Alternatives

Alternatives


When they arrived back in Lewisham, Yohji helped out with the sleeping arrangements by dragging Aya into his room, leaving the swordsman’s room free for whoever wanted it. He really didn’t care where the others slept. He was too exhausted to take any interest at all in the subject.

For once, Aya didn’t fight him. He simply gave him a warning look, stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed. Yohji joined him seconds later. They were both asleep in minutes.

He woke, hours later, to find Aya holding onto him as if afraid he would vanish. He thought back to the last time they had shared this bed and realised his lover might have a point. He had woken up alone.

Yohji brushed a hand through silken hair, glad that the crimson was growing back. The slight touch caused Aya to open his eyes and glare. \"Yotan..\"

\"Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.\"

\"Hn.\" Aya moved away and went to sit up.

\"Hey, where are you going?\"

\"If you’re awake, then everyone else is. We need to talk.\"

Yohji sighed, realising the truth of this. Then he remembered something he had to tell Aya. \"Dietmeiller made me see the missing memories.\" Beside him, Aya stiffened.

\"So you remember…Asuka?\"

\"Yes. It was weird. When he showed me the memories, all I could think about was you.\"
He turned to look at the man who had come to mean so much to him over the years. \"She’s just a memory now, that’s all.\"

Aya climbed out of the bed and dressed. Yohji jumped up and tried to stop him. \"I mean it. You’re the only one that matters now.\"

\"We’ll talk about it later. Right now we need to decide what we’re going to do from now on. Rosenkreuz won’t just go away.\"

Yohji was about to open his mouth to argue, when Aya leaned against him and put a finger against his lips. \"Not now, Yohji. Later, I promise.\"

Something tight seemed to ease in him at Aya’s words. \"Okay. Later. I suppose we’d better go and make sure Farfarello isn’t wrecking the place.\" He climbed into his clothes and, after a quick, snatched kiss, followed Aya downstairs.

Ken was at the stove pouring beaten eggs into a pan, while bacon sizzled in another. Schuldig was making coffee. They both looked up and grinned.

\"Sleep well?\" Ken asked.

\"Like the dead. You?\"

\"Yeah. You want tea, Aya?\"

\"Coffee’s fine, thanks. Judging by the huge pile of bacon and eggs everyone is up and about.\"

\"Yep, you two were the last. Nagi’s in the garden with Crawford and Farfarello while Omi’s taking a shower.\"

Yohji snagged a piece of bacon from the pan and bit into it. \"Nobody’s tried to kill anyone then?\"

\"I think, if we’re going to have any problems, it will be today,\" Schuldig said thoughtfully. \"We were all too tired when we got here.\"

Yohji nodded and attempted to steal more bacon. Ken whacked his hand with the spatula. \"Wait!\"

* * * * * * *

Omi didn’t know if he could do this. As it was he was going to give everyone severe whiplash. Could he really be naïve and cheerful Tsukiyono Omi again?

He approached the kitchen just in time to hear Yohji yelp and Ken tell him to wait, and he smiled. Some things never changed. That thought raised his spirits quite considerably and he entered the room with a smile on his face.

\"Good morning! Um…is it morning?\"

Schuldig glanced at his watch. \"Just about. It’s eleven-thirty.\"

Glad to have that point cleared up, Omi started setting the table whilst humming softly to himself. The absolute silence around him made him look up. All four of his companions were staring at him in shock. \"What?\"

Yohji was the first to react by picking him up and swinging him round. \"Glad to have you back, chibi.\"

Omi blushed when set on his feet again. \"You…you don’t mind?\"

\"Mind? I’m ecstatic! You’ve finally remembered who your real family are.\"

\"Seems like it might have grown some.\" He glanced at Schuldig and, for the first time, smiled at him. It wasn’t a forced smile, it was completely natural. The man had gone through too much for the sake of the rest of them to be considered an enemy anymore.

Schuldig looked a little startled but then smiled back . Omi was pleased to note that this one reached his eyes, unlike his usual smirk.

There was the sound of more arrivals and Omi turned to see Nagi, Crawford and Farfarello had entered the kitchen. His smile became uncertain all at once. Nagi smiled and hugged him and Farfarello gave him a grin. Crawford merely nodded, seemingly as unsure as he was.

\"Breakfast is ready,\" Ken said breezily and set down a huge bowl of scrambled eggs and a platter of bacon. Schuldig added the coffee pot and everyone seated themselves at the table. Time to get down to business, Omi realised.

* * * * * * *

Crawford was distinctly uncomfortable. Nagi was obviously intending to stay with Tsukiyono and Schuldig seemed to be very much at home here. Even Farfarello was able to get on with the people who had helped him to get his leader back. He, on the other hand, had spent most of his time actively plotting against four of the men he was eating breakfast with. He found he had to know something and turned to Kudoh.

\"Why did you let Dietmeiller believe my talent to be suppressed?\"

Kudoh glanced up from his breakfast with a surprised look on his face. \"Because somebody needed to let Schu and the others know what was happening and besides, I wouldn’t leave a dog at that sadist’s mercy,\" he said as if the answer was obvious.

\"How did you know I wouldn’t double cross you?\"

\"I didn’t. But I didn’t think you’d double cross Schu or Nagi. If you had, I’d have killed you myself.\"

Farfarello glanced up from his food and glared warningly at Kudoh. \"You would not,\" he said.

Crawford jumped back in before the two men could turn it into a pissing contest. \"I see,\" he said calmly. \"But you are leaving something out, aren’t you?\"

Kudoh stared down at his plate, obviously still uncomfortable with his new powers. \"Yeah,\" he said finally, \"I read your emotions. All you were concerned about was keeping Schu, Nagi and me safe from Rosenkreuz.\"

\"Thank you. And you were right to trust your talent. It will never lead you astray.\" He glanced round the table. \"We need to discuss where we go from here.\"

Tsukiyono nodded his agreement, while Fujimiya and Hidaka merely stared at him challengingly. He couldn’t really blame them. He opened his mouth to say something further when a vision hit him.

He saw them living and working together, domestic scenes of Aya tending the garden, Ken and Schu building a conservatory so Yohji could grow the orchids he loved, Omi and Nagi decorating a room together, Farfarello sanely traversing the aisles of a supermarket. The vision shifted and he saw a new structure, a council of major talents, come to power in Rosenkreuz. He saw them turn their attention to world domination and the garnering of unaligned talents. Again the vision shifted and he saw the eight of them defy Rosenkreuz and save the mundanes of the world from almost total annihilation.

He opened his eyes to seven men, all with very concerned expressions on their faces, staring at him. \"I think we need to stay together.\" It was all he thought he could manage to say at that moment.

* * * * * * *

Schuldig offered Yohji a cigarette and they both lit up with almost identical satisfied sighs. The breakfast discussion had gone on well into the afternoon as there were lots of details that needed to be worked out. There was to be no Persia and no following of a single person’s orders. Those with talent would share visions, thoughts and feelings with the others and all would decide what they should do with the information. Schuldig could only hope that such decisions didn’t take as long to resolve as their internal politics had.

But he supposed that all in all, it had been worth all the time. There were to be no more assassinations unless it was of Rosenkreuz personnel. That decision had seemed to please everyone, even Farfarello surprisingly enough. Then the one-eyed man had dropped a bombshell by telling them that he wanted to be known as Jei from now on.

Money was not a problem. They all had plenty left over from their time as assassins. Filling their time might be more difficult. He glanced at Yohji and smirked mischievously.

\"You sure you don’t want another flower shop?\"

\"Don’t even go there, Schu! If you thought Omi was bossy as Persia, try him getting you out of bed for a shift in a shop.\" Yohji stared thoughtfully at the end of his cigarette. \"I keep thinking about returning to the detective work.\"

He nodded. \"It’s a possibility. Or perhaps security consultants.\"

Yohji stared at him. \"Now that’s not a bad idea. Let’s face it, we’d know every weakness a building could possibly possess between us.\"

\"With Nagi’s talent, even structural weaknesses.\" Schuldig smiled to himself. It would be rather nice to earn money that he didn’t have to kill to get.

\"Then there’s bodyguard work, the transport of valuables and decoy work.\" Yohji was obviously getting really interested in the idea.

Schuldig grinned and flipped his cigarette away. \"It would stop us from getting too bored and, if we offered all those services, would be enough work for all of us.\"

Yohji nodded thoughtfully as he dropped his own finished smoke and stepped on it. \"I don’t think Aya or Ken would take much persuading. Would Crawford be interested?\"

\"Yotan…who the hell do you think saw it in the first place?\"

Yohji sighed. \"I should have known.\"

* * * * * * *

The dinnertime discussion was much shorter than the breakfast one had been, all of them jumping at the idea of a security consultancy and the varied services related to it. It was agreed that all prospective clients would be carefully vetted for any Rosenkreuz or underworld links. There was absolutely no point in strengthening places or organisations that they might have to take out one day.

Aya smiled to himself. Whether he wanted it or not, Crawford would probably end up being the boss. It made sense really. He had the clearest head and a liking for paperwork. As long as they remained equals at home, it didn’t really matter much to Aya.

He nodded his assent to most of the ideas put forward and agreed that Ken, Schuldig and Crawford should find suitable premises for the office. Omi and Nagi would be in charge of computer related security and he, Yohji, Jei, Ken and Schuldig would be field operatives. Strangely enough, he was more interested in finding a good garden centre.

Yohji caught his eye, after dinner, and he sighed inwardly. He supposed they had to talk about Asuka and Neu and all the rest of the crap that had been released from his lover’s mind. He nodded and followed Yohji up the stairs to the man’s room.

Once there, he found himself swept into Yohji’s arms and kissed rather thoroughly. He returned the kiss and was happy enough until they both came up for air.

\"Ayan, we need to talk.\"

Here it came, he realised, guilt over Asuka/Neu, a desire for women, same old story. He braced himself and asked, \"What do you need to talk about?\"

\"Well, it’s been a day for discussing the future so I think we need to decide ours, you know? Stuff like are you moving in here or do you want to keep your room?\"

He stared at his lover in shock. That had not been what he’d expected. \"What about Asuka? Don’t you want to talk about that?\"

Yohji shrugged. \"Not really. She’s a memory, Ayan, nothing more. It just took me way too long to realise it. If Rosenkreuz taught me anything, it was that.\"

\"It was perhaps as well for all of us that you were still emotionally attached to her.\"

\"Maybe. And maybe that’s why I still was. Schu seems to think that the empathy might have been finding a way to protect my real feelings. Gods, Aya, if they’d used my memories of you, they’d have won and I’d have lost you forever.\" Aya winced slightly as Yohji’s arms tightened around him in a sudden bear hug.

\"But…you could never wait to get away from me and pick up some woman or other to help you forget.\"

Yohji turned angry eyes on him. \"The only women I’ve had since you became my lover are those that Kritiker wanted me to go after.\"

\"They didn’t send you after Neu.\" He couldn’t help the bitterness in that statement. Yohji had nearly been killed by the bitch, had allowed her to betray him twice.

\"Where were you when I did that? You’d got as far away from the rest of us as you could. We helped you get your revenge and then you just walked away from us.\" Yohji sounded just as bitter over that and Aya hung his head in acknowledgement.

\"I had to protect my sister.\"

\"Yeah, and look where that got you. The second time, when I brought her to the Koneko, I was trying to get Asuka back, because I knew Asuka would never want to harm your sister. I know, before you say anything, that she played me for a fool. Asuka herself was the only woman who never did play me, anymore than you ever did. You just left me or pushed me away.\"

\"I had to protect myself.\"

\"No, Aya, after Neu you never needed to protect yourself. I would never have deliberately hurt you.\"

He shook his head. \"Not from you, from myself. I started to panic, wondering what the hell I would do if anything ever happened to you. And then Ken and Omi said what a mess you were when Shion nearly killed me… Our lifestyle was such that we couldn’t afford to be that close.\"

\"And now?\"

He raised a hand, touched Yohji’s cheek, marvelling at how they’d found each other again. \"Fate seems to keep pushing us together. I can’t argue with fate.\"

\"So, which one of us is moving their things?\"

He sighed as he glanced round the room. Yohji was already turning it into a home. \"I have less to move.\"

The huge, real smile that transformed Yohji’s face should have been enough to convince him of the man’s feelings but he still felt inordinately happy when Yohji quietly told him how much he loved him.

\"I’d better get my stuff.\"

\"Leave it till the morning.\"

He smiled and moved closer for another searing kiss which seemed to take Yohji by surprise. He quickly used his advantage to wrestle them both onto the bed where they landed in a tangle of limbs and warm bodies.

\"Fuck…Aya.\"

\"Shush.\" He kissed Yohji again and not just because it was the only way to shut the idiot up. \"I want you,\" he murmured against warm lips and felt Yohji shudder.

He sat up and pulled off his shirt. \"Clothes off, Kudoh,\" he growled. He moved to a sitting position so he could take the rest of his own clothes off and then turned to see how Yohji was doing.

Yohji was stretched out on the bed, totally naked and smiling gently. His heart did a flip flop at the sight. So very beautiful. He leaned over Yohji and kissed him yet again, kneading the muscles of his chest as he did so. Yohji’s arms pulled him closer and he lost himself in sensation as they kissed again.

He felt something pressed into his hand and broke off the kiss long enough to discover what it might be. Yohji had presented him with a tube of lubricant. He met his lover’s eyes, brows raised in query. It wasn’t often that Yohji wanted him to top.

\"Are you sure?\" he asked, needing the matter to be cleared up before he did something stupid.

\"I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I need to know you really do still want me, even after everything I’ve put you through.\"

He placed a finger to Yohji’s lips and shook his head. \"We cannot live in the past any longer, Yohji. We have to move on, to build a future.\" Strange that he should be the one to say those words. He had always been the pessimist before, but something about the past week or two had changed him completely. His sister was safe and all the other people that meant anything to him were here, in this house. Time to start living. He was rewarded by Yohji’s stunning and very real smile.

\"Sounds so fucking good to hear you say that, Aya. A future…and we actually have one now.\"

He kissed Yohji again. It really was the only way to shut him up. A hardness pressing against his own arousal made him stop kissing Yohji and pull back. \"Mine.\"

\"Oh gods, Aya, yes, all yours.\"

Fumbling slightly with the cap, Aya opened the tube and smeared a generous glob of lube onto his fingers. He shimmied down the bed and took Yohji deep into his mouth. He was rewarded with a groan of pure want. Holding and licking his treat with one hand, he teased at Yohji’s tight opening with the other, slowly working a finger into the deep, welcoming warmth. Yohji gasped and arched almost off the bed. Aya moved his mouth away and glanced up.

\"Steady, Yotan.\"

\"Ne….Aya….feels so….fucking good.\"

Aya smiled and added a second finger, stretching Yohji gently but very thoroughly. A third finger had Yohji bucking again, so Aya took his cock back into his mouth in order to distract him for a while. Finally satisfied that Yohji was as ready as he would ever be, Aya removed his fingers. There was a moan of loss from Yohji as he moved away from his cock.

\"Ready?\"

\"More than ready.\"

Pushing Yohji’s legs up and out, Aya positioned himself and gently pushed into Yohji’s body. Tight, clenching heat met him and welcomed him and he sank into it up to his balls. He stopped to let them both catch their breath.

\"Ayan!\" A low whine from his lover. \"Fuck me already.\"

And so he did, with long, languorous strokes that had Yohji gasping and clutching at him. He leant forward and stole a kiss before whispering in Yohji’s ear. \"Play with yourself. I want to see you touch yourself.\"

With a low whimper of pure lust, Yohji did just that. The sight had Aya moaning in pleasure and thrusting into him more forcefully. With a harsh cry, Yohji spurted over his belly and chest. Aya leant forward and lapped eagerly at the creamy strings which was enough to send him over the edge and he came with a little moan of pleasure. He collapsed, panting, against Yohji’s chest and strong arms wrapped round him in welcome.

\"Jeez, Aya, that was incredible.\"

\"Hn.\" Suddenly exhausted he eased out of Yohji, causing both of them to hiss in loss, and rolled onto his side. Yohji kept hold of him and reached out for the shirt he’d removed to clean them off with.

He felt so peaceful for once, so fulfilled. \"I love you, Yohji.\" Finally he could admit to the truth.

\"I love you, too.\" Finished with the shirt, Yohji pulled him close and the curled up around each other. Very soon they were asleep in each other’s arms.