Alle Haben Angst ~ Paulchard Fanfiction

Chapter 4

"That's fucking humiliating..." Paul murmured, with his head low. "I'm sorry, sweetheart." Richard stroked Paul's hand. He had handcuffed their hands together, so he could control Paul better.
They were once again in the bar. It was a 24/7 local. The Rammstein and Emil. Paul and Richard were sitting at the counter, while Till was talking to the bartender.
"Reesh..." Paul called, pulling on his partner's sleeve and pointed to the opposite side of the bar. "That's the same woman of last night..."
The old woman was staring at the two. "She did the sign cross at me!" Richard almost dragged Paul towards the woman and slammed a closed fist on the wooden board. "Oh...there you are again...Paul and Richard, right?" The two guitarists looked at each other. "Yes." Richard answered. "Last night you were here and did..."

"The Cross sign to you friend. Yes."
"Why?!"
"An old Rom like me does the best she can to shield innocent souls. Like your friend's."
"What happened to him?! Can you explain that as well?!"

The woman stood up unsteady and moved closer to the couple. Paul felt uncomfortable, but didn't speak. The woman's eyes were incredibly big. "The drug you ingested, Paul Landers, has partly the fault of what's happening to you."
Paul swallowed and rubbed his eyes. "Reesh, I see double..." He warned.
"The drug had simply opened the door of your mind to...something terrible." The woman explained.
Richard frowned. "How terrible?" He hissed, taking Paul's hand. "Terrible." The woman said, coldly. "A terrible malefic entity has been set free! And it now lives in Paul's head."

"Reesh, I...I see double! It's back again, Richard!" Paul shook his lover violently. "Reesh..." His head dropped on the table and he remained still, drawing attention from every present. Emil rushed to the table. "Dad! Dad, wake up! PLEASE, PAUL! Bitte...Papa...Bitte, Papa..." Emil's voice broke mid sentence. "Dad, please, wake up!" Doom came and dragged Emil away. "Sit, hey! Sit down, kid." He demanded ordering a glass of water for him. "Drink this and relax! We'll take care of him."
Paul hummed and coughed, almost choking on his own saliva. He clenched his fists and gasped. "What do we do!?" Richard shouted to the old woman.
"Come to my house, I don't have any tool to help him, here!"

"What do I do, while I wait for you to...discover something?!"
"Give him this and keep him tied."
"Tied? He's not an animal, he..."
"There's no other way."

The woman left, without any other word and the door slammed behind her back.
"I'm sorry, Liebchen." Richard confessed, pressing his lips on Paul's temple. He noticed only in that moment that the woman had left a piece of paper, folded in half, on the table. Richard took it and buried it deep in his pocket

With Doom's help Richard and Emil managed, somehow to drive Paul home. The smallest man was asleep for the whole time, body and mind upset from what had happened to him.
Paul slept against Richard for the whole time they spent in the car and, once home, the lead guitarist had to wrestle him in his pyjama and tuck him to bed, carefully removing the handcuffs.
"You'll be fine, my dear." Richard soothed Paul, adjusting the cover on him. "You need rest, we'll figure out how to help you, okay love?" Richard leaned forward and brushed his lips against those of a fast asleep Paul who merely groaned and rolled to his side.

"What are you doing?" Richard asked, padding in the living room, where Emil was sitting on the carpet, with his legs crossed and a laptop in hands.
A wide and loud yawn exploded in the living room, splitting Emil's mouth in two, as the boy turned to Richard.
"It's nothing..." He murmured. "Just..." He sighed and offered Richard to sit next to him.
On the display was glowing the picture of a smiling Paul. A picture Richard had never seen but that warmed his heart.
Emil sighed again. "He really is happy with you, Richard. And I swear it's not just words."

"I...I do my best to keep him safe."
"I know. That's why you're my favourite of his partner. None of them was able to make him feel loved."
"They...weren't in love?"
"Very much, actually. Dad loved them and they loved him. But even a blind could see that he wasn't happy."

He closed the laptop and sighed, lowering his head. "I saw him cry, Richard." He admitted. "More than once. And not because they argued."
Richard swallowed and felt the familiar sting of the tears in his eyes. "It sounds stupid, I know, but he never felt..."

"Reesh..." Richard jumped up and faced a shaking Paul, who was dragging his feet towards the two. "Paul, what are you doing? Go back to bed, love, you have to rest."
Paul hummed and hugged him, resting his heated cheek on Richard's shoulder. "Paulchen, please..." The tallest kissed his forehead. "You are sick, Paulie. Go back to bed."

"No. I want to stay here with you."
"No way, you should rest!"
"You should too."

Emil cleared his throat, earning Richard's attention. "I'll go too, Richard. I have to meet a friend. You can go to bed." He waited for the tallest to nod and added: "Take good care of him, please. He needs you."
The lead guitarist nodded and kissed Paul's nose. "I will."
Emil left, after he had hugged his father and moved him on the couch. "I'll come tomorrow, 'kay?" He asked and Paul merely hummed, as a form of response.

"Baby, we should really move to bed." Richard explained, after a good twenty minutes of cuddling Paul on the couch. The shortest hummed and shifted closer. "No." He complained, without opening his eyes. "I want cuddles."
He youngest chuckled and shook his head. "We'll be more comfortable in bed, you know?"

"Don't care, I won't move..."
"What if I carry you?"
"No. Here."
"Paulie, come on."

The shortest didn't move nor say anything. He, instead, wrapped his arms around Richard's torso and hid his face in Richard's chest. "I love you, Paulchen." The tallest muttered and felt the shortest's smile against him. "I love you too, Reeshy..." The lead guitarist have up on cuddling Paul on the couch.
"Emil showed him a pic of you." Richard murmured, scared to break the beauty of that moment, if he'd speak any louder. "Mh...which one..?" Paul asked, tiredly. "I don't know, but you looked adorable." Richard thought for a moment. "It was...before we meet. I guess it was Feeling B era. You looked so happy."
Paul swallowed. "Yes, I was, I guess."
"You were adorable with that haircut." Richard said, rubbing Paul's back.
The smallest hummed and soon his breath grew heavier and Richard knew he had fallen asleep. He carefully took Paul's in his arms and brought him to their bedroom. He carefully laid him on the bed and tucked him under the blanket, once again. Richard pressed a kiss on the smallest's lips and felt Paul smile while asleep.
"You're the best thing that ever happened to me." The lead guitarist said softly, holding Paul to his chest.
"Go to sleep now, sweetie. You'll be fine."
"I love you..." Paul groaned, half awake.
Once Richard's eyes had got used to the darkness in the room he could see that Paul had lost weight. A warning amount of weight in so little time and even Paul's color was weird. More of a grey/green one, than his usual pink.
Paul's lips were broken and slit, dried blood on them.
Richard kissed Paul gently and adjusted the blanket on him, as the smallest began to shake.