#limepie

After the night shift, when the sun was up, she would go home from the bar, but she decided to walk to her “friend’s” house. Well, if she could call him that. He was a guy she knew and, as much as she liked him, he wasn't interested in anything more than a friendship with benefits. She respected that, but that didn't stop her from wanting to see him. Maybe, at that time of day, he was training in the park near his place, and, as she'd guessed, there he was.

There were no people around at this time of the morning, and all she could think was that the park's most frequent visitors were missing out on a very interesting spectacle. Despite how cold it was, Himuro wore nothing but sweatpants, the muscles in his arms and chest clearly visible, tense and sweaty as they flexed. He was shadowboxing, apparently, punishing the autumn air with his quick, precise jabs, also topping it off with a few kicks, his eyes intense and focused.

She leans against a wall, enjoying the view. It wasn't news to anyone that this guy was quite handsome, his tanned skin almost glowing in the weak morning sun, his short white hair bouncing with his movements. She was just a little upset that he wasn't hers, but she didn't mind sharing. That man was too much of a catch to keep him from the rest of the world. And she had come to get the little piece of him that was her due.

Himuro stopped his morning training, breathing in and out to slow his heartbeats, when he finally sensed her presence behind him. His tension is quickly replaced by exasperation. He doesn't turn around as he walks over to a bench, picking up the towel he'd left there earlier and wiping the sweat off his skin, his eyes closed.

"I thought assassins were more stealthy than that", He grumbles as he dries his hair "How long have you been there?"

"Good morning, Ryo" she rolls her silver, abyss-sunken eyes, smiling sideways "And if you don't know how long I've been here, then I was stealthy enough. I could've stabbed you while you're distracted" she puffs out the cigarette smoke, and it looked like a dragon's breath on the cold autumn morning.

"I'd like to see you try", He grunts, dropping the towel back on the bench and stretching his limbs "Anyway… you're way ahead of your usual schedule. Got bored and decided to look for me?"

“Actually, I just wanted to see you. And according to my usual schedule, I'd technically be late, but now that I have a job, this is the only free time I have", she throws the cigarette butt into a garbage can nearby after putting it out on the wall she was leaning against "And besides, do I have to make an appointment to hang with my friends now?"

"It would be the polite thing to do, but if we haven't started like this before, we're surely not gonna start now" He rolls his eyes and turns to her, still stretching "And you're already here, anyway, so screw it. I've finished my morning training routine. If you'd come earlier, I'd have invited you to a sparring session…"

“That's fine. I'm kinda tired today” she shrugs. And them looks at him when he stares at her "What? I get tired too, y'know. Or did you forget that we finish our “horizontal spar sessions” with me always asking for a break first?", she laughs when he widens his eyes with surprise, but he recovers quickly with a smug, if embarrassed half-grim.

"Heh. That's what usually happens to anyone who sleeps with me. I always give my best and end up ruining men for you all. But if you're tired, I imagine you didn't come for that either, right?" He looks to the side, trying to play it cool "It’s too early, I was planning to head back to my place and get back under the blankets..."

"Heh, cocky bastard… and what a coincidence, I thought the same thing", she smiles, a little mischievously, getting closer when she felt she'd been given carte blanche "But in your place instead of mine. I've been wondering if I should buy a body pillow and print your face on it..."

Himuro didn't know whether to be flattered or creeped out by that thought. But maybe he should tell her to do just that, then she wouldn't bother him so much if she had an inanimate substitute always on hand…

But if that happened, he'd kind of lose a bedmate. And as annoying as she was, this was going to be a cold, dreary autumn, and having company under the warm covers was always nice…

And speaking of the cold, it had his full attention now that he wasn't moving around so hard anymore, biting him on his unprotected arms, torso and face. He shudders involuntarily, trying to cover it by saying: "Do as you wish. I wouldn't be surprised if you weren't even the first to do that..."

She watches aKure Youko lit a menthol cigarette while walking down the empty street at five in the morning.

s he shivers, and her smile fades.

"Yeah…" she sighs a little "I don't think I'm your first on pretty much anything" she says in a playful gesture. And then she takes off her coat, covering his shoulders with it "Come on, it's getting cold", she nods in the direction of his apartment complex, and doesn't wait for him to answer, walking slowly towards the building.

He shivers again, but for different reasons, as he feels the terry cloth covering him. He looks up and sees her walk away, startled, registering her voice tone, her words…

Fucking hell, why was he feeling guilty now? She had brought that on herself, damn it! Chasing him down, invading his apartment, his personal space, his life, all without even asking…!

And yet, the warm feeling of her coat around his shoulders didn't bring him the sense of revulsion he used to associate with her. On the contrary. Its scent even soothed him…

She hears him quicken his pace to keep up with her. There's an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds, until he finally says, in a low, contemplative voice "You're the first to crash at my place like that, though."

She smiles a little, without showing her teeth "Heh. Not because you wanted to, anyway" she laughs softly, a little embarrassed "But I'm happy about it. Thanks…" she taps her hip lightly against his "Breakfast’s on me, Mr. Gigolo."

He rolls his eyes at the nickname, trying not to smile and failing miserably.

"Yeah, I didn't, but when in hell, embrace the devil. Isn't that what they say?" He arches an eyebrow at her "I can do just that later, as a thanks for the food."

"That's exactly what 'Gigolo' means", she laughs at his face when he frowns "I'm kidding. I'd love it."

He almost responds with a ’me too’. Almost. But he manages to hold it back, limiting himself to give her hip a tap of his own.

He needed to be careful, or else he would start to really enjoy this routine with her. He desperately wanted the warmer months to come back soon, then he wouldn't miss the warmity of her body as he did now.