Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Shades of Grey ❯ Chapter 11

Nagi closed the door of the Schwartz safe house, butterflies fluttering in the pit of his stomach. Somehow he had to convince Crawford to let him leave for the weekend. As yet he had no definite plan of action, and he was hoping something brilliant would come to him in the next few minutes. Thankfully there was nothing scheduled for Schwartz for this weekend, so he wouldn't have to find excuses to duck out of work. He listened for a minute and heard nothing. Maybe if he was lucky he could just slip out and leave a note…

Nagi turned the corner and almost ran into Schuldich. "In a hurry, Nagi-chan?" Schuldich purred.

"Is Crawford home?" Nagi asked, easing his school bag off his shoulder nonchalantly and letting it slide to the floor.

"He's in his office. What do you want him for?" Schuldich's green eyes scrutinized at Nagi's face.

Nagi shrugged, dragging his bag behind him up the stairs to his room. He'd change out of his school uniform first and then pack. He'd drop by Crawford's office on his way out. Schuldich followed him upstairs, seating himself on Nagi's bed. Nagi ignored him, taking off his uniform shirt and pulling on a t-shirt. Still pretending Schu wasn't there he kicked off his pants and drew on a pair of shorts. He rummaged through his drawers, pulling out a change for Saturday and Sunday. He left the room and grabbed his toothbrush, a towel, and the soap and shampoo he used.

"Going somewhere, liebchen?" Schu finally asked.

"I'm going to a friend's for the weekend."

"Really," Schu drawled. "You don't have any friends that I've ever met."

"There's a good reason for that," Nagi said pointedly.

Schu watched him silently for a moment as Nagi finished packing his bag. "You're going over there, aren't you? To Omi's place?"

Nagi sat with his head bowed for a moment. "Don't say anything, Schu. Please?" He turned to stare imploringly at the redhead, silently pleading with the German not to say anything. Schuldich observed him speculatively.

"I won't say anything if you promise to do something for me."

Nagi studied Schuldich warily. "What do you want me to do?" he asked suspiciously.

Schu flashed his most disarming grin. "Not much. Just ask Yoji to meet me in the park at the corner Sunday night at ten."

"What are you going to do?" Nagi asked curiously.

"I just want to talk to him face to face. For some reason he hates it when I use my telepathy."

Nagi almost laughed at the puzzlement in Schu's voice. He truly didn't understand why people didn't like him invading their minds. Hearing other people's thoughts was so natural for him he couldn't conceive of people having only one voice in their mind, and that voice their own. "Okay Schu, I'll tell him, but that doesn't mean he'll come."

"Thanks, Nagi-chan. Have fun this weekend." With a smirk Schuldich was out the door.

Nagi hefted his bag and went out into the hall, crossing swiftly to stand outside Crawford's office, anxious to get this over with. He knocked and heard Crawford's invitation to enter. He slipped into the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

"What can I do for you, Nagi?" Crawford's glasses flashed and Nagi suddenly felt trapped. He gathered his bravado.

"I just wanted to let you know I'm going to a friend's for the weekend," he said easily, reasoning that it wasn't exactly a lie - Omi was his friend.

Crawford continued to stare at Nagi, making him uneasy. "Do I know this friend?"

"I'm sure you've seen me with him a few times," Nagi said carefully. The best thing to do with Crawford was to tell as much of the truth as possible without telling everything. Crawford would hear the truth in the words and hopefully leave it at that.

"Is there a number you can be reached at?" Crawford asked after a long moment.

"Just get Schu to find me," Nagi answered. "It's quicker anyway." He was beginning to sweat under Crawford's steady gaze.

Crawford sighed, taking off his glasses and polishing them carefully. "Nagi. Do you really think I don't know where you're going?"

Nagi felt himself go cold.

"Did you really think I wouldn't see you playing around with Bombay?" Crawford's smile was cruel.

"Did Schu-" Crawford shook his head with contempt.

"Him? He's too afraid of what you might possible say to me about Balinese to say anything."

Nagi felt his knees weaken in astonishment. Crawford irritably waved him to a chair. "Sit before you fall down," he said curtly.

"How-" Nagi began, and Crawford cut him off.

"How? You're not usually this slow Nagi. Are you losing your edge? Is Bombay clouding your brain? Of course I knew what was going on. If the situation had become too unstable, too dangerous for Schuldich I would have acted. As it happened it kept Schuldich happy for a while, which is worth a lot more to this organization than ethics."

The two Schwartz members shared a wry smile for Schuldich's quirks.

"Then…you're not angry? About Omi and I?"

Crawford gave him a stern glare. "I'm not happy about it. I want to make that clear. It's not an ideal situation. And I warn you that if it interferes with your work, I will put a permanent end to it." His expression left no doubt about how he would make it permanent. "However… at this point I see no major problems. Just be careful, especially where Abyssinian is concerned. He's dangerous."

"We're being careful," Nagi replied, relief and worry coursing through him. "He won't find out."

"Keep it that way. Have a good weekend." Nagi heard the dismissal in Crawford's voice and hastily left the room, breathing a long sigh of relief as he ran down the stairs and out the door.

"That's him."

Ken stiffened as Yoji's low voice called his attention to the boy who had just entered the shop. He looked past the girl he was serving and saw Nagi, his eyes travelling appraisingly over the boy. The boy's appearance was deceptive, he knew. Nagi might look harmless, but he could kill them all so easily. Nagi's eyes met his and Ken saw the hesitation, the nervousness in those blue eyes. Whatever else Nagi could be, right now he was pure anxious kid. He smiled slightly, determined to trust Omi's judgement. After all, there would be plenty of time to talk to the boy later, after they closed the shop.

"Nagi? Omi's upstairs. Just go through that door and up the stairs. The apartment door is open."

Nagi smiled shyly. "Arigato," he replied, and darted to the back and up the stairs. Ken glanced at Yoji, who shrugged. They'd check Nagi out later.

Nagi paused in front of the apartment door. He was more nervous than he'd anticipated. Being with Omi was one thing; being inside Weiss' apartment was a whole different story. They weren't on neutral ground anymore. Hidaka had made that clear in the flower shop downstairs.

He squared his shoulders. There was nothing to worry about. Nagi turned the doorknob and stepped into the apartment, slipping off his shoes. He was in the entryway to the living room, he realised as he stood uncertainly near the door.

"Hello?" he called tentatively. In a moment he heard someone coming down the stairs in the direction of the hallway. Heart pounding, he waited where he was as Omi burst into the living room and stopped.

"Hi." Omi studied him for a minute. They stood staring at each other, neither of them moving. Then Omi was rushing forward, grabbing Nagi's bag and ushering him into the living room.

"Sit down. Let me put your bag upstairs and then I'll get you something to drink, okay?"

Nagi nodded and Omi dashed upstairs with his bag. Nagi looked around him, then sank into a chair. Weiss' apartment was pretty big, he thought. Not as big as Schwartz' safe house, of course, but big enough that the four Weiss members could co-exist without too much friction. Most of the time.

Omi came clattering down the stairs again. "What do you want to drink? We have bottled water, tea, coffee, juice… some really sugary stuff…"

"Just tea," Nagi replied. He followed Omi into the kitchen, feeling exposed and vulnerable alone in a living room belonging to his enemies. He rested his chin on Omi's shoulder as Omi filled the kettle. "Hi."

Omi smiled at him over his shoulder. "I'm so glad you're here," he said. "Yoji-kun and Ken-kun will be up as soon as they close, two or three hours or so."

Nagi made a small dismayed sound. Omi laughed.

"You're not nervous, are you?" he asked.

"You didn't see how Hidaka was looking at me downstairs," Nagi returned. "Like I was a bug he wanted to squash."

Omi snorted. "As if I'd let him squash you. He's just overprotective, that's all. Isn't anyone in Schwartz like that with you?"

"Not really," Nagi admitted. "Unless you count Schu as the annoying older brother. They're more co-workers than family. We just happen to live together."

"Oh. Well anyway Ken-kun's kinda like a big brother for me. So that's why he's giving you the evil eye."

"I wish he wouldn't." Nagi's voice was wistful.

"Well, you did try to kill him, and more important for him, you tried to kill me a few times, you know? Give him a little time to get over that." They looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Okay," Nagi agreed. "I guess anyone else would find it a little weird."

Omi brought the hot water out to the living room and set it on a tray with the teacups. "So what do you want to order? Are you hungry?"

"Not yet," Nagi assured. "Can I look around? See your room and stuff?"

"Hey sure. You can check out my computer. I've got some new software you might like."

Omi picked up the tray and led the way to his room.

"Tadaima!" Yoji called out as he and Ken entered their apartment. There was no one in the living room and the lower level was dark. "Anyone home?" He glanced at Ken. "Do you think they went out somewhere?"

"Maybe," Ken answered. "Maybe they're just upstairs or something." They exchanged a wry glance.

"So do we go knock on his door then?" Yoji asked mischievously. "Or do we make lots of noise down here and see if they come down?"

"Let's make some food. They'll come down when they're ready."

Yoji nodded and flopped onto the couch. "You're a better cook than I am."

"Hey, no fair!" Ken protested. "I always cook. Get off your lazy ass and cook for me this time! Besides, there's a game I want to watch…" He laughed at Yoji's dismayed face. "Okay we can order food. Maybe pizza or something. You choose." He picked up the remote and flipped on the television, searching for the game. His eyes lit up when he found the pre-game commentary, and he curled up on the couch beside Yoji, resting his head on the other man's shoulder. Yoji threw an arm behind Ken and tucked him against his side.

Midway through the first half of the match Omi and Nagi came downstairs. "…Crawford can easily get his hands on another 512 megs if you want them," Nagi was saying. "He got me enough that my computer practically flies." They stopped when they saw Yoji and Ken in front of the television.

"You guys hungry?" Omi asked. "We were going to order food."

"Yeah sure. What did you want to order?" Ken asked, his eyes glued to the television.

Omi looked inquiringly at Nagi. "What do you think, koi?"

Ken tore his gaze away from the television. His eyes sought Yoji's, silently asking if his hearing was good. He didn't even call Yoji koi. Yoji just shrugged slightly. Ken sat up and fixed his gaze on Nagi, suddenly wondering what on earth Omi saw in this boy.

"Ken-kun! Stop it! You're making Nagi nervous." Omi's voice was a little sharp. Ken looked away.

"Sorry, Omi-kun." Ken shifted on the couch, then got up to turn on a lamp. "Sit down. I'll order… have you figured out what you want yet?" He pulled out a phone book.

Nagi shrugged. "You like Thai food?" he asked Omi.

"Yeah. And there's a great place that we usually order from," Omi replied. They gave their orders to Ken and he placed them over the phone.

"Should be here in less than an hour," he said, seating himself on the floor, leaning against Yoji's legs. Yoji had moved to the armchair so Omi and Nagi could have the couch.

The room was silent for a while. Nagi was clearly uncomfortable. Yoji felt sorry for the kid and decided to try to ease the tension. "So, Nagi, Omi never told us how you two met. I mean, how you decided you weren't enemies."

Ken looked up, interested. It was something he hadn't even wondered about, too caught up in the fact that Omi was making out with an enemy to consider how it had come about.

The two younger boys shared glances and slightly embarrassed smiles. "It's kind of a long story," Omi said quickly.

"We've got plenty of time," Yoji drawled. "Unless you don't want to tell us?"

"That's not it," Nagi replied. "It's just…" he shrugged helplessly, trying to conceal his fond smile, "…silly, really."

"Tell us how you met Schuldich first," Omi challenged.

Yoji felt Ken stiffen and brushed his hand reassuringly through the other man's hair. "Not much to it, really," he replied easily, meeting Omi's eyes candidly. His fingers played with Ken's dark locks. "We were at the same bar one night, we'd both had a few too many. And we were both tired of waking up next to people we didn't know."

Nagi shifted uneasily. He could hear the deep undercurrents of emotion in Yoji's voice, and began to understand why Schu was so determined not to let him go. He felt bad for making Yoji relive something he obviously didn't want to remember. A little embarrassment on his and Omi's part was nothing. Beside him, Omi's thoughts followed a similar vein.

"We met online," Omi said softly.

"I was reading fanfiction online," Nagi added. "And one of my favourite authors was someone named LiquidTwilight. So we started exchanging e-mails, and then messaging."

"So NeonOrchid - that's Nagi - suggested we meet after a couple of months," Omi continued, smiling when he remembered his astonishment. "Imagine how we felt when we realised who each other were!"

"You're LiquidTwilight?" Ken asked Omi. Omi nodded.

"I didn't know you wrote fanfiction," Ken commented, a little hurt. "Can I read some?"

Nagi started giggling and Omi shot him a venomous look. "They're not really that great…" he trailed off awkwardly.

"Sure they are," Nagi cut in. "You're posted on at least twenty websites and people keep asking for more. You're really popular."

Omi's glare promised retribution later. Nagi shut up, still giggling a little.

Ken looked thoroughly unconvinced with Omi's arguments. "Why can't I read them?" he asked plaintively.

Omi blushed furiously. Yoji started to laugh. "Are you writing porn, Omi?" he teased.

"It's not porn!" Nagi piped up in Omi's defence. "It's yaoi fanfiction. It's very different."

Yoji's eyes twinkled, and Ken started to chuckle. "Okay, Omi, if you really don't want me to read them I won't."

"Anyway, what did you two do when you realised who each other were?" Yoji asked, steering the conversation back to its original course.

"Well, I was ready to take off," Omi admitted. "But Nagi made me stay. So we talked, and we both realised we couldn't just leave it. We'd gotten pretty close over the net."

I'll just bet you did, Yoji thought, amused.

"So we just met when we could, until now." Nagi squeezed Omi's hand.

"Thanks for letting me come here," he said seriously, looking from Ken to Yoji and back again. "I know you don't really know me at all, and I know what you must have been thinking." He paused a minute, then said quietly, "Crawford told me this afternoon that he knew I was coming here." He watched the others freeze, then continued quickly, "But he's not going to do anything. He knew about you and Schu, too," he added, looking at Yoji. "Crawford's got his own agenda. I can't figure him out."

"Does that mean Omi's safe at your place?" Ken asked. "Once Aya's back it's not safe for you to stay here."

"I know. I don't know. Schu won't do anything but tease and Farfie's always locked up. But Crawford's sticky. He doesn't really like me seeing Omi but he won't stop me."

The doorbell rang and Omi jumped up to get their food. Nagi watched Ken carefully. "I would never do anything to hurt Omi," he said with quiet vehemence, his eyes intense as he stared at Ken.

Ken didn't know why, but he believed this boy. Omi was like a little brother to him, but he meant something to this boy too. Watching the quiet intensity in Nagi's eyes he suddenly understood that Nagi would do anything to protect Omi and keep him safe. Ken's attitude changed abruptly. Yoji watched in obvious bemusement as Ken smiled at Nagi. "I know you won't. I'm glad you managed to keep him there that first day."

They shared a warm smile, and any restraint between them instantly melted in their mutual concern for Omi.

"I hope you're hungry. This is a lot of food," Omi announced cheerfully, dropping the bags on the table. He looked from Nagi to his teammates, sure that something had occurred but not quite certain what it was. He shrugged and went to the kitchen for plates. "There's supposed to be a badly dubbed American movie on tonight," he said, coming back out and serving himself. "I don't know what it's about but we could check it out and see."

"Can we check it out after the game?" Ken looked anxiously at Omi, who laughed.

"Sure. It's almost over now anyway." Ken looked relieved.

They watched the rest of the match in companionable silence as they ate. When it was over Yoji stood up. "I'm going out. I'm out of smokes. Wanna come for a walk?" he asked Ken. "It's nice out tonight."

Ken stretched and got up off the floor. "I could walk off some of that food," he admitted. "Enjoy the movie," he called over his shoulder to Omi and Nagi.

"Don't stay up too late," Yoji added with a smirk. "See you later."

The door closed and Omi and Nagi were alone.

"Did you want to watch the movie?" Omi asked the boy. Nagi cuddled next to him on the couch.

"We can see if it's good. If not we can always do something else."

"Okay," Omi agreed. The `something else' was left unspoken between them, but understood. Nagi's head rested on Omi's shoulder, and Omi played with the silky strands of Nagi's hair as they watched silently, content just to be together all alone in someplace they could relax.

Half an hour later Nagi stirred. "This is pretty bad," he commented. "I hate dubbed stuff. It's always better with subtitles." He looked up at Omi. "Do you want to watch anymore?"

"Not really," Omi replied. "It is pretty bad, but I don't think it's just the dubbing." He giggled. "Is that actor's name really `The Rock'?"

Nagi laughed. "I think so. What do you want to do now?" His breath caught as Omi looked down at him with those spectacular eyes. You could drown in those eyes if you weren't careful. At this point Nagi was quite willing to drown.

"Can't you guess?" Omi asked in a low voice. A slow smile flickered over his lips and lingered in his eyes. "Let's go upstairs."

"What would you have done if it was raining?" Ken asked Yoji, lifting his head off of Yoji's bare chest to kiss the other man.

"Found somewhere else to stash the blankets," Yoji replied.

They were stretched out on a bed of blankets five deep on the roof of the Koneko, Yoji's surprise for Ken.

"What if somebody sees us?" Ken whispered against Yoji's lips.

"No one will see us. It's too dark. The moon isn't even out yet."

"But the stars are pretty," Ken said with a smile, turning onto his back to stare up at the night sky.

"You're pretty," Yoji declared, his eyes travelling over Ken's naked flesh. "Aren't you going to thank me for all the trouble I went through to set this up?"

Ken smiled and ran his hands over his body invitingly. "I'm yours tonight," he said softly. "I'll do anything you want."

Anything?" Yoji asked, his voice husky, his eyes heavy-lidded with desire as he watched Ken's hands wander over that smooth, soft skin.

"Anything."