"Am I allowed to apologize yet, or are you going to keep cussing at me like an overgrown child?" The bastard's chipper tone was worse than nails on a god damn chalkboard, and Kurogane's head snapped to the side as he snarled—only to be met with a Cheshire smile that was anything but friendly or apologetic.

Cocky was a fucking understatement.

Blondie shouldn't have half as much confidence that Kurogane wouldn't break his fucking teeth in as he did. That was still a very real possibility depending on why the asshole was here—especially if he kept pushing every button he could fucking find.

"You wanna say that again, Blondie?" The cheeky bastard wasn't the slightest bit bothered by the reaction he earned, and that smile only got brighter. Kurogane recognized the smirk he was sporting—the same look the older man had given him that first night at Kyuden.

Fai'd been playing games from the second they'd laid eyes on each other. Kurogane had been so fucking mesmerized by those gorgeous baby blues and that devious playful smile he'd spent the entire night tripping over his own damn feet trying to keep up with the flirty banter. He remembered in striking detail how Fai had sipped his scotch before leaning back to rest against the booth—swished the liquid in his mouth to savor the taste—smirking—swallowing—setting his glass down without breaking eye contact—licking his lips.

"I think I know what you meant by me not being what you expected."

—and boy, had he hit the nail on the fucking head—

Fai had the kind of pretty face that made him look years younger than he actually was—which made him way too easy to underestimate. Kurogane had not been expecting someone like Blondie—and he had been pleasantly surprised at how badly he wanted the older man despite how much he usually hated people like Fai.

Shit woulda been a hell of a lot easier if he'd left it at a one-night-stand.

It had been that fucking smile that had kept him glued to his seat after the asshole had butchered the cop's name repeatedly—on purpose—and it had been that fucking smile that had made Kurogane head back to check on Fai after he'd pulled him over on his way to the hospital.

Like that first night—Blondie let out a deep chuckle, and Kurogane barely staved off the shiver that tried to creep up his spine. Didn't have half as much luck when it came to stopping the goosebumps from spreading across his arms—it wasn't something the fucker missed either, and Fai made a show of looking the cop up and down before answering. "I'll dumb it down for you—you're an asshole, Kuro-chan."

Those stupid fucking nicknames.

God DAMMIT, did he hate those nicknames.

They were just another tool in the fucker's box he'd used to mess Kurogane up—and he wasn't having it. He was not playing these fucking games anymore. A growl worked its way up his throat, and every hair on the back of his neck stood on end when Fai grinned wider at his reaction.

"Don't you dare fucking call me that." If Fai wanted him to be an asshole, he'd be a fucking asshole. "We're not fucking friends—and this isn't fucking cute —keep it up, and I will knock your teeth in."

"Good—" Fai shrugged and dropped the smile. "Maybe next time I show up at your apartment completely fucked up, you'll slam the door in my face like you have a single working brain cell." Looking out across the yard, Kurogane was left blinking like a fucking moron as Fai seemingly lost interest in the conversation now that they were apparently on the same page.

Seriously…

What the FUCK was wrong with this psyco?

"Honestly, I don't think I could have been a bigger jerk to you, and you still couldn't tell me to fuck off—if I have to be any meaner to you, I'm not going to be able to live with myself." The whiny tone was not something Kurogane knew how to interpret more than the switch from cocky button pusher to aloof disinterest.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Kurogane managed to pull his jaw off the ground and scrubbed at his hair with both hands.

So, this was about Friday night? He'd come all the way out here to tell Kurogane he'd failed some sort of fucked up test?

"No. So do me a favor—put your big boy pants on and tell me to fuck off next time so I don't have to drive my car off a bridge over the guilt, 'k? I'm worried about enough problems without you adding yourself to the list due to a lack of basic common sense. Plus, your mom and dad are both super nice, and I don't want to be the reason they're miserable any more than I want to be the reason you're miserable. "

The cop didn't know what to say.

He was absolutely stunned speechless as Fai reached both his hands above his head and stretched lazily.

What the fuck was this conversation even about?

Fai stalked him down, drove all the way out here, and hung around waiting for him to yell at the cop for not leaving his soaking wet ass out in the cold when he'd shown up crying in the middle of the damn night?

And that had been the emergency that couldn't wait?

"Ok?" Blondie prompted—looking back at Kurogane after a few minutes of silence. "We're not friends—" Fai motioned between the two of them with his pointer fingers like it wasn't glaringly fucking obvious who he was talking about. "—I was really mean to you—" now the idiot pointed at his nose like this ridiculous act was helping things make any sense. "So—you slam the door in my face if I ever get drunk and needy on you again." The bastard swished his wrist around, pointed at the cop, and nodded slowly at him, making Kurogane want to reach out and break his fucking finger.

If Fai didn't want Kurogane to let him in, then why the hell would the moron show up in the first place? Why had he shown up here at all if he didn't want something from Kurogane? Whatever backward logic Blondie had used to cook up this game, it was going right over the cop's head, and he was over it.

"This is some kind of joke, right?"

Fai sighed dramatically and rubbed at his temples like Kurogane was the one being difficult here, and the blond wasn't spouting out bullshit that was supposed to be important enough to show up at his family home out of the blue like this.

"No—you obviously still have feelings for me, or you would never have let me into your apartment—I don't know what else I can do to you to get you to hate me besides running your dog over with my car—and I'm not going to do it. I like him too much."

Ok?

Was he supposed to thank the moron?

Kurogane had had enough of the 'maybe I never wanted you to trust me—and—I'm not a good person' bullshit when Fai had been fucked up and crying on his couch. If he thought the fact that he wanted to make sure the younger man got his heart totally shattered would make him feel the least bit better, he had another fucking thing coming.

The asshole felt the need to stage some sort of weird test on top of all the crap he'd pulled and had the audacity to be pissy Kurogane hadn't passed? So much so that Fai had to take time out of his busy schedule of drug lording to tell him he'd failed said bullshit test because Kurogane was the one who still had feelings?

Bull–fucking-shit.

"I'm the asshole for not slamming the door in your face when you showed up bawling your eyes out like a fucking bitch, soaked to the bone, and damn near hypothermic because your drunk ass was running around without a coat in god damn fucking December—all because you had a bad dream. How the fuck does that work out in your head?" The math sure as hell wasn't adding up for anyone else.

It wasn't like Kurogane had asked him here in the first fucking place.

"What? No, silly—you're an asshole for yelling at me in front of your parents like that. That was very, very rude." Fai shrugged, and Kurogane scrubbed at his hair again in frustration. "—I came here for a good ol'fashioned breakup talk because you said you needed one."

The fuck he did.

The only thing Kurogane needed right now was a fucking drink.

"You're fucking insane." He'd never asked the fucker for a breakup talk. He'd asked Fai to be straight with him about what had happened, and they were supposed to settle shit after the new year.

What did Blondie expect when he crash-landed into Kurgoane's life out of the fucking blue—again—and caused massive fucking problems for him in the process? Oh—but let's not fucking forget that he was supposed to hate Fai—but being rude was too far.

"Yes—it's one of my many terrible qualities—so let's get this show on the road and talk about your feelings before I ruin your life."

If that sentence alone hadn't been enough to wear away the rest of the cop's patience—Kurogane watched the moron shift from dangling his legs over the edge of the engawa to crossing them in front of himself so he could lean his elbows on his knees and rest his chin in his palm like a fucking schoolgirl waiting to get the latest gossip from her friends.

If Fai's goal was to make Kurogane hate his guts, they were probably there now. He didn't know if he was relieved that Fai was finally telling him how it was—angry at the patronizing way the blond was talking to him like he was a chore to check off his fucking list—or just… fucking offended in general.

"You can take whatever little game you're trying to play and shove it right up your ass, Blondie—you're not going to come to my home unannounced, vomit this disrespectful bullshit, and act like you're the one doing me a fucking favor."

Fai didn't look the least bit reprimanded, and Kurogane watched as a sly smile crept onto the bastard's face.

He wanted to scream.

He absolutely hated this.

"The game is called How-can-I-keep-Kurogane-from-accidentally-ruining-his-life-because-he's-a-genuinely-kind-person-that-will-help-out-the-asshole-that-fucked-him-even-though-he-knew-he-was-a-cop-and-it-could-ruin-his-life-if-anyone-found-out-then-blocked-him-and-let-him-go-to-work-knowing-he-would-figure-out-how-absolutely-terrible-I-was-to-him and the favor is you not getting yourself—hell, maybe you're entire family—on a hit list because you're too nice. I can try and tone the sass down if you ask nicely… but it's pretty take it or leave it at this point. Did you still want your talk, or can I leave and pretend you don't exist anymore?"

So that was it, then…

Kurogane took a second to unclench his jaw—then he rolled his neck—his shoulders—and finished with a nice deep breath so he didn't snap then and there as those words sunk in. The bastard was pushing his buttons on purpose—and Kurogane'd be dammed if he would let him squirm out of this by sending him into a blind rage.

That's probably why he was here—why Fai needed to show up out of the blue—he wanted to push and pull Kurogane into letting him off easy.

Not a fucking chance.

If they were doing this, they were not doing it Fai's way.

If he could believe anything about his time with Blondie, it was that he had a pattern. Whenever Fai lost the upper hand with Kurogane, he pulled a stunt like this—did whatever he needed to do to steer the interaction back to a place where he could be in control. That's why he'd shown up uninvited today—Kurogane knew where to find Fai if he tried to worm his way out of settling things—and this was Fai's way of getting equal footing.

Kurogane could fuck with Fai's family—Fai needed to be able to prove he could do equal damage if it came to that.

"You can explain what the fuck kind of crazy threat that is, first off—then you can either lose you're shitty fucking tone on your own or let me beat it out of you." It was Kurogane's turn to casually shrug—not that it had the intended effect.

Blondie only went back to grinning like a fucking cat.

"Kinky~" Fai cooed and threw a wink in for effect. "—Don't say that too loud, or your parents might think I led you into a life of debauchery."

Kurogane glared hard—Fai was no more intimidated by that than he had been earlier. "I'm not threatening you, silly—I'm telling you that I can't protect you—and I really don't want your blood on my hands."

While he sounded like an ever-patient mother explaining something to her slower-than-average kid for the millionth time—Fai was rocking a smile that made it look like he was on the edge of bursting into a fit of giggles or breaking down into full-body sobs.

God, did it piss Kurogane the fuck off.

What was so hard about giving him a straight fucking answer? Protect him from what? What did that have to do with scolding Kurogane about slamming the door in his face? If there was really some danger that Fai felt responsible for putting him in—why the fuck was he acting like he was doing him a favor by showing up here in the first place? Why show up at his family home if someone was going to find out that had ill-intention?

Make it make fucking sense.

"Are you the troll that lives under the bridge that won't answer my question until I solve your damn riddle—or do you think I'm playing dumb for shits and giggles, Blondie? I never fucking asked you to protect me." Kurogane didn't like reading between the lines. If there was any serious danger, then trying to warn him without really warning him was about as moronic as it got.

Apparently, Fai thought that was funny—be it because the idea of Kurogane being able to protect himself was humorous—or because Blondie was fruiter than a fucking fruit cake was anyone's guess—but the laughter was not appreciated.

Didn't take long for him to get himself under control, and the bastard was back to gazing out across the yard with a lazy look in his eyes—easing into a more relaxed smile as he answered. "I already told you—slam the door in my face next time I show up in a blackout—that's all you gotta do."

Because that totally answered the question.

FUCK, Blondie was fucking frustrating.

Screw the massive criminal record that was longer than a friggin encyclopedia—Kurogane had dodged a bullet with this psycho based on his shitty communication style alone.

Or what?

What was gonna happen if he didn't?

Blondie was gonna just leave it at 'trust me you'll get yourself killed' and call it a job well done?

Because that didn't work for Kurogane.

The least the mother fucker could do was tell him what the fuck he'd roped the cop into after fucking his emotions up bad enough; he didn't know what was fucking up from fucking down.

Kurogane already had a headache from all the jaw clenching—when the newest wave of frustration washed over him and caused his molars to ache as he ground his teeth. It was better than losing his shit and cold cocking the asshole, sure—but the cop did his best to cut that shit out before he tried one more round of tell-me-the-entire-fucking-story else he'd need to see a damn dentist after he got this fixed.

"And if I don't, then what? You gonna have me killed because you can't control yourself—or are you worried you will decide to do it yourself?" Kurogane actually doubted either of those possibilities, but for all he knew, that's what Blondie meant.

You'd think if he had to look out for someone specific, the bastard might describe them a little.

The cop obviously didn't get it as intended because Fai looked absolutely shocked at that suggestion—probably the most honest look on his face he'd had since arriving—and not what Kurogane was expecting.

"God no—you got noticed is all—that's why I tried to cut you off in the first place. I can't keep you safe and just being near me makes you a target for people who either want to blackmail me—or don't like me prioritizing anything over my job." Fai's eyes dropped down to his hands, and the mask went right back up—another smile was tugged on, and the blond smoothed over his temporary lapse of control with another easy laugh.

As much as the masks annoyed the hell out of him—Kurogane couldn't stand the way Fai was tossing little scraps of information his way that didn't in any way click together to form the big picture.

At the very fucking least, Fai owed Kurogane that much.

"Then why the FUCK did you decide to call me to comfort you after you finished covering up a fucking murder—" Blue eyes snapped back up as Kurogane's volume rose, and he opened his mouth to answer but snapped it closed again.

He wasn't going to give Fai a chance to answer or interrupt. He had too much to get off his chest for that, and he wasn't giving the bastard a chance to derail things.

"Why did you parade me around in front of your army of personal psychopaths if you had a single fuck to spare for me? Why did you send me to work to find out that you're a fucking—"

Kurogane cut himself off with a snarl when his voice started to shake with anger.

Wasn't the smartest thing to shout like that—wasn't like he wanted to turn around and explain to his parents what he'd been yelling about any more than Fai wanted them to come out and see what the commotion was about.

He was just so fucking angry.

Fai was just staring at him with wide eyes, and it only made him angrier that the moron didn't immediately clap back like he had been the entire conversation. So now he didn't have anything to say? No more witty responses?

Where were those cocky smiles now?

Why did the bastard look so fucking shocked? Wasn't like Fai didn't know that that was exactly what he had been doing to the younger man. He'd obviously known how badly he coulda fucked shit up for Kurogane, and he'd decided it didn't matter in the moment.

Why all of a sudden, was it a priority?

Why was that such a hard fucking question to answer?

When it was apparent that Fai wasn't going to even try and answer any of that, Kurogane took a few more deep breaths before continuing at a more reasonable volume. "Now that the damage is already done, you're going to cry about not wanting blood on your hands but can't even give me a straight answer… Do you think I'm fucking stupid? You think you can bat your pretty fucking eyes and feed me a line of bullshit, and it's going to get you off the hook?"

"I'm sorr—"

" FUCK. YOU." Kurogane slammed his fist down on the wood floor, and Blondie flinched, leaning back like he'd been expecting the cop to hit him instead. "—if you're so fucking sorry, you can act like it and answer me."

Fai looked away—watching across the yard for a few minutes as he presumably gathered his thoughts… maybe he was attempting to muster another mask before he answered. Kurogane stopped pushing him—he needed a moment to regain composure himself.

Why Fai had made the choices he had, had been eating at him since he'd first gone through those reports. Finally getting to voice the anger he'd felt had blown the lid open on the ocean of doubt and shitty feelings he'd been treading since the raid on Akai Heya.

Fai cleared his throat after what felt like hours but didn't even try to make eye contact or face the cop before answering.

"You have every right to be angry with me, but I can't think when you yell at me like that—" Blondie's voice shook slightly as he stumbled over the phrase yell at me, and it took every ounce of self-control Kurogane had not to bite his fucking head off for it.

So the bastard could commit brutal murders and cut his enemies down mercilessly, but god forbid someone yelled at Fai, and he trembled like a fucking pussy? Kurogane wasn't buying that for a second—it was a damn good act, but there was no way he'd fall for it.

Blondie took a few measured breaths before continuing with carefully chosen words. "—But you're right. What specifically do you want to know?"

Finally, a step in the right direction.

Kurogane'd already forgiven Fai for not telling him to fuck off that second night he'd taken him for some food after pulling him over on his way to the hospital before fucking him sideways the rest of the night. Blondie'd been right—no one in their right mind woulda told the cop they couldn't hang out because they had drug lording to get back to.

That third night.

The night he'd fallen for Fai—the night the blond fucker had called him for comfort—that he'd taken Kurogane back to his parent's house, handcuffed him to the bed, and lost the damn keys.

Why the fuck had he brought him down into the offices of Kurōbā if Fai knew he could run into people that he might need to protect the cop from? Why had he taken Kurogane back to his parent's house to fuck? Had he known he was going to send Kurogane to work to see those reports and learn the truth when he'd fucked him that last time? When they'd spent the next morning wrapped in each other's arms after Fai's dad had made them those nasty smoothies and his stepdad had run to the fucking hardware store to get the cuff clipped?

When did Fai suddenly decide he wanted to keep the cop safe because the safest fucking thing would have been to block him after that second fucking night? Before he'd bumped into the weirdo in the alleyway—before Kurogane had made up his mind about how he'd felt about Fai after meeting his family.

"You killed that kid before you called me to Kurōbā, didn't you?"

Fai looked every bit as confused and betrayed as Kurogane had felt after seeing the blond fuckers pretty smirk smiling at him from the mugshot that had been clipped on the inside cover of the reports he'd been given to brief by Commissioner Iorogi. His head snapped to the side so fast there was no mistaking just how shocked Fai was to be called out like that—and Kurogane kept his own expression as neutral as he could manage while he waited for an answer.

"No." Fai shook his head back and forth slowly and looked the cop over skeptically—didn't offer any more explanation than that on the matter.

"Then where is he?" It was a serious question—Kurogane had no clue why Fai looked so god damn confused about it.

Fai knew the kid was missing and suspected dead. He knew that was why TPD had gotten the warrant to search Akai Heya—Playing dumb wasn't going to help him get out telling Kurgoane the truth.

It didn't take half as long for Fai to answer this time. A few confused blinks and the bastard shrugged and let out a tired sigh. "Beats me—but I didn't kill the poor thing. The people that did have already been dealt with by me personally."

Kurogane nodded slowly and mulled that information over slowly. The surprise had been over the assumption that Fai had been the killer—not that Kurogane knew where Fai had been before calling him out that third night…

He didn't know if he was going to bite off on that just yet. Not without more info to back it up, at least. Least he knew they weren't gonna find the kid alive—but that second half of the answer hadn't even been something the investigators at TPD had even started to look into yet.

Who knew how many missing persons would be reported in the following weeks that lost their lives due to whatever fuckery had gone down that night at Akai Heya… So Fai hadn't killed the kid but had he killed the people responsible for killing the kid?

"I'm not here to help your investigation—I didn't call you after killing the kid. I called you because I had to deal with the fact he was already dead, and that's all the information I have for you on the matter." Fai's tone was stern, and Kurogane didn't argue.

That was fine.

Kurogane didn't actually want too many details about what dealing with a dead kid entailed in Fai's world. He had no intention of sniffing out details for his superiors, and Kurogane had already had more than his fill of learning about what kind of fucked up shit Fai and his goonies got up to in their business dealings.

He'd confirm the truth of Fai's answers as the investigation panned out—for now, he'd assume Fai hadn't killed the kid or ordered his death.

"—finished handling it and decided to call me for a shoulder to cry on." He'd either dumped the body or had someone dump the body, then turned his happy ass around and met the cop at Kuroba for drinks. Wasn't much better than calling him after actually being involved in the death. Covering it up should be equally appalling.

Fais' gaze dropped to focus on the open space between them on the floor, and it took a half moment for him to utter a quiet response as he shrugged. "I never said I was a good person."

No.

They weren't doing this again.

Kurogane already didn't think he could reliably tell when Fai was lying when the bastard was staring him dead in the eye. He sure as hell couldn't tell when he refused to look at him and shut down like this. Reaching forward without much thought—the cop gripped Fai's chin and forced him to turn and raise his head up to look at him again.

Kurogane instantly regretted the familiar touch—Fai's skin was as soft as ever and warm under his fingers—he all but yanked his hand back as soon as he got a good look at the shocked expression on Blondie's face at the intimacy of the action.

"That's a fucking cop-out, and you know it." Of course, they both knew it—but the strange look he got from Fai in return was a mystery.

Kurogane hadn't asked him if he had claimed to be a good person—he'd asked him if he'd finished cleaning up a corps before calling the cop for comfort. The only people who went out of their way to claim being a good person were usually assholes—if that bullshit line was a roundabout way of saying yes—then Fai should just say yes.

They hadn't ended up here because Kurogane had forgotten to ask Fai point-blank if he was a bad person—this wasn't his fucking fault—and Fai damn well knew it. He knew even if Kurogane had asked him, he would have lied through his damn teeth, and Kurogane was so sick of the fucking games.

If Fai was going to claim he cared enough about Kurogane not to want the cop's blood on his hands, then he could prove it. He could explain exactly how he managed to give a single fuck about Kurogane's wellbeing and turn around and call him out for drinks after dumping a body and proceed to act like a sappy goofball the rest of the night.

"I don't understand what you want from m—" BULLSHIT.

"The question was in plain fucking Japanese—" Growling again as he cut the older man off, Kurogane blew a frustrated breath out through his nose. "I want you to tell me why the fuck you called me again if you care so fucking much about my god damn safety."

Blondie only looked more confused. Over the next minutes, it looked like he might open his trap to offer an explanation a few times—but he ended up chewing his lip each time instead—brows furrowing more and more as he presumably tried to come up with an answer.

Likely another fucking lie.

"You know I'm only human, right? What did you think was going to happen when you were so fucking nice to me?" Fai's voice shook slightly like Kurogane's asking that question at all was an insult to his character he hadn't been prepared to receive. "I've tried to apologi—"

"I don't want your shitty empty apologies—answer my god damn question." Kurogane cut him off, and Fai's eyes started to get suspiciously shiny—his face was already beginning to flush with emotions that neither of them wanted to deal with today.

Only human?

Fat-fucking-chance.

Falling back on the waterworks wasn't going to back that claim up—crocodile tears wouldn't win him any sympathy this time. Kurogane had been honest and truthful the entire time they'd been in each other's presence. He'd been kind because Fai had put on the perfect fucking act to get what he fucking wanted, like the manipulative piece of shit he was.

"That is my answer!" Fai didn't quite yell—but he was considerably louder as he grew more visibly upset—shoulders curling and eyes blinking rapidly in a failed attempt to keep himself from crying. "I was coming down hard—I had just watched a kid suffocate on his own blood because my people betrayed me, and instead of getting to do the right thing and call it in so his family could have his body back, I got to watch him get sliced and diced and turned into human fucking soup—" Fai's mouth snapped shut. Taking a deep breath in through his nose, Fai swiped at the tears that had collected in the corners of his eyes and looked away again.

Kurogane couldn't even begin to process what the fuck all of that meant before Fai scrubbed at his face with both of his hands and let out a very irritated sigh. "—I had a shitty night, and I just wanted to feel better. I was logically aware at the time that I was putting you in a vulnerable position and had no right to do so—but then you showed up, and for one stupid night, I got to leave work at work and just be Fai."

Blondie swiped at his face again with the back of one hand, snuffed his nose, and huffed—growing increasingly annoyed at his inability to just shut it off.

Jesus fucking christ.

So much for not falling for it this time…

Goddammit!

Kurogane was getting real fucking sick of his brain short-circuiting any time Fai cried—the only thing he could think to respond with made him sound like a total ass—but he couldn't ignore the fucking crying when you paired it with that kind of incriminating rant.

"What are you crying about?" Fai's answer had been consistent with what he'd told Kurogane last Friday night when asked the same thing… Kurogane had been comforting enough that Fai couldn't help but approach him again and again.

He bawled like a bitch every time he said it too. People couldn't fake cry that well… right? Was Fai that good at faking, or was he honestly annoyed he couldn't keep his usual mask on? Why the hell did Fai just openly admit to watching a murder victim get dismembered? What the hell was human soup? Coming down?

Blondie didn't answer him right away—just rolled his eyes—shook his head slowly— and snuffed his nose again as he took slow, deep, obviously measured breaths. Wasn't doing much to stop his leaky eyes, flushed face, or runny nose—but Kurogane sure as hell didn't mind giving Fai the space to collect himself if it meant he'd cut the crying out. Also gave him time to try and piece together just what the fuck all of that meant for them.

Suffocating on your own blood was quite the feat—so what the fuck had happened in the first place, and why did it warrant human soup? And what had Fai done to punish the bastard who'd crossed him? They hadn't had any reports of known drug ring members going MIA suddenly—So he hadn't killed 'em, right?

Had them killed?

"Stop that." Fai was trying and failing to keep his face dry and sighed in frustration at just smearing the tears across his cheeks. "Do me a favor and go back to being pissed off—you're supposed to hate me, remember?"

"Don't tell me what to fucking do." What the fuck did the asshole want him to do? Scream at him? Tell him to man up? If Fai wanted to keep the act up, he shouldn't have started snuffling like a kicked fucking kitten. "—stay here—"

Climbing back up onto his feet—Kurogane figured the best thing he could do was get Fai something to mop his face up with. It wasn't like he wanted to give a shit. Kurogane hadn't been raised to kick someone when they were down—and he wasn't going to holler at Fai when he was fucking crying. If this asshole was such a master-fucking-manipulator, maybe he shouldn't be fucking crying.

"' atta boy." Fai snuffed loudly again, and Kurogane ignored him, grabbing the door and yanking it open with what was probably more force than necessary.

No one was in the main living area of the house—not his parents and not his pooch. He hadn't really expected them to be hanging out and eavesdropping to begin with. Still, Kurogane was relieved that his privacy was being respected, anyways, as he snagged two bottles of water and a box of tissues before heading back out.

He closed the door with a hell of a lot less force than he'd opened it with and settled back down next to the snuffling blond without saying a word.

Fai gladly yanked a few tissues free with a muffled thanks and got hot cleaning up his face and blowing his nose. Setting the tissue box down between them, the cop cracked the seal on the cap of the first water and set it next to Blondie's knee before he opened the second one for himself, downed half of it, and just waited.

It became apparent to Kurogane while watching Blondie get himself together that Fai had left planet earth as he absentmindedly sipped at his water and continued with the deep breathing like it was going to magically fix the situation. Kurogane'd seen that same look on the faces of senior officers that had dealt with more than their fair share of bad calls before— and Kurogane was well aware no amount of breathing exercises would make much of a difference.

Whatever memory Fai was currently mulling over—it was a heavy one.

They didn't have all day for him to tune the world the fuck out like this, though. He gave Fai 10 minutes before throwing out the next question. "Oi. Don't get distracted. Which part you crying about?"

Was he crying over the kid, the lack of sobriety, or 'bout his fucking feelings?

Kurogane had a hard time bringing himself to believe any of those things would be any skin off Fai's nose, considering all the terrible things he was apparently capable of. Murder might as well be listed as a fucking hobby on his tinder profile, given his rap sheet at this point.

Fai snorted and shot him an annoyed look out of the corner of his eye before taking another sip of water. "If I had any interest in doing a deep dive into my feelings, I'd go to therapy."

He'd do the world a fucking favor by going to therapy, no doubt. No matter what had actually triggered the flood gates to open and caused Blondie to lose his composure—Fai could only blame himself for causing the problems. Why invite Kurogane out if he knew he would feel guilty for doing it later? Why have the kid's body dumped if he felt like shit about it later?

If he only got to be 'just Fai' when Kurogane was distracting him from work, then why not decide to be 'just Fai' all the time and stop committing fucking crimes? What 'just Fai' even meant was a fucking question in and of itself.

If Fai had actually been himself and honest, spare details that would have given away his shit fucking career choice—what did that mean for the cop who'd fallen hard enough after three stupid dates to be devastated to find out that Fai D. Fluorite and 'just Fai' were the same fucking person?

"If you feel this fucking shitty about making human soup, then why the fuck do you do it?" Blondie was back to looking at Kurogane like he didn't have a clue what that was supposed to mean by that.

"Do you enjoy every aspect of your job, or does some of it suck?" Fai quirked a brow at him, and his tone managed to communicate that there were clearly dumb questions, and the cop had just asked one.

Of course not—but Kurogane had a regular job.

"You trying to compare turning my paperwork in on time with whatever unholy shit human soup is supposed to be?" He'd been fed a handful of bullshit lies with a few half-truths mixed in and sent to work to read department reports to try and figure shit out—surprise fucking surprise—none of the reports had any answers as to Blondie's motivations for the horrible shit he was associated with.

"Didn't you read the stalker notes Iorogi keeps on me? Or like, maybe talk to someone who's been there longer?" Fai took another sip of water, and Kurogane couldn't resist the urge to rub his temples to try and relieve some of the tension.

What was the point of answering a question with another fucking question?

"Probably memorized every word of those stupid fucking reports—Do you want me to assume you're a psychotic maniac with control issues, or you wanna answer my question?" Kurogane ignored the amused chuckle he received in response.

"They got the control freak thing right, at least. Good to know I still look unpredictable and dangerous on paper even after all these years, I guess…" That far-off look was back, and Kurogane tried to ignore how coming off as unpredictable or dangerous was usually the opposite of good.

It took a few minutes, but Fai eventually refocused his attention back on the younger man. The whites of his eyes were still red-rimmed from crying, and that only made the cerulean blue irises look that much more vivid. Kurogane had already been aware of how stunning Fai looked after crying—bastard sure did a lot of that around him, and it only made Kurogane wonder how the fuck he'd ended up with the kind of rap sheet he had.

"I can't tell you too much about what's going on since you're a goody-two-shoes by profession— but —when the occasional power struggles occur, there are going to be a few casualties. I have to keep a clean house since commissioner Iorogi is so far up my ass I'm 'bout to tell his wife I'm the side chick. It doesn't matter if I like it or not. It needs to be done."

Kurogane nodded. That was a lot to take in.

Fai was too pretty to survive prison in one piece—but the option of just not being a fucking criminal was always there, right? Obviously, the fucker was smart enough to get away with literal murder on multiple occasions—he owned multiple businesses—just stop doing all the illegal shit.

"Bet you could make a deal with the PA's office for minimal consequences if you turned the right kind of people in—you got options if you want them." Kurogane let out his own exhausted sign when Fai's initial response was to burst out into a fit of giggles. It was the apparent fucking solution from where he was standing—there had to be options, and Fai had the money to pull stings your average Joe could never even dream of.

Blondie continued with his giggle fit, and Kurogane was starting to think that beating the shit out of him wasn't such a bad idea after all. Eventually, the moron noticed the dead serious look on the cop's face, and by the time he got himself under control, Kurogane's eye was damn near twitching from sheer annoyance.

"Ya wanna tell me what's so fucking funny?"

"The fact that you think I'm the cocky one but had the audacity to think you could just solve the problem by doing the 'right thing' like I wouldn't have thought about that already—" Kurogane bristled at that accusation but didn't have a chance to open his mouth. "Snitches get stitches—if I wanted to die that badly I'd put myself out of my own misery in a more humane way."

He still didn't see what was so fucking funny, but he knew Fai had him there. Kurogane shrugged and mumbled a quick "Just trying to help—" and looked back out over the yard as he mulled that info over.

He'd just assumed since Fai was at the top of the food chain, he didn't have to worry about shit like that. Wasn't like he'd learned the ins and outs of criminal etiquette at the police academy.

"We're all just pawns in someone else's game." Fai shrugged and kept an easy smile on his face as Kurogane continued to scowl at nothing in particular on the other side of the yard. "Even up here at the top—I learned from my predecessor to always keep that at the forefront of my mind."

The one he'd killed?

"Tatsuo Sakurazuka?" he said the name without much thought as to Blondie's possible reaction to hearing it. Kurogane hadn't expected to see Fai's entire body go stiff as a board or for all the color to wash right out of his face over hearing a dead man's name. "Your predecessor, right?"

"You really did read all the reports." Fai finished off the last 3/4ths of his water bottle in a single go and re-screwed the cap carefully while giving a thoughtful hum. "That's him—Otou-san inherited his position when his father passed away…and by the time I'd been introduced to him, he had developed a sizable god complex."

Otou-san?

Well, that was fucked up.

Especially with the way Fai's relationship to the now deceased Yakuza boss was laid out in the cold case file. The only reason Blondie hadn't been convicted of first-degree murder was because everyone living and working in the house knew that Tatsuo had decided to take his personal assistant to bed on a regular basis shortly after hiring him despite being still married to his third wife.

Generally, if your bloody fingerprints and footprints are found all over the crime scene and murder weapon, you were the prime fucking suspect—somehow, Fai's attorney had convinced the prosecuting attorney that Blondie just panicked after discovering the body and totally fucked up the scene in the process of trying to get his lover help.

When Fai then turned around and took over Tatsou's entire criminal enterprise and became the new king of the Tokyo underground basically overnight, it became apparent that there had been a coup of some kind—and Blondie had not only gotten away with murder but had no plans of stopping the violent take over of the narcotics trade in Tokyo—and had zero qualms of making anyone who got in his way just disappear. Cops, yakuza members, independent dealers, and civilians alike.

Wasn't like Tatsuo had a single redeeming quality when you looked at the laundry list of shit the department had on him—but he'd been partially decapitated with a kitchen knife while still breathing and likely conscious—the killer sawing into his neck until they finally caught an artery.

Fucker might have deserved a bullet to the back of the head, given the fact that he used to be the main person supplying fresh women and children for the human trafficking operations that had been rampant in Shinjuku at the time—but no one deserved to slowly get their neck sawed into by an idiot using a bread knife.

"So, you killed him over a big ego?"

"That's a gross oversimplification—" Fai let out another long tired sigh and tucked one of his knees to his chest so he could rest his chin on it. "—and officially, we don't know who killed him."

Kurogane snorted.

No way was he buying that—not for a second. It wasn't like they could go back and charge him if he admitted it anyways—even if they could, Kurogane wasn't gonna get wrapped up in that kind of shitshow over a dead POS who peddled women and children to afford his vacation homes and yachts.

"Make your fucking point." He wasn't interested in letting Fai lie to his face—anymore so than he was interested in coaxing a confession out of him.

"Tatsuo wouldn't be dead if he hadn't treated his people like shit and threatened the one person who had a good working relationship with individuals at every level of the syndicate. From our street dealers and call girls…to his most trusted advisors and even the hired mercenaries he kept around to protect him." Fai shrugged casually—he didn't bother trying to hide the sullen look on his face.

There was no way for Kurogane to know if that meant someone had stepped in to keep Blondie safe—or if the rest of the syndicate just didn't care Fai'd murdered their former leader. He highly doubted Fai would clarify even if he asked—and honestly, either way, they would stand the same with each other.

The fucker was dead because he'd threatened Fai somehow.

Sure didn't look like self-defense considering Tatsuo was still handcuffed to the bed when the coroner had shown up to collect the body. Obviously, the attack had been premeditated… but who knows what that sick fuck would have threatened to do to a pretty face like Fai.

"I was going to go back to college in Boston—but the people that helped me get safe expected my service in return for the favor. Next thing you know, it's been over a decade, and I'm tired —I matched with the sweetest rookie cop with the cutest puppy in all of Tokyo on Tinder—and in a moment of weakness, I clung when I shouldn't have." Fai smiled softly at him, and Kurogane felt his cheeks start to heat up under that tired blue stare.

Friday night's conversation was jerked to the forefront of his mind, and Kurogane muttered an impressive string of cuss words as he looked back out over the yard and tried to slow the hamster wheel of thoughts down enough to figure out what the fuck he was supposed to say to that.

What if this was all another elaborate fuckin act? More carefully crafted lies to build sympathy for the bastard? If he gave Fai an inch, he'd take the fucking mile—that had been the pattern until now, and there was no reason to trust it would change.

Of course, the fucking career criminal would have some perfect sob story about why he was a criminal. Fai broke the law every fucking day, and there was no excuse for that.

Right?

"—you don't have to forgive me. I didn't mean to dump my baggage in your lap like that. I was just trying to help you understand why I need you to stay as far away from me as you can manage." Fai swiveled so he could hang his legs over the side of the engawa and let his gaze wander as the silence fell thick between them.

Blondie was still a god damn drug lord. He'd had countless cops killed when they wouldn't accept his bribes—he'd killed any serious rival that tried to set up shop here in Tokyo—he was actively trying to hunt down this Reed fucker to kill him, too.

Fai couldn't be a good fucking person.

Good people didn't sell poison for profit. Good people didn't repeatedly break the public morals acts and pay people in positions of power to look the other way. Good people didn't illegally import firearms or hired fucking psychopaths to do their god damn bidding. There was no good reason he could think of to excuse regularly engaging in so many evil fucking things.

He could accept that Fai didn't want to get him wrapped up in the dumpster fire that was his life—because, bad person or not—he'd taken a liking to the cop. Kurogane could even feel thankful for Fai choosing to let him go—but he had to stop trying to find a reason to explain why Blondie had ended up where he was now.

Now that shit was settled, why the fuck was he so god damn angry about it still?

Kurogane hadn't known what the hell answer he'd been expecting that might have made him feel better about the utter shitshow Fai had caused for him—but hearing that the bastard had no intention of trying to keep the fucked up little song and dance between them going should be a relief.

It wasn't.

And fuck if he knew why.

He just wanted this conversation to be over—Kurogane was feeling about as tired as Fai looked. His face was throbbing, his chest was tight, and all he wanted was to crawl in bed and not think anymore. The faster they wrapped this up, the fucking better.

The silence between them was broken by a very normal noise in the Suwa family home.

Barking.

You'd think the world was ending given the way Biggs was barking his furry fucking ass off—and both Fai and Kurogane turned to look at the doors behind them as they listened to him bolt across the house towards the front door.

The rest of the dogs in the kennel joined in the fun, and Kurogane sighed as he got to his feet and made a quick motion for Fai to follow behind him. No way he could think with all the ruckus—and no point in waiting for one of his parents to come out and settle everyone when they'd have to deal with whoever had rung the bell on top of wrangling Biggs.

Fai slid off the side of the engawa without question and trotted behind him quietly as they headed for the largest outbuilding in the backyard.

As soon as he opened the door, the dogs shut the hell up as usual—but Kurogane ducked into the storeroom to grab some bribes for them, anyways. Without Blondie staring him down as he tried to think, it was a hell of a lot easier to get his thoughts in order.

Kurogane'd been the one to steer the conversation sideways this time—hadn't liked the answer he'd gotten even though it'd been best case—and now he needed to decide if he wanted to tell Fai how bad he'd fucked the cop up with his games, or if he just wanted to figure out who'd noticed him and why that had warranted dropping in like this.

Blondie was hovering in the storeroom doorway, watching as he popped the freezer lid open and rummaged around. Fai barely managed to catch the bag of frozen chicken feet the cop tossed his way—and he didn't need to be told to follow Kurogane as they headed into the central aisle of the kennel.

Not surprisingly—Kurogane had never had an easy time being vulnerable or talking about how he felt in general. Might not be as bad as he used to be—but he sure as fuck didn't trust the bastard enough to feel remotely comfortable talking about how fucking miserable he'd felt over the bullshit he'd been put through.

If Blondie really had cared so fucking much, why hadn't he had enough respect for the cop to sit him down and be fucking honest? Why was it so hard for him to man up and just fucking explain shit?

Shiva was always kept in the closest kennel to the storeroom and already knew what was in the familiar bag that Fai was holding. Wordlessly, Kurogane shoved his hand into the bag Blondie was clutching to his chest and ignored the way the idiot jumped in surprise at the close contact.

As soon as he grabbed the latch to open the door, Shive hopped onto her bed and flattened herself down onto her stomach before Kurogane even asked her to—and he shook his head slowly as he opened the door and tossed the treat for her to catch.

They could still hear Biggs mouthing off in the house as they made their way down the aisle, and he mentally prepared himself for the likelihood that Biggs would get booted in the backyard for being an asshole, and he'd have to watch him turn back into a lovebug in Fai's presence again.

Kurogane wasn't any less pissy about Biggs falling head over heels for the career criminal. Even after being reassured that Fai didn't have bad intentions for them and regretted using them as a security blanket in a moment of weakness, Kurogane absolutely couldn't stand the fact that he'd have to take something away from Biggs that he loved.

It didn't take long for them to finish passing out treats, and given the fact that his boy was still up in arms over the doorbell, he was going to assume someone in the family had a visitor. So instead of heading back to the house to finish up the conversation, Kurogane just leaned against the freezer after putting the leftover treats away and fixed Blondie with a serious stare as he crossed his arms over his chest.

He didn't have to ask for Blondie to close the door for some extra privacy. Took a minute for Fai to look him in the eyes—Blondie stood just in front of the closed door with his hands tucked into the pockets of his fancy suit, and he looked totally out of place in the kennels. Fucker was wearing a pink shirt and purple tie—the tie matched his stupid fucking socks, and the entire outfit looked perfect on the bastard for being so garish.

Tomoyo would have lost her damn mind over the outfit choice, and that thought only made Kurogane's chest get even tighter.

All the hours he'd spent trying to find the dots that connected his Fai to the Fai D. Flourite, and it'd been right in front of his face the entire time. There was only one reason someone as sweet and kind as his Fai would be as heartless and evil as the Fai D. Flourite.

"I think you're a fucking coward." That was the only explanation that made sense. The lies, the games, the masks, and the double life suddenly made perfect fucking sense.

"That's fair." Fai managed to throw up an eerie smile and tried to laugh it off. He sounded more manic than amused, and Kurogane might not know if that was an honest reaction or a failed attempt at masking one—but that didn't really matter anymore now that he'd made up his mind.

"Spent your entire life running from the shit that scares you—" Fai's smile brightened—then cracked—lips left slightly apart as his eyes fell to focus on the floor between them—thick bangs falling to cover his eyes.

Kurogane didn't know what kind of cord he'd just struck—but Fai didn't even try to defend himself from the accusations being made. "—you don't give a fuck who you hurt in the process either. Long as you don't gotta hurt—." Selfish fuck probably only claimed to care about the cop because he didn't want to feel guilty about Kurogane becoming collateral damage.

Fai probably lied to his old man about how he earned his bread—Kurogane didn't know why that bothered him as much as it did—but he knew Fai likely lied through his teeth to the poor man every day about the danger he was in and why.

Kurogane knew what it was like to have a sick parent. He knew what it was like to pick between worrying your sick parent or lying to them. Kurogane'd rather disappoint his mother to the point of disownment before he'd lie to her face—Just left him that much more disgusted with Fai's behavior.

"You're so tangled up in your own web of lies you'd rather just lay down and die than fight your way free—I can't believe I fucking respected you." Kurogane's lip curled in revulsion as he thought about how many hours he'd thought himself silly searching for any hint of a fucking excuse to explain why Fai might deserve a chance to redeem himself… He and Biggs both got suckered by the act, and it fucking stung.

Fai didn't seem to have anything to say for himself— he'd kept his eyes fixed on the floor, making it impossible for Kurogane to get a good read on his expression. The longer the silence stretched heavy between them, the more Kurogane was wondering when Fai would slap on another happy-go-lucky mask or throw a smart-ass remark his way.

Kurogane didn't give a fuck which way it went at this point; he just wanted the idiot to acknowledge what had been said. Didn't care if it was a bullshit apology—didn't care if it was outright denial so long as Kurogane knew he'd been heard.

The first tear that hit the concrete didn't catch his attention. Neither did the second or the third. There was enough distance between himself and Fai that Kurogane couldn't see the tears running down the bastard's cheeks with how the single dim fluorescent light was casting a shadow with the help of Fai's hair.

The pat pat pat of liquid hitting the concrete floor eventually gave it away, and his first reaction was pure annoyance. Of course, the fucker was gonna cry about it.

It didn't stop at leaky tears and a few sniffles this time—nope—Blondie clamped a hand over his mouth, his shoulders curled in as he wrapped his other arm around his shaking torso, his eyes scrunched closed like he was in physical fucking pain. Fai turned 180 degrees and reached for the handle, and that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Kurogane didn't have the patience for it this time.

Closing the distance between them with a few short strides, he used a firm grip on Fai's shoulder to force him to turn around. Blondie tried to shrug him off at first, but Kurogane was done playing around.

It was his turn to talk now, and Fai was going to fucking listen to him.

Grabbing the wrist that had been raised to muffle his cries, Kurogane yanked the blonde around and pushed him back against the wooden door, pinning the arm above his head. Fai's body hit the door way harder than he'd intended—but obviously not hard enough to deter Blondie from continuing to struggle.

Fai was surprisingly strong for being so willowy—using his free hand to try and push the cop back almost worked—but Kurogane was a lot stronger and easily snagged that wrist and pushed it against the door as well.

"Y'alright?" Kurogane's intention had never been to physically injure the idiot—but given how easily the bastard bruised, he was regretting going straight for manhandling Fai. He wasn't getting out of this conversation—he wasn't running away—and he wasn't going to distract them, and if the cop needed to physically hold him here like this, he wouldn't think twice about it.

Blondie nodded his head once but was looking at anything but Kurogane—tears were still pouring down his cheek like a faucet on full blast, and his hiccupping breaths might be fucking pathetic—but they tugged hard on his protective instincts.

Kurogane nodded but didn't loosen his hold on Fai. "You can cry all you fucking want—but we're not playing the shut down run and hide game anymore. K?"

He got another tiny nod, but Fai kept his eyes glued on the floor and was back to trying to breathe low and slow to willfully calm himself back down.

"What the fuck was that about? The truth hurt your feelings?"

Fai shook his head back and forth and snuffed his nose—eyes darting to look at different things on the floor. He was either afraid—panicked—or thinking a million miles an hour about where this conversation was going.

Didn't matter.

Kurogane was over babying him.

"Speak, dammit."

"Please let go." Fai's voice was barely above a whisper, and he tried to twist both of his hands free with no success.

"Answer me first." Kurogane leaned his weight forward to hold him there and gritted his teeth, and swallowed another growl as the older man just tried to twist and wiggle harder.

Why was he panicking? What the fuck was there to panic over?

"Let me go." Blondie tried to throw a knee up to help push against him as his tone rose—panic obviously taking over.

Part of the training he received before becoming a police officer was how to handle this kind of mess—he knew when someone was too panicked to listen—he knew it was time to de-escalate and cleared his throat to explain he would let go if Fai could take a deep breath first—but before he had a chance to open his mouth, shit went sideways.

Almost literally.

Technically backward for Fai—forwards for Kurogane. Between when he registered the sound of the latch bolt clicking, and the door that had been safely holding them upright swung backward—there wasn't a chance in hell either of the pair could have caught themselves and they hit the ground hard. Biggs, of course, didn't understand his people did not want to get dive-bombed with affection after hitting hard concrete—but he got the picture real quick when the person who was supposed to be watching him caught up.

"Shit shit shit—" Kurogane's dad snagged the fur balls collar and dragged him a few feet away. "When did you learn how to open doorknobs, you naughty little shit?"

Kurogane was wondering the same fucking thing as he got up off Fai. Biggs was winning two to one with both of them when it came to knocking people on the fucking floor today. Thank god he'd had good enough reflexes to get a hand under Blondie's head before he slammed it full force into the concrete—but the fact the idiot didn't get up right away had Kurogane worried as hell he'd been seriously hurt.

He was aware he weighed way too much to fall on someone without fucking them up good—and the seconds that ticked by felt more like years as he waited for Fai to so much as twitch.

"Kurogane, get your dog." His pops voice was calm and stern—the same tone Kurogane remembered from the not-so-rare occasions in his childhood when he or one of his sisters had gotten hurt doing something stupid.

They traded places, and Kurogane made quick work of getting Biggs in an open kennel. He didn't have to take his eyes away from Fai for long—by the time he latched the door and turned to see what was going on, Fai was sitting up and coughing hard.

His old man was kneeling next to him with a firm grip on one of his shoulders and a reassuring smile. "There ya go—good job—it just knocked the wind outta ya, huh?"

Kurogane felt his body sag in relief as Fai managed to nod despite coughing hard enough to sound like he was hacking up an entire lung. He didn't instantly rush back over—Fai had been panicked before Biggs had showed off his new, highly inconvenient door-opening skill—and now wasn't the time to crowd him.

Kurogane didn't have the lever-style doorknobs in his apartment—and he'd never purposely train Biggs to be a better escape artist than he already was. Even here at his parent's house—the doorknob to the storeroom was the only one that wasn't round…

When the fuck had he figured that out?

Fai got a few deep breaths in, and his pops moved to make sure nothing was busted or broken from getting smushed like a fucking bug. He was in full fucking dad mode, and Blondie seemed to appreciate the fussing.

When they had gotten through the laundry list of questions checking for broken bones and concussion symptoms, he turned his attention to Kurogane and gave him the same treatment. Other than the fact that both the back of the hand he'd snuck under Fai's head as well as the palm he'd used to catch his own weight as they fell were scratched to hell from the rough concrete—he was also deemed fine.

Finally, his dad turned his attention to Biggs, who had spent the last 10 minutes jumping at the door of the kennel, hollering at them like the floor was made of fucking lava. "As for you—"

Kurogane rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what was about to go down. He and his old man switched places once again—and he offered a still bloodied hand out to Fai to help him up off the concrete just as the lecture started.

"Did you know that you don't have thumbs? Wanna know why? The powers that be said naughty naughty grandpups are not supposed to open doors. That's a thumbs-only privilege, you little smart ass." He scolded with both his hands on his hips and a big grin on his face.

Kurogane might be the spitting image of his father—but he'd never been the silly type. The audible "Awe" in an absolutely adoring tone from Fai only made him roll his eyes harder—but he could admit that he'd rather see Fai coo over his dad's shenanigans than panicked over god only knows what.

Maybe he'd fucked up.

Biggs was still barking and jumping up at the door—tail going damn near light speed as Kurogane's dad pretended he could understand him while nodding and hm-ing in response. "I know you thought it was terribly unfair that Kurogane was hogging the pretty blonde, but we have to knock before we open doors from now on, ok?"

Fai was now giggling, and Kurogane was left wondering how the fuck so many huge emotional swings could happen in such a short span of fucking time.

What the fuck.

Seriously.

What the ever loving fuck.

Blondie's face was still beat red from crying, but his old man hadn't said a damn word about it. Probably assumed he'd been hurt bad enough in the fall to cause a few tears—didn't really matter. He sure as fuck wasn't gonna set the record straight—he just wanted Blondie to answer him and get the fuck out already.

"Did you need something?" Kurogane walked over to one of the large dog bathing stations and rinsed his bloodied hands under cold water.

"Yeah—" His old man rubbed the back of his head and gave up on teasing Biggs for now. "—I know you two are in the middle of an important chat, but I came out to let you know that some people that work with Fai are waiting for him? They said there was a last-minute meeting they need you for?"

"Fuck." All hints of amusement were gone from Fai's voice, and Kurogane felt his heart fall into his stomach at hearing that response. He didn't give a shit about the bad language—the negative reaction was worrisome as fuck, though. "If Kurogane and I can have just a few more minutes, we'll meet you at the house? I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble, Mr. Suwa."

"You've been no trouble, and take your time—" turning his attention to Kurogane, he continued. "Mom made lunch, and we don't mind giving you guys time to finish, ok?"

"Thanks." Kurogane locked eyes with Fai and wanted to murder the irresponsible fuck.

The second the door to the kennels was closed, Blondie dropped the sunshine and rainbows act and started frantically dusting at his clothes and trying to fix his appearance as best as possible.

"You wanna tell me what the fuck is going on?"