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As if he were a prism himself, refracting the bland into a rainbow, color is something he never tires of. Where his partner is content with white and black, tan and muted shades of neutral, Ginji is drawn to colorful things like a buzzing bee to a flower. His eyes are caught and held by the clear summer sky, sparkles on the lake in the park make him dance, and he picks up half dead leaves wherever they walk, marveling at the shifting hues in each one. Ban had expected Ginji to ask for food with the meager money they'd collected on their most recent job, so his request had come as a surprise. Ban was happy to indulge him, though - grateful, really, that for once, he could. Driving towards the Honky Tonk, he had watched out of the corner of his eye as Ginji withdrew them one by one from the box, marveling over each, handing them as delicately as if they had been made of glass. Sitting inside a booth at the Honky Tonk, Natsumi gives Ginji a couple of napkins, where he doodles carefully... a tree, the sun, a cat, a pizza... So intent on his drawings, he ignores the coffee and sandwiches when they arrive, and it is this that worries Ban the most. Reaching across the table, he slips a gentle hand over Ginji's, glancing around quickly to be sure that no one is watching. "Ginji... aren't you hungry?" "Iie, Ban-chan..." he murmurs, a round red blob appearing beside the tree. "Is that an apple?" Ban queries, leaving his hand over Ginji's right, watching the left circle again and again. "It's my ball..." The matter-of-fact answer is almost childlike in its simplicity and Ban sighs lightly, squeezing Ginji's hand. The last thing he wants is for Ginji to slip away into the melancholy reminiscing that still occasionally haunts him. "A red ball, eh?" The statement is pointless, really, but Ban doesn't know what else to say. Sometimes he can't reach Ginji in these moments, and it's easier to wait on the other end for his partner to discover his own revelation. "Is red your favorite color?" In all these years, he can't believe that he'd never thought to ask. "No..." Ginji finishes the ball and withdraws his hand to slip the crayon back into the box. "I had most of a box of crayons, a very long time ago..." His expression is thoughtful, but not sad, vague but not distant. "Teshimine found it for me, after the ball got lost... and even though I was excited, it was also kinda sad, because it was missing my favorite color." "But now you've got a full box... no missing pieces." "That's right," Ginji replies, and his grin reappears, lighting up round and warm chocolate eyes. He pulls out a crayon, reaching to tap the end of it against the bridge of Ban's glasses. It is the same brilliant blue as his eyes. "I found the missing color."
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©1998-08 Tamzen Marie Baker |