By Kaden Cegali
Disclaimer: I do not, under any circumstances, own Aya, Ken, Yohji, Omi, or anything else related to Weiss Kreuz…
Day One (The Nightmare Begins)
Aya walked into the room, nudging the door open with his foot. In his hands, he held a tray that seemed a bit too off balance for the redhead. He looked around the room, his eyes immediately moving in on the bed where his patient was supposed to be. "Supposed to" being the operative words. The bed was empty.
Where is he? I was just gone for a few minutes. Besides, I told him to stay in bed.
"Ken. Where are you?" he called out, closing his eyes. "I told you not to leave the bed and obey the doctor's orders."
A shuffling sound and a soft moan caught his attention. He turned his head, still holding the tray in his arms. Ken was sitting on the floor in a corner, panting and holding his side, his head rolled back against the wall. Aya sighed again, seeing this. He put the tray on the ground and walked over to the brunette. Kneeling down, he glared at the younger man as Ken became aware of his presence and looked at him. Aqua eyes were filled with pain, causing the redhead to close his eyes once more.
"Hey, Aya…How's…it goin'?" Ken said, pausing after every few words as pain shot through him.
"Hn. Fool. One day back from the hospital and you've already tried getting up. Do you want to recover? Or should I take this as a sign and chain you to the bed?"
Ken tried to laugh, but instead ended up groaning. When the pain subsided, he smiled painfully at his leader. "Nah, I'm fine with not being chained to that uncomfortable bed. It's all lumpy and stuff. And you know, I think there's a pea under that mattress."
"Ken. Shut up," Aya said coldly, his violet eyes flashing. When the younger man paused in his rambling, he continued. "How do I know that you won't get up again until you're supposed to?"
"Believe me, Aya. I won't get up anymore. After having that kind of pain just hit me, I don't want a repeat. I tried to get up and walk around. Stretch my legs, you know? Well, as soon as I stood up, the pain just hit me. I stumbled and collapsed here. I don't want to do that again…at least, not until this just becomes a dull ache."
Shaking his head, Aya moved to his side and wrapped his arm around the man's waist. "Put your arm around my neck. Let's get you back to the bed."
Ken nodded and draped his arm around his shoulders. Together, they stood and walked to the empty bed, Ken leaning heavily on Aya as the older man struggled to walk the five meters to the bed. When they reached it, he rolled his shoulders and slightly pushed the brunette off of him. Ken gingerly sat down, then lay down on the bed, easing himself against his pillow.
Aya straightened and walked back over to the tray, picking it up and setting it on Ken's legs. "Eat." was all he said.
Ken nodded and began eating. His nose scrunched up at the unfamiliar taste of the soup. He looked at Aya with questioning eyes.
"Um, Aya? What kind of soup is this?"
"Yohji said it was cream of mushroom. Why?" the redhead asked.
Aqua eyes widened to the size of saucers as Ken spit out all the soup he'd eaten so far. When he had finished coughing it all up, Aya having hit his back to help him, he sat back, his head down.
"What's the matter, Ken?" he asked, his voice slightly concerned.
The younger man took deep breaths before answering. "Yo…you said Yohji made this? As in, he prepared it? And not in front of you?" he asked, his voice low as he glanced up at the redhead.
Not immediately getting what his associate was saying, Aya nodded, which resulted in another hacking fit. When he stopped again, Aya quirked an eyebrow at him.
"What is going on, Ken? What are you so panicked about?"
A nervous giggle escaped Ken's mouth before he could stop himself. He doesn't get it. He doesn't get that Yohji is a sick bastard and I probably just swallowed something that isn't meant to be swallowed. Sick bastard. I'm going to kill Yohji when I can walk again.
"I think you should probably take this away now, Aya. I don't think it's good."
Aya looked at him curiously, then reached over and used the spoon to take a sip of the soup that the brunette was so adamant about not eating. Ken made a small noise of protest and surprise, but the redhead had already eaten it. His eyes closed in sympathy as he saw Aya's nose scrunch up in disgust.
"Told you not to eat it, Aya. It's not re-"
"Why did that idiot blonde put horseradish sauce in this soup? Why do we even have that stuff in there?" Aya said, not even listening to the ex-soccer player.
Ken opened his eyes and blinked at what the redhead had said so casually. Horseradish sauce? But… He took the spoon from him and took a sip of his own soup, moving it around slightly as he tried to determine if it really was what Aya had said it was. He blinked again and tilted his head to the side.
"It is horseradish sauce. Huh…guess I won't have to kill the idiot after all," he mused out loud to himself.
Aya looked at him with confusion, not understanding. "Of course it is. What did you think it was?"
A blush rose to Ken's cheeks and he turned around, facing the wall in a vain attempt to escape the redhead's question. "Nothing," he mumbled. You really don't want to know. I think I need to get my head out of the gutter. Yohji's rubbing off on me without even trying. Damn him.
The older man just quirked an eyebrow at him. "Hn. Baka. Just eat it. I don't care how nasty it tastes," he added when the brunette opened his mouth to protest.
"But I hate horseradish sauce!" Ken complained, looking down at the bowl of soup like it was going to come to life and attack him.
Aya saw the looks the bowl was receiving, but he didn't ask. It probably would disturb him to hear what the brunette was thinking about to give such a look to an inanimate object. "Eat it or starve. You won't get anything else until you finish it." he stated firmly.
Ken sighed and took to glaring at the bowl of white, sticky soup. "This is so wrong, Aya. You know that right? I'm the one who's injured so I should be getting some kind of special treatment. I mean, wouldn't you want to be treated kindly by someone who is a total anti-social psycho killer? I know I would. Can I have ice cream instead?"
The redhead shook his head and stood. "I am going to go down and have a chat with Yohji and when I come back, I want that soup gone. And Ken," he said, waiting until the younger man had looked in his direction. "I will know whether you eat it or dump it. And if you dump it, I'll have Yohji make some more, just for you."
With that, not waiting for a response from the brunette, Aya walked out, closing the door behind him. Ken turned his glare to the door, then back at the soup. In his mind, he was strangling Yohji for making itand Aya for forcing him to eat this stuff.
"Damn Yohji for making this shit, and damn Aya for making me eat it. This is so lame. I am supposed to be pampered, not tortured! Argh!" He stabbed his spoon in the disgusting white substance, moving it around to make little whirlpools in the soup.
Resigning himself to his fate, he closed his eyes and pinched his nose. "I don't want to take the chance that what Aya said was right and he would know. Might as well get it all over with as fast as possible. Get it in one gulp. Ugh, this is going to make me sick." He shook his head and brought the bowl to his lips. Tilting it, he swallowed as much of the soup as he could, resisting the urge to just throw it all back up. He continued to drink it until he finished, then threw the now empty bowl on the tray carelessly, rubbing his hand over his mouth to get what was left of that taste out of his mouth.
"Eww, that stuff tastes like garbage. Disgusting. From now on, I only get ramen. Fuck this homemade stuff. I'll live with take-out and freeze-dried food any day."
He wiped his mouth some more, his gagging reflex acting up, but he managed to keep the soup down, thankfully. He hated the taste of vomit. Wasn't pleasant at all. Which was why he was never going to go out and drink with Yohji ever again. He shuddered at the memory. He hadn't thought it possible to get as wasted as he had. He'd never look at a mini refrigerator the same way again.
When Aya returned to the injured man's room, it was to a very odd site. The bowl of soup was empty and on the tray, which was halfway across the room in a corner. The said injured man was still in the bed, but just a tad shade greener than before. His eyes were glaring at the room that contained Ken's small mini refrigerator and other kitchen utensils. The brunette's apartment was a disaster, but he somehow still kept that room fairly livable. Probably because it contained the only thing that kept him from having to go downstairs in the middle of the night to get some snack that he had just made up.
Sighing, Aya walked over to the bed and just stood there, waiting for the brunette to notice him. It took a few minutes. When he finally did acknowledge him, the redhead was already debating hitting the younger man with a random object on the floor. He had an odd feeling that it would have made him feel a lot better than he did now.
"What's up, Aya?" The ex-soccer player asked, breaking Aya out of his self-induced dream world. He shook his head once to clear his thoughts and try to figure out what he had come back in here for.
Ah, that's right. "I came to see if you ate the soup," a snort came from his companion on the bed, but he ignored it. "and also to tell you that Yohji won't be making anymore of your food." None of our food, for that matter. He added silently.
The brunette seemed highly pleased and relieved to hear that. Aya still couldn't quite figure out what his comrade had thought the soup had been at first, but he wasn't about to ask again. Something in him told him that he really didn't want to know. Sometimes the younger assassin disturbed him with how the way his mind worked. It just wasn't…natural to think the way he did.
"So what's to eat for dinner, huh? How about a burger? I could really use a burger after that disgusting crap you called a meal. And I think I need some medicine. That food kinda unsettled my stomach a bit."
Aya sighed and shook his head. "Stop acting like a child. You can live out a stomach ache, I'm sure. And if you really want it, I'll send Omi out for some burgers. Do you want a specific kind?"
Ken pouted briefly at being called a child, but didn't comment on it. "Any kind will do. I just need to get this taste out of my mouth."
A nod was his only reply before the redhead walked out once more, this time to seek out the small blonde genki. Ken leaned back and smiled.
Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought.
Aya found Omi in the basement on the computer, as he had suspected. He cleared his throat once to get the boy's attention, more to just not jar the boy than to actually get his attention. He turned around and looked at Aya with large blue eyes.
"What is it, Aya-kun? Is Ken-kun okay?"
Aya nodded, still thinking about his issues with the brunette so far, but he didn't make a comment about it. "I'm sorry to bother you, Omi, but I need a favor to ask. It's for Ken. I would go, but I have a feeling that I should stay before he hurts either himself or Kudoh."
Omi tilted his head to the side in confusion, but he nodded anyways. "Go on. What do you need, Aya-kun?"
"I need you to go to the store and buy Ken some burgers. He doesn't care which kind, so any kind will do. Again, I'm sorry to ask this of you. I'm afraid that if I sent Yohji, I wouldn't get burgers, but something else. And I don't think Ken will take anything that Yohji's touched anymore," he explained.
The younger assassin smiled sympathetically and nodded in understanding. He had already been told about Yohji's antics and he was sure that Aya was right about Ken's aversion to anything the playboy touched.
"That's fine, Aya-kun. I don't mind. Besides, it's for a good cause, right?"
"Are you sure? It's not too much trouble?" Aya asked, uncertain.
Omi laughed and shook his head. "It's fine. I wouldn't do it if it wasn't, Aya. Just let me shut this down and get a jacket, okay?"
Still unsure, but unwilling to ask Yohji or leave Ken to his own devices for more than a few minutes, the redhead nodded and turned to leave. Before he could clear the doorway, however, Omi's voice stopped him.
"Is he going to be back to normal soon, Aya-kun?" The voice was unsure, small.
Aya turned to the young blonde and managed a slight nod. "He's doing better than I think even the doctor thought. He'll be back to normal as soon as next week, if not a little longer. Don't worry, Omi. Ken's not going to let this little injury slow him down." He knew the younger boy only needed some reassurance, nothing more.
Omi nodded and turned back to the computer, closing what programs he had open. Aya left without another word, walking back to the stairs and Ken's apartment. Yohji's voice stopped him.
"Hey, Aya. Got a minute?"
The redhead stopped and turned around to face the blonde, a glare on his face. Yohji didn't seem to notice, but just looked at him. Aya didn't say anything, but nodded to tell him that he was listening.
"What are we going to do when the missions come around? I doubt Persia will bother to give us a break. And we can't leave Kenken by himself, as I'm sure you've already seen. He's a man, old enough to take care of himself, but you know how he is after just one day and still in pain. He doesn't like sitting still and he definitely won't if someone's not here to make him. The only reason he hasn't hurt himself more than he has is because you've been there. He might even try to follow us. He becomes irrational when he can't do anything."
Aya shook his head before Yohji had even finished. When the blonde stopped, he spoke. "Ken may be irrational, but he's not stupid. He won't move from his bed until he knows its possible. He's already tried once, and he's suffered for that already. Besides, Persia knows about Ken's condition, so most likely, he won't send us on group missions. At most, he'll just send us in pairs, which will leave us with one person still here to watch him."
Yohji still looked doubtful, but he nodded. "Kenken isn't stupid. You were right about that."
Aya nodded once more and turned to leave. Yohji didn't stop him. He reached the stairs and mounted them, heading to Ken's room. All he had to do now was just wait for Omi to come back and the brunette wouldn't complain anymore for the rest of the day. He hoped.
Aya pulled himself onto his bed, tired from going up and down the stairs. Ken had been calmer after Omi had come with the food, but he was still active, which proved rather hard to deal with for the redhead. It was twelve o'clock and he had just gotten the brunette calm enough to try to get some sleep. He wasn't going to watch him during the night, convinced that he wouldn't do anything, especially with the pain still sticking with him.
He lay down in bed, too tired to undress and just stared at the ceiling. It wasn't as bad as he'd thought. And Ken seemed to be healing already. Maybe he'd be fine by the end of this week. He could only hope.
