Black Velvet

Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing. I'm too tired to form coherent thought just now because work is trying to kill me. I'll write something more intelligent next time.



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Belle walked out onto the back veranda after supper and stood staring at the sight before her for a full minute before regaining the ability to speak without laughing.



“Good gods, what are you girls doing to those two?” Belle asked, looking in amusement at the fact that five little girls had Watari and Yohji seated on the steps of the back veranda. Each man had a myriad of braids, bows and other assorted pretties in their hair.



“You all do realize that they're boys don't you?”



One of the girls shrugged. “Ain't seen any girl that's prettier.”



“Can't argue that one,” Belle said.



“It's okay, Belle,” Watari said. “We volunteered for the beauty treatment.”



Yohji nodded and the bells in his hair jingled, making all the girls giggle. “Are you sure you want a daughter, Taka?”



“Positive,” Watari said, smiling wistfully. “She'd be our little treasure.”



“I don't know, I think Goddess would be kinda hard to convince on that score. She swears she wouldn't have any more babies, even if she could.”



“I know. I especially wouldn't approach her about it right now.”



“You girls get in that house and wash up. I ain't about to send you home looking like a bunch of unwashed heathens,” Belle said.



“Aw!

“Git! And don't make me take the broom to you all.”



Yohji and Watari watched the girls filter into the house, each giving Belle dirty looks as they went. Belle followed them in with one last glance over her shoulder at the two men. She shook her head and tried to hide the smile from the girls.



Watari took a good look at Yohji and laughed. “I think their cosmetology skills need some work.”



Yohji grinned and flipped one of Watari's braids. “No kidding.” They were silent for a moment before Yohji looked at Watari very seriously and asked, “What did you mean by not mentioning babies to Goddess especially now?”



Watari sighed heavily. “Things aren't great between the three of us at the moment. I screwed us up so badly by letting what Bricru said get to me like it did. I shouldn't have left them.”



“Oh, hell, Taka, everyone makes mistakes.”



“Yes. But not everyone has Blaze and Sei as a husband and wife.”



“Okay. It doesn't seem like Goddess is having any problems.”



“It isn't Blaze so much as Sei that I'm worried about. For the most part he seems fine but there are times when I catch him glaring at me when he thinks I'm not looking.”



“That probably isn't a good thing. But from what I've seen of your husband, he seems to be a very straightforward kind of person. I'm sure if he had any real problems he'd tell you.”



“I don't know. Sei has some deep seated trust issues that run back to his being alive. I don't really have all the details just yet.”



“So, that just means it might take him a little longer to come around completely.”



“I hope you're right.”





Aya approached Ben cautiously, hands held in plain view. Ben glanced up at him from his place on the swing next to his wife. He leaned back a little and waited for Aya to say something.



Aya bowed to Aurora and asked, “If I may, I'd like to ask for a few minutes of your husband's time.”



She smiled a little and tried to lever herself up from the swing. But couldn't quite make it on her own just then.



“Ben?” she said, looking imploringly at him. Ben smiled and got up then pulled his wife to her feet.



“You boys behave while I'm gone.”



“We will,” Ben said. “You might as well sit down, Aya. You look like you have something fairly heavy on your mind.”



“Several things, actually,” Aya said. “First, I'd like to apologize for my behavior earlier. You were trying to tell me something important and I refused to listen.”



“Don't worry about it, Aya. It seems to be a natural reaction when we think our mate is being threatened whether they actually are or not. When Rory and I first got together I didn't want to let her out of my sight and I wanted to kill anyone who even looked at her funny. We're geared to be somewhat . . . how did Rory put it? Obnoxiously overprotective.”



Aya smiled. “I can see that. I have more questions.”



“Okay, shoot.”



“You said that Aya-chan would probably only be a carrier, correct?”



“Yes. She's what? Eighteen? If she were able to shift it would have happened before now. Females start manifesting those abilities early. Usually just at the beginning of puberty. In males it takes longer. As a general rule not until late teens or early twenties. But while she might not be able to shift there isn't any guarantee that her children won't.”



Aya blanched a little at that thought. “Should I tell her about all of this then? Because I don't want it to catch her off guard if one of her children happens to have that ability.”



“I don't think I'd worry about it just now if I were you, Aya. Chances are you won't have to be concerned for a few years at least.”



Aya nodded. “You also said that some of us have lived to be five hundred years old.”



“I take it you're wondering about this because of Yohji.”



Aya nodded again.



Ben sighed. “Aya, chances are that you'll out live him by at least a few decades but probably not centuries.”



Aya brightened considerably then frowned again. “Why did you mention how long others have lived then?”



“Because it's a possibility with our kind but it isn't probable. Usually those of us who live the longest are purebreds. Which I'm not and neither are you from what I can gather. We're throwbacks in the genetics.”



“So, how long do those like us usually live?”



“Around one hundred and fifty to two hundred years as a general rule. And before you ask, Volos have no prejudices against same sex couples culturally. Most of those who are Clan of any stripe understand that you take love where you find it regardless of gender.”



“Good to know. Wait, does that mean that same sex couples can marry?”



“Yes. Wherever those human laws permit. It's culturally accepted among Clan members in general. So any time you're among any other Clan it's recognized.”



“So, that means . . .”



“If he's crazy enough to have you, you can marry Yohji if you want to.”







“Damn it, Skye, what the hell is wrong with him?”



“He's processing some fairly heavy things, Schu. You have to give him some time. All of this can't be sorted out in just a few hours.”



“It's been thirty six hours now. He won't even talk to his sisters or Ben.”



“What's really bothering you about this, Schu?” Star asked.



“I've never seen him like this before,” Schuldig said, running his hands through his hair in frustration.



“And you're afraid for him.”



“Yes. No. Scheisse, I don't know what I feel. I know it's really goddamn weird because the Oracle does not do things like this.”



“Oracle or not, he's only human, Schu. Even he can only be expected to handle so much,” Skye said.





Half an hour later Schuldig was sitting cross legged on Skye's bed. “Lieb, what did he remember that has him so freaked out? I know you know what it is because it has something to do with you,” Schuldig said slowly.



Skye sat down next to him on the bed. “It does.”



“You knew him when he was a kid, didn't you. That's fairly clear. But for some reason you and Star have suppressed his memory of it. Acted like you'd never met him before the Red Shaman team started working with Schwarz. So, what was it that he remembered?”



“He remembered that I killed his father.”



Schuldig paused for a moment and digested that information. “From what I've heard about his father I don't think it was any great loss.”



“True. But in doing so, I changed his destiny.”



Schuldig looked at her curiously. “What do you mean? How did you change his destiny? I would have thought it made his life better.”



“It did and it didn't.”

“What are you talking about, Skye?”



“I interfered with his fate.”



“Okay, you've said that already. How?”



“His father was supposed to die, but not by my hands.”



“Brad or one of the girls was supposed to kill him, right?”



Skye looked at him oddly. Schuldig shrugged. “It made sense.”



“Yes. Bradley was supposed to kill him. I suppose it was to gain some sort of closure concerning that part of his life.”



“What exactly did that change other than him not going to prison?”



“It . . . pushed everything up.”



“By how much?”



“About ten years.”



“What does that mean, Skye? That I met him ten years early?” Schuldig asked, his brows drawing together in a frown.



“Yes. Schwarz wasn't supposed to come together until after Nagi was already an adult. That changed a lot of other people's lives as well. All signs point to the fact that the ritual Esset tried to involve Aya-chan in would have been successful.”



“Thereby in changing Brad's destiny, you really did change the world.”



“You could look at it that way, yes.”



“What would have happened to Aya-chan?”



“She would have died,” Skye said solemnly.



“And Abyssinian?”



“The words “murderous rage” come to mind.”



Schuldig shook his head. “He wouldn't be alive. With the power Esset would have gained from the ritual they would have killed him easily along with the rest of Weiss.”



“True.”



“So you're saying that because of this, Schwarz came together ten years early. Aya-chan, Abyssinian and the rest of Weiss are alive. The world isn't enslaved to a bunch of deranged loonies. Well, no moreso than usual at any rate. This is a bad thing because . . .”



“We still don't know the full repercussions of so many things being altered.”



Schuldig looked at Skye shrewdly. “What was your punishment for all of this? Had to be something fairly major if that much changed with one single act.”



“It wasn't as bad as it could have been. Goddess really did understand what happened and was very lenient with me considering the circumstances. The three Sisters on the other hand, were not so kind or considerate. But Goddess intervened with them for me.”



“The Sisters?”



“The ones who weave everyone's life, fate, destiny. Whatever you want to call it.”



“What would their punishment have been?”



Skye sighed heavily. “That I be cut off from him, Schwarz, Weiss, and my family completely until his next lifetime.”



Schuldig winced. “Damn, that was harsh.”



“I don't think you really understand, Schu. There are a million and one things that we change every day just by the decisions we make. It's how Bradley and I change the future we see to something else. However, there are certain things that are fixed to happen regardless of how one tries to alter them. And if those things are tampered with . . .”



“It sets off a chain reaction like this one.”



Skye nodded.



“And since his father is dead, you can't change things to the way they were supposed to be.”



“That is true.”



“What was your actual punishment?”



“You just aren't going to let this go, are you?”



Schuldig snorted. “Like you would if it were reversed.”



“Probably not. My punishment was: absolutely no contact with him or the girls for a decade. That he would have no memory of me and Star for that matter being involved with his early life until such a point in time his memories were triggered via outside stimulation and he was able to break Star's rerouting. I wasn't even allowed to see what was happening to him during those years.”



Schuldig mulled over what had been said. “You were the one who first approached the Mistress about working with Schwarz, weren't you.”



“Yes. It was a win/win situation as far as I was concerned. I could keep track of Bradley after those barriers had been lifted and Red Shaman would have living allies to help take care of things where it wasn't prudent that we be directly involved.”



Schuldig sighed and leaned his head against her shoulder. “Scheisse, this really is a big mess. You love him like he was one of your own kids and you're protective as all hell of those you consider yours. I can see the Mistress in you at times like that. You didn't just kill him, did you?”



“Honestly, I don't remember, Schu. I only remember still being in the room with the body and Bradley standing in the doorway with this look on his face. Like he was upset, appalled and thrilled all at the same time.”



“You didn't leave much of him,” Schuldig said. “I've seen what you can do when pushed to a certain limit. You probably tore him apart.”



Skye sighed. “I'm guessing from the carnage I was standing in the middle of, yes.”



“And when Brad died, the same thing happened. You weren't just pulling the pain from me; you were dealing with your own. Which begs a question about you and me.”



“Which is?”



“Where exactly does all of this leave us?”



“In an even more bizarre position than before.”



Schuldig shrugged. “Not like that's anything new.”