Disclaimer: Dekaranger is not mine

Notes: Spoilers for the end of the series

--

It would be rumor fodder for a week at least. He could already hear Umeko now: "No, really, Ban spent his last night on DekaBase with Hoji-san! They were sharing a room all night, what else would they have been doing... oh, good morning, Hoji-san! You're up early today!" And not too long ago, he would have cared about that enough to have stopped this from happening. But right now, as he pulled the covers over his naked body while waiting for Ban to finish his shower, he wondered why it had seemed so important before.

The fact that he'd realized it wasn't important the night before Ban was supposed to leave to join the Fire Squad, however, was another matter entirely.

"Oh, you're finally up?" Ban's voice brought an abrupt end to any potentional brooding. Clad only in a pair of bright red boxers, he perched himself on the edge of the bed, toweling his hair dry. Hoji couldn't help but stare at the sight, not sure if he could get used to seeing it framing his face instead of spiked up to absurd proportions. The smile was the same as always, though-- equal parts warmth and mischief as he leaned in close. "So... wanna tell me why we didn't do this sooner?"

Because I'm an idiot. "Things like this take time. That's something a Deka doesn't have a lot of."

"But it's not fair!" Ban whined as he collapsed next to Hoji. Judging from his position, he guessed he wanted to be cuddled. Too bad for him. "I'm leaving tomorrow and who knows when I'll be able to visit!" Just as quickly as his tantrum began, it was ended with a small sigh. "We're supposed to be detectives. We should've figured it out sooner."

"... I know."

They were quiet after that, neither wanting to talk about the wasted past or the uncertain future. Then, after awhile, Ban broke the silence. "How long do we have until work?"

"A few hours. Why?"

Ban was smiling again. "Plenty of time!"

Hoji was annoyed that Ban didn't even warn him before he grabbed him and kissed him, but he didn't resist.

It started out exactly like it had earlier: awkward, rough but with plenty of promise as he gave in a little more with each kiss, biting back a whimper as Ban's tongue explored his mouth. He broke away, and there were a few seconds that he just stared, studying Hoji's body before starting on his neck.

Hoji had no idea how Ban managed to find the one spot that made him melt when sucked on, but he certainly appreciated it. He allowed his fingers to become tangled in Ban's still damp hair, grip tightening when he felt a thumb brush against his nipple, while he struggled to free Ban of his boxers with his remaining hand. Everything afer that was hazy. He could remember trying to keep quiet as Ban's hands started going lower (he didn't care about rumors anymore, that didn't mean he wanted to help spread them), but then it started to overwhelm him, more and more until his body gave one last one last, violent shudder before going limp.

--

He woke up to the sight of Ban hovering over him, grinning like crazy. "So what was that again about these things taking time?"

"I stand corrected." Hoji reached out, fingertips tracing the contours of Ban's face. It wasn't like him to be so tender, but it seemed like the right thing to do. "Ban?"

"Yes?"

I wish we'd figured it out sooner, too. "... Nothing. Good night."