Look at Me - Part 7.
Disclaimer: Same as in previous parts...
Pairing: Yohji x Aya/Ran
Warnings: Yaoi, Shounen-ai, Language, Poetry
Aya rolled over in his bed, his arm reaching out for someone who wasn't there. He opened one eye and looked at the pillow, his pale face twisting into a scowl at its emptiness. The look changed when he sat up and found two flowers, a cattleya and a rose, tied together with a piece of ribbon. He took them up, between his fingers, and brushed them against his cheek.
The night before, he and Yohji had returned to the shop and headed for Aya's room. Instead of being mauled, as the redhead was expecting, the blond simply wrapped him up in his long arms and held him the entire night. Aya had loved how it felt. Being able to be close to that strong heartbeat… inhale the masculine scent that was so uniquely 'Yohji'…
It had been his fantasy come true.
He rose from the bed and went to shower. Aya was due in the shop for lunchtime and didn't want to be late. He was sharing a shift with Yohji again and he couldn't deny the fact that he really wanted to see the blond. He wanted to make sure that last night hadn't been a sweet dream.
The swordsman stopped when he got to his closet. How should he dress? He didn't want to wear his usual sweater and jeans combination. He wanted to wear something that Yohji would like… just this once. Aya reached in, his hand brushing against a black silk shirt that he'd bought, on impulse, for his own last birthday. It came out of the closet with a pair of black denim jeans.
He tried them on, thinking that the shirt helped to make his eyes stand out. But… would the blond like it? 'Only one way to find out…'
Aya went into the shop through the back, eyes primed and looking for his blond team mate. Yohji was there, cornered by several chittering girls, unable to get to the man who stood with his purchases at the register. The redhead cut through the group, ignoring several persistent teenagers, and managed to cash him out in just a few minutes.
Then, and only then, did the swordsman turn his attention to the school aged fangirls. "If you're NOT buying anything - GET OUT! We've got a shop to run and there's only two of us!"
The sheer force behind his voice caused several girls to turn towards him, looks of shock on their faces. Aya glanced back at his beleaguered team mate and winced at the intensity behind their flirting. The wash of jealousy and anger that suddenly shot through him when one of the girls lay her hand on the blond's arm was overwhelming. His facial expression went from irritated to furious.
"If you don't clear out NOW, we're closing the shop for the rest of the day!"
Yohji was able to come away from the corner just a few minutes later, when the last of the young girls disappeared through the front door. He ran a long fingered hand through his hair and turned to the other assassin, stopping when his emerald eyes caught sight of the younger man's choice of dress. "Damn, Aya… That looks really good on you."
The compliment was enough to make him color a bit and the redhead averted his gaze, the anger fading. "They didn't molest you too badly, did they?"
"Nah… they never do." Yohji smiled easily at him. "Just get in the way, mostly." His hand went to the side of Aya's face, turning it gently towards him. "What brought on the wardrobe change?"
Aya looked at the older man, his cheeks coloring a bit at the question. Would Yohji ridicule him for trying to dress nice for him? "I… I just felt… like wearing something different…"
Nodding, the blond looked at him and smiled. "I like it. I hope you've got something like that for tonight." He moved in a little closer, making Aya catch his breath at the nearness of the other man. "Which brings me to my next question… Where would you like to go for dinner?"
"Someplace quiet?" Aya's voice was hopeful. He didn't really want to end up in the middle of a crowded restaurant.
"I know just the place," Yohji said with a smile. His face inclined until his lips were practically hovering over Aya's. "There's a new Vin Deisel movie playing. I heard it's pretty good. Wanna see that later?"
Aya nodded, willing to let the blond pick the movie since it was, pretty much, his choice about where dinner would be. Yohji kissed him then, taking away all thoughts of the teenaged girls that had been invading the flowershop in his absence. His own fingers wound up into the older man's hair, fisting in the golden waves, holding his team mate right there so that he could do nothing but ravage Aya's mouth.
When it finally broke, the redhead sighed and went to the work table, eyeing the chart to see which arrangements were due for later that day and early the next. He could feel Yohji's eyes on him every so often and it made him smile secretly to himself. Aya was already looking forward to tonight. Spending time with the older man, getting to know him better, was high on his list of things that made the day better.
Yohji looked across the table at his team mate. Aya… no, he kept reminding himself… Ran, was actually smiling. It completely changed the hardened lines to his face, made them softer, much more appealing. He liked that a lot. His hand reached across the table to lightly cover the redhead's. "You should smile more often."
The comment made Ran pause in mid-drink. He set down his glass and looked at Yohji. "What?"
"When you smile, it lights up your whole face. Doesn't make you look like such a hard ass." Yohji stroked the skin under his fingertips in an attempt to soften his words. The blond really wanted to lean across the table and kiss those inviting lips, but held himself in check. There'd be plenty of time for that after the restaurant.
"Your birthday is coming up, isn't it?" Ran asked before returning his attention to his dinner.
"Yeah," Yohji answered non-chalantly. He sat back in his seat and lit up a cigarette, his meal already finished and the plates set aside. "Why?" His emerald eyes studied the redhead - why was this subject even brought up?
Ran was silent for a moment, obviously thinking. "What… what do you want for your birthday?" He looked up then, meeting the blond's gaze, and Yohji was suddenly struck with the realization that he was seeing the real youth. Last night and tonight, Ran was putting his quest for revenge aside and showing his older team mate the *real* Ran Fujimiya.
"I don't really celebrate my birthday anymore, Ran," Yohji said softly, drawing a disappointed look from his tablemate. "Another year, another nail in the Kudou coffin."
"That's a terrible way to look at it, Yohji." Ran was somewhat glaring at him, his eyes narrowed slightly. It wasn't the same as when Abyssinian glared at him though. Then, there was plenty of ice to go with that look. This glare was warmer - as if one was out in the sun too long.
Yohji liked the difference, though he wouldn't say it out loud. "Hey, its appropriate, all things considered. I'm not going to make the mistake of thinking that I'm going to lead a long life. What we do… people die young."
He watched the swordsman nod in understanding. "When my sister… when I came to and found us both in the hospital… I - I couldn't believe it. She was always full of smiles and laughter. I miss that, Yohji. I want to see her smile again… I want to hear her voice, chiding me for being too serious or too thoughtful." Ran looked up at the blond assassin. "The things I do… in her name… that's not me. At least, I hope it isn't."
Taking both hands in his, Yohji lifted them and studied them carefully. "These hands… they're not the hands of a killer, Ran. They're an artist's hands. Long, fine boned fingers… capable of holding brush or blade. Your swordwork is an artform, Ran. Deadly, but it's still art."
"I've been training since I was a kid." Ran lowered his eyes to where their hands were still joined over the table. "Your hands are the same, Yohji." He tilted the left hand over, near violet eyes studying the fingertips. "Calluses here… old ones… Did you play guitar?"
The blond smiled. "Yeah. Back when I still lived with my mom in the States. Started taking lessons for my twelfth birthday. Guitar, bass, even sang a little - until the cigarette smoking killed my vocals."
"I'd like to hear it sometime." Ran looked up, into Yohji's face, and gave another of those wonderfully genuine smiles. "Can you still play?"
Yohji couldn't resist the hope in that voice. "Yeah… Like riding a bike. Never really forget it after so long of doing it. Just never got around to buying a guitar to keep up. Didn't really have the time." He let himself laugh a little. "My mom always said I should've been a rock star. This girl I knew back then… we had a band together. Her dad used to say that we could have gone onstage as a brother/sister act, we looked so much alike." Just the memories of his pleasant past alone could have kept Yohji high for the rest of the night. Instead, his good mood was fixed by the beautiful redhead across from him.
"God, Yohji… the more I hear… the more I think I made the right decision."