Chapter Text
Now, if anyone had told Haru he’d be working with a rich jackass with no sense of human worth at some point in his life he would’ve either laughed because they were drunk, or punched them. If they had told him that someday he’d actually make something-like friends with the same guy, then he’d actually punch them. That joke would not be funny.
And yet, here he is. In the passenger’s seat of a car that probably costs more than his entire apartment building, belonging to no other than one Daisuke Kambe. In this car with Daisuke Kambe at 6 in morning, at which only the hardest workers are out and about, leaving their homes to go to their own jobs. It’s almost funny how life turns out. Almost.
In any case, he’s in the most expensive car he’s ever laid eyes on for a reason. He wouldn’t just set foot upon such a pompous vehicle without a purpose. And that purpose is that he and Daisuke are on a job. It’s nothing too strenuous. Definitely nothing that First Division will be working on.
It’s just a routine patrol of town, which is horrifyingly disappointing.
For all Haru enjoys about his job - getting to protect civilians and feeling like he’s part of something big and important - he genuinely hates these types of tasks. Routine patrolling is only ever appealing when something is in the process of happening. And stakeouts are only ever appealing when there is an actual threat, and even then he hates to wait. Occasionally they do traffic violations, which is the most irritating of them all; he has to go and check the expired meters in the hot Sun in the summer, or the biting cold in the winter and then write tickets for the cars parked in the designated spots for hours. He always feels like an idiot when he does it.
Anyway, routine patrol isn’t fun. Haru would usually sit in his car and drive around town with a forced smile on his face as Kamei droned on and on about Motoyama or something, gritting his teeth and bearing it all. Now with Daisuke there seems to be more of a tolerable silence. The guy doesn’t talk too much, and Haru doesn’t start up conversations the way Kamei does. If they were to talk, it had mostly been Haru’s indigent complaints about his rich methods and better-than-thou attitude and Daisuke’s cool replies in his usual composure, that same composure that made Haru want to punch a wall.
Of course, partners can’t function as, well, partners that way. And it had taken months of being around each other for the tensions to finally settle down. Daisuke had to learn that money isn’t always the best option when apprehending a criminal or when doing literally anything else.
Haru, in turn, had to learn that people grow up in different ways, and his partner was raised with a glistening gold spoon in his mouth; hence, he had no reference when it came to detective work, other than what he’s known in life. He had to also learn that money, honestly, can be a damn good option when it comes down to it.
After a few months of meeting, having taken into consideration their differing worlds, both can thankfully boast that their partnership is both effective and functional. Now, Haru can tell Daisuke’s moods with a twitch, and Daisuke can tell when to put money on the back burner so they can use more conventional methods of working - which Haru 100% prefers. In addition, not that it’s something the taupe-haired man would want to mention, but his partner can tell when he’s about to have and what triggers a panic attack. Daisuke, for one reason or the other, knows how to help him in that event.
In those few months of getting to know each other, it was only natural that they learned a few personal things. It’s never been a secret that Haru is an Alpha. He leaves his scent out and about on most days, usually unless on a job that dictates otherwise. Daisuke’s subgender, however, was a mystery up until Suzue “accidently” let it slip to him just around two months ago.
He’s an Omega.
It was certainly a surprise, but definitely not a problem. Daisuke had only rolled his eyes and nodded when Haru asked if it was true. It appeared he wasn't hiding it out of shame or fear or whatever else, rather because it was a "force of habit."
Why the Hell is it a 'force of habit?' he'd wanted to ask, but both Daisuke and Suzue had adorned an oddly distanced gaze at the time, and he didn't like that. He also hadn't wanted to pry into something private between the two of them. He still wonders about it now, but he tries not to ask.
Haru yawns, breaking his line of thought. It’s, like, the hundredth time he’s done so in this car, which he’d only been in for all of 10 minutes. He takes one glance at Daisuke, who doesn’t seem to notice the soft noise, nor seem to care if he does. The man doesn’t look too tired. If Haru had been on the wheel he probably would have been swerving as he fought off sleep. Still, the skin under his eyes seems darker from what he can see in the dim lights of the Bentley.
Of course they have routine patrol the day after nearly pulling an all-nighter documenting a case. It seems so fitting that the Universe has some sort of thing against Haru actually getting a full night’s rest, but it shouldn’t be so surprising; he’d learned long ago that some god or deity out there had a vendetta against him. Why would it have changed now?
Haru had woken up to a phone call in the ass crack of dawn. Inalert, his sleepy brain had instantly equated it to that of his alarm and he's jumped to get it. Of course, it hadn't been the alarm he'd set. No, he'd already slept through that. It had been a call from Daisuke saying that he'd be at his place in 20 minutes, so take a shower and get dressed. He had to rush around his tiny apartment to shower so he didn’t smell as ripe, then find clean clothes to wear (he hadn’t done his laundry in a while) in 20 minutes. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the entire time was filled with his stumbling throughout his home because the shower definitely didn’t wake him up.
Why on Earth hadn’t he made coffee-oh, wait. Yes, actually, he did. The Alpha shuffles around in his seat, grabbing a bag he’d brought that was lying on the floor around his legs. He bends down to reach and pull up its straps so he can get it on his lap. Hopefully it hasn’t leaked inside.
When Haru reaches into the thankfully-dry bag, his hands feel the smooth, cool surface of a green thermos. He pulls it out, sighing in pleasure as he thinks about drinking his coffee and finally getting rid of the fatigue - if only for a little while. But the bag is still strangely heavy when he sets to put it back down, so he reaches in there again and pulls out...another thermos? This one is blue. He sits there, still for just a moment, and incredibly confused.
Did - did drowsy Haru make two coffees? One for now, the other for later? But the coffee for later would be cooled by the time he felt tired again - he bought cheap thermoses - and even if it were still warm he likes his coffee pretty hot. He probably would have thought of that. So...why are there two? He definitely didn’t make any other drink than coffee in the rush to get himself ready.
How did I have time to make two coffees, anyway? Haru asks himself, eyeing the second thermos. He hardly had the time for breakfast - which had consisted of quick toast and an apple.
The Alpha tries to think back to his sleep-addled thinking patterns in the early morning. He had known he would have been tired, so he made coffee and some breakfast. He had also known that coffee in a regular portable flask would have cooled too easily, and he prefers to drink really hot coffee so he brought out a thermos. Daisuke would probably have been tired as well so maybe he would want some too-oh.
Oh. The blue thermos is for Kambe! Of course. That makes sense.
Haru doesn’t ask himself why he’d thought to make one for his partner. A partner he’d never made coffee for before. Probably an act of goodwill from his lethargic self.
“Here,” the Alpha says, holding the thermos in Daisuke’s direction and breaking the silence in the car. The raven-haired man takes one glance at it from the corner of his eye, then raises an eyebrow in question. “It’s coffee.”
Daisuke hums, his attention back to the road. “No, thank you.”
Oh. He honestly should have expected that, but the reply doesn't satisfy Haru in the slightest. In fact, it kind of damages his pride a little?
“Take it,” he urges, shaking it lightly as he inches it closer to the man’s face. They’re at a red light, otherwise Haru wouldn’t be pushing coffee into the face of the person driving. Daisuke actually turns his own head to him and bores his composed gaze into Haru’s.
The Alpha isn’t fazed. He stares right back.
"Don’t give me that. I know you're tired as shit right now, Kambe. You finished work just as late as I did, probably went to bed a lot later, and definitely slept less than me," he says, thinking about how his partner had said he’d showed up to the office previously and waited for him there. "I can see the bags forming under your eyes, so take. The. Coffee." He punctuates it by pushing the drink even closer to the man's face.
Daisuke stares at him with a blank expression for a good moment, making Haru feel oddly self-conscious right there on the spot, but he finally takes the drink in hand, albeit carefully. The blue thermos is cool on the outside, but when he opens it steam comes out so he knows the drink is probably piping hot. Eyeing its contents carefully for a few seconds, he raises it to his mouth and takes a sip. It's actually pleasantly warm inside, much to his surprise. The taste isn't all too bad either.
His partner looks at him with a smug smirk when he drinks it and sees a small amount of tension leave his body. "I didn't know what you took so I put in a little bit of everything I had for coffee in there."
Daisuke turns his face away from him, but mumbles a small, but grateful, "It’s good. Thank you, Katou," to the side.
Haru's smug smirk slides into an oddly pleased smile. "You're welcome, Kambe." Seeing him actually enjoy the coffee he’d struggled over makes the scramble pretty worth it. The truth is - now that he somewhat remembers this morning - he'd panicked around in his kitchen for sweet things that would appeal to Daisuke's Omega taste-buds. It’d made him feel kind of guilty when he’d based what to put into his partner’s coffee off of his subgender. Felt like stereotyping in a way. Of course, Daisuke actually seems to like it so he may have been right, surprisingly.
He still has no idea why he went through the trouble though. For some reason, he'd thought about how Daisuke was coming to pick him up, probably having woken up an hour ago and waited at the office for him - and he had slept through his alarm so he hadn’t shown - before driving over. That placed him at even less sleep than Haru and that's not something the Alpha is particularly happy about.
Haru had made the coffee to the best of his fatigued ability, and yet...he feels kind of inadequate? Daisuke probably drinks his coffee from fresh grounds from the Amazon and with a splash of French Vanilla. Haru doesn't have any of that at home, just some instant coffee, some honey, some sugar, some cream, and cinnamon or nutmeg he uses when he cooks.
It's pretty easy to see his partner's distaste for things, especially if he hasn't tried it before, and Daisuke had turned his face from him after drinking it. Maybe he hadn't liked it? But he'd said, "It's good," so maybe he did? Daisuke doesn't conserve feelings by lying about it. He wouldn't have said that if he hadn't liked it. Probably would've complained about it actually. Or maybe not? Who knows? C'mon, being partners has to have paid off for something?
Why the Hell am I still thinking about it? he thinks, scrunching his face as he absentmindedly looks out of the window. It's been 5 minutes already. C'mon. He did a nice thing for a coworker and that's that. Just, focus on outside.
It's still pretty dark outside, even with the street lamps on, and there are hardly any people walking or cars driving on the road. The Sun won't be up for another hour or so. Crime can start at any time of the day, but Haru seriously doesn't understand why he had to wake up at 5 am in the morning for this. Now he's in a warm, comfortably silent car, running off of like 5 hours of sleep. Honestly, even after drinking some of his own coffee, his vision is blurring; he's probably going to sleep in the Bentley.
"Two teaspoons of cream and one teaspoon of sugar."
What?
Haru jolts at the sudden statement. He slowly turns to look at Daisuke, whose eyes are on the road. Did...did he dream that up? Or…?
"Did you say something, Kambe?" he asks, already embarrassed if he says no and he actually did dream that.
Sharp blue-gray eyes quickly glance at him from their corners before returning to the road. "Two teaspoons of cream and one teaspoon of sugar," Daisuke repeats softly, "That's how I take my coffee."
Haru blinks. "Oh." Shaking his head to wake himself up, the Alpha straightens up in his seat and turns his attention to his partner. "No French Vanilla?" he can't help but tease.
Daisuke smirks, his tone turning amused, "Only occasionally." Haru has to roll his eyes at the smug bastard, but it's all in good nature. This is nice, their normal bickering. It's silent in the car for another few minutes, then the raven-haired man says, "Your coffee is fine as well. What grounds did you use?"
He...actually liked his coffee? Damn, if that doesn't please Haru a lot more than it should. "It's...instant," the Alpha explains, hardly batting an eye at the way the Omega had expected it to be made.
Daisuke's eyebrows furrow in confusion. "Instant?".
"The coffee, it's these weird crystals. Just pour some hot water or milk in a cup or something and stir in a teaspoon or two of the coffee crystals. You can add whatever you like to it, I prefer to add just a little honey, but you can take it without anything else. And you're done." It's hard to place how Haru feels to be explaining instant coffee to Daisuke.
Proud that he knows something else that he doesn't? Poor, because it only proves Daisuke gets his freshly made? Happy, maybe, because he's the first one to get to see him drink something made instant other than those noodles on their first case together? None of those quite reach it. He feels all of those in some strange mixture of emotions, but it's smaller than the unnamed one. He's definitely felt it before though… It's just...different, with Daisuke. Stronger, maybe?
Hm. Well, that’s something he’ll have to worry about later.
“Well,” Daisuke speaks up again, "your instant coffee is...nice,” he finishes lamely, but the Alpha gets the sentiment behind it. A few months ago he would have taken that as ungrateful.
“Never had it before I'm guessing?” Haru questions despite already knowing the answer.
“No.”
“I’m happy for mine to be your first then,” he teases, then stiffens at the way that sounds. Heat rushes to his face and Haru hurriedly adds, “Y-your first instant coffee, I mean!”
His partner doesn't reply to that, not that Haru had expected a response. He turns his head to face the moving sights in the window so the heat can dimmer in his cheeks. Haru doesn't see the way Daisuke looks at him - even with his attention back on the road - and then smiles.
For now, they'll just sit and enjoy the silence.
-and work because, yes, they’re still on patrol.