Work Text:
🌹🚨
It should have been a normal day and a normal Ganglar alert.
The three of them deployed as normal and, as was normal sometimes, Noël was absent (and Keiichiro was sure that they'd see him later as Lupin X). The Tokyo PD and other GSPO squads were in the middle of their normal jobs, trying to evacuate the area, and in an alarming but sadly normal occurrence, the Ganglar had managed to take some civilian hostages, trapping them in a nearby building.
What wasn't normal was that Kairi was among the hostages.
The Ganglar started talking, but Keiichiro didn't care about what it had to say; he transformed and charged forward, ignoring anything Sakuya and Tsukasa were screaming at him, and opened fire.
"Hey!" the Ganglar whined, dancing around to try to dodge his shots. "I haven't even given you my demands yet -"
"Shut up!" He kicked it away from the building towards an open plaza, where Sakuya and Tsukasa resumed fighting, drawing the Ganglar away from the civilians. Now where was he, where was he - ah, at the edge of the crowd! He jogged over and called, "Kairi-kun!"
"Huh?" He turned around and initially looked a little confused but smiled once he saw him. "Kei-chan -"
Keiichiro couldn't help pulling him into a hug. "Kairi-kun, I'm so glad you're alright! Are you hurt?"
"Well - I might get hurt if you hug me any tighter -"
"Oh - I'm sorry -" He let go and Kairi stumbled back, rotating his shoulders.
"And I thought you were strong normally … I wouldn't wanna be that Ganglar."
He frowned and bashfully dropped his transformation. "I … I'm sorry …"
"It's okay, you're fine." He tilted his head towards the battle outside. "Don't you have a fight to get to?"
"… yeah, but …" Keiichiro stepped outside and glanced around, but there wasn't a squad in sight. He pressed on his earpiece and called, "Jim, I need some officers to escort a group of civilians to the nearest shelter."
"Our forces are kinda spread thin … and besides, don't you just direct them to the nearest shelter before rejoining the fight?"
His hand twitched. "Jim. I need an escort."
"I'm sorry Keiichiro-san, but the nearest squad is fifteen minutes away, and they're busy evacuating a school -"
Didn't this stupid robot know that lives were at stake?! "Jim -"
"Hey. Kei-chan."
Kairi weaved their fingers together, looking at him with his beautiful brown eyes, and his heart rate and blood pressure lowered immediately.
"We'll be fine," he continued. "The nearest shelter is just down the street. There's only one Ganglar, right?"
He studied the battlefield; there was still no sign of Noël and slowly but surely, the Ganglar was overpowering his teammates. He had to rejoin them soon, but …
He squeezed his hand tighter. "Kairi-kun, I don't want to leave you -"
"We'll be fine," he insisted. "Right now, they need you more than we do."
"But -"
"Go. It'll be okay. I'll see you after, I promise." Kairi smiled, which made it significantly harder for him to leave. If anything happened to him while he was away, he would - he would - well, it wouldn't be great for anyone involved.
He sighed heavily. "Alright. Be safe, okay?" Automatically, he leaned in to kiss him and only stopped when Kairi stepped back.
Right. Whatever they were now, it wasn't supposed to be public yet.
Transforming, he jumped back into the fray, hoping that his day wouldn't get any worse.
🎩🚨
Maybe he should stop doing this … whatever he was doing with Keiichiro. Yes, it made him feel warm and fuzzy for the first time in a long time, and yes, it made him feel a little better about himself, but Keiichiro was caring a little too much. He was so close to slipping away to transform, but that damn policeman ended up catching him and wasting his time. Normally, he wouldn't care, but Umika and Noël were on a mission to rescue Touma, leaving him as the only one that could take the Collection piece. Transforming, he doubled back and dove into the battle -
And immediately had to dodge a warning shot from Keiichiro. "I don't have time for your shit today, you damn phantom thief!"
"Then do you wanna give me the Collection piece?"
"No!"
Well, it was worth a shot. Come on, come on - if he couldn't come up with a plan - if he wasn't careful about this - today would be the day they finally arrested him.
No way he could let that happen.
(He also tried to push away the fact that he thought of how disappointed Keiichiro would be before thinking of how he'd be endangering the mission.)
What could he do - how could he convince a man who hated him with every fiber of his being to cooperate with him - what did he want - what did he care about -
"So I ran into a familiar-looking waiter on my way here -"
With a gutteral roar, Keiichiro punched his stomach, sending him flying. To add more injury to injury, he leapt up, grabbed the front of his suit, and slammed him into the ground.
That went worse than he thought it would.
"If you touch him, I will make you wish you'd never been born," Keiichiro snarled.
"I - I wasn't going to -" He coughed violently, hacking up - holy shit, was that blood?! Ugh, and he couldn't untransform right now - he'd have to deal with his own blood on the inside of his helmet for the entire fight - unless - there had to be some way for him to bullshit his way out of this -
"The shelter he's in is pretty close. If you kill the Ganglar here and Gauche revives him, the mech fight might bring it down."
Keiichiro's eyes darted towards the shelter, but he still refused to let go of him. "… so? We can move the fight further away -"
They were interrupted by a stray fireball that narrowly missed them and the shelter.
"… like I was saying, your favorite waiter's not as safe as you want him to be. Let me get the piece, and I'll make sure he lives."
"You …" Instead of agreeing or, at the very least, letting him go, Keiichiro instead tightened his grip. "You …"
A second fireball hit its mark, sending both of them skittering across the ground. Kairi rolled onto his back and winced in pain; another one or two hits like that and he'd lose the transformation. That couldn't happen - not here -
Keiichiro roared again and punched the ground, leaving a small impact crater. "Fine. Fine. Get your precious little piece. But I swear to god, if any harm comes to Kairi-kun, I will rip your head off with my bare hands. You got that?!"
(It was a little too late for that one. If Keiichiro ever found out that he'd already injured him multiple times, well … he didn't want to think about that.)
With some difficulty, he managed to prop himself up into a sitting position. "Loud and clear, you hot-blooded officer."
Keiichiro charged forward, guns blazing, as he usually did. He followed closely, using him as a makeshift shield. If he knew him well (and for better or for worse, he did), then he'd -
Shoot, shout, and generally make himself the biggest threat to draw the Ganglar's attention? Yep.
Turn the Ganglar around so that he could sneak up on him? Yep.
Dart in and restrain the Ganglar once he turned around and saw him coming? Yep.
Threaten him before he left the battlefield with the Collection piece?
Keiichiro grabbed him by the collar and quietly begged, "I can't lose him, so please … please make sure he's safe."
why I'm not worth saving
Caught off-guard, he murmured, "… I promise."
As the three Patrangers finished off the Ganglar, Kairi fled, trying to ignore the unpleasant mix of feelings bubbling in his stomach.
🥀☕️
Kairi winced as he stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. Fortunately, he didn't have any scrapes or cuts on his face, but the bruise on his stomach was slowly turning a dark reddish-purple. There was no way he had enough concealer to hide all of it, and if he treated it correctly and wrapped it, Keiichiro would definitely know that something went wrong and kill him the next time he met him as Red.
Then again, the farthest Keiichiro was willing to go was French kissing. Every time Kairi tried to place either of their hands underneath their clothes, he'd flinch and back off. Maybe he could get away with wrapping it, and if somehow, Keiichiro decided to get over his prudishness and take his shirt off, he could make something up.
He yelped in surprise as his phone buzzed on the counter.
I'm sorry I'm late. Are you ready?
Sighing, he sent a response and tried to ignore his shaking hands.
be down in a min :)
Hastily, he wrapped his middle with some medical tape, threw on a shirt and sweater, and rushed down the stairs, trying not to sound too out of breath when he opened the door. "Hi, Kei-chan -"
oh no he's gorgeous why is he gorgeous
This was not fair. Keiichiro had, at most, an hour to get ready - how did he look so dazzling and perfect and did he actually put some cologne on -
He cleared his throat. "Kairi-kun? Is there something wrong?"
"Uh … no. Why?"
"Because you've been staring at me for a while."
Kairi whined as he turned away and lifted his hand to his mouth in a poor attempt to hide how red his face turned.
"Kairi-kun?" he called again, stepping forward. "Seriously, did I - I thought I ironed this shirt - do the colors clash or something? Did I miss a cut on my face?"
Gorgeous and cute? Not fair.
Under his breath, he finally managed to mumble, "… youlookreallygood."
"Huh?"
He tried (and failed) to ignore the heat rising in his face as he repeated, "You, uh … you look really good."
"Oh." His cheeks turned a faint pink. "Um, thank you. And you - you look -"
Kairi rolled his eyes as he stepped out and closed the door. "Like I usually do? You don't need to lie to me."
He pouted. "But you always look good!"
His stomach writhed at the sound of a compliment, but if he tried to argue with Keiichiro about this, they'd be here all night.
"Anyway, this restaurant you wanted to go to …?"
Keiichiro's face lit up like the morning sun. "Oh! Sakuya mentioned that it was a really nice place, and for once, Tsukasa agreed with him, so it must be good. We have to catch a train to Shinjuku, but it's worth it."
"Sounds great!"
They started heading to the station, making small talk about the weather, the new seasonal menu at Jurer, and the Ganglar attack earlier that day. Keiichiro didn't mention the deal he made with Red at all, so he supposed him being safe and whole was enough for him. But he was being oddly fidgety and his cheeks were turning that cute shade of pink again -
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Keiichiro reach out his hand, stop just short of brushing their fingertips together, and quickly withdraw it.
Oh. He guessed it was his own fault for requesting that they keep whatever this was under wraps, but if it was just them - if there was zero chance that any of their friends would see or find out -
He reached back and entwined their fingers, giving him a reassuring smile. The smile Keiichiro gave him in return was beautiful, blinding, radiant - the kind of smile that was pure, contagious happiness. For a moment, he almost believed that they could make this work and that he could see this smile and feel this affection every day.
And then he recalled the red masks hidden away in the Jurer storage room.
Whatever this was, it was on a timer. One day, the clock would strike twelve, the carriage would turn into a pumpkin, and he'd be alone again.
And there was nothing he could do to stop it.
He didn't know why he was doing this to himself. Maybe he was stupid? Selfish? Self-destructive? A little of all three?
come on, less thinking, more making out
He had to focus on what was in front of him: Keiichiro pressed against him, basically pinning him against the alley wall, their tongues mingling as Keiichiro's hands rested on his hips -
And him? His fingers were buried in his hair, pulling him in as close as he possibly could - but dammit, this wasn't close enough. The only way they could be physically closer was by having sex, and Kairi still felt like that wouldn't be enough. He wanted to melt into him, to drown in him, to feel his heart beat against him for the rest of his life -
Keiichiro backed off to catch his breath, and for a moment, Kairi felt like he really was drowning without his touch.
"Kairi-kun -"
It took everything he had to not laugh. "My tongue was just in your mouth. You're allowed to call me Kairi."
"Okay … Kairi." He pouted and blushed like an innocent maiden. "I … is this … is what we have -"
He pulled him back in for a kiss, not wanting to hear the rest of that question. Keiichiro played along for a little bit, but once again tried to ask, "Kairi - what are we -"
Another kiss. If this stopped working, he might have to get on his knees and -
"Kairi!" He stumbled back, panting like he'd just run a marathon. "I … I really like you, and … and if you feel the same way, then …"
He closed his eyes. Not again.
Last week, in what he now saw as a moment of weakness, he kissed Keiichiro good night after he walked him home. He meant to play it off as a joke, but he kissed him back and well, they kept meeting up. Sometimes it was dinner, sometimes it was walking through the city together, and sometimes they'd find secluded areas and make out.
It felt nice. While he was with him, he could forget about Lupinrangers and Patrangers and Ganglars and dead brothers. For those little slivers of stolen time, they were the only things that existed.
But Keiichiro was too much of an old-fashioned gentleman. He clearly wasn't comfortable with keeping Kairi his dirty little secret; it was obvious that he wanted to formally ask him out, take him out on proper dates, stop by with the occasional bouquet of flowers -
It all sounded really nice, but an unspoken law of the universe was that Kairi Yano was not allowed to have nice things.
"… do you … not feel the same way?"
His eyes snapped open as he automatically answered, "I do!"
I do?
"I do, but …"
but I'm LupinRed
"But … I dunno, you see this stuff in superhero cartoons all the time, right? The hero starts dating someone, and the villains suddenly have a new defenseless target they can kidnap to hurt the hero."
wait
Keiichiro cast his eyes down, looking more and more like a kicked puppy. "I guess you have a point, but …"
Lowering his voice, he continued, "Earlier … you were fighting more recklessly than usual because you saw me in danger, weren't you?"
why do I care
He wrung his hands together. "Maybe?"
"I don't want to be the reason you make a mistake. I … don't want to be a weakness for you."
why do I not want to hurt him
Keiichiro sighed and turned away, running a hand through his hair. "I … I understand." He was doing a pretty good job of masking his emotions, but his voice ended up breaking halfway through.
Seeing him like this hurt.
Why did it hurt?
Keiichiro took both of his hands, and Kairi soon found it impossible to ignore the fact that he was shaking.
wait
"Once we eliminate the Ganglar threat …"
wait I didn't mean to hurt you
"… if you still feel the same way about me …"
I'm sorry I'm so sorry
"… do you think we can try again?"
He didn't need to involve himself further, this was just going to hurt both of them, he needed to leave -
"Of course. Kei-chan -" He leaned forward to kiss him one more time, but Keiichiro's hand shot up to his chest, stopping him just short.
He bowed his head and shut his eyes, unable to look at him. A few tears escaped his closed eyes as he sobbed, "I - I'll see you tomorrow … Kairi-kun."
wait don't leave please don't leave
He walked off without another word, desperately trying to dry his face.
Maybe this was for the best. It would be better to break his heart now so he wouldn't be too hurt when he found out who Red was.
But then why did it hurt him just as bad? Was he seriously falling for the one person he should not fall for?
He leaned against the wall and slid down, his face buried in his hands.
He couldn't take this anymore. It hurt - it hurt so much - he just wanted it to stop -
🎩☕️
The last thing Keiichiro expected on his lonely walk home was LupinRed waiting patiently on a bench and immediately transforming at the sight of him.
Great. A shitty end to a shitty day.
He loaded his VS Vehicle, pulled the trigger, and charged in, wanting to get this fight over with as soon as possible. If he knew him well (and for better or for worse, he did), then he'd -
Sidestep the first punch he threw? … he ran right into it.
Backflip to dodge his leg sweep? … the attack connected, and he made no attempt to recover after hitting the ground.
Roll away to avoid his next shot and counterattack with his own? … his shot hit him square in the chest, and he still tried to get to his feet and punch him.
Something was wrong.
He caught his fist as easily as he would catch a baseball. "Red? Are you okay?"
With a strained cry, he tried throwing a punch with his other hand and Keiichiro stepped aside, allowing Red's momentum to send him to the ground.
"Red?"
"Stop fucking around and fight me!"
He scrambled back to his feet and tackled him, but again, Keiichiro dodged with one step and redirected his forward momentum so that he crashed into a nearby bush.
"Red, what's wrong?"
"You're not fighting me, that's what's wrong!"
"I'm not gonna fight you while you're like this!"
Red marched forward and pressed the muzzle of his VS Changer to Keiichiro's helmet. "Like what?!"
"What's wrong -"
"Nothing's wrong! Now, fight me or I'll shoot!"
Something was really wrong.
"No. This isn't you."
"What the fuck do you know about me?"
"I know that you won't shoot."
He moved his finger to the trigger. "I'm a heartless, evil phantom thief, remember? You don't need to feel bad about hurting me."
"You won't shoot," he repeated as he untransformed. "You're kinder than you say you are."
Red's hand quivered. "What's wrong with you?! Just hurt me!"
He really didn't like the way he said that. "No. Red, if I promise that I won't arrest you -"
"Shut up and hurt me!"
"No!"
"Hurt me! Please!"
The pain in his enemy's voice cut him to his core. Maybe he was being too soft and maybe he would regret this, but if he left Red alone and later found out that he'd harmed himself or worse … he'd never forgive himself.
"Red … what's going on?"
He dropped his VS Changer and his transformation, no longer bothering to hide the fact that he was crying.
"Why? Why won't you just hurt me?! You never hesitated before!"
Despite his efforts, he felt a tear roll down his cheek. "I won't hurt you while you're like this. I know I'm the last person you probably want to talk to, but -"
Wailing, Red fell forward, and he automatically caught him in his arms. As his sobs shook his entire body, Keiichiro pulled him into a proper hug and rested his cheek on his shoulder.
"Red … do you wanna talk about it?"
"Why - why are you - you're too nice! I hate it -"
Well, that was a new one. "Uh … I'm sorry?"
He suddenly squeezed him tighter, forcing a grunt of pain out of him. "You - stupid - officer -"
They remained pressed together until Red ran out of tears. He stumbled back, trying to dry his face with his hands and then his sleeves, but something was amiss - ah, his hat was gone. It shouldn't be too hard to find -
Keiichiro knelt down and picked up the hat, which had rolled a short distance away. Dusting it off, he held it out to an amused Red.
As he took it and put it back on, he commented, "You know I have like, ten of these."
Keiichiro shrugged. "It's your hat. It'd be rude not to give it back."
A hint of a genuine smile appeared on his face. "Do you ever get tired of being such a goody two-shoes?"
"It's who I am. I can't help it, I guess." And speaking of things he couldn't help, he found himself automatically taking out his handkerchief and dabbing at Red's cheeks, which were still damp. It was a little challenging trying to do this without touching his mask, but -
Wait, why the hell did he care? Actually, if he wanted to, he could take it off right now -
The thought sent a shiver of revulsion through him. No, not like this - not when Red was this vulnerable. Maybe one day, but not today -
He accidentally jostled the mask a little too far and froze, shutting his eyes immediately.
Red chuckled and placed his hand over Keiichiro's. "I don't know which is worse - your hot blood or whatever this is."
"Shut up, you stupid phantom thief."
He sighed and took the handkerchief. "Since you're so afraid of unmasking me, do you mind if I dry my face myself?"
He pouted. "… I'm not afraid of unmasking you. It just … I don't want to. It wouldn't feel right."
"Okay, okay. I'll let you know when you can open your eyes."
What followed was the longest few minutes of Keiichiro's life. In addition to his temporary loss of sight, there was no sound except for the trees rustling in a gentle midnight breeze. He had no idea if Red was done or not - no idea if this was just a cruel trick or prank - why was he placing his trust in this damn phantom thief -
He felt someone slipping his handkerchief back into his hand. "Thank you, Mr. Hot-Blooded Officer. You can open your eyes now."
His eyes fluttered open as - holy shit, Red was so close -
With an undignified yelp, he stumbled backwards as Red giggled. "Couldn't resist. I'm sorry."
Keiichiro narrowed his eyes. "No, you're not."
"… no, I'm not." His Cheshire grin grew wider as he added, "You're cute when you're surprised."
Against his will, he blushed. "Oh, shut up. But I guess if you're joking around, you must be feeling better?"
He pursed his lips and shrugged. "I guess. Hurts a little less, at any rate."
A wave of relief relaxed Keiichiro's body. Without thinking, he said, "If you ever feel like that again, come find me."
Maybe he was imagining things, but he thought he saw Red's face flush. "… you really are too nice. That waiter's pretty lucky."
His heart ached as he thought of Kairi. He hated it, but he was correct: having a public relationship with him would only paint a target on his back, and the last thing he wanted was for Kairi to get hurt because of him.
But still … when he left earlier, he saw his pain mirrored in Kairi's face. Maybe everything would end up working out after they eliminated all the Ganglars, but if it didn't … if he ended up dying in the line of duty …
"Hey, Red? Can you do me a favor?"
He snorted. "If it's something like 'please surrender yourself -'"
"I'm being serious. If … if I end up dying in our fight against the Ganglars …" (Red's face fell as soon as he mentioned dying.) "… can you please protect Kairi-kun in my stead?"
Red shifted his weight uncomfortably. "… you must really care about him."
"I do. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I felt - no … no, I've never felt like this with anyone else. I -"
I love him so much that it hurts.
He stopped himself mid-sentence. Wasn't Red also an enemy? If he knew how he felt about Kairi and he had the opportunity, wouldn't he take him hostage or something?
As soon as the thought occured to him, he knew that no, Red would never do that. He had no proof or evidence, but somehow he was absolutely certain.
Red tugged at a strand of his hair. "Alright. I'll protect your favorite waiter. But you have to promise that you'll do your best to not die. I, uh …" He turned away, acting uncharacteristically shy. "He mentioned earlier that he felt the same way about you. It'd break his heart if you died, so … don't."
"Okay. I'll try." Out of curiosity, he checked the time - holy shit, midnight already?
Red tilted his head and smirked. "Is it bedtime for good little police officers?"
"Oh, shut up." He marched past him, but paused for a brief moment. "… you are okay now, right?"
"… everything still sucks, but I'll live."
"Okay. Good night, phantom thief."
"… good night, officer."
After half a second of contemplation, he turned around and added, "I meant it when I said you could talk to me -"
But he was already gone.
"… anytime."
… why did he suddenly feel so lonely?