Title: These Lines of Lightning
Author: amai-kaminari
Fandom: GetBackers
Pairing(s): Ban/Ginji
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Summary: Ban doesn't forget. Apparently, neither does Ginji. Well, not this time, at least.
Disclaimer: GetBackers and all GetBackers characters belong to Yuya Aoki and Rando Ayamine.
A/N: The 1st of 5 drabbles. A heartfelt 'thank you' to ugbun for her generous donation to help_haiti! Beta'd by the lovely gracie-musica and the wonderful rroselavy

"The 'S' in GetBackers means that we're never alone."

Ban had told Ginji that once. It was doubtful that the blond still remembered, though.

"Brain like a sieve," the brunet grumbled aloud, the ire in his tone betrayed by the smile that crept onto his lips.

He had learned in the early days of their partnership that details weren't Ginji's forte. The guy had about a million friends, but couldn't retain an address or a phone number, even if his life depended on it. What was worse was that, for as many enemies as Gin— Raitei had, he never held onto grudges; a fact that became a constant source of trouble for both of them. Damn pain in the ass it was, too.

Fortunately, the brunet GetBacker did enough remembering to cover for both of them. Not that he was complaining.

"Stupid eel," Ban muttered, resisting the urge to cast a protective glance toward his partner, who had to be snoozing away by now. Okay, well at least he didn't complain on the inside.

In fact, the more Ban thought about it, the more he realized that there was really only one thing that Ginji was good at holding onto, and that was Ban himself. Good thing, too, because even if Ginji did forget the 'S,' Ban couldn't. Whenever he looked at Ginji, his mind imagined the 'S' coiled tightly and defensively around his friend like a boa constrictor. Not too tightly, he hoped. He was only too aware of what happens whenever a snake coils too tightly. The fingers of his right hand twitched reflexively at the thought.

It's not going to happen, and that's that, Ban decided definitively, huffing audibly before stubbornly stuffing the rest of that thought back down into the deepest crevices of his mind.

No longer able to resist, blue eyes shot a quick glance at his friend just to make sure the blond was still asleep.

As it turned out, he wasn't. Probably hadn't been the whole time. Blue eyes continued to watch curiously as a single finger traced careful patterns on the fogged up passenger side window of Miss Ladybug. Ban leaned in and squinted to get a better look. Okay, not patterns then, just a single pattern. In fact, it was just a single letter, etched in the window over and over again.

"It means that we're never alone," he heard Ginji murmur, more quietly than he thought the normally boisterous blond to be capable of.

Turning around suddenly, brown eyes lit up in a wide, bright smile. "Right, Ban-chan?"

Plopping his chin on Ban's shoulder, Ginji wound both arms around Ban's right arm and wiggled closer, molding himself against the Jagan Master like an electric blanket.

"Yeah, Ginji." Never alone. "And don't ever forget it."