Skipping Stones - The Fool


This is just a little thing that popped into my head as I was listening to the radio...yep, another ficcie inspired by a song. >_ This time it's Lee Anne Womack's "The Fool" - although there are a few differences between the ficcie and the song...>_

Oh, and the thingy with ken and the rocks kind of snuck it's way in...Ah well, whatever, ne? many, many, many liberties have been taken with this ficcie, so don't flame me, I already know>_

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Feedback onegai! ^_^

Disclaimer - I do not own anything Weiß Kreuz related that would
result in my getting sued.

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Skipping Stones - The Fool

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Sitting on the low rock wall facing the water, Omi sighed and drew his arm back. Dipping into all the frustration, anger, and helplessness that he kept pent up inside, his arm snapped forward, the stone in his hand flying through the air. He watched impassively as it skipped across the still water once, twice, three times before sinking below the surface.

Sighing, he absently reached for another of the flat stones at his side, his eyes unfocused. He didn't know what to do anymore. He'd tried everything he could think of, and nothing worked. Nothing.

He knew he should probably talk to one of the others, but he didn't know exactly how he should bring it up. One simply did not start up a conversation about something like that without some sort of preamble. Maybe if he was as smooth as Yohji, he could figure something out, but...

"That's the problem."

"What is?"

Looking up in surprise, Omi blinked as Ken plopped himself down next to him, grinning for all he was worth.

"Ken-kun?"

This was something he most definitely did not need right now. Biting the inside of his cheek to keep from saying something he knew he'd regret later, Omi flung another stone out at the water.

Ken arched an eyebrow as the rock skipped a couple of times before sinking. He knew something had been bothering the younger boy for the past few weeks, but he wasn't sure what. When he'd taken off after breakfast that morning without so much as a goodbye or a note as to where he was going, Ken had taken it upon himself to look for him.

"Mind if I try?" He asked, indicating the pile of stones between them.

Omi's gazed flicked down to the rocks and then back up at him. The smaller boy shrugged indifferently.

"Sure."

Frowning, Ken searched through the small pile, searching for just the right one. Seeing this, Omi felt a twinge of annoyance. They all had their little...eccentricities, but sometimes Ken made him wonder...

"They're just rocks, Ken-kun. They're all pretty much the same."

Grinning, Ken shook his head stubbornly.

"Ahhh...but that's where you're wrong, Omi. They might seem the same, but they're all different. This one," He said, pointing to a dark colored stone, "has a little yellow streak on one side, and this one has little flecks of red in it. If you look closely enough, you'll see that they're all different...kind of like people."

Omi glanced up sharply, finding himself staring into Ken's eyes.

"What's wrong, Omi? You've been acting strange all week. We're...I'm worried about you."

Omi wanted to tell him, but he couldn't seem to get the words past his throat. He knew Ken would understand, he saw hat much in his eyes, but...

Stifling a sigh of annoyance, Ken picked the dark colored rock up and tossed it from hand to hand, waiting for Omi to speak.

"Aya's worried too, you know. You wouldn't think it to look at him, but he does care."

Omi sighed, feeling a headache coming on. He'd been over it so many times in the past month that he thought his head might explode.

"I know he does, Ken-kun...that's not the problem."

Clenching his jaw, Ken's hand tightened around the flat stone. He knew part of the reason Omi was out here, and if he couldn't get an explanation from him, then he'd go to the source of the problem.

"He still loves her, Ken-kun. After all this time, he still loves her."

Ken winced at Omi's heartbroken words. Scooting a little closer to the smaller boy, he wrapped his arm around Omi's shoulders. The younger boy froze for a moment, and then he threw himself at Ken, burying his face in his chest as he cried.

"Omi..."

Wiping at his eyes with his shirtsleeve, the younger boy hid his face against Ken's chest, his words muffled.

"Last night he had a nightmare, and he was saying her name over and over again, Ken-kun...and I couldn't wake him up! I tried and I tried, but he just wouldn't wake up, and it scared me, because he sounded so lost, and I couldn't help him!"

Uncertain of what to do, Ken did the only thing he could do. He held Omi as the younger boy cried, offering what comfort he could. It tore at his own heart to see Omi like this, broken and crying his heart out. A long time later, Omi quieted, though he didn't move away from Ken.

"I know it's stupid, Ken-kun, but it hurts so much. I want to help him, but he won't let me! He won't even talk about the nightmares. He says he doesn't remember them, but I can see it in his eyes. And there's nothing I can do about it. Maybe if she was still alive, it would be different, but..."

"Omi..."

"Maybe if she were still alive, I could talk to her, you know? Get her to see what he's going through because of her. Maybe...he'd be happy with her."

Those words struck home in a way Ken hadn't expected. He'd thought along those lines too many times himself not to see where Omi was headed. And as his friend, he couldn't let that happen. Carefully untangling Omi's arms from his, Ken stood up, holding a hand out to the younger boy.

"Come on."

Omi looked up at him, blinking slowly in confusion. Biting back a smile at the adorable look on Omi's face, Ken reached out and grabbed one of Omi's hands in a gentle grip.

"We're going to take care of this once and for all, Omi."

*********

Grumbling under his breath as he walked through the iron gates, Yohji glanced down at the flower arrangement in his hands and scowled. By all rights, he should be back at the shop, lounging around and looking good for the customers. Not out delivering flowers at a cemetery. That was more Ken or Omi's job, not his. At the thought of the blue-eyed boy, Yohji's steps faltered.

Omi.

He knew he'd been more distant from him lately, but Omi couldn't possibly know why, could he?

Shaking his head, Yohji snorted. He was positive he hadn't let anything slip about her to Omi, he knew how much it would upset him. And he was certain that Omi didn't know about the nightmares - or at least not about the subject of his nightmares. Following the little cobblestone path, Yohji felt a shiver of dread run through him.

He hated cemeteries. They reminded him all too well of his 'night job', and of her. Behind his ever present sunglasses, his eyes narrowed. Partly out of anger, and partly out of some other indefinable emotion. He thought he'd been able to leave her behind with the rest of his past. He wanted to leave her in his past, his life - as it was now - held no place for her. Or her memory.

Omi's in my life now, not her. I had my chance...and I let it slip away. Not this time. Not this time.

His steps picking up where they'd left off, Yohji froze as he rounded a small grove of trees. Standing not twenty feet from him was Omi. Ken stood a little off to the side, watching the blonde closely. At the sound of Yohji's footsteps, he looked up. Omi didn't seem to notice.

Glancing at Omi, Ken started over to Yohji, his movements a little too stiff to be normal. As he drew closer, Yohji was surprised to see the anger in Ken's eyes, the tense set to his shoulders.

"Ken?"

Ken stopped a few feet away from him, scowling darkly.

"Did you order these?" Yohji asked, holding out the arrangement, at a loss for words in the face of this unexpected development.

"Do you know what you've been doing to him?" Ken snarled, ignoring the flowers that were suddenly inches from his face. "He's been worried sick about you! He knows about your nightmares, and he knows about her, Yohji!"

Stunned, Yohji couldn't seem to form the words that tumbled chaotically through his mind. He felt a sharp ache in his chest as he looked past Ken's shoulder at Omi. The blonde was standing before a painfully familiar tombstone, one pale hand tracing the engraving there.

"He was crying because you wouldn't talk to him about it, Yohji! He knows how much it hurts you, and he wants to help, but you won't let him. You want to brush it under the rug and just forget about it, but you can't, can you? You're going to have to face up to it sooner or later, Yohji." Ken said, his voice softening as he saw the pain in his friend's eyes.

Looking down at the flowers in his hands...white lilies, Yohji felt as though he couldn't breathe. His chest was tight, and the back of his eyes stung with unshed tears.

"You make it sound so simple, Ken."

Smiling sadly, Ken cocked his head to one side as he watched Yohji.

"It's not, but you know you have to. It's been long enough as it is, don't you think?"

"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black." He snorted.

Ken smiled, but said nothing. His problems could wait a little bit longer, as long as this one got taken care of first.

*********

"I feel so stupid, doing this. I know you can't hear me, but Ken-kun said that maybe this would make me feel better. I don't know if I believe that right now, but I don't know if I believe anything right now either."

He knew he was babbling, but he couldn't seem to help himself. It was either that or burst into tears again. Standing here, faced with hard proof that the woman Yohji loved could never return that love...

"You don't who I am, but I know who you are. He talks about you, in his sleep. He has nightmares about you, and I can't reach him. I feel like I'm losing him to you, and there's nothing I can do about it. And you don't even know, because you're dead."

He heard the ragged tone to his words, and he knew he was crying again, but he couldn't stop that either.

"I wouldn't mind, you know. I wouldn't mind if he chose you over me, because I'd know he'd be happy. That's all I ever wanted for him...to be happy. But he can't be happy, because..."

He was sobbing now, tears streaming down his face unchecked. He felt as though his heart was breaking all over again, as he fell to his knees.

Yohji...I'm sorry. I'm sorry...

*********

Yohji stood rooted to the spot as he heard Omi's words. The younger boy was so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed Yohji walk up to him.

"Omi."

When the blonde didn't respond, Yohji took a step forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. He felt Omi tense, and slowly he looked up to meet Yohji's eyes.

"Yohji?"

Flinching at the look in Omi's eyes, Yohji forced a small smile, as he brushed Omi's bangs out of his eyes. He felt that sharp ache in his chest again as Omi instinctively leaned into the touch.

Oh, God...Omi...I'm sorry...

Kneeling beside the smaller blonde, Yohji set the flower arrangement off to the side, and gently cupped Omi's face in his hands. He felt the threat of tears again as he saw the trust and love in the depths of his eyes. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips against Omi's softly.

Omi stiffened, and then melted into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Yohji's neck and drawing him closer as he deepened the kiss.

Reluctantly, Yohji was forced to end the kiss - it was either that or face asphyxiation - though he had to admit, it would be a nice way to go...

"Omi? I'm sorry."

Omi blinked up at him, his eyes hooded.

"For what?"

"For not telling you...for not talking to you...Omi, I'm sorry for all of this. I just didn't think how you'd feel...I was so wrapped up in my own petty problems that I never thought about how you'd feel. I'm sorry."

Omi didn't say anything, but Yohji could tell by the way the younger blonde was holding onto him that he understood.

"Yohji...I know I'm not her, but I love you. I know I can't take her place, and I don't want to. I just want to love you, because I love you."

At Omi's words, the tears that Yohji had managed to hold at bay finally fell, tracking down his face and onto Omi's shoulder. They were the words that he'd wanted to hear for so long, and hadn't known. To be loved for the sake of being loved...that was the one thing he'd ever wanted. He'd thought he could have had that with her, but had he?

"Omi...I don't want you to take her place either, because you couldn't," Yohji said, one corner of his mouth curving upwards as he felt Omi slump in his arms. "No one could fill the place you have in my heart but you, Omi. Not even her."

Yohji smirked as Omi pulled away to look at his face, blue eyes wide.

"Yohji?"

"I love you Omi."

*********

Leaning against an old oak tree set beside the cobblestone path, Ken smiled as his the two blondes got to their feet. Watching as Yohji placed the flower arrangement beside the tombstone, he nodded to himself. Pushing off against the tree, he set off back the way he'd come, whistling a half-remembered song to himself.

Two down, one to go.