YaYaYa! Mika was with Tohma! How convenient! Convenient perhaps because Ryuichi had forgotten he was trying to avoid Tohma - but convenient also because Tohma's office had a big ol' fire hose right out the front (it had magically appeared to celebrate Kumagarou's two-day anniversary of the discovery of matches) and as any fule nose, evil witches melt in water.

. . . and if that didn't work there was a big ol' axe too - and what constituted 'emergency use' more than witch-slaying?

Anyway, today Tohma's office was on the 6th floor (not because the author didn't really know where Tohma's office was located, but simply because it tended to move to wherever was most appropriate to the fic - not to mention 6 was Kumagarou's favorite number . . . today. . . on with the story. . .).

"Come Kuma-sama! The final battle approaches! Up this measley flight of stairs!" Pant. Wheeze. No . . . Shuichi wasn't THAT heavy . . . just . . . . well . . . Kuma HAD been eating a lot of candy lately . . . and maybe porking up just a little and all . . .

". . ." Muttered Kumagarou darkly. Okay, so maybe Ryuichi had been eating a little too much candy lately too na no da.

"ALY-VAY-TOR?" Queried Ryuichi sounding out the foreign word in surprise - a novel concept perhaps, but the technology for something like that had to be years away. He didn't have time to think about it when Mika might be upstairs right now creating evil clones.

Which wasn't the case at all. Mika was rather unsuspiciously sitting in Tohma's office filing at her nails and trying to decide whose life she wanted to dominate next . . . hmm . . . Eiri . . . Tatsuha . . . Eiri . . . Tatsuha . . . completely oblivious (by design) of K who was playing good cop - bad cop with Tohma (mostly bad cop since there was only one of him . . . if only Ryuichi were here, he did a pretty passable good cop . . . now Shuichi was another matter - K still had nightmares of Shuichi running the corridors, gun in hand, demanding to be called Big Bad Seme - that boy seriously needed therapy . Or something .).

Tohma genuinely didn't seem to know anything, so K was at an impasse of what to do. He couldn't just LEAVE that bullet in there . . . it was dangerous to carry a loaded weapon . . . maybe he could accidentally shoot Tohma in the foot . . . ?

Perversely, Tohma wasn't really paying attention anyway (which isn't really recommended when the OTHER GUY has a gun). If what K had unwittingly told him was true, Shuichi hadn't gone home yet, and was still drugged up and being dragged about by Ryuichi (he had no idea just how right he was about the 'drag' part).

Giggle. Tohma himself had called Eiri over 6 hours ago, and knowing Eiri he would have sent someone expendable (which when it came to Eiri, was everyone) and convenient - which meant he'd probably sent Tatsuha and Eiri would right about now be coming to the conclusion he had sent his decidedly perverted brother to pick up his very cute and very unconscious boyfriend. Skipping gaily across to the window he peered out to see a familiar Merc come speeding into the car park. Ah . . . so predictable.

"Yuki Eiri . . . I should have known!" Murmured K behind him. That bullet wouldn't go to waste after all. K, having the longer legs naturally beat Tohma out of the office, flinging open the door to the fire escape ecstatically and incidentally startling Ryuichi.

Now Ryuichi, presuming he had the element of surprise was rather . . .er . . . surprised. He stumbled back, tripping over Sakano who happened to be still lying in the stairwell from earlier and doing a rather passable impression of a bannister. Which was gratifying really because it explained why that last step was squeaking so much when Ryuichi used it. However it also left Ryuichi overbalanced.

Ryuichi could only stare in horror as Shuichi fell from his arms and tumbled down the stairs. Now mostly-insensate as he might have been, three successive cranial blows were all it took to wake Shuichi up (on a good day). K took notes. As luck (depending on your point of view) would have it, one Yuki Eiri decided to put in an appearance at that point in time.

If nothing else, Shuichi had learned to be somewhat of an opportunist when it came to gouging affection from the chunk of stone which he liked to refer to as Eiri-Sweetums heart. (Of course he didn't call Yuki that to his face . . . he wasn't THAT stupid). So when it was a matter of waking up in freefall, about to collide with said lover, it was Shuichi's duty to take advantage of the situation.

Which sort of helped to explain why Yuki, who was usually reticent about public displays of affection found himself toppled and stripped to the waist before he even really knew what was going on . . . which was becoming a more and more familiar position to find himself in lately.

. . . and yet . . . not unpleasant - so he let himself be mauled as long as he thought he could get away with claiming shock (6-8 minutes), before pushing Shuichi away, making a point of calling him a baka in the process (just to be on the safe side).

"Yuki!" Panted Shuichi, decidedly pleased with himself, again glomping the object of his affection. Not having much of an attention span Shuichi'd already forgotten several major points - like the fact he had no idea how he got here and why he was wearing a decidedly girly dress (even if it did match his hair nicely); but then this could be understood when one had better things to do - like wrap themselves around Eiri-kun for example.

"You saved me!" Murmured Shuichi huskily, meaningfully grabbing one of Yuki's hands and clasping it over him fake, yet still heaving, bosom. Sure he'd survived bigger falls than this without injury before, but only twice while wearing a floor-length dress, so technically he couldn't be sure he wouldn't have been injured.

Yuki was not unmoved. However perhaps it was a combination of Tohma leering at his bare chest and K just plain leering that made him act like a cold hearte . . .

. . .

. . . okay it was force of habit then.

Actually he'd come for Shuichi (Tatsuha could fend for himself) and the brat had saved him the trouble of looking - and despite appearances, Yuki wasn't averse to occasionally having his shirt ripped off and more than a bit curious to see exactly what Shuichi's bra was stuffed with.

"Let's go home." He mumbled gruffly to Shuichi who was purring at his ankles. Deftly he shouldered Shuichi (who had started complaining of all things about having sore feet), frock and all, and walked out of the building.

AND THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER*

THE END keeping in mind there will be. . .

EPILOGUE!

FOOTNOTE:

*Well Shuichi and Yuki did . . . until the next time Yuki threw Shuichi out of his apartment . . . which was two days later.