So here's the final chapter. Thanks again to you all for reading my little story and I hope you like the way it wraps up.
Special thanks to my reviewers- RushSykes, anon, Yo momma, Isabella and me, NeverFree, Vincentre, Nivell, Soyna, Smailii1805, Vietta, and bambi. You guys are awesome!
The Soup
Angeal sliced another carrot and threw it in to the pot. The smell of vegetables cooking in butter wafted through his small apartment in the form of invisible aromatic plumes. They would have to be aggressive if they wanted to secure any air space in the living room, however, because there was currently a dense storm cloud hanging over the couch.
Twenty minutes earlier Angeal had been rummaging through his fridge when there was a thud at the door followed by what sounded like a wounded animal. He opened the door to reveal Genesis with a closely cropped head of hair slumped against the door frame. By the look on his face you would think it had been his balls that had been cut off instead of his hair.
In all actuality Genesis looked fine. Hot, even. He had the face and bone structure to pull off this sort of look and his scalp still had a coat of auburn peach fuzz. He did seem a bit naked without his signature flip-do though. Angeal had to admit that some of the drama was definitely missing from his appearance, but he was sure that Genesis would more than make up for it in personality.
Angeal had scratched his own newly shorn head at the sight of the other man and with a long-suffering sigh, stepped aside to make way for his despondent friend. This brought him to his present situation of having to make lunch for two while Genesis slowly oozed into the couch.
Angeal blocked out his surroundings and focused on his cooking. He had been looking forward to this all morning. His vegetable drawer was in need of clearing out and the weather outside was perfect for a nice warm bowl of soup.
He added some vegetable stock to the carrot-onion-garlic mix and while he waited for it to come to a boil he washed, peeled, and roughly chopped a potato. When the soup reached the proper temperature he added the potato and then there was nothing left to do but wait.
The smell permeating his apartment was almost enough to make him forget about the puddle of Genesis in the living room.
Almost.
Angeal leaned against the counter and scrutinized his lunch guest. Genesis seemed to be in a near comatose state. His eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, a glossy forlorn look about them, and his arms hung limply at his sides. He didn't appear to be breathing except for the sudden rushes of air he would expel at sporadic intervals.
Angeal could have laughed at the whole ridiculous display if he didn't feel somewhat responsible for it. Not because he had anything to do with their current state of hairlessness but because he had somehow allowed this kind of behavior to go on all of these years. It was for this exact reason that he was so hard on his students. All good feelings for his friend aside, under no circumstances did he want the budding SOLDIERs under his command to end up like the pathetic form wallowing in self-pity on his couch.
A new figure entered Angeal's line of vision that he had all but forgotten about since Genesis' unexpected arrival.
Brutus padded in to the living room from one of the many nooks he frequented and perked up when he noticed two legs splayed out at the end of the sofa. This was a rare sight indeed, as the animal known to Brutus only as 'Loud Angry Master Stealer' barely ever hung around their apartment anymore. He approached the visitor with a confident and carefree air born of the knowledge that he had outsmarted this creature before and could doubtless do it again.
Angeal was not so confident. He knew Genesis hadn't come here to harm the dog but it was never a good idea to tempt him. The SOLDIER made a swift gesture for Brutus to come here, trying not to make any big moves or sounds so as not to alert his friend of the dog's presence. Brutus couldn't be bothered as he was seemingly attempting to work out something of little to moderate difficulty in his head.
Angeal knelt down to get on eye level with the pup and whispered a sharp 'Brutus!' while again beckoning the dog to him. Brutus just stood there, in no way looking like he was listening to Angeal, and in every way looking like he was about to jump.
Angeal could only watch as Brutus leapt into the air, ears flapping behind him. He came to a rough landing right in the middle of Genesis' lap.
The dog may as well have presented himself on a platter.
A small part of Angeal couldn't help thinking that it would serve the disobedient little pup right if he just left him at the mercy of the dormant red dragon beneath him. As it was, the SOLDIER First remained crouched on the kitchen floor ready to act should Genesis show any signs of aggression.
But Genesis, in a very uncharacteristic fashion, was unresponsive. He didn't even blink. Angeal wondered if in fact Genesis had slipped into a mild coma. There was just no other conceivable way that Genesis would allow the dog anywhere near him. Even then, Angeal wasn't entirely convinced that Genesis wasn't capable of rousing himself from the dead should Brutus venture too close. Genesis could be scary like that.
Brutus took a minute to find his footing, probably stepping in all kinds of places that ought not to be stepped on before he heedlessly climbed up Genesis' torso. He placed his front paws on the man's chest and looked down into the face that had, until now, always been out of reach. His nose twitched in anticipation at the prospect of uncharted territories.
Brutus began to sniff, softly at first and then more eagerly, pressing his nose against Genesis' skin like he was trying to suck it up through his nostrils. Once he had sufficiently surveyed the area with his olfactory organ he was ready to go in for a proper greeting.
Angeal shook his head slightly. The dog would be lucky if he got his tongue halfway out of his mouth before Genesis ripped it out of his head.
Fortunately for Angeal, he wasn't a betting man.
Agile pink met creamy peach in a softer and silkier (but not necessarily less dangerous) clash of the titans. By all accounts, pink was winning. Genesis was soon drowning in an ocean of taste buds and slobber. Brutus' tongue molded to every last contour as if he were trying to make a papier mache cast of Genesis' face.
As Brutus was just making his way up to Genesis' cheekbones, the dreaded moment arrived. Ever so slowly- so slowly that it was almost painful for Angeal to watch- Genesis tilted his head forward, like a vampire rising from his coffin. His eyes, still eerily vacant, tore themselves away from the ceiling and traveled down until they focused on the animal on top of him, who was happily preoccupied with treating his face like its own personal saltlick.
In that instant, everything in the apartment went still. You could hear a pin drop. Angeal felt like the temperature had dropped several degrees. He was frozen in that seemingly unending interlude between action and inaction.
The only one who appeared to be oblivious to the tense atmosphere was Brutus, who continued to lap up every last inch of exposed skin, his tail wagging in pleasure. He didn't even miss a beat when Genesis' gloved hands wrapped around his midsection and lifted him off. He simply stuck his neck out more so he could continue his sloppy assault on the man's face.
Angeal stood up. The time for stealth and subtlety had ended and in its place arose the need to get a better angle of attack and assert physical dominance. Hopefully, all Genesis needed was a reminder that Angeal was there to kick his ass if he tried anything.
But Angeal was once again completely ignored.
All of Genesis' attention was on Brutus. He looked at the dog like he was seeing him for the first time, his face a mixture of wonder and quite possibly dementia. In a sudden and most unexpected rush of feeling, Genesis pulled Brutus against him in a tight embrace and his grief took on a new sense of camaraderie and theatricality now that he had a sympathetic partner. "You're the only one who can love me like this! You don't care what I look like! It doesn't matter to you that I'm hideous!"
Angeal stared deadpan at the pair for a minute before finally rolling his eyes and turning back to the forgotten soup boiling on the stove.
He turned the burner off, grabbed two bowls from the cupboard and slopped soup into them, making a small mess on the counter in the process. After a haphazard seasoning, he snatched up one of the bowls, grabbed a spoon and unceremoniously slammed them down in front of Genesis. The gesture went completely unnoticed, as Genesis' love affair with Brutus was only gaining in momentum.
Angeal trudged back to his own bowl of soup and instead of joining Genesis in the living room he took it with him to the small breakfast nook just off the kitchen. He stood against the counter separating the two spaces and glared out the window while he grumpily ate his soup in silence.
After some time, Genesis' voice rang in from the living room, having returned to its normal, casually self-absorbed pitch and showing no trace of his former despair. "Hmmm, it's a little salty."
Angeal looked down into the almost empty bowl in his hands with a bitter taste in his mouth that had nothing to do with the soup.
"Yeah," he grumbled to himself. "Me too."
The End
...o0O0o...
So there it is! A few snippets from the misadventures of Genesis and Brutus and how it all works out in the end. Not really for Angeal though. He has the thankless job of being the bigger person. Angeal and Genesis have known each other for so long that I figured there wouldn't be any real explicit resolution between them. They'd just return to normal like nothing ever happened. Kinda like with family.
The way I imagine Angeal and Brutus' relationship going is that Angeal will eventually have to give Brutus away when he gets too big for the apartment. He finds a good family in the country (maybe Gongaga? I don't like the idea of Banora because we all know how that town ends up) with lots of kids and space for Brutus to run around in and be loved. It will be a tearful goodbye. When Angeal goes on to have Zack as his protege a few years later, the puppy Zack reminds him of is actually Brutus. :)
So this is my first completed story and I am dying to know what you all think of it. How you liked Ch. 7 and the ending, if Ch. 6 fits in with the rest of the story now, what you think of the whole story and the characters in general, what your favorite parts/quotes/chapters were, if there were any parts that don't make sense to you, etc. Please let me know. I would be very appreciative and am happy to answer any questions you have.
Thanks again!