Between the Raindrops

A/N: Hello, here's the first chapter of the story I promised you guys! Now, it isn't 100% necessary for you to read the oneshot but it will clear up the reason as to why Choe, Makishima, and Akane are all living under the same roof. Remember, reviews are love!

-Isis

Chapter 1- Scapegoat

(In which Choe is blamed for everything—literally)

.

"Akane-chan, are you ready to leave—" The Korean immediately froze, hand tightening reflexively on the metal doorknob.

The brunette paused, shirt above her arms. She was wearing only a thin, pink tank-top which (thankfully) covered up most of her thighs.

"Oh, Choe, I didn't see you there. Could you hand me my jeans?" She replied calmly, looking at the flustered man as if he was crazy. The Inspector was so used to one of the guys barging in on her while in a state of undress that it really didn't faze her anymore; Choe, on the other hand, still saw it as a problem.

"You trust me way too much…" He mumbled, turning away as he held out his arm. Akane thanked him, taking the offending article of clothing out of his shaking hands.

Cheeks flushed, he stumbled out of the doorway, cursing as he jammed his toe on the way out.

"Is something the matter, Choe?" The silver-haired man questioned, seemingly appearing out of thin air.

"A-ah, Makishima-san, nothing's wrong at all—"

"Hey, Choe, I think you dropped your phone in my room!" Akane called out, shuffling out of her room in her jeans and tank-top. The computer hacker quickly snatched up the object, keeping his eyes on the silver demon.

"I see…" Makishima gave a wide grin (one that reminded the Korean of a hungry shark), procuring a certain ornamental razor from his coat pocket.

"Do I need to teach you how to knock on doors before you enter, Choe-kun?"

The man paled, moving further away from the approaching asymptomatic. Akane watched the pair with mild interest, laughing as the older man sprinted to his room, locking the door.

"There's nowhere to run, Choe-kun. Give up…" Makishima traced the edge of the blade against the door, relishing in the noise it made. The Inspector swore she could hear someone crying.

"Uh, I think you might have overdone it, Shougo."

He grinned wickedly, planting a kiss on her cheek. "Trust me, I could do much worse."

More sobbing could be heard from the other side of the door.

"Ah, it will be alright, Choe. Shougo's just kidding, right?" She shot him a glare, folding her arms.

The man avoided her gaze, fingers still gripped around the razor.

"Please… for me?" She asked, giving him her best puppy-dog eyes, amber orbs twinkling with unshed tears.

Damnit. She pulled that card.

"…Fine." He reluctantly placed the weapon back in his pocket, a sullen look on his angelic face. She gave him a kiss on the forehead, stepping on her tiptoes to reach him. He chuckled, pulling her into a hug. He breathed in the scent of her hair (a mix of apple and cinnamon), relishing in the warmth that spread throughout his body. Only she could make him feel this alive.

Through the crack in the doorway, Choe took a single picture, smiling at the happy couple. That is, until he tripped over his own feet, pushing open the door with his face and landing right in front of the pair.

The clinking sound of metal could be heard as the silver-haired man approached the Korean.

"It seems we have a peeping-tom, Akane. Whatever shall we do?"

The aforementioned man grew dizzy as the shadow of Shougo Makishima loomed over him.

Choe Gu-Sung walked into his apartment, throwing off his jacket and settling comfortably into the leather couch.

"Ah, Choe, you're back? How was your day?" Akane questioned, tying on a pink apron.

The man raised an eyebrow. "It was pretty normal… what are you doing?"

The girl blushed, rubbing her head awkwardly. "W-well, you always cook for us and I wanted to give you a break, especially after what happened this morning…"

The dark-haired man instinctively cringed at the memory, muscles tightening. "I appreciate the thought, Akane, but are you sure you know how to cook?"

"Of course! One of my Enforcers, Kagari-kun, showed me how to make tomato soup." She chided, waggling her finger.

The man nodded, returning to his paper-back book (Makishima had 'confiscated' all his electronic devices, including his cell, tablet, and laptop). He slowly drifted off to sleep, book still propped in his lap.

"I'm home." Makishima announced his arrival (something that Akane forced him to do after she moved in), dropping his bag at the door. No response.

He immediately pulled out his razor, carefully moving towards the living room. The man could smell smoke, eyes widening slightly.

Pushing through the cloud of smoke, he followed the trail to the kitchen.

"Crap, Makishima's going to kill me for letting you—"

A cold hand gripped his shoulder, a malicious voice whispering into his ear, "You called?"

This caused the Korean to let out a girlish squeak, flailing out of the man's grasp and onto the ground.

"M-makishima, h-hello… we didn't expect you back so early. We had a bit of a crisis making dinner and—"

"Clean. Up. This. Mess." He commanded, each word punctuated by the flick of his razor. The last jab cut off a lock of Choe's hair, causing the man to let out a cry of surprise.

"Wait, Sho-kun (Akane was the only person alive who would ever be allowed to give him a pet name), it was my fault! I'll clean up—"

He gently grabbed her hand, leading her way from the thickening smoke.

"It's alright. I assume you were trying to help Choe? Then, this is his fault for being so weak."

The brunette frowned, looking away from the man.

"…I love you, but you can be so cruel! Choe's a great friend and is always looking out for us! Why do you treat him like trash?" Her voice escalated, growing louder with each word.

He didn't respond for a long time, topaz eyes gazing softly at her face.

"…I apologize." It was barely over a whisper, but she heard it all the same. The silver-haired asymptomatic quickly disappeared from the room. Akane grinned widely, watching as he stalked awake.

"You're such a softie at heart, aren't you?" She sighed, returning to help Choe clean up the kitchen.

Bicolored eyes gazed through the haze of smoke, shutting off the stove and dumping the contents of the burning pot into the sink. He smiled softly, pulling a few stray locks behind his ear.

He could get used to this crazy, dysfunctional, beautiful life.

(even if he was the scapegoat most of the time)

A/N: I'm sorry that it's so short; I promise the next chap will be quite longer. It involves Makishima pranking Akane at HQ so stay tuned! Also, I feel like whenever Shougo is upset with Choe he calls him Choe-kun in a mocking way :P it feels like something he would do. And Akane would totally give Makishima a pet name (personal headcannon's, yay!) because let's be honest, his name could have lots of nicknames (like Maki-kun or Sho-kun, lol) XD Anyway, thanks for taking the time to check out Ch.1! Have an awesome day!

-Isis