A/N: My first one-shot. Yay! KenxOmi, AyaxYouji, what else? A little Schu
abuse, but I needed an antagonist. Mostly it's all fluff here. ^^ Oh, yeah!
And I don't own Weiss Kreuz, or anything else, so don't sue me. I'm poor.
~~~~~Friday Evening~~~~~~
"Ow!" Omi jetted his hand away from the popcorn bag. It was hotter than . . . well, hotter than that new boyfriend Youji was always raving about. Omi decided that was the highest on the scale of heat he could think of as he prodded inside the microwave with an oven mitt, sliding the bag out and into a bowl.
"You alright there, Omi?" Youji took a sip of his beer as he entered the kitchen, waving a finger accusingly, "oh, you burnt the popcorn again, didn't you." he chuckled as Omi's face turned sour.
"No! I didn't this time," Omi pouted, "It just needs to cool a bit. . ." he frowned as Youji neared the bag, "You're going to burn yourself."
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not- OW!" Youji nearly dropped his beer, shoving his fingers into the sink and running the cold water. "Okay, okay, I'm ready for the 'I told you so' lecture."
"I told you so," Omi mocked in a sing-song voice as he picked up the video Youji had rented out, "hmm. . . I read the book this was made from."
"Really. . ." Youji teased, "I bet you the movie is better."
"That's an opinion. At least I know this isn't going to be one of -those- movies you like . . ." Omi trailed off, not wishing to even touch on the subject.
"Good times," Youji smirked.
"Crazy drunk," Omi muttered sarcastically.
"I heard that!" Youji protested, "And I'm -not- drunk, thank you . . . last night with Aya, though. Heh." He smirked, "-That's- a different story."
"I don't want to know."
"Good, 'cause I'm not tellin'." Youji took another swig of the stuff as he sank back on the couch. Omi joined him with a bowl of popcorn that would no longer scorch your hands. Youji refused to try it, however, because he swore the popcorn would turn on him again. Omi just laughed. They had great fun together. Every Friday night was movie night at Omi's house. Youji would normally talk about his newest boyfriend and Omi would talk about work, and it was an escape from the prison of day-in, day-out life where you can barely talk without someone's permission.
Well, Omi was amazed at Youji's recent relationship. It wasn't a one-night stand, in fact it had been going nearly two months now and Youji seemed completely smitten. He had been pitiful towards Youji in the past with the past bad relationships his friend had to suffer through, but now that his best friend truly found someone, he was so happy for him, and couldn't wait to meet this Aya. . . after all, he did have his duties as the best friend. Omi smiled. That sounded odd, but he supposed that it was right. They were just like brothers.
A loud rapping could be heard at the door. Omi nearly jumped.
"Who's that?!"
"Oh, yeah," Youji piped in nonchalantly, "Forgot to tell you I ordered pizza, because I was starving. Aya's the manager of the shop, you know." *knock knock* "Hope you like pepperoni."
"Well I hope you're paying." Omi walked to the other side of the room, his hand hovering over the doorknob. *knock knock knock*
"What are you kidding? I'm broke."
"What?!"
*knock knock knock knock*
"COMING!" Omi yelled through a sigh, getting out his wallet and opening the door. He would have said 'hello' had a pizza not been shoved in his face.
"Geez, what a heavy pizza!" The pizza guy whined, "Could you have ordered any more toppings?"
Omi took the box from the pizza guy, lowering it from his eyes, and leaving them fixated on a beautifully shaped face and a grateful grin, a tremendous blush beginning to take root in his cheeks.
"Hey, thanks!" the pizza guy smiled at him. Omi melted.
"Ahem!" Youji elbowed Omi teasingly, snapping him back into reality, "Omi, why don't you give the nice, handsome man his money. . ."
"'Ken'," the pizza guy announced, giving the pizza to Youji.
"hmm?" the blond with the beer gave him a good, hard, clueless stare.
"That's my name," he pointed to a small nametag on the right-hand corner of his uniform, "'Ken Hidaka' at your service."
"Ah!" Youji answered, "Great," the blond took a ten-dollar bill from a blushing Omi and handed it to the pizza guy. "Here ya go, Ken. Keep the change, and say 'hi' to Aya from Youji."
"Oh, hey, you're his new boyfriend, right?" Ken grinned, taking the money, but then raised his eyebrows mockingly, looking quickly from Youji to Omi, " . . . not cheating on him are you?"
Omi looked up, the blush carrying over to his anger, about to protest when Youji ruffled his hair in a chuckle. Omi bristled.
"Little Omittchi?" Youji grinned as Omi swatted away his hand,
"Don't call me that . . ." the shorter pouted, and Youji took the opportunity to ignore him completely.
" . . . nah. He's still single . . . been looking for a nice guy for him, though."
"Youji!" Omi blushed furiously. There were some things you just -didn't- tell to strangers. -That- was one of them. Omi was surprised when he looked to Ken's face and it looked at him with intrigue.
"Then I guess I'll have to stop by sometime," Ken winked, breaking into a light laugh at the blush, that now couldn't be mistaken, creeping across Omi's face. "You're really cute. You know that?" Ken said outright, his cheeks turning slightly rosy as well. There was a bit of an awkward silence.
"Hey, hey!" Youji came close to Ken, whispering in his ear, "I know Aya wouldn't be happy to hear you've been flirting on the job." Omi raised his eyebrows, curious to know what Youji had said.
"R-Right!" Ken jumped back out of the door nervously, more so because he was so obvious than fear of the wrath of Aya. "Have a nice night, and enjoy the pizza!" He waved as he turned away. Youji closed the door quickly, smirking at Omi as he held the handle.
"You lucky, lucky boy," Youji chuckled, walking into the kitchen corner.
"W-what do you mean," Omi asked innocently, still a little shaky.
"That guy was totally coming onto you!" Youji said, dropping his empty beer can in the sink and grabbing another from the fridge, "Don't even try telling me you didn't notice how hot he was. I saw the way you looked at him. 'Course not as hot as Aya, but I still say you got pretty lucky. . . considering all we had to do was order pizza."
"Wha- I-" Omi was dumbfounded. Was Youji right? I mean, Ken was hot, and he couldn't deny that he was attracted to him. I mean, how couldn't he be . . . but to say that Ken was coming onto him was a bit of a stretch. It would just be too perfect. Nothing ever happens that way. I mean, come on! Love at first sight . . . with a pizza guy?
Omi put his hand to his forehead. There was no way this was happening to him. He sighed, looking over to Youji who was busy sitting on the couch, stuffing his face with popcorn and watching him as if he were the feature film.
"hmm . . . " Youji reflected, realizing that he was spotted and popping another popcorn kernel into his mouth, "Why don't you just admit you like him?" (translation: I could hook you up)
"N-No!" Omi stuttered, unable to think correctly.
"Why not?"
"Because I don't!" He blushed again, thinking about what Ken had said . . .
"HE likes you," Youji noted slyly, flipping open the pizza box lid and taking a slice for himself. He gestured the box to his younger friend. "C'mon. Pizza's good for the soul . . . can't do much damage to the heart with the grease, you know, so you should at least give it a chance."
". . ." Omi gave Youji a glaringly suspicious look as he took a slice. Omi was no idiot, and he knew exactly what Youji was talking about, but that wasn't going to stop him from eating a slice of good pizza. Geez, Ken was right. How many toppings are there on here? Better question: what the heck is on here?! Maybe he'd just set it aside for a minute. Besides. . .
". . . the movie's starting," Omi announced, clutching the tub of popcorn possessively instead, and praying that Youji would just leave the subject alone. There was a moment awkward silence.
". . . um . . . beer?" Youji offered his can, trying to make amends. "You know, Freud praised alcohol for lessening inhibitions."
"I don't like him!"
"Freud or Ken?"
"B-both!" Omi stuttered angrily.
"Just saying. . ." Youji sighed, trying to think of a way to salvage the conversation, "Ever heard the saying 'the lady doth protest too much'?" Youji quoted smartly, causing Omi to blush angrily and throw a couch pillow in the noise's general direction as the opening credits came up.
~~~~Saturday Morning ~~~~
This was a mission of friendship.
Omi clutched the post-it note in his hand tightly, crinkling it unintentionally. This address was for the mall. He was already there, but his heart wouldn't stop pounding. ONLY for Youji, he would do something like this. He hardly believed he said yes to meeting Youji's boyfriend last night, but to be persuaded this morning to go ALONE was a different story entirely.
He must be insane.
Well, too late, now. Here it is. Omi looked up at the restaurant's sign, 'Pizza Love'. He nearly choked. This was just. . . too much.
So, he had confessed last night that he liked Ken a little, because there was no use hiding it. He hadn't been thinking straight since last night. For example; Omi poured orange juice in his coffee and put milk in his orange juice, and got a bit of a surprise when he tasted the two. Youji noted that he was, 'not insane, just infatuated', but Omi still wasn't sure there was a difference in the two.
In any case, Omi shook his head, snapping back into the world that wasn't Ken. He stuffed the post-it in his pocket and walked in.
He looked up to the empty place, and saw the chef in an apron spinning dough on his fists. This chef was slightly different though . . . in that he happened to have brown hair and now that he thought of it, Omi thought he looked awfully like. . .
". . .!!!!!" Omi panicked upon the realization, grabbing a chair facing the opposite direction, and nearly fell into it.
Of course, that guy just has to be working here today. I'm going to kill Youji as soon as I can get out of here.
Omi tried to think straight; different ways to mutilate Youji, what Aya might look like, but it was futile thinking about anything else. The pounding in his ears was too loud, and all he could think about was whether or not Ken was looking at him. It felt like a hole was being dug into his back. He had to move somewhere. Anywhere. There wasn't any path to the exit that didn't involve looking back at Ken, so he looked to his side at a table closer to the back of the restaurant where he might be able to hide without Ken seeing him.
Slowly he got up and walked over, trying to hide behind chairs and things, inconspicuous as possible. He made it. Sighing loudly in relief, he took hold of the back of the chair to sit down when. . .
"You can stop hiding, you know." Omi jumped and spun around into a smiling face, and he paled nervously.
"Me? I wasn't-" Omi started, but paused to change his sentence, knowing that wasn't true, "Well, you looked busy. That's all."
"Nope, not busy at all." Ken smiled, looking around the small restaurant, which was completely empty at the moment. "Lemme guess, you liked our pizza so much that you just had to see where it all begins." He smiled.
"So you make them?" Omi asked.
"Only sometimes. I'm not actually getting paid today, I'm just filling-in. I mean, I've seen Yuriko do it enough times, and it's actually not too hard," Ken made his way behind the counter to demonstrate. Omi followed as Ken took up the dough in his hands, "See, just twirl it around like this!"
Omi watched as the dough spun for a few feeble seconds and fell to the ground.
"Crap!" Ken hissed.
"Ken?!" A muffled angry voice called from the kitchen. It sounded like it was getting louder. "Did you drop another pizza?!"
"eheh." Ken grinned nervously, "That's my cue." He stripped off his apron and unceremoniously threw it over the counter.
"Wait. I could help cleaning up or-" Omi tried to say, watching as Ken zipped about. It looked like he was getting ready to leave.
"Nah. I just have to leave before Aya comes out. He'll have my head if he doesn't cool off first. Sorry we had to cut things short, Omittchi. I'll be around!" Ken waved as he ran out. Omi blushed for the first time in their meeting as Ken used Youji's pet name for him. Of course, that's the only name Ken knew, but it still made him feel funny.
Aya came out of the kitchen with enough time to catch a last glance, "KEN?!"
Ken flashed a peace sign and a grin as he continued to run away. Aya looked pissed, and with good reason, as he stared at the ruined dough on the ground. He then found a new outlet for his anger as he stared at Omi. There were a few nervous moments where all Omi could do was gulp.
"Do you need help cleaning-"
"If you're not buying anything, then get out." Aya shot his ice-glare-of- death and Omi figured this wasn't the best time to mention he was Youji's friend and apologized as he did what the man said, following Ken out the door, though the pizza guy was long out of sight.
~~~~~~~Saturday Afternoon~~~~~~~
Omi walked nervously, glancing every once and a while at the boy to his right. He didn't know why he'd said yes to this date. They'd met at the fencing club at school and somehow he'd gotten Omi's number. . .
Schuldig seemed nice, sure, but Omi wasn't sure he had feelings for him. He was kind of. . . expensive? Omi didn't know. . . just the way Schuldig was dressed made him think that they were going to an opera or something. The shirt he wore looked so elegant it must have cost a fortune. He just called up after lunch, and Omi didn't have the heart to tell him no. After all, it would be rude not to accept because Schuldig didn't specifically -say- it was a date, so he shouldn't consider it one. Truth be told, Omi was trying to imagine it was a date with Ken, instead. But, of course, that would never happen. They had just met, and Omi guessed they were friends but. . .
"The weather's nice." Schuldig offered, bringing Omi out of his train of thought.
"Uh, yeah," Omi replied with a smile. He did love walking in the park. The fact that Schuldig was there wasn't really the reason he was having a good time.
There suddenly was the catchy tune that carried through the trees. Omi looked over to the street where an ice cream truck pulled up to the curb. Several small children ran to their parents begging for a treat. Schuldig saw Omi watching.
"Would you like to get ice cream?" Schuldig raised his eyebrows, grabbing Omi's hand and already motioning towards the truck. Omi smiled. Schuldig was being very friendly. Maybe he could learn to like him in time.
Schuldig pulled Omi over to the window, but Omi accidentally bumped into a very young girl in a light purple jumper who ran in front of him. Her strawberry ice cream bar fell, and she immediately began to cry.
"Oh, no, I'm sorry. . ." Omi knelt down frantically trying to console her. "I'll get you another one, okay?" She looked up into Omi's face, drying her eyes on her sleeve.
"Not necessary." A hand from the ice cream window extended with another strawberry ice cream bar. The little girl's face lit up, as she took it gratefully.
"Thank you!"
"No problem." The voice said. Omi looked up and nearly jumped.
"Ken-kun?!"
"The one and only," Ken smiled, giving another child their ice cream, "It must be fate that we keep meeting."
"I thought you worked in the pizza shop." Omi said in confusion.
"I have a lot of part time jobs. . . have to take care of my mom. She's pretty sick." Ken answered casually. Omi looked uncomfortable. He didn't have any family to take care of; he couldn't imagine what it would be like.
"I'm sorry," Omi answered, and was about to ask him where he went to school when Schuldig came up to him and held his hand affectionately. Ken raised his eyebrows at this new information.
"What kind of ice cream do you want?" Schuldig asked Omi, who shied away, trying to make him let go of his hand. It was embarrassing. They weren't a couple! He didn't want Ken to get the wrong idea.
"um-" Omi managed to shake his hand free, "I can get my own."
"I insist," Schuldig smiled, "How's chocolate?"
"That's. . . fine," Omi said, looking again at the confused Ken, who averted his eyes.
"Two chocolate, then," Ken announced with a slightly disappointed tone of voice as he reached inside his freezer.
"Is that you, Ken-ken?" Schuldig smirked in afterthought.
"Yeah," Ken said coldly, handing out two chocolate ice cream bars, "Here you go."
Schuldig thanked Ken and handed him the money. Omi watched the strange exchange take place. Ken glared so coldly at him. He couldn't understand it. They obviously knew each other, and weren't on particularly good terms. He wondered why. Schuldig gave Omi his ice cream.
"Here," the redhead smiled, "Why don't we sit down?" he motioned to the benches.
"I'll uh- catch up to you," Omi smiled, until Schuldig consented, and went back up to Ken, who was helping a customer. A couple tried to stop Omi, saying that there was a line, but Omi insisted he wasn't buying anything, and pushed through. "Ken-kun. . ." Ken looked up to Omi's face from his work.
"Watch out for that guy," Ken said seriously.
"What do you mean?" Omi asked.
"He wants something from you. Just. . . be careful." Ken threw him a worried smile. Omi nodded, and left for the benches. What was that supposed to mean? Schuldig liked him, and he'd been really sweet to him during their whole date. It was difficult for Omi to believe that Schuldig was like that. Who could he trust?
Omi sat down with his ice cream, "Sorry"
"No problem," Schuldig looked at his face, "Ken didn't say anything did he?"
"Well. . ."
"You shouldn't believe anything he says. He's a terrible liar, and a stupid jock. You'd probably do best to stay away from him." Schuldig smirked.
"He's not stupid! Why would you say something like that?" Omi retorted defensively.
"Well, I just know how those guys are. They try to take advantage of you without actually getting to know you." He paused, putting a hand on Omi's thigh, "You see, you know that I love you, don't you?" Omi widened his eyes as he felt the hand slip underneath the hem of his shorts. He stood up.
"Jerk!" Omi threw his ice cream on Schuldig's expensive shirt. The redhead picked up the ice cream off the stain and narrowed his eyes hatefully.
"You brat. . ." he hissed, "I thought you were different."
"Damn right I'm different! I'm not a slut like you!" Omi kicked dust in the older man's direction. The redhead cursed as sand flew into his eyes and Omi walked away feeling very good about himself. Turns out that Ken was right . . . wow. It felt really good to stand up for himself for once, and Ken had given him that courage.
He looked over to the ice cream truck in curiosity and Ken winked, giving him a 'thumbs up'. Omi's heart lightened in the realization that Ken had watched the entire thing and he felt a blush come into his cheeks as he grinned purely and stuck his thumb right back.
~~~~~~~~Saturday Night~~~~~~~~~
Omi lay on his couch, holding his magic 8-ball nervously. It was supposed to have all the answers, but he wasn't sure he could rely on it for something this important . . . ah, what the hell.
Omi closed his eyes and shook it with vigor.
"Am I falling in love with Ken-kun?" he stopped shaking and peeked open one eye tentatively to see the answer in the small circle.
'As I see it, YES.'
Omi's heart began to beat faster. Well, of course he was falling in love. He was just testing it to make sure it knew what it was doing. . .
"Is Ken-kun falling in love with me?" Omi shook it vigorously, stopping it quickly and looking at it anxiously.
"'concentrate and ask again'?!" Omi said in annoyance, "but I AM concentrating!" he shook it again.
'Better not tell you now'
Omi glared at the eight ball. The stupid thing didn't know what it was saying. He wanted an answer, damnnit! Throwing it on the ground in anguish he clutched his blanket closer. Pouting, Omi let the silence tear him apart. Curiosity soon gripped him, though, and he peered over the side of the couch to see the answer it had given.
'Without a doubt.'
Omi's spirit leapt a million paces. Of course, he did realize that magic 8- balls aren't very reliable, but he was allowed to imagine this was true. Just to be sure he asked it again, "Really?!" He shook it.
'Reply hazy. Try again.'
He sighed in defeat. This really wasn't fair.
That was when he heard the phone ring. He was a bit lazy, but another few rings convinced him to pick up. "Hello?"
"Omi! Why didn't you go to see Aya today like I TOLD you to?" It was Youji, of course. Who else would call him this late on a Saturday night?
"I did, but your boyfriend wasn't very agreeable."
"Well. . ." Youji tried to think of a way out of that one.
"And you failed to mention that Ken would be there."
"I thought you'd be happy. . ." Omi could practically see Youji smirk, even though they were only on the phone.
"I guess. . . " Omi smiled, looking at the magic 8-ball which rolled off the couch as he fidgeted. ". . .but that's not really the point."
"Then what IS the point, Omi?"
"He's the pizza guy. . ."
"So what? The world doesn't revolve around pizza." Youji commented sarcastically.
"Prove it," Omi smiled.
"We're getting off topic."
"Un," Omi agreed, watching his toes move underneath the blanket. There was a pause.
"I bet he likes you, Omi. I KNOW you like him, so you have to go for it, or you'll be suffering like this forever."
"I'm not suffering." Omi protested.
"Just think about it." Youji hung up, and Omi was left with the dial tone. He let the phone drift away from his ear and brought it to his lap with a sigh. Youji was right. He was always right. It wasn't fair. None of this was fair. . . or was he making this too difficult than it needed to be? Probably.
Omi hung the phone back on the hook. He would think more clearly after a good night's sleep.
~~~~~~~~~Sunday. . . um. . . afternoon?~~~~~~~~~~~
Omi woke to the sound of an ice cream truck passing his window and yawned as he sat up. The music stopped almost instantly. Looking at the clock he raised his eyebrows. 2:00 pm? No way! He never slept this late. He reached for his watch on his bedside table. It read 2:02. wow. Omi put his hand to his head in disbelief.
Putting on his watch, he got out of bed and stretched. He cringed as the menacing tone of the phone rang.
"Hello?" He yawned sleepily over the line.
"Did I catch you at a bad time?" Omi widened his eyes.
"Who is this?" The blond asked, holding his breath.
"Ken," the voice answered, making Omi all choked-up inside just thinking about what to say. He gripped the phone cord nervously.
"Oh, hi Ken-kun," Omi gulped, "Sorry, I just woke up."
"I'm so sorry, did I wake you?" Ken cringed. It always seemed like he was doing everything wrong.
"Oh no! It wasn't you. Um . . . How did you get my number?" Omi asked curiously.
"Your friend Youji came to the pizza place this morning and actually wrote it on the money he gave me to pay for his and Aya's lunch. He also wrote to call you, but . . . ahh. I'm so embarrassed."
"W-why's that" Omi held the phone cord more tightly.
"Well, no, I mean, I just thought that maybe if you weren't doing anything. . ." there was a pause as he laughed nervously, ". . . What I mean is I've just finished with my ice-cream rounds and I hoped that we could hang out or something."
Omi froze with embarrassment. Did he just get asked out? By Ken? This was Youji's doing, wasn't it? He probably came into the pizza shop and asked Ken if he would call here and ask him out on a date. Ken wasn't doing this out of his own will. . . That's why he was embarrassed. Omi's eyes watered. He knew this couldn't be true, but he wanted to say yes so badly.
"um. . .Omi?" Ken asked, wondering if Omi was still listening.
"Y-yes. I mean. . ." Omi gave in, "Where should we meet?"
"Uh. . . right here!"
He heard the chime of ice cream bells outside his window, and looked out on the truck pulled into the driveway and waved slowly as Ken waved nervously, cell phone on his ear. Then Omi realized why Ken looked so nervous. It was because he just woke up and was currently half-naked. Omi's eyes turned to dots and blushed redder than a beet before he could close the curtain. He pinned his back against the wall with embarrassment, still catching his breath.
It wasn't for another few seconds that Omi heard his name being called from the phone. He put it up to his ear.
"Yes?" he asked, still catching his breath.
"Omi? Are you alright?"
"Un. I'm sorry about that." Omi paused, "I'll be right out after I get dressed,"
"Great," Ken exclaimed excitedly. Omi clicked off the phone. That was possibly the most embarrassing phone conversation he'd ever had. . .but it also had to be the best. He stepped over to his dresser with a lovesick smile on his face and got dressed quickly. It wasn't long before he left his apartment and went out to the truck.
"Hi!" Ken greeted him, opening the back doors and offering a helping hand up the large step. The first thing Ken noticed was the cute outfit Omi was wearing, not that he wasn't always cute, but he was just especially cute now. Ken grinned as he took the wheel, "So, where are we headed?"
"You can use this even when you're done with your rounds?" Omi asked curiously, rubbing his arms, because it was so cold inside.
"Not technically."
"But that's-" Omi raised his eyebrows.
"You gotta live a little. No one will notice." Ken flashed a grin, ". . . how about the park? I'll buy us some ice cream."
"I'd. . . love that." Omi smiled.
"Not going to throw it at me, are you?" Ken asked sarcastically, referring to the previous day's incident.
"Not unless you try to molest me," Omi answered, challenging his sarcasm. It raised a laugh out of the brunette.
"Deal."
~~~~~~~~Sunday Night~~~~~~~
Omi touched his lips. Had that really. . . happened?
Was he really that much of a coward?
He had never actually kissed someone before, and he had been afraid to admit it. Ken told him that he wouldn't make any unwanted advances, and he was true to his word. They had a wonderful date. They ate ice cream, but it was definitely Omi who was the one to make the first move. It was all like a blur to him, now, but Omi was beginning to remember it clearly.
They talked for a long time and were sitting on a bench, just having finished eating ice cream when Omi noticed that there was some of the stuff left on Ken's cheek. He asked him if it was alright if he cleaned if off for him, and Ken didn't disapprove, and so Omi had reached up to lick it off. Ken with the ice cream tasted so sweet and before he knew it Ken had captured his mouth in his own. And after a moment of unbelievable ecstasy, Omi pulled away, having frightened himself. Then he got up shakily, saying he was sorry. Ken ran after him at first, but he ran faster . . . all the way to the bus stop, and then home.
Omi pulled his pillow closer. That's how it went, and he'd been home for hours since, having cried his fair share, and ignoring all the phone calls. Ken's message made him cry every time he re-listened to it. Youji had called, too, but he just didn't feel like talking to anyone.
His first kiss. . .
. . . and he was really falling. It scared him.
It should be a good thing, he knew! But what if Ken didn't feel exactly the same way? What if he was just like Schuldig, or worse, if he was just a rebound from another requited love. This was real. He knew it was real! Then, why did doubt leave him feeling so miserable?
The phone rang again.
And again.
The answering machine picked up.
"Yo. Omi? It's Youji. You must be really down to not answer for so long. . . Listen. Don't be mad at me, but if I know one thing, it's that pizza's good for the soul. It can't hurt you unless you leave it sitting too long. When that doorbell rings, I order you to answer! No more hiding. You're in love and I'm not going to sit around and watch you beat yourself up over it. Ken loves you just as much as you love him. Got it? Good. See ya." Omi heard the phone click off, and wiped his eyes. Why was Youji always right?
He looked at his magic 8-ball, "huh? So why IS Youji always right?" He glared at it in its uselessness. That wasn't a yes or no question.
That's when he heard the doorbell ring.
Omi widened his eyes. It rang again, followed by several knocks. He got up. Youji told him to answer, but he was scared of what he might find.
Holding the handle, he closed his eyes and opened the door. As he opened them, Ken's figure in his pizza uniform became more clear, and then blurry again as Omi's eyes watered. Ken had such a sad face. Did he cause it? Oh, gods he hoped not. He was about to speak, trying to hide from his feelings again, when he felt his lips being covered. This time he couldn't push away.
Omi widened his eyes as Ken pulled away. Omi gulped; his knees weak with the weight of his emotion.
"I love you. Please don't push me away," Ken smiled pleadingly, holding out his heated bag, "I- uh, brought pizza. It's from Youji."
". . . really?" Omi asked, choking on his words.
"Yeah! He paid for it up front and ordered me to take it to you immediately . . .said everything was my fault." Ken grinned, rubbing the back of his head in nervous recollection.
"No, not that," Omi laughed, "Do you really love me?"
Ken brought their lips together again. There was a moment silence.
"How's that?" Ken asked softly.
"If I say I'm not convinced, will you do it again?" Omi asked teasingly, and Ken grinned. He couldn't possibly reject such a tempting invitation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: meh. I didn't know how to end it. ^^; In any case, I would love a review!! This is a one shot so there won't be any more, but I'd really love feedback so I know weather I should write more one-shots, or if I just suck at it, it would be good to know that, too. ^^;;
Thank you for reading!!!! ^^
~~~~~Friday Evening~~~~~~
"Ow!" Omi jetted his hand away from the popcorn bag. It was hotter than . . . well, hotter than that new boyfriend Youji was always raving about. Omi decided that was the highest on the scale of heat he could think of as he prodded inside the microwave with an oven mitt, sliding the bag out and into a bowl.
"You alright there, Omi?" Youji took a sip of his beer as he entered the kitchen, waving a finger accusingly, "oh, you burnt the popcorn again, didn't you." he chuckled as Omi's face turned sour.
"No! I didn't this time," Omi pouted, "It just needs to cool a bit. . ." he frowned as Youji neared the bag, "You're going to burn yourself."
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not- OW!" Youji nearly dropped his beer, shoving his fingers into the sink and running the cold water. "Okay, okay, I'm ready for the 'I told you so' lecture."
"I told you so," Omi mocked in a sing-song voice as he picked up the video Youji had rented out, "hmm. . . I read the book this was made from."
"Really. . ." Youji teased, "I bet you the movie is better."
"That's an opinion. At least I know this isn't going to be one of -those- movies you like . . ." Omi trailed off, not wishing to even touch on the subject.
"Good times," Youji smirked.
"Crazy drunk," Omi muttered sarcastically.
"I heard that!" Youji protested, "And I'm -not- drunk, thank you . . . last night with Aya, though. Heh." He smirked, "-That's- a different story."
"I don't want to know."
"Good, 'cause I'm not tellin'." Youji took another swig of the stuff as he sank back on the couch. Omi joined him with a bowl of popcorn that would no longer scorch your hands. Youji refused to try it, however, because he swore the popcorn would turn on him again. Omi just laughed. They had great fun together. Every Friday night was movie night at Omi's house. Youji would normally talk about his newest boyfriend and Omi would talk about work, and it was an escape from the prison of day-in, day-out life where you can barely talk without someone's permission.
Well, Omi was amazed at Youji's recent relationship. It wasn't a one-night stand, in fact it had been going nearly two months now and Youji seemed completely smitten. He had been pitiful towards Youji in the past with the past bad relationships his friend had to suffer through, but now that his best friend truly found someone, he was so happy for him, and couldn't wait to meet this Aya. . . after all, he did have his duties as the best friend. Omi smiled. That sounded odd, but he supposed that it was right. They were just like brothers.
A loud rapping could be heard at the door. Omi nearly jumped.
"Who's that?!"
"Oh, yeah," Youji piped in nonchalantly, "Forgot to tell you I ordered pizza, because I was starving. Aya's the manager of the shop, you know." *knock knock* "Hope you like pepperoni."
"Well I hope you're paying." Omi walked to the other side of the room, his hand hovering over the doorknob. *knock knock knock*
"What are you kidding? I'm broke."
"What?!"
*knock knock knock knock*
"COMING!" Omi yelled through a sigh, getting out his wallet and opening the door. He would have said 'hello' had a pizza not been shoved in his face.
"Geez, what a heavy pizza!" The pizza guy whined, "Could you have ordered any more toppings?"
Omi took the box from the pizza guy, lowering it from his eyes, and leaving them fixated on a beautifully shaped face and a grateful grin, a tremendous blush beginning to take root in his cheeks.
"Hey, thanks!" the pizza guy smiled at him. Omi melted.
"Ahem!" Youji elbowed Omi teasingly, snapping him back into reality, "Omi, why don't you give the nice, handsome man his money. . ."
"'Ken'," the pizza guy announced, giving the pizza to Youji.
"hmm?" the blond with the beer gave him a good, hard, clueless stare.
"That's my name," he pointed to a small nametag on the right-hand corner of his uniform, "'Ken Hidaka' at your service."
"Ah!" Youji answered, "Great," the blond took a ten-dollar bill from a blushing Omi and handed it to the pizza guy. "Here ya go, Ken. Keep the change, and say 'hi' to Aya from Youji."
"Oh, hey, you're his new boyfriend, right?" Ken grinned, taking the money, but then raised his eyebrows mockingly, looking quickly from Youji to Omi, " . . . not cheating on him are you?"
Omi looked up, the blush carrying over to his anger, about to protest when Youji ruffled his hair in a chuckle. Omi bristled.
"Little Omittchi?" Youji grinned as Omi swatted away his hand,
"Don't call me that . . ." the shorter pouted, and Youji took the opportunity to ignore him completely.
" . . . nah. He's still single . . . been looking for a nice guy for him, though."
"Youji!" Omi blushed furiously. There were some things you just -didn't- tell to strangers. -That- was one of them. Omi was surprised when he looked to Ken's face and it looked at him with intrigue.
"Then I guess I'll have to stop by sometime," Ken winked, breaking into a light laugh at the blush, that now couldn't be mistaken, creeping across Omi's face. "You're really cute. You know that?" Ken said outright, his cheeks turning slightly rosy as well. There was a bit of an awkward silence.
"Hey, hey!" Youji came close to Ken, whispering in his ear, "I know Aya wouldn't be happy to hear you've been flirting on the job." Omi raised his eyebrows, curious to know what Youji had said.
"R-Right!" Ken jumped back out of the door nervously, more so because he was so obvious than fear of the wrath of Aya. "Have a nice night, and enjoy the pizza!" He waved as he turned away. Youji closed the door quickly, smirking at Omi as he held the handle.
"You lucky, lucky boy," Youji chuckled, walking into the kitchen corner.
"W-what do you mean," Omi asked innocently, still a little shaky.
"That guy was totally coming onto you!" Youji said, dropping his empty beer can in the sink and grabbing another from the fridge, "Don't even try telling me you didn't notice how hot he was. I saw the way you looked at him. 'Course not as hot as Aya, but I still say you got pretty lucky. . . considering all we had to do was order pizza."
"Wha- I-" Omi was dumbfounded. Was Youji right? I mean, Ken was hot, and he couldn't deny that he was attracted to him. I mean, how couldn't he be . . . but to say that Ken was coming onto him was a bit of a stretch. It would just be too perfect. Nothing ever happens that way. I mean, come on! Love at first sight . . . with a pizza guy?
Omi put his hand to his forehead. There was no way this was happening to him. He sighed, looking over to Youji who was busy sitting on the couch, stuffing his face with popcorn and watching him as if he were the feature film.
"hmm . . . " Youji reflected, realizing that he was spotted and popping another popcorn kernel into his mouth, "Why don't you just admit you like him?" (translation: I could hook you up)
"N-No!" Omi stuttered, unable to think correctly.
"Why not?"
"Because I don't!" He blushed again, thinking about what Ken had said . . .
"HE likes you," Youji noted slyly, flipping open the pizza box lid and taking a slice for himself. He gestured the box to his younger friend. "C'mon. Pizza's good for the soul . . . can't do much damage to the heart with the grease, you know, so you should at least give it a chance."
". . ." Omi gave Youji a glaringly suspicious look as he took a slice. Omi was no idiot, and he knew exactly what Youji was talking about, but that wasn't going to stop him from eating a slice of good pizza. Geez, Ken was right. How many toppings are there on here? Better question: what the heck is on here?! Maybe he'd just set it aside for a minute. Besides. . .
". . . the movie's starting," Omi announced, clutching the tub of popcorn possessively instead, and praying that Youji would just leave the subject alone. There was a moment awkward silence.
". . . um . . . beer?" Youji offered his can, trying to make amends. "You know, Freud praised alcohol for lessening inhibitions."
"I don't like him!"
"Freud or Ken?"
"B-both!" Omi stuttered angrily.
"Just saying. . ." Youji sighed, trying to think of a way to salvage the conversation, "Ever heard the saying 'the lady doth protest too much'?" Youji quoted smartly, causing Omi to blush angrily and throw a couch pillow in the noise's general direction as the opening credits came up.
~~~~Saturday Morning ~~~~
This was a mission of friendship.
Omi clutched the post-it note in his hand tightly, crinkling it unintentionally. This address was for the mall. He was already there, but his heart wouldn't stop pounding. ONLY for Youji, he would do something like this. He hardly believed he said yes to meeting Youji's boyfriend last night, but to be persuaded this morning to go ALONE was a different story entirely.
He must be insane.
Well, too late, now. Here it is. Omi looked up at the restaurant's sign, 'Pizza Love'. He nearly choked. This was just. . . too much.
So, he had confessed last night that he liked Ken a little, because there was no use hiding it. He hadn't been thinking straight since last night. For example; Omi poured orange juice in his coffee and put milk in his orange juice, and got a bit of a surprise when he tasted the two. Youji noted that he was, 'not insane, just infatuated', but Omi still wasn't sure there was a difference in the two.
In any case, Omi shook his head, snapping back into the world that wasn't Ken. He stuffed the post-it in his pocket and walked in.
He looked up to the empty place, and saw the chef in an apron spinning dough on his fists. This chef was slightly different though . . . in that he happened to have brown hair and now that he thought of it, Omi thought he looked awfully like. . .
". . .!!!!!" Omi panicked upon the realization, grabbing a chair facing the opposite direction, and nearly fell into it.
Of course, that guy just has to be working here today. I'm going to kill Youji as soon as I can get out of here.
Omi tried to think straight; different ways to mutilate Youji, what Aya might look like, but it was futile thinking about anything else. The pounding in his ears was too loud, and all he could think about was whether or not Ken was looking at him. It felt like a hole was being dug into his back. He had to move somewhere. Anywhere. There wasn't any path to the exit that didn't involve looking back at Ken, so he looked to his side at a table closer to the back of the restaurant where he might be able to hide without Ken seeing him.
Slowly he got up and walked over, trying to hide behind chairs and things, inconspicuous as possible. He made it. Sighing loudly in relief, he took hold of the back of the chair to sit down when. . .
"You can stop hiding, you know." Omi jumped and spun around into a smiling face, and he paled nervously.
"Me? I wasn't-" Omi started, but paused to change his sentence, knowing that wasn't true, "Well, you looked busy. That's all."
"Nope, not busy at all." Ken smiled, looking around the small restaurant, which was completely empty at the moment. "Lemme guess, you liked our pizza so much that you just had to see where it all begins." He smiled.
"So you make them?" Omi asked.
"Only sometimes. I'm not actually getting paid today, I'm just filling-in. I mean, I've seen Yuriko do it enough times, and it's actually not too hard," Ken made his way behind the counter to demonstrate. Omi followed as Ken took up the dough in his hands, "See, just twirl it around like this!"
Omi watched as the dough spun for a few feeble seconds and fell to the ground.
"Crap!" Ken hissed.
"Ken?!" A muffled angry voice called from the kitchen. It sounded like it was getting louder. "Did you drop another pizza?!"
"eheh." Ken grinned nervously, "That's my cue." He stripped off his apron and unceremoniously threw it over the counter.
"Wait. I could help cleaning up or-" Omi tried to say, watching as Ken zipped about. It looked like he was getting ready to leave.
"Nah. I just have to leave before Aya comes out. He'll have my head if he doesn't cool off first. Sorry we had to cut things short, Omittchi. I'll be around!" Ken waved as he ran out. Omi blushed for the first time in their meeting as Ken used Youji's pet name for him. Of course, that's the only name Ken knew, but it still made him feel funny.
Aya came out of the kitchen with enough time to catch a last glance, "KEN?!"
Ken flashed a peace sign and a grin as he continued to run away. Aya looked pissed, and with good reason, as he stared at the ruined dough on the ground. He then found a new outlet for his anger as he stared at Omi. There were a few nervous moments where all Omi could do was gulp.
"Do you need help cleaning-"
"If you're not buying anything, then get out." Aya shot his ice-glare-of- death and Omi figured this wasn't the best time to mention he was Youji's friend and apologized as he did what the man said, following Ken out the door, though the pizza guy was long out of sight.
~~~~~~~Saturday Afternoon~~~~~~~
Omi walked nervously, glancing every once and a while at the boy to his right. He didn't know why he'd said yes to this date. They'd met at the fencing club at school and somehow he'd gotten Omi's number. . .
Schuldig seemed nice, sure, but Omi wasn't sure he had feelings for him. He was kind of. . . expensive? Omi didn't know. . . just the way Schuldig was dressed made him think that they were going to an opera or something. The shirt he wore looked so elegant it must have cost a fortune. He just called up after lunch, and Omi didn't have the heart to tell him no. After all, it would be rude not to accept because Schuldig didn't specifically -say- it was a date, so he shouldn't consider it one. Truth be told, Omi was trying to imagine it was a date with Ken, instead. But, of course, that would never happen. They had just met, and Omi guessed they were friends but. . .
"The weather's nice." Schuldig offered, bringing Omi out of his train of thought.
"Uh, yeah," Omi replied with a smile. He did love walking in the park. The fact that Schuldig was there wasn't really the reason he was having a good time.
There suddenly was the catchy tune that carried through the trees. Omi looked over to the street where an ice cream truck pulled up to the curb. Several small children ran to their parents begging for a treat. Schuldig saw Omi watching.
"Would you like to get ice cream?" Schuldig raised his eyebrows, grabbing Omi's hand and already motioning towards the truck. Omi smiled. Schuldig was being very friendly. Maybe he could learn to like him in time.
Schuldig pulled Omi over to the window, but Omi accidentally bumped into a very young girl in a light purple jumper who ran in front of him. Her strawberry ice cream bar fell, and she immediately began to cry.
"Oh, no, I'm sorry. . ." Omi knelt down frantically trying to console her. "I'll get you another one, okay?" She looked up into Omi's face, drying her eyes on her sleeve.
"Not necessary." A hand from the ice cream window extended with another strawberry ice cream bar. The little girl's face lit up, as she took it gratefully.
"Thank you!"
"No problem." The voice said. Omi looked up and nearly jumped.
"Ken-kun?!"
"The one and only," Ken smiled, giving another child their ice cream, "It must be fate that we keep meeting."
"I thought you worked in the pizza shop." Omi said in confusion.
"I have a lot of part time jobs. . . have to take care of my mom. She's pretty sick." Ken answered casually. Omi looked uncomfortable. He didn't have any family to take care of; he couldn't imagine what it would be like.
"I'm sorry," Omi answered, and was about to ask him where he went to school when Schuldig came up to him and held his hand affectionately. Ken raised his eyebrows at this new information.
"What kind of ice cream do you want?" Schuldig asked Omi, who shied away, trying to make him let go of his hand. It was embarrassing. They weren't a couple! He didn't want Ken to get the wrong idea.
"um-" Omi managed to shake his hand free, "I can get my own."
"I insist," Schuldig smiled, "How's chocolate?"
"That's. . . fine," Omi said, looking again at the confused Ken, who averted his eyes.
"Two chocolate, then," Ken announced with a slightly disappointed tone of voice as he reached inside his freezer.
"Is that you, Ken-ken?" Schuldig smirked in afterthought.
"Yeah," Ken said coldly, handing out two chocolate ice cream bars, "Here you go."
Schuldig thanked Ken and handed him the money. Omi watched the strange exchange take place. Ken glared so coldly at him. He couldn't understand it. They obviously knew each other, and weren't on particularly good terms. He wondered why. Schuldig gave Omi his ice cream.
"Here," the redhead smiled, "Why don't we sit down?" he motioned to the benches.
"I'll uh- catch up to you," Omi smiled, until Schuldig consented, and went back up to Ken, who was helping a customer. A couple tried to stop Omi, saying that there was a line, but Omi insisted he wasn't buying anything, and pushed through. "Ken-kun. . ." Ken looked up to Omi's face from his work.
"Watch out for that guy," Ken said seriously.
"What do you mean?" Omi asked.
"He wants something from you. Just. . . be careful." Ken threw him a worried smile. Omi nodded, and left for the benches. What was that supposed to mean? Schuldig liked him, and he'd been really sweet to him during their whole date. It was difficult for Omi to believe that Schuldig was like that. Who could he trust?
Omi sat down with his ice cream, "Sorry"
"No problem," Schuldig looked at his face, "Ken didn't say anything did he?"
"Well. . ."
"You shouldn't believe anything he says. He's a terrible liar, and a stupid jock. You'd probably do best to stay away from him." Schuldig smirked.
"He's not stupid! Why would you say something like that?" Omi retorted defensively.
"Well, I just know how those guys are. They try to take advantage of you without actually getting to know you." He paused, putting a hand on Omi's thigh, "You see, you know that I love you, don't you?" Omi widened his eyes as he felt the hand slip underneath the hem of his shorts. He stood up.
"Jerk!" Omi threw his ice cream on Schuldig's expensive shirt. The redhead picked up the ice cream off the stain and narrowed his eyes hatefully.
"You brat. . ." he hissed, "I thought you were different."
"Damn right I'm different! I'm not a slut like you!" Omi kicked dust in the older man's direction. The redhead cursed as sand flew into his eyes and Omi walked away feeling very good about himself. Turns out that Ken was right . . . wow. It felt really good to stand up for himself for once, and Ken had given him that courage.
He looked over to the ice cream truck in curiosity and Ken winked, giving him a 'thumbs up'. Omi's heart lightened in the realization that Ken had watched the entire thing and he felt a blush come into his cheeks as he grinned purely and stuck his thumb right back.
~~~~~~~~Saturday Night~~~~~~~~~
Omi lay on his couch, holding his magic 8-ball nervously. It was supposed to have all the answers, but he wasn't sure he could rely on it for something this important . . . ah, what the hell.
Omi closed his eyes and shook it with vigor.
"Am I falling in love with Ken-kun?" he stopped shaking and peeked open one eye tentatively to see the answer in the small circle.
'As I see it, YES.'
Omi's heart began to beat faster. Well, of course he was falling in love. He was just testing it to make sure it knew what it was doing. . .
"Is Ken-kun falling in love with me?" Omi shook it vigorously, stopping it quickly and looking at it anxiously.
"'concentrate and ask again'?!" Omi said in annoyance, "but I AM concentrating!" he shook it again.
'Better not tell you now'
Omi glared at the eight ball. The stupid thing didn't know what it was saying. He wanted an answer, damnnit! Throwing it on the ground in anguish he clutched his blanket closer. Pouting, Omi let the silence tear him apart. Curiosity soon gripped him, though, and he peered over the side of the couch to see the answer it had given.
'Without a doubt.'
Omi's spirit leapt a million paces. Of course, he did realize that magic 8- balls aren't very reliable, but he was allowed to imagine this was true. Just to be sure he asked it again, "Really?!" He shook it.
'Reply hazy. Try again.'
He sighed in defeat. This really wasn't fair.
That was when he heard the phone ring. He was a bit lazy, but another few rings convinced him to pick up. "Hello?"
"Omi! Why didn't you go to see Aya today like I TOLD you to?" It was Youji, of course. Who else would call him this late on a Saturday night?
"I did, but your boyfriend wasn't very agreeable."
"Well. . ." Youji tried to think of a way out of that one.
"And you failed to mention that Ken would be there."
"I thought you'd be happy. . ." Omi could practically see Youji smirk, even though they were only on the phone.
"I guess. . . " Omi smiled, looking at the magic 8-ball which rolled off the couch as he fidgeted. ". . .but that's not really the point."
"Then what IS the point, Omi?"
"He's the pizza guy. . ."
"So what? The world doesn't revolve around pizza." Youji commented sarcastically.
"Prove it," Omi smiled.
"We're getting off topic."
"Un," Omi agreed, watching his toes move underneath the blanket. There was a pause.
"I bet he likes you, Omi. I KNOW you like him, so you have to go for it, or you'll be suffering like this forever."
"I'm not suffering." Omi protested.
"Just think about it." Youji hung up, and Omi was left with the dial tone. He let the phone drift away from his ear and brought it to his lap with a sigh. Youji was right. He was always right. It wasn't fair. None of this was fair. . . or was he making this too difficult than it needed to be? Probably.
Omi hung the phone back on the hook. He would think more clearly after a good night's sleep.
~~~~~~~~~Sunday. . . um. . . afternoon?~~~~~~~~~~~
Omi woke to the sound of an ice cream truck passing his window and yawned as he sat up. The music stopped almost instantly. Looking at the clock he raised his eyebrows. 2:00 pm? No way! He never slept this late. He reached for his watch on his bedside table. It read 2:02. wow. Omi put his hand to his head in disbelief.
Putting on his watch, he got out of bed and stretched. He cringed as the menacing tone of the phone rang.
"Hello?" He yawned sleepily over the line.
"Did I catch you at a bad time?" Omi widened his eyes.
"Who is this?" The blond asked, holding his breath.
"Ken," the voice answered, making Omi all choked-up inside just thinking about what to say. He gripped the phone cord nervously.
"Oh, hi Ken-kun," Omi gulped, "Sorry, I just woke up."
"I'm so sorry, did I wake you?" Ken cringed. It always seemed like he was doing everything wrong.
"Oh no! It wasn't you. Um . . . How did you get my number?" Omi asked curiously.
"Your friend Youji came to the pizza place this morning and actually wrote it on the money he gave me to pay for his and Aya's lunch. He also wrote to call you, but . . . ahh. I'm so embarrassed."
"W-why's that" Omi held the phone cord more tightly.
"Well, no, I mean, I just thought that maybe if you weren't doing anything. . ." there was a pause as he laughed nervously, ". . . What I mean is I've just finished with my ice-cream rounds and I hoped that we could hang out or something."
Omi froze with embarrassment. Did he just get asked out? By Ken? This was Youji's doing, wasn't it? He probably came into the pizza shop and asked Ken if he would call here and ask him out on a date. Ken wasn't doing this out of his own will. . . That's why he was embarrassed. Omi's eyes watered. He knew this couldn't be true, but he wanted to say yes so badly.
"um. . .Omi?" Ken asked, wondering if Omi was still listening.
"Y-yes. I mean. . ." Omi gave in, "Where should we meet?"
"Uh. . . right here!"
He heard the chime of ice cream bells outside his window, and looked out on the truck pulled into the driveway and waved slowly as Ken waved nervously, cell phone on his ear. Then Omi realized why Ken looked so nervous. It was because he just woke up and was currently half-naked. Omi's eyes turned to dots and blushed redder than a beet before he could close the curtain. He pinned his back against the wall with embarrassment, still catching his breath.
It wasn't for another few seconds that Omi heard his name being called from the phone. He put it up to his ear.
"Yes?" he asked, still catching his breath.
"Omi? Are you alright?"
"Un. I'm sorry about that." Omi paused, "I'll be right out after I get dressed,"
"Great," Ken exclaimed excitedly. Omi clicked off the phone. That was possibly the most embarrassing phone conversation he'd ever had. . .but it also had to be the best. He stepped over to his dresser with a lovesick smile on his face and got dressed quickly. It wasn't long before he left his apartment and went out to the truck.
"Hi!" Ken greeted him, opening the back doors and offering a helping hand up the large step. The first thing Ken noticed was the cute outfit Omi was wearing, not that he wasn't always cute, but he was just especially cute now. Ken grinned as he took the wheel, "So, where are we headed?"
"You can use this even when you're done with your rounds?" Omi asked curiously, rubbing his arms, because it was so cold inside.
"Not technically."
"But that's-" Omi raised his eyebrows.
"You gotta live a little. No one will notice." Ken flashed a grin, ". . . how about the park? I'll buy us some ice cream."
"I'd. . . love that." Omi smiled.
"Not going to throw it at me, are you?" Ken asked sarcastically, referring to the previous day's incident.
"Not unless you try to molest me," Omi answered, challenging his sarcasm. It raised a laugh out of the brunette.
"Deal."
~~~~~~~~Sunday Night~~~~~~~
Omi touched his lips. Had that really. . . happened?
Was he really that much of a coward?
He had never actually kissed someone before, and he had been afraid to admit it. Ken told him that he wouldn't make any unwanted advances, and he was true to his word. They had a wonderful date. They ate ice cream, but it was definitely Omi who was the one to make the first move. It was all like a blur to him, now, but Omi was beginning to remember it clearly.
They talked for a long time and were sitting on a bench, just having finished eating ice cream when Omi noticed that there was some of the stuff left on Ken's cheek. He asked him if it was alright if he cleaned if off for him, and Ken didn't disapprove, and so Omi had reached up to lick it off. Ken with the ice cream tasted so sweet and before he knew it Ken had captured his mouth in his own. And after a moment of unbelievable ecstasy, Omi pulled away, having frightened himself. Then he got up shakily, saying he was sorry. Ken ran after him at first, but he ran faster . . . all the way to the bus stop, and then home.
Omi pulled his pillow closer. That's how it went, and he'd been home for hours since, having cried his fair share, and ignoring all the phone calls. Ken's message made him cry every time he re-listened to it. Youji had called, too, but he just didn't feel like talking to anyone.
His first kiss. . .
. . . and he was really falling. It scared him.
It should be a good thing, he knew! But what if Ken didn't feel exactly the same way? What if he was just like Schuldig, or worse, if he was just a rebound from another requited love. This was real. He knew it was real! Then, why did doubt leave him feeling so miserable?
The phone rang again.
And again.
The answering machine picked up.
"Yo. Omi? It's Youji. You must be really down to not answer for so long. . . Listen. Don't be mad at me, but if I know one thing, it's that pizza's good for the soul. It can't hurt you unless you leave it sitting too long. When that doorbell rings, I order you to answer! No more hiding. You're in love and I'm not going to sit around and watch you beat yourself up over it. Ken loves you just as much as you love him. Got it? Good. See ya." Omi heard the phone click off, and wiped his eyes. Why was Youji always right?
He looked at his magic 8-ball, "huh? So why IS Youji always right?" He glared at it in its uselessness. That wasn't a yes or no question.
That's when he heard the doorbell ring.
Omi widened his eyes. It rang again, followed by several knocks. He got up. Youji told him to answer, but he was scared of what he might find.
Holding the handle, he closed his eyes and opened the door. As he opened them, Ken's figure in his pizza uniform became more clear, and then blurry again as Omi's eyes watered. Ken had such a sad face. Did he cause it? Oh, gods he hoped not. He was about to speak, trying to hide from his feelings again, when he felt his lips being covered. This time he couldn't push away.
Omi widened his eyes as Ken pulled away. Omi gulped; his knees weak with the weight of his emotion.
"I love you. Please don't push me away," Ken smiled pleadingly, holding out his heated bag, "I- uh, brought pizza. It's from Youji."
". . . really?" Omi asked, choking on his words.
"Yeah! He paid for it up front and ordered me to take it to you immediately . . .said everything was my fault." Ken grinned, rubbing the back of his head in nervous recollection.
"No, not that," Omi laughed, "Do you really love me?"
Ken brought their lips together again. There was a moment silence.
"How's that?" Ken asked softly.
"If I say I'm not convinced, will you do it again?" Omi asked teasingly, and Ken grinned. He couldn't possibly reject such a tempting invitation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: meh. I didn't know how to end it. ^^; In any case, I would love a review!! This is a one shot so there won't be any more, but I'd really love feedback so I know weather I should write more one-shots, or if I just suck at it, it would be good to know that, too. ^^;;
Thank you for reading!!!! ^^