Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Neutral Territory ❯ Friendship, Tension, and Concern ( Chapter 3 )

Title: Neutral Territory [part 3/?]

Author: Enigma

Written: begun October, 2001

Rating: R

Pairings: (Omi + Nagi) (Yohji + Ken) (Brad + Schu)

Category: Shonen ai/Yaoi Angst Friendship Romance Action Violence. AU-OOC. Giftfic.

Archive: fanfiction.net & mediaminer.org [author: "E-sama the Llama"] plus Wuffie.net [author: "Enigma"]

Warnings: shonen ai/yaoi, angst, masculine friendship in many forms, various levels of romance, action, coarse language, whiffs of citrus but nothing detailed, possibly graphic violence, bloodshed, tiny bits of humor, fluff, and sap; more warnings will be added as necessary. AU-OOC. Giftfic for Rubious.

Spoilers: Aya's sister's condition and a few other small things, nothing major.

Disclaimer: "Weiss Kreuz" is the property of Koyasu Takehito and Project Weiss. All original characters featured herein (including but not limited to: Glocksten, Charon, etc.) are © Enigma, 2003, and are not to be used without permission. This unauthorized work of fanfiction is intended for entertainment only; kindly do not sue me.

Notes: Omi's first trip to the public library results in an unexpected meeting when Nagi saves his life without being aware of the Weiss archer's identity. Can two lonely teens overcome the limits of their dark purpose in life to find friendship and possibly love in the midst of "neutral territory"?

//thoughts//

{{mental speech}}

*****

Monday evening. Various locations within the flower shop.

*****

The sound of Omi's motorcycle pulling up outside the Koneko caught the attention of one of his teammates. Glancing up from his end of day paperwork, Ken remarked, "Yohji? Did you just hear Omi's bike get in?"

Yohji was finishing a cigarette and putting away a hose when he shrugged before remarking, "No, Kenken, but you know that I never pay attention to mundane things like that. Now, if it was *your* motorcycle," he sidled up and wrapped a long arm around his lover's waist and hugged him from behind, "and you were as late getting back as he is? Well, *that* might catch my attention, baby!"

The honey-blond-haired man leaned down and added a soft kiss to one reddening earlobe before releasing the brunette who was beginning to blush from the unusual public display of affection. Of course Yohji was the consummate tease and knew that Aya was in the kitchen setting out some undoubtedly forgettable carry-out for their dinner, hence the former playboy had enough time to tantalize his lover a bit without getting caught and knew it.

As Ken was about to finally think of a suitable comeback for Yohji's playfulness, Omi came in through the backdoor, face flushed and typical genki smile in place.

"I'm home!" The youngest member of Weiss sang out unnecessarily, placing his helmet and motorcycle keys in their usual nook before adding, "Sorry I'm late. Did the afternoon go okay in the shop?"

Ken smiled warmly at him and said, "It went fine, Omi. Without you here the fangirls were disappointed, but they can't have everything!"

A soft snort from the eldest assassin in the room preceded Yohji's interjection, "The silly fangirls can't have *anything* on my watch!" Somewhat startled by his own possessive behavior, he turned away and mumbled something about helping Aya in the kitchen before fleeing the room.

"What was *that* all about?" Omi asked, blue eyes wide with amusement.

"Oh, that?" Ken chuckled a little before answering, "One of the girls was a little too touchy-feelly towards me this afternoon for Yohji's tastes. I didn't care that she was hanging on my arm while we picked out flowers for her to take to her mom in the hospital, but it got on his nerves. In the end, I had to explain to Mr. Jealousy that the girl was really tired from staying up all night and worrying over her mother and he backed off after awhile."

"Ah, I see," Omi nodded sagely. "I'm sorry I wasn't here, then. I usually can take care of the emotionally distraught ones a little better than the rest of you can. But I'm sure you did just fine, Ken-kun! You're very considerate of people, too, of course!"

The bright smile which seemed permanently affixed to the genki youth never faded for a moment as Omi glanced around the flower shop wondering if he needed to take care of any last minute details before they left it for the night.

Chocolate brown eyes regarded the slightly shorter teen and Ken was about to ask Omi why he seemed to be even more happy than usual, but he was forestalled when Aya stuck his head in through the door to the kitchen and stated flatly, "Dinner."

The redhead then turned around and vanished, acting for all the world as if he really didn't care one way or the other if they came and ate. Actually, the man who used his sister's name as his own *did* care. He cared a great deal. But the katana-wielding assassin never wanted to admit that he felt that way.

Aya preferred to let the others believe him to be the heartless killer he tried to be, hoping that if they never knew he cared then they wouldn't be as hurt by his own anticipated demise as he was by his sister's comatose state. Despite being a highly accomplished warrior on the urban battlefield, the violet-eyed man didn't doubt for a single moment that his own death was awaiting him in the foreseeable future and he wished to spare his teammates whatever anguish they might suffer when it happened. Sometimes those who seem the most distant from those around them are actually those who care the most and it's a sad thing that they hide from the people who love them all the same.

"Great! I'm starved!" Ken remarked and expertly tossed his apron onto its hook on his way inside.

Omi followed and entered a room that felt warm and friendly but smelled like cheap Chinese food. He was relieved that he'd already eaten with Nagi, the sushi and sashimi they had shared had been particularly delicious, something heightened by the company no doubt.

Washing his hands at the sink, Yohji called over one shoulder, "So, Omiitchi, how'd the library shit go? Get everything done?"

A touch of panic filled Omi's thoughts as he realized that he had planned on not telling them about either the accident with the books falling on him or the fact that he'd met Naoe Nagi socially for the first time. He hated to lie to his teammates but total honesty wasn't acceptable either, so he opted for an assortment of partial truths.

"The library was a lot more interesting than I thought it might be," Omi stated truthfully then continued, "but I didn't find everything I needed. I'll have to go back tomorrow after school again, but that shouldn't be a problem since I wasn't scheduled to work in the shop, right?"

"Right," Ken smiled as he sat at the table and immediately dug his chopsticks into Aya's carton of Moo Goo Gai Pan and was swatted smartly with twin bits of wood for his transgression. Shaking the sting out of his hand, the chocolate-eyed teen glared at the swordsman who gazed back at him coldly even as Ken added, "That'll be fine, Omi, but the library closed over an hour ago. What was the delay getting home?"

Blinking in shock since he hadn't taken into consideration that anyone would care enough about him to have checked to see what time the place had closed, Omi scrambled to respond as casually as possible, "Um, I made a new friend while I was there. We had a snack and talked a little after we left." Nervous that he couldn't keep up the pretense of half-truths much longer, he added, "Anyway, thanks for worrying over me, Ken-kun, but I think I better go get started on my other homework, I've got a lot of math to do tonight."

Omi headed for the stairs that would take him to the private rooms above the flower shop when another voice called out unexpectedly, "Omi? Don't you want your dinner?" Aya sounded almost as if he was hurt as he added, "I got you some shrimp and tofu with snow peas."

Yohji and Ken both nearly dropped their chopsticks upon hearing the unprecedented words. The two lovers glanced at each other in wonderment. Since when did Fujimiya Aya care enough about anyone to go to the trouble of getting something special for them much less mentioning it when he did?

The youngest member of Weiss, however, was distracted by his own thoughts and failed to note the highly unusual nature of Aya's comment. If he hadn't been full already, Omi's mouth would've watered upon hearing this, but instead he simply returned to the table and smiled gratefully as he picked up the steaming container and inhaled the delicious aroma, "Thanks, but no, Aya-kun! Like I said, I've already eaten. But I'll put it in the fridge for a snack later. Thanks for getting my favorite, I didn't know you knew."

"Hn," Aya snorted in annoyance, unaware that pairs of emerald and chocolate eyes were focused on him in shared confusion. "Of course I knew what you liked, Omi, you circled it on the menu."

"Bastard!" Yohji growled. The bubble of hope that Aya wasn't such an uncaring asshole after all burst and freed some of the anger that he felt towards the swordsman for hitting Ken with his chopsticks. "You know, for just *once*, Fujimiya, you could at least pretend that you gave a damn about the rest of us as people for a change! All we are to you are weapons for your own private war against Takatori and I'm damned well sick of it!"

The cold amethyst glare that was cast back at Yohji spoke volumes yet not the truth.

Inwardly, Aya congratulated himself on successfully covering the unfortunate slip of his emotional armor yet a corner of his soul curled in on itself, hurt that he'd never truly be able to be himself again at this rate. Once upon a time, Fujimiya Ran had been a carefree teenager who had no trouble showing affection to his friends as well as his family, but that was a luxury Abyssinian felt he could no longer afford.

"Guys, please! That's enough!" Omi urged trying to avoid another dinner table battle over why any of them did what they did.

Reprehensible though killing intrinsically was, Omi felt that Kritiker had never sent them after a target that didn't fully deserve what happened to them. Then again, he was still feeling happy from the time he'd spent getting to know Nagi that afternoon and didn't want his pleasant mood to be ruined by the knowledge that his friends were fighting amongst themselves. Soothingly, he added, "Why not just eat your dinner in peace for a change? I'm sorry if I caused any trouble, but I really *do* need to go study. If you need me, just call, all right?"

Without waiting for an answer, he walked up the stairs and banished thoughts about the argument between the two eldest members of Weiss from his mind, replacing them with more pleasant ones regarding Nagi and what else they might have in common. There was a lightness to his step as Omi walked into his room and flopped like the seventeen year old that he really was onto his bed, laying on his back and smiling at the ceiling as he pondered what to wear the next day.

*****

Monday evening, a little bit later. The flower shop's kitchen.

*****

Even as Omi lost himself in thoughts of the dark-haired telekinetic, the topic as well as the mood in the room where he had left his teammates had shifted entirely.

Ken frowned as he shoveled another bite of beef with broccoli into his mouth, chewing for a moment before remarking, "I wonder why Omi didn't want any dinner? It's not like him to turn down a hot meal."

Yohji stopped scowling at Aya for a moment and looked at his often clueless lover and commented, "Er, Kenken, maybe you missed it, but he said he had a bite to eat with a friend before coming home, remember?"

Brown eyes rolled sarcastically as Ken quickly swallowed another bite of his dinner before commenting, "I heard him, Yohji, it's just that it seemed unusual since even when he grabs an entire package of ramen noodles and a sandwich after school he's ready for more by now."

"That's true," Aya unexpectedly remarked, almost causing Yohji to drop his half-eaten carton of vegetable lo mein as he added suspiciously, "and he seemed to be nervous about something. I wonder what's really going on?"

Setting his noodles down, Yohji cast a withering jade glare at the other man and stated with annoyance, "Abyssinian, must you make *everything* sound like a damned mystery all the time? The kid went out to do something for school, met someone and he grabbed a bite to eat with them. End of story. Nothing shady or worrisome, so just drop it, okay?"

Violet eyes narrowed almost to slits as Aya considered what had been said and refused to say anything, preferring instead to pick through his container of food to retrieve one of the tiny baby corn cobs that Ken liked. He dropped it unceremoniously into the athletic teen's carton and looked away as if he hadn't just given him a peace offering before going back to simply eating his own dinner.

"Yum!" Ken remarked enthusiastically as he gobbled down the corn with a smirk before commenting, "Yohji's right, we should be glad that Omi's getting a chance to just be a kid for a change. This is good for him and I say we don't give him a hard time about it."

"Works for me," Yohji shrugged in agreement. Then he dug through his carton of lo mein angrily for a moment before complaining, "You know what ticks me off? The pictures for this stuff on the menu always show a ton of straw mushrooms, but as soon as I get halfway through, they're all gone!"

The long-haired man pouted comically and was rewarded by a rare half-smile as the redhead admonished almost gently, "That's because you pick them all out and drop them into your hot-and-sour soup, baka."

The elder assassin turned a surprised smile on Aya and was about to answer when a knock at the door which led to the alleyway interrupted their attempts at having a more pleasant meal than usual as per Omi's request.

All three assassins tensed automatically. Only one person arrived at that particular door at this time of night and they exchanged worried glances before Yohji rose and sauntered over to answer it.

The glow of the streetlights in the alley dramatically backlit fire red hair and the curvaceous form of an impatient woman who tapped her toe in annoyance as Yohji took a moment to let his eyes rake up and down her figure. The former playboy leered at Manx as if she was a potential date and not an agent of his employer, deliberately baiting her somewhat as payback for interrupting his suddenly fairly enjoyable meal.

"Going to let me in sometime tonight, Balinese?" Manx inquired acidly.

Bowing with an extravagant flourish, Yohji stepped back and waved for her to enter, "But of course, Manx! Please, come in and have a seat. We were just finishing dinner."

"You're finished now," she responded flatly with a serious frown as their initial pleasantries came to an end. "I'm afraid that what I'm here to show you won't wait and I need to get back to headquarters."

"Hn," Aya grunted in acknowledgement, already dropping the remaining food into the trash.

Ken glanced at Yohji then reached for the phone to alert Omi that he was needed in the basement for the mission briefing.

Soon they would all be listening to Manx and focusing on how to eliminate yet another piece of the darker side of life in Tokyo. It would be quite a change from complaining about being sent to the library or debating the merits of cheap Chinese food.

*****

To be continued.