Author's Notes: The first of my summer-season works. Or not, because I still have functions to attend next week and summer classes after that... but generally speaking, summer has arrived! And with it, the opportunity to catch up on my stories and the original ideas brewing at the back of my head. :D
Warnings: Total and utter disregard for canon events. In other words, AU-goodness (which excuses OOC-ness... NO. It doesn't. I'm just being pathetic~ I haven't written these guys for a while now~). Implied Kan--Ze, obvious (fail!)Kiryuucest, the ship of the dead and unloved (someone needs to give this pair a ship name~). Uhh, lack of knowledge about the conduct of accomplished and amateur runaways.
Disclaimer: I don't even want to own VK. This sandbox is enough. (inches away from current VK manga)
Dedicated to: On Hold With the Call (or, betwi. Because your names are long, and I have the ability to shorten them. Hope you don't mind!), because I owe her Kiryuucest for Pi Day. It'll come, you'll see! In lieu of that, enjoy this slightly Ichiru-centric fic~
X+X+X
When Ichiru Kiryuu stormed into the coffee shop that afternoon with tear tracks drying down his cheeks and a duffel bug fit to burst over his shoulder, Kaname Kuran knew that his wishes had been granted (partly, at least).
A quiet cough from one of his co-workers sent Kaname back to reality, and with a faintly smug smile, he finished wiping the countertop, as the boy walked grudgingly towards him.
"Try not to break anything, Kiryuu-kun, we're still recovering from my cousin's hissy fit," he spoke by way of greeting as he watched the boy dump his bag onto the floor and collapse into the chair in front of him with a heavy sigh. After a few moments, he muttered an order which Kaname couldn't actually understand, but by the look of it, was actually something strongly alcoholic.
"We don't serve minors, Kiryuu-kun. And this is, for the most part, a decent coffee shop, so why not just black coffee, hm?"
This suggestion was met with a muffled 'fine', and Kaname turned to call his co-worker's attention.
"Black coffee--"
"Here,"
Only to find a large mug of said drink with a big chocolate chip cookie already being offered to him. Takuma Ichijou gave him a brilliant grin and he accepted the tray with a nod, before setting it down in front of the silver haired boy still hunched over the table.
Several moments passed, without any hint of movement from the boy. Kaname wondered if he'd actually come in here to die, as in one very vivid dream of his, but he knew the chances of that dream coming true were zero to none, specially since there wasn't any evidence of a car crash out on the street.
"...Did you walk here?" he asked, and Ichiru gave him a momentary sign of life in the form of a nod.
"Why didn't you take your car?" Ichijou asked over his shoulder, and Kaname raised an eyebrow at him. The blonde mirrored his actions, but before any other reply could be made, Ichiru raised his head and muttered, somewhat hoarsely,
"I'm running away."
Of course, Kaname knew this by virtue of his belongings lying stuffed into a bag at their feet, but did Ichiru actually mean to run away-away?
"Away-away?" Ichijou clarified, looking as if he wanted to stop the boy and slap him silly. Kaname watched with rising horror as Ichiru nodded resolutely.
"I knew it wouldn't work out, but I don't want to stick around and watch him try to make it better again." the boy paused, rubbing his sleeves against his eyes, after which he contemplated the steaming mug in front of him. "I'll run away, and never come back, and find my self someone else to love."
Kaname couldn't help the sympathy he was feeling for the boy. How many times had he thought the same way, albeit about a certain other silver haired boy?
But all sympathy was cast aside when he noticed that Ichiru was already reaching for his bag. He'd already finished the cookie and halved his mug. Kaname started to panic (internally).
"Now, Kiryuu-kun, why don't you just sit tight, I'll get you more coffee and we can talk about this-- Just don't rush off just yet, alright?" the suggestion of more coffee seemed to appeal to the wanna-be-runaway, and with a slight nod he sat back down and wrapped his hands around the hot mug.
As Kaname frantically shooed Ichijou back into the kitchen, Ichiru narrowed his bleary gaze at his back, and asked, just a tad suspiciously, "Why does it seem like you're trying to make me stay? Shouldn't you be, like, rushing over to my-- Zero's place and attempting to comfort him?"
The older boy stopped flailing and turned to regard him with a slightly contemptuous glare, "That is not part of my master plan to seduce your older brother, Kiryuu-kun, at least give me more credit than that."
Ichiru held his gaze for a few more moments before shrugging and sipping at his coffee. "Suit yourself. Can I go after seconds? There are trains leaving in half an hour and I still have tickets to buy."
Kaname almost started panicking again when he noticed another customer walking in. His eyes widened, but before he could decide which merited the more immediate action, Ichiru sighed and kicked at his bag, muttering, "Who am I kidding, I left my wallet at h-- Zero's place. I'll just hitch-hike..."
"You wouldn't want to do that, kid."
Ichiru looked up to find a tall, dark and -surprise, surprise- handsome man standing right behind him. His messy, shoulder-length dark brown hair reminded Ichiru of one of his father's friends, although the absence of To-san's trademark frown and the presence of a pair of mismatched eyes made the difference very clear.
"And why wouldn't I? It's become tradition for mentally unstable teenagers, hasn't it? Who am I to go against the flow?" Ichiru countered, only half-regretting his snippy tone.
He waits for the verbal abuse that people in need of coffee often resorted to in moments of annoyance, but instead the man gives him a considering grin, saying, "For one thing, there are other mentally unstable teenagers out there, and they're not very friendly with fellow runaway's. Especially if you're competing for room in the back of a train. Another thing, how can you even consider hitch hiking when there's a perfectly good Prius sitting right outside?"
Ichiru tilts himself in his chair to peer around the man, whistling at the sight of the expensively sleek car parked in front of the coffee shop.
"...Are you offering in lieu of the guy who owns it?" Ichiru quips sweetly, raising the mug to his lips before it lost all warmth. Kaname was still standing like a statue, and Ichijou was trying hard not to dump a new mug of coffee on him, and Ichiru decided he couldn't wait for seconds anyway.
"I wouldn't mind letting you hitch a ride." the stranger replies with a wink and Ichiru doesn't blush, but the way that he attempts to hide behind his empty mug is enough of an answer.
Finally, Kaname is functional again, and he yells, quite unnecessarily, "Uncle!"
Ichiru stares at him quizzically, and Ichijou almost drops the mug in surprise. The stranger rolls his eyes and bends over to pick up Ichiru's bag before greeting his nephew with a rather bland, "Kaname-kun. How nice it is to see you."
Kaname's left eye develops a twitch, and Ichiru can only look away from this oddity because a stranger has apparently seen it fit to assist him in his bid to become a successful runaway. That, or he's being robbed.
"Uncle, get away from Kiryuu-kun this instant!" the brunette orders almost imperiously, if not for the aforementioned twitch, though he's dutifully ignored by the pair in front of him.
Ichiru stands up, a little awed by the fact that even as he's standing he still has to look up to face the stranger.
"Why are you helping me, anyway? Aren't you supposed to play the voice of reason, being an adult and all?"
Instead of the verbal assault (which, Ichiru thought, was a little bit overdue, now), the stranger adjusted the straps of the bag over his shoulder and held out a ring of keys to him. "I'm a Kuran-- that cancels out my obligations."
Ichiru stared at the keys, trying to assess, in the span of half a minute, whether or not getting rejected by his older brother called for the option of riding into the sunset with an attractive stranger who was also, apparently, an obligation-less Kuran.
He glanced warily at the other Kuran behind the counter, who looked as if he were contemplating simultaneous suicide and homicide. Ichijou was holding a frying pan, in case he acted on either option.
"First things first," Ichiru began as he took the keys, spinning them around his finger as he started to walk out of the shop. The stranger followed shortly, sparing his flailing nephew a glance before going through the door Ichiru held open for him.
"I'm going to have to know some things about you, before we go on this trip to wherever..."
"That sounds reasonable."
"Okay, to begin with," Ichiru paused, looking up at the stranger, "I'm Ichiru Kiryuu. Who are you?"
The stranger smirked, and held out his hand, replying, "Rido Kuran. It's a pleasure meeting you, Ichiru-kun."
Ichiru grasped the stranger's --Rido's-- hand, shaking it once, twice.
"Same here, Rido..."
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fin
X+X+X
Author's Notes: An afternoon without classes and Glee songs on repeat will do this to my brain. If anyone wanted to know, the inspiration for this was 'Somebody to Love' as sung by New Directions. ;D /Can't anybody find me somebody -somebody!- somebody to love?/ ...I hope it wasn't too much of an epic!fail...? o____o I'm sorry, betwi, if I have shamed you.
Hope y'all enjoyed this little ditty. As for those who read this, and who've read Mirrors, hey whaddayaknow--- I have time!! 8D