Author's Notes: Okay, should get this done by the 31st so check back within the next few days for the last chapters :)
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Chapter 7: Presents from the Heart
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He knocked. Quickly, yet audible. Just loud enough to be heard, just long enough to be noticed.
The last thing Jakotsu needed was dealing with a less-than amiable Renkotsu along with everything else.
Door swinging open, he noticed the eyes behind the glasses narrow.
"Um…hi."
Jakotsu forced a smile at Renkotsu's usual stoic expression.
"What pray tell do you need?" He asked, casually reaching up to adjust his reading glasses.
Taking a deep breath, Jakotsu decided to get right to the point.
"Well, you see-- I kinda upset Bankotsu, so I'm trying to make things up to him. Suikotsu suggested that I give him a sort of gift each day until Christmas, so I was hoping you might have an idea."
"A gift?" Short, curt, and obviously perplexed as to why this situation involved him at all, Renkotsu crossed his arms and began to damn the fates for inflicting this on him.
"Not like a real-gift, like…a gift of something. Like Suikotsu said to give him the gift of friendship and understanding."
"The gift of chastity."
"Renkotsu!" Jakotsu pouted, sticking his hands on his hips, "I'm trying to be serious."
"Then that should be a proper gift. Show him you can keep your hands to yourself unless he wants them…somewhere."
Eyebrows creasing as he thought that reasoning over, Jakotsu sighed.
"Mou…I guess that might work… Ginkotsu, you have any ideas?" He asked, addressing the red-haired man in the background.
"Gesh, I don't know. How about letting him lead?"
"Let him…lead? But doesn't that go against the whole chastity thing if I let him…"
Clearing his throat, Renkotsu interrupted, "He meant, spend a day letting Bankotsu be the one to make all the choices. Where to go, what to do, things like that."
"Yesh! That's it," Ginkotsu confirmed.
Looking between the two, Jakotsu had a suspicion he knew where the metal-jawed man had gotten the idea from.
"Well, I'll have to talk to Ginkotsu about how to do that since he seems to listen to everything Renkotsu says without argument. But I can't exactly do that when Renkotsu's here…so I'll just talk to him later."
Nodding, the dark-haired man stepped back knowing he had much more to do that day.
"Okay, thanks you two. I've got to go talk to Mukotsu and Kyoukotsu now."
As the tall figure disappeared down the stairs, Renkotsu just shook his head.
"Ten dollars he can't keep his hands to himself."
"Make it twenty that he can. Jakotsu seemed really determined to make it work," Ginkotsu countered, earning himself an odd look from his roommate.
He paused a moment, as if rethinking his wager, then agreed.
"All right. Twenty. We'll ask Bankotsu for details in a few days to see who wins."
"Gesh, okay Renkotsu."
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Jakotsu went down the stairs, resisting the urge to stop on the second flood and talk to Bankotsu. This time, he had to have a plan. Working on impulse- and hormones- was not going to get him anywhere.
On reaching the first floor, he considered his options.
To the left, Mukotsu and who knew what strange smelling potions. To the right, Kyoukotsu, who was most likely getting an early start on lunch.
Figuring that Kyoukotsu might give a better gift idea after his stomach was full, Jakotsu chose the left door and knocked.
As the door swung open, he braced himself for any foul smells.
"Ah, Jakotsu. I didn't think my current project would cause any complaints," The stout man muttered, pulling off a cloth from over his mouth.
Taking a slight sniff of the room's aroma, Jakotsu knew what he meant.
Sometimes Mukotsu's noxious fumes would end up seeping through the air vents into Jakotsu's apartment on the floor above. Good naturedly, Jakotsu had complained that it was scaring off potential boyfriends.
"I thought you were wanting a bad smell. Did you mess up and get this nice one?" Jakotsu questioned, casually poking his head into the room.
Mukotsu laughed, its unique sound resonating throughout the room.
"Its part of my perfect romance plan. They can't reject me after this!"
He scurried over and snagged up a steaming test tube, pink liquid sloshing about inside.
"Scents can't be patented, but if I get the right one and create a famous, name-brand perfume then the ladies won't be able to resist me!"
Jakotsu smiled, although his taste in gender varied that was one thing he could relate to Mukotsu with.
"Sounds like you've got quite the lady killer plan."
Mukotsu laughed again, toothy grin showing, "I hope so- I'd do anything to get a girlfriend before next Christmas."
"That's right, I'm here because…" Jakotsu's thoughts prodded him, trying to keep him on track.
"Um…Mukotsu, that reminds me, about Christmas…and well, getting that dream someone, could you do me a favor?"
The short man turned to look at Jakotsu as he put the pink concoction back on the stand over the bunsen burner, "Did something happen?"
Nodding, Jakotsu took the liberty of sitting down on Mukotsu's couch and began to fill him in on the situation with Bankotsu.
"And so… I need an idea of something to give him," He finished, his dark eyes peering out through his tousled bangs. Having to explain the situation was more embarrassing than it first seemed.
"Hmmm…" Mukotsu paused in his bustling and tapped his chin, "Sounds like you need to really give something that will mean a lot to him."
"Yeah…but what?"
Giving the younger man a wise look, the short man replied.
"Be honest with him. Tell him how you feel once you're ready to. Sometimes the truth hurts," He paused, a slight sadness crossing his features, "But…well, in this case, I think hearing it from you might be just what he needs."
Jakotsu smiled softly and stood to place a hand on the shorter man's shoulder, "Thank you, Mukotsu. I'll see if I can pick you up a girlfriend while I'm out Christmas shopping."
That elicited the token laugh, and Mukotsu was smiling himself once again.
"Good luck, last I checked there wasn't a store for those."
"You never know," Jakotsu replied, giving an innocent shrug.
"Okay, well I need to get back to this perfume and it sounds like you have more planning to do before this crazy gift scheme of yours…"
"All right, I get the idea. I'm going, I'm going."
He stood, walking over to the door, pausing only briefly to say his goodbyes.
"Let me know if those snooty women don't like that scent of yours, I'm willing to use it."
Mukotsu glared jokingly, "I'm not trying to attract gay men."
"Well I'm sorry to disappoint, but I think I might be taken," Jakotsu shot back.
The two left it at that, just smiling and knowing that hopefully in both of their cases everything would work out for the best.
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After spending the last couple of minutes towering over Mukotsu, Jakotsu felt practically dwarfed as he looked up at Kyoukotsu standing in the doorway.
"Um…" He paused on noticing the large man gnawing on a chicken leg, "You busy?"
The teal-haired man finished chewing and gave his reply, "Uh…nope."
Shaking his head, and wondering why he expected to catch the giant doing anything but eating, Jakotsu casually leaned against the doorframe.
"Well," He frowned as his stomach growled, alerting him to the fact he'd not eaten yet that day.
"Hungry?"
Jakotsu nodded sheepishly, "I guess I am. I'm taking it you have extra?"
"Sure, but I get to pick the pieces I want to eat first…"
Shrugging, Jakotsu sauntered into the room. The smells of the lunch menu for the apartment only making him more aware of how hungry he actually was.
Kyoukotsu picked up a clean plate and put an assortment of the foods on it. As he was about to add a second helping of mashed potatoes, Jakotsu spoke up.
"I'm not that hungry."
Looking down at what he considered a light snack, the large man handed over the plate.
"Not used to visitors, I guess."
The two fell silent for a moment, Kyoukotsu occupied with a drumstick in his mouth and Jakotsu digging in on his own plate.
"Hey Kyoukotsu, you ever been in love?"
He paused mid-bite and pondered it for a moment.
"There was this nice waitress at a diner once…"
Jakotsu smiled, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach, right?"
"Yup," Kyoukotsu replied with a grin.
Then, his own joking reply dawning on him, Jakotsu blinked, "The way to a man's heart… wait, then should I…"
"Neh, Kyoukotsu. I was wondering, if I was trying to impress a guy, do you think cooking something for them would work?"
The man stopped in his eating once again before responding, "What guy?"
"Er…well…" Jakotsu coughed, and diverted his eyes elsewhere, "for Bankotsu."
After letting that sink in, Kyoukotsu nodded and stood.
"I'm sure he'd like something sweet, like cookies. I have a recipe somewhere…"
"You…cook?"
The giant man shrugged, "I'd be broke if I just bought everything I wanted to eat."
Slowly fleshing out the idea in his mind, Jakotsu tapped the center of his forehead.
"Eh, well I can't exactly cook that well, so if it's okay with you I'll just drop by later in the week to make those cookies."
Kyoukotsu grinned, "So you're trying to get Bankotsu now are you?"
Jakotsu rubbed his temples, and sighed.
"It's kind of a long story…"
The larger man opened the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of ice-cream, sitting it down with a spoon next to Jakotsu's emptied plate.
"I have time."
Wry smile in place, Jakotsu lifted the spoon and began in on recounting the situation yet again.
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It was late evening by the time Jakotsu managed to return to his apartment. Once he'd finished talking to Kyoukotsu, he'd made one last trip out to the mall to get any last minute gifts.
And now, as he sat amongst the boxes, bags and wrapping paper, his mind went to more important matters.
"All right, so I have five ideas and seven days. What should I do for those two left?"
He looked down at the package he'd just wrapped.
To Bankotsu. From Jakotsu.
The tag was the only clue he needed.
"One gift to represent him. And one to represent me. But…what?"
His mind glossed over the things he had so far, each item seeming to somewhat fit whoever had been the one to suggest it.
"Well right now, Bankotsu probably just needs some time to think this all over. So, for him- I'll give him some space. Then…I suppose my gift would be myself and my friendship."
His eyes looked to the clock then to the phone. Standing, Jakotsu made his way over and reached for the receiver, his fingers luckily having the number so well memorized that his shaky state couldn't even make him forget it.
"Hello?"
"Um…Bankotsu? Sorry I didn't call back sooner, I've been a bit busy with Christmas right around the corner and all," He said, trying to keep it casual, natural, just like old times.
"Oh."
The line went silent, both feeling the tension building up. Each one found that out of all the questions running through their minds, they couldn't bring themselves to mention a single one right away. Finally, they had to ask.
"Um….about your message….Did you really mean that?"
"Did you mean what you said in the note?"
The two sentences collided, yet they understood them all the same.
A moment of hesitation, then, they replied in unison, "Yes."
That was all the needed, that single word answer, before everything could return to at least an awkward state of normal.
"I was wondering, if you were…doing anything tomorrow," Jakotsu began, "I want to help, you know…with all of this."
Bankotsu managed a small smile, "That would be nice. I guess…you are sorta an expert on the subject."
Jakotsu laughed, the boundaries between awkward romance and best friends beginning to blur more and more. They conversed for a little while longer, exchanging what they'd gotten as gifts for the others and avoiding all questions about what they'd gotten each other.
It seemed so natural, that it wasn't until their goodbyes that the difference showed up again.
"I'll see you tomorrow then, right?"
"Yah…" Bankotsu paused, then quickly rushed out what had been on his mind, "Thanks for the gift. It's really helped."
"Helped?" Jakotsu thought to himself, then he recalled that Bankotsu still retained his child-like side during tough times.
Picturing the small, black teddy bear being held in Bankotsu's arms as he drifted off to sleep- Jakotsu couldn't help but smile.
"You're welcome. I'm glad you liked it."
"Yah, I do… Well, goodnight Jakotsu."
"Goodnight, Bankotsu."
And as he hung up the phone and headed towards his own bed, Jakotsu couldn't help but hope that everything continued looking up.
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Preview for Chapter 8:
Jakotsu puts his plan into action and hopes for the best.