Author's note: This is a Weis Kreuz fanfic and if you are unfamiliar with WK, you probably won't enjoy this story. Secondly, this is a male-on-male or YAOI story- if you don't like that sort of thing, you should read something else. Can't say you weren't warned :)
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He must have removed his clothes sometime during the night, but he didn't remember it. Ken barely registered that he could feel the thin cotton sheet brushing across the marks on his back. He skin was overly sensitized and even the smallest brush of the fabric was like someone smacking sunburn. He was on the edge of consciousness, still mostly asleep. What had caused him to wake? There was someone pounding on his door. He pulled himself out of bed, gingerly. Every muscle in his body ached. Pain from muscles that had been restrained and tightened from panic protested his movement. He gingerly wrapped the sheet around his body and stumbled to the door to make the intruder cease the horrible noise.
Omi was standing in front of his door, preparing to knock again when it was pulled open. Ken leaned his head against the door, fighting the ache running through him. "What do you want?" He hissed out between clenched teeth.
"You were supposed to be at work an hour ago." Omi stared at him pointedly. It wasn't like Ken to miss work. It worried him.
"Oh, work. Sorry Omi, but I can't come in today. I feel like shit." He carefully kept his back out of view of his teenage team member. "Tell any protesters that I said to fuck off and leave me alone. They are fucking bastards and right now I don't want to see them." Ken's face no longer showed the emotional pain that Aya had put him through. He wasn't depressed or hurt any longer. Now he just felt anger over the callous betrayal. But he had given himself to someone else to care for and threw away the useless emotions that had been caused by Aya's breaking up with him. He had let them all pour out of his body the night before in a mixture of blood and pain. It was a relief to be rid of them. Even though he still hurt physically, the session had been a catharsis to his heart.
"Yeah Ken. I'll tell them to fuck off for you." Omi's face was so easy to read. It was sympathetic and obvious that the younger boy thought he was suffering because of his breakup with Aya. "Just take care of yourself and get some rest." He turned to leave but paused. "You know, if you need to talk. I'm here for you."
"Thanks Omi. I appreciate it, but I don't want to discuss anything now." Ken accepted Omi's gesture of friendship, the boy was always sincere with his teammates and thought of them as his family. He was almost always put in the position of peacemaker.
Ken shut his door behind the retreating figure and securely locked it. His tiny apartment consisted of a bedroom and bathroom. He had managed to cram a coffee maker, a microwave and a mini fridge into the tight space so that he could have a semblance of privacy and convenience. The team shared a common room and the kitchen but Ken didn't feel like eating at the moment. He went over to his mini fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. He chugged half of it down before deciding to take some of his prescription strength painkillers and a shower. He needed more sleep.
Aya was putting together an elaborate flower arrangement. He often did the bigger arrangements as customers appreciated his delicate artistic pieces. Yohji was to lazy to work on anything for an extended period of time, Omi did pretty well but could not quite match Aya's eye for color and Ken was just hopeless, very messy. At the moment Aya was pissed off at his former lover. Omi had to make the deliveries that the other boy was supposed to be doing leaving only himself and Yohji to wait on the horde of fangirls and customers and still try to get all the orders completed. That useless idiot could at least wait on customers and take orders. Aya did not believe for one minute that Ken was really sick. He thought it far more likely that the boy was sulking or being spiteful. He never considered the brown haired assassin's feelings to be love or even affection. To be truthful, Aya did not even care. He was just an available fuck. Yohji held far more interest for him. He was so much more complex. Being the team leader, Aya probably should have taken the dynamics of how such a relationship might affect their group, but as usual, he was focused completely on his own needs.
"I think Ken knows about us, Aya." Yohji commented from the spot he was lounging in next to the cash register. "He has been avoiding us for the past couple of days and he seemed really depressed yesterday."
"I don't care, he can pout all he wants. He is totally worthless and I wish he were someone else's problem." Aya went back to his flower arrangement.
"Damn, what did he do to you Aya? You would think he shot your pet dog or something." Yohji was surprised at Aya's harsh comments.
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Ken slept for several more hours before slowly waking up. His body was now just reacting with a dull ache. He pulled some leftover sushi out of his minifridge and considered his future. He didn't want to leave Weis. He had been with them through some horrible times and some really good times, but how could he remain in a group when he could not trust every single member and trust was absolutely necessary if they were to all survive their missions. Debating whether or not to call Birman and ask for a new assignment, he hesitated and decided to wait and see if the situation got any better.
The cell phone on his dresser started ringing. He picked it up slowly, dreading answering it and talking to the person he had pledged himself to with so little consideration. 'What the hell was I thinking? Giving myself to Farfarello of all people? Am I just as insane as he is?' But the promise was made and the responsibility accepted to back out now would probably make Farfarello hunt him down and gut him. He did not care to listen to the small voice in the back of his head that reminded him he enjoyed the attention he received and the pain had suited his purpose rather well. At the fourth ring of the phone he flipped it on and answered. "Hello master."
"Very nice pet. Do you still have your collar on?" The soft, sensual voice asked.
"Yes master."
"Good. What did you do today?"
"I slept most of the day and gave Omi a message to tell the rest of the team to go fuck themselves."
Farfarello laughed. "I wish I could have seen the expression on their faces when Omi told them that. They probably went into shock just to hear the word fuck come out of the chibi's mouth. Put enough about your stuck-up teammates. Did you eat yet?"
"Just some left over sushi, master." Ken blushed. He was astonished that Farfarello actually went through the trouble of finding out how his day went and if he was taking care of himself.
"Not good enough pet. Get ready to go out and I will meet you out front in an hour. Don't worry about your teammates. My windows are shaded so that no one can see in."
"Yes master." He said obediently. The white haired maniac hung up the phone without saying good bye.
'Why is it I can't refuse him anything? I am so easily ordered around by Farfarello and I don't know why I let him.' Most people would never have considered Ken a submissive personality, but then most people did not bother to look below the surface. It became more apparent when one studied his former relationship with Kase. How he had been willing to do anything to please his old friend. Or in his relationship with Aya. He had bent over backward trying to get Aya to acknowledge him and to return his love. Perhaps, he tried too hard in both instances. In the end, the eagerness to please his lovers may have been what ultimately caused both relationships to fail. The other men had despised what they thought of as weakness; they had used him and taken him for granted. They abused his feelings. If Ken had been more reserved he probably would have held onto his former lovers longer. His total surrender to his lovers had proven to be his downfall. However, now his submissive nature would be exactly what his dominant partner required if they were to have a successful relationship.
Ken pulled on his softest black T-shirt and pair of baggy khakis. He completely tossed aside the idea of underwear; he didn't want anything to rub on his marks. Careful not to jar his bruised body he made his way down the stairs and to the front of the shop. Yohji looked up when he entered and gave him a superior looking smirk. Ken gritted his teeth and looked around for Omi. He found his young friend in the large walk-in cooler putting away a fresh flower shipment.
"Hey, I'm going out for dinner. I don't know when I'll be back. If Birman is desperate and needs me for a mission, call my cell, otherwise I will not be available. I want to talk to you about something later." He glanced at his watch. "I have to go. See ya later." He waved and walked out the front door.
"What was that about?" Omi wondered.
Yohji stood next to Aya and gave him a nudge when he saw his former rival walk to the loading area in front of the shop. A blood red viper with dark tinted windows pulled up and the passenger door opened. Ken got inside and the car sped away.
Omi finished restocking the cooler and came out with a display of flowers for the front cooler.
"Hey, chibi, where is boy wonder off to?" Yohji voiced his curiosity.
"Not that you really care. But he has a date. I think he has a new boyfriend or maybe it's a girlfriend. He didn't say." Omi ad-libbed. He had been very aware that Aya and Yohji hooked up and that Aya had dropped Ken like a hot rock. He wasn't blind or stupid. The way Aya had been treating Ken was horrible. Aya totally played his best friend and he could only see trouble coming from it and soon.
"Hey Aya, you've been replaced." Yohji grinned over at his lover.
"It won't last. Ken is too needy for anyone to tolerate for more than a week." Was the stony answer.
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