Title: Appreciating Things of Beauty [Chapter Three
Author:Endless-Kaoru
Pairing:None yet.
Rating:Overall: PG-13. This Chapter: Pg-13-ish
Warnings:mention of non-con, torture, and murder. Not graphic, just mention.
Disclaimer: I don't own Wallflower characters. None. Not even a single one.
Summary: A bit of history comes into play, and Yuki learns something about his new roommate that completely changes his perspective of her.

Chapter Three: It Only Hurts When I Cry

Sunako cooked prawns that night. Aya had made an attempt at helping her – at the boys' prompting, because a lady should know how to cook. – but ended up banned from the kitchen for an offense she wasn't sure she understood.

Ranmaru looked up from the card game the boys were playing as Aya entered the living room, "I thought you were helping in the kitchen?"

"Eh… I'm banned from that particular room…" she mumbled something about complicated machinery and moved toward the window, staring up at the sky, "My cooking can be crossed out of your fantasy list."

Kyohei frowned at her hand, "…Did you burn yourself?"

"Ah, yeah. Not real bad." She showed him the red blistering mark at the base of her thumb.

"Uwah! That looks like it hurts!" Yuki cried, "I'll go see if Sunako has something for—"

"Nah, nah. I can't feel it anyway. Say, I'm going outside. I'm not hungry anyway; I'm sure you guys can split up my portion." She moved from the window.

"Outside…? But it's dark out!" Yukinojo began to look concerned. Aya only shrugged and retrieved something from her room.

A few minutes later, Sunako brought out the food, pausing to glance around. Aya's absence only puzzled her for a brief moment.

"She went outside. I'll take some out to her." Yuki offered and left with a small plate.

Yuki found the auburn haired girl leaning against a tree trunk, staring at the moon and clutching a stuffed dog to herself.

He sat beside her, placing the plate between them, "Hey. I brought food." She didn't respond, and he lightly poked the small toy, "Is that yours? It's cute."

She finally glanced over, eyes distant, "No, Inu-kun was my brother's."

"You have a brother?"

She turned back to the sky, "No, I don't."

"What? But you just said…"

She was silent for a moment, then asked quietly, "Yuki, could I tell you something? I've never told anyone before, not the whole story. Will you promise not to tell anyone?"

"Is something bothering you? I'll listen. Go ahead." He turned his full attention on her in an instant.

For the longest time it was as if she'd changed her mind about telling him. Finally, she began to speak, her voice low and hesitant, "I had a brother, Ryouko. He was two years younger than me, and he'd follow me everywhere, wanted me to teach him everything. If I did something, he had to try it too." She paused and took a shaky breath, "When I was twelve, I went out horseback riding. To my friend's house to pick up something I'd forgotten. I figured on getting home late, and so I told Ryo he couldn't come with, but he begged and pleaded and finally I let him. On the way there… we stopped. To rest the horses. This guy… he came out of nowhere and grabbed Ryo and said that if I didn't come quietly then Ryo would die."

"Aya…" Yuki breathed, reaching out to comfort her.

"I'm not done!" she seemed on the verge of tears, and Yuki quieted as she continued, "He… held us for ransom… for three weeks. My parents… they paid the ransom money, but the guy just demanded more. He would beat us. Sometimes until we were unconscious. He kept us in a locked up room, with no windows, and it always smelled bad. He'd always give us junk food, like… candy, and cookies, and tried to make us like him." She paused again, curling in on herself and taking a ragged breath, "He never raped Ryo; I made sure of it. The bastard didn't touch Ryo, because it was my fault Ryo was there; it was my fault Ryo had to sit there and watch him… watch him beat and rape me. But... I didn't protect him well enough. Ryo died because I passed out and couldn't protect him."

There was a moment of tense silence between the two, and suddenly she turned away from the blonde, "Think what you like of me. Go ahead and tell me how pathetic I am, because nothing you say or do can make me feel worse. I just… I had to say it. I had to say it sometime, and now I did, because you look like Ryouko and I know I have no right to call myself his older sister but I'm really sorry, I didn't… I didn't know…!"

"Aya… I don't think you're pathetic…" he shoved the plate away carelessly and moved closer to her, curling comforting arms around her, "You did the best you could, Aya. You couldn't have known any of that was going to happen… It isn't your fault at all, Aya; I'm sure your brother knows that."

She tensed, glancing at him, and with a shaky, almost panic-stricken voice asked, "Are you crying? Don't cry… Come on, please don't cry, Yuki…" she turned in his arms, awkwardly holding him.

He almost laughed, "You're so brave, Aya… to have gone through all that, and still be able to laugh and smile…!" he sniffled, "But since you won't cry… I'll cry for you."

She paused at the odd, somewhat childish logic, before sighing, "Then… thanks, I guess. For… listening."

Aya was more withdrawn than usual the next day, to the point where she hardly spoke outside of general formalities, and her expression was mostly blank and unreadable. Yuki, however, seemed to know the problem and went out of his way to make sure no one tried to pry.

"Yuki, tell me what's going on!" Kyohei nearly whined after an unsuccessful attempt to reach the girl, "Why is she so quiet? What did you do to her yesterday?"

"Nothing that you need to know about." Was all the blonde boy said in reply.

Now it was time to pull out the big guns, "Yuki, did you two do it last night?"

"What?! Kyohei, where would you get an idea like that?! I hardly know her!" Yuki's face turned a bright red at the implications.

"Well, you two were awfully cuddly yesterday at lunch… Maybe you two did it before, and you dumped her last night?" the boy's eyes lit up, "Yuki, you're going to turn into another Ranmaru!"

"Huh? What's this about Yuki turning into me?" Ranmaru conveniently appeared, followed by a curious Takenaga.

"Yuki and Aya did it, and now he dumped her. That's why she's so upset." Kyohei crossed his arms and nodded sagely.

"We did not! Stop saying that!" Yuki cried out, flailing helplessly.

"Then tell us what happened!"

"I promised not to!"

Aya appeared in the doorway of her room, leaning against her doorframe, "Leave him alone. It's a private matter, and I chose to confide in Yuki alone. There was no sex, or dumping, involved."

Takenaga placed his hands on Kyohei's shoulders and steered him away, "See, I told you. Now stop trying to butt in. Come on, Ranmaru."

Both Aya and Yuki looked thankful.

A/N: Thank you to my first reviewer, itachisneko-nya!