Chapter Two~

THANK YOU SO MUCH. OTL

All who reviewed, you have my greatest thanks!
Anything you wish of me, I will try my hardest to accomplish! -loyal bow-

I do not own Okane Ga Nai.

Warning: Nothing too bad happens.

Word Count without A/N(s): 1,176 (I feel bad that this is 764 words less than last time.) OTL

Both of the Kuba twins stood in front of Kanou's desk, looking blank as he read off a piece of paper, giving orders. When he fell silent, they both bowed and turned to leave.

Homare couldn't help but frown when his back was to the man, the image of Ayase making his stomach churn. Blue eyes were hazed over, lacking an emotion, focused on the ground. The blonde was standing next to Kanou, of course, but his body language—the way he had his head turned slightly away, how his weight was put on the leg opposite of Kanou, how his shoulders were angled an inch to the side—said that he was obviously uncomfortable.

Homare also noticed dark marks along the base of his neck, nearly hidden by his hanging head.

He tried not to think of why they were there.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

With a yawn, Homare sat back in his seat, nearly falling back when Kanou burst through the door.

"Your brother and I are leaving. Take care of Ayase until I get back."

He nodded, standing immediately and bowing as his superior left.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Homare sat, watching Ayase with bewilderment as the blonde stared at the wall. He stared without any trace of emotion in his eyes.

Finally, when he could no longer deal with the silence, the Kuba twin spoke up. "Do you need anything?"

Ayase shook his head, ever so slowly. As if any movement at a normal speed (or faster) would cause his neck to shatter.

"Are you sure?" The expressionless expression the other wore made him want to help, somehow.

Once again, he shook his head. The blonde hair shifting slightly. Half-closed blue eyes focused on what was obstructing their view, and then locked back on the wall.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just…tired." Ayase said quietly, followed by a sigh.

Homare frowned, "Then you should sleep more."

"I…would. Can't."

Why can't he? Homare's curiosity emerged. "Why not?"

Ayase looked over at him, a woeful tint slipping into his eyes. "I just can't."

"I can't help you if you don't tell me." He knew he wasn't a shrink, but he also knew that talking about what's on your mind might help. Maybe the blonde would get something off his chest and not look so dead.

"You can't help me."

"Nonsense."

Ayase's jaw worked as he started thinking. "You can't…," he mumbled, his hand absentmindedly rubbing at his neck.

The older of the two leaned forward, "Being pessimistic isn't going to get you anywhere. I can help you."

The blonde fidgeted, biting his lower lip as a panic flooded his features. "No, you can't… You can't," tear swarmed those eyes, spilling over, "You can't!"

The blonde stood abruptly, sending his arm out to whack Homare across the face, hysteria apparent. The victim ignored the sting and stood as well, grabbing the other's wrist before any more could happen. The fingers wrapped around his wrist seemed to only push Ayase further into that pool of fear, causing him to scream and try to pull away.

When the blonde realized he could not get his wrists free, his struggling eased, until he was just trembling.

"Stop it!" He yelled through sobs, limply contracting the muscles in his arm to pull down. "Please don't… I don't want to …"

Homare released the other's wrists and watched as Ayase sunk to his knees, too shocked to do anything. What…just happened?

More importantly, what was the blonde doing? His fingers were locked on the knee of Homare's pants—and he was lightly tugging at them.

"I promise I'll be good…," He hiccupped, "J-just don't…"

"Ayase?" Lightly taking Ayase's hands, he dragged them away from his body. His tone was soft. Comforting but lined with worry. "What are you talking about?"

"Kanou-sama…?" The blonde looked up, and blinked. The last of the tears ran down his face and he made a sniffling noise.

"No." Was all he replied with, dropping on his knee to wrap his arms around the trembling blonde. That made him cry again, harder, but it made Homare feel important. The way he gripped his jacket was almost a sign that he trusted the tall raven.

What has he done to you?

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

After a few minutes of sobbing, Ayase's breathing slowed and the tears dried up.

Homare allowed the blonde to cling to him even after he had gathered himself. The raven hugged back, trying to be as comforting as possible—but taking the opportunity to lightly sniff the blonde hair.

Ayase seemed oblivious to it, even moving closer to snuggle against the other's chest when he drifted off to sleep.

Homare's head rolled back, followed by a sigh. He had to admit, the kid was a handful. An endearing handful.

He forced himself to not look down at the blonde, forced himself to ignore the soft heartbeat, to ignore the sweet smell.

…with that tinge of Kanou.

He wrinkled his nose. The faint scent of Kanou was on the blonde. It made Homare's stomach twist and his protective instincts flare. Ayase was obviously emotionally wounded—though he probably hid any physical injuries—and he was certain it was because of his boss.

The raven slipped into his thoughts. What exactly had his boss done to cause that emotional break-down? Will he continue doing whatever he was doing?

In an instance, he decided what he was going to do.

"Hey, Ayase," He said quietly, lightly shaking the sleep form.

Blue eyes slowly opened, blinked a few times, and then looked up drowsily, a sweet smile spreading his lips. "…Yes?"

"I have a question."

"Okay."

"About the Boss…"

"Kanou-sama?"

"Ye—uff!" Homare let out a grunt when a startled Ayase dove off the Kuba twin's lap, managed to kick him in the stomach and the groin. He wrapped his arm around his stomach and leaned over himself, seeing stars. "Ow!"

"K-Kanou-sama! I—it…N-nothing happened!" The blonde stuttered defensively, his eyes wide and locked behind the raven. He looked terrified, sick.

"Oh?" Instantly, Homare understood what was happened. Kanou was back. "So what were you doing?"

"I…we…," Ayase's lips trembled as he spoke, his knees joining in the shaking. He was freezing up.

Homare stood, facing Kanou. He saw the domineering glare but kept his composure. "You said to tend to Ayase. So I did. He was tired and he was cold—but there weren't any blankets, so I allowed him to sleep in my lap. I was only hugging him so that he didn't fall off and hurt himself."

"Eh?" The hurt sound erupted from the blonde. Homare ignored it, looking down as to not challenge the beast in front of him.

"…Is that so. Why, exactly, was he tired?"

Homare scowled inwardly, knowing that Kanou meant 'using' his 'possession'. For the moment, he suppressed the images of Ayase that started to flood his mind, then made eye contact with his boss. "You tell me."

Ayase uses '-sama' with Kanou's name not out of respect, but because he's forced to. I figured if Kanou was different, Ayase would be somewhat changed and he wouldn't use the same honorific.
Also, when I use 'raven' I am referring to his hair color, not an actual bird. xD;