Key Lime Pie: Part Two (A)

He’s late.

I huff loudly, staring out the window at the run down sidewalk across the busy street below. An elderly couple sits at a bench chatting as some girls in their neatly pressed school uniforms walk across the street towards the entrance of Koneko no Sumu.

Of course.

Where else would they go? One glances up to see me gazing through the window and waves excitedly. I do my best attempt to grin and wave weakly back.

Where the hell is he?

I glance down at my watch for the eighth time (yes I’m counting, dammit! He’s gonna get it when finally gets his ass here!) and see that he’s now three minutes late.

OK, maybe three minutes isn’t long to you...but I swear! These are the longest three minutes this world has ever seen! I look at my wrist again. Three and a HALF minutes...

This isn’t like him..maybe something’s wrong! He’s never ever late!! Maybe I should call him and-

Nagi!!!

Dark Chocolate locks obscure his beautiful midnight eyes but I know its him. The delicate figure slowly walks towards the Koneko with his hands shoved deeply into the pockets of his long black jacket.. Unable to control my glee I throw open the window and scream his name. He jumps slightly and slowly looks up to see me waving and grinning like a mad man. A slight blush stains his pale cheeks as he lifts up a fragile hand to wave back. Even from up here I can see his tiny mouth turn upward into a gentle smile. A smile for me.

I try not to melt into a puddle.

I motion down towards the shop.

“I’LL BE RIGHT DOWN!!” I scream.

He nods as his face takes on a deeper crimson shade, midnight eyes glancing embarrassedly at the pedestrians watching the odd scene. A couple of the rabid fan girls whisper to each other pointing at us. Maybe they know. I hope they do, maybe then I would be able to make it through the day without some twelve-year-old screeching in my ear about how much she loves me. How can they even tell me that? They don’t love me. From what I can tell, not even half of the girls who crowd around the Koneko after school know what love is.

I do.

I slam the window shut, the glass rattling angrily at me. I glance around trying to find my jacket, and finally locate it under Yohji’s half-eaten lunch. I wish that guy would keep his sloppiness restricted to his apartment. Kicking one of Ken-kun’s soccer balls out of my path, I head down the stairway and am met with the familiar sound of my two teammates laughing. I think its been about a year since Ken kun joined Weiß and he’s really had a good effect on us...especially Yohji kun. The two quickly became good pals when they first met, and recently I discovered that the two’s friendship had developed into something more...

I now avoid the supply room like the plague.

***

I walk slowly towards the flower shop, not wanting to begin my shift. My backpack is stuffed to the max with homework and I’m having difficulty attempting to stand up straight. I swear those bastards at school are trying to turn all of us into Quasimodo.

//Not to mention choke us// I think to myself as I unbutton the collar of my uniform. I turn the corner to see several girls already huddled outside of the shop. Funny...why aren’t they going in? I quicken my pace and a couple of the girls turn to see me.

“Omi-kun!!!” A girl with bright orange hair cries. “Why is the shop closed?”

“Nani?” I say, my nose wrinkling in confusion. “Yohji-kun and Ken-kun should be working inside...”

“Well they aren’t!” Chirps in another, who points at the door. I push myself through the small crowd to see “back in ten” scrawled on the back of a receipt in Yohji’s horrid handwriting and hastily taped on the door.

“Back in ten.....?” I mutter to myself, chewing on my bottom lip thoughtfully.

“Well they’ve been gone a hell of a lot longer than ten minutes!!” one of the older girls grumbles. “But I guess they could mean ten HOURS...or ten DAYS...” she finishes sarcastically with several girls screaming at the horrible thought. Oh no! What would they do if they couldn’t come to the flower shop everyday to not buy flowers?! Could they maybe..*gasp* get real lives?!

I didn’t say that. That was mean. I mean...every once in a blue moon they do buy something, well if their favorite guy is working at the register. So I guess without them, we’d have gone out of business long ago.

I’m assuming that the guys left to their apartments so I head to the back alleyway to grab my bike and head over to chew the both of them out. How can they just randomly decide to leave?! And at our busiest-

My thoughts are broken to pieces when I see Ken’s motorcycle and Yohji’s car parked in their usual places.

What..the...

“Anou...Did any of you see Yohji-kun or Ken-kun leave?”

“Ie...they just shoved us all out and headed towards the back.” a girl says, the bitterness apparent in her high voice.

“Demo....” There is no back way out of the shop...We’re just part of a large building..the only way out of the Koneko is though this door...so...

Those jerks must be jacking off upstairs!

I angrily rip my keys out of my backpack and stomp towards the door. When it swings open , I feel the mass of fan girls pushing forward.

“Matte!!!!” I cry. “Please wait until I can find Yohji-kun and Ken-kun.”

I grin weakly and then force the door shut, wails of protest aimed towards me. As one last girl screams angrily and tries to push herself in anyway I curse myself for not being born taller and fatter. With one final violent shove, the door slams shut and I quickly make sure to deadbolt it.

Besides the muffled cries of the girls outside, I am met with complete silence. I dump my backpack on the floor and quickly pop my back before marching towards the stairs, a speech on laziness already forming in my mind. I whisk past the counter and stop short to hear a crashing sound from the supply room.

I admit I am a very paranoid person who always assumes the worst. So hearing that noise, I immediately assume that a psycho escaped convict has happened to wander into our flower shop and is waiting to murder me...and I’m not even armed!!! I’m not safe anywhere I tell you!

I am also a very nosy person. And its killing me to know what that sound was.

I tiptoe over to the door to now hear voices. Slowly, I nudge it open and peek with one eye inside. My gaze shifts downward to see a shattered flowerpot and snapped rose stems strewn about.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

My head jerks up as I instantly recognize Ken’s voice, though it is unusually filled with fear.

My eyes shift up and I can understand why.

Yohji is pissed. Not the kind of funny pissed when you play a joke on him, but pissed. Yohji’s eyes are like green fire as he glares angrily at Ken, his hands balled up into trembling fists.

“I’m sick of this little game!” he screams, raking his hand angrily though his hair.

“What game? I don’t get what you mean Yohji!” Ken says, his eyes filled with uncertainty. He takes a step closer to Yohji-kun, but seeing his rage immediately steps back.

“You don’t?! Well of course you don’t!” Yohji cries, his voice oozing with sarcasm. “I must be imagining those god damn hints you keep dropping all over me....”

“Nani?!” Ken whispers, his face loosing all its color.

“You know I’m bi Ken! I told you! So why are you doing this to me?!” Yohji’s voice becomes higher with every word and I can feel my jaw drop at the thought of Yohji being bi. Wow. I know I should leave, but...well...I already told you I’m nosy so why try and prove I’m not?

“Just because you’re so God damn adorable doesn’t mean you can play with me like this!” he roars, but quickly snaps his mouth shut after the comment, probably shocked that he even said it.

Ken doesn’t notice. “Playing with you?! Where the hell did you get that crazy idea?!”

“They way you look at me! The way you get so angry when I say I have a date and can’t hang out with you! The way you arrange the schedules so you always work with me! The....”

“STOP IT!” Ken screams, his face now longer red with embarrassment, but with anger. “I’m not one of your little obsessive stalkers! Stop thinking everyone is in love with you because THEY AREN’T!”

Ouch. That was below the belt. Yohji’s eyes widen, an expression of pain flashing momentarily across his face.

“Well at least there are SOME people....tell me Ken, have you made any friends outside me? You barley even speak to Omi and you see him all the time! I bet he doesn‘t even know that you like soccer!”

I twitch. It’s true. Even after a year I barely know anything about Ken-kun. Except that he liked to be with Yohji-kun.... they still haven’t noticed me and I’m sure I’d be killed on site if they did...but I can’t keep myself from watching. “You were enough...” Ken whispers, avidly studying his shoes. Yohji stops pacing and stares at him.

“Enough?”

“I didn’t need anyone else. You were enough.” He replies simply, dark eyes slowly rising to see Yohji’s confused green ones.

“Just tell me something Ken, tell me one thing and I’ll leave you alone.”

The silence is killing me. My eyes begin watering and I realize I haven’t been blinking. I never knew that there was this much tension going on between my two teammates. I just thought that they were good friends...I just..

“What am I to you?”

“Nani?”

“What am I to you! Am I your friend? If so...why are you toying with my mind?! It’s driving me insane!” Yohji’s voice becomes muffled as he buries his face into his hands.

“I don’t know...”

Ooooo...bad answer. How very...like Ken.

“You. don’t. know.” Yohji echoes, his voice very tight.

Silence. I find myself holding my breath.

“OK...that’s fine. I see.” he grits out robotically. “I’ll be leaving now.” Even in the dim light I can see tears forming in the corner of his eyes. This is horr-

Oh shit.

He’s leaving, therefore he’s leaving the room, that has only one door, that I’m standing in, that he’s turning to right now...

I’m gonna die.

“Matte Yohji!!!” Ken chokes out, grabbing the sleeve of Yohji’s shirt.

“What do you want!” Yohji cries angrily, lurching his arm away with violent force. “You’ve made yourself quite clear Ken.”

“No I haven’t!”

“Yes you h-”

As I observe with large eyes, Ken’s hand roughly grabs the collar of Yohji’s shirt, calloused fingers knotting into the thin cotton material. Yohji’s face is jerked inches from Ken’s as he pauses for a brief moment, unsure chocolate eyes gazing deeply into wide, shocked green ones.

Unable to blink, I watch Ken tilt his head and quickly proceed in giving Yohji an awkward, quick kiss, his cheeks stained a deep crimson. Obviously feeling Yohji stiffen, he jerks his head away, his expression already crestfallen.

“Yohji...” he says softly, voice trembling as he wraps his hands around Yohji’s neck and buries his head into the blonde’s chest. “...I’m so sorry...I was afraid to tell you...”

My eyes drift up to Yohji, who stares intently at the barren back wall of the supply room, his eyes seeming to have a cloudy layer over them.

“We’re such good friends....you’re my best friend...I didn’t want to ruin it by telling you..that..”

Yohji slowly looks down to Ken’s disheveled head of hair, his face still hidden from view.

“..That I was falling for you.” Ken hugs Yohji tighter at his last words, seeming afraid of Yohji’s reaction.

“Ken.” Yohji says, gently pulling away from Ken’s embrace.

“Look at me Ken.” Long fingers take a hold of a quivering chin and lift it slowly upwards, dejected brown eyes staring longingly at Yohji‘s unreadable face. I can see Ken’s body already tensing up for rejection.

“I...” Yohji scowls and stares at the ceiling, obviously at a loss for words that are so very needed.

“Dammit!” He cries, his nose wrinkling in frustration. Strange, Yohji-kun is usually such a smooth talker with the most gorgeous of women, but here he is... speechless.

Suddenly, his face takes on a ‘what-the-hell’ expression and he grabs the sides of Ken’s head, his fingers twisting in his dark locks. Hesitating for a moment, he runs a graceful finger down the side of Ken’s face, only to turn it back up to trace the outline of my teammates trembling lips. Large eyes stare up at Yohji in fear and anticipation.

“You’re such a baka...” Yohji says smirking, still moving his finger along Ken’s mouth. Ken makes a small noise and pulls back, obviously hurt. Yohji quickly wraps his arms around the thin, but strong form and brings it back to him.

“...Makes me wonder why I adore you so much.” his smirk grows even wider as Ken graces him with a soft smile, leaning into Yohji’s gentle embrace.

Awww! I resist the urge to squeak knowing it would mean certain death.

“Ken.”

“Yeah, Yotan?” I grin at the nickname Ken gave to Yohji only a few days after we met.. He usually whacks him upside the head when he calls him that, but now he seems a little...distracted.

“I want to kiss you.”

“Then what are you waiting for, you dumbass.” Ken says huskily, his eyes already shutting.

Yohji hungrily attacks Ken’s mouth, a low moan escaping his throat when Ken kisses him back with equal intensity.

Uh....maybe...I should leave....

A flash of pink shows me their tongues are already going at it, as Yohji’s hands wander down towards Ken’s ass.

Yeah...I think I’ll go before this goes porn.

I shut the door quietly, grinning the whole time. I hope now they can find happiness, like I found in Nagi. My dark angel, who filled my empty heart with a feeling I’d never felt before. A feeling I thought I didn’t deserve...

“OMIIII KUUUUUN!”

“LET US IIIIIIIIIIIN!!”

“WHERE’S MY KENKEN!?!?”

I see that even more girls have gathered around the desperately needed to be cleaned windows. I can’t help that they wont stop pressing their oily faces on it! That’s hard (and gross) to clean!

“Gomen nasai!” I call to the girls through the smeared glass. “I don’t think the shop will be opening today. Yohji-kun and Ken-kun don‘t feel well.”

“NANI!??!”

“DOSHITEEEEE?!?!”

Even through the windows I wince at the pitch.

“Gomen!! We’ll open up again tomorrow!” I say, already lowering the blinds. Several girls pound their fists angrily, bending down to peek in, a last chance to see if their loves are there before I shut them off for today.

“Get a life...” I find myself whispering. They can drool later. I look back towards the supply room...

They deserve it. They deserve to be alone...

I smile softly and head out the door myself. Making sure to lock up behind me. Hopefully they’ll be finished in time for the morning shift...I find my grin growing wider, my heart about to burst.

“Be happy.” I whisper to the closed door. I look at my watch and hurry down the street, I after all have my own happiness to attend to.

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