title: pulling on your heart strings ship: andre gide/sakaguchi ango (taking place in a canon divergent au where gide gets help and therapy and gets a job as ango’s bodyguard so the mimic incident never happens.) rating: G AO3 link: here!
day five of rarepair week - prompt : puppets / laughter
Sakaguchi Ango has a lot of enemies - too many enemies, really. He was a prominent member of the government and Vice Counselor of the Special Ability Department, and he took pride in his position, but this caused him to take on quite a handful of jobs - infiltrating, stealing, killing in some cases - that caused hate to be directed towards him. Having bullets fired at him, bombs placed in his car, or full on collisions with cars was something he had unfortunately gotten used to over time... And as did his bodyguards, who surely had nerves of steel to carry the job of protecting him, despite being well aware of how hated Ango was.
As of currently, he had three. The first was a young woman who wore her hair in pigtails, always chewing away on bubblegum - she had a playful attitude when it came to conversation, but when it came to protecting Ango and her swordsmanship, she was as skilled as they came.
The second was a young man with short, slicked up brown hair. His features were rather plain, which allowed him to be very useful in the area of recon and surveillance. He used a pistol, and though he was certainly no sharpshooter, he was nowhere close to being mediocre with his skills either.
The third and last bodyguard was Ango’s most recent, an older man in his 30s with long silver hair in a ponytail and a soldier’s build - André Gide. Originally a former soldier from France, after the war had ended, he and his men had nowhere to go and they had all suffered their fair share of damage from the fighting. Gide was no different in that aspect, but his desire to still give some use to himself and others was what caused him to end up in Japan. Using his connections from the military, he found a way to stay here to find a new start while battling against the PTSD and depression he had garnered as a result of his occupation. Apparently the government had offered him a very convenient living space and program to assist him, but that made it clear they knew he wanted to work, and they had an occupation to give.
Many of his men died, while he had lived, but - that was just how it went when you had an Special Ability.
This being said, when his file was pulled up for review and they saw his credentials along with the name of his ability, he was soon given a suit in his size and told that his job was protecting Sakaguchi Ango to put those skills to good use.
All of that was expected. Ango knew this much when his superior told him he was being assigned another bodyguard 4 years ago, as he had just left the mafia after serving as an informant for the government. What he hadn’t expected is that he would end up falling for this bodyguard and end up in a relationship with him.
Maybe it was a good thing, considering that meant he had protection in his private life as much as his professional life but...
“Pretty soon, you’re going to need to trade those awful glasses in for even awfuller bifocals.”
Well, Gide was this kind of person.
The French always were known for being obnoxious though, so perhaps he was asking for it.
“These reports aren’t going to finish themselves, André.” Ango doesn’t look away from his laptop screen to address the man sitting on the other side of the couch they’re sharing, only turning his head to read over a paper concerning the details of his latest completed mission.
On the other side of the couch where Gide is sitting, he has a needle and thread in hand, sewing away at what seems to be a well-made puppet that looks eerily similar to himself. On his lap, already finished, is a puppet that seems to resemble Ango. Despite his looks and rugged appearance, his hobbies were on the artistic side - painting, most notably, as well as drawing, sculpting, and sewing. The latter came in handy in more ways than one in the past, ironically enough.
“I never said to stop, but as a man whose job is to be concerned over your health, I advise that you take a break.”
“I’ve certainly dealt with worse before.”
From the corner of his vision, Ango can see Gide shaking his head in disappointment. “Just because you’ve dealt with worse doesn’t make it okay, Hibou.”
Ango scrunches his nose at the nickname. Hibou - owl, in French. While it seems endearing on the surface, when he had asked about it when Gide decided to start calling him that, Gide’s response was nothing of the sort. ( ‘Because owls look smart, but they’re actually stupid. It suits you perfectly, doesn’t it?’ he had said, right to Ango’s face - and in front of his other bodyguards. That man had no shame!)
Whatever. He’ll ignore him. Ango is definitely not going to acknowledge him until he finishes this damn report.
A minute or two of pleasant silence passes however, and soon, he hears Gide give what he assumes is a hum of satisfaction. “Finished.”
Ango ignores the curiosity to see Gide’s finished project. He inhales, holding that breath as he continues to type away on his computer.
“Hibou. Look at me.”
“Please let me work in peace, André.”
“I will in a moment. Just look at me.”
The agent sighs dramatically, closing his laptop for the moment to turn his head. “What is i-”
His words are cut off before he can finish, as his lips meet the fabric of the puppet Gide is holding up between them. When the former soldier pulls his hands away, Ango realizes that his lips had touched that of the doll designed to look like Gide. He had just kissed...
The longer Ango thinks on the situation, the redder his face gets. He’s unfortunately always been the type to blush easily, so hiding it is pointless even if he turns his head away, pressing a hand over his mouth. He can hear Gide sputter, then falling into a fit of soft laughter.
“You’re awful... You’re such a menace-”
Gide is still laughing, setting his puppet aside to scoot over and sit next to Ango. “Sorry, sorry - you’re just too easy to tease. I’ll make it up to you.”
The closeness makes Ango all the more flustered. “Make it up to me by letting me work in peace, you stupid frenchman-”
“I have something better. Look at me one more time - please?”
Ango already knows what’s going to happen. He knows, because he’s been around Gide long enough to understand how he operates, how their relationship operates. He tries to resist, he really does, but the arm around him is warm, makes him feel complete. Before he knows it, he’s giving in, exhaling a shaky breath when Gide leans closer to close the distance between them and kiss him.
And Ango lets him - as if strings are pulling his arms to act on their own - while lifting a hand to cup the back of his neck to pull Gide closer into the connection.
