Warning!  This is an adult fiction story.  If you are not legally an adult in your jurisdiction, go back now and enjoy the rest of this site. 

Warning!  This story contains yaoi (gay) relationships between male characters (YoujixKen (implied), YoujixAya).  Explicit sexual situations, violence, angst and sap abound.  Ken and Omi are meanies.

Disclaimer: The characters in this story are the property of various entities who own the rights to Weiss Kruez.  This is a work of fanfiction and an expression of our love for this wonderful anime series.

Part One: 

Cracking one glittering emerald eye, the sunlight a bit too much for his hangover and the aftershock of last night's high, Youji groaned and pressed his face back into the pillow. Why did Big Red constantly schedule him for the day AFTER his big night out? Positive that he was getting the short end of the stick in this deal, and not really sure that he wanted Aya to come in while he was naked, Youji dragged his scrawny ass out of bed and threw on a pair of old black silk boxers. His hair a mess and eyes bloodshot, he pulled open the door and leaned his head against the doorjamb. "If you don't stop that pounding, Fujimiya, I'll rip off those eartails and shove them up your nose." He wasn't expecting a reply. Aya never spoke to him.

Yohji thought he heard a muttered, "Try it." before the thump of booted feet made their way down the stairs. Aya headed for the shop, steeling himself against the assault of the fangirls he knew would be gathering in the late afternoon.

Joining the redhead three quarters of an hour later, his hair in perfect chocolate waves against his cheeks, Youji fluffed himself up in preparation for another hard day of pretending to work. The redhead didn't know how hard it was to make sure he didn't have to work!

Slouching against one of the cold cases, hose in hand for effect, Youji collected phone numbers until his pockets were full. He would disappear again an hour during his lunch break with some pretty thing that was all legs. Youji was a dating man. He couldn't forget the world if there wasn't a woman on his arm.

Aya snarled at him from the cash register. "Unless they are paying for dates, they don't belong in here. Those miniature roses need to be repotted before dinner."

Smirking, Youji finally figured out how Aya could be Aya. That super-long stick in his ass was for holding up his delicate frame. Knowing better than to laugh at him directly and dying for a cigarette, Youji took his time pulling out the pots for the task he was “ordered' to do.

Slamming the door to the cash register shut with an annoyingly cheery "ding!", Aya set his sword calloused hands on a broom and began sweeping, practically sweeping the latest batch of fangirls out the door to the shop with yet another cheerful "ding! when the door shut behind them.

Turning one green eye over at the 'boss,' Youji pushed aside his bangs with the back of his potting soiled hand and went back to work. He had another date tonight, but not a real date. Tonight was movie night with his favorite soccer player, some oreos and a whole lot of liquor. And of course, the almost constant stream of cracks against the redhead who sort of usurped their way of life with his addition to this little merry group. Youji watched him out of the corner of his eye for a few moments. Ch'. So boring.

 Aya could feel the emerald eyes on his back as he swept the dirt from the shop, his shoulders growing even tenser. He knew the gangly playboy didn't like him much, but he didn't give a damn about that. If the man would only do his job then they would be able to ignore one another completely.

 Generally, Youji would have been on flirt mode the instant he got a whiff of the cold shoulder from someone, but his balls had a much better chance of staying attached if he jut kept to his work, wiped the windows off, helped pull down the metal grating, and then walked home in silence. Something about the way Aya tensed every time he looked at him, though, was creating quite an itch to be a mother fucking pain in the ass. Oh...Youji just couldn't help himself.

 Tossing a pen on the ground so that it rolled over to Aya, he grinned behind his hand and said: "Pick that up for me sweetheart?" He was asking for a bloody nose. Maybe he was just a masochist.

 Aya gave him a look that would flay paint off a building. "Pick it up yourself." he growled, deliberately walking away from the dropped pen to empty the dustpan into the wastebasket where Yohji was dropping rose clippings.

  Eyes caressing the slim wrists and finely boned hands before him, Youji leaned forward and palmed his chin. Emeralds drifted up lazily to meet icy amethyst. "You're so cold tonight, Fujimiya. Come up to my place later and we can fix that." Even he winced inwardly at that. It would serve him right if movie night consisted of Ken laughing at him in the hospital as he got metal braces shoved up his nose.

 Aya froze as he was, staring up at the playboy through improbably red hair. "I am not one of your tramps, Kudou." He was pale with anger. How dare the man talk to him that way? Rising stiffly, he set the broom and dustpan in their proper place and strode into the back room to fumble around with the empty pots and give himself a few moments of privacy.

 So much for getting his nose punched into his face. Youji watched Aya until he disappeared and then turned back to his own work. It was so much easier just to pot. Pot pot pot. Pot. Hm, now that was an idea. Kudou Youji, the huge pothead. That made him laugh too. Even Aya couldn't ruin his good moods when he was in good moods. They happened all too rare of late for Youji to do anything but protect them. "Alright," he called, finishing carefully transplanting the last small rose, "but you're missing out, babe." The sound of the side door opening and closing to the alley would be the only sign that he had left, though not for good. Nicotine was a powerful mistress.

 Aya heard the door close behind Yohji with a relief he was loathe to admit even to himself. He was really not up to the man's antics today, he would have been better off to have let the slacker sleep the day away and work by himself. He'd foolishly hoped that Yohji would be some help in managing all the girls that thronged about the shop in the late afternoons, but all he did was flatter and flirt and collect phone numbers. Aya knew he could count on a good half hour of his absence now that he had gone to smoke, so he set about creating a special arrangement that had been ordered for pick up this evening.

 Listening to the faint music of Janne da Arc's new single filter down from some window nearby, Youji finished three cigarettes in rapid succession before nursing the fourth like a fifteen year old girl on her beer. The burning smoke filling his lungs with each breath mellowed him out and made him think about how that redhead could be so content being alone. Sure, he was still new to their group, but... Okay, so Youji didn't really feel all that bad about leaving Aya out. It was his own decision to make...and it might actually make all the outings he and Ken and Omi went out a whole lot less amusing. He thought about asking the redhead to join them at the amusement park they were going to this Sunday, a day off for all of them.

 Ken's threats weighed on his mind though. Ken'd kill him if the 'cold fish' drug them all down into a regiment.

 Aya paused to push back the sleeves of his sweater and survey the balance of the flower arrangement he was working on. Creating arrangements was like a sort of zen meditation for him, he could lose himself in the simple harmony of line and form, the scent and feel of the flowers, the contrast of their colors. He didn't even notice when Yohji returned to the shop, his focus entirely on shaping the flowers to tell the story he was creating.

 "So, beautiful, what do you think about coming out to Tsubakatsu this Sunday?" The ‘beautiful’ wasn’t entirely needed, but Youji just couldn't lean against the butcher-block table in his hipsters and clinging shirt and NOT try to coo. Besides, Aya was pretty. As pretty as the day Youji 'took him to bed.' He didn't bother to give his seductive glances. They'd just be wasted.

 Startled violet eyes met his, surprised to find the lanky form draped over the table where he was working with no warning of approach. Aya frowned, looking for the trick, the trap. He'd never been invited to socialize with the other three before, aside from Youji's empty flirting. He was certain there was some sort of joke at his expense at the bottom of the invitation. Still, Sunday was the worst day at the hospital. It was always thronged with people coming to visit loved ones, compromising his silent vigil with their energy and chatter. He wouldn't mind having something to do--something else to do-- on Sunday. Tightening his lips in a thin line which made it seem more as if he were accepting a mission than a social invitation, Aya nodded once, then picked up his completed arrangement and set it on the shelf behind the cash register for display until the owner claimed it.

 To his surprise, even Youji smiled when Aya accepted the invitation despite the yelling he was going to get the moment he told the other two that they'd have another body to smooch into the Seven. Youji walked towards the metal gratings and began to lower them and padlock them as Aya finished the cleaning. His bones ached. Nine-hour workdays were always the worst. A little bit of back flesh showed as he lifted his arms, the apron keeping his front covered. "Good. We're leaving at ten."

 Aya nodded again, then realized Youji couldn't see it from where he was leaning to lock the door, so he spoke aloud. "All right." Finished with the cleaning, he led the way out, flicking light switches as he went.

 The flare of orange from the end of another of Youji's cigarettes illuminated his face. They would walk back to their apartment building together, but not together. Aya would walk just a little head, and Youji would follow, hands in his pockets, as if he didn't know him. If it were Omi or Ken, his arm would be around their shoulders. No matter. Youji took a drag and watched as Aya walked up the dark street. He smiled a little. It was always a treat walking home 'with' Aya.

 Aya folded his arms over his chest. The nights were already getting cold, not much summer left. Some of the leaves were staring to turn shades of red and gold, although the moonlight limned them all in silver anyway. The swordsman considered slowing his steps, striking up a conversation with the former detective. If Youji really was trying to make him feel like a part of the team, didn't he owe it to him to at least meet him halfway? But when he turned over various conversational gambits in his mind they all sounded stupid, so in the end he settled on leading the way to their apartment building, silently climbing the stairs and offering the playboy a nod of acknowledgement before stepping through his door.

 Youji smiled to himself as he slipped into his room to shower. He was already late for his meeting with Ken, but that kid had to know by now that Youji was always late. Dressing comfortably, his hair pulled back into a ponytail, Youji went down to get a little drunk, a little high, and to break the news to Ken.

 "You did WHAT?!"

 "Um...invited him to come with us..."

 "Fucker!" Ken's eyes gleamed as he started the pillow fight.

 "You're such a girl, Hidaka."

 Aya showered and changed quickly, hurrying to make the last hour for visiting at the hospital. He sat by Aya-Chan's bed for his allotted hour, and then walked slowly home. Every moment was like sitting on a razor. Aya Chan might wake up at any moment. Or she might die. And the doctors seemed to hold roughly even odds for both. Narrow shoulders hunched in his jacket, he entered the apartment building with an assassin's silent tread. He saw the light under Ken's door as he passed by, heard Youji's low voice and Ken's laughter. He felt as if they occupied an entirely different world than him. He went to his own austerely furnished apartment and climbed between cold sheets.

 Sunday morning was splendid with a bright sky, big fluffy clouds, and a warm breeze that just screamed perfect roller coaster weather! Youji helped Omi pack the cooler into his tiny trunk along with the blanket for a picnic style lunch and all of Ken's insane sporting gear. No one was going to play with him, and no matter how many times Youji told him it was just a waste of space, there was no arguing with the little burn victim. Dressed in tight hipster jeans and an open throated black gauze shirt (and shades!), Youji slipped in behind the wheel. There was going to be ten minutes of shotgun fights now. He could just FEEL the jan ken po game coming.

 Aya was at the car by five of ten, dressed in a worn and comfortable looking pair of jeans and a black t-shirt that clung to his lean body and showed the hard planes of muscle beneath. He was carrying nothing but his leather bomber jacket, uncertain what the plans for the day might bring. He seemed cool as usual, but there was a certain hesitation in his demeanor as he walked up to the car.

While Ken and Omi battled over who would sit where, Youji leaned across the passenger seat and pushed open the door for Aya. "They're going to be chasing each other around like that for another ten minutes, so take a load off." The first thing Ken would do when he had successfully chased Omi would be to pout as Youji shrugged and then climb into the seat behind his best friend. If you could consider assassins ever being able to have best friends.

"I get it on the way back, Kudou," he growled, and Youji just smirked.

"Only beautiful people can ride up front with me." He had been expecting that smack, so it hardly phased him. It was ten thirty before he pulled Seven out of the parking garage across the street from their building and eased her out onto the highway. The wind in his hair was amazing.

The redhead didn't realize he'd been given the seat of honor till Ken made his complaint. He felt vaguely disconcerted by it. Youji was always flirting with him, but he knew the playboy meant nothing by it. He flirted with Momoe, who was old enough to be his great grandmother. But it seemed that Youji intended to make a place for him on this little trip, and for that Aya was grateful. It felt strange to be out in the sunlight, the wind whipping though his hair and making his eartails lash across his face, listening to Omi and Ken argue about some television show in the back seat like they were all on some kind of family outing. The scenery passing by mesmerized him, and he glanced from time to time at Youji, fascinated with the obvious pleasure the man took in the simple act of driving.

With gentle hands on the all leather steering wheel cover, his perfect hair seeming to find only the most perfect ways to fling itself about to maximize his loveliness, Youji carefully flipped on one of the newer rock stations and filled the car with the low beat rock Aya probably had never given a thought to listening to. He thumbed up the volume and began to sing along to the lyrics he knew, his voice sweet and more delicate then anyone could have guessed. Ken joined in too, his voice far better and stronger than Youji's, but they blended in together in a rather pleasing way.

The ride to the amusement park picnic ground took only an hour, but with Youji smiling from time to time when he caught Aya's looks, it seemed a lot less.

Aya actually regretted it when Youji turned the car into the parking area for the theme park. The ride had been unexpectedly enjoyable, and he was sorry it had to come to an end. He climbed from the vehicle and stood by awkwardly, still following the others' lead for the day's activities.

Blanket under his arm, Youji scanned the field for a sign of beautiful girls, and once he found a whole bunch, he led his gang (who were carrying the cooler and all of Ken's things) towards a perfect, shady spot nearby. He spread the blanket himself and kicked off his shoes. He had a strange feeling that Aya would appreciate the spot. The tree they were under was a weeping cheery, still littering the grass with blossoms. Classic. Like the redhead's beauty.

 Aya's mouth quirked down a little at the corner when he saw the playboy's automatic targeting lock onto the noisy clutch of girls. Of course. Still, once they reached the spot the other man had chosen, Aya couldn't help but admit that it was a very nice place to rest in the shade, with the cherry blossoms drifting slowly down on the gentle breeze. He set down the load of soccer equipment he was carrying and settled gracefully onto a corner of the blanket, eyes fixed on a bird's nest high in the branches of the tree.

 Laughing as Omi picked blossoms from his sandwich and eating his own, Youji leaned back against Ken and smiled at all of the girls so obviously squealing over the good luck they had at being near four amazingly good looking men. Youji took the numbers of the girls that were brave enough to come forward with them and offered a few some of chips.

 After lunch came the frisbee game, and Youji was off and running with the other two, his arms wrapping around Omi to prevent him from catching the disk. Only Aya didn't play, but that didn't mean Youji didn't watch him from the safety of his shades.

 Clunk. Crash. Fall. Squeal. Ken's voice: "Serves you right, Kudou! Stop looking at the girls and you won't get smacked with the frisbee!"

 Aya watched them at play, vicariously enjoying their enthusiasm but resisting the quick, sharp impulse to join. Instead he sat impassively, letting the light and shadow play over his face. Still, a tiny part of him struggled to be a part of the game, to cast caution to the wind and for once just let go. That bit of himself he kept an especially tight leash on. He wasn't one of them, he was a stranger, and it was safest if he kept things that way.

 Getting not only two of the girls that had fled to his rescue kiss the slight bruise on his forehead, he made them all giggle (and Ken blush) by having his best friend do so as well. Ken, he knew, would do anything to stop his whining. "But you're the one who hiiiiit meeeee...."

 Just after the afternoon's heat and Youji's quick nap with his head in Omi's lap, they packed up their gear and locked up Seven before heading towards the amusement park's entrance. Youji leaned against Aya as he waited for Omi to pay for his admission. "First things first, they're going to the coaster and the freefall to see who throws up first. Let's go on the Ferris wheel while we wait." Aya wouldn't have time to say no, because as Omi and Ken raced off with their hand stamps and unlimited riding bracelets, Youji was already headed off towards the humongous hanging cage Ferris wheel.

 Aya hadn't intended to ride any of the attractions, but Youji practically dragged him to the short line for the huge Ferris wheel. He eyed the monster machine dubiously and glanced at the playboy with obvious reservations.

 "I'm not gonna rape you, Fujimiya. Ch.'" Youji slipped his hands into his pocket to fish out his small book of tickets. Three a piece for the giant ride.

 The redhead favored him with a grimace and strode through the gate toward a cage, which was being evacuated by three boys Omi's age and a hundred years younger. Light as a cat he swung into the seat and waited for Youji to take his place before pulling down the dual harness. He gave Youji a challenging look and an enigmatic half smile before turning to examine the garish lights decorating the upper framework of the machine. Aya-Chan had loved amusement parks.

 After securing himself and then letting the blushing girl make sure they were set, Youji leaned back and the entire cage leaned back with him. Lying there now, Aya's breath a faint gasp beside him, Youji turned his head and grinned what he thought was a pretty good grin. "Not an upside town fellow, Aya-kun?"

"I can take it if you can, Kudou." Aya said with feigned lightness, challenge winking in his amethyst eyes with the passing lights.

 Oh, it was a challenge was it? Youji grinned good heartedly and gently pushed off the floor with his feet. They were face to face with the ground a moment later, hair hanging almost the roof of the cage. A moment after that they were hoisted up five feet or so for another cage to be loaded. Looking down at what was now the sky, Youji pressed his cheek to the side of the harness and smiled. "It's better this way."

 "What is?" asked Aya, truly not understanding Youji's sentiment. Not understanding Youji at all, ever. The man was a riddle to the swordsman, and strange blend of infantile humor and melancholy that was beyond his comprehension.

 "It's better to look at the sky when it's under your feet." Youji's smile mellowed out as they were hoisted up again, and the very motion of it causing their cage to spin back to a laying position. Youji closed his eyes. He loved this ride. But he usually rode it alone. "And it's better to be with someone when you're doing something you like too...dontcha think?"

 Aya looked away at that, but Yohji caught a glimpse of something that looked like pain on the porcelain face before the smooth cheek was all he could see. Aya looked out across the gaily-lit park. "Which one are you betting on?" he asked after a moment of silence.

 Thinking a moment, their position shifting almost 180 degrees, Youji let his arms hang down towards the ground. They were now twenty feet up. "Ken. His stomach's plastic after all. Amazing with a little illicit science can do for a burn case."

 Aya tilted his head at Yoji, which made for an interesting paradox, given the angle. "Burn case?"

 "What did you do before Weiss, Aya-kun? Live in a hole?" Youji looked over at Aya and tried to shrug. "You never heard about what happened two years ago with Hidaka and the J-League? Over 80% of his body was burned. Most of what you see's plastic. Feels and looks just like real skin though. He's even fully functional." Grinning, Youji left it at that and shifted his weight so their cage looped.

 The deep blush which stained the redhead's cheeks was Youji's reward for that remark, although he didn't know if it was the revelation of Aya's ignorance or the innuendo which scored the hit. Maybe a little of both. Aya blinked as the whirling of the cage caused his eartails to perform aerodynamics unforeseen by his hairdresser and catch in his crimson lashes. "Then I'll bet on Omi." he said gravely, as if it were a matter of great import.

 "Ah!" Youji's voice held a lilt of excitement. "What shall we bet then?"

 Aya blinked again, this time in surprise. "I..." He paused, uncertain where to go with this. "If I win then you take my shift in the morning." he said, sure the playboy would back out of the bet with such high stakes in the wager.

 "Okay, and if I win, you give me a kiss." It was stupid, a really silly thing to bet. Especially when he knew he'd win. Of course, he'd let Aya back out. It was just for the reaction after all.

 A tiny expression of betrayal crossed his face. Aya felt like an idiot. Of course Youji would bring THAT into the wager. What had he been thinking? Maybe this was all a part of the practical joke he'd been expecting from the start, and elaborate ploy to make a fool of him. Still, he had never backed down from a challenge in his life and he wasn't about to start now. Setting his jaw as if he'd just been handed a gladius and sent out into the hot sands of a Roman arena, he met the laughing emerald eyes across from him. "Done." he said.

 That shocked him a bit. Youji's eyes turned from happy amusement to a shade of wonderful bafflement, appraising Aya as they turned in almost lazy circles. It would be at the very top of the Ferris wheel, spinning almost out of control, that Youji would catch site of Omi with his head in a trashcan and Ken rubbing his back. A kiss it would be.

 Aya followed Youji's glance with a sinking feeling, and saw that he'd lost the bet. He kept his face turned outside the cage for the rest of the ride, feigning fascination with the bright lights and passing crowds. He didn't want to see victory and perhaps derision in the playboy's eyes.

 Laughing a little strangely as he struggled to keep them from getting insanely dizzy, Youji scratched the back of his head and then shook it a little. "Hey, stupid bet. We can forget it. You had no hope of winning anyhow." The ride was coming to an end. They'd have to get out and stumble around together all too soon.

 Aya turned back to face him, something indiscernible in the mask of his face. "I don't renege on bets, Kudou."

 "Er...okay..." As the girl helped them out of their harnesses at the end of the ride and Ken rushed up to hug his best friend and chirp that he won, Youji kept his eyes on where Omi laid curled up on a bench. Youji'd just never collect that kiss is all. Easy as pie. Then Aya wouldn't renege, and they wouldn't be placed in an awkward position.

 Youji rode a few more rides that afternoon for no other reason than to not sit out with the redhead.  It happened around dusk that Youji found himself buying two ice cream cones before joining Fujimiya to watch the other two play in the bumper cars. "Here."

 Aya looked at the ice cream as if he'd never seen such a thing in his life, then reached for it. "Thanks." he said, turning his eyes back to where Omi, ever the master strategist, had Ken pinned up against the wall, setting him up for a massive collision in a few seconds when the rest of the pack came around the corner. Ken was trying to move his car loose by slamming his muscular frame against one side of the car, but it was locked in tight, and Omi gave a shrill, girlish laugh as the first of the cars jounced into him. While Aya watched Ken and Omi play, Youji watched Aya eat the ice cream cone with unconscious sensuality, his tongue delicately stroking at the confection and lapping at the white cream that tried to escape down the side of the cone onto his hand.

 Finding it almost impossible to tear away his eyes, Youji finally did so, but only because his hand was getting to be a sticky chocolate mess. Licking his fingers and eating his ice-cream fast enough to give himself a momentary, but intense, headache, Youji crossed his legs and leaned back against the back of the bench. "I have six tickets left. Let's go do something. Fun house?" The fun house was something Youji almost always had a good time in. The first part was a track ride, like usual, but the second half was a walk through. It creeped him out from time to time still. Harmless frights were still worth it.

 "You're joking." Aya responded, looking as if he thought Youji was teasing him. He couldn't believe Youji wanted to spend money wandering through a dimly lit building where creepy people and scary monsters leaped out unexpectedly. It was too much like what they did on the job. But Youji appeared to be serious, so Aya rose and gave him the "lead on" look.

 "You didn't bring your katana with you, did you? I don't want to have to clean up any messes." Grinning, Youji led Aya right up to the end of the line, and within two short minutes they were seated inside a snug little car. Creepy music blared, and after a shaky start, they were off. Youji rested his arm behind Aya's back for lack of a better place for it to go.

 Aya's muscles tensed as he felt Yohji's fingertips brush against the back of his neck before settling his arm on the cracked plastic seat. It seemed like an accident, but in Aya's experience the playboy rarely did anything by accident. The redhead set his hands on the restraining bar that kept patrons from leaping out of the car and fleeing into the bowels of the funhouse and tried to relax. The day was almost over, and though it had been stressful in some ways, it had been a wonderful diversion in others. He wanted to enjoy these last few minutes and the ride back to the city, because they would all too soon be over and everything would go back to the way it was.

 The short ride part of the attraction was almost lulling with a few dips and sharp turns and mechanical dummies. It was the walk through sections that Youji really loved. He could feel Aya's breath close to him, though he could hardly see save for when a strobe light flickered over them in a gruesome diorama set up in a room off the walkway. This place was a maze. Mirrors in some sections, cobwebs, trembling floors, spinning hallways... Youji found himself bumping into Aya and spending them sprawling on more then one occasion.

 The very final part of the ordeal was a shrinking room, complete with padded walls and a shrieking madman in the background. Youji's own breathing was going rapidly when he realized this was taking far too long. Ten minutes passed...the emergency lights had flickered on.

 Youji looked around the eight by eight square room. The door had been covered up already. Man. He frowned a little. "Just my luck."

 Aya was very disoriented by all the loud noises, flashing lights, and the need to restrain his natural impulse to punch the shit out of the actors in bad suits that kept leaping out at them, not to mention Youji every time the taller man stumbled over him. So it was quite late when he realized that the other man seemed worried. "What's wrong?" he asked, automatically placing his back against the other man's and peering into the gloom produced by the weak emergency lights.

 Laughing a little, his head down, Youji leaned back against Aya and extended one hand as if to show just what was wrong. "We broke down." Outside there were faint voices. Grumbles. Some of the actors were caught along the way too. "We just gotta wait a bit is all."

 "Broke down?" Aya repeated as if mystified by the idea. He wondered briefly if Omi and Ken had anything to do with it, but decided it was too elaborate for a simple prank. He stepped away from Youji, a little embarrassed by his defensive reaction but still feeling strung wire taut by the situation. Crossing his arms over his chest and tilting his head at Yohji, he simply waited, eyes, black in the dim room, locked on the slim form of his teammate.

 "Well what do you want me to do about it?!" Youji asked, throwing his hands up in the air. He looked over the walls at all the fake dried blood and touched a spot to make sure it wouldn't come off on him before he crouched down against it. Green met lavender and asked a very simple question: 'Why are you looking at me like that?'

 "Hn." Aya replied, but he didn't take his eyes elsewhere. There wasn't anything else to look at, really, and for some reason it seemed to make Youji uncomfortable, which for perverse reasons pleased him at the moment.

 Well, this was just great, wasn't it? Youji turned his gaze to Aya's and let the smaller man hold his for a few moments before he stood and crossed stealthily over to him. One hand pressed flat on the soft wall, but he did not touch Aya with any part of himself. "Well then," he said, grinning to return all that unnerving feeling Aya was giving him, "how about my prize? I want a good one. Nothing cheap, Fujimiya."

 The redhead blinked at him, swaying a little away from the dominant posture and then consciously pushing forward, yielding no ground. So, he was ready to claim his winnings? Good. Better that than to hold it over his head or choose some unguarded moment to make his claim. Aya tightened his lips and stepped even closer to Youji, so close he could feel the warmth of the other man's breath on his face. He reached out to knot his hand in the taller man's hair and pull his face down. Just like in the movies, he thought. It can't be that difficult. Clumsily, he brought his lips to the playboy's in an uncertain kiss.

 It was too technically accurate for Youji's taste, but in all actuality, Aya wasn't too terrible a kisser. Of course, now that he had him (as part of the bet and non-retaliatory), Youji was planning to make the most of his time trapped in this room that smelled faintly of urine. Pulling those small hands from his hair and leaning against his smaller frame, Youji trapped Aya under his body weight and very very slowly improved upon the kiss until it really was the kind you see in the movies. Not only accurate, but beautiful. And with the faintest bit of tongue.

 Aya seemed to be struggling to keep up, to find the right way to stand, the right angle of his head, he wasn't resisting. And, as Youji's tongue brushed his lips, for one instant, he seemed to just...let go. To melt against the other man, lips parted to accept that tentative probing of tongue, hands pressed flat against the playboy's chest. Then he was suddenly gone, pushing away hard against that same chest, whirling three, four steps away in the small room, cheeks pale and flushed. "Satisfied?" Aya asked in a rough voice, not meeting his eyes.

 Pondering not only the moment of complete submission he had felt Aya give him, but also the rough way it had ended, Youji wiped the moisture from his lower lip and gave Aya a bit of a look. "Very." Youji just smiled and leaned back against the wall. He had no idea how long they'd be in here. But one thing was certain. Youji was going to be thinking about that small bit of melting of the ice caps for the rest of their time in there.

 Very, Yohji had said. What did he mean by that? Aya schooled his features to mission blankness and willed the flush from his cheeks, though the playboy probably couldn't see it in the dim emergency lights anyway. Well, at least that was over with, his debt was paid and he would make certain he didn't make any more foolish wagers in the future. Either that or slip Omi a Dramamine in his soda. The corner of his mouth quirked a little at that, then he impatiently paced to the door and set his closed fist against it as if it would open by his will alone.

 After an hour of waiting in the nasty smelling room, Youji sat down the floor and whined about his hair drooping. It was better to whine then to have Aya refuse to look at him or to have to listen to him grunt a little as he tried to push against the door. From time to time, Youji could hear Ken's voice through the padded walls. It made him smile. "My friend is in there you jerk, just cut into it!" The answer that always followed, however, wiped it right from his eyes.

 "If we do, we could cut through the hydraulics holding that room up!"

 Aya didn't miss Ken's use of the singular noun, although he'd hardly have expected any differently. He paced the circumference of the room, trying to decide where the mechanism that supported the ceiling was placed, although without his katana he didn't really have a way to cut through. Maybe he was just looking for a seemingly rational reason to pace back and forth over the width and breadth of the room.

 Youji's annoyance wasn't getting any better watching Aya pace like that. In fact, it was getting more and more unnerving by the minute. "Christ, Fujimiya, sit your ass down. We're normal citizens trapped on a ride, here, not super above the law killers on a mission." Youji's bad attempt to be funny only left him all the angrier. "Sit down!"

 Aya flinched a little at the sharp command in this closed space, and finally went to a place near the door and stood with the absolute stillness he had perfected in his assassin training. Fine. He would be still. But he would not sit down on a floor that smelled of things he'd rather not consider.

 "I knew we shouldn't have brought him. Serves Youji right to be stuck in there with him..." Omi voice carried too loudly to Youji's ears and he winced, his eyes turning to Aya. He couldn't see his face, cloaked in shadow as it was. He wondered if the redhead was hurting from that comment. He wondered if it had even made a dent in that hard ice core like his...

 Like his kiss had.

 Youji got to his feet, his leanly muscled arms hanging unthreateningly at his side as he moved towards Aya, very slowly. "I'm not sorry you came along," he said quietly. "It's been a good day."

 Aya hadn't been surprised at Omi's comment, though it had been hurtful. He wasn't sure if it made it any better to know that Omi would never have said it if he'd known his teammate could hear him. He wondered what other conversations were held when he was not there to hear and decided he didn't really want to know. It wasn't as if he'd joined Weiss looking for friends. It was a job, the only way he knew of to pay for Aya-Chan's escalating hospital costs, and they'd promised him a shot at Taketori as a bonus. Still. Being alone by choice was different than being alone because you weren't wanted. He realized Yohji was moving toward him and looked up at him, shadows moving in those violet eyes. Yohji was saying something about being glad he'd come along, and he met the other man's eyes, trying to discern if it was an honest sentiment or only another of his habitual come-ons.

 Slipping his hands into his pockets to further make himself unthreatening, Youji stopped within normal speaking range; his eyes steady, as was his smile. "Next time we come we'll just skip the funhouse, okay?" Next time. It was a promise Youji was making to the fair redhead. No one liked to be lonely. Youji wasn't a guy without compassion for the less fortunate. He was actually rather remarkable when it came to reading emotions. How else was he to get all those girls into bed?

 Youji leaned forward, just a little bit, his smile reaching his own eyes. Hell, he was as emotional as half those girls. "Maybe we can try the giant slide or the log flume."

 Yohji seemed sincere, but it wasn't as if Aya knew the playboy well enough to really tell. Was he inviting him to come another time as consolation or because he really wanted him to come? At this moment, Aya decided, it didn't matter. By the next time they had a day of leisure, perhaps he would know the other well enough to assess his true motives. Aya nodded, his stony expression softening a little at Yohji's friendly tone. "I'll make the sandwiches next time." he offered by way of acceptance.

 Eyes sparkling, Youji laughed and stepped away. Aya was so full of... well... mystery. From the moment he woke up screaming the name 'Aya' in his bed to the very words he was saying now, Youji had to admit that Aya was never boring.

 It was going to be his pet project to melt some of that ice, even if he had to do the whole thing with his lips. Not that he minded, actually, which was strange because he generally swore off his own gender.

 A swift peck on the cheek and two hours later left them crawling out of a hole in the wall. Youji would get two sets of arms. Aya would get a few troubled smiles.

 "Can we go home now?" Omi looked like he was going collapse.

 "Aah."

 Aya stood, dusting himself off and nodded. It had been a far more eventful day than he'd expected, but he was glad he'd come. It had certainly taken his mind off his personal troubles and offered an outlet other than work in the flower shop and ceaseless sword katas on the roof of the apartment building they shared. There was still the ride back into the city to look forward to as well, the cool night air and the stars above. He trailed behind the others to the parking lot, wearing his silence like a cloak.

 He would arrive at the very heart of the battle between Ken and Youji. Ken had the front of Youji's shirt in both his hands. "What the FUCK, Kudou? Since when is that cold hearted bastard your best friend?" Omi, who had long since resigned himself to the backseat, just watched Aya approach and averted his eyes.

 "It's not like that, you jerk. We've been stuck in a room eight feet wide that smelled of piss for the past three hours, so you're sure as hell going to shut up and get in that crapped backseat if you want a damned ride home!" Youji seemed rather...adamant about letting Aya have the front seat. So much so that he was screaming at his best friend over it.

 Aya listened to the heated argument as he approached. He didn't mind it, really, although it did reawaken that unnamed coil of tension that pulled at his gut when they went on missions or sometimes when the doctors looked at him with pity in their eyes. But he had been looking forward to the quiet of the ride, and the soccer player’s strident jockeying for the symbolic social position of the front seat was disrupting the still mood he'd fallen into after the intriguing discussion with the playboy. When he got to the car, he met Youji's eyes and wordlessly slipped into the back seat on the passenger side, canting his hips to allow his long legs to fit in the tiny space.

 There would be none of the joking on the way back. There would be no talking at all. Not even the radio. Youji drove them home as quickly as possible and pulled up in front of the apartment building, not meeting Ken's pleading gaze as he and their youngest unpacked the car and went up to bed. Youji was actually surprised to see Aya still in the backseat until he saw that he had fallen asleep. He watched him for a few minutes before he got back into the car to drive it into the garage across the street. He kept the motor running as he sat and smoked, knowing the purr from his babe was probably half the reason Aya had allowed himself to drop off. Youji watched him in the rear view as he finished off half a pack, sliding down in the seat.

 "Ne, Aya-kun. We're home."

 The swordsman startled to wakefulness, blinking wide eyes at the other man, clearly surprised to have fallen asleep in the presence of the others. He looked around, realizing they were in the garage, wondering what happened to the other two. He tilted his head at Youji. "You argued with Hidaka." he said evenly, curious what the other would say.

 "So what else is new?" Youji took a final drag on his cigarette and flicked it out of the car without a second thought to the other high class cars beside him. He stretched a little and then turned back to Aya, his arm ringing the seat. "Are you hungry? Wanna go get something?" Why he was trying so hard, he'd never know.

 Aya considered the question as if there were some great import before responding, "Yes." Stiff from having been crammed in the back seat for so long, he unfolded himself and climbed out of the car.

 Just like before, Youji leaned across the front seat to push open the door for Aya. Once the redhead was safely stowed inside, Youji revved up Seven's engine and tore out of the garage. It was almost midnight, but there'd be diners open. He picked one close by and flipped the top on his car up to ware of thieves. Inside was warm and bright with soft yellow lighting and dark blue vinyl seats. Youji ordered coffee, eggs, and an ashtray and waited for Aya to order.

 It was strange looking at Aya, close but untouchable by nature. That didn't stop Youji from wanting to try. "Did you have a good time today? Even with the funhouse mishap?"

 Aya ordered an open faced turkey sandwich on toast, and his customary hot tea. He wriggled out of his leather jacket and folded it neatly to lay beside him before leaning back in the booth to regard Yohji with serious violet eyes. The playboy looked as carefully tousled as the latest action hero after a running battle with bad guys, but Aya knew that it was the natural result of wind and a long day of play. The merciless diner lighting was even kind to him, highlighting the bronze of his skin and pulling gold strands from the tangled locks of his hair. Aya looked at him silently, deciding how to answer the question.

 Youji waited for the reply, stirring thick white cream into his coffee. No sugar. Youji had a figure to maintain. The only carbohydrates he left himself eat were those right before missions, when he'd need the energy for a good long run not so kind to his lungs. Green eyes reflected chocolate from his steaming drink. He could wait all day. The deepness of Aya's voice always excited him.

 Had he had a good day? Aya turned the question over in his mind. His immediate answer was yes, but why? A thin crimson brow twitched as he answered, "Yes." A thousand inane social graces died before reaching his lips. He'd forgotten how to go about civil conversation and so he sat like a statue, watching the small movements of the other assassin's graceful hands.

 "Good," Youji said, seeming genuinely pleased as he sipped the near scalding light brown liquid, the spoon still in the cup. Silence lapsed, but for Youji, it wasn't exactly uncomfortable. He found that almost strange. After all, on dates, he always kept the conversation talking so that his partners would constantly be looking at his mouth. And what a beautiful mouth. But Aya should know that.

 "Do you want to come bowling with us next Sunday?" Ken was going to hate him for life now.

 "Why?' Aya asked, tilting his teacup to his lips without breaking eye contact with Youji.

 "I like you," he said, grinning. He hadn't flirted with Aya in far too long, and his libido was insisting on it. Even so, Youji was serious. "You're bound to be worse then me at it, anyhow. Call it a need not be to the only one to bowl a 40."

 Aya tilted his head at that, puzzled. He'd expected Youji to say something about teamwork, or even to say something suggestive and flirtatious, as his posture was beginning to suggest. He had not expected the candid admission. "If you are no good at it, why do you play?"

 Laughing, Youji put down his coffee mug and shook his head. "I like those guys too much to miss any time we spend together." Extending one finely manicured hand, Youji pressed his index finger right to Aya's nose. "Smile button." It probably wouldn't work, but he wanted to try.

 Aya narrowly managed not to flinch away from the approaching finger, his eyes fairly crossing to follow it as it came up to touch his face. Youji's hand smelled of cigarette smoke, coffee, and faintly of the leather gloves he often wore. Aya blinked at the touch, his eyes refocusing on the playboy. Youji had been right, no smile cracked those thin lips as the swordsman said, "Inviting me causes conflict with Hidaka."

 "He's just sore that you were able to knock him unconscious. I still can't believe it myself. Talk about getting lucky finding the calm switch." Youji wasn't exactly sure how much Aya knew about Ken's construction. He wasn't sure he should even be talking about it.  But...they were teammates.

 So it was bruised pride that kept the athlete at his throat, Aya thought, with a sense of understanding. Not that he planned to change his behavior to accommodate it, but it did make more sense now. Aya considered pursuing his line of questioning. Why was Youji willing to fight with his best friend in order to include him in their activities? But he suddenly didn't want to press the issue. He wasn't entirely sure he was ready for the answer. "I'll join you. But I won't be able to come till after 10." That was when visiting hours ended on weekends at the hospital.

 "Okay then. I'll have lost the first two games by then." Youji could only smile and palm his cheek until their food arrived. Youji chatted about a few things, here or there, and ignored the number the waitress had written on the check. He paid for both of them and held both the diner door and the car door for Aya. Hell, even if it wasn't a date, chivalry wasn't entirely dead.

 Aya noticed the way the blond treated him like a date, paying the bill, holding open the doors.  How could he not?  The playboy was flamboyant even when he was trying to be subtle.  But there was no loss of face in these simple graces, so Aya accepted them without comment.  After disembarking the car in the garage again and walking quietly back to their apartment building, Aya turned to Youji.  He wanted to say some sort of thank you, but it seemed foolish, so instead he simply said, “Good night.”

 Youji had to button down his beloved for the evening, so he just stood beside the like-new paint finish and watched Aya leave.  How could a man walk so provocatively away?

 He shook his head at the very thought of it and pushed Aya out of his head for almost half an hour before the guilt he felt with Ken hating him made him seek an apology.  "Get it from Fujimiya, Kudou."  Youji was hurt, but it didn't show, and for that reason, he was proud.  He stumbled to bed and slept, not dreaming of anything for a change.  And that was a blessing.

 Aya returned to his room, but sleep was slow in coming.  The nap he’d taken in the car had been surprisingly restful.  After staring at the ceiling for half an hour, he picked up his katana and threw a sweatshirt on top of the t-shirt and sweat pants he normally slept in.  Heading to the roof, he spent two hours working through sword and bare handed combat routines till he was covered in sweat and his body was filled with the delicious ache of exhaustion.  He returned to his room and a quick hot shower before tumbling into bed and his own dreamless sleep. In spite of the late hours, he rose at dawn to exercise, eat, and be ready for the early shift in the flower shop.

 The week passed uneventfully, and Aya found himself watching the minutes tick by while he sat with his sister.  He chewed on his lower lip and picked up the brush, calming himself with the familiar ritual of combing and braiding her silky hair.  When the nurse came to tell him it was time to leave, he left a parting kiss on Aya-Chan’s forehead and headed to the bowling alley with a veneer of calm over the confusion he’d been plagued with all week.  Kudou’s attentions had seemed genuine over the past few days.  Flirtatious, a bit teasing, but there was a gentleness in it, a sincerity, that made it very hard for him to keep his guard against.  He’d found himself looking forward to seeing him each day, even if he didn’t respond to the man’s overtures.

 Youji was already very drunk when Aya arrived, and it quickly became apparent from the glares of the other two that he hadn’t warned them he’d invited the swordsman.  Aya sat stiffly in the uncomfortable seats and tried to zone out the noise of the place.  Youji leaned on his shoulder and whispered in his ear on a waft of whiskey-scented breath, “It wouldn’t kill you to smile, you know.”

 Aya jerked away from the close contact and glared at Youji. He wasn't here to make friends. Was he? If not, what was he doing there? A very good question, one he couldn't ponder with all the noise in this place. Without a word, he stood and walked toward the door. He wasn't sure if he was leaving for the evening or only going outside to clear his head. He would decide when he was out of the cacophony of the bowling alley. He stepped through the doors into the cool night air, the sudden change in noise level as the door shut making him feel as if he'd slipped under water. Leaning against the wall of the building’s facade, he crossed his arms and tried to sort out what he was doing.

 Knowing better than to follow Aya, Youji did so anyway with a promise to buy them all pizza on his way back. Ken got his forehead kissed, but only because he looked like he needed it. Poor Ken. Youji could see right through him sometimes. Jogging out of the place, Youji stood several feet in front of Aya and whipped out his cigarettes and lighter. "Ch'.. You're such an ass sometimes. You're gonna make me wanna forget about you." Emerald green eyes lit by pink neon glanced over his shoulder. "Do you want that?"

 Aya regarded him with serious eyes. "I don't know." The pink lighting made the swordsman's amethyst eyes look as blood red as his hair. "What's your objective?" There. He'd asked the question, in dispassionate tones as if he were inquiring about a mission and not this strange game of tag that the playboy had initiated.

 Walking slowly backwards until his shoulders hit the brick wall that Aya leaned against so very close by, Youji took a deep drag on his cigarette and shrugged a little. "Fucked if I know," he said, finally, flicking the rest of his smoke out onto the curb in a perfect arch he had obviously spent a long time perfecting. His head turned towards Aya. "You’re not a mission, kid," he said, tilting his head to the side as if he were offering his shoulder for leaning. "You're too interesting for that."

 Aya looked down, a little embarrassed by the way Yohji had phrased his answer, then motioned toward the building they leaned against. "I don't fit in."

 "Maybe if you got that damned stick outta your ass you'd learn to lighten up." Since his shoulder was not being used, Youji wrapped an arm around those very narrow shoulders and pulled Aya against him. "I bet before all of this you used to have a nice smile."

 Aya initially tensed when Youji put his arm on his shoulders. He wasn't used to being touched. He'd go days with no physical human contact-- sometimes even without speaking to anyone when he didn't have to handle customers in the shop. It felt intrusive but also pleasant. Human. Real. Aya let himself accept the contact before answering the question. "Not especially." Aya-Chan used to give him a hard time about his serious demeanor, even when they were little kids. But he was in a constant struggle to meet his father's rigid expectations and had little time for the frivolous behavior his sister was always trying to draw him into. He wished now with a plaintive sort of longing that he could go back to one of those days and just have fun with her.

 "Liar." Youji let Aya stay where he was, holding with just enough give to make sure the redhead knew that he could back out of it at any time he wanted. Feeling the most hideous urge to lean down and kiss those emotionless lips, Youji let his cheek fall to the top of Aya's head. People entering smiled at them, especially the girls who never seemed to mind that cute boys snuggled so nicely. Youji ventured to rub Aya's arm slightly, knowing that in this weather and with that complexion he was probably very cold. "C'mon then, let's go back and have some fun."

 Aya felt Youji's warm hand on his arm and realized the chill for the first time. With a short nod, he leaned forward, leaving the embrace almost reluctantly to hold the door for Youji. He returned to his seat with barely a glance at the other two, sensing their exchanged looks with the playboy and knowing he wasn't welcome.

 With a look of warning at the younger two, Youji strolled off towards the snack bar to buy them a very overprized pizza and lots of soda for their playing. Returning ten minutes later, Youji found that almost nothing had changed from when he left. They had all just...sat there. Looking at each other. Incensed, his anger far above normal since he was so drunk, Youji slammed the pizza on the table behind the scoreboard.  The soda would follow. "Will you all just grow up!?" he yelled, heads turning towards them. Ken's eyes widened. "You're all acting like you’re five."

 He left them all there, the doors slamming audibly as he headed out to his car. He was seriously thinking of leaving Ken and Omi stranded and asking Aya for a ride home.

 Aya actually shared a shocked look with the other two before remembering that their relationship didn't allow for that sort of commiseration, then stood and strode after Youji. There was no reason for the man to fight with the rest of the team just so he could sit in a loud gaming facility and listen to shrieks of laughter and the thunder rumble of rolling balls. He went back out into the cold, scarcely warmed by the short return to the bowling hall and rubbing the gooseflesh from his arms without even thinking about it. Once outside he scanned for Yohji.

 Smoking again, Youji glanced over at Aya. "I'm not happy with you either. None of you are even TRYING." Youji hardly took one puff before he trashed it under his shoe. "C'mon, we're leaving." He grabbed Aya's arm almost roughly and helped him into the front seat of Seven. Ken and Omi would just see Youji's car peeling out of the parking lot. Once on the road, Youji untensed and then pulled over. He leaned against the steering wheel and sighed. "A bit too drunk for this," he confessed with a laugh.

 "I'll drive." Aya offered, climbing out of the car and walking to the driver's side. "You're going to be sick in the morning." he offered unsympathetically as he helped the playboy to relocate to the passenger side of the car. He slid into the driver's seat, thinking that Youji must be very drunk to let someone else drive his pride and joy. He thought of how cold it was, and the shorts Omi had been wearing. "We should go back for them."

 "Fuck them. And fuck you too." Youji leaned his already aching head back against the headrest and put his forearm over his eyes. "Yanno..." He didn't finished, but only because he could think enough to do so. He sounded tired, more tired then he was annoyed. Minutes passed. His free hand reached out and laid on Aya's knee. He had done it without looking. "Yanno, beautiful, you're one hell of a guy."

 Aya gently pushed Youji's hand from his knee and turned the key in the ignition. "You're very drunk. Things will be clearer in the morning." Driving with care out of respect for the former detective's beloved automobile, Aya reversed the car and headed back toward the pool hall, driving a few miles under the limit and keeping an eye on Youji in the event the other looked as if he were going to be sick. Arriving at the pool hall, he pulled up out front and parked. Seeing that Youji was asleep, the redhead took the keys from the ignition and went inside to find Omi and Ken.

 Youji smiled very softly in his sleep, his long legs crossed and pulled up just a little towards his chest. Ken didn't seem very pleased at all about Youji letting ANYONE drive the car. Not just the car. His baby! Ken wasn't even allowed to drive it. "Is he okay like that?" he asked, feeling Youji's forehead. What he was really asking was: 'did you fucking do anything to him?!'

 Aya didn't reply, thinking the answer was self evident, and waited for the other two to get in. Sliding behind the wheel, he started the car again and drove back to the apartment complex in silence, only the hum of the car's heater warming the small compartment.

 By the end of the short trip, Youji's head had conveniently rolled onto Aya's shoulder. Ken's faint gasp could only signal his displeasure. The way that he pounded up to his own room afterwards a good indication of his real feelings for mister Kudou Youji. Far to drunk to notice, Youji opened one bright green eye and closed it again, his arms around Aya's waist. "Go ahead and hit me." He was barely coherent, but it was obvious he knew what he was saying. And doing.

 "What?" Aya demanded, sounding vexed as he cast a heated glare after Ken's retreating form. The athlete made such a show of wanting the playboy and then just abandoned him to Aya when he could have carried him off to any bed he chose. Even thinking in those terms made Aya's fair cheeks flush and he looked hastily at the man clinging to him as if he were a life preserver. Dragging Yohji's arm over his shoulder he hefted him to his feet. "You have to help walk, Kudou." he growled as he pushed the door shut with his foot.

 Walking turned out to be more of a chore then it was worth. Ken certainly had been spiteful sticking the long, lanky playboy with the slender redhead. It took almost twenty minutes just to cross the street, but Youji didn't really seem to mind at all. He was far too busy feeding half intelligible lines to the swordsman about what pocket his apartment keys were in and whom he'd really like to spend time in his bed with. He was far worse, and no funnier, drunk.

 If it weren't so cold, Aya would have left the man to sleep in his beloved car. Trying to balance his weight and to ignore his obligatory propositions was almost more than Aya could handle. Finally he surrendered to fate and dropped his shoulder under the other, lifting him in a fireman's carry to struggle up the apartment stairs. It was a strain, and certainly an ignominious way to come home, but Aya wanted to get this done with and get to bed before sunrise.

 It had been a very long time since Youji had to be put to bed. He grabbed Aya's wrist just as the redhead was preparing to leave and gently, so very gently, kissed his knuckles. "I guess you don't owe me anymore," Youji said, smiling as he almost always smiled. He had carried Aya to bed after being knocked out cold. And now the favor was returned. Youji's hold on Aya's hand was the same as all of his other holds, strong, but yielding. In no way would Aya be forced or feel trapped.

 Aya blinked at that, remembered waking up to the other's playful smile, feeling lost and embarrassed to be put in such a position immediately upon meeting his new team. The swordsman pulled the blanket around Youji and made sure there was a glass of water within reach before turning out the lights and closing the door. He rubbed absently at the place where Youji had kissed his hand as he walked to his apartment and let himself in. Quickly stripping out of his clothing and depositing them neatly in the closet hamper, he showered and went to bed. He was exhausted from the draining Sunday hospital visit and all the turbulence of the evening, not to mention carrying the larger and heavier man up the stairs. He was asleep only moments after his head hit the pillow, but his sleep wasn't dreamless this night. Fuzzy images of the things Youji had proposed twisted through his dreams like sirens and whispered incomprehensible promises till dawn.

 The hangover Youji experienced come morning was a truly terrible one. With his tolerance for alcohol insanely high, Youji had drunk far too much for even himself to withstand. The morning light was like daggers shooting into his eyes. The very feel of the sheets on his skin hurt like sandpaper. He called the shop, almost crying out at the very soft sound of Aya's voice through the phone. His head felt like it was going to split open, or all of his brains would just leak out of his ears. "Shhh...listen...I'll be late.." He groaned.

 "Yes." Aya responded in his flat tone, neither raising nor lowering his voice to accommodate the other man's headache. He waited to see if the other had anything else to say, the phone cradled on his rather sore shoulder while he continued to thrust the stems of daisies into the brightly decorated pot on the counter before him.

 Youji breathed on the other end of the receiver for a few otherwise silent moments. He had tried to call Ken, and had been hung up on. Omi was at school. "Would it be too much trouble if you could bring me an orange up...?" Hah. As if Aya would ever close the store for him.

 Aya thought about it. The store got very quiet on weekday mornings after 8:30. "In an hour." he replied tersely, rapid firing baby's breath around the lower edge of the arrangement.

 "Thanks, Fujimiya." Youji gently let the phone fall back into it's cradle and then curled back up against his pillow. He had to pee, but with all of the pain last night had put him in, Youji decided that he would much rather pee where he was. It might keep him warmer right? Shivering, his head pounding, Youji tried to sleep for the hour Aya had told him to wait. Sleep came, broken, and full of far too pleasant dreams for a hangover.

 After the allotted hour had passed along with the early morning trade, Aya turned the sign to closed and locked the front door. Stopping in his own apartment, he gathered a few pieces of fruit and a bottle of spring water before heading to Youji's. He rapped on the door with one bony elbow before walking in and setting the food on the kitchen counter. Finding a knife, he quartered an orange and a pear with quick, precise strokes and set them on a wooden board. Pouring the water into a glass, he carried both into the bedroom.

 Youji looked eerie, laying like that in a heap on the bed, shivering despite the sweat that covered his skin. He smiled, but it was hardly lovely. Aya had never seen Youji looked so disheveled. It was almost completely unpleasing. His eyes were bloodshot from forgetting to remove his contacts before he slept. His lips were pale. His hair didn't even have its appealing mussed look to it. "Thanks, Aya-kun," he said softly, closing his eyes again.

 The swordsman had never seen the other during this stage of a hangover. He looked as if he might actually be ill. Aya wasn't put off by the playboy's appearance. Like everyone else, he was not blind to Youji's good looks. But appearance was hardly the measure of what he thought of the man.  A fine line appeared between Aya's thin brows. "Do you need a doctor?"

 "A doctor?" Youji sounded as horrified of that as any sick man hiding a very dangerous secret could be. He tried to sit up quickly, to prove he was fine, only to sob at the pain it caused and to sink back to the mattress in agony. He needed just a little bit of citrus and Ken to curl up next to him for warmth... Or Aya. Both, though, wouldn't do it for him now. Not even if he was freezing to death in the snow.

 It seemed that Youji didn't want a doctor. Why did the man drink so often if it made him so sick? Aya had never been drunk in his life, but he knew a little about self-punishment. A lot, if truth be told. Was it possible the hangovers were some sort of penance for Youji? For what sin? Aya had seen the tattoo on the other man's arm, but assumed it a simple vanity. Perhaps he was over thinking the situation and the playboy was just a fool who didn't think ahead when he tilted a glass of liquor to his lips. Aya placed the fruit and water on the bed stand and regarded Yohji with an impassive expression. "Anything else?"

 For a moment, it actually seemed as if Youji would request something else. He looked up at Aya with a small dose of desire in his eyes before he smiled again. "No, no, thanks, Fujimiya. I really appreciate it." His smile mellowed slightly as he looked down at the way Aya conveniently stood just outside of his reach. "I'll be down in an hour. I promise."

 With a brief nod which expressed none of his skepticism at that promise, Aya turned on his heel and went back to the shop. Unlocking the door, he flipped the sign back to open and went back to caring for the cut and potted flowers. Yohji was probably surprised he closed the shop to come over, but Aya didn't really care about the business. He enjoyed working with the flowers, and he viewed the other work as a part of his commitment to Weiss. So the shop was important in that context. But if the shop lost a little business, or a lot, because he closed the doors or was rude to the customers, he didn't care at all. It was only a cover, after all, not a real business. He busied himself making a special arrangement for Aya-Chan. Some new orchids had arrived with the morning’s delivery and he wove them into an elegant small basket for his sister's bedside. For one moment he thought he ought to have taken a flower to cheer Youji's room, then struck the thought from his mind as absurd.

 Half an hour later than the time he had promised, Youji stumbled into the shop sporting a pair of very dark sunglasses. The girls cooed over him, had him sit down, fetched him water, and called him brave for coming to work with the flu. Youji hardly noticed any of their attention, his eyes stuck hopelessly on Aya. It had become far more then an obsession, this watching. Youji realized that now. The way his eyes were drawn to Aya...the way he smiled every time he thought that violet gaze brushed him. Cringing almost, Youji finally understood why he was behaving so terribly. A crush? That was... Wrong! Just about lunchtime, while he and Aya were alone in the shop waiting for Ken and Omi to come and replace them, Youji leaned back against Aya as he had in the funhouse. "I want to thank you."

 "For what?" Aya asked diffidently as he shifted his weight away from the other. He was still not comfortable with all this touching, especially in a public place.

 "Just for..." Youji wasn't sure really. He turned as Aya pulled his source of balance out from under him and slipped his black silk clad arms around that small waist. He couldn't help wanting to be close. And until he was told that he was definitely not welcomed, Youji wasn't going to stop.

 Aya tensed at the intimacy of that touch. "Don't." he said softly, so quietly only Youji could have heard it, even if they were standing in a crowd.

 "Why?" Youji's face pressed to the most tender of spots on the back of Aya's neck, leaning them both a bit forward against the cash register. "Why the hell don't you want to be made to feel good? Why the hell won't you let me in?" Youji sounded harsher then he wanted to.

 Aya just...panicked. Youji's instincts in not making the reserved man feel trapped had been good ones. Bracing his arms against the counter he shoved them both back, spinning out of the startled playboy's arms and backing several steps away, his face pale with high color on his cheekbones. "Don't touch me!" he said, his deep voice reverberating with emotion. Not even stopping to remove his apron, he strode out of the shop and went straight to his apartment, leaving Youji to hand over the shop to Ken and Omi.

 "I'm...sorry." Youji spoke to the silent air, curling his arms around himself in an attempt to hold Aya's warmth against him far longer then the body had been in his arms. He was never more eager to get out of the shop. He didn't stop outside for the cigarette he craved, but continued right down the block to Aya's apartment. Why he knew it would be open, he wasn't sure. He stood in the doorway, scanning the very cold, very Spartan apartment for the redhead.

 Aya emerged from his bedroom in his exercise sweats, katana in hand, and looked very startled to see Youji standing in his doorway. His color was still high, his lips pressed in a thin line. Arrested by the sight of the playboy waiting for him, he stood and regarded him silently.

 Gasping a little, Youji leaned against the now closed door and stared at Aya. The red of his hair shined gold with the yellow light streaming from the bathroom doorway. Youji ripped his eyes from Aya and stared down at the floor between his feet. "I'm sorry." He licked his lower lip. "I just don't understand how to crack you."

 "Crack me?" Aya asked, his voice emotionless and fully back under his control, even if his pale complexion denied him the same control.

 "God." Youji sounded as frustrated as his posture suggested, his hair covering his eyes. "Is it so bad to..." Even he knew the answer. Youji didn't chase. He was chased. And so he smiled and raised his face with his strangely liquid green eyes. "If you can survive by yourself, then tell me to go now."

 Aya felt his shoulders relax even as the coil of tension in his belly drew itself a little tighter. He knew he'd failed the test the other man had chosen. It was a test he'd failed before, and at least he was familiar with the consequences. "I don't need anyone." he said simply, his amethyst eyes meeting Youji's emerald ones without surrendering any quarter.

 With disappointment an understatement, Youji pushed himself away from the door and moved closer to Aya. Close enough to touch him. Close enough to bend his head and steal those lips for himself. "Then tell me go." He didn't realize that his voice, soft as it was, was trembling as he brought his hands up to rest in the air an inch from Aya's upper arms. No touching. He had been told before not to touch.

 Aya blinked when Youji approached him. Didn’t the other know how this script went? He said, I don't need anyone, and then the other person just left him alone. The blond never seemed to stay inside the lines. As he approached so close Aya could feel him on his skin, but still didn't quite touch, the swordsman lowered his eyes, lowered his head. He felt like a sea wall under assault by a hurricane. Did he want Youji to stay? Did he want him to go? He could guess what the playboy wanted from him, but what did he want from Youji? Why did he continue to let the man into his closely guarded personal space? Was he so lonely, so pathetic, that he would jump for whatever emotional bone the popular blond threw his way? In the middle of the turmoil, he could think of only one honest answer.  "No." he said quietly.

 "Okay then, that's a start." Youji smiled and hugged Aya tightly, close and warm, and immediately let him go. He reached for his katana, took it slowly from his hands and then carefully put it down on Aya's bed. The sheets looked rough. Youji smiled slowly. And then sat beside the sword. He had pushed the envelope as much as he was willing to, at least for now. "How about we go get dinner later." Okay, so maybe he hadn't really reached that limit. "My treat." He wasn't just offering a date. He was offering a chance for Aya to get to know him. To build some trust.

 Aya relinquished the katana like a drowning man gives up a lifeline, but he let it go. Youji had let him drive the car he called "baby" after all, even if he had been too drunk to think of what he was doing. He looked down at the man sitting on his bed and a completely foreign feeling tugged at his body, causing him to blink once in alarm before discipline asserted itself. Dinner? "I get home at nine." he answered. Perhaps that was late for dinner; he knew the others ate before sunset while he was at the hospital.

 "Alright. I'll pick you up here at ten. How about we go to the diner again?" Youji crossed his legs, evidently planning on staying at least until he received a promise from Aya to get at least a meal from him. With the redhead almost his height away, Youji had no opportunity to kiss that hand, or even to simply hold it. Without the katana, it looked so...empty.

 "Okay." Aya responded, relieved that he'd suggested a familiar place. He stepped forward and leaned past Youji to pick up his katana from the bed.

 Instead of going for the hand like Youji had been thinking of, the blond pressed the palm of his hand to Aya's cheek and let his thumb caress the small bit of indented flesh under his lower lip. "Be careful with that, okay?"

 Aya stilled at the touch for a moment, like a bird caught in Youji's hand. Then he pulled back, katana in hand and nodded once, not quite meeting his eyes. And on silent feet he was gone, headed to the rooftop to practice and to work the tension and anxiety out of his body before class later that afternoon

 That night, right on time for once and looking relatively sexy in his tight black jeans and green silk shirt Youji rapped on Aya's door with his knuckles. It was strange, the very idea that he was taking the redhead out. And to such a cheap place! He licked his lower lip, surprisingly nervous.

 Not certain what to wear, and feeling stupid for even thinking of such things, Aya had dressed in a pair of new black jeans and a thin grey sweater. He opened the door on Youji's first knock, looking oddly nervous as he stepped out into the hall. His eyes caught the vivid green of the other's shirt; it was a rich color that he liked very much, although of course he said nothing of the sort. He also didn't mention how nice the shirt looked on Youji. Instead, he walked quietly beside the other man down the stairs, dreading meeting one of the other two in the hall.

 There would be no meeting, though Ken was watching out the window, hurt bright and unnoticed in his eyes. Youji had pulled Seven up to the front of the apartment building before going upstairs to collect his hard won prize. The door was opened for his lovely redheaded companion before he climbed in himself and took them on their five-minute cruise to the diner. The waitress there recognized them, and after they had ordered and eaten, she brought them the check with a faint smile on her face and question that could undermine all of Youji's efforts. "How long have you two been together?"

 The redhead's eyes flicked to the other man for an answer, actually a little amused by the question. Youji's body language, if not his own, was flirtatious enough to have given the waitress the idea. That didn't bother him. He didn't care what people thought of him. But it might put a crimp in the playboy's style if people, especially women, got the idea he had a boyfriend

 "It's still pending." Youji winked at the girl before he turned his smile back to Aya and pulled out his wallet to pay the bill. "Do you know any romantic spots to go to park?" Youji had palmed his chin and was smiling at the girl in such a way as to not only make her blush, but to make Aya blush as well. After he had paid, taken Aya by the hand, and helped him back into the car, Youji didn't head home as had been the original plan. Instead, he went to the place the girl had suggested. Seven was put in park, and the radio was turned to a love station. "I didn't know kids still did this." He smiled at Aya and noted the three other cars parked along the cliff. "It is just a pretty spot though."

 Aya sat as near the door as he could without it being obvious that he was keeping his distance and looked out the window at the concealing brush and tendrils of fog with an appraising eye. The place was perfect for someone who stalked young people to hunt, he thought. So this will be a hunting ground for Weiss one day as well.

 Looking up at the stars, leaning his seat back and putting down the top of the car, Youji's eyes were elsewhere. He laced his fingers together and pillow his head on his arms. "Let me know when you get too cold, and we'll go, okay?" Youji seemed just to enjoy Aya's company. He was in no rush to move forward, though he wouldn't mind having Aya lean against him.

 Aya nodded, appreciating Youji's willingness to respect his distance. He leaned his head back to look at the stars as well, trying briefly to remember the last time he'd done so and then letting go the painful habit of remembering better days for the night. He wondered when was the last time Youji had parked in a romantic spot and looked at the stars. He wondered who he was with then. He suspected the beloved car could tell many tales, some of them no doubt quite interesting.

 "Saaah," Youji said, happily sighing as he grinned over at Aya. "This is the best date I've had in a really long time." He didn't look at the redhead long, aware of how unnerving the intensity of his eyes could be. "Can we do it again sometime?"

 Aya reflected on the relaxing dinner and this pleasant interlude and didn’t have to hesitate long before he answered, "Yes." After a few more minutes looking up at the sky he added, "As long as it doesn't include bowling."

 Laughing, Youji nodded happily. "You got it, kid. No bowling." His hand, larger then Aya's, found the swordsman's. He enjoyed the feel of the unseeming roughness of his skin and brought the hand to his mouth. Youji didn't lavish it with kisses, knowing Aya didn't want him to be so close. Instead, he kissed the fingertips, and the center of his palm, and smiled as non-threateningly as he could at the redhead. "Shall we go?"

 Aya liked the warm feeling of Youji's hand on his. He liked the sense of trust and safety he felt in his company, at least for this moment and that's all that really mattered at this moment. He let his own hand close loosely around Youji's fingers. "Not yet." he said, the barest hint of a smile touching the edges of his lips as he continued to gaze at the vast night sky.

 Hardly able to contain his happiness, Youji gently held Aya's hand and gazed up with him at the stars and the moon as it played hide and seek with the clouds. The wind blew around them playing in their hair. He felt Aya shiver a little. "If you'd like, you can come a little closer. I'll do no more then what you want." Youji, who always took what he wanted when he wanted it found that saying such things a bit strange. However, he meant them. Each and every one of them.

 Aya didn't respond to Youji’s suggestion for several minutes, his hand comfortable clasping in the other man's. Finally, with a dancer's grace, he eased his body across the seat till his hip was just touching Youji's and slowly lowered his head to the blonde’s shoulder.

 Closing his eyes, Youji released Aya's hand and slipped his arm around those very slim hips to rest at his waist. Feeling like he was going to burst with all of this good fortune, Youji's eyes reopened to sparkle with the starlight. He stayed quiet, trying to warm Aya so that they would not have to leave too soon. The station played a very old love song, its lyrics filling Youji's thoughts as he tried to count the stars. 'It's not so hard to love you when you let me hold your hand. The snow melts and instead of water, I get spring. It's nice with you by my side, I swear to make you smile...' Youji hummed along, his fingers flaring.

 With an inaudible sigh, Aya let the tension flow out of his body till he was relaxed against the long, lean body. This was nice. He didn't feel threatened at all. The rumble of Youji's chest as he hummed along with some song on the radio almost tickled his own chest where they touched and he found his hand reaching for the one not resting on his hip, finding the warm hollow of his palm.

 There was a moment of sublime peace about the whole situation. Aya probably had his hand on a knife or some mace, but he was trusting Youji just a little bit. Surprised at Aya's sudden touch, he closed his hand over the cold one, his thumb rubbing over Aya's thumb to try and warm it back up. 'He's probably just cold,' he thought, his cheek falling to the top of Aya's head. The night seemed very quiet, the kids in the other cars too far away for them to hear any noises they might be giving. Youji was dazzled by the idea of love, even if with his limited experience, he had come to shun it. "Are you warm enough, Aya?"

 "Yes." The other man answered quietly. He had simply pushed the idea of being cold from his mind, as he did on missions when they sometimes had to crouch for hours in the brush outside a target's base of operations waiting for their tactical leader to give the 'go signal'. He simply relaxed there and listed to the other man breath, watched the stars twinkle overhead. There was something inside him that felt suspiciously like happiness, but he wasn't sure he was able to identify it anymore, so he could be wrong.

 Because he wasn't going to be happy until he did so, Youji brushed his lips across the middle of Aya's forehead. His entire body turned so that he leaned against the door of his car and so that Aya was now fully against his chest. That hand, which had been so tenderly holding Aya's a moment ago, drifted through his hair. Tenderly ruffling it up at the base of his neck. "Listen to me," he said, his voice velvet and beautiful in that moment. "You should know that I'm here for you, at least. If you ever want to go looking at the stars, or even if you just want to sit out on the steps, you can call me and I'll join you." It was the promise of friendship.

 Again, Aya felt compelled to ask a dangerous question. "Why?" His tone wasn't challenging. In fact, it sounded just a little lost.

 "Because it's nice to have such a pretty thing in my arms." Youji laughed softly, his very tone joking, but hardly mocking. "You need to remember that everyone has a person that wants to be with them." Youji gently kissed Aya's jaw as he turned his head in. "Even you." He was smiling, happy for this moment. "There's no need to ask why. The answer is 'because.'"

 The answer, though it sounded honest, only left Aya more puzzled. Why him? But he would have to be satisfied with the answer for now. He nodded, and snuggled his head just a little deeper into the curve of Youji's shoulder. Knowing that the playboy would stop if he commanded it made him brave in seeking out the touch he didn't even know he'd been hungry for.

 Swallowing thickly, Youji's arms moved tentatively around Aya, his embrace tightening. "It's okay now, isn't it? You have me now, right?" Youji's wasn't sure why he was putting himself out there like that, leaning back so that Aya lounged against his chest and his neck. The faint electricity of his breath made Youji's eyes turn back up to the stars.

 Aya nodded slowly against his chest, bumping the top of his head lightly against Youji's chin. He folded his own arms over Youji's both to share in his warmth and to quietly signal the other man he wasn't ready to go further than this. The fact that it resulted in his returning Youji's embrace was purely extra.

 After half a dozen other songs passed and one by one the other parkers left them, Youji felt his eyelids begin to droop. It was almost two in the morning, and though the time hardly bothered him, the warmth and his imagined affection were making him happy and drowsy. "Let's go back," he said, almost with reluctance.

 "Yes." the other responded, a little reluctance in his voice as well. Still, he shifted away from Youji and found his seat on the other side of the car, quickly reminded of the cold.

 Youji drove fast, leaving the top down until they pulled up in front of their apartment. "This is the part where I walk you to the door and wait for my kiss, but I think I'll let you out and go park this thing." He leaned over Aya and pushed open the door.

 As Youji reached for the door handle, Aya stopped his hand. "I'll walk with you." he said, not promising a kiss.

 "All right." Long legs first, Youji climbed out of the car and sprinted around behind it to open Aya's door for him. He offered his hand to help the prince out, and when he was safe on the sidewalk, Youji closed the door. It helped to be fluent in courtly love. He was sure that Aya appreciated all of his care. He offered his hand again for the walk, smiling without expectation.

 Aya accepted the special treatment with quiet grace, and easily slipped his hand into Youji's. He enjoyed holding hands with the other man most of all. It gave him a sense of connection and warmth without intruding on his personal space. He allowed Youji to lead him into the building and walked up the stairs closer beside him than they had ever made this journey when both were sober and conscious.

 Youji's thumb rubbed in slow circles over Aya's knuckles as they walked, his head down slightly, his free hand in his pocket. The walk was slow, but Youji was letting Aya set the pace, and figured that the redhead was just tired. It had been a long day. Standing in front of Aya's door, Youji watched as he unlocked it, both of his hands now in his pockets. "Sleep well, Aya." His smile was warm. "And don't forget what I said."

 Aya unlocked the door and stepped inside. "Good night." As he started to close the door, Youji started to turn away. "Youji." he said. When the other turned, he added, "Thank you." Then he had closed the door and moved into the utter silence of his own apartment.

 Standing there a moment, Youji pressed his hand to the cold wood of the door, fingers splayed. "Keep warm." He smoked nearly a whole pack in the garage, stretched across the front seat. Aya's smell clung to him and the imported leather interior. Youji was going to stay there until all of the warmth from the ice prince faded. He ended up falling asleep in his car. The next day he had off from work and was hauled off by Ken to get lunch. Whatever had been said to him reflected when he stopped into the shop with leftovers for everyone and a very real, very warm glow in his eyes for Aya. 'You're just going to hurt yourself again, Youji.' Ken left without a word. Maybe that was true.

 Aya nodded at Youji when he came in, which was an uncommonly warm reception for him, and accepted the small white container of food, which he set aside to eat later. Perhaps he'd take it with him to the hospital. The food at the Magic Bus coffee shop had not improved with familiarity. It was rare to see Youji in the shop on his day off, usually he stayed far away for fear of being asked to pitch in a hand. Aya watched him interact with Omi from the corner of his eye.

Part Two

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Last updated: 03/21/03.