Author ramblings at the end with a peek at my thought process.

I don't own Tsubasa!

0o0o0

Kurogane woke up before his alarm went off and rolled his eyes at the digital clock that was mocking him from the dresser. Biggs was scratching roughly on the door to his room and he wondered why he even bothered to set the god damn thing anymore.

Sure, his dog woke him up at a different time every morning, but he could always assure it was going to be EARLY.

Today's early was 10 am.

He hadn't clunked out until roughly 6 this morning…

He tossed a look at Fai, who was still very much asleep—still completely, gloriously nude—and got up before his bastard dog made any more noise.

The blond looked almost angelic as he laid curled on his side, facing away from the light that was peeking in through the sheer curtains. It would be a perfect picture if the idiot wasn't sporting almost translucent skin and dark bags under his closed eyes.

Even with the imperfections, the younger man admired the way his light lashes kissed his cheek and the docile expression that graced his features. He looked almost as good now as when those same eyes had been scrunched close in ecstasy, cheeks flushed, and brows furrowed only hours before.

By the time he had actually gotten Blondie home, naked and in bed, the wine had hit him surprisingly hard. Not in a "too drunk to know that he was sucking someone's dick like a lollypop" kind of way—but the "just drunk enough that he was going to be feeling it as soon as those eyes finally opened" sorta way.

He opened the door to shush the dog with a gentle command before throwing on some sweats and a tee shirt. Biggs seemed to remember that they had company and instead of bullying Kurogane into hurrying the hell up, he peeked over the edge of the mattress to look at Fai.

His dog was an asshole. He had for whatever reason bonded with Kurogane when he had been a pup—and had ended up coming with him to Tokyo because no one could get the big lug to mind. His seemingly aggressive attitude had made him impossible to sell—even the military had thought him too unpredictable—and they chose dogs bread for their high energy and aggressive tendencies.

Biggs wasn't a bad dog—didn't even have a screw loose—he was just smart as a fucking whip.

If he wasn't constantly challenged his energy turned to anxiety. Kurogane didn't crate the bastard often for a reason. An anxious dog was an aggressive dog.

He was a huge dick—but he was also a hard worker. He was excellent at tracking and apprehension as well as officer protection. A perfect example of what a K9 partner should be—and that made him a shitty pet.

Even when the uniform came off, he was still working, observing, and getting between anything that was deemed a threat and his handler.

It made him a pain in the ass, but Kurogane loved him anyways. Even if the dummy did think that every dude his handler brought home was trying to pull some shit.

Idiot dog didn't get the difference between pinning someone because you had your dick so far up their ass they were seeing stars and pinning someone because they were trying to knife you.

There was a difference. A very important difference.

The fact, that Kurogane hadn't had to kennel him, had been a surprise. Especially with how—uh—enthusiastic they had gone at it. It had been less on the gentle love making side of things and was much closer to a desperately needy, extremely loud, shameless fuck fest.

Biggs hadn't so much as lifted his head to see just what the hell was making all the racket in the bedroom. That was a HUGE improvement over the last time he had tried to have some adult time with a friend… And last time it had been someone his idiot dog had known relatively well, too.

Heading back out to the living room of the tiny one-bedroom apartment he got a bottle of water for himself before opening the back door to let the dog out to the small fenced in patch of grass that had been called a yard in the add for this dump.

Two scoops of kibble got dumped into his bowl and Kurogane rinsed out the water dish and refilled it with fresh, spit free liquid, before turning his attention to making some coffee. There was no way in hell he was gonna fall back asleep.

Biggs came back in and tucked into his breakfast with the usual vigor and the raven-haired man closed the door.

"Hey, you." one of the shepherd mix's ears turned to listen to his handler while he continued to scarf his food. "I'm getting in the shower. Be nice to Fai. He is not a snack."

His dog gave him a little growl and turned his attention fully back to the task of fitting as much of his food down his throat as he could manage without choking. That was fine. Kurogane left him be and started the shower and waited for it to heat up while he slipped back out of his clothes.

Fai was most likely going to sleep through the entire thing and Biggs should just go back to laying on his bed. There shouldn't be anything to worry about, but all that needed to happen, was for his dog to decide that because his handler was 'vulnerable', he needed to protect him from the sleeping man.

He left the door open just in case, and kept an ear out for any misbehavior. His worries ended up being for nothing, luckily, and there were no growls, barking or blood curdling screams to be heard while he quickly showered off.

With a towel wrapped around his waist, he looked into the mirror and got his first good look at the love bites Fai had liberally littered over his skin. The sex had been amazing the first time—and even better when they had privacy to do as they pleased.

Blondie rode dick like a fucking champ.

Kurogane had really fucking lucked out with this one. He was man enough to admit that he had a type—and that type was a slightly less obnoxious version of Fai. Physically—Blondie was almost perfect.

If he took better care of himself, he would be perfect. Probably just needed a nutritionist and better sleeping habits to get to perfect too. Even slightly too skinny and very obviously over stressed—just thinking about that pale body writhing in his lap made him hard.

Too bad he was fucking insane—after the stuff Fai had done to him last night, he was tempted to try and wife that shit— but he wasn't going to commit anything to crazy, though.

It seemed like the more time he spent with Fai, the more evident it became that there was something off and he just didn't have the time or the energy to deal with that kind of baggage.

Not that he had any idea what kind of baggage Blondie actually had. Kurogane didn't make a habit of sticking his nose where it didn't belong.

He saw the good, the bad and the ugly every day at work. Kurogane didn't need any drama when he went home.

And Fai was Drama with a capital D.

That being said, though, last night, Fai had been a little more open about himself. Far from honest-but slightly more truthful. Sure, it wasn't like he had gushed and told Kurogane his whole family history-but even just the few pieces of information he had spared had given the cop a glimpse of the storm brewing behind those too blue eyes.

Just from the brief peek at the text message from his step dad earlier that night, the short story about the car accident, and the way he had danced around every damn question Kurogane had asked so as not to actually give him any real information-It all painted a better picture of who Fai really was.

Now, Kurogane personally knew what it was like to have a parent that was sick. His mom had been sickly his entire life, and he worried about her every time her health dipped unexpectedly.

He was not the kinda cop to cut a buddy a break when they did something as reckless as going 30 over the speed limit, but the look of exhausted desperation in those blue eyes had been hard to ignore.

Easy to relate to.

He had had every intention of heading home after he saw that the idiot had made it to the hospital without causing any accidents or driving like a moron. He had in fact waited to see him get safely into the building and turned around and headed back to the station to clock out—then to take his dog home.

His intentions had changed at some point, though—and Kurogane had ended up heading back, and just chilling in the parking garage to maybe catch the idiot on his way out.

Why?

He wasn't entirely sure.

Kurogane wasn't going to worry about it now. His instincts had been right—and Fai had emerged looking like the living fucking dead. So, he did what any sane person would do when faced with a living zombie; and took Fai to get something to eat.

Blondie might claim that he was, and had been, alright. He could've screamed it till he was blue in the face for all Kurogane cared—but the cop hadn't and wasn't buying it.

His first clue that Fai was even crazier than he had originally assumed was when he started with the fucking smiles. It was like his emotions were only set to happy-go-fucking-lucky.

It was eerie.

Sure, he had smiled the first time they had met at that ritzy bar. Kurogane had found the wolfish grins, coy smirks, and teasing smiles kinda cute. Incredibly annoying—but they fit with Fai's playful demeanor.

The overly happy, forced smile that Fai had rocked most of the night last night didn't suit him at all. All the people Kurogane had met that were able to smile like that had all been fucking psychotic—legitimately, actually crazy.

Working with a K9, he got sent into situations all the time that were deemed to dangerous for regular officers—this included dealing with all the loonies who were off their rockers. People who had lost touch with reality either ran, hid, or holed up. Biggs could find the fuckers, catch them, and hold them till Kurogane could make the arrest.

Was he jumping to conclusions?

Possibly.

Fai most likely wasn't going to commit any murders or jump off any bridges in the near future.

Probably…

Maybe Kurogane wasn't a psychologist—but you learned things when you worked in his field.

When Fai smiled like that, it was because he was hiding something. Given the circumstances—it probably had something to do with the impromptu emergency department visit. But under different circumstances?

That's where things got sinister.

You see—you don't just learn how to fake it like that.

Most people were not able to stop themselves from crying when they were truly upset. Say like—right after they got done from visiting their dad in the hospital?

That was upsetting.

Traumatic. Even to an adult.

So, while most people would probably get a little choked up—maybe expressing their fears in anger instead of outright sadness—they couldn't help their reactions. They might brush those reactions off—change the subject—but they couldn't completely erase them.

To plaster on a grin like that?

He didn't want to know how many skeletons this guy had collected in his closet to pull something like that off.

That was a can of worms he wasn't going to open, no matter how hot Fai was. And while that can of worms wasn't something he would touch—Kurogane was enjoying observing it from a relatively safe distance.

From the second he had seen that angelic face on his phone screen, he had been annoyingly captivated by Fai. There was something about the look of utter mischief in his insanely blue eyes that made him wonder what species Blondie was really a member of.

Sure as fuck wasn't human.

He had never met a person that looked that fucking good.

Looks aside, he had never met someone who was at least a head shorter than him, probably half his weight, and who still could physically intimidate him. Fai just had something fucking about him that demanded attention and respect in a way that made you feel like he could break you if he really wanted to.

Kurogane thought that was sexy.

Especially when Fai knew exactly how he came off.

The blond knew he had all the control and willingly handed it over to Kurogane and submitted anyways. It was like playing with fire—he didn't know how long Fai was going to let him have that control and it was intoxicating.

Luckily, his actual brain had kicked in last night, and he had realized that while Fai may look hotter than Aphrodite her-fucking-self, that the way the idiot would look at him as he let Kurogane do as he pleased, Blondie was dangerous.

What they had going on wasn't healthy—not with Fai. There was something very wrong hidden behind his smiles, his witty teasing and his obnoxiously dressy outfits.

Even so—it was like watching a Tsunami wave approaching—maybe an avalanche. You know that if you don't get out of the fucking way it's going to swallow you up—but there was just something so beautiful about that chaotic power raging free.

Kurogane had no intention of getting swallowed, though.

Fai didn't seem to have any intention of trying to trap him, either. He was at least aware of the fact that he was crazy—and didn't act like he was looking to share the insanity with anyone.

So, while he was screwy—Fai wasn't a bad dude.

To Kurogane at least.

Wandering back out to the living room, Kurogane noticed that Biggs was curiously missing… He had to still be in the house since the front and back doors were still closed.

He wasn't a runner, anyways.

The dog wasn't on his overstuffed cushion that he usually lounged on—nor was he in the kitchen. Leaning to peek down the hallway he confirmed that Biggs wasn't in the bathroom.

Which just left the bedroom. Where the sexy, but totally insane Fai was still sleeping.

The raven-haired man walked back down the short hallway and popped his head around the door jamb and had to lift his chin up off the floor after his brain registered what his eyes were seeing.

Biggs—the bastard dog that hated anything and everything—that on a good day would maybe sit in the couch with Kurogane—had crawled into his handler's bed.

That in and of itself was not anything notable. He was allowed on the bed and occasionally would snag a nap with Kurogane if he was feeling cuddly.

By occasionally—we were talking maybe every few months.

The part that had him flabbergasted was the fact that Fai was still sound asleep on the same bed. Still laying on his side, turned away from the window with the blanket haphazardly draped across his lower half.

He hadn't budged since Kurogane had gotten up.

Biggs had huddled up behind him, tucking his legs underneath his big body, and had settled his snout in the juncture between the blond's chin and shoulder. From the lazy look in his big amber eyes—he had been snoozing contently like that.

What the absolute fuck?

Biggs didn't seem to give a shit that Kurogane had come back into the room and his eyes drooped closed slowly and his tail thumped exactly two times before settling back down.

Shit.

If he wasn't currently gaping at the sight before him, Kurogane would swear it was a lie.

His dad was never going to fucking buy this.

Not without proof.

And while Kurogane would normally never consider snapping a picture of someone who was clearly out cold and very, very naked, he found himself trying to angle his phone in a way that kept the picture completely G-rated so he would have some fucking evidence.

Though he was feeling slightly guilty as he snuck back out to the living room so as not to wake the nappers—he swiped between the photos hardly believing what he had seen. He would ask Fai if it was ok to keep the pictures after he woke up.

If it made him uncomfortable, he would delete them. Though Blondie didn't seem like the kind of dude who got shy showing a little skin.

He had only had one photo on his Tinder profile after all—one of him in fitted, low ride jeans and curiously missing a shirt, winking and looking directly at the camera as he leaned back rather provocatively against a bar.

Either way, he would have to wait till the moron woke up.

He seemed pretty fucking content to sleep the entire day away, too—So did the dog.

Which never happened. Biggs was a wiggle butt when they were alone. Usually begging for a run or a work out by carrying around his 'civilian' harness or leash and ramming his noggin into his handler if he was being ignored.

Kurogane had gone for a run—like he did every day—and Biggs hadn't even lifted his fucking ear when Kurogane jangled the leash. Didn't budge when he rattled the treats or opened a new bag of chips.

The only thing that got him to finally get up was when the pizza delivery man knocked on the door.

All 46kg of him rushed into the living room as soon as the door bell sounded. He had launched himself onto the back of the couch to see who dared to disturb them and only chilled out when he saw the delivery man.

Biggs liked pizza—it was his favorite food—and he knew where pizza came from. So the delivery man was allowed to be on the porch so long as he didn't take too long handing the goods over.

On a normal day—his asshole dog would snag a piece of pizza and chill with him while he watched a movie. Today the dumbass just wandered back down the hallway and got back into fucking bed once he realized no one was breaking into his house.

Kurogane had had this dog stuck to his hip for every pizza he has ever ordered over the last fucking 4 years and he has never once turned down his slice.

Was he sick?

The officer was half way down the hall to see if the idiotic dog had betrayed him for Fai snuggles, when he heard something he thought he never would.

"Good morning to you, too, puppy bear… Where did your handsome daddy wander off to?"

That's right… Blondie had called the 46kg-trained killer of a K9, that was his partner… puppy bear.

Fucking "puppy bear"?

"Oh, there is your Kuro-daddy." Kurogane caught the words as he rounded the corner into the bedroom and set his eyes on Fai laying lazily on his back with Biggs sprawled across his lap, licking his hand.

"I am not his daddy." The younger man would have normally glared at a comment like that—but damn.

Why the fuck was Biggs all over him like that? He HATED every person Kurogane had ever fucked. Every single one.

"Don't listen to him, puppy bear…" Blondie yawned out and pet the dog's head in comforting manner while he used the back of his other hand to scrub at his eyes.

Now that he was awake, his expression gave away that he was feeling about as shitty as Kurogane assumed he would be. It was only noon now, so he had slept for just under 8 hours—a good night's sleep for most—but he had a feeling Blondie didn't get good night's sleeps very often.

"How you feeling?" he watched Fai sit up and lean over the edge of the bed to grab his phone off the floor where it had been tossed the night before.

The younger man got a pretty good peek at his ass when he did so—not that he was complaining.

"Oh, you know—hungover, dehydrated, sore and lacking will to live. Just peachy!" Blondie beamed and started typing away at the screen in his hands.

What was so wrong with just being a cranky ass grump in the morning like a normal human being? Would probably take less freaking energy.

"I don't know what I can do about your will to live, but I made coffee and ordered pizza." Fai's obnoxious smile turned into a shocked stare and Kurogane found himself smirking.

He might have bought last nights dinner, but at least the cop could feed him this morning before taking him back to his car.

"Caffeine would make my existence considerably less painful at the moment… But I don't want to impose, Kuro-chan." Fai went back to texting and Kurogane sighed.

He wasn't offended. Blondie probably hadn't meant to spend the night. He had clunked out after his last orgasm though, and Kurogane had simply covered him up and went to sleep himself. He wouldn't have asked him over if he didn't expect him to stay after they had fucked.

"You're not imposing, you dunce." The cop walked over to his dresser and pulled out a tee shirt and a pair of sweatpants and tossed them at the blond before heading back down the hall. "How do you take your coffee?"

"Sweet and creamy." Fai called after him, and he could hear the weight on the bed shift as the smaller man got to his feet. Kurogane got to the kitchen and filled two mugs with the steaming black liquid, leaving enough room in Blondie's cup to dump a couple tablespoons of milk into and scoop some sugar in as well.

He only had milk and sugar at all because his mom had visited him recently when she had come to meet some specialist in Tokyo, and been appalled by the state of his kitchen—at least someone would use the shit.

Carrying both the mugs to the coffee table, he waited for his guest to drag his ass down the hall. "Drag" was a polite way of saying that Fai looked like he was walking on two wet noodles while he used a hand against the wall to balance his weight.

Shit. He didn't think he had been that rough last night. Kurogane had used more than enough lube and had been sure that his partner had been properly prepped to avoid any discomfort.

Fai managed to sit somewhat gracefully on the other side of the sectional and accepted his coffee with a happy hum.

"Are you sure you're—"

"I am fine, Kuro-chan. I'm a little dizzy, but that's got nothing to do with you." Blondie finished off the coffee in one go and the younger man stood to make him another cup.

He himself was known to need at least half a pot of coffee to get his ass in gear when he was hungover. "So, I didn't hurt you? You're just old and can't handle a few glasses of wine?"

The corners of Fai's eyes wrinkled as he laughed. "That's not very nice, Kuro-chu. I'll have you know that my assistant had the week off and I don't think I've drank plain water since he last forced me to."

Why didn't that surprise him?

"How did you even make it to adulthood if you don't know what to put in your body so you don't die?" Blondie shrugged at him and gratefully accepted the second cup of coffee, along with a bottle of chilled water from the fridge.

Biggs settled on his feet and they both enjoyed a moment of quiet while they drank their coffee in peace. Fai savored his second cup between sips from the water bottle and even accepted a piece of the greasy pizza and munched away quietly while they watched the tv that was playing some old anime in the background.

Well—Fai watched the tv and both Biggs and Kurogane watched Fai.

"You know, Kuro-chuu." Fai finished off his water bottle and turned his attention to the officer that had obviously been starting at him. "You shouldn't be so nice to a complete stranger. For all you know, I might be some sort of criminal."

Kurogane snorted. "You dress too nice to be a criminal dumbass."

The blond quirked an eyebrow at him and that look of mischief, that left the younger man wanting, was flashed his way.

"Is that so?"

"Tch. You wouldn't have a car like that if you were a common criminal. You're too smart for that, Blondie—even if you can't figure out how to say my damn name." Fai shifted on the couch and sipped his coffee as he checked his phone and shot off another quick message before refocusing his attention.

"Who said a serial killer couldn't dress nice?" Blondie winked.

"Because I know there are no active serial killers in Tokyo, idiot. 'sides, Biggs likes you and he is a good judge of character." Kurogane eyed the dog that was laying at Fai's feet.

The traitor.

"You think so?" Fai reached down and scratched behind the Shepard mix's ear, earning himself a few heavy tale thumps. "Puppy bear is just a cuddle boy, hm?"

"More like trained killer. He just likes your dumb ass for some reason. Last time I brought a date home, he tried to eat them." Kurogane took a sip of his coffee and grabbed a slice of pizza. Holding it out in offering to his dog—the jerk finally left Blondie's side to snatch it.

"Hyuu~ Snuggle boy is just protective of his papa." The genuine smile Fai gave left him speechless.

Why did he have to be fucking crazy?

It was so fucking nice to just chill on the couch with Blondie and his dog and relax… He couldn't do this with ANYONE.

"Anyway, Kuro-myuu. My point is, you seem to be becoming awfully fond of me. Am I wrong?" The blond's tone shifted from one of joking to serious.

Was he?

Nah.

He couldn't let that happen.

"I would be a hell of a lot fonder of you if you weren't fucking psychotic." Fai laughed at that response.

He was laughing a lot this morning.

"Good. I'm trouble, trust me." Another wink and Kurogane found his body moving of its own accord.

He grabbed Blondie's arm and tugged him so he would fall forward, his head landing into the taller man's lap. He ran his hand though Fai's hair—knowing that the idiot liked having his hair touched for whatever reason. "Yeah well—trouble or not, I know you feel like shit. Eat some food and shut up."

"I'm not used to being pampered like this." Blondie didn't try to move away and just relaxed at the platonic touch.

Idiot.

"Don't get used to it."

Blondie didn't answer him, and they settled for watching tv instead. He wasn't sure when Fai fell back asleep, but he didn't bother waking him.

They stayed like that for a few hours. The iphone on the other side of the couch was going off like crazy for the next few hours, the light on the back flashing with every notification that poured in.

It wasn't until a rather loud alarm blared on the moron's phone that Fai even budged. He probably would have slept through that, too, if not for the fact that it startled Biggs and he started barking like a maniac.

Fai shot upright like someone had just dropped a bomb in the living room and scrambled for the blaring phone before shutting it off. As soon as the alarm was silent, he collapsed back down on the couch and covered his eyes with his hands and whined dramatically.

Biggs settled down with a stern command and Kurogane got up and fetched another bottle of water for Blondie. He looked even more beat than he had when he had first gotten up.

"Drink this, moron. Before you die of dehydration and I have to deal with it."

Two impossibly blue eyes shoot him a dirty look as the bottle was accepted. Kurogane liked Fai a hell of a lot more when he wasn't fake smiling like a loon and was tempted to kiss the bastard as he struggled to open the cap of the plastic bottle while frowning.

He settled for snatching the bottle back and twisting the cap open before offering it again to the cranky blond and watching him down half of it in one go. Fai scrolled through his numerous notifications and his annoyed frown shifted to a stressed pout.

"Work?"

"Yeah." Fai ran a hand through his hair and clicked on a contact before holding the phone up to his ear.

It couldn't have rung more than a few times before Kurogane heard a voice on the other end pick up.

"Hey Syaoran. I'm calling in sick today. No, silly, I am not dead…I'll have my phone on me, but I need you to reschedule everything on my calendar—uhuh—yeah, I'll let you know if I need you to do that… Yes—ok—hn, bye bye, now." The blond pulled the phone away from his ear and gave another dramatic sigh.

"Feel that shitty, then?"

"Mental health day." Fai corrected before easing himself onto his feet. Kurogane was happy to see that the wet noodle walk was behind them and he watched Fai amble back down the hallway towards the bedroom, Biggs on his heel.

"Want me to take you home?" He was going to have to head to work pretty soon here, anyways. "Sleep this shit off."

"Can you actually drive me back to my car? I got a text that the doctors are getting ready to discharge my father." Fai was leaning over and picking up the various pieces of his three-piece suit that had been used to decorate the younger man's room last night in their haste to fuck.

Kurogane nodded and went to go get a bag for Blondie to carry his shit. After he was packed up, Fai waited on the couch for Kurogane and Biggs to get dressed for work.

Blondie was quiet the entire ride to the hospital and Kurogane dropped him off at his car with and frowned as Biggs whined the rest of the way to work in the back. His training had him snapped into work mode as soon as his handler hooked his leash to his harness and let him out of the car, though.

Work had been fucking busy lately, but today they wouldn't be in the field. Two days a week were dedicated strictly to training and practice with the K9s, and with that big drug bust a few days ago, his boss was pushing them to be in top shape in case they were needed.

Even if the streets of Tokyo were relatively safe, it had a pretty seedy underbelly.

Kurogane was game.

He would face the challenge head on with his partner at his side.

Not tonight, though. Tonight, they were trying to get the new pups to mind their handlers, for once. Training was easy enough for him and the time passed quickly, so before he knew it, he was sitting in his car eating cold pizza and doing what he normally did on his lunch.

Calling home.

Tonight was the first time since moving to Tokyo that he had anything to tell them. His updates so far had been working as usual—maybe a story or two about a shop or café he had found.

The phone hardly had a chance to ring before his old man picked up. "Hey there, brat. How are you and the grandpup?"

"Watch who you're calling a brat, old man—" Biggs barked his own answer from his spot in the back of the squad car and the sound bounced around in the enclosed space, leaving his ears ringing. "—he's good. We both are."

"Just good? You don't sound good." His father's tone was scolding, and he heard his mother ask if everything was ok in the background.

"Yeah. We're both good. Why?"

"You sound—oh, I don't know—actually happy? Less angry at the universe. Maybe a little cheerful? Spill it, squirt. What happened?"

"Tch. Nothing special. Don't get so excited." What was he gonna do? Tell his dad he had fucked some stranger off a dating app? That he was crazy but super pretty?

Yeah, right.

"Hey, if you want to lie to yourself—Don't let me stop you." his mother said something else from the background that he couldn't make out and his father snorted. "—mom wants to know if you met someone?"

Well, fuck.

Was it that obvious?

The officer must have been silent for too long because he could actually hear his parents high five over the phone before his dad started on again.

"—Oh my god. You did, didn't you? Who are they? Are they pretty? Did they pass the Biggs test?" His old man started in with the same interrogation he did any time Kurogane so much as mentioned someone that might be close to him in relationship-ish sorta way.

Fucccck.

"Hey, don't go jumping to conclusions like that. Jesus, you two." Biggs, the traitor he had suddenly become after being exposed to that damn blond, barked right in his ear again causing his parents to laugh.

"Biggs is gonna tell us all about it if you don't, brat." The amusement in his father voice was enough to make his eye twitch.

It wasn't like that. All he needed was to get their hopes up only to disappoint them when he undoubtedly cut the idiot off in a few weeks.

"I met someone, but—" another high five sounded in the background and Kurogane was tempted to smash his forehead against the steering wheel. "—like I said, it's not like that. I didn't fall in love or some shit. Pardon my language, mom…"

His mother dismissed his bad language with a joke about where he had learned to talk like that, and he heard a third voice—his sister's, no doubt—chime in something from the distance.

"It's your brat brother—" His father spoke away from the phone microphone but Kurogane could still hear him loud and clear. "—he met someone, but not like that"

Fuck this shit. Why did he bother? His family was impossible…

"Would you knock it off? I've seen 'em twice, ok? We're not anything more than acquaintances."

"Acquaintances who talk about the weather or acquaintances who fu—"

"I am gonna stop you right there, old man. I am not talking about my sex life with you and mom. Especially not with my baby sister. Got it?" that conversation would kill him—his brain would explode.

He could talk to his old man about anything if they were alone, but now was not the time or the place to bring up how nice it had been to have Fai cuddle to his side while they slept.

"So, you admit that there is a sex life with your new friend who is not like that? It sure sounds like it's like that, son." His dad laughed and Kurogane could practically see him shaking his head at the way he was trying his damndest to avoid this conversation.

Like his mom and sister weren't right flipping there.

This was it—this was how he was going to die.

Of embarrassment from his fucking dad.

What a shitty way to go.

"Who are they? Cute? How old? How did you meet? When are you bringing them home? Has the grand-pup tried to eat them?" His old man sounded way to excited as he started back in with the interrogation.

He was going to have to accept that this was not going to be dropped.

Kurogane had never been much of a dater through high school or while he had been in the academy—but damn—who knew they thought him incapable of catching someone?

Was he really the hopeless?

"Its not serious, so don't get your hopes up, ok? We're not dating—were not even exclusive. We got drinks a bit ago then I pulled him over for speeding and—"

"You know that's almost exactly how I met your mom right?" His old man was smirking—had to be to sound that smug.

Kurogane gave up and slammed his forehead against the steering wheel.

He had been ignoring the fact that his dad had pulled his mom over after their first date and taken her for a late-night meal…

"—that doesn't mean that's gonna happen with us. The moron was speeding like an idiot but I let 'em off because they were going to see their dad in the ER and I felt bad for 'em… and I waited around to rip 'em a new ass for being a fuck-tard and they were so shook up I felt like I had to feed 'em."

Kurogane very rarely managed to string more then a few words together when he spoke—even to his family. He was gonna ignore that defensive speech and he was going to ignore the long silence on the other line.

He was sure if he had been telling them this story face to face, they would be giving each other the same look they always gave him over shit like that.

"But it's not like that?" the patronizing tone of his old mans words had him swearing under his breath.

"No. We ate and I took 'em back to his car this morning and that's it. We probably won't see each other again." Fai might text him for another booty call—which he would not be opposed to by any means—but Kurogane wasn't going to reach out.

Fai was the kinda guy that liked things on his own time. He was stressed and didn't have time for him to be following the older man around like a love sick puppy.

Not that he was one.

He just really liked screwing Fai—and maybe he wouldn't mind watching Biggs snuggle the idiot some more… Only because he liked making his pooch happy—not because he liked the way Fai looked when he was sleeping or some shit.

"Oh my god, they spent the night?" Kurogane heard his mother, father, and sister all say in unison to each other—not to him. They were too far from the receiver for that.

Fuuuuck.

"Can we not have this conversation?" He didn't need his family thinking about him having sex.

He needed them not to think about that, actually.

For his sanity.

"What did Bigg's have to say about it? Last time, didn't he try and eat that poor boy from the academy?" His dad asked—thankfully changing the subject slightly.

"That's the fucked up part—hold on one sec—" Kurogane quickly pulled up the most decent picture of Fai and his dog from this morning and sent it through to his old man. "—Bigg's is a fucking traitor."

"Holy shi—I mean shoot… sweetie, look." His father had set the land line aside to check his cell, no doubt, as his voice was again farther away, though still loud enough to be heard clearly.

He could hear them talking in the background quietly and the officer looked back at his partner who had laid down in the back—bored with sitting in the squad car, no doubt.

"Kurogane." His father had picked the phone back up and the officer grunted in acknowledgement. "First off—you are sure that's our Biggs?"

"Yeah."

"Second—you told me you were gay, why the fuck is there a girl in your bed?"

"That's a dude."

"You sure?"

"Y—Yes? What the fuck—I mean hell—fuck—sorry, mom... But I'm pretty sure I can tell the difference, old man."

"Just checking—gender aside—how did you snare someone so gorgeous? Did my brute of a son find some charm hiding under that thick cranky exterior?"

He sure as hell didn't. Fai took him as he was—cranky ass, potty mouth and all.

"Nah. He's just into that, I guess."

"Third—Bigg's has chosen your wife, so don't fuck this shit up, kid."

Nope. No way. Kurogane refused to accept that.

"How many times do I have to tell you it's not like THAT. This guy is good looking and fun, don't get me wrong, but the mental shitstorm he is wading through is not gonna become my problem." Even if his dog liked him.

He still didn't need that kind of shit in his life.

"You've never been one to back down from a challenge, son." His old man laughed that freaking laugh again, and Kurogane hit his forehead against the steering wheel again one more time.

"Even if I wanted to try and be with him, mental health shit aside, he isn't looking for a partner." Fai was very obviously married to his job and he had family issues to deal with when he went home.

Kurogane couldn't imagine that the idiot had more time than to fuck once or twice a week and head on to the next thing that needed his attention.

"Why's that?"

Fuuuuck. Why couldn't they just drop it?

So, what if he kinda liked the guy? There were thousands in Tokyo—many of whom were actually looking for a relationship and had the time to commit.

"He works too much, I guess. He's stressed out and was just looking for an outlet. Not a lover." That was fine.

He was good with that. He worked too much and had his own family commitments, too. He didn't have time for a lover, either—especially not an insane one.

"Is that what you want, though?"

"I work too much. Can we just drop this? I told you, it's not a thing."

"If you really want to. I just want you to do what makes you happy, son." His dad sighed and Kurogane felt the tension release from his shoulders.

"Not talking about my sex life with mom and sis right there makes me happy. Trust me." He might talk to his dad about this the next time he headed back home to visit.

He might be an adult—but this situation was confusing as fuck to him. His old man could no doubt point him in the right direction if these stupid feelings didn't settle.

He wasn't going to entertain them though—so they should just go away eventually.

"Yeah well, they just want to know you're ok, brat. I'm sure they don't want to know how your hittin—Never mind… mom is glaring and it's scary—so you on your lunch, then?"

Kurogane really appreciated his mom at these moments. She always saved him from his father's teasing just before he was sure he wouldn't be able to recover from the embarrassment.

"Yeah. Training day. The two newbies are finally getting a handle on their partners and they might be able to hit the streets with supervision, soon." He was pretty proud at how well both the officers and their K9 partners were progressing.

It was hard for some people to change their view of a dog from a friendly pet to a tool for the job. Once you settled into that mindset, things got easier. Your nerves settled—and the dogs settled with them.

Kurogane loved Biggs—but Biggs was there to help him do his job—not for him to be protective of the animal. His partner was his tool to get the job done and was rewarded with love and affection.

While he would be devastated if something happened to the big lug, he sent him into dangerous situations every day without a second thought. The new K9 officers needed to let their dogs do their jobs and stop thinking of them as pets—but their most valuable tool.

They were getting there.

The hesitation that came from worrying about the dog's well being caused problems. Strong leadership skills were a must or these animals would slip into that role as leader themselves. That was dangerous when they were trained to bite, chase, and defend from a young age.

As smart as they were, uncontrolled, they often overreacted or went after the wrong person. You needed them to listen when you called them off the first time or for them to settle right away when they started to get squirrely around something they shouldn't.

If they didn't respect your judgement or didn't see you as the leader—they acted on all perceived threats. That's when they bit little kids who get excited about seeing a dog—or even another officer called in as backup.

"'bout damn time. Mom said, she sent her two best with you, so we were wondering if your boss had just picked idiots." Yeah, well—the officers were trying.

It was an adjustment especially since they were doing the training from scratch rather than with a dog that had already had a year or two of conditioning.

This way of doing things was not the industry standard—more of an experiment to see what results they got by starting them young like Kurogane had started with Biggs.

"Yeah well, I grew up with mom's stock, so this stuff is second nature to me. I'm not afraid to get bitten anymore. You know how puppies are land sharks—it freaked 'em out and we had to get through the whole lemme-put-everything-in-my-mouth-phase before they could make much progress." Needle teeth hurt, sure—but puppies had to learn somehow.

You had to be careful not to train a fear of biting humans into a police dog while teaching them the difference between the appropriate time to bite and hold and when you should be gentle.

You got nibbled on ALOT while they learned the difference.

"They should pay you more for dealing with pussies." His old man barked out a laugh and Kurogane heard his mom scolding him for his language.

"I wish—I gotta head back in, though, to deal 'em now."

"Alright. We love ya, son. Talk to you soon."

"Yeah yeah. Love you, too. Kiss mom and sis for me. Night." Kurogane didn't wait for a response before hanging up. He wolfed down the rest of his pizza and leashed Biggs back up before heading in again.

He hadn't dared take the new dogs out for field training yet—so they were working with bite suits in one of the big empty multi-purpose rooms. He and Biggs entered the room to find the two new K9 trainees, their pooches and his captain chatting in the center of the room.

All eyes were on him as he approached. Kurogane didn't like the look his captain was giving him, and he felt Biggs close in and walk hugged close to his side as they continued to approach.

A stern command had the shepherd mix laying down as soon as they stopped, and he watched his partner's body language carefully as he cleared his throat. "What can I do for you, Sir?"

"We can start with a status update." The older man didn't seem to have the slightest clue that Biggs wanted to eat him—and Kurogane already felt annoyed at the scolding he was going to receive on the slow progress.

"We're working on suspect search and apprehension today. They're doing better at call-offs today and aren't having any issues finding the target consistently." That was miles ahead of where they had been a month ago.

"They're still not in the field?"

"No, Sir. It's better to be cautious when it comes to allowing them off leash around the general public." He would rather work over time covering for all backup calls for the department than dealing with one of his K9's fucking up and hurting someone they shouldn't.

They were big and could do a lot of damage in the time it took to call them off.

His boss didn't look impressed. Idiotic bastard looked impatient at his words.

Kurogane would like to see him do better.

"So, no way we would be able to utilize them on a sting any time soon, then?" The old man sighed and rubbed at the bald stop on the top of his head.

Maybe he was less annoyed and more stressed.

"Depends. What's the situation?" If they were not in the open public the boys could get some good field experience.

"We got a tip on some illegal drugs being moved by a local crime group. We know the place and time that the drugs are supposed to pass hands and we need all the help we can get."

"Are we talking a warehouse or what?" A warehouse full of drug pushers was the perfect place for one of the boys to get a little too rough without any serious consequences since anyone present was going to be arrested and charged.

"A nightclub on the southside. Akai heya. You heard of it?" Kurogane shook his head. He wasn't really a nightclub person, after all—he preferred dive bars with dim lighting and little to no music.

"I take it it's a popular spot?" His commander knew that he was new to town after all—even if he didn't know Kurogane wasn't a normal twenty something when it came to what he did outside of work hours.

"Yeah. It's a popular spot with college kids and the department has suspected this is where the students get most of their party drugs from, for years. We've never been able to get a warrant before now."

"Why did we suspect that? Can't be much proof if we couldn't get enough for a warrant." He was still learning the ins and outs of the city's crime patterns. Warrants were pretty easy to get ahold of when it came to suspected drug sales.

Night clubs usually weren't anything he would think to bat an eye at. There were enough hoops to jump through to get a liquor license that places like that were careful not to sell to underaged kids or allow any shenanigans in fear of having their license yanked.

What was a nightclub without booze, after all.

"What little bit of info our undercover guys could get ahold of. This place is tied to a local gang of sorts and they keep things locked down. I stopped sending people undercover since they always ended up in body bags within a few days and we never get much info. We've picked up a few kids leaving the club with pills they shouldn't have, though." No wonder his captain was stressed.

Cop killers were usually dealt with swiftly, though… Why wait?

"What do you mean, "Gang of sorts"? Like Yakuza?" In their line of work, they didn't usually pussyfoot around with polite terms. If the captain wanted him to send his boys in, he needed him to be honest.

"No. This group has no connection to the Yakuza. They are a stand-alone crime group that keeps to themselves. They're dangerous enough that even the Yakuza doesn't encroach on them or their dealings. They operate out of the local clubs and keep it off the streets and out of the public eye, for the most part."

"You're telling me they're more dangerous than the Yakuza? Who the fuck are these guys?" That was hard to fucking believe considering what he had seen the Yakuza do—the shit you learned in the academy painted the Japanese mafia as the epidemy of crime in Japan.

"I wouldn't say that, no. They are smaller and far less open about their criminal activities than the Yakuza—We think they may have broken off from them a while back, but it's hard to tell. We just know that they have carved out a specialized niche here in the city."

That was impressive.

It wasn't easy to carve out a niche like that when a national group of organized criminals had had a death hold on the city for centuries. Kurogane could only assume that anyone who tried to start something up that competed with the Yakuza would be snuffed out before they even had a chance to establish.

"So what, this club is part of their stomping ground?"

"Yeah, that's what the department thinks. And it seems like for the first time since they ended up on our radar, someone in the group is talking. An anonymous source that called the hotline."

"When is this shit supposed to go down? Is it during business hours or what?"

Criminals did all sorts of things to cover up their activities—using civilians as cover wouldn't be a surprise to him.

"Next month. Can you guys be ready to assist? Its going to go down during the day when the place is closed so we don't have to worry about civilians."

Yeah. He could get them ready for that kind of thing by then if they dedicated extra time to training…

"If I may speak freely, Sir?" Kurogane wasn't rushing into something like this blindly.

He and his boys were not cannon fodder. The dogs may be tools—but they were not disposable.

"Of course."

"I know, I am a new hire even if I did my training and probate period under you, Sir, and I can't pull any sort of rank here. I need you to trust me and give me as much information as you can if you are sending the K9 units in, first. I will be 100% up front with you on what they can and can't do—But I won't let you send us in if we're not up to snuff."

"I'll schedule a time to properly brief you, soon. I'm still getting the details, myself, but it's a slow process. The info we do have is unconfirmed and we're operating blind as we plan."

"Yes, Sir."

"As you were." With that his captain turned and slowly left.

At least work wasn't going to be boring anytime soon. They didn't get this kind of action back in Suwa often—not that his old man had never had to deal with something like this.

As soon as the door shut, Kurogane tuned his attention to the two officers he was training and raised an eyebrow at the terrified looks on their face.

"What the fuck is the matter with you guys?" Both of the officers had been in the department longer than himself.

They had seen way more than he had, too—they might be new at working with a dog, but not to the demands of an officer.

"That 'crime group' is a bunch of cop killers. They keep to themselves if left unprovoked, so I don't see why we're bothering."

Yeah, well—Kurogane wasn't going to just roll over and die. This wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

0o0o0

Ok so I loved writing this chapter. For whatever reason I find it waaaay easier to write from Kurgane's POV then Fai's. Not to call him simple—but he has way less going on upstairs then Fai when it comes to emotions and such. His character here doesn't have the same kinda trauma that caused him to snap in cannon. So, I get to write him how I think he would have turned out if he had his mama and papa all along.

When you dig into it in cannon, Kurogane was mercilessly killing anyone who tried to challenge him/harm his loved ones. He was even too rough training with the other ninja in the castle as we see in the flash backs to his teens in Shirisagi castle.

Without that important part of his life totally changing his view of strength (his father was honorable, merciful, and a good kind leader and that wasn't enough as he still died.) I think Kurogane would never have been strayed from his father's example.

So, I really like writing him as a goody two shoes police office—especially since he has no idea of what Fai is up too! Still rough and gruff though!

I took a little creative liberty when it came to Kurogane's dad's characterization. In the manga/anima he spoke very shall we say proper? He was also highborn in cannon and Kurogane spoke very proper in the flashbacks.

I feel like he would be a potty mouth just like Kurogane if he worked in a rough field like being a ninja or in this case as a police office. All the police officers I know are potty mouths so—there you go.

I also think his mother scolding them for swearing is cute!

I look forward to forcing Kurogane to question his morals and definition of true strength as he learns more about Fai and what he does for a living. I also look forward to his dad's advice on the whole situation!

Tell me what you think about corrupting our sweet Kuro-tan! And let me know if there is anything you would like to see! Critique is always appreciated but I just wanted to tell my readers who I never hear from—I still love you and apricate you! I hope you are enjoying~

More smut in later chapters I promise!

* Throws appreciation at my beta/co-author for all they do for me * Shout out to Malabava for being amaaaazing!

Till next time my loves!