Warning: This story contains coarse language, alcohol, and male/male sexual interactions.

A sequal to 'A Dark and Stormy Night', from the same challenge community. The prompt: Yohji/Axel, first impressions.


Yohji lost himself in the beat of the music and press of bodies in the crowded nightclub, trying to take his mind off what had been a very tense week. Aya had been pissy as hell this past week, which he thought was quite unfair; he hadn't done anything. At least, he didn't think he had.

Eventually, he decided he needed a drink as the dancing wasn't quite getting rid of the frustration he felt, but it was making him thirsty. He threw himself onto one of the stools by the dimly lit bar, ordered a drink, and downed it as soon as it was placed in front of him.

"Man, you're drinking like that, you gotta be having girl problems," an amused voice said from beside him.

Yohji turned to look at the speaker as he signalled the bartender for another drink. A lean figure in a tight black t-shirt, cut high enough to show off a belly that was so flat as to not be there. A glint of silver suggested some kind of piercing. Tight black pants, boots with some kind of silver decoration on them. Yohji had to give the guy marks for taste. His gaze wandered back up to see eyes that glinted just a little too green in the lights from the bar, some kind of marks on his cheeks and... red hair.

Something tugged at his memory, but didn't catch as Yohji's eyes fixed on that red hair. Redheads are just too much fucking trouble, he thought resentfully.

"No," he said, clearly, coldly. "I don't."

"Ah. Guy troubles, then," the stranger said knowingly. Yohji felt his shoulders stiffen, but when he turned to look, the other man just grinned at him. "All the better for me. Wanna dance?"

There was suggestiveness in that grin, almost a smirk, and a challenging, knowing look in those eyes. Another glint of silver, this time from between his teeth – a tongue piercing, and Yohji felt an unwilling twinge of curiosity about just how that would feel.

"What the hell. Come on." He tossed the second drink back and headed for the dance floor. One bad-tempered redhead shouldn't ruin all his fun, right?

It was morning when he wandered into the Koneko, humming something cheerful under his breath. He headed straight for the kitchen and the coffee that should be brewing already, because he really hadn't slept much at all. Yohji wasn't surprised to find some of his team-mates there: Ken drinking something that looked disgustingly healthy while Omi put together some things for his lunch, school bag on the counter.

Ken looked amused as he poured himself a cup, the humming only stopping when he took his first sip. "Good night?"

Yohji felt his lips curl in a smug smile. "Oh, yeah. I met this hot redhead at a club, and we got to know each other real well before the night was out."

Omi frowned. "Yohji, you didn't sleep with someone because their hair reminded you of Aya, did you? Because that would be..."

"Tacky," Ken finished.

The problem with living in close proximity with his team-mates was that there were no secrets. It was enough to nearly make Yohji lose his smile when he thought of all the well-meaning advice he'd endure in regards to Aya. Including Ken's suggestion to seek psychological help, which he hadn't forgotten even six months later. "No, I didn't," he said, eyes narrowing slightly. "This guy may have had red hair, but he looked nothing like Aya. His hair was spiked and he had some kind of tattoos on his face. The red hair was all they had in common, believe me."

Omi gasped, and dropped the container he was holding to dash out the room.

Yohji looked after him in bewilderment, then shrugged. "Still, I suppose there can't be all that many hot redheads in Tokyo. Hell of a coincidence, but that's all it was."

He pulled up a chair. His body ached with the kind of pleasant soreness you only got from really satisfying sex, and there was no point in being on his feet any longer than he had to. He'd be in the shop soon enough. "As I see it, I deserve some nice, uncomplicated sex without all the drama, and this guy? He was up for anything. Flexible, too."

Ken made a face. "I'm not sure I really need those images stuck in my head before breakfast, Yohji."

"Hey -"

There was a thunder of footsteps coming up the stairs from the mission room, and Omi burst back in to throw a photo on the table in front of Yohji. "Was this him?"

Yohji blinked down at him in astonishment. "Why do you have a picture of Axel?"

Omi groaned. "Because Axel's a member of the Organisation! You know, those weird guys we've been tripping over at every turn? Axel's the one Aya fought on Saturday night. He was really... annoyed about it, because Axel called it off halfway through, then made a pass at him. Weren't you listening at the debrief?"

"Not really," Yohji muttered. He picked the photo up and looked at it. "Damn. So I slept with one of the bad guys?"

The temperature in the room dropped, and Yohji didn't have to turn to know Aya was there. But he did, to see a frosty gaze fixed on the picture of the redhead. "You slept with Axel?" The disgust was clear in his voice. He gave Yohji a scathing look, and headed for the shop.

Well, fuck.

"You're working with him this morning," Omi reminded him, worry clear in his voice.

"Yeah, I know," Yohji grumbled. He should have remembered.

Redheads were just too much fucking trouble.