PART FIVE

Final.

Her chest hurt.

It was a sharp reminder that she was supposed to breathe. Since when had her first reaction been to hold her breath? Parting her lips, she started to speak and stopped. What was she supposed to say to that?

“Do you like it?”

Hastily, she looked away. Her face felt hot and she had the terrible suspicion that she was blushing. “It’s very unconventional S-.” She bit off the Sir before he could reprimand her for saying it.

“Yes, original, isn’t it?” he posed proudly, jutting his chest out.

During her table meditation he’d stripped off his black outer uniform and white inner shitagi revealed bronzed skin and… and… red paint. Half of the traditional Setsubun chant was painted down his chest. The other half was probably painted down his back. Obviously he’d had an accomplice in his madness.

“And what is the point of… that?”

“I wanted to do something fun and I remembered that you liked art,” he answered smiling.

“I’m not sure that qualifies. You look more like graffiti.”

Her Captain didn’t even bat an eyelash. “Well then, I am the art.”

Nanao returned to her coffee. “Did all of your holiday plans involve you getting half naked?”

“No. Some of them involved me being completely naked, but honestly, the best ones involved you being naked.” He grinned. She opened her mouth to object and her cut her off. “Don’t say it. You’re not allowed to call me ‘Captain’.”

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. “Is there anything else we’re doing today? I still need to make dinner and clean up the house.” She wanted to say “clean up this mess” but was cautious not to hurt his feelings. He could be unexpectedly sensitive about certain things.

“Yes. We need to throw beans and bless the house.”

Before she could tell him it wasn’t necessary, he was off the floor and had her by the wrist and was pulling her toward the front door. Where he got the beans, she wasn’t sure but all the sudden there they were, the door was thrust open and he was tossing a handful of them out. She heard the little plunking sounds as they landed in her yard. Hopefully they were cooked beans so they wouldn’t kill her neighborhood birds. “Demons out, luck in!”

She wondered how he felt about his body paint standing in the open doorway with the chilly wind blowing against him. He hadn’t thought that out very well. He had to be cold.

“To the back door!”

Nanao allowed herself to be pulled along. It was her last door. If he went to every room she was going to stop him. He did the same ritual once more and snapped the door closed. Before she could speak, she was scooped up off the floor and he was walking her back toward her sitting room. Hopefully his paint was dry, her kimono was new.

He set her, not on her feet, but on her butt, her legs stretched out and he curled down next to her. Unable to straighten herself out and tuck her legs underneath her because of the tight confines of the kimono, she was forced to stay put, sitting awkwardly next to him, her knees partially bent, her heels against the floor.

“I don’t think Nanao-chan appreciates my efforts.”

It was all the warning she got before his arm was around her and she was flat on the floor. Her back bowed with the thick obi beneath her but thoughts of her discomfort faded as he leaned over her, his breath fanning against her lips.

“I even made you coffee,” he breathed against her cheek, lowering his mouth to press a kiss against her jaw. Was he pouting?

She sighed again and lifted one trapped arm, unable to get it over his shoulder she instead reached beneath his arm, her fingers snaking into his curls. He tensed as if fearing she was going to yank his hair and lifted his head up. Instead, she slid her hand away and around the back of his shoulder and used his body for leverage to pull herself up and pressed a shy kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Thank you for coming to spend the holiday with me.”

Her hand slid down his shoulder as she let herself fall back onto the floor. Dark eyes glittered down at her for a long moment. Suddenly, grinned at her, his lips curved wildly. “Hey, Nanao, you know the best part?”

Confused, she shook her silently.

“This is edible body paint. You can lick this work of art clean.”

Dawn brought an end to the holiday. Happily, Nanao headed off to work knowing her staff would be back where they were supposed to be, minds as fresh as they were going to get. Letting herself in the office, she found she was, as usual, the first one there and started about making her coffee.

Fifteen minutes later she was on her way down the hall, pleased once more to be ensconced in her natural environment: her office. Only when she got there she found the productive ambiance of the place was disturbed by a yellow spray of daffodils peaking out of a vase on her desk. Where her Captain had managed to find daffodils in December, she wasn’t quite sure but she certainly couldn’t have them on her desk.

Setting them off to the side, she admired the wild plume of flowers for a moment and almost missed the little white card tucked in the greenery. Yesterday he’d insisted on “cuddling” because he was cold and it was her fault he was cold. In the end she’d spent more time on her sitting room floor than was appropriate in quarters so close to him she was certain he was anything but cold.

Sliding the card free of the foliage she took a quick glance. It was not in an envelope and the line of text was singular.

“For my Nanao.”

Thoughts of him and his bare skin pressed against her assailed her. Last night she’d struggled to fall asleep whilst daydreaming of dark eyes glittering down at her and his thickened voice murmuring, “Kiss me again, Nanao.”

Determined to put such thoughts aside, she tucked the card into her desk. It was time for work.

AN: I just barely made the deadline for this, yay! Contest is supposed to end tomorrow. Side note: I picked the daffodil randomly but when I looked it up in the language of flowers, I got " Regard, Unrequited Love, Sunshine, Respect, The sun shines when I'm with you," which I thougt was ridiculously appropriate.