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AURELIAN PALACE, EVENING

“First a casino, and now an elite family’s gala? What is it with rich people and adollium nowadays?” Haru uttered under his breath after attempting to catch up with Daisuke, who just barely reached the palace premises. Not too long ago he had received a notice from HEUSC, Daisuke’s AI butler, about some rumors of an underground illegal adollium exchange that, for the most part, had no reported suspects; only signs of suspicious activity and a nearby fight. Later on it was revealed that the fight was more of a playful tussle between two massively drunken men, leaving Haru to wonder why this mission was even assigned to them in the first place. No suspects, no targets, no clear or concise evidence— him and Daisuke couldn’t even call it a mission. His not-really-coworkers-but-still-coworkers couldn’t call it a mission, either; Kamei liked to call it a death wish, while Saeki considered it an easy break. Teppei didn’t even bother to answer, saying that they should leave it to the police, to which Haru replied, “We are the police!” and left it at that. No matter what they said about the case, it all led to the same result: him and Daisuke heading to the front of Aurelian Palace, wearing nothing but their costumes and masks.

“Kato, your hand?”

“What?”

Abruptly, Haru turned, looking through the eyeholes of his mask to see Daisuke— calm, cold, and staring right at him with those familiar blue eyes. With Daisuke’s face now fully in view, Haru couldn’t help but stare at him too, like he was enamored. Usually he would only stare at him for just a second, a moment, sneak a couple of glances, maybe, just so he could see his face; he had always been better at the fashion game than Haru, after all, and Haru more than hated that. Especially since the loss— automatic loss of this fashion game would most often be caused by Daisuke himself. Admittedly, the cream-colored suit that Daisuke had tackled onto him was comfortable for both his measurements and standards, especially since he was kind enough to at least ask Haru what he liked before he “styled” him. There was no way he was ever going to admit that to Daisuke, though, being the stubborn man that he was; Haru was quite provoking like that. But this was different. This was more than just a game; Daisuke really was beautiful, and caught Haru’s attention more than anybody else.

“Your hand,” Daisuke repeated, louder this time. As if Haru was even listening. Daisuke was wearing a black suit, darker than anything he’d worn before, with only a glimpse of the plain white dress shirt he had underneath it. His hair, swept back and over his forehead, was sculpted into a “half-down-half-up” type of style, meant to match the flamboyance of his makeup as well as his mask. Haru wished that he could see that mask for himself, but unfortunately, due to the limits of his own mask, he couldn’t see the intricacies of Daisuke’s mask up close. All he saw was that the ends were golden, like his. Like it was part of a matching set.

The more Haru looked at Daisuke, the more he wondered if that was the point; to look “matching”. From the looks of it, they really did seem like a matching pair: same designs, same masks, same…

He trailed off as he watched Daisuke extend his hand, waiting.

…Gloves.

“Right,” he said slowly. He felt his face heat. Finally, and a bit reluctantly, Haru took out his hand, letting Daisuke intertwine their fingers as requested. Through doing so, Haru found out that he was right; their gloves really were matching, from the satin fabric to the pearls that adorned it. “Well, uh… shall we be heading inside, then?”

“Not yet,” Daisuke replied. He gestured to the entrance with his free hand to prove his point. “The security here is strict. And not all of them are guarding the entrance.” He continued to use his free hand, pointing at a nearby guard as an example. “They’re confiscating anything that could be classified as a weapon or tech—“

“—Which means more trouble for you?”

“Kato.” Daisuke sent him a look, to which Haru took as a sign to be quiet before he continued. “…If the suspect really is among the guests, we need to be on high alert.” He continued to speak in parts, as if recollecting his thoughts. “We’ll have to rely on only HEUSC this time to get things done.”

Only HEUSC, he said. Haru scoffed. Last time he checked, HEUSC could do anything. Anything to stop his partner from whining, that was. “Their security is tight, yeah, so what’s the problem?”

At that it was Daisuke’s turn to scoff, clearly bothered by his partner’s lack of cautiousness. “Aurelian Palace doesn’t usually have this kind of security,” he further explained. “They’ve had galas here before, but there was no confiscation of any sort. They only had the guards.” Just then, his face softened. “That’s why we need to be careful. In case something bad happens to us.” To you. Haru heard his voice loud and clear.

“Understood.” And with that, they headed off.

Upon entry of the dome-shaped palace there was a large central block, which Haru wagered to be the palace’s foyer. In front of him there was a grand staircase, where several servants stood so that they could attend to their guests and let them drink to their heart’s content. Not Haru, though. He was more of a “eat first, drink later” kind of guy that would steal the appetizers to every party then pull up that “holier-than-thou” persona saying that stealing was immoral and that “free food didn’t count”. Hypocritical, really. It took approximately ten minutes of Haru stealing appetizers before Daisuke took one from his lips and scowled.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Once Daisuke realized that Haru let go of his hand, he reached forward to grab it again, tightening his grip. “We have to focus on our—“

“—Mission, I know,” Haru mused. He was wiping the crumbs off his sleeve. They had spent so long trying to find a suspect before walking in that it was best to assume that there were no suspects at all, and that it was really just a scam. “This is me trying to blend in with the crowd.” Not that Haru was even planning anything in general. “After all, anyone who’s a suspect will likely be part of the crowd as well.”

Haru didn’t expect his little lie to go through with him, but to his surprise, Daisuke nodded. “Yes, you’re right. We should try to blend in as much as possible.”

“As much as possible? I didn’t mean it like th— w-woah!”

Haru didn’t do so much as blink before his wrist was yanked forward, pulling him up the stairs and into the ballroom with Daisuke. Back in the foyer he at least had a carpet to cushion his fall, while in the ballroom it was Daisuke, his arm wrapped around his waist. He had never looked so pretty, to Haru, until now.

Above them, and even higher than the chandeliers themselves there was the glass-paneled ceiling, which was used to reflect the crowd’s dancing figures. To adapt to the palace’s structure, each light was set in rows, like an opera house— emitting a light bright enough for Haru to look through Daisuke’s mask, like he was looking at a picture.

“Oh,” he gasped, more to himself than Daisuke. Daisuke’s mask looked even better up close: black, velvet and embedded with gold in the shape of a rose. His mask was a perfect resemblance to Haru’s, except his was plain white.

“Is there something on my face?” Perhaps his staring had been too clear, for it was Daisuke who had pointed it out. Haru chuckled in response.

“Yeah, dummy. Your mask.”

Daisuke’s lips came down in a frown, feigning sadness. “What’s wrong with my mask?”

“Oh, nothing.” In a self-taught motion, he brought Daisuke to a dip, seeming satisfied at his knowledge of dancing (which, before, was very minimal until Daisuke had the decency to teach him). “I’d just prefer to look at your face, instead.”

Right as he said that, Daisuke’s face seemed to be getting closer, like the moon eclipsing the sun. Or was it the sun eclipsing the moon, where Haru was the one moving closer? Daisuke didn’t seem to care, and neither did Haru as he leaned down to—

“—I’m sorry, but could I pull you away for just a moment, please?” A sharp, sultry voice suddenly broke in between them, forcing Haru to let go of Daisuke. It turned out that the voice belonged to a very attractive man, whose mask was shaped like a fox while his blond hair shone. “I would simply like to have a word with you in private.”

The man casted an amused glance at Haru, who was enraged. “That is, if your partner doesn’t mind?”

“Not at all.” Haru said it with all the sarcasm he could possibly muster up. “Absolutely no problem whatsoever.” His plan must’ve backfired, though, because the man already had his arm wrapped around Daisuke, pulling himself away. “Wait, I didn’t mean— hey! Come back! You son of a—“

Haru held himself back with a shaking fist and a grimace as he tried not making a scene. He should’ve known better than to let his guard down, because now his partner was gone and he was all alone with nobody to blame but himself. Stupid!

“Guess I’ll leave, then!” Haru spat, more aggressive than he intended. He caught people staring at him with mixed confusion. “…So much for being subtle.”

That being said, Haru knew that his subtlety wouldn’t last for very long. Not that anyone here would notice, what with his lack of fashion sense and everyone else getting really, really drunk. Like he didn’t just lose his partner to some eloquent brat.

Thank rich people for fancy drinks, I guess. That might’ve been the only thing Haru thanked them for.

AURELIAN PALACE, NIGHT

It was only once he had stopped taking shots, walking around aimlessly in the palace, that Haru realized that a long time had passed, and Daisuke still hadn’t returned in one piece. Shit. With Haru’s natural instinct being to worry about Daisuke, he turned back to the ballroom, ignoring the anxious thrumming feeling he felt in his heart.

It wasn’t like Daisuke to just abandon him like that, right? Surely he was just waiting for him by the door, by some room. Maybe he had found a clue.

So why wasn’t he anywhere to be found?

“Kambe?” Haru called out for him, his voice rough. He could still feel the pressure of where Daisuke touched him, right at the bare portion of his wrist. “Kambe, where are you? Kambe?”

Three seconds passed before a sudden explosion broke out from the left side of the room, Daisuke’s last location.

“Shit!” Haru could barely turn before another row of blasts were shot, sounding like bombs and shattered glass. The only obstacle standing in his way was the evacuating crowd, whose main priority was to, quite frankly, prioritize themselves; a number of guests had already escaped, leaving Haru as the outcast.

An outcast in the palace, which was already going down.

And if Daisuke’s still in the palace, that means he—

“Goddammit!” Just like that he was running once more, frantically looking for Daisuke. He must’ve looked insane, with his mask dangling below his eyes. If Daisuke was still in the palace, that means he was in danger, and when it came to Daisuke being in danger Haru felt like he couldn’t breathe, and when it felt like he couldn’t breathe it felt like the world was gonna—

Inhale. He breathed in, enough to feel his own lungs. Exhale. He breathed out, still thinking of Daisuke. If he was somehow going to find an escape from this place, he had to escape from his own troubles first; that was what Daisuke would’ve said. Because it wasn’t like Daisuke was always calm and serene, either. So in response, Haru pulled his hair out of its ruffled-up state and charged, as fast as he could, into the nearest security guard— and then got dragged away by another, who luckily did not have handcuffs.

“Hey— you— let go of me! I’m an officer too, you know! Hey!” A heavy thunk, and then Haru was back on the floor, looking pathetic. He lifted his head up to glare at them before hauling himself off the ground, ready to try again. “I’ll kill you if you’re holding my partner hostage, you got that?” Or if it’s already too late.

By now Haru was the only one trapped in the palace, which he assumed to be intentional. But why? Was this all planned in advance? At any rate, Haru was getting tired of all the surprises. What he really wanted was a fight— and a fight he received, for with a swift and vigorous movement his fist swung across a guard’s face, knocking him out.

And Haru was completely, utterly screwed.

UNKNOWN LOCATION, NIGHT

Daisuke was a detective, an heir, a son and Haru’s partner, who he had trusted and wanted to trust for the rest of his life. Yet now he was nothing but a prisoner, tied up and held captive in a rich man’s lair: the wine cellar.

“You sure this is the right guy?” Instinctively, Daisuke shut his eyes and feigned unconsciousness, his head lolling back. If he managed to stay quiet for a long amount of time, they could possibly reveal some info to him that’ll help get him out. “Looks pretty average to me.”

“Why’d he only pierce one ear and not both?”

“Who knows?”

To think he’d have to hear two grunts talk about his ears, how dreadful. Daisuke fought the urge to scowl at their indecency.

“Is that cologne?” For a moment, Daisuke swore he’d heard sniffing, and he shuddered while still tied up in his chair. “What scent is that?”

“Imperial Majesty. All the rich people use it to flaunt their wealth.”

“So you’re telling me that this man— the one we’re currently holding hostage— is one of the richest men in the world?”

“Believe so.”

“And we’re just keeping him under the palace instead of selling him for hundreds of millions of dollars?”

“That’s right.”

“Thomas, are you crazy? Do you know how much money we could make with this guy?”

“Yes, actually! Because the guy we're holding hostage is the one in charge of the adollium!”

“You should’ve told me that before you decided to—“

As the two guards began to argue, Daisuke was visualizing an entire diagram within his head: the palace’s wine cellar, which was underground; two guards, who seemed relatively harmless; and the mention of adollium, which likely disabled his tech.

So there really was an underground exchange, like HEUSC said. In times like this, HEUSC was one of his only options. But if he used HEUSC now, he’d blow his own cover, and he’d be better off staying quiet if he wanted to live.

Two guards. A wine cellar. And then adollium.

Daisuke knew it was a wine cellar, because he had been in one before; once you spend your whole life taste-testing for professional sommeliers, you could never not smell the scent of wine ever again. It was inevitable. The only pro to such exposure was that he knew the whole cellar’s layout, and had the brains to connect that to his plans. Most of the wine cellars Daisuke had seen consisted of a square or rectangular shape, where each of the sides would be taken up by shelves except for one: the exit. If Daisuke figured out which one was the exit, he could possibly make a run for it and outrun them— but there was the possibility of reinforcements, who could come up out of nowhere and attack. The only option was to flee; but how?

“—The palace is going down, Thomas! And yet you chose to stay with the hostage instead of just leaving him here to die!”

Daisuke froze at that, his blood cold. The palace is going down?

“I know, Ronald! I know! But the adollium—“

“—The adollium doesn’t matter right now! This is our lives at stake! Not to mention there’s still someone in the palace fighting our guards like a madman!”

“A what?!”

At that, Daisuke’s blood ran colder. Only Haru could fight like a madman— and that wasn’t always a good thing. While Daisuke was possibly the “brains” of this operation, Haru could end up being both the “brains” and the “muscle” all at once; sometimes prioritizing the “muscle” in him more than anything else.

“That’s why we have to leave, now! Before it’s too late!”

“But what about the hostage?”

“Forget about the hostage! Take down the man in the palace first and then we can—“

“Don’t!” It was Daisuke who spoke this time, blowing his cover and shocking the guards. “Don’t touch him!”

“You?! How did you—?” After the ropes came loose, Daisuke was on him in a flash; he sprung forward with an eager fist and slammed it, as hard as he could, up the taller man’s jaw, leaving him a straggling mess as the other guard— Ronald— came up and hit Daisuke from the right.

“Agh!” With a grunt, Daisuke crumpled, barely noticing a gun’s barrel pressing hard against his head. HEUSC was all he had left, the ball-shaped earring still crackling in his ear. “H-HEUSC… nngh…”

His hand moved to grab Ronald’s leg, but by the time he reached forward, he realized that he couldn’t, and was met by a sudden kick to the rib cage, instead; at this rate, the guards would overpower him, and he’d be left underneath the palace to die.

“Ronald, the gun!”

The barrel of Ronald’s gun returned to meet his temple, and at that point Daisuke knew that he’d met his end.

“Now!”

AURELIAN PALACE, NIGHT

“Oh, crap!” Haru yelled, before dodging a nearby attack from another guard. There were a lot of things he regretted right now— deciding to beat up a random security guard and successfully knocking him out was one of them. “Damn it, where’s Kambe when you need him?”

As the guards were phoning for backup, Haru was fighting his way out of the palace. A little sloppily, at that. He was on his sixth guard before a sudden punch was thrown over his head, which Haru ducked under and spun around to counter.

Fighting like this, he thought he could’ve been mistaken for a madman. So desperate to find his partner, that he had gone reckless.

Maybe he liked being reckless. Or maybe he liked his partner a little too much.

The last time he had seen Daisuke, he was dancing with another man; then, he was gone, swallowed up by the crowd. Was it possible, to think that Daisuke preferred rich dudes over his own partner? So much that he’d leave him in the middle of a case?

No, Haru concluded. No, because Daisuke was better than that. He was his partner, and no one else’s. The only reason why he would be gone would be because of a kidnapping; they were so inseparable, as partners, that even if Daisuke were to voluntarily leave him, it would be in an alternate dimension spawned only by his inner demons. He was sure of it.

If Daisuke was indeed captured, that could only mean one thing: he was still somewhere in the palace, being hidden as a hostage. Whoever the suspect was, it seemed that he and Daisuke were targets from the very beginning.

And Haru knew a thing or two about being a target.

“Stop him! Make sure he never leaves this ballroom!” But Haru was already two steps ahead of them, weaving through the guards like he was dancing.

“Block the exits! Now! Someone grab him before he— ggh!”

Haru silenced the final guards with a finishing blow, not enough to kill them, but still powerful nevertheless. Either way, he had to find Daisuke, and fast— any moment wasted would cause reinforcements to be called.

Don’t worry, Kambe. I’ll be there to save you.

Or was Haru the one that was worried?

After fighting his way out of the ballroom, Haru broke free, leaving the ballroom completely to find the rest of the palace empty.

“Great,” Haru muttered. He was nowhere to be found. But this was no time to be stalling— he had to find Daisuke, even if it was the last thing he did. The only way he could do that, unfortunately, was to check every room until he had found his partner, who Haru hoped would be there to applaud him for his brave, heroic deeds. “Now what?”

With the endless web of rooms that was Aurelian Palace, it’d be impossible for Haru to find him. That was, until he had heard the sound of muffled shuffling coming from a segment in the palace: the elevators.

“Kambe!” Haru ran his way down the stairs and into a nearby hall, where to his horror he had found two guards covered in blood. His first instinct was to run and hide from view; his second instinct was to assume the blood was Daisuke’s and completely lose it while still hiding behind the walls, barely breathing.

Blood. All he saw at that moment was blood, bringing back violent flashbacks. Cho-san. Takei. The girl from the bank. And now Daisuke, whose blood was on his hands. Haru sagged against the wall and wondered, to himself, how he had been such a failure.

If you only came back…

You said you had full control of this stupid mansion. But you didn’t!

You left Cho-san and Takei to die.

Haru took a shaky breath, realizing what a stupid hypocrite he was, before he stood up and braced himself for the guards to come. He’d give them a fate worse than death if they even dared to touch Daisuke; he’d make sure of it.

As the guards turned the corner opposite from Haru, he noticed that they both had wounds likely caused by a bullet— gunshot wounds. His chest ached with a sick feeling of relief once he realized what that meant: Daisuke was still alive. There was a possibility that Daisuke was still alive, and Haru almost felt hopeful.

The second the guards left his peripheral vision, Haru made a run for the nearest elevator, slamming a hand on the very last button and waiting anxiously for the floor number to decrease. Through the elevator mirrors Haru must’ve looked unkempt, or even unhinged— his mask had slipped off of his face entirely, revealing tear marks that weren’t there before. Like he was crying for Daisuke. Cho-san. Takei. The people he failed to protect. Haru was relying on hope to save his partner’s life, and it was pathetic.

I’m just a civil servant.

For all this time, before being a civil servant, you’ve been a hero!

Your job is to make justice happen!

Yet he couldn’t even recognize himself in the mirror of an elevator. How pitiful was that? With bruises like these, how could Daisuke even look at him? Was he even still conscious to see Haru’s face? The floor number kept descending, little by little, but at that point Haru stopped looking in hopes to make it go down faster, faster, until it finally reached its end.

AURELIAN PALACE WINE CELLAR, NIGHT

As soon as Haru reached the basement, he prayed that whatever would meet him on the other side of the doors wouldn’t be an unconscious Daisuke, surrounded by blood. Haru was fairly certain that Daisuke was still alive, but he didn’t want to depend on certainty anymore to guide him through his actions. He would try to save Daisuke using the one move he knew best: trust.

“Trust me, Kambe,” Haru heard himself say. “Trust me when I say that I’ll be the one to save you, no matter what.”

He soon regretted those words as the doors finally opened, revealing an endless trail of blood up ahead. Haru followed where the trail was leading to with his eyes until they had stopped at a see-through door, revealing a figure. Kambe.

“Kambe!” It was almost let out as a sob, as Haru barged in through the door and saw Daisuke, who was maskless and barely conscious. “What did they… what did they do to you?”

Daisuke couldn’t even respond before Haru was already pulling him into an embrace, shaking so badly that even Daisuke could feel it with his half-conscious mind. “Kato, I—“

“—Kambe… do you have any idea how much I…?” Daisuke heard a loud sniffle come from Haru, as if he was crying. He was. Daisuke suddenly felt two hands cupping his cheeks, pulling him closer and cradling him like they weren’t in a wine cellar, surrounded by blood. “I thought you were dead, damn it! I saw those guards covered in blood and thought it was your blood and thought that they killed you but then—!”

“—Kato, I’m fine.” Daisuke was surprised to see his partner flinch at that, the frown deepening on Haru’s face. “The mission was a bust, that’s all—“

“—‘That’s all’?! You could’ve been—!” Haru finished his words with a choked off “dead”, before sinking into Daisuke’s chest and sobbing like he was the one that got wounded. Daisuke didn’t understand what being dead had to do with this; all he could think about was Haru’s life. Haru’s safety. How he wanted Haru to live, more than anything else.

Daisuke would’ve never thought that one day, Haru would be the one to save him— that he’d be the one to show him what it meant to be loved. All that remained of his past was a single memory of his late mother; he never thought that anyone could ever care for him the same way she did. But he was wrong.

Kambe Daisuke was supposed to be strong, tough. Have no weaknesses, for as long as he lived. That was the curse that came with the family name— an invulnerable heart. The darkness behind such an ill-fated family would follow him in his wake, and yet he was expected to show no fear, no shock, and simply bear with this pain for years to come. No one was allowed to interfere— no one was allowed to be his weakness. No one, but Haru.

“…Kato,” Daisuke said after a long minute, before reaching up to touch his hands. When had they been so close? One moment they were butting heads like rivals, and the next they were risking their lives for each other like soulmates, walking down the same path. To Haru, what was he? His partner? His ally? Or…

A single surge of warmth swelled inside his chest, and he struggled for a moment to find a name for what he was feeling. To Daisuke, Haru was more than just a weakness— he was his strength. His shield, his sword. A man that, even with his strange twists and personality, Daisuke wanted to stay with until the very end.

Oh.

And then it came to him, all at once, in a series of thoughts and complicated feelings, that what he was feeling was love.

Oh.

“Kambe, I—“ Haru lifted his head up to speak, only to be cut off once Daisuke leaned forward and stopped, just barely, before his lips. Like he was waiting for something— like he was waiting for permission. A confirmation, on what they really were.

“…Yeah?” Daisuke’s hands were still on Haru’s, which were no longer parted by a layer of cloth; only skin. There was something about Haru, something bright and vivid, that seemed to allure him— and Daisuke had no intention of holding back.

“Nothing,” Haru breathed. He used his hands cupping Daisuke’s cheeks to kiss him passionately, brushing soft lips against bruised ones. Neither knew which was which. At that moment, it was just him and Haru, kissing in a blood-stained wine cellar.

His hands are warm. Daisuke heard a soft, muffled gasp come from Haru’s lips, and the urge to emit more sounds from him flared up like a burning fire. So he kissed him again. And again. And again, until his passion alone almost sent Haru reeling.

Daisuke could briefly feel Haru’s hands move up to his hair, entangling themselves as his fingers found home in the strands. Good— he didn’t like the “half-up-half-down” style, anyways. It strayed too far from the familiarity Daisuke had and craved. More than anything, he craved Haru. He had Haru.

Yes— I have Haru. Daisuke finished the thought with a final, yet loving kiss on Haru’s lips, only for Haru to pull him in for one more as if he were afraid of losing him. Afraid that somehow, he’d slip away. Daisuke reached for his hand again and squeezed it as a way to reassure him, which was enough to ease Haru’s nerves a bit as he pulled back.

“How… how did you escape?” Haru’s voice was low and soft, still raspy from their recent kisses. “Did they hurt you?”

“Yes,” Daisuke admitted, softly. “They put a gun to my head, and I couldn’t move. For a moment, I was… weak.”

“Weak?”

“They had found my weakness before I could.” All this vulnerability made Daisuke want to run; it was only Haru’s gaze, warm and secure, that made him want to stay.

“And what is your weakness, Kambe?”

“You,” Daisuke started, and Haru’s face flushed. It was enough to fluster Daisuke as well as he used a hand to cover his face, embarrassed. “…and Suzue.”

“Are you saying that I make you feel weak?” It was asked as a genuine question, but Daisuke still blushed at the suggestive connotations. He had to clear his throat a little before he could properly respond.

“You are my weakness, but you are also my biggest strength.” Daisuke’s words were breathy, tentative. The fear of being perceived overwhelmed him, until it was suddenly too much to bear. It was Daisuke who pulled away, but it was Haru who grabbed his wrist so he wouldn’t go far; Daisuke understood, then, that Haru was far more than a friend. “The guards from earlier… they said you were ‘fighting the guards like a madman’, and threatened to hurt you. I didn’t want them to, so I escaped their grip and grabbed one of the guns to shoot them.”

“A… a what?” A second passed before Haru suddenly broke out into laughter, his chest moving with every breath. “A madman? Do I really look like a madman to you?”

“Kato.” Daisuke sighed, and Haru used the silence to wipe away his tears before speaking.

“You know, the guards in the ballroom didn’t have a fun time with me, either.” A wicked smirk made its way to Haru’s face, and Daisuke didn’t know how much he missed that smirk until he saw it. “Once you got kidnapped, I beat up every last one of them until they were all begging for mercy.”

“Kato.” Daisuke said his name once more, this time in annoyance. Haru grinned and let out a tiny “hehe!”, before Daisuke shook his head and continued talking. “So I was right, then. We really are the main targets.”

It made sense, considering how the security was suddenly heightened, the guards were sent to take them down, and all their tech was disabled by the work of adollium. All their tech, except HEUSC.

Right— before, I didn’t have the time to use HEUSC. As soon as the thought had come to mind, Daisuke brought his hand up to the ball-shaped piercing, waiting for HEUSC’s monotone voice to respond. “HEUSC. Get me in contact with Suzue.”

“As you wish.”

There was no delay in the link between Daisuke and Suzue, as a sudden wail made its way to Daisuke’s ears.

“Daisuke-sama!” Her voice was a touch sadder than usual, which was to be expected after such a long time apart. Every time Daisuke opened his mouth to speak, it was interrupted by the sound of Suzue sobbing and sniffling, babbling on and on about how worried she was and how she thought Daisuke was dead. Haru’s panicked, “We’re okay! We’re okay, Suzue!” did little to help. “Oh, Daisuke-sama! Please don’t put yourself in danger like this ever again!”

She didn’t mean that entirely, of course, but Daisuke still felt a little guilty for what he was about to say next. “We need you to send reinforcements.”

“What?” A pause, and then a loud crash. “Kato-sama… Daisuke-sama… surely you don’t mean— a-are the two of you hurt or in danger right now?!”

“N-No!” Haru yelled, only to be cut off by Daisuke’s blunt and monotone “yes”. Through HEUSC Daisuke heard Suzue’s exasperated sigh, before she cleared her throat and collected herself to reply.

“Understood. I will be sending reinforcements right away, Daisuke-sama.”

“Reinforcements, you say?”

A familiar sultry voice had found its way into the room, causing both Haru and Daisuke to freeze. Haru turned to find that the voice belonged to the handsome man from earlier, his mask lifted just above his eyes and revealing dark blue.

“Aureus Grey,” Daisuke sneered, his face darkening. “The king’s son.”

So Grey was our suspect. The handsome man— Aureus— leaned down and hummed in acknowledgment, before revealing the gleaming knife he held tightly in his hand.

“Kambe Daisuke. The traitor son.” Aureus smirked, a bold contrast to his princely persona. Haru didn’t like the way Aureus looked at them— it reminded him too much of the greedy and corrupted. “You really ought to know your place!”

It didn’t take long for the sultriness of his voice to drop as he lunged forward to stab Daisuke, only to stop his blade right as Haru leaped forward and grabbed Aureus’ wrist, disarming him.

“You—“ Aureus broke free from Haru’s grip with an angry bellow and slashed him, harshly, with his knife. A trail of blood was left on his cheek where Aureus had slashed him, the skin staining with red. “You commoner scum!”

“Kato!” In spite of his better judgment, Daisuke’s first instinct was to let down his guard, holding Haru close to his chest as he fell back. His chest ached, neither from love or adoration as Aureus stood over them and laughed.

“No hard feelings, right?” Aureus dangled the blade of his knife over his feet, swinging it back and forth lazily, before it finally hit the floor, clattering. “Honestly, I should be thanking you. If it weren’t for adollium, where would my mother and father be?”

Aureus ripped off his mask, revealing a look of utter insanity from underneath. “Where would I be?”

Haru barely gathered the strength to stand before another attack was sent his way, this time from Aureus’ fists. He was unable to control where he was moving as the blood from his cheek continued to drip, staining the ground entirely until everything was red. Until everything he saw was blood.

No. Haru realized in nauseating horror what this vision had meant. No, no, no—

There was no gun in his hands. There was no weapon in his hands. If that was the case, then why…?

“Kato!”

Daisuke jumped out of the way just as Haru was shoved towards it, and emerged a second later to slam his leg into Aureus’ groin.

“Agh—!” Aureus let out a wounded cry as he fell to the floor, groaning. His legs crumbled as he tried to stagger forward, only for Daisuke to place the heel of his shoe on his chest, keeping Aureus from moving.

“HEUSC!” Daisuke was yelling, now, into his own ear, frantically looking back and forth between Haru and Aureus as he struggled to handle both. “The reinforcements. Where are they?”

“They will be arriving soon in the span of three to five minutes.”

“Is escape our only option? There’s no chance we can stop the adollium exchange from going any further?” Daisuke knew that the exchange was the least of his problems now, but the thought of Aureus somehow getting away with this would make things even worse.

“Both outcomes are possible and can be done.”

“Liar! Stop this at once!” Aureus struggled, kicking and thrashing until the knife he was once holding slid across the floor and in front of Haru. “Think about what’ll happen to me! To my future! Think about what I’ll lose, along with my money!”

Daisuke paused at that, which got a laugh out of Aureus, thinking that he’d won.

“Oh, so that’s one of your weaknesses, hm? Money?” Aureus made a long and low “hmm” sound with his throat, before breaking into a fit of laughter that made Haru and Daisuke flinch. “We’re the same, you and I! Always wanting more! Always wanting love! Always wanting money!” Still restrained, Aureus made an attempt to throw his arms in the air, whooping in joy. “To think that Kambe Shigemaru would create such a source of salvation! Something we could use in trade deals, science, military work… everything that makes the rich even richer!” Aureus’ face was unreadable and emotional all at once, switching from anger to sadness to happiness to insanity, one after another. “Why get rid of the adollium when we could reestablish it? Why feel love when money does everything that love can? Tell me, Daisuke. Tell me! Hey, tell me! Tell me—!”

Out of nowhere, Haru grabbed the knife in front of him and hovered it close to Aureus’ throat, silencing him. Whether he went quiet out of fear or boredom, Haru and Daisuke would never know— he simply just laid there silently as Haru shivered, unable to do anything else but stand.

“Kato! Don’t stab him!”

All he could see was red.

“Kato!”

All he could see was a girl’s body.

“Kato, listen to me!”

And yet, Haru was still conscious enough to drop the knife, before slowly falling to his knees.

Before barely registering the sound of reinforcements as they came in to rescue them, pulling Haru away.

HOSPITAL, MORNING

Haru tried, he really did, to cope with last night’s events. But as he slipped away, back into the past, back into oblivion, he realized that he couldn’t— that he couldn’t do anything, for as long as his trauma remained. That was the curse that came with his past.

As Haru slowly settled into a state of awareness, a flash of familiar blue eyes had made its way into view, soothing him.

“Kambe?” Haru had found himself reaching out for him, wanting to cup his face, only for Daisuke to get to him first as he leaned over his bed and kissed him, softly, with softer lips than from last night.

“Kato,” Daisuke breathed, before burying his face into his shoulder and taking a deep breath. “Kato.” He was even more shaken up than Haru, as Daisuke’s thumb continued to stroke over the slashed side of his cheek. “Does it hurt?”

“Of course it hurts, Kambe.” It hurt to even look at him. He couldn’t bring himself to look back at Daisuke without feeling guilty for something he’d done, like releasing the adollium. Failing the mission. Sending Daisuke over to the very same guy who hurt him, then slashed Haru with a knife. If anything, everything that had happened in this mission was his fault, and Haru knew it. “It was because of my own stupidity that I—“

“—No,” Daisuke said, bluntly. The sheets shifted a little as Daisuke reached forward to hold his hand, squeezing. “If none of this ever happened… if we had taken a day off, maybe we wouldn’t have…” He trailed off before looking down at Haru’s lips, enamored. “We wouldn’t have…”

Haru heard an intake of breath come from Daisuke before he leaned in to kiss him once more, a gentle hand at his jaw. Wiping away every fear and worry with just the swipe of his thumb.

His hands were still bloodstained. He was still responsible for every cost that came with adollium.

But he never once regretted giving Daisuke the badge.

“Kambe,” Haru said after breaking the kiss, “what exactly happened to Grey after… after everything?”

Daisuke didn’t say anything at first, and Haru assumed that it was because he was dead. But he simply opened his mouth to speak again, seeming unbothered.

“We managed to stop the adollium exchange from going any further, but by doing so, we had put Grey in potential debt.” Daisuke had an unreadable expression on his face, as if calculating something. “I thought that maybe I should be the one to pay back his debts, to show him that we’re not the same kind. That I’ve become a changed man, who can feel love.”

“Who can feel love,” Haru echoed, feeling a smile on his lips. It had become a habit, smiling after hearing about one of Daisuke’s good deeds— he could never grow tired of it. “And Suzue? How is she?”

“Same as always,” Daisuke said with a boyish and brotherly pout, which was likely meant for Suzue. “I can’t recall how many times that night she had asked me if I was okay— and if you were okay, as well.”

“Are you?” Haru squeezed the hand that was still holding Daisuke’s, and Daisuke looked at him like there was no one else in this hospital but them. “Are you okay?”

Daisuke’s skin tingled from where their hands were touching, a faint reminder of what had occurred last night. To Haru, what was he? His partner? His ally? Or…

Are you okay?

My other half. Daisuke knew the answer to that question quite well, and replied to it with a soft kiss to Haru’s knuckles as well as his bandaged-up cheek, smiling. Yes— my other half.

“I’m here now, aren’t I?” Daisuke was hovering over him, somehow moving closer as they proceeded to touch foreheads. “Which means I’m more than okay.”

“Really?” Haru laughed at that, a warm happy feeling bubbling up in his chest. “That must mean I’m more than okay, too.”

“Then…” A soft smile graced Daisuke’s features before he wrapped his free arm around Haru, gripping the back of his shirt in a clingy manner and pulling him close. “…will you stay with me here?”

Haru sighed against his lips, before kissing him tenderly and savoring his taste.

“I will.”