Draco: So people know, I am aware that Farfie's full name is Farfarello. I
am, however, the queen of typos and while my brain sees the correct
spelling my hands have typed it wrong. His name is now in my auto-correct,
though. Anyway.the quote is from "It's Too Late" by Wei? Kreuz, a.k.a. the
ending song when they changed the credits' music. This is my first guest
insert chapter and it's for Emiko-san. Remember folks, if you wanna appear
in this fic, just send me a fanfic or fanart that can be traced back here
to "Sweet Delight." I love you all! Here's the chapter!
* * *
"The rain washes away all the questions."
"So why did we have to practice at Heather's house again?" Ken grunted as he lugged his drum set into the garage, piece by piece.
Youji leaned against the open door, cigarette in hand, and sneered at him. "We live in an apartment and Aya's parents are having friends over for dinner. Meanwhile, Heather's parents were kind enough to agree to us using their garage for the day."
Omi watched the two as they conversed, openly glaring at one another, and decided it might be a good idea to go back inside. Closing the door behind him, he glanced into the room ahead. Heather and Aya were looking over something together, the girl humming as her friend toyed with the guitar strings. The goth sighed inwardly. He didn't quite feel comfortable anywhere.
"Break the silence/Now I'm falling," Aya's voice drifted, low and sweet, to his ears, and Omi felt himself melting. "I can hear you calling, calling/Take me to a waking dream/Grip the lining/Tear the seam/Please don't cry when clouds come down/Interrupting angels' tears as they stain the ground/"
The punk turned to his friend, and she smiled. "I like that," she laughed, "and I like the rest of the lyrics, too. You sure you'll survive Omi singing it, though?'
"We'll see," he smirked and strummed a chord.
"Hey," Omi cleared his throat quietly, trying to calm the butterflies, and a string twanged as the others jumped in surprise.
"Wow! Yeah! Hey sweetheart!" Heather gasped with a grin. "You scared us!"
The boy smiled sheepishly. "Gomen. I was just trying to get away from Youji and Ken."
Rolling her eyes, the girl stood. "They at it again?"
His head had barely risen from his nod before she was past him. Bickering voices were heard for a mere second as the door swung open, finally shutting again on Heather shouting for attention. With a sigh, Omi strode over to Aya, who sat on the couch, focused on his guitar once more. Fidgeting with the hem of his t-shirt a little, the younger boy just sat and listened as the redhead started to sing again.
"I feel you in my heart/I knew you from the start/Though I didn't know your face/Or even know your name/There's just something about your rain," the punk's voice carried across the air quietly.
Omi sat next to him and let the soft song wash over him. It's beautiful, he thought, stomach fluttering yet again. He closed his eyes, biting his lip with a faint smile. Every word rang bright and clear through the goth's mind.
"Show me passion/Show me pain/Show me love and life again/Every morn and every night/Some are born/To sweet delight/Please don't cry when worlds fall down/Interrupting angels' tears as they burn the ground." Aya moved then, just slightly, as the chord changed, sliding closer to Omi's motionless form. "I feel you in my heart/ I knew you from the start/Though I didn't know your face/Or even know your name/There's just something/About your rain." Then the music stopped, and Omi snapped to attention, his eyes locked on his companion's own violet orbs as Aya continued to sing even quieter now. "It's quiet here tonight/Your love's my only light/And I reach for you again/Our sweat will drown the sin."
A blush crept, red-hot, over the blonde's cheeks as the older boy leaned forward and captured his lips for the merest second. His heart fluttered and his lips tingled' Aya just turned away. Tears stung Omi's eyes as he forced himself to look down.
"Alright!" Heather strode in, grinning. "Everything's ready!"
The boys stood in unison and their friend raised a brow. Omi smiled at her, trying not to let go. He knew she would notice. They would talk later, and she would make everything okay. For now, he could just move on and deal. Her arm around him was all the assurance he needed for the time being.
* * *
Aya played the last note in the basic melody of the tenth song they'd tried. So far, there had only been one the band had decided to cut from their set, and the reasoning had nothing to do with Omi. Heather had been right: when Aya was determined, he got things done. Even as the two college boys complained that the redhead was being a slave driver, eh was going over problems with their new singer. It wasn't until Dragon finally spoke up that a break was so much as considered.
"You've been at it for four hours, Aya," she laughed. "Not everyone has your stamina. Take a break! Eat some lunch! I can hear poor Omi's stomach growling over the music!"
Youji and Ken agreed avidly, but it wasn't until their leader turned the cold violet of his gaze to the quiet, little blonde beside him that his face softened and he relented with a sigh. "Fine. We'll take a break."
"An hour," Heather put in, smirking as her best friend struggled not to protest. "You all need it," she added as the boys walked past her and into the house. Then she caught Aya's arm. "I wanna talk to you."
As the door closed behind him, Omi felt his stomach flip. What did she need to talk to Aya about? Did it have something to do with him? He hoped not, but knew better. Something in the tone of her voice and answered that second question for him. Biting his lip, Omi listened silently to the muffled shouts rising through the wall and clenched his eyes shut to force back tears. I cry too much, he thought with a sigh, shoving himself away from the door. What he found in the kitchen wasn't much better, though, just quieter.
"I'm gonna sit out on the porch, okay?" he mumbled as he grabbed a soda and a bag of chips, then walked out again without an answer.
A warm breeze played through his hair as he sat on the concrete block, leaning against the siding. He closed his eyes, still trying not to cry, and moaned miserably. If only the sky could just wash away all the pain and questions. It shouldn't hurt so much for two people to be in love. So why? Why did it have to hurt so much for him?
"Omi?"
The blonde squeaked, jumping at the sound of a voice he didn't recognize. It was soft and a little cold, but there was a tinge of worry as well, and it's owner appeared to match. He stood over Omi, dark hair falling lightly over dark eyes.
"What's wrong?" the stranger asked with little to no emotion audible.
"I." Omi choked, still startled. "Who.?"
A hand extended towards him. "My name is Nagi."
"Oh!" the blonde gasped. "You're in my computer class!"
Nagi nodded, retrieving his hand.
"But.that's not what I recognize you from, is it? You live next door, don't you? You were the boy in the window when Heather went to take care of Farfarello."
Nagi nodded again.
Then there was a rustling from the side yard, and Heather's dog started barking, a girl shouting in response. "Gator! Shush! Nagi? Hey! Didn't we have a tutoring session today? They said you went for a walk, so." She stopped short as she saw Omi, strips of blue hair bouncing around her face, stray strands of it pulled back into the strawberry-blonde bun on her head, and her silvery-blue eyes went wide. "Oh! Hilo!"
"Um.hi." Omi blinked.
"You must be the almighty Omi-kun!" She giggled. "I'm Ashley!" Then she blushed a little, biting her lip innocently. "Nagi's my math tutor."
Omi nodded kindly and smiled. Ashley seemed sweet, and somewhat reminded him of himself as she giggled and blushed when she realized her crush was watching. It was something in the way she kicked her high tops back and forth, swinging the leg of her plaid pajama pants, and toyed with the hem of her t-shirt nervously that made him sympathize with her.
"I couldn't stand Crawford and Schuldich arguing, so I came outside," Nagi drew attention back to the moment. "Omi was sitting here alone, and you hadn't arrived yet. I decided to see if he was alright." He turned to Omi. "I've never seen you out here without Heather."
It made Omi uncomfortable the way Nagi seemed to cling to his point, but he shrugged and went alone with it. "Heather's busy, and I didn't want to eat inside. It's so beautiful out here today. I figure I could stand being alone for a while. It's kind of you to think of me, though."
Nagi just nodded once more, and Omi found himself wondering what made this boy seem so disturbing. The serious brunette was so much like Aya. He never seemed to smile when he knew eyes were on him, and he was so serious all the time. Omi just wanted to help Ashley get some sort of emotion out of him.
"Um. You think we could skip the session today, Nagi?" Ashley turned her face down and glanced up through her eyelashes. "My mind's not really on Math anyway."
The quiet young man stared at her for a moment, then sighed and nodded. "If you don't need my help, then I'll go to work." He looked to Omi. "Tell Heather I'll e-mail her with a list of what I've gotten done today." Then he strode away.
"I don't know why he acts like that!" Ashley huffed once he was gone, and Omi just smiled. The girl plopped down next to him, and she stuck her tongue out at nothing in particular. "Arg! Why can't he smile more? His smile's so kawaii and it just makes him even more bishi and.and. Oh foo!" She let her head fall back against the wall, then blushed and rolled her head to look at her companion. "Gomen, Omi-kun."
Omi smiled brightly, tears returning, though for a new reason. "No! It's okay! I don't mind hearing about it." He bit his lip. "Actually, I know exactly how you feel."
"That's right," Ashley smiled softly. "You're with Aya, aren't you?"
The boy blushed a little. "I guess pretty much everybody knows about that now, huh?"
"Well, yeah," she laughed. "Do you have any idea how many girls would die to have him?"
"I can only imagine." Smiling, he offered her some chips.
She shrugged and grabbed a few, watching cars go by. "Besides.you probably don't recognize me, but I was at Heather's party, too."
"You were?"
"Yup."
"Were you one of the junior girls who kept picking on Ken?"
"Nope. I was the freshman girl playing video games in the parents' bedroom."
"Oh."
They watched more cars go by, and Omi thought he felt a raindrop hit his arm. Then Ashley spoke again. "So, why are you really out here?"
After a moment, blue eyes turned to the ground. "Youji and Ken've been arguing all day, and Heather's talking to Aya in private right now." He sighed. "They were yelling at each other, so I came outside."
"Hmm. When Heather goes boom, you know something's wrong, especially when the target's Aya," Ashley pouted.
They cringed and groaned in unison at the sound of something crashing inside, but then they looked at each other and giggles broke out as a car drove up. The driver stared at them for a minute through her glasses, shaded by the rim of a bowler hat, and smiled. Climbing out of the big, red beast, she straightened her pinstripe dress and closed the door.
"Hey! Heather inside?"
Omi blinked, not recognizing her until Ashley responded. "Hey, Maggi! Yeah. She's in talking to Aya."
The bigger girl frowned. "That doesn't sound happy." She shrugged and hugged the two cheerfully before heading inside. "Hopefully there hasn't been any bloodshed."
"I agree," Omi sighed.
He continued to sit there with Ashley until the door finally opened again, about half an hour later, with Heather on the other side. She didn't say a word, but hugged them both and headed for her girlfriend's car. Maggi followed, flashing Omi a nervous smile, and hopped in the driver's seat. Moments later, the car pulled out, and Omi just watched it go.
"She left," he whispered in disbelief, and Ashley bit her lip. "She just.left."
A second later, Aya walked out an made his way to his own vehicle, guitar over his shoulder. He didn't look at Omi, didn't acknowledge Ashley, but just climbed behind the wheel and drove away. Tears stung the little blonde's eyes once more, but thise time eh didn't hold them back. Ashley frowned, and furrowed her brow.
"Omi-kun?" She took his hand in hers and squeezed gently, then perked up and jumped to her feet, dragging him with her. "I've got it! Come on!"
Startled, he let her haul him across the yard as the sky opened up and rain poured down. She leapt to the porch next door and didn't' bother ringing the doorbell before barging right in. Omi nearly tripped on the doorstep as she led him through the house he'd only seen once before, flying past Schuldich's amused expression and slamming into a room he didn't know: Nagi's bedroom. The brunette frowned at the interruption, but Ashley didn't seem to notice.
"Steal the keys to Schuldich's car!"
"What?" Nagi raised a brow at the two drenched figures.
Ashley rolled her eyes. "I'm on a mission to cheer up an Omi!"
"And what does that have to do with me stealing Schuldich's car?"
"I need you to drive!"
Omi blinked, his eyes dried by confusion, and a blush krept over his cheeks as Nagi stared at him. "Alright," the quiet boy sighed, saving his work and standing.
Ashley giggled and dragged Omi into the hall after her tutor. Stopping outside another bedroom, Nagi raised a hand and a jangling startled the confused blonde as he watched a set of keys fly into the other boy's hand. Then they were headed out the door.
"Excuse me," Schuldich smirked, stepping in their way.
Ashley stuck her tongue out at him. "I would, but there's no excuse for you!"
Nagi just sighed, and the redhead struck the nearby wall with a thud. Cursing in German, the man scrambled back to his feet as the door slammed. As the ran through the rain, Omi thought he saw a smile grace his new escort's lips, and Ashley's laughter rang through the air. Schuldich hit the porch just in time to see his car drive away, Nagi grinning as Ashley clung to Omi in the back, water soaking the seat.
As they rounded the corner, Ashley flashed wild, silvery eyes into her new friend's face and howled on a rush, "The rain washes away all the questions, Omi! So just sit back and enjoy the ride!"
* * *
"The rain washes away all the questions."
"So why did we have to practice at Heather's house again?" Ken grunted as he lugged his drum set into the garage, piece by piece.
Youji leaned against the open door, cigarette in hand, and sneered at him. "We live in an apartment and Aya's parents are having friends over for dinner. Meanwhile, Heather's parents were kind enough to agree to us using their garage for the day."
Omi watched the two as they conversed, openly glaring at one another, and decided it might be a good idea to go back inside. Closing the door behind him, he glanced into the room ahead. Heather and Aya were looking over something together, the girl humming as her friend toyed with the guitar strings. The goth sighed inwardly. He didn't quite feel comfortable anywhere.
"Break the silence/Now I'm falling," Aya's voice drifted, low and sweet, to his ears, and Omi felt himself melting. "I can hear you calling, calling/Take me to a waking dream/Grip the lining/Tear the seam/Please don't cry when clouds come down/Interrupting angels' tears as they stain the ground/"
The punk turned to his friend, and she smiled. "I like that," she laughed, "and I like the rest of the lyrics, too. You sure you'll survive Omi singing it, though?'
"We'll see," he smirked and strummed a chord.
"Hey," Omi cleared his throat quietly, trying to calm the butterflies, and a string twanged as the others jumped in surprise.
"Wow! Yeah! Hey sweetheart!" Heather gasped with a grin. "You scared us!"
The boy smiled sheepishly. "Gomen. I was just trying to get away from Youji and Ken."
Rolling her eyes, the girl stood. "They at it again?"
His head had barely risen from his nod before she was past him. Bickering voices were heard for a mere second as the door swung open, finally shutting again on Heather shouting for attention. With a sigh, Omi strode over to Aya, who sat on the couch, focused on his guitar once more. Fidgeting with the hem of his t-shirt a little, the younger boy just sat and listened as the redhead started to sing again.
"I feel you in my heart/I knew you from the start/Though I didn't know your face/Or even know your name/There's just something about your rain," the punk's voice carried across the air quietly.
Omi sat next to him and let the soft song wash over him. It's beautiful, he thought, stomach fluttering yet again. He closed his eyes, biting his lip with a faint smile. Every word rang bright and clear through the goth's mind.
"Show me passion/Show me pain/Show me love and life again/Every morn and every night/Some are born/To sweet delight/Please don't cry when worlds fall down/Interrupting angels' tears as they burn the ground." Aya moved then, just slightly, as the chord changed, sliding closer to Omi's motionless form. "I feel you in my heart/ I knew you from the start/Though I didn't know your face/Or even know your name/There's just something/About your rain." Then the music stopped, and Omi snapped to attention, his eyes locked on his companion's own violet orbs as Aya continued to sing even quieter now. "It's quiet here tonight/Your love's my only light/And I reach for you again/Our sweat will drown the sin."
A blush crept, red-hot, over the blonde's cheeks as the older boy leaned forward and captured his lips for the merest second. His heart fluttered and his lips tingled' Aya just turned away. Tears stung Omi's eyes as he forced himself to look down.
"Alright!" Heather strode in, grinning. "Everything's ready!"
The boys stood in unison and their friend raised a brow. Omi smiled at her, trying not to let go. He knew she would notice. They would talk later, and she would make everything okay. For now, he could just move on and deal. Her arm around him was all the assurance he needed for the time being.
* * *
Aya played the last note in the basic melody of the tenth song they'd tried. So far, there had only been one the band had decided to cut from their set, and the reasoning had nothing to do with Omi. Heather had been right: when Aya was determined, he got things done. Even as the two college boys complained that the redhead was being a slave driver, eh was going over problems with their new singer. It wasn't until Dragon finally spoke up that a break was so much as considered.
"You've been at it for four hours, Aya," she laughed. "Not everyone has your stamina. Take a break! Eat some lunch! I can hear poor Omi's stomach growling over the music!"
Youji and Ken agreed avidly, but it wasn't until their leader turned the cold violet of his gaze to the quiet, little blonde beside him that his face softened and he relented with a sigh. "Fine. We'll take a break."
"An hour," Heather put in, smirking as her best friend struggled not to protest. "You all need it," she added as the boys walked past her and into the house. Then she caught Aya's arm. "I wanna talk to you."
As the door closed behind him, Omi felt his stomach flip. What did she need to talk to Aya about? Did it have something to do with him? He hoped not, but knew better. Something in the tone of her voice and answered that second question for him. Biting his lip, Omi listened silently to the muffled shouts rising through the wall and clenched his eyes shut to force back tears. I cry too much, he thought with a sigh, shoving himself away from the door. What he found in the kitchen wasn't much better, though, just quieter.
"I'm gonna sit out on the porch, okay?" he mumbled as he grabbed a soda and a bag of chips, then walked out again without an answer.
A warm breeze played through his hair as he sat on the concrete block, leaning against the siding. He closed his eyes, still trying not to cry, and moaned miserably. If only the sky could just wash away all the pain and questions. It shouldn't hurt so much for two people to be in love. So why? Why did it have to hurt so much for him?
"Omi?"
The blonde squeaked, jumping at the sound of a voice he didn't recognize. It was soft and a little cold, but there was a tinge of worry as well, and it's owner appeared to match. He stood over Omi, dark hair falling lightly over dark eyes.
"What's wrong?" the stranger asked with little to no emotion audible.
"I." Omi choked, still startled. "Who.?"
A hand extended towards him. "My name is Nagi."
"Oh!" the blonde gasped. "You're in my computer class!"
Nagi nodded, retrieving his hand.
"But.that's not what I recognize you from, is it? You live next door, don't you? You were the boy in the window when Heather went to take care of Farfarello."
Nagi nodded again.
Then there was a rustling from the side yard, and Heather's dog started barking, a girl shouting in response. "Gator! Shush! Nagi? Hey! Didn't we have a tutoring session today? They said you went for a walk, so." She stopped short as she saw Omi, strips of blue hair bouncing around her face, stray strands of it pulled back into the strawberry-blonde bun on her head, and her silvery-blue eyes went wide. "Oh! Hilo!"
"Um.hi." Omi blinked.
"You must be the almighty Omi-kun!" She giggled. "I'm Ashley!" Then she blushed a little, biting her lip innocently. "Nagi's my math tutor."
Omi nodded kindly and smiled. Ashley seemed sweet, and somewhat reminded him of himself as she giggled and blushed when she realized her crush was watching. It was something in the way she kicked her high tops back and forth, swinging the leg of her plaid pajama pants, and toyed with the hem of her t-shirt nervously that made him sympathize with her.
"I couldn't stand Crawford and Schuldich arguing, so I came outside," Nagi drew attention back to the moment. "Omi was sitting here alone, and you hadn't arrived yet. I decided to see if he was alright." He turned to Omi. "I've never seen you out here without Heather."
It made Omi uncomfortable the way Nagi seemed to cling to his point, but he shrugged and went alone with it. "Heather's busy, and I didn't want to eat inside. It's so beautiful out here today. I figure I could stand being alone for a while. It's kind of you to think of me, though."
Nagi just nodded once more, and Omi found himself wondering what made this boy seem so disturbing. The serious brunette was so much like Aya. He never seemed to smile when he knew eyes were on him, and he was so serious all the time. Omi just wanted to help Ashley get some sort of emotion out of him.
"Um. You think we could skip the session today, Nagi?" Ashley turned her face down and glanced up through her eyelashes. "My mind's not really on Math anyway."
The quiet young man stared at her for a moment, then sighed and nodded. "If you don't need my help, then I'll go to work." He looked to Omi. "Tell Heather I'll e-mail her with a list of what I've gotten done today." Then he strode away.
"I don't know why he acts like that!" Ashley huffed once he was gone, and Omi just smiled. The girl plopped down next to him, and she stuck her tongue out at nothing in particular. "Arg! Why can't he smile more? His smile's so kawaii and it just makes him even more bishi and.and. Oh foo!" She let her head fall back against the wall, then blushed and rolled her head to look at her companion. "Gomen, Omi-kun."
Omi smiled brightly, tears returning, though for a new reason. "No! It's okay! I don't mind hearing about it." He bit his lip. "Actually, I know exactly how you feel."
"That's right," Ashley smiled softly. "You're with Aya, aren't you?"
The boy blushed a little. "I guess pretty much everybody knows about that now, huh?"
"Well, yeah," she laughed. "Do you have any idea how many girls would die to have him?"
"I can only imagine." Smiling, he offered her some chips.
She shrugged and grabbed a few, watching cars go by. "Besides.you probably don't recognize me, but I was at Heather's party, too."
"You were?"
"Yup."
"Were you one of the junior girls who kept picking on Ken?"
"Nope. I was the freshman girl playing video games in the parents' bedroom."
"Oh."
They watched more cars go by, and Omi thought he felt a raindrop hit his arm. Then Ashley spoke again. "So, why are you really out here?"
After a moment, blue eyes turned to the ground. "Youji and Ken've been arguing all day, and Heather's talking to Aya in private right now." He sighed. "They were yelling at each other, so I came outside."
"Hmm. When Heather goes boom, you know something's wrong, especially when the target's Aya," Ashley pouted.
They cringed and groaned in unison at the sound of something crashing inside, but then they looked at each other and giggles broke out as a car drove up. The driver stared at them for a minute through her glasses, shaded by the rim of a bowler hat, and smiled. Climbing out of the big, red beast, she straightened her pinstripe dress and closed the door.
"Hey! Heather inside?"
Omi blinked, not recognizing her until Ashley responded. "Hey, Maggi! Yeah. She's in talking to Aya."
The bigger girl frowned. "That doesn't sound happy." She shrugged and hugged the two cheerfully before heading inside. "Hopefully there hasn't been any bloodshed."
"I agree," Omi sighed.
He continued to sit there with Ashley until the door finally opened again, about half an hour later, with Heather on the other side. She didn't say a word, but hugged them both and headed for her girlfriend's car. Maggi followed, flashing Omi a nervous smile, and hopped in the driver's seat. Moments later, the car pulled out, and Omi just watched it go.
"She left," he whispered in disbelief, and Ashley bit her lip. "She just.left."
A second later, Aya walked out an made his way to his own vehicle, guitar over his shoulder. He didn't look at Omi, didn't acknowledge Ashley, but just climbed behind the wheel and drove away. Tears stung the little blonde's eyes once more, but thise time eh didn't hold them back. Ashley frowned, and furrowed her brow.
"Omi-kun?" She took his hand in hers and squeezed gently, then perked up and jumped to her feet, dragging him with her. "I've got it! Come on!"
Startled, he let her haul him across the yard as the sky opened up and rain poured down. She leapt to the porch next door and didn't' bother ringing the doorbell before barging right in. Omi nearly tripped on the doorstep as she led him through the house he'd only seen once before, flying past Schuldich's amused expression and slamming into a room he didn't know: Nagi's bedroom. The brunette frowned at the interruption, but Ashley didn't seem to notice.
"Steal the keys to Schuldich's car!"
"What?" Nagi raised a brow at the two drenched figures.
Ashley rolled her eyes. "I'm on a mission to cheer up an Omi!"
"And what does that have to do with me stealing Schuldich's car?"
"I need you to drive!"
Omi blinked, his eyes dried by confusion, and a blush krept over his cheeks as Nagi stared at him. "Alright," the quiet boy sighed, saving his work and standing.
Ashley giggled and dragged Omi into the hall after her tutor. Stopping outside another bedroom, Nagi raised a hand and a jangling startled the confused blonde as he watched a set of keys fly into the other boy's hand. Then they were headed out the door.
"Excuse me," Schuldich smirked, stepping in their way.
Ashley stuck her tongue out at him. "I would, but there's no excuse for you!"
Nagi just sighed, and the redhead struck the nearby wall with a thud. Cursing in German, the man scrambled back to his feet as the door slammed. As the ran through the rain, Omi thought he saw a smile grace his new escort's lips, and Ashley's laughter rang through the air. Schuldich hit the porch just in time to see his car drive away, Nagi grinning as Ashley clung to Omi in the back, water soaking the seat.
As they rounded the corner, Ashley flashed wild, silvery eyes into her new friend's face and howled on a rush, "The rain washes away all the questions, Omi! So just sit back and enjoy the ride!"
