Notes: (set after the original series but ignores Gluhen) - a bit OOC. Slightly AU. Thanks to Belle for doing the beta bit for me.

"So...You've kept it!" The voice came slightly mocking as a pale finger trailed the outlines of the ink pattern carved into his shoulder. He could hear that the other male smiled. That made him not want to look. He knew how that smile looked. Knew how it made those sensuous lips curve and reveal strong, white teeth. His eyes would be hooded. Just a glimpse of something purple, glittering violet gems under heavy lids. Long lashes covering them, silken to the touch. Silken on his skin. Butterfly kisses of pure velvet...

A shiver coiled down his spine. He prayed that the other would not see. Not notice the tremble in his hand when he lifted the drink from the table. The small waves on the drink's surface. Purple drink. Purple tide. He'd bought it because. Because...just because it was...-not purple...but good...He lifted it to his lips. Needed it now, more than ever. Now that the radiating heat from the other's body shrouded his back. Curled around him like a cloak. So close, so warm...and the finger on his shoulder that hadn't moved. A touching point, sending cascades of small lightning into his body. Fear? Yes, that could very well be it. Cold fear that that stretched itself from the pit of his stomach like a lazy cat, not being forced to use its limbs for a decade or so...not counting those nights...those nights of purple darkness. Passionate madness. Those days when his whole existence had been covered in purple madness and blood...In a sudden flash, he remembered moonbeams from the dirty window, like pale fingers, tracing his body. Coloring his purple-eyed God in a hazy shade of blue. The feel of the katana against his skin. Cool as the moonbeams, cutting through the surface, playing in his flesh. Creating a pattern, writing a name in crimson red. Carving his mark into the white canvas of his body.

"Can I sit down?" The warmth disappeared and the face he didn't want to see appeared in front of him in the dim lit club. Sat down in the red chair opposite his own. Unbidden. Uninvited. -Aya had never asked for permission for anything... And he honestly didn't think his yes or no would make any difference, not really. Aya would do as he pleased.

He tried to look away, but the purple gaze locked on him and held him in place. Forced him to trail the other's features with his eyes: The full, red lips, those high cheekbones, hair as red as blood against the pale, flawless skin... He was captured. Amazed by the sight. So very much alike, yet so different from the one he had kept in his mind the last couple of years. The picture of Aya; his own fallen pride and agony. His violator, the one that took. Because...because...he wasn't worthy the avenging angel's regard. To Aya, he was nothing. Nothing more than what could be taken...Useless piece of crap. A doll to play with, but that was ok... because... maybe he was right. What was he anyway, except for that. A minor wave on the face of the world. A red-haired devil consuming purple drinks and musing about the past...

"It's been a long time... Schuldich." The past in front of him spoke and smiled that unnerving, knowing smile. The smile that said "I know what you keep in your pants Schuldich, and I can get to it as easy as *that*." Schuldich's own lips curved in to a smile as well. Mirroring the one in front of him. The rim of the glass came up to his lips again. A cool, smooth distraction. He'd never know that purple held such fire. That amethyst had such a cutting edge. Ripping his mind apart.

"What do you want...Aya?" The name came out as a lazy whisper, he couldn't help but batting his lashes. Make a play of it...all in the unbidden guest's honor.

"Why? Can't you tell...read my mind like a book?" Aya teased back, mirth-laden steel playing in the dark pools of his eyes. He knew very well that Schuldich would never touch his head again. And why..."Are you afraid it'll backfire?" The redhead leaned over the table and spoke in a low voice. Just to rub it in, Schuldich thought and silently gritted his teeth. Suddenly he felt tired. So very, very tired.

"Just don't think it's worth the effort," he threw out. "There're no more surprises for me in there...You've revealed them all." He smiled slightly and narrowed his eyes questioningly. Daring the other to tell him differently.

"Yes..." Aya just smiled. "I guess you're right..."

Disappointment. Disappointment, pure and raw with those words. A surging anger. Frustration. Emptiness. Of course, it was all on the inside. Not a trace on his marble features. As a quick test he threw his mind in the other's direction. A probing tendril slipped inside Aya's head. Looking around for...something. Of course he found nothing. Not a trace. Nothing of that he was looking for.

"You feel very confident, Aya? Why is that?" He regretted the words the instant they were spoken. He had meant it as a token of his superiority. To show that he was still the mastermind... but - yes, even that would backfire. He knew it the moment he heard the words out loud. Of course Aya felt confident. Why shouldn't he...he sat there with him, Schuldich...the one he had beaten so effortlessly. The man that hadn't been a challenge at all. "Forget it," he mumbled and gave the waiter a sign.

Aya's grin told him clearly that the other had followed his thoughts. Like a big, sated cat, Schuldich thought. Aya's glittering eyes teased him without mercy. He should just get up and leave but...but then again, the sight of the other held him captured, as it never failed to do... So yes, he would sit there and be humiliated. Get his nose rubbed in it. Take the trash Aya would throw in his direction. Because...there was no pride left in this... In him. And quite frankly there wasn't really much else to do, but sit there...Get the picture laid out for him, the mirror pushed in front of his face...To sit there and look at what he'd become. A failure. A joke. All of it showing clearly in those purple eyes. Those knowing eyes. Eyes that knew and would never forget... So he would stay, caught by the other's presence. Sit there, and ignore the burning warmth in his chest. Battle down the memories of silken skin and firm muscles. A velvet tongue tasting his lips, pushing into his mouth with a small sigh of relief...He would forget all that and just... sit.

"Two more of those," Aya ordered when the waiter finally arrived, casually pointing to the near empty glass in Schuldich hand. "This one is on me," he smiled and cocked his head. Met Schuldich's eyes without hesitation...or shame.

"What do you want, Aya?" He could hear it himself, how some of the fear and feeling of exhaustion slipped into his voice. But wasn't really sure if he cared. He leaned himself back in the chair. Tried to look casual. Didn't know if he failed.

Aya's gaze never faltered.

"I saw you sitting here and...I just wanted to talk," he said. His elbows resting on the table. His head in one of his hands. He seemed, utterly relaxed and comfortable, Schuldich thought and sent the other an angry thought.

"Talk?" he said sourly. "And what is there to talk about? How come I've been found worthy of gracing your presence on this lovely night?" he continued and arched his eyebrows at the former Weiss member. "Shouldn't you be home taking care of your sister?" he went on. His gaze resting on Aya's hands. Not daring to move it further up. As long as he avoided looking at the eyes he would be fine. The memories wouldn't be so troublesome.

"Aya-chan is fine on her own," the other said with his calm smile in place. "And as for the talking, " he continued. "I thought that, maybe...you wanted to catch up..." The waiter arrived with their drinks. Purple, sweet liquid in tall ice-rimmed glasses. Aya pulled out a couple of bills and gave them to the young man serving them. Schuldich caught himself watching him, making sure that his eyes didn't follow the youth as he left, didn't linger longer than necessary on the hand that received the bills.... Ah! He was a sad case, he sighed inwardly and gave a quick smirk. Meeting Aya tonight...a disaster if the tower hadn't already fallen. The fight hadn't already been lost...

"You don't catch up with your enemies," he said in a sudden, unexpected outburst of anger. Hurt pride flaring to life making him bend over the table. His eyes hard slices of jade glistening under his lashes. "I could still kill you, you know. I am still the serpent..." Schuldich slowly redrew across the table, his eyes challenging Aya, determined not to yield...no matter how hot...piercing...that purple gaze was. How much it hurt to look into those eyes.

"And I..." Aya said calmly, "could kill *you*."

Schuldich felt a cold shiver run down his spine as the memory of a sharp blade pressed against the sensitive skin of his inner thigh suddenly sprang back to life, disturbingly vivid and clear.

"Is that what you wanted to talk about?" Schuldich smiled a lazy smile. Lifted his glass of toxic violet to his mouth. So sweet... and so bitter. "About killing me?" At least that would be familiar ground, he thought, and swallowed down the alcohol.

"No," Aya said with a smile. "That has never proven to be... necessary..." A teasing expression spread on his lovely features. Gave him an almost boyish charm.

"Sometimes I wish that you had," Schuldich sighed and let his gaze fall to the table separating them. "Instead of..." He sighed lightly, blamed the alcohol for saying more than he'd planned.

"Nooo..." Aya's laughter was almost a giggle. Made Schuldich realize that the other man had had his share of drinks tonight as well. Just great, a slightly drunk Aya... just what he needed...

"Was I that bad?" Aya continued. His eyes shining and his face flushed from laughter. "It couldn't be worse than death!" He grinned. Still having that young, almost innocent look on his face. So different from the stern expression, the bitter, hardness that used to radiate from him in the past. Always brooding, always so cold...except for on those nights...-You have no idea, Schuldich thought bitterly, death would have been merciful - compared to what you did to me...

"I thought you liked it." Aya winked at him across the table. Forced the bitter smile back on his lips. Aya knew, just as well as he did, exactly what had happened back then. Speaking of it like they had just shared a night of passion was nothing but mockery. A way of proving his superiority. Schuldich started to believe he could see the outlines of a motive behind those purple eyes. A reason for this sudden friendliness: A drunken attempt at having fun, all at Schuldich's expense. Yes, he was really going to have his nose rubbed in it this time. If Aya kept this up all he had left of dignity would be lost by the end of the night. Still he just gave an ironic smirk and emptied his glass. Hoped that the strong drink would reach his mind. Shroud it in alcohol, drape it in purple. Not dreams this time but harsh, cold reality... Reality smiling questioningly at him from over the drink.

"Why don't you just leave?" Aya suddenly asked. "If I bother you...why don't you just leave? Is it because you were here first?" The other man's good mood was unnerving. The teasing smile a constant insult. Still, the question remained...and how to answer it...?

"And spoil your fun?" he tried. "I have such a soft heart...wouldn't ruin your night, Fujimiya..." He trailed off. How could he explain, even to himself, that despite the living humiliation that Aya way, he already dreaded the moment when Aya decided he'd had his fun and left Left him broken. Even more so than before.He lifted his hands and to brush his heavy, red hair away from his shoulders. Instantly and unexpectedly, a thought pierced through the air and caught in his mind. Aya's voice, loud and clear:

*I should be doing that for you*

An image flashed through his head; showing Aya's pale fingers tangled in his own, long, wavy locks. Gently lifting it away, the fingers brushing his neck as they moved. Aya's face so close. His breath on his skin, a soft draft of air - then it was gone.

"Stop it!" Schuldich's voice was strangled. He covered his eyes with his hands. "No more of that..." he said. He wanted to scream. Demand an answer...why? -But then again his former deeds involving the man made the question useless. There were so many reasons, so many answers. Aya could just pick and choose and justify every second of torment he unleashed on him.

"Want to see if you still can? Is that it?" he asked at last. "Will it make you feel good to know that you can?" Schuldich rubbed his eyes slightly before removing his hands. His green gaze met Aya's glittering one. "Well, you can." Schuldich said at last. "You can still do it. Are you happy?"

II

No light but the moon. A pale lantern on the dark sky. The night he first saw Aya, really saw him, - for the first time. Of course he *knew* him. They'd met face-to-face countless times before, being archenemies and all - he'd even flirted with him, in his own vicious way. But the graceful shadow took a real form that night. The face of carved marble, luscious lips and hooded eyes took shape and burned itself into his mind. The prey became a man. Not much more than any other man, but still a face with something more attached to it. That something being Schuldich's admiration... and not in a very noble way. The other redhead caught his fancy. Simple as that. He sat in the car, out stalking a target when Weiss showed up and suddenly, as he watched the lovely Aya from a distance he caught himself wishing that he would take his coat off, got curious about what was to be found underneath all the burgundy leather and silver clasps. He watched as the assassin slid through the shadows, katana unsheathed and held in both hands as he moved like a cat through the dark. So graceful, Schuldich had thought. So well built and firm, so much strength in those graceful limbs... So yes, it was desire...

That night marked the beginning of a dream, he lost himself in a naughty fantasy about sliding his arms around that narrow waist, feel his naked back against his chest. Firm buttocks grinding against... something hard and warm and eager... -He had wanted Aya, simple as that... Of course, he'd been aware that it was just a dream. Not even that, a fantasy... nothing more. A thought to play with when he lay in bed, safe behind heavy curtains, keeping the sun and the night out. When the murmurs and the voices couldn't reach him because of those secret little pills he took. Purple as Aya's eyes. A chemical bridge to peaceful bliss... When his own dreams, nobody else's, flooded his mind. Took control. Spun a web of images...then he would have Aya there. His teeth would catch and his tongue play with hard nipples, Aya's soft murmurs would sound in his ears and that lovely body would be pressed against his own. Every strong limb coiled around him, arms would slide down his back, legs would part and let him in... Soft sighs and purple eyes, shrouded and blurred with passion. Moist, full lips would scream his name over and over again...-Yes, it was safe to say he had wanted Aya.... But Schuldich had wanted many men, and some unfortunate women. It didn't mean he was developing a soft spot for the man. It just meant... that his body reacted to him. Nothing more. And if things had gone as they should, nothing would have come of it and another male would have taken his place in Schuldich's dreams. Aya was the enemy after all... And the picture of him dead didn't grieve him, not at all...although he wouldn't mind having some private quality time with the redhead before death occurred...

That night, outside the chosen target's house, he had watched as the Weiss member met up with Omi, the little blonde one, and silently walked off. Since the target was still alive the next day he'd assumed that they'd done something boring, like -stealing data or documents. He'd been a spider that man, a foot in every camp...until someone had put a knife in his eye and a bullet in his brain...- He never found out if Weiss had known that he was there that night, just ignoring him, or if they'd been oblivious to his presence. Knowing Aya however, the latter was hardly an option...

Still, the next time they met Weiss, he couldn't help but focusing his energy solely on Aya. Not as a part of a war this time but to feel the man's insides... just *feel* him, don't touch anything, just be there. It was an experiment, really. He knew that whatever he would find inside that gorgeous head, it would be nothing like his dream image of him. It would be completely different and maybe even tear the picture, the dream, apart... That was ok, for he didn't treasure his dreams. They just were... He was curious though, for the somber expression, the bitter lines that molded the Weiss leader's face into a cold mask had always held a certain fascination. It was rare, Schuldich hardly ever found anything interesting, least of all fascinating... So maybe what he saw in Aya was a challenge. A curious need to break that surface, pound inside.

They had been to a horserace of all things. Schuldich had been close to the judges' box with Crawford, silently manipulating them to overlook certain circumstances. A crappy job really, but you don't bite the hand that feeds you, even if he'd felt a certain urge to let the veils fall and reveal the truth, just for the fun of it. Crawford's presence however, held him in check. Why Weiss was there he didn't know. Didn't care. As soon as he realized their focus was on the audience, on a grey-clad male of no significance for Schwartz, he let them be. As did Crawford.

It had only been two of them at first. The dark one, the athlete -and blondie-boy again. - Of course, he should have known that Aya was right around the corner... To say that his concentration didn't falter, that he didn't lose himself in a wide grin when he realized that the somber knight had left his coat at home this time would be lie. He truly appreciated the sight of all he had longed to see. The muscles moving under the fabric of his blue jeans. The long, slender legs, broad shoulders over narrow hips...oh yes, the boy was a delightful sight indeed...

As soon as *their* race was over, and with it the job, he moved closer to have a better look. Crawford joined him, for completely different reasons of course. He had wanted to know what the boys were up to; Schuldich just wanted fuel for his imagination. That, and a little peek inside....

"Find out what they're doing here..." Crawford's low voice demanded and Schuldich obeyed the order eagerly. They'd move closer, but were still a couple of rows above Weiss, half-hidden in the shadows from a roof. He had focused on Aya, of course. The two others could just as well not have been there. Silently, he moved into the serious young man's head, looking around...

"It has to do with drugs," he murmured as Aya's thoughts, the feel of him, embraced his mind. Having him like this, it felt like having melted chocolate poured down his throat, his body covered in velvet. That mind... with its shards of broken glass, that icy landscape of pure control. Still with that... glow... to it. Depth... Deep water. Dark and surprisingly warm...

"Nothing you need to bother your pretty head with, " he said at last. Voice lazy, slightly arrogant. "He is nothing to us... It's that man over there," he nodded with his head. Then his focus moved back on Aya...Time for pleasure, he thought and delved in without a plan, - stupid move that...

Suddenly the purple-eyed yummy treat's head spun around in his direction. A piercing gaze met his for a brief second. A brief second that was enough. Enough for Aya's lips to curl into a smile, *that* smile that he had later learned to dread, and an image to hit his brain like a bullet, spread itself out in all its glory: Aya naked and on his knees sucking him off. His hands cupping his ass, caressing his buttocks while swallowing him down to the hilt. Tongue playing over strained flesh, eyes hidden under heavy lashes. Sounds of pleasure filling the air. His own fingers tangled in soft, red hair. Hair he didn't have the slightest idea of how would feel under his hands, but Aya knew, and Aya told him... Told him with the power of his mind, turned it all back on him. - Schuldich was stunned. And needless to say, completely caught off his guard.

If Crawford hadn't caught his sleeve, motioned for them to move on he would perhaps have just stood there for a while. Moping like a dork. Wide eyes and open mouth. The image had been so disturbingly vivid. He imagined he could smell Aya's scent in the air, feel the flutter of his eyelashes on the skin of his hip. Feel the hard insides of his palms on his ass... It made his heart race, yes, but not from excitement. Not that it wasn't a delightful image, but more than that it was disturbingly scary and told him clearly that he had indeed underestimated the man. It was not just that pretty body that was trained to perfection...The mental control of the other was stunning. Impressive. And doubtlessly a threat... Hadn't Aya smiled that little, unnerving smile before flashing off the image, Schuldich would perhaps have thought it to be a victory. Maybe even a dream come true. A prove, beyond doubt, that the attraction was mutual, that the Weiss leader was actually having deliciously dirty fantasies of his own. As it was, the act was doubtlessly deliberate. A mockery if anything, except for pure malice... Now, why hadn't Aya exercised this particular type of mental control before? Schuldich thought as he moved beyond Crawford on shaky legs, moved through the crowd, too occupied to pay them any attention, too heated inside to hear them clearly. If a hostile killer had stood behind a corner he wouldn't have known... His thoughts were solely focused on Aya, and what the hell to make of that little display of his. First of all, the serious warrior had never struck him as the kind of man who liked to play games, especially not of such... wicked... nature. Secondly; although he had always been focused, the ability to so quickly and effectively throw such a living image at him... And of a kind that made Schuldich catch himself wondering if there had been anything in his own behavior that had given his secret attraction away, even before he was aware of the desire himself... The thought was scary and colored with shame, - and anger.*He* was the mind reader, wasn't he? Not that sexy, purple-eyed brat. A certain tightness in his pants told him more clearly than anything exactly how successful the Weiss attack had been. He gritted his teeth in humiliation and agony as he followed Crawford to the car. How could he have let this happen? He had completely lost control, and that in his own game... It had to have to do with the return of his sister, Schuldich decided at last. Maybe he was finally starting to relax, let some of the pent up anger go... And when he didn't have to focus on revenge anymore...? -The thought was scary... There was no personal motives left to fuel the man, all that energy unleashed, and obviously mixed with a throughout wicked sense of humor... He did most definitely not like this new Aya.

Crawford of course hadn't noticed anything, but the again Schuldich was good at keeping secrets, especially his own. He was still thinking about Aya, the picture of those red, soft lips wrapped around him, the feel of that caressing tongue, when they arrived in front of what was currently the Schwartz building. The image was not a new one, but still so very different. Because it was conjured up in Aya's mind and not his own. Hadn't he known better he would have accused the Weiss leader of having planned it all, it had been so clear, so full of details...Maybe it was a coincident he thought, a coincident that he fired the shot at someone that had actually been suffering from nightly fantasies about the man. Or maybe it *had* been planned. Maybe he had thought it out as a defense against him, Schuldich, to put him off the next time he tried to get in to his mind. That sounded plausible. And the boy had been alert, ready to fire when he felt the other's presence enter. A presence he wouldn't have felt all if Schuldich had been a bit more careful... However, as things were, he chose to believe the latter. The possibility that Aya knew about his secret admiration of his ass was too embarrassing to bear. Strange thing that... he usually didn't care, desire could be such a powerful tool, be it his own or the victim's. But in this particular case he would prefer for it to remain just that, a secret. A thought to play with...

If nothing else the scene had given his nightly fantasies a new dimension... Taste and flavor. - And since they weren't fighting Weiss at the time, something Schuldich was extremely grateful for considering that an attack like that could be fatal, for him, in a fighting situation, - he decided to lock those disturbing suspicions away in a closed chamber of his mind. He had many of those. One more didn't matter.

His restlessness had increased, unbelievable but true, the following days. He felt slightly feverish and unable to sit still. Aya was a constant presence in his mind, a silent torture. The fantasy balanced on the brink of actual want, - and if it came to actual want, Schuldich knew he would be fucked, and not in the literary sense of the word. It was all Aya's fault though. Teasing him like that...what did he expect? Did he even know that Schuldich was gay? Was Aya at all gay? Or did he have a girlfriend somewhere? It seemed impossible that a lovely creature like Aya would spend his nights alone... Schuldich felt a sudden urge to find and destroy whatever it was that graced Aya's bed at night... Maybe it was Yohji, the tall guy with the honey blonde hair. The thought sent raging fires of jealousy through his body and he knew in that instant that this whole affair would eventually drive him insane... The voices... the murmurs, bothered him more than usual, sent him into fits of hysterical rage and the purple pills were consumed even at times when he was supposed to be strong and alert. He hated that one man could do this to him. Make him so weak, so out of control...made him want to shred Aya's mind apart in one second and puzzle it back together and nurture it in the next. Against his will he'd had to admit that it was a question of respect as well, mingled with the lust. Never before had someone so effectively put him off. Caught him by surprise like that. He had always counted Weiss, and their vengeful leader in particular, as one of their very few serious threats. A challenge more than anything. Easily beaten prey held no charm in Schuldich's opinion... But Aya... Aya had always been merciless, cold, strong... Worth a fight. Worth a risk. To fight him a rush, a powerful kick inside. And now; another kind of rush when he pictured the beautiful assassin. It made him angry. And confused.... He was almost offended that Aya walked around out there and knew nothing of the hell he was going through, what he had unleashed. On the other hand he was grateful beyond imagination that he didn't, know, - how he felt.

Murderous images of Aya's dead body, ripped open and covered in blood when he felt angry. The same pale body pretty tied up and ready to be consumed by his hands when he felt good. And always... always... Aya's own scenario played on repeat over and over again. Never fading, still as vivid and clear as the first day. Not even the occasional fuck helped. He kept pretending that his bedmate had purple eyes and a hair so red it made his own look dull and lifeless.

His teammates proved no comfort, of course. Too wrapped up in their own torment and misery to really notice each other. But that was ok...Who needed comfort anyway? Besides, if they'd known about this incident cold mirth would have been the only response. Schuldich had let down his guard and paid for it. Just as it should be in their twisted sense of fairness. Schuldich wasn't twisted. Not really, he just had too many people in his head. Too many voices to sort out. But there was a core there...always at the breaking point, balancing a fine line - but still there. A something that was him, tasted like him...and it was this core Aya had infected with his purple presence. Consumed with a wicked glance... He was slipping out of control and he knew it. Why this man had such an overwhelming effect on him, however- he had no idea... and it didn't really matter. It was as it was and he was out of control when it came to him. Not even violence, the smell of crimson red and all the power it held could keep the images at bay, soothe his confusion, not this time. When he realized he didn't even trust himself to fight him properly, when he realized that fear had overshadowed the thrilling challenge it was to meet him in a battle, he made the only right decision: He would never see Aya again. He would avoid him at all costs. Not even think of him until the fever in his blood was gone... Of course, God had never been his friend and fate never merciful. Cruel as his destiny was, that was not going to happen...

III

They had been warned up front that Weiss would be there. To protect the life they were about to take of course. This was still Weiss and Schwartz. Even though the questionable aspects of the white side's morals never ceased to amuse Schuldich. They were tainted those angels, - yes they were... *His* angel as well. His blood red angel of dreadful revenge. Somehow he found it romantic, although tragic, for him... Since *his* angel wasn't his at all and would probably never be. He didn't even trust himself to fight him properly so to take what he wanted what was really not an option either. Sad but true... Caught in a cage of dreams that could never come true... He silently cursed God and made idle threats towards destiny about keeping Aya out of his sight as their car silently parked outside the mansion where the target lived. It was a big house surrounded by tall trees and dark shadows. Not a person in sight. No city lights either, which was sad. The lights from the city would have been comforting somehow. If this got too painful he could always drown himself in sounds, in people and their stupid, boring and plain thoughts. If he lived through the night that was to come. The thought of seeing Aya made him nervous. Made his walls falter. He had to press his fingertips to his temples as to regain focus. Keep the noises out. He really wanted a couple of those pills, but didn't dare. Too much at stake. Maybe even his own life.... If he saw Aya...

Of course he saw Aya. Aya was the first person that he saw when they entered the gate of the mansion. Jumped by Weiss, stupid but not irreversible. Not usually... He could see from the crook of his eyes that the other Weiss attacked the other Schwartz members, but Aya came straight for him, deliberately - no doubt. Airborn from a tiled roof, katana unsheathed and his gaze fixed on Schuldich. He heard more than saw the arrows that pierced the air, heard a gun somewhere to his right but all his focus suddenly had but only target. The face in front of him... everything he remembered, -and then some... Caught by surprise, once again, he made an idle attempt of escape. Not from the fight, but from *him*. The smug face in front of him. Confident and cruel. The lazy smirk on his lips, that gaze that didn't falter, just continued to stare him down, make his heart catch in his throat.

"You!" He burst out and turned around, it was pure instinct. - A sudden need to run, not from the attacker but from the object of his affections, but Aya was one step ahead of him, this time. Because instead of probing his mind and figure out the next move, Schuldich had been busy shielding himself from the other, - it was doomed to give the other the upper hand. He tried to run, but couldn't...because a sharp blade was suddenly pressed against his throat, effectively trapping him, holding him in place. So -yes, he had foreseen that this could end with disaster on his part but hadn't thought that one moment would be enough. One look to be all it took to lose the game. But it had. Because he had freaked. Lost himself to panic. And failed.

"Me? Yes, are you surprised?" Aya's dark voice sounded in his ear, red hair brushed his cheek. The other's breath on his skin. So hot and sweet.

"Not really," Schuldich answered truthfully enough. He'd had a bad feeling about this mission from the start.

"Missed me, have you?" Aya's voice purred in his ear, brushing velvet over his skin. "This is not like you..." he continued. "You're usually more fun than this... Schuldich..." The last word came as a husky whisper and Schuldich could to his utter horror feel a finger trail his spine through the fabric of his coat.

"And Aya, " he tried. Kept his voice under control with an act of will. "This is not usually your game..." he purred back and pushed his hips backwards to connect with the other's body. Tried to cover up the shiver and the thrill he felt with the act.

Aya's laughter crept over his skin like a silken caress. Set his blood on fire with its dark and suggestive tone.

"And what do you know about that?" Aya whispered in reply. "Maybe I'm good at it...-this game," he said and ground his hips hard against Schuldich. Moving against his rear while holding him in place with the katana. His other hand came to rest on Schuldich's hip and Schuldich instantly grabbed it, to pry it away, he had thought. But then their skin connected, and it just didn't happen. Instead his hand closed on top of the other's. Resting there while Aya's thumb moved in small, possessive circles. His breath still tickled Schuldich's ear and his hips still pushed against the other's backside.

"Kill me!" he forced out between gritted teeth. "Just go ahead and kill me!" he begged. But Aya just laughed.

It was then, to his utter relief he finally had some use of his teammates. Suddenly the katana flew up in the air; Nagi had doubtlessly caught Aya in a moment's distraction. Anyway, it meant that he was at least temporarily free from his painfully pleasurable prison. He gave Nagi a quick smirk and quickly moved out of the other's embrace, diving for the katana. Aya beat him to it though, but it was just luck, nothing more. Schuldich was not about to lose it again this night. He cleared his mind of nothing but survival and turned to face his opponent. Eyes narrowed into slits of green. Smile back on his lips. He was not about to fail a second time. He tried to reach out for Nagi's mind. Maybe they could switch positions. His first priority was to get away from the dangerous creature in front of him. But his lucky star didn't twinkle and instead he got a direct order:

"Stay here, watch him! " Crawford's glasses blinked in the light from the moon as he hurried past him. "We're going in."

At the same time he heard Aya shout over his shoulder:

"Follow them, I'll keep this one outside!" Then he turned to Schuldich with an almost feral grin on his face and suddenly - they were alone in the alley leading up to the house.

"Alone at last," Aya smirked but Schuldich was not in the mood for games. He was angry. Angry and confused. This damn night seemed to be bloody cursed and the lack of control over the circumstances and events were about to choke him. Send him out on a spinning trip to hell and back, make his head fucking burst to pieces.

"Get the hell away from me!" he screamed at Aya... But Aya didn't move. "Get out of my way!" he screamed again. Aya just looked at him. Daring him to come closer. The wind caught in the leather of his coat, made it float around his body, it tussled his hair as well, and with the naked katana in hand he looked terrifying... terrifyingly cruel and sexy beyond belief.

That was it, Schuldich thought. He had to get into that head to find out what was going on. For all his pride's sake he could not back off and move outside the gate... And his speed would do him no good unless he knew what the other was thinking. He was set to watch him, prevent him from reaching the house. Aya would probably keep him out as well, but was also loyal enough to maybe try and disarm him, tie him up or kill him and continue to the house to help his precious mates... He had no choice but to search his mind. He closed his eyes for a second, tried to control his beating heart. Ignore the cold sweat that poured out on his skin. The hammering rage in his chest. Then he entered Aya's thoughts... Just to find himself naked and sprawled on the ground with Aya between his thighs, legs tangled, arms entwined. Soft murmurs that filled the air between them and a piece of rock hard flesh moving without mercy inside of him.

He gasped and quickly redrew from the other's head, tried to let the images fade. Lifted his fingers to his head and rubbed his temples. He had thought of it, of course, maybe even expected it, that Aya would pull the same trick on him again... Still it completely threw him off... Threw him off and... amazed him. It was a purple shower, purple tide, throwing it all back at him, moving through his head, taking everything with it as it went. Aya's presence, the feel of him came close up to possession. The images so vivid he could smell it... feel it... Feel his own body tighten in response, as if he truly had the other man's cock buried in his ass... His lips nuzzling on his neck... The picture of Aya naked in moonlight. His hard nipples so dark they looked almost black. Marble skin softly shining in the dim light. He could smell the grass they were lying on. Feel the moisture on his back... - Slowly he lifted his gaze to meet Aya's.

"What's wrong? Didn't you like what you saw?" Aya asked teasingly and Schuldich dived back in. Catch him by surprise he thought, that would do it, take everything he wanted then move back out before those deliciously wicked images could form. Just slam in and get it... - of course he was sadly mistaken. The scenario was different but the theme was still the same. Only this time he was on his fours. Aya on his knees behind him holding him in place with a strong grip on sweat slick hips. He heard the sounds coming from his own lips, Aya's soft replies. Felt how his knees buckled under the other's weight, the straining flesh between his own thighs, silently begging the other for more, worshiping its twin inside... Fantasy-Aya bent over his back and lifted his long hair away from his ear: "You make such a lovely bitch," he murmured and kissed his shoulder tenderly. In Aya's imagination the remark made him arch his back against the other. Spread his legs even more.

"Want to play another game?" The real Aya suddenly spoke, all too close to his ear... - Oh yes, he had done it. He had lost himself in Aya's mind. Stood there like zombie, caught in the dream scenario unfolding while the other man moved in. Fooled, tricked... been plain stupid. And when dealing with Aya Fujimiya stupidity was something you couldn't afford... Now the katana was back on his throat. Lightly piercing his skin while the purple gaze met his. Teasing, yes - but surprisingly gentle. Scarily so... Schuldich was too flabbergasted to be afraid though. He was thrown off... shocked... stunned. But not afraid, not yet.

"What do you want?" he asked bitterly. Swallowing hard but not breaking their stare.

"I want to fulfill my promise," Aya smiled sweetly. "I have waited a long time for this..."

"For what?" Schuldich replied. He wished the other could just slit his throat and be done with it.

"Step backwards," Aya demanded, ignoring his last remark. With the katana still resting against his skin and Aya's gaze buried in his, he slowly moved in amongst the trunks surrounding the gate to the property. He could feel the grass under his feet but didn't dare to look, afraid to look away from Aya's eyes. Suddenly the katana disappeared and Aya's hand came in its place, grabbing his collar. He slammed the other into the nearest trunk, then the sharp blade was back again. Hardly giving him room to breath. "This will do," Aya smirked at him. Eyes only inches from his own. Cold fear came seeping in now, mingled with something else... a hint of expectation, excitement... a desire, red and heavy - shrouding his mind like a thick curtain... and it was all *his* fault of course... Aya's...

Without moving his eyes away from Schuldich's, Aya's free hand moved down his torso, gently unbuttoning his coat. Fingers moved in under the fabric, stroke over the slick texture of his shirt. Aya smiled. Schuldich's breath came heavily.

"Now, don't move," Aya warned and unbuttoned three of the buttons. Schuldich gave a light shrug when he felt Aya's fingers on his stomach. Moving up, across his chest. Catching a nipple between two fingers, rolling it gently and forcing a gasp from the owner. Aya still smiled... but his eyes held a challenge now. Daring him to play along.

His hand moved down again, leaving an electric trail where his fingers traced his skin, came to rest on the top of his pants, playing with the black button there. Lips twitching teasingly... But instead of opening it, his hand slid over the fabric, lower, to catch and caress the bulging hardness resting there. The shiver couldn't be denied this time. Neither could the slight moan, the outburst of sudden bliss that exploded from Schuldich's throat. The involuntary movement that shoved his hips into closer contact with that hand. Pressed against it while he threw his head back as far as it went before coming to rest against the wood.

"I knew you would feel the same way," Aya murmured and moved closer. Pressing his own body lightly against the other. The katana moved away from his throat, trailing his outline before stopping right over his crotch, caught between the two men's bodies. "I'm going to kiss you now," Aya said. His eyes had still not left the other's. "If you bite, *this* will bite," he warned and pressed the katana to his thigh. Schuldich could feel how the fabric almost melted away under the sharp blade, no sound, just a sudden draft of air and a feel of something cold told him that the sword had cut through the rough texture and was now resting against his bare skin, a light pressure on a pounding arterie. Then Aya's lips were upon his. Soft, moist lips pressed against his own. A pink tongue trailed the outlines and a hand came to cup the side of his jaw, holding his head in place as the probing tongue sneaked inside his mouth, separated his lips and slipped inside...It was a good kiss. Powerful and sweet. Schuldich never even considered resistance when Aya's pink tongue found his own, caressed it and played with it. Sucked gently at the sensitive piece of flesh. He moaned lowly into Aya's mouth, gained a soft chuckle in return as Aya's lips continued to rub against his own. His tongue continued to touch and taste, giving him Aya's flavor to play with. Savor and cherish, delve into...

When the kiss finally ended Aya's lips were swollen and moist, glistening in the moonlit night. Slowly, without moving either his gaze or his katana he started to move down Schuldich body, slide against where he could. This time he undid the black button, reached inside and pulled out what he'd found. Letting the strained flesh out of its confines while moving the katana in an elegant sweep so that the tip again rested on his throat. Then, at last he let his gaze down to look at what he held in his hand. Small shivers passed through Schuldich's body. The razor sharp blade meant nothing to him. Aya's hand did. Aya's hand moving up and down his shaft, forcing beads of liquid to gather at the tip. It was a trick, his mind protested. The Weiss leader wanted something but what? The thoughts held no real power though. Only Aya's hand did. Aya's hand and the soft, warmth of his mouth that suddenly embraced him, made him scream out and jerk his hips forward. Push himself in between the luscious lips, past those rows of even teeth to be sucked into a hot velvet cave and be greeted by a eager, moist tongue. Hot and damp and incredibly sweet the feel of it as he was sucked down Aya's throat and caressed by strong muscles on the way back up, - appeared shiny and moist on the outside, before disappearing back in behind those red, full lips. Being given the treatment all over again...Aya's head moved over his shaft, sucked him in as he went. And he was fast. In no time he had picked up a speed that left Schuldich's head spinning, his knees weak. Aya sucked him into oblivion, into another dimension. A dimension of Aya and Aya's mouth. He was reduced to that bundle of nerves, the blood and straining flesh between his thighs, all that mattered those two human parts: The cock and the mouth sucking it. Without giving the katana a second thought he moved his hands to rest on Aya's head. His fingers finally felt the softness of the dark red hair. Tangled in it, followed Aya's movements with his hands. He could hear sounds coming from his mouth. Soft screams of pleasure mingled with his steady moans as Aya continued to move his head. Suck him in, hard. All too fast his muscles tightened and the almost unbearable tension built in his groin. With a couple of rapid thrusts that made the katana slide through his skin and into his flesh he came in Aya's mouth, spilled himself down his throat with a deep sigh of relief...Then...it was over. Dizzy and slightly sick Schuldich leaned against the tree. Still breathing heavily, sweat drenching his clothes, quickly cooling in the chill night air. Aya removed the threat from his neck and quickly rose to his feet. With a swift smirk he wiped the moist from his lips with the back of his hand and winked at him. Then he turned around and was gone. Swallowed by the shadows from the trees. Leaving Schuldich a breathless, shivering, bloodied wreck. Breathless and shivering but deeply sated... ruined pants and all...

IV

After the satisfaction came frustration, of course. Bewilderment simply didn't suit him. And he had no idea what had happened that night. No idea why...Some kind of neatly laid out plan, a trap set especially for him? He didn't think sexual performances like that was a part of Aya's job description... Love your enemy, suck him off! - No, didn't sound like Aya's line -at all.

Was it because he *could*? Because Aya had discovered that breech in Schuldich's defenses and found it amusing to play with him? Yes, it sounded more likely. And left Schuldich the utter fool...Disarmed, disgraced, discarded... Not even worth the killing blow. No more a threat, because Aya knew how to deal with him. How to push his buttons and bring him down...Calculating and cold he knew exactly how to hurt him the most. Schuldich strongly suspected that Aya's vengeful demon still held a party somewhere, and that the seduction had been one of the party treats...A warming up for the final feast. He wished that he had just killed him instead. A part of him had always longed for death and this last humiliation; not only to reveal his hunger for the enemy's touch but to actually be seduced with his own weapon - on a mission... It didn't make the thought of it, the dream of the end, less tempting.

Worst part was, of course, that he couldn't stop thinking about it. Couldn't stop thinking about *him*. At first he had hoped that the release of the sexual tension would be enough, that Aya had accidentally done him a favor and that there was no way he would fall for those mind tricks again. He had had spilled himself down Aya's throat. Had felt that soft hair under his touch... what more was there? Therefore he'd been in a very good mood when he met up with Schwartz and drove home. He was blamed, of course, for the mission's failure, he hadn't managed to keep Aya out of the house, but he didn't really care... He was glad though that he had some ripped clothes and rather nasty wounds to show off. Made it easier to explain, get it over with it... Truth be told though, he'd had to admit to himself later that night: It had been a hell of blow job. The best kind... Aya most certainly knew how to play the game, about that, there was no doubt... He replayed the scene is his mind. Compared fantasy to reality and concluded that the real Aya could beat fantasy-Aya any time. The real Aya held an edge, a violent passion that the other did not. The real Aya was even worse than the imaginary one that had tormented him for weeks... The real Aya was pure poison flooding his mind...

He'd stood in front of the mirror that night, contemplating. Looked in to his own eyes, tried to reach for the mind inside. Searched his face for traces. Shades of purple in his eyes. The wounds were still there, his cock was sore and aching, in a not too unpleasant way. He still felt the scratches from Aya's nails...He remembered the other's words about how he was to fulfill his promise and a cold shiver ran down his spine. A mixture of lust and hard, aching fear... For if all the visions he'd thrown at him were meant as promises... Then, he was seriously fucked... Or maybe he just meant to keep him on the edge. Control him by playing at his wishes. Keep him from killing him by wooing his carnal instincts...keep him there, but no further. Worst part was, the other had already won. Could he kill Aya now? - If chances were he could maybe have another go with the redhead...he should, of course... kill him, remove the threat before things got even more out of hand... But could he? - If he remember the feel of his lips, the taste of their kiss, the power of his all too pleasurable attack? - Could he pull the trigger, if chances were it could happen again? And if it didn't... And if he couldn't - kill... then Aya would always have the upper hand. Know exactly what to do... Unless Schuldich came up with a defense pretty fast he'd always be at his mercy... always be the victim when dealing with Aya... Because the desire had not died out with the flood, it had increased, become fire.

The feeling of haplessness overwhelmed him, triggered his rage. With a loud scream he grabbed the few items within his reach, a bottle of shampoo and a hairbrush and threw them into the mirror. Crushed his own face, created a spider web pattern across his features. He felt a strong urge to kill someone, torture them with idle dreams, twisted truths...lies. Feel blood on his hands, not merciful but cruel. Blood red as Aya's hair, covering his hands... It all came back to him, didn't it? All his thoughts were twisted around, backfired, turned on him... until all he could think of, all he could breathe was Aya. Aya's name on his lips, Aya's touch on his skin. Aya's tongue playing with his own. Aya's scent of roses and musk mingled and draped in his own of dark spices... All was Aya, all was *him*! - And Schuldich would not have it... Yet, there was really nothing he could do was there? Except for continue to avoid him. Avoid that weakness, that living, breathing insult to his pride.

He wondered what Aya had seen when he moved in to kiss him. Had he pictured him as someone else? His lover? Yohji? - Or had he seen victory when his eyes had locked in his. An enemy defeated...? What had he seen? Something he could have, yes...but what else? Aya was beautiful, Aya could have many guys...just the fact that he could was hardly enough. Had he seen a toy, something he could play with and break and not feel guilty? - It was likely. It was likely and cruel and all too true. No one would mourn him when he was gone...

Aya's fuck toy...Well, a little voice whispered, there were certainly far worse things in world he could endure, crueler fates than that... still the thought scared him senseless... and he realized that to him, it wasn't... nothing could be worse. In a final attempt of self-preservation he decided that Aya *had* to die. He would have to kill Aya or die while trying. Eliminate the threat or destroy himself, regain control somehow...because this... this... was torture... Still he grieved the loss when the hot water from the shower rinsed Aya's scent from his skin.

So, at last, they stood there. Schuldich had a gun in his hand. The gun was pointed at Aya. Funny thing was; Aya wasn't even supposed to be there. Had nothing to do with the mission. Their target was pure scum, no one Aya would never waste time on. So why he was there, in the abandoned building by the docks, wading through old beer cans and other crap left by former inhabitants, Schuldich had no idea. And quite frankly he didn't care either. For he was there, and within shooting range... and that was all that mattered.

It had been over a month and Schuldich was able to at least act calm again even if his insides were on fire. Consumed by burning hatred,- and burning heat. Seeing him again sent lightings of lust and dread through his entire being. But the hand that held the gun was steady.

"Schuldich..." Aya's eyes trailed him. And at least his killer would be dashing, Schuldich thought, maybe it had been a sign from above, or more likely the other direction, that he'd chosen this particular outfit today. The day he was to execute his tormentor and one time lover. He would do the deed with style, and Aya would have something pretty to look at before his eyes closed forever. Detached him from this world and its miseries.

His pants were black and so was his coat with a tiger stripe patterned linings; he wore black leather gloves and a white shirt and around his neck a purple scarf that completed the outfit, lifted it above average. And yes, maybe, he *had* chosen purple - to remember Aya's eyes, but how appropriate then, wouldn't it be to close those eyes forever. Give him restful peace?

Aya had fittingly enough worn a red sweater on this day. Shockingly red, and beautiful against the darker shade of his hair... the pale complexion of his skin... No leather today, just that: The red sweater and a pair of light blue jeans. The katana was there but sheathed in Aya's hand...He was not dressed for work, so what was he doing there? And more importantly what was he doing in this specific building, appearing out of nowhere in front of him in the empty storage room... He didn't even know if this was the right place, his teammates were busy searching elsewhere... There was only one answer to the question...

"Did you follow me here?" he asked gently. His finger resting on the trigger.

"Yes," Aya answered calmly. His expression serious. No teasing in his eyes this time.

"Stupid move, Aya," Schuldich hissed and narrowed his eyes. "I will have to kill you, you realize that?" Oh it felt good to play it his way for a change. To set the rules, know the outcome...

Something flared to life in Aya's eyes. A hint of humor and something else...

"It's not like you haven't tried before," his voice was confident but held a question...A fluttering doubt that warmed Schuldich's heart.

"That was then, " he said simply. "This is now..."

"Don't you want to know *why* I followed you here?" Aya interrupted.Schuldich swallowed hard. Of course he wanted to know, and of course he didn't...He couldn't falter, not even a second, for then he'd be lost inside Aya again.

"I tasted so good you can't wait to have my cock back down your throat?" he tried. Put all his effort into making his voice sound as mockingly cold as possible.

"Maybe, " Aya smiled. The insult bouncing off against his smooth confidence.

"You look lovely on your knees, Aya," Schuldich continued, deliberately ignoring the other's reply. "But it won't help you this time..." he finished and bent his wrist slightly, pointing the gun at Aya's head. He was so close he could see the slight blush in Aya's cheeks, count his eyelashes if he wanted to. It was unnerving. He wished that the other would step back. It was messy shooting someone this close.

"If you're so confident..." Aya said smugly, "Why don't you come in to my mind... Play with it like you used to... That's what you do isn't it...you read people's thoughts... -Mastermind...?" His eyes were challenging, his voice cold and daring and the comments fueled Schuldich's anger. But he didn't know exactly why. The boy was to die anyway, why did he even care?

"Speaking of confidence, " he replied. "How smart was it to come in here with your weapon sheathed? You really do value your own abilities if you think that your less...cutting...charms are enough to keep you alive..." He traced Aya's body with his eyes as he spoke. A lazy, lingering look that seemed to last forever, simply because he couldn't get enough of looking at him.

"Aren't they?" Aya's soft voice reached his ears, called him back to reality.

"Red, " he said, referring to Aya's clothes. "You truly are confident!" He smirked.

"Aren't they?" Aya repeated, his face tilted upwards, his eyes held a piercing gaze: Arrogant and smug he arched his eyebrows questionably at the other. Challenged him to come up with an answer.

A new wave of frustrated anger and something like humiliation flushed through Schuldich's mind, made him see red, literarily. He knew he was about to lose control, was *so* close to losing it. But this time the rage had a direction and a purpose... Without thinking he lowered the gun to Aya's chest and his finger started to move on the trigger, but somehow he must've made a mistake for suddenly Aya was gone, just a flash of red that disappeared down the open staircase to the basement. And the reflex that should have kicked in and make him pull the trigger the second his target moved had failed him. His finger had decided not to obey or his mind not to give the order... He didn't know and didn't have time to contemplate it either. - So the boy could jump but so could he... In a swift movement he was by the stairs, his gloved hand caught the railing and he swung himself effortlessly over to disappear down to the dark unknown. Gun in hand, senses alert. But not enough. As soon as he landed in the dim corridor downstairs and before he'd had time to look around a foot kicked out and slammed into his hand, making the gun fly through the air and his fingers to hurt like hell.

"I hate you," he screamed in a high-pitched voice. Knew he was going to lose it, was all too far-gone to care.

When Aya dived for the gun he dived after, pulling his knife as he did. It was sharp and well tended, and he knew how to use it and this time...this time it was he that would hold the blade to Aya's throat and he didn't have any doubts about how to use it. So this was where he wanted to die, fine. Coming here was asking for it and by all he was and had ever been, the man was going to get it! When Aya's hand closed around the gun Schuldich's foot was there the same instant, forcing Aya's flesh to the floor along with the sharp edged metal of the gun. Aya screamed and let the gun go, Schuldich, in a uncounted for fit of mercy, relieved the pressure and let the hand slip out before kicking the weapon away in a unknown direction... out of Aya's reach. Aya's other hand reached for the katana that was trapped under his body but Schuldich placed a foot on it as well, made it impossible to pull it out from Aya's twisted and awkward position.

Still, when he stood there, hovering over the other. His defeated red angel with the knife in his hand, he didn't move down to do it. For some stupid reason he let the man up. Followed his every move with the tip of his knife. Close, but not touching, aimed at a naked spot on his neck. A naked spot of pale flesh, luscious flesh, flesh -smooth and warm...

Aya rose to his feet, panting heavily. His one hand covered the injured one, rubbed it slightly with a pained expression.

"Well...well..." Schuldich said and smiled in a sudden calm. "Something has changed since last time..." He let the tip of the knife run down Aya's chest to rest lightly against his solar plexus. He wondered how Aya's blood would look against the red of his sweater. Against the red of his hair...

Aya shot him a glance filled with anger, pain and...hurt!

"Schuldich..." he whispered harshly, but instead of backing off he moved in. Grabbed fistfuls of Schuldich's hair on each side of his head and closed the distance between them. It would have been suicide if Schuldich hadn't bent his wrist and with it the knife, up and away from his body as he moved. As it was he suddenly found himself embraced by red. Living, pulsing heated red and a pair of eager, lips upon his own. He opened his mouth in surprise and Aya's tongue shot inside and kick-started his own with its electrifying presence... the delicious things that it did. The knife fell to the floor with a clattering sound and his arms slid around Aya's waist, moving up and down his back, one hand brushed through the short hair of his neck, the other slid in under his sweater, moving over the naked skin underneath. Both of them were breathing heavy, small gasps and moans sounded when they changed angles and continued a series of deep kisses, caressing tongues and wet lips that met and connected in a fury of passion. Aya's hands closed around Schuldich's neck, buried in a nest of fiery reds, he pressed himself close to the other's body. His eyes were hooded, sparkling and alive. He ground his hips slowly against the other's while letting him support his weight... was suddenly just a bundle of smooth, warm limbs and utter want in Schuldich's arms...

He should have known killing Aya was a bad idea, Schuldich thought while riding the wave of insane lust. It was a flood, it was a scream. It was an earthquake in his being and he unleashed it all on Aya. He grabbed the other by his firm, round buttocks and lifted him up in the air. Felt Aya's legs curl around him and his weight settle on his hips. He turned so Aya's back rested against the wall, then started licking the other's throat, biting into his flesh. He felt Aya's hands in his hair, heard the sounds of pleasure escaping him and his body rock against his own, trapped between his body and the wall. He could felt Aya's firm hardness against his stomach, making its presence known even through the layers of fabric and it made his own twitch eagerly in response. His fingers caressed Aya's buttocks, palms spread wide over the well-worn fabric and the muscled twins inside. Aya's hands wandered down to his shoulders, he craned his neck to meet his lips again and the other moved down to meet him. Leaving moist trails of saliva as he went. Kissing his face and forehead before settling on his mouth.

"I want you," Aya gasped when their lips parted and spoke directly to Schuldich's crotch.

"You're a pervert;" Schuldich murmured back and caught an earlobe between his teeth.

Aya chuckled and shivered violently against his body.

"In there," he said breathlessly and nodded to an open doorframe.

Obediently, Schuldich lowered him but had to steady as well him when the other's feet connected with the floor. Aya's hands caught the fabric of his coat and ripped it open, then he leaned in with a deep sigh. Resting himself against his body, breathed through the thin fabric of his shirt. Schuldich buried his nose in Aya's hair before bending down to lick and bite his way along his jaw. His arms still encircling Aya's waist, pulling the other man closer. Aya's head rolled back, exposing his neck to his mouth. Parted lips and flushed cheeks. Purple fire burning towards him. Pale skin offered. And hands that caressed, found their way under the shirt on the small of his back.

Aya took a couple of steps backwards, towards the other room, pulling the other man with him. It could be a trap, Schuldich thought, but then again Aya wouldn't be a whore, not even for Weiss. And such a wanton, willing whore - not a chance...so he let himself be led into the room. The last traces of daylight bathing them in a coppery glow as they stumbled across the floor, mouths connecting. Tongues caressing... From the crook of his eyes Schuldich caught sight of tall shelves filled with old boxes and cans. Sheets of paper announcing punk rock concerts were glued to the naked walls, stained with ink from sloppy printing in big, black types. Suddenly Aya turned direction and something hard met Schuldich's thighs.

"Get up," Aya whispered and Schuldich moved his hands from the other and to his sides touching something metal. He lifted himself up to sit on the hard edge, his lap suddenly filled with Aya. Hands came up to his shoulders pushing him gently. Lowering him until he lay on top of something he realized was an old fashioned press of sorts. The smell of ink and old paper tickled his nostrils but then again not for long, for Aya came crawling up after him. Straddling his hips with his thighs. His fingers busy with the small, white buttons of his shirt. Still kissing him. Still moving. Grinding his arousal against his body.Schuldich tugged at his sweater and Aya took a break from the task at hand to quickly pull it over his head, throwing it carelessly down to the dusty floor. Revealing a marble chest, dark aroused nipples that begged to be touched. His well-defined muscles moved under the creamy white skin and teased Schuldich's senses.

Aya finally lifted the shirt away from Schuldich's torso and sighed with relief when he lowered himself, let his own smooth chest slide against Schuldich's. Let their nipples meet and greet, rub against each other in an utterly sensuous dance. Schuldich's hands moved across the other's back, the feel of the rippling muscles made him bite his lips, hiss in response. Aya nuzzled his neck. Licked the scars from their last encounter tenderly.

"I will have my release now," he whispered hotly in Schuldich's ear. "I will keep my promise..." Wings of red hair tickled his neck. Schuldich moaned and pulled him in for a kiss. Arching his hips, his own captured flesh against him. Aya pushed his down to meet him, hard columns of flesh suddenly met and rubbed hard against each other through the fabrics. Aya moaned into his mouth. He moved his knee in between Schuldich's thighs, making room before settling between them. Laying himself fully upon the other. Laced his fingers in his gloved hands. Pushing his confined hardness down on Schuldich's with renewed eagerness. Sighing deeply as their lengths slid over each other. His eyes closed in passion, fluttering lashes accompanied his moans.

"What do you want, Aya?" Schuldich asked in a low, shivering voice. Passion pounded through his body. Made his skin sensitive to every touch, every move the other made. Greedy for everything he chose to offer. Every kiss was a treasure; every touch brought him higher, climbing on a peak of lust.

Aya's unfocused gaze met his. A sensuous smile curved his lips when he spoke in a low and husky voice.

"I'm going to fuck you, Schuldich, - do you mind?"

Schuldich laughed. The laughter wasn't sweet; it wasn't even a happy laugh. It held a taste of something bitter but his voice was clear, only slightly blurred with want.

"No, Pretty...I don't mind..."

If he couldn't kill him, let him fuck him to oblivion. It was what he'd wanted all along anyway. With a satisfied grin Aya released his hands and moved down his body. Kissed wet trails down his chest, dipped his tongue in his navel before moving back up, tugging gently at his nipples with his teeth... Aya felt so nice against his body. Silken skin against his own, so warm and so unbelievably smooth...And those things he did with his mouth...Schuldich was at the brink of worshiping the slick muscle of pink flesh that played over his skin. He arched up against it, moaned softly as it moved across his chest. He didn't have to do this, Schuldich thought, he could have just fucked him and been done with it. He didn't know why he did this...didn't know why they'd ended up in this...position, in the first place. But he was caught by a sudden gratefulness, unexpected and utterly confusing, happy that Aya did all this. Gave him the pleasure of having it all, feel him, all of him - close. He grabbed a hold of Aya's shoulders and pulled him up so that his chest was at the same level as Schuldich's eyes, then he lifted his head to have a taste of his own. Caressing Aya's nipples with his tongue. Sucked them in between his teeth, tasting them one at the time before arching his head back to kiss and lick Aya's throat. The sounds the other man made added to the bliss. The burning fire of sheer need in his body.

"I wanted to kill you..." he said in a hoarse whisper, it was a statement, held no question.

Aya's hand moved down and opened the button of his pants, ripped the zipper open and moved inside. The fingers closed around his flesh and made Schuldich give a strangled scream of sensation.

"I don't care..." Aya murmured in reply while moving his hand on the other's cock. "Now you want me to fuck you..." he continued and built up a rhythm, milking the hard arousal in his hand. "And one out of two isn't that bad," he finished and smiled down at the other.

Schuldich twitched and moved beneath him, gasping for air between deep moans and sighs. Biting in to Aya's skin where he found it, leaving teeth marks on his shoulders and arm. It was just too good. Too much...if the other man didn't move on soon he'd lose it. Come right there in Aya's hand. Still with his pants around his waist.

"Do it," he murmured. "Take me!" He begged under half-closed lids. Lips parted and nostrils flaring. Hips moving eagerly under Aya's body.

Aya moved down to kiss him and then he let go of his hold. Schuldich let out a breath of relief, although it didn't last for long. Aya slid all the way down to the floor, peeled the fabric from Schuldich's long legs as he went. Pulled it down with him until it hung like a bundle around his ankles. Aya pulled off his boots for him. Didn't care about clasps and lacings, just pulled them right off his feet, gaze resting on Schuldich's face, hunger flaring in the purple eyes. His hands moved quickly, pushed the fabric over his feet leaving him naked except for the leather gloves. He removed them himself with the rest of his jacket and shirt. Had a strong need to touch...really touch, the other man. He watched as Aya shed his own clothes. Quickly and without ceremony he stripped in front of him. And yes, - he was lovely all over. Beautiful like an ancient god, bathed in the first beams of moonlight that came in through the dirty window high upon the wall.

Aya climbed back up on top of him, and this time the hands greeting him were naked. Their thighs met and slid against each other and Schuldich's legs captured Aya's. Connecting their arousals, no fabric this time. just plain, naked skin. And damn it all! -It felt *so* good!Schuldich's fingers traced Aya, took hold of the thick, pounding hardness of the other, had to touch it as to believe it...Aya's desire resting in his hand...a rock hard evidence of lust. He gave a smile of satisfaction. This was going to be good.

He spread his legs even before Aya motioned for him to. Spread them wide, wanted all of him, inside. Aya's eyes searched the shelves surrounding them for a moment before picking out a box, smelling at it.

"It's some sort of grease, " he smirked, "it'll just have to do." Schuldich couldn't care less. He could have slicked his insides with pure acid for all he cared in that moment, as long as he'd have Aya, anything would go.

Aya opened the lid and scooped up some of the soft content, sniffing suspiciously at it once more before smearing it over his cock. The sight of the thick stuff covering Aya's arousal, making it shine, was mesmerizing. Aya dipped his fingers in the mysterious mass once more, and this time it was Schuldich's turn to be smeared as Aya's fingers reached in between his thighs and probed at the small opening there. His fingers were demanding, wanted entrance. There was nothing gentle or careful about it when the first finger slipped inside Schuldich's body... To Schuldich that spoke of desire, he hadn't wanted it any other way. He lifted his hips to give him better access, met Aya's fingers eagerly, impaled himself the best he could, wanted him inside as deep as possible.

"Don't wait..." he begged. "Just do it..." He gritted his teeth, hungry for the feel of the other man inside. Aya made a sound that could have been a laugh but he wasn't really sure, just concluded that the other shook slightly when he lifted Schuldich's leg over his shoulder, positioned himself and leaned in. His cheeks were flushed again, his lips parted. The tip of his tongue came out to wet his lower lip and he bit into it and closed his eyes when the first real push brought the tip of his member inside. Schuldich moaned as well, when the blood filled organ pushed it's way inside of him, took possession of his body, forced his flesh apart... It was all utter pleasure. No pain, no tears involved. Just pure lust and desperate need. The feel of the other a completion in itself. And when the tip brushed that sweet spot, that pleasurable nub, he arched his back of the press and squealed. His hands slid over Aya's torso. Tangled in his hair. When the other red-head started to move he closed his eyes and leaned back, just met the other's thrusts as best as he could. Gave it all up, every last string. Every last bit of control. Because it felt so good...because it was the fuck of a lifetime... Because... Aya did him so extremely well! Every thrust was a piece of heaven, every move a step closer to ecstasy. Unconsciously his hand reached down to grab hold of his own straining member, pumping it in time with Aya's thrusts. Beads of precum made it slick and moist, he could feel his own pounding veins under the skin. And Aya... Aya filling his insides, moving in to the hilt. Burying himself inside of his body, over and over again.

"Yes..." he heard himself murmur as the other set the pace. Aya smiled down at him, strands of liquid rubies plastered to his sweat slick forehead, the muscles in the arms steadying him tense and shivering. They breathed together, rasping breaths. Eager sounds that complimented each other. Schuldich was on his way over the edge when his consciousness started to slip. Not into blackness but inside Aya's mind. Where all he could see was a mirror image of their shared reality and the feel of Aya, the pleasure he took in it. It was raw and powerful. Filled with pent up need and mindless pleasure. It made his own increase even more. To know how the other felt while fucking him, it simply couldn't get better than that. So he lost his already worn out restraint and came. Pumped pearly white liquid over his hand and stomach while crying out Aya's name.

"Yes..." Aya answered and twitched inside of him, filled him up with hot moisture while falling down on top of him. Biting into his shoulder. His heart pounded rapidly against Schuldich's chest, like a wild beast trapped in a cage, mirroring Schuldich's own. Their sweat mingled on their skin and both their breaths came hard and fast, slowly calming down to an exhausted panting. Schuldich's legs curled around Aya's again and his hands laced over his back as he breathed in the scent of Aya's hair. Tasted the salt on his skin.

Now what, he thought, when calm had settled. What was about to come now? - Aya's eyes sparkling with something he didn't quite understand, a milky white hand stroke his cheek.

"That was lovely," Aya smiled. "And I'm sticky." He sat up slowly. Stretching his body like cat. A happy, sated cat, having consumed a bowl full of cream. Schuldich followed him up, suddenly alert... tense and strangely shy. He ended up with Aya straddling his lap. Somehow it was more intimate, closer than having him inside, especially since his hands were still resting at the small of his back. He could feel Aya's semen pour out of him when he moved, and in a strange way it felt like a loss... Aya put his hands on his shoulders and searched out his lips with his own. It was a long kiss. Lazy and wet. Aya's fingers combed through his hair. Smoothing it down his back.

"Will they be looking for you?" Aya murmured at last and broke off the kiss. Schuldich's mind had to try a couple of times before he finally followed the other's.

"Oh yes, perhaps..." he said with badly concealed regret. "I should be going," he said.

Aya sighed deeply and moved off his lap, it felt cold and empty without him there. He stood on the floor searching it with his gaze, doubtlessly looking for his clothes. Suddenly he smiled and examined his arms. The red marks from Schuldich's teeth were already taking on a purple hue in the dim light. With a boyish grin he moved, reached behind Schuldich with a swift movement and pulled forward his discarded scarf, throwing it around Schuldich's torso, effectively trapping his arms.

Schuldich was off the press in the same instant, tried to force himself free. His eyes suddenly focused, his body ready to face danger. Aya laughed at him. Still holding the ends of the scarf.

"Hush," he soothed. "I won't hurt you...that's *your* job," he added with a teasing smile and quickly moved in to press his lips to the other's. "I like you the way you are," he purred to his face. "Whole and alive..." He tied the scarf while he spoke. Restrained Schuldich's arms with thick, purple satin. "But you have marked me," Aya explained. "It's only fair that I do the same." Schuldich just watched while Aya lifted the katana off the floor and pulled it out of the sheath. His mouth was dry, his usually so active brain seemed to have ceased to work.

Is the blow about to fall? He wondered. Was this how it was going to end? At least it would be by Aya's hand he continued his musings, and marveled at how comforting that thought was...

But Aya didn't go for anything vital. Instead of cutting his throat he went for his shoulder. Cutting lightly into his flesh, creating a pattern of thin red lines. At first Schuldich hissed at the pain, then he turned his head to see and was captured, strangely fascinated by the sight. The silvery blade that so elegantly painted his skin with sure strokes. The hand that held it; pale and white, strong and confident... everything Aya. The blade was suddenly gone from his sight but Aya was there, lips touching his bloody wounds, the tip of his tongue wiping it away.

"I'll kiss it better," he murmured with a smile. Lips unnaturally red and moist. Covered with sticky, fresh blood. Aya turned his back at him for a moment. Searching the shelves with his eyes. Finally he settled for one of the containers, lifting the dusty item down from its place in the row.

"Ink," he smiled and met Schuldich's eyes. "Perfect," he said with an almost boyish grin. He opened the container and dipped his fingers in it. "It's a bit hard, " he muttered. "Old," he concluded. "But it'll do," he reassured the enemy that could do nothing but stare in awe as the rival assassin, now turned lover, mixed a piece of blue-black ink with saliva between his fingertips, lifting them to his shoulder to smear the mixture into his freshly cut wounds. It hurt, and he flinched, but not much. He was used to pain far worse than this.

"I realize you're maybe not a one-man sort of guy..." Aya said while concentrating on his task. "But this way you'll remember me, at least for a while..." He trailed off. Leaving it up to Schuldich to reply. But he didn't know what to say. The pureness of the act held him captured. Aya's serious gaze while working on his skin fascinated him. Left him speechless.

At last Aya moved away. With his eyes fastened on his unusual piece of art, he pulled on his pants and the red sweater. Kissed Schuldich one more time.

"I hope I'll see you again... Schuldich..." he whispered into his ear before releasing him from the purple prison with a quick pull of his hand. A smile and he was gone. With the katana in hand, he disappeared through the dark doorframe. Leaving just a lingering scent, a signature in ink -and a beaten, broken soul, behind.

V

They hadn't seen each other again. Not until this moment in the club. Days and months had gone past after the incident and Schuldich had become seriously ill. The affair with Aya had wounded his already scattered soul to such a degree that it'd caused a strong, new paranoia to form. Bringing sleepless nights and angst with it. He'd started to doubt his own abilities. Aya had ripped him from his throne of cold superiority. His usual arrogant pride and trust that his mind games could conquer any enemy, remove any obstacle from his way, was gone. He'd started doubting himself on missions, deadly afraid that someone would see his weakness...use his own mind against him like Aya had but with far more dreadful results. And he feared them, because he wanted to live now. He wanted to live and that as well was somehow connected to Aya, but he didn't want to know how...

The purple pills he took increased their number. Raw fear he hadn't felt since childhood had taken control of his mind. And the emotions...emotions came running back from their cold prisons, left him nothing more than a shivering wreck, afraid to face his own shadow. He made mistakes on missions, small ones, easy to cover up, but still...not like him. He slipped, lost control. Doubt was juggling with his mind. Playing with the thoughts inside....

And Aya. Aya hadn't come back, which was just as well...confirming all his half-coherent suspicions. He still didn't know the exact purpose of this...unusual seduction, but whatever it was his plan had worked. Schuldich was useless as an enemy. Soon just as useless as a killer. He took no pride and no pleasure in his job anymore. It was grey and lifeless as his heart. Everything had turned dark and meaningless. He went through the nights on autopilot. Afraid that it would be the last. That his days would be out and that he'd never see...the one who's name was never spoken, never fully formed in his mind.

He'd been there a couple of times. Staring at his building from a distance. Aching heart, but no anger...anger took too much energy. And that was something he'd sorely lacked those days. It was a death wound, he knew, the one he had gotten from Aya - still he couldn't blame the other man. Couldn't blame him, for the pleasure had somehow been worth it. He couldn't help but thinking of it as a gift rather than an attack... His mind was falling to pieces... He knew it. Schwartz knew. His fits of anger, the madness that followed his slips, when the voices flooded his mind without mercy, became stronger more violent and the amount of strength that had somehow guided his madness, allowed him to escape it without getting lost, failed him as well. He had passed the breaking point, falling fast without any hope for return. Only the memory of that night had held a glow. Reached through the seeping death that slowly consumed him. Added some fuel to the pale, shivering fire that still kept him going.

Eventually he'd quit. Left Schwartz before they decided to make him and probably kill him in the process. He'd gone back to Europe. Walked those old streets again. Traveled Germany and Poland, stayed in England for a while. Still his insides were consumed by dry rot. A stifling pain that never ceased its hold. He'd been a dead man, an empty shell of nothingness, filled with voices - but none of them his own.He should have cursed Aya, but didn't. When the blackness of his own eyes met him in the mirror, the dead voids of empty green greeted him, he could blame no one. It meant nothing, the how's and whys were just words. Death held no mercy. As life held no peace. He didn't even bother to choose death before life. He just *was*. A hollow, shadowy existence. An alien walking the earth.

After seven months in living hell a sudden, unexpected job offer brought him back to Japan. Back to a sort of life as well, and closer to a dream he didn't dare to dream... A former client with a paranoia that could rival Schuldich's own offered him a position as head of his bodyguards. He'd seen and been impressed by Schuldich's abilities and saw the benefits of having a mind reader among his staff. It didn't hurt that he was a well-trained killer either; even if the job was blissfully free of anything of the sorts...The old man was hospitalized now. No danger for his life but it gave Schuldich a nice vacation. The life at the old man's court could be dreadfully boring. But the job had put him back together again, given him a focus he had missed. Slowly the shattered pieces had gathered themselves back together. The essence of what had been him, Schuldich, had slowly started to pour forward, seeped out of his hidden core and into his being. Filled him up with what was him once more. He had almost forgotten Aya. New layers had formed and covered the wounds. Stopped the bleeding that had slowly been killing him, thrown him out in madness...But now he was back, slicing him open. Scratching at his scars with his mere presence. Aya was there and jaded as he was, Schuldich still appreciated his new existence and feared for it now, faced with the enemy of his existence.

"What do you want Aya?" he repeated, rested his forehead in his hands.

"You know you can have those removed these days," Aya motioned to the one time blue, now faded to purple mark on his shoulder. "Why haven't you gotten rid of it?" he asked and buried his gaze in Schuldich's.

"Why bother?" Schuldich answered in a tired voice. "Maybe it's a reminder," he continued. "So I won't fall into that trap again...I look at it and remember my defeat," he said, much more honest than he'd planned. "It's healthy, I won't forget..." He trailed off, his gaze drifting away from Aya, his hand closing around the glass again. He lazily caught the waiter's eyes, nodded once and lifted it off the table. The youth nodded back and headed for the bar. Soon he would bring another purple dream. A cool, soothing potion that would calm his mind.

The image of himself trailing the pattern in front of the mirror at night flashed through his mind. He trailed the ink ornaments and through of the night he'd belonged to Aya...Never forget, yes...but the price...

"Oh, I thought..." Aya started. "I thought maybe... I don't know, it's silly," he burst out, emptying the drink in his hand.

"What?"

"Omi told me," Aya said, his voice slightly blurred with alcohol. "That he'd seen you, about a year ago... and that you'd had my name written on your arm... He thought you were in love with me..." Aya smiled.

Schuldich didn't reply.

"If it was so," Aya continued. "If you... back then... I... well, it probably wouldn't have made any difference..." he mused. "But were you?" He suddenly asked. "I'd like to know..." he trailed off.

Schuldich smirked. Let the boy have it, he thought. He asked, so why not? What was left to lose anyway?

"Yes..." he said and made small circles with the glass on the table, unwilling to meet Aya's eyes. Left a moist trail on the dark wooden surface. "I guess I was pretty crazy about you..." he said at last. Lifting his gaze to meet Aya's. Looking for a reaction of disgust or loathing on the other man's features.

"But you tried to kill me!" Aya burst out. "So how can that be?" he continued, bewilderment shining through the surface. Utter surprise, honest and true.

"And you..." Schuldich replied. "What did you aim at? Whatever it was, you did your job well," he continued. Couldn't keep the old frustration from coloring his voice. "Whatever it was you did, you did it damned well...I hope your purpose was worth it," he finished his sentence. Gaze back resting on the table. He hardly noticed when the waiter came with his drink. Aya took care of it though. Paid the man and ordered another one. When Schuldich looked up he noticed a strange expression on Aya's face. Something almost angry... and shockingly vulnerable. So unlike Aya's icy mask. The stern expression that still sometimes haunted his dreams.

"Did it ever occur to you," Aya said after a moment that seemed to last forever. "That when I came to claim you that night, it was for my own sake, alone..." he said in a dead voice.

Schuldich laughed bitterly. It was the first thought he'd discarded as impossible. If Aya's word implied what he thought they did. But of course they didn't...-couldn't.

"And what did you get from it?" He asked. " Sated your twisted needs? Your perverted desires? Sleep with the devil...make him want you so badly he...." His voice had risen as he spoke and reached a peak before he abruptly broke off. Anger and shame... bitterness, welled up. He wanted to scream, but didn't have the energy. He wondered what he was doing there... and why he hadn't killed the man years ago.

"So badly he, what?" Aya's voice was calm. Cool eyes measured him, drove him nuts.

"Nothing..." Schuldich muttered. Had already said enough.

"It was just...love, Schuldich," Aya said. "Nothing to be so upset about," the former prince of shut off emotions spoke.

"And if you work with a psychic, a freakish teen and... Farfarello, even the most common emotions become something strange..." Schuldich replied with a sudden insight. "But I never said I... loved you." He added. "Just that I had a... want...." He drank deeply from his glass.

"And I wanted *you*," Aya said softly. "Call it twisted but I did..." He received his drink from the waiter and lifted it to his lips.

"Why?" Schuldich said dryly. Voicing the question that had been bugging him ever since the first vision at the racing field.

"Look into me," Aya said after a short break. Daring him with his eyes to have a peek inside.

"No..." Schuldich protested.

"Please..."Aya added and broke him down with a simple word. Without thinking he delved inside Aya's mind. Recognized the old press and the basement. The scene in front of him as the one. What he didn't see as familiar was the angle. And the body twitching beneath him. The surging heat, the unbearable tightness that embraced his cock and drove him mad. The man under him parted his lips. A strong angled face glistening with perspiration. He was wetting his lips while making enthusiastic sounds of pleasure, urging him on. His eyes shone like polished pieces of jade under his lashes, his hair fell around him in cascades of fiery reds. His pale skin looked almost translucent in the dull moonlight. His lean body was firm and strong, arching against his own with powerful movements. His hand was wrapped around a shiny cock, pumping it in time; strands of white moist covered his fingers, fed his hungry gaze with his want. The beautiful man twitched violently and screamed Aya's name. The wild sensuality he held more apparent now than ever before. Raw and mighty upon his features as he sent hot spurts of liquid across his stomach, made his own body reach a peak of mind shattering ecstasy. Completion. A whole. A happy, joyous release as he spilled himself in the man that he'd wanted so. The green-eyed ruler of all his carnal desires.

"Aya..." Schuldich shook his head to let the image go. He was stunned, yes. Shocked, but curiously so... Still he couldn't help a happy smile from curving his lips, probably made him look like an idiot..."Aya, I'm crazy," he said at last. "I'm a blood lusting maniac...a freak." He shook his head again in disbelief. "You should have someone like... Yohji Kudo... Why don't you fuck him? He's beautiful enough..."

"I wanted you," Aya said simply. "And as for bloodlust... I think I could beat any Schwartz to the prize..." He smile slightly, almost sad.

"You were sated then, " Schuldich managed to keep his voice under control, although his insides were a brewing pit of violent emotions. "That's why you left me alone after that?" He hadn't meant to ask; still the words came tumbling out.

Aya smiled a sad smile.

"You never came to me," he said. "I thought I'd done my part... forcing you... almost." He sighed. "I do have my pride, Schuldich. I won't scream and beg..."

The answer caught him by surprise. It was hard to believe. To accept... Aya shook his head on the other side of the table. In an impulsive gesture his hand came down to cover Schuldich's. The contact between their skins caused a mild dizziness, a small star to burst.

"If I hurt you, I'm sorry..." Aya's gaze rested in his.

"So am I," Schuldich replied, but didn't know if he was talking to himself or to Aya.

Aya's eyes flickered, made him look almost insecure. He wetted his lips in a nervous gesture.

"If I asked you, would you come with me?" he asked at last.

Schuldich looked away. Trembling fear swallowed his newfound seeds of joy.

"...no..." he said and continued to look away. Aya's hand on his was a burning presence. A thrilling sensation in it's own right.

"...And if I told you to?" Aya's voice sounded again.

"...yes..." Schuldich heard himself answer, but didn't dare to meet the other's eyes.

"Good," a smile and relief in Aya's voice. "Come with me then," he said and squeezed his hand lightly.

Schuldich sent him a suspicious look, but not an entirely serious one. Something he couldn't name bloomed inside. A mixture of relief, anticipation, lust and happiness that mingled with the traces of fear. Was he really to have it again? Have him, - and this time for real? No doubts. No humiliation... no anger... No fear.

Aya rose from the table. Removed his hand from Schuldich's as he did. Left a naked, cold spot where his hand had lingered. Schuldich hesitantly rose as well. His eyes moving over Aya, unable to hold still. He waited for him to change his mind... laugh maybe... But Aya just smiled, his eyes reflected the same lust as they did back then. Glittering gems of passion.

*Please don't hurt me*

The voice had ripped free from him. Strangely desperate and childlike. Out of nowhere, the depths he never touched. It came as scream, a strangled plea and reached Aya in the same instant.

"No..." Aya said in a low voice before Schuldich had time to think. Time to be afraid or embarrassed. "Don't be afraid... I won't." Aya's hand closed around his wrist and motioned him towards the entrance. Closing off the purple tide.

Optional Epilogue (for those who dare):

Schuldich woke up to the clean smell of fabric softener. White cotton sheets wrapped around his naked body. The room was dark but daylight seeped in through the dark blue curtains, coloring the room in a nice shade of bluish grey. The faint smell of Aya lingered in the sheets as well, but the man in question was nowhere to be seen.

He remembered Aya's weight on his arm when he had awakened during the night, the arm across his chest and the warmth from the other's skin softly pressed against his. He could see the imprint of his head next to his on the white pillow and moved over to bury his nose in it. Capture the scent of the other. The dark hair that had been there, the head that had rested next to his.

The alarm clock blinked on the nightstand, next to a couple of books. The design of the room was black and white, complimented by blue curtains and a rug. It was a masculine room. Smelt clean. His eyes fell on the closet in the corner. White wooden doors with steel knobs. He wondered what he'd find in there? Aya's work clothes? His nifty coats and jackets? He wondered if there were mirrors on the doors' insides. If Aya gave himself the look over before leaving the house at night. On the white wall, above the bed, above his head hung the katana in its sheath as a dark omen. Reminded him whose room it was, whose apartment, whose bed...He had never thought Aya would take him *home*. It didn't even occur to him before they stood in front of the building. Aya with a key-chain in his hand, leaning in to plant the very first kiss on Schuldich's hungry lips. He had thought he'd take him to a sleazy motel or maybe no place at all...that he would do him in an alley or in his car.

But now he was here. Early morning, resting in Aya's bed. Body sore but sated, Aya had kept his last promise and taken him on his fours. And a most satisfying performance it had been. Schuldich sighed and rolled over. Backside aching slightly from the rough treatment. Yes, he'd made his vision come to life but instead of calling him a lovely bitch Aya had told him he was beautiful...he didn't really know how to react to that. He wondered what Aya would have thought of the cell at the old man's house that he currently called his home...A bed, a locker and a chair. Not much better really than the two room apartments he used to live in as a member of Schwartz. He smirked and thought about his old, satin bedspread. The one he'd had in the old days. All purple and black...Aya would have looked lovely on top of that he grinned to himself, lost in a sudden, vivid fantasy.

He wondered if Aya's absence was his cue to get up and leave. He probably should have done so hours ago. One thing was to fall asleep next to someone, something completely different to wake up the next day. Aya had apparently found the intimacy uncomfortable and left the bed...couldn't blame him really. It was a nice gesture not to wake him...He wouldn't have stayed in the first place if Aya hadn't asked him -and fed and sated and lazy as he felt right then, he had happily complied, filled his arms with Aya and drifted off into the best sleep he'd had in years. Here...in Aya's bed. A place he'd never thought he'd see, least of all sleep in... - Anyway, it was time to go and he was about to get up and have a look around for his clothes when a female voice suddenly sounded right outside the door and made him freeze in motion:

"I'm not hungry..." The voice was cheerful, speaking loudly, probably to someone in another room.

Aya's voice sounded as well, coming from a distance: "Take an apple with you then, in case you do get hungry..."

"I'm perfectly capable of seeing to my own needs, even when it comes to food," the girl corrected him in a mock angry voice.

Aya's voice sounded closer: "Here..." he said and Schuldich imagined him to give her an apple. "Take it," Aya's voice urged and the girl laughed and probably rolled her eyes.

"Who is it?" she suddenly said in a low voice. "Who is it that you got in there?" she asked in an insistent voice.

"That's none of your concern, Aya," Aya said, but he didn't sound angry.

"Is it a boy? A man?" Aya-chan asked her brother in an eager, very young voice.

"What else would it be?" Aya answered, still in this half-annoyed, half-amused tone.

"You look happy," the girl smiled through the door. "Are you in love with him? Are you an item?"

"Ah! Aya, go now!" His Aya burst out. "Go to school and do something useful and *don't* tell your snickering friends about this," he warned her in a somber, but not too serious voice.

The girl laughed and he could hear her footfalls when she left the room and entered the... what? kitchen? Schuldich tried to remember the apartment but had to admit that he'd been far too busy cuddling Aya to really notice his surroundings. He bet that it was neat and tidy though. Nice and tidy and smelled of Aya, just like his bedroom did...

Now Aya stood outside the door and the thought made his heart pound fast in his chest. Maybe he was angry that he hadn't left before his sister found out. On the other hand, they hadn't really been quiet the night before, the girl was probably aware of her brother's "friend" even before morning. The thought made him smile. Even better was, the girl had with her teasing told him that there was no steady lover in Aya's life right now. It was far from giving him any kind of hope, but at least he wasn't occupying someone else's side of the bed. He'd had all right to be there during the night.... But now it was morning, and with morning came light... The door moved and Aya entered the room.

"Sleeping beauty..." Aya said when he saw that Schuldich was awake. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned himself against the doorframe. He wore a pair of black, silk looking pajamas pants, riding low on his hips. It looked comfortable, and made *him* look stunning. The dark fabric to his marble chest made him look like carved alabaster in the blue light that gave his hair a purple hue, added soft shadows to the angled curves of his body. "Hope you've had a pleasant night..." Aya added, voice dripping with implications.

This was most definitely the cue, Schuldich decided and sat up in the bed, brushed the hair from his forehead. Tangled red strands got caught in his fingers. He felt nervous. Uncomfortable.

"I'm leaving now," he said shortly and leaned over the bed to grab his pants from the floor. It was just out of reach and somehow he didn't feel comfortable being naked under Aya's gaze. Not now when it was morning and he should've been gone hours ago. Aya closed the distance with a few easy steps, brought the pants up to his hand, and stayed there. Held the fabric and didn't let go when Schuldich took it.

"Do you really have to leave?" he asked. Purple eyes met his own, searching his face for...something.

"Well, it's hardly polite to stay too long, is it?" Schuldich arched his eyebrow questioningly.

"Do you *want* to stay?" Aya asked, much as he had done a few hours earlier, urging him to spend the night. "And when did you become polite?" he added with a lovely smile that made his eyes light up from inside.

"Do you want another fuck, is that it, Aya?" Schuldich asked with a smile of his own. Lifting his hand to touch Aya's shoulder, caressing the smooth skin. Secretly relieved that he wouldn't have to go just yet. Could still fill some purpose.

"Was that an offer?" Aya replied softly, teasingly...

"Of course it was," Schuldich arched towards the other's touch when he moved his hands down to embrace him. Leaned down to kiss him and climbed up back in the bed, forcing Schuldich head back down on the pillows. Aya slid down on top of him, pushing the white sheets aside. Kissing him tenderly as only Aya could. Holding him tight in his embrace. His body felt familiar yet exotic and unbelievably exciting against his own. The sweet breath tickling him, the skilled hands that moved on him. His tongue doing unspeakable things to his own, made every kiss an exercise in pleasure.

Schuldich rolled them over, landing between Aya's thighs. Still he knew that was not where he was going to be when the real fun started. It was just a temporarily situation. When the fun began, Aya would be on top. He had no idea how that had happened, but it had...and somehow it made him feel comfortable too...He moved down Aya's body. Kissed moist trails over his stomach and shivered at the feel of the fabric against his naked skin. Silk, no doubt. Had to be it. No trashy fake satin for Aya, it had to be silk or nothing at all. Aya breathed loudly when Schuldich's lips caressed his growing cock through the slick texture. Arched his hips off the bed to meet him. Moaned softly when those same lips slid over the skin of his hip, Schuldich pulled at the string that held the tempting piece of clothing in place with his teeth, and used his hands to pull it down his hips, over his straining flesh. He kissed his stomach one last time before taking him into his mouth, deliberately brushing the sensitive skin of his thighs with his hair. Knew that Aya liked it, that it was a turn on...Aya's hands held his head in place, followed his movements as he went, hips rocking slightly beneath him. Pushing Aya further in, eager drops of salty goodness seeped out of him, filling Schuldich's mouth with flavor. Made his own member stand pound and aching.

"I would keep you, you know..." Aya panted, "If you would stay...?"

Schuldich let go of his eager sucking and just stared at him for a long while. Drowning himself in those purple eyes. To come up with an answer however, did feel close to impossible. He wasn't even sure he knew what Aya had asked him.

Aya gave a quick smirk, something vulnerable flaring in his eyes.

"Roll over, " he said hoarsely. Settled for the easy way out, and Schuldich was more than eager to comply.

Settling in between his legs, Aya took a hold of his hips and lifted him slightly of the bed. His entrance was still slick and smooth from the night before and he moved in with without much effort, to the awaiting heat inside.

"Oh God!" Aya uttered when fully sheathed inside the pounding heat. Schuldich hands rested on his hips, guiding him in and out while meeting each thrust with his own. Aya's hand closed around the erection between them. Smearing the clear droplets gathered at the tip over it. He moved his hand in time with his thrusts, watched as his own flesh disappeared into the other's body and reappeared again. Schuldich's sounds of pleasure sounded in the air. He moved violently on the mattress, throwing his head from side to side. His nostrils flared and his lips were parted, letting out a stream of incoherent words and curses while his nails dug into Aya's flesh.

"You like this, don't you," Aya whispered hotly. "Who'd thought you were such a screamer?" He chuckled softly. His eyes were shiny, his cheeks flushed as he rapidly increased the rhythm. Pounding hard and fast into Schuldich's body. Schuldich just smiled at him. No reason to deny what was true...where Aya was concerned, he was most definitely a screamer. Couldn't hold it back, the man just felt *too* good.

"And you," he said and smiled back. "You're talking too much..." He winked at the other.

Aya smiled with a dreamy expression and gave himself over to pleasure. His eyes almost closed and his head fell forwards. Every muscle in his body tensed, prepared for the wild ride to completion.

Schuldich spread his legs even more, lifted his hips higher. Welcomed every inch of Aya, every violent, rapid thrust with a willing, open body. His gaze was fixed on Aya's hand, effectively jerking him off in time with his own hips' movements. The sight more than anything made the edge appear in front of him, sent him spinning over, drowning down in the depths of pure pleasure. He was so far gone he hardly noticed it when Aya filled him up again, poured that thick, glistening liquid of his into his body, filled him up to the brim with hot passion... He only noticed that Aya's eyes fell shut and an expression of utter relief chased away that of strained lust. Softness replaced pain on his face; his knitted eyebrows became smooth and relaxed.

Schuldich was ready and caught him in his arms when the other fell down on top of him. He kissed the sweat slick forehead and held him close while his breath slowly calmed in time with Schuldich's own. It was wet and messy and sticky. Semen and sweat and saliva covered their bodies. As soon as it cooled it would become icky, so Schuldich pulled the covers up to keep them warm. He really didn't want to leave this bed, this position and this body before he had to. It was all too nice and comfortable. Made him feel alive...

They lay together in comfortable silence. Aya eventually rolled off to lie beside him. Resting his head on his chest. Schuldich hands tangled in his hair, he saw the naked earlobe and remembered the dangling earring that used to be there before. Suddenly his thoughts were toying with the idea of buying him something. A diamond stud or something pretty and violet to compliment his eyes...he shrugged the thoughts off. Still, they were amusing. He smiled and nuzzled his nose in Aya's hair, got a look of mock indignation in return.

"Want some coffee?" Aya suddenly asked and stretched his limbs.

"Coffee?" Schuldich laughed. "You're probably serving it in large, matching mugs as well..."

"What is wrong with that?" Aya asked but his smile held amusement, followed Schuldich's thoughts without problem.

Aya's words from earlier came seeping back in Schuldich's mind. Made him feel cold and hot at the same time. If he wanted to stay? What was that supposed to mean?

*What did you mean by that?* he asked, projecting the words to the other.

*You know very well what I meant* Aya batted his lashes at him. Smug confidence almost managed to cover up the fragile doubt in his eyes.

"You live such a normal life," Schuldich said with his voice. "Sending your sister to school with an apple... Your bed smells of fabric softener..."

"And you," Aya quickly replied. "It smells of you as well..."

Schuldich smiled before turning serious again. "How do you do it?" he asked. "How do you keep it all together? You know who I am, and I know you; Aya... I know what lives inside you..."

"It's for Aya-chan," Aya replied slowly. "She deserves it, and quite frankly I think I like it... This blessed normality.... It's easy to get used to..."

"Then you should find yourself another lover," Schuldich said and sighed. "You know what I am... I'm on medication... a lot of it in fact. Need more all the time to keep it together. I can never live a normal life... God or, whoever saw to that," he said without self-pity.

"You're special... I admit that," Aya said in a serious voice. "But then again, so am I," he continued. "And there's nobody else I want..." Giving his lover a quick glance.

Schuldich suddenly felt more vital than in years. With a mischievous grin he turned to Aya.

"And the little sister, " he said with a smile smiled. "How are you going to explain that you're sleeping with Schwartz now instead of killing them?"

"Oh..." Aya covered his eyes with his arm in a pained gesture. "I don't want to think about that, " he sighed and Schuldich chuckled and removed his arm. Teasing green lit purple flames. Long hair brushed his chest.

"Maybe I can bribe her with breakfast," Schuldich smiled with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Can you cook?" Aya said surprised.

"No... not at all..." Schuldich stated and caused Aya to laugh.

Schuldich moved rose to his knees and straddled Aya in one fluid movement. Felt more like himself this moment than he'd done since this whole affair with Aya had started years ago. He stretched his long, slender body, fingers reaching high in the air. Putting on a show for Aya.

"You're such a mess," he said and shook his head slowly, looked down at Aya's stained, spent body with an arrogant smirk plastered to his lips.

Aya laughed, and so did Schuldich. The laughter held a freedom. Peacefully free from confusion, dreadfully filled with bliss. Joy. Happiness... It was nice to laugh with Aya. Nice to be this... close.

"Come back here," Aya said at last and reached for him. His eyes still sparkling with laughter.

Schuldich let himself be pulled back down. Into the arms of the man he thought he maybe loved and let himself be turned around, resting on his side. Aya ground against his buttocks, made his reborn arousal apparent.

"Again, Aya?" Schuldich said mockingly. Pretended not to care. "Is it me or are you always like this?"

"With you I'm always like this," Aya said huskily, the words sent pleasant shivers down his spine... Made his body burst into life, - again. "You make me want to live," Aya murmured to his hair and lifted his leg high up in the air. Slid into his slick opening and started to move painfully slow inside of him. Causing small explosions of pleasure, strong enough to shake his body, with every gentle thrust.

"You make me live," Schuldich said hoarsely. Laced his hand in Aya's as he spoke, draping it over his chest.

"So...you're staying then..." Aya said with a deep sigh. Not by the effort of speaking but because he was making a particular powerful move, pushing himself swiftly in, all the way in to the hilt.

Schuldich gave a startled cry and moaned deeply in reply.

"Yes." He smiled and bit his lip when Aya moved over that particular spot. "I guess I am," he finished.

~End~