Every Breath You Take

By Link621

       

Ken flopped down on the couch of the mission room, yawning lazily. “Are you kidding, Omi? There is no way in all the heat of hell that I can stay up long enough for ANOTHER hundred buildings. Can’t you do some sort of quick search that will tell us which one it is? With my luck, it won’t be in that section... that would mean we’d be back on square one...” Ken let a hand fall to his forehead, making a mock motion of wiping off sweat. “This is such hard work, too. How do you put up with it?”

Omi’s chest rose with an exasperated sigh. He turned his head to the side, gently rotating it, as if working out cricks. “I don’t know. I guess I just feel it is the best I can do for the whole team, you know?” Ken could hear the implications in his voice. By the “team”, he meant Yohji. It was so painfully obvious that they were in a relationship, but Aya and Ken had chosen not to comment. Aya, Ken was sure, didn’t tease because he had tried to instigate something with Ken twice, failing both times. Ken didn’t mention it because he didn’t want to acknowledge it.

Ken felt a cold lump in his chest where his heart should have been. “You sure are passionate about some people,” Ken commented coldly. He didn’t like how he came across with Omi when Yohji was in the picture. He didn’t like it because he was a jealous person, and surely also seemed like a jerk in Omi’s eyes.

“Hm... look who’s talking about being passionate...” Omi giggled, standing out of his chair to walk over to the couch. Ken watched his small frame as he lowered himself to a crouch on the floor. He rested his head on the cushion. “So... Ken, are you ready to help me, then? I can’t do all this research by myself.” Ken resisted the urge to brush some stray strands of blonde hair out of Omi’s face. Omi was like a little angel sitting there. Ken smiled warmly.

“Sure, Omi.” He said simply. The pain was all made worth it by the smile Omi gave him in that moment.

~ Every breath you take

Every move you make

Every bond you break

Every step you take

I'll be watching you ~

The research had proved more tedious than both of them could have guessed. They had been forced to spend almost all night at the computer, and then the following day actually visiting the places that had been kept on the list of possibilities. On their way home, Ken was driving his motorcycle with Omi on the back. Ken had to smile. It was only seven at night, but both of them were so tired that it was no surprise that Omi found a way to fit his body perfectly against Ken’s back. When they got home, it took quite a bit of convincing to get Omi to get off. Ken felt his heart race just at the possibility that Omi might actually, even if only subconsciously, want to stay with him.

Ken half-carried Omi into the flower shop. When they came in, Yohji and Aya were at the table, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper respectively. Yohji looked up with a lazy smile and laughed. “Did you use up all your energy looking at internet porn, Omi?” Omi didn’t bother to use the energy to glare at Yohji. Ken just rolled his eyes. “Ken, you look tired, too. Did you guys have any luck?”

“We did,” Ken responded, gently helping Omi into a chair. “I think we found the place. We just need to get a mission plan and then we can go in there. Omi wants to be our ‘bait’. We’ll send him in, but then it is up to us to infiltrate effectively. You and Aya will be the “action guys” this time. I am in charge of running the mission, I think. Well, that’s what Omi was babbling about when we found the place, anyway.”

Aya was watching Ken intently. “Are you going to be okay with that, Ken?” Ken looked into those violet eyes and was met only with concern. Aya knew how he felt about Omi. Ken bit his lip. Aya had a point. With that arrangement, he wouldn’t be able to swoop in and save Omi. Not that he wanted to be a hero, though, he just wanted to know that Omi would be safe, and the only one he could trust was himself. He looked down at Omi, trying to confirm Aya’s suspicions, and saw his little angel was now sleeping peacefully. Ken’s heart swelled at the sight, but he made sure not to let it show on his face.

Ken just muttered back, “We’ll talk later. I’m going to take him to his room, and then I am going to bed too.” With that, Ken picked up Omi, cradling him like a baby in his arms, and took him to his room. He tried his best to ignore the annoyed look from Yohji and the hurt look from Aya, but he couldn’t deny they were there. Well, screw Yohji, this was his best chance in a long time.

When Ken gently lay Omi against his comforter, he was surprised to find himself getting a kiss on the cheek. Ken’s eyes went wide, as Omi drew back with a smile. “I thought that is what you were supposed to do when someone tucks you into bed. Don’t look so surprised with me!” Omi giggled. Ken couldn’t help but smile at him. Omi turned his head slightly to the side. “Ken, you know what Aya said about the mission... what did he mean?”

“You were still awake?” Ken laughed. “Man, you are troublesome.” Ken sighed heavily as he explained, “He meant that I might want to be there just in case someone needed to bust ass to save you. He knows me well enough to know I won’t trust him and Yohji to protect you.” Ken felt a blush coming to his face, but ignored it to hope it would go away faster. “I’m... I guess I really am a passionate person... that is why I can’t let you just be bait without knowing that I will be able to sink metal into he who would try to actually harm you....” Ken hung his head. “Never mind, Omi, I don’t even know what I’m talking about anymore.”

Ken felt a sudden tug on his jacket. He looked over to his right arm, seeing Omi’s thin fingers wrapped around the cloth there. “Ken, I do feel safer when you are there to protect me. It isn’t ridiculous to say that. In fact, I’m touched to hear that I mean so much to you.” Omi smiled, taking Ken’s other sleeve. “Stay here with me, Ken. At least until... No. Stay here with me tonight, Ken.”

Ken just nodded, unable to find his voice. He lay beside Omi on the comforter, and realized how tired he was almost instantly. Omi closed his eyes and was very fast to fall asleep. Ken watched the boy sleeping, and felt the smile that was haunting his face refused to go away. His heart beat faster just looking at the blonde boy. Ken felt himself drifting off as he lay there. He was soon to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

~ Every single day

Every word you say

Every game you play

Every night you stay

I'll be watching you ~

Yohji came down stairs the next morning in a grouchy mood. Aya was drinking coffee, looking at flower orders, and didn’t even skip a beat to ask, “Did they sleep together?” The worry in Aya’s tone could not be missed. Yohji knew how Aya felt. Hell, it was a wonder all of Japan didn’t know, the way he acted when Ken was around. Yohji, in this case, could sympathize. He too had been worried about the state he would find his lover in when he went upstairs.

“They slept in the same bed, but that was all. They are both wearing mission clothes, and neither one is under the comforter, even. I don’t think you have any reason to worry, Aya...” Not like me, Yohji added mentally. He hated the fact that he had to just sit back and watch Ken and Omi flirt. Yohji and Omi were a couple, and Yohji could be sure that Omi would be faithful as long as that was true, but Yohji knew that Omi and Ken always had some sort of special attachment to one another that he simply couldn’t compete with. Still, it hurt to bad just to watch Omi walk out of his life, so he wasn’t going to just give up and tell Omi to run off Ken without a fight.

“Hm...” Aya turned his head down, but not before Yohji saw the look on his face.

“Aya...” Yohji sat down beside his red head friend and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Aya, don’t be like that. Ken... Ken is hard to judge, you know that. For all we know, he is a closet strait.” That, at least, drew a smile out of Aya... but only barely. “Look, I’m sure things will be fine. Omi... already has someone, and Ken... well...” Yohji laughed. “Ken couldn’t get a guy to save his life!” Now, Aya cracked a real smile while Yohji continued, “I can see it now. Ken says, ‘hey there, are your legs tired because you’ll be screaming it all night. Wait... no... that’s not how it goes!’” Yohji gave Ken a falsetto high voice in his little enactment. Aya was now actually laughing, holding his stomach as he tried to stop. Yohji was still busy wiping tears out of his eyes from laughing when Omi and Ken came downstairs.

“We figured out the mission,” Ken announced, as if it were an introduction for Omi.

Omi nodded. “Let’s go downstairs. I’ll lay out the plans.”

~ O can't you see

You belong to me

My poor heart aches

With every step you take ~

Omi was at the mercy of the serial killer. The man had a fetish for young blondes, making Omi the perfect target. The man, unfortunately, was also theoretically an escapee from jail previously convicted for the rape of four boys not much younger than Omi. That had made all four members of Weiss nervous, but it said something that Ken knew as much about the mission as Omi did and was willing to hang back; provided that Yohji and Aya promised to do their jobs as assigned, still leaving room to change their plans to rescue Omi, if needed. Omi, much to Yohji’s distress, had found this noble of Ken to hold Yohji and Aya to such a promise.

That’s how they got to where they were. Omi was at knife point, and the killer had already made it clear that he would just kill Omi flat out if Yohji and Aya so much as moved a muscle. Yohji’s eye twitched with irritation. He didn’t like breaking promises... especially when the boy he loved hung so precariously in the balance. Yohji whispered, “Omi...”

Omi forced a smile. “I’m okay, Yohji... go ahead and kill him... It is worth losing me to rid the Earth of this psycho...” As Omi spoke, the death grip held by the killer loosened so he could hit Omi with the hilt of his knife on the head. As his hand descended, there was a blur of motion that no one in the room quite understood. Then, there was a metallic clang as the knife hit bugnucks.

Ken, the hero he was, had a dashing smile on his face. Yohji breathed out in relief while Aya tensed more, his hand finding his katana. He was ready to pounce. Ken said in his usual passionate and angry voice, “I suggest that you let him go. He is the most important person in my life, and I would not so much as hesitate before I ripped your heart out. Do you have any idea what years of training does to the time it takes to find a human heart? How long do you think it would take me to cut yours out?”

“Ken...” Omi whispered in amazement. Yohji saw Aya falter, which wasn’t a good sign. Ken’s eyes went to Omi, and too many things happened at once. The killer flipped the knife to stab Omi while Ken dropped to his knees,, tackling Omi under him. Aya charged forward as the killer was stabbing down and used Ken as a springboard so he could properly kill the killer with one blow. As Yohji watched, he could see that the knife was going to fall on Omi’s leg from where it was not completely under Ken. Yohji was in mid stride to protect him when Ken suddenly moved his leg further out, taking the knife for Omi. He cried out in pain, his voice twisting with something the other Weiss members weren’t used to hearing from him. He felt beaten in that moment. Which was odd, because Yohji knew he had won.

~ Every move you make

Every vow you break

Every smile you fake

Every claim you stake

I'll be watching you ~

After Ken got stitches, he remained bed-ridden for a week. Omi went off on a mission with Yohji, leaving Ken alone with Aya. Ken had terrible nightmares every night where all he could do was observe Omi, and never really interact with him. In all his dreams, Omi’s angelic face would turn to him and he wouldn’t be able to speak. Then, Omi would turn to Yohji and Yohji would serenade the younger boy with words so beautiful one might think him to be a poet. When Ken would wake up, he would be crying, and he couldn’t stop because Omi just wasn’t there. He couldn’t prove to Omi that he could still speak.

Aya came in his room as often as he could spare the time. Aya felt bad for what happened. It was obvious that he felt responsible for the whole ordeal. He also apologized to Ken for being the one to opt to stay behind when it could have been Omi who would take care of Ken for that week. Ken didn’t quite understand why Aya apologized, but he got a cheeseburger out of it, so he didn’t complain. One night, Aya even crawled on the bed with him and read him some of the newspaper. Ken had snuggled up with Aya that night because he was so cold and Aya was a warm body.

Of course, it wasn’t what he wanted.

Kne could feel as the week progressed that he and Aya were deteriorating as people. Aya was depressed all the time about him, and Yohji wasn’t there to help the poor red head out. Meanwhile, Ken was only making it worse by being so upset about Omi’s absence. The last day that the two blondes were gone was breaking point. Aya came into Ken’s room and lay down on the bed, as he had done before, and just snuggled into Ken’s shoulder.

“Aya? I know... this is a weird thing to ask... But... Do you think I still have a shot at Omi? I mean, it is so hard to know what he is thinking... and I am always afraid I’m going to hurt him, or me, or Yohji or... Or you, Aya.” Ken knew his voice was very weak by the time he finished the statement.

“Ken...” Aya was crying. Ken could feel the wetness soaking through his shirt, and he knew there were matching tears in his own eyes. “Ken, I think you could have him whenever you wanted to, if you just asked. I... I gave up on you the moment I realized that you loved Omi. Yohji... Well, Yohji is already hurting, and I think Omi won’t be happy until he is with you. You know, he was by your side the whole time you were out... and Yohji had to drag him literally kicking and screaming from the hospital to get him to go on the mission.”

Ken leaned over, taking Aya’s face in his hands. He placed a light kiss on Aya’s forehead and smiled. “I’m so sorry that I’ve made you cry so much, Aya. I promise, for your sake, that I will get Omi, and we will be happy. Then, who knows, maybe you and Yohji will hook up?”

“Unlikely,” Aya replied; but his lips were curved slightly upward.

~ Since you've gone I been lost without a trace

I dream at night I can only see your face

I look around but it's you I can't replace

I feel so cold and I long for your embrace

I keep crying baby, baby, please ~

Ken was out of bed, finally, enjoying the early morning at the flowershop when there was a ring at the door. He looked up, excited for customers, and was even happier with what he got. Two blonde assassins stood in the doorway with suit cases and wearing Hawaiian style shirts. They looked like tourists. That is, until Omi lowered his sunglasses, flashing beautiful sapphire eyes. “Ken... you’re up!” Omi ran to Ken, throwing himself into the ex soccer star’s arms. “I missed you. Oh, thank you so much for saving me life... I can’t even imagine how bad that situation would get if you hadn’t come...”

“Sh... Omi, think nothing of it.” Ken ran his fingers through Omi’s pale hair, smiling as the strands spilled through the spaces between fingers. “I’m just glad you got out okay. I don’t know what I would do without you...” Ken pulled Omi tighter against him, making all the crazed fan-girls in the flower shop squeal with delight. Yohji didn’t seem pleased, and Aya actually smiled a little.

Yohji was forced to turn away from the happy reunion. It hurt too much to see Omi, HIS Omi, in Ken’s arm, even if he had encouraged it. On the mission, he’d made it very clear to Omi that he would only except their breakup of Omi promised that he would make sure to go win Ken over right away. Omi had never been so impressed with Yohji. He had kissed his lover one last time, apologized, and then dozed off on the plane with a happy smile on his face. It hurt to watch Omi walk out of his life, but Yohji couldn’t really do anything about it.

~ O can't you see

You belong to me

My poor heart aches

With every step you take ~

It was later that night, when the whole gang was watching TV that Ken finally started to understand that Omi was flirting with him. When Ken got up to make popcorn, Omi instantly volunteered to help, surprising the brunette. Omi put his arms around Ken as soon as they got in the kitchen, drawing him down for a deep and affectionate kiss. Ken wasn’t really able to move, he was in such heaven.

Ken felt Omi draw back a little, and he took that moment to put an arm’s length of distance between the two boys. “Omi... Isn’t this cheating on Yohji? I mean, I thought you two were a couple..” Ken was only answered by Omi finding his lips and hungrily kissing him again. This time, Omi took the time to lightly nibble on Ken’s lower lip before pulling away entirely. “Omi...” Ken breathed.

Omi looked sad when he drew back this time with a very false smile plastered on his face. “Yohji and I were happy, but we were never meant to be together. We broke up on the way back from the mission. He told me to go after you, so I did. I mean, I think he is right about me being very attracted to you, but it still took me off guard when he told me that...” Omi’s eyes lightened a little when he met gazes with Ken.

“So... I really am just the next endevor?”

“No, Ken,” Omi said with passion that was bordering on anger in his voice. “You are mine, now. I want us to be together more than anything else. I won’t lose you to Yohji, or Aya, or anyone else for that matter! And don’t even think about trying to escape! Erm... Ken?” Omi stopped because ken was crying, though his smile remained broad.

“Omi, you are priceless.” Ken added with a more serious tone, “And I love you for it.”

“Un. You too.”

~ Every move you make

Every vow you break

Every smile you fake

Every claim you stake

I'll be watching you ~

Yohji and Aya stood at the counter, both working on a floral arrangement. “Well,” Yohji said after a long silence. “It worked.”

Aya nodded. “Yes.”

Yohji smiled. “But think, all that trouble just to make the two of them realize they belonged together...”

Aya’s lip turned up a little as he nodded again. “Yeah...”

Yohji gave Aya a playful smile. “Should we tell them about ‘us’?”

Aya grinned back as they said together, “Nah.”

~ Every move you make

Every step you take

I'll be watching you ~

~~ Owari ~~

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