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You’d think Yagami sleeping-in-couch Takayuki is in no position to host anyone to stay overnight, and you’d be right, except for when that person is Kaito, because whenever those two crush into Yagami’s office after bar-hopping all night, they are bound to wake up in the same place the next morning. Sometimes they find themselves entangled in sofa and practically on top of each other, a situation that always makes Yagami’s heart flutter (out of embarrassment, he thinks); sometimes they fall asleep sitting side by side as if they had just watched the world’s most boring movie, one head limping against the back of the sofa while the other rests on his shoulders; in yet some other times, only one of them gets to enjoy the luxury that is Yagami’s worn-out sofa, while the other sprawls unceremoniously across the wooden floor. Whichever case may be, what’s important is that they had fun, and they’ve known each other for far too long to care about the rest.
Today is one of those days, although they probably shouldn’t have had that much fun last night—they have places to be, and the clock is ticking. Hunched over the tiny sink, Yagami quickly finishes washing and grabs his bottle of moisturizer, rubbing the cream all over his face in a few rough wipes.
“What’s that?” Casually leaning against the kitchen counter, Kaito mumbles with a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth.
“Moisturizer,” screwing the lid back on, Yagami turns the bottle around and holds it out for Kaito to see.
“Mhn,” the older man makes a muffled noise that would sound like general acknowledgement to anyone else, but of course his long-time partner picks up the confused undertone instantly. “Kaito-san,” Yagami arches an eyebrow in mild disbelief, “please tell me you know what a moisturizer is.”
With an indignant huff Kaito mutters a string of noises that sound suspiciously like “it moisturizes”.
Yagami sighs, standing there quietly with the bottle in his hands, patiently waiting for Kaito to finish washing before he scoops up a big chunk of cream, takes a step forward and plaster it across Kaito’s forehead.
“Hey!” Ignoring the big guy’s protest, Yagami proceeds to take small portions from the lump of cream and pop them separately on Kaito’s cheeks and chin. “I’ll save you the lecture on men’s skincare, Kaito-san,” he says calmly as he continues applying the cream despite a squirming Kaito, “the key takeaway is—it doesn’t take anything and it just feels good. I’ll show you.”
And he does, cupping Kaito’s face in both hands, his long fingers gently spreading the layer of cream thinner and thinner until it turns translucent and melts into Kaito’s skin. He runs a fingertip along the straight line of Kaito’s nose, one that he lost himself in so many times while stealing glances at Kaito’s profile, and now that it’s Yagami’s job to cover it all he makes sure to not miss anything, sliding his thumbs down both sides of his nose over and over again, smoothing over the rough spots until the cream is properly melted, leaving only a subtle, watery shine.
Kaito’s skin is softer than it looks, and with its warmth radiating from beneath Yagami’s palms it just feels so nice to touch, and if Kaito is paying any attention he would notice that Yagami is spending a lot longer on him than the three seconds he spared for himself—Yagami has an excuse ready in case he does (“because your face is bigger”), but Kaito doesn’t say anything, so he keeps going, gliding the side of his knuckles over his favorite features, like the ridge of Kaito’s brows and the sharp curve of his cheekbones, his touch slow and deliberate like a gentle caress, catching every shape and turn until there’s absolutely no cream left to be worked on.
Reluctant to retract his hands yet, Yagami blinks up only to find that Kaito has been staring back at him. Suddenly aware of how close they are, meeting Kaito’s eyes sets a spark that lights his face on fire; Yagami jumps back, hoping that his blush is not as visible as the intense heat on his face would suggest. “There, done,” he smiles and shrugs, trying to seem nonchalant, “feels nice, doesn’t it?”
Kaito chuckles, his gaze trained on Yagami, studying him with half-lidded eyes that send the younger man’s heart thundering in his chest. “Yeah,” Kaito agrees, finally, his lips curl up into a playful smirk, “smells like you.”
With a crispy snap Yagami’s brain fully short-circuited, leaving him to watch with round eyes and burning cheeks as Kaito leans in incredibly closer as if to sniff him, the warmth of his breath blowing softly over Yagami’s lips, the tips of their noses almost touching. Kaito hums, parting his lips ever so slightly, and somewhere deep inside the pile of ashes that used to be Yagami’s braincells he hears himself asking if this is the right moment, the moment, and before he can answer he feels a hint of softness brushing over his lips, a fleeting taste of heaven that he can’t help but chase after so out of instinct he l
“YA•GA•MI——!!!”
Brutally crushing him back to earth is Higashi’s voice, bursting through the door with a loud bang that surely left a mark somewhere in his precious office. “Aniki?” The intruder stops dead in his tracks at seeing the two, now at an obviously awkward distance from each other. Higashi pauses for a second, before he turns to Yagami with a suspicious look.
Right, when the universe finally decided to bless him with the perfect moment, it also decided that it will last but two seconds. Yagami lets out an exasperated sigh, glaring back at the devil himself. “We were just about to leave, Higashi. Could you please be more gentle with my door?”
The way Higashi blinks from behind his glasses then looks away for a brief second makes Yagami think that he’s actually apologetic, although the detective quickly rejects the idea as unlikely. “Sugiura’s in the van, we can’t park here so let’s go,” Higashi grunts, waving his hand impatiently as he turns around and quickly vanishes out the door.
With another sigh Yagami picks up his phone and jams it down his back pocket; his day hasn’t even started yet, and it feels like it has ended already. Before he can gather enough energy to begrudgingly take a step towards the door and embrace whatever the world decides to throw at him today, Kaito comes up from behind and throws an arm around the now sulky and deflated Ta-bo, grabbing his shoulders with a wide grin and giving him a good, hearty shake. He puts his left hand on top of Yagami’s head and runs through his wavy locks, ruffling it, and Yagami can’t help but wheeze a little—Kaito’s big-brotherly behavior is as ridiculous as it is effective, never failing to lighten up his mood at least a little bit. There’s some humor in his misery for sure, Yagami thinks wryly, Higashi’s timing being in equal parts comedic and devastating. He wonders if he saw them. He also wonders if they actually kissed, or if it’s all just his wishful imagination.
He can feel his hair pointing at unusual angles when Kaito is done ruffling, then a big, solid kiss planted on his forehead. Kaito’s soft lips pressing onto his skin is never unwelcome, but this time all it does is sinking his heart further—so that’s what’s it going to be, Yagami thinks with a grimace, just a brotherly slash friendly moment and they’ll never get to…
“Hey, Ta-bo,” Kaito’s grip tightens around his shoulder, his deep voice pulling Yagami out of his own thoughts. Yagami tilts his head to look at him, and uncharacteristically, Kaito hesitates. His hand rubs against Yagami’s upper arm, once, twice, as if to convince him, or to pump some much-needed courage into himself. “We’ll…talk about it. When we get back. Okay?”
Yagami nods numbly before he could even process these words, eyes widening as their meaning finally dawns on him. “Really?!“ his head shoots up, eyes positively beaming, his own reflection in Kaito’s eyes dissipating any remaining doubts, and Kaito laughs wholeheartedly, his voice bright and clear as the sunny day. “Of course,” he gives Yagami a confident smirk, “when have I ever lied to you?”
He leans in, kissing him again, this time tantalizingly on the corner of his mouth.
“Now let’s go and kick some asses.”