Title: Peppermint-Flavoured Lips

By: retroelectric

Author's Note: Candy canes are horrible, evil creations which should be banned and exterminated. Wir mussen die Candy Cane ausrotten!!!

Anyway, Merry Christmas to my fellow readers. Have a nice one!

Warnings: Fluff, and that is all about it, I guess. And innuendo, loads of it.

Disclaimer: I really think that Ban and Ginji want to boink each other hard. Really hard. Other than that, I don't own a thing of it. Except for the storyline, of course, and that goes without saying.


It was Christmas Eve -- and Honky Tonk, a quiet secluded cafe in Shinjuku was alive with laughter and the presence of many extraordinary people, merry-making and having fun in general. Paul, the cafe owner, had organised this Christmas party for all of his regular customers with the help of his assistant Natsumi. The people crowding the cafe were namely the Get Backers, Hevn the negotiator, Shido, Madoka, Kazuki, Juubei, Emishi, Himiko and most surprisingly, Akabane.

The store was decorated accordingly, with colourful Christmas lights lighting the interior of the cafe. Tinsel and baubles decorated the highlight of the room, which was the splendidly tall Christmas tree, complete with a large glittering star on the top of it. Alcohol of all sorts flowed freely amongst the patrons of the cafe, and it added to the lively and warm atmosphere of the party.

There was one person at the party -- though, who wasn't enjoying the festivities, and that was Ban. Sure, there was alcohol, but what was the point of it when he couldn't drink them? It was all because he had to drive Ginji home later on, and he wasn't very intent on drunk driving. It could lead to accidents happening, which he didn't want to occur since it could lead to more money spent for unnecessary repairs and such. He glared at the back of Ginji's blond head, who had a half-full Champagne flute in hand and was giggling adorably at a joke Emishi made, despite himself. Kazuki clung to Juubei's sleeve, snorting with laughter and delight.

Of course, Ban loved watching Ginji like this, happy and content and amongst friends. But the group was getting far too raucous and it grated on his nerves unpleasantly, making his head throb. Getting off from the stool, Ban moved to a quieter spot in one of the empty booths.

Ever since he was young, he disliked going to gatherings like this. It could be that he always felt as though he didn't belong. But since Ginji had begged and pouted cutely, pining for the both of them to attend together, Ban had relented since Ginji reminded him of the future prospects of free food and drink.

But being there he was suddenly reminded as to why he'd always avoided gatherings of any kind. It was... noisy and kind of stifling being there. A loud burst of laughter from the group averted that depressing thought. Sighing inwardly, he berated himself silently for submitting to Ginji's demand. He should have known better to not fall for Ginji's manipulative ways!

Ginji paused to gulp down the rest of his drink, and looked around for his suddenly missing partner. Wasn't he just here beside him a moment ago? Maybe Ban and Shido had challenged each other to a drinking contest; knowing them, competing to see who had the better tolerance for alcohol. But Shido was behind him, and Ban was nowhere in sight. Maybe he was drunker than he originally thought, not to notice Ban slipping away on his own.

Scanning the room for his partner, Ginji finally spotted Ban sitting alone in a secluded booth, his angular face partially obscured by the darkness. Ginji smiled slightly at Ban's frown. Ban needed to loosen up a bit, maybe have a drink or two.

Stumbling over to the booth, Ginji flopped himself onto the seat across Ban and grinned. "Hey, Ban-chan!" Ginji said enthusiastically. "Do you want a drink? I'll get you one!"

Ban hmphed at the suggestion, feeling offended. "I'm driving later, remember?" Ban growled touchily. Oh, so that was why he was avoiding the rest of them. Reaching into his breast pocket, Ban took out a piece of candy cane which Natsumi had handed to him earlier, complete with red and green stripes on it.

iHuh?/i Ginji thought. iThat wasn't Ban's pack of cigarettes.../i

Ignoring Ginji's inquiring "Ban-chan?", he unwrapped the foil carefully off the candy and stuck the end of it into his mouth, the curved portion of it poking out. Ban sighed in pleasure as the peppermint flavour of it spread over his tongue and continued to obliviously suck away on the candy.

Ginji's eyes widened as the candy slid in and out languidly out of his partner's mouth. Pulling the candy out of his mouth with a tiny 'pop' sound, Ban stuck his tongue out to lick slowly on it, imitating a very sensual and erotic action according to Ginji's stirring loins, then finally popping the whole length of it back into his mouth. His lips glistened wetly, deliciously with the sugar.

"B-Ban-chan..." Ginji stammered as a blush crept into his cheeks. "What are you doing?"

Ban slid the candy out of his mouth again (making Ginji gulp at the motion) and glared at his partner. "Is there anything wrong enjoying candy on Christmas Eve, baka?" Ban snapped.

"N-No..." Ginji replied shakily as Ban popped the candy past his lips once more. That damn piece of candy sliding in and out invitingly from that talented mouth of his...

"You...you... ah!" What Ginji did the next moment could probably be attributed to the fact that copious amounts of alcohol were coursing through his system. He couldn't control himself any longer, and snatched the candy out of the Jagan Master's mouth, throwing it carelessly away. He reached out across him, grabbing the front of Ban's shirt and mashed Ban's peppermint-flavoured lips to his. Ban's sounds of protests slowly died away as Ginji pressed onto his lips more insistently, his hot and eager tongue coaxing Ban's lips open.

Finally letting his partner go, Ginji caught the look of bewilderment from the rest of the cafe patron's faces. The silence which overcame the cafe suddenly seemed unbearable. Ginji broke it by whispering to Ban with a secretive smile on his face, "Ne, Ban-chan, let's go home to continue this."

Ban got up from his seat, Ginji doing the same, feeling a bit inebriated himself. The sweet taste of the wine from Ginji's mouth still lingered on his lips. "Yeah, let's." He grinned deviously to Ginji, winding an arm across Ginji's lower back, guiding them both out of the cafe.

As Ban revved up the engine of Ms. Ladybug grinning, Ban thought to himself that it seemed as if Christmas that year was going to be very interesting indeed. Oh well, life with Ginji made everything interesting.

-FINIS-


Merry Christmas everyone!