[A/N: Rendezvouz is French for "date" or "meeting".][I love Brad, I really
do, but every story needs a villain, ne?][Wow, this chapter starts out
light and then gets all angsty. Kinda bipolar. o_0]
Rendezvous [9]
...
Yohji stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom and pulled the comb through his hair for the ninety-ninth time.
"Yohji-kun, how much longer?" Omi perched himself outside of the door, alternating crossing one leg over the other.
"Just a second. I'm almost done."
"You were almost done a half an hour ago."
"Oh, don't exaggerate."
"This is cruel," Omi whined.
"Why don't you just go to the bathroom next to Ken's room?"
Omi raised an eyebrow. "Can't. Ken-kun and Aya-kun have been in there forever."
"What!?" Yohji pulled open the door before the statement was even completely finished.
Omi wasted no time slipping into the bathroom past him and pushing him out. "Kidding." He grinned and locked the door behind himself, leaving a very bewildered Yohji in the middle of the hall.
"They all think you're innocent, but I'm on to you!" Yohji called to Omi past the bathroom door. Oh well, he only had a couple comb strokes left anyway. He could manage like this. He walked down the stairs, fixing his belt along the way and grabbed his keys off the kitchen table before disappearing out the door.
~
"You're really going?" Nagi appeared in the doorway and rested his head on the frame.
"You should be in bed." Schuldig looked up as he pulled on his boots.
"Thank you, mother." Nagi frowned.
Schuldig laughed and got up to leave the room, ruffling Nagi's hair on his way out. "You're all I've got, little one."
"How disturbing," Nagi replied, leaning against the wall in the hallway.
Schuldig sighed and turned back around, kneeling in front of him. /Listen, what I'm doing right now is complete idiocy. Do as I say, no as I do, got it?/
"Hypocrite."
"Yea, well. I'm just making sure you don't see me as some sort of a role model or anything bizarre like that."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
"Good!" Schuldig stood up and smirked. "Now don't make me escort you back to bed."
"I think I can find my way back alright."
Schuldig grabbed his keys from the hook on the wall and turned to leave down the hall. /'Night, kid. Wish me luck./
Nagi sighed and pushed himself off the wall as the door swung closed. He slowly made his way down the hall back to his room, but when he reached it, he found Brad sitting on his bed.
"There are a few things I need cleared up," he said, his glasses eerily reflecting the light from the hall.
~
Omi suddenly shuddered in his spot in front of the TV, and started rubbing his arms from the uncomfortable feeling surging through him.
"Hey Omi, you alright?" Ken asked from the couch as he turned down the volume of the soccer game.
"Just the chills, I guess."
Ken pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and threw it to him. "Here, catch."
"Thanks," Omi replied and wrapped it around his shoulders.
Ran walked into the room from the kitchen with a glass of water in his hands. "I'm going to sleep," he said as he made his way towards the stairs. "Try not to keep me up with that game."
"Hey Aya," Ken called after him. "Wanna stay and watch with us?"
Ran continued up the stairs without turning around. "Not especially."
"G'night, then," Ken said and slumped back down onto the couch.
"Hn."
~
Yohji had been dancing for an hour straight with more people than he could count, and he was no where near finished for the night. A break, though, sounded rather good. He pushed himself out of the crowd and made his way to the bar.
"Anything cold," he told the bartender and pulled up a stool to sit on.
/Nice moves./ That familiar voice echoed through his head and he felt himself smirk. He didn't bother looking around; Mastermind would show himself eventually.
/Couldn't get enough of me last night?/
/You could say that./
/Here on business or pleasure?/ Yohji smiled at the bartender as she placed the drink down in front of him.
"What do you think?" Schuldig whispered into his ear and slid into the barstool next to him.
"I think I have a stalker," Yohji said and took a long drink from the potion the lovely bartender concocted for him.
Schuldig laughed, perching his elbow on the countertop. "And what if you're right?"
"Then I'm terribly flattered," Yohji said and quickly finished off his drink. "Dance?"
Schuldig stood up and ran his fingers through Yohji's hair. "What's the hurry?" He said and leaned down, locking their lips together. Alcohol, sex, and danger is what Schuldig tasted like, and those just happened to be Yohji's top three favorite things.
~
"The first thing I'd like you to explain to me is where Schuldig disappeared to," Brad said and pulled a cigarette out of his shirt pocket.
"To a club, I guess." Nagi shrugged.
"Any club in particular?" He asked nonchalantly and lit the cigarette.
"I don't know. He didn't say." Well, that part was true.
"Any reason in particular?" Brad put extra emphasis on 'reason'.
"Crawford, I don't know what you're suspecting but.." Nagi began, but Brad didn't let him finish.
"But you're really just as innocent as you look, and you have no idea what treasonous things Schuldig could be up to?"
Nagi's eyes widened at hearing this, but he willed himself to stay calm. "He's not doing anything wrong."
"Alright, then." Brad sighed, turning his attention towards the window for a moment. "I suppose I can inquire about it when he gets back."
"Yea."
After a moment of silence, Brad held out his hand and said, "Come here."
Nagi's eyes shot up in surprise, but the waters he was treading were to deep to allow for argument. He took a couple of steps forward and felt Brad's hand move across the bandage on his stomach.
"It seems to be healing well," he commented and pulled off a corner of the adhesive to look at the wound.
"It is," Nagi agreed.
"The doctor said that if the arrow had been in your side any longer, the situation would be much worse."
Nagi nodded, concentrating all his will as not to pull away from the pain the exposure was causing his sensitive skin.
"And it was pulled out at such a precise angle that it didn't cause any more damage coming out," Brad said and pressed on the wound.
Nagi flinched and bit his lip. He finally realized where Brad was going with this, and he just wanted to run as far away as possible.
"Tell me, dear Nagi, how did that come about that the arrow was removed so accurately, as if by a skilled hand?"
"I pulled it out. Luck, I guess," Nagi lied and suddenly felt a sharp sting on his cheek. His knees gave in under him as his hand instinctively went to nurse his bleeding lip.
Brad bent forward to grab his face. "You think you can lie to me? You forget who I am."
Nagi kept his eyes as low as possible, only waiting for Brad to let go of his face. It hurt so much, he thought his jaw would shatter into pieces.
Brad finally let go and casually walked towards the door. "By the way, if Schuldig contacts you, make sure he knows to come talk to me tomorrow morning. I think he might need some of the same things cleared up."
Nagi heard the door click closed behind him. He wrapped his arms around his stomach, feeling his wound bleeding down his hand again. He couldn't help the childish tears falling from his eyes. It hurt so much. So much. In fact, it hurt so much that his tears shattered all the glass in the room, sending it flying everywhere, adding more cuts to his body.
Nagi looked up and realized that he had broken the window, and all the small shards of glass were scattered all over his room. The important thing, though, was that the window was gone. There was just space between him and the outside. He pulled himself up off the ground and stumbled closer to the it, not bothering to worry about the pieces of glass he stepped on. When he reached the window, he moved his arm outside of it to make sure that it was really gone. Sure enough, just space. He placed one bare foot over the sill and felt the ground underneath him. The other foot soon followed. Before he knew it, he was running as fast as his weak body allowed and as far away as he could imagine.
~
Schuldig's eyes shot open, and he pulled away from Yohji on the dance floor. "I gotta go."
"What?" Yohji watched him push his way through the crowd around them and decided to follow. He passed all the meandering hallways and finally found his way out of the place.
"What the hell are you doing?" Schuldig yelled to him from his car when he saw that he had followed him to the parking lot.
"What am I doing?" Yohji called back and ran over to him. "I'm not the one that just shot out of there without another word!"
"Believe me," he said from his car, "I wouldn't leave unless I absolutely had to."
"Schwarz emergency," Yohji concluded.
"Sort of. Don't worry, I'll see you again in your dreams." Schuldig replied myseriously as he started up the engine and drove away.
"See ya." Yohji smirked. "Smooth. 'See you in your dreams.' Real smooth." He laughed.
Rendezvous [9]
...
Yohji stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom and pulled the comb through his hair for the ninety-ninth time.
"Yohji-kun, how much longer?" Omi perched himself outside of the door, alternating crossing one leg over the other.
"Just a second. I'm almost done."
"You were almost done a half an hour ago."
"Oh, don't exaggerate."
"This is cruel," Omi whined.
"Why don't you just go to the bathroom next to Ken's room?"
Omi raised an eyebrow. "Can't. Ken-kun and Aya-kun have been in there forever."
"What!?" Yohji pulled open the door before the statement was even completely finished.
Omi wasted no time slipping into the bathroom past him and pushing him out. "Kidding." He grinned and locked the door behind himself, leaving a very bewildered Yohji in the middle of the hall.
"They all think you're innocent, but I'm on to you!" Yohji called to Omi past the bathroom door. Oh well, he only had a couple comb strokes left anyway. He could manage like this. He walked down the stairs, fixing his belt along the way and grabbed his keys off the kitchen table before disappearing out the door.
~
"You're really going?" Nagi appeared in the doorway and rested his head on the frame.
"You should be in bed." Schuldig looked up as he pulled on his boots.
"Thank you, mother." Nagi frowned.
Schuldig laughed and got up to leave the room, ruffling Nagi's hair on his way out. "You're all I've got, little one."
"How disturbing," Nagi replied, leaning against the wall in the hallway.
Schuldig sighed and turned back around, kneeling in front of him. /Listen, what I'm doing right now is complete idiocy. Do as I say, no as I do, got it?/
"Hypocrite."
"Yea, well. I'm just making sure you don't see me as some sort of a role model or anything bizarre like that."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
"Good!" Schuldig stood up and smirked. "Now don't make me escort you back to bed."
"I think I can find my way back alright."
Schuldig grabbed his keys from the hook on the wall and turned to leave down the hall. /'Night, kid. Wish me luck./
Nagi sighed and pushed himself off the wall as the door swung closed. He slowly made his way down the hall back to his room, but when he reached it, he found Brad sitting on his bed.
"There are a few things I need cleared up," he said, his glasses eerily reflecting the light from the hall.
~
Omi suddenly shuddered in his spot in front of the TV, and started rubbing his arms from the uncomfortable feeling surging through him.
"Hey Omi, you alright?" Ken asked from the couch as he turned down the volume of the soccer game.
"Just the chills, I guess."
Ken pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and threw it to him. "Here, catch."
"Thanks," Omi replied and wrapped it around his shoulders.
Ran walked into the room from the kitchen with a glass of water in his hands. "I'm going to sleep," he said as he made his way towards the stairs. "Try not to keep me up with that game."
"Hey Aya," Ken called after him. "Wanna stay and watch with us?"
Ran continued up the stairs without turning around. "Not especially."
"G'night, then," Ken said and slumped back down onto the couch.
"Hn."
~
Yohji had been dancing for an hour straight with more people than he could count, and he was no where near finished for the night. A break, though, sounded rather good. He pushed himself out of the crowd and made his way to the bar.
"Anything cold," he told the bartender and pulled up a stool to sit on.
/Nice moves./ That familiar voice echoed through his head and he felt himself smirk. He didn't bother looking around; Mastermind would show himself eventually.
/Couldn't get enough of me last night?/
/You could say that./
/Here on business or pleasure?/ Yohji smiled at the bartender as she placed the drink down in front of him.
"What do you think?" Schuldig whispered into his ear and slid into the barstool next to him.
"I think I have a stalker," Yohji said and took a long drink from the potion the lovely bartender concocted for him.
Schuldig laughed, perching his elbow on the countertop. "And what if you're right?"
"Then I'm terribly flattered," Yohji said and quickly finished off his drink. "Dance?"
Schuldig stood up and ran his fingers through Yohji's hair. "What's the hurry?" He said and leaned down, locking their lips together. Alcohol, sex, and danger is what Schuldig tasted like, and those just happened to be Yohji's top three favorite things.
~
"The first thing I'd like you to explain to me is where Schuldig disappeared to," Brad said and pulled a cigarette out of his shirt pocket.
"To a club, I guess." Nagi shrugged.
"Any club in particular?" He asked nonchalantly and lit the cigarette.
"I don't know. He didn't say." Well, that part was true.
"Any reason in particular?" Brad put extra emphasis on 'reason'.
"Crawford, I don't know what you're suspecting but.." Nagi began, but Brad didn't let him finish.
"But you're really just as innocent as you look, and you have no idea what treasonous things Schuldig could be up to?"
Nagi's eyes widened at hearing this, but he willed himself to stay calm. "He's not doing anything wrong."
"Alright, then." Brad sighed, turning his attention towards the window for a moment. "I suppose I can inquire about it when he gets back."
"Yea."
After a moment of silence, Brad held out his hand and said, "Come here."
Nagi's eyes shot up in surprise, but the waters he was treading were to deep to allow for argument. He took a couple of steps forward and felt Brad's hand move across the bandage on his stomach.
"It seems to be healing well," he commented and pulled off a corner of the adhesive to look at the wound.
"It is," Nagi agreed.
"The doctor said that if the arrow had been in your side any longer, the situation would be much worse."
Nagi nodded, concentrating all his will as not to pull away from the pain the exposure was causing his sensitive skin.
"And it was pulled out at such a precise angle that it didn't cause any more damage coming out," Brad said and pressed on the wound.
Nagi flinched and bit his lip. He finally realized where Brad was going with this, and he just wanted to run as far away as possible.
"Tell me, dear Nagi, how did that come about that the arrow was removed so accurately, as if by a skilled hand?"
"I pulled it out. Luck, I guess," Nagi lied and suddenly felt a sharp sting on his cheek. His knees gave in under him as his hand instinctively went to nurse his bleeding lip.
Brad bent forward to grab his face. "You think you can lie to me? You forget who I am."
Nagi kept his eyes as low as possible, only waiting for Brad to let go of his face. It hurt so much, he thought his jaw would shatter into pieces.
Brad finally let go and casually walked towards the door. "By the way, if Schuldig contacts you, make sure he knows to come talk to me tomorrow morning. I think he might need some of the same things cleared up."
Nagi heard the door click closed behind him. He wrapped his arms around his stomach, feeling his wound bleeding down his hand again. He couldn't help the childish tears falling from his eyes. It hurt so much. So much. In fact, it hurt so much that his tears shattered all the glass in the room, sending it flying everywhere, adding more cuts to his body.
Nagi looked up and realized that he had broken the window, and all the small shards of glass were scattered all over his room. The important thing, though, was that the window was gone. There was just space between him and the outside. He pulled himself up off the ground and stumbled closer to the it, not bothering to worry about the pieces of glass he stepped on. When he reached the window, he moved his arm outside of it to make sure that it was really gone. Sure enough, just space. He placed one bare foot over the sill and felt the ground underneath him. The other foot soon followed. Before he knew it, he was running as fast as his weak body allowed and as far away as he could imagine.
~
Schuldig's eyes shot open, and he pulled away from Yohji on the dance floor. "I gotta go."
"What?" Yohji watched him push his way through the crowd around them and decided to follow. He passed all the meandering hallways and finally found his way out of the place.
"What the hell are you doing?" Schuldig yelled to him from his car when he saw that he had followed him to the parking lot.
"What am I doing?" Yohji called back and ran over to him. "I'm not the one that just shot out of there without another word!"
"Believe me," he said from his car, "I wouldn't leave unless I absolutely had to."
"Schwarz emergency," Yohji concluded.
"Sort of. Don't worry, I'll see you again in your dreams." Schuldig replied myseriously as he started up the engine and drove away.
"See ya." Yohji smirked. "Smooth. 'See you in your dreams.' Real smooth." He laughed.