(Untitled)

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Who: Hitsugaya Toshirou and Frau
When: January 1
Where:  Winther's Lake
Summary:  Frau is having a rough time, major teasing relieves some of the stress
Warnings: Lots of anger thanks to ticking each other off

Comments

[icy_heavens]

He wasn't coming out here as often as he had during the warmer months; the surrounding temperature of the city wasn't so unbearable now that he felt the need to go to the water's edge so much. But it was quiet here, and that was still very much welcome. The city was too noisy at times.

Especially now that that stupid kid . . . god . . . whatever the hell he was had seen fit to practically force people to get drunk today.

He hadn't expected to see anyone else about, but he noticed Frau lounging up in the tree. Why even bother going up there?

"... Is there any particular reason you're up in that tree?"

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Had Frau not had the reflexes he did, he likely would have fallen right out of the tree. Thankfully the sudden sound of Hitsugaya's voice only caused him to snap his head up and focus down on the speaker. He would answer Hitsugaya's questions, but it likely wouldn't be a satisfactory answer. It would be a typical Frau answer that gave away nothing.

"More than one."

Well, it was true. Completely true. Frau also knew that it would likely drive Hitsugaya nuts. Just the thought of that brought a huge grin to his face. This could get interesting.

[icy_heavens]

Not falling out of the tree was probably a good thing, since Hitsugaya probably would have been judgemental about that. What kind of clumsy idiot fell out of a tree?

And evasive answers? Really? It wasn't a complicated or probing question. There was nothing wrong with not being a smartass about it. He was unamused and it showed in his frown -- though the frown was no deeper than usual. "Such as?"

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"It's high up."

That was the least revealing answer at least. It did reveal a lot, but likely only to someone who already knew or someone who would take a long time to analyze it. Frau bounded lightly down from branch to branch, an action that any normal person wouldn't be able to do. He landed lightly beside Hitsugaya and didn't seem even remotely concerned with what he'd just done.

[icy_heavens]

Come to think of it, the last time he'd randomly run into Frau, it had been on top of a building, hadn't it? And he'd seemed stupidly excited about the flight aspect of that silly Christmas story. Something about high places must have held some appeal to him.

Something like that wasn't really a foreign concept to Hitsugaya; he rather liked the open sky as well. But that tree? "Not particularly."

A stiff wind blew over him as he critically eyed the tree, but he didn't pay it any mind, didn't even flinch, as the temperature was a pleasant one to him rather than a freezing one. The tree was taller than most in the area, but he had seen far more impressive, truth be told.

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"It's the best I've got."

Frau didn't sound particularly thrilled either. In fact, the tree had been barely worth climbing. The only reason he'd stayed up there was because it was a tree. Anything else of that height wouldn't have been worth it.

When the cold breeze hit Frau he immediately started shifting around. If he stayed still too long in this temperature, his joints were start to lock up. The heating pack he had on would prevent him from freezing solid, but that didn't mean his fingers wouldn't become stiff or altogether frozen. Hitsugaya didn't seem cold though. And he was only wearing...

"What the hell are you doing, you idiot?!"

[icy_heavens]

And that question brought out a baffled glare. Idiot? For what? He wasn't even doing anything, and his last statement had been met with agreement.

"What do you mean, what the hell am I doing? What's wrong with you?"

Okay, he privately thought there were a lot of things wrong with Frau, but this one was just confusing him. Nothing was even happening, damn it.

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"It's freezing out here, and you have no clothes on! It's insane!"

Frau stalked toward Hitsugaya, irritation coloring his face. He was going to need to do something about this it seemed. Of course, Hitsugaya wasn't just going to let him help either. That was okay. Frau could handle stubborn, pig-headed kids who never listened or accepted help. There were easy methods to deal with them.

Frau used one of those right then. He grabbed the back of Hitsugaya's shirt and tossed him over his shoulder. After Hitsugaya was settled easily like a sake of potatoes, Frau started off.

[icy_heavens]

Oh, for the love of -- He hated when people started talking like this. And really, what the hell was with that phrasing? "It's not freezing. Not to me. And I've got clothes on."

Perhaps he might have been able to avoid being picked up and slung over Frau's shoulder had he been even remotely prepared for such an action. No one had ever done something so stupid and ridiculous to him in his entire life. Or if they had, it was so far back that he didn't remember it.

For a moment, he was just so incredibly stunned at the action that he couldn't do anything. But that moment didn't last long, and much to his private chagrin, there was an instant of instinctive, aimless flailing.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, you dumbass? Let go."

And for good measure, he aimed an elbow at the back of Frau's head. Though whether it would connect remained to be seen. Hitsugaya wasn't exactly used to fighting at such an awkward angle.

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Unlike Hitsugaya, Frau was expecting the retaliation. Teito did it all the time. Even after the kid suffered through the same treatment time and time again, he still tried to go after Frau. Hitsugaya attacking him was no different, except that it didn't involve zaiphon. He easily shifted his head aside so the blow wouldn't land as strongly as it could have.

"Knock that off, would you?"

To add a bit of encouragement to his words, Frau gave Hitsugaya a firm shake.

[icy_heavens]

Damn. And of course, all that shaking only served to piss him off even more. He was a shinigami captain; he would not be treated with this kind of indignity.

"I'd knock it off if you'd put me the hell down."

But it seemed that logic wasn't going to get him anywhere. However, perhaps kidou could succeed where logic had failed. Nothing too drastic; just enough to get him out of this humiliating situation.

He aimed his palm down at Frau's ankles. This, at least, would be an easy shot to make. "Hainawa."

A brighly-glowing rope of reiatsu shot out of his palm and wrapped around Frau's ankles, Hitsugaya already bracing himself for the inevitable stumble and fall.

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Stumble Frau did. Fall, not quite. He had far too much training and agility to fall when he knew Hitsugaya wasn't done fighting back. It had been a very close call though. And he'd never admit that he was saved by a nearby tree either.

"If I put you down you'll never come with me to get a coat! Free my legs!"

Frau hated being tied up, mainly because it was Castor's means of punishing him. Or controlling him. Or stopping him from doing something. The list was nearly endless. Stupid doll freak.

[icy_heavens]

Damn it. But he could still work with this.

"I don't need a damn coat. I'm not cold. I don't get cold. And I'm doing no such thing until you put me down."

And he'd be tempted to leave him that way after. The kidou would wear off eventually if he weren't around to maintain it. But it was the principle of the thing.

Another kidou, then. It was a simple, basic spell, but at his level there would be a tremendous force behind it. "Shou."

Hopefully, the sudden, immense pressure at Frau's back would knock him off of the tree and finally get him onto the ground where Hitsugaya could get himself away.

[ibreakrules]

The power hit Frau with more than he could hold out against. He went down hard, hitting the ground in an instant. The sudden impact loosened his grip on Hitsugaya. Frau slowly pushed himself up, growling in rage as he did.

"What the hell?!"

[icy_heavens]

The second he felt the grip loosen, he wriggled free and managed to land in a deep crouch as Frau went down. He straightened at the growl, his own expression cold and hard.

"If you'd listened to me at all, I wouldn't have had to do that, idiot."

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"If you would have used common sense I wouldn't have had to either!"

Frau snapped back. He'd been on edge for awhile, and the tree had been his place to try and not think about Teito. Now, here he was, thinking about the kid again. How couldn't he? Everything that had just happened was so familiar to him. The loneliness, fear, and despair couldn't be shoved away forever.