Aya paced the length of their tiny cabin and cursed himself for the hundredth time. Approximately an hour and a half had passed since the infamous kiss...and since Ken had ran off. He really should have followed the stunned soccer player but he was just as shocked as Ken by what had transpired between them. He had kissed the younger boy out of necessity, for the sake of the mission and nothing more. Afterall, Ken's rantings upon seeing their target had been completely out of line. But nothing could have prepared him for the onslaught of molten desire that sparked the moment his lips had touched Ken's.
There had been no need to French kiss. There had been no need to run his fingers through Ken's soft hair. There had been no need to pull the quivering boy closer...if anything they were too convincing. And now, he had this absurd attraction to the soccer player to deal with.
How could it have happened? He wasn't Yohji, giving in to his every desire. He didn't go about cavorting with the ladies...or in this case, the guys. Well guy. He wasn't even gay, dammit! But then again, was it his fault that Persia had given them this stupid mission? Was it his fault that both he and Ken picked short straws? And it certainly wasn't his fault that Ken was so utterly cute in his embarrassment. His blushes and nervous attempts at intimacy were absolutely adorable. So, it wasn't his fault at all. All he did was kiss the soccer player. And just because he wanted to kiss him again...
"It's Ken," he muttered wryly. "I can't want to kiss him again. He's an idiot. He's always doing clumsy things in the shop and he never thinks about his actions and he always opens that big mouth of his at the wrong time..."
Although during their kiss, he sure had opened it at the right time. It had been a delicious kiss. Ken had tasted like strawberries and candy and pure desire. He had been shocked and tentative at first. But then, then he had responded and the feel of the dark haired boy pressing up against him and kissing him back with his tongue made him want to drag him to the nearest bed or sofa or wall and...
Cursing floridly, he sat heavily down upon the bed. What the hell was wrong with him? He'd never been attracted to Ken before. Of course he'd never kissed Ken before but that was besides the point. Not to mention the fact that he wasn't gay in the least. He'd never been attracted to another guy before. Granted, he didn't spend time ogling girls but that didn't mean anything. He thought Tomoe Sakura looked very nice, a lot like Aya chan in fact. And Manx was pretty in a unique sort of way, if she got rid of that strange hairstyle. In fact, he thought lots of girls were pretty.
His profound thoughts were scattered when Ken burst into the room. His mouth went dry and all thoughts of girls flew straight out the window. Ken was breathing heavily, his cheeks flushed. Chocolate locks were falling into his eyes and Aya was hard pressed not to reach out and brush them away. He quickly learned that a panting Ken was a very erotic sight.
He looked away quickly. Thinking erotic things about Ken was not helping the situation at hand. "What happened to you?"
"I found their room," Ken gasped, leaning against the door. "Suite 238. I ran here when some waiter caught me lurking around."
Aya grabbed his katana. "Good. Let's go get the disk and kill them."
To his surprised, Ken blushed. "Well...uh we can't."
He scowled at the younger boy. "Why not?"
Ken poked at the carpet with his foot. He looked harassed. "Because um...you know."
"No I don't know Ken," he replied coldly. "Would I ask if I knew? Now stop babbling and get to the point."
He blushed deeper, if that was possible. "They were having sex!" he blurted out as his red face took on a healthy 'I'm going to faint' appearance.
The katana dropped to the floor. "That's...oh," he said eloquently.
"We'll have to kill them later," Ken muttered, tugging at his bangs.
Aya sighed. He really wanted to get this mission over with as soon as possible. The longer they stayed here, the greater the possibility that he might do something that he'd later regret. In fact the way Ken was looking to him right now...staying cooped up in their room was obviously not the way to go. "Think you handle going back to the restaurant? It's past supper time and I'm hungry."
Ken nodded resignedly. "Let's go."
"So Aya san, what was it that first attracted you to Ken san?"
Ken mentally groaned and resisted the urge to hang his head in his hands and cry. The minute they had sat down, another couple had joined them. Again. It was two girls this time. At least they weren't all kissy-kissy like the previous couple had been. Nor did they gush on and on about how cute he and Aya were. No, instead Itzuki and Hana were utterly preoccupied with finding out details about their 'marriage'. They were two very nosy ladies and they wanted to know all the details. About everything.
"His keen sense of justice."
Ken turned to gawk at the redhead. "My what?" His keen sense of justice? What in the heck did that mean? He didn't even know he had a sense of justice, let alone one that was keen.
Aya smirked and merely continued to drink his sake.
"How touching," Hana said, licking sushi off her fingers. "What about you Ken san? What attracted you to Aya san?"
"Uh..." he snuck a quick peek at the Aya, who was watching him over the rim of his sake cup. "His hair," he hastily decided, nodding to himself. "Yeah, it was his hair. It's so, you know, red."
"So you were attracted to his looks," Itzuki paraphrased, picking up rice with her chopsticks.
"I never said that!" Ken gasped, mortified. "I just said I saw his hair! Who could miss it, it's so damn bright!"
"Now Ken san, there's nothing wrong with being sexually attracted to Aya san," Itzuki informed him, shaking her chopsticks at him. "Just because he was attracted to your personality doesn't mean you should be ashamed."
Ken was ready to bolt. Honest to God, that stupid girl said 'sexually attracted' and 'Aya' in the same sentence! He knew that his face would have made a tomato look pale. This was so embarrassing! He would have fled had not Aya's hand grabbed his own under the table. His grip was firm.
"Yes Ken, it's nothing to be ashamed of," Aya murmured, and he could just hear the amusement pouring out from the other boy's voice. Ken decided that after he killed their target, he was going to kill Aya too. He didn't know when Aya had suddenly developed a sense of humor but he didn't like it one bit. Why wasn't he acting all cold and silent like he usually did? He must be hanging out with Yohji too much.
"So when was the first time you guys had sex?" Hana asked, wiping her hands daintily upon a linen napkin.
Ken, who had taken that exact moment to try his miso soup, sputtered and choked. "WHAT?!"
"She wanted to know when we first had sex," Aya answered calmly. His hand tightened around his wrist and he moved closer to Ken, as if preventing him from running away.
"You get so embarrassed Ken san," Hana gushed. "It's really cute! So when did you guys do it first?"
Aya leisurely sipped some more sake. "Well Ken kept pestering me and chasing me around and he wouldn't leave me alone. He said that when it came to me, he had no self-control. Finally he threatened to hurl himself off a building. True it was only one story but Ken is on the clumsy side and I didn't want his injuries on my conscience. So I took him to my place and let nature take its course. He proposed to me right after." Aya's voice was bland, his face entirely deadpan. He could have been talking about his latest rose arrangement. Aya dropped his wrist and instead, he wrapped his arm around Ken's shoulder in a gesture of pure martial bliss.
"I wouldn't have taken you for the pushy type Ken san," Itzuki remarked, peering at him through mascara coated lashes. "But I guess love makes a person do strange things."
Ken, who had stopped breathing during Aya's dialogue, couldn't reply.
Hana and Itzuki probably would have drilled them with a dozen more humiliating relationship questions if the lights hadn't dimmed and the band hadn't started up. But it did and couples began making their way to the dance floor.
"Let's dance," Hana cried excitedly, grabbing Itzuki's hand. "It's been ages since we last shared a slow dance!"
Itzuki allowed her partner to pull her to her feet. "If you'll excuse us."
Aya nodded politely.
"You guys should dance too!" Hana called over her shoulder as she dragged Itzuki towards the dance floor. "It's the most romantic thing in the world!"
When they finally disappeared through the crowds, Ken jerked away from Aya. "You dumb jerk!" he shouted. "What do you think this is, a free-for-all? How dare you say all those things about me!!!"
"You don't have to yell," Aya advised him in an infuriatingly calm voice. "I'm sitting right next to you."
"Well you know that when it comes to you, I have no self-control!" he snapped angrily. "Chase you all over the place, you wish! You're the one who kissed me you bastard!"
That all too familiar glare of death flashed across Aya's face. "The only reason I kissed you Ken," he responded coldly, ice dripping from his every word, "is because you almost blew our cover."
Normally Aya's cold tone and scathing scowl were enough to keep Ken quiet but not tonight. He was royally pissed off. "Oh ow, that really hurt! Maybe I'll go commit suicide off a one story building now!" he retorted sarcastically. "Why don't you follow your own damn advice Aya and shut up? Or is my sense of justice not keen enough for you?"
Surprisingly, his rantings made Aya smile. A slight smile, but a smile nonetheless. "You're cute when you're mad," he commented mildly.
Ken openly gaped at the redhead, his wrath dying a quick death. Aya thought he was cute? Aya, who was smiling, thought he, Hidaka Ken, was cute? Puppies were cute. Kittens were cute. Omi was cute. He was not cute. He was a fierce, claw-wielding, soccer-playing, flower-arranging, assassin of DEATH. Fierce, claw-wielding, soccer-playing, flower-arranging, assassins of DEATH were not cute.
"Is everything to your liking?" a cheerful waitress chirped, coming out of no where. She beamed brightly as she whisked away dirty dishes.
"Everything is fine," Aya responded, moving back so the waitress could take his empty plate. His thigh brushed gently against Ken's.
"Bring me some sake," Ken gulped, feeling stunned. Aya was too close to him! He really didn't have a clue of what was going on but he did know that he couldn't do this alone. Maybe a drink would make these weird feelings go away and then Aya would be normal once more and he wouldn't want to kiss him again.
The older boy raised an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't drink Ken."
He glared at the redhead, moving his chair away. "I'm about to make an exception tonight."
Aya smirked. "Just don't get drunk. You might take advantage of me again."
Ken saw red. "Oh as if my keen sense of justice would allow it!"
Long fingers reached out and brushed his bangs from his eyes, then lingered gently along the slope of his cheek. "Very cute Ken."
His eyes widened as his mouth went into desert mode. Aya's voice was silky and sensual and it was making his heart race and his mind think naughty things. It was wrong, he knew it but he couldn't help it. He wanted Aya to kiss him again. And that, that knowledge that he wanted Aya, was more shameful, more humiliating than any personal question anyone could ask. And it made him loathe himself but mostly loathe Aya for being such a bastard who just had to develop a sense of Yohji-esque humor for this stupid mission.
The waitress set the sake in front of him and he wasted no time in guzzling down a tiny cupful. Then another one. And another one. Then he decided that he didn't like sake. It was bitter and it burned down his throat but he did like the warm feeling it gave him deep inside his stomach.
He looked up to see Aya watching him with that striking plum gaze. "What?" he growled, annoyed.
"Let's dance."
Ken searched the redhead's face, trying to detect any sign that he was joking. He didn't find any. "I don't wanna dance."
Soft lips quirked into a tiny smile. "You don't wanna?"
"No. Now leave me alone." He filled some more sake into his cup.
"I see our target dancing in the corner," Aya whispered, pulling the sake bottle out of his hand. His fingers felt cool as they touched his own. "If we can get close to them, then we might be able to hear some of their plans. As it is, we have no idea where the disk is hidden."
"But I said I don't wanna," Ken wailed. "I already told you I hate this place! It isn't fair!"
"That's the sake talking. You like it here just fine." Aya stood. "Now get up and come on."
He sulked but did as his teammate asked. Who knew what the crazy redhead would do next if he didn't obey. The room swayed as he stood. He would have fallen if Aya hadn't grabbed hold of his arm.
"You've only had three cups of sake," Aya said, pulling him through the crowds. "And you're already dizzy. How pitiful."
"You're pitiful!" he yelled but his voice was lost among the noisy people and loud band.
When they reached the dance floor, Ken noticed something. Something so blatantly obvious that he couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it before. All the people weren't just dancing, they were slow dancing!! Horror upon horror, he absolutely couldn't slow dance with Aya. He had trouble holding the other boy's hand, how could he possibly dance with him?! Hell, he didn't even know how to slow dance!
Aya led him to a quiet corner of the dance floor and abruptly let go of his hand, turning to face him.
"I don't know how to dance!" he blurted out, hurriedly backing away from his teammate. He didn't wanna dance! Aya stalked after him, a predatory gleam shining in dark, violet eyes. Ken began to babble nervously. "Don't make me do this, I'm not doing this, I don't wanna do this, there's gotta be another way, please Aya - " He unexpectedly bumped into the wall.
"Shut up Ken," Aya snapped tersely, stopping a foot away from him. Moving so quickly that he didn't even see it, Aya seized his wrist and hauled him up against him.
Oh my Lord I think I've died...
His breathing stopped. Nothing could have prepared him for the feel of Aya's body against his. And shit, they were just barely touching! Graceful fingers slid under his chin, forcing him to meet with that piercing purple gaze. "We have to do this Ken," he whispered, his lips just barely grazing his cheek.
"But I-I...um,"
"You what?"
Silky breath of air that sent delicious little shivers tickling his ear. His heart was pounding furiously against Aya's black, lace up shirt. How could he possibly say anything coherent? His mind was mush. He couldn't even see anything except those deep amethyst pools. "I j-just..."
Aya slid his hands around his waist, bringing their bodies closer together. "Put your arms around me Ken," he commanded throatily. "I'll teach you how to dance."
Words were beyond him. Of their own accord, his hands wound tentatively around Aya's neck. Heat flooded into his cheeks as he shyly averted his eyes. The look in the redhead's eyes was excessively unnerving. It was like he could see into his soul and knew all of Ken's secret desires.
Time moved in some otherworldly sphere as the moment in Aya's arms seemed to go on forever. Ken never wanted it to end. There were no words spoken between them, just the gentle feel of being in the other's arms, as the rhythm of the music swept them along. Ken's eyes were closed, his head resting against Aya's shoulder. He liked the feeling of Aya holding him. Everything else be damned. All the nervousness and embarrassment and moral dilemmas were washed away. Only this moment mattered as just for a while, he could pretend.
"Ken?"
He looked up into dark eyes, framed by locks of red. He wanted to brush those fine strands away, so he could gaze so deeply into those ethereal orbs of violet. Ken decided at that instance that his wife would have to have purple eyes. And red hair. And be Aya. "Hmm?"
"They're heading down to the casinos on the Starbright deck."
Ken blinked up at him. "Huh?"
Amusement glimmered in his eyes. "Our targets Ken," he clarified dryly. "We can search for the disk now." With great deliberation, he slid his hands from Ken's waist. "We can dance later."
"Oh!" Ken blushed something fierce as he wrenched away from the smirking redhead. He scowled. "I don't wanna dance with you. Contrary to what you say, I am not chasing you!"
One fine red eyebrow raise. "Really? Well we'll see about that Ken."
And with that enigmatic statement, he stalked off, leaving Ken staring after him open mouthed. "What an arrogant bastard!" he fumed chasing after him. Okay so he was chasing after Aya, but dammit when they did have sex, he was not going to propose and that was that! Wait a minute, when they had sex?! Oh Lord what was he thinking? Suddenly he wished he had consumed more than three cups of sake. This was going to be a very long night.
Part 3 | Fanfiction