Wednesday 1.6 - Late in the day

[skyrat13.livejournal.com]

Yohji awoke to a pervading sense of betterness. And yet…at the same time he felt worn completely ragged, as though no matter how much he slept it would never possibly be enough. Ever again. The juxtaposed feelings confused him…for all of the 10 seconds it took before the previous night’s memories broke through the haze of sleep.

Well shit. Was it really possible that all of that stuff had happened in just one night, so few hours ago?

It only took a quick check down his front to confirm a definite yes.

He couldn’t help sparing the empty chair next to his bed a lingering glance as well. He’d fallen asleep aware of it's vacancy. But still….

Yohji abruptly cut off that thought. He was starving and he wasn’t going to get any better if he didn’t eat. If the others had given up monitoring him, then he felt completely justified in getting up.

Assuming he could.

It took him a few tries, but Yohji managed to shakily rise to his feet and stumble across the room. The reflection in his mirror was jarring. Never before had he seen himself look, well, like such an invalid. His skin had a grey cast to it he’d never seen before, and blood had seeped through his bandages while he’d slept. They’d need to be changed, but he’d wait for assistance on that. He realized that he was still wearing part of his mission gear as well; only his coat and shirt had been stripped off the previous night in the rush to treat him. He hastily changed into a clean pair of pants and one of his work shirts, leaving it unbuttoned to avoid aggravating his injury.

The house seemed uncharacteristically quiet for so late in the day. In the kitchen Yohji gratefully found the dregs of some coffee that had been forgotten and left to stagnate in the bottom of the pot. He didn’t bother to heat it up. He collapsed at the table, and as no one was around he decided to take advantage of his chance to light up a cigarette. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to get many chances to do so in the days ahead. Not once the others were watching him again.

It seemed like food could wait a little longer after all.

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[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

Ran woke with a start, warm sun on his face. It took him a minute to orient himself as not in his room and in a chair.

He remembered where he was, and why, as he blinked at Aya's belongings.

He turned his head, stifling a noise at the pain in his neck. His sister was still asleep, and for a moment the stark familiarity of his position, and her sleeping, peaceful position, robbed him of his breath.

A creeping sense of panic settled over him. He quenched it as best he could, and stumbled to his feet before he woke her.

There was no IV. No beeping. They were in the apartments above the Koneko. She was awake. She knew about his life, and even that was a blessing, because she knew.

She was awake. This wasn't a hospital.

He opened the door - Forgive me, Aya, I can't watch you sleep anymore-and went to shower, before the others woke and saw him still in his mission gear.

*****

Ran had gone to read in the mission room after he'd changed, and called Aya's school so she would be excused from class. It was late in the morning when his cup of tea had run out, and he finally emerged to get another.

The smell of cigarette smoke warned him that Yohji was in the kitchen. He paused on the last step of the stair.

He shouldn't be up.

He shouldn't be smoking.

He'd planned to avoid Yohji, indefinitely.

He steeled himself, and went directly to the stove to put the kettle on.

[skyrat13.livejournal.com]

Yohji looked up at the intrusion. The sight of Ran unnerved him, and made him more accutely aware of just how weak he still felt. The harsh coffee in his empty stomach suddenly felt like a mistake.

Ran knew everything.

He should have known everything before, though. He wouldn't listen.

Maybe he still hadn't listened.

Well, the lack of a greeting was typical. At least Ran hadn't yelled at him.

He lazily stretched out so that he slouched back in his chair and made a point of peering into his now empty coffee cup.

"Hey, how about putting on enough for two?" He managed to keep his voice surprisingly cheerful.

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

Ran glanced sideways. "Since when do you drink tea in the morning?"

That was stupid of him. Conversation was not something he wanted to encourage.

Maybe that really would be it, though. Maybe saying what he had had made Yohji realize he didn't mean it, hadn't been thinking clearly. That would be all, they would move on.

The whole idea was surreal to him. If it wasn't a joke, then it was certainly a mistake.

[skyrat13.livejournal.com]

"...since it's good for my health?"

Yohji smiled ironically around his cigarette and tapped his empty mug.

"And since my coffee is all gone and I'm not really in the mood to move if I don't have to, I guess it will do."

It was a good sign Ran was talking to him though, right? For the moment.

[7bladed.livejournal.com]

"I'm late for school!" was the first thought on Aya-Chan's mind when she awoke. She bolted upright in bed, and then slowly relaxed as last night's events flooded back into her head. Was it a dream...? but that thought was quickly wiped away by the empty chair next to her bed and a glance at the clock; she could've been late for school by a few minutes, but school was almost over by now...

As she got out of bed, showered, and got dressed, Aya-Chan wondered where Ran had gone off to. Her questions were answered as she neared the kitchen and heard voices.

"Good morning~" she said cheerfully. The atmosphere seemed a little tense, but she brushed it aside, telling herself that when Ran and Yohji were in a room, there was always some sort of tension. "Have you eaten?" she directed the question at both men, but was focusing mainly on Yohji's cup of coffee which looked like it had been sitting for quite some time now.

[skyrat13.livejournal.com]

Yohji smiled warmly at her very welcome question. He was rather confident that he was about to score a drastically improved meal over what he had been prepared to scrounge for himself, which had been along the lines of cold and barely edible leftover pizza. Plus, the whole not having move bit was a huge plus.

"You know exactly the right thing to say to a guy down on his luck," he replied happily, "as a matter of fact, I haven't."

He couldn't help watching Ran out of the corner of his eye though. Talking to Aya-chan in front of her brother always made Yohji reasonably nervous. Ran had an (admittedly understandable) habit of misconstruing his words.

[7bladed.livejournal.com]

"I didn't think so," Aya-Chan picked up the empty coffee pot and shook it a little, examining it, then cast a sideways glance at Yohji's cup. "Were you drinking this, Yohji-San?" She asked, making an attempt to get friendly conversation going. "It looks positively ancient." She walked towards the fridge, sending Ran a smile on her way there, and peered inside. "Is there anything specific you would like to eat?"

[skyrat13.livejournal.com]

"Is there anything specific you would like to eat?"

Yohji casually allowed his eyes to fall on Ran and smirked, but he managed to stop himself from actually making an inappropriate reference to her brother. That was definitely not the right foot to start things off on this morning.

"I can't think of anything you might give me that wouldn't be perfect," he said innocently.

He turned and gave Ran a more evaluating glance.

"I was all done with the coffee, Ran was just about to make me some tea, actually." His grin broadened.

Hm, there was certainly something to be said for being handicapped.

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

His sister flooded the room with energy. It was as if the previous night had been rewritten.

Nevertheless - the events did happen.

She gave little opportunity to dwell on it. Yohji fell easily into swing with his better-known ego, the one that grated on Ran's with very conscious ease. This morning, it was almost a welcome distraction.

"Ran was just about to make me some tea, actually."

Ran bit back a retort about not being his maid, remembering the injuries at the last minute. He settled for nagging. "Put it out. The rest of us value our lungs, Kudoh."

He filled the pot with enough water for them both.

[7bladed.livejournal.com]

Looking into the packed fridge reminded Aya-Chan of their previous encounter in the grocery store. Her mood darkened momentarily, but she quickly moved the memory aside.

After some deliberation, Aya-Chan decided to settle with making some fried rice. It was easy enough, not to mention quick - and here, she paused for a moment to wonder if either Ran or Yohji would've ever eaten anything if she hadn't come downstairs.

She grabbed what she needed and settled herself in front of the stove next to Ran.

[skyrat13.livejournal.com]

Yohji surprised himself by acquiescing to Ran's orders without complaining. He'd intended to put up a fight, despite the fact that smoking had seemed like a rather bad idea, even to him. He lazily stubbed the half smoked cigarette out in his empty cup.

The Kudoh had stung a little, though.

"It's awfully quiet round here," he said just to keep away the anticipated awkward silence, "I don't suppose you're going to tell me the others are still asleep?"

Watching Ran watching Aya-chan made Yohji wonder if he actually shouldn't have left his room after all. He felt like a bit of a third wheel.

He wasn't exactly willing to sacrifice the offered rice, however.

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

Ran glanced sideways at Aya-chan. She looked intent on what she was doing. "Are you sure fried rice is a safe choice?" He attempted to tease.

It had been one of the first things his mother had taught her to cook. It had also been the first time Ran had seen food catch on fire.

Kudoh was watching him, he felt a familiar sensation of eyes on his back. He saw him out of the corner of his eye when he turned to look at his sister, but was careful not to pause too long.

There was a moment when the man actually looked dejected. He would have asked after Yohji's injuries, but was unwilling to bring it up.

But he was sitting up, and drinking, and was hungry. All good signs.

[skyrat13.livejournal.com]

The nagging feeling of third-wheel-ness intensified as Yohji's comment fell by the wayside, completely unacknowledged.

He couldn't help frowning as Ran inquired after what was obviously some memory that only Aya-chan was savvy to. For a fleeting moment they almost looked like a completely normal pair of siblings.

Yohji had been so busy focusing his jealousy on Aya-chan that it had never occurred to him that he might be jealous of Ran, too. It must be nice to have someone still alive who could actually verify that your past had been real. There wasn't a single person left that might reminisce with Yohji about some nice, but trivial moment before joining Weiβ. This didn't especially bother him. Most of the time.

This particular moment wasn't 'most of the time.'

He pulled his gaze away from Ran and Aya-chan and searched the room, hoping to find a stray newspaper, or some other suitable distraction to absorb himself in.

[7bladed.livejournal.com]

Not sure what to say, Aya-Chan decided it'd be easier just not to say anything at all. She poured herself a cup of water, set a bowl of fried rice before Ran, and took a seat next to him.

[Bleh... >.o]

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

Ran looked at the rice like he'd forgotten the food that had been on the table right in front of him. He shot a genuine smile - for him, it was a smile - sideways at his sister. "Thank you, Aya."

It still surprised him, that she seemed as intent on caring for him and the others as they were intent on caring for her.

[skyrat13.livejournal.com]

Yohji suppressed a twitch at the reminder that Ran actually possessed a capacity for warmth, and that he simply wasn't the person who made the cut for its dispensal.

The lack of legitimate conversation was starting to get to him. The strain of topics unspoken was too visibly apparent, and the tableau of domestic bliss seemed just a little too artificial. He knew he couldn't count on Ran to provide any stimulating dialog however, and Yohji hardly blamed Ken for his silence, given the state of things. This just meant it was up to Yohji to liven things up.

"Sooooo," he followed Ran's suit of placing the attention on Aya-chan, "why don't you tell us about school? Not too much of a workload, I hope?"

He shoved some rice into his mouth before continuing, "cute boys in your classes?"

[7bladed.livejournal.com]

Aya-Chan blinked at Yohji's question. He didn't strike her as the type of person who'd care about how she was doing in school. "School is pretty... school-like." She gave him a beaming smile before answering his last question. "No boy as cute as you, I'm afraid."

[skyrat13.livejournal.com]

Yohji blanched, caught more than just a little bit off-guard by Aya-chan's unexpected spunk. He had, admittedly asked the question with the intent of stirring up trouble. He just hadn't meant to stir up that much trouble. Shit, he had about 5 seconds before Ran quite literally killed him.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, m'dear," he said a little sheepishly, "but I'm afraid I'm emotionally unavailable."

He didn't dare look in Ran's direction.

"So what's new in the world of soccer?" He hastily changed the subject.

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

Ran's head snapped around so he could stare at his sister. He was betrayed.

A moment later his head snapped back, his focus redirected to Yohji.

...he had changed the topic, Ran observed.

He was gripping his chopsticks rather hard. He refocused his attention on the food. It was just...joking. If Aya-chan was all right with it...he supposed he would have to be as well.

[7bladed.livejournal.com]

Aya-Chan vaguely registered Yohji's reply; her attention was more focused on Ran's reaction. Worried, and a little confused, she took a sip of her water and placed a hand on Ran's knee under the table.

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

Ran gave his sister what he intended as a reassuring smile.

He should have taken it into perspective. It was just Yohji. Yohji flirted. He rarely followed up...

...with an internal start, Ran realized it was true.

He transferred an assessing stare to the man across from him.

It was true.

But he had never actually noticed.

[plotbunnytiff.livejournal.com]

Ken forced himself to swallow before answering. He hoped something dramatic would happen, like he'd choke to death on a few stubborn grains, or a purple dinosaur would burst into the kitchen on a mad rampage with the Tokyo Police Force close behind.

No such luck. Dammit.

"There's a prefecture practice game in three weeks," he began slowly. "There might be a good crowd there as well. My kids stand a pretty good chance, now that half of them can pull off shuttle shooting without accidentally kicking the ball to the opposing player."

The longer he talked, the more at peace he felt, until finally he was smiling and animated, demonstrating his story with his chopsticks, the plate, and Ran's teacup.

"I had to tell him, you can't punch the ball into the goal, it's cheating. I don't care if Maradona did it at the World Cup, on *this* field that sort of thing just won't fly."

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

Ran watched with some alarm as his teacup was used as a tactical model. He hadn't been done with it.

He settled on encouraging its return with a glare.

[skyrat13.livejournal.com]

If only he hadn't panicked and grasped at the easiest conversation topic that included Ken. Ken had other interests, he would have happily talked about something else. No, he'd just had to ask about soccer.

About the only thing that Yohji found worth knowing about soccer was that David Beckham scored rather decently on the hotness-meter. And that didn't really require a conversation, it's what pictures were for. What the hell did punching the ball mean, anyway? It sounded dirty.

He nodded encouragingly and hoped that his face wasn't glazing over in too obvious a manner.

It was good seeing Ken animated though. It put some of Yohji's unacknowledged worries to ease.

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

Yohji had done well in bringing up soccer, Ran noted. But this wasn't acceptable. He'd wanted to avoid everyone - and instead got a group breakfast. He found he didn't mind the company as much as he'd expected. His tea, however, was integral to his peace.

His cup - and his teammate - were both oblivious to his stare.

"Ken!" Ran said, irritated.