Random fic time!
‘The world at 4am” (G)
Timeline: ERA/ LCM’s AU-verse
Genre: Romantic-ish, Introspective, Shounen Ai
Primary characters: Atredius, Zair
Notes: This fic is a little one-shot revolving around Atredius and Zair as presented in LCM’s AU-verse via ERA. I have no clue what inspired it; I was just looking over some of the chapters of ’30 Pieces of Silver’ and bam. Muse go boom. This is painfully fluffy (On Atre’s end, at least) and likely butchers Zair’s character in Very Bad Ways. Zair belongs to Sapphy, Atre’ belongs to me, and all related character mentions and such are property of their respective creators. What the hell am I doing up at 5am? O_O
Once again, please keep in mind that this story takes place in LCM’s ERA AU-verse! Sapphy, please don’t hurt me!
~~~~~
The world outside was dark and silent, wrapped in blankets and stars. It occurred to him that he hadn’t meant to be so long; A voice in the back of his head had said ‘Atredius, you’ll leave the office at nine--’ and then the clock betrayed him and his paperwork loomed and security knocked on his door with a cup of coffee. It’d been close to two in the morning, then.
He’d grabbed his briefcase and hurried out.
A keychain struck the kitchen table with a soft little ‘chnk’. Next to it fell a wallet, and then a bag of something like groceries. Did milk and chocolate count? The apartment was dark, and so he groped blindly for the refrigerator door to put it all away. Atredius pursed his lips when his hand hit something wet on a plate on the countertop.
“… Ew?”
It smelled like cheese and sauce. Cheese and sauce meant pasta, and pasta in his apartment was usually a product of a TV dinner. A TV dinner meant that Zair had been home, had eaten, and had gone to sleep after forgetting his plate on the counter again. A slimy hand aside, Atre’ smiled anyway. He found the sink and cleaned himself up; the plate was thrown away.
Something about this was routine, by now. It was something annoying but familiar and therefore ‘nice’ in that weird, weird way. Cold fingers traced the nearest wall a moment- it was chilly outside- and then he found a switch.
He put the groceries away and stowed his keys beneath the subtle glow of a light overhead.
The apartment was a small one, by his standards; but if it had been too large- and his money could buy the finest- it would have been lonely. The front door led a visitor through the foyer and passed the kitchen, smack into the middle of the living room. Here, Atredius removed stray socks and snack foods from various couch pillows and coffee tables. Yes, Zair was definitely home. Mechanically, he drew the curtains and turned off the TV (It was quietly boasting some infomercial about leg wax, and that just looked painful.) and put the remotes away in their designated drawer.
“-Gonna be the death of me.” He murmured to no one in particular, affectionate though it was. A pause, and his fingers combed back his hair.
Atredius was a bit of a clean freak and everyone knew it. Hell, it drove Zair insane on many an occasion. But still, this was nowhere near as bad as the Celestial Child kept his own apartment-and the fact that he tried to keep tidy in Atre’s home was commendable enough.
There was a ruffle of cloth as Atre’ slid off his suit jacket. It was stiff and black, and he’d need to put it on again in just a few hours; he was expected back at work. A yawn protested the fact, as if just now choosing to remind him that he was tired. And achy. But mainly tired.
“Well-“ And he wandered down the adjacent hallway, paved in the household’s hardwood floors. “-That’s what I get for forgetting I exist.”
He skirted over the fact that, maybe, he’d just wanted to get home early in an attempt to see Zair. Both of their schedules were demanding on their time, and Atredius wasn’t an idiot; it would be unfair of him to assume Zair would be prone to spend his off-hours with him. Zair had Valtir, had friends, had a lot more going for him than one single person. He wouldn’t interfere with that. He’d never been like that-- their relationship was more of a… convenience, in a sense, then actually romantic. It wasn’t that Atre’ didn’t love him--
He creaked the door open and peeked into his room, and stared with amusement at the figure that lay sprawled on the bed.
- It was just that forever was a long time, and the redhead would never hold him to that kind of commitment. He needed to get out, to do his own thing, to enjoy his own life, to leave him when the word ‘relationship’ got a little too heavy to bear. Atredius knew that. It was the way Zair was, and Atre’ loved the way he was, and one of these days- despite all their ‘on and off’ spells- the god was very well aware that Zair would say ‘goodbye’ and it would be his last.
It didn’t bother him. The others sometimes joked about how old they were, thousands of years and all, but they didn’t understand time quite like Atredius did. When Zair decided to leave for good, Atre’ would be left with memories he’d never take for granted. That was hard to do in younger years. At billions, the life-lesson was firmly learned.
“Never regret a memory that makes you smile.” He said quietly. A suddenly blank expression became gentle and content. Atredius crept further into the room; ambled into the closet and put his jacket away. He couldn’t see beyond the minimal light from the window, but he’d lived here long enough to navigate in the dark. Two seconds after he pulled off his boots, a snore echoed in the room. Atre’s ears twitched-he muffled a laugh. The room smelled of cheap booze and cigarette smoke and something very Zair, and he was so used to the scent of a ‘holeinthewall’ bar that he almost found it pleasant. At least he’d passed out here, and not on a table.
“What am I going to do with you, anyway…?” Came a fond question. He was a little amused with himself; sometimes he thought he talked to Zair asleep more than he did awake. “Clothes all over, pasta on my counter…”
He sat down on the bed and looked at him. Just looked, despite the dark. He didn’t need light to know Zair’s features, anyway. He was a beautiful, if boyish man, and the contradiction was sweet and endearing and altogether his own. Atredius wondered how long he’d been asleep as he placed a hand on the other’s brow, feeling more than seeing the soft strands of Zair’s dark hair. Something paternal made him check for fever. The kid could be ruthless with his body, up and down and around as he always was…
But he was cool and his breath was even. Atredius gave a gentle sigh. “Hey…” -And then nothing. Zair was, indeed, out cold. A little something in the pit of his stomach had almostsortof been hoping he’d wake up and grin, but ultimately the non-reaction was exactly what Atre’ wanted.
It gave him a chance to press his mouth close to Zair’s ear and say ‘I love you’ without making him uncomfortable. A lot of times, he didn’t think Zair knew how to respond when he’d say that.
Really, he couldn’t blame him.
He tucked Zair’s semi-long black hair behind one ear and pulled at lean limbs in an attempt to get them all on the bed. He was still dressed, minus a shoe, and the god spent the next several minutes trying to get him out of the other. Feeling somehow accomplished, he then grasped the rumpled bedding-finally pulled it up.
It still looked like Zair had fallen out of an airplane and just-so-happened to land on the bed, but at least he was (mostly) covered and not half-off the furniture. Success?
Atredius looked at the clock on his dresser. 4am.
He carefully arranged himself on the bed and draped an arm across Zair’s middle, waiting patiently for it to strike six in the morning. Thereafter, he’d change into another suit and leave a cup of tea for unconscious Celestial Child. For now, well, this was perfect.
Protective arms tightened and relaxed, and he let his chin rest atop his lover’s head. Atre’ closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, and smiled because he loved to smile.
Timeline: ERA/ LCM’s AU-verse
Genre: Romantic-ish, Introspective, Shounen Ai
Primary characters: Atredius, Zair
Notes: This fic is a little one-shot revolving around Atredius and Zair as presented in LCM’s AU-verse via ERA. I have no clue what inspired it; I was just looking over some of the chapters of ’30 Pieces of Silver’ and bam. Muse go boom. This is painfully fluffy (On Atre’s end, at least) and likely butchers Zair’s character in Very Bad Ways. Zair belongs to Sapphy, Atre’ belongs to me, and all related character mentions and such are property of their respective creators. What the hell am I doing up at 5am? O_O
Once again, please keep in mind that this story takes place in LCM’s ERA AU-verse! Sapphy, please don’t hurt me!
~~~~~
The world outside was dark and silent, wrapped in blankets and stars. It occurred to him that he hadn’t meant to be so long; A voice in the back of his head had said ‘Atredius, you’ll leave the office at nine--’ and then the clock betrayed him and his paperwork loomed and security knocked on his door with a cup of coffee. It’d been close to two in the morning, then.
He’d grabbed his briefcase and hurried out.
A keychain struck the kitchen table with a soft little ‘chnk’. Next to it fell a wallet, and then a bag of something like groceries. Did milk and chocolate count? The apartment was dark, and so he groped blindly for the refrigerator door to put it all away. Atredius pursed his lips when his hand hit something wet on a plate on the countertop.
“… Ew?”
It smelled like cheese and sauce. Cheese and sauce meant pasta, and pasta in his apartment was usually a product of a TV dinner. A TV dinner meant that Zair had been home, had eaten, and had gone to sleep after forgetting his plate on the counter again. A slimy hand aside, Atre’ smiled anyway. He found the sink and cleaned himself up; the plate was thrown away.
Something about this was routine, by now. It was something annoying but familiar and therefore ‘nice’ in that weird, weird way. Cold fingers traced the nearest wall a moment- it was chilly outside- and then he found a switch.
He put the groceries away and stowed his keys beneath the subtle glow of a light overhead.
The apartment was a small one, by his standards; but if it had been too large- and his money could buy the finest- it would have been lonely. The front door led a visitor through the foyer and passed the kitchen, smack into the middle of the living room. Here, Atredius removed stray socks and snack foods from various couch pillows and coffee tables. Yes, Zair was definitely home. Mechanically, he drew the curtains and turned off the TV (It was quietly boasting some infomercial about leg wax, and that just looked painful.) and put the remotes away in their designated drawer.
“-Gonna be the death of me.” He murmured to no one in particular, affectionate though it was. A pause, and his fingers combed back his hair.
Atredius was a bit of a clean freak and everyone knew it. Hell, it drove Zair insane on many an occasion. But still, this was nowhere near as bad as the Celestial Child kept his own apartment-and the fact that he tried to keep tidy in Atre’s home was commendable enough.
There was a ruffle of cloth as Atre’ slid off his suit jacket. It was stiff and black, and he’d need to put it on again in just a few hours; he was expected back at work. A yawn protested the fact, as if just now choosing to remind him that he was tired. And achy. But mainly tired.
“Well-“ And he wandered down the adjacent hallway, paved in the household’s hardwood floors. “-That’s what I get for forgetting I exist.”
He skirted over the fact that, maybe, he’d just wanted to get home early in an attempt to see Zair. Both of their schedules were demanding on their time, and Atredius wasn’t an idiot; it would be unfair of him to assume Zair would be prone to spend his off-hours with him. Zair had Valtir, had friends, had a lot more going for him than one single person. He wouldn’t interfere with that. He’d never been like that-- their relationship was more of a… convenience, in a sense, then actually romantic. It wasn’t that Atre’ didn’t love him--
He creaked the door open and peeked into his room, and stared with amusement at the figure that lay sprawled on the bed.
- It was just that forever was a long time, and the redhead would never hold him to that kind of commitment. He needed to get out, to do his own thing, to enjoy his own life, to leave him when the word ‘relationship’ got a little too heavy to bear. Atredius knew that. It was the way Zair was, and Atre’ loved the way he was, and one of these days- despite all their ‘on and off’ spells- the god was very well aware that Zair would say ‘goodbye’ and it would be his last.
It didn’t bother him. The others sometimes joked about how old they were, thousands of years and all, but they didn’t understand time quite like Atredius did. When Zair decided to leave for good, Atre’ would be left with memories he’d never take for granted. That was hard to do in younger years. At billions, the life-lesson was firmly learned.
“Never regret a memory that makes you smile.” He said quietly. A suddenly blank expression became gentle and content. Atredius crept further into the room; ambled into the closet and put his jacket away. He couldn’t see beyond the minimal light from the window, but he’d lived here long enough to navigate in the dark. Two seconds after he pulled off his boots, a snore echoed in the room. Atre’s ears twitched-he muffled a laugh. The room smelled of cheap booze and cigarette smoke and something very Zair, and he was so used to the scent of a ‘holeinthewall’ bar that he almost found it pleasant. At least he’d passed out here, and not on a table.
“What am I going to do with you, anyway…?” Came a fond question. He was a little amused with himself; sometimes he thought he talked to Zair asleep more than he did awake. “Clothes all over, pasta on my counter…”
He sat down on the bed and looked at him. Just looked, despite the dark. He didn’t need light to know Zair’s features, anyway. He was a beautiful, if boyish man, and the contradiction was sweet and endearing and altogether his own. Atredius wondered how long he’d been asleep as he placed a hand on the other’s brow, feeling more than seeing the soft strands of Zair’s dark hair. Something paternal made him check for fever. The kid could be ruthless with his body, up and down and around as he always was…
But he was cool and his breath was even. Atredius gave a gentle sigh. “Hey…” -And then nothing. Zair was, indeed, out cold. A little something in the pit of his stomach had almostsortof been hoping he’d wake up and grin, but ultimately the non-reaction was exactly what Atre’ wanted.
It gave him a chance to press his mouth close to Zair’s ear and say ‘I love you’ without making him uncomfortable. A lot of times, he didn’t think Zair knew how to respond when he’d say that.
Really, he couldn’t blame him.
He tucked Zair’s semi-long black hair behind one ear and pulled at lean limbs in an attempt to get them all on the bed. He was still dressed, minus a shoe, and the god spent the next several minutes trying to get him out of the other. Feeling somehow accomplished, he then grasped the rumpled bedding-finally pulled it up.
It still looked like Zair had fallen out of an airplane and just-so-happened to land on the bed, but at least he was (mostly) covered and not half-off the furniture. Success?
Atredius looked at the clock on his dresser. 4am.
He carefully arranged himself on the bed and draped an arm across Zair’s middle, waiting patiently for it to strike six in the morning. Thereafter, he’d change into another suit and leave a cup of tea for unconscious Celestial Child. For now, well, this was perfect.
Protective arms tightened and relaxed, and he let his chin rest atop his lover’s head. Atre’ closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, and smiled because he loved to smile.