Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Meddling ❯ One-Shot

“Meddling”
by Viridian5
3/6/12

RATING: PG-13 for salty language; Yoji/Aya and some mild Schuldig/Crawford. If m/m interaction bothers you, pass this by.
SPOILERS: “Mission 16: Schatten -- Return to Battle” and “Mission 21: Trane -- Memories.”
SUMMARY: Schuldig’s meddling is effective in ways he didn’t intend.
ARCHIVAL/DISTRIBUTION: Anywhere, as long as you ask me first.
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.
NOTES: Read-through by and much thanks to Rosaleendhu.

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“Meddling”
by Viridian5
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All the times Yoji made it up these stairs in the dark without any trouble while drunk, he had to stumble badly on them while mostly sober? What the hell? Apparently he should have kept drinking. He’d welcome the oblivion, actually.

Aya opened his door and looked out. “Kudou?”

“I’m fine. Just tripped,” Yoji answered.

Although Yoji couldn’t see all of Aya’s face in the dimness, he saw enough to make out the way it moved into an expression of disgust before Aya closed the door and left him alone in the hallway, no doubt thinking the worst of him, that he’d come back from a(nother) night of drinking and whoring or whatever and been loud enough to wake Aya from much-needed sleep. At this rate Aya would never take him and his feelings seriously. Would never take a risk on getting close to and being vulnerable with him. Thus, Yoji’s feelings for him would remain forever unrequited.

Wait, what? When had he started liking or... wanting Aya? Aya might be pretty, really pretty, but Yoji was a ladies’ man and Aya was no lady. Not even close. Yoji didn’t even really know what you’d do with a man in bed and didn’t want to know.

Though he had some ideas, and they didn’t disgust him as much as they should have. That door hastily shut in his face hurt more than it should have too.

***

Schuldig had to have a good laugh.

“You’d better not mess with Weiß too badly,” Crawford said. “I have plans for them.”

“I’m screwing with Balinese’s sexuality,” Schuldig replied cheerfully as he stretched in his seat on the couch and wiggled his bare toes. Good, that made Crawford look.

“That’s like shooting fish in a barrel.” Cold, unappreciative bastard.

“One, you’re not a telepath so you have no real idea of what’s easy and what’s difficult, and two, how did you even know I was playing with Weiß?”

“You have a laugh you reserve only for them.”

Really? He’d have to watch out for that in the future. “I won’t break them too badly. I’m just bored, and I know better.”

“I really wish I believed that.” Cold, unappreciative bastard.

“You’re so mean.”

“Are you really surprised?”

“...no.”

***

Yoji could go to his room, go to bed, and sleep instead of nursing his emotional wounds from tonight’s date and now Aya, or he could knock on Aya’s door and try to fix that part of it at least while ignoring the rest. Yoji took the brave and foolhardy option and knocked on Aya’s door. This time when it opened more light from the room inside washed across Aya’s face, showing darker shadows under his eyes and thinner cheeks. Yoji had noticed during the days that Aya hadn’t been looking good lately, though who could blame him with his sister missing and in the hands of their enemies? Knowing how private he was, the rest of Weiß had mostly left him alone about it and figured the best thing they could do for him was to keep looking for his sister, but now Yoji wondered if they should do more. If he should.

If Aya would let him.

“What is it?” Aya asked, sounding tired and annoyed.

“I’m... sorry I woke you up,” Yoji replied, doing his best to sound sincere and serious, not flippant.

It must have worked, because Aya actually unwound a bit from his prior stiff anger. “No, it’s-- I... haven’t been sleeping much lately anyway.”

“...so you’ve heard me coming in every time at night?” Often around 2-5 a.m. No wonder Aya hated the world so much lately.

But actually hadn’t hated him, not as much as he’d expect. In fact, Aya had been much nicer to him after his whole thing with Neu, especially amazing since Neu, and thus Yoji, had screwed with Aya over his sister’s location. Aya had killed people for less. That had to mean that Aya kind of liked him, right?

As a friend. Totally as a friend. Exactly how Yoji cared for Aya.

As a friend, he shouldn’t be keeping a tired Aya standing at the door half in the chilly hallway, so he asked, “Hey, can I come inside where you’ll be warmer? I don’t want to be keeping you up any more than I already have.” That didn’t quite make sense even to Yoji, yet Aya looked only slightly skeptical as he moved backward and motioned him inside.

Although Yoji had never been inside Aya’s room before, he’d had ideas of what it must look like, figuring that with how driven and prim he could be his room must look fairly bare-boned, having just the necessities, his katana, and a bed like a rock with cheap, thin sheets. While no one would mistake it for Yoji’s far more indulgent living space, Aya’s room had books filling a few shelves, a comfy chair that he probably read in, and bed sheets and covers that looked like they might be comfortable. When Yoji sat down on the bed, he discovered that it had an okay mattress after all.

Not that he intended to use it for much.

Aya sat next to him. Aya might look too thin right now, but it sure emphasized his amazing bone structure. Cheekbones. It made Yoji want to sit across a table from him and stare at his beauty even as he forced Aya to eat something. Like soup. Watch that mouth, those lips-- Yoji shook his head and tried not to notice how close Aya sat or the warmth he gave off.

“I’m actually sober, Aya. Well, not totally sober but not drunk. Buzzed a bit. It’s funny that I rarely trip on the stairs when I’m blitzed, but tonight....”

Aya said softly, “That’s why I opened the door tonight. To see if... hnh.”

To see if Yoji had needed help. Sweet of him. “Thanks.”

“This is early for you.”

“Disappointing night, so I didn’t bother staying out. I was striking out with the ladies, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.”

“Is it because of...?”

Asuka. Neu. “I don’t even know,” Yoji said. It made him feel tired and depressed just thinking about it.

“I was actually glad when you started going out at night again. I hoped it meant you were... moving on. At least a little. Or at least trying.”

Yoji hadn’t gone out to enjoy the nightlife for about two weeks after Asuka/Neu’s death. At best he’d go for a night drive and spend the time brooding and occasionally even crying. “And you’d be aware of that because you’ve been awake at night a lot lately.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you worrying about me?”

“A bit.”

Like Aya needed more people to worry about right now. “You don’t have to. I haven’t given up on everything.”

“Hnh.” It sounded so neutral that it might have meant anything.

Greatly daring, hoping it wouldn’t break this fragile connection they’d made tonight, Yoji said, “You shouldn’t give up either. We’ll find her. You’re worrying yourself into a shadow, and she wouldn’t want that for you. We don’t want it either.”

Something about the look on Aya’s face and especially the expression in his eyes suggested that he was trying to work up a good, angry Aya Glare but couldn’t quite find the strength at the moment, especially not with how sad he felt. Yoji really wanted him to be less sad, and it amused him a bit that Aya apparently wanted the same for him.

“I worry,” Yoji said. “You don’t want that to happen, right?”

To Yoji’s pleased amazement, although most of the sadness remained, his words had put a tiny wry smile on Aya’s lips. “I wouldn’t want you to get worry lines on your face, Kudou.”

“I’m dead sexy in everything I do, including worrying.”

“Not in grieving. Not in regret.” The tiny smile had disappeared, to Yoji’s disappointment, and Aya looked so solemn, so serious, so caring....

Not knowing where the impulse came from but finding it impossible to resist, Yoji set his hand atop Aya’s on the bedspread and hoped he wouldn’t get killed for it. Although it felt chilly at first, it gradually warmed under his. He got the chance to experience this because Aya appeared to be too surprised to react violently to it, just stared down at their hands, fingers slightly interlaced, as if he didn’t understand it or know what to do about it.

“Yoji....” he said softly as he seemed to be looking for the rest of what he should or wanted to say.

“Thanks,” Yoji answered. “Thanks for caring.” Thanks for going so far outside what you present as your personality to care and be willing to show it.

Obviously surprised, Aya looked at him, still at a loss for words. Aya’s eyes really were an amazing, unlikely color, so much so that it seemed unfair that his hair was also an amazing, unlikely color. It made him look somewhat unreal. He wore a T-shirt and pajama bottoms that had faded to a medium blue, a color more flattering on him than some of what he wore to work in the flower shop during the day. The short sleeves showed off the lean muscle of his arms and some scars on them.

Yoji wanted to hug him, for selfless and selfish reasons, since he needed a hug himself. He had already gotten away with doing so much with Aya tonight and didn’t know if he should further press his luck.

Aya’s hand turned under his until Aya was holding in his hand in a warm and comforting clasp. Aw, hell. Feeling overwhelmed by emotion, hungry for touch, Yoji moved forward and hugged him. Although he stiffened at first, Aya gradually relaxed into his embrace a bit and hugged back, somewhat lighter than Yoji did. It felt so good. Yoji half-expected to wake up from this dream, alone in his bed, any moment now, so he needed to enjoy this to the fullest as long as he could. The part of him that nervously thought this was unmanly could shove it.

Aya’s hair smelled nice, something Yoji had never even considered before, and he shivered as Yoji’s breath brushed his ear, which got Yoji a little hard and put him into a bit of a panic. He might get an illicit erotic charge out of hugging a girl but couldn’t mistake Aya for a girl. This wasn’t him, and he didn’t want to think about what it might mean. Part of him wanted to immediately disengage from the hug and get himself as far away from Aya as possible, but the rest of him couldn’t help thinking that Aya would take it badly and it would ruin all the progress he’d made in getting Aya to open up tonight. Whether what he felt for Aya had homoerotic overtones or not, Aya was his teammate and maybe even friend. If Aya became more distant from Weiß due to something Yoji did....

Besides, he didn’t know which way Aya swung... or if Aya swung at all.

Aya sighed then softly said, “You’re acting strange, Yoji.” After a pause he amended it to “Stranger than usual, at least.”

What a comedian. It broke some of Yoji’s tension. “It’s been a weird, rough night.”

When Aya responded to that by hugging him a little bit closer, it gave Yoji such a warm feeling in his chest. And other places he didn’t want to think about. Before he really thought it through, Yoji said, being helpful, “Having company in bed helps me sleep.”

That might not have been the best idea. Given the weird thoughts Yoji had been having tonight and the usual instinctive reactions he and his morning wood had to waking up next to warm company, he’d end the morning looking like a katana pin cushion.

Aya’s reaction of “...” showed that he didn’t think it was a good idea either. Since Aya had been kinder than usual to him tonight, maybe it took Aya time to find a kind way of answering, “That only works for you because you’re a man-whore, Kudou.” It hadn’t happened yet.

But all of that only made Yoji feel the need to defend it. “No, it really works. It’s comforting.” Besides, it might do the both of them good.

“That’s... odd. How can it be comforting to have a breathing, thinking, moving person so close to you in bed? It sounds threatening.”

“Don’t knock it until you try it. If you’re worried about your virtue with me, you don’t have to be.” Personally, Yoji thought virtue was overrated, but Aya seemed to value it, so....

“My virtue?”

“I know you know what I mean.”

To Yoji’s disappointment, Aya moved back and away from the hug, to keep Yoji at arms’ length and give him a searching look, as if he could find logic and a better explanation in Yoji’s face. Finally, Aya said, “I didn’t worry about my virtue until you said that.” The curve of his mouth suggested amusement. Hot damn.

“Give me a try.”

“You really think you can put me to sleep?”

That sounded somewhat insulting. “You don’t have to phrase it that way.”

“If you... intrude on my virtue too much, I could kill you.” He still sounded amused.

“You’re not exactly giving me any incentives here.”

“I’ll give you even fewer: There’s no way I’m letting you spend the night that close to me while still reeking of cigarette smoke.”

On the one hand, that offended Yoji. On the other, it suggested that Aya did feel some willingness if all Yoji had to do to get in was shower and change into different clothes. “I’ll take a shower and come back in about 15 minutes smelling fresh as a daisy.”

“I really can’t imagine you ever smelling like a daisy.”

“All right, then I’ll come back smelling like a clean, smoke-free thing. You’ll see.”

“Prove it.”

“I’ll be right back.”

In the shower he had to keep balancing his need for speed with the directive to smell less like cigarette smoke, since if he sped up too much he might screw up the whole reason he’d taken a shower. As a smoker, he didn’t notice the smell as much on himself as other people noticed it and he knew it, so he had to be careful.

In 15 minutes he returned to Aya’s room as clean-smelling as he could be and in pajamas since he doubted Aya would appreciate him in his usual birthday suit. However, Aya had already gone to sleep without him, although it looked more like Aya had just rested back for a moment, fully intending to still be awake, than gone ahead without Yoji. After everything he’d said and done, Yoji had no intention of just going back to his room and bed, so he moved Aya a bit to cover him up more and sleep in a more comfortable position before pulling up the blankets but leaving the bed sheet for a barrier between them. Yoji turned out the light then got in beside Aya and put the blankets over himself.

The added warmth and sound of someone else breathing relaxed Yoji so much that he went right to sleep himself.

***

Fucking alarm. He hated alarm clocks. What time was it? It felt way too early, but it usually felt way too early. Then he felt someone beside him trying to get out of bed and grabbed an arm to prevent the escape. At least turn the alarm clock off first!

“Kudou, what the hell? I have to get to work.” Aya’s voice.

Aya’s voice, Aya’s bed, Aya’s ungodly hour to wake up to open the shop.... It took Yoji’s sleep-fogged brain a moment to remember how he’d gotten here. Once he did, his eyes snapped open to see Aya, who still looked tired. No wonder, since Aya had gotten maybe three hours of sleep tonight.

“You need more sleep,” Yoji said. “Call in sick.”

“That may be all right for you, but--”

“You almost never call in sick, but nobody would blame you after everything that’s happened lately. You need more sleep to be well, because it’ll start affecting you and your performance soon.” You had to hit Aya where he lived.

Aya seemed surprised by his logical argument. “Yoji--”

“Look, if you don’t fall asleep in 30 minutes, you can still come in to work. Nobody on the team will blame you, and nobody really shows up when we first open. If it seems too luxurious for you to take a whole day off, set the alarm to get up with me for my shift in six hours. That way you can also make sure I get up for work on time.”

“30 minutes.”

“I’ll let you go if you’re still awake by then.”

“All right. I just have to leave a note about this in case I do fall back to sleep, then I’ll return.”

“I’m trusting your honor that you won’t just leave, start work, and never come back despite what you told me.”

Aya’s mouth quirked. “You’re pushing it, as always.” However, Aya returned to his room and bed within ten minutes, reset the alarm, and closed his eyes, actually trying to sleep instead of being stubborn to spite Yoji.

In another ten minutes he’d fallen back asleep.

He looked so much softer this way, younger, endearing, cute, his face relaxed and his long bangs and one eartail trailing across it. Shocked by himself, Yoji wanted to kiss his nose or something. His morning wood, now that he was less distracted by getting Aya to stay in bed and sleep, had fewer qualms that Aya was a guy but it tended to be an idiot anyway.

Yoji told himself that he’d be more sensible after something closer to a decent sleep span. Also, Aya would be back to the distant, hard-faced guy Yoji saw every day and barely knew.

He didn’t bone Aya or kiss his nose. Nope. Yoji did not swing that way, something he’d remember better while fully awake.

***

Gah. Morning. Schuldig hated mornings. Coffee barely helped. He’d look forward to eventually killing the client for making him get up this early. Crawford and Nagi didn’t mind, but they were freaks.

Farfarello didn’t understand tiredness the same way he didn’t understand pain. Likewise, it eventually took him down only when he went too far.

Crawford walked into the kitchen looked really annoyed. “You changed something.”

“Fuck you. Like hell I did.”

“Dammit, Schuldig, something I used to foresee has shifted, but not in a way I can see clearly.”

“You’re just screwing with me,” Schuldig said. When Crawford said nothing but kept giving him that angry, aggrieved look, Schuldig asked, feeling far less certain, “...right?” He’d know if Balinese had fucked Abyssinian, and it hadn’t happened, so what the hell?

“Fix it.”

“I don’t even know what you think changed--and neither do you--so what the fuck am I supposed to do about it?”

“...in the future, stop fucking around with our opponents’ head and thus my plans for cheap giggles. Now I have to work to get a better look and feel for what the future has become, and I’ll despise you for every second of it.”

“You spend too much time doing that anyway, so whatever.”

Crawford stalked out of the room, so angry he nearly had a black and red aura of it. Schuldig might not be a precog, but he foresaw Crawford being a total bitch for the rest of the day at least. Fuck.

If Balinese hadn’t acted on his lustful or squishy feelings for Abyssinian, what was the big deal?

***

Fucking alarm. He hated alarm clocks. What time was it? It felt way too early, but it usually felt way too early. Then he felt someone beside him trying to get out of bed and grabbed an arm to prevent the escape. At least turn the alarm clock off first!

“Yoji, we already went through this once today,” Aya said, surprisingly sounding more amused and nearly... affectionate than annoyed. Aya?

Aya’s voice (even with the warmer tone), Aya’s bed, Aya’s-- no, Yoji’s time to get up for work, Yoji realized as he opened his eyes and looked at the clock. It took Yoji’s sleep-fogged brain a moment to remember how he’d agreed to get up at this time with Aya right here to enforce it. Still, it made him feel so much better waking up with company and sharing a bed.

After almost nine hours of sleep Aya looked less pinched and worn out but still softer, more open, as he had been last night. Yoji’s idea had obviously done him a lot of good, which gave Yoji a warm, happy feeling. Even more, Aya acknowledged it with “I think the extra sleep helped me a lot, so... thank you, Yoji.” He seemed almost shy about it, cute, endearing, a good look on him, better than his usual hard-ass appearance. Yoji had done that for him and could keep on doing that for him....

Shit. Yoji still wanted to kiss his nose, while his dick still had its own reasons for wanting to get closer to him. How was he going to deal with this? This would change everything.

  **********************THE END***********************   More Viridian5 stories can be found in The Green Room version 3.0 at http://viridian.shriftweb.org/ No-frames but no-frills access available at http://viridian.shriftweb.org/index2.htm   Fandoms represented: Weiß Kreuz, Saiyuki, GetBackers, Trinity Blood, Andromeda, due South, Hard Core Logo, Twitch City, X-Files, Once a Thief, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie, Angel, Two Guys and a Girl (was Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place), X-Men, Smallville, Doctor Who, Fight Club, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine