Weiss Kreuz - slash_me_twice - 023. Rainbow
023. Rainbow
Notes: This is one of many fics that started with a freewrite.
*
He could’ve taken one or two, but five? Too many. He’d had no choice but to run.
At least, that’s what he told himself as their pounding footsteps behind him drowned out his own thunderous breath. His satchel weighed unevenly in his hand, school papers and books throwing his weight even more. He wanted nothing more than to throw it behind him and run all out, but then they’d have his wallet, his address, his identity; nothing could be worse than that.
Ran turned a sharp corner and nearly ran into two women emerging from a coffee shop with a rainbow flag hanging above the doorway. Upon seeing the open door, he did the first thing he could think of: he dashed inside and slumped into the first empty seat he saw. His satchel dropped to the floor beside the window seat with a thud. Ran ducked his head and gasped into his arms.
The prickling feeling of eyes on him prompted him to look up from the polished wooden table. Teenagers in headphones plugged into computers, a businessman with a book, and what looked to be a couple of college students were all staring at his flushed cheeks and wide eyes. Ran ducked his head in shame.
He couldn’t even explain what had just happened. He’d never learned “faggot” or-or any of those words they were calling him-in his English classes back home. What good was coming to America for school if people were so cruel with words he didn’t even know? And for reasons he couldn’t even fathom? He’d only been looking at an art calendar on the sidewalk. Who could find fault with that?
Someone sat down at his table; Ran jumped. “Ano-” he began, eyes darting up to the gaijin-no, he shouldn’t think in those terms here; the person-who pulled up the chair across from him. The man had hair like fire that fell haphazardly down to his shoulders. Its only concession to order was the green bandana wound around to keep it off the man’s forehead and out of his clear blue eyes. Ran still wasn’t used to seeing blue eyes. And he was certainly not used to seeing such a strikingly handsome face studying his own so intently.
Ran had a feeling he was blushing.
Thankfully, if he noticed, the man ignored it. “Here,” he said, pushing a hot mug of what looked like green tea toward Ran. “On the house.”
Ran frowned. “The house? Wakarimas-ano, I don’t understand.”
The other man smirked. “You’re Japanese, right?”
Ran nodded hesitantly. That earned him a wide smile. Ran smiled back shyly.
“I’m Schuldig.”
“Fu-Ran. My name is Ran.”
Schuldig winked. “It’s very nice to-”
The door to the shop burst open suddenly. Ran paled. It was them! They’d chased him into the shop? But-why?
His pursuers strode in like they owned the place, and once again, all faces looked up to watch their entrance. The leader of the group smirked and tipped his baseball cap at Ran. He and his cronies ambled over to the table, fanning out around Ran and Schuldig with an air of menace. The redhead with the gap teeth leaned over the table and put one hand on Ran’s chair. “You bout ready to go? We had a date-” he snickered. “And you’re missing it.”
Ran felt his heart sink. He had to go with them-he didn’t want to cause a scene here. It wouldn’t be right.
“I don’t think he wants to go with you.” Schuldig's voice cut through the group’s tittering like a knife. Ran stared at him in amazement.
“Butt out,” the redhead muttered, and turned back to Ran. “Now either you come nice and easy, or-”
“Listen.” Schuldig’s voice was soft, almost sweet, but there was no doubt in Ran’s mind that he was dangerous. “If you don’t get out right now, you’ll wish I’d called the police.”
The leader in the ball cap laughed. “And what’re you gonna do, faggot? You gonna blow me?”
Schuldig stood up. “Get out.”
“Make us.”
And then Ran heard something amazing: the scraping of many, many chairs. The men chasing Ran suddenly looked nervous. The blond with the buzz cut turned back to Ran and sneered. “Got lucky,” he spat, reaching to smack Ran’s head as he turned to leave.
Ran reached out automatically to catch his hand, and was surprised to find another hand next to his on the man’s arm: Schuldig’s. The blond looked surprised, but his eyes quickly narrowed to cover the expression. Schuldig and Ran let go almost simultaneously, and the group left.
Every patron in the café was standing, watching them go with angry eyes. Only when the door shut behind him did the focus shift back to their table. “Is he alright?” asked a black-haired man in glasses and a business suit.
Schuldig nodded and sat back down with an annoyed shake of the head. “You are lucky,” he said to Ran, sliding the tea forward once again. “You just so happened to run into the gayest café in town.”
Ran frowned, taking the tea and sipping it quietly. He had enough money to pay for it, he was sure. “On the house” couldn’t be too expensive, could it? And there was that word again. “What is…gay?”
Schuldig flashed a quick grin at him. “Gay is-boys who like boys, girls who like girls. That sort of thing.”
“Oh.” And that’s why they were chasing him? Because he was…gay? And this was…a gay café? “How can a café be gay?”
Schuldig laughed. Ran wanted to disappear. “Relax,” Schuldig said, “It’s an expression. I just meant, you probably couldn’t have found a safer place to run from those guys if you’d tried. This place is a safe space for gay people. Many of our customers are queer. Er, gay.”
“Oh,” Ran said again, feeling foolish for not saying more. “I should thank you. All of you. For helping me.”
“No sweat,” Schuldig said. “Though if you really want to thank me, there is something you could do.”
Ran put his tea down and sat up straighter. “Ok. What…what could I do for you?”
Schuldig’s grin stretched wide. “There’s a concert Saturday that I’ve got no one to go with. Go with me?”
Ran ducked his head. He could feel his ears getting hot. Was Schuldig asking him on a…a date? “Ano, are you-”
“Of course, you don’t have to,” Schuldig added hastily. “I’ll just go alone-all by myself-which would suck, but-”
“No. I mean, yes. I’ll…I can go.”
Schuldig’s smile was beatific. “Great! It’s Saturday at nine. I get off here at seven, so meet me here and we’ll eat and go?”
Ran nodded curtly and finished his tea. “How much is the tea?” He thumbed the handle of the cup, trying to remember how much money he had in his satchel.
“Oh, that cup’s free. You looked like you needed it.” The door opened and Schuldig suddenly looked up as a brunette in a business suit walked in. “Eh, gotta get back to work. You’re coming though, right? Saturday at seven, here?”
“Aah. Ano, yes.”
Schuldig winked and whisked the mug away with him as he slipped back behind the counter.
Ran looked around at the cozy shop and tried to tell himself he should leave now. But Schuldig was confidently mixing a drink with strong hands, and the teenagers were bent over their laptops and muttering back and forth, and the business man had papers spread across his table…and Ran decided it wouldn’t be wrong for him to stay after all.
He opened his satchel and pulled out his economics homework. Might as well get a head start now. He didn’t want to worry about homework on Saturday night.
Notes: This is one of many fics that started with a freewrite.
*
He could’ve taken one or two, but five? Too many. He’d had no choice but to run.
At least, that’s what he told himself as their pounding footsteps behind him drowned out his own thunderous breath. His satchel weighed unevenly in his hand, school papers and books throwing his weight even more. He wanted nothing more than to throw it behind him and run all out, but then they’d have his wallet, his address, his identity; nothing could be worse than that.
Ran turned a sharp corner and nearly ran into two women emerging from a coffee shop with a rainbow flag hanging above the doorway. Upon seeing the open door, he did the first thing he could think of: he dashed inside and slumped into the first empty seat he saw. His satchel dropped to the floor beside the window seat with a thud. Ran ducked his head and gasped into his arms.
The prickling feeling of eyes on him prompted him to look up from the polished wooden table. Teenagers in headphones plugged into computers, a businessman with a book, and what looked to be a couple of college students were all staring at his flushed cheeks and wide eyes. Ran ducked his head in shame.
He couldn’t even explain what had just happened. He’d never learned “faggot” or-or any of those words they were calling him-in his English classes back home. What good was coming to America for school if people were so cruel with words he didn’t even know? And for reasons he couldn’t even fathom? He’d only been looking at an art calendar on the sidewalk. Who could find fault with that?
Someone sat down at his table; Ran jumped. “Ano-” he began, eyes darting up to the gaijin-no, he shouldn’t think in those terms here; the person-who pulled up the chair across from him. The man had hair like fire that fell haphazardly down to his shoulders. Its only concession to order was the green bandana wound around to keep it off the man’s forehead and out of his clear blue eyes. Ran still wasn’t used to seeing blue eyes. And he was certainly not used to seeing such a strikingly handsome face studying his own so intently.
Ran had a feeling he was blushing.
Thankfully, if he noticed, the man ignored it. “Here,” he said, pushing a hot mug of what looked like green tea toward Ran. “On the house.”
Ran frowned. “The house? Wakarimas-ano, I don’t understand.”
The other man smirked. “You’re Japanese, right?”
Ran nodded hesitantly. That earned him a wide smile. Ran smiled back shyly.
“I’m Schuldig.”
“Fu-Ran. My name is Ran.”
Schuldig winked. “It’s very nice to-”
The door to the shop burst open suddenly. Ran paled. It was them! They’d chased him into the shop? But-why?
His pursuers strode in like they owned the place, and once again, all faces looked up to watch their entrance. The leader of the group smirked and tipped his baseball cap at Ran. He and his cronies ambled over to the table, fanning out around Ran and Schuldig with an air of menace. The redhead with the gap teeth leaned over the table and put one hand on Ran’s chair. “You bout ready to go? We had a date-” he snickered. “And you’re missing it.”
Ran felt his heart sink. He had to go with them-he didn’t want to cause a scene here. It wouldn’t be right.
“I don’t think he wants to go with you.” Schuldig's voice cut through the group’s tittering like a knife. Ran stared at him in amazement.
“Butt out,” the redhead muttered, and turned back to Ran. “Now either you come nice and easy, or-”
“Listen.” Schuldig’s voice was soft, almost sweet, but there was no doubt in Ran’s mind that he was dangerous. “If you don’t get out right now, you’ll wish I’d called the police.”
The leader in the ball cap laughed. “And what’re you gonna do, faggot? You gonna blow me?”
Schuldig stood up. “Get out.”
“Make us.”
And then Ran heard something amazing: the scraping of many, many chairs. The men chasing Ran suddenly looked nervous. The blond with the buzz cut turned back to Ran and sneered. “Got lucky,” he spat, reaching to smack Ran’s head as he turned to leave.
Ran reached out automatically to catch his hand, and was surprised to find another hand next to his on the man’s arm: Schuldig’s. The blond looked surprised, but his eyes quickly narrowed to cover the expression. Schuldig and Ran let go almost simultaneously, and the group left.
Every patron in the café was standing, watching them go with angry eyes. Only when the door shut behind him did the focus shift back to their table. “Is he alright?” asked a black-haired man in glasses and a business suit.
Schuldig nodded and sat back down with an annoyed shake of the head. “You are lucky,” he said to Ran, sliding the tea forward once again. “You just so happened to run into the gayest café in town.”
Ran frowned, taking the tea and sipping it quietly. He had enough money to pay for it, he was sure. “On the house” couldn’t be too expensive, could it? And there was that word again. “What is…gay?”
Schuldig flashed a quick grin at him. “Gay is-boys who like boys, girls who like girls. That sort of thing.”
“Oh.” And that’s why they were chasing him? Because he was…gay? And this was…a gay café? “How can a café be gay?”
Schuldig laughed. Ran wanted to disappear. “Relax,” Schuldig said, “It’s an expression. I just meant, you probably couldn’t have found a safer place to run from those guys if you’d tried. This place is a safe space for gay people. Many of our customers are queer. Er, gay.”
“Oh,” Ran said again, feeling foolish for not saying more. “I should thank you. All of you. For helping me.”
“No sweat,” Schuldig said. “Though if you really want to thank me, there is something you could do.”
Ran put his tea down and sat up straighter. “Ok. What…what could I do for you?”
Schuldig’s grin stretched wide. “There’s a concert Saturday that I’ve got no one to go with. Go with me?”
Ran ducked his head. He could feel his ears getting hot. Was Schuldig asking him on a…a date? “Ano, are you-”
“Of course, you don’t have to,” Schuldig added hastily. “I’ll just go alone-all by myself-which would suck, but-”
“No. I mean, yes. I’ll…I can go.”
Schuldig’s smile was beatific. “Great! It’s Saturday at nine. I get off here at seven, so meet me here and we’ll eat and go?”
Ran nodded curtly and finished his tea. “How much is the tea?” He thumbed the handle of the cup, trying to remember how much money he had in his satchel.
“Oh, that cup’s free. You looked like you needed it.” The door opened and Schuldig suddenly looked up as a brunette in a business suit walked in. “Eh, gotta get back to work. You’re coming though, right? Saturday at seven, here?”
“Aah. Ano, yes.”
Schuldig winked and whisked the mug away with him as he slipped back behind the counter.
Ran looked around at the cozy shop and tried to tell himself he should leave now. But Schuldig was confidently mixing a drink with strong hands, and the teenagers were bent over their laptops and muttering back and forth, and the business man had papers spread across his table…and Ran decided it wouldn’t be wrong for him to stay after all.
He opened his satchel and pulled out his economics homework. Might as well get a head start now. He didn’t want to worry about homework on Saturday night.