Title: I Don't Care
Genre: Romance
Word count: 1095
Warnings: silly, written in a rush.
Disclaimer: Get Backers and all its characters belong to Yuya Aoki and Randou Ayamine.
It was the coldest winter in 70 years – that was what the weatherman was saying on the small, battered TV set. Ban took a long drag of his last cigarette and silently agreed. It was freezing outside, so much that Shinjuku, that frantic well of activity, seemed quiet. The streets, the buildings, the sky, the whole city was all white and gray, blurred through the dirty window like an oil painted landscape. Fortunately, the old heater was working so the temperature inside the small apartment was fairly comfortable.
Thanks God we have money for this.
He had talked Paul into holding their tab a little more so that they could use the payment of their last job to rent a place to stay the next weeks. Maybe "talk into" was not the right expression – he had just asked and Master had just nodded with a surprising lack of grunting and grumbling and complaining. When a bemused Ban murmured his thanks, Paul returned to his newspaper reading and shooed him.
"Get out of here before I change my mind," and, in a reluctantly softer tone, "use some of the cash to buy decent food and warm clothes, will ya? I don't want you to get sick and die before paying the last yen of your tab here!"
Heh. You're such a softie, Paul.
The small, lazy smile that played on Ban lips as he remembered Paul's words turned into a full grin when he heard the door open and familiar footsteps coming in. Ginji was back with their dinner and a brand new pack of cigarettes, finally.
"Yo Ginji, what the hell happened? You took ages to..." Ban stopped mid sentence as he saw his usually bouncing cheerful chatterbox of a partner silently place a bunch of plastic bags on the table and slump on the zabuton(1) with a disheartened sigh. "Hey, what's up?"
No answer. Ginji had his head down, apparently too deep in thought to hear his friend's question. With an irritated "humpf" the Jagan user proceeded to connect his fist with the electric eel's head.
"Ow! That hurt, Ban-chan!"
"Are you sleepwalking or what, moron? I've been talking to you since you came in and you wouldn't even look at me!"
Ginji scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"Ahaha, sorry Ban-chan... I was just... thinking."
Ban shook his head and sat beside his friend.
"You're hopeless... Thinking is not your thing, you shouldn't even try," he reached for the plastic bags on the table. "so, did you buy teishoku (2) as I told you? What about my cigarettes?"
"Aaa, wait!"
One of the bags, lighter than the others, fell on the floor revealing its contents – small packages wrapped in bright, colorful paper, each with a tiny card attached. Ban's eyes widened as he recognized the logo of a famous and expensive candy store.
"Ginji, what the heck..."
"I bought with my pocket money, I swear!" in a fluster, Ginji tried to collect and return the packages to the bag before Ban could notice the little hearts that decorated the wrappings.
"Hey this is..."
Too late.
Ban grabbed one of the packages before his blond partner could stop him and inspected it carefully.
"Chocolate?" he opened the mini card attached and read, "To Kazu-chan with... ugh, Ginji you wrote the wrong the kanji, this is 'koi', not 'ai'...(3) and why in heavens are you going to give chocolate to Itomaki?"
The blond Get Backer looked ready to throw himself in the nearest black hole available, blushing miserably and with eyes glued to the floor.
"Because it's Valentine's Day..." he mumbled. "When I was in Mugenjou I've heard people from outside talking about it and liked the idea... you know, give chocolate and cards to the ones you care about... and this was the first time you gave me big pocket money..."
"Yeah, I gave you an extra to buy a good sweater so you won't freeze in this weather and you go and spend it all in chocolate!" Ban sighed and poked the other boy with his index finger. "Anyways, why the long face? You wanted to celebrate Valentine's, you bought expensive chocolate for your pals, you should be happy, right?"
"I was happy... After buying the chocolate I went straight to the Honky Tonk because I wanted to give Master and Natsumi-chan their chocos before coming home," clearly embarrassed, Ginji fingered the tip of the plastic bag as he spoke, "and then, Natsumi-chan told me that only girls give chocolate to their loved ones on Valentine's. And then I realized that I'm not a girl."
Darn Japanese culture and its inventions...
Ban scratched his head. Being raised in Europe and living a life far from normal, he had never paid much attention to this kind of thing. Yeah, Valentine's in Japan was a bit different from other countries... and thanks to that, the electric eel was deflated like a sick puppy...
No. Wait.
It couldn't just because of that. Ginji's enthusiasm wouldn't sink so easily. Could it be that…? Blue eyes narrowed as realization sank in.
Ban ruffled the mop of blond hair before him and when he spoke, he did it in a gentle, affectionate voice.
"Right, big news, you're not a girl. So what? Did Natsumi and Paul make fun of you because of this?"
"Of course not! They even accepted the chocolate and Natsumi-chan said she would give me a present in return on White Day..."
"Do you think Itomaki or Monkey Trainer will make fun of you if you give them the chocos?"
"No!" Ginji was outraged. "They are my friends!"
"Then, what's the problem?"
Silence. The former Lightning Emperor was now scarlet red and fiercely focused in the old carpet under his zabuton.
With an amused snort, Ban reached for the bag in Ginji's hands and found a heart-shaped package slightly bigger than the others. The card said simply:
Wanna be with you forever, Ban-chan.
The right hand, with all its two hundred kilograms power grip, was light as a feather on Ginji's face. A rare, genuine smile danced on pale lips as Ban whispered on Ginji's ear:
"So you're not a girl. Do you think I mind?"
"Y-you don't?"
"I don't care if you're a boy or a girl or a freaking frog, idiot." and then, Ginji's eyes widened as he felt Ban's lips brushing on his.
There was a soft thud as the two boys fell on the carpet, embraced.
Outside, snow was falling quietly.
Translation:
Zabuton: Japanese cushion for sitting.
Teishoku: a set menu meal, usually consisting of a main dish (fish is the most common), a bowl of rice and small side dishes.
(3) Koi, ai: although "koi" may be translated as "love" in some cases, it really means "passion". "Ai" would be the correct word for "love".