Sleep was slow in letting go of its hold on Yohji. Dreams of his favorite obsession came unbidden. It was almost funny that he, the playboy, was totally faithful now to a certain taciturn and foul-tempered redhead. As if hearing Aya�s deep voice calling his name, he gradually came awake and immediately wished he hadn�t.
He raised a hand to his forehead and the nagging headache there as he wondered where the hell he was. He didn�t recognize this place at all and it seemed a little on the luxurious side to be one of their safe houses. He sat up slowly, wincing slightly as a few cuts and abrasions made their presence felt. Then he saw Aya, lying in a puddle of his own blood, his katana on the floor by his side.
�Aya! Shit!� Ignoring his own minor injuries, Yohji was off the couch and kneeling by the redhead�s side.
�Aya, don�t you dare die on me.� He raised a trembling hand to feel the pulse point on Aya�s neck and let go of unconsciously held breath when he found it still there, beating steadily. Cradling the unconscious swordsman in his lap, Yohji tapped their emergency number into his cell phone. All he heard was a static crackle. It was only then that he noticed the violent storm raging outside.
�Goddamn it!� He laid Aya gently back on the floor and stripped off his gloves and coat.
�Yohji, start thinking!� he admonished himself. Kneeling back down, he carefully removed Aya�s mission coat and tore off his shirt to see what the damage was. There was a deep stab wound to the redhead�s right shoulder but at least the bleeding was now only sluggish. No major arteries had been severed. He used sutures and a bandage from his emergency first aid kit and lifted Aya onto the vacated couch, watching over him like a mother hen with one chick. Eventually, amethyst eyes flickered open and Aya frowned up at him.
�Yohji? Where the hell are we?� Yohji sighed in relief until Aya tried to sit up when he gently pushed him back down.
�I�ve been so worried about you!�
�Worried? Why?� Aya was obviously confused.
�Why? You nearly bled to death, that�s why.� Aya�s expression became even more confused and his frown deepened as he mentally checked his body for wounds, pain and weakness.
�I�m not even in any pain so how can I have nearly bled to death?� he demanded. Yohji huffed in exasperation.
�If you don�t believe me, take a look at the floor over there...�
Yohji turned his head to indicate the small pool of blood only to find that it had vanished.
�What the hell?�
Aya took the opportunity to swing his legs off the couch and sit up, looking around at his surroundings as he did so. The couch was the only piece of furniture in what appeared to be an opulent hallway. There was a staircase leading up and several doors leading off.
Yohji was staring at the places where his own injuries had been with a panicked expression in his green eyes. He turned to stare at Aya.
�You shouldn�t be moving,� he said.
�Why not?� Aya seemed to notice the bandages for the first time and his frown deepened. Yohji wouldn�t have bandaged him without reason and yet he couldn�t feel any wound.
�You�ve got a deep stab wound in your shoulder. I had to stitch it,� Yohji said almost desperately. �I had some minor cuts and abrasions but they�ve vanished. There was a pool of your blood on the floor that has also vanished.�
�Hn.�
�Is that all you have to say?� Yohji demanded. �I�m beginning to think I�m going mad!�
Aya�s hands moved to the bandages around his shoulder and chest and started to unravel them. Yohji made an inarticulate sound of protest but it ended abruptly as he stared at Aya�s unmarked chest.
�Now I know I�m going crazy,� he said bitterly.
�I doubt that,� Aya said. �There�s something about this place. Where are we and how did we get here?�
Yohji stared around as if seeing the place for the first time. He had absolutely no idea of how they had come to be here. His last memory was of facing off against Schuldig while Aya was busy with Farfarello.
�We were fighting Schwartz,� he said slowly, �then there�s a blank, then I woke up here with you lying in your own blood on the floor.�
Aya nodded slowly, as if some unspoken question in his own mind had been answered by Yohji�s recollection of events. He stood up with his usual feline grace.
�There might be some clue laying about somewhere,� he said. �You look upstairs.�
Without even looking to see if Yohji was following his order, Aya headed towards the nearest door. It opened into a living room with comfortable looking chairs, a state of the art stereo system and two racks of CD�s. Intrigued, Aya looked at some of the titles and found that one rack held all his favorites while the other was full of Yohji�s style of music.
Feeling a little nervous he went through another door and found himself in a large kitchen. He started to shake very slightly after he opened the fridge to find all their favorite foods.
He had to force himself through the last door that led into a wood-paneled library. It came as absolutely no surprise to find all the books he loved on the shelves. He almost bolted back to the hallway and was relieved when Yohji wandered down the stairs.
�Aya! There�s a bathroom up there that you simply wouldn�t believe and a bedroom with the biggest, most comfortable bed I�ve ever seen! I even found some cigarettes in a closet.� The blonde came to a sudden halt at the look of horror on the redhead�s face.
�Aya? What�s wrong? Looks to me like we really lucked out!�
�Gods! Let me out of here!� Aya screamed before grabbing his coat and katana and running for the front door. He twisted and pulled at the handle but the door wouldn�t budge. Yohji had never seen the redhead so�afraid before.
�Aya, what the hell is wrong with you?� he demanded. Aya turned horror-filled and desperate amethyst eyes on him and Yohji paled.
�What did you find?� he asked.
�Everything we could possibly want,� Aya told him.
�And that�s a cause for panic?�
�Who put it here, for us Yohji?� Aya asked, �and how did they know us so well? How did we get here, even?� He started attacking the door again until Yohji quieted him with a whispered, �Footsteps!�
Aya stopped rattling the door handle long enough to listen. Sure enough, steady footsteps could be heard coming from the back of the house towards the front. The door to the living room opened and Botan stepped through it. Both assassins gasped in surprise. The former Kritiker agent smiled reassuringly at them.
�Don�t worry, you�re not hallucinating,� he said quietly. �I�ve come to explain things to you.�
�What things?� Yohji demanded.
�Where you are, how you got here, why,� Botan said quietly.
The panic seemed to have left Aya to be replaced with a strange, calm acceptance.
�We�re dead, aren�t we,� he said. Botan shook his head.
�No, you�re not dead yet,� he said. �Please, come and sit down and let me explain.� He led the way back into the living room. Yohji gasped in surprise at its comfort and luxury. He could get used to this.
Botan seated himself and gestured to the remaining chairs. Yohji sank happily into one while Aya perched on the edge of another.
�As I was saying, you are not yet dead, although it could go either way as yet,� Botan began. �Farfarello wounded you very badly, Aya, and you�ve lost a lot of blood.�
Yohji�s eyes widened at this information. So that was what he had seen. Then why was he in danger? He had woken with only a few minor abrasions.
�Yohji, you got a little too close to killing Schuldig and Nagi dropped a large chunk of masonry on your head. Your skull is fractured.� A shiver went through Yohji at these words.
�As to where you are,� Botan continued, �well, it�s a kind of limbo if you will, a waiting area for those between life and death. You will remain here until you have made your choice.�
�Choice?� Aya�s voice was as cold as ice.
�Yes, choice,� Botan repeated, �whether to go on or go back.�
�Go on to what?� Yohji asked. �Hell?� Botan smiled slightly.
�Is that all you think you deserve?� he asked. �No, if you go on it will be to a place very similar to this. I suppose you could call it your own personal paradise. If you go back it will be to more of the same.�
�How could we possibly deserve paradise?� Aya demanded.
�Because you protected the innocent,� Botan replied. �You fight and kill only the evil.� Aya made a small sound of derision.
�How long do we have to decide?� Yohji asked.
�Until I return,� Botan told him. �It will seem like an evening and a night to you. Time here is�different to back there. Anyway, I will leave you to decide. You have the run of the house but there is no way to leave it as yet.� He glanced at Aya who had been staring at the carpet throughout. The redhead looked up to meet his glance with a scowl.
�Until morning then,� Botan said and stood up. He smiled slightly. �I�ll see myself out.� He retreated in the direction of the kitchen, a door was heard opening and closing and then he was gone.
�Well, what do you make of that?� Yohji asked.
Aya was silent for long moments. Yohji waited patiently, knowing that silence was the best way to draw his lover out. There was a deep, shuddering sigh from Aya.
�I�m going back,� he said finally. Yohji stared at him in disbelief.
�I always thought you were the one who wanted to die,� he said slowly.
�When I thought death was endless sleep, perhaps,� Aya said, �now��
�Now the idea of an eternity spent in comfortable surroundings and with me is your idea of hell,� Yohji said bitterly.
Aya stared at him in surprise. �Whatever gave you that idea?� he asked.
�I can�t see any other reason for your wanting to go back so badly.�
�This isn�t about you, Yohji,� Aya said quietly. He smiled for the first time since coming to and it lightened Yohji�s heart considerably. �I can�t think of anyone I�d rather spend eternity with except possibly Aya-chan. But all this�� He gestured at the room, ��all this frightens me somehow. For some�entity to know even what we like to eat��
�There�s food too?� Yohji demanded. �Where�s the kitchen?�
Aya sighed but pointed towards the kitchen door. His expression was somewhere between amusement and exasperation.
�What use do the dead have for food, Yohji?� he asked.
�You heard the man, we�re not actually dead yet and I�m starving.� There was a small, selfish part of Yohji that was hoping that a good meal with a glass or two of wine perhaps would soften up his lover enough to listen to his arguments for staying or going on or whatever it was.
�I�ll cook,� Aya said resignedly, �dead or not, I don�t want burned food!�
Some time later they were sitting in the kitchen with the remains of a good meal and a couple of bottles of wine on the table. Yohji leaned back in his chair and lit a cigarette.
�If you believe everything that religion teaches,� he began, �then you should know that everything about every person is known. Why should we be any different?�
�I don�t believe, Yohji,� Aya said quietly, �I haven�t since Takatori killed my parents and put Aya-chan in the hospital.�
�And now you�re faced with proof that you were wrong, is that it?�
�Hn��
Yohji sighed. This was likely to be a long night if Aya was going to retreat back into silence and grunts. He stubbed out his smoke and stood up before leaning over Aya.
�If you�re not going to talk about this, how are we supposed to make a decision?�
�I�ve already made mine. You do what you like.� Yohji clenched his fists in frustration.
�Why do you always have to be a prize prick?� he demanded. Amethyst eyes stared back at him, expressionless save for the icy determination in them.
�I could ask you the same question,� Aya said calmly.
�You wouldn�t even miss me, would you?� Aya lowered his gaze to stare at the table.
�It would hurt,� he admitted finally. �But I cannot make your decision for you.�
�And you honestly believe I�ll stay if you return?� Yohji asked incredulously.
�Why not? You seem to like it here.�
�You heard the man, we�d be returning to more of the same,� Yohji tried.
�And to Ken and Omi,� Aya added, �or aren�t they going to be hurt if we die on them?�
Yohji straightened up with a sigh. Aya had got him there. It was the first time he�d even thought about their younger teammates since he�d woken in the hallway.
�Yeah, I guess,� he murmured.
Aya rose to his feet with feline grace and stared at Yohji expectantly, which confused the blonde even more. He started to wonder if he was feeling the effects of a fractured skull even here. Aya smiled slightly.
�Idiot,� he said almost fondly. �So where is this huge bed you were shouting about?�
Suddenly Yohji was angry. �One more for the road, Aya?� The amethyst eyes narrowed but not before the blonde saw the hurt in their depths.
�Oh God, Aya, I�m sorry,� he whispered.
�No, you�re right,� Aya said surprising the blonde. �If you�stay, I will miss you, will be alone. I�d like to carry something to remember with me.� He reached up to wipe away a tear from Yohji�s green eyes. �I�m sorry too.�
�I can�t change your mind, can I,� Yohji said. It was not a question but the redhead shook his head anyway.
�Okay, let�s make the most of the time we have left.� Yohji took one of Aya�s hands in his and led him upstairs, determined that, if this was the last night they would spend together, he would make it one for them both to remember through eternity.
Yohji was right, the redhead decided on entering the bedroom, the bed was huge and looked to be extremely comfortable. Everything the blonde could possibly want being the hedonist that he was. Aya sighed at that thought. Yohji would be going on and he staying behind but the decisions had been made. Now it was time to say goodbye. He turned towards his lover, letting go of his hand to wrap his arms around the taller man�s neck. He leaned in and kissed him, letting his mouth open slightly for Yohji�s tongue to invade.
Yohji was somewhat taken aback. It was unusual for Aya to instigate their lovemaking yet now he was kissing him as if it would be the last time ever. The thought depressed the blonde but his hormones had kicked in by now and he grabbed the redhead round the waist and started backing him towards the bed. Aya stopped him with a hand on his chest.
�Aya I�� he began.
�No, Yohji, not yet,� Aya said and leaned forward to remove Yohji�s shirt. The blonde sighed as Aya ran his hands down his chest before lapping at a nipple. He reached out in turn to undo the redhead�s belt but Aya slapped his hand away with a murmured �wait.�
Aya undid Yohji�s pants and slid them down the blonde�s hips until they pooled round his feet. Slowly he followed their downward motion, leaving a wet trail from Yohji�s nipples to his navel. He glanced up then to find he had Yohji�s undivided attention. Smiling very slightly he trailed kisses all round the blonde�s hips and the tops of his thighs until Yohji was moaning with need.
�Aya, please��
Aya took Yohji into his mouth then and suckled gently. It was not something he did very often, but he knew Yohji loved it and tonight he would give the man everything he wanted.
�Oh God,� Yohji breathed. �Aya�mmm��
There was the sharp hitch of breath that meant Yohji was almost there before Aya was rewarded with a mouthful of thick, salty cream. He swallowed; again it was something he rarely did but tonight was special in more ways than one.
Yohji�s hand in his hair made Aya glance up to find the blonde�s green eyes gazing at him with a mixture of surprise and pleasure in their depths. There was hurt right at the back of that expression though Aya turned away from it. There would be enough time for that later, he thought almost desperately.
�Thank you, Aya,� Yohji�s voice calling the redhead away from his thoughts. He pulled away from the blonde, hands busily removing his own belt and pants. He stooped down to remove his boots; the sounds from Yohji letting him know that the blonde was doing the same.
Finally naked they turned to face each other. Eyes roamed over each other�s bodies, as if seeing them for the first time instead of knowing every curve, every hollow, every scar as well as they did.
�So beautiful,� Yohji breathed, tears gathering in the corners of his green eyes.
�And you are not?� Aya�s voice sounded harsh to his own ears.
Yohji shrugged, for once indifferent to his own looks. He took a step forward, catching Aya around the waist and drawing him in for a deep and lingering kiss. Aya responded almost frantically, knowing how much he was going to miss this.
This time Yohji managed to get both of them onto the bed, mouths still locked together. He ran his hands down Aya�s ribcage before coming to rest on his hips, making the redhead moan into his mouth. He pulled away from the kiss to nuzzle at Aya�s neck, sucking and nipping to mark the redhead�s ivory skin before moving down to give equal attention to pink nipples. By this time Aya was thrashing around on the bed beneath him but Yohji kept his hands on the swordsman�s hips and moved down that perfect body to dip his tongue into his navel. He pulled away finally and reached a hand towards the nightstand.
�Guess what else I found.� The hand returned to wave a tube of lube under Aya�s nose. The redhead actually smiled slightly.
�Inevitable really,� he said softly.
Yohji flipped open the tube and squeezed out a healthy dollop onto his fingers before shifting down the bed. Aya spread his legs giving Yohji complete access to his puckered opening. The blonde inserted a finger and pressed gently against the redhead�s sweet spot, making him groan.
�Yohji...oh God...�
Another finger joined the first, scissoring inside Aya�s body, stretching him gently. Aya�s hips came off the bed to greet the blonde�s invasion gladly. Yohji removed his fingers eliciting a small whine from his lover. Now he could no longer wait and climbing between Aya�s spread thighs, he positioned himself at the entrance to his body.
�Ready?� he asked. The redhead nodded impatiently.
Yohji pushed himself into Aya in one, long, slow thrust. He felt Aya clasp him tightly and moaned with the sheer pleasure of being...home. Aya�s lips formed his name and though it came out on a whisper of breath, Yohji responded with a shiver down his spine and Aya�s name gasped out in his turn.
He started to thrust in earnest then, angling himself to rub against Aya�s prostate with each stroke. The redhead bucked and writhed beneath him, his arms snaking round Yohji�s neck and his mouth coming up to capture the blonde�s once more.
It was all too much to last for very long and Yohji felt Aya�s body clamp round his as the redhead spurted seed over both their bellies. The vice-like grip around him sent Yohji over the edge and he came with a hoarse, lost cry of something like defeat, before collapsing against Aya�s chest. He pulled out of the redhead with a slight hiss and rolled to one side surprised to find himself crying.
Muscular arms encircled him and Aya pulled his unresisting body close, gazing down at his tears in surprise.
�Yohji?�
�It was all just too good to be fucking true,� Yohji mumbled, �and now I�ve lost you forever, if I ever had you to begin with.�
�You had me,� Aya told him, �you still do.�
Yohji�s green eyes stared up into amethyst that was less icy than normal, almost warm. He swallowed.
�Do we have to go back?� he asked.
�We, Yohji?�
�After that you know damned well I�ll go wherever you go. I couldn�t bear the thought of eternity without you.�
Aya sighed although his grip on Yohji tightened for a moment.
�I�m sorry,� he whispered. �I can�t stay here yet, I need more time to come to terms with the idea that I even deserve all this.� He gestured round at the opulent bedroom. �A big part of me wishes I could stay but something keeps telling me that it�s not time yet.�
It was Yohji�s turn to sigh, knowing that he had never had any chance of changing Aya�s mind. His beautiful, deadly lover always got his own way but Yohji mourned the loss of this haven for his bruised and battered soul. As if reading his thoughts Aya spoke softly.
�I can�t see it being that long before we return here for good,� he said soothingly, �just...not yet.�
�We, Aya? Does that mean you would consider eternity with me?�
�You might be irritating, Yohji, but yes, you being here would make this place almost heaven.�
�Only almost?� Yohji was hurt. Aya gave a little chuckle.
�Well I would probably get dragged up here when I wanted to read or...� He was silenced by a kiss.
�If we�re going back,� Yohji said decisively, �we�re going to spend the whole night up here. After all, if we�re that badly injured, it�ll be a while before we get another chance.�
�...�
�Stop glaring at me, Aya. Now, shall we check out that bathroom?� With a slight smile, Aya let himself be dragged to the bathroom.