Glass Castles

Glass Castles

Chapter 3 - Life at Home

--

A week had passed, and so far things were going well at the Schwarz

household. Omi had settled into a routine with his former enemies, and

living together was peacable.

Nagi found himself happier than he had been in a long time, Farfarello

was more calm than crazy lately, Crawford smiled more, and even

Schuldig was easier to be around. Nagi only wished that their newfound

happiness hadn\'t come at such a steep price, as Omi was as withdrawn

and silent as ever. He would interact with them, and occasionally graced

them with a small smile, but his heart wasn\'t in it, and it showed. He\'d lost

more than his friends on the cursed mission, and none of Schwarz was

certain if he\'d ever get it back.

--

Omi opened his eyes, after a short afternoon nap. He rather enjoyed not

having to do anything, but it got rather boring, and he found himself

sleeping more and more. He knew that changes in lifestyle like that were

signs of depression, and he knew also that what little fat and weight he\'d

had on him to begin with had been dropping off, leaving him slenderer

than Nagi, even. He enjoyed looking at his new room mates. They were

all beautiful, in their own ways. Schuldig had such glorious hair that Omi

often found his fingers twitching with the desire to run them through it.

Farfarello was frightening at times, but when at peace, his white hair was

artistic, and the scars lent definition to his features. Crawford was like a

piece of artwork, chiseled out of stone, but a treasure to look upon, his

height and breadth of shoulders lending him a sense of presence. Nagi...

Nagi was the most beautiful of them all. Slender and willowy, yet tall and

strong. His hands had an artistic quality to them, and his legs were of a

perfect shape and size to match his body. His hair framed his face in a

halo of dark light, and Omi loved to watch his silhouette as he passed in

front of light. His eyes were dark, and expressive; no matter how passive

his body and expression, his eyes always gave away his emotions. With a

start, Omi realized suddenly that Nagi was taller than he was. When it

had happened, he didn\'t know, but it seemed... fitting, somehow.

Omi\'s lips twisted in a wry, bitter smile. He was the useless one, so it

seemed fitting that he was the \'baby\' of the group, despite the age

difference between he and Nagi of almost two years.

Feeling sweaty and dirty in the afternoon heat, Omi stripped off his shirt,

and headed for the shower.


He\'d just finished bathing, and was getting out, a towel in his hair to keep

the silky blonde tresses from dripping cold water down his back, when the

door opened, and Nagi stepped in.

He\'d only gotten one foot in the door, clearly having not been paying

attention when he was opening it, and when he realized Omi was in

there, he froze.

Almost involuntarily, his eyes traveled down Omi\'s body. His gaze reached

Omi\'s hips before he jerked them back up, and stepped out, apologising

profusely. A blush heated his cheeks, and he shut the door quickly.

Omi merely tilted his head, wondering what had gotten Nagi so flustered.

He didn\'t care that the other boy had seen him nude. It really didn\'t

matter. Nothing did.

Nagi, on the other hand, cared very much, and decided that it mattered

very much, too. Omi was the last person alive he\'d ever have thought

he\'d come to care for, but in seven short days the elder teen had grown

on him. In more ways than one. Nagi knew he was attracted to the

other boy, had been for several months. Omi was gorgeous, and he used

to have a bright, bubbly personality before the accident. Occasionally

flashes of his old self showed through the new him, and Nagi felt butterflies

in his stomach.

He knew he\'d never forget the sight that had greeted him in the

bathroom. Omi, dripping wet, and completely naked, looking utterly

innocent as Nagi stared. Now that his initial shock had worn off, he

realized how thin Omi was getting, and vowed to take him out to eat.

Omi appeared a few minutes later, relatively dry, and wearing the

pajama pants Crawford had bought for him. Nagi swallowed.

\"Er... Omi...\"

Omi, who had walked past him on his way to the guest room, turned, and

looked at him expectantly. Nagi could almost hear the, \"Yes?\"

\"I..\" why was this so hard? \"I\'d like to know if you\'d go out to dinner with

me tonight?\" His voice sounded strangled, and he was cursing so

vehemently at himself that Schuldig felt it necessary to check in on him,

and make sure he was alright.

At least a dozen expressions ran across Omi\'s face. Nagi noticed

something; the less Omi talked, the more expressive his features became.

The few emotions that Nagi could recognize were shock, confusion, a

touch of happiness, a touch more of sadness...

Finally, he settled on an enigmatic smile, and a small nod of his head.

Nagi released the breath he hadn\'t known he was holding, and then

stiffened again, as he felt a hand on his shoulder from behind him.

Turning, he looked into the pleased sherry-gold eyes of Crawford. \"Well

done, Nagi.\" he murmured. Nagi flushed.

--

That night, dinner with Omi went smoothly. Omi ate well, which made

Nagi happy, and Nagi got to talk to Omi, which in the long run, made

Omi happier. Nothing could make him HAPPY, not the way he had been,

but he smiled more for Nagi that night.

---------------

AN a short chapter, but I just couldn\'t think of more that could happen. I

dreamt Nagi walking in on Omi like that, and thats where it came from.

Don\'t be surprised if i skip ahead by a few months next chapter.

and sorry about the weirdness of the spaces... its not my fault.