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“Kojiro!” Cherry’s voice was shrill as he burst into the restaurant after hours. “Delete it. Right now.” He stopped just short of where Joe was leaning against the counter, waiting for him.
Joe smiled and offered a wave. “Good evening, Kaoru.”
“Delete. It.” Cherry ordered, teeth clenched tight.
Now, let it be known that Joe was completely aware of the ‘it’ to which Cherry was referring. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to enjoy this a little bit longer. After all, pushing his childhood friend’s buttons was one of his most favorite things to do. “Delete what?”
Cherry balked, then quickly recovered. “Don’t play dumb, you great ape!” he growled. “Reki and the others told me you showed it to them.” There was a light dusting of pink high on his cheeks that Joe desperately wanted to darken, but he played it cool.
“Honestly, Kaoru,” he began, pulling his phone out of his pocket and swiping to unlock it. “I just thought our kids deserved to know what you looked like at their age.” He flashed the screen so Cherry could see. “This is a really good one, too.”
The photo was a bit grainy, but it wasn’t so low quality that one couldn’t make out every single piercing. Well, those that were visible, at least. But the best part was the stance. Cherry looked like a wannabe delinquent, with his head held high and his lips forming quite an imposing sneer.
What the viewers couldn’t see was the bit of the photo that had been cropped out, where Joe was making the same expression. But their kiddos didn’t need to see that.
“Where did you even…” Cherry trailed off. “Never mind. Delete it.”
“Why?” Joe asked, turning the screen and giving the photo an appreciative glance. “It’s cute.”
“It is not cute,” Cherry argued, baring his teeth. “Give me your damn phone so I can erase it.” He made to grab for it, but Joe held it up, just out of reach.
“Now, why would I do that?” Joe questioned, pulling back and tapping his phone to his chin.
“Kojiro…”
“This is a memory frozen in time, Kaoru,” he reasoned, barely containing the laughter bubbling up in his chest. He was having too much fun.
“You,” Cherry began, stepping closer and thrusting a finger right in Joe’s face. “You are going to delete that photo.”
Joe reached up and grabbed a hold of Cherry’s hand, keeping it in place as he closed the remaining distance between them, their noses nearly brushing as he spoke. “Make me.”
For a millisecond, blink and you would have missed it, Cherry’s eyes widened a fraction before immediately narrowing into murderous slits. “You want to run that by me again?”
With a low chuckle, Joe slipped his phone back into his pocket and lowered the hand holding Cherry’s so they were chest to chest. “I said,” he whispered. “Make me.”
And Cherry, never one to back down from a challenge, simply grinned. The fake one he used when what he really wanted to do was chew the other person out. Joe had seen him make that face in front of boorish clients dozens if not hundreds of times. “You don’t know what you’re asking for,” Cherry threatened sweetly, all fake, almost cloying.
“Now, that’s where you’re wrong,” Joe returned, bringing Cherry’s trapped hand back up to his chest. “I know exactly what I’m asking for.”
Cherry broke first. Joe knew he would. After all, that had been his goal. There was always a point where, if Joe played his cards right, Cherry would attack him in a different way. Of course, there was also always a chance that he’d push the wrong buttons and get a swift kick to the shins.
“You’re the worst,” Cherry hissed as he practically smashed their lips together. Joe smiled against his mouth. “I can’t believe--” Cherry pulled back to breathe. “--you showed them--” He drew back farther this time. “Upstairs.”
It wasn’t a question.
And Joe apparently wasn’t following fast enough, because Cherry stomped back over and grabbed his arm, dragging him across the restaurant.
“Okay, okay,” Joe laughed. “Let me lock the front door.”
Later. Much, much later. Joe hummed softly as he combed his fingers through Cherry’s hair. The other was asleep, or nearly there, and he just looked so...gorgeous. And, because Joe was an absolute genius when the mood stuck, he quickly grabbed for his phone. However, the shutter sound caused Cherry to stir.
“You’d better have deleted that,” he said, voice a little rough. He was squinting up at him.
“I did. I promise.” Joe held his phone up with one hand and placed the other over his heart. “You know, I was wondering…”
Cherry was awake now. He turned onto his side and propped his head up on his elbow. “What?”
“Why didn’t you just have Carla sneak into my phone and erase the data?” he asked.
“She doesn’t work that way.” Cherry rolled his eyes. “Besides...I wouldn’t have gotten to--” He paused, his face turning red. Well, maybe he was only just now fully waking up. “She doesn’t work that way,” he repeated.
“I see…” Joe hummed and set his phone on the nightstand. “Well, you convinced me to delete it, so I guess it all turned out all right.”
Cherry scoffed. “For you.”
“And you,” Joe offered. “Three times.”
“Kojiro!”
Joe snorted. “I’ll miss that picture, though.”
Cherry flicked him on the forehead. “And what about the one you just took?”
Ah, so he’d been caught. “Hey,” Joe said, lifting his hand toward Cherry’s forehead to return the favor, but stopping just as the other flinched. He leaned down and pressed a kiss there instead. “That one’s definitely for my eyes only.”
“Oh?” Cherry raised an eyebrow. “So, you won’t delete it?”
Joe wrapped an arm around Cherry’s waist and pulled him closer. “Not unless you make me.”