Work Text:
As the sunlight begins to filter through the glass walls, Akane feels a stirring and lifts her head from where she's rested it against the table. For a moment, she's confused. Did she fall asleep at work? It's only when she hears a groan from beside her that she recalls the reason she's sleeping in the break room. That's right, she's here for a reason. She blinks and rubs the sleep out of her eyes, sitting up stiffly to see how Kagari is. He's still pale and sweaty when she glances over. He's probably a little dizzy as well, judging by the way he grabs his head and quickly folds back down to rest it between his knees when he tries to sit up. Still, he must be doing at least a little better. He doesn't dive for the bin, after all.
"Good morning." She greets him, keeping her tone soft. The way he's still holding it, she assumes his head is probably pounding as well as spinning.
The greeting startles him, and he looks up at her in surprise. "You're still here?" He responds, voice gravelly from sleep and probably a raw throat as well. Then he glances out the window and his eyes widen when he sees the sun is already starting to rise. "Aw, crap. I gotta shower, I reek." He groans again like the very idea is exhausting, but he staggers up to his feet in a anyway.
She'd like to be reassuring, but Akane has to admit he's right, he smells a little ripe. She'd also like to tell him to go to bed and sleep it off already, but he's already hurrying towards the door by the time she opens her mouth to respond. She settles for getting ready for work herself, before the others can start filtering in and notice that her uniform is rumpled from sleep. When she makes her way into the offices proper an hour later she's got a coffee in hand for herself, and a mug of tea that she sets discreetly on Kagari's desk. She thinks it's discreet anyway, until she realizes that everyone in the room is staring at her, most in varying levels of confusion. Ginoza looks decidedly sour about it, she notes. That's probably to be expected. Sheepishly, she takes her seat and sets to work on her paperwork.
The morning is quiet and productive for her, so much so that she finishes with everything she's supposed to do that day by noon. She files out for lunch with the others, even though she could just as easily go at a different time. Akane squares her shoulders, knowing that she's going to hear about it later and frankly not caring. She stops by Kagari's desk again on her way, ignoring the stares it earns her this time as well. He looks more wary than pleased to see her, but she can't help noticing that the tea is gone. It gives her a little boost of courage, and she boldly catches his eye. He starts to say something, probably ask her what she wants or crack a smart remark, but his mouth falls open in surprise when instead she rests her wrist against his forehead. Still warm and damp, but not throwing off waves of heat like the night before. The loud noises his stomach is making now are mostly growls instead of gurgles, another good sign. Finally he blinks, and ducks out of her reach. "Knock it off, will ya? People are talking about you."
She can't help but notice that his concern with the situation this time seems to be more for her reputation than for his own comfort. It confirms something for her, in a way. He's may be a latent criminal, but she doesn't think- she really doesn't feel- that he's all that bad of a guy. Ginoza would assure her she's wrong, and Kagari probably would caution her as well if he happened to know what she's thinking. For now it's safe in her head. She sighs softly. This isn't what she'd expected things to be like, working here. "You should get some lunch."
"Ugh, bad idea." He objects, wrapping his arms around his stomach defensively. He indicates the empty tea cup on the desk. "Finally got something not to bounce and I kinda wanna keep it that way, ya know?"
It's not exactly a thank you, but she chooses to interpret it as one anyway. Akane nods, sympathetic but firm. "That's because you've been eating the wrong things. When you're sick, you should try soup or porridge instead of custard. Even if they're soft, sugary things or milky things are hard on an upset stomach." She informs him, only realizing halfway through that it might very well be new information for him. If he's not used to being looked after, if no one ever told him so, how would he know?
She can't read his expression when he simply watches her for a moment, but she gets the feeling he's trying just as hard to read her. It's a stalemate, and they both glance away at the same time. Akane continues on to the cafeteria, while Kagari stubbornly remains at his desk, switching his screen window from whatever he's pretending to work on back to the game that he's actually been playing all morning as soon as he hears her beginning to walk away.
When she returns she sets a tray on the desk for him, and he huffs, annoyed with her. She ignores it, especially when she catches him picking at the rice porridge cautiously from the corner of her eye a few minutes later. Akane hides a small smile and busies herself with triple checking all of her morning's work over, because honestly, there's nothing left for her to do at this rate aside from pretend to work just the same as the others often do. The afternoon is peaceful enough, give or take a few disapproving looks that are thrown her way by Ginoza and a few of the other enforcers alike.
It's quiet until suddenly it isn't, with Kagari cursing and scrambling to his feet. He leaves the room in a hurry, and Akane has a sinking feeling she might know why. Kougami calmly stalks out after him, and neither of them are heard from again for a few long, anxious minutes. When they appear again, Kougami has Kagari by the scruff like a naughty kitten, looking worse for the wear. Kougami only stops in the doorway, and addresses Ginoza. "Requesting escort to medical." He says, simply and dryly, carefully avoiding eye contact with anyone else.
Akane's eyes widen and she starts to get to her feet, but Ginoza stops her with a gesture, rising to his own feet instead. "Granted. Tsunemori, hold the fort down." He says, sparing her one last irritated look at causing him extra trouble, and joins the others in the doorway. A startled look flashes across Kagari's face, and for a moment Akane sees a bit of fear, dismay, frustration... That fades to a dull acceptance which he blinks away and replaces with that slightly sharp grin of his. He winks at her and blows a kiss, which earns him a rough shake from Kougami that has him blanching, curling in and wrapping his arms around his stomach.
The whole situation sits uncomfortably with Akane, even after the three men disappear from sight, and the echoing of their footsteps fade down the corridor. There's a friendly huff of laughter from behind Akane, breaking her out of her thoughts. "They'll be fine." Masaoka assures her in his oaken voice, giving her a sharp smile of his own. "Don't waste any thought on it."