Note: This chapter took a bit longer than I wanted it to take because I sort of almost broke my finger. I managed not to (thankfully), but I did pull a muscle and it hurt like crap for about three days. But thanks to rainy days and a ton of cappuccino mix and/or hot cocoa mix, I've finished the chapter! Also burnt my tongue, but you know. =) Yay! Enjoy!
Myka – You read my mind… XD And I have been putting them in html, but for some reason the last chapter was all like "noooo! You can't do THAT!" So yeah…
Chapter 8:
"Comfortable?" Schuldich felt a rather violent mental jab accompany the familiar voice that he just couldn't seem to place. He didn't really want to get up and see who it was or what they really wanted, he was warm, the body next to him was warm, and Crawford would-
And then it hit him. Schuldich's eyes snapped open as he tore himself away from Yohji, who was now awake thanks to the sudden movement of Schuldich. Almost afraid to know, Schuldich looked over to where the voice had been, and much to his fear, Crawford stood leaning against the wall watching him. He didn't look too pissed off, but Schuldich knew better then to assume anything with Crawford, who always looked so calm and collected.
All of the fear Schuldich felt for himself dissipated as he realized with a start that Crawford was holding Clandestine in his arms. Schuldich scrambled off the sofa, almost tripping as the sheets bundled around his ankles. He was almost to Crawford when the elder spoke up.
"Not even a full twenty four hours and you're already neglecting her." Crawford hugged the girl tightly as Schuldich halted in his steps.
"What are you talking about?" Schuldich snapped, suddenly angry. He was not neglecting her, if anything he was spoiling her!
"If you weren't so busy with your new boyfriend you would have heard her crying three minutes ago." Bickering wasn't Crawford's strong point, but it wasn't his weakest either.
"That doesn't mean I'm neglecting her because I don't wake up as easily as others!" Something flashed across Crawford's face and Schuldich quickly realized he had just defended the wrong part of Crawford's sentence.
"Fine." Crawford snapped, all but dropping the baby into Schuldich's arms. Caught off guard, Schuldich quickly rearranged Clandestine in his arms, but when he looked back up, Crawford was already gone.
"Maybe you were too harsh on him?" Nagi stared at the ceiling of Crawford and Schuldich's room. He was sprawled out on his back across their bed as Crawford sat at the desk against the wall, balancing an account or something. Not like it really bothered Nagi that Crawford had to borrow his laptop for a bit. It gave him some time to talk to Crawford. You know, all that "bonding" crap people were always telling him about.
"Nagi, how exactly could I have been too hard on him?" Crawford didn't even bother looking up from his work. He didn't want Nagi to realize exactly how he felt about this topic of conversation.
"Maybe it's what Schuldich said, you know, 'it's not what it seems'." Nagi suggested carefully. He was fully aware that he was walking on egg shells in this conversation, but he wanted to get to a happy answer with Crawford before he went off to confront Schuldich about it.
"Yes, but what if it is?"
"But what if it's not?" Nagi pressed, knowing Crawford would give up and try to reason it out with him eventually. "I mean, face it, you know they aren't sleeping together. So they have slight affections for each other, what's the big deal? Just talk it out with Schuldich and get it over with." "And what if it's not that easy Nagi?" Crawford was still staring at the computer screen, but Nagi was sure he wasn't working.
"What do you mean?"
Crawford turned to Nagi, who was sitting up on the bed. He noticed immediately that Crawford wasn't trying to hide the weariness in his eyes. "What if, Nagi, he wants to be with Kudoh," Crawford paused and turned back to his work before continuing, "more than he wants to be with me?"
Finding no response worthy of comfort, Nagi flopped down on his back and went back to staring at the ceiling, mentally cursing Schuldich for screwing things up so much.
"What do you think Clandestine; think there's any way to fix things with Crawford?" Schuldich stared down at the girl in his arms, but she only cooed and grabbed hold of his hair. Must to Schuldich's dismay, she grabbed the ends of a few strands and popped them into her mouth. Schuldich scowled down at her, quickly pulling the strands from her mouth. Clandestine pouted for a moment before reaching back up and grabbing his hair again. Finding no escape, Schuldich just sighed and let her suck on his hair.
"That's healthy." Aya pointed out as he stepped out onto the back porch, sliding the door closed behind himself. Schuldich watched as Aya stepped closer to him, offering him a mug of what he assumed was coffee. Shifting Clandestine in his arms, Schuldich gratefully took the mug offered to him. He hadn't even noticed it when Aya first stepped out. "I thought you might need something to wake you up this morning." Aya explained carefully as he took a seat at the patio table.
"Yeah, I do actually, thanks." Schuldich held the mug up close to his face, closing his eyes against the warmth of the steam.
"You don't strike me as the morning sort of person." Aya mentioned after a moment as he sat watching Schuldich, who just blinked at him. Was Aya actually attempting conversation?
"Actually I usually wake up and have coffee with Crawford each morning. It's a habitual thing anymore." Chuckling lightly, Schuldich smiled briefly. "I actually hate waking up in the morning, but I started doing it to annoy him, and now…" Trailing off, Schuldich quickly looked down at the coffee in his mug. "Well you know."
"So what about this morning?" He didn't want to seem nosy, but Aya was actually curious. He figured that if he had to live with these guys for who knew how long, he might as well make the most of it.
"He's slightly mad at me for something stupid that I did. Or said. Or something really I'm not too sure, it's kind of confusing." Setting the mug of coffee on the patio table, Schuldich shifted Clandestine into a more comfortable arrangement in his arms.
Aya glanced down at the baby before sighing. "Does he say stuff like what he said the other day often?" Schuldich looked somewhat confused, so Aya gestured to the baby. "About her, and not keeping her."
"Oh that; no not really." Schuldich frowned as Clandestine grabbed another small hand full of hair and stuck it in her mouth. "He's usually okay with what ever I decide to do unless it's harmful to me in some way. Or if he has a vision, which he almost always would tell me about, but for him to not give a reason makes me suspicious."
"No offense, but I can't see you two as lovers."
"No offense taken, I wouldn't want you to watch." Schuldich smirked at the death glare he received from Aya, but frowned after a moment. "Nor can I see you with Ken." They both sat in silence watching the other before Schuldich smirked again. "Ah, touché." Aya just grunted and walked back inside.
"Hey Crawford?" Nagi was still staring at the ceiling, waiting for Crawford to finish his work.
"Hm?"
"Why'd you say what you said about the baby?" Nagi couldn't help it, he just had to know. She hadn't done anything to them, and she certainly didn't deserve death for some unknown reason.
"You're being soft, Nagi." Crawford glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, but his eyes were guarded and Nagi couldn't read what was behind them. "It's keeping you from thinking straight."
"How so?" Sitting up, Nagi frowned slightly.
"The baby more than likely has a mother, one who could recognize her in a split second. If the people who are after us just picked a random baby from a carriage out in the park and dropped her at our door step, they could be framing us." Crawford sighed and turned to face Nagi. "It's my worry that they'll come knocking at the door any day now with a search warrant for someone's arrest for kidnapping. I don't know if I'll see it coming or not."
"I see your point. But couldn't we just drop her off somewhere else?"
"Like where, someone else's steps? Nagi, if these people knew where to drop off the baby, don't you think they'd be watching us to see what we do with her?" Crawford sighed again. "Schuldich's random attachment to the girl will only cause us problems later on. Plus the added cost won't help us hide any."
"But Kudoh's been helping and-" Nagi stopped mid sentence, realizing his mistake. "Crawford I'm sorry, I didn't mean that to-"
"It's fine Nagi." Crawford turned back to his work, his face still guarded from the younger boy. "I'll be done in a few minutes."
"Nagi, Crawford?" Omi poked his head in the door, a dazed and confused expression on his face. Both turned to him, waiting for him to continue. "Schuldich said he wanted everyone in the living room because, well, he didn't actually say but you know."
"Where is he?" Crawford stood up, crossing the room in three quick strides as he opened the door all the way. Omi backed up a step and pointed behind him.
"He's um, in the bathroom." Omi blushed lightly and Nagi couldn't help but snicker. Crawford just rolled his eyes and frowned.
"Fine, if he wants us all in the living room, we'll be there. Nagi, get." Crawford quickly herded the two boys down the hall, surprised to find that everyone else was already there waiting. He quickly took notice that Kudoh was sprawled on the floor with Clandestine sitting on his stomach. Quickly stalking to the other side of the room, Crawford leaned against the wall next to Farfarello, who looked bored out of his mind.
Omi wandered down the hall to the bathroom, muttering a mere "we're all here" through the door to Schuldich, before returning to the living room again. He sat down on the floor, his back pressed to the couch where Aya and Ken were sitting. For a bit they all just sat there, no one really too sure what to say or do or, well, anything. It was strange for Schuldich to lock himself in the bathroom and then demand they all wait in the living room.
Actually it would have been strange even if it hadn't been Schuldich.
Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, Schuldich slowly opened the bathroom door and stepped into the hallway. He felt light headed, and suddenly he just didn't want to do this anymore. But there was no turning back. No, it would be impossibly. Besides, he wanted to see everyone's reaction himself. Shoving every doubt out of his mind, Schuldich walked to the entryway of the living room and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.
Omi thought he was going to have a heart attack. Aya looked shocked. Ken looked shocked. Nagi sat frozen in place. Yohji was so shocked that Clandestine rolled off his stomach and landed softly on the floor beside him without him so much as flinching. Even Farfarello looked shocked. Crawford's mouth was open as if he was going to say something but just couldn't form the words.
And he probably couldn't. Schuldich being who he was, he just stood there smirking around the room, waiting for someone to point out the obvious. After several minutes of silence he finally frowned and snapped, "What?"
A few more seconds passed before finally Yohji pointed and muttered a mere, "Oh my god, you cut your hair."
== TBC ==
Wow, I just did the one thing everyone will probably KILL me for doing. XD But I'm sorry, I have ALWAYS wondered what would happen if Schu cut his hair! Seriously! Next chapter is going to be mucho better and we'll start getting back into the actual plot. LOL. Anyway, feel free to review. I'll be out of town for the weekend so an update probably won't happen for a bit. Hey, I have my learner's permit for driver's ed, so I can actually drive on the road! Ooooh, scary thought… very scary… heehee. Enjoy.
PS. Stoning of me will be held in approx. seven hours...