Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ To Fall Again ❯ Reunion ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter 1: Reunion

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Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or the series.

Warnings: Lots of angst, sex later, possible OOC-ness and m/m relationships. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Author's Notes: I've never seen Gluhen, but I have read up a little on it. So, if something's off, tell me and I'll try to fix it. I just really liked this idea and thought I would give it a go.

Flashbacks

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"I need to talk to you," Asuka said in a trembling voice. Yohji's gentle green eyes looked adoringly at his wife.

"What's wrong, baby?" He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into his lap as he sat in the large leather armchair.

"You're going to hate me." Asuka's bottom lip began to tremble.

"You know I could never hate you. You are my life." Yohji gently wiped away tears as they ran down his wife's soft cheeks.

"I'm pregnant." The words came out so quietly, with so much agony, it was almost like someone died.

"Really? Asuka! That's great! We're finally going to be a family. I may not have a past, but I'm going to have a wonderful future." The blonde began raining kisses on his wife's face, joy making his emerald eyes sparkle.

"Yohji, stop." The blonde stopped kissing her and just looked at her with a look of complete confusion. "You're not the father."

"Wha-what?" Asuka hurried off of her husband's lap as he absently stood and began to pace. "Is this some sort of joke?"

"I'm so sorry, Yohji." Asuka began to sob uncontrollably.

"How? How could you do this to me?" Yohji ran his fingers through his short, curly hair.

"You don't understand!"

"Please, educate me." Yohji felt as if his heart was going to explode, and the only way he could deal with the pain was to get angry.

"It's so hard to deal with the angst, Yohji. All you do any more is complain about the nightmares, the memories that never make any sense, and if you're not doing that, you're working. So, when you had that conference last month, I got tired of it all. I was tired of fighting with a past you can't remember, tired of not knowing who you really are, and tired of not knowing if there was someone out there wondering where you were."

"That's your excuse! Asuka, did you never love me at all? I was willing to accept the fact that I am a virtual nobody, so I could be a somebody with you. I love you . . . with my whole body and soul, I love you. How can you do this to me? How can what we have mean so little?" Yohji went over to the wine cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and took a swig.

"I never wanted to hurt you!" Asuka wailed.

"Yeah? Well, you failed. So, fuck you." Yohji took another drink and noticed that it just made him feel worse, so he sent the bottle hurling across the room, to crash into the refrigerator. "God, what do I do now?"

"We could try to work this out." Asuka's soft voice set the calmness in the eye of the storm.

"You're a bitch." Yohji let out a humorous less laugh. "You think that we can make it work when you have some other man's baby growing inside you. You betrayed me . . . how could I ever trust you now? No, we can't work it out. I think that I should leave . . . maybe go back to Tokyo. I'm going to go to a hotel tonight. I'll be back to get my things tomorrow. I just need to get away from you right now." Yohji didn't give Asuka time to respond before he grabbed the keys to his Nissan and walked out the door.

*******

Yohji sighed as he pulled into the grocery store parking lot. He put his car in park and laid his head against the steering wheel as he brooded. It had been a little over three months since he left his wife, and his divorce became final today. He was living in a tiny apartment in Tokyo and paying an obscenely high rent. He was still trying to find a job . . . preferably one where he didn't have to crunch numbers. He was broke from his reverie by the sound of a car pulling in beside him.

The motor purred deeply beside him before the engine was cut, and he looked over to see a sweet white Jag that had been well-taken care of. He caught a flash of red hair as the car's owner exited the vehicle and started walking toward the store. Yohji watched in appreciation as the muscular male form (with a tight little ass to boot) disappeared mysteriously into the store. That would have to be the only thing he had kept from his wife . . . the fact that he was attracted to both sexes. Not to mention that there was just something about redheads that drove him wild.

The blonde shut-off his car and made his way inside the store. He grabbed a grocery basket and set out toward the produce isle, only to find the redhead standing with his back to the blonde, looking over some apples. Yohji walked by him and noticed the almost over-whelming fragrance of flowers that lingered around the redhead. Yohji was uncertain as to why, but he felt the almost desperate need to introduce himself the man with fiery locks and ivory skin.

A flicker of light sparkled off the surface of a silver hoop that donned the redhead's ear caught his attention. The blonde tried not to notice how the earring strangely looked like the match of his own as he looked over at the stranger's profile. He quickly determined that the redhead had to be the most beautiful man he had ever seen in his life. So, naturally, when the redhead turned to leave the apples, Yohji backed up to `accidently' be in the redhead's path. They collided softly, and a pale hand snapped out to balance Yohji.

"Excuse me, I'm so very sorry," Yohji said in a deep, seductive tone, hoping to catch the redhead's attention. To his astonishment, the redhead looked up at him with the most intensely violet eyes he had ever seen, and Yohji felt a jolt of recognition go through him. The look on the redhead's face went from mild annoyance to total shock then to complete panic. Yohji found himself at a loss as the already pale face went to a ghastly shade of translucent white and a cold sweat broke out on the redhead's brow.

"Are you okay?"

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Ran couldn't breathe. His chest felt tight and hurt more and more with every attempt he made to regain his composure. He knew that he must be trembling as his vision started to blur. He practically melted to the cold tile floor, and a voice called to him from far away. He was no stranger to this phenomenon . . . panic attacks. The doctors had told him that was what it was after he had collapsed in the middle of the flower shop one day. They started shortly after the school had exploded, when Yohji was still unconscious in the hospital.

The last one he had was when Omi told him that Yohji was married.

Now, here he was, in the middle of the grocery store floor, across from the last person he ever expected to see again. Not only did Yohji not recognize him, but he was hitting on him. Kami-sama, he just wanted to break-down and cry. But first . . . first, he had to remember how to breathe. He was concentrating on that so hard that he failed to notice that his cell phone was ringing.

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Yohji felt like he wanted to die. He just wanted to meet the redhead, not cause the poor thing to go into a panic. People were staring, which probably wasn't helping the redhead's condition any, so the blonde attempted to send them away with a glare. He pulled the cold, despondent body toward him and began to run his fingers through crimson silk in a soothing manner. When the cell phone started ringing, he jumped, but grabbed the offending little device that was attached to the redhead's black leather belt.

"Red's phone, how may I help you?" Yohji just hoped that he didn't offend whoever was on the other side of the line.

"Ran? Is that you?" A sweet feminine voice spoke into his ear and Yohji wondered for a moment who this girl was. "Onisan?" She tried again. So this was the redhead's sister . . . that was a big help.

"No. Look, your brother is hyperventilating in the middle of the grocer's here and I need to know the best way to calm him down." The redhead was going to pass out if he didn't start breathing regularly soon.

"Okay, he's having a panic attack. I need you to hold the phone up to his ear and massage his scalp . . . that always seems to work." Yohji did as the sweet voice instructed. He could barely hear the soothing sweetness of the girl's voice through the phone as he continued to stroke the scarlet tresses and rock the redhead back and forth.

"Aya?" A deep, sultry voice finally spoke. Yohji was shocked by the sheer seductiveness of the tone . . . the redhead had a voice that dripped sex. "No. I'm okay . . . really. Tell Ken that I don't need a babysitter and that I can damn well drive myself home." There was a pause in the redhead's speech that was broken by what sounded like a stiff reprimanding. "I can't leave Yoh . . . um . . . his car here, Ken." The redhead winced and held the phone away from his ear for a moment as a definitely masculine voice yelled, quite distinguishable, through the small cell. "Don't take that fucking tone with me Hidaka. I'm not an invalid. I just had a damn shock okay!" Another pause. "But Aya . . . Fine."

Yohji jumped back as the phone was thrust into his face. "She wants to talk to you," the redhead growled. Yohji offered a small smile as the redhead pulled away from him with a scowl.

"Hello?" Yohji looked over at the still trembling young man cautiously, in case the redhead decided to lash out at him.

"Hi, it's me again. Listen, I really hate to bother you, but Ran can be a real pain in the arse, so, I was wondering if you could just get the grocery list from him and have the grocer's to deliver the stuff later. I would be so grateful." The poor girl sounded so worried.

"Sure. Hold on a sec." Yohji looked at the redhead for a moment before he noticed a sheet of paper clutched in one pale, trembling hand. He pried the hand open, looked at the paper, and determined that it was indeed the grocery list. "Mission accomplished. Would you like me to do anything else?"

"I would really hate to bother you any further. You have already done more than enough." The girl, Aya, he assumed, didn't sound too sure about that.

"It's no problem, really. You say jump, and I'll say how high." He heard a light giggle.

"Okay, would you mind waiting with Ran? I'm bringing a friend to come pick him up." The poor girl sounded like she was scared to death.

"Sure thing, sweetness. I would do anything for you. And, let us not forget, your brother is awfully easy on the eyes." Yohji saw the redhead roll his eyes as he heard a sweet giggle in his ear.

"Okay, but keep your hands to yourself . . . Ran bites." With that, the line was disconnected and Yohji handed the phone back to the redhead.

"Domo arigato," Ran stated formally as he grabbed the phone from the blonde and attempted to stand. Yohji offered him a hand, just to have it batted away.

"Geez, I'm only trying to help, stubborn ass." Ran made sure to send him one of his iciest glares for that comment.

"As you can see, I'm perfectly capable of doing this on my own."

"Are you all right, sir? Is there anything I can do?" A young male store attendant looked absolutely shell-shocked as he approached the two men.

"Yeah, could you fill this order and have it sent to . . ." Yohji looked at the redhead in askance.

"Koneko no Sumi Ie," the deep voice finished. Ran took that moment to rush past the two gentlemen and head outside. Yohji just smiled at the young man apologetically before rushing out to catch the temperamental redhead.

"Do you often have our groceries delivered to a flower shop?" The blonde asked as he took a seat beside the redhead on the bench outside of the store . . . not even wondering how he knew that the Koneko no Sumi Ie was, in fact, a flower shop.

"Not that it is any of your business, but I work there and live in the apartment in back," Ran answered in an annoyed voice. "Listen, I don't need a babysitter, so go back to whatever level of Hell you came from and leave me alone."

"You know, you're never going to make friends with other kiddies on the playground with that attitude of yours." Yohji absently reached for the inside pocket of his jacket, like he expected something to be there . . . cigarettes maybe. Did he used to smoke?

"Well, I would consider that a good thing," Ran responded as he looked away from the blonde.

"So, tell me, what was it about me that made you go into complete hysteria? I mean, I know I'm good-looking and all, but I've never had someone to literally swoon over me." Yohji offered Ran an all-so-familiar crooked grin that he had tried for the past two years to forget.

"Modest too, I see," he stated bitterly. "It's just that you reminded me of someone I used to know, and I never expected to see him again." If Ran was truly honest with himself, he didn't want to see Yohji now either. It just hurt too damn much. He wanted the cocky blonde to go away and leave him alone before he broke. Ran wanted to crawl into a dark corner somewhere, break down and cry, and then die in the pathetic, miserable puddle of his pain and shards of his shattered heart. If this was his life, Hell didn't look too damn bad . . . fuck, it was probably a vacation.

"Where is he now?" Yohji asked in that kind voice he would use while making love. It was enough to make Ran want to hurl.

"For all intents and purposes, he is dead." Ran mentally damned himself for the tremble in his voice as he spoke.

"I hate to hear that." Then there was a long stretch of uncomfortable silence. "By the way, my name is Egami Yohji." The blonde waited patiently for a few moments for a response from the redhead, not receiving one. "I think this is where you're supposed to tell me your name."

"Fujimiya Ran," the redhead responded softly.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" The blonde nudged Ran slightly with his shoulder, earning himself a growl coupled with a nasty glare.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" Ran pleaded, his violet eyes expressing more pain than annoyance.

"Because, Scarlet, I'm new in town and I don't know a soul. When I left my shitty little apartment today, I was bound and determined to make a least one buddy today, and you, with your cute little tight ass, became the lucky candidate." Yohji was almost positive that the glare he was receiving often made small children run, screaming in terror, but he was not about to let it deter him.

The redhead opened his mouth to say something caustic and nasty, before the sound of screeching tires stopped him. The two men on the bench looked over to see a yellow VW Bug with a wide-eyed young gentleman and a young woman covering her face. The redhead growled out a nasty-sounding `shi-ne' before approaching the vehicle.

"Hidaka, what the hell do you think you are doing? Try not to forget that my sister is in the car with you, baka!" The young brunette and the girl exited the car, both looking shell-shocked.

"Ran, you could have warned me about . . . you know." Ken whispered while sparing a glace back at Yohji.

"There was nothing to warn you about." Ran looked as if he lost Yohji all over again, and Ken felt his heart breaking for his teammate. Not that he understood that relationship anyway. It seemed like the only thing Ran ever got out of it was pain. Maybe the redhead really was a masochist.

"Hello there, you must be Ran's friends. I'm Yohji. It is a pleasure to meet you." Yohji leaned over and whispered in Ran's ear, "This is where you introduce them."

"Stop patronizing me!" The blonde gave him an amused little grin. "Fine, Yohji, this is Ken, my roommate and co-worker. And this is my little sister and co-worker, Aya. Happy? Now let's go guys."

"Wait!" Yohji grabbed the redhead's arm and felt a flash of deja vu as his hand came into contact with the soft black leather of the redhead's jacket. "So, are you seeing anybody?"

Ran closed his eyes. He couldn't go through this again, especially with the way things were now. It was hard enough when Yohji knew what Weiß was, but now it would just be impossible. So, Ran could only say one thing:

"No." Damn his traitorous heart. "That's because I like it that way." Good comeback.

"Are you sure about that?" Yohji asked with a wicked gleam his emerald eyes.

"Positive. Now, if you will excuse me, I have things that I would rather be doing." Ran handed Ken the keys to the Jag and walked in the direction of the car, the brunette following on his heels.

"Don't let Ran get to you." Yohji turned to the sound of the sweet feminine voice that was quickly becoming familiar to him. "He has lost so many people dear to him over the past few years. He was never really emotional, but when he . . . lost . . . his lover almost two years ago, he pretty much just shut-down. That whole `if I don't let anyone get close, it won't hurt when they leave' philosophy, if you know what I mean. If you're really interested, you're going to have to convince him that you're a chance worth taking." Aya watched as the white car pulled out of the parking lot.

"Not to worry, princess, not much gets to me nowadays." Yohji tweaked the blue-eyed girl on the nose and winked.

"Ran will be working all day tomorrow. He gets his lunch break around noon." Aya gave the blonde a playful grin.

"Your brother will kill you if he finds out that you just told me that." Yohji couldn't help but smile at the information he had just received.

"I won't tell if you won't." Aya patted Yohji on the back and climbed into the VW. She waved, honked the horn and pulled out of the parking lot, leaving Yohji standing there, grinning like the Chestsire cat. Speaking of cats . . . that sounded like something that was vaguely familiar.

*******

"Ran," Ken started as they walked into the apartment.

"I don't want to talk about it. Leave me alone." The redhead retreated upstairs and slammed the door. Ken sighed and ran his hand through his messy brown hair. His stoic teammate was too quiet . . . even for Ran. If Yohji wasn't such a good friend, Ken would have considered killing him for ever coming back to Tokyo . . . back into Ran's life. Yohji had forgotten Ran, and the rest of them, and moved on two years ago. How can he just show up and throw everything into chaos after all this time? It was all he and Omi could do to keep the redhead from slitting his wrists or shooting himself. They finally had to find Aya-chan and reunite the two siblings. They had figured out long ago that Ran had to have some purpose to drive him to keep him from going off the deep end, and bringing Aya back into his life seemed to be enough motivation. Now, after today's episode, Ken didn't know if they were enough anymore. He just hoped for all their sakes that they were.

The sound of the phone ringing broke Ken from his trance. "Moshi moshi, Koneko no Sumi Ie."

"Ken-kun!"

"Omi . . . man you would not believe the day we are having . . ."

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The house remained eerily quiet until a few moments after Aya had returned from the store. She had just enough time to sit down at the kitchen table and rest her head in her hands before a loud crashing was hear from above.

"What the hell?" Ken came out of the living room, holding the phone to his ear. The loud noises continued as Aya met Ken's worried gaze. "Omi, I'll have to call you back." Ken hung up the phone and retrieved a pistol from it's hiding place underneath the false bottom of an empty cabinet. The young man snuck slowly upstairs, Aya following closely behind him.

Ken was taking his time. If there was someone in the house that shouldn't be there, he didn't want to alert them to his presence. It wasn't until he heard the sound of glass shattering that he started to panic. It was soon followed by an anguish-filled scream that echoed through the house.

"Oh shit, Ran." Ken bounded up the stairs and tried to open the redhead's door. It came open easily, much to the athlete's shock. He looked around the fastidiously clean room and saw no sign of Ran. He walked back out of the room to see Aya leaning against the door to Yohji's old room, crying.

"Ran? Please, onisan, open the door," Aya whispered in a soothing voice. She looked at Ken, bottom lip trembling. "He's in so much pain, Ken."

"I know. Is the door locked?" Aya nodded. "Stand back." The young woman followed his directions, and Ken proceeded to kick open the door.

Ken had to fight back a wave of emotion as he walked into the room. No one had been in here since `the accident.' Ran wouldn't let them. Nothing had ever been taken or moved from the room, and, for the longest time, it looked as if Yohji was expected to come home soon. Now the room was in shambles. Bookshelves and CD racks had been turned over, their contents laying on the ground, some of it broken. It was practically raining goose down from what used to be feather pillows from the bed. The mattress was half hanging off the bedframe with the sheets ripped to shreds. Yohji's clothes were strewn across the room, and hanging off random pieces of furniture. Ken noticed that Yohji's turntable was missing from the now busted stereo system. Then he noticed the shattered window and deducted that the turntable had plummeted to its death, after being thrown through a window.

And Ran sat in the middle of it all, his face buried in Yohji's old mission jacket, rocking back and forth, sobbing like a child. Beside him sat a picture (probably the only intact item in the room). It was the one Omi had taken of them while they were kissing. Yohji had always loved that picture.

Aya pushed past Ken and navigated her way through the debris. She kneeled in front of her brother, putting her arms around him. It took only but a moment before she was crushed in Ran's needful embrace as he continued to cry.

"Ran, you have to calm down or you're going to be sick," Aya murmured into soft flame-colored hair.

"Oh, gods, it hurts." Ran was close to hysterical, crying so hard that he could barely breathe.

"I know, but you need to rest now. Come on, let's get you to bed." Aya was able to coax her brother into standing up and making his way toward the door. On his way out, Ran snatched the picture and one miraculously intact shirt, yet never letting go of the leather coat. Aya walked him down the hall, to his room, where she turned down the bed and made him promise to go to sleep. She was on her way out the door when her brother's soft voice stopped her.

"It's not fair, you know. Yohji was able to forget me quite easily, but I still have to live with the memory of him. How could anyone ever possibly forget Yohji?"

"Yes, he has forgotten you, but maybe he is trying to find his way back to you, Ran. Maybe you are the piece of the puzzle that he's missing." Aya didn't give her brother time to respond, but quickly left the room, shutting the door softly behind her. She could only hope that Yohji could find a place in his heart for Ran again, before Ran's own heart stopped beating.

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Let me know what you think so far.

Laters,

sirencirce