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my hands carefully pushed the doors open before i peaked around the corners of the closet. i couldn’t pick up any footsteps or voices near me anymore — sweet relief making me run out of the building with haste.
this stupid case was driving me insane to a point of increasing my already bad anxiety and paranoia, fuck sonny and luca. this ain’t it.
“hey vox?” his deep voice sounded way different on the phone, i didn’t mind.
“what’s the matter, my boy? aren’t you supposed to be on this extravagant event right now?” i couldn’t suppress the annoyed “tch” coming from between my teeth as i rolled my eyes; it obviously didn’t matter to sonny who was helping him to get revenge on the mafia boss for the seventh time this month for whatever stupid reason and even more stupid pranks both pulled on each other constantly.
“i was ge’n sick of their dumb shit. did you know alban was in town? motherfucker threw me away the second his lil ki’y crawled back into his pathetic, lil, corrupt cop lap.” vox chuckled, clearly way too amused whenever i was the one suffering — since when did people enjoy watching me having a bad time with life this much?
“yeah, yeah, i get it, darling. i’ll get something ready for you, hm?”, at least i could always count on vox, “what are you feeling tonight?” i looked up, thinking. the moon was big but i couldn’t see any stars (the city’s lights too bright).
“som’n sickeningly sweet”, i managed to reply after a few seconds of nothingness in the line.
“of course, babe. see you in a few then.”
vox’ bar was by far my favorite place in the world. there were private rooms you could book or just walk into if they were free, a backroom with stripping poles — i would frequent if i was drunk enough and ike had enough nerves and shots intus to babysit me —, clean restrooms and most importantly: the bartender, vox akuma himself. for as long as i knew the ravenette one, he’d manage to make the perfect drink for your mood just by giving you a glimpse with his golden eyes; he was that one mystery i was never able to solve because i thought if i would, my world will turn itself into something i wouldn’t particularly like. i was so used to being inside my mind for most of my time awake, it was clear how fond i was of my own fantasies and delusions, reality just never fit into the bigger world picture for me.
“a ‘purple people eater’ for my cute little kitsune”, vox gracefully slammed (no clue how he makes that work, exactly) a sugar rimmed glass, with a very purple looking drink inside, right in front of me on the table.
“wouldn’t this be more fi’ing for a demon?”, i smiled at him before lifting the glass to inspect the beverage. it certainly did look very appetizing and sweet, the faint smell of cranberries enveloping me as i took a small sip.
“now come on, you’ll like this one more than me, anyway”, the demon chuckled and made his way back to the bar. ike was sitting at the counter, reading some book with a can of monster next to him. that was so typical, i couldn’t help myself but chuckle.
tonight’s music arrangement were two young men, dressed in black turtlenecks and jeans. their hair was accessorial enough to make them pop out on the small stage, no necklaces or fancy rings adorning their figures.
the violinist had a very interesting voice — clear and transparent like crystals, so rich and shiny — whereas his friend shined with the talent of actually doing vocal training. the soft sounds of the keyboard and fiddle perfectly matched the vibe of vox’ bar and the husky voices accompanying the tunes were definitely something i would listen to again.
after an hour (or two?) ike sat down next to me, the counter now too crowded for his relaxing reading sessions and high class chitchats about these and these novels with vox. he unceremoniously mixed himself a vodka-e behind the counter (the demon absolutely disliked anyone behind it, except for himself and that little twat of a cleaner) but nobody ever dared to lift a finger against the novelist.
“oh-oh, fulgur sure has some balls”, i snickered, watching the man talking to the violinist’s friend.
“let’s just hope he won’t give the poor guy regrets. vox really liked these two, he was thinking of making them regulars”, ike commented and i saw him smirk one of these million dollar smiles — deceiving and evil, lusting for pure chaos and all-knowing at the same time. ike eveland was one creepy motherfucker, no clue why vox and he were dating (or were they dating? i never asked, i just know they fuck a lot and go out for dinner sometimes).
“oh really”, i mumbled, not interested in the topic for real. i was just bored.
“mh, i’m gonna go to the restroom real quick. want anything from the bar?” ike shook his head as a response and i made my way through all the chatting people with the sticky glass vox had presented me when i came here.
“i take ano’er one of the purple ones you made me”, i told him before continuing my way to take the fattest piss on this timeline.
when i came back into the main room, fulgur and the pianist were having a chat in a booth not too far from mine and ike’s, while vox and the violinist talked over my fresh new drink — shit was looking like some toxic stuff he was planning on killing me with.
“thanks mate”, the second i grabbed the glass on the counter and turned away, the demon made me halt in my movements. i must’ve looked beyond pissed because the musician’s face turned all red while vox was laughing like the british rat bastard he was.
“why don’t you bring shu here over to you and ike, hm? i bet his friend is pretty occupied by fulgur right now.” i grit my teeth in annoyance; since when did my profession change from “detective” to “babysitter”? first luca asking me tag along with yotsuha for a whole week in paris, then sonny giving me that stupid order to spy on luca for the dumb event and now vox pushing this handsome little violinist onto me?
“am i a fucking joke to you, vox akuma“, i spat his name out like venom before dragging “shu” to our both, careful not to spill my pretty drink onto the polished floor.
ike raised an eyebrow when i sat the musician down next to him, getting comfortable on one of the chairs this time.
i’m not drunk enough for this.
“uhm, nice to meet you. i’m shu yamino. vox said i could stay here while uki is busy- only if you’re okay with it, that is.” fuck me, his voice sounds even better without the microphone.
“of course, it’s no issue. i’m ike eveland, it’s a pleasure”, there it was again, the million dollar smile every human being on the planet would commit all degrees of murder for.
a sharp pain on my leg made me hiss in surprise.
“ike, what the fuck-“
“don’t be such a brat and introduce yourself properly.” i looked at him through narrowed eyes — that little shit of a novelist, i hope vox ruins that slender, petite body of yours every night beyond repair.
“i’m mysta rias, private detective.” and since ike started this whole thing with the intention of “proper introduction”, might as well give this pretty boy my card.
the novelist’s disapproving look was everything i needed when shu took the card and read its contents: “‘private detective, mysta rias. expert in solving your case at day or night, with or without the police.’ wow, that’s pretty awesome!”
it was around two in the morning when luca and sonny waked in together, clothes ruffled and beaten up faces for everyone’s display. ike got knocked out from his third vodka-e and sadly wasn’t able to witness the two blondes fighting over who got to order first (vox used his voice to soothe their moods) and i decided to bring the novelist upstairs. shu had been drinking orange juice the whole time we were sitting here, mostly in silence, and i was starting to ask myself things about him.
as i picked up ike carefully (did he become even lighter?) shu gave me an anxious and asking look. i suppressed that deep sigh i had been holding for a few hours now: “come on.” shu seemed a bit less lost when i said that and it made me soften my expression a little.
“vox and ike live upstairs”, i explained while we made our ways to a door that said “employee only”. shu opened it and i looked into a face which i really hoped i wouldn’t have to encounter tonight — wishful thinking, really. vox that bastard didn’t take this little shit in just for it to live on the street.
“oh wow, kidnapping again, dear detective?”, a chuckle so fake, not even ike could beat it.
“shut ya trap”, was all i could muster with the three glasses of alcohol in my blood.
“brats being brats, i see”, their eyes wandered to shu, “oh hello there~” yeah no, absolutely not.
“yang, fuck off .” he grinned and walked past us, probably to vox, and i smiled apologetic at shu.
“don’t mind them.” he nodded awkwardly and we continued to walk up the spiral stairs.
“uhm, do you need me to bring you to your place then?” turns out fulgur left the bar with uki and uki had their car keys and there’s no way i’m letting this guy walk around town alone, especially not after the bullshit yang had tried to pull on him.
shu rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly: “well, he also got our apartment keys.” i sighed in amusement, eyes closing for a moment.
if i remembered correctly, all the rooms in the hotel next door were fully booked due to fall holidays starting. the motels on the borders were too far away and dirty, i’d never let an angel like shu yamino even lay eyes on such places.
“i have a friend who owns some fancy hotels here, lemme bring you to one.” that friend being luca kaneshiro, your favorite local mafia boss and trouble maker, of course.
“w-what?! no-“
“it’s alright, i crash there all the time and he doesn’t even care, i promise.” shu still didn’t seem to be completely fine with it — judging by his gloved fingers fiddling with each other or those sharp teeth nibbling on his lips (what a shame) — so i gently pushed him towards the bar.
vox was amazing at handling the whole thing by himself while talking to all the customers, occasionally yang. the second he saw us coming towards him, he sensed we needed some help (or more like i needed help convincing this little innocent sunshine to just crash at one of luca’s ridiculously expensive hotels). speaking of which, where did he and the highlighter even go?
“what can i do for you, my boy?” the demon just got done pouring some lime drink into a fancy glass before putting it onto a tray.
“ah, do you know where luca is?” vox raised his brows before giving me that shit eating smile. at this point i’m sure he didn’t take in yang out of pity anymore; all three of these shitheads living here have the same fucking smile.
“he’s still with sonny”, a reply simple and innocent for shu next to me but i knew, i knew it all.
sonny and fulgur were like brothers to each other, more than vox and fulgur were and those were adopted brothers for at least a few centuries. and siblings share, right? yeah, they share.
that poor uki guy, bet his ass will be so fucking sore tomorrow.
“ah”, was all i could muster as i watched yang taking the tray of cocktails, ready to serve the customer who ordered them.
“i’ll bring shu to one of his hotels, he doesn’t have his apartment keys on him.” vox seemed to understand the violinist’s position and gave him that kind of smile i remembered getting when i couldn’t solve difficult cases.
“since when have keys ever stopped you, mysta?”
“so you’re… you’re really okay with this?” shu’s amethyst eyes looked different outside.
“yeah, don’t worry about it”, his smile looked so fascinating to me, i could stare at it forever.
“okay, i got your word then, hm?” he giggled and oh my fucking god, who gave him the damn right to giggle like that?
i squatted down and took out my trustworthy skeleton key — that one thing in life that would never let me down. after a few seconds the door clicked open and i smiled softly at shu who looked at the lock in awe.
“oh my gosh! you’re so cool, mysta! thanks!”
“it’s noth’in, really.”
“you wanna come in for a bit?”
“uh, sure.”
shu was taking a shower and i was sitting on the couch in his room. he gave me the controller to his playstation, said i could pick a movie or series or game, whatever. and i didn’t know, really.
when he came back his hair wasn’t in a high ponytail anymore. he looked quite different in brighter colors and looser clothes — a lot more relaxed as well.
“can you sing a bit for me?” his eyes widened in surprise and his neck, face, the tips of his ears, turned bright red. i laughed.
“w-what?”, he fiddled with his fingers again- oh? long, purple nails? no, his skin was also purple. was he a demon like vox?
“yeah, uki was singing mostly, i didn’t get to hear you properly.” shu was quite taken aback but he slowly nodded before fishing the barely touched controller out of my lap.
“any songs you wanna hear?” he opened youtube, probably looking for karaoke videos he could put on.
“mhh, ‘m fine with everything”, i mumbled, leaning back a bit.
shu yamino managed to surprise me with his crystal clear voice, singing japanese songs like he belonged into them. he wasn’t quite as good as uki by any means, but the purple haired one took singing lessons, i could hear that. he had more control and confidence over his voice, trained to sing. shu here, he was trained to support; to play the violin as perfect as he himself was, and join in with mundane harmonies.
“ah, sorry, i didn’t even offer anything to drink!” he suddenly jumped off the couch, wide awake at three in the morning and hair as fluffy as i imagined clouds to feel like if they weren’t just water droplets midair.
i laughed: “don’t worry, i’m fine.” he chewed on the skin of his lips again before opening his mouth to speak. i didn’t give him a chance to do so, grabbing him by the waist and wrist to pull him onto my lap.
“really, i don’t need anything to drink.” his purple eyes stared into mine in surprise, a deep blush spreading across his cheeks cutely.
“m-mysta-“
“i know we… kinda just met but who cares?” he avoided my gaze, a small pout forming on his lips.
“what’s the ma’er?” shu was about to bite his lips again (luckily he didn’t because i really didn’t like how bloody they looked): “i… i’ve never kissed anyone. before… ever.” my body shook with how how hard i had to suppress my laugh, only a giggle making its way through.
“don’t worry, we don’t have to then-“
“mysta wait, i wasn’t- i wasn’t done talking yet.”
“hm? okay, okay, sorry, go on then.”
“i don’t… i don’t wanna wait my whole life, to do what’s on my mind. and i don’t wanna waste the whole night tryna decide whether it’s wrong or right, yanno?”
his warm body shuffled around on my lap, his soft legs pressed together with my right hand on his knees, my left supporting his small back.
“yeah, i know”, a small smile played on my lips while i locked eyes with him again, “i was the same a few years ago. i overthought everythin’. it took me a long while to get over it but vox helped me a lot.” he tilted his head to the side a bit and i was quite sure it was a subconscious habit.
“he told me ‘it’s my life, alright? and i can do whatever the fuck i want then. in my mind, i’m a billionaire.’ so i thought, why not? why not try it his way?“ shu seemed to understand, judging by the changing expression on his angelic face and that look in his eyes.
“mysta?”
“hm?”
“can… can we just stay where we are, right here in the moment?”
“of course, let’s just do what we want.”
the blush on his face blossomed like red roses, spreading over the soft skin of his cheeks so softly.
“kiss?”
“hm?”
“can… can we also kiss?”
“if you want to, shu, yeah.”
“…”
“do you want to?”
“y-yeah…”