Something New: Part 3

The first thing Aya noticed was that their target's suite was a lot larger 
than his and Ken's room. Not to mention infinitely tackier. The walls were 
covered in red and gold wallpaper, the floor pink carpet adorned with mauve 
and white flowers. And the bed, the bed was *heart shaped*. Festooned with 
scarlet coverlets and pillows. Could there be anything more tawdry than 
that? Aya thought not, until he saw the crude painting that hung above the 
bed. Two very naked women kissing, among other things, on a desk in a 
cramped office. Wait until Ken got a load of that.

"Their room is way bigger than ours," Ken complained glancing around. He 
shuffled his feet experimentally. "And their carpet is definitely softer 
than ours."

"And what about the bed?" he asked innocently, watching Ken avidly. He 
didn't want to miss a thing.

"I never saw a heart shaped bed before," Ken announced in amazement. His 
eyes drifted up towards the painting and he immediately let out a girlish 
shriek. Blood rushed to his face as he hastily turned around, hands covering 
his eyes.

"I guess you never saw a painting like that before either," Aya commented 
dryly.

"Oh my Lord! What the hell is that?" Ken burst out, scandalized.

"It's a painting of two women having sex," he informed him straight faced.

Ken glared at him. "I know that!"

"Than why did you ask?"

"Oh shut up Aya," he snapped, chagrined. "You're being so annoying! What's 
wrong with you? You're turning into Yohji!"

"Quit shouting and start looking for the disk," he ordered and added a scowl 
for good measure. Ken got to it.

Aya turned to examine the cosmetic-laden dresser, Ken's words were still 
ringing in his ears. He honestly didn't have any clue of what was wrong with 
him. Ken was right, he was acting more like Yohji than himself. Well of 
course he had consumed sake at dinner and that always loosened him up but 
never to the point that he'd become a smirking tease. What was he doing 
harassing Ken? The soccer player was embarrassed enough about this mission 
without him adding to his misery. He really ought to been ashamed of himself 
for agitating the poor boy.

But was it his fault that Ken was short-tempered and was just so darn cute 
when he was riled up? No of course not. So therefore, the only logical 
conclusion was that it was Ken's fault, not his.

Feeling much better with having come to that conclusion, he snuck a quick 
peek over at Ken. Yes it was definitely Ken's fault. Just look at the way he 
was on his hands and knees, searching under the bed. Hmm, he sure did have a 
nice ass...

Aya wretched his gaze away, cursing himself. What the hell was he doing 
ogling Ken? They were alone now, there was no need to maintain that they 
were a couple. He shouldn't be thinking of Ken in sexual terms. Just because 
they had shared a kiss and a dance, what did that mean? He could have kissed 
and danced with anybody!

"It's just this stupid mission and the sake," he thought to himself as he 
rummaged through the drawers. "Teasing him is amusing, the way he gets all 
defensive and embarrassed. It's not as though I'd do all this at home or 
anything. It's only because of the mission. Ken and I have to appear 
convincing. If anyone suspects us, it could mean our lives. So in other 
words, it's all about the mission, not some inane attraction to Ken." He 
nodded, satisfied with his thought process.

Now that he had everything figured out, he could concentrate on more 
important matters, like finding the disk. He knelt down, quickly searching 
through the lower drawers.

"There's nothing under the bed Aya," Ken announced.

He stood up, raking his hair from his forehead. "Nothing in the drawers 
either."

"You don't think they took the disk with them do you?"

Aya scanned the room. "It's possible but I doubt it. The disk is too 
valuable to risk loosing. It must be around here somewhere. You go search 
the bathroom. I'll look through the nightstand."

Ken nodded and headed into the bathroom. He carefully *didn't* watch Ken 
walk away, since, afterall, he could care less what Ken did or what he 
looked like.

A thorough search of the night table revealed only lesbian magazines and 
'How-to' sex manuals as well as various other erotic literature. He began 
checking under the tacky heart-shaped pillows for the disk when Ken suddenly 
burst out of the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind him.

He glared at the younger boy. "What the hell are you doing?" he demanded. 
"Are you trying to alert the whole floor? Keep it down!"

Ken blinked owlishly at him but said nothing.

He frowned as he shook a pillow. "What's the matter? Did you finish 
searching the bathroom?"

Ken blushed. "Jeeze Aya, I can't go back in there!"

"Why not?"

"There's st-stuff in-in there!" he sputtered, twisting his sleeves 
agitatedly.

"How very observant of you," Aya said dryly. "Stuff in a bathroom. Excellent 
work Ken."

"Oh shove it!" Ken snapped, glaring at him. "Not regular stuff, but you 
know, *stuff* stuff!"

"Ah, stuff stuff," he repeated, nodding knowingly. "As opposed to mere 
stuff. The worst kind of stuff."

Crossing his arms across his chest, Ken sulked. "You know, you can be such a 
jerk at times."

"That's why you love me," he quipped, smirking.

Ken snorted, not quite meeting his gaze. "Dream on. I'm not Sakura chan."

The mention of Sakura jerked him from this out-of-time moment he was sharing 
with Ken and back into reality. He had forgotten about Sakura and the 
others. Strange how he'd not thought of anyone except Ken.

But in any case, he had to stop flirting with Ken. What was he doing? He 
never did this kind of thing! He would certainly have to strengthen his 
resolve and maintain a purely professional relationship with Ken. Well at 
least as professional as he could make it, being as he was Ken's husband.

He frowned. "Are you going to search the bathroom or not?"

Ken shook his head ardently. "By all means, you go ahead. I don't wanna go 
back into that den of pure evil."

He rolled his eyes. Ken could be such a drama queen at times. "Fine. You 
keep searching in here."

"Alright," Ken agreed, relieved. He resumed his investigation outside the 
'den of pure evil'.

Aya stalked into the bathroom. As he'd suspected, there were numerous items 
to have caused Ken's discomfiture. Lacy women's undergarments hung from the 
shower curtain rod and skimpy lingerie were strewn about the floor. On the 
counter beside the sink were a variety of sex toys. Hmm, there was even a 
set of handcuffs...

An image of a naked Ken handcuffed to their bed came into his mind at the 
moment.

Aya swore and jerked his gaze from the counter. "It's all these damn toys 
and books that are making me think these things," he thought to himself. 
"That's all. I am *not* attracted to Ken!"

Furiously, he searched the bathroom, angry at everything, especially 
himself. For all his fuming and stomping about, he found nothing.

Ken fared no better.

"So what do we do now Aya?" he asked, twisting a lock of chocolate colored 
hair between his fingers.

"How the hell should I know?" Aya snapped, still pissed off. He refused to 
look at Ken.

The soccer player was visibly taken aback. "Well Aya you're the-"

A loud thump against the front door interrupted Ken. Both assassins froze.

"I don't have my key," a soft voice came from the other side of the door.

"Don't worry, I've got mine here."

The sound of the key being inserted into the lock propelled Aya into action. 
In one fluid motion, he offed all the lights, shut the bathroom door, 
grabbed Ken and stuffed them both into the closet that was situated across 
from the bed.

The closet was pitch black and very cramped and stuffy. Ken was fully 
pressed up against him with his back shoved against the door. Aya had his 
hands wrapped around Ken's waist and he could feel the other boy's rapid 
heartbeat against his chest.

"Why do this things always hafta happen to us?" Ken wailed into Aya's neck. 
He squirmed. "Can you move a bit Aya? My back is up against the stupid door 
and I feel like I might accidentally open it door and fall out. That would 
be bad, ne?"

"Yes it would be bad," he whispered. "Now keep your voice down." He tried to 
move backwards so that Ken would have more room and especially so that the 
younger boy wasn't shoved up against him, but he only proceeded in banging 
his head upon the clothing rod and some stray hangers.

Aya swore.

Ken snickered.

"Did you hear something?" Takahoshi Sayuri, their target, asked from 
outside.

"Oh God we're done for now," Ken babbled, hiding his face in Aya's shirt. He 
clutched desperately at Aya shoulders. "I don't even have my weapon Aya!"

"Shhhh!" he hissed.

"You're being paranoid," came the soft voice of Sayuri's blond lover.

"I suppose," Sayuri agreed reluctantly. "But I can't help it."

Ken breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed his tight hold on Aya. The redhead 
was rather disappointed. Ken holding onto him had felt surprisingly good. 
He'd had to quelsh the urge to enfold the brunette into his arms. Ken was 
just too adorable sometimes.

"Don't worry so much koi. Nobody knows about the disk. We're here to enjoy 
ourselves not go crazy with worry. Besides you've hidden the disk in a very 
creative spot."

"Hmm, I certainly have," Sayuri purred. "Only you'd be able to find it."

Then came the distinct sound of the two ladies kissing.

"What's that sound?" Ken whispered loudly.

Okay so maybe it wasn't so distinct.

Aya snorted. "It's them kissing baka."

"Kissing? They're kissing?" He listened for a moment to the spit-swapping 
session the two ladies had engaged themselves in. "Eww, that's disgusting!"

Aya couldn't resist asking. Blame it on the fact that Ken was deliciously 
pressed up against him. The soccer player fit perfectly in his arms and he 
smelled so sweet. It was increasingly harder to deny his attraction to Ken. 
"Did you find our kiss disgusting Ken?" he queried huskily.

If the closet wasn't pitch black, he was certain that he'd see a blush 
staining Ken's smooth cheeks.

"Aya?" the younger boy croaked, his voice filled with uncertainty.

/Don't do it! Smirk it off, tell him to shut up, get angry, just don't-/

Aya pointedly ignored his conscience. Right now he didn't give a damn about 
anything except Ken and the way he felt in his arms. "Hmm?" he asked, 
pulling Ken closer into his embrace.

"Aya...I...um..."

/Stop playing with him! You're taking advantage of his insecurities! He 
never wanted to go on this mission, he hates pretending to be married!  He's 
completely innocent.../

"Maybe I've forgotten what the kiss was like," Ken ventured daringly in a 
voice so soft he was barely audible.

/Hell ya! Innocent my ass!/

"Maybe I'll have to remind you then Kenken," he grate out throatily.

Tipping Ken's chin up, he lowered his mouth to brush gently against velvety 
soft lips. Ken gasped, moist lips parting as Aya gently traced the pouty 
curve with his tongue. Ken's mouth was berry sweet, his breath cool and 
harsh. Aya leaned closer and completed the kiss, crushing his lips into 
Ken's. Ken returned the kiss with startling intensity, even opening his 
mouth slightly. Aya could hardly resist, his tongue was shoved into Ken's 
mouth in seconds.

Within the dark confines of the tiny closet, the two assassins ground their 
mouths together, finally giving in to the inevitable attraction that was 
steadily growing between them. All thoughts of the mission as well as their 
current predicament vanished as only pure passion remained.

~*~

Ken sank down upon the soft mattress as Aya locked the door to their room. 
His heart was still pounding swiftly, though whether it was from the scare 
of being almost discovered or from Aya's kiss, Ken wasn't certain. All he 
knew was that he was he was glad beyond belief to be back in the safety of 
their own room, far away from Sayuri and her small, blond lover and their 
ugly red room and erotic lesbian paintings.

He twisted his fingers anxiously. What was going to happen now? He and Aya 
had barely said anything after...after...

Ken flushed and he hated it. Most things didn't faze him, in fact some 
people would even go so far as to accuse him of being loud-mouthed. But for 
some reason, ever since he'd been a little boy, relationships and girls and 
kissing and sex had always had made him horribly embarrassed. Not much had 
changed, though now it was boys and kissing. Or more specifically, Aya and 
kissing.

His face was flaming hot. He and Aya had made out in a closet while their 
targets had had their own make out session practically beside them!!! What 
was happening to his relationship with the moody redhead? This was going 
beyond the mission now. Aya kissing him in plain sight where people could 
see them was one thing but kissing him in a closet, away from all eyes? What 
the hell was that all about? Was it possible that Aya was as attracted to 
him as he was to Aya?

Ken mulled that over. Aya had danced with him and flirted with him and even 
kissed him but all that had only been for the mission only. So why the kiss 
in the closet? The only possible explanation was that he was attracted to 
Ken. But how could that be? He was a mess of embarrassed, klutzy, loudness 
where as Aya was silent and logical and so beautiful that it made it heart 
ache. What could Aya possible see in him?

He stole a quick peek at his redheaded partner and was dismayed to find 
those disconcerting violet eyes riveted on him. His cheeks burned as Aya 
stared at him expectantly. "Erm..."

"I said we'll start looking again tomorrow. Right now we should go to bed. 
It's late."

Ken bobbed his head in agreement, carefully averting his eyes from the 
redhead. He could feel his blush grow hotter at Aya's words. Go to bed 
indeed, how was he supposed to share a bed with Aya? What if he did 
something utterly embarrassing like accidentally touch Aya in his sleep...or 
worse?

Aya stalked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him with a firm snap.

Ken slowly got up and changed into his blue and grey plaid pajamas. The bed 
which had looked so big before suddenly seemed so small. He gulped nervously 
as he folded his clothes and stuffed them into his suitcase. The loveseat 
that was situated across from the bed was a bit too small to sleep in and he 
certainly didn't want to sleep on the floor. What would Aya think? Would he 
want to sleep with him?

"Oh God," he moaned woefully. "This must be what it feels like to go crazy."

He paced around nervously, waiting for the redhead. The sound of Aya 
starting a shower caused him to plop down wearily upon the loveseat. It 
looked as though he'd have to remain edgy a little bit longer.

A sigh escaped his mouth as he realized that he'd been unconsciously running 
the tip of his finger over his lips. Thoughts of the kiss inside the closet 
flitted into his mind.

That kiss had been so much different than the kiss on the deck beside the 
railing. Not only had Aya kissed his mouth, but he had also kissed his face 
and sucked at his ear and neck. It had been such a mind-numbing experience. 
Ken hadn't known that one simple kiss could make a person loose all sense of 
reality.

Aya hadn't just kissed him, he *ate* him. And Ken had loved it. God help him 
but he had wanted Aya to kiss him again. And it was even more wonderful that 
he could have possibly imagined.

So did that mean that he was...gay? Lusting after another boy, surely he 
was...could he be...no...

Resignedly, he rested his head against the arm of the sofa. So much had 
happened and it was still only the first day. How on Earth was he supposed 
to survive two weeks of this cruise? There was no way that he could suppress 
his want for Aya for two weeks. So where did that leave him?

~*~

Aya gave his hair one last rough dry with the white towel and headed out of 
the bathroom, steam following him and dissipating into the room around him.

He blinked at the sight of the empty bed and instead found Ken fast asleep 
on the sofa, his feet on the floor, his upper body flounced sideways, his 
head resting against the arm of the loveseat.

His gaze softened at the sight of the sleeping boy as he took in the cute 
plaid pajamas that were too long for him and that covered his hands and feet 
as well as the way shiny, brown bangs obscured dark eyes.

Aya wasn't aware that a slight smile graced his features, as he lifted the 
smaller boy into his arms and carried him to the bed. Gently, he tucked the 
warm comforters around the sleeping soccer player and gave in to the urge to 
brush satiny coffee-colored locks away from closed eyes. A tiny sigh escaped 
the younger boy.

"Oyasumi Ken," he whispered quietly, leaning down to kiss the tip of Ken's 
nose.

Quietly, he closed all the lights and made sure the door was locked. Only 
then did he climb into bed. Almost immediately, Ken rolled over and flung 
himself into his arms.

Aya blinked as the brunette buried himself against him. Ken moaned faintly 
and pressed deeper into the crook between Aya's neck and shoulder.

He couldn't help the smile that splashed across his face at that moment. Ken 
was a snuggler.

TBC

Reading Room?