Work Text:
On a weekday morning, Kazami Yuuya was driving his boss, Furuya Rei, to work.
‘Furuya-san, are you feeling too warm? Would you like me to lower the temperature in the car?’
‘...Ah, no, it's fine. I'm okay.’
‘Oh, I just noticed your face seemed a little flushed... If you need me to adjust the temperature, please let me know.’
‘Alright...’
One minute earlier.
Furuya accidentally licked his lips. Hmm, where did that sweet taste come from?
Then he remembered. When he left the house this morning, Akai Shuuichi was having breakfast—oatmeal porridge with honey and fruit.
**************
‘Akai-san, have you started keeping a dog recently?’
‘…Well, sort of…’
‘That’s impressive! Keeping a dog takes a lot of effort, doesn’t it? Especially a large breed, as you must spend a lot of time playing with it, right?’
‘Uh… why do you think it’s a large breed?’
‘Because your shirt and jacket are covered in blond hair! You must have a golden retriever, right?’
As he spoke, Andre Camel looked at Akai Shuuichi with an expression that screamed, ‘Look, my deduction skills are improving! Praise me!’
‘No, Camel,’ Jodie Starling interjected, ‘there are other blond-furred dogs too, like Afghan hounds; and Labradors can be light-coloured as well…’
Akai scratched his head. If we are talking about personality, a golden retriever couldn’t be further from the truth. But still…
‘My companion with blond hair is definitely a handful…’
‘So, what breed is it?’
‘Uh… not sure. Probably some kind of mixed breed…’ Akai replied casually.
Inwardly, he thought, If a certain someone finds out about this conversation, I’m definitely getting punched.
******************
Akai Shuuichi parked his car in front of the house, stepping out with a dark expression.
Today's mission hadn't gone well at all. The target he was tailing had managed to slip away, undoing months of work by the entire team. Frustration weighed heavily on him, and all he wanted right now was to go home and hug his blond-hair companion waiting there for some comfort.
Upon entering the house, he called out a few times but got no response. A quick glance confirmed that Furuya Rei wasn’t home. Even Haro was missing, and the leash wasn’t by the door - Rei must have taken the dog out for a walk. Seriously? He couldn’t wait for me? Akai thought irritably.
Out of habit, he reached into his pocket for his cigarette pack, but only to come up empty. That’s when he remembered that he was trying to quit. With a sigh, he headed to the study and found his e-cigarette on the desk, but it wouldn’t turn on; the battery was dead.
It felt like someone had punched him for no reason. Annoyed and stifled, he slumped onto the sofa and pulled out his phone to call Furuya.
Just then, he heard voices from outside the window.
“Haro, look! It’s daddy’s car - daddy’s home!”
This was followed by the excited barking of a dog.
“Haha… You missed daddy too, huh? Let’s see who can get to him first!”
Akai dropped his phone and leapt to his feet, rushing to the door. At that moment, he felt like nothing more than a giant black dog, wagging its tail furiously as it bolted toward its family.
******************
Morning.
Furuya Rei was making breakfast while Akai Shuuichi sat at the dining table behind him, reading a book.
Halfway through cooking, Furuya turned around and glanced at Akai, only to find Akai looking at him too.
Furuya: ‘Stop staring at me and focus on your book!’
Akai: ‘Stop staring at me and focus on your cooking!’
‘Annoying,’ Furuya muttered, rolling his eyes.
Akai chuckled. ‘Are you feeling too warm again? If you are, just take off a layer…’
Furuya grabbed a dishcloth and hurled it at Akai.
Noon.
The two were about to head out together.
Akai was already dressed; he passed through the living room where Furuya was still on the sofa, typing away on his laptop.
‘I’ll wait for you in the car,’ Akai said.
‘Sure, I’ll be there right away,’ Furuya replied, eyes glued to the screen.
A few minutes later, Furuya closed his laptop, went to the bedroom, and changed into a beige jacket and brown trousers before stepping out.
The moment he got into the car, he saw Akai grinning at him for reasons he wasn’t sure about. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that Akai was also wearing a beige jacket and brown trousers.
Furuya glared at Akai. ‘Don’t get cocky.’
Evening.
The two found a cozy restaurant for dinner.
As soon as they sat down, Akai said, ‘I need to use the loo. You go ahead and order for us. I’ll eat whatever you’re having.’
‘Alright,’ Furuya said.
After Akai left, Furuya ordered two hamburger and salad sets from the waiter.
When Akai returned to the table, he asked, ‘Did you order?’
‘Yeah.’
‘What did you get?’
‘Take a guess.’
Akai picked up the menu from the table and glanced at it.
‘Hamburger and salad set.’
Furuya sighed and rolled his eyes.
‘Of course. You Americans are all about burgers…’
‘I’m British,’ Akai corrected him with a smile. ‘And they have fish and chips on the menu too. Why didn’t you order that?’
Furuya rolled his eyes so far back that they nearly disappeared. This relationship is exhausting - why do my eyes have to work overtime every single day?
*****************
‘I'm done. Your turn,’ Furuya Rei called out to the living room as he stepped out of the bathroom.
No response. The TV was still on, but Akai Shuuichi was nowhere to be seen - not in the living room, or the bedroom, or the study.
Weird. It was late at night. Where could he have gone in the time of a shower?
Furuya scanned the living room, looking for clues. Did he head to the convenience store? But his didn’t take his wallet. FBI emergency mission? That had happened before… but his car keys were still on the table. Would the FBI just drive over to pick him up? Wait, even the house keys were left behind. What kind of situation would be so urgent that had made him leave without his keys -
Ding!
The sound of a notification came from behind Furuya. Turning around, he saw it was Akai's phone on the coffee table. He hadn’t even taken his phone?
Furuya picked it up. It was just a news app push notification. He didn’t know Akai’s phone password, as they never snooped on each other’s phones, so no clues there.
A sense of unease crept over him as he tried to recall what had happened earlier.
Furuya had said, ‘I’m going to shower.’ Akai had insisted on joining him. Furuya had flatly refused, saying, ‘Every time I shower with you, it takes over an hour to even get out of the bathroom.’ Akai had kept clinging to him until Furuya shoved him out of the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
Alright, maybe I was a little harsh, Furuya thought. But he wouldn’t be petty enough to -
Furuya started feeling restless. He grabbed his jacket and keys. He had no idea where Akai could have gone, but he wasn’t going to sit around doing nothing.
The moment that he opened the house door, he was met with the sight of Akai standing outside, dressed in nothing but a tank top and shorts.
‘I came out to bin the rubbish but kind of locked myself out,’ Akai said, meeting Furuya’s mix of surprise and confusion head-on.
‘...What?’
‘I just remembered that tomorrow would be the day for recyclables, so figured I’d toss it now. But I forgot the house keys...’ Akai explained.
‘...Are you an idiot?! Why didn’t you ring the doorbell?’
‘I didn’t know when you’d finish showering. If you were still in there, ringing wouldn’t have helped. And if you rushed out in a panic and slipped…’
Furuya was speechless for a few seconds. ‘You’re unbelievable. I’m not a child, you know! You’ve been standing out here in the cold like this? Go take a hot shower before you catch a cold!’
‘You have to shower with me,’ Akai said.
‘No!’ Furuya snapped back immediately, shoving Akai inside.
‘Because this is partially your fault,’ Akai added with a smirk. ‘If we’d showered together earlier, none of this would’ve happened…’
‘I’ve never seen anyone as shameless as you!’ Furuya shot back.
***************
Furuya Rei had had a bit of headache lately - Akai Shuuichi’s birthday was coming up, but he still hadn’t figured out what to get him as a gift.
Choosing gifts for middle-aged men was the hardest. After all these years together, he’d already gone through the classics: headphones, watches, cologne, whiskey glasses… and now he was out of ideas. And as for the things Akai had gifted him? All utterly ridiculous and impossible to use in public. There was no way that he was going to stoop to that level of terrible taste.
Sure, Akai would undoubtedly pull that cheesy line of his again, ‘I already have the best gift in the world: you. I don’t need anything else.’ But Furuya reckoned that having some sense of occasion was important.
Sitting on the sofa, he was racking his brain for inspiration when a sickly sweet strawberry scent hit his nose. Peeking into the study, there was Akai, puffing on his e-cigarette.
A while ago, Furuya had forced Akai to quit smoking, so he’d reluctantly switched to vaping as a temporary compromise. Now, the house was frequently filled with overly sweet scents ranging from fruity candy to popcorn to chocolate.
‘Why do all your vape flavors smell so childish? You’ve turned the whole house into a candy shop!’ Furuya called out.
‘What’s wrong with being childish? It means I have a youthful spirit!’ Akai replied. ‘I still like ramune soda and sparklers, you know.’
Liking ramune soda doesn’t exactly translate to ‘youthful spirit,’ Furuya thought. More like old-school nostalgia.
Wait - sparklers? Come to think of it, they hadn’t properly set off any fireworks this summer. He could buy some sparklers for Akai to enjoy, and think about a more decent gift later.
Pulling out his phone, Furuya ignored a call from Kazami while placing an order for sparklers online. At the same time, he wondered if he should take a few days off and book a hot spring trip for two.
A few days later, Furuya came home, opened the door, and immediately sneezed as he was struck by a cloying, overwhelming smell that wasn’t candy-like but something far heavier and more pungent.
‘What… is this smell?’ he demanded, storming into the living room where Akai was lounging on the sofa.
Akai pointed at the coffee table. The long-neglected ashtray had been brought out, now holding three burning sticks of incense.
‘Didn’t you say the parcel delivered today was something for me? So I opened it and used it right away,’ Akai said.
Furuya quickly checked his phone and pulled up his order history. Ah. He’d meant to type *senko hanabi* (sparklers), but apparently only typed *senko* (incense). He hadn’t even paid attention to the product photos - it was all sticks anyway.
‘I think it’s great,’ Akai said casually, inhaling deeply near the smoke. ‘It’s like a more elegant replacement for vaping. I could just lean in and take a nice big whiff…’
Furuya, already feeling dizzy from the intense smell, couldn’t tell if Akai was being genuine or just messing with him again. He managed a strained smile in response.
‘Well, the house doesn’t smell childish anymore. It’s very mature,’ Akai continued, standing up and stepping closer. ‘Makes me want to do something very mature… something very adult…’
His hand slipped under Furuya’s shirt.
‘W-Wait! Why does it always end up like this?!’ Furuya exclaimed.
‘Just accept your fate,’ Akai said, leaning in to kiss him.
In the end, Furuya’s official birthday gift consisted of a three-day stay at a luxury hot spring inn, a proper box of sparklers, and a beautifully crafted incense burner.
And, of course, three full days of himself.
**************
Let’s rewind to the day when Furuya Rei agreed to be with Akai Shuuichi.
After a long embrace and kiss, Furuya couldn’t shake the feeling that the air was just a little awkward—especially when he remembered he’d just come back from his PE session, drenched in sweat.
To break the tension, he said, ‘How about dinner tonight?’
‘Sure. Do you have a place in mind?’ Akai replied.
‘Let’s just eat at home. I need to grab some ingredients first… see you back here in an hour, okay?’
An hour later, they reconvened in Furuya’s living room, both smelling of body wash and aftershave.
What they ate or what they talked about that night - Furuya could hardly remember any of it later. It was odd. It wasn’t like he’d never been alone with Akai before, and they’d just established the most intimate relationship possible, yet somehow being with him now made him feel… uneasy. His hands didn’t seem to know where to go, his eyes couldn’t find a natural place to settle, and his words had become overly polite. How come that he felt more distant when they were supposed to get closer? This is absurdly funny, Furuya thought.
Akai, meanwhile, appeared completely unfazed. He was calm, composed, and natural, like how a gentleman should act in a proper first date. He chatted with Furuya with a warm smile, complimented the food Furuya had prepared, helped plate the dessert and brew tea, cleaned up the kitchen, and heartwarmingly kissed Furuya goodbye with a ‘See you later.’
That night, Furuya was unsurprised to find himself lying wide awake in bed. He tossed and turned, tried every sleeping position he could think of, and did his best to resist the temptation to check his phone. It was not long before he gave in.
He typed a message to that only person on his mind.
‘Still up?’
‘Yes.’ The reply came instantly.
‘Can’t sleep?’ Followed up from that side.
‘Yeah…’
‘Wait for me.’
Furuya barely had time to wonder whether the last message meant what he thought it meant before Akai showed up at his doorstep.
That night, there were finally no barriers left between them. Furuya felt Akai’s hair brushing against his cheek and the warmth of his breath at the hollow of his neck, sending tingles down his spine. Yet his entire body was tense, his toes curling as his muscles refused to relax.
Was it really okay? Could he trust this man completely, just as he had on every mission before, putting his life in Akai’s hands? Could he now entrust him with his heart, his body, his everything?
Akai’s fingers trailed delicately over Furuya’s honey-toned skin, careful and tender. Furuya’s body was littered with scars, many of which Akai knew the stories behind. But Akai also knew that the deepest, most painful wound hadn’t yet healed, and it wasn’t on Furuya’s body - it was in his heart. The more overwhelmed Akai felt, the gentler his touch became, as if he were handling the most precious and fragile treasure he’d ever laid his hands on.
Furuya wasn’t sure if it was dizziness or desire clouding his senses. Eyes shut tightly, he clumsily returned Akai’s affection, lips trembling, hands unsteady. Until Akai suddenly murmured -
‘Slow down… You’re not shifting gears in your Mazda. It’s gonna be burned out at this rate...’
On any other day, Furuya might have punched Akai square in the gut for that. But now, he couldn’t help it but burst out laughing.
‘Sorry… Guess I got carried away,’ he said, chuckling. Must be the sleep deprivation messing with my brain, he thought.
But honestly, at this point, if he were still doubting his own feelings, wouldn’t that be the real betrayal?
Furuya’s body didn’t stop shaking, and his breathing grew increasingly erratic. Except now, it wasn’t because of nerves or fear.
The sky outside began to lighten, streaks of dawn breaking through the horizon.
At last, it seemed that Akai Shuuichi and Furuya Rei could greet the morning together- their own brand-new beginning.