And Miles to Go…

Chapter Three: Close to You

By Seishuku Skuld (skuldchan [a] gmail)

Series: Trigun

Pairings: Knives + Legato

Warnings: spoilers for the anime, shounen-ai hints

*~*~*~*~*~*

The days after the destruction of Midway became a blur of sand and sky in Legato's memory. He remembered very little save for the sweltering heat of travel, the gritty taste of the wind, and the warm arms wrapped about him at night.

He did not know how long it would take to reach Knives' destination, nor did he know where it was, for he had already lost himself in the other man's presence. Both by his side and in his mind, Knives watched over him closely, and it was a feeling he had never at all experienced in his childhood, usually being left to his own devices by his mother and father. Gradually the memories of his family began to fade, seeming to him to be of another world altogether, some sort of dream out of which Knives had awakened him. He forgot about his mother and the smell of her kitchen, and the woody fragrance of his father. Of Ismay there remained only a vague memory of her smile. Sometimes he would awaken in the middle of the night, his head cradled on Knives' thigh, the images of her hair and the sounds of her laughter fading in the clinking and the clunking of the automobile they traveled in.

And Knives would tell him it was just a dream.

Legato would smile and nod his head, settling back down as Knives patted him gently. He would curl his fingers about the blue strands of hair, softly telling the child to go back to sleep. The days were long and the nights were short, but Legato slumbered peacefully for the most part, and roused himself every morning with hardly a word, but plenty of smiles.

Knives spoke very little to him over the trip, sparing only a word when he decided he would teach Legato a little more of how to use his abilities. Legato was an avid learner, intelligent and quick to master the tricks Knives taught him. Knives rewarded the child with smiles and pats on the head, and the boy seemed content with that. Legato was a simple creature, easy to take care of yet hardy, and never once did he open his mouth to complain of thirst or of the heat, though Knives would often read his thoughts and lift them right from his mind with the child still unaware.

That was something he did not teach the boy, for he found no use for it yet. Legato knew how to extend himself and touch the minds of others, yet he had not yet tried to shield his own thoughts beyond a putting on a bland expression, and giving off an air of relaxed repose. Such things Knives’ keen vision easily pierced through, and even during the extreme discomfort of the heat, when the boy should have been most miserable, his mind was placid, logical, and calm. Legato was not a mass of roiling thoughts and desires as most human trash was apt to be, instead the child was quiet, his thoughts ordered and even in their progression.

Such a wonderful, rare find. Even so, the child was flawed and imperfect, having been born a human with such a short, transient life. Despite the absence of what Knives viewed as primitive human urges, he could not fully accept the boy as anything other than what he was to be trained to become—his little pet. Knives had never had a pet before, though he knew that many humans often subjugated the animals of lesser intelligence. He saw no problem with it certainly, the boy’s internal flaw was that he was a lesser being, and were not lesser beings used solely to serve those greater than they?

Legato was seemingly complacent in his relationship, Knives observed during the journey, staying dutifully by Knives’ side and never straying far. From the boy’s mind he lifted the simple emotions of gratefulness and an odd sort of fondness, something that was closer than he had shared with either of his parents. Something that was different, and perhaps, even stronger than the one he had shared with his sister.

The child’s thoughts of his twin dwindled and eventually disappeared as they arrived at Knives’ home, and dwarfed by the massive remains of the SEEDs ship that had once traversed the expanse of space, Legato’s past had all but become but faraway legend to him. The child’s eyes opened wide as they took the lift that descended onto the ship’s main deck.

”Wow,” Legato breathed, his hands and nose pressed against the glass, staring at the ship partially embedded in the sand, likely the largest thing he had yet seen, “is this where you live?”

“Yes,” said Knives lightly resting a gloved hand on the child’s shoulder. “This is where we will live from now on.”

“What is it?” Legato turned, with a delighted smile. He began to fidget, little feet stepping to and fro, desperately trying to contain his excitement, and moreover, his curiosity. But the elevator descended at its own pace, and Knives’ hand kept him steady.

“It’s a ship,” Knives replied.

“A spaceship?”

Knives looked down at the child sharply, who still seemed to be grinning. “What makes you say that, Legato?”

“I read about them once,” Legato answered, “in a book.” He grinned and turned back to staring through the glass. “I thought they were just fairy tales,” he whispered, “about us all coming from space in ships.”

“No,” Knives shook his head, moving his hand to the top of Legato’s head, “they’re true.”

“Really?”

“Yes. This is one of the spaceships you came in.”

Knives spread his fingers about the blue hair, the span of his hand almost covering Legato’s entire head. This child was clever. Knives narrowed his eyes. Perhaps a little too clever. If the child ever knew too much…

“Were you there?”

“Yes,” Knives answered. “I was here when I saw you all coming.”

He patted the child’s head, and let his hand fall back to the boy’s shoulder with a reassuring squeeze. He could always dispose of the child, if he proved later to be uninteresting or dangerous. Killing Legato would be a easy task, his mental powers tiny compared to Knives’ own Plant abilities. But he was still young, and the young were easily influenced. Especially Legato, who was so eager to learn.

“Did you come from space too?”

“No, I was born to be here.”

“Oh,” Legato said, accepting that quite simply as fact.

“I will tell you my stories later, Legato.”

“Okay!” And the child nearly bounded out of the elevator as it came to a stop and with a muted whoosh opened its doors onto the main deck.

*~*~*~*

Legato settled in quickly to life with Knives. The first few days the child could not bear to part with him, but Knives quickly told the boy very firmly that he had important things to do and would rather be left alone. After that, Legato did not bother him unless he was called for, which Knives made sure to do at least two or three times a day. He gave Legato his own quarters, and free reign of the most of the parts of the ship. They were mostly empty rooms, but to the boy, they were filled with the wonder of lost technology. Knives found that Legato quickly learned his way about the ship, and once seated for a full day at computer workstation, had picked up basic use of that too. The child was a smart one. Brilliant even, but still a child. Still naïve. He locked Legato out of most of the database, leaving him with only limited control over the ship itself. What knowledge the child needed to know was made available to him, but not much beyond that. Not yet. Knives would fill in the rest of the gaps in Legato’s education.

Legato’s life on the ship with Knives was not so much different from the way it had been in Midway. Knives would often disappear for most of the day, locked in some obscure part of the ship that Legato did not have permission to enter, and so he was left to amuse himself as best he could. He did not know what Knives did in those hours, but Knives made it plain that was not information he needed to know. He simply assumed Knives was going about his regular business, and though he was curious to know what said business was, he did not ask.

So Legato, most mornings after a short breakfast, would seat himself at the computer console in his bedroom and scan through all the directories available for his perusal, which was already more information that was contained in even the libraries of the seven major cities. Knives had left him history, science, math, and all the knowledge he would have been learning in school and even more. Without complaint, Legato dived into it, studying it over and over again until he knew everything by heart. And when he felt he had an adequate grasp of the concepts, when he had mastered the use of the mathematical formulas, he moved onto new, more complex ones, and so went the process again.

Knives did not approve of idleness and inefficiency, but he did not need to worry about that, for Legato was able to learn quickly from the modules on the computer. There were learning programs for children of all ages, and by the end of his fourth year on the ship Legato had finished all the courses, and knew more than men even twice his age. Then he went onto read more and more texts in the computer’s encyclopedia, only stopping during meals for a few short hours of break, or when Knives summoned him.

Knives would not let his protégé’s powers go to waste, so in addition to the strict educational regimen that Legato had set for himself, Knives was constantly teaching him the finer uses of his power. At this Legato was only slightly more clumsy. Even in his fourth year, for someone with his developed mind, he found it difficult to perform many of the complex tasks that Knives set out for him.

“No!” Knives barked at him one day, as the child fought down a wince. “That box is not heavy for someone of your ability. Stop handling it slowly!”

“I’m trying,” Legato said quietly, concentrating on maneuvering a large storage bin that weighed ten times his weight, “but it won’t go faster.”

“It is a mental block. The box does not obey the natural physical laws for someone of your power. Overcome it.”

“I will try.”

“No,” Knives would correct him harshly. “You will.”

It took many long, hard months for Legato to finally override all the mental blocks for his powers, and by the time he was able to fully control his abilities, it was already halfway into the fifth year of his stay on the ship, and he was becoming increasingly aware of himself and the fact that he was no longer a child.

As a boy, Legato had been rather thin and small for his age, but his manhood blossomed quickly. His voice had begun to change shortly after the beginning of his fourth year on the ship, and by his fifth year he had grown to nearly Knives’ height. He retained the slenderness of his youth and the beauty of his face, so even through his fifth year and the sixth he looked only like a taller version of his younger self. But there was a seriousness that had settled about his eyes and a dignity with which he had learned to carry himself. There were many things he knew, and while all of it was book-learning, he was keenly aware of his lack of wisdom and experience. But it was that awareness that enabled him to give off the air of a much more sophisticated and older man; he knew his abilities and he knew his limitations, especially when it came to Knives.

Over the years, Knives still made sure he saw Legato at least twice a day, once in the mornings, once in the afternoons to teach the boy the use of his powers, and perhaps once during breaks or at night before the boy went to sleep. There was much that he had taught the child, starting first with the history of humanity’s voyage into space, and sparse bits of his own history. It was all colored with Knives’ own prejudices, but Legato was young enough to wholly believe him. The planet was filled with human trash, and it was Knives and his brother, Vash’s job to exterminate that horrid species. During these times Legato would often think back to his childhood, remembering the jeers and the insults of the other children, and the savagery of the men who had massacred his town. Yes, he agreed. Humanity was a plague. Then…what of himself? This was a question that Legato had always wanted to ask, but had not dared to until sometime in the sixth year of his life on the ship.

“Master,” he said, as he sat a workstation on the bridge, “if humanity is to be eradicated, then what will become of me?”

The question had been nagging at him since Knives had first told him of humanity’s evil. He himself was human, what was he to do? He had never been able to come to a satisfactory conclusion by himself, so at last he had sought the words of Knives, his master. He was not sure when he had come to think of Knives more as a master than a father or brother, but it must have been the first few times Knives had shown him the power he possessed. He was a Plant, his mental and physical capabilities far surpassing Legato’s. He was older, wiser, more experienced, and Legato admired him. Surely with all of that, he earned the title of Master, and deserved Legato’s utmost respect and deepest gratitude.

“You too must die eventually, as all mortal things do.”

Legato frowned in dismay. “But I want to serve you forever.”

Knives smiled and reached out with a hand. Legato got up from his chair and immediately approached him, kneeling so that Knives could place his hand on Legato’s head. “You are a human, and like all transient life you will die.”

“I don’t want to,” Legato whispered, feeling tears come to his eyes. To be parted from Knives, not even with all his learning, not even with all the intelligence he possessed, could he fathom such a thing. But he knew it would happen one day. Knives would remain young and he would grow old and weak, before he finally perished. He could already feel it happening with the maturation of his body. He was already approaching Knives’ height. His voice had settled into a light tenor. He was no longer the child he had been when he had first come upon the ship, but Knives looked as ever the same as he did when he had first rescued Legato from the heat of the desert. “I don’t want to die.”

Knives frowned, his fingers closing gently about the blue hairs. So soft, so blue. He would lose Legato one day, but not before the boy had outlived his usefulness. He smiled as his mind devised an interesting plan. The boy was already completely devoted to him, but there was only one way to seal the child’s fate for sure. Knives smiled. It was an interesting plan. Perhaps a little disgusting too, but most of all it was interesting. He would enjoy Legato’s reactions, and reading the thoughts going through the blue-haired boy’s head, which were so plain for him to read.

“You want to serve me forever, Legato?”

“Yes,” Legato whispered with a small nod of his head.

Oh, what sweet human sentiment. If only his Vash had taken on more sentimentalities like that towards him, instead of towards that woman. Knives fought the surge of anger and fury that threatened to grow and overwhelm him. He was a superior being. He could control himself. And after three deep breaths, he found that he did.

Knives turned his attentions back to Legato.

“I’m sorry that can’t happen,” he lied sweetly, his hand shifting from Legato’s head to stroke the curve of his cheek. “But we’ll just have to make good of our time together.” He drew a finger down to the boy’s chin where he cupped it and tilted it upward, the curve of his thumb placed right at the bottom of Legato’s lower lip. Knives watched with amusement as the color in Legato’s face turned a dark shade of pink and the child’s breathing missed a beat. Oh, not a child anymore. Legato was becoming a man. He wasn’t there yet, but he would be one day, soon. “Won’t we?”

“Yes,” Legato answered quickly, his heart thumping so loudly he was sure Knives would hear. “I will do my best to serve you, Master.”

“And when the time comes how should I reward my loyal servant?”

“I need no reward, Master.”

“But if I should see that your action deserves a reward?” Knives leaned close, his hands still firmly, but softly cupping Legato’s chin.

“How…however Master wishes, I will be content,” Legato breathed as Knives stopped just mere inches from him. He was certain that Knives would be able to hear the beating of his heart and the see the beginnings of desire that had flushed his skin. Any minute now Knives would push him away in disgust for overstepping the boundaries of their relationship.

But Knives did not push him away. Knives only spoke to him kindly, as he had when he had been a child. “Very good,” Knives said. “You will please me, Legato.”

“I can only hope to live up my master’s expectations,” Legato breathed. Knives was holding him much closer than they had been when he was a child. This awakened a newer, much more exciting feeling. Was it…?

“You are dismissed.”

Legato fought to keep the disappointment from his face and his voice. “Yes, Master.” Knives let go, and he dipped his head down. “I apologize for being a bother. I will resume practice of my powers.”

“Do that,” Knives said, sitting up straight once more in his chair and waving Legato away. “Do not disturb me this evening. I will be busy.”

“Yes, Master.” Legato bowed and departed the room.

Knives remained in the captain’s chair for a few more minutes, a rare and unusual smile on his face. How easily manipulated his Legato was. As well he should be, he had lived with Knives already for over six years, and six years was a long time to…teach a child the appropriate ways of things. Knives did not mind that Legato was nearly his height. Legato might carry himself like a man, but he knew he was not, and he was even less in Knives’ presence. This last little bit of training would be the final bit that would make Legato his, irreversibly. Knives smirked, very satisfied with his work thus far. He did not think of his ‘work’ finding Vash, which was so far much more unsuccessful. There was still time, still plenty of time. Vash would surely bore of humanity soon, and Legato would be coming into full manhood. When that happened, he would be put to the use he had been trained for.

Knives pulled the captain’s console closer to him, sliding the small monitor within easy reach. He unlocked everything in the computer’s database on the subject and relating to the word “love.”

*~*~*~*

Knives found that muted desire very amusing. After the events of that one day, Legato had never ceased to think about it, and he was only marginally successful in preventing unbidden thoughts from coming into his head. He was growing, as all teenagers his age were, and he was quickly becoming sexually aware of himself, and especially of Knives.

Legato had looked up everything in the computer database relating to “love,” and when he had found those entries unsatisfactory to his curiosity, he had looked up a related word, “sex.” And that had opened up a whole new realm of possibilities he had only previously been tangentially aware of. As far as his biological experiences went, he only knew of “sex” or “coitus” as a form of reproduction. He had found the material fascinating as far as it went with biology, and had thought nothing more of it until Knives had awakened his desire. “Sex” had taken on an entirely new meaning. Apparently it was not only for reproduction, as it could be done with two members of the same sex, it was also for pleasurable recreation. And as far as the stories he read went, it was supposed to be very pleasurable recreation.

Legato knew that sex was impossible with Knives. Knives was certainly desirable in his eyes, a handsome figure, but it was impossible that Knives would want him in return. Such a thought bordered on the ridiculous. Knives would never love him the way that he wanted to be loved. Knives was his Master, and he was his Master’s servant. He did what Knives wanted him to do, and he was sure that did not encompass sex. Nevertheless he could not stop thinking about it as he got up every morning and he found himself hard from his dreams the night before, his sheets wet in certain spots. He found it difficult not to touch himself at night as he imagined Knives’ strong, naked arms embracing him. It took all his will and concentration not to think those thoughts during the times that he spent with Knives in the training room or on the bridge.

The fact that lately Knives had begun to exhibit signs of interest in him did not help matters. He could not help but feel Knives’ gaze sometimes, or feel that there might be some other motive every time Knives drew near. Knives had begun to touch him more, across the shoulders, on the chest, on the cheek. Legato was convinced that a mutual attraction was not possible, or so he stoically told himself over and over again.

He had no worldly experience with the rituals of courtship, but he found himself doing little extra things for Knives. Legato started preparing breakfast for the older man, started staying in the training room longer to hone his powers so that his work might be flawless when Knives came to supervise him again the next day. And through all this he half-expected Knives to reprimand him for his unwanted, dirty desires. But nothing of the sort ever happened, and Knives only grew closer to him, touching him more and more, slipping him a few words of innuendo occasionally.

“What would you like me to do this afternoon, Master?” Legato asked one day during his short break for lunch. Knives had come unannounced and sat with him, watching him eat. Legato sat through the entire meal with his cheeks heated, feeling self-conscious with Knives’ eyes on him, apparently studying him keenly.

“Why don’t you come,” Knives paused, drawing out that last word for emphasis, “to the training room again. I have more things to show you.”

“Yes, Master,” Legato answered. “I will come when I am finished…with my studies.”

“Good,” Knives smiled and he reached a hand out, cupping Legato’s cheek in his hand. Ever so slightly, he noticed that the boy turned into the gesture. “I will see you then. Do not be late.”

“I am never late, Master.”

Knives stood and left the room, lifting feelings of joy and sexual excitement from Legato’s mind.

Such an easy creature to control. Such a beautifully simple creature.

*~*~*~*

Legato knew very little of Knives’ brother, except that his Master was very keen on finding his twin. Knives had told him many times of what had happened on the SEEDs ship, and Legato could not hold back a sneer at the mention of Rem’s name. But Vash had chosen to follow her words, and now where was he? Knives was searching for him certainly, but Knives also had many other things to do.

“I care for my other kin as well,” Knives told him one day on the bridge.

Legato’s head lay on Knives’ thigh, physically and mentally exhausted after an entire morning of training. He had his eyes closed, his breathing slow and even, simply enjoying, basking in Knives’ presence, and he subtle scent that floated about the man. He liked the feel of the hands in his hair, the fingers scratching lightly at his scalp.

“Like I care for you, Legato.”

“Thank you, Master.”

“They enslave them, you know. Those base humans.”

“The Plants, Master?”

“Yes,” Knives said, shifting his fingers in Legato’s hair. “The Plants. My brothers and sisters.”

“How may I help you set them free, Master?” Legato leaned into the caress, his eyes still closed. His hands lay on the floor of the bridge at his side, knuckles touching the cool metal. He was comfortable here, more than he could have ever imagined himself to be.

“Do as I tell you to.”

“I shall not fail you, Master.”

Knives smiled, seeing the fruits of his long years of labor with the boy finally coming to fruition. “And I shall reward you when the time comes.”

”I want only to serve you, Master.”

“You shall serve the both of us, Legato. Vash and I. When I finally find him, he shall see our ways. It is only a matter of time. He will get sick of those humans soon.”

Legato stayed quiet. He did not want to serve Vash, he only wanted Knives. He did not know Vash, he was not indebted to him. The man he loved was Knives, and it was here that Legato, still a young man, first felt the first pangs of jealousy. He did not want to share their lifestyle with another, especially one that was spending all this time with humans.

Knives noted the jealousy with interest, but he said nothing. He would have liked to throw Legato to the floor there, and tell him that under no circumstances would he slight Vash with such a sickening human emotion, but he knew that it was not strategically sound for him to give away his ability to read Legato by showing that he could pick the boy’s thoughts from his mind.

Let him think what he would without attempting to hide or shield his thoughts. Legato was a boy that must be delicately handled. With the magnitude of his power, he would be able to sense a probe into thoughts he might try to keep hidden. To rip those thoughts from him would take considerable effort. It might break his spirit. And Knives did not want a broken toy. He needed Legato willing to serve to him wholeheartedly and willingly, he did not want a servant dedicated to him out of fear. Fear was a weak motivator and often bred rebellion and mutiny. That was an uncertainty he could deal without. There were still flaws in Legato, but he still had time to condition him properly. Knives smiled at pet Legato again, his hands sliding down the boy’s face.

“Are you unhappy, Legato?”

“No,” Legato answered quickly. He shook his head slightly, his hand creeping up from the floor. He gently placed it over Knives’ fingers, surprised that he dared such an action. “I live to serve you.”

“Good,” Knives said, allowing his fingers to tighten around Legato’s, perhaps symbolic of the strength of the bond that was supposedly between them. “I would have no closer servant than you.”

“Thank you,” Legato murmured, knowing that it was only a few minutes before Knives would demand that he get up and continue to demonstrate the new abilities he had learned. But the little time he had with Knives he took gratefully, and he was pleased when he noticed that Knives indulged him in few extra minutes.

*~*~*~*

Legato was eighteen when he received his first kiss from Knives. It was just a small matter, a joining of lips for no more than a few seconds, but it quickly became the blue-haired young man’s most treasured memory.

He was now making regular forays into the nearest town for what Knives liked to call ‘specimens.’ In other words, they were test subjects for Legato’s growing powers. In order for him to finely tune his abilities, he needed real humans on which to experiment, and it was once a week that Legato left the ship and came back with a couple of specimens. He had been doing work like that since early his seventh year.

It was in the training room that Knives was teaching him how to, as he put it, “extinguish it completely.” It was a difficult task. Despite Legato’s contempt for humans, he did find their life force incredibly difficult to kill. It was simple to make one kill itself—smash its own head or dig out its own heart—but to preserve one, completely mindless and obedient but fully physically functional, was hard to do. It required very swift and adept movements on Legato’s part, and even then complete success with every human was not guaranteed.

It was not until he was eighteen that he fully mastered the skill, having created a roomful of bodies which he could easily manipulate within the space of a few days. Despite the long months and hard work it took, Knives was pleased.

“How should I reward you for your long effort, my servant?”

“Whatever my master is willing to spare,” Legato answered, knowing what he had in mind already, “I will accept.”

Knives saw that wish coalesce and form, a tentative, hesitant thing, but something that Legato greatly desired for a very long time. Knives’ suppressed an expression of disgust at the initial thought of it. His little Legato was finally getting beyond innocent touches and caresses. Oh, he would own the boy—body, mind, and soul—by the time he was finished.

Knives smiled, and he knelt down to meet Legato eye to eye. “This is my reward for your years of loyalty.” He reached forward and look Legato’s chin in his fingers, clasping the boy firmly so that he might not move if he startled. He watched as Legato’s eyes grow wide and then close with a flutter as he approached.

Knives pressed his lips to Legato’s, the tip of his tongue brushing the bottom of the boy’s lips. Legato’s mouth opened the slightest, let out a quiet sigh, and then it was over and Knives was once again standing on his feet.

“You still have much work to do, lovely Legato.”

“Yes, Master,” said Legato, his voice trembling.

“Go.”

“Yes.” Legato rose to his feet, and keeping his head bowed he walked quickly from the room. Knives did not miss the tear which crept down Legato’s cheek and landed on the floor before the boy could catch it with his fingers.

End Close to You