Hey Metal Fusion fandom! It's been a long time (five years, actually, uh...)

I wrote this a long time ago, but never posted it - so I figured it was about time I dusted it off. It's still a little rusty, but hey, it's here.

Enjoy!

Mondays

Mondays were one of Tobio's favorite days, partly because everyone else hated them. It was a general rule that everyone was grumpy on Mondays, and so it was much easier to find willing targets – particularly in the morning.

He was all set to enjoy this particular Monday morning, stationed on one of his favorite rooftops (nice and tall and a perfect vantage point) with Capricorn and enough lollipops to last the day and then some. The weather was perfect, too, warm and clear, and not too much wind to interfere with his aim (or wreck his hair).

And best of all, a certain someone was away at the beach all day, and therefore would not be getting in the way or causing any-

"Tobio!"

Growling, Tobio's clenched teeth snapped the stick of his lollipop off and it fell to his feet.

Tetsuya.

"Tobio!" Tetsuya's shout still managed to sound whiney and Tobio ground his teeth. "Tobio – it's an emergency!"

He really shouldn't have let Tetsuya follow him so often, because now he knew all of Tobio's regular towers and could somehow always find him. It was more than an annoyance, Tobio had decided, it was a disturbance of his daily routine and as such he would…ignore it with all that he had.

Tobio snorted and backed away from the railing before Tetsuya came into view (really he should've seen him coming and then he could've left – but no, he had to have been checking for a target three streets to the left…). He would bet any money that the 'emergency' wasn't so much an emergency as Tetsuya screwing something up and needing Tobio to fix it.

"Tobio! Are you up there? I know you are, crab! It's urgent!"

"I bet," Tobio grumbled, plopping down on the roof and inspecting his sniping equipment, still sucking on his now mostly-stick-less lollipop.

"Tobioo~" the voice from the ground sing-songed, "If I have to keep shouting I'll give your position away! Or, or, crab, I'll just scuttle on up there, huh! And then who knows what will happen? You know crustaceans don't do well with heights, we could have a crabtastrophe on our hands!"

Tobio growled again and lurched to his feet, striding angrily towards the edge of the roof and leaning over the railing.
"What is it?" he snapped.

"Is it really so hard to acknowledge me?!"

"What do you want, Tetsuya?" Tobio barked, good mood fading faster. A few passersby were staring, and now he could kiss this particular secret vantage point goodbye.

"Well, crab, as I said," Tetsuya paused to give a sigh of irritation, as if he were the one who had had his day interrupted rudely and abruptly, "it's an emergency."

Tobio groaned loudly. "Be more specific, would'ya?"

"I'm getting there! Snappy…"

The blond rolled his eyes skyward and left them there for a good while, crunching the remains of his lollipop between grinding teeth.

"As I was saying – this specific emergency deals with your favorite candy store," Tetsuya continued triumphantly, left hand on his hip and right hand pointing up at Tobio.

Tobio raised an eyebrow hidden by his hair and stared curiously (and a bit suspiciously) down at Tetsuya. He spit the tiny bit of stick that had been left in his lollipop off the roof and into a garbage can several stories below.
"The one just at the edge of town?"

"Yessiree-crab! I heard, from a scuttling little friend of mine, that it's going out of business! And I thought I'd come make sure you knew, isn't that nice of me? Yes it is." Tetsuya struck another triumphant pose, eyes closed to revel in his supposed kindness.

"Closing? But it's been there forever!"

"I told you it was a tragedy, crab!" Tetsuya placed his forearm over his eyes, which were leaking streams of tears, in a dramatic pose. "To think that you'll never again get to experience the wonders of that particular establishment – why it just breaks my crabby heart!"

If Tobio hadn't been in a mini-panic, he might have noticed Tetsuya's telltale overreaction act – but candy was important and there were already few enough candy shops as it was. He backed away from the railing and packed up his sniping gear.

"Are you sure it was that store?" he shouted over his shoulder.

"Would I lie to you, crab?!" came the incredulous reply.

Now that response did give Tobio pause, but in the end he snorted and shrugged it off before heading back down through the building. When he was back on the sidewalk in front of the tower, he glanced around for the suddenly-and-suspiciously-missing Tetsuya briefly before he was suddenly snatched from behind – a pair of long, thin arms wrapped tightly around his chest and under his own.

"Gotcha crab! Haha!" Tetsuya exclaimed as he began dragging Tobio backwards across the street. "You are so easily tricked, strawberry short-crab."

Tobio snarled and dug his heels into the pavement, prying at Tetsuya's hands which were securely clasped over his chest. "Let go! And enough with the short jokes!"

"Aww…but you're such a tiny little – hold still, pinchy!"

Tobio was twisting around, and eventually managed to duck under Tetsuya's loosened arms. He'd still been holding the case that housed his sniping equipment and it whacked Tetsuya in the face as Tobio's arms slid through his captor's.

"Ouch! Watch it!" Tetsuya rubbed at his cheek, frowning.

The blond reeled on the spot. "Don't grab me then!"

"Well I had to get you to come along somehow, crab!"

Tobio pulled a lollipop from his pocket and unwrapped it angrily, shoving it into his mouth. "Get me to come along where, exactly?" He glowered at the taller 'blader from under his afro.

"The beach! It's an emergency! Oh it's so awful, I – "

"You could've told me that in the first place!"

"But then you would never have come down!"

"Exactly!" Tobio turned on his heel and headed determinedly back across the street.

"Wait wait!" Tetsuya shouted, dashing after Tobio and securing a vice-like grip on Tobio's arm with both hands. "Please! Help me, I'm at my wit's end I tell you!"

Tobio yanked uselessly on his arm. "Will ya leave me alone for the rest of the day if I do?"

Tetsuya nodded vigorously and immediately resumed dragging Tobio in the direction of the beach. "I promise, crab's honor!"

Sighing heavily through his nose, Tobio finally wrenched his arm free and marched ahead of Tetsuya as the taller teen floundered, unbalanced from the unexpected shift.

x

Tobio glared thunderously up at the tree, teeth vigorously working the stick of his lollipop.

"This is why you made me come all the way down here?!"

"Sir Pinch-A-Lot is stuck!"

"It's a crab in a tree! How did you manage that in the first place?!"

"Sir Pinch-A-Lot wanted a better view of the ocean, I couldn't refuse him!"

"So you took it up a tree?" Tobio deadpanned, looking between the tree and Tetsuya with a mixture of shock and annoyance.

"Of course, crab! We were enjoying ourselves until I fell – and the poor little crustacean hasn't been able to get down since…." Tetsuya's face settled into a pathetic pout as he watched the crab where it was stuck, high up on a branch.

Tobio rubbed a hand over his forehead, careful not to upset his afro. "And you need me to do what, exactly?"

"Climb up there and get him, of course!"

"And you can't do that because…?"

"I'm traumatized, crab!" Tetsuya wailed, "I may never climb another tree as long as I live! I was injured when I fell out, you know – I could barely scuttle over to your tower!"

Tobio grumbled under his breath and sent glares at both Tetsuya and 'Sir Pinch-A-Lot'. Then he abruptly turned and began stalking away, hunching his shoulders and taking long strides while still gripping his case.

"Hey!"

Tetsuya had run after him, and suddenly there was a weight around his left ankle.

"Get off!" the blond jerked his foot forward and up, but Tetsuya clung on stubbornly, wrapping his arms more securely around Tobio's lower leg.

"You have to save Sir Pinch-A-Lot! He's got a family!"

"Maybe he should've thought of that before letting you get him stuck up a tree!" Tobio hissed, dragging Tetsuya through the sand as he fought to continue walking away.

"Have a heart!" Tetsuya pleaded, "I'll never let you forget it if you leave the poor crab trapped! Stop being a scaredy-crab and help!"

Tobio growled and ground to a halt. "Fine! Now get off."

"Hurray!" Tetsuya released him and stood again, patting the shorter 'blader on the head. "Such a nice short-crab, I knew you had it in you."

Tobio swatted at his wrist angrily. "Don't touch my hair! And if I help you have to leave me alone for the rest of the day."

"I promise!"

"Good."

With that, Tobio shoved his case of sniping equipment into Tetsuya's hands, stalked towards the tree, and began to climb. It was relatively simple and easy until he reached the branch where Sir Pinch-A-Lot was still warily perched. Tobio eyed the crab cautiously as he inched towards it, tentatively reaching for it – only to yelp loudly when it grasped his pointer finger tightly in one of its claws.

He glared at Tetsuya, who was watching from the ground and looking far too innocent.

"Well he's named Sir Pinch-A-Lot for a reason, crab!"

Tobio's answering grumble was cut short as he jumped and nearly toppled out of the tree when the crab started making its way up his arm.
"Gah!"

"I think he likes you!"

"Shut up!"

The sniper stared at the crab, which was currently far too close to his face before it moved on and tangled itself in his hair.

"Dammit! Tetsuya!"

"I was right, he does like you! You should count yourself a lucky crab, crabcakes. Sir Pinch-A-Lot doesn't like many people!"

Tobio was too focused on getting out of the tree as fast as possible because that stupid crab was wrecking his hair and it had to go but he wasn't going to fall or cause further hair damage by trying to dislodge it while up a tree.

When he finally flopped gracelessly onto the sand at the base of the tree, he immediately reached carefully into his hair and untangled the crab with as much care as possible. He was still seething when it pinched his finger again, and since it was safely out of his hair he simple flung the crab in Tetsuya's general direction.

The taller 'blader caught Sir Pinch-A-Lot in both hands (dropping Tobio's case in the process) and cradled him close to his chest. "You must've been so scared, poor little crab!"

"Never again, Tetsuya!" Tobio had gotten to his feet and dusted sand off of himself as he snatched up his case where Tetsuya had let it fall. "If you ever get another crab up a tree, do not come get me." He put a fresh lollipop in his mouth and stomped back up the beach – he didn't make it far, however, before he was tackled back into the sand.

"Thank you – you're my hero, crab! And you're Sir Pinch-A-Lot's hero too! Isn't that right, Sir Pinch-A-Lot?"

"Keep that crab away from my hair!"

Tetsuya refused to get off him, he'd lost his lollipop in the sand, his hair was ruined, and that damned crab was trying to work its way back to him – Tobio decided he really didn't like Mondays after all.

I will love Tobio until the end of time, haha

Thanks for reading! :D