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\"Could you pass me the salt please, chibi.\" Yohji ignored the snicker from Schuldig, the glare from Nagi, and the combined sighs from Ken and Aya. as he waited for Omi to pass him the condiment.

\"Yohji-kun! It may have escaped your notice, but I am no longer a child.\"

Yohji grinned at him. \"Ah, but you’ll always be ‘chibi’ to me, Omi.\"

\"Technically, that’s not even my name anymore.\"

Yohji stopped grinning and leaned forward. \"As I remember things, your father gave you the name of Tsukiyono Omi so why do you insist on bearing the name your bastard of an uncle saddled you with?\"

\"It was my grandfather’s wish and I owed him that much after he saved Aya and you.\"

\"You owed him nothing.\" Yohji could feel his temper rising. \"He never lifted a finger when you were kidnapped and he allowed your father to believe he was raising his nephew as an assassin. Be yourself, for fuck’s sake!\"

Omi stiffened in his chair. \"I had to take over as Persia. I had to keep the rest of you safe.\"

\"Yeah? Well, frankly kiddo, you did a lousy job of it. Ken ended up in prison, I got my head fucked with and you almost got Aya killed.\"

\"Yohji.\" Aya’s deep voice, warning him, trying to shut him up. Why the hell should he? The little shit had split Weiss up, dumped and hurt Ken, sent him away from Aya. Deciding he wasn’t hungry after all, he stood up, grabbed his smokes, and headed for the back garden to cool off.

He lit a cigarette and leaned against the wall. Part of his mind, the part that was still dumb enough to try to make a home, thought that a bench or patio set would be good out here. He snorted humourlessly at the thought. He’d been offered all that as ‘Ito Ryo’ but had turned it down and gone looking for the missing part of him. He’d found it when he found Aya again.

Thoughts of Aya immediately brought him back to the present. Since Schuldig had done whatever it was in his head, his memories had started to return more quickly. He still knew that he only had bits and pieces, but there was more substance to them now. Part of his childhood had returned, his downtrodden mother and drunken, abusive father. Him trying to save his mother from beatings until the day he’d returned from school to find her beaten bloody and his father gone. She hadn’t survived the night and he’d left school and made his own way in the world. He knew that his inability to save her had made him very protective of all women and he remembered courageous, doomed Maki with both pain and affection.

There had been talk of another woman, apparently his partner, from Aya, but he simply couldn’t bring her to mind at all. Maybe she hadn’t been that important, that Asuka. He shrugged and took another drag of his cigarette.

His days, and nights, with Weiss were coming back although he hadn’t retrieved as much about Aya as he wanted. Aya. Always his thoughts returned to the beautiful man. He knew there had been more between them than Aya would say. He could tell the man cared for him, although he wasn’t sure how he knew, yet the bastard insisted on holding him at arms length. It was both frustrating and infuriating.

A slight noise brought him back to a sense of his surroundings and he looked up to see Aya himself, gazing at him thoughtfully. He smiled but the expression wasn’t returned, instead Aya sighed.

\"Do you have to pick on him, Yohji?\"

He stiffened, his anger returning. \"I wasn’t aware that I was picking on him. I thought I was treating him the way I always did.\"

Aya nodded. \"Yes, you are. But he’s not the person he was when you treated him that way.\"

\"Yeah, well. I don’t like what he’s become. And don’t try to tell me that you do, because I know you don’t.\"

\"No, I don’t, but there’s nothing I can do to change him back. If we survive this, he might come to realise that he’s found one family but lost another. Give him time.\"

\"You always were the observant one. If it keeps you happy, I’ll lay off. I’ll bow and call him Takatori-san.\"

Aya sighed. \"Yohji…\"

He stubbed out his cigarette and shrugged indifferently. He really didn’t give a damn about Omi’s feelings right now. \"If it makes you happy, I’ll behave.\"

Those purple eyes narrowed. \"This isn’t about me, it’s about him.\"

\"Yeah, but he’s got Nagi to take care of him. Who have you got?\" He watched as Aya bristled.
\"I don’t need anyone to take care of me, Kudoh!\"

Yohji nodded to himself. It was the answer he’d been expecting though he knew, deep down that it was false, wrong. \"I always used to watch your back on missions.\"

There was a flash of pain and then anger. \"Really? Then why did Nagi need to save my ass on the last one?\" Aya turned and swept back into the house.

Yohji sighed and lit another cigarette.

* * * * * * *

Ken was watching soccer on the portable television in his bedroom when there was a knock at the door. He bade whoever it was to enter and turned to see Mamoru come through the door. It was the last person Ken had expected to see so he just gaped at his boss.

\"Am I disturbing you, Ken-kun?\" Mamoru’s voice sounded wistful.

\"No, not really. It’s not a great game.\" He switched off the soccer and gestured to the chair, inviting his guest to sit down. \"What can I do for you?\"

Mamoru took a deep breath. \"I know it’s hard, Nagi and I showing up here the way we have. I know there will be a period of adjustment. It would help if you could forgive Nagi for something that happened after you left for Europe.\"

Ken fought hard to retain a hold on his temper. \"It’s not Nagi that I can’t forgive, it’s you. You’re the one who hurt me, not him. You sold us all out for the Takatori name and position.\"

Mamoru flinched. \"So it’s me that you hate?\"

\"I don’t hate you, Om…Mamoru. I’m just hurt. I loved you, you know? But that wasn’t enough for you. I’ve had time to get over it but seeing you again brought it all back. I’ll get over it.\" He wondered why he wasn’t quite as upset as he’d expected to be.

\"I hope you will. We need to show a united front if we’re to survive against Rosenkreuz. They’ll take advantage of the slightest weakness. Will you speak to Nagi?\"

Ken shrugged. \"Will Nagi speak to me? Seems to me that he’s still finding it hard to forgive me.\"

\"I’ve spoken to him about that and he’s prepared to try if you are.\"

\"Okay. I’ll try speaking to him.\"

\"Thank you, Ken-kun.\" Mamoru went quiet for a few moments. \"Are Aya and Yohji…?\"

Ken shook his head. \"No, I don’t think so. At least, not so far. That’s something else you screwed up.\"

\"No. Aya actually wanted me to split them up. He was concerned that they were getting too close.\"

\"For a bright man you can be incredibly dense at times. I thought I was supposed to be the oblivious one. They already were close. I know Aya was in denial, still is, but if two people loved each other it was them.\"

\"And now?\"

\"I think Yohji wants to revive things, but Aya’s not playing.\"

\"It’s perhaps for the best. Ken-kun, do you trust Schuldig?\"

He wasn’t sure how he was going to answer that. His feelings towards the German were extremely confused. He liked him, perhaps more than liked him, but trust was different to attraction. Then he remembered something. \"He doesn’t try to read my mind, at least, as far as I can tell. I mean, I don’t think he can help himself with the surface thoughts but he’s never even attempted any manipulation.\"

\"I just can’t forget what he did. It’s not just Ouka, it’s the way he manipulated Sakura-chan into trying to kill Aya-kun.\"

\"If I can try with Nagi, I think you need to try with Schuldig. He did help Yohji and he saved you as well as Nagi from Rosenkreuz.\"

Mamoru sighed. \"I think you may be right. I’ve just received information from Japan. They murdered Rex, Ken-kun, simply destroyed her with a mental blast.\" He sighed and for once looked every one of his twenty years. \"I will try to trust Schuldig. We do need his skills so very badly. I can’t make any promises but I will try.\"

* * * * * *

*Schu?*

*I’m here, kid.*

*Where can we talk alone?*

*Garden’s free now and I want a smoke. Will Takatori let you out of his sight for that long?*

*I’m not his prisoner, Schu.*

*I know. But you have to admit, he’s very protective of you.*

*What do you expect of someone called Mamoru?*

*Mein Gott! Humour yet! I’ll be in the garden, Nagi.*

Schuldig cut the link and smiled to himself. At least the kid still seemed to be his friend. He had wondered. He strolled into the garden and lit up. Nagi joined him just a few moments later.

\"He’s prepared to let you speak to me, at least?\"

Nagi shrugged. \"It’s hard for him, Schu.\"

Schuldig sighed. \"Yeah, I know. I never thought, back then, that I’d have to rely on him one day.\"

\"I did try to warn you, but none of you ever listened to me.\"

\"Nagi, if all you wanted was a bitching session, go back indoors.\" It was the last thing Schuldig needed right now, to be reminded of his sins.

Nagi shook his head and smiled slightly before hugging Schuldig. \"I missed you.\"

\"Missed you, too, kid.\" Schuldig returned the hug. \"I can see he looked after you. You look good. I like the hairstyle, by the way.\"

Nagi actually grinned at that. \"Yours looks better, too. Tidier.\"

Schuldig poked his tongue out at his young friend. \"I got tired of all the accessories the old style needed.\" He became serious once more. \"I’m not sure it’s such a good idea, all of us in the same house. If they find one of us, they’ve found us all.\"

\"Yeah. We really need a few of Brad’s visions, right now.\"

Schuldig thought sadly of his erstwhile leader and friend. \"You can say that again. So, is your boyfriend intent on fighting all of us or is he going to see sense and realise he can’t run an empire from here?\"

Nagi frowned. \"He’s confused. While he didn’t see the rest of Weiss he was doing okay. A bit of a control freak but nothing I couldn’t handle. Now…now he’s upset. I never stopped to realise before, but Weiss developed similar ties to us except without the link. He still thinks of them as his ‘family’ while they now think of him as the boss.\"

Schuldig dropped his cigarette and trod on it. \"What did he expect? He pulled away from them, split them up. I’m sorry, Nagi, but he brought a lot of this on himself.\"

\"Yeah, I know. Question is, what, if anything, do we do about it?\"

Schuldig sighed. Time to tell the kid the truth. \"Nagi, I may not be a precog, but I do know this. Sooner or later Rosenkreuz are going to track us down. When that happens we’re going to face the biggest fight of any of our lives. We’ll have to depend on each other and trust each other if we’re to survive. As things stand, we’re going to lose and lose badly. You, Kudoh and I will become good little agents after a world of pain. The others will simply be killed. We have to do something. Only problem is, I haven’t a clue what that something is.\"

\"I can try to forgive and forget what Hidaka did but I’m not sure if he can forgive me for ‘stealing’ his boyfriend.\"

Schuldig nodded thoughtfully. For the supposed hothead of the team, Ken was often the friendliest and most reasonable. \"It’s worth a try. Kudoh is fine with me but he’s giving your lover hell, right now. I can’t really blame him as he doesn’t really remember him as the boss. I think that’ll calm down though.\"

\"And Fujimiya?\"

Schuldig grimaced. Abyssinian wasn’t the type to forgive and forget even though he seemed to have come to terms with himself. \"I don’t know, kid, I just don’t know.\"

* * * * * * *

Mamoru felt the need for calm after his conversation with Ken so he headed into the pretty walled garden at the back of the house. Yohji was out there, smoking as usual and Mamoru pursed his lips in disapproval. \"I was hoping you’d forgotten that addiction.\"

Yohji turned and gazed at him. \"I guess some things stay with you, like the ability to speak Japanese or English.\" He fidgeted for a moment or two. \"Aya seems to think I owe you an apology.\"

Mamoru shrugged. \"It must be difficult for you. After all, you remember a sixteen year old schoolboy, don’t you?\"

\"I also remember a terrified eighteen year old, trying hard to save his family after we took on Shion. After that, it gets blurry.\"

\"I’m still trying to take care of you. I just do it differently now.\" Yet still a part of him longed to be the ‘chibi’ of Yohji’s memory.

\"Maybe you need to be closer to us. Keep a personal eye on us.\"

\"I don’t know, Yohji-kun. Can any of us really go back?\"

Yohji shook his head. \"Do any of us want to go back? No, we can only go forward and hope we’ve learned from our mistakes.\"

\"I don’t know if this is the right time for this, but I have something that once belonged to you.\" He reached into a pocket and drew out the watch he’d brought with him from Japan.

Yohji’s reaction was not quite what he’d expected. He reached out for the watch almost eagerly. \"I’d wondered where it was.\"

Mamoru gazed up at him sadly. \"Are you sure you want this, and all that goes with it, again?\"

Yohji nodded. \"I’m going to need it if I’m going to watch Aya’s back. I never intend to let him down again.\"

* * * * * * *

Nagi wandered into the kitchen, wondering if he was entitled to make himself a drink. He came to a halt, just inside the door, as he spotted Ken making coffee. Taking a deep breath, he murmured a hello.

Ken turned and nodded at him. \"You want some coffee?\"

\"Yes, please. Thank you.\" He sat at the table, chin rested on his hands, and watched as Ken poured the beverage and placed a mug before him before sitting down opposite. He let the silence stretch out for a few minutes as he studied the other brunet. Then both of them said, \"do you…\" at the same time. \"Go on.\"

\"You first.\"

Nagi rolled his eyes. \"Okay. Do you hate me?\"

\"Funny, I was going to ask you the same question. No, I don’t hate you. What about you?\"
\"I found it hard to forgive what you did at the orphanage. Oh, I know, intellectually at least, that she deserved to die, but emotionally, it hurt. She was like a mother to me. But, having said that, if you hadn’t killed her, she would probably have sold me and Crawford would never have found me. I can’t hate you anymore.\"

\"Do you actually care about O…Mamoru?\" Ken was glaring at him now.

He deliberately looked Ken in the eye as he answered. \"Yes, very deeply.\"

Ken stared back for a moment before nodding. \"Okay. That’s all I really needed to know.\"

Ken smiled then, and it was such an infectious expression that Nagi found himself responding. He actually smiled back, if somewhat shyly. \"I believe you still owe me a game of soccer.\"

Ken chuckled. \"You’re right, I do. Do you think we could persuade any of the others to join us?\"

* * * * * * *

Aya had spent the day avoiding all of them as much as he could. He sighed to himself as he realised he was repeating old behaviour patterns but he didn\'t know what else to do. Schuldig still bothered him, he didn’t know how to act around Mamoru, and Yohji was still trying to get him into bed. Dinner was likely to be fraught with tension.

It came as quite a surprise, when he turned up for the meal, to find that things had changed considerably since breakfast. Yohji, unsure of what to call Takatori, was carefully calling him nothing at all but had ceased treating him like a child, while Ken and Nagi were so far from ignoring each other as to be trying to talk everyone into a game of soccer.

Aya turned down the soccer without any hesitation whatsoever and ate his dinner in silence aware, the whole time, of Yohji’s eyes on him. Finally, unable to take it any longer he looked up and glared at the blond. \"What?\"

\"You seem a bit tense. Are you okay?\" Yohji’s eyes were full of concern.

\"I’m fine.\"

He’d been so bothered by Yohji’s scrutiny that he’d failed to notice first Schuldig and then Mamoru agree to the game of soccer. Ken was ecstatic, of course, and after dinner the four of them trooped out of the house to head for the local park.

He started on the dishes, somewhat surprised when Yohji started drying them.
\"I can manage.\"

Yohji shrugged. \"Just thought it might speed things up. Besides, I wanted to ask why you’ve been avoiding me since this morning. Since we’ve been in London, really.\"

\"I haven’t been avoiding you.\" That wasn’t strictly true. He’d kept his distance, afraid of both Yohji and his own feelings.

Yohji snorted in derision. \"I thought you’d got over all the denial crap.\"

\"Yohji…I simply can’t see the point in us getting physically involved again. Sooner or later you’ll start going out to clubs and looking for women. I’m happy to be your friend, but that’s all.\"

Yohji shook his head and sighed. \"How many times do I have to tell you that women don’t interest me? I’ll do whatever I can to protect them, but that’s about it. You do interest me. I can’t believe I let you go or let you send me away, whichever it was.\"

It was Aya’s turn to sigh. \"Yohji, please, this doesn’t help either of us.\"

\"Why not? What’s got you so scared, Aya?\"

\"I’m tired of being hurt by you!\" Where the hell had that come from? He had actually shouted at Yohji, feelings he’d thought long dead and buried exploding into life.

Yohji leaned forward, effectively trapping him against the sink. \"I’ll never hurt you again.\" Then he was being kissed. His arms reached round Yohji and pulled him even closer as he returned the kiss. It was several minutes before they broke it off, finally needing oxygen.

\"Let’s take this upstairs,\" Yohji suggested and all he could do was nod his agreement.

* * * * * * *

Yohji couldn’t believe his good fortune. Aya had actually given in to his feelings, and agreed to try again. He caught hold of Aya’s hand and all but dragged him up the stairs and into his bedroom. Once there, he turned and kissed the beautiful man again. This time Aya didn’t hesitate, kissing him back just as passionately.

When they came up for air Yohji crushed Aya to him. \"Gods, I’ve fucking missed you.\"

Aya snorted softly. \"Missed me or missed fucking me? Anyway, until a week ago you didn’t even remember me.\"

\"True, but I now remember spending a lot of time without you. And yes, to both.\"

\"Yotan, shut up.\" Aya reached up and kissed him again which he didn’t mind one little bit.

He edged them towards his bed and bent Aya back until they landed on it in a controlled fall. His hands ran down Aya’s sides and then back up, taking his sweatshirt with them and exposing the creamy expanse of Aya’s chest. \"So beautiful.\"

Aya stared up at him, violet eyes intent. \"And you’re not?\"

Yohji shrugged. \"No, Aya, you’re the beauty, not me.\" He sat up and stripped off his shirt wanting to feel skin against skin. Aya, meanwhile, pulled his sweatshirt over his head and slid it down his arms. Yohji threw both shirts onto the floor and started on the button of Aya’s jeans. Aya was trying to return the favour and they ended up in a tangled heap, Aya actually chuckling.

Yohji grinned back at him and sat up to remove his own shoes and pants. There was movement behind him and he turned to find Aya naked and blushing slightly. His eyes widened at the beauty spread before him and suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of desire and possessiveness. He leaned forward to plunder those tempting lips once more before moving down that lush, pale skin to give attention to Aya’s pink nipples.

Moving further down, he took Aya’s elegant member into his mouth. He gasped as the taste brought back wave upon wave of memories of the two of them lost in the mystery of each other. He pulled back and stared, wide-eyed at his lover.

\"And you wanted to deny us…?\" He couldn’t get his mind round the thought and sat up, running a hand through his hair.

Aya frowned at him before sighing. \"I never intended for it to go as far as it did; to get so involved.\"

\"We’re damned well involved, whether you like it or not!\"

Aya sat up and reached for his clothes. \"This wasn’t a good idea. I think I should go.\"

\"Oh no, you’re not going anywhere.\" He grabbed the reaching arm and used it to pull Aya close again, kissing him savagely. He was almost surprised when Aya returned the kiss and relaxed in his arms. He bent him onto his back again and attacked his neck, sucking at the jugular until he’d left a mark.

Aya’s legs came up round his waist and he smirked at the apparent submission. He remembered enough now to know that this, of all men, never really submitted. Sex between them had always been an equal thing. This was just Aya’s way of saying that this time he could be the seme.
He reached out and pulled open the nightstand drawer, extracting a plastic tube of lubricant, without once moving away from Aya\'s neck. Coating his fingers generously, he worked one into his lover’s body. Tight, clenching heat greeted it and a gasp from Aya. He added a second finger and scissored them, gently stretching the tight opening. A third was added and he smiled when a low moan indicated that he’d found Aya’s sweet spot.

Aya was writhing beneath him, impaling himself as far as he could on his fingers. The sight made Yohji realise that he could wait no longer and he pulled away to coat himself with the lubricant. Aya hissed until he pushed forward again, replacing his fingers with his cock. \"You ready?\"

There was an abrupt nod and a glare from his lover which made him smile. He was obviously ready. He eased slowly forward, gradually pushing himself into the welcoming warmth of Aya’s body. It was like coming home after too long away and he moaned with the sheer rightness of it. Once fully seated he stopped, trying not to be overwhelmed with sensation. Beneath him, Aya whined and moved his hips, encouraging him to move.

Moaning slightly himself, Yohji pulled back only to press forward once again. He built up the rhythm slowly and steadily, his hand pumping his lover in tempo, until Aya’s hands clenching at his butt urged him to go deeper, faster, harder. In no state to argue, he complied with the unspoken demand and was rewarded by Aya shuddering and gasping as he came over their stomachs and his hand. That led to his own release and he collapsed against his lover, completely sated.

Once he regained his breath, he eased off of Aya and rolled onto his back, pulling his lover with him. It was then that he noticed that he wasn’t the only one growing out hair dye. There was about a half inch of crimson at the roots of Aya’s hair which, he was certain, had not been there when they’d been in New York.

The flash of a waist-length braid and the speed with which it had grown struck him along with several other, more recent memories. None were of him, though. All of them centred round the man in his arms. His eyes widened as he suddenly got a strong wave of emotion from Aya, a strange mixture of love and self-loathing.

\"Aya? Are you okay?\"

There was a sleepy grunt and a muttered, ‘yes,’ but nothing more. Yohji used his discarded shirt to clean them both off before pulling Aya close. The man snuggled closer and sighed, already half asleep. Yohji smiled to himself and settled for sleep himself, only to snap wide awake when he ‘felt’ the others return. Ken and Schuldig were elated at having won their game, Omi and Nagi disgruntled at losing. Now how the hell could he possibly know that? Yet, at the same time he knew it was true. Frowning slightly, he fell asleep again.

His dreams were full of images that he somehow knew were memories. Three old people trying to sacrifice a dark-haired girl that was Aya’s sister yet wasn’t, nearly drowning as the building they were in broke up and sank into the sea, a strong hand grabbing him and pulling him above water, tangling Omi in his wires, Ken swiping at him with his bugnuks, dropping a dead man over the side of a boat, desperately getting a dying Aya to safety. More and more images battered him throughout the course of the night until, exhausted, he woke up to find his memories virtually intact. He knew there were still a few small gaps, but nothing that mattered.

Excited, he turned to wake Aya, to let him know. Then he remembered just how he’d been pushed away and the hurt swamped him. Careful not to disturb his sleeping lover, he climbed out of bed, pulled on a robe, and headed to the bathroom. He showered and dressed and slipped out of the house. He would take a leaf out of Aya’s book and walk until he got his head straight.

* * * * * * *

\"Dietmeiller here… What?… Where?… Grab him and bring him to Germany. Leave him intact though. If he’s harmed in any way it’ll be your hides, do you understand?\" He replaced the phone and chuckled softly. Kudoh would soon be here and he would be half way towards his goal.

* * * * * * *

Down in his cell, Crawford smiled. The right visions were falling into place.