Understanding

Author: Kyuu
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance. One-shot.
Status: Complete.
Pairing: Ban x Ginji.
Summary: Ginji and Ban contemplate the future.

Pay was good - when was pay not good after all? Well, when you have a god of money inspecting you in a negative way then it's not always as good as one would be inclined to think.

Especially when 112,896 yen (yes, Midou Ban-sama never missed a single figure) never went very far between two people and their small box of an apartment. And then there was treatment to the Subaru. And of course, when the box couldn't be paid for that month, it doubled up as a portable bed.

So naturally, in a less than steady profession in which the income was up and down like storm-rocked waves, what each day would bring was anyone's guess.

And less than fortunately, sometimes days are just bad from the word go. Like when you firstly stumble out of bed only to discover there is randomly no hot water left in your building to take a shower in; you then find the milk you bought not the day before suddenly turned bitterly sour in the duration of the night; to make things worse the cigarettes your partner smokes ran out sometime, which makes him cranky. Well, crankier than usual first thing on a cold morning with no heating. And to make things worse, when you enter your car with a freezing interior it decides that it doesn't want to start for at least a half hour. Upon starting your car and going to the store to obtain milk and cigarettes it becomes painfully aware that you can only find the one of the two items which is of lesser importance - the milk.

Of course, it's blindingly obvious someone is chuckling at your day of misfortune when upon returning to the car it really doesn't start at all, so you are required to leave it where it's stupidly parked only to have it towed away and given back after a long walk along with a slip of paper with an annoying large fine printed on it.

Not only that, upon walking home across town to the cold box in which you reside the heavens break. And not just any rain but heavy, storm-quality rain. It's around that point your partner is likely to turn a sharp blue-eyed stare upon you and state in an unimpressed tone:

"I don't think it's just the god of money who doesn't like us any more, Ginji."

But in the end, trivial things never really dragged Ginji down, and Ban was glad of that. Even when slick-covered in rain, tired from walking from one end of town to the other and then back again, almost down to 11,289 yen (Ban knew it down to each small figure), and when cold and shivering Ginji could still smile, shrug and cast one of his carefree looks towards the dark sky broken with falling spits of silver drops.

"It doesn't matter. As long as I'm with you then nothing bad can really happen. As long as I'm not alone, it's all okay... no matter what happens."

What stupid optimism. If Ban hadn't thought that in such fondness he would have spat on it with such venom. But he could never find himself using any kind of tone like that towards Ginji. Never.

So instead he just shrugged his shoulders with a small grunt, but hanging around Ban that long, Ginji just smiled at the sound which could so easily have been taken as just an utterance to single someone who was callous.

Ban wasn't callous. Egotistical, rude, cocky, sharp-tongued, perverted, chain-smoking, bitchy, snappy, short-tempered and greedy maybe, but not callous.

At least not when Ginji was concerned - it was clear to anyone that Ban cared for very few things in life these days, and they were his car, money, food, cigarettes, eye-candy and Ginji. Oh yes, and his mug, of course. Aside from that what more did the man care for? Very little, if nothing at all.

By the time the two arrived home they were soaked through, utterly soaked. Not to mention Ginji was shivering a considerable amount more than Ban was by that point. Ban wasn't one to let something like a little rain make him submit to its will. As well as being cold and wet, it was also dark outside while wrapped in the deepening of the storm clinging to the city.

It was only when Ban uttered a quiet "shit" at flicking the light switch up and down a few times that it became apparent that the power was out.

"Ginji, shove your fingers in that outlet, will you?" snickered Ban while withdrawing his feet from the miniature buckets of water around them. At one point those had been his shoes.

He was given a displeased pout from the blonde sat semi-cross legged on the floor, pulling off his own shoes and shrugging off his jacket.

"Mou... Ban-chan, I can't do that when I'm this--" Ginji's cute whining was cut mid-way by a couple of sneezes, before he continued like it was nothing at all "--wet from the rain! It's dangerous!"

Ban watched his partner complain out the corner of his eye as he moved out of sight a moment or two, grumbling a reply to Ginji all the same.

"Wonderful. A walking battery and you can't do anything for this place yet? Fine...'ch...! Idiot..."

That pout Ginji held remained on his face as he gathered himself up to a stand and padded out of the doorway quickly to join Ban in one of the other rooms, his mouth opening to protest, perhaps tell Ban how cruel he was to say that - but something white covering his face caught whatever he was going to say short, and instead was replaced by a short noise of surprise.

He drew his soft, warm brown eyes toward the figure beside him who seemed to be ruffling up his hair, but he had to smile at Ban's bid to try and dry him off with the towel: chances were if he mentioned how kind it was, Ban would just say he didn't want to wait so long for Ginji to dry off himself and charge something up.

"You're kind, Ban-chan..."

"Hn. I'm just drying you off quicker so you can power the damn microwave."

How well Ginji knew Ban. It made him smile with his eyes at his dark-haired friend who raised an eyebrow at him in a questioning manner before snorting and shooting him a short smile, or rather smirk, in return before ruffling Ginji's hair through the towel a bit harder but playfully, before drawing away and toward what would be the kitchen, if there was more than just a sink and microwave in the room in question. And while moving, Ban casually un-buttoned the white shirt about his shoulders and peeled the dark vest beneath it away from his skin.

"...Ginji, don't stand around in wet clothes, you'll get a fever or something. Get them off and dry off properly. If you get sick then I'll have to work alone and I'll get all the cash made."

The blonde had to just chuckle a little - it would be so easy to say 'I worry about you, get changed so you don't get sick'; but it just wouldn't be the way of Midou Ban at all. And Ginji knew it. There was an understanding between them that ran deeper than any words could hope to explain. And it couldn't be seen, but it was definitely there between them. It was the kind of thing that kept them so close.

Draping the towel over his shoulders, Ginji padded behind Ban a short way, making light squishing sounds with each step forward until he was in the doorway of the bedroom, watching as Ban rummaged through what little material items they had for some candles. Which it seemed he'd found as he was snapping his lighter open and running a hungry flame over the wicks of a couple of them to bathe the room into a light golden-orange glow. Bearing it in mind that lighter hadn't taken a grasp on anything since Ban's last cigarette, which must have been almost fourteen hours ago. Fourteen hours and twenty seven minutes. And forty nine seconds. Not that he was keeping count or anything.

"Ne, Ban-chan...?" Ginji murmured quietly as he crossed the room to hang his shirt over the back of a chair before glancing around for a dry one.

"Hmm? What? Stupid thing... don't just spit-spark! Light! Damn you!!" Ban's random bursts of utter anger and frustration at the smallest of things never failed to amuse Ginji, who just chuckled as Ban began to threaten the lighter by snarling and shaking it in his hand.

Ginji frowned while looking for clean clothes, and it started to dawn on him then that they must be in the car from their last retrieval job away from town. And of course, the car was over the other side of town still. That pout returned as Ginji didn't especially warm to the idea of putting on that wet shirt again.

"I was thinking..." Ginji finally continued when he returned to Ban's side wrapped in bed covers and smiling faintly. "Where do you think we'll be in the future?"

"A penthouse. Somewhere warm, and sunny, and... near a beach. A good view of the beach, and the girls there," came Ban's reply in its ever cool and casual tone.

Ginji blinked slightly, but that was typically Ban, and though perhaps ever so slightly downcast for a moment, Ginji wasn't surprised by the response as he pulled the covers about him a little tighter and shivered.

"So rich and famous you think?" he half mumbled with his mouth nuzzling down into the bed-sheets.

"Of course. That's always been the plan, hasn't it?" Ban questioned back, a sharp blue eye flickering toward Ginji behind those glasses and studying him closely for a time before sighing and giving the side of his friend's head a small punch. "Rich and famous, warm and happy, and together. It's nothing achieved alone, Ginji. You look like you're expecting us to break apart somewhere along the line."

One eye closed from the mild scolding and smack to the side of his face, Ginji peered at Ban before smiling softly. His smiles were never as sharp and sneering as Ban's. But then again, perhaps Ginji was the only person who was allowed to see Ban's softer smile, like he was the only one allowed to add an affectionate 'chan' to the end of Ban's name when he called to him. "...I was just thinking how you can never be sure what will happen... that's all..."

Ban examined his partner in the dull light cast from those candles. Maybe it was just the storm and electric tension in the end that was making Ginji think that way. Whatever it was, it just made Ban smile as he drew to a stand to move over and settle himself down again beside the former Thunder Emperor, tugging at the cover to indicate to Ginji to loosen up some and let him join him there. Hell, Ban wanted some warmth too. Damn sheet grabbing bastard...

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." mused Ban aloud before directing a glance at Ginji. "But were you expecting me to appear in Mugenjou and make a partnership with you like that?"

Ginji sat up a little, shaking his head quickly and starting to protest. "But that's different! I'm happy that happened! If it didn't then I wouldn't have met you, I wouldn't see things like I do or--"

Ban made him stop in the middle of his babbling by laying a finger against his friend's lip and smirking at him a little at the corners of his mouth. "It's not different then. If something just happens then it just happens, and when special things come along you don't question them. You can't go back on what's gone by, and you can only hope for what's in the future, you can never know it. So why not just live for this moment?"

There was a mild pause, as if Ban was checking that Ginji was still listening, but just the light illuminating the other youth's eyes told Ban that of course he was listening. Drinking in every word in fact. Even as his finger moved from his lips to lay softly against his chest and draw his own lips closer to replace where the touch of his fingers had been.

"...because who knows what will happen in moments past this one..."

If Ginji's common sense allowed it, he would have melted into that kiss. And what reason did he have not to? If Ban had asked him to get on all fours and lick his boots then Ginji would have complied without question. But he knew Ban would never degrade him like that. Not in any way. It was that sense of understanding, that un-seen force that was just there. If it wasn't so strong, then the chances were the force would be trust, but it ran so much deeper, into devotion, into need, into so many things but it was far past just trust alone.

Like Ban needed Ginji, Ginji needed Ban. Where Ban fell, Ginji shone and helped him up; and where Ginji fell short of something, Ban was always there to balance it out. They were more than just partners. It was more like two halves making something so much stronger when together. Without one the other was without something, and even when never spoken out exactly they both knew. To be separated again would break them both so quickly. It was that understanding once more: it didn't even require stating in words.

As such, Ginji allowed that kiss, and more so he allowed it to deepen and he allowed himself to return it steadily. It was just natural, and warm, and the blonde could have let himself drown into that warmth Ban gave out. It wasn't just the warmth either, it was Ban's warmth, the kind of thing no other would see but his partner. And that made it worth so much more.

Ban finally drew back after exploring the inside of Ginji's mouth with his tongue, and he offered a faint smile as he felt Ginji's ever careful fingers trail up over his cheeks to draw his glasses away and lay them with such care to the side. Anything of Ban's Ginji would treat like the most precious item known to mankind. They didn't really need to share words between the removal of the glasses and the reconnection of their lips, the rain hitting against the glass windows outside kept things from being eerily silent, yet soft enough for Ban to hear the smallest changes in his partner's breathing.

And naturally Ban did hear those changes, especially when his touches trailed lower over Ginji's chest and fingers drew lazy but calculated trails over his torso. Calculated, because Ban wasn't drawing markingless lines in random places, only in the places he was aware made his soul-mate twitch pleasantly and lean his body toward the contact for more. It was little use claiming to have such a strong mental understanding without knowing just the right things to do to make your partner happy.

Laying Ginji back lightly against the floor, Ban's gaze scanned across him softly, stroking the image before him with his stare. You could fill a room with almost naked woman with perfect figures and it wouldn't come close to what Ban had there before him - his soul-partner staring back at him with those large brown eyes, his lips forming that ever gentle smile, his blonde hair usually slightly spiked from static wetted down some from the rain, and a few remaining droplets from outside still clinging to his skin and glittering from the light cast about by the three or four lit candles around them. Yes, for all the women and even money in the world Ban wouldn't trade for that moment at all. Screw the day itself being bad, Ginji's smile wiped any mess clean completely.

The man with the evil eye was ever so gentle with the man formally referred to as 'Raitei'. There were different levels of course, always different ways to do things, but moments like that he valued above anything else. If there was one thing Ban cared about more than his car, cigarettes, his mug, car and women, it was moments of that nature with his partner, and it pressed him to lower his head and trail slow, gentle kisses across the chest of the young man laying under him, and ghost touches wherever he could manage it - over Ginji's sides, his arms, hips, shoulders, thighs, inner thighs... it was like he wished to touch as much as Ginji at one time as he could. And of course he did. He wanted to keep Ginji his, make sure he'd never be hurt again. Ban wanted to replace Raitei for Ginji. He wanted to be the one to protect him and remove what hurt him now. He wanted to be the one who made Ginji happy.

Even if he would never say so. He'd never admit it. He didn't need to, Ban could shoot the word 'mine' at anyone who dared look at Ginji in a way that displeased him without having to even attempt the word vocally. It was just painfully blatant when Ban wanted to make someone aware.

Of course he was a pervert, that went without saying, but there was a difference between being a pervert with Ginji and a pervert towards a pair of breasts wobbling everywhere. With Ginji, the sense of perversion was wanting to watch him move, see his face flush and his lips part to make those soft sounds he did. It was a very different form of being a pervert, and naturally Ginji understood and gave Ban whatever he wanted of him - he would stare at him watching him, he would moan whenever Ban's fingers brushed a spot of pleasure. And Ban did that a lot.

And Ban took as long or little time as he pleased, but it suited Ginji whatever suited Ban at that point in time. If Ban wanted to throw him down and screw him senseless in moments, Ginji wouldn't protest. If Ban wished to linger for hours on soft touches, slow build-ups and whispered promises of partnership, Ginji wouldn't protest.

It was part of the understanding between them. Unspoken and unseen, but definitely there.

"Ne, Ban-chan...?"

"What...?"

"...where do you see us in the future...?"

"...rich... warm... together... does anything else matter?"

"Hm... I guess not..."

"...I'll keep you safe, whatever happens..."

Silence fell across them once more. The room smelling faintly of sex, the rain still patting affectionately against the window and two forms melting mentally and physically into one. Ban's shadow swayed lazily against the wall, mirroring the almost equally lazy back and forth movements of himself over his partner. He owned him. There was no more to it, he owned Ginji and that was final. To have someone you could still rock slowly in and out of in actions of pure devotion and affection, and still call your friend at the end, was something too special for words.

Ginji watched him through half-closed eyes tenderly. He adored Ban, it was clear as day. And as he felt those slow back and forth motions inside him he idly toyed his fingers into Ban's wetted down hair and sighed as his eyes slipped fully closed.

"...ne... Ban-chan...?"

"...hm...?"

"...whatever the future brings... do I get to stay with you...?"

"...idiot..."

And Ginji just smiled.

It was an understanding deeper than words. But it was definitely there.