Chapter Four

"Oi, what happened to you?" Ken asked, giving Yohji a speculative look as he stumbled into the kitchen the next day. "You look . . . very out of it."

"Huh?" Yohji asked, then grinned. "Ohayo, Kenken. Any coffee left?"

"No," Ken said. "You're late for work and we drank it all."

"I didn't have to work until afternoon . . ."

"It is afternoon, Yohji," Ken said.

"Oh." Yohji blinked. "Oh wow. Who's covering my shift?"

"No one. You're lucky; it's been pretty dead all day. Omi would've had your head on a pike if otherwise."

"Oh," Yohji repeated.

"Sheesh." Ken looked at him critically. "Where were you?"

"Sleeping in the arms of a beautiful redhead." Yohji smirked and poked Ken in the nose. "Something I'm sure you know nothing about."

Ken went bug-eyed. "That's not fair!" he protested.

"But I'm still right." Yohji smiled sleepily and wandered up to his apartment. He couldn't exactly go to work in his clubbing clothes, though he had at least showered before leaving the hotel room. Schuldig had still been asleep, but he'd left his phone number on the table. He wasn't passing up possible sex like that.

He changed into work clothes and went down to the store. A quick glance at the clock confirmed that it was, in fact, half past one. He frowned and shrugged, wondering exactly when he'd gone to sleep the previous night anyway.

"Yo, Omittchi," he said, walking in casually, as if he were five minutes early. Omi was behind the counter and Aya was arranging flowers.

Omi glanced at his watch. "You're an hour late, Yohji-kun."

"Ah, yeah. Sorry about that. The alarm clock didn't work. Probably because I didn't set it."

"Where were you?" Omi asked. "I knocked on your door."

Aya stopped cutting the flowers and looked over in interest, apparently wanting to hear Yohji's excuse. They did have a tendency to be fairly creative and amusing.

"Out."

"Mm hmm," Omi said. "Is that a hickey?"

Yohji blinked. He hadn't looked in the mirror all that closely. "I, ah, wouldn't be surprised."

"And she kept you up this late?" Aya asked.

"Yeah . . . she sure did." Yohji smirked.

"She?" Omi asked suspiciously.

Yohji looked at him innocently. "What makes you think otherwise?" he asked, pulling his work apron on and looking at the orders for the day.

"The fact that you stressed the word she and that you'll sleep with anything on two legs."

"Not so." Yohji looked hurt. "There are a lot of people I would never sleep with." He glanced up as Ken walked into the store. "Kenken, for example."

Ken blinked. "What?"

"He wouldn't sleep with you," Omi said.

"He thinks you're inadequate," Aya added.

"Now he's making jokes," Yohji said, looking bewildered.

"I'm not inadequate," Ken said, offended. "Just straight. Unlike Yohji-kun. Who is what we fondly term 'prosexual.' He'll say yes to anything."

"Where did you two get the idea that I have no standards?" Yohji asked. "For your information, not that it's any of your business, he was hot."

"How much did you have to drink?" Omi asked.

"More than you've had in your whole lifetime, you minor." Yohji grinned. "Now stop ganging up on me."

"Why?" Omi asked. "It's so much fun."

"Because you have no idea whether or not I've been telling the truth about any of this," Yohji said.

"Well, something must have happened," Ken said. "You're in too good a mood for otherwise."

"My lips are sealed," Yohji said.

"Give me a break," Ken said. "You love to brag."

"Only to see the look on your face."

The conversation ended rather abruptly as a customer walked into the store. Yohji paused only long enough to whisper in Omi's ear before going into the back room. "I wouldn't sleep with you, either."

Omi made a mental note to find the hose and get him after the customers were gone.

^^^^

By the time Schuldig made it home, nearly a full hour after Yohji did, Brad was sitting in the living room doing the paperwork for their next job. Schuldig sprawled out on the sofa with a stupid grin on his face. Brad did not even deign to look up. For once, Schuldig didn't mind.

The silence lasted until Nagi came out of his room. He blinked at Schuldig. "Is that a hickey?" he asked, before he thought to stop himself.

Schuldig gingerly touched his neck. "Yes," he said, wondering vaguely if it was a hickey or a bite mark. The previous night was surprisingly blurry, though he remembered a lovely pair of green eyes and an incredible ass. He had a phone number, too.

"Oh," Nagi said, and blinked at him. "Uh. Okay." He hurriedly backed out of the room.

"You're old enough to have a sex drive, you know!" Schuldig called after him.

There was no reply except the closing of Nagi's door.

"Are you feeling better?" Brad asked, after a long pause. He was used to Schuldig's habits.

Schuldig gave a long, catlike stretch. "Indubitably."

"Good. We have a job starting tomorrow and you're going to need to work with Farferello on it."

"Oooh. What is it? Is it gonna be fun? Do I get to kill somebody?"

Brad looked at him over the rims of his glasses. "Primarily bodyguard work, so only if someone tries to attack our employer."

"Oh well. Who are we guarding?"

"A politician that I doubt you've heard of."

"Did they decide to give us a new politician since our last one was splattered?" Schuldig asked.

"Esstet has nothing to do with this. I procured the job myself."

"Oh. Okay."

"If there is going to be an attack, I'd prefer to see Farferello in action, so I doubt you'll get to do much. I'll want you to back him up, but not interfere unless it looks like he needs it."

"I suppose I can do that."

Brad gave him a look. "He can't be a member of the team if I don't know what he can do."

"I might like him better once his personality comes out. I'm sure he has one in there. I saw it. You know, before the pounding headache."

Brad didn't reply to that. "It's very important that he not get killed. I don't think Esstet would appreciate that."

"I won't let him be killed," Schuldig said with a sigh.

"Good." Brad went back to his papers.

Schuldig yawned and settled back onto the sofa. It was turning into a good day.

^^^^

After a few days of deliberation, Schuldig decided that since Yohji had left his phone number, he must have intended that Schuldig used it. Given this, it was a fairly simple matter to call him and invite him out for coffee. Brad seemed to find it quite amusing that he was going out on a date with one of his one-night stands. Schuldig privately agreed; it was a singularly odd circumstance.

Upon arriving at the cafe, he was pleased to note that Yohji was indeed as attractive as Schuldig remembered him being. The older man stood up to wave him over to the small table he had claimed, effectively showing off the two inches of bare stomach between his tight V-neck shirt and loose cargo pants.

Schuldig slid into the chair across from him, grinning. He was wondering if Yohji was cold in the slightly skimpy outfit, given that he had decided to wear a sweater. He decided that Yohji was probably used to showing off skin. "Hi," he said, noting Yohji's slight smirk. "I figured since you left the number, you wouldn't mind seeing me again."

Yohji had to admit that leaving his phone number next to Schuldig's sleeping form had been completely on the spur of the moment, and in retrospect he wasn't even sure why he had done so. "A correct assumption," he said, and gave Schuldig and appreciative glance. "I can't imagine why anyone would mind seeing you."

Schuldig could think of a few people. "You'd be surprised."

"Surprise me," Yohji said, smirking.

There was a few seconds of pause while Schuldig considered his options. Though there were plenty of things he could say that he knew would surprise Yohji quite a bit, most of them were things he didn't feel like sharing on a first date. "I leave a trail of devastated hearts wherever I go," he said. "It's part of my charm."

"Devastated hearts, huh?" Yohji was still smirking. "I don't think I need to worry."

"What, you don't have a heart?" Schuldig asked, though his tone of voice was clearly joking. The entire experience felt rather surreal. It wasn't often that he sat around in broad daylight making jokes with someone he had met in a club and never expected to see again.

"Not one that can be devastated," Yohji said with a wink.

"You're a shameless flirt," Schuldig told him. It was something he rather enjoyed. "What other charming traits do you have?"

"My roguish good looks," Yohji said, though he was thinking, You mean something other than being a cold-blooded assassin?

Schuldig nearly choked. Brad had been making a variety of amused comments about Schuldig's choice in men, but he hadn't understood them until now. He cursed Brad silently for both being a precognitive and for being an asshole. "Well, you certainly are good looking," he said, forcing himself to keep a straight face. "Any hidden . . . talents?"

"You experienced most of them already," Yohji said, amused.

"There's more to people than sex," Schuldig pointed out, then wondered if he had possibly just said that out loud. He took a sip from the coffee he had gotten before sitting down, and wondered if the pastries were any good. Yohji had a cup of green tea, but nothing to eat.

"I'm good with plants," Yohji said flatly, but there was an amused tone to his voice. It was, after all, quite true.

Schuldig grinned. "You don't strike me as a plant person."

Yohji wasn't sure exactly what type of person would be a plant person, but went along with this statement. "I should've brought you flowers, then," he said, and had an amusing mental image of Omi with teeth and fangs if he had tried to take a bouquet without paying for it.

"That would be a change from normal," Schuldig said dryly. He was frustrated. It was the first time, aside from Brad, that he had tried to get to know someone without using his powers. He was determined to play by the rules, but Yohji kept being evasive.

"This isn't already a change from normal?" Yohji asked, raising his eyebrow. "Tell me, how often do you usually date your one-night stands?"

Schuldig opened his mouth to answer, an 'I'll-have-you-know' look on his face, then frowned. "I think you might be the first," he admitted. "How often do you?"

"Never."

"Then why leave your number?" Schuldig asked curiously.

Yohji shrugged. "Because the sex was just that good?"

"You flatter me." Schuldig wanted to know if it was the truth, but was shielding himself as much as he was capable. He was trying to learn things the old-fashioned way.

"So if we've established why I left the number, why did you call it?" Yohji asked.

"Curiosity, boredom, and a need for fresh air," Schuldig said, then added, "And you're hot."

"Good to know that you're motives were pure," Yohji said, rolling his eyes. "What were you curious about?"

"You," Schuldig said, in an 'of course' tone of voice. He slouched back into his chair, watching Yohji drink his tea.

"My life is an open book." Yohji spread his hands out on the table, then laughed. "It's just that there are a lot of pages missing."

"A man of mystery," Schuldig said. "All the more reason to get to know you."

"If you're going to grill me, I get to grill back," Yohji warned.

"Oh, I suppose," Schuldig said, laughing.

"Good." It was all too strange for words, but Yohji found that he was actually enjoying himself. Well, stranger things had happened in his life. "So you say you're new in town, huh? When'd you get here?"

Schuldig was surprised that Yohji had a clear enough memory of what had been said that night, and made a mental note of it. "Three weeks ago, give or take a little," he said. "Have you lived in Tokyo your whole life?"

"Nah, but I've always lived in Japan," Yohji replied.

"It's not too bad here," Schuldig said. "But more crowded than I'm used to."

"So where are you from, then?" Yohji asked. He gave Schuldig's red hair a skeptical look and added, "'cause it sure isn't Japan."

Schuldig grinned at that, and gave Yohji's dark blonde hair and green eyes a look that was just as skeptical. "Germany. And I can't possibly stick out any more than you do, blondie."

"Hey, I said I was from Japan," Yohji said. "I never said my parents were."

"Fair enough. What gave me away so badly?"

"Your name," Yohji said. "I can't even pronounce it."

Schuldig laughed. "Yeah, my Japanese friend had trouble with that at first, too." But Nagi was a quick learner, and he had absorbed German quickly at his six months in the Institute. When he'd gotten out, he'd been able to pronounce Schuldig easily enough. Brad's German was slightly accented, but perfectly proficient, as was his Japanese. "I keep forgetting that people here wouldn't be able to say it. Try shortening it."

Yohji tried to sound it out, and mangled all but the first syllable. "How about Schu?" he asked.

Schuldig declined to tell him that he was calling him a piece of footwear by using that nickname. "It'll do."

"So how do you like Tokyo?" Yohji asked. He had finished his tea and was considering getting more. This was the most fun he'd had in months, probably the most since Aya had shown up and he'd gotten to taunt him endlessly.

"It's not too bad," Schuldig said. "Fun things to do, nice scenery, but everyone is packed in so tight. That'll take some getting used to."

"Yeah, I don't even notice it anymore," Yohji said, reflecting that Schuldig would probably hate the flower shop during the after school hours.

"So what do you do for fun?" Schuldig asked with a charming smile.

"Oh, lots of stuff," Yohji said. "Dance, go to movies, go to clubs, even read on occasion. Oh, and tease my roommates."

"You only read on occasion?" Schuldig asked, amused. He thought it would be nice if his roommates were easy to tease. Well, Nagi was, but he was always afraid that he'd say the wrong thing and Nagi would retreat back into that ice cold shell. It was taking them months to pry him out even the slightest bit, so Schuldig always felt the need to watch his mouth. Farferello was just impossible, and Brad took everything with the receptivity of a stone wall.

Yohji shrugged. "Reading's not my thing. What about you?"

"Clubbing occasionally, wander the city, cause trouble, listen to music, read," Schuldig said, grinning.

Yohji smirked. "What kind of trouble?"

"Depends on my mood," Schuldig said, and lit a cigarette. There were several other diners that wanted one, and it was getting to him. It was good thing they were sitting outside.

"Well, what kind of trouble do you usually cause?" Yohji modified the question.

"Severe embarrassment and sometimes trouble with the law," Schuldig said. "Public disturbance has its merits."

"Oh, definitely," Yohji said, amused.

"Which one is your favorite?" Schuldig teased.

"I'd have to say the last," Yohji said, after giving it a moment's thought. "Severe embarrasment has a tendency to haunt you, and trouble with the law is just never a good thing."

"But it can be such fun," Schuldig said with a laugh. "Oh well. I haven't quite figured out how to cause a good public disturbance here yet. Except to forget an honorific in a public setting."

Yohji raised an eyebrow. "Public disturbances are easy. Everyone here is so uptight; all you'd have to do is strip."

Schuldig laughed again. "If you strip, I'll watch the show."

"Hey, I'm a law-abiding citizen," Yohji said with a smirk. "You're the one who wants to cause a public disturbance."

"True, but we'll have to come up with something else." Schuldig took a long drag on his cigarette, then gestured with it elegantly. "Stripping isn't my style."

"You were quick to strip the other night," Yohji pointed out.

"That was a private engagement," Schuldig said, feeling slightly uncomfortable. The reason he didn't want to strip in public was a personal one, and he suspected that Yohji had manuevered him into a corner and he might have to reveal it. He pretended very hard that he wasn't trapped. "And for that matter, you were just as quick as I was."

Yohji just shrugged. "You don't seem the modest type."

"Learn something new every day," Schuldig said, relaxing slightly. He could tell that Yohji hadn't cornered him intentionally, which made him feel a little better.

"So what's the reason for the modesty?" Yohji said.

Schuldig cursed inwardly and took another long drag on his cigarette. "What's the reason for yours?"

"Mine? Ingrained breeding," Yohji said casually. "As I said, the Japanese are an uptight bunch. Besides, I don't want to get arrested."

"Well, maybe I don't want to get arrested either," Schuldig said.

"Yeah, but you said it wasn't your style," Yohji replied.

Schuldig sat forward, the same smile still on his face, and rested his chin in his hands. "When did the grilling change from you to me?" he asked, hoping that Yohji would just drop the subject.

"When you wouldn't answer the question," Yohji said with a shrug. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

The problem was that, although there were few things Schuldig was opposed to other people knowing about him, it was the track marks and scars on the inside of his arms. True, Yohji had already seen him naked, but it was hardly the sort of thing most people noticed during hasty sex. The Japanese man had woken first, but a quick check revealed that he had done no more than dress and leave. "But now I'm afraid that if I don't answer, you won't trust me," Schuldig said.

Yohji shrugged. "Everyone has secrets."

"That doesn't really help," Schuldig said, knowing an evasive reply when he heard one.

Yohji grinned and winked. "I don't trust anyone. Life's easier that way. Safer, too."

"But kinda lonely," Schuldig said, giving him something of a cock-eyed smirk. Then he paused and realized what he had said, and wondered if it applied to himself.

Yohji gave him an even look. "Do you trust me?"

"I think I could," Schuldig said thoughtfully. He trusted Crawford, though in a rather odd way, since he knew for a fact that the precog kept things from him (though he never outright lied). But he trusted Crawford to do what was best for him. He also trusted Nagi, though it was mostly because he knew he would never have the guts to do anything to hurt him.

"Why?" Yohji asked curiously.

"Call it a sixth sense," Schuldig said, grinning. He was wondering if Brad had intended this. Probably. He was enough of a bastard. "Should I not trust you?" he added. "Do you think you can trust me?"

Yohji gave him a long look, then shrugged. "I don't know."

"Evasive, aren't you," Schuldig said. "Makes me wonder what you're hiding."

"As I said, we all have our secrets," Yohji said.

Something about that made Schuldig feel slightly guilty, and he figured he may as well answer the original question. If nothing else, it would help him see if the friendship was worth the effort, or if Yohji would dump him over something like this. "As to being naked, I was a complete druggy, and I don't like people to see it." He held his inner arm out and gestured to it.

"Oh." Yohji blinked at him, and Schuldig grit his teeth, waiting for a response. "Well, ah . . . if you strip in the middle of the street, trust me, no one will be looking at your arms."

Schuldig gave a tiny laugh. "Yeah, well, self-conscious, you know?"

"I guess I can see that," Yohji said, then paused. "Uhm . . . there was a past tense in there, right?"

"I'm clean," Schuldig assured them. There didn't seem to be any point in the story of how Brad had dragged him off the street and penned him in a hotel room until he'd gone through withdrawal.

"Just figured I'd check on that," Yohji replied, winking.

"Understandable," Schuldig said, and decided to try to perk up the mood slightly. "So don't expect to see my magnificent body that often."

"Awww . . ." Yohji grinned, though his voice was disappointed. "So what do I have to tell you in return?"

"Something as equally embarrassing as what I told you," Schuldig said firmly.

"Let's see . . . well, I used to be a detective and wear ugly suits," Yohji ventured. "Is that embarrassing enough for you? It's really bad, trust me. They were horrible suits."

"Maybe you can show me pictures, and then we'll be even," Schuldig replied, amused. "So if you aren't a detective anymore, what do you do now?"

"Ah . . . that's more embarrassing, actually," Yohji said, thinking that he wasn't sure he had any pictures from those days. At least, not any that didn't have Asuka in them as well. "I work in a flower shop."

"Okay, now that's equally embarrassing," Schuldig said, and they both laughed.

^^^^