Ken's Special
Standard disclaimers apply!
"Does this mean we won't be getting any cookies?" The wide eyes glistened at the edges, threatening to spill out at the cue of a negative answer. Without missing a blink Kudou Yoji, self-proclaimed playboy Weiss and Kitty In The House, was on his side, patting the ginger-colored head with all-out pacification and promising to buy some of the sweet treats for later. Ken merely stood behind, amused.
The affection between the two was so obvious, that the girls flooding their humble little flowershop were asking if they were brothers, or cousins. They just considered each other that way, being friends since childhood, Ken would explain, purposely mentioning the way Omi calls Yoji niisan. That's why Yoji was always in the shop and actually worked when Omi was around, why he left early in the morning to get him a bento box for school, why the nicest chair was reserved only for Omi and not for the cutest chick of the day, and why all of Yoji's things were now neatly labeled in laser-printed stickers. Clumsy as Ken was at lying flat out at something so evident, the customers, mainly there just to ogle at them anyway, would believe each word.
But of course Ken knew there had to be something else, something in the way the little boy would chatter away with eager eyes aglow and how the much taller man would lean forward and smile at the precocious young face tenderly, sometimes making a bold enough gesture as to toy with the shiny blond strands or touch his chin between two fingers. He had it seen happen before, within his soccer teammates in the past, but their league had consisted of players in the same age bracket. Seeing it blossom through a fourteen year old was certainly charming, and the way Yoji catered to the boy was nothing short of sweet.
It had been sometime, and Ken witnessed how the relationship grew, Omi learning of his sexuality and Yoji of the thing called love. A first and last commitment. He knew how Yoji would smuggle a chibi Omi into his room at night, or the other way around, but he didn't care the least. Omi was a smart kid, and Yoji a decent guy; that much he knew and that much he needed to for him to trust their decision. For him, as long as his teammates were happy, then there wasn't a problem.
Bussiness was good today, and he had managed to keep himself from killing any plants – yet, so everyone was basically in a good mood. Even Aya, well, since he hasn't disappeared to wherever he goes to, must be feeling less than angsty today. The willowy redhead was watering potted roses in a corner, keeping to himself as usual, the uneaten ricecrackers Ken wrapped in plastic and handed him this morning still awkwardly tucked in his apron pocket. Maybe today Ken could approach him, for small talk atleast, and be able to touch a shouder or something. But knowing Aya, he had to have a damn good reason to talk, even for small talk, so he started to draft disposable scripts in his head.
Geez, all this hype for a nod.
Aya looked like he was studying the flowers with morbid fascination. Ken shuddered.
"What is it?"
The ex-goalie almost jumped in his skin, clinging guiltily on the edges of his shirt as he racked his brain for an answer. Aya had talked *first*. Well it could be because he had been hovering behind him for eight point five minutes doing nothing, but then, he *noticed*. Er, what was he going to say?
Ping. "I'm going out for a sec to grab a drink. Want anything?"
"No."
"Are you su…"
"No."
"Is that a no-you-don't-want-a-drink or no-you're-not…"
"Ken…"
"Er, right, I'm going…"
Ken strolled into the store clutching his sports drink, what's become of ninety-five yen in exchange for three little words. /Sigh, not *those* three little words. Just two no's and my name. Love sure doesn't come cheap./ He took a sip for effect then grimaced unintentionally, despising the vitamin-drenched, medicine tasting saccharine-sweet piss in a disposable bottle. But he just had to buy that one, catching his eye among the lineup of drinks inside the vending machine, because it was *red*. Eep, he was going nuts!
It had been so easy for Yoji-kun and Omi-chan, and Omi even had a crush on someone else when it started. Ken had pressured the boy to tell him, but the kid just blushed and Yoji chuckled. He seemed to know who it was, but their lips were sealed. Ken shook his head. Lovesick.
Yoji had kissed him, that was it. It was a big risk, Yoji explained, but Ken doubted that it was nearly as great as him kissing Aya. Yoji had always been a big flirt, perfecting it must have added a hefty bulk of assurance to his ego. Hell, Yoji even flirted with Aya a few times in the past! But Ken was in an entirely different situation, because if he would ever flirt with Aya, he would mean it. What more kiss the guy? He wasn't just pushing heartbreak, but death by Abyssinian as well. And it's not as if he wanted to kiss Aya. He'd probably be awkward and boring, and Aya would just glare at him, stone-faced and silent, and he would shrink and turn into a puddle of humiliated goo and stain Aya's coat… That would be the end of him for sure, stuck there embarrassed to the bone, while his object of affection stared him down and presented him the laundry bill before lodging him out the window.
But then he'd still have his kiss, and he'd die a happy man with tingling lips…
Shit, Aya just had to be so… Aya.
"Ken-chan?"
/Snap out of it Kenken…/
Ken glanced sideways, grinning off startlement. "Oi, Yoji-kun, save the ecchibi. It does absolutely nothing for me!" That he was to Yoji, Kenken for life. He had adapted the nickname way back when Yoji had been a little *more* than flirting with *him*.
Yoji grinned back, eyes flickering quickly over Omi. "Glad to hear it. Just checking if you're brains are still intact."
"Baka!"
"Spacing out on Aya again are you…?"
Ken froze, biting back another curse. Was it getting so obvious? He quickly scanned for a rational thought, anything, to stop the pesky corners of mouth from rising. "I was just, just wondering why he isn't asking for assistance. Arrangements like that are Omi's line and he's right beside him, but he won't ask."
Yoji peered at the small boy, still inches to short to reach the seedling packets on top of the shelf, and pushed away from the wall when Aya glanced towards Omi. "See, Omi won't ask him either. It's my job to assist him…" He started walking towards the pair then grabbed the back of Ken's apron strings, "and Aya, yours…"
Ken all but sputtered, leaving his patented piss-in-a-bottle behind as he was dragged backwards to the other end of the room. "Temee~e let me go!"
Yoji did, tossing him aside towards Aya, and headed straight for Omi. He stopped mid-cool-hero-strut to mouth a full "Go Kenken", thowing him a flirty wink for emphasis. Ken wanted to gut the smartass, but suddenly lost all will to fight when he heard a low curse from behind. The leader of Weiß was thisclose to strangling a stem.
"Can I?" he asked warily, psyching himself to speak as little as possible to get on Aya's good side. /I should have said May I!!!/ Aya shoved the plant to his direction, crossing his arms over his chest and glared. Ken took it, steady hands combing through the leaves, heart rabbiting in his chest.
Aya didn't make as much a mess as he thought at first. Some of the stems were just buried to deep in the soil, making it hard for them to be repositioned. He could hear Omi giggling in the background, the noise from outside, and most of all, Aya's breathing, close enough for him to feel against his skin on the nape of his neck. The pressure not to faint from overreacting was excruciating.
"There!" he exclaimed, a little too loudly, as the arrangement looked close to presentable. The colors were coordinated… He looked at Aya's face nervously, a wan smile on his face, before his eyebrows flipped involuntarily. "Disgusting eh?"
The violet eyes regarded him coolly, before they left. "No."
Aya strode past him and took the undersized pot, carrying it to the display table. Ken watched in amazement, as Aya placed it near the middle and leaned slightly, smelling the roses. He didn't close his eyes, didn't pick one out to pull to face or make sniffing sound, but he *leaned*. Aya just, Aya was…
Well, he didn't do anything. But he must've liked it, and he, Hidaka Ken, was bursting with unsmotherable pride. Not that it meant he was now an accomplished florist, but that Aya actually considered his feelings enough to ignore the obvious and say, imply, that his work was "not disgusting". That had to be an improvement! And he still felt better about it than being the best damned botanist in all of Tokyo!
Those eyes had grazed his presence, those lips had parted so perfectly, dry and thin and that deep, low murmur escaped… So maybe that was a bit exaggerated, but for the cold redhead, nothing was too little a gesture. Hell, some days he could swear Aya didn't even look at him. Or did he?
It doesn't matter. Not at the moment. Ken looked at his arrangement, beaming. Maybe he should give it a name…
Finally, the damned activity sheet was finished. Aya started to fix the cluttered papers on his bed as Omi worked on the last number, grumbling up to the last minute about how much he hated numbers himself. But the worried boy had been so convincing, knocking at his door since Ken and Yoji were in the shop, for emergency algebra tutoring. He was absent during the entire span of lectures concerning the problems due to a surveillance mission, and now he had to deal with this. The kid didn't really need explanation though, just someone to check his work. Aya barely muttered a word in the past hour.
He was staring outside the window, just watching the clouds drift by with absent-minded curiousity when a tiny hand clamped over his. "Aya-niichan I said thanks!"
He did it again.
"..."
Omi gathered his things and got ready to leave, dropping on his hands and knes to look under the bed for fallen items.. He was already in pajamas, same as the white ones he was wearing the night before, Aya noted. The boy was just full of energy, full of smiles and wit and potential. She had been like him, and was also sixteen when…
Niisan. He liked hearing that, if only from Omi. The boy was charming, for the way he moved and sighed and swayed with the caresless patter of little feet. Every inch of him, every finger, every strand of hair.
The door shut lightly, a quick oyasumi called out from outside, and in true Tsikiyono fashion a small head poked back inside to say it again with a smile. Aya nodded, and when he was sure Omi wold not check in again, gritted his teeth.
He walked towards the window, inhaling the sweet fragrance, rubbing a hand on his neck to sooth an ignorable ache out of habit. It felt good, sometimes. And the flowers smelled fresh and enlightening, like him. He pulled down the window panes ruggedly, pressing the pot forward.
It reached the ground in a careless shatter, blooms strewn everywhere.
"Soon."
Yoji: Yamero! Still too close!
Omi: Yoji-niichan, stop being so…
Ken: Jealous? Childish? Stupid? /snickers/
Yoji: I don't see why you're so giddy Kenken, this is your Aya we're talking about that actually remembers Omi's pajama's.
Ken: Well Aya won't deceive me! /makes a face/
Yoji: I don't know man, I mean, the way he was describing my Omi, it was almost…
Kaoru: Intimate? Shotakon? Sexual?
Ken: /gasps/ AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!! FUJIMIYA AYA YOU CHEATING BASTARD!!!!! /put's on brown leather jacket of death/ WHERE ARE YOU?!? /runs out of the kitchen/
Omi: Kaoru-kun! You shotakon trouble-maker!
Kaoru: /sticks tongue out/ Not like you aren't jailbait! /leers at Yoji, then looks back to Omi innocently/ Besides, Aya-kun really did...
Aya: … /unleashes katana/
Kaoru: EEP!!! Mika-nichaan!!!!!!!!!!!!
Omi: If you liked this please visit Aki-niichan's dojo at
http://geocities.com/Tokyo/Blossom/2728/index.html...
Thanx!
Standard disclaimers apply!
"Does this mean we won't be getting any cookies?" The wide eyes glistened at the edges, threatening to spill out at the cue of a negative answer. Without missing a blink Kudou Yoji, self-proclaimed playboy Weiss and Kitty In The House, was on his side, patting the ginger-colored head with all-out pacification and promising to buy some of the sweet treats for later. Ken merely stood behind, amused.
The affection between the two was so obvious, that the girls flooding their humble little flowershop were asking if they were brothers, or cousins. They just considered each other that way, being friends since childhood, Ken would explain, purposely mentioning the way Omi calls Yoji niisan. That's why Yoji was always in the shop and actually worked when Omi was around, why he left early in the morning to get him a bento box for school, why the nicest chair was reserved only for Omi and not for the cutest chick of the day, and why all of Yoji's things were now neatly labeled in laser-printed stickers. Clumsy as Ken was at lying flat out at something so evident, the customers, mainly there just to ogle at them anyway, would believe each word.
But of course Ken knew there had to be something else, something in the way the little boy would chatter away with eager eyes aglow and how the much taller man would lean forward and smile at the precocious young face tenderly, sometimes making a bold enough gesture as to toy with the shiny blond strands or touch his chin between two fingers. He had it seen happen before, within his soccer teammates in the past, but their league had consisted of players in the same age bracket. Seeing it blossom through a fourteen year old was certainly charming, and the way Yoji catered to the boy was nothing short of sweet.
It had been sometime, and Ken witnessed how the relationship grew, Omi learning of his sexuality and Yoji of the thing called love. A first and last commitment. He knew how Yoji would smuggle a chibi Omi into his room at night, or the other way around, but he didn't care the least. Omi was a smart kid, and Yoji a decent guy; that much he knew and that much he needed to for him to trust their decision. For him, as long as his teammates were happy, then there wasn't a problem.
Bussiness was good today, and he had managed to keep himself from killing any plants – yet, so everyone was basically in a good mood. Even Aya, well, since he hasn't disappeared to wherever he goes to, must be feeling less than angsty today. The willowy redhead was watering potted roses in a corner, keeping to himself as usual, the uneaten ricecrackers Ken wrapped in plastic and handed him this morning still awkwardly tucked in his apron pocket. Maybe today Ken could approach him, for small talk atleast, and be able to touch a shouder or something. But knowing Aya, he had to have a damn good reason to talk, even for small talk, so he started to draft disposable scripts in his head.
Geez, all this hype for a nod.
Aya looked like he was studying the flowers with morbid fascination. Ken shuddered.
"What is it?"
The ex-goalie almost jumped in his skin, clinging guiltily on the edges of his shirt as he racked his brain for an answer. Aya had talked *first*. Well it could be because he had been hovering behind him for eight point five minutes doing nothing, but then, he *noticed*. Er, what was he going to say?
Ping. "I'm going out for a sec to grab a drink. Want anything?"
"No."
"Are you su…"
"No."
"Is that a no-you-don't-want-a-drink or no-you're-not…"
"Ken…"
"Er, right, I'm going…"
Ken strolled into the store clutching his sports drink, what's become of ninety-five yen in exchange for three little words. /Sigh, not *those* three little words. Just two no's and my name. Love sure doesn't come cheap./ He took a sip for effect then grimaced unintentionally, despising the vitamin-drenched, medicine tasting saccharine-sweet piss in a disposable bottle. But he just had to buy that one, catching his eye among the lineup of drinks inside the vending machine, because it was *red*. Eep, he was going nuts!
It had been so easy for Yoji-kun and Omi-chan, and Omi even had a crush on someone else when it started. Ken had pressured the boy to tell him, but the kid just blushed and Yoji chuckled. He seemed to know who it was, but their lips were sealed. Ken shook his head. Lovesick.
Yoji had kissed him, that was it. It was a big risk, Yoji explained, but Ken doubted that it was nearly as great as him kissing Aya. Yoji had always been a big flirt, perfecting it must have added a hefty bulk of assurance to his ego. Hell, Yoji even flirted with Aya a few times in the past! But Ken was in an entirely different situation, because if he would ever flirt with Aya, he would mean it. What more kiss the guy? He wasn't just pushing heartbreak, but death by Abyssinian as well. And it's not as if he wanted to kiss Aya. He'd probably be awkward and boring, and Aya would just glare at him, stone-faced and silent, and he would shrink and turn into a puddle of humiliated goo and stain Aya's coat… That would be the end of him for sure, stuck there embarrassed to the bone, while his object of affection stared him down and presented him the laundry bill before lodging him out the window.
But then he'd still have his kiss, and he'd die a happy man with tingling lips…
Shit, Aya just had to be so… Aya.
"Ken-chan?"
/Snap out of it Kenken…/
Ken glanced sideways, grinning off startlement. "Oi, Yoji-kun, save the ecchibi. It does absolutely nothing for me!" That he was to Yoji, Kenken for life. He had adapted the nickname way back when Yoji had been a little *more* than flirting with *him*.
Yoji grinned back, eyes flickering quickly over Omi. "Glad to hear it. Just checking if you're brains are still intact."
"Baka!"
"Spacing out on Aya again are you…?"
Ken froze, biting back another curse. Was it getting so obvious? He quickly scanned for a rational thought, anything, to stop the pesky corners of mouth from rising. "I was just, just wondering why he isn't asking for assistance. Arrangements like that are Omi's line and he's right beside him, but he won't ask."
Yoji peered at the small boy, still inches to short to reach the seedling packets on top of the shelf, and pushed away from the wall when Aya glanced towards Omi. "See, Omi won't ask him either. It's my job to assist him…" He started walking towards the pair then grabbed the back of Ken's apron strings, "and Aya, yours…"
Ken all but sputtered, leaving his patented piss-in-a-bottle behind as he was dragged backwards to the other end of the room. "Temee~e let me go!"
Yoji did, tossing him aside towards Aya, and headed straight for Omi. He stopped mid-cool-hero-strut to mouth a full "Go Kenken", thowing him a flirty wink for emphasis. Ken wanted to gut the smartass, but suddenly lost all will to fight when he heard a low curse from behind. The leader of Weiß was thisclose to strangling a stem.
"Can I?" he asked warily, psyching himself to speak as little as possible to get on Aya's good side. /I should have said May I!!!/ Aya shoved the plant to his direction, crossing his arms over his chest and glared. Ken took it, steady hands combing through the leaves, heart rabbiting in his chest.
Aya didn't make as much a mess as he thought at first. Some of the stems were just buried to deep in the soil, making it hard for them to be repositioned. He could hear Omi giggling in the background, the noise from outside, and most of all, Aya's breathing, close enough for him to feel against his skin on the nape of his neck. The pressure not to faint from overreacting was excruciating.
"There!" he exclaimed, a little too loudly, as the arrangement looked close to presentable. The colors were coordinated… He looked at Aya's face nervously, a wan smile on his face, before his eyebrows flipped involuntarily. "Disgusting eh?"
The violet eyes regarded him coolly, before they left. "No."
Aya strode past him and took the undersized pot, carrying it to the display table. Ken watched in amazement, as Aya placed it near the middle and leaned slightly, smelling the roses. He didn't close his eyes, didn't pick one out to pull to face or make sniffing sound, but he *leaned*. Aya just, Aya was…
Well, he didn't do anything. But he must've liked it, and he, Hidaka Ken, was bursting with unsmotherable pride. Not that it meant he was now an accomplished florist, but that Aya actually considered his feelings enough to ignore the obvious and say, imply, that his work was "not disgusting". That had to be an improvement! And he still felt better about it than being the best damned botanist in all of Tokyo!
Those eyes had grazed his presence, those lips had parted so perfectly, dry and thin and that deep, low murmur escaped… So maybe that was a bit exaggerated, but for the cold redhead, nothing was too little a gesture. Hell, some days he could swear Aya didn't even look at him. Or did he?
It doesn't matter. Not at the moment. Ken looked at his arrangement, beaming. Maybe he should give it a name…
Finally, the damned activity sheet was finished. Aya started to fix the cluttered papers on his bed as Omi worked on the last number, grumbling up to the last minute about how much he hated numbers himself. But the worried boy had been so convincing, knocking at his door since Ken and Yoji were in the shop, for emergency algebra tutoring. He was absent during the entire span of lectures concerning the problems due to a surveillance mission, and now he had to deal with this. The kid didn't really need explanation though, just someone to check his work. Aya barely muttered a word in the past hour.
He was staring outside the window, just watching the clouds drift by with absent-minded curiousity when a tiny hand clamped over his. "Aya-niichan I said thanks!"
He did it again.
"..."
Omi gathered his things and got ready to leave, dropping on his hands and knes to look under the bed for fallen items.. He was already in pajamas, same as the white ones he was wearing the night before, Aya noted. The boy was just full of energy, full of smiles and wit and potential. She had been like him, and was also sixteen when…
Niisan. He liked hearing that, if only from Omi. The boy was charming, for the way he moved and sighed and swayed with the caresless patter of little feet. Every inch of him, every finger, every strand of hair.
The door shut lightly, a quick oyasumi called out from outside, and in true Tsikiyono fashion a small head poked back inside to say it again with a smile. Aya nodded, and when he was sure Omi wold not check in again, gritted his teeth.
He walked towards the window, inhaling the sweet fragrance, rubbing a hand on his neck to sooth an ignorable ache out of habit. It felt good, sometimes. And the flowers smelled fresh and enlightening, like him. He pulled down the window panes ruggedly, pressing the pot forward.
It reached the ground in a careless shatter, blooms strewn everywhere.
"Soon."
Yoji: Yamero! Still too close!
Omi: Yoji-niichan, stop being so…
Ken: Jealous? Childish? Stupid? /snickers/
Yoji: I don't see why you're so giddy Kenken, this is your Aya we're talking about that actually remembers Omi's pajama's.
Ken: Well Aya won't deceive me! /makes a face/
Yoji: I don't know man, I mean, the way he was describing my Omi, it was almost…
Kaoru: Intimate? Shotakon? Sexual?
Ken: /gasps/ AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!! FUJIMIYA AYA YOU CHEATING BASTARD!!!!! /put's on brown leather jacket of death/ WHERE ARE YOU?!? /runs out of the kitchen/
Omi: Kaoru-kun! You shotakon trouble-maker!
Kaoru: /sticks tongue out/ Not like you aren't jailbait! /leers at Yoji, then looks back to Omi innocently/ Besides, Aya-kun really did...
Aya: … /unleashes katana/
Kaoru: EEP!!! Mika-nichaan!!!!!!!!!!!!
Omi: If you liked this please visit Aki-niichan's dojo at
http://geocities.com/Tokyo/Blossom/2728/index.html...
Thanx!