The moment Kanda stepped into General Marian's room he smelled it. Alcohol, probably vodka. 'Fucking alcoholic,' thought Kanda to himself. The man in question was currently sitting across the room, by the fireplace, in a large upholstered chair. He looked fairly relaxed…or fairly drunk.

"What was it you called me up here for, General?" Kanda asked through a clenched jaw.

"I thought I'd offer you some information in exchange for a small favor," he answered, his speech, surprisingly, clear.

"I was able to obtain some information on the whereabouts of a certain person while in Edo," he continued smoothly. "In exchange for a little favor, I'd be wil―"

"WHERE IS HE?" Kanda growled from halfway across the room. He walked swiftly over to stand in front of Cross's knees.

"Whoa, whoa. Lemme finish my sentence there, kiddo." Cross said back with a smile, both of which pissed Kanda off considerably. Taking another sip from his glass, he started again. "I'd be willing to tell you his last known location as long as you agree to do a favor for me first."

"What kind of favor?" Kanda asked, somehow feeling suspicious already.

"So then you agree to it?"

"Agree to what?"

"The favor, do you agree to the favor? I said you'd have to agree to it before I told you anything," he replied back with a pseudo-exasperated sigh. A small part of Kanda told him to run for it, right then and there, but he chose not to listen. He needed to find that person.

"Fine, yes. Now what is it?" Kanda agreed after staring the General in the eye for a long, hard moment. Disappointingly, Cross's eye seemed to be focused anywhere but back at Kanda's.

"Lick my boots," the General replied with a straight face.

When Kanda's mind got over the initial shock of that statement it proceeded to think, 'For a favor, my ass! A booty-call is more like it!'

Cross must have noticed that he was holding something back. He set his glass on a side table and leaned forward a little towards Kanda. "Why the hesitation, Yuu?" Kanda cringed at the sickeningly sweet way he pushed his name out. "I thought we had a deal, a promise. You can't very well back out of this, you know; you made a promise and I know how much you want to know where he is." For a man who was supposed to be drunk off his rocker, Cross's voice made Kanda squirm, visibly.

'That son-of-a-bitch has got me backed into a corner,' he reprimanded himself. As uninspiring the General was, Kanda never pinned him as the type to play dirty. And he was treading in some very dirty water. He glared daggers the General as he dropped Mugen to the ledge of the fireplace. "Not a word of this ever gets out. And as soon as I'm…done, you tell me everything you know," he said with a scowl.

"Of course, of course. This will be our little secret, okay, Yuu?" the General nearly whispered back. Kanda didn't like the way he was following his every move down to the floor with his eyes. It was like –what was that phrase, again- like, he was undressing him with his eyes.

Marian relaxed back into the plush chair as Kanda settled himself on the carpet. He looked down at the boy kneeling between his legs with an almost hopeful look on his face. But, oh no, he wasn't letting him get away this time. "Well, get on with it then. I don't have all night."

"What, you got a whore coming in at twelve?" Kanda said under his breath.

"What was that, boy?"

"Nothing, sir."

Kanda bent over with his hands on the ground until his nose nearly touched the toe of Cross's left boot. He sniffed. They didn't smell too filthy, but Kanda still felt that way.

"Go on." Cross nudged Kanda's bottom with his other foot. Kanda felt his face heat up at the sudden contact and bumped his nose on Cross's boot. He tried to will the blush away as he tentatively touched his tongue to the top of Cross's foot. As he worked his way around the leather toe boxes he heard what sounded like a hum or purr from the other man. He looked up when he felt Cross shift.

"Come on, now. You gotta do better than that if you want me to tell you anything," Cross said like he was scolding a puppy. "Use your whole tongue, lick it. Carte Garde."

From behind his fringe of bangs Kanda's eyes widened considerably. He began to panic inside as he felt his head dip back to the General's ankle. He grunted as he tried to fight it but only ended up making his back and head hurt. Before he could get a word out, a plea to stop, the flat of his tongue was moving around the bottom of Cross's leg. He continued to struggle against himself as his tongue made its way to the other side of the boot. To his horror he heard the General groan as his tongue poked in between his laces. He looked up through his bangs just in time to see the other man 'readjust' himself. Kanda's face felt hot enough to set the rug afire.

"Ooh, right there," purred the General. Kanda gasped as he felt the man snap his hair tie. With the ponytail out of the way, Cross placed his hand on the nape of Kanda's neck and guided him back to the criss-cross of laces.

Kanda shivered as he felt Cross's other hand join its partner. One hand held his head down while the other combed sensually through his loose hair. Kanda tried to stop his movements, tried get away from those hands, but all he could do was rip a desperate keen from between his lips.

He was defeated. And he still had one more boot to go.