[FIC] Keys to a Clockwork Heart, 3/8
Title: Keys to a Clockwork Heart, 3/8
Fandom: Gakuen Heaven
Warnings: None for this chapter, highlight for overall warnings: slash, mentions of rape
Summary: Reunions don't always happen during the best of circumstances.
Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
ETA: lyntek is spoiling me rotten! She sketched a scene from this chapter! ♥ ♥ ♥
Twenty-three seconds into his search, Tetsuya started to doubt his decision to go after Isoda and Omi. The garage was dark and his eyes struggled to adjust. The number of cars parked inside was not surprising considering the time, and he was torn between being thankful for the cover and frustrated because it made it much harder to find the people he was after. He carefully made his way from one car to another, careful not to touch any of them in case they had alarm systems installed.
He heard the sound of footsteps before spotting the man, and he ducked low to avoid being seen. The sound stopped occasionally, possibly while the man was checking behind the cars - a good sign, Tetsuya decided, and he moved quietly around the car and into the lane the criminal was inspecting. The other man bent down to check underneath a grey car, and Tetsuya crept up behind him and placed the gun against his head. “Drop it,” he hissed.
The gun was dropped to the floor and the man started to slowly raise his arms. Tetsuya was prepared for it when an arm twisted around to swing at his head and he blocked it, using the impact to grab hold of the thug’s arm. He used his right hand to deliver a blow to his opponent’s head, relishing the thud the gun made against his skull. The man let out a snarl and, using his free arm and his head as weapons, managed to get himself out of the hold. He found his gun and took aim, but missed his chance to shoot when Tetsuya’s kick brought the weapon flying out of his hand. His next move brought the thug to his knees and Tetsuya quickly came up behind him, wrapped an arm around his neck and squeezed. Within a few seconds the man had gone limp and he let him sag to the ground.
The gun was lying not far from him. He picked it up, stuffing it into his holster before patting the unconscious man down for more weapons. He discovered a hunting knife and one more gun, and he took the weapons plus their holsters and stuck them both in his waistband. Tetsuya had no handcuffs and no handy piece of rope, but he did have a tie in the pocket of his jacket. He used that to tie the man’s hands securely behind his back. A couple of shoves rolled the man under a car, and Tetsuya hoped that when the thug woke up he would bang his head hard against the underside.
A small sound made its way to his ears and he was up and moving, headed towards the other end of the garage. He saw no other men en route and hoped fervently that Chiba had been right about there being just two of them. The sound of the scuffle grew louder as he moved closer and then stopped, and Tetsuya took the remaining distance at a half run. He arrived in time to see the other man aim his gun, and had a second to register the bloody Isoda lying at his feet and Omi, in the gun’s line of sight, calm even when he was about to be shot. Then, he ran.
The man fired and Tetsuya tackled Omi to the floor, fire racing through his left arm a second later. He clenched his jaw and tried to ignore the pain as best as he could, twisting a little until his right arm had room to move. He fired once, and then again when he heard a pained grunt, and when he found the will to lift himself up and look, he was satisfied to see that both bullets had hit home.
A hand lightly touched his unhurt arm and he turned his eyes towards Omi. “You okay?” he murmured, and started to shift to a sitting position when Omi nodded. The hand on his arm tightened and suddenly Omi was moving them both, shifting and pushing until Tetsuya was seated with his back against a car and his injured arm cradled in his lap. When Omi tried to inspect his wound he shooed him away. “Check Isoda,” he said, and Omi smiled faintly and made his way to the guard’s prone form. “He’s breathing, just unconscious. He wasn’t shot.”
“Good,” Tetsuya whispered and he closed his eyes, deciding he deserved a moment of rest. His eyes snapped back open and he flinched and hissed sharply when fingers gently touched the area around the bullet hole. “It seems to have gone straight through,” Omi observed, and Tetsuya couldn’t fight the amused snort. “A doctor now, are you?” There was blood on the pale fingers, his and Isoda’s, red as the ink the treasury had always used on the student council’s rejected applications. It looked wrong.
There was yelling behind them and the sound of several people running their way, and before long they were surrounded by armed officers and someone was shouting, “All clear!” One of them came to crouch next to them and between him and Omi, Tetsuya was soon standing instead of sitting, albeit leaning heavily on the officer’s shoulder for a few minutes.
“Omi!” Kaoru’s voice rang out as they were heading towards the ambulance he had been promised was at the entrance. He lifted his head a little to ascertain his second charge was unharmed. He seemed rumpled but unhurt, and the fact that Chiba was standing next to him did more for his peace of mind than anything else. Tetsuya flashed the redhead a smile that he hoped didn’t look too pained, and turned his head towards Omi. “Go on then,” he told the younger man, and was already starting to take the next step forward when the touch of a hand on his back made him pause. “Don’t say it,” he ordered, not even turning to face Omi, but then they were suddenly standing eye to eye and the lavender eyes were as determined as he’d ever seen them.
He didn’t listen; they never had, and that hadn’t changed. “Thank you,” he said, and walked away before Tetsuya had a chance to retort. He saw Omi’s arms go around Kaoru as he continued the seemingly endless trek towards the exit, saw how he was carefully not letting his bloodied fingers touch the mass of hair. Kaoru was clutching at him and murmuring something, and Omi’s voice sounded reassuring when he replied. When he walked past them Kaoru’s head turned to face him, and for a moment, when their eyes met, he looked as if he was about to say something. But the moment passed and Tetsuya walked on, the emotions written all over Kaoru’s face leaving him with a clenching gut.
---
As it turned out, Omi had been right about the wound, and it wasn’t long before Tetsuya was ready to go home. The wound had been cleaned and stitched up, and they’d put his arm in a sling which went a long way to making him grit his teeth less. Then they’d given him morphine and told him to sit and wait for someone to pick him up. Only if that didn’t happen soon, he thought he might just doze off right there. The hospital bed looked comfortable enough, and he almost regretted choosing to sit in one of the chairs instead.
The soft knock on the door startled him, and it opened before he could issue an invitation. Kaoru stopped a short distance away from him, arms crossed almost as if he didn’t know what to do with them. “You’ll have another scar,” he remarked after a few quiet moments, and Tetsuya decided his goofy smile was probably the morphine’s fault. “Scars are sexy, right?” Surprisingly, Kaoru quirked him a half smile in return. “I’ve heard that before.”
“Maybe I should’ve let him put a few more bullets in me,” he retorted jokingly, desperate to keep the mood light, but it was the wrong joke to make and Kaoru was giving him that look he recognized from the garage; that look he wasn’t sure he wanted to face. “D’you know if Isoda is okay?” he asked, forestalling the dreaded conversation. “They wouldn’t let me go see him before my arm was fixed.”
“He’s fine. They’re monitoring him until they’re sure he doesn’t have a concussion, and he has a broken rib, but other than that he’s just bruised.” The younger man let his arms drop to his sides and took a step forward, eyes fixed on the bandaged portion of Tetsuya’s left arm. “You saved his life,” he said softly, and Tetsuya saw his hand twitch and almost reached for it. “I figured you wouldn’t be very happy with me if I let Shichijou get shot,” he replied, but the predictable reaction he’d been hoping for never came. Instead, Kaoru hesitated a second before taking the chair next to his, and sat with his back slightly hunched and his hands folded on his lap. “I wasn’t very happy when I found out you had been shot either,” he mumbled, and Tetsuya blinked at him. “If I hadn’t insisted,” he continued, and Tetsuya let out a heavy sigh that stopped the flow of words. He was glad Kaoru had chosen the seat to his right, as it allowed him to place his hand on the back of the younger man’s head and slowly stroke it. “There’s a reason I’ve been trying to avoid this conversation, you know,” he started, and he felt the redhead flinch. “You’re feeling guilty; don’t. You made the right call. We both did.” The hair was soft beneath his fingers. “I’d make the same decisions if I had to do it over.”
He stopped talking but continued to slowly run his hand down the red locks. The repetitive movement soothed him, making him feel more relaxed than he could ever remember being. He shifted a little in the uncomfortable chair, head leaning against the wall behind him. When his eyes started to slide shut he didn’t fight it, just slumped further in his chair. And when the head under his hand disappeared and a weight landed on his shoulder, he didn’t fight that either. The fine strands touched his neck, tickling, and he dozed off with the smell of Kaoru’s lemony shampoo drifting up to him.
The click of the door closing woke him up and he stirred, opening his eyes a fraction. Hideaki was standing by the door, arms crossed, smirk in place, but for once Tetsuya didn’t feel like rising to the bait. He glanced to his right and moved his hand to carefully brush a few loose strands away from Kaoru’s forehead. He looked peaceful in his sleep, undisturbed by dreams, and Tetsuya was fiercely glad. “You didn’t happen to run into Shichijou when you came in, did you?” he asked softly, and Hideaki snorted but made sure he opened the door quietly when he left the room. He allowed himself a last, lingering look before gently shaking the slim shoulder. “Kaoru-chan, wake up.” It worked faster than he had expected, and he watched the green eyes blink open. “Time to go home,” he murmured, and he knew it the moment awareness returned. Kaoru sat up quickly, hands brushing his hair back in a gesture he recognized as flustered. “I’m sorry,” he said stiffly a moment later, and Tetsuya struggled to hide his amusement at the other man’s obvious embarrassment. “Don’t worry about it, I fell asleep first,” he remarked cheerfully, and the awkwardness slipped away.
When the door opened, Omi was standing right behind Hideaki. Tetsuya pushed himself out of the chair, turning afterwards to offer his hand to the person next to him. Kaoru took it with very little hesitation and Tetsuya helped him to his feet, letting the touch linger a little longer than strictly necessary. Omi gave him a nod that looked faintly pleased and escorted Kaoru outside the hospital room, where they were joined by Chiba and Handa. He gave his team members a wave and got thumbs up back, and finally it was just him and Hideaki left.
“So, your place or mine?” he asked, and Hideaki grabbed Tetsuya’s jacket off the bed and slung it over his shoulder. “Mine, obviously. You haven’t been to yours in two weeks and I refuse to starve.”
“Such high maintenance, Hide,” he teased, but his friend just smiled and grabbed his elbow to steer him to his car. He fell asleep again on their way to the apartment and Hideaki had to half carry him into the elevator. Once inside, the other man didn’t even bother with the lights before steering Tetsuya to the bedroom and forcing him to lie down. He flicked on a bedside light and set about removing Tetsuya’s shoes and belt before tucking him in like a small boy, and he reminded himself to make sure and tease Hideaki about that later before the day and the pain and the drugs took him under.
---
Despite what his family, friends and current clients might claim, Tetsuya had never been stupid, and slightly resented the mass conspiracy against him returning to work, which he wasn’t planning on anyway. The pain in his arm faded to a dull throb in a matter of days, helped along by the pain pills he was taking, and he felt well enough to walk around again. But he knew he would be worse than useless in a fight in his current condition, so he left the active security entirely to his team, no matter how much it rankled. He moved out of Hideaki’s flat by the end of the fourth day, claiming he was tired of having to share the bed just because Hideaki didn’t feel any need to sleep on the couch. But instead of returning to his own apartment he headed back to Kaoru’s home. He wouldn’t put himself on active duty, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t supervise. And if he dozed off on the job, everyone was kind enough not to mention it.
He had altered his morning routine and instead of dragging a team member out for a spar, a team member was now dragged to put a fresh bandage on his arm after he showered and help him put on a shirt and his sling. Omi volunteered to do it occasionally, and he put the rest to shame with his efficiency. Tetsuya asked him once if he had any medical training, but Omi simply smiled and didn’t answer. It was a complete surprise, however, when Kaoru showed up to bind his arm instead of Fuchida.
Tetsuya had seen Kaoru in a suit once, during an event at Bell Liberty, and the sight still took his breath away. He was wearing a dark blue suit, three pieces, complimented by an off-white shirt and a grey tie. His hair was pulled back and fastened with a clasp, and it made him look older and more severe. He was every inch the brilliant prosecutor, and Tetsuya gleefully thought Arai’s lawyers wouldn’t stand a chance when the trial started in a few hours.
He held out his left arm with a smile, and Kaoru settled next to him on Omi’s bed and placed a piece of gauze gently over the wound. “Nervous?” Tetsuya inquired, and Kaoru picked up the bandage roll and nodded. “First big case,” he explained as he placed the end of the bandage on the arm and started to roll. “I wanted to thank you for the disk you gave us, it was useful.”
“I’ll pass the thanks on to Hide, he’s the one who gave it to me,” Tetsuya said, smiling at the concentration being offered to his arm. Kaoru kept the bandage in place with one hand and tore off strips of adhesive tape with the other, pinning it carefully and precisely to his arm. There was a pale blue button-down shirt on the bed and the slender hands picked it up and started to slide a sleeve carefully over the injured arm. The shirt was smoothed over his shoulders, the collar straightened, the buttons slowly fastened. The touches lingered on his chest, his forearm, touched his neck and the edge of his hair. He leaned into them, staring into clear, green eyes as both arms went around his neck to fasten the sling. Kaoru slid his right arm into the sleeve of the grey suit jacket that went with his trousers and draped the left side gently over his shoulder, hiding the sling, and then stepped away to give Tetsuya a once over. “I suppose you’ll do,” he murmured, but it sounded warm, and Tetsuya smiled at him.
“Ready?” he asked as he stood up, and a tiny smirk appeared on Kaoru’s face.
“Always.”
---
Fandom: Gakuen Heaven
Warnings: None for this chapter, highlight for overall warnings: slash, mentions of rape
Summary: Reunions don't always happen during the best of circumstances.
Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
ETA: lyntek is spoiling me rotten! She sketched a scene from this chapter! ♥ ♥ ♥
Twenty-three seconds into his search, Tetsuya started to doubt his decision to go after Isoda and Omi. The garage was dark and his eyes struggled to adjust. The number of cars parked inside was not surprising considering the time, and he was torn between being thankful for the cover and frustrated because it made it much harder to find the people he was after. He carefully made his way from one car to another, careful not to touch any of them in case they had alarm systems installed.
He heard the sound of footsteps before spotting the man, and he ducked low to avoid being seen. The sound stopped occasionally, possibly while the man was checking behind the cars - a good sign, Tetsuya decided, and he moved quietly around the car and into the lane the criminal was inspecting. The other man bent down to check underneath a grey car, and Tetsuya crept up behind him and placed the gun against his head. “Drop it,” he hissed.
The gun was dropped to the floor and the man started to slowly raise his arms. Tetsuya was prepared for it when an arm twisted around to swing at his head and he blocked it, using the impact to grab hold of the thug’s arm. He used his right hand to deliver a blow to his opponent’s head, relishing the thud the gun made against his skull. The man let out a snarl and, using his free arm and his head as weapons, managed to get himself out of the hold. He found his gun and took aim, but missed his chance to shoot when Tetsuya’s kick brought the weapon flying out of his hand. His next move brought the thug to his knees and Tetsuya quickly came up behind him, wrapped an arm around his neck and squeezed. Within a few seconds the man had gone limp and he let him sag to the ground.
The gun was lying not far from him. He picked it up, stuffing it into his holster before patting the unconscious man down for more weapons. He discovered a hunting knife and one more gun, and he took the weapons plus their holsters and stuck them both in his waistband. Tetsuya had no handcuffs and no handy piece of rope, but he did have a tie in the pocket of his jacket. He used that to tie the man’s hands securely behind his back. A couple of shoves rolled the man under a car, and Tetsuya hoped that when the thug woke up he would bang his head hard against the underside.
A small sound made its way to his ears and he was up and moving, headed towards the other end of the garage. He saw no other men en route and hoped fervently that Chiba had been right about there being just two of them. The sound of the scuffle grew louder as he moved closer and then stopped, and Tetsuya took the remaining distance at a half run. He arrived in time to see the other man aim his gun, and had a second to register the bloody Isoda lying at his feet and Omi, in the gun’s line of sight, calm even when he was about to be shot. Then, he ran.
The man fired and Tetsuya tackled Omi to the floor, fire racing through his left arm a second later. He clenched his jaw and tried to ignore the pain as best as he could, twisting a little until his right arm had room to move. He fired once, and then again when he heard a pained grunt, and when he found the will to lift himself up and look, he was satisfied to see that both bullets had hit home.
A hand lightly touched his unhurt arm and he turned his eyes towards Omi. “You okay?” he murmured, and started to shift to a sitting position when Omi nodded. The hand on his arm tightened and suddenly Omi was moving them both, shifting and pushing until Tetsuya was seated with his back against a car and his injured arm cradled in his lap. When Omi tried to inspect his wound he shooed him away. “Check Isoda,” he said, and Omi smiled faintly and made his way to the guard’s prone form. “He’s breathing, just unconscious. He wasn’t shot.”
“Good,” Tetsuya whispered and he closed his eyes, deciding he deserved a moment of rest. His eyes snapped back open and he flinched and hissed sharply when fingers gently touched the area around the bullet hole. “It seems to have gone straight through,” Omi observed, and Tetsuya couldn’t fight the amused snort. “A doctor now, are you?” There was blood on the pale fingers, his and Isoda’s, red as the ink the treasury had always used on the student council’s rejected applications. It looked wrong.
There was yelling behind them and the sound of several people running their way, and before long they were surrounded by armed officers and someone was shouting, “All clear!” One of them came to crouch next to them and between him and Omi, Tetsuya was soon standing instead of sitting, albeit leaning heavily on the officer’s shoulder for a few minutes.
“Omi!” Kaoru’s voice rang out as they were heading towards the ambulance he had been promised was at the entrance. He lifted his head a little to ascertain his second charge was unharmed. He seemed rumpled but unhurt, and the fact that Chiba was standing next to him did more for his peace of mind than anything else. Tetsuya flashed the redhead a smile that he hoped didn’t look too pained, and turned his head towards Omi. “Go on then,” he told the younger man, and was already starting to take the next step forward when the touch of a hand on his back made him pause. “Don’t say it,” he ordered, not even turning to face Omi, but then they were suddenly standing eye to eye and the lavender eyes were as determined as he’d ever seen them.
He didn’t listen; they never had, and that hadn’t changed. “Thank you,” he said, and walked away before Tetsuya had a chance to retort. He saw Omi’s arms go around Kaoru as he continued the seemingly endless trek towards the exit, saw how he was carefully not letting his bloodied fingers touch the mass of hair. Kaoru was clutching at him and murmuring something, and Omi’s voice sounded reassuring when he replied. When he walked past them Kaoru’s head turned to face him, and for a moment, when their eyes met, he looked as if he was about to say something. But the moment passed and Tetsuya walked on, the emotions written all over Kaoru’s face leaving him with a clenching gut.
---
As it turned out, Omi had been right about the wound, and it wasn’t long before Tetsuya was ready to go home. The wound had been cleaned and stitched up, and they’d put his arm in a sling which went a long way to making him grit his teeth less. Then they’d given him morphine and told him to sit and wait for someone to pick him up. Only if that didn’t happen soon, he thought he might just doze off right there. The hospital bed looked comfortable enough, and he almost regretted choosing to sit in one of the chairs instead.
The soft knock on the door startled him, and it opened before he could issue an invitation. Kaoru stopped a short distance away from him, arms crossed almost as if he didn’t know what to do with them. “You’ll have another scar,” he remarked after a few quiet moments, and Tetsuya decided his goofy smile was probably the morphine’s fault. “Scars are sexy, right?” Surprisingly, Kaoru quirked him a half smile in return. “I’ve heard that before.”
“Maybe I should’ve let him put a few more bullets in me,” he retorted jokingly, desperate to keep the mood light, but it was the wrong joke to make and Kaoru was giving him that look he recognized from the garage; that look he wasn’t sure he wanted to face. “D’you know if Isoda is okay?” he asked, forestalling the dreaded conversation. “They wouldn’t let me go see him before my arm was fixed.”
“He’s fine. They’re monitoring him until they’re sure he doesn’t have a concussion, and he has a broken rib, but other than that he’s just bruised.” The younger man let his arms drop to his sides and took a step forward, eyes fixed on the bandaged portion of Tetsuya’s left arm. “You saved his life,” he said softly, and Tetsuya saw his hand twitch and almost reached for it. “I figured you wouldn’t be very happy with me if I let Shichijou get shot,” he replied, but the predictable reaction he’d been hoping for never came. Instead, Kaoru hesitated a second before taking the chair next to his, and sat with his back slightly hunched and his hands folded on his lap. “I wasn’t very happy when I found out you had been shot either,” he mumbled, and Tetsuya blinked at him. “If I hadn’t insisted,” he continued, and Tetsuya let out a heavy sigh that stopped the flow of words. He was glad Kaoru had chosen the seat to his right, as it allowed him to place his hand on the back of the younger man’s head and slowly stroke it. “There’s a reason I’ve been trying to avoid this conversation, you know,” he started, and he felt the redhead flinch. “You’re feeling guilty; don’t. You made the right call. We both did.” The hair was soft beneath his fingers. “I’d make the same decisions if I had to do it over.”
He stopped talking but continued to slowly run his hand down the red locks. The repetitive movement soothed him, making him feel more relaxed than he could ever remember being. He shifted a little in the uncomfortable chair, head leaning against the wall behind him. When his eyes started to slide shut he didn’t fight it, just slumped further in his chair. And when the head under his hand disappeared and a weight landed on his shoulder, he didn’t fight that either. The fine strands touched his neck, tickling, and he dozed off with the smell of Kaoru’s lemony shampoo drifting up to him.
The click of the door closing woke him up and he stirred, opening his eyes a fraction. Hideaki was standing by the door, arms crossed, smirk in place, but for once Tetsuya didn’t feel like rising to the bait. He glanced to his right and moved his hand to carefully brush a few loose strands away from Kaoru’s forehead. He looked peaceful in his sleep, undisturbed by dreams, and Tetsuya was fiercely glad. “You didn’t happen to run into Shichijou when you came in, did you?” he asked softly, and Hideaki snorted but made sure he opened the door quietly when he left the room. He allowed himself a last, lingering look before gently shaking the slim shoulder. “Kaoru-chan, wake up.” It worked faster than he had expected, and he watched the green eyes blink open. “Time to go home,” he murmured, and he knew it the moment awareness returned. Kaoru sat up quickly, hands brushing his hair back in a gesture he recognized as flustered. “I’m sorry,” he said stiffly a moment later, and Tetsuya struggled to hide his amusement at the other man’s obvious embarrassment. “Don’t worry about it, I fell asleep first,” he remarked cheerfully, and the awkwardness slipped away.
When the door opened, Omi was standing right behind Hideaki. Tetsuya pushed himself out of the chair, turning afterwards to offer his hand to the person next to him. Kaoru took it with very little hesitation and Tetsuya helped him to his feet, letting the touch linger a little longer than strictly necessary. Omi gave him a nod that looked faintly pleased and escorted Kaoru outside the hospital room, where they were joined by Chiba and Handa. He gave his team members a wave and got thumbs up back, and finally it was just him and Hideaki left.
“So, your place or mine?” he asked, and Hideaki grabbed Tetsuya’s jacket off the bed and slung it over his shoulder. “Mine, obviously. You haven’t been to yours in two weeks and I refuse to starve.”
“Such high maintenance, Hide,” he teased, but his friend just smiled and grabbed his elbow to steer him to his car. He fell asleep again on their way to the apartment and Hideaki had to half carry him into the elevator. Once inside, the other man didn’t even bother with the lights before steering Tetsuya to the bedroom and forcing him to lie down. He flicked on a bedside light and set about removing Tetsuya’s shoes and belt before tucking him in like a small boy, and he reminded himself to make sure and tease Hideaki about that later before the day and the pain and the drugs took him under.
---
Despite what his family, friends and current clients might claim, Tetsuya had never been stupid, and slightly resented the mass conspiracy against him returning to work, which he wasn’t planning on anyway. The pain in his arm faded to a dull throb in a matter of days, helped along by the pain pills he was taking, and he felt well enough to walk around again. But he knew he would be worse than useless in a fight in his current condition, so he left the active security entirely to his team, no matter how much it rankled. He moved out of Hideaki’s flat by the end of the fourth day, claiming he was tired of having to share the bed just because Hideaki didn’t feel any need to sleep on the couch. But instead of returning to his own apartment he headed back to Kaoru’s home. He wouldn’t put himself on active duty, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t supervise. And if he dozed off on the job, everyone was kind enough not to mention it.
He had altered his morning routine and instead of dragging a team member out for a spar, a team member was now dragged to put a fresh bandage on his arm after he showered and help him put on a shirt and his sling. Omi volunteered to do it occasionally, and he put the rest to shame with his efficiency. Tetsuya asked him once if he had any medical training, but Omi simply smiled and didn’t answer. It was a complete surprise, however, when Kaoru showed up to bind his arm instead of Fuchida.
Tetsuya had seen Kaoru in a suit once, during an event at Bell Liberty, and the sight still took his breath away. He was wearing a dark blue suit, three pieces, complimented by an off-white shirt and a grey tie. His hair was pulled back and fastened with a clasp, and it made him look older and more severe. He was every inch the brilliant prosecutor, and Tetsuya gleefully thought Arai’s lawyers wouldn’t stand a chance when the trial started in a few hours.
He held out his left arm with a smile, and Kaoru settled next to him on Omi’s bed and placed a piece of gauze gently over the wound. “Nervous?” Tetsuya inquired, and Kaoru picked up the bandage roll and nodded. “First big case,” he explained as he placed the end of the bandage on the arm and started to roll. “I wanted to thank you for the disk you gave us, it was useful.”
“I’ll pass the thanks on to Hide, he’s the one who gave it to me,” Tetsuya said, smiling at the concentration being offered to his arm. Kaoru kept the bandage in place with one hand and tore off strips of adhesive tape with the other, pinning it carefully and precisely to his arm. There was a pale blue button-down shirt on the bed and the slender hands picked it up and started to slide a sleeve carefully over the injured arm. The shirt was smoothed over his shoulders, the collar straightened, the buttons slowly fastened. The touches lingered on his chest, his forearm, touched his neck and the edge of his hair. He leaned into them, staring into clear, green eyes as both arms went around his neck to fasten the sling. Kaoru slid his right arm into the sleeve of the grey suit jacket that went with his trousers and draped the left side gently over his shoulder, hiding the sling, and then stepped away to give Tetsuya a once over. “I suppose you’ll do,” he murmured, but it sounded warm, and Tetsuya smiled at him.
“Ready?” he asked as he stood up, and a tiny smirk appeared on Kaoru’s face.
“Always.”
---