School had just been let out.
Raidou didn't have any plans for the rest of the day, so he figured he'd head on over to the agency and see if Narumi had any good leads for him. He knocked on the entrance door three consecutive times.
Rap, rap, rap.
While he had treaded over to the agency out of sheer boredom and interest in new happenings that he might need to investigate, the real reasoning behind his attendance was to simply see Narumi.
Within a few moments, he heard a loud "Come on in!" echo from inside the building. Raidou quickly pulled open the door and headed inside.
As usual, Narumi was seated at his desk, drinking some coffee and reading the daily paper. Narumi was the only person Raidou knew that would continuously drink cup after cup of coffee throughout the day and into the evening. Raidou chuckled quietly at the sight.
The older man looked up from his reading and shot Raidou a warm smile. "Oh, Raidou, it's you. Sorry, kiddo, but I don't have any new cases for you today."
Raidou frowned, his features apparently contorting in such an image of sorrow that Narumi couldn't help but laugh.
"Disappointed, eh? You and me both. It's been pretty quiet." Narumi grinned. "Since you're here, why not stay and chat for a bit? Pull up a seat, you look tired."
Raidou eagerly accepted the gesture and headed over to make himself comfortable in the open seat next to Narumi's desk.
"So," Narumi turned to face him, still smiling. "How's school? What have you been doing with yourself? Any ladies in your life? With a face like that, you've got to have several gorgeous dames after you, eh?"
Raidou blushed at the compliment and the mention of the word "ladies". Oh, now that was the last thing on his mind. How could he possibly think about women when Narumi was the only thing on his mind?
"N-no. To tell you the truth, I haven't been doing much at all, well, besides school and helping you out with cases." Raidou admitted, beginning to fidget in his seat. "I-I didn't have anything to do after school today, and I know you're by yourself here a good amount of the time, so I figured I'd come over and give you some company..."
There was a short moment of silence before Narumi burst out laughing. "Oh, man. You're a funny kid, you know that?" He reached over to playfully rub Raidou's head and scratch behind his ear. "Like I'm really that desperate for attention. But I can appreciate the thought. You've got a good heart. You'll win the girls over easily."
Raidou's blush only deepened as he absorbed the sensation. He closed his eyes as he focused on Narumi's fingers gently caressing the back on his head. He wished that he could cling to this moment forever and ever. After working with Narumi for so long and the man being one of the major figures in his life, it's only natural that he would grow attached to him in one way or another. You could say that in a way, he was Raidou's first true object of affection, or maybe even love.
But alas, the circumstances were not, and would probably never be in his favor.
The door flung open, and in strolled Tae. Raidou nearly let out a growl of disappointment as Narumi pulled away from him and quickly bolted over to her.
"Oh, Tae, it's so great to see you." Narumi took her hands in his and pulled her close. He asked her how her day was and gave her a quick peck on the lips.
Yes, that's right. Narumi was (obviously and unfortunately) straight as could be and in a happy, healthy relationship with Tae. He viewed Raidou as a mere friend, coworker and a silly kid. Nothing more. Take all these factors and add the massive age gap and there was a very, very, very slim to no chance that things would ever change.
Raidou didn't like it, not one bit. He reflected on this as he zoned out while listening to the couple's idle talk.
But unlike so many, he had come to terms with it.
"Raidou?" Raidou snapped back to reality to find both Tae and Narumi staring at him like he was crazy. "What is it?" Narumi questioned. "You were just blankly staring at us for the longest time. Is something wrong?"
While there certainly was a lot that could be considered "wrong" with his situation, Raidou had worked out the positives in his head several times over.
Sure, Narumi would never view him as anything more than a trusted friend. But Raidou still got to see him practically whenever he wanted. Narumi held some genuine affection for him, even thought it wasn't necessarily the kind he was craving.
But best of all, Narumi was happy, and Raidou got to share that happiness just by being in his presence. Raidou considered Tae to be a pretty good person and a precious friend, and while a bit jealous of her, he would never even consider doing anything to disrupt her and Narumi's relationship. He could never forgive himself if he did.
Raidou smiled. If they remained gleeful, he'd be content.
"No, nothing is wrong. Nothing at all."
Yoooo, so, uh, I'm back. This is my first attempt at writing a fic in a little over a year. I hope I did okay!
