Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Comfort among friends ❯ Chapter 1

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Kudoh wasn't sure if he liked it when Aya-chan awoke. On the one hand Ran was back (at least that's what Aya-chan told the rest of the team, they of course had only ever known the surly Aya), and on the other hand Ran was back; he was open and friendly and, most annoying to Yohji, flirty to everyone.
 
Ran went on dates.
 
The first time it happened all Kudoh could do was blink as a salary-man walked past the flower shop window, glanced inside, stopped, almost swallowed his tongue in lust, and then barged right in and propositioned Ran. Yohji was seething so much in jealousy that he missed the look Ran sent him out of the corner of his eye. But he didn't miss it when Ran let out that deep, throaty noise that he supposed could be seen by everyone else as a laugh. That laugh did strange things to Yohji; first it made his clenched jaw drop in surprise; he hadn't known Ran could have such a flirtatious laugh, a laugh that promised of things to come. The laugh also sent chills down his spine, and lastly it removed all the blood from his head and sent it rushing to his other, well, head.
 
But the effects of that laugh were undone when Ran accepted a date from that salary-man. Yohji's jaw was clenched again, his teeth were grinding against each other and if the flirting going on in front of him continued for any longer Yohji was going to make the redheaded bastard pay for his dentist's bill. Luckily, the flirting soon stopped as the salary-man and Ran had presumably made all the arrangements for their date; Yohji hadn't heard a word of it however over the noise of his teeth grinding.
 
As the salary-man left the shop Ran turned to him and smiled, how the hell could Yohji be pissed at him when Ran looked so happy.
 
“I've got a date! I need to tell Aya-chan she'll be so happy, and he was so cute.”
 
“Hadn't noticed.”
 
“Of course you wouldn't notice Yohji you're a ladies' man.”
 
“What?” Ran couldn't mean that, couldn't have meant that he had never noticed Yohji flirting with other guys, flirting with Ran.
 
Yohji opened his mouth to say something to tell Ran that he wasn't just a ladies' man (why would he limit himself to only half the population?), but was interrupted by the sound of the bell on the door signalling the arrival of a legitimate customer, and the moment was lost.
 
Yohji stayed up late the next night, idly flipping through channels on the TV set; he was definitely not waiting for Ran to come home, he just couldn't sleep or at least that's what he told the others. Aya-chan had just winked knowingly and left him alone. How the hell was he so transparent to one Fujimiya and so, so, so not to the other.
 
Speaking of the other, the kitchen door opened to reveal the missing Fujimiya the one he, Kudoh was definitely not waiting up for. Aya, no Ran walked in not exactly gracelessly, but not as gracefully as he normally did, so Ran was tipsy was he? Whilst Aya never consumed alcohol, didn't like to lose his focus, apparently Ran drank or at least on dates.
 
Yohji looked up from the TV, as Ran sprawled by him on the couch pretending to only now notice Ran's arrival for the first time. That was another difference: Ran sprawled, Yohji could honestly never say he had seen Aya sprawl, lean on a wall and glare at people hell yeah, but sprawl never.
 
“How was it?”
 
“It wasn't bad, but I don't think I'll see him again.”
 
A huge part of Yohji wanted to get up, and dance around the room in celebration; of 'course that would remove Aya's, Ran's head from his lap, so he didn't.
 
“He was kind of boring, spent the whole night telling me about some boring pencil-pushing job that he did and I had to pretend I was interested. He was a fantastic kisser though, shame it was wasted on a boring man like him.”
 
Fantastic kisser? Yohji could honestly say those were words he never thought he would hear from the redhead's mouth, and why the hell had he let that man kiss him on his first date!
 
“Hn. Well I'm off to bed. Good night.”
 
 
And so the pattern continued, Ran went on dates, Yohji got insanely, blindingly jealous and yet stayed up every time idly flipping channels to wait for Ran to come home. Only to be regaled by this guy was fun, this guy was boring, but hey this other guy kissed well, he let that one hold his hand; until finally Yohji snapped he couldn't take it anymore. So the next time Ran went out on a date, Yotan announced that he was going to bed, earning himself a raised eyebrow from Aya-chan but no comment.
 
Yohji lay restlessly on his bed waiting, listening for sounds that would mean that Ran was home and safe and not lying thoroughly debauched and sated on his date's bed, or worse yet in a love hotel. Finally after hours of tossing and turning he heard noises from downstairs indicating that the redhead was back, and now only now could the blonde get some sleep.
 
Just as he was drifting asleep there was a knock on his door followed by “Hey Yotan are you asleep?”
 
“Nnugh.”
 
“Good.”
 
Ran had apparently interpreted the grunt that had come out of Yohji's mouth as a `no, please come in.'
 
“I just wanted to tell you about my date, it's a tradition now ne?”
 
And so Ran proceeded to regal Yohji with tales of his date, until the blonde realised there was no escape from the redhead and eventually sat up and made his usual comments. It was amazing that Aya had been so observant, yet Ran couldn't see that every time he told Yohji about his dates he shot little arrows into Yohji's heart. It was then and only then that Yohji realised that Ran was oblivious to his feelings, to his flirtations and decided that the redhead was completely out of his reach. He would forget his feelings for Ran, and be the friend that the redhead obviously wanted him to be, nothing more.
 
Ran must have seen something flash across his face because he stopped talking and soon left.
 
Yohji sighed, from tomorrow he swore he'd be the best friend that Ran could ever have or want, but tonight he mourned. A few tears slipped from his closed eyelids as he realised that three years of loving the icy Aya from afar, and watching his back, and six months of loving the adorable Ran were all for nought. He had never stood a chance.
 
Yohji was understandably startled when felt a finger touch a tear track on his face, and opened his eyes to see Ran crawling into his bed with nothing but a pair of long pyjama pants on.
 
“You're sad tonight Yotan. Let it out, then tomorrow you can forget the girl who broke your heart.”
 
“Guy.” Ran's eyes widened momentarily before he went back to comforting the blonde. That one word was all the blonde had managed before he began to choke on the sobs, clinging to the redhead who only saw him as a friend.
 
Yohji finally fell asleep with Ran soothingly petting his hair.