Black Velvet

“Oh, my fucking gawd, Braddy!” Cassie said as soon as she could speak again. “Are you absolutely positive you’re gay? I’d sure as hell like to try changing your mind on that one.”



Crawford turned to Ben. “Please tell me I didn’t just get propositioned by your baby sister, who might as well be my sister too.”



“I’d love to tell you that but I can’t.”



“Can’t wait until Schuldig sees him like this,” Dee said grinning at her brother. “If it doesn’t inspire confessions of love or at least massive amounts of lust I’m not sure he deserves you.”



Crawford blanched at that thought. He and Schuldig still needed to have a very long talk concerning their relationship. “Okay, that’s it. I’m not going out in public in this fashion disaster,” he said, tugging at the lacings of the leather arm bracers he was wearing.



“Bradley. Taylor. Crawford. You are going or I will shoot you and blame it on the hormones,” Aurora said from her seat on the bed.



“Good gods, you even sounded like Mama then,” Crawford said, staring at his older sibling.



“It’s a conspiracy to make sure I don’t have too much fun with the band tonight. They think if you tag along that I’ll behave myself,” Ben said, grinning.



“I think they must have selective amnesia. Do the three of you remember what Ben and I were like together at a club? Especially when we were with the band?” Crawford said, trying in vain to pull up the black leather pants that almost rode midhip.



“Yes, we remember,” Aurora said. “But we were hoping that at least one of you had managed to gain some sense over the last ten years.”



Crawford glared at his sister. “I am not going out dressed like this. I worked too long and hard to gain a respectable image. I will not jeopardize it by being seen in th . . .”



Everyone stared at Star as she stood behind Crawford, catching him before he hit the floor.



“Much easier this way. Ben, put him in the car before he comes to. At least you can be on your way to the club and he won’t have too much time to protest,” Star said, grinning. “Damn, you know, I’m suddenly overwhelmingly jealous of Schuldig.”



“Join the club, honey,” Cassie said. “Did you talk Aya and Yohji into going?”



“No. Aya wants to stay here with his sister. Not too terribly surprising. Yohji is pouting and trying to convince him he needs to have some fun. Plus, he’s kinda depressed about the car.” Star shifted Crawford and then handed him over to Ben, who left the room grinning. “His, Yohji, and your brother’s cars had to be destroyed.”



“Because someone might be able to trace their vehicles back to them,” Aurora said, nodding.



“That. And because if they were sold anyone who bought them might be in danger as well via mistaken identity,” Star said. She snapped her fingers rapidly, suddenly remembering something. “I think I have an idea as to how to cheer him up though.”



“Dare we ask?”



“Suffice it to say it involves the garage.”







The weight felt odd in his pocket. He kept checking to make certain it was still there. At least ten times in the past hour or so. He figured if he lost it then it was a sign he wasn’t supposed to ask. He hadn’t lost it. He wondered what had possessed him to buy it in the first place. He knew the why but it was more the why now that puzzled him.



He walked into the bathroom, locked the door and pulled it out of his pocket again. Such a small thing but it carried incredible weight. It was undeniably beautiful. Of course, he wouldn’t have settled for anything less than stunning. It had nearly knocked him down when Watari had pointed it out to him. Made of warm yellow gold, Imperial topaz and champagne diamonds it was truly a thing of beauty. But now every time he looked at it he couldn’t quite breathe properly.



He put it back into his pocket and cast his mind about for something to distract him. It landed, oddly enough, on the man who had helped him pick it out. Watari had tagged along on the shopping excursion because everyone else had been otherwise occupied and Blaze had informed him in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t going anywhere without one of them with him. Thinking about it Watari had seemed glad to be away from his wife and husband. He had to wonder about that. There had seemed to be an odd tension between the three of them lately that hadn’t been there before Watari had temporarily left. The tension did seem to be mainly centered between Watari and Tatsumi. Tatsumi was a hard man to read but Watari wasn’t, he wore his heart on a big neon sign over his head. It had been painfully obvious, had he been paying attention at the time, by the sad smile Watari had worn when they had been looking around the shop. Watari had disappeared shortly after he had dropped him off at Madame Belle’s.



When one door closes another opens.



He shook his head. The Universe couldn’t possibly be that cruel. He didn’t know if he could stand the thought that he was at last finding some real happiness while a friend was possibly losing one of the most major reasons for his. Yes, he considered Watari a friend, so did Yohji. Which brought him to thinking of Yohji. Which brought him back to the thing in his pocket. He took several deep breaths and pushed the bathroom door open to find the object of his affection sprawled on the bed.



“Aya,” Yohji whined. “Why can’t we go to the party?”



“I . . . just . . . I need to . . .” Aya suddenly clamped one hand over his mouth and turned quickly back into the bathroom. He hit his knees and promptly lost the vast majority of seafood gumbo he had eaten earlier that afternoon.



Yohji rolled off the bed and hurried into the bathroom. He sighed and held back Aya’s hair. “Doesn’t this usually happen the other way around? Me throwing up and you holding my hair.”



“Usually,” Aya panted, fighting hard to keep anything else that might be in his stomach down.



“Why didn’t you just tell me you weren’t feeling well? Never mind, it’s you,” Yohji said, standing up and running a washcloth under some cold water then handing it to Aya.



Aya took it and mopped at his face and neck. “I hate being nauseous.”



“Gods, I hope you aren’t pregnant.”





“But Sokaaaaa,” Tsuzuki whined. “I wanna go to the party too.”



Hisoka sighed as the two of them walked up the lawn toward the house. “Absolutely not. I have no intention of fishing you out of a bottle of saki tonight.”



“I don't think they drink saki all that much over here. Not from what Blaze says.”



“And have you forgotten that the legal drinking age is twenty one here?”



Tsuzuki blushed a little. He had forgotten that. “But you're over twenty one now.”



“I still look sixteen, Asato,” Hisoka said earnestly.



“Oh,” Tsuzuki said, looking abashed. “Forgot that. Sorry.”



Hisoka sighed a long suffering sigh. “I'm not sure why we have to look in on the kids. They're more mature than you are most days.”



Both Hisoka and Tsuzuki were startled to see Nagi come bounding out the front door. “You guys better get in here before Omi freaks out any more than he already is.”



“Why is he freaking out?” Hisoka asked, glancing worriedly at Tsuzuki.



“Because,” Nagi said, smiling a little maliciously. “He's starting to show the same markings on his back I have. His just happen to be blue instead of green.”







“Yutaka?” Ghost said tentatively, approaching the man seated on one of the benches in the Red Shaman garden. When he lifted his head she could see his eyes were red rimmed, he had obviously been crying and was still very upset about something. He smiled up at her but it didn't quite touch his eyes. She sat next to him on the bench and waited for him to speak. When he didn't, she decided to break the silence herself. “What is it?”



He sighed heavily. “Nothing you can help with, Ghost,” he said sadly.



“You never know. I might be able to. I've been told I'm wise beyond my years.”



He smiled a little at that. “Considering who has raised you for the past ten years, I'd be surprised if you weren't.”



“Does it have something to do with Blaze?”



Watari shook his head. “No. Not Blaze.”



“Tatsumi, then?”



“Ghost, you really can't help with this.”



Ghost tilted her head and studied him for a moment. She drew a sharp breath as what he was pondering hit her hard. “You think he doesn't love you anymore.”



Watari glanced at her startled by the astuteness of her statement. “How did you . . .”



Ghost shrugged. “Wasn't hard to figure out because you're miserable. It's one of only two things I can think of that would have you sitting alone in the garden when you're this upset. Plus you're practically broadcasting. Does Blaze know about this?”



“Not that I know of. If she does, she hasn't said anything about it.”



“Well, she has to be picking up tension between the two of you. If I know her and I do, she's probably sat on him about this in private because she didn't want to upset you. Not to make you feel bad or anything but when you left it felt like both of them wanted to die again and stay that way if you weren't going to come back to them. Blaze just probably got over being mad at you because she's had to deal with Bricru for a long time and she knows how he operates. Tatsumi wouldn't exactly understand right away.”



Watari stared at her blankly for a moment. “You are astoundingly astute for your age.”



“Told ya so,” Ghost said, smiling. “If it's any consolation, Blaze always says that real love never dies. That sometimes it changes after death as people are reborn but it's still love. And that we always come back to the people we love because we aren't quite whole without them.”



“That sounds just like my wife. Thank you, Ghost.”



“Can I give you hugs? You feel like you need them.”



“Sure,” Watari said, letting her put her arms around him. “Wish I had a daughter like you.”





Across the street from the Red Shaman compound, hidden from both mortal and immortal eyes, a woman stood watching. Quietly observing those who came and went from the place.



“Takara?” a voice said from behind her. “Whatcha doing here?”



“One of them is here right now, idiot,” said another voice.



“I'm not an idiot, loser.”



“Okay, so you're a moron instead.”



“Yeah? Well, this moron is gonna kick your ass.”



“What-ever. Ow! That hurt you bastard!”



“You're one too since we're twins.”



“Boys!” the woman said, rubbing her forehead to ease the sudden ache she had. She turned around to face them and shook her head, trying not to laugh. One of them had on a tee shirt that proclaimed, I'm one of those bad things that happens to good people while the other said I'm not shy, I'm examining my prey.



“Sorry,” they mumbled in unison.



“What are you two doing here?” she asked, though she knew perfectly well why.



They glanced at eachother before one of them answered. “Well, we just thought . . . since, y'know . . . one of yours was here that maybe . . .”



She sighed and hugged both of them. Gods love them; they were almost desperate to see even one of their parents. For all the power they contained they really were just children. She smiled over the boys' bright hair at the older teenager suddenly standing behind them looking extremely annoyed.



“Samael Hunter and Camael Gunther, where have you been?”



Both boys jumped and turned to face their older sibling.



“Damn it, Uri, do you have to be so sneaky?” Hunter complained.



“It's genetic,” Gun said, glaring at his twin. “We all have one parent in common. Why were you looking for us, Uri?”



“I wasn't. Little Sister has been looking all over the place for the two of you.”



“Damn. Knew we forgot something, Gun. C'mon,” Hunter said, grabbing his brother by the shirt and disappearing.



Uri stared at the spot where they had been and shook his head. “There are days when I want to dye my hair any color but red and deny all DNA markers with them. But Little Sister would kill me because she loves them.”



“Uriel, you know they only want contact with their parents the same as you and Little Sister do.”



“I'm not so sure I want to deal with the fall out from it anymore.”



“What makes you say that?”



“Not only do they not know we exist, but only one of them is aware of the possibility we even can exist. They probably wouldn't want us anyway. I know you're worried about the same thing with your parents so you can skip the speech about they might actually be interested in the fact they have children. Little Sister wants one of them to name her and I'm not crazy about the thought of her going nameless forever. At this point that's the only reason I care about meeting either one of them.”