Match made in Heaven
A/N: This is my first shounen-ai fic EVER and I worked really hard to finish this so I hope that whoever reads this, will appreciate it.
Words with means Japanese terms...
Yokatta- Thank God or something like that
Baka- stupid; idiot
Disclaimer: Yuuya Aoki and Rando Ayamine created Get Backers. I'm not either of them, so obviously I don't own anything.
---------
It all started with a smile.
His smile...
His beautiful smile contained millions of little secrets. Every time his lips would curve into that smile of his, one of his little secrets would escape. His smile showed everything about him. His joys, pain and sorrows. It was weird how his smile was a product of years of torture and torment and a lot of pain and sorrow sculpted that smile to what it is now. How amazingly ironic.
The young man let a smile cross his own lips. Though it wasn't as beautiful as his, it was pure and full of love.
Love?
Did that really cross his mind?
And was it intentional?
Maybe he was capable of love. Despite the things that he had gone through and everything people say about him, maybe he is capable of love. To love and to be loved. In this world full of cruelty, lies, deceit... evil, one must really need love to stand one's ground... and to move on.
Midou Ban had to laugh at himself. This was new... love and how one needs it. He didn't believe that a mere emotion could cause a lot of questionable things... yet here he was defying his own statement.
Back to his smile.
They say that many people follow Mugenjou's Rai Tei because of his power, because of his strength. Unlike their reasons, Ban must admit that there's something more to Rai Tei than his strength. Beneath his cold façade is a warm one. The Thunder Emperor is no doubt capable of love.
It was his love that had driven him to start VOLTS.
It was his love that had driven him to become a Retrieval Agent.
It was his love that causes his smile.
With that simple fact, one can easily distinguish Ban from the former Thunder Emperor, Amano Ginji. Even if both had tragic pasts, the outcome today was very different.
Midou Ban is cold and distant. He tends to be cold to others to give out a warning of what he really is. He rarely shows his soft side to anyone, for he believes that vulnerability can cause his own death. Throughout the years of suffering he had learned that to survive, one must be strong. Amano Ginji, on the other hand, is approachable and friendly. He finds everything interesting and he always wanted to help.
The total opposite of him.
"Ban-chan?" a worried voice unintentionally interrupted his thoughts. Amano Ginji's figure loomed in front of him, slightly surprising Ban.
"W-what?" Ban moved away from his curious face.
"Yokatta, you were thinking so hard!" Ginji informed. "What were you thinking about?"
"Things..." Ban shrugged. He wasn't about to admit to Ginji that he had been thinking of him for a whole 30 minutes. His pride wouldn't let him stoop that low.
"Well, ok then." Ginji returned his attention back to the table. It seemed very interesting to him. Even if he is that lovable guy, he's STILL eccentric.
Back to his smile—again.
Ban knew why he was attracted to him in the first place. He had that overpowering aura you couldn't miss. That's his smile. He fought him because of his strength, perceiving him as a challenge but he found something more than that. He found him.
Somehow, Ginji had gotten through his icy barricades and saw the real him. That was a first. Nobody ever saw him that way.
A thought struck Ban. His eyes widened in realization.
He loves him.
He's really in love with him.
How long has he been in LOVE? Since he first saw him? During a retrieval job? When?
Ban sighed. He must forget about it. It will only stand in his job's way. Suddenly, it didn't matter. Nothing mattered. All that mattered for him now was Ginji. This wasn't good.
"Ban-chan?"
The sun was setting in the west and the two retrieval agents were found slacking off their job (not that they had any customers) inside their beloved car. Ban was still thinking of what to do. He hasn't reached a decision yet. Many things are at stake here.
"Ban-chan?"
Not only that, he didn't know how to break it up to Ginji yet. How would he react? Violently, perhaps?
"Ban-chan?"
No doubt this will be the talk of everyone. Rumors would spread. Customers would lessen. Everyone would call him gay. (Wai! Didn't mean to say that!)
"Ban—"
"Shut up!" Ban's hand deliberately missed Ginji's face by centimeters.
"Demo..." Ginji whined.
"What?" Ban snapped.
"Ban-chan, you're drooling."
Ban's eyebrow twitched. He wasn't exactly in the mood for jokes and he was sure as hell that he wasn't drooling!
"What are you thinking?" Ginji asked for the second time that day. As the same as Ban's first reply, he said "Things..."
"What kind of things?" The former Thunder Emperor was not going to let it end there. His curiosity was far from convinced.
"Money," Ban lied.
"What about money?"
"Everything." Ban shrugged, lying back in his leather-clad seat.
The next day, Midou Ban woke up a new man. He had made his decision and was determined to do what he had to do.
He would leave.
Such a cowardly tactic was unexpected of him but he had no choice. He was new to this. He didn't know what to do and he knew very well that this could ruin a lot of things. Ginji would surely be appalled of such behavior from him but what was he to do? He could lose his job, his friendship with Ginji and of course... Ginji himself.
If being a coward means to save all those, he would gladly do it. Ban already planned how to do his "great escape". He had stayed up all night scheming for a foolproof plan. Today, he and Ginji would surely stay at Honky Tonk again and that's where he would pretend to be dizzy and excuse himself for a bit of fresh air. He would leave a note so he would be sure that they won't follow him. Then, he'd hop in his Beetle and leave.
Nothing could go wrong.
Ban idly glanced at his companion, Ginji as they were driving off to Honky Tonk. He was humming a tune, a happy one, as if nothing could go wrong today. Wrong? Everything was desperately wrong. Ban didn't know if he was doing anything right, for God's sake.
"Nee, Ban-chan," Ginji called from his seat.
"Hm?" Ban asked.
"Do you think that we're going to have customers today?"
"Hopefully," Ban shrugged. He didn't have time to worry about that, he was anxious about his award-winning act for later. He had practiced his lines, of course. The only difference was he was going to talk to Ginji, not some lifeless, battered lamppost.
"For some reason, I'm getting really excited today!" Ginji announced cheerily. He had his usual childish grin on and that immediately signaled Ban to have second thoughts. Should he really leave? Why shouldn't he? Should he stay? Should he forget about this?
Ban's mind launched a verbal battle with each other (Is that possible?) and before long he was having a migraine.
Fortunately, Honky Tonk was just around the corner and Ban hastily drove to it, like his own personal sanctuary (Technically, it is). The car halted to a stop in front of the café and the two went inside.
Ban greeted the occupants with the usual nod while Ginji immediately started a conversation with Natsumi.
Ban grinned and decided to put his plan to action. His hand buried itself in his pocket, feeling around the small silky compartment for the letter to make his plan perfect.
After a few seconds, his grin wiped itself completely out of his face and was immediately replaced by a frown.
Holy Lord, where was his letter? It couldn't get lost. He had personally seen to it that it reached it his pocket safely and that letter contained many dangerous secrets that he wasn't ready to share.
His brow furrowed as he started searching his pockets and everywhere else the letter could possibly be.
"Ban-chan?" Ginji shot his companion a worried look. "What's wrong?"
Suddenly, all eyes were on him. Ban gulped.
"I need to find something in the car..." he choked out. Without waiting for a reply, he instantly rushed out the building. He darted for his car and fumbled to open the door, almost breaking the car key in the process.
What was happening to him? Why was he so nervous? He was never like this before...
The car door was successfully opened and he searched for the small piece of paper where he poured his heart out. The letter was important—VERY important—in his plan. Inside it was the reason why he was writing such a thing when he could've wrote flyers for their job instead. After that, he stated that he would be fine on his own and that there was no need to follow him. Lastly, he confessed. He wrote why he had to leave. He toiled all night for such a letter to come to existence... he won't let it slip his grasp! He could just imagine the dangers if somebody else saw it. He actually said the four-lettered word there! What should he do if somebody sees...
"Ban-chan?" a familiar voice interrupted his search. Ban whipped his head and saw Ginji standing a few meters away from him. He was about to resume to his previous search when his blue eyes spotted something on Ginji's hand.
His letter.
Ginji was holding his letter.
Thunder clapped from the heavens and the sky darkened. Darkness slowly enveloped the city and soon enough, rain began pouring.
Ban didn't know what to do. Ginji had his letter. What should he do? Cold water fell on his face but Ban didn't move an inch. So did Ginji. His eyes were focused on Ginji's and somehow, Ban managed to inform him of his feelings—without words. His eyes said everything for him.
I'm sorry for being a coward. I'm sorry for being selfish. I'm sorry for everything...
The rain fell cold and hard on Ban. The world seemed to cry for him and his loss. His eyes still held Ginji's gaze and the paper that contained Ban's innermost secrets was now drenching wet.
"Ban-chan?" Ginji said uncertainly.
Ban hesitated. What should he say? What could he say? He was cornered. He knew it. He looked at Ginji and began to think about what he would miss if he left.
"Did you read it?" he asked casually. This was the best he could do. Act casual and pretend nothing happened.
"Well I... I didn't mean to but I saw it and—"
"You know, this isn't part of my plan." Ban began, water dripping from his brown tresses and on to the pavement. "I was supposed to leave. The letter was to be read AFTER I'm two thousand meters away from here"
Ginji looked down.
"Why?" came his worried reply. "Don't you like it here? Don't you—"
"It was weird how I wrote that letter. I never knew I had the ability to write such a thing."
Nobody said a word after that. All that was heard were the simultaneous drops of water on the cemented pavement.
Finally, Ginji made the first move. He threw the letter in his hand.
"Ban-chan, I read the letter and I-I think that you shouldn't leave... because you know, we still have our job and I—"
"Why shouldn't I?" he asked. "What I feel—it could cause a lot of trouble. It would get in the way of our job. You should understand that..."
"Ban-chan," Ginji sighed. "Remember what you told me? 'The 'S' in Get backers means that you're not alone. Don't carry the world on your shoulders. I'm with you.' Whatever you're going through, no matter what it is, I'll always stay with you. Besides, I can't retrieve things all be myself" Ginji grinned sheepishly.
"Baka. I needed that." Ban grinned back.
"So are you still going?" Ginji asked him once again.
"Well, I still need more convincing..." Ban began.
"You two!" Paul shouted from the door. "If you plan to stay out there, I might change my mind about that free coffee!"
"I'm staying." Ban told his companion.
The two walked back to Honky Tonk, Ban's arm around Ginji's shoulder. Ginji still had his grin on. Ban looked at him. Once again, his smile was there and one of secrets escaped. At that moment, Ban knew. Ginji felt the same. Words were not needed. His smile said everything Ban needed to know.
"Ginji," Ban started. "If you read the letter you know why I..."
"Of course, Ban-chan!" Ginji nodded enthusiastically. "I knew from the very beginning"
"You're not mad?" Ban asked.
"Why should I be? You should know how I feel about all this." Ginji informed.
"I do. From the very beginning." Ban mimicked. "How do you know how I..." Ban couldn't bring himself to say it, but he was thankful that Ginji understood.
"From your smile." Ginji opened the door. "Ban-chan?"
"What?"
"I'm glad you're staying."
"I am too."
Though the plan failed terribly, it was a blessing in disguise for the two Retrieval Agents. It opened a door for them, leading to a new and bright future—together.
-owari-
Wahaha... This fic is made possible by the unwavering support of my friends! I myself didn't know that I could make a shounen-ai fic! But it isn't pretty good so... just bear with me!
ELIE