Changing Perceptions

He missed being on assignment. It still irked him that the Captain wouldn't let him take the mission. It had already been three weeks since the abduction and he was going stir crazy over the inactivity. To be fair, he still tired easily, but he was building up his strength again. The sword work and the resumption of his regular exercise had helped. 

Most of the team were on the mission. The ones that weren't-- well, they had their usual entertainment and normal activities to take themselves off to. Tomiko did ask him if he wanted to watch a movie with her and Ching, but Ran didn't want to intrude. The couple had precious little privacy as it stood, he didn't want to spoil their chance for a romantic evening out. 

Lon was on the mission... This was the first time in a long while that Ran could remember not having the fiery haired gaijin near by. He didn't know what he should be feeling about the absence. It hadn't been unpleasant to have the man's almost constant company over the last couple of weeks. Or even to cuddle with him at night when he felt in the mood. Ran couldn't even begin to describe the feelings he had to be held cradled in the other man's arms. What more, Lon wasn't irritating or suffocating to have around like Tomiko and Ching, or even the Captain, had been for the past few weeks. Lon was... comfortable. They were just being protective. Ran knew that his abduction had scared them all, especially knowing that his captor was Scarface. He was still troubled over why Scarface had let him go unharmed. 

//"But God is dead."//

Ran felt himself shiver as a chill ran through him. Knowing that the man kept a vendetta against God, he couldn't explain now why he had said that to Scarface. That had been a dangerous thing to do. But he wasn't exactly all that lucid with the drugs Scarface pumped into him.

With the kata over, Ran sheathed his sword and reached for a towel to wipe away the sweat from his exertions. His hand brushed against the lines of scars over his bared chest. He frowned to himself trying to remember what he had said to Scarface when he was asked about them. He had talked far more about the tattoos and scars to the Nomad in the space of hours than he had ever said to his comrades in the months he'd been with them. It made him angry now, violated again to have his privacy so exposed to strangers.

His fingers ran down the line of the most recent scar, now months old. He was getting over it. Had stopped taking a knife to his own flesh ages ago. Far as he was concerned he was over what happened with the tattoos. It had been rape. Just simple, crude rape and abuse over the weeks he had been held captive. He hardly dreamed about the violation anymore. The pinpricks of the tattoo artist's needle were faint memories now... 

His eyes stung. He rubbed them angrily and grabbed his gear to head for the bathroom. Maybe if he was lucky, Tomiko had some new bath salts in stock.

He decided to sneak the use of Tomiko's aromatherapy selection. Ran knew she wouldn't mind. She'd offered before, but he'd blushed at the thought of emerging from the bath smelling of flowers. Most everyone else was out this night though, so he felt it was safe enough to luxuriate in Tomiko's lavender bubble bath.

It was no secret that he loved taking bubble baths. It was one of his few guilty pleasures. He never told anyone, but it was his last connection and reminder of his elder brother, Ran. In a family of six children, he had often been placed under Ran's supervision. They had been sharing bubble baths since they were kids. They had stopped when they were older but that that didn't put a halt to the water fights when they discovered the Super Soaker. Their parents would complain that they were too old for it, but the real Ran couldn't resist engaging a bubble bath and water fight with his little brother. Still, their parents were tolerant of the activities, so long as they cleaned up after themselves. 

He missed Ran. Taking his name, hearing others using it when they were called him helped alleviate the heartsick loss. But he had to recognise that it wasn't very healthy. However, he didn't know how to stop it or even if he really wanted to. He remembered how much Ran used to tease him over the inappropriate connotations to their names. How the roughneck of the family was named after an orchid while the scholarly brother received the name dragon. 

'Ryu' he hadn't been called that for some four years now. Not since he lost his family and took his brother's identity. It seemed appropriate at that time. Ran had always been the fighter in the family. Ran had wanted to join the military. Learn how to use a Katana... He had done it for him. He became Ran. Ryu was just a memory.

He felt his eyes drawn downwards. Most of the bubbles in the bath had already dispersed leaving him able to see into the lavender waters to where the butterfly graced the skin of his inner left thigh. He was sorry that the mission had to be on Ran's records. Sometimes, he did wonder if the real Ran could have handled the mission better. If he could have avoided the disgrace and degradation... 

He studied himself in his mirror, decked out in full gear. He couldn't resist putting it on when he emerged from the bath and caught sight of the grey/black uniform hanging in his closet. It seemed like such a long time ago when he last wore it. In some ways, it was like a security blanket to him. He felt better to be on missions in uniform than to be undercover in specially designed civilian gear.

He had been undercover that time when he was captured. Whatever fancy designs his civilian gear sported did nothing to prevent his captors from taking his weapons away. It had in fact prompted them to strip him completely...

Ran closed his eyes, as he commanded himself to stop thinking down that trail. What happened to him was over a year in the past. He didn't want to keep dwelling on it.

When he opened his eyes again, he was surprised to find himself in pitch-blackness. He stared about him in surprise, considering the massive backup systems Special Forces installed in the Art Centre he wondered how it was possible for it to have suffered an outage. Then a prickling sensation between his shoulder blades made him swing around towards the lone window in his room.

The blinding flash that greeted him was totally unexpected. Ran cried out in pain as he stumbled back. His eyes felt as if they were seared with a hot iron. 

"Hello there, lad. I thought you'd be in." A familiar voice from the vicinity of the window sent an icy chill through him. "Nomad's probably meeting up with your Special Forces right now. I don't know why they bother, I really don't. It'll just be the same old song and dance between our squads. I thought I'd pay you a visit instead."

Jonah watched in amusement as the Japanese youth turned away from him and ran unerringly through his door to the hallway beyond. He could see that the boy obviously knew his way around the apartment well enough that he was confident of finding his way in the dark. It couldn't have been very much different to navigate while blinded.

He followed at a leisurely pace. "Don't be this way, lad. I owe you a favour. You straightened my head out."

"What do you want?" The boy hurried towards the stairs, desperate to keep a distance between them. "What did you do to the others?" 

Jonah pondered a moment on his activities earlier in the evening. He must have been in a rare mood. He didn't kill anyone yet. "Sent them on their way to a good rest, lad. I didn't want anyone interrupting our reunion."

"What do you want?!" 

In the narrow confines of the staircase up to the roof access, the Special Forces boy swung around with his sword drawn. His eyes were still tearing. The scar-faced man doubted that he could see. Jonah had spent some time calculating the intensity, and he was quite sure the blinding flash was not strong enough to have done permanent damage to the boy's eyes. But it was enough that the boy would be blinded for a good week or so. 

"To repay a favour. I thought we'd see just how much would be 'enough' for you." 

Jonah chuckled to himself to see the desperation in the Japanese boy's expression. He felt some relief in him that the boy did not display totally apathy to life. It would have been boring otherwise.

"I know how to hurt now, lad. Thanks to you."

"What?"

"I had a cat, you see. Sweet little thing adopted me some years back. I killed it last week." The scar-faced man mused sadly. "It hurt. I could feel it hurt me to realise that she isn't around anymore to rub against my legs. I walked into my room today, and I missed having her bound towards me as I entered. It hurt. I could feel that twinge within me. I actually felt this exquisite pain."

He tossed a length of chain around the sword in the boy's hands and wrenched it away from him. "No more need to try and cut myself, or go out and create havoc. No more fucking around with trying to hurt God, because by golly, you're right. He is dead. He must be or He'd not have let Nomad create such misery in the world, heh? Sure there are the Special Forces to counteract Nomad, but you're essentially clean up crew."

Jonah advance on the blinded youth, his chain flickered out to knock the standard issue gun from his hand as well. "So how about it, lad? You did me a favour. I would like to return it."

The Japanese youth backed away. Jonah could see from the boy's expression that he understood what Jonah was offering. The scar-faced man could taste his growing fear. "It's none of your business!"

"But why not? I am a master of the art. You can see my skills plainly enough, can't you? Oops, I guess not at the moment. Manganese flare. The pain is excruciating, but the damage shouldn't be permanent."

Ran cursed himself for his own stupidity as he backed up the stairs. Scarface had disarmed him so easily it was embarrassing. He should have headed downstairs where he could have reached the streets and tried to run for cover. He opted for the high ground instead. Hoping that he'd have an advantage on the stairs where Scarface would be forced to approach from below him. But without a weapon that advantage was pretty much negated. The older man's words confirmed his suspicions on his blindness. His vision hadn't any hope of being restored anytime soon. His situation was looking bleak.

"For a man who doesn't feel pain, I know the trade, lad. I could teach you." Ran took a step back for every one he could sense being taken towards him.

"I'm over it!"

"Are you now?" The mocking voice followed him, seeming to form his entire world in the starry white darkness that formed his only vision. "They raped you, didn't they? Singly? In groups? How long did they take to paint that lovely picture on your back?"

"Shut up!" He never talked about it with anyone before. He didn't want to think about the weeks he spent as a prisoner. It happened a long time ago. He was long over the nightmares and the frequent flashbacks that used to torment him.

"But I want to help you with your pain, lad." The voice sounded sorrowful as it came a step closer, making Ran take another step back. "I was selfish when we last met. Didn't even think to talk to you about your troubles. I was only concerned about myself."

"Scarface-- I don't want your help." He tried desperately to keep the whine out of his voice. 

"Jonah."

"Huh?"

"Call me 'Jonah', lad."

"Jonah-- Leave me alone." Scarface had him terrified. From the moment he was first 'introduced' to this opponent, he had been afraid of the man. The self-inflicted scars the Nomad wore like trophies reminded him of his own efforts, which he kept hidden under his clothes. Ran didn't want to become like the madman. "We-- aren't the same. You don't feel pain."

"Oh, but I do now. Thanks to you. I can feel pain now, a beautiful pain so much purer than any memory I've had of a physical injury. I doubt it's the same as the one you carry within you though. Tell me, what does it feel like?"

Ran felt his back hit the door to the roof access. "Why?"

"For later comparison, lad. Those little cuts were clearly not enough, I could show you better ways." 

Ran let out an involuntary squeak as he sensed the man lunge towards him. He tumbled through the door, scrambling to his feet in his effort to avoid the hands that reached for him. 

"You want it, lad."

"No!" He stood in the centre of the roof landing. His eyes closed, other senses on high and trained on the Nomad. Ran tried to remember what Tomiko had talked to him about the energies of opponents around him. Even if he could not see them, even if he was blinded, he could still feel his opponent's every movement. He felt more than heard the snake of the chain approaching and moved away before it reached him. 

"Don't be like this, lad. I want to help you."

"I don't want your help!" Ran followed the voice as his hands surreptitiously reached for the darts that all members of the Special Forces carried.

"Are you sure, little dragon?"

He stiffened at the address, almost giving the man the chance to snag him in the chain length before he ducked. 

"Surprised, little dragon? It isn't hard, you know. To do a bit of digging into the past if you know how." The Nomad chuckled. "Your brother used to think you were the delicate one, right? Isn't it your true nature?"

"Shut up!" He let fly with five darts, finding satisfaction in hearing two solid 'thunks' telling him that he hit his target. 

"Tsk, Tsk. Hit a nerve didn't I, little dragon. And just what did you hope to accomplish with these toys, heh?"

Ran cursed silently, he forgot what they had learnt about the scar-faced Nomad. The little bit of poison that Special Forces used in their darts had no effect on the man with remarkable recuperative powers. He knew that he only succeeded in making the madman angry. 

"Sc-- Jonah-- I don't--" Ran barely avoided the darts that were thrown back at him. He was running out of options fast. From their movements, he knew that the madman was slowly herding him into a corner. It wouldn't be long before he'd be trapped.

"But it'll be good for you--" 

"I don't need your help! I'm over it!"

"Tsk, Tsk. That's denial, speaking it's mind, little dragon. Is it really true? How many weeks were you a prisoner? Or was it months?"

"Shut up!"

"Did they handcuff you to the bed? It was like that in the beginning, wasn't it? Before they cowed you enough that you stopped fighting and let them do what ever they wanted. How long did it take them to train you into not fighting back."

"Shut up!"

"Or were there enough numbers that they just took turns holding you down?"

"Shut up!" It was rash, it was a stupid to let the man goad him into attacking, but Ran didn't care anymore. He just wanted the man to stop talking. He wanted the Nomad to stop saying things that would drag his pain out again.

In unarmed combat, Tomiko was one of the few who he couldn't touch. Under normal circumstances, Scarface wasn't in the same league. But in this fight, the Nomad was armed while he was blind. In his heart, Ran knew he had lasted this long because Scarface didn't want to kill him. 

The end was inevitable. Jonah made a feint to the left and changed directions to charge the rattled boy. The Nomad was on him before he could put up a defence. Jonah smiled to himself as he straddled the Japanese boy's stomach, and used one of his hands to pin the boy's wrists over his head. The younger man was in a full-blown panic. 

"Get off me!"

"Shh, it's going to be okay little dragon." The Nomad spoke softly as he stroked the boy's face comfortingly. "I'm not going to rape you. That's a promise. You're already in enough pain from that bit of the past.

"I told you, I'm just returning the favour. I want to help."

"How?" His prisoner choked out as he struggled fruitlessly under him. "Doesn't-- doesn't matter that you're not going to fuck me. It's the same."

"What's that, lad?"

"Control-- that-- that's all it is. Loss-- loss of control."

Jonah stared at the boy trembling beneath him. He hadn't thought of it that way before. Even as he watched, the Japanese lad was calming his breathing, forcing apathy into being. His mental shield taking root in the face of his helplessness. 

Control... it really was all about control. Their self-inflicted injuries... it was under their control. Jonah wanted to help him, but unless the boy was willing he was only adding to the trauma. Adding to the pain the younger man was trying to hide from. 

Jonah sighed as he got off the boy and pulled him into his arms. His fingers reached over to trace the tracks of tears down the Japanese youth's face. The Nomad didn't doubt that fright contributed to the tears that flowed down his face from his injured eyes.

"What-- do you want?" 

Jonah's mouth pulled into a wry smile at the boy's shaky words. "You're far too gentle and delicate for this world, little dragon." It amused Jonah to see a spark of defiance and anger light up in the unseeing eyes. He laughed indulgently as he caught the fist that struck out at him. "But I see you have your share of fire too." Jonah drew the boy closer until their lips were almost touching. "I think I like you, lad."

The boy shuddered at his words and let his head fall back, his body going limp in Jonah's arms. The scar-faced man frowned in disappointment, his single blue eye showing concern as his hand reached out to grip the younger man's chin and pull his head up again. "Don't be like this, little dragon. I'm not going to hurt you. I swear I won't rape you. You say that you're dealing with your pain, but you still hide. You can't hide forever, you know? What would your brother do?"

"He--" Unseeing brown eyes, stared back at Jonah. "He-- he'd fight back. But-- but it didn't work. It-- it only made things worse. Ex--excite them. I-- couldn't-- I couldn't-- they wouldn't-- stop--"

"I'm not talking about what he'd have done during the rape, little dragon." Jonah told him kindly as one hand moved to stroke the inside of the boy's left thigh where the tattoo of the butterfly rested. "Endure, and stay alive, that's all a victim can hope to do. But after it... once you're removed from the danger, that's when the real challenge of survival steps in, lad."

"I--" The Japanese youth trembled in his embrace, his utmost confusion plain in his expression. "I don't-- understand you, Jonah."

Jonah laughed, a small part of him taking secret delight in the boy's use of his name instead of the moniker Special Forces had coined for him. "Don't try, lad. I don't understand me either. After all, I am certified insane."

He felt the younger man try to cringe away from him at his laugh. "Do you want to learn from me, little dragon?" Jonah's roving hand moved from the younger man's thigh to lightly trace his chest through the cloth of the uniform. "There are many things I could teach you about dealing with pain. Granted a soul's agony is so much more intense than physical pain, but we could experiment and explore together, yes? I'll even let you have control."

Too late, Jonah felt his Bowie blade being slipped free of it's sheath. The Nomad threw himself away from the Japanese boy, fast enough that he avoided receiving it in his gut but he still acquired a slice across his chest. "You shouldn't have done that, lad."

Ran held the long knife out between him and the Nomad. He was beyond fear now. He was angry with himself for his own weakness in allowing the man to push him around. Scarface was right... he conditioned himself to give up too easily... How could he consider himself a viable member of the Special Forces if he let himself be defeated so easily? He wasn't a prisoner anymore. The Captain had released him from the nightmare over a year ago, yet he still allowed himself to be 'caged' whenever anyone came too close. Not anymore.

"Leave me alone, Scarface." He could feel the man bristle at the address. 

"I liked you, little dragon."

"It doesn't give you the right to push me around! Stop playing with me!"

"Stop playing with you? Are you sure you want that, lad? You being blind and all?" He could feel the pure menace rolling off the man. It didn't faze him. Ran held the blade at a ready position as if it were his katana. "We could have made sweet music together, little dragon."

"Screams of my pain, more like it." 

"I meant it to be your relief."

"Forgive me if I don't appreciate the thought." Ran snarled at him.

"Ahhh, the youth of today are such ungrateful wenches." The Nomad gave no forewarning of his attack. Ran was, however, prepared for his charge. 

He ducked the length of chain and caught it in his left hand, using it to yank the older man off balance. Scarface only managed to avoid being impaled on his own knife because Ran hadn't adjusted to the shorter length just yet. The Nomad released the chain rather than allow it to impede him as he flung himself backwards out of reach of the knife.

"Spirited, lad, worthy of your name." Jonah chuckled as he observed the boy coiling the chain around his arm for use like a shield. "Why don't you use it, little dragon?"

"It's none of your business, Scarface."

"Who are you, lad? Ran, the orchid. Or the delicate dragon, Ryu."

"Do names matter?"

"It is your identity. Who are you?"

"I--" 

Jonah rushed him with a dagger drawn from the hilt of his boot. The bowie knife barely came up in time to parry the move and deflect it into a messy but non-fatal slice across the cheek. The scar-faced man grinned at this. 

"I see more of myself in you every day."

That hit a nerve. "I'm not becoming like you!"

"That's where you're wrong, lad. Aren't you? Someone who mutilates his own flesh; someone who realises too that God is long dead; a boy lost in his past--"

"Wrong, Scarface." Jonah swung in the direction of the new distinctly female voice. "He is Special Forces, and part of a unit that's proud to have him."

"And unlike you, he's not alone." Another voice, male this time, appeared from behind the Japanese boy. A Chinese man, carrying a customised shotgun, stepped out of the shadows and drew up opposite Jonah. "I've got a bead on you, Scarface." 

Jonah smiled wryly. "It seems that fortune continues to smile on you, lad."

"Don't move, Scarface."

"Or what? Will you shoot?" Jonah laughed as he presented his back to them and walked towards the edge of the roof. "You Special Forces agents are far too noble to shoot anyone in the back."

"I mean it, Scarface!"

"Try me." He stepped off the edge of the roof.

"Damn!" Ran heard Ching curse as the Chinese man rushed to the edge of the roof, probably to stare into the darkness.

"Ran, are you all right?" He sensed Tomiko approaching him from the front. She pressed a cloth in his hand before bringing it to his face and holding it against the cut. After making sure he held the compress in place, her hands moved to slide over his shoulders. He could guess that she was peering worriedly at his tear stained face.

"I-- I can't see, Tomiko. I received a Manganese flare in the face. My eyes hurt."

She took the Bowie blade from him and placed his right hand on her upper arm. "Lets go to the infirmary. Ching will handle the rest."

"Tomiko, are--?"

"The other guys are fine. Damn lucky too that Scarface didn't off them while he was isolating you. Who knows why he was feeling so generous this evening." She told him gently as she led him down the stairs and towards the infirmary. "Ching will call HQ and get us ready to relocate. Should have done it immediately when we found out Scarface was aware of where we're holding out, but I guess we were all hoping he'd forget about it. You can never tell with that guy."

"I'm sor--"

"Kami-sama! Ran, why are you apologising?" The Japanese woman sat him on a chair and faced him. "It's not your fault. We should be apologising to you for leaving you exposed to this danger. We should have done something about it. Looks as if Scarface's taken an interest in you."

"Aren't you back early?" 

"Quick change of subject, heh?" She teased him gently as she moved his hand and the compress away to examine the cut on his cheek. He blushed at her observation. "We didn't go to a movie. The stars were out tonight, so we went to the park instead. Den mother's instincts brought us hurrying back."

"Thanks."

"I think you can get away with not having stitches." He felt the sting of alcohol against the cut as she started to swab it with cotton. "But-- it's going to leave a scar."

"Oh." 

"Ran-- I heard what Scarface said to you just now. You're *not* becoming like him." Tomiko told him firmly as she applied a balm over the cut. "Don't try to follow his logic, Ran. He is insane."

"I-- know, Tomiko. But here and there, Scarface--" Ran held his face steady as she pasted a bandage over the cut on his face. "Some of the things he said-- made sense."

"Yo." 

From where he was seated on the bed, the kid cocked his head towards the man at the door to his room. "Is that you, Lon?"

Despite knowing that the kid couldn't see it with the bandages over his eyes, Lon still gave him a smile. It would be at least a week before the final bandages came off. The kid hadn't been pleased to be on the 'sick' list again after three weeks of inactivity. It was the least of his worries though. They had all been concerned, but the doctor assured them that the damage to his eyes wasn't permanent. 

"Who else would be lazy enough ta duck out of the frenzied packin'?" Lon couldn't help the wistful expression in his words. They had all been upset over the prospective move. The Art Centre held a lot of good memories for Special Forces. But they all recognised that their cover was well and truly blown since Scarface paid them two known visits. The second of which could have been fatal for a few of them if Scarface hadn't been so mystifyingly generous. The Captain had been furious at how easily the Nomad dodged their defences and security. It was time to leave the Art Centre. As it was, they were all on high alert in case the main unit of Force Nomad decided to launch an attack before they could vacate the premises.

Lon felt angry for not being there when Scarface attacked Ran. Tomiko and Ching had assured them that they arrived in time to stop Scarface from hurting their youngest member, but they still didn't know what had gone on between the madman and Ran in the time they had been alone. Ran hadn't said very much, not even with the Captain questioning him. And with the new frenzy of packing that they were all currently engulfed in, they didn't have very much time to spend with the kid. 

It couldn't be denied though that Ran was feeling responsible about their having to move. No one in their right mind would blame the kid for what happened, but there was little they could do to make him think otherwise. Ran had been quiet through their frenzy of packing, and feeling more than a little useless because of his blindness. But there was truthfully little that he could do.

"Decided what ya want ta do yet?"

"Tomiko and Ching want me to stay with them. Tomiko-- said I could be her little brother."

"Den mother's nature at the fore again, heh?" Lon snorted at the woman's instincts. "Wouldn't ya like that?"

"She wants the Florist set up." Ran wrinkled his nose at the thought.

This time Lon did laugh. "Tomiko? A florist? That woman could kill a cactus."

"That's what I thought." Ran shrugged. "I thought she'd go for a diner or something food related. At least that way, she'd have the staff under her to prepare 'proper' meals and make us eat healthily, like she's always on our case about."

Lon chuckled. He'd be the first to admit that he wasn't one of Tomiko's favourite people when it came to food. He was too much of the school that loved pizza and greasy burgers for her 'delicate' palate to stand.

The American shook his head as he thought of the growing excitement that currently filled the ranks over the move. There were plenty of regrets and sad feelings over the loss of the Art Centre, but perhaps they were long gone time for a change. When the idea of the mall set up was first broached, everyone had been rather surprised that they were ready to embrace it. In a way, it made up for their leaving the Art Centre to move on to something new and exciting. Setting up in a newly constructed mall and apartment complex would also help alleviate much of the suspicion over having so many new shops appearing at the same time. Many of them had gone into long discussions into the night on the shops they'd like to have and the logistics behind the set up and running of them.

"Good thing Ching has a green thumb, heh?"

"Yeah. The plants don't have to worry though. Tomiko's interested in the cut flowers part of the business. She wants to take up some courses on Ikebana at a flower arrangement centre in Kyoto before the shop's ready." Ran turned away to face forward again as if he was staring at his feet. "She wants me to take classes with her."

Lon could guess Ran's train of thought, which was probably close to the Captain's intention. The bandage over Ran's cheek was a worrisome reminder to them. The cut would leave a scar, and while Koji had light heartedly assured Ran that it wouldn't detract from his good looks, it seemed like proof to them of Scarface's obsession with him. They all wanted to get Ran out of Tokyo as soon as possible. It clearly wasn't over with Scarface, and there was no telling what the madman was up to. The further they got Ran away from Scarface, the better. 

Tomiko brought it one step further though.

"Ya have misgivin's?" Lon looked at him sympathetically. He guessed the challenge Tomiko had obliquely presented to Ran with the new occupation. The trade of the florist would demand that Ran handle various flowers like orchids-- and roses. 

They both knew that Tomiko wasn't being cruel. It was her way of nagging Ran that it was about time he addressed the issues in his past, and dealt with the memories that surrounded the tattoos he bore on his body. 

"What are you going to do, Lon?"

"Ah'm not sure jus' yet." Lon let him change the subject without protest. "Been turnin' a few ideas in mah mind--"

"Would--" Ran blushed and cut himself off.

"What's that?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, com'on. Ya wanted ta ask me somethin'." Lon came into the room to sit on the bed near his feet. "Com'on, give. What did ya wanna ask?" 

"I-- would you-- be interested in being a florist too?" His blush deepened.

Lon was stunned. But he managed to gather his wits about him to make the silence that fell between them brief. "An' learn the language of flowers, heh? That could be arranged."

"Unless you want to do something el--"

"Nah. It sounds like somethin' Ah'd like ta do." Lon grinned at the how red Ran's face had become now. He was quite sure the kid hadn't missed understanding the unsaid 'with you' in his statement. 

The older man came closer to take his hand. The kid's head jerked up, startled at the touch. "Lon?" 

"Ah'm a determined bastard, Ran. Sure ya want ta be stuck with me?"

"Ryu."

"Heh?"

"Ryu. It-- it's my real name."

Lon smiled and raised his free hand to let his fingers run through the boy's jet-black hair. "Are ya sure 'bout what ya want ta do, Ryu?" 

"Hai." Ryu gave him a shy smile. 

"Ya'll warn me off about kissing ya when ya've just eaten some nori, won't ya?" The red haired American teased him lightly as he leaned closer. 

"Toxic waste-- I know you hate the stuff." Ryu chuckled and blushed, but he didn't bow his head or pull away from the older man. "I-- I didn't-- eat any today."

It sounded to Lon like a clear invitation to kiss him.