Spontaneity

It was a rare moment at SPR.

There was no ruckus coming from the lounge. Hara Masako was out of the country to do a television program in New Zealand. Takigawa Houshou and Matsuzaki Ayako, supposedly "just friends", had decided to take a case together and gallivanted off to the northern reaches of Hokkaido to investigate a haunted inn. Taniyama Mai, usually bustling about the office regardless of how many people were loitering around, was at home today, studying for college entrance exams. Even Oliver Davis, commonly called Naru, was not behind his desk, having been called away to meet his adoptive parents.

The office was completely silent.

Well, except for the faint click-clack of computer keys which emanated from the office which belonged to the only present member of the ghost hunting organization. Lin Koujo had decided to remain at the office since no one else was on hand. He supposed he could have joined the Davis family, but he found that he preferred his solitude. Lately, with the high volume of cases SPR had been working through, he had not been afforded the opportunity to indulge in some peace and quiet.

Lin let out a barely audible sigh of contentment as he turned another page of the handwritten notes made for the next case. He had tasked himself with transcribing in order to preserve the records in a more organized manner. That was how Lin liked things: organized.

Organized and orderly was how Lin approached everything in life. His documenting and research methods were methodical; his shiki magic was perfectly controlled at all times. There was nothing, once he brought down the force of his entire will, that could resist his deep rooted need to keep things ordered.

Suddenly, his shiki were alerting him to a certain presence approaching the office. Lin sighed again, this time out of annoyance. Perhaps nothing had been too ambitious. There was one thing—well, one person—who had so far resisted his efforts to keep things all organized.

Lin kept working, even after he heard the office's out door open and a woman's voice call out: "Lin! Get your butt out here! We are going out! We are going to have fun!" The feminine voice proceeded to rant along those lines, growing louder and louder as the owner of the voice got closer and closer to his own private office door.

Without so much as a knock, the door swung open to reveal an attractive woman in her late 20s with voluminous medium brown hair and bright hazel eyes. Her cheeks were flushed either with annoyance or cold and her full lips were set in a stubborn line.

"You. Me. Out." She stated the words firmly.

"I'm busy, Madoka." Lin's voice was flat with refusal.

"Rubbish. You're being a stick in the mud. As an apology, you are going to buy me ice cream. Let's go." Madoka settled her hands on her hips, fixing him with a glare that had most other people doing her bidding. Even Oliver respected that glare.

"No."

Madoka fumed. Why must he always be this way?! He's worse than Noll sometimes! She stalked over to Lin's desk, hovering next to laptop's glowing screen. "If you don't get off that thing right now and come with me, I will yank both the battery and the power cord out. It will corrupt everything."

Lin's fingers paused. Madoka did not make idle threats. And yet… "You will have to take the computer away to accomplish that. You are a great investigator Madoka, but you are hardly physically imposing."

It was, in hindsight, one of the absolute worst things he could have said.

"Oh, really," Madoka murmured, a terrifying glint kindling to life in her eyes. "We'll see about that." Before Lin could even react, she made a grab for the machine, snatching it practically off of Lin's own lap.

While his reaction was late, Lin still managed to clamp his much larger hands over her wrists as she tried to flee with her prize. She put her whole body behind the ensuing tug of war, making fearsome sounds of protest. Surprised, Lin had some trouble keeping a hold of her. She was incredibly resilient, though he suspected it was out of sheer stubbornness more than anything else.

If there is one trait the members of SPR have in abundance, it is stubbornness, Lin thought with a certain amount of ironic humor. "Madoka, this is ridiculous. We are adults."

She stilled. Then she grinned widely. "Perhaps, but I am determined to get you out of this place. You're worse than Noll. At least he left the office today."

Lin scowled. Of course he did. Between you and Luella, he was too terrified not to. Then again, when faced with such formidable women, any person would be scared into obedience. Except Lin, of course.

When the tall Hong Kong man said nothing in response to her rebuke, Madoka's smile dimmed and her brows knit together. Time to try another tactic. "Lin, I am your friend and I hardly ever get to see you. Please spend time with me?"

He blinked, grey eyes defrosting just a little. "I saw you two months ago, before Noll and I came back to Japan."

"Are you listening to yourself? Two months! You've proved my own point."

"Two months isn't that long, Madoka. We've gone longer without seeing each other."

The brunette prayed to whoever was listening to grant her patience. "…Two months is a long enough time for me to miss you."

Lin had nothing really to say to that.

"I'll tell you what, I'll make you a deal. I'll release your computer if you promise to come out with me for two hours." Madoka was ready to compromise to get what she wanted.

Lin examined the woman intensely. It was always this way with Madoka. She was always so determined to spend time with him, pulling him out of his comfort zone. Like that time she had dragged him to an amusement park because she wanted to ride the rollercoasters. It wasn't that he minded, exactly. He was simply waiting for her to get tired of him, to move on to someone who was more extroverted like she was.

But maybe he was waiting for something that was never going to happen.

"Alright. I'll go with you."

"Yes!" Madoka cheered, all but slamming the laptop back onto the desk.

Lin cringed. "Please be careful with that."

"Oh, hush. The bloody thing's fine, isn't it? Now, hurry up!"

Sending one last longing look at his computer, Lin followed Madoka from the office.

"Oh, one more thing!" she exclaimed, turning suddenly.

"What now? I thought we were in a hurry."

She leapt at him, managing to hook her arms around the back of his neck. Lin automatically let a foot slide backwards, his hands coming to rest on her waist to keep her momentum from taking them both to the floor. Before he could think of a suitable response to such a rash action, she kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I knew you would come. You may pretend you don't like me most of the time, but I know you're just playing hard to get. And you still owe me ice cream." Her tone was light and teasing.

Lin couldn't help the bare curving of his lips into a smile. "You are a like a force of nature, Madoka. There isn't a point in resisting."

"You like me." It was stated with confidence.

"…Perhaps." Slowly, he stooped his tall frame to lower her until he feet touched the floor.

"Good. Now. Ice cream. I want green tea flavor. Oh! Or maybe red bean." She continued to chatter as they left the office, locking the door behind them.

Madoka's arm threaded through his own so that she could drag him more quickly. She laughed. "Smile, Lin! I promise it will be fun! Like a date!"

Lin supposed that, only every once in a while, being unorganized and spontaneous was not such a bad thing.