We-ell. Where do I even start with this? I apologize for how long this took, I had my break, and a lot of things happened (y'know, life and all that jazz) and I hadn't been able to find the time nor the inspiration to write before this.
The ending of this chapter may be rather abrupt, but I felt like there were a lot of things going on here, so I want to space things out a bit again. I should be getting back into the writing groove again (hahahahahaahem) so I'm looking forward to it!
Enjoy and let me know what you think!
"God, if I could've ripped out his throat." Aomine growled, fingers tearing an unfortunate piece of memo paper to shreds while he glowered at the closed door of the Chief's office. Midorima sighed and ran a hand over his face.
"That would have been unwise, especially given the current location."
Aomine didn't even bother to glance at him. "I should've still done it. He deserves it, the smug bastard."
"I'm sure you think so," the green-eyed man replied vaguely, his attention already returning to the folder he had open on his desk that was filled with detailed reports and information about Kou Shougo that the police force had compiled. "What did Chief want to tell you?"
"They're sending me off to the countryside under the pretence of looking out for Mari-san."
Midorima paused and looked up, mildly surprised. "Where?"
"Dunno, I didn't think about asking," the dark-haired man shrugged. He leaned back in his chair, the torn up shreds of paper scattered about his desk. "Only thing that matters is that I'm not gonna be here."
His partner frowned at his nonchalance but chose to say nothing. There was a wall of silence between the two until Midorima decided to address the elephant standing smack in front of their noses.
"What about Kuroko-san?"
Aomine heaved a sigh and stood up, clearly expecting the question. Scratching the back of his head, he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket. Midorima couldn't see what it was, but Aomine stared at it for a long moment before he grabbed his coat off the back of his chair and spun around without a word. The remaining detective watched his partner leave and only when the glass door swung shut behind the navy-haired man did he move, reaching across the invisible barrier between their desks and plucking the thumb drive out of the USB socket it was plugged into.
xx
Outside, Aomine beelined for his car, completely out of tune with the world around him. His mind was in a whirlwind. He had not expected such drastic measures to be taken just to keep him out of the murderer's way. There was no way he was going to be able to skip out on the protection detail, not when it came from so high up. And it wasn't like he didn't want to protect Mari-san, conversely, he rather liked her. She reminded him of Satsuki. But being away from Tokyo introduced a glaringly obvious issue.
He couldn't protect Kuroko.
He could, of course, request for a lookout to keep an eye out for Kuroko, but there was a lot of red tape involved and besides not having enough time to get everything in place, he knew that his father would eventually find out about it. It'd be hard convincing the man that his relationship with Kuroko was nothing remarkable if he applied for protection for him. Also, his gut told him that the blue-haired man would not react too well to it.
Maybe he could ask Kuroko to tag along, but he'd never agree to that, especially since Aomine would be on official business the entire time. There was no way he'd ask Kagami for help. The redhead may be able to fight off an attacker, but Kuroko had mentioned before that he was a heavy sleeper. No sane psychopath would attack during the day when everyone was alert, of that much he was sure. That left him with only one avenue to take, and it was an option he almost wished he didn't have.
Settled in his car with the heater on at full blast, he stared out of the windshield unseeingly, dark eyes following random shapes as they crossed the courtyard to and from the station. There was a flash of red and he jolted upright, focusing on the brightly coloured individual walking out of the station. It was a woman.
Letting out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, he unfisted the hand that held the slip of paper with the series of digits, and stared at them long and hard, as though expecting the numbers to start telling him what to do.
Squaring his shoulders, he tugged out his phone and keyed in the numbers, hitting the call button before he could change his mind. The ringing seemed to go on forever.
"Akashi speaking." He almost dropped the device when the voice came on, the suddenness of the words booming and making his ears ring. He blinked, mind completely blank. Why was he doing this again?
"What is it, Aomine?" the irritated tone on the other side was unmistakable, even to his muddled brain.
His eyes widened and he let out a confused, "Huh?"
"I do not have a lot of time to spend beating around the bush, so please get to the point. I am a busy man."
"I – " Aomine cleared his throat and shook his head in an attempt to erase the confusion clouding his mind. "How'd you know it was me?"
"Is this the purpose of your call?" Akashi was sounding more annoyed now. Aomine heard a sudden thud and muffled voices, then, "Do hurry up."
"I- It's about Tetsu," he said hesitantly. He probably didn't want to know what was making the sounds on the other side. "I'm gonna be out of the city for an indefinite time. I…. can't keep a lookout on him."
Silence.
"Is that all?" Akashi finally asked.
"Wha—yeah, I gues—"
"Very well, thank you for notifying me," Akashi interrupted. There was another thud and what was undoubtedly a groan. "By the way, please destroy the thumb drive."
Aomine remained still, the beeping tone his only companion as his brain scrambled to make sense of what had just happened. He didn't know how he was supposed to interpret the other's words. Was Akashi going to help him or did he think that Aomine was just being unnecessarily worried about Kuroko?
He ran a hand through the short strands of his hair, and let out a frustrated growl.
xx
"You seem to be slacking off work a lot recently," Kuroko observed when he opened the door in answer to the bell. "And I gave you a key for a reason."
"I can't stand the idiots I work with," Aomine retorted. He toed off his shoes and let his bag fall to the ground in favour of wrapping his tall frame around Kuroko's body. The smaller man had been home for a while, and was radiating just the right amount of heat. Aomine nuzzled his face into the crook of Kuroko's neck, inhaling his scent.
"That isn't a very good reason to skip work," the blue-haired man replied gently. He reached up to ruffle Aomine's hair and then planted a quick kiss on his temple. "Dinner's almost ready."
"I'm going to get fat if you keep feeding me this much food." Aomine said when he saw the spread on the table. Kuroko, who had returned to the stove to attend to two boiling pots, turned around and made a face at him.
"I know it's a lot, but if I don't make this much it doesn't feel right. And you still eat everything."
Aomine returned the look. "It's because I was brought up to not waste anything."
"Maybe I'll get Kagami-kun to come over for dinner then," Kuroko mused, back turned so that he missed the narrowed eyes of the tan-skinned man at the mention of the bartender.
"There's no need," the dark-haired man said. His curt answer seemed to startle Kuroko who glanced back at him again. He sent the blue-eyed man a bright smile. "I like your cooking."
Kuroko eyed him for a moment and then turned back to the stove, clearly not buying it.
Getting the silent dismissal, Aomine padded out of the kitchen and headed towards the bathroom, itching for a hot shower. Maybe if he scrubbed hard enough he'd get rid of all the pests in his life.
xx
Half way through dinner, his phone rang.
It was the special ringtone that he'd just recently set for Midorima after Takao had texted him complaining about how Midorima would yell at him for playing the song in their apartment at full volume.
"What?" he said, not bothering with pleasantries.
"I wanted to check and see if you were lying dead or unconscious somewhere," Midorima replied just as flatly. "It seems you're still alive."
"You sound like you wished I was in trouble," Aomine snorted. There was silence on the other end of the line. Aomine almost smiled. The bastard. "Why are you really calling?"
"You left without even shutting down your computer."
Aomine frowned. He'd done that plenty of times before. He knew Midorima would power it off for him, albeit probably while he wished calamity upon him. "So?"
"I took the liberty of checking out the contents of that thumb drive you so carelessly left behind."
"And?" He asked, sounding casual.
Midorima sounded resigned rather than annoyed. "I found a phone number."
Aomine glanced towards the kitchen quickly and moved from the living room to the bedroom, shutting the door and locking it. "I can explain."
"I'm not sure I want you to," Midorima interrupted him before he could begin the speech he had been mentally preparing.
"What?" Aomine asked, startled.
The green-eyed man sighed loudly. "Even if I think you're a complete idiot and asshole, you're not a dirty cop. I will believe that whatever stupid thing you're trying to accomplish is necessary to this investigation."
"Well, not –"
"I said I don't want to hear it." Midorima snapped. The static crackled and then things were quiet again. Aomine rubbed the back of his neck in the dark, for the first time noticing how stuffy it felt in the room. "Is this something to do with protecting Kuroko-san?"
"Do you really want to hear it now?" Aomine drawled, his words bellying the surprise he felt at how shrewd his partner was. Midorima could read him like he was transparent. It gave him goosebumps.
"I suppose not," the other man conceded after a short interval. "Anyway, please do not do anything so irresponsible again. I have destroyed the thumb drive, but I will not repeat the favour."
"Yes, yes, I'm sorry." Aomine said, for once being sincere. The line clicked and he tossed his phone onto the bed before going to resume his dinner.
xx
"A protection detail, huh?"
"Yeah. I have to shadow her around and make sure no one suspicious gets to her and all that."
"Who did you say it was, again?"
"That model, Mari. You should know about her, she's been on nearly every billboard in Tokyo recently."
"So she's hot?" Aomine looked up from his food for the first time since the topic came up. He hadn't been feeling too good about breaking the news to Kuroko but the blue-haired man's voice had shown no sign of anything but mild curiosity. Even now, Kuroko's gaze was nothing but pleasant, but something told Aomine that it would be wise to tread cautiously.
"I guess so," he answered with a shrug. He hurriedly added on when he caught no shift in the other man's expression. "I mean she's on billboards and everything, so she conforms to societal standards of attractiveness."
The corner of Kuroko's lips twitched, and he raised an eyebrow. "Do you think she's hot?"
Aomine would normally rather drink a vial of poison than answer what appeared to be a blatant test of fidelity. If not for his experience with women, he'd think that Kuroko was not the slightest bit perturbed by the fact that he would be spending an indefinite number of days with a popular model. In fact, the thought that the other man would be jealous hadn't occurred to him, simply because he did not think of Mari as anything more than a person he needed to protect. He was losing his edge if he wasn't even able to pick up on the little hints.
He ordered his fingers to keep their grip on the chopsticks firm. He could not show any hint of weakness. Kuroko continued to blink at him expectantly, his own half-empty bowl of rice forgotten. Aomine licked his lips.
"Not as hot as you?" He cringed internally as the statement somehow bent itself into a question under the steady gaze of blank blue eyes.
Kuroko's face finally split into a huge grin as he finally lost control of his facial muscles. Aomine stared at him, apprehensive and confused.
"I was just kidding," Kuroko said with a chuckle. He was pretty confident of Aomine's ability to keep his playboy ways under wraps, even though he was aware that his self-restraint had never actually been tested. But he'd be an idiot to not notice the way the dark-skinned man looked at him. He practically glowered with pride every time Kuroko caught him looking his way.
Aomine watched, completely bemused as Kuroko's laughter stopped abruptly and was immediately replaced by a tinge of pink on his cheeks as he lowered his gaze. The sudden change in the smaller man's disposition would be much more worrisome if he had not reached across the table and tangled their fingers together.
"Take care of yourself," Kuroko murmured softy, tilting his face upwards and staring straight into his soul.
Aomine felt a shiver run down his spine. "You were kidding about that 'no sex' thing this morning, weren't you?"
In reply, Kuroko shook his head, half-expecting the question. "I wasn't, but since you're going away for a while, I suppose I can make an exception."
"God, you make it sound like I'm visiting the dentist," the taller of the two groaned.
"Shut up and finish your food." Kuroko retorted.
xx
"Aomine-kun." A part of his brain not actively involved in worshipping the pale flesh of Kuroko's torso registered that it was the third time that Kuroko had called his name. It also tried to tell him that there was something distinctively different about his tone of voice.
"Aomine-kun," he yelped as Kuroko yanked hard on his ears, leveraging himself on his elbows to glare at the partially undressed man lying under him.
"What?" He growled.
"My butt is vibrating," Kuroko tossed back, equally annoyed. Dark eyes widened and he blinked slowly as he processed Kuroko's words. The pale-skinned man raised himself off the bed slightly and fumbled around below him until his fingers curled around a small device. He shoved the phone in Aomine's face. "Answer it."
Muttering under his breath, he lifted the cellular device to his ear without a glance at the screen. Midorima's ringtone was already starting to irk him. "What?"
"Kou Shougo was spotted near his apartment," his partner's voice rang sharply over the line. "Station in ten."
xx
"You sure it was him?" Aomine asked as they hung about outside their Chief's office, waiting for him to finish an interview with a group of other officers.
"Neighbour called it in. It's not an impossible development. He had to bail out of town suddenly when we found out the serial killer was him, he probably went back to gather belongings."
"Rather risky when the entire country's police force is on high alert, don't you think?"
"Desperation makes people do stupid things." Midorima replied with a lift of his shoulder.
The door to the office swung open, and the officers bustled past them, faces looking grim. The two detectives exchanged glances and proceeded into the room.
"I'm sure you're both well aware of the situation," Chief began. "We have to act fast now, or we may lose the target. Midorima, I expect you to be on point. The higher ups haven't been taking profiling seriously until now, but they want a thorough investigation of the man done. The team just now will be assisting you. I need it before sunrise."
The green-eyed man nodded and left without a word, leaving the dark-skinned man alone. He'd usually follow Midorima out, but he had been explicitly excluded from the Chief's orders so far. He had a feeling he knew what he was going to be tasked with.
"Mari's safety is a concern to us. Travelling tonight is out of the question, but arrangements will be made for you two to take the first shinkansen out of Tokyo tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I want you to stay guard at the place she's staying at. I'll send an officer to you sometime before dawn to relieve you for two hours so you have time to prepare for the journey. Understood?"
"Yes sir," Aomine nodded.
xx
Dark head tilted backwards, the detective scrutinized the unfamiliar building he stood in front of. The façade was decadent, and understated in the way expensive things were. Glancing at his phone just to make sure he was at the right address, he trudged across the street from where he had parked. The streets were silent this late at night. It gave him the chills.
Halting before the security post, he raised an eyebrow at the extravagant number of camera lenses that stared at him from every direction. He flashed his badge at the sleepy-looking man inside the small stall and explained his business there. It appeared that his superior had called the management earlier, so all he had to do was put down his signature in a logbook and he was cleared to go.
The hallways were just as refined as the outside of the building had been, with lush carpeting on the floor to cushion footfalls so that the residents were not disturbed. It also meant that an intruder would be able to sneak in pretty easily.
He rang the bell for the apartment marked 504, noting that there were only four doors in total on the floor. The building was 50 storeys high. The apartment he faced was probably a penthouse. The gigantic, expensive-looking door swung open soundlessly to reveal a small oval face, quite a distance down his line of sight. The girl's eyes were large and filled up her entire face. It was when her face split into a somewhat lascivious smile that it dawned on him that she was most definitely not a child.
"Dear God," she breathed, leaning up to peer at him closely. "Mari wasn't kidding when she said that you put the guys we work with to shame."
Aomine glanced behind her into the empty living room that was huge. "Thanks."
"You're in the wrong profession," she continued, still blocking his way. "You have got to let me set you up with my agent. He'll be ecsta-"
"Tsuki," Aomine silently thanked God that Mari finally decided to show herself, bustling out of one of the adjacent rooms in a cloud of pink silk. "That's not how you greet guests."
The girl – woman – Tsuki – turned around to look over at her friend before she started to snicker. The other model's face turned a bright pink and the two started a quiet conversation that involved a lot of suggestive leers and eyebrow wagging on Tsuki's part along with violent head shakes and more blushing on Mari's end. Aomine merely waited for the moment when they would remember that he was technically in the same room.
"I'm not a guest," he declared, deciding that he didn't like the way Tsuki's eyes travelled between himself and Mari speculatively. "I'm here to watch over you two for the night until we can leave in the morning."
Mari cleared her throat, ending the conversation with a glare at her friend. "Of course, Aomine-san. I apologize for my friend's rude behaviour."
"I can apologize for my own behaviour, thank you very much." Tsuki sniffed delicately, her tiny nose scrunching up with the movement. She held out a petite hand. "I am sorry for my rude behaviour. I go by the name Tsuki. It's nice to meet you at last, Aomine-san."
His hand seemed to engulf hers, fingers curling around her wrist instead of her palm. "Likewise. I will be in your care."
Tsuki led the way into the apartment, chattering non-stop as she gave him a quick tour of the place. Aomine had been right to think that it was a penthouse. The balcony opened out onto a private patio that was large enough to house a Jacuzzi and a small garden. He caught a glimpse of another, similar balcony when he walked past one of the many rooms.
"So, you're going to be Mari's bodyguard until the serial killer is caught, huh?" Aomine marvelled at the outstanding contrast between the woman's appearance and her straightforward personality. It was unnerving, but somewhat refreshing.
"Yeah. It shouldn't be for too long, though. We already know who the perpetrator is, we just need to catch him." Aomine explained, following the example of his hosts and settling back into the sofa.
"Is it someone from the agency?" Mari asked, looking anxious. Aomine turned his full attention to her for the first time that night. She'd been rather strange since he showed up, lingering in the background and letting her friend take the spotlight. It surprised him. He had never really met a model that was shy. Also, the last time they had seen each other, she had been far more relaxed around him, though that may have been because she was scared out of her wits and had been desperate for reassurance.
He decided to answer her as honestly as he could. "Currently, all police personnel have standing instructions not to reveal anything, as it may jeopardize the case. I cannot confirm any rumour you may have heard."
"So, basically, you're saying it is." Tsuki said drily.
Aomine flashed her his best diplomatic smile. "You didn't hear it from me."
She returned the smile with a lop-sided grin. "I like you."
He inclined his head. "Thank you. I like me, too."
The two women burst out into giggles, and Aomine felt his shoulders sag a bit from the release of tension. He exchanged a smile with Mari when she made eye contact with him for the first time since he showed up.
xx
"God, Tetsu," he groaned into the mouthpiece. "I miss you already."
The blue-eyed man's breathy chuckled travelled through the receiver and down his spine. "I don't blame you."
"Idiot," he chided laughingly. "You're supposed to say you miss me too."
Kuroko hummed thoughtfully. "But my parents taught me that it's not good to lie."
"Man, you're horrible for a dude's ego," Aomine shook his head in mock disappointment even though the other man couldn't see him.
"You should thank me. I keep that handsome head of yours out of the clouds."
"Oh?" He asked, sounding surprised. "Is that a compliment I detect?"
"It's just your imagination." Kuroko answered, and Aomine could imagine Kuroko saying that with a straight face while the corners of his lips tilted upward unknowingly. The desire to kiss him right then was overwhelming.
"I do have a rather vivid imagination," he hummed in response. He grinned at the snort his words garnered, turning away from the view of the city below him to stare through the glass windows that partitioned off the balcony from the rest of the penthouse.
"I know where you're trying to go with this," The warning in Kuroko's tone was loud and clear. "I'm not having any of it."
"But what if I get lonely at night while I'm away from you?" Aomine whined.
Kuroko wasn't the least bit sympathetic towards his plight. "You've been coping fine all this time."
"I doubt you'll approve of my coping techniques," he replied wryly. "I wasn't exactly going steady with anyone before you, remember?"
Kuroko's end of the line was silent for so long that he began to worry that the blue-haired man had perhaps fallen asleep on him. "Tetsu?"
"Only at night," Kuroko suddenly said. "And only when it won't interfere with your job."
Aomine's grin could've blinded a bat. "Yessir."