DISCLAIMERS: Youji, Omi, et al © Koyasu Takehito, Project Weiß, Kyoko Tsuchiya, Marine Entertainment, Bandai Music and Animate Film. No copyright infringement intended.
WARNINGS: Shounen ai content, possibly yaoi, too. Please proceed with discretion.
Weep, then Remember
~ A part of the Youji/Omi anthology When I Need You ~
He looked surprised to see me standing at the gate the moment it creaked open and a flood of high school students came gushing out. I smiled a tiny smile and lifted my hand in a beckoning wave. Instantly, his eyes brightened the way the sky turns blue when the sun's gold touches the horizon; he turned and said something to the group of boys he was with, then hurried toward me.
His cyan gaze never left mine as he made his way through the crowd toward me. He would never know how even that little gesture of earnest friendship and trust affected me.
"Youji-kun!" he exclaimed in affectionate greeting, panting softly as he reached my side. He fell lightly against me, thrown by the weight of the pack that was strapped to his back, and I was all too glad to catch him in my arms, if it provided even the smallest opportunity to have him in my embrace.
"I didn't know you were coming for me," he explained, still looking up at me with that adorable little smile. His eyes silently asked, Why?
" 'Cause I like you, that's why," I said, keeping my tone light and casual so that he would think it was a joke—even if in truth, it was no joke. And that wasn't all it really was. I grinned, keeping my eyes carefully averted.
It worked. His mouth parted in a lighthearted laugh. "Youji-kun!" he chuckled, falling into step next to me as we started down toward the Koneko no Sumu Ie.
When we got to the shop, it hit me as a bit of a surprise to see that the girls that usually crowded up front weren't present. Then I noticed the 'Close' sign on the glass door, and understood.
"Aww, instead of getting a splendid view of the feminine magnificence that graces every other afternoon, all I get is a bunch of kittens who're too preoccupied with their own private matters to baby-sit," I drawled as I pulled out my spare key and jammed it into the keyhole. "How unlucky."
"I wouldn't call it unlucky, Youji-kun," came his soft voice from behind me, and I felt my cheeks blush lightly. It was a strange feeling, the sudden rush of warmth to my face; it was a feeling I hadn't experienced in quite some time now.
And the thought of what had caused it in particular… well, that was too much.
"Ne, Youji-kun."
"Hmm?" I looked up to see amusement specking his bright blue eyes, and felt the heat in my cheeks intensify. My heartbeat started quickening, and I cursed myself silently. God damn it if he could sense my discomfort!
"You seem to be having trouble with the door," he observed, kneeling down next to me. It was hard not to be aware of just how close our faces were at that moment. "Let me handle it."
"Um… yeah, sure." I handed him the key, and he reached out to take it, and my heart stopped the moment his skin brushed tantalizingly against mine. My heart was shrieking now, its pumps going faster and more desperate, and there was a funny tingling in my temples, and my nose was filled with the dizzying, intoxicating scent of him, and God how I wanted… how I wanted…
"There." A smart little click, and the door swung open. He dropped the key into my open palm, which was still outstretched, and stepped into the semi-darkness of the empty shop.
"Aya-kun?" he called out, his sweet, husky voice echoing. "Ken-kun?"
"They're not here," I said, hurrying inside. "I remember now—they went to make a round of deliveries this afternoon. I guess that means we have the shop all to ourselves." I gave a short laugh, and closed the door.
The area was suddenly plunged into blackness.
"Youji-kun?" he said hesitantly, his voice sounding awfully loud in the dark. Or was it just magnified volumes louder and infinitely more beautiful by the wistful mists of my brain?
"Oops. Sorry, 'twas careless of me, I'd say," I said, slowly inching my way forward. My heart was pounding—this time with a feeling I couldn't deny to be anticipation. Anticipation… for what? I didn't know. All I knew was that he and I were in a dark room together, and that we were all alone here, and that this feeling at the pit of my heart wouldn't go away.
"Youji-kun, where are you?" he asked suddenly, and my heart lurched when I detected a note of fear in his voice. "I—I can't see… and I hear sounds coming from all over the room."
"I'm here," I offered reassuringly, praying my eagerness didn't show. "Omi—"
"Youji-kun… where—oof!"
Before I knew it, he stumbled, and landed conveniently in my arms.
I died.
I went to Hell.
I went to Heaven.
I went back in time.
Thoughts and feelings and needs and desires swirled around in my brain, creating whirlpools of incoherent passion.
And I remembered that moment over four years ago, when I'd held him closer than I did now. That moment within which the seconds beneath the smiling crescent moon told me what I felt for him.
It was our first mission, then—our first real mission together. I was nineteen years old, bordering on the threshold of full maturity with the pieces of a lost heart scattered in the wind, along with blood and memories of gunshots, kisses, and a tender smile. He was only fourteen, and had grown up faster than I had, as he had never really been young.
It happened on the rooftop, beneath the cheese illumination of the thin slice of crescent against a bowl of infinite blackness. It happened exactly one hour, four minutes, and forty-three seconds after midnight. I know the exact time of its occurrence, because one doesn't easily forget moments like that.
An explosion had just occurred, and in protecting him while risking my safety, I'd ended up sprawled uselessly on the ground, covered with bruises and bleeding gashes. He had pretty much gotten away unscathed, a fact for which I was grateful, but it wasn't much of a victory, seeing as our target had the upper hand.
Not to mention a gun pointed at us.
"Omi, look—!"
I never finished.
The bullet finished the sentence for me.
I was struck speechless when I saw the precise moment the little black piece of metal sliced through his deep blue shorts, embedding itself in his flesh and causing bright scarlet liquid to squirt out of the wound. My heart constricted upon hearing the sharp pain that tinged his quiet gasp; I whimpered like a child when I saw how his hand slowly pressed itself against the injured thigh.
How he managed to react with such courage, I do not know. Somehow, he remained standing, though grimacing with agony, facing the enemy squarely, though trembling.
"You," he said, and despite the pale hoarseness of his voice, he still managed to sound strong and defiant. "Repent, then die."
The enemy stared at him incredulously, then threw back his head in cold laughter. I gave Omi a wary glance, wishing I could advise him, yet not knowing what advice to give. Then I saw the target's gun rise and take aim, and in a moment of bloodied blindness, I saw Asuka all over again.
No!
I reached out and yanked at his wrist, causing him to yelp out in start and stumble over me, the bowgun in his hand losing its careful aim as he fell. The bullet fired and sliced the air above my head, and, heaving painful breaths, I met Omi's shocked stare.
"I—I would have had him—!" he whispered, staring at me, face pale and filmed with sweat. Whitened knuckles gripped the weapon tenaciously, and I saw with a sinking heart the fool I'd been.
"Now you die!" the enemy screeched maniacally, taking a careless shot that was directed toward me. I froze, seeing nothing but the face of Asuka on the bullet that was headed straight for the spot between my eyes. Closer and closer she was coming… only a few more seconds, and she and I would be reunited again…
"No!"
Then Asuka's face was split in half, and as I jerked my head up in start, I saw that a flawlessly aimed shaft had cut through the tiny pellet and sliced through the wind. It struck the target down swiftly, impaling itself on the heart, causing a spring of blood to leap into the darkness, spotting everything it landed on.
The abrupt turn of events during the past several seconds was too much for me to comprehend at the time.
All I'd been aware of was the sound of hushed sobbing, and the fallen figure of a golden-haired child assassin kneeling on the ground, weeping to the crescent globe overhead.
"Omi…" I murmured, still quite stunned, whole body smarting.
"Youji-kun," he cried, turning a tear-stained face toward me. "You… so close… if I hadn't—" He broke off and lowered his head into his hands, weeping passionately. "Youji-kun…"
"Omi," I said softly, reaching out despite the pain singing in my veins. Feeling liquid warmth sliding down my wounded cheek, I held him close, and that alone said enough.
I was holding him now, just like that deciding moment at the end of that fateful first mission. I was holding him tight, clinging to him as though if I let go, I would lose him forever. And I felt those turbulent emotions sweep my heart into aching turmoil the way they had those long, lonely years ago.
"Youji-kun…?" I could feel him frown against my chest, and I smiled, a bittersweet, sad little one.
You can't blame the kid for forgetting…
"Just another moment longer, Omi," I whispered, pleading. "Please… just a little longer… just a little more…"
And maybe—hopefully—just as long… or longer… than before.
Owari
072500
Tweaked: 073000
** Inspired by the Youji/Omi files at Kat-sama's awesome peeji, The Ultimate Weiß Kreuz Bishounen Babe Lair.