Author's notes and warnings: Hello again! This chapter, like Weiss Kreuz's chapter four, will be mainly about the boys. No horribly complicated plots…just conversation between our closed up Ceilen and ultra genki Tryffin. You can just see where this is going, right? Poor, poor, Chichiri-sama…
Okay, the first section of this chapter was written for a
special friend who needed cheering up, it's pretty pointless and um…just pure
fanservice. No redeeming value what so
ever, ne, Xellas? *giggles* But enjoy,
okay, guys?
Reviews make fanfiction writers very, very happy, no da and I want to
thank all my wonderful reviewers!
*Great big group hug*
Tearlesereph: Mean to Kouji?
Would I do that? LOL I actually have plans for Kouji, no da… Thank you!!!
Xellas: Hm…I wonder whom I wrote that first part for… LOL, like it? *wink, wink* Thanks for everything especially the last part of the chapter! Couldn't have done it without you! (((hugs)))
Ayako: Oh, don't send the ex-bandit away just yet…Chiriko is coming for him, no daaaa… Thank you!
Sakata: Hey…how're your fics coming? Been busy much? Thanks for all your support, ne?
And I'm patiently waiting for your update.
Hana no Ceres: Ah, Manx and Ceilen…he's been like a big
brother to her and even though they haven't seen each other for a while, it was
a very close relationship… I guess when
you risk lives together, a strong bond is created, ne? Thank you!
Krysana: MORE RanKen? Gee, young lady, don't you ever have enough of those two? *giggles* I guess not… Me neither! LOL, thanks for all your wonderful mails! Missed you while you were gone…
Lola: Thank you! Tas-chan is a sweetheart isn't he? Lucky, Chichiri, ne?
Shadow Myst: Thank you! Glad you like it! Can you imagine how dull Ceilen's life would be without Tryffin?
Eeyaatoe: LOL, the reason Tryffin doesn't have clothes on…hm…aside from
Ceilen not wanting to take any tracking devices with them…er…hentai fanfic
writer? *ROFL* Arigatou, no da!
Keimei: Got the books yet? *grins* Yeah, Manx, Mamoru and Ceilen knew each other back when, but Mamoru was quite young and may not remember the young man who helped protect him, ne? But Ceilen remembers alright. Glad you liked the semi-naked Tryffin… LOL Thank you!
Midori Natari Himura: *Squeals* Wai! Hentai! LOL, yeah, I'm getting there, I'm getting there! Any suggestions on how to keep one ex-bandit quiet? Huh? Huh?
Whisper Reilman: Wai, I'm glad the Manx and Ceilen thing worked out okay. I wasn't sure if I could show the depths of their friendship…I'm glad you like it! Thank you very much!
Bakachan: Did you change your email? I guess I'll find out, ne? Thanks for two wonderful reviews! *great big hug for Wuffie too!* And you're reading my mind? Yeah, 'somfing' naughty is coming Tryffin's way, ne? Thank you, no da!
Mikazuki: LOL, I hope they don't kill each other as well, no da! Or I'm going to have to write a whole new story! Speaking of writing a new story…how's Insight coming?
Yuki: Aiya! Blunt object, no da? Tsk, tsk..harming the writer will only delay the chapter, no da… *grins* Um… but thanks for the threat anyway…I think… @.@
Kawaii: *giggles* You bet your kawaii booty they will find out they want each other's body! THEN they can kill each other…?
Firekat: Thank you! FF.net has been bratty lately, ne? I hope this chapter posts okay… *hugs*
Space Lion: LOL, I will definitely let Tryffin 'gets it' in many different ways if you know what I mean. *wink, wink* Thank you, no da!
Fei: I did work on WK chapter four per your imperious demand! *wink* How are you doing? The upcoming event going well? I hope you are resting enough… er…how's the muse doing, no daaaa…? LOL. Thank you for taking the time to read and review! When I write FY reincarnation fic, I usually like the boys to remember their past lives...eventually. In this case, the sense of smell is linked closest to memories, so Tryfin's remembering things about his Chichiri through scent, no da! (((hugs and goddess blessings)))
Sirrah:
*blushes* Thank you, you are so
sweet! I'll try never to mess up, no
da… (((hugs)))
Some lime and silliness up ahead… Please read at your own discretion!
Thanks Hitari-chan for betaing and Xellas for helping me with the last couple of sentences! I really didn't like what I had. ((HUGS))
Now I'll shut up and you can enjoy!!!!
A Fine Line–FY: Chapter Four – Of Friends and Foes
By Moonraven
(Day Two immediately after the events in the last chapter)
Ceilen drove a short ways before
he pulled over to the shoulder of the road and parked. Tryffin glanced
nervously at the narrow ridge and the ocean below them then pressed back
against the door on his side of the car. He hated water and when the water was
as vast as the ocean, he was truly terrified.
Ceilen studied the cut on his hand briefly
before turning to the redhead who was trying to merge with the passenger side
car-door. He lifted his eyebrows questioningly and blinked at the petrified
young man.
"I won't hurt you." Ceilen
frowned at Tryffin and remained perfectly still. For the first time since
Tryffin had met him, Ceilen looked uncertain and Tryffin wasn't sure that he
liked it. The arrogant Ceilen, though irritating, actually gave Tryffin courage
and he felt more vulnerable when Ceilen didn't display his usual superior
attitude.
"It's…it's not that." Tryffin
took a deep calming breath, only it didn't calm him. "I'm really…really
terrified of the ocean and we're so close to falling over…it's so high."
Ceilen blinked blankly at
Tryffin as if he was trying to process what was said, then he looked out his
window at the dark vastness of the water and nodded. Tryffin was immensely
grateful when Ceilen silently moved the car. His bodyguard drove on a few more
miles before he found a spot on Tryffin's side of the road that would keep the
ocean out of view. Tryffin let out a huge breath and closed his eyes.
"Sorry, man." He told Ceilen quietly.
"And…er…thanks."
"Don't thank me yet. You don't know why we've
stopped." Ceilen said just as quietly.
Tryffin frowned and looked over
at the man. "Why did we stop?" Tryffin wasn't sure if he should be scared.
Earlier, Ceilen had said that he wouldn't hurt him, so why the ominous tone?
Why did Ceilen look uncomfortable again?
"Well, my theory was correct. We
were followed." Ceilen said while keeping his eyes on the windshield in front
of him.
"They probably parked out by
your car and followed you. Shouldn't you've seen them or something?" The man
wasn't doing that much better than Tryffin if he'd allowed the baddies to
follow them already.
"There was no one tracking ME.
They don't need to follow my car, just you."
"What the hell are you talking
about?" Tryffin turned in his seat and faced the man. "You're not yapping about
some tracking device thing again are you? Look at me." Tryffin opened his arms
wide. "I ain't carrying shit! You won't let me get my fucking clothes on,
remember?"
Ceilen didn't look at Tryffin
but kept his gaze straight ahead. "It's not in your clothes." He said softly.
Tryffin frowned and stared at
Ceilen as if he'd lost his mind. "So where is it?"
Ceilen turned and looked into Tryffin's amber
eyes. He held out his right hand and said, "Your earrings."
Tryffin gaped at the open palm
as if it had teeth. "I've had these for years! They're no bugs."
Ceilen sighed. "At this point, I
don't trust anyone in your household. They could have tampered with them so
hand them over." He motioned with his fingers for Tryffin to do just that.
"I don't fucking believe this!"
Tryffin muttered angrily as he took off his favorite pair of aquamarine
earrings. He had gotten them specially made because the shade of that
particular gemstone reminded him of something he'd dreamt of long ago.
Something he couldn't quite remember yet it left an impression in his heart so
deep that he couldn't forget it.
"When do I get them back?" He
asked as he grudgingly dropped the earrings in Ceilen hand.
Ceilen pulled out a small black
rectangular box the size of a matchbox from a compartment in his dashboard and
opened it. The box seemed to be made out of some kind of metal and the earrings
made small tinkling sounds as they hit the bottom of the box. Ceilen closed the
metal lid and cleared his throat. He seemed to be struggling with the next part
and since Tryffin didn't feel like helping him, the redhead asked again rather
obnoxiously. "When do I fucking get them back? They mean a lot to me."
Ceilen scowled at him – again –
and asked, "More than your life?"
"That's what I have YOU for, right?
To keep me alive?"
"That's what I'm doing! So hand over the
other…" Ceilen hesitated and then blurted, "piercing." He held out his hand
again and looked straight out the front of the car.
"What're ya talking about?" The
man had lost his fucking mind. Tryffin was sure that one of those trolls they
encountered earlier must have hit the man a little too hard.
Ceilen took a deep breath and
said calmly, "You have another… body piercing. I saw it when you dropped the
blanket. Please remove it."
Tryffin could feel his face
heating up as he remembered the matching penis…er…accessories he and Kouji had
gotten. He had completely forgotten about that and sure as hell didn't want to
be fumbling around his dick NOW of all times to remove it.
Holy shit! He'd just remember
that he COULDN'T remove it…not without help anyway… Shit, shit, shit.
"Er…well, about that little…um…piercing
thingy…" Tryffin swallowed hard as he tried to tell Ceilen what he was sure
would give the man a heart attack. Tryffin wasn't sure what it would give HIM
but he sure as hell didn't want to find out.
It was Tryffin's turn to take a
deep breath and blurted, "I can't take it off."
Ceilen gave him an irritated
sigh and said, "Do we have to go over this again? It's not only your life but
mine as well. Now get it off!"
"I can't!" Tryffin said and
looked out his side of the window. "If you want it, you're going to have to get
it yourself." He muttered so low that he wasn't sure Ceilen could hear him.
The silence that followed was so
deafening, Tryffin heard all kinds of stuff especially his heartbeat hammering
in his chest. Yep, Ceilen heard him alright.
Tryffin grimaced and turned back
to his bodyguard. He could still feel the heat in his cheeks but there was no
going around it now. "You see, we had this problem with the last piercing…and I
kinda lost it when we…er, never mind. So Kouji went and got this clasp thing
that sorta, kinda locks and the only way to get it off is to put a pin in this
little hole and pull on both balls at the end of the bar. Only I can't do it by
myself…you know the pushing…and the pulling…" Okay, why did shit like this
always happen to him? It was official, he was really, really fucked up. No,
KOUJI and his damn ideas were fucked up. Someone up there just plain didn't
like him.
Ceilen stared at him. The man
was just… staring; it was damn near scary. Tryffin cleared his throat and waved
a hand in front of Ceilen's face. "Hello?"
Ceilen batted the hand away with
a grunt and chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully. "Can't you just… yank?"
"HELL NO!" Tryffin yelled as he
clasped both hands to his crotch and scooted away from Ceilen. "And don't you
give me any shit about what's more important, my dick or my life, 'cause I'm
fucking choosing my dick! Now get the hell away from me!"
Ceilen did not look happy and
Tryffin nearly snorted out loud. This definitely was NOT the cold, indifferent
bastard he'd met earlier. Tryffin felt a tiny jolt of pleasure as he thought
that there was hope for the man yet.
Ceilen let out a deep breath
then looked hard at Tryffin. "Well, if I'm going to help you remove it, I can't
very well stay away, now can I?" Ceilen then pulled open the compartment
between their seats and took out a small box. He closed the compartment and put
the box on top of it then snapped open the lid. Inside, Tryffin saw small
tools, things technicians used when working with computers and other things
with tiny parts. Ceilen turned the box towards him and pointed to the content.
"How small?" Ceilen asked.
Tryffin looked around the box
and asked, "Can't you just cut it with that cutter, there?"
Ceilen shook his head. "I'd
rather not. I want to see if I can trace it back to the source. I really don't
think the computer in the SUV was it. So, which one?"
Tryffin had only seen the tiny
hole briefly when Kouji had shown him the small ornament. It was really made
for something as small as a pin. He rummaged around the various screwdrivers
and tiny picks until he found one with the tip he thought was small enough.
"This one?" He picked it up and
hesitantly handed it over to Ceilen. "Er… look, do we really have to do this?
Kouji gave it to me, man, you don't think he's the guy that planted the bug, do
you?"
Ceilen didn't look like he
wanted to do THIS either and actually considered what Tryffin said. "Anyone
else know about the piercing?"
"Well, yeah but no one came near enough to
mess with it. I would have known, man." Tryffin was relieved that Ceilen was
willing to rethink this.
"When was it replaced?"
"Huh?"
A sigh. "You said you lost one and this is the
replacement. When was it replaced? Where did Kouji get it and who else knew
about it?"
"Oh. Well, I lost the first one
about a week ago and Kouji placed a special order for this one. Hell, almost
everybody knew about it, they'd made jokes every god damn day."
Ceilen sighed and rubbed his
temples tiredly. "It comes off."
Tryffin's heart sank but another
part of his anatomy rose eagerly at the image of Ceilen kneeling between his
legs, with his enthusiastic member clasped firmly in those strong hands.
Tryffin eyes widened as he frantically willed his brain to conjure up some very
unsexy thoughts before Ceilen could see what was rising between his legs.
No such luck. The more he
thought, the harder he got and he clutched anxiously at his erection, trying to
get it to behave.
Ceilen switched on a small light
that was attached to the dashboard next to Tryffin's knee. Then he leaned over
and released a lever under Tryffin's seat, making the chair move nearly all the
way to the back. Tryffin whimpered as Ceilen made preparations to remove the
small silver bar he had pierced into the foreskin on the underside of his
penis. He cursed Ceilen's incredible powers of observation; how the hell did
the man see it when he only got a brief look at Tryffin naked?
"Um… look, man… it's not like I
want to… er, you know, but all this… this…" Shit! He sounded like an imbecile!
Ceilen stopped rearranging the
interior of his car and looked up at him expectantly. "What?"
"Nothing." Tryffin muttered
dishearteningly. What the hell was he supposed to say? 'Oh by the way, Ceilen,
little Tryffie is really happy to see you so don't freak, okay?' Yeah… right…
he could see Ceilen now screaming at the top of his lungs and ripping out the
silver piercing. Youch!
Ha! It seemed that 'little
Tryffie' didn't like THAT mental image either and Tryffin thanked the gods for
small favors. He looked up at the ceiling of the car and silently apologized
for thinking earlier that someone up there didn't like him.
"Decline the back of your seat
all the way down." Ceilen instructed impersonally and Tryffin obeyed
automatically. Wait a minute… he didn't need to lie down for this.
"Now turn in your seat so you're
facing me." Ceilen continued. Tryffin now saw that it was easier for him to do
so with the back of the seat all the way down and he settled comfortably facing
Ceilen.
Ceilen unclasped some stuff and the
compartment he had stored the tools earlier came off and he placed that behind
him in the back seat. Now there was nothing between himself and Ceilen.
"Alright, here we go." Ceilen
said softly and shook his head as if he couldn't believe this was happening. No
shit, bucko! Tryffin couldn't fucking believe it either!
Tryffin didn't move but
continued to clutch the opening of his coat. Well, Ceilen's coat, to be precise
and swallowed nervously. He was not the shy type, his sex life was pretty damn
active and he'd screwed plenty of strangers but there was something about
Ceilen that made him… almost timid. Tryffin hated that word but it damn near
described how he was feeling right about now.
Ceilen looked at Tryffin's hands
then frowned up at Tryffin's face. "Well? We can't stay here all night."
Why the hell not? Tryffin wanted
to ask but knew that Ceilen was right. He took a deep breath and fumbled with
the buttons on the coat. Well, maybe he ought to warn Ceilen first…
"Er… just, well it's nothing
personal… so don't, you know, get all weird or anything, okay?" Tryffin
mumbled. "I mean I AM normally pretty active and all this talk about you and
my… er… well just… just… aw, hell." He gave up and simply reached between the
openings of the coat and pulled out his semi-erected shaft. He stared out the
window, adamantly refusing to see what might flash across Ceilen's face, it was
better to just not know if the man was grossed out or what not…
"Just pretend I'm a… doctor or
something."
Tryffin whimpered. He didn't
want to tell Ceilen that his doctor was pretty damn good looking and services
provided were certainly more than just check ups.
At the increased rigidity of his organ and his
stubborn silence, Ceilen must have guessed that thinking 'doctor' was a bad
idea. "Oh for crying out loud… just… just hold it still!" Ceilen muttered.
Tryffin thought he'd heard a
little catch in Ceilen's steady voice and couldn't help hoping that this whole
thing was affecting the man as well. It wouldn't make him feel like such a slut
getting hard over some stranger if Ceilen were to feel something too...
Tryffin held back a groan when
he felt Ceilen's hot breath on his shaft and the man's warm strong fingers
brushed against the side of his rapidly hardening flesh. Those fingers pressed
the silver bar gently against his hot length and Tryffin shivered as pleasure
shot up his spine.
"Gods… just hurry, will ya?"
Tryffin's voice was far from steady as Ceilen worked just a fraction of an inch
away from his now fully erected member. He was infernally grateful that Ceilen
didn't say anything about his state of arousal, it was pretty damn embarrassing
as it was, he sure as hell didn't need the man to tease him about how horny he
was.
"You need to keep it still."
Ceilen said again. "I'm going to poke you if you keep moving."
"YOU try keeping still when
someone's got your dick in his hands and his mouth is just right there… Ahh!"
Tryffin couldn't help the moan that escaped his lips as Ceilen pressed the tip
of the pick in the tiny hole. The pressure of the movement sent incredible
sensations through him and he bit his lip harshly before more inappropriate
noises could escape.
"Sorry." Ceilen mumbled. "Could you pull the
end of the bar while I keep the pressure?"
Tryffin looked down at his too
enthusiastic organ and nearly came in Ceilen's face. He stifled a groan and
blinked repeatedly at the brown head that was practically on top of his
engorged tip. The softly parted lips were so close to engulfing him and Tryffin
was sweating with the sheer effort of NOT creaming his bodyguard's face.
Tryffin knew his breathing was erratic and his throbbing shaft pulsed in time
with his heartbeat. Ceilen must have noticed it too, he was so close Tryffin
could feel every single breath…
At Tryffin's inaction, Ceilen
looked up from his task and their eyes met. For a space of a heartbeat, Tryffin
could have sworn that he saw desire burning bright in that beautiful brown eye
but as quick as it appeared, it was gone. Ceilen's eye now held nothing but
cool indifference as he looked up at his protectee.
Tryffin swallowed his
disappointment and nodded. "Okay, you got the other end, right?"
Ceilen nodded and waited until he saw that
Tryffin had a ball between his fingers. "Now." Ceilen's quiet voice rang out and
they both tugged firmly at their respective balls (Author pauses to giggle… er…
gomen). The bar came apart and Ceilen pulled it out of Tryffin's flesh gently.
He reached over and took Tryffin's portion from his shaking hand and dropped
both of them in the black box to join his earrings.
With a relieved sigh, Tryffin tugged himself
away and buttoned the coat. This was so fucking embarrassing, he wanted to
crawl under the car and never come out. Fuck Kouji and his brilliant ideas!
"That's it, right? No more…
anything?" Ceilen asked tiredly. It looked like this whole thing had taken a
lot out of the man too.
"No, that's it." Tryffin
couldn't help feeling disappointed that the man didn't make a move on him. What
he wouldn't give to feel that gorgeous mouth on his flesh… Tryffin put his seat
back in its place and leaned his head back dejectedly. What the hell was he
thinking anyways? This was not some picnic. They were running for their lives
here and all he could think about was having Ceilen fuck him senseless.
"You can have them back when I'm
done with them." Ceilen said in terms of a peace offering.
"Okay." Tryffin was too drained
emotionally to argue and he closed his eyes as Ceilen fired up the engine once
more.
They drove on for close to an
hour, always hugging the coast. Tryffin hated that but since Ceilen didn't make
any move to go any closer, he could live with it. Then the man pulled into a
shipyard of some kind and Tryffin wasn't so sure anymore.
Tryffin frowned and looked
around him as Ceilen continued to drive slowly between rolls of grounded boats.
It was too dark to see much, only areas where the headlights illuminated, but
the boats that were sitting on the ramps all around them didn't look like they
were going anywhere, anytime soon. Which was a good thing in Tryffin's opinion.
When they'd reached a large wooden structure at the end of the lane, Ceilen
pressed the neon green button Tryffin was interested in earlier and the wooden
door of the building creaked open slowly.
The structure was nestled at the
foot of the cliff they were traveling on and all three sides of the building
were sheltered by it. If the headlights of the car didn't allow him the see the
structure, Tryffin would have thought that they were driving into the wall of
rocks.
He let out a relieved sigh and a
small laugh. "Geeze! I thought for a minute there that you were going to make
me get in a boat."
Ceilen didn't say anything but
drove into the building and parked the car. Within seconds, the door slid shut
again and the lights came on. Tryffin was about to open his car door when
Ceilen said, "Stay in the car."
"Dude, if I get a yen for every
time you say that…" Tryffin didn't get to finish because the ground dropped in
front of them and Ceilen drove the car forward, down into what he thought was
an underground parking. But as Ceilen drove the car further down, Tryffin saw
that it wasn't a parking of any kind, it was more like a winding tunnel that
lead to a large underground cavern.
"A fucking Bat Cave." Tryffin
muttered as Ceilen stopped the car and shut off the engine.
Ceilen turned to him and said,
"Now, you can get out." Then the man opened his own door and stepped out.
Tryffin swallowed and looked
around the outside of the car uncertainly. It was dark without the headlights
and Tryffin didn't see anything worth getting out for when they DID have the
lights to see by.
Ceilen poked his head back into
the car and gave Tryffin a mocking look. "NOW you want to stay in the car."
The small interior car light lit Ceilen's
playful expression and Tryffin found he couldn't talk. The shadows danced
across Ceilen's features and hair, altering the man's appearance and Tryffin
felt the familiar tugging in his chest as he usually did when he thought of
Ceilen. A sense of familiarity and intimacy that couldn't possibly be there but
nonetheless overwhelmingly THERE, it left him breathless and confused.
Tryffin cleared his throat and
look away before Ceilen could see the confusion in his face. "Where are we?" He
asked.
"Somewhere safe." Ceilen said
softly.
"I guess…" Tryffin opened his
door and got out cautiously. "I mean, who's gonna find us here… where ever here
is."
Tryffin heard a grunt from
Ceilen's direction and decided that it was a laugh. Ceilen closed the car door
and they were completely engulfed in darkness. "Er… you didn't pay your utility
bill or something?"
Another grunt… another laugh, Tryffin hoped.
Then he heard a click and a dull hum and then the whole area was bathed in white
light. Tryffin held the back of his hand to his eyes to shield them from the
sudden brightness and blinked rapidly to adjust himself.
When he lowered his hand he saw
that they were parked in the middle of a large cave the size of an enclosed
sports arena. But instead of the high tech equipment he had expected to find
lining the walls, Tryffin saw only granite and earth.
He turned to Ceilen, completely
mystified. "What… are we doing here?" All the secrecy to get down here and all
there was, was just an empty cave? Were they supposed to camp out here? Why the
hidden entrance?
"You don't like it?" Ceilen
asked. "Not like your luxurious mansion, is it?" His bodyguard walked towards a
small passage to one side of the wall and Tryffin followed hesitantly.
"I've seen worse." Tryffin
caught up with Ceilen and walked beside the man. "I was living in the streets
before I met Kouji, you know."
Ceilen glanced sideways at him
but didn't say anything. He led them into the crude passageway, which were lit
with a single bulb every 10 feet or so. The wall of the passage itself was like
the cavern, all rocks and earth.
After about a hundred feet, they
came to a turnoff on their right and Ceilen led them into a room. Tryffin
blinked and raised an eyebrow at his bodyguard.
"Is this where you live?" The
room was small by Kouji's standard but average to everyone else, Tryffin
supposed. It contained one single bed, a plain night stand with nothing on it,
a desk with a computer and files scattered on top, a cardboard box that acted
as a filing cabinet and a tall chest that Tryffin guessed served as a dresser.
It was bare and utilitarian; nothing to write home about. But it was unexpected
because it was a complete opposite of the man's car.
"Sometimes." Ceilen said as he
moved to the tall chest and pulled out some clothes. "I can get you supplies
tomorrow but you can use these tonight." He tossed the clothes on the bed and
pointed out into the corridor. "To your right is the bathroom. No hot water I'm
afraid, but it does have running water and a workable toilet. I'll be back in a
few minutes."
"Where are you going?"
"Parameter check." Then he was
gone.
'Parameter check' Tryffin
mimicked silently and rolled his eyes. The man's got to get a life! Or get laid.
He snickered in his head. HE wouldn't mind helping out in THAT capacity.
Tryffin looked around the room
curiously. There was nothing to snoop with the bed and the nightstand but the
computer and those files… he leafed through several pages of the first file he
picked up and found nothing he recognized. Nothing he understood anyways, they
were all about something called Kritiker. There was a list of names and bios
and stuff and since they meant nothing to him he moved on to the next file.
Again it was filled with names, addresses, and some really strange shit that
read more like science fiction than anything else. He put that one down too.
Then realizing that it would
probably wouldn't do to be caught snooping, Tryffin moved back to the bed and
got out of Ceilen's coat. He slung it over the back of the chair by the desk
and pulled on the gray sweatpants and plain white T-shirt. When he was done, he
moved towards the desk again only to find Ceilen staring at him strangely from
the doorway. Tryffin swallowed nervously. How long was the man standing there?
Did he see Tryffin looking through the files? Hell, did he see him change? He
was buck-naked!
Heat rose to Tryffin's face and
he tugged unconsciously at the hem of his shirt. He couldn't believe he was
embarrassed about Ceilen seeing him naked. The man already did when they were
at Kouji's place and again in the damn car when he was practically holding
Tryffin's erection in his hand. What's that comparing to him changing?
Ceilen was holding a first-aid
kit in his hand and motioned Tryffin to get on the bed. Tryffin had given up on
dressing his abused feet and smiled in relief at the strange man who was going
to become his constant companion. Ceilen put the kit on the desk and narrowed
his eye at the files as if he knew they were moved. Tryffin swallowed and
started picking on the scraps at the bottom of his feet to avoid any kind of
eye contact with the other man.
After a short pause, Ceilen
moved from the table and kneeled at Tryffin's feet. He picked up the injured
appendages and inspected it with clinical detachment before pronouncing that
they needed cleaning and for Tryffin to remain on the bed. Ceilen left and
returned almost immediately with a small basin of water. He got a small bottle
containing some dark liquid out of the first-aid kit and poured some into the
basin. Then he took that along with the kit and kneeled back down in front of
Tryffin.
"This might sting a bit." Ceilen
told Tryffin as he lowered one foot into the dark brown water.
Tryffin grunted softly when the cuts hit the
water but it wasn't as bad as he had anticipated. Ceilen proceeded to clean the
bottom of his feet and Tryffin couldn't help feeling that this whole thing was
some kind of a weird dream. Not two days ago he was safe in his little world of
shopping, partying and having the time of his young life. Tonight he was
underground, in hiding with a man wearing an eye patch. Who would have known
his life would take such a drastic turn?
The room was so quiet that the
sounds of trickling water from the basin echoed dully around them. Tryffin
cleared his throat and decided that Ceilen hadn't seen him snooping so it was
safe to talk to the man. Besides, he'd rather listen to Ceilen's grunting than
more of the damn water.
"So… what's this place?"
Ceilen paused for a second or so before
replying, "Somewhere I come to from time to time."
No shit.
"Why here? I mean, this can't be
your place, right?" Tryffin looked around the room again and grimaced. The room
clearly didn't have the permanence of a home; those makeshift dresser and file
cabinet told Tryffin that much. "And what's with the James Bond secrecy, man? I
mean hidden underground entrance? Didn't we get rid of those guys and the… er,
you know… tracking thing?"
Ceilen sighed but didn't look up
from his task and he didn't reply. Tryffin was beginning to get the impression
that the man was getting tired of his questions but he trudged on anyway.
"How long are we going to be
holed up here?" It was going to be hell for both of them if Ceilen didn't
loosen up and talk to him.
Ceilen sighed again as he
started cleaning the other foot. "Not long."
"How long is 'not long'?"
Ceilen looked up and gave him a
chilling look. "A few days, maybe more, maybe less. Is that okay with you?"
Tryffin frowned at the condescending tone and
said gruffly, "No, it's not okay with me! Being stuck with you in your 'silent
asshole mode' for one night is bad enough, I have to put up with it for days?
It just plain sucks!"
Ceilen stopped what he was doing
and Tryffin could see the man's jaw muscles clenching. "Then the feeling is
mutual." He said very softly and went back to start on the bandaging.
Tryffin stared at the bent head
while he silently counted to ten. "When you're done with that, I'm leaving. You
don't want me here; I don't wanna be here. End of story."
Ceilen stared silently at
Tryffin's foot and the redhead was pretty sure the man was counting to ten as
well. When Ceilen was done 'counting', which Tryffin suspected was closer to
twenty, he looked up and Tryffin could see fire burning in his brown eye. "Why
do you have to be so difficult?"
Tryffin gasped in indignation. "I'm
being difficult? ME?" He pointed an index finger to his chest incredulously.
"I'M trying to carry on a conversation. I'M trying to make our time together
less stressful. I'M trying to understand you, and YOU'RE calling me DIFFICULT?"
Ceilen blinked at him then
frowned and looked away. "You can't leave. It's not safe."
Tryffin felt his heart racing at the soft tone
in Ceilen's voice. "I don't wanna leave but you're making this hard, man. I'm
not used to so much… animosity. If we have to be together all the time, can't
we try to get along? You know, be… friends?"
Ceilen's frown deepened and he
had a far away look in his eye as if he was remembering something. Then he
shook his head and looked down again. "Friendship is irrelevant. Emotions cloud
your judgment. It's not safe." His voice was mechanical, like he was reciting a
tuneless mantra.
"It's not safe if I leave
either. So… how about it if we start getting along and be 'not safe' together
instead of me leaving and be 'not safe' alone?"
Ceilen gaped up at him and blinked blankly.
"Do you know what you've just said?"
Tryffin snorted. "Yeah, why?"
Ceilen shook his head roughly as if it was
full of cobweb. "Because your logic is bizarre."
"Yeah?" Tryffin grinned at the Ceilen's
dumbfounded expression. Maybe they could start again…
"So… what's this place? Is it, like, a place
you bring all your charges or something? A safehouse maybe?"
"Does it matter?"
Tryffin sweatdropped. Who the hell WAS this
guy? "Yeah, it matters! You dragged me here, I wanna know what here is."
Tryffin looked carefully at the bent head in front of him then said softly,
"I'm stuck with you for a while and I'm trusting you with my life. I wanna know
more about you, about why you do things, what you feel…" Tryffin bit his lip
suddenly, appalled by what he'd just said. Why the hell would he want to know
what the man feels?
Ceilen stopped his ministration on Tryffin's
foot and looked up at him strangely. Tryffin's face was hot enough to heat
North Pole and he stammered to cover his slip of the tongue. "I meant 'think'…
feel… think, it's almost the same anyways, right? I mean why do you feel like
you have to do certain things… you know." Tryffin had always been one to think
fast on his feet so… what the hell happened? Why didn't that come out right?
Ceilen raised an eyebrow at him
but didn't say anything as he went back to work on the foot. Tryffin didn't
like being ignored so he baited the man.
"I know how to get down here,
you know. Aren't you afraid I might tell people or something? You know, come
back here later and bring… I don't know… someone? Don't tell me you trust me."
Ceilen sighed again. "I don't."
He said that almost sadly and Tryffin wondered if the man had anyone he could
depend on. "All done, try not to get it wet for at least tonight. Tomorrow
we'll get clothes and shoes so they'll be better protected." Ceilen put the
stuff back into the kit and stood up. He looked down at Tryffin with a small
frown but he didn't look angry, it was more like he was trying to figure out
what made Tryffin tick.
"By the time we're done with
this case, I wouldn't need this place anymore. You're welcome to it." He told
Tryffin quietly and turned to go.
"Wait." Tryffin called though he didn't know
what to say. "Er… well, um… isn't this your, er room?"
Ceilen turned back to Tryffin
and nodded. "Yes, it is." He looked at Tryffin expectantly, waiting for him to
continue.
"Er… well, how… you know…" He
looked at the bed he was on then back up at the man.
Ceilen raised his brows and his
eye suddenly gleamed with amusement. "Are you offering to share the bed?"
"NO!" Tryffin swore he'd NEVER blushed so much
in his entire life! And it took A LOT to embarrass him. "It's YOUR bed, I'll
sleep in the car, or something." He mumbled red faced.
Ceilen's lips twitched then and
that was closest he's going to get to a smile tonight. Ceilen shook his head.
"I won't be sleeping; I have work to do. You sleep." He turned then and left
the room.
Tryffin sighed and smacked his
forehead repeatedly with his hand. He couldn't understand what was the matter
with him. He was NEVER shy with men he wanted to bed and he definitely wanted
Ceilen. The man was hot, eye patch and all! But instead of flirting with
Ceilen, he'd found himself tongue-tied and always on the defensive. Why
couldn't he seduce the man? What the hell was happening to him?
~~~~~
Tryffin slept fitfully, his
dreams plagued with pain and unimaginable sense of loss and loneliness. Every
time he woke gasping for breath, he could not recall what he had dreamt about
but the overwhelming sadness remained deep in his soul and he nearly sobbed
from the intensity of it.
And every time that Tryffin woke, Ceilen was
there, sitting in the chair by the desk, either fiddling with something tiny in
his hands or frowning ferociously at something on the computer screen. True to
his words, the man did not sleep. Seeking refuge from dreams he could not
remember, Tryffin tried to stay awake by watching his strong companion, but he
found himself drifting off again… to be plagued with more dreams…
… He was lying on his back with
something pressing down on him and he couldn't move. He tried pushing it away
but it whimpered and pressed down harder. Tryffin snapped his eyes opened and
took a sharp breath when he saw what was holding him down.
Somebody's head was resting on
his chest while the rest of the body snuggled into his side. One slender arm
draped tenderly across Tryffin's waist and tightened just a fraction as the
figure pressed closer to him. Strangely familiar scent of softly fragrant herbs
drifted from the head with soft blue hair that rested against his cheek and
shoulder. Tryffin choked back a cry but the person snuggled closer and murmured
very softly, "I love you."
His heart ached and swelled and
it seemed to him that it would surely burst from so much joy that the three
words had given him. He pulled his arms around the figure and held him close.
"I love you, too." He whispered back and even though he had not seen who it was
that had captured his soul, Tryffin knew without a doubt that what he'd said
was true.
The figure stirred and sighed.
Then the beautiful blue head lifted and the man who owned Tryffin's heart
looked up at him with the softest and gentlest of smiles.
Tryffin stiffened and froze in
shock. He was looking at Ceilen's face smiling lovingly at him from underneath
ridiculously vertical blue bangs. Tryffin blinked and recoiled from Ceilen in
astonishment. The beautiful smile that graced the man's face disappeared and
was replaced by such agonizing pain that tore viciously into Tryffin's heart.
Tryffin cried out and bolted
upright in bed. He blinked and looked around the bed frantically but he was
alone. He put a hand to his chest and took deep breaths to calm his heart. Such
pain… what the hell was all that about?
"Are you alright?" Ceilen's deep
voice asked from the doorway.
Tryffin nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay.
Just a real weird dream, that's all." He turned to drink in the man's features,
to reassure himself that there was no agony in the other man's eye. He needed to
know he didn't cause the look of despair that swept across the features of
Ceilen in his dream.
The man was watching him with a
frown and relief flooded Tryffin's being before something else registered.
Ceilen had changed his clothes. What the…? He stood in the doorway dressed in
white long sleeve shirt and dark green pants. His tan boots poking out from
under the straight cut of his pants, completing a most delectable picture of
Ceilen, and it nearly made Tryffin laugh with joy. It was all a dream for the
man was still as cross as ever. No pain there.
"Where are you going?" Tryffin
asked abruptly when he noticed Ceilen was holding his keys.
"To get you stuff." Ceilen said.
"You looked terrible. Are your feet in pain?"
"No." Tryffin stood up and tested the bandaged
feet. "They're okay." He looked up and Ceilen and started towards the man. "I
wanna come too."
Ceilen's small frown grew
suddenly. "It's safer here."
Tryffin groaned and pushed past
Ceilen as he headed towards the bathroom. "I thought we agreed that we would be
'not safe' together?" He turned and winked at Ceilen over his shoulder.
"Besides, I may not be here when you get back." Tryffin laughed gaily as he
closed the bathroom door behind him, cutting off Ceilen's irritated reply.
He was pretty sure that Ceilen
wouldn't leave him alone after that last comment.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Stay in the car! Don't touch
anything! Yeah, yeah, he sounded like a broken record or something." Tryffin
grumbled as he tried to pry the hatch of the glove compartment opened with the
string from his sweatpants. "Fuck you, asshole! If you insist on leaving me
here, I can't guarantee you'll find the fucking car in the same condition… Damn
it!" Tryffin exclaimed in frustration when the stubborn string refused to wedge
itself in properly. He swore ALL of Ceilen's belongings were working against
him… including the damn string on the damn pants.
After putting the drawstring
back in his sweatpants, Tryffin looked around the near empty parking lot and
chanced opening the car door. It was too damn hot in the car and he didn't feel
like being roasted just then… even though it would probably serve Ceilen right
to come back and find one dead protectee because he was too fucking
inconsiderate to leave the window open.
Well, since the door was already
opened… what's one more 'insubordination'? Tryffin looked around again and when
he felt he was relatively inconspicuous, he closed the car door and walked
casually towards the clump of trees that Ceilen had gone into. 'Casually' would
probably be the wrong description to use when one wore bandages in lieu of
shoes and winced constantly as one walked, but 'casually' was what Tryffin was
aiming for. Since no one looked twice at him, he patted himself on the back,
figuratively of course or 'casually' and 'inconspicuously' would have flown out
the windows, and smiled smugly as he continued in Ceilen's direction.
It wasn't a big hill but with
bandaged feet that caught on to every single goddamn twig and wood chip, it
took Tryffin a bit of time to clear out onto the other side. He smirked at his
own cleverness and was close to being giddy as he thought of how irritated
Ceilen would be to find him disobeying yet again. Too fucking bad! The man
would just have to learn to ask nicely instead of just demanding all the time.
'Stay' indeed! He was no fucking dog!
When Tryffin looked across the
parking lot that he came out onto, the smirk was effective wiped off his face.
A frown furrowed his brows when he saw Ceilen talking to Aya and Ken. Ceilen's
back was to him so the man didn't see Tryffin but he sure as hell could
recognize the grumpy snowman anywhere. What the hell was going on? Were they
working together?
Tryffin didn't think so since the tension
between the men were intense enough to reach him where he was. He saw Ken
stepped between the other two men and said something that made Ceilen cocked
his head to the side. What were they doing?
"Hey guys!" He called. If this
was about his safety, surely they couldn't just leave him out!
As the men turned to face him,
Tryffin walked stiffly out from between the trees towards them. He frowned as
he looked from one man to the other and came to stop next to Ceilen. "What's…
going on here? You guys knew each other?"
No one said anything for a while. Tryffin ignored the rising heat in the man
next to him as he continued to look from one man to the other. Finally it was
Ken who broke the silence.
"What happened to you?" Ken asked as he eyed
Tryffin's feet questioningly.
"Ask my oh-so-resourceful
bodyguard here." Tryffin said while giving Ceilen a dark look. It was the damn
man's fault for dragging him out of the house without shoes.
"What are you doing out here?"
Tryffin heard the strain in Ceilen's voice as his protector gritted his teeth
and glared at him.
"Do you have any idea how hot
and uncomfortable it is in that damn car of yours? You won't even let me open
the god damn windows!" Tryffin retorted, his hands going to his hips.
"Being uncomfortable is better
than being dead!" Ceilen hissed back.
"Do I look dead to you?" Tryffin
countered.
Tryffin was surprised when
Ceilen growled and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. Apparently, the
man's fuse was much shorter than Tryffin had thought.
Before Tryffin could make nice,
Ceilen looked back to Aya and asked, "You didn't plant the bug?"
"Bug? It was them?" Tryffin chimed in
excitedly. Were they finally getting somewhere?
Aya shook his head. "One of our
operatives found the signal by accident and tracked it here. We were told to
check it out, to make sure…" Aya paused briefly before continuing, "Make sure
that Tryffin is safe."
Tryffin blinked and flashed Aya a huge grin.
"Really?" Was Aya really worried about him?
Ceilen gave Aya a look that clearly said he
didn't buy it. Then he directed a totally pissed off look at Tryffin, and the
100-gigawatt smile dimmed slightly.
Ceilen turned back to Aya and
asked, "Why?"
Yeah, why? Tryffin thought
quizzically. Was his 48 hours up already? Did they believe that he was
innocent?
Aya gave Ceilen a calculated
look and shrugged. "We don't question orders."
Tryffin swallowed and nearly
took a step back when he saw how that seemingly innocent statement affected
Ceilen. His bodyguard stiffened and a terrifyingly dark look flashed across his
face. Next to Aya, Ken flinched and placed a hesitant hand on Aya's arm.
"Maybe you should." Ceilen said
softly then he shook his head as if arguing with himself. "This has nothing to
do with you. Don't get involved."
At that moment, Aya's cell phone rang and the
tall redhead turned away to answer it.
"I can't believe you left the
damn car!" Ceilen hissed at him and Tryffin gasped indignantly.
"I can't believe you told me to
'stay'! Do I look like a fucking dog to you?" Tryffin hissed back and pushed
his face to within a few inches of Ceilen's.
"Don't make me answer that,
you're not going to like it." Ceilen narrowed his eye at him and leaned
forward, closing the distance between them.
Before Tryffin could make a
reply, he heard a throat clearing then someone asked, "Do you mind?"
He turned to see Ken scowling
darkly at them. He bit his lip and shuffled his feet, mortified that Ken had
seen his spitting contest with Ceilen. His bodyguard, however, felt no such
compunction and grabbed his arm before threatening the brunette gravely. "Stay
away. This has nothing to do with you."
Tryffin sighed and was about to
tell Ceilen to remove the damn stick he had up his ass when Aya spoke suddenly.
"It's too late." The man
apparently was done with the call and was now very, very angry. "We're already
involved."
Ceilen didn't like that one little bit. He
obviously felt that EVERYONE should do as he says. "Not yet." He shook his
head. "Walk away now and you won't have to get involved."
"I said it was too late." Aya's voice was hard and Ken moved to stand in front
of him.
"What's going on? Who was that,
Aya?" Ken's voice was filled with fear. "What happened? Not the guys?"
Aya looked at Ken and Tryffin
saw his expression softened slightly. "Youji was shot. Omi is taking him to the
hospital now." Then seeing Ken's horrified expression, he added quickly. "It's
not serious. Omi said it was a warning so Koudo is going to be okay." He turned
back to Ceilen and Tryffin swallowed hard. The man looked deadly serious. "You
see; it's too late. They involved us when they touched one of ours. You
wouldn't be able to get rid of us now no matter what you do."
Tryffin looked from one
unyielding man to the other, not understanding anything they were saying. Who
were Youji and Omi and Kudou? What did the shooting have to do with him? Was it
because of him? There were so many things he wanted to ask but Ceilen didn't
look too generous just then. His stern bodyguard was studying Aya closely for a
long while then he shook his head.
"Baka." Ceilen muttered as he
whirled on his feet, dragging Tryffin with him.
"Hey! Wait a minute." Tryffin protest. "What's
going on?"
"Wait!" Ken called. "How do we
contact you?"
"You don't." Ceilen shouted over his shoulder, not bothering to turn around.
"Why are they so stubborn?" He muttered when they were well into the trees.
"They are in way over their heads!"
"Shouldn't we find out if their
friend is going to be okay?" Tryffin asked as he was being hauled back to the
car.
Ceilen didn't answer; his face
was deep in thought as he dragged Tryffin along.
"Ceilen!" Tryffin yanked his arm
free and stopped moving. "Talk to me, man!"
Ceilen turned and gave Tryffin a
furious glare and reclaimed him with a firm grip on his wrist. Tryffin gasped
as pain shot up his arm and Ceilen dropped his wrist immediately. His bodyguard
took a few deep breaths, and then he said with apparent efforts, "We need to
get under cover. It's not safe to be out in the open especially when they found
out about Weiss' involvement."
"What the hell is Weiss?"
Tryffin asked in total confusion. His brain was overloaded with questions; he
didn't even know where to begin asking. He looked back in the direction of the
two men they'd left behind then turned back to Ceilen. "What's going on? Who
are they?"
"Later. Now I need to get you to safety."
Ceilen made a sweeping motion with his arm, indicating that Tryffin should
follow him and get back to their car.
"Na-ah! You're gonna go back to your silent
asshole mode and I'm gonna be banging my head against the wall for
entertainment. Tell me now."
Ceilen hissed and shook his head. "NO! It's a
very long story. Later, I promise."
Tryffin frowned but conceded.
"You better make good on that promise." He grumbled as he walked on with
Ceilen.
"I always keep my promises." Ceilen said
softly and Tryffin had the strangest feeling that the sentence was not yet
complete…
From somewhere in the depths of
his consciousness, he could have sworn that it should have been… 'I always keep my promises, no da…'
Tryffin shook his head at the
strange voice in his mind. Who the hell uses 'no da' anymore? He sneaked a
glance at his perpetually gloomy companion and felt his heart quickened.
Willingly or not, he was
unquestionably drawn towards the sullen man and he wasn't sure he liked it at
all. This asshole talked to him however he wanted and expected Tryffin to
just shut the fuck up and take it. And the worst part was he kinda
fucking WANTED to! Didn't he say he was totally fucked up? Yeah,
when this whole fucking thing is over, he's gonna find himself a shrink and get
his head screwed on right!
Only…he wasn't
sure he wanted to.
TBC…
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Thank you! Hope you enjoyed
that, minna… Poor Chichiri, ne? Tasuki sure is getting to him. *grins*
Please review and let me know what you think!