***This is a quick, very loose sequel (or companion piece) to 'Busted!', inspired by a recent (really quite physically painful) decision of mine. Who knows, maybe I'll end up writing more one-shots for this universe.***


"Aya…" Yohji whined pitifully, earning him a sharp glare.

"What?"

"Show me," the brunette whinged again. He made sure to keep an eye on the pruning shears sitting a foot away from Aya's right hand; it wouldn't be the first time he'd had to dodge sharp, flying objects when working with Aya.

Hell, the pissy bastard seemed to have gotten worse since his birthday a few months back, when Yohji had graciously given up his evening to stay in and get completely wasted with the redhead. After doing some gentle prodding (and skilful shear-dodging) Yohji had discovered that Aya didn't remember a whole lot from that night; but he seemed to remember the gist of the final conversation, and he certainly remembered waking up with Yohji in his bed.

Not that Yohji had actually tried anything, for once in his life. He hadn't even been touching Aya when the man woke up with a killer hangover; and yet, that hadn't stopped Aya from waking Yohji up by holding a katana to his throat.

"Isn't there a woman you should be bothering?"

Yohji pouted, leaning over to prop his arms on the desk so that he could look up through the fall of his fringe. "I'm just curious, is all. C'mon, Aya, if you got it then you must want someone to see it, right?"

Damn. That particular pose always worked on women; it didn't seem to have any effect on the redhead, though.

"Who says I even have one?"

Standing up straight, the brunette crossed his arms over his chest and huffed. "Then maybe you should prove that you don't."

"Kudoh, I'm sick of this. Bring it up again and I will kill you."

Aya's hand seemed to be inching closer to those shears, so Yohji threw his hands up in disgust and stomped away, muttering curses loud enough for Aya to hear. Heading out the back door for a cigarette, he dropped down on the steps outside and lit up.

He was going to get the answer out of Aya if it killed him.

He had to know if he really had seen a nipple piercing on stuffy, introverted Aya.


Two weeks earlier, Yohji had stumbled into the Koneko at five in the morning; he'd had one Hell of a night. Staggering drunkenly down the hall towards his room, he'd come across Aya heading for the bathroom, still half-asleep.

Looking back, Yohji had to assume that Aya hadn't been entirely awake: the weather had been unseasonably warm for spring, and so the redhead had actually left his room without putting a shirt back on after sleeping. Aya seemed to actively avoid being naked to any degree around other people, so naturally Yohji had taken the chance to check out his teammate's well-sculpted torso.

It was only after Aya had thoroughly ignored him and passed by that Yohji's alcohol-buzzed mind realised what he might have seen: a small silver ball on either side of Aya's left nipple.

Putting that realisation aside while he made it to his room and passed out, he'd woken up that afternoon with a new mission.

He was going to find out if Aya really did have his nipple pierced.

Over the course of the next few days, Yohji had alternately tried spying on Aya, subtly asking Ken and Omi if they knew anything, and all-out confronting the redhead about it.

He'd come out the other side with a few new scars to his pride and his body.

His next plan had involved getting Aya drunk again.

He hadn't even gotten to finish asking Aya to join him before he'd been shut down.

After that came a week of consciously avoiding the topic and trying to get Aya to drop his guard. He really should've guessed that it wouldn't work; Aya was paranoid, with good reason. Assassins had to be, but damn if it didn't annoy the shit out of Yohji. The brunette's not-at-all-sudden conversation about piercings hadn't been that well-received by Aya.

Now, he was resorting to hoping he could just shadow Aya until the man craved his usual solitude and told Yohji what he wanted.

So far, it didn't look like it was working.


After re-entering the store following his smoko, Yohji walked straight up behind Aya, who was quietly ringing up a customer's purchase. From the looks of it, the male was trying to get back in the good books with his girlfriend using a bouquet.

Yohji had always been grateful for that aspect of their cover job; the women he dated tended to melt when presented with flowers, and the brunette definitely had no shortage of those.

"Oh, Aya," he breathed right into the shorter man's ear, Aya clearly ignoring the urge for violence because of the present customer. Yohji slung his arm over the redhead's shoulder and leant right in, shooting a smile at the in-the-doghouse lover.

The man's eyes widened and his face twisted in disgust; quickly grabbing his flowers, he walked away with a quiet comment about 'goddamned fags'. Yohji flipped off the man's back with his free arm while simultaneously attempting to grope Aya's chest with the other.

That was when Aya snapped.

"Get your filthy hands off me!" The redhead snarled, jabbing his elbow into Yohji's stomach. Expecting the blow, Yohji ducked off with a quiet laugh.

Sadly, Aya's sweater had stopped Yohji from finding his goal; and he'd been so damned close! He watched as Aya's hand went out for a pair of scissors, the closest viable weapon.

"But Aya, I just want to know. Hey, if you show me yours, I'll show you mine." Yohji winked seductively, his casual pose hiding the way he was ready to dodge another hit. Hell, if Aya ditched his shirt, the brunette was more than happy to show off his hidden piercing. Fair was fair, after all.

"Considering how often you're shirtless, I know it's not on your torso. Try showing me anything else and I'll cut it off."

Yohji couldn't help the wince that followed Aya's threat. So instead of risking his favourite body parts, he smiled languidly and backed right off. "Put the scissors down and you can play there whenever you want. But I've got work to do right now, so it's gonna have to wait."

Hightailing it to the storeroom, Yohji leant against the wall and cracked up laughing. Sure, he hadn't found his answer, but he knew that Aya hadn't really been trying to kill him. Aya stabbed first and asked questions later; even though Yohji had literally groped him, the brunette was unharmed.

A suicidal endeavour or not, Yohji was encouraged. Staring at the room around him, a new plan began to form in Yohji's mind.

He really was gonna die for this one…it would probably still be worth it, though.


"Aya, where's Yohji? Why isn't he working with you?"

"Back room," Aya replied to Omi's question, not looking up from the arrangement he was working on.

"Oh…can you please ask him to come back out here while I get ready to work? The girls will be here soon."

Aya made no move to either reply or comply; Omi made no move to go after Yohji himself. The redhead could feel Omi's eyes boring into the top of his head, and he continued to uphold the stalemate by ignoring the younger man.

"Aya…"

The plea was too close to Yohji's recent whinging; it grated on Aya's nerves, and he wanted nothing more than to get away from the source. If that meant yelling at Yohji until he dragged his lazy ass from the storeroom, then at least he'd get some frustration out.

The world seemed to be out to piss him off recently.

Most of which came from that idiotic brunette. Actually, both of them; but mainly Yohji.

Lifting his head, Aya stood up from the worktable and headed for the back without another word. He was sure that Omi would have a triumphant expression on his childish face; he didn't want to see it.

Shoving open the door to the storeroom, he growled out a low, "Kudoh."

The next thing he knew, he'd actually been caught unaware by a solid body slamming up against him, pulling him into the room and against the wall. The door beside him slammed shut.

Soft, cigarette-tainted lips pressed against his own; luckily for Kudoh's health, he didn't try putting his tongue near Aya's teeth.

The redhead tried to shove the taller man off him, but as much as he didn't want to admit it, Yohji had him at a disadvantage. The brunette was taller and heavier, while Aya had no room to move his arms and push the bastard away.

When one hand snuck up under his jumper and shirt, though, Aya couldn't handle the assault anymore. He pulled his head back and away from Yohji's lips, hitting the rear of his skull hard against the rough wall of the storeroom.

Momentarily stunned, he felt Yohji's fingers slip over his nipple, brushing the bud that was made all the more sensitive by the metal bar running through it.

Suddenly, the heat and weight pressing against him disappeared, Yohji taking several steps back and bending down slightly to look right into Aya's eyes.

"Sorry 'bout the head…but hey, we could've done this the easy way. I have to say, though, that's pretty hot." Smirking, Yohji ran a hand through his hair and re-opened the storeroom door, walking into the front while casually greeting Omi.

Pressing a hand to the sore spot on the back of his skull, Aya leant back into the wall, breathing hard.

How could Yohji dare…the very indignity…what an incorrigible…

Sighing in disgust, the redhead stood up straight and took a few deep breaths. He felt…violated; the memory of Yohji's hand and lips on him was just…

He couldn't believe he'd lost. Yohji had beaten him at the annoying little game that the brunette had cooked up. Yes, he had his nipple pierced; it was the remnant of a brief rebellious period at seventeen. It wasn't all that important or unusual…right?

Making sure that his clothes were straight, Aya took a few extra seconds to compose himself properly.

He couldn't go back to work while half hard, after all.

'Damn you, Kudoh...'