Last Day of Freedom

Marius looked about as thrilled to be back as any other teacher. He'd enjoyed the break, leaving the city to visit his mother and see a few old friends back in his hometown. He wasn't from Roulette, but he'd made the place his home. He'd lived here for about five years, so why not. The skinny male with his wavy pink hair and ocean blue eyes sat at the table, his black leather skinny jeans left nothing to the imagination, and his shirt was white and baggy with the joker plastered on the front like graffiti. To hell with wearing professional clothes today, it was his last day of freedom before he had to deal with snot nosed brats who thought they owned the world. He rolled his eyes and let his head fall back. "Perhaps I should start filling my water bottle with vodka," he snickered.

Kinaga leaned back in his chair reading a magazine. The two front feet of the chair were in the air, and Kinaga's feet were propped casually on the table. He gave a small wave to Marius when he came into the room, mostly focused on his magazine. Unlike usual, when he would wear contacts, Kinaga was wearing a pair of black framed glasses as he read. He had on black pants and a white shirt, with a black suit jacket on over it. This was really his normal 'teacher' attire, minus the glasses. He smirked and lowered the magazine when Marius said he should start filling his water bottle with vodka. "That would set a bad example," the blue haired male joked.

"Kinny, darling, seriously," he began, giving the other a look. "Do you think these brats care for education or bad examples. They can hardly manage wiping their own asses." He sighed. "I miss summer vacation already, but I guess there are a few perks to coming back to this place." He scooted his chair closer. "I get to see your pretty little face. Mmm, I've missed you so much," he said sweetly. "Tell me, how was your vacation? Was it lonely without me to warm your bed," he asked. He turned his head to the door at the sound of shuffling steps, catching a glimpse of Jaymaru Iruki's hair as she walked away, clearly not interested in his jokes and flirts today. He turned back to Kinaga. "Oops," he said with a whisper. He pulled on the magazine the other was so engulfed in. "What ya readin'?"

"Hey now, some of them are still salvageable," Kinaga joked with a light chuckle. He only joked with Marius like this. He didn't actually believe these children were hopeless. If he did, he never would have started teaching. Not a single one of these children were beyond the point of being helped. Many of them were very bright, and even those who had trouble weren't doomed to failure. Kinaga enjoyed helping the student when he could. It was why in his spare time (which he had little of nowadays), he often took to trying to keep up with what the other teachers were teaching the students in case they needed help with that particular subject. And if a student was failing or having trouble in a class and had a test the class period after his, Kinaga would usually let them study for it in his class so long as they tried to make up the work.

Blue eyes lifted from their magazine again when Marius said there were a few perks to coming back to the school. "Oh?" He grinned and gave a small chuckle when the pink haired male gave his reasoning. He couldn't say that Marius didn't amuse him. This guy was such a flirt that it was hard not to play along. However, Kinaga had jokes of his own, so teasing Marius with them was kinda fun too. He blinked and glanced to the door when Jaymaru walked out, giving a slightly sheepish smile. Poor woman. She'd only been here a couple years. Not nearly long enough to get used to their antics. "Marius," he started lightly, putting a hand casually on the other's head, "it was summer vacation, my friend. My bed was plenty warm," he joked with a grin, taking his hand off Marius' head with a snicker. "Hm? This? Nothing really," he said, adjusting his glasses. "It's just a National Geographic. They discovered some new ruins out near where some dinosaur fossils were located. Apparently deeper underground than the fossils themselves," Kinaga said lightly, a small spark in his eye. There was really nothing he loved better than history. He was honestly glad that when he'd come here that they'd been looking for someone to replace the recently hired history teacher. It was only supposed to be temporary at first, but he got so good at the job that they ended up deciding to keep him.

Marius huffed. "Yes, I think they only behave in your class is because if they don't they can kiss their good grades goodbye in mine," he said with a wink. When Kinaga spoke about his bed being warm because of summer, he looked as though someone had just dumped water over his head. Marius gave a small sniffle and sat back in his chair. He didn't get why Kinaga just didn't indulge him for once in his life. Marius was a jack of all trades and handsome and charming and this guy was practically immune. He sighed and rested his head on the table. "Your history shit is boring, no one cares about ancient ruins and bones. I mean, it does nothing for us. Home economics is where it's at." He gently drew circles on the table with his finger, glancing up at Kinaga. "Um, so...you never answered my question. How was your summer?"

Kinaga chuckled. "Don't go threatening my students like that. They behave because they love me," he joked. At the look on Marius' face, Kinaga couldn't help but to laugh, but he had to put a hand over his face to keep from actually bursting out into laughter, and he looked off to the side, his face red with the effort of trying not to laugh. Oh god, he looked like a sad puppy, that was hilarious. "Aw, don't be so cold Marius. It's still technically summer," Kinaga snickered. God his jokes were awful. And then Marius went and asked how his summer was, still looking like a sad puppy. "Not bad. I didn't do much honestly. Okay, well...maybe that's a lie," Kinaga said with an embarrassed smile before looking off to the side. "I went to one of these excavation sites," he said lightly, putting a finger on the magazine that was resting in his lap. He was still leaning back in his chair, but now he started rocking a bit. "Go figure, they found these ruins a couple days after I left. If they had found them sooner, the school might have been without a history teacher for a semester or two," he said with a smile. Sad thing was, he was being completely serious. He would have given anything to have seen the ruins discovered. "How was your summer?" he asked the pink haired male, looking curiously to him.

Marius didn't find the joke funny at all. Kinaga was just being an ass now. He rolled his eyes and looked off to the side. "God you're so old...who even makes jokes like that," he asked gruffly. He put his head on the table when Kinaga started talking about caverns and other boring things. "Why did I even ask?" He sighed heavily. "Can we not talk about things related to our jobs, I mean seriously, do you have any idea how boring that all sounds," he asked. "Nevermind, of course you don't, else you wouldn't have brought it up...." When asked about his summer he looked to the blue eyed male. "I went to see my mom back in Shibuya, and a few of my old friends. Then when I got back to town, I ran into...." He trailed off for a moment. "I um, ran into Tobias....but we didn't talk or anything." That was the soft way of saying that that heartless bastard had turned his nose up at him and gone the other way. Marius was hopelessly clinging to the idea that maybe this break up was just a desperate cry for extended space, but he wasn't hung up over it or anything. It would have been nice to talk to the guy though. It'd been a little over a year and they hadn't exchanged a single word since. That was what was really upsetting, considering that Marius had uprooted his life to move to Roulette City. He poked at the tattoo on his arm. "I wish the summer was longer...."

Kinaga couldn't help but look a bit offended when Marius called him old. "Ouch. Okay, that was uncalled for. And technically my job is as a teacher. Being an archaeologist is more of a hobby," he pointed out with a chuckle. Marius could be mean when nobody indulged in his teasing. Oh well. "Oh yeah? How's your mom doing? She still alright?" He knew that Marius tried to take care of his mom as best as he could. She was important to him. Kinaga and his dad still hung out sometimes, but his mom had died ages ago. When Marius trailed off, the blue haired male looked at him curiously. Oh, the ex-boyfriend. Kinaga frowned lightly and set his chair back on all fours, putting his magazine on the table and crossing his arms on the table, leaning forward to look at Marius. "You okay?" Oh, he knew about the boyfriend. He'd hung out at Marius' and Tobias' place a couple years back. They'd been so close back then, and then Tobias had just dropped Marius like a rock.

Marius smirked. "Hmm, wouldn't you make a lot more money as an archaeologist. Perhaps you wouldn't be so boring and you could travel and not worry about abandoning the students and feeling guilty about it later." The pink haired male then rubbed his nose lightly. "Mom is fine. She went out and bought herself a kitty. It's quite adorable," he mused. He loved and adored his mom and when his dad walked out, claiming he wasn't ready to raise a kid, that hadn't stopped his mother from pushing forward and raising Marius to be great in every way possible. All he wanted to do was give back to her for all she'd done for him. He glanced at Kinaga when the other asked if he was okay. "Yeah, I just wish he'd talk to me. You'd think that after spending almost four years of your life with someone that they'd at least shoot you a text every now and then." Marius sat up. "But a kiss would make me feel all the better."

"I would," Kinaga said, giving a light nod. "But I like kids. Besides, these kids are the future of the city. I'd like to have a part in making sure this city continues thriving." His mom bought a cat? That was simply adorable. "Heh, cute. I love cats," he chuckled lightly. He could only shrug when Marius said he wished the guy would talk to him. "Some people are just jerks. You'll find someone better, Mar." Blue eyes blinked in confusion before the older male raised an eyebrow. "Marius...I hate to crush your dreams, but if the guy won't even text you, I'm pretty sure a kiss is out of the question." Okay, so maybe he could be a bit of an airhead sometimes.

Marius smirked. "I like the kids too, they're an interesting bunch," he mused. "Some are better than others, and some make me wonder where the hell they were raised," he said with a huff. "No home training." Ocean blue eyes almost watered when Kinaga said he'd find someone better. "Four years...I moved from Shibuya to Roulette for him. I thought we might...." He trailed off because saying it aloud only made him feel all the more miserable. That misery dissolved however when Kinaga spoke of Tobias not giving him a kiss. He gave a small laugh. "God you're daft. I don't need a kiss from him, I wanted one from you." He shook his head.

Kinaga nodded at Marius' assessment of the kids. It was true. Some were better than others in terms of how they were raised. The blue haired male frowned when Marius said he'd thought him and Tobias would...well, something. Kinaga was assuming marriage, but who knew. He lightly rubbed Marius' back. "Hey, don't worry about him. Maybe there's a reason you ended up in Roulette, you know?" he said with a light smile. He pulled his hand back and blinked when Marius laughed. He blinked again when the other stated why he was laughing. Well now he just felt silly. "Oh. Um." He didn't exactly know what to say or do here. Marius was dealing with some emotional stress right now, and he wasn't about to take advantage of that. Besides, despite all the flirting, they'd only ever been just friends. For the past five years they'd been friends. Kinaga briefly wondered if Marius had had these thoughts about him before. "Well that's embarrassing," he said with a small chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck.

Marius couldn't take comfort in those words. He'd thought the rest of his life would be spent with Tobias, and then the guy just up and walked away. Marius didn't understand why and maybe that would help give him closure on all of this. Marius was flirty among other things, so when Tobias had come into his life, he hadn't been quick to win over, but they'd moved in together, talked about starting a life together, the whole nine yards and within four years it had all just up and vanished, almost without a trace. Had it not been for the pictures and the few things that Tobias had left behind, Marius would have thought himself delusional. He'd given his heart, but he'd never make that mistake again. "I miss my friends," he said almost childishly when Kinaga tried to comfort him, saying there might have been a reason he was here in Roulette. "I had a life back there. I was closer to my mother, I had my business, my friends, and suddenly he just waltzed into my life and then nothing." Ocean blue eyes reflected an amount of hurt that his voice dared not portray, for it might slip away into anger and he didn't want to take it out on Kinaga. He leaned back in his chair again, face towards the ceiling to keep the tears from falling. He managed another smile as Kinaga spoke of his embarrassment. "I can only imagine, but back to the initiate issue, are you going to kiss me or not?"

Kinaga listened quietly as Marius spoke. Though their situations were vastly different, he knew what it felt like to have the whole world suddenly fall out from under you. "You can always go back to Shibuya," he said with a light smile. He'd miss his friend, but maybe it was better for him to be surrounded by his family and friends. He seen the hurt in Marius' eyes. It wasn't hard to pick up. He blinked again when the pink haired male asked if he was going to kiss him. "Sorry pal, not when you're in a state like this," he said with a small chuckle. Marius was way too vulnerable right now. He could never do something like that, not even if it was to cheer the guy up. There were other ways of cheering people up, and Kinaga's methods didn't involve taking advantage of the person in question.

Marius gave a small sniffle. "Why? I've been here for five years now. I've made this place my home and it'd be weird going back. I like Roulette." He rolled his eyes when Kinaga told him no because he was too emotional. "For christ's sake, I may be gay, but I'm still a man. I don't ask for things on impulse when I'm upset like some whiny little woman." He pushed his fingers through his wavy hair, stopping by his ear. "Now I really need a drink. Guess I've lost all my charm to the heartless leech." He flipped his hair carelessly before he stood up and went over to the fridge. "I'll tell you one thing," he muttered. "He'll never find anyone as good as me. I could have pulled so much better. Shame I settled for that." He grabbed himself a Capri Sun. He had happily stacked the bottom half of the fridge with the delicious little drinks. It was his go to drink since he couldn't drink alcoholic beverages. "

Kinaga frowned lightly. "If staying here is going to make you keep thinking about him, maybe it'd be better for you to move back," he said softly, giving a small shrug. "I mean, so long as you promise to visit me once in a while, I won't be too sad," he joked. "Hey, you're human. You're liable to get emotional just like anyone else. Has nothing to do with whether you're a man or not," Kinaga said lightly, taking off his glasses and cleaning them with his shirt. "I wouldn't say all you're charm. You're still a pretty charmin' guy," he joked, putting his glasses back on his face. "If he keeps treating others like he treated you, he won't find a damn soul willing to stay with him. Can I get one of those?" he asked, looking over his shoulder and holding a hand up as if to catch one if Marius decided to be generous and toss him one. If he ever took any of the pouches from the fridge, he usually bought a new case once the supply started getting low.

Marius perked up, the Capri Sun straw in his mouth. "You'd want me to visit? How could I ever leave knowing you'd miss me every single day of every single hour." He touched his chest. "I am once more loved." He grabbed a Capri Sun for Kinaga and then closed the fridge after tossing the drink to the other. "Seriously though, I'll think about him regardless of where I go. Besides, it's been over a year, I need to start letting go and get back into the dating scene. All this loneliness is starting to bum me out." He sat down. "Phew, I was beginning to think I was losing this classiness of mine," he said with a wink. "Sometimes I forget you're immune. I don't know what the hell is problem is. I guess he just wasn't ready and didn't know how to say as much. Oh well, fuck 'em, I'm into guys with blue hair anyway."

"I wouldn't go so far as to say every single hour. But I would miss you. You're probably my best friend here," Kinaga said with a small chuckle. He got along with everyone else, but him and Marius were closer than he was with the others. He couldn't help but chuckle when Marius said he was once more loved. The blue haired male caught the drink pouch with ease, popping the straw in when Marius closed the fridge. "Mmhm. I hate to say it like this, but the guy's not worth waiting for or hanging onto. You should get back out there." Says the man who had been single for the past five years of his life. He couldn't help but chuckle when Marius winked at him, taking a sip out of the Capri Sun. "I'm immune to a lot of thing, apparently," he snickered. He blinked when Marius said he was into guys with blue hair before laughing. "Oh yeah? That right?"

Blue eyes widened. "Did I hear correctly? You think of me as a best friend?" He scooted his chair even closer. "Oh Kinny, you know the way to a man's heart," he said, batting his lashes. Marius didn't want to move on. He'd gotten too used to being with one person. Before Tobias, Marius was pretty free with who he was with. One night stands, back alley fun, cheap motel rooms. He rubbed his face. "I guess you're right," he murmured. "Too bad summer vacation is over," he said with a sigh. "I guess I'll try the whole online dating thing. I just hope I don't run into some weirdo who's going to string me up in his basement for nine years....." He smirked. "You can't resist me forever Kinny. I'm free, you're free, no one has to know." He leaned forward a bit. "It doesn't have to be serious. I mean, I loved the whole black hair and blue eyes thing, but blue hair and blue eyes, that's quite the combo, don't you think?"

"Yeah, you heard right. What, is it not the same for you?" Kinaga asked curiously. Now he was just being a total ass. He wasn't actually curious about it at all. If Marius didn't think of him as one of his best friends, it wasn't like he was going to judge the guy for it. He wasn't going to hate the guy for it or think any less of him. The blue haired male chuckled lightly when Marius batted his eyelashes at him. However, he frowned lightly at what he assumed to be a crude attempt at humor from the pink haired male. If that happened, how would anyone find Marius? "To avoid that, you should just let me know where you're going for the date before hand so I can stalk the two of you and make sure the guy is good for you," Kinaga joked with a snicker. He wasn't joking. He wouldn't stalk their date, but at least he'd know where Marius had been meeting the guy just in case something did happen. Online dating was a scary thing with all the technology available nowadays. The blue haired male raised an eyebrow when Marius leaned forward and spoke to him of how he couldn't resist forever. "Really? I always thought it was rather mundane," Kinaga spoke casually, as if he wasn't at all affected by Marius being this close to him. In reality...Kinaga had been rather lonely, lately. It had been so long since Shisu died. He missed her dearly, but he also missed having someone he could share things with. He knew that Shisu would want him to be out and about again. Hell, she'd told him jokingly once that if she ever died, she didn't want him to cry over it for too long. She'd told him a couple weeks at the most. Even though she'd been joking, he hadn't found it funny at all. Not at the time, and not even now. But still...he couldn't help but think of how nice it would be to have some kind of relationship again. Even if it was just a 'friends with benefits' thing with Marius. Of course, even if he did think it would be nice...he had never been the type to make the first move. Hell, even Shisu had been the one to kiss him first. Besides, he was...nervous, about getting back into that kind of thing again.

"What? Of course it is, I just...I don't know, I guess I thought you had a different best friend or something. Or maybe I just have the wrong idea of what best friends do for other best friends," he said with a silly smile. "Or you could take me on a date," he mused. "I doubt you'd be the type to string me up in a basement." He pushed his hair behind his ear. "W-what do you mean, mundane? There's nothing dull about it," he huffed. He leaned back and sighed. "God, why can't I get some action around here. That new Math teacher Cheshire is kind of hot. I swear he's wearing contacts. Who has silver eyes anyway? And that hair, it's so blond it's almost white and he's so pale. I bet he never goes outside. I bet he's into online dating. I'll have to hack into his laptop and find his profile," he said with a mischievous grin.

Kinaga raised an eyebrow when Marius fell over his words. He was just playing. The blue haired male shook his head lightly. "Nope. You're really my best friend," he told the other honestly. He was. All of Shisu's friends or family lived out of town, and her family had never really approved of him anyways. They'd all thought he would end up quitting his job as a teacher and running off to some dig site and abandon Shisu. He had never, not once, planned on doing that. And he'd promised that if he'd ever got the chance, he would take her to see the world. She'd found his nerdiness to be cute, and she would have followed him to a dig site just to see him nerd out about all the archeological stuff. He smiled lightly. "Huh? You want me to take you on a date? That'd be a little weird, Mar," he snickered teasingly. "I mean what I said: mundane. It's boring, it's just so...plain, there's no variation in my features," he chuckled. He didn't mind making fun of himself. "Hm? Eko? I think he's straight, pal." Though he wasn't a hundred percent sure. Kinny gave a small laugh. "Hack? Come on Marius, don't be a creep," he laughed lightly.

"Oh, you're so sweet," he mused and spun around in the chair. "I think we should celebrate with something containing more alcohol," he purred. Marius then nodded. "I would love a date with you. Why exactly would it be weird," he asked. He spun the chair once more. "You're wonderful! Magnificent. A star! You could be a model," he mused. "I know a girl. My old agent actually. Veronica is a doll." He pushed his hair behind his ear. "I bet she'd move here for a pretty face like yours. You wouldn't even have to do it full time. Just a few shots here and there." Marius rolled his eyes when Kinaga said Eko was straight. "Always worth a try." He smirked. "I'm not a creep, just curious, there's a difference."

"Celebrate? Celebrate what, the fact that you're my best friend?" Kinaga asked with an amused chuckle. "I hardly think that's worth celebrating, but I wouldn't mind going out for drinks later on," he shrugged. "It would be weird because...er...well you're my best friend, so...that..." Kinaga leaned back in his chair and scratched his head. "That...kind of thing is supposed to be weird, right?" Honestly, he wasn't all that sure. Marius would probably find some way to rationalize it though. "A-a model?" A bit of red crept onto Kinaga's face and he rubbed the back of his neck. "I...I don't think so. Yeah, no, I don't...do posing and...things like that." Honestly, crap like that just embarrassed him. He didn't have the kind of confidence that Marius did. He could never do something like modeling. "You had an agent? You know, I don't know why I find that surprising," he mused. "Hate ta tell ya buddy, but I think hacking into someone's laptop to find their online dating profile falls under the category of 'creepy'."

"Yes, I mean, we never officially celebrated the day we became best friends, so why not do it now," he suggested. He then gave a small huff. "I told you I have a different view on what best friends should and should not do," he mused with amusement after Kinaga told him it was indeed weird. "You don't have to pose, she can capture you in your natural state." He looked Kinaga over. "It'd be a real treat to have a magazine with your face on it." He chuckled lightly. "It was for a short while. After I moved here, I just didn't have time to model anymore. It wasn't some grand gig or anything, just a local thing. Faces in the Crowd was the name of the magazine. They would find the most attractive men and women in town and help spread the word about them." He wrinkled his nose. "Creepy is locking someone in a basement for nine years."