Mistletoe Woes
Who: Howard Link and Komui Lee
Where: Suite 3
When: Christmas evening
Summary: Black Order meetings weren’t usually held like this...
Rating: PG
Warnings: Brief man on man kissing.
After an entire week of sleep deprivation, Link hadn’t thought that anything would be able to rouse him from bed... nothing short of a massive explosion in the immediate vicinity, anyway, so he was understandably irritated when he woke after only twelve hours of sleep. On any normal week he’d be appalled at himself for sleeping for such a long stretch of time, but after what they’d all dealt with? He was willing to make an exception.
Unfortunately, his body had different plans, and it was with a heavy sigh, a bleary expression, and an overall disheveled look about him that he hobbled his way out of his and Allen’s shared room in search of important things. Like a bottle of water and a trip to the bathroom.
Komui, on the other hand, had been up since he’d woken out of his coma the day before. After months of sweating, soldering, bargaining, bribing and back-breaking labour, he’d finished his little present to Kanda Yu just in time for Christmas. Soon the samurai was going to receive his punishment for violating Lenalee’s palm with his tongue and the anticipation made Komui giddy with glee.
He was gleeful enough that when he pranced into his suite he didn’t hesitate to bounce over to the rumpled Inspector, arms thrown out wide.
“Merry Christmas!” He swooped, bending down to grab the short man in an enthusiastic embrace.
Link, unprepared for such an enthusiastic and heartfelt greeting, dropped one of his crutches and stumbled back several steps, staying upright only through Komui’s grip and a lucky jab of his remaining crutch. It was far too soon for this sort of interaction as far as he was concerned, but he managed to to suppress an undignified squawk and regain his balance fairly quickly.
“... Is it Christmas?” He mumbled into Komui’s chest, frowning heavily for a few moments before he tried to pull away, intent on collecting his fallen crutch... only to find that he couldn’t. Confused, he glanced down to see his foot rooted to the floor.
Komui beamed, chuffed by the fact Link was finally warming up to him and not attempting to escape his hugging as soon as he could. He eased his grip, his arms hanging loosely off of Link as the other man straightened.
“That’s right, you woke up just in time to catch the end of the day. Once you’re presentable we can sing carols or roast food bars or hang ribbons on one of the trees. I’ve even got a special little something just for you!” He let go of Link, straightening and trying to take a step back.
His slippers seemed to be stuck to the floor. Worse,his feet seemed to be stuck to his slippers. He wriggled his ankles futily, the bright grin dropping off of his face.
“You’re not standing here because you want to, are you?”
Link blinked down at the floor slowly before looking back to Komui and shaking his head.
“No. I’m not.”
Hesitating for just a second, Link turned his gaze upward, his heart sinking as he quickly identified the cause of their little problem. The unassuming little chunk of green hung just above their head, tethered to the ceiling with a neat red bow.
“Well... that explains that.”
Komui tilted his head back and groaned when he caught sight of what was above them. That jolly piece of parasitic plant meant he was probably going to go back to his room with bruises.
“Hold on a tick, I might be able to solve this.” He reached up, stretching his arm and just managing to brush the tip of his finger across the lowest leaf.
“If I could get up on tiptoe I’d be able to pull it down!” He huffed. “I could probably cut it down with one of your arm-knives.”
Link loosed a heavy sigh and shook his head. Of all the days...
“I haven’t put them on yet. They’re in my room.”
He tugged futilely at his remaining crutch, but it was stuck fast to the floor just as he was, and a quick survey of their surroundings revealed nothing particularly useful within reach. “I don’t suppose you have anything you could use to reach it, do you?”
Komui groaned again at Link’s dereliction of duty and took off his beret. “Of all the days.” He flapped his hat against the mistletoe, setting it to swinging but otherwise failing to solve their problem. He briefly contemplated taking off his belt to whip at the plant, but dismissed that plan quickly. Knowing the facility, that would only result in his trousers falling down and their feet still stuck to the floor.
“If we’re here for much longer Tyki’s going to turn up and start catcalling.” He looked down, raising an eyebrow to Link. “Any other ideas before we give in to the inevitable?”
The inspector fixed Komui with a flat expression. No. No, he was not going to give in to the mistletoe that easily if he could help it. And certainly not while opposite Komui.
“Tyki is irritating, but words will do no harm. Someone else will come through eventually.”
Komui returned the look, then shook his head. He was probably going to be stuck in this spot until reset if Link had his way.
“I wouldn’t put it past Val to stick a third person in with our muddle if they came too near.” He remarked, craning his neck to look at each of the doors in turn. “Out of Allen, the ghost of a 13 year old and a Noah, I’m not sure what would be the worst option.”
“So we just have to be sure that they don’t get too close...” Link turned a bit to judge the distance to each door himself. Davesprite wouldn’t be a problem, but if Allen rushed through their door without looking...
“There must be another way.”
“We could call for a lovely assistant...” Komui perked up at the thought that perhaps Tsunade would take pity. She had a delightfully forceful way about her. He patted his pockets, pausing once he remembered where he’d wanted to be sure he wouldn’t be filmed planting Kanda’s present..
“Tell me you didn’t leave your ‘berry with your armguards.”
Link reached to pat at his own pockets, irritation filtering across his face when he realized that his communicator was right where he’d left it the night before. Face down on his desk in his room. Far out of their reach.
“... I don’t take it into the bathroom.”
“I’m not going to have a puddle at my feet, am I?” Though Komui was convinced Link would rather hold on until his kidneys burst than let that happen. It was time to take charge and get it over with. Unshaven and unbrushed teeth wasn’t what Komui liked in a kiss, but those weren’t going to disappear if he waited longer.
“Close your eyes and imagine something that’ll stop you from lashing out.” He instructed, resting his hands lightly on Link’s shoulders.
“I can control myself, thank you!” Link spat out the words, his annoyance with the entire situation finally surfacing properly. A week of no sleep and awkward conversations, and now he was expected to kiss a man or remain trapped in his own suite for heaven knews how long.
He leaned back when Komui took hold of his shoulders, eyebrows furrowing as he tucked his head back, a firm “No” clear in his expression.
Komui narrowed his eyes, weighing up his options. Link’s crutch was stuck fast, so at least he couldn’t whack, but he could do a lot of damage with his arms and teeth. More importantly, that head tucking made it incredibly awkward to lock lips with their height difference.
“It’s now or later.” He bent his knees and hunched over, bringing himself down to Link’s diminutive eyeline.
Link raised the hand not holding the crutch to Komui’s shoulder to try and press the other man away, frown deepening. “We should wait,” he said firmly, eyes flicking toward the suite door as if a savior would appear if he wished for one hard enough.
“Unless someone arranged a visit I doubt anyone’s going to come bursting in from the corridor.” That flickering hadn’t gone unnoticed. Komui leaned on Link’s forbidding hand, letting the man hold him back.
“I don’t want to have to do this with Tyki gawping at us.”
“And I don’t want to do it at all.” Link remained where he was, rather intent on not being kissed. At all.
Komui didn't want to force the issue, but since it was rapidly becoming clear Link didn't want to reach a compromise he didn't have much choice. Taking advantage of his longer reach he cupped the back of Link's head.
"Inspector, it's just a kiss. I'm not going to grope you, I'm not going to declare my undying passion and we're not going to be filmed, unless someone else wakes up. I don't know about you, but I'd very much like to get back to my room and check the network. There's a week of news to catch up on and I want to hear when my gift has been received."
Link stared at Komui long and hard, conflict obvious in his eyes. It seemed a silly thing to be so adamant about, but the inspector was loathe to give in so easily when he was actually presented with a choice. Unfortunately, Komui seemed rather set on things going exactly as Link didn’t want them to.
He took one more glance at the room around them before loosing a frustrated sigh.
“... Make it quick.”
Permission! Komui acted before Link could change his mind, tilting the other man’s head up to a reasonably accessible angle and swooping in. He paused just before their lips met, realising that the entire plan could suffer from a single, fatal flaw.
“Relax a bit, Inspector, I don’t think this will work if you’re frowning so hard your lips are vanishing. You don’t want to have to do this twice.”
It was an effort not to pull back as Komui moved forward, even more so when he stopped so suddenly... but the man had a point. He wouldn’t have been surprised in the least to find that there were stipulations to further complicate things, and kissing Komui a second time was... not appealing.
He huffed a sigh and attempted to loosen his frown. Kissing should not be this difficult.
As soon as there was enough lip visible Komui closed the gap, planting a warm kiss on Link and doing his best to ignore the complete lack of enthusiasm from the smaller man.
Link stiffened immediately, sucking in a short breath and doing his best to put out of his mind just who he was kissing... but if he didn’t want to do it again, he would have to make some sort of effort. It would be his luck that a one-sided kiss wouldn’t count, after all. After a moment of awkward contact the inspector shut his eyes and returned some of that pressure, simple and closed-lipped.
Komui was honestly surprised at the response. He’d expected the stiffness and possibly shoving, but Link had either discovered a hidden passion for him or was terrified at the thought of a repeat performance., since he was kissing back. Komui pulled back after a moment and blinked down at him.
“Can you move, or do we need to apply more kisses?”
Link was quick to test their results, shifting his crutch back and sighing in relief when he found himself finally able to move. He wasted no time in putting another step’s worth of space between them, trying very hard not to look as awkward as he felt.
“No more kisses.”
“No more kisses.”Komui agreed. “Not until you’ve shaved and brushed your teeth.” He stepped back, escaping the mistletoe as he winked. It was an opportunity too good to pass up.
“Not if I can help it.” The inspector scowled, bending over carefully to retrieve his fallen crutch. Rather than settle it back beneath his arm when he straighted, he instead hefted it into the air and used it to knock the mistletoe from the ceiling before using the rubber end to grind the plant into the floor..
Komui cheered at Link’s success and began moving towards his room, circling the fallen plant. “Knock on my door once you’ve recovered. I’ve got a present for you that doesn’t involve locking any sorts of body parts together.”
With that he slipped int his room. It was time to watch for news of his present!
Where: Suite 3
When: Christmas evening
Summary: Black Order meetings weren’t usually held like this...
Rating: PG
Warnings: Brief man on man kissing.
After an entire week of sleep deprivation, Link hadn’t thought that anything would be able to rouse him from bed... nothing short of a massive explosion in the immediate vicinity, anyway, so he was understandably irritated when he woke after only twelve hours of sleep. On any normal week he’d be appalled at himself for sleeping for such a long stretch of time, but after what they’d all dealt with? He was willing to make an exception.
Unfortunately, his body had different plans, and it was with a heavy sigh, a bleary expression, and an overall disheveled look about him that he hobbled his way out of his and Allen’s shared room in search of important things. Like a bottle of water and a trip to the bathroom.
Komui, on the other hand, had been up since he’d woken out of his coma the day before. After months of sweating, soldering, bargaining, bribing and back-breaking labour, he’d finished his little present to Kanda Yu just in time for Christmas. Soon the samurai was going to receive his punishment for violating Lenalee’s palm with his tongue and the anticipation made Komui giddy with glee.
He was gleeful enough that when he pranced into his suite he didn’t hesitate to bounce over to the rumpled Inspector, arms thrown out wide.
“Merry Christmas!” He swooped, bending down to grab the short man in an enthusiastic embrace.
Link, unprepared for such an enthusiastic and heartfelt greeting, dropped one of his crutches and stumbled back several steps, staying upright only through Komui’s grip and a lucky jab of his remaining crutch. It was far too soon for this sort of interaction as far as he was concerned, but he managed to to suppress an undignified squawk and regain his balance fairly quickly.
“... Is it Christmas?” He mumbled into Komui’s chest, frowning heavily for a few moments before he tried to pull away, intent on collecting his fallen crutch... only to find that he couldn’t. Confused, he glanced down to see his foot rooted to the floor.
Komui beamed, chuffed by the fact Link was finally warming up to him and not attempting to escape his hugging as soon as he could. He eased his grip, his arms hanging loosely off of Link as the other man straightened.
“That’s right, you woke up just in time to catch the end of the day. Once you’re presentable we can sing carols or roast food bars or hang ribbons on one of the trees. I’ve even got a special little something just for you!” He let go of Link, straightening and trying to take a step back.
His slippers seemed to be stuck to the floor. Worse,his feet seemed to be stuck to his slippers. He wriggled his ankles futily, the bright grin dropping off of his face.
“You’re not standing here because you want to, are you?”
Link blinked down at the floor slowly before looking back to Komui and shaking his head.
“No. I’m not.”
Hesitating for just a second, Link turned his gaze upward, his heart sinking as he quickly identified the cause of their little problem. The unassuming little chunk of green hung just above their head, tethered to the ceiling with a neat red bow.
“Well... that explains that.”
Komui tilted his head back and groaned when he caught sight of what was above them. That jolly piece of parasitic plant meant he was probably going to go back to his room with bruises.
“Hold on a tick, I might be able to solve this.” He reached up, stretching his arm and just managing to brush the tip of his finger across the lowest leaf.
“If I could get up on tiptoe I’d be able to pull it down!” He huffed. “I could probably cut it down with one of your arm-knives.”
Link loosed a heavy sigh and shook his head. Of all the days...
“I haven’t put them on yet. They’re in my room.”
He tugged futilely at his remaining crutch, but it was stuck fast to the floor just as he was, and a quick survey of their surroundings revealed nothing particularly useful within reach. “I don’t suppose you have anything you could use to reach it, do you?”
Komui groaned again at Link’s dereliction of duty and took off his beret. “Of all the days.” He flapped his hat against the mistletoe, setting it to swinging but otherwise failing to solve their problem. He briefly contemplated taking off his belt to whip at the plant, but dismissed that plan quickly. Knowing the facility, that would only result in his trousers falling down and their feet still stuck to the floor.
“If we’re here for much longer Tyki’s going to turn up and start catcalling.” He looked down, raising an eyebrow to Link. “Any other ideas before we give in to the inevitable?”
The inspector fixed Komui with a flat expression. No. No, he was not going to give in to the mistletoe that easily if he could help it. And certainly not while opposite Komui.
“Tyki is irritating, but words will do no harm. Someone else will come through eventually.”
Komui returned the look, then shook his head. He was probably going to be stuck in this spot until reset if Link had his way.
“I wouldn’t put it past Val to stick a third person in with our muddle if they came too near.” He remarked, craning his neck to look at each of the doors in turn. “Out of Allen, the ghost of a 13 year old and a Noah, I’m not sure what would be the worst option.”
“So we just have to be sure that they don’t get too close...” Link turned a bit to judge the distance to each door himself. Davesprite wouldn’t be a problem, but if Allen rushed through their door without looking...
“There must be another way.”
“We could call for a lovely assistant...” Komui perked up at the thought that perhaps Tsunade would take pity. She had a delightfully forceful way about her. He patted his pockets, pausing once he remembered where he’d wanted to be sure he wouldn’t be filmed planting Kanda’s present..
“Tell me you didn’t leave your ‘berry with your armguards.”
Link reached to pat at his own pockets, irritation filtering across his face when he realized that his communicator was right where he’d left it the night before. Face down on his desk in his room. Far out of their reach.
“... I don’t take it into the bathroom.”
“I’m not going to have a puddle at my feet, am I?” Though Komui was convinced Link would rather hold on until his kidneys burst than let that happen. It was time to take charge and get it over with. Unshaven and unbrushed teeth wasn’t what Komui liked in a kiss, but those weren’t going to disappear if he waited longer.
“Close your eyes and imagine something that’ll stop you from lashing out.” He instructed, resting his hands lightly on Link’s shoulders.
“I can control myself, thank you!” Link spat out the words, his annoyance with the entire situation finally surfacing properly. A week of no sleep and awkward conversations, and now he was expected to kiss a man or remain trapped in his own suite for heaven knews how long.
He leaned back when Komui took hold of his shoulders, eyebrows furrowing as he tucked his head back, a firm “No” clear in his expression.
Komui narrowed his eyes, weighing up his options. Link’s crutch was stuck fast, so at least he couldn’t whack, but he could do a lot of damage with his arms and teeth. More importantly, that head tucking made it incredibly awkward to lock lips with their height difference.
“It’s now or later.” He bent his knees and hunched over, bringing himself down to Link’s diminutive eyeline.
Link raised the hand not holding the crutch to Komui’s shoulder to try and press the other man away, frown deepening. “We should wait,” he said firmly, eyes flicking toward the suite door as if a savior would appear if he wished for one hard enough.
“Unless someone arranged a visit I doubt anyone’s going to come bursting in from the corridor.” That flickering hadn’t gone unnoticed. Komui leaned on Link’s forbidding hand, letting the man hold him back.
“I don’t want to have to do this with Tyki gawping at us.”
“And I don’t want to do it at all.” Link remained where he was, rather intent on not being kissed. At all.
Komui didn't want to force the issue, but since it was rapidly becoming clear Link didn't want to reach a compromise he didn't have much choice. Taking advantage of his longer reach he cupped the back of Link's head.
"Inspector, it's just a kiss. I'm not going to grope you, I'm not going to declare my undying passion and we're not going to be filmed, unless someone else wakes up. I don't know about you, but I'd very much like to get back to my room and check the network. There's a week of news to catch up on and I want to hear when my gift has been received."
Link stared at Komui long and hard, conflict obvious in his eyes. It seemed a silly thing to be so adamant about, but the inspector was loathe to give in so easily when he was actually presented with a choice. Unfortunately, Komui seemed rather set on things going exactly as Link didn’t want them to.
He took one more glance at the room around them before loosing a frustrated sigh.
“... Make it quick.”
Permission! Komui acted before Link could change his mind, tilting the other man’s head up to a reasonably accessible angle and swooping in. He paused just before their lips met, realising that the entire plan could suffer from a single, fatal flaw.
“Relax a bit, Inspector, I don’t think this will work if you’re frowning so hard your lips are vanishing. You don’t want to have to do this twice.”
It was an effort not to pull back as Komui moved forward, even more so when he stopped so suddenly... but the man had a point. He wouldn’t have been surprised in the least to find that there were stipulations to further complicate things, and kissing Komui a second time was... not appealing.
He huffed a sigh and attempted to loosen his frown. Kissing should not be this difficult.
As soon as there was enough lip visible Komui closed the gap, planting a warm kiss on Link and doing his best to ignore the complete lack of enthusiasm from the smaller man.
Link stiffened immediately, sucking in a short breath and doing his best to put out of his mind just who he was kissing... but if he didn’t want to do it again, he would have to make some sort of effort. It would be his luck that a one-sided kiss wouldn’t count, after all. After a moment of awkward contact the inspector shut his eyes and returned some of that pressure, simple and closed-lipped.
Komui was honestly surprised at the response. He’d expected the stiffness and possibly shoving, but Link had either discovered a hidden passion for him or was terrified at the thought of a repeat performance., since he was kissing back. Komui pulled back after a moment and blinked down at him.
“Can you move, or do we need to apply more kisses?”
Link was quick to test their results, shifting his crutch back and sighing in relief when he found himself finally able to move. He wasted no time in putting another step’s worth of space between them, trying very hard not to look as awkward as he felt.
“No more kisses.”
“No more kisses.”Komui agreed. “Not until you’ve shaved and brushed your teeth.” He stepped back, escaping the mistletoe as he winked. It was an opportunity too good to pass up.
“Not if I can help it.” The inspector scowled, bending over carefully to retrieve his fallen crutch. Rather than settle it back beneath his arm when he straighted, he instead hefted it into the air and used it to knock the mistletoe from the ceiling before using the rubber end to grind the plant into the floor..
Komui cheered at Link’s success and began moving towards his room, circling the fallen plant. “Knock on my door once you’ve recovered. I’ve got a present for you that doesn’t involve locking any sorts of body parts together.”
With that he slipped int his room. It was time to watch for news of his present!