Sunday 1.13 A change in tactics

[lilymoon1.livejournal.com]

Crawford sat in his leather office chair, reclined slightly and appearing relaxed. Only a very close associate would have noticed the whiteness of his fingertips from the pressure where they were steepled in front of his chest. Too dignified and self-controlled to resort to nervous behaviors like pacing, Crawford had to resort to occasionally polishing the already spotless and gleaming lenses of his glasses or tapping his fingertips together while he remained deep in thought.


The dynamic among his team were evidently changing with or without his consent. Evidently the defeat of the elders and the fall of the tower had given his subordinates a huge boost in pride and confidence. Even Farfarello's deeply ingrained psychoses had seemed to subside to something less manic, although no less deadly and unpredictable. If this new control could be managed and the berserker willing to follow orders, Farfarello could become even more a force to be reckoned with.

Crawford's thoughts turned to Nagi. The youngest member of Schwarz was currently dutifully carrying out his latest assignment. Aside from his psychokinetic talent, Nagi was a brilliant boy and his skills with computer programming and hacking were an extremely valuable resource to the team. Perhaps Crawford should make more of an effort to acknowledge the strengths of each team member. Perhaps...praise. A word unheard of within the walls of Rosenkruz and a reinforcement unused. The only reward a Rosenkruz alumni received for a job well done had been a lack of punishment.

Lastly, the final member of Schwarz, the most flamboyant, the most insolent, the most aggravating man to spend six years in Crawford's presence and still be living. Schuldig. What to do about Schuldig?

Crawford removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. Be honest at least in your own head, he told himself. The question was what to do *with* Schuldig. In the privacy of his office and safely behind his nearly impenetrable shields, Crawford could admit to a certain attraction. Beyond the amazing head of hair that begged to be touched and that nearly femininely beautiful face there existed a brilliant flame that had never been extinguished during even the worst that Schwarz had faced. It was that peculiar bit of laissez-faire attitude that had infuriated and intrigued Crawford for years. What would he have to do to cement that loyalty to himself?

It would seem that Crawford's ingrained responses and tactics had to change, too. He smirked at what awaited the telepath and the berserker when they arrived home. Schuldig had insolently demanded a reward for carrying out his orders, a dinner to be precise. It would be interesting to see how his team reacted to the catered six course feast that he had ordered in, complete with intimate lighting, servers and a few wines so old they were nearly impossible to obtain.

A quick flash, just the barest glimpse of the future brushed over Crawford's senses, causing him to indulge in a slight chuckle. His team would most likely think he had finally succumbed to madness or was trying to poison them. Crawford's smirk deepened. He was willing to bend a little but he was no fool. The expense of the gourmet meal had been divided by four and the appropriate amount deducted from each person's personal account, access to the accounts something Crawford had always had. They would find out eventually.

Crawford retreated to his bedroom, walking once again with a confident slink to his stride. He felt the need to dress appropriately for this very important business dinner.

Comments

[darkanger13.livejournal.com]

Tap, tap, tap and Nagi was alert. Helpful announcement that he was taking too long to do something that should only take 5 minutes. It wasn't that it took very long to put on a suit, especially since it was seriously similar to the boring school uniform he wore all the time. Don't normal kids where denim? Nagi rifled through his closet and found not a sinlge bit of denim anything. Proof positive that Nagi was unfortunate enough to not be normal. Big surprise there.

Now back to the effort of avoiding what was sure to be an uncomfortable night. Maybe if he stayed in his room no one would bother to actually drag him out. Past the tapping on his door, maybe the others forgot or decided that he really didn't need to be there. He wasn't hungry at all. He didn't need ot go out there. After that scene earlier, the mood of evening is sure to be tense. Crawford is sure pissed and that is never good to be around.

Stalling the inevitable would just make Crawford more angry so it was time to be as british as possible and put out the stiff upper lip or whatever they say. Face the music and get it over with. He put on his shoes which he was still not comfortable wearing in the house and buttoned his jacket. Systems running, time to execute.

Nagi walked through his door and down the hall trying to calculate how long this should and will take. Both being very different timetables. As he got closer to the dining area he could feel the tension. Oddly enough it was not the same feeling he was used to. It was really unreadable. Once in the entryway of the room he scanned around the room just trying to get a grasp on what was going on. He had to do a double-take when he looked at Farf. Just what in the world was he wearing? Nagi started to say something but a slight giggle started to erupt so he cleared his throat and just made his way to an available chair with his head down the whole way.

[fieryredqueen.livejournal.com]

Farfarello drew breath to answer Crawford, but was stalled by the arrival of Nagi. He looked really sharp in a double-breasted suit, though it didn't really give him the illusion of being any older...well. Maybe a little.

He gave a wolf-whistle as Nagi sat down, then turned back to Crawford and said "Yeah, a bit of lipstick. It's Schu's. My face gets washed out by candle-light."

[lilymoon1.livejournal.com]

Crawford felt like he was the victim of an episode of "The Twilight Zone". It seemed like his entire team, including himself, had totally switched personalities for the night. Nagi damned nearly letting loose a giggle. He sure had never heard that before. And, Gods, Farfarello vamping it up and even wolf whistling at Nagi.
Then there was the Oracle himself trying to seduce his wayward telepath with an appetizer. Speaking of...

"Let go," Crawford growled at Schuldig who was still biting a mouthful of his fingers.

[fireun.livejournal.com]

Ah, direct orders; the bane of his existence. Schuldich spent a second or three contemplating spiteful insubordination, just to get back at the hit his baffled libido was taking, but finally relinquished Crawfords finger. It would be amusing to watch how fast the man pulled back and up into his immaculate facade.

Schuldich's fun never lasted long enough. And that had just started getting fun. Basic rules had been established, a few moves had been made.

He was going to have to do some heavy handed whore and flirting if he was going to get the taste and texture of even that little bit of Oracle out of his mouth and mind.

"Why, Farf, you look rather stunning. Are those my gloves?"

[fieryredqueen.livejournal.com]

Having had the honor of being spoken to, Farfarello focused his attention on Schuldig for the first time that evening. He paused for a few seconds, chuckling softly in the back of this throat, savouring the crooked lines of flesh and hint of a nipple revealed by the open shirt, divided by the soft silk tie--was that the tie that was the same blue as Schu's eyes? It was too hard to tell in the twilight dimness of the candles. Farf liked that blue tie a lot. But no matter what kind of tie it was, whenever Schu wore one, Farf wanted to lead him around by it. He would love to have Schu on a real leash, so he'd only be as far away as Farf let him go and he'd always be near...

...But it was Crawford who had Schu on a leash, wasn't it? Crawford who held all their leashes. And from the display Farf had seen earlier, it looked like Crawford wanted to rein Schu in very close indeed. It would be interesting to see how that worked out, even if it did twist Farf's heart a bit.

"Aye, of course they are. Your lip color as well. I hope ye don't mind; bein a man I felt odd coming to a formal meal with bare arms. Seeing as all I had to wear was a suit that," he continued, getting up from his chair and motioning with his hands to draw attention to the way the pants were super-tight around his ass and thighs, "as ye can see, doesn't fit anymore." He sat back down, snatching another pastry and popping it in his mouth. "Try these, Nagi. They'll expand your palate."