authors note: second upload. not sure why i had formatting problems the first time around, IYAOYAS, thanks for spotting that. passed 300 view, thanks! on to the story!
Half an hour later, Kaname stood outside her own door, mumbling.
"Well, this is Sousuke we're talking about, but still..." She tried to calm down and not pop an artery from anger. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. Calm. I am calm. After a while she was able to settle down. She decided to not grill him about it. That would be too embarrassing for both of them. Finally calm and composed, she opened the door carrying his clothes.
"Hey, Sousuke, I brought you your-" Her mouth hung open, words forgotten. There was Sousuke in her kitchen, cooking. From the smell of it, pretty decently, too. Not that she noticed. Sousuke was standing there wrapped in only a towel. She was not sure what was more impressive, his well-chiseled body, or the number of scars on it, or the fact that he was cooking her breakfast almost naked. She decided his body. He turned.
"Oh, Kaname, have any trouble?"
She blushed.
"NO!" She threw his clothes at him, her face turning red from embarrassment. "GO PUT ON SOME CLOTHES! YOU'RE DRIPPING WATER ALL OVER MY KITCHEN!"
"But the food-"
"I'll finish it. Now go!" He thankfully did as she instructed. The bathroom door shut and she sagged against the counter and tried to get her pounding heart under control again. Was he doing this on purpose? The thought froze on her mind until she smelled burning bacon.
Moving deftly, she managed to save most of the bacon, though the eggs were a little over done for her taste. She was surprised and touched he could and did make her breakfast. She finished setting the table as he walked out.
"I'm surprised at your choice of clothing for me. Black is surprisingly good at evasion in an urban environment, and more so after night falls. It's always a solid option for covert ops. Did you have a mission in mind?" he asked her.
"Geez, Sousuke, can't you pick a color for a reason other than combat?"
"Why would I do that?" he asked clueless again.
"Never mind." she sighed. "Hurry up and eat."
"Thanks for the food." They both chimed in before digging in. They ate in silence, only the dull clinking of chopsticks making any sound.
"You know," Kaname said, mouth still full of food, "it's kinda weird, don't you think? No school, I mean. It's like, now what?" she said thoughtfully.
"I must confess the amount of time I now have free is a bit disconcerting." he said. "I'm not exactly sure of what I should do."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Get a job, I guess." She paused, then, "Hey Sousuke, how are you getting along financially? I mean, I got tons of jobs already, but all you seem to do is hang around me. Don't you want to work?" she asked.
"Well, my finances are okay for now, with the back pay from MITHRIL, but I will soon need a stable supply of income. Do you know of any one who is hiring?" he asked her.
"I don't, but Kyoko might. Let's look her up later today, okay?"
"Affirmitive."
Somehow Sousuke's trademark military form of talk was comforting to her. She decided today to take it easy and just spent time with Sousuke.
They managed to meet up with Kyoko on her lunch break. Her trademark twin braids gone, these days she wore her blond hair loose and long. Both her and Sousuke agreed it suited her better. They met up at a small cafe near Kyoko's work, but the girls ended up doing more talking than eating, catching up on old times.
"So Sosuke's looking for a job, huh Kaname?" Kyoko looked at the man in question.
"Yep," sighed Kaname.
"So Sousuke, what are you good at?" Kyoko asked him.
"Infiltration, combat, spec ops, weapons training and maintenaince-" Kaname cut him off.
"She means other than war," she told him.
"Oh, well … um … I have been told I'm good at cleaning." Both girls stared at him in surprise. "What? Cleanliness is an essential part of warfare. You can't expect to win battles if your gear or base is not clean. It could cause a hazard in combat," he told them.
"Might have guessed," sighed both Kaname and Kyoko at the same time. Sousuke just looked puzzled.
"Well, cleaning it is!" Kaname announced triumphantly. Both girls had a good laugh. Kyoko pulled out a camera and snapped a shot of them before they all got up to pay. They fought briefly over who would get to pay for the others, before letting Sousuke pay. He walked off to the counter.
While he was away, Kyoko whispered to Kaname. "So, how is life with your boyfriend?" she asked slyly.
"F-Fine, I guess."
"So, how far have you gone?" Kyoko was eager for details.
"Oh, you will never believe what sergeant dumbass did." Kaname's voice got angry. "I've been asking him to sleep over for a while now, because, you know, it's scary at night after getting kidnapped and all that. But he took it totally the wrong way! He went out and bought-" she leaned in and whispered the rest in Kyoko's ear. Her eyes widened in shock.
"Wow, I guess Sosuke really is a guy after all." Kyoko said, dumbfounded. All he ever did was plan for war and more war. She was shocked he had that side to him.
"I'm not kidding! He had like 30 of them! Seriously!"
"Thirty of what?" Sousuke asked walking back to the table.
"Uh, lipstick. 30 lipsticks!" Kaname laughed nervously.
"Why would a guy need 30 lipstick containers? Very strange. Maybe as a sealant?" He was talking more to himself now.
"Riiiight. Let's go, Sousuke. See you later, Kyoko!" They waved and left. In the end, they didn't get any employment leads, but they had an idea of what to look for.
They spent the rest of the afternoon getting applications for cleaning jobs. She had to admit, his apartment was pretty clean. Evening was falling and they ended up sitting on a park bench, watching the sun go down. She leaned her head against his shoulder. She felt him tense up, then relax as he leaned her head on hers. They sat like this until long after the sun went down, neither wanting to break the spell.
Eventually, they found themselves at her door again.
"Hey, Sousuke, would you mind staying tonight?" she asked softly.
"If that's what you wish," he replied.
"But what about you?" she paused, uncertain. "Do you want to stay?"
"Yes." He paused. " I sleep much easier knowing you're close by."
"Yeah, me too." They went in and she went to her bedroom, him to the other room. Like last night, he listened until her breathing softened and slowed, before drifting off to sleep himself.