[oneshot] Intruder (Naruse/Yutaka - Maou/Rescue crossover)
Oh my god, seriously, I cannot believe I wrote this. XD;;;
So the story goes that lifeinthebox and I watched the first episode of RESCUE together. Which basically amounted to us laughing at it uncontrollably. I may have made a bad joke or two about Kitajima Daichi (Nakamaru's character) and Serizawa Naoto (Toma's character in Maou) being too similar and wanting crossover fic. AND THEN SHE ACTUALLY WROTE IT. And it was GOOD. XD Talking to her later, she made an offhand joke about me having to hurt her if she was inspired to write Yutaka (Massu's char in Rescue)/Naruse (Ohno's in Maou) fic later.
... and, well, insomnia and having an overactive imagination do not mix well, my friends. So I stayed up until 7AM writing this... thing. I just... I don't even know. Seriously. THIS is the thing to break my writer's block? XD;;
AND IT'S ALMOST 1200 WORDS TOO! *cries*
intruder (vaguely Naruse/Yutaka)
Naruse stared out the window of the speeding car, fingers gripping the wheel tightly as he mentally cursed himself. Privacy was a key factor in keeping his facade up and running smoothly. The less people knew about the real Naruse Ryo, the easier it was to work on his revenge undeterred.
So to have forgotten that today was the day his landlady was having a new fire alarm system installed in his apartment was not at all like him. Thank goodness she'd called his office to remind him. Still, the idea of some random stranger snooping around his apartment bothered him deeply, so he made an excuse about having to meet with an old client, shoved some paperwork off on his paralegal, and made a beeline for his car.
If everything unraveled over a stupid mistake like this...
His fingers squeezed the steering wheel tightly. No. No, that wouldn’t happen. He had worked too hard and too long to let something as insignificant as a snoopy maintenance man derail his plans. Naruse would make it in time. And if he didn't... well...
There were ways to deal with people who didn't know how to mind their own business.
Pulling into his apartment building's parking garage, the lawyer did his best to look composed and not at all frantic as he entered the building. Panicking now would do him no good. His suit was given a few pats and tugs to straighten out the fabric before knocking on his landlady's door.
As always, she was delighted to see him, and they chattered pleasantly droll greetings, he apologizing for his tardiness and she apologizing for not waiting for him to show up. Apparently she had already sent her nephew up a few minutes earlier. Her nephew the firefighter, she clarified, smiling as if she was the one who fought her way through the flames on a weekly basis. Honestly, Naruse really couldn't bring himself to care. Her nephew could be a world famous astronaut who fed orphans every Saturday and bums every Tuesday, but as long as he was in Naruse's apartment unsupervised, he was an intruder and had to be dealt with as such. Still, he managed to spare her an impressed Oh is that so? before excusing himself to go meet this saintly firefighting nephew of hers.
The elevator ride up to his floor seemed hellishly long. Naruse forced a few deep breaths through his nose, in and out, in and out. Everything would be fine. There's nothing to worry about. After what seemed like hours the elevator came to a stop and then it was only a brisk walk to his door. A few more deep breaths--everything is fine--and then he opened the door.
A young man was standing on a stepladder in the living room. Stocky build, broad shoulders, muscular arms, and cropped black hair. If nothing else, he sure looked like a fireman. His arms were stretched towards the ceiling, fiddling with a little chunk of white plastic that was, presumably, the smoke alarm. From the looks of it, he hadn't yet noticed Naruse's arrival.
Naruse gulped and took a few steps forward. "Excuse me..."
The young man turned at the noise. Arms still up in the air, he looked the stranger over before smiling brightly. "Oh, you must be Naruse-sensei! Sorry to intrude! My aunt said to go ahead and come in..."
"No, it's my fault for being late." Naruse bowed his head politely, gauging the other man. Had he seen anything? But there was no uneasiness in his demeanor, and at Naruse’s words, the firefighter offered a noncommittal shrug. “I’m nearly done, anyway. These things don’t take too long to set up.”
With his attention squarely back on the device in his hands, Naruse allowed his eyes to flick towards the hallway nervously. Everything in the apartment looked the same as he'd left it this morning. Well, except for the fire alarm and the young man installing it, of course. Still, Naruse couldn’t allow himself to feel entirely at ease yet. For all he knew, the landlady’s nephew could be a liar on par with Naruse himself. After all, she thought Naruse was a saint, too.
The lawyer was busy contemplating the best way to get rid of a firefighter that didn’t involve arson when his unwitting potential victim spoke.
"Tetsuka Yutaka."
“Eh?”
“My name.” The young man grinned. “It’s Tetsuka Yutaka. I work for the Yokohama 119.”
“Oh.” Naruse blinked a few times. He hadn’t expected the sudden information. Again he found himself nodding his head politely in the other’s direction. “Naruse Ryo.”
Yutaka nodded and smiled as he climbed off the ladder, wiping a few specks of spackle from his fingers. “I know.”
The way Yutaka spoke made something ugly and fearful rise up in the young lawyer’s chest. Subconsciously, Naruse’s eyes wandered towards the hallway and the door to his darkroom. This time the young firefighter caught it. "Don't worry. I only snoop around other people's houses when they’re burning."
The admission caught Naruse by surprise; he hadn't realized he was being so obvious. Still, he had enough presence of mind to look reasonably apologetic, an embarrassed smile to match Yutaka's merry one. "Ah, I'm sorry."
"It's fine," Yutaka said, smile widening in response. Maybe it was the way his eyes crinkled, or perhaps it could have been the dimples, but staring at Yutaka's smiling face, Naruse felt strangely at ease. To say there was something entirely disarming about the young man was a huge understatement.
It was disconcerting.
"Well," Yutaka started, shoving his hands in his pocket and rocking back on his heels, "everything's in working order. If you have any trouble, don't hesitate to call. Oh, and make sure to test the alarm every month." The button he pointed to flashed dimly, like a feeble heartbeat.
Naruse nodded, thanking him repeatedly for the installation and offering to help pack up his tools. The quicker he got Yutaka out of his apartment, the better. He felt on edge around the other man, though whether due to Yutaka’s role as a stranger in his house or to the strange sense of calm the young man radiated, he wasn’t entirely sure.
More polite thanks were exchanged as the two men walked to the door, Naruse with his briefcase and Yutaka with his stepladder and tool box. A wave of relief washed over Naruse the moment Tetsuka stepped out of his door. The threat was leaving, if there had even been a threat in the first place. Despite himself, he believed Yutaka hadn’t seen anything. Even more troubling was that he realized he truly wanted to believe the cheerful young man. He met liars and swindlers on a daily basis. To meet someone so sincere was almost… refreshing.
Besides, he thought idly as he watched Yutaka walk down the hall, offing anyone with that cute a butt would just be a horrible waste.
-----
... seriously, what the hell was that!?
So the story goes that lifeinthebox and I watched the first episode of RESCUE together. Which basically amounted to us laughing at it uncontrollably. I may have made a bad joke or two about Kitajima Daichi (Nakamaru's character) and Serizawa Naoto (Toma's character in Maou) being too similar and wanting crossover fic. AND THEN SHE ACTUALLY WROTE IT. And it was GOOD. XD Talking to her later, she made an offhand joke about me having to hurt her if she was inspired to write Yutaka (Massu's char in Rescue)/Naruse (Ohno's in Maou) fic later.
... and, well, insomnia and having an overactive imagination do not mix well, my friends. So I stayed up until 7AM writing this... thing. I just... I don't even know. Seriously. THIS is the thing to break my writer's block? XD;;
AND IT'S ALMOST 1200 WORDS TOO! *cries*
intruder (vaguely Naruse/Yutaka)
Naruse stared out the window of the speeding car, fingers gripping the wheel tightly as he mentally cursed himself. Privacy was a key factor in keeping his facade up and running smoothly. The less people knew about the real Naruse Ryo, the easier it was to work on his revenge undeterred.
So to have forgotten that today was the day his landlady was having a new fire alarm system installed in his apartment was not at all like him. Thank goodness she'd called his office to remind him. Still, the idea of some random stranger snooping around his apartment bothered him deeply, so he made an excuse about having to meet with an old client, shoved some paperwork off on his paralegal, and made a beeline for his car.
If everything unraveled over a stupid mistake like this...
His fingers squeezed the steering wheel tightly. No. No, that wouldn’t happen. He had worked too hard and too long to let something as insignificant as a snoopy maintenance man derail his plans. Naruse would make it in time. And if he didn't... well...
There were ways to deal with people who didn't know how to mind their own business.
Pulling into his apartment building's parking garage, the lawyer did his best to look composed and not at all frantic as he entered the building. Panicking now would do him no good. His suit was given a few pats and tugs to straighten out the fabric before knocking on his landlady's door.
As always, she was delighted to see him, and they chattered pleasantly droll greetings, he apologizing for his tardiness and she apologizing for not waiting for him to show up. Apparently she had already sent her nephew up a few minutes earlier. Her nephew the firefighter, she clarified, smiling as if she was the one who fought her way through the flames on a weekly basis. Honestly, Naruse really couldn't bring himself to care. Her nephew could be a world famous astronaut who fed orphans every Saturday and bums every Tuesday, but as long as he was in Naruse's apartment unsupervised, he was an intruder and had to be dealt with as such. Still, he managed to spare her an impressed Oh is that so? before excusing himself to go meet this saintly firefighting nephew of hers.
The elevator ride up to his floor seemed hellishly long. Naruse forced a few deep breaths through his nose, in and out, in and out. Everything would be fine. There's nothing to worry about. After what seemed like hours the elevator came to a stop and then it was only a brisk walk to his door. A few more deep breaths--everything is fine--and then he opened the door.
A young man was standing on a stepladder in the living room. Stocky build, broad shoulders, muscular arms, and cropped black hair. If nothing else, he sure looked like a fireman. His arms were stretched towards the ceiling, fiddling with a little chunk of white plastic that was, presumably, the smoke alarm. From the looks of it, he hadn't yet noticed Naruse's arrival.
Naruse gulped and took a few steps forward. "Excuse me..."
The young man turned at the noise. Arms still up in the air, he looked the stranger over before smiling brightly. "Oh, you must be Naruse-sensei! Sorry to intrude! My aunt said to go ahead and come in..."
"No, it's my fault for being late." Naruse bowed his head politely, gauging the other man. Had he seen anything? But there was no uneasiness in his demeanor, and at Naruse’s words, the firefighter offered a noncommittal shrug. “I’m nearly done, anyway. These things don’t take too long to set up.”
With his attention squarely back on the device in his hands, Naruse allowed his eyes to flick towards the hallway nervously. Everything in the apartment looked the same as he'd left it this morning. Well, except for the fire alarm and the young man installing it, of course. Still, Naruse couldn’t allow himself to feel entirely at ease yet. For all he knew, the landlady’s nephew could be a liar on par with Naruse himself. After all, she thought Naruse was a saint, too.
The lawyer was busy contemplating the best way to get rid of a firefighter that didn’t involve arson when his unwitting potential victim spoke.
"Tetsuka Yutaka."
“Eh?”
“My name.” The young man grinned. “It’s Tetsuka Yutaka. I work for the Yokohama 119.”
“Oh.” Naruse blinked a few times. He hadn’t expected the sudden information. Again he found himself nodding his head politely in the other’s direction. “Naruse Ryo.”
Yutaka nodded and smiled as he climbed off the ladder, wiping a few specks of spackle from his fingers. “I know.”
The way Yutaka spoke made something ugly and fearful rise up in the young lawyer’s chest. Subconsciously, Naruse’s eyes wandered towards the hallway and the door to his darkroom. This time the young firefighter caught it. "Don't worry. I only snoop around other people's houses when they’re burning."
The admission caught Naruse by surprise; he hadn't realized he was being so obvious. Still, he had enough presence of mind to look reasonably apologetic, an embarrassed smile to match Yutaka's merry one. "Ah, I'm sorry."
"It's fine," Yutaka said, smile widening in response. Maybe it was the way his eyes crinkled, or perhaps it could have been the dimples, but staring at Yutaka's smiling face, Naruse felt strangely at ease. To say there was something entirely disarming about the young man was a huge understatement.
It was disconcerting.
"Well," Yutaka started, shoving his hands in his pocket and rocking back on his heels, "everything's in working order. If you have any trouble, don't hesitate to call. Oh, and make sure to test the alarm every month." The button he pointed to flashed dimly, like a feeble heartbeat.
Naruse nodded, thanking him repeatedly for the installation and offering to help pack up his tools. The quicker he got Yutaka out of his apartment, the better. He felt on edge around the other man, though whether due to Yutaka’s role as a stranger in his house or to the strange sense of calm the young man radiated, he wasn’t entirely sure.
More polite thanks were exchanged as the two men walked to the door, Naruse with his briefcase and Yutaka with his stepladder and tool box. A wave of relief washed over Naruse the moment Tetsuka stepped out of his door. The threat was leaving, if there had even been a threat in the first place. Despite himself, he believed Yutaka hadn’t seen anything. Even more troubling was that he realized he truly wanted to believe the cheerful young man. He met liars and swindlers on a daily basis. To meet someone so sincere was almost… refreshing.
Besides, he thought idly as he watched Yutaka walk down the hall, offing anyone with that cute a butt would just be a horrible waste.
-----
... seriously, what the hell was that!?