Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Chains ❯ Salvage Me ( Chapter 40 )

Notes: For those of you interested in the mini-Weiss drama that is my rescued kitties, Chibi-kitty (real name Omi) is now wearing a collar and is no longer cowering in the cage, Aya-kitty continues to glare at me but deigns to be petted on occasion, and Yohji-kitty is an attention whore and is also very pregnant…I blame Aya-kitty…even though they’re both girls…



Chapter Forty: Salvage Me


“Hey, Aya,” Yohji called, trying to warn the other so he didn’t startled him. He didn’t really expect a reply.

He’d gone back to help with the rush, but between subtly trying to disembowel Ken with the pruning shears and accidentally spraying a certain gaggle of fangirls with the hose, his assistance hadn’t been very well received. Finding him too concerned with what Aya might be doing (sitting on the floor, hiding in the corner, waiting to be punished) to even count change correctly, Omi sent him upstairs to check with orders not to bother coming back until it was time to close shop.

When he opened the door to find Aya kneeling on the floor beside the bed, Yohji knew his concerns were vindicated. About to give the boy a lecture, he noticed something strange. He didn’t know if it was a particular slump of the shoulders, the detail that the shirt was undone, or the fact that the boy’s head was bent towards the floor with grim determination, but his instincts went suddenly into hyperdrive, leaving him to sort out the warning signal pulsing through his brain.

“Aya? You okay?” he asked as he crouched beside him. Aya didn’t flinch when Yohji reached for his chin, but the older man could feel the tremor of his body. “Did something happen?”

When Yohji tilted his chin up to get a look at his face, he found Aya’s eyes closed, drawn, like the other was in pain. Was that it? Was that what was wrong? There was a pull at his mind that said it was something else, but that was a place to start.

“Does something hurt?”

He released Aya’s chin when the head shook no.

“Don’t lie to me. Does something hurt?”

“Yes, Mast–Yohji.”

Damn. They hadn’t had a slip all day. That aggravated him almost as much as Aya lying to him. Excusing it as the boy’s not feeling well and not able to think too clearly, Yohji focused in on the immediate problem. He’d learned to do that, Aya always being such a bundle of problems that one had to do triage on all occasions.

“Aya, tell me what hurts.”

“Head.” It was a quiet admission, and Aya tensed like he would be hurt for saying it.

“Okay, good. Hold a second, I’ll be right back.” He stood as he spoke, but stopped his walk to the door when Aya called out to him unexpectedly.

“Yohji–”

There was something that looked like fear in the purple eyes that turned on him, and Yohji tried to be as gentle as he could when he spoke.

“What is it?”

Aya seemed to fight for the words, “You…you’ll come back?”

The fact that Aya actually wanted him to be there, wanted to be helped, was a victory in Yohji’s book.

“Yeah, two seconds. Promise.”

Aya sat still and watched as Yohji left the room.

Determined to make good on his promise, Yohji executed the trip to the kitchen medicine cabinet at a quick walk. Though not as impressive as the medkit contents, their collection of regular medications was extensive. Weiss was obviously not a leave-it-to-nature kind of household.

Thinking the boy had a headache, possibly a migraine by the intensity of it (probably brought on by stress), Yohji shuffled things around until he found some of Omi’s tension headache stuff and dumped three of the red pills out into his hand. The bottle said they ought to be taken with food, but feeding Aya was a task in itself.

Yohji’s smile widened at the sudden mental imaged of feeding Aya like a pet, but he shoved it aside. His brain was really on an inappropriate kick; it needed some time away along with his body. Maybe he would go out after all, but only in Aya was okay. The thought of leaving the boy when he didn’t feel good was ridiculous.

Dismissing the idea of food, he grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and headed back upstairs.

Aya was as he’d left him, and his eyes flicked quickly from door to floor when Yohji entered. Settling on the floor beside him, Yohji held out the hand with the pills.

“Here, take these.”

Aya seemed unsure, reaching hesitantly to take them in his own hand. He held them while Yohji opened the water and handed it over as well.

“They’ll help,” Yohji assured, trying not to say something stupid like ‘put them in your mouth.’

Aya put the capsules in his mouth one at a time, taking small sips of the water and getting them down without incident. He seemed unsure what to do with the water, so Yohji took it from him, capped it, and set it aside.

“Here,” he reached for the blue shirt, “let’s take this off so you can rest better.”

He took it without protest, sliding the fabric off the thin arm and leaving Aya in his white t-shirt. The collar was suddenly obvious, and Yohji wished he could remove it as easily. Instead, he moved around Aya to the bed, taking a seat on the edge.

“Come here,” he patted the spot beside him. Aya was slow to move, and it took considerable restraint for Yohji not to reach down and pull him up. When he was finally on the bed, on the very corner and a good two feet from Yohji’s side, the blonde patted his own leg, “Lay down.”

Okay, that obviously confused him, maybe even scared him a little. About to reach out and drag the other’s head down, Yohji thanked every god he could think of that he thought better of it before doing something so stupid. No telling what tasks Aya would associate with such an action. He had to be careful.

“Lay down, Aya. Here,” he patted his leg again, making sure to indicate a safe place close to his knee and far away from any danger zone.

The redhead did so; it was a hesitant, awkward process of folding his legs up under him before lowering himself onto his elbow. Yohji finally put a hand on his shoulder to help, feeling how tense he was. Aya head finally ended up on his thigh, the boy laying on his side, facing away from Yohji, arms curled tightly to his chest which rose and fell too quickly. He was stiff and anxious.

“Relax,” Yohji tried to sooth. God, he wanted to touch Aya, to rub his back, his arm, to run his fingers through his hair and try to calm him. That had been a temptation from the beginning, constantly thwarted by Aya and Omi and even his own better judgment. Now, though, he couldn’t help it, or, rather, he didn’t want to. He’d been good today, despite his wandering mind, and this small expression might help deflate any more inappropriate ideas.

Carefully, slowly, he picked up a few stands of red hair, feeling them between his fingers. Gently, he began to run his fingers through Aya’s hair, starting near the crown and brushing down through the eartial that lay against the pale cheek. It was too red to be real, brighter for being clean, and so soft and fine. It ghosted over his fingers, filling a craving that he could no longer push back.

For a long time, he just enjoyed it.

He almost jumped when Aya spoke.

“Yohji?”

“Yes?” He had to smile. The day hadn’t been a loss since after all the awkward pauses and waiting, Aya was learning to address him of his own accord.

“I…you…”

“It’ s okay,” he resumed stroking the hair, “Take your time.”

Aya swallowed hard.

“You’ve done so…so much for me…I…what can I do for you, Yohji? What do you want?”

The words were quiet, but there was a metallic thread of desperation that ran through them.

“I don’t want anything, Aya.”

“There has to be…something. Please. I’ll do…whatever you want.”

The words sent a chill down Yohji’s spine, and he felt the sensation echoed as Aya trembled. He had no doubt the offer was made in true faith, and the power offered to him was frightening. But he kept his hand running through Aya’s hair and tried to answer calmly.

“This is all I want, Aya.”

“This?”

“Yes. I want to sit here with you and touch your hair. Is that okay?”

There was a long pause, then, “Yes.”

Yohji’s frown melted into a smile as he felt Aya relax next to him. A few minutes later a very hesitant hand shifted to lay on his leg, fingers just resting on his knee.

Something still ate at Yohji’s mind, something he ought to notice or do, but as Aya’s breath settled into regular rhythm of sleep, he tried to put it out of his head.

~tbc~

Notes: Yohji gets to pet Aya, though it’s not all happy…if you’d like to pet the Aya, please use the review button below.