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Anyone who knew Akao would know that the only items she had to have at all times are a lighter and cigarettes. Akao didn't like bringing bags. Of course, Nagumo grabbed this opportunity to offer his weapons case as her portable storage place. (Although if he didn't suggest it first, he was certain Akao would have demanded space in his case. Not that he would have minded either way.)
If she needed a gun? Nagumo's JCC-issued gun would do.
More cigarettes? Safely stored in the small pocket of his weapons case alongside a box of Pocky.
A hair tie? On Nagumo's wrist.
Money? In Nagumo's wallet. (Well, technically, those were his money, but he always offered to buy so who was she to refuse?)
Whenever she asked (demanded) Nagumo for anything he owned, Nagumo would jokingly tease her saying, “don't you think this is bullying?”, yet he would hand them over without further complaint.
Akao was just too cute for him to refuse.
One day, after a mission, Akao realized her cigarettes had fallen from her pocket while fighting their targets. Cursing under her breath and badly needing a smoke, she turned to Nagumo, who was currently slumped against the wall.
“Ya, my cigarettes,” Akao demanded, her hand gestures signifying urgency.
Normally, Nagumo would have already thrown her the cigarettes that he kept in his case, but this time, he didn't feel like it. Nagumo had unfortunately gotten grazed on the cheek by a bullet he barely managed to dodge, and it was still openly bleeding. Yet the first thing Akao asks him for are her cigarettes?
He didn't think he was capable of being jealous of even inanimate objects, but here he was, annoyed she didn't check up on him first.
Not that he needed checking up on, anyway. He was one of the strongest assassins, after all.
He didn't realize how lost he was in his thoughts of her when Akao slammed him against the wall, her hand clutching his collar.
“Ya.”
Hot damn, she's so sexy, Nagumo thought.
She held him there for a moment, inspecting his face before loosening her grip, saying, “Never mind, you don't look that well. I'll get the cigs myself.”
Akao had barely turned towards his weapons case when, before Nagumo could second guess himself, he tugged her back and pressed a kiss on her lips.
For a few seconds that felt like way longer, neither of them spoke. Akao was the first to break the silence.
“What was that for?” She asked, her eyes wide in disbelief.
She was breathtakingly gorgeous from up close that Nagumo was tempted to close the gap between them again, but he knew he would be pushing his luck. What was that for, indeed? Nagumo wasn't sure how to explain himself, so he blurted the first excuse that came to mind:
“Replacing your oral fixation.”
Akao, still shocked, ended up scoffing at his response.
“Are you crazy?” She said, finally pulling away (much to Nagumo's disappointment).
However, she didn't wipe her lips, and if Nagumo's thoughts weren't running two hundred miles an hour, he might have noticed the slight blush on the tip of her ears as she lit a cigarette.
The walk back to headquarters was as normal as it could be after sharing a kiss with a best friend.
—
Nagumo was absolutely screwed.
Two weeks have passed, yet the feeling of Akao's slightly chapped lips on his still burned in his mind. He thought chocolate cake was the best flavor he could ever experience, but she tasted like mint and cigarettes and everything he ever yearned for. She made him sick to his stomach yet so alive at the same time.
Akao made him feel.
And he was content with loving her without receiving anything in return.
At least, he was supposed to be.
Until he kissed her, all because her golden eyes shone so brightly from up close.
To his relief, Akao mostly acted like nothing happened—she still placed her arms over Nagumo and Sakamoto's shoulders, still made fun of Nagumo's sweet tooth, still behaved like it's business as usual. But when it was just the two of them, Nagumo could sense it: the slight hesitation before she slapped Nagumo's arm repeatedly while laughing, the tremble when her fingers brushed against his while they were walking side-by-side, the nervous tapping of her fingers on the table when they fall into (what used to be) comfortable silence.
Sometimes Nagumo was tempted to just hold her hand to stop her from fidgeting.
Tonight, they were having drinks at Sakamoto's balcony. Nagumo was already more than tipsy after half a bottle of soju, making him the object of Akao's teasing.
“Ya, Nagumo! Get yourself together!” She teased as Nagumo's brows furrowed.
“Hmp. you know I can't handle my drinks,” he complained, his words a bit slurred.
Sakamoto silently downed his second bottle and announced, “I'm going to buy more drinks,” as if Nagumo's spinning world needed more fuel.
Akao, who was also on her second bottle, sent Sakamoto a finger heart with a wide smile. “Snacks and cigarettes too, please!” Sakamoto grunted in affirmation.
Nagumo sighed, placing his shot glass on the table. “Have mercy on this lightweight, please.”
Akao laughed. “Idiot. No one told you you need to finish the whole bottle—oh wait, I did,” she laughed harder, hitting his arm. Nagumo swatted her away.
“You're too loud, my head's hurting,” he scowled, which fueled Akao even more.
“Aww poor baby, his head hurty,” she teased, ruffling his hair. “He even has a scar on his face—oh, it looks like it's healing quite... well...” Akao trailed off as she found herself cupping Nagumo's cheek where the scar was, his brown boba eyes staring right at her.
There it was—the little tremble when she brushed against his skin gently.
Flustered, Akao pulled away briskly and muttered something like “I'll go grab a smoke,” while looking for the cigarettes on the table. But as she reached for them, Nagumo placed his hand over hers, interlocking their fingers.
"Why are you still smoking?" He asked softly.
—
Akao was at a loss for words.
She tried so hard to pretend everything was the same ever since the day Nagumo kissed her (“to replace her oral fixation”), but she was a fool to even think so.
She knew in her head that his face was the type to send hundreds kneeling over just to get a glimpse. She saw firsthand how many love letters and poisoned chocolates he received when they were still students. They've been through a lot together as best friends for years.
But somehow, she only realized how charming he was up close, all bloodied with a scar on his face and that gaze she still couldn't admit to herself she wanted to see again.
And so she tried—tried to do the same things she does as always. Arms over his shoulders. Smacking his arm. Bodyslamming him. But somehow, all these actions just made her more aware of her feelings, more sensitive to his presence.
She wished she could wipe that stupid yearning gaze from her head so that these thoughts might disappear.
It only fully sunk into her just now.
Akao liked Nagumo. Way more than she thought. And now that Nagumo was bringing up the unspoken event from two weeks ago, she had to address it.
“Ya. Do you like me?”
And perhaps because drunken words were made up of sober thoughts, he confessed: “Yes.”
“Since when?”
Nagumo seemingly pondered a bit, lightly swirling the drink in his shotglass. “I just woke up one day and realized,” he finally said, his eyes rising to meet hers. Akao rarely ever saw Nagumo's eyes reflect full, raw emotion, so her brain short-circuited upon seeing his eyes so... alive.
Because of her.
“Why me?”
Nagumo chuckled. “I have plenty of reasons, but maybe...” he pretended to think. “You're cute?”
Akao rolled her eyes, unsatisfied. “Ya. I'm being serious.”
“Me too,” he sighed. “But if you really wanna know...” he pursed his lips before continuing.
“I like the way your eyes light up when you get what you want, the way you never compromise with your principles. The way you laugh too hard from your belly when we're making fun of Sakamoto. The way you recklessly ride your bike. Hell, even the way you light your cigarettes. Should I keep going?”
Akao, dumbfounded by how easily the words flowed from his mouth, started saying “no more,” but Nagumo, powered by alcohol and the flustered look on Akao's face, was now unstoppable.
“The way you leave your hair messy, the beautiful Orion tattoo on your arm, the way you love sparkly things and pretend to hate chocolate just because I like them but steal Pocky sticks while I pretend not to notice,” he chuckled, fighting against Akao's hand trying to cover his mouth.
“Enough,” Akao gritted her teeth, the redness of her ears now dusting her cheeks. She couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes, which she felt was still earnestly looking at her.
How could this man be so shameless? Kissing her before even confessing his feelings, and now she can't even find an ounce of embarrassment while he was saying all those awfully sweet things.
He caught her hands and intertwined her fingers with his, holding them tightly before saying:
“You're so easy to love, Akao. Every little thing about you is so easy for me to love.”
She shut her eyes, absorbing the weight of his words.
And because she was Akao, with full intention of saying it back, the words that came out of her mouth instead were...
“Stupid idiot.”
And then she was leaning into him, kissing him with all her might. Nagumo was quick to respond, one of his hands letting go of hers to caress her cheek gently.
Akao could feel how obsessed he was with the quiet gasps he made between kisses. She could still taste the sweetness of peach soju on his tongue, and from this close, her senses were overwhelmed by his clean, musky scent.
And Akao enjoyed the feeling of him so much that it was getting to her head, so much that she had to pull away before she lost her wits.
For a few seconds, both of them just breathed each other in, their noses still nuzzled against each other. Akao then broke the silence.
“I'm going for a smoke.”
Nagumo responded with an annoyed face, bringing her back in with a quick kiss. “Aren't my kisses enough?” He complained, pulling her even closer with his arm wrapping around her back.
To this, Akao smacked him. “Don't push your luck,” she said, standing up while Nagumo was yelping in pain.
—
The scene that Sakamoto returned to was nothing out of the ordinary: just Akao and Nagumo yelling at each other with middle fingers raised. He placed the drinks on the table and started downing his third bottle.
After all, Sakamoto already knew that when Akao and Nagumo fought, it was best to never intervene if you didn't want to get caught in the crossfire.