Log: Complete

[simca-swallows.livejournal.com]

When; This afternoon.
Rating; PG-13
Characters; Sano [iron_clock], Simca [simca_swallows], Morinaga [morinaga] and Tatsumi [vexed_scientist].
Summary; After an afternoon of shopping, Simca drags Sano with her to visit the angry scientist and his poor boyfriend and chaos ensues. And stuff. XD
Log;

It was a lovely day outside, and to add to the pleasantness, normal speeds had been restored in the city. Admittedly, Sano hadn’t had much planned for today, but shortly after he had woken up, Simca had called and asked him to go shopping with her. Now who was he to reject a request by the swallow?

Shortly after, he found himself walking the streets with the girl and having a good time while he was at it.

“Was there any other store you wanted to drop by?” Sano looked around at all the shops surrounding them before glancing down at the many bags he was carrying in his hands. He flashed a grin at Simca before shrugging his shoulders lightly. “Not that I’m in any rush or anything, but I think we’ve been to just about every single shop here.”

“I’m actually all shopped out, I have to admit,” Simca replied, laughing brightly, raising her eyebrows in amusement at the load of bags Sano was carrying. She had offered to carry some of them, but he had refused and she hadn’t pushed him about it. It was always nice to be treated like a lady.

Thinking for a moment, an idea popped into her head and a sly smile soon followed. “There is someone I’d like to stop by to see while I’m out, if you don’t mind accompanying me,” she grinned. They were already close to the building she wanted to go to, and Simca carefully slipped her arm through Sano’s, making sure not to bump the bags in his hand.

“Wanna come with me?” she asked, smiling sweetly at him, with almost a little too much innocence on her face.

There was someone she wanted to see around here? Sano turned slightly to see what they were next to and found it to be the fifth apartment building. Who lived there? He thought about it for a moment, but couldn’t think of anyone aside from Mikan. Was this going to end up being some… video game playing night or something?

Nonetheless, he couldn’t help but smile back at her and nod his head. Sano shifted some of the bags to the arm Simca wasn’t holding onto and tilted his head slightly in the direction of the apartment. “I’m going to assume that whoever you intend to visit is right here, seeing as it’s the nearest.

“And of course I’ll come with you,” he replied. Sano had been a frequent companion of Simca’s back home, and it would have been a lie to say that the trend didn’t continue here. True, he was rather lacking in a car in the city, but that didn’t matter too much. ATs came in handy in times when no other mode of transportation was available. “Did you already arrange a meeting with this person, or is this an impromptu visit?”

“Oh goodie,” Simca grinned, going up on her tiptoes to press a friendly kiss to Sano’s cheek before promptly taking the lead and guiding the two of them towards the front doors of the building. “It’s… kind of impromptu. I told him I’d be stopping by sometime soon, but I didn’t specify when,” she explained as they stepped into the elevator. “It’s a surprise!” she wiggled her fingers at Sano, laughing in amusement.

From what she knew of Tatsumi, it wasn’t going to be a very happy surprise either. But since when did that ever stop Simca? Grumpy people were interesting to her, apparently. This was definitely going to be interesting, to say the least.

Exiting the elevator, Simca led Sano along down the hallway and stopped in front of apartment number forty-eight, and knocked soundly on the door. “Here we are,” she announced to Sano as they waited, looking suspiciously mischievous. Not that that was something unusual for Simca.

Sano stopped and stared at the numbers on the door, trying to think of who might be living there. He was pretty sure it wasn’t Mikan, but… who else could it be? Was it even someone he knew? It seemed that his question would be answered soon enough, as the door cracked open.

“Who the hell is it?” came a grumpy voice from the tiny opening. However, a second later, the door had been swung all the way open, revealing a guy with glasses and a very angry expression on his face. “YOU. WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT?”

The man raised an accusatory finger at Sano, who simply looked back at him with a puzzled look. He looked at Simca out of the corner of his eye to see if she had any idea what was going on here. If this had something to do with some time when he was drunk, Sano could only wonder what the rest of this visit was going to be like.

“Ah, I’m just here with Simca,” he answered, doing his best to remain pleasant. It wouldn’t do to antagonize the other any more it seemed. Though, it looked like his mere presence was a bother to the other. “I’m Sano, but I’m afraid I don’t know who you are.”

“Oh, I know you’re Sano,” the other growled. “You’re the bastard who kissed Morinaga the night of the party.”

Uh oh. Well, that was quite the welcome. Nothing Simca hadn’t been expecting though. And nothing she wasn’t used to, either. Yzak yelled like that all the time, curse words included, of course. Keeping her arm safely around Sano’s, if only to help protect him against the wrath of Tatsumi, she smiled brightly at the man in front of her. “Now, now, Sano was just a little tipsy at the time. He didn’t mean it, and if I recall, he and that cute little puppy of yours made up quite nicely,” she soothed.

Looking up at Sano, she squeezed his arm with one hand. “Sano, this is Tatsumi. He, ah… well, he’s Morinaga’s boyfriend,” she laughed, smiling innocently at both of the men. Waiting for a moment, Simca slipped her arm out of Sano’s and practically launched herself at Tatsumi. Clearly the other man was not going to enjoy a hug. He was gay, besides, and beyond unfriendly, but at least it would be one fabulous diversionary tactic. Gay or not, her boobs were distracting and she knew it.

“It’s good to see you again, Tatsumi!” she exclaimed, arms flung around his neck. “I told you I’d come to visit,” she added, finally letting him go and stepping back, subtly taking Sano’s arm again. “So, are you going to let us in or not?” she asked curiously, still looking extremely amused.

On the otherside of the door, a curious Morinaga was peeking from around the corner of the living room. Tatsumi was screaming at someone and it wasn’t him? Strange. “Ah, senpai?” he called out, walking over behind the other man… and freezing when he was who was at the door. “Oh. H–hah hah. Hello there,” he greeted anxiously, rubbing the back of his neck and flushing. What the hell was Sano doing here? Morinaga kind of liked the man, but Tatsumi was going to go looking for his butcher knife anytime now.

Morinaga’s boyfriend?

Sano could suddenly understand what the other had been talking about in terms of being beaten up on a daily basis. While it wasn’t much, he felt just a smidgen safer with Simca still on his arm, but when she dived at Tatsumi, Sano couldn’t help but wonder if that was the last he’d ever see of her alive.

Tatsumi’s reaction, of course, was as bad as to be expected. His entire face turned red, and for just a second, it seemed like there were flames growing all around him. There were boobs in his face. Boobs!! However, before anything else could happen, Simca was back at Sano’s side. He chose to kick the doorframe instead of his would-be guest.

Sano breathed a tiny sigh of relief. However, that relief was short lived as Morinaga himself appeared. Well, wasn’t that just fantastic? An embarrassing drunken episode had resurfaced. He fussed with his glasses for a moment before giving the other a warm smile. “Well, what a surprise. I… didn’t think I’d be seeing you…” With your boyfriend right here. “…so soon. I’m glad to see you’re well.”

“OH. SO YOU’RE TRYING TO HIT ON MORINAGA WHILE SOBER NOW, EH?”

Tatsumi glowered and grabbed Morinaga by the shirt collar so that they were nose to nose. “Did you invite him along? DID YOU?” he yelled before stomping back inside the apartment. “Do whatever the fuck you want!” Tatsumi paused and shot Sano a dirty glance. “Just don’t do anything indecent while you’re here.”

Tatsumi’s temper really was a sight to behold, Simca had to admit. It rivaled Yzak’s and Agito’s, and she could have sworn that the temperature in the room went up a few degrees as she hugged him. Just as she suspected. No reaction except embarrassment to one of her hugs. Definitely gay. Obviously he wasn’t a fan of hugs altogether, as he nearly kicked off the doorframe. Really, his temper was impressive.

Morinaga was immediately anxious, of course, and for good reason. He only had time to give Sano a nervous smile before he found himself yanked by the collar and looking directly into Tatsumi’s furious face. Raising his hands in defense, he shook his head frantically. “No, I didn’t! I haven’t even spoken to him since right after the party! I promise!” he tried to smile again, but it was closer to a grimace than anything else.

Simca was about to interfere, when Tatsumi released poor Morinaga and stomped off like a child. Typical. Definitely nothing she couldn’t handle. “Hello, Mr. Puppy!” she greeted brightly, carefully pulling Sano into the apartment after giving him a look of reassurance. Morinaga raised a hand again weakly at her, impressed that she seemed to be the only one who wasn’t afraid of Tatsumi. She swept past him, letting go of Sano and heading towards Tatsumi.

“Don’t blame Sano or Mr. Puppy, you big grump,” she grinned, stopping in front of him and looking up. “I wanted to stop in, and Sano happened to be out shopping with me. Simple as that. You could show a little more manners, you know,” she winked, going up on her tiptoes and kissing his cheek. “No one will be doing anything indecent. You and Morinaga are together, Sano kind of has a boyfriend, and I’m the only straight woman probably on the floor, I’m sure,” she giggled. “Relax.”

They were actually going inside?

Sano found himself being pulled inside before he had a chance to protest, and much to his dismay, Simca had gone off to bother Tatsumi again. He glanced over at Morinaga, wondering if it’d be any safer to edge closer to the other. The second that thought passed through his mind, however, another shortly followed. That boyfriend would surely kill him if he made any movement toward Morinaga.

So, Sano just sort of moved away from everyone, carefully setting down all of Simca’s shopping bags in the corner and pretended to pay them a great deal of attention. As he did so, however, he chanced a glance over his shoulder to see Simca kissing Tatsumi.

The scientist, of course, was near to exploding. His hands balled themselves into fists, and his teeth couldn’t be ground together any more without them breaking. “GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!” he shouted, roughly pushing her aside. “I’LL… I’LL GO MAKE SOME TEA.”

Tatsumi stormed off, feet amazingly not putting giant holes in the floor. He threw open the pantry, the door hitting the wall and rebounding to hit his arm. The scientist yelled and kicked it, knocking the thing off its hinges and into the next room.

And as luck would have it, it slid to a stop at Sano’s feet. He stared at it for a second before moving away from the shopping bags to stand next to Simca. Leaning toward her, he whispered, “Are you sure it’s a good idea to linger here? I’m a bit worried about the safety of everyone in this apartment, Tatsumi included.”

Morinaga couldn’t help but stare in disbelief as he watched Simca kiss Tatsumi on the cheek. Where did that little pink haired woman get all that courage? Morinaga was now allowed to kiss his boyfriend like that, but he had waited five years to work up to that, and had taken many beatings during that time. Unfortunately, he had little time to stare in awe, as Tatsumi promptly exploded and stormed off to the kitchen.

“Don’t be so rough with me, Dr. Cranky,” Simca rolled her eyes, looking very unimpressed and still very unafraid by the man’s reaction, shrugging her shoulders and winking at Morinaga. Sano was looking rather nervous, however. He wasn’t being very obvious about it, but Simca knew him well and could certainly tell.

Grinning, she shook her head at him. “Don’t worry, darling. He won’t do anything to us. Trust me,” she nodded, slipping her arm through his and pulling him over to the couch and down next to her. Glancing up at Morinaga, Simca crooked a finger at him and beckoned him over.

“Come on, Mr. Puppy. I won’t bite,” she giggled. Morinaga laughed anxiously and moved to sit in the chair across from them, a safe distance away from Sano. It was best that way. Otherwise, someone was definitely going to die.

“A-ah. So. Er,” he muttered, not really knowing what to say. He hardly knew Simca at all, and Sano… well, they’re last encounter had been a little embarrassing, to say the least.

While it was kind of nice to not have to deal with the angry man, it didn’t really help that the host that they were left with was in a tough spot. Unless there was some unknown correspondence between the two, Simca and Morinaga hadn’t done anything but share a few words at the party; they were pretty much strangers. As for himself… Well, their first meeting made things a bit awkward.

“So… I hope you’ve been well since I last saw you,” he started, a slightly forced smile on his face. Sano drummed his fingers on his knees, resisting the urge to do something like whistle or stare at some nice, empty space. No, he was going to try and make the best out of this situation. Try being the key word. “Ah… You know about that offer I made you?”

There was a loud crash from the kitchen, and Sano stopped speaking. Alright, that was a bad time to bring that up.

“Offer? What is this offer you’re talking about?” Tatsumi hissed, slowly rounding the corner from the kitchen into the living room. His eyes seemed to glow with some strange energy, and it just happened that there was a nice knife in his hands. The scientist grinned – a maniacal grin, of course – and stepped closer to Morinaga.

“You know, I was cutting up some fruit for our guests, but I think I just found a much better use for this thing.” Tatsumi took another step closer to Morinaga. “So. What’s this offer all about, hm? Someone care to tell me?”

Oh. Dear. God. Morinaga froze in his seat as Tatsumi rounded the corner, dreaded butcher knife in hand. He was listening?! They were all so very dead. “O-offer? Well, I-“ Before Morinaga had a chance to say another word, one of the small pillows that usually sat at both ends of the couch went flying across the room, smacking Tatsumi in the face and plopping to the ground with a dull thud. Morinaga nearly had a heart attack and was almost too afraid to tear his eyes away from his boyfriend to look in the direction from which the pillow came.

“Hey now. We came here for a friendly visit, not a massacre,” Simca smiled sweetly, though she had one eyebrow raised, silently challenging Tatsumi to really try something. “So unless you’re planning on doing something kinky with that knife, we’d love it if you went back to cutting up some fruit, Dr. Cranky. I’m not really into that sort of thing anyway,” she shrugged lightly, brushing it off. “And from the looks of it, neither is your cute little puppy,” she added with an amused smile.

“The offer was for two extra tickets to the carnival in the underground. Sano was offering them to Morinaga to see if you two wanted to go on a date there, and to apologize for the little misunderstanding at the party the other night,” Simca explained casually, making it all up off the top of her head. She actually had no idea what this so-called offer was, but clearly there wasn’t time to find out, and if it was anything remotely suggestive, knives were going to start flying.

The girl had just thrown a pillow at him, and Tatsumi was hardly pleased. He had a feeling that Simca was having far too much fun with him, and he stalked off to the kitchen again. He didn’t want to be anyone’s punching back, thank you very much.

There were no further worrisome sounds, not yet at least.

With that last spot of trouble over, Sano found himself breathing again, not having noticed before that he had stopped. Crazy storm riders? Monsters in the Underground? Hell, he would have them all over living with this nutcase; he simply couldn’t understand how Morinaga could stand it and still be alive. Maybe the guy was particularly masochistic.

“Ah, Simca?” Sano leaned over to whisper in the girl’s ear again, making sure this time to keep his voice out of earshot of the other. “I had actually offered to let him stay at my place if Tatsumi here ever got too rough with him, but… I was going to say I wasn’t sure how feasible that’d be anymore, what with Yoshitsune now…

“Though, thanks for the cover-up.” Sano cleared his throat and turned back to look at Morinaga, putting on a warm smile. “About those tickets. I’m afraid that I won’t be able to give them to you anymore…” He paused for a second. “I’m afraid that as I’m in a relationship now as well, that I’ll have to get you something else to repay you for that night. Yoshitsune might get upset if I were to hand those over.”

Sano gave Morinaga a meaningful look, hoping that he understood the actual meaning behind his statement. He settled back against the couch and looked over at Simca again before focusing his gaze on a much-deflated Tatsumi, who had actually managed to pull together a nice display of tea and fruit and was bringing it into the room.

The ridiculous pillow move seemed to work, and Morinaga breathed a sigh of relief. He was honestly surprised Tatsumi hadn’t dived at the pair of guests in front of him and started hacking. Luckily, the other seemed to calm down just a bit, and Morinaga’s heart started beating somewhat normally again.

Simca, on the other hand, was relaxed as could be. Amused by the actual explanation of the “offer” from Sano, she nodded in understanding. “Ah, I see. Well, I obviously didn’t know that, so I pulled something random off the top of my head,” she whispered back, shrugging innocently. She had a wild imagination, after all. That offer could have been for something much more scandalous which would have led to some serious violence, for sure.

Sano casually began another explanation and Morinaga leaned forward a bit, getting the feeling that he was talking about something entirely different than carnival tickets. Especially since they had never discussed that and he had no clue what Simca was talking about, except that she had probably just saved all their lives. A moment later, it clicked and the lights when on in Morinaga’s eyes. “Oh! Right, right,” he nodded in understanding, smiling warmly. “Well, that’s alright. We can, uh, go to the carnival some other time. Thanks very much for the offer, though. It was nice of you,” he nodded again, looking up when Tatsumi entered the room again, this time with tea and fruit. Morinaga jumped up to help him, looking slightly concerned about his boyfriend.

“Oh you made tea!” Simca beamed happily. “Thank you! I know we kind of barged in on you,” she laughed lightly. “We appreciate it,” she added graciously, completely aware of how much trouble she had caused everyone in the room.

Tatsumi mumbled something incoherent under his breath and settled the tray on the coffee table before pouring everyone a cup of tea. He then grudgingly handed on to each guest, nearly dropping Sano’s in his haste to get away from the other. “I hope it’s to your liking,” he grumbled, as he settled down in the seat closest to Morinaga. “And you can help yourself to the fruit and more tea if you want.”

He folded his arms across his chest and looked away with a huff. The scientist couldn’t believe this! Here was this guy who had made out with his boyfriend in his apartment. Not only that, but that bastard was also a guest and had to be served! Eyebrows creased, Tatsumi snatched his cup of tea and downed it in one gulp before excusing himself again. Tea wasn’t good enough; he needed some alcohol.

Meanwhile, Sano was keeping his eye on Tatsumi, hoping that the other’s temper wouldn’t flare up again. True, he could easily take the other down when it came down to it, but the man’s temper was quite impressive. If nothing else, his angry aura made a person think twice about striking the man; it was awesome enough to stop a person in his tracks.

He sighed softly as the scientist left the room again, and Sano ran a hand through his hair. How long were they going to stay here and annoy the guy? He glanced over at Simca, but the girl seemed perfectly content sipping at her tea. With a light shrug, he took a sip of his drink, noting that it didn’t taste half bad.

“It’s lovely!” Simca replied after taking a sip, honestly pleased with how the tea tasted. Even grumpy people with horrible tempers could make a nice cup of tea, it seemed. “Thank you again,” she added politely, glancing over at Sano once more. He looked a little uncomfortable, but considering the situation, she supposed that was normal. Ah well. It wasn’t like she was going to let anything happen to anyone.

Morinaga, on the other hand, was still rather anxious, fidgeting slightly next to Tatsumi as he drank his tea and aimlessly nibbled on some fruit. His boyfriend seemed to have calmed down quite a lot since their two guests had arrived, thankfully, and was now sulking beside him, glaring at all of them. It was much better than waving a butcher knife around, though.

“So, uh,” he floundered, trying to make conversation. “How’d everyone handle that weird slow thing yesterday?” he asked, smiling weakly and rubbing the back of his neck. Simca laughed and waved her hand through the hair dismissively.

“It could’ve been worse, I thought, but it was certainly annoying enough,” she replied. “It was pretty boring, actually. Took forever to do even the simplest things,” she shrugged. Simca’s expression turned both curious and sly at the same time as she turned her attention to Morinaga. “I’ll bet you’re wondering why we’re even here. Or rather, why I’m here. Sano is just my unfortunate companion,” she winked at the aforementioned before looking back at Morinaga. He laughed slightly and nodded.

“Well, the thought had crossed my mind,” he admitted. Simca merely smiled.

“I decided that your darling yet grumpy boyfriend over here needed some socialization, if you know what I mean. It sounded like he was turning into a hermit, with you as the exception, and as I am a “social butterfly,” I told him I’d stop by for a visit. Though he seems none to pleased that I actually went through with it,” she giggled, looking at Tatsumi.

Taking a swig of his freshly got bottle of beer, he looked over at Simca, lips curled into a dark scowl. Tatsumi should have known that the girl would have through with it, but maybe he was being optimistic with his life for once. He huffed and looked away again. That was going to be the last time he think that way, that much was for sure.

“I don’t need to be fucking socialized,” he growled. “I’m a scientist! A researcher! My life is work, and work is my life.” To make the point, he slammed his bottle of beer down on the end table. Unfortunately, he did it a little too hard, and in the blink of an eye, there was shattered glass and beer everywhere. Tatsumi shook in anger for a moment before yelling and going off to the kitchen again to get some paper towels. This was not his day! Then again, was there any that was his day? No, not really.

Sano cleared his throat quietly at the sudden silence that had settled over the group after Tatsumi had walked off again. It did seem like the man could use a little help in being more of a people person, but what were they going to do in one visit? While Simca was quite good at socializing herself, it wasn’t like there was any magic that could just be rubbed off.

“So… Morinaga, have you ever tried to take your boyfriend on a date? A real proper date?” Sano chanced, eyes flicking over to the entrance to the kitchen before going back to the other’s face. He gave the other a sympathetic smile. “It might be ah… nice for you to go out and do something fun once in a while.” If you can get him to do something fun… “Or you could take up a hobby together.”

He paused then, as if trying to think up an example. Sano looked around them, and his eyes landed on Simca’s feet. “Like… ATs or something.”

Everyone flinched when Tatsumi’s beer bottle broke, though his tirade didn’t phase Simca in the slightest. She merely sighed and watched the man skulk off to the kitchen to get something to clean up the mess with. Goodness, even Yzak would have given in at least a tiny bit by now, but this guy just kept going.

Morinaga was sighing as well, and looking a little gloomy. His attention was diverted to Sano, however, and he raised his eyebrows in surprise. “A real date? Uh. Not… really. Tatsumi-senpai doesn’t really like that sort of thing. Being out in public together with me, like that, I mean, makes him uncomfortable,” he shrugged. “I guess I could… try again, or something,” he added thoughtfully. “Our hobbies are… well, we just do research and experiments, really. He is a scientist, after all, and I’m his assistant,” he explained.

Simca studied the young man across from her sympathetically. Obviously, he must be completely smitten with Tatsumi, or he wouldn’t stick around with someone as hard to live with as he was. It was sweet, though, and she admired his loyalty and his perseverance. Especially the latter, as it was a trait she herself identified with very much.

Tatsumi returned with a roll of paper towels and started cleaning up the mess, anger slowly dissipating into general annoyance. He picked up the glass, soaked up the fluids, and disposed of them before coming back to settle in his original seat. He sighed and stared at their guests without a hint of hospitality.

“So, Simca. Was there something you were going to teach me about being social, or is this it?” he asked, quirking a brow. Tatsumi crossed his arms over his chest once more. “Because I had intended to go work a bit on my experiments today, but…” The corner of his mouth twitched slightly. “…we can’t exactly leave guests alone, now can we?”

Sano shifted slightly in his seat. He looked over at Simca, wondering what she was going to do next. This sort of thing probably required something more along the lines of an on-going program of social rehabilitation compared to just one day of sitting and chatting. This Tatsumi character seemed quite… against any change right now, and well, they’d be here all day and night otherwise.

“Simca? Maybe we should let them go for now. We can visit them again at another time,” he whispered into the girl’s ear. Admittedly, Sano was a little eager to leave by then as well, but if Simca wanted to stay, he would. “What do you say?”

Simca gave Tatsumi an unimpressed look and sighed again. “Mm. I suppose it can wait, then, or something,” she replied lightly, just a bit annoyed but not letting it show. Ah, why did she always care so much? She hardly even knew Tatsumi or Morinaga, and now she felt kind of guilty for dragging poor Sano into this mess, when he had clearly wanted to leave from the moment Tatsumi opened the door and started yelling at them. When he murmured that they should probably leave, she nodded and rose to her feet.

“Ah, well. You should get to those experiments then,” she smiled kindly, taking Sano’s hand and gently pulling him back towards where the shopping bags sat. “Thanks for your… hospitality,” she grinned slightly at that, winking at Morinaga, who flushed back and smiled weakly again.

“Stop by again sometime,” he offered, glancing at Tatsumi from the corner of his eye. He wanted to apologize for everything, but he knew that would only make things worse for him once they actually left. Instead, he walked forward and opened the door politely for them.

Simca picked up a few of the bags before Sano could get to them all, smiling at him slyly before nodding at Tatsumi and Morinaga. “Take care, you two,” she smiled and with a little wave, she pulled Sano out the door and was off.