Disclaimer: Same as in previous parts...

Pairing: Yohji x Aya/Ran
Warnings: Yaoi, Shounen-ai, Language, Poetry, Angst, Cool Moms

The woman with the coffee shop across the street came in for her weekly supply of table flowers. Normally, Omi would have handled the order, but Aya found himself stuck with it this morning since the younger teen was in the backroom taking inventory. He couldn't stop his foul mood from spilling over onto the woman.

Finally, she put her hand on his and looked at him with warm, understanding eyes. "Got in a fight with him, didn't you?"

Shocked, Aya pulled his hand back. "That's none of your business." He really needed to get a grip on his emotions where the blond was concerned.

"Your personality won't be winning any awards…" She joked. Her voice turned gentle and softened it even more when Aya tried to look away. "Listen, sometimes talking does help. I'll be at the shop all day and evening if you change your mind."

"I don't think so," Aya said firmly. He watched her leave with her purchases without another word. His thoughts kept going back to the blond and where he was now.

'I didn't tell you anything, Yohji… That was my fault. All you ever knew was that I hated the man… You never knew why.' He looked at his own hands, eyes blurring, throat closing off to make breathing difficult. 'My hands… your hands… soaked in so much blood. I don't deserve you, but… at the same time… there is no one else for me. We both hate this life, yet we both go on.'

Aya watched the woman go into her own shop, kept watching as she went about the tables and placed the flowers lovingly in their vases. 'Maybe… can she help me get what I want? Can she help me sort this out enough that I don't screw it up again? She comes in, brings Omi those cinnamon rolls he loves so much… always acting like a big sister or mother to him. She smiles and ruffles his hair… Would it really be such a bad idea to seek out her advice?'

After enduring the infestation of fangirls a little while later, the redhead decided that maybe some peace and quiet would do him some good. That and, well, he'd changed his mind about the woman's offer. His eyes flicked to Omi. "I'm going for coffee… I'll be back in a while."

The little bell as he opened the door of the nearly empty shop sounded loud in his ears. He really shouldn't be able to trust this woman… why was he here?

'Because Yohji's got someone older to talk to and you don't?' His brain suddenly decided to get a bit of wisdom… 'Great.'

The woman turned to look at him, from her place at the counter, her eyes widening just a little. "Changed your mind?"

Aya sat down beside her. "Maybe." God, why was he being so difficult? This woman had done nothing but smile and be nice to him since he first started coming into her shop. "Why do you care?" He found himself asking the question softly. He had to know.

"You seem very lonely… you look like you could use a friend." She went around the bar and prepared his coffee the way he usually took it, putting it in front of him before leaning on the bartop. "I've got two good ears and an empty shop… Plenty enough time for me to give you an outlet and see if I can help you straighten out whatever it is that's got you upset."

"How… how did you know?"

"I've gotten pretty good at reading people. I'm also a stickler for routine. The tall blond usually works the morning shift today and you don't. Not to mention that you've got these circles under your eyes that make the mother-hen in me uneasy." She gave him a gentle smile. "I care too much about people sometimes."

The redhead nodded. "We had a date last night. It was his birthday and I promised to make it special." He took a deep breath. "As we were going into the restaurant, I saw the man who had hurt my family coming out. I wanted to… confront him. Yohji said he'd wait for me for an hour. I didn't get back in time."

The shop keeper nodded her understanding. "He didn't understand what you were trying to do?"

"He doesn't know." Aya said lowly before taking a sip of his coffee. "I haven't told any of them why I hate that man so much." He stared into the black liquid and closed his eyes. "I… I just wanted him to look at me. To give me a chance to put into actions everything I feel for him."

Her hand lay on his gently. "You're allowed your secrets. You're also allowed to be happy." She took a sip of iced tea and then looked at him squarely. "I saw the look in his eyes that night. He feels the same for you, Aya. Talk to him… tell him what he needs to know and what you need to make him understand."

"I… can't." Aya said softly, opening his violet orbs to stare into the motionless coffee. "He's in America right now. He left last night." His tone was defeated.

The shopkeeper gently tilted his chin up and made him look her in the eyes. Her hazel eyes were soft and held a mother's kindness. "You can find out where… Take some time off from the flower shop. I've got a girl who can help out if they really need it. Go to where that beautiful young man is and make him yours."

"But…"

"No, no buts. If you start talking like that, you'll never get this taken care of." She poured more coffee in his cup to heat what was already there. "If you don't do this now… I'll buy the ticket and enlist Omi's help in getting you on that plane… got it?"

Aya looked at her. His expression slowly changed as everything started to sink in. "A-All right. I'll go make the arrangements." He took a sip from the cup and smiled. "Happy now?"

She grinned right back. "Ecstatic."

He finally glanced over at her as she went about making more of that fattening American food. "I never thought to ask your name."

"It's Maimee." She bent down and pulled the oven door, releasing the scent of freshly baked cinnamon rolls. The bemused expression in her eyes was uplifting. "Want one?"

Lacey's wedding was in two days. Yohji was going to have to go get fitted for his tuxedo tomorrow. The young woman had practically demanded that the blond be the one to give her away during the ceremony. Their reunion last night had been a pleasant excursion into the past.

His fingers still remembered how the strings of the guitar Ran had gotten him felt. His body remembered how it sang for him, despite all the years of not playing a single note. The music that had coursed through his blood felt so good… made him feel everything that had attracted him to the harmonies in the past.

To Yohji, music felt like sex. Deep, personal, soul-shattering, entrancing, intoxicating…

Maybe that was why he'd indulged in the physical… to make up for his loss of the melodies when he'd put his guitar down all those years ago. That decision had come only after hard thinking and trauma. One word could sum up the reason behind it… the person who had, inadvertently, forced his removal from one of the things he'd loved most.

Jo.

His little sister - if not in blood, then in spirit. Years past, on one storming night, Yohji had placed his love of music in front of her. The result led to events that had been horrific and traumatizing to the girl. The band they'd been in, started together, had shattered soon after.

Josephine Murray had never forgiven him… until now, he was being led to believe.

After that night, Yohji had sworn to never let another girl be hurt… through his own stupidity or the cruelty of others. His eyes flicked to the picture over the fireplace. Jo, himself, Lacey, Mark, Ryan… all so young, so innocent, so sure of themselves. The band had never had a name back then. No one could make a final decision.

'Jo… I wish I hadn't left you there that night.' He couldn't tear his eyes from the picture. His mother had taken it for them while the five of them had been screwing around. She looked so at peace.

Sharon's hand slid over his arm and she pulled him to her. "Yohji… stop thinking about the past. You can't change it. Think about the future… While it is uncertain, it is also full of hope."

"I wish I could, mom," the blond assassin said, engulfing her in a tight hug. "But everything I touch gets destroyed somehow."

Her other hand cradled the back of his head, pushing it against her shoulder. "Shhh… There's enough hope for everyone - if they've got the courage to reach for it." Sharon pulled him to the couch and sat down, making Yohji lay so that his head was in her lap. Her gentle mother's fingers sifted through his flaxen hair, soothing him slowly.

"Everything's going to be all right in the end."

"Not for me, mom… Never for me." Yohji closed his eyes and sighed. If his mother knew what he did for a living now…

Her next words came out, as if she could read his mind. "There's something you're not telling me, Yo-chan."

Ignoring the use of the childish nickname, he shook his head. "No. There isn't."

"You should know better than to lie to me," Sharon said sternly. "I may be blond, but I'm not stupid… same as you." Her dark green eyes rest on his face, waiting. When he said nothing more, she decided to be direct.

"I won't press, Yo-chan, but I do know when something is eating my son up from the inside." Her fingers feathered over his forehead, tracing the lines that had developed over the few years since she'd last seen him. "I love you no matter what, Yohji. Always remember that. You're my only son and, despite what you might think, you've never been a disappointment to me."

Yohji's hand rose to the side of Sharon's face. "Mom… what did I do to deserve you? No matter how bad I screwed up, you're always there, helping me get back on my feet…"

Her smile lifted his heart a bit. "You didn't have to do anything. I'm just here, same as you." She brought his hand up to her lips and kissed the back of it. "Now, tell me about this 'Ran' boy that has you so out of sorts."

Lighting up a cigarette, Yohji closed his eyes as he inhaled that first drag. "He's beautiful. Pale, almost like a ghost… Torn up inside, like me… Red hair. Not that Irish orange-red… Crimson. His eyes… they're blue, but… the color of his hair makes them purple." Tears started seeping from under his lashes as he continued on. "Most of the time, he's cold… glacier cold… but when he gets mad… He's like fire… flashing and breathtaking. I could sit and just watch him for hours…"

Sharon chuckled softly. "And I'm sure you have, Yohji. You always had greedy vision for eye-candy." Her fingers threaded through his hair again. "What's he like when you're together?"

A smile turned up the corners of the blond assassin's lips. "He's… almost shy. Like he's unsure of himself. Considerate. When he gets like that, I want to protect him and never let him be hurt again. I think I love him, mom… and that's what makes this worse. I know he's hurting inside and I wish I could take that pain away… but he won't even tell me what caused it."

"It takes time and patience to heal, Yohji. You can't force it… no matter how badly you want to." Sharon made her son open his eyes. "If it's meant to be, he'll come to you again. The trick is to not rub his face in his mistakes. Never make him feel insecure about it. Everyone makes mistakes, even me… people are always tearing themselves up over them. We don't need someone else to point them out to us once we realize."

Yohji sat up and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. "I think you'd like him, ma."

"I'm sure I will, son. I'm sure I will."