A Little Less Than Five Years Ago (Ant. & Lud., closed)

The tension started to drop away. He murmured, "You can keep doing that all morning, querido," he teased, a little of his good humor coming back. "Breakfast won't be much longer."

Ludwig snorted. "I'm sure you would appreciate if I did more, but you're armed with a frying pan." He dropped another kiss on Juan's temple before letting him go. "What are you making, by the way?"

"Just scrambled eggs for now. I'm too - " he waved a hand, not bothering with a word this time, "for much else." A little salt, a little pepper, a few onions...he smiled at Ludwig and spooned the eggs onto separate plates. "I may do a bit more in a few minutes."

Ludwig took his plate with a shrug. "You do not need to. I don't usually eat much in the mornings."

If he thought about it too hard, he'd remember that the dreams he usually remembered weren't pleasant, and with what had happened to him on his last assignment, he didn't want to think about that too much. Especially considering that Juan himself wasn't feeling too well because of the impending riot.

Juan force himself not to dwell on the vision until he finished his eggs, and then he took a deep breath and looked again, as detached as he could manage.

Faces, he thought to himself. Anyone familiar? Anyone you can warn?

"Dios," he said bitterly, and snatched up the phone. He dialed Janina with shaking fingers. "Don't go downtown," he blurted, not bothering with a greeting. "Don't anyone go downtown, not today. Put off shopping, I don't care, stay inside, be safe. Please don't ask, just do it. You know why I can't - Tía. Just...listen to me." He hung up and sat back down, drained all over again.

---

Dios - God

Tía - Aunt

Ludwig frowned, eating a few bites of his eggs. "Your vision?" he asked firmly.

"If I think about who's in them right after I see..." Juan shrugged. "I saw my uncle. On the outskirts of the crowd, so, he might not have been hurt, but - " he shrugged again. "I'd rather be sure he was safe."

Ludwig tried to remember what the man looked like, and found that his recall was better than it usually was. As long as he knew what kind of time frame he had for finding the man and getting him out of harm's way, he'd be able to manage, he was sure. "Do you know what time of day it was when you saw your uncle in the vision?"

Juan looked at Ludwig suspiciously. "Late afternoon...why?" His expression turned darker as he realized what Ludwig must have been planning. "Absolutely not. I gave my warning and my family actually listens to me when I tell them to do something like this. He'll be fine, and I refuse to have you risking yourself stupidly."

He was upset, he was angry, and his head still hurt.

"It's not risking myself stupidly if I'm forewarned," Ludwig pointed out. "Has there ever been a time when your family didn't listen to you?"

"Not since I was seven and my cousin drowned," Juan said. "I told my madre and she still thought it was devil's work, wishing it true." He shrugged. "Now, they listen."

Ludwig nodded. "Then if I encounter your uncle, I will make sure to tell him that you had a vision, and he needs to return home."

Juan sighed and put his head in his hands. "Ludwig, I don't want you out in this foolishness, either. I know you can take care of yourself, but it looks very dangerous and there's a lot of police. My uncle was there when I warned my aunt, if he's not careful now then it's his fault. But if you went out...please, just stay in today? I understand if you have some business, but keep away from the riot area. I don't want you to get hurt." Now he was looking at Ludwig, eyes pleading.

Ludwig looked into his eyes, wondering if this was another turning point. It felt like any other decision, but there was more weight behind it somehow.

The trouble was, he was a Division agent. He had been doing this for a while now -- nearly a year. What would happen if this were an assignment that Juan had foreseen, and was trying to warn him away from? If he got into the habit of doing as Juan said instead of making sure he was free and clear to be able to follow orders, his career with the Division would be very short.

Despite all that had happened with the organization, Ludwig knew that he wouldn't leave, no matter how spooked recent events had left him.

"I'll be careful," he murmured.

Juan sighed. "Of course that's all I can really ask. I - I realize we haven't know each other very long, querido, but surely you know by now I care about you a great deal? I don't have many friends, you know. I make a point of it. I don't want to explain visions and I certainly don't want to see them in mine."

---

querido you should know by now.

Ludwig nodded. "I know. With any luck, I won't feature in them often."