The Reckless & The Brave Book 1: Hold Me Tight Or Don't [Kurotsuki]

Chapter 10

Undercover work is not something that Kei is fond of. He can do it just as well as any other agent but it's annoying to have to actually talk to people, to pretend to be someone he's not. Kei figures that he really should get used to it. How long will it be before his identity is compromised? He'll have to move and change his now. When that time comes how will he tell Kuroo? Will Kuroo even still be around then?

"Earth to Megane-kun, ya in there?" It turns out that the Jackal that The Voice had wanted Kei to work with was Thing one. They met only an hour ago but Kei was pretty sure he was the most annoying person in the world. He'd heard about Thing one before. He was a fox when he'd first became an agent and had a partner that was called Thing two. Kei's not sure what happened to Thing two but he's no longer at the agency and Thing one had been moved to the Jackal team.

"Yes, I am," Kei takes off his glasses and puts them in their case. He won't be wearing them until he returns from this mission. There are several agents in long-term undercover positions and it's Thing one's job to check in with them and collect any information they might have. Someone else needs to be brought in now though, if something happens to Thing one then they need another agent with contacts to be able to get to the undercover agents. That will be Kei's job now. Thing one will introduce him to the contacts and if in the future he can't get to them Kei will go in his place.

"Just remember to follow my lead and keep outta my way. Yer basically just gonna be my arm candy this time around. Remember the covers for each location?"

"Yes I memorized the briefing," Kei resists the urge to roll his eyes. Thing one keeps treating him like he's fresh out of the training facility.

"It's not just about memorizing the briefing. Look this is an important job alright? These agents are my family, two jackals, and three foxes. The Voice says that he thinks you're right for this so I'm gonna give ya a chance. Try not to blow my cover while we're in there."

"I'm not going to blow your cover." Kei's already ready for this mission to be over.

They take a private plane to their first location. Slipping into their roles before they even depart. Kei doesn't have to say much most of the time. Thing one tells him that his only job is to look pretty and as much as Kei wants to punch him it makes him think of Kuroo who's always insisting Kei is pretty. They're traveling between several countries to make all of their meetings. It's tiring and Kei has to admit that when it comes to keeping track of so many covers it's a little harder than he anticipated. Thing one takes everything in stride though, he's able to fill in when Kei falters without missing a beat. He's full of himself and a bit of an asshole but Kei finds that there's actual advice hidden in his insults.

They reach their last stop with three days remaining of the mission. Kei wonders if they're going to end it early but Thing one says that the three days will be necessary. The final destination is a hotel in Russia being run by a mafia. They check into their room and before Kei even puts his bag down Thing one is pulling all of the bedding off both of the beds.

"What are you doing?" he asks, moving to the corner of the room to stay out the other man's way.

"Cleaning obviously," Thing one takes a vacuum-sealed bag out of his suitcase and tosses it to Kei. "Make that bed."

"Make the bed." he's not sure why he's doing it but Kei unseals the bag and remakes the bed with the clean sheets. He stays out of the way after that as Thing one moves around the room wiping things down with disinfecting wipes. "Why are we doing this?"

"Omi is particular about things. He's got to put up with things he doesn't like while he's undercover so I try to give him a little break when I come," Thing one takes two more vacuum-sealed bags out of his suitcase and looks around the room as he sets one on the table. "I'm going to go shower. Omi should be here soon. Don't make a mess."