It was barely five in the morning, following a mission that hadn't ended until almost three, yet the light in the Koneko was on, and the smell of coffee was starting to waft it's way into the shop from the back room.

Aya stared at the pile of orders on the clipboard, his reading glasses perched almost on the end of his nose as he tried to puzzle out Ken's handwriting. There were so many strikethroughs on the order that it was almost like trying to decipher an encrypted message. His face, already in the habitual cool mask of bland indifference switched to his equally habitual frown.

Unable to figure out what several of the characters were he put the order aside, glanced at the one underneath it and headed for the cooler to get to work.

Yohji unlocked the backdoor with a surprisingly steady hand. He didn�t crash unsteadily into the doorframe nor did he stagger into the back hall. He pivoted neatly and closed and relocked the backdoor before following his nose into the kitchen where the coffee maker was merrily doing its thing. A broad smile spread across his features.

�Oh Aya, baby, I love you,� he murmured. �Coffee here waiting for me.� The smile faded into a frown. �Which means someone didn�t get much sleep.�

He poured two large mugs of the bitter beverage and carried them into the shop. �Good morning, Aya, coffee�s up. Have you slept at all?�

The red-haired man put down a pile of deep violet irises and reached for the cup Yohji was offering him.

"No," was Aya's terse reply as he rested his behind on the edge of the work table and took a careful sip of the steaming coffee. He closed his eyes for a moment and just sat there, trying to keep focused on what he had to do.

He opened his eyes, looked up at the blond, meeting the man's rich jade coloured eyes. Eyes he could have just stared at for hours, a face he wanted to kiss.

Focus damnit.

"The mission didn't go as planned. The target wasn't even there, so we have to try again as soon as Kritiker locates... her."

Just keep focused. Don't think about what you're going to be asking him. Don't think about the fact you want to kiss him.

�Shit! Okay, next time I�ll come with you. I only backed out so you could use the wire. Spent the night wandering the streets wishing I was with the rest of you.�

He took a sip of his own coffee and watched Aya over the rim of his mug. The man was a study in grace and beauty and yet was probably the most dangerous man Yohji had ever met and that included his other two team-mates and himself.

Aya pulled off his reading glasses and set them on the table before covering his eyes with his hand, slender fingers rubbing his right temple.

He didn't want the headache that was becoming a dull ache behind his eyes, but the aspirin he'd taken hadn't helped.

Tired, that's it. Just too tired.

He let his hand fall and set the mug aside to take off Yohji's watch. His fingers touched the metal, the man stopping himself from caressing the smooth surface. A surface that spent most of its time around the older man's wrist.

�You need some sleep, Aya,� Yohji was saying. �You look like hammered shit.�

He didn�t really. He looked like all Yohji�s fantasies rolled into one compact package but there was no point telling the redhead that. He would either let his contempt show in those stunning orchid eyes or he would gut Yohji and be done with him. So all he could do was lie through his teeth and hope the redhead would get some much-needed sleep.

"I know, but," Aya shrugged, the gesture unconsciously graceful, though there was a faintly perceptible hitch in the right shoulder.

He picked up his coffee, took a few careful swallows and pushed himself to his feet, "There are twenty-five orders to deal with, and while Ken is great with the plants his arrangements aren't that good. And since four of the orders are ikebana and three others are corporate customers I have to do them."

�Okay, let me do the ones that aren�t ikebana,� Yohji suggested. �What�s the deadline on them anyway?�

"I have to have the ikebana done for morning delivery, the corporate accounts have to be ready too, the rest are scattered pick up and delivery throughout the day," the red-haired killer replied. "And if you can translate this into something resembling a readable language," he said handing the order Ken had written to the blond, "I'll take you to dinner."

Now why did I offer to spend time with him? Gods I am tired.

One of Yohji�s brows almost reached his hairline in shock as he took the scrawled order. Then he grinned. �You�re on,� he said. �Just do the ikebana.� He gazed down at the appalling scrawl that passed for Ken�s kanji and hiragana. What the fuck?

�Aya, where did you find this?�

Aya watched the startled reaction as it crossed the blond's face. Idiot. He's going to want me to go clubbing with him afterward. I should have kept my mouth shut. He stared at the irises and considered doing all the ikebana the same, but he really couldn't. While this was just their cover they were expected to make a good show of it, and his own pride wouldn't let him do something the easy way when it wasn't the right way.

"Top of the clipboard. I think it was that older lady that comes in on Wednesdays. She always changes her mind halfway through the order, but Ken should really have rewritten it."

Aya went to the shelves and reached up to get down some of the ikebana containers, a sharp jab of pain along his shoulder reminding him of his mistake last night. He couldn't help the soft hiss of annoyance he gave as he forced the arm to work.

�It�s not an order,� Yohji said, �it�s a shopping list. Health drinks, cereal bars, steak and ah� I see now� a dozen red roses with baby�s breath for Myutsi-san. Nothing out of the ordinary at least.�

"Hidaka needs to learn not to use the orders for his own personal shopping," he snarled as he tried to get one of the flat containers down.

Yohji glanced up from the order just in time to see Aya wince and hiss slightly in pain. �Let me reach up for those, I�m taller.� There was no point in asking Aya about his injury unless he wanted his head bitten off.

Aya opened his mouth to snarl at the older man, but instead he just nodded and stepped out of Yohji's way with a softly murmured, "Thank you."

He'd gotten out of the way, but not before he got a whiff of Yohji. He smelled of cigarettes, liquor, and the faint lingering trace of whatever aftershave the man had used.

Aya felt his cock try to rise and he deliberately moved his arm so that it would shoot a bite of pain through him as a distraction.

It did nothing to help. Nothing at all, so he bolted for the safety of the cooler on the pretence of looking for the torch ginger.

Yohji reached up and retrieved the container Aya had been reaching for but, when he came to hand it over, the redhead had disappeared into the cooler and all he could see of him was a rather delectable ass as he bent to retrieve his selections. He placed the container on the counter and glanced over the corporate orders. He was going to have to work fast if they were wanted for the morning delivery as all were rather large and complex.

Aya took a few deep breaths and forced his cock to listen to his mind. It was getting more difficult with very passing week to keep working with Yohji. He wanted the man more than he'd ever wanted anyone in his life.

He sighed, and left the cabinet with the torch ginger, prepared to make the ikebana for their clients but unprepared for the way the blond man looked as he started to trim a few roses for an arrangement he was working on.

Beautiful. The long fingers quickly breaking the thorns from the stem with sure precise movements.

Aya swallowed and tried to concentrate on the arrangement he was going to make.

Yohji continued to work with the deft movements of long practice but his eyes kept shifting to Aya. He often did this, watched the man as he worked, ate, glowered and occasionally, if he was badly hurt, as he slept. It was a pastime he never seemed to tire of and he just wished he could pluck up the courage to tell the redhead exactly how he felt about him.

Of course, he would have to do so when there were no sharp, pointy objects close to hand.

Who are you trying to kid, Kudoh? You�ll never pluck up the courage no matter how gloriously beautiful he is.

Aya paused in what he was doing, a harsh frown pulling at his mouth. He could feel something wet slipping down his back.

Sighing he turned to Yohji, "I need you to look at my shoulder. I couldn't see it clearly, and Omi was already asleep when I came in."

Yohji put the rose he was stripping into water immediately a concerned frown on his face. �Okay,� he said. �Take your shirt off while I fetch the first aid box.�

He disappeared into the kitchen and came back a few seconds later with the military strength first aid box they shared.

Aya had unbuttoned his shirt and slipped it off to reveal a bandage that was coming untaped, and a few drops of blood running down his back.

He got onto the table and turned so Yohji would be able to reach the injury without any trouble.

Just the thought of being touched by the older man made his heart start to race.

"It's not deep, but it wasn't easy for me to reach it," he explained, not even sure why he bothered. Yohji would be able to see the first for himself and already knew the second.

�You did a pretty good patching job despite that,� Yohji said as he opened the box. He removed the old bandage to reveal a shallow but vicious looking wound obviously made by a bladed weapon of some description. It was still bleeding sluggishly.

He cleaned it with a swab of cotton wool soaked in mild antiseptic before taking a closer look. The cut was clean, thanks to Aya�s own self administered first aid, but quite long and pulled apart each time Aya moved.

�I can stitch this or go with butterfly plasters,� he said. �Up to you.� Aya closed his eyes, trying to ignore the warm hands touching his shoulder.

So close. The scent of the man wrapped around him, teased at his senses.

He shivered, but it wasn't from the cool air of the room.

No, it was all because of Yohji.

"I didn't think it was that deep. I've got to be able to fight. Kritiker is supposed to call with mission information." He didn't want Yohji's hands on him any more.

"Use the butterflies. I'm not sure I trust your stitches." Yes that was the answer, to insult Yohji, that way the man would stay at arms length, or get pissed and leave.

There was a soft chuckle from behind him as Yohji examined the wound. �I don�t think I�d trust my stitches either. It may not need them, but if it does, Omi can stitch it for you later.�

He began applying the butterflies, gently pressing the edges of the wound together as he did so, his touch gentle.

As he worked the scent of Aya�s shampoo mixed with the musky scent of the man himself wafted into his senses making him sigh inwardly. Why did I have to fall for such a cold fish? Fall so hard that he hadn�t even wanted a woman or even another man for months, his libido fixated on the redhead.

Aya braced his left hand on the table and tried not to think of anything.

But all he could think about was Yohji and the hands touching him. Gentle hands.

Don't be a fool. He's straight.

The little voice at the back of his head had to ask, Are you sure of that?

He considered what he could do to find out and decided to take the direct approach. "Are you done yet?"

�Nearly, I�ve just got to cover and tape it.�

And then he�d have no more excuse to touch silken soft skin so pale it could be made of malleable porcelain.

His hands moved to the box to find lint and tape with which to cover the wound. �Who gave you this?� he asked as he held the lint in place.

"A guy carrying a knife."

Left out was the fact that the man had jumped on him from a stack of crates while he'd been fighting with two other men both of them armed with guns. He'd decided it was better to be stabbed than shot.

He closed his eyes. Why couldn't the man just get it over with?

"Are you bisexual?" he asked, voice a bare whisper. "I.. I've been wondering since, well I thought I saw you out with a man."

That was true enough, but Aya hadn't ever been positive that it had been Yohji he'd seen entering club with his arm around a very attractive looking man as Aya had driven by on his way back to the Koneko from the hospital.

What the hell had brought that on?

�Yeah,� he said as he fixed the last bit of tape to the lint covering Aya�s shoulder. �There, all done.� He restrained himself from planting a kiss on the unsullied skin just above the bandage.

Then the rest of what Aya had said registered and he blinked. �When was that?� he asked. �I haven�t been out with anyone for months now.�

And why had it seemed so important to tell Aya that?

Aya turned to look at Yohji. "Months?" It hardly seemed possible. Kudoh Yohji, Lord Libido wasn't fucking his way across Tokyo?

He frowned. "Tell me you didn't turn celibate because you've gotten a disease!" the demand came out a bit more harsh than it should have, and he had to look away.

Yohji�s eyes narrowed in anger. �You self-righteous little prick! Yeah, I got a disease, a disease called love! Fucking stupid of me I know but what the hell, you can�t help who you fall for.�

He shut the box with a snap.

Aya's voice was muted as he replied, "No, you can't help it."

And Yohji's explanation made a lot of sense. He was in love and had to stop seeing whoever it was before Kritiker got wind of it. Maybe it was that man he'd seen the blond with, maybe it was some woman, but the knowledge clawed at Aya's heart.

"I... didn't mean to hurt you."

Then he turned to pick up his shirt.

He'd asked, but it was too late. As if you ever stood a chance anyway. He doesn't want a cold as ice bastard for a lover. He wants someone warm and friendly, someone he can make love with and have fun with and that's not you is it?

Yohji had calmed down again, enough to ask, �What made you ask?�

"You've been drinking more than you were," Aya kept the remark to the truth, and evaded the actual reason.

�And that made you ask if I was bi-sexual? Or was that what made you ask if I had a disease? Fuck, Aya, you have all the tact of a brick thrown from a third storey window!�

"Hn." He stood there looking at his shirt, thinking about what was under Yohji's shirt. No, he'd never had tact. Why start now?

"Do you top or bottom?" he asked quietly.

�I usually top but I�d bottom for the right guy if it was what he wanted,� Yohji said slowly as light dawned. If he was right, of course, and Aya was going in the direction he thought he was. He hardly dared to breathe.

Aya knew he was poised on the edge of a sword, but he had to know. "Who would be the right guy, Yohji?"

Yohji shook his head, trying to clear it and get his thoughts into some semblance of order again. He didn�t want to mess this up like he messed up everything else.

�The guy I�m in love with,� he said quietly, �he could do anything he wanted with me�if he actually wanted at all.� He smiled wryly. �Do I have to make it any clearer than that?�

Aya just nodded and started to put his shirt on, the words The guy I'm in love with...had made it clear.

�You still don�t get it, do you Aya? It�s you. You�re the guy I love.� He waited for the sky to fall in or Aya to look round for the nearest weapon.

Aya turned to look at Yohji and he actually smiled. "If you're playing a trick on me..." but no, even the blond wouldn't do something so awful.

He stepped closer, raised his head so he could look at Yohji, then he reached up and grabbed a handful of blond hair, pulling the man's head down for a gentle kiss.

Yohji was motionless with shock for a second before his arms went round the redhead and he returned the kiss just as tenderly.

Aya pressed tightly to Yohji, letting the older man know just how much he wanted him, the firmness of his erection pressed tightly to the other man's thigh.

Gods I should not be doing this. Not here. Not with Yohji.

But instead of stopping himself he put his arms around the taller man and thrust his tongue into Yohji's mouth, not even caring about the flavour of tobacco or the lingering traces of liquor. He wanted this. He wanted Yohji.

There was an answering hardness from Yohji but he gently extricated himself from the embrace and gazed deep into those incredible eyes.

�Much as I�d like to take this upstairs,� he said gently and against his own better judgement, �we still have those damned orders to fill.�

Aya was breathing hard, eyes bright with more emotion than anyone in Weiss had ever seen. He lowered his gaze, nodded. "I know but tonight we..."

The sound of footsteps on the stairs was like a bucket of icy water to Aya. He hurried away from Yohji and to hide the raging hard-on the kiss had caused by going into the cooler and standing with his back firmly to the rest of the room.

Omi wandered into the shop rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He smiled brightly when he saw them both working, Yohji having dived behind his worktable to hide the significant bulge in his trousers. �Good morning, Yohji-kun, Aya-kun. I thought I heard voices.�

Aya simply grunted his answer, which wasn't unusual for him. He made a show of rummaging through the cooler, half burying himself amid the flowers to keep his too hard cock hidden from the boy's sharp gaze.

�Oh good, you�ve started the orders already. I was wondering how we were going to get them all done on time. I��

�Omi, be a good kid and get us some more coffee will you?� Yohji interrupted the flow of chatter mercilessly.

Omi blinked but obediently picked up the empty mugs and disappeared into the kitchen.

�Yes, Aya, tonight,� Yohji whispered.