The Date
a WeiB Kreuz story
by iff
The alarm went off entirely too early. Of course, in Kudou Yohji's not so humble opinion, it always went off too early, but he was scheduled for opening shift so he couldn't just ignore it like he would have on any other day. His bare arm snaked out from the thick comforter that he was cocooned into just long enough to hit the "off" button and then he pulled it back in to the warmth with a yelp. A string of whining and cursing followed as the cocoon shifted and Yohji uncurled from the ball he'd slept in. "Shit! It was 48[1] yesterday! When'd it get so cold? It's fucking April, it's supposed to be warmer than this!" As he sat up, he noticed both the curtains blowing in the strong breeze and that he was sore everywhere, as if he'd been tensed up all night. As cold as he was, he probably had been. He pushed himself out of the bed, cursing even more profusely as his bare feet hit the wood floor. With the thick comforter wrapped around him, he hobbled across to close the window, shivering harder the closer he got.
With the wind finally blocked from entering his room, he weighed the pros and cons of falling back in to bed against the merits of a nice, hot shower. A wet sniffle and a swallow that, while not quite painful, was not very comfortable led to the realization that his nose was as cold as if he'd been skiing and his throat felt as if he'd been breathing through his mouth all night. Both complaints finalized his decision and he wrapped his yukata around himself, wishing it was made of something a bit thicker, snagged a pair of jeans and a warm but close-fitting sweater from the closet, found his house slippers, and hoped the bathroom was free.
The cold wind had been enough to wake him but he was not quite functional yet, so it took him a few breaths to register that not only was the bathroom available but that, given the lack of water on the floor, he was the first one there that morning. He turned the water heater on, hung his towel and clothes on the rack just inside the door, ducked in to the adjoining toilet while the water was heating, and turned the water on as hot as he could stand it once he was done. He rinsed himself down and soaped up, leaving the water running in a steady stream against his skin as he washed in hopes of warming some of the ache out of his muscles and warming his extremities. He finally began to feel a bit more human by the time he'd rinsed the conditioner out of his hair. He looked longingly at the tub, but had to tell himself that there was just not enough time before his shift for the soak he'd most like.
Drying quickly because the room cooled to an uncomfortable point within seconds of the water being turned off, he wriggled in to his clothes and padded back to his room. His yukata was unceremoniously dropped on the bed and he started working on his hair with the blow dryer. He wasn't sure if it was the warm air from the dryer, the chill of the room, or a result of the steamy bath, but his nose started running copiously almost as soon as the dryer was turned on. Sniffling wasn't helping much, and by the time his hair was dry, the sniffles had started tickling. He grabbed a handful of tissues from the top of his dresser just in time to muffle a forceful sneeze. "HRRRmph-uh!" As he blew his nose softly, his eyes fell on the calendar by his door. Any lingering soreness and disgust at the early hour was pushed to the back of his mind when he realized that it was Friday. More importantly, it was the Friday that he and Aya were finally going clubbing.
"Na, Aya~a!" He pleaded, aware that he sounded more like Omi than the cool playboy he showed to their customers. "I've been wanting to go for months! Just once? We always go places that you want to. Can we please go where I want? If you don't like it after an hour I'll bring you home, I promise."
Aya looked up from his book. "Why are you so determined to take me to a place where you'll be swarmed by all of your old one night stands while I watch from the sidelines?"
Yohji looked genuinely stricken at those words. "Aya? That's not it at all!"
The redhead sighed, returning his gaze to the novel in his hands, not really seeing it. "I've told you that I don't feel comfortable in places like that."
"Have you ever gone with someone?" The oldest member of Weiss slid across the floor to rest his chin on his lover's knees.
"No..."
"It's a completely different experience. I know you don't like the crowds and everyone staring at you, but we'll be there together, and we'll be dancing together, and the only thing they'll be staring at is how we look together and they'll wonder how I got so lucky."
Aya chewed his lower lip, considering.
"And I promise that if you're still not comfortable, I'll bring you home. I just...I really do miss it, but I wouldn't feel right going without you."
One pale hand reached out to brush the older man's cheek. "I'll...try."
Yohji smiled and turned his head to kiss Aya's palm. "Thank you, Aya. Friday?"
Aya nodded, still looking doubtful about the whole affair but resigned to giving Yohji a chance. "If we're free."
And free they were. They'd been taking turns on the surveillance and research for this mission and weren't ready for anything beyond that yet. Omi's turn was tonight, and Ken's the night after, so he and Aya could get away at least for a few hours. Grinning in anticipation, Yohji headed downstairs, tossing the tissues in the garbage bin on his way out. Hearing sounds of the others stirring as he headed down the hall, he figured someone would be down soon and started the coffee brewing. He leaned against the counter, lit a cigarette and took a drag, still smiling. As he waited for the heavenly gurgling and spitting of the coffeemaker announcing the end of the brew cycle, he hummed to himself, imagining what that night would be like.
Omi chose that moment to show up in the kitchen. If Yohji hadn't been in such a good mood, he probably would have acted offended at the dramatic double-take the younger man did, but he couldn't quite bring himself to even pretend.
"Y-yohji-kun?"
"Hmm?"
"You're awake! And happy! And...and it's not even 8!"
Yohji just shrugged, still humming faintly, stubbed out his cigarette, and reached for his mug in the drying rack.
Omi shook his head at the sight before him, then headed to the basement to collect his schoolwork, not quite sure how to deal with Yohji in this mood at that hour.
The older man's smile grew as the coffee finally finished. Even as the precious brown liquid was waking him up, the steam was making his nose run again, and he noticed that his throat was still feeling funny when he swallowed. He refused to let that ruin his mood though. His mug was drained and refilled, and he headed in to the store to get ready to open, forgoing anything more substantial as he'd never been able to stomach much first thing in the morning.
Carrying the display arrangements out from the refrigerator units teased several more wet sneezes out of Yohji, and he soon found himself adding a jacket to his ensemble and stuffing a stack of tissues in his pocket.
He saw Omi once more as the youngest member of Weiss ran through on his way to school, still amused by the sight of Yohji so energetic before noon. By the time Ken showed up to help, the lanky blond had finished almost all of the morning prep work and was standing by the back door that he'd cracked just enough to let the smoke out, hugging his jacket around himself, enjoying a second cigarette.
"Yohji?!"
"Ohayou[2], Ken-ken. Everything's just about done. All that's left is getting the register drawer out of the safe and setting up the outside display once we open."
"O-ohayou," Ken replied weakly. "Ano, Yohji? Where's the pod?"
"Huh?"
"I've never seen you down here voluntarily this early. Or this productive in the store. And the only explanation I'm coming up with is pod people."
Yohji laughed, choosing not to acknowledge that his throat was starting to feel more uncomfortable. "Nope. snf Just in a good mood."
"Just a good mood? What, you've got a hot date tonight?"
"Got it in one, Ken-ken."
"Does Aya know?"
That prompted a lazy, satisfied smile from Yohji. "I certainly hope so since he's the one I'm taking out. snfff" He dropped the cigarette and crushed it under his foot, then shivered as he pulled the door shut, a look of disgust crossing his face. "Why the hell did it get so cold last night?"
"It's Spring. This stuff happens. Besides, if you hadn't been smoking, you could've been sitting in the warmth this whole time."
"If I hadn't been smoking, you could've been keeping me from biting your head off this whole time."
Ken laughed and held his hands up in surrender, their standard teasing of each other comfortable after several years of living and working together.
"Ready to face the screaming pests?"
"I've got a hot date tonight, remember? The screaming pests are not going to put a damper on anything today. Go get the cash while I open the front."
Ken disappeared towards the storeroom and Yohji pulled the tissues from his pocket to rub at his nose. Unfortunately the rubbing only managed to cause a prickle in his sinuses. "Huh...HEAAHtshu! snffff"
"Oi, Yohji? You feeling okay?"
"Yeah. Think I'm still thawing out though."
"Thawing out? You barely had that door open at all!"
"From last night. Didn't think it was going to get this cold this quickly and fell asleep with the window open. I think my room was colder than the refrigerators when I woke up."
Ken cringed in sympathy. "You want some more coffee or Some tea or something? Might thaw you out a little faster."
"Thanks, but I've already had plenty of coffee. I'll be fuh...fii-HEHtshhu! snf snfff fine."
"If you're sure..."
"Aa." He smiled at Ken, winked, and turned back to the front of the store to open the security gate.
It always amazed Yohji how busy the store was, even with all the younger girls in school. Didn't any of these women have to work? He was going constantly -- working on special orders if the store was relatively empty, helping customers when it wasn't, and only managing to get in two short smoke breaks the whole time -- until they closed for lunch at 1. He hadn't noticed the dull ache behind his eyes, or the increasing congestion in his head, or even that he'd been clearing his throat as often as he had been, until he'd locked the door behind that last customer. And he'd been lucky enough all morning to have been in the greenhouse every time he'd had to sneeze, so Ken and the customers hadn't commented on it. But as soon as the constant stream of work was cut off, it felt like it took most of Yohji's energy with it. He shuffled in to the kitchen and heated up a can of soup for lunch, not really wanting to deal with anything more complicated. The warm liquid soothed a throat that he hadn't even realized felt that sore, although he was hoping that was just due to too much talking with the customers. He was NOT getting sick. He absolutely refused to get sick today!
Ken joined him after having quickly swept the shop floor, babbling away about something that Yohji couldn't pay enough attention to to catch. After more half-hearted "un"s and "aa"s from Yohji, Ken stopped his stream of babble and looked more closely at his teammate. "Are you okay? You look worn out."
"Hmm? Oh, um, yeah. Just don't think I slept well last night. Between how cold it was and Aya being on surveillance all night..."
Ken just smiled.
"Speaking of Aya, did he make it back okay?"
"Yeah, I think I heard him come in around 4. I know Omi said he checked in when he got back. Probably stayed in his room to keep from waking you up."
"Aa. He does that way too often."
"He's supposed to be working afternoon shift. Why don't you make sure he's awake."
"This is Aya we're talking about. I'm sure he's awake. But if you don't mind, I think I might go up and change in to something a little warmer."
"Warmer? Are you SURE you're okay? Ah, never mind. Go ahead."
Yohji pushed himself up from the table and wandered upstairs, pausing with one hand on his bedroom door and the other pressed to his face, then ducking inside when the sharp itch in his sinuses backed away. The last thing he wanted right now was for Aya to hear him sniffling and sneezing.
His room was warmer than he'd have expected given how cold it had been that morning. He made sure his door was closed tightly and pulled off his sweater, crossing to the dresser. He took out a long-sleeved silk t-shirt and was about to slip it over his head when the itch returned with a vengeance. The shirt fell to the floor as he buried his nose in several hastily-grabbed tissues, "HEHHmmmph-uh!" It took longer for him to clear his sinuses this time, and his nose was starting to feel sore when he'd finished. He took a look at himself in the mirror as he slid his arms in to the shirt and was dismayed to see that he did indeed look worn out. Worse than he had with some of his lighter hangovers, in fact. His skin was paler than usual, although hopefully not enough that any of the customers could tell, and his nose was starting to pinken from the attention he'd had to give it. If he was lucky, Aya wouldn't notice it, but that was unlikely. With a shiver, he let the shirt settle over his torso and put the sweater back on, then shoved several tissues in his pocket. He was only on shift 'til Omi made it home from school. If he could last that long, he'd have time for a nap before he had to get ready for his date.
Of course, he'd need to stay away from Aya until then if he could. That would be hard without making his lover suspicious. He'd always gone out of his way to brush up against the redhead somehow when they were both working, nothing that couldn't be explained away as narrow aisles and having to get a particular flower that happened to be just past where the other man was standing, but both of them knew that there was deeper meaning behind the touches. Maybe he'd be able to hide out in the greenhouse working on some of the special orders. Or handle some of the deliveries.
By the time he got back to the shop, he knew he was out of luck. Ken was nowhere to be seen, nor was the delivery cart in its usual space. And Aya was standing behind the register, glaring at him. Or at least that's what a casual observer would think.
"You're late." The words were harsh but Yohji could see "I missed you" in Aya's eyes as he spoke.
"Only by a couple of minutes!"
The redhead ignored the protest and turned his attention back to the work ticket he was holding. Yohji took that as dismissal and started to replenish some of the displays that were dwindling from that morning's rush. After two trips to the refrigeration units, he realized that that was probably a mistake as his nose started running again. Aya looked curiously at him as he walked past, sniffling, but didn't say a word.
He didn't know if it was a good thing or not that the store was relatively quiet at this point in the day. There was never more than one customer in the shop at a time, so he was able to finish what he was doing as Aya helped the women, and the very occasional man, who dropped in. He again managed to be in the back, usually with his head in one of the refrigerators, when he had to sneeze, and thought he managed to muffle each one quite well. With just shy of an hour left until Omi returned home and Yohji could leave for the afternoon, the sniffling started to take its toll on him, creating a tickle in his throat. He coughed discreetly in to a fist.
"Yohji?"
"Hmm?"
Aya approached him and it was only then that he noticed that the store was empty. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Just a little tired. And cold from the refrigerators."
"Ken should be back soon, and Omi won't be much longer either. From what Ken said, you've been working pretty hard all day. Go rest up for tonight. I can handle things alone here until one of the others returns."
Yohji was torn. He debated refusing just to prove that he was fine and accepting because it was rare that he got off the hook this easily. The former won out rather quickly. "Nah, I'm fine. Like you said, they'll be back soon. snff I can make it 'til then."
"If you're sure."
Yohji took Aya's hand and squeezed it, careful as always not to do anything that might make the redhead uncomfortable if a customer were to walk in. "I'm sure. Thank you though."
Aya nodded, and turned quickly back to the front of the shop as the front door opened. Yohji had never been so thankful for a customer's arrival as he turned away and pulled his last tissue out of his pocket to sniffle into. Just a little longer, he reminded himself. He cleared his throat in hopes of chasing away the tickle that had returned, and winced as the action scraped against his throat. Oh, he hoped the nap he had planned would help with at least some of this misery.
When Ken returned 15 minutes later, Yohji was tempted to kiss him in thanks. The brunet found him sitting at the work table, rubbing the bridge of his nose and blinking at a special order and apparently took pity on him. "Yohji, no offense, but you look like shit. Get out of here and go rest."
"snfff Aa. Thanks, Ken-ken." Yohji stood, feeling too bad to protest the comment on his looks.
Ken stopped him as he headed towards the door to their living space. "Na, Yohji, don't hurt me for saying this, but you really do look bad. Are you sure you're going to be up for your date tonight?"
Yohji smiled at him half-heartedly. "I'll snfff I'll be fine. I'll go up and snf and sleep and I'll be fine."
"Okay. Well...ummm...sleep well, and if you need anything..."
The older man waved in a way that was both thanks and farewell and made it to the door, walking as if that was starting to hurt too. Which it was. His skin felt wierdly sensitive to everything, and he was aching just as badly as he had been that morning. Shit. And no sooner did the door to the shop close behind him than the tickle he'd been sniffling back grew worse. "HEAAHtchu! snfff huh-HEHHHtshu!" Shit shit shit. Having no clean tissues left, he'd caught the very wet sneezes in his cupped hands and made quite a mess. After a quick stop in the washroom to wash his hands and grab a glass of water, he made his way upstairs. He downed a couple of the milder pain meds that he'd snagged from their first aid kit before grabbing the box of tissues from his dresser and crawling in to bed, not even bothering to take off his clothes. The tissues were placed next to his head and he piled the blankets on top of himself, pressing his face in to the pillow to muffle a coughing fit. His eyes grew heavier and heavier but in the relative quiet of his room, every little sound seemed entirely too loud. He lay curled up with his eyes closed and hoped sleep would finally take him.
Yohji guessed he finally managed to fall asleep, because the next thing he knew it was dark. Or close to it. A quick glance at his alarm clock informed him that it was about the time that the others would be closing up the shop and that he should probably go ahead and get up. As he untangled himself from the blankets, it became apparent to him that the nap had done nothing to improve his condition. If anything, he felt worse than he had before he'd gone to sleep. He grabbed a tissue and padded over to the light switch, rubbing at his nose and sniffling. The sudden flash of the light coming on triggered the sneeze he'd been trying to fight off, and much more suddenly than he'd expected. "HEHKshu! HAHHtshu! snfff Fuck. This is not happening. This is not happening. snff" He blew his nose, but it didn't do much this time, just rubbed his skin redder.
If it hadn't taken him so long to get Aya to agree to go out with him like this, he would have happily drugged himself senseless with cold medicine and stayed home, but as hard as he'd had to work for this date, he wasn't about to cancel if he didn't have to. He started to change in to some of his club clothes, passing over the more revealing outfits, both because they were too insubstantial to keep him warm in this weather and because he knew how much he tended to draw others' eyes and he didn't want to make Aya any more uncomfortable than necessary. A tight dark green sweater that he was told brought out his eyes was taken from the dresser, followed by his black leather pants, and he decided that he'd accessorize later. He was halfway undressed, shivering, and sniffling when there was a quiet knock at his door. "Hm?"
"Yohji, are you awake?"
Trying his hardest to act normal, he answered the door, letting Aya in, but didn't give him the kiss that he normally would have for fear of passing this...whatever it was...on.
"Are you feeling any better? You were looking very run down earlier."
"Aa. A bit."
Aya stood back and took a good look at the blond. "You still look...unwell."
"I'm well enough, Aya."
As he moved closer to Yohji, Aya rested his hands on the blond's shoulders. The look the redhead was giving him was equal parts concern and tenderness, and the kind of gentle that he'd only rarely show in public. "You're shaking. Are you cold?"
Yohji shrugged it off. "It's a little chilly in here."
Aya shook his head, then leaned in and pressed his forehead to his lover's[3]. "I think you're running a slight fever. You were sneezing a lot before, too. And I thought I heard you coughing. Are you really okay?"
The older man might not have wanted to admit to how sick he was starting to feel, but he refused to lie to Aya. "Not really. But--"
The redhead shushed Yohji, then led him back towards the bed. "No 'but's. I want you to lie down."
"snf Our date..." he started as he sat on the edge of the mattress.
"Yohji, I don't think either of us would enjoy a night out if you're not feeling well. We can always try another time." He went in to Yohji's dresser and pulled out a pair of soft, well-worn pajamas. "Put these on. It'll keep you warmer and they'll feel better than those tight jeans."
Yohji nodded distractedly, taking the sleepwear and resting it on the bed as his eyes grew unfocussed and then fluttered closed. "snfff snf huh..." He groped for the tissues and pulled one out just in time. "HEHHHtshmph! snff HEAHmphh! Uhhhh..."
Aya brushed the hair out of his lover's face as Yohji let his hands fall to his lap. "Come on. You need to rest."
Another nod, and Yohji pulled the soft cotton top over his head, not bothering to undo the buttons. He stood long enough to get his jeans off -- leaving them lying where he kicked them -- and slip the pajama pants on, then slumped back down on to the bed.
The younger man covered Yohji up, then sat on the edge of the bed, holding Yohji's hand. "I promise I'll let you take me out to the clubs when you're feeling better."
"snfff 'M sorry about tonight. Was looking forward to it, too."
"I know you were. But you know you wouldn't enjoy it right now."
Yohji turned his head away and buried his mouth against his shoulder as he started to cough. He really hoped this passed quickly.
"I'll go get some cold medicine for you. And some water. Is there anything else that you need?"
"snf No." He squeezed Aya's hand as the redhead stood.
"I'll be back in a minute."
The blond nodded, then closed his eyes and curled up as small as he could under the covers as Aya left. One hand snaked out and grabbed a handful of tissues of which he tucked all but one under the pillow so he didn't have to disturb the blankets as much if he needed them later. "snfff" Make that when he needed them later. "snff snf" Or sooner. He shivered, wincing as even the soft fabric of his pajamas shifting against him irritated his fever-sensitive skin. "snf snfff heh...HEAHtchuu! snf"
He was quietly blowing his nose again when Aya returned. The tissues were tossed in the trashcan and he started to push himself upright when Aya stopped him.
"Stay under the covers."
Yohji nodded, then coughed harshly in to the blankets.
"Drink this," Aya said as he passed a small cup to Yohji, followed by a glass of water to wash the taste out of his mouth with. "Hopefully it'll help with the cough and the fever."
The older man did as he was told and then curled back up on his side and pulled the covers up so that only the top of his head was visible.
"Do you want me to stay?"
He nodded slightly, although all Aya could see was the blond hair moving just a bit, and then the lump of blankets shifted, leaving space for the younger man. The redhead toed off his house slippers, sliding under the covers next to Yohji. He pulled Yohji closer so that the older man's head was pillowed in his lap and Yohji happily slid his lanky arms around Aya's waist. The blond was still shivering, but the heat from his lover's body was finally warming him the way that the blankets hadn't. His throat still hurt and his head was feeling more congested with each passing minute but Aya was there and was willing to postpone their date until he was better so it wasn't as bad as it had felt earlier. He drifted back to sleep to the soothing motion of Aya carding fingers through his hair.
[1] 80 F for those of us who don't generally use celsius.
[2] ohayou -- "Good Morning", this greeting is typically used only prior to 10am.
[3] I don't know how prevalent this method of checking for fever really is in Japan or if it's mostly used for parents with their children and just exploited in the particular flavors of manga I like, but I think it's just beautiful.
Even though I'd like to lock several of these boys up in my basement and have my wicked way with them, they belong to Koyasu Takehito, Project Weiss and lots of other people, none of whom are me.
Feedback is lways greatly appreciated. And constructive criticism will earn my gratitude since I'm always looking to improve.
After experiencing a week where the temps dropped from the mid 70s to the high 30s overnight, this little fic sprang fully-formed from my head and Yohji refused to shut up 'til I got it on paper.