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FanFiction dot net - pen: Lady Dragon
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Warning: Technically speaking this fic contains shotakon, yoai, shounen ai, angst, and possibly a lil OOC-ness. If that hasn't scared you off then please do continue reading.
Disclaimer: I have yet to pull out an official document that reads: "Ye now owns the rights to Weiß Kreuz and all characters therein" from inside a Cracker-Jack box.
Author's Notes: Yes I know it has been a LONG time since the last update and to make matters worse this chapter really isn't that long in comparison with the other ones. Your consolation however is that the next chapter will be out very soon. :) I guarantee it.
The Prodigal Child
by Lady Dragon
Chapter 5
"I Know you're awake Naoe."
I had never even heard him move from the doorway, yet there he stood beside my bed arms crossed across his chest looking down on me as I lay here in my bed. A light uplift to the corner of his mouth let me know that he was enjoying watching me gaze up at me him owlishly with my mouth agape like a fish out of water. I hadn't been able to recognize his presence let alone sense that he had moved away from the doorway and was standing right beside my bed. Had he been an assassin I would have been dead, and considering I am an assassin not to mention I was just congratulating myself on my superb survival skills that's saying a lot. My face felt warm suddenly and I scowled up at my guest. Imagine, Prodigy of Schwarz bested by a mere florist, a beautiful and drop dead sexy one granted, but a florist none the less.
Maybe he's a telepath like Schu and was able to conceal and presence from me and blur my thoughts? Red hair could be synonymous with telepathy just like it is with a bad temper, pale skin, freckles, and green eyes.
But then again there isn't anything ordinary about Ran and I'd hate to suddenly be able to fit him into a mold. That and being a telepath would make him sort of similar to Schuldig and that's something I just couldn't stand.
"Well that makes two of us then, Fujimiya". I said in response to his observation. I refused to let him see how much he had rattled me. Judging by the quick and miniscule flash of amusement in his eyes he wasn't fooled by my affected air of nonchalance. I take it back, telepathy must be synonymous with red hair. Because I am a mast, a prodigy, and when I choose to hide my emotions I do just that. He had to have read my mind in order to know how he was affecting me.
He shakes his head slowly in face of my defiance and pulls a chair up beside my bed. Feeling oddly complacent and indulgent of him I raise myself up so that I am sitting up and facing him as an equal. With me on the high hospital bed and him on the shorter and possibly even more uncomfortable chair we are at equal heights and I stare steadily into his amethyst eyes without developing a crick in my neck for once. We stay that way for some time, neither of us moving or saying a word. We merely gaze into each others eyes as if we are trying to read within their depths the words that neither of us can say. The scene could hardly be described as romantic, as the silence is thick enough to cut with a knife. Yet the silence is not an uncomfortable one. It is truly as though we are both completely at ease in each other's presence; saying nothing but everything all at once. Just when I am certain that this moment will last forever the silence is dissipated by his smooth baritone.
"Your guardian has not yet returned to visit you." It's not a question, just a fact that he states as blandly as possible yet there is something in his posture that belies his sudden discomfort.
"You've been keeping tabs on me." I cannot stop nor chase away the smirk that plays upon my lips, two can play this game of casual observations.
"So that's what they call hysterical and worried nurses these days." He returns my smirk in kind and I feel heat returning to my cheeks once again. Damn that Atsuko. "If your guardian has not made an appearance by midday tomorrow I will sign you out"
Now that was totally out of the blue. "What do you mean?"
"I heard some of the nurses earlier discussing your possibly release tomorrow."
"Why the hell then haven't I been informed?" I am upset, no frustrated. I am the one being held here against my will and these fools couldn't be bothered to tell me that my time was nearly up! And he has the gall to sit there and say it all in manner more suited for one making a casual observation about the weather. My temper flares for but a moment and I hear something shatter in the bathroom. Get a grip Naoe I order myself, don't let yourself lose control not here, not now in front of a normal.
He is looking at the bathroom, eyes narrowed as he debates investigating it yet his next words are aimed at me. "They didn't inform you so as not to get your hopes up. You are a minor, you cannot check yourself out." Again my temper spikes, this time as being dismissed as a mere child. I could kill all of the people on this floor without breaking a sweat and still I am treated and coddled as though I were a weak and useless infant.
"Your temper is getting the best of you" he says, pale hand outstretched as though reaching out to comfort me. Ran glances down at his appendage as though it has betrayed him and instead he lays his hand on the bed beside him then continues on. "I did not think you would appreciate being held here any longer then necessary, that is why I have offered to sign you out and take you home. It is your decision."
And just like that my anger is gone. I should lay down conditions, tell him that all I require is that he sign me out and that I will find my own way back. Perhaps I should even refuse his offer altogether and believe in my teammate's competence and abilities. Instead I find myself smiling for the first time in a very long time. "Thank you, I'd like that very much."
He returns my gratitude with a small smile of his own and settles back into his chair to make himself more comfortable. We pass the rest of the time talking about small inconsequential things. I learn that he and his co-workers have separate apartments above the florist's shop that they run with the aid of an elderly woman, and with a little more prodding and poking I find out their names and a little bit about them. This is how I come to know just a little bit more about my favorite florist. How I come to find out that he enjoys working with flowers, taking long walks, and his deep love of music and the night. I tell him a bit about myself in kind, nothing revealing or damning, just a few facts and tidbits that let him know who Nagi is and what Nagi likes. By the time visiting hours are over we are on a first name basis and I feel as though there is a deeper connection between us now then even the one he shares with Atsuko.
As he stands up to leave I hurry to tell him one last thing "Ran, I just" I hesitate though, not sure what it is I want to say.
"You don't need to say thank you again Nagi, you never will." He nods his head in parting and then he's gone.
I settle back onto the pillows behind me, my mind replaying our entire conversation over and over as yet another smile steals across my face. Tomorrow, I will have the chance to leave with Ran. And if I play my cards right I might even get the chance to see where it is exactly that he lives and get another chance to spend more time with him. It's foolish of me to spend time thinking of ways for us to meet again, things to do together and even possible future dates. I will only be in Tokyo so long as Takatori is useful to Estet and not a moment longer. Even then it is not a gurantee that I will be in Tokyo much longer, I could be relocated to another site at any time; myself or Schwarz. Yet I find myself refusing to be realistic about it all at this moment, this point in time I don't care if Farfarello returns tonight and tries to remove me from here, I'll fight him tooth and nail for this chance that fate has given me. This chance to live a little, this chance to live a little with Ran.
TBC
Unbetaed and completely raw version so please excuse the various typos and what not. Also due to FFdotNet's new rules I will no longer be responding to reviews in the story. For unsigned (anonymous) reviews just leave an email addy so that I can contact you if you would like something answered. If it's a general enough question I might address it in the next chapter's author notes though. For everyone else I will be using the new review-commenter thingy. Cross your fingers that I don't break the darn thing.
last updated: January 11, 2006