Beginnings

Okay, this is it. I swear, this is the last chapter. The title means what it means, not that there’s any more.

Still don’t own, still not being paid, still love the boys.

*******

“Come on, Ay–Ran, we can’t avoid them forever. We can’t even get off the island without them.”

One red eyebrow lifted, Ran’s way of saying, “Try me.” As Yohji had no intention of swimming however far, he let it drop, and reverted to whining.

“I’m hungry, Ayan.” That name, at least, wouldn’t be changing. “I want coffee. Can we go please, Ayyaannn?”

Even a man as strong and determined as Fujimiya Ran could not take much of that. Within ten minutes they were following a guide to breakfast with Schwarz, since the mindless were no longer so accomodating. No doubt under Schu’s direction, the human robots had blocked access to the kitchen, smiling as they did, but adamant. Ay–Ran hated the idea of sharing a meal with Schuldig, Yohji knew. But not enough to kill the helpless over it.

At least Yohji had clothes. He had found some, knowing Aya would be even more resistant to finding Schu and Crawford if Yohji were still only wearing a towel. So now Yohji looked like a waiter in tight black pants and loose white shirt, and…Ran…was somewhat happier.

In his own adorable, grumpy way, of course.

“Call me Aya,” he’d snapped as they left the bedroom. “Out here, I’m Aya.”

Well, that would make things easier.

Instead of the rooftop patio Yohji expected, the mindless led Yohji and Aya to the beach and onto a pier.

::Hope you like real food,:: Schu said in his head. ::Japanese will not be served this morning.::

::Great!:: Yohji grinned at sight of the table, already set for four. Schu sat in blue, smoking and drinking coffee in front of a cleared plate. Crawford sat impassively waiting in casual but white clothes. Had to show off, didn’t he?

Yikes, Yohji practically felt Aya snapping to Abyssinian mode. Why–?

::Ooh, ooh, I know, I know!:: Schu sent, tinging the thoughts with frustrated lust. Yohji shook his head.

::Bullshit, Schu-Schu. And get out of my head.::

“Stop. Talking. To. Him.” Aya growled softly. They reached the table, Yohji moved for the place obviously set for him–coffee, cream and sugar next to a strawberry-and-whipped cream smothered Belgian waffle–but Aya pulled him back and just stood there, sword in hand but not drawn, glaring at Crawford. Schu he didn’t even acknowledge.

Damn but he was beautiful.

::Oh please.::

::You’re just jealous.::

The Oracle raised one eyebrow and waved graciously at the table. “Please. Join us.”

::Of him? You’re delirious.::

Aya thumbed his sword loose. Crawford rolled his eyes.

“Will you at least eat breakfast first?”

Swinging steel was Aya’s answer. Crawford, of course, dodged out of the chair in time. Aya went after him.

Yohji sat down and poured himself coffee.

Mmm. Coffee.

::Brad wants Fujimiya.::

Yohji choked, but managed not to spray. Schuldig snickered. The fight swirled past.

“–return to servitude?” Crawford was saying.

::You said you couldn’t read him!:: Yohji protested.

::Seven years I’ve watched his ass, Kudou, and I’ve been in thousands of minds very like his. I can’t read his thoughts, but I can read his actions and words far better than you’ll ever manage with your redheaded icicle.::

Irritated at coffee in his nose, Yohji sent the bastard the most vivid image he could, of Aya not being an icicle. Schu dropped his cigarette in his lap. Yohji giggled. And snarled, as Schu retaliated with just why Aya was so angry at Crawford, pulled from Aya’s mind.

“Don’t bother,” Schu spoke for the first time, putting his hand over Yohji’s watch as he reached for wire, “eat your breakfast.”

“Stay out of his mind, Schuldig, or I swear–”

“Ja, ja.” The German waved his cigarette. “Want one?”

Crawford and Aya fought past. “–Kritiker run by strangers–”

Yohji shook his head. “I’ve decided I need my lungs now.”

“–make you a better offer–” Crawford said, blocking Aya’s sword again. Yohji shook his head again and plowed into the waffle.

::I’m surprised you’re not trying to kill your darling Brad.::

“Please.” Schu stole a sausage from the Oracle’s plate. “You know I like them alive and suffering.”

They ate in silence for a while, except for the occasional passing comments.

“–kill on blind faith–”

“–guarantee her safety–”

Oh, hell, was Crawford offering to See to Aya-chan’s safety? If there were a way to bring Aya to Schwarz, that would be the lure!

“Fujimiya-san,” Schuldig called, “did Kudou tell you he tried to drown himself?”

Yohji choked again. ::Schu!::

::Did you want him swearing allegiance to Brad?::

Long fingers wrapped in Yohji’s hair and lifted. “Ow, Aya! Ayan, please–” He stood, hoping to keep the back of his scalp, and let the hand drag him down the pier. “Ayan, baby, that hurts, please–”

“Kudou.” Aya shoved him free, and Yohji peered down his nose at the point of a long sharp sword poking his throat. “Do you want to die, Kudou?”

Yohji gulped in the face of an F5 Abyssinian glare. Aya was pissed, and unreachable, his sword longer than Yohji’s arms.

“No! Kitten, it was just–”

“Are you sure?” The redhead tilted the sword, flashing sunlight. “Be sure, Kudou.”

“Ran–it was just a minute’s stupidity! I thought–you’d never want me if it looked like I’d taken off with Schu again, and I just–”

The sword swung aside, Aya grabbed a fistful of Yohji’s shirt and yanked him close.

“Get it through your head, Kudou,” he snarled. “You. Are. Mine.”

Ooh–Yohji stared into sparking violet eyes and his knees melted.

“You will not die without my permission, do you understand?” Aya’s glare narrowed further as Yohji tried to remember how to talk. He shook the blonde. “I will not give you up.”

Talking was over-rated. Yohji caught ear-tails–also known as handles–and pulled his lover’s face to his.

Mmmm…

“Schuldig,” Crawford said as Aya did something with his sword to wrap his arms around Yohji.

“Oh, did you just notice that?” Schu returned as Yohji slid his hands into gorgeous hair. He pulled gently, detaching those hot lips from his.

“Ayan,” he panted, “can’t you kill Crawford later?”

“He can wait,” Aya agreed, but held Yohji away as he tried to plaster himself on the redhead again. “I need to ask you a very important question, Kudou.”

Uh oh. Yohji had dated enough to know that was trouble coming. But unless he wanted to go swimming, there was no escape. “Um…yeah?”

“Do you really have naked pictures of Omi?”

“Kiyiyiyiyiyee!” someone howled. Aya rolled his eyes, and suddenly there was a boat sliding by the pier. With Ken and Omi scurrying about the deck, and–Aya-chan and Azumi!?!–hanging over the rail, and–holy shit, Nagi standing in the bow, and Farfarello hanging from the mast! What the hell were all of them doing on one boat?

“Answer me, Kudou.”

He didn’t look jealous. But Aya was very good at hiding things. Yohji pasted a leer on his face and gambled.

“The ones of you are a lot better.”

“Aya-kun! Catch!”

“Not as good as mine of you, I bet.” Aya spun in time to catch a rope, snugged it to a post of the pier like he’d done it a thousand times.

Who knew Aya was so good with knots?

As he stood gaping and dreaming, Aya leaped onto the boat. Yohji shook his head and leaped after him. The man worked fast, he already had Aya-chan in one arm, Azumi in the other while Omi bounced on his toes and chattered.

“–tracker,” the chibi was saying. “And when we heard the stories of Firehead the pirate, we knew–”

“Yohji!” Ken smashed Yohji in a rib-crushing hug. “You idiot, when we realized–”

“Ran-niisan–”

“–Nagi-kun emailed–”

“Fujimiya-sama–”

“–better to bring–”

A gunshot interrupted everyone. Aya shoved the girls down as the rest of Weiss fell into defensive postures. On the pier Crawford swore as he dodged Farfarello.

“Damn you, Schuldig, deal with this!”

“Ask me nice, Brad-Brad.”

***********

Yohji really had no stamina, Aya reflected hours later. He resisted the urge to touch one more time–the blonde was incredibly sensitive to anything that might be the beginning of more sex–and slipped out of bed to find clothes.

The deck was moon-drenched; Aya could almost taste the pale light.

Maybe, he thought, Ran wasn’t as dead as he’d believed.

Schuldig stood leaning against the rail smoking; the German ignored him and Aya returned the favor. He did snarl silently as he realized Crawford sat in a chair, facing Schuldig. And away from him. But he’d left his sword below.

“Come on, tell,” Schuldig was saying. “What do you want with Fujimiya? Why is he suddenly so important?”

Aya froze, even knowing the bastard wanted him to listen. It was impossible that Mastermind did not know he was there.

The Oracle, on the other hand– “Have you still not noticed his power? He’s an apparocognitive, Schu, strong enough to make Bickley drool.”

“So? We don’t need him.”

“There’s a new plan.” Something passed between them, Schuldig jerked upright. Then he grinned, and jumped to straddle Crawford’s lap.

“Oh, Brad-Brad! I get world domination after all?” He hugged Crawford, and gave Aya a broad wink over the American’s shoulder. Aya snarled and turned away.

An apparocognitive?

Not important.

He found the one he needed in the wheelhouse, as he’d expected. Playing cards with Nagi, he hadn’t expected that.

“Bombay,” he said softly, not wanting to startle the boys. Nagi jumped anyway, and slipped out without a word. Omi sighed.

“Abyssinian.” He shook his head. “Only you’re not, are you?”

“If you’re still Bombay, I’m still Abyssinian. But you brought the girls.”

“Yes.” Omi stood, to lean over the half-wall and stare out at the moonlit sea. “The pictures?”

“On your hard drive, in Yohji’s files. Where you never would have looked.”

“You’re right.” The boy shook his head. “Trust Yohji-kun.” He sighed again. “Do it. You’ll never get a better chance, Aya-kun. Take them, take Yohji-kun, and live. Ran-kun.”

“You could–”

“No, we can’t.” The archer turned, and Aya saw the iron-hard survivor deep in the genki chibi’s eyes. “I can’t. And Ken won’t. I wish he would. But you and I know he won’t.”

“Omi–”

“Mamoru.” The boy shook his head, and blocked Aya’s reach for his shoulder. “Actually, it’s Persia now.”

*********

Schuldig moaned as Brad’s fingers slid under his shirt. Oh, yes, it was good the man had stamina–

“Thank you, Schuldig.”

Gloating, that was–bastard, this was important, and he brought it up now? Schu forced his eyes open, caught and stilled Brad’s hands. “What?” he demanded.

“Fujimiya,” the smug Arschloch answered. “Now that he knows, he’ll want to use his power. And only an Essett-trained psi can teach him, no one else even knows what an apparocognitive is.”

“You know I’m going to kill you, right? You don’t have some stupid fantasy you can keep fucking with me just because you’re fucking me?”

“I know you’re going to enjoy torturing him while you teach him.”

“Bribery,” Schuldig growled, “might save you.”

********

Yohji woke a little as the bed moved, enough to snuggle up to smooth skin over hard muscle. “Mmm…kitten?”

“It had better be, if you’re doing that.”

“It is,” Yohji answered, squeezing. “I’d know that ass anywhere.”

Aya chuckled and rolled, pinning the blonde under him. Yohji hummed happily and let his hands wander moonlit skin. Fingers twined in his hair, but the expected kiss didn’t come. The blonde opened his eyes, and his heart almost stopped at the small but beautiful smile on his lover’s face.

“Yohji, I–want to make you a promise.”

His heart did stop for an instant, then galloped off. “Ran, you don’t–”

“Shut up, Kudou.”

Kudou shut up. Aya took a deep breath.

“You will never have to kill again,” he said softly. “We’re–not assassins anymore.”

Yohji blinked. “What?”

“I’ve made arrangements. We’re not going back to Japan. What we left behind is gone, we can’t go back for it. We’re going to have to make a new life. If–” the redhead hesitated, “–I mean, if you–?”

“Fujimiya,” Yohji growled, grabbing the convenient hair-handles to pull his lover to him, “try not to be an idiot.”

********

As usually happened when Yohji watched the dawn, it was because he’d waited up for it. This morning, though, was the most beautiful he’d ever seen. That had far less to do with the sea and the clouds than it did with the pale body next to him, washed by the first rays of light.

::How sweet. And they both lived happily ever after.::

::Planning on it,:: Yohji answered, ignoring the sarcasm and the sudden itch for a cigarette. ::Go away, Schu-Schu, go jump Crawford again or something.::

::Even he needs recovery time. You really think you two can make it?::

::Think you two can?::

::Care to make a bet?::

::No.:: Yohji kissed the pale shoulder next to him and snuggled up for sleep. He wouldn’t bet on Aya again; he was not taking the slightest chance of messing this up. Beyond all hope, love had given him another chance. This time he wasn’t blowing it.

::You’re disgusting.:: Schu sighed. ::But here’s a non-wedding present. He never fucked Botan, Kudou. If the stupid martyr hadn’t gotten himself shot and flamed, he probably would have–but he didn’t.::

Yohji’s eyes widened. Then–

::Gah!! Quit it, Kudou, before I go propose to Brad!::

Yohji decided that sounded lovely. They needed to settle somewhere he and Ran could marry. They’d have a beach wedding, of course, he could just see–

::Keep it up, Kudou, and you’ll wake up doing the high-kick on a chorus line in Vegas.::

Las Vegas. He’d always wanted to see Las Vegas…

::Hopeless.::

Yohji spooned up to his lover and let himself drift. Or Greece. Las Vegas, then Greece. Rio de Janeiro had to be one hell of a party town. The south of France. Cancun. The Caribbean.

::Cuba.::

Mmm…Cuba…

*********

I mean it. This is the last chapter. These (yummy) men have taken over my life. I will not (probably) be writing any more epics. I’m (sorta) serious!

Please review anyway?