Wake-Up Call

[madimpossibledreamer]

It’s ‘there’s the rub’ and ‘ace up their sleeve’.

Main Points:
Lost Judgment (spoilers until the end of ch 3 + some of the mystery club plot + Tak Judgment backstory + spoilers of some Judgment events)
follow-up to Put On a Show
Mystery: Why is Yagami-San Unhappy?
Chapter Summary: The second email Kaito gets on his phone worries him a whole lot more than the first.
Word Count: 2665
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Yagami/Kaito
warning: implications Yagami's at least on the ace spectrum but Kaito only half gets it though he is trying (Amasawa might be too)

        Kaito’s gotten threatening emails about Yagami before.   The most notable time, of course, was during that whole Mole thing, where he’d gotten a text suggesting Tak would never see again.  That had been terrifying, though Kaito hadn’t mentioned it.  He hadn’t wanted to mention how worried he’d been, because Tak would be insulted at the implication he couldn’t take care of himself and then he’d had to fight off Higashi’s goons anyway.
        What they never seemed to understand, any of them, is that threatening Tak isn’t the…ants up their sleeve?  That can’t be right.  Whatever, good hand that they seem to think.  Because Tak fought through the entire Matsugane family to get to Masaharu, and while the whole misguided moment where he’d fallen for the trap of how pretty Tak’s lips looked when he was drunk was before that, he’d like to think that would’ve happened either way.  Hell, he thinks Tak would probably do that for Higashi, and neither of them get along.  The ex-yakuza wouldn’t be shy about returning the favor if Tak was hurt and captured.  And he’d been kind of out of it because of the bullet wound at the time, but the soft, tender, gentle way his partner spoke to him and looked at him and the cold, murderous, methodical way he set about taking apart Hamura, every blow punishment for the wound inflicted on Kaito?  He remembered that, treasured it even if he’d never tell Takayuki that part because among other things reminding his partner about the time he got shot always put the guy in a bad mood.
        But this is nice.  He finally feels useful.  Sure, it’s only in the background, taking care of something so Tak doesn’t have to do it, but he’s happy to help out.
        Of course, his partner would be furious that he’s doing this by himself, without backup.  Particularly if he gets seriously injured, which is why he’s not planning on getting injured like that.  He’s ready for a fight.
        Sure, “We need to talk about Yagami-san. Come to Plage at 5:00,” is kind of innocuous, but that’s what they want him to think.
        And then, just because he’s drunk but not stupid, he lets Tsukumo poke around on his phone.  The man finds that the email had been sent from a computer in Seiryo High School, which doesn’t tell them much.  Just that it almost certainly has to do with the case, because why else would they be there?
        Tsukumo wants to tell Tak.  Kaito manages to get him to agree to a check-up system where if something goes wrong he’s allowed to tell Takayuki instead.  He’s glad, too, that this didn’t come while he was hanging out with Kuwana, because it was weird enough the first time.
        So Kaito shows up expecting a fight. Tough yakuza, men in suits, something.  Somewhere he’ll feel useful.  That’s why when he gets a tap on his shoulder and turns and it’s this young-looking woman, he just stares.
        She swallows and begins.  “Okay, ground rules, don’t mention this to Yagami-san.  I already kind of promised not to meddle.  Well, not in so many words, but you get the idea.  He’ll be mad even if the outcome’s good, and I don’t want him to be mad at me.”
        Kaito frowns and then asks her, “Okay, who the hell are you, lady?”  Belatedly he realizes she’s probably actually a schoolchild and doesn’t just dress like one, because he’s not in Kamurocho anymore and this isn’t one of those kinds of shops.  So he probably shouldn’t be swearing in front of her.
        She blinks, staring at him, and then visibly thinks back.  “Oh, wow, it’s worse than I thought.  You’re not talking much at all, are you?”
        “We’re talking just fine,” he snaps back, defensive, and she shakes her head.
        The look she’s giving him is an almost perfect copy of Tak’s detective gaze, the one that says he sees right through you and isn’t impressed.  Before he can panic too much about that, though, she bows, introducing herself.  “Amasawa Kyoko.  I’m president of the Mystery Research Club.  Yagami-san is our advisor; he’s helping keep the club open and official, because our principal kind of thinks we’re a liability, and we’re giving him an official reason to be on campus for…whatever case he’s on.”  She lets him digest that, and suddenly a whole lot makes more sense.  “Yagami-san would never tell you, because he’s really stubborn, but he’s been miserable.  I did some snooping and found out a lot of that had to do with you.  He’s really worried about being replaced by this Kuwana guy but he’s really busy with work, some of which is my fault, my bad, and he’s not good about talking about this.  He really misses you, but my guess is either his client is really strict about confidentiality or he doesn’t want to go where he’s not welcome or maybe both.  I’m the one that sent you the Dance Club video I bribed one of the members for and she probably got the wrong idea, by the way, even after I kind of promised him I wouldn’t get involved in trying to fix this for him anymore, but that doesn’t seem to have done the trick so I’m going the more dangerous route of contacting you directly.  Yagami-san is a good advisor and a really cool detective that I’m honored to learn from and honestly he deserves to be happy.  If you’re a worthy partner for him, you’d want to make him happy, too, and would want to know you’re both hurting each other, and if you’re not, well.”  She glares.  “I’d figure out something.”
        Kaito has been threatened by the best in the business.  Real professionals in the field, ones that knew how to make it last and make it hurt.  This high school girl scares him more than all of them, and she’s not even saying anything specific.  Maybe it’s just the fact that he’d deserve it, that if he really was that kind of guy he’d deserve the torture, because Yagami’s been through enough and needs to be protected, not hurt further.
        She gives him a good long while to think about what she said, which is good, because there’s a lot there.  First and foremost, she’s not some kind of long-lost kid from a secret marriage Tak hadn’t even told his partner about, which is good. Second, yeah, she absolutely seems like the sort of kid Yagami would get along with and would see as an idol in return, and it doesn’t sound like there’s a crush there.  It’d be a good choice, of course.  Kaito knows how attractive the guy is.  It’d show some serious taste.  But she has the same vibe as Tak of someone who looks at all of this and this and just…doesn’t get it.
        Tak can see it, who’s handsome and who’s pretty, but back one night when Kaito had declared himself wingman and spent their entire night trying to get Yagami laid, he’d just seemed baffled and a little annoyed.  Maybe because he wanted Kaito instead of all the people at the club, but come on, Kaito hadn’t known that at the time, and it’s not like it’d be a crime to just have some fun when he was single at the time, right?
        And then there was the time Kaito had sort of accidentally-on-purpose left his magazine there.  It was gone the next time he’d visited, and he’d been cheered for about half a second before his hopes were dashed, Tak handing it back in exactly the same condition it had been left and delivering a lecture about how there was nothing wrong with it but maybe leave the physical copies at home and just use his phone, he’d had to hide it quickly before a client arrived, please don’t do it next time.  Kaito, bold and slightly desperate, had said, “If you wanna borrow it, go ahead, Tak.” 
        And then Tak just stared at him blankly and said, “Nah, I’m good.  Thanks though.”
        It’s not like he’s a virgin, or at least, he doesn’t act like it.  He doesn’t get all flustered or blushy, as sexy as that would be.  The guy lives in Kamurocho, for goodness’ sake.  He’s just matter-of-fact about it, doesn’t seek it out.
        Not even for Masaharu, and—yeah, okay, there’s the rubber.  Not even a sexy rubber.  But the point is, Takayuki snuggles and kisses but he hasn’t asked if he could come over to Kaito’s apartment or anything.  Not since they started dating.  They’d barely even had time for dates, but at least they’d have time for that, Yagami surreptitiously slipping his hand into the bigger ex-yakuza’s like it’s an anchor leading to home.  Kaito’s not trying to rush him, given how distant he tends to be about the sex, but he really, really wants to see all of his partner, find out what makes him feel good, and—
        And yeah, he probably shouldn’t be even thinking about this in front of a teenage girl.  Shit’s just weird.  Though he and his partner probably should talk about that.  They’ve both been busy, true, and recovering from injuries, but still.  They can’t just keep pretending everything’s fine, and it’d come up eventually.
        And she had to know what she was doing, a bit, with that video.  Even if she was a little like Tak, she had to have known how he’d react, seeing as that was the whole point of sending it in the first place.
        Then there’s the ‘Kaito can’t keep his mouth shut’ thing, which would hurt if it wasn’t true.  It’s easy to bait him into revealing too much—like those friends of Ayabe’s had, like Kuwana had.  Shit, he hadn’t even explained to Tak he’d accidentally let that slip.  It’s not even that he’s avoiding explaining and taking the punishment.  He has barely seen Tak; isn’t sure whether Sugiura or Tsukumo know, though he’s pretty sure Yagami wouldn’t want witnesses if they fought verbally.  He’d considered that before.
        What he hadn’t considered was the replacement thing.  Now that he’s thinking about it, he gets it.  Kuwana will never have what they have.  He’s a good guy, sure, good to talk to and drink with and fight with, but there’s something missing.  With Tak, fighting with or against him is easy, effortless, like they’re extensions of each other, reading each other’s minds, and it’s one of the most beautiful things in the world.  And sure, they fight, usually when Kaito thinks Tak’s brilliant mind is going just a little too far, spinning up connections that actually ain’t there, and Yagami’s just hurt he doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt, but that’s rare.
        Tak is exactly like one of those street cats; Kuwana’s right.  Lived through so much pain and betrayal he just keeps waiting, scared of letting down his guard to actually let anyone in.  Let himself rely on anyone.  Desperate to be pet, but terrified of being abandoned again.  And if he asks for help, he’d show he was vulnerable.  That he could be hurt.
        It’s easy to see the amount of time they spend together, particularly since they used to be the ones going out to go drinking, as replacing him.  And they’re not replacing him socially, but they haven’t had a lot of time for that, only work.  It just happens that when Tak had started pulling away, because the requirements for secrecy or whatever, then up comes this pretty cool guy who’s more willing to work with them, and they’re not going to just do nothing.  And given Tak’s history…
        It’s going to be hard, fixing this, because he’s not going to want to admit he’s hurting, but Kaito can try.  Not cut out drinking with Kuwana completely, but cutting down, maybe, so he gets the chance of bringing Tak food.  Something.
        He’ll still act tough, claim he can look after himself, but he never turns down food, even if he’ll argue in between bites about he’s a grown man, Kaito, he doesn’t need Masaharu to treat him like a baby.  He’ll lean into touch, just bury himself in Kaito and fall asleep.  He doesn’t want Kaito to stay the night (excuses about the couch) and hasn’t invited himself over to Kaito’s bed or apartment (which he would do whenever he’s finally feeling comfortable; Shintani claims he’s bad about acting like he owns the place, which both he and Tak had thought was funny given how Yagami tends to be), and yet he’ll doze off in a nap in Kaito’s arms, unsure about showing that weakness; determined he shows Kaito exactly how much he trusts him.
        He vaguely remembers Sugiura, disgruntled about how Tak was acting, mentioning that his partner’s been avoiding the agency most of the time, but hadn’t really thought it through, that that means it’s unclear how much he’s actually been sleeping.
        They never talk about Tak’s depression, the time after Emi where a dark hole had just gone and swallowed up his best friend and he could do nothing.  Yagami’s actually keeping busy now, unlike that time, but it’s pretty clear that while he can look after himself, that’s not all the time.  When he’s too stressed, too vulnerable, he forgets the small things.
        Kaito can remember for him.
        “If anyone was gonna catch all that, it really shoulda been me,” he rumbles.  It’s easy to feel guilty about it, and he does, but that’s not gonna do anything for Tak.  “You shouldn’t have had to deal with all that.  Sorry.”
        “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to,” she insists, and he smiles and laughs.
        “Yeah, you’re right, but those of us who care about him, we oughta stick together,” he announces proudly, watching her surprise as she’s actually included.  “I’m not the details guy.  It’s easy for me to lose track of the big picture.  I’m going to need you to keep me updated if I’m on the right track.”
        “M-me?  Why me?  I’m just a high school student and it’s not like this case is going to last forever; Yagami-san is a really good detective and he’ll figure it out eventually and it’s not like you’re even based here—” she starts babbling, and he cuts her off with a hand on her shoulder, like he’d do with Tsukumo, before he realizes that might not be appropriate and removes it quickly.  The only teenagers he’s usually had to deal with are punks.  He’s not good with all this shit.
        “Please.  We’ll be down here in Ijincho to visit our friends.  Help out when they could use a couple extra hands.  And knowing Tak, he practically adopted you—or, hell, you adopted yourself.”  Just like all the stray cats that keep hanging out in the agency.  Wait—
        It’d been so much simpler in Kamurocho.  Kaito never thought either of them really cared about places too much, and Ijincho was nice and all, but maybe Tak’s homesick.  He can claim he doesn’t like the cats all he likes, but he doesn’t push one away when they decide to use him as a pillow, just pets them absent-mindedly, and there’s just something about Kamurocho.
        “Welcome to the family, Amasawa-san,” he finishes with a smirk.  “It’s a weird, messed up family and if you had any sense you would’ve run ages ago, but since you don’t you fit right in.  I’ll take all responsibility when Tak finds out—cause you gotta know he’s gonna do that, kid, he’s a really smart guy—and you’ve definitely got to learn to fight sooner rather than later if you’re involving yourself in this shit.”
        She perks up, and yeah, she’s just like the rest of them.  Maybe he should start with, ‘escape or at least make a break for it the second you hear sirens; just knowing defense lawyers ain’t gonna get you outta everything’.