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“Hey, Kaito-san,” Sugiura mumbled, his face smushed against the driver’s side window. The only downside to sitting in the stakeout van was when it rained—like now, which sounded like someone constantly pouring a bucket of ice cubes on the metal roof. “I’ve been thinking. Can we talk?”
“Hm?” Kaito cupped his ear.
“Can we talk?” Sugiura asked louder.
“Oh, eh, yeah.” Kaito scratched his beard, looking down much like a puppy caught chewing a shoe. “I've been wantin' to say sorry while it’s just the two’a us.”
Squinting, Sugiura peeled his cheek off of the frosty window and rubbed at the condensation on his skin. “Huh? What for?”
“Well, I yelled at you every time you brought Emi up. Thought you were just hounding Tabo for no good reason, like that smartass reporter,” Kaito huffed as he shrugged. “Smarter man would’ve guessed you had a reason.”
“Oh. Sure.” Sighing, Sugiura turned on the windshield wipers. It might be a giveaway that they were looking for someone, especially parked, but they weren’t going to see shit like this. “Yagami-san’s your boss and your friend—even if he can’t pay you properly and flakes because he’s too busy running away from the Keihin Gang. So, I didn’t take it personally at all.”
Kaito crossed his arms. “…Oh. Yeah, totally. Then, what did you think we were gonna talk about?”
Sugiura laughed. “Well, I was going to ask you about Higashi.”
“Sure, man.” Kaito leaned in, grinning. Well, that seemingly returned him to normal. Sugiura didn’t think he could handle hauling around a guilty lug in his van. “Whaddya wanna know? Where he gets his fancy shoes? Where he keeps the keys for Charles?”
“Number one, his shoes are a little atrocious, and number two, I don't need the keys to break in—I’ve done it before. Stop pulling your phone out, Higashi already knows that.”
Putting his hands up, Kaito said, “Okay, kid, you got me there.”
“No, I was… going to ask you how you knew that you liked Higashi,” Sugiura admitted, clearing his throat.
“Oh shit, I didn’t expect a deep cut! Girl talk in the van, huh?” Now, Kaito settled in his chair, throwing his arms up behind his head and closing his eyes. “Yeah, ‘course I remember. Higashi wasn’t like any other guy that joined the family. Didn’t walk around like he had something to prove. Kept his head down. He was skittish, like a baby deer, right? Really appealed to my more nobler instincts.”
“Gross.”
“You asked.”
“I guess you answered.” Sugiura glanced at Kaito out of the corner of his eye. “But he isn’t like that anymore.”
“I wouldn’t go that far. Sure, he’s changed, and I’m real proud of him,” Kaito said, “but he always just did what needed to be done, and he’s still doin’ that. What needs done just changed. I couldn’t protect him exactly like I’d wanted to, and we couldn’t see each other or talk without Hamura kicking our asses, but I knew that if anyone left in the family had the balls to face Hamura, it’d be Higashi. And he did, he played it real smart. Smarter than I ever would’ve, for sure.”
Nodding, Sugiura hummed, “That must’ve been difficult, though. You could’ve been separated forever if things didn’t work out.”
“Yeah. But I had faith.” Kaito opened one eye and smiled sadly at the roof. “I kinda had to. Because I couldn’t really imagine life with anybody else.”
Leaning on the steering wheel, Sugiura stared through the windshield wipers. The pattering of the rain filled the space between them. Finally, Sugiura said, “…Hm. Less gross.”
“Anytime,” Kaito winked. At least, probably, but he still only had one eye open. “So… Your turn for girl talk? You must’a asked me about this for a reason.”
“Oh, now that’s some deductive reasoning. Come up with that one all by yourself?” Sugiura raised his eyebrows.
“Yep. Comin’ for Tabo’s gig.” After stretching, Kaito fished out his cigarettes and lighter from his pants pocket. He stuck one in his mouth and mumbled around it, “So? Got your eye on someone?”
The redhead glared. “Are you smoking in my van?”
Lighter midair and flame just a hair away from his cigarette, Kaito blinked. “…Yeah? The guy’s been a no-show for an hour.”
“No! Get out!”
Sugiura punched Kaito’s shoulder until he got the picture. He couldn’t stand anywhere in sight of the love hotel, so Sugiura watched as Kaito stood and smoked on the sidewalk behind the van, under the smallest overhang imaginable. He looked very much like a dog left out in the rain.
Although he avoided answering Kaito’s question for now, Sugiura still pressed his burning cheek back to the window.
When Sugiura entered the Yagami Detective Agency, its titular detective was leaning far back in his desk chair, feet propped up on the desk itself. He peeked over his manila folder at the sound of the door and took a glance at the clock. A trail of smoke rose over the folder’s edge, as well.
“Hey, Sugiura,” Yagami said by way of greeting. “Do you think breaking into a woman’s ex-husband’s apartment and stealing her dog back for her counts as a crime?”
“You’re the lawyer, not me, Yagami-san.” After shrugging, Sugiura slid behind the couch and jumped up to sit on the desk in one smooth motion. “We fought a bunch of police officers and were fine, so I’d say take the job. I could easily do it in four days. Two, if the apartment building has cameras.”
Yagami’s leather jacket—which was extremely corny, just for the record—began to shake with his shoulders. He slapped the case file down on the desk next to Sugiura as he continued to laugh. Yagami delicately held a lit cigarette in his other hand. “Are you still wanted by the police?”
“Probably. But they don’t know my name or face,” Sugiura said, nonchalant.
“…Fair enough.” Tilting his head, Yagami tapped his cigarette over the ashtray. “So, what can I do for you? I didn’t need you guys for at least another hour.”
The other man nodded. “I know. I wanted to ask you for relationship advice.”
Yagami was in the middle of taking another drag when he stopped, staring at Sugiura in abject shock and horror. He closed his mouth before his cigarette could fall out, at least. “You’re kidding. I don’t think either of us actually want that. You’re kidding, right?”
“Geez, I heard you the first time.” It was Sugiura’s turn to chuckle. “Why do I have to be kidding?”
“Maybe because our local lovebirds would be the most obvious choice,” Yagami gesticulated wildly before crossing his arms over his chest. He really did squeak whenever he moved.
“Oh, yeah, I’m asking Kaito and Higashi too. I’m asking everyone,” Sugiura assured him, swinging his legs as they hung off of the desk.
“Fine, I guess. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t the first or only person you went to with this. That would be sad for both of us,” Yagami said before he groaned. “I don’t have any booze in the drawers… Anyway. Sure. What do you want to know, kid?”
Leaning heavily on one arm, Sugiura grinned at Yagami’s misfortune. “Thanks. Well, you and Mafuyu-san used to date. How did that happen?”
Yagami himself leaned on one elbow and pressed his face against his fist. He shot Sugiura a pointed look, almost too perplexed to be sour. “Sure. Well, proximity, mostly. Nobody wants to mix work and relationships, but most people don’t have the time to meet someone outside of work, lawyers least of all.”
“Right. But you’re not about to date Prosecutor Izumida anytime soon.”
That did make Yagami let out an incredulous snort. “No. He has a few too many sticks up his ass for me. Mafuyu’s also proper, but she was… Well, she is a very impressive woman.”
Sugiura nodded in agreement, but kept quiet, letting him continue. Yagami blew out smoke for much longer than necessary, staring ahead.
“We were young.” He spared a glance for Sugiura. “Younger. I had a lot of respect for her—still do. She was also good fun outside of work. It seemed easy, and it also seemed like the next logical step in life. But, because it was too easy, it was obvious that we would break up once I quit my job at Genda-sensei’s.”
Pursing his lips, Sugiura asked, “Obvious?”
“Mafuyu didn’t deserve to put up with all that. Even if she wanted to, it wouldn’t have been fair of me,” Yagami sighed. “We were following two different paths. Still are, so it makes more sense to be just friends.”
“…And your path is sleeping on the poor sofa of your ‘70s-themed bachelor pad, pinball machine and all?” Sugiura sat up straight and held his arms out in a question.
“Hey, don’t speak to your elders that way.” There was a newspaper or something laying under the case file, and Yagami slid a page out, balled it up, and threw it at Sugiura with visible effort. The paper was so thin that it stuttered in midair and landed harmlessly in Sugiura’s lap. Yagami huffed. “You’re really trying your luck today, which I’m graciously ignoring, as your very accomplished boss. I meant that I break national conspiracies in very unorthodox ways, and she helps break them in orthodox ways. Nothing wrong with either path.”
Sugiura pouted mischievously and mimicked very accomplished boss with his hand before beginning to unfold the paper. Looking down at his lap, he mumbled, “Whatever helps you sleep on your rock-hard sofa cushions at night.”
Yagami only raised his eyebrows, humoring Sugiura as always, and mashed the butt of his cigarette into the ashtray. After throwing his arms behind his head and reclining back in his chair, his leather gave a final squeak as Yagami spotted something and sat forward again, almost immediately.
“Wait, those are today’s coupons. Give those back, I need those!”
The usual Charles employee was fiddling with something under the counter when he heard the footsteps. Clearly having bumped his forehead on the counter’s edge, he held it and kept one eye shut as he stood up.
“Fuck. Closed,” the man spat out, gruff. Then, he lowered his hand as a look of confusion dawned on his face. “Wait, I thought I locked it so we could…”
“You did.”
“Sugiura,” he heard Higashi scold from the back room. He appeared from behind the other employee not a moment later, exasperation clear in his eyes, at least half-visible when his tinted glasses perched low on his nose. Sugiura had saved him for last because, despite dressing even worse than Kaito, Higashi felt like the most punctual and responsible of the four in Sugiura’s mind. Perhaps he could wear normal shoes now that Hamura had been put in check. And normal shirts. (Kaito would be much less cold smoking in the rain if they didn’t wear silk shirts.)
“You know that you can just text me when you’re coming over, and I’d let you in. That’s not a question. I know that you know this.”
“I know,” Sugiura smiled, “but it’s no fun that way.”
“I know,” Higashi sighed. He pointed towards the door for the other man. “Feel free to head out, and I’ll finish counting. Careful, it’s colder out tonight than usual.”
The employee didn’t hesitate, as he immediately finished arranging the books and grabbed his coat. He gave Sugiura a stink eye as he turned the corner, and the redhead only waved. He called helpfully, “I left it open for you.”
“I assume you’re here for more than to antagonize my employees.” Higashi put his elbows on the counter. The front doors slammed shut in the distance. “I’ll have you know that I haven’t refilled the gacha machines yet.”
“Employee. And that’s okay, I got the last one I needed yesterday,” Sugiura said. “I just wanted to hang out and talk.”
“Sure. Come on, I have drinks.”
Sugiura hopped over the counter instead of walking around, and Higashi rolled his eyes. They made the very short jaunt to the back room, beat-up couch, table, and all the bare necessities still standing. Although extremely clean, it was even sadder than Yagami’s office, but since Higashi at least lived somewhere else, Sugiura never made fun of him for it.
“Bunch’a teas in the mini fridge,” the other man gestured before flopping back on the couch. Higashi rubbed at his temples. “Sorry I don’t have any hot tea here.”
“It’s alright. I always wear layers. The rooftops get pretty cold,” Sugiura said idly as he squatted in front of the mini fridge. After he grabbed a bottle of jasmine tea, Sugiura sat cross-legged on the floor across the table from Higashi. After a brief reprieve, Higashi opened the money box again. Deciding he really would be somewhat helpful, Sugiura started grabbing coins and organizing them into little towers.
Noticing him, Higashi grinned. He asked quietly, “…So, did you want to talk about anything in particular?”
“Oh, yeah, actually…” Sugiura trailed off. He paused and sipped at his drink. “Higashi, is it weird to say that you remind me of my sister?”
He heard Higashi stop thumbing through yen. Blinking, Sugiura looked up tentatively, but Higashi’s face was just surprised, if pleasantly so. “Well, I guess not. I grew up with all sisters, so I’d like to think I adopted their better mannerisms.”
“Cool. Yeah, me too.” Resting his chin on the table, Sugiura straightened his tower of five yen coins. He admitted, “That was more embarrassing than what I actually wanted to talk about. I wanted to ask you a relationship question.”
“Oh.” Higashi gave a little shrug. “I don’t know much I could help you there, but sure, I can try. Are you in a relationship?”
“No, not yet.” Sugiura shook his head. “But you are. How did you and Kaito start dating?”
“What?”
There was an unpleasant, rusty crunch as Higashi shut the money box too fast, only pulling his fingers out at the last second. Then, he began drumming his fingers on the metal top, still filling the room with a hollow noise. “I—what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Whenever the group was alone, Higashi dropped whatever stony affect he used in his voice, but now, he bristled like a cornered street cat.
Sugiura held his hands up in a peace offering. “Relax. I know you heard me say that this was the less embarrassing question of the two.” He continued, “I’m sorry if it’s a whole thing . I asked Kaito-san the same question already, and he answered right away.”
He didn’t want to say that everybody already knew because he and Yagami were not a reliable sample size—Yagami made everybody’s business his business. And Sugiura was fairly certain that Yagami and Kaito held hands as they went to the bathroom together, so of course Yagami would know.
Higashi slowly relaxed until his hackles weren’t raised as high as his ears anymore. “Fuckin’ course he would… No, it’s not a problem. Just caught me off guard, is all.” Crossing his arms, Higashi looked away. He looked extra nervous in the arcade’s sickly fluorescent light. “Why are you asking the two of us about something like that?”
“Oh, I asked Yagami-san too.” That made Higashi laugh derisively. “Yeah, that was basically his reaction too. Well, I think I like someone, but being a miserable shut-in for your formative years kinda puts a damper on things, so… I haven’t, before, you know? So, I want to make sure it even makes sense. If it’s even possible for me.”
Sugiura grimaced and glanced at Higashi out of the corner of his eye. He tended to trust Higashi with most things—even if they had just happened to be dumped together after the lab and his Emi reveal, Higashi had helped when he didn’t have to. Sugiura thought he sounded uniquely pathetic now, but Higashi just nodded thoughtfully as the silence stretched on.
“Well, I can’t say it ever makes sense. I wasn’t looking for love when I joined the yakuza, just money for my family,” Higashi said after a while. “But Kaito is kind of a barreling train that can’t be ignored.”
The redhead smiled. “Right.” Kaito always adjusted the van seats so far back.
“I don’t know. I thought he was the most reasonable and respectable guy there. He had the boss’s respect, but like a real family, not like a suckup. Kaito was kind to everyone and patient to me, when nobody else would. He says that he’s not smart, which isn’t true, he’s just too honest. And it really felt like he was born to be a leader instead of forced into it, like me. ‘Course, that’s stupid looking back, because we were all forced into it,” Higashi continued. At some point, he lied down on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. “But he really was. I have no idea what possessed him to approach me—I wouldn’t have—so I guess it was just the leader in him. After admiring him from afar for months and months, he just randomly stopped me in an alley while we were running collections together and said we should go out sometime.”
“I think his exact words were something like you were ‘like a baby deer,’” Sugiura said, again, helpfully.
Higashi gave Sugiura a concerned glance over his glasses. “Are you taking notes?”
“No.” Sugiura slowly pushed his coin towers into a line. “It just stuck out in my mind because I hated it, a lot.”
“Fair enough,” Higashi laughed. Then, he cleared his throat. “…Kaito didn’t say anything worse?”
Squinting, Sugiura held onto the edge of the table. “Uh, no. He was tame.”
“Good, good. Yeah.” Higashi’s arm hovered over his face, but Sugiura could still see that his cheeks were bright red. “Anyway, family is tough shit. Living up to his expectations was hard, and even harder after he was gone. Well, my expectations—whenever Kaito says that he doesn’t care about any of that stuff, or that he loves me, I just completely believe him. I really wasn’t used to that, but it’s the most relaxing feeling in the world.”
“Mm.” Sugiura hummed and rested his chin on his hands. “I’m glad you two get to be together again.”
“Oh, yeah, I was falling apart toward the end. I don’t know if you could tell,” he said quickly and sat up. Higashi ruffled his hair where it began to fall out after lying on the couch and a long day of work.
Sugiura took a long enough drink to hesitate. “…I think I could tell.”
“Yeah, everyone could tell.” Higashi sighed. “That’s alright. It’s in the past. What about you, though? Am I allowed to ask you who you have your eye on?”
“You are.” Sugiura puffed his cheeks out. “That doesn’t mean that I have to answer.”
“Well, at least tell me this, then: do we know them?” Higashi asked, leaning forward and making direct eye contact with Sugiura.
“Yeah, maybe,” Sugiura admitted unhappily.
“Okay, okay,” Higashi backed off. “If you plan on asking them out anytime soon, I’ll just say be direct, but not too direct. I assumed Kaito was trying to kick my ass when he cornered me in that alley. He felt pretty bad about that one.”
“Right,” Sugiura said again. Higashi stood up, and he also stretched like a cat. Sugiura grabbed his drink and leapt to his feet as well. “No alleys, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You’re more than welcome to stick around, but I have to close for real. Are you done playing with the change now?” Higashi smoothed out his patterned shirt as he walked around the table.
Sugiura huffed. He said helpfully, “Hey, I also counted them for you.”
“Hey.”
“Oh, my God!”
Back to Sugiura, Hoshino jumped almost a foot in the air at the same time as he dropped his binder, resulting in the loudest thunk imaginable in the empty office. Sugiura was about to say something else when he had the wind knocked clean out of him.
“Oh, God, sorry, sorry, Sugiura-san,” Hoshino said quickly. Sugiura was doubled over at the stomach, and Hoshino bent down to meet him. They were squeezed in between the two desks, so they were lucky they didn’t knock heads. “I didn’t mean it. I—”
“‘s’ll good,” Sugiura wheezed. “Nice shot.”
“Yeah, sorry… I grew up learning karate, force of habit,” Hoshino mumbled, wringing his hands. He blinked at Sugiura, eyes bewildered and owlish.
“I could’ve dodged that.” Sugiura took a few deep breaths, and Hoshino grabbed him by the shoulders, gently unfolding him. When Sugiura stood straight again, he tugged his hoodie down. “You just caught me off guard, is all.”
“You? You caught me off guard!” Hoshino said, brows knit. They glanced at his hands on Sugiura’s shoulders at the same time, and Hoshino snatched them back sheepishly. “Um… Yeah, Genda-sensei told me to lock the door when I’m working alone at night, so I always do!”
“…The door was open, actually,” Sugiura cocked his head, “and it makes a noise, so I thought you knew someone else was here. I’m sorry.”
“Are you kidding? You never make any noise! You’re like… a thief, I guess. Well, yeah.” After crossing his arms, Hoshino closed his eyes and frowned. Sugiura noticed that Hoshino had rolled up his sleeves, blazer thrown over the back of his chair. As well as that backpack he carried everywhere. “Okay, yeah, I do forget to lock it when I’m busy, which happens a lot. Saori-san says that I’m going to murdered someday.”
“That sounds like her. That’s really cool, though. The… karate thing, I mean,” Sugiura said, lamely.
“Oh! Yeah, I guess. Heheh. Thanks.” Hoshino worried his lip. After an awkward silence, he slipped behind his desk and sat down.
Rolling his chair closer to his desk, Hoshino looked up and asked, “So, um, can I help you? I assume that Yagami-san sent you for something. Uh, if I forgot something, tell him that I’m really sorry.”
“Oh, no.” Sugiura jumped in front of Hoshino’s desk, leaning down a bit. He shoved his hands in his hoodie pocket. “Yagami-san doesn’t need anything. I was just in the area.”
That didn’t make Hoshino look any less confused. Sugiura could practically see the question mark over his head. “Oh?”
“Yeah, well.” Direct, but not too direct. Sugiura rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. “I texted Saori-san about you earlier and she said that you’d be at work all night. I didn’t think she meant that literally, but I was walking past on my way home, after midnight, and I noticed that the lights here were still on. So I randomly stopped in, thinking that you might be bored out of your mind. But if you’re too busy, that’s…”
“No, no, stay,” Hoshino said. Grabbing the binder that he’d dropped, Hoshino quickly flipped through it to make sure nothing had fallen out. When it was all in order, he snapped it shut again. “Ugh, I didn’t know that it was past midnight… I’m hopeless here. I didn’t think civil trials would have as much paperwork as criminal, just measuring more inane things.” He shoved the binder in a desk drawer and replaced the space with his laptop.
“Oh, if you get any cases concerning a stolen dog, just turn those down.”
Hoshino stopped typing mid-email to stare at Sugiura quizzically. “Huh?”
“Nothing.” He smiled. “So, does that mean that I’m allowed to drag you out of here?” Sugiura asked, a hopeful edge to his voice.
“Yeah, I should probably get home. I’ve been staring at this screen all day, I’m starting to see two of them,” Hoshino sighed. “We can walk together. Let me just…”
“I know that feeling,” Sugiura made small talk as Hoshino hunt-and-pecked the poor keys to death. Emi always said that he was going to ruin his eyesight, and Sugiura took her seriously, being a nurse and all. “Hey, you should look into blue light glasses. They’d look good on you.” Sugiura inwardly cringed, hiding it by turning his attention to the busy city beyond the windows. They were just glasses.
“You think? I don’t know, I feel like glasses always rounded my face out, making me look even more like a little boy than normal,” Hoshino said, absent-minded as he typed.
The other man arched his eyebrows. “I think that the backpack does that more than anything else.”
“Ha-ha, very funny,” Hoshino grumbled, but he was actually laughing, which ruined the act. “Everyone says the same thing until I’m the only one who has exactly what they need in an emergency.”
Smiling, Sugiura acquiesced.
He walked around the office for a few minutes to pass the time. Sugiura was tempted to unlock Saori’s snack drawer and rearrange them, but he didn’t. He wanted to live to see another day. Eventually, Sugiura slouched on Genda’s old sofa and threw his feet up on the table. He made sure that his shoes were dry before coming in here. Looking down, Sugiura could press his forehead to the glass and look at all the rain puddles reflecting Kamurocho’s ever-present halo of neon signs. The water sat almost like glass itself, since their street was mostly empty.
“ And , sent,” Hoshino announced suddenly, somewhere between a monumental event and a terrible chore that had taken up the last of his energy. Pushing his laptop away, Hoshino plopped his chin down on his desk instead. While lying down, he reached out to click at his trackpad rhythmically.
“Mhm, mh… Wait,” Hoshino stopped, pouting. Sugiura had leapt off of the couch, but he stopped, too. “Did you ever say why you texted Saori-san about me? I mean, I assume it’s nothing bad since you’re here, but if Yagami-san didn’t want anything…”
Right. Sugiura tugged on his hoodie strings with a wry grin. He crossed the office to stand in front of Hoshino’s desk again. “I guess not exactly. I… wanted to ask you out on a date.”
“Buh—really?”
After his initial outburst, Hoshino’s mouth tried to hang open, but resting on his arms forced it shut again. Hoshino pushed himself up on his elbows but remained hunched over, almost. He blinked. “I mean… really? Why?”
“…Why not?” Sugiura clenched his teeth and pulled his hoodie down again. Despite every nerve in his body screaming at him, he kept going, as Hoshino honestly looked—well, lost? “I think you’re cute. I mean, you impress me a lot. You went to law school, while I struggled to even finish high school. But, you know, you’ve never made me feel bad about it. You’re just smart. And funny, because you’re not afraid to argue with Yagami-san for an hour when he deserves it.”
“Oh. Well…” Hoshino trailed off again, face red. “I would hope that I, or anyone, haven’t made you feel bad. I mean, I think what you do is really cool. Genda-sensei—Genda!—told me the other day that I fell for a phishing email, I think it was?”
Sugiura forgot about the date entirely. He smacked both of his hands down on the desk. “You what ?”
“I—I thought I was donating to an animal shelter!” Hoshino squeaked, curling into a ball. “I’ve been looking for a pet online because I just moved into a pet-friendly complex and I thought, wow, how convenient! Sorry!”
“Oh my God,” Sugiura gripped the desk’s edge and sank to the floor in pure glee. His incessant laughter doubled him over even harder than Hoshino's punch. “Please, I can’t. Yes, Hoshino, because they can customize the emails based on your history!”
“Okay, well, I got another one today that looks more legitimate, so—”
“No, no, no, no,” Sugiura insisted, shooting up. “Show me. Please.”
Although he groaned, Hoshino clicked a few times and turned his laptop around so Sugiura could see his screen.
“It’s not.”
“You barely even looked at it!”
“Trust me. It’s not real.”
“Fine. I bow to your expertise, Sugiura.” Hoshino unfolded himself and sat normally. He flicked some of his hair back as he rubbed his cheek. “Um. I mean that, I really do. Uh… I don’t think I actually said yes. So, yes.” He drew out the soo before looking stricken. “Wait, unless you hadn’t asked yet. Did you? Ask, that is?”
“Yeah, I guess that counted,” Sugiura shrugged. He drummed his fingers along the wood. “I didn’t mean like right right now, unless you want to. But it’s already late and you have work tomorrow, so really anytime works for me.”
Standing, Hoshino folded his blazer over one arm. “Yeah, everything would be closed right now… Aw, man, did I even eat?”
“Come on,” Sugiura grinned. “We’re in the middle of a red-light district.”
“Oh. I guess, but I don’t think any of those are appropriate first date spots,” Hoshino flushed again.
“Oh, no, of course not. I just meant that there’s a lot of hole-in-the-wall places that serve food for 24 hours,” Sugiura said. “How do you feel about late night breakfast? I know one that makes the best waffles.”
Hoshino's entire face brightened as he grinned sunnily. “I happen to feel very positively about late night waffles.”
After Sugiura smiled back, he waited around as Hoshino cleared his space and threw his laptop in his backpack. Sugiura shuffled back to the windows, using his silhouette to adjust his layers and comb his hair with his fingers.
“Ready!”
“Great.” Sugiura whipped around and hopped back over to Hoshino. His tie was stuck in one of his backpack straps, so Sugiura pulled it free with a little chuckle. “You’ll have to let me pay tonight, since you definitely had your information stolen already.”
Hoshino pouted as they walked together. “Can’t you just steal it back?”
“Yeah, that's not exactly how that works.”
Sugiura waited again as Hoshino shut off the lights and locked the office up. Now that he was actually on a date—he guessed—he didn’t exactly know what to do next.
“Um… It’s colder than usual this week, apparently. Do you want my jacket?” Sugiura asked tentatively, balancing between the stairs.
Hoshino stepped next to Sugiura and twirled his keys on his finger before setting them in his pocket. “Does that make sense if I’m carrying my blazer?” Then, he paused and smiled, realization dawning. “I mean… Yes, of course, thank you.”
“I told you that backpack would get in the way,” Sugiura grumbled as Hoshino had to slide it off. Sugiura cleared his throat as he placed it on Hoshino’s shoulders.
Hoshino lovingly shoved him before fishing his arms through the offered jacket. Sugiura carried his blazer instead. “I’m telling you, we’re going to need it before the end of the night! I have bandages and everything.”
“Geez, don’t say that like you’re going to cut me!”
They laughed down the stairs and down the first street. Although it had stopped raining, a thick fog settled over the streets like a blanket, so the two men huddled close. When Sugiura led them down a winding alley, past someone smoking next to an open bar, he scrunched up his nose.
As they turned the corner together, Sugiura asked, “Do you smoke?”
“No?”
“Cool.”
“Those crazy kids,” Yagami said through a mouthful of katsudon. He had only been allowed into Kaito and Higashi’s apartment because Higashi cooked too much food.
“I know.” Kaito pointed his chopsticks like a weapon. “Sugiura’d tell us before he asked ‘em out, right?”
“Stop it. Both of your table manners are atrocious,” Higashi growled, throwing a hand up over the two of them. “Babe, he’s not tellin' you anything. You didn’t even know.”
“Sorry I’m not a fuckin’ tech genius or whatever, baby,” Kaito whined into his beer. He grabbed Higashi’s hand, entangling their fingers.
Yagami was laying down, propped up on one arm and painted with a smug expression. “Hey, I figured it out. Love's at least half of my business model.” Higashi just glared at him, and Yagami reluctantly shrank back.
“Yeah, right. And come on, Sugiura’s no boy wonder either,” Higashi said to them. “He acts like we couldn’t just look over his shoulder and see him stalking Hoshino’s Instagram.”