Not Far Behind
a Weiss Kreuz story
by tarotgal
No matter how many times he readjusted the blankets or turned over onto his other side in a different position, Ken just couldn't get comfortable enough to fall to sleep. His throat tickled whenever he lay down straight, and his nose ran whenever he used his pillows. And anywhere in between, he felt the urge to sneeze. He had been through a good bit of his tissue box already, which seemed to be getting more use from him than his bed.
He sniffled and pulled out another tissue to blow his nose. But the room was cold, outside his covers, and he shivered, retracting his hands and huddling under the blanket for warmth. It was insane really. It had been a long day, and a hard mission. He had dropped twelve feet from a rooftop to get to one of the guys before he could shoot a cornered Yoji. Not far behind, Omi had practically landed on top of him, smashing him back down to the ground, tearing holes in his pants and skinning his knees open. His legs still hurt a little at the memory. In fact, he was sore everywhere, which contributed to the fact that he could not manage to fall to sleep, despite the very late hour.
Resolved just to stay up and not worry about sleeping now, he pushed down the blankets and climbed out of bed. He hadn't had a proper dinner, and the thought of some juice or even fruit milk on his throat was a lovely one. But he shivered more outside his bed and grabbed the top blanket off his bed to keep himself warm as he headed down the stairs and to the kitchen.
Ken hung in the doorway, hesitant to go any further, though his foot dangled off the edge of the last step. As it was the middle of the night, he had truly expected to find the kitchen and the rest of the house to himself. That, however, was not the case. They had returned home late from a mission, clothes soaked with blood which was not their own and sweat which was. Without exception, and with few words exchanged, each had showered and retreated to his own bedroom. Like a well-oiled machine was their routine now. And no matter how many times the missions got personal, when the targets were killed and the missions were over, they were over. The blanket Ken had brought down with him, wrapped around his shoulders, drop to the floor as he was startled. For all he has been through tonight, the sight of someone sitting down in the dark kitchen was the last thing he had expected.
Omi sat at the small wooden table they almost never ate at. There were papers and books spread across the surface, and in the center sat three candles, melting down quickly. One was nearly gone, dissolved in a pool of hot wax, but the others had a little while left before they were useless, though already looked deformed as they leaned to the side. He seemed to be very absorbed in his work, so much so that he did not notice when Ken took a deep breath and stepped down into the room. The candles lit only as far as the table, dancing on Omi's young face as he scribbled notes and ran his finger along lines of text. In the darkness of the room, Ken managed to slip by silently, presumably unnoticed.
He crossed the room, past the cupboards and stove, to the refrigerator. But as his hand closed around the handle to open it, he heard a soft, "Don't do that."
Ken's head snapped over to Omi, who was still looking down at his work., back turned to him. "Wha...?" His hand loosened on the refrigerator door handle but did not withdraw completely.
"It's cold in here," Omi explained with what did not seem to be an explanation at all.
Ken narrowed his eyes and ran a few fingers beneath his nose. "Yes, well, I don't think opening the refrigerator for a minute will make all that much of a difference to the temperature in here."
Omi sighed. "No, Ken-kun, didn't you notice? The power's out."
Ken looked around. Now that it was pointed out, the fact seemed obvious. There were no lights on outside the window, no gentle hum of appliances, no clock on the microwave with the time. And nothing but candlelight to illuminate Omi. Of course this worked out slightly in his favor as Ken didn't much feel like being watched at the moment. He pulled a small handkerchief out of the pocket in his pajamas and blew his nose quietly, as he had been doing practically all night. But Weiss being Weiss, no one had inquired about it during the mission, and they had all been too exhausted to do anything else but crash when they returned home.
"What are you doing up this late?" Omi turned in his seat to face Ken, resting his arm on the high back of the chair and his chin on his arm. "You look exhausted."
With a shrug, Ken walked over to one of the cabinets and took out a mug. With his back turned, he gave his nose another rough wipe and tucked the handkerchief back away. "I thought I'd get some juice, and maybe something to eat." He looked longingly at the fridge, but he knew the food would start going bad sooner the second he opened it. Of course, if the power stayed off for too long, they would need to start eating fast so the contents didn't go to waste. He nearly laughed at the vision of the four assassins sitting in the dark, swapping containers of melting ice cream. "I guess I'll just make some tea instead. Do you want some?"
Omi nodded, his gaze and smile following Ken across the kitchen to the stove. Ken had already gotten out two glasses, apparently just in case. He filled a kettle with water and set it on a lit burner. It was terribly silly that the hot water heater and stove were the only things not electric in the place, but at least they'd have tea to keep them warm and hot showers in the morning. Then he sat down at the table, taking the chair across from Omi, turning it around, and sitting backwards on it, arms folded on the back. He watched Omi jot down a few notes, close a book, and open another, thumbing through its index. Before the younger boy could get lost in his concentration, Ken asked, "So why are you up this late?"
With a laugh, "I have homework to finish!" He gestured to all the books and papers on the table. "Power went out so I can't use the computer, and the laptop battery's practically dead after using it on that mission tonight. So I have to write the rest of my assignments out by hand." He turned his watch towards the candle to get a glimpse of the time. "I still have a few hours before I have to leave for school. I will get it done." He looked up at Ken with one of his wide smiles. "I always do."
The kettle began whistling to announce that it was ready, and Ken hopped up for it before the sound had a chance to travel upstairs and wake the others. He spooned some tea leaves into the pot and leaned against the counter to wait as the tea and water mixed. "You shouldn't have left it to the last minute," Ken said, looking back as Omi poured over his homework.
"I never have a choice," Omi replied. I spend most days in class and working at the store. Then I have to work on the missions at night, and sometimes during the day, too. I hardly ever have time to do my homework apart from really late at
night.""So when do you find the time to sleep?"
Omi looked suddenly disturbed, biting his lip, swallowing hard. With a deep breath he admitted, "I don't sleep much anymore, Ken-kun."
Looking thoughtful, Ken poured the tea into the cups, and handed one to Omi. "Better let it cool a little before you drink," he warned.
But Omi shrugged and took a sip right away. "I'm used to drinking it really hot. Beside, it's freezing in here and I could use the caffeine to stay awake."
"You look as exhausted as I am." Omi nodded, but it seemed as though simple exhaustion wasn't enough to keep him from doing his work. He took care of his academics as well as he did the store and his missions.
He pushed a stack of papers over to Ken. "Could you look these over for me? They're invoices from the store." Then he placed another folder on top of that. "And the mission report." He huffed, blowing his bangs up and out of his eyes. He pulled back the folder and extracted a few pages. "You don't need to read my calculus though. Sorry." He stuffed the papers into another folder and opened another book.
Ken sat, leafing through the stack but not paying any attention to anything written on the papers. The steam from the tea tickled his nose, which was already running in the cold. He bent a finger and rubbed it under his nose, sniffling. Then pulled his handkerchief out and blew again.
Omi noticed this time, looking up for only a moment before returning to his books.
Ken wanted desperately to keep to himself the fact that he wasn't feeling especially well. He took long drink from the tea in hopes that it would somehow cure him. But he swallowed quickly and set the cup down, nose twitching and tickling. "hukushhh! Kushhh!" With his nose buried in his handkerchief, he gave it a firm rub. It had been the steam from the tea that had made his nose tickle so badly.
"Bless you," Omi muttered, still not taking his attention from his work. "The tea isn't warming you up enough?" he asked offhandedly.
With a shrug, Ken rose from his seat, swinging his leg over the chair. "Well enough. The papers are fine," he said, trying to change the subject, though he still hadn't read much of them. He nearly slammed the cup down on the counter as he pulled his handkerchief out again and clamped it to his face. "huh-hukshhhh! Hek'Uhshhh!" His mouth hanging half open, he leaned back against the counter to steady himself. "heh...K'tchhhhh!" Ken blew his nose again.
When Ken opened his eyes, he found Omi looking up at him, books and papers completely abandoned. "I wasn't going to say something earlier tonight..." he began, but did not see the point of finishing. Ken hung his head, sniffling badly.
Omi blew out the candles, scooted back in his chair, and walked over to Ken. He wrapped an arm around the older man's back while feeling Ken's forehead at the same time. Then, with a light push, ushered Ken towards the stairs. Omi nearly tripped. "Wha...?" Omi's hand swooped down and picked up the blanket they had trotted on, and he draped it over Ken's shoulders in understanding.
Ken tightened the blanket around his shoulders but pushed Omi off. "I know where my bedroom is, thanks." And he started up the stairs slowly. Halfway up, he leaned against one wall, grabbing a tight hold on the banister. "h'kshhh! hukshhhh!" he sneezed, swaying with the force so that the blanket fell to the floor again.
But Omi was right there to recover it and wrap it around Ken again. "I'll make sure you don't get lost," he whispered with a smile and a hand on the small of Ken's back. The young man was guided back up the stairs, with the younger one not far behind.
It had been a while since Omi had seen Ken's bedroom. It wasn't as simple and sparse as Yoji's or Aya's... but not quite as homey as Omi's own. Though Omi did notice that a number of the posters of girls and such had been covered or replaced by posters of soccer teams since his last visit. The light of the moon shone through the window, enough for them to avoid walking into Ken's desk or tripping over any of the number of things on the floor.
Omi pulled the blanket from around Ken, who shivered at this as he climbed into bed. Then Omi draped the other blanket over Ken and his layers of covers. Ken shivered as he waited for the blankets to grow warm around him. Omi sat down on the edge of his bed and patted Ken's arm through the blankets.
"ihh'Kuchhh! hek'Kushhhh!" Ken sneezed openly before pulling out his handkerchief once more. But before he could, Omi reached over and put the box of tissues onto Ken's lap for him. Ken mumbled a thank you and took two to blow his nose into.
Omi leaned over and felt his forehead again. "You're burning up," he whispered, wiping the sweat from Ken's forehead, then pushing back his bangs. "Let me get you a cool compress."
Weakly, Ken nodded, his jaw quivering, hand reaching up in front of his face. "ehkkshhhh!" His hand reached out to grab a few more tissues. "Huh'Kushhhh! Huh'kishhhhh!" He closed his eyes as he rubbed miserably at his nose, opening them only to find Omi staring at him. Ken wished he wouldn't.
"Bless you," he whispered, then headed from the room.
Ken rolled onto his side, tugging the blankets tighter around himself for warmth so that they were up to his eyes and there was enough room for him to breathe from beneath. He hadn't really noticed before how extremely cold it was now without the heat on.
"Ken-kun?" Ken coughed and peeked out from beneath the blankets. "Thought you might be asleep already." Ken shook his head. "Well, then good. Here, I've brought..." he placed the cool cloth against Ken's forehead. Ken shivered violently, but then gave a weak smile as the burning and throbbing in his head died down a little. With Ken lying on his side, Omi had to hold the cloth in place so it would not fall off. And sitting so close as to do this, Omi noticed just how bad Ken looked, worn out and tired and quite pale. "You shouldn't have gone on the mission tonight if you knew you were coming down sick."
Ken shrugged, closing his eyes again. "I couldn't quit. I'd already given my word to be... in..." his eyes narrowed and he reached out for the tissues, missing them by a foot. "O-Omi?" he managed with a shiver, and Omi placed a few tissues in his hand just in time. "huktchhhh! hehktushhhh!"
Omi waited for him to blow his nose, then exchanged his used tissues for fresh ones. "Well, if I were Persia, I wouldn't have made you do the mission. I would have made you stay in bed and take care of yourself."
With another small smile, "Tonight, the role of Ken's Self-Concern will be played by Omi," said Ken. He coughed again. "And the role of Ken's Duty to Weiss goes to Aya."
Omi giggled and flipped the cloth over so that the now colder side was against his forehead. "And what about Yoji?"
"Yoji..." he thought a moment. "Yoji's too busy with his girlfriends to notice I've got a cold." He coughed and quickly added, "Not that It's anything that needs noticing."
Omi nodded and stood. "You've been coughing a lot. Let me get you some water and get this cloth cold again." Ken did not object and was glad that the younger boy returned quickly as the tickle in his throat had grown worse. He chugged down the whole glass of water as soon as Omi handed it over and ran his wrist over his mouth to catch the stray drops. "Better?" Ken nodded and handed over the empty glass. Omi tucked the blankets back around him as he settled back down to his pillows. "Good. Now try to get some sleep or you'll spend the whole week trying to fight this cold."
Ken sniffled. "Thanks, Omi." He even sounded weak when he spoke. "You can get back to your work now."
The cloth on Ken's forehead was flipped again and he shivered as the cold met his skin again. Omi's other hand rubbed Ken's arm through the blankets. "In a bit. I want to be sure you fall asleep first." He leaned closer, his nose brushing Ken's nose, lips hovering just above Ken's mouth. "Would that be all right?" And obviously, the boy was not referring to his staying in the room.
Ken nodded and smiled as Omi kissed him gently, then rubbed his nose for him with another tissue. And though it was the same bed and the same blankets, this time Ken fell right to sleep.
"hek-ehk'UHTChuhhhh! Hek'Utchhhh! hek'Tchhhhh!" The sneezes were so strong that they nearly had Ken sitting up. But something held him down, preventing that. He coughed and looked down at his middle to see Omi lying on top of him, arms wrapped around Ken's waist in a hug. "Oooff!" grunted Ken, falling back against his pillow, unable to move or get out from beneath. He took a tissue and blew his nose once, twice, thrice, then repeated the procedure with another tissue. His nose felt sore and the stuffiness that resided in it had spread through the rest of his head, making him feel even more tired now than he had been before he'd fallen asleep. And though he didn't know how long he had been asleep, he knew it had to have been hours because there was a faint glow of light outside. He reached down and shook Omi's shoulder. "Omi?"
Omi stirred, then woke at the sound of Ken's voice. "Ken-kun?"
"You fell asleep," Ken explained to counter the confusion on Omi's face. Ken conveniently did not mention that Omi had been sleeping upon him. "Don't you have classes?"
Omi nodded and raised his hand, waving it off. "I?m too tired to go in today." Ken did not mention the fact that Omi had not finished all his school work either. Omi's face went soft, his expression sympathetic. "Besides, Aya will probably sleep in and Yoji will be off with his women. Someone's got to be Ken's sense of self-concern." He reached up and pulled Ken's dark brown bangs away from his forehead, then felt it to find Ken much cooler. "I could get you some more water? Or maybe tea?" he asked, quickly breaking off for a powerful yawn which ended in a shiver.
The house was dead silent and freezing cold as the power had not yet been restored. Ken shook his head and folded his blanket in half, lengthwise, so it was draped over Omi. "Stay here and keep me warm," he muttered. "And get some more sleep."
Omi nodded decisively and snuggled against Ken's body, using it as both a mattress and pillow. Ken reached down and ruffled Omi's hair. The blond that had once been so bright was now dulling into a dirty blond that would probably turn out brown as he continued to age. Omi smiled and crawled up Ken a bit, so that his head was resting just beneath the young man's chin. Ken wrapped his arms around Omi and closed his eyes.
It was a lovely, peaceful scene; one Ken was glad to be in but did not wish to share with the other members of Weiss. Omi did indeed make him feel warm, warm and comforted and cared for, which was something he could not remember feeling for a very long time.
Or at least it was lovely and peaceful until he had to sneeze again. Ken tried his best to wiggle his nose and push the sneeze away. He even rubbed a bent finger under his nose hard and sniffled, but the tickle remained. The urge to sneeze was impossible to deny, and he managed to muffle his sneezes into a handful of tissues. "huh-Kuchffffff! Heh-heh-KUHFffffff!"
Omi was jerked awake, looking up sleepily at Ken as he blew his nose. "How about I get you some... some..." he stopped to give a yawn into his shoulder, "some tea now?"
Ken shrugged and stroked Omi's head gently. He would have really liked some more tea, but he did not want to be deprived of Omi's company. "How about..." he broke off, the urge to sneeze rising again within him. He cupped the tissues to his nose tightly. "ihh-HUHKushffffff! Uhshhfffffff!" He breathed heavily, expecting a third which had annoyingly decided to take its time. "hehhh.... huh..." he tried easing it out, but it was no good. Finally, he sniffed hard and rubbed his nose, giving up on the tickle. "How about you go back to sleep?" Ken finally managed to get out. The boy looked exhausted still, and Ken was glad he had decided to stay home with him today, for both their sakes. Agreeing, Omi nodded, snuggled closer with a light kiss to Ken's chin, and quickly fell back to sleep.
Ken stayed awake for a while longer, stroking Omi, and rubbing at his own nose to get rid of the tickles. Just as he was drifting back off to sleep, Omi moved in his arms. Not just a normal stirring or flinching, but outright thrashing about. He began to sob in his sleep and woke, screaming, before Ken could think to do anything. "Omi!" he exclaimed, wondering if the screaming had woken the others. But there were no sounds in the place apart from Omi's now quiet sobs and sniffles. Ken ran a few fingers across Omi's cheeks to dry them and continued to stroke Omi's arm gently to calm him down. Even though the images were gone, Ken could see the distress in Omi's face as he remembered the dream. He looked younger by years like this, vulnerable and hurting. Ken had seen Omi like this many times before, but never before could he so easily reach out and comfort Omi. "It was only a nightmare, Omi-chan. Calm down."
Omi caught his breath, wiped his eyes, and swallowed hard. "S-sorry. Did I wake you?"
Nodding, Ken reached down and pulled the tissue box closer, his nose tickling again. "Guess we're even... then..." He turned his head away best he could, Omi still weighting him down. "hik'KUHshhhhh! Heh-Ketchhuhhh!
Huk'ushhhh!""Even," Omi repeated, sniffling. He took a tissue from the box and blew his nose as well. "Don't worry about the others," he said, as though reading Ken's mind. "They never hear my nightmares." He sat up a little, looking out the window. "It's morning already. Time to get up."
"Not when you've been up all night," Ken replied. "Besides, power's still off so breakfast's out of the question." Ken couldn't remember a time when he felt less hungry, anyway. He raised the blankets up a few inches in invitation. "Come on under with me. I think I need to keep you warm this time."
Omi blushed terribly but wasted no time in accepting, crawling beneath the covers beside Ken. Ken slid an arm under Omi and pulled him closer, so that the boy was cradled in warmth against him. Omi wrapped an arm over Ken's front and rested his head on Ken's shoulder this time for a pillow. "Thank you, Ken-kun."
"Nightmares won't hurt you now, Omi," Ken soothed.
Omi smiled. "When I stayed here tonight, I thought I would be here to comfort you. Instead, here you are comforting me."
"Comforting each-each other," said Ken. Quickly he turned away before the sentiment could be ruined by sneezing in Omi's face. "ihhkutchhhh! Hek'Ukshhhh!" Wearily he sniffed, and it was Omi who handed him the tissues. Omi pulled the box under the covers with them to make it easier. "Thank you, Omi." He bent his head and kissed Omi's forehead. Omi sighed and slid his hand halfway beneath the waistband of Ken's shorts. "Huh?" Ken tensed up, looking down at Omi.
Omi only smiled and whispered, "Good morning, Ken-kun. Sleep well. Let me know if you..." he yawned, "need anything else."
Ken rubbed hard at his nose and closed his eyes. "I think I have everything I need right here."
"Aya? What are you- Oh!" Yoji stopped in front of Ken's open door, beside Aya, eyes open wide. Yoji's arm was bent as his hand rubbed the back of his neck. Inside, the two youngest members of Weiss were snuggled closed together beneath the blankets. "What's all this about?"
"Must be to stay warm. The power's off," Aya rationalized.
Yoji wasn't exactly convinced of this. It almost hurt that they hadn't sought him out to crawl into bed with and stay warm. "Must be," said Yoji, not really believing it. The two looked far too comfortable for that. "Should we wake them? Omi's late for classes."
Aya shook his head. "Let them sleep and stay warm. They could use more after this last mission."
Yoji's hand moved from the back of his neck to up in the air as the tall man gave a satisfying stretch. Then he reached forward and closed the door to Ken's bedroom. "Come on, let's raid the fridge and eat all the melting ice cream for breakfast." He wrapped his arms around Aya's sweater-clad middle from behind. "I'll keep you warm."
Aya, face as stone cold as usual, grunted as though to tell Yoji he thoroughly disapproved of ice cream for breakfast. But led the way down the stairs just the
same."They're gone," Omi whispered softly into Ken's ear, breaking into smile again.
Ken sighed and grabbed for the tissues. "Good," he muttered with great relief. "I was beginning to think I'd start sneezing before..." he finished very quickly before the sneezes struck, "before-they-left-huhSHAHHH! HUKTshuhhhhhhh!"
"Bless you!" Omi exclaimed, pulling another tissue from the box and holding it to Ken's face as he took away his few, used ones. They had been strong sneezes, and Ken was grateful for Omi noticing his need for another tissue. "Are you certain you don't want me to go make some tea?" he asked, rubbing Ken's chest gently beneath the blankets. "You don't mind me staying here, do you?"
In answer, Ken wrapped both arms around Omi in a tight hug. "As long as you don't mind spending the morning in bed with me sneezing."
Omi smiled warmly. "As long as you keep the nightmares away." Noticing the expression changing on Ken's face, Omi pulled out another tissue and handed it over quickly.
"Thah... heh-IKLSHHH! Hek'KUHshhhhh!" He wiped his nose. "Thank you." He turned from lying on his back to his side, now facing Omi. Omi shivered as the change in position brought wisps of cold air beneath the covers with them. "T-turn over," Ken instructed, nudging at Omi to roll over onto his other side. Once he had, Ken wrapped his arms around Omi from behind, coming up close behind so that their bodies bent together as one. "Warm again?" he asked.
Omi nodded. "Feeling better?"
Ken nodded accordingly, his breath hot on the back of Omi's head and ear. Omi sighed, wrapping his arms over Ken's to hold the man against him.
"Good," whispered Omi as he stroked the back of one of Ken's hands.
Ken wondered what Aya or Yoji would say if they could see Omi and him now. They would probably laugh for an hour and tease them relentlessly for the rest of the day. "huh..." Ken exhaled urgently. Omi grabbed a tissue, pushing it over his shoulder. Ken moved his face to it in time. "huk'utshhhhh!
Hikushhhh!""Bless you, Ken-kun." Though the sneezes had been loud, Omi still spoke softly, not wanting to break the calm, gentle mood they had established. "Need to blow your nose?" he asked, for Ken's arms and hands were still occupied upon his own body.
But Ken shook his head with a cough. "I'm all right, thanks. Let's just... try to get back to sleep."
Omi caught the incredible fatigue in his voice and agreed. "Wake me if you need something," he said again. Though he knew Ken had been much too proud to do so before, he hoped their newfound closeness might mean otherwise. Either way, Ken fell back to sleep more quickly than ever and Omi was not far behind.
Weiss Kreuz belongs to Koyasu Takehito(or is that Takehito Koyasu?) and Project Weiss. I don't own any bit of the boys, sadly, and glean only enjoyment from this, not money