Author's Notes: Because I thought it would be fun, and because I need to write, I went and claimed Ban x Himiko for the LJ community otp100. :D And so, happy. I wonder if I'll actually finish this challenge. Hahaha.
I haven't written since forever. OO
Title: Things You Do
Fandom: Get Backers
Characters: Midou Ban x Kudo Himiko
Prompt: #008, Cops
Word Count: 991
Rating: PG, for very minor bad language.
Author's Notes: Ooooh. It's longer than I expected. And it's not sappy. That's an achievement. XD
You know, there are certain things you swear never, ever, ever to do. Not if you were paid a million yen; not if you had to.
But what usually happens is that you end up doing them anyway. Sooner or later. You're not necessarily paid a million yen, and you don't have to—there's just some annoying thing that keeps poking and prodding you until you give up and cave in.
There was a time when I swore I would never help Midou Ban.
Then…things changed. And I know I swore that I'd never help him get out of trouble. Especially if he deserved it.
Himiko sat astride her motorbike, tense and watchful. The engine was revved up; she was ready to go. Ban had actually urged her to go, snapped it at her fiercely before turning to butt heads with the handful of cops that had been guarding their target.
She couldn't help but roll her eyes. He was taunting them now, the idiot, stance relaxed, hands shoved into his pocket and head raised. His back was to her, but she could picture his face: his head tilted up in his trademark, arrogant angle, his lips curled into a sneer, his shades slipping half-down and his eyes glimmering too bright a blue, the epitome of scorn and pride.
I know him too well. Ugh.
The cops looked enraged, uncertain, and disoriented all at once.
She wondered if Ginji was well on his way to the meeting point with the client. Technically that was her job. She was the transporter after all. But these were the Get Backers, and even if they always pulled through, they didn't always do things according to plan. They liked to improvise a lot.
She was pretty sure that the world could get along fine without Ban's brand of improvisation, though. Especially since whatever improvised things that came out of his mouth were enough to make anybody shoot him on the spot.
"…you guys think you can take on Ore-sama, then you're all…"
Himiko sighed, switched off the engine, and swung one leg over the other side in a graceful dismount. Unhurriedly, she strolled over to the idiot who really should learn when to keep his mouth shut and the cops who were steadily looking less confused and more enraged.
--
Ban, in the meantime, was not being as stupid as the transporter girl had thought. His insults were carefully calculated to piss off, but not to provoke. His eyes flicked coolly over the faces of the cops, and the gears of his brain were whirring like mad. He was trying his best to keep the insults in the low-key-irritating category right now, because he didn't want to waste any time fighting since he was pretty damn hungry and crap it looked like they were going to put up a fight after all…
There was a sweet, wavering scent in the air, and instinctively (he had never gotten rid of this habit that had been learned the hard way; he knew that it was a useful one to retain) he held his breath. His eyes narrowed when Himiko came into his line of vision. Stupid, I told you to run away!
(Stupid. She'd never do that.)
"Anything wrong, officers?" she asked lightly, standing just in front of Ban, just a little too close to the nozzles of five guns. Ban's hands twitched with the urge to pull her back and shove her behind him, too damn close—
The eyes of the five policemen were slowly becoming vacant, docile, harmless, forgetful. Their guns were lowering slowly, their rigid shoulders relaxing. They shook their heads dazedly.
A low whisper. "Oi. Hurry up, I'm holding my breath here."
Himiko shot a glare at him before saying pleasantly, "I think there's something you should be guarding back there, ne?"
The five cops nodded and turned, and shuffled away.
Himiko let out her breath and whipped around, urgently shoving Ban in the direction of her motorbike. Before he could protest, she was on it and snapping at him to get on, hurry, and cursing, he vaulted over the back of the seat and into the sidecar just before she zoomed off.
--
"I told you to run, you know."
"You were being stupid."
"I could've taken them easily."
"I know. But my way was faster."
Ban grumbled something and slouched in the seat of the sidecar. She smirked and told him smugly, "Well, it was."
I know that. And now a brief, sharp image was flashing through his mind's eye—guns, guns trained point-blank on Himiko, Himiko too close to the guns…
"I don't need you to protect me," he said snidely, not caring how brusque that had sounded. He wanted it that way. He sneaked a glance at her face and saw that the remark had stung; he turned away.
But miraculously second after second ticked by, and she didn't shout back. And Ban was just about to give up and ask if she'd heard him when her voice came, steady and sure. "I'll stop doing it when you do."
He jerked around to look at her, incredulous. And for a fraction of a second she turned to fix him with her gaze—calm and challenging, knowing and speaking.
You won't stop protecting me. And even if you did, I won't stop doing the same for you, whenever I can.
Her eyes were fixed on the road again; his eyes were fixed on her. Don't trap me like that, dammit…
"Ban. Duck."
"Gah!" Ban recoiled as a branch gave him a solid thwack on the forehead. "What the hell! What branch hangs that low? And why didn't you tell me sooner!"
Himiko shook her head and grinned as they entered a road that ran between rows and rows and trees.
"Just shut up and let me drive, Ban. We're almost there."
-end-