There was that damn jingling again.

     Ban stared bleakly at the wall of their dark room, his back turned to Ginji, who was now rolling over onto his side. There was a vague yawn, and then silence again.

     Ban knew better, though, and he couldn't help tensing as the silence dragged on.

     Sure enough, a few minutes later, the jingling started again. Ginji rolled over again, this time onto his back, and he shifted restlessly before settling down. Ban ground his teeth, and bit back what he wanted to say. If he didn't relax, he'd never get to sleep...

     But then again, he wasn't going to get any sleep anyway - once again, Ginji rolled over, this time dropping an arm over him. The jingling was almost right in his ear this time, and Ban felt his last nerve snapping. Despite the position Ginji had adopted, curled up against him, he couldn't hold back any longer, and he growled furiously.

     "If you don't take off those fucking cow pajamas, I'm going to strangle you."

     "Huh?" Ginji was startled back to half-wakefulness by the unexpected and very earnest threat. "Wha...? But... you said they were cute..."

     "They are," Ban told him, calming himself down slightly as Ginji let go of him in sleepy bewilderment, and he turned over to face him. "But listen - every time you move, that damn bell at the collar rings, and it wakes me up."

     "It does...?" Ginji sounded puzzled. "I didn't even hear it..."

     "I do - every single time," Ban informed him. "It's pissing me off."

     "Oh... Sorry... I didn't even think about that..."

     Even in the dark, Ban could make out Ginji's frown, and he sighed. "It's okay... all right?" Suddenly he got a wicked idea, and he smirked. "How about this - you can wear them until we get to bed any time... as long as you let me take them off after."

     "You mean you want to wear th... ohhhh." With Ginji still partly asleep, it took a minute for him to catch on, but he grinned back as Ban rolled on top of him, sliding a hand underneath the loose cow-print material and leaning in to capture his lips in a kiss he was too groggy to properly return. "Mm... I thought you were tired, Ban-chan..."

     "Well, I can't sleep when I'm pissed off," Ban told him with a grin, shoving a knee between his thighs.

     Soon enough, Ban's anger was forgotten. In fact, when mixed in with all the interesting noises Ginji was making, the bell's jingling wasn't so bad at all. That is, until one low, sultry sound caught him by surprise, and he froze.

     "Mooooo..."

     Eight seconds later found Ginji landing hard on the floor of the hallway outside their apartment. "Oww!" he complained. "Ban-chan...?"

     He was answered by an airborne pillow, which smacked him in the face. "Way to kill the mood, dumbass," Ban snapped, closing the door behind him. "You're sleeping in the car tonight."