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It wasn’t too late yet, but the sun was already setting, signaling that autumn had replaced summer. The slightly yellowing leaves of the trees rustled in the gentle breeze.
Two partners were walking down the street after another mission.
"I hate business trips!" Dazai exclaimed, making a theatrically sad face for the tenth time that day.
"I’m not thrilled either, but I’m not whining about it at every turn!" Kunikida was clearly tired of hearing his colleague's complaints.
"How much further to the hotel? My legs are already aching," the thought of asking Doppo to carry him had settled in his mind a while ago.
"We're almost there, just bear with it."
"I hope you booked us decent rooms; last time, it wouldn't have made a difference if we had slept in a dumpster."
"Well, it’s not my fault that there was only that horrible place in that godforsaken village," the memory of the terrible sanitation and the absence of a bathroom in that so-called room made the blond queasy. "This time, Naomi made the booking. She said there was only one room available, so for tonight, we're neighbors. And I’m first in line for the shower."
"Ooo, so we’re sleeping together tonight? What if it turns out like in that cheap novel?" The brunette perked up noticeably. "What if there was a mix-up and instead of a double room, we end up with a single?" He playfully raised his eyebrows.
Kunikida tactfully remained silent, thinking he wouldn’t mind.
* * *
As they approached the five-story building, Doppo checked the address written in his green notebook. He was pleased that this time they would be sleeping in a decent place, not some shed.
The men entered the lobby and headed to the reception desk. After providing the booking number, the blond asked a perfectly reasonable question:
"Are there any other available rooms?"
"Why would you ask?" Dazai thought.
"Unfortunately, no, all rooms are occupied," the receptionist replied, glancing at her computer and shaking her head.
"That’s good," Kunikida thought.
"Here’s your key: double standard room, third floor, room 301."
"Thank you," the detective took the key and headed for the stairs.
"So it’s a room for two..."
"Well, hopefully, the bed is a double," Dazai trailed behind him, still holding onto hope.
After reaching the correct floor and finding their room, Doppo inserted the key into the lock and opened the door.
It was a standard room: to the left of the entrance was a door to the bathroom, to the right was a table with two chairs, opposite stood a wardrobe... and two beds, placed parallel to each other in different corners of the room: one by the window, across from the wardrobe, and the other pushed against the wall near the table, separated by two nightstands.
Disappointment was evident in both men’s eyes.
"Well, there goes the cheap novel," thought the first.
"Why couldn’t they have put the beds together?" thought the second.
Once inside, the brunette flopped down on the bed by the window, hoping to break it with his weight. The blond placed his belongings on the table and went into the shower.
"Maybe I should really break this stupid bed?" Dazai pondered as he got up and stared menacingly at the hated piece of furniture. "Well, I definitely don’t have the ability to incinerate things with my gaze." He kicked the bed leg with all his might several times. It was futile.
The bathroom door opened, and Kunikida emerged in a fluffy robe, drying his hair with a towel.
"How nice it is to have hot water here," he said, continuing to towel off his hair. "What were those noises?"
"Huh? Don’t mind me; I just accidentally bumped my foot against the bed, got angry, and hit it a couple more times," Osamu grinned widely, grabbing his things and a few packs of bandages. "Now it’s my turn!" He quickly headed for the bathroom.
"Would have been better if you had broken it," Doppo thought, glancing at the bed.
* * *
While the brunette was in the shower, Kunikida remembered they hadn’t eaten anything since the morning—well, more accurately, he hadn’t eaten anything, because Dazai probably hadn’t eaten since yesterday. The blond called the reception and ordered food to the room. While waiting for the delivery, he quickly changed clothes and started combing his hair.
Osamu came out of the shower, fresh bandages on and in sleepwear.
"How do you do it so fast?" Doppo stared at him. "Not even ten minutes have passed."
"What? You washed up pretty quickly too."
"I’m not talking about that; I mean how you change your bandages so fast..."
"Oh, well, years of training, Kunikida, years," the last part sounded increasingly ominous.
There was a knock at the door. Dazai stared at it.
"I ordered food," Doppo approached, opened the door, and collected their order.
"You should’ve ordered drinks instead, and no, I’m not talking about tea," he looked skeptically at his dinner.
"You can get drunk without me, but you can’t eat, so sit down," his voice carried a hint of sadness.
"Fine," the brunette lazily stretched and sat down at the table.
"Better if we had gotten drunk, then whatever happens, happens..."
* * *
Moonlight filtered into the room, and the small curtains fluttered in the gentle autumn breeze. Half an hour had passed since the lights went out, but neither of them had fallen asleep.
"Kunikida," Osamu began in his usual manner.
"What?"
"It’s chilly."
"Then close the window," not understanding the problem, the blond turned his back to the wall, hoping to fall asleep soon.
"If I close it, it’ll get hot."
"Then don’t close it."
"But then I might catch a cold."
"And what do you expect me to do about it? I don’t control the weather!" Doppo was getting irritated, not understanding what was being asked of him. "Let’s switch places."
"No, then you might catch a cold," he said with a sad and dissatisfied voice.
"Although sleeping in your bed sounds nice, but it’s yours for only half an hour."
"Then come lie with me," the words slipped out of Kunikida's mouth, clear and firm, without a hint of doubt.
"Did he really say that?" Dazai’s surprised eyes could be seen from space.
"I said that," the blond's heart began to race.
"Really? Can I?"
"Y-yeah."
"Heh, Kunikida, Kunikida..." As he stood up from his place, the brunette chuckled softly.
"I can change my mind!"
"Yeah, right, who are you kidding?" Osamu took his pillow and approached his partner's bed.
"Honestly, I wouldn’t change my mind..." he didn’t even move, continuing to stare at the wall.
"Just lie down already."
The bed was meant for one person, but they both fit comfortably enough. Doppo hadn’t changed his position, still lying on his side, apparently so Dazai couldn’t see his flushed face in the dark.
The brunette lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, occasionally glancing at the back of his colleague’s head. He felt a bit awkward and, in a way, uncomfortable.
"Can I hug you?" The words broke the silence.
"Sure," Kunikida quickly replied, as if he had been waiting for that question, still looking at the wall, trying not to move as the bandaged arm wrapped around him.
"Looks like it turned out just like in that cheap novel," Osamu whispered into his ear, smirking and pressing closer to Doppo, thus hugging him even tighter.
"This is much more comfortable."
"And how am I supposed to sleep now?" Kunikida tried to calm his racing heart, but it didn’t settle down as quickly as he would have liked.