. It's not right to lie, though, to pretend that you're someone you aren't::
Catherine nodded, considering his words. He was surprisingly sane to talk to. ::Point taken. However, we're not asking you to lie or pretend. We just want you to focus on a different aspect of your personality while in the presence of my parents. Things like that would disturb them::
::Do they disturb you?::
Catherine blinked, tightening her grip on the steering wheel. She redirected her attention on the road while she thought of an answer. ::Not as much as they should:: she replied finally, turning onto the road that would take them into the center of town.
Farfarello seemed satisfied with the reply, because he sat back, closing his eye, an odd smile on his face. Catherine shook her head, wondering at the reaction. She glanced over at her brother, removing one hand from the steering wheel and nudging him in the arm. "Hey, Bradley. Wake up now."
Brad blinked, sitting up and lifting a hand to his head. "We're nearly there?" he said groggily.
Catherine nodded. "Almost home. Only another couple of minutes."
A glance at the rearview mirror told her that Brad had woken Schuldich up with a mental command. The redhead yawned loudly, then reached across Farfarello to smack Nagi upside the head.
"Wake up, Chibi. Time to meet the in-laws."
Catherine raised an eyebrow, glancing sideways at her brother. "In-laws?"
Brad only shrugged.
As the black StarQuest passed the last house on the left, Brad noticed the door to said house open. Cat then braked in the dead end, backing the van up and pushing it up into the driveway backward. She parked it, grinning. "What did I tell you?" she said triumphantly. "I can drive pretty well."
Brad nodded absently, his fingers already reaching down to unbuckle his belt. When he glanced out his window, he could see two figures standing close together on the front porch. He swallowed hard, blinking the beginnings of tears from his eyes.
::Parents, I take it::
He ignored Schu, instead pushing the door open and hoisting himself out onto the pavement. He straightend up, tugging at the hem of his cream-colored suit-jacket, and looked to the couple. "Mother, Father, I'm home," he said quietly.
The woman took a step down on the porch, looking at him with wide brown eyes. Mother had aged well, Brad decided. The lines around her eyes and mouth were from smiling, not from grief. At least, he hoped that's what they were from. He vaguely wondered how many of those lines in her forehead were his doing. Her hair was graying all over, but she didn't seem to worry about it. There were no traces of dye highlighting any of it. She'd cut it short, much shorter than he remembered. "Mother?" he said quietly, his eyes widening slightly when she made no reply.
Catherine bounded around the van, sprinting up toward their parents. "Mama!" she cried, flinging herself at her mother. Only then did her eyes seem to take on any life. She reached down, arms encircling her daughter tightly. "Welcome home, Catherine."
"The drive wasn't too bad at night?" their father asked, looking at her as well.
Catherine shook her head. "Bradley got a little tired near the end, so he let me drive. Did you see my wonderfully mad back-up and park skill? Even Schu was impressed!"
Brad watched the exchange, his body tensing in reaction. At Cat's mention of his name, both of their parents stiffened slightly, and his father glared across the driveway at him. Brad saw the hurt in his eyes. Swallowing, he walked toward the group, hoping the look would soften as he approached.
::You okay, Brad?::
::Keep everyone back for a few minutes, Nagi, and let me have my own mind::
::No problem::
Brad smiled slightly, knowing he'd do as he was asked. His smile faded as the glare from his father only grew more intense. "Father?" he asked quietly, coming to stand before the taller man. Even in his older age, Father was still intimidating beyond belief.
"Bradley." His father's voice was dispassionate. Brad looked to the ground.
"We've got the guest room set up for you, Bradley," his mother said quietly. "When Cathy said you were bringing friends, we moved the furniture around and dug out the old sleeping bags."
Brad looked up at his mother, smiling through his strained features. "Thank you, Mother." Tentatively, he reached out for her, hoping to get in a quick embrace before she recoiled. To his surprise, she let go of Catherine completely, engulfing him in a warm hug. "Mother," he said quietly, returning the embrace.
::It's okay now, I think:: Brad told Nagi.
"You're home," his mother said, her voice muffled by the fabric of his jacket. "You're home, my poor baby."
"Mother," Brad said, pulling away slightly. He motioned with his hand toward where the rest of Schwarz now stood at the base of the steps. "These are my friends, and business partners. This is Nagi, Farfarello, and Schuldich."
"What sort of business do you do now, Bradley," his father asked, his voice still void of emotion.
With difficulty, Brad turned to his father. "I'll explain it all in the morning, if that's alright, Father. It's late, and we have to get Cat settled in, as well as get some rest. I know my friends are tired." He refrained from smirking as Schuldich stretched his mouth open wide in a mock yawn.
"Of course, Bradley, of course," his mother said, pulling the front door open. "Catherine will show you all to the guest room. Your father and I will worry about the unpacking. Go upstairs and get some rest."
Farfarello shook his head. "We're going to help," he said simply. "We helped her load it all."
Schuldich nodded. "You'll never figure out how to get it out of that van without it all crashing to the ground without us to hold it up," he said, flicking his gaze to Nagi.
"We insist," Nagi said, stifling a sigh. He held his palm open, and Catherine tossed him the keys to the van. Brad watched, smiling, as the three went back to the van to begin unloading. Schu had a point, he admitted. If it weren't for Nagi's power, they might not have been able to fit everything in the first place.
"Where should we put things, Mother?" Brad asked, turning his attention back to his family.
"In the hallway should be fine," she replied, watching his friends carefully. "They seem like a nice bunch, Bradley."
Brad nodded. "They are, once you get to know them. Finest group I've ever worked with."
"Interesting names," his father remarked.
"We're an international team, Father."
"Nagi's Japanese, Dad," Catherine said excitedly. "He's got a bigger J-pop CD collection than I do, and he brought them all with him!"
Brad noticed his father's rolling of eyes and exaggerated sigh. "As long as he doesn't play them too loudly."
"Oi, Bradley, give us a hand down here!" Schuldich called. "She's your sister!"
Chuckling slightly, Brad trotted down the driveway to help.
"Goodnight, Mother, sleep well." Brad shut the door to the tiny guest room and leant against it, his head dropping to rest against his chest.
"That was painful," Schuldich remarked, walking over to Brad and putting a hand on his shoulder. ::Are you okay?::
::I was expecting worse::
::It still hurt, though::
Brad couldn't deny that. His father all but ignored them. When he did speak, it was in a flat voice, a hard blue glare accompanying his words. His mother had practically doted, ushering them upstairs as soon as they had unloaded all of Catherine's luggage and tucking them into the guest room with four glasses of warm milk and shortbread cookies.
Farfarello took one of the shortbread cookies and looked it over. ::Can I…::
::No, Farfarello. Not now::
Farfarello frowned, but set the cookie back down on the plate, placing the small pearing knife beside it. He sat down cross-legged on the floor, fingering the burber carpet lightly. ::We sleep on the floor?::
Nagi looked up from his laptop, his blue eyes growing large. ::I have back problems, Crawford. You know that::
Schuldich scowled at the boy, slipping his arm through Crawford's. ::Shouldn't WE get the bed? It's his house, after all::
::Is this mattress dying too?:: Farfarello asked, pulling the pearing knife down from the table and tapping the blade against the box spring lightly.
Brad held up his hand, shutting his eyes tightly. ::Enough, all of you!:: He glared at Farfarello. ::Put that back up, quickly. All of you, please try to look normal for just a moment::
Schuldich opened his mouth to ask why, when a knock came on the door. He scowled at the sound, but pulled away from Bradley and went over to see what Nagi was doing on his laptop. Farfarello pocketed the knife and reached for a cookie, chomping on the dry buttermilk thing with gusto.
Brad opened the door, revealing Mrs. Crawford, smiling widely. Her eyes looked tired to him. "Hello, Mother."
"I just wanted to see if you boys would need anything before your father and I turn in for the night," she said, stepping past Brad and into the room. "I'm sorry it's so cramped in here, but we don't have any other spare rooms. It was just three of us when we moved up here, so we bought a smaller house."
"It's fine, ma'am," Nagi said politely. "Very cozy."
Mrs. Crawford smiled. "Aren't you a sweet boy for saying so! I'll have to introduce myself properly in the morning, and meet all of you properly as well." She turned to Brad. "Would you like me to make up some pancakes for breakfast tomorrow, Bradley dear?"
Brad nodded, ignoring the snickering from the other side of the room. "That would be lovely, Mother." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, gently guiding her toward the door. "Why don't you get some sleep? I'm sure the waiting up made you tired." He pecked her on the forehead, much to her delight.
"You're so thoughtful, Bradley. Sleep well, everyone!"
"Goodnight, Mrs. Crawford," Schuldich called out in a sing-song voice.
"Oyasumi," Nagi said, raising his hand.
"Farewell till dawn," Farfarello said quietly, swallowing the last cookie.
"Goodnight, Mother." Brad shut the door, clicking the lock into place, then turned to the group. ::Please, why do you all do that?::
::Do what?:: Schuldich asked innocently.
Brad rolled his eyes, then glared at the German. ::Don't you even think of giving me that act.:: He looked over at Nagi. ::Take the bed tonight::
Nagi grinned. He leapt to his feet, slamming the screen of his iMac down to shut the laptop off, and grabbed Crawford tightly around the middle. ::Thank you!::
Crawford smiled slightly. ::Don't go overboard, Nagi::
The boy nodded, letting go of Brad and heading back over to the bed. He quickly bundled himself up in the thick, fluffy down comforter, his back to the group.
::How come he gets the bed?:: Schuldich asked.
::He's sane:: Brad replied. ::Sleeping bags will do fine::
Farfarello nodded, sprawling out on top of one of the already laid out ones. ::It's almost like the cot at the asylum, only it isn't dying::
Schuldich yawned. ::What is it with you and dying bedding?:: He yanked on one of the other sleeping bags, unfurling it across the floor on the other side of the bed. ::You'd think dead mattresses hurt God, or something::
::What did I say about the G-word?:: Brad asked, laying his own sleeping bag out next to Schuldich's and slipping inside. ::Everyone get a good night's rest. We have a lot to do in the morning.::
::You have a lot to do:: Farfarello said. ::WE have to go sightseeing. I noticed a lot of churches on the way here::
::Farf, don't:: Nagi said, rolling back over toward him. ::Not on the first day, at least::
::Sleep, everyone:: Brad said, shutting his eyes. ::Nagi, could you oblige?::
With a flick of his wrist, Nagi willed the light switch to fall, shrouding the room in darkness. With a sigh, Crawford settled in on the floor, hoping tomorrow would go better.
By Lufia
Author's notes: I do not own Weiss Kreuz, I'm just borrowing certain assassins for a
while. Catherine Crawford, and Brad and Cat's parents, are of my own creation.
Brad stifled a yawn as he tried to refocus his attention to the road. Didn't this damned state have anything besides trees? He frowned as he squinted at the green and white sign post. Another forty-five miles until their exit. It was far too late in the evening to be driving with this bunch.
Nagi was squished in the middle seat against the driver's side window. His head lolled against the window, eyes shut. Lucky brat actually got to sleep. Beside him, Farfarello was as wide awake as ever, calmly twirling one of his knives in between his fingers. He caught Brad's gaze in the rearview mirror and grinned. He, at least, didn't seem to mind being squashed. Beside him nearest the door, Schuldich grumbled under his breath, still annoyed at having to give up the front seat at the last rest stop.
::Not too much longer, Schu::
Schuldich caught Brad's eye and pouted. ::She's smaller, why can't she sit back here?::
Brad shook his head. ::What would Mother and Father say if I brought her home in less than perfect condition?::
Schuldich made some rather nasty comments, which Brad decided it would be best to ignore. He again returned his gaze to the road.
"I could drive, if you want," Catherine said. She sat in the passenger seat, head leaning against her own window, mirroring Nagi's position. "I drive Mom's Caravan all the time, so I can handle this thing. You look like you need a nap."
"I'm fine, Cat, but thank you." Brad looked over at his sister. She had changed so much in the past eleven years. If she hadn't screamed and attacked him, recognizing who he had become, he doubted that he could have picked her out from the hundreds of girls at her school.
She still wore glasses, at least. But then, everyone in his family did. He couldn't imagine any Crawford not wearing them. They weren't overly large, like his mother's, and they framed her amber eyes well. Her once blonde hair was now a very dark brown, with what she claimed were magenta highlights streaked throughout. He thought they gave it a more auburn tint personally, but there are things one doesn't argue with an artist about. She had grown taller as well, but she wasn't a tall girl. She was only a few inches shorter than Nagi, who always grumbled about his height.
::Did you think she'd stay ten forever?:: Schuldich asked.
Brad sighed. ::It's just so odd, Schu. I don't know.::
::Have you seen anything about what's to come?::
Brad frowned. He hadn't wanted to see anything that was coming. He didn't want to know what his parent's reaction to his homecoming would be. He was too afraid of it being negative. ::No, I haven't::
"Are you okay, Bradley?" Catherine asked, startling him from his internal communication. He jerked the steering wheel, veering into the other lane and nearly side-swiping another car before he realized he'd done it.
"Shit, Brad, what was that?" Schuldich shouted, causing Nagi to flinch and bang his head against the window.
Brad eased the van back into the right lane, hitting the button for cruise control once he saw there was nothing ahead of them. "You startled me," he said, looking down at his sister.
Catherine shrank into her seat. "Sorry. You seemed spaced out for a minute. I was afraid you were falling asleep."
"He and I were talking," Schuldich said, glaring. He blinked, then his expression turned thoughtful. "Although, if he was that freaked out by verbal communication, maybe he is getting too sleepy to drive."
Taking the hint, Brad signalled and slowly pulled off onto the shoulder of the highway. "I'm not that tired," he said. "I could drive for the half-hour it takes to get home."
"It's another fifteen minutes or so once we hit the exit, Bradley," Cat said, unbuckling her seatbelt. "And you don't know the area. We'll get home much faster if I drive."
Nodding, Brad unbuckled his own seatbelt and stepped outside, allowing her to slide into the driver's seat. By the time he had walked around the over-flowing van, she had just finished readjusting the seat and mirrors.
"You are just too tall, Bradley," she remarked. "I had to pull the seat the whole way forward."
"Maybe you're just too short," Schuldich smirked, leaning forward and pulling Brad's seatbelt over his shoulder and buckling it for him.
"I'm not that tired," Brad muttered. But, he let Schu buckle him in without hindrance.
"I know. I'm just being annoying."
Catherine sighed, pulling back onto the highway. Brad was grateful that there weren't too many other cars on the road this late at night. Packing had been hell for all of them, and he knew she was at least as tired as he was.
::But she's not as nervous about going home as you::
::You have a point:: Brad relented, letting his eyes slide shut.
::Why don't you just ask her what your folks said? It'd be easier than worrying::
::For the same reason he won't let himself look into the future:: Farfarello's mind answered them. ::He's scared::
Brad sighed. If Farfarello could pick up on it, then he wasn't doing as good a job as he thought of hiding his anxiety. "Cat, you talked to Mother yesterday, right?"
"Yeah."
"What did she say?"
Catherine flicked her gaze over to him, then back to the road. She was being a much better driver than he had been. "She didn't say much. I called her this afternoon to let her know we'd be getting home a day earlier, and she sounded fine."
Brad nodded, letting his head rest against the window. "I'm going to rest until we get home," he said. "Wake me when we hit the neighborhood."
Catherine eased off the accelerator as she merged into traffic on Jupiter Blvd. There was quite a bit of it for eleven at night. More than she was used to seeing, at least. Then again, the new mall hadn't been completed when she was home at spring break, nor had the club across the street from it. Home. The word had such a nice ring to it. She couldn't wait to pull up into her own driveway and bound up the front steps and into her mother's arms. She only hoped Mom would open them just as widely for Brad.
::Why wouldn't she?::
Catherine flinched, still unused to the standard form of communication among her brother and his friends, among Schwarz. She caught Farfarello's yellow eye in the rearview mirror, and focused on thinking at him. ::Mom's weird.::
Farfarello laughed out loud, causing the other members of Schwarz to groan. Nagi actually kicked him in the leg, which only made him laugh more. He stopped abruptly after a minute, and Catherine was sure that her brother or Schuldich had yelled at him mentally.
::You're going to behave, right?:: Catherine thought at the Irishman. ::You're not going to do anything that would scare the average person? No knives, no blood, no hurting God-talk?::
She heard Farfarello sigh in her mind. ::They say I shouldn't. It's not right to lie, though, to pretend that you're someone you aren't::
Catherine nodded, considering his words. He was surprisingly sane to talk to. ::Point taken. However, we're not asking you to lie or pretend. We just want you to focus on a different aspect of your personality while in the presence of my parents. Things like that would disturb them::
::Do they disturb you?::
Catherine blinked, tightening her grip on the steering wheel. She redirected her attention on the road while she thought of an answer. ::Not as much as they should:: she replied finally, turning onto the road that would take them into the center of town.
Farfarello seemed satisfied with the reply, because he sat back, closing his eye, an odd smile on his face. Catherine shook her head, wondering at the reaction. She glanced over at her brother, removing one hand from the steering wheel and nudging him in the arm. "Hey, Bradley. Wake up now."
Brad blinked, sitting up and lifting a hand to his head. "We're nearly there?" he said groggily.
Catherine nodded. "Almost home. Only another couple of minutes."
A glance at the rearview mirror told her that Brad had woken Schuldich up with a mental command. The redhead yawned loudly, then reached across Farfarello to smack Nagi upside the head.
"Wake up, Chibi. Time to meet the in-laws."
Catherine raised an eyebrow, glancing sideways at her brother. "In-laws?"
Brad only shrugged.
As the black StarQuest passed the last house on the left, Brad noticed the door to said house open. Cat then braked in the dead end, backing the van up and pushing it up into the driveway backward. She parked it, grinning. "What did I tell you?" she said triumphantly. "I can drive pretty well."
Brad nodded absently, his fingers already reaching down to unbuckle his belt. When he glanced out his window, he could see two figures standing close together on the front porch. He swallowed hard, blinking the beginnings of tears from his eyes.
::Parents, I take it::
He ignored Schu, instead pushing the door open and hoisting himself out onto the pavement. He straightend up, tugging at the hem of his cream-colored suit-jacket, and looked to the couple. "Mother, Father, I'm home," he said quietly.
The woman took a step down on the porch, looking at him with wide brown eyes. Mother had aged well, Brad decided. The lines around her eyes and mouth were from smiling, not from grief. At least, he hoped that's what they were from. He vaguely wondered how many of those lines in her forehead were his doing. Her hair was graying all over, but she didn't seem to worry about it. There were no traces of dye highlighting any of it. She'd cut it short, much shorter than he remembered. "Mother?" he said quietly, his eyes widening slightly when she made no reply.
Catherine bounded around the van, sprinting up toward their parents. "Mama!" she cried, flinging herself at her mother. Only then did her eyes seem to take on any life. She reached down, arms encircling her daughter tightly. "Welcome home, Catherine."
"The drive wasn't too bad at night?" their father asked, looking at her as well.
Catherine shook her head. "Bradley got a little tired near the end, so he let me drive. Did you see my wonderfully mad back-up and park skill? Even Schu was impressed!"
Brad watched the exchange, his body tensing in reaction. At Cat's mention of his name, both of their parents stiffened slightly, and his father glared across the driveway at him. Brad saw the hurt in his eyes. Swallowing, he walked toward the group, hoping the look would soften as he approached.
::You okay, Brad?::
::Keep everyone back for a few minutes, Nagi, and let me have my own mind::
::No problem::
Brad smiled slightly, knowing he'd do as he was asked. His smile faded as the glare from his father only grew more intense. "Father?" he asked quietly, coming to stand before the taller man. Even in his older age, Father was still intimidating beyond belief.
"Bradley." His father's voice was dispassionate. Brad looked to the ground.
"We've got the guest room set up for you, Bradley," his mother said quietly. "When Cathy said you were bringing friends, we moved the furniture around and dug out the old sleeping bags."
Brad looked up at his mother, smiling through his strained features. "Thank you, Mother." Tentatively, he reached out for her, hoping to get in a quick embrace before she recoiled. To his surprise, she let go of Catherine completely, engulfing him in a warm hug. "Mother," he said quietly, returning the embrace.
::It's okay now, I think:: Brad told Nagi.
"You're home," his mother said, her voice muffled by the fabric of his jacket. "You're home, my poor baby."
"Mother," Brad said, pulling away slightly. He motioned with his hand toward where the rest of Schwarz now stood at the base of the steps. "These are my friends, and business partners. This is Nagi, Farfarello, and Schuldich."
"What sort of business do you do now, Bradley," his father asked, his voice still void of emotion.
With difficulty, Brad turned to his father. "I'll explain it all in the morning, if that's alright, Father. It's late, and we have to get Cat settled in, as well as get some rest. I know my friends are tired." He refrained from smirking as Schuldich stretched his mouth open wide in a mock yawn.
"Of course, Bradley, of course," his mother said, pulling the front door open. "Catherine will show you all to the guest room. Your father and I will worry about the unpacking. Go upstairs and get some rest."
Farfarello shook his head. "We're going to help," he said simply. "We helped her load it all."
Schuldich nodded. "You'll never figure out how to get it out of that van without it all crashing to the ground without us to hold it up," he said, flicking his gaze to Nagi.
"We insist," Nagi said, stifling a sigh. He held his palm open, and Catherine tossed him the keys to the van. Brad watched, smiling, as the three went back to the van to begin unloading. Schu had a point, he admitted. If it weren't for Nagi's power, they might not have been able to fit everything in the first place.
"Where should we put things, Mother?" Brad asked, turning his attention back to his family.
"In the hallway should be fine," she replied, watching his friends carefully. "They seem like a nice bunch, Bradley."
Brad nodded. "They are, once you get to know them. Finest group I've ever worked with."
"Interesting names," his father remarked.
"We're an international team, Father."
"Nagi's Japanese, Dad," Catherine said excitedly. "He's got a bigger J-pop CD collection than I do, and he brought them all with him!"
Brad noticed his father's rolling of eyes and exaggerated sigh. "As long as he doesn't play them too loudly."
"Oi, Bradley, give us a hand down here!" Schuldich called. "She's your sister!"
Chuckling slightly, Brad trotted down the driveway to help.
"Goodnight, Mother, sleep well." Brad shut the door to the tiny guest room and leant against it, his head dropping to rest against his chest.
"That was painful," Schuldich remarked, walking over to Brad and putting a hand on his shoulder. ::Are you okay?::
::I was expecting worse::
::It still hurt, though::
Brad couldn't deny that. His father all but ignored them. When he did speak, it was in a flat voice, a hard blue glare accompanying his words. His mother had practically doted, ushering them upstairs as soon as they had unloaded all of Catherine's luggage and tucking them into the guest room with four glasses of warm milk and shortbread cookies.
Farfarello took one of the shortbread cookies and looked it over. ::Can I…::
::No, Farfarello. Not now::
Farfarello frowned, but set the cookie back down on the plate, placing the small pearing knife beside it. He sat down cross-legged on the floor, fingering the burber carpet lightly. ::We sleep on the floor?::
Nagi looked up from his laptop, his blue eyes growing large. ::I have back problems, Crawford. You know that::
Schuldich scowled at the boy, slipping his arm through Crawford's. ::Shouldn't WE get the bed? It's his house, after all::
::Is this mattress dying too?:: Farfarello asked, pulling the pearing knife down from the table and tapping the blade against the box spring lightly.
Brad held up his hand, shutting his eyes tightly. ::Enough, all of you!:: He glared at Farfarello. ::Put that back up, quickly. All of you, please try to look normal for just a moment::
Schuldich opened his mouth to ask why, when a knock came on the door. He scowled at the sound, but pulled away from Bradley and went over to see what Nagi was doing on his laptop. Farfarello pocketed the knife and reached for a cookie, chomping on the dry buttermilk thing with gusto.
Brad opened the door, revealing Mrs. Crawford, smiling widely. Her eyes looked tired to him. "Hello, Mother."
"I just wanted to see if you boys would need anything before your father and I turn in for the night," she said, stepping past Brad and into the room. "I'm sorry it's so cramped in here, but we don't have any other spare rooms. It was just three of us when we moved up here, so we bought a smaller house."
"It's fine, ma'am," Nagi said politely. "Very cozy."
Mrs. Crawford smiled. "Aren't you a sweet boy for saying so! I'll have to introduce myself properly in the morning, and meet all of you properly as well." She turned to Brad. "Would you like me to make up some pancakes for breakfast tomorrow, Bradley dear?"
Brad nodded, ignoring the snickering from the other side of the room. "That would be lovely, Mother." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, gently guiding her toward the door. "Why don't you get some sleep? I'm sure the waiting up made you tired." He pecked her on the forehead, much to her delight.
"You're so thoughtful, Bradley. Sleep well, everyone!"
"Goodnight, Mrs. Crawford," Schuldich called out in a sing-song voice.
"Oyasumi," Nagi said, raising his hand.
"Farewell till dawn," Farfarello said quietly, swallowing the last cookie.
"Goodnight, Mother." Brad shut the door, clicking the lock into place, then turned to the group. ::Please, why do you all do that?::
::Do what?:: Schuldich asked innocently.
Brad rolled his eyes, then glared at the German. ::Don't you even think of giving me that act.:: He looked over at Nagi. ::Take the bed tonight::
Nagi grinned. He leapt to his feet, slamming the screen of his iMac down to shut the laptop off, and grabbed Crawford tightly around the middle. ::Thank you!::
Crawford smiled slightly. ::Don't go overboard, Nagi::
The boy nodded, letting go of Brad and heading back over to the bed. He quickly bundled himself up in the thick, fluffy down comforter, his back to the group.
::How come he gets the bed?:: Schuldich asked.
::He's sane:: Brad replied. ::Sleeping bags will do fine::
Farfarello nodded, sprawling out on top of one of the already laid out ones. ::It's almost like the cot at the asylum, only it isn't dying::
Schuldich yawned. ::What is it with you and dying bedding?:: He yanked on one of the other sleeping bags, unfurling it across the floor on the other side of the bed. ::You'd think dead mattresses hurt God, or something::
::What did I say about the G-word?:: Brad asked, laying his own sleeping bag out next to Schuldich's and slipping inside. ::Everyone get a good night's rest. We have a lot to do in the morning.::
::You have a lot to do:: Farfarello said. ::WE have to go sightseeing. I noticed a lot of churches on the way here::
::Farf, don't:: Nagi said, rolling back over toward him. ::Not on the first day, at least::
::Sleep, everyone:: Brad said, shutting his eyes. ::Nagi, could you oblige?::
With a flick of his wrist, Nagi willed the light switch to fall, shrouding the room in darkness. With a sigh, Crawford settled in on the floor, hoping tomorrow would go better.
