Playing Both Sides
Title: Playing Both Sides
Pairings/Groups: Shige/Yoko, Shige/Yamashita
Rating: Soft R
Words: 2,895
Warnings: Detective AU. Angst.
Summary: Shige's new partner has more than just the hots for him.
Notes: *Repost* For pot_and_kettle for jerainbowbridge 2010. Originally posted here. Cut text from Paramore's "Ignorance."
-=-
"Time's up," Yoko's voice is quick, clipped, crackling in his ear, and Shige's eyes slide to Yamashita. "Word is they've got me. Have had me but they wanted you. I'm leaving town. Can't tell you where, but I'll let you know. Be careful of Yamashita. They don't have you but they'll try. If they catch me, don't give in." The line goes dead and Shige slowly closes his phone, pursing his lips, thinking.
"Who was that?" Yamashita asks, eyeing him lazily from where he's sprawled over the arm of Shige's couch.
"Wrong number," Shige replies and reaches for his shirt.
It had all started in college, with the 'perfect crimes' club. Yoko had been really into it and Shige had been really into Yoko, so he'd tagged along. Shige was studying law when he wasn't studying Yoko, and had plans to join the National Police Agency's Criminal Investigations Bureau - he found the club to be quite educational. His own personal motto was, "You have to know the law to flaunt it," and the perfect crimes he helped concoct were complicated and exact. And perfect training.
Four years later, long after he had left the club but not Yoko, Yoko had circumspectly approached him about a new 'criminal' organization that was, Yoko said, a little bit like Robin Hood - white collar crimes that stole from the rich to give to the poor, doling out nearly 100% of the stolen funds to charities all over Japan that the government refused to help. But that wasn't all. The leaders of the organization were all working their ways up the political ladder, positioning themselves across the government organizations in an attempt to crowd out self-serving political officials whose greedy ways had caused the problem in the first place. What their intention was, Yoko said, was to provide immediate relief now, while preparing for long-term relief in the future. And they wanted Shige to be their man in the Bureau.
Shige would have thought Yoko was screwing with him except for the dead-serious expression the man wore. Yoko had always been bad at lying.
"A crime is still a crime, Yoko. And I'm a cop." Which meant he knew all about the corruption within the government and the difficulty involved in fighting it. He tried not to be hopeful.
"I know. But…" Yoko looked away.
And so Shige had met Yasuda, the only other member Yoko knew, to get the details, and, before he knew it, he was an accomplice. He told himself that if it went south, he could just turn them in. That was the collateral. Watching the group keep their promise, though, donating almost all of the money from the heists, was balm to his inflamed conscience. It was risky, but Shige had found something to believe in.
Shige sprawls in his chair, forearms resting on the table in front of him, the detective across from him droning on and on with questions. He's never been on this side of an interrogation before, and he likes it just about as much as one would expect. And he's angry. He watches his reflection in the one-way mirror and knows that Yamashita is on the other side, listening, talking about the case with his real partner.
"Tell Yamashita to come do his own dirty work," Shige finally spits. "I'm not talking to you." He folds his arms and looks away. After a moment, the detective leaves. He counts the scratches on the table where handcuffs have dragged along the surface. His heart is beating furiously. He's guilty, sure. Worried they'll have something on him to implicate him, of course. But mostly he's enraged and hurt. Shige has never been betrayed.
Two years after Shige started moonlighting, there was a nearly fatal accident, and Shige's partner-in-justice, Koyama Keiichiro, was hospitalized with a spinal injury. Shige had been beside himself with the worry and stress that comes with both knowing that one wrong move would paralyze his best friend forever and doing the job of two men.
"How's Koyama?" Yoko asked as they made their way to the station, hands bumping together as they walked.
Shige sighed and linked their pinkies a moment, squeezing once before letting go. "He's okay. Healing all right, the doctor says. He might be able to go home in a couple months, but they may keep him longer since he has no one to be with him. His mom wouldn't be able to take care of him every night. They're trying to arrange for a nurse to come by six nights a week."
"How's he taking it?"
"Ah, well. You know Koyama. Always has to be moving. It's getting to him, but he's trying to stay positive." Rather forcefully kicking a stone, Shige sighed again. "Damnit, Koyama. Did you have to fall out the window?"
"That bony ass of his was certainly no protection. Just be glad it was on the job."
Shige shot him a dirty look. "I don't see how he would have fallen out of one not on the job. He's afraid of heights."
Yoko hummed thoughtfully. "Still no new partner?"
"No, and I hope it stays that way. I can do our work fine by myself and it's less complicated that way."
When Shige walked in to the office and saw someone sitting at Koyama's desk, he knew he should have knocked on wood. He stood staring at the oblivious detective until his boss called his name.
"Kato! Yamashita. My office."
Yamashita, he supposed, stood smoothly and passed Shige, giving him a small smile as he followed the chief. Shige followed morosely behind.
"Chief…" Shige said as the door clicked shut behind him. "You know how I feel about this."
"I do," he replied and nodded. "But regardless of how much work you think you can do, you can't do the job of two people for another eight months or so." When Shige glowered at him, he waved at him placatingly. "Now, now, Kato. I'm not saying you're not capable in the short-term. It's just too long for you to do it. And Yamashita here has also recently lost a partner-"
Shige interrupted him, "I haven't lost Koyama. He's coming back."
Yamashita watched their exchange with a worried look, head slightly tilted as his gaze ping-ponged between them.
"Sorry," Shige muttered, nodding to Yamashita. "It's nothing against you."
"It's okay," Yamashita said with a closed-lip smile and crinkled eyes. "I know what it feels like to be forced to take a new partner when you're not ready."
Shige felt shame rush through him and spill out onto his cheeks as a blush. "Sorry," he repeated.
Yamashita just half-smiled and shrugged. "No worries."
"It's temporary, in any case," the chief cut in. "As temporary as almost a year can be, I suppose. Just try to do your best together until Koyama gets back." When he sat down, turning his attention to a pile of paperwork, Shige slipped out the door and Yamashita followed.
The door opens and Yamashita steps in and Shige's eyes follow him as he gracefully slips into the seat across from him and shuffles through a file, not meeting Shige's eyes.
"Look at me, you asshole."
Yamashita's eyes snap up to meet his and there's a flash of regret in them before his face smoothes out into a mask Shige knows well. So that's how it would be.
"So professional as always, Tomo. Always so easy for you to slip between public and private life with the blink of an eye." He doesn't try to keep his lip from curling as he bites out the words.
Yamashita just clears his throat and looks back at the file. "You wanted me. Here I am."
As much as Shige hadn't wanted a new partner, Yamashita made his life easier. He was the epitome of professional, and while he could be a bit of an airhead when no one else was around, when it was work he was completely on target. He didn't have Koyama's gift for gab, but he had his own subtle charisma that made people want to be near him and it accomplished the same thing, anyway. Shige just wished it hadn't extended to him.
He hadn't felt like that in a long time. Between work and Yoko, Shige had gotten comfortable. It had been years since he'd had a budding love affair and he realized he missed the little shocks at light touches that went straight to his cock and sped up his heart rate. Shoulders brushing as they looked over a file, the puff of hot air against the shell of his ear as Yamashita leaned close to whisper a question, Yamashita's fingers tracing the inseam of his slacks under the table as they sat side-by-side, and all Shige wanted was to grab him by the collar and feel those pretty lips against his own.
In the end, Yamashita did it first, waiting to be invited into Shige's apartment and then shoving Shige up against his own door and stepping so they were millimeters away from each other, leaning forward just enough to press their lips together hungrily. Well. If Yamashita was going to start it, he sure as hell would see it through. Reaching up, he grabbed Yamashita by the belt loops and pulled them flush together. Yamashita grunted into his mouth at the impact and threaded his fingers into Shige's hair, moved his lips over Shige's and then slid his tongue mind-numbingly slowly along Shige's bottom lip and Shige let his mouth fall open as he shuddered and let Yamashita in.
He should have known it was too good to last.
"Enough," Shige says tiredly. "Enough." He watches Yamashita purse his lips, remembers what they'd felt like pressed against his own and shudders. Wonders if Yamashita ever actually loved him or if he was just a whore, earning his salary fucking Shige into confession.
"Come on, Kato."
Shige raises his eyebrows. "Still no 'Shige'?" The slight crack in Yamashita's mask when his lip twitches gratifies Shige.
"If you confess to your part and give us the names of everyone you know who is involved, I'll guarantee a reduction of Yokoyama's sentence."
So that's the plan. "When you catch him, you mean." He rubs his fingers across his chin and then presses his forefinger thoughtfully against his lips.
"He's your lover, isn't he? Surely you don't want him to suffer alone for something you're equally guilty of."
Shige laughs and spreads his hands in a helpless gesture. "I don't know what you're talking about. Yes, Yoko and I are lovers. But I'm not guilty of anything. And you were my lover, too. So I guess that evens things out if you're going for guilt by association."
It's been six hours of interrogation and Shige knows Yamashita is frustrated. He knows all his little tells by now. Finally, Yamashita snaps, "Doesn't he mean anything to you?"
The stunned silence grows heavy between them and Shige can't help the way his voice cracks when he asks, "Didn't I mean anything to you?"
Shige woke first, quietly sliding out of bed and padding into the kitchen to get the coffee going. Ten minutes later he slipped back into his room and perched on the edge of the bed, watching Yoko's peaceful sleeping face, the slight smile he was wearing making Shige smile, too. Must be a good dream, Shige thought, and reached out to brush Yoko's hair out of his face.
"Whatimezzit?" Yoko slurred without moving.
"Seven," Shige replied and laughed when Yoko scrunched his nose. "Hey. We've got work. Unless you've suddenly quit your job and not told me. It's not my fault you spent all night out gallivanting before coming to see me at 3 a.m. You don't hear me complaining about my precious sleep being interrupted."
Yoko snorted. "That's because you got laid."
Laughing, Shige carefully placed his coffee on the nightstand and scooted close to Yoko, running a hand down his blanketed side and leering. "If you promise not to breathe on me, you can get laid. If it will shut you up."
Trying to look as though he was put-upon, Yoko sighed and scoffed. "'Cause I'd be the only one getting something out of it."
Shige laughed and yanked the covers off Yoko, sliding cool hands down the warm flesh and watching Yoko shudder at his touch.
"Whatever," Yoko said casually, turning onto his back and pulling his legs up. "Be quick. Some of us have work."
Smiling, Shige pressed a kiss to Yoko's knee. "Yes, sir."
-=-
As usual, Yoko, with his impeccable sense of timing, chose the moment they were both shoveling cereal into their mouths to broach the topic of Yamashita.
"'scuse me?" Shige asked incredulously, hand covering his mouth as he desperately tried to chew.
"I said, 'Be careful of Yamashita.' The guys are a little nervous about how close you're getting to him."
Shige was quiet for a few bites, thinking. "I think," he finally offered, "that I might be in love with him."
"What? No," Yoko replied emphatically. "You can't seriously see this guy."
Shige's eyebrows rose. "I know it's not because you're jealous. I know for a fact that you've been sleeping with your mad scientist at least twice a week for the last two months." The blush that lit up Yoko's cheeks was rather endearing and Shige smiled fondly at him.
"Aiba's not mad. He's… eccentric."
Shige snorted. "Yeah, okay."
"Anyway," Yoko went on, waving his hand. "The point is that this isn't just some guy. He's a detective. He's going to find out if you spend any decent amount of time together. And all detectives aren't going to be as morally ambiguous as you. Or turn a blind eye and pretend they know nothing." Koyama's name hung heavy and unsaid between them. He'd never implied that he knew, but neither of them could see how he couldn't know.
"I feel like I should protest that morally ambiguous bit, but I can't exactly say any of it is untrue." He eyed Yoko. "In any case, you haven't met Yamashita. I watched him spend twenty minutes yesterday trying to figure out how to open a bag of chips. I'm not intensely worried about being able to outsmart him." Shige had been stunned into silence, watching open-mouthed, at that display of intellect. He still couldn't get over it.
"You also said that he can be really intuitive sometimes." Yoko put his hand on Shige's shoulder. "Look. I know you like him. But it's just not a good idea. Not for you. But especially not for all of us."
His face falls and Yoko's features soften.
"We might be wrong. But it's not a good idea in any case, Shige. Logic is your strong point. Follow it through." He stroked his hand down Shige's cheek and Shige leaned into it.
He hated it when Yoko was right.
They don't have enough evidence to hold him and Shige goes free. Yoko hasn't contacted him yet, but it's not even been a week. He's patient. Always patient for Yoko. He's been suspended with pay for the time being and he doesn't know what to do about the organization, either. His life is in limbo.
For a few days he mopes around the house, only leaving to buy groceries and visit Koyama. Koyama, as usual, knows. Shige has no idea what he knows, won't ask, but he can feel it between them in the way Koyama reaches out to touch him more often than usual. He misses Yamashita. Hates him. Loathes him. Loves him. Not the same way he loves Yoko - patiently, enduringly, forever - but painfully, an emotion so hot it burns and he's so out of control for him.
When Yamashita turns up on his doorstep one week after the interrogation ended, the man looks like shit, but Shige's never seen anyone so beautiful or haunted. They don't even say anything until Yamashita lays sprawled and naked and glorious beneath Shige, breath coming in ragged pants and eyes full of everything he can't say.
"This is it," Shige says, the last time, he thinks, because they both know the betrayal will taint everything and make it rancid. He waits for Yamashita to nod before pushing in in one long stroke and Yamashita's moan is like a drug, rushing through him and making him desperate for more. Harder, faster, lips pressed together in a desperate, messy clash, Yamashita's cock twitching in his hand as his own orgasm is ripped out of him and it's always been like this.
And just like that, Yamashita is gone and it feels like a gaping hole is left and he wishes things had been different somehow. But you can't change the past and Shige will never try.
-=-Two months later-=-
The phone rings and he doesn't recognize the number.
"Hey, babe," Yoko's voice scratchy and beautiful on the other end and Shige relaxes, tension releasing he hadn't even known he'd been holding on to. "You miss me?" he asks playfully.
"And how."
What he and Yoko have isn't white-hot and all-consuming, it doesn't give him butterflies in his stomach or send his pulse rocketing, but it's slow-burning and deep, and will never die. Shige likes sure odds, and it doesn't get more sure than this.
Pairings/Groups: Shige/Yoko, Shige/Yamashita
Rating: Soft R
Words: 2,895
Warnings: Detective AU. Angst.
Summary: Shige's new partner has more than just the hots for him.
Notes: *Repost* For pot_and_kettle for jerainbowbridge 2010. Originally posted here. Cut text from Paramore's "Ignorance."
-=-
"Time's up," Yoko's voice is quick, clipped, crackling in his ear, and Shige's eyes slide to Yamashita. "Word is they've got me. Have had me but they wanted you. I'm leaving town. Can't tell you where, but I'll let you know. Be careful of Yamashita. They don't have you but they'll try. If they catch me, don't give in." The line goes dead and Shige slowly closes his phone, pursing his lips, thinking.
"Who was that?" Yamashita asks, eyeing him lazily from where he's sprawled over the arm of Shige's couch.
"Wrong number," Shige replies and reaches for his shirt.
It had all started in college, with the 'perfect crimes' club. Yoko had been really into it and Shige had been really into Yoko, so he'd tagged along. Shige was studying law when he wasn't studying Yoko, and had plans to join the National Police Agency's Criminal Investigations Bureau - he found the club to be quite educational. His own personal motto was, "You have to know the law to flaunt it," and the perfect crimes he helped concoct were complicated and exact. And perfect training.
Four years later, long after he had left the club but not Yoko, Yoko had circumspectly approached him about a new 'criminal' organization that was, Yoko said, a little bit like Robin Hood - white collar crimes that stole from the rich to give to the poor, doling out nearly 100% of the stolen funds to charities all over Japan that the government refused to help. But that wasn't all. The leaders of the organization were all working their ways up the political ladder, positioning themselves across the government organizations in an attempt to crowd out self-serving political officials whose greedy ways had caused the problem in the first place. What their intention was, Yoko said, was to provide immediate relief now, while preparing for long-term relief in the future. And they wanted Shige to be their man in the Bureau.
Shige would have thought Yoko was screwing with him except for the dead-serious expression the man wore. Yoko had always been bad at lying.
"A crime is still a crime, Yoko. And I'm a cop." Which meant he knew all about the corruption within the government and the difficulty involved in fighting it. He tried not to be hopeful.
"I know. But…" Yoko looked away.
And so Shige had met Yasuda, the only other member Yoko knew, to get the details, and, before he knew it, he was an accomplice. He told himself that if it went south, he could just turn them in. That was the collateral. Watching the group keep their promise, though, donating almost all of the money from the heists, was balm to his inflamed conscience. It was risky, but Shige had found something to believe in.
Shige sprawls in his chair, forearms resting on the table in front of him, the detective across from him droning on and on with questions. He's never been on this side of an interrogation before, and he likes it just about as much as one would expect. And he's angry. He watches his reflection in the one-way mirror and knows that Yamashita is on the other side, listening, talking about the case with his real partner.
"Tell Yamashita to come do his own dirty work," Shige finally spits. "I'm not talking to you." He folds his arms and looks away. After a moment, the detective leaves. He counts the scratches on the table where handcuffs have dragged along the surface. His heart is beating furiously. He's guilty, sure. Worried they'll have something on him to implicate him, of course. But mostly he's enraged and hurt. Shige has never been betrayed.
Two years after Shige started moonlighting, there was a nearly fatal accident, and Shige's partner-in-justice, Koyama Keiichiro, was hospitalized with a spinal injury. Shige had been beside himself with the worry and stress that comes with both knowing that one wrong move would paralyze his best friend forever and doing the job of two men.
"How's Koyama?" Yoko asked as they made their way to the station, hands bumping together as they walked.
Shige sighed and linked their pinkies a moment, squeezing once before letting go. "He's okay. Healing all right, the doctor says. He might be able to go home in a couple months, but they may keep him longer since he has no one to be with him. His mom wouldn't be able to take care of him every night. They're trying to arrange for a nurse to come by six nights a week."
"How's he taking it?"
"Ah, well. You know Koyama. Always has to be moving. It's getting to him, but he's trying to stay positive." Rather forcefully kicking a stone, Shige sighed again. "Damnit, Koyama. Did you have to fall out the window?"
"That bony ass of his was certainly no protection. Just be glad it was on the job."
Shige shot him a dirty look. "I don't see how he would have fallen out of one not on the job. He's afraid of heights."
Yoko hummed thoughtfully. "Still no new partner?"
"No, and I hope it stays that way. I can do our work fine by myself and it's less complicated that way."
When Shige walked in to the office and saw someone sitting at Koyama's desk, he knew he should have knocked on wood. He stood staring at the oblivious detective until his boss called his name.
"Kato! Yamashita. My office."
Yamashita, he supposed, stood smoothly and passed Shige, giving him a small smile as he followed the chief. Shige followed morosely behind.
"Chief…" Shige said as the door clicked shut behind him. "You know how I feel about this."
"I do," he replied and nodded. "But regardless of how much work you think you can do, you can't do the job of two people for another eight months or so." When Shige glowered at him, he waved at him placatingly. "Now, now, Kato. I'm not saying you're not capable in the short-term. It's just too long for you to do it. And Yamashita here has also recently lost a partner-"
Shige interrupted him, "I haven't lost Koyama. He's coming back."
Yamashita watched their exchange with a worried look, head slightly tilted as his gaze ping-ponged between them.
"Sorry," Shige muttered, nodding to Yamashita. "It's nothing against you."
"It's okay," Yamashita said with a closed-lip smile and crinkled eyes. "I know what it feels like to be forced to take a new partner when you're not ready."
Shige felt shame rush through him and spill out onto his cheeks as a blush. "Sorry," he repeated.
Yamashita just half-smiled and shrugged. "No worries."
"It's temporary, in any case," the chief cut in. "As temporary as almost a year can be, I suppose. Just try to do your best together until Koyama gets back." When he sat down, turning his attention to a pile of paperwork, Shige slipped out the door and Yamashita followed.
The door opens and Yamashita steps in and Shige's eyes follow him as he gracefully slips into the seat across from him and shuffles through a file, not meeting Shige's eyes.
"Look at me, you asshole."
Yamashita's eyes snap up to meet his and there's a flash of regret in them before his face smoothes out into a mask Shige knows well. So that's how it would be.
"So professional as always, Tomo. Always so easy for you to slip between public and private life with the blink of an eye." He doesn't try to keep his lip from curling as he bites out the words.
Yamashita just clears his throat and looks back at the file. "You wanted me. Here I am."
As much as Shige hadn't wanted a new partner, Yamashita made his life easier. He was the epitome of professional, and while he could be a bit of an airhead when no one else was around, when it was work he was completely on target. He didn't have Koyama's gift for gab, but he had his own subtle charisma that made people want to be near him and it accomplished the same thing, anyway. Shige just wished it hadn't extended to him.
He hadn't felt like that in a long time. Between work and Yoko, Shige had gotten comfortable. It had been years since he'd had a budding love affair and he realized he missed the little shocks at light touches that went straight to his cock and sped up his heart rate. Shoulders brushing as they looked over a file, the puff of hot air against the shell of his ear as Yamashita leaned close to whisper a question, Yamashita's fingers tracing the inseam of his slacks under the table as they sat side-by-side, and all Shige wanted was to grab him by the collar and feel those pretty lips against his own.
In the end, Yamashita did it first, waiting to be invited into Shige's apartment and then shoving Shige up against his own door and stepping so they were millimeters away from each other, leaning forward just enough to press their lips together hungrily. Well. If Yamashita was going to start it, he sure as hell would see it through. Reaching up, he grabbed Yamashita by the belt loops and pulled them flush together. Yamashita grunted into his mouth at the impact and threaded his fingers into Shige's hair, moved his lips over Shige's and then slid his tongue mind-numbingly slowly along Shige's bottom lip and Shige let his mouth fall open as he shuddered and let Yamashita in.
He should have known it was too good to last.
"Enough," Shige says tiredly. "Enough." He watches Yamashita purse his lips, remembers what they'd felt like pressed against his own and shudders. Wonders if Yamashita ever actually loved him or if he was just a whore, earning his salary fucking Shige into confession.
"Come on, Kato."
Shige raises his eyebrows. "Still no 'Shige'?" The slight crack in Yamashita's mask when his lip twitches gratifies Shige.
"If you confess to your part and give us the names of everyone you know who is involved, I'll guarantee a reduction of Yokoyama's sentence."
So that's the plan. "When you catch him, you mean." He rubs his fingers across his chin and then presses his forefinger thoughtfully against his lips.
"He's your lover, isn't he? Surely you don't want him to suffer alone for something you're equally guilty of."
Shige laughs and spreads his hands in a helpless gesture. "I don't know what you're talking about. Yes, Yoko and I are lovers. But I'm not guilty of anything. And you were my lover, too. So I guess that evens things out if you're going for guilt by association."
It's been six hours of interrogation and Shige knows Yamashita is frustrated. He knows all his little tells by now. Finally, Yamashita snaps, "Doesn't he mean anything to you?"
The stunned silence grows heavy between them and Shige can't help the way his voice cracks when he asks, "Didn't I mean anything to you?"
Shige woke first, quietly sliding out of bed and padding into the kitchen to get the coffee going. Ten minutes later he slipped back into his room and perched on the edge of the bed, watching Yoko's peaceful sleeping face, the slight smile he was wearing making Shige smile, too. Must be a good dream, Shige thought, and reached out to brush Yoko's hair out of his face.
"Whatimezzit?" Yoko slurred without moving.
"Seven," Shige replied and laughed when Yoko scrunched his nose. "Hey. We've got work. Unless you've suddenly quit your job and not told me. It's not my fault you spent all night out gallivanting before coming to see me at 3 a.m. You don't hear me complaining about my precious sleep being interrupted."
Yoko snorted. "That's because you got laid."
Laughing, Shige carefully placed his coffee on the nightstand and scooted close to Yoko, running a hand down his blanketed side and leering. "If you promise not to breathe on me, you can get laid. If it will shut you up."
Trying to look as though he was put-upon, Yoko sighed and scoffed. "'Cause I'd be the only one getting something out of it."
Shige laughed and yanked the covers off Yoko, sliding cool hands down the warm flesh and watching Yoko shudder at his touch.
"Whatever," Yoko said casually, turning onto his back and pulling his legs up. "Be quick. Some of us have work."
Smiling, Shige pressed a kiss to Yoko's knee. "Yes, sir."
-=-
As usual, Yoko, with his impeccable sense of timing, chose the moment they were both shoveling cereal into their mouths to broach the topic of Yamashita.
"'scuse me?" Shige asked incredulously, hand covering his mouth as he desperately tried to chew.
"I said, 'Be careful of Yamashita.' The guys are a little nervous about how close you're getting to him."
Shige was quiet for a few bites, thinking. "I think," he finally offered, "that I might be in love with him."
"What? No," Yoko replied emphatically. "You can't seriously see this guy."
Shige's eyebrows rose. "I know it's not because you're jealous. I know for a fact that you've been sleeping with your mad scientist at least twice a week for the last two months." The blush that lit up Yoko's cheeks was rather endearing and Shige smiled fondly at him.
"Aiba's not mad. He's… eccentric."
Shige snorted. "Yeah, okay."
"Anyway," Yoko went on, waving his hand. "The point is that this isn't just some guy. He's a detective. He's going to find out if you spend any decent amount of time together. And all detectives aren't going to be as morally ambiguous as you. Or turn a blind eye and pretend they know nothing." Koyama's name hung heavy and unsaid between them. He'd never implied that he knew, but neither of them could see how he couldn't know.
"I feel like I should protest that morally ambiguous bit, but I can't exactly say any of it is untrue." He eyed Yoko. "In any case, you haven't met Yamashita. I watched him spend twenty minutes yesterday trying to figure out how to open a bag of chips. I'm not intensely worried about being able to outsmart him." Shige had been stunned into silence, watching open-mouthed, at that display of intellect. He still couldn't get over it.
"You also said that he can be really intuitive sometimes." Yoko put his hand on Shige's shoulder. "Look. I know you like him. But it's just not a good idea. Not for you. But especially not for all of us."
His face falls and Yoko's features soften.
"We might be wrong. But it's not a good idea in any case, Shige. Logic is your strong point. Follow it through." He stroked his hand down Shige's cheek and Shige leaned into it.
He hated it when Yoko was right.
They don't have enough evidence to hold him and Shige goes free. Yoko hasn't contacted him yet, but it's not even been a week. He's patient. Always patient for Yoko. He's been suspended with pay for the time being and he doesn't know what to do about the organization, either. His life is in limbo.
For a few days he mopes around the house, only leaving to buy groceries and visit Koyama. Koyama, as usual, knows. Shige has no idea what he knows, won't ask, but he can feel it between them in the way Koyama reaches out to touch him more often than usual. He misses Yamashita. Hates him. Loathes him. Loves him. Not the same way he loves Yoko - patiently, enduringly, forever - but painfully, an emotion so hot it burns and he's so out of control for him.
When Yamashita turns up on his doorstep one week after the interrogation ended, the man looks like shit, but Shige's never seen anyone so beautiful or haunted. They don't even say anything until Yamashita lays sprawled and naked and glorious beneath Shige, breath coming in ragged pants and eyes full of everything he can't say.
"This is it," Shige says, the last time, he thinks, because they both know the betrayal will taint everything and make it rancid. He waits for Yamashita to nod before pushing in in one long stroke and Yamashita's moan is like a drug, rushing through him and making him desperate for more. Harder, faster, lips pressed together in a desperate, messy clash, Yamashita's cock twitching in his hand as his own orgasm is ripped out of him and it's always been like this.
And just like that, Yamashita is gone and it feels like a gaping hole is left and he wishes things had been different somehow. But you can't change the past and Shige will never try.
-=-Two months later-=-
The phone rings and he doesn't recognize the number.
"Hey, babe," Yoko's voice scratchy and beautiful on the other end and Shige relaxes, tension releasing he hadn't even known he'd been holding on to. "You miss me?" he asks playfully.
"And how."
What he and Yoko have isn't white-hot and all-consuming, it doesn't give him butterflies in his stomach or send his pulse rocketing, but it's slow-burning and deep, and will never die. Shige likes sure odds, and it doesn't get more sure than this.