#wycf

The sound of her phone vibrating against the night stand had brought her out of her sleep, a grimace forming upon her lips as she reached out from her blanket burrito. Without even checking the caller ID, she answered groggily. “Hello?”

Biz’s shoulders immediately slumped, he had been looking forward to meeting up and thought that she was simply running late. “Hey its me- we still on for this morning?” He asked softly. Hearing the woman grown on the other line, he realized just how much pressure she was under- he could hear the stress in her voice that she tried desperately to hide.

“Uh yeah- sort im just running late…” she sat up and pressed her hand to her forehead. Looking around the room and already planning her outfit, the woman sighed. “A lots going on Biz… do you think we could meet at my place first and then go from there?” She asked sheepishly. She didn’t like the fact that she was making him go out of her way for things.

With nothing more than a “yeah see you soon” the call was ended and Y/N launched herself from the blankets, making her way to the bathroom to grab a quick shower- as she passed Cole’s bedroom, she peeked in to find him asleep, cuddling into his pillow and almost drooling as he was taking comfort in his Christmas break already.

Pausing at his doorway, she couldn’t just have Biz come over and then not give Cole an excuse as to why. Letting out a sigh, the woman walked into his room and sat at the edge of his bed. “Cole… Hun- wake up for a minute please.” She rubbed his shoulder, there were a couple of bruises along his jaw that made her stomach clench- courtesy of his last fight on the ice.

As his eyes fluttered open and he let out a groan, his face squished together. He was never really a morning person and Y/N blamed that on herself. “So.. I have a friend coming over in a little while. Nothing crazy, uh its just Paul… were going to grab a coffee together.” She mentioned. She didn’t want to lie to him about the fact they knew each other, she just couldn’t tell him how and why they knew each other yet.

The boy lifted his head, a furrow forming in his brow. “You’re going out with biz?” He asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Y/N shrugged sheepishly. “We exchanged numbers at your game… and we have a lot in common so were just gonna get a coffee and hang out.” She reassured him.

Sighing softly, Cole nodded his head and buried his face into the blankets. “Alright- Im guessing you want me to get up just in case he gets here early and you’re still in the shower?” He smiled knowing his mother’s antics. Smiling back at him, she kissed the top of his head before heading to the shower. “You’re a life saver.” She hummed.

Within a few minutes, Cole had pulled himself out of bed, grabbing some grey sweatpants from the dresser and pulling them on, his torso covered by a white long sleeved shirt. He brushed his hair quickly and put some cologne on before making his way to the kitchen. The snow was still falling pretty heavily outside which meant that the small balcony off of their living room was piling up.

Grabbing the shovel, he cleared off the deck before making himself some toast. When the buzzer came and his mother wasn’t ready yet, He took it upon himself to let biz in. “Who is it?” He asked.

Panic set into Biz’s chest, part of him unsure of what to say- he wasn’t sure if Y/N had told Cole about him coming over or not. “Uh- its biz… I mean Paul- Paul bissonette.” He looked around anxiously and felt ridiculous. Why was he so nervous to talk to his son? Its not like he hadn’t been around for his kid’s life and his kid didn’t even know that he was his father.

“Alright- my mom’s almost ready but you can come up.” Cole said, buzzing the man in. Making his way to the bathroom, Cole knocked on the door. “Mum? Biz is here.” He told her.

There was a quick shuffle behind the bathroom door and the woman opened it up, already dressed and just drying her hair now. “Il be a few minutes… maybe make small talk?” She suggested.

It was actually a good idea, Cole could start to talk to biz without having her around and they could get closer, Cole could get used to the idea of biz coming around. Making his way to the door, Cole let the man in and offered for him to make himself at home. Looking around the apartment, Paul noticed the Christmas tree and smiled.

“Excited for the holidays?” He asked, taking a seat on the couch a could spots away from his son.

Shrugging subtly, Cole pursed his lips. “No not really. Christmas isn’t a big thing around here… Mom has to work Christmas morning and night so she won’t be home.” He admitted. It was something he had grown up dealing with. “My aunt will be coming over though.” He smiled.

Ever since he was born, Cole had always been rather close with his aunt Kelly, she was a very kind woman and always took care of him. She was also a trouble maker so usually when Cole got up to no-good she as involved.

Paul smiled faintly, he hated the idea of Y/N having to work a lot, he planned on bringing it up to her and hopefully getting her to allow him to pitch in financially. He had more money than he knew what to do with and he saw no better place for it to go than his son. “Your mother is a very strong woman…” he spoke awkwardly.

Cole shot Paul a weird look, basically saying that they didn’t need to talk about their new relationship Which Paul was thankful for. “Hows school been going? You still keeping up with that?” He asked softly. He figured everyone was probably asking him about hockey all the time and he might prefer talking about something new for a change.

The teenager grinned. “Yeah, its pretty good. I only have two classes a day since I finished everything else last semester. But yeah- im looking forward to graduation.” He mentioned. That was nice to hear, Cole worked really hard in life- not just at hockey, but also his school work.

For a while the two of them fell into an easy conversation as if they had known each other for years. There was an unseen bond that the two of them shared.

When Y/N came out of the bedroom and was ready to go, she smiled softly at the two of them, her heart swelling with pride and warmth at the sight of her son connecting with his father. It was a sight she could certainly grow used to. “Ready?” She spoke up, drawing the attention of the two boys.

Paul stood up and clapped his hands. “Yup- All ready.” he headed towards the door.

Y/N gave her son a quick hug as he walked her to the door, ready to lock it behind her. “Alright you two- I expect to see her home at 5pm sharp Paul!” He joked. Y/N rolled her eyes and gave him a playful shove. “Have a good day bud- eat some veggies and work on some homework! Dont talk to strangers!” She laughed, teasing as they headed out.

With the door shut behind them, Paul looked at Y/N and smiled. They headed to the elevator and down to his car. “Hes a good kid…” Paul commented.

Everytwo months, all canine officers were required to complete a solid weekend ofspecialized training. It was much more intensive than the training for regularofficers, because much more was expected of them. Canine partners were a greatasset, but if they weren’t used properly, they could also be a huge liability.In fact, Kyoutani’s predecessor on the canine squad had been fired because hisdog had attacked an innocent civilian.

           Kyoutani understood the need for theextra training, but he still hated it.

           It was held in Fukushima, and he hadto drive nearly three hours each way in horrible traffic with no one exceptZeno for company.  

           He didn’t mind Zeno’s company. Infact, he much preferred his dog to any human he’d ever met. Still, it wasn’t asif he could have a conversation with him to pass the time, and Zeno didn’t likewhen Kyoutani turned on the radio.

           It was a three-hour ride with onlythe sound of Zeno’s excited panting to break the silence.

           Needless to say, by the time hearrived at the training facility, he was a little on edge.

           Zeno, on the other hand, wasecstatic. Kyoutani barely got the lead attached to Zeno’s harness before thedog bounded out of the car, pulling toward the building before Kyoutani yankedhim back.

           “Calm down,” he mumbled, as heleaned into the cruiser for his bag and slung it over his shoulder. “It’s notlike you’re going to learn anything new. You already know all this shit.”

           Zeno’s tongue lolled as he looked upat him, black eyes bright.

           Kyoutani huffed and felt his badmood ease just a little bit. It was hard to hate everything when there was abundle of tail wags and excited energy bouncing around at his feet.

           He kicked the car door shut, circledaround the rear bumper, and started toward the training facility.

           There was a stretch of perfectlymaintained lawn out front, sweeping to either side of a paved walkway. On theleft, a sleek black Doberman bounded across the grass, stubby tail twitching asit leaped to snatch a frisbee out of the air. It trotted back to a man whostood in a patch of shade beneath a large red pine. He knelt to take thefrisbee, gave the dog a gentle pat, and turned his head as he caught sight ofKyoutani from the corner of his eye.

           Kyoutani stopped walking. He didn’tdo it on purpose; he just briefly forgot where he was supposed to be going.

           The man rose out of his crouch,frisbee in hand. The Doberman sat at attention in front of him, waitingpatiently.

           “Hey,” said the man, a little loudlyto carry across the slight distance. “You look thirsty.”

           Kyoutani’s brow folded in confusion.“What?”

           The man grabbed a water bottle thathad been resting against the trunk of the tree. He jogged over, the Dobermanfollowing a close step behind.

           Zeno pulled at his harness sosuddenly that Kyoutani nearly lost his balance. He tugged him back, snapped athim to stop, and received only a twitch of an ear in response.

           If Kyoutani had used officialcommands, Zeno would have listened without hesitation. He’d never had anobedience problem. But Kyoutani only used those commands when they were workingor training. The rest of the time he felt Zeno shouldn’t have to be bossedaround.

           “I was talking to your dog,” the mansaid. He tossed the frisbee on the ground, upside-down, and uncapped the waterbottle to pour some into the makeshift bowl. He nudged it toward Zeno, wholapped at the gift happily. “What’s his name?”      

           “None of your business,” saidKyoutani.

           The man’s eyebrows rose. He didn’tlook offended, only skeptical. “Actually, it is my business. I’m a trainer.”

           “No, you’re not,” said Kyoutani.

           The man stared at him. Then heslowly looked down at the name plate pinned to his chest, which declared:“Yahaba Shigeru, Canine Trainer”.

           Kyoutani read the name a few times,then slowly looked back up to find the man watching him. “Oh.”

           Yahaba smiled a little, just aslight quirk of his lips. “Yeah. I only started working here about a month ago.We haven’t met. I would remember you.”

           Kyoutani didn’t know if that was supposedto be an insult.

           “What’s your name?” asked Yahaba,when it became clear that Kyoutani wasn’t going to say anything more.

           Kyoutani cleared his throat.“Kyoutani Kentarou.”

           “Kyoutani,” repeated Yahaba. “Niceto meet you. What’s your partner’s name?”

           “Zeno.” This time he offered itwithout argument.

           Yahaba dropped into a crouch andoffered a hand. “Nice to meet you, Zeno.”

           Zeno tilted his head, then placedhis paw in Yahaba’s hand. Yahaba scratched him behind the ears and he pantedhappily.

           The Doberman crept closer, earsforward, focused on Zeno.

           “Stay back, Roxy,” said Yahaba, noteven looking at her.

           The dog scooted back and sat down.

           “Which PD do you work for?” saidYahaba.

           “Tokyo.”

           Yahaba blinked, surprised. “Really?You wouldn’t happen to be the guy who has the fastest record on the bomb threatsimulation, would you?”

           Kyoutani grunted an affirmative.“Zeno’s smart.”

           Zeno wagged his tail, as if heunderstood the compliment.

           Yahaba considered the pair of themwith a single raised brow. “I’m sure he is. I guess I’ll find out, since you’llbe in my training classes all weekend.”

Kyoutanididn’t know what to say to that. The last time he’d been here, his trainer hadbeen a sixty-year-old man with a bad attitude.

Thiswas going to be a little different, to say the least.

“Itwas nice to meet you, Kyoutani-san,” said Yahaba. He collected the frisbee offof the ground and sent it into a perfect arc, stray water droplets sprinklingfrom the disc like light rain. Roxy the Doberman went running after it at fullspeed, swiping it out of the air with perfect agility. Zeno pulled restlesslyat his harness and Kyoutani held him in place.

           “You too,” mumbled Kyoutani, lookingaway as he said it.

           He caught the curve of Yahaba’ssmile just before the man turned away and returned to the shade of the pine.

           That smile made Kyoutani’s stomachclench, and it wasn’t exactly an unpleasant feeling. He glanced at Zeno, whowas staring up at him.

           “Don’t look at me like that,” saidKyoutani. “He’s probably a shitty trainer.”

           Zeno snorted and looked toward Yahabaand Roxy again.

           Kyoutani hoped Yahaba was a shittytrainer. He needed a reason not to like him, because he hadn’t been given oneyet. He actually seemed nice, in a dumb, kind of pretty way.

           Kyoutani mentally cursed himself andturned to stomp toward the building, Zeno keeping perfect pace. The dog lookedfar too smug for his own good.

           Just before he opened the door,Kyoutani tossed one quick look over his shoulder. Yahaba was already looking athim, and he waved in Kyoutani’s direction.

           Kyoutani turned away, ducked inside,and pretended his face wasn’t burning.

“WhenI said we could go wherever you wanted,” said Semi, “I meant literally anywherebut here.”

           The protest came too late. Semi andTendou were already sitting at a table, surrounded by draping ivy and filteredlight and other couples who gave them strange looks when they thought no onewould see.

           “Come on, Semi-Semi,” said Tendou.He leaned his elbows on the table and rested his chin in his palm. “Last timewe came here on a date we had a good time.”

           “Last time Oikawa was still in thehospital and he made us check up on the restaurant,” said Semi flatly. “Ididn’t come by choice then, either.”

           The complaining was more for hisimage than anything. Semi didn’t mind visiting Sapphire Grove. The food wasgood, the waiters were polite, and their bartender made a fantastic mint julep.

           The downside, though, was thecompany.

           “Welcome!” said Oikawa, sweepingover to their table with a grin. “It’s a pleasure to have you here at SapphireGrove. What can I get you gentlemen to drink this evening?”

           Tendou grinned at the display, butSemi’s stare was flat. “If you’re the one serving our food then we’re leaving.”

           “Now, now, Semi-chan,” said Oikawa.“Get rid of that bad attitude.” He leaned against the back of Tendou’s chair.“Put on a smile for your date.”

           Semi’s scowl intensified. “Don’t youhave any actual work to do?”

           “I am working,” said Oikawa. “I’mmaking sure my customers are comfortable.”

           “We’d be more comfortable with acouple of mint juleps,” said Tendou, tilting his head back to look at Oikawaupside-down. “We get drinks on the house, right? Friends and family discount?”

           Oikawa narrowed his eyes. “Did youonly come here to take advantage of my hospitality?”

           “We would never,” said Tendou. “Howcould you even suggest such a thing?”

           Oikawa didn’t look convinced, but hegave in anyway. “I’ll have Suga bring your drinks.”

           Tendou called out a “Thank you!” atOikawa’s retreating back. Several of the other customers turned to look, but hewas unbothered.

           “You don’t like mint juleps,” saidSemi.

           “Nah, but you do,” said Tendou.“They’re both for you. Maybe I can get you drunk and take advantage of you.”

           Semi snorted. “That only works onpeople who don’t want to have sex with you.”

           “Are you saying you want to have sexwith me?”

           “Apparently, if last night was anyindication.”

           Tendou laughed, drawing anotherflutter of glances. Semi smiled too, though it was subdued.

           “You know,” said Tendou after amoment, “I like Oikawa, but I really can’t picture it.”

           “Picture what?”

           “The two of you,” said Tendou,waving a hand. “Together. And not even because we’re together now, it’s justthe dynamics. It doesn’t make sense.”

           Semi sighed and sat back in hischair. “I was a lot different then. That was the only reason it worked. Itwouldn’t, now. We’ve changed too much.”

           Tendou’s stare was unwavering. Whenthey’d first met, the intensity of his stares had unsettled Semi, but now hewas used to it.

           “I hope you’re finished changing,”said Tendou. “I like you the way you are.”

           Heat spilled into Semi’s face and helooked away with a scowl. “Shut up.”

           Tendou grinned and said nothingelse.

           As expected, the food was good, thedrinks were better, and Oikawa didn’t even charge them. Semi waited untilTendou wasn’t paying attention and left a handful of yen on the table anyway,because he didn’t want to feel like he was accepting anyone’s charity.

           He knew it wasn’t like that withOikawa, but he didn’t want the illusion of it, anyway.

           It was a fifteen-minute walk home.Semi still considered the apartment to be Tendou’s, though he’d been livingthere after the incident. He assumed his old apartment had been rented out tosomeone new, though he didn’t care enough to check. He didn’t know what hadhappened to all of his stuff, either. He hadn’t bothered going back to retrieveit, because he didn’t care enough about it to have to face that apartmentagain. He was content with what he had.

           When they were a block away from theapartment, Tendou reached out and threaded their fingers together. Semi tuckedhis free hand in his pocket and said nothing.

           “What’re you thinking about?” saidTendou.

           “Nothing.”

           “Your forehead is all wrinkled.You’re thinking about something.”

           Semi sighed. “I was thinking I hatemy life a lot less than I used to.”

           “You’re so optimistic, Semi-Semi.You are a beacon of hope in this world.”

           Semi bumped him with a shoulder. “Shutup. You asked.”

           They didn’t speak again until they’dascended to Tendou’s apartment and kicked off their shoes. Semi started throughthe living room, intending to head to the shower, but Tendou caught his wristand tugged him back.

           “If you don’t hate your life,” saidTendou, “does that mean maybe you’re kind of happy?”

           Semi frowned at him and looked away.“I don’t know. I guess so.”

           “You know if you’re not happy herewith me, you don’t have to stay.”

           Semi looked up, a ripple of surprisemaking his fingers tingle. “What?”

           “If you’re not happy-”

           “Stop it,” said Semi, cutting himoff. “Don’t say shit like that. I’m as happy right now as I’m ever going to be.If I was anywhere else, with anyone else, I’d be fucking miserable.”

           The subtle tension in Tendou’s facebled into a smile. “So romantic, Semi-Semi.”

           Semi rolled his eyes. He pulled hisarm out of Tendou’s grasp and took his hand instead. “I’m not good at this kindof thing, but you know I love you, right?”

           Tendou’s smile was radiant. “I know.”He stepped closer and tucked a piece of hair behind Semi’s ear, fingerstrailing along his jaw, palm lightly cradling the side of his face. “Eventhough you hide it well with that bad attitude.”

           Before Semi could make a snarkycomeback, Tendou leaned in and kissed the words off of his lips. It was briefand sweet and Semi felt himself thawing, as he always did when he was withTendou.

           “I love you too, Semi-Semi,” saidTendou, murmuring the words against Semi’s lips.

           Semi smiled into their next kiss, perfectlycontent.

           “This is Yaku. He’s going to betraining you. Yaku, this is Haiba Lev, our newest investigator.”

           Kuroo introduced them with a smile.He’d been talking about Haiba Lev for the past month. He was a transfer from aneighboring city, and according to Kuroo, he had a lot of potential.

           Yaku looked up at him; and thenlooked up some more, because Haiba was a tall, lanky string bean.

            He didn’t look like a prodigy, but then again, appearances could bedeceiving. Most people didn’t think Yaku looked very impressive, either.

           “It’s nice to meet you, Haiba-san,”said Yaku. “I look forward to working with you.”

           The kid grinned, and it made himlook even younger. “Thanks! I’m excited to work with you, too!”

           “You’ll get your own office soon,”said Kuroo, “but for now you’ll be sitting in with Yaku while you train. He’lltake care of you. Go ahead and make yourself at home.”

           “Thank you, Kuroo-san!”

           Haiba strode into Yaku’s office, immediatelytripped over the doorframe, and nearly slapped Yaku in the face with a flailingarm. “Oops. Sorry, Yaku-san.”

           “It’s fine,” said Yaku, taking astep back as Haiba righted himself.

           He continued into the office and satin one of Yaku’s vacant chairs, looking around with bright interest.

           Yaku raised a row at Kuroo. “Not verygraceful, is he?”

           “He’ll be fine. He just needs toadjust. It’s his first day.”

           “Alright then.”

           “Yell if you need anything,” saidKuroo, before starting toward his own office.

           Yaku sat down behind his desk,pinned Haiba with a stern stare, and mentally prepared the speech he gave toall the new trainees.

           For the past few years, Yaku hadbeen in charge of training the new hires. He’d even trained Kuroo, when he’djoined investigations a few years back. If Yaku had wanted the position, hewould have likely been appointed captain rather than Kuroo. He’d chosen not toapply, because he didn’t want the weight of that responsibility. He was perfectlyhappy right where he was.

           “Welcome to investigations, Haiba-san.The first thing you need to know is-”

           “Just Lev is fine,” chirped Haiba,still smiling.

           Yaku stopped, sidetracked. “What?”

           “My name,” he said. “Just call meLev. I don’t go by my last name. It makes me feel like my dad and it’s weird.”

           Yaku just stared at him. He clearedhis throat and started again. “Okay then… Lev-san.”

           “You don’t have to use the honorificeither,” said Lev, waving it off. “I don’t mind. Most people don’t.”

           Yaku took a deep breath. The kid wasprobably just nervous. He wasn’t going to be this annoying all the time. “Lev.The first thing you need to know is-”

           “Kuroo-san said you’re a really goodinvestigator,” said Lev, leaning his elbows on the desk. “How long have youworked here? Are you-”

           “Will you shut up and let me talk?”snapped Yaku.

           Lev blinked, startled, and sat backin his chair with an apologetic nod.

           Yaku sighed, tried again, and thistime he wasn’t interrupted.

           They just had to get used to eachother. All of this would be fine. Lev wouldn’t be so bad.

             Two weeks later, Yaku was prettysure he was going to be in prison soon, because he was going to snap soon and breakLev’s long, skinny neck.

           “How many times have I told you,”growled Yaku, “that you have to start a new case note every time you enter newinformation? You can’t just go onto the last one and add on at the end. That’snot how it works!”

           “I’m sorry, Yaku-san!” said Lev,sinking beneath the weight of Yaku’s glare. “I forgot. But I won’t do it again,I swear!”

           “That’s what you said last time,”said Yaku, “and you still did it again. How many times do I have to tell yousomething before it sticks?”

           “I’m sorry!”

           “Redo it,” said Yaku, slapping astack of papers down on the desk in front of him. “Come get me when it’s doneso I can review it.”

           “Yes, sir!”

           Yaku stormed into the hallway andalmost walked directly into Kuroo.

           Kuroo grinned down at him. “Be niceto the newbie, Yaku. He’s trying.”

           “He’s hopeless,” mumbled Yaku. “He’sthe most untrainable officer I’ve ever met.”

           “It’s only been two weeks. Give himtime.”

           “When I’d been here two weeks I knewten times what that idiot does.”

           Kuroo raised a brow. “You seem alittle stressed out.”

           “No shit,” snapped Yaku. “I’ve beenstuck with him for two weeks. I’vestarted having heart palpitations.”

           Kuroo gripped Yaku’s shoulder, hisface stern. “I believe in you. You can fix him.”

           “Fixing something means it’s workedat some point. I’m not so sure he ever has.”

           “Do what you can,” said Kuroo. “He’llhave an evaluation a month after his start date. If you still think he’s notgoing to make it we’ll do something about it then.”

           “If I’m not dead by then.”

           “Take him out in the field with you,”suggested Kuroo. “Maybe he’s more of a hand-on kind of guy. Paperwork is hardfor some people.”

           Yaku sighed. “Yeah, okay. I’ll giveit a shot.”

             Two hours later Yaku dragged himselfback into the investigations building, dripping wet, with an apologetic Lev onhis heels.

           Kuroo was near the door when hearrived. He pressed his lips together tightly, mouth twitching.

           “If you laugh at me,” said Yaku, “I’llseriously injure you.”

           Kuroo said nothing, and Yaku trudgedby like a sewer rat.

             “That was the worst interrogation I’veever seen,” said Yaku. He pinched the bridge of his nose and kept his breathingeven. “Why did you think it was okay to ask if they had a sexual relationshipwith the other suspect?”            “It seemed relevant!” saidLev, waving his arms for emphasis. “I thought it was a good question.”

           “It was a terrible question! You’regoing to get the department sued for harassment!”

           Lev groaned and sank into a crouch,back against the wall and his head in his hands. “I’m sorry! I don’t know why Ikeep messing everything up!”            “If you would actually tryinstead of slacking off, then you-”

           “ButI am trying!” said Lev. He dropped his hands and looked up at Yaku, eyes wideand earnest. “I’m trying so hard, Yaku-san! I don’t want to be bad at this. Iwant to be a really good investigator like you. It’s just really hard for me. I’msorry.”

           A little of Yaku’s irritation eased.He didn’t know if it was the authenticity of the apology or the fact that heliked Lev a little better when he was below eye level, rather than forcing Yakuto tilt his head back and stare up at him.

           Either way, he wasn’t quite as angryas he’d been just a moment before.

           He sighed and frowned down at Lev. “It’sokay. Just keep trying, alright? You’ll pick it up eventually.”

           Lev brightened. “You really thinkso?”

           “Yeah, sure,” said Yaku, though hedidn’t believe his own words. “You’ll be fine.”

           Two weeks and a dozen mistakeslater, Yaku was so sick of hearing the phrase “I’m sorry, Yaku-san” that it wasbeginning to make him nauseous.

           “I’m sorry, Yaku-san.” Lev hunchedover and dropped his forehead onto the desk. “I didn’t mean to.”

           “I know, Lev.”

             Later that day, Yaku was sitting inKuroo’s office. He was already exhausted and it wasn’t even two o’clock.

           “It’s time for Lev’s first review,”said Kuroo. He pulled a file out of a drawer and flipped it open. “Although I’mnot sure there’s a point. Your weekly progress reports tell me everything Ineed to know.”

           “I think you were only told he was agreat officer so the other department could get rid of him,” said Yaku. “Yougot played, captain.”

           Kuroo frowned. “Maybe. I just hopethe kid doesn’t take it too hard when I fire him.”

           Yaku sat up straighter in his chair.“What?”

           “When I fire him. I don’t want himto take it badly. He seems like a good kid. He’s just hopeless.”

           “He’s not hopeless,” said Yaku,earning a raised brow from Kuroo. “He’s getting better.”

           “Is he?”

           “Yeah. Well, sort of. He will, if wegive him more time.”

           “Hold on. Let me see if I understandthis,” said Kuroo. “After you’ve complained about him for the past month, you’resaying I shouldn’t fire Lev.”

           “Right.”

           “Why?”

           Yaku found he didn’t have animmediate answer for that. He pondered on it for a moment, Kuroo staring at himall the while, and finally settled on, “The one good thing I can say about Levis that he cares. He really wants to do a good job, and even though he’s justscrewing everything up, he’s trying harder than anyone I’ve ever seen. It’sbetter to try and train someone like that than someone who’s okay at the jobbut doesn’t give a fuck. It’s going to take him a lot longer than mostofficers, but I think he’ll get there.”

           “So you want us to keep him.”

           “Yes.”

           “Even though you’ll probably bestuck with him for the next six months before he’s capable of doing anything onhis own.”            Maybe Yaku hadn’t thought thisthrough after all.

           With a sigh of defeat, Yaku said, “Yeah.If I can’t train him in six months you can get rid of him.”

           Kuroo shrugged and flipped the fileshut. “Okay, then. You officially have a new partner. Congratulations.”

Semifrowned down at the drink in his hand. He already felt the threads of hispatience unraveling. “Tsutomu?”

           “Yes!”

           “What drink did I ask for?”

           “A tequila sunrise!”

           Semi cut his eyes up to Goshiki, wholooked as if he was holding his breath as he awaited Semi’s response. “What isthis?”

           Goshiki looked at the drink and thenback up at Semi. “It’s a… a tequila sunrise?”

           “Are you asking me or telling me?”

           Goshiki’s face fell. “I don’t know?”            Semi closed his eyes and tooka breath.

           He still wasn’t sure why Ushijimahad thought it was a good idea for him to train Goshiki. His temper was notsuited for this. “What kind of liquor is in this, Tsutomu?”

           “Vodka?”

           “It’s a tequila sunrise,” snappedSemi. He put the drink down on the bar a little too hard; a bit of alcoholsloshed over. “Tequila. Why would youput vodka in a tequila sunrise?”

           Goshiki flinched back and stutteredover himself. “I-I am sorry, Semi-san! I didn’t mean to! I thought… Okay,tequila, okay. Please let me try it again! I promise I can do it! I am sorry!”

           “Stop yelling,” said Semi. The drinkhad spilled over onto his fingers and he wiped them on the leg of his pants.“It’s fine. You’ve only been doing this for a week. It’s okay to makemistakes.”

           Even if those mistakes were thedumbest ones Semi had ever seen.

           He took another breath and tried tocalm himself even more. He couldn’t lose his temper on Goshiki. He didn’t thinkthe kid would ever recover.        

           “I’m sorry,” said Goshiki again. Helowered his voice only slightly.

           “Just go read through the studyguide I made you,” said Semi. “We open in less than an hour. It’s Friday, soit’s going to be too busy for me to do everything myself. I’m going to needyou, Tsutomu.”

           Goshiki lit up like a Christmas treeand returned to full volume. “Yes! You can count on me, Semi-san!” He turned onhis heel so quickly that he nearly stumbled and rushed off toward the back ofthe building.

           Semi propped his elbows on the bar,hid his face in his hands, and breathed a sigh of exasperation.

           Footsteps approached, and longfingers danced lightly up the length of Semi’s spine.

           Semi didn’t flinch. “What?”

           “Look at you, raising up ourprecious baby bird,” cooed Tendou. His fingers went higher, threading gentlyinto Semi’s hair. “He’ll be ready to leave the nest any time now.”

           “If I don’t end up killing himfirst.”

           “Now, now,” said Tendou, the grinevident in his voice. “You know you like Tsutomu. It’s impossible not to likehim.”

           “I like him alright,” said Semi.“It’s just having to deal with him that’s the problem.”

           Tendou’s hand fell away. He leanedback against the bar. “You’re doing fine. He’ll be slinging drinks like aprofessional in no time.”

           Semi dropped his arms and stood straight,frowning up at Tendou. “Some people are unteachable. He might be one of them.”

           “You’re being dramatic.”

           “A tequila sunrise,” said Semi,gesturing toward the drink on the bar. There were several other mixed cocktailsscattered about, all of them made improperly. “With vodka.”

           Tendou shrugged. “Sounds alright tome.”

           “I think our customers won’t agree.”

           Tendou reached up to flick a pieceof hair away from Semi’s forehead. “I think you worry too much, Semi-Semi.”

           Semi scowled at him.

           “Anyway,” said Tendou, “isn’t itbetter to deal with Tsutomu than Shirabu?”

           Semi barely held back a twitch.“Yeah, I guess.”

           “It’s fine,” said Tendou. He took astep forward, into Semi’s personal space, and grinned down at him. “Besides,you’re the best bartender I know. If anyone can train Tsutomu, it’s you.”

           Semi rolled his eyes, but his badattitude weakened as Tendou leaned closer, his breath sweeping across Semi’slips. “You know what Ushijima said about PDA at the club.”

           “I don’t see Ushijima,” said Tendou,slipping a hand around Semi’s waist. “Do you?”

           Semi’s mouth tugged into a smirk. Hetilted his head back, felt the first brush of Tendou’s lips, and then:

           “Semi-san! I have a question!”

           Tendou stepped back, and Semi took acleansing breath.

           He couldn’t lose his temper. If heyelled at Goshiki, the kid would be crushed.

           Goshiki was trying. He couldn’t helpit.

           “What, Tsutomu?”

           Tendou smiled, more softly thanusual. “You’re doing great, Semi-Semi,” he said quietly, as Goshiki half-joggedtoward them. “I’m so proud.”

           Semi rolled his eyes, but couldn’thelp the soft warmth in his cheeks as he turned away to help Goshiki.

Why Iwaizumi thinks Makki and Mattsun are too romantic: 

1. Ontheir two-month anniversary, Matsukawa sent roses to Hanamaki while he was onshift. It was a classic bouquet of a dozen red roses, and the card was a simplecollection of XOXOs.

 2.They got matching tattoos. When Iwaizumi asked, Hanamaki agreed to show him. Hestarted to push his pants down, and Iwaizumi decided he didn’t want to know,after all.

3.They use disgusting pet names for each other; sweet cake, cherry blossom,sunshine, doll face, sugar lips.

4. Anytime they get coffee, Matsukawa always has the barista draw a little heart inthe foam of Hanamaki’s drink.

5. Onetime, Mattsun was so focused on his phone that he completely ignored everythingIwaizumi was saying. Iwaizumi looked over his shoulder and found a screenful ofhim arguing back and forth with Makki about who loved each other the most.

6.Hanamaki sent Matsukawa identical roses on their three month anniversary, withanother collections of XOXOs.

7. Duringshift change, they leave obnoxious notes for each other on the patrol roombulletin board.

8.Once, Hanamaki left his phone at Iwaizumi’s place. Iwaizumi picked it up tosend Mattsun a text to come get it, and was greeted by a history of sexting thatincluded detailed descriptions of touching each others’ faces and discussinghow beautiful each of them were. Iwaizumi barely stopped himself from throwingthe phone in the garbage.

9.When Oikawa dragged them all to karaoke, Hanamaki serenaded Matsukawa with thesappiest love songs that Iwaizumi had ever heard.

10.Once, Iwaizumi received a picture message from Matsukawa, followed immediatelyby an urgent text of “THAT WAS MEANT FOR MAKKI. DON’T OPEN IT.” Iwaizumiintended to delete it, because he had no interest in seeing Matsukawa’s dick.Oikawa insisted, and they were gifted by a picture of Matsukawa’s bathroommirror, steamed over from a hot shower, little hearts and doodles drawn in thesteam.

((Allof these things are done intentionally because Makki and Mattsun get greatpleasure from Iwaizumi’s reactions.))

Althoughhe didn’t like to admit it, Oikawa knew exactly what Semi was doing.

           He’d known for a while; much longerthan he cared to think about. He’d denied it for so long that he’d nearlyconvinced himself it wasn’t happening, but some things were impossible toignore.

           Finding a stash of cocaine in hiskitchen cabinet was one of those things.

           Oikawa had been quite calm about it,because although he’d been in denial, he’d already known. It wasn’t a surprise.

           He’d taken the drugs out of thecabinet, calmly walked into the bathroom, and dumped the powder in the toilet. Aftera single flush, there was no proof that the cocaine had ever existed. He buriedthe bag at the bottom of the garbage can and went about his day as if nothinghad happened.

           He was calm about it, but Semicertainly was not.

           Semi came home late, which had beenhappening more and more often. Oikawa heard him come in and open therefrigerator. There was beer, but Semi probably didn’t grab one. He had beendrinking less; likely because he’d replaced the need for alcohol with the needfor something else. There was the sound of a cabinet opening, a long pause, andthen the cabinet door slammed shut so loudly that Oikawa winced.

           Footsteps stomped closer and Oikawaresumed brushing his teeth, staring blankly at himself in the bathroom mirror.Semi threw the door open as Oikawa spat in the sink, the taste of minttoothpaste clinging to his tongue.

           “Welcome home, Semi-chan,” saidOikawa, forcing a smile. It looked out of place on his face, like someone hadjammed a puzzle piece into the wrong place. “How was your day?”

           “What the fuck, Tooru?”

           “Not so good, then,” said Oikawa. Heleaned close to the mirror and pulled his lips back to check his teeth.

           Semi grabbed his shoulder and spunhim around, slapping his hands onto the sink on either side of Oikawa, caginghim in. Semi was a little shorter, but the intensity of his glare made up forthe difference. “What. The. Fuck.”

           Oikawa kept his face impassive,though his heart thundered in his chest. “You’re going to have to be morespecific, Semi-chan. You’re not giving me much to work with here.”

           “Where is it?”

           Oikawa tilted his head. His bloodran hot with panic, but he made himself raise a causal brow. “Where is what?”

           “Don’t play dumb with me,” snarledSemi. “Where the fuck is it?”

           Oikawa had only seen Semi like thisa handful of times.

           All of them had been in the pastmonth.

           “I’m still not certain what youmean,” said Oikawa, “but if you’re talking about the drugs that you draggedinto my apartment without my permission, then consider them gone.”

           Semi’s face contorted, scowldeepening, eyes flashing. He pulled back, fists tight at his sides, and for afleeting second Oikawa thought he was going to hit him.

           Then Semi turned on his heel andtook a single step away. “This isn’t your apartment,” he snapped. “We livedhere together, Tooru.”

           “That doesn’t mean you can stashyour drugs here. I’ve told you I’m not okay with this.”

           “And I’ve told you it’s not a bigdeal,” said Semi. He turned back toward Oikawa, and his expression was only alittle tamer. “I’m only selling to make some quick cash. We can barely affordto pay rent. I want us to have nice shit, you know? I want to get a nice place,and a car, and not have to worry about scraping together enough to eat for theweek. Once we’re okay I’ll stop.”

           “We’re okay now,” said Oikawa. Hewanted to step closer, but he was a little wary. He cared about Semi, but whenhe got like this, he was a little frightening. “Everything is fine, Eita. I’mhappy the way we are. I don’t need anything else.”

           “Well I do,” snapped Semi. “I wantmore. We deserve more, and I’m going to get it for us. I’ll stop soon, okay?”

           “Selling it is one thing,” saidOikawa, quietly, “but using it is a different story. You’ve got to stop doingthat now, Eita. It’s messing with you.”

           “I’m not using,” said Semi. Thewords were angry, bitter. “I might take a bump every now and then but it’s nota big deal. It’s not like I’m addicted or anything.”

           Oikawa should have swallowed hisnext words. “Then why are you so upset that your stash is gone?”

           Semi looked up at him, and his glarewas poison. “Because you need to stay out of my shit. It’s not your business,Tooru. Don’t fucking do it again.”

           He stormed toward the bathroom door.

           “Where are you going?” said Oikawa,following despite himself.

           “Don’t worry about it.”

           Oikawa stumbled into the living roomjust as Semi slipped back into his shoes. “You’re going to get more, aren’tyou?” said Oikawa. “You can’t stand the thought of going a night without it. Doyou see what you’re doing to yourself, Eita?”

           “Fuck you,” snapped Semi. “You don’tknow anything about it.” He slung the door open, but hesitated before hestepped outside. He looked over his shoulder at Oikawa and said, “I’ll be backlater.” He paused, considered, and added, gruffly, “I love you.”

           Oikawa felt his heart break in hischest. His throat went tight and the tears pressed at his eyes, but he simplyshook his head and said, “Yeah, sure. I love you, too.”

           Then Semi was gone, and Oikawa droppedonto the couch and sobbed.

           Oikawa should leave. He knew heshould. Everything between them was wrong lately. The drugs were the problem,and Semi clearly wasn’t going to stop using them anytime soon. It was in hisbest interest to get out before things got worse.

           He wiped at his eyes and took ashuddering breath.

           He should leave, but he couldn’t.

           Oikawa thought about when he and Semihad first started dating, and the way Semi looked at him like he was somethingto be admired. He thought about all the flowers Semi had bought him, which hadbeen dried out and preserved in a wooden box in the wardrobe. He thought aboutthe way Semi had held his hand and smiled at him and kissed him like he was somethingto cherish.

           Oikawa should leave, but he caredtoo much about Semi to do it.

           Maybe things would get better.

           Maybe they would go back to normal.

           …and maybe they would only getworse.

           It was a good thing Iwaizumi lovedOikawa so much.

           If he hadn’t, he was pretty sure hewould’ve hated the moron.

           Oikawa gasped much too dramaticallyfor the situation and seized Iwaizumi’s arm in a death grip. “Iwa-chan! Hedidn’t die in the car crash! He came back!”

           Iwaizumi looked at him blankly, thenslowly returned his focus to the TV screen.

           This drama was the singular mostidiotic thing Iwaizumi had ever seen, and he’d seen a lot of stupid things.            

           “Of course he came back,” saidIwaizumi. “They all come back. It’s the same characters doing the same thingsover and over again. Don’t you think it’s a little bit predictable?”

           “How dare you.”

           “I’m just saying, these shitty soapoperas are-”

           “Don’t finish that sentence,Iwa-chan.” Oikawa folded his arms with a huff. He tried to scowl, but it lookedmore like a pout. “This is prime entertainment. It’s a masterpiece.”

           Iwaizumi fought against an eye rolland barely won. He settled more comfortably into the couch and bumped hisshoulder against Oikawa’s. “Fine. It’s a great show. I love it.”

           Oikawa slipped him a sidewaysglance. “Don’t patronize me.”

           “I’m not.” He tugged at Oikawa’scrossed arms, freeing one of his hands and fitting their fingers together. “Ifit makes you happy I like it. It’s fine.”

           Oikawa’s pout lessened. He squeezedIwaizumi’s hand and again focused on the television. “I wonder how his daughterwill react. She should be happy, but then again, the sex scandal he had beforethe wreck might have pushed her away.”

           “Doesn’t really matter,” saidIwaizumi with a shrug. “There’s no way that’s his actual daughter. Her dad isthat guy with the bad haircut. Her mom had a secret affair with him fifteenyears ago.”

           Oikawa turned his head slowly, hisface blank. “No, she didn’t.”

           “Well they haven’t admitted it yet,but it definitely happened. It’s all in the context. Remember that conversationthey had a few episodes ago? They dropped hints all over the place.”

           Oikawa’s mouth fell open. “What thehell, Iwa-chan? You’re spoiling the show!”

           “I’m not spoiling it if it’sobvious.”

           “It’s not obvious! Get out of myhouse.”

           “I live here, too.”

           “Getout of my house.”

           Iwaizumi snorted and wrapped an armaround Oikawa’s shoulders. Oikawa resisted the embrace, but the struggle washalfhearted. He sank into Iwaizumi’s side with a huff.

           “I hate you, Iwa-chan.”

I think if same-sex marriage became legal in Japan then yes, at some point they would get married. Neither of them are ever going to have any desire to be with anyone else, so there’s no real reason not to.

Oikawa would be the one who talked about it the most. He would bring it up in casual conversation, like: “When we get married, we should do this” or “If we were married, we could do this.” And Iwaizumi always shrugs it off, because even though he wants to be with Oikawa forever, he’s not too certain about the idea of marriage.

After a while, he decides that the way he feels about it doesn’t matter so much. If it’s something Oikawa wants, then he’s willing to do it, because he just wants Oikawa to be happy.

He constructs an elaborate scheme to propose, because he knows Oikawa will want something exciting and memorable that he can tell people about in the future. He convinces Makki and Mattsun to help him, and then regrets that decision almost immediately. The only things they suggest are overly dramatic and cheesy and he swears they’re just trying to make him look like an idiot. 

Eventually Iwaizumi decides to go classic and simple, yet with an undeniable element of romance. He arranges to have the entire second floor of Sapphire Grove covered in roses: vases on all of the tables, flowers twisted into the ivy, rose petals scattered about the floor and floating in the fountain. He’s waiting in a nice suit with the ring when Oikawa comes up the stairs, a sappy speech prepared, but he doesn’t get to deliver it.

Oikawa doesn’t look awed and surprised. The bastard is grinning. 

“You already knew about this,” says Iwaizumi.

“No, I didn’t!” Oikawa still can’t stop grinning. “This is good, Iwa-chan, keep going!”

“How the hell did you find out?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I swear!”

“Dammit, Shittykawa…”

As it turns out, Iwaizumi is horrible at keeping secrets. He’d left clues everywhere, including the receipt from the jeweler where he’d bought the ring. He fumes over the ruined surprise, but Oikawa laughs it off and convinces him to go through with the proposal anyway. 

           Kuroo had been a police officer fora long time.

           He’d gotten hired on when he wasstraight out of school, young and fresh and ready to make a difference. It hadn’ttaken long for him to realize that maybe he’d been misinformed about what thejob was really about. There were only so many battered victims who refused help,drug addicts who were killing themselves, and unsolvable murder cases that anofficer could handle before getting a little jaded.

           The job had worn him down a little,but he’d stuck with it. He’d thought that if he could help someone – anyone – then it would be worth it.

           He supposed it was that attitudethat had gotten him promoted to captain at a shockingly young age.

           Now he was quickly approaching thirty,with a decade of experience under his belt, and he’d finally found the casethat might break him

           It wasn’t even the case itself thatwas so traumatizing. A few months before, he’d been on scene after scene ofyakuza-related murders, documenting blood patterns and photographing deadbodies.

           The thing about this drug case thatwas particularly exhausting was trying to deal with his fellow officers. Oneofficer, in particular.

           It was nearly eight p.m. and Kuroowas still at his desk, flipping through a file that was completely unrelated tothe drug case that should have demanded his focus. It was an employee file, onethat had been created nearly eight years before when the officer in questionhad been a new hire.

           Kuroo was looking for notes fromsuperiors, or reprimands that had been issued, or literally anything that wouldsuggest the officer had a history of insubordination.

           There was nothing. Iwaizumi Hajime,on paper, was a model officer.

           Kuroo had already known that. Evenso, the lack of explanation was frustrating.

           He’d chosen Iwaizumi to help him onthis case for a reason. Kuroo was always on the lookout for officers who hadpotential, officers who would make worthy additions to his investigations team.He’d been watching Iwaizumi for a while, and he’d thought that once they solvedthis case together, he would extend the offer for Iwaizumi to transfer.

           That wasn’t going according to plan.

           Kuroo flipped the file shut andslumped back in his chair with a sigh. He didn’t understand why Iwaizumi had tomake things so difficult. He’d been through the evidence over and over again,especially after Iwaizumi had voiced his concerns. All of the evidence said thesame thing. Semi Eita was the most likely suspect.

           That also meant that Oikawa Tooru,who had old ties to Semi, was also blatantly suspicious.

           Kuroo supposed that had been the realproblem.

           “Captain?” Yaku paused in the opendoorway, frowning at him with a touch of concern. “You heading home sometimetonight?”

           “Yeah, I’m leaving soon,” saidKuroo. It was a lie. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

           “Of course,” said Yaku. He steppedinto the office, casting a critical glance at the debris of files and paperworkcovering most available surfaces. “What is it?”

           “It’s about Iwaizumi,” said Kuroo.

           Yaku’s brows dipped lower. He lookedguarded. “What about him?”

           Kuroo frowned, puzzled by thereaction. “He’s being difficult. I thought he’d jump on the chance to work thiscase but every time we get a lead he shoots it down. We’re onto something with Semi’shistory, and the connection to Oikawa, but Iwaizumi just flipped his shit andsaid I’m wrong. What’s his deal?”

           “I don’t know.”

           Kuroo raised a brow, waiting.

           Yaku didn’t say anything else.

           “Okay,” said Kuroo slowly. “He wasfurious when I questioned Oikawa without telling him. I knew they were friends,which is why I did it, but… Do you think maybe they have, like, a thing?”            Yaku’s stare was flat. “Athing?”

           “Yeah, you know,” said Kuroo,gesturing vaguely. “A thing. A relationship sort of thing.”

           “I wouldn’t know, captain.”

           Kuroo sighed. Usually Yaku at leasttried to be helpful. “Yeah, okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

           Yaku nodded and retreated. He lookedrelieved to be excused from the conversation.

           Kuroo thought maybe he knew somethingthat he didn’t want to talk about.

           He stood and stretched his arms overhis head, muscles screaming from hours of immobility.

           Kuroo liked talking through hisproblems with Yaku. The detective had been a member of investigations longerthan any of the others, Kuroo included. He was smart and perceptive and an extremelygood investigator.

           But if he wasn’t going to behelpful, Kuroo would take his problems elsewhere.

           Typically when the clock struckfive, Kenma was out of the office so fast that no one saw him leave. Tonight,though, he had a quick undercover job to do at a bar on the east side of thecity, so he was still there.

           Kenma was curled up in his chair,knees tucked against his chest, the hood of his sweatshirt pulled low over hisforehead. His eyes were on his computer screen, reflecting the bright light inthe otherwise dim office.

           Kuroo flicked on the overhead lightsand Kenma glared up at him.

           “What time are you leaving?” saidKuroo.

           Kenma checked the time. “Half anhour.”

           “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

           “You’re my boss,” said Kenma. “Iguess you can do what you want.”

           Kuroo snorted and sat in one of thechairs facing Kenma’s desk. Unlike Kuroo’s office, this one was organizedneatly, not a single sheet of paper out of place. “What do you think aboutIwaizumi?”

           Kenma heaved a heavy sigh and turnedaway from his computer. “He needs to sleep more. He has a lot of tension in hisshoulders. Last time I saw him, he was overdue for a haircut.”

           “Your powers of observation are veryvaluable for the job, but they’re also creepy as hell.”

           Kenma’s face didn’t change. “Thanks.”

           “Why’s he being so difficult aboutthis case?” said Kuroo. Specific questions were more useful. “You weren’taround, but he was pissed when I brought Oikawa in here. It was part of the investigation.There was a good reason for it. It’s like he’s taking it personally orsomething.”

           Kenma tipped his head to the side,pressing his cheek against a kneecap. “I don’t know about that,” he said, “butobviously you’re taking this personally, too. I doubt Iwaizumi is doinganything just to spite you.”

           “I know that,” said Kuroo, though itwas a slight relief to hear it. “I just don’t understand. He’s a great officer,he just got promoted, and I had high hopes for him, you know? I think there’ssomething going on with Oikawa that he’s not talking about. He didn’t getdefensive about Semi until Oikawa was brought up.”

           Kenma just listened, piercing goldeneyes taking in every shrug of Kuroo’s shoulders and twitch of his mouth.

           “Do you think maybe they’re… youknow. Together?” said Kuroo.

           Kenma’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Wouldit bother you if they were?”

           “Well, yeah.”

           Kenma’s eyes narrowed even more.

           “Not because of that,” said Kuroo,shaking his head. “Because Oikawa might be involved with this case. He’ssuspicious as hell. If Iwaizumi’s too involved with him then that sort of makeshim suspicious too. I don’t want to have to investigate one of my own officers.”

           “Do you really think Iwaizumi wouldbe involved in something like this?”

           “No, but I could be wrong.”

           “You could be,” agreed Kenma, “butyou’re usually not.” His eyes flicked back to his computer screen and thensettled on Kuroo again. “What are you going to do about it?”

           “I don’t know,” said Kuroo. Hesighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t want to confront him because Idon’t know if I’m right. I don’t want to take him off of the case either, butif he keeps this up I might have to. I’d really rather not. I’ve worked withIwaizumi for years. He’s a good guy, and a good friend, and I just wish he’dstop being do damn shady.”

           “Do you trust him?”

           “Yeah. Well, I did. I still do, toan extent, but the way he’s acting lately isn’t building up my confidence inhim.”

           “He hasn’t really done anythingwrong,” said Kenma. “He’s getting defensive about Oikawa, but that doesn’t meanhe can’t still do his job. If it becomes a problem you’ll have to deal with it,but I think it’s okay for now.”

           Kuroo nodded. His tense musclesunwound a little, loosened by relief. “Yeah, you’re right.”

           “I know.”

           “Maybe I’ll get you to go scope outShiratorizawa sometime soon,” said Kuroo. “You can keep an eye on Semi andOikawa, and maybe watch out for Iwaizumi, too. I know he goes there a lotlately. If he’s being sketchy you’ll know.”

           Kenma breathed a quiet sigh. “Iguess if I have to.”

           Kuroo grinned. “Thanks, Kenma.”

           He made a small noise of assent.

           “Be safe tonight, alright?” saidKuroo, standing and moving toward the door. “Call if you need anything.”

           “I’ll be fine. Goodnight, Kuro.”

           Kuroo paced the hallway back to hisoffice, his mind still on Iwaizumi.

           Kenma was right. Iwaizumi hadn’tdone anything that would damage the case. He certainly wouldn’t be allowed tohandle any of the case files related to Oikawa, but Kuroo could work aroundthat.

           As long as Iwaizumi didn’t doanything else suspicious, maybe everything would be fine.

           Kuroo hoped it would be fine. If itwasn’t, he would have to kick him off of the case; or worse.

           He didn’t want it to come down tothat. He wanted them to team up and solve this case together.

           Iwaizumi was a good friend, andKuroo hoped nothing would happen to change that.

 Thisis just sort of a snippet from earlier on in the fic. As time goes on, Kuroogets more and more uncomfortable as he realizes that Iwaizumi’s involvementwith Oikawa and Semi may be more serious than he thought. When he finds outthat Semi had met up with Iwaizumi at Oikawa’s apartment, he’s almostcompletely convinced that Iwaizumi is playing a part in the drug case and he’sdevastated. Yaku is the one who manages to talk him down from that, although hecan’t completely convinced Kuroo that Iwaizumi is wholly innocent. When theysearch Oikawa’s apartment and Kuroo suspends Iwaizumi, he’s still somewhatsuspicious, but he’s mostly decided that Iwaizumi probably isn’t guilty of thecase. Oikawa, however, has his full suspicions, and Kuroo thinks Oikawa is justusing Iwaizumi to keep himself safe.

Hestill wants to be Iwaizumi’s friend, but he’s really conflicted about it. He’safraid that if they remain on good terms, he’s more likely to trust Iwaizumiand potentially miss something about the case that Iwaizumi is hiding, whetherintentionally or not. Although Kuroo didn’t want to suspend him, and he wasextremely upset after he did it, it’s also sort of a relief because he nolonger has to worry about juggling Iwaizumi’s friendship and the need to beimpartial toward the case. But even after that when Iwaizumi continues to beinvolved, despite the suspension, things get a little more difficult for him.

           Prison hadn’t been a goodexperience, but at least Semi had learned a valuable lesson. If they’d releasedhim a couple of years sooner the lesson would’ve still stuck, but at least hewas free now. It had been an adjustment, and a couple of times he’d almostslipped back into his old lifestyle, but he’d managed to find himself a placeto belong. He had Oikawa to thank for that, although if he thought about it toolong he got nauseous from the shame.

           As badly as he’d treated Oikawa, hecouldn’t believe that he was still willing to help him.

           Maybe Semi would eventually get overit, and maybe he wouldn’t. The point was, he’d escaped from his old life.Things were different now, and they were going to stay that way. He didn’t haveto worry about Osaka anymore, or the drug trade that had consumed too much ofhis life.

           At least, he’d thought he wouldn’thave to deal with it anymore.

           Shirabu fucked that up for him.

           Shirabu hadn’t been bad, at first.Semi had actually sort of liked him. He was clever in his own testy way.Despite his limited experience in the service industry, Shirabu could mix ahell of a cocktail, and Semi respected that.

           When Shirabu started asking him toomany questions about drugs, questions so specific that he must have known aboutSemi’s past, things started to go downhill.

           Semi figured out what Shirabu wasdoing pretty quickly; mostly because Shirabu didn’t try to hide it from him. Heactually had the nerve to ask for Semi’s help, and that request got shot downimmediately.

           At least, until Shirabu threatened totell Tendou about Semi’s sordid past.

           That got his attention.

           He still wasn’t willing to get backinto the business, as Shirabu was hoping. Semi gave him a few tips here andthere, just enough to keep him satisfied and keep his mouth shut.

           Maybe Tendou wouldn’t care that Semihad been in prison, but then again, maybe he would.

           Semi didn’t really want to find out.

           It was when they figured out theproblem with the overdoses that their arrangement came to a standstill.

           “Someone died on the fucking streetcorner,” snapped Semi. He felt like screaming, but they were in the break roomin the back of the club, so he had to keep his voice down. The door was closedand the two of them were alone, but if he devolved into yelling, his voicewould carry down the hallway. “This is getting out of hand.”

           “She didn’t die,” said Shirabu. Heshrugged. “She’s in a coma.”

           “That’s not the point.”

           “You’re right. The point is that shewas a junkie. If someone can’t stick to one drug at a time then they’re askingfor it.”

           Semi’s jaw went slack. He couldn’tbelieve he was hearing this. “You’ve got to be shitting me.”

           Shirabu raised a brow, hisexpression unchanging. “Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot who I was talking to. I supposeyou’re concerned about her since she’s an addict like you.”

           “Shut the fuck up,” said Semi. His handswere curled into tight fists, nails digging into the soft flesh of his palms. “Thisisn’t about me.”

           “It’s about business,” said Shirabu,“and this isn’t going to hurt mine. Junkies don’t care if they might die. They’regoing to use anyway.”

           The only thing that kept Semi fromflying into utter rage was the edge of disbelief that buzzed at the corners ofhis consciousness like static. He knew Shirabu was fucked up, but he hadn’t realizedit was this bad.

           “I can’t do this,” said Semi. “I can’t.I’ve kept my mouth shut about this too long already. I’m not doing thisanymore.”

           He turned on his heel and started towardthe door. He wasn’t even midway across the room before Shirabu spoke andstopped him in his tracks.

           “We’ve already discussed this,Semi-san,” said Shirabu. Despite the tension, his manners were stillimpeccable. “You agreed to exchange your discretion for mine. I don’t want toinform Tendou-san what sort of person he’s been letting into his bed, but Iwill if I must.”

           Semi spun back toward him, lipcurled in a snarl. “Fuck you,” he spat. “Tell Tendou. I don’t fucking care. Heknows me by now. It won’t change his mind about me.”

           He said it with convincingconviction, but he didn’t believe a single syllable. Surely if Tendou knew, hewould want nothing else to do with Semi. No one would want to hang around anex-con and an ex-addict and an ex-prisoner.

           Most of the time Semi wished he didn’thave to be near himself, either.

           If Tendou decided he wanted nothingmore to do with him, Semi would be crushed, but after a lot of time and grief,he would live through it  

           He couldn’t, however, live with theknowledge that people were dying and he could be doing something about it.

           He’d made all the wrong choices inhis life. It was time for him to make a good one.

           He walked away again, and this timehe made it to the door.

           From across the room, Shirabusighed. “I didn’t it to turn out like this,” he said, “but I suppose you’re notgiving me a choice.”

           Semi gritted his teeth and slid aglare over his shoulder. “What?”

           “Which life do you care about more?”said Shirabu. He was still eerily calm. “A junkie stranger, or your boyfriend?”

           Semi’s flash of anger burned out. Inits place was a hollow iciness that tasted of dread. “…what?”

           “That’s your choice,” said Shirabusimply. “You can snitch on me, if you’d like. I won’t stop you. By shutting medown, you may save an addict or two. You will, however, do it at the expense ofTendou-san. Which is more important to you?”

           Semi thought his heart had stoppedbeating. He felt like everything had grinded to a halt. “What did you just say?”

           “You’re not a complete idiot,” saidShirabu. “You know what I said.”

           Semi just stared at him. He didknow, but he must have heard wrong, because surely Shirabu hadn’t justthreatened him.

           After a moment Shirabu sighed,annoyed. “I’ll spell it out for you, then. If you snitch, Tendou-san will paythe price. The damage will be permanent.”

           The words sank into Semi’s brainslowly.

           When they registered, his nerveswere alight with rage.

           He moved forward so quickly that theworld blurred at the edges of his vision. He seized Shirabu by the front of hisshirt and slammed him against the wall of lockers. “You piece of shit,” hissedSemi. “You won’t fucking touch him.”

           Shirabu winced from the impact, buthis face quickly returned to its usual impassivity. “You promised me you wouldn’ttell anyone what I’m doing,” he said. He was unruffled by the fury breathing directlyin his face. “If you keep that promise then no, I won’t touch him. If you don’t,however-”

           Semi shoved him back again. “Shutthe fuck up. Tendou has nothing to do with this.”

           “Of course he does. He’s yourweakness, Semi-san. As far as I can tell, he’s the only exploitable one thatyou have. I wonder if you would have been so desperate to protect Oikawa-san backin Osaka. I doubt it. You cared more about your drugs than you ever cared abouthim, didn’t you?”

           Semi’s swung, and only realized atthe last second what he was about to do. He pulled the punch to the side andslammed his fist into a locker instead, the thud of metal reverberating intohis fist, throbbing down to his bones.

           The hit had landed only an inch awayfrom Shirabu’s head, but he hadn’t flinched.

           “Throw a tantrum if you’d like,”said Shirabu, “but it changes nothing. If you don’t keep quiet, I’ll kill him.Do you believe me, or must I prove it?”

           Semi believed him. He believed himso completely that it was agony.

           His arm fell to the side and he tookan unsteady step back, still burning with anger and dread and despair.

           “I could kill you instead,” saidSemi. “I could blow your fucking brains out and save everyone some trouble.”

           “Do it, then,” said Shirabu. “MaybeTendou-san will be your pen pal in prison, although I doubt it. I’m fairly surehe would never speak to you again. He likes me, after all, and I don’t think hewould tolerate the affections of a murderer.”

           Semi staggered back and dropped intoa crouch, burying his face in his hands. His eyes burned; his entire bodyburned.

           “I’m sorry it had to come to this, Semi-san,”said Shirabu. “It isn’t ideal. As long as you keep your silence, we won’t haveany issues. Is that an arrangement you can agree with?”

           Semi didn’t answer. His throat wastoo tight, breath too short.

           “Semi-san? I need to know if I canget back to work or if I should pay Tendou-san a visit.”

           Semi stood, so quickly that the rushof blood made him dizzy. “Of course I’m not going to talk,” he said, the wordsbursting with bitterness and rage. “What fucking choice do I have?”

           “There’s always a choice, Semi-san,”said Shirabu. He stepped away from the lockers and straightened out hisclothes. “Fortunately for you, you’ve made the correct one. Just don’t forgetour agreement. I’ll cover for you while you pull yourself together.”

           He left the room, and Semi fellapart.

           He slid down the wall and curled inon himself, knees against his chest, body trembling.

           As a rule, Semi Eita didn’t cry.

           Then again, he had a long history ofbreaking rules.

           Tendou found him ten minutes later,when his sobs had tapered into painful breaths. Semi was too drained to evenfeel embarrassed.

           Tendou stepped into the roomquietly, closed the door, and sat in the floor beside Semi without a word. Hedraped an arm over Semi’s shoulders and Semi melted into him, a tiny spark ofrelief flickering among a sea of despair.

           Shirabu was going to win. He was goingto keep dealing moxie and people were going to die and Semi couldn’t doanything about it.

           Unless he wanted to sacrifice Tendou,and that wasn’t something that he would even consider.

           There wasn’t even the slightestchance that Shirabu was bluffing. Semi knew him by now, more than he would haveliked. He knew if he talked to anyone, Shirabu would retaliate.

           Semi wasn’t willing to risk Tendou.Even if Shirabu ended up killing half the city, Semi wouldn’t do anything toput him in danger.

           He knew that sort of thinking waswrong, and it probably made him a bad person.

           But really, he’d been a bad personfor a long time. This was nothing new.

           “Semi-Semi?” said Tendou quietly. Hetrailed his fingers back and forth along Semi’s shoulder, light and gentle. “Everythingokay?”            “No.” The single word was raw.

           Tendou held him closer. “Do you wantto talk about it?”

           Semi leaned his head against Tendou’sshoulder. “No, but I probably should anyway.”

           Tendou didn’t pry. He waited, theminutes dragging by until Semi spoke again.

           “I need to tell you something,” saidSemi. “You might not want to see me anymore, and if you don’t, that’s fine. Iwon’t be mad.”

           “I can think of very few things thatwould make me not want to see you anymore,” said Tendou.

           Semi closed his eyes and took abreath, appreciating Tendou’s closeness. He feared he would never have itagain.

           “I need to tell you what happenedbefore I moved here, back when I dated Oikawa, and about… about some thingsthat happened.” He swallowed to clear the tightness in his throat. This was thelast thing he wanted to talk about, but he needed to say it. He had to keep all of his information about Shirabu to himself, but Tendou deserved toknow about Semi. “Everything started when I lived in Osaka.”