Two words: Detective Akaashi

Requested by lightingclaw288

A/n: for context, I was given free rein with this so it's set in the roaring twenties time period.

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The warm, stagnant air inside the interrogation room reeked of cigarette smoke from previous detectives, officers, and suspects who had been in before you. The one light in the corner that flickered noticeably made you resist your eye's urge to twitch with annoyance. The cool metal of the handcuffs around your wrists clinked against the table when you turned your hand to examine your fingers devoid of your precious jewelry. After taking a moment to pine for your stolen belongings whose combined value equated to more than the average person could fathom, your (e/c) gaze moved upward to meet with the slate blue eyes of the detective seated across from you.

"Miss (L/n), you're well-loved by the public, but I understand you have criminal ties. So, care to explain the string of robberies that have been happening in the city?" he questioned, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"You've got the wrong girl, Detective Akaashi," you huffed despite your eyes traveling along his muscular arms, which were visible beneath his powder blue, button-up shirt. "Did I not mention moments ago that I am also a victim of this crime? Why would I steal my own jewelry?"

His dark eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly with irritation. "I don't care for your tone."

"And I don't care for being detained against my will while I was on my way to a lovely party downtown. But, here I am!" You tapped the heel of your shoe against the wooden floor with impatience.

A long silence hung in the room as Akaashi clasped his hands together and placed them underneath his chin. You each kept your gazes on each other, refusing to break eye contact despite the tension surrounding you. The moment was only interrupted when he rose to his feet, making the legs of the chair screech at being moved. Without a word, he dusted off his pinstriped vest and pants before snatching the case file off the table and exiting the room, leaving you alone and clueless--two things you hated being.

"This is all wrong," Akaashi stated, slapping the manilla folder down into his rookie's hands once he was out in the hallway, "You've wasted valuable time by bringing her in."

"Huh?!" the tall, silver-haired man on the receiving end of his criticism gawked. His green eyes darted across the pages inside the file with great speed as he stuttered, "B-But she's a prime suspect! She has connections to dangerous people, like thieves and murderers! There's no way someone like that is innocent!"

Akaashi shook his head disapprovingly and ran a hand through his messy, black hair. "You jumped to conclusions again, Haiba-san. Did you even notice that she wasn't wearing any jewelry herself? Can you think of a good reason as to why a popular, fashionable starlet on her way to a party would forgo glamorous accessories?"

Lev stuck his finger in his superior's face and blurted, "Because she was keeping up the appearance of being a victim even though she was none other than the perpetrator!"

Akaashi moved Lev's hand away and let out a small sigh. With an unimpressed expression, he uttered, "No. She has no motive." He turned away and wrapped his fingers around the handle of the door handle leading back into the interrogation room. "I'm releasing her. Take another look at that file and come back to me with a more plausible theory before you go arresting anyone else. Besides, you should know better than to bring someone with underground affiliations in here."

"Y-Yes, sir," Lev stammered, wilting under his senior's reprimanding words.

Once Akaashi was back inside the stuffy, dimly lit room, he fished a key out of his pocket and used it to free you from your restraints. Delighted, you proclaimed, "Why, thank you, darling! Have you finally realized the error of your ways?"

You'd hoped to get some spark of a reaction from him with your words, but he remained completely straight-faced save for a hint of annoyance. "I wasn't the one who arrested you, Miss (l/n), but, yes, I have spoken with the officer that did and told him his actions were unjustified," he explained calmly, sliding the handcuffs off your wrists and twirling them around his finger. "You're free to go."

His emotionless gaze trailed along your figure as you stood up and slid your arms through the coat that had been sitting atop your shoulders. As you grabbed your purse and made your way out of the room, taking a deep inhale of fresher air--since anything was better than what you'd previously been breathing--Akaashi walked alongside you to escort you to the front of the station.

"I apologize on behalf of my colleague for interrupting your evening," he told you when the two of you had reached the front doors of the building.

A smirk spread across your lips as you replied, "Perhaps I can overlook your folly under one condition."

"And that would be...?" he muttered, clearly conveying his lack of enthusiasm.

You placed one of your hands on your hip and pointed a well-manicured nail at him. "You let me work with you to catch the true criminal behind this larceny." The lack of response from him prompted you to further sell your suggestion to him, and you added, "Think about it. I'm a well-connected woman who could help gather clues and information for this case. Plus, if you don't, I might let it slip that a certain detective made a very bad mistake and inconvenienced me, which won't win you or your tall friend any favors."

The devious intentions revealed through your kindly spoken words made Akaashi realize he didn't have a choice. He also didn't have the time to spend finding other ways to appease you or your goons while he restlessly tried to catch an active thief.

"Fine."

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After entering a mutual agreement to welcome you onboard as an unofficial informant for the case, you and Akaashi spent a great deal of time together between your other commitments. When you weren't in the public eye, making appearances and entertaining your adoring fans, you were exploiting your underground network for information and spending time with the detective in his cramped office. It smelled like cologne and coffee, and was surprisingly tidy despite the lack of storage space. There was one chair reserved for visitors that you refused to use, opting to perch on the edge of his desk instead, much to his dismay. Occasionally, his silver-haired colleague would join the two of you in the evidence lockers or the conference rooms where Akaashi had set up a link chart.

In spite of his initial reservations about the idea of working with a woman talked ceaselessly and appeared to have a personality that was the polar opposite of his own, Akaashi found himself becoming more accepting of the situation. Maybe it was the way conversation seemed to flow so seamlessly with you, or your intelligence, quick wit, and willingness to be called into action. Perhaps it could've been the way you made a habit out of standing behind his seated form with your hands placed on his shoulders whenever you had evidence to show him. But something had changed his perception of you.

He no longer let out sighs of relief after you'd left his office for the day, or hovered around the coffee maker to take a breather from being in a confined space with you. Instead, he felt his heart race each time your attractive figure appeared in the doorway and approached him to sit on his desk. He made more of an effort to speak with you about things aside from the case at hand. If not for your popularity and easily recognizable face, he probably would've offered to take you along with him for crime scene investigations as well.

One rainy evening, you ventured forth from your chauffeured car to race across the distance separating the street from the covered porch of an unfamiliar apartment complex. In the hazy light from a nearby lamp, you made out the keys on the buzzer screwed into the wall beside the tall, glass door. After finding the one you desired, you stabbed it with your finger and listened to it ring for a few moments before Akaashi's groggy voice answered, "What?"

"That's some way to greet me, darling," you retorted, holding down the button as you spoke so your message got through to him.

"Sorry. Be there in a minute."

His tall figure soon appeared beneath the warm glow of the hallway lights as he rushed down the stairs to let you in. Shaking off the rain you'd accumulated during your short journey from your car to his door, you stepped inside and followed him to his apartment. Even though it was rather late at night, he was still dressed in his work clothes, but his shirt was crinkled from the nap you could tell you'd just roused him from, given the sound of his voice. You'd dressed in darker colors than usual, opting for a less noticeable look since you didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention at this hour.

When you entered his apartment, he kindly slid your coat off your shoulders for you, making you blush at his touch. "So, what revolutionary discovery was it that warranted this visit?" he wondered, stifling a yawn beneath his hand as he shuffled into his kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee.

Clearing your throat, you replied, "I'll wait for you to get yourself situated before I drop this bombshell on you." Once you'd slid your heels off, you wandered into the living room, taking a look around at his clean and tidy abode. How it was possible for him to avoid clutter with the amount of paperwork he was given in his occupation was beyond you. His neat, almost vacant home was a far cry from your own residence filled with trinkets and decorations you'd picked up from various different places.

While you desperately wanted to run into the kitchen and show him the damning evidence you'd been given by one of your sources, you chose to sit quietly and wait for him to settle down so you could do it in a manner you'd deemed traditional, at this point. Eventually, Akaashi strode across his small apartment and took a seat in the armchair at one end of the room, beside the couch you had sprawled your figure across. He set a mug of dark liquid down on the table in front of himself before placing a glass of water down for you as a courtesy.

"Well?" he muttered, eyelids threatening to shroud his beautiful eyes the color of the clouded moon outside.

Feeling your heart flutter with excitement, you leapt up from the couch and pranced over to his seat. Once you were behind him, you placed one of your hands on his shoulders while the other reached into pocket and retrieved a note that you extended in front of him. Your face heated up when his head turned to the side so he could meet your gaze with his own for a brief moment. His fingers brushed against yours as he collected the slip of paper, and your hand quickly moved up to his unoccupied shoulder.

Without thinking, you leaned down and placed your chin atop on of your hands, putting your head right next to his so you could read the note with him. This action sent his heart racing, unbeknownst to you, and it took him longer to process the words in front of him than usual. Your voice in his ear didn't help either as you commented, "Go to the address listed there at that time tomorrow and you'll have your criminal." Your fingers danced across his shoulders with excitement before you pulled away and added, "You're welcome."

"H-How did you find this?" he questioned, fiddling with the tie wrapped around his neck while he watched you return to your original seat.

"Ah, ah, Detective; you should know better than to ask that question," was your coy response spoken with a smug smile and a waggling finger, "My sources will forever be anonymous." Leaning back against the cushions, you sighed, "Who would've thought a detective like you and a star like me would work together to solve a larceny case? I definitely wouldn't've."

"Strange how things work out sometimes."

It was hard for him to contain his shock at seeing the answer to his case written down on a piece of paper in front of him. Knowing that you were the one who provided this information was even more surprising. Never would he have expected the woman his imaginative colleague had hastily booked for arrest to be the key in cracking the case. His slightly wide gaze shifted over towards you as you took a long drink of the water he'd given you and eyed him curiously to gauge his reaction.

"Well," you spoke definitively, rising to your feet once again, "that was my big news for the night. My chauffeur is awaiting my return, so I'll leave you here to do whatever you please with this information." You walked over to the door to retrieve your coat from the rack in the corner and step back into your shoes. "In terms of repaying me for my effort, you could take me out for a drink or maybe a nice meal at the--"

The sound of footsteps behind you made you turn to look over your shoulder, and your sentence was soon cut off by a sensation of warmth against your lips. Because he'd been so swift in his actions, you hadn't fully realized what was happening until you felt his hands grip your coat and pull you closer to him so he could deepen the kiss he'd decided to give you. Eventually, your fingers found his jaw, tracing it gently before coming to rest on the sides of his face. He tasted like fresh coffee, but you didn't care. It was something you'd associated with comfort after spending many hours with him, poring over documents with a cup in your hand and being surrounded by the familiar scent whenever you walked into his office.

After a few, blissful moments, he retreated from the kiss and opened his eyes so they could watch your own. "Thank you," he murmured, releasing his grasp on you and backing away.

You chuckled and informed him, "That was nice. Feel free to kiss me as many times as you'd like, but I'll still be expecting a call from you tomorrow inviting me out on a nice date after you put your perpetrator behind bars, okay?" You leaned in towards him and planted another quick peck against his lips. "I'll be waiting. Oh, and I'd like my jewelry back as soon as possible, please."

Akaashi rewarded you with a soft smile that set your heart ablaze. Giving him an even brighter one, you opened his door and stepped outside, allowing him one last glimpse at your figure for the night before you made your way back home. You met your chauffeur outside the entrance to the apartment complex, your body tingling with joy, since you knew that for someone as calm and collected as Akaashi was, the smallest of smiles expressed a great deal of happiness.