Hush

Characters: Rikuo, Saiga

Word Count: 753

Rating: PG-13

Theme: Gin

Disclaimer: Not mine, 'tis CLAMP's bag of goodies.


He'd been there two weeks now. Things were falling into a steady rhythm, one which he didn't love, but one he considered a necessary evil to finding Tsukiko. He'd run out of options and this had begun to seem his best bet.

It was only October, the late night air was sharp, but he was sitting on the steps leading up to his third floor room wearing only a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of faded jeans. An opened but practically untouched bottle of gin was propped up against his leg, sadly not the reason for the burning feeling that seemed almost permanent in his chest. He liked to tell himself otherwise though.

He heard the footfalls in front of him, but remained unconcerned, still leaning back and staring up into the sky.

"Do I want to know where you got that, boy?"

Rikuo finally looked in front of him to see Saiga standing there with his trademark slouched pose, dark sunglasses in place, even this late at night, and a cigarette burning brightly in the inky blackness.

"I thought you knew better than to ask questions you don't want the answers to."

Saiga laughed and made himself comfortable on the same stair Rikuo was sitting on. They were both probably too big to be sitting on the same small step, but it concerned neither that their shoulders happened to brush if one moved too much. The gin was no longer propped against Rikuo's leg, but now in Saiga's hand, making its way towards the larger man's mouth.

Rikuo, not sure if he had consumed more than originally thought, was fascinated by the smooth movements of the other man. The working of his throat, seemingly unaffected by the large swallow of alcohol, and the way his tongue came out to lick the remaining liquor from his lips. The bottle was passed back to Rikuo, who took a drink, nowhere near as smoothly, still inexperienced and unpracticed in such matters.

Silence ensued, minutes passed. Saiga finished his cigarette and put it out against the wall, flicking it with his forefinger, to the ground below. Rikuo growled in anger, Saiga knew damn well he'd have to sweep that up tomorrow morning.

Another moment passed and Rikuo began to wonder why exactly Saiga was out here, spending a portion of his night with him. Surely he had other things to do, reasons not be passing the night in a strained stillness with Rikuo. Perhaps Kakei had asked him to? It was the only thing that seemed logical.

Saiga, however, looked indifferent and took his time pulling out his pack of cigarettes in his coat pocket, tapping the box against the palm of his hand. Rikuo had almost begun to think he would just remain sitting in silence, when he pulled out another cigarette and lit it. He took a slow drag and looked at Rikuo, almost as if seeing him for the first time tonight. In a silent, tension filled movement, he extended the cigarette to Rikuo, offering the smoke up.

Rikuo had never smoked before, but for some reason, it felt right to take Saiga's offer, sitting there in the quiet darkness.

Saiga lit another for himself and finally broke the long standing silence. "It'll get better."

Rikuo scoffed. That seemed practically impossible at this point. He knew that Saiga couldn't be speaking about Tsukiko, if Kakei could see anything, he would have known by now. So what else could make things better?

Then again, Saiga wasn't one to make assurances or statements without merit. Rikuo might not have understood much about Saiga or his motivations in that moment, but he knew he was at least being sincere.

Moments later, both cigarettes finished, Saiga stood up and slipped the bottle of liquor into his pocket. He put a hand on Rikuo's shoulder and bent down to look him in the eyes. They were so close, Rikuo would have swore that he could almost see Saiga's eyes through his sunglasses. "I trust I won't be dealing with this situation again, rent boy."

He turned away and left with nothing more than a simple but firm, go to bed, and Rikuo thought he'd never had a stranger experience.

But later that night, when Rikuo went back to his room, feeling oddly disoriented, and looked at the second bed in the apartment, the one that had always seemed so very out of place, he had to admit, he actually did feel, just a little bit better.


daily use of this drug may cause poisoning...