“Nah, it’s all right,” Elias said, pulling Dakarai toward him and back against his chest. “I like your version. Tell me the rest of it.”
“Yuto’s already dead, though,” Dakarai replied.
“Use some creative license and bring his ass back.”
“As much as I would like to bring Yuto back to life, Hiroshi needs to learn from his mistakes,” Dakarai said, turning the page. “So Yuto stays very much dead, and Hiroshi decides to leave the assassin business for good. He moves to Tokyo, gets two cats, and works the rest of his life as a barista. The end.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. How do you go from ripping people’s hearts out with your bare hands to serving iced Americanos in Tokyo?”
“People change.”
“You really think people can change?”
“I think you could if you wanted,” Dakarai replied. “Back at the show, you walked away from that fight. You talked a lot of shit before you walked away, but the point is that you did.”
Elias smiled, embarrassed. “I was trying to protect you.”
“You don’t always have to protect everyone, you know,” Dakarai said. “There are other ways to protect people without sacrificing yourself. I don’t want to see you hurt, and neither should you.”
Elias’s chest tightened at Dakarai’s words. He had always beenthe one to look after his family, and even now, he felt guilt for leaving them behind. But hadn’t they been the ones to push him out? His thoughts drifted back to William’s letter.Maybe things weren’t like this before, but now it feels like you’re the one needing us more than we need you.When had they stopped needing him? And why didn’t they tell him?
He was thoughtful a moment before he said, “I know. I’ll try.”
Elias leaned his body into Dakarai, who nudged him in return, and they went back and forth, lightly pushing each other, swaying side to side as their shoulders touched. Elias yelled out in pain and then threw himself on the ground when Dakarai nudged him again. If being kicked off his high school team for poor sportsmanship taught him nothing else, he at least learned to fake a foul. Dakarai tried to pull Elias up by the arm, but he let his body go completely limp so that Dakarai had to support his entire weight like a rag doll. They couldn’t stop laughing long enough to form coherent sentences. Soon after, Dakarai gave up entirely.
Silhouetted by the fluorescent lights above, he leaned over Elias, his face unchanging. The rough carpet fibers irritated Elias’s skin even through his shirt, yet he made no attempt to escape the cage of Dakarai’s arms. Protected by Dakarai’s shadow, Elias slowly unshielded his eyes, yet his arms felt awkward lying useless by his sides. He reached for something, anything he could put between him and Dakarai, but he only grasped floor. Elias settled on Dakarai’s forearm; his own heartbeat pulsed in his fingertips as he traced his thumb along a vein.
“We have work in three hours” was the only thing Elias could think to say.
Dakarai leaned in, the chain of his crystal necklace draping onto Elias’s chest. “Should we try to get some sleep?”
Elias’s heartbeat was loud in his ears. “I won’t be able to sleep.”
“Me either.” Dakarai answered so quickly that Elias wasn’t even sure if he had spoken.
“Can I make you breakfast?” Elias asked, still running his thumb along Dakarai’s forearm.
“Are you inviting me upstairs?” Dakarai’s pupils trembled as he searched Elias’s face for his intention.
“Yes, but I need, like, two minutes to tidy up first.”
“How did you make a mess already?” he scolded. “It’s barely been two days yet.”
“I’ve been living out of my suitcases.”
“You didn’t think you’d stay?”
“I don’t know.”
“What about now?”
“I guess it’s not so bad here,” Elias said with a begrudging smile. “Now, are you going to let me up, or we going to stay like this until it’s time to open?” Dakarai drew a deep preparatory breath but didn’t move. “I mean, we can stay here. It’s fine by me.” Elias pulled Dakarai by the chain toward his puckered lips.
The two laughed together, causing a sudden shift in the mood as they remembered where they were. Rising to their feet, they exchanged barely concealed glances, each dusting off and smoothing out their clothing as if to brush off the lingering tension that hung in the air around them.
“You know I don’t care how your place looks,” Dakarai said.
Elias blocked Dakarai’s path, but Dakarai persisted, steadily advancing and cornering him against the wall. Something dug into Elias’s shoulder blade, but Dakarai prevented him from looking with a firm grip on the back of his neck. The two stared at each other for a moment, each wondering what the other would do next.Dakarai blinked rapidly, his gaze firmly fixed on Elias’s mouth. Elias slid his hand down to the side of Dakarai’s face. He held him like that, unmoving, until he felt a swallow beneath his palm. He flinched, and a sharp pain immediately shot through his shoulder blade. The plastic door to the security keypad fell to the ground with a bounce.
