Disclaimer: I don´t own Brad, Schu or Farf. I also have no rights on Rosenkreuz. No profit made so don´t sue. (You wouldn´t get anything anyway ´`´`*)
Warnings: maybe AU (I haven´t heard any of the drama tracks´`´`), OOC and slight hints of Shonen ai.
Summary: Brad gives Schuldig a long-promised Christmas gift.
* * * * * *
Prologue
* * * * * *
"Who are you?"
"Schuldig."
"Schuldig?"
"Yeah. Just Schuldig."
A chuckle.
"Well, well. Guilty. And how´re your silblings names? Einspruch and Abgelehnt?" (Objection and Challenged- legalese speech)
Clothes shuffled as one of the two boys turned.
"I had sadistic parents."
…
"How are you called?"
"You may call me shame."
* * * *
belated Christmas
a Rosenkreuz fiction
The snow fell thightly packed as the four raced through the streets. To the boys it looked almost supernatural. The white flakes fell so tightly that everything, departed more than two metres from them, turned into a part of a world of eternal dawn.
Most of people had fled the streets long before, bitterly complaining about the bad weather. To the four of them it was like they were in heaven. None of them spoke. They were all saving their breath for running.
Sprinting after the taller dark-haired boy was a small redhead, his shoulder-long mane blowing in the wind. He and the smaller boy behind him had their troubles to keep up with the two older boys. Still none of them even spared a thought at slowing down.
They were certainly still after them.
As if on cue the sound of footsteps got audible behind them. Using the last of his strenght to run faster Schuldig sped up to the oldest boy, shouting "Brad!! Behind us!"
The one called Brad cursed at that and raised his speed even more while gesturing the rest of them to take the next turn left. Within few seconds the boys found themselves in a crowded part of a shopping mall. Windowcases full of laughing Santa Clauses and other more or less tasteless christmas decoration were lining the sides now though none of the youths bought any attention to them. They also neither really took notice of the other thickly wrapped-up people which were busyly buzzing around, nor of the rich decorated christmas trees which were set up all over the place.
They were much too busy with running for their lives.
And then Brad suddenly stopped in front of one of the trees. He quickly had to grab Schuldig´s wrist to prevent the small redhead from simply running on. One of the two other boys, the smaller one, also stopped but the third kept running. He didn´t even got five metres of distance between them before the first bullet hit.
Within seconds hell broke loose. Schuldig stared shocked at the form lying on the ground but Brad´s hand resting on his shoulder in a half comforting, half demanding manner kept him from moving. Now he could see their pursuers. Some of them were moving on the upper level of the store still looking out for the rest of them while another group was on their way down. And Brad simply stood there! Schuldig tried to wriggle himself free but the grip just tightened until it hurt. "Brad." He whined. If they´d stay there any longer they´d also be caught.
"Shh." The wispered answer came, "Stay still." Schuldig couldn´t do anything other than to follow his order. Anxiously he watched the men come closer and closer - And vanish behind the huge christmas tree they were standing in front of.
"And now go. But don´t start running or look back."
And with that Brad took them by their hands and led them slowly away from the happening. Casting a qick side-glance back Schuldig could see that they had nearly reached the fallen boy by now.
´Brad. He´s still alive.´
Brad didn´t even batt an eyelid.
´I know.´
* * * * *
"Why are you here?"
A soft laugh.
"Some of the teach´s thought me a bit too disobidient." - for their special likings.
None of them had to speak that part.
Though both already knew.
"Schneweis?"
A silent nod.
"Uh-huh."
"He always had a special liking for redheads."
……
"German, right?"
"Ja. You?"
"…American."
* * * * *
They had finally chosen an old, run-down house in the slums as hideout for the night. Here, nobody was asking what three children were making out in the streets and nobody was caring where they were going.
Schuldig watched the snowflakes dancing their way down to the ground through the open window. None of the windows had glasses anymore, they had been broken a long time ago, and now the cold december wind was blowing without any obstacles through the room. Wrapping himself tighter in his clothes the redhead wished silently for a fire to warm himself, but he was knowing far too well that it would just attract their followers and thus out of question.
Looking at the other boy in the room he wondered how he was standing this cold without even shivering once. The boy hadn´t spoken a word since Brad had attacked their attendant, a fact which was still surprising Schuldig. Who´d ever thought that Brad out of all people would try too flee? He chuckled softly. Yeah, who? He certainly not. And their watchman also.
It just had simply come out of the blue. One moment Brad was still studying their surroundings, the next he had pushed the surprised man out on the street and directly in front of an oncomming car. The sound of footsteps announced the oldest boy´s return. Weary jade eyes watched as the tall american let himself drop on the floor next to Schuldig. There wasn´t any furniture they could sit on.
"And?"
Brad sighed. He´d searched the whole apartment for something at use, but hadn´t found anything. All warm or otherly usefull things had been raided long before. Which left the three boys with nothing more than their thin uniform clothes and down-worn jackets to survive the cold of the night. Shaking his head he sighed again.
"Nothing. I´ve searched te whole house as far as possible, but not even a sheat of paper."
Next to him the redhead also sighed.
"Had to be expected."
"Yeah. Guess it was."
* * * * *
"Since when are you here?"
"Here?", a bitter smile, "Which date is it?"
The smaller boy gave him a surprised glance.
"That long?"
A not less bitter chuckle followed this question.
"If I´d know I wouldn´t have to ask. It´s heavy to distinguish day and night at this place."
"…Today´s the 24th December."
The other nodded.
"Thought so. Then I´m here since eight days."
Surprise.
"Eight days?! What have you done to get that long?" Even the most unforgivable things weren´t triggering such a long punishment. They weren´t willing to lower their goods worth recklessly by making them going insane. He must have done something really bad.
Just a chuckle answered.
* * * * *
Schuldig used the time they were waiting for the sun to return – stumbling through the slums without knowing the localities was practical suicide- to study the boy next to him.
Brad hadn´t changed very much at all within the year since their first meeting. His dark hair was still hanging in this strangely spidery way into his eyes. The same golden-brown eyes whose looks had seemed to reach right down to the bottom of his soul were now shining with vigilance beneath the brimless glasses.
Brad was the only person Schuldig was willing to submit to (sometimes). Though his younger looks the dark-haired teen was about four or five years older than the German and all in all a very straight out person. When he didn´t like somethig he said it right-forward, a fact which had brought him in quite some problems in Rosenkreuz. He still was doing it.
Brad wasn´t bowing to anything.
Still there were things about the american, Schuldig would never understand. Why was he hating to be called Bradley? Why had he called himself "shame" back then when they first met? With the superious air he was tending to wear around himself and his cool attitude the atlethic american could be described as much, but ashamed wasn´t part of it.
Obviously he´d stared too much ´cause Brad suddenly returned his look, quirking an eyebrow. Schuldig blinked.
"What?"
"You were staring."
There was no accusation in his vioce, Brad was simply stating the obvious.
"Yeah. And?"
"You where wondering why I´ve done this today, weren´t you."
Surprised silence.
"A bit. I thought You liked it there."
Brad snorted at that, a humorless grin spreading over his lips.
"Then you thought wrong. I hate it there even more than you."
Schuldig blinked again. That was something new. His mouth was asking faster than he could think over the question.
"Then why you haven´t –"
"-haven´t run from there before?" He chuckled tryly. "Who tell´s you that I haven´t?"
"…So that´s why you called yourself…"
"Shame. Yes. Because I was too scared to fight properly when it counted."
Feeling Schuldig´s inquiring look, he continued. "We were fourteen back then. Each with good disguising and fighting skills and the firm decision to leave Rosenkreuz." Again he chuckled softly. " We were so foolish to think that we´d make it if we just tried hard enough."
"And?"
"And? We made it ´till we got stopped one and a half metre in front of the main gate . The other thirteen died fighting back and I got shot down before greatly doing anything. That was the reason for shame. I never want to fail like that again. Never."
"But I heard that you took out over twenty of the guardians..?"
"O yeah, over twenty. They were underestimating us and we were fighting for our lives while getting slaughtered." He sighed. "What`s so great about it, I ask you? Just a bunch of kids which wanted to live."
"….."
"Short ago I heard that a new project in which they are going to try and turn some of us into their personal hit-mans will start soon. Our names were also on the list."
Schuldig stared disbelieving at him.
"We? Assassins?!"
Brad just nodded wearily. "We had to get away before it was too late."
Schuldig still stared at him.
"Thanks."
"For what?"
"That you´re taking me with you."
Brad shrugged. "Nothing to thank ther-" His eyes went blank. Without saying another word he rose and went to the window. It was still snowing and pitchdark. "Brad -?" Without taking his eyes from the street in front of the window Brad started to move. That made Schuldig even more nervous. "Brad? What´s-?"
Making a sushing gesture, Brad kneeled down in front of him. Caramel eyes bore jade ones. "Schuldig, I´ll go out for a moment now. You two will stay here. If I haven´t returned ´till midnight you go and search yourself another hideout, understood? If I´m not back, don´t wait for me!"
Schuldig simply stared at him, too shell-shocked to say anything. Strong hands gripped his shoulders. "Schuldig? Do you understand? Don´t wait!" Like caught in trance Schuldig nodded weakly. "Un-huh"
"Alright."
Brad stood up and turned to leave as a sudden hand gripped his and held him back.
"Brad?"
"Yes?"
"Engel"
"Huh?" Brad blinked.
Grinning at him Schuldig repeated. "Engel. I´m Engel. Thats my real name." And with a grin he added "I told ya that I had a couple of sadists as parents."
Brad answered with one of his own real smiles. A smile as precious and seldom as a black diamond.
Schuldig –he wasn´t using the name Engel anymore since a long time- watched his friend leave. Somehow he had a bad feeling about this.
They hadn´t to wait for long. Not even a quarter hour later he heard the first shouts. Rushing to the window he had just enough time to see a black shadow with glasses bolting trought the night, a pack of bigger shadowed figures hot at his heels.
´He´s leading them away from us ´
For some anxious minutes he couldn´t hear or see anything. Then thick snow was covering it all.
Then: sounds of a quarreling, some more shouts, part of them out of pain, and then the bang of a fired firearm echoed through the empty street in all it´s finality. For a moment Schuldig imagined to hear the soft sound of a slight body falling on the snowy ground.
And then….nothing.
Nobody came to take them back to hell on earth. But also nobody came to tell them that the danger was over now and lead them to safety. Brad didn´t come.
Looking on the watch around his wrist Schuldig noticed that it was already half past midnight. Brad had tricked him when he´d told him that he´d be back until midnight.
He´d known that he wouldn´t come back.
"H´e doesn´t come back, does he?"
The comment remembered Schuldig that he wasn´t alone in the room. There was still the little boy from before. He´d sat the whole time hunched in a corner, just watching them. Taking a closer look the redhead noticed the first time that he was barely older than him. Maybe one year difference. He looked quite fragile and a tad strange with his single amber eye and the bright hair. Schuldig didn´t think that Brad had been intending on bringing him with them. It just had happened.
"No. He doesn´t."
The boy simply nodded. "What ´re we going to do now?" Schuldig sighed at that question. It was rushing through his head since Brad had left. Quickly picking the boys name out of his mind he answered. "Tell ya what Jei-"
"Farfarello."
"?"
"My name´s Farfarello. Jei´s death."
"Alright. Tell ya what, Farfie, we´ll just do what Brad told us. Search a new home and go on without him."
As planned as these words sounded Schuldig had no clue how to act them out. He´d also lived on the street before he´d met his first real friend and ally in Brad, but now… It´s right what people always said. One couldn´t miss something one never knew. Leaning heavily against the empty window frame he watched the silent dance of the snowflakes. White, white, pures Weiß… burying everything under it and making the world look peaceful.
The redhead already started to miss Brad. No matter if he´d see the american ever again or not, his friend Brad was death. The german knew that with absolute certainty. Brad was now as dead as Engel and Jei, buried deeply under a thick cover of dancing white.
Then he remembered something. As it was after midnight it was already christmas eve.
* * * * * *
Epilogue
* * * * * *
"Christmas eve?"
"Yeah. Today´s the 24th, so it´s christmas eve."
An amused chuckle followed that statement.
"Sorry to let you down, but I fear I have no present for you."
Scuffling of feet.
"Doesn´t matter! You´ll just have to give me something really big next year."
Somebody laughed.
"You don´t want much, huh? Alright next year I´ll give you something really special."
"But not just something! I want a really, really good special gift! Promise?"
Hands were shaken.
"Promise. You have my word."
Happy laughter filled the dark cell.
*****
Schuldig looked at his hand. ´Promise! A really good special gift…You have my word.´ The snow was still dancing when they finally left the shaggy building.
A real special gift. A whole new life in freedom.
Yeah, that was a really big special gift.
"Merry Christmas Brad."