Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ One Night ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

A huge thanks and hugs go to tameiki1 for the beta. Also thanks and hugs to elfen and nekojita for suggestions and plot help.

Chapter One

Aya exchanged the CD he finished listening to for another before his attention turned to the sleeping figure in the seat beside him in the Porsche. Yohji had a frown on his brow as he mumbled and tossed a little then settled down once more. Aya returned his attention back to driving and cursed under his breath while he adjusted his speed. They were making good time and he didn't need a speeding ticket.

The two of them were currently on their way to Niigata for a mission. With nothing better to do, Aya reviewed in his mind everything he read in the mission packet before they left the Koneko. He and Yohji would need to recon a warehouse later that evening at the location where their mission would take place tomorrow afternoon. The two of them would then spend the night at the hotel that Birman booked for them before meeting up with another Kritiker team tomorrow morning. The non-lethal team would execute the second half of the mission in which Aya and Yohji would eliminate the Esset and Rosenkruez agents who were going to transfer several kidnapped children to a facility where they brainwashed and exploited those who were gifted. This other non-lethal team would then take charge of the children and return them to their families.

After running through the mission in his head, Aya's thoughts drifted to his sleeping companion. Yohji had been a wreck the past couple of weeks since he'd killed the Masafumi woman, Neu. Aya knew that Yohji thought the woman was his lost love, but whether she truly was or not would never be known. All that he was sure of was that Yohji was taking it very hard and Aya was worried about his teammate... his friend.

Aya was surprised when, a few months ago, he realized how important the other members of Weiss had become to him. He found that each of them had somehow wormed their way into his all but non-existent affections, but he seemed to be drawn to the older assassin a little bit more.

Aya figured out how deep those feelings were when he hadn't torn Yohji apart as soon as that woman refused to tell them where Aya-chan was being held. Aya was also exceedingly angry with Yohji for letting that bitch kick the shit out of the blond before claiming amnesia. Aya wouldn't have hesitated to add to the bruises, but he'd been willing to give Yohji a chance to see if his Asuka had returned just so Yohji could obtain the happiness that seemed destined to elude the rest of Weiss.

Aya was honest enough with himself to admit that he felt something other than friendship for Yohji but he kept those thoughts and emotions buried deep for two reasons. One, he had no time to be romantically involved with his sister still missing. And two, Yohji did not seem interested in either him or anything other than one night stands. Aya's experience was limited to a very small number of single encounters and he didn't think it would be a good idea to have sex with someone he worked and practically lived with, especially while Aya had these unsettled feelings toward Yohji.

Forcing his mind away from those disturbing thoughts, Aya turned them back to the reason for Yohji's unhappiness. After Yohji had been forced to make the choice of kill or be killed by Neu, he'd fallen apart soon afterwards. Aya was extremely worried when Yohji left the morning after that mission to disappear for several days. Aya wasn't sure he would ever see Yohji again, alive *or* dead. His relief at Yohji's return had turned to concern when Yohji returned so thoroughly drunk. Aya was amazed Yohji hadn't totaled his precious Seven on his way home.

While Yohji no longer went clubbing, only to return in the early morning hours reeking of alcohol and sex, he now seemed determined to drink himself to death in his apartment alone every night. It was only during the first mission after Neu's death, when they tried to recover Aya-chan, that Aya worried about Yohji's behavior as Balinese. After telling the man to get himself together, it seemed that Yohji had done exactly that, at least when working as Weiss.

Now, the only time Aya saw Yohji sober or not nursing a massive hang-over was if there was a mission to plan and execute. Yohji had always been responsible when it came to missions. The whole team was responsible that way, with the exception on each of their parts when they'd been personally involved with various targets. That was one reason why Weiss was so successful. That, and they watched each other's backs.

Aya was startled out of his thoughts when Yohji asked, “Are we almost there?” He glanced over to look at Yohji, who was stretching like a sleek cat. Aya's eyes were drawn to a bit of toned stomach that peeked out from under Yohji's shirt. Aya quickly averted his gaze and met Yohji's eyes. He was happy to note they weren't as bloodshot as they'd been earlier but the pain was still quite apparent. “Not yet. We should be there in less than an hour.”

“Can we stop for some coffee? I could really use it right now... and a cigarette.” Aya bit back on the obvious statement as he replied in the affirmative and he turned off at the next exit.

Less than ten minutes later they were back on the road, Yohji enjoying a hot cup of coffee with obvious relief. After several sips, Yohji pulled his mission packet out and began going over the information provided to them by Birman. When he finished, Yohji closed the folder and said, “It seems we'll arrive at the hotel before the first-shift dock workers finish for the day. Let's check into our rooms and then get dinner before we head out.”

“I was going to suggest the same thing. The second-shift should be lighter and we could get to the wharf area around nine or so. While there will still be workers about, between less people walking around and nightfall, we should be able to get through undetected. Also, we're only going tonight to recon the location and familiarize ourselves with the layout of the warehouse. Since we're booked into a hotel close to that part of town, we can walk there.”

Yohji opened the folder again and scanned the contents once more, “I see Birman booked us into a very nice hotel. The info says they have several restaurants. Do you want to eat at one of them or would you rather have room service?”

Aya considered what he remembered from the reports before answering, “While the intel didn't think it likely, there is a slight possibility that someone from Rosenkruez or Esset is staying at the hotel. I think it would be better if we ordered room service and kept a low profile. Besides, I want to through the mission packet once more before we leave anyway.”

“Good idea, we can do our prep and not be overheard.” Yohji said with a hint of eagerness in his voice.

Aya glanced at Yohji in surprise. He meant that they would stay in their own rooms, but it seemed Yohji didn't want to eat alone and maybe even looked forward to having dinner with Aya. Or more likely it was because they hadn't had the opportunity to discuss the mission together yet as they always did before hand. Aya realized that planning the mission made much more sense than Yohji seeking out his company. He had to get a grip, he was seeing things that weren't there.

A short while later they entered Niigata's city limits. Since the hotel was on the river near the convention center, traffic slowed considerably once they were in the city proper. When they arrived, Aya refused to use the valet parking where he would need to hand his keys over to a stranger. Once parked, they grabbed their overnight bags and made their way to the front desk.

When they finally got through the check-in queue, the desk clerk asked politely, “May I help you?”

“Yes, we have reservations for connecting rooms.” Yohji gave the alias that Birman had provided along with the credit card bearing the name assigned to him.

The young man typed a few things into his computer before he frowned and said, “I'm sorry, sir, we don't have any more connecting rooms. In fact all we have left are two of our single bed rooms.”

Yohji frowned, “The booking was for two connecting rooms with two double beds each!”

The clerk calmly stated, “The beds in each room are queen sized. I believe you have one person in each room?”

“Yes, that's correct. We're questioning it because our confirmation stated two connecting double rooms.” Aya took over, as it seemed Yohji's hang-over was getting the better of his temper. Granted, it didn't matter if there was only one bed but it would've been easier to get together when they needed to discuss the mission if they were closer, though it wasn't entirely necessary. “Is there some reason why our reservation changed?”

“Sir, your reservation is only a request not guarantee of two connecting rooms with double beds. By looking at the date this reservation was made, I'm surprised that you even got a room at all. We've been completely booked for this week for the past three months as well as every other hotel in this area as there are several conventions currently in town,” the flustered man explained.

Aya realized that Kritiker must have hacked their reservations, so he decided to be grateful that they were close to where their assignment would take place. He also now understood why they were at such a posh hotel. It was probably the only place they could get a reservation in relative proximity to where their mission would occur. The fact that Aya would have to keep his car parked here during the mission and not near the wharfs had him grateful that it was such a reputable establishment.

“That'll be fine. Are they at least on the same floor?” Aya said and he saw Yohji glower at him. What was the man's problem? They each had a good sized bed. It's not like they really needed to have connecting rooms.

The clerk flushed before he said, “I'm sorry. I have one on the twelfth floor and the other is on the seventh.”

“That's fine.” Aya decided that they couldn't do anything about it anyway so he decided to simply get it over with so they could get checked in. He wanted to relax a bit before tonight and that wasn't going to happen until he was in his room.

Yohji didn't say anything more until they were in the elevator and the doors to the 7th floor opened. He turned to Aya and said, “Call me when you want to have dinner. I'm going to catch a little nap until then.”

“I'll call you in a couple of hours,” Aya said as the doors closed. He leaned his head back against the wall with a sigh, his worry for Yohji coming to the fore once again. The doors opened once more and he walked down the hall to his room wishing it was Omi or Ken on this mission instead of Yohji. At least he'd be with a teammate that was not falling apart right now.

*****

Yohji woke a couple of hours later and noticed that the sun was low in the sky signaling that sunset was about an hour away. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost six. Yohji figured Aya would be calling soon, so he got up to relieve himself before jumping in the shower to try to wake up. Sure enough, he wasn't in the shower more than a few minutes before the phone rang. Lucky for him, the hotel had phones in the bathroom so he didn't have to try and break his neck to answer the thing.

“Hello?” Yohji said into the receiver.

“Yohji?"

“Yes, Aya. I take it you're ready to have dinner.” Yohji asked.

“I figure it will take 30 minutes or so before it arrives and that will leave us enough time to go over things before we walk down to the docks. Should we eat in your room or mine?”

Yohji paused as he thought about it then said, “How about yours? Will you order me something? You know what I like, I'll be there in a little while.”

“Fine. See you then.”

The line disconnected and Yohji hung the phone up and returned to his shower where his thoughts turned dark. He'd purposely tried all day to not think of Auska... Neu, but she was never far from his mind. Sometimes, he felt like he was going crazy and wished he had someone to talk to about it.

He forced himself to concentrate on something else, but what came to mind wasn't very soothing either. The reason he was so upset that he and Aya were not in connecting rooms was the fact that he'd been having nightmares lately and the thought of his teammate close by made him feel better. Even though they lived in separate apartments, just knowing that only a wall separated him from Aya always allowed him to fall back to sleep. When he tried to figure out the reason for it, all he could come up with was the fact that Aya always had his back and never let him down.

His thoughts went back to the ones he'd tried to force away. For the briefest time, Yohji allowed himself to believe that he'd recovered his lost love. That one night and day with Asuk... Neu had been about the happiest he'd had since he stopped being a private detective.

Yohji didn't know what was worse; the fact that the dream had been denied or that he'd had to kill the woman who might have possibly been Asuka at one time, it was driving him slowly insane. The only time since then that he wasn't eaten up with despair was when he could focus on a mission and fill his mind with the details and completing the mission. Well, except for the one immediately following her death.

That first mission after Neu's demise, he'd really wanted to sacrifice himself for his teammates. Maybe not exactly for his teammates, but he didn't have the will to live. Aya speaking to him with such emotion in his voice caused him to snap out of it and realize that he still had friends who cared about him.

With great effort, Yohji forced his thoughts away from his past to concentrate on tonight's recon while he finished his shower and got dressed. He decided to smoke one last cigarette before going to Aya's room because didn't need to get bitched at by his prickly teammate for lighting up.

When he arrived at Aya's room, Yohji knocked and waited for the door to open. Aya answered almost immediately and gestured for Yohji to enter. Looking around the room, he saw the layout was exactly the same as his as he walked over to the table and sat at one of the chairs situated next to it.

“Dinner will be here in about fifteen minutes. Do you want to go over our plan now or wait until after the food arrives?” Aya asked.

Yohji shrugged, “Hmm, whatever you want, Aya. I don't care one way or the other.”

Aya nodded and walked over to his bag and extracted two bottles of water. He tossed one to Yohji who twisted the cap off and took a long drink while he watched Aya sit down on the edge of the bed and do the same. Yohji had never noticed before how Aya's hair turned to fire when the setting sun hit it exactly so. `Where the hells did that thought come from?' Yohji thought to himself.

Aya must've noticed his look of surprise because he asked with a slight frown, “What's wrong?”

Yohji shook himself and quickly countered, “Nothing. I suddenly remembered something I forgot to do before we left. I'll take care of it when I get home.”

Aya looked at him strangely and opened his mouth as if to speak but good fortune was on Yohji's side for once as a knock interrupted. He was never so grateful for room service to be early. Usually, with his luck, he was caught in the middle of something when that happened. While they ate and went over what needed to be accomplished that evening Aya gave Yohji a few curious looks but said nothing more.

They reviewed the plans for tomorrow morning when Yohji would check them out of their rooms while Aya met with the leader of the other Kritker team before both teams headed to the warehouse about noon. The mission should be finished shortly thereafter and they would find themselves back at the Koneko later that evening.

Yohji was thankful for the mission and the fact that it kept his mind focused from his troubling thoughts. His only concern was that he'd have to get through this evening with little to distract him. It was going to be a long night he thought with a sigh and reached for a cigarette. He'd barely gotten one to his mouth before Aya interrupted him.

“If you want to do that, go back to your room. You need to change anyway before we head out. I'll meet you in the lobby in twenty minutes.”

“Fine.” Yohji was in no mood to argue, so he got up and left without further comment.

*****

When Aya walked into his room he didn't notice the slight squish under his feet as he walked to the bed. He was exhausted. Between Birman waking them early this morning to assign the mission, the drive and then the past two hours avoiding security and checking the warehouse out, Aya hadn't been sleeping all that well during the time his sister was missing. All he wanted to do was take a shower, lie down on his bed and read a bit to unwind before going to sleep.

He'd just turned on the bedside lamp when something cold and wet landed on his head and startled him. He looked up at the ceiling to see a steady stream of water dripping directly onto his bed from above. The water pattern spread out from the center of the room to drip at a slower speed throughout the rest of the living area. Aya didn't need to put his hand on the bed to know it was soaked through. He could actually see a puddle forming in the middle of the duvet.

Aya rushed to the closet to make sure his overnight bag containing his book and clothes were safe and dry. Thankfully, the water did not make it that far. With a disgusted grunt, he gathered his belongings and headed down to the front desk. Several minutes later, the same clerk that checked him and Yohji in beckoned him over. “How may I help you this evening, Sir?”

“I need a new room. There's water streaming in through the ceiling above my bed,” Aya wasn't encouraged to see the man frown.

“One moment, sir, I need to alert maintenance about the problem.” The clerk called the appropriate department and, when he finished his conversation, the young man turned back to his computer. When he looked up, it wasn't with a very confident expression on his face. “Sir, unfor...” The phone rang. “Um, excuse me a moment longer.”

The person on the other end of the phone spoke for several minutes. “That was an update on the status of the situation. The floor directly above your room is a maintenance floor. Apparently, one of the hot water heaters broke and has flooded yours and another guest's accommodations.”

Aya couldn't have cared less what the cause of the leak was, he only wanted to relax. It had been an extremely long day already. “Fine, give me another room for the night. Nothing of mine was damaged; I only want to go to my new room as soon as possible.”

“I understand, sir, but the hotel is completely sold out as is every other hotel in this area. We simply don't have any another rooms available.” The clerk looked extremely apologetic.

Aya stared at the man dumbfounded. Gathering his scattered thoughts, he said, “Well, what do you plan to do? You must have some spare rooms for emergencies. I only need it for tonight and it's already paid for.” Aya was beginning to get upset. He truly didn't need this right now.

“I'm sorry, sir, there aren't any other rooms. The only thing I can suggest is maybe you can share with your friend? Obviously the hotel will not charge you for either of the rooms in compensation for the inconvenience.”

Aya's mouth dropped open. The man expected him to stay in the same room as Yohji? Share a bed with the man? Sleep with Yohji? He forced his mouth closed and lowered his eyes for a moment as he squashed the little voice in his head that asked what the problem with that was. Aya took a deep breath and tried one more time. “My friend is a smoker and I don't smoke. Are you sure you don't have *anything* else?”

“I assure you, if I had a room I would give it to you. As it is, the guest who's in the other room that sustained damage is going to be in worse straights than you are when he returns. He doesn't even have the option of sharing a room with another guest.” He paused and then said as an afterthought, “Oh, would you like me to send up an air purifier to help with the cigarette smoke?”

Aya sighed and nodded, “Thank you, I'd appreciate it.” and slowly headed toward the elevator. He really didn't relish the next several minutes while he tried to explain to Yohji why they needed to sleep together. No, he told himself, they weren't going to *sleep* together, merely share a bed and sleep. There was a big difference.

But the little voice in his head had to have the last word and asked why it would be such a bad thing to `sleep' with the blond. Aya promptly ignored it.

*****