#Schwanhelt Fic

[talesofzero]

La Douleur Exquise - Ch. 5

AU; Chapter 5 - The Case of Blue

Manabu has a bad time with relationships.

~4k words

Bulge was the first to show up.

Kicking his feet up on his desk, Uncle Phantom crossed his arms, and stared down Bulge the same way my dad stared down me. My dad and uncle were more alike than they would ever admit.

“You can’t be alone with one of my boys without paying,” Uncle said. “And you can’t be alone with Manabu in particular unless you’re buying him for the night. This brothel has a reputation to uphold, Schwanhelt.”

Bulge threw his hands up with a huff of frustration. “Great skies, I’m not going to do anything, Harlock. The captain just sent me to check on Manabu. How insane would I have to be to try anything like that?”

Uncle’s head tilted slightly. “But you’d be interested if my brother weren’t breathing down your neck?”

Bulge’s face flooded pink, and he was left fumbling for a response. His brows raised, Uncle’s eye flicked to me. They’d been bickering for several minutes while I sat in the lounge chair across the room, kicking my feet in silence. I wasn’t sure why Bulge needed to be alone with me to talk. Maybe he was suspicious of Uncle. It didn’t matter. If my dad had sent him, I knew what he was going to say.

“Regardless,” Uncle said, cutting off Bulge’s stuttering. “I’m advertising Manabu as a virgin, and that gives him quite the price tag. It doesn’t look good if he’s off alone with other men.”

I wasn’t sure how Uncle managed to say things like that so straight-faced to clients, or Bulge for that matter, when he became a red-faced, blubbering mess when he’d interviewed me for the job.

It had been an entertaining evening though.

“So what are your thoughts on...toys?” he’d asked, one hand covering half of his face to avoid looking at me.

“I’m not sure. I’ve never really used one. I’d be interested. Dick has a bunch, doesn’t he?”

Uncle made a noise like a suffering whale. “We’ll worry about that later then. What about...group sex?”

I kicked my feet, smiling all the while. I’d never seen Uncle so stressed. I shouldn’t have found it so entertaining. “Sounds fine,” I said.

His other hand came up to cover the rest of his face. “W-would you be open to...double p-penetration?”

I broke into a grin. “I think you have to be pretty open for that.”

His face hit the desk’s surface as I burst into laughter. He remained there for a while, unmoving, until he dragged himself up and left the room. Susumu and Mamoru strode in to take his place at the computer, and the questions resumed with a professional ease. Susumu did end up having to shoo Mamoru out after he kept offering to teach me anything I didn’t know.

I didn’t see Uncle again until the next morning. He didn’t look like he’d slept very well.

I guess it was kind of weird for him. He’d visited often when Mamoru and I were growing up, but I hadn’t seen him at all for five years. Last he’d seen me before I came looking for a job, I was fifteen. He probably still thought of me like that sometimes. Dad still thought of me like a little, doe-eyed kid. Always had. Always would.

I wasn’t sure how Bulge saw me. He’d known me since I was pretty young, and Dad had partnered me with him on any dangerous missions. Dad had always trusted Bulge to look after me, so that must have been why he was here now.

“It’s not like you need to go around advertising that I had a quick talk with Manabu,” he hissed.

I hadn’t actually seen Bulge since I left the SDF. In fact, I hadn’t seen much of him since my last mission. Kind of weird that Dad would send him, but I guess this was his way of getting around me not wanting to see him. At least he was respecting my wish to some extent.

“Just talk to me with him in here,” I called, tired of their arguing. “I know it’s been a while, but I’m under lock and key, so you’ve got to deal with Uncle Phantom for now.”

Uncle shrugged to show how little remorse he felt.

My word must have been enough because the argument ended there. As he turned to me,  Bulge’s shoulders drooped. Every time his eyes met mine, he’d glance away. My stomach started tying itself in knots. He hadn’t said a word to me since he arrived, and it was becoming apparent that he was only doing this out of respect for my dad. He didn’t want to be here. He didn’t want to see me.

Still refusing to look at me, Bulge rubbed at the back of his neck. “Ah, your father just wanted me to check in on you. He wants you to know that you’re welcome to rejoin the SDF at any time.”

I was sure he’d watered down whatever lines Dad had given to him. “I’m under a contract,” I said. I’d had this conversation with Dad enough times. I didn’t need to have it with Bulge too. “But it’s nice to see you. I don’t get a lot of visitors, no clients or anything. You’re welcome to stop by anytime.”

Sure, having him as a visitor was fine, but I wouldn’t have minded having him as a client. Straight-laced as he was, it would never happen, but I’d always had a bit of a crush on Bulge. Anytime he came with Dad to visit when I was younger, I’d try to keep his attention the entire time.

But I had just as much of a chance to catch his eye now as I did back then. “I-I’ll do my best, Manabu,” he said. He was being so obvious about his discomfort with me that even Uncle was starting to look concerned. 

“Are you doing alright?” Bulge asked.

“I’m fine. How is everyone in the platoon doing?”

“Fair enough. Our missions have all gone well. Everyone’s fine. So,” He swallowed. “Are you doing alright with your… I mean, you seem to be handling yourself fine. I’m sorry. I guess this isn’t-”

“They’re fine, Bulge,” I said, tugging off my right glove to show him the prosthetic. I flexed the robotic joints a few times with ease. “I’ve gotten pretty used to it. Doesn’t bother me anymore.”

Looking down at my hand made him cringe, but he didn’t look away. “Sorry,” he murmured. I’m sorry. If I’d just…” He shook his head. “I need to get back in case we get called out. Take care, Manabu.”

He darted out the door without waiting for me to say goodbye in return. The sound of the door closing behind him seemed to rip all the strength from my body. My forehead dropped to my knees. “He’s all grossed out by me,” I groaned.

“I’m not sure what he is, but I don’t think that’s it,” Uncle said from somewhere nearby. His hand came to rest on my shoulder. “I think being cooped up with nothing to do is stressing you out a bit.”

“You should give me a client,” I muttered.

“I’m working on it. In the meantime, you’re welcome to invite over a friend or go out with the other boys on your off day. Didn’t you have that friend from the rehabilitation group you went to? You kept talking about him.”

I turned my head to the side so he could see my smile. “Yeah, I could probably see if he’s free to visit. He’d get a kick out of that. I just… I do miss my platoon, and I know they’re busy, and it’s weird to meet someone at a brothel, but it’s like they want nothing to do with me anymore.”

Uncle took a seat at my side and patted my back. “Do you regret leaving?”

“Do you regret leaving your ship?” I asked.

He didn’t flinch. “Sometimes.”

Sitting up, I fell once again to lean against his shoulder. “Yeah,” I said. “Me too. But I don’t want to go back.”

“But do you want to be here?” he asked. “As much as I support anything that pisses off your father, you shouldn’t work here unless you really want to.”

“I do want to. I mean, I do also want to piss him off, but mostly I just wanted to get away from him. I wanted him to stop treating me like a baby, but it didn’t really work. I also do want to get laid, so it’s not just rebellion if that helps.”

He broke into a laugh that made his shoulders bounce along with my head resting on them. “Well, you’ve got more of a reason than I did at your age, so I guess that’s something. Go run along and get in touch with your friend and drink some tea or whatever it is you do.”

“I mostly just lie around bored.” But I stood and went to send an invitation. Anyone else might have found it odd to get an invite to a brothel, but he wouldn’t think twice about it.

Bruce appeared second.

He walked through the front door, frowning at everything, but he plopped down on the main sofa across from me. “Hey, Yuuki, your dad sent me,” he said, sounding less thrilled than Bulge to be there. At least he would look at me.

“So is this going to be like a bi-weekly thing?” I asked. Destiny station wasn’t too far away by the right trains, and Sirius often worked out of the nearby station, but it was still an out-of-the-way trip.

He shrugged. “Figured I’d come see this place. I hear about it all the time. It sure has that rich snob aesthetic going for it.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of all a front though. It’s just flashy for the clients.”

Bruce’s brows rose, but I wasn’t sure if he was impressed or irritated. Though I’d never learned to read him, guessing he was angry was the safer bet. We were actually assigned as partners when I joined Sirius, but by the higher-ups and not Dad. 

Dad liked Bruce from what I could tell, all claps on the shoulder and compliments to his impressive aim. But when it came to Bruce being my partner, Dad clammed up. He was always telling Bruce to keep an eye on me or sticking me with Bulge instead. I couldn’t blame Bruce for the way his lips would twitch toward a snarl every time Dad talked down to him because of me. It always pissed me off too.

“So what’s with your angry dog?” Bruce asked, cocking a thumb over his shoulder toward Daiba. “He’s been glaring at me since I came in.”

“Yeah, he does that,” I said. “He’s our bodyguard.”

“Awfully small for that, isn’t he?”

Daiba’s eyes were like a rabid dog’s. “Should I throw him out, Manabu? I can do it.”

As much as Bruce was asking for it, I shooed Daiba away. “It’s alright. I can handle it.”

Bruce stared on in some mix of surprise and confusion as Daiba slinked off with an actual growl. “He is your dog,” Bruce said.

“Yeah, we love him. So how’s work?”

“Fun,” he drawled. “The captain’s been moody since he came back from here, so we’ve all been trying not to piss him off.”

I huffed and stomped my foot before I realized how childish I looked. “Sorry, but I’m not going to talk to him again until he calms down.”

“I don’t blame you,” he said with a shrug. “You can’t control your dad. The only person who I’ve ever seen talk him down from anything was Kanna.”

“Oh yeah, Mom can be scary. She can shut him up with just a look.” Truthfully, she could do that to me too.

Bruce stretched his arms up and dropped them to rest across the back of the couch. Most first-time clients or visitors were stiff like they’d been frozen through, but he showed no signs of discomfort. Though when I thought about it, maybe this wasn’t his first time at a brothel.

“There was a whole message I was supposed to deliver, but I forgot most of it,” he said. “The gist was that your dad wants you to quit working here. I’m sure you’ve heard this before.”

My chin dropped into my palm. “I have.”

It seemed that was the end of it because he took to glancing around the room again. “So are there complementary snacks or something?”

“Only for paying customers.”

He blinked and stared at me for a moment. I still couldn’t read his expression. “Is that a come-on?” he asked,

It was my turn for my face to burn. There was no way to play it off with my reddened cheeks giving me away, but dammit if I wasn’t going to try. “I-if you want it to be.”

He snorted. “Please, you dad gives me a hard enough time as things are. I like my head attached, thank you.”

I couldn’t keep eye contact, but I couldn’t give up so easily. Flirting was half my job. “But wouldn’t it be fun to get back at my dad for all those times he’s pissed you off?”

I was not good at my job.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw him stand and walk up to me. “Getting back at someone by sleeping with their kid isn’t my style.” His fingers pressed up under my chin to tilt my face up toward his. Even as I drowned in the endless blue of his eyes, the fire in my face didn’t let up. His smirk had my heart hammering.  “Besides, you’re way above my pay grade.”

“Hey!” Daiba barked from whatever shadowy corner he’d crawled in to sulk. “No touching!”

Bruce jerked back and held his hands up in surrender. To keep myself from getting onto Daiba, I cut my teeth into my tongue.. He was right, after all. Bruce wasn’t allowed to get close if he didn’t pay first.  

“So is no one else available?” Bruce asked as he lowered his hands to shove them in his pockets.

“Everyone but Zero has a client,” I huffed. “And you wouldn’t be able to get with Zero.”

Bruce frowned. “Ouch.”

Coursing with disappointment, I fell over to lie along the couch. “Zero only accepts like one out of a hundred clients. Don’t feel bad. You should pick me instead. My dad doesn’t have to know.”

One of those rare, genuine smiles flashed across his face for an instant. My heart  missed a beat. “Sorry, Yuuki,” he said. “Your dad knows everything, and so does your brother.”

As though summoned by my wince at the idea of him, my brother showed up that Sunday.

“Manabu!” he greeted as he shoved past Daiba to get through the door. I was tackled in a hug while Daiba spat and growled. “You haven’t talked to me in ages!” Mamoru whined. “You don’t call or visit!”

The rest of the guys looked on from around the room as my breathing began to pick up. I focused on gasping for air to keep my vision from blurring. Uncle was nice enough to snap from the top of the stairs, “Hey, no touching!”

My brother’s mood changed like a flip of a switch. His eyes narrowed as he challenged our Uncle. “He’s my brother!”

Uncle was the wrong person to challenge to a glaring match. “I have enough brothers here to know better than to let them get handsy.”

With a scoff, Mamoru’s nose wrinkled in disgust, though his eyes darted away. “Your brother works here, Uncle Phantom.”

“And I don’t trust him either. Now hands off.”

Though he looked like he wanted to fight the floor he kept glaring at, Mamoru freed me from his death grip and the vice on my trilling heart let up.

“I have a friend coming over,” I said as I regained my breath. “You should have told me you were coming.”

“You’d have told me not to come,” he grumbled. “And what friend? You never invite me over.”

I couldn’t imagine why. “He’s my friend from rehabilitation. I know you’re just here because Dad told you to try to get me to quit and go back to the SDF, so you can go ahead and leave. Tell him I said no.”

Every time I tried to turn away, he stepped in front of me again. “What happened?” he demanded. “You used to follow me around like a duckling, used to say how we were going to get married. Why are you trying so hard to avoid me?”

My shoulders scrunched up by my ears, burning red with a blush. “I was a little kid! I’ve grown up since you joined the SPG! You can’t treat me the same as you did when I left just because we didn’t see each other much. I’m not ten anymore.”

“You don’t act much different,” he said. “Still get all rebellious when you don’t get your way. You don’t need to be here just to get back at Dad. This is crazy. Just come back with me. You don’t have to rejoin the SDF. Hell, you don’t have to see Dad. You can come live with me. I’ll take care of you.” His hands latched onto my shoulders, and he got that desperate look in his eyes, like a starving man. He’d been looking at me that way more and more every time I saw him. He was too damn protective. He’d always been that way.

That was Dad’s fault too.

“Take care of your brother,” he’d said to Mamoru after coming home to find me with a broken arm. I’d taken a tumble down one of the cliffs overlooking the mines, and my face was covered in scrapes. I’d never forget the way Dad’s eyes lit up with fear when he saw the ugly scabs across my cheek and chin.

“Keep an eye on him,” Dad said. “He’s a bit of a danger magnet.”

Mamoru took any command from Dad to heart, and so did I. “Stick with your brother, son,” he told me. “He’ll look after you.”

At first, I willingly trailed after him like an eager puppy. He’d extend a hand to me, and I’d take it to let him lead me wherever he wanted to go. I was content to let him carry me or to sleep next to him. The women in town thought it was adorable, cooed about how we were “little boyfriends.” I don’t think they realized we were related with how different we looked. It didn’t seem weird at the time, so we didn’t correct them.

But I grew out of that. 

Mamoru didn’t. 

I learned to sneak away on my own so he didn’t grab me and drag me off where we were supposed to go. I loved my brother, but until the day he left for the SPG, I was fighting to get out from under his shadow. Now, it seemed like he wanted to put me back in it.

Before I could wrench free of his grip, the other Mamoru - Kodai - ripped my brother’s hand off my shoulder. “Yuuki,” Kodai said with a dangerous sort of smile I’d never seen him wear. “Come here. Let me have a quick talk with you.”

“I have nothing to discuss with you,” Brother said. “Let go of me.”

“Well that’s too bad because I have so much to say to you. Come here.”

Despite Brother’s protests, no one said a word as Kodai dragged him off toward the laundry room. Uncle and Daiba pointedly looked away. Zero frowned at the book I doubted he was reading. Susumu was the only one looking at me. His eyes were sharp with the desire to say something. He stood and opened his mouth.

The sound of the giant front door slamming open stopped him. “Mana! I made it!” came the screech that could have only come from Ichiro. He stood in the open doorway with his hands on his hips and the smirk of a devil splayed across his face. His hair was fiery orange, his eyes redder than Susumu’s vest. I wasn’t sure if his eyes were naturally that color or if it was part of his augmentation. Actually, I didn’t know much about him, but he could cheer me up better than anyone. “How have you been!?” he demanded.

“Alright,” I answered with a laugh. “I think you almost gave everyone a heart attack.”

They all looked on with wide eyes as he kicked the door shut behind him. “Oh, hi!” He stuck up a hand in greeting. “I’m Ichiro Haya.”

They took turns muttering greetings along with their names. They needn’t have bothered. Ichiro couldn’t remember any name but his own. “Nice to meet you,” he said regardless. Without waiting for them to respond, he slid up to me, frays of his messy hair curling around his grin. “Wow, this place is nice, Mana. So you’re a whore? That’s neat.”

“Yeah, but I haven’t had any clients. I’m still touted as the virgin, but no one’s biting.”

He nodded as though deep in thought. “I could sleep with you if you want, but I’ve never done it either.”

I burst into a laugh, though he seemed dead serious. “That’s okay, Ichiro. I appreciate the offer, though.”

“Okay, but if there’s anyone you want to sleep with, let me know, and I’ll snag them for you.”

“That’s not really…” There was no point in arguing with him, so I gave up without a fight. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

I’d hated the rehabilitation, hated the prosthetics, hated the panic attacks that hit me anytime I felt closed in. But Ichiro was the ever-shining sun in my self-imposed night. While everyone else treated me like a fragile doll, he’d come up and slug me in the arm or demand I go with him to get lunch. It was easy to fall for him. I thought it was love for a while, but looking back, it was more like dependence.

Besides, I wasn’t sure Ichiro was the sort interested in romance. When my curiosity got the better of me and I asked him his preferences, he thought about it for a minute before shrugging. “I dunno,” he said. “I’ve never had sex, so I can’t write it off, but I don’t care much about it. I’ve never dated anyone either. I don’t really get it. Is it just like friendship but you hold hands or something? What’s the point?”

That pretty well threw my crush out the window.  

“So your arm and leg been treating you well?” he asked in the nonchalant manner Bulge couldn’t manage.

“Yeah, I hardly notice a difference anymore,” I lied. I had no room to complain to him. Most of his body was in-organic.

His voice lowered enough to hide our conversation from everyone nearby, though I was sure they were still listening. “Panic attacks still been hitting you?”

“Not so bad now,” I breathed more than said. “Mostly just nightmares.”

He nodded, though his brows were pinched. “I don’t know much about sex, but are you going to be okay if a guy pins you?”

“I don’t know.”

Harlock had asked the same thing. It was the first question out of his mouth during the interview, the only one he hadn’t stuttered on. I hoped I could handle it. My first client didn’t need to deal with me hyperventilating before they’d even gotten a scrap of clothing off.

But I couldn’t even sleep with blankets covering me. I’d dream I was back under all that weight, pain like razor wire cutting up my arm from the inside. I’d dream I was inhaling nothing but dirt and exhaling a steady stream of blood. My weak screams for help always woke me up.

I was desperate for contact after so long without it, but I was equally terrified of it. The moment I felt trapped, I went back to that last mission. I heard the screech of the beams collapsing and Bulge screaming my name.

Ichiro broke the rules by taking my hand in his. No one stopped him. “Don’t be hard on yourself,” he said. “I still have the nightmares and attacks too, but you’re strong, and it gets easier to handle.”

I wished my dad and brother would see it like that. I wished they would stop coddling me. All I needed was to hear that from them.

“You can do it, Mana,” Ichiro continued. “Don’t you worry. We’ll get you laid.”

Didn’t really need to hear that bit from them though.

[officialao3fandomlastforever]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 銀河鉄道物語 | Ginga Tetsudou Monogatari | The Galaxy Railways Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Bruce J. Speed & David Young Characters: David Young, Bruce J. Speed, Yuuki Manabu, Louise Fort Drake, Schwanhelt Bulge, Kilian Black, Sexaroid Yuki Additional Tags: Implied/Referenced Character Death, Near Death Experiences, Canon-Typical Violence, Gun Violence, Music, Best Friends, Grief/Mourning, Moving On, Injury, Blood, Team as Family, Spoilers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added Summary:

A mission gone wrong leads to David to meeting an old friend.

[giraffles]

We Kiss The Dusk Goodnight - Chapter 2

this is an A/B/O au fic

AW YIS, here it is, more omegaverse au. sadly no porn yet. just awkward feelings and things being kinda Gay(tm). 

We Kiss The Dusk Goodnight (Bulge/Bruce/Manabu)

Bruce was going to kill him.

you can also read chapter two on AO3!

(chapter one)

Bruce was going to kill him. It just wasn't fair. From day one, Manabu had been taking his world and turning it upside down. No, that wasn't the right metaphor; more like he took his being, his reason, his defenses, and threw them out of the nearest airlock. Working with Manabu on a daily basis was hard enough, and now there was this. It didn't matter that it wasn't really his fault. Bruce could still be mad at him. "You're more trouble than you're worth." He grumbled to the lump under the covers. Manabu's head peeked out, and he shuffled the bedding around before burrowing back into it. Bruce understood on a logical level the nesting instinct, but it was still weird as hell to watch. " 'M sorry," was all Manabu offered, "I'm always messing up." Which was only half true, because Manabu must have had lady luck herself on his side for the amount of reckless things he managed to survive. He didn't 'mess up' so much as take the unorthodox route whenever possible, disobeyed half the orders given to him, and would probably cause Bruce to have a heart attack before he was thirty. Yet he always came out in once piece and with the day saved. It was infuriating. And god, if he wouldn't take a bullet for the kid. It went beyond the duties of a teammate or the selfish desire to die first, but he would never, ever say that. Manabu had already wormed his way in, prying through his walls and vitriol without even trying. Without even knowing. He had absentmindedly snuck up on Bruce, who hadn't noticed until it was too late to bail. The more he dug his heels in against it, the deeper he fell, and now he was trapped in a room with Manabu. An omega. Alone. He had half a mind to go drown himself in the bathroom sink. But that would be abandoning his post, and dealing with Schwanhelt's disappointment would also be too much to bear. So stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place, Bruce dragged a chair over instead. Manabu whined softly. "What do you want?" He snapped before really thinking about what would come out of his mouth, and Manabu pawed at his arm. "Bruce," he whined again, "Make it stop." "You're delirious." Because if Manabu had been in the right state of mind, he would never pick Bruce. Only someone truly desperate would look at him and think alpha material. It took all his self control not to punch Manabu. "I am not," he protested, latching on to Bruce, "I like you." "Let go," Manabu was heat-drunk, there was no other explanation for it, and temptation was so hard to ignore when it literally pulled at him, "Fucking hell, Manabu. Get off of me." The harsh words caused him to relent, releasing Bruce's arm as he returned to his blanket nest to sulk and look hurt. Now that really wasn't fair; those reproachful eyes shouldn't make Bruce feel so guilty. It's for the best for both of them. He doesn't get too close, and Manabu doesn't get hurt in more ways than one. Everyone wins. So why did he feel like he was losing everything? "I knew it," came the mournful voice, "You hate me." "I never said that," Even though Bruce had done their relationship few favors over the months they've been shipmates, "Stop being an idiot." Sirius Platoon isn't just a team of officers, a collection of people haphazardly thrown together in the line of duty. They're a family, or at least as close to one as Bruce has ever come, and they're stuck together whether they like it or not. So he has to be abrasive, aggressive, a steel wall against everything and everyone, because if he falls apart then they'll have no defense. No recourse against the harsh realities of space. Worst yet, they could die, leaving Bruce once again on the sidelines. So he'll take care of them. Just in his own way. "I can go find you someone if you're that desperate," he growled, "But leave me out of it." "But I don't want someone else," Manabu complained, "I want you." It was only his years of training and discipline from countless battles that kept him from walking out the door. This was crazy. This was absolutely ridiculous. "Manabu," he tried to put that domineering alpha tone in his voice, but it only half worked, "Shut up." And finally, Manabu was quiet, though he continued to look at Bruce forlornly. He would not feel sorry for him. He would not. Except he did, and, god, did Bruce want to say fuck it and face the consequences later, throw all caution to the wind without worrying about what it meant. Manabu smelled like sex and something vaguely sweet and everything he'd ever wanted and goddamn it-- "What are we supposed to do with you?" He groaned into his hands, "Don't even think about answering that." "I wouldn't mind," Manabu said dreamily, "I wouldn't mind if it was you and the captain." "You really have no idea what you're saying, do you?" Manabu pouted at him. "I do too." Bruce had some scathing reply at the ready, but then the door slid open. Yuki floated in, long and graceful, yet possessing an air of moving almost too perfectly. Of course he'd gotten used to it by now, but there was always that subtle reminder that her body was more metal than anything else, that technically she was only highly sophisticated programming fitted with a pretty face. She's a person of course, more human than many of  flesh and blood he's met in his life, but she's still her own thing. An entity outside mortal bounds. In that moment he's jealous of the way Yuki was the only unaffected one in the room. "I said I'm fine!" "Manabu," Schwanhelt broke in, voice low in warning, "Let her look at you." Bruce had no idea just how he did that, lacing words with unyielding force, commanding the utmost respect so effortlessly. Even Bruce had to pause to take notice when he spoke like that. It was probably why Schwanhelt was captain of one of the most respected platoons in the fleet, and had been promoted relatively young. (That, and the fact that the previous captain had met a sudden and tragic end. But that was years before Bruce came to the SDF, and Schwanhelt doesn't like to talk about it, so he doesn't ask.) Manabu simmered down almost instantly. "There's not much I can do," Yuki said as she rummaged around in her medical case, "But I do have an emergency suppressant." "What will that do?" "Delay it, just for a day or two. Though I can't guarantee it will work. Manabu, can I see your arm?" It made sense, since failing meds is what had started this whole mess in the first place. Manabu's biology was actively working against all of them, but if they were lucky, it would knock him out long enough for his heat to pass. Bruce was less than hopeful; the odds were against them all, and his personal luck was never that good. There was a reason David won most of their bets. Bruce went to stand by his captain, who didn't bother to hide his troubled expression. If Manabu hadn't been their responsibility and first priority, he would have kicked everyone else out long before now. As it was, being close to both of them was suffocating, and he hated the curling fire that kept trying to drag him down, to act on impulses instead of cautious calculations. He hadn't gotten this far by taking stupid risks or jumping into situations unprepared; yet even in this, Manabu's devil-may-care attitude was wearing off on him, instilling thoughts of reckless abandon. Bruce had never considered himself a proper alpha, but it was getting harder to deny those smoldering feelings. "What are we going to do?" He whispered. Schwanhelt only shook his head. "There, I've done all I can," Yuki proclaimed as she closed her case with a snap, "Please keep an eye on him and tell me if he gets any worse." "That's it?" No, that couldn't be it. Manabu may have rolled himself back into the blankets and would soon be asleep, but who knew how long that would last before he was a pining mess again. "It's dangerous to give him more than one dose," She explained, "Though becoming heatsick is also dangerous. You should have someone lined up for a worst case scenario." The way she could talk about such things in straightforward way, with no hesitation, had Bruce choking on a sufficient response. "What, are we supposed to go get a hooker?" Schwanhelt smacked his shoulder and grumbled at him. Yuki was unfazed. "That would work. Or, I could come back, I still have my programming from when--" "That's quite alright, Yuki," Schwanhelt interjected quickly, "Though the thought is appreciated." "I don't want Yuki," came the sleepy mumble, "I want you guys." Schwanhelt gave him a questioning glance, but all he could do was throw his hands up. How was he to respond to that? Oh, by the way, their heat-drunk shipmate kept propositioning him for sex while the captain was off retrieving the medical officer? It wasn't exactly dinner conversation. And that was without acknowledging his own complicated thoughts on the matter. "You know where to find me." Yuki nodded before flitting from the quarters. Schwanhelt thanked her again, and he locked the door after it shut. Bruce knew that it was to keep people out, but also had a feeling it was as much to keep Manabu in. Schwanhelt didn't say anything more, simply striding to the bed and making sure Manabu was securely nestled in the blankets. Bruce could taste the awkward tension in the space about them, made partially from uncertainty and partially from desires unfulfilled. With sudden clarity he understood why omegas could and had sparked so many conflicts, so many petty grievances blown out of proportion. How was anyone supposed to be rational in a situation like this? Out of all the people on this goddamn base, why did it have to be him? "He likes you, you know." Schwanhelt commented offhandedly. As if Bruce couldn't have caught the fondness in his eyes, the way he smoothed the covers down. Trying to compartmentalize whatever it was he had with his captain was hard enough on a good day, and now he had to unpack the rest of this too. "I noticed," he mustered after a long silence, "But what about us?" It was accusatory, but his emotions were already too raw for it to be anything else. They had a good thing going, a thing that he, dare he say it, liked, and Bruce wasn't keen on just cutting it off. "You were the one who insisted on no lasting attachments." Alright, so that was true enough. It has been to protect both of them, so it wasn't as though he could suddenly decide to be selfish. "I'm just saying," Schwanhelt continued, "That you should take the opportunity to be happy." The man was so quiet, so sincere, that it nearly tore his heart in two. Damn both of them to hell. Since when did they get to decide what's best for him? As if they all operated in a void, separate from each other. He doesn't believe in things like fate and destiny, he's fought too long and hard to leave anything up to an outside power, but people affect each other. It's gravity, pushing and pulling and entrapping, something Bruce knows all too well. They can't just wind their way into every fiber of his being and then just leave him hollow. It's still his life, and he should get a say in how he suffers during it. "To hell with that," he finally replied, "I'm pretty sure he wants you, too." "He doesn't know what he's saying--" "And neither do you." "Bruce." "That's my name," he folded his arms and looked his captain dead in the eye, "Don't wear it out." "Bruce," Schwanhelt's tone turned towards exasperation, "This is serious." "And I'm taking it seriously." Schwanhelt ran a hand over his face. "It's not up to us, anyway." That much was true. The point would be moot anyway once Manabu woke up and fled, if he knew was was best for him. Because he could do so much better than either of them. Or, at least, he would be easier to reason with when he wasn't heat'drunk and desperate. Manabu wasn't know for this stellar choices even when he was in full control of himself. This would be no exception, even if it would have been easier just to let him stumble into disaster on his own. "Are we going to sit here and play guard, then?" "Well, yes. Although you don't have to stay if you don't want to--" "I'm not leaving you," Bruce muttered, "You shouldn't have to deal with his bullshit alone." Schwanhelt gives him a weary smile, and he's lost.

[talesofzero]

Daiba/Yama #7, Bulge/Zero #12, Zero/Wataru(???!?!?!?!?!) #19

Modern AU; Already did the other two, but here’s Bulge/Zero for 12 - Love Bite. Featuring Harlock having a bad time. It’s all very silly.

Mildly inappropriate warning

~1600 words

I must have been cursed. After several unlucky roundsof Rock, Paper, Scissors, I was slapped with the designated driver position forthe night. As if things weren’t bad enough already, everyone got wasted. Unusuallywasted.

I had no proof that anything had been spiked, but Zerocould hold his alcohol better than anyone I knew, and he was laughing with hischeek against our table after just a few drinks. Even when Zero did get drunk,he was always all moody about it. Seeing him giggling like a little kid made mewonder if someone had slipped something in my water too.

Bulge, usually our designated driver, never drankmuch. Said he didn’t like to get drunk, but he was collapsed against Zero’s sidecackling about whatever stupid thing had riled the two of them up.

Everyone was having a good time, sure. I just didn’ttrust the place. After twenty minutes of coaxing, begging, bribing, anddragging, I got them all back to the car. At each apartment stop, I made surethey made it through their door alright after making them promise they’d neverhave me as a designated driver again. Not like they’d remember.

Bulge and Zero’s shared apartment was last, theclosest to mine and Tochiro’s and furthest from the bar I didn’t think I’d begoing back to. Their heads were knocked together in the backseat, lookingasleep except for the occasional murmur from one of them.

“Alright, come on,” I called back as I parked by theircars. “Let’s get you useless drunks inside.”

The car’s overhead light kicked on as I opened mydoor, and I found them squinting as I popped their door open for them. Theyboth wore pouts but complied when I grabbed them by the arm and dragged theminto the parking lot.

“Are you staying the night, Harlock?” Bulge asked in asweet, sleepy slur of a voice as though dripping with honey. He got all sappyand affectionate when drunk.

I expected Zero to object, but he was too busy tryingto find where he put his front door key in his million coat pockets.

“I’m not staying,” I said. “I’m just dropping you off.There’s only so much being around drunk people I can stand without being drunkmyself.”

“Sorry,” Bulge said like a kicked puppy. “Do you wantsome food or something? I’m real sorry. You were so helpful.”

I was starting to see why he didn’t like to get drunkoften. “It’s fine,” I said. “Let’s just get you both inside.”

Zero continued fumbling for his keys even as wereached the door, until I was tapping my foot and sighing. Before I could offerto just kick the door in, Bulge shoved his hand into one of the coat’s lowerpockets with a slurred, “Babe, you always put it in the same pocket.”

Zero looked as startled as I did, though he may havebeen more shocked by the awkward placement of Bulge’s grabby hand. I wasconcerned with Bulge calling him babe. Bulge didn’t call anyone babe, not hisoccasional dates, not any hapless baby animals, and especially not hisroommate.

I hoped neither of them would remember this in themorning because I was already hurting knowing that I would. It was all tooweird.

I snatched the keys from Bulge, knowing how long we’dbe there if I let them try to put the key in the lock. Once I had the dooropen, I turned on the lights for them and made sure there weren’t any strayshoes on the floor they could trip over. There weren’t, of course. Bulge andZero were both too neat for that. They both looked like something was crawling aroundon them when they visited my apartment. Bulge was too polite to comment, butZero always said, “Clean your goddamn house, Harlock.”

I tried to hang on the door and let them stumble pastme into the apartment, but Bulge pushed me farther in. “You should eatsomething,” he said. “Or get a drink. We have lots of things.”

If by “lots of things,” he meant water, then they suredid.

He seemed so anxious about it that I figured I wouldhave to take some crackers and a water bottle to make him happy. With a sigh, Iclosed the door behind me, muttering, “Fine-fine.”

Bulge’s eyes lit up as though it were his birthday,and I turned into their small kitchen area. I swear, I was in there for tenseconds tops. I thought I heard something like one of them stubbing their toeagainst the couch, but I sure as hell was not prepared to come back to themmaking out on the couch.

Something had definitely been slipped into my water.

For a minute, I could only stare, my whole body lockedup against me. It looked like Zero had shoved Bulge over the armrest, boththeir knees resting on it. Bulge had his arms locked around Zero’s back, hisfingers digging into that damn coat. Zero hands were latched on Bulge’ssquirming hips, and damn the two of them were going at it. Even when my bodystill wouldn’t move, my eyes flicked away on their own as my mind whirled.

I felt the need to stop them, but I would have muchpreferred just running out the door and leaving them to their devices. Ifsomething had been slipped into their drinks, this was not good. They wouldn’trealize what they were doing. Unless they did? Maybe they did this all the time.I didn’t know. They could have been fuck buddies. Neither of them were thetypes to go around advertising it.

But if that weren’t true, I had to pry them apartsomehow. And then what if they just climbed back on top of each other as soonas I left? Dammit, I was not staying here all night playing chastity belt.

I opened my mouth to say something. I hadn’t plannedout whatever it was, but when Zero’s hand shoved into Bulge’s pants, my voice justcame out as a yell.

Sure didn’t stop them. Bulge just moaned over me. Heactually moaned. Bulge. Oh my god. He was so loud and unrestrained, they weregoing to wake the damn neighbors.

When they broke away gasping for air, their faces allflushed – goddamn, I needed a drink – I finally kicked my legs into motion. Myhand outstretched, I was ready to put a stop to these useless, drunk,starting-to-get-me-grossly-turned-on idiots.

But Bulge did that for me. Sweet, stupid, Bulge.Something got ahold of him – probably Zero’s hand. He leaned up and bit downhard on the side of Zero’s neck. Zero yelped and rolled off of Bulge, hittingthe floor with a thunk.

“Oh thank god,” I said through a wheeze.

Zero had his hand on his neck, his brows furrowed ashe stared up at the ceiling.

“I’m sorry!” Bulge howled, held up on one arm as helooked to Zero in horror. “Did I bite too hard? I thought you liked biting! I’msorry!”

I blinked. Bulge hadn’t done that intentionally. “Idon’t know what I expected,” I muttered, rubbing a hand across my face.

When Zero pulled his hand back to look, his palm was coveredwith blood like a fresh coat of red paint. Bulge broke into a yell and a dozenscreamed apologies.

If the neighbors weren’talready awake, they sure as hell were up now.

I woke with a splitting headache which drowned out theache in my back. After a few minutes of trying to pull my eyes open, I was ableto squint enough to realize I’d slept on the couch. For some reason, Harlockwas curled up on the recliner across the room. The bottle of water on the floornear him entranced me too much to care, and I rolled off the couch to dragmyself toward it.

A quiet “oof,” reached my ears as my knee landed onsomething that wasn’t the floor. Looking down, I found Zero, his expressionscrewed up with pain and his hand against his head.

“Sorry,” I mumbled in a hoarse voice that must havebeen mine, and I pulled myself off of him.

“S’okay,” he answered, his eyelids heavy. As heyawned, I noticed a huge adhesive bandage slapped against his neck, the kindusually reserved for kids who scraped their knees. Our first aid kit sat openon the floor nearby.

“We must have done something stupid,” I said.

“Yes,” a voice hissed behind me.

I turned to find Harlock glaring from his seat, thoughhe didn’t look all that threatening with how he’d curled up. He reminded me ofa puffed-up cat.

“I am never, nevergoing to be a designated driver for you two again,” he said.

“What happened?” Zero asked as I padded over on allfours to the water bottle.

When I looked up at Harlock’s silence, I found himredder than Zero’s favorite sweater. He couldn’t look at either of us.

Oh.

I looked at Zero, who was trying to hide his smile ashe looked back to me.

“And you didn’t even join in?” Zero asked.

I wished he wouldn’t taunt Harlock like that. The poorguy looked close to a heart attack. “I’m leaving,” he said like the wind hadbeen knocked out of him.

“At least take some food or water before you go,” Icalled as he rushed to the door.

He just gave a shortscream and slammed it behind him.

[talesofzero]

essay prompt thing: my rare pair manabu and bulge in 19 with possible 10 please?

Five years later I return. 19 is formal dance and 10 is nose kiss hell yeah. This one is actually an obvious companion to the last one so nobody is dead-verse. 

~750 words

The first roadblock of marriage we ran into was thewedding itself. Manabu was as baffled at my description of the ceremony as Iwas at his.

“Haven’t you seen it in movies?” I’d asked. “Women inwhite gowns, men in suits. Feed each other cake and champagne and throw thebouquet and all that.”

“I’ve seen it,” he’d said at length. “But I thought itwas all kind of romanticized for the sake of the movie. People actually haveweddings like that? It’s supposed to be all quiet and staring.”

Neither of us felt too torn-up about the matter, moreconfused than anything. The main trouble was that we weren’t sure how the otherceremony worked. Manabu seemed to struggle envisioning himself in something soextravagant, even when I suggested we could tone things down. As for myself, Iwas a bit worried about making a mistake in the rigid, formal ceremony Manabudescribed.

The people of Tabito held a long-standing tradition ofweddings based on those from old-Earth Japan, along with the many other thingsthey’d carried over when settling the planet. In the end, with more of hisfamily attending than mine, we decided on the Tabito tradition. Plus, Mrs.Yuuki offered to make dinner for everyone, and I couldn’t turn down an offerlike that.

As we flipped through invitations, trying to find a nicecardstock that wasn’t too flashy, Manabu said, “But I want the dance. We canhave the dance, right?”

My look to him was as blank as the cards. “Whatdance?”

“You said your weddings had a dance.” His cheekstinged red. “Formal kimonos aren’t hard to move in, so we can dance together,and I can do that dance with my dad first, so he can give me to you like yousaid. I think it would be fun.”

I decided not to mention that it was usually fathershanding their daughters off during the ceremony. He must have gotten confused,but the idea made him so giddy that I could do nothing but call Mrs. Yuuki forhelp. Kanna, she corrected me “or Mom if you’d like.”

She seemed equally thrilled about the idea, sayingshe’d take care of it.

She kept her word. In a field, a short way from theceremony I’d stumbled through, was a wooden deck laid into the ground. Paperlanterns and small lights covered the area in a star-like glow. Manabu’s eyesseemed to reflect all of it. His cheeks must have ached from the smile he’dworn all day.

His first dance with his father was, well, adorablehonestly. I never thought I’d call Captain Yuuki cute, but he spent the wholetime flustered, his brows pinched and his eyes down on their feet as though hewas worried he would step on Manabu’s toes. I couldn’t hear them from where Isat, but Manabu seemed to be speaking gentle comforts or encouragements to hisfather, while the captain muttered something in reply.

When the song came to an end and I had to come up andoffer my hand, Wataru frowned at it, still distressed. It was just like whenI’d asked permission for Manabu’s hand in marriage. I might as well havepunched the captain with how dazed he became. Mrs. Yuuki had to talk him intoan uneasy ascension at the time, but now he pulled Manabu’s hand toward mine asthough moving through water.

He seemed to want to say something, his mouth openingand closing a few times. As our song began, he managed a quiet, “Take care notto step on his feet.”

I gave him a nod. “Of course, sir.”

Manabu’s brows shot up. “You didn’t call him captainfor once. You’re getting better.”

“It was a struggle.”

“I didn’t have any trouble switching over for you.”

“I know. It was a bit disconcerting.”

We’d practiced the dance so often that I needn’t havestared at his feet. Manabu had insisted on nightly practices, humming the songhe’d picked until I heard it in my sleep. A nice tune, though. Sleepy, almost.

As always, he giggled when we got to the twirl, and asalways he pressed up to the tips of his toes and kissed the tip of my nose whenI pulled him back in. My burning face only made him laugh harder.

My eyes narrowed with the message that he wasn’tsupposed to do that in front of everyone.

His gleaming eyes returned that he knew and didn’tcare.

But of course, I couldn’twin against that smile.

[talesofzero]

for the prompt: Manabu and Bulge with 1 and 21 together please?

GR-verse; Sweet kiss and Tending an injury. 

Blood warning

~900 words

“Does it help if I tell you it doesn’t hurt?” Manabuasked, even as he had to close his right eye yet again with all the bloodpouring into it.

He must have been lying for my benefit. There was noway that was true. If it were, then he needed better medical care immediately. “That’sgood, Manabu,” I said, though my grumbling was more apparent than I would haveliked.

“It’s fine,” he insisted. “It’s just a little cut.”

Head wounds were never just little cuts. They bledlike fountains. The glue from the medical kit wasn’t holding, and any bandagesI’d attempted to apply just soaked through. There was a reason I wasn’t thecrew’s medic.

“Gosh, Captain, relax. I’m not going to bleed todeath,” he said. I must have looked as stressed as I felt.

I stumbled over a reply, my mouth forming moreexasperated noises than anything. “Y-you’re not supposed to call me Captain,remember?” I managed. We were supposed to be on vacation. I wasn’t Captain orBulge on vacation, not to him.

That made him laugh, which effectively ruined myattempt to hold my latest patch job. If I’d been in uniform, this would havebeen much easier. I would have used the same trick Captain Yuuki always did,just tying my cravat around to ease blood flow. But if I’d been in uniform,Yuki would have been around to fix things so I didn’t make a mess of them. Shewas still nearby, but there were several floors between us, and consideringManabu’s current state of undress…

The hotel’s hand towels would have worked as acceptablebandages, but Manabu stopped me from using them, complaining he didn’t want toreplace them. That left us with tissues and the cheap first aid kit in theroom.

“You’re only supposed to be this accident prone onmissions,” I said as I used another wad of tissues to sop up the blood poolinginto his eye.

“Oh, come on. You should know better. You saw me as akid.”

That was true. The first time I’d ever seen him, hewas shorter than my hip and covered in adhesive bandages. Fat ones were slappedacross his knees and elbows. Smaller ones circled every finger, and theoccasional odd one appeared on his face or shins. Admittedly, I didn’t like tothink about that image of him too often. Remembering our age difference gave mea headache.

It didn’t bother him at all, though. “Remember thattime you burned yourself on a hot dish or something, and I was the one who putthe bandage on you?” He grinned, his eyes distant with the memory.

“You wouldn’t let anyone else do it,” I said. “Yourmother got onto you, but you didn’t care.”

Swiping the tissues away with one hand, I slappedanother taped gauze on with the other. Surely this one would hold.

I still wasn’t sure how this had happened. I’d justheard the crash from the bathroom. I’d gone to the door and asked if he wasalright. “Yeah,” he’d said. “Think I’m bleeding though.”

That statement had not prepared me for the sheervolume of blood pouring down his face when I opened the door. He sat on hisknees on the floor, a towel half-on him. Other than a slight frown and hiswinking eye, he seemed unfazed. Only the rubbing alcohol bothered him.

Everything bothered me. As soon as I had this cleanedup, he had to get dressed.

“I think I got it,” Isaid.

“Okay, good. Thanks,Schwan.” Without giving me a proper warning, he pressed his lips to mine. Hestayed there long enough for my face to betray me with a blush but left tooquickly for me to respond.

As I sat there dazed, hepopped up to his feet and padded out on his toes, loosely holding the towelaround his waist. “We don’t want to be late for dinner,” he called.

Right, dinner. At leasthe was still looking forward to it. I’d been aiming for a table for just thetwo of us. In fact, I’d been aiming for a vacation for just the two of us, butthe rest of Sirius found out. They always found out.

Difficult as it was, Ihad to keep my eyes off Manabu in his nice vest and slacks once we made it tothe fancy restaurant downstairs. I didn’t need the others giving me moretrouble than they already did.

“Whoa, what happened toyou?” Louise asked as she spotted the gauze peeking out from under Manabu’sbangs.

“Run into something?”Bruce teased.

With the sort of pure,oblivious smile only he could manage, Manabu answered, “oh, I fell in theshower. But no worries, Schwan helped me out.”

All eyes turned to me asI looked to the wine list. Everything was so expensive, but it was worth it ifit got me drunk enough to forget this.

“Helped you out huh?”

“How sweet.”

“Must have been quite afall.”

Next time I took Manabuon vacation, we were going somewhere they couldn’t find us.

[talesofzero]

Carpe Noctem - Ch. 18.5 (Side Story)

AU; Chapter 18.5 - Lapsus; Wataru has a hard time saying “no” to his family.

I’m very tired, but here’s a little piece inspired by Gen’s art. Like, hot dang look at that. Look at that. Also I mean, any excuse to write more cute vamp family. Gore warning.

~2300 words

We’d heard the cannon fire from leagues away, carried by the lazy waves of the ocean’s surface. The combatants sounded as though they could have been just over the horizon, but by the time we arrived, the navy vessel reeked of blood and death, like any proper massacre. It was little more than a messenger ship, a crew of a few dozen. The pirate ship hooked into it was twice its size.

Still, my ship towered over it. Worn by their previous scuffle, the pirates were no match for my crew. They’d taken no prisoners, so I elected not to as well.

As I stepped down onto the deck of the navy ship, I found men scattered across the deck like fish washed up on shore. The air was thick with the sweet, sharp scent of their blood, tinged with rot as it clotted and dried.

But among the stillness, a lone heart beat. It pounded with the will to live, and when I sought its source, I found gray eyes staring back at me. They shone in the moonlight with pain and exhaustion. The lone survivor was young, hardly old enough to be a captain, yet the rank showed on the crest of his shoulder. He lay on his stomach, one hand pressed under him, likely clutching at the source of the blood pooling around him.

He made no sound of protest as I rolled him over to assess the damage. His eyes burned with pain, yet he remained silent. I couldn’t determine the number of stab wounds through all the blood, but the knife must have been the width of my palm.

The boy wouldn’t last much longer.

“Are you going to save him?” Kanna asked as she appeared over my shoulder. I’d been so engrossed in the emotions swimming in the boy’s eyes that I hadn’t felt her approach.

“That would require turning him.”

I doubted his lucidity. He seemed to see me, his eyes locked with mine, but his lips did not move toward any hint of speech. His eyes echoed fear and pain and anger, but mostly exhaustion. He was fading fast.

“So why wouldn’t you?” Kanna asked. She crouched down at my side, reaching out to run her fingers through his hay-like hair. His eyes drooped further at this.

“Becoming one of us is a great burden for some,” I said. “I wouldn’t wish to force the change on someone who did not want it. Sometimes it is better to let death take over. If everyone who was dying were turned, it would throw the balance.”

“But this is not everyone. He’s just one man, and he’s in pain.”

True. If I didn’t want to turn him, I should have put him out of his misery already. But he was just one boy, and the firm pulse of his heart was slowing, softening.

My fangs sank through the side of my hand, and the taste of my own blood stung my mouth as I held my hand over his lips. Drops of my blood splattered onto them. I made the decision for him, though I did not know his name, and he did not know mine.

We remained that way for a few weeks.  

At first, the crew called him “Captain,” but that became too confusing when I would respond to the name, so they began calling him “Lieutenant” instead, not that he responded to either name. He was a tame feral, almost as quiet as he’d been in death. Kanna had been much more active, always wandering around and causing trouble, often trying to nip at my hands.

Lieutenant showed little interest in me. Like an odd duckling, he seemed to have imprinted on Manabu instead. My younger son had been the first one he saw upon waking, as I’d been unable to convince Manabu to leave the sleeping boy alone.

I wondered if Lieutenant saw Manabu as his sire somehow. My blood did run through Manabu’s veins, and newbloods were admittedly stupid, so I had to assume it was a reasonable mistake. At first, I’d feared Lieutenant biting one of my sons, but it never happened. He only drank pure blood when we gave it to him. Otherwise, he did not seek it out.

I was thankful for that. I felt certain I would have put him down without hesitation had he attempted to hurt my sons.

“He’s a good babysitter,” Kanna commented once, as Manabu once again fell asleep flopped against Lieutenant’s side. Lieutenant often sat on the deck, his back against the railing, while Manabu used him as a pillow. My sons slept as often as cats, so Lieutenant spent many hours sitting in one spot.  

“I think he has more patience than I do,” I said.

“Oh, certainly.”

I would have preferred she not agree. “It’s just strange for a newblood. They tend to act…childish.”

Kanna tilted her head to the side with a curious hum. “But all children are different. And it’s nice for Manabu to have another friend. Mamoru is awfully mature for his age, so Manabu has been asking for someone to play with, and I can’t have any more children.” She paused, turning to me. “Not that I would. Two was plenty.”

I didn’t like to think back. Manabu’s birth had almost killed her…and me to a lesser extent. I’d felt certain her screams would stop my heart.

“Mamoru is just more determined to grow into his age,” I said. “As much as Manabu wants to look older, he likes snacks too much.”

“Well, we do spoil him rotten. I don’t mind him staying little for a while longer.” She laughed, placing her hands to the sides of her face. “I do love those pudgy cheeks. I bet you had pudgy cheeks. Mamoru took after me, and he didn’t get them, so Manabu must have gotten that from you.”

I couldn’t recall how I’d looked as a child. I’d had the same face for far too long to remember something so distant, yet I could still picture my younger brothers as little round-faced troublemakers.

Yes, it must have been from my side of the family. Manabu looked so much like my youngest brother had as a child – it scared me sometimes.

My sons were not vampires, not fully. A well-placed bullet could kill them in an instant. Disease still seeped into them and burned in their blood like poison. Though they could fight it better than any human, they still felt the effects. They were fragile.

They smelled of fresh blood, and if any starved vampire ran across us, my sons would look like lighthouses in a storm.

During any raid, my fears ate away at the back of my mind. I assigned men to remain on the ship and alert me if any pirates managed to board. My boys stayed far below deck, much to their displeasure. Mamoru thought himself a soldier, something to be expected from a young man stuck in a child’s form. Manabu tried to pretend he was the same, but he had no stomach for violence. He cried when the men shot down birds, and he bundled himself in his blankets when we returned from a fight smelling of gunpowder and blood.

“We shouldn’t kill people,” he’d told me once, pulling the blanket down over his eyes like a hooded cloak. “No one needs to die.”

An argument died in my throat. He was still young enough to believe the world could be so kind, and I didn’t have the strength to take that naiveté from him. Though he’d taken after me in appearance, he’d taken everything else from Kanna.

She didn’t care for the killing either. That was certainly why she’d wanted me to save Lieutenant. But perhaps, instinctively, she’d known he was worth saving.

When I woke one day to his pulse racing in my chest, joined by a sudden scream from a young voice I could only match to Manabu, my mind flew to the possibility that Kanna and I had both made the wrong choice.

My stinging eyes told me it was the middle of the day, never a good time for hell to break loose. I all but shattered my door in my rush to the boys’ room. After all Manabu’s begging, we’d allowed Lieutenant to sleep in a bed on the opposite wall from theirs. I could only think that choice had also been wrong.

Ferals did not stay feral forever, and as dangerous as they could be, an awakened vampire was far worse.

My blood roared in my ears, heat blazing along my skin as I barreled into their room. A wave of blood overtook my senses, as though the room were filled with fire. Splatters of red coated the walls and floor, but most of it soaked the writhing mass on the floor and the crazed Lieutenant holding it there.

I couldn’t recognize it as a person at first – far too red, twitching in a way no living thing should. It gargled its own blood, red foam spilling from its mouth. If not for the outline of its clothes, I wouldn’t have recognized it as our prisoner from our most recent battle. Though he was a vampire, he was also wanted alive. I didn’t mind that it appeared we would no longer be able to fulfill that requirement.

Lieutenant had buried one hand through the prisoner’s gut, pinning him to the floor. It appeared Lieutenant had torn at every inch of available skin on the man, though he had not come out unscathed. He seemed to take no mind. He raised his free hand, lips curled toward a snarl.

His voice came out tinged with insanity and a growl. “Don’t. Touch. Them.” His hand came down, shattering the man’s sternum and crushing his heart into a bloody mess of tissue.

Across the room, Mamoru clutched a cowering Manabu, both of them huddled in their bed. They both looked startled, pale, but otherwise unharmed. I couldn’t allow myself to breathe until I could gauge if the threat was gone.

When his prey ceased twitching, Lieutenant straightened himself. A sick grin twisted his features, his eyes like a wild dog’s.

I felt certain I’d made the wrong choice, yet I couldn’t bring myself to move. I blocked the doorway, so the men gathering at my back could not move to kill him, though they encouraged me to. They spoke of my sons’ safety, but I hardly heard them.

Lieutenant was my own blood, much like my boys. I couldn’t abandon him. Not yet. Not when the only injured in the room were him and a murderous prisoner.

“Lieutenant,” I called.

His smile faded. His eyes drifted my way. Gashes littered his body, almost as gruesome as the injuries that killed him. With the thrill of his kill fading, he watched me with those same exhausted, pained eyes.

“Boys?” I added.

“We’re okay, Dad. We’re okay,” Mamoru answered.

They were not, but they weren’t injured. That much allowed me to breathe again.

I couldn’t imagine how a feral newblood had killed a full-fledged vampire, but however it happened, it wasn’t by much. Lieutenant collapsed as soon as I took a step toward him. Manabu cried out in terror once again, and I realized my mistake.

I had made the right choice but the wrong judgement.

After we got some blood into the injured boy and cleaned up the mess he’d made, Manabu clung to him like a leech. They fell asleep that way in the infirmary.

Down in the brig, we found our cell door broken open, but we deemed it work for later. The middle of the day was not the ideal time for such havoc. We all crawled back to our beds with little mind for waking up on a schedule.

At least, I would have slept in if not for Manabu’s hand swatting at my cheek to wake me. “Dad,” he said. “Swan is up.”

“Who?” I mumbled into my pillow, trying to smother myself back into sleep.

“It’s- uh- It’s Schwanhelt,” an unfamiliar voice corrected.

That woke me up. I jerked upright to find Lieutenant standing there, shifting his weight between his feet. His eyes wandered to the room’s corners.

“Oh,” I said, standing in order to extend a hand to him. I was unsure what more I could do in such a situation. “My name is Wataru Yuuki. I am…your sire.”

He took my hand, though he stared down at it as though he’d never seen a handshake in his life. “I’m Schwanhelt Bulge,” he said. “I…don’t know what that means, sir.”

“Right,” I sighed. We released our grips, and I ran my hand back through my hair. “We have a great deal to cover. For now, just know that you’re on my ship – Sirius, and you’re in good hands.”

“We’ll take care of you, Mr. Swan,” Manabu said. His eyes shone with stars as he looked up to the young man.

Kanna sat up with a yawn, and Bulge’s gaze shot away once more, his ears reddening. But if Kanna minded him seeing her in her sleep clothes, she didn’t show it. “Oh, he’s up?” She smiled. “Do we have a name now?”

“He’s Swan!” chirped Manabu.

“Schwanhelt,” he corrected once again in a mumble.

Manabu was not deterred. “Can I marry him?”

Bulge’s shock and confusion mirrored my own. But Manabu was insistent on the idea. It didn’t help when Kanna simply said that was up to Bulge. We needed to give my youngest son more firm “no’s.”

But we didn’t say no when he found the stray werewolf a few months later. And even when Manabu asked Bulge for the hundredth time if they were betrothed, Bulge could never quite say no. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Manabu had Bulge under his spell from day one.

After all, Manabu inherited his tenacity from his mother, and he’d gotten those pudgy cheeks and puppy-dog eyes from me.

There was no winning against my youngest son.

[talesofzero]

Nighttime Stroll

CWZ/GR-verse; Bulge/Harlock/Zero shenanigans for @genesisnx​ and also to me. Happy birthday to us. I’m very sick and kind of out of it right now, so here’s bad jokes and not porn sorry.

Blusey: “Where’s the porn?” Me: “Wtf, the moment I told you five-year-old Manabu showed up in this fic, you should have known better.” Blusey: “Yeah, but why can’t they just send him off? I mean, what’s the point?”

~2500 words

“We can’t just waltz onto the Karyū,” I’d said right before we just waltzed onto the Karyū. I had a feeling Harlock didn’t receive the codes that opened the emergency air locks through some trusting gesture by Zero. In fact, judging by the tired glares from Zero’s crew, I doubted Harlock had ever been personally invited on that ship in his life.

Sure, all of this was strange, but that made it all the more strange when none of the irritated crewmen attempted to halt our progress through the halls of the ship. “Why don’t they try to stop us?” I asked as I tried to match pace with Harlock’s quick stride. I always seemed to be staring at his back.

He threw a grin over his shoulder. “They know I’m the only one who can cheer up their captain, and they’re jealous.”

I doubted the accuracy of his claim. My guess was that Harlock did this so often that Zero’s crew had given up on trying to dissuade him from showing up announced and strolling in like he owned the place. After all, the same thing had happened at the Destiny Station barracks. The only reason he didn’t just hop aboard Big 1 was because of the captain. Harlock’s brother was the only person who could almost keep Harlock in line. Almost.

“You know the Captain is going to kill you,” I said for the dozenth time. “I’m sure he’s noticed Manabu is gone by now.”

The tiny kid’s arms draped over Harlock’s shoulders as his uncle cradled him in a carry. His head nestled into the curve of Harlock’s neck as he dozed. For someone who’d just been kidnapped out of his own bed, Manabu was awfully relaxed about the whole thing. Harlock attempted to snatch Mamoru too, but the elder brother whined about how he had a test in the morning and didn’t have time for “Uncle Phantom’s” games.

I’d tailed Harlock since I saw his ship touch down on Tabito, hissed all the reasons why this was a bad idea as he crept through the Yuuki home, but all to no avail. The best I could do was follow him on his strange whims and hope we could return Manabu to his bed before the captain came to claim our lives.

“Wataru won’t mind once he learns why I took his kid,” Harlock said with a shrug.

“Alright, but why did you take his kid?” He’d refused to tell me why beyond it being a surprise, and I was starting to see why young Mamoru was so fed-up with Harlock’s nonsense.

“Can’t you just be happy we’re going to see Zero?” He turned down another corridor without thought. He seemed to know the layout of this ship too well. “I mean, I know we can’t have all that much fun with the kid around, but I’m sure you’ll get a kiss out of the deal at least. Zero’s always happy to see you.”

I knew he looked back just to ensure he had me blushing. I wished I could have denied him the satisfaction, but my cheeks warmed against my will. Honestly, he was cheating – playing that card. Anyone would be flustered at the thought of Zero happy. There was something about that smile, about the way his eyes lit up. Harlock could joke all he wanted, but he turned weak as water when he saw it too.

“I’m fine with going to see Zero,” I sighed. “But I would prefer, you know, a heads-up. I’m sure he would like one too. And why is Manabu here?” I threw up a hand toward the boy, who stirred at the sound of his name. He blinked, squinting in the harsh lights of the ship.

Harlock smiled at him as he rubbed his knuckles against his eyes. “Manabu is here to see Zero too, isn’t that right?”

Manabu made some noise of confirmation or confusion before yawning. He was a cute kid, all pudgy-faced with the same messy brunet hair as his uncle. And Zero did love kids, so that had to be part of whatever strange interworking went on in Harlock’s head. Then again, maybe he was just really drunk. At this point, I just assumed him drunk a majority of the time.

As we came to the door marked with Zero’s name and rank, Harlock adjusted the boneless form in his arms and typed in a code into the side panel. I wondered if Zero bothered to change the passcode, or if he’d just come to accept that Harlock would break in no matter what.

“It’s me!” Harlock yelled as he strolled in. “I’ve brought innocents, so don’t shoot.”

I felt myself hesitating before I hurried in after him. I wasn’t worried about getting shot, really. I’d just never been in Zero’s room before. The inside was about as I’d expected it to be. Zero kept things tidy. The office area held no decorations and simple furniture. Not a piece of trash in sight. Even his bed in the next room appeared made. Strange, considering the man himself was slumped over his desk with a bottle of alcohol clutched in his hand.

Must have been a bad day.

“Hello, birthday boy,” Harlock sang.

That explained it.

Zero growled into the surface of his desk. As valiant of an idea as trying to cheer him up was, I had a feeling Harlock was in over his head. Harlock as well as his brother told me that Zero had a habit of drinking on any special occasion for the sole purpose of getting too drunk to remember that it was a special occasion.

Zero rolled his head to rest against his cheek and glared at the wall. The flush from the alcohol colored his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. “Got a signal to haul my ass all the way out to this sector,” he said around his slurring tongue. “Only to find out that signal was a fake. Nothing here.”

Harlock nodded. “I know. I made that signal. Well, Tochiro did anyway.”

Zero’s head shot up as his fist slammed into the desk’s surface. He looked quite the dragon-type now with the fire and murder in his eyes. “Harlock! You-!” Noticing me, he bit his tongue. His eyes went wide like a startled animal’s. “Swan, oh my God. Oh my god.” His hands found his face as he sank down to bury himself against the desk again. “I’m so sorry. I’m so drunk. I’m so sorry.”

“Swan?” I echoed.

“It’s fine, Zero,” Harlock sighed. “Everyone knows you’re a huge alcoholic. Bulge knows too.”

Zero howled a soft “no,” sounding close to tears.  “I don’t want you to see me drunk. I want to be cool and sober.”

“Cool,” Harlock snorted. “I don’t know that you’ve ever been cool. And anyway, you don’t care when I see you drunk.”

“That’s because I don’t care what you think.”

“Okay, rude. And after I went through all the trouble to bring you a present.”

“Swan?” I stressed, hoping for an answer. Surely I’d heard him wrong. Again, though, I went ignored.

“Say hi to uncle Warrius,” Harlock said as he shifted his shoulder to rouse the dozing kid.

Zero managed to peel his hands away from his face long enough to see the sleepy kid. “Hi, uncle Warr’us,” Manabu said.

“Oh my god,” Zero whispered. “Is that Manabu?” His eyes filled with tears, and he reached his hands out like a spoiled child, grabbing for the kid. “Look at him. He’s so small. I love him so much.”

With a grin of triumph, Harlock strolled over and deposited the kid in Zero’s arms.

“My baby,” Zero said as he held the kid close.

Manabu seemed entirely alright with the situation and snuggled right up to Zero. “I’m not a baby, Uncle Warr’us. I’m five.”

“Oh my god, he’s five,” Zero crowed. “He thinks he’s big. He’s too pure.”

Harlock stood with his hands on his hips, grinning from ear-to-ear. “Happy birthday,” he said.

I wanted to smack him. “Harlock, you can’t give other people’s children away as presents.”

“Well if Zero had told me his birthday was coming up sooner, I would have had more time to plan, and I could have gotten him something else. Besides,” He shrugged, “this is fine.”

Sure, it was fine ‘til the captain showed up.

“I will give him back,” Zero sobbed, hugging the kid like a life raft. “I can’t protect him anyway. He’s too small. Just a baby.”

Manabu puffed his cheeks. “Not a baby.”            

“Well, anyway,” I sighed. “Happy birthday, Zero. If I’d known sooner, I would have brought you something too.”

This only served to make him more teary-eyed. “I don’t deserve anything from you. You’re too good to me, Swan. You’re also so small. What if I can’t protect you too? Oh my god, you’re just a baby, and I’m so old.”

Manabu reached up to pat Zero’s face as fat tears rolled down his cheeks. “Don’t cry, Uncle Warr’us. Daddy’s old too.”

“Swan?” I asked again, louder this time. Harlock appeared at my side, his arm draped across my shoulders.

“He calls you that when you’re not around,” he said, too low for Zero to hear. “I think he forgot it was supposed to be a secret.”

I tried to find a way to be irritated with him for such an embarrassing pet name, but I didn’t know how to be mad at Zero. Watching him light up with a smile as he dropped his too-big hat over Manabu’s head took it out of me.

“I didn’t know you were friends with Uncle Phantom and Mr. Bulge too,” Manabu said, pushing up the brim.

“Mm-hm, Swan is my boyfriend, and Harlock shows up sometimes.”

“Hey!” Harlock snapped.

Manabu’s eyes shone with joy as he turned to me. “Swan?” he said. “Swan.”

Oh, great.

He looked back to Zero with a grin. “Swan’s my boyfriend too, Uncle Warr’us.”

Harlock snickered as his cheek dropped to my shoulder. “Well, you certainly get around.”

“Shut up,” I grumbled. “I didn’t have a say in it.”

“He’s my boyfriend too,” Harlock announced, tilting his head to nuzzle against my ear. “Swan,” he purred.

I hoped the captain did show up and kill him.

“I wanna hug Swan too!” Manabu decided as he clambered up onto the desk. Zero nodded solemnly in agreement.

I didn’t get much of a say in anything anymore, but it’s not like I could have said no to Manabu and Zero clinging to me along with Harlock. Manabu hung from my neck courtesy of me giving into his grabbing hands reaching up toward me.

Zero held me around the waist, opposite Harlock. “You’re so small,” he cooed. He wasn’t that much taller than me. “What if I can’t protect you? So small.”

Unable to reach much else, I patted his cheek, assuring him I would be alright.

“Hey, Zero,” Harlock called. “I told Bulge you owe him a kiss.”

Zero blinked. “I do?”

Stars filled Manabu’s eyes once again. “I wanna kiss from Uncle Warr’us too!”

“Same,” Harlock sang.

I didn’t know Zero’s face could turn redder, but I could feel the heat from his cheek against mine, while his ears burned scarlet. “Okay.”

“Not that I mind, but you’re too accepting of all this,” I said.

“Yeah, well-” He rested his chin against my shoulder. “I want to kiss you.”

Good enough for me. I couldn’t hide my smile as I turned and kissed the bridge of his nose. “Fair enough, but I get to kiss you too. It is your birthday after all.”

“Gimme a kiss too!” Manabu howled.

“Yeah, where’s mine?” Harlock echoed. He really was the child here.

“It’s not either of your birthdays,” I grumbled.

“Then I will kiss the birthday boy!” Manabu decided.

With a laugh, Zero scooped Manabu up and kissed the top of his head. “What are you doing up this late anyway, little one? It’s way past your bedtime. Let’s get you to bed.” He must have been sobering up a little.

As Manabu filled the room with disappointed whines, Harlock pulled something from his pocket, his cheek still resting on my shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, Zero,” he said. “His ride’s here.”

Realization set in too quickly. I thought I felt a heart attack coming on. Well, it had been a good life while it lasted.

Manabu could have passed for a pitiful lost puppy with the look he gave us. “I’m leaving? Aww.” Despite his pout, he kissed Zero’s cheek. “Well happy birthday, Uncle Warr’us.”

“Thank you, little one.” Zero’s brows furrowed in confusion as he turned to us. “But didn’t you bring him?”

In the span of a few moments, he went from surprise to realization to irritation as the door slid open to reveal a very exhausted, very angry Wataru. He stood with his arms crossed, still intimidating despite his blue pajamas and bare feet. His hair was so fluffy, it looked a bit like a lion’s mane.

“Hey, big brother,” Harlock said, raising a hand. “It’s Zero’s birthday.”

The captain spoke with a gravely drawl. “I know it is. That’s the only reason you still have all your limbs.” His glare vanished as he looked to his son. Manabu dangled in Zero’s arms like a sloth and offered no resistance or help as his father came over to take him. “Come on, Manabu. Let’s go home.”

“Wait! You have to give Uncle Warr’us a kiss first,” Manabu said as his dad tossed him over his shoulder. “It’s his birthday.”

Wataru was also too accepting of this, and, with a shrug, placed a kiss to Zero’s cheek. “Happy birthday, Walrus,” he said. 

“Walrus?” Harlock and I said. 

“Did he just make that up?” Harlock hissed. “Why does my brother have a dumb secret animal nickname for Zero and not me? Swan, we can’t let this slide.”

“Please don’t call me that.”

The captain stared at his brother for a moment before shaking his head and walking away. “If you take one of my kids again, I’ll kill you.”

Manabu scolded him for such violence as the door closed behind them.

Harlock didn’t seem to notice the threat to his well-being. “I can’t believe my brother thinks he can come in and kiss my boyfriend before me,” he huffed, storming up to Zero. “I’ll show him.”

Had he been sober, Zero might have been able to avoid the kick Harlock sent to the back of his knees. As things were, Zero went down flailing, only for Harlock to catch him and smash a kiss to his lips. I offered a round of applause as Harlock also lost his balance under Zero’s weight and fell on top of him. Their foreheads smacked together as they hit the floor.

“Bravo.”

“Can it, Swan,” Harlock hissed as he pushed himself up. 

Zero clutched his forehead, a laugh bubbling from his chest.

Harlock sat back on his haunches with a sigh. “You too, Walrus.”

Instead, Zero began to cackle. The alcohol likely had something to do with it, but it was just about the cutest thing I’d ever seen.

“Calm down,” I said with a smirk. “Pheasant.”

I didn’t think I’d ever seen so much contempt in Harlock’s eyes as Zero rolled with laughter.