Shifting

Shifting

*****

Chapter 1

Companions

*****

Disclaimer: I don’t own Weiss in any way shape or form. I am not making money from this. That pretty much covers it. ^^

Pairings: Yohji x Ran, Crawford x Schuldig, Omi x Nagi, Ken x Aya-chan. The usual. ^^

Warnings: Yaoi (lemony goodness, I hope). If it offends you, go read something else. Het (possibly some lemon here too). If it offends you, go read something else. Hm ... possible OOC-ness but hopefully not too much, probably a little pain and suffering, Farfie-fans may want to proceed with caution. I have love for him, but he will be ... worse off than usual here. Um, oh yes, and Vasectomized Ken. He’s still in tact, just no kiddies. XO

And not-so-innocent Omi/Nagi. They’re teenagers ... with boyfriends. Trust me, their thoughts rarely stray far from the gutter. I may have to add other warnings later, but I promise there will be no main-character deaths.

*****

Ran Fujimiya looked out at the ocean before him. /I’m Ran again,/ he thought. /It’s strange, for this all to be so sudden./ Two months before he had been Aya Fujimiya, florist by day, assassin by night. He had been struggling to keep his sister alive, waiting and hoping desperately for her to wake up from her coma. Two months ago he had been afraid she would be lost forever, desperate to save her. And now she was safe. They had stopped the ritual, Eszet was gone, Schwarz was gone, and Aya-chan had woken. Suddenly he had no reason for his life not to be ordinary.

But it wasn’t what he wanted. As much as he desired his sister’s happiness and safety, there were aspects of his life that he did not want to give up. Aspects that, if he left Weiss, he would have to leave. The most important of these was standing beside him.

Yohji’s wavy blond hair blew about his shoulders in a light breeze. The breeze smelled of sea salt and other ocean things. Ran inhaled deeply, closing his eyes. He felt Yohji move closer to him and knew, even before he felt the touch, that Yohji was going to put his arm around his shoulders. There had been a time when Ran would have pushed the other man away, or perhaps hit him.

Now, he simply let him. Ran even gave a tiny ghost of a smile and shifted his weight to lean into the touch. Not much, but just a little. He opened his lovely violet eyes again, then, and looked down at the beach below. The dock they were standing on was slowly being cast in shadows as the sun set over the sea. It should have been terribly romantic.

Ran glanced up at Yohji’s face. The man looked happy, almost content. But Ran wasn’t sure what he was thinking about. He doubted it was the same thing currently occupying his own thoughts.

“So,” Yohji’s voice startled Ran just a little. “Decided what you wanna do yet?”

“Tonight or over all?” Ran replied.

“Both.” Yohji smiled a little. It was something of a bitter smile. Ran thought he knew why that was. He knew Yohji cared for him and he knew that he disliked the idea of splitting up as much as Ran did. But Ran had yet to say anything on the subject, so there had been tension between them lately. In fact that was the reason they had come here. Aya-chan had suggested it, although she claimed it was Ken’s idea. She, Ken and Omi had all been getting jumpy with the feelings floating about the apartments above the Koneko. Ran and Yohji had been pushed out almost before they had agreed to take this walk. And it was a walk because neither had remembered his car keys and someone had locked the doors behind them.

“I’m still not sure what I want to do.” Ran said. He hung his head a bit, concentrating on his hands. They were folded over the dock’s railing in front of him. It felt rather nice to lean here ... “But I don’t want to leave you.”

Ran felt Yohji’s hand tighten on his shoulder. He looked up at the other man and found a broad smile gracing the blond’s face. He arched a brow at him, wondering what he found so amusing. Had he really thought Ran was going to leave? Ran had never really thought so. From the moment he had asked himself that question, it had given him an unpleasant feeling in the pit of his stomach. Even before he had consciously thought the answer, he had known it.

“As long as you feel that way,” Yohji said. “Then I’m happy. No matter what else you decide you need to do.”

“Even if I decide that we need to take Aya-chan and move to America and create a completely new life?” Ran asked.

Yohji kept smiling. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“What if I want to open a new flower shop there?” Ran scowled slightly. Yohji was picky, even though he tried to deny it. They agreed on most things, but what they disagreed on they usually disagreed on vehemently.

Yohji’s smile faltered slightly. “Well, if that’s what it takes ...” he said.

Ran was surprised. He knew that Yohji was tired of playing with flowers all day. The novelty of the shop had worn off for him shortly before they had begun their relationship. He had later told Ran that it was because the girl’s didn’t do anything for him anymore. Ran, or Aya as he had been at the time, had become the only one who shone in Yohji’s eyes. He hadn’t said it that way; he had been much less poetic and slightly vulgar about it, as it had come out a the end of an argument. But it meant the same thing. For the first time since Asuka, Yohji had let himself fall in love.

Ran seemed reluctant to truly accept that fact, though. He had asked Yohji, once, why he wanted him. After all, Ran was so unlike the only other person Yohji had truly loved. But to Yohji, that was one of the things that made Ran so attractive. Asuka had not been stupid or weak but Ran was somehow smarter, stronger. Although Yohji had not been so logical as to choose to love Ran because it was less likely that he would lose him, the concept was not lost on him.

“Do you want to do that?” Yohji asked.

“Move to America and open a new shop?” Ran almost laughed. “No, I don’t want to do that.”

Yohji released a tension that he hadn’t realized had been there. He had no desire to move to a strange country, especially if it meant having to get up early to run another damn flower shop. If it was the only way to stay with Ran, he would do it, but he was glad not to have to, all the same.

“Well, how about tonight?” Yohji asked. “What’ll we do tonight?” He took his arm from Ran’s shoulder, turning so the could lean on the railing and see Ran’s face.

Ran looked at him, a soft, pleasant smile on his lips. Yohji loved this expression. It was his favorite, after the faces Ran made during sex. His violet eyes were softer than usual, his pale skin flushed with just the tiniest hint of pink. The look was almost mischievous. Almost.

“I think we should have a little fun.” Ran said.

Yohji wiggled his eyebrows playfully. “Fun, eh?”

“Yes. You can buy me dinner somewhere nice, then we can go to a nice hotel.” Ran said.

“You think they’re gonna leave us locked out all night too, eh?” Yohji grinned. Ran nodded. “Well, we have been making life hard for them.”

Ran nodded again. He knew it was true. He did not like that his personal life with Yohji was affecting the others so much, but it was. It was not as if they had to worry about coming downstairs and finding the two screwing on the kitchen table. That may have happened once but, in Ran’s defense, they had both been rather drunk and it had never happened again. But the uncertainty that had been mounting between the two of them had been spilling over for days. Naturally, that had only made it worse.

“So dinner and a hotel.” Yohji said. “Sounds nice. Where do you wanna go?” Yohji looked over Ran’s faded jeans and black sweater. His own darker jeans, olive green t-shirt and brown jacket weren’t much better. He had stopped wearing the high-cut midriff-showing tank tops in public, at least. Or rather, he had stopped doing it year-round. In the summer they were still his favorites, but Ran didn’t like it. He said it made Yohji look cheap, but Yohji had noticed that what he really didn’t like was the way the girls watched. Those shirts never failed to garner huge amounts of attention and Ran hated it. “Well, nowhere too nice, unless you wanna go shopping first. We’re not dressed.”

Ran nodded. “What about that little place downtown? The one you like.”

“Imahara’s?” Yohji asked. He nodded. “Yeah,”

Ran nodded again. He straightened and turned and Yohji knew that this was to be his only clue that they were leaving. He walked along beside his lover, happy for the moment. He had learned to live that way, only in the moment. It was a blessing and a curse. It made it wonderful during the good times, made it seem like they could last forever. But when the bad times arose, they seemed to go on forever as well. But neither was going to focus on bad times tonight. Tonight was for them. Tonight was to be intimate and wonderful: a relaxation. A tiny version of the vacation that they both badly needed.

***

Across town another couple were checking into a hotel. The woman at the front desk gave the two men an odd glance as they paid for the room. She looked away, blushing, when she was suddenly struck with a powerful image of the two: very naked and very intimate. She handed back the credit card, not meeting the eyes of her customers.

“Enjoy your stay, Crawford-san.” she said quietly, handing over the keycard to their hotel room. As quickly as she could, she returned to the cataloging she had been working on before the two had entered the lobby.

Brad Crawford cast a look at Schuldig as they entered the elevator. He pressed the penthouse floor button, waiting until the doors closed to speak. “What did you show her?”

“Nothing she wasn’t already thinking about.” Schuldig grinned. Crawford sighed.

“You can’t resist, I know.” the brunette said. He gave a very small, quite dark smile.

“I could show you the same thing,” Schuldig said. “If you’d drop your shields.”

“Later.” Crawford replied. He had no intention of letting the redhead into his mind while there were other people around. Or even the possibility of other people. Sometimes the future changed so rapidly that even Crawford couldn’t be entirely certain of what lay ahead. And for someone with such high standards, 99% was just not good enough.

Schuldig gave a soft snort of amusement. He didn’t need any pre-cognitive or telepathic powers to tell him what Crawford’s answer would be. He had known it already, because it never changed. His smile did not falter, though. He loved the man’s determination and found the fact that he cold keep him out fascinating.

“Later I’ll sow you much more than I showed her.” Schuldig said. “Of course, you still haven’t told me why we’re here. You have a reason for everything.”

Crawford looked at the redhead over his glasses. “Yes. I have.” he said simply.

“You just don’t wanna share?” Schuldig continued.

“Not now.” Crawford said. In fact he did have a reason for their impromptu hotel-stay. Just before dinner he had seen himself and Schuldig at this very hotel. The vision had been short and undetailed but it carried a heavy sense of importance. Something crucial was going to happen here and they needed to be there for it. It worried Crawford that he could not see quite what it was that was going to happen. The only things that hid in the time-stream like that were very delicate things. Things that had to have all the right decisions and all the right timing to happen, things that could be changed by tiny things like the movement of a hand or placing an object on the right side of a table instead of the left.

Usually time was more aggressive than that. Usually things hinged on being in a particular place at a particular time or saying a particular thing to a particular person. But sometimes things came down to what would seem inconsequential to most. And whatever was going to happen here was going to be one of those. The heavy feeling of the vision told him that it would, most likely, be a matter of life and death.

For that reason, alone, he was unsure why the vision had been one of himself and Schuldig at this hotel. He knew Schuldig was planning on having hot, wild sex on every surface of that room. That didn’t seem like a matter of life and death. It didn’t seem like it was very likely to create one either, unless the redhead had plans to fuck on the balcony railing ... Very quickly Crawford peeked into the future, to be certain that the German had no such plans.

As the elevator doors opened, Crawford realized that his small reverie had made the ride seem to take longer. He knew, as they stepped out into the hall, that it had not been unusually long. Schuldig was not a patient man, especially when sex was involved, and Crawford knew that if the elevator had been abnormally slow Schuldig would have said something.

The hall had only two doors. One was closer to them on their right, the other was farther and on their left. The door on the right was theirs. Crawford slid the keycard and opened the door. Once they were inside and the door closed, he let his mental shields drop just a bit. He could feel Schuldig on the edges of his mind, itching to be let in.

“Soon.” Crawford promised. He was teasing the redhead. He knew soon would not be soon enough for him. As he turned to head into the bathroom, he felt Schuldig’s arms wrap around him from behind.

“Now,” he said. It wasn’t so much a demand as a plea. Not pitiful, but enticing.
“Let me go to the bathroom first.” Crawford said, unwinding Schuldig’s arms from him.
“That’s it?” Schuldig did not seem to believe him.
“Three minutes.” Crawford assured him.
Schuldig nodded. Whenever Crawford gave a set amount of time, he meant it to the second. Schuldig relaxed and let the brunette go into the bathroom and shut the door. He could tell that he had let down some of his shielding. It was alluring, the way he did that. He knew perfectly well that Schuldig loved the feeling of being in his head. Not that the redhead could blame him for keeping him out most of the time. Schuldig knew himself well enough to know that he would play games that his dear Bradley would not like. But it did make the feeling all the sweeter when he was allowed in. That feeling was part of the reason that Schuldig had never fought very hard for dominance in the bedroom.

Although Brad Crawford had turned out to be a very talented lover, Schuldig had never been uke so thoroughly for any other partner. Brad almost demanded it. And that thought led Schuldig to an idea. He smirked to himself and walked to the bed.

He looked it over; he liked the look of it but it was not where he wanted to begin the night. Instead he went to the large wooden desk on the opposite wall. It was set with a green blotter and had large drawers that looked like they were meant to hold important documents. Of course they were empty, as it was only a hotel desk. But it was very similar to the desk Brad used at home ...

Schuldig decided that this would do very nicely and proceeded to strip off his clothes. He would have waited and let Brad undress him, because he knew the man liked it, but tonight he had been wearing a silk shirt that he preferred to remain in one piece. He folded the clothes up and stuffed them in one of the large drawers, then hopped up onto the desk. Moments before Brad opened the bathroom door, the redhead propped his feet up on the chair, spreading his legs to be certain Brad would notice that he was already excited.

Crawford knew what he would find outside the room. He had avoided the vision itself, picking up just the idea. He knew Schuldig would be naked on the desk, but it was so much better to see it in person, in real time, than in a vision.

“So much work to do, eh?” Schuldig joked. “We never get to be alone like this, you know.” that was not a joke. At ‘home’ there was always the odd chance of being walked in on, even if the doors were locked. It wasn’t that Nagi was trying to see them naked or that he was stupid. Just that he was sometimes careless, although Schuldig was not entirely certain that he wasn’t an idiot ... Smart kid, but not much common sense. At least he thought not.

And then all thoughts of anything but Brad were gone. He had dropped his shields and let the German into his mind freely. Schuldig gasped at the sudden sensation. The oracle’s mind was strong. It thrummed with a stability that no other mind possessed and it had its own unique flavor. Most people’s thoughts tasted of honey. But Schuldig had never really liked sweet things that much. Brad’s mind had a rich, savory flavor. And it wasn’t just taste, but other things too.

Brad smirked, approaching his lover and running his hands up the other man’s thighs. Schuldig gave a very slight shiver of anticipation. He let his own arms wrap around Brad’s neck, drawing him in for a kiss.

/I love it when you let me do this./ Schuldig thought.

/I know./ Brad replied. He let his hand slide up to caress Schuldig’s hip, his stomach, then lower. The redhead gave a low moan into the kiss. Brad smiled a little. He loved that he could make Schuldig do that. The man was so jaded that it shouldn’t have been possible to get such sounds with such small touches, but he could do it.

/Schuldig .../ Brad thought the first part in words and the second in images. Schuldig broke the kiss and grinned. He nodded, sliding down from the desk. He pushed Brad down into he chair and undid the fastening of his pants, freeing his erection. His eyes flicked up to Brad’s face for a moment, watching him remove his glasses and place them in the drawer on top of Schuldig’s clothes. Then he ran his tongue over the brunette’s thick length. Brad let out a small sound. Schuldig smiled and continued, licking and kissing his way over the sensitive flesh before him, until he finally wrapped his lips around it. That action brought rougher sounds from his lover. The low moans and harsh breaths grew in intensity, if not volume, as he took more of him into his mouth. Brad Crawford was not so much oud during sex as he was intense.

Schuldig did not stop until the he had taken all of him. The small dark hairs around the base of his shaft brushed lightly against his face and Brad’s scent was intoxicating so close.

Schu listened carefully, loving the sounds Brad was making above him. He could feel what Brad was feeling through their mental link, but the vocalizations made everything better. More real. He continued to deep throat his lover as long as he could. Finally he had to pull back, returning to the gentle sucking and licking of earlier. He could sense how close Brad was and he was about to finish him when he felt the man’s voice in his head.

/Don’t ... Desk./ Even his thoughts tended to be unfinished when he was like this. Schuldig smiled and obliged. As he stood, Brad fished out a tube from his pocket, flipped open the cap and poured some of the clear liquid onto his fingers. Schuldig was seated on the desk again and Brad was standing between his legs, clothes hanging open around his hips. He pressed his lips to Schu’s as he spread the gel around his entrance.

Schuldig sighed into the kiss. He loved the feel of his lover massaging him like this. Then the fingers entered him, stretching him. They held the kiss, Schuldig’s hands running over Brad’s jaw and neck. He managed to get the man’s tie off, breaking the kiss. Finally Brad spread some of the cool gel over himself and positioned himself at Schuldig’s entrance. He didn’t wait, just thrust into the redhead and relished the throaty moan that escaped him. And then he pulled out and thrust back in and they were fucking on the desk. Schuldig reached out to hold onto the edge of the desk as he was pushed backward with each thrust.

Finally Brad pulled him up and Schuldig wrapped his arms around Brad’s shoulders, fists tight around bits of the brunette’s white dress shirt. He loved the deeper angle that this position gave them. He felt Brad move one hand between them, wrapping it around the redhead’s own hard cock. He pumped in time to his thrusts and Schuldig nearly screamed when he came. His body tightened and that, combined with the sensations they were sharing, brought Brad as well.

Both fell against the desk, breathing heavily. Schuldig gave Brad a wide smile and said, rather breathlessly, “That’s one surface.”

***

The dinner at Imahara’s had been enjoyable except for one thing. Halfway through their meal, and in the middle of what had been a pleasantly intimate conversation, a woman had deemed it a good time to come and interrupt them. She was another patron and, as it had turned out, an ex-girlfriend of Yohji’s. Well, girlfriend was probably too strong a word. Her relationship with the man had been shortly after Asuka’s death, and had been little more than sex, despite having lasted a record three days.

Yohji recognized her but had never expected to see her again, let alone at such a bad time. So it had taken him a minute to make the connection and then he had been so surprised that she had been offended. Of course, Ran had been offended the moment she had come up to the table. She hadn’t seemed to noticed the redhead until after Yohji had figured out who she was. When she got angry that he didn’t remember her, she had tried to slap Yohji but had made the mistake of using the hand that was closest to Ran. He had grabbed her wrist and held her arm tight. She had tried to slap away Ran’s hand as well but a very icy glare had stopped her in her tracks.

Yohji, who knew that the woman was not as stupid as she appeared, knew what she saw in that glare. Death. It was the look Ran used when he was beginning a mission. After seeing that look on Ran’s face, the woman had been frightened off and Ran had not wanted to stay at the restaurant. They paid their bill and left, gotten a cab to take them to the hotel. Yohji had been secretly relieved when Ran had said he still wanted to go.

They had checked into a room on the highest floor. The door was on the left as they exited the elevator. The room, itself, was very nice. It had a living room, a bedroom, bathroom and a small kitchen. Ran sat down on the couch and closed his eyes. Yohji sat down beside him, placed a hand on his leg.

“You okay?” Yohji asked. It was a stupid question. Of course Ran was fine, he was just irritated.

“Why did that woman think she had the right to come talk to you?” Ran said.

“Dunno. Arrogance, stupidity, simple bitchiness. You name it.” Yohji replied.

Ran opened his eyes and looked at Yohji. He had never paid much attention to Yohji’s old lovers. What kind of person did he usually date? He asked, “Did you always have such bad taste?”

“Not always.” Yohji said. He smiled. He knew perfectly well that the sort of people he had usually dated were not the kind who looked good on a resume. He had never been interested in a relationship with them, just sex. “There have been two people in my life who I’ve had something real with. Something more than sex.”

Ran raised a brow slightly. He wasn’t surprised to hear that most of Yohji’s old lovers had been nothing but sex, but it was still strange to hear him say it out loud. Like it was nothing.

“There was Asuka,” Yohji said quietly. He didn’t like talking about Asuka, especially with Ran. He had loved her and would have married her if he had ever gotten the chance. They probably would have had kids, settled down. But, he knew, if she had not died he would never have met Ran and he didn’t like that thought. He didn’t want to find anything good in her death, but he hated the idea of never having known Ran. “And now there’s you.”

Ran took a deep breath and gave a small smile. He was still a bit angry about the incident at the restaurant, but it was nice to hear that he was special, even if he didn’t quite believe it. His eyes followed Yohji as the blond pushed himself up, moved closer. He leaned over and pressed lips to Ran’s own. Ran let his eyes close then, allowed himself to savor the sensation.

***

A loud noise was invading Schuldig’s dreams. It was a horrible, raucous sound. Like a freight train or an air-raid siren. It was coming from somewhere to his left. He became conscious of the fact that he was laying on Brad’s chest. It was warm and wonderful but that horrible sound was still there. It was intermittent but continuous. Finally it registered that the awful noise was the insanely loud ringing of the hotel phone.

Schuldig reached out with his left arm and yanked the phone off the hook. He was about to simply throw it across the room when Brad’s face caught his eye. Brad was awake. He shook his head at Schuldig and the redhead heard Brad’s voice in his mind.

/Answer it./ The brunette thought. Schuldig grimaced but put the phone to his ear.

“Hello?” Someone on the other end was asking.

“What the Hell is it?” Schuldig growled.

“Ah, very s-sorry to wake you, sir, but I have a ...” There was a pause as if the flustered woman had to look at her notes to see why she had rung the room. “Naoe Nagi on the line for you. I wouldn’t have rung through but he said it was very urgent.”

“Nagi?” Schuldig grunted. “Runt ... you tell-” again, Schuldig was stopped by the look on Brad’s face. This time he spoke aloud.

“Give me the phone, Schu.” He said calmly.

“Here.” Schuldig passed over the phone, which was a little awkward from his position half-covering the precog’s chest.

“Put him through.” Brad told the woman on the other end.

Schuldig, on a whim, stretched out a telepathic feeler and found the desk clerk’s mind. She was thinking how much she hoped they wouldn’t complain to her boss and get her fired, and why had that boy needed to get in touch with them so late at night and why were two men sharing a suite like that anyway? Schuldig mercilessly shot her a very clear image of his and Brad’s exploits that night. He knew that she suddenly clutched the edge of the reception desk at the sensation that had accompanied the thought.

Smirking, Schuldig left her mind and shifted his eyes to Brad’s face.

“What time did they leave?” Brad was asking. Schuldig sometimes wondered why Brad asked such things. Shouldn’t he have known what time whoever it was had left even before they had arrived? But apparently he did not, or he wanted to hear Nagi say it. Perhaps it was just a case of ‘better safe than sorry’.

“Where are you now?” Brad asked. “Okay, good. No, you were right to call. They’ll be looking for Schuldig’s power traces. Right, just stay there, don’t leave unless you absolutely must. Schuldig and I will be there soon.” A pause. “4:56.”

A promise, then. Brad handed the phone back to Schuldig, who hung it up. He looked at Brad, not moving from his comfy spot on the other man’s chest.

“We have to leave?” he whined. He was awake now and had been thinking of having sex some more.

“Nagi says that a group of thugs attacked the house tonight around one a.m. He said they managed to drug Farfarello and put him into a truck. Apparently Nagi got away only because the thugs didn’t realize what they were dealing with. He’s at the only safe house we’ve got left, and we have to meet him there.” Brad explained. “So I’m afraid you’ll have to move.”

“We have to leave right now?” Schuldig whined louder. He wiggled his hips against Brad’s thighs.

“Yes. We might have had a bit more time,” Brad raised his hand and pushed a piece of red hair from Schuldig’s face, tucking it behind his ear with a small smile. “But your little game with the receptionist down stairs cost us. The people looking for us have a general idea of where we are.”

Schuldig gave a slightly pouty face but moved off of his lover. He stood, arching slightly at a minor pain in his backside. Some things never went away. He caught Brad’s smirk out of the corner of his eye before he went to the desk drawer to retrieve the clothes he had placed there earlier. As he dressed he said, “So why is it gonna take us,” he glanced at the clock on the desk. “Almost two hours to get there? We’re only a fifteen-minute drive away at this time of night, aren’t we?” he took the damp towel Brad offered him, not asking where it had come from and making sure that he got what remained of their earlier activities off of his skin.

“We aren’t going straight there.” Brad said. Something in his voice made Schuldig’s brows knit together.

“Why not?” he asked.

“We have to pick someone up first.” Brad replied. He was avoiding the answer. Brad Crawford never avoided a question like this. What the hell was wrong?

“Who?” Schuldig asked, smoothing out his jacket.

Brad sighed and slipped on his glasses. “You’ll see in a few minutes. But you can’t kill them.”

Schuldig looked even more confused. They were picking up someone he might want to kill before going to their safe house? That didn’t make sense. Granted it was still a wide range of people, but it was really the timing more than the concept that confused him. Schuldig knew he was not gong to get a better answer so he said, “Can I play with them?”

Brad seemed to consider this a moment, then he said, “You will behave yourself, Schuldig.” His whole name. It meant Brad was serious. Or rather, it meant that because they were alone. Brad disappeared into the bathroom, no doubt to smooth his black hair back into its usual, more ordered style. Schuldig had managed to tousle it quite thoroughly earlier. He ran a hand through his own wild locks and wondered who they were going to pick up.

“Let’s go.” Brad said, emerging from the bathroom. They had not even had time for a shower. Schuldig fell into step behind his lover but stopped short when they entered the hall. Schuldig had just closed the door to the room when h realized that Crawford had turned in the direction of the other room on their floor and not in the direction of the elevator.

Schuldig said nothing, following the older man. He wanted to stretch his mind out and see who was in that other room, but he restrained himself. If using his powers had cost them time before, it would probably make things worse to do it again. See, he wasn’t an airhead. Usually.

Crawford reached up and rapped sharply on the door. A few muffled sounds of movement floated out to them but nothing else. Again Crawford knocked. This time there were footsteps and a grumbling sound. When the door opened Schuldig almost couldn’t believe his eyes. It had been months since he had seen the lanky blond figure that answered the door.


And the last time they had met the man had definitely been wearing more clothes. Of course one could hardly wear less than wrinkled boxer shorts ...

“Shit!” Yohji jumped away from the door, trying to slam it closed. Crawford blocked it with his foot. If it had hurt, he did not show it. “Ran, move!”

Yohji had retreated all the way into the bedroom, where Ran had still been asleep. The shout had awakened him suddenly and he was on his feet in moments. He looked around and didn’t see any of the clothes that either of them had discarded earlier. Annoyed, he ripped the sheet from the bed, and folded it in half, tying it around his waist as he moved for the window.

“Yohji, what the fuck is it?” Ran demanded as he pulled open the window. There was a fire-escape outside.

“Schwarz.” Yohji said. Ran was already outside and Yohji was just about to follow him when Crawford and Schuldig entered the bedroom. “Hurry.” Yohji told his lover.

“You shouldn’t go.” Crawford said cooly. “We came to talk. Besides, you’ll be arrested rather quickly if you wander around dressed like that.”

“Right.” Yohji did not believe Crawford but he also hadn’t moved from his position straddling the window sill. Schwarz were not known for fair play and he would not have put it past them to have a hidden gun trained on him and Ran.

Ran was very still behind him. “Talk about what?” he asked.

“The future.” Crawford smirked a little and let the dim light shine off his glasses. As if either of them could truly understand the future. “Please, come back inside.”

“Yeah, if we’d wanted to kill you we could have just burst in and shot you.” Schuldig pointed out.

“You didn’t want to kill my sister when you took her either.” Ran pointed out. The ice in his voice was painful to hear.

“Well, that was Eszet, wasn’t it?” Schuldig said. He shrugged. “Besides, we’re free agents now.”

“That makes you more dangerous, not less.” Yohji replied. “If we aren’t gonna fight then hurry up and say whatever the hell you’ve got to say.”

“Fine.” Crawford said. “You two are going to come with us, we’ll drive to your house and get your roommates, and we’ll go to our safe house. Or you’ll all die tonight.”

“What could you possibly be hoping would make us believe you?” Yohji asked, rather taken aback at the statement.

“I see the future.” Crawford said as though it were a commonly known fact.

“Sure, whatever.” Yohji kept his eyes on Crawford and Schuldig but moved further outside.

“Wait.” Ran said quietly.

“What?” Yohji demanded.

“It would explain the reflexes.” Ran said. His voice was still soft.

“What are you-”

“I’ve fought him one-on-one enough to know. It’s not natural, his skill. I think he’s telling the truth.” Ran said.

“Still doesn’t mean he’s telling the truth about the rest.” Yohji pointed out. He had been prepared to make more of an argument when he saw Ran’s eyes shift. Yohji looked behind him and saw Crawford and Schuldig heading toward them. “What the-”

“Go, now.” Crawford said, pushing Yohji out onto the fire escape. “They’re almost here.” This last was directed at Schuldig.

“What the fuck is going on?” Yohji demanded.

“No time. Go down.” Crawford ordered. He was outside now and quickly being followed by Schuldig. Schuldig had a large hand gun out, but was pointing it back at the room they had just left. Ran had started down the stairs, holding the sheet over his arm like a toga. Yohji followed, only turning when he heard the sound of gunfire from behind him.

When looked up he saw Schuldig crouching under the sill of the window, on the outside. The second the bullets stopped he stood and fired three times.

“I got those three,” he said to Crawford. “But they’ll send more.”

Crawford only had to look at the two Weiss members before they hurried down the rest of the rickety metal stairs. It was a noisy trip and very cold, or at least it was for Yohji and Ran who were nearly naked. And it took quite a long time, being a very tall building. Luckily for Yohji, Ran had been willing to share some of the sheet on the condition that Yohji not trip them up.

“Shit, Ran, now what?” Yohji asked.

Ran knew what Yohji was asking. They had taken a cab here and they had no phone now to call for another and no money to pay for one if they had gotten it. Ran cast an icy glare at Crawford and Schuldig.

“I guess we have little choice.” Ran said.

“This way.” Crawford said, turning toward the back of the building and to the parking structure behind it.

/Are we really gonna take Weiss to our safe house?/ Schuldig asked in Crawford’s mind.
/Yes./ Crawford replied. /But we won’t be able to communicate like this after we do. Someone out there is looking for signs of our powers and it will be yours and Nagi’s that will show up first./ Schuldig knew that Crawford’s powers were nearly impossible to track, as the only precogs left who were more powerful tended to be quite insane as well. His own power and Nagi’s, on the other hand, could be sensed by any strong psi with the same power or even by a powerful psychic, although they probably wouldn’t know what they were picking up.

/Fuck, Brad, that’s ... Dammit they’re not just chasing us they’re fucking with our sex life!/ Schu bitched.

/I know, Schu./ Crawford replied. /It can’t be helped./

/Fine, but why are we taking Weiss? Schuldig asked.

/We’re going to need them. Eight is better than three, anyway./ Crawford said.

/Eight? But you said they took Farf-/

/Abyssinian’s sister./

Schuldig looked back at the other redhead. He wondered how the man would react to the news that his precious sister was coming too. He guessed not well. He must have watched Ran for longer than he realized because Yohji reached over and laced his fingers with the other man’s.

Schuldig grinned. “Don’t worry blondie,” he said cheerily. “I’m not gonna steal your lover.”

Crawford did not even glance back, but Schuldig knew he was smirking just a tiny bit. They reached Crawford’s Lexus a few moments later. He unlocked it and they all climbed in, Schuldig in the passenger seat and the two Weiss in the back.

Crawford started the car and pulled out into the street.

“So are we just supposed to trust you guys?” Yohji asked, frustrated. He did not like this situation.

“Not yet.” Crawford replied casually. “But we will take you back to your house. You can get dressed and we’ll take your friends and go to the safe house.”

“Why them?” Yohji asked.

“We’re all going to have to help each other out.” Crawford said. “Even your dear sister, Abyssinian.”

Ran’s eyes widened a bit. His mouth tightened but he said, “No. She’s not coming.”

“She has to.” Crawford said. “Or she’ll die.”

“You will not touch her.” Ran said.

“No, we won’t.” Crawford agreed. “But if she stays behind, she will still die.”

“Don’t you get it yet?” Schuldig asked. Sure they had been enemies for a long time, but were these Weiss guys really this dumb? “We’re not your problem, now. The same people who are after us are gonna come after you. Or are you just that uncertain of your own abilities?”

Ignoring the contradiction in the telepath’s words, Yohji considered his meaning.

Ran appeared to do the same, but more quickly because he said, “If Aya-chan is hurt in any way, I will kill you.”

“Very well,” Crawford nodded.

Ran gave Yohji a nod and the blond began giving directions to the Koneko. He didn’t like this one bit, but if Ran was willing to take his sister amongst these people, he wasn’t about to argue.

When they arrived at the Koneko it was nearly four o’clock in the morning. They parked in the alley beside the building and Crawford handed a cell phone back to Ran. “Someone will have to come down and unlock the door.” he said.

Schuldig was amazed at the amount of patience he seemed to be showing. Crawford never explained things so much. Usually he just shouted orders and expected them to be obeyed, but, then again, this situation was not like any they had been in before.

Ran dialed the number for the apartment. Ken picked up on the third ring.

“Hello?” he asked, sleepily. Ran was about to reply when he heard a very familiar female voice in the background. The voice sounded as though the owner had just been woken up as well.

“Ken, who is it?” Aya-chan’s voice.

“Hello?” Ken asked again.

“Ken.” Ran said coldly.

“Ran,” Ken said. He was obviously flustered. “W-why are you calling so late? We, that is all of us, we thought you and Yohji were at a hotel or something.”

“We were. We have guests. Get dressed and come open the door.” With that Ran flipped the phone closed and tossed it back to Brad. “Let’s go.” he said.

Yohji looked at him, questioningly. Ran returned his look with one which clearly said that they could talk later. Ran and Yohji both got out of the car and walked up to the side door that served at the main entrance. Crawford and Schuldig followed them. They waited only a moment at the door before the metal-on-metal of locks was heard. Ken opened the door with Aya-chan by his side. Omi, sleep-touseled but awake, was there as well.

All three widened their eyes at the states of Yohji’s and Ran’s dress, or rather undress. Then Ken and Omi’s eyes widened more when they saw Crawford and Schuldig.

“What the Hell-” Omi began.

“They’re fine.” Ran said coldly. He brushed past the three of them and marched up the stairs.

Yohji followed, calling, “You guys show our guests to the living room, eh? Be nice.” Then he disappeared after Ran, who had taken back his sheet when they got out of the car.

He entered their room shortly after Ran, closing the door behind him. He moved to the dresser beside the redhead and pulled out the first shirt and pants he found. It turned out to be a black scoop-neck sweater and a pair of old jeans. He fished around in the back of the drawer for a moment before pulling out a gray beater-style tank as well. He looked at Ran as he dressed. Ran was buttoning up a dark brown shirt over the black jeans he had already pulled on.

“So, what was that with Ken, on the phone and just now?” Yohji asked. At first Ran just growled, but Yohji persisted. “Ran, tell me. I’ll be on your side, no matter what.”

“When Ken answered the phone,” Ran bit out. Yohji nodded. “I heard Aya-chan in the background.” Ran’s eyes glinted with anger.

“Oh boy.” Yohji said. This was a very volatile situation and very poorly-timed. Thinking quickly he said, “Well, you don’t know which phone he answered, right? They could have been in the living room. You know, sitting out there and watching movies with Omi and they all fell asleep on the couch.”

“Ken did not sound like they had fallen asleep watching movies.” Ran said.

“Well ...” Yohji sighed. “Look, just concentrate on the current problem. Half of Schwarz is in our living room. Just, wait until we’re out of here. And at least talk to Aya-chan before you kill Ken.”

“I knew you wouldn’t-” Ran began. Yohji interrupted him.

“Don’t, Ran.” he said, seriously. “Look, if Ken did something against her wishes, I’ll hold him down while you run him through with your damn katana, okay? But if there’s something going on between them, then you have to remember that Aya-chan’s an adult, thinking person too and you owe it to her to at least talk to her about it.”

Ran gave Yohji a hard look, then let out a rough sigh. “You’re right.” Ran said, breathing carefully. “Let’s just try to handle one crisis at a time.”

With that he turned and left the room. Yohji followed him. He felt somewhat satisfied at having gotten Ran to listen to reason, but he was not sure how long it would last if Ken or Aya-chan did something stupid. He would have to watch them closely.

It felt very strange to be sitting in their living room with Oracle and Mastermind. Yohji was uncomfortable but trying to keep an eye on Ken and Aya-chan. Ran was very obviously pissed. Ken looked nervous. Like waiting-for-the-guard-to-tell-you-the-firing-squad-is-ready nervous. Yohji thought he agreed with Ran’s assessment that they had not fallen asleep watching movies. Omi looked alert, keeping focused on their guests, and for that both Yohji and Ran were very grateful. They both had more than enough to worry about.

Schuldig looked smug, the way he always did, but there was a tension in his eyes. Something was bothering him as well. Crawford seemed stiff but confident. It was probably his relaxed look.

Aya-chan was the only one who did not seem uncomfortable. She smiled and asked if anyone wanted anything to drink or eat, but no one did. She shrugged and sat down next to Ken. Ken looked even ore nervous and scooted away slightly. Aya-chan did not seem to notice.

“So Schwarz seems to believe that there’s someone after them and that someone is gonna come after us next.” Ran stated simply. “Whoever raided the hotel rooms wasn’t very good.” This part was directed at Schuldig.

The German shrugged. “The people they sent to our house weren’t very good either.” he glanced at Crawford, then said, “But Crawford knows what’s going to happen and he says we have to help each other out.”

“And why should we take your word for it?” Omi asked, looking right at Crawford.

“This is becoming tiresome.” Crawford said. “What motive do you think we have to lie? If we wanted to kidnap you, we could have easily done so.”

“Fine, why do we have to work together, then?” Ken asked.

“To stay alive and out of the hands of these people.” Crawford replied.

“You know that they’ll kill or capture us if we don’t help each other, but you don’t know who they are?” Omi asked. Ran was silently seething at this point. Aya-chan had followed Ken to the end of the couch they sat on and was continuing to try to stay close to him.

Yohji was watching his lover carefully, just in case he had to restrain the redhead. They really did not need a dead Ken right now.

“I have my suspicions but they would mean nothing to you.” Crawford replied. “You should get whatever you’ll absolutely need and hurry up. They’ll know where this place is by now.”

“How’s that?” Yohji looked up from his vigil over Ran.

“You’re on file, there’s paperwork.” Schuldig said, as if that explained the whole thing. Omi looked at Yohji who still looked confused.

“If there’s paperwork on it, and someone wants to find it badly enough, they’ll find it.” Omi said. “Where are we going to go, that these people can’t track us?”

“A safe house.” Schuldig answered. Omi’s eyes widened momentarily, but he covered by turning toward Aya-chan.

“Where will Aya-chan stay?” Omi asked.

“Yeah, they’re not after me, right?” Aya-chan added.

“You’re coming too.” Ran said.

Aya-chan raised her brows at him. She, being an intelligent girl, had easily picked up how worried he got over her. Of course he had always worried about her, but it was worse since she had woken up. She could tell he did not like the idea, so why had he said it?

“I am?” She asked.

“Yes.” Ran sounded slightly hesitant. He looked at Crawford. “Where, exactly, will everyone be staying in this safe house of yours?”

“There are three bedrooms and a convertible sofa.” Crawford said, considering. “Nagi may be willing to share, but otherwise you’ll have to decide that amongst yourselves.”

“We should get our stuff!” Omi announced, standing and heading for the stairs that led up the half-level to the bedrooms. Ken raised a brow at him but followed anyway. Aya-chan stood and gave her brother a look to rival the ones Ran, himself, was capable of.

“We need to talk, nii-san.” she said.

Ran gave her a look that Yohji supposed was meant to express innocent curiosity. It didn’t come close. He stood, anyway, and followed Aya-chan upstairs into his room. She closed the door after they entered and rounded sharply on him.

“Stop glaring at Ken.” she stated.

“What?” Ran had not thought Aya-chan had noticed.

“I know you heard me, earlier. On the phone?” she tapped his forehead. “You’re not stupid, I know you figured it out.”

“Hn.” Ran amazed himself with his witty response, but he wasn’t sure what else to say.

“Ran, I can date. And I like Ken.” Aya-chan said.

“Why Ken?” Ran asked, irritated.

“I dunno, why Yohji?” Aya-chan retorted. She could be just as bad-tempered as her brother, at times.

Ran actually blushed a little. “It’s not the same.”

“Why not?” Aya-chan asked. “You afraid he’ll get me pregnant?”

“I am now!” Ran had not actually thought that far ahead. He wanted to cover his eyes and hide from the mental images popping into his head. Or kill Ken. Yes, that sounded like a good idea. After all, he had obviously seduced his beloved little sister. Ran was so pissed off he wasn’t thinking straight. Ken, seducing someone. Right.

“Ran, shut-up!” Aya-chan said. “Ken’s not gonna get me pregnant.” She said this last part softer. Ran looked at her questioningly. Aya-chan sighed. “Ken told me there was a mission you guys had, a while ago. Something about torturing pregnant women, I dunno. He didn’t wanna talk about it so I didn’t get much. But after that he had a vasectomy.”

Ran was dumbfounded. He knew what mission she was referring to. It had hit Ken hard and he had been ... well, not himself for a while afterward. Ran remembered Ken saying something about kids and that he had been very, very quiet for a week after that mission. But this was news. Or it was to him. Ran wondered if any of the others knew. He had been quiet for a while when Aya-chan finally spoke again.

“Well?” she asked. “That enough?”

“He doesn’t deserve you.” Ran said, matter-of-factly.

“Ran, you have a complex.” Aya-chan sighed.

“What?”

“You actually don’t think any of you guys deserve to be loved. You’re hardest on yourself, I’ve seen you do it. But I’ve heard the stories about before. About when it was worse. Well, you know what, Ran?” she said. Aya-chan actually seemed rather angry now. “It’s garbage, okay? Everyone deserves to be loved if there’s someone out there willing to love them.”

Ran blinked at his sister. She was talking about love? Did that mean ... “Do you love Ken?” he asked slowly.

Aya-chan paused. She thought for a moment. “I know he loves me.” she said. “I ... think I love him. Shit, it runs in the family, doesn’t it?”

“He still doesn’t deserve you.” Ran said.

“And I don’t ever expect you to think he does.” Aya-chan replied, a bit calmer. “I just expect you to trust me enough to let me make my own decisions. And not to kill, maim, or severely intimidate him.”

“I can’t promise.” Ran told her. He received a very dark look. “I’ll try not kill him, okay?”

Aya-chan continued to scowl but said, “Fine.” She turned and left the room, nodding to Yohji as she passed him in the doorway. Yohji entered and looked at Ran.

“She’s mad at me.” Ran said, tuning to the closet. He opened the door and pulled out two duffel bags.

“She’ll get over it.” Yohji assured him. “But you did the right thing.”

“Hn.”

“Well, let’s not think about it too much now, huh?” Yohji suggested. “What do you wanna take?”

“Clothes, weapons.” Ran said. Ever practical.

“I meant, aside from that.” Yohji smiled.

“We’re not taking that cardboard box you’re hiding under the bed.” Ran said.

Yohji raised his brows. “No?” he asked, not even trying to deny that he had hidden the box there. It contained a small assortment of sex toys and games he wanted to try with Ran.

“No.” Ran said.

“Why not?” Yohji asked, moving up behind Ran as he scooped clothes out of the dresser. He wrapped his arms around Ran’s shoulders, nuzzling his face against the redhead’s jaw. “It could be fun.”

“Hn.” Ran said. He stretched his neck, allowing Yohji to place small kisses along it.

“Please? We don’t have to use them unless you want to.” Yohji said softly.

“Pick one, pack it, and we’ll see.” Ran said.

“I love you.” Yohji said, smiling against Ran’s neck.

“I know.” Ran replied. “Now go pack your toy and bring down the bags.”

“Yes, sir.” Yohji said happily. He fished around under the bed while Ran put the last small pile of clothes into the remaining duffel bag. He had managed to pack for both him and Yohji. He left the room, not really wanting to see, yet, what Yohji would choose from his box. Ran knew exactly what was in the box and none of it looked too objectionable. He really just did not like the fact that Yohji had hidden it under their bed and not told him. He returned downstairs to wait for Yohji and keep an eye on their guests.

“Aya-chan?” Ken asked when she entered the room. “Is A-Ran gonna kill me?”

“No, baby, he’s not gonna kill you.” she smiled. “He doesn’t like it, but he’ll get over it.”

“You think so?” Ken asked, considering the possible futures for himself. “You don’t think you’ll wake up some morning to find me speared on a three-foot long sword?”

“Don’t be morbid!” Aya-chan said,lightly slapping her boyfriend on the shoulder. She touched Ken’s face and smiled. “Honest, he’s not gonna do anything. Besides, can you blame him for being upset?”

“Huh?” Ken asked intelligently.

“Well, you are fucking his little sister.” She said, grinning evilly.

“You know you’re cute when you talk dirty?” Ken smiled back at her. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed her gently.

When the kiss ended Aya-chan said, “So, do you think we should take that folding couch so we can mess with nii-san’s head?” She laughed.

“No, I do not.” Ken replied, still smiling. “You have such a wicked little mind, Aya-chan.”

She smiled wider. She kissed Ken’s mouth again, quickly. Then she said, “We do have to pack though.”


Omi scooped his clothes from his dresser drawer and tucked them neatly into his mini duffel. The mini duffel was enough to hold his shirts, pants, and shorts. But he was going to see Nagi again. He hadn’t been in contact with the other boy since their last battle. He hadn’t been sure that he had survived. And he had wanted to kick Yohji in the back of the head when he put Nagi’s hand on Tot’s.

That still pissed him off when he thought about it. But right then he was just so glad that Nagi was alive. He knew that little things like socks, underwear, and pajamas would only get in the way. But, just in case, he had packed a few pairs of boxers. After all, there was always the possibility of having to get up in the middle of the night for some errand that required a quick option of clothing.

But he had already begun planning the rest of this night. Or this morning. He was going to have to restrain himself if he saw Nagi, first, outside his room. It wouldn’t do to let everyone see their innocent little Omi leap on the other boy and fuck him into the carpet right there. Even if that was what he wanted to do.

“Shit,” he said softly to himself. Just thinking about the prospect of being with his lover again was getting him hard. He had to think of something else, quickly ...

***

The Lexus was not big enough for everyone. Crawford and Schuldig were accompanied by Omi, Ken and Aya-chan. Ran had not wanted to let her go with them. He had been much more in favor of letting Yohji go in the Lexus and taking Aya-chan with him in his two-seater Porsche. Neither Yohji nor Aya-chan had liked this idea, however, and he had been almost violently out-voted. Actually, Ran thought that Aya-chan had been almost ready to slap him. Perhaps they were a bad influence on her. Surely she had not always been this violent ...

It seemed harsh. He hadn’t actually broken his promise. He had tried not to be too mean to Ken. But really, what right did Ken have to be doing ... things with Aya-chan? They were probably doing all sorts of things Ran did not want to think about. But why Ken? Why couldn’t she have met a nice boy at school? Or one of the girls from the shop could have set her up with someone? But then, would he really have liked any of them any better? He was Aya-chan’s protector and no one was good enough for her. But especially no one who had been a part of Weiss.

Aya-chan deserved better. She deserved to have the option to leave all this behind. Not to have to think about her brother the killer. And now her lover too. Lover. How could Aya-chan have a lover? And shouldn’t it have taken more than two months? That whole first month after she woke up had been strange and she had been very quiet. It had been at the beginning of the second month that she had begun to return to normal. But what had the turn around been, exactly?

“Ran? Ran, this is our turn.” Yohji’s voice only filtered through his thoughts after a gentle punch to the shoulder.

“Hn? Oh, right.” Ran quickly pulled into the lane to his right and flipped on his blinker. He caught up to the silver Lexus and followed more carefully. His thoughts drifted back to his sister.

What had the turn around been? She had been quiet and spending most of her time with the books they had bought for her. Then Omi had volunteered to help her study, to get back into the swing of school. Then Yohji had given Ran a sort of anniversary night, dinner, wine, dancing on the roof, and a very mind-blowing bout of sex. It had been an attempt to show him that things were going to get better now.

It had worked for a little while. But the next morning ... hadn’t that been the first morning Ran had found Aya-chan, Omi and Ken all asleep on the couch? They had stayed up late watching movies together. That started happening more often. Every other weekend, sometimes Tuesdays or Wednesdays too. Then, one Saturday morning, Ran had come downstairs to find the same scene, minus Omi. Omi had gone somewhere the night before, refused to say where. But apparently that had not stopped Aya-chan and Ken. They had been curled on opposite sides of the couch and Ran had thought nothing of it, but that had been the day Aya-chan had started getting back to normal.

Ran made a left turn after the Lexus. After that day there hadn’t been any more late-night movie sessions. Aya-chan had started going to bed after Ran did. Always. And Ken had been getting up before Ran and Yohji for the past two weeks. Ran pulled into the drive way next to the Lexus. He parked his Porsche and got out, having decided that he had been foolish not to have noticed all of this sooner.

“Ran?” Yohji said softly, putting an arm around the redhead. “Ran, you okay? You’ve been out of it since we left.”

“Hn? Yes. I’m okay. Just thinking.” Ran answered. He leaned his head on Yohji’s shoulder for a moment. Ran had been out of it. He had probably driven like a maniac on the way here, but Yohji had only said anything when they were about to miss their turn. He was really far too kind.

They followed the others into the house, which was in a sort of rural suburb, and looked around. The entry was a small tiled bit of floor with a staircase leading upstairs. The open doorway to the left revealed a sort of living room. To the right was a closed door. They all filed into the living room area, mostly to get out of the entrance, which was too small for seven people.

“I’m sure you’re all tired,” Crawford said. “So why don’t you decide on who will sleep where and we’ll take care of business in the morning.” Ran nodded and Crawford took it as an assent from the whole group. “I assure you, I will not be so genial tomorrow,”

And with that, he and Schuldig turned and left the room. They had only been gone a second, however, when Schuldig’s head appeared around the doorway to the stairs again.

“Whoever gets the spare room, it’s the first door on the left. You’ll have to excuse the noise, though. Right next to ours-” there might have been more to his statement, but a hand appeared and grabbed the German’s long red hair, pulling him away from the doorway.

Ran blinked at the now-empty doorway once, then turned back to his companions. “Well?” he asked.

“No sooner had he spoken than another voice came from the doorway. This one was softer, younger, and definitely Japanese.

“Omi-kun can share my room.” Nagi said from his place in the doorway. A ghost of a smile crossed his lips as he spoke.

Omi’s wide blue eyes glinted and his hand tightened on his duffel. “Great.” he said enthusiastically.

Ran cast a suspicious glance at the two boys as they hurried up the stairs. Omi was not usually so willing to put himself alone in a room with any member of Schwarz. And this one had tried to kill him personally. Although, perhaps he had not been trying very hard? Surely the boy could have crushed Omi with his mind, rather than simply pinning him to a wall.

“You two can have the bedroom.” Aya-chan said, jerking Ran out of his thoughts.

“Why?” Ran asked.

“I don’t think I wanna stay up there. Sounds like Ken and I will get more sleep down here.” she said.

Ran scowled again. “Fine.” He grabbed Yohji’s arm and jerked him toward the stairs. He had dragged him half-way up the stairs when Yohji finally got his feet back under him. At the top of the stairs the first door on the left stood open. The only other open door, at the end of the hall, was a bathroom.

In the room, Ran tossed his duffel on the floor and looked around the room. There was a small TV on a book case across from the bed. Ran closed the doors over it. There was a closet, two night stands, and the bed itself. He sat down on it, testing it. It was comfortable, covered in dark blue and cream bedding. The night stand closest to the wall had a small lamp, but other than that the only light was from the overhead fixture. Ran leaned over and flipped on the lamp. The
light from the lamp was warmer.

“Yohji?” Ran said. Yohji was still standing in the doorway. “Turn off the light and come to bed.”

“Oh now it’s Yohji come to bed, is it?” Yohji smiled a bit. “So you’re not afraid of being knifed in your sleep?”

“No.” Ran said. “You saw the way Omi rushed up here with the telekinetic? Nagi, I believe. If Omi feels safe here, we probably don’t have anything to worry about.”

Logical. Omi was the most paranoid of them about things like that. “Whatever you say, fearless leader.” Yohji said.

He came the rest of the way into the room, dropped his bag beside Ran’s and closed the door. He was pleasantly surprised to find a lock on the inside and locked it.

“Nn, Yohji,” Ran moaned a little, laying back on the bed. “Yohji come to bed.”

Yohji turned and went to the bed. “What’s got you so sexy all of a sudden?” Yohji smiled.

“I’m pissed off and I want you to make me feel good, okay?” This was a side of Ran that had only come out recently. And one that he would only show to Yohji. Yohji loved it.

“I think I can manage that.” Yohji grinned, descending on the redhead.

***

“Omi, I’m so-“ Nagi had begun to say. Omi stopped him, pressing a feirce kiss against the other boy’s lips. Nagi responded, opening his mouth and allowing the blond access. The kiss was passionate and intense and Omi tried to put into it all the relief and all the desire he felt at that moment. He pushed Nagi against the wall, pressing their bodies together as much as he could. He felt Nagi smile into the kiss.

When they finally pulled away, just enough to speak, Nagi said, “And I was afraid you wouldn’t miss me.”

“Why didn’t you try to contact me?” Omi asked.

“It was never the right time. Does it really matter?” Nagi asked.

“Not now. Later, it will.” Omi told him.

“So what matters now?” Nagi asked, rather seductively. He knew the answer but he wanted to hear it. Nagi liked to hear Omi talk dirty to him.

“What matters now,” the blond said soft against Nagi’s cheek. “Is this raging hard-on,” he pushed his hips against the other boy and heard him make a small, pleased sound. “That’s just bursting to be shoved inside of you,”

“Oh, yes.” Nagi said, voice a bit breathy. “Bed?”

“No,” Omi said, shifting to remove Nagi’s shirt. Why the boy wore shirts to bed, Omi had never known but he did it when he slept alone. “I think I’ll take you right here, against the wall.”

“Hard.” Nagi said.

“Hard.” Omi agreed. “With any luck, you won’t be able to walk to the bed.” He smiled at the brunette and covered his mouth in a rough, hungry kiss again.

There was little foreplay, mostly just a bit of re-familiarizing as they got themselves unclothed. Omi had to think hard to remember to take the little tube of gel out of his pocket before throwing his pants off somewhere. He had them both ready, then, and he pushed into his lover’s body. He let out a soft moan as he did. Nagi was so tight and he felt so good. And it had been so long since they’d done this and the whole time Omi had been worried about him.

When he was as far in as he could manage, Nagi made a small whimpering sound. “Ng, move. Please. Do something, Omi!”

Omi obliged, pulling out nearly all the way and thrusting back in hard. He shivered with pleasure at the sounds that came from Nagi’s throat as he continued, thrusting nearly as hard as he cold. With each thrust, Nagi’s back slammed into the wall and if either had been thinking clearly they would have realized that they could probably be heard throughout the house. But neither cared.

Nagi reached a hand between himself and Omi, stroking his own cock as Omi’s bumped his prostate over and over again. It wasn’t long before he came. The tightening of his lover’s body brought Omi as well. He came so hard he let out a little scream.

He leaned his body against Nagi’s, both shaking a little in the aftermath. Omi managed to pull out of him before they both slid down the wall to rest on the carpet.

“Omittchi,” Nagi said, softly.

“Hn?” Omi asked.

“I missed you.”

“Me too.” Omi said.

They had not finished. There were to be many more passionate episodes of love-making that morning, but for now, they both needed rest. Later, their stamina would be better.

***

TBC

Well, what did you think? Please let me know. And if you want more you should tell me! I’m a horrible pessimist so I’ll assume the worst if I don’t hear from anyone. ^_^;; No, I really will ... Please comment.