Joker

7. Kill count: 453 Kiss count: 1

Okay he looks VERY intimidating. Dragon eyes. Hot but goddamn I'm terrified. I love this- NO AKABANE HE'S SERIOUS! Aki forced himself to remain casual and not melt under the fiery gaze "I read it on the news. You are FBI too right? Since you were in the area so I wondered if you went. I saw you come home late that night too. Figured you went but I couldn't come talk to you yesterday. Were you not there?"

"Oh I see." Nakul breathed in relief "I got paranoid over nothing but yeah I did go."

I know. I saw you. I'm so sorry I kicked you. I'm so damn sorry for headbutting you. Why were you there Nakul why? I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't want to threaten Ayu but you just wouldn't let go and if you didn't let go I'd have to kill you I don't want to hurt you. Aki asked "Are you okay? Wasn't there an explosion?" I caused it damn it. Technically Kenma set it off but indirectly. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Did you get hurt? Is your back okay? Is your head? Your chest which was so damn solid- STOP IT AKABANE!

"I am." Nakul smiled and held up an okay sign with his free hand "I just got shoved around a bit by Joker."

"Really?" Aki feigned surprise but didn't have to fake his worry.

"Yep. Bastard kicked me square in the chest. Got my forehead too, headbutted me." He rubbed his forehead, wincing slightly "My back still needs some time though."

"Will it get better soon?" Aki asked in genuine concern.

"Don't worry. I'll be good as new in a couple more days." Nakul said, waving it off. Liar. It hurts. I know it hurts you. But I have no right to expect you to show me your pain when I don't show you the blood on my hands. So much blood. You'd hate me, turn me in, kill me perhaps. But you wouldn't care. Is it wrong for me to care about you knowing you only know Akabane? What if you do like me? How can you like Aki when there is a Joker out there laughing deep inside? How can you hate Joker when there is an Aki shivering inside? It would be easier if I didn't care. I used to wish to be able to care and be cared for but right now I want to back to the impassiveness and apathy. Have I lived so long in antipathy that I ended up loving it? Joker has had his hands grabbing my throat, cracking my neck for so long that I have developed a weird sense of Stockholm syndrome now where I cannot make do without Joker. I want you to be honest, I want you to be real with your pain so you can heal Nakul but I don't have the right to even expect that when my whole damn existence has been drowned in blood. I can't wash your wounds if the only thing I have dripping is blood.

"Akabane?" Nakul said softly, his eyes showing nothing but concern "Are you okay? You just... tuned out and stared all weird."

"I-I'm okay." Aki said, feeling tears build up. He swallowed them and forced a tiny smile "Just... worried about you I guess."

"Worried about me?" Nakul laughed "Don't be. I'll be fine!"

"Hm." I need a drink. Aki grabbed the open beer bottle by his bedside table and chugged down the rest of the bubbly alcohol and gasped once it slid down his throat. He drank too fast, it burned his nostrils and the back of his mouth but he didn't care. Nakul whistled "Damn Inari. Gale said you were wild but I didn't expect you to be THIS wild."

"Get used to it." Aki giggled a bit, it was his second bottle.

Nakul smiled "Right. Either way. How're you doing?"

Aki held a thumbs up. Nakul laughed a bit "Did one bottle get to you?"

"This one was my second." Aki said, "Like you said, I'm wild."

"Wild in what sense though?" Nakul said raising a flirty eyebrow.

Aki felt his whole face burn and tried to think back to all the webtoons he'd binge read the day before and that morning in preparation for this. He simply said "Whichever sense you want to believe in."