violet eyes
chapter 6
Aya stared into his closet, rejecting one sweater after another. He was having
a little difficulty trying to find something to wear that would cover his neck.
With one mark positioned on his neck right above his collarbone, and the other
a couple of inches below his right ear, the red head wondered if even a turtleneck
could hide the hickeys. The marks would have been bad enough as is, but in contrast
to his pale skin, one couldn’t help but to notice them. Eying the livid bruises
in the mirror after finishing his shower, Aya had concluded that he looked as
if he’d been attacked. ‘All courtesy of Yohji Kudoh, the human vampire.’
Settling on a blue cable knit sweater that covered him from his jawline down,
the red head figured that he would be spared from answering any embarrassing
questions for the day. He just hoped the bruises would heal before he ran out
of wardrobe options. He didn’t even want to imagine the conversation with Ken
or Omi if either of them saw the marks. "You see, I got them from Yohji,
who’s pretending to be my boyfriend, only it seems that he really isn’t pretending.
And I was the idiot who willingly let him do it, not only once, but twice"’
No, Aya was more than willing to avoid that discussion as long as he could,
hopefully forever.
He just wondered if that was really an option at this point. Yohji’s confession
last night still had him rattled. The blonde claimed to have feelings for his
teammate, and Aya knew that what Yohji wanted, Yohji usually got. Now the swordsman
had to figure out if he wanted to get caught or not. Judging from the dreams
that had plagued him during the night, part of him was definitely voting for
yes. Aya had woken up frustrated and flushed, an image of a blonde head leaving
kisses and more marks in a trail down his chest and stomach, fading from his
mind. Now the playboy was invading his dreams, as if occupying Aya’s waking
thoughts weren’t enough.
Determined to think about something else, the red head pushed all thoughts Yohji-related
into a dark corner in his mind, and went downstairs to help open the shop. He
paused in the kitchen long enough to drink a cup of coffee, and to take a refill
with him. The red head needed the added boost of energy, seeing as he hadn’t
been sleeping well the past two nights. At least dreaming of Yohji gave him
a break from the nightmares filled with memories of his family or of his victims.
‘Stop that, there you go again.’
Entering the Koneko no Sume Ie, Aya spotted Ken busy shifting some of the bigger
plants around, making sure that all of them got some sunlight. Setting his coffee
down, he went over to help the brunette. Ken appeared startled when he noticed
him.
"Aya, what are you doing up already? Yohji left a note that you were gonna
sleep in a little this morning."
"Hn."
Examining his non-communicative teammate, Ken noticed the other man still looked
tired, as if he hadn’t gotten much sleep. Wondering what time him and Yohji
had returned home at, the athlete stifled a yawn. The late nights out were starting
to get to him also, and with the weekend right around the corner, he knew that
none of the older Weiss were going to get much rest.
"What I wouldn’t give for a nice stake out or retrieval mission right now.
I hate the thought of spending a lot more nights hanging out in bars, how ‘bout
you?"
Looking up from the large palm he was moving, Aya nodded in agreement. Done
with his task, he headed back towards his work table, and began to read through
the orders for the day.
Well, so much for any conversation this morning, Ken ruefully thought, shaking
his head. Not that he had expected much from his taciturn friend, but only receiving
one ‘hn’ before being summarily ignored was rather curt, even for Aya. He picked
up a broom and began sweeping. The two men stayed like this for the next few
hours, Ken up front assisting the customers, Aya silent in the back.
Ken was relieved when Yohji finally made his appearance, late in the morning.
He was looking forward to having someone else to talk to, the plants were being
better company than Aya. "Morning Yohji."
"Morning." Instead of heading to his usual spot behind the register,
Yohji made a beeline towards the tables in back. Beginning to think he’d forgotten
to brush his teeth or use any deodorant that morning, Ken watched him walk away,
rather bemused.
Yohji was intent on checking up on his kitten. He’d stopped by Aya’s bedroom
to see if he was interested in any breakfast after waking up, and found the
room empty. The red head hadn’t been in the shower or the kitchen either. Remembering
how exhausted the younger man had appeared the night before, Yohji had quickly
gotten ready and headed down to the shop. "If that idiot got up early to
work……"
Sure enough, Aya was busy at work, and from the amount of prepared orders, must
have been working for hours. The blonde tried to curtail his anger at observing
the dark circles around the smaller man’s eyes. Experience had taught him that
yelling at Aya would get him nowhere but frozen out or in the middle of a fight.
He stood next to his red head, watching the other man finish the order he was
currently assembling. Aya was the best out of the four of them at arranging
flowers. His graceful hands always seemed to know just where to put each stem,
and which flower to pick. It was a joy to watch him, to see a work of art spring
to life from those pale hands.
Aya glanced up to meet green eyes when he was finished with the arrangement.
Yohji was standing beside him, eyes oddly tender. As he watched, the blonde
lifted a hand to brush back crimson bangs that were falling in his face. "Did
you get any sleep last night?"
"A little."
The blonde sighed tiredly. "You know Aya, one day you are going to realize
you’re just human. You can’t keep working all day in the shop, and then wait
tables all night, and be in any shape to take on the target. What are you planning
to do, subdue the man by collapsing on him? And if you think it’s been busy
at the bar the past two nights, wait until the weekend starts tomorrow. You’re
not going to have much luck spotting anybody if you keep falling asleep."
The red head could only blink back in response. He wasn’t used to being taken
to task about his health by his teammates. Not even Omi, the fusser of the group,
would have talked to him like Yohji just had. He was not used to being concerned
over. He was about to retort back he was just fine when his stomach, tired of
only coffee, decided to protest loudly. Aya quickly looked back down at the
flowers on the table.
Yohji just sighed again upon hearing the rumbling. "When was the last time
you ate, Aya? Last night? Yesterday?" He wasn’t surprised when the red
head refused to answer. Torn between the urge to strangle the man or hold him,
the blonde stalked off to the shop’s front.
"Uh, Yohji, what are you doing," Ken inquired, as he watched the taller
man open the register and take out some cash.
"It’s almost noon. I’m heading out for some takeout. Want anything?"
"No, I’m okay. Listen, if it’s all right with you guys, I need to get out
of here early today. I promised the kids I’d be there for a soccer match today,
and help them practice a little before the game."
"It’s fine with me, and as long as Mr. Chatty there doesn’t say anything,
you can take off when I get back with lunch." Yohji wasn’t about to complain
over having Aya to himself for a couple of hours.
"Great!! I really appreciate this."
*******
Aya was starting one of the last few orders left, when a bag was plunked down
on the table in front of him. He looked first at it, and then up at the waiting
blonde.
"Lunch is here. Now eat it before you pass out, you’re too skinny as it
is." Not waiting for a response, Yohji left.
Stomach rumbling again in anticipation from the wonderful smells, Aya began
to open the bag. He was surprised to see several takeout cartons from one of
his favorite restaurants. Each one contained a dish he was rather fond of. How
did Yohji know, especially since he didn’t order from the place very often?
He’d never realized that the blonde must of taken note of his likes and dislikes.
He was unsure how he should feel about that fact. Grabbing a couple containers
and some chopsticks, he headed up to the register, where Yohji was busy eating.
Noticing the curious look Yohji was giving him, Aya held up a box. "Do
you mind if I eat up here with you?" The blonde smiled in agreement, and
shifted over on the counter, making some space. Aya leaned back, settling beside
the taller man. They both ate in silence, shoulders touching.
"Hey, Aya, you gonna to eat all of this or what?"
"I thought you said you weren’t hungry, Ken. Why don’t you get some food
of your own."
"Geez, Yohji, I hardly doubt the guy is gonna be able to finish all that
you brought back. Right, Aya?"
Stepping away from the counter, Aya shouted back at Ken. "It’s alright,
help yourself." Looking at Yohji, the red head shrugged. "You really
did buy too much. I’m already full. Might as well not let the food go to waste."
About to return to his table, the red head paused. Softly touching Yohji on
the arm, he quietly said "Thank you," and walked away.
Heart lightened by the whole exchange, Yohji softly replied back. "You’re
learning, Kitten."
*******
Quickly wrapping the flowers in paper, Aya handed them to the woman. "That’s
2,100 yen. Yohji will ring you up at the register." Watching the customer
pay for the lilies, he was amazed how the blonde merely smiled at the pretty
woman, and wished her a good day. Usually the man would be flirting up a storm,
intent on gaining her phone number. But the blonde had been extremely well behaved
all day long. One could even say subdued. Oh, he had been polite and friendly
to all the female customers, but no more so than he would have been to the few
men who came in. Several of the women seemed to notice this, and spared the
blonde some worried looks. Yohji had simply told them good bye and went back
to work.
Which was an other odd thing about the playboy today. He was willingly working.
Usually it took a series of complaints from Ken and Omi, and threats from Aya,
to get the man to do anything but lean against to counter and flirt with women
when he wasn’t ringing up the orders. Today, however, Yohji was voluntarily
helping to restock, clean up the clippings, and tend to the plants. He bustled
around the shop, whistling and singing to himself. It was actually quite pleasant
to work with the man today. Aya was beginning to wonder if the man was ill.
Aya had been worried about how the blonde was going to react towards him after
last night. He had been nervous when Ken had left for the day, leaving the two
of them alone until Omi came home. Bracing himself for the worst, either an
irate Yohji or a lust-crazed one, he had gotten neither. The man kept himself
busy, but was always eager to lend a hand when Aya needed it. Each time he was
near the red head, he would make an affectionate gesture; brushing hair out
of Aya’s face, touching his hand, briefly massaging his shoulders, and so forth.
Nothing inappropriate, but still rather intimate considering Aya was not used
to being touched. As a result, the red head’s skin was constantly tingling from
the caresses, and he seemed super-aware of where the blonde was at all times.
Yohji never pressed the issue, but it was obvious that he was trying to prove
to the younger man that he was still interested.
As it was, the swordsman felt a mild stab of disappointment when Omi showed
up from school. It meant an end to the quiet intimacy between the two older
men. Aya didn’t have much time to think about the matter anymore, as the store
soon became packed with romance-minded school girls clamoring for attention
and service.
*******
"Aya! Yohji! Dinner’s ready, you better get some before Ken returns."
Setting the dish of stir-fry on the table, Omi waited for the two men to appear.
Yohji sauntered in from the living room, and Aya came from upstairs, apparently
fresh from the shower. Oddly enough, he still had his blue sweater on.
"Dig in. Ken should be back any minute, and I thought we could go over
a couple more things tonight before you guys head out."
"That’s fine by me. Mmmm, smells good, kiddo."
Aya merely nodded, and scooped some food into his bowl. As soon as he put the
spoon down, Yohji grabbed it, and scooped some more food into the red head’s
dish. Ignoring the violet glare directed his way, the blonde retorted "You’re
still too skinny."
"Like you have room to talk," Aya mumbled back.
"Yeah at least I eat though. Can’t help it if it all gets burned off."
Omi eyed his two friends with interest. Yohji usually didn’t concern himself
with the eating habits of others, and Aya usually bit the head off of anybody
who tried to tell him what to do. Before he could comment on the odd situation,
Ken burst into the room. Still hyper from the game, he commenced to give a play-by-play
recount for the next ten minutes. Willing to indulge the brunette at first,
Omi decided he had had enough, and finally interrupted the soccer fanatic.
"I’m glad your kids won Ken, but maybe you can tell us the rest of the
story later. Right now I want to talk about what’s going on tonight, and go
over any new leads." Looking at Weiss’ leader, Omi inquired, "Aya,
did you get those names for me?"
Finishing up his dinner, and quickly jerking his dish away before Yohji could
try to refill it, Aya nodded. However, his eyes stayed glued on the older blonde,
glaring into the innocent expression Yohji was giving him, serving spoon still
in hand. "I’ve written up a list of names, distinguishing features, and
any background information I could find. I’ll drop it off to you before I leave."
"Good, good." Turning to look at Ken, Omi found the brunette struggling
with Yohji over the spoon. It seemed that Yohji hadn’t given up on serving Aya
seconds, while Ken was hoping to finish off the stir-fry. It reminded Omi of
similar fights the two had over the remote control. "Ahem." Both men
turned to look at the teenager, and Aya used the opportunity to grab the spoon
and hand it to Ken. Shaking his head at the unusual dinnertime antics, Omi continued
on. "How about you Ken, still doing okay?"
"Yeah. I pretty much got some info on all the victims. I’d thought that
maybe I’d stay home tonight, go over my notes and see if anything stands out.
There are a couple of guys I want to track down over the weekend; they tend
to stay away during the week. It would help if I had something specific to ask
them about, and not play Twenty Questions."
"Let me know if you need any help looking for a pattern. Your turn, Yohji."
The lanky blonde leaned back in his chair as he lit a cigarette. He ignored
the glares his teammates were sending his way for the action with long-practiced
ease. "Like Ken, I dug up some information on the guys, things they were
doing the night they were grabbed, stuff like that. I’ll go over Ken’s report
tomorrow, see how it compares with what I found out. Still no clue on the target,
though. Guess I’ll just keep my ears open, hope to catch something that way."
"In other words, you’ll sit in a bar all night eavesdropping while having
some beer. How much different is that from what you normally do?"
"Ken!"
"Don’t worry, Omi, no offense was taken. Not everybody is in a mood to
talk to strangers, Kenken. My way helps catch the things that your cub reporter
routine misses. You can learn a lot of things by keeping a low profile and listening."
"Besides, that’s not the main agenda for tonight. I’m hoping to meet up
with someone later at the Velvet Room, maybe see about an introduction with
a member."
Omi brightened up at the last comment. "It would be great if the lead works
out, Yohji-kun. I went through the membership database for the club, and I think
there are several people who could be our guy. They’re all marked down as interested
in bondage, S/M and erotic asphyxiation."
"Where did our sweet, innocent chibi go? How fast they grow up nowadays.
What have you been looking into during that search, you naughty boy?" Yohji
winked at the younger man, causing him to blush furiously.
"That information was all there in the database, Yohji. Each member profile
is rather detailed in the person’s likes and dislikes. However, for security
reasons most of the members are listed under an alias. There must be a master
copy with their real names in an isolated hard drive somewhere, I can’t get
into it from online. I’ll give you a list of men to be on the look out for,
you can see if they match the target’s physical description. If you come across
any strong possibilities, I can track down the system and copy the files the
old-fashioned way."
"Let’s see if it’s worthwhile first before you do some breaking and entering,
Chibi. Wouldn’t want to chance the bastard finding out that the club’s being
investigated and scare him away."
"Hai."
"Well, if that’s all, Aya and I need to get ready for work." Yohji
grabbed the red head and began to usher him out of the kitchen. "Since
you’re going to be a good boy and stay in tonight Kenken, I guess that means
you’ll be free to do the dinner dishes. Taa."
"Hey, get back here Kudoh, it’s supposed to be your turn to clean up after
dinner, not mine. Where are you going?"
Gathering up the dirty glasses, Omi just shook his head. "He got you this
time, just give it up. Here, I’ll help."
*******
Yohji followed Aya up the stairs, wanting to talk to the smaller man in private.
As the red head opened his bedroom door, Yohji shoved him into the room and
followed. The blonde closed and locked the door behind him.
"What the hell do you think you’re doing, Yohji?" Aya glared up at
the taller man, who was leaning against the door, clearly blocking the exit.
Shrugging his shoulders, Yohji gave the room a quick study. He hadn’t had many
opportunities to investigate the swordsman room before; the other man was intent
on his privacy and didn’t invite the others in. Omi was the only member of Weiss
to spend anytime in Aya’s room, and that was just to patch him up after missions.
Yohji wasn’t surprised to find the room obsessively neat and lacking in personality,
other than being filled with books.
"I wanted to see if you’d prefer me for me to give you a ride again tonight."
"And you couldn’t have asked me that in the hallway?" Aya snorted
in disbelief.
"Yeah, well, this way I figured I’d be sure to get an answer. So, yes or
no?"
Aya walked over to his window, intent on putting some space between the two
of them. "Why shouldn’t I drive myself tonight? I’m not running late again."
Yohji tracked his kitten’s movements with his eyes, noticing how the man was
fidgeting with the blinds. "Maybe because it makes sense to just take one
car since we’re going to the same place. Besides, I think your friends at the
bar are sort of expecting it. Wouldn’t want them to think I’m neglecting my
kitten."
"I’m not your kitten, Yohji." Aya focused his attention on the traffic
outside. He was trying to think of an excuse for him to drive to work by himself.
He couldn’t come up with any that wouldn’t make it seem as if he was avoiding
the man. He was not about to let Yohji think he was affecting him that much.
Besides, Aya wasn’t that crazy about the idea of leaving his porche parked all
night in that section of town. He allowed himself few luxuries, and the car
was one of them. "Alright, yes."
Hearing the man stand up, Aya was expecting the playboy to leave the room. He
was startled to feel a hand settle on his shoulder, and an arm circle his waist.
"What now, Yohji."
Yohji pulled the smaller man closer towards him, reveling in his armful of Aya.
He’d wanted to do this all day, but had restrained himself. He was trying to
prove to the red head that he was after more than a quick fuck, to build some
confidence in the younger man towards him. He’d carefully planned out his every
move in the shop earlier, intent on expressing concern and affection, not just
desire. He knew he was getting under his kitten’s skin by the way the man reacted
towards him, nervous and uncertain, but not pushing the blonde away. Yohji had
even felt Aya relax under those touches, just as the man was doing now, leaning
back ever so slightly.
"Just wondering what is so interesting outside the window. When do you
think you’ll be ready?"
"In about fifteen minutes, if you’ll let go of me."
"Hmm, we got a few minutes still." Yohji continued to stand there,
arms wrapped around the red head, breathing in his scent. The younger man smelled
so good, a mix of roses and musk. Yohji had never smelled anything like it before.
After a minute, he felt Aya rest his head back on the blonde’s shoulder, and
smiled. He stood there a little longer, not doing anything more than hold the
swordsman. "Guess we better get ready." He kissed his kitten on top
of his head, and let him go. He noticed that the confused look was back in the
red head’s eyes as he left the room.
That’s right, Yohji thought to himself. Keep the kitten off balance; make him
think that maybe he doesn’t know Yohji Kudoh as well as he thought. Make him
wonder if maybe a relationship would work after all. Make him realize how good
it can be to have someone there for him, looking out for him. Make him wonder
just how much better you could make him feel. Keep it up, and Aya won’t stand
a chance.
*******
Fifteen minutes later, Yohji was back at Aya’s bedroom, knocking on the door.
"Aya, you ready yet?" Not hearing a reply, the blonde tried turning
the doorknob. Finding it unlocked, he opened the door and entered the room.
"I thought you said you’d be ready by now Aya." Yohji paused, noticing
the clothes strewn around the once immaculate room. He looked towards the closet,
where the red head was burrowed into, obviously searching for into. "Something
wrong, Aya?"
The red head spun around at the question, clutching a shirt to his chest. He
wasn’t wearing anything other than a pair of red vinyl pants that zipped up
either side. For a moment he stood there self-consciously in front of the other
man, drinking in how good Yohji looked in brown leather pants and a loosely
laced up bronze velvet shirt. As the reason for his current dilemma returned
to him, he angrily stepped towards the blonde.
"Yes, something is wrong. What am I supposed to wear to cover these?"
Aya gestured at his neck.
Yohji stood there eying his handiwork, feeling a certain amount of male smugness.
He’d managed to mark Aya pretty good last night, and if anything the hickeys
were more impressive the next day. He hadn’t realized the red head bruised so
easily. "The point of ‘those’ is to not cover them. You want those lechers
in the bar to notice that you’re obviously seeing someone, and so are not available.
Just wear whatever it is that you’re holding."
"Yohji, I am /not/ going out into public looking like this. It’s embarrassing,
and cheapening as well."
"You certainly weren’t thinking that last night." The force of the
glare Aya turned towards him actually made the blonde take a step back. "Relax
already, Aya. You can’t tell me that you somehow failed to notice that there
were a lot of other men walking around with hickeys at the bar. No one will
think twice about yours. I mean, really, even that guy in a skirt had one on
his neck."
"It’s a kilt, not a skirt," Aya said automatically. "His name
is Teddy. And, well, that’s Teddy."
"Aya, you’re going to be late if you keep this up." Going through
the shirts scattered across the bed, Yohji picked a silky black knit that buttoned
in the middle. "Here, put this on, we gotta get going." He handed
the shirt to Aya.
Giving up in defeat, the red head took the shirt and put it on. Yohji kept staring
at Aya as he dressed, marveling in the man’s white skin and toned physique.
‘Down boy, down." The shirt only accentuated the man’s paleness, making
the bruises stand out even more.
Aya made sure to button up his leather trench coat all the way, and even turned
the collar up. He wasn’t taking the chance of the younger members of Weiss spotting
the love bites on his way to the garage. He quickly got into Yohji’s car before
the man could try and open his door.
The red head was his usual quiet self on the way to the bar. Yohji contented
himself with smoking a cigarette as he sang along to a cd. Aya pretended to
be interested in the passing scenery. Instead, his thoughts were centered on
the man sitting next to him, trying to figure out the change of attitude. Aya
couldn’t anticipate the man’s moves. Whenever he expected the blonde to pounce
on him, he instead found himself gently caressed or embraced. And then there
was this sudden concern with his well being. About whether he ate or slept enough.
He just didn’t know how he was supposed to react anymore, and the loss of control
was starting to get to him. He was beginning to wonder if this was some elaborate
test engineered by Kritiker to see just how long it would take before he went
insane. Proof of this was a small niggling voice that asked if it would be so
terrible of him to let go and allow the older man to care for him. He was a
murderer, for crying out loud, what right did he have to a relationship?
Noticing that they had pulled up in front of Bacchus, Aya shifted in his seat
so he could face Yohji.
"Here you are, door to door service. I’m going to go find a parking space,
and then head over to the Velvet Room. I’ll be back around midnight, so tell
any baka that tries anything they better leave you alone or your boyfriend will
kick his ass."
"Yohji, first off, I am perfectly capable of kicking ass on my own. Secondly,
you aren’t my boyfriend."
Reaching over to brush the red head’s ever-present bangs away from his face,
Yohji let his hand slide down til it was resting on the back of Aya’s neck.
"Kitten, if you wanted to you could cut up everyone in that bar into little
pieces, without even breaking a sweat. I know that. You know that. But they
don’t, and it’s for the best that nobody figures that out. So I am going to
keep on being your jealous, protective boyfriend. It’s safer for everyone that
way."
Trying to ignore the way Yohji’s affectionate gesture made his scalp tingle,
Aya couldn’t stop himself from asking, "Including me?"
Yohji only smiled, and pulled him in for a kiss. This kiss was totally different
from the desperate, hungry kisses that Yohji had given him before. This one
was slow and gentle, teasing in nature. When the blonde made to pull back, Aya
found himself leaning forward, trying to prolong the contact. Yohji nipped the
red head’s lower lip in return, running his tongue over it and sucking on it
to soothe. Deepening the kiss, the older man brought up his other hand to gently
caress Aya’s cheek.
As if on cue, there was a sudden knocking on the car’s windshield. Expecting
to see Kei or Seiichi, Yohji dazedly noted that this time it was the youth with
the skirt. He was grinning from ear to ear. "Should I just start selling
tickets, or what?"
Aya glared first at him, and then at Yohji. "Great. Now I have to put up
with him for the rest of the night."
"You know Aya, if you just so happened to kill a co-worker or two, I’m
sure Kritiker really wouldn’t mind. I know I sure as hell wouldn’t," Yohji
mumbled.
"Don’t tempt me." Aya got out of the car, and walked over to the American.
"Don’t you have anything better to do?"
"Oh, nothing half as much fun as that." The longhaired man followed
the swordsman into the club. They found their co-worker Seiichi waiting for
them just inside.
"Sorry, Red. I tried to drag him inside but he said it was his turn to
have some fun."
"Hn." Aya was taking his coat off when he felt his chin being grabbed
from the side. Barely controlling the urge to strike out, Aya quickly stepped
back, and glared at the American. "What the fuck are you doing?"
"Oh, calm down. Just checking to see if you got anymore love bites on you
today. I’m down for two."
"What?" Aya vaguely recalled the man mentioning something about a
bet the previous night. "You were serious about that?"
"Hm, you mean the bet? Damn right I was. Looks like I lost though. Shit.
I could of used the extra yen. Oh well." Teddy reached into the pouch he
wore on the front of his kilt, and handed several folded yen over to Seiichi.
Aya could only stare in amazement.
"Seiichi, you were in on this too?"
Looking a bit ashamed, the brunette nodded his head. "Hai."
"But how could you win, I mean, there are no new……"
Teddy began laughing out loud. Seiichi, grinning a bit sheepishly, tried to
explain it to the red head. "Well, you see I bet that you wouldn’t show
up with any today. That is, on your neck at least."
It took a moment for the implied part to sink in, and when it did Aya turned
an impressive shade of red. Seeing this, the other two men jumped to the wrong
conclusion.
"Ohhh, and you call me the hentai one. Come on Red, show us those hickeys.
Let’s get another bet going for tomorrow night!" Teddy continued laughing
as the red head stormed off to the bar. "He is just so cute when he’s angry,
don’t you think?"
Shaking his head, Seiichi began to go after his new co-worker to apologize.
"You know what Teddy, I think I’ve been working with you for too long.
You’re starting to rub off on me."