Just want to see you smile again.

by Luvdarain5

Disclaimer: I dont own Gals! Wish i did!

This story is rated PG-13 for cursing and sexual innuendo (Dont worry, its not that bad!)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter One: Leftovers

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As Rei Otahata stood outside the café in front of the window, the late afternoon sun glinted on the glass window causing him to squint irritatedly as he studied the black razor phone in his hand. The phone text from his best friend Yuya bugged him more than he cared to admit.

The short message simply said; 'Job is going well, making lots of friends, we'll be home tonight-lets hang out!'

Rei debated for a moment whether to reply, then decided he would do it later; he really wasn't in the mood.

"Why the hell am I here?" He asked himself disgustedly. Walking into the café that had been a favorite hangout in his younger years, he paused at the entrance, feeling the weight of his 24 years. His life was turning out to be a lot different than what he had planned.

As he scanned the crowd, he felt a brief flicker of annoyance when he didn't recognize any of the faces. Most of them were younger and not part of the group of friends he had hung out with. Several of the female patrons openly stared and tried to catch his attention, but none of them captured his.

Rei idly wondered why he kept coming to this place when it held no meaning for him anymore. Perhaps it was because it was one of the few places that reminded him of better times. He had spent many evenings and week ends here, hanging out with his friends, bringing a date in for a meal and in the latter years, making plans for the future.

Plans for becoming a DJ; the pounding techno beats, the darkened clubs scene and exposure to new styles and artists that would inspire him to compose exotic trance sounds of his own. Plans for working in the hottest clubs in New York where being a DJ was tantamount to being a celebrity.

Not that Rei wanted the fame, though he was used to that from his days of being 'number one' at his school. But the lifestyle; living in the edgiest city in the world where you were surrounded by dynamic energy and eccentric people…and could still be alone with your own thoughts. Be your own man.

But life could be unpredictable, and the death of one parent had caused the other to become heavily dependent on him and family expectations suddenly thrust on him. So the ever-practical Rei had put aside his own desires and instead plotted a new course for medical school so he could take over his late father's medical practice.

"Good old Rei." He mocked himself and his deference to his family's obligations.

Never mind that Rei had no interest in medicine; he had the brains and was fast gaining the skills, which was enough to please his family. But it bugged the hell out of him that his circle of friends with whom he had graduated high school had since finished college and had started challenging careers and were leading exciting lives while he was still spending his days in boring lectures or at the hospital and spending his nights studying.

A flicker of movement caught his attention and he pulled himself out of his reverie. He ran a flat hand down his broad chest to straighten the Valentino black dress shirt over long blue jeans, his heavy Tungsten Carbide Beveled ring glinting in the artificial light, a silver Citizen watch on his left wrist. Rei wasn't vain, but he had always had a sharp sense of style, and his family could afford the best.

As he began to walk further into the lounge heading for the coffee counter an arresting feminine voice stopped him in his tracks.

"While you're up there, grab me a chocolate mocha latte double espresso. I'll pay you back later, k?" The familiar woman's voice managed to sound both alluring and wheedling at the same time.

Rei allowed himself a rare smile before resuming his stony expression. Now he remembered why he still came here. Because of the bewitching voice coming from the back of the chair in front of him. The cozy lounge area sported a plush couch and two wing back armchairs, one of which faced away from him. But he would know that voice anywhere. Had she been waiting for him, he wondered offhandedly? She was probably broke once again and hoping to mooch a hot drink and possibly even a meal from him.

A shapely tanned leg suddenly stretched into view, followed by another one, both curving over the arm of the chair, her body and face still hidden by the high back. Over the chair's other side, two jewelry covered, slender arms extended out gracefully, hands clasped together briefly to get the most out of her stretch before she retracted them and leveraged herself up into a more awake position.

Rei strolled casually over to the sofa nearest to her seat, his presence commanding the attention the room without even trying. He carelessly tossed two textbooks onto the stylish coffee table and lowered himself to the couch, perching on the edge since he knew he was required to get the coffee. But he would greet her first.

Ran was now sitting cross-legged in the comfy chair, arms loosely at her sides, her hands colorfully be-ringed and fingernails painted a shocking pink. She wore a Vintage gauzy white calf length skirt, loose and low riding that exposed and flattered her slim tanned belly. Her top was also white, baring her midriff and arms with a simple low cut neckline and a bit of lace to camouflage the raciness of the outfit, an expensive Bebe original. Classic Candie sandals with gold straps completed the outfit. Ran's motto today appeared to be 'if you've got it flaunt it.' Tomorrow she might show up covered head to toe, she was nothing if not unpredictable.

The all white outfit might have been boring on another, but Ran accessorized with multi faceted jewelry, all with a hint of white or silver that pulled the whole look together. The finishing touch was a belly ring with a red and white hibiscus flower charm, the focal point of many stares from the males in the coffee shop.

Rei was no exception, his eyes admiring the exposed golden skin and attractive physique, but much more subtly. An erotic image clouded his mind; a picture of her lying pliant on her back with him hunched over her, tongue swirling around the seductive dip of her navel. He blew out a breath and shook his head, banishing his wayward thoughts.

"Been waiting long Kotobuki?" His deep voice held a hint of sarcasm.

"What makes you think I was waiting for you?!" Ran demanded feistily before remembering that she was. "But since you're here, how about that drink?" She finished sweetly.

He gave a brief nod and got up to cross the room to the coffee counter to place their orders. Ran watched him go, unable to help herself from admiring his tall, lean body. In her younger years she had been clueless about men and had really started dating before she was ready, although Tatsuki had hardly counted as a boyfriend.

Now that she was older and better understood the whole man/woman dynamic, she was much more attuned to that sort of thing. And she had finally clued into the fact that Rei was Hot.

She had realized that before of course, but she had been under whelmed by his cold personality and by the fact that one of her best friends was practically obsessed with him. Now it seemed it was all Ran noticed when she looked at him. She knew that it was none of her business, but she was human after all and there was no rule against ogling.

And ogle she did. His intense good looks were only enhanced by his 'don't piss me off' attitude. He had been tall and cute in high school but adulthood had graced him with a muscled torso, a lean face, and an air of sexy confidence. Not to mention that powerful dark gaze.

Ran shivered a little in awareness glad he wasn't looking at her at the moment. The man's was dangerous to her peace of mind but it was best that he didn't know that. The uneasy 'friendship' that she and Rei now shared suited them both. They sniped at each other with smiling faces and feral grins but under all that was the uncomfortable awareness, a palpable tension when they were silent too long. So Ran made sure that didn't happen often.

As Rei returned with their orders he gingerly handed her the hot beverage with a muttered "careful" when she eagerly leaned forward to take it. Then he sat back down on the couch cradling the coffee cup in his hands and savoring the familiar warmth.

Ran held the aromatic brew under her nose, dreamily closing her eyes and inhaling the heady scent, as close to nirvana as she could get at the moment. Rei watched with silent appreciation as her chest rose and fell as she breathed in the fragrant blend, noting idly that the excessive eye makeup she wore did not detract from the natural beauty of her face. He smirked at the generous curving of her lips into a wanton smile. All that over a cup of coffee, he scoffed jealously.

She opened her eyes abruptly, catching his hard stare and for a moment their gazes locked and held in an unguarded moment of mutual appraisal. She blinked at the heated look on his face before he shifted, easily masking his reaction. Then his eyes narrowed, returning to hers. Wait, was that his imagination or had a quick tremor run over those deliciously bare shoulders of hers?

"Kotobuki…" He began quietly, but of course she stopped him as she always did.

"Otohata." She mocked childishly, and he gave a shrug of easy defeat. He had long ago given up and refused to waste any more time trying to figure out if she knew how he felt and was trying to stop him from saying something, or if she really was clueless about the whole thing.

She continued in that righteous tone of hers. "Why are you still carting those books around?" Ran scolded, poking a disdaining finger in the direction of the offensive medical materials.

Sighing, Rei rested his elbows on his knees, cradling the drink with both hands, his head bowed slightly in a rare acknowledgement of his weariness, both of school and of this particular argument.

"You know what I'm doing with those." He responded dismissively. Rei blew on his coffee, not looking at her, hoping she would get the hint.

"WHEN are you going to put a stop to this?" She wanted to know, her sense of justice getting an adrenaline spike. "You can't go through with this and you know it! You're not meant to be a doctor Rei, you're meant to be a DJ! When are you going to stand up to your family?!" Ran demanded with a frown.

His eyes cut over to her, cold as black ice. The look would have intimidated a lesser person, but never Ran. "Mind your own business Kotobuki." He ordered, not in the mood to argue with her.

Shifting in her cozy chair, Ran leaned forward to put her drink of the coffee table, then slid gracefully out of her seat onto the hardwood floor in front of Rei in an inelegant heap. Reaching up a hand she pulled his cup from his unresisting grasp and placed it behind her on the table as well. Then turning back to face him, still kneeling, she raised a hand to stroke his forearm, looking up into his eyes, her own serious for a change.

"Rei, you're not happy, anyone can see that." She told him softly, pleading with him to listen.

Rei scoffed; he doubted that. He was known to have a poker face, and had been careful to keep his dissatisfaction with his families plans to himself. No one knew how frustrated and angry he was, so how could she?

Annoyed, he ran a hand through his hair, shoving the unruly bangs out of his eyes, but when his gaze switched to the figure of Ran before him, all thoughts emptied out of his head.

She was on her knees before him, the picture of a goddess in her long white skirt, the material fanning out around her like flower in full bloom. Her smooth skin glowed with health from her decidedly sexy shoulders to her long slender arms. His eyes roved over her feminine figure as though unable to help himself.

But what captivated him the most were those amazing eyes, full of vitality and life. Full of compassion. For him. The force of that look would have sent any number of her fan club members into ecstasy, but he was strong enough, man enough to withstand her charms. After all, he had been doing it for years, he thought to himself wryly.

"Look, not that I don't appreciate your attempts to fix my life," He said haughtily, ignoring her sincere gaze, "but I've made my decision and I'm going to follow through with it. End of discussion." Rei finished determinedly, reaching around her to pick up his coffee, taking a mouthful of his still piping hot drink.

Ran gave a sound of disgust both for him and his attitude, and stood up taking the drink from his hands yet again and placing it back on the table next to hers. "Don't drink it yet you moron, its still too hot!" She admonished, then turned around and sat down next to him on the couch instead resuming her former place in the big comfy chair. Ran played absently with her many bracelets while she studied him. "Look Rei, all I'm saying is…" She began, doggedly when he cut her off with another harsh look.

She refused to give up, he thought exasperatedly and while it was one of her more admirable traits when aimed at someone else, it bugged the hell out of him when she did it to him.

"Look Kotobuki." He decided to change the subject to something else. "If you're going to give advice on someone's life, don't you think you should think about straightening up yours first?" He derided.

Ran shrugged, unfazed. "Whatever! I may not be doing something big like saving the world, or becoming a doctor…" this said with heavy sarcasm. "But I'm happy with my life, and the fact that I didn't cave and do what my family all wanted me to do even though I would have been great at it if I had!"

"Yeah, they must be so proud of you, working at a fish warehouse at night and a pizzeria during the day." Rei said snidely, "You must be making mad dough." He knew he was being unnecessarily rude, but he was frustrated with his lack of momentum in his life and tired of her lecturing.

Ran lifted an eyebrow in derision, seeing through his thinly veiled hostility. "Mad dough?" She snickered, "how can you even say that with a straight face?"

"Shut up Kotobuki," Rei continued rudely, still trying to get a rise out of her. "Doesn't it bother you that your friends gone off to exciting jobs overseas like Aya, or married with a baby on the way like Miyu? That all those kids that looked up to you and imitated you have moved on, and you haven't? That you got left behind?"

Instead of getting angry or hyper as he expected, she stared at him searching his eyes with soulful intensity. "Oh, Rei," She said softly in sympathy. "Is that what's bothering you?" Unexpectedly she leaned her head onto his shoulder, tucking her arm under his in a rare display of solidarity.

He hated that she was so intuitive at times like this. He hated that he needed her comforting presence so much when she didn't seem to need him at all. And he hated that she was right. "It's not fair, damn it." He said under his breath, but without real heat. He had accepted his decision to peruse medicine, so what was the point of mulling over what might have been?

For a moment he leaned his chin atop her bowed head, drawing strength from her. How did he and Ran, two 'leader of the pack' types become the ones left behind while the others who had lived in their shadows had passed them by and moved on? Why had he and Ran been the ones struggling and alone? He gave a soft sigh, deciding he had had enough. It wasn't like him to mope; it wasn't in his pragmatic nature.

Rei straightened, dislodging Ran from his side. He leaned forward to pick up his coffee and his books. "It's time I get out of here, I've got studying to do." He said evenly, hoping she would let him go without any further argument.

Ran watched his face carefully, wishing she could sooth his pain, though he would deny his feelings if she were to say anything. So she decided to do what he needed most. Cheering him up.

"What? You're going to go home and study on a Friday night?" She said in her most disdainful voice.

"What do you care, Kotobuki?" Rei asked mildly, impatiently waiting to see where this would lead. Was she going to have the gall to bleed him for a meal after their argument? It wouldn't be the first time she had done so, and it bugged him that she had no problems using him.

Ran paused, almost ready to blurt out 'because you matter to me' but instead held her tongue. This was Aya's ex, and though the two hadn't been together for a long time her friend still had very strong feelings about Rei and Ran suspected she always would. And Ran didn't betray her friends no matter how badly she wanted something for herself. But, she reminded herself Rei was her friend too, and right now he needed this, whether he realized it or not. She just wanted to see him smile again.

"How about we go out somewhere instead?" Ran suggested.

Rei paused in the act of turning to leave, debating where to take her up on her offer. This was probably just another invitation for him to treat her to pizza.

"What did you have in mind?" He asked casually.

Seeing his interest, Ran began to get an idea. "What about a club?" She suggested, thinking that maybe if she could get Rei into a high energy environment he might get inspired to rethink his decision about becoming a DJ. It was a farfetched plan, but Ran was known for those, and sometimes they actually worked.

"Subtlety isn't your thing Kotobuki." Rei said, immediately guessing why she had mentioned it. Disgusted, he turned to leave.

"Well, what did you want to do?" She asked, quickly giving up on her first idea, but still wanting to get him to relax by whatever means necessary.

Rei turned to study Ran for a moment while he made up his mind. Looking directly in her eyes so she couldn't misinterpret his intentions he said; "Dinner-someplace nice."

'A date' his tone implied.

Ran hesitated, wanting to accept; after all it was a free meal! But she also knew this was dangerous ground. "Um…" She stalled, trying to think of anything else they could do instead that didn't sound so…'date-like'.

"Forget it." Rei dismissed, tiring of her games. "Later." He was leaving and Ran knew she had no choice, he needed to get out of his funk and she was the only one who could do it.

"Ok, Ok!" She said quickly before she could change her mind. "Dinner someplace fancy. But don't forget you're paying!" Ran continued, her heart pounding a little faster. She was agreeing to a date, she knew it without a shadow of a doubt. She was going to have to be careful, and watch herself this evening. She was becoming more vulnerable to him lately, and in this mood, who knew what he might do or say. Aya's sad smile loomed in Ran's worried mind. This wasn't smart, she told herself confusedly. But she didn't know how else to reach him.

Rei moved to stand over her for a moment, looking down at her, debating whether he should take a chance and see where tonight could lead or if it would be just another dead end evening. Clearly she didn't want this to be a 'date' date, but suddenly he was determined to make sure that's exactly what it was. "Fine, if I'm paying, then I choose the entertainment afterwards." His voice sounded challenging.

She gulped, suddenly feeling like they were playing some head game she didn't know the rules too. "No problem!" She responded exuberantly, though her words were energetic, he could see the nervousness too.

"How about if I pick you up at 7 then?" He pushed; reiterating common dating etiquette so there would be no question as to what it was. This was definitely NOT just two friends hanging out.

"...I...sure thing!" She said, her voice a little less enthusiastic. She was beginning to sweat, which was crazy. She was the great Ran Kotobuki for Pete's sake! She didn't get nervous over guys, they got nervous over her!

Rei moved in closer, their bodies practically touching and she had to tilt her head back a little more so she could still look him in the eye. But that was becoming harder and harder to do as his gaze became more intense. "Dinner and a movie." He bargained, his calm voice at odds with the adrenaline pumping through him. "Then maybe a club afterwards, if you're good." This said with a smile. His heart was starting to pound hard with excitement though outwardly he appeared collected.

"I thought you didn't like going to the movies…" She trailed off, blinking at the nearness of him.

"Tonight's different." Was all he said, waiting for her acquiescence. For a guy who never got worked up about anything, he was getting pretty worked up about this. So much for his legendary cool, he thought to himself wryly.

Unable to hold his gaze any longer, she made the mistake of glancing down at his mouth and felt anticipation bubbling through her. "Ok." She nodded, half whispering.

Rei felt electricity raging through his entire system at the way she was looking at him. His breathing became slightly labored. It was the first time she had ever acknowledged any attraction towards him, and he was struggling mightily not to lean forward and kiss her senseless, to finally claim the free spirited Ran for himself.

But he wouldn't. Because he knew what would happen then. She would quickly cancel their plans for tonight, and any chance at a relationship would be blown, all over one kiss no matter how incredible it was. Pulling away and breaking the spell that had ensnared them both, he headed for the door, throwing over his shoulder, "Be ready by 7 Kotobuki, you know how I hate to wait."

Ran watched him go, shock on her face. What had just happened here? She could have sworn she had all but offered herself to him and he had just ignored it! Ran shook her head to clear it. It was a good thing of course; she tried to convince herself, ignoring the stinging feeling of rejection. After all she had momentarily forgotten all the reasons why she shouldn't get involved with him and had practically thrown herself at him. Talk about a close call!

Aya's tear stained features swam before Ran's gaze before she shook her head banishing the thought. She couldn't stand how mopey the girl had been over Rei, it wasn't the way she herself did things at all. 'Take Action' was her motto! But Aya had proved to be one of her very best friends over time, even if she was still hung up on a guy she had broken up with 7 years ago. Ran sighed, her thoughts and heart uncharacteristically heavy.

Then she glanced at her watch. Yikes, it was already four o'clock! She had some shopping to do for tonight. Any excuse to buy clothes, even if it was just a night out with Rei. She just wished she had more money to spend! Even with two jobs, rent and bills took most of her dough. But she always managed to eek out a little for the latest trends; after all she was a 'Gal for Life!' Excited, she burst out of the door and down the street towards Shibuya.

………………………