Makishima shivered under his pure white coat and grasped Choe's hand. It was a cold December evening and the snow fell from the sky like powdered sugar. Choe glanced at his partner, "Are you sure you want to be outside? Your hands are freezing," he began to rub the other man's hands as they continued down the bustling Tokyo street.
"Yes, we're almost there," the white-haired man replied, with a serene smile upon his face.
Makishima suddenly released Choe's arm and happily walked ahead, his snow-white hair flowing behind him. It was one of the many things he loved about Makishima. His hair. The way it felt against his face. The smell of it when he nuzzled the nape of Makishima's delicate neck, as they lay entwined in bed. Running his fingers through it as he planted open mouthed kisses on the younger man's neck. The way it felt between his thighs-
"We've arrived," the younger man's voice pulled Choe out of his thoughts; probably for the better.
Choe looked up at the neon sign reading "Arcade" above Makishima's smiling face and returned a quizzical look. The bright blue light shone down upon the man, making his already angelic appearance look even more ethereal. "Shall we?" the fair man asked.
"Of course," Choe replied.
He'd do anything to please Makishima; kill, maim, dispose of bodies, endure conversations with Mido, and yes, even go to an arcade.
Makishima grasped Choe's arm and led him through the doors of the loud parlor. The sounds of coins clanking against metal and electronic beeps and chimes assaulted their ears as Makishima gleefully strolled to a change machine. Choe watched Makishima gingerly pick up the coins and spin around, seeking out his first victim. Makishima's amber eyes darted around the room until they locked on to their target, "That one!"
It was amazing. Makishima was the most mature, eloquent, and calm 26-year-old he had ever met. Watching Makishima blissfully partake in something childish and innocent for a change brought a smile to his face. Makishima tugged on the sleeve of Choe's navy blue jacket and stared, as if to say, "come on."
Choe followed the shorter man to the far side of the parlor. Choe smirked when he saw the trivia game straight ahead of the couple; Makishima was rather predictable. Suddenly the younger man stopped, causing Choe to bump into him. Something had clearly caught the young man's eye, and judging by the mischievous smirk on his lips, there was something much better than trivia in store for them.
Choe followed Makishima's stare to a darker corner of the parlor. There, ominously stood a game Choe remembered from his childhood; the claw.
Around the top of the machine the Choe could make out the words "Just Add Water," something he found rather odd for a claw machine. Clearly Japan was superior in many things, including arcade technology. At the bottom of the glass window a small face peeked at the couple as they made their way to the machine. Makishima knelt in front of the machine and met the gaze of the small face within the machine.
He tapped the glass with his elegant index finger and smiled delightfully, "Hello."
Choe looked down at the small figure behind the glass, and quickly became puzzled. "Kogami Shinya?"
Kogami was about 8 inches tall; his miniscule frame was clad in his usual black disheveled suit and gray jacket. His tiny fists made petite taps on the glass, and tiny mouth was clearly yelling, "Makishima," though the couple could not hear it through the thick glass. He finally gave up punching the glass and stood still, with a miniature glare plastered upon his absolutely teeny face.
Makishima turned to meet Choe's gaze, "Should we?"
The tiny Kogami kicked the glass and started yelling again. Choe knew the question was rhetorical, Makishima was going to do it if he really wanted to, Choe's input or not. Without waiting for an answer, Makishima slid a coin in the slot. The machine squeaked to life, and the tiny Kogami's eyes grew wide as he scrambled over the piles of plastic jewelry and stuffed animals, finally seeking refuge in a corner under a green dinosaur plush toy.
Makishima grasped the joystick and moved it around. The claw didn't move. The tiny Kogami peeked out from under the green dinosaur and fell onto the ground in what looked like hysterical laughter.
A defeated, irritated, glare emanated from Makishima's eyes. Makishima moved the joystick around again, finally the claw jerked to life. The miniature Kogami suddenly stopped laughing, yelled what looked like "OH SHIT!" and hid back under the dinosaur.
Makishima managed to finally get the claw above the corner where Kogami was hiding and pressed the button, sending the claw down.
The claw grasped the dinosaur, and picked it up about three inches before the claw lost it's grip and dropped it about five inches away from Kogami, who was looking for another hiding place. The claw returned to the drop zone and the machine made a sad, defeated set of beeps.
Makishima's face reflected the noise. It made Choe's heart sink in his chest, like when he saw those videos of abused kittens and bunnies, and pictures of fried hard drives. He was going to fix this.
He sneakily crawled behind the machine and unscrewed the back panel with his pocketknife, "Move the joystick to the left, please."
Makishima complied with the request. There was the sound of mechanical shuffling then suddenly, "And to the right, please."
Makishima complied again; more mechanical shuffling ensued, "Ah! It is quite dirty, and it wasn't calibrated!"
He peeked out from behind the machine and smiled, "Try it again, please."
Makishima pushed the joystick around and watched with amusement as it moved around flawlessly. Makishima stared down at the small figure within his glass prison and smirked. The tiny Kogami hid, face down, under the dinosaur again, this time, with his lower half exposed.
Choe stood up and strode over to Makishima, who placed a tender kiss upon his lips, "You'll be rewarded for your good deed," the younger man said, with a mischievous smile.
Makishima moved the claw over to Kogami and with surgical precision positioned the claw above the exponentially smaller man. He pressed the button and the claw dropped down, grazed the dinosaur and landed on the ground next to Kogami. Suddenly a beige blur rushed to the claw and attached itself to one of the prongs. The small figure, only 4 inches short, held on for dear life as the claw returned to the drop zone. The prongs flew open and the small figure fell into the prize door.
Makishima looked puzzled as he stuck his hand into the prize door and scooped out a small girl in a beige seifuku uniform. "Rikako?"
"Makishima-sensei!" the incredibly petite girl squeaked, her voice tiny, as if she were a mouse.
She stood in his palm and hugged his thumb, "Sensei!" she repeated, with the same mouse noise.
Makishima looked disappointed as he stared at the small girl in his hand, who was raising her arms as if to embrace him. Choe looked to the small figure in the love of his life's elegant hands, then to the tiny, but attractive gluteus maximus and sculpted legs sticking out from under the dinosaur. Makishima turned to Choe and batted his lovely eyelashes, "I'm sure this is nothing to a genius like you, Choe Gu-Sung."
Of course it was nothing to him, his fondest memories of his childhood were of the time he spent at an arcade. "Of course, anything for you," the taller man responded.
Makishima gingerly placed the small girl on his shoulder, as Choe stepped up to the control pad, and watched Choe's actions intently. Rikako hugged his face then sat down and placed her tiny hands in Makishima's hair, and began to braid a few of the strands.
Choe focused intently on aligning the claw, even looking through the other panes of glass to ensure proper alignment. He smiled at Makishima and pressed the button. The claw dropped and grabbed onto Kogami's nicely sculpted waist. The three watched as the tiny suit-wearing man struggled against the prongs of the claw, yelling something they could not hear nor lip-read. The claw stopped suddenly above the prize chute and dropped the small man down into the prize hatch. Choe opened the door, placed his hand into the hatch to scoop up his prize.
He tensed slightly and pulled his hand out of the chute, with a tiny Kogami attached to his finger like a leech. Choe grabbed Kogami by the posterior and gingerly removed the tip of his finger from the tiny man's mouth. Choe laughed as the little Kogami flailed his arms and legs in an extremely futile attempt to free himself, "Hey dipshit, that's my ass. Let go!"
His voice was also mouse-like. A manly, one-and-a-half-pack-a-day smoking, masculine mouse, but a mouse nonetheless. Makishima giggled as Choe placed the man gently into his hands. Kogami shook his tiny fists and yelled "MAKISHIMAAA!" in his tiny mouse voice.
Makishima started laughing as he poked Kogami in the stomach, "Perhaps we should get our prizes home?"
"Of course, do we have something to put them in?" Choe asked.
"I'm sure a glass jar would do just fine."
"Poke holes in the lid, I'm sure they require oxygen."
The tiny Kogami lit a microscopic cigarette and sat down in Makishima's hand, his body language advertising his acceptance of defeat.
"Rikako," Choe chimed, "leave his hair alone," Choe gently lifted Rikako off Makishima's shoulder and placed her on his own. She planted a tiny kiss on his cheek and burrowed herself into his coat collar.
The four began their journey home, when suddenly, Choe sneezed and Rikako fell from her perch into the snow and down a storm drain. Choe, Makishima, and a completely uninterested and seriously pissed off Kogami looked down into the drain. "Rikako? Are you alright?"
"Yes! I'm alright!" there was something different, something normal about her voice.
"AH! That's what they meant! Just add water!"
Makishima looked at Choe, "Pardon?"
"You add water, and they grow to normal size!"
"Are you going to help me out?" Rikako asked, with more than just a hint of concern.
Makishima and Choe both looked at each other; simultaneously shook their heads, and walked away from the storm drain as quietly, and quickly as possible. "Makishima-sensei?" she called out.
Someone would save her… maybe.
As the three walked into the nicely furnished and wonderfully warm apartment Makishima looked down at the scowling man in his hands and smirked, "Choe, Shibari?"
Choe smirked, "I'll get the rope, you get the water."
Kogami sighed in defeat and lit another tiny cigarette, "Fuck my life."