One (Chapter 19) by White_Cross

"KR would like to meet you, Yohji," Chloe announced as he stood in the doorway leading out to the backyard where
Yohji was smoking a cigarette and talking with Aya.

"What? Me?" Yohji spluttered, waving his cigarette in the air.

"Well, he's met the rest of us, so he could have only meant you," Chloe said, rolling his eyes.

"KR is not like Persia, Yohji," Aya said, "he plays an active part of our team and isn't just a silhouette on a television
monitor. He's gone on several missions with us and so has Nana."

Yohji took a drag, then uncomfortably flicked ash into the nearby ashtray. "Is he going to try and recruit me?"

Aya shrugged. "Maybe, but all you have to do is say no. It's probably just a courtesy, Yohji, because you're staying
with us. He just wants to get to know you."

"So do I," Yohji said with a snort as he took one last drag and stubbed his cigarette out. "Is this going to happen
today?"

Chloe nodded. "He's asked me to go up for the afternoon, so now would be convenient."

"Alright, I'll go shower," Yohji said and slipped past Chloe into the house. Chloe came out and sat next to Aya in the
chair that Yohji had just vacated.

"What does KR want with you?" Aya asked, curiously.

"He's looking into some new explosives that he wants me to check out," Chloe said. "Dynamite is, well, old school you
could say. He's been looking into plastique, or DEMEX more specifically. It's much more stable and surprisingly easy
to obtain here in the UK. It'll make something like blowing just a door open much easier since you can target it
specifically without worrying about damaging anything else around it."

"I don't like you having to mess with that stuff at all," Aya said with a frown. "It's dangerous."

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "You never minded before."

"I wasn't in a relationship with you before," Aya said.

"Well, you're not in a relationship with me now," Chloe retorted.

Aya was silent for several moments before responding. "That's not fair, Chloe, and you know it. That wasn't my
decision, it was yours."

"I'm sorry," Chloe said, hiding his eyes behind his bangs. "That was uncalled for."

He fingered the rosary around his neck for a minute, feeling uncomfortable around Aya for the first time since Aya had
joined Kryptonbrand, back when they were both trying to figure each other out.

"This is really hard for me, Aya," he said finally. "It may not look like it, but it is."

"It's hard for me too," Aya confessed. "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing. Am I supposed to be trying to
decide between you and Yohji? If he decides to go home next week, what then? I'm not going back to Japan, so do
you and I just get back together? Will this have solved anything?" he asked bitterly.

"You're asking me questions I can't answer," Chloe said miserably.

"Well, then, I don't know what you want from me," Aya said in frustration, rising to his feet and going inside, leaving
Chloe alone on the patio.

"I just want you, Aya," Chloe whispered to himself.

Chloe was surprised when later Aya showed up with Yohji to drive out to the castle, figuring that Aya would still be
angry with him. Aya acted as if their conversation had never taken place, much to Chloe's relief. Not that he expected
Aya to argue with him in front of Yohji, but Aya was good at the cold shoulder and Chloe figured he might have
deserved it.

Instead, the drive to the castle was pleasant, despite the nasty weather. They stopped for a late breakfast along the
way and to give Chloe a break from driving in the pouring rain. Yohji, still determined to stick to traditional British
meals, had a large plate of two fried eggs, ham, sausage, mushrooms, baked beans and fried bread, and groaned in
the back seat until they reached the castle.

"You could at least pretend to be sympathetic," Yohji whined, rubbing his stomach.

"I told you not to eat that," Aya said with a snort. "You haven't changed; you still don't listen to me."

"You haven't changed either," Yohji whined, "you're still as bossy as ever."

"Now, now, children," Chloe chided. "Don't make me stop this car to discipline you two."

"Are we there yet?" Yohji asked with a grin.

Chloe rolled his eyes. "No."

"Are we there yet?" Yohji asked again.

"No," Chloe said firmly.

"Are we there yet?" Yohji asked, grinning even more.

Chloe glared at Yohji in the rearview mirror. "I can hurt you from up here, you know."

At that moment Yohji's phone began to ring. He checked the number and put it back in his pocket, where it continued
to ring and ring.

"When a phone rings, you generally answer it," Chloe said dryly.

"Well, I would, but SOMEONE, who shall remain nameless, won't let me tell Yuushi that they're actually still alive. 'Oh
hello, Yuushi,'" Yohji said sarcastically as he pretended to answer an imaginary phone, "'I'm having a great time here
in England, visiting people I've never met before in my life. Certainly not a former teammate of yours that you think
has been dead for a couple years. And how have you been?'"

"Aya!" Chloe exclaimed, shooting a look over at him in the passenger seat. "What is the matter with you?"

"I'd rather not talk about this," Aya said tersely.

"Well, I would," Chloe said firmly. "Think about how it felt when you thought Yohji was dead. That's terribly cruel."

Aya sighed audibly, but said nothing.

"Maybe you can talk some sense into him," Yohji said to Chloe, "because I certainly can't."

"I'll see what I can do," Chloe promised.

"You both know that I'm sitting right here, right?" Aya asked crossly.

"I know it bothers you to think that other people might actually care about you," Chloe said, "but for heaven's sake,
Aya, get over it."

Aya was saved from further discussion as Chloe turned onto the drive that took them to the castle. When they parked
the car and stepped outside, Yohji stared up in complete awe. "You mean, this is the Kryptonbrand home base?"

"Yes," Chloe said proudly. "Michel and I lived and trained here as well, before we joined Side B."

"You sure know how to upgrade, Aya," Yohji said, his eyes wide.

Aya and Chloe strolled into the castle as if they belonged there, and in a sense they did. They said polite hellos to
several people they passed on their way to KR's study before finally meeting Nana Mihirogi, who, after giving Yohji a
warm kiss on the cheek, informed them that KR wasn't ready for them yet and asked them if they'd like some tea. So
there Yohji was, having tea in an English castle, essentially waiting for a job interview. Sometimes you couldn't make
things like that up if you tried.

Chloe was finally ushered into the study alone for obvious security reasons, but after a short 15 minutes, Chloe went
off to the grounds to begin his work, while Aya went to the garden to give KR and Yohji some privacy. The rain had
stopped, leaving the ground saturated and the flowers glistening with sparkling wet jewels as he walked along the
pathways. If he was honest with himself, he was tense, as if Yohji's decision today would change things as they stood
now. Aya hadn't yet asked Yohji his plans for the future, wanting to give Yohji time to take everything in. There was
one thing that did give him a sense of relief though, and that was that Yohji seemed to be mentally stable. That meant
that he'd be able to make the right decisions for himself.

"Are you hiding from me or just the world in general?" Yohji asked, startling Aya out of his thoughts.

"Neither," Aya said with a small smile. "I know better. You'd never let me get away with it."

"That's true," Yohji said, chuckling. "Someone has to save you from yourself."

"You did that for me," Aya said honestly. "Saved me from myself. Made me feel something other than hate and an
all-consuming thirst for revenge."

Yohji peered at Aya from over the top of his sunglasses. "That was a long time ago, Aya."

"It was years ago," Aya agreed, "and it's still having an effect on me today. I'm a lot of things now because of you."
The rain was starting up again and he tilted his head for Yohji to follow and they made their way to a nearby gazebo
that had dry chairs for them to sit on. Yohji's chest felt tight. It was a new thing to hear Aya be so open about who he
was and where he had been.

"So, what happened?" Aya asked as he took one of the chairs that faced out toward the rose garden.

"He offered me a job," Yohji said, taking a chair and scooting it next to Aya. "I turned him down, of course. Did you
know that Michel, Yuki and Free all told KR that I'd be welcome to join your team?"

"You sound as if that surprises you," Aya said. "Yuki in particular has taken a liking to you, which is pretty amazing as
Yuki doesn't like a lot of people."

"He's a great kid, Aya," Yohji said, taking his cigarettes out of his shirt pocket and lighting one up. "If you had a kid of
your own, I imagine it would be a lot like him."

Aya snorted.

"What?" Yohji asked with a grin. "You know I'm right."

"That's something we'll never find out, isn't it?" Aya snorted again.

"I suppose so," Yohji said as he watched the smoke curl up into the light breeze. "KR made it perfectly clear that I
could hold any kind of position I wanted, even just information gathering stuff. He knew I'd been a P.I. and said they
could use someone with my skills."

"Have you thought about possibly joining Crashers?" Aya asked curiously. "You could do similar work without having
to carry around the guilt. You've also done work with explosives before."

"No, I hadn't thought about that," Yohji said honestly. "I haven't thought about much, really. When I started to
remember, I was just focusing on getting through the days without losing my mind, you know?" Aya nodded, but said
nothing and it was a few minutes before Yohji spoke again. "I'm not sure what I'm doing here, Aya."

"You can stay here without having to join Kryptonbrand," Aya suggested. "Things will work themselves out."

"But what about you and Chloe?"

"What about me and Chloe?" Aya retorted.

Yohji rolled his eyes. "Well, it's not like you and I could just get back together, even if that's what we both wanted to
do. What if we didn't work out, Aya? You would have lost Chloe. It's not like our relationship was ever perfect. We
fought a lot, if I remember correctly."

"You staying doesn't have to have anything to do with us, though there was a period of time," Aya said carefully,
"when we first got together, where things were really good between us."

"You were everything that I ever wanted, Aya," Yohji said honestly.

"You were everything that I *never* wanted," Aya replied.

They both laughed, leaning in toward one another until their foreheads were touching. The next thing they knew, their
lips were pressing together, warm and firm. Yohji fisted handfuls of Aya's hair, his cigarette forgotten and discarded
as he tried to cling onto something as his mouth opened to Aya's and their tongues slid together wetly. He felt himself
sliding closer and had to stop himself and break off the kiss before he found himself on Aya's lap.

"We probably shouldn't have done that," Yohji said breathlessly, licking the taste of Aya from his lips. He was
suddenly startled by the sound of a small explosion and without even thinking about it, his hand was reaching for his
watch. He pretended instead that he was just brushing lint off his sleeve, not wanting to analyze that too closely. "I just
got the feeling that Chloe wants to blow my balls off," he said wryly.

"Interesting reflex," Aya said, gesturing toward Yohji's watch. "Would that be just random defense or were you really
thinking about Chloe?"

"I just heard something explode unexpectedly," Yohji said defensively, "why wouldn't I reach for protection?"

"Yohji," Aya said, putting his hand over Yohji's, "it's okay. It's only natural."

"There's nothing natural about reflexively killing someone," Yohji said vehemently.

"Defending yourself is," Aya said firmly. "You may not have realized this, but we have enemies out there, especially in
Japan. What will you do if someone discovers who you are?"

"I don't know!" Yohji said, raising his voice. "Fuck, Aya, I don't know what I'm doing at all! I'm floundering here, with no
direction and I know I can't go on forever living just one day at a time. I need something, some kind of purpose."

"And I'm not exactly helping you, am I?"" Aya asked, withdrawing his hand from Yohji's.

"Don't blame yourself for my problems," Yohji said sternly. "I didn't spend a few months in intense visits with a shrink
just to pass my responsibilities on to you. They're mine and I'll deal with them."

"You still need to cut yourself some slack. There's no time limit on when you have to decide the rest of your life."

"I know," Yohji said, sighing in defeat.

Aya shifted in his chair uncomfortably. "Listen, the thing with Yuushi ..."

Yohji cut him off. "You don't have to explain anything to me, Aya."

"Will you let me finish?" Aya asked irritably. "I'm just not in the right place to deal with him right now on top of
everything else."

"You don't have to deal with him," Yohji exclaimed, throwing up his hands. "It's not like he's going to come running out
here like I did. You don't know how much it hurts him to think that you're dead."

"Oh, and you do?" Aya asked, eyeing Yohji.

"I got to know him really well in the time we spent together, Aya. I slept with him," Yohji finally admitted.

Aya's eyes went wide in surprise. "You what?"

"Sex," Yohji said, flailing a bit. "Yuushi and I had it. Together."

Aya opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. "I'm strangely okay with that," he finally said as Yohji
reached for his cigarettes out of nervousness as he waited for Aya to say something. Just then Aya caught sight of a
lone figure out of the corner of his eye walking along the path in the rose garden. He turned his head to see Chloe
kneeling down beside a large bush, whispering to the buds. "What would you do," Yohji said, leaning forward and
whispering into Aya's ear, "if Chloe went out tonight and fucked someone else?"

Aya didn't even hesitate. "I'd want to kill them," he said.

"I think you have your answer, Aya," Yohji said, leaning back in his chair and lighting up. "Look at him," he said,
gesturing toward Chloe with his cigarette as the buds on the rose bush started to bloom. "He's amazing. In fact, I think
I'm a little in love with him myself."

"But ..." Aya started to say before Yohji cut him off yet again. "Get your head out of your ass, Aya. You moved on a
long time ago. Just because I got my memories back doesn't change that fact."

"What will you do?" Aya asked quietly.

"Feel better about staying with you, for one thing," Yohji said, pushing up his sunglasses. "I really like them, your
teammates, and wouldn't mind spending some more time with them. Oh, I'll have to go back to Japan at some point,
I've got a divorce that needs to be finalized and all, and no doubt I'll eventually feel guilty for sponging off of you."

Aya smiled slyly. "You could always work in the flower shop."

"Funny," Yohji said with a grin, "that part of my memories still seems to be missing."

"Yuki and Michel would love to train you," Aya replied.

"I'm done blowing things up," Chloe announced, standing in the archway of the gazebo. "Are you two ready to go
home?"

Yohji raised an eyebrow at Aya. "Are YOU ready to go home?"

Aya knew what Yohji was really asking as he looked up at Chloe. "Yes, I think I am," he finally said, rising to his feet.
"And if you don't pick those up," he said, gesturing to Yohji's discarded cigarette buts, "I'll shove them up your ass."

Yohji frowned. "He's mean," he said to Chloe. "Do you see how he treats me?"

Chloe rolled his eyes. "You should see him when we're on a mission. He threw me on the ground once and I was
bruised for two whole weeks!"

Aya knew it was better to not respond, it would only provoke the two of them further, so he ignored their verbal
melodrama as he walked back toward the castle. When he reached the driveway, he noticed a large, black bird sitting
on the hood of Chloe's car.

"Friend of yours?" he asked Chloe.

Chloe tilted his head, studying the bird, then whistled and held out his arm. The bird hesitated a moment before
unfolding his wings and landing gracefully onto Chloe's outstretched arm.

"Have we met?" Chloe asked as he stroked the bird's black feathers, but the bird said nothing. Chloe frowned.
"Perhaps you know Trabant?" At the mention of the owl's name, the bird squawked loudly, the feathers on his neck
and head rising in agitation. "Shhh ..." Chloe said soothingly, then spoke to the bird in low tones that neither Yohji or
Aya could hear.

Yohji watched the entire exchange in awe. "Does this ever get blasé to you, the things he can do?" he asked Aya.

"Never," Aya said, shaking his head.

The bird squawked loudly, then took to the air as Chloe shrugged over at Aya and Yohji. "Beautiful crow," he said. "He
seemed very concerned with Trabant's whereabouts, but I reassured him that Trabant was just fine, that we had
simply moved from the castle. I think he's a little lonely, poor thing."

"How do you do that?" Yohji asked. "How is it that they understand you?"

Chloe smiled. "I don't know. They just do." He pulled his car keys out of his coat pocket. "Shall we?"

"Can we stop at another restaurant on the way home? Yohji asked as he climbed into the back seat.

"NO!" Chloe and Aya said in unison, without a moments hesitation.

*****

Chloe was reading in his room later that night when there was a knock on his door and he looked up to see Aya
standing in the doorway. "Come on in," Chloe said, waving Aya inside as he put down his book. Aya closed the door
behind him and Chloe raised an eyebrow curiously. "What's up? What's behind your back?" he asked, noticing Aya
had one arm hidden behind him.

Aya sat on the couch next to Chloe and produced a large, royal blue velvet box, which he handed to Chloe without a
word. Puzzled, Chloe took the box, hesitating as he ran his hands over the soft, plush velvet before finally opening the
latch and lifting the lid. He gasped as he saw the rose inside, nestled against blue satin. He lightly fingered the red
crystal petals, not trusting himself to speak for several moments.

"Does this mean what I think it does?" he finally asked, his voice trembling.

"I want you back, Chloe," Aya said firmly.

"Oh God," Chloe whispered, "I thought for sure you'd ..." He set the box down on the coffee table and stood,
unbuttoning his shirt as he glanced over at Aya. "You had better be fucking me into the mattress in the next few
minutes," he said, his eyes shining in the pale light.

"Do you want to talk about this first?" Aya asked.

"That's so sweet, Aya," Chloe said, pausing from unbuttoning his shirt to put his hand on Aya's cheek. "But perhaps I
didn't make myself clear. We're going to have sex now," he said firmly, removing his hand and shrugging out of his
shirt.

Aya snorted and shook his head, but followed Chloe to the bed and began removing his clothes. He slid in under the
sheets naked and settled on top of Chloe, using his weight to press Chloe down firmly.

"I appreciate what you did," he said, "giving me time to sort out my feelings, but don't ever leave me again, do you
understand?"

Chloe nodded, a little wide eyed, as Aya took hold of his wrists and pinned them over his head. Chloe could feel his
heart pounding and it was no surprise when he felt the sting of thorns as vines scraped across his skin, wrapping
around his wrists.

Aya leaned forward and pressed his lips to Chloe's firmly. Chloe opened to him eagerly, his mouth warm and wet as
their tongues tangled together. When they broke apart, breathing heavily, Aya began to use his teeth, starting from
the beginning of Chloe's shoulder, up along the thick muscle of his neck, leaving red teeth marks that he then laved
at with long wet swipes of his tongue. Chloe moaned, pulling against the vines and Aya's hand keeping his wrists
firmly pinned over his head, wanting to touch Aya, but they refused to budge.

Aya chuckled in Chloe's ear: "I think they want to teach you a lesson," he said.

Chloe grinned, hooking his legs around Aya's waist as he ground up against him.

Chloe couldn't have held back if he'd tried when after a quick prep, Aya slid inside of him and began to thrust slowly.
He wasn't aware he was making noise at first until Aya put his free hand over Chloe's mouth. Chloe closed his eyes
and moaned even louder, muffled behind Aya's hand.

"You like that, don't you?" Aya said into Chloe's ear, his breath hot and panting as he moved.

Chloe could only nod, knowing that even if Aya's hand weren't over his mouth, that he still wouldn't be able to form the
necessary words to respond. It melted Chloe's brain, giving his power over to Aya, something he'd never been willing
to do with anyone before. Chloe was already close, his body shaking and covered with a light sheen of sweat as Aya
began to thrust harder and harder, then Chloe was coming in thick, hot spurts between them. Aya wasn't too far
behind as his movements became irregular. He released Chloe's wrists and used both arms for leverage as he gave
his final few thrusts and bit down on Chloe's shoulder, muffling his cries. He pulled out carefully and lay back next to
Chloe, spent.

"Oh my God," Chloe said weakly. He rolled over on top of Aya, their bodies sliding together, slick with sweat and come
as they kissed lazily.

"Could you not get them off?" Aya eventually asked as he gently rubbed Chloe's wrists. The vines had disappeared,
leaving deep scratches in Chloe's pale skin and several stray rose petals on the sheets.

"Well, you could say that my heart wasn't really in it," Chloe said, trying to hide his eyes behind his bangs, but they
were damp and stuck against his forehead.

"I had no idea," Aya said with a smug smile as he ran his hands down Chloe's sides and squeezed his ass, causing
Chloe to wriggle a little against him.

"I didn't exactly either," Chloe replied. "Remember, I used to top until you came along."

"Mmm ..." Aya said as used his weight to roll them both over, switching their positions so that he was once again on
top. "I know it's hard for you," he murmured as he pressed his lips against Chloe's neck, "to give up your control to
someone else. I won't abuse the privilege."

Chloe closed his eyes, shivering a little as Aya suckled at his sensitive skin. "I know you won't," he said sleepily. It felt
good to have Aya's weight on him, pressing him down after several nights of sleeping alone. I could fall asleep like
this, was his last thought before sleep claimed him, not even waking when Aya got up to clean them off before
climbing back in bed and pulling the covers over them both.