A/N: Mmm~ This little idea seemed cute, so I shall write it. Mm, I'd say 6-8 years later? I play around far too much with the fluffiness of this pairing... I was tempted to make Squalo's text proper grammar, but Squalo doesn't seem like that kind of person. =w=; Another long drabble, eh…?


After miniscule amounts of sleep, bloodlust driven clashes of swords, steel against barrels of guns in attempts to push them away, and facing death about 10 times over, the last thing Squalo wanted to do was check his cell phone.

The last time he had seen Yamamoto Takeshi was when he received the damn thing. Presented with a charming smile and in a hand wrapped box (Squalo had refrained from snorting at the messy blue ribbon bow), the gift was given with the purpose of them keeping in contact, since continent and a sea kept them from seeing each other often. He remembered accepting the cell phone with a nonchalant grunt and mutter of thanks, eyeing over it with a slight curiosity.

Shedding his arm bound sword into a clattering heap on the ground, Squalo made his way over to the lounge chair in his room and made himself comfortable. He reached out for the cell phone, which he had left on the adjacent table (because he would be damned if that thing went off during a mission) and flipped it open, his eyes squinting with the display screen's brightness. If Squalo could be called lazy, that could have been his excuse for not changing his cell phone's wallpaper.

---

"It can take pictures, too!" Yamamoto grinned sheepishly.

"Voi, why would I need something that can do that?" Squalo clicked his tongue at the young man, who just started to babble out some animated nonsense before getting to the point. "So I can see how you're doing, of course." The Varia assassin felt a bit embarrassed by the man's words. A series of 'uh's and 'hn's with unevenly narrowed eyes supported his uneasiness. "Can't you just call then, you idiot?" Squalo mumbled, staring blankly at the phone now. "Well, I'm going to do that too!" Now that Yamamoto was older, that smile of his could turn suave, and he showed Squalo one of those smiles. "Why don't we take a picture together? I probably won't see you for some time after this assignment." Yamamoto was due back in Japan in two days and he had stopped by the Varia headquarters to visit his first real opponent in the art of the sword. Squalo, not really being an openly sentimental guy, agreed reluctantly, but to Yamamoto he might as well have exclaimed 'Voi, yes!' and kissed him on the cheek.

But that didn't happen.

Yamamoto's laughter was near Squalo's ear, his arm draped casually over slender shoulders. He gently took the phone into his own outstretched arm and pressed his face against Squalo's cheek. "Smile, Squalo!" Even while posing for a camera, Yamamoto's smile was still genuine; he was taking it with Squalo after all.

---

The man's cheesy grin and his own sour faced sneer made up the background of his cell phone. A stark reading of 2:33AM in the top left corner of the screen drew a yawn from Squalo. He drew his mouth into a tight line before pressing his way to his text message inbox. Yamamoto really liked to send him those since he knew that calling would usually result in a one-way wait to a voice mail. "Doesn't this brat have better things to do?" Squalo chortled, smirking at the 12 new text messages. He lazily thumbed through them, most of them just frivolous comments from Yamamoto's daily life.

(^_^) Squalo! Today my favorite team won their baseball game. Yesterday 2:10 PM

I think I finally got your attack down. (o 3o) It's an amazing technique! Yesterday 11:32PM

(o Ao); I just realized I'm texting you at very bad times! Sorry! m(_ _)m Yesterday 2:20AM

Squalo snorted through his nose at that. Then why do you keep texting, idiot?

He read through all of yesterday's text messages (consisting of things that would feel most at home in Yamamoto's thoughts), finally getting to the new one today.

I'm going to be in Italy next week. We should have dinner together sometime. My treat! \(^ ^)/ Today 2:30AM

Why did this brat keep texting him at ungodly hours? He wouldn't admit it, but he was flattered by the offer and would have been a bit more ecstatic if it wasn't sent just a few minutes prior his return. After staring a bit more at the text, Squalo flipped the phone closed and laid it back onto the stand. He never actually replied to any of Yamamoto's text, he just read them. Yet that fact never discouraged Yamamoto from sending each Japanese emoticon filled texts to him. He was sure that the man would always find a way to convey a smile, even through the use of randomly grouped punctuation marks and letters. Squalo had taken to leaning his head back against his chair when a rumbling vibration on the stand alerted him to the new text message.

"Voi, does that kid not know what time it is over here?!" he quickly snatched up the phone and found his way to the new message.

I won't take no for an answer. Goodnight, Squalo! (=^3^)~Chuu! Today 2:36AM

He guessed the message was an afterthought on the previous one, seeing as it was delivered within a short time of the other. Squalo clicked his tongue and grin crookedly. This kid know when I'm awake or something? While he may have known some Japanese and a bit about its culture (thanks to the sword), Squalo had no earthly idea what that Japanese emoticon Yamamoto sent was. Was it mocking, was it bad, good? What was it? Squalo decided to text back his answer to the dinner proposal and ask about the face.

only if u keep ur promise about paying and what was that face u used? Squalo's reply took a while, seeing as it was late, he was tired and using only one hand to restlessly search and press the keypad. He hit 'send' after what felt like forever and closed his phone, letting his arm hang off the side of the chair as he waited for a reply. Yamamoto said he would always reply back.

It didn't take long for the phone to have another one of its seizures. Squalo groaned, being awoken from his near drift into sleep by the noise and feeling. Wordlessly, Squalo checked the new text. He rubbed his eyes a bit to restore their vision and looked at the text again. Was this guy serious?

Of course I'll pay. And that was a kiss goodnight! (;o3o) Go to bed now! Today 2:42AM

There was a slight tingling sensation in Squalo's cheeks and his face felt just a tad bit warmer. Without a word Squalo turned off his phone and disposed of it onto the nightstand next to his bed before crawling under his sheets. He was too tired to change out of his dirtied clothes and actually get ready for bed. Silver strands of hair were pushed to the side as he rolled on his back to let out a tired sigh and groaned.

How was he supposed to get to sleep with that last text?

The unfamiliar nervousness in his stomach and jumped pulse of his heart would surely keep him up until dawn.

Damn that Yamamoto Takeshi.