Chapter 2

Omi hummed softly to himself as he worked among the seedlings, carefully transplanting them into larger pots. These would be ready for sale in a few weeks, since the first of their flower buds were already appearing. The Koneko grew as many of their own flowers as they could - it gave them an excuse for having FOUR workers, plus Momoe-san.

Up front he could hear Ken singing along to a song from the radio, occasionally wandering off-key but making up for it with his enthusiasm. He was putting the finishing touches on the afternoon's orders, getting them ready for delivery. Omi wondered absently if he could talk Ken into making the delivery run that day.

The bell above the door jangled, and he heard Ken break off in mid-song to greet the customer. The usual rush of schoolgirls had been mostly absent that day - with summer holidays in full swing and a gorgeous day in progress, most of them were at the beach.

"Irrashaimase!" Ken greeted the newcomer energetically. "What can I do for you?"

"Actually, I was looking for Omi?" The familiar-sounding voice made the statement more of a question. Curious, unable to put a face to the voice, Omi peeked around the edge of the door.

"Ah, Hiroshi-kun!" he exclaimed, dropping the trowel and wiping his hands on his apron as he made his way to the front of the store. It had been nearly a week and a half since their meeting in the club, and Omi had long since concluded that Hiroshi had no intention of looking him up after all. He was pleasantly surprised to be wrong.

"Hey!" Hiroshi replied, giving him a big grin. In the bright summer sunlight Omi got his first good look at the other boy, and fought the blush that wanted to spring to his cheeks. He'd been stunningly handsome on-stage, and primally attractive in the club afterwards - but in daylight in casual clothes, he still exuded an aura of casual sensuality that caught Omi's interest. The sunlight struck sparks off his long auburn hair, forming a fiery halo around his well-defined features. His body was lean and muscled, showed off by the tight t-shirt and denim cut-offs he wore.

Ken was looking back and forth between them. "School friend of yours, Omi?" he asked curiously.

Omi shook his head, glad for the distraction. He'd been having a hard time tearing his eyes away from Hiroshi's body, and didn't want to give himself away. "Iie. We met at a club a little while ago. You remember, the night I went out to that concert with Yumiko-san?"

Ken chuckled. "How could I forget? Youji kicked up such a fuss about you finally having a date..."

Omi lost the battle with the blush. "Mou, Ken-kun!" he protested, flapping his hands at the older boy. "It wasn't a date, I told you already! She needed someone to go with her so her parents would let her go out. She's GOT a boyfriend already!"

"He certainly didn't spend much time with her, I can vouch for that," Hiroshi put in, winking at Omi. The young assassin felt flustered by the possible implications that could be read into Hiro's statement, and was glad Youji wasn't there to overhear. He decided to take refuge in formal introductions.

"Ken-kun, this is Nakano Hiroshi - he plays guitar for Bad Luck, the band I was telling you about. Hiro-kun, this is Hidaka Ken."

"Hidaka Ken?" Hiroshi repeated in some surprise. "Not the J-League player?"

Now it was Ken's turn to blush. "Uh... yeah. I used to be. I try not to advertise it, though - most of the press still thinks I'm dead, thank God."

Hiroshi nodded. "The one thing I'm not looking forward to about making it big is living in a fishbowl. I've seen some of what the tabloids will go through to get a story, and it's not pretty."

Ken shrugged. "You never really get used to it, but you do get to the point where you can mostly ignore it. I'd just as soon NOT have them chasing after me here, though. So, you're a musician?"

"You've seen him Ken-kun, on that game show I was watching the other day." Omi broke in.

Ken snapped his fingers. " Oh, sure, I remember. That's why you looked a little familiar. You were pretty impressive - I can't remember the last time one of the contestants on those shows got more right answers than Omittchi here."

Hiro smiled his thanks, as Omi blushed again. "I still can't believe K got us involved in that. What a mess! And Shuuichi demanding to be allowed to sing like that..."

Omi's eyes gleamed. "Sakuma Ryuichi sings at your debut concert, and Seguchi Touma bullies the network into keeping their agreement so you can sing on live TV... you sure lead a charmed life, Hiro-kun! But who was the third person with you?"

"That was Fujisaki Suguru, our new third member. NG agreed to give us full backing - on the condition that we took him on to do our arrangements for us. Shuuichi's been relegated to lyrics only, and he's not very happy about it, but Fujisaki's not a bad kid."

"I thought Rage Beat sounded a little different from the concert version. It was good, though!" Hiroshi nodded.

"Yeah, he's Touma's cousin, believe it or not, and just as much of a prodigy. Once Shuuichi finally settles down about it, Fujisaki's really gonna be good for the band. Though it's a little weird to have someone else in it after all these years together - really changes the group dynamics."

Omi nodded. "Un. I remember when Aya-kun first started working here at the flower shop with us - Ken-kun and Youji-kun and I had been working together for more than a year at that point. It took us a long time to adjust, but when we finally did, we worked even better than before!" Ken cast him a warning glance at that oblique reference to Weiss, but left it alone. There really wasn't anything indiscreet in what Omi had said.

Hiro nodded, and with a glance at Omi for permission, slung himself into one of the chairs at the central table, across from where Ken was working. Omi joined them, taking up the last of the arrangements and letting his hands fly along the supple stems.

"Do you want me to do the deliveries today, Omi?" Ken asked, tying the last ribbon on the bouquet. "There aren't many, and I should be back before Youji gets here. I'm off once he's here, and Aya'll be along shortly after, then you're off."

Omi nodded, giving his friend a grateful smile. "Thanks! Here, just let me finish this..." Bending his head in concentration, he worked the last of the blooms together. "There. All done. Be careful, Ken-kun."

Ken laughed at him as he scooped up all the deliveries. "Hai, kaa-san," he said teasingly, rubbing Omi's head with his free hand. "I'll see you in half an hour or so. Mata!"

The chimes over the door rang pleasantly as he exited the shop, leaving the two boys behind in silence. Omi found that he was nervous, his fingers fidgeting, so he grabbed the leftover flowers and started working on an arrangement for the window. Some of the displays there were starting to look a little wilted, and needed replacement soon anyway.

Hiro watched him work with undisguised fascination. "You're really good at that," he complimented Omi. "Where'd you learn it?"

Omi shrugged, keeping his eyes fixed on the flowers so he wouldn't blush. "Just picked it up over the years, I guess. I've been working here the longest of the four of us, and Ken-kun after me, so we usually get the creative stuff. Aya-kun and Youji-kun take care of the books and stock and replanting and stuff like that."

Hiro nodded, and leaned back in his chair. "Are you still in high school?" Omi shook his head.

"No, I graduated a few weeks ago. I skipped a year, though, so I really shouldn't have finished until next year."

Hiroshi's eyes gleamed. "In other words, you're too young to have been at that club." Omi flushed to be caught out.

"Uh..."

Hiro laughed. "Don't worry, I won't tell on you. I'm only nineteen, myself, but Shuuichi and I faked IDs years ago, and they still work just fine. Personally, I only care about kids with fake ID who're too immature to be drinking - you don't strike me as the type."

Omi nodded. "I've never really liked alcohol - I just like to dance, so I figure it doesn't really hurt anyone. I'm certainly not going to help Yumiko again any time soon, though! Her parents were so mad..." They both chuckled, then fell silent again for a moment, the quiet more comfortable now. Omi was strangely content, working there with Hiro keeping him company.

"So how come you're working here at all?" Hiro finally asked curiously.

Omi carefully clipped the stems of a couple of roses, and inserted them into the growing arrangement. "I'm an orphan," he explained, giving the official version of his background. "The woman who owns the Koneko is my legal guardian, but she's a sweet little old lady who really didn't know what to do with a kid. I started working here to help support myself, and found that I liked it. When Ken-kun and Youji-kun started working here, and they both needed a place to live, we all agreed to split the rent on the apartment above the store. Then Aya-kun came along, and we gave him the spare bedroom. It works out well - it means we don't have to pay much for rent, and we get along pretty well."

"Orphaned, huh? That must be tough," Hiro commented, idly twirling a daisy between his fingers. "How old were you - if you don't mind me asking?"

"Eleven or so," Omi replied. "I don't really remember much of my life before coming here - I have trauma-induced amnesia, or so the doctors tell me. I get little bits and pieces back now and again, but for the most part..." he shrugged again. "It used to bother me, but it doesn't any more. I'm pretty happy with my life."

Hiro nodded, still watching him work. Omi had the feeling that he was working up to saying something, trying to dredge up his courage.

"I'm sorry I didn't come see you sooner," he said, blushing faintly. "I really did mean to, but life's been crazy since K took over as our manager. He's been dragging us all over the place, trying to get us more exposure."

"That's okay. It must be pretty busy, trying to get noticed and promoted. Though I admit I'd given up on seeing you again." Omi watched him obliquely, trying not to hope that Hiro had felt the same way he did.

Hiro apparently came to a decision. "Look, I'm probably about to make a complete and utter idiot of myself, but... would you like to go out sometime, to dinner or a movie or something?" His blush was in full bloom now, and he studied the scratches in the tabletop like they would give him the answers to life.

Omi's first impulse was to accept unconditionally, but something held him back. His life wasn't entirely his own - so much of his time and energy was wrapped up in Weiss. Could he spare enough for a relationship? He still remembered what had happened to Ken and Yuriko, and to himself and Ouka. Would he be placing Hiroshi in danger? His strange double life was already complicated enough. Could he deal with the lies and frustrations that would inevitably come with any relationship he was in? Could he be in a relationship with the almost certain knowledge that one day it would come down to a choice, and he would choose Weiss?

And what if he didn't take this chance? All his life that he could remember, he'd put Kritiker first. Even his brief relationship with Ouka had been more a side effect of a mission than anything else. Wasn't it about time he tried doing something just for himself?

He'd taken too long to answer - Hiro's face had closed up and he looked like he was readying a hasty exit line. "I'd love to," Omi blurted out before he could say anything, and the warmth in his chest when Hiroshi gave him a startled smile told him he'd made the right choice.

"Really? Uh, that's great! When did you want to go?"

Omi thought about it. They didn't have any missions right now, he didn't have homework to worry about, and he was off as soon as Aya arrived at the store. "How about tonight? If I'm not being too forward..."

"No, tonight's great. We can grab a burger or something, and catch a movie - I hope you're not expecting anything fancy," Hiro teased him, "because I'm just a starving artist right now. You're probably making more than me."

Omi laughed, delighted. "That sounds great to me. You're welcome to hang out here until Aya-kun gets here, then we can take off." They smiled shyly at each other, both a little uncertain but hopeful. However this turned out, Omi had a very strong feeling that he would never forget this relationship.

|Chapter 1| |Chapter 2| |Chapter 3| |Chapter 4| |Chapter 5| |Chapter 6| |Chapter 7|

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