Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Neutral Territory ❯ A Misunderstanding and a Confidence Shared ( Chapter 16 )

Title: Neutral Territory [part 16/?]

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}}

*****

Thursday late morning. The flower shop.

*****

Despite the unusual beginning of the day, things returned to normal at the Koneko before too awfully long.

Fresh shipments of flowers had arrived early in the morning, keeping Yohji and Ken busy clipping stems and getting them into water before they became dried out any worse than they already were. Late morning found a slightly more well-rested Aya rejoining his coworkers to make good on his promise to deliver the floral arrangements for the shrine luncheon.

The redhead stood and frowned at the collection of delivery boxes that almost overflowed the work table, his facile mind calculating how many trips it might take with the scooter to deliver them all when he was suddenly interrupted by the feeling of something tickling the back of his neck.

"What the hell?!" Aya batted a hand at what he assumed was an insect and encountered cool, sharp-edged steel instead. Battle-honed reflexes would ordinarily have caused him to drop into a crouch as his body readied itself for combat, but the familiar jingling sound that immediately followed his contact with the metal ended that line of thought.

"What?" Yohji smirked as angry violet eyes glared pure death at his outstretched hand, car keys dangling from it at the same height as the neckline of Aya's pale gold, lace-up shirt. "You don't *want* to borrow my roadster to get these over to the shrine? I'm crushed!"

"Give me a break, you goddamned idiot!" The enraged man snatched the keys away almost violently.

"I was trying to do just that," the lanky blond responded sincerely, a small pout threatening to take control of his sensual lips.

Yohji's expression of hurt combined with his ongoing fuzziness due to sleep-deprivation caused Aya to feel an uncharacteristic wave of remorse. Before he could think it through, he actually offered a terribly rare apology, saying, "Sorry, Yohji, but it felt like a knife at first." Running a hand over amethyst eyes which hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep to ease away the redness in them, he commented, "I'm surprised I didn't react worse than I did."

"Oh, shit, it *did*? Gods, you're right! I *am* an idiot!" Emerald eyes reflected the honest shock Yohji was experiencing. He'd only been trying to trick the usually aloof man into some small response, but he hadn't considered that the edge of a car key might indeed feel like that of a blade. Chagrinned, he added, "I'm really sorry about that, Aya. Tell you what, let me make it up to you, okay? Why don't you take my car for the deliveries and keep it for the afternoon? That way you can drive to the hospital to see Aya-chan and then go goof off for awhile?"

"Well, I don't think I'll 'goof off' any, but I will accept the offer to use your car," Aya was actually trying to sound friendlier than usual, the hurt and remorseful look on Yohji's face had effected him more than he'd expected it would. There was something disconcerting that he couldn't quite put his finger on about his own reactions, yet a quick thought of how the brunette who was too busy helping a customer to have observed the exchange might handle the situation helped Aya immensely.

//What would Ken do if he screwed up like this? I overreacted to that stupid joke more than I should have.//

The automatic answers involving seduction were never even entertained, Aya actually was almost asexual at times. Then again, he was also having an increasingly difficult time staying focused due not only to lack of rest but also to his sadly deficient philosophy towards life which was costing him far more than he even knew. Luckily, thoughts of his chocolate-eyed friend's healthier approach to living brought him an answer that he could use.

//I know -- food! Whenever Ken needs to say he's sorry for something or he wants to celebrate, he gets everybody something to eat. I think I'll give that a try.//

"How about I pick up something for dinner on the way back?" Scarlet earlocks wafted about Aya's pale face as he pulled out his wallet to see if he could make good on the offer before it went much further, then nodded when he confirmed that he had enough.

Yohji rewarded him with a smile that shattered any remaining worry over apologies as he answered, "That'd be great, Aya! How about pizza?"

"All right," Aya responded with his usual composure once more in place, then glanced over at the work table before asking, "Can you give me a hand getting these to the car?"

"No problem," Yohji turned and called out, "Kenken, I need to go load these in the roadster with Aya. Got everything covered here?"

Ken glanced back and smiled brightly, "No sweat, Yohji. Take your time!"

Yohji grunted softly in reply before he and Aya went to work, carefully relocating the flowers that the redhead had worked so late on the night before. Soon, only Ken and Yohji were left to take care of things in the shop and it was peaceful for a few hours.

*****

Thursday late afternoon. The Koneko no Sumu Ie.

*****

The end of the school day brought not only the return of the fourth florist/assassin to the Koneko but a flood of excited fangirls as well. While the three eldest members of Weiss were quite pleasant to look at and be around, it was the youngest that the adolescent females enjoyed interacting with the most.

Omi laughed and chatted with the girls as he checked through the new stock, complimenting Ken on the way the former soccer player had integrated the older flowers into a new presentation giving the entire display a quality of newness. "This must've taken a lot of work, Ken-kun!" He enthused brightly, "It looks fabulous!"

Ken felt a little embarrassed as the comments brought him a wave of fangirls of his own who all wanted to coo over his efforts and how lovely they thought the flowers were despite them not being as lovely as the bishounen were themselves. Flushing slightly, the former athlete silently begged his lover for aid and within moments, Yohji had swept in and convinced the girls that they all wanted to go with him to see the new burgundy and gold mum plants on the front sidewalk.

"Ah, *that's* a relief!" Ken sighed and leaned against the work table for a moment, smiling at Omi who was happily creating a tiny bouquet as a gift for one of the fuku-clad schoolgirls after discovering that it was her birthday. "What's got you so happy today, Omi?"

"Hmm?" Cerulean orbs peered up at mocha ones as he answered, "I'm sorry, Ken-kun. Did you say something?"

"Yeah, just wondering why you were at 'genki-maximum' today," Ken teased gently.

"Ken-kun!" Right on schedule, the younger teen blushed. "You're teasing me again! Stop that! Besides, I'm just thinking about how much fun I've been having lately with my new friend. That's all." He shrugged a bit as if the careless motion might contradict the delighted look on his face as he barely avoided mentioning that it was Nagi who had brought him such happiness.

"Oh? Really?" The older teen asked, then added, "And does this person have a name?"

Omi forced a happy sigh while fighting back an urge to cringe as he quickly thought of a way to handle the situation without giving anything away. Realizing that using Nagi's online nickname would be both honest *and* protective of the Schwarz psychic's identity, he admitted shyly, "My friend's name is Xavier. We've got a lot of things in common and when we went to the park yesterday, we had the *best* time!"

Warming as he focused on the topic even more, a broad smile blossomed on his face as the blond continued to gush happily, "Oh, and it turns out that he likes to use the internet even more than I do and I've never met anyone like *that* before. And he likes anime plus computer games and everything!" The sigh that left his lips then was completely honest as he concluded, "It's wonderful to finally have someone to talk to about stuff like that, you know?"

"Sounds great," Ken remarked quietly. Then, with a knowing smile on his lips, he inquired, "So, Omi, you've got a crush on the guy, haven't you?"

"Nani?!?" Omi gasped, shocked to feel the blood rush to his cheeks so fast that he knew he would never be able to conceal the truth as he hissed, "Ken-kun! What do you mean? I do *not* have a crush on him!"

"Oh yes, you do," the former goalie laughed gently and then reassured, "But it's okay, Omi, really it is. It's kind of sweet to think of you having a little boyfriend of your own."

If Omi had expected any surprised reactions from Ken that his sexual preferences aligned with those of the two lovers on the team, he would have been sorely disappointed. It wasn't that Omi was "too pretty to be straight" or even that he behaved effeminately since he didn't, but rather it was a more fundamental appreciation people develop for those who hold each other's lives in their hands on a routine basis. Hours of infiltration assignments where staying awake was critical to survival had allowed Ken and Omi to have become amazingly close and this revelation had been anticipated for quite some time.

Omi glanced down at the flowers he'd almost forgotten that he was holding even as he contradicted quietly, "Xavier's not my boyfriend, Ken-kun. We're just friend-friends, that's all."

"Perhaps," Ken commented neither agreeing nor disagreeing, "but you've been thinking about him a lot lately, haven't you?"

"Well, yes…" the younger teen's voice trailed off in a wistful sigh.

"And you're thinking it might be nice if he *was* your boyfriend, right?" the older boy asked gently, hoping to nudge Omi enough to consider what his heart already wanted a little more fully.

"Maybe I am, I'm not sure," Omi lied unconvincingly.

Ken chuckled and patted Omi on the shoulder as he stated flatly, "Well, *I'm* completely sure, Omi! I think it's nice you've found someone special and I wish you and your Xavier all the luck in the world."

Omi beamed at him and nodded, "Thanks! But, uh," he bit at his lip nervously, "could you not mention this to anyone? I mean, it might not work out and all."

"Sure thing," Ken answered only half-regretting that he couldn't tell his lover about it in bed later. The two of them had a running discussion regarding what way love might find a place in the youngest Weiss member's heart, yet he knew that if a person's first crush ended badly, it was best if very few people knew about it.

A sigh of relief left Omi's lips and then he glanced at the noisy crowd coming back inside the shop, giggling girls following Yohji like rats trailing behind the Pied Piper. "Um, I'd best hurry to finish my gift, Ken-kun. I'm glad we got to talk though, I feel better now."

"Good, I'm glad, too," Ken smiled warmly at him before going to offer his lover some relief from the twittering girls.

Before long, Omi was once more chatting with the young customers and having fun as the birthday girl became flustered upon receiving her small yet personal bouquet from the most popular of the florist/assassins.

Ken and Yohji tried to finish some of remaining work that needed to be done before closing up shop for the night but were finding it difficult to complete their tasks with so many fangirls present. The taller of the two lovers laughed at one point since it was almost too bad that Aya wasn't there to give his traditional "Buy something or get out!" speech, and the shorter one chuckled and agreed, yet neither tried to force the throng to disperse.

Eventually the sun began to set and the girls reluctantly went home for their suppers and the three tired bishounen were faced with the task of sweeping up the mess left behind before they could close the shop for the night.

"I'm tired!" Ken complained as he rolled down the metal gate, sealing off the warm interior of the shop from the cooling air of evening.

"So am I," Yohji complained, stretching long arms over his head and wincing as his back popped noisily. "Ouch! I feel like I need to soak in a hot bath for awhile."

Omi failed to stifle a giggle before he commented, "Poor Yohji-kun! Are you getting old?"

"Very funny," the taller blond responded then sought a bit of vengeance by mussing the shorter one's hair. "What's it to you, kiddo? To a baby like you, of course I'm old! That's the balance of nature at work."

"I am *not* a baby!" Omi mock-pouted on cue, both of them enjoying the comforting routine of their verbal game.

"Yes, you are," Ken inserted smoothly, deliberately ending the playful moment. "You're *both* babies! Now, however, I wish to remind you that Aya's supposed to be back with pizza before too awfully long and I for one don't plan to still be out here counting receipts while my share gets cold! Let's get this wrapped up, okay?"

"Hmm," Yohji frowned at his lover, "I thought *I* was the designated responsible adult for the day, Kenken."

"That was just for this morning, Yohji," Ken smiled and patted the taller man on the face, "But I took the title while you were out having one too many cigarette breaks this afternoon. Can we at least *try* to get everything done so we can eat? Please?"

"Sure thing, Ken-kun," Omi offered, settling down with the stack of paper and a calculator, finishing the accounting quickly as the other two took care of the other work that was needed to leave everything ready for business on Friday.

As the sun sank behind the horizon, things were comfortably quiet once more.

For a change, there was no sense of foreboding, no dark thoughts or worries, and no concerns that things might go wrong for any of the men who worked together by both day and night. There would be time enough for that before the week was over, though, and whatever strength they could build before they confronted Glocksten and Charon would be put to the test then.

*****

To be continued.

[Posting Run Dedication for Chapters 14-16] This evening's performance of "Neutral Territory" is hereby dedicated to a new friend who has brought many a smile to my lips recently, the ever so wonderful Kaze! This kind soul has taken the time to write to me after each posting run and let me know what they enjoyed most, their thoughts on the tale as it unfolds, and has even given the creation of a Weiss threesome a nod of approval. I hope Kaze will enjoy this evening's extended program and will accept my humble thanks for all the delicious ambrosia for my muses!