Good day! I got so happy to see your prompt list so I might send you a few, feel free to ignore any! Cold with MatsuKuroDai
My dear @thatishogwash, thank you so much for your patience! I enjoyed writing this, so I hope you enjoy it too!
This also serves as my entry for @hqot3week‘s Day 7: writer’s choice | “how do you see all of this when it’s done?” | au/crossover
“I found him,”Matsukawa says and Kuroo’s beside him in an instant, looking at the small,pulsing dot on the screen.
“A cold-storagefacility?” Kuroo frowns, already studying the map, looking for possibleentrance and exit points they could use undetected.
Matsukawa hums, doingthe same.
They had dinner plansthat night and when Daichi’s still not back from his afternoon shift from thecorner store he works part-time at, they decided to pick him up. Only to be toldthat he left on time. They called his phone, but it just kept on ringing.That’s when Kuroo convinced Matsukawa to go back to their base and track him. He’donly been missing for an hour then, but now, it’s running on three, and theyhave to get a move soon if they don’t want him to be frozen delight.
“What are we waitingfor?” Kuroo quickly grabs his black leather jacket, hanging on the back ofMatsukawa’s chair and puts it on.
“Hold on,” Matsukawamutters, clicking on a few keys and pulls up CCTV footages of nearby roads andalleys. “We have to make sure this isn’t a trap.”
“Of course it’s atrap.” Kuroo hisses. They wouldn’t resortto kidnapping Sawamura if it wasn’t, goes unspoken. But he looks at the multiple screens all the same. There’s asuspicious black van parked in the nearby lot, and Kuroo thanks their luck thatSawamura’s kidnappers are not too smart.
“Well, make sure thatwe don’t get caught, anyway.” Deciding on the weapons to bring and having aplan of action to rescue Daichi and disable the kidnappers while they’re at it,they’re zipping through the highway in a sleek, black Vanquish.
They arrive in thefacility in no time. Kuroo goes to the black van and slashed its tires. Heleaves the two henchmen playing poker, laughing and teasing each other over thesound of loud music, alone. Well, lucky for them.
Kuroo’s a little tootrigger happy at the moment, but he thinks better and holds the agreement.Besides, he’s saving his bullets for those who need it.
The same couldn’t besaid for their fellows guarding the back entrance. When Kuroo got there,Matsukawa’s already dragging the second body and stows it away with the otherone on a shadowed area by the alley.
Kuroo cocks aneyebrow. “Really?” He bends to grab the rifle left and slings it across hisback.
Matsukawa shrugs.“They were asking for it.” He wipes his hands over his dark jeans and smoothensout his navy turtleneck, slinging the other rifle on his shoulder.
They had a standingagreement that they wouldn’t kill unless they really have to. And somehow,lives of not-so-innocent men have been spared because of that. They don’tregret it, but he thinks they’re allowed to make exemptions this time. Whoeveris behind this made it personal after all.
With a nod, theyenter the facility, as quietly as their combat boots would allow. The chillimmediately greets them, vague tendrils of smoke curling out as it meets thewarm air from the outside. The low whirring of the fans mask the sound of theirfootsteps, as they take measured, careful steps, across the slippery floor,until they reach the threshold partitioned by thick, yellowing strip curtains.
Kuroo pushes itaside, looking out for potential attackers, while Matsukawa acts as lookoutbehind him. He lightly taps his companion, a signal that the coast is clear,and they enter. Rows of animal carcasses, hanging from hooks lined up the room,looking like makeshift columns of a hallway. At the far end of it is the personthey’re looking for.
Kuroo and Matsukawaabandon all thoughts of being careful as they jog to Daichi.
He’s tied with hisarms behind him on a metal chair, duct tape over his mouth. His jaws aretwitching, the rest of his body shivering. There are little frosts clinging onhis cropped hair. He flinches when Kuroo’s warm hand touch his cheeks.
Daichi looks up atKuroo, then at Matsukawa, moaning weakly and incomprehensibly, eyes tired butstaring at them in horror.
“Shhh, Sawamura,”Kuroo says, peeling at the grey duct tape. The sound of it echoes around theroom.
“K-Ku-r-ro-oo,” Daichisucks in some air. “M-Mat-tsu-un.”
“We’re gonna get yououtta here,” Matsukawa whispers, brushing a finger across Daichi’s cheek beforegoing behind him to work with the restraints on his arms, while Kuroo bendsdown to do the same on his legs.
In no time, they haveDaichi free. Kuroo hooks one of Daichi’s arm across his neck and helps him up. Matsukawaleads the way to make sure their path is safe.
It had all been tooeasy and too safe, Kuroo and Matsukawa know this, as they tow Daichi away fromthe facility, half carrying the still shivering man. But whether it’s a strokeof luck or intentional, they didn’t stop to question it.
What matters is Daichi’sback with them, wrapped in a thick blanket in the back of their getaway car asthey speed away.
Kuroo hooks a fingeron the blinds and pulls it down, observes the surroundings for signs thatthey’ve been followed. Assured that they were not, he lets it go and turns tolook at Daichi, sitting on the well-loved couch-the only, truly soft thing inthe base- dwarfed by a blanket and nursing a mug of hot tea.
His wary, cautiouseyes are drifting back and forth from him to Matsukawa.
Matsukawa, who issitting on the low coffee table in front of Daichi, can just hear the loudturning of the gears in his head.
“I’m sure you have alot of questions,” Matsukawa treads.
Daichi trains hiseyes on him. “And I want honest answers.” Now that he’s not shivering from thecold, his suspicion and righteous anger is heating him up.
Matsukawa tips hishead, an unspoken ‘Go ahead’.
Daichi heaves asteadying breath. “Where are we? What is this place?”
“This is our base.Our headquarters, of sorts. Our true home, in the sense of the word.”
Daichi frowns. Monthsago, these two moved next door. They said their work brought them to thatplace. They look like every bit of the young professional that they claimed tobe so Daichi didn’t question it. As suspicious as it was that they don’t reallyleave their apartment much, he chalks it up to the assumption that they bothwork from home, or something like that. Besides, they proved to be goodneighbors, albeit on the playful, flirty side, but good nonetheless.
They provided Daichithe company he had been missing since he transferred to the city. It’s been awhile since he got to spend time with people around his age and ones that sharehis interests to boot. Suffice to say, Daichi felt comfortable around them, with them, despite only meeting them fora short period of time.
And as foolish as itis, he thinks he’s even fallen for them.
Daichi swallows. Helooks at Matsukawa, then at Kuroo, before asking his next question. “Who areyou?”
“We gave you our realnames, if that’s what you’re asking,” Kuroo answers this time. He deflates whenDaichi glares at him.
Matsukawa shakes hishead. “We’re spies,” he admits. “At least, former ones. We’re turning over anew leaf, but I suppose some people are still holding a grudge.” He shrugs, asif it’s a minor inconvenience.
“You’re… spies?” Daichiblinks.
“Former spies,” Kuroo emphasizes, sitting beside Matsukawa on thecoffee table. “And judging the, ah, sensitivenature of our former job, we couldn’t just say that to people.” He lickshis lips-a nervous tell- belying the lightness of his tone.
Daichi allows thisnew information to sink in. It’s unbelievable is what it is, but he can tellthat they are telling him the truth. And to a degree, he understands the reasonwhy they did what they did. But a part of him, a persistent one at that, feels…betrayed.
“Have you been lyingall along?” he whispers, staring down at his cooling mug of tea. How much ofwhat they’d shown Daichi was true? Perhaps it had all been just an act. Hewouldn’t put it past them, now that he knows that they used to do it for aliving.
“No.” Daichi looks upat Kuroo’s sharp answer. Even Matsukawa is looking at him seriously, a frowndipping his thick eyebrows at the center of his forehead, the most serious he’sseen the usually chill man look.
“Sawamura, we mayhave kept things from you,” Kuroo continues, earnest. “But the past months thatwe spent with you, and the things we did and said, they’re all true.”
“And you gettinginvolved in all of this is proof of that.” Matsukawa tacks on.
Daichi scoffs. “Howthe hell is my getting involved a proof of it?” He wants to believe them, butit’s hard to do so at the moment.
Matsukawa shakes hishead and leans closer to him, cupping Daichi’s hands with his large ones.“Sawamura, they took you because they learned that you are important to us.They know full well that we are going to get you back, no matter what.” Hedoesn’t say that he killed two people to do that, because he doesn’t think Daichi’sready to hear that just yet. That, and he’s afraid to add murderer on top ofbeing a liar. Maybe someday, he promises in his mind. Just not today.
“And not just becausewe think that whatever happens to you is gonna be on us. It’s more than that,”Kuroo adds, also coming closer. “Sawamura, we left our former lives without aclear path for the future. We decided one day that we’re tired of living likethis and literally just up and quit. We weren’t expecting to get something outof it other than peace of mind hopefully and probably a chance of having a normallife, but when we met you,” Kuroo pauses, sharing a meaningful look withMatsukawa, before returning his eyes at Daichi.
“You made us realizethat we made the right decision. We have always been together, since thebeginning. We didn’t start out like this, but this is where it has taken us.And we were fine just having each other, but you…”
“You make it hard tostay away from you.” Matsukawa finishes Kuroo’s sentence. “We talked about it,you know. We talked each other out of the idea of getting close to you. But, wecouldn’t. You make it hard not to fall for you.” Matsukawa boops him, whileKuroo gives him a genuine smile.
Daichi looks betweenthe two of them, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. At this point, hisapprehension gives way to the emotion he’s been trying to suppress for sometime now. Like them, he had talked himself out of the idea of getting close tothem, believing that as much as they like to flirt with him, it doesn’t meananything. It’s probably something that they do, given both their charmingnature. If anything, its proof of how comfortable they are, how secure they arewith their relationship.
Daichi starts crying,and it’s partly due to the stress of the life threatening situation he’dpreviously been in, but he knows it’s because of how these men just confessedthat he changed their lives, just as much as they changed his.
“Hey, why are youcrying?” Kuroo says, panicked. He sits beside Daichi and starts rubbingcomforting circles on his back. Matsukawa takes the now cooled mug of tea andputs it on the table before he sits on Daichi’s other side.
“If you hate the ideaof being with us, especially after this, we understand, Sawamura.”
Daichi slaps him onthe arm. “That’s not it,” he says, voice thick. “I want to be with the two ofyou too. I thought I don’t stand a chance.” He sniffs, and he can see Kurooshaking his head from his peripheral vision.
Daichi wipes on histears and snot with the corner of the blanket and continues. “I didn’t know… Ijust- I just know that I don’t want to come between the two of you and ruinwhatever you two have.”
Matsukawa chuckles,while Kuroo drops a light kiss on his cheek, emboldened because of Daichi’s admission.
“We’re the ones thatdidn’t stand a chance,” Matsukawa admits, also kissing him on the cheek.
“And honestly, we’rekind of hoping to make you come between us. If you know what I mean,” Kuroosays with a leer which earns him a slap on the arm as well.
Daichi shakes hishead and cups both their faces with each hand. He turns to kiss Kuroo first,then Matsukawa, and he pulls their faces closer until it’s resting on each ofhis cheeks, while the two wrap their arms around him.
