Being back in touch with Blake— no, Black*Star, since he still insisted on his ridiculous Clan name— was wonderful. It wasn't quite like it had been before, because they had both changed. She had been forced to accept her own limitations, and she was introspective enough to know that she wasn't the same person she'd been when she was fifteen. And Black*Star…
He was somehow both harder and softer than he was before, a little more foul-mouthed and a lot less carefree, and his eyes had shadows that she tried not to see.
But he'd gotten a new pair of split-sole slippers, was working on breaking them in, and dancing with him felt just as fulfilling as it had before. Maybe more so, because he was so much taller… and so much stronger. Blake had always been muscular for his age, but Black*Star could pick her up with one hand if the leverage was right. It was different. It was impressive. It was an incredible turn-on.
It wasn't hard to see that he'd spent most of the time he'd been incarcerated working out. He had muscles packed on like a gay porn star and it was going to make her resolve to remain platonic with him—at least for now— very difficult. She knew it was for the best, of course she did. She wanted to get to know him again, to see if he was still the kind-hearted boy she remembered under the rougher exterior he wore now, before she got in over her head with him.
It somewhat helped her resolve that she couldn't shake the feeling that he was hiding something. He didn't seem to want to go out with their friends nearly as often as someone as astonishingly extroverted as he was ordinarily would. It was one thing for Soul and Maka to decline an invitation to come out for the evening, firstly because they weren't nearly as social as Blake, Soul especially, and secondly because their relationship was still new enough that they were thoroughly wrapped up in each other. But for Blake to repeatedly turn down offers to hang out, it wasn't natural. If he was only hanging out with them every so often, she could only assume he was incredibly bored the rest of the time… or he was doing something else.
She supposed there was always the possibility that he had more friends than just their old gang, but she couldn't imagine who. Their little group had been his only "true minions," as he would say before he was arrested, so he couldn't have any other old friends he was seeing again. It also seemed too soon for him to have made new friends that were worth seeing four nights out of every seven at the expense of his other friendships.
Well, maybe he'd picked up a TV addiction while in the detention center. It would probably be good for him to have a quiet hobby, she thought happily, satisfied for the moment with that pleasant idea.
Besides, he did seem calmer than before. Well… maybe calmer wasn't quite the right word. Quieter fit better. He still gave off that aura of a taut wire, just plucked and vibrating, but it was contained under his skin now, pressurized rather than bubbling out in childish antics and a too-loud voice. She wondered occasionally if that was good for him, but he seemed to be fine, so she was resolved not to worry about it. Liz was always telling her she worried too much, so this ought to be a good opportunity to practice letting go of things she couldn't control.
The idea that he might be back to working with the Star Clan never even crossed her mind. He'd said he wasn't, after all.
That happy delusion was shattered three months after their reunion.
"Hey, Billy, another round for the table!" Liz called, gesturing to the barkeep.
Kilik leaned in close and whispered, "Can you even afford to buy another round?"
Liz shook her head. "Nah. I'm putting it on Kid's tab," she murmured back, so close to him her lips nearly touched his ear.
Tsubaki let out a little snort of laughter and turned her eyes back to the rest of the table. It was that time of night when the little bar-and-grill that was their group's preferred hangout spot was busy but not crowded, and they could talk to each other without having to shout. It wasn't a full group tonight— Kid had to work, Patti was studying for her finals, and Kim and Jackie were… she didn't know where Kim and Jackie were, and she wasn't sure she wanted to— but it was nice nonetheless. With Soul and Maka trying (and failing) to "subtly" hold hands across the table, and Liz and Kilik's far more successful attempts at tacit flirting, it really felt like a couple's outing.
She glanced at Blake, seated next to her and shoving mozzarella sticks in his mouth alarmingly quickly, and sighed. It would have been so much more convenient if her willful heart had chosen less of a slob to fall for. But Tsubaki had always been the kind of girl to play the hand she was dealt, so she instead focused on the fact that he at least seemed to have learned to keep his mouth shut while he chewed… finally.
"So Liz," Blake said, once he had swallowed a wad of cheese the size of his fist, "What's this I hear about you hosting a party to celebrate the return of my awesomeness?"
Liz turned away from Kilik to give him a cuttingly dry look. "It's a graduation party for Patti, asshole. You've been back for months, we're not about to throw you a party now."
He snorted. "Tchyeah, sure. You say that, but we all know that every party is a Black*Star party!"
Maka apparently disagreed, because at that precise moment, she lobbed a napkin holder directly into Blake's face. Tsubaki had to admit, she was impressed with Maka's accuracy, since Soul still had possession of her dominant hand.
She offered Blake a dampened napkin to press over the eye Maka had pegged, but he waved it away, one hand clapped over half his face as he let out a string of horrifying curses that had people at other tables looking over disapprovingly. Tsubaki gave apologetic looks to the other patrons as she laid a hand on Blake's (very nice-feeling) upper arm to try and quiet him down.
At that moment, his phone buzzed, interrupting his invectives against Maka. Still clutching his wounded eye, he fished his phone out of his pocket and checked the message.
"Shit," he muttered.
"Blake?" she asked softly.
He looked up and for just a moment his eyes were honest and full of an expression she couldn't interpret. Then his gaze was back to the usual glassy brightness and he was leaping out of his seat. "Alright, minions! I regret that you all have to be deprived of my glorious presence, but godly business calls me away!"
"What kind of 'godly business?'" Liz asked skeptically. "Last I heard you were still broke and unemployed and crashing on Harvar's couch."
"Shows what you know," he proclaimed, thumbing his nose at her. "The great Black*Star has a job interview!"
Liz rolled her eyes but let it rest. After a wave of goodbyes, Blake turned to go, leaving Tsubaki suddenly feeling distinctly like a fifth wheel.
Tsubaki was not the kind of girl who tended towards self-pity, but right at that moment, she might have been tempted to indulge in some if she hadn't spotted Blake's wallet on the floor beneath his chair. It must have fallen out of his pocket when he stood up so suddenly. She bent down to retrieve it and turned to call him back, but the door had already slammed shut behind him.
She sighed. "I'll be right back, guys," she called. Kilik raised a hand in acknowledgement, for which she was grateful, because Liz was digging around in her purse and Maka was too busy feeding Soul a slice of pizza to realize she was going anywhere.
Clutching Blake's wallet, Tsubaki jogged over to the door and stepped out onto the rain-soaked sidewalk. It was easy to pick out his distinctive hair across the street, and moved to follow him.
"Blake!" she called out to him, but even as she did so, he slid into the passenger seat of a silver SUV.
She stopped dead at the sight of the car, because it looked much too familiar. Uncertain, she leaned out toward the curb a bit to catch sight of the license plate: C L A Y. She shook her head, denying the evidence, but when the car pulled from its parking spot and went screeching past her and she caught sight of the driver, any attempts at pretending she hadn't seen anything were out of her power.
The vehicle Blake had stepped into was being driven by her brother's long-time lackey, Akane Hoshi.
Tsubaki stood there in the dark and the drizzle, frozen between the bumpers of two parallel-parked cars, staring at the crimson taillights as they disappeared down the street, clutching the wallet of a stranger.
Masamune's house was sweet. One of the perks of being top dog in the Star Clan was the pay. The boss took half the profit from everyone's jobs, and all that cash meant a house that looked like it should belong to a music producer. The kind of house that was fitting for a god.
If being the boss had the perk of major cheddar, then being the boss's right-hand man had the perk of grabbing a few beers with the boss after a job. Black*Star was feeling pretty damn good with the world and everything in it as they approached Masamune's pad…
...until they got out of the car and saw Tsubaki sitting on the step, with a look in her eyes that did not bode well for his godly gonads.
Black*Star gulped.