Part three of Hoshiko's (late) birthday present. (spider go *splat!*)^^;;
~silvershadeus~
Disclaimer: I do not own Weiß Kreuz, I'm just borrowing the characters for a bit.
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The Little Things - Part 3
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Ken had the sneaking suspicion that watching Yohji
in his current frame of mind was like watching the deterioration of civilization, only on a smaller scale. He found it quite amusing when that oh-so-perfect 'lady killer' smile of his began to show strain as the day wore on and the regular schoolgirl hoard kept on coming. The way his left eye had started twitching somewhere around the eleven o'clock hour was fairly amusing as well.
Admittedly, the swarm was a great deal smaller since Omi's class was out of town for the next few days, but it hardly seemed to make a dent in the sheer number of bodies being flung at them. For a moment, Ken had to wonder how Omi's school could hold so many students at one time, but passed it off as unimportant. The important thing was to make sure that Yohji didn't unintentionally snap at one of the girls, thereby damaging his reputation or the shop's customer relations.
"Sorry, ladies, we're going to be closing up for a lunch in fifteen minutes. Buy whatever you wanted to now. We'll open up again in an hour." He called out, catching Yohji's eye over the crowd.
Disappointed groans filled the air, accompanied by a grateful look from Yohji, who was starting to look a little wild-eyed.
Turning away to hide his smile from Yohji, Ken handled the sales, letting the older man deal with wrapping the flowers and various arrangements. By the time he rang up the last dozen roses, the fifteen minutes had long since elapsed and blessed silence filled the shop once more.
Yohji, taking advantage of the fact that he didn't have to push through a crowd, made his way to the front door and flipped the sign over. Turning around, he leaned against the door, rubbing his eyes and muttering something to himself. Ken couldn't quite catch all of it, but he got the underlying feeling behind it from the downward turn of Yohji's mouth and weary set to his shoulders.
"Tough day, Yohji?"
Oh, it was cruel to tease the older man like that, but for some reason Ken couldn't resist. Maybe it was the inner devil in him that made him do it. Payback for all the times Yohji had delighted in making his own personal life a living hell.
Well, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but close enough that it didn't really matter.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you."
Ken managed a suitably shocked expression, although the sentiment failed to
reach his eyes.
"Who me? Did anyone ever tell you that you're paranoid, Yohji?"
Straightening, Yohji stalked over to where Ken stood behind the register and glared down at the younger man. Ken stared up at him, a patient little smile on his lips.
"Keep pushing, Hidaka. Just keep pushing."
There was an implied threat in Yohji's voice, but for some reason Ken found it hard to take it to heart. It might have had something to do with Yohji's slightly frazzled appearance.
"Oh come on, Yohji. You're taking this whole thing way too hard. Omi's coming back on Tuesday afternoon, you know that. And it'll be good for him to get out of town and enjoy being as close to normal as any of us can get or a while."
Yohji flinched visibly at Ken's words, knowing that he was blowing things out of proportion, but he couldn't help it. He missed Omi. Missed the way he'd sneak a kiss when they thought no one was looking. Missed the way their hands would brush when they passed each other. Missed the comfortable silence between them when they worked on arrangements together in the back room.
He missed all of hat. The little quiet moments they had together during the day. He missed simply being near Omi, feeling his energy wrap around him like a favorite blanket. He missed all of that, and even more so for the fact that he'd never realized how it felt to be without any of it.
"You're acting like you resent him having a life outside of this shop and the missions, Yohji. Do you honestly think he hasn't noticed?"
Startled by the sudden change in Ken's mood, Yohji backed p a step, green eyes wary. Ken smiled slightly at the look on Yohji's face, almost as though he were preparing for a fight.
"What do you mean?"
Rolling his eyes, Ken untied his apron and pulled it off, gesturing for Yohji to do the same with his.
"I don't know why you're so damned possessive of him, and to be honest, I really don't care. I like to think it means that I can trust you to take care of him, but you need to learn to let go sometimes. Omi loves you and only you, and I know you must feel the same way towards him, right?"
Yohji stared at Ken, wondering if he'd somehow stumbled into the twilight zone, or if he'd drunk a little too much the night before and was paying for it now.
"Ken..."
"Wait, I'm not done yet." Ken said, holding up a hand to forestall any further interruptions from the older man. "You trust him don't you?"
Yohji didn't know quite what to say to that.
Of course, he trusted Omi. He trusted him with his life on a nightly basis. He trusted him to know what he was doing, on a mission or not. He trusted Omi with his own life, something far more precious to Yohji than any precious stone or treasure. But most importantly, and the thing that had cost him the most, and given back tenfold, he trusted Omi with his heart.
"Yes."
Ken eyed him for a moment, dark eyes narrowed. Yohji shifted nervously, feeling like he was fifteen again and standing the in the headmaster's office for some prank he'd taken part in.
"So then why would you act like the last thing in the world you wanted was for him to possibly have a little fun? He's never really had the chance to be around people his own age, Yohji. And he doesn't have any real friends from school. He doesn't let himself have any because he doesn't want them to get hurt because of him. Don't you think he deserves this? Just a little bit?"
Hearing it like that, Yohji felt a crushing feeling of shame press down on him. He knew Ken was right. Omi was well liked by everyone at his school, but he made a point to keep those friendships - acquaintances, really - at a certain level. He didn't do the things normal teenagers did with their friends, like go to the movies or the arcade with them. And when had any of them ever actually called asking for Omi?
Despite the fact that Omi didn't seem bothered by having to keep his distance with his schoolmates, Yohji knew he had to be lonely. Omi had always been surrounded by adults, and even now, he had no one his age to really talk to. No one that would immediately understand his problems the way a peer could. Ken was closest in age, but he was still Omi's senior, no matter how he acted at times.
It galled him to admit that Ken was right, but he had to, just that once.
"When did you get so damned smart, Kenken?"
"Don't feel so bad, Yohji. I didn't even realize until a little while ago myself. Omi's good at hiding things he doesn't want people to notice, especially us."
Scowling, Yohji crossed his arms and glared at Ken, some part of him bristling at Ken's tone of voice.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Sighing, Ken locked the register and skirted around the counter on his way to the front door of the shop. Testing the door to make sure it was locked, he glanced over his shoulder at Yohji, who had opted for a glare this time.
"Knock it off, Yohji. You'll ruin that pretty face of yours glaring like that, and besides, you don't pull it off like Aya does."
Smirking as Yohji gaped at him, unsure of just how to take Ken's comments, Ken walked over to him and tugged on one of his apron's straps.
"Come on, Yohji. We've only got an hour for lunch, then it's back to dealing with the unruly mob. Chinese sound all right to you?"
"How do you do it?"
Blinking at Yohji's rather cryptic question, Ken tipped his head to the side, a puzzled look in his eyes.
"How do I do what?"
Sighing, Yohji ran a hand through his hair, dislodging the flower petals that had somehow made it there during the course of the morning.
"How you take it when Aya goes off on his own like this? With barely a word as to where he's going or what he'll be doing. Doesn't it bother you?"
Ken smiled, shaking his head.
"Nope."
Yohji stared at him.
"Why not?"
Ken shrugged, his lips curving upwards into a tiny smile as he caught the obvious frustration in Yohji's voice and in his eyes.
"Understanding Aya's not quite as complicated as you seem to think it is, Yohji. It's pretty basic, actually. He doesn't play mind games with anyone. Either he likes them or he doesn't. He doesn't string anyone along, and he doesn't go out of his way to hurt people. If he says he loves you, then you know it's true. If he doesn't...then he doesn't."
Yohji's eyes narrowed as Ken's words registered.
"Are you implying - "
Ken's smile shifted to a knowing little smirk, dark eyes gleaming with amusement.
"I'm not implying anything, Yohji. What it all boils down to is trust. I trust Aya, and he trusts me. We came to an understanding a long time ago. Just because he doesn't seem capable of something like love doesn't he mean he isn't."
"But - "
Ken sighed, glancing at his watch in annoyance.
"Look, Yohji. I'd dearly love to go into graphic detail with you about my relationship with Aya, but can it wait until later? I'm starving."
Yohji looked a little green at the thought of hearing all the gruesome details of Ken and Aya's relationship.
"...No...that's all right. No need to tell me anything more, Kenken. I think I get the picture." Yohji said a little weakly, tugging ineffectively at the strings of his apron in a bid to get it off.
Shaking his head, Ken his smile as he helped Yohji slip out of the apron.
"Actually, I had Chinese for lunch yesterday...how about Thai?"
Yohji nodded, following Ken meekly as they left through the back door of the shop.
"Whatever you want Kenken, just please, no details."
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TBC...
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