“Ash, your favorite person’s here! Are you ready yet?” 

Tenya’s bright voice broke the peaceful silence. Turning the water off, Ash rolled his eyes. He’d lost count of the amount of times that she showed up unannounced at his apartment and vice versa, so her presence didn’t surprise him, but the tone of her voice had him questioning why she chose right then to show up. His hair dripped water on the floor as he popped his head out of the bathroom to stare at her. 

“Just give me a few more minutes. I promise I’ll be quick!” he said. The woman loudly rummaged in his kitchen. Throwing his clothes on and hastily brushing his teeth, Ash sighed. “I swear, if you eat all my snacks, you’re going to replace them! You’re not getting away with that shit… again!”

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you to be a gracious host?” Tenya shot back, hands on her hips and wearing a cheeky smile, when he made his way out into the living area. 

Stepping past her, buttoning up his shirt, he scowled when she poked him in the chest with a rounded fingernail. “Yeah, for people who were actually invited.” He reached past her to grab his keys, ignoring her scandalized face. “What’s the occasion?”

“It’s a beautiful day, so I figured I’d go with you to the train. I need to get breakfast anyway.” When Tenya sounded that carefree, especially when she’d gone out of her way to get there, Ash couldn’t trust that she didn’t have an ulterior motive. Tenya gave him a sheepish grin when he gave her a suspicious look. “I wanted to see my best friend?”

“You think I have news for you.”

“Good friends don’t hide secrets from each other,” she reminded him, dropping her innocent pretense. Grabbing his arm, she hip checked him. “Come on, what happened last night? Did you get to check the oil?”

Ash groaned, shoving her face away with an open palm. Her hysterical cackling filled the apartment as he rushed to the shoe closet. It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought of that, but- “ASAJI TENYA, no!” Putting his shoes on, Ash threw his bag at her. An uncomfortable warmth flooding him, he growled. “I was at work, for god’s sake!”

“You want to, though. You got it written all over you.” Following out the door and descending the stairs beside him, she made a thoughtful noise. Making a noncommital sound, he shrugged. He’d learned the hard way not to give her the satisfaction of admitting when she was right. “You said he’s kind of proper, right? I bet you he’s got a real wild side. Maybe playing with guns or knives. You know, something kinky like that!”

The image of the other man’s flushed face, the way the blond fidgeted after he’d pulled his gun on him, appeared unbidden in his mind. Ash sputtered, blushing. “TEN!” He groaned and covered his face with a hand.

Tenya laughed. She poked him in the side until he gave her an embarrassed scowl. “Wait… wait… you’re into that, aren’t you?! Holy shit!”

“No!… I DON’T KNOW!” Ash tried to kick her, but missed when she dodged the strike. Her cackling grew louder. “Stop it!”

“Fine. You’re adorable when you get like this,” she murmured. Despite the bounce in her step, her voice turned serious. “You’re allowed to like him, you know.” 

“Hn. I think he’s interested in me, too.”

“Oh no, the hot guy thinks you’re hot, too. The horror.” Tenya’s sarcastic sneer faded. Her frown contrasted with the uncomfortable smile Ash gave her. “And that’s a problem… why…?”

Ash paused. Even though he understood why she asked, he didn't feel ready to tackle it. He’d thought about it, even more than he thought he ought to, and he couldn’t find a satisfactory answer to why the entire thing left him feeling trapped. The other man was outgoing, giving, funny, charming - all things he liked, yet everything in him screamed to push him as far away as possible. As Tenya walked beside him, the back of her hand brushing his in a gentle reminder of her presence, Ash cleared his throat to loosen the knot that constricted it. “I can’t just ask out my boss’s friends! I only run into him at work anyway, so it doesn’t matter.” 

They stopped in front of the konbini. Ash held open the door to let Tenya in. It was hard to miss how she rolled her eyes as she moved past him.

“What’re you even talking about? They aren’t your boss. Cipher is. Besides, who cares? It’s not like he’s related to them, right?”

Stepping up to the breakfast foods, Ash opened his mouth to respond when a small voice piped up behind them. “Kurokawa-san, I’m so sorry to be a bother.” He recognized the voice of the regular cashier. She smiled at him. “You have an order up at the counter!”

“I never made one…” Ash looked to Tenya, furrowing his brow. He hadn’t even known that was an option at that store, She shrugged. Her confusion was evident in the tension on her face.

“Oh no, sir! The gentleman that you were talking to the other day made one for you!” 

Ash froze. The only gentleman he’d spoken to in front of the young woman had been-

Oh no. What the fuck did he do? “What do you mean?” He moved to follow her. “Meet me up there, Ten. I’m not sure what’s going on…”

Tension sat in his chest as each step brought him closer to the front of the store. He fidgeted with his sleeves as she disappeared through a door behind the counter. When she returned, she held what appeared to be a very full plastic bag. She pushed it forward once she could place it in front of him. The paper stapled to the handle had Toyama written on it, but had been crossed out. Underneath it, someone scrawled in Kurokawa. He assumed it was likely corrected by the young woman in front of him. “Here you are. If you want to change anything, I’d be glad to exchange it!”

Ash tentatively opened it, peering inside. Tenya came to stand beside him, curiosity written all over her face. The cashier motioned her over to check out while he stared in stunned silence. Whatever he had expected, what laid before him wasn’t it. A bottle of his favorite tea, exactly the same food he’d bought that unfortunate day, and a small box of chocolate-covered fruit would have been the last thing he’d have ever guessed. He stared at the contents, his confusion growing. 

Why would you do this? It didn’t make sense. Every time he turned around, Faysal showed a level of thoughtfulness that was completely unwarranted and unasked for. Why do you want me to like you so badly?

He couldn’t figure out how he should feel about the gesture. Ash chewed on his lip.

“What’d he get you?” Tenya snuck a look as she counted out her cash to hand over to the waiting woman. He mutely moved the entire order over to show her. His conflicted gaze met her intrigued one. “Is that what you got when he was here?”

“Mostly? Since when did you guys carry this kind of fruit?” he asked. 

The younger girl shook her head. “We don’t. He brought it with and asked me to include it. I think there might be a card too! It seems quite sweet of him.” 

Tenya’s painted lips twitched. Ash glared daggers at her, daring her to say a word in front of the poor girl waiting on them. After grabbing her items, they both waved to the cashier as they left. Barely waiting to get into the sunshine, Ash rummaged through to the envelope hidden underneath.

“Sweet on you, she should say.” Tenya peered over his shoulder. She quieted when he elbowed her with an impatient scowl. “What’s it say?”

Ash tore it open, pulling a crisp sheet of paper out. Unfolding the note, he moved so both of them could see it clearly, their heads tilted toward each other. It was blank outside of the small, neat writing in blue ink:

Good morning, Toyama-san.

I hope this gesture isn’t too forward, but I took the liberty of buying you lunch. I added something extra that I thought you could enjoy.

I want to apologize for the other night, if you’ll allow me the chance to discuss it further with you. I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble at the debut. Please take this as a token of my appreciation for you and of my sincerest apologies.

Yours truly, 

F.

PS—I wasn’t sure what kind of fruit you liked. I hope strawberries are alright.

As they finished reading, his eyes fell on the hasty scribble at the bottom - a number. A phone number. Ash folded it to tuck it into its envelope. Even when the ridiculous man wasn’t around, Ash managed to be shocked by him. It felt like butterflies made their home in his stomach with how it tingled. As completely insane as the whole thing was, it floored him that so much effort had been put into the package.

 Tenya took the opportunity to strike as he rubbed at his warming face. “So… you think he’s interested in you, huh? What’d he do?”

Putting it away, Ash continued down the street at a fast pace, hands in his pockets and the plastic bag bouncing under his arm. Tenya deftly matched speed with him, looping an arm through his so he couldn’t get away. Ash frowned at her. “He complimented me… a lot.”

“... That’s… it?” Her skeptical, watchful eye zeroed in on the tinge of color reappearing on his cheeks, visible in their reflection as they walked past the glass-fronted buildings. Ash ducked his head, thinking about the warm tingling he felt when the other man touched him and how it felt like everything inside had turned to jelly from the sensation of his breath on his cheek. Ash shook his head.

“He was really… touchy, and we kept... running into each other. I was supposed to be... you know… doing my job. Watching out for Masako and all that?” He’d been so distracted, letting Faysal keep his attention for so long, that it wasn’t until after the debut when he’d debriefed with the rest of the security team that he’d learned of several minor incidents he’d overlooked. None of them were anything concerning, most just being mild brush-ups between guests that the staff had been oversensitive to. Even so, it concerned him how flighty he’d been that night.

Tenya grimaced. “Right… Are you mad that he’s trying to make his move or that you want him to?” 

Ash remained silent. 

The answer to that question held more weight than he wanted to unpack, something Tenya seemed to pick up on as she changed her tact. “How could giving him a chance hurt?”

Like an overstrung bow, his entire body went tense.

“He doesn’t know the risk! He doesn’t know me at all! What it all means! The danger I have to put myself into, day in and day out, the long weeks of just being… away. All he sees is a pretty face!” The debut had confirmed as much. Ash ignored how giddy he felt when the blond all but said that he was pretty.

“How’s he supposed to learn anything if you don’t let him?” Tenya stopped, forcing him to do so by extension. He turned to look at her, the area around his eyes tight from annoyance. It felt like she was being dense on purpose, but Ash knew better. She knew him, and he knew her, too well. At his dubious expression, she shrugged. “I’m serious, Ash. Talk to him! He’s into you, you’re obviously into him. And don’t even try to deny it! You don’t. Stop. Talking. About. Him. Just see how it goes. Maybe it’s just a fling, maybe it’s nothing, maybe it’s something more. You won’t know if you don’t try!”

Ash found her pushiness almost funny. Despite being the elder of the two of them, she’d gotten into less relationships than he had; yet there she stood, pushing him endlessly to get into one.

“It isn’t that simple.” His lips pressed into a thin line as he wiggled free to continue walking. Tenya frowned. “You saw how it went the last fucking time, and I don’t see it going any better now. Even if it could, Suzuki Masako and her people are close family friends of his. He’s probably just another trust fund kid that would be scared off as soon as I was hospitalized the next time someone shoots me, anyway!”

But his father’s from the military, a quiet voice piped up in the back of his mind, What if you’re wrong? Ash didn’t dare mention that part to the woman that scoffed next to him.

Tenya sighed. “Of course… I should have seen this coming. Haven’t I told you before? You can’t let a few bad experiences spoil them all.” Pulling him along at a more leisurely stroll, Tenya patted his arm. Ash glowered at her. “Besides… you’re making a lot of unfair assumptions, and you know it. You don’t know him any more than he knows you. You have no reason to think he’ll be anything like…”

Him. The one that proved it wasn’t worth the risk.

Her voice trailed of. Ash made a frustrated huff. He hated when she was right.

 “Yeah, probably,” he conceded. Tenya brightened. “It doesn’t matter though. I’m happy being single.”

Her grey eyes narrowed. The train station came into view in front of them, the din of people coming and going overtaking their quiet conversation. Tenya yanked him toward the set of benches surrounding an ornamental tree in front of the brick building. “Look me in the eye and say that again,” she demanded, “because you don’t look happy at all.”

“I’m dealing with a shitty mission and my family is MIA. I couldn’t be happier.” Ash’s voice dripped with sarcasm before it fell flat. “I don’t need a boyfriend. I need a vacation. Preferably somewhere far away from this whole fucking conversation.”

The tense silence that fell between them fractured as she pulled him into a long hug. Tenya pressed her face into his shoulder, shaking her head. “You don’t text me stupid shit at two in the morning when you’re happy,” she murmured, turning her face up toward him, “and you wouldn’t have been smiling when we read that note if you didn’t like him.”

“I didn’t-”

“You did. You’re just an idiot and forgot to fix your face like we both know you do,” she teased. Tenya let him go to pat a dainty hand against his cheek. “You aren’t like me, Ashu. I’m content as long as I can get my rocks off, but you’re a hopeless romantic, even if you’ll deny it ‘til the day you die. You’ve always been a sucker for love notes and shit like that.”

“Ten…”

“Just promise me you’ll talk to him, please? Seriously. He sounds like a really nice guy. And even if you don’t want to admit it, you like him. You deserve to see it through.”

“Fine.” Ash sighed. He could only fight against her for so long before her unending persistence would win out. Tenya knew it, too, as she grinned. “Alright, you win. I’m not promising anything, but I’ll think about it.”