Chapter 1.

Successes? Failures? Failures and successes…

                Omi nearly skipped back into the main room, still not sure of what exactly he had gotten himself into. If he paused long enough to think about the situation… he knew that deep down inside this whole situation was ridiculous and that he should forget about it. But another part of him, the part that was right now 'in control of the situation' so to speak, was shushing the doubts and it made his heart race.

                He peered into the room before actually entering it and was surprised to find that Yoji wasn't there with a grin plastered on his face looking much like he imagined the Cheshire cat looked like. He shrugged. Maybe… maybe for once Yoji had listened to Aya without grumbling and gone outside to smoke. He looked around again.

Maybe.

He sighed and decided that it was now or never if he actually wanted to beat Ken at this… 'challenge'… that Yoji had issued the both of them. With careful steps he made his way to the sofa and looked at Aya's profile. The older man was still reading the novel that he had been attempting to read the past hour or so. That dangerous glint in his eyes that had been there previously had melted away.

'Probably because Yoji is out of the house.' Omi thought gently as he sat down and brought his knees to his chest.

He suddenly was at a loss at what to do.

Not that he had really had a plan minutes before… but even if he had they would have disappeared. How could they not? Here was Aya, sitting next to him… looking as if he was at peace.

How could he possibly break that?

Not to mention the unthinkable…

Omi blinked.

How the heck was he supposed to make this man blush… or smile?

He rested his chin on his knee and kept glancing at the older man beside him with long side-looks. Long minutes passed with just blank and heavy silence.

This is worse than being bored.

Meh. Here goes nothing.

                "Aya-kun?" He asked softly. "What are you reading?"

…

                "How lame is that?" Ken asked, growing a bit more confident as he watched Omi finally break the silence that had been present ever since the kid had beaten him into the main room. Yoji just arched an eyebrow, his smile still very present.

                "Never underestimate chibis, Ken-ken." Yoji shook his head. "Never."

…

                "…" Well, that had worked according to plan. Ask Aya question. A grunt is the reply.

Message clear.

Don't bother me.

Omi with held a sigh and closed his eyes, biting his lip and without realizing doing what Ken and Yoji so fondly called… 'The Omi Pout.' He thought for a moment and then decided to skip sanity and wish it well in hell.

He would win this game!

Even if it required getting a bit more crazy…a bit more out of character than usual.

Omi let his head rest on Aya's lap, eyes looking up to 'read' the back flap of the book to get the summary of it since Aya had so unhelpfully avoided answering his question. What Omi hadn't expected was Aya's instant reaction to this change in position. The book which had been oh… about a foot or two away from Omi's face with the print being somewhat readable but a bit to small… suddenly dropped and smacked him on the nose. Totally destroying any thoughts that Omi's very silent and hidden hentai mind could have created in the brief second in which he had been so close to Aya. 

                "Aya-kun!" Omi protested vehemently at getting his nose squished, he grabbed the paler man's wrist just as quickly as Aya had brought the book down and pulled it away. He pouted at the wide violet eyes that were actually fractionally wider than usual, looking at Omi as if he'd grown horns. "I was just reading the back cover…" Aya blinked.

No blush.

Damn.

                "Ask next time." Aya muttered icily, placing the book in Omi's hands and freeing his own to push the eighteen-year-old's head off his lap.

                "I did." Omi pouted harder. "You ignored me." He gave a little shake from the kind of rough push.

                "…" That was as close to an apology that he was ever going to get so Omi dropped the subject and quickly scanned the back of the book. It seemed awfully…interesting actually, making Omi almost forget why he was harassing the older man instead of just enjoying his simple presence like he usually did.

Almost.

                "It looks like a really good book." Omi muttered, handing it back to Aya who took it without comment, still looking at Omi weirdly. "Nani?" The eighteen year old asked innocently, smiling.

…

                "The kid's good." Yoji whistled. "He almost got old ice-man to blush back there." He was surprised actually and had been as openmouthed towards the kid's actions than Ken had been, was… Yoji tapped Ken's mouth closed. "Almost… He almost made him blush. But didn't succeed. Don't worry you'll get your turn soon enough."

…

                One last try and then he'd leave the room and let Ken have a go.

Fair was fair after all. And Omi didn't want Ken mad at him over a stupid challenge.

So he let his mind pick a random subject.

                "Aya-kun?" The redhead stopped reading immediately this time and focused his full attention on the youngest of the Weiss members. He still however, didn't speak. "Why do people tickle each other?" Aya blinked and even Omi's brain stalled at what had just come out of his mouth to ponder a very good question: What the hell? He blushed, not knowing where that had come from and why he had decided to ask Aya of all people this…

Why now?
                "…I…" Aya started evenly. "…Don't. Know." He returned to his book.

                "Oh." Omi must have sounded as pathetic as he felt at that moment because Aya looked up again.

                "Why?" It was Omi's turn to blink. Was Aya continuing a conversation?

                "…Why? Why what?"

                "Why do you ask?"

                "…I dunno… it's just… well…I've never had a family and my friends always complain about older siblings tickling each other and so on and I was wondering if it was just a family thing or…" It was time to stop. He was rambling and making a fool out of himself.

                "Yoji's never tickled you before?" He sounded surprised at that thought. Omi shook his head. "…" Aya seemed at a loss on what to say next. He'd never spoken to any of them so much before unless it was to bark orders at them during a mission or something. Omi felt a slight tug in his chest that had nothing to do with Aya, the challenge or anything at all with today. Instead it was that constant pain he always shoved away during the daytime so that his smile would never seem fake. It was that constant longing for consistency… of a need for warmth… of simply being needed or loved. Needed would do… simply being needed… Omi looked away. He was not doing this to himself! He was not going to let his past color today.

After all… it wasn't everyday that assassins were given such a boring day

'Just like it isn't every day you try and capture the attention of someone who most likely wishes you dead along with the rest of your family.' Omi closed his eyes, turning his head away.

                "Forget it." He started to move away. He was done. He'd tried. He'd failed. It had been stupid of him to… His body spasmed in mid way of him getting up and off the couch as Aya's finger gently but quickly poked his side. Another finger joined and suddenly, laughter spilled out of Omi's mouth, surprise pushing all other thoughts away. "Aya-kun!" He half screeched. "What are you doing?" He batted away the hand and could have sworn that if he had a magnifying glass… he would have seen the start of a smile on the man's face.

                "That's tickling." Aya muttered. "You do it… to make people laugh… or to annoy them." He picked his book back up and started for probably the hundredth time that morning to get past the fifth page.

                "Arigato Aya-kun." Omi whispered, smiling and holding his side.

                "Don't let the others know." Aya warned softly.

                "Aa… its dangerous." Omi agreed. He knew that if Aya had continued he'd be at his mercy, laughing and twitching on the ground without being able to defend himself. Aya arched an eyebrow at that as if to say… extremely dangerous… for you. Omi's smile grew and he shook his head. "I'm gonna go and…" He didn't know what exactly he was going to do but he stopped, realizing that Aya had stopped listening. Silently, Omi went out the door and was immediately grabbed by four arms, two covering his mouth while the two pinned his arms to his body.