Work Text:
Kaori gazed at the city lights. From where she stood, on the rooftop of her building, she had an incredible view. The sun was slowly setting, tinting the sky with shades of orange, and the air was still cool in this early spring evening. She tightened the blanket she had brought with her around her shoulders.
She loved coming here at night. A peaceful calm reigned up here, in stark contrast with the bustle of the city below. And the past few days had been anything but restful.
An elderly man had hired them to find his daughter, who had been missing for several days. Kaori rolled her eyes as she remembered the battle she’d had to fight to convince Ryo to take the case.
“We have to accept,” she had told him. “We’ll be in the red soon.”
Despite their money problems, Ryo, stubborn as always, kept refusing. He only changed his mind when the man showed them a picture of his daughter. A pretty young woman with a gentle smile. They had discovered she had been kidnapped by the yakuza. After locating the place where she was being held, Kaori had saved her. Well, she had mostly blown up the entire building by accident, but in the end, it was still thanks to her.
The rooftop door opened behind her. A smile immediately lit up her face. She knew it was Ryo. Even without turning around, she could feel his presence. It was almost like a sixth sense. He walked toward her.
“So this is where you were hiding,” he said with a smile.
“I wasn’t hiding. I just like coming here sometimes.”
“It is nice up here.”
Kaori glanced at him. He was looking at the horizon, hands in his pockets. A calm, serene aura surrounded him. He had that smile on his lips. The one he only wore when they were alone. The one Kaori felt he reserved just for her. She cherished these moments with him, when she could see the real Ryo. His strengths, his weaknesses and that softness he hid from the rest of the world.
A breeze rose and she shivered. Before she could pull her blanket tighter, Ryo slipped an arm around her shoulders and drew her against him. The gesture was so natural. The warmth of his body, the familiar scent of his cologne, the unexpected gentleness of his embrace. Heat rushed to Kaori’s cheeks, but she let herself melt into him. They stayed like that for a while, until night had fully fallen. Kaori knew the moment was over and that they would have to go back inside. She stepped away gently, feeling Ryo’s warmth fade from her skin.
“I’ll go make dinner,” she said.
“How about we eat out instead ?”
Kaori hesitated.
“We still have a lot of bills to pay…”
“The client paid us well. And it doesn’t hurt to treat ourselves to a restaurant once in a while.”
She smiled. He was not wrong. They worked hard, they could afford to enjoy themselves a little.
“All right.”
They went back down to the apartment. Kaori traded her blanket for a jacket, and they left the building. Almost instinctively, Ryo slipped his arm around her shoulders again.
“I never want this to end,” Kaori thought.
Because every gesture, every look, every second spent with Ryo was precious to her. And because she knew that, even if he did not say it, he held on to these moments too.
The end