Middle Ground [1/1]
Title: Middle Ground [1/1]
Author: Melly
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Kariya/Uzuki
Warnings: Some language
Summary: Pregame. Sometimes, the first day is as hard for the Reapers as it is for the Players.
A/N: Written for powerofbondage during help_nz. There isn’t enough of these two out there, so it was nice to write for the pair. And since we only see a little bit of their relationship during the in-game weeks, it’s fun to play with what they were like before that time. Enjoy!
She thought she’d be happier upon being promoted, but after everything she’d heard about Koki Kariya and his less-than-enthusiastic work ethic, Uzuki couldn’t help but feel like she was being used as someone the officers could conveniently dump an irritating burden on. Well, if that was what it took, so be it. It wasn’t like she had expected this job to be easy.
Her new partner, on the other hand, seemed to assume everything was going to be easy. Or that it was going to be easy because he wasn’t going to bother getting off his ass.
“Do you plan on moving sometime today?” Uzuki glanced around the street, tapping the toe of her boot impatiently on the edge of the sidewalk before looking over her shoulder. Kariya’s only response was to lean his elbows on the backrest of the bench he was sitting on. Uzuki was going to take that as a tacit no, but she certainly wasn’t going to let it slide. “We have a job to do, remember?”
“Sure, I remember.” He took a lollipop out of the pocket of his parka vest, tilting it slightly towards Uzuki in an offering. When she shook her head, he shrugged, more for me, then, before peeling the wrapper off and popping the candy into his mouth. “Doesn’t mean I’m gonna do it.”
“What do you mean you’re not-” She turned on her heel, eyes narrowing. “There are Players to be erased, Players with no pacts yet, and you’re just going to sit there?”
“Yep.” He tilted his head back, pushing the lollipop into his cheek with his tongue so he could speak. “S’our first day on the job. I don’t think the higher ups are expecting much from us.”
“That’s not an excuse to do nothing!” What Uzuki really wanted to was strangle him, maybe that would get a reaction, but she settled for grabbing his shoulder and trying to pull him off the bench. “I’m not going to sit here and neither are you, so get up.”
“Whoa-” He nearly fell off his seat, which gave Uzuki a brief moment of satisfaction, before Kariya caught himself and glanced up at her. “Girl, you know stressing too much gives you wrinkles, right?”
“So, like, that’s what your plan is?” Uzuki rested one hand on her hip. “Be a lazy bum and become immortal?”
“That’s right.” He tossed her a lazy grin, teeth digging into the stick of his lollipop. “I’m gonna stay young forever.” Uzuki felt her lips twitch as she tried to hold back a return smile. God, she was actually amused by that, and the way Kariya was still grinning made her think he knew it.
“Listen, I might have been assigned to be your babysitter-”
“Babysitter?” Kariya quirked an eyebrow, but he seemed impressed rather than slighted. “So you picked up on that.”
“Your rep isn’t exactly gold-star.” Uzuki rolled her eyes. “But I’ll find some way to deal. You’re not getting in the way of me climbing the ladder.”
“Why d’you want to get to the top so bad anyway?” Kariya leaned his forearm on his knee, twirling the stick of his lollipop between his thumb and index finger.
“Nothing’s worth doing unless it’s done well. Besides, things would be boring otherwise.”
“Maybe. But it’s no fun if you work all the time and don’t kick back. Were you like this in life too?” He must have seen Uzuki’s jaw clench in irritation because he held one hand up placatingly a moment later, rectifying his previous question. “Aight, aight, too personal for first day water cooler talk, I get it. Don’t need to look so murderous. Remember what I said about wrinkles? You’ll ruin that pretty face.”
“Do you take anything seriously?” She folded her arms, a little wary about Kariya’s last quip.
“Occasionally I will. When I feel like it.” He shrugged, gesturing vaguely between them. “You know, being partners is about compromise.”
“Your point?”
“Well, it’s not like I don’t want this to work out.” Kariya shrugged again. “How about we make things interesting for the both of us?”
“Does this involve you actually working?” Uzuki frowned, still skeptical.
“Sure does.” Kariya stood from the bench as if to prove his point. “First one to erase five Players wins. Loser buys lunch.”
“Ugh, that’s just a bet.” Wrinkling her nose, Uzuki turned away from Kariya to look back at the street.
“What’s the problem?” She saw, from the corner of her eye, Kariya moving to stand next to her, one hand slipping into the pocket of his parka. “I don’t like parting with my cash, so I’ll actually try a bit, and you get some points. It’s a win-win, but you gotta meet me halfway here.” Uzuki tapped a finger to her lips, thinking. So maybe her partner was lazy as hell, but he wasn’t as stupid as he looked. And it was just the first day. She had plenty more to figure out a better way to prod Kariya into actually doing his job. And she would find a way. But for now…
“Just five?”
“Seven,” Kariya amended. “Take it you’re up for it, then?”
“Why not?” She started down the sidewalk, now scanning the crowd with more purpose. “Can’t turn down a free meal.”
“See what compromise does?” Kariya followed her, strides long and easy. “And you’re assuming you’re going to win, girl.”
“Because I am.” Another week, another Game, and the city was surging. It felt more comfortable than she would have thought with a partner beside her, better now that there was a goal in her mind. A small, nagging part of her wondered if this was exactly what Kariya wanted, since he seemed the type to indulge a minimal amount of effort in order to secure free time later, but if he wanted to play that game, Uzuki would play her own. Not exactly the ideal alliance, but, Kariya did mention compromise.
It could work. It could work totally fine.
Author: Melly
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Kariya/Uzuki
Warnings: Some language
Summary: Pregame. Sometimes, the first day is as hard for the Reapers as it is for the Players.
A/N: Written for powerofbondage during help_nz. There isn’t enough of these two out there, so it was nice to write for the pair. And since we only see a little bit of their relationship during the in-game weeks, it’s fun to play with what they were like before that time. Enjoy!
She thought she’d be happier upon being promoted, but after everything she’d heard about Koki Kariya and his less-than-enthusiastic work ethic, Uzuki couldn’t help but feel like she was being used as someone the officers could conveniently dump an irritating burden on. Well, if that was what it took, so be it. It wasn’t like she had expected this job to be easy.
Her new partner, on the other hand, seemed to assume everything was going to be easy. Or that it was going to be easy because he wasn’t going to bother getting off his ass.
“Do you plan on moving sometime today?” Uzuki glanced around the street, tapping the toe of her boot impatiently on the edge of the sidewalk before looking over her shoulder. Kariya’s only response was to lean his elbows on the backrest of the bench he was sitting on. Uzuki was going to take that as a tacit no, but she certainly wasn’t going to let it slide. “We have a job to do, remember?”
“Sure, I remember.” He took a lollipop out of the pocket of his parka vest, tilting it slightly towards Uzuki in an offering. When she shook her head, he shrugged, more for me, then, before peeling the wrapper off and popping the candy into his mouth. “Doesn’t mean I’m gonna do it.”
“What do you mean you’re not-” She turned on her heel, eyes narrowing. “There are Players to be erased, Players with no pacts yet, and you’re just going to sit there?”
“Yep.” He tilted his head back, pushing the lollipop into his cheek with his tongue so he could speak. “S’our first day on the job. I don’t think the higher ups are expecting much from us.”
“That’s not an excuse to do nothing!” What Uzuki really wanted to was strangle him, maybe that would get a reaction, but she settled for grabbing his shoulder and trying to pull him off the bench. “I’m not going to sit here and neither are you, so get up.”
“Whoa-” He nearly fell off his seat, which gave Uzuki a brief moment of satisfaction, before Kariya caught himself and glanced up at her. “Girl, you know stressing too much gives you wrinkles, right?”
“So, like, that’s what your plan is?” Uzuki rested one hand on her hip. “Be a lazy bum and become immortal?”
“That’s right.” He tossed her a lazy grin, teeth digging into the stick of his lollipop. “I’m gonna stay young forever.” Uzuki felt her lips twitch as she tried to hold back a return smile. God, she was actually amused by that, and the way Kariya was still grinning made her think he knew it.
“Listen, I might have been assigned to be your babysitter-”
“Babysitter?” Kariya quirked an eyebrow, but he seemed impressed rather than slighted. “So you picked up on that.”
“Your rep isn’t exactly gold-star.” Uzuki rolled her eyes. “But I’ll find some way to deal. You’re not getting in the way of me climbing the ladder.”
“Why d’you want to get to the top so bad anyway?” Kariya leaned his forearm on his knee, twirling the stick of his lollipop between his thumb and index finger.
“Nothing’s worth doing unless it’s done well. Besides, things would be boring otherwise.”
“Maybe. But it’s no fun if you work all the time and don’t kick back. Were you like this in life too?” He must have seen Uzuki’s jaw clench in irritation because he held one hand up placatingly a moment later, rectifying his previous question. “Aight, aight, too personal for first day water cooler talk, I get it. Don’t need to look so murderous. Remember what I said about wrinkles? You’ll ruin that pretty face.”
“Do you take anything seriously?” She folded her arms, a little wary about Kariya’s last quip.
“Occasionally I will. When I feel like it.” He shrugged, gesturing vaguely between them. “You know, being partners is about compromise.”
“Your point?”
“Well, it’s not like I don’t want this to work out.” Kariya shrugged again. “How about we make things interesting for the both of us?”
“Does this involve you actually working?” Uzuki frowned, still skeptical.
“Sure does.” Kariya stood from the bench as if to prove his point. “First one to erase five Players wins. Loser buys lunch.”
“Ugh, that’s just a bet.” Wrinkling her nose, Uzuki turned away from Kariya to look back at the street.
“What’s the problem?” She saw, from the corner of her eye, Kariya moving to stand next to her, one hand slipping into the pocket of his parka. “I don’t like parting with my cash, so I’ll actually try a bit, and you get some points. It’s a win-win, but you gotta meet me halfway here.” Uzuki tapped a finger to her lips, thinking. So maybe her partner was lazy as hell, but he wasn’t as stupid as he looked. And it was just the first day. She had plenty more to figure out a better way to prod Kariya into actually doing his job. And she would find a way. But for now…
“Just five?”
“Seven,” Kariya amended. “Take it you’re up for it, then?”
“Why not?” She started down the sidewalk, now scanning the crowd with more purpose. “Can’t turn down a free meal.”
“See what compromise does?” Kariya followed her, strides long and easy. “And you’re assuming you’re going to win, girl.”
“Because I am.” Another week, another Game, and the city was surging. It felt more comfortable than she would have thought with a partner beside her, better now that there was a goal in her mind. A small, nagging part of her wondered if this was exactly what Kariya wanted, since he seemed the type to indulge a minimal amount of effort in order to secure free time later, but if he wanted to play that game, Uzuki would play her own. Not exactly the ideal alliance, but, Kariya did mention compromise.
It could work. It could work totally fine.