Work Text:
Attorney Kaikei Shiro couldn’t believe what the man on the other side of the table was saying to him. The administrative assistant had brought this bottle blond into the firm’s private meeting room with a lot of giggles and coos and, for some odd reason, a broad wink at him. The only name this client would give was “Hiroto,” which, frankly, sounded like a host club moniker. Shiro took a moment to shuffle some papers as an excuse to gather his thoughts. “I’m sorry, Mr. Hiroto. What was the problem again? Why did you insist on seeing me?”
“You’ve got to help me. I’m being blackmailed. There’s a lady at the Host Club I work at. She’s threatening to charge me with prostitution if I don’t go out on dates with her.”
Shiro nodded along to Mr. Hiroto’s tale of woe. Clasping his hands in his lap, he said gently, “This sounds very troublesome, Mr. Hitoro. I would love to help you, but I’m not a criminal lawyer. This firm is in family practice.”
Hiroto was starting to look desperate. “But, you have to help! There’s no way I did what she says I did. I don’t do that het shit. I’m gay.”
“Language, please. This is a respectable institution.” Prostitution law in Japan only prohibited the sale of coital acts between a man and a woman. There was nothing illegal about selling literally any other sexual act. Shiro could appreciate this man’s problem, but he still didn’t understand why Hiroto had come to him, of all the lawyers in Tokyo. “Forgive me, but I still am uncertain why--?”
“I’m broke as fuck! I’m aging out of this job as I’m sure you can see!” Hiroto gave an exaggerated indication of his body, but Shiro thought the man looked impressively in good shape. Though if Shiro looked closely, he could see some crows feet at the corners of his eyes, which Hiroto was clearly attempting to cover with make-up--a trick Shiro would never stoop too. Still, he was clearly still going to the gym and eating well. Hiroto continued: “I need someone willing to do pro bono work!”
Well, Hiroto had certainly come to the wrong place if he was expecting work for free.
Shiro was about to tell him that when sobbed loudly, “I heard Kenji hooked up with a lawyer. It took forever to find you! You have to help me! I’m your boyfriend’s ex!!”
What?? Shiro just about crumpled up the prop papers in front of him at that.
“Please keep your voice down, Mr. Hiroto.” Shiro got up and closed the door to the private interview room more firmly. He paused for a moment wondering if Osama Uemachi and Koyama Shino were listening in. It was impossible to know, though it was not at all difficult to imagine them with their ears pressed firmly to the door. Shiro put his back against the door for the moment. Taking a breath, he straightened his jacket. “Maybe you’d better start at the beginning again, Mr. Hiroto.”
#
In the end, Shiro was able to properly introduce Hiroto to a friend of a friend of an old law school colleague who worked pro bono at Hō terasu, the Legal Services Center. He took the time to meet with the other lawyer, explain Hiroto’s situation.
On the walk over to the other attorney’s office, Shiro had carefully explained, “This is the very best I can do for you.”
Hiroto clung to Shiro’s arm and made sad eyes. “But this other guy, he’s not gay! Will he really treat me right?”
“Of course he will. He took an oath, just as I did. Besides, he comes well recommended,” and free, which was not easy to come by! Shiro brushed off Hiroto’s arm, irritated, feeling more free to be a bit bitchy now that they were away from the office and alone. Had Kenji really found this kind of clinginess attractive? Shiro gave Hiroto a serious once over and added, “I don’t know if your… client felt she could harass you because you’re doing other sex work, but just remember that none of that is strictly illegal. You never have to mention you’re gay, if you don’t want to.”
Hiroto seemed annoyed by that. But, once they had met and the other lawyer and the lawyer had proven not only competent, but also creative--and shockingly open to the “it couldn’t have happened because I’m gay” defense--Hiroto seemed to settle down. By the end, Hiroto agreed to work with the other attorney.
They parted ways with Hiroto giving Shiro a sassy air kiss and a very pointed, “say hi to Kenji for me!”
Shiro might have had a response, but he really needed to get to the grocery store before heading home to make dinner. This little unpaid side job had already wasted enough of his time.
#
As Shiro inspected the sale items, he tried to remember if Kenji had never mentioned dating a sex worker. Maybe he did mention something about having worked behind the scenes at a Host Club long ago. Perhaps? Shiro had to admit that he wasn’t always the best boyfriend when it came to keeping track of things like exes.
He walked through the aisles, checking the freshness of produce and, of course, prices. He pulled out his reading glasses and, with a glance to see if anyone was looking, slipped them on so that he could check the coupon flier.
Oh, the price for potatoes was amazing!
He stood in front of the packages for a long moment, considering. The important question before taking the plunge was whether or not he could think of enough dishes to use up the whole half pound? For just the two of them a half a pound was almost too much, but potatoes were a great “filler” vegetable for stretching meals.
Shiro thought about what he had in the freezer, the leftovers, and considered leaving the potatoes behind, but that price was just too tempting. It was such a good value for so many, and for such a versatile vegetable.
Even if they weren’t super high in nutritional value.
With that sorted and the rest of the shopping done, Shiro headed home. He shrugged deeper into his jacket. The weather was turning colder. With the potatoes weighing down his bag, he thought had just the thing for dinner tonight.
#
When he got home, Shiro anxiously checked the clock. Despite the unexpected detour to the Legal Services Office, he had plenty of time to make the dish he was planning, despite the need for the liquid to reduce. After changing out of his work clothes and putting on his apron, Shiro washed his hands. The rice cooker was all set, so he set down to prepare a Western-inspired comfort food, nikujaka.
He talked himself through the steps of the recipe as he worked. First, peel the potato and cut into irregular sized chunks. Round the corners off each and soak in a bowl of water. This cutting technique, called ‘mendori,’ is used to avoid the vegetables such as potatoes, pumpkins and radish broken apart. Shiro set the soaking potatoes aside, and found the carrots he had in the fridge. After selecting a good sized one from the bag, he brought it over to the counter.
Careful of his fingers, he peeled a carrot and cut it into 4 lengthwise strips. Once the strips were cut, he continued to make them into thin sticks. He did the same with an onion, first cutting it in half and then making narrow diagonal slices. Next he trimmed both ends of a handful of green beans and cut them into neat, small pieces, as well.
Finding a small pot from the cabinets, Shiro brought water to boil. Pulling out a packet of konnyaku noodles (sometimes called shirataki noodles) he roughly chopped them in half and then placed them in the pot to boil. In a few minutes, once they were soft and had lost their fishy smell, he’d have to remember to pull them out and drain them.
In a pot, he heated a bit of oil over medium heat. To that he added the onion, carrot, and potatoes. Once the vegetables were coated evenly and the edges of the potatoes were transparent, he added the beef.
Things were starting to smell amazing!
Just then, Kenji came in and happily announced, “I’m home! Oh, dinner smells so... homey!”
Shiro smiled to himself. “Welcome home, go wash your hands. We’re having Nikujaka tonight.”
Even though it couldn’t possibly true given how often Kenji said it, he rubbed his hands together and enthused: “Nikujaka! My favorite!”
Shiro returned his attention to the pot on the stove. The beef had just turned a light brown, so he added the dashi stock and brought everything to a boil. Kenji came back into the kitchen having changed out of his work clothes. He glanced over Shiro’s shoulder as Shiro removed the scum from the top of the boiling stew and made happy noises as he started setting the table.
Shiro wasn’t sure how he should broach this. Had Kenji told him about working at a Host Club? Had he mentioned this ex? He plowed forward, anyway, working on poking a small hole into a sheet of aluminum foil. “Someone you… knew?... contacted me at work”
“Work?” Kenji looked up, concern written all over his expressive face. “But Mr. Miyake has been divorced forever… oh god, is Diasaku going to formally adopt Wataru? Talk them out of it, Shiro!”
“No, it’s nothing like that.” The pot was set to simmer for fifteen minutes so that the potatoes could cook, so Shiro turned his attention to Kenji “It’s more indelicate.”
“More indelicate than the disaster couple finally getting hitched?”
It was a terrifyingly hilarious thought, but this was a serious matter.
“A… former… colleague of yours is being framed on a prostitution charge.” Shiro wasn’t sure it was against the rules to divulge his client’s name, especially since he’d passed Hiroto on to a different agency, but for some reason he hesitated to name names. Kenji continued to look baffled. Shiro could almost see his lips moving, recounting and then dismissing everyone he’d ever worked with at the salon.
“Okay, I’ll bite,” Kenji said finally. “Who is it? Is this some kind of scandal? Is it one of the girls? I know I’m always bragging to them about what a good lawyer you are--”
“No, it was Hiroto, from the Host Club.”
“Oh my god, Hiroto has got to be in his early forties! How is he still pulling at a Host Club? And prostitution? Isn’t that… straight sex? No way. Hiroto is a total bottom. I mean, kind of a power bottom, but still a total bottom.”
That was far too much information. “Well, it’s blackmail. He strenuously denies the charges.”
“Did you take the job?” Kenji seemed fascinated now. “It’s not your usual case, is it?”
“No, I sent him on to Legal Services. I’m sure he will be fine. I’ll be sure to follow-up, though, since he’s a colleague of yours.” Shiro couldn't quite say former lover.
“Ex, actually.” Kenji admitted. “We dated for two years, I think. But he cheated on me, so I mean, I’m not all that fussed. I mean, I wouldn’t want to see him go to jail, but you don’t have to go out of your way.”
“Nonsense. Of course, I’ll make sure he’s being taken care of.” Even though Hiroto had irritated him, Shiro had always intended to check-in at least, but now that he knew that Hiroto used to be important to Kenji, he’d be more diligent.
The timer went off, sending Shiro back into the kitchen to quickly add the sake, mirin, sugar, and soy sauce to the pot. After a few minutes, he added the green beans. Once the beans changed color, Shiro took the pot off the stove.
The stew was perfect for a cool, winter’s evening. Kenji, as usual, praised the flavors and the cook. It was true, there was nothing like meat and potatoes--so homey and comforting. As they finished, Shiro finally got up the nerve to ask the question he’d been wondering since Hiroto first showed up in his office. “Were you a host, too, Kenji?”
Kenji, who had just finished the last slurp of the stew, nearly choked on it. After he got his sputtering under control, he jokingly asked, “You think I’m cute enough?”
“Of course,” Shiro said without hesitation.
“You do?”
Why did Kenji always seem so surprised? “Yes, very much. I can imagine you being very popular with men.”
Kenji chuckled, “The customers at the host clubs are women, Shiro. Women can always tell I’m gay.”
“Oh, right.” Of course, the main clientele were women, that was why Hiroto could be blackmailed. Shiro had always avoided being dragged to host clubs by his legal clients who wanted to engage in nomikai,the after work social hour, so he had almost no experience with those sorts of places. “Did you like the work?”
“I worked in the back rooms. I did some bartending and janitorial work. I only accidentally hooked up with Mr. Number One, Hiroto, because the other guy he picked up that night was straight. So, I mean, not really? I did like being around all those pretty men, but it’s amazing how boring the conversations are in those clubs. It’s the same chatter every night. And it can be kind of sad to watch women throw away their money just to get a moment’s attention from a guy who’s faking it.”
Shiro didn’t feel like pointing out that the chatter hair stylists made with their female clients was almost identical from what he could gather. Still, at least Kenji was doing something he loved now. “I’m glad you’ve found something that’s made you happy.”
Kenji smiled lasciviously and leaned over the table to give Shiro a long, passionate kiss. The kind that sent shivers down to Shiro’s toes. When he pulled away, Kenji had left him nearly breathless. With another quick peck on the nose, he said, “Oh. honey. I’ve found more than one thing that makes me very happy.”
With a furious blush, Shiro snapped, “Let’s save all that until we’ve cleared the dishes, shall we?”
Kenji laughed. “I love you.”
Ingredients:
Potatoes
Thinly sliced beef or pork (thinly sliced meat cooks a lot faster!)
Onion
Shirataki noodles (Ito Konnyaku)
Carrot
Green vegetables (Most commonly snow peas, green beans, or green peas)
Seasonings – soy sauce, sugar, mirin, sake, optional dashi