Yay! Chapter 2 is finally here :D heehee! Disclaimer still applies… Hmm…
Note: Italics are thoughts, though in the middle-ish part, you will see some bits in italic; those long italic bits are flashbacks.
Without further adieu…
Obliquy Chapter 2: Reminisce
The following morning, Ken woke up in his bed, alone and wondering whether or not the previous night had been a dream. Brown eyes traveled sideways, scanning the room for any tell-tale signs, any indication that a certain redhead had spent the night.
He found none.
Just a dream, then…
Ken bit his lip and tried to quell the disappointment surging in his heart. Just then, there came a gentle knock at his door.
Ken looked up just in time to see the knob slowly turn and the painted, wooden door creak slightly open.
"Hidaka…?" A pair of purple eyes met his own.
"Aya…" he could hardly get the words out.
"Breakfast is downstairs, if you're hungry." At that, the door clicked quietly closed and the silent, red-haired man was gone.
Ken looked down at his hands, fingers playing with the hem of his blanket. His mind was spinning, and his heart was beating wildly. So it wasn't a dream, after all… But…
He couldn't quite put it into words, but something was definitely lacking. Maybe it was the way those amethyst orbs had stared into his own. Eyes that had been filled not with love, but… pity?
And the way the red-haired man spoke… Since when had he ever used that gentle, condescending tone on the brunette? Ken highly doubted he'd won over the older man's affections so easily.
Ken shook his head. Now was not the time to think about such things. It was a Saturday, and that meant, he thought with a sigh; fangirls.
And so, clearing away all thoughts jumbled in his mind, he changed into a jersey and headed downstairs to face the crowd, and the enigma that was his teammate.
"Ken-kun, Ken-kun! Which flowers do you think I should get? I need one that symbolizes love…" the energetic, blonde girl that stood before him blushed shyly at her proclamation.
"Love? Um…" Ken pretended to scratch his chin thoughtfully. He was actually getting pretty tired of all the little "hints" he'd been getting from the girls all day. He'd hand over their requested flowers, only to have them handed back with bold proclamations of "I like you" and whatnot. He took a deep breath and prepared to answer, when someone else answered for him.
"Red roses would do fine." This was said as a slim, orange-clad arm passed over Ken's shoulder and handed the girl her flowers.
"Please pay at the counter," Aya said brusquely, indicating the spot where Omi was manning the cashier.
"Hai. Thank you, Aya-san" the girl left, looking a little disgruntled.
"Thanks, Aya." Ken turned to smile tiredly at his teammate.
A pale hand came to rest at his forehead, pushing back his messy brown locks. "Don't overtire yourself, Ken."
He was gone as soon as he'd come.
Ken blinked after him, wondering what had just happened.
"Ne, Ken-san, what kind of flowers should I get for Ryu-kun?" another girl had stepped in front of him.
Ken shook his thoughts away and smiled at the girl. Thoughts about the redhead could wait until later.
Finally, the time came for the shop to close and Ken, locking up the door, found himself thanking Kami that the day was finally done. Now he could sit back, relax, and enjoy a soccer game with a can of soda-- "Ken." A familiar voice interrupted his reverie-- Or not.
"Hey, Aya!" he turned to face the other man, grinning widely.
"Would you…like to go out?" There was no blush, no awkward tone. Only a slight pause in between which indicated a hint that he was doing something he'd rather not.
But regardless of the seeming unwillingness of his teammate, Ken found himself nodding and smiling. After all, wasn't this what he wanted? He'd finally get to spend time with the person whom he'd liked for so long…
"Kenken! You naked? I'm coming in, ok?"
The brunette rolled his eyes in amusement as the door swung open to reveal none other than a tall, slim blonde with green eyes. "Yo, looking good there." Yohji winked at the younger boy, looking up and down at his get-up.
Ken blushed and mock-glared at his friend. "All right, wise guy, what do you want?"
"I saw our dear leader staring at you today. Is there something going on that I should know about?" A teasing smile as the taller one ruffled his hair.
"Huh? Oh… uh… really?" he blushed even more. Of course he'd noticed. He was an assassin; it was part of the job to know whether or not you were being watched. And the looks that Aya had been giving him all day were… quite frankly, giving him a very unpleasant feeling.
Much to the brunette's dismay, those captivating eyes still weren't looking at him with love, but something akin to pity. It made Ken feel like he was doing something wrong all the time, that the Weiss leader somehow knew he was bound to mess up in one way or another.
"So…Going somewhere special tonight?"
"Uh… I guess."
"Huh. Aya's waiting for you downstairs. Stop blushing like a schoolgirl or I might pounce you right here." Laughing, and ducking to avoid Ken's angry swipe, the blonde left the room.
"Idiot." Ken grumbled, smiling despite himself. Well, whatever those looks were… maybe I'll find out why tonight.
"So, uhm… Where're we going, Aya?" Ken tried to break the uncomfortable silence in the car.
"Dinner." Came the short reply.
"Oh…" Ken frowned and looked straight ahead again. If he'd been hoping to get some answers tonight, he was sorely disappointed. All throughout the entire car ride, Aya had either given him one-word answers or just barely nodded a reply.
Whenever the car swerved, however, or braked suddenly, Aya would look sideways at his, regarding him silently as if expecting him to be hurt.
Ken frowned again. What the hell is with all those weird looks?
The car braked again, this time final, as they had reached their destination.
"Hungry, Ken?" Aya said, finally starting a conversation with an even voice and a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Ken looked at him, surprised. "Yea," he smiled in relief. At least I'm getting somewhere.
People stared openly as they made their way into the restaurant. And who wouldn't? Both being young, handsome; each stunning in his own way. And they were holding hands.
Ken squirmed uneasily as the stares seemed to multiply around him. From the moment he'd gotten out of the car, his teammate had caught his hand and held on to it. Almost as if he were afraid Ken would go astray and get lost somewhere. Aya, who was beside him however, continued towards an empty table as if unaffected by all this. His grip on Ken's hand remained resolutely tight.
The katana-wielder's thoughts were berdering on something else at the moment. He found it odd that a bugnuk-wielder's hand could be so smooth and callus-free—didn't those gloves the younger man wore scrape at the tender flesh it was exposed to? And as they finally sat down on their table, he found himself regretting the fact that he had to let go of the other's hand. It had been smaller, and less graceful than his own sword-wielding hand, but it was warm all the same and had fit perfectly into his own.
Aya watched as Ken fumbled with his coat, then cast it off and slung it over his chair.
"So," he began, surprised at the tone of his own voice. It sounded a lot warmer than he had meant it to.
The waitress smiled knowingly at them both as Ken stared in surprise at the sudden change in his tone.
"…what do you want?"
"Oh, uh… what-whatever you want, Aya." The younger boy replied, not quite looking him in the eye. He was busily trying to examining his very interesting set of silverware at the moment.
"Two green salads, then." The redhead informed the waitress.
Unnoticed by Aya and the waitress, Ken had suddenly stopped staring at his silverware and was now gaping at his redheaded companion openmouthed.
"And 2 bottles of sparkling water, please." Aya added, still oblivious to Ken's incredulous stares.
"Aya! Is that all we're going to eat? We're not rabbits!" Ken blurted out as soon as the waitress had left.
Aya looked at him with a mixture of amusement and surprise. Amusement because Ken had sounded like a little kid when he'd said that, and surprise because… he could remember a very similar comment from a long way before.
"Two salads, please."
"B-but, Ran nii-san! We're not rabbits!"
"So we aren't…"
"So we aren't…"
"Exactly! So why'd you order rabbit food?"
"Exactly! So why'd you order rabbit food?"
Aya's lips twitched at this comment.
"It's healthy." He said simply.
Ken snorted and gave the older man a pout. "I bet you eat this all the time." He said, and, noticing that his companion had not denied it, concluded, "that must be why you're so creepy and anti-social."
"You think I'm creepy and anti-social?" the redhead looked like he wanted to laugh out loud. (which is of course, impossible…XD)
Delicate white fingers picked up the silver fork and toyed with the greens. "I bet you eat this all the time, nii-san." Said holder of the fork announced. Hearing no denial, she plowed on; "that must be why you're so weird and eccentric." She cocked her head at her brother and gave him a look of knowing with her stunning purple eyes.
Her brother, who possessed equally entrancing eyes merely looked back with an amused smirk. "You think I'm weird and eccentric?"
The teenaged girl nodded her assent and grinned toothily. "But don't worry, Ran nii-san. I like you that way. It makes life more interesting."
Ken looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yup. I think… no, I know you're creepy and anti-social." And he laughed, a refreshing sound to his companion's ears.
"And?" Aya quirked a brow.
"Eh?" the brunette cocked his head sideways. "Oh," he said teasingly, eyes sparkling with amusement and laughter. "Don't worry, Aya. I like your creepiness and everything. It makes life less boring."
"Green salad and sparkling water for the two gentlemen." The waitress suddenly made her appearance, interrupting them. She placed their order on the table and left.
Ken stared down at his "rabbit food" and sighed. "I can't believe we're eating this." He grumbled. "Don't blame me if my stomach bothers you all night,"
Aya's fork froze halfway into his salad, and Ken seemed to have realize what he had said and immediately turned an interesting shade of crimson.
"Uh… hehe… well, I mean uh… my stomach grumbles REALLY loud, and you could hear it miles away. Hehe." The younger boy awkwardly tried to redeem himself.
"I'm sure we still have food in the fridge" Aya cut in smoothly. His voice had gone back to its usual icy, emotionless tone.
Ken nodded in disappointment. What had just happened? One moment he was trading banters with the redhead and the next, they were back to where they'd begun; awkward silence.
The rest of the meal was finished without further interruptions, and as the redhead waited for the bill to arrive, (he'd shot down Ken's insistence of footing the bill himself by using his "Let me pay for this or I will kill you" glare, which he used only once every 10 centuries, come to think of it…) Ken pushed back his chair slightly.
"Aya, is it ok if I go out for awhile? I just wanna get some fresh air. Hehe…" he said awkwardly awkwardly.
His companion eyed him a moment longer before nodding. "Excuse me…" Ken murmured, standing up and heading for the door.
Ken placed his hands in his pockets, and stared idly at the passers-by. He didn't actually need fresh air; but the tension between him and the redhead was so thick that he'd probably have suffocated if he hadn't gotten out.
'me and my big mouth.' He sighed.
"Leave me alone!" a short cry shook him from his thoughts.
Quickly snapping back into reality, he looked around only to realize that the street had suddenly become empty. The voice seemed to have come from the alley across the street.
Forgetting everything else, Ken hurriedly ran towards the alley.
There was a group of menacing-looking thugs, 6 or 7 maybe, all either holding pipes or a sharp shard of metal. They were all gathered around something… or someone.
"Hey!" Ken said loudly. One of the men spared him a sneer saying, "Go away, kid. It's none of your business."
"It's my business if you're going to hurt someone."
"Think you're smart, huh? Well, we'll see about that."
They'd all turned to Ken, allowing him to see a little kid cowering in the middle. He looked ok, if a little bruised and badly shaken.
"What do you think you're doing?" Ken said angrily, making a move to help the child.
"Hold it, boy." He was shoved roughly backwards. The alley echoed with ugly laughter.
"Look, let him go, ok? I'll give you whatever it is you wanted from him."
"I don't think so." And before he could react, a pipe swung from out of nowhere and hit him squarely in side of his face.
"Ugh!" He grunted, hitting the wall from the impact. Ken could taste blood in his mouth; the side of his head was starting to throb painfully.
He opened one eye and tried to view the situation. It looked hopeless; he could probably easily take out the thugs if he tried, but he wasn't about to risk the kid's safety for that.
"Hey, look! He's still standing!"
The brunette could only close his eyes as he waited for the second blow to land.
tbc
Ahhh! XD cliffy:D wheeeeeeeeeeeee! Heehee! Poor Kenken! . What's gonna happen next, huh? Heehee!
See ya in the next chappie! And don't forget to drop a review, ne:D
Many, many thanks to the following reviewers: -.- , HeavenGoddess, Moon Without a Sun, RosefaerietaleRed, westkitsune, Laura Janssen, jill, anushkajan and silver-winged-angle.
This chapter was dedicated to you guys! Heehee! Hope you liked it!
Ja, ne! –kyria-chan