Thursday 1.13 Sleepyhead

[oracle-dreams.livejournal.com]

Brad padded slowly through the living room, a scraggly ball of fur darting around his feet, batting wildly off target at the bottom of his sweat pants. With a sharp glance at their newest team member and a barely audible sigh he took a sip of coffee then placed the mug on the coffee table so he could assume his usual corner on the couch. He shifted once, then twice, trying to focus on the papers in his hand only to loose focus as tiny needles dug into the top of his foot. He shooed the multi colored miscreant away with a paper rustling bat at his tiny head. The little thing had decent reflexes though only suffering half a flick to his ear.

Miles scrambled away, scrawny legs splaying in all directions as he beelined under the chair across the room. He rounded up his courage and poked his head out just under the edge, unsure what had just happened voicing his confusion with a questioning 'MROW'?

Brad leered at ball of fur nearly daring it to try that stunt again. With a final glare he turned back to his stack of papers, realizing that he was entirely too uncomfortable to focus on the project. His ribs were throbbing steadily and still his lung ached with each breath. He grabbed a pillow from the far corner of the couch, leaned it into the arm of the couch then swung his long legs up and sprawled out. The ache is his ribs subsided considerably. He returned to reading through the mundane field reports, his eyes growing heavy much too quickly with the effort.

The tiny ball of fur ventured out from the safety of his hiding place, paced once or twice in front of Crawford's couch, then with a wiggle and two false starts launched his little self into Brad's lap with the minimal use of claws. Miles immediately began purring, a soft little sound with a bit of a hiccup in the end of it. Brad glanced around his papers but merely shifted into a bit more comfortable position jostling the kitten who simply dropped low until the momentary distubance was over. Miles circled on Brad's stomach a few times then moved to circle over his ribs finally settling into a tiny ball wedged between the back of the couch and Brad.

Brad cocked an eyebrow at Miles, unsure if he admired the tiny creature's bravery and tenacity or if it was just that demanding and unwilling to take no for an answer. Just like his namesake...

Brad bent an arm behind his head, intent to return to his reading but remembered nothing past that. The papers slowly dropped to his chest as he settled into the couch with one last wiggle of his shoulders. A shift of his head pulled his glasses slightly askew on his face and softly exhaled sigh escaped his lips as he drifted off into much needed sleep.

Comments

[ginnyvos.livejournal.com]

It took Nagi a while to find his way to the livingroom in his search for his cat, but when he did, he stood still and stared.

There was Crawford, cold, collected Crawford, on the couch. Asleep. While cuddling with a kitten.

It took Nagi a conscious effort not to whip out his cellphone and take a picture. He'd leave that pleasure to Schudlig.

Shaking his head and smiling the slightest bit, he walked off to his room. If Crawford himself deemed the time right for a nap, than Nagi wouldn't refuse.

[Nagi exits to Thursday 1.14]

[aki-jade.livejournal.com]

Schuldig walked into the living room as Nagi passed him with Miles in his arms. "Get going." He said, swatting after the boy in what some might consider an affectionate gesture.

He was about to hop over the back of the couch and take his spot on the end of the couch when he realized that Brad's legs were there. He blinked and looked to the other end, finding Brad fast asleep, his hair a little mussed and his glasses sitting askew on his nose.

For some reason, it brought a small smile to his face. Brad looked so... relaxed. Probably for the first time in years. Which meant that the man had to be really out of it to allow himself to fall asleep like that. But it was still cute. Schuldig hated to bother him.

Carefully, he leaned over the back of the couch, reaching to pluck Brad's glasses from his face, then neatly folding them up and setting them on the end table. Then he took the papers and files that were resting on his lap and chest, stacked them up and moved around to set them on the coffee table.

Brad's coffee was still sitting there as well, nearly full and still hot. Well, no sense in letting it go to waste. Schuldig picked up the mug and sipped at it, then left, returning a moment later with a thin blanket and draping it over the sleeping man.

It was almost normal. This quiet, domestic little scene almost made him forget that he was a psychic assassin, trained from little up to be a weapon of mass destruction.

Almost.

But he would take Almost for now.

[oracle-dreams.livejournal.com]

Brad was hovering just on that edge of waking and the steep incline into deep sleep. He registered the loss of his glasses with little more than a twitch of his nose. His hand surrendered the papers, his fingers relaxing once the stack was gone from his grip. Moments later, the addition of a blanket had him stir a single time, just a twitch of his hips as he sank further into the couch.

Never once had he left himself so open and vulnerable, not even in his own house. He never tempted fate - or Schuldig - quite so badly. Relaxing his guard enough to simply sleep without the added protection of a locked door was, in short, astounding. Subconsciously, he knew Schuldig was near. His visions betrayed the redhead's presence almost as effectively as telepathy. And, this time, it brought only a sense of security.

His eyes slowly lulled open, looking to Schuldig, lids heavy and gaze wholly unfocused. With the tiniest quirk of his lips, so small it would be mistaken as an involuntary muscle twitch by anyone else, Brad smiled and nodded back off to sleep.

[aki-jade.livejournal.com]

Schuldig smiled at Brad when he saw his eyes open. He thought he saw Brad smile back. If he wasn't careful, he was going to turn into a girl and get all sappy. He did, however, allow himself to brush a few stray locks of black hair back into place before he left the room, returning with a glass of water and a couple of ibuprofen that he knew Brad would probably need when he woke up with a crick in his neck. Schuldig had crashed drunk on the couch enough times to know that it wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep for long periods of time.

Once done, he settled into one of the chairs with his liberated mug of coffee. It was still early enough that he didn't have to go harassing Weiss right away. He'd finish his coffee first and watch Brad. To make sure he was going to be all right, of course. Not just because he liked watching the man. The gentle way his chest rose and fell with each breath. The serene look on his face as he slept...

No, he just wanted to make sure Brad would be okay.

[ginnyvos.livejournal.com]

It was several hours later when Nagi stuck his head around the door of the kitchen. Seeing Crawford still asleep and Schu apparently looking at him, Nagi shrugged and decided not to disturb them. Farf would tell them where he was off to when Crawford was awake.

He quickly slipped into his coat and surveyed the livingroom and hallway for Miles for a moment, before spotting him asleep on top of Crawford. He might be a brave, brave man, but not even he wasn't going to do anything to it that might also disturb his leader. Shrugging once more, Nagi softly closed the door and went on his way.

As the door closed, Miles looked up and let out a small sneeze before going back to sleep quite contentedly. Weird humans.

[Nagi exits to Thursday 1.15]

[aki-jade.livejournal.com]

Schuldig opened his eyes when Nagi came into the living room, blinking at him a few times before shifting in his chair. He wasn't sure when he fell asleep, but he was quite happy to go back to it. Brad was still passed out on the couch, though he had the addition of a small furry bedmate sleeping on his stomach.

The image was sickening cute, and Schuldig couldn't resist pulling his phone out and snapping a picture of the scene before settling back in to continue his napping.

[oracle-dreams.livejournal.com]

Brad could easily sleep for another twelve hours. But the pain in his neck, compounded by the deep bruise over his collarbone, forced him awake. He pulled his arm from behind his head with a grunt, blearily blinking around the dimly lit living room. With a deep breath he forced himself to sitting, wincing hard at the steel cables coursing through his neck and shoulders. Miles was uncermoniously dumped in a pile on the couch in a tangle of blanket.

He was momentarily disoriented, waking up somewhere other than his own bed and without his glasses. His eyes fell on Schuldig curled up in the chair, looking like he did when he was eight years old and he instantly relaxed. The irony never escaped him - Schuldig being his grounding point of reference for nearly everything in his life; good, bad or otherwise. With another wince he tried to stretch his neck, catching sight of the water and the pills waiting expectantly on the table. With half a smirk, he reached for them, and downed them before standing and heading for his own bed, running his fingers through Schuldig's hair along the way.

Miles wrestled with the blanket before popping his head out from under. He looked around, pulled free from the blanket and curled back up on top of it, finding the warmest spot Crawford had left for him.

[aki-jade.livejournal.com]

Schuldig slowly opened his eyes when Brad touched him. He was probably the only person who could touch Schuldig like that without getting his wrist broken, or any real reaction other than waking him up.

He blinked a few times, yawning as he watched Brad shuffle off to his own bed. Good. Brad needed a few more days to recover, despite what the control freak thought. The vision had physically damaged him, leaving ghost bruises where the foreseen damage had hit. Schuldig would feel much better once that bit of evidence faded.

Slowly, he unfolded himself from the chair and stood, stretching and glancing out the window. Judging by the light coming through, he'd slept a lot longer than he'd planned. It had to be late into the afternoon by now.

He should probably get to work on his project.

But on the way to his room, he stopped to check that Brad was actually in bed sleeping, and not trying to be productive.

[oracle-dreams.livejournal.com]

Despite his exhaustion, Brad had to attend to a few details before laying down to resume his sleep. First, his gun - still sitting out on the dresser, uncleaned and, more importantly, clip mostly empty from the day before. He reluctantly admitted to himself the cleaning could wait. He returned the weapon to his nightstand, popping in a fresh clip and placing it in it's proper position. If he had need of it, he would instinctually reach for it, even in his sleep if need be. It had better be there. Even the events of last night were no excuse for letting his guard down so badly.

Second - his bed. There was no way he was sleeping on those sheets. He automatically began stripping the linens from his bed, yanking the pillows out of their cases then bundling up the whole pile to deposit in the laundry hamper in the closet. He fished around for fresh sheets, his eyes heavy, his limbs feeling like dead weight as he pulled at the needed linens.

Perhaps for the first time, he seriously considered hiring a maid.

[aki-jade.livejournal.com]

Schuldig frowned when he heard the movement coming from Brad's room, and came in just in time to see the man trying to tug clean sheets onto his bed.

"Jesus, Brad. Are you trying to kill yourself?" Schuldig sighed. But he knew Brad was a stubborn, pigheaded man who refused to look weak. Though he was doing a pretty good job of it right now. He looked like he was about to fall over.

Shaking his head, Schuldig went over to help Brad fix his sheets. He knew there was no point in arguing with the man about not doing it. If he helped, it would be done faster.

((Sorry it took so long. ;_; ))

[oracle-dreams.livejournal.com]

((glomps! just be better dammit!))

Brad cocked a sleepy eyebrow but made no effort to deter Schuldig's assistance. Besides, it was only fair the redhead helped since he assisted in the soiling of them in the first place.

"Death by domestic chores... unlikely." Brad followed after Schuldig, crisping the corners with precise tucks. "My headboard though..." He looked to Schuldig half serious, half ready to push him into a leather shredding, repeat performance. It would need to be repaired but he could make an issue of it later. "... we'll talk about that."

He grabbed the back collar of his shirt and pulled it up and off with a quick tug. His eyes lingered on the deep bruise on his chest, still disturbed by it but satisfied that it was nothing but an annoyance now. "Just stay on task when you head out tonight..." He looked up slowly, his expression flattening out along with his voice. "... don't get distracted."

With a nearly imperceptable wince he called up his visions, wrapping a hand around the back of Schuldig's neck to direct his focus and his control. Nothing dire presented itself in the redheads immediate future. He had to pull his hand away quickly though to maintain his shaky control. He wasn't willing to leave a mission to chance any longer even though he was rewarded for his efforts with a new throb in a new part of his head.

[aki-jade.livejournal.com]

Schuldig chuckled a bit, grinning as he looked at the headboard. He hadn't thought that he'd actually be able to rip the leather. "Shredded leather is low my list of worries right now." He said, his eyes trailing over Brad's suddenly exposed torso. His grin faltered, though, when he saw the bruise.

He knew exactly what Brad was doing when he reached for him. After all, he doubted that Brad was quite ready for another romp when fixing the sheets had him breathing harder than necessary. He knew, but he still couldn't bring himself to pull away. He loved it when Brad touched him, even something as seemingly small as this. He loved the attention, and the fact that Brad acknowledged his existence.

So he indulged the man, letting him dip back into the future with himself as the anchor to the present. It was better than letting Brad try to dive in alone.

"You're kind of a masochist, aren't you?" Schuldig said as Brad pulled away. "Not that I'm really one to talk." He sighed, then pushed lightly on Brad's shoulder, avoiding his injury. "You sleep. I'll track down the blonde and get the information."

[oracle-dreams.livejournal.com]

Brad grabbed Schuldig's hand, slowly pulling him even closer, threading one arm and then the other around his neck before reaching for the redhead's thin waist.

"I'm not fond of pain." Brad whispered low as he leaned in to kiss Schuldig, again soft and gentle, bordering on affectionate. But even Brad could write that off as a lingering side effect of his exhaustion...

"Stay on task." He warned again, murmuring against the redhead's lips before changing angles and kissing him again. A hand slid up his chest to cup the side of his head before Brad pulled away. "Promise me."

[aki-jade.livejournal.com]

Schuldig leaned against Brad. He had to admit that he was finding hard to stay on task when Brad was being such a willing distraction at the moment. His own arms slid around Brad's torso, enjoying the gentleness despite the fact that is was a sign that Brad was not feeling well. He was only ever this way when he was injured. But it didn't happen often, so Schuldig was going to take advantage of it.

"Because my promises mean something?" Schuldig cocked his head with a grin. "More often than not, they end up broken."

[oracle-dreams.livejournal.com]

"Which is why I've never asked for one before..." Brad pulled away, his thumb trailing across Schuldig's lips as he slid onto his bed.

"Humor me. I'm injured." Half a smirk curled his lips. "It's not like I believe in miracles."

Brad punched his pillow a few times and looked back to Schuldig. "Just keep your mind on Johnson... that should stiffen your resolve." And with an expectant cock of his head he looked between Schuldig and the door. He be damned before he was going to let the redhead tuck him into bed.

[aki-jade.livejournal.com]

"Only because you actually admitted it." Schuldig grinned and reluctantly pulled away, though his smile dimmed a bit at the mention of Johnson. "I'll be good. I promise." He sighed, leaning in for one more kiss before turning and leaving Brad alone, closing the door behind him.

[oracle-dreams.livejournal.com]

Brad sat staring at the door for a few moments, actually finding himself uncomfortable with the idea of sleep while his team was in the field. He shook it off, knowing he needed to surrender to sleep to be of any use to them at all.

He closed his eyes, listing slightly as he did, letting his mind go blank. Carefully he thought of each of them and let the visions concerning the three filtered into the forefront of his mind. Farfarello and Schuldig - nothing of consequence would befall them. For once, neither presented an impending emergency.

But Nagi... his images of Nagi had his brow creased and his eyes screwed shut tight. The blond Weiss was becoming quite the thorn in Crawford's side. Their conversation was innocent enough. But Nagi would turn to the enemy for a heart to heart? Masafumi's little science project was again troubling and paining the boy - the kind of pain that could see Nagi lose control and level half of Tokyo. Balinese was aware of this apparently yet he chose to stay and help... The vision raised too many questions for comfort and it was too brief to suggest the answers.

He scrubbed a hand over his face with a sigh and slid into bed. These were things to be dealt with in the light of a new day. The last thought to linger before he finally surrendered to sleep was how to find the little blue haired liability...

[oracle-dreams.livejournal.com]

((continued in 1.17))

[aki-jade.livejournal.com]

[Schu exit to Thursday 1.16]