A kind of drabble that got too long to be called a drabble. Again with this pairing. Why do I keep getting ideas...

FAREWELL PARTY

Izumi had two alarm clocks.

One of them was a metal duck with a pineapple hat that she had gotten from her parents for her eighth birthday. It didn't work very well anymore and the big silver bell that once dragged her out of bed was rusted over. She shook it once to see if it would even ring. It didn't.

But something still stopped her from throwing it away. Four years was a pretty long life for an alarm clock, considering all the dangers of not-so-accidental throwing against the wall or on the floor or onto the nearest hard surface. Except for the rust on the bell, it was in good condition. And it was a gift, so of course she had to treat it well.

Her other alarm clock was also a birthday present, but it was much more sophisticated looking. She had gotten it a few years ago from one of her best friends as a joke more than anything else, when for an entire week she was tardy to class. But it had been put to very good use, even though it wasn't very attractive. It looked more like a pager than anything else, and she used to store it inside of her nightstand so that she would actually have to get up to turn it off.

She was tapping them impatiently, wondering what she would do with both of them now. After she got her first cell phone, a push of two buttons set up yet another alarm clock. That left her with two useless space-wasters on her dresser.

Well, not completely useless.

If nothing else, they had sentimental value, enough to keep her from throwing them away. She'd thought about donating them, but no, one of them was already broken anyway and the other...well, the person who gave it to her probably wouldn't be very happy.

And that wasn't good if he happened to be your boyfriend.

She rubbed her forehead. Apparently, it was time to play What Would Kouji Do. After all, the world was just so much simpler through his eyes.

So, let's review. Two alarm clocks. Neither of them could be used anymore. They were taking up space. Obvious conclusion: Just throw them away!

Damn it. This wasn't helping. Izumi flopped onto her bed and groaned. She was really thinking too much about the whole thing. Why couldn't she just let go of two stupid little pieces of metal? She tried to order her brain to be more logical. It didn't work.

Maybe if she just forced herself to throw them away...Izumi huffed quietly.

She felt sort of pathetic.

Fidgeting with her fingers, she dragged out the duck clock. Izumi traced the cartoonish face and red beak, the gray feathers and the round timepiece lodged in the middle of its chest. The pineapple hat. The silver bell. The peeling paint on webbed feet. With a sudden shock, she realized that she could no longer remember the day she had gotten it. Not particularly surprising since she was eight at the time, but it was a bit of a slap from reality.

Now Izumi felt really pathetic. She had never thought of herself as a clingy person, but apparently she was for some things. Like pineapple-wearing ducks.

In contrast, Izumi didn't smile at all when she fingered the pager-clock thing. Most of her memories involved wanting to crush it into itty bitty pieces whenever it pulled her out of a particularly pleasant dream. But at the same time, she held it and she remembered the gift-giver. It was just his style: unobtrusive and straightforward. And the day that she had received it was still pretty clear in her mind, even if this particular gift had been overshadowed by many other things at the time.

Her lips tingled in memory, and she blushed.

Kouji was absolutely shameless sometimes.

Most of the time.

All of the time.

Even worse, her mother had been delighted and took lots of pictures. Sadly enough, Izumi had not found the negatives for those photos yet, which meant that there was definitely a world of embarrassment just waiting for her to drop her guard. The blush on her face darkened.

A very loud chime coming from her bag interrupted her thoughts, and she made a mad dash for the purse hanging from the doorknob. There was a folder in the way and she nearly slipped, but managed to recover her balance at the last minute. She flipped the phone open with one hand and said, "Hey!

A low chuckle greeted her, and she felt her cheeks warm again. "Happy today, are we?"

"Erm, well, not exactly..." she trailed off, somewhat hesitantly. "Did you need something?"

"Depends. Are you busy?"

"Right now?" she threw a glance at the alarm clocks with a faint scowl. "No."

"Good. I'm coming over."

"H-hey, what? Kouji!"

"What?" His voice was faintly amused and indulgent. Low, soft, and husky.

"You didn't even ask me!" she pouted slightly, even though she knew that he couldn't see.

"Would you say no?"

She scowled. "No, but..."

"But?"

Izumi sighed. There really was no dissuading Kouji when he made his mind up to do something. She only hoped that he wasn't planning on giving her mother more things to squeal about... "Okay."

"Good." Was that smugness she heard? It was! That little - she flushed brightly with anger.

"Kouji-"

"See you in a bit."

The sharp click indicated that he had hung up. Hung up. On her. She seriously wanted to throttle him!

Izumi spun around on her heel when she heard the doorbell ringing. It felt like her heart had stopped, until she realized that for Kouji to get to her house so quickly he must have been already on his way while talking to her. Angry didn't even begin to describe how she felt right now. He was a self-satisfied, arrogant jerk. Why was she dating him again?

The doorbell rang a second time. She decided to let him in, if only to give him a piece of her mind.

Obviously he had different ideas.

And obviously she had forgotten how fast he was.

As soon as the door opened he was already inside, pulling her firmly against him and pushing her against the door.

Also, she had forgotten how good he was at kissing. That is, very good. Yeah. She couldn't even remember why she was angry anymore...It almost made up for how much of a jerk he could be. Izumi recognized the peculiar way he was running his hands all over her sides. It spoke of eagerness and impatience.

Kissing him like this felt rushed but good. Good, but rushed.

But Izumi had no intention of letting him have all the fun. She was just glad her mother was still in the garden, but they wouldn't be alone for long. Gently, she slid her hand between them.

"Kouji," she breathed, "Wait, wait."

His lips brushed against the hollow of her throat, and she whimpered. Then he backed away, looking at her expectantly.

"Um." Izumi blushed. How should she start? "Mother's in the back," she blurted out in a rush.

Kouji stared at her. "And?"

"Um."

"I don't mind."

She glared at him in reply. "Well, what if it was your mother?"

"Which one?"

"Either," she said, exasperated.

He shrugged. "My real mother would ask me when the wedding is. My stepmother would giggle and leave the room."

"Fine, your father then!"

That did the trick. He turned a very interesting shade of pink, almost purple. It was especially obvious on his light skin and Izumi danced triumphantly in her head. It took him a long time to finally choke out, "I have no intention of kissing you in front of him. Ever."

Izumi grinned at him. "And I have no intention of kissing you in front of my mother."

He looked quite confused. "But you already have."

She slapped his arm. "Kouji!"

"What? You have."

"Why are you so weird?"

"What's so weird about it?"

"You don't like kissing me in front of anybody else, but you don't mind when it's my parents. Why is that?"

He blinked slowly and thoughtfully. "I don't know. Why would I be any different?"

"And why don't you actually ask permission to do anything?" she asked, toying with a few long black hairs.

Kouji pulled her out of the entryway and walked her to her room. "I did. I asked if you were busy."

"You didn't ask if you could come over."

"I vaguely remember your mother telling me I was welcome anytime." He nipped the side of her neck gently and Izumi couldn't repress a little shudder of delight.

She kept up the argument just for the sake of arguing, though. "But this is my house too."

"She pays the bills."

Izumi glared at him. He had dropped onto the mattress, reclining sideways with his back to the wall. Izumi slid up next to him. His hand was warm on her back.

Through the hazy, dreamy fog that suddenly covered her, she felt something hit her leg and frowned. After a while, she suddenly realized what it was, and scooted over to reach for it. Kouji watched her with dark eyes.

She poked him with the alarm clock he had given her. "Hey, Kouji."

"Hmm." He glanced at the little black thing in her hand, and blinked. "Oh, hey. That's your birthday gift."

"You still remember."

"Yeah, surprised you still have it. Thought you'd already smashed it to bits by now."

She was surprised into a laugh. "Yeah, well. It's still alive, you see."

"There a reason you showed it to me? Other than to prove that you're not violent, that is."

Izumi sucked her breath in. It always astonished her that he could be either so polite or so aggravating, sometimes even at the same time. But now she was just curious. "You wouldn't be upset?" Her fingers ran through his dark hair slowly.

His eyes were almost closed, but he opened them again when she spoke. "Why would I be?"

And just like that, she felt the worry wash away. He had a talent for doing that, too. "Hmmm."

"Of course," he reached her to brush a lazy kiss against her nose, "I would be upset if you stopped getting up on time, but that's really all." He shrugged. "It's just an alarm clock."

"Oh," she mumbled softly, feeling very foolish. Well, now she supposed that throwing it away wouldn't be a problem. Why did she think it would be?

"Why'd you ask?"

"Nothing," she murmured, looking behind her at the other alarm clock on the nightstand. She might as well throw them out together...

He followed her gaze...and then started to laugh. "What on earth, Izumi? Is that a pineapple on its head?"

She instantly flushed bright red. "It was a birthday gift," she mumbled into his shoulder.

He gave her an incredulous look and climbed out to take a closer look at the odd clock. He poked at the fruit part and laughed again.

Izumi scowled. "Kouji, you better not be mocking my duck."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he shot back, lips twitching.

She threw the other alarm clock at him.