Written 9/26/08
In the timeline, falling between Family and Art.
Author's Note: I haven't written Get Backers in eons, but this little snippet overtook my mind in the car this morning and I couldn't say no. I blame it on the weather and my first autumn in two years and my new Ban & Ginji dollfies (for my upcoming birthday) and, of course, on Ban-chan. If you're reading End of the World, no worries - chapter 19 is almost finished and should be up before the weekend is through.
Swish slosh swish sloosh…
There's a rhythm to the rain - to the sound of tires sweeping by on wet pavement, to the individual drops pattering lightly on the roof of the car - that is comfortingly familiar to Ginji. The blurred silver of the sky viewed through the layer of water cascading down the glass of the windshield obscures the time of day when he finally cracks open an eye and yawns.
Ginji considers asking as he's stretching and shifting as much as he can in the small space, bumping elbows and knees into the door, but Ban is sitting as still as can be, head slightly bowed, and his eyes are closed. Sleeping…?
The window on Ban's side is cracked slightly, keeping the air inside the car from getting stale, letting a few drops of rain trickle in now and again. There's a big one, right on the edge of Ban's glasses, perched precariously low on his nose, and it slides slowly down the violet lens.
Biting back a giggle, Ginji's eyes travel from the raindrop down his partner's arm to the unlit cigarette dangling loosely between two fingers. The last one. Gini is sure of this, entirely certain, because he remembers falling asleep to Ban's voice bitching about something called inflation. The rain has already left a wet trail down the brunette's arm and Ginji fears for the life of the lone stick.
Deciding that a rescue mission is in order, Ginji slowly and carefully adjusts his position until he is sitting on one knee, the other foot on the floor to brace his angle. One hand to the back of the chair and the other is reaching, oh-so-carefully for that damsel-in-distress, the poor lone cigarette about to be engulfed in the flood!
"What are you doing?"
With a squeak, Ginji balance is gone and he's knocking the side of his head into the steering wheel. "Rescuing the damsel-in-distress!"
"What?" Ban raises one eyebrow in confusion and lifts his hand to push up his glasses, only to pause mid-way when he realizes there is an unlit cigarette between his fingers. Smirking, he resumes pushing up his glasses and reaches into his pocket with the other to fish for his lighter. "Where's the damn lighter?"
"I didn't want it to get wet," Ginji tries to explain as Ban is reaching over him, around him, under him, searching and muttering curses in various languages under his breath. He can't help that he's ticklish, but Ban's used to the endless stream of laughter. "Found it!"
The lighter becomes visible as Ban is climbing over him and Ginji snatches it up triumphantly, waving it like the treasure it is. "Thanks," Ban mutters, ruffling Ginji's hair lightly with one hand before accepting the tiny silver box.
Ginji simply smiles, leans his head against the side of the seat as he watches the flickering flame catch the end of the cigarette. Only slightly dented. Definitely still usable. The smoke rises from the bright end, curling up and towards the open window. From this angle, he can see a hint of the blue in Ban's eyes, can tell he is watching the outside world, through a layer of smoke and a layer of violet glass, the blurred water on the windshield.
The trees are just beginning to turn – wet and glistening in the weak midday light, the greens have gone gold, tipped in fire. A few more days, and the last wisp of summer will be gone and Ban wonders why this fiery glory before the bitter cold snow has always felt more like the tossing of old and the beginning of new.
"It's like a pause," Ginji murmurs from nowhere, but this too, Ban has gotten used to – the random bursts of thought and feeling. If he waits long enough, Ginji will unravel the layers. "Everyone always says it's death, but it isn't. It's just everything asleep, paused, dreaming away the winter. Do the trees looks sad? To me, it's like they're celebrating, all that color! Ne, Ban-chan?"
"Hn…" Ban murmurs not-commitally, and yet something inside him is burning, burning the same as the tip of his cigarette, as the trees in the park outside his window.
"And after the celebration, after the dreaming, then it's time to wake up and begin again…but for now, it's the pause, the pause to revel…" Ginji's words are cut off because Ban has turned, leaned in, threaded the fingers of his free hand into Ginji's hair as he kisses him, softly and slowly, lazy and lingering. "What was that for?" Ginji mumbles as Ban pulls back, takes another drag, and Ginji's cheeks are now as fiery as the rest of the burning around them, between them.
"Because."
"Because why?"
"Just because." There is a pause, and then: "Do you want pizza?"
Ban is already gunning the engine when Ginji cheers in response and he flips the wipers on, bringing the park to crystal clear crispness.
It doesn't matter where they've escaped from or where they're running to – today can be a pause.