To clarify any questions you might have about this fanfiction, I must let you know that this is not a yaoi fic. Believe me, if this was a yaoi fic, I would have said that in the beginning. The "open pairings" claim was just in regards to Amon's fickleness, because he was with Touko and then broke up with her, and might be with someone else. I hope it's obvious at this point who that someone is.

But I don't want any one of you to misunderstand. I am a yaoi fan, and I do believe I always will be. This was written as sort of a self-challenge…I don't write many het fics, is all. If you're still interested, read on. If not, I hope you enjoyed it so far, at least.

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VII

Robin

Robin set the coffee pot on the burner and went over to the sink to rinse out her mug. She was a little late that day; her vespa had malfunctioned again. Touko had been nice enough to give her a ride. Amon, Karasuma and Doujima had already gone off to hunt by the time she got there. Michael and Sakaki were talking by the computers. Sakaki seemed tired, and Michael seemed energetic.

Robin poured herself a cup of coffee and went to the outer seating area. She sat down on the couch she used when she stayed there overnight. From there, she could hear Michael and Sakaki talking. She didn't mean to eavesdrop, but she had the feeling they were talking about her.

"Okay, she's gone now," Michael said. "What is it that you've been so eager to tell me, Haruto?"

"Okay, okay, hold your horses. Around twelve last night, I went to Robin's place to talk to her about what's been going on with her and Amon."

"Did you reach her?" Michael asked. Sakaki shook his head.

"No. I think she was sleep. I heard Touko on the phone though, and she said something that kept me up all night thinking about it."

"What?" Michael asked. Sakaki didn't respond right away.

"Well…" he said. "Whoever she was talking to was trying to tell her that something she did was wrong. She kept saying stuff like, 'well what did you want me to do?' Like, 'we did some bonding and if we'd have done what you wanted us to do it would have turned heads.' She said that nobody was wise to them. I…I think she was talking to Amon."

"What time did you say this was?" Michael asked.

"Midnight."

"No…it wasn't Amon," Michael said.

"He was working then?" Sakaki asked, a little confused.

"Y—yeah…" Michael said.

"Oh. Well, I don't know who she was talking to," Sakaki said. "Or who she was talking about. But my first suspicion was that she was talking to Amon about Robin. They hung out on Wednesday, right? I mean…that's why Robin wasn't here, right?"

"Right," Michael said.

"That's probably who she meant, then. But who was she talking to, do you think? I mean…couldn't Amon have stepped out while you were listening to music or something?" Sakaki asked.

"No," Michael said. "I kept an eye on him all night. He never reached for his phone once."

"Oh," Sakaki said. "Well…what do you think?"

"I don't know what to make of it," Michael said. "One day, everything's just as it always is, the next thing you know, all this happens." Robin gripped her coffee cup tighter as Sakaki and Michael began to whisper their conversation.

Had Sakaki stopped by that night to talk to her? She was asleep around midnight, but she had gotten up when she heard noises in the apartment. When she checked, she saw that Touko was moving around the apartment as if she was looking for something. Nothing was wrong and so she'd gone back to bed. Back… Sakaki said he was there and that he overheard Touko on the phone. Saying things…Robin would rather she not have said.

Did Touko…? Was there something wrong again? Robin thought she and Touko made up. She was being so nice to her lately…what went wrong? Robin gripped the cup harder. She felt used somehow. Inside, she felt like maybe it was Amon who spoke on the phone with Touko. Even though Michael said he was at work, he couldn't possibly have watched him the entire time.

Robin lost her appetite. She looked down at her coffee and closed her eyes. She felt bad towards herself, and she hated it when she felt that way. She felt like she'd been had, duped. She didn't want to be in that situation again. She had to speak with someone. She wanted to talk to Michael, desperately. Then it dawned on her.

Everyone talked to Michael, didn't they? He was the only one who was always there, and the only one who always listened. He would know all sides, wouldn't he? He might even have known something more about Amon that he wasn't telling Sakaki. Robin loosened up. She would talk to him later, and find out if he would help her. If not, she'd be on her own.

Amon

Amon stepped through the elevator with Karasuma and Doujima behind him, his eye immediately going over to Robin. She was sitting with her head down, holding a coffee cup. She wasn't moving. Was she sleeping? Amon shook his head slightly at her and moved into the main room. Sakaki and Michael looked like they were up to something. Michael gave him a smile and Sakaki tried to look innocent.

"Good morning," he said to the both of them, and moved around the desk.

"Mornin' Amon," Sakaki said. Amon looked at Michael's computer. He was playing a game.

"Don't you two have work to do?" he asked. Michael shook his head.

"No," he said. "And besides, even if we did, can't we take a break?" Amon looked at him and then at Sakaki.

"Hey, Amon," Doujima said. He looked at her.

"What?"

"Why don't I take Sakaki and Robin with me this time?" Doujima suggested. She had the type of look on her face that said she was about to do something annoying. "We might have more luck with younger people around me."

"You're so witty, Yurika," Karasuma said sarcastically. Amon looked at Michael. With Doujima, Robin and Sakaki gone, only Karasuma would be left. Karasuma liked to ask questions, but at least her questions were relevant. Maybe he could talk to Michael again without the heaviness of the previous night. He felt uneasy not only because the camera was rolling the entire time he was in there, but also, after he started seriously talking with Michael, he forgot all about it. They did nothing but talk, but it was longer than the two second conversations they usually had. Amon looked at Zaizen's door. He felt angry suddenly.

"Yoo-hoo, Amon," Doujima said. "What do you think?"

"Fine," Amon said. "Take them with you. Make sure Robin's up to the task. I think she's asleep in the hall."

"Asleep?" Doujima asked, putting her hands on her hips. She shrugged. "Come on, Sakaki, we should get going."

"Oh, why do I have to go?" Sakaki complained.

"Well, what have you done all day, besides convince Michael that working should take a backseat to your boredom?" Karasuma asked. She was joking with him the way Amon liked. He had no idea why he liked it; it just made him feel comfortable with them. Michael chuckled.

"Whatever," Sakaki said. He got out of his chair and stretched as he followed Doujima to the elevators. Karasuma sat down to work. Amon remained behind Michael.

"Michael, can I see you in the conference room?" Michael made a face as he looked at Amon, then he smiled.

"Give me a sec," he said. Amon nodded slightly and walked towards the room.

Michael

Karasuma turned slightly in her chair, looking at Michael as he stood up.

"Be careful," she said. "He's not in the best of moods this morning." Michael nodded to her as he pushed his chair in.

"Thanks for the heads up," he said. He went to the conference room. Amon was sitting at the back of the room on a ledge that faced the length of the room. Michael could barely see him at first, but as he walked over, he became clearer.

"Is Zaizen in?" Amon asked.

"No," Michael said. "He went out for breakfast with somebody." Amon nodded.

"I've been thinking about what we talked about," he said.

"Me, too," Michael said. Amon kept his eyes down. Michael scooted back on the ledge, not so embarrassed by the fact that his legs were shorter than Amon's and didn't touch the floor without him tilting them. He swung them a little.

"I know I told you that you didn't have to tell me why you think I would betray you all," Amon said. Michael leaned towards him a little.

"You want to know, right?"

"Yes."

"If I don't tell you, are you going to be upset?"

"Yes," Amon said. "But not with you." Michael found that interesting. He asked about it.

"Who would you be angry towards?" he asked. Amon leaned back very slightly. It was dark in there without anything turned on. That, added to the fact that Amon's hair covered the sides of his face, Michael couldn't see his expression. Amon didn't speak. Michael leaned towards him slightly again. "Yourself?" he asked Amon nodded.

"Yes," he said.

"I get it," Michael said. "Well…I'll tell you, but I don't want you to start acting weird about it."

"You think I will?" Amon asked.

"I have my concerns," Michael said. Amon leaned back completely and rested his back on the wall. His legs were spread and his hands were resting loosely between them. His eyes were still on the floor, but Michael could see his face better now. He looked sad. Michael took his glasses off and blinked a few times, then put them back on and looked at Amon again. He still looked sad. It was probably just because it was dark.

"You don't have to say anything," Amon told him.

"I want to," Michael said. "I had a lot of time to think about it after you left. I had a dream about it and everything. I…I guess it's just that I have this weakness. I trust people too much. It takes a lot for me to distrust someone, especially given my situation. I feel alone a lot of the time…and I want company, and I want you guys to know you can trust me, and I feel that in order for that to happen, I have to place my full trust in each of you. And I have, and everyone's responded to it, and they trust me. I can see that they do. But, with you…it's different. Maybe it's just because you're the oldest, you know? Maybe you can't relate to us. Maybe you don't want to relate to us, I don't know. But…you have distanced yourself from us, and all up until last night, I never knew where I stood with you." Amon nodded.

"The others feel the same way?" he asked.

"Well, yeah. Haruto and I were talking about it just last week. He was feeling a little down and so we talked and he said he was feeling left out. It seemed like every time you guys went out, he was told to stay behind. He asked Karasuma about it, but of course, it wasn't up to her. And none of us really wanted to mention it to you because…you're not that easy to talk to, especially when it comes to hunting."

"I know it might seem that way, but..."

"Might seem?" Michael asked. "If you could stand back and watch the way you interact with all of us, I think you'd know that it's more than that." Amon looked over to him. "I know the feelings are there, and I know that when push comes to shove you'll be there for us. But…for right now, it's hard to picture it…to make it a reality in my mind. I…I am kinda scared that you'll turn away from us, and that you won't help us when we need you the most. Just because…" Michael dug his foot into the floor. "Just because I don't know you outside of all of this."

"Robin…said the same thing Tuesday night," Amon said. "And on Thursday." Amon sighed. "I can offer you this as an explanation. I recognize the problem, but I don't know how to solve it."

"You can start by not being so businesslike," Michael said. "I mean, come on…we're friends, right? Why did you have to start of by talking like you were about to tell me about a hunt or something? We're not working right now. We're just two buds chatting it up, you know?" Amon nodded slowly.

"I just don't know how."

"That's good," Michael said. "That's a good way to put. It's open and honest, and I don't feel lectured. I feel…appreciated. And…trusted." Amon looked at Michael again. Michel nodded for encouragement.

"What do you think I should do…?" Amon asked.

"Exactly what you're doing now. Don't be afraid to ask questions and don't be afraid to hear and accept the answers. Just…be."

Amon

His chest felt tight. Michael was right, wasn't he? But how the hell was he supposed to just be? He hadn't even recognized up to that point that he hadn't been being. Amon shook his head on the inside. He'd implement Michael's advice once he figured out just how to let go.

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Thanks for reading and please review!

kaj