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"This is a bad idea."
"It’ll be over soon, Haru. It’s just a quick meet-up to get information."
"Still a bad idea," he mutters, crossing his arms and looking through the car window towards the bar across the street. "Why do you need to go alone?"
"Well I can’t just bring someone new in. I’ve been working to gain their trust."
"Mm."
Makoto smiles, reaching over the seat to take Haru’s hand into his. Haru shoots him a look but doesn’t let go, instead rubbing circles into his palm absentmindedly.
The two are undercover cops. They’ve been in numerous cases before, working to infiltrate gangs and sneak information. Makoto’s not quite sure if he remembers how they even began; he just knows that it was initially his idea and that Haru had stubbornly decided to do it with him.
Because you’re going to make stupid mistakes, is what Haru had said.
Because I need to protect you, is what Makoto had heard.
Today, the plan was to get more information about a rising gang in the city. For the past month, Makoto had been back-and-forth in talks with one of the members. He’d been told about their focus of selling drugs and, after reporting back to the Chief Officer, had been told to try and find out more about it.
Of course, it was only supposed to be Makoto, but that wasn’t going to happen if Haru had anything to do with it.
"Ready to go?" Makoto finally asks, breaking Haru out of his trance. The boy gives a loose shrug and opens the car door, stepping out into the cool night. "Wait, do you have your gun?"
"Of course."
"Is it loaded?"
"No," Haru says, then takes it out of his pocket to check. "Two bullets."
"Haru…"
"You said it’s only a quick meet-up. I shouldn’t need any."
Makoto doesn’t say anything after that.
Haru walks into the bar first. He takes a seat towards the back and cups his chin in his hands.
Makoto waits a few minutes before following. However, he makes a beeline towards a door - one just behind where Haru is sitting - and as he passes his table he faintly hears a grumble of, “Be careful.”
Makoto has to make sure he’s not smiling as he enters the back.
The room is musky. The lights on the wall are dim and old and the windows in the back are boarded shut. It takes him a few seconds to adjust but when he does, he sees a figure leaning against the wall beside him.
Before Makoto can say anything, the man pushes himself off and makes towards the other end of the room.
"How much you want?"
"All that you have."
He stops in his tracks and slowly spins on his heels, raising a brow at Makoto. Then he takes one step forward and leans in, his next words in an amused yet questioning tone: “Know how much that’ll cost you?”
Makoto shrugs his shoulders, refusing to break eye contact. A few seconds in and the man gives a snort. “Alright, wait here. Let me get the boss.”
He waits for a nod then disappears behind a door, after which Makoto lets out the breath he’s been holding. He starts to make his way around the room immediately, lifting up books and rummaging through stacks of paper. He gets on his knees and peeks under the table, looks through the blinds, lifts the pictures off the wall to look for some kind of an opening and kicks up the rug to look for some sort of an exit.
He finds a bent wooden plank under one of them and it seems as though some light is filtering through its cracks. He debates lifting it up now but before he can lower himself to check, the door swings open and the man from earlier steps through.
“Follow me.”
Makoto’s led down a dark hallway. Neither him nor his escort speak; they just walk for what seems like a full minute before he’s holding up his hand and signaling for them to stop. There doesn’t seem to be a door anywhere in front of them, but after two stomps on the ground, an entire wall panel is lifted.
They step in and make their way towards a man seated in front of a vault.
"Here he is." They stop just a few feet away. "Wants it all."
"Does he?" the boss draws out, surveying Makoto carefully. The brunet stays still. "What’s the occasion?”
Makoto keeps silent again and shrugs as a response. An amused huff escapes the man in front of him as he furrows his brows and leans forward in his chair. “Have we met before?”
Shit.
Makoto had been hoping he’d just been imagining things. But at the man’s question, he can’t help but think the same. He’s seen him somewhere before. He knows he has. He’s not quite sure from where, but the face is distinctive and he wonders if he’s chased after him before.
"Don’t think we have."
"Mm." The boss gets to his feet and begins to walk circles around Makoto, eyes traveling up and down his figure continuously. His hands cross behind his back and a new sort of tension fills the room. Then he stops and keeps his eyes fixed on Makoto’s pocket where his gun lay.
It’s as if time stops.
But then Makoto’s fingers move to lower his shirt over his pocket. The boss’ gaze flickers back up to him. He does something with his hand - snaps his fingers? - and then Makoto hears a low Shit behind him as a hand cups the back of his neck and drags his head downwards, just narrowly missing a knife flying their way.
Makoto blinks in confusion, but a smooth – yet agitated – voice brings him back to the present. “I told you this was a bad idea,” It grumbles, and Makoto catches a set of piercing blue peering at him in mild irritation.
Makoto almost responds but another knife is launched at their throats, and so he kicks over a table and pulls Haru with him behind it.
About five men come barreling around the table as soon as it hits the floor. One grabs Haru by the leg and pulls him across the floor, but he’s only able to get halfway across the room before the raven lifts his hips and swings his leg, kicking the man in the head. Another chooses to charge at Haru in that moment and he manages to swing his leg and trip him, but doesn’t have enough time to do much else as a punch makes for his face.
Haru locks his jaw and awaits an impact, but it never comes. Instead, the man drops to the floor at his feet and Haru looks up to see Makoto’s hand in a tight fist, worry flashing across his eyes; he takes a breath when he sees Haru practically uninjured. “Alright?”
“Behind you,” is his answer and Makoto turns in time to elbow a charging man in the ribs and get him wheezing. “Leave him there. He doesn’t do much around here besides act as a shield. The others will be here soon enough to pick him up.”
Makoto nods and scans the room for the other two. One of them seems to be debating whether or not to fight and the other is barking out, “Hide the boss!”
Makoto and Haru exchange glances and nod. The brunet makes his way towards the one who looks like he’s regretting every decision he’s ever made and Haru chases after the loud mouth.
It doesn’t take much on Makoto’s end. One step forward and the boy’s sinking to his knees and holding his arms above his head, shaking.
Haru goes through more trouble. He corners his chase and narrows his eyes, voicing a low, “Where is he?”
“Ha! You think I’ll tell?” he all but spits.
“My patience is wearing thin.” Haru steps forward and grabs at the man’s collar. “So I’ll ask you one more time. Where did he go?”
Then the raven is kneed in the stomach and a knife is brought up to his throat. “You son of a—”
“Haru!”
It’s funny, Haru thinks, how Makoto’s voice is enough to ease him given the situation he’s in.
He almost smiles.
Almost.
“Want me to let him go? Then take your asses and leave. Call up your buddies and tell them you found nothing, got it?”
Makoto’s eyes dart from the man to Haru. He wants to step in, so desperately wants to help, but Haru’s shooting him a look that says Don’t do anything. I’ve almost got him.
“Okay, wait,” Makoto draws out slowly. “Maybe we can compromise.”
The weapon is pressed further into Haru’s skin and a low growl escapes Makoto’s throat. A surge of anger shoots through his veins. “You think I want a fucking compromise?”
“Just listen.”
“Shut up!”
“I said, listen—”
“I’ll kill him. Right now,” he threatens. But then a certain glint flashes in his eyes and he lifts the knife off of Haru’s neck and aims it at Makoto instead. “Or I could just send this flying into your mouth. How ‘bout it?”
This time Haru lets out a protective growl, blue gaze hardening as he steps back and slams the man into the wall using the heel of his foot. His fingers wrap around the other’s wrist and he gives it a tight pull, a sharp cry followed by the weapon clattering to the floor.
“Try it,” Haru threatens. “I’ll ask one more time. Where?”
The man’s breathing picks up and he doesn’t talk, but his gaze flickers to a certain window as if in a plea for help, and Haru turns to Makoto. “Got that?”
He nods. “Who goes?”
“I’ll go. You keep him here and head back to the main room to gather up as much as you can.” And then Haru lets go and runs to the window, opening it up and climbing through.
Makoto’s gaze stays on it for another five seconds before he’s grabbing the fumbling man and dragging him back.
He places him in a chair towards the back of the room then makes to filling up boxes with any document, checkbook, or item he can find. He snatches the rug off the ground and throws it behind him, leaning down to pry off the loose board he’d seen earlier. Dust starts to collect around his face the second he does but a room’s clearly hidden underneath.
Makoto turns to the other man in the room. “Know anything about this?”
“Nope,” he replies, popping the ‘p’ and shooting Makoto an almost bored look. “Nada. Zilch.”
“Then what’s your role around here?”
“Beats me.”
Makoto sighs. “And you expect me to believe that?”
“Believe what you want, pretty boy.”
He bites the inside of his cheek and gets to his feet, dusting off his pants. “You seem awfully relaxed for someone who’s about to be locked up in jail.”
“Do I?” He shrugs, or at least tries to before he’s wincing in pain. Then he mutters something under his breath, something that sounds suspiciously like, “At least I got my life.”
Then Makoto hears them.
Gunshots.
One.
…
Two.
…
Three.
His heart drops.
Haru only had two bullets with him.
He doesn’t ask what happened, doesn’t ask if this was a part of the plan, doesn’t care that he’s leaving this man alone to possibly escape. He just runs outside and makes towards the noise, willing his legs to move faster than they’ve ever moved before.
He stops at the intersection of two streets. The people him and Haru had called were there, as flashing lights and sirens surrounded the area. Briefly, Makoto catches sight of the boss, face down on the floor with officers around him. Whether he’s dead or not, Makoto’s not sure, nor does he care right now.
Instead, his eyes scan for a familiar head of dark hair and his breath catches in his throat when he sees it next to a stop sign.
“Haru…” Makoto nearly trips as he makes his way over to him. He feels a numbness spread through his body at the sight of his friend’s limp one. Haru isn’t moving and every bit of common sense flies out the window as Makoto forgets to check for a pulse, for a breath, for an anything.
He just gets down on his knees and zeroes in on the pool of blood surrounding Haru’s upper leg. He feels a wetness begin to sting at his eyes. “Haru…”
“Ugh,” comes a weak groan. Makoto watches carefully as Haru turns his head and lifts his face off the ground, coughing up bits of gravel that’d been in his mouth and wiping away sand that’d been smeared across his face. He seems confused, but after a few seconds of looking all around him and then finding Makoto, he purses his lips. “Well this is annoying.”
Makoto thinks he could just die, thinks that his heart is about ready to fly to the moon and drop back down again. “Haruka.”
“You say my name too much.” But there’s a teasing undertone to his words.
Makoto doesn’t argue. Instead, he takes Haru’s hand and begins to pull him up. “Here, let me help you—”
“Stop!” Haru groans, hissing in pain and clenching his teeth. “My leg.”
“Your leg? Oh,” Makoto remembers. “How did it—?”
“He shot it.”
“…So he did get you,” Makoto mumbles.
“Why else am I on the ground, Makoto?”
“Oh, well…I assumed… Or I was hoping that maybe you just tripped and…fell on a sharp rock… or something.”
Haru raises a brow as if to ask Are you serious?
He chuckles. “Wishful thinking, huh?”
“More like idiotic thinking.” He ignores the pout Makoto throws his way. “Just get me off the ground and patch me up, please.”
After getting a thumbs up from the Chief Officer and seeing backup enter the bar, Makoto does just that. He knows that later on he’ll be asked for more information, but for now he can take a breather.
He carefully slides his arms under Haru’s back and legs, lifting him off the ground and taking him to their car. He slowly sets him down on the hood and opens the trunk to grab their first aid kit, then heads back towards the front. “Hold your breath.”
Haru does, but the alcohol still burns like hell. He instinctively reaches for Makoto and the brunet lets him cling to his shoulders as he grabs the next thing he needs.
When he begins to mumble sweet nothings into Haru’s ear, the raven tenses with knowledge of what’s coming and digs his nails into Makoto’s back and buries his pained gasps into his neck as Makoto pulls out the bullet in his leg.
Haru collapses back onto the hood with a heavy sigh, sweat coating his forehead. Makoto keeps his gaze on Haru for a full minute, waiting for those breaths to become softer and less pained. He finally relaxes when he gets his wish.
Haru cracks open an eye. Makoto smiles when he does, and then the raven’s patting the space next to him. “Get on.”
He complies, lifting himself onto the car. Haru immediately puts his head atop Makoto’s lap. The two sit in silence for a while, and then Haru looks up at Makoto and Makoto looks back down at him. They share a look, and then the brunet leans down to press their lips together in a gentle kiss.
Haru gives a sigh of content and accepts the contact with open arms, but when Makoto pulls back, he’s scowling. “We’re on the job.”
Makoto slides his thumb along Haru’s jaw. “It’s always my job to be your boyfriend.”
The raven pushes Makoto’s hand away and turns his head, pink dusting his cheeks. “Idiot,” he mumbles, to which Makoto laughs. But then Haru gives a side glance as a corner of his lips turn up into a smile.
“Good job today, Haru.”
“Mm.”
“You were amazing.”
“It’s not like I did everything, Makoto.”
“Still.”
Haru scoffs. “You always say that.”
“I do, don’t I?”
But, as much as Makoto knows it annoys Haru, he can’t bring himself to stop. Because every opportunity to say that just means it’s another day Haru’s with him.
He’s gotten big scares before today, too. One time he entered a room to find Haru pinned against a wall, seconds away from god-knows-what. Another time, he’d found him trying to take on a guy with a gun with only a lamp.
But he’d never actually seen Haru’s body limp, seen him sprawled on the ground like he had just moments ago. He’d never seen him so devoid of life, hair strewn across his face and lips parted as if they’d taken their final breath. Everything he was feeling at that moment comes back to him, all the fear that ceased his ability to think.
He remembers Haru talking to him about it, too. He remembers lying on the bed together and Haru bringing up something dumb he’d done out of nowhere. He’d talked about how scared he was, and when Makoto promised to never put himself in such obvious danger, Haru had looked at him with a desperate stare and mumbled, “Stupid.”
He almost wants to say the same thing now.
“Makoto?”
He’s broken out of his thoughts and is met with Haru’s face, painted with concern.
“Told you that two bullets weren’t enough,” Makoto laughs weakly, gaze dropping to Haru’s wound as he tries to muster up a smile.
You scared me. I wanted to protect you, is what Haru hears.
“Makoto…”
The brunet looks up again and sees worried eyes, the blue in them softening by the second, and then his head is pulled close as his lips find Haru’s again.
It’s a long time before they pull apart.