They were greeted to the light and heartwarming smell of pastries and freshly baked bread. Souji was practically glowing, fluttering through the store as he observed the displays of cookies, muffins and cakes. The small amount of customers watched him for a short moment until they turned back to their tables, continuing their treats in silence. Souji puttered around, humming to himself and making light conversation with the workers before skipping back to Adachi's side, linking their arms together as they made their way back up to order. Adachi took a quick glance at the showcase, just in case he wanted to order something different than his usual.
"One slice of chocolate cake, please!" Souji beamed, turning expectantly to Adachi, who rolled his eyes.
"And one strawberry roll for me, thanks. Both to stay."
"I knew it!" Souji whispered triumphantly under his breath, Adachi rolling his eyes again as he grabbed his wallet out of his coat pocket, thanking the cashier again as she handed them their orders after he paid.
The duo trekked to their favourite table in the corner, surrounded by a window on two sides. Souji hummed to himself as they sat down, immediately glancing out the window, eyes bright as he watched people stroll by. Adachi could feel the glances of the stray customers throughout the store, deciding to ignore them and smile at his boyfriend's antics, resting his face in the palm of his hand as he grabbed a forkful of his treat and ate it, watching Souji the entire time. Conversation was silent at their table, Adachi continuing to watch Souji with half-lidded eyes and a light smile, while Souji continued to observe the people outside happily.
Minutes passed, the two eating their cakes silently and slowly. Souji dug his fork to the plate, nearly falling over himself in confusion as he smacked the fork into the table instead. Adachi snorted, placing a hand to hover over his mouth as he tried to finish his bite without spitting it out or swallowing it wrong. Souji whined, turning to him blushing, fumbling with his fork until he managed to get a slab of cake in his mouth. Adachi continued to try to hold back from laughing out loud, snickering into his fist as he struggled to get the cake down.
Souji pouted, lightly kicking Adachi's foot under the table. The detective cocked an eyebrow and a playful smirk, lightly kicking back. The two continued playing their game of footsie for a moment before they heard a scoff from nearby.
"Look at those fuckin' freaks."
Adachi froze, slowly turning to look at a couple at another table, the man glaring at him as he spoke again, the girlfriend eyeing them in disgust.
"Should learn their fuckin' places, if you ask me."
Adachi scowled, hands curling into fists. He was about to stand before Souji's hands clasped over is, and he looked to his boyfriend, feeling as if he'd been punched in the gut at Souji's forlorn expression.
"Let's just go..." the younger man mumbled, sliding out of his seat and leading Adachi silently out of the store.
Souji dragged his hand down Adachi's arm when they were outside, his fingers hanging off of the detective's before his hand dropped to his side. Adachi looked at him in concern, draping an arm over his shoulder and pulling him into a hug as they stalked away from the cake shop. Souji nuzzled his head lightly into Adachi's shoulder, but his posture and spirit was still fallen and downcast. Adachi grit his teeth, looking back at the shop, cursing under his breath.
"It's not worth it..." Souji mumbled. "It'd just make him think we're bigger freaks..."
"Souji..." Adachi's heart dropped, swallowing the lump in his throat. "I'm... I'm sorry."
He curled his fingers tight around Souji's shoulder, holding the younger man as close as he could without making the walk awkward. The world chimed around them, strangers laughing and conversing as they passed, vehicles speeding by, birds singing dutifully. The sky was shining a brilliant blue, the sun burning into their backs as they headed down the street. Adachi glanced down at his boyfriend, concern fluttering in his stomach at Souji's downcast expression and depressed mood. The rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, trying to muster up something to say to cheer Souji up. A slow, tiny smile perched on his lips and he leaned to whisper in Souji's ear.
"How 'bout I buy the whipped cream?"
Souji stifled a snort, raising his head and looking at the man with a crookedly tired grin. There was a pause, Adachi watching the subtle shifts in Souji's face as the younger man thought.
"Deal," was the meek reply.
Adachi's smile grew softly and he placed a short kiss on top of Souji's head. Souji sighed lightly and let his head rest back on Adachi's shoulder as they continued their trek, now at least with another destination in mind. The scenery continued to buzz around them, people chattering, birds chirping, sun burning. Adachi zoned out as they walked, mindlessly staring blankly ahead as they walked, barely focusing on his surroundings and waiting for the familiar store banner to appear in his sight before he connected back to reality. God, how he wanted to go back and punch that asshole in the face...
Minutes passed and the store rounded into his vision. About to open his mouth to say something, he jumped in surprise at Souji suddenly gasping, the younger man squealing and clapping softly as he stepped forward. Adachi stood on his tip-toes and peered over Souji's shoulder as he looked on in confusion. Souji made short conversation with someone nearby before squatting down, squealing happily. Adachi stalked over, an amused laugh erupting from him at the sight of a kitten on a leash, playfully crawling into Souji's hands, who was petting the feline with glee. Souji looked up to the detective, nodding lightly in the direction of the store before making conversation with the cat's owner, who was laughing and looked glad to converse with him.
Reaching down and scratching the kitten's head with a finger, Adachi grinned and nodded at the owner before stepping away and into the convenience store. He quickly nodded to the cashier in greeting, stepping around an oblivious customer as he scanned the aisles. He puttered, muttering the tags under his breath as his eyes darted the shelves, row after row until he nearly tripped mid-step after finding the whipped cream, about to walk away from it. He grabbed a can and fluttered through the aisles, grabbing a couple of snacks for later before standing in line.
Glancing out the window, he noticed the woman with the cat had left, Souji standing and looking at his phone absentmindedly. Adachi could tell the younger man's demeanour was completely uplifted and glowing compared to moments ago. He smiled and turned back to the line, bouncing lightly on the spot as the line slowly started to move. He was about third in line when there was a sharp thud from outside, followed by yelling, everyone turning to look at the window. Adachi's eyes widened in fury and fear at the sight of the couple from the cake shop holding Souji up against it by his collar. Quickly slamming his items on the free space on the counter, Adachi bolted out of the store, managing to wrestle the man away, struggling with him as the man hollered obscenities and slurs. The woman started screeching, digging her nails into Adachi's arms with one hand and using her other one to smack him with. Managing to push her away, Adachi tried to pin the man to the ground, only to gasp as he was suddenly struck to the gut by an elbow.
Coughing and gagging, he keeled over before he found himself on the pavement, wheezing at the sharp pain surging through his face. He heard Souji weeping, and could see the younger man struggling to stop the man from advancing back to Adachi. The pain was suddenly swept under the rug in a fuming rage when he watched the man turn and punch Souji, who stumbled and fell backwards as the girlfriend laughed and sneered.
Jumping to his feet, Adachi shoved the man onto the sidewalk, pinning him to the floor and positioning his hands behind his back, kneeling on them harshly. Keeping the man's head down by pressing harshly with tense fingers, his hand turning white from the pressure, he turned to glare at the woman who had started punching him once more. She faltered, dropping her purse to the floor and taking a couple steps back, but continued to scream, yelling at the surrounding crowd to call the cops on him and Souji.
Ignoring her and the surrounding people, Adachi looked at his boyfriend. Souji was still toppled on the ground in a daze, hand hovering over his cheek as his eyes stared unfocused ahead.
"Souji," he spoke quietly, the young man perking up and looking at him distantly. "Hey, hey, you okay? It's gonna be okay. We're gonna be okay."
Souji blinked at him slowly, before looking back to into the distance, not saying a word.