EXTRA WARNING: Things are about to get gory my friends. This has been tagged for graphic depictions of violence since the beginning but last warning here! I don't usually write a lot of violent stuff so let me know if there are any new tags I should add.
I don't own Tsubasa
Author ramblings in the end notes. Sorry I went overboard
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Fai was wide awake when his alarm went off, just as he had been for the last 24 or so hours. He had wasted all of that time and hadn't even managed to fall asleep once. He could be wrong. There had been a lot just laying around with his eyes closed in the dark and maybe he had caught a few moments here or there.
When you got down to it, it didn't really matter.
What was important was that he had survived the night—his will to live had yet to rear its obnoxious head—but at least he hadn't done anything stupid.
Yay, him…
He got to do it all over again today while also being at work.
Woo…
So much fun.
Fai rolled over in bed and silenced the alarm on his phone. His eyes ached in protest as he tried to focus on the bright screen, and he swore under his breath as he fumbled with the brightness setting.
If he was going to get out of bed, he was going to need help.
That help came in the form of a hangover basket from his assistant. Bless Syaoran's heart because all Fai needed to do was send him the sick face emoji and an sos, and he would know just what to bring.
He got a response back within minutes that Syaoran would be by shortly—and he pulled the covers back over his head to wait. Fai hadn't been able to sleep, so he had managed to keep his emails and text messages answered and up to date, so there was nothing to do but wait.
He had ignored Ashura and Ash's attempt to coax him out of his room for breakfast or lunch, claiming a headache. They were downstairs watching documentaries on Netflix and could let Syaoran into the house. He would drag his ass into the shower after some caffeine and he would probably have his assistant drive him to work in his Maserati Levante… he had gotten it when the lease on his Porsche Cayenne was up—he liked to have a bigger vehicle for the just in case scenario.
It came in handy when he wanted to take more than one person with him—or on days like today, when his daily driver was on E.
Yesterday, Fai was a real prick—he would not only have to get someone to bring gas to his car—but he would also have to find a parking spot big enough for the Levante and walk. Since today's Fai felt way worse than yesterday's Fai, you would think he would cut himself a freaking break.
Pushing the annoyance with himself aside, Fai needed to focus on what he had to get done today rather than just how bad it was going to feel doing it. Kyuden was first on his hit list. Not only did he have a lovely young lady to check up on—but he also needed to finalize the budget for the remodeling. He had a meeting with Yuto as well as a few contractors who were going to give them bids.
They had been in earlier in the week to measure and come up with designs, and it was decision making time… Kyuden's night crowd rolled in a little earlier as it catered to a more mature group, so Fai was heading in early to beat the Friday night happy hour rush.
2pm was usually right, smack, dab, in the middle of his sleep time, but it wasn't like he hadn't been laying in bed for going on 21 hours. He had gotten up to pee, but other than that, he had been tossing and turning while he enjoyed his mental breakdown.
Panic attacks were exhausting—but not so exhausting that he could actually sleep.
Fai heard the doorbell ring and made no attempt to move.
Instead, he tried to mentally prepare himself to slip his mask back onto his face.
He could do this.
He would be ok.
This wouldn't last forever.
Work was going to distract him and he could only stay awake so long. Tonight he would sleep, and everything was going to be ok.
He could hear Syaoran's sweet voice as he spoke to his father—Ashura offering to feed him, of course—and Syaoran excusing himself to go up and see Fai. A soft knock on the door later and his assistant was frowning at him with worried eyes.
This was probably close to the shittiest Syaoran had seen him. He could only imagine what he looked like, now, to earn that much concern.
"Fai-sama?"
Of course, Syaoran had seen him though enough hangovers and comedowns that he probably wasn't all that fazed anymore. The sweet thing that he was couldn't help but worry, no doubt.
"Caffeine?" Fai's voice came out rough as he sat up slowly, kicking the blanket off.
Caffeine was the only stimulant he was going to allow himself and it was like a ripple in an ocean compared to how hopped up he had been the last few weeks. Even so—caffeine would help.
"I had Touya blend up a caffeine pill into this smoothie for you. Its strawberry with a scoop of vanilla ice cream instead of a banana." His assistant handed him a clear plastic cup filled with his saving grace.
Better than an energy drink, right?
Fruit counted for something.
Fai sucked some of the sweet, thick liquid down and crawled to the edge of the bed. He finished about half of it before his feet hit the floor and he sighed as he handed it back to Syaoran.
"Are—Fai-sama, did you get in a fight or something?"
"No." His body ached like he had—muscles tight from lying in bed too long. He hoisted himself up and walked to the closet to choose a suit without bothering to elaborate on the fact that the most amazing sex of his life had left him covered in light bruises with scattered dark red and purple love bites.
It wasn't even like Kurogane had been that rough, either…
Fai just bruised like a peach.
The last time he had bothered to drag his ass to the doctor, they had given him a giant list of vitamin deficiencies he needed to work on and who knew which one of those made him bruise easily. He had better things to worry about at the moment.
"Well, that's good to hear." Syaoran caught the clothes that Fai carelessly pulled from the hangers and tossed over his shoulder.
The light bruises didn't even hurt, but the green and brown patches on his skin were not exactly attractive. Good news was, his work dress code kept him well covered and his face was bruise free—the dark circles under his eyes didn't count—those were from lack of sleep and were easily covered with a little concealer and eye cream.
Fai didn't feel like rocking the bright colorful thing today, so he selected a charcoal Armani suit, white shirt and black tie to reflect the current state of his soul. This would at least help hide the hot mess that he was under fancy wrapping paper?
Fake it till you make it, baby.
After Kyuden, he would swing by to see Yuuko and then meet Reed for a late dinner. So far, there hadn't been any issues with his new shipment, so it was time to dismiss him. He hoped that would end the nonsense he was dealing with…
He didn't need a full power struggle on his hands. It had been a few years since anyone had been ballsy enough to challenge him head on—but he had no qualms sending Reed home in a pine box or perhaps a piece at a time to remind everyone why they left him alone.
"Yeah. Go let Ashura feed you while I shower. He needs something to take care of." Syaoran nodded and Fai finished his smoothie on his way into the bathroom, tossing it in the waste bin as he settled his clothes on the counter and stripped out of his PJs.
This shower was a lot quicker than the one last night and soon enough, he was combing and blow drying his hair, dressed and ready to head out. Berluti shoes that matched his outfit perfectly were slipped on over dress shocks and Fai trudged downstairs to find Ashura happily fretting over Syaoran.
The teen handed him a Powerade as he came to lean on the island next to him and Fai had to pass it to Ashura for the cap to be opened. He wasn't ready to talk yet—and both Syaoran and his dad continued to chatter while he sipped this bright green liquid and attempted to feel a little more human.
10% human would probably be enough to get through the day without jumping in front of a bus.
10% human should be doable, right?
When Fai finished his drink, he walked towards the garage door—everyone's signal that he was leaving. Ashura called for him to have a good day and managed a small smile over his shoulder before slipping into the cool garage.
The keys for the Maserati were hanging on the hook just outside of the door.
Probably not the best idea, but Fai didn't really give a shit if someone stole one of his cars. It wasn't like he didn't have insurance, or the means to make sure that person would rue their very existence for pulling a stupid stunt like that.
It would probably be a welcome distraction at the moment. Anything to get himself out of his own head was a good thing today.
Syaoran hopped in the passenger seat and Fai kicked the car in reverse before pulling out unto the quiet street of his neighborhood—hitting the garage door opener to close it behind them as they drove away.
He blared his Spotify playlist as he navigated the congested streets and managed to find a nice spot up the block from Kyuden that didn't require too much finagling.
Too bad he couldn't ask Kuro-chan to show him how he fit his SUV in those tiny spots.
Too bad he couldn't get Kuro-chan off his mind.
It had hardly been 24 hours and he was already thinking about him again. He would blame it on his brain rebelling against him not that it was deprived of its favorite amphetamine—it had nothing to do with the fact that Fai actually wanted to see him, just his cock.
By the time he was in through the front door of their first stop of the night, he had finished another Poweraid and was sipping on a RedBull Syaoran had handed him as soon as he had tossed the empty bottle onto the backseat.
Yuto greeted them from behind the bar with a kind smile on his face.
"Which one of us hired your little spitfire?" Fai flashed his manager a bright smile of his own and relaxed into the familiar dance of dealing with his people.
He might be comfortable letting his guard down around Syaoran and his family—but Yuto and he were on a strictly professional level. He couldn't let his underlings see he was having an off day. The second they sensed weakness in him, the people who had been stirring up trouble would try and pounce.
He had enough to worry about without an assassination attempt.
Even if that did sound heavenly at the moment.
He didn't suspect Yuto or anything—but best to practice now so when he was meeting his least favorite exporter for dinner, he could pull it off flawlessly. The good thing about seeing Reed tonight was that he wouldn't have any time to think about just how shitty his life was.
He would be too busy playing the role of the quirky and slightly psychotic crime lord to even have time to think about anything else.
It was the perfect distraction.
"You did, if I remember correctly. She was that fresh faced, barely legal foreigner you took a chance on." Yuto's words were just enough to jog his memory and Fai couldn't help but chuckle.
She was a tiny thing if he remembered correctly. She had been with them for going on 5 years now and the last time he had seen her, she couldn't have weighted more than 46kg.
"I knew I liked her. Get her medical bills and I'll take care of them. Also pay her whatever she usually brings in out of the business account. Until her hand has healed, of course." Because his girls were contractors, Fai couldn't have them on his work comp plan.
That didn't mean he was going to leave her out to dry.
"You're feeling rather generous today, aren't you." Yuto leaned forward onto one elbow and gave him a relaxed smile.
At least someone seemed to be having a good night so far.
He knew how Fai rolled—he probably already planned on putting in such a request.
"Just taking care of my people." Fai surprised himself with just how chipper he had managed to sound.
He deserved a treat for being so good at pretending his entire world wasn't slowly burning around him… Maybe he would find some company and reward himself before the night was over.
They wouldn't be as sweet as Kurogane—but he had a few favorites he called up occasionally.
Yuto offered them both a drink and Fai switched between his energy drink and a cool glass of water while they waited or the contractors to arrive. As each of his businesses started opening, the update emails started pouring in and he was a little less annoyed with waiting while he checked them on his mobile.
Nothing had blown up while he had been away which was honestly surprising. Maybe his anxiety had him worrying over nothing again—or maybe shit was going to hit the fan here pretty quick and he was going to be totally blindsided.
He didn't know which, but it was like a game of Russian roulette now, wasn't it? Only time would tell, and the suspense and anxiety were an amazing distraction from the soul crushing despair and deep depression that had been trying to down him since yesterday.
When the contractors did finally arrive, Fai didn't bother scolding them. They all went upstairs to the second level VIP section to see what they could do.
Fai only half listened as they spoke and looked over blue prints and he wished he could smack himself. He could not concentrate to save his fucking life today. Not that that was anything new—he should probably have gotten something to help beyond the caffeine, but he was really trying not to cheat.
He really needed to quit the uppers before he upped himself right on up and over the edge.
Thankfully, Yuto was a capable manager and took the lead—So Fai just got to write the check. Tossing 100k at this remodel was no big deal—he was expecting worse—and they would bring that back in in no time with the extra rent.
He cared more about getting on with his night than spending that kind of cash. His manager was happy with the result, the contractor was happy to get the job and Fai was happy to get the hell out.
Fai booked it as soon as the meeting was over and they were on their way to see his attorney Yuuko—whose office was in the middle of downtown Tokyo—just in time for rush hour traffic.
Yay, adventure…
As per tradition, he stopped for the obligatory sweets and coffee from his café before heading up the street. Getting a hug from little Tsubasa was almost enough to stave off the frustration of parking—and soon enough, he was in the elevator with a box of donuts and a tray of drinks.
The firm took up the entire 54th floor of this building, and you were greeted by a pretty receptionist as soon as you stepped off the elevator.
Given that Ashura had been a founding partner, Fai's personal attorney was a founding partner and his stepfather was a junior partner—she knew who he was.
Even though she was newer, she saw him at least once a month, and other then a polite 'Welcome back!' she didn't pay them much mind. Yuuko had one of the two corner offices and Fai paused at Watanuki's desk just outside of her door.
"Is she free? She told me to swing by when I had a chance." Fai set one of the coffees down in front of him and smiled.
"Awe, you didn't have to! Thank you! and She's been expecting you, but it's Friday night so—well, you know how it is here." He smiled and accepted the coffee and Fai left Syaoran to hang out with him while he went in.
Yuko was as lovely as ever.
Her long midnight hair was tied up in a neat bun, her bangs framing her face, and she was sporting a sexy, yet oddly appropriate ruby red pant suit that hugged her curves just right. He makeup was natural and her smile mischievous as she looked up to see him.
"Oh~ what did my sweet Fai bring me this time?" She had been typing away quickly at her laptop but set it aside as he set the pink cardboard box filled with sweets in front of her, along with an extra-large latte.
"You're favorites and a skinny cinnamon latte with extra shots." He took a seat in the overstuffed leather chair that sat across from her glass desk as she smiled at her treats.
"You know just how to win my heart. You're such a devil." She took a bite of a custard filled donut and the sound she made was absolutely indecent.
Fai was used to this.
Aunty Yuuko had always been eccentric.
"I try." Fai sipped his own coffee and tried to ignore his anxiety. Work was his distractions—but this part of the business was almost worse than dealing with the half of his brain that was trying to murder him.
The one thing that was sure to spark his anxiety was knowing that he had failed the people who counted on him—and that was exactly what had happened earlier this week.
This wasn't just a friendly meeting to chat—This was to try and rectify his latest fuck up.
He was here because two of his boys were sitting in jail missing their classes and facing class A felony drug charges because he had a snitch. Asking Yuko to get them off scott free was a tall order—but he was not going to have their blood on his hands.
"So, do you have any news? Are they at least going to let them out on bail?" Yuuko set her pastry aside and shook her head slowly at him.
Well, fuck.
That didn't bode well, at all.
Fai had been doing this dance long enough to know that they were planning on throwing the book at his boys. Making examples out of them, no doubt.
"Given the fact that they're associated with you? No. They're not going to offer them bail. Not when one of the richest men in Tokyo is waiting to bribe them out of trouble." Yuko leaned back and pulled a file out of her drawer.
Right…
"There is nothing I can do? These things can take weeks and they're missing classes." Fai watched her open it and thumb through the first few pages slowly—her eyes glancing over the text quickly.
"I love how that is your propriety. Look they are facing life right now—they will be lucky to get out in a few years with good behavior given how much stuff they were moving. Their arraignment was this morning and the state is hitting them pretty hard. Several counts of Class A possession with intent to distribute for each of them… it's not looking good, Fai."
Fuuuck.
It's not like these were just any minions… Fai knew these boys. He had hired them and had encouraged them to go to school and get the fuck out while they still could. He only let people he trust move product, though—and they usually didn't get caught because He was careful with the people he trusted.
This time, it seemed, someone had ratted them out.
Someone close to him had called it in, given how closely this info for moving that many pills was guarded. Opioids were his highest seller these days and they were getting harder to get ahold of. This bust had left them dangerously low on a very addictive substance.
Not only had he had trusted men arrested—Fai had had to call in a few favors for an emergency shipment to keep customers out of withdrawals and turning to less safe sources.
"I've seen you get people out of worse." Fai had seen her get murder charges dropped on his enforcers. If anyone could do it, it was Yuuko.
There was still hope.
She was the best, after all.
"Yeah, well—I can only do what I can do. I'm meeting with the prosecutor here tomorrow and I'll see if we can grease the wheels a bit. See if we can get this thrown out for a clerical error." Yuko sighed and frowned at Fai.
She had done this on his behalf before, but she didn't like it. Yuuko would do it for him, though—she had been one of his pillars since his father's accident and hadn't left him out to dry yet.
"I'll give you whatever you need. Say the word and I'll hand it over in cash." It was always a pain in the ass for both of them when he had to move a lotta cash for 'greasing.' If it came out that the authorities had been bribed, they would start looking to see where that much cash had come from.
Moving cash took a full crew of armed guards and he had to make sure if they were caught, he could prove the money came from a clean source. 'Cleaning' drug money was a lengthy and tedious process that involved numerous round about transactions—moving the money between various accounts and institutions until it would be impossible to track its source. Often and with extremely small amounts at a time.
"I had no doubts about that my sweet." Yuko took another bite of her treat and Fai looked out the window.
He only just now noticed his leg was bouncing.
Something like that wouldn't miss Yuko's attention.
"So—" She smiled at him and Fai had to use a hand to stop his leg from giving himself away any more than it already had. "I take it you haven't found your rat?"
"No. I took the last two days off." He still didn't know how big of a mistake it was going to turn out to be. Who the heck knew what plotting had gone down during his absence? Who knew how high up in his chain the rat was—and how much support he had curried for whatever cause they had.
Fai had no idea if it was Fei Wong Reed pulling the strings or if someone was using his presence and the obvious tension to cover their tracks. Until he got to the bottom of it, he couldn't afford time off…
Withdrawals notwithstanding.
"That's not like you, Fai, dearie. Sick?" Yuko had a perfectly innocent smile on her face but Fai knew better than to pay any attention to her expressions.
That was a loaded question, if he had ever heard one.
She was sharp—she didn't make it to where she was by being slow on the uptake.
Yuko was one of his few confidants, but he had to be careful with her. She had no issues strong arming him if she thought he was getting himself in trouble. She had done it before and he did not need a lecture about how he was playing with fire.
If there was anyone he would go to if he got himself in trouble, it would be his aunt Yuuko. Fai wasn't willing to admit it was that bad this time. He was slowly but surely trudging through and getting a grip without her interference in the matter.
"You heard what happened to Ashura." Fai offered, a change of subject was the safest move.
She and Ashura had met in law school and had formed a quick, deep friendship. A week didn't go by where she wasn't trying to coax him back to working at least part time again. She texted his dad more than he and Tai did combined.
She knew by now.
"Yes—that happens a few times a year, though. Maybe not the hitting the head on the counter part, but you're used to working around his hospital stays." Yuuko took another bite and gave a scolding look, eyes narrowed, and brows raised.
"Mental health day."
"Looks like you need another, my dear."
If it was that obvious, Fai must be losing his touch. If Yuuko wasn't buying it, Reed wasn't going to, either.
"When I find the Rat." Fai tugged the corners of his lips into what was supposed to be an easy smile and tilted his head to the side. "I have dinner with Reed tonight and I'm sending him home. I think he got the message." Another subject change, and this one peeked Yuuko's interest.
After all, She had been the one to tell him to drag Fei Wong Reed here for a dick measuring contest, in the first place.
"What makes you think that, love?" She finished off the last of her donut and leaned back in her chair to sip her coffee lazily while she stared him down.
"This newest batch is of an acceptable quality. If he was going to make his move, don't you think he would have done it by now? I'm sure I've annoyed and offended him enough by keeping him locked in his hotel and treating him like an afterthought."
"You really are you father's son... He's jumped continents once already—I would assume he had something to do with your latest trouble with the authorities."
"He was chased out of Hong Kong by his higher ups according to my sources. He didn't choose to take over in Guatemala, that's for sure." Fai smirked. Reed was a threat—he wasn't about to underestimate a man who had escaped the Triad with his life.
He was dangerous—but Fai didn't exactly have a healthy sense of fear. He was known to be testy.
Though slow to anger—when he flipped his switch, things never ended well. It wasn't like bigger crime groups with better resources hadn't tried to bully their way into his turf before.
There was a reason that Yakuza left him alone—he minded his own business unless pressed. He knew he didn't have the resources for a full scale face off with them, but he did know how to move the pieces he did have to effectively gain control of the board.
You didn't have to play hard if you played smart.
Or dirty.
Fai was not above playing dirty.
"Maybe not, but I'm sure your spot looks pretty cushy to him." Yuuko sipped her coffee again and Fai ran a hand through his hair.
No doubt that was exactly what Reed thought—but was he idiotic enough to actually die for it?
"We'll see. It's not like I'm running low on creative ways to teach him a lesson. He only needs to show his hand and I'll gladly show him mine." Fai could guarantee Reed wouldn't like his hand.
"I'm sure. I bet you're relieved to have your supply line stable again. I bet it was awfully nerve wracking there for a while." Another loaded question.
She saw right through him.
"I'm happy not to lose any more money on shit product. My clients are picky about their snow, after all." Fai kept his tone even and disinterested.
He wasn't going to play this game tonight. There was an understanding that Yuuko could only do what she did for him and his people because he was honest with her—he would fess up once he was over the hump.
Fai always did.
He would probably agree to a few counseling sessions like the last time—and he would go back to popping addies like tic tacs till the next time things got bad.
That's how they rolled.
"Of course, your clients are your main concer—"
The door to the office was flung open and Fai and Yuko's eyes snapped over to settle on Syaoran.
"We have a problem, Fai-sama. At Akai Heya. The manager just called you and let us know that they have a situation. They think it's an overdose."
"What do you mean they think?" Fai's voice dropped low and he stood quickly.
He did not need this right now—not on top of everything else going on. There was one fucking rule and that was that they didn't over serve. Definitely not at Akai Heya, which was watched so closely by the authorities.
Fai glared hard. It wasn't directed at Syaoran, but his assistant still took a step back.
"Ms. Hinoto said that it's not a normal overdose. They took him to the back and they're requesting your presence asap."
"What did he take? What did we sell him?" Fai grabbed his phone back from his assistant and started reading through the text messages that had come in from the manager or Akai Heya. She normally had total control of the unruly student crowd that hung around there.
If he was going to guess any of his managers might slip up and ruin their streak, Hinoto was nowhere near the top of his list.
Daisuke, the head dealer working that floor that night, had sold their John Doe a gram of cocaine about twenty minutes ago and it had gone downhill from there—so unless Daisuke had suddenly forgotten how to do simple math, there shouldn't be an overdose.
Either he mixed some shit he shouldn't have or the game of Russian Roulette was over and Fai was losing tonight big time. He had never hoped one of his dealers had fucked up this bad, before—he really hoped that was the case, though.
FUCK.
Fai tucked his phone into the inner pocket of his Armani suit coat and flashed Yuuko a calm smile. "Duty calls, it seems. Lovely seeing you, and just text me if you need me to move some cash to you."
"A word of advice before you go—" Fai was halfway to the door and paused at her words, but didn't turn around to see Yuuko. "If there is a body on your hands—get rid of it. You don't need an OD with the cops watching you like this."
Like he didn't know that.
"Got it."
Fai and Syaoran beat feet back down and out of the building. Fai pulled into traffic and made the best time he could on his way over to Akai Heya. It was only pushing 9 and the night crowd should only just be starting to heat up there.
Akai Heya catered to college kids and sold mostly party drugs and study pills. They never had an issue with it—Sure, kids partied hard, but they didn't sell much of the sort of thing that usually caused an overdose.
Which meant that there was most likely more at play here.
Cocaine overdose was totally possible and extremely dangerous. There was no magic safe dose—and if you did too much at once you could stop your heart. It was not an easy thing to do—most people who end up od-ing on it were long time users who just kept upping the dose to get the rush they were looking for.
Poor college student typically got their thrills on cheaper, safer forms.
Fai illegally parked in front the entrance and tossed the keys at Syaoran before heading in. The line to get in was way longer than usual—they had stopped letting people in, given the situation. At least they had known to do that much.
He was still going to rip his dealer a new ass for this… he hoped that's all he would have to do tonight.
The only way this all worked—they stayed out of prison—and everyone got paid, was if they didn't over serve.
That was lesson No. fucking one, but it was something that was easy enough to correct. Dealers usually only made this mistake once.
There was still a good number of people inside and the music slammed into him as soon as he crossed the threshold into the building. If it wouldn't call more attention to something going on, he would have the DJ cut it and kick everyone out. His head did not like the thumping base that was rattling his body as he weaved through the gyrating bodies.
The 'back' was literally at the back of the building here and - slipping past the employees - only greeted him with the manager, Hinoto, the head dealer here, Daisuke, and one of his enforcers. These three were in charge of making sure Fai didn't have to deal with this sort of thing. And someone had fucked up.
All eyes were on him as the door slammed closed, the music muffling to a dull thumping. The look on their faces told him all he needed to know—Fai didn't even need to look down at the twitching blue body in the floor.
Well, FUCK.
"Who let this happen?" Fai wore a perfectly emotionless mask as he addressed them. He spoke calmly and without anger.
If you knew him—you knew, when he got like this, he was truly livid.
"Fai-sama, please just listen." Hinoto put herself between Fai and Daisuke, who was looking at him as though he were Satan himself.
Well, that right there spoke volumes now, didn't it?
Fai's people knew him as not only a kind man who looked out for his people—but also a fucking psycho who wouldn't think twice about throwing you off the Tokyo tower if you fucked him over.
They hadn't had an OD on property in years. You did not want to be the poor bastard responsible for breaking that record.
If this got out, they could kiss their 'good standing' with the cops goodbye. It was going to go right back to how it was when he had first started out—Since Fai was not going to roll over and take it, there was going to be losses on both sides.
Daisuke might not have been around back there—but Hinoto had. She had probably filled her junior in on just how big of a fuck up this really was.
"I'll listen." He would keep his cool—analyze—and react accordingly.
"We sold him the first bit of the new shipment that was dropped off this morning. Before you take it out on the people on the floor, can you have it checked?" Hinoto's eyes were hard and Fai let out a stream of curses.
Please let this be an error on the part of his people and not an issue with the product.
He knew just by looking at their John Doe that this wasn't a cocaine overdose, but he was praying that the dealer would fess up to some sort of error that would explain this, and beg for forgiveness—Fai would chew him out and demote him—and after the body was disposed of, it would be all over.
It was seeming less and less like that was the case.
Fai whipped his cell out and dialed up Kujaku—he was Fai's second in command when it came to making sure that each location was stocked according to the head dealers wishes. Fai used to work the streets with him way back when, and he was confident in his trust of the man.
He answered after only a few rings and Fai started to pace as he spoke to him.
"Hey hey, Fai. What's shakin', bacon?" Kujaku's cheery voice rang through the phone and Fai watched the body continue to twitch on the floor as he stepped over him to get to the more open half of the back room.
Nope.
This wasn't normal.
The poor bastard was slowly suffocating. Something had been sucked down into his lungs—this was no OD—this was some sort of poisoning.
"Who was in charge of stocking Akai Heya tonight?" Either the whole batch was bad or they were going to get a lead on who had swapped loyalties.
"Rondart. He's been in charge of their deliveries for a while. Why?" Kujaku's tone shifted from its usual chipper pitch at his boss's seriousness.
Rondart—or Kyle, as Fai knew him—had also been with them for a few years. They hadn't had problems with him, but Fai had never liked him much. He wasn't in the business of micromanaging his seconds, though—and he was really regretting that at the moment.
"He cut the snow himself? Did we get a new shipment from Reed or was he using the same stuff we've been using all week?" Fai had to make sure that, if he was going to react, he did it correctly.
He needed to investigate. Understand. Plan.
"Same stuff. He cut it from the block himself and delivered it this morning along with the rest of their order."
"Ok. I need to you to meet me at Akai Heya. Don't let your people know where you're going and I'll fill you in once you're here. This the only place he in charge of?" They were going to need to pull it—one incident like this was going to be hard enough to hide.
"Sure thing. He's only got his hands in Akai Heya. Do I need to pull anything from the floors?"
"Yeah. I'm sending out the order now. I have suspicions, but I need more info. Get over here asap." Fai hung up without waiting for an answer.
The other three living occupants of the room had stopped focusing on him and were watching their John Doe as his body occasionally twitched. His chest had stopped rising and falling while Fai had been on the phone and if his heart hadn't stopped yet, it would do so soon.
Poor guy was as good as dead.
"I want traffic to start flowing in and out of here as usual. The more people, the better. I'll call a cleanup crew and take care of this. You're all going back to work like this didn't happen."
"Thank you." Hinoto offered a low bow and put a hand on the back of the dealers waist as she led him out of the room quickly.
Fai pulled his phone back out and called Seshiro—who was his unofficial second in command when it came to his enforcers—and had him pull the people who knew how to get this job done.
Seshiro usually helped him with things like this—but he had a special job for his most sadistic underling. He was going to keep Reed company while Fai got to the bottom of this.
When Fai said jump, his people jumped.
Kujaku was the first to arrive and his bubbly personality quickly gave way when he saw exactly what it was they were dealing with.
"Well, shit. That looks like a whole lotta nope." He wrinkled his nose as he nudged the quickly cooling body with his foot.
"That's one way to put it, I suppose." Fai shook his head and pushed off the wall he had taken to lean against while he sent out a group message to his managers explaining the situation with as little detail as necessary. Syaoran had fetched the rest of the unsold product and Fai handed it over to the group's chemical expert.
Unlike Fai—Kujaku had managed to bust ass to get through school and get a doctorate in pharmaceutical science. He was a valuable resource and Fai paid him handsomely for it. Not only did Kujaku handle all the tiny details of the shipments that he just didn't have time for—but he also could probably figure out what had been used to cut this.
"That's uh—not what I was expecting." Kujaku accepted the dime bag that was handed to him.
Their John Doe had hardly touched what he had purchased—further evidence that this was laced or cut with something it shouldn't be.
"Find out what's in that for me. I don't want Rondart touching product till we know. I'm going to have samples from each joint that stocks this brought to you as well…"
If it was in internal issue, Fai would handle it accordingly. If it was Reed trying to sneak in a bad batch along with the rest, he didn't want to punish his own.
"Yeah. I can probably let you know before morning. What do you want me to do about Rondart?" Kujaku tucked the baggy into his pocket and ran a hand through his hair.
Witch hunts were hard when you were trying to get a bunch of criminals to play nice. When you're doing the type of thing that could land you with some serious time, then your fellow coworkers become a special kind of family.
You didn't want to mess with the trust of your people by pointing fingers and making accusations.
"Even if we can smother this from the authorities—our people are going to be talking about it. Don't let on that we suspect he is connected in any way. Assign him elsewhere to keep him busy since were not moving anything in or out of here—something that will keep his hands off the product."
"Sure thing. You need me to stick around or—"
"No. I need you to be available when the recalled product starts coming back and handle it personally. Don't delegate."
"Sure thing. Good luck, Fai." Kujaku patted his shoulder and headed back out, the sudden flush of sound muffling again as the door clicked shut.
Fai hardly had time to think of the best way to deal with the inevitable questions that would come once their John Doe was reported missing before the back door - which he had forgotten even was there - was practically kicked open and Fuuma and crew entered the room carrying large Rubbermaid totes.
Well, that made things simple.
"Please tell me you didn't lug those in off the streets." Fuuma set the first of the bins down on the table next to Fai and popped the lid.
Tarps, plastic aprons, gloves, face masks and eye protection.
"No worries. We backed one of the utility vans up to the door." Fuuma flashed a smile his way and started unpacking. The rest of the cleaning crew started setting up and Fai stuck around to supervise.
It would be easier to ditch and just check up later - Fuuma could handle this after all, he had pulled this off a dozen times at least by now. This group was of a special breed—like Seshiro, they had a screw loose.
Just the right screw and just the right amount of loose, mind you.
They weren't bothered by this sort of thing.
Honestly, usually Fai didn't blink at this sort of thing either… John Doe was already dead, after all.
Sure, there was guilt that his poor management had led to this poor fellow's untimely demise. Now that he was dead, though? He wasn't going to feel it and if he was found, it was going to be trouble for the living.
It wasn't like watching the clean up crew work made him queasy—the smell was not pretty and it burned your eyes a bit—but blood and gore didn't bother him.
He wanted answers to how this had happened NOW. He wanted to take care of the threat NOW. He didn't want to be patient and wait for the what, but that's not what had him angry—he wanted the fucking who.
Burning these images into his skull would add fuel to the fire when it came to finding the people responsible.
This should not have happened.
This was his fault.
Fai supervised from a distance to make sure proper procedure was followed. When the cops came sniffing, they needed to make sure this place was squeaky clean. No point in even bothering to hack the poor bastard to pieces and ruin the family's chance of an open casket if they were going to get caught by getting blood and other various bodily fluids everywhere.
Fai, Seshiro, and Fuuma had come up with an almost foolproof way to deal with clean up when they had just starting out. Way back, when he still did all of the dirty work himself.
You see—if you hopped on the internet, you could find the most useful tools. Including a thick plastic tent of sorts that was totally sealed along the edges. It was meant to be used as a temporary canopy for outdoor gatherings and was stupidly easy to assemble.
This particular canopy was special because it also had a plastic floor. It was 100% waterproof so whoever got zipped in that sucker could go to town without having to worry about blood splattering on the ceiling or under furniture.
When you were done, you just threw in some paper towel to sop up the liquid and then burn the whole thing.
His amazon prime membership had been one of his best investments to this day. Not only did he get two-day shipping, but it was full of useful things like this. It was a one stop shop for everything you needed to get away with murder… minus the heavy-duty chemicals you needed to dissolve the body with, of course.
As the tent went up, John Doe was tossed inside on the floor and Fuuma suited up in plastic coveralls and the bulky eye protection you were likely to find in a high school science lab. Clothes were stripped away and Fai was tossed their lifeless new friend's wallet.
19 year old Seji Hondo was from Okinawa, Japan, according to his government ID. His school ID confirmed he attended the local university and had probably come out with a group of friends. He would most likely be reported as missing before the night was over—so they were going to have to work fast.
It would be easy enough to mask his identity with a little acid.
It would almost totally dissolve the poor bastard and what was left would be ground into dust and scattered.
His clothes, wallet and shoes would get the acid treatment as well and within a few hours, there would be no evidence left. There was a very slim chance that the police would know they needed to have the security tapes subpoenaed before they were recorded over.
If they did, he would deal with it.
He didn't want to strong arm the cops—but he had silenced them before.
Just as they got to the 'show', Fai got the call he had been expecting from Seshiro while the smell of coppery crimson filled his nose.
"Bad news, Fai." Seshiro sounded calm as a cucumber. His calmness did not transfer to his boss, though—Fai felt his stomach flutter and he forced himself to suck in a deep breath.
He needed to stay calm and think.
"You better not be telling me he ditched town."
"He sure did."
Of course he did.
Fai's resolve to get through this night without any help was quickly dissolving. Good thing they had been forced to pull all cocaine for possible contamination. He might have a problem—but it was miles away from being bad enough have him snorting possible poison to get his fix.
That was something at least, but he could really use a clear head right now.
"See if you can get a lead on whether he went home or he's hiding out and pulling strings from within the city." Fai couldn't let this latest defiance slip.
There was a big difference rank wise when it came to a manufacturer and himself. Reed was making a fool of him and he couldn't just stand by and take it. Little things like this were going to grow and grow until even he couldn't get a handle on it.
Not only was pointing finger internally going to cause even more of a stir than two of his dealers getting arrested, but if word got out that his product was less than safe?
Then he was going to lose business. He already was short a lot of money thanks to these fucking games—not enough to put them in the red zone, Fai had enough liquidity to absorb the losses so far, but they couldn't keep going as they were.
Something had to change.
"Already started. We'll find him and bring him to you."
"Good deal. We'll meet tomorrow night at 7 at Kurōbā to make a game plan on where to go from here." Staff meeting were a rare thing these days, but he needed to pull in his people.
Make them aware of the important facts.
"See you then." Seshiro hung up and Fai sighed as he heard a loud cracking sound, drawing his attention back to the gruesome task at hand.
Fuuma had used a well-placed stomp of his foot to dislodge Seji's shoulder from the socket, forearm and hand already detached and tossed into one of the bins.
"You don't sound happy." Fuuma glanced at him as he started to saw at the other arm, right where the wrist joint was. From the way the corner of his eyes were slightly wrinkled, Fai assumed he was giving his signature smirk under the fabric protective mask he wore.
"I'm not." He could let his displeasure at life show given the current circumstances. His mask could be set aside for now.
"You know who is stirring the pot yet." Another loud crack and Fuuma tossed the hand into the bin and moved up to the elbow.
"We'll discuss it tomorrow. You're expected at Kurōbā at 7." Fai would have his answers form Kujaku here soon and he would probably have it figured it out by then.
Or a strong lead, at the very least.
Fai answered emails and text messages as things were cleaned up and within 4 hours, their job was done. Fuuma would dispose of the evidence according to procedure and they would wait to see if the police came sniffing. The back room was cleaned from ceiling to floor just in case they had left anything behind—and the club was absolutely hopping by the time Fai stepped out of the back room.
Syaoran was waiting for him at the bar and handed him a Latte as he slid into the seat next to him. His assistant did not have the stomach for the bloodier side of things and he wasn't in the business of inducing PTSD into his people.
"We missed the dinner reservations." Syaoran had his own phone out and was looking at their calendar. After his dinner with Reed, Fai had planned on working on his book keeping and fixing his schedule.
With how his mind was buzzing, there was no hope that he would be doing any math…
He was lucky he could even hold still right now.
He needed an outlet now. He was going to lose it if he didn't get some of the buzzing anxiety out of his body in a healthy way.
"I was just notified that he has ditched town. We're going to head back to Kurōbā for now." Syaoran didn't look surprised and nodded.
Fai waited to catch Hinoto's attention before leaving. He let her know to call him if anyone started asking questions and he would come by to deal with it personally.
Syaoran went to fetch the car, he had had the sense to park it legally before it got towed and Fai waited in front of the building while he brought it around.
Tonight was a clusterfuck.
Now he needed a distraction from work.
He let Syaoran drive them back downtown and leaned his head against the window as he scrolled through Tinder. He was desperate for anything to distract him at this point. Bring him back down so that he could think, but nothing was catching his eyes.
No one even held a candle to how handsome Kuro-cop was…
It would be really nice to have those strong hands running up and down his sides while he kissed those surprisingly tender lips again…
Fai really really should have deleted Kurogane's number.
Another symptom of coming down?
He did not give a Fuuuuck about consequences at the moment.
His healthy sense of restraint was out the window and he had fired off a text before the rational half of his brain could catch up.
[My night sucks. Come cheer me up?
This right here was why he didn't like to stop using.
He would be able to focus and think if he had his usual help—but instead, he was making split decisions and creating more problems for himself. He didn't know if this was more stupid or masochistic at this point.
For all he knew, Kurogane had already heard all about him and would show up just to cuff him—that seemed like a Kuro-cop thing to do. Fai didn't think he would take kindly to being lied to, especially not by scum like himself.
"Syaoran?" Fai made sure his tone was sickeningly sweet as he mentally slapped himself as he reread that damn text again and again.
Really Fai? There are thousands of men in the city and you get stuck on a fucking cop? You text THE COP after you just got done helping to dismember and dispose of someone who had died in one of your buildings, from using the illegal drugs you imported, that someone from your group had laced?
That was really what he wanted to do?
There was hating yourself, then there was hating yourself.
He must really be feeling self-destructive, because this was a terrible idea. Next thing you knew, he was going to be falling in love just to deal with the heart break.
Like he didn't have enough old scars to deal with.
"Yes, Fai-sama?" his assistant didn't take his eyes off the road, but Fai could see the worry on his face.
"You should just take my phone away. I'm not even drunk and I'm getting myself in trouble…" his phone buzzed as he spoke, and he didn't even blink before unlocking it.
[Just got home. Everything ok blondie?
.
[Work drama. Want to swing by and get sloshed?
"Um… I'm not sure what you mean." Syaoran chanced a quick glance and caught him grinning at his phone. "Are you seeing someone?"
"I shouldn't be. If I confess my sins, you promise to make me delete this number at the end of the night?" Fai really had no self-control.
At least he paid people to have it for him.
It would be interesting to see Kurogane drunk, though.
Drunk and tied to a bed, actually... that's how he wanted his Kuro-chan tonight.
He didn't have any intention of getting himself too terribly wasted, given how he already felt like he was rocking the worst hangover of his life, but Kurogane was probably hopelessly adorable when he was drunk.
Maybe a cuddle bug? Fai would probably commit murder for some good cuddles at the moment.
[Where at?
.
[Kurōbā. The owner is a good friend of mine.
[I can get us a private booth with bottle service?
"I can do that." Syaoran drew his attention back and Fai set the phone aside and downed the rest of his coffee.
"Remember a week ago when you took of early. That tinder date?" Fai forced the smile from his face as he gazed out the window.
"Did you guys see each other again?" Syaoran eased on the brakes and hit the right turn signal to get them onto the freeway.
Fai had a strict rule about avoiding highway driving when he could, but the teen had no such reservations and merged into traffic easily enough.
"Yeah. Turns out he actually works for the Tokyo police department."
"Oh."
Well, that didn't just sum up exactly how dumb he was being at the moment.
"Yup. I obviously can't be trusted with his contact info. I just invited him to meet me for drinks, so after tonight, I need you to delete his number." Another buzz and the grin was back.
[Yeah. Be there in 30.
.
[See you Kuro-cute!
[I'll take you home so don't worry about driving.
"Yeah that's probably for the best, Fai-sama. So, you're taking the rest of the night off?" Syaoran was frowning still.
No doubt he knew Fai was teetering on the edge and needed a break after the events of the night. He might have skipped the sawing and dissolving party—but there was no way he didn't know what had gone on in the back.
"Not exactly. I'm going to be keeping a close eye on things, but I'm not in a good place to sit and work on budgets right now."
No—he was going to get trashed because he couldn't deal with it. He had to keep his cool and the only way he was going to do that was with massive amounts of alcohol.
He would fuck Kurogane a few times and go home and sleep, so when he had to deal with this shit tomorrow, he was at least well rested.
Fai needed to be on the top if his game.
Syaoran's only answer was a nod and they made the rest of their trip in silence.
They parked in the garage across the street in Fai's reserved spot and they both headed down the side ally to head in through the back. Fai hung out in his office on the first floor and answered the new text messages and emails that had been pouring in while he waited for his newest vice to arrive.
Again, Kuro-handsome was true to his word and arrived in almost exactly 30 minutes. Fai met him at the entrance with Syaoran at his side, and they both gave him a strange look when Fai greeted Kurogane with a hug and a smooch on the lips.
Fai didn't wait to answer any of their questions before grabbing the younger man's hand and pulling him in through the front door—the bouncers paying them no mind as they made a beeline for the staircase. The thumping music of the first floor was muffled in the stairwell and it was damn near silent until they popped out on the fourth floor—being greeted with smooth electro swing rather than heavy dubstep.
Kanoe's floor was the most relaxed in this building by far. Expensive sound proofing isolated each floor so that the music didn't leak and muddle the mood too terribly and the dim lighting and quite catchy music was perfect for a conversation over too many drinks.
Syaoran pointed them to the corner window booth on the far end of the floor—he had called up and had it cleared for them while Fai had been waiting down stairs. His assistant took a seat near the entrance of the floor and pulled out his laptop to clean up all the emails Fai had marked for his review.
The blonde was relieved that he was going to be sticking around. He had no intention of jumping his date in the booth tonight, but he really shouldn't be trusted. Not with his current lack of self-control.
Fai slid into the booth across from Kurogane. He had chosen to sit against the wall so he could look out across the floor and keep an eye on things. Old habits die hard—there was no reason Kanoe or her people needed to be watched—but the familiar task of supervising the floor brought him a bit of comfort.
It also meant that Kurogane's eyes were only going to be on him and Fai was feeling greedy at the moment.
"So—" Fai smiled at the younger man who had been looking over his shoulder, and watched his sharp eyes focus in on himself. "—no plans two Friday nights in a row, hm?"
"Shouldn't Friday nights be busy for you?" Kurogane leaned back in the booth and Fai had to admire how devilishly handsome he looked when he was relaxing. Since he was relaxing, that must mean he still had no idea about who exactly Fai Fluorite was—which served his agenda tonight perfectly.
Fai was going to be a hot topic with the police here soon, no doubt.
"It has been. The chaos has been corralled and I am going to lose my mind if I don't get a distraction soon." Fai needed a drink like two hours ago when he had been watching Fuuma stir their body soup to make sure it was dissolving uniformly.
And at that graphic flash of memory, Fai gazed over at the bar and locked eyes with Kanoe who was polishing a glass while speaking to a customer. She raised an eye brow at him before muttering something to the new bartender who rushed over to them immediately.
He was glad it was Subaru's girl who was working tonight—she looked like she was doing a good job so far at least.
"Good evening. Can I get you both something to drink?"
"Does Kuro-cutie here want to pick or should I?" Fai flashed a silly smile at his companion who only shrugged.
He didn't miss the irritated twitch of his eye that came with addressing him in such a manner, though it went right over the new bartender's head. She continued to smile politely, arms folded behind her back and giving them a good view of the skin-tight dress Kanoe had her girls wear as there uniform.
"Bring us a bottle of the house whisky and two glasses, please. It's been one of those days, I am afraid." For Fai it had been, anyways. Even so, he chuckled and smiled as though everything was fine to save face with his employee and she laughed in return.
"Of course." With that, she was off, probably assuming he was joking.
Kurogane didn't seem to think it was a joke and no matter how happily Fai smiled at him—the younger man didn't seem convinced.
"That bad?" Kurogane finally said after a prolonged silence and Fai wanted to sigh.
"You have no idea about some of the things I have to deal with." Though he probably would soon.
Fai really didn't need a body on his hands…
"You just want a distraction? You can talk about your shit if you need to. No judgement here." Kurogane shrugged and Fai's smile dropped.
Yeaaaaah. As sweet as that was, Fai wasn't buying it.
"Who would have thought that my grumpy little Kuro-puppy would be so so very sweet to me." Fai leaned forward and tapped the officer's nose playfully. "Are you sure you're not falling for me?"
"You wish, Blondie. Quit it with the nicknames." He growled, but there was no real bite to his words.
"Says the man who rushed to meet me because I'm having a bad night." Fai winked and Kurogane raised an eyebrow at him.
"Says the man who texted me to comfort him after a bad day."
Touché, Kuro. Touché….
"Not quite. I need you to distract me with your marvelous physique and magical dick." Fai watched Kurogane choke on air and grinned.
He was not going to entertain that idea.
Fai was far better at this flirting thing and he was quite confident that he could embarrass the younger man into a pile of goo before he even had a chance to explore the fact that yes, he was stressed out. Yes, he had turned to Kurogane. Yes, Kurogane was the only thing that was probably going to keep his mind off of things until Kujaku got back to him.
"Hyuu~ Is Kuro-red ok there?" The grin was back again—this time of its own accord and Fai watched the younger man try and get his coughing fit under wraps.
"You realize we're in public, right?"
Oh, he did.
If they had been alone, Kurogane would probably have pinned him to the mattress by now and threatened him with all sorts of wonderful punishments for saying such embarrassing things.
"I don't know if I told you or not, but I don't care what people think about me. I will tell the entire world how amazing your co–"
"You have no fucking filter, do you?"
"I have an amazing filter. I prefer you blushing and stuttering, though." Fai winked and Kurogane rolled his eyes.
The waitress returned with an unopened bottle of the whisky and gave them each a glass. Fai sent her away with a dismissive wave—not taking his eyes away from Kurogane who was still having a hard time getting his face under control.
"Something wrong?"
"You're just fucking weird and I don't know why I like you." Kurogane was the one to open the bottle for them and poured them both a double shot of whisky.
Fai accepted it without complaint. He knew he probably should be staying sober in case he had to head back over to Akai Heya tonight.
The chances were slim, but you never knew.
His fuck it attitude was like the little devil on his shoulder and he didn't even feel guilty as he held his drink out and clinking it against Kurogane's before knocking it back without so much as blinking.
Poor Syaoran looked like he was going to have kittens from where he was sitting.
"So, you do like me? The truth comes out!" Fai set the glass back down and grinned a little brighter.
Poor Kuro-love was going to have to get over those feelings… Fai wasn't worth it and didn't deserve it. The officer was a good man, after all.
"You're alright." Kurogane leaned back in the booth and Fai refilled his glass. "Even if you are obnoxious."
The blond had a feeling that was quite the compliment coming from the gruff officer.
"Don't lie. You find me charmingly irresistible." This time Fai blew a kiss and he received another eye roll.
"I find you annoyingly attractive for having such a big mouth."
"I'll take it." Fai and Kurogane clinked their glasses again and they both knocked back their next drink.
This was about the time in the night that Fai's memories started to get fuzzy. He had flashes of the rest of the night, but he had definitely blacked out at some point.
The next clear memory he had was of shooting up in bed and rushing to the bathroom to rid his stomach of the sour liquid that smelled mostly of vomit and slightly like whisky.
Whelp.
Hopefully, nothing blew up while he was being an irresponsible piece of shit.
"Are you sick or something?" Fai leaned back on his heels and wiped at his mouth with a wad of toilet paper. He threw it into the water before hitting the handle and groaning after catching his breath.
He didn't need to look over his shoulder to know that his younger brother was leaning against the open doorway… Fai also didn't need to look to know that it was Taishakuten who had been the person coming up the stairs and answered Ash.
"He came home impressively drunk last night… I take it your friend is feeling as equally crappy?" His step dad sounded far to pleased with himself and Fai's head was screaming far to loudly for him to care.
"I don't know what you're talking about…" And try as hard as he might, Fai wasn't getting many details from his hazy mind.
Flashes of the bar—of a very naked Kuro-chan—but not much else. Nothing that gave him any sort of solid timeline of just how last night had gone down.
"Better go check on him. You both need to eat something and re-hydrate. Ashura's making pancakes." Fai got to his feet just in time to see his stepdad leave to head back down the stairs and Ash got that he wasn't in a talking mood as soon as they locked eyes.
A small frown and he followed their stepfather down stairs, leaving Fai to himself. He brushed his teeth and washed his face before trudging back up the hall to his bedroom, fully intent on going back to bed and ignoring any offer of food.
He only got just inside of the door before he swore and felt his heart fall into his stomach.
Fuck.
What had he done?
Kurogane's stunning red eyes were staring back at him lazily from where he was lounging on the far side of the bed. Shirtless and with the blanket pulled half way up his chest, he looked as attractive and almost as hungover as Fai felt.
What the fuck was he doing in Fai's house? Why was he handcuffed to the headboard of Fai's bed?
He was used to getting blackout drunk. It happened less often now than in his early twenties, but hell, he had never brought someone back to his house before… how drunk did he have to be to not just get a hotel room?
How had they even gotten back here?
"How much did I drink exactly?"
"Fuck if I know." Kurogane groaned and tugged at the cuffs causing them to jingle. "Could you please help? I really gotta piss."
"Yeah... Where is they key?"
"Um... I'm sure it's around here somewhere."
0o0o0
Hyuu~ Hyuu~
Fear not! Next chapter were going to see what went on last night from Kuro-chan's POV! Including the smut!
I love writing Fai as a badass guys… it brings me a special kind of joy. Almost as much joy as our favorite OTP slowly falling for each other. Just because Fai won't admit that Kuro-chan is special doesn't mean I won't!
A little peeved that this story is turning out so friggen long and there not even freaking dating yet but eh. Fai is gonna do what he wants to do. Of course, it's not going to be a thing where they fall in love love and its happily ever after. At this point I don't think Kurogane or Fai wants to fall in love—I think they both know it's a bad idea and it's gonna be a hot mess. That didn't stop them in cannon and its not gonna stop them now!
Nope there gonna fall in love if they have to be dragged by cupid kicking and screaming and then there going to have to make some tough decisions about who is gonna swap sides… oh the draaaaama~
Fai Drama Fluorite my friends. He not only wears the pants in he and Kuro's relationship—but also in this fanfiction and the fanfiction can't end till the fat lady sings. AKA till our favorite crime boss decides its time fix his mental health and allow himself to be happy. Its up to Fai how long he will drag his feet.
Please tell me if you loved it, hated it, or if there was something you would change. I love critiques especially on my characterization and you won't hurt my feelings. I only want to improve!
All the love to my Beta/co-creator Malabava~ Couldn't do this without you!