#vergoftowels

GOSH thank you so much ahhhhhhh

I love and appreciate all of you.

(YES!)

“Gino, I don’t think you’re taking this seriously enough,” Sasayama said. Ginoza had come into the office looking flustered and Sasayama decided to get to the bottom of it. Even now, even after he’d explained the situation, his cheeks were tinged red, and he couldn’t meet Sasayama’s eyes. 

“It was probably a mistake,” Ginoza muttered. “He must’ve been tired.” 

“You two were sober, right?” Sasayama asked. Ginoza nodded. “Sober people don’t kiss each other for no reason.”

Ginoza poked at his noodles, clearly not interested in actually eating his lunch. “Like I said, he was probably tired. Why do you care?” 

Sasayama ignored the question in favor of saying, “Only one way to find out.” And he called Kougami. 

“Wait!” Ginoza tried to reach across the table for Sasayama’s wrist device, eyes wide with horror, but Kougami answered right away. 

“What is it?” 

“Was a mistake that you kissed Ginoza last night or did you mean it?” Sasayama asked. 

“How do you-” A sigh, on Kougami’s end. “Never mind. No, it wasn’t. Don’t go spreading shit.” 

(Thank you!!)

It was cold. Not snowing, but patches of ice coated the empty sidewalk. Ginoza shivered, stopped under one of the many street lights. 

They were both tired from a long day in the field. Kougami blew warm air onto his hands as he stopped as well. When they walked home together, something that they did less and less often as the job took more from them, this was where they always parted ways. 

But Ginoza looked cold and exhausted, and Kougami didn’t want him to walk home alone. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Ginoza said. 

Kougami stepped forward, gently touching Ginoza’s arm, and pressed a kiss to Ginoza’s lips. He was cold. 

Ginoza stepped back. “Kougami.” 

“Get home safe.” 

Ginoza frowned. “I always do. Why-” 

“We don’t spend enough time together,” Kougami said. “Not anymore.” 

“So you kissed me. Just...all of a sudden.” 

“No, I...” Kougami closed his eyes. “You know how I feel.” 

“You know how I feel,” Ginoza said. “It wouldn’t be wise.” 

“That’s why I’ve never kissed you in the office.” 

“So you kiss me where no one can see?” Ginoza turned to leave. 

“Wait.” Kougami tugged at his arm. “Think about it. Please?” 

Ginoza sighed, his breath forming mist in the dark night air. “Fine.” He pulled away, and out of the light, and Kougami watched him disappear down the street. 

Ginoza had the day off. 

Kougami expected to come back to the apartment to find Ginoza reading peacefully, or watering his plants, or (most likely) sitting on the couch with Dime attempting to do the work he really wasn’t supposed to be doing until his shift started the next day. 

When Kougami opened the door, he thought he’d walked into a kennel instead of his home. 

Two small dogs and three medium-sized ones rushed towards him, and he shut the door before they could rush past. Three of them jumped on him, knocking him back, and all of them were barking. 

He saw Ginoza stand up from where he’d been on the couch, Dime at his side. 

“Gino,” Kougami said. 

Ginoza looked sheepish. He never looked sheepish. There was dog hair all over his green sweater, which suggested that all of the dogs that had attacked Kougami had been on the couch with Ginoza moments before. 

“I may have adopted five dogs,” Ginoza told him. 

Kougami’s jaw dropped, and for once he couldn’t think of a single word to say. He panicked, just a bit, wondering how they were going to take care of the five furry things all vying for his attention in addition to the huge wolf-monster that was Dime. Fur everywhere, dogs dragging him down the street, night barking. 

Ginoza started laughing, almost doubling over. He hadn’t laughed like that for a while, and it snapped Kougami out of his panic-induced vision. 

“Gino!” he snapped again. 

Ginoza pressed his hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter and straightened up. “Sorry,” he gasped, “but the look on your face. This is for all the problems you give me.”

“What is this?” Kougami asked. 

“I just agreed to watch the dogs for the night,” Ginoza told him. “I’ll take them back on the way to work tomorrow. But they are lovely, aren’t they?” 

Two of them were still pawing at Kougami’s pants. “They’re something.” 

He went to get changed, and when he was more comfortable he came back into the living room. Ginoza was reading, curled up against Dime as he often did when he wanted comfort. But this time, five other dogs were surrounding him, one with its head resting on Ginoza’s shoulders, two sharing his lap, another curled against his other side, making some sort of furry nest of warmth. Ginoza looked half asleep and the small smile on his face told Kougami that it had been a day off very needed and well spent.