Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Wanting Something In Return ❯ Ken *Hits* On Aya and Enter the Birthday Cake?! ( Chapter 3 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Wanting Something in Return (Chapter 3: Ken *Hits* On Aya and Enter the Birthday...Cake?!)

By Carter Tachikawa

Disclaimer: Nope, Weiß Kruez is not mine. If it were, Omi would *still* have blond hair (even if I had to change how he looked totally) in Gluhen.

(Dang, I'm back again! Sorry for the delays everyone! I've been trying to get the more romantic interesting part out now. It's raining like hell here so it's the best time to work on this and my other stuff. Anyway, I have the urge to make Kenken flirt with Aya now. Oh yes, we'll finally see what Yohji and Omi were making in the first chapter. What's the third wish? I can't tell yet...but a lot of you have made very close guesses. In truth, you won't find out until the last chapter...which is also coming up. I guess I lied again. This thing will be six chapters without the lemon, seven with it. Sorry for all the confusion, I'm still working this story out.)

*Thanks to the reviewers (once again, this is in no particular order): LittleIsa, Rika-chan (who reviewed twice! Not that I mind, of course), CherubKatan, chibi koneko, Keeshe Kaldaka, fei, Kyri, marsupial, kamibukurosama, and Kytarynza K Yue (I hope I spelled everyone's name correctly)

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"Ah!" Omi almost fell out of his chair. "Yohji-kun! With all this talk of wishes and birthdays, I forgot about it!"

"Huh? What's that, chibi? " Yohji was too disappointed that Manx rejected him, he too forgot what Omi had been talking about. It wasn't until the seventeen-year old ran off when he finally remembered. "Oh, yeah! Hey, wait for me!"

"What are they doing?" Aya asked, finally showing some interest in what had been going on. Ken shrugged.

"I don't know." Seeing this was the perfect time to reveal how he felt, Ken attempted to...talk with Aya. "So what do you think is in that box Kritiker gave me?"

Aya shrugged in response. There was clatter coming from Omi and Yohji were and then the younger boy yelling at the older one over something. Ken changed the subject.

"You want some of the pocky one of the girls bought me? I don't think I can finish it."

"You've almost eaten the whole thing." Aya pointed out. "Besides, I don't like strawberry flavored pocky."

*Kenken goes for the goal and he's blocked off.* Ken thought dejectedly. But he wasn't going to give up just yet. He would get Aya involved in a conversation, one way or another.

"Um...then what is your favorite kind of pocky?" Ken stammered. *What is your favorite kind of pocky? What kind of a question was that? Hidaka no baka, that was one smooth move! Real smooth!*

"I don't like pocky that much. I don't have a favorite." Aya replied.

At least he said something. Feeling like he was going somewhere, Ken continued. Off in the distance, something else fell to the floor and Omi screamed. It was probably best not to get involved with them.

"So...was this how your...twentieth birthday was like?" Another stupid question. He had to stop this.

"I don't remember. I didn't feel like celebrating it to begin with." Aya let out a sigh and for a moment, just for a small moment, Ken thought he saw the redhead's violet eyes loose its glare. He actually looked sad. "Getting excited over birthdays was what Aya-chan did. She was the one who planned all my parties. She invited people, decorated the house, knew what gifts I wanted...she did everything. The birthdays I had in the past were better than the ones I've had recently. Much better."

*Wow! I made him show a softer side.* Ken blinked. This had to be the longest answer Aya Fujimiya gave to anyone. Ken actually felt more sorry for him. If Aya-chan was the one who arranged his parties, why would he have lent a hand to Omi and Yohji? He probably would have no clue what he was doing.

"What was your best birthday then?" He asked.

"My sixteenth one." Aya replied without thinking twice. "Aya-chan was fourteen at that time. She threw me a surprise party and got all my friends to come."

*Aya Fujimiya had friends?* It was hard to believe but then Ken remembered Aya hadn't always been cold and lonely. That once upon a time, he too had a wonderful life.

Aya went on reminiscing like he was an old man thinking about times when he was young. "My mother made all my favorite dishes. My father gave me a lot of money as a birthday gift. And there was a lot of music...the whole house had been transformed into a scene from all my best dreams. I don't think I wanted that night to end. I was forever grateful to Aya-chan. I had been unhappy for the last few days. School was getting harder and I had an argument with one of my closest friends. Also, my parents and I had some heated discussions over a lot of things. But the surprise party lightened up my mood. Aya-chan gave me the best time of my life. I'd go back to that moment again and again if I could."

This was turning out to be very interesting to Ken. The image of Aya Fujimiya, sixteen and young, blowing out his birthday candles and receiving all these wonderful gifts...it was as beautiful as the man himself. He could picture the smile pasted on Aya's face as his mother laid out dish after dish of his favorite food. He could see Aya's violet eyes lighting up when his father handed him that money as a present. He could Aya moving to the loud music being played, dancing with whoever he found.

"It sounds nice." Ken admitted.

"It was. It was the nicest thing anyone ever did for me."

*Oh my God, Aya just told me something about himself!* Ken realized. This was highly unusual for the quiet, reserved redhead to do. And he still wanted to know more about Aya.

"So...uh...Aya...has anyone told you...that you're...very...very..." What could he say that hadn't already been said? Beautiful? Intelligent? A hard worker? Silent?

"Silent." Ken finished off. Aya raised an eyebrow.

"Silent?" He asked, finding that to be the stupidest thing anyone ever said to him.

*That was another smooth move, Hidaka. This is the guy you love and the only thing you can afford to tell him is that he is silent. Great job, baka.* Ken berated himself. Hopefully, Aya would not hate him for this. He shrugged.

"Sorry, it kind of slipped. What I meant to say is...you're...you keep to yourself a lot."

Oh, that had been even better, right up there calling Aya silent! Ken wished he was more like Yohji at that moment. Yohji would use some of his best pickup lines to hook Aya in. It would also be nice to know some of those pickup lines right now. Hmm...maybe now was the best time to do so.

"You know, Aya..." Ken tried again. "Are you tired?"

"No." Aya had a bad feeling about this. "Why?"

"Cause you've been running through my mind all day."

Aya scowled. "That line never worked with Yohji and it doesn't work with you either. Don't try and use it with the girl you've got a crush on. And if you try these lines out on me again, I will be forced to do something drastic and you will not like it. Understand?"

Ken gulped. "Understood." At least Aya didn't say he was going to shi-ne him. This was a record. Aya said a lot in just ten minutes. Ken was going to say more (not using Yohji's pickup lines of course) when Omi and Yohji re-entered the room, holding something huge.

"Ken-kun, you will be pleased to see what Yohji-kun and I made." Omi announced. When the boy stepped back and revealed what he and Yohji were carrying, Ken wished that they had kept it downstairs. It was white and red with strawberries dripping down the sides. It looked like someone had punched a hole in one side of it. The top looked like Aya had driven his katana straight through it.

Whatever it was, Ken hoped it wasn't food.

"Tada!" Omi exclaimed. Ken and Aya exchanged looks. Yes, Aya even looked disgusted at...whatever they made.

"Um...it's nice." Ken tried to look pleased.

"It's your birthday cake, Kenken." Yohji chuckled. Damn. It was food.

"Yohji-kun and I spent all of last night making it." Omi said proudly as some of the frosting slipped off the cake and onto the floor. Aya went to get a mop and wipe it up.

*So that's what all the noise was.* Ken realized. He had hoped it would look a little bit more edible.

"We made a few mistakes..." Omi began. "Like Yohji-kun put more salt than asked for in it."

"We ran out of cream so we had to improvise." Yohji added. "We had no red icing so we used strawberries instead."

"And Yohji-kun accidentally shoved his hand into it. That was why I was yelling."

"Then Omittichi here dropped it on the ground..."

"But, despite all the mistakes we made, it still looks good. Don't you agree?" Omi was beaming so hard Ken was afraid to say a word. He didn't want a piece of that cake after hearing what happened to it.

"It...*looks* good." Ken lied. "But I don't feel like eating it now. I had too many pockys."

"How about you, Aya-kun?" Omi asked.

"I don't like strawberries." Was Aya's response. Ken bet that he too had problems telling Omi and Yohji that their cake looked anything but delicious.

"Ah, well, it's your loss." Yohji sighed, taking a slice. He took a bite of it and tried to smile. "It's...got an interesting taste...you should try it."

*I'd rather have a cardboard cookie.* Ken thought.

Yohji spit out whatever he put in his mouth into the trash. "Uh...chibi? I think we should go and buy a cake. Ours isn't...how do I put it...we can't eat it."

"Oh." Omi looked disappointed. Ken felt sorry and tried to cheer him up.

"Don't worry, Omittichi. It was a good effort if anything. At least you remembered to make me a cake. And besides, you bought me a gift so you did do something for me. You too, Yohji."

"Oh...okay!" Omi smiled. "Let's go, Yohji-kun! I know a place where they sell some nice cakes. One of the girls showed me. It's not that far from here..."

"I don't know, Omi." Yohji looked doubtful. "I don't feel like walking in the cold..."

"There are six single women who run that store."

Yohji's eyes lit up behind those glasses. "Why didn't you say *that* in the first place, chibi? It evens out perfectly."

"Huh?" Aya raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. One woman for each of you and three for me. You and Aya come too, Kenken."

Ken looked at Aya. "You wanna go?"

Aya grunted in reply. Oh yes, he had gone back to his cold, silent self. But he got up and took his coat. Ken chose to follow along and together, the four members of Weiß walked over to the shop. It was still a cold day and with the sun going down, the temperature was dropping. Aya was the only one not complaining about how cold it. (No surprise to anyone) But when they did arrive, Yohji got a good look at all six beautiful who worked there and smiled.

"I froze my ass coming here but it was worth it." He said.

"Let's go in." Omi suggested.

"I'm not going." Aya stated simply, crossing his arms.

"You and Yohji go. I'll be out here." Ken suggested. If Aya wanted to freeze his ass in the cold, then Ken would too. Maybe they may actually have another conversation. Omi was surprised by this.

"But Ken-kun, don't you want to see what your cake will look like?" He asked.

"Surprise me." Ken suggested. "I'll like it no matter what."

"Can we go in now?" Yohji demanded. "I'm still freezing here!"

"Freezing or anxious to get a date with all six of them, Yohji-kun?" Omi joked. "Ah, well, let's go."

The other two disappeared into the shop, leaving Ken and Aya alone. Pacing back and forth to keep warm, Ken tried to bring that sensitive side out of Aya again.

"So what did you think of Omi and Yohji's miserable attempts at baking?" He asked.

Aya said nothing. He just leaned against the wall and looked down to the ground.

"The cake looked like you something you'd shi-ne." Ken joked. "I don't think you'd ever seen anything like that at your birthday parties, huh?" He deliberately mentioned birthday parties in hopes of seeing Aya open up to him again. It worked the last time, why not again?

"How should I know? My birthday parties ended a long time ago." Aya muttered.

That was it. Whatever frustration and anger Ken felt towards Aya Fujimiya now was pushing its way out. Who did he think he was? Here was the guy he loved being a complete jackass! What happened to the sweet Aya who was reminiscing about his past? His silence and toneless voice was enough to make Ken spill out his true feelings.

"What the hell is your problem?!" He demanded. This time he was not going to hold anything back. Aya's silence and lack of emotion had driven him to a limit. "I tried everything and it still isn't sinking in!"

"What the hell are you talking about now, Hidaka?" Aya snapped.

"About you! You are the most selfish person I have ever met, Fujiymiya! So what if you don't have everything going for you anymore?! I'm sorry about your losses but you are so absorbed with your tragic past that you forgot all about the present and you are destroying your future!"

Aya twitched. He had never heard Ken yell like this before and it infuriated him.

"You don't know anything, Hidaka." He began coldly. " All that happened to you was that you got kicked off the J-League, your best friend betrayed you, and then he tried to kill you. You do not know what it is like to come home one night and find your parents brutally murdered and lying dead on the ground. You do not know what it is like to watch your home explode and collapse on you. You do not know what it is like to witness your little sister stand in the middle of the road, unaware of what she should do next, and then get run over by the same man who killed your parents. You do not know how that feels, Hidaka, but *I* do! That was everything I had! Takatori took it away from me. He took away my family, took away my home, took away my life...he made me what I am! I'm not being selfish. I just don't have anything to be happy about anymore."

"Can't you pretend to be happy?" Ken wasn't going to buy the whole 'Takatori stole my life so I will be vengeful for as long as I'm living' act. He knew there was more inside this man. He remembered the whole talk about Aya's sixteenth birthday, after all. "Even if you're not, act like you're excited."

"Over what?" Aya snapped.

"It's my birthday, dammit! If Omi and Yohji can get over what happened to them, so can you! If they can take time to bake me a cake and buy me a gift, you can do the same! I'm not asking you to smile and laugh but be nice for a change! Or pretend. You're always pretending nothing bothers you, right? You pretend in front of our customers like everything is fine. It won't hurt to pretend you care about me."

"Care about you?"

"You still haven't figured it out, have you?" Ken shook his head. "Fujimiya, the reason I have not told anyone my third wish is because, in some way, it has to do with you! I care about you, Aya! No, I love you! The real reason I never ran off with Yuriko was not what Yohji told me. It was not because I had to fulfill my obligations with Weiß. The real reason I never ran off was because of you! I realized, the moment Yuriko stepped out of the picture, that I cared about you. I've only cared about Kase that much but he destroyed our relationship. I never thought I'd feel the same again but I do. Only I feel it stronger."

Aya blinked. All this was a whirlwind of hidden emotions spinning towards him. It explained why Ken was eyeing him all this time. The boy wanted to tell how he felt but never got the chance. It was here now and, where Yohji and Omi weren't visible, he decided to let it all out. Ken stopped to take a breath and Aya turned away.

"So you love me." He remarked. "I will admit, that is not what I expected from you."

"It's the truth." Ken nodded. "You should try telling it someday."

Aya whipped back around. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Instead of saying you have nothing, take a long hard look at everything. You've got us. You've got me. You've still got your life. Face it. The world doesn't revolve around you and it doesn't revolve around Aya-chan. There's a lot more out there than Takatori, your sister, and you, Fujimiya. There's a hell lot more out there."

For once, Ken was making Aya think about himself. He did have a point. Everything Aya had ever done was for Aya-chan and for himself. He wanted revenge so he joined Weiß. But he wasn't alone anymore...Aya-chan was alive. She wasn't awake but she was alive and that left a little hope inside him. Also his teammates were still there. Omi, Yohji, and Ken...oh yes, Ken. The one who poured his heart out right now. The dark-eyed boy made a lot of sense. Takatori was only a small portion of a vast world. It was high time to start thinking about that vast world.

"Well?" Ken asked. "I love you. Doesn't that affect you in any way?"

"You're like a lot of the girls I've met before I joined Weiß, Hidaka. They tell me the same thing and I always reply the same way. I don't deserve love. I don't think I remember how it felt like. I don't want to remember how it felt like."

"You're lying." Ken said knowingly. "You're lying through your teeth again, Fujimiya. Your eyes are giving it away."

Aya glared. "To hell with this then. You want me to tell you the truth? Fine! I'm not worthy of love! I haven't done anything to deserve it, least of all yours! The people who I got love from are either gone forever or don't have a big chance of living. But I'm willing to bet you that if they were around, they wouldn't care about me. Look at me! I'm not..." Aya paused. "I'm not the same person they knew."

With that, Aya got up and walked away in the opposite direction. Ken had the urge to follow him but stayed put. Perhaps it was best that Aya spent some time alone, absorbing everything that had been said. He'd find his way back to the flower shop. There was no need to drag him back.

"You're wrong, Fujimiya." Ken said out loud. "Your family would *still* care about you. You deserve love. You're capable of loving someone. You're capable of loving me. I know that deep inside, you want love."

Then his brown eyes gazed up to the starlit skies above. "And one way or another, I will see that you get it."

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(Whoa, another chapter from hell! Next one will be more Aya-centric. I think it's high time we give the scowling, handsome redhead a moment in the spotlight, no? I will also make sure Yohji and Omi never bake a cake (or anything for that matter) again.)

Schuldig: Okay, you lied. You lied in your thoughts!

Farfarello: Yay! Lying in thoughts makes God cry!

Me (turning around): Hey, look who's here! A half of the Schwarz! Hey Schu! Hey Farf! Schu, were you reading my mind yet again?

Schuldig: But of course. In your mind, I see you wanted to put Aya naked in the birthday cake and make him pop out of it. Where the hell is that part?

Farfarello: Muawahahahaha! Popping naked out of a birthday cakes? God would have a heart attack!

Me: ??? I'm sure he would. Anyway, Schu, you're right. I had intentions of making Aya jump out a birthday all naked and such...but I think he'd shi-ne me if I did that.

Schuldig (sulks): No fair! I wanna see that ice sculpture come out of a cake in his birthday suit! That's what I did on Brad's birthday! (Smiles) I think I should do that more often, popping out naked from nowhere...he he he. I read Brad's thoughts and he said he *liked* it.

Farfarello: Nyohohohoho! Naked Schuldig scares God! (Licks knife)

Schuldig (offended): Hey!

Me: Yes...well, enough of that. I gotta get back to this story. Schu, enjoy scaring the hell out of Brad. Farf...uh...do what you always do.

Farfarello: Hurt God?

Me: ...Yeah. The next chappy is coming up soon! Two more to go! Whoa! And who knows, maybe Brad and Nagi will stop by, provided that Brad hasn't died of a heart attack from checking out Schu in his birthday suit. Stay tuned!