Title: Appreciating Things of Beauty [Chapter Fifteen
Author: Endless-Kaoru
Pairing: None yet.
Rating: Overall: R. This Chapter: PG-13

Warnings: My bad sense of humor…
Disclaimer: I don't own Wallflower characters. None. Not even a single one.
Summary: "Oh Takenaga-kun, you're the hottest man on Earth! Please make me your bride so that it's perfectly normal for me to peek on you in the bath?!"

Chapter Fifteen: Loss of Sanity

Aya woke up feeling horribly sore and raw. Her vision took awhile to clear up, and when it did, she found Yuki at the side of her bed, a half-melted ice pack lying beside his head where he'd rested it on her bed. She sighed and picked it up, pressing it to his eye. The boy woke up with a start, and she laughed.

"Aya!" he reached for the ice pack, holding it up against her face. She brushed him off, but he persisted, "Come on, or else those ugly bruises will last forever!"

She took it back and pressed it to his face instead, laughing, "Yeah, but I'll have the scars to go with 'em, so it's okay. You shouldn't have bruises."

Yuki gave in, holding the ice against his jaw, "…Aya, why…" he paused, not sure what to say.

She leaned back, smiling a little, "…Cause I wanted to. Gotta problem with it?" She reached up, fingers skittering over the bandaging on her face, "So tell me, doc. How bad is it?"

Yuki laughed a little, "Takenaga says you didn't break anything or get a concussion. Ranmaru had one of his girlfriends come over – she's a nurse. But there's not a lot of skin left on your face."

She rubbed thoughtfully at an uncovered patch of skin by her ear, "Well… I always said I wanted to know what a facial was like."

"Are you up?" Takenaga came in, carrying another ice pack and a wet cloth. He gave the second ice pack to Yuki, and moved to unwind the bandages from the girl's head, "How are you? Is everything working?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." She brushed off his concern, "Yuki, did you get hurt?"

"What? No." the blonde frowned at her, "Stop worrying about me."

"That's a cruel thing to say." She pouted playfully, sitting up, "Don't worry about trying to wash me. I'm gonna go take a shower." Aya sat up, swinging her legs off the edge of the bed, "I'm all sweaty, and covered in dirt. I might as well." A smile, and the girl stood… or, tried to.

"Uwah! Aya!" Yuki jumped up, catching her awkwardly as she stumbled, "Hey, can't you walk?"

She straightened, balancing with her hands on his shoulders. A faint groan of annoyance escaped her, "…This bites."

There was a brief pause, and Takenaga looked her over, "I think a shower would be a good idea… but I'm not sure you'd be up to taking one by yourself."

Her face reddened, "Wh-What's that mean?!"

"…Where's Sunako-chan?" Yuki asked almost cautiously.

Takenaga looked contrite, "I don't think she would…"

"I'm not taking a bath with you!" she cried out.

"I'm not taking a bath with you."

Yuki made an indistinguishable noise, face turned away from her. She was dressed in a t-shirt and boxers, and Yuki wasn't technically in the bath with her. He wasn't undressed or anything. It should have been okay, right?

"I'm not taking a bath with you." She repeated, scrubbing dirt off her face in an effort to hide her blush.

"Okay, I get it already." He complained, "I'm not taking a bath with you, either."

She paused, taking her hands from her face and staring at them. The water washed the dirty red color off them, dripping down to the tile where it swirled around and streamed toward the drain in tiny rivulets. She licked the water and blood off her lips and swallowed the salty taste.

"I'm sorry." She murmured.

"I'm not! I don't wanna be in here with you, it's weird!" he shot back, red-faced. He was met with silence. Cautious, he turned to glance at her, "Wah! Aya!"

When Yuki came hobbling into the girl's bedroom with her half-slung over his shoulder, Takenaga had to laugh as he took her from him, "You could have called someone to help, Yuki."

The boy made a noise and wrapped a towel around the girl's hair as Takenaga worked to dry her as much as he could.

"You should call Noi-chan to help with her." Yuki told him, "Noi-chan is a girl."

"I already tried. She didn't pick up." The other male answered. He paused and grinned at his friend, "But aren't you glad? You got to take a bath with Aya!"

"T-Takenaga!" Yuki's face turned bright red, "Are you sick?! That's not something Takenaga would say!"

Aya shifted, opening her eyes to stare blankly at Takenaga. He stared back.

"Oh… did I pass out?"

He nodded, "You did. It's good that Yuki was there, or you might've drowned."

She flushed but didn't reply.

"Takenaga-kun, you called?" Noi suddenly appeared at the door, cheerful. She paused, finally taking in Yuki and Aya's bruised faces, "…What happened to you two?"

"Noi-chan, you're a girl! Will you help Aya get washed up and changed so I don't have to?!" Yuki suddenly begged.

Aya laughed a bit, scratching her head, "Oh, wow… I'm kinda hurt…"

Takenaga laughed with her, standing to greet Noi and inform her of the situation.

Noi took it in, then agreed to help out the other girl.

"All right, all right! All boys, out of the room!" Noi directed, carefully shooing Takenaga and Yuki out. When they were gone, she turned to Aya, "Okay, let's get you out of those wet clothes."

"So how did you get hurt?" Noi asked conversationally, wrapping a bandage around the other girl's upper arm.

Aya frowned, "Some guys were picking on Yuki. They punched him."

"Oh, wow! I never thought Yuki-kun would get mixed up in something like that! Do you know why?"

"Something about Machiko-chan. I didn't really pay attention."

Noi was quiet for a moment, then suddenly grinned almost dangerously, "…You like Yuki-kun, don't you?"

Aya blinked at her, blank, "Of course I do. Everyone does."

"No, I mean… you have feelings for him, don't you?"

"Oi!" the girl in question blushed hotly, "Why does everyone think—"

"I think he likes you, too."

Aya froze, mouth still open. A faint squeak escaped her, and she turned away, "Nonsense! Yuki is so in love with Machiko-chan… They'll probably get married or something!"

Noi hummed almost disapprovingly, returning to her work, "You sound upset about that."

"Well, I'm not." She shook her head, "Get that thought out of your head."

"You two kissed, didn't you?"

Aya's head whipped around, "Who told you that?!"

"You did!" Noi smiled brightly, then leaned forward, anxious, "What was it like? Was it your first kiss?"

"I-It… it was…" Aya's cheeks turned red, and she straightened, almost guilty, "That's none of your business!"

"You liked it." The brown-haired girl nodded sagely.

"Stop assuming things!"

"You didn't? Ouch…"

"No, wait, I--! Augh! Annoying!"

Noi just laughed, "Here, take your shirt off."

"Why? Looking for hickeys? You won't find any." Aya growled.

"Wow, third base already? Amazing…"

"Shut! Up!"

Takenaga chuckled to himself, standing outside the door. He'd come back to check on them and find out if Noi was going to stay for supper – it had been Ranmaru and Yuki's insistence that he find out – only to come across the highly amusing conversation. Sure, Takenaga was a very proper boy, and sure, listening in on a conversation was very improper… but they were so loud, surely it didn't count. Right? Right.

Yuki was on the phone with Machiko-chan; the girl had called, and in all of his mystery, the boy had refused to talk to her. Machiko had insisted that it was very important and 'could you please just get Yuki-kun out of the bath, I have to talk to him!' Takenaga could not refuse a girl's plea; he'd dropped the phone in Yuki's lap and informed him it was a telemarketer.

"Wow, third base already? Amazing…" Noi's voice came, a little muffled by the door.

Whoa. Wait. Back up. What?

"Shut! Up!" Aya wailed, "Quit trying to press your Takenaga fantasies on me!"

What?!

"What?!"

"Not 'what?!' You're the obvious one!" Aya sounded victorious. Her voice changed so she sounded vaguely like Noi, "Oh Takenaga-kun, you're the hottest man on Earth! Please make me your bride so that it's perfectly normal for me to peek on you in the bath?!"

Takenaga felt his face turn red, and he vaguely wondered if he should leave now.

"I-I do not say that!" Noi sounded nervous.

"Course you don't, but I'm trying to keep your fantasies censored. Just a little. You never know who could be listening in, you know."

There was dead silence on the other side of the door.

After a moment, someone got off the bed and walked across the room.

Takenaga made to make a tactical retreat.

"Hey, Takenaga, what's up with your face? It's all red!" Yuki came down the hall just then, calling out.

Retreat failed. Abandon ship. Abort Mission.

The door opened, and both girls peered out at both boys.

Desperate situations call for desperate measures. Takenaga was going to stand up, be a man, and do the right thing.

"Yuki did it!"

The girls turned to stare at the perplexed Yuki, then back to Takenaga. All three, in unison, asked, "Did what?"

"…"

We are here today to mourn the passing of Oda Takenaga's sanity. And now, for a moment of silence.

Ok, no moment of silence. Time to play dumb, "Huh? Nothing. Never mind. Are you staying for dinner, Noi-chan?"

"Suspicious…" Aya murmured, as Noi readily agreed.

"Great! I'll go tell Sunako-chan!" he headed for the kitchen.

"Sunako-chan is in her room, Takenaga. That way." Yuki informed him, pointing in the opposite direction.

"Uh, right!" The dark-haired male turned and headed in the correct direction, intent on hiding in Sunako's room.

"That guy's weird." Aya announced once he was out of hearing range. She turned to Yuki, "…You too. Something wrong?"

"Um… it's nothing…" he glanced away.

Aya dropped a hand on his shoulder, saying sagely, "Yuki, I advise you to never, never, play poker. You suck at lying."

"Machiko-chan's dad… got relocated to Kyoto. They have to move there at the end of the week." He admitted after a pause.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sure she'll keep in contact."

Only Noi noticed the hint of guilty excitement in the other girl's eyes.