Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Lush ❯ Chapter 10 ( Chapter 10 )

***

// couple of weeks later//

The living room was quiet; the only person there was Aya who was giving their apple green phone his best "shi-ne" glare. However no matter how hard he glared at it, it just sat there defiantly like some light green toad, taunting him to make a decision. And if there was one thing Aya hated, it was being rushed. But he knew he had to make one quickly, the window of time allowed to him wasn't very big to begin with and it was about to run out.

Amazingly enough he was completely alone in the house, an extremely rare occurrence on a Sunday. But Ken was off coaching some kids; Omi was at school finishing up an assignment and Yohji had to take his Seven for repairs as he had been having engine trouble. He had invited Aya to come along, but Aya had just silently declined giving the excuse that he had a couple of things to sort out at home.

Yohji had noticed that the red head had become a little detached over the past few days and it set off mild warning bells in his head. He knew how Aya could get like when he got too into himself. He made a mental note to have a talk with him once he was back from the repair shop.

It had been a while since that amazing weekend at the remote hotel, but the memories still played for Aya like an IMAX movie in his mind. If he closed his eyes, he could still see the room, still hear Yohji's reassuring whispers in his head, his fleeting touches. He could still see the both of them, the candlelight casting ghosting shadows across their skin; Aya with his head thrown back in abandon while Yohji planted love bites on his neck, their fingers intertwined. It seemed everything had changed ever since the night of his birthday when Yohji had showed up in his room.

Aya knew now for certain that Yohji loved him, that this wasn't just a fling to him. There was no use in denying it anymore. Even if he didn't vocalize his feelings, the change of habit, the way he treated him as if he were made of spun sugar, spoke volumes. You didn't work that hard at a relationship that you didn't see a future in.

And if he was completely honest with himself, Aya knew he loved Yohji back.

It was that simple.

Yet at the same time extremely complicated.

Sure the sex was good, but there was so much more to it than that. Lust didn't give you that magically tingly feeling just below the surface of your skin. It didn't make your heart ache with longing.

It was easier when Aya had convinced himself that theirs was a relationship of convenience. Something that could be depended on to lift them up at the end of the day when the world seemed intent on screwing them over. But when you brought emotion into it, that altered things drastically. Emotional involvement was dangerous in this business, it clouded your judgment and could get you killed.

Aya knew he was looking for excuses. Aya knew he was clutching at straws.

The bottom line was at the end of all that, after all they had been through, Aya still wasn't convinced that he was entitled to this happiness. He didn't know why he thought that way. So he concentrated instead on finding reasons as to why they shouldn't be together in the first place. At the end of the day, that line of thought was easier to comprehend

`He loves you,' his heart told him, `he's like you, he understands you. Why don't you see that?'

`Because I am scared of hurting him. That one day I will break his heart with my stubborn attitude …….and it would kill me to do that. I love him too much to do that to him,' came the answer from his head.

`You're hurting him anyway with your indecision,' the voice in his heart fired back.

Who knows where this internal conversation would have gone if it hadn't been for the light trilling of the doorbell. Aya sprung to his feet momentarily startled, the assassin in him automatically taking over. He frowned; the shop was closed and no one, other than the four of them used the backdoor. Hell, most people didn't even know they had one.

Looking around the only thing within reach that could even pass as a weapon was a dagger with a twisted silver handle that they used as a letter opener.

`Better than nothing,' Aya thought to himself picking it up and tucking it in the waistband of his jeans under his black T-shirt. As he opened the door, he braced himself for the worst. But what he saw there instead made his eyes widened momentarily.

It was a girl, tall, slender and stunningly beautiful. Her dark red hair tumbled past her shoulders in bohemian waves and her almond shaped turquoise colored eyes complimented her kittenish features perfectly. She was dressed in a scooped necked cotton dress with short sleeves in a naïve flower print that billowed around her ankles, a simple wide brimmed straw hat and matching clutch bag. Delicate kitten heeled sandals adorned her feet. She looked as if she had just walked out of the pages of a Laura Ashley catalogue.

`Can I help you?' Aya managed to ask once he had found his voice.

`Is Yohji Kudou in?' she said, her voice sounded like the tinkling of wind chimes.

`No and I don't know when he'll be back,' his voice sounded curt even to his own ears. Disappointment flitted across her face but she managed to muster up a small smile.

`Oh..ok,' she started to leave but Aya stopped her.

`Would you like to come in for something to drink? It is a hot day,' it wasn't like Aya to do this as paranoid as he was about keeping their home secure. But he felt a little ashamed at the brusqueness at which he had treated her with a moment ago. She certainly didn't do anything to warrant it.

She chewed her lip in hesitation slightly smudging her blush pink lipstick.

`That would be nice,' she finally answered.

In the kitchen over ice lemon tea Aya found out that her name was Ayesha, she was 19 and had just recently come back from the States.

`How do you know Yohji?' Aya asked feigning non-interest as he garnished their drinks with sprigs of fresh mint.

`He dated my sister for a time. I met him a while ago and I've only recently found out from my sister that they broke up about two months ago. He always said I could drop by if I was in the neighborhood.'

`Any special reason for wanting to see him?' Aya asked his voice flat but on the inside he was extremely curious to see what her answer was. She immediately dropped her eyes and began stirring her drink with a long handled spoon.

`No…..no special reason.'

That was a lie, it was so obvious. Her averted eyes and fleeting blush gave her away.

`She really likes him,' Aya realized, `he must have really made an impression on her…'

`Like I said, I don't know when he'll be back. When Yohji is out on a date, he either comes back very late or the next morning. He does that a lot,' Aya knew he was being cruel, but he did it to spare her feelings. It was easier to admit that than the alternative. That Aya had a possessive streak when it came to the green eyed blonde. And Yohji was terrible at committing to relationships. Well, until recently that is.

`I know what he's like Aya-kun, but that's just an act I'm sure of it. Sometimes ….sometimes when he thinks people aren't looking; I catch a hint of real weariness. Its like he's tired of living this way, if only someone would open up to him….'

She stopped, flustered and fiddling

with the hem of her dress. `I'm sorry, I speak my mind to strongly at times,' she apologized.

`This is more than just a crush to her,' Aya thought. She was a lot like Ken he recognized, earnest.

`Anyway could you tell him I was here Aya-kun,' she said finishing her tea and straightening her skirt. `And can you also see that he gets this,' she pulled out a round object from her bag that was wrapped up to look like a flower in sunset orange cellophane that smelled like lime and sandalwood. `It's from his favorite store,' she added hurriedly. It was all Aya could do to just to silently nod.

After politely thanking him for the drink, he saw her to the door and his eyes followed her down the pavement to her car. She gave him a brief wave before getting in and driving away.

`He deserves someone like her,' he said those words to himself as if they were a revelation. `He deserves someone who worships the ground he walks on, not someone he has to constantly reassure.'

`Simple, uncomplicated,' his throat suddenly felt salty, `why would he want someone as messed up as me?'

Steeling himself, he strode over to the phone and picked it up with a resolute hand. After dialing, he leaned against their hall table and waited for someone to pick up, his resolve strengthening.

`Hello, airline services. This is Amanda how can I help you?'

`Hello, this is Ran Fujimaya. I am calling to confirm my flight…..'

***

//Thursday evening//

`I'm back!' the house reverberated with the sound of Yohji's greeting. Running a hand through his wind mussed hair; he dropped his keys on the side table and hung his duster jacket on the clothes peg. He was glad to be back, having been gone for two days on a mission, which had been a farce as far as Yohji was concerned. The main purpose of it had been to follow around a well known porn king that had a thing for snuff films while he was in town for those two days. But it wouldn't be Yohji's job to kill him, that would be left to Kritiker agents in the States where the scumbag was usually based.

Yohji had resisted at first but Manx had insisted that he'd be the one to do it. Her attitude had him a little baffled at the beginning, but she had quoted many convincing reasons why he was best suited for the task. So in the end he had finally relented.

When he got no reply for his greeting, Yohji frowned slightly and made his way to the kitchen. The jeep was gone but Aya's Porsche was still here. On Sunday, Yohji had tried to ask him if anything was wrong but Aya had quickly dismissed his concern. Even so the uneasy feeling that Yohji had been nursing refused to go away and today he was intent on getting to the bottom of things.

`Maybe he's taking a nap,' Yohji mused over the unlikely thought as he pulled open the fridge for a beer. Popping open the tab, a pink post-it stuck to the door caught his eye. It read:

Dear Yohji,

If you're reading this, welcome back! Ken and I have just gone out to pick up take-out for dinner. Will be back in half an hour.

Omi (6.00 pm)

After taking a swig of his beer, Yohji glanced at his watch. It read 6:15, enough time for some "welcome back" fooling around with his lover Yohji thought, a lascivious grin on his face. He flew up the stairs and flung open his door fully expecting Aya to be there resting on his bed reading a book. What he didn't realize was that his earlier action had caused a letter that had been propped up on his bureau to fall behind it.

Yohji blinked, Aya wasn't there. In fact it barely looked like his room. His sheets had been changed and his bed untouched. His clothes that had been all over the place when he left, were now folded neatly on the chair and his floor even looked like it had been vacuumed.

`Did Aya clean up in here?' Yohji thought to himself in disbelief. He quickly crossed the hallway to Aya's room only to be faced with the exact same scene, a made up bed and an empty room. Yohji suddenly found it hard to breathe.

`Calm down Kudou, perhaps he's just out for a walk,' Yohji took a deep breath and glanced over at the cupboard.

`Well there's only one way to be sure,' he grabbed the wardrobe door and wrenched it open. He was hoping against hope that he was being over paranoid and that he would be greeted with the familiar neatness of his lover's wardrobe. But what he saw instead confirmed his worst fears.

Half of Aya's clothes were gone, there were gaps in his shoe rack and his travelling coat wasn't on its usual hanger. Yohji paled and backed away from the cupboard as if it were full of snakes. The nagging feeling he had earlier had transformed itself into a lump of lead in his stomach.

`He wouldn't……he didn't….,' Yohji choked out. He felt the walls of his heart closing in. He frantically looked around for something, a note, a letter but in vain. Walking over to Aya's desk, he flung open the drawer that he knew Aya kept his correspondence in. At first nothing looked out of the ordinary but on closer inspection he saw a yellow slip of paper, half hidden by the other items in the drawer. It was a credit card receipt for an airline ticket dated three days ago.

He legs suddenly gave out beneath him and he sat down heavily on the bed. He wracked his brain trying to remember if there had been any hint that Aya was going to leave him. Then it came to him, the night before he left, Aya whispering something to him after they made love as he was falling asleep.

He was sure it had been goodnight. Now he realized it had been goodbye.

Rage and sadness tumbled through him; a deadly cocktail of emotions with rage finally winning out. He didn't even realize he had gripped Aya's glass paperweight in his hand and flung it at the window.

`Son of a BITCH!!' the sound of his scream was accompanied by the sound of shattering glass.