Chocolate Fic for literarylemming; part 2

[cupid_johnny]

To: literarylemming
From: phrenk

Title: Close Company
Pairing: Asuka/Shuntaro (Lucky Seven), with some actresses and Arashi mixed in
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Asuka has some feelings to figure out and a case at a ski resort with Shuntaro only complicates things further.
A/N: I hope you like this, literarylemming! Thanks to 1 and 2 for their kind assistance.

"Kayano here," came the toneless voice when the call connected.

"Ah, hello, Kayano-chan!" Asuka chirped, twirling her hair between her fingers with her back to Shuntaro.

"Tokyo's Kayano here," Kayano said with no change in her voice.

"Oh no, are you jealous that I'm at a ski resort and not in the office," Asuka said, cheering up right away. "If only you'd said something: it could be you suffering through a fake marriage to this handsy dolt."

"Handsy?" Shuntaro objected noisily, but Asuka didn't turn around.

"Definitely in the office," Kayano said mournfully, then took a bite of something and chewed loudly.

"You're eating?" Asuka said, startled, her fingers stilling where they'd been fiddling with Junpei's ring.

"... Yes. In the office. We got food."

"All together? How nice," Asuka said, somewhat wistful. She looked over her shoulder to find Shuntaro's gaze on her, but he quickly jerked it away toward the window. "What'd you get, Kayano-chan?"

There was a brief silence, broken by Kayano's mutter away from her phone, "What kind of food do people eat in Tokyo?"

Asuka pulled the phone away and looked at it like that would help Kayano make sense, then put it back to her ear quickly at the sharp response from someone else on Kayano's end, someone who was obviously, undeniably Junpei: "There isn't a wrong answer to that, Kayano! It'd be quicker to say what people don't eat in Tokyo, and--didn't you even think to cover the phone so she can't hear--"

A rustle, then Junpei's smarmy voice came over the line. "Indian food. We're all so sad that you aren't here. Lose my ring and you're fired. Goodbye now!"

Asuka, gaping, looked at her phone again, only to see that the call was dead. "Those jerks," she exclaimed, turning back to Shuntaro. "They hung up on me!"

He was leaning over the receiver and said tersely, "I hear something."

He turned up the volume a bit as Asuka came to sit in her chair, carefully tucking her legs underneath herself so there wouldn't be any accidental touching. Though she listened closely, she didn't hear any voices, so she favored Shuntaro with an unimpressed glare.

"I heard something!" he protested, batting at the receiver as if it were to blame. A moment later he was vindicated by a drone which he promptly turned up into audible words.

"You're back." The voice was sleepy, unguarded, almost unrecognizable as Nino.

"I'm back," Yuriko agreed. "You've been sleeping?"

"Just waiting for you."

The slight innuendo in his tone somehow made him sound more like the sharp Ninomiya that Asuka was beginning to know. It also had her shifting closer to the receiver so that she could turn it off quickly if she needed to, even though that had her knees nudging against Shuntaro's. He moved back a bit, giving her room, but not enough that they weren't touching.

"Ah, is that right?" Yuriko said lightly, then giggled, sounding like she was moving quickly.

"Oof, you're heavy," Nino complained. There was a rustle of clothing, a thump, and then the next time Yuriko's voice came, it felt very close, like she'd dropped the bugged jacket onto the floor next to them.

"Have you been thinking about my question? About Shuntaro-kun and Asuka-chan."

Asuka bolted upright, wide eyes finding Shuntaro's. Her heart beat fast in her chest as she thought of the sharpness of Nino's eyes and the way Yuriko put things together in a way no one else did.

"I've been thinking more about you," Nino drawled, then laughed, "Ouch, no need to pinch; I thought about it."

"And?"

"The obvious answer is that they'd fight, right? Fighting for who gets to be on top, fighting for who can get the other out of their clothes first. Fight with their words, and fight not to show they're turned on while trying to drive each other crazy... that would be the obvious answer."

Nino's voice made it sound so logical that it took a moment for Asuka to realize what he was talking about. Her jaw dropped when she got it, and she started smacking Shuntaro's knee in outrage, over and over as he sat there motionless in his own surprise. Then he shook his stupor off and grabbed her hand, stilling it in his own.

"Hmm," Yuriko replied noncommittally, refusing to push at Nino's non-answer before he continued on his own. There was another rustling noise, then a soft sigh that was right by the bug, like Yuriko had moved off Nino and stretched out near her fallen jacket.

"But really," Nino continued, his voice getting quieter. "I don't think that's how it would be, not with them."

Asuka leaned in even closer with her hand still trapped in Shuntaro's. His hand was very warm, but she didn't think anything could be as warm as her face was right then as she listened to Nino and Yuriko discuss her non-existent sex life with Shuntaro.

"I think they go all sweet and tender," Nino said, the mocking dulled by the softness of his tone as he seemed to get closer to the bug--and Yuriko. "I think they have the kind of sex that'd be boring if they didn't want each other so much, if they didn't enjoy it so much."

"Hmm," Yuriko said again. "Entirely vague, really."

Instead of laughing, Nino's voice got even softer. "Where it all starts with kissing, his body blanketing hers." There was a whisper of fabric sliding over fabric, the sound very close, that could only be Nino moving on top of Yuriko. "Lots of kissing. And then he undresses her, taking his time--"

"And Asuka-chan?"

"She kisses him, and touches him, and she moves so he can get her clothes off," Nino said slowly, and then there was the brief sound of an open-mouthed kiss, surely somewhere on Yuriko's skin. "But she likes what he does to her; she likes his hands on her and how his weight presses her down into the bed."

"I'm not sure." Yuriko's voice was low and breathless, and as she spoke there were more audible kissing that must have been from Nino's lips on her. "She'd just lie there?"

"Oh, I bet she doesn't, not all the time. But she's demanding, and she knows what she wants. And Shuntaro gives it to her, the big sap."

Yuriko corrected, "And Asuka takes it from him."

Now Nino laughed. "Maybe they take turns."

Asuka knew her palm was sweaty and could only hope Shuntaro's was too so he couldn't feel it. She briefly considered just bolting for the door, job be damned, then the next second was considering climbing into Shuntaro's lap and putting her hands all over him. A moment after that she had a vivid fantasy of those same hands wrapped around Nino's neck and squeezing.

"I'm never watching one of his movies again," she muttered, feeling like she was in a harsh, airless dream state.

"Asuka..." Shuntaro croaked, then cleared his throat. His hand clutched at hers, but just as he seemed to be about to speak again, Yuriko spoke instead.

"An interesting hypothesis." After some indistinguishable commotion, her voice lilted from farther away. "Based on very little, but interesting."

Nino laughed again, a husky, happy sound. "This position, now, this is more like Becky-chan, isn't it? I can't imagine Becky-chan isn't on top most of the time."

Involuntarily Asuka pictured them spread out on the floor, Yuriko pinning Nino with her body as Nino gave her that knowing look that Yuriko must kiss off his insufferable face every day. The heat that permeated her cheeks seemed to spread through her body, and she brought her free hand up to hover over the receiver again, not sure she could take much more of this provocation and knowing she shouldn't have taken so much already. It was going to be hard to look at Shuntaro after Nino's words had wormed into both their brains.

"Mm, but Becky-chan has more to climb than I do," Yuriko said thoughtfully.

"More to climb, maybe, but less to ride," Nino said wickedly.

Asuka slapped the power button, cutting off Yuriko's chuckle. She pulled back to her own chair, giving a full body wriggle as she snapped, "Gross!"

Shuntaro wiped his freed hand on his jeans as he looked anywhere but Asuka. He shook himself too, then said with false brightness, "We should keep listening. Dinner's soon; they're not going to do anything, um, no good..."

She scowled at him, unconvinced and unwilling to hear any more of Nino's crap.

His fake smile faltered, but then his face went a more familiar direction, settling on a sensual confidence that pissed her off every time she saw it. "There's no time for them to do anything inappropriate, and no time for us not to listen: we leave tomorrow afternoon, you know, and the case isn't solved."

Asuka pulled her legs back up under her in a wordless surrender, and Shuntaro turned the receiver back on, giving her a superior eye-roll as he did so. "It's not like a little innuendo will hurt you."

She shifted grouchily. "Hardly little, apparently," she grumbled, unwillingly gratified when Shuntaro laughed. She cocked her head after a moment. "Why don't I hear anything?"

"Damn, they must have already gone down to dinner. It's time already, look." He held out his arm to her so she could see his watch.

They were going to be late, but in unspoken agreement they lingered by the window, listening together to nothing coming through the receiver. Asuka's hand tingled, feeling the imprint of Shuntaro's touch, and she felt on the edge of doing something reckless.

After a longer silence than was generally polite, Shuntaro said a little too loud, "He obviously has no idea what he's talking about!"

Asuka had to fight not to squirm, imagining Shuntaro heavy on top of her, the way he'd block out everything but the two of them, but immediately said, "Of course not!"

She stood up quickly, gesturing to the door and the dinner they'd promised to attend. The small room had them bumping into each other agonizingly often as they grabbed their things and got ready, but they made it safely out the door without Asuka pulling Shuntaro to the floor and on top of her.

*

"Ah, Asuka-chan!" Becky called happily, and Maki turned from her perch next to Becky on the couch. Maki's smile made Asuka feel guilty all over again, but it was almost welcome as a distraction from the way Asuka's whole body was gravitating toward Shuntaro. She hurried forward to sit beside them as she called her own greetings to the group gathered by the fire.

There were already plates and boxes of take-out on the long table between the couches, and Aiba had a noodle slithering up into his mouth as she turned to him. He gave her an apologetic smile and mumbled, "Was hungry."

"Such manners," Becky sighed, but there was lingering elation in her expression. Asuka looked away, into Maki's candid brown eyes, and felt at once that Maki could see how disordered her mind felt right then.

Instead of pushing, Maki laid a hand on Asuka's knee: a soothing touch that had Asuka leaning into her instinctively.

Shuntaro had settled himself gracefully onto the opposite couch with Aiba and the stranger who must have been Maki's husband. Asuka turned to this stranger and dipped her head as she introduced herself, trying not to remember this was the passionate person who'd left love-marks all over his new wife's skin, and he introduced himself in turn. At first he seemed distant, perhaps even snooty, but then he looked at Aiba and laughed so openly that Asuka found herself smiling too.

Maki's fingers tapped on Asuka's knee, calling her attention back. "Are you having a good vacation?" she asked, reaching for her fried eggplant.

"Yes," Asuka said, trying to remember she was supposed to be working. "Are Yuriko-san and Ninomiya-san coming?" As she pronounced the names, she flashed to the idea of Shuntaro pressing her into a bed somewhere, and she looked across to take in the way his sweater clung to his broad shoulders.

"They'll be here. Aiba-chan, what about Oh-chan and the others?"

"They can't come," Aiba said around another mouthful of noodles. "Leader said something about night-fishing, and you know Jun-chan hates it when Leader goes out on the ice alone."

"And Riisa-chan?" Sho questioned, settling his own plate of noodles on his lap.

"I think she has a new boyfriend," Becky said, grinning. "She wouldn't say, but she's been awfully scarce on this visit home."

Asuka raised her eyebrows, totally lost, and Aiba caught her eye and waved his hands in a placating motion.

It took him a while to swallow his noodles, but then he explained, "We grew up together, Maki said she told you? Maki was my first love."

Shuntaro choked on something, but Maki just laughed quietly. "We were five."

Aiba grinned, and Becky took Maki's hand with a smile. Sho looked a little long-suffering but still entirely fond.

"So Maki and I grew up together, but when we got older we made some more friends: Leader, and Rii-chan, and Jun-kun, too. When we got old enough, we all moved away but Leader."

"Even most of our parents live other places now. If Oh-chan ever moves away, will this still be home?" Maki murmured. "I think he's been getting restless."

"He's probably caught all the fish by now," Aiba said, his joke tinged with melancholy.

Asuka looked between all of them, thinking again how impossible it was that any of these people were saboteurs. They were people with real connections to this place, good friends who wouldn't do anything to hurt the Villa or Tokugawa, either. She looked last at Shuntaro, and he was looking back at her.

Sho spoke up, sounding tentative, "If he does move away... if he does move away, we'll just have to make sure one of us has moved back here first."

Maki looked across at him, her whole face lighting up just as Aiba's did, too. "Sho-kun," she said softly, but Aiba said more exuberantly, "Sho-chan! You're right, of course. You and Maki-chan, or me and Becky... we should have a prize, how about, for whichever couple achieves our goal first."

"We want in," Yuriko said from the doorway, then walked in with Nino trailing almost indecently close behind her. Asuka wondered what they'd been doing away from the bug, then decided she genuinely did not want to know.

"We definitely want in," Nino agreed, and the jerk came to sit down right next to Asuka. He smiled at her, strangely free of insinuation, and she narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him before remembering her character and setting her whole face onto geniality. He rubbed his nose like he was trying not to laugh.

Asuka looked back across at Shuntaro as she resisted the urge to hit Nino. She really hated it when people saw through her so easily, but even so she found herself liking Nino. She liked the strange Yuriko, too, and Maki... she liked all of them. As she stared into Shuntaro's eyes, she thought, "I don't think any of them are suspects."

As if reading her mind, Shuntaro nodded. After a moment, Asuka gave a slight nod in return, and then they both turned to their companions, letting go of the case to enjoy the company of this group of friends.

*

After the noise and general contentment of the dinner party, Asuka and Shuntaro walked back up to their room in silence. For much of the latter part of the evening, they'd been what could only be called embracing: sitting together in one chair with Asuka leaning back against Shuntaro, whose arms wrapped snugly around her own. At the time it had felt like a good position for the relationship they were fabricating, but now Asuka felt worn out, tired from being away from home and Dai-chan, tired of pretending to be someone else, and tired of hiding her feelings as fighting them got harder and harder.

As she closed the door behind them she heard Shuntaro's phone ringing, and turned to see him answer it with a smile. "You're still awake, Sho-chan? Is Grandma there with you?"

Fond despite herself, Asuka grabbed her toiletries and pajamas and left him to talk with his nephew in private.

When she returned he was lying on his futon in his yukata, phone in hand but resting on his belly. "So we won't bug Sho and Maki," he said abruptly as she put the toiletry bag back by her suitcase. She turned to look at him, hating how vulnerable she felt alone with him in her pajamas, but he was staring at the ceiling.

"We won't bug Sakurai-san and Maki-chan," she agreed firmly. "None of these people are suspects, not anymore."

She sat down on her own futon, and he turned on his side to look at her, pillowing his head on his arm. "So what do we do now?"

Asuka didn't like being uncertain, so she said, "Isn't it obvious? We need to look at this whole case from another angle." She thought quickly, trying to figure out what that angle should be, but Shuntaro sat up and snapped his fingers.

"Asuka, you're a genius! We need to investigate the competitors."

She leaned in excitedly, feeding on their momentum. "Exactly, we need to go figure out who the rival is. Why didn't Touko-san tell us to do this in the first place?"

Shuntaro slumped back, the tension leaving his frame suddenly. "Ah, but we can't do that until tomorrow, and tomorrow's our last day."

Asuka looked down at him, then away, then plumped her pillow with determination. "Then we just need to get good sleep tonight, don't we." She lay down, angled away from him, and willed herself to be sleepy.

"Asuka." She heard him turn on his side again and could feel his gaze on her. She felt hot, like his hand was clutching hers again, and then, like a breeze on her flushed body, she remembered the touch of his fingertips over her knuckles. He'd held her hand to stop her hitting him, but that brush of skin while listening to Becky's love song had been for no reason other than to touch her.

"Asuka," he said again, sounding uncertain and so very close. She thought about facing him. She thought about turning onto her side and letting him read whatever her face let show, but she didn't like being so open with her feelings, especially when she wasn't sure they were returned.

Finally he said, "What kind of guy do you like?"

She huffed and turned to him, rolling her eyes at his inanity. "How is that any of your business?"

"We've been talking all about this girl I like," he said, aggrieved but wheedling. "I wouldn't want to just talk about me or anything, you know, Asuka, right?"

She rolled her eyes again at his babbling, but conceded, "It's not a terrible impulse, I suppose."

"So? What kind of guy do you like, Asuka-chan?"

She folded her pillow over to rest more comfortably, then rubbed a finger against her temple as she considered the question. She felt comfortable and defenseless all at once, caught between wanting to gossip with him as usual and wanting to tell him that he was her type, even though he wasn't, really; she just liked him so much that she didn't care.

She decided to start off with something simple. "My type... he's taller than I am."

He chuckled, unsurprised and maybe a little smug. "Not difficult, really."

She turned onto her back to look at the ceiling as she thought aloud, "Bigger in general: I like it when--" and then she cut herself off, horrified at how her words played into Nino's hypothesis about what she liked in bed. She was sure that Shuntaro was imagining the same thing, and even if he liked her she hated this feeling of being caught out in the open, exposed and unguarded, so she summed up nastily, "Taller than I am, and not a detective. That's my type."

She'd thought he'd snap back immediately, or at least make some sort of useless complaining noises, but he didn't.

Instead, after a moment he asked, "But what if he really liked being a detective... no, but what if he quit being a detective." He seemed to realize how pointed a question that was, so he added more flippantly, "Is a former detective still no good?"

Forgetting any idea of tactics, Asuka said simply, "Yes. I wouldn't want anyone who'd give up on a job they love for their girlfriend."

He sat up quickly. "No good being a detective, no good quitting being a detective? Forget it, Asuka; your type is just some some beefy doctor dreamboat that you'll marry after three weeks because he's tall and rich and not a detective."

Asuka couldn't help it: she looked up at him. He was never very good at hiding his emotions, but in a snit like this he was particularly obvious, and she studied his face while trying to bite her tongue against her own vitriol.

Shuntaro was clearly upset, and not in the general way he'd been upset a few times before when she'd talked about what she looked for in a boyfriend, like he'd been taking offense on behalf of worthy detective guys everywhere. This was a particular, specific upset, and beneath it he looked sad.

She could take his hand, now, and even just that would let him know how she felt, she thought. It seemed more likely with every breath that he liked her back, so she could just reach out...

But she wasn't sure, despite his frustration, because he could be distressingly dense at times. It seemed obvious to her that he was asking about her type for himself, but Shuntaro didn't always add two and two to get four: he could just as easily be inquiring in the hopes that she liked Junpei.

She just wasn't sure. She wasn't ready to risk herself when she wasn't sure he liked her back, and she didn't want to risk the camaraderie at the job she loved, either.

Instead of being brave, she closed her eyes and said, "Like I said. It's not really any of your business."

He sighed, but didn't lay back down, and she could feel him sitting there looking at her.

After a while, frustrated with him and disappointed in herself, she got under the covers and turned her back on him. In her bed at home she'd have been rolling around and punching her pillows, but here she lay awake motionless for a long time.

*

In the morning, it seemed like they had an unspoken agreement to pretend their conversation had never happened. Asuka wasn't sure if the easy way they shared the space of their tiny room and took turns in the washroom down the hall was a sign that Shuntaro hadn't been asking for himself after all, but she was glad of it regardless.

It might have been that finally they had something to do: after days of useless cameras and bugs and the slow-moving business of trying to get to know people, they were going out into the world outside the Villa to investigate.

First they had a quick breakfast in the dining room, though they were in too much of a hurry to do any actual cooking. Shuntaro had gone down first, leaving Asuka to pick out her outfit and curl her hair, and when she got down the dining room he had coffee and a bag of sweet breads.

She was about to sit down across from him when she saw Sho sitting at another table, face puffy, and though he had several newspapers spread out in front of him and didn't seem to know anyone else was there, she came around to sit close to Shuntaro. She gave him a smile that he returned, and for a moment it felt like both of them were thinking of leaning in closer, but then Sho turned a page with a rustle and the tension broke.

After breakfast they headed out, determined to make sense of their case though it was nearly too late to salvage it. The meal had them at something better than the tentative peace preceding it: their former partnership and good humor.

They walked down the street arm in arm. They'd decided to poke around each of the nearby inns, from closest to farthest away, and see what they could find under the guise of an engaged couple trying to choose a honeymoon spot.

Maybe it was because it was their last day in this beautiful place, or maybe it was because they kept failing to find anything suspicious that would occupy Asuka's mind, but it felt like the morning was arranged to remind Asuka just why she liked the brash doofus on her arm.

The way he sauntered down the street was never so fast that she couldn't keep up, and the comfortable banter they shared could turn sharp at times, but whenever he looked at her his eyes were warm. At the first place they tried, they sneaked away from the desk clerk to rifle through the papers in the cramped office, and the way they moved together was right in time, with one heading for the file cabinets and the other for the desk. They shared their information in whispers, and when the footsteps sounded in the hall, Shuntaro pulled Asuka away from the desk and with him behind the cabinets.

That was a small thing, but Asuka realized that when it came to work, she trusted Shuntaro to be where she needed him. As she stood close to him in the office, both of them barely breathing as the desk clerk tried to find some document on the desk, she thought maybe her trust of him at work could turn into trust in love after all. He was impulsive, and a player, and he saw far too much, but he was, deep down, reliable.

She slid her hands up and grasped the lapels of his leather jacket. He looked down at her, confused, like he thought there was some case-related reason she was touching him, but after a moment of eye contact, his gaze heated.

He stepped in closer. His head tilted slightly, and Asuka's breathing got even shallower, and he backed her up until--

The thunk of her back against the cabinets seemed to echo in the room.

"What in the world?" the clerk gasped, and Asuka bowed repeatedly, apologizing, before hastily pulling Shuntaro out of the room after her.

Safely back on the street, she couldn't help giggling, but Shuntaro, face intent, stepped around in front of her. Feeling playful, she walked around him, swinging her arms lightly. He huffed and jogged up to stop in front of her again, and again she evaded him.

The third time she grabbed his arm and swung him around to walk arm in arm with her. He complained under his breath, but she was already pointing out their next target, and he walked with her without forcing the issue. The cold air, previously only irritating to Asuka, now felt full of promise. She wanted to play it cool and hide her smile, but she couldn't quite manage it.

The second place had a chatty clerk at the desk, one who confided that there were money issues and that ownership was changing hands, but when asked about rivalries with other inns in the district, he named several--none of which were the Villa. Asuka and Shuntaro asked to use the restroom and used that to investigate in the office just in case, but they found nothing of interest.

On the way to their next target, Asuka finally felt like it was time to say some things, or at least maneuver Shuntaro into saying some things that she could grudgingly accept, but he got a phone call before they'd walked more than a few steps.

As he talked with his mother, Shuntaro steered them to the nearest convenience store. He pulled Asuka into the warmth and pointed toward the drinks, mouthing "my treat" when she wrinkled her brow at him.

He was reliable, and he was generous, and he looked mouthwatering in jeans and a leather jacket. As he stood up by the register, Asuka stood back by the coolers and admired the view, tapping her finger contemplatively on her chosen beverage.

All the bravery she'd been lacking the night before seemed to rush in her veins, and she grinned to herself, full of anticipation.

She loitered long enough that his phone call ended, then strode up to him with her drink. "Here," she said imperiously, smiling when he just rolled his eyes and paid for it.

As she tugged him back outside, she turned them the wrong way on purpose, tightening her arm around his elbow when he tried to swivel around.

"Let's go home," she said brightly, then scowled as she said, "There's no case. Tokugawa-san is delusional, or someone is pulling a prank on him, or he made the whole thing up. We've been wasting our time." When he didn't say anything, just stared at her, she asked, "Don't you agree?"

She gave him her prettiest, most convincing smile, but he just shrugged after a moment, as if he'd been thinking that way all along.

"Then what should we do?" He didn't sound very excited, and she felt a moment's doubt.

But her bravery was still firmly in place, and it carried her through as she said, "Let's just enjoy the time we have left together."

His face went intent again, and he turned toward her, closing the gap between them. Asuka's heart thrilled at this response, but she had a plan, so she slapped a hand on his chest and scolded, "Not like that, pervert."

He grinned, a hand coming up to slide over hers. He tilted his head back and said lazily, "But can't you feel my heart beating for you?"

She pretended to vomit. Then she said, business-like, "I'll meet you at the bar by the Villa in twenty minutes. Let's--" she paused, heart racing, then said firmly, "Let's go on a date."

He wasn't grinning now, just looking at her with such heat that she thought she couldn't wait to kiss him after all, but then he nodded. "Let's do that, Asuka." Looking a little less cool and a little more bewildered, he asked, "What do you need twenty minutes for--"

She harrumphed, pulling her hand away. "I want to wear a date outfit, obviously. Honestly, Shuntaro."

"Ah, ah," he said placatingly, grinning at her again. He repeated, "Date," as they started walking back toward the Villa, and when she stole a look at him, he had on a goofy smile.

*

Asuka put on pink tights, lime-green pants, and a polka-dotted shirt buttoned all the way to her chin. Then she put on a baggy t-shirt with a cat on it over that, then an unzipped hoodie, then a scarf, because she wanted to be cute but it was definitely cold outside. She braided her hair into two pigtails with ribbons tied at the ends, added a clip with a pink bow on it to her bangs, and finished off the look with her big metal star earrings.

Downstairs she stepped into her blue, knee-high boots, then headed out to find her date.

Once inside the bar, she stomped the snow off her boots, looking at the notice board as she did so. There was an advertisement for the establishment's quiz night, apparently where teams competed to see who knew more about "culture, history, geography, and more". Arranging her braids on her shoulders, Asuka let her eyes wander over the teams, seeing Team Chiba, Team Cleopatra, Team Ichiro Fans, even Team Zebra Queen.

Shrugging carelessly, she moved from the entryway, and the first thing she saw was Shuntaro, sitting at the bar, with his hand on someone's knee.

She froze. She couldn't breathe or think, just watch as that hand slid up an inch or two as Shuntaro leaned in closer to the pretty brunette.

Asuka turned and left.

The cold hit her skin. She took a deep breath of chilly air.

Though she still felt off balance, her mind cleared, and her eyes found a wooden bench that had been wiped recently enough that there was no snow on it. She tramped over to it and sat, fidgeting from side to side for warmth as she rubbed her temples and tried to think.

As she weathered the storm of her emotions, Asuka realized that even as she'd asked Shuntaro on a date, she'd been so ready to be let down that she'd given up preemptively at the slightest provocation. She tapped herself on the forehead scoldingly. Dating Shuntaro risked not only her heart, but her happiness at her job, and if she didn't go in expecting it to work then it had no chance at all.

One date they hadn't even gone on yet wasn't a discussion, and still less was it a promise. If she wanted that date, that discussion, and that promise, she had to gamble big and trust Shuntaro.

Should she call off the date and go back to being colleagues only? Should she go in there and stake her claim on Shuntaro, embarrassing him for kicks but also showing him that she was willing to try with him?

Needing a moment's distraction, or possibly support, she called Junpei.

"Hello, Asuka? You didn't lose my ring, did you..."

Junpei's voice was familiar and foolish and comforting. Asuka whispered, "I need your advice," then wanted to die at having voiced that aloud to Junpei. "I mean," she started, clearing her throat. "I mean..."

"Asuka? Are you all right? You need advice... where are you? I'll be there, Asuka, tell me where you are."

Asuka smiled, feeling her heavy emotions ease away at his melodramatic, sincere concern. "I'm in front of the Villa Ozawa. How many hours will it take you to be here, Junpei-san, because it's quite cold, you know."

For a moment he didn't say anything, then he said, "Well, just talk to me, then. Talk to me and stay where you are."

Shoving her free hand in her pocket and wishing she'd worn gloves, Asuka was about to respond sharply when she looked up and saw Shuntaro running toward her.

"I have to go," she said to Junpei and unceremoniously hung up on his protests. Just seeing Shuntaro had the worst of her nerves lessening, and she stood up with something like aplomb.

"Asuka, what the hell," Shuntaro complained as soon as he was within complaining range.

"Shuntaro-kun," Asuka said sweetly, deciding to buy some time and mess with Shuntaro while she was at it. "I saw you found yourself a date for real, so I decided to do you a favor and clear out."

At the sight of his expression, the way it changed from blustering irritation to anxious concern, Asuka was decided on her gamble. She liked him too much not to give it a try, and besides, maybe some of his fool's luck would rub off on her. She kept her face disapproving, but inside she was sparkling with excitement.

"Do me a favor," he repeated, squinting at her. "A date for real? But Asuka, I told you there's already a girl I like--"

"I am sick of hearing about this girl you like! If you really liked her, you'd do something about it," she flared, enjoying herself thoroughly now. "You keep asking me for advice, so there you go."

He stepped closer to her, boots crunching in the snow. He wasn't wearing a jacket, and she wondered how he'd even known to come after her. With his hands in his sweatshirt pockets and his leisurely pace, he would have seemed nonchalant if not for the look in his eyes.

When he was only a pace away from her, he stopped. She held his gaze as her humor ebbed away, and he looked at her just as seriously.

"You know the girl I like is you, Asuka." He said it so gravely that she almost laughed aloud.

It took all her strength not to lose her cool and grab him, or smack him, or kiss him, or maybe run away because what was she doing and with Shuntaro, but somehow she maintained her deadpan expression long enough to say, "And that's supposed to change my advice how?"

He grinned, sheepish, and rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, good point." His expression eased into lazy confidence, but he still didn't take that last step, and finally she huffed. Trust Shuntaro to ruin the moment.

He stepped forward and took her face in his hands, bringing his own so close that their breath mingled.

It felt good, it felt right, and then Asuka opened her eyes again because she wasn't being kissed. Shuntaro stared back at her, eyes wide.

After an endless moment, Asuka swatted him on the shoulder. His face broke into a smile, but it looked shaky and uncertain, nothing like the Shuntaro she knew. There was nothing but open worry in his voice as he asked, "Does that mean yes or no?"

Irrationally impatient with his anxiety attack when she'd just worked through her own, Asuka gritted, "It means hurry up!"

His expression was starting to shift back into confidence, but he said with some amusement, "Hurry up yes or hurry up no?"

"Yes," Asuka said, starting to wriggle in his grasp. If he wasn't going to kiss her, she was going to have to kill him. Touko could hire some other goon with broad shoulders to irritate her with his presence.

All Shuntaro's worry disappeared, leaving only a sensual smugness that made her even more frustrated. She couldn't believe that after all their near misses, all the times he'd nearly kissed her and vice versa, he now had explicit instructions and still wasn't kissing her.

"Of course it does," he said, and then he finally kissed her.

At first his mouth was gentle and the kiss tentative, but Asuka parted her lips demandingly and Shuntaro had always been a quick study. He took the lead just like she wanted, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to him, and she couldn't help the way she smiled into the kiss, which had him moving to kiss both cheeks and her chin before coming back to her mouth.

She turned her face away to breathe, hands exploring his back since she had the chance, and he said breathlessly, "Your phone's been buzzing this whole time."

"Shut up and kiss me," she said, tilting her face up to him again, but then there was a shout from above.

They looked around, confused, and then another one came, this time with an audible word: "Finally!"

Shuntaro's eyes zeroed in on the source, and he pointed to an open window on the second floor of a nearby building, his expression grim. Asuka gaped at the grinning face of Nitta.

She was still gaping when Shuntaro dropped another kiss on her cheek before stepping back with a bow. "If you'll excuse me," he said, and she waved him away, watching dumbfounded as Nitta disappeared from the window.

Shuntaro sprinted away, no doubt to find and pummel and be pummeled by their inexplicably present colleague.

After a moment of utter confusion, Asuka shrugged, giving it up for now in favor of finding somewhere warm. She definitely wasn't going to chase anyone in the snow, after all, and Shuntaro would be back, no doubt bruised and exhausted, with a full report anyway.

She walked back to the bar, checking her phone as she went: she had twelve missed calls from Junpei and one voicemail.

"Asuka, answer your phone. Asuka, stay where you are, because I'm coming! Asuka, as it turns out--Asuka, we're here in Ozawa--Asuka, just stay where you are and I'll come find you and beat up Shuntaro or whatever you need me to do, okay? Answer your phone, Asuka!"

She deleted the message, entering the bar again without a look back to where Junpei had entreated her to stay. Ever since seeing Nitta she'd had a suspicion, and now she was going to confirm it.

Stomping her boots on that same mat in the entryway, she found the team name that had been niggling at her since she'd seen it: Team Cleopatra.

She stepped closer, peering at the small print, and saw the team members' names: Fujisaki Touko, Tsukushi Masayoshi, Asahi Junpei, Nitta Teru, Kayano Mei. Her head spun as she noticed that scribbled on the slip of paper off to the side were two more names. Mizuno Asuka. Tokita Shuntaro.

She was having the irrelevant thought that between Junpei and Kayano they'd probably been really good at quiz night when a familiar voice said, "We were all disappointed that neither of you could make it."

Asuka turned, bowing instinctively. "Touko-san!"

It was a measure of Touko's regal, unruffled demeanor that Asuka didn't manage to demand answers at any point between Touko getting them a table, ordering them drinks, or their toast, which Touko made to Team Cleopatra.

Finally Asuka got out, "Whose idea was it?"

"The name?" Touko asked serenely. "Junpei-kun's, of course. I'm still Cleopatra in his phone, I believe."

"Whose idea was it, this--this whatever this was!" Asuka thought Touko was about the last person in the world with whom she'd lose her temper, but only her maelstrom of feelings right then were keeping her from yelling.

"Tokugawa-san, my godfather, called me to ask for a team to install security cameras." Touko paused, thinking, then said, "Or maybe it started with Kayano-chan? On that stakeout, she found out she'd won a trip to Ozawa Onsen for all of us. Except there wasn't room for all of us in Ozawa Cottage, and Tsukushi-san was upset about you and Shuntaro and the whole code name fiasco, and I knew Tokugawa-san needed security cameras. You're a bright detective; you can see where this is going." She sipped her drink and met Asuka's eyes without a hint of remorse.

"What about Nitta?" Asuka said crossly. "What about Junpei-san?"

Touko waved a hand. "Nitta-kun was still undercover when these plans were being made, but I believe later he came to approve of the idea of hoodwinking Shuntaro-kun. As for Junpei-kun..." She sat back in her chair gracefully, keeping her gaze on Asuka. "It may be hard to tell from how he behaves, Asuka-san, but I believe he truly cares about you."

Asuka felt abruptly guilty for giving Junpei a location and then leaving him to search in vain. "So he was against the plan?"

"Oh, no, it was his idea. I should have started with him, I suppose. He made the case that you and Shuntaro-kun were driving us, as he put it, 'bananas', and you needed some space on your own." Touko looked amused at this, then clarified needlessly, "Space to get together. I assume you've done so, from Nitta's message?"

Embarrassed and confused and irritated, Asuka tilted her head evasively before saying weakly, "We have some things to discuss."

Touko looked very young all of a sudden when she said, "Kissing things."

Asuka huffed a laugh, leaning toward Touko even though she was still upset about the whole deception--a deception which meant the case was fake, a thought which brought up a whole other set of things she needed to discuss with Shuntaro, considering their investigations into utterly blameless individuals. She sighed. Her lips tingled happily even as her head hurt.

"You have a couple more hours," Touko said mildly. She finished her drink and stood, resting a hand on Asuka's shoulder. "I'll see you at the office on Monday, Asuka."

"Ah, Touko-san?" Asuka called. "Did you get us the tiny room on purpose?"

Touko turned unhurriedly, face composed. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

*

Asuka went back to the tiny room in question and waited, packing up her things while she was at it.

It was about an hour before Shuntaro burst in, proud owner of a black eye, a split lip, and a curiously ginger limp. He grinned at her, then scowled, then grinned again, like he couldn't make up his mind about what he was feeling.

"Did you win?" Asuka said dryly.

"Would have done, if I hadn't fallen and hit my--well, I split a railing, let's leave it at that. Asuka... those idiots..."

"I know," she replied with a scowl of her own. "Meddlesome jerks, the lot of them."

"But, did you know?" Shuntaro brightened. "Nitta said he and Junpei-san and Tsukushi-san have been sharing a cramped room at Ozawa Cottage. I made him pace it out so I could see and it sounds even smaller than this."

Asuka drew in her breath happily. "Is that even possible? Oh, that does make me feel better." She turned back to her packing more cheerfully, feeling a layer of nerves settle over her general confused contentment. She was back with Shuntaro in their tiny room, but now he was someone she could kiss.

She felt a touch on her shoulder and turned to look up at him. Instead of standing, she gathered her courage and grabbed his hand, pulling him down to her.

They kissed and kissed. Asuka clutched at Shuntaro's shoulders, loving how he pressed her down and kissed her so greedily, then rolled him over so she could lean down and bite at his neck. That Nino didn't know everything.

Shuntaro's hands slid under her t-shirt, only to find her button-down, and he laughed. "Asuka, did you have to wear so many layers?"

She was glad to be on top of him right then so she could smack a hand down on his chest and say, "They're all staying on, pervert."

He nodded, grinning up at her, then went suddenly mournful. "Does that mean we have to stop making out?"

"What a silly question." She leaned back down and kissed him breathless, pleased when he took the initiative and rolled them back over so he was on top.

Eventually they came up for air, and luckily it was then that the alarm on Asuka's phone went off.

"Ah," she said hazily, trying to think, then remembered her plan. She pulled herself together, saying more brightly, "Ah, that's all the time I have allotted for kissing today, Shuntaro."

He furrowed his brow at her. "What? ... Really?"

"Well, for now. But I set an alarm so I'd remember that we need to talk."

His eyes went wide. "You're breaking up with me already?!"

She closed her eyes and counted to five, breathing slowly. Then she opened them and smiled down at Shuntaro. "We are not breaking up. In fact, we're not yet together." He still looked lost, so she said sharply, "That's why we need to talk."

After a moment, he nodded, hands reluctantly leaving her hips. "In our window?" he asked, jerking a thumb at their tiny nook.

She smiled. "Our window."

They settled into their chosen chairs, knees brushing companionably.

Since he seemed not to have any ideas, Asuka started, "Was that lady in the bar a source for the now defunct Tokugawa case?"

He looked abruptly panicked. "Oh, I'd forgotten! Yeah, she is the one who's buying out that last place we investigated, and I was trying to--"

"That's enough," Asuka interrupted. "The case is fake, and either way we both have to grope a few knees in our business from time to time. Let's move along."

"I don't... I don't need to apologize?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Did you do something to apologize for?"

He shook his head vigorously, then grinned at her. "Why don't we go back to the floor and do something worthy of--"

"Moving on, I said," she interrupted again. "Item number one." She tapped her red fingernails against the arm of her chair, composing herself after a sudden fantasy of Shuntaro pushing her up against the window instead. "It's not something for everyone, I know, but in a relationship--" She quailed momentarily at the thought of a relationship with Shuntaro, then overcame it. She was not one to back down even from herself. "In a relationship, I need monogamy. I know... I know you're not used to..."

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on her knees. "I knew that about you already, and if I weren't prepared to promise, I wouldn't have even confessed."

"Confessed? You make it sound so romantic," she complained, a grin pulling at her lips despite herself. "You were caressing some other woman's knee when I arrived for our date, then left me cold out in the snow forever before finally, finally kissing me, and now--"

"And now," Shuntaro said smoothly, leaning in even closer. "I promise. I promise that while I'm with you, I'll be only with you."

She closed her eyes, then opened them again with determination. "And you don't break your promises."

He grinned and slouched back into his chair, sprawling out in that particularly boneless Shuntaro way. "That's right."

"Well then, we're in a relationship. Talk over."

Shuntaro sat up straight, eyes lighting up. "So for our last hour in Ozawa...?"

"That's right," Asuka said, flipping her hair and sighing with satisfaction. "I'm going to the onsen."

"What, Asuka," he said slowly, then, when he saw she was serious, yelped, "Asuka, really? You--you're not going to spend it with me?"

"Oh Shuntaro," she said kindly. "I may have liked you for a month or even two, but my passion for onsen is forever."

He gaped at her, motionless, as she gathered her things. From the door, she waved her fingers at him.

"I'll meet you back here before we have to leave for the train, darling."

*

Though it was painful, Asuka came back to the room with half an hour to spare. She was determined to try to do one more thing in Ozawa Onsen even though it might be impossible.

She found Shuntaro lolling in his window chair staring at the view of the snowy mountains. When he heard her, he said, "Do you think we can come back here sometime?"

Instead of getting drawn back into their nook, Asuka set her shoulders. "I think there are some people we need to talk to first."

As they walked down the stairs, Shuntaro took her hand, and she squeezed it nervously. Being a detective meant having to apologize just for doing the job sometimes, but it was never easy.

"Maybe they'll be out skiing or something," she said, mostly to herself.

In the foyer, they ran into Tokugawa. "Ah," he said, stony-faced. "Check out is in half an hour." If he was uncomfortable with his part in the deception, he certainly didn't show it.

"Tokugawa-san, have you seen any of the suspects--any of the supposed suspects?"

He bowed shallowly, stepping back and away from the inner door as he did so. "I was just speaking to them in the lounge. I explained how I hired you, and what you believed about them. As it is my establishment and since I lied to you, though it was for my goddaughter, I have taken all the responsibility and apologized."

"Tokugawa-san," Shuntaro breathed, impressed.

Asuka tsked. "No less than the truth, really," she said, but she was impressed, too, because to stand up in front of people and admit such a thing was not for the faint of heart. She bowed to Tokugawa, not up for figuring what to say to an older man who was close with Touko but who'd also tricked them, and walked through the inner door.

She steeled herself as she got to the lounge, Shuntaro following behind. The conversation that the former suspects had been having stopped abruptly.

She walked right up to the group, then bowed. "Please forgive me," she said seriously, and after a moment Shuntaro followed suit.

A tense silence reigned for several moments. Asuka held her bow.

Finally Aiba said, "Well, you were doing your job, right?" He sounded uncertain and a bit hurt, and Asuka flinched.

"Aiba-san," Shuntaro started, but then he had nothing to say.

Asuka stood up, making eye contact with anyone who'd let her. Some held hers easily, while Aiba and Maki looked away after a split second. Sho and Nino refused to look at her at all. "We were doing our job, but that's not an excuse. We betrayed you."

Shuntaro took her arm, pulling her back slightly, but she forged on, "I wouldn't feel so guilty if we'd just been professional the whole time, but the truth is, we became friends with you. The truth is, we like you."

She bowed again. "Please forgive us."

This time the silence lasted only a second before Yuriko snickered. "What a confession," she said softly. "I think Kazu proposed with less romance."

Becky huffed out a laugh. "They like us. These detectives like us, so we're supposed to--what? Stay in touch?"

Aiba perked up. "Is that an option? I mean, we're friends, right?"

Asuka straightened up, hopeful, just as Shuntaro dropped back down into his own bow. "We couldn't ask for anything like that," he exclaimed, overly loud as usual.

"What's your real name?" Maki asked, eyes finding Asuka's.

"Asuka," she said, grateful they hadn't used aliases. "Mizuno Asuka." She held Maki's gaze for as long as Maki let her, then looked around the room again. Aiba's eyes were shining, and Becky was looking at Aiba. Sho looked at Maki, then at Asuka, and he shrugged. Yuriko was grinning, her hand on Nino's knee. Nino hadn't moved since Asuka started talking and stayed staring at the wall opposite.

It seemed like she shouldn't push their luck, so Asuka started backing up slowly. "I apologize again. If anyone wants it... well, Yuriko-san has my number."

Shuntaro was still bent at the waist, so she stepped forward and grabbed his sleeve, towing him out of the room.

In the foyer they slumped against the wall, looking at each other. Asuka said, "That could have gone worse, I guess," and Shuntaro nodded.

"Asuka-san?"

It was Maki. She came the last few steps over to stand in front of Asuka, looking uncomfortable.

Shuntaro dipped his head awkwardly, then escaped for the stairs. Asuka didn't know what to do. She wanted to reach out, but she didn't have the right, so she just straightened up and looked at Maki, waiting.

"Don't mind Nino," Maki said abruptly. Her face slid into a lopsided smile as she confided, "He just really hates being wrong about people."

"I'd picked that up," Asuka said tentatively, putting her hand forward.

After a moment, Maki took it. "Let's keep in touch," she said quietly, then smiled again. "I want to hear all about being a detective."

It turned out Maki and Sho lived in Tokyo, and Maki was a social worker in a building not too far from the detective agency. An promising exchange of numbers later and Asuka was on the stairs, headed for the last time to the cramped room she'd shared with Shuntaro. At that thought, she was strangely sad, and that must have been why she flung open the door and said, "Next time we're back here, Shuntaro, we have to get this room."

He just leaned back in his chair and grinned at her. "Isn't that obvious? This room is the best one."

Suddenly recognizing her ten minute window, Asuka walked purposefully over to climb into his lap. Crossing the tiny space only took about a second; this room was totally the best one, and Asuka planned to have him in her chair next time, and then maybe up against the window.

For now she kissed him. Their lips met and parted, their foreheads touching, and she murmured, "Shuntaro..."

He made a questioning noise, hands sliding up her spine.

"About that girl you like." She got distracted by his mouth and had to kiss him, having second thoughts doing about something as useless as talking.

He said against her mouth, "That girl I like?"

Asuka closed her eyes, feeling vulnerable and trying not to run from it. "Take it slow. Isn't that how she'll come to trust you?"

When she opened her eyes, Shuntaro had turned his face away and his hands were far out to either side, very clearly not touching her.

She sighed, trying to find patience inside of her because she was truly going to need it. "Shuntaro. Not so literal."

He didn't move except to look at her warily, so she decided just to ignore his foolishness: she grabbed his chin and kissed him until his hands were back on her.

They were ten minutes late checking out of the Villa, but Tokugawa was tactful enough not to mention it, and they managed to catch their train just in time.

*

"Good morning," Asuka called, walking into the Lucky Seven Detective Agency office. She received a chorus of greetings in return as she removed her coat and scarf. As she walked in, she rested a hand on Kayano's shoulder briefly, ostensibly to lean over and see what was on her screen, but mostly just to say hello.

Tsukushi was at his desk, and she could see Touko in her office. The most immediate presence, of course, was Junpei, who stood from his desk grandly and curtsied.

"You're welcome," he said, striking a stately pose.

Asuka snorted. "For getting me out of your presence for a few precious days?"

He crowded her over to the couch and sat down next to her, saying chattily, "It was all my idea. Just the two of you, and pretending to be married? In a beautiful location, too. Sometimes I surprise even myself."

She leaned away, scoffing at his ridiculousness. "Remember that I've heard all of your previous plans when I say: this is the stupidest plan I've ever heard."

"It worked!" Junpei said, lifting his arms triumphantly. "That is how much the two of you were itching to get together; a little proximity and you were smooching in no time."

"A little proximity? You sent us off to a ski resort, just the two of us, and has us share a tiny room for days!" Turning her face away from Junpei, Asuka scowled at Kayano, who was coming to sit as well, and then Tsukushi for good measure. She saw that Tsukushi was in a back brace and spitefully decided not to ask why.

"And it worked," Junpei crowed again. "You two are easy. If we'd left you there a week, you'd have been--"

A loud clearing of a throat behind them had Junpei pausing, turning, and shrinking down against the arm of the sofa. Shuntaro stood there, arms crossed over his chest menacingly. Junpei skittered across the room and into his own chair without another word.

"Good morning," Shuntaro said cheerfully, bowing in all directions as if he'd been gone for months.

"Ah," Kayano said suddenly. "Souvenirs?"

Junpei shot out of his chair and back over to the group. "Souvenirs! What'd you get us?"

"Oh, you shouldn't have," Tsukushi said happily, seating himself next to Asuka in a painstakingly slow movement.

"Ha ha, very funny," Asuka said icily.

"There is nothing funny about rudeness," Junpei said solemnly. "And it's rude to go someplace without bringing back souvenirs."

"You were there too," Asuka yelled, and Shuntaro pointed at her and nodded vigorously with her point.

"Excuses," Kayano said, slumping back like she was greatly disappointed.

"Good morning," Nitta said, long-legged strides taking him to his seat despite the gathering around the couch.

Tsukushi said, "Nitta-kun, bad news about our souvenirs." He tried to stand up but dropped back to the couch after rising a few inches.

Switching allegiances momentarily, Junpei stage-whispered to Asuka, "Skiing took quite a toll on him."

She held a hand up to her mouth as if that'd stop Tsukushi from hearing. "Ah, poor Golden Crane."

Nitta was grinning and said loudly, "They didn't bring any? Of course a dog wouldn't remember, but Asuka... I expected more."

"Say that again, monkey!" Shuntaro said at once, loping over to loom over Nitta. They bickered pointlessly for several moments as the others took their seats and ignored the fracas, with Kayano helping Tsukushi before heading to her own desk.

In the middle of Shuntaro's diatribe, Nitta turned away and said blandly, "Ah, Asuka, do you want to change seats now?"

Looking up briefly, Asuka said, "No thanks," then returned to looking at her phone and Dai-chan.

"What, Asuka, not even a reason?" Shuntaro said, outrage diverted her way.

Nitta pointed at Shuntaro like he might point at something dirty from as far away as possible. "You don't want to sit closer to this?"

She tilted her head, keeping her head down and voice unconcerned. "Now that I have to see his face out of work, I want even less to see it here."

"Asuka!" It sounded like Shuntaro slammed his hands on the table, but Asuka had dropped her chin even lower to hide her smile.

Junpei, commiserating, said, "Ah, makes sense to me. That is how it would be with his face."

"You stay out of it!"

"Don't worry, Shuntaro-kun. Absence makes the heart grow fonder," Tsukushi said kindly.

"I'm still sitting right here," Shuntaro protested, then said distractedly, "Touko-san, good morning."

Asuka looked back to see the boss as imperturbable as ever, tapping a finger on her chin. "Then... shall we switch you with Kayano, Shuntaro-kun? If Asuka needs your absence to make her heart grow fonder."

Shuntaro sputtered at this unexpected betrayal from Touko.

From her seat by the door, Kayano said, "No."

With relief, Shuntaro said, "Thank you, Kayano-chan. Nice to see someone--"

"Outside in the hall would be better," Kayano finished.

Asuka laughed, nodding in agreement. "In the hall, in the hall!"

Shuntaro said sulkily, "I should have just stayed in the mountains."

"Speaking of, if you were going to the mountains, you should have made accommodations for our plant," Nitta said reproachfully. "It needs water once a day, and where were you?"

Shuntaro stood so abruptly that his chair nearly tipped over. "That's enough! Asuka, I need to talk to you."

She waved a hand with halfhearted invitation. "Go ahead."

His face went obstinate as he said, "Then I will," and he came around to take her hand.

Instead of letting him say some embarrassing thing in front of their coworkers, Asuka walked with him out into the hallway, complaining all the way.

Once the door was safely closed behind them, she wriggled her hand away before immediately wishing she'd left it be. She hadn't realized how much she'd been wanting to see his stupid face since they'd parted the day before yesterday at the train station.

"Sorry for making a scene," he said, abashed, walking a little farther off a side hall. "I just wanted you to see this."

"See what, this hallway? I've seen it every day for years now, thanks," she replied, unimpressed. She caught up and took his hand back possessively.

He lifted their hands together and gestured to the hall around them, a dead end but for a door that she thought might be to a janitor's closet. "I thought this could be our spot. I know it doesn't have chairs, or a window, or that view, but..."

"Our spot?" she said, surprised. She looked at the boring hallway with new eyes, taking in how it couldn't be seen from their office door and how the walls looked quite sturdy.

"Well, the Villa is too far away, and who knows when we'll get back. Maybe we'll get a better one in Tokyo later, but for now, how about this?"

His palm was sweaty, and Asuka grinned at him. "That Ninomiya was right, you are a sap."

His nerves faded to assurance as he stepped in close. "What else was he right about, Asuka?"

"Take it slow, I said," she complained, fisting her hands in his sweatshirt while she was at it. He walked her back as she pulled him in until her back hit the wall.

He leaned down slowly as she got up on her tiptoes, closing her eyes with the satisfying sensation that Shuntaro's broad shoulders were blocking out the rest of the world.

"I really hate men who keep me waiting," she said, and the next second his mouth met hers.

"I told you!" came a shout nearby, but Asuka curled closer to Shuntaro, stubbornly holding onto their moment. He sighed, hands sliding gently down her arms, then kissed her again like he couldn't help himself.

"Is this what I have to see when I come to work now?" This time it was Nitta, and Asuka peeked around Shuntaro to see Junpei and Nitta, both ostentatiously covering their eyes.

"I told you," Junpei said again, just as Shuntaro said, "Our old nook had a locked door," low enough only Asuka could hear him.

"Are you going to teach them a lesson?" Asuka whispered back, and he met her eyes.

"Should I?" He pushed back away from her and cracked his knuckles, then stretched his neck from side to side.

She smoothed her hands down over her puffy shorts, considering, then said, "Start with Junpei-san."

The jerk in question was blinking uncomprehendingly, but Nitta had already started escaping, though he threw mocking woofs over his shoulder as he trotted off with his hands in his pockets.

"Got it," Shuntaro said resolutely, then broke into a sprint as Junpei yelped and made a break for it.

Asuka grinned, then brushed her fingers over the dull gray paint of the wall Shuntaro had just kissed her against, pleased with just about everything in that moment.

Tokyo didn't have the Villa, but she was having lunch with Maki that very day. The office tragically wasn't near an onsen, but it did have the hubbub and fellowship of everyone working and playing together, which was a tolerable compromise. Plus, she was glad to be back somewhere where no one moved around by sliding down treacherous snow.

She fingered the ring in her pocket as she walked, planning to return it to Junpei after Shuntaro made him pay. She'd probably need a lot of patience, and Shuntaro would no doubt be frequently absurd, but she was looking forward to taking it slow.

She opened the door and walked into Kayano, who pointed accusingly at Junpei, who was trying to clean up coffee from Kayano's flashlight mug though he winced with every movement. Shuntaro was chasing Nitta around the desks, shouting angrily every time Nitta made another taunting face. Touko stood safely at the door of her office, letting Tsukushi lean heavily on her as they both watched indulgently.

Just then there was a knock, and Asuka and Kayano spun to see an anxious looking man in a suit.

"Touko-san," Asuka called. "I think we have a client."