Pairing: Ken/Omi (and feel free to read in Aya/Yohji as much
or as little as you like)
Disclaimer: I wish I owned these boys and their world but I
most certainly do not. This is only for fun
Summary: Weiss has a mission and must cope with the fact
that colds spread fairly easily when boys work and live together
Mission Complications
Walking
quickly down the stairs, Yohji entered the basement room. He walked across and
bent over the back of the couch. He reached all the way over, feet lifting off
the floor, to place a glass of water and a new box of tissues on the coffee table.
"There you go," he said cheerfully. "And how are we feeling this afternoon?"
Even before
the box hit the table, Ken leaned over for a tissue. Cupping it and his hand to
his face, he sneezed slowly, "ehhChuffff!"
He looked up at Yohji with a half-dazed sort of expression. "I feel lige I'b
dyig id slow botiod." Then he lowered his head, took a deep breath, and blew
his nose. Even he made a face at the sound. "Jusd kill be add ged this cold
over with already! I've souded lige this for two days dow!" He blew his nose
again and sighed. Ken tilted his head to the side, into the cushions against
the back of the couch. "Thag you for the tissues, Yohji."
Nodding, Yohji
looked from one side of the couch to the other. "Same goes for you, I suppose?"
His palm pressed against Omi's forehead, feeling it for fever. Omi sniffled and
nodded in answer, unable to speak with the thermometer in his mouth.
Yohji
pulled a pair of sunglasses from his pocket. "We're going out to the casino
now. Should be back shortly. We'll contact you if anything goes wrong."
"Nothing
will be able to go wrong if we don't ever leave!" called Aya from upstairs. "Tell
them they're not coming on the mission and get up here."
Yohji
smirked. He bent over the back of the couch again, pulling the blanket that the
two Weiss members were under as they sat stretched out on opposite ends of the
couch. The couch being rather small, their legs both shared the middle, and
they shared the blanket. "You two hold down the fort while we're gone. We've closed
the shop for the rest of the day anyway."
He gave
them a wave, and turned, then spun around to face them again. "Oh! Almost
forgot." He pulled out a couple of magazines. "Bought these to help you pass
the time."
Ken barely
got a look at the one Yohji handed him before he laughed. The cover featured a
naked woman sprawled out on her back with an arm draped casually between her
thighs and her long hair conveniently covering her breasts. It was porn. Though
he wasn't even going to attempt saying that with his stuffy nose, the look on
his face said it all.
Yohji
nodded, unembarrassed and unapologetic. "Best thing to read while you're sick. After
all, you've already got tissues handy." He shrugged and handed Omi the other
one. "Because you're too young for the hardcore stuff," he explained as Omi
looked down at the cover of the sports magazine. "Now," Yohji said with a
definitive nod of the head. "We're off!"
He headed
up the stairs, leaving Ken and Omi to their mutual misery.
They each
took one more look at the magazines they'd been given. Then Ken tossed his over
his shoulder, which was also over the arm of the couch and onto the floor. Omi
crawled forward, turned, and snuggled up with Ken on his side. He was half
sitting against Ken, half sitting on the couch. Ken put an arm around Omi, and
used the other to take the thermometer from Omi's mouth. "Your temp's even
higher than mine," Ken said, holding up the thermometer and squinting at it. Omi
sighed and thanked him for reading it.
Ken took
the magazine from Omi and flipped through to see if there was anything of much
interest. It was pretty much the off season for every decent sport. They pulled
the blanket up to their chests and tucked it around their legs to be sure no
drafts got in. Leaning forward, Omi grabbed the tissue box and water from the
table. Then he settled back against Ken, feeling the older man squeeze him in a
sort of hug, welcoming him back.
Omi took a
few sips of water, then passed the glass back to Ken so he wouldn't spill when
he had to sneeze. Which he had to do rather immediately. "ehhh... ehChihh! ihhChihhh! hihChihhh!" He blew his nose and tossed
the balled-up tissue onto the floor.
Feeling
Ken's chest rise with a deep breath, Omi held the tissue box up for him and automatically
took the glass back. It was a routine that came from experience and practice.
One that came from knowing and understanding each other. It was not unlike
fighting. Needing to sense and to anticipate. Needing to stay alert and in
control.
"ehhh-Hushooo! Hekshooo!" Ken sneezed,
then rubbed his nose. It hadn't stopped running since he came down with the
cold, but he was getting tired of blowing his nose so much. He simply sniffed a
few times and sighed. Omi shivered, so Ken hugged him closer.
They sat
back against the side of the couch and the cushions there, covered by the warm
blanket and keeping each other warm as well. With his arms around Omi, Ken held
the magazine and read it over Omi's shoulder. While Omi held the water and
tissues which Ken used as much as he in between turning pages.
"Do you think
they'll be all right without us?" Omi asked as they finished an article about a
national table tennis tournament.
Ken glanced
over at the coffee table, upon which their phone squarely sat. Then he looked
over his shoulder at the computer which monitored the casino, showing
everything was just fine at the moment. "Yeah, I thig so," Ken said. He yawned
and shook his head to keep himself from nodding off. "Bud just in case, let's
keeb each other awake." Though feeling in the mood for a nap as well, Omi
agreed.
*
Yohji's
shoulder scraped against the cold metal side of the passage and he groaned. "Of
all the missions for Siberian and Bombay to be sick during, why'd it have to be
this one?" The two smaller members of Weiss certainly would have been able to
get through the ducts without such problems.
Aya, who
was crawling right in front, looked back and with an expression that both told
Yohji not to complain about things that could not be helped but also that he completely
agreed with Yohji's statement. Aya took the lead primarily due to the fact that
his weapon was better at quick, short-range killings.
The air
conditioning was still running, making their progress slow and making them both
shiver with cold. "It's a left up ahead!" Yohji called, wishing he'd at least
had Omi's voice in his head to direct them through the passage. Aya had spent
the drive over repeating the series of turns to get to the security room and
the casino owner's office. Consequently, Yohji had the route memorized as well.
"I remember,"
Aya snapped for what had to be the tenth time in so many minutes. He slid
forward with his hands and knees against the cold, slick metal. Yohji followed
behind, trying not to repeat the series in his head but failing. Right. Left.
Straight through three junctions. Right when it splits. Two more lefts with a
skip-- "Inkk!"
Yohji
looked up. His eyes caught Aya's rear and shifted upwards quickly to his head.
The short, bright red hair brushed along the top of the passage. What he could
see of the man's face was solemn and fixed in concentration. And there was no
other movement apart from the steady crawling, shuffling, and sliding forward. "Aya?"
Aya sighed
heavily. "What?" he said a little louder than he'd meant to. They both froze,
listening to be sure they hadn't been overheard and found out. But the sound
had been hidden by the rush of air flowing through the duct and completely lost
to anyone in the rooms below them. And from what Yohji remembered of the
buildings plans they'd studied earlier, right now they were probably over the
casino's main floor, perhaps with the card tables or roulette wheels beneath.
"Ighkkkk!"
In an
instant, Yohji's attention returned to the current situation. "What was that?"
he asked. Aya was not quick to reply, and a spot in Yohji's gut stabbed at him.
He had his suspicions, but hoped it was just Aya hitting his hand on something
and gasping. Because there was no way he could allow himself to even remotely
fathom the possibilities. Halfway through a mission was not the time to find
out he had to go it alone or quit. "Please tell me you're not catching this
cold that's going around."
Aya sniffed
hard and shook his head. "Do you want to take the lead through this air
conditioning duct with cold air shooting into your face and try to keep your
nose from bothering you?"
Yohji shook
his head sympathetically. It was true that by staying behind the other man,
most of the rushing wind was blocked for him.
They
continued on, moving as quickly as they could against the wind. Their hands
were starting to feel numb and their bodies stiff from the cold. At this rate,
they would be no good to fight when they reached their destinations. Unless, of
course, they did something to warm up when they got there.
"Ingkkkk!"
His head
bumped Aya's rear, and Yohji froze, realizing that Aya had stopped at another
junction. He waited, not wanting to incur the redhead's wrath by reminding him
of the proper direction. But when Aya did not go on, Yohji grew impatient. He
peered around the man's body to see Aya rubbing a hand to his nose. Having been
around Ken and Omi enough in the last day or two, Yohji recognized the
expression at once: Aya looked like he was on the verge of a sneeze.
"hih..." breathed Aya, his chest inflating
and his mouth turning down into a tight frown. "ihh-Nnkkkk!" He sneezed into the side of his hand, where it was
pressed against his nose, and his head snapped down. The sound echoed through the
passage, and Aya's ears turned a bit red as he raised his hand and looked
around. He avoided Yohji's eyes completely, but did not move onwards. Finally,
he spoke, his voice with a strict tone that informed the other Weiss member not
to say anything but a simple answer to his question. "Balinese, which way to the
room?"
"A right
and two more lefts," Yohji told him.
Aya nodded.
"That's right," he muttered to himself, then he headed right at once.
The slaps
of their hands and the thumps of their knees against the metal floor of the
duct was loud, but the whirring of air was louder. Still, Yohji was sure he
heard the sound of sniffling emanating from the man in front of him. He said
nothing, but raised an eyebrow. Sniffling and sneezing from the cold air was
one thing, but forgetting his way in addition was quite another.
As they crawled
onward, Yohji noticed that Aya was shivering silently. Apparently, the cold had
completely penetrated the long coat and the black turtleneck that was Aya's
standard mission wear, because Aya didn't seem to be able to stop shivering.
When they reached the location where they were to drop down, he stopped and
leaned back against the side of the tiny passage to catch his breath and rub
his nose which was bright red from the cold, nearly matching his hair. He
rubbed his hands back and forth to warm them.
His own
nose running a little as the cold air hit him in the face, Yohji reached out
and patted Aya's arm. He whispered, "I'll drop down and disable the system. You
stay here."
Aya shot
him a cold look, his teeth clenched. He was far less menacing than usual with
his body shaking so, however.
"I've got
the phone. I can call the others if I can't figure the system out. But there's
only supposed to be one guard or, at most, two. I can handle it. It'll take
longer for us both to get down and up again, Abyssinian. And as soon as the
system's disabled we don't have a lot of time to get to the owner's office
before they beef up security and try to reactivate it."
Aya said
nothing, as he considered this. Then he gave a firm nod and waved his hand at
the panel to welcome Yohji to try it on his own. The moment Yohji went for it,
Aya's hand snapped to his face, cupping his nose as he shook with more shivers.
Yohji paused, not wanting a sneeze to alert the guard to his presence. "h'NGtttt!" Aya sneezed violently, stifling
but shaking with the restrained force. His expression, when he had quickly
dropped his hand, told Yohji that any mention of it would result in pain, if not
death.
"Be right
back," said Yohji, glad for the time away from Aya. Though he was a little
worried about his fellow teammate, he felt the entire situation was quite
humorous. Aya had expended much energy explaining that Siberian and Bombay
should not go on the mission because of their health, only to fall ill himself.
Because Yohji was absolutely certain that all the sneezing and shivering wasn't
just because of the cold air.
Almost
effortlessly, Yohji pried off the metal panel and dropped down from the top of
a wall in a beautiful flourish of dark blue clothes and honey-blond hair. One
knee and two palms touching the ground, Yohji lifted his head and met the eyes
of the sole security guard in the room. Then one of Yohji's slender fingers
slid up the bridge of his nose and pushed his sunglasses into place. Before the
man could even move, Yohji sprung up and darted behind him, holding his wire to
the man's neck. His eyes widened and his arms flailed for a moment before he
went limp and crumpled to the floor when Yohji took a step back.
Then he
turned his attention to the security system. It was easy enough to deactivate
the alarms and sector alerts; it was really just a matter of pushing the proper
buttons next to appropriate labels indicating the upper sections of the
building. But loading the program to freeze and block the system to make it
difficult for it to be restarted took a little more know-how. While keeping an
ear out for anyone at the door, Yohji scrambled to get the disk into the computer
and run the programs to install it in the system.
After
several attempts with no success, Yohji was becoming impatient. The system
would not understand his commands halfway through a series, and even when he
tried modifying it from the errors, it still would not work. A bead of sweat
trickling down his face and onto the control panel just as he heard a sound
from above. He raised his gaze to see Aya's face staring down at him. Somehow,
Aya looked much more tired and worn out. His cheeks and nose were a rosy red
color and he held a black gloved finger at his nose. "Balinese!" he hissed. "Hurry
up!"
"I'm almost
done," Yohji lied. "Be right up as soon as I contact Bombay
about this last step." Thankfully Aya disappeared back into the air
conditioning duct, though that had less to do with Yohji's words and much more
to do with the fact that it looked like he had another sneeze coming on.
Either way,
Yohji took the opportunity to call the others and speak candidly. "I need the initial
loading code," he said urgently the moment Ken picked up the phone.
There was
nothing but static on the other side of the line and Yohji's normally calm
stomach jumped.
*
"Ked-kud?"
Omi said sleepily. He forced his eyes open, realizing his shoulder was being
shaken quite forcefully. "What...? ihhhCHihhh!
ehhhChihhhh! Sniff! ihhh-Hih-CHIHShhh! H'Chishhh! Sniff! What is it?"
"We fell
asleeb," he said hurriedly, stuffing tissues into Omi's hand. "Yohji's callig. Deeds
your helb. I'll stall. You blow your dose so he'll be able to udderstad you."
Ken grabbed
the phone and clicked it on. "Sorry. Gettig the files together. What exactly is
wrodg?" After he pressed the button to mute their side but still allow Yohji to
talk. Ken sniffed hard and pinched his nose shut. Then he looked over at Omi,
who was tossing the tissues to the floor and motioning for the phone. "Good,"
Ken sighed in relief, handing it over. "Because I really hab to sdeeze!"
The moment Omi
had the phone, Ken leapt up off the couch and headed to the other side of the
room. He was only halfway there when the sneezes struck. "huhhh-HEHShooo! Hekshooo!" He cupped his hands over nose and mouth
falling forward with each sneeze. "hehhhShooo!
EhhhKShooo!"
Meanwhile,
Yohji was trying quickly to explain, not knowing Ken and Omi weren't listening
to every word. "And now it's not accepting my keystrokes and I can't remember
what you said to do about that."
Omi sniffled
and unmated their side. "Okay. I'll walk you through it." Thankful of all of
the reconnaissance he had done the previous week, Omi visualized the system as
he explained the steps needed to set up the program. They hadn't had time to
specially engineer a virus for the system, but something general that would eat
up clock cycles would buy them enough time to slip through the outer office
undetected and murder the casino owner with only a small legion of unsuspecting
bodyguards with which to contend. "Then just run the executable. It should be
compiled properly now," Omi finished up.
Omi looked
serious and concerned, albeit quite exhausted and sick. Rubbing at his nose, he
looked over at Ken, who had practically collapsed in the chair in front of the
computer, head lolling to the side, eyes closed, hand hovering at chest level
to catch any oncoming sneezes. He looked like there were some already on their
way. Omi shivered and tried to keep his mind on the mission, instead of letting
his thoughts stray to the idea of snuggling on the couch with Ken again.
"That's it.
The system's locked up," Omi heard Yohji say on the phone.
"Good,"
said Omi, smiling. "Good luck with the rest of the mission. We'll be here, so
just call if you need... if..." He scrubbed his nose with his hand, but even then
the tickle would not die down. "ehhhChiiiih!"
"We'll be
home before you know it. You two just take it easy."
The
communication ended, and Omi sighed, relaxing back against the couch cushions.
"Ken?" he called out.
"hehhh-EHKShhh! EhhhShooo!"
"Ken?" he
called out again. "Come back over here."
Ken groaned
and coughed.
"I know it
takes energy, but you can do it. The couch is all warm and comfy here with me,"
Omi tried to convince him.
Omi watched
as Ken started to get up, but then gave up, resigning himself to the chair. Ken
sniffed and shook his head. Then his whole body snapped in half. "hehhhShuhhh! ehhhKShooo!"
Omi
chuckled and pulled several tissues from the box. He held them up and waved
them around. "I've got tissues here."
They proved
to be the perfect lure. Ken used the arms of the chair to push himself up, then
he headed straight to the couch. He grabbed the tissues from Omi's hand and
burrowed beneath the blankets, right up against Omi's side. Omi put his arm around
Ken and snuggled him close as Ken blew his nose. "I'm glad we didn't go on the
mission," Omi said.
*
"Okay," said
Yohji with much resolve as he climbed back into the air conditioning duct and
replaced the panel over the entrance. "I had to contact Siberian and Bombay
but the program is loaded and working. All the monitors are frozen and the
system's locked up. But before that happened, I had a good look at what we're
up against. There are, at this moment, eight men in..." He stopped with his
update and looked concernedly at Aya.
Aya was
unmistakably trying to hold back a sneeze. And, despite his twitching nose and
held breath, he seemed to be winning. Yet it took all his concentration just to
keep from sneezing and surely was not really taking in a word of Yohji's
briefing.
Yohji
sighed and waved his hand at Aya. "Go ahead and sneeze. The sooner you do, the
sooner I can finish and we can move on."
Glaring at
him but not being able to reply, Aya simply lifted his arm and directed sneezes
into the crook of his elbow. "Ingsh! Ngshhh!
Innshh!" He swiped the lower half of his arm beneath his nose then sat
perfectly still, demanding they move on at once without discussion of the
sneezes.
For the
sake of the mission, and for his own health, Yohji complied. Otherwise there
was no telling when his body might be found in the air conditioning duct, a
katana run through his chest. "There are eight men in the office. The manager,
three who look like bodyguards, and four other suits. I'll take the muscle and
you can tackle the four. Then whoever gets to the manager first can kill him.
Sound all right?"
Aya nodded
and sniffled, trying to make the sound less obvious and hidden by his movement.
Then they resumed their crawling through the maze of ducts. Only once did Yohji
have to clear his throat to signal Aya to go in the opposite direction. The
brief rest at the security room seemed to do them both some good and, despite
the intense cold of the air against their faces, they made it through with
excellent timing.
When they
reached their destination, Aya held a black gloved hand to his nose to keep
from sneezing or sniffling and giving away their presence while Yohji loosened
the screws to the metal panel. Their eyes met, giving Aya one last chance to
bail, but when they pulled the panel off both of them jumped down from the
ceiling into the middle of the office.
Aya landed
a few feet from the manager, sitting at his desk. During the jump down, he had
unsheathed his Katana and he immediately swung it in the direction of two of
the men in suits.
Yohji had
his harigane in hand and the thin wire wrapped around one guard's neck just as he
sent another crashing back against the wall with a strong kick. The third
charged, but Yohji knocked the gun from his hands. After that, Yohji simply
moved quickly, fighting them for as long as it took to finish them off.
Not having
to move much further to get the other two men, Aya took them both down, then
came to rest in front of the manager. The man was trembling in his chair at the
sight of the red-haired man, spattered in blood and standing strong with his
sword in hand. "Who-who are you?" he stammered.
"Weiss,"
Aya said, his voice even richer and deeper than normal though, thankfully,
devoid of congestion. "We are the ones who hunt the dark beasts of this world
to protect those in the light." And with that he swung his sword, bringing it
down in order to slash deeply across the man's front. The manager immediately
fell forward, out of his chair, and was dead before he hit the ground.
"Almost too
easy," said Yohji, placing his hand on Aya's shoulder. Now that the fight was
over, Aya suddenly felt weak and unsteady. Aya leaned into Yohji for support
lest his legs buckle at that very moment. Still gripping his sword with one
hand, his other grabbed a fistful of Yohji's jacket to keep himself upright. "I'll
get you home," Yohji whispered.
Shaking his
head in protest, Aya whispered back, "I'll be all right. Just a little tired
and cold." Aya wiped his sword clean on his leg and sheathed it. He made no
move to pull away from Yohji, however, and Yohji wrapped an arm around him to
keep him steady.
Before he
could start out, Aya raised his hand to his face. He pinched his nose closed
but a moment too late. "INKkkkkk!" He
bent in half at the force of the sneeze. When he straightened up, he leaned
more against Yohji and closed his eyes.
"Well,
well. What do you know? Two of our favorite playthings."
Yohji's
head snapped to the side to see two of the four members of Schwartz, Crawford
and Schuldich.
Aya
instantly moved away and stood on his own, unsheathing his sword again. "Nice
to see you, too," Aya said, his eyes cold and strong.
"Thought
we'd wait until you'd finished here before barging in on the fun," Crawford
said, wringing his hands as though in preparation. "Wouldn't want to make
things too complicated." Leaning against the doorpost, Schuldich crossed his
arms over his chest and shook his head to echo Crawford's words.
Feeling
that things were already rather complicated, with half their team missing and Aya
not feeling so hot besides, Yohji mirrored the tone of Aya's gaze. "What are
you doing here?"
"Just
passing through, really," Schuldich said with a shrug. "We have interests
nearby and happened to be downstairs while all the lovely killing was going on
up here." He smiled widely. "Though we wouldn't mind doing some of our own,
would we, Brad?"
"Certainly
not," Crawford agreed, smiling as well. He reached up and used a finger to push
his glasses up his nose. Light glinted off the glass, hitting Yohji in the
face. Yohji tried not to blink. As though that were the signal, Schuldich
sprung into action, moving towards Aya.
Knowing Aya
was in no condition to fight properly with the telepath, Yohji made a move towards
Schuldich. But Crawford engaged Yohji before Yohji could get to Schuldich. Yohji
sent a thin, practically invisible wire towards Crawford, but Crawford moved to
the side and punched Yohji in the side instead. Refusing to be winded, Yohji
tried again, but the man anticipated his actions too well and dodged it.
Yohji was
frustrated, but tried to keep his mind on Crawford and off Aya and Schuldich.
He knew the telepath was probably aware of Aya's weakened condition but did not
want them to know precisely how weakened he was. He only hoped Aya could take
care of himself long enough for Yohji to think of something. Even if he could
call Ken and Omi, there was no way the two would get there in time to do any
good.
Aya was
having no more success in fighting than Yohji. Schuldich practically danced
around every thrust and swing. The only thing, apart from the fight, that Aya
could concentrate on was his cold and he did not want Schuldich knowing about
that, either. Aya was slow, unsteady, and imprecise in his actions. It was not
often that Aya considered needing help when fighting, but this was definitely
one of those times. His only option for assistance, however, seemed too
occupied with Crawford. So Aya, shivering and sniffling, did his best to avoid
Schuldich's knife and fists and continued to swing his sword at the man.
Crawford
practically refused to be touched. Several times when Crawford went on the
offensive, Yohji actually made contact with the man's arm or chest but Crawford
pulled free before the wire could properly wrap around him. Quick and graceful
when fighting, Yohji avoided most of Crawford's advances, though he did receive
another punch, this time in the jaw.
Aya found
himself on the wrong side of Schuldich's knife two times. They were minor cuts
on his arm, slashing through the fabric of his coat and turtleneck and drawing
a bit of blood. Aya tried not to let it slow him down and, instead, focused on
the sharp pain in his arm to block out thoughts regarding his attacks. He just
missed stabbing Schuldich, cutting his shirt and into his side only.
Not moments
later, however, the four of them froze to hear footsteps in the hallway. It
seemed reinforcements had arrived. Whether they had heard the commotion or
spotted the fouled up security system, Yohji did not know. But he had never
before been so glad to be caught after a murder.
The two Schwartz
members smiled for everyone. "Don't want to get in the middle of anything,"
Crawford said, excusing them and backing off. He waved his arm, inviting the
guards to take their turn with the two Weiss members. "Another time," he
promised.
Aya coughed
and growled softly, grinding his teeth. "You can count on it," Yohji replied.
Then Crawford and Schuldich made their escape out the window and no fewer than
a dozen security guards rushed in. Yohji groaned silently, to himself, at the
idea of yet another fight. He was not entirely sure Aya was up for it.
Thankfully,
they were easier to take care of than enemies who already knew them and how
they fought. Yohji took the brunt of the attack, able to kill quickly at a
distance, but Aya picked off a few of the guards, killing at close range. One
after the other, the men fell to the ground, wounded or dead. Yohji had to
repeat parts of the mission briefing to himself, reminding himself of the drug
trading and prostitution rings this man was a part of, as well as the many
shoddy politicians and law enforcement officers in his pocket.
Finally,
Yohji and Aya found themselves unopposed. Exhausted and splattered in blood,
but unopposed. Almost instinctively, Aya walked over to Yohji, practically
falling against the man in need of aid. Yohji held him securely and helped
guide him across the room. "As I was saying," Yohji continued, not wanting to
risk their luck and call all this easy a second time. "I'll get you home. And
this time I don't want any arguments. I'm driving."
Chuckling a
little, Aya let Yohji help him out. They used the manager's private elevator,
which led to the back exit and the alley only a block from where they'd parked.
Incredibly glad for not having to go out again through the air conditioning
system, Aya slumped uncharacteristically in the passenger seat and relaxed,
confident in Yohji's ability to get home.
As he
drove, Yohji pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He took a long, slow drag and
exhaled just as slowly, the stream of cigarette smoke hitting the rearview
mirror and continuing upwards into the night air. Realizing then how cold the
night was, Yohji pressed a button to have the convertible's top slide up and
into place. He was mildly surprised that Aya had not complained about the cold
but, when he looked over, he saw Aya looking exhausted, sitting in the
passenger seat with his eyes closed.
"IH-hishh!" Aya sneezed. Even though Aya
was resting, his sneezes were not. He pulled off a glove and rubbed more
thoroughly at his nose.
"I think
there's a box of tissues in the glove compartment," Yohji said. Getting used to
the cold looks from Aya whenever he tread into the area of Aya's apparent
illness, Yohji shook it off this time. Aya wouldn't murder him while driving
and, besides, after the fight he was sure Aya did not have the necessary amount
of energy to fight Yohji and win.
Despite the
look, Aya still went for the tissues. He rubbed them angrily at his nose, but
sniffled significantly fewer times afterwards. "Look," he said, his voice still
rough and deep. "If you breathe a word to Ken or Omi about my catching their
cold while on a mission--"
"Don't know
what you're talking about," Yohji replied, feigning a puzzled look. "All I know
is that cold air was horrible but you still went first and saved me a bit of
suffering by doing so. If it just so happened to make your nose tickle a
little, that's not your fault."
Yohji could
not remember a time when he'd seen Aya look more grateful. In fact, he couldn't
remember a time when Aya looked anything but broody or warningly angry. This
new expression looked good on him.
When they
returned, they double-checked to be sure the store was locked up tight, then
they headed straight to the kitchen. Yohji still supported Aya as they walked,
but he made no mention of Aya's sniffling and shivering. And he certainly said
nothing at all about the sneezing. "ehh-IHshhh!
h'itchhh!" Yohji simply stayed aware of it and held Aya steady when the
sneezes struck.
Aya slipped
into a chair and leaned against the table, unable to stand any longer. Yohji
put on a pot of water and prepared three cups of tea. Plucking a napkin from
the holder in the center of the table, Aya blew his nose and closed his eyes as
he waited.
Rather
skilled in the art of tea-making now, it did not take Yohji long once the water
had boiled. Aya took his tea silently, albeit amidst a small fit of sneezing,
and again looked thankful for it. Then he headed up to his room for the night, relying
on the banister for help and making sure to stop off in the bathroom for
tissues.
Yohji took
the other two cups downstairs for Ken and Omi. He found the two on the couch,
still, though snuggling together on the same side. The phone was on Ken's chest
and in Omi's hand at the same time. They lay so close that the patterns of
their pajamas blended into each other. They were both fast asleep, sleeping
with their mouths open. Looking incredibly peaceful, Yohji was glad they were
getting rest. Not wanting to disturb them, Yohji set down the cups on the
coffee table and carefully eased the phone from Omi's clutches.
Omi stirred
at the touch and Ken was similarly awakened by Omi's movements. They both
looked up to see Yohji, who was smiling down at them from behind the couch
again. "The mission was an unqualified success," he informed them. "Thanks in
no small part to your assistance."
Yohji felt
each of their foreheads for fever but did not say anything about the results. "I
brought you both some tea. It'll do you good. Have enough tissues still, do
you?" They nodded simultaneously, and Ken took a tissue from the box to rub at
his nose in a more visual answer.
"All
right," Yohji said. "I'm staying in tonight for a change, so just let me know
if you need anything. Otherwise, I'm off to bed." He nodded in their directions.
He waited for them to nod and smile back, then he headed upstairs. Though, on
the way, he snatched up the discarded pornography. The mission report could
wait until morning. He had a feeling the other members of Weiss would have him
running around most of the day, as well. So he might as well enjoy his night
in.