Disclaimer: While I have immense amounts of fun with the characters of Weiss, I am not delusional enough to think that I own them.

Warnings: shounen ai

Author's Notes: I'm actually going to attempt to have some sort of schedule for posting a multi-part fic. Let's see how long this lasts.

Solstice

By Rapunzel

Chapter 1

Winter was on its way. The signs of its coming could be seen everywhere. A chill wind blew, harrying the fallen leaves in the streets and bringing with it a sharp drop in the temperature. The streets bustled with people wearing scarves, gloves, and thick coats to protect themselves from the cold.

Ken had rather mixed feelings about winter. It brought with it weather that was not exactly conducive to playing soccer, or even to going outside at all. Being kept indoors combined with the longer nights and shorter days could have a rather depressing effect. The colder weather also brought with it an increase of fangirls crowding into the shop, seeking refuge from the elements. Currently, they were swarming around Ken like pernicious gnats, buzzing constantly in an effort to get his attention.

"Ken-san, can you tell me what this flower means?"

"Ken-san, I'd like to get some of these."

"Ken-san!"

Ken dutifully supplied them with flowers, not commenting on their choices or thinking much about the fate of the unfortunate blossoms. Most, he knew, were destined to be thrown away, the girls having only bought them in the first place to keep Aya from evicting them from the shop. Ah well. Flowers were doomed to die anyway, especially in this season. Had they been left in nature, most of them would have perished already, victims of the frost and shortened days.

That was another thing about winter that bothered Ken sometimes. It was in many ways a season of death. And yet, to him it was also a season of life, since his birthday fell in winter. Granted, in recent years he didn't look forward to that as much as he once had. In many ways, his birthday was now simply a reminder that another year had passed without him managing to change his position in life.

"Oi, Ken!" Youji's voice broke into his introspection. "C'mere and give me a hand, will you?"

"With what?" Ken asked even as he dutifully trotted over to supply the requisite help.

"Aya wants the potted plants out front moved in," Youji said. "Apparently, the wind's kicked up and he's worried they might get damaged. But they're heavy, and I figure you're good at grunt work, right?"

Ken gave him a sour look, but refrained from commenting, knowing that Youji was probably just teasing him.

Youji caught the look and laughed. He led Ken outside where they began hauling the potted plants inside, lifting the heavier ones between them. It took them several minutes, and when the task was complete, they lingered outside. It was cold, but Ken preferred that to the stuffy and overcrowded interior of the shop. Beside him, Youji lit up a cigarette, and Ken deliberately shifted to be upwind of him. Youji, noticing this, tried to blow smoke at him without much success.

"Winter's coming," Youji remarked idly, looking up at the sky.

Ken just nodded, Youji's observation having been on his mind already.

"We'll have to start stocking Christmas stuff soon," Youji said.

"Yeah," Ken agreed, smiling slightly at the prospect. Christmas was another bright spot in the dour gloom of winter. Ken loved the holiday with its theme of peace and goodwill. Granted, people's actions around that time of year didn't always bear out those sentiments- one had only to go to a shopping center to see that- but it was the thought that counted, right?

"We'll need lots of poinsettia, of course," Youji mused, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "That stuff's always popular. And mistletoe."

"No mistletoe," Ken said firmly.

"No mistletoe?" Youji said, feigning shock. "But you can't have Christmas without mistletoe."

"Are you crazy?" Ken asked. "Think what the fangirls would do if they got a hold of that stuff. They're already bad enough. Why do you think I'm still standing out here?"

"Coward," Youji said jokingly, but he made no move to return to the shop himself.

"I am not," Ken protested. "They're just..."

"Clingy? Rabid? Scary?" Youji suggested.

"Yeah," Ken agreed. "All that stuff." He glanced through the window, watching the crowd of girls swamping Aya, who was manning the cash register. "At least they're buying stuff," he mused.

"You can thank our fearless leader for that one," Youji said, following his gaze inside. "He's in another one of his control freak phases."

Ken smiled at that. Periodically, when the shop's revenues fell below what Aya deemed an acceptable level, Aya would decide to actually attempt to enforce his edict of, "If you're not buying anything, get out!" He would keep a list, sometimes a mental one, sometimes a physical one if the shop was crowded, of who had come in when. If the person in question (who was almost always a high school girl) lingered for more than thirty minutes without buying anything, she would be asked to leave, and sometimes even escorted out personally if she refused to go. Not only that, but she would be barred from entering the shop again for the rest of the day. Ken personally thought that the scheme required too much time and effort on Aya's part, but it did usually lead to a spike in revenue.

Ken smiled wistfully as he watched Aya scowl at the girls surrounding him. Youji was right, Aya could be a little obsessive at times, but Ken admired his focus. It was one of many qualities about Aya that he liked and admired, even if he would never tell the redhead that. Telling Aya might make him think that Ken was coming onto him, and while it would have been true, that would bring up all sorts of complications that Ken wasn't quite ready to deal with yet.

Youji caught the longing look Ken was directing through the shop's window, and a thoughtful expression came over his face. "Hey, Ken," he said. "Your birthday's coming up fairly soon, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Ken blinked, startled out of his Aya-watching by the question. "Oh, yeah, it is." He smiled, pleased that Youji had remembered such a thing.

"I'll bet I know what you want for your birthday this year," Youji said, flashing Ken a teasing grin. "I'll bet you want Aya all wrapped up in ribbon with a nice pretty bow. And nothing else," he added almost as an afterthought.

Ken's face went bright red almost instantly. "Y-Youji!" he stammered, looking mortified. "Don't say things like that!"

"Why not?" Youji asked lazily, quite enjoying the stir he was causing. "Isn't it true?"

"That's entirely beside the point!" Ken blustered, his face still a lovely shade of scarlet.

"Oh no it's not," Youji said. "Just think about it."

Ken was thinking about it, and that was the problem. He was giving it entirely too much thought. Nothing but a ribbon and a bow... He couldn't help imagining just how much of Aya's lovely skin would be exposed by such a costume. Of course, the bow would be strategically placed, but he could leave the rest up to his imagination. Ken had a very active imagination when it came to Aya.

Youji leaned over and poked him in the side. "You know, you're giving it a little too much thought to bother denying anything," he said.

Ken, who was sure his face couldn't get any redder, felt the tips of his ears heat up at Youji's remark. He opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out except a slight squeak.

He was abruptly saved from answering, however, when the door to the shop swung open and Aya stepped out, looking extremely irate. He cast a glance around the front of the shop, which was now devoid of any potted plants, and then turned his glare on Youji and Ken. "Would you mind explaining why you are both wasting time out here when there's work to be done inside?"

Youji waved his cigarette. "Smoking break," he said by way of explanation.

Aya snorted and transferred his dark look to Ken.

"Er... sorry!" Ken blurted and fled back into the shop. His face still felt too hot, and he couldn't help thinking that Aya somehow knew what they'd been talking about before his arrival. At that moment, even the excess of fangirls seemed preferable to Youji's teasing and Aya's glares.

/-/-/-/

Aya watched Ken rush past him, then turned back to Youji in suspicion. He'd noticed Ken's red countenance and mortification, and now he demanded, "What were you saying to him?"

"Oh, nothing in particular," Youji answered easily. "We were just discussing what he'd like for his birthday."

Aya narrowed his eyes. "You had better not be planning to get him anything inappropriate."

Aya was remembering his own birthday earlier that year when Youji's gift had consisted of condoms and handcuffs accompanied by a cheerful note that advised him to put them to good use. His response had been to hastily conceal the items from Ken and Omi while secretly plotting to put his katana to good use by killing Youji in his sleep.

His suspicions were in no way allayed when Youji said, "Define inappropriate."

Aya's glare went up a notch in intensity. "You know what I mean."

"What?" Youji said, blowing smoke at him defiantly. "Are you afraid I'll get him kinky sex toys and he won't use them on you?"

Aya made a growling noise low in his throat to show Youji that the comment was not appreciated, but a faint hint of a blush crossed his cheeks. "I don't know why I bother with you," he muttered.

"I don't know either," Youji admitted cheerfully.

Aya scowled at him. "If you're not done poisoning your lungs in five minutes, I'll come back out and drag you in by force if necessary."

"Fine, fine," Youji said, waving away the command.

Aya spun on his heel and marched back into the shop. Youji watched him go, a slight smirk on his face.

/-/-/-/

"I'm back!" Omi called cheerfully as he came into the shop.

Ken looked up from the potted rose he was pruning. "How'd the study session go?" he asked.

"Great," Omi answered. "It was very helpful."

Youji ambled in from the back room and, noticing that Omi had returned, beamed at him. "Ah, Omitchi! Just the person I was looking for." He reached out and snagged Omi's arm, pulling the small blond along towards the back of the shop. "I wanted to discuss something with you."

"But Youji-kun," Omi protested, a little surprised by this treatment, "I'm supposed to start work now."

"Plenty of time for that later," Youji answered, unphased. "Besides, you have to put your school stuff away anyway, right?" So saying, he dragged his captive out of the shop. Once he was sure that they were out of earshot of the other two, he stopped and released Omi.

Omi still looked a little bewildered, but that expression was warring with resignation. He'd had enough experience with Youji to have a fair idea of what such behavior meant. "All right, Youji-kun, what is it now?"

"I've got a plan," Youji said, sounding terribly pleased with himself. "If I can pull it off, it might be one of the best things that ever happened in this place, but I'm going to need some help."

"A plan?" Omi repeated, sounding confused. "A plan for what? A mission?"

"No, no," Youji said, rolling his eyes at the thought. "A plan for Ken's birthday."

"Oh." Omi considered this for a moment, then said, "Well, let's hear it then."

Grinning, Youji leaned over conspiratorially and quickly outlined his plan, the logic leading up to it, and the steps that would be necessary to ensure its success. When he'd finished, he asked, "So, what do you think?"

"I don't know, Youji-kun," Omi said doubtfully. "It seems like there's a lot of things that could go wrong."

"I know, but think about the possibilities if it works," Youji said eagerly. "Don't you think it's worth a shot?"

Omi chewed on his lip doubtfully as he thought about it. "I'm still getting Ken-kun a sweater in case it falls through," he said.

"Fine, fine," Youji said. "But you'll help me, right?"

"You're crazy," Omi declared. "But I'll help you anyway."

Tbc...

Author's Notes: Once again, my muse has managed to convince me to start something new. One of these days I'll learn how to ignore the little bugger...

Anyway, this is supposed to be a Ken's birthday/Christmas fic, just in case you couldn't tell already. That means that at least one of the parts should end up beingposted on or around Ken's birthday, and if I'm able to get my act together, the whole thing should be done by New Years. I hope. As for the title, that will hopefully be explained in sufficient detail later.