WARNING: Shameless lemon. SURPRISE it's not Gino and Tsubame... (...yet...) mwahaha. Anyway, sorry it's been so long since I updated. My laptop was stolen in July and I only have limited access to my best friend's computer. And so, a treat for you. 3

It had been a while since Akane had actually felt relieved when shutting the door to her apartment behind her. The day had been long and grueling, physically and emotionally. Though she wasn't exactly sure why Ginoza had taken off his tracker, but she had to admit there was a moment while they were standing there in the alleyway that she thought he'd walked out of her life as well. Just like him.

She shook her head, kicked off her shoes, and tossed her blue MWPSB jacket in a random direction, not bothering to turn the lights on. Pulling the lighter out of her pocket, she grabbed a slim white Spinel cigarette from the carton on the kitchen table, ignoring Candy's warning against open flames within the apartment complex. She had to empty the ashtray on the table before carefully placing the lit cigarette in one of the grooves so that it would burn down without going out.

"You know, they work better when you put them in your mouth."

Akane froze, holding herself up only by the death grip she took on the edge of the table. She'd hallucinated his voice before, but it'd never been so loud.

"Also, you're rather unobservant. You do realize I'm not a coat rack…"

"How… how did you get in here?" She looked over her shoulder, despite her fear of finding an empty room. Kogami had folded her jacket in his lap and sat comfortably on her couch.

"Is that really the question you want to ask me?" he quirked an eyebrow at her. As she sank to the floor, he sprung off the sofa to catch her. "Are you okay?"

"Ha. Are you sure that's the question you want to ask me?" she shot bitterly, tears welling at the corners of her eyes.

"Hey, none of that." He caught one of them as it rolled down her cheek.

"What are you doing here? You could get caught. SYBIL would want you dead. You shouldn't even be in Japan."

"I can't tell you, exactly, except that I'm here on business." She eyed the motorcycle helmet that sat in the chair adjacent to the couch.

"You mean inciting panic at a college?" The anger in her voice took him by surprise. "Not to mention you could've got Ginoza killed today. What the Hell were you thinking?"

"Akane," he tried to soothe. She clenched her fists. "Are you going to punch me too?"

A questioning expression crossed her face briefly before she chuckled to herself.

"He always said that's what he'd do if he ever saw you again. I thought he was just kidding…"

"Yeah, definitely not," he informed her, rubbing his jaw.

"You deserved it."

"I know," he whispered. "From both of you, really. I'm… sorry for putting you through that. I'm sorry I didn't even say goodbye. I didn't really have the time."

"I know."

"Seems like things have been harder than I expected. Gino's a dog now?"

Akane just nodded.

"Never thought that'd happen. How've you been?"

"Surviving," she shrugged. She had to admit it had become much harder to do so lately. Without even her grandmother to care for, she'd been pretty lonely. He grabbed her face and turned it back to him, searching. "What?"

"I honestly just didn't think I'd ever get to see you again. I can't tell you how relieved I am that you're okay. I was kind of afraid you wouldn't want to see me at all." Kogami fidgeted before her, his gaze falling to the side.

"Why would you think that? Of course I want to see you." She blushed at her own forwardness. "I mean… I…"

He smiled. "Good to know. I guess then your feelings haven't changed?"

"You knew?"

"Akane…" He grinned, shaking his head. "Everyone did."

"Awesome…"

"Only one person knew that I liked you back though."

Her eyes widened. Did he just say that? He scooted ever so slightly closer to her to reach around and pull her into his lap.

"I'm sorry I left like that. I'm sorry I didn't even have the guts to leave you with more than a note. One that didn't even really explain anything. I wrote it with my head, but you deserved to know what was in my heart." She swore she heard his voice crack as he hugged her to him. He grabbed her shoulders and held her at arm's length.

"So, what exactly was in your heart then?"

She didn't even have time to blink before he'd pressed his lips gently to hers. At first she didn't really know what to do. When his hands found their way into her hair the sensation revived her senses and she remembered that she could kiss him back. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself as close to him as she could feasibly get from their current position on the floor.

Without a word, Kogami picked her up and bridal carried her to her room. How he'd known which door didn't seem to matter to her at the time. He set her down on her bed and kissed her lightly again before looking around, stepping out of his boots with more difficulty than he'd anticipated in his haste.

"WC?" He pointed at the message scratched into her wall. She held up her hands.

"It's nothing, just ignore that…"

"Ignored," he smirked. He shrugged out of his leather jacket and pulled his white t-shirt off by the collar. Akane couldn't help herself as she ogled at him.

"Glad that hasn't changed," he said triumphantly.

"Oh shut up," she laughed, chucking a pillow at him. He returned to her bed, towering over her, and placed a hand on either side of where she sat.

"Shutting up," he obliged. He kissed her again, this time taking her bottom lip between his. He broke away to nuzzle her head to the side, finding the place where her jaw met her neck and leaving a trail of kisses to her collarbone. Light headed, she started to fall backwards under him. Before she could hit the bed, he grabbed her and repositioned her so that she was lying beside him, his mouth still tickling what little skin was available to him. She didn't even notice one hand skillfully unbuttoning her blouse until he moved to push it off of one shoulder. When he felt her stiffen at the realization, he stopped.

"Is that okay?"

She nodded, trying to force herself to relax.

"It's just that… well… I've never…"

He smiled, his hand brushing her cheek.

"I'd never hurt you. Not again. Not now that I have the chance to make things right."

"Kogami," she whimpered.

"No more crying," he comforted, kissing away her tears. "I hate it that I make you cry. And it's Shinya to you."

Inhibitions forgotten, Akane helped Shinya finish removing her blouse. His hands ghosted over the newly exposed skin, sending chills up her spine. His fingers hitched behind her knee and draped it over his hip. He chuckled at the bewildered look on her face as she peeked down at their bodies entangled together, and he pressed closer. Akane's breath caught in her throat as he looked at her, his hand reaching around her neck to gently pull her down to him, kissing her deeply.

He was surprised when she wrapped her arms around his torso and slid her hand over the muscles in his back. He continued to kiss her despite the distraction, until her fingers snuck their way to the waistband of his trousers and traced along to the button at the front. She steeled her resolve and unfastened it, carefully pushing the zipper down as well. It took every ounce of self-control left in him not to press himself into her hands. So when her other hand found its way into his hair, tugging gently on the spiky tendrils, he had none left.

Before Akane could catch her breath, he swung his torso around so he was on top of her, one leg between hers, pressing insistently into her with his knee. He made quick work of the silky black bra she still wore and dropped it on the floor next to the bed. A hand slid up to explore, teasing one of her nipples, while his mouth dropped to the other. Instinctively, her hips ground into his leg and she moaned. He was reluctant to stop, but his pants were an annoying barrier between them that he couldn't deal with any longer. After discarding the rest of his clothing, he bent over her to breathe hot air over her stomach as he unsuccessfully fumbled with the buttons on her work slacks. Frustrated, he pulled them apart, the obnoxious little bastards flying in all directions.

"Really?" she breathed.

"Sorry," he whispered, shooting her a cheeky grin before returning to his task, pulling her pants off. "I didn't take you for a thong kind of girl," he mused. She blushed, but when she opened her mouth to argue, he covered it with his own and her retort was quickly forgotten. He positioned himself between her legs, grasping at whatever he could find to check himself. Shamelessly, he allowed himself to rub against the lacey bit of fabric that separated them. To his satisfaction, her panties were already wet. Her back arched against her will and she gasped at this new sensation. A mischievous grin was her only warning before his hand reached down, slid up the inside of her thigh, and pushed the final barrier aside, his fingers caressing her center. She groaned beneath him. Knowingly, he curled his fingers upward, leaving her gasping for air. Akane reached out for him, wanting him closer to her. As he obliged, he slowly replaced his fingers, sliding his hips flush to hers. She squeaked behind another kiss, flinching at his intrusion. He worked quickly to try to get her to relax again, his hands dragging down her arms to intertwine their fingers. After a matter of seconds, she carefully pressed up against him, wrapping her legs around his torso, which was all the encouragement he needed. Her hands reached up to grasp his shoulders, and when her release came, her nails dug into his flesh as she whispered his name.

He grabbed her hips and continued the rhythm he kept before he couldn't take it any longer. Recognizing the familiar tightness in his muscles, he quickly withdrew from her, careful not to make a mess on her comforter. After catching his breath, he stood and walked to the bathroom. When he returned, Akane was fighting sleep.

"You can stay here. Clearly Candy didn't mind letting you in in the first place," she murmured.

"You know I can't." His voice fell as he said it. He crawled into the bed behind her and wrapped himself around her, kissing her shoulder. She finagled the comforter so that it covered them.

"If it's for my sake I don't care. I want you to stay."

"Truthfully it's for my sake. If you were caught harboring a criminal, even your clear hue wouldn't save you. SYBIL would have your head. I don't know what I'd do if I allowed that to happen." She rolled over to look at him. "I'll come back. As frequently as I can. I promise."

Her eyes were sad, but she nodded. It was better that way.

"You should sleep. Work tomorrow," he reminded her.

"Yes, because you're the responsible one, right?" she laughed.

"Goodnight, koishii," he mumbled into her neck.

"I love you, Shinya."

Kogami nuzzled closer to her, if that was even possible.

"I love you too."