Konnichiwa minna-san! You're on Chapter 2 now! Thanks for continuing on! It's very much appreciated. I don't have much to do at work right so you may see the rest of this very shortly. Otherwise the rest won't be up until after Labour Day weekend. Huzzah for school starting again. Ugh. Ah well, it's my last year and then I'm free!!!! Well, maybe. Anyway, enjoy what I've written!

Yoji's POV

Aya's been gone for over a month now. I don't know who's been having a harder time dealing with his absence. Omi has taken it pretty hard. He looked up to Aya, respected him. Admired his strength and skill. Ken was one of the first people Aya opened up to really. I'm still not so sure how he was able to break through that icy exterior so quickly. Within in a couple months of Aya's arrival to the team the two of them would go out and get a coffee together once a week.

I have to admit I had my suspicions then. I thought maybe there was something more going on then we were suppose to know. Aya wouldn't pull away if Ken put his hand on his shoulder like he would do if I did the same thing. The idea was finally flushed from my head when Ken had that thing with Yuriko. I don't think that would have happened if he had been with Aya at the time. Especially since Aya knew about it and while he was upset about the possibility of Ken leaving, the idea of Ken with a girl didn't seem to bother him. Also the when Ken decided to stay with us instead of going to Australia I asked him why he chose too and if it was because of Aya. He stared at me for a minute and then started to laugh. He told me that Aya was his best friend, not his lover. He did tell me that Aya did have a little crush on someone though. He wouldn't tell me who though.

I found out months later that I was the one Aya had the crush on. To be honest I didn't know what to think for the first while. He didn't know that I knew. I found out in my own ways. Finally I approached him about it. He tried to deny it at first but he was so taken aback when I told him that I knew his cool and composed cover slipped. He became flustered and blushed. Eventually he gave in and told me that it was true.

The truth was that I had always found our stoic leader to be attractive and I had lusted after him at several points in time. But once I found out that he liked me that lust shifted into a like. I found myself not wanting to just ravish him but to know more about him. I wanted to be able to go for coffee once a week with him and talk.

I attempted to court him slowly. I didn't know how much experience he had had with dating or anything like that. I suppose I was too nervous to ask. In the end I discovered that he hadn't experience much at all. He was very shy about the whole ordeal. However, he can actually be quite a touchy-feely person. He loves to be cuddled. Just held snugly and talk or say nothing. Which ever felt right for the moment. And cuddling was all we did even though he slept in my bed for the last two weeks before he was admitted. Not much had happened at that point. Just some kissing, mild touching, nothing too outstanding, for me at least. It may have been a bigger deal to him, although I'm not sure.

I discovered something during those two weeks. Aya has nightmares almost every night. Also that the reason why he's such an early bird is not because he makes himself get up early but because his dreams wake him then and he can't go back to sleep. I remember the first time this happened.

Flashback

I sat up right startled by the screaming I could hear. Realizing that for once it wasn't me screaming I turned a looked at my new bedmate.

"Aya! Aya, what's wrong?" I ask reach my hand out and touch his shoulder. He flinches away and stares at me wide-eyed, terrified. He stared at me for a minute unsure of who I was. Slowly I could see the panic and fear fade from his face.

"Yoji?" he croaks out.

"Yeah, it's me. Are you okay?"

I could see him start to shake and start to pull his knees up to his chest. I reached out and hug him close to me.

"Hey, what's wrong? What's going on?"

"Bad dream," he answers.

Cause I am hanging on every word you say

"Bad dream eh? What happened?"

He doesn't answer but buries his face into the crook of my neck and shakes a little more.

And even if you don't want to speak tonight

"Okay, okay. You don't have to tell me if you don't want too."

That's alright, alright with me

I held him until he stopped shaking. Until I could feel his muscles start to relax and that he could maybe get back to sleep. It was the middle of the night and we both still needed sleep. I rub his back gently trying to encourage him to relax even more. We've barely had 4 hours of sleep.

Cause I want nothing more than to sit
Outside Heaven's door and listen to you breathing

Before I even realize it he had fallen asleep again. His face still tucked in by my neck. I can feel his breath on my collarbone. Slow, steady and even. Not a hint of what had just happened. He did fall asleep on my arm though. I rolled over a bit to try and free it only to have him grab on to me more tightly. I quickly rolled back to the position I was in and smiled to myself admitting defeat. The first hour of the morning was not pleasant as all the blood flowed back to my arm but it was worth it. That was one of the few nights that I didn't see her face in my dreams and I knew that this is what I needed.
Is where I want to be yeah
Where I want to be

TBC

Well minna, what did you think? I'd love to hear from you!