Friends Forever

Disclaimer: I do not own Getbackers. If I did, Kazuki would be mine as well, but since Getbackers isn't mine, Kazuki isn't mine. -wistful sigh-

A/N: Honestly, I originally intended to have the two wind up dying together, but somehow, the story wouldn't let me write it like that, and instead made me write this piece of…

…fluff. Heh heh, you though I was gonna say a dirty word, didn't you? XD I swear my stories do have minds of their own.

Forever is a long time.

A really long time.

Like, way, way longer than the wait at the doctor's office, or the wait for the ramen to get done. It was like infinity. It was infinity. It was like, you wait and wait, but forever never ended. Never. Never was a long time too. It meant that something didn't ever happen. In other words, a long, long, long time. Both of those were really long times.

Ginji rested his chin on the table, thinking. Forever was a long time. There was no question about that. And so was never. And Ban had said that they'd be friends forever, and they'd never be apart. And of course, Ginji believed Ban. Ban wouldn't lie about something like that. But still… forever and never…

"Ban?" Ginji asked, looking across the table at his friend.

"Yeah?" Ban glanced back over the top of his sunglasses.

"We're friends forever, right?"

"Of course, idiot."

"And we'll never be apart?"

"Why would we be?" Ban asked rhetorically.

Ginji seemed to accept his answer and sank into silence again. Ban lit another cigarette.

Ginji knew that everyone died eventually. He knew that life didn't last forever. And you could still think of someone who was dead as a friend, and you could think of them and keep their memory with you. But you couldn't see that person anymore. They wouldn't be there to hug or talk to, or at least, if they heard you they couldn't answer you. That was being apart, wasn't it? And if that ever happened to Ban… if he couldn't talk to Ban, couldn't see him, what would he do?

"Only…" Ginji started again hesitantly, watching Ban again, "Paul-san says nothing lasts forever, and that everyone dies someday…"

Ban just listened, understanding the Ginji had something to get off his chest.

"…so, what happens if one of us dies?" Ginji finished, looking very worried and somewhat scared.

"We won't die," Ban answered simply, confidently.

"But we will eventually, won't we? I mean, one day… and we probably won't go at the same time, so then we wouldn't be together, and I would be really sad-"

Ban sighed and held up his hand, cutting Ginji off. "I'll make you a deal, okay? A promise. We will always be friends. We will never be apart. If I have to die and follow you to the afterlife to keep that promise, I will. If I have to comeback from the dead myself and follow you around as a ghost, I will. Believe me?"

Ginji sniffed and wiped at his eyes, then jumped across the table and gave Ban one of the biggest bear hugs he'd ever had. HEVN, Natsumi, and Paul turned around for a moment and saw Ginji sitting on the table, hugging Ban for all he was worth. They shook their heads simultaneously. Ginji would never change. Even if never was a very long time.