Fallen Angels

Chapter Forty-six - Filling in the Blanks

*****

Most didn't pay attention to the young man that was limping down the sidewalk and pushing a beat up motorcycle. In fact, some didn't know if the bike was supporting the young chocolate haired man, he was supporting the bike, or if it was both.

Ken Hidaka slowed down as he neared the shop. He was debating the entire time walking back if he should just sneak in or just go right on in. Now that he was back 'home' he dreaded what was going to take place. Yohji would make jokes about him wiping out on his bike and he didn't want to think about what Omi would say for being gone... he glance down at his watch... 36 hours. The only good thing was that Aya wouldn't see his condition.

It had started with the shipping company calling saying the bulbs that they had ordered needed to be picked up. No, they didn't have a truck available to send them to the Koneko. So out onto his bike he went, traveling to the company's headquarters. It was on his way back that he had the spill. Thankfully, the bulbs hadn't been damaged in the accident, but he was bruised and banged up. "Might as well get this over with." he said to himself.

He guided the bike to the back, making plans to work on the engine once he was off work. He limped his way in, with the box under one arm, into the storeroom. He could hear Omi talking to someone, the young boy sounding upset. He moved farther into the room, finding a long blond haired man, squeezing Omi's shoulders. "Omi, are you all right?" he asked, then cringed to himself at the glare that the young boy nailed him with to the floor. He was definitely in trouble.

Omi heard the back door open and then a familiar voice. The voice belonging to someone they'd been worrying about for several hours. "Where have you been Ken? We have been worried," he exclaimed, forgetting momentarily about the blonde man beside him.

Legolas blinked and turn to see the new human. The young man stood there staring at them before blinking chocolate eyes at Omi. "I went to get that new shipment of bulbs. They wouldn't deliver them here." he said, gingerly taking the slightly battered box out for under his arm. "I um, had some trouble with my bike on the way back."

Omi suddenly registered the scraped leather jacket and the torn jeans. "Ken-kun! How badly are you hurt? When did it happen? Why didn't you call us?" He stepped forward and took the box setting it on a worktable before guiding the taller teen to a stool to sit down.

"I forgot my cell phone in my room." Ken said, wincing a little as he was settled on the stool. "I forgot change for the payphone." He almost came off the stool as a new set of hands came around from behind him.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Legolas said. "I'm a healer, so I can help here." He removed the battered jacket. Wincing himself at the bruised and scraped arms. "I say about 20 hours ago." he told Omi, gentle running a finger over one of the scrapes.

"Twenty hours," Omi murmured sadly realizing his friend had trying to get home injured that long. "Ken this is Legolas he's a friend. Why don't you take him upstairs and show him the first aid kit. If he doesn't mind helping you that is?" The smaller blonde looked at the elf. He was half pleading because he knew he needed to get back to the store. Aya was already not in a good mood and the longer Omi left him with the after school crowd, the worse it would get he was sure.

Legolas shook his head, "No you are not." he said. "I've got him Omi. You go on to the Shop and help Aya." he leaned a little toward the door that lead to the shop, hearing sounds that the normal humans couldn't here. "Sounds like the natives are getting restless."

A squeak 'Aya' came from the young man the elf had started moving to the stairs. He wished he had some of his healing herbs from his apartment to help here. "Just show me were the first aid kit..." his voice faded as they disappeared up the stairs.

Omi sighed gratefully and smiled at Legolas as he tugged Ken off the stool and started guiding the other boy up the stairs. "Thank you!" he called softly.

**********

Omi stepped through the door into the shop looking around. He expected to see it filled to the brim with their normal crowd of young girls. But what he saw made him smile and made him worried at the same time. Said girls were grouped unhappily in front of the metal gate complaining as Aya locked it down. The closed sign was already turned and a moment later the tall redhead was closing the front door and flipping the deadbolt.

He closed the door just loud enough to alert the other man to his presence and watched him walk over and lean on the front side of the counter.

"Well?"

Omi leaned against the counter looking up at the older man. He decided not to openly bring Aya's ire down on him and side stepped the issue of how long he was gone. "We missed you while you were gone. Where did you go?"

"Ireland. I blended in well. Red and cold."

Omi looked at him, surprised, his blue eyes wide. "Why so far," he asked, then steeled himself for the one question he wasn't sure if he wanted the answer to. "Why did you leave Aya?"

Aya turned narrowed eyes on him, boring into Omi's own sapphire ones. "I had to get away from everything. You all seemed perfectly fine but there was too much here for me. I had to let things cool off."

The smaller blonde nodded and moved to take a phone order off the bulletin board. "What was Ireland like? Besides cold," he asked with a small smile as he laid the order on the table and began to choose the flowers he needed for the arrangement.

"Wet, divided, but strangely peaceful even though it's at war with itself. I liked it there, but I didn't want to live or stay too long. It just wasn't Japan." Aya said, watching Omi work and pick the flowers.

Omi laid out the flowers he'd chosen for the arrangement on the table and went to look at the bamboo baskets the customer had requested to house it. Finally choosing one with bamboo so pale it looked almost white, he walked back to the table and sat down so that he was facing the tall redhead. "Were you able to find what you needed there?"

"No, it's why I returned. Ireland may be more spacious and green, but Japan is home."

"I'm sorry you didn't find what you were looking for," Omi said looking up at him steadily. He began to group the flowers carefully checking for anything that might mar the arrangement as he decided on the most pleasing placements.

Aya watched him carefully, knowing Omi's skill wouldn't disappoint the customer. "What happened while I was away?"

Omi set the arrangement in the basket studying it as he fluffed it to see how well it filled as he decided what to say. Finally he shrugged. "Life went on. We ran the shop, we continued to do smaller missions for Kritiker every now and then. Ken is still coaching the kids in soccer but they've hired him now. He coaches three afternoons a week and during the games on Saturdays. Since none of his kids has come looking for him he must be at the field working with them." Omi cringed at the lie he'd just told but decided Ken could use the rest and time to get fixed up first.

"He'll come back when his stomach calls for food, no doubt. At least you all kept...busy."

Omi couldn't help chuckling at the truth of the first statement. "I'm in my last semester. I've gotten enough credits to graduate early. I'm taking one class over at the University, a computer class. I met someone in the class he just moved in last night."

"That little mouse I saw peeking out from behind you? Who is he anyway? He doesn't seem familiar."

Omi ignored the mouse comment and took a deep breath prepared for anything. "Yes, it's Nagi, Nagi Naoi. We've been seeing each other since just before you left. We got sort of forced together for a project and things went from there."

Aya's voice fell flat a little. "....you're not serious...."

"Yes Aya," Omi answered looking the older man dead in the eyes. "We didn't have much choice on the project and we couldn't exactly kill each other in front of the class. Not that either of us had a reason to or wanted to. In the end we discovered we actually liked each other. He's not like the others we faced."

Aya sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "You're one messed up kid, Omi. Rather think I'm to blame for it."

Omi actually laughed at that as he brushed a hand through his bangs pushing them back. "We're all messed up Aya. That's why we're here in Weiss. And no you're not to blame, remember, that comes from being a kidnapped amnesiac Takatori who killed or helped to kill every member of his own family." The laughter died as he pushed back his chair and walked over to the cooler for a few more flowers. "I'm no innocent Aya, my hands are more stained with blood than his are."

"Death in chibi form." Aya muttered to himself, then pushed away from the counter. He paused a moment, then ruffled Omi's hair before heading towards the front of the store to water the front plants.

**********

Yohji opened his eyes and looked directly into the peaceful sleeping face of his lover. They had shifted in their sleep so that they were lying on their sides facing each other. He started to close his eyes and go back to sleep when his stomach rumbled loudly. He realized suddenly that he hadn't had anything since lunch the day before. He and Omi had slipped out the back to avoid the High School girls and escaped to a new deli that they had wanted to try out. They had stuffed their faces and now he realized it had probably been a good thing.

Carefully he slid out of the bed not wanting to wake his lover. He felt much better than he had earlier and looking at his wrist he realized that it was completely healed. Even the tiny pink scar was gone. He sighed in relief he hadn't wanted to have to explain that to the others. Then he remembered the items in the kitchen and his shoulders slumped, with his luck Aya had found them and he would have to endure more cutting remarks.

He untied his black apron and pulled it over his head, then bent down to pick up the bloody towel and bandages. He rinsed the towel as well as he could in the sink trying to dilute the blood as much as he could not wanting to tease his lover with it. He dropped the bandages into the sink so the water could soak them also while he tossed the towel and apron in the hamper.

At the last minute he reached back in and pulled the pack of cigarettes from his pocket and the lighter. He wanted one so badly at the moment. But he forced himself to put them back on the bathroom shelf. He'd only had a part of one. Maybe he could still resist, for Omi.

Thinking of Omi he wondered if he was down in the shop or in his apartment. He looked over at his lover still sleeping peacefully on the bed and slipped out of his own studio apartment. He walked over to the one next door and knocked quietly. "Omi, Nagi, anybody home?"

The door opened and Nagi's big dark blue eyes peaked out. "Yohji-san." He stepped back and opened the door wider. "Omi-koi is still downstairs. He told me to stay here until he came back."

Yohji nodded in understanding. They'd have to tell Aya about the small Schwarz boy and that would have been hard before. The redhead had no love for the other group from their run-ins. None of them did really. But Nagi had been an unknown entity. They'd never run into him. So it had been easier for he and Ken to accept when they'd first found out. But Aya, Yohji didn't know how Aya would react. Before...

Yohji shook his head not wanting to go there. "Have you had anything to eat, bishounen?" he asked looking at the teenager.

"Not yet Yohji-san, just some tea. I was waiting for Omi," Nagi told him blushing at the casual endearment, he knew that Yohji called Omi that just to tease him. Schuldich had always called him chibi when he wanted to get under Nagi's skin.

"How about a cup of Miso soup? Just instant I'm not much of a cook, Omi and Ken are the cooks around here," he told him.

"I don't...."

"Please," Yohji gave him his most charming smile. The one he used on Omi when he wanted to slip away early on his shift leaving the younger blonde alone. "I hate to eat alone. And I'd bring it here to you."

Nagi smiled despite himself and nodded. "Alright, I am a little hungry."

The big blonde's smile changed to a grin. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Would you like some tea or a soft drink?"

"Tea would be nice."

Yohji nodded once and turned heading for the kitchen. He heard the door close behind him and he sighed, sorry the younger boy had virtually become a prisoner until they had time to sit down and explain things to Aya. He stopped at the top of the stairs but couldn't hear anything from the shop meaning the door was probably closed at the bottom. Stepping into the kitchen his shoulders sagged seeing the First aid kit and alcohol missing. The knife was in the sink but the table was still lightly spotted with blood. He sighed with his luck Aya had found it and he would have to endure the other mans cutting remarks again.

He set a pot of water to boil as well as the kettle for tea. He marked on a sticky note on the cabinet door that two more large gauze pads had been used. They still had six, but he put a star by it anyway knowing that they could go through six in one night if a mission went bad. He'd have to get more when he did the shopping. Since Omi and Ken cooked, he shopped.

He washed the knife thoroughly and dried it putting it back in the knife block then cleaned up the little bit of dried blood that had gotten on the table instead of the towel. He looked around and nodded seeing that the kitchen was back to normal. The water was almost ready to boil so he pulled out three packets of instant miso soup mix and laid them by the stove. He got a tray out of a bottom cupboard and laid out two bowls and two cups. He added spoons and by that time the kettle was done and starting to whistle.

Finally he had the tray ready and left the kitchen. He balanced the tray with one arm and knocked on the door to Omi's apartment. His eyes widened as it opened and he spotted Nagi across the room looking out the window by Omi's outside door. He shook his head realizing he was going to have to get used to having someone in the house who could move objects with their mind. Then a smile curved his lips as he realized he would have to get used to having two of them around.

He set the tray down on the coffee table and watched as Nagi walked over to join him kneeling by the table. Yohji knelt across from him, passing him the teapot. While Nagi poured them both a cup of tea, Yohji ladled soup into the two bowls.

"Yohji-san, who is he?" Nagi asked quietly as he poured them each a cup of tea.

"Aya Fuji..."

"No, I recognized Ran... Aya-san. I mean the other one, the angel," Nagi clarified passing one of the small cups to the older man.

Yohji nodded. "His name is Enzeru. He's my lover." He didn't mention Omi, it was up to Omi what he wanted to do now that the other boy was going to be living with them on a permanent basis. "He was an Angel of Death."

"Was?" the dark haired boy questioned, his eyes widening at the information.

"He was made mortal and cast out because he became fascinated with us, with humans and wanted to learn more about us," Yohji explained setting his spoon down and reaching for his tea.

"He was the one who healed me." It was more a statement than a question.

"Yes, he has other abilities. But I don't know all of them," the blonde replied.

"Where did you meet him?" Nagi asked as he brought his bowl up to sip the last of the soup.

"At a new club that I went to a couple of nights ago. He sat down beside me and one thing led to another and..." Yohji trailed of shrugging a small smile on his lips.

"You like him a lot don't you?" the small teen asked.

The ex-detective nodded. "Yes, even though it's only been two days. Did you have enough?" he asked watching Nagi place his empty bowl inside of the one he had already set back on the tray.

"Yes, thank you, Yohji-san. I don't want to eat too much so that I can eat with Omi when he comes up," Nagi smiled.

Yohji smiled back thinking the young teen should smile more often. Maybe he would now that he was here. "You can drop the Mr., bishounen. Just call me Yohji."" He leaned his arms on the coffee table and looked across at Nagi. "So what else can you do with your telekinesis?"

*****

End Chapter Forty-six