Pre-Comment: Happy Thanksgiving Canada! This one comes in as a request from... hold on, I didn't forget, I just don't remember.

Extra Four! Enjoy!


Extra Four: Disruption of Service

"You're kidding me."

The grim look on Company Gopher's face remained flat. (Yes, the boy had a name, and yes Suzaku knew what it was. He just couldn't remember it right now. No; knowing was not the same as remembering.) No, it seemed, he was not kidding him. The heavy, letter-laden box in his arms was proof enough.

"What happened to the person who sorted it all?" he asked, giving the box a dubious look, as if it might spontaneously combust.

Company Gopher's lips tightened. There were probably tons of other gophery things to do around the company—it was a busy season for them after all, and the poor boy was probably thinking about how much more he had to do.

Or maybe about how many more boxes of this there was to deliver.

"That was our summer intern, Sir. They've finished their internship and are back in school."

Suzaku's face fell and he gave another wary look at the non-descript box. The corner of a pink envelope was sticking out of it threateningly. Then his face lit up and he turned to his assistant. "Wait, didn't we build a fireplace in the staff room just for this? Why wasn't this sent there?"

Nina looked up and gave him a bland, somewhat disapproving look at that comment before fixing her eyes back onto her desktop.

Suzaku couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit offended.

Okay, so maybe there was something sociopathic about ruthlessly burning the love and adoration of his somehow fans from all over, but Suzaku didn't care. It interrupted his work, and he received complaints from the postal service on a weekly basis. He didn't know how he had fans, or even why he had fans. All he knew was that it was a problem that needed solving.

Once, one person had somehow beat the rigorous screening (of summer interns) and made it to his desk. The letter was camouflaged as an important, urgent document, with hefty postage to back it up. The contents, for which his eyes were unfortunately subjected to, could not be repeated here, but he never wanted to be victim to another one of those again.

Again, why did he have fans? He was a businessman.

Checking his watch to avoid the direct gaze of Company Gopher, Suzaku made a show of clearing his throat. "Send them to the back room then. With the others."

With a respectful bow of his head (and maybe a bit of an exasperated sigh—as if he knew this was what would happen in the end, but was obligated to ask anyway), Company Gopher headed back to the elevator to make his way to Storage Closet C, because, yes, A and B were full. Or were they at D already? Suzaku didn't know; he never actually went there except in the winter time when kindling was needed. It didn't matter anyway. He had inherited this building, which had been built new under his father's directions. At the time those directions amounted to: Make it as big as possible.

The building would forever be a part of Tokyo's skyline.

Once the elevator doors closed and Company Go—his name was Jim!—ahem—and Jim was gone, his assistant managed to catch his gaze without needing to.

"Jim's a great guy, isn't he?" he said irrelevantly, hoping to throw off that disapproving look on her face.

The look only deepened.

"His name is Yuuta Asahi."

Jim was close.

"Sir, we're running out of space."

Suzaku sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I know. But I really don't have time to go through them all. I wish they would all just stop."

"Then why not date someone? People usually give up if there's another person involved."

Silence.

One.

Two.

Th—

"Say, Nina—"

"No," she emphatically shot down.

Suzaku tsked and sat down in the swivel chair at his desk heavily.

He wasn't dating anyone, wasn't interested in anyone, and didn't even have anyone in mind who would let him do it.

"That's too hard. What else can I do?"

"Tell everyone you're gay, then. That brings the population of eligible people down incredibly low."

Suzaku thought about it for a moment. It was a good idea with almost no repercussions.

It could work.

With renewed purpose, he opened up the newest proposal sent his way and began working. Hopefully this would get the fan mail (once again, why!?) and postal system off his back.

ooo

The social mixer was more of a social obligation than an actual business one, but that didn't stop everyone from dressing like they were attending a funeral, which was a strangely fitting thought for the occasion. Although he could name off everyone present (and, no, it was not because everyone was wearing nametags), none of them were actually important enough to the company structure that boats would be rocked if he didn't attend. On the other hand, it was also important to try and be at these things every now and then—no matter how dry and boring they were.

So he decided that he would pay his dues, make one big circle and chat with everyone even remotely important for about five minutes a piece and be back in the office to get the ball rolling on negotiations with China. Damn country was impossible to get any traction in as far as the markets went.

In one corner he saw Gino sticking out like a sore thumb, wearing an obnoxiously white suit, complete with a pink tie. Suzaku grimaced slightly when the blonde man waved happily at him from across the room. Not wanting to give Schneizel, for whom Gino was the right hand of, any bad impressions, he nodded in acknowledgement and swiftly turned away before more of his attention could be demanded from the overly-enthusiastic guy.

And though it was tempting to just idle away the rest of the evening with Gino, seeing as how he was the only one remotely close to his age amidst the room of stuffy, middle-aged men, it would be in poor taste. So when he saw a completely distracted guy carrying drinks headed his way, he wondered if he was someone's son—although that someone would have to be decidedly not Japanese. Or perhaps he was the spawn of an affair. Such was common occurrence after all.

But the guy looked too Britannian to even be half anything else. Maybe he was from an up-and-coming company? Perhaps adopted? Either way his curiosity was piqued so he'd have to go and satisfy it somehow.

Deciding he would take matters into his own hands, and perhaps do business with someone his own age for once, Suzaku moved towards him with the express purpose of striking up a conversation.

Although perhaps too expressly because the moment the guy turned away from whatever had caught his interest across the room, causing Suzaku to catch a glimpse of violet eyes and freeze mid-step only to—

"Ack! My Suit!"

Whoops.

But at the same time, Suzaku had his answer: Full-blooded Britannian. The attractive young man was practically the ideal image of every woman's dreams in the fair-skinned country. Heck, he was attractive by Japanese standards even. Those unique eyes were enough to make him stop and stare for a bit—and his eyes were green, and he was Japanese. A Japanese kid didn't have green eyes without everyone thinking he was illegitimate. Although his cousin also had green eyes, so at least he wasn't alone.

No matter how attractive the guy was, Suzaku was only interested in how he might have just offended someone he had aimed to become friends with by spilling their drink all over them. And while it was his fault for not watching where he was going as well, Suzaku would be the bigger man and take the blame.

To honour the only lesson his father ever got to impart.

"Oh, jeeze, I'm sorry!"

The guy glanced down at himself, with punch dripping off his black suit, back off to the corner (at Gino?), and then again in some other direction before those violet eyes finally landed on him.

Suzaku himself gave himself a quick check over, seeming to have left the encounter unscathed.

"I… it's… it's fine. Just really expensive is all," he mumbled a bit, probably mourning the dry cleaning.

The level of restraint to not completely freak out was really admirable, and to a complete stranger, no less. Judging by his demeanour, he had no idea who Suzaku was, too, which made this encounter all the better. But it also made him a touch guiltier, because he had ruined the clothes of a perfect stranger who was taking it like a champ.

"Damn. I'm really sorry," he apologized sincerely, already making up his mind to offer to pay for the dry cleaning. "I wasn't really watching where I was going." Which was not even remotely true. "But I guess you weren't either, right?"

There was a strange look that flashed on the guy's face for a moment before it passed, making Suzaku wonder if he wasn't just seeing things. With a shrug, he sighed. "I guess not. This means I should apologize too, right? Sorry."

Shaking his head, Suzaku waved off his concern. "No, no. You're the one that got your suit ruined." Both of them looked down at the stained suit in remorse. And now: Reconnaissance. "Here, what group are you with? I can work out a deal to make up for it."

"Oh, I'm not with a group. I'm just here to keep my, er, cousin company."

Suzaku paused for a moment. He glanced around the room. Gino had moved on and he idly wondered if this guy was Gino's cousin—in which case he would have to put in more effort to make it up to him. "Who's your cousin?"

"Shirley Fenette."

Blinking, Suzaku glanced at the guy once more. He didn't see the resemblance, but it was true that Shirley was also Britannian so it was possible. "Ah, I see. Yeah, I know Shirley."

"Yeah, I'm kind of glad she brought me. I'm a little interested in meeting Suzaku Kururugi." Violet eyes travelled back over to Gino.

It took a moment to put things together for him, and Suzaku's next immediate thought was why this guy thought someone with as Japanese a name as his would look as Britannian as Gino.

"I've heard that he's gay. Maybe he'll fall for my charming good looks in the process."

In the moment that followed that statement, a few things pushed their way to the forefront of his mind like a small child vying for attention. Unsurprisingly it was the written letter of suggestion from the postal service that he hire a manager to handle it all—much like the idols did. And with that spark, all the lightbulbs in his head went off.

And so, like all opportunities in his life that presented themselves to him, Suzaku got to work.

"How about dinner?"

By the time it got to the point where they were exchanging numbers, Suzaku plucked the device out of the guy's hands, inputted his digits, and walked away to make the rounds of this dull, little social gathering with the promise that he would call.

Feeling elated, Suzaku felt his spirit rise even more when he saw that Li Xingke was here—the perfect way to smooth the road to China. But before he could go strike up a conversation, an arm was thrown around his shoulders casually.

"Who's the kid?" Gino asked, nodding over at the boy whose name he forgot to get, but knew was in his phone—and that meant he knew it by proxy.

Suzaku grinned. "My date for this Saturday."


Comment:

I'm kidding; this request was from nociceptor, whose username I spelled wrong at least eight times because I kept spelling "nocireceptor" and variations of. By the sixth time I realized it was probably the better idea to copy and paste, but by then my pride wouldn't allow me to admit defeat.

Anyway, I wish there was a better reason for it all, but it was mentioned in the story line somewhere that this was why.

Is there anything you want to know more about in Liar Liar? Let me know and I'll see what magic I can bring you.

Please R&R.

- Minute Maid

Beverage of Queens.