It made perfect sense really to partner Ken with Omi and him with Aya, Yohji supposed, but he’d rather be paired with Ken. At least then he could have a whispered conversation while they waited and he wouldn’t have to fight with his hormones.

Aya, the walking wet dream, was the biggest prick ever put on this good earth so why his libido should have chosen to fixate on the redhead he didn’t know.

This was one of their routine missions. Ken and Omi got to the computer and downloaded whatever Kritiker was after while Aya and he took care of any over zealous guards. Nothing to worry about or to even think about really. Routine stuff except that this time they were in trouble.

The guards who appeared round the corner were not security men simply doing their job. These were hardened goons armed with guns.

His wire sang as Aya jumped forward to take the first one in the chest and withdraw the katana without missing a step. He jerked hard, almost decapitating his goon and readied the wire to take out the next.

Then everything went into slow motion. Aya took out another goon and he tossed his wire at the last man standing, catching him round the throat except that he wasn’t the last man. Another appeared and aimed his gun straight at Aya’s head. Yohji didn’t think, he acted and got between Aya and the gun. There was a blinding pain, then nothing.

Aya washed the blood off his hands and sighed. Yohji had been shot, the idiot blond walking right into the path of a bullet to all appearances.

While he’d bled badly, there would be no permanent damage. Fortunately.

He dried his hands on a ragged excuse for a towel and checked Yohji’s mission shirt. It had the hole in it still, but the blood was gone, the wet thing hanging over the top of the bathroom door.

He couldn’t close it with the shirt there, but it hardly mattered as the door was stuck in the open position anyway.

The safe house they were at wasn’t intended for long term use. In truth it wasn’t a house at all, it was a shabby rundown apartment in Chiba. Too close to the airport so every time a jet took off the roar was quite audible.

Aya had no idea how he’d get any sleep. There was only one bed, and the noise was... disconcerting.

So was the naked man in the bed for that matter.

He dropped onto the only chair in the wretched excuse for an apartment and leaned back to try and catch a nap.

Thinking about the mission he still couldn’t quite piece together how Kudoh had gotten himself shot. It made no sense.

Unless...

Walking into a bullet to save him? No. None of them would do that.

Yohji became aware of the noise first. He’d thought it the bellow of a monster in his nightmare until it resolved itself into the roar of an incoming jet plane. They were at the Chiba apartment then which meant he was still alive.

That was when he became aware of the pain. The whole of one side was one big ache culminating in a particularly sore spot in his left shoulder. He tried to raise his head to see if Omi was in the room with him but gasped in pain and gave up.

The jet had already awakened him, so the only thing the gasp of pain did was get him moving. He went to the broken doored mess of a medicine cabinet and picked up the bottle of painkillers so conveniently provided by Kritiker.

Considering how banged up they usually got on missions, and the occasional more serious injury, it wasn’t any surprise that they were provided with all the necessities.

Except quick professional medical care.

He stared at the dirty cup and opted not to use it, pulling a collapsible cup from the pocket of his mission coat. He’d started carrying it for just such emergencies after finding a host of roaches living in the cabinets at one of the other shithole apartments in a seedier area of Shinjuku near the sex entertainment area.

He filled the cup with water from the tap and went back to Yohji. He put the cup down. “I’m going to help you sit up so you can take a pill.”

“Aya? What are you doing here?”

Pain filled green eyes stared up at him, confusion apparent in their depths.

“Where else would I be?” the red head replied as he pulled out one of the pills, considered the dosage and shook a second from the bottle. “Open your mouth.”

“But… where’s the chibi and Ken?”

Knowing he wasn’t making any sense he dutifully opened his mouth.

“Somewhere else. I think they went to the place in Shibuya. You were bleeding so I brought you here before you died on me.”

He put the pills in Yohji’s mouth then put his arm behind the blond and pulled him upright so he could swallow some water. He put the cup to Yohji’s lips, “Drink.”

Yohji took just enough water to force the pills down before hissing with the pain. He was pathetically relieved when Aya let him lie back down again.

Something the redhead had said was nagging at him and he frowned up at him. “Why should you care if I die? You don’t give a rat’s arse about any of us.”

Cool violet eyes regarded him. “Because I don’t want to have to break in another team mate. Now go to sleep.”

“I’ve only just woken up,” Yohji said petulantly. “Don’t want to sleep. Too hot.” He shivered. “No, too cold.” He closed his eyes and drifted off again on a sea of pain.

Aya took off his mission coat. The place was cold and he doubted the ragged blanket would keep the blond warm enough. He put the coat over the sleeping blond, touched the man’s cheek. He felt hot. Feverish.

He stood there for a few minutes debating his next course of action. Yohji couldn’t be moved but the available resources where they were wouldn’t be sufficient to care for the badly wounded man either.

That meant leaving him alone for a short time.

“Sleep Yohji,” he murmured. “I won’t be gone long. I promise.”

He grabbed the keys to his car and made sure he had the key to the safe house before he glanced at the wounded blond and then went out.

He was dreaming, or at least he hoped he was dreaming, about his childhood. Once again he was cowering in the corner as his drunken father beat the shit out of him. He could feel it all over especially his shoulder where the belt seemed to come down the most. He screamed both in the dream and in reality. But the dream held him and he didn’t wake.

Aya walked into the apartment and put the bags down on the rickety table before he went to Yohji. The man was whimpering like a scared child and twitching in his sleep.

He pulled his mission coat off of the bed and put it on. He was cold through and through, his shirt damp from the snow that had started to fall outside as he walked back up the steps from the parking area.

Turning back to his purchases he pulled a brand new blanket out of a bag and unwrapped it.

“Kudoh wake up,” he said, voice a bit harsh. He coughed to clear it and spread the blanket over the man. “Yohji wake up.”

He reached down and shook the blond, “Wake up.”

A voice in his dream, calling his name and insisting he wake up. A voice he trusted.

Aya’s voice.

He tried to crawl out of the corner only to fall into icy water, though were it had come from he had no idea. He whimpered and came awake gasping and cold. He shivered uncontrollably, his teeth chattering.

He tucked the blanket around the shivering man, frowning at how cold Yohji was. “It’s okay, Kudoh. Keep your eyes open and talk to me,” Aya instructed as he went back to the pile of bags and pulled out several pillows. He needed to get the blond sitting up. As cold as he was he didn’t want to risk him getting pneumonia, plus it would make it easier for him to eat the hot soup he’d brought.

He went back and gently pulled the blond to a sitting position, “Lean on me. I’m going to fix the bed so you can sit up.”

Yohji did as he was told without argument. Pain and cold aside he was happy to be awake. He didn’t want to go back into that particular nightmare anytime soon.

“Why do you want me to sit up?” he asked once he’d been settled on the pillows. The blanket was warm around him and he began to feel a little better, if light-headed.

Then he remembered, the gun pointed at Aya and him stepping in front of it. Well damn! That explained a lot. Fever and light-headedness due to blood loss. Sit up so as to avoid pneumonia. The man was a damned good nurse.

“Because you can’t eat soup lying flat on your back,” Aya replied as he made the final adjustment to the blankets around the blond

He took a lap tray out of the last bag from the store, unwrapped it and put it across the blonde’s lap before he went back to the bag of take out food.

He pulled out a bowl of steaming hot shrimp udon and took the top off, before putting the plastic spoon in it and then putting it on the lap table. “Eat while it’s hot Yohji. It will help you.”

He got out his own bowl of soup and sat down in the chair with it.

Yohji dutifully lifted the spoon to his mouth and managed to only spill half of it. The soup was good, though, and warming as it went down. He suddenly realised he was actually hungry and tried taking smaller spoonfuls. That way he got most of it into his mouth and from there to his stomach. A warm glow gradually spread through him until, by the time he’d finished the udon only his feet were still cold.

Aya only managed to eat half of his own food before he gave up and put the lid back on the soup. There wasn’t a refrigerator or anyway to reheat the soup so he wrapped it in a bag and set it into the trash before he took Yohji’s empty bowl and dumped it. He set the lap tray aside and tucked the covers back around the blond.

“Sleep now, Yohji,” he murmured as he retuned to his chair and leaned back to try and rest. He was tired, and stiff from the mission, longing for his own bed back at the Koneko.

“You gonna sleep in that chair, Aya?” Yohji asked from the bed. His voice was full of concern. “You’ll be fucking uncomfortable apart from freezing your ass off.”

“I’m fine,” Aya lied. There wasn’t enough room in the bed for both of them. Not unless he wanted to be very close to the blond.

Considering how he felt about Yohji, being that close was not a good idea. Not if he wanted to keep his attraction to the man a secret.

“Don’t be a bigger prick than you already are, Aya,” Yohji said on an exasperated sigh. “Get in the damned bed! I’m in too much fucking pain to attack you so you’re perfectly safe.” Oh shit! That was the damned painkillers making his mouth run away with him.

The frosty gaze Aya turned on Yohji would have made Omi cry, it was so cold.

“I’ll ignore that because you are doped out of your mind. I don’t like you enough to want to share a bed with you. Now go to sleep,” he managed to growl out the lie, keeping his voice as cold as his stare.

“Well at least I know where I stand,” Yohji gritted out. “I don’t actually like you either seeing as you’re the world’s biggest fucking icicle!” He moved down the bed until he was lying down again and threw the surplus pillows in Aya’s general direction.

It was childish and he knew it but hearing from the man’s own mouth that he had no hope at all had hurt.

Aya grabbed one of the pillows. “Fine.” He bit out as he tossed the pillow on the bed and tightened the buckles on his mission coat as far as he could tolerate, knowing that it was heavy enough to hide just about anything. He also wasn’t going to get under the blankets.

“You want me on the bed there, move the fuck over.”

Yohji shifted over so there was room for Aya but didn’t say a word. He’d tried to do the man a favour and all he got was abuse in return. You’re a fool, Kudoh, and you know it.

Aya lay down with his back to Yohji, but that was all it took. The scent, the feel of the blond had done it, made him hard.

“Go to sleep Kudoh,” he muttered and closed his own eyes wondering how the hell he’d go to sleep in the same bed.

Yohji shifted again so he was lying against Aya’s back. It was the only way to make room for both of them in the single bed. Sighing slightly he let the painkillers and the warmth take him into sleep.

He awoke some time later to find his arm had sneaked round Aya in his sleep. Oh shit. Now you’re in trouble.

Aya wasn’t asleep. He was lying there with his eyes closed, his cock hard and aching, Yohji’s arm over him.

“Good, you’re awake. Please take your arm off of me.”

“Sorry,” Yohji mumbled and removed the offending limb from Aya’s sacred person. “I was asleep. Didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

He went to move away from the redhead and gasped as his shoulder throbbed in protest.

Aya slipped off the bed and went to get the painkillers and more water. He brought them back. “You need to take more of these,” he said. “And I’ll check your bandages since you’re awake now.”

“Why bother? It’s not like you care what happens to me.” But some more painkillers would be nice.

“Here,” Aya said and put the pills into Yohji’s hand before he helped the blond sit up.

Yohji winced as white fire shot through his body from his injured shoulder. Maybe Aya should take a look at the bandages. And maybe next time he should just let the bastard get shot.

Aya got the painkillers into Yohji then he gently removed the bandages, frowning at how angry the bullet hole looked. Yohji’d been lucky, the bullet had passed almost completely through him which had made it easy to dig out. But, Aya didn’t like the way it looked so sore.

“I’m going to go out and get antibiotics and more bandages,” he said as he carefully rewrapped the injury with the last of the gauze he had from initially dressing the wound.

“Aya, it’s the middle of the fucking night. It can wait till morning. I’ll live till then.” And for someone who didn’t even like him the bastard was taking a great deal of care of him. Frowning over that puzzle Yohji leaned back on the pillows stacked up behind his back.

“And you slept in your coat. You’ll freeze to death out there.”

“I’m fine, Kudoh. You on the other hand aren’t. And by daylight you’ll be worse. That’s an infection setting in. I cleaned the wound but,” he frowned, “the antiseptic was close to expiring.”

He pulled the covers over the man, “This place has no heat. I’m going to get an electric heater while I’m out. You just rest.”

He picked up his car keys, “I’ll bring us some food and a portable burner too. I should have done that before. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

Aya paused. “Do you need to pee or... anything before I go? I don’t want to come back and find you on the floor.”

“It’s my shoulder that’s got a hole in it not my legs,” Yohji said. “I’ll manage.” To prove his point, he swung his legs out of the bed and put his bare feet on the icy floor. “Shit! It is fucking cold!”

“Kudoh...” Aya grabbed for the man’s mission coat and discovered that it was still too wet. He took off his own coat and wrapped it around Yohji’s shoulders trying to retain some of the blonde’s escaping body heat. Yohji didn’t have a shirt on, Aya’d had to cut it off of the unconscious blond so the man was wearing his underwear and some bandages in the freezing cold apartment.

“You’ve already got a fever idiot. You’re going to chill yourself and wind up with pneumonia.”

“Okay, let’s get to the bathroom and get this over with,” Yohji said, disturbed by how weak he actually felt.

Aya put an arm around Yohji to steady him and started for the bathroom with the blond, his mind focused on adding a column of numbers rather than the man pressed to him.

The painkillers having kicked in again, Yohji didn’t stop to think as he noticed the distinct bulge in Aya’s pants. “Why are you hard, Aya? Perhaps you like me after all.”

He relieved himself and turned to go back to the bed.

Violet eyes narrowed, “Don’t flatter yourself. It’s cold in here Kudoh and that’s nothing more than a reaction to the temperature change.”

Angrily he guided the blond to the bed and pulled his coat off the blond. “Get in and go to sleep.”

“Cold usually makes them shrink,” Yohji said with a trace of his old grin. “You have to be different don’t you, Aya?”

He swung his feet up onto the bed again and pulled the warm blanket round him.

“As I recall, Kudoh, you’ve called me the ice bitch enough times that my differences should no longer be a surprise to even someone of your limited intellect and overactive libido,” Aya growled at him. If the man was angry with him it was easier to keep his own feelings in control.

At least that was how it usually worked.

Being completely alone with a virtually naked Yohji wasn’t doing much to help him though.

“Yeah, whatever,” Yohji said. “If you want me to sleep stop lecturing me about my sex life. And you’re the one that’s hard, not me.” He smiled up at the infuriated redhead.

“Keep three things in mind, Kudoh. You’re wounded. It’s freezing. And the car out in the parking lot is mine.”

Done talking Aya buckled up his coat and stalked for the door.

“You know you’re beautiful when you’re mad,” Yohji called after him. “You’re stunning all the time but when you’re angry you’re irresistible.”

The red-haired man spun around and stalked back to the injured blond. He leaned down, violet eyes sparkling like frosted amethysts, glittering with anger. “And you, Kudoh are a loudmouthed idiot! Now shut the fuck up and go to sleep.”

Yohji reached up with his good arm and snared the back of Aya’s neck. He pulled down and kissed the man. It had to be the painkillers. He wouldn’t have dared do it otherwise.

Aya pulled away and nearly backhanded Yohji out of shock, barely pulling it in time to keep from hurting his team mate.

He backed away, breathing hard, eyes wide and wild, full of more emotion than the blond had ever seen. But the reaction was only momentary, the cold mask dropping back into place.

Casting a frigid glare at the blond he stalked out the door, slamming it behind him, his heart pounding, cock hard as steel as he hurried down the stairs. He needed space. Distance. Time.

Time to forget that feverish kiss.

Yes, that was it. Yohji didn’t know what he was doing. He was sick. That was it.

God that had to be it because he didn’t dare think the blond had been serious.

Because if he had... if he had then Aya was going to fuck his brains loose the instant he didn’t have to worry about hurting him.

Yohji winced as the door slammed behind Aya but he didn’t regret that kiss especially as, for a few frozen seconds, there had been genuine emotion in the redhead’s eyes. He smiled to himself as he settled back on the pillow.

“Not as cold as you like to make out, Aya. There’s fire under that ice.” Still smiling to himself he settled down and slept.

It was a shivering and sexually frustrated assassin that returned to the apartment three hours later with all the things they needed to make the rat hole apartment liveable for the short time they’d be stuck in it.

He climbed the stairs, only his natural grace and long hours of training keeping him from slipping on the ice that had coated them while he’d been gone. He got the door open, the load of bags making it awkward on the narrow landing but he managed despite the fact that the walk from the warm car upstairs had left him feeling frozen despite his coat and gloves.

Yohji was asleep which suited him fine. He put all the packages down on the table and headed for the bathroom because he needed a few minutes of privacy and he’d get them even if he had to kick the door shut and cut his way out later.

The sound of things being dropped on the table had Yohji awake immediately, assassin training being a lot more instinctive than the lethargy induced by painkillers. He opened his eyes to see Aya stalking towards the bathroom and smirked to himself. He might have followed him in but his shoulder was beginning to ache abominably and it felt hot. Looked like Aya had been right about infection setting in.

The door was forcibly shoved closed, the loud crack showing that the doorframe was the loser in the encounter.

Aya turned on the water in the small shower, more for the warmth the hot water would provide than any intention for him to get into the palace of mould a second time. He unbuckled his coat and unbuttoned his pants.

Masturbation wasn’t one of his normal pass-times, but sometimes even for the icy red-head it was the only way to ease the frustration of living with the blond.

He closed his eyes and gripped his straining erection. It wouldn’t take much. He’d been hard most of the time he’d been shopping, the memory of the bastard’s kiss assuring he’d have to deal with the demands of his body.

The place wasn’t going to have any doors left at this rate in Yohji’s opinion. Well it proved one thing. The attraction wasn’t all one way.

The shower being turned off reminded him that he’d better be asleep if he knew what was good for him and wanted to keep all his body parts.

Aya cleaned himself off and flushed the toilet while his breathing returned to normal. He hated that he’d had to do something so childish when the man he wanted so much was within reach.

Physically at least.

But, in other ways... Well it just wouldn’t work.

Not with a team mate.

And not with a womanizing drunken chimney.

But oh God how he wished...

Wishes didn’t get anything in life however. Not even the smile of a sister who would never wake up.

There was a low groan from the bed as Yohji realised he wouldn’t be able to sleep with the inferno heat spreading out from his wounded shoulder.

Aya heard the pained sound from the blond and buckled his coat shut before he hurried out of the bathroom.

He went to the bed and touched Yohji’s forehead, frowning at how hot the man was.

Still frowning he went to the bags and rummaged around until he found the antibiotics. He read the instructions and then opened the package, shaking out one of the rather large pills into his hand before he reached into another bag for a bottle of rather costly spring water.

Returning to the bed he put the bottle down and gently shook Yohji, “Wake up. I’ve got antibiotics for you.”

Yohji opened pain-filled eyes. “Let’s hope they work,” he said. “I feel like someone’s lit a bonfire in my shoulder.”

He tried to sit up but gasped in agony as his wounded shoulder made itself felt even more.

Aya handed Yohji the pill and opened the bottled water and helped him sit up, being as gentle as he could. “I want to look at it. I’ve got something to clean out the wound, but we’re going to need to wait until the next batch of painkillers starts to work.”

He was watching Yohji, trying not to show too much concern, but in truth he was starting to get worried. Yohji’s fever was pretty high from what he could tell by touching the man.

Without realizing it he brushed the backs of his fingers across Yohji’s cheek, the action more of a caress than something done to check for fever.

Yohji rubbed his cheek against Aya’s hand, prepared to settle for what he could get for now. He was in no state to do otherwise anyway.

He got the antibiotic down and the painkillers before virtually collapsing back onto the pillows.

“Take a look now,” he suggested. “As I was dumb enough to walk into a bullet I deserve all I get.”

“Rest a minute. I need to get his heater running and some water boiling. We both need to eat.”

The red-head got the small space heater out of the box and running, before he plugged in the single burner he’d bought, filled a whistling kettle with water and set it on the burner. He had lots of packages of instant ramen and udon along with some miso and tea they could drink.

Done with that the younger killer went to check on Yohji.

Aya pulled Yohji upright with as much gentleness as he could manage, holding the blond leaning against him. “Just relax Yohji and let me look at this.”

He cut the bandages away with a pair of scissors and frowned at the angry redness that had spread to a palm wide area around the entry wound. It was almost as bad on the exit side.

“Not good, I’m guessing,” Yohji said quietly. The pain he was in was apparent in his tense body, frowning face and it came through in his voice too.

“No, Kudoh, it’s not good.” Aya was frowning severely as he eased the man back onto the pillows.

He considered the bandages and tape he’d bought and realized he’d need thicker gauze pads than what he had because that wound might start to drain or seep.

“I’m going to wrap it up, but what I brought for this isn’t adequate.” He sighed, not relishing the idea of going back out in the cold. But at least he’d gotten them some clothing, including a shirt, sweater and coat he could wear.

“Get something to eat first,” Yohji said, “and get some sleep. You haven’t had very much of that tonight. This’ll be fine once the antibiotics do their stuff.”

Aya sighed. He was tired. He’d been unable to sleep much because of worrying about the blonde. Not that he’d ever admit that to Yohji.

“You could use something to eat too.” He gently pulled Yohji back up and picked up the gauze to wrap the older man’s wounds.

Yohji wasn’t sure how much he’d be able to keep down in the way of food. “Did you get any soup? I think I could just about manage that. Anything else seems a bit beyond me at the moment.”

“Soup is all I got. I didn’t go very far from here to do my shopping. It’s was too late at night for most places to even be open anyway. Once it’s daylight I’ll go out and get us some real food.”

He realized he was talking too much and shut his mouth.

“No, Aya. You will not be diving out at the crack of dawn. You need sleep. You’re even paler than usual and you feel cold.” He raised his uninjured arm and rested the hand on Aya’s forehead. “If you don’t rest you’re going to get sick.”

And all the while he was thinking about how much he wanted to kiss the redhead again. One taste had not been nearly enough.

Aya turned his head, “I feel cold to you because you are burning with fever, Kudoh. I’m not sick, just...” he shrugged, “a little tired.”

He finished wrapping the blonde’s shoulder and then went to see why the kettle wasn’t whistling. Just as he reached for it the thing squealed and he turned the burner off and then opened the bowls of instant noodles.

Yohji watched him work, never failing to marvel at the concise movements carried out with such unconscious grace. It was like watching poetry in motion even when the redhead was employed in the simple task of making instant noodles. When Aya practised his katas it was unbelievably and heartbreakingly beautiful.

The red-haired killer picked up the lap tray and set it up on the bed before he wedged the pillows behind the blond to make it easier for him to eat. Then he got the larger of the two bowls of soup and put it down for Yohji along with a disposable spoon.

“Eat as much as you can,” he murmured before he retreated to the chair by the table where his own soup waited.

For once in his life he actually wished the youngest Weiss was with them, at least he could have abandoned the care of the injured blond to Omi and not had to fight with himself over emotions that were best not allowed their will.

Yohji struggled to eat something but pushed the bowl away half finished. He wanted to sleep, preferably with the redhead wrapped in his arms but he knew that was unlikely to ever happen.

He settled back on his pillows with a sigh and closed his eyes.

Aya set his own food aside and went to the bed. He lay a hand on Yohji’s uninjured shoulder. “Hey, no sleeping yet,” he told the blond. “You have to eat more than that, Yohji.”

Green eyes flickered open and gazed up at him. “If I eat anymore I’ll just throw it back up, Aya. Why don’t you finish it? You must be hungry.”

“I’ve got my own noodles to eat,” he replied as he took the tray away. He dropped the unfinished noodles into the trash and folded the tray back up.

“Go to sleep then, Yohji. If you need anything...” he shrugged and sat down in the chair.

They were back to the old argument. “You need sleep too, and not on that chair.”

“I’ll come to bed when I’m finished with my noodles. Now go to sleep.”

And Aya picked up his bowl and started eating, even though he really didn’t feel all that hungry. He was too worried about the blonde.

“Promise?”

“Hn.” Aya replied as he chewed a mouthful of the noodles. They were already cold and unappetizing, but he did need to eat and there wasn’t any point in making a fresh bowl, it would just get cold like the first batch had.

Yohji sighed, knowing that was it was as good as it was likely to get with Aya. At least the man was eating instead of diving off into the cold night for more bandages. He shut his eyes although sleep didn’t come.

Aya finished his noodles, dropped the empty bowl into the trash and closed his eyes, his head leaning back against the wall. He would just fall asleep right where he was because he had no intention of getting into bed with Yohji. Not with the memory of that kiss firmly stuck in his mind.

“Get in the bed, Aya. I won’t kiss you again if that’s what’s bothering you. I promise.”

“Shut up, Kudoh.”

He didn’t care what the blond said, he was not getting into bed with him.

“Sheesh! Take a fucking bullet for someone and that’s all the thanks you get. Maybe next time I’ll let the bastards put you out of your misery.”

Aya glared at the blond, then he snarled out a curse under his breath and stripped off his coat, sweater and boots before climbing into bed with the other man.

“Shut. Up. And. Go. To. Sleep.”

Yohji obediently closed his eyes. Aya’s warmth next to him and his weakness soon lulled him back into sleep.

Aya stared at the door, trying to ignore his body’s aggravating reaction to being in bed with the man he wanted so much to fuck blind.

Sometime close to eight in the morning he finally fell asleep.

Yohji woke sometime around mid-morning. The weak winter sun streaming through the window illuminated Aya like a halo and for a long while Yohji just lay there, drinking in the sight.

Such a shame that the man was an ice cold prick and even a kiss couldn’t get through to him. Yohji so wanted to do it again, the taste of Aya on his lips had been exquisite, like nectar. Just the thought made him lean forward and kiss the man again.

Oh gods! So good and he was so going to die for this but he didn’t much care.

Violet eyes snapped open the instant warm lips touched his. He almost reacted violently, but remembered that if he hurt Yohji they’d be stuck in the shit apartment alone together even longer.

Instead of hitting or shoving the blond he turned his head. “Be very glad you’re hurt Kudoh, or I’d fucking kill you.”

He would have exited the bed, but doing so would make his erection far too obvious.

It had to be the painkillers that made Yohji say, “I’d rather you just fucked me, Aya.”

The red-head froze, his heart pounding. He swallowed, closed his eyes and asked, “What did you just say?” in a very subdued whisper.

“I said I’d rather you just fucked me,” Yohji repeated, completely serious for once in his life.

“That’s what I thought you said,” the red-haired man replied softly.

He slipped out of bed, keeping his back to the other man he grabbed his sweater.

“Where are you going?” Yohji asked.

“Ah, so you’re turning down the offer then,” Yohji said without heat or surprise. “I’m sorry, of course, but hardly amazed.”

He closed his eyes rather than see Aya’s contempt for him. Damned painkillers had run away with his brain but left his big fucking mouth in full working order.

Aya debated replying, debated just keeping his mouth shut.

“You almost died, Kudoh. The only thing you’re going to be doing in the foreseeable future is resting.”

Yohji sighed. “I got a hole in my shoulder, Aya, that’s all. Better that than you getting a bullet in the head.” He sighed again. “And if all I can do is rest at least get me a book to read or something.”

Aya pulled on his coat and walked around the bed. For a few heartbeats he just stood there looking down at the blond, his face a blank icy mask.

“You did save my life, didn’t you?’ he asked so quietly that it was hard for Yohji to hear.

Green eyes, fever bright, gazed back up at him. “Yeah.”

Aya caressed Yohji’s cheek, feeling how hot the blond was. There was a good chance he wouldn’t remember any of this when the fever finally broke.

“Thank you, Yohji.” He bent down to place a gentle kiss on the blonde’s mouth.

Yohji’s uninjured arm went round him and the blonde returned the kiss just as gently. He let go and his hand fell back onto the bed but he was smiling as if at a dream.

Aya stood there looking at the other man. “You are too attractive for your own good, or mine, Yohji,” he whispered and pulled the blanket up, tucking the man in gently.

He glanced at his watch. The blond should be all right on his own for a couple of hours. He kissed the too warm mouth again, then whispered, “Love you. I’ll be back soon, Yohji,” just because he wanted to be able to say it just once.

Yohji’s eyes widened slightly at the words. “I love you too, Aya,” he said. “Do I need another antibiotic before you go?”

Aya smiled, and reached for the bottle of pills and the water. “Here,” he said and gave the blond one of the antibiotics and another painkiller. Yohji took the pills then said, “You’re always beautiful, Aya, but when you smile you take my breath away.”

He already regretted what he’d said to the other man. “Go to sleep now Yohji.”

“I’ll try.”

“I’ll be back as quickly as I can,” Aya said as he headed for the door. He glanced back at the blond, “Stay out of trouble.”

Yohji grinned at that. “Again, I’ll try.”

The door closed behind the red head.

Yohji dozed for a while until his bladder made itself noticeably uncomfortable. Sighing he got out of the bed and headed for the bathroom to relieve himself. The cold floor on his feet felt nice to his hot body and he wondered if he should just lie down on the floor.

Aya pulled yet another round of bags out of the Porsche and headed for the steps glad he had his mission boots on or he’d have wound up on his ass from all the ice. He got up the stairs by walking close to the wall and made it inside.

But Yohji wasn’t in the bed. He frowned and set his newest batch of purchases down. “Yohji?”

“Over here, Aya. The floor’s cooler than the bed.”

The younger man rounded the bed to find the blond on the freezing cold floor. “Kudoh have you lost what mind you’ve got?” he asked as he crouched down to lift the blond off the floor. “You’ve got a gunshot wound and an infection. Idiot, are you trying to get pneumonia on top of it?”

“I just wanted to cool down a bit. I’m fine, Aya. Honestly.” He stood up with very little help and sat on the bed with a sigh. “I guess you want to poke and prod at that damned wound again.”

“No, Yohji I want to get you warmed up. You’re freezing,” Aya replied as he urged the feverish man under the covers.

Yohji sighed but allowed Aya to cover him with the blanket again. The warmth was nice and he realised he’d actually got quite cold on the floor. “So…” he said. “Now what? I’m warm.”

“You rest and I’ll make some miso, that’s what.”

“If I rest much more I’m going to go stir crazy. Talk to me or something. I’m bored.”

Aya just glanced at the blond, “Or something?” he said as he picked up one bag from the latest batch he’d brought up and walked over to the blond. He upended the bag, dumping out a half dozen novels.

“Oh, thanks,” Yohji said in some surprise. “Are some of these for you?” He sorted through the books. Four of them were the sort of action/suspense books that he usually read, the other two were gay porn judging by the covers. He raised an eyebrow and opened one of them.

“No, those are all those mystery books that you like Yohji. I have a couple books in a different bag for me to read,” He said trying to sound innocent of what he’d brought to the blond. Aya turned away from the older man to hide the slight smile. He filled the kettle from a large bottle of water he’d gotten, put it on the burner and turned it on.

Yohji read the back cover notes on the book he’d opened. “I hate to tell you this, Aya baby, but this isn’t a mystery book.” He read aloud.

"Akihiko is getting ready for his wedding to the beautiful Mai. But his best friend, Kinji knows it’s a mistake and he’s is determined to prove to Akihiko that friendship between two men can lead to something better than a hollow arranged marriage. But how can Kinji make such a stubborn man face the truth, and what secret is Mai hiding from her husband to be?"

Aya turned to look at Yohji, “I thought it sounded like a mystery. If it’s not,” he shrugged, “don’t read it.”

He glanced up at the smirking Aya a smile on his lips. "I already asked you to fuck me. I don’t need to read about it, babe."

Aya sat down at the foot of the bed, “You don’t mean that and you know it.”

Yohji shook his head. “I’ve never meant anything more, Aya. I’ve wanted you since you first came to Weiss. Not just wanted…loved.”

“Why?’ Aya asked quietly.

Yohji thought carefully about his answer, knowing a wrong move now could ruin things for good. “When you first woke up, snarling and giving off attitude, I could see the underlying pain and the desire for revenge. Then, as time went on and you became more focused, more cold, I was still seeing the deep hurt in your eyes, the human behind the icy mask.”

“Add to all that just how beautiful you are and the effect you have on me just by walking into a room I’m in and you should understand.”

“No, Yohji, I don’t,” Aya replied. “I tried every trick I knew to make you at least dislike me, and...” he shrugged, “it doesn’t seem to have worked.”

Yohji frowned. “Why would you want to do that? Oh…. of course. You thought I just wanted a one night stand. They get old, Aya. Nameless bodies that make me forget for a short while yet are ultimately unsatisfying.”

“No, Yohji, that’s not why,” Aya told the blond softly. “It’s because lovers make bad team mates when the team goes out to do murder.”

“Why’s that, Aya? You really believe, with what I’ve just told you, that it will make any difference on our missions?”

“You walked into a bullet when you thought I didn’t like you, Yohji. What would you do now when I’ve admitted how I feel for you? What if I was shot, Yohji? What if it was a matter of one of us staying behind to die while the others escape?”

“If you feel like this about it, why did you admit your feelings?” He nodded as he realised why. “You thought I wouldn’t remember, didn’t you? I know I’m running a fever, Aya, but I’m not fucking delirious. It was my shoulder that got ventilated not my brain!”

Aya gave a sad smile, “I’d thought that, yes. But it really doesn’t matter in the end because you already walked into the path of death for me.” He got up as the kettle started to sing.

“Do you want some miso or tea?”

“I’d better have miso as I’m not sure if I can keep solids down yet,” Yohji said. He was quiet for a moment as Aya made soup.

“I’d do it again, you know that, don’t you? And if anyone is going to stay behind to die it’s going to be me. You’ve got your sister to live for. All I have is you, Ken and the chibi.”

“No, Yohji. You won’t be the one,” Aya replied as he poured the water into a cup and added some miso for the man who’d nearly died for him. “That’s my point. I don’t want you to die for me.”

“I’m not actually in any hurry to die,” Yohji said. “Yes I walked in front of that bullet because I knew it would hit me lower, not because I wanted to die.”

Aya brought the mug of miso to Yohji and sat down beside the blond. He leaned in close and gave the older man a gentle kiss, “Don’t do that again, please. I thought you were going to bleed to death and that scared the shit out of me.”

“And seeing a gun aimed at your head didn’t scare me? Jeez, Aya.”

The red-haired man actually smiled, “I suppose you have a point.”

“Anyway, babe, I guess what I’m trying to say is that I want to live for you, not die for you and I want you to feel the same way.”

Aya’s smile faded. “I live because I have to, Yohji.” He looked down at the blanket covering the blond, “I was hoping you’d give me a reason beyond taking care of my sister. Is that what you’re offering me?”

“What else did you think I was offering? I’d do anything in my power to make you want to live. There has to be some fucking light in all this darkness that surrounds us. I love you, Aya and I’ll do anything I can to make you happy.”

“Drink your miso,” Aya said and got up and started to undress.

Yohji obediently raised the soup to his lips and took a few sips, his eyes on Aya the whole time.

He took off his coat, sweater and the t-shirt he had on under the sweater, taking a few minutes to fold them neatly and lay them in the chair before he unbuttoned his pants and slid them off.

Yohji watched, entranced by the sight of Aya undressing so unhurriedly and without embarrassment. And the body that was revealed was creamy, smooth perfection, ivory silk poured over defined yet graceful musculature.

He almost dropped the soup when the pants came off and was instantly hard.

“Finish the miso, Yohji,” Aya told him as he folded his pants and then removed his underwear.

He sighed slightly but gulped the rest of the soup down, feeling a little stronger for its warmth and nourishment. “Now what?” he asked.

“Do you need to use the bathroom?”

“No, and you are one heartless sonofabitch to ask at a time like this!”

“Hn.” Aya pulled the covers back and got into bed with Yohji, the red head actually snuggling close to the blond, close enough that Yohji could feel the hard cock pressed to his ass.

“Are you gonna let that go to waste?” he asked quietly.

“That depends on you,” Aya replied just as quietly.

“Tell me what you want, Aya. If it’s in my power, I’ll do it. Whatever it might be.”

“How strong do you feel, Yohji? You’re going to determine what we can do.”

He reached out and ran a hand over Yohji’s chest, down his belly, touching the other man, his eyes half closed, enjoying the feel of just touching another man.

Yohji actually stopped to think about the question before answering. He gave his shoulder a tentative roll and had to grit his teeth against the pain. Anything energetic or acrobatic was obviously out of the question. But the feel of Aya’s hands on his body was so good.

“Can we do anything if I stay on my side like this? I don’t think I can take my weight on my arms and lying on my back is going to be almost as bad.”

As the answer to his question a hand closed around his erection and started to stroke slowly, Aya moving just enough to let him kiss the blond.

“Mmm, that feels good, but what about you?”

“One thing at a time,” Aya murmured against his lover’s mouth, the red-head giving Yohji a few light, teasing kisses.

Yohji shut up as his brain turned to mush under Aya’s touch, his hips bucking as he thrust into the channel of Aya’s hand.

Aya kissed Yohji more intensely as he increased the speed of his hand. He hadn’t expected Yohji to show much stamina, not as weak as he was. Truthfully he was rather amazed that the blond was able to sustain an erection considering the blood he’d lost not so long ago.

It was a testament to the blonde’s strength that he could get hard so soon after being shot.

Yohji returned the kiss and reached back as well as he was able to touch what he could of Aya’s skin. He moaned softly, wanting so much yet being unable to deliver.

“You want more than this don’t you, Yohji?” Aya asked as he lowered his head, whispering into the blonde’s ear. He nipped the blonde’s neck gently not caring that his lover still carried the faint scent of blood and the sharper odour of pain.

“Yes,” Yohji managed to gasp out, “oh…yes.” As if to confirm his words his ass shifted back to press against Aya’s hardened cock.

Aya gave a soft groan as Yohji’s butt bumped into his cock, urging him to do exactly what the red-head so very much wanted to do. He got out of bed and rummaged through the bags until he found the bottle of lube. Then he got back into bed, slicked his hand and touched Yohji’s ass with a slick finger. He pressed it inward as he whispered, “Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to fuck you?”

Aya’s words coupled with the touch of that finger sent a shudder through Yohji’s body. He’d very rarely let another man do this to him but this was Aya and he was as putty in his beautiful redheads hands. He groaned out the word no and sighed as that teasing digit entered him.

“I’ve wanted you since I woke up in your bed and found you looking at me. You and those beautiful eyes and too damned sexy mouth of yours.” He kissed the place beneath Yohji’s ear, following it with a gentle bite.

“Oh…yeah…feels so good.”

Yohji knew he wasn’t making much sense but the sensations Aya was conjuring from his body were too intense for intelligent conversation. Later he’d have time to reflect that his icy redhead had wanted this for as long as he had. No, not so icy. There was real heat underneath the surface, heat enough to consume Yohji whole.

Aya pressed a second finger into Yohji’s body. The sounds that the blond were making were threatening to steal any semblance of control from the man who was so noted for his self-control.

“Do you want this?” he asked softly as he kissed his way down Yohji’s throat.

“Yes,” the blonde rasped out as he tried to impale himself even further onto Aya’s fingers. “Want you…inside me.”

The red-head pulled his fingers free and slicked his cock with the lube, Aya moaning slightly at his own touch because he wanted Yohji so very much.

He scooted closer and rolled Yohji onto his side a little more then he guided his cock to Yohji’s entrance and pushed slowly.

He gasped aloud as Aya entered him, wondering just how much his body could take without splitting down the middle. Aya moved slightly and he groaned as that wonderful satin sheathed hardness found his sweet spot.

Aya gripped Yohji’s thigh and got him to bend his knee which changed the angle slightly and gave him a bit more room as he withdrew and then slid himself back into the blond.

It felt so good. Incredibly good and he actually shuddered as he sank himself into the blonde’s heat.

When Aya began to move in earnest he cried out, he couldn’t help it. It was as if he’d been made for this man and this moment, even though a sane little voice was telling him that was crazy.

Aya reached over Yohji’s hip to grip the blonde’s erection, stroking the length of the his lover’s cock at a pace to match his thrusts.

“Yohji,” he murmured softly and kissed his lover’s shoulder because he couldn’t reach anything else.

“Aya,” Yohji groaned in return, “oh gods…Aya. Feels…ugh…feels good. Love you.”

Aya couldn’t remember the last time he’d had sex for pleasure alone. The last few times had been for the purposes of missions only, and he’d gotten little enjoyment out of the encounters.

But this, this was something so thoroughly pleasurable, so totally different than those forced encounters that he knew he wasn’t going to last very long. His hand moved faster along the blonde’s firm length and he thrust faster keeping it as gentle as he could because he didn’t want to jar the blonde’s injured shoulder.

“Come for me, Yohji. I want to hear you.” His voice was strained from the intensity of the pleasure he was feeling.

Just hearing Aya say those words in that deep and sexy voice of his sent Yohji over the edge and he shouted out Aya’s name as he spurted ribbons of come over the redhead’s hand and the bed.

The redhead shuddered and came, his body tense, a soft groan, his lover’s name ruffling the blonde’s hair.

Yohji moved his head under the touch, rubbing against Aya’s hand like a cat looking for attention. He felt cherished, possessed and he liked the feeling, liked the idea of giving control to his lover.

Aya, his lover, who’d have ever thought? But it had been worth the wait, worth almost everything.

Aya sighed as he pulled free of his lover’s warmth. He would have been content to just lay there for a moment but they didn’t have clean linens so he rose up and kissed Yohji thoroughly.

“Thank you, Yohji,” he said and went to find a cloth to clean up the mess.

Yohji smiled and slowly sat up before swinging his feet to the floor. Now he did need the bathroom.

Seeing Yohji trying to get to his feet, Aya returned to help him, worried that the man who’d just become his lover might need help. He put his arm around Yohji, “I’ll help you, Yohji. Lean on me if you need to.”

Amazed by this warm and caring side of the man he’d referred to for so long as the ice bitch from hell and other such epithets, Yohji didn’t argue. He felt weak anyway and the supporting strength of Aya’s body was comforting in his present state.

“Thank you,” he murmured.

He gave the blond another kiss and then helped him into the bathroom, feeling how weak his lover was in the way he hesitated with every step.

“Next time, when you’re better, if you want to that is, I’ll make sure it takes longer,” Aya told him.

“Oh I want, all right,” Yohji said emphatically. “How could you even doubt it?” He leaned against the wall to take a piss, allowing Aya time to clean up as he wished.

Aya washed up, cleaned up the bed, and then came back to help the older man. “I want you to rest and get stronger, Yohji,” he told the blond. “When you’re well enough you can have me, Yohji. However you want me.”

“I’m fine with how things were today, Aya. It felt so good. Then again, you might want to feel that good too. I don’t know. But however you want me too, babe.”

He got back into the newly made bed with a sigh of relief but reached up to touch Aya’s cheek in wordless thanks. “I’ve always been a selfish bastard, you know that, but we do this your way, babe, that’s a promise.”

Aya laughed quietly and kissed the blond. “I’m sure we can work it out, Yohji.”

He got into bed with the older man and moved as close as he could without hurting his lover. “Sleep well, Yohji,” he said as he put an arm over the other man’s belly.

Yohji’s hand clasped the hand on his belly as if he would never let it go. “You too,” he said on a contented sigh.