Vacation Daze by Cienna

Chapter 4 - Experiments

Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! Also thanks to chibicherrychan and reppu for pointing out typos. That's what I get for typing things up at two am.

Ban waited impatiently for Ginji to return with his drink. He still couldn't believe that innocent Ginji was aware that Kazuki and Juubei were more than friends. And he had been comparing Kazuki and Juubei's relationship with their own. What did it mean? Could Ginji be implying that he wanted that kind of relationship with Ban?

When he had helped Ginji leave Mugenjou it hadn't taken very long for a strong bond to form between them. Ginji had undergone a rapid transformation from the sad eyed raitei to the energetic and sometimes irritating person that Ban had grown to love. Or maybe he had loved him from the beginning. In any case he was stuck. He knew that Ginji loved him; considered him his best friend. But Ginji had never shown any interest in anyone of the same sex before. And he couldn't risk pushing his best friend away by admitting his own more than platonic feelings.

But since he had agreed to come on this trip things had changed. Ginji had been acting strangely, first with the extreme overprotective behavior, then with the moment in the ocean and the question about Kazuki and Juubei. Unless Ban was imagining the whole thing, which was certainly possible. Then there was the continued mention of the girls on the beach. And Ginji had even encouraged him to go talk to them. It was like he was being sent mixed signals. Ban resolved to wait and give Ginji some time. He didn't want to admit his own feelings too soon and end up making Ginji uncomfortable around him.

Where was his partner anyway? He had been gone way too long to be getting one drink. Just as he was starting to get annoyed he spotted Ginji walking down the beach with a pretty college-aged girl on one of his arms. They looked quite friendly and were chatting away to each other. In Ginji's other hand he held a fancy looking tropical drink. Ban shut his eyes, hoping that when he opened them the girl would be gone, another product of his recent overactive imagination. No such luck. He struggled to keep his irritation from showing as they walked over to him.

"Ban-chan, this is Yumi. She goes to an all girls university near this town. I think we passed it when we were driving. Remember?"

"Yeah, I guess." He looked at the girl. Up close she didn't even look old enough to be in university. "Midou Ban."

The girl smiled at him. "Nice to meet you. I'm Satou Yumi."

Ban nodded. Nobody said anything and Ban had no desire to interrupt the awkward silence that followed. Finally the girl spoke.

"I really like your sunglasses. Can I try them on?"

"No," Ban snapped and Ginji looked at him worriedly.

"Ignore him, Yumi-san. He's always like this. At least until you get to know him."

The girl looked doubtful so Ban attempted a slight smile in her direction. Unfortunately it came out more like a grimace, and the girl looked at him like she thought he was completely insane. Ginji chose that moment to drop his drink on the beach for no apparent reason.

"Oh, my drink! I'll just go get another one. Be right back!"

Ban and the girl watched in disbelief as Ginji went running down the beach. He was going to kill Ginji for this later. Resigning himself to the situation he sat back down on his beach towel. "Sorry about that, he's not usually so clumsy."

The girl stared at him. "He dropped it on purpose."

"Oh, was it that obvious to you too?" They both laughed and Ban gestured to the other towel. "Sit down."

"Okay." The girl sat down gracefully and gazed off into the distance. "So are you two together?"

Ban was taken aback. "Me and Ginji?"

"Who else?"

"He's my partner, I mean we work together and stuff. And he's my friend."

"Oh. It seems like he thinks of you as more than just a friend. All he talked about from the moment I met him was you."

"Ginji's like that sometimes. It doesn't mean anything." He knew that much for sure.

"It seems like he's trying to set us up. That's why I was really confused. The way he looks at you…You are gay, right?"

Ban glared at her. "That's a rather personal question to ask a complete stranger."

"Sorry, but Ginji's so nice. You guys would be really cute together."

"I don't think Ginji is into guys."

The girl smiled. "He might not be into guys, but he's definitely into you. I can tell."

"If he's so into me, why would he be trying to set us up?"

"That's where I got confused. He must not know you're interested in him. Let's try a little experiment when he gets back."

Ban was skeptical. "What kind of experiment?"

Yumi giggled. "You'll see."

Almost half an hour later they spotted Ginji with yet another tropical drink walking in their direction. Yumi grabbed Ban's arm.

"Pretend like you don't see him. Look at me."

Ban looked at her. "I'm not sure if this is a good idea. Can't you at least tell me what you're going to do?"

She shook her head. "That would spoil the fun. He's really close. Move next to me."

"I don't know about this," he said.

"Hurry, he's almost here."

Ban followed her directions and she put her arm around him. She whispered in his ear, "Don't take this the wrong way, Midou." And then she kissed him. Ban was so shocked he couldn't react at all, even though really he should have been expecting something like this. The kiss itself wasn't as bad as he would have thought. At least it wasn't bad until he was suddenly drenched in something cold and wet. Ban broke the kiss and looked up. Ginji was standing directly in front of him holding a tall glass that used to contain the contents of the tropical drink that was now dripping down Ban's face. He licked his lips absently. Pina colada..

Ginji's face was pale. "Ban-chan…I'm sorry. My hand must have slipped."

Ban felt inexplicably horrible even though he was the one covered with pina colada. "It's okay, Ginji. We can just wash off in the ocean. It's not a big deal, right?" He turned to look at Yumi. She was smiling triumphantly.

"Yeah, it's no problem, Ginji. I was going to get in the ocean with Ban-chan in a minute anyway."

Ban saw Ginji flinch as Yumi called him Ban-chan. That was going too far. "Yumi…" he started to say, but was interrupted.

"Oh. Well, I guess I'll go get another drink." Ginji's voice wavered as he turned around and started walking away.

Ban groaned. "You aren't serious, Ginji. Wait, I'll go with you…" his voice trailed off. Ginji was now running down the beach. Running away from him.

Yumi let out a cry of triumph. "Well, that was a success!"

Ban looked at her in disbelief. "How exactly was that a success?"

"You wanted to know if he liked you as more than a friend and now it's obvious that he does. Why else would he get so upset when he saw you kissing someone else?"

Ban had to admit that she had a point. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she hit him. Hard. Ban cradled his arm. "What the hell was that for?"

"You idiot!"

"What now?" He was rapidly losing his patience with this girl.

"Why are you still standing here? Don't you know anything?"

Now Ban was irritated. Ginji was hurt, this girl was yelling at him for no apparent reason, and to top it all off, the icy cold pina colada was running down his back. He spoke very slowly. "What are you talking about, Yumi?"

"You have to go after him. This is the perfect opportunity to tell him your feelings. Hurry, every second you waste is one more second of him being unhappy because he saw you kissing someone else."

When she put it that way… "Right." He started to take off down the beach at a jog.

She yelled after him, "And, Midou, make sure you don't say anything insensitive, or try to avoid the issue!"

Ban sighed. She already knew him too well. "I won't," he yelled back. Now he just had to find Ginji.

tbc