3D3N

And too soon did those mix of argent and emerald eyes closed, and Rei found himself with a burden. One glance down the pale body and quickly noted his discovery's sex, male. He wasn't counting the sighs that left his lips, but he was pretty sure nothing can rival the one he released just now. Glancing down once again and letting his gaze stay this time, Rei took the time to appre-... err, give the boy a through once-over. Silver locks which he mistook earlier for smoke tendrils in the water tank hung wetly past slender shoulders now. The youth was a pale color overall, a striking contrast to Rei's black hair and clothes. And he was fairly thin, as though someone in the middle of puberty with not much to eat. Though considering the current state of the world, it wouldn't be unusual. Not everyone had the access to food three times a day, and not even money in the tender sense had impact in the current shambles of society. Rei shrugged off his cloak and wrapped the cold body in it as gently as he could. The youth was so limp and weak that he didn't even wake at Rei's hands. His burden he carried in his arms as he found his way down, the moss carpet he scattered, his guide. He remembered a lounge, a chaise where he can lay the body down to rest before continuing the second part of his quest. It was old, dusty and just a bit moldy but it was comfortable. The boy mumbled something in his sleep as Rei covered him warmly with the cloak. He himself was tired and he wanted nothing else but to sleep undisturbed for several hours. Though, he still had a bit of trouble to take care of. "It's impolite to skulk around like that, Librarian." the Japanese man spoke loudly and took to his feet, his stance weary and his face arranged in an ever-present frown in the other's presence. "I see you've found it." this one said, smirking. The new arrival was a man, young and lanky, barely out of puberty. He was swathed in a dark traveling cloak, a brown pack slung around his back. Short spiky black hair peeked out from under his shallow hood as narrow black eyes twinkled in barely concealed amusement at Rei. He approached the lying figure, an almost tender expression on his usually sardonic facade. Pale hands reached out to touch the young man but tanned ones caught it by the wrist. "Do not touch." the oldest one growled. "Possesive, aren't we? And it hasn't been an hour since you found... him." There was no mistaking the mockery on the younger man's tone as he slipped his hand out of Rei's grip. "You seem to know more about this boy, Librarian. Pray tell, what does your records say?" The Librarian merely clicked his tongue in amusement and shook his head softly, the cowl of his hood slipping off his head. "No one but a Librarian is privy to the Library's information, you know that Postman. Though it's no secret that you have indeed found what you came for." "At the expense of four men! One of them my own blood!!!" The younger man found himself on the floor quite quickly, a snarling Postman crouched over him in a threatening yet rather sexual manner. He couldn't help it, the laugh that slipped past his lips was unbearable. "And where were you when Cid drowned in the river? where were you when Kaiba was taken in the night? When Satomi died in pain! For God's sake! You were boning him, and you still have the gall to laugh?! How can you!?" Though overrun by anger and disbelief, the Postman still noticed the tears threatening to spill from the Librarian's eyes, and quickly backed off, thinking he'd stepped on a landmine. How wrong he was. "How can I not?" he asked as he laughed. Okay, so those were not tears of sadness, and were instead of amusement. Belatedly, Rei regretted letting the younger man go as he watched him get back to his feet. He should have bashed his skull in first. "I am a Librarian, it is not my job to care, and neither was it yours. My job was to stand witness to your mission, your job was to retrieve E-... him." A dark burning gaze landed on the sleeping form. "And you did, congratulations, Postman. Job well done." "Fucking good it did us. I'd trade this whelp to get all four good men of mine back." "Ah, but you underestimate your discovery. I shouldn't say much but it's best to warn you now. Your four good men are nothing compared to this one." Rei spat at the words, his own gaze cold and hating as they alighted on the sleeping form. The boy's cheeks was flushed and in his sleep one pale arm had dug out from under the coat to lay limply on top. He glanced back at the Librarian, whose look was knowing and a tad bit uncomfortable. "If you know that much about him, then what's his fucking name?" A smirk. "He doesn't have one." Dark eyes met dark eyes in a silent battle of you-tell-me-or-else, before the younger set relented. "Well, it won't hurt to call him Ed." "What the fuck, Lib-" "Castellan. The name is Castellan, Postman. Or Cast, if you can't remember all of it." "I don't ca-" "And your name would be Reibun, won't it? Or was it Rei?" "Damn it! Li-" "Anyway, I'm Cast, you're Rei, he's Ed. If we had someone named T, we'd be castrated. With me so far?" The Postman stared dumbly at the Librarian- it was Cast now, wasn't it. The younger man's voice grated on his nerves badly, the times the young had spent with them during travel were never missed, except by Satomi, of course. But that man had been dick-crazy since the beggining, and the only reason why he'd probably missed Cast was because no-one else would have sex with him. "So from now on, we're gonna be called 'Castrated, minus T'." "Shut the fuck up already!!!" "What's going on?" The Postman and the Librarian stiffened at the voice and turned to stare at the third party. Ed stared back at them sleepily, yawning quite cutely, in Rei's opinion. It was obvious the boy wasn't recovered yet, he could barely raise himself on shaky elbows before dropping back down on the chaise with the effort. "Nothing, my sweet. Go back to sleep now, we'll talk when you're better." The Postman was surprised at the tone, Cast never talked that gently to anyone, even to his fuck-buddy, Satomi. The Librarian, had been a loud-mouthed pervert, with a mouth so crass it could rape anyone within hearing. He was never, gentle, tender or soft. The kid must be pretty important, if it could revert Cast to a mewling kitten. He was even more surprised when Cast actually coddled the youth back to sleep. Those silver eyes still managed to draw the Postman's gaze before they slid to a close. Rei realized he was holding his breath when he released it shakily to Cast's amusement. "Don't wake the dragon, wee Postman. I wouldn't want to cart your roasted ass back to your HQ, too troublesome." Dark eyes snapped at the Librarian angrily as Rei took to the matching armchairs flanking the chaise. "Who is he, really? Why are you so cautious around him?" he asked weary of the avoiding trifles that Cast was sure to throw at him. A troubled gaze glanced between him and Ed as Cast took to other chair. Together they gazed down at the sleeping third member of their group. Rei though, was still waiting for Cast's answer. "Will it be enough if I said that he'll be the death or the life of all of us?" "..." A sigh. "I guess that'll do for now," Rei mumbled and closed his eyes to sleep. | |||| ||| ||| ||||| || ||| | || ||||| | ||| | ||| | || ||||||| |||| | PFFFT!!! Watching the Hobbit while writing. I tried making notes on paper first but the endgame still turned out WAAAAAYYY different to what I have here. I like it though, and the castrated part's my favorite, though I never planned for it. Rei's name was already picked out, Ed's was still iffy, Cast was Cast as soon as he appeared in the story. THE END. (of my mutters, not of the story)