Transaction

Disclaimer: Blah.

Author’s Notes: Greetings from Chandler, Arizona! This is day one of the road trip and we’re already a bit behind. We were supposed to stop in Tucson, but we got a hundred miles short. We’re going to try and make it to San Antonio, Texas tomorrow. That’s 800, 900 miles away. A loooooooong drive. This was only 600. About.

Anyways. Onward to your planned Author’s Notes!

Alright, some of you might be wondering how often I sleep, if at all. Truth be told, I do catch my 20 hours a day. It’s just when the sun is up. Thing is, we finished this story on a site we write on, transferred it to Word, and I’m editing and splitting it up into chapters. So, really, since I have 50 chapters made, sometimes I go through and edit around… maybe ten at the most depending on my mood.

Since I have to go over my first editing job each time I finish making about 20 chapters or so, I end up rereading these parts of the stories, so I am sometimes struck with AN inspiration!

And I know I’ve missed a few updates. I try to do at least one a day, maybe once a day once at night, but I’ve been off. Welp, I’m in the process of moving back to New Jersey, so I’m packing up my life, and at the same time, my friends are dragging me around. We had a sleepover on Friday, drinks included, and we stayed out until… oh, about two in the morning.

Doing what, you may ask?

Stealing street signs. We have no idea, but it seemed like a great idea at the time. Those things are bigger than you think. Waaaaaay bigger.

Don’t drink and steal signs kids…

Anyways, I ramble. Have fun!
~~~
Transaction

Chapter Twenty-Two
~~~
Haido was just leaning in to press a few kisses to Kenji's neck before the shirt had been pushed high enough to expose more skin worth tasting. His own shirt inched its way up and the heat of the room seemed to intensify with the slight cool over his exposed skin.

And then he heard the door open and his eyes widened.

Tohma peered into the room and saw Haido lift his head sharply and look over his shoulder at him and Taki. His breath caught in his throat seeing... well... basically live pornography in progress. He looked away over his own shoulder at Taki.

A younger Taki would have laughed, made a comment. In fact, Taki was biting his tongue to keep one back as Tohma turned his face away. Eyes flicking up to Tohma's, they shifted back to the two on the floor.

Kenji was staring at him, brown eyes a little scared, but mostly pleading. Taki's fingers twitched, and he itched to say something nasty. Something to get Kenji back for the weeks of hell he'd been through putting up with that attitude.

But he didn't. Instead, he just gave his head a little shake, murmured a soft, "Excuse us," and put a hand on Tohma's hip to guide him away. The door, no longer having anything to hold it open, swung shut behind them.

It wasn't until then that Taki realized where his hand was and quickly stepped back, shoving both hands in his pockets.

Tohma hadn't realized he was holding his breath until the door had shut with a soft click in front of them and Taki had step away. The fingers that had held him left a hot, but quickly cooling, spot on his hip. They had been so, so very close, and now the distance between them seemed extremely wide.

"So," he said, clearing his throat lightly. "Why don't we go to my office and discuss a temporary replacement?"

The blond started walking down the hallway, deciding to leave the two in the room to their own business... along with Keiko. Though the conviction of that didn't make the conversation any less tense. He certainly did hope they were happy enough though... and would refrain from using his facilities for such activities (though he had been no stranger to it himself).

Taki followed automatically, shifting his gaze between the floor and Tohma's back. Too close, he told himself. They'd been too close, not just close. But too close, because he didn't have any right at all to be that close to a man he was supposed to hate.
No! Did hate!

The band, though... If Haido and Kenji were going to continue to distract themselves in such ways, Taki had come to the obvious conclusion. "I might... need a little more help with those three."

Yes, it was painful to say. It felt like acid on his tongue, or it should have. Really, it just felt awkward. An awkward continuation to an already awkward conversation.

Tohma stopped when he heard the words, mind obviously on other things. Like how close they had been just before, and why wasn't he laughing about it? Why wasn't Taki making a nasty comment?

...

What if Kenji and Haido thought they were going into that room to do the same thing?!

He shook his head slightly. Thinking like that would do nothing but breed paranoia. The blond looked back at Taki, smiling a little.

"Really? Aizawa-san, are you asking me to help your band?" he asked innocently. "Or... would you rather I find someone to help you other than me?"

He had every right to the second option.

A loaded question. Taki's uncertainty, while not clear in his expression, was expressed solely by his eyes. A new person would get him away from Tohma, something that had recently seemed to become necessary, but a new person could upset the band... again.
It didn't seem to register that he was talking himself into it.

"Your help." Taki sighed, bringing one hand out of his pocket to brush back his hair. It was getting too long again. "I don't want to put them with a new person after something like... this." He clarified, just so there was no grey area.

It wasn't like he wanted Tohma with them or anything! This was a strictly business arrangement. Of course. Just business.

Tohma's smiled widened, looking quite flattered. After all, it had worked in the long run, hadn't it? Taki asked for help. Everyone needed to learn that sometimes, and even if it was just this once, the blond knew it could be a lesson well learned.

"Of course, Aizawa-san," he agreed with a nod. "I understand completely."

But he couldn't help that clawing child within him wanting to laugh with glee at the turn of events. Two band members making out, Taki asking for his help specifically... it was all too good.

"Right." Taki nodded slowly, still strung up on the awkward energy that had been thick between them. After a moment, he nodded again, letting out a slow breath as he repeated himself. "Right. Good."

It was almost too easy. Where was the catch? There was always a catch with Tohma.

"We still need a replacement for Haido, while he's injured." Though, that hadn't seemed to be stopping Haido from anything else. Taki tried to push it from his mind, glancing instead at Tohma from under the tips of his hair.

Yes, he was hinting. Blatantly. They needed a replacement while Haido was out, and Tohma had said it himself, there was no one else in the building to replace him. And he'd already said he would help, so it was a natural conclusion.

"Mm, I see," Tohma said with a nod. "It seems as though my secretary will be getting a little more work then."

Translation: Tohma would be filling in for Haido while he was healing, and at the same time, helping to manage the band.

"I'll start setting up a few meeting for all of this. Some with the entire band, some with you," he explained absently. "I don't think any paperwork has to change. I'll need to go over the contract just in case though."

Formalities. Ugh.

"Until then, Aizawa-san, I'll have to see you later. I should get as much work done as soon as possible if I'm taking this back on," he explained, a little apologetic.

Taki couldn't really stop it. He never could when it was genuine. It was just an impossibility.

He found himself smiling, and nodding in response to Tohma's words. They had a replacement, and even though it was Tohma, he didn't really mind the arrangement. Maybe he was sick. That could do it, couldn't it?

"Of course. I'll see you at the meeting." A short bow, more of a formality now, just a nod, and Taki was turning in the hallway to go back to the stairs.

Were things looking up, or was he fooling himself into a false sense of security? After all, this was Seguchi Tohma, bastard extraordinaire. Who knew, when it all came down to it? That was a man who could smile and kill at the same time.

Taki knew, because he'd witnessed something very like it first hand.

"See you then," Tohma agree, smiling still before walking off down the hallway.

Yes, this would all be very entertaining.
~~~
Author’s Notes: Very entertaining indeed, Tohma.

It’s amazing. This idea was so simple in the beginning. Angst type one shot between Tohma and Taki. Opium was just the reason they met up. Suuuure, it looked like it might’ve gone on to be a long one shot, but it was still a one shot. Then the band got personalities and lives of their own… Such a simple idea.

I wish I could say the work ahead was daunting. But it’s not. I like giving this a purpose, not something that goes to waste on a website. People can read this whenever they want, over and over again. Kel and I are pretty much sick of it. We know what happens next. We like seeing what you guys think happens next. We probably could recite the lines of all the characters. Call me crazy, we may have parts of this story memorized…

Anyways, drop us a line!

~Subby