“Ash!” Tenya didn’t wait for him to grab her like she usually would; instead, she threw her arms around him, squeezing him around his middle. She shot him a wide smile as he returned the gesture. “I hope you’re feeling better! I don’t want my lunch ruined by you being a moody bitch.”

“Your care warms my heart,” Ash muttered, letting her go. They moved toward one of the vacant tables, seating themselves across from each other. It was a smaller restaurant, the minimal decor kept simple; most of it was identical to how it had been when they’d started going to it in his first year of becoming an agent, all wood tones and unblemished yellow walls. While it wasn’t the most extravagant eatery around, it was the one they loved bonding over when they could find the time to go. “I’m fine, thanks for asking.”

“How’s the babysitting going?” Tenya gave him an expectant look, her fingers folded together under her chin. She reminded him of a cat, waiting for the next mouse to come by so she could pounce on it.

“Looking for the daily gossip? Food first, I’m starving.”

“I just want to know my best friend is doing ok.” She waved to a server, her face so slack that he suspected it was intentional. Ash side-eyed her, cocking a brow as her blank expression cracked with ill-concealed amusement. He knew her too well. Her intentions were rarely altruistic, and she clearly wasn’t in the moment, especially when she coyly slid closer to his side of the table. Once their orders were in and their drinks were on the table, Ash cleared his throat. He took a sip of his tea, attempting to calm his nerves by closing his eyes. He hadn’t been able to shake how unsettled he still felt, the previous day’s events sitting heavily on his mind. Putting the cup down, he explained how he’d had to follow the annoying teenager around most of the day. He averted his gaze to explain her crush, subtly brushing a hand over his cheek to make sure he hadn’t blushed. “Wait… so they literally have you babysitting her? I thought you were just being dramatic.”

“Eh, no. They’re worried someone put a hit out on them. I just have to make sure nothing happens to her, and it’s as frustrating as you can imagine.” Ash steeled himself for the snotty comment he knew was coming when she smirked at him.

Of course, he was right. “You don’t love being around annoying youngsters? I could never imagine what that’s like.”

“You are literally only three years older than me!” Ash swatted at her. Tenya dodged, leaning out of his reach as she cackled.

“It still stands.” Sipping her drink, Tenya eyed him. Her gaze sat heavy, each scrutinizing sweep of her eyes bringing newfound dread. “I feel you’re holding out on me.”

“What?” Ash shook his head. He really didn’t want to talk about the thing that took up most of his thoughts, haunting him as he lay in bed the previous night and awoke in the brightness of that morning. “There’s nothing. She’s a brat. She annoys the shit out of me. The end.” Shoulders tensing, he gave her a passive, almost bored look.

It was a look she didn’t believe, her squinting eyes communicating as such. “You’re so full of shit,” she stage whispered, leaning over the table to pinch his heating cheek. He scowled, slapping her hand away. She burst into laughter.

Ash contemplated how far he could push her, watching her impatiently fidget with her silverware. He didn’t want to talk about Faysal, though he’d been constantly thinking about the other man and couldn’t seem to stop. He couldn’t muddle through the mess of confusion and embarrassment. His head spun every time he thought about the blond and just how much he’d fucked up the entire ordeal. The thought of how Tenya would likely tease him if she knew about it overwhelmed him.

Not that he had much of a choice. She could see through him too easily after so many years of friendship. Tenya tapped a rounded nail on the table, making a face. She just knew him too damned well. He sighed. “I met a friend of theirs…”

Tenya’s eyes lit up. “I knew it! Who?”

It was only after the food arrived that he explained who the blond was. He told her about seeing him at the konbini, but left out how he nearly killed the unsuspecting man. His face flushed when he remembered how Faysal looked at him in that moment, his pistol pointed between his eyes. He’d drawn his gun on more people than he cared to admit, but he’d never seen anyone react the way he had. It wasn’t fear he’d seen in his eyes, or even annoyance. Instead, he’d faced an expression that screamed of confusion, and he thought, awe. Ash shook himself out of his thoughts when her face went slack, mouth turning down into a thoughtful frown. He paused. “You ok?”

“There’s a hot guy involved! And you weren’t going to tell me? I thought we had an agreement, you fucker,” she muttered, glaring at him. There was no heat behind it, the curve of her mouth betraying her.

Rolling his eyes, Ash made a face. “It’s just… funny. That’s all. It’s funnier that Masako thinks she stands a chance with him, though.” Bowing his head to bring more noodles up to his mouth, he lowered his gaze. Going quiet, Tenya folded her hands and propping her head up on them. Ash looked back up when his curiosity got the best of him.

“I know that look. What is it?” Her lips curled into a large, cheshire cat smile, his blush burning even hotter under her scrutiny. Taking a sip from her straw, she tilted her head. “Details, Kurokawa, or I’ll tell your mom you have the hots for someone.”

“You don’t have to threaten me.” Ash twisted the chopsticks between his fingers, his eyes lingering on them to avoid looking at her. He cringed with the dull pulse of embarrassment the thought conjured. She would never let him live it down, the regret building as he mulled over his next words. “I… may have… possibly… almost shot him.”

Tenya choked on her drink. Ash winced. “Like… gun to the forehead nearly shot him?” she asked, each word drawn out in a slow whisper once she’d gotten her wits about her.

Putting the chopsticks down, he ran his fingers over his temples and closed his eyes. When she put it that way, it made the whole thing even more awkward to admit. “Yes, Ten.”

“…you know that you’re supposed to take shots with the cute guy, not at him, right?”

“Since when was murder not the first step to finding love?” Snorting, Ash poked at his meal, a restlessness taking over his limbs. “I didn’t say it was my finest moment… but he took it oddly well.” He gave her a confused look. So many feelings sprang up from thinking about how friendly the blond had been that he had trouble parsing them out. Ash didn’t know how willing he’d be to go along with it had someone drawn a weapon on him, let alone voicing the hope of seeing them again. That isn’t normal…! “Scary well. He acted like nothing was wrong.”

Her amused grey eyes narrowed and she leaned over the table. “Ashura, I didn’t know you liked your men on the suicidal side.”

He balked. “Wh-what!? No!”

Her painted lips twitched. “Maybe he thought it was hot.”

“TENYA!” Ash sank down against the table, hiding his head in his arms. It didn’t surprise him that she could be so brash, but that didn’t change how head blowingly embarrassing it was. With a pleading groan, he looked up at her. “Ten, please.”

She grabbed and squeezed one of his arms, her ill-restrained laughter causing her shoulders to shake. Tenya lowered her voice, the mischievous glow of her eyes never lessening. “Fine, buzzkill, I’ll stop. What’d he do?”

Relieved that the conversation moved toward safer areas, Ash pulled himself upright. “He said that he was glad we met again. I don’t get it.” Chewing on his food, Ash stared at his plate intently. “I wanna know what his deal is. That’s not… that shit’s not fucking normal. Right? Who does that?”

Cocking her head, Tenya made a derisive noise. “And by that, you mean he’s cute as fuck and you wanna see him again?” She wheezed with laugher, tears collecting in her eyes. He burned, giving her a shy smile. Tenya pulled herself together, her face turning serious. “Are you going to see him again?”

“Even if I wanted to… and I’m not saying I do, stop looking at me like that!… it’s not like I could. I can’t ask the Suzukis for his number and let’s be realistic. I can’t assume anything about him.” Chewing on the end of his chopsticks, he considered whether it was likely that they would run into each other again. “I suppose it’s a possibility that he’d come by their house… They seemed pretty close.”

“If you get the chance, don’t fuck it up.” Tenya looked away when their server brought over the check, chatting idly with them as her payment processed on the small machine they brought with them. Ash froze, everything in him going tense. The insinuation was obvious; she’d been gently, and not so gently, coaxing him to date again since earlier in the year. Despite his misgivings about it, and his worry that he wasn’t prepared to deal with a repeat of the previous performances, she lovingly teased him every so often about how she was the only one allowed to remain single.

He exhaled. “Maybe. I’m not good at these things.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be the strong, confident agent? Just let your inner James Bond out.” Having paid, Tenya pushed away from the table to stand. “What’s the worst thing that happens? A random guy isn’t interested? Pft. You got this.”

“That’s easy for you to say. What number are you on currently?” If it had been anyone else, the question would have come off as insulting. Tenya, however, merely gave him a knowing look. Rising with her, Ash put his arms out to accept the hug she leaned in for, ignoring the way her eyes rolled. She only ever did it for him, a fact that she’d mostly stopped teasing him for once it got old. “Maybe. I’m still… well, we’ll see.”

“Well, if you don’t, give him my number. I wouldn’t mind adding a successful guy to my roster,” she joked, nudging Ash with a wink.

He groaned.