Title: 24. when saints set them the example

Pairing/Character/s: Yuki/Machi, Shigure/Akito

Word Count: 611 words

Summary: It's the all-important goodnight kiss and Yuki doesn't want to screw it up. But of course he gets help...

Dedication: Hitch, the movie. I love you, Will Smith.

A/N: I think I just wanted to write Shigure and Akito... I haven't been here in almost a month, huh? My determination is waning... This one is eh.

It's getting late, streetlights casting horrid shadows on her face. His hand is carefully wound around her hand, distant and polite. He checks his watch every so often and she pretends she doesn't notice. Both their nerves are shot tonight. Neither knows why, because everything else they do is easy and natural.

Sort of.

They finally reach her door. She fumbles with her keys. It's supposed to be a sign that she wants to be kissed, but then again, her bag is a chaotic mix of... stuff and more stuff. So he patiently waits for her, smiling and maybe looking at his watch even more.

At last she pulls out her keys, triumphantly showing it to him. He shakes his head, leaning in for a quick kiss.

A street performer with a surprisingly good voice begins to sing a sad love song.

'Baby come back! You can blame it all on meee.... Baby come back! I'm begging yooou on my knees...'

His gray eyes ignore the music, fixed to the blushing girl before him. Her pale skin is smooth as he cups her cheeks, his thumbs moving in slow circles. The movement is lazy, and natural as he leans down, pressing his forehead against hers. Machi closes her eyes, hearing a loud female voice.

"GO TO HELL, YOU BASTARD!"

The couple freeze, hearing sounds like glass breaking, and a loud thump. A man howls in pain, screeching, "YOU THREW A SHOE AT ME?!"

The woman doesn't answer, but presumably threw something else because the man howls again.

Yuki and Machi pull away quickly, following the direction of the noise.

To their left, nearly a block away, Shigure is taking off his shoes, mumbling darkly. 'Loving yooou-'

"SHUT UP!" Like a machine, their eyes trail up to an open window. The shutters are hanging on one screw, about to fall off. Akito is leaning out the window, a glass of water in her hand. She pours it on her lover's head, slamming the window shut.

Two pairs of eyes immediately flash to the man slumped on the floor. Yuki walks over, mentally ignoring the need to scream, 'Wet dog!' "Shigure?" he calls uncertainly, wondering why the hell he's doing this.

"Yeah?" Shigure squeezes the water from his bangs, picking up a dirty sneaker. "Princess! Miss Machi, hello to you too!" Yuki forgets any sympathy and bonks the man on the head.

"You haven't changed," Yuki growled, holding out his fist. "What happened?"

A stupid smile lights up Shigure's face as he flashes a thumbs-up. "Nothing, nothing. We were just arguing about... we were discussing... Well where is your lover going, princess?"

"Don't change the subject-" Yuki turns to his side and promptly shuts up. Machi's gone. He whirls around, catching his girlfriend yawn, walking home. "Machi!"

She hesitates for a second, summoning the energy to turn around. "I'm kind of tired."

"I swear the rest of my family isn't this weird!" Yuki lies, crossing his fingers behind his back. "You don't have to be scared of them!"

He runs towards her, ignoring the sound of a door being opened and Akito's voice sobbing, "I'm sorry, it's the hormones-"

"At least I picked up your shoe this time, huh?"

The stupid couple behind him is ignored as he naturally swoops down, kissing her. Machi stubbornly refuses to do anything at first, so Yuki pulls her closer to him. She finally yields and intertwines her fingers within his. After a few seconds, they break away, their hands at their sides.

"Machi, I-"

Shigure is sadly not a master of whispering. His voice is magnified across the block. "Is the video or picture better blackmail?"

A/N: Expect updates at least every two weeks from now on.