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They were between missions. In transit to… somewhere. It didn’t matter where they went, at this point. Kougami was always a little ill at ease when they returned to Japan, but Ginoza looked forward to returning to his home country. It was when they left again that he started to feel forlorn.
Ginoza was staring out the window of the plane, only half-paying attention to what Kougami was saying until he heard a name.
“What?” he snapped, surprise coloring his tone. “What did you say?”
“I said I had a very strange sense of cognitive dissonance when I went to see Akane,” Kougami repeated, unsure of what had irked his friend.
Ginoza scowled. “Since when do you drop formalities with Tsunemori?”
Ah, thought Kougami, that’s what this is about. Out loud, he teased, “Why? Are you jealous, Gino?”
“Tch.” Ginoza refused to deign that with a response. He was not jealous. Not of Kougami calling Tsunemori by just her given name, the closeness between them, Tsunemori’s obvious affection for Kougami, and certainly not of Tsunemori being the object of Kougami’s attention. Ginoza had worked with Tsunemori for years longer than Kougami had, he knew her better. He’d also known Kougami for longer than she had, regardless of their fraught relationship while Kougami had been his Enforcer.
Kougami leaned over, good-naturedly elbowing Ginoza. “Would you like me to call you Nobuchika?”
“It’s been nearly twenty years. Don’t you dare start calling me that now.”
“Why not?”
“I will punch you.”
“Are you blushing?”
“No,” Ginoza insisted, but both of them knew that he was.
Their humor held for another few quiet minutes before falling back into their usual companionable ease.
“Do you think we’ll all three be together again?” Ginoza asked into the silence, once again looking out the window.
“Of course we will,” Kougami replied almost immediately. “Akane still believes it. You should have more faith in her.”
“I do,” Ginoza replied. “All of my faith is in her. But I can’t help but worry.”
The corner of Kougami’s mouth quirked upwards in amusement. Some things never changed. He put a hand on Ginoza’s shoulder, a gesture of affection, of support. “Keep your mind on what’s ahead of you, Gino. We’ve both had plenty of time already to worry needlessly.”
Ginoza appreciated both the physical gesture and the reminder. Left to his own devices, especially after he’d become a latent criminal, he was unfortunately prone to creating worst-case scenarios in his mind. He tried to stay realistic, logical, cool-headed, but there were some tendencies that had always been difficult to curb.
“You’re right,” Ginoza agreed. “My time would be better spent worrying about you, wouldn’t it?”
“I thought the idea was for none of us to make the others worry.” Akane had told Kougami once that she didn’t want them to worry about her. She was safe where she was. She had also tasked him with watching Ginoza’s back, keeping both of them safe while they were out on missions. She didn’t want to lose either of them.
“That’s rich, coming from you,” Ginoza grumbled.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Figure it out.”
“I’d rather have you tell me… Nobuchika.”
To give him credit, Ginoza moved fast. Kougami didn’t have time to move out of the way of the punch, and then immediately brought his hand up to cover his nose.
“Oi, that’s low. That was your left hand!”
“And?”
“That hurt, damn it!”
Ginoza crossed his arms with a satisfied expression. “It was supposed to.”
Kougami’s own expression shifted back to amusement, and he relaxed. After a few moments, Ginoza relaxed, too, a small smile briefly alighting on his face.
“Save your affections for Tsunemori.”
“It wouldn’t kill you to be a little more affectionate with her, either, Gino--”
“I know.”
“--but I know she understands you at least as well as I do.”
Ginoza blinked in surprise, and then laughed softly.
He had to admit, they did all understand one another very well.