Pairings: BernardoXGian, IvanXGian, LuchinoXGian, GiulioXGian, AobaXClear, AobaXVirusXTrip, AobaXRen, AobaXKoujaku, AobaXNoiz, AobaXBakshi, VirusXTripXGian, AobaXGian
Warning: Contains minor hints of rape, violence, extreme swearing and heavy scenes of smut.
Disclaimer: I do not own Dramatical Murder or Lucky Dog 1. All rights go to the respectful owners
Chapter 13 - Truth is Thicker
The air in the room grew tense with an awkward glance from both Koujaku and Mink who both seemed interested in Aoba's opinion as to whether or not he was prepared to face them even if they weren't there physically. Aoba stared helplessly at the floor of the room. His body still had not recovered fully and he felt as though it never would. But this now concerned four of his closest friends and soon enough, Ren. As though a light bulb lit up in his head, his face mirrored what Koujaku was feeling.
Koujaku had thought it was best that Aoba didn't see the video recording as he felt it would only do more harm than good in Aoba's case. But both Noiz and Bernardo had apparently had a small chat about the camera that he had and showed the man the two criminals that Aoba had been running from. He didn't think their location could be found so easily.
"Mink?" Before Koujaku had a chance to say something about the situation, Mink grabbed hold of Aoba's arm but gently walked him out of the room, walking past Koujaku. Aoba looked back as Koujaku rushed out of the room to catch up with them.
"If you're indecisive attitude is still around, you're well enough to face these idiots." Mink said coldly and stopped after reaching the door to the telephone room where the phones had been ringing off the hook nonstop.
There, Bernardo Ortolani and Gian Carlo were sitting on a sofa together drinking cups of coffee. Bernardo's expression looked like he had been sitting in front of a television screen for too long while Gian's was just as much tired and with dark circles under his eyes. Mink yanked on Aoba's arm pulling him forward and plopped him down next to Gian.
"You bastard! Don't you have any idea how much pain he's in?" Koujaku asked angrily. But Mink ignored it and sat himself down on the other side.
"Shows how much you know your so-called 'best friend'. Aoba's been under the influence of a pain medication before you guys arrived. It's mostly those headaches you have to worry about isn't it?" Mink glared at Koujaku while Aoba and the other two men could only watch in astonishment as no comeback was made.
Koujaku sat down as well and seated himself next to Aoba. Gian took one last sip of the coffee and then pulled out a sucker from his paints pocket. He ripped off the wrapper and stuck it in his mouth. The expression Bernardo had been giving seemed to say 'I was hoping you would do it'. Koujaku could see that both of them were equally tired and looked like they could drop like flies in an instant if they were allowed to sleep right now.
But neither Mink, Aoba or himself knew how to work their computers as it had been even stranger technology than that of Midorijima and although had the same concept when it came to computers, had a slightly old feeling to it. Plus neither of them wanted to be blamed for breaking something.
"OK, darling, but you owe me lunch at your favorite bar!" Gian hopped to his feet but stretched a bit before walking over to the desk and brought over a laptop that had been sitting on the desk the entire time.
Bernardo let out a sigh that expressed even more of his tiredness and took his glasses off while Gian set the computer up, accessing the file that Noiz had uploaded for them. Even though Midorijima had grown when it came to futuristic technology, their computers were still not compatible to the old models but their USB ports were able to connect properly without fail.
The blonde man swiped the mouse pad this way and that in a lazy manner and pressed the play button on the video player once he found the file that Noiz had given them. Although Aoba did not want to see the twins again, he knew he would not be able to escape Mink's annoying and intimidating stare if he turned away. Koujaku also seemed to be on the edge and appeared to be gripping the kimono's material over his knees.
Gian sat back down but next to Bernardo, so close that they looked almost close enough for Gian to be sitting on the other man's lap. The video started playing and although there was no sound to the video, Aoba could tell what kind of conversation that the two of them could be having even if their backs were turned to them. Especially since he remembered both their voices when they were both either angry or pretending to be delicate with his body.
The two men who had been standing behind the twins in the video were said to be Bakshi and another man who was also from the G.D. A.k.a, the 'Grave Diggers'. From Koujaku's perspective, the man known as 'Giulio', had quite a scary expression when they were first discussing the man's name and affiliation. He already knew that there was some history between them and the Grave Diggers but he did not know how strong the man was or if he was strong at all but he knew the man must have been dangerous enough to be working with Virus and Trip.
The camera of the tiny remote control began to shake resulting in two of the men walking away from the twins. Virus then turned to Trip and began saying something that neither Koujaku nor Aoba could make out with reading lips alone. No matter what they could have been saying, they both knew it was about Aoba.
It soon stopped playing and what was last seen on the screen of the computer got Aoba to grimace in fear. The large snake that was Virus's allmate, Hersha, had appeared for only a brief moment but it was enough to send shivers down Aoba's spine. What he was remembering was something Virus had tried implanting Aoba with. He had tried and done so many things that Aoba soon forgot most of the things that he had done and the only way to remember them were through flash backs that occurred by themselves.
Aoba finally looked away from the laptop after realizing he could not take the pressure of the memories anymore. "Ah...Bakshi sure doesn't let up on giving us trouble, right, Honey?" Bernardo then tugged on Gian's long-sleeved shirt by the bottom of the sleeve, pulling him closer to his own body.
He gave the man a small peck on the cheek earning a blush from the blonde. "B-Bernardo, you can't! Ivan might get mad at me, darling..." Gian smiled devilishly when he thought of Ivan's outrageous facial expression of anger. They both snickered afterward but Aoba could see a bit of a pained expression slowly appear and then fade from Bernardo's face.
'Is it just my mind playing tricks on me again?' Aoba thought and noticed both Koujaku and Mink had stood up at the same time, glared at each other once and then both stormed out one after the other with Koujaku following Mink out the door as though they both had something to discuss out in the lobby.
Gian and Bernardo then offered Aoba some donuts. "Don't mind the men. When the men get here, they all turn into animals, right, Bernardo?" Gian looked down at the other man with a smirk. Aoba saw the same expression on Bernardo's face as before.
It was not a coincidence. Bernardo had the look of someone who had just found out their home had been destroyed. But it was quickly masked over with a different one. One that told the world that he may be tired but he was still alive somewhat. Had he always been this way around his fellow peers? Was this place just as dreary as Platinum Jail had before it was demolished? He shook the thought from his head as he did not want anymore to do with those kinds of thoughts.
Just to think about his past was causing the wrong sort of memories to pop up again and the last thing he wanted was to hold his own friends down with his pitiful body. Aoba got up too quickly and found his body falling backwards and his butt hit the lounge sofa. The impact didn't hurt him but his vision wavered because of his actions. He gripped the edges of the sofa and used it to push up off from the seat. He connected to the floor with both feet planted firmly and once he felt he was able to, he unsteadily walked for the door.
But Gian stopped him from going out into the lobby. "At least let Bernardo go with you as an escort service. Bernardo?" Gian looked back as though to get a confirmation from the man. Bernardo strained a smile and let out a small sigh as he got up from the couch. Aoba could see the same look again. It was not as pained as the other two but it was fairly visible. He could not understand how it was possible that only he noticed while the blonde man was oblivious to it. Maybe that was what the other man had been wanting all along? Bernardo took Aoba's arm with his own.
"If my Honey wishes it to be, I suppose I must be a gentleman and see the young princess to her room." Usually Aoba would have gotten upset over something like this. He was a man through and through and hated to be treated as though he were frail. But at the moment he did not feel like rebelling against anybody as he still felt tired from this morning's activities with Mink and with what he had said.
Gian waved them off with a smile. "I'll man the station for you, my darling!" He was oddly happy today, happier than he had been the first few days of him knowing the man. Aoba limped out of the room with Bernardo still holding his arm. His legs and feet were not injured but his joints and tendons had felt frozen since he was first admitted to the building and its special hospitable treatment.
He thought it was due to the stress of being stowed away and his body finally relaxing from the torment his captors had put him in. But then there were his headaches that should have been gone by now. Although the other him, Desire, had been quiet and had not said a word to him since getting the headaches, he could still feel something there. Whether it be all just in his head or if it really was happening, he knew it would only be a matter of time before he had to be taken in by someone like his grandmother to get to the bottom of his ailments.
They soon reached the guest room, Aoba's bedroom and were both surprised to see Clear standing inside, looking out the window as though he had been waiting for them patiently. Bernardo smiled as they entered the room all the way in and he helped Aoba to one of the chairs. "Clear..." The man looked over his shoulder with his usual smile that he always greeted Aoba with but did not turn around.
Bernardo, after confirming that Aoba was fine where he was, turned to leave the room but Aoba quickly stopped him with a sudden question. "Wait! Your face...are you...um...are you by any chance...in love with that man?" Aoba cringed at himself in his mind for asking such an odd question and out of the blue since Bernardo seemed to be at a loss of words.
But the man spoke clearly and answered the question without hesitation. "Yes. I'm actually surprised you could tell. Do I really not mask it very well? I thought I had it down by now. But do keep it a secret. He's...in an odd relationship with Ivan for the moment. If there isn't anything else then, I'll be heading back to my chamber of horrors."
Bernardo had been referring to the telephone room and walked out the door swiftly. Aoba felt uneasy after having asked such a question and decided to push aside the thoughts so that he could focus on Clear. The man had been quietly listening to the conversation and must have been at least somewhat curious about it, right?
"Aoba-san?" Clear had now gone from the window to the table where Aoba had been sitting and was now leaning over his shoulder.
He nearly fell off the chair as he jumped up in a startled motion. He had forgotten how extremely quiet the man could be at times and it soon brought a smile to his face knowing that at least that bit hadn't changed. "Clear, were you sleeping out on the rooftop?" He asked him. He had seen it with his own eyes that the man had been fast asleep next to the window out on the roof.
Clear straightened his back and looked up at the ceiling as though he were in deep thought. "Yes. I was!" Clear looked back down at Aoba and smiled widely.
Even though he saw the man sleeping out there, something inside of him wanted to see if he would admit to it or not. But the reason was still unknown to him. Clear sat down next to him and picked up one of the sweets that had been sitting on a tray stand. A piece of chocolate. Aoba watched as the man stuck the candy into his mouth without delay, chewing it as though he had not been an android all along.
"Clear?" He gave Clear his full attention. He wanted to hear Clear's side of things aside from his regular feelings. He was going to get to the bottom of how they all really felt. Although he thought he'd have no time to do such things, he figured it was only fair to give them each his own piece of mind before dealing with dreadful memories later.
The man stopped eating some of the candy that were laid out and looked at Aoba with the same gleeful face he had on when he first arrived. "Aoba-san?" Aoba felt hot at the back of his neck as he asked his question.
"Mink said...that you all have feelings for me. What does he mean, Clear?" Aoba was not dumb but he felt like he was for asking something that he knew was answered when Clear first came by. But as Clear had showed him his own way of being interested in him, he confused him like Mink had.
Which was why he was asking such a question now. Clear's smile faded as he looked down at the table cloth. Aoba saw that Clear was fidgeting with his white gloves.
"Mink-san is right, Aoba. We all love you for being the man you are. Even though it is a deeper meaning for us all, we also love you in a non-romantic way as well. I'm sure they would all agree on that." Aoba could see what he was trying to say and remembered the conversation he had with Koujaku just an hour ago.
Clear then got up from the table and leaned closer to Aoba's face. Aoba was only able to see the two moles on the bottom right side of Clear's face as the man placed his lips on top of his own. "C-Clear... Stop it...!" Aoba tried to look away from him and could feel his face flushing hot from the excitement of it all.
Clear did not let up and pulled Aoba's face back toward him, forcing it to stay put as he went in for another kiss. Clear's whitish-gray hair touched against Aoba's light blue hair and fell against his forehead, causing a ticklish feeling. Aoba clung onto Clear's elbow and tried to pull it down so that he could pry the man's hand from his chin.
He could feel Clear's tongue against his lips and seemed to be trying to force his lips open so that he could slip his tongue into his mouth. Aoba's muscles had been weak for a while now so they weren't of much use to him in this situation but he also knew Clear was not really a human like he was and was naturally stronger than a human being.
But even then, Aoba could not fathom the sudden change in Clear's attitude and actions. He was usually much more reserved and patient. Something like this he had expected to come from Mink or Noiz. Clear then used one hand to force the chair that Aoba had been sitting on, to sit directly in front of him so that his body was facing Aoba's.
He then pressed his knee in between Aoba's legs, resting it on the chair. Aoba felt pinned down and felt a sudden wave of nausea hitting him. The erotic atmosphere that Clear had created was beginning to affect him in a different way than what Clear may have intended for him. Aoba pushed on Clear's chest with both his hands but Clear eagerly moved in closer to him. When Clear finally parted from his lips, Aoba voiced his complaint.
"C-Clear...enough..." Aoba tried to stand up but his legs refused to listen to his brain and he soon found himself at the mercy of Clear. He was not originally weak when it came to fighting people but because of his current state and Clear's background of being an android had fused together into being one giant pain for Aoba to fight against.
It was at a time like this he had wished he still had the power to voice out an order like he did with his Scrap power. Clear did not do anything this time and stopped all his actions, even letting go of Aoba's chin. Aoba quickly looked up at Clear's face as the man pulled away in a robotic way. There was only one thing that Aoba could think of to explain his expression of what he was feeling now. A mix of fear and guilt.
"I'm sorry, Aoba-san." Clear smiled and pulled away from Aoba a bit more to the point that he was up against the wall. For just a split second Aoba could have sworn he saw a slight pause as Clear was about to kiss him again just a minute ago. What stopped his mood? Aoba kept watching Clear for any sort of change, wondering if he would do it again.
The air in the room began to lessen from an erotic moment to that of a doom and gloom feeling. It was starting to make Aoba feel like it was his fault that this had happened. Although it partially was, he did not feel like it should even have concerned him since he had been too busy focusing on what Virus and Trip had been planning. It annoyed him to no end knowing that neither of his friends who came to see him were interested in what was happening with the current situation.
He did not dislike being loved by them but if it were to interfere with his current escape plan and place him in even more danger with the twins, then he really would be hopeless.
Aoba got up from the chair slowly and limped across the floor to his bed. Clear was too busy putting his hands to his lips every now and then to notice Aoba pulling the covers over him. He was angry but Clear had the nerve to keep thinking of the kiss over and over again. He closed his eyes and pretended to fall asleep as he didn't want anything to do with the man after that point.
However, Clear had not moved from the spot and continued to stare at Aoba's covered body while still touching his lips with his gloved hands. "Aoba-san?" As though he had snapped out of his small transformation, he quickly rushed to Aoba's bedside and began to apologize over and over again.
"I promise, Aoba-san! I won't do something like that again! Please!" But Aoba did not turn over under the covers and remained quiet and still. Clear reached out to grab the upper part of the covers but Aoba had already fallen asleep despite pretending.
When Clear heard Aoba's quiet snoring he felt he could not disturb his master's slumber. "Aoba-san...sorry." Clear uttered under his breath and stepped back from the bed. He walked over to the window and once more, opened it to jump out onto the rooftop again.
Before he was able to lie down on his back however, he spotted both Luchino and Noiz along with Giulio and Ivan coming out the back of a large truck-like vehicle. He pursed his lips together after remembering that Noiz would be one of the other men in love with Aoba. He knew both Mink and Koujaku were the same way and with this thought in mind, he could not stay calm.
Clear crouched down on the rooftop, watching the men as they entered the building. Both Noiz and Giulio seemed to have gotten the same feeling as they both looked up at the same time at him. Noiz stopped walking and continued to stare up at Clear. Giulio could sense the aggravation between the two but because he heard Luchino's voice calling his name out, he too snapped out of a small but definite trance that he had been in.
Was it because their situation seemed to have resembled their own? One man who had four contestants all vowing the same speech as to who would win the man's attention? Noiz also stopped his staring contest with the other man and continued walking toward the building. Clear kept watching until he couldn't see them anymore and soon sat down cross-legged on the roof.
He began to hum a familiar melody for himself and for Aoba, whether he was sleeping for real or not made little difference as the tune's original purpose was to affect the mind. He had hoped his singing would at least allow Aoba the bit of rest he needed.
A/N: Ok, Sorry I have not uploaded this chapter fast enough, I was planning to but a cold caught me so I'm still a bit sick but was still writing bit by bit here and there. Um, I didn't want to make Clear too yandere-ish but I guess he gives off that vibe here with Noiz.
So I was thinking, logically it would be Noiz against Clear and Koujaku against Mink. Ren is still technically in the running but I would pit him against the twins at that point. There should be no comparing the three of them like that but they're the only ones who actually knew Aoba from that long ago even if Koujaku and Aoba were childhood friends, the twins and Ren knew Aoba longer than he did so...yep not a comparison, just like a little rival match between all of them. Ok I'll be back with the next chapter!