Sometimes Wanted Memories, Baccano! (Firo/Maiza)
Title: Sometimes Wanted Memories Author/Artist: gardensgnome Rating: PG Warnings: tiny bit of angst, hinted incest Word count: 540 Summary: Firo and the weight of memories A/N: Another that's not come out quite as expected. Pre-slash Maiza/Firo and my first Baccano! fic Prompt: Baccano! - Firo/anyone - acting on instinct - two hundred years' worth of other people's memories
Sometimes Wanted Memories
Firo was glad that Maiza had stopped him. He needed stopping. It was infinitely difficult to ignore an urge that had been festering for two hundred years, even when the urge wasn’t his own. He hadn’t meant to attack his friend but with poor sleep due to a head full of mostly unwanted memories as well as avoiding the older man for a week and then running into him suddenly, he’d acted on that instinct not his.
Least the carpet of the study is thick, Firo considered absently because Mazia certainly hadn’t done anything to make the fall careful and Firo tasted blood in his mouth from biting his tongue when his head hit the floor. His right arm was stretched almost painfully above his head, the long-fingered hand gripping the wrist tightly enough that he could feel the tendons straining. He relaxed very slightly at the firm restraint. Instinct screamed at him to fight back, to overpower the man above him and take his memories for his own.
“He wanted to ‘eat’ you the moment he learned it was possible to get information that way. He wanted the formula so badly.”
“I know,” Maiza said softly, not moving from where he had pinned Firo to the floor. Firo imagined he could see the soft lamplight glinting off his glasses as Maiza stared down at his turned away face. He didn’t look.
“He’s eaten so many. I see their faces in my dreams, see their thoughts in my nightmares.” Firo hadn’t slept since the night he’d eaten Szilard, the same night they‘d all become immortal. He'd been wondering if they even needed sleep.
“Fight them. You are the one in control, Firo. You won’t hurt anyone like he did. You are not the same.”
“I’m not?” he asked, finally looking up at his friend with wide eyes, body tensing. “I devoured him…”
“In self-defense. He’s had it coming for a long time. You were simply the one to do it.” Maiza sounded so very tired to Firo and he understood thanks to the memories he had of Maiza because of Szilard and the others the old man had devoured.
Firo relaxed back against the carpet at Maiza’s quietly assuring words. Yes, he’d been the one to ’eat’ Szilard but not without reason . He’d saved Maiza and Ennis’ lives that night, possibly the lives of countless others. A wide yawn escaped Firo and he blinked tiredly.
“When did you last get decent sleep?” Maiza asked, standing and offering a hand and helping Firo up.
“The night before we all became immortal,” Firo said, rubbing at an eye, grinning sheepishly at the other man as he accepted the help up from the floor. His smile widened at the friendly arm wrapped about his shoulder that directed him to the door.
“Come, you can share my bed for the night. I’ll make sure the dreams stay away.”
There was a brief flash of memory, of two brothers sharing a bed, naked bodies pressed together as they snuggled under the blankets. Firo found his head nodding in agreement and briefly wondered if Maiza still looked the same naked as he did all those years ago. Perhaps he’d get a chance to find out.