Brothers

Summary of chapter four; The relayed events of the previous evening find Luke at Asch's bedroom door with news of another attempt on his life. Meanwhile Mieu wanders the corridors, lost. He overhears a conversation from two unwelcome guests and hides in a suit of armour until they are well out of sight. Then, he leaves hoping to find some one.

Chapter 5; Silence, the end of the Night.

"Are you sure it wasn't Guy checking up on you?" Asch sat on the bed. Arms crossed, eyes stern. He hated being woken up at the best of times, which was usually why he was so grumpy on the battle field, and why the maids usually picked straws or sent one of the guards to wake him up back in Daath. Though he wanted to make sure the damn brat had a good reason behind barging in here that didn't include some misunderstanding.

"Asch I'm pretty sure Guy wouldn't hold cold steel to my neck!" Luke was flustered, and had been since he came in. He always was a very fragile little thing. He couldn't kill without losing a few nights sleep. He barely knew how the world worked and after the 'incident' he had become so much more timid. Even a creak on the floor boards outside his room would of had him hiding under bed. Which is why Asch needed to make sure.

"How do you know it was steel- his hands might just have been cold." Asch barely finished before Luke lashed out at him.

"Why don't you believe me?! I know what I saw - what I felt! Do I have to wake up dead before you even consider that I might be telling the truth?" That set him off.

Luke's confidence dropped as Asch stood and grabbed his wrist. He panicked, sacred he tried to shout but his voice was so small. "L-Let...Lemme-."

"You're not the only one who had a hard night. But dammit Luke," Asch's voice stayed low, for some reason that made him terrified, "You can't keep making accusations you don't know are true."

Luke shrank back and silently nodded. He was still scared but he didn't want to say anything in case he made Asch angry again. He flinched when Asch spoke, even though the elder's voice was normal again.

"Why are so scared? It's not like I'm going to hurt you or something." Although mere months ago he probably would have, Guy had been kept on his toes till one particular evening where he got fed up and forced both of them to talk out their differences in a locked cell under the palace, curtsy of Natalia's influence.

Luke looked at him but he didn't answer immediatly. "I...I'm going to head back... to my room..." His voice was so vulnerable and frail. Asch didn't like that.

Asch yanked Luke's wrist suddenly, let go, then caged him inside his arms. They both stood there for a minute. Silent. It was as if both of them did not want to speak. Luke relaxed enough to settle his chin on Asch's shoulder, in response the older leaned his head gently against Luke's, allowing little puffs of air to tickle the younger's neck.

"It's too late to go looking for Guy. And if you believe your own words you'll end up dead or missing by tomorrow morning. So, I'm not allowing you to wander around the manor at night."

Much to Asch's surprise the only thing Luke said in response was, "...m'ok."

Meanwhile, Guy slept soundly in his bed next to Pere. Until, that is, a small round ball of fluff jumped up onto his stomach. Fuzzy as the creature may have been, Mieu certainly weighed more than Guy could sleep through and he sprung up into a sitting position throwing the intruder off.

It did not discourage Mieu in the slightest though, as the blue cheagal found his way back up onto the bed.

Guy rubbed his tummy. "What was that for?" He groaned still only partly awake.

"Guy there are strangers in the corridors! They're sneaking around, Guy! I found them and I spied on them. I overheard all of their plans!"

Guy sat back, he honestly wasn't sure what to make of the Cheagal's exploitations. After all small round and blue had a habit for over exaggerating. On one hand it could just be new staff, he'd heard a rumor that two of the maids quit recently. However if on the off chance Meiu was right and someone had broken in purposely they probably only had one objective. No, make that two.

Asch wasn't careless enough to be attacked but Luke was vulnerable at night when he was asleep, to trusting to those near him whom may or may not be allies. But who could blame him? Luke relied on those around him, after all, he was still just a child.

Reluctantly Guy got out of bed, slipped his shoes on and walked to the door. He supposed he should give the halls a once over. Just in case. After all what damage could it possibly do?

Asch had eventually lost patience with Luke when he refused to sleep in the same bed as himself. Now shoeless and shirtless, Luke laid down under the covers next to Asch and stayed quiet while Asch bent over him to switch the bed side lamp off. The fonstone glowed dimly before it's light vanished altogether.

Leaning back to his original position, Asch turned so his back was to Luke he didn't mean to tackle the younger into bed but by God Luke was asking for it! He couldn't be expected to keep his temper when the brat was being so damn difficult, especially if he had nothing to take out his frustration on as a result. He was, however, curious as to the silence behind him.

He shifted slightly to look. Luke had his hands up near his face much like the position he was in the last time Asch looked. Only this time his eyes were closed, his mouth slightly open and he seemed to be the nearest thing to peaceful as Asch had seen anyone achieve. It was almost cute.

Cute?!Asch thought realising the statement, Younger men are not 'cute' stop thinking before you get ideas!But Asch already had the ideas, It's incest! If someone found out about it- but no one had to, it could be a secret, That doesn't make it any less wrong!

In an attempt to quell the civil war his sense of morality and his reality were having he rolled back onto his side. All was well for the first five minutes when he began to drift off, then something stretched up against his back and a flash of heat spread out over his face. Almost immediately he knew he was blushing.

Fuck... Please let it only be from a lack of sleep...

Luke pressed up further against him and an unwelcome warmth began to manifest itself in a lower region of his body. Trying to avoid any further interaction Asch moved closer to the wall.

He let an involentarally gasped esacpe him when Luke pressed up flush onto his bare back. By accident this woke the younger.

"Hmm? Asch are you okay." Luke didn't fully take in the error of his hand's location, (near the hemline of Asch's boxers) as he hunched over the older one. It was meant to be a kind gesture, like when Guy did it to him, but by the look on Asch's face it didn't seem to be working. In Luke's mind he saw his hand on Asch's belly (not that he really had one- and Guy complains about my diet!) however, Asch felt it pressed firmly against the soft skin leading down to his naval.

To Asch's dismay, his grievances only got worse. In his observations Luke noticed a still hand didn't seem to work, so, to correct this mistake Luke began to smooth his finger tips around gently in circles. It would have been a calming sensation if only they'd stayed on Asch's upper body. Unfortunately it only worked in contrast, Asch was now struggling with his self control. He was incredibly uncomfortable.

Hand disappeared and bed slumped at it's relocation. Luke looked at Asch, although he couldn't see them Asch could tell they were concerned.

Without warning, Asch rolled onto his back knocking Luke off balance. The younger landed on top of him with a surprised yelp, and Asch notice familiar problem which he saw fit to adgitate with his knee.

Luke groaned as a very sensitive part of his body began to hurt. It wasn't something he was used to or knew how to handle, after all everyone made such a fuss over the little things he asked, that he had learned, quite simply, if you don't want the attention, don't ask.

But curiosity was not the main priority here, he thought when he started to feel uncomfortable it was because he wasn't in the right position, and he though for something of forty minutes he had sat in his own room with the same pressing matter. It had gone away momentarily when he got spooked, and now it was bothering him again.

"Ah-Asch," He tried to say. "What's -nhh- wrong with, ha, me?"

Ceasing his movements, Asch rolled on to his side again so they were both on the mattress.

"Nothing. Ask Guy about it in the morning, right now, go take a cold shower. Bathrooms' down the hall to the right."

"But Asch-"

"Before you ask, yes, I am coming with you."

BONUS CHAPTER. PART ONE.

Sync regarded his luck as reassuringly non persistent. Not only had he been wrong (which he saw a major slash to his confidence) but he had little or no doubt that Arietta's 'prize' would humilliate him in some horrifying way which he would never live down. He had a vague idea what it might be, in fact he had many, unfortunately all of them were fictions best kept to little boy's nightmares.

Arietta had never been the sweet little darling the original fon master Ion adored, but a ruthless demon of sorts in cased in a small, pale shell. To back up this information (for although Sync detested the thought of evidence used against himself it didn't stop him from pressing it to other people) a unfading scar was always poking around in the back of his mind of a terrible New Year's party when he'd been dragged into a game of truth or dare.

It was fine until he had a less than favourable run in with fate. Lagretta, while drinking down what Sync assumed was her third glass of red, dared Asch and himself to kiss. They'd both disagreed until a young, royal pain threaten to blow the cover of two unmentionable secrets.

It had taken him more than a year to live the thing down. Damned brat.

"..nc, Sync!"

Sync glared across the room at her, he wasn't about to bother hiding his obvious displeasure.

"You could at least look happy to see me."

"But I'm not."

"It's still common curtsy. There's no need to be rude to me especially when I'm deciding your punishment." Arietta played unconsciously with hat. Sync brushed the movement off until he something pulled out from under black accessory. "Which reminds me," she added, a familiar evil smirk appeared on her face. "What I want you to do."

Here it comes...

"There's two things: information and a certain action." The vague outline of the question made Sync annoyed. It was his pet peeve, not knowing things.

Preview; "Problems have a way of making themselves known. And the longer they go on ignored, the longer someone suffers for them."

It's brief I know. Next Chapter title; Doctors appointment. Due on 23rd December. Bonus pt2, will also be included.