*Author's note* Yohji-kins and SchuSchu and the rest of Weiss and Schwartz (being all the non-important members) are not mine. I cry. The rest of the characters, however, are mine…or else they belong to my friends and are used with permission. Please r&r. Thankies.
Yohji checked his ticket again as he stepped onto the plane that would take him far away from all his cares, and straight into the peaceful beauty of luscious New Zealand. Or anyway, that's what the travel brochure had said.
He must have been one of the last to board, since most of the other passengers already seemed to have made themselves comfortable for the flight. Such as the man who's long, outstretched legs now blocked Yohji from getting to his seat. The man's head was dropped forward onto his chest, so all Yohji could make out was a thick, shaggy mop of red hair.
`At least I won't have to worry about any annoying conversation,' he thought to himself, running his fingers through his hair as he contemplated his next move. Stowing his bag in the overhead compartment, which was already overrun with what he guessed to be the other man's belongings, he cautiously attempted to step over his sleeping seat-mate. Unfortunately, his foot caught on the other man's knee, and he was sent sprawling across his seat and into the window beside it. "Please excuse me," he said, sitting down and rubbing his bruised shoulder.
To his surprise, the other man didn't even move. A sudden thought flashed across his mind. `That's all I need, is for them to sit me next to a dead guy. As if I don't get enough of them at work,'
"Are -- are you okay?" he asked, poking at the man's shoulder.
"I'm fine," came the response, drawled in a thick German accent, "Leave me alone. I just want to get some peace and qui…" The man trailed off as he lifted his head and realized who he was talking to.
Yohji nearly jumped out of his seat when he recognized the German, Schuldig.
"YOU!" both men cried. They simultaneously dived for the button to summon the flight attendant.
A cheerful young woman approached them, and she smiled sweetly, saying, "Good afternoon, gentlemen! My name is Tora, and I'll be your attendant on this flight. How can I help you?" Both men were silent for a moment, glaring at each other, and then both started into it at once.
"There's been a mistake…" Yohji started.
"…you see, the two of us…" Schuldig continued.
"…we can't sit together…"
"…so if there's any other seats…"
"…I'd like to move." both of them finished.
The attendant looked at them a moment, then smiled again and said, "I'm sorry, there are no more seats available. Now if you could both please fasten your seatbelts, the plane will be taking off momentarily. Have a nice flight!" She walked off cheerfully down the aisle.
Yohji growled as he buckled himself in, while Schuldig muttered something in German that didn't sound very polite.
Just as the attendant had said, the plane started moving down the runway. Yohji glanced out the window, and caught the reflection of Schuldig making faces behind him. He turned around, but the German was sitting back, with his arms behind his head and his eyes closed. Yohji scowled, and turned back to the window. Again, there was Schuldig's reflection, only this time, it was making a rather obscene gesture.
"All right, cut it out!" Yohji said to the German, who was again reclining beside him. Schuldig looked at him innocently, or as innocent as he could possibly look, anyway. "Look," Yohji sighed, "I don't know what business you have in New Zealand, or wherever it is that you're going, but I'm on vacation. So I'd really appreciate it if you'd just let me enjoy it." He leaned back against his seat, crossing his arms over his chest.
"You want to enjoy your vacation!" Schuldig whined, "What about my vacation! You've already ruined it. I'm not working on this trip, you know." He reclined his chair further, much to the annoyance of the passenger behind him.
"Yeah, well, you're no ray of sunshine on my trip, either," Yohji sulked. Thankfully, the plane was picking up speed, and the ground suddenly left them. As they climbed higher, Yohji suddenly thought of something. "Hey, Mastermind, shouldn't you put your seatbelt on?"
As if on cue, the plane banked to the side, just as a burst of turbulence struck and sent Schuldig bouncing off of his seat and almost onto Yohji's lap. Yohji snickered as the German attempted to right himself, Schuldig glaring at him all the while.
"You saw nothing, Kudoh!" the German hissed, looking around and wiping the memory of the incident from everyone around them. Yohji rolled his eyes. "You saw nothing," Schuldig pressed, "Or else I'll tell everyone…"
Schuldig paused for a moment, and Yohji could feel him rummaging through his thoughts. He squirmed, desperately trying to keep the telepath out.
Finally, Schuldig flashed a smile, triumphant. "I'll tell them you still wet your pants in the third grade."
Yohji's face went white, then a deep red. "I saw nothing," he whispered.
Soon, the plane levelled off and they found themselves soaring smoothly thousands of feet off the ground. "Wow, would you look at that," Yohji murmured to himself, gazing down through the clear sky at the shores of Japan melting into the deep blue sea.
Schuldig glanced over at the window, but did not look out. "Yeah, wonderful," he replied, his tone slightly sarcastic. Yohji eyed him carefully for a moment, but the German was staring straight ahead. He seemed to be a few shades paler than Yohji remembered.
Yohji laughed as he realized what was going on. "You're afraid of flying!" he exclaimed, pleased with himself for finding a weakness in the German. That at least meant that Schuldig was still human.
"No, I'm not," Schuldig said slowly.
"Then come look out the window," Yohji prodded, "Just one little peek."
"I don't feel like it," The red-head replied.
"Because you're scared." Yohji leaned his elbow on the armrest between them and rested his chin in his palm, smirking.
"I AM NOT AFRAID OF FLYING!" Schuldig shrieked, leaping to his feet in the aisle. There was a silence as all the passengers turned their eyes towards him. He gave a nervous laugh as he slowly sat back down, thoroughly wiping the memories of everyone on board the entire plane. But, as usual, Yohji found some way to resist him. "You know, Kudoh," Schuldig whispered, "It would make my life so much easier if you would just stop being so pig-headed and let me wipe your mind from time to time."
"And forget the look on your face?" Yohji laughed, "No way."
Schuldig let loose another string of German expletives and scowled at the back of the chair in front of him.
* * *
The rest of the flight passed in relative peace, compared to how the two of them normally interacted, and a few hours -- and a few more mind-wipes -- later, they entered New Zealand airspace. "Finally, I can get off this stinking plane," Schuldig stretched his arms, relieved.
"Mm-hmm," Yohji replied, engrossed in the in-flight movie. He'd seen this one before; it was a real tear-jerker. On the screen, the hunky-high-school-football-hero was reuniting with the pretty-but-dorky love of his life after they each crossed half the country searching for each other. He smiled as the two kissed, and the credits started to roll. Suddenly, he remembered the man sitting beside him.
Schuldig was staring at him as though Yohji had just sprouted horns. "I was just, I mean…" Yohji tried lamely to come up with some sort of explanation.
"Save it, Kudoh," the German responded, "I don't think I really want to know. I already know too much…" He looked distant, yet terrified, as though he'd just received a thought he really didn't want.
"Oh, shut up," Yohji muttered, giving the other a sucker-punch in the arm.
"Ow!" Schuldig cried, rubbing the spot, "That wasn't fair! I was distracted."
His whining was interrupted by an announcement from one of the flight attendants; the one they'd met earlier, from the cheerful sound of her voice. "Ladies and gentlemen," she started, "I'm afraid there's been a delay at the Wellington International Airport, so this plane will be unable to land until it is cleared. We will keep you informed of any changes when they occur. We apologize again for this delay. Thank you!"
"Oh, how nice!" Schuldig said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "They apologize to us! That makes everything better, then." He sat sullenly for a while.
Yohji wondered how this turn of events would affect his hotel booking. He'd been lucky to be able to book the most luxurious suite in the fanciest hotel on the waterfront. It had cost a fortune, and he'd had to book it six months in advance, but it was going to be worth it. He was already imagining the sunset on the harbour, some wine, soft music…
Schuldig shifted beside him. "Hey, Kudoh," he said, trying to sound casual, "A completely unrelated question to what's going on: how much fuel do you think they put in these things?"
Yohji sighed and leaned his head against the window, hoping the delay would be cleared quickly.