Work Text:
The phone buzzed against the counter, rattling around in place before it started skipping to the side. Hideyasu barely had time to even notice it before it threatened a plunge to the ground that could possibly end with him losing a decent enough phone. The flour on his hands had him juggling the vibrating instrument (Pierre forbade ringtones, something about ruining the ambiance of his kitchen), and before he could lick his thumb clean enough to press a key the vibrations had stopped. The phone gave a strong buzz, the indication of a missed called, and Hideyasu rolled his eyes as he set the phone back down. Whoever it was hadn't bothered to leave a message so if what they needed was really important they'd call back.
No sooner had he turned away than the phone buzzed again. He snatched it up and looked at the caller ID - how the hell had Kazuraba even gotten his number - and pressed the ignore button. He wasn't supposed to have his phone out to start with, hense why it was on vibrate and tucked beneath the counter, so getting caught talking on it - to Gaim of all people - was not something he wanted to risk. The phone stopped vibrating, even if it was ringing, and when it ended his phone once against let him know he'd missed a call. It didn't sound for a message and Hideyasu frowned from where he'd taken a bowl back into his hands.
He was curious enough to wonder if the first call had also been from Kazuraba - they'd been too close together for it to be any other reason. No one else was in the kitchen and he was feeling a bit brave. His initial dance with his phone hadn't been discovered after all, he didn't hear Pierre's voice bellowing from around a corner, and Hideyasu gave a pointless glance around the empty kitchen. Checking any other areas would be superfluous - Pierre was out after someone had requested him in the dining hall a few days past. Something about handling the "problem children", an issue that Hideyasu was more than glad to let him go after. He wasn't particularly proud that he'd managed to bow his head long before the headhunting started but there was a sort of sick pleasure in knowing he'd escaped the wrath of Durian weapons. He'd felt them once and that was more than enough.
In the back of his mind, almost too gleefully, he felt that if Bravo took care of the problem for him then all this groveling was more than worth the taste of humiliation. He'd been looking for a better doormat after all and, while he'd intended to play that role to start, he was finding himself in a much better situation than imagined. That brat from Gaim had called him cowardly and he had called it tactics. Looking at how things were turning out he couldn't help but smile at how right he was for playing the "coward".
His phone buzzed again, rapping hard on the surface. It knocked into a sack of flour and grew muted by the block, and Hideyasu licked at his flour-covered fingers again. He could answer it this time and casually play that he hadn't heard the previous calls. He could play the part of a person interrupted and grow angry at the other party, raising his tone and carrying on because there was no one around to tell him otherwise. Sometimes he liked to think himself larger than he was and with Pierre off doing whatever now was one of those times. The sounds stopped, once again no chime for a message being heard. Three times was more than enough to show that someone was trying to reach him for something.
The fourth time the sounds started he gathered the phone into his hands and looked at the ID, once more that of Kazuraba Kouta. Maybe Hase had put the number into his phone alongside an ID? The two shared numbers, Hase and the de-facto leader of Gaim, so he wouldn't be surprised if that was how his number had been given too. Hase probably thought of it as a chance to gain more allies though Hideyasu knew it was more because he was friendly. Hase had always been the friendly type, so naive and trusting. It had been all too easy to take advantage of that and all too easy to selfishly command. With the phone still buzzing in his hands he finally looked down and pressed the green key. He raised it up to his ear, allowing his free hand to travel and rest against his hip.
"Yes?" Initially he came off too eager and he cleared his throat, starting again and actually attempting to control himself. "Yes, hello." He spoke into the receiver, acting surprised that someone was calling and he hadn't denied knowledge of it thrice. "It's me."
"Jounouchi, it's -" He could hear Kazuraba on the other end, breathless and hurried for some reason. It was always like him to be in the middle of something and, with as much as Hideyasu knew about him, probably wanting to drag him into it. He recalled how he'd been approached once before about finding Inves in the city and he also remembered how easy it had been to turn Kazuraba down.
"I'm sorry, I'm a little busy right now. Do you need something?" To make it sound like he actually was he clanged a spoon on bowl and let the sound echo a little too close to the speaker. Kazuraba sounded like he was hesitating speaking, if the crackling silence was any indication of his thoughts, and Hideyasu wondered if he should play along. "Are you there? Did we lose the connection?"
"It's Hase. He, the lockseeds - " In between trailing off and the sounds of the city in the background, part of what Kazuraba said was cut off. It was probably for the best as Hideyasu wasn't too willing to listen. He'd take what he heard and turn it for himself to get their conversation over.
"I don't really have time for your little games right now, you or Hase-chan." It was strange to attach that diminutive to Hase's name. It wasn't as though their relationship existed anymore, he was certain he'd broken their ties that day just as surely as Hase's driver had been, yet it so casually clung on as thought it belonged. Hase Ryouji would always be Hase-chan...or at least for now. "I'm sure you know that I'm working with Oren-san and he certainly would hate to know that I was being distracted."
"Never mind about Oren, it's Hase. Something's wrong with Hase and you need, we need to help him."
"Something's wrong besides having a broken belt? I don't really see how that's my problem." Hideyasu clanged the spoon on the bowl again though he flinched at the noise. Words about Hase being in trouble weren't exactly something he felt he should care about but even he had some decency in him considering what the pair had been through. Pretty words and actions said that Hideyasu had only been using him and, for the most part, those pretty words were correct. Why then did he feel a sliver of cold on his back as he thought about trouble and something being wrong? "Anyway, I need to go. Oren-san will be back soon and I can't be caught of my phone. Some of us are being responsible adults after all."
"Jounou - " He snapped the phone off before Kazuraba could say anything more and set it face down on the counter. The urgency in Kazuraba's voice still clung to the back of his mind and made him wonder a little more about Hase and a little less about getting his work done. Maybe that was the point all along, to distract him from achieving whatever it was that Bravo had planned for him, but attempting to guilt him into thinking about Hase.
Cowardly tactics, he thought. They'd almost worked, he found himself looking back for his phone with the idea to call. He wouldn't say anything really, that was even if Hase answered a call from him. They'd had no contact after all, it was supposed to be a clean removal. Like pulling a bandage quickly. His hands moved to interlock his fingers as he turned his back to his phone, ignoring the sounds of buzzing that started up their call.
Cowardly tactics, he repeated. Too bad it won't work on me. Moving to cover the phone with a cloth he didn't bother with the caller ID. He didn't have time for their games, not right now, but he would when his shift ended. He had three mores hours left and the sun would still be up when he got off.
It wouldn't be too late.