Kiss the Girl
A Ginji/Natsumi fanfic by Rabid Lola
A/N: I was bored. Go figure. And...I don't own Get Backers. Just to let you know. :) Mwahahaha. Ban has Last Song Syndrome. :D
Fluff alert...hehehe. Natsumi and Ginji are just too cute and innocent.
By the way...not in the "Jealous" series.
Ginji's eyes followed her unconciously, as she fixed up the area behind the counter. He was doing this surreptitiously, of course...you'd only notice if you were looking very, very closely.
He closed his eyes, leaned forward on the counter, and sighed uncomfortably. He'd been catching himself doing this more and more often lately, watching her. And he caught himself noticing things. Like how there was a certain method to her drying the dishes, first top, then bottom, then one more swipe before setting it down. Like the way her hair in its long tail swung every time she turned, or how her movements broadcasted her moods, cheery and bright, soft and gentle and quiet, spunky...sometimes cheerfully stressed, doing her homework in between the dishes. And he would think things, like how cute she was, a different kind of cute from the other cute girls he'd seen, a cuteness that charmed him and muddled him at the same time.
All n all, he wondered how, when, and why Mizuki Natsumi suddenly seemed so complicated, as complicated as the tangled mass of fuzziness that warmed him when he just thought of her.
And for Ginji, who was extremely new to this field, and more clueless than the average man, all these complications made his head hurt.
"Is anything wrong, Gin-chan?"
He started and stared into a pair of charcoal-gray eyes. "Eh? Iie, Natsumi-chan." He grinned brightly to cover his embarrassment. "Just thinking."
She smiled back, her eyes crinkling into cheerful slits. "Good. For a minute, you looked worried." She moved away, and for some reason, he felt vaguely disappointed. "I thought it was about Ban-san. Where is he, by the way?"
"Ban-chan's delivering the thing we got back last night," the blond Get Backer replied. "He told me to stay here in case a client comes."
"Ban wouldn't be in trouble, Natsumi," Paul said from behind his newspaper. "Ginji would know."
"Hai, I know he would," she said cheerfully, starting on washing the dishes.
Just at that moment, the bell tinkled and the subject of their conversation stepped in. Stomped in, more like. Ban seemed to be in a foul mood. They weren't too clear on it, because he also seemed to be saying something under his breath. Something that sounded suspiciously like, "Shalalalalala..."
"Ban-san?" Natsumi asked, startled.
"Ban-chan?" Ginji gazed questioningly up at his best friend as Ban stormed to where he was sitting. "Did you get it there okay?"
"Aa," Ban grumbled, sitting down. He grabbed his head in his hands and crashed his elbows forcefully onto the counter. "Dammit!"
"Watch the table," Paul mumbled.
"What's wrong, Ban-chan?" Ginji asked, beginning to sweatdrop nervously.
"The kids in the client's house were watching some Disney movie."
"Disney? What's that?"
"Ooh! Which one?" Natsumi asked.
"Little Mermaid," Ban replied.
"Huh?" Ginji was lost. Ban sighed.
"Nothing, Ginji. The point is..." He stopped, then said reluctantly, and very quickly, "I have a song stuck in my head."
Unfortunately for Ban, the Honky Tonk was, as usual, empty. So the other three heard it quite clearly. You could even hear it echoing in the silence that followed. Paul actually put down his newspaper and stared.
"You...do?" he asked finally.
Ban grumbled a reply.
Ginji was grinning. Hey come on, the idea of Ban with a children's song stuck in his head IS amusing. "It's okay, Ban-chan..."
"Shut up."
"Maybe if you sing it, it'll go away," Natsumi suggested, trying not to smile.
Ban snorted something, then asked Ginji if anyone had called, come in, or otherwise asked for help. When Ginji replied in the negative, he just grumbled again, lit a cigarette, and settled back in the bar stool.
Ginji smirked when he heard Ban hum something under his breath. Ban glared.
Customers came; a rare occurrence in the Honky Tonk. No, they weren't clients for the Get Backers, just a couple who wanted early morning coffee, to go. Natsumi greeted them pleasantly, and prepared their orders in record time.
It was then that Ban noticed Ginji's eyes following the girl's movements.
A smirk of his own crossed his face. He knew, of course. He'd known for a long time.
Along with the smirk came--poor Ginji--a wicked gleam.
Ginji sensed Ban's sudden change in mood. Turning his eyes on Ban, he caught sight of the smirk and blushed. His gaze was next turned down to the tabletop, embarrassed...therefore, he missed the evil gleam.
The bell tinkled as the couple left, the door closed, Paul sent Natsumi to get something in the back room...and suddenly, a surprisingly decent voice somewhere between baritone and tenor began to sing.
"There, you see her...sitting there across the way."
Ginji snickered.
Ban just grinned, not facing him yet.
"She don't have a lot to say, but there's something, about her..."
His eyes slid sideways and caught Ginji's. And the former Thunder Emperor's smile faded as he realized what Ban was driving at.
"And you don't know why but you're dying to try you wanna, kiss the girl..."
"Ban-chan..." Ginji hissed nervously.
Paul looked up curiously.
"Yes, you want her...Look at her you know you do...Possible she wants you too, but there's one way, to ask her..."
As Ban's voice increased in volume and drama, a light dawned in Paul's eyes. Even though they couldn't see it through his glasses.
Ginji was very red by now.
"It don't take a word, not a single word, go on and, kiss the girl."
Ginji tried to clap a gloved hand over his friend's (big) mouth, but Ban was keeping him away pretty effectively with one hand. Then he felt the crackle of electricity on his palm...and releasing Ginji, leapt nimbly off the stool and evaded the shock. Ginji crashed to the floor.
Natsumi came out of the back...and stopped short when she saw Ban, an evil little grin on his face, standing a little way off, while Ginji picked himself up from the tiles, mumbling something. Residual electricity sparked around his palms.
"Is something wrong, Gin-chan?"
The crackle that followed and Ginji's flustered "No...!" was drowned by a blast of "Shalalalalala my oh, my, look at the boy too shy, ain't gonna, kiss the girl..."
Ginji actually glared.
Natsumi sweatdropped as she looked at Ban. "Ban-san, that's kinda...overdoing it."
Ban shook his head of spikes innocently. "It's necessary. I feel the need to get the song out of my system!" He spread his arms out melodramatically, grinning as Ginji settled reluctantly back onto his stool, unable to react violently in front of Natsumi. "Shalalalalala, ain't that sad..." his voice softened a little as he sat down beside Ginji again. "Ain't it a shame, too bad, he gonna miss the girl."
Ginji looked at him, startled.
Natsumi chuckled, and went to her dishes.
Paul looked up from...the cd player he'd been fiddling with, unnoticed, for the past...er, chorus. "Ban, if you're going to sing, sing in tune."
"He wasn't doing so bad," Natsumi protested as she scrubbed. "Hey, Master, is that my CD?"
"Aa." Paul pressed play.
Ginji groaned as music came floating out, bearing strong resemblance to the tune Ban had been singing.
"Gin-chan?" Natsumi queried.
Ban flung an arm around Ginji, taking everyone by surprise. "Now's your moment, floating in a blue lagoon...Boy you'd better do it soon, no time will be better." He swept his arm out in a gesture that, Ginji saw, encompassed Natsumi. "She don't say a word, and she won't say a word until you, kiss the girl."
Ginji blushed, avoiding Natsumi's eyes. Natsumi saw...and a nagging suspicion, one she'd secretly hoped for many times before, started dancing around at the back of her brain. She squashed it ruthlessly...false hope, false hope. Her eyes slid back to her work and she began scrubbing vigorously, ignoring the fact that her cheeks were warming up.
Ginji was mentally lamenting the fact that Midou Ban, master of dark mysterious pasts and forever-hidden secrets, was being blatantly obvious--at Ginji's expense, may we add--with all this...well, he didn't think hinting was an appropriate term anymore.
Ban was still at it, gesticulating wildly...his dumbstruck and disturbed audience thought they saw a few dance moves slipped in.
"Shalalalalala, Don't be scared, you got the mood prepared, go on and, kiss the girl."
Paul was wondering if he should laugh, or, as he had been doing for the past five minutes, stare.
"Shalalalalala, don't stop now, don't try to hide it how, you wanna kiss the girl."
That did it. Ginji stood up abruptly, saying, "Ban-chan, I left something in the car..."
Hands shoved him back into his seat, and an evil purple-shaded leer loomed in front of him. "I know what you left, I'll get it!' his partner warbled.
"No Ban-chan, I'll..."
"Ban, there's something I want you to look at outside," Paul was suddenly out from behind the counter and dragging Ban along by the collar. He, of course, protested wildly.
"Master?" Ginji and Natsumi chorused, confused. Frightened, even.
"No, no, it's all right, Ban's correct, stay here." After this messed up reply, the bell tinkled and they were gone.
And again, Ginji heard the words, "There, you see her...sitting there across the way..."
Paul had put the player on repeat.
"That was...weird," Natsumi said quietly, not looking at Ginji.
"Un," Ginji nodded, a little miserably. He couldn't do anything now...leaving Natsumi would seem rude.
And being alone with her was doing strange, flip-floppy things to his heart...
Both were unnaturally silent, trying very, very hard not to listen to the lyrics of the song happily jangling away in the background.
They were both concentrating on not listening so hard, they didn't think of simply turning it off.
Natsumi finished the dishes...there weren't that many in the first place...and began to wipe the counter top. Ginji wondered if he should offer to help. But he didn't want to talk to Natsumi just now. He was afraid of saying something stupid. Or stammering. Or...
Natsumi couldn't stand it anymore.
"Gin-chan."
His head snapped up. "H-hai?"
She smiled a little nervously at him. "Snap out of it. You're not acting normal."
"Oh. G-gomen." Ginji tried to smile back.
For some reason, she giggled, breaking the tension.
This time, his smile was brighter, and more natural.
It made her heart beat faster and her cheeks go pink.
And the silence after was not so awkward anymore. Ginji fell back to surreptitiously watching...and Natsumi began to do some, in her turn, while wiping the dishes dry.
When the song played a third time...which Ginji realized about midway...they knew that Paul and Ban were taking too long.
Shalalalalala, don't be scared...
"Where could they be?" Natsumi asked, breaking the silence.
Ginji shrugged, and stood, stretching his legs. "I think I'll go look for them. I won't be long," he added quickly, seeing the faint disappointment that touched Natsumi's eyes.
"Okay," she nodded, smiling.
He turned, and began to walk...
Shalalalalala, don't stop now, don't try to hide it how...
He paused, for a second.
You wanna kiss the girl.
This is stupid, he thought.
He took a deep breath and steeled himself.
Shalalalalala, float along, listen to the song...
"Natsumi-chan?"
"Hai?"
The song say, kiss the girl...
He crossed to the counter quickly, leaning forward to give her one quick kiss on the cheek.
But Natsumi's head turned to follow his movements...
She made a small, involuntary sound when his lips met hers.
Shalalalalala, music play, do what the music say, you wanna kiss the girl...
Ginji just noticed that she tasted sweet. He didn't know why, since he should only be kissing her cheek...
It finally registered that he was kissing not her cheek, but something softer...and more responsive. And that the kiss was lasting a minute longer than initially planned...
Kiss the girl...
Ginji gave a muffled exclamation and released an involuntary crackle of electricity. The girl jerked back, startled. Then her hand flew up to her mouth, eyes wide. A few seconds of staring, and she turned and ran, throwing a hasty "Gomen...!" over her shoulder.
But his hand caught her arm before she could actually start, and he said softly, "Natsumi-chan..."
She glanced at him, then down, hands trembling slightly. Her cheeks were really red, now, as were his... She's so cute.
He smiled, a little nervously, as always, warmly. "Do--do you want to help me look for them?"
A shy smile broke over her face. "Okay," she replied softly. He released her arm, and they both looked down, still blushing. Then Ginji looked up. "Let's go?"
She nodded, and he waited for her to take off her apron and get out from behind the counter before walking towards the door.
As they walked through, he felt a slim hand slip into his gloved one. Startled, he met Natsumi's gray, sparkling eyes and shy smile.
He smiled softly in return and squeezed her hand.
The warm fuzziness in his chest felt good.
Why don't you kiss the girl...
You've got to, kiss the girl...
Go on and, kiss the girl...
Two miles away, Ban grinned. "We can go back now," he told Paul.
...--End--...