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It was a quiet evening inside the submarine of the Nocturnal Detective Agency, the only sounds being the light ripple of pages being flipped and the occasional quiet grunt of Desuhiko after being repeatedly bested by Halara in a low stakes game of cards.
Yuma sat behind Yakou, organizing the bookshelf as Shinigami talked his ear off, commenting on every title and making dirty, frankly uncalled for jokes about the author names, while Yakou flipped unimpressedly through mail, sighing quietly.
Fubuki was next to Desuhiko, peering over at his hand of cards and quietly trying to help him strategize, but ultimately giving him impenetrable tips for an entirely different card game.
“..and I win.” Halara said, placing down their trump card and laying the rest of their cards down on the table.
“DAMNIT!!!” He jumped up, tossing his cards onto the table and clenching his fists, catching the attention of the rest of the detectives.
“You cheated!” He pointed at them and shouted, scrunching his face up in anger.
“I simply know this game better than you. I told you that before we started.” Halara responded, turning up their nose.
“YOU TOTALLY CHEATED!! Fubuki, you must’ve seen, right?!” He turned his attention to the heiress, who looked up at him with innocent wide eyes.
“Well.. no. It looked like you lost fair and square.” He scoffed as she tried to think back to the game, tapping a finger to her chin.
“If only you had listened to me.” She sighed and shook her head, now crossing her arms.
“WHAT!?” He did a double take, trying to decide where to direct his anger, and the entire table descended into chaos.
Yuma stood straight, watching the mayhem unfold as Desuhiko lunged at Halara, grabbing at them as they fought him off with ease, and Fubuki mused about her strategy skills to neither of them in particular.
Vivia sighed, now watching the scene before him.
“… I wanna die someday.” Shaking his head before returning to his book within the chimney.
“Are you going to-“ Yuma turned to the chief as he spoke, only to find him with his head on its side against the desk, his entire body slumped over in defeat.
“Chief Yakou!?” He exclaimed, dropping down to meet his eyes.
“How many times am I going to tell them to stop gambling..” he grumbled, squeezing his eyes shut, gripping the table, and then letting his arms fall and hang motionless.
When they popped open again, he stared right at Yuma and spoke.
“I seriously don’t know why I even bother, Yuma.” He groaned, letting his eyes fall shut again.
“Well, maybe if they had something else to do..” Yuma mused absentmindedly, still precariously crouched at the edge of the desk.
“YUMA!” Yakou exclaimed, shooting up and sending Yuma toppling over.
“S-Sorry-“ he apologized quickly before continuing
“You’re a GENIUS.” He shouted, bending down to meet him, like Yuma had moments before.
“I mean- its a pretty simple-“
“I have JUST THE THING!!!” He shouted again, cutting Yuma off and rushing into the other side of the sub, ignoring most of the shouting and havoc that was still happening, that had now devolved into Halara bending a thrashing Desuhiko under their arm in a headlock to neutralize him as Fubuki watched from the sidelines, still talking to nobody specifically.
Yuma stood, brushing himself off and turning to Shinigami as she spoke again
“Is it just me, or is Fuzz-Head out of his mind to think that he can stop them?” She asked, crossing her arms and shaking her little body.
“I have no idea what he’s up to, but I assume it won’t make them cut it out.”
Now watching Desuhiko squirm away from Halara, scaling their back in an attempt of some kind of psuedo-wrestling throw, only for Halara to grab him by his hood and hold him at an arms length like a feral cat. Fubuki clapped excitedly at this image, losing her train of thought. Halara and Desuhiko continued to shout at each other.
“Guys!! Guys!!” Yakou shouted, waving his arms around as he rushed back into the room, sans his iconic jacket, which Yuma assumes got lazily discarded on his bed.
“What’s fuzz-head got?” Shinigami tilted her head to the side.
“YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS HALARA NIGHTMARE! I SWEAR TO Y-“
“GUYS!!!!!!!!” Yakou screamed, cupping his hands around his mouth as everybody froze and turned to him, besides Vivia who continued to simply flip through his book.
“Halara. Put him down!” He commanded, and they did as they were told, simply dropping him to the ground, he yelped as he fell and bounced off the couch.
“Not- like-“ he groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. Halara crossed their arms in response, beckoning him to say what he came to say.
“Okay. Whatever.” He took in a breath before continuing
“We’re going to watch a movie together!” Yakou announced, grinning and presenting a disc in a scratched up clear case.
“…what.” The small blonde had clamored to his knees, perching on the arm of the couch.
“That was his solution?!” Shinigami shouted, a cartoonish sweat bead forming on the side of her face.
“I figure we should do something together as a team that doesn’t involve.. gambling.. or running from peacekeepers.” He explained, shaking his head and walking towards the couch.
“This TV has a dvd player, so we can watch this just fine.” He threw the disc into Desuhiko’s lap, lining up at the corner of the couch and pushing it into place in front of the screen. The blonde fell back onto the couch with the force of the movement, exclaiming loudly and clutching onto the plastic case.
“I used to watch this movie all the time when I was a kid, I promise it’s good. You guys will like it.” Yakou spoke to the room, taking the disc from Desuhiko and putting it in, then scrounging around the fireplace for the remote.
“You.. are serious?” Halara asked, taking a seat on the left side of the couch.
“Yes I'm serious, why wouldn’t I be?” He asks, spinning around to meet their gaze.
“Good point.” They concede, pushing their mouth to the side and crossing their arms.
“Everybody sit!” Yakou announces, turning to Vivia.
“You too.”
He only sighs in response, closing his book and slowly emerging from inside the fireplace, the bones in his spine popping and protesting as he sits on the right side of the couch in a painful looking hunch, his knees tucked up at his chest. Shinigami chortles at the sight.
“Old fuzz-head trained the vampire..” she snickers.
“Oh knock it off..” Yuma protests.
Desuhiko stands and scoffs.
“I bet this is some old black and white movie from the 1600’s..” he grumbles, gathering up the now scattered card set and returning it to the shelf in the corner.
“How old do you think I am?!” Yakou whines loudly in response.
“Like.. 60 or something..”
“I’M ONLY 33!!” He yells, huffing as he plops into the middle, mostly unphased when Vivia slumps so his head rests on his shoulder. He throws his arm around him, now used to the routine of him tensing for a moment before easing up and melting into his touch.
“Come on master!! Let's go! I want to watch the movieeeeee~” Shinigami whines, dragging him forward by their soul chain. He sits on the floor, in front of Halara’s curled legs.
“I love movies! Is it an adventure film?” Fubuki asks, turning the lights off and then joining him on the floor opposite, wrapping her arm around Yakou's leg.
“Fubuki- do you have to-“ he sighs “You know what, whatever, Desuhiko c'mon! I want to start.”
Desuhiko sighs, walking over and jumping headfirst into Yakou’s lap, stretching out like he owned it.
“Cmon Chief, start it.” He comments, propping his elbow up and leaning his head on it.
Yakou sighs for the umpteenth time, pressing play on the menu screen and allowing the movie to start, lazily tossing his free arm around the back of the couch, allowing the remote to get lost somewhere. A problem for the later him, he reasoned.
It's a slow start, long sweeping shots of what seems to be Tokyo, building up to some monster that looks like a janky dragon-dinosaur hybrid.
Before the movie even really started, Yakou noticed Vivia snoring softly on his shoulder, his breath now even and slow.
“Damn.. I thought he’d be into this..” He thought, only slightly disappointed that he was going to miss out, but ultimately knowing that he should’ve known better.
Screams of terror flashed through the screen, and he could feel Desuhiko tense up on his lap at the noise, a nervous swallow causing his head to bob.
“This isn’t like a- uhh.. Horror movie or sumn.. Right?” He asked, laughing nervously as his head fell back to stare up at the chief with big eyes.
“No.. I wouldn’t say that.. It's more.. Uhh.. Science-Fiction. Monsters and Aliens and stuff.” He said, the corner of his eye catching a captivated Fubuki clutching around his calf, her cheek resting firmly on his knee. He reached down to ruffle his blonde hair, scratching gently at his head in a reassuring way before returning his arm to the back of the couch.
“Don’t tell me you’re scared..” Yuma mused, feigning annoyance and peering back at him.
“I-IM- I’m not scared, man..” he insisted, stretching out his arm under his head, letting his hand wrap gently around Yuma’s head.
“You guys are going to miss the good parts! Shush!” Fubuki urged, shaking Yakou’s leg, refusing to tear her eyes away from the black and white of the screen.
They silenced themselves after that, focusing their attention on the movie before them, which seemed to drag longer and longer with each passing moment for Desuhiko. He tried to squint to keep his eyes focused, but it was getting later and later by the moment, and he felt the closing of his eyes was now beyond his control. He let his arm fall around Fubuki, hoping that her warmth would keep him awake, but it seemed to have the opposite effect.
“I can rest my eyes for just a second..” He insisted, before his eyes shut and his brain shut off, now on his stomach as his back rose and fell in an even, rhythmic pattern.
“Him too?” Yakou mumbled, astonished, shaking his head as Halara chuckled silently, a small noise of amusement.
“At least you three are paying attention..” He thinks aloud, not noticing the way Yuma’s head seemed to tilt, pressing against his other knee, trying to conserve energy by not having to hold itself upright.
“This movie sucks.” Shinigami said, nestling into Yuma’s lap and making herself comfortable.
The movie was maybe 45 minutes along before Yuma slumped over, his cheek squished into Yakou’s soft thigh, melting into his warmth and Desuhiko’s sleepy lingering touch on the back of his skull. Shinigami fell asleep with him, resting comfortably in the crook of his two arms in his lap.
Yakou cursed silently, huffing. Why didn’t they want to watch the movie with him? I mean, sure he remembered it being better as a kid, but they were supposed to be having fun, and bonding, like real coworkers! Or something.
Deep down he knew he just wanted to spend time with them, and he didn’t really know how. It had been years since he actually sat down and watched a movie with someone, or even had a meaningful conversation, or felt this strongly about them. Now he had to juggle figuring out how to wrangle five grown adults that refused to listen to anything besides the call of chaos after being on his own for such a long time. He had lost everything. Why was it so hard finally getting something back?
He swallowed, peering down at Fubuki, a smile pulling at his lips in response to her palpable awe.
“Chief, This movie.. is.. “ she yawned.
“It’s amazing… but I'm so tired..” she mumbled, pressing her cheek into his knee stubbornly like a child.
“Don’t… Don't worry about it, sweetheart.” He said, smiling sheepishly, even though she wouldn’t be able to see it. At least someone other than him liked it.
She yawned again. “Sorry… .. Chief…” she whispered, her eyes falling shut and her mouth falling slightly open against his knee. He sighed a half-sigh half-laugh as he realized he couldn’t really move anymore.
He turned his head to Halara, grinning at them.
“Just us two then? What do you think so far?” He said, turning his attention back to the movie.
“It’s alright. I’ve seen better. I definitely wouldn’t pay to go see it, or anything.” their arms were still crossed against their chest, but looser now against the soft fabric of their strapped off-shoulder sweater that they wore in more casual moments. Their legs were still curled snugly under themself.
“Really? This was like.. As good as it got when I was a kid.” He shook his head gently, careful to not shake Vivia too much in the process, glancing at him for a moment to confirm he was still asleep.
“I love this movie. Or.. I.. did. When I was a kid. I’m kind of noticing it's not as good. .. and it's cheesy. Kind of ruins the magic, you know? Like when you first find out that-” he went entirely silent when Halara gently fell against him, head and shoulder pressed against his chest, glasses drooping off the slope of their nose. Their breathing slowly evened out, letting a slow breath out of their nose as they drifted to sleep.
Yakou went deathly still, worried that any movement would wake them up, ruining this perfect moment where they were actually touching him.
Halara was by no means an affectionate person, making this moment all the more jarring for him. He swallowed, letting out a breath and turning back to the movie, which now seemed almost entirely irrelevant.
His chest swelled with emotion as he realized how much he loved all of these people, and he wanted nothing more than this moment to last as long as possible, as long as he could get with them in his arms, pressed against his body, allowing themselves to be fully vulnerable with him.
His throat bobbed as he swallowed the feeling of tears, trying to remain composed.
He wouldn’t let anything happen to them. He couldn’t. This mission was stupid, and reckless, and he wanted it to succeed more than anything, but he decided then and there that they had given his life a new direction, and he wasn’t going to let this assignment be their last. He would do whatever it took.
He squeezed his eyes shut in a mental reset and stared straight ahead at the movie when they reluctantly fluttered open, quickly coming to three conclusions.
This movie was definitely not as good as he remembered it was.
He was incredibly warm from all this body heat.
He was falling asleep.
He murmured nothing under his breath, exhaling in defeat as his head lolled back, his now unlit cigarette dangling precariously out of his mouth as it fell open, defying gravity like it always seemed to do. He let his eyes flutter shut, accepting the sweet release of sleep and snoring before he even realized as Godzilla rampaged over Tokyo in the background.