AUTHOR : sara-chan

PAIRING : Ran/Ken

DISCLAIMERS: Weiss kreuz belongs to Takehito Koyasu. Ran and Kenken aren't mine. * cry *

WARNINGS: shonen ai, sap, fluff, maybe a bit OCC for Aya (sorry)

THANK YOU!!! Mirai Kurosaki, Lala Berry, Denisse, MidnightLoner, Nekocin, kurenai, kaen-chan, Ketty, Jenny or vault 713, Misura. You, guys, made me sooo happy! I'm so glad to know you like this fic! ^^ I will keep on writing as long as you like it! Thank you again! 

IT'S LOVE

Chapter 3: Abyssinian Vs Siberian

Aya closed the shop door behind him and stepped into the deserted street. It was past midnight. Everyone was surely at home, asleep.

Except him.

He couldn't find sleep. He had tossed and turned in bed, exasperated that sleeping wasn't coming to him when he was so damned tired. When an hour passed without any success, the redhead had had enough and decided to go out and breathe in some fresh air. Maybe he would feel better after that.

Aya shut his eyes, feeling the calm silence surrounding him. He liked that feeling. He wasn't the heartless man who could live alone for the rest of his life like everyone thought, but sometimes, the silence was good. It made him feel at peace with himself. He didn't have to think about anything. His life, his job, his sister… Aya even felt sleep enveloping him gradually.

POM POM PAM

Amethysts eyes snapped open. What was that?

PIM PAM POM

Aya froze again. Where was this weird sound coming from? Looking around with blazing eyes, he searched for the source of the noise. He should've brought his katana with him. Dammit! Never ever go out without a weapon. It was a rule that any assassin should've known.

POM PAM POM

Aya was getting annoyed with whatever that sound was. But strangely, it sounded familiar, though for the life of him, he hadn't a clue what it was. When he figured out where the sound was coming from, the redhead ran toward the backyard of the shop, ready to knock down whoever was there.

And found Ken playing with his soccer ball.

He should've known. Who other person than Ken would play soccer past midnight, alone? Ken indeed.

Aya snorted, then made another step toward the young teen, making his approach heard. The brunette raised his head, his shoulders tensed as if he was about to attack, but when he saw the redhead, a grin appeared on his heart-shaped face.

"Hey Aya! What are you doing here?"

The older man leaned against a wall and shrugged, "What about you?" he asked without answering.

The brown-eyed teen kept on bouncing his soccer ball on his knees, making these POM PIM POM sounds again. "I couldn't sleep, so I came outside."

Aya's eyes stared at the ball, which didn't fall once, but kept on steadily with firm bounces against his knees. Ken chose then to do a different 'trick' and let the ball fall along his leg and kicked the ball from one foot to the other. It was kind of hypnotizing. The rhythm was steady and graceful at the same time. Aya found it amazing that Ken could play so easily with his soccer ball, but still be able to drop a flower pot or trip on his foot clumsily. A smirk appeared on his lips without him knowing it.

The look on the brunette's face showed how the teen was enjoying himself. A smile was plastered on his lips, his brown deep eyes were sparkling with a light so full of joy and happiness it brought another smile onto the redhead's face. He had never seen Ken this happy before. It was only when the young teen was playing his favorite sport, alone or with his little friends.

"Aya?"

The taller man blinked, realizing that Ken must have been calling him more than once while he was deep in thought.

"What?" he grunted.

He knew he shouldn't have been so cold, Ken hadn't deserved it. But he felt like it. After all, it was Ken who had interrupted his silent and peaceful night, so he had a right to be that way. That didn't make any sense, even for him, but he was tired, so who cared?

Ken rolled his eyes. "You were so engrossed in whatever you were thinking I thought I'd have to throw my soccer ball at you to bring you back to the living world." Ken chuckled when a picture of him decking the fearless leader of Weiss with his soccer ball appeared suddenly in his mind.

Aya decided that he liked hearing Ken laugh. It just came like that. Once he heard him make that soft chuckle, Aya liked it. It was soft, warm, and made the older man's lips twitch.

"Try me," he said, smirking at the younger teen.

Ken stared at him, a look of utter surprise painted on his face. He hadn't thought the older man would take upon his joke. Hell, Aya never joked! But the playful glint in the redhead's eyes was proof that he wasn't in some trick mind game from the German psycho.

A huge grin appeared on Ken's lips. He liked this different Aya. "You should know better than anyone else, that I never pull out from a challenge."

Then, without any warning, he kicked on his soccer ball straight toward the redhead.

Aya wasn't a pro at soccer, but he had played when he was in high school himself, so stopping the ball was easy.

"Is that all you have got in you, Hidaka?" he asked while raising his brows.

Ken's grin grew even wider. "Why, you think you can beat me, Fujimiya?" he said in a taunting voice, though his chocolate eyes were laughing playfully at his older teammate.

Aya smirked. Ken's joy was too contagious. It wasn't surprising that all these kids were following the brunette wherever he went. Aya dropped the soccer ball and put his foot on it. He looked at the brunette with another smirk.

"Try to stop it if you can."

He was going to kick the ball when suddenly, there was a mewling shout behind his back, making him jump in surprise, so that he missed his shot… and fell on his butt.

"OH MY GOD! Aya, are you alright?" Ken cried while running toward him.

The redhead glared death at the cat, but the little animal didn't care and trotted calmly away into the street. It was lucky he hadn't brought his katana or it would have been dead meat by now. Being surprised by a merely cat, he, the cold leader of Weiss… thanked god he was alone with Ken. He would have never heard the end of it if that lazy Yohji had been here. Speaking about Ken…

"Aya? Look here. How many fingers do you see? Oh my god! Do you need a doctor?" Ken continued to babble while touching Aya's arms, back, legs…

"Ken."

"Maybe I should call a doctor. But who could work at this hour?"

"Ken!"

"I know! We can go to the hospital! You don't know if you have a concussion after all…"

"KEN!" Aya shouted.

The brunette blinked with wide mocha eyes. "Nani?"

"I fell on my ass, not on my head."

Ken's eyes grew impossibly wide when he finally understood. "Oh. OH!" A blush blossomed on his cheeks when he realized that he still had his hands around the redhead. He backed off in a heartbeat. "Ah! I'm sorry!"

Aya's lips twitched again. "You are so stupid sometimes, Ken."

"Eh!" the brunette protested with a scowl, though it didn't look as threatening as he wanted it to with his pinkish cheeks.

"But in a good way," the older man added, amused by his teammate's reaction. "It's charming."

Ken crossed his arms over his chest with a pout, but then he laughed suddenly. "Well, you sure can't beat me at soccer."

Aya glared as he stood up, but as he heard Ken's soft laughter echoing through the silent night, his eyes softened, an amused light shining in them.

"I like hearing you laugh," he said unconsciously.

As soon as he said those words, Aya wanted to smack himself. Where did that come from? He wasn't thinking straight. He must have been really tired to say those words. He was mortified. Maybe the words were true, but he would have never said them to Ken. Where were those Scharwz guys when for once he wouldn't mind fighting them? That would help him escape from this embarrassing situation.

Ken was staring at him in disbelief, mouth wide open. Did he hear right? It should be so, since the older man was looking anywhere but at him, glaring with all his might as if he wanted to kill someone. Ken prayed that that 'someone' wasn't him.

"Err… thanks," the brunette said, blushing and looking at his shoes.

"Don't forget to close the door behind you." And with those words, Aya went back into the shop.

~*~

The next morning, Aya stood in the kitchen, reading a post-it Ken had left for him before he left for his delivery. 

I'm having soccer practice this afternoon with the kids in the neighborhood. Wanna try to beat me again? 

~Ken

It was added with a grinning face looking a lot like the brunette. Aya's lips twitched.

Well, he had planned on reading this afternoon for his day off, but it seemed like he would have to change his plans. He wasn't the kind to refuse a challenge either.

And Ken knew it, the sneaky devil.

TBC…

So? What do you think? I love our cute Kenken! ^_^ Ran and Ken are getting closer! Don't worry, there will be some RanKen moments in the next chapter!

Review please!!!

Sara-chan