Transaction

Disclaimer: Meh.

Author’s Notes: I'm not in a good mood this evening. It's nothing amazingly dramatic. It's just another one of the bumps in life. I really don't like them. Or the people that cause them for me.

Anyways, enjoy.
~~~
Transaction

Chapter Forty-Four
~~~
Shock paralysis. What fucking bullshit.

Taki had felt like screaming through their explanation. He needed to distance himself from whatever was causing him so much stress. He needed to take a break from work, relax, and wait for his legs to heal themselves.

Well, fuck that.

He was on his feet as soon as he knew they could hold his weight. He was back at work in a matter of days.

But he wasn't accepting help, and he wouldn't visit Tohma. He was still livid, and every time he passed a camera, or went near Tohma's office, he grew a little more bitter.

He couldn't fucking believe that bastard had left. Just left! He'd been in the hospital for fucks sake, and he'd left! Taki had to stop, put down his pencil and sit back in his chair.

What did it matter? They weren't in a relationship. No attachments. None at all. So it didn't fucking matter. Like he'd said, Tohma was a grown man. He could do what he wanted.

But he wasn't supposed to want to leave.

Tohma had thought that Taki would've learned by now. The man just would not accept help in any form. He hadn't been asked to leave that night, he knew, but he wasn't made to feel like he was exactly wanted there, was he?

Of course on the inside, Tohma knew that Taki most likely (it was a 80/20 probability) wanted him to stay. You don't drive away the people you want around.

All Taki had to do was take his help, his advice, his companionship (for the time being, he told himself). Was it really that hard to get along with a person like himself? Tohma didn't think it especially so. He tried to be agreeable. Offer what he could, but he was not going to pamper and spoil those around him. They had to meet him somewhere, and the somewhere was a standard set differently for each person around him.

Taki's somewhere was at help. Still!

The blond sighed, leaning back in his chair, listening to the sounds of nothing in his office. How wonderful. He hit the intercom and had a short conversation with his secretary. They were usually short, but he was far more curt this time than usual. Tohma got up from the chair and left his office at a confident, brisk stride, heading for Taki's office again.

Tohma knocked on the door twice and then pulled his gloves tighter onto his hands, though he knew they would go no tighter.

He wasn't thinking when he called out, "Come in," to whoever had knocked on his door. It was only when his voice faded in his own ears that Taki realized that the only person who bothered to knock on his door was Tohma. And it was then that he cursed his own stupidity.

Pushing himself up and out of his chair, Taki tried to ignore the way he had to lean against his desk as he started to sort through the papers. If he looked busy and made enough noncommittal noises, Tohma would have to leave. He would.

Taki would make him if he didn't. Tohma was the very last person he wanted to see.

This was going to make him sick. He could already feel it.

Narrowing his eyes, he glanced up through his hair as the door began to open. Fuck.

Tohma entered, seeing as he was allowed to do so, and spotted Taki trying to work. He was on his feet (a good sign), though he was awkward. It didn't seem comfortable, and he was able to place why. Taki was putting his weight against the desk, not on his feet. So nothing much has changed.

"Aizawa-san, I'm glad to see you back at work," Tohma said with a smile, leaning against the doorframe. "Were the doctors able to find out what was wrong?"

The blond figured he should know what was wrong with an employee of his. After all, his company covered the medical. At least that was his excuse.

"Also, I thought you would like to know that Sonoda-san hasn't called in for anything. The rest of Opium is doing their best, I hope."

"Shock." Taki answered shortly, finally lifting his head to look up at Tohma. His hands stilled momentarily on the papers, but he looked down at them again and began to sort unseeingly. He knew he would have to go over the piles later, but he found he didn't care. "Haido hasn't come in today. Keiko's asleep."

At home, of course. He would have thrown her out if she slept at work. The last time he had allowed that to happen, it had nearly been fatal.

Finally, though, Taki had to give up on his papers. His desk was clear, and the piles were surprisingly neat looking, though he knew that they were terribly out of order.

He hoped Tohma didn't plan to take any with him when he left. That would be one mess he could live without.

"Shock?" Tohma asked, curious and interested now. "As in... shock from your nightmare?"

Of which he was a part of. The nightmare wasn't really a nightmare, just a reliving of the past for Taki. It didn't weigh heavy on Tohma any. Again, he'd been giving a helping hand in that matter years ago. This time, Taki would have to ask for his help, he would not just take his desired course of action.

Maybe because he did feel a little guilty and didn't want to make the same mistake?

Probably not.

Against all of Taki's personal precautions, he found himself nodding. "Something like that. They pumped me full of pills that are going to make me sleep so hard at night a bomb wouldn't wake me up, and told me what to do if it happened again."

It was all bullshit, though. He didn't need any fucking pills, and it wouldn't be happening again.

But now he was at a loss. What had happened to noncommittal noises? He was good at those, goddammit! Just nod and shrug, whatever it took to get Tohma out of his fucking office. And work! Fuck, it wasn't like he could go back through those piles and save himself from looking like an idiot.

"So... same old same old, then," Tohma said loftily. "Doctors won't fix anything directly, just remove reality from fantasy slowly with drugs. Or merge them together. They didn't give you anything more direct to help the issue than that?"

Was he dragging out the inevitable? Oh yes, quite so from the look Taki had on his face. Did it have a purpose? Oh no, not really. Just little things to edge Taki further and further along.

When the blond stopped to think on his actions, he wondered if he was driving Taki to a breaking point so as to pick up the pieces and fix him up properly. Then, when Tohma wondered why he wanted it so persistently, he banished the thought completely.

Shaking his head, Taki gave up and looked at Tohma. There was no point in not doing it. All he would do was give himself a cramp if he kept looking at his desk.

There was nothing that interesting on it, anyway.

"Just the pills." He gave Tohma a careful look, and the only sign that he was joking was the slight quirk to his lips. "Want them?"

He certainly wasn't going to use them.

Oh, but he was still angry. If Tohma wanted them, Taki would be more then happy to hand them over. One at a time, and he'd aim for Tohma's head. At this range, he wouldn't be missing any.

"Depends on the side affects," Tohma said with a smile. "Sometimes pills to 'help' cause more damage than they're worth. Then again... that's what most drugs do. There's the good, then the horrible. What do they do for you exactly?"

Oh, Tohma could play this game all day. Was he interested in taking drugs? Mildly. By taking some sort of sedative, it would keep him from his daily alcohol intake. Though, maybe the uplift would outweigh the usual mulled haze. It would be a change of pace.

Hmm... For some reason he was feeling lazy about it though. He didn't really care for going through all the upkeep and trouble of taking prescribed medications. You did have to be careful.

"Besides, Aizawa-san... you may need them sometime," he said patiently. This was, of course, assuming that they would still be near each other for a while longer.

Aizawa-san. Did Tohma have any idea how much he hated that? Taki took a slow breath, shaking his head as he looked away from Tohma. "I doubt it. I never think about that night."

That was probably why it turned up in his dreams, but after this... He was never thinking about it again. There wasn't a point.

He'd spent years lamenting that part of his past, and that was fucking enough. He had things he had to worry about now, things that demanded his attention and immediate solution. He had no time to angst about the past.

And now it was just getting in his fucking way.

Tohma felt that his welcome was far more than worn out by now. He didn't know whether to feel perversely elated at the annoyance in the other man cause with such subtle tactics and ease, or to feel slightly worried that he may be doing more harm than good. No matter, he needed to head out for a lunch with the head of their sister company.

"Well then, I'm glad to hear you're doing better. I guess we'll both keep up on the band then," Tohma said pleasantly. "But I'm going to be late for my lunch if I don't rush now. I'm sorry to have to leave like this. I do hope that you'll stop by my office later if you feel like talking... or get bored of work. I don't get very many conversationalists like yourself... Taki."

The blond smiled and gave him a small nod before leaving again, having to go back up to his office to gather his things, then go back down and out to the waiting limo. After this, there was nothing left on his schedule. He wondered if Taki would consider his words an offer, or a joke. Tohma wasn't sure if he knew himself.

When the door closed, Taki sat back down in his seat. Pulling a pile of papers toward him, he didn't look at it as he spread it back out over his desk. He was too busy glaring at the door.

Taki. That fucking bastard.

"He's going to kill me..." He grumbled to himself, finally looking down at the spread papers to begin to put them in order. They were all filled out, all signed, accounted for... He just needed to file them.

And they needed to be in order for that.

It was too bad Tohma was distracting him without even being present.
~~~
Author's Notes: What's this? What's going on with this? Tohma walking away? The world is going to end! This is kind of a filler chapter, letting the characters play off each other after recent upsets. Get's more interest tomorrow. Scouts Honor.

Drop us a line.

~Subby