Chapter Two

Disclaimers: I don't own WK. Am just writing this for fun

Youji woke, too quickly, making the room feel empty, hollow. Filled with sunlight, the sound of the ocean, flashes of white, it disoriented him. They were in the temple, fighting. Crawford!

"Shhhh," a mellow, rum and coke voice, smooth and yet edged calmed, "Relax, Youji. You're safe."

"Weiss!" Youji got a hand on the bed, yes, it was a bed, to push himself up only to have Brad's bare chest press him down into the soft mattress, to take his hand, lace their fingers together.

"Weiss is safe. Fujimiya Aya, the sister, has woken. Ran is with her. Omi and Ken are in this house." Brad didn't smile, but there was no tension in his face, only calm. "We are free. Swartz and Weiss. Kritiker only knows about Ran, the rest are unknown to them. You are free, Youji."

Youji leaned his head back, licked dry lips, green eyes loosing themselves in the patterns of ivy on the wall paper behind the bed. "I was always free."

"Fair enough," Brad said, fingers pulling from Youji's to touch the blond's chin. "I love you."

"You do? Still?" Youji left the wall paper, traded it for dark brown American eyes.

"I am not a man to waver from my path. I will still make the world safe for Talents. Maybe that's not through chaos, however. Chaos might be dangerous to the people that Talents love."

"I'm no talent," Youji said, hating the darkness that wanted to pull him under, deeper and faster than ocean he'd pulled Crawford from. His illusions were gone now. Weiss would know he slept with Crawford, would know that he needed Crawford, even if it meant the end of all the safe lies he'd lived, the end of himself.

"You are loved by a Talent though," Crawford said, thumb moving gently over Youji's lips. "You did not betray them."

"I left them to save what mattered to me." Youji closed his eyes.

"And you changed the future. Omi and Ken fled, in time. Schuldig pulled Ran from the ocean. Look at me," Crawford commanded.

Youji swallowed, looking in Crawford's eyes, the sunlight filled bedroom fell away. Emotion washed into Youji, shared emotion.

"Once the world was empty, Youji. Once my world held only the need to count up my goals and destroy those who opposed me. And then there was you," Crawford said firmly, a feeling of warm acceptance. Forgiveness, love that faced him, knew him, walked through his very thoughts, knew his darker sexual fantasies, knew his crimes, knew his dreams, the things he longed for, and loved him, embraced him, ruthless love. Youji broke, crying as Crawford held him close, soothing tangled blond hair. "You changed my world, Youji. You, imperfect, reckless, adorable you. You remind me of who I might have been in a different world, rude and daring. I wish you could see you as I see you."

Youji couldn't just then, face against Crawford's hard chest, one lanky arm wrapped around his lover, but then Crawford couldn't see himself with the love that Youji felt for him either. "I don't want to kill anymore."

"Your desires are my goals, Youji." Crawford said, releasing the old goals, the goals that would have pried him away from this man who reminded him what it was to live. "You will not kill anymore. We will build a school. Would you like to help me build a school?"

Youji held him tighter, not tight enough to hurt his ribs, but just tight enough to hold on. "A school? A school sounds good to me."

They lay there, just letting the day carry them forward into a future that Crawford hadn't completely seen, and that Youji didn't completely reject.