Unwilling Advisor

[madimpossibledreamer]

Hope the readers had a great Valentine's, or, if not, that you had a great day regardless!
this is placed before Pillow War.  it isn't the fluffiest but the next section's probably gonna be longer so I thought I'd end it here

Main Points:
Judgment/Judge Eyes
Chapter Summary: The unwilling advisor here is Higashi.
Word Count: 755
Rating: Teen; one slight possibly dirty joke
Tak doesn't appear in person in this one

        “Please, aniki, stop torturing me,” Higashi whines, and Kaito fixes him with a glare.
        “Who else do I ask for this shit?  Sugiura?  He might’ve forgiven Tak, but he still gets weird talking about him.  Tak’s landlady?  The obaasans?” he scoffs, arms crossed.  “I get that you’re still not Tak’s biggest fan, but I’d like it if you’d at least try a little for me.”  It’s not like the internet’s much help, even if he’s tried.  Maybe if he could search foreign sites; he vaguely remembers Tak saying something about two guys getting married being legal overseas.  But he basically just speaks, and reads, Japanese.  He doesn’t even much remember his high school classes in English, given how quick he’d dropped out.  And he’s definitely not taking advice from a manga, tempting as it is.
        “I get weird talking about him,” Higashi counters with a sigh, mirroring his stance.  “But fine.”  He growls out the last reluctantly, and at least it’s something.  When Higashi says he’ll do something, at the very least he tries to follow through.  He continues, tone annoyed.  “But I’m pretty sure Yagami-san ‘being weird’, as you put it, is nothing new.  He’s always like that.”
        Kaito considers that briefly, at first a little mad because it feels like Higashi’s just being rude about his partner again, but then it hits him.  That is kinda the problem, isn’t it?
        “Yeah, but why is he still being weird?  I’d thought…I dunno, being together would make him…happier?”  Higashi, it appears, has nothing to say to that.  “Do you think I forced him into this?” he asks, smaller.  Tak strikes him as a confident guy, the kind who knows what he wants, but he hasn’t been acting that way at all with the ex-yakuza lately, and it hurts, a little.  He wants Tak to relax, to feel better just because he’s there.
        Higashi frowns deeper.  He’s slightly more thoughtful than annoyed when he speaks again.  “He didn’t argue when I called him bad luck.  I think he’s scared of losing you.”
        It’s Kaito’s turn to frown.  “That doesn’t make sense.”
        His junior sighs loudly.  “It makes sense, aniki.  You’re just too stubborn to see it.  People around him who get too close die.  He’s scared you’ll be next, and this whole Mole business isn’t helping.”  Kaito hurts, again, thinking about how Tak must be hurting, and all he wants to do is wrap Tak in a big bear hug and not let go for a while.  “You didn’t really listen to the gossip, but it sounds like he’s had less experience than you.  And if there’s anyone who overthinks things around here…”
        Yeah, okay.  Kaito definitely knows that from experience.  He runs a hand through his hair, sheepish.  “I’m strong, though.  I’m not gonna die.”
        “You’re not bulletproof, aniki.  And Captain Hamura really likes shooting people who piss him off.”  There’s fear there, for himself, for Kaito.  He hadn’t believed Tak when he’d said Higashi was scared, given the changes.  Higashi sure pretends well.
        Kaito’s thinking hard enough his brain hurts, but it’s worth it, for his partner.  “So it’s up to me to make moves, but…he probably doesn’t want jewelry or flowers…”
        Higashi sighs even more heavily.  “I swear just being around Yagami-san has given you brain damage.”  He says it under his breath, probably trying to make sure Kaito doesn’t hear, but before he can protest Higashi continues.  “Treat it like one of your hostess club girls, right?  Remember that one girl who was into reading so you bought her a few books?  What does Yagami-san like?  What makes him smile?  How can you put him at ease and make him feel better?”
        It’s easy enough to say he doesn’t know—but that would be a lie, wouldn’t it?  “Stuffed animals and other UFO catcher crap.  The arcade.  Uh…drone racing.  Food.  His work.  Me.  Lawyer shit.  Mafuyu-chan.”  He pauses to see if anything else occurs to him.  Nothing does.  “Sometimes he gets wound up so tight he forgets to eat, or is too nauseous to eat.  Maybe I can pick him up something.”
        Higashi throws up his hands.  “I didn’t need to know any of that!”
        Maybe Yagami’s rubbing off on him, because it’s definitely a little mischievous (mostly because he knows it’ll make Higashi madder), but it’d also be rude not to thank him.  “You helped a lot.  Thanks!” he says as he bows a little and leaves.  The complaining follows him all the way up the stairs into the crisp night.