Chapter Text
May 2.
Haru's 30th Birthday.
The man sighed, pushing the elevator door to his floor. He didn't really mind celebrating his birthday. Sure, before when he was younger, his parents would celebrate with the usual cake and so. But now?
He just disliked it.
Another year closer to paying more bills.
Ever since he entered adulthood, all of his birthdays just consisted him of drinking the night away or drowning himself with work. What he'd probably do right now would be the latter. Holding the files to his chest, he waited for the stupid old elevator to reach his floor.
To think that I'm already 30... He thought to himself, thinking how his co-workers would react. Of course they knew his birthday, and they'd celebrate it with him. Heck, they even threw him a surprise party last year (which made him feel very welcome) and Haru was thankful.
He wondered, what could be their plan for today?
The elevator door opened, and Haru was greeted with....
The sound of keyboards clicking, his boss taking a sip of his coffee, and Saeki chewing on a gummy bear. And of course, Kanbe (as usual) was late.
The atmosphere felt different; a bit more quiet than usual. Haru looked around, seeing one thing in common among all.
They looked tired as hell.
He figured that everyone overworked the day before, just like him. So here they were, practically limping as they carried on with their daily duties.
Haru secretly sighed in relief, he wanted to celebrate his birthday after they worked. There was a huge part of him that just wanted to work normally for the day. And it looked like it was according to plan. He'd probably invite them later to drink.
Haru quietly went to his seat, dropped the files in front of him. He sat down and started to type. If he could just finish writing his report for this case, then he could take a break or two and write with more.
In less than a minute, Kamei already poked him.
"Yeah?" he turned to him, pausing his work.
Kamei yawned, "Happy Birthday, bro.." he said, in a tired tone.
Haru smiled softly. "Thanks. Wanna go out later?"
His best friend scratched his eyes, "No thanks. Sorry if the atmosphere's kind of... drowsy on your birthday. It's just that-"
Haru put an arm on his shoulder, patting it gently. "I know, all of you probably overworked too. It's fine; I'm not a kid for you to throw surprise parties." He joked, and Kamei laughed lightly.
"Yeah, you could say that..." he stretched a bit.
Haru then again put his focus on work. But before he could, Kamei grabbed his wrist. "Oh, I almost forgot!"
"About what?" He faced Kamei again with curious eyes.
Kamei brought out a white box. "This came in today, saying it's for you." He pushed the box over to Haru.
Haru raised his eyebrows. "Eh? I don't remember ordering something..." he eyed the box, seeing that his initials were printed on the cover.
"Who sent this?"
"I dunno, bro." Kamei paused, a yawn leaving his lips again. "Some delivery guy just sent it, saying it's for you." He explained, "why don't you open it?"
Was this a threat of some sort?
He knew he was probably overthinking but being a detective made him think of the worst case scenarios. Carefully, he opened the box with Kamei beside him.
"What in the world..." Haru trailed off, practically jumping at the contents of the box.
Kamei opened his eyes fully, looking awake as ever. "Bro.. is that what I think it is?" He looked at it suspiciously, not believing it either.
And to think that Haru thought that this day would be normal.
"There must be a mistake...." he mumbled, looking at the set of... adult toys in front of him. "I– I didn't order this." He defended, his face starting to go red.
Kamei laughed, "I know but..." he eyed the toys, "no offense but bro, don't you think this is a blessing?"
"W-what?!"
"I mean," Kamei paused, "You're 30. Single. Stressed out from work. Partnered with someone you hate. Broke. Did I mention sing–"
Haru huffed, "Shut up." He looked at the box again. "God, I just want to work. I don't have time for these things..." he closed the gift, pushing it away lightly.
"Did you even see the quality of these things? It looks brand new, fresh out of the market." Kamei teased.
"I don't care." he said, trying not to get pissed off. Some guy probably wanted to play a sick joke on him. Heck, it could even be Kamei.
Kamei just laughed a bit more. "Whatever. Let's just go back to work."
And Haru did try to go back to work.
Emphasis on: tried.
But Haru couldn't focus. He was too busy thinking on tracking down the damn bastard who pranked him on his birthday.
Kamei seems to notice this. He stopped working and faced Haru.
"Look, bro. If it bothers you so much, just leave it at your car. We can track down the guy later, yeah?" his best friend suggested.
Haru took a deep breath. "Yeah, seems like it." he tried to sound calm as possible.
He grabbed the gift and informed his boss that he would just do an errand.
"Sure," his boss said with a chill tone. "Also, Happy Birthday kiddo!"
Haru smiled, replying with a simple thanks.
He turned his back to his boss, going to the elevator as quick as possible. He just wanted this to get this over with.
He pressed the parking lot button, leaning on the wall of the elevator.
God, who decided to play this prank on him? Or was it just a wrong delivery? He prayed that it was the first because he wanted to punch whoever did. But, looking at the gift again...
Maybe Kamei had a point.
He always worked so much that he forgot to focus on his sexual needs. Maybe he needed this? Or maybe he didn't?
At this point, Haru's head was at a blur. But the sound of the elevator door snapped him back to reality.
Rubbing his eyes softly, he realized that he still wasn't at the parking lot. The elevator was at the fifth floor, which was still a long way to go. Haru squinted, seeing who entered the elevator.
"Happy Birthday, Inspector Katou."
Haru jumped at the voice. "Oh.. thanks, Kanbe." he replied casually.
He wasn't in the mood to argue with him right now. So far, they've been getting off well, but still acquiantances. Haru still hated the guy; how he overspent and cocky attitude. But when they solved cases, he found one thing in common.
The guy was as committed as him to solve it too.
Which was enough for Haru when it came to the workplace. He just needed a guy who had the same passion for justice, even if his methods were different. But still, he can't forget how the guy practically had him on the verge of death at their first meeting.
"Katou, what's that your holding?" Daisuke asked, staring at the box. It was eye catching, because of its color and how big it was ljke fhe ones you'd find other the Christmas Tree.
Haru's eyes widened. "Oh this? It's nothing."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah," he reassured. "Just got delivered to the wrong guy, so I figured I'd take it back."
Daisuke nodded. "Hm. Then.. you don't mind if I take a look at it?" He faced Haru.
"W-what?" his cheeks were red. Was Kanbe behind this?! If so.. god he wanted to punch him. But there was a part of him that believed the man didn't do it.
He took a deep breath, "No."
"I just want to see. Maybe my company's the one in charge of making that." He explained casually, like a businessman in a meeting.
"I highly doubt that." Haru looked away, putting the box closer to his chest.
Daisuke just rolled his eyes. "You'd be surprised as to what my company makes, Katou." he sounded offended, like Haru was belittling him.
He knew it. Haru just knew it was coming. The urge to just punch this guy. He knew that they'd be in an argument in a second or less.
"Look, Kanbe, I'm sorry if that phrase offended you but there's no need to whine like a baby," he replied, not bothering to make eye contact with the man.
Before Daisuke could even reply, the elevator stopped out of a sudden and the lights started to flicker.
The emergency speaker played, "Please do not panic. There was a malfunction in the system, causing the elevator to shut down for a couple of.... hours.
Oh god... Haru groaned. It was his birthday but here he was, stuck in an elevator with Daisuke.
To Be Continued