Every Rose Has It's Thorn

A songfic by zheyrryhn

I don't own Weiss or this song. They belong to their respective creators, Koyasu Takahito, Project Weiss and Warrant.

We both lie silently still
In the dead of the night

Yoji sat in the mission room, a full 12 pack of empty beer cans covering the table, his jade eyes red rimmed, tracks of tears drying on his face.

He still couldn't believe it was over. For almost six months he'd been going out with Ikue, the girl supplying a bright point in his dismal existance. He'd come to depend on her smiles and her gentle kisses after missions. He'd become attached.

He'd been in love again.

He closed his eyes, fresh tears seeping out from under closed eyelids.

Although we both lie close together We feel miles apart inside

They'd made love, passionately. But from the start he had known something was different.

Something had been wrong in the way she held him, kissed him.

He glanced at the clock.

Had it only been 6 hours ago?

It seemed like an eternity.

Was it something I said or something I did
Did the words not come out right

The blonde couldn't figure out what he'd done to make her break up with him.

But she'd done it.

Left him.

And somehow it was his fault.

Her words still burned in his ears and stung his heart.

'I can't take it anymore. I don't want to see you! Not ever!'

And she'd gotten into her car and driven off leaving him standing there alone in the rain.

"Ikue... what did I do?" he asked softly, voice choked with pain.

Though I tried not to hurt you
Though I tried
But I guess that's why they say

Aya stood at the foot of the spiral stairs, watching his team mate from the shadows.

He knew why Ikue had broken up with Yoji.

Yoji had convinced Ken not to leave them not so terribly long ago. But he'd used a different approach to seperate the ex-soccer player from Yuriko. He'd used Ken's own guilt to pull him back to Weiss where he belonged.

The red-head had applied pressure on the weakest point of Yoji's relationship.

The girl's own fears that Yoji was not just the simple flowerman he seemed to be because of the way he lived and the money that flowed out of his pocket like water from a tap.

But a promise of money--and a lot of it--if she left town and got out of the blonde's life hadn't been enough to drive her away from the blonde. A few softly whispered words, a thinly veiled threat if she didn't do what she'd been asked had sufficed to get the job done.

Every rose has its thorn
Just like every night has its dawn

Yoji stood up. He wanted more beer to drown his sorrows.

And there was Aya, watching him from the shadows, his alabaster face a blank mask, arms crossed over his orange turtle-neck.

"It was you..." Yoji said in sudden realization.

"Hai.." the younger assassin replied.

"Why?" Yoji asked, taking a step toward his team mate, the pain still evident amid the confusion.

"Because of what we are, Yoji."

Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song
Every rose has its thorn
Yeah it does

The blonde just stood there, staring at Aya. "I love her, Aya."

"I know."

The red-head crossed the distance between them and looked into the tormented jade eyes.

Anger heated Yoji's blood and he threw a punch.

Aya didn't even try to stop it.

I listen to our favorite song
Playing on the radio
Hear the DJ say loves a game of easy come and
Easy go

Violet eyes looked up at Yoji from where Aya lay on the floor. Blood trickled from his torn mouth.

"DAMN YOU!" Yoji raged, lashing out with his foot and kicking the prone man.

Aya grunted at the impact, his body rolling across the floor to come up hard against the bottom step. He lay there, dazed for a moment and then Yoji was on him, the blonde's fists hammering at him.

But I wonder does he know
Has he ever felt like this
And I know that you'd be here somehow
If I could have let you know somehow
I guess

Anger fueling his body, driving away the pain, the blonde battered his team mate, Aya now trying to block some of the punches with his arms, shielding his face from the worst of the blows.

After a few moments Yoji's fists stopped pounding Aya and the blonde backed away, legs sprawled out, face damp with sweat, breathing rapid.

Aya uncurled from his place on the floor and scooted over to the blonde.

Jade eyes glared at Aya from behind a curtain of sweat damp hair.

Every rose has its thorn Just like every night has its dawn

A slender hand brushed the locks of gold aside, "Yoji... remember what you told Ken," Aya murmured. "We're all bloodstained and damned. How long could you have continued the charade her before it was her blood on your hands?"

Yoji looked away, "I know.... But why that way, Aya? Why not just... say something to me?"

"Would it have worked?"

"No."

"That's why." Aya replied, his fingers stroking through Yoji's hair, the touch gentle.

Yoji's gaze lifted, jade meeting amethyst.

Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song
Every rose has its thorn
Yeah it does

For a moment they stayed like that, staring into each other's eyes.

"Aya?"

"Shhhh..." the red-head urged, his fingertips brushing over Yoji's lips.

There was puzzlement on the blonde's face as he continued to meet Aya's unwavering gaze.

"She is gone, Yoji," Aya murmured softly. "You won't ever see her again."

"I... know... but..."

Though it's been a while now
I can still feel so much pain

"Shhh..." Aya repeated, "listen to me for a minute. Stop and think. Would you have wanted her involved in our lives? Be honest with yourself."

Like a knife that cuts you the wound heals
But the scar, that scar remains

"No." The blonde looked away, staring off into the distance of his own memories, another woman's smile haunting him.

I know I could have saved a love that night
If I'd known what to say

"Hn." Abyssinian grunted as he forced Yoji to look up at him again.

Instead of makin' love
We both made our separate ways

"There's another reason it couldn't have worked, Yoji. I wanted to spare you from worse pain later."

"Worse pain?" the blonde asked, confusion on his face again.

"Hai," Aya replied as he met the blonde's jade gaze once again.

But now I hear you found somebody new
And that I never meant that much to you

"What are you talking about?"

"Lust and money go a long way to making up for lost love, Yoji. At least for some people," Aya said as his fingers brushed along the blonde's cheek.

"What are you saying, Aya?" the older man asked, becoming more aware of how close Aya was to him, their body heat mingling.

"She wasn't totally truthful with you either, Yoji. She's married."

"Nani?" the blonde replied, shocked, jade eyes wide.

"Hai." Aya pulled a picture out of his pants pocket. It was creased and a bit damaged, but the people in it were still quite clear. "She never loved you, Yoji. She was just using you."

A very pretty woman was standing beside a smiling businessman. The woman was clearly Ikue. His Ikue. The business man had his arm around her for the photo which looked like it had been taken at the airport.

"Ikue..." Yoji murmured, staring at the picture then looking up at Aya. Fresh tears glittered in his eyes. "She...? He...? They...? It was.... a lie..."

To hear that tears me up inside
And to see you cuts me like a knife
I guess

"That's her husband. He's in America right now doing work for his company," Aya explained hating the pain he could see in the blonde's eyes. "The money I gave her will pay for her plane fare to be with him."

Yoji sighed, "I was a fool."

"You were in love," Aya replied, his fingers still caressing the other man, sliding through his hair.

"Yeah."

Yoji noticed that Aya was playing with his hair and he met the violet gaze, puzzled. "Aya, what are you doing?"

A faint ghost of a smile flitted over Aya's lips, "I'm touching you."

"I noticed. Why are you doing it?"

"Because I want too."

"You... Why?"

Aya's hands moved down Yoji's body, caressing, touching, his mouth locking to the blonde's in a passionate kiss, their tongues sparring.

Gasping, Yoji broke away form the kiss and held Aya back at arm's length. "Aya?"

"I want you, Yoji."

The blonde blinked, too shocked to speak.

Aya's mouth was on his again, the red-head kissing the older man deeply.

"I realized we don't have to be alone, Yoji. We're killers, true. But even killers deserve a bit of light amid the darkness. Even if that light has to come from another killer."

The blonde stared at Aya. "What are you saying?"

The only response he got was another heated kiss and a pair of hands under his shirt, touching him, warming his battered soul.

Breaking away from the kiss Yoji stared at Aya, "What are you doing? Why are you doing this?"

Every rose has its thorn
Just like every night has its dawn

"Because I want you, Yoji."

Jade eyes blinked, the strangeness of the situation almost more than the blonde could comprehend in his rather inebriated and emotionally drained state. "You... want... me?"

"Hai," Aya answered as he pulled Yoji's shirt off and set it aside. "I want you."

Yoji didn't say anything for a few moments, then he nodded, "Okay."

The slight smile returned and Aya pushed Yoji down on his back, kissing the man, his hands playing across Yoji's body, awakening his over active libido with an ease the blonde would have marveled at if he'd been thinking totally clearly.

In minutes Aya had the blonde moaning, begging for more than the kisses and caresses.

Stripping his own clothes off Aya slicked his erection down with the lube he took from Yoji's own pant's pocket and lifted the blonde's long legs.

"Aya... what...?"

"Shhhh.... Yoji." Aya soothed, bending down to kiss the older man. "I know what I'm doing."

"Yeah... I guess you do.." the blonde replied and then gasped as Aya slipped inside of him.

Aya sighed and then gave the blonde a more pronounced smile, "I've wanted to do this for a while, Yoji."

"You... wanted me?"

"Hai..." Aya answered as he stared to move inside the blonde.

Moaning, Yoji reached up and touched Aya's face. "I didn't know you even... did this with anyone."

"I have. Just not... recently," Aya answered as he lowered himself to kiss the blonde.

"Why with me?"

"Because we're both in the same Hell, Yoji." Aya picked up the pace a bit, the blonde moaning loudly under him as he took the man's cock into his hand and started stroking it.

When Yoji came a few minutes later he gasped out Aya's name, cum spattering them both.

Aya gave a few more hard thrusts and then sank down onto the blonde.

Yoji's arms encircled Aya, holding him close, the jade eyes open and looking somewhere far away. Asuka, smiling. Ikue laughing happily.

The women faded and he was seeing Aya's smile. Something he had seldom seen. Warmth from the cold, emotionless man. A genuine smile.

They lay there in silence for a few minutes, chest to chest, their racing hearts together.

"Aya?"

"Hn?"

"Arigatou."

The red-haired man pulled out of Yoji's embrace. "Hn."

Yoji sighed as Aya started to pick up his clothes. "Leaving already?"

Violet eyes, once more hard and emotionless met Yoji's jade gaze. "I thought we could take this to your bed."

Yoji smiled. "Sounds good."

A spark of something hot glinted from the red-haired man's eyes. Does it?"

"Hai."

"Good."

Together they cleaned up the mess they'd made and then went up the stairs.

Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song
Every rose has its thorn
Yeah it does

And--just sometimes--the thorns had roses.

Smiling, Yoji let Aya into his bedroom.

Neither of them knew what tomorrow might bring, but they could face whatever came their way from a new perspective.

Damned, yeah, they were that, bound for Hell's eternal flames.

But they were no longer alone.

And to Yoji, that was all that mattered.

The door swung closed behind them.

~owari~