Hmmm, what to say? I guess this is pretty much how I currently feel about aging... This chapter comes very "coincidentally timed".

Also I've already written several chapters that make reference to Ryuuji's hair, so I'm just going to assume (hope, pray) that he puts his hair back the way it was after this whole Lewin debacle!

As always thanks for reading and reviewing! :3

Grey

Ryuuji frowned as he leaned towards the mirror, combing his fingers through his damp freshly showered hair. It had been about six weeks and he was due to the have his roots done again, his natural dark hair peeking through the blonde.

But the roots weren't the problem. Amid the natural black was an inordinate amount of grey. That is, a whole two hairs, but that was two hairs too many, and they weren't the first. Soon there would be more, and he was almost tempted to pluck the hairs to keep their numbers down, but he knew that was counter-productive and it's not like they were going to stay visible when he was bleaching his hair anyway. Though, the one or two that popped up on the sides of his head got culled right away.

He wasn't old… Not yet. But he wasn't really sure if he could call himself young anymore either.

Rin entered the bathroom with a groggy morning greeting and stood next to Ryuuji as he started to brush his teeth. Ryuuji watched him openly in the mirror's reflection even as the haze of sleep clouded Rin's senses.

It was slightly disconcerting now that he'd noticed it. All the signs of age he knew he had to get used to in himself—the grey hairs, the wrinkle on his forehead from constant frowning, the crow's feet forming at the corners of his eyes, and simply the way his body didn't bounce back and heal like it used to—they were things that were easily ignored when one went about their daily life, but stare in the mirror long enough and you were your own worst enemy, picking out all the flaws of age that no one else was yet to notice. The thing was, now that he was staring at Rin, he noticed the other man lacked those signs of age.

They had both grown taller, and Rin had filled out somewhat, losing the last bit of baby fat from his face, but it stopped there. Or… maybe it was his imagination and he just wasn't seeing the same flaws in the person he loved as he did in himself.

"Gonna' get your hair done again soon?" Rin asked, breaking the warm comfortable silence that hung in the air with the humidity from Ryuuji's shower once he'd finished brushing his teeth and his brain had caught up with his body.

"Yeah, it's about time," Ryuuji said, running his fingers through his damp hair and pretending he hadn't just been combing for signs of aging.

"You're gonna' go bald like your old man if you keep bleaching it."

"What!"

"Yeah, you'll get a bald stripe right down the middle."

"Don't even fuckin' suggest that!"

He reached for Rin, trying to throw him in to a headlock, but the other boy ducked, stepping out of his reach with a laugh, bouncing back on his heels with a huge grin and his arms up, ready to dodge another attack.

Ryuuji grinned slyly and bent his knees. The floor was still damp with condensation, and he was only wearing a towel, but that was hardly going to stop him.

Rin chewed his lip, waiting as they stared each other down, neither wanting to make the first move until Ryuuji leapt towards him with an explosion of motion and Rin was bouncing back in to the bedroom, retreating for better footing. He tried to dodge around their bed but Ryuuji grabbed him by the hip and threw him down on to the mattress, stepping in behind him to pin him to the bed before he could try to escape. He placed his hands over Rin's, lacing their fingers together, and Rin turned his head to look up at him over his shoulder, his eyes half lidded, his mouth parted and his tongue darting out to wet his lips.

Ryuuji glanced over at the clock on the bedside table. He normally left early for work, but really, they had at least an hour before they had to clock in. He pressed his lips to the back of Rin's neck and the other boy groaned, lifting his hips, his tail squirming against Ryuuji's bare chest.

Yes, they had time to play.

No matter what misgivings Ryuuji had, you were never too old for morning sex and twenty minutes later he had completely forgotten about those stray grey hairs. He lay on their bed, arms raised above his head with a deep, contented sigh, stretching out and enjoying the feeling of Rin pressed up against him, both of them enjoying the remnants of loosened muscles and an orgasm well spent before the feeling slipped away. He glanced back at the clock and sighed. Time to get back to reality.

He pushed the blankets aside and tried to roll out of bed, only for Rin to tighten the grip he had on his waist.

"Mmm, not yet," Rin said, his voice a soft purr against Ryuuji's skin.

"I gotta'," Ryuuji said softly as he pried Rin's arm off of him, slipping out from under it. "You have to as well."

Rin pouted, jutting his lip out as he watched Ryuuji dress. Unfortunately the pout went mostly ignored. They'd been together too long for it to work all the time and well… it worked better before sex, not after. And less so when it came to work. There were certain things Rin got pampered on, certain things he got away with, but Ryuuji tended to be very strict about work in general. Not just their jobs, but doing a good job at everything. He took it very seriously.

Rin rolled over on to his arms, pushing himself up and checking the time with a frown.

"It's not that late. We don't have to go yet- Oh! I have to make you breakfast," Rin said, suddenly tapping a spring of energy and hopping out of bed to throw his boxers back on.

"Don't worry about it," Ryuuji said, "I'll just grab something on the way out."

"But it's your birthday!"

Ryuuji stopped and shrugged. "So make me a big dinner or something." It was his birthday, but it was also just another day. He didn't need or want the reminder.

Rin let out a big huff of a sigh through his nose as he grit his teeth, redoubling his pouting efforts. "B-but…. Thirty! It's a milestone. We should do something special."

Ryuuji looked at Rin, narrowing his eyes. He was pushing more than usual. They tended to have little non-arguments like this all the time, but Rin would usually acquiesce after the first few failed attempts at getting his way, knowing Ryuuji was usually too stubborn to be convinced when he really put his foot down.

"What are you up to?" Ryuuji asked.

"N-nothing," Rin said a little too quickly, "God forbid I want to spend more time with you." He rolled his eyes, but didn't look back at Ryuuji, busying himself with getting dressed.

"Uh huh…" Ryuuji said, clearly unconvinced, "Well, why don't we go out for dinner then instead? Make a date of it? I'd hate for you to waste time slaving in the kitchen when you just want to spend time with me." He purred that last sentence at Rin, taunting him, watching as the other man's back tensed, his tail hanging low and swishing in agitation. Did Rin realize how much of a give-away that thing was?

"You're planning something."

"N-no," Rin said, though his voice rose slightly in pitch and his tail stopped moving, going rigid as if held still through deliberate will, "What could I possibly be planning? A-Aside from trying to make you breakfast, which I outright said I wanted to do."

But as he spoke he was still looking anywhere but directly at Ryuuji, avoiding his eyes even as he tried to reason through his innocence.

Ryuuji stepped close, putting his hand on the other boy's shoulder, and Rin tensed slightly as Ryuuji leaned over him, close enough that Rin could feel the warmth of his body.

"Good, because you know I hate surprises."

Rin shivered, swallowing the lump in his throat and nodding curtly.

"Now… I'm leaving in fifteen minutes whether you make me breakfast or not."

It was a little bit heart-warming how much Rin liked to feed him, because the other boy was suddenly tripping over his pants as he rushed to put them on, sticking his tongue out at Ryuuji as he pushed past him on his way to leave the bed room.

Ryuuji chuckled and glanced at the clock again. Twenty minutes. He could leave in twenty minutes and still get to work early.

The front door closed with a loud clack and barely a full second had passed before Rin let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He picked up his phone, dialing Shima's cell and speaking the second the line picked up.

"He's on his way!"

"Okumura-kun?" Shima's confused voice came through with a slight pop of static.

"He's on his way. I couldn't stall him any longer."

"Ah, it's cool. I already finished."

"Okay, cool. He kinda' realized something was up near the end, so I couldn't push any harder without totally giving it away."

"Whatever. Even if he suspects, it's too late. It's been done." A mirthless laugh came through the speaker, and Rin chuckled.

"Thanks again for the assist, Okumura-kun."

"No problem," Rin said, chuckling lightly. He then ended the call with Shima and seriously considered calling in sick to work so he could get started on some kind of elaborate apology dinner. Going out had sounded nice, but that was probably going to be off the table once Ryuuji got to work. Plus, if he didn't go to work, he wouldn't get to see the look on Ryuuji's face.

"Damn…" Rin said, chuckling softly in to the empty room, the curse falling from his lips without conviction. "He's gonna' kill me."

Ryuuji stood in front of his desk, fists clenching and unclenching as he struggled to stop himself from making a scene—more of a scene than had already been created.

His desk had been gift-wrapped, like a giant present, the entire thing wrapped up with bright colored paper and topped with a big red bow. On top of it sat a card that read Happy 30th you old fart in Shima's lazy handwriting. That bastard… They were the same age!

He'd known Shima was involved even before seeing the card. Rin hadn't had the time to do this without Ryuuji noticing, and no one else would have helped with this, but it didn't matter who the mastermind was. The only question was who was Ryuuji going to kill first.