#odevfics

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On a peaceful afternoon at the Morning Glory Orphanage in Okinawa, Kiryu sits on the floor of his room, fiddling with some of his old Pocket Circuit cars. The children have shown interest in having a friendly race, and who is Kiryu to not let them indulge? The familiar car designs bring with them a heavy load of nostalgia. While his most prized car, the Cool Striker he customized for his hardest race, was kept safe on a shelf well out of anyone else's reach, his numerous other cars from both the 80s and the 2000s have been disassembled. An assortment of tires, bumpers, gears and motors were strewn all over the floor, as Kiryu rebuilt the cars to be as balanced as possible. The process, while different from building for optimization, brought Kiryu back to simpler days. Times where he didn't have all of this weight on his back.

He's grateful for this time alone, which he was only getting because Majima had come down to Okinawa for a visit. While the kids were initially all intimidated by the man, Haruka especially, they quickly warmed up to him once he showed that he didn't bite. It's a serene kind of alone, one that lets Kiryu lose himself in monotony and peace, and not have to worry about a kid drowning in the ocean. He sets down the newly customized Golem Tiger next to the other finished car, and picks up the frame for the third car, quietly humming a small tune to himself.

A scream pierces the air, and Kiryu's blood runs cold. All of the kids were outside on the beach today, so unless Majima just screamed like a little girl…

Dropping the parts onto the floor, he rushes out into the main room, and sees… well…

Majima is standing on the main dining room table, staring at the closed door of the kitchen.

"Nii-san?"

Majima's head whips over, and Kiryu internally braces himself for an attack.

"KIRYU-CHAN!!!!!"

Majima's shout carries fear, which is very unusual for the Mad Dog. Kiryu is unfazed, but definitely concerned.

"What do you need, Majima-san?"

"I was comin' in to get the kids some of those tiny ass water bottles," Majima explained, no longer yelling but still a bit shaken, "and when I went in the kitchen… Oh god, Kiryu-chan, I almost lost years off ma life! Please, I will owe you for this, but can ya-"

“Is it another bug?"

A silence falls between them.

“.....maybe."

Kiryu sighs.

“What kind?"

Another moment of silence.

“A spider."

Kiryu turns and walks towards the landing of the building.

“DON'T LEAVE ME HERE, KIRYU-CHAN!" Majima cries out, fear reentering his voice.

“I'M GETTING SOMETHING. JUST KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE BUG." Kiryu shouts back as an attempt to calm him down.

“I DON'T WANNA LOOK AT THAT SHIT! ARE YA CRAZY!?"

“NII-SAN!"

“FINE!"

Kiryu opens a cabinet in the landing of Morning Glory, pulling out his trusty can of Multi-Bug Kill Spray, and walks back into the dining room to find the kitchen door open, and Majima pointing at the floor.

“Ya little fucker… yer done! Ya hear me!? Goro Majima wins this one!"

“I wouldn't call this a win, nii-san." Kiryu replies, setting the cap of the spray on the table next to Majima's foot.

“Don't bust my balls in front of the spider!" Majima retorted.

“The spider doesn't care." Kiryu said flatly.

“I care!" Majima's outburst causes Kiryu to chuckle a bit.

“Alright, where's this…. Uh..?" Kiryu trailed off, noticing the spider was no longer where Majima was pointing. In fact, it seems to have disappeared.

Majima's eye went wide.

“Ohgodwheredafuckdiditgo." Majima said, spinning around frantically.

"Are you sure it was real?" Kiryu asks, really hoping he didn't have to deal with a spider infestation.

"My little shits try to prank me with those fake ass spiders ya get with those dumb prank books, so I know when one of those fuckers is fake… that shit was real, Kaz." Majima says with a shaky breath.

"I believe you, Majima-san. We just have to find it now."

Kiryu trepidatiously walks into the kitchen, scanning every surface for the creature. Nothing.

"Do you see it out there?" Kiryu called out.

“No.” Majima replied, his voice now unusually small and coated with fear.

“Come back in here, then.”

Kiryu walks back into the dining room, and Majima meets him there. An idea flashes through Kiryu’s brain that he wishes he didn’t think of, but now he can’t let it go until he checks.

“I hate to say this… but stand still, and spread your arms out just a bit.”

“Haw?”

Majima seems confused, but obliges with Kiryu’s order. As quick as he can, Kiryu looks Majima up and down, trying not to linger in one spot for too long. He even lifts Majima’s jacket at places, ensuring the creepy-crawly wasn’t taking refuge directly on the Mad Dog and Majima hadn’t noticed.

“Ya checkin’ me out, Kiryu-chan?” Majima's slightly less fear-coated voice attempted to tease the dragon.

“Do you want to know what I’m actually doing?” Kiryu replied, repositioning one of Majima’s sleeves.

Majima falls silent as his eye goes wide, his flirtatious remarks falling away as what Kiryu assumes is a newfound fear fills him. He chuckles at Majima’s misfortune, but desperately doesn’t want to give him room to catch him off guard.

“The spider isn’t on you, nii-san.” Kiryu says, trying to feign confidence, and stepping back from him.

“Well.. it could be on you, Kiryu-chan.”

“What?”

Before Kiryu can protest, Majima starts to examine Kiryu up and down, taking noticeably a bit more time than Kiryu did with him. He silently thanks his past self for taking a shower that morning. Silence feels the space, and Kiryu becomes hyper-aware of every movement from Majima, and can almost feel his eye wandering around his body. Kiryu swallows, trying to erase whatever is happening from his own mind.

He feels his shirt lift slightly, as Majima's warm breath hits his lower back, and Kiryu has to fight an oncoming rush of redness to his face. Majima giggles quietly, noticing Kiryu’s fists clenching.

“Ya like that, Kiryu-chan?” Majima says almost against his skin, making the fight even harder for poor Kiryu.

“Now’s not the time, nii-san.” Kiryu says through gritted teeth. He wasn't even sure what was happening, just that it couldn't happen now.

The two then hear a loud stomp, and both men practically jump out of their skin. Kiryu feels the back of his shirt fall into place as he turns towards the entrance to Morning Glory. His heart immediately slows as Haruka enters the space and sees him staring in her vicinity.

"Hey, Uncle Kaz! Are the pocket cars done yet?"

"Hey, Haruka. Uh…. Not quite. There's only a couple more left, but I got a bit distracted by a bug." Kiryu looks behind him, and sees Majima's eye wide, practically pleading with him. Kiryu resists the urge to smirk. "Majima was helping me find the bug, but we seem to have lost it."

Majima's eye goes back to normal, gratitude filling it. Kiryu smiles ever so slightly, and cocks an eyebrow to say 'You're welcome.'

“A bug? You mean the big spider?”

Kiryu sees Majima’s eye go wide again.

“Did you see it, Haruka?” Kiryu asked his daughter, shifting his focus back to her.

She nods, and holds up a shoe that Kiryu only now notices is in her hand. “Don’t worry, I killed it. I have to wash the bottom of my shoe though.”

Kiryu lets out a small laugh as Majima sighs next to him.

“Nice work. Just don’t leave any spider bits in the sink.”

“I won’t.” Haruka then turns to Majima. “Oh, Uncle Goro. Taichi and Mitsuo were asking for you.”

Kiryu sees Majima go through many different emotions at once.

“Oh… uh, I’ll be down there in just a second, Haruka-chan. Just have to… y’know, actually do what I wanted to do up here.”

Majima and Kiryu exchange an awkward glance, as Majima clears his throat and walks into the kitchen.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Kiryu looks down at his daughter.

"No. I think that's the first time he's heard you call him that. Must've got to him."

Haruka nods. "Makes sense. See you in a bit, Uncle Kaz!"

Haruka runs into the kitchen. Kiryu sighs, and chuckles to himself.

How did I get so lucky?

Shaking his head, Kiryu walks back into his room, and decides to pay attention to the voices he can hear through the thin walls of the orphanage.

“You wanna see the spider?” one says.

“HELL NO! Get that shit away from me, Haruka-chan!” the other shouts.

A chorus of female giggles echo into Kiryu’s ears, and he smiles. Sounds like he’ll have to invite Majima back to the orphanage, especially if he’s getting along with Haruka enough for her to tease him.

Surprise! I've been cooking this up for a bit more than a week, and got it prepped just in time for Christmas! This was super fun to write, and now I know a lot more about cooking than I should.

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Yagami and Kaito always kept a polite distance from each other whenever possible. They only got close if it was necessary, like squeezing through crowded streets in Kamurocho, or standing in a line together, or when they’re both too drunk to remember it the next day.

Kaito has always wished to comfort Yagami. Pull him into a hug, throw an arm around his shoulder. He loves communicating through physical touch, anyone who got close to him would learn one way or the other. 

But after their routine fights ended, Kaito consciously kept a respectable distance away from Yagami, and Yagami kept away from Kaito.

Catch is, Kaito isn't even sure why he does this. 

It’s not out of respect. He respected the hell out of Matsugane, and he always kept himself close, ready to lend himself to his patriarch's needs. He respected Higashi too, but that didn’t stop him from messing with Higashi’s hair on occasion, when no one else could see them.

It’s not for Yagami's sake either. From what he knew, he wasn't adverse to physical affection. He had heard from others when Yagami had comforted people, or celebrated with the students he helped with their own goals.

So what was that physical barrier that they kept up around each other, that neither dared to break?

Even now, as he sits slumped against the wall of the former Matsugane Family office after a huge fight he somehow won, Kaito finds himself pondering this dilemma. He desperately wanted to push himself upright and rush through Kamurocho until he found Yagami, and hold him as close as he could. His body was too weak to even sit up properly, though. He could just …be where he is, think and pray that his partner was alright, as he had an even scarier job to do than Kaito’s task.

Thankfully, Kaito’s prayer’s were quickly answered, as he hears a door open, and a voice crash through the space.

“KAITO-SAN?!"

Kaito opens his eyes, and sees a blur of motion rush towards him. He blinks slowly, and Yagami's face fills his view. Squatting in front of him, bruises and cuts decorate his deep tan skin, and a smear of blood peeks out from under his hair on his forehead. He sees the detective take a deep breath of relief.

“You're a sight for sore eyes," Kaito attempted to joke, but his voice came out strained, and he almost started coughing. He assumes one of the unconscious people on the floor got a good smack at his windpipe. He tries to take a breath of his own, but it's shallow.

“Holy shit, Kaito-san," Yagami says in response.

Kaito pushes himself into more of an upright position, his entire body protesting. He tries to suppress a pained groan, but fails.

“How do you feel?" Yagami askes, his eyebrows furrowed, gleaming ambers shining with concern.

“Like shit," Kaito laughs, but actually coughs this time, tasting a bit of blood that thankfully doesn't escape his mouth. He swallows it, and keeps speaking, “I'll survive, but fuck this is gonna hurt in the morning, Tak."

“Is anything broken?" Yagami says, his eyes raking quickly across Kaito’s body. He feels a strange bubble form in his stomach, which he ignores as he stretches each limb carefully.

“Nope. My windpipe doesn't feel great though."

Kaito takes another breath, this one feeling more normal. 

“Er, maybe it's starting to feel better? Either way, this doesn’t seem life threatening. I'll be okay."

A second look of concern washes over Yagami, but it fades as he lets out a sigh. “Thank goodness." Yagami fully sits down, letting out another breath, his knee just a few inches away from Kaito’s foot. Kaito is a bit unsure why he’s fixating on how close Yagami is to him, but he pushes it out of his head, blaming his injuries and general worry for his friend.

His mind betrays him a second later, as Kaito feels this strange pull towards Yagami, his instinct screaming to bring him into a hug, and tell him he'd be okay. He looks at his partner's wrist and debates it for a second, before shaking himself out of that train of thought.

He just couldn’t get Yagami out of his head, could he?

Not that he was entirely surprised. They had been working together for a long time now. Ever since Yagami extended the offer of the job to Kaito after he got expelled all those years ago, he had clung to Yagami desperately. Most of his waking moments had to relate to Yagami, just by principle. 

Oh right, they were working on something, weren’t they?

“How did everything go on your end?" Kaito finally breaks the silence, and Yagami lets out a breathless laugh.

“It was pretty rough. Higashi and Sugiura are still up near Kamurocho Hills, trying to find anything in the rubble of that place. I'm shocked we all survived, to be honest.”

“How did they hold up? From the looks of it, you were in a fight too.”

“Yeah. Honestly, I'm glad I had those two with me. They’re very good in a scrap.” Yagami nods, wiping the blood from his forehead.

“I would know. Have you updated Tsukumo about all of that yet?”

Yagami’s eyes widen in realization.

“Oh shit, Tsukumo!”

Kaito lets out a laugh as Yagami taps the side of his earpiece, then leans over and does the same for him.

“Tsukumo, I found Kaito-san. He's a bit beat up, but he's alive." Kaito blinks hard and remembers he's hearing Yagami twice.

“Hey, Tsukumo." Kaito says, his voice coming out a bit louder.

“You sound like shit, Kaito-san." Tsukumo’s voice rang loud and clear, like he was right next to him. Kaito lets a small laugh out.

“Feel like it too. One of these assholes smacked my windpipe, I think."

He hears a frantic keyboard type, then a few mouse clicks.

“Reading up on your injury, the best thing to do is to just keep note of the symptoms, Kaito-san."

“He seems to be doing better than when I found him." Yagami interjected.

“Well, if he's healing on his own, then you should be alright. Just let us know if things worsen. I’m gonna contact Higashi and Sugiura-shi.” 

“Will do, Tsukumo. Thanks." Kaito taps his earpiece, cutting the connection and microphone. 

He watches Yagami hear something else on the earpiece, and responds with “That’d be great, Tsukumo. Give my regards to Sugiura.” before turning his own earpiece off.

“Tsukumo is going to tell Sugiura to get some extra pain medicine on his way back to the agency."

“Sounds like heaven,” Kaito remarked, sitting up just a little more. With the time that was passing, he was slowly gaining control of his body.

“Besides, well… with all of these guys here,” Yagami swivels around, looking at the number of bodies Kaito left unconscious in his wake, “how was playing distraction? Find out anything useful?”

“Not really. Just that they knew this place was empty and abandoned. That guy might know more if you wake him up.” Kaito gestures towards Matsugane’s old quarters, where a pair of feet were sticking out. Yagami simply stares in that direction.

“But man, with the number of guys here, I thought I was a goner!” Kaito says, attempting to break the tension and silence between them.

Again, Yagami doesn’t respond. He turns back towards Kaito, shutting his eyes and positioning into a squat. When he opens them again, Kaito can see those bright ambers beginning to water. He cocks his head to one side slightly.

"Tak? You alright? Did I say somethin’ wrong?" He asks, noting that his voice didn't sound as strained as before.

What happened next defied all senses of logic Kaito possessed.

Yagami throws himself at Kaito, his arms wrapping around his shoulders, burying his head in the crook of his neck. Kaito's breath catches in disbelief.

“Damn it, Kaito-san," He chokes out, Kaito knowing the tone of voice that Yagami was subconsciously using. It signaled the detective was hurtling towards breaking, and nothing could stop him. “I- I thought you had- Kaito-san, please-"

Kaito lets his instinct take over, wrapping one arm around Yagami's waist and fully pulling him into his lap. The other hand moves to the back of his head, running his fingers through Yagami's hair. He feels Yagami's legs slip around his waist, and his heart jumps into his throat out of bliss.

“I'm alright. I got you, Tak. I'm sorry I scared you."

He hears a muffled sob echo into the crook of his neck, and feels it vibrate up into his cheek.

“Please, I can't lose anyone else."

Kaito squeezes his partner tightly, foregoing a vocal response.

Yagami continues to let his emotions spill out onto Kaito's shoulder, as he holds him tight and close. Kaito takes this moment to memorize everything about his partner, as their barrier has been willingly let down for the first time. 

Despite the vulnerability Yagami is displaying, he feels sturdy and strong in Kaito’s arms. His hair is soft, much like the numerous stray cats Kaito had seen and interacted with in the city. The feeling of it running through his fingers almost sent a shiver down Kaito's spine. Yagami smells of sweat, smoke, blood and a faint hint of some cologne that he must have thrown on this morning, Kaito couldn't place the exact scent. On their own, not very desirable smells, but the combination relaxes Kaito and fills him with warmth. A small twinge of fear pricks the back of Kaito’s mind, as he has no idea if this barrier of theirs would go back up, and Kaito would be destined to never feel this bundle of positive emotions again. He squeezes Yagami tightly once again, desperately hoping this wouldn’t be the last time he’d get to hold his partner.

The two men of the Yagami Detective Agency sit like this for a long time, before they hear a concerned Higashi call out for them. Yagami leans back and makes eye contact with Kaito, the expression that Kaito sees on him almost makes him pull the detective back into the embrace before he can climb out of his lap.

Yagami's signature small smile he reserved for his friends was full of appreciation and gratitude, but his eyes were full of tenderness and another emotion Kaito could only tentatively pin as love.

Kaito beams back at Yagami, hoping he was reflecting the same emotions towards his partner.

It wasn't until later, while revisiting the moment before drifting to sleep, that Kaito identified why the barrier existed in the first place, at least for himself. Redness covered his cheeks as the revelation crossed his mind and he hid his face in his pillow, despite no one else being in the room.

The next day, as he leaves the agency to accompany a visiting Sugiura on an impromptu case, Yagami's usual goodbye is instead a gentle squeeze of Kaito's hand.

stumbling out of the grave with this one!

I really did mean to post this a lot sooner, but I got combo-ed by family -> moving back into college -> my fuckin allergies so. That's been fun. And with the revival of Sunday Six between my mutuals I should at least attempt to get back into the swing of things huh?