Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Everything ❯ Chapter 1

FEEDBACK: can be sent to Viridian5@aol.com.
DISCLAIMERS: All things Weiß Kreuz belong to Koyasu Takehito, Project Weiß, Polygram k.k., and Animate Film. No infringement intended.
NOTE: The lyrics are from "Everything" by Pigface.

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"Everything" part 1
By Viridian5
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"You need chemistry
To get you through the good times.
You need love, love, love
To get you through the bad...."
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Somebody crashing around downstairs woke me up. It could just be Yoji again, but I brought my katana anyway and waited at the top of the stairs, blade bared, sneer ready, riding a rush of disdain. The sneer and disdain would work for whomever was down there shattering the peace.

"Kinda late for you, isn't it, Aya?" Yoji asked from the bottom of the stairs with an insolent grin, reeking of drink and smoke. I could smell him from here. He still wore those damned sunglasses at 3 a.m., but he wore them every night. Sometimes I wondered if they were surgically attached. If you took them off him and sent him out into the sun, his pupils might explode.

"It is. I was sleeping until somebody blundered in and made such a racket that I woke up." Why couldn't Yoji self-destruct quietly? I could give him lessons.

"Hmm. Who could that be?" Yoji swayed up the stairs, looking loose-limbed and almost graceful, and finished by putting his arm around my shoulders. His hair brushed my face as he leaned our heads together. It tickled; that's why I shuddered. "Such early nights for you. You're old before your time. You should come out with me and live a little before you die."

I could almost get drunk from his breath. I quickly moved out of his hot, sticky grip. "I may live longer if I don't."

"Maybe. You're pretty. You might get eaten alive." The smile deepened. "I did. Several times." Thus the appearance of having had his far too tight clothing ripped off and haphazardly put back on. Nothing but sensuous materials like silk, leather, and mesh for Yoji. "You have anything for me, Mother? You know, something I haven't heard from you before."

"Show some consideration for your teammates who take advantage of free nights to catch up on sleep we miss during missions."

"Blah, blah, blah. Heard it before."

"Then I have nothing for you."

"I wouldn't say that," Yoji purred, leering as he let his eyes roam appreciatively over my body.

Leering and checking me out? How drunk was he? Feeling weirdly too exposed in an old T-shirt and pajama bottoms, I moved further away from him. "I have nothing for you. Go to bed and pass out. See if I care."

Yoji looked down at the gleaming blade of my katana. "Is that for me? You got any other phallic symbols for me?"

Disgusted, I walked away and slammed the door of my room behind me. Yoji laughed and asked, "Who's waking people up now?"

"You need praise every day
To make you feel
Good about yourself...."
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"C'mon, Omi, admit it. I keep the customers coming back for me. I mean, for more," Yoji said.

"Yeah, your flirting brings girls in, but they don't buy anything," Omi answered.

Thank you.

"I expect to hear that kind of thing from Old Stone Face over there, not you, Omi! You wound me."

If only.

The girls hadn't bothered me as much today, perhaps because my ill temper showed in my face more than usual. The highly emphatic way I was stripping the leaves and thorns off the roses might be keeping them at a distance as well. That confrontation with Yoji had left me even more out of sorts than the 3 a.m. wake-up. He comes in late from his debauchery, wakes me up, makes it harder for me to wake up on time for work, sleeps in until the afternoon, then does a half-assed job once he finally deigns to put in an appearance at the flower shop. It happens all the time.

Working no doubt put a crimp in his social calendar, poor baby. If he didn't have assassin work getting in the way, he'd be able to say that he literally had a different person every night of the week, and it galled him to be deprived of that.

I didn't understand him. I didn't understand one-night stands either. How could he let a stranger see him in a desperate, needy state, allow this person in more than close enough to kill him, then toss this person back out into the street and start with a new stranger the next day? How could he trust these people?

This job gave me too much time to think. I set the roses aside and checked to see if we had any deliveries to make. Anything to get me out of here before I attacked Yoji and tried to give him the discipline he so badly needed. Thankfully, we did have a delivery scheduled.

"You want to be cool,
So you make me so hot.
You need to make me idiot,
So you can be not.
You want to be fragile,
So I'll be easy to break.
You're all about correction, baby;
I'm all about mistakes...."
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I kept watching Aya out of the corner of my eye and smiling over how pissed he was. No cool anger or cool disdain there, though I had a kink about those too. I couldn't remember exactly what I'd said last night, but whatever it was had really yanked his chain and left him as skittish as the most sheltered virgin ever. Maybe he was a virgin.

It was cute.

I probably enjoyed fucking with his head way too much.

Nah.

From the looks of him, he had me on his mind. Perfect. I wouldn't trade places with those roses though....

I just had to be blatant with him. I'd been scoping him out more subtly--well, subtly for me--for almost two weeks but with no joy. He hadn't noticed. Sometimes I wished I didn't have such a fetish for the impossible prey.

He enjoys reading me the riot act for my bad, bad behavior when I come home late. I know he does. He rarely talks otherwise.

He's so pretty, and he only became more pretty when he was angry or hurt. I preferred the hot anger, the kind that brought life and color to his face. It wasn't an accident that he was most associated with roses and swords, things that made you bleed if you touched them carelessly. I wanted him upset and turned around and out of control, the better to sweep him off his feet. I'd run a long race on this one, but I could see myself coming near the finish line.

Ken and Omi would thank me if things worked out the way I wanted them to.

"I'll take this delivery," Aya said suddenly as he took off his thick gloves, picked up the keys, and went into the back. Perfect: a moment alone and Aya away from sharp objects. I followed him.

"I'm all about acceptance
You're all about deny...."
--------------------------------------------------------- --------------------

He heard me close the door behind me and turned to face me, violet eyes blazing. "What the hell do you want?" He'd definitely been marinating in his own rage. Add a little more spice to that....

"I was wondering if you needed any help." Nobody could be more innocent and helpful than I was.

"You don't help."

"Sure, I do," I purred. "I'm always there for you when you need a hand."

No longer oblivious, Aya raised an annoyed eyebrow at the entendre. "I don't need it."

If blatant worked.... "I've never met a man who needs to be fucked as badly as you do."

That brought some color to his cheeks. "So you're the perfect person to remedy that by fucking me badly?"

Oooh, burn. "That's very clever, Aya-kun."

"I don't want you. I don't need you. I'm sure you haven't completely run through all the men and women of Tokyo, so go bother some of them instead. Leave me alone." He said it so emphatically you almost believed him.

But I remembered him reacting last night to my arm around his shoulder before he remembered that he was supposed to hate it.

He could be so raw and sensitive sometimes, and that was a major reason why I wanted him. I knew too many jaded people, myself included, while he cared so deeply, even if only about his few obsessions. He had a kind of innocence, a kind just dirtied enough that I didn't feel like I would be taking too much advantage if I involved myself. Omi and Ken were too innocent, even with the blood on their hands. With Aya, I got the feeling that I could rub some of the tarnish off and make him shine.

When he finally nailed Takatori and Weiß disbanded, I thought I'd never see him again, so I was glad Kritiker convinced him to come back to stay with the rest of us. What was the point of me returning to familiar things if one redheaded familiar thing broke the spell by not being there?

Aya started to walk away, so I reached for his wrist, and he smacked my hand away. "Where are you going?" I asked.

"Since you'd stopped speaking in favor of staring off into space, I figured our conversation was over."

"It's just started."

He nearly snarled at me like the half-feral thing that he was, while I tried not to smile or leer too hard. Standing this close, I could smell the thick, heady scent of roses on him.

"I should kick your ass," he said.

"Are you sure that's what you want to do with it?"

Aya just stared at me for about two minutes, but it wasn't his controlled stare. It looked more like a "trapped, taciturn guy doesn't know what to say" stare, which amused the hell out of me. Finally he answered, "Yeah, I'm sure."

Well, we didn't hang with Aya for his banter.

He continued, "You must think this is hilarious, but I don't have time for it."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm hardly the last person in Tokyo you haven't had yet, so I'm not falling for the joke."

He had to be kidding. No, he wasn't kidding. I grabbed him by the shoulders and said, "No, don't struggle, dammit, I have something to show you," then stood him in front of one of the refrigerator cases so he could see his reflection in the glass. "This is a face that can easily get you laid."

"It's just a face."

Did he ever look in the mirror? From the usually disheveled state of his hair, maybe not.

"It's a shallow world out there, so, trust me, how you look is important and you're definitely not the 'fuckable only if you were the last man on Earth' type. You're good looking, dammit."

"You must have gone crazy all at once," Aya said quietly, "because I'd like to think I would have noticed it if it had happened by degrees. Your tastes may be broad, but this is ridiculous."

It didn't make a dent. At all. He didn't get it. He figured I was joking. How could someone be that unaware of himself? Short of tearing off his clothes and trying to take him by force--which I would not do--I didn't think I could be more blatant. I used my grip on his shoulders to pull him back against me, so he could feel how hard I was.

"I am not joking."

Watching his reflection, I could see him close his eyes. For a moment he looked intensely vulnerable... and highly kissable. Then the hellfire came back and he broke away from me.

"I'm not interested in being your latest conquest. I have work to do." He picked up the delivery and fled the room.

Yoji was insane. Or cruel. Perhaps he was both. Not that I cared.

How could he go from "go out, Aya, and get fucked" to "let me fuck you" after a few hours' sleep? Was it boredom? Sheer perversity? Did he simply need a default body at home for those times when he didn't wish to go out? What did my face have to do with anything? I didn't appreciate his attempt to play with my head.

It would serve me right if I crashed because I was wasting time thinking about him instead of paying attention to my driving.

I tried not to imagine the possibilities but couldn't help myself. Yoji might keep me as a spare body for when he'd come home from partying empty-handed, having seen no one better outside. Or he might dress me up in leather and silk to take me along. While there, he'd trade me to people for cigarettes.

I would also crash if I kept choking myself up while behind the wheel. Yoji would be so smug if he'd seen me lose it like this, since he'd practically made it his hobby to try to rattle me. It made me colder and harder in annoyed reaction. This... proposition, flirtation, whatever had to be a prank of his, because what was the point of having a one-night stand with someone you'd have to see every day afterward?

What do I do now?

I would have to wait and see if he'd follow up. He might be finished now, and I wouldn't have to do anything more in response. I could hope.

My hopes never worked out.

When I walked into the shop, Yoji gave me a look that should have stripped off my clothes and put Rohypnol into my drink. Shit. What do I do now?

What? Aya stiffened as soon as he saw me.

Oh yeah, there wouldn't be awkwardness here at all. I reminded myself that I loved a challenge.

Okay, I'd tried subtle, I'd tried blatant, and I'd refused to club him over the head and carry him to my bed. What did that leave? What do I do now?

"I'm so glad you finally noticed Yoji," Omi said as he passed by with a flower arrangement.

"What?" I answered and followed him.

"You did notice that he's been looking at you, right? I mean, when you walked in, that's what it looked like you did."

"Yes."

"Good!"

"Omi, how long has he been doing it?"

"I started noticing it a week ago."

Shit. He'd been staring at me like that for a week? People had been noticing him staring at me like that for a week? "What the hell does he want from me?" When Omi shot me an incredulous look, I said, "I know that. I want to know what he expects to get aside from that."

"You could try asking him."

"I did. It didn't help."

Yoji knew me, what I was like, yet he still continued on with this. How else could I discourage him? Could I possibly be any colder and more unpleasant than I am now? I couldn't see how. I didn't have the time or energy for dealing with his little game, especially now, with my sister missing.

For a second I considered giving in to him, the equivalent of shoving a pacifier into his mouth to stop his whining. Yoji believed in having single-serving lovers, which might be a reaction to Asuka's loss, since she was the great love of his life. Then he had to kill Neu, the woman he'd thought had been Asuka, in self-defense and it had nearly broken him. Since his love for a dead woman had enabled Neu and Schreient to dangle my sister's life over our heads as a game, I'd approved of his decision thereafter to stay away from love. Thus, this... thing for me couldn't be love, just curiosity, and if I slept with him once he'd lose interest and stop bothering me. With all the practice Yoji got, he'd probably be a good lay, so it wouldn't be a total hardship. I would have to tolerate nearly unbearable levels of smugness from him afterward, but I was accustomed to him being smug over one thing or another and at least he wouldn't pursue me any longer. It might be worth the sacrifice.

No, it wouldn't. I took these kinds of things too personally, wanted too much, so it wouldn't be casual for me, and when he inevitably went on to the next conquest I'd have to kill him. It would be too much trouble for everyone.

"You need image
To put me in my picture
You need permanence
Like you read it in the scripture
You don't want change
Of any description
You want same, same, like, like, like
Another prescription...."
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I watched Aya talk to Omi at the other end of the shop. Somehow he managed to be at the other end of the shop from me no matter where I was. Omi glanced at me a few times. They had to be talking about me. Damn, this was like being in school again, and I hadn't enjoyed that the first time. No wonder I preferred taking strangers as lovers.

Aya cast a quick, hunted look my way before going off to the back to do something. I sidled up to Omi and asked, "What was that about?"

Omi rolled his eyes. "You, of course."

"Of course. So?"

"So what?"

"What about me?"

"He gets the point about you wanting to rip off his clothes but doesn't know why you'd want to."

"Omi!"

"I'm not that much younger than everyone else!"

"He doesn't know why I'd want to--"

"No, he doesn't. He gets the lust bit, but he's stuck on the 'why him?' bit."

I'd already asked today if he'd looked in a mirror recently. I love a challenge. I love a challenge. Really.

"It's not just that," Omi said. "He doesn't know your intentions, and it's making him nervous."

"He thinks it's a prank."

"Is it?" Omi's expression promised bloody vengeance on me if I said yes. The kid liked pranks as much as anyone else, but we had to be careful in what we pulled on Aya. Guy didn't have much of a sense of humor, but he did have a temper, a katana, and a nasty sense of justice.

"I wouldn't go to this much trouble for a prank."

"Okay, that's one thing out of the way, but, Yoji, he doesn't do casual. He doesn't do anything casually."

Too true, and that intensity was such a big part of the attraction that it would be stupid to complain about it. "I hadn't thought that far ahead."

"I'm going to smack you now."

Did I want a long-term thing with Aya? Kind of. All right, yeah, if he didn't turn out to be too insane after all. You never knew that one for sure until you got really close to someone, and he kept us at arms' length. Yeah, it seemed like I did want it.

"Thanks, Omi."

"He already has problems. Don't add to them. The team doesn't need it either."

I couldn't help feeling offended. "Why does getting involved with me automatically have to be a bad thing that would hurt him and us? Maybe it would do him good to have someone pull him out of his own head. Maybe he'll implode if he doesn't get a distraction or... relief once in a while." Some things I didn't want to be too blatant about around Omi.

But I got the feeling that he knew what I wanted to say anyway.

"Just don't do this as a prank or one-night stand. Please, Yoji?"

"Have some faith."

As I walked away I heard him mutter, "It's the blind chasing the blind."