Five Times Nasuti’s Day Sucked (And the One Time It Didn’t Suck So Badly) (PG-13)

The first time Nasuti realized that someone was bound and determined to drive her completely insane was the coffee being drained before she woke up each morning.

She looked at the empty decanter and moaned.

A snicker at the semi-hidden table on the other side of the refrigerator alerted her that she was not alone.

The four cups of coffee in front of a very smug Shin compelled her stifled nervous tick to erupt in all of its twitchy glory.

“Please tell me that only one of those cups is yours,”she whined, a hand reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose while her other opened the cabinet that held the rest of the precious powder.

Warmth pressed against her back as Shin stepped behind her to open the top cabinet, revealing an utterly terrible sight.

Her jaw dropped at not seeing the can of coffee there, only shut with a click when he closed the door and pressed a kiss to her exposed neck.

She felt the blood rush from her face when she heard his parting words.

“Looks like we’ll need more coffee,” he whispered, lightly squeezing her shoulders before beating a fast retreat.

“He’s trying to kill me,” she whispered to herself only to turn and head back to her bedroom.

She had to get more coffee.

Or she was going to murder someone.
~*~*~

The second time she realized that the five hated her was shortly after she left the house to head to the closest store.

Only to be dumbfounded as some asshole stole the parking spot that she was waiting for.

She found a spot a few cars down the way, but damn, she wanted to cry upon seeing the asshole getting out of his car.

Shuu even had the cajones to smirk at her as he passed her at the entrance.

Nasuti stomped her foot angrily when he stopped to tell her “you look upset,” with a perfectly straight face.

She needed to kill him.

She needed her coffee first.
~*~*~

The third time she absolutely knew that something was up. Particularly when it concerned her precious coffee.

She locked the kitchen door.

Whispered sweet nothings to her cup as she poured the liquid joy over a prepared bed of creamer and sugar.

Unlocking the kitchen door with glass in hand, she yelped as a bulk of white smacked into her.

Ryo Sanada’s face held no apology as hot coffee splashed all over the both of them.

She apologized for the both of him, seeing as he wasn’t planning on it, and felt tears prickle her eyes.

They can hate her all they wanted.

They could poke fun at her all they wanted.

But did they have to target her coffee?

The pain from scalding coffee being spilled all over her front kicked in with a vengeance.

Ryo merely steered her into the close powder room, sat her on the toilet with nary a word, and proceeded to soak a hand towel with ice cold water.

His words as he handed the towel to her made the tears fall with a welcome sob.

“You really need to pay better attention, ‘nee-san.”

Her sobs continued for a sweet three minutes as she held the cold towel to her chest.

Gathering her wits as the towel gained warmth, Nasuti reached behind her and grabbed another towel.

The sounds of muffled screaming attracted the ears of the passing Touma Hashiba.
~*~*~

The fourth time approached with the speed of light. It arrived in the form of a knock on the door and a gentle “Nasuti, are you all right?”

“No,” she whined, peeling the wet towel away from her chest. A look up at the mirror made her pout even more.

Her shirt acquired a beautiful, if not odorous, coffee orchid all over her front.

She actually felt angry as Touma stepped into the small room.

Satisfaction flooded through her as he too spotted the semi-transparent coffee orchid.

“What the hell happened?”

“Ryo,” she stood and slid around him to lean against the sink. She observed the damage before leaning closer to him. “Be a dear and get me another shirt?”

“Of course,” his face flushed as he too looked into the mirror, seeing much more than her newly-acquired brown flower.

A hysterical laugh bubbled out as she muttered “serves ‘im right.”

It didn’t take him long to get a shirt for her though.

How odd. Her room was on the opposite side of the house.

Unless he got it from the new clothes in the laundry room.

He knocked on the door, only to open it enough to hand in a bundle of cloth. “There you go, one fresh shirt.”

She sighed in relief.

Such a sweetheart.

Such a - she paused as the bundle unfolded to reveal a deep green negligee.

She let her thought hand as her jaw moved wordlessly.

She was going to kill him…

…After she changed her shirt.
~*~*~

The fifth time hit soon after she found her bedroom.

Her dark bedroom.

She was ready this time, dammit.

She was - so not ready for this as she collided yet into another body.

The light extinguished with the slamming of a door behind her.

“Not you too,” she muttered against a wonderful-smelling shoulder.

His voice was husky as he whispered, “ah ha, so we meet again.”

The eyeroll happened. “Seiji, you live here,” she failed to see how he could aim for any other response except annoyance.

It was official her day Sucked with a capital S and her lover borrowing lines from dime-store novels.

“You smell like coffee,” he murmured against the side of her face, enveloping her in a hug that would have been romantic if it hadn’t hurt so badly.

“Pain,” she hissed, yanking herself out of his embrace.

And right over the foot board of her bed.

She melted into the blankets and forgot about Seiji being there.

“I’m sorry,” his apology was soft, much like the touch of his fingers ghosting over her soaked stomach.

“Not your fault,” she groused, a hand over her eyes as she felt the unwelcome tears prickle again. What had happened to her wanted to kill the other four? That delicious anger that - she watched as the dark shape of her lover crawled onto the bed and leaned low. Oh. She had forgotten about his empathy.

No wonder he was apologetic and whoa -

“Easy on the shirt-” her warning died upon his peeling the jersey away from her skin, following with a trail of kisses over the inflamed skin.

So this was what her not-day was coming to?

“Was this day ‘Hate on Nasuti Day’ and I just didn’t get the memo,” she whined and wound her hands into hair to pull up lightly. Dim outlines were visible as she realized that she too needed to use his shampoo.

His hair felt fantastic!

His smile was heard more than seen as the dark mass moved up over her body to lean over her chest. “No.”

“But the others and my coffee-” her exclamation was cut off with his kiss.

Seiji pulled away briefly. “Thank him later,” he said quickly.

His next kisses were more than enough to forgive the entire day.

She still needed to murder the other four.