Fly Away

Chapter 27: Liquid courage(Stupidity)

"Thanks to all of you, the lieutenant general of Aizu, gave us wonderful words of praise! We're partying tonight! Drink as much as you can!" A roar rose from the gathered men. Rin wove her voice to the others. She felt happy. She'd had her fun at the demonstration and left more than a few confused. As it turned out, Souji hadn't been the only one to notice her little game: Sano hadn't said a thing, but the wink he gave her on the way home had been a dead giveaway. Toshi had had a few stern words for her, though the twinkle of amusement in his eye had betrayed him. He obviously enjoyed seeing them making fools of themselves.

Making her way across the room, she slid between Shin and Heisuke. Draping an arm over the latter's shoulders, she said:

"It's time for me to drink you all under the table!" A challenging grin spread over Shinpachi's face, Heisuke just sighed and said:

"Just don't leave me passed out in a tree again." Fun times were had in Edo.

"Can't guaranty that, I'm trying to get drunk too, ya know." The kiddo sighed again:

"I suppose that's the best I can hope for." As quick as it had appeared, the solemn expression washed off Heisuke's face, a wide grin in its place."Time to get some sake!" He trotted off to find some. Shin dropped his arm across her shoulders. She shrank away from the weight that now lay uncomfortably close to the still healing stab wound. The man retracted his arm as if he'd been shocked.

"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" A toothy grin spread over her face."Yes, Nakagura Shinpatchi, I find your lack of faith troubling."

"Is that a yes or a no?"

"It's a no ... ya big moron!" A visible tension in the man's body loosened. At that moment, Heisuke came crashing back into the circle, squeezing his way between Sano and Shin.

"I got some drinks!"

"Well, pass em around!"

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Liquid courage; that was what some people called alcohol, to Rin, it seemed more like liquid stupidity. And she'd taken a potent dose, nothing compared to her friends, draped over each other, talking nonsense, but still enough to now find herself sitting in Souji's lap, dozing on his shoulder. Rin was vaguely aware of the tension in the man's neck and shoulders, the tremors in his voice. Her arms were flung around his shoulders, her fingers tangled in his hair, her legs draped over his and her face was in the crook of his neck. She knew they were in a room filled to the brim with people, she was simply passed caring.

She felt Souji shift around, felt a soft rumble in his chest as he spoke, no doubt saying something about bringing her back to her room.

Silence wrapped around them as they left the rest to their celebrations. The moon was already high in the sky, casting a silvery veil over the world. Souji, for the first time in a long time, didn't know what to do with himself. He held Rin tightly, afraid to drop her. Her long fingers combed through this hair, grazing his neck. He was all too aware of how close to his chest her own was. He took a deep breath, steadying himself. Not the time for those kinds of thoughts.

He struggled to open the shoji to her room with his foot, succeeding after a few attempts. The room was dark, illuminated only by the faint light spilling through the doorway. Tucking the girl under the blanket, still dressed in the green kimono. The collar had parted, reveling more than intended. Souji swallow harshly, chucking the blanket over her. He was about to turn away when a surprisingly strong grip snagged his sleeve. He turned back, only to find the hand shifting from his sleeve, to his lapel.

Rin pulled Souji down to her level, he was almost crouching over her. Well, she'd already committed a fair amount of stupidities, why not just throw caution to the wind? Say 'fuck you' to prudence? Why the hell not?

She straightened out a bit. They're lips met a split second later and for a moment, he went along with her. He pulled away, as if he'd been shocked. He grinned:

"Do that again when you're sober, okay?" Then he left, hurrying back to the party hall.

"Fuck yeah, I'm doing that again." She smiled a crooked smile at nothing in particular.

Hello, all you really bored people ( you must be if you're reading this crap), I just need to ask, do you guys ship it? I do, but I have a bias, cuz I wrote it. I just want to make sure I've got this going in the right direction. If I'm off track, feel free to leave suggestions! I need them. Goodbye, bored people!