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31_days2011-08-04 08:55 pm
seta-suzume.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2011-08-04 08:55 pm
[August 4] [Baccano!] Czes' Request
Title: Czes' Request
Day/Theme: August 4, 2011 "Regret, that other form of hope"
Series: Baccano!
Character/Pairing: Maiza/Czeslaw
Rating: PG-13 (rating to increase in the next section...)
Author's comment: Continued from the 3rd. To be continued later this month.
Maiza tucked his other arm underneath and around Czes, pulling him into an embrace. "I will warm you up…"
What kind of voice would Czeslaw have had, had it ever been given the chance to change? What sort of handsome man would he have become if he had only had the chance to grow? In his mind's eye, Maiza saw him, tall and strong and beautiful.
Encouraged by this secure but tender grip Czeslaw snuggled closer. He closed his eyes. Maiza could feel the tears squeezed out by the action seeping into the fabric of his pajamas. Czes sniffled and the tears began to flow in earnest. Maiza stroked his hair, but kept his vow of silence. If only the strength of his feelings could override this pain. Czes shivered as he cried, letting out a tiny gasp as Maiza kissed his brow. "You're so kind, Maiza!" he whimpered, clutching at the striped fabric of Maiza's sleeping clothes. "How could you have lived this long and still stayed this kind?"
What sort of answer could Maiza give to that? "I didn't let the times change me, Czes. …But it truly is easier when you don't have to suffer."
"Oh," Czeslaw gulped in air in fitful breaths, his tears redoubling. "I'm not going to be able to stop crying now, because you are too nice!"
"Shh," Maiza, frowning, wiped Czeslaw's cheeks with his fingers.
As he continued to cry, blotchy red patches began to appear on his face. "I'm not accustomed…to anything but pain, but you, Maiza, and Isaac and Miria, people have started to be kind to me and I don't know what to do. I'm not even certain I know how to be kind anymore myself."
"That's an exaggeration. I'm sure of it. At worst, your compassion is like an atrophied muscle. You have to slowly begin to exercise it again."
"I'd be happiest, I think- Oh," Czes hiccupped, "How embarrassing." But Maiza couldn't suppress the tiniest quirk of a smile from ticking up one corner of his lips. It was stupid, but Czeslaw was smiling too.
"You were saying?"
It was also kind of funny that Maiza had kept his glasses on as they lay in bed in the dark together. Not funny enough to laugh, but it kept Czeslaw smiling. Soon his teeth were gleaming in the charcoal-tinted atmosphere. "I want to do that, Maiza. I want to learn to be kind again. To laugh, to have fun, to trust. And while I'm sure your friends will support me, and Ennis and I can work together, there are some things I'm only interested in practicing with you."
Maiza realized where Czes' emotions were headed before their lips met, but didn't decide until they were kissing how to react. Czes' lips parted in small, novice manner. Maiza teased his tongue between them. Perhaps the kiss lasted as long as it did because breathing was not necessary for either of them.
"I think you've been practicing," Czeslaw commented wryly as they parted.
"Not as much as you might guess, considering the time I've had, but you know I've done my share." Some of the kisses he'd shared were pretty memorable. He'd have to tell their stories; give Czes an idea of the playful things one could get up to out in the world (because he mainly thought of his friend as the adult he was, he forgot for the moment that Czeslaw's kissing opportunities were limited in a ten-year-old's body).
"And you've done more than that too," he nodded, "My body has always been treated to cruelly since then… I can't even imagine…" He trailed off, weighing his next words carefully. Czeslaw crossed his fingers and hoped that fortune would favor the bold. "Maiza, would you make love to me?"
That decision was more difficult to jump into than the kiss. Czeslaw's pre-pubertal body formed a mental barrier. But because of that body, should he be destined never to enjoy a lover's touch? His child-like form had not spared him from the worst physical punishment Fermet had to offer. "I have mixed feelings," Maiza admitted. It felt only fair to explain his silence.
"That's okay. I can understand why." As usual, Czeslaw was prepared to accept disappointment. However, Maiza didn't like that outcome. Czeslaw was not only an adult, but an old man like himself. And, after all, did Maiza not love his little wounded heart? "I will try," Maiza promised.
Czeslaw knew he took his word very seriously. In a world of liars and backstabbers, Maiza was a true man of honor. "Give me something good to dream about," Czeslaw sighed, closing his eyes.
"Could you reach down under the bed and hand me the shoebox there?"
"Oh?" Czes complied curiously. "Here you are."
Day/Theme: August 4, 2011 "Regret, that other form of hope"
Series: Baccano!
Character/Pairing: Maiza/Czeslaw
Rating: PG-13 (rating to increase in the next section...)
Author's comment: Continued from the 3rd. To be continued later this month.
Maiza tucked his other arm underneath and around Czes, pulling him into an embrace. "I will warm you up…"
What kind of voice would Czeslaw have had, had it ever been given the chance to change? What sort of handsome man would he have become if he had only had the chance to grow? In his mind's eye, Maiza saw him, tall and strong and beautiful.
Encouraged by this secure but tender grip Czeslaw snuggled closer. He closed his eyes. Maiza could feel the tears squeezed out by the action seeping into the fabric of his pajamas. Czes sniffled and the tears began to flow in earnest. Maiza stroked his hair, but kept his vow of silence. If only the strength of his feelings could override this pain. Czes shivered as he cried, letting out a tiny gasp as Maiza kissed his brow. "You're so kind, Maiza!" he whimpered, clutching at the striped fabric of Maiza's sleeping clothes. "How could you have lived this long and still stayed this kind?"
What sort of answer could Maiza give to that? "I didn't let the times change me, Czes. …But it truly is easier when you don't have to suffer."
"Oh," Czeslaw gulped in air in fitful breaths, his tears redoubling. "I'm not going to be able to stop crying now, because you are too nice!"
"Shh," Maiza, frowning, wiped Czeslaw's cheeks with his fingers.
As he continued to cry, blotchy red patches began to appear on his face. "I'm not accustomed…to anything but pain, but you, Maiza, and Isaac and Miria, people have started to be kind to me and I don't know what to do. I'm not even certain I know how to be kind anymore myself."
"That's an exaggeration. I'm sure of it. At worst, your compassion is like an atrophied muscle. You have to slowly begin to exercise it again."
"I'd be happiest, I think- Oh," Czes hiccupped, "How embarrassing." But Maiza couldn't suppress the tiniest quirk of a smile from ticking up one corner of his lips. It was stupid, but Czeslaw was smiling too.
"You were saying?"
It was also kind of funny that Maiza had kept his glasses on as they lay in bed in the dark together. Not funny enough to laugh, but it kept Czeslaw smiling. Soon his teeth were gleaming in the charcoal-tinted atmosphere. "I want to do that, Maiza. I want to learn to be kind again. To laugh, to have fun, to trust. And while I'm sure your friends will support me, and Ennis and I can work together, there are some things I'm only interested in practicing with you."
Maiza realized where Czes' emotions were headed before their lips met, but didn't decide until they were kissing how to react. Czes' lips parted in small, novice manner. Maiza teased his tongue between them. Perhaps the kiss lasted as long as it did because breathing was not necessary for either of them.
"I think you've been practicing," Czeslaw commented wryly as they parted.
"Not as much as you might guess, considering the time I've had, but you know I've done my share." Some of the kisses he'd shared were pretty memorable. He'd have to tell their stories; give Czes an idea of the playful things one could get up to out in the world (because he mainly thought of his friend as the adult he was, he forgot for the moment that Czeslaw's kissing opportunities were limited in a ten-year-old's body).
"And you've done more than that too," he nodded, "My body has always been treated to cruelly since then… I can't even imagine…" He trailed off, weighing his next words carefully. Czeslaw crossed his fingers and hoped that fortune would favor the bold. "Maiza, would you make love to me?"
That decision was more difficult to jump into than the kiss. Czeslaw's pre-pubertal body formed a mental barrier. But because of that body, should he be destined never to enjoy a lover's touch? His child-like form had not spared him from the worst physical punishment Fermet had to offer. "I have mixed feelings," Maiza admitted. It felt only fair to explain his silence.
"That's okay. I can understand why." As usual, Czeslaw was prepared to accept disappointment. However, Maiza didn't like that outcome. Czeslaw was not only an adult, but an old man like himself. And, after all, did Maiza not love his little wounded heart? "I will try," Maiza promised.
Czeslaw knew he took his word very seriously. In a world of liars and backstabbers, Maiza was a true man of honor. "Give me something good to dream about," Czeslaw sighed, closing his eyes.
"Could you reach down under the bed and hand me the shoebox there?"
"Oh?" Czes complied curiously. "Here you are."