A/N: So originally I wanted to get this out on Christmas (hence the title), but school kept me too busy to finish it. Then I wanted to publish this on Valentine's Day, but life was still too busy. And now finally the moment has come! Only 3 months late... Sorry about that! I've wanted to write a fanfic about these two for a while but never had any inspiration! I tried to keep them as in character as possible and it's my first time writing a scene like this so let me know how I did! Thanks in advance to all who review!
The longer she stared at them, the longer the digital case files seemed to burn holes in her retinas. Akane leaned against the straight-backed couch and rubbed her eyes with an irritated groan.
"Getting sleepy?" The inspector peered over her fingers in response to the enforcer sitting in the armchair across from her.
Kougami smirked. "I would be if I'd had that much to drink." He gestured with a wave of his hand to the mostly-empty wine bottle sitting on the table between them. Kougami had brought the full bottle out to lighten up the tough case work they had ahead of them. Much to his surprise, he found that Akane could hold her fair share of alcohol without getting too tipsy.
Akane took another long sip from her glass, finishing its contents. "I'm not sleepy...just tired of looking up all these files."
"Amen." Kougami sat up to stretch and Akane's dulled senses allowed her to take in his impressive form unashamedly. Normally she would have been careful not to let her gaze linger for too long, but the alcohol in her system noted that a good look was well deserved. "Let's leave it there for today."
Akane nodded and moved her eyes up to the clock. Almost 1 in the morning. She sighed and stood up, intending to leave the enforcer's quarters and head back to her own apartment for a few hours' sleep before her 12 hour shift the next morning, which would probably consist of studying more case files. She was surprised when a hand was placed on her shoulder, preventing her lethargic staggering from continuing.
Kougami turned her around to face him. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Uh, home," Akane said with a more light-hearted chuckle than she would have made if she were completely sober. "I need sleep if I want to function efficiently tomorrow. Not all of us are cyborgs, Kougami-san..." She patted his shoulder awkwardly as she kept chuckling, the combination of her alcohol consumption and her exhaustion sending her into a goofy state.
The corners of his mouth tugged up a bit from seeing her in a more relaxed and silly mood, but his expression quickly darkened, making Akane pout. Why did his nice face have to look so upset all the time?
"Remember, Inspector? There was a pretty huge blizzard that hit Tokyo a few hours ago. I doubt the weather's fit for travelling at this point." He was staring into her eyes to hold her attention, but mostly all it did was make her face red.
"Whaaaat? No, it was fine outside last time I checked..." Akane vehemently refused to accept what he had just said, yearning for her own bed.
Kougami sighed exasperatedly and pulled up the current weather stats for the area on his communicator, holding the display up to her eyes. Akane had a bit of trouble focusing at first, but eventually saw that, not only was there high winds and white-out conditions, but the temperatures were well below the average for that time of year.
"See?" Kougami said, closing the display with a quick flick of his finger. He placed his hands on his hips and Akane was reminded of a parent scolding their child. "It's not safe for you to go out there."
"Well...I still want to leave..." Akane said, making her way toward the exit again. "I need to sleep..."
"You don't have to leave here to sleep..." Kougami rolled his eyes.
Before she knew what she was doing, Akane was turning around to face him with a sensual smirk on her face. "Is this all just a ploy to get me into your bedroom?" She immediately blushed but kept looking at him, wondering if she had drunk more than she had originally thought; her words racing faster than her inhibitions could keep up.
To Akane's utter shock, her usually cool-as-ice subordinate looked back at her with a startled and guilty expression, red staining his cheeks. This anomaly burned itself in the back of Akane's mind, adding itself to her list of moments that reminded her that Kougami was, in fact, just a human being. Not a latent criminal, or a cyborg (something she would frequently tease him about); just a human. In spite of the awkwardness of the situation, this thought made Akane smile a little bit.
Kougami was quick to recover, however, shaking his head and chuckling while staring at the floor. "Yeah, and have Gino tear me limb from limb tomorrow? No thanks." He lifted his head to look at her, a teasing smirk on his lips. "Why do you ask? Would you try to get me into your bedroom?"
Akane felt her heart rate pick up immediately at the thought that she begrudgingly admitted to herself she had entertained once or twice. Trying to keep her nervousness under wraps, she gave the enforcer a sultry smirk in return. "Of course not, Kougami-san. How unprofessional do you think I am?" She took a few steps towards him, keeping her playfully flirty attitude.
"Well you could order me, you know..." He was keeping up with her game but there was a glint in his eye and a purr in his voice that told her he may not be completely joking. Akane swallowed hard, trying to dislodge the ball of nervousness stuck in her throat, and attempted a witty comeback.
"I-I...could never abuse my power like that..." she half-whimpered, meeting his intense stare with her own anxious one.
Though she sounded thoroughly unconvincing he backed off, smiling in victory. "I know, Inspector. You're straight as an arrow, as always. Now, since you're going to be staying here..."
He put a hand on the small of her back and guided her towards his inner quarters. "You take my bed in here and I'll sleep on the couch out here, alright?"
Akane hung her head in silent shame, trying not to focus on the firm, protective feeling of his hand on her back. She figured he wanted to end the awkward encounter as soon as possible seeing as he had so quickly changed the subject, and why wouldn't he? He probably thought her a silly, immature girl for bringing that whole thing up in the first place. She owed him enough to play along, trying to forget that it ever happened.
"Fine, I'll stay here. But just because the weather's being crazy, okay?" She turned to face him in the doorway.
"Ay ay, Inspector." He gave a half-hearted salute which got her to giggle a bit and ease the tension further.
"Well..." Akane inhaled loudly and nodded at Kougami, a serious expression on her face. "Goodnight, Kougami-san. And thanks for letting me stay here."
"Hey, Gino would kill me if I let you freeze to death too..." Kougami gave her a genuine smile and nodded back at her. "Goodnight, Tsunemori."
Once he shut the door behind himself Akane turned and found his small bed in the cigarette-scented room. Her head was slowly clearing the alcohol out of her conscious thoughts and letting fatigue completely take over. Her head hit the pillow before she even realized she had leaned over. Akane stared at the bulletin board on the opposite wall of the room, curling her legs up to her chest and mentally going over the embarrassing ordeal.
"Idiot..." she whispered to herself before finally succumbing to sleep.
Kougami took a deep breath once he'd shut the door; and attempt to calm himself down further. He'd let that get way out of hand and had gotten her to settle down as quickly as possible, much to his relief. How would he explain his actions to her tomorrow? How his teasing words had morphed into seductive murmurings that had previously only existed deep within his subconscious? A woman as intelligent and remarkable as her deserved better than that; better than anything he could offer.
Kougami rubbed one temple with two fingers and exhaled slowly, making his way to the couch where he ungracefully slumped down and replayed the conversation over in his mind.
"Idiot..." he muttered under his breath.
The cold wind blew silently over Tokyo, snuffing out all warm sparks of passion kindled in the midst of the stormy night.