Disclaimer: see a previous chapter.

I AM SO SORRY! I can't believe it took me this long to update. Ugh! I swear I am never, ever, ever, ever going to post a single chapter to a story until I've completed the whole thing. I have several stories that I'm writing and posting at the same time and I'm having trouble switching gears and getting things done. So I hope you forgive this silly girl and enjoy this latest installment. I'm thinking there's only going to be a few more chapters. I have it mapped out pretty well and I know hat I want to happen.

As always, thank you to all you wonderful readers and reviewers!

Dragon's Desire

Chapter 10

Yohji breathed a sigh of relief s he reclaimed his position behind the counter and pulled out a magazine to peruse during the lull. He and Ran had survived the morning rush and now it was time for the late morning quiet time before the semi-hectic afternoon rush when school let out. Yohji flipped through a few pages, scanning the news blurbs and looking at the various celebrity pictures. His attention was diverted from a rather scandalous photo of a movie starlet when he heard a mumbled curse.

Yohji looked over to see Ran sucking his finger and glaring at the half-completed arrangement in front of him. Maybe now is a good time to put Chang's advice to work. He'd been trying to figure out how best to approach their fearless leader and strike up a conversation. Ran had been much more easygoing lately and Yohji knew it was because of his relationship with Chang. He wasn't glaring or berating him nearly as much as he used to and the new earring hadn't escaped his attention either. Chang has good taste. Yohji eyed the other man and cleared his throat.

"Hey, Ran, can I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

Yohji smiled and repeated his mantra. Patience, patience, patience. "Right. Anyway, I was wondering how you got so good at ikebana. It's not a common skill or one you're born with."

Ran stayed staring at the arrangement in front of him, wondering if he really wanted Yohji knowing something that personal about him. Then again, he already knows about Aya.

"I took lessons with Aya. She hated her sensei and begged me to go with her. The sensei didn't mind my presence, but she said I would have to participate. So I did."

"Really. Wow, you really are a great brother, Ran."

Ran swung around and glared at Yohji, thinking the other assassin was mocking him, but he saw a sincere smile so he quickly relaxed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Th-thanks."

Yohji just smiled and went back to reading his magazine. That went well. But now what? This is so much easier with women who have been drinking. Oh yeah!

"You talk to Chang lately?"

Ran stopped, his hand hanging in the air with a stem dangling from his fingertips. Why does he want to know about Wufei? He carefully placed the bloom within the oasis and grabbed another before answering.

"He called last night."

"So things are going well between you two?" Ran turned slightly and gave Yohji a suspicious look. "What? Despite what you may think, I am your friend and I do care about what goes on in your life."

Yohji smiled at the stunned look on his teammate's face. "Don't look so shocked. I didn't say I loved you or anything. I'm just trying to have a conversation here. Lighten up, Ran."

He realized Yohji was right. In the past few months they had actually become friends of sorts. And yes, he did, grudgingly, care about Yohji. So was it so surprising that Yohji should feel the same way about him? Ran shook his head and chuckled.

"You're right, Yohji."

"What did you just say? Could you say it again? Wait! Let me get a pen and paper and mark this momentous occasion. Fujimiya Ran admitted Kudoh Yohji was right."

"I'll never understand how Ken tolerates you."

"I'm too damn lovable. You watch. You'll fall victim to my charms sooner or later."

"Hmph. Don't hold your breath."

"Hey, if Chang can win you over, so can I."

"And what is it do you think he's won?"

"Well….let's see. Thanks to him you're more social and you don't threaten our lives anymore. And he gets to hug you and kiss you and do all sorts of dirty---"

"Shut up! He does no such things!"

Yohji smiled at the angry and blushing man standing twenty feet away, brandishing a pair of pruning shears at him. He leaned over, elbows on the counter, chin in his palms.

"You're sexy when you blush, Ran."

"You've gone too far, Kudoh."

"Why are you so embarrassed? So you've slept with the guy. By now I would hope so; otherwise I'd be worried about you two."

Yohji saw the flicker of panic before Ran turned and slammed the shears down on the counter and retreated back to the workroom. Gods, I thought he was lightening up and could take some teasing. I guess not. He reached for his magazine and began flipping through it again waiting for Ran to get over himself and return to work. When the man didn't return after twenty minutes, he began to worry. He snuck into the back and yelled for the man but he didn't get an answer. Did he run away? But why?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ken was sitting in his small office within the athletic building at Hotohori Academy, working on new lineups for his team when he heard a quiet knock at the door.

"Come in."

"Am I bothering you?"

Ken looked up to see Ran standing in his doorway, the man's face unreadable as usual. Dread immediately took over. He never comes to see me unannounced. Especially at work. "Aya….oh god, what happened?"

Ran frowned as he watched Ken's face pale and his hands gripped the clipboard so tight his knuckles were white.

"Nothing. I came to talk. I need….advice."

"Huh?" Ken's heart started beating again and he visibly relaxed. "Oh! Ok, yeah sure, Aya, we can talk. Not a problem. Come on in, have a seat."

"Ken."

"Yeah?"

The raised eyebrow was all the explanation Ken needed and he smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "Right, sorry. Ran."

"Thank you."

Ran sat down in a chair opposite Ken's desk and the pair just remained quiet for a few moments. Ken knew Ran was collecting his thoughts and trying to figure out the best way to proceed. Whatever was bothering him was big and if he came to see Ken like this, then the man needed help. And even though Ran had already taken a big step in coming to him, Ken also knew he might need a little nudge to go further.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

"I need your help. I….I need to break it off with Wufei and I don't know how to do it."

Ken choked down the water he was drinking and had a small coughing fit before he managed to rasp out his answer.

"You what!"

"I have to end it."

"Why? I thought things were going well between you two. What happened?"

"I can't…..I don't want to….." Ran took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. "It's not going to work and I don't want to hurt him anymore than I already have."

Ken sat there, stunned. Ran had found someone that cared for him, and that he admitted caring for, but he wanted to break up so that he didn't hurt him? Ken knew Wufei was good for Ran.

"No. I won't help you, Ran."

Ran saw the frown and determined look in Ken's eyes. "Why not? You'd do it for Kudoh."

Ken shook his head. "No. If Yohji were trying to sabotage a healthy relationship with someone he cared for all because he was scared…..I'd tell him the same thing. Go to hell and do your dirty work yourself. I won't be a part of this."

Ran watched in stunned silence as Ken stood up and walked towards the door and opened it, looking back to fix his blue eyes on him.

Ken braced himself for an angry Ran to come storming past him. I have to do this. For his own good, I have to make him see what an idiot he's being. Instead, Ran hung his head and clutched handfuls of the long crimson hair, letting out a quiet, frustrated growl.

"Ran?"

'What else am I supposed to do, Ken?"

Ken heard the fear and uncertainty in his friend's voice and his heart went out to him. He closed the door and pulled a chair up next to Ran and reached out, rubbing the man's back. He spoke softly, almost whispering.

"The answer itself is going to sound simple, but I know that it's difficult." Ken leaned in, resting his head against Ran's shoulder. "You hold him close, love him, and face whatever life has in store for you two."

Ran went stiff, then he slowly raised his head to look at Ken, his disbelief apparent.

"But….how? We don't even live in the same city. And I can't leave Kritiker. And what about Aya? Hell, I'm scared to----"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, Ran. Breathe. Like I said, it won't be easy. But ask yourself this question. Is he worth it?"

Ran sat there and stared at the floor for a few moments. That wasn't the question. It couldn't be. Ran knew the answer to that question instantly. Yes, Wufei was worth it. No, there was another question that plagued Ran's heart.

"That's not the question."

Ran stood up and headed for the door, stepping out into the hallway. Ken finally found his voice and ran to the doorway, yelling after his friend.

"Ran, stop! What's the question then?"

Ran turned enough so Ken could barely see the tip of his nose peeking out from behind the long crimson hair that hung over most of his face.

"The question is whether or not I'm brave enough to love him. You did help me, Ken, thank you."

Ken watched Ran walk down the hall and turn the corner and disappear. He really wasn't sure whether he did help Ran, or just made things worse. But he hoped that ultimately, no matter his reasoning, that Ran would choose Wufei.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I'm worried, Maxwell. Something's….I don't know. He's different. Withdrawn. It's like he's backsliding into his old closed off self."

"I'm sorry to hear that, 'Fei. Ken hasn't mentioned anything recently, but then again, I'm not sure when the last time was that they talked."

"We haven't been able to see each other in almost a month and it's killing me."

"Wow, you really love him, don't you?"

"Of course I do. And just when I was confident he was starting to feel the same way, he pulls away. Shit!"

Duo's eyes went wide not only at the outburst from his calm collected best friend, but from the crash that sounded on the other end.

"'Fei, calm down. This isn't like you."

"I'm sorry, Maxwell. I just….." Wufei sighed, resigned to revealing more about his relationship with Ran than he had intended, but having no choice at this point. He needed advice. "Maxwell….we haven't slept together yet. That has to be a bad sign, right?"

Duo remained silent for a few moments, thinking very carefully about his answer. He and Ken had waited awhile because their attraction was so intense, they didn't want to rush into something and make a mistake. But Wufei and Ran had been seeing each other for several months now.

"Well….you guys don't exactly fall under what I'd call a normal relationship, so---"

"What do you mean?"

Duo couldn't help but laugh. "You're kidding, right? Let's just forget for the moment that he's a florist by day and assassin by night and that he suffered major trauma as a child and cares for his comatose sister. Let's stick with the obvious. He's very guarded. Even when he and Ken were lovers he was withdrawn. It took you months just to get him to open up to you in letters. And now that you're dating, you still have the long distance thing working against you. If you two were seeing each other almost daily and you led relatively normal lives, then yeah, you should have slept together by now. But….you're not."

"I see your point."

"So if you love him, the next time you see him, tell him. It seems to me that he needs someone to push the issue a little. Maybe he wants to sleep with you but he needs some encouragement."

"Trust me, Maxwell, I've been encouraging enough. It's not that. It's something else that he's not telling me."

"Hey, I know! Why don't you come for a visit? Ken and I are going away to Cat's and Trowa's for a week on the 21st. Why don't you stay here while we're gone? You could see Ran everyday and maybe figure out what's going on."

"That sounds perfect. Thank you, Maxwell, I really appreciate it."

"Not a problem. That's what friends are for, right?"

To be continued….