Welcome to Gaia! ::

Yuudai had been chasing dustbunnies all day, and the proof of it was streaked all over the front of his apron, gathering in the creases and making him look like he hadn't washed his clothing in weeks. It was Junko's responsibility to go around the inn and dust all the hard to reach places, but she'd been slacking off again, as usual, so he had taken it upon himself to uphold the integrity of their inn and spare the customers with allergies. Consequently, he had a fine mist of dust over his fair blond hair, and deep smudges under his eyes. He kept sneezing, too, because every time he thought he cleaned out a corner, there would be an explosion of dust and he'd inhale at least half of it.

By the time he was finished he was well and truly pissed, and already trying to decide what Junko could do to make up for it. The floors, maybe, on top of covering his laundry duty... the floors definitely needed a good buffing, though, and that could be her project over the next few days. He knew she hated floors because the posture necessary for them made her a** look big, and that was a small personal triumph for him. He was not normally a catty person (yes he was) but being raised surrounded entirely by women, he'd learned how to get back at them in ways they would feel keenly.

Coughing into his hand, he skirted around Masami, nodding to her in passing as he made his way to the kitchen. He was going to have to throw his entire uniform in the wash, but he might as well see if anyone else had left grungy aprons hanging up to be added to the other linens. He was halfway through collecting them when there was a knock on the door, and he paused, glaring at it.

The only people who knocked when they came by were boys seeking out his sisters, and he was in no kind of mood to deal with any of them. Well, that wasn't correct; he was in no kind of mood to be nice to any of them, and usually he at least attempted politeness. Not this day, however.

Swiping his fingers under his cheeks, doing little but smearing the grime, he wrenched open the door and was surprised to see Ran. He hesitated a moment, most of the temper leaving his face, and tried to think of why the hell he would be knocking. They'd been best friends the majority of their lives, going in and out of one another's homes as easily as if they were their own, save --

Ah, yes. His damn dog.

A heavy scowl settling on his features, Yuudai looked past his best friend, asking in the world's most unimpressed tone, "Is your bloodthirsty mongrel here?"

Not the most gracious greeting in the world, but they had argued pretty heatedly over the yowling miscreant last time they'd spoken.

It was awkward for both of them, a little; while Yuudai often demanded apologies for bad behavior from any manner of person, Ran was like a brother to him. He saw him as more of an equal than he did any others, and so there was an unspoken understanding between them that when they wronged one another they moved past the apologies as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Ran's face reddened a little, and Yuudai's did as well, unhappiness turning his mouth down as their expressions matched. He mumbled in response, but this seemed to be sufficient enough; Ran stared at him for a moment, then seemed to remember that he had... something in his arms.

All too welcoming of the distraction, Yuudai ran his hands down the front of his thighs, trying to clear them of dust as he did. It wasn't unusual for Ran to bring leftovers to them, mostly because their families were close and the Kogas always appreciated what the Saitos could spare for them. Sometimes they went as far as to purchase a bit of food to offer customers, depending on the season, but as it was just one family doing the hunting, they couldn't offer the sort of large-scale supply they needed on a regular basis.

What was in his hands, however, definitely looked like meat. What temper was left in his face, and by now there were only dregs of it, melted into curiosity. As Ran explained, a small, satisfied smile turned up his lips.

"Ah, this is wonderful." He didn't seem to mind the poor packaging, or really even notice it, save to note that it was leaking. Accepting it, Yuudai brought his apron up to catch any blood that might still be running off it, turning and striding promptly to the cutting board.

The meat was deposited and he washed his hands, misgivings about Ran's appearance entirely gone now that there was no dog present and he had something new to cook with. The wrappings were peeled away delicately, and he nodded in satisfaction. Ran always brought the good cuts of meat.

"Thank you. And don't be ridiculous, Ran; you know we are brothers, and of course I accept. I'm glad that I was available when you arrived, however, because this does need to be treated and preserved immediately."

He set about doing that, bustling around the kitchen with competence, good mood readily apparent.

And just like that, his good mood plummeted straight back into the bowels of temper.

The meat secured, Yuudai turned slowly, one blue brow arched nearly to his hairline, lips pressed into a smooth, unyielding line. Ran got away with quite a bit generally on the simple virtue that they were boyhood friends and he did consider him a brother; the only brother he had, or ever really hoped to have. (If his sisters got married one day he would grudgingly accept whomever they fell in love with, because of course he would have already approved them to marry, but Ran would always be foremost in his heart as a brother.) But today they were still recovering from an argument and Ran ought to have known it was too soon to be making cracks about his femininity.

Yuudai was not a woman. He had no desire to be a woman. He wore his hair long, yes, but that was a personal vanity and had nothing to do with his sexual identity. Eyes narrowed, he leaned over, poking one blue-tipped finger into Ran's chest, harshly.

"Mock me again, Saito Ran." A light flush had spread across his cheeks, a sure sign that he was working his way to high dudgeon. "Simply because you are insecure enough in your masculinity that you feel the need to demean mine is no excuse to insult me in my own home. And it's hardly a good follow-up to your apology."

The finger that had pressed into Ran's chest rose again, drilling in the exact same spot despite his friend haven't just pushed it away. He was going to be this way, was he? His parents often commented on how well-behaved Ran was, how polite and respectful, and in general, that was true. Yuudai could appreciate that in a man, because largely he, too, was polite and respectful; however, he and Ran were boyhood friends. Brothers. That meant that there were lines they could cross that common courtesy frowned upon, and most of the time that was fine.

It also meant they knew exactly which buttons to push with one another. It had been a while since the two of them had gone out back and brawled, and at the back of his mind, Yuudai suspected this was why they were so tense with one another lately. It seemed that when they argued there was only one way to really resolve things between them, and it usually involved romping around out back until they were both bloody and bruised. They could try apologizing through words alone, but as the case was just then, it seemed to rarely work.

"Little brother." He was adopting the tone, the one he used on his sisters when he was scolding them. Emphasis was on the little; he would never let Ran forget he was the younger one in this spiritual sibling duo. "You are hardly the epitome of masculinity. The fact that you seem to think so is laughable."

Poke, poke.

"And look at this skinny chest! You haven't been eating well again, have you? With arms like these, you're lucky to be able to hold a spear without them snapping in two."

Scowl.

Oh, Yuudai heard the message beneath the words. He heard it loud and clear, and he didn't care that it was childish of him to rise to the bait; he didn't even think about it, actually. Color flooded his face, cheeks burning as he endured Ran returning the chest poking. (It actually kind of hurt, and he was annoyed enough to swipe his hand at his friend's, closing his fist around it and glaring at him, but he resisted the urge to rub his chest. Generally Yuudai was the one poking people, not the other way around, and he didn't like it.)

His mother -- of course he was not his mother, the idea of it was preposterous! He was not a woman, and more often than not, Ran appreciated the services that he performed for him. His family did, too, and that was why Yuudai behaved the way he did; he filled a need, and others ought to be grateful for that, not ridicule him. It was too much, however, when his own physique was brought into it.

His parents were slight people! His father, even, was effeminite in build, so he'd had no change for his genetics to provide any blueprint other than the obvious. His hips were narrow, yes, and his arms were thin, of course, but these things could have been forgiven if he was not so pretty -- and certainly, he could crop his hair, but it had reached a point of stubborn pride with him. He felt that if he cut his hair he would be giving in and admitting that he looked womanly, and from that point on, there would be no turning back.

Damn it, Ran looked like a scrawny, prepubescent boy! Who was he to judge him?

Voice thrumming with barely restrained temper, he squeezed his friend's fist, thrusting it to the side as he spoke through viciously clenched teeth. "As if you have any room to talk, Ran! Look at your sweet baby face, your round cheeks, your soft abdominals."

At this, he thrust a hand forward, catching his friend enough by surprise that he wasn't able to clench his stomach muscles. Yuudai looked smug as he rubbed his belly, continuing triumphantly, "Barely a hair on your chest or lip and you think you have the ground to stand on to scold someone else; look at your father, if you were coming into your own as a man you would resemble him, but you more closely resemble my sisters."

A low blow. "As Haruki and Fuyuki would say, you are clearly the Saito family's prettiest daughter, at least until your sister comes into her own."