Author: Malebranche
Date: 03/30/04
Contact: xxxdre4merxxx@hotmail.com
Genre: Slash/Yaoi, AU, romance, angst, supernatural, series.
Comments: PG-13. If you can't handle slash, go away. BxS. Lime. Mangled personalities. This story has not been beta-ed, barely even proofread. I'm deeply sorry for any mistakes.
Disclaimer: Weiss Kreuz and all its characters are properties of their respective authors.
Autumn to Ashes: Denial is Not a River in Egypt
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December 2000, Los Angeles
"This...is home."
The mansion-like house towered above street, black pavement below contrasting with the whiteness of the building's three stories. Steps lead from the sidewalk up to the front door, where there was an ornate doorbell next to a black metal mailbox. There were a few bushes in front of the house, the only sign of nature as far as the eye could see.
"Whoa. This place's huge!" Schuldich exclaimed, pretending to have to squint to see the top of the building.
Brad snorted. "Let's go inside. I'll show you your room and you can meet my maid."
"Wha - you have a maid?" Schuldich said, eyes wide.
Brad sighed and headed up the steps, beckoning Schuldich to follow him.
The interior of the huge living room that greeted them was decorated in a style reminiscent of early twentieth century architecture, all elegance and sophistication. The white carpet was thick and soft, and Schuldich spent several moments running around the room with his feet bare as Brad watched in amusement. A few paintings and statues were tastefully placed around the room, and potted house plants bordered the doors. On the far right corner of the room Schuldich could see a black and white marble floor, which he presumed to be the kitchen. Moving his gaze upward, he saw an ornate chandelier hanging precariously above his head. He moved to sit at the base of the staircase that was positioned at the rear of the room.
"Geez Brad. Tell me, how many gold diggers have you dated?" Schuldich asked, playfully sarcastic.
Brad wrinkled his nose slightly. "I can't count them all. They breed like rabbits."
Getting up from his position on the stairs, Schuldich walked over to Brad and looped his arms around the other man's neck, pulling him into a lingering, luxurious kiss. "Forget about them." he said seriously. "If they ever bug you again I'll shoot them dead."
Grinning, Brad took Schuldich's hand and led him up the stairs. "I think you can meet Aya-chan later, Schuldich. I have other things in mind right now."
"Who's Aya-chan? Oh, your maid?" said Schuldich, glancing around the room to see if he could spot her.
"Later!" Brad said, tugging Schuldich towards his room by his belt.
Schuldich licked his lips and followed.
/Hormones./ he thought.
"Ooh, Braddy, velvet and silk? Is that a handcuff I see there? Kinky, aren't we?" Schuldich said mischievously.
"I'll show you just how kinky 'we' are..." Brad growled.
The door slammed shut with a decisive bang.
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Stepping out of the shower, Schuldich was enveloped once again in Brad's welcoming arms, his back pressing intimately against Brad's naked chest.
"Oi Brad...not again...we just did it so many times..." complained Schuldich mischievously.
Brad let out a sigh of exasperation. What was it again that he liked about Schuldich? "I was just thinking that we should go downstairs for some food, and you can meet Aya-chan while we're at it."
Twisting his body within Brad's grasp, Schuldich rested his head at the crook of Brad's neck. "Sounds good to me. What're we having?"
"Who knows? Aya-chan's a really good cook, though, so it'll be good no matter what." said Brad, pulling Schuldich towards their clothes.
As soon as they were dressed, the pair walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Man...this kitchen is bigger than my whole apartment put together...and the island," he pointed to the structure in the middle of the room. "is bigger than my bed!" huffed Schuldich in mock anger, marveling at his reflection on the surface of the counter.
"No one told you to live in a rat's nest" said Brad amusedly, to which Schuldich brushed off as something out of his control.
Aya-chan was busy at the stove, stirring a pot with one hand while checking a steamer with the other. "Ah! Sir Crawford!"
"Don't call me that..." said Brad, rubbing his temples.
"Ah. Sorry, Sir....I mean, Brad." Aya-chan said with a sheepish smile, still stirring the pot of what looked like spaghetti sauce. She turned towards Schuldich "Nice to meet you..."
"Schuldich." the redhead said, peering into the pot.
/Mmm...food.../
"Schuldich. Please sit down, dinner will be ready in a moment. I will bring you something to drink." said Aya, curtsying slightly to the two men.
Schuldich and Brad walked languidly to the dining room. There were twelve chairs around a rectangular table that seemed to be made out of some sort of black wood. More paintings and statues decorated the room.
"Man...who did you hire to decorate - everything's so frigid." Schuldich said, fingering a potted plant by the door.
Brad scowled. "I don't know. My father hired them. It's been like this since I moved here. I've just never been home long enough to personalize anything."
Schuldich snorted. "Geez, you don't need hours to do that." he said, taking off his tie. "It only takes a thought and a few seconds. These things build up." He hung his yellow tie on the potted plant, ruffling the leaves gently as if to make it more comfortable.
Brad's eyebrow rose. "What exactly are you doing?"
"I'm taking it upon myself to personalize our little abode, seeing as I'm going to be staying here for a while." he said, turning away from Brad.
The amber-eyed man smiled roguishly and walked up behind Schuldich. "So you're staying, are you?" he said, nibbling on Schuldich's ear. "Whatever made you think that?"
Brad's body heat permeated Schuldich and made him shiver. "What, you don't want me here?" Secretly (or not so secretly, since Brad was quite empathetic), Schuldich was afraid of the answer.
In response, a pair of long arms wrapped around Schuldich's waist from behind. "Of course I want you here, you imbecile." Brad said, easing his head on the other man's shoulder.
/I need him here. No. Want. Want is a good word. It does not show dependence. I need nothing./
"Aww, you're so sweet...I'd ask if you wanted another go if I didn't know that Aya-chan is standing outside the dining room, waiting for us to finish." Schuldich said with a grin.
Brad removed his head from Schuldich's shoulder and took him by the hand., leading him to a seat "Aya-chan, you can come in now."
Aya-chan popped from the other side of the door, dress flouncing slightly as she placed the tray of beverages on the table. "I'm sorry for interrupting." she said, a slight blush sweeping across her cheeks.
"That's okay Aya-chan. Why don't you join us? We can discuss evil pranks to pull on Braddy-boy." Schuldich said, pulling out a chair next to him.
Aya-chan grinned, momentary discomfort forgotten. "Brad likes his coffee black, with sugar. If we ever wanted to put laxatives in it, it'd be easy to hide."
Brad frowned. He didn't think this was a good development.
A howl of laughter escaped Schuldich. He turned to Brad and said "Man, at least your dad picked a great maid for ya." he shook hands with Aya-chan, who had timidly sat next to him. "To future shenanigans!"
Brad groaned.
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December 2000, Los Angeles - Two Weeks Later
Yesterday, Schuldich asked Brad if he loved him.
Curiously, the piece of steak Brad had been chewing on started struggling away from his stomach and into his lungs once Schuldich finished his sentence. He was sure the initial question had been forgotten after Schuldich performed the Heimlich maneuver to remove that nasty piece of meat from his respiratory system.
Schuldich didn't look at him in the eye for the rest of that evening and Brad didn't question it. There was a tension in the air that didn't normally exist, but after they had made love (no, not love, sex), it disappeared.
Schuldich fell asleep, curled up next to Brad, who couldn't escape from consciousness.
He didn't love Schuldich. Really. Sure, he really like him, but it wasn't love, no way.
It didn't matter if Schuldich's pictures adorned every room in his household, Brad was sure that it wasn't love. It was just infatuation, like the way a high school couple might scribble "Jenine luvz Max 4ever" on an old oak tree during lunch.
Brad was a practical man. It wasn't possible to "fall in love" with someone after...what was it? Two weeks? Three? It didn't matter, it all moved too quickly anyways.
Just because the names that were sent to him regarding social events were addressed no longer to "Brad Crawford", but to "Brad and Schuldich", didn't mean Brad was comfortable with Schuldich there.
Not even when waking up with half the bed cold came as a surprise to him, in the form of a slow dropping-out of the bottom of his stomach until he heard Schuldich in the shower, or walking in the hall, or doing whatever at wherever.
Brad withdrew from his thought and looked at Schuldich and committed to memory all his features. Brad could see the slight fuzz on his lover's upper lip - adorable. Long eyelashes which hid hypnotic green eyes (Brad would know, he'd spent enough hours staring at them to have memorized their numerous hues by heart) and a pert nose that he had kissed so many times...
Brad fell asleep with his arms around Schuldich, and dreamed of flaming hair and green eyes.
Nope. Not in love. Not at all.
The heart is deceitful above all things.
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Author commentary: Hypocrisy and Earthworms.
1. Shortish chapter, because if I ended it where I had planned to end it, it would have been much too long. Next chapter will be posted earlier than the 11th of April. I promise more action and less talk. And some stuff to actually move the plot! ;)
2. Thanks to MOTDOTW (that's a mouthful...) for the corrections in the previous chapter. If you check, they're all fixed. 'Arse' is 'ass' in 'British-speak'.
3. Website's open, but it doesn't have much in the way of content (for now.) The link can be found on my profile page. Yes, that was a shameless and tactless plug, made more tactless by this sentence.
4. I'm reading Diary by Chuck Palahniuk -- check it out if you have some free time :)