Work and Play: Post EXE Hu/R

[Neko]

okay this is a post EXE fic. Shounen Ai. Deal with it. I wrote it at like 11 pm so it's the product of an overly tired fangirl reading her request from planty. I wrote it to be a oneshot or an ongoing fic. Tell me if you want me to continue ^^

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Netto-kun, are you almost done?” Rockman asked in a slightly bossy voice.

Netto paused from typing on the keyboard long enough to give his navi an annoyed glance, then he continued working on the program he was writing. “I need to finish this,” he said while looking at the screen.

“Maybe if you didn’t put it off till the week before,” Rockman started but he was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Both navi and scientist looked up to see Enzan standing in the doorway. “Some things never change, do they?” he asked, grinning.

“Enzan!” Netto said happily. He stood up and went over to his old friend. “Back from Ameroupe so soon?” he asked.

“We closed the deal earlier then expected,” Enzan said while letting Blues into Netto’s computer.

“So things went well?” Netto asked, leaning on his desk.

“You could say that,” Enzan flashed Netto a grin that made the brunette blush.

“So, Netto-san didn’t start the project when Enzan-sama told him to?” Blues asked Rockman in a quiet voice as the two humans chatted.

“No,” Rockman said, burying his face in his hands. “He has a deadline in two days and only 75% of the program is done!”

“Netto-san waited that long?” Blues asked. “That’s a little much, even for him.”

“He doesn’t listen to me!” Rockman said. “He just waves his hand and says ‘tomorrow’ and I say ‘this isn’t school Netto-kun, its real life.’ Does he listen to me? Nooooo.”

Blues gave Rockman and sympathetic smile. “Well, Enzan-sama might be able to do something,” he said.

“You are aware I can hear everything?” Netto asked, slightly annoyed.

Rockman sighed. “We wouldn’t be talking if you did what you were supposed to when you were supposed to.”

“Hey, I’ve got everything under control!” Netto said.

Enzan and Blues watched the exchange like silent ping pong spectators.

“Netto-kun, you are a brilliant scientist but you still treat your job like its college. Its not!” Rockman said.

“I know that,” Netto retorted.

Enzan and Blues finally got the incentive to intervene. “Okay Netto, just how much of this do you have left?” Enzan asked.

“25%,” Rockman muttered.

Enzan’s blue eyes widened.

Netto glanced at him wearily. “Oh no, I know that look. Don’t you yell at me too,” he said.

“Well, anything I say this late in the game is pointless,” Enzan said tightly. “When did you start this?”

Netto shrugged sheepishly, “Last Wednesday?”

Enzan sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Of course.”

“Hey, I don’t need you to tell me how to live my life,” Netto said hotly.

“Someone does,” Rockman muttered.

Enzan took his hand off his head. “All right, I’ll leave you to finish your program. But be home by 11 okay? I’m calling to make sure,” he warned.

“Fine fine, I’ll be home at 11,” Netto said.

Enzan walked out of the office and down the hall. “Worried, Enzan-sama?”

“Worried doesn’t cover it,” he muttered while waiting for the elevator to arrive.

“What’s wrong?” Blues asked.

“He’s going to kill himself, working the way he does. All this stress and god knows what else is going to hurt him in the long run,” Enzan said.

The elevator arrived and he stepped inside.

“Maybe he does it to keep his mind off things. The only time he waits is when you’re here. If you’re not then he just works like normal,” Blues said.

Enzan gave him a strange look, “How do you know this?”

“Rockman told me, Enzan-sama,” Blues said calmly.

Enzan leaned against the elevator. “Well, I’m sure it’s not entirely because of that.”

“You put off work too, Enzan-sama,” Blues added.

Enzan frowned, “Blues, that’s enough.”

“Yes, Enzan-sama.”

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Back in his office Netto was typing furiously on his keyboard. “Come on,” he muttered.

Rockman was in the net doing his share of the programming. “You know, maybe if you didn’t fawn after Enzan all the time and just said how you feel this wouldn’t happen,” he muttered.

Netto’s fingers froze on the keyboard and he stared at the screen intently. “Rockman?” he asked.

“Yes, Netto-kun?” Rockman replied.

“Shut up,” he said and continued to type.

“All I was saying…” Rockman said.

Netto sighed, “Look, I know what you were saying. But we have a program due on the board’s desk in two days and talking does not get it written faster.”

“All right, Netto-kun. But you’re saying something after this is over.”

“Yeah right,” Netto said.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Later that evening Netto dragged himself away from the computer for a much needed coffee break.

“Tired Netto-kun?” Rockman asked.

“Shut up,” Netto said sourly with the cup of brown liquid poised at his lips.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Rockman said in a slightly nervous voice.

Netto sighed, “Sorry Rockman. I’m just a little stressed.”

“Coffee really won’t help,” Rockman pointed out.

Netto shrugged and drank it. “I don’t care. It keeps me awake for the time being.”

“Don’t forget your promise to Enzan,” Rockman warned.

“What promise?” he asked.

Rockman sighed, “That you would go home at 11?”

Netto eyes widened, “Oh, that. Sure thing Rockman. I just want to finish the next part, okay?”

“All right Netto-kun, but make sure we’re out of here at 11?” Rockman asked.

“I promise,” Netto said.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

The next morning Enzan came into Netto’s office in a silent rage. He never came home the previous night, that he was sure of. He stormed past a harried looking secretary and didn’t even answer when she gave him a cheery “Good morning Enzan-sama!”

He went straight to Netto’s office and opened the door. “Wake up, Netto.”

Netto was fast asleep, sprawled over papers on his desk and his navi was in a similar state in the computer. Upon hearing Enzan’s entrance Rockman started to awaken. Netto however was lost in dreamland.

“Nh?” Rockman babbled sleepily. “What time is it?”

Blues appeared next to him. “8:30,” he replied.

“Oh my god!” Rockman said.

Enzan walked over to Netto and shook him awake. “Five more minutes, mama,” he muttered.

“Up,” Enzan said coolly. “Now.”

Netto’s eyes snapped open at the recognition of the voice that currently sounded like it could freeze water. “E-enzan!” he said nervously. “Heh, good morning?”

Enzan glared at him with his arms crossed.

“Yeah, I never made it home yesterday,” he laughed.

“Obviously,” Enzan said dryly.

“Well, hey, got the program done!” Netto said happily.

“You did?” Enzan asked in a surprised voice.

“You did?” Rockman asked, even more surprised.

Netto rubbed his eyes and yawned. “Yeah, I finished it after you fell asleep, Rockman.”

“What happened with going home at 11?” Enzan asked.

“Well, plans change,” Netto said. “And now I have two blissful days to sleep. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m dropping this off and going home.” Netto stood up and picked up his PET. “See ya Enzan.”

Enzan watched as Netto walked past him and disappeared down the hall. “Blues?” he asked.

“Yes, Enzan-sama?” Blues replied.

“White out my schedule today, I’m going to have a talk with Netto.”

“Yes, Enzan-sama,” Blues said and did just that.
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[Drake Nightshade]

OMG...I love this and it deserves to keep going.
_________________
I am the remembrancer of old, one who abandoned, then returned, smiten with boredom and guilt.

[Nazne]

Why drag on? O_o;; If this is a one-shot, it's already conveyed the characters' personalities quite well, and in a non-eye-shattering format. Cute fic, Neko. XD

-BMA

[Plantman]

Nekooo >_> I'm not an Ezan x Netto fan but gawd, this one is coming so good xD
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"Logic is the Ultimate Weapon."

[Plantman]

Nekooo >_> I'm not an Ezan x Netto fan but gawd, this one is coming so good xD
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Hecha en MÉXICO - Avatar by Me.
"Logic is the Ultimate Weapon."

[Midnight]

Neither am I...but...damn. This is good.

Never thought Netto would come out to be the diligent one...but..yeah.
_________________
Today, these three players are after Big Bucks! But they'll have to avoid the Whammy, as they play the most exciting game of their lives! From Television City in Hollywood! It's time to 'Press Your Luck!'--Rod Roddy

The Kingdom of Loathing: An Adventurer is You! // I ♣ Seals

Avatar by Spork. I very much appreciate it! <3

[Neko]

Netto walked into his house and was immediately greeted by his cat and dog whining for food. Netto groaned and Rockman wouldn’t hear it. “You make the worst pet owner ever, I swear. You left them for a day without food!”

Netto walked into the kitchen and pulled out the cat and dog food. “Rockman I left extra, see there’s food left in the bowls,” Netto said a pointed to the bowls.

“And water?” Rockman asked.

“There’s water left too, Rockman. See, I’m not so bad, besides if it bugged you that much why didn’t you yell at me last night?” Netto retorted. When he didn’t receive and answer he snorted and said, “I thought so.”

Rockman huffed, “Hey, just I don’t yell at you as much as Enzan does about the way you live doesn’t make it right.”

Netto snorted and poured the dry kibble into the bowls. Almost immediately the cat and the dog sprinted to them and started eating furiously. “Don’t you dare start harping on me. Not now,” Netto said.

Rockman crossed his arms. “I’ll save it for when you’re in a better mood,” he said.

Netto inclined his head almost mockingly, but not quite. “Thank you,” he said.

The corners of Rockman’s mouth quirked in a small smile. “No problem, as long as you promise me you’ll go to bed.”

“Fine, but you have to go into stasis mode too. We’re both tired,” Netto replied while filling up the water bowls.

Rockman nodded, “I still can’t believe you finished that program without me.”

Netto smiled coyly at his navi, “Who said I need you help?”

“Hey!” Rockman said.

Netto laughed and went into his bedroom. Rockman followed in the cyber version of Netto’s house. Since they had been younger there had been many advancements to the cyber world. One of which being that all houses had a cyber replica that the navi’s could live in. It was nice and Rockman enjoyed having the illusion of being so close to Netto.

They both climbed into bed and Netto turned off the light. “Good night, Rockman,” he said while pulling the covers over his body.

“It’s morning, Netto-kun.”

“Whatever,” Netto muttered and pulled the sheets over his head. In a matter of minutes both were fast asleep.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Enzan couldn’t escape one meeting and he was very upset about it. He spent the whole time fidgeting in his seat and giving frequent glances to the clock as if he was in a boring class. The board directors he was meeting with did not appreciate it.

“Are we boring you, Enzan-sama?” one of them asked.

“Yes,” Enzan said absentmindedly as he gazed at the clock. Then his blue eyes widened, “No! I mean no! I’m sorry, I tried to take today off because of other pressing matters that I should be attending to.”

In the net Blues shook his head from side to side in a honest effort to not laugh.

“Well, Enzan-sama, be that as it may I and the other board members would appreciate it very much if you would kindly, pay attention!” he barked.

Enzan nodded, “Yes, of course. Please continue.”

The man in his mid fifties cast a weary eye on the young president. True he had over 14 years of experience but he was still very young. And it showed up all too often, or so he thought.

“Now as you see here, we’ve had a steady increase of sales in our electronics but our software hasn’t been selling well. I would like to offer a few suggestions that would help this.” He pulled out a packet that was 20 pages long. “Now if you turn to page three I have outlined the exports and imports of all electronics all over the world, the ones in red are from IPC.”

Enzan gave a silent groan and did as he was told. Some days it just wasn’t worth it to be Enzan Ijuuin.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Enzan finally got out of the meeting around noon. Three hours after he made his vow to yell at Netto for blatantly ignoring him and staying at work all night. It was probably for the best as his temper was quite subdued and he no longer felt the need to scream at the top of his lungs. He just felt the need to talk in a loud voice.

“Enzan-sama?” Blues ventured.

“Yes Blues?”

“Do you think going to Netto-san’s is the wisest decision right now?” Blues asked.

Enzan frowned, “What makes you say that, Blues?” Enzan asked.

“Well, you seem very,” Blues paused. “Uptight, Enzan-sama.”

“I’m fine Blues, I need to talk to Netto.”

“But,” Blues started.

“I said I’m fine,” Enzan said.

Blues sighed. “Yes Enzan-sama.” He silently wrote an e-mail to Rockman warning him of the impending doom. Maybe they could get out before Enzan got there.

Too bad they were both fast asleep.

Enzan went straight up to the comfy looking one floor house and knocked on the door loudly. “Netto, I know you’re in there. Open up!” he said.

There was no reply but the loud barking of Red. Enzan sighed and tried again but again there was no answer. “Maybe they’re not here?” Blues said innocently.

Enzan narrowed his eyes and didn’t answer. Instead he rooted around in the mail box until he found a key. “He always leaves it there, even though I tell him not to,” Enzan murmured. He inserted the key into the lock and went into the house.

Almost instantly he was attacked by Netto’s dog and cat. He pushed the dog off of him and knelt down to let Sitio smell his fingers so the cat wouldn’t tear him apart. “Maybe he doesn’t need to hide the key,” Blues said.

Enzan smiled wryly. “Yeah, he should just have a big sign that says, ‘Enter at own Risk.’”

Sitio rubbed his head against Enzan’s fingers briefly and then lumbered off into the dark house.

“Maybe they really aren’t here?” Blues said again.

Enzan shook his head, “No, they’re here. Netto was up to late last night to not be in bed.” And to prove his point Enzan went into the next room and pointed at Netto’s inert form on the bed. “See?”

“Yes, Enzan-sama, I do see. Maybe you should leave them alone for now,” he suggested.

Enzan sighed. He gazed at Netto’s sleeping form for a bit longer then retreated into the living room. “I’ll lecture him when he wakes up,” he said and flipped on the TV. Sitio came in and jumped into Enzan’s lap almost immediately and he was followed by Red not long after.

Around 2:30 Netto woke up and ventured out into his living room to see Enzan sitting there and watching “Arsenic and Old Lace” on TV. Netto glared at him, “What the hell are you doing here?”

Enzan flipped off the TV and stood up. “You know very well why,” he said.

Netto’s hair was pushed to one side and his eyes had a tired look to them. He was still in the clothes he wore the previous night, they were rumpled and the overall effect showed Netto as being worse for the wear. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muttered.

Enzan narrowed his eyes. “Yeah right, Hikari! I told you to go home at 11 and you gave me your word. Then you pull and all nighter? What kind of promise is that?”

“I finished the program didn’t I?” Netto asked airily.

“That is irrelevant!” Enzan steamed.

Blues silently went into the net to search for Rockman. He was still asleep and Blues decided to wait for him to wake up. He shut off the sound program so the yelling of the two men wouldn’t wake him up. Someone deserved sleep after all.

“Look, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t working till 11 for three nights okay?” Netto said heatedly. “This isn’t even any of your business to begin with!”

“Netto you promised me! Not only did you promise me but you said when we were out last week that you started the program. Now why would you say something like that?” Enzan retorted.

“I knew I could finish it! Who are you to tell me how to live my life?” Netto asked.

“A very good friend. Look Netto, you’re hurting yourself doing this. Not only you but Rockman as well,” Enzan said. Netto shifted and he knew he hit a soft spot. “Netto, I’m not trying to be mean but living like this will only hurt you in the long run.”

Netto crossed his arms. “Well, maybe so. But as I recall when we were kids you would do the same thing.”

Enzan nodded, “And you would yell at me. I guess I’m a horrible role model.”

Netto snorted good naturedly. “You flatter yourself.”

“Ah, maybe so, but do you deny that you’re starting to do everything you yelled at me about when I was younger?”

“I still yell at you,” Netto said.

“See!” Enzan said. Netto shut his eyes in annoyance because he knew he lost the argument. “That’s what I mean.”

“Well, how about this then, how about we make a deal,” Netto said.

“Such as?” Enzan asked.

“You and I promise to leave work at the same time every day. We will plan out our projects together so we’re not in crunch time and we can still hang out. When we’re on business trips we’ll call each other to make sure the other isn’t cheating,” Netto said.

Enzan stroked his chin thoughtfully. “That’s a surprisingly good idea,” he mused.

“Let’s make it a tad more interesting,” Netto grinned.

“I’m listening,” Enzan said, not missing the mischievous glint in Netto’s eye.

“First one to mess up has to do whatever the other one says for a week.”

“Oh, come on, that is so overused,” Enzan said.

“Because it’s so good!” Netto retorted.

“Fine! I’ll do it!” Enzan said.

Netto nodded, “Good, good.”

“Now you have to do something right off the bat,” Enzan said.

“Such as?” Netto asked.

“Take a shower and change your clothes. I took off the rest of the day, do you want to go get dinner?”

“Curry?” Netto asked.

Enzan shook his head and smiled. “What else?”

“I’m in!” Netto cheered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh, this is soooo much fun to write you have NO idea.
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[Midnight]

I can feel that.

[Neko]

It's what now?

If you mean a bit haphazard that would be because I'm really tired. Insomnia for three weeks can do that to a person.

But it wasn't bad XD
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[Midnight]

(Note to self: Stop using words you like.)

I meant that the bet motif has been used may times already.
_________________
Today, these three players are after Big Bucks! But they'll have to avoid the Whammy, as they play the most exciting game of their lives! From Television City in Hollywood! It's time to 'Press Your Luck!'--Rod Roddy

The Kingdom of Loathing: An Adventurer is You! // I ♣ Seals

Avatar by Spork. I very much appreciate it! <3

[Neko]

Okay XD

DUH! I said that in the fic, I KNOW it's been used. That's why I used it, does that make any sense?

It's also why I have Netto and Enzan say quite blatanly "Hey, we're using an overused plot device here cause it's funny X3"

That and I didn't have any better ideas. Who knows, maybe I can pull it off. We all know this fic will mostly be fluff and my excuse to show you all the grown up EXE characters, right?

(That was by no means a flame, just me pointing out some things. I'm not mad, actually I'm amused someone noticed so quickly XD)
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[Plantman]

Mwahahahahaha... >_> very well written Neko /o/ I love it!
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Hecha en MÉXICO - Avatar by Me.
"Logic is the Ultimate Weapon."

[Plantman]

Mwahahahahaha... >_> very well written Neko /o/ I love it!
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Hecha en MÉXICO - Avatar by Me.
"Logic is the Ultimate Weapon."

[Neko]

Netto and Enzan walked into Maha Ichiban with their PET’s in hand. They were greeted by Dekao who was at that point one of the main Chefs of the Maha Curry chain.

“Greetings, may I suggest our seafood special,” he started then saw who it was that walked in. “Netto!” he said in a happy voice. “And Enzan too,” he quirked an eyebrow. “This is a surprise.”

“Got him to take off work,” Netto laughed.

Dekao laughed, “Wow, what did you do?”

“He stayed up all night to finish writing a program when I specifically told him not to,” Enzan muttered.

Madoi came up behind them. “Ah! So, you got angry and the brat here and now you two have kissed and made up and came for curry in celebration!” she said happily.

“No!” Enzan and Netto said quickly.

Madoi laughed, “It’s a figure of speech you two. Come on, it’s been awhile since we’ve seen you Netto, lunch is on the house if you’ll tell us what’s been going on in the science world lately.”

Netto eyed the curry Dekao was stewing hungrily. “Deal,” he said.

Dekao laughed and poured some out onto two dishes of rice.

Netto took it hungrily and started to chow down. Rockman and Blues wandered into the Cyber version of Maha Ichiban to see Gutsman behind the counter. Ever since the dress up chips were invented, the navi persona based off of humans had only gotten stronger. Now there were food chips that allowed navi’s to taste to some extent. The system was far from perfect but it was still there.

“Do you wish to have anything, de-gutsu,” Gutsman asked.

Rockman and Blues shook their heads and sat down. They were soon joined by the WWW navi’s and they listened in on the conversation in the real world.

“So, what was the program?” Hino-ken asked.

Netto shoved another spoonful of curry into his mouth before he answered. “Well, it was a computer program that is going to eventually help run the new telescope at the Sci-Labs Observatory,” he said. “It supposedly is so strong it can see things about 300,000 more light years away then the strongest current telescope.”

“That’s sounds pretty neat,” Dekao said giving Netto another plate.

Netto took it and began eating. “It sounds neat, it was a pain in the ass to write, right Rockman?”

Rockman nodded. “Yeah it was. First of all the language had to be universal just in case any other labs wanted the program.”

Enzan winced, he didn’t realize what Netto was writing. “Binary?” he asked.

Netto nodded, “Oh yeah. It was evil.”

“And you finished it in a week,” Enzan muttered. “How do you do it?”

Rockman smiled, “I could answer that, but you’d kill both of us.”

Enzan blinked, “You didn’t,” he said.

“Rockman, shut up,” Netto said.

“Sorry,” Rockman said nervously.

“Did what?” Madoi asked.

“Nothing,” Netto, Enzan and Rockman all said at the same time.

Madoi raised an eyebrow but did say anything.

“One week?” Elec asked. “How did you finish it in one week?”

“Hard work?” Netto said laughing and ate some more curry.

Before Enzan could say anything Hino-ken laughed. “So, you waited till the last minute again.”

Netto smiled sheepishly. “Guilty as charged.”

Mahajorama smiled. “You’d be in trouble if the world knew that the scientist that designed half of the programs that run most of today’s appliances liked to procrastinate as much as you do.”

Netto rolled his eyes and finished off his second plate of curry. “I get enough from Meiru, Jasmine, Laika and Enzan thank you very much.”

“How is Jasmine anyway?” Dekao asked in what he hoped was an offhand voice.

Netto smiled. “She’s fine. She just opened her own herbal medicine shop in Choina. She sent us a picture of it last week.”

“O-oh, can I see?” Dekao asked.

“I’ll e-mail it to you when I get home,” Netto said.

“Speaking of which, we should probably go home,” Enzan said and set his spoon down on a half eaten curry plate.

“Awww, I’m fine,” Netto said flashing a broad grin.

“Need I remind you just how late you stayed up last night?” Enzan asked.

“Night?” Rockman asked.

“You’re not helping,” Netto said.

Madoi laughed, “Ah, so it was crunch time eh?”

Netto rolled his eyes and shook his head. “No! I have two days left before the dead line,” he said.

“So,” Hino-ken reiterated. “It was crunch time.”

Rockman laughed, “Pretty much.”

Elecman laughed, “Well, at least it was finished.”

“Exactly! See!” Netto said. “That’s right Elecman, thank you.”

“So, it doesn’t make it right about the fact that you were up until 6:30 AM finishing a program,” Enzan said.

“Not true,” Netto said. “I was only up till 5:30.”

Enzan rolled his eyes and Madoi laughed. “That’s the spirit.”

“Please,” Rockman said. “Don’t encourage him.”

“I second that,” Enzan said dryly.

Madoi chuckled and stood up. “Well, I guess we should get back to work. Nice to see you two again.”

Netto stood up and picked up his PET. “Nice seeing you again too. We’ll be back soon,” he called as he walked out of the restaurant.

“I don’t doubt it,” Mahajorama smiled.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

“Where to now?” Netto asked.

“Home?” Enzan said. “To sleep?”

“Hey, you were the one that woke me up, remember?” Netto said.

“Uhhh, no. I waited till you got up on your own. You woke up,” Enzan said,

“Whatever,” Netto muttered.

Enzan sighed, “I know you’re still tired. You should try and get decent night’s sleep.”

“It’s still day,” Netto pointed out.

Enzan rolled his eyes. “Fine, we’ll stop and get some ice cream. Then you’ll go home and go to bed.”

“Deal,” Netto said happily.

They went to the ice cream stand and got two large chocolate milkshakes. They drank their cool treats in silence until Enzan decided to speak up.

“Netto?”

“Mmm?” Netto looked at Enzan with the straw still in his mouth making him look very cute and causing Enzan to look away blushing.

“Did you really do ‘that’ to finish the project?” he asked.

Netto sighed, “Only a little. And Rockman helped a lot too. Don’t worry; I know what I’m doing.”

Enzan sighed, “I know. But you know that is kinda of dangerous.”

“No it’s not,” Netto said.

“He’s right, it’s not,” said Rockman. “It’s part of him, Enzan. Part of us. Don’t worry, I’d never let Netto intentionally hurt himself.”

Enzan smiled and took another sip of the creamy drink. “You two still worry me though.”

Netto finished his off with a loud slurp and sucking noise that was very annoying. “Well, we never asked you to worry.”

Blues chuckled silently as Enzan steamed. “You never… now listen here!” he started before he realized Netto’s was walking away looking for a trashcan.

Enzan caught up with him but before he could say anything Netto spoke. “Oh relax will you? I’ve got two days off now so I can relax all I want.”

Enzan sighed. “You better not do this again.”

“I can’t,” Netto grinned. “We made a bet, remember?”

Enzan smiled back. “I remember. Now we should get home. You promise to go to bed?”

“I promise!” Netto said.

Enzan gripped Netto’s arm. “Do you really?” he asked again.

Netto pulled himself from Enzan grip. “Yes really, that’s part of the bet remember? Now I have some catching up on sleep to do. See you tomorrow Enzan!” Netto waved and walked down the street.

Enzan sighed, if only it was as easy as a bet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, I think this is all I'm going to update. My hands REALLY hurt now.

*goes to sleep*
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[Plantman]

Har Har... now I'm curious about what is the 'that'. Very niciely written Neko, I love Enzan's reaction XD
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Hecha en MÉXICO - Avatar by Me.
"Logic is the Ultimate Weapon."

[Plantman]

Har Har... now I'm curious about what is the 'that'. Very niciely written Neko, I love Enzan's reaction XD
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Hecha en MÉXICO - Avatar by Me.
"Logic is the Ultimate Weapon."

[Midnight]

What is this bet? It still hasn't been cleared up yet.

Anyway, nicely done. Netto doesn't seem like the type to be into astronomy, but it's still a nice touch.
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The Kingdom of Loathing: An Adventurer is You! // I ♣ Seals

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[Neko]

He isn't. He just programmed what he was told to program.
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[Neko]

Netto went home and immediately crashed onto his bed. Within minutes he was fast asleep, Rockman however wasn’t so ready to go to bed. He stay up looking at Netto through the monitor link and once he was sure Netto was asleep he took off through a private link that Blues had given him long ago.

He appeared in a rather large room that was Blues’ personal homepage. It was designed to have a bed, two comfy chairs, a fireplace and lots of books. Blues loved to read and many of the old classics adorned the cyber shelf’s pages. There were only two people besides Blues in the world that had a link to this webpage, Rockman was one and Enzan was the other. Rockman came here only when he needed to talk with Blues in private and he knew that as soon as he went into the webpage, Blues would come.

Sure enough, not a minute after Rockman appeared in the comfortable room did Blues appear right in front of him. “Hey,” Rockman smiled.

“Is something wrong?” Blues asked.

Rockman sighed and sat in one of the chairs. “Enzan-san and Netto-kun are starting to worry me a bit.”

Blues raised an un-seeable eyebrow. “What brought this on?”

“That bet. Blues you know how competitive they are! And stubborn,” he added as an afterthought. “Look, not that it’s a bad idea but well…” Rockman struggled for the right words. “The way Netto-kun works is the way he has worked since he got this job. I hate to say this but he works better under pressure and so does Enzan-san.”

“It’s not healthy, for Enzan-sama or your brother,” Blues said softly.

“I know!” Rockman threw up his hands. “Heaven knows I know. I tell Netto-kun day after day to get into a different style of living but it just seems…”

“Rockman, are you worried about their working habits or their relationship,” Blues said.

Rockman looked at Blues a bit stunned then smiled. “You know me way to well. Are you sure you can’t read minds?”

“Not the last time I checked,” Blues gave a wry smile. “If I could then maybe I’d know what Enzan-sama was thinking.”

“That’d be nice to know,” Rockman said dryly.

“What’s your real concern?” Blues asked.

“Blues, you’d have to be a fool to not see that Netto-kun and Enzan-san have feeling for each other,” Rockman said.

Blues nodded. “Except them, trust me, everyone knows this.”

“Well, my concern isn’t the relationship; god knows they deserve each other. But let’s say that they do get together, with their current jobs, could they handle it?” Blues opened his mouth and Rockman shook his head. “Blues, you will be the first to admit that Enzan-san works as much as he possibly can because of his high status. Netto-kun regardless of his,” Rockman smiled, “Procrastination issues also works a lot. I just want to know if maybe they could actually handle a relationship…”

“You sounds like an overly worried mom,” Blues said with a hint of a grin.

Rockman winced, “God, I do don’t I?”

Blues nodded.

Rockman took off his helmet and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “I don’t know Blues! I’ve worried about this for a long time. It just seems, and trust me this is weird to admit about Netto-kun, but it seems that they are both obsessed with work.”

Blues pulled the second chair over across from Rockman’s and sat in it. “Maybe they are obsessed with work because they don’t feel they have anything else to spend time on.”

Rockman gave Blues one of the most skeptical looks he had ever seen. “Netto-kun, not have anything to do?”

“It’s a theory,” Blues said.

Rockman shrugged, “Well, I can see Enzan-san doing that, but Netto-kun… do you really think that’s it?”

Blues shrugged, “Only time will tell. Personally I think that this bet is a good idea. They will be forced to meddle in one another’s lives because we know they don’t trust each other.”

“And with good reason,” Rockman muttered.

Blues coughed. “Be that as it may, I’m just putting out the idea that maybe they have so much work because,” Blues’ lips twisted. “This sounds really cheesy, but because they don’t have each other.”

Rockman’s eyes widened as he fought down laughter. “Wow Blues, I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“You can stop now,” Blues said.

Rockman smiled and stood up. He stretched and got ready to link out. “Maybe you’re right; maybe this will be good for them.”

Blues nodded and walked over to Rockman’s chair. He picked up Rockman’s helmet and tossed it over to him. Rockman caught it and grinned sheepishly. “Be patient Rockman, I think our operators have a bit more sense then we tend to give them credit for.”

“Netto-kun could have fooled me,” Rockman said dryly as he put his helmet back on. “Bye Blues,” he said and waved.

Blues lifted his hand and Rockman left the room. Blues stood there for a few seconds with his hand still raised before he gave a sigh and exited the room himself.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Rockman entered his own webpage as Netto was waking up. “Morning sleepy head,” Rockman said.

“Shut up,” Netto muttered.

“Feeling the aftereffects of last night?”

Netto groaned and flopped back first on his bed.

“Muscles stiff?” Rockman asked.

“Can you feel it?” Netto replied.

“A little,” Rockman admitted.

Netto yawned again and sat up. He rubbed his eyes and looked over at Rockman. “Where were you, by the way?”

“I just went to talk to Blues,” Rockman said.

Netto grinned evilly. “Oooohhh,” he said in a knowing voice.

“What?” Rockman asked.

“Nothing,” Netto said.

Rockman crossed his arms and glared at Netto. “What?” he asked again.

“Nothing, nothing,” Netto said easily and stood up. “I think I’m going to take a bath,” he said. “Can you send Enzan an e-mail telling him that I’ll meet him on the boardwalk tomorrow? That is if he wants to come.”

Rockman nodded and started to write the e-mail. He sent it and mere minutes later he received a reply. “Netto-kun!” he yelled to see if Netto could hear him. Rockman sighed when there was no reply. No doubt Netto had the radio station turned up as loudly as he could.

/Netto-kun,/ he said mentally.

/Yes?/ Netto replied.

/Enzan-san said he’ll meet you by the Seaside Café tomorrow,/ Rockman said while glancing at the e-mail to make sure he got the place right.

/He replied already?/ Netto asked a bit puzzled.

Rockman grinned even though Netto couldn’t see it, /I guess he’s looking forward to tomorrow,/ Rockman said.

/I guess,/ Netto replied.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

An hour later Netto ordered pizza and he and Rockman crashed on the couch and played a rousing game of Racecar. Rockman as always defeated Netto in one humiliating race after another. At his third loss Netto dropped the control and took a furious bite of pizza.

“Netto-kun, why on earth do you play these games against me when you know you’ll loose?” Rockman asked while trying not to laugh.

“Because one day I’ll beat you,” Netto said grumpily.

Rockman snorted.

“It’s true! I’ll beat you and then you can stop teasing me every time you beat me,” Netto said.

“And, after ten years of playing this game you think you’ll beat me why?” Rockman asked.

“Shut up,” Netto muttered.

It was about 11:30 when Netto and Rockman turned in. Netto flopped onto his bed for the third time that day and Rockman lay down in his own bed. They said good night and all the lights went out.

At 12:51 Netto was lying in bed and still wide awake. He was on his back staring at the ceiling with his hands cupped behind his head.

/Netto-kun?/ Rockman asked sleepily.

/Yeah?/

/What are you doing up?/ Rockman asked.

/I can’t sleep,/ Netto said.

Rockman blinked. “You can’t what?” he said out loud.

“I guess I slept too much today,” Netto said sheepishly.

Rockman groaned and pulled his pillow over his head with a loud thumping sound. Only Netto.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yay! This was a bit hard to write but I think it turned out okay. Hope you liked it!
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[Midnight]

Hmm...good stuff.

Yes, the relationship becomes slightly more apparent in this chapter. Sure I am a bit uneasy about it, but I think this uneasiness will be dispelled in future chapters.
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Today, these three players are after Big Bucks! But they'll have to avoid the Whammy, as they play the most exciting game of their lives! From Television City in Hollywood! It's time to 'Press Your Luck!'--Rod Roddy

The Kingdom of Loathing: An Adventurer is You! // I ♣ Seals

Avatar by Spork. I very much appreciate it! <3

[CrossFusionStarman]

Yeah, the relationship is getting more apparent, as shown by this chapter. I wonder how much it'll stand out in the next chapters? I'll just have to wait and see.
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[Neko]

Well...

It IS a shounen ai fanfic. And as you should know by now I don't pussy foot around with my realtionships. So, yeah, that's kind of the point of this story ^^
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[Neko]

Netto finally managed to fall asleep about 1:30 but it still took its toll. “Wake up,” Rockman said from his PET.

Netto groaned and turned over in his bed pulling the pillow over his head so he couldn’t hear anything. Rockman crossed his arms and shook his head. /You really think that’s going to accomplish anything?/ Rockman asked him mentally.

Netto glared into the bed sheets. /No, but you could have pretended it would,/ Netto muttered back.

/Netto, you promised you would meet Enzan today, remember?/ Rockman said.

Netto shot up in bed. “I forgot,” he said.

“Not surprising,” Rockman said. “Oh, by the way, it’s 10:30 so I’d get a move on if I were you.”

“Ah!” Netto said and practically fell out of bed in his hurry to get out of it. “Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?” he cried as he ran out of the room.

“I did,” Rockman said. “You turned over and fell back asleep.”

“Well, try harder!” Netto said.

Rockman sighed. “Netto-kun, I’m not your babysitter,” he pointed out.

Netto came into the room brushing his teeth. “No but you’re my navi and older brother,” he said in a muffled voice.

Rockman shrugged. “Netto-kun, I’m not responsible for you.”

Netto gave his navi a death glare and stalked out of the room laving Rockman to have a small laugh at his expense.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Netto managed to get dressed and ready to leave in ten minutes. He grabbed Rockman’s PET and ran out of his house at breakneck speed. “Netto-kun, Enzan isn’t going anywhere,” Rockman reminded him.

Netto slowed down as he got to his car. “I knew that,” he said sheepishly as he unlocked the door.

Rockman gave a knowing smile that Netto couldn’t see. “Right,” Rockman said.

Netto sighed and put the PET into the slot for car navigation. “Rockman, can you send an E-mail to Enzan telling him that we might be a little late.”

“I already did,” Rockman said.

Netto smiled, “Of course you did,” he said while starting the car.

Rockman booted up the navigation systems of the car. “Hey, I’m still a navi, besides I didn’t want it to seem like we just forgot him even though I have the feeling that he would wait there all day for you.”

Netto frowned as he backed out of the driveway. “What makes you say that?” he asked.

“Just call it close observation,” Rockman said.

“Close observation of what?” Netto asked.

“Nothing, Netto-kun,” Rockman said amazed at how thick Netto could still be.

“What?” Netto asked.

Rockman shook his head, “Nothing, nothing,” he said. “Keep your eyes on the road,” Rockman said when Netto gave his a confused look.

Netto snapped his gaze back to the road in front of him. “Are you keeping something from me, nii-san?” Netto asked.

“Of course not,” Rockman said angelically.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

They pulled into the Seaside Café at 11:15 which wasn’t bad considering when Netto woke up. He went into the café and was hailed by Enzan who already got a table. “Should we just get lunch?” Enzan asked.

“Sorry,” Netto muttered while trying to cover a blush.

Enzan waved a hand to dismiss it, “Don’t worry, I expected it.” He ignored the glare that Netto gave him by looking at the menu.

“He had breakfast, didn’t he?” Rockman quietly asked Blues.

“Yes,” Blues replied.

Rockman smiled. “Well, at least we made it. You okay?” he asked Blues.

Blues looked at Rockman’s sharply, “I’m fine. Why?”

“You seem a little tight,” Rockman said.

Blues smiled to try and put Rockman at ease. “Oh, I was just thinking about,” he paused, “Things.”

Rockman nodded. “I understand,” he said.

“So, what are you getting?” Netto asked.

“I don’t know,” Enzan admitted. “There’s a lot of fish.”

“It is a seaside café,” Netto said.

“Thank you for pointing that out,” Enzan said dryly.

“You’re welcome!” Netto said brightly.

Enzan rolled his eyes and glanced at the menu again. “What are you getting?” he asked.

“Clam chowder,” Netto and Rockman said simultaneously.

Enzan blinked, “What, no seafood curry?”

Netto shook his head, “Of course not. I go to Maha Ichiban for curry. I come here for chowder; Masa-san makes really good chowder.”

“Hmmm,” Enzan said. “I’ve never been here before, is it good?”

“I just said it was,” Netto replied.

“I’ll get chowder too then,” Enzan said putting down the menu.

Just then a man in his mid fifties came to the table. He was dressed in a simple blue outfit with a large apron with a big fish on it. “So, what will it be?” he asked in a loud voice.

“Two clam chowders please, Masa-san!” Netto said happily.

Masa eyed them. “Good, your friend looks like he could use some calcium.”

Netto tried not to go into a laughing fit while Enzan blinked uncertain of what to say. “Masa-san, that’s Enzan. You’ve met him before.”

Masa peered at Enzan, “Oh! Yes, I remember you. Glad to see you here!” he said and walked away.

“Masa-san’s eyesight isn’t what it used to be,” Netto said before Enzan could ask. “But he refuses to admit it so…” There was a loud crash behind them as Masa ran into the counter.

Enzan rubbed his forehead. “Why won’t he get glasses?”

“He says calcium will fix his eyesight,” Netto said. “The only one who can even get him to wear sunglasses is Miyuki.”

Enzan rolled his eyes. “Why is he still working here then?”

“He owns this place,” Netto said.

Enzan blinked, “He does?”

Netto nodded. “Yeup, he’s owned it for about ten years.

“I… didn’t know that,” Enzan said.

Netto nodded. “Saloma-san and Miyuki-san re-opened their shops about five years ago. They come in here to check on Masa-san often. I think Miyuki has almost broken him down into getting glasses. He just found out he can’t fish if he doesn’t have a boating license and he can’t pass the test with his eyesight.”

Enzan nodded. “That makes sense.”

A girl came out and gave them the bowls. “Here you are,” she smiled and went back behind the counter.

“Smells good,” Enzan said.

Netto nodded happily, “I know.” He took a large bit and chewed on it thoughtfully. “What do you want to do after this?” he asked.

Enzan was still blowing on his soup. “I don’t know. I thought you said you wanted to go on the board walk.”

Netto nodded, “Yes, but where on the board walk? They’re a lot of places to go to.”

Enzan took a bite of the creamy soup, it did taste very good. “I’ve never been on the boardwalk here, know any places?”

Netto shook his head. “It’s amazing, you’ve been here how many times and yet you’ve never been on the boardwalk.”

Enzan blushed, “I’m a busy man, Netto.”

“I know,” Netto said. “How about we just walk on it and see what’s out there,” he said.

Enzan nodded, “That sounds good.”

“Maybe we’ll meet some people,” Netto smiled.

“Are you planning something?” Enzan asked, suddenly very cautious.

“No,” Netto said. He glanced at Enzan who was giving him a ‘really?’ look. Netto sighed, “Look, today is Saturday so Meiru, Tohru, Shuuko and Tohru are probably off work. Maybe even Dingo is here. That’s all,” Netto said.

Enzan nodded, “That sounds,” he paused. “Fun,” he finally said.

“Good,” Netto smiled and they finished off their lunch.

~~~~~~~~

MASAAAAA! WOOT! Oh, I am so gonna have fun with this fic :3
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