Die Einigung - Understanding
Title: Die Einigung
Scene Title: Understanding
Author: beloved_voices
Series: Weiß Kreuz
Pairing(s) Involved:
Disclaimer: Weiß Kreuz is owned by Takehito Koyasu, Marine Entertainment, Project Weiß, and associated parties.
Scene Wordcount: 1330
Current Wordcount Total: 4038
Rating: G
Warnings: character death
...didn't make it...
Brad jerked awake, half-sitting up before he froze, his head swimming with the sudden movement. Before he could sag back down, there was a strong arm at his back, supporting him, and a shock of orange hair in his fuzzy vision. Automatically, one long arm reached out for his glasses, but rather than the smooth wood of the bedside table, his fingers dug into gritty, wet sand. "...Schuldig?" he whispered, stunned at the rough edge to his voice. What had...
Oh yes.
"You've been out a while, Crawford," Schuldig said softly, his own voice more hoarse than Brad had expected. "Completely out." His words were mild enough, but Brad understood what Schuldig wasn't saying in those words. He let the redhead shift him further up, until Brad was supported more by Schuldig's chest than his arm. Now that he was awake and more aware, Brad was beginning to notice the little things around him. There was water lapping at his calves, carrying the grit from the ground up his trouser legs. He was cold, so cold that everywhere Schuldig touched him, he felt almost scorched by the man's warmth. Was the telepath's body too warm? Brad really couldn't tell. Behind him, the sounds of Japan were beginning to intrude, pressing in on the waterlogged silence the two shared.
"My glasses," Brad finally said, realizing what had gone half-unnoticed with all the distractions around him. Schuldig was a fuzzy blur in his sight, the lapping waves one great faintly-shifting blob. He tried to sit up, but groaned and sank back against Schuldig when pain stabbed through his head. "Did they wash up?" he finally continued, regretting it the very second that Schuldig rose, gathering Brad into his arms. Oh, how moving made his head ache...
"Didn't see them," Schuldig said, standing still for a moment. Brad watched as he swung his eyes left, then right, searching out the missing spectacles before shaking his head. "They're not here. We'll arrange for a new pair for you when we get back." Brad nodded, closing his eyes and leaning his head against Schuldig's chest. "Just let me find Nagi and Farf, and we're outta here," Schuldig continued, even as he turned and started toward the car they'd hidden nearby.
"They're gone," Brad said, his voice harsh. "I Saw Farfarello die. Even he's not able to heal drowning." Long fingers tightened in Schuldig's wet shirt, holding it tightly as Schuldig stood there, staring down at Brad. "Leave the other." Not 'Nagi'. Not now, after everything the telekinetic had done to them.
No questions were asked. Schuldig simply started moving again, making his way to the car. It was slow going in bare feet, the rocks past the beach sand biting painfully at the exposed feet, but soon enough, they'd reached their goal. Schuldig carefully set Brad down in the passenger seat, then made his way around the car. He stood at the driver's door for a couple of silent seconds, staring off at the water once more. When he finally climbed in, he made no move to start the car. "...Why are we leaving him, Crawford?" he asked softly. "Did something happen with Nagi that I don't know about?"
"Drive, Schuldig," Brad directed, his eyes closed as he waited for the car to start up. It was a few minutes before Schuldig complied, and while he waited, Brad remained silent, weighing his options. How much could he really tell this last member of Schwarz? When the car roared to life, he drew a deep breath, feeling the vibrations through his body and making his decision.
"There's been a mole in Schwarz." The words were quiet but still easily heard by waiting ears. Brad turned away from the man, feeling the way the cool, smooth leather under his head warmed as skin lingered against it. "He's been there from the beginning, sabotaging our efforts and ensuring that Weiß and Kritiker knew too much. The problems he's caused nearly cost us our freedom, but it's over now." A soft grunt from Schuldig was his answer to that, and Brad sighed. "Estet planted Nagi in an effort to ensure that we would always be their property. They knew, even so many years ago, that we would overcome them, and they took steps to stop it."
"How did you know?" Schuldig asked quietly, as the car wove through traffic Brad could feel. It was such a fight to keep his visions from showing him every car they whipped past. It was worrisome. It was dangerous. If his control didn't come back as the pain in his head receded... He shoved the thoughts away, not wanting to dwell on the idea.
"That the mole existed?" Brad asked softly. "Or that it wasn't you?"
"Both," came the soft response, the word echoed with a faint hint of affirmation.
"The former... I foresaw enough of his sabotage to keep it from destroying us. I found better ways to do what needed to be done to survive all this." Brad thought quietly for several minutes, slender fingers moving up to massage his temple. The pain echoed through his head when he thought about it, frustratingly distracting. "Schwarz was created to be of use to Estet. As long as the elders saw us doing our job, things were relatively safe. The mole wouldn't interrupt things we did for Estet. In the beginning, it wouldn't even occur to him to plant false ideas by doing things that countermanded Estet's orders."
"In the beginning?" Schuldig pressed, frowning deeply.
"As time grew nearer to the ritual, he would've realized I'd noticed. He had to change how he handled things, had to ensure I saw him attempting to 'sabotage' what we were doing, so that I'd stop watching him. It was a good ploy, but not quite good enough. Farfarello's violence, his... attacks... were too specifically focussed. He did little enough to throw me off his scent, but he didn't... smell, when you really noticed him. And his insanities were a bit too chaotic for Estet to really control. I've yet to find anything capable of controlling his more psychotic outbursts."
"What about me?" Schuldig demanded, pulling into the garage where they lived. He parked the car in the dimness of the carport and sat, waiting for Brad to finish.
"At first, you made sense to me. Your telepathy would be quite useful in a spy. Really, I wasn't fully certain of your... innocence...," Brad said, his lips curving at the word. A bark of harsh laughter rang in his ears, painful and yet welcome. "I wasn't certain that it was Nagi and not you until last night. The leaders of Estet focused on you when they greeted you, speaking familiarly. Farfarello and Nagi were both dismissed with a simple, short question. Nagi's answer, in particular, was lackluster and subtle, as though he didn't want to be noticed." As he explained, Brad forced himself up, sighing softly. "This late in the game, even the elders weren't overconfident enough to hand their mole over... which meant they had to treat him as beneath notice."
"So that's how it worked," Schuldig muttered, climbing out of the car and moving to curl an arm around Brad to help him out as well. "And that's why you didn't ask me to just read the little shit?" he added, his eyes narrowing.
"Precisely," Brad nodded, a faint smile on his face. "If he were the mole, it would be buried too deeply for you to see it. And if he weren't, you would be, and would use him as a means of calming my suspicions, leaving me without an ally."
"So... what now?" Schuldig asked, as they moved into the elevator. He let Brad sink back against the cool wall in back, watching the seer cautiously.
"Now? We get our things. We move, and lay low for a year or two," Brad explained quietly. "And then... we enjoy our freedom."
Scene Title: Understanding
Author: beloved_voices
Series: Weiß Kreuz
Pairing(s) Involved:
Disclaimer: Weiß Kreuz is owned by Takehito Koyasu, Marine Entertainment, Project Weiß, and associated parties.
Scene Wordcount: 1330
Current Wordcount Total: 4038
Rating: G
Warnings: character death
...didn't make it...
Brad jerked awake, half-sitting up before he froze, his head swimming with the sudden movement. Before he could sag back down, there was a strong arm at his back, supporting him, and a shock of orange hair in his fuzzy vision. Automatically, one long arm reached out for his glasses, but rather than the smooth wood of the bedside table, his fingers dug into gritty, wet sand. "...Schuldig?" he whispered, stunned at the rough edge to his voice. What had...
Oh yes.
"You've been out a while, Crawford," Schuldig said softly, his own voice more hoarse than Brad had expected. "Completely out." His words were mild enough, but Brad understood what Schuldig wasn't saying in those words. He let the redhead shift him further up, until Brad was supported more by Schuldig's chest than his arm. Now that he was awake and more aware, Brad was beginning to notice the little things around him. There was water lapping at his calves, carrying the grit from the ground up his trouser legs. He was cold, so cold that everywhere Schuldig touched him, he felt almost scorched by the man's warmth. Was the telepath's body too warm? Brad really couldn't tell. Behind him, the sounds of Japan were beginning to intrude, pressing in on the waterlogged silence the two shared.
"My glasses," Brad finally said, realizing what had gone half-unnoticed with all the distractions around him. Schuldig was a fuzzy blur in his sight, the lapping waves one great faintly-shifting blob. He tried to sit up, but groaned and sank back against Schuldig when pain stabbed through his head. "Did they wash up?" he finally continued, regretting it the very second that Schuldig rose, gathering Brad into his arms. Oh, how moving made his head ache...
"Didn't see them," Schuldig said, standing still for a moment. Brad watched as he swung his eyes left, then right, searching out the missing spectacles before shaking his head. "They're not here. We'll arrange for a new pair for you when we get back." Brad nodded, closing his eyes and leaning his head against Schuldig's chest. "Just let me find Nagi and Farf, and we're outta here," Schuldig continued, even as he turned and started toward the car they'd hidden nearby.
"They're gone," Brad said, his voice harsh. "I Saw Farfarello die. Even he's not able to heal drowning." Long fingers tightened in Schuldig's wet shirt, holding it tightly as Schuldig stood there, staring down at Brad. "Leave the other." Not 'Nagi'. Not now, after everything the telekinetic had done to them.
No questions were asked. Schuldig simply started moving again, making his way to the car. It was slow going in bare feet, the rocks past the beach sand biting painfully at the exposed feet, but soon enough, they'd reached their goal. Schuldig carefully set Brad down in the passenger seat, then made his way around the car. He stood at the driver's door for a couple of silent seconds, staring off at the water once more. When he finally climbed in, he made no move to start the car. "...Why are we leaving him, Crawford?" he asked softly. "Did something happen with Nagi that I don't know about?"
"Drive, Schuldig," Brad directed, his eyes closed as he waited for the car to start up. It was a few minutes before Schuldig complied, and while he waited, Brad remained silent, weighing his options. How much could he really tell this last member of Schwarz? When the car roared to life, he drew a deep breath, feeling the vibrations through his body and making his decision.
"There's been a mole in Schwarz." The words were quiet but still easily heard by waiting ears. Brad turned away from the man, feeling the way the cool, smooth leather under his head warmed as skin lingered against it. "He's been there from the beginning, sabotaging our efforts and ensuring that Weiß and Kritiker knew too much. The problems he's caused nearly cost us our freedom, but it's over now." A soft grunt from Schuldig was his answer to that, and Brad sighed. "Estet planted Nagi in an effort to ensure that we would always be their property. They knew, even so many years ago, that we would overcome them, and they took steps to stop it."
"How did you know?" Schuldig asked quietly, as the car wove through traffic Brad could feel. It was such a fight to keep his visions from showing him every car they whipped past. It was worrisome. It was dangerous. If his control didn't come back as the pain in his head receded... He shoved the thoughts away, not wanting to dwell on the idea.
"That the mole existed?" Brad asked softly. "Or that it wasn't you?"
"Both," came the soft response, the word echoed with a faint hint of affirmation.
"The former... I foresaw enough of his sabotage to keep it from destroying us. I found better ways to do what needed to be done to survive all this." Brad thought quietly for several minutes, slender fingers moving up to massage his temple. The pain echoed through his head when he thought about it, frustratingly distracting. "Schwarz was created to be of use to Estet. As long as the elders saw us doing our job, things were relatively safe. The mole wouldn't interrupt things we did for Estet. In the beginning, it wouldn't even occur to him to plant false ideas by doing things that countermanded Estet's orders."
"In the beginning?" Schuldig pressed, frowning deeply.
"As time grew nearer to the ritual, he would've realized I'd noticed. He had to change how he handled things, had to ensure I saw him attempting to 'sabotage' what we were doing, so that I'd stop watching him. It was a good ploy, but not quite good enough. Farfarello's violence, his... attacks... were too specifically focussed. He did little enough to throw me off his scent, but he didn't... smell, when you really noticed him. And his insanities were a bit too chaotic for Estet to really control. I've yet to find anything capable of controlling his more psychotic outbursts."
"What about me?" Schuldig demanded, pulling into the garage where they lived. He parked the car in the dimness of the carport and sat, waiting for Brad to finish.
"At first, you made sense to me. Your telepathy would be quite useful in a spy. Really, I wasn't fully certain of your... innocence...," Brad said, his lips curving at the word. A bark of harsh laughter rang in his ears, painful and yet welcome. "I wasn't certain that it was Nagi and not you until last night. The leaders of Estet focused on you when they greeted you, speaking familiarly. Farfarello and Nagi were both dismissed with a simple, short question. Nagi's answer, in particular, was lackluster and subtle, as though he didn't want to be noticed." As he explained, Brad forced himself up, sighing softly. "This late in the game, even the elders weren't overconfident enough to hand their mole over... which meant they had to treat him as beneath notice."
"So that's how it worked," Schuldig muttered, climbing out of the car and moving to curl an arm around Brad to help him out as well. "And that's why you didn't ask me to just read the little shit?" he added, his eyes narrowing.
"Precisely," Brad nodded, a faint smile on his face. "If he were the mole, it would be buried too deeply for you to see it. And if he weren't, you would be, and would use him as a means of calming my suspicions, leaving me without an ally."
"So... what now?" Schuldig asked, as they moved into the elevator. He let Brad sink back against the cool wall in back, watching the seer cautiously.
"Now? We get our things. We move, and lay low for a year or two," Brad explained quietly. "And then... we enjoy our freedom."