The call to KR was brief, as Aya expected it would be. He confirmed that Ryo was being followed by another of KR’s operatives, although KR assured him it was matter of routine and nothing more. They did not expect Ryo to pose any threat to Krypton Brand or Kritiker. In fact, his current employer was quite pleased Aya was renewing his friendship, as KR termed it, with a former teammate. Aya took that to mean he had the man’s blessing and nothing more need be said on the subject for now.

Aya pocketed the room’s extra keycard before picking up the plastic hotel bag containing his soiled pants. Now that he had time to rethink his actions of both yesterday and last night, he was more than a little embarrassed at his… eagerness. Not that he would change anything; he wouldn’t. He hadn’t dared to hope he would ever see Ryo again, let alone make love to him. Aya wasn’t going to give him up a second a time.

The jeans Ryo loaned him were, as expected, too long and a bit on the baggy side, but considering current male fashion trends, he didn’t feel too self-conscious as he departed the hotel and walked toward the flower shop and home. Aya bypassed the front entrance and opened the gate that led into the side yard, intent on avoiding both his teammates and their inevitable questions as he used his key to let himself in through the door.

The house was quiet and Aya was certain he’d succeeded in his mission to elude the others as he made his way to his room. He was about to step inside when he heard a distinctive throat-clearing sound behind him. With a sigh of resignation, Aya turned around to face a smiling Chloé.

“Good morning, Chloé.”

Chloé spared his watch a brief glance then swept his gaze over Aya. He noticed the bag the Aya was holding before his eyes lingered on the pants he wore. “It’s a quarter to noon. Barely still morning. And those aren’t your pants.”

Aya willed himself not to blush. “No, they’re Ryo’s. He lent them to me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I want to change and get a few tasks accomplished before returning to Ryo’s hotel.” He walked into his room and gave the door a push to close it behind him.

“Oh no, my friend, you’re not getting away that easily,” Chloé said, stopping the door with one hand as he followed Aya into his room. “Why are you wearing the man’s pants, Aya? Certainly there must be a good explanation and I’d like to hear it.”

“I don’t see how it’s any of your business,” Aya said and then sighed, knowing that unless he shared a few details, Chloé wouldn’t depart without a fuss. “Fine. Have a seat and let me get changed.” After he pulled his pants out of the bag and dropped them into his hamper, Aya fetched a fresh pair from one of the dresser's drawers, along with clean underwear and another sweater. Leaving Chloé for a moment, he disappeared into his bathroom to quickly change.

“You did take my advice, did you not?” Chloé asked the moment Aya reappeared. “You certainly look as if you followed my suggestions to enjoy yourself.”

Aya deposited the rest of his dirty clothes in the hamper then sat down beside Chloé on the bed and nodded. “Yes, I did. Happy? Now you can wander off secure in the knowledge that you were right yet again,” he muttered.

Chloé gasped in mock pain. “You wound me, Aya. I didn’t come to gloat, although I am quite pleased. Ryo is still the man you love, yes? So of course I’m happy that you and he have reunited. However, other than Ken, the rest of us don’t know him and would like an introduction. To that end, Michel and Ken have devised an excellent plan for this evening that includes a lovely homemade dinner and dessert in honor of yours and Ryo’s reunion. Seven o’clock sharp and please don’t be late.”

“There’s no way I’m getting out of this, is there?” Aya asked.

Chloé slid an arm around Aya’s shoulders and kissed him on the cheek. “Not a single chance I’m afraid. I promise it won’t be so terrible. We’ll all be on our best behavior. Even Free has agreed to leave his tarot cards in his room and refrain from making cryptic comments about everyone’s future for the entire evening – a true treat!”

Aya chuckled. “Very well, I’ll ask if Ryo would like to come over for dinner tonight. Not that I don’t think he won’t be agreeable. He’s already expressed an interest in meeting everyone, and I know he wants to talk to Ken directly. I was already planning on bringing him by the shop when he returned from his meeting.”

“You could always invite Ryo to sleep here tonight, unless he has other responsibilities that would make the hotel more convenient. Extend the offer to Ryo and see what he says. Then you won’t have to worry about borrowing his clothing again,” Chloé teased.

“Don’t you think, considering who and what we are, that having Ryo staying here even for one night would be rather imprudent?”

“I don’t see how a single night will cause any problems. When KR phoned earlier he said that he didn’t foresee needing the team for anything over the next few days. In fact, I believe it might have been his suggestion to invite Ryo over for dinner. He might have also suggested that it would be acceptable if you wished to have Ryo stay overnight. I dare say that sounds like ‘father’ has given you both his permission and blessing.”

“I did mention to him that Ryo asked me to stay with him while he was here on business and that I had agreed, but surely KR doesn’t intend to suggest Ryo is welcome to remain here instead of the hotel? I don’t think that’s a good idea. It would be impossible for us to hide certain facts from him and he would eventually find out. Are you telling me that KR, you, and the others are willing to share this information with Ryo?” Aya shook his head. “No, that would make him a security risk and I refuse to put him in harm’s way.”

Chloé tightened his arm around Aya’s shoulders. “I think, Aya, that perhaps you are trying to delay the inevitable. Also, it is not solely your choice to make. Ryo has expressed a desire to be part of your life again, that much is evident by his arrival in the shop looking for you. If your current teammates, who are also your friends, have agreed that they are willing to expose certain aspects of their lives to a man who not only means a great deal to you, but who also used to be in the business, then I do believe that is their choice to make. As it is Ryo’s choice as well. You can’t keep protecting him if he does not wish such protection. Unless you intend to give him up again? Somehow I don’t think so, which means you have to see this to the end, Aya. You can’t pick and choose only the convenient aspects of the situation and leave the rest.”

Aya narrowed his eyes at Chloé. “Exactly what went on here last night while I was with Ryo? Sounds to me like some things were decided without me and I’m not sure I appreciate that. In fact, I’m rather sure I don’t. Look, I don’t know what you, the others, and KR came up with, but I…”

“Aya, do me a favor and be quiet,” Chloé interrupted, tone unexpectedly sharp. “Really, you can be the most exasperating man. So generous and giving one moment and so pig-headed and stubborn the next. Not to mention a man with the most pretentious martyr-complex. I thought you’d divested yourself of that when you joined us. Obviously some habits do die harder than others.” He smiled warmly back at Aya in effort to soften the harshness of his words. “Listen once more as I explain that we came to the decision that if Ryo Itou wishes to know the truth, we will tell him. We aren’t planning to wave the information in his face, but I’ve heard that the man has always been rather observant. If he asks, we won’t lie. It’s as simple as that. You do want this man as part of your life, don’t you? Then I would think you’d be pleased to know you didn’t have to lie to him unnecessarily.”

Shoulders slumped, Aya let go of his anger and accepted both the logic and truth of Chloé’s words. “Alright, you win. You and the others, win. I still don’t think it’s the wisest of decisions. I’m also more than a little confused at why the decision was reached so quickly when Ryo only arrived yesterday. It’s not as if he’s planning on relocating here. In fact, neither he nor I have made any commitments concerning our future – if any – together. This all seems rather premature.”

“Just because the commitments have not been made verbally does not mean they don’t already exist. Wouldn’t you agree? Perhaps the rest of us are able to see what’s been there all along and we’re making plans accordingly. Honestly Aya, I’ve never known you to be so obtuse. It’s disappointing to say the least.” Chloé sighed.

“Fuck off, Chloé,” Aya replied, a smile returning to his lips. “Point – points – taken. It’s difficult to avoid them when they’re being shoved down your throat. Unless he is otherwise engaged, I’ll bring Ryo over tonight for introductions and dinner.”

“Oh, he won’t be otherwise engaged. In fact, I would imagine that he’s already wishing his meeting with those clients of his was over,” Chloé said as he gave Aya’s cheek one last kiss and stood. “I’ll leave you now to your thoughts. Free is, as I said last night, covering your shift in the shop, but you may want to stop by. If you don’t, you run the risk of Ken coming to look for you. He’s fairly chomping at the bit. I can see that Yohji meant quite a bit to him as well.”

“I can imagine. I’ll head to the shop shortly,” Aya said. His mind touched briefly on this earlier conversation with Omi and his smile suddenly grew.

Chloé favored him with a puzzled expression. “I’m not going to ask what caused that look on your face. I’m sure I don’t want to know. Come down when you’re ready.” With a parting smile, Chloé left the room.

Part Seventeen

Ryo waited impatiently for the cab to reach the hotel. The meeting with his clients had gone quite well, but had taken longer than expected. By the time he’d finished the site inspection, it was already after five o’clock. A quick call on his cell to Aya assured Ryo that the man was still waiting for him in the hotel room.

He had the door open and was climbing out of the cab before the vehicle came to a complete halt, pausing only to give the driver the appropriate amount of money plus a hefty tip. Not wanting to draw too much attention to himself, Ryo refrained from sprinting through the lobby to the elevators, although his long-legged, brisk pace was close enough to a run for some.

Ryo unlocked the door with his keycard and stepped inside, pushing the door closed behind him as he toed off his shoes. An unfamiliar overnight bag was sitting on the bed, but Aya was nowhere to be seen and the bathroom was likewise empty. A sudden, chilly gust into the room alerted him to the fact that the balcony door was partially open. He went to investigate and found Aya, bundled up against the wind in his coat, seated in a chair he borrowed from inside the room, reading a book.

“Don’t you think it’s a little cold to be reading outside?” Ryo asked, amusement evident in his voice.

“I prefer the cold. Besides, it’s not too bad today; the sun’s out and it’s almost warm,” Aya answered without looking up. He continued to read while Ryo watched him, finishing another two pages before marking his place and standing up. Aya crossed over to where Ryo stood, wrapped his arms around Ryo’s neck and kissed him. “Welcome back.”

“Your lips are freezing,” Ryo complained, tugging Aya back into the warmth of the room and shutting the sliding door. “I think I’m going to need to warm both them and you up. First I have to get you out of this.” Ryo deftly unbuttoned Aya’s coat, pulling it off of Aya’s shoulders and down his arms before removing it completely and tossing it to the bed.

Beneath the coat, Aya was wearing a soft, cable-knit sweater of a dark blue hue. Ryo murmured his approval a moment before his hands started tugging up on the hem. “This should go too. Skin to skin contact is a necessity. Definitely.” Before he could get anything more than Aya’s stomach exposed, Aya’s hands were stilling his own.

“If you’re trying to get me naked and into bed, then I need to warn you now that we’re expected for dinner at seven sharp. We can’t be late,” Aya said.

“Who said anything about bed?” Ryo replied, feigning innocence. “But what’s this about dinner? You mean back at your place?” He started to chuckle, fingers still toying with the edge of Aya’s sweater. “I get to meet your parents already? Don’t you think that’s going a little fast?”

Aya made a face at Ryo and poked him in the chest. “Behave. It means that you’re going to be introduced to those I live and work with. You have also been invited to stay the night at the house if you want. That part’s optional, but I’m afraid dinner isn’t. I think Chloé would send Ken after us if we didn’t attend.”

Ryo studied Aya’s face as he considered the offer. He could sense that Aya was nervous about this dinner and the prospect of having him stay the night. It was that nervousness, or the cause of it, that intrigued Ryo the most about the situation. “Alright, we’ll go for dinner and I’ll pack my carry-on with a few necessities for tomorrow. So…Ken I kinda know. Who’s Chloé?”

“He’s another one of the people I live and work with. There’s also Free, who I’ve mentioned previously, Michel and Yuki. You’ll meet the others at dinner tonight.”

“Five men who live in one house and run a flower shop together?” Ryo asked, a little skeptical about the situation. “You do know how that sounds, don’t you?”

“Yes, like we’re all members of some gay brothel.” Aya’s tone was more than a little sardonic. “I assure you, Ryo, we run a legitimate flower shop.”

“Hey, I was just commenting. I didn’t say anything about a house of prostitution; you did.” Ryo glanced at his watch, confirming that it was nearly six o’clock. “We have maybe forty minutes before we should leave for your place, right?”

Aya frowned back at him. “Yes, which I’m sure is not enough time for anything that involves you and me naked, no matter how tempting that thought is. Very tempting in fact, but I don’t want to be late for dinner tonight. We’ll just have to be patient and wait until afterwards.”

“There you go again, jumping to conclusions. Who said anything about either of us being naked? If we don’t have time for me to make love to you, then I’m sure I can think of a few other ways to warm you up as promised.” Smiling smugly, Ryo released his hold on Aya’s sweater and dropped to his knees in front of him, fingers now occupied with the unfastening of Aya’s jeans. His smile grew when he pulled down the zipper and found Aya more than half hard, the outline of his cock pressing against the fabric of his briefs.

“I said I wanted to have you fill my mouth, do you remember?” Ryo asked as he leaned forward and traced the cock’s length through the soft material.

He felt Aya shudder a moment before the man quietly said, “Yes.”

“Good. One of us with amnesia is more than enough.” Ryo took hold of the waist of both Aya’s jeans and the underwear beneath, and pulled them down together until they pooled at Aya’s ankles. He sat back on his heels to admire the jut of Aya’s cock, the way it curved upward ever-so slightly. Ryo unconsciously licked his lips and glanced up to find Aya gazing intently back at him.

Suddenly, he was nervous. Very nervous.

“So, I don’t remember ever doing this before. If I do something you don’t like, tell me, okay? And if you do like it… well, I should be able to figure out that much I think.” Ryo tried to laugh off his bout of insecurity as he wrapped a hand around the base of Aya’s cock and gave it a slow couple of strokes.

Aya drew in a sharp breath above him.

“You like that?” Ryo asked, already knowing the answer but needing to hear it.

“Yes.” There was a hint of a tremor to Aya’s deep voice. Knowing that he was already affecting Aya this much increased his confidence.

Ryo leaned forward, resting once again on his knees, and finally lapped at the slit of Aya’s cock, tasting the man’s unique flavor of salt and tang. Aya’s precome was bitter, but Ryo realized he didn’t mind, he only wanted to taste more. He wanted all of Aya without question.

Keeping his one hand at the base, Ryo took Aya’s cock into his mouth, savoring the silky glide of hard flesh over his tongue. He began a gentle bobbing motion over most of the length, gagging himself only once when he became too enthusiastic. Aya, he knew, was controlling himself as best he could, keeping himself from thrusting fully into Ryo’s warm mouth.

When Ryo pulled back to swirl his tongue around the head, Aya moaned and Ryo knew, absolutely knew that it was the most sensitive part of Aya’s cock and that he could make the man come, had made the man come, by focusing on the head alone. He only needed to tease the underside with the flat of his tongue while his mouth sucked the engorged tip, letting his teeth graze the flared ridge that lay nestled against the foreskin behind it. Only needed to focus on that one spot while his hand continued to massage the rest of Aya’s erection, fingers occasionally reaching down to tickle and tease Aya’s balls.

Aya groaned low in his throat and his fingers found purchase in Ryo’s hair, curling around the blond strands and tugging sharply. His hips surged forward a moment before his cock throbbed and exploded. Come filled Ryo’s mouth and, try as he might, he couldn’t contain it all. He swallowed what he could, wanting to taste every drop, but felt some of the come dribble over his lips and down his chin, no doubt falling to stain the front of his shirt.

Eventually Aya slumped forward, panting heavily, signaling the end of his orgasm. Ryo let Aya’s softening cock slip slowly from his mouth, catching the last droplets of come on the tip of his tongue. He wiped at his wet lips with the side of his hand then licked away the come collected on his skin. Reaching up with his hands, Ryo carefully removed Aya’s fingers from his hair and, still holding tightly onto Aya’s hands, rose slowly to his feet.

Brushing the hair away from Aya’s face, he closed the space between them and kissed Aya, parting his lips to give Aya a taste himself. It was slow and long and deep, ending only when Aya’s hand found Ryo’s hard cock and squeezed it through his pants.

“Aya,” Ryo moaned.

Aya’s fingers fumbled with the button on Ryo’s slacks, clumsy in the aftermath of his climax. With a muttered curse, he wrenched open the front of Ryo’s pants and sent the button flying, then pulled down the zipper and pushed past the underwear to grasp Ryo’s erection. Ryo cried out as Aya began to stroke him from root to tip, jerking him off with the perfect amount of pressure, pausing to palm the head just the way that Ryo liked to do to himself.

“Come for me, Ryo,” Aya whispered to him and again Ryo cried out, head thrown back as he grabbed onto Aya’s shoulders and came, his cock gushing over Aya’s hand.

“Fuck,” Ryo said when his cock was finally spent. “That was intense.”

“Yes, it was,” Aya replied before he started to lick Ryo’s come from his hand. Ryo watched and whimpered, his cock giving a faint stir at the erotic sight.

“I told you that I’d warm you up, didn’t I? And we’ve got time to spare, I bet. You shouldn’t doubt my skills, Aya. Obviously I don’t need my memories to still give good head, do I?” Ryo teased.

Aya finished cleaning his hand and smiled back at Ryo. “Yes, you did and no, you don’t. Thank you, Ryo.”

“No need to thank me, love. The pleasure was entirely mutual. But, I believe I need to change my pants and my shirt. Somehow these got a little messed up.”

Ryo smiled at the light flush of color on Aya’s cheeks. “Sorry about your pants. I’ll pay to have them repaired of course.”

“Don’t worry about it. I have several other pairs with me. Besides, I think the sacrifice of one button was more than worth the end result. Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll be ready to leave for dinner. But first…” Ryo knelt in front of Aya once again and pulled up his underwear and jeans, giving his cock and balls one last fondle before he tucked them away and refastened Aya’s pants.

“Good as new. Okay, my turn now.”

Ryo chose a pair of black jeans and a sweater of forest green cashmere from his belongings. Both he and Aya made use of the bathroom for a quick wash-up and then Aya waited for Ryo to change. When he finished, he held his arms out and spun slowly around, awaiting Aya’s approval.

“You look great, but you don’t need me to tell you that,” Aya commented. He put on his coat, picked up his overnight bag and waited for Ryo by the door.

“Of course I look great, but I still need you to tell me that. You’re the only one that matters to me, Aya,” Ryo replied as he tugged on his own coat and joined Aya at the door, his own carry-on bag in hand. He leaned in to steal a quick kiss. “Shall we go?”

Aya snorted in response, but Ryo could see he was also smiling slightly as they departed the hotel room.

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