"You're so cruel, Gin-chan." Aizen chuckled, leaning against the arm of his favorite tall-backed chair. His coke-bottle glasses lay on the coffee table in the middle of the room, and his hair was lazily pushed away from his sneering face. Gin sat on the over-sized couch to Aizen's left, his cheeky smile plastered to his moon-pale face, hiding any thoughts he might be thinking. "Playing with Kira-kun like that. I know you know it won't end well. The boy honestly likes you!" Aizen's dark chortling echoed throughout his luxurious condominium.
"Ah, but that's where th' fun is, Sousuke. It's no fun if it's a farce!" Gin snickered, folding his arms. "Izuru is so cute, I can't help myself."
"You're going through a lot of trouble just for a couple laughs, Gin. You're such a thorough man." Aizen templed his squarish fingers.
"'S all for the beguiling victory, my friend." Gin's voice was mocking and silken.
"What will you do if you hurt the boy?" Aizen asked, tilting his head to the side.
"I'll have been finished with him by then, so it'd be none a my concern." Bright white teeth were flashed at Aizen.
Aizen shut his eyes, his terrible smile still echoing on his lips. "How much of your show is real?" He massaged his brow with his thumb and forefinger. Gin was silent. Aizen rose slowly from his chair and came to stand over Gin, leaning very close to his face. "You are loyal to me."
"Until I find a better match." Gin finished, a smoldering stare hidden behind squinted lids. Intimate, experienced lips stole each other's breath, faces clasped between two very different sets of hands.
Snow was beginning to pile up as it always did in early December. Winter break was beginning in just a few days, and Izuru and Gin were preparing for their eighteen day trip to Yokohama to spend time with Gin's old friends. Aizen wouldn't be coming with them, as he was spending the holidays with his mother, who lived on the other side of Sapporo. (Listening to Aizen's phone calls with his mother always made Izuru giggle.) Izuru had gotten a promotion at Starbucks, and was now the store manager. When he had told Shuuhei and Matsumoto that at the end of November, Matsumoto had immediately produced a bottle of sake and drank herself silly. Shuuhei ended up driving her home as he always did, but ever since they'd gotten together, he would spend the night at her place instead of just dumping her on the couch with a note. Which was why Izuru wasn't all that surprised when Shuuhei made an announcement at breakfast. "Matsumoto wants me to move in with her." Shuuhei said, jamming bread into the malfunctioning toaster. "Is that okay?"
Izuru shrugged. "Do you need help moving your things?" He asked, loading jars of jam into his arms.
"So you're cool with it?" Shuuhei brought out two small plates.
Izuru shrugged again. "Yeah. But you have to take that toaster with you."
Shuuhei flashed a frown. "But Rangiku already has a toaster."
"Consider it a housewarming gift."
Shuuhei shook his head, and the toast popped up in a puff of smoke. "What will you do once I'm gone?"
"I'll probably rent out the top floor again, or move up to the top floor and rent the bottom out, for a change of scenery." Gin is looking for a place, and I already offered him my bed. Two could fit, if we cuddle really close together, Izuru thought as he and Shuuhei sat down to toast at the kitchen table.
"Oh, okay."
Eating commenced quietly.
"Do you still need help packing?" Izuru asked after a couple minutes.
"I think I'll be okay. Rangiku said she'd help me out, and I don't have that much stuff, anyway." Shuuhei bit into his blackened toast.
"Is that the last box?" Izuru asked, watching Shuuhei load a cardboard box into the back of his car.
"Rangiku's bringing the last one down, then I just have to grab my guitars." Shuuhei stretched his back, twisting from side to side. He jogged back to the front door, where he nearly ran into Matsumoto. He apologized with a quick kiss to her lips, and Izuru looked down and smiled. They were so good for each other. Matsumoto slid the last box into the back of Shuuhei's car, and stepped back, brushing her hands off on her sweatpants then tightening her pony tail.
"There."
"Good luck, Matsumoto-san." Izuru said with a tiny smile. "I hope you two are happy together."
"Aw, thanks, Kira-kun. I'll be glad to have someone who can cook in the house. I mean, have you ever tried his pasta in vodka sauce? It's fabulous." Matsumoto grinned wide.
Izuru smirked, wrapping his arms tighter around himself. It was very cold out. Shuuhei scuffled out the door, one electric guitar slung over his shoulder in its gig bag, an acoustic in his hand and an electric bass in a hard case nearly as tall as Izuru. "I forgot I also have to grab my amps and cords and that damned toaster." He said, gingerly setting his guitars in the backseat. He ran back into the house.
"Toaster?" Matsumoto tipped her head to the side, rubbing her hands together to ward off the chill.
"Housewarming gift." Izuru explained.
"Oh."
"Rangiku?" Shuuhei called from inside of the house. "Could you get the toaster from the kitchen? And Kira, could you help me carry one of the amps?"
Rangiku skittered inside the house, and rummaged for the toaster in the kitchen. Izuru pattered up the stairs, and hefted the black amplifier Shuuhei had set at the top of the stairs. It was so much heavier than it looked. His shoulders strained as he trudged down the stairs. He set the giant black box in the back seat of the car.
"Izuru, will you take a picture of Shuuhei and I?" She pulled a small digital camera out from her pocket, and handed it to Izuru. It fit neatly in the palm of his hand, and he snapped a picture of the new couple. Matsumoto had the toaster under her arm, and she was kissing Shuuhei on the scarred cheek, her bright blue eyes happily shut. Shuuhei had an arm wrapped around her waist, and was smiling with white teeth, a coil of patch cord hung on his shoulder. A snowflake had decided to hit the camera lens just as the photograph was taken, so the bottom right hand corner was blurred. Izuru giggled and handed the camera back to Matsumoto.
Izuru pushed a clear thumbtack into the cork board at "his" Starbucks, pinning the white flier to the cork. He stepped back to analyze it, and make sure he was saying what he wanted to say. "ROOM FOR RENT 2 Rooms, walk-in closet, master bath. Rent negotiable. Kitchen and living room shared. Have allergies, so no pets. Please call Kira Izuru 011-333-1133^" it read. He gave a curt nod, brushed his hands off on his green apron, and adjusted his visor. Hopefully he would get a call from a potential renter soon.
Today Izuru was on front register, sporting his brand new pin that read his name and then in bold letters beneath that, "Store Manager". He gave a tiny, smug, pleased smile and stationed himself behind the cash register to take orders. He called orders to the catty barista he'd grown to know as "Yoruichi", and the other barista he'd learned was called "Momo". They received the orders quickly, and pumped espresso and steamed milk with great speed. But one thing Izuru had not been expecting was to have his advertisement so quickly responded to.
A tall, silver haired woman stepped up to the counter, wallet in hand, and looked up at the menu with dark charcoal eyes. She flicked a glance at Izuru, and then did a double take. "Are you Kira Izuru?" She asked.
"I am." Izuru replied, tapping his ballpoint pen on the counter.
"Oh, I saw your ad for the rooms for rent," She said, gesturing vaguely at the corkboard by the front doors with a manicured hand. "And I think I might be interested. Could you give me an estimate of what you might charge for rent?" Her voice was very soft, and Izuru recognized it as the voice of a regular who went through the drive through very often.
"About 55,000 to 65,000 yen a month."
"Wow, that's really reasonable!" Her thin silver eyebrows shot up, and she began to fidget with one of the long, skinny braids on the right side of her head. "Now I'm really interested."
"Thanks." Izuru smiled.
"Oh, no problem! I'm Kotetsu Isane. Would it be alright if I called you tomorrow about the rooms? I have to get to my shift at the hospital soon."
"Of course. I'm leaving for a ten day trip on the 20th, though, so if you're interested in moving in quickly, that's absolutely fine."
"Oh, wow! That'd excellent. I'll call you tomorrow, then."
"Cool. Now, what would you like to order?" Izuru twirled the ballpoint pen between his fingers.
"Right! I'll have a venti cappuccino." She snapped open her wallet.
"Anything else?" Izuru wrote the order on a 20 oz. cup.
"That's it, thanks."
"Excellent." Izuru handed the cup to Yoruichi, and popped open the cash drawer to retrieve Kotetsu Isane's change.
AN
^ Not a phone number you should call.
It's sooo fillerish. D:
sfj