Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Neutral Territory ❯ The Date: A Reunion and Anime ( Chapter 21 )

Title: Neutral Territory [part 21/?]

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}}

*****

Friday afternoon. An unnamed movie theater.

*****

When Omi arrived at the theater where he was meeting Nagi, it was with a certain amount of trepidation that he left behind not only his motorcycle but also his cell phone.

The last thing the Weiss archer wanted was to be called to duty as Bombay during his first real date and he hoped fervently that his teammates wouldn't hate him if he missed a call. Yet, as Omi strode closer to the congregation of people awaiting the opening of the ticket office and noted Nagi clad in his dove gray school uniform and nervously facing away from the crowd as if to shut them out, he found the deliberate dereliction of duty justifiable.

Approaching the youngest member of Schwarz with caution for fear of startling the telekinetic into an instinctual and possibly disastrous reaction, Omi asked quietly, "Nagi-kun? Have you been waiting long?"

Whirling and then retroactively suppressing the smile of delight which had decorated a face that needed to smile more often, Nagi responded simply, "No, Omi. Not long." This was a blatant lie if ever there was one. He had in fact skipped his last class of the day, feigning a stomach ache for fear of being late, and if Oracle ever found out about it, Prodigy would've had many uncomfortable questions to answer.

Luckily, that wasn't about to happen. After all, if anyone in this gods-forsaken reality deserved a break it was these two boys and they had a lovely reunion because of it.

Sunshine bright smile on his own genki features, Omi replied, "Oh, good! I wouldn't want you to just stand around for long."

Nagi shrugged and said, "It wasn't a problem." This was another lie.

In point of fact, he'd had a renewed sense of ill ease much as he'd experienced on Wednesday when he found a vague paranoia filling his mind while waiting at the park. Once again he felt stranded and on display surrounded by strangers whose eyes seemed to contain expressions of disapproval that he felt were aimed at whoever allowed a child to be as malnourished as he was. Additionally, he was uncomfortable being in broad daylight without Omi's reassuring presence nearby. Happily, the cure for his unhappiness had arrived and it had done so wrapped in a most attractive package.

Glancing around at the other people waiting for a chance to get tickets, Omi was relieved to see plenty of other high school students as well as older men and women. He'd been afraid that he and Nagi might stand out more than they wanted to due to their ages, but it wasn't an issue in the least.

With the smile that wouldn't leave his lips firmly in place, Omi turned to his friend and said, "I'm really looking forward to seeing the new Studio Ghibli movie today. Do you feel the same way, Nagi-kun?"

Midnight blue eyes blinked in confusion for a moment and then with a slightly sheepish expression which only Omi could read, Nagi responded uncertainly, "Um, well, perhaps." Realizing he made no sense and that was mostly because he had no idea at all what had just been said to him, Nagi ducked his head slightly and apologized, "I'm so sorry, Omi. I didn't hear your question. I was, well, distracted."

"'Distracted'?" Omi asked worriedly, wondering for a moment if something serious was amiss. "How so, Nagi-kun? Is something wrong?"

The faintest hint of pink painted itself onto alabaster cheeks and with his eyes still averted, the telekinetic admitted, "I was a little bit busy looking at your clothes, Omi." Peering up at the taller teen through a sable cascade of bangs, he added shyly, "You look absolutely wonderful dressed that way."

Cerulean eyes blinked in amazement and then, with another blinding smile, Omi asked hopefully, "Really? You think so?"

Slowly lifting his head and allowing himself to scan from stylish leather shoes up slim, black denim encased legs to a trim waistline then onto a rich, deep blue silk dress shirt that his fingers itched to touch, Nagi found his mouth a bit dry as he assured, "Absolutely. Not to say the things you usually wear aren't nice, they are, it's just this particular outfit makes you look simply marvelous."

It was Omi's turn to blush now, the words of praise--not to mention the lingering way his friend had gazed at him with the faintest hint of hunger in his eyes--were far more than he'd sought, only wanting to hear Nagi say something nice again. Smile shifting to a shyness he rarely felt, the blond replied gratefully, "That's awfully nice of you to say, Nagi-kun. I'll tell Yohji-kun and Ken-kun you approve of their taste in clothes." Not even noticing he'd mentioned his teammates by name since speaking of them as his roommates wasn't the same as mentioning anything Weiss-related, he added, "They were the ones who helped me decide what to wear."

"Oh?" Nagi was surprised and asked in confusion, "But how did they know the color of my eyes?"

"Your eyes?" Omi echoed, sharing in the bewilderment.

His theoretically emotionless façade cracked a little when Nagi explained with a shy demi-smile, "The color of your shirt matches my eyes, Omi. I assumed you'd done that on purpose. It's terribly flattering, you know."

Now that he understood, Omi, too, was surprised by this happy coincidence yet he felt obligated to set the record straight and did so, saying, "I wish that I *had* done it on purpose then, Nagi-kun. But the truth is that over breakfast I talked to the guys about what to wear and Yohji-kun had given this shirt to Ken-kun awhile ago but it shrunk in the laundry, and so it would fit and um, gee, I'm babbling again, aren't I?" With the cutest little embarrassed smile, he shrugged and said, "I'll tell them you liked it. Thanks for the compliment."

Having recaptured a bit of his control during Omi's lapse, Nagi had schooled his features into an expression of neutrality that the older boy saw through as if nothing had changed and responded, "You're quite welcome, Omi. I just wish," he gazed disdainfully at his dove gray uniform and complained sadly, "I'd had a chance to wear something different, too. But I knew Schuldich would be too interested in it if I had something different on when I got home than I did when I went to school."

Ignoring the milling people who were gravitating to the now open box office, Omi took a good long look of his own at his companion and after admiring the trim fit of the highly tailored garments, he said honestly, "I think you look great the way you're dressed, Nagi-kun. That uniform of yours is really cute."

Shyly tugging at the twin points at the front of his shirt, Nagi hemmed and hawed then simply said, "Thank you, Omi. No one's ever said that before," recollection of a certain German's nasal voice saying it in mocking jest sprang to mind and he added with a soft sigh, "and meant it. Oh well. Should we get in line for tickets now?"

Omi glanced at the people queued up and with a nod he agreed, "Sure! That way we'll have plenty of time to get some drinks and snacks, too!" He almost reached for Nagi's hand as if to lead him to the line yet stopped himself since such a public display of affection between two boys could lead to unwanted attention. Worse, it could lead to outright rejection since holding them while in the café where they ate noodles was clearly an act to help calm the upset psychic and this was not.

Blissfully unaware of Omi's decidedly romantic line of thinking, Nagi fell into step with his friend and asked sadly, "By wanting snacks now, does that mean we aren't eating dinner together tonight, Omi?" In a quieter voice since they were within earshot of strangers, he added unhappily, "I thought we were eating together later."

Offering an apologetic smile since he hadn't meant to confuse the midnight-eyed teen, Omi corrected, "No, we're still having dinner together, Nagi-kun, but I'm too hungry to wait until then without a drink and something little like a box of Pocky or something."

Understanding dawning, Nagi nodded and said, "Oh, all right. I'm glad we're still going out later. Dinner with Crawford and the guys wasn't bad last night for a change, but I prefer to eat with you."

Omi ruthlessly crushed a desire to say aloud just how happy that remark made him and even though his heart was singing in his chest, he merely replied, "I feel the same way about you, Nagi-kun." Stepping up to the counter, he purchased the tickets and before long the two blue-eyed teens were standing in another line at the concession stand.

In front of the two young assassins stood a pair of high school seniors whose uniforms bore the crest of an all-male private academy which had quite a reputation for particularly outgoing young men many of whom were gay as well as quite handsome. [1] The older teens were definitely worthy of being called "bishounen" and as the taller of the two flipped a lengthy ponytail of lustrous reddish-black hair over his shoulder, it unexpectedly brushed Omi's cheek.

Fearing he'd offended someone older than himself--the only type of people he particularly concerned himself with usually--the senior turned and said, "Oh, I'm sorry about that. I was trying to get it out of my…" His words trailed off as he gazed openly at the cute, innocent looking blond in front of him whose dark blue silk shirt made him look utterly delicious and somewhat vulnerable in his eyes. Deliberately wetting his lips with his tongue suggestively, he added, "But then again, it's nice to have an excuse to speak to someone as adorable as you obviously are."

Brushing his hand across the place where the hair had touched him, Omi initially missed the teen's apparent interest in him and he just shrugged and smiled as he said, "That's okay. No harm done."

Standing nearby and watching the brief conversation, Nagi felt a strange, totally novel sensation building inside himself. It was a feeling of annoyance that bordered on anger towards the older teen whose behavior reminded him of Schuldich when he was trying to distract Crawford enough to stop doing paperwork and vanish with him into their bedroom. Jealousy and Naoe Nagi rarely had anything to do with one another, but at that moment, the so-called green-eyed monster was on the rise.

Reaching out to brush his own fingertips across Omi's cheek as if to remove a strand of hair left behind, the taller boy was about to add another pick-up line when his own companion elbowed him forcefully.

The shorter of the two seniors said pointedly, "Leave the jailbait alone, baka. Here," he shoved a drink at his misbehaving boyfriend roughly. Then he said to Omi, "Sorry about that. He's a complete moron."

"No problem," Omi said with a smile so false it almost hurt and then he placed orders for himself and his friend who had remained silent throughout the brief scene.

Nagi, however, was far from inactive and as his eyes darkened ever so slightly, the too-forward senior suddenly found his cup of soft drink far too heavy to hold. With a slight telekinetic nudge, the container of icy beverage slipped then spilled all over the front of the teen's pants, drenching him in a specific area in an act of orchestrated poetic justice.

"Oh, fuck!!" The teen exclaimed angrily then his eyes went impossibly wide and he yanked at the front of his pants proclaiming loudly, "Damn!! It's cold! Too cold!!"

Every eye in the theater's lobby was on him and if it wasn't for his companion's quick thinking to throw a jacket around his waist as he tried in vain to get the ice off his most sensitive skin, the reddish-black haired teen could've been in even bigger trouble.

"You idiot!!" The shorter senior snapped even as his partner whimpered and sounded less than happy with the way a few ice cubes seemed to be clinging to the fabric covering his groin against the laws of gravity.

After a theater manager rushed over and escorted the two high school students to a secluded office to deal with the situation, the room was filled with nervous laughter.

Like almost everyone else, Omi was giggling a little at the flirtatious youth's misfortune but when he turned intending to hand Nagi a box of Lucky Mini-Almond Pocky, he noted something he would never have expected in the telekinetic's eyes, a smug look of satisfaction. [2] Mouth slightly agape due to shock, he leaned over and whispered, "did *you* do that, nagi-kun?"

"maybe," Nagi whispered back and then added hotly, "he deserved that, omi, for shamelessly flirting with you like that."

A smile of complete amazement and delight spread across genki features and as he handed the box to Nagi, Omi deliberately brushed his fingers over those of his friend silently expressing his thanks.

Not one to miss an opportunity to respond in kind, Nagi tangled their fingers together ever so briefly then pulled them away, box of sweets in hand.

Within a few minutes, the two assassins were happily ensconced in plush chairs in a well appointed movie theater quietly chatting and sharing their snacks. Soon thereafter, the auditorium darkened and trailers for various coming attractions began to run. Both boys thought the promo for the second "Saiyuki" movie looked good, but the one for a "Sailor Moon" live action musical looked egregious. [3] They quietly laughed as most of those present seemed to agree.

Once the feature presentation began, the audience hushed and even as the latest from one of Japan's most distinguished animation companies splashed itself in vivid color across the screen, two shy youths sat side by side wishing separately that he had the nerve to reach for the other's hand. Sadly, neither of them found the courage to do so and hence they merely stole touches under the excuse of wanting a piece of the other's Pocky or a sip of his drink.

Considering the fact that they were both accomplished assassins, expert computer hackers, and brilliant tacticians, they were dreadfully uncertain about something so simple. But that hesitation would soon be a thing of the past and never again would they have to endure the pain of being so close and yet so far.

*****

To be continued.

Author's Notes:

[1] Please be advised that the two unnamed seniors are mere original characters with no specific point of origin and will not be back later in case anyone was worried. They are only here to answer the question, "What might happen if a young telekinetic experiencing the first hints of love were to see someone flirting with his love interest?"

[2] Lucky Mini-Almond Pocky is a product of the Glicko company and is terribly cute little half-size lengths of Pocky cracker coated in chocolate then covered in crushed, toasted almonds. The pieces taste good but are awfully small and rather more expensive than the more common varieties, hence it is exactly the sort of thing Omi would chose for his kawaii best friend.

[3] Regarding the movie trailers the guys watched, well, all I will say is that they are totally fictional and one of them I would dearly love to see and the other I would utterly dread being forced to endure. I think anyone who reads my stories can tell which is which, right?