I'm very fond of this chapter.


Leaving Miyoko soundly asleep in the bed, Ken slipped through the room silently as he prepared for his morning jog. Their dinner party last night had been a success , although neither Yohji nor Aya had chosen to make an appearance.

Ken hadn't really expected them to, anyway.

The air was cool enough that he really needed something heavier than the windbreaker he had chosen to wear as he stepped outside, but the young athlete pointedly ignored the nip as he began his warm-up exercises.

These early-morning jogs were his and his alone. His mind was clearest when it was only him and the street and the wind. Many of the most difficult things times of his life would have caused him to break for certain had he not been able to run them out.

Today his mind was clear of problems. His life was finally taking on some semblance of normalcy. His dreams had stopped being filled with blood and fire and betrayal.

He was healing.

He was happy.

Proof of healing was the very fact that just the other night he had seen his former teammates, and the sight of them had not brought on the return of darkness.

Finished with his stretches, Ken began to grin as he set off at a run.

He would pick up breakfast for Miyo today, he decided. She liked the little doughnut shop on his jogging route, and they would be fresh and warm this morning. He liked surprising Miyo, and she deserved it for putting up with him.

He altered his path just a little, deciding to make the shop his stopping point for the day, and walked into the sweet-smelling store in high spirits.

He made his purchase so cheerfully, that the plump little shopgirl blushed and refused to meet his eyes.

Ken accepted his purchase and his change and turned to go.

"Ken?"

He gave a start, staring at the small figure sitting at a table nursing a cup of coffee.

"Omi?"

"How are you?" the small blonde smiled. Ken had seen Omi more often than the others since the disbanding of Weiss, but they had still fallen out of touch enough that he was hesitant to claim that they were still friends.

"Oh, I'm fine," he answered, "Just picking up a surprise for Miyo-chan."

"Oh? And how is she doing?"

"Great, great…." He nodded, noting not for the first time how quiet and still Omi had become over the past few years. It wasn't only apparent in his speaking, but in his movements and mannerisms as well. He had become so subdued; Ken missed the cheerful teen he had known. "You know, it's really weird seeing you today."

"Oh?"

"Yeah! I just ran into Yohji and Aya Friday night."

"Aya's back in Japan?"

"I know; weird, right?"

Omi gestured to the seat before him.

"Join me?" he asked with a smile.

Ken returned the smile and slid into the seat. The doughnuts would grow cold before they reached Miyo, but catching up with Omi was more important.


Friday night, Aya and Yohji had ended up fighting.

Aya couldn't remember who had started it, or what the fight had been about – just that they hadn't spoken since then.

When they fought like that, Aya always wondered if they were being foolish to try to make a relationship work. There was passion between them, Aya couldn't deny that, but that passion could lend itself to arguments just as easily as it could to kisses.

But however foolish it was, he cared for Yohji. He needed him. He missed him when they weren't together.

So Monday after work, Aya went straight to the blonde's apartment.

It took a few moments for Yohji to answer after he knocked on the door, and when he did, Aya was immediately struck by how horrible Yohji looked.

Dark circles ringed his eyes. His hair was unwashed and unbrushed, his face unshaven.

The taller man blinked blearily at him as if trying to decide if he was really there or not.

"Aya?" he asked at last, reaching out a hand. He seemed genuinely surprised when his fingers came to rest against solid flesh rather than pass through an illusion.

Aya wrinkled his nose, drawing back.

"Gods, Kudoh, did you bathe in gin?"

"Hey! That's a good idea." Yohji wavered, catching himself against the doorframe.

"Is this what you're going to do every time we have an argument?" Aya demanded. "Drink yourself into oblivion? We're too volatile, Kudoh. Your liver won't be able to handle it."

Yohji squinted at him.

"Please tell me you're here to take advantage of me while I'm vulnerable." He pled, rubbing his eyes.

An idea occurred to Aya – a wonderful, evil idea that would prove to be exactly what he needed to soothe the annoyance he was currently feeling towards his boyfriend.

"Do you want me to take advantage of you, Yohji?" he asked, surprised by the confident, silken tone of his own voice. He advanced, and a slightly frightened-looking Yohji stumbled backwards a step.

Aya reached for him, nimbly slipping the remaining buttons of Yohji's shirt through their loops and exposing the center of his chest and abdomen in a long, clean line.

Yohji took a shuddering breath.

"Aya…"

He slid his fingertips down Yohji's stomach, hooking them in the front of his jeans, and walked into the apartment, pulling Yohji along.

They were in the entrance to the bathroom when Yohji finally managed to grab him, kissing him fiercely.

"Love you so much," the blonde mumbled against his lips. "Don't wanna lose you."

Aya paused a moment, stunned that in the midst of his half-drunken lust, it was love that Yohji was thinking of.

"You won't lose me," Aya promised, "As long as you stop being an idiot."

Yohji gave him a confused look, which he quickly forgot as Aya set to distracting him. Aya got the other man out of his pants with surprising ease, coaxing him into the shower with kisses and whispered promises.

Then he turned the water on – full blast, cold as it would go – and fled to the sound of Yohji's screeches, threats, and curses.


"You're a bastard."

The small form at the kitchen table looked up, eyes cool and disinterested. Those eyes scanned Yohji for a moment before he nodded and looked away at last.

Yohji had the horrible feeling that Aya would have reacted differently had he not taken the time to wash his hair and shave before leaving the bathroom.

"Will you please go get dressed?"

Yohji looked down at the damp towel wrapped around his waist.

"I'm covered." He answered, knowing he sounded sullen. Normally he would have retorted with some teasing comment about making the redhead nervous, but he was not in the mood for it. "You're a bastard." He repeated.

Aya nodded.

"There's coffee on the counter."

Grumbling under his breath, Yohji poured himself a cup before sitting down across the table from Aya, glaring fiercely.

A few more moments passed before the redhead looked at him, expression nothing Yohji knew how to read.

"Yohji," he sighed and shook his head, clearly having trouble with what he wanted to say. "You're going to make me talk, aren't you?"

"You sure as hell better talk."

Aya closed his eyes as if pained.

"I don't like this behavior, Yohji." he stated quietly. "It isn't healthy."

"Okay…"

"No. You aren't going to dismiss this. We're going to talk about it."

"I was upset. That's all."

"Do you even remember what it was we fought over?"

He grimaced. "I remember you suggesting we stop seeing each other."

Eyes still closed, Aya rested his chin atop his intertwined fingers.

"I'm not an impulsive person, Yohji. You know this. If I were to make that kind of decision, I wouldn't do it so quickly. I was angry. We always say things we don't mean when we're angry."

"It scared me."

"I wouldn't decide something like that just because we had a fight. It would be a long time coming; you would know long before. Okay?"

"Yeah…"

"I'm not going to leave just because we've had some kind of a fight. I will leave if you end up with some drinking problem because you have to act like an idiot every time we have a disagreement."

"Okay…"

Aya glared at him a moment before shaking his head and rising to pour himself some coffee.

"I can't believe I was ready to sleep with you this weekend." He mumbled.

There was silence a long moment before Yohji's voice came out. Quiet. Dangerous.

"What?"

Aya smiled, knowing his companion couldn't see him with his back to him.

"I had prepared myself for defeat," he answered as innocently as he could, keeping his back to the blonde to hide his amusement. "I knew I would never last out the weekend…but then you ruined it, Yohji. You were so stupid, and now you've lost your chance."

"Aya…"

"If you had just called me Saturday, or come over Sunday, I would have forgiven you…but it's too late now." He made his voice as cold as possible, though he couldn't keep from smiling. It was fun to be the one doing the teasing for once. "My mind is much more clear today than it was on Friday."

"Clear?" Yohji croaked.

"I may never decide to make our relationship become more physical now." Aya answered coolly. "Sure, it feels nice, but it takes up a lot of time, too. Time we could be spending talking."

"Talking?"

"I know you won't mind, Yohji. Not if you love me as much as you claim to."

Yohji was trying to choke out some sort of answer when Aya turned to him at last. Yohji's jaw dropped open at the expression on Aya's face. Slowly, fury began to overcome the blonde's face as he rose swiftly to his feet.

Aya abruptly found himself trapped between Yohji and the kitchen counter, the other man's hips flush against his own, Yohji's hands on his arms with a grip strong enough to make moving difficult.

"Bastard." Yohji breathed, staring into his eyes from mere inches away.

Aya opened his mouth to comment and was promptly prevented from doing so as Yohji's lips descended on his own – hungry, somewhat angry, and as passionate as ever.

"You brushed your teeth before coming out here?"

"I'm a good boyfriend." Yohji nodded, an impish grin on his face.

Yohji leaned in for another kiss, though this one was not nearly so forceful. Aya had never kissed anyone else, but he assumed that with tall of the blonde's experience he had to be fairly talented. Aya certainly enjoyed himself.

Yohji had a certain way – he had perfected the slow, exploratory kiss. Somehow he had found the exact right way to tilt his head, discovered the prime amount of tongue, and calculated the exact slowness of exploration to make Aya's legs turn to jelly.

Yohji released his arms and let his hands come to rest on his hips just as he pushed closer, trapping Aya completely between him and the counter as he continued the kiss. Aya's arms slid around the other man's neck as he surrendered himself to the wonderful sensations.

Yohji broke the kiss at last and almost seemed to collapse against him, arms going tight around him.

"I love you so much, Aya." He whispered fervently, burying his face in the crook of the other man's neck.

Aya closed his eyes, tightening his own arms around his companion. He cared for the other man more than he'd ever thought possible…but did he love him? He felt as if he should say it back.

"If you catch me being an idiot, tell me so – no matter how angry I've made you." Yohji pled quietly. "Call me, or come back – or better yet, don't leave at all if a fight is unresolved. It scares me too damn much to think about losing you."

"I promise."

Yohji drew back, clearly surprised that the oath had been so easy to obtain.

"You're important to me, too." Aya informed him bravely, forcing the words out of his mouth. It was difficult to admit these things.

Yohji stared at him a moment and seemed to see something that reassured him for the next moment he was embracing him again.

"Gods," Yohji whispered with a half-muffled laugh. "You love me, Aya. You may not be able to say it yet, but you love me all the same."

"Maybe I do." He acknowledged after only a moment's hesitation.

Yohji was kissing him again, back to the heat of before, blinding Aya to everything but what he was feeling.

When Yohji's cell phone began to ring, Aya was sitting on the kitchen counter, his shirt mostly pulled off and the top button of his jeans undone.

Annoyed at the inturuption, Aya snatched the phone off the counter beside him and answered it.

"Yohji Kudoh's phone."

"Aya?"


Yohji watched all traced of humor, of teasing and sweetness, spill from Aya's face like water going down a drain.

Without another word to whoever had called, Aya held out the phone to Yohji.

Concerned for what could make his love close off like that, Yohji nonetheless fought to make his own voice as bright and cheerful as possible.

"'Yello. Kudoh speaking."

"Yohji! Was that Aya?"

He felt the blood drain from his face and he glanced quickly at Aya. The redhead had shrugged his shirt back on and was buttoning it back up with suddenly clumsy fingers. He refused to meet Yohji's eyes.

"Yohji?" Omi asked again. "That was Aya, wasn't it? Ken said he was back in town."

"Yeah," Yohji answered relucatantly. "Yeah, Aya's here." He moved forward and pulled the smaller man against his chest, knowing full well how Aya hated to be reminded of the past. Seeing Ken, then hearing from Omi, had to be trying for him.

Aya froze a moment before reluctantly relaxing against him and Yohji wrapped his arms tightly around him, propping the cell phone up between his shoulder and ear so that he could hold him with both arms.

"He says hi," he lied.

"What luck I caught you both at the same time!" Omi exclaimed cheerfully. "This makes everything so much easier!"

"Everything?"

"I'm putting together a party to get everyone back together. It's the perfect time for catching up, since Aya's really back and Ken's practically engaged – and I heard from Aya-chan and Sakuya-chan at the flower shop that you're seeing someone pretty seriously, too."

"Yeah…" he agreed weakly. "Well, it sounds like loads of fun, but I'm afraid that Aya and I both are pretty busy lately." They had, in fact, a publicity party to go to on Friday to promote the release of Narumoto's first single in a few weeks.

"That's why I scheduled our first get-together for Sunday afternoon," Omi said with cheer. "Please say you'll come – and Aya, too!"

He had never been good at resisting Omi.

"I would love to, you know I would, chibi. But I'm not brave enough or stupid enough to try to speak for Aya."

"Oh, please, Yotan! Please, please, please? You know Ayan won't come unless we force him to. Promise me you'll make him come, even if you have to kidnap him, okay?"

Perhaps sensing some weakness in his companion, Aya pulled back and snatched the phone away.

"Omi."

Yohji shuddered; it had been a long time since Aya had sounded so cold, since his eyes had been so empty. Even when Aya was furious at him, he had retained some warm spark of humanity he hadn't possessed during his years in Weiss.

Omi seemed to talk for a very long time, for Aya only interrupted a few times to voice a firm "no."

Yohji leaned against Aya and pulled the other man's legs around himself as he laid his head against the smaller man's shoulder. He felt no small bit of relief as Aya began to slowly pull his fingers through his hair.

Aya wasn't mad at him, then.

"No," Aya said into the phone again. "Because I don't want to." He snapped at some probing.

Yohji gently kissed his neck, smiling to himself as Aya shivered. He slid his hand up the redhead's thigh and felt an excited thrill as Aya did not push his hand away.

However amazing it was, he was allowed to do this.

Every time he thought about it, he wanted to dance.

At last Aya sighed, and Yohji knew that Omi had broken him. It was impossible to resist Omi.

"Fine," Aya said tersely, "We'll be there."

Yohji waited until he hung up.

"I'm supposed to bring my new sweetie, anyway."

Aya only glared.

Yohji hesitated.

"What do you want to do, Aya?" he asked gently. "Do you want to tell them, or hide our relationship?"

"Ken already knows."

"I know."

"You all were my only family for so long. Just because I don't feel comfortable seeing them after all this time doesn't mean that I don't care anymore."

"Aya?"

The violet eyed man looked at him then, sliding his hands into Yohji's hair.

"I don't want to hide."

Yohji grinned, leaning forward for a kiss. Aya pulled back.

"Did Omi tell you my sister would be there?"

"Yeah…"

"You're all going to have to call me Ran."

"I'll make sure Ken knows."

A silence stretched between them as they stared at each other. Aya began slowly pulling his hands through Yohji's hair once more.

"Yohji…can we put off out bet until after Omi's party?" he asked finally, hesitantly.

Yohji had closed his eyes. He opened them now.

"Put off?"

"It's going to be a rough weekend…I will need my mind to be clear."

Aya was so careful, as if he feared that Yohji would argue with his request. He didn't seem aware that Yohji would never deny him anything.

"As soon as we get home Sunday night, you can go right back to seducing me, I promise."

"Of course. Anything you want."

"You aren't going to be difficult?"

Yohji shrugged.

"I love you, bunny thong."


To Be Continued

The four assassins have gotten out of touch. Any time when you've lost touch with an old friend - especially if you shared a really close relationship, it seems - it's awkward when you see them again. In addition, Aya is antisocial. He hasn't changed because of Yohji, it's just that he trusts him, and that Yohji has gotten to know him really well. Aya's coldness toward his other teammates isn't even seen as an odd thing to them, because he's acting no different than he always has towards them.

Response to Unsigned Reviews:

moimoi-chan - I like hope forlorn; I've actually been there before. But the page is still "in progress" and their Gluhen summery is still marked "coming soon." I appreciate the help, though.

JB - I don't know what it is about Ken, but I just love making that boy uncomfortable...

morningglory - actually, my brother works at the theatre, and he has some pretty...interesting...stories. LOL

Kirai - "Enough" candy? I've never heard of such.

Moon without a Sun - (happy dance)

talietime - see above. Thanks; I'm so happy to have been the cause of another addiction in this world...LOL

Himitsu79 - he's a guy. He's gotta get horny sometime, right?