When Okada called him to his office that morning, Sho knew that it wasn’t for anything good. He had a slight idea about what his boss wanted to tell him.

“Good morning, Sho-kun! How are you?”

“Good morning Okada-kun. I’m fine and you?”

Sho was on pretty familiar terms with his boss because they had known each other for a long time. They lived in the same neighborhood during their childhood, and Sho was one of the first people Okada had recruited when he had started his law firm. The younger one was still in law school at that time, but he was the best in his year, and he had started working with Okada right after graduation. He was now, at 36, the head of the criminal law division.

“I feel better now that I see your cute face~” Sho rolled his eyes, as Okada always flirted teasingly with him when they were alone. “On a more serious note, I think you already know why I called you here.”

“It’s about Tanaka-san, right?”

Okada nodded. When the criminal law division had been formed, a couple of years ago, Tanaka had been the oldest and most experienced lawyer out of the three chosen for the division. However, his main specialization wasn’t criminal law, so Sho, who had just obtained his PhD in criminal law, was chosen as head of the department. Tanaka didn’t agree with Ohada’s decision, and he clearly showed his disdain towards Sho and the 3^rd lawyer of their team, Ikuta – who was one year younger than Sho.

“He had an offer from a law firm in Nagoya. Apparently, he will be a head of department there. It was a sudden notice, and he’s actually leaving Tokyo in two weeks.”

“That’s quite fast. What about the cases he was taking care of?”

“He refused to continue handling them after leaving.”

Sho looked at Okada, who didn’t seem to be that affected by the events. He even looked like he was trying hard not to smile.

“You have something else to tell me, don’t you?”

“Yeah. I actually found a replacement. And he might even be better than his predecessor.”

“Might?”

Okada handed him a file with a mysterious smile.

Matsumoto Jun. 33 years old. The man had a degree in law, and he mostly worked in criminal justice.

“He’s a freelance lawyer? Can the information on this file be trusted? He seems quite suspicious to me.”

“I can understand how you feel, but I’ve heard rumors about him. He’s the kind that uses very unconventional methods, and he can find proof where others would’ve abandoned a long time ago.”

“So basically, you’re recruiting this guy because of rumors?”

“Why not? Some people say he’s a genius, and some others say that he’s insane. I actually invited him to come here today to discuss his employment details, because he hasn’t agreed to work in the firm yet. I’m pretty sure you will be able to convince him, though.” Sho gave him an incredulous look. “Trust me on that one, Sho-kun! Matsumoto is a gem.”

Sho reluctantly accepted to help his boss, very skeptical about that new guy who didn’t instantly accept an offer from one of the biggest law firms in Tokyo. He went to his office to sort out some of his files before going back to Okada’s. There was already someone sitting on one of the chairs, and he recognized the man as Matsumoto Jun, from his file’s picture. However, the picture didn’t do him much justice, as he was absolutely gorgeous.

“Oh, here he is!” Okada seemed way too happy about this. “Matsumoto-san, this is Sakurai Sho. He’s the head of the criminal law division. There will be another lawyer working with you, as well as a good team of paralegals.”

Matsumoto had a soft smile on his face, but it was impossible to know what he was thinking about or feeling. His brown eyes were staring at Sho, who felt like the other man was trying to read him, and he stared back while they were shaking hands.

“I heard that you might be my new colleague, Matsumoto sensei.”

“I’m still hesitating about Okada-san’s offer.” Matsumoto had a smooth voice, with a slightly sarcastic but cold tone.

“Are you dissatisfied with the company’s conditions? Or maybe the salary?” Sho was very curious about the man’s attitude.

“Oh no, those kinds of things aren’t really important. I might just not be fit for teamwork.”

Sho looked at the man, who was still having that irritating smile.

“Then why did you come here if you’re not interested? If you’re here for fun, it’s a waste of time. Good luck with your solo work, Matsumoto sensei. I will go back to my team.”

“I apologize for wasting your time, Sakurai sensei. Actually, this job might be more interesting than I though. May I have a look at the contract?”

Sho tried his best to keep calm while the other lawyer was talking to his boss as if he wasn’t there. He was annoyed by his apparently new subordinate, but he was curious at the same time. There was something unusual in Matsumoto that intrigued him, and he was looking forward to knowing more about the man who hid behind those cold insolent eyes

The contract was signed surprisingly quickly, and the three men went to the criminal law department. It was some sort of large office, including three private offices for the lawyers and a common space with a meeting table and the paralegals’ desks.

Sho invited them into his office, and Okada excused himself then, saying he had some urgent work to do.

“You will have your own office by next week, when Tanaka-san removes all his things from his current one. There are also some cases he was taking care of, and we will divide them between us three. I will introduce you to Ikuta-kun in a bit, when he comes to the office because he's with a client at the moment.”

Matsumoto was looking around, and Sho felt as if he was trying to evaluate him.

“Can I take a look at the case files?”

“Sure.” He turned his laptop around after going into the department's database. His new colleague read through the files, humming softly.

Ikuta came back a little before lunch break, and he immediately took a liking to Matsumoto.

“I'm happy to finally have someone younger than me here! And you're definitely more agreeable than Tanaka-san.”

“So he's that bad, huh?”

“He frowns all the time and gives a hard time to the paralegals. He also always throws disdainful looks at Sho-san.”

“He should concentrate on doing his work properly instead. His way of handling cases is sloppy.”

Ikuta was surprised by the comment, and Sho had to tell him that Matsumoto had asked to read the case reports.

“He wasn't that bad before he found that new job actually. He just really didn't like me I guess.”

The three men went for lunch, continuing their conversation, and Sho noticed that Matsumoto was very picky about his food, throwing comments about how the taste could've been much better with the right seasoning, muttering angrily that it wasn't the ingredients’ fault.

For the following days, Matsumoto didn't waste time with the cases he was entrusted with, discussing with a reluctant Tanaka about them and insisting on meeting his clients. The older man complained in the office about how crazy the “new kid” was, asking too many questions that were unrelated to the case. He seemed to be in a good mood when he left the office for the last time, refusing to have a farewell party but still wishing good luck to his ex-colleagues. Matsumoto also refused to go for drinks with them as a welcome party on Friday night, so Sho ended up going to his favorite bar.

Sho had been a regular at the “Kizoku” ever since he had started working at the Okada firm, and he was now friends with the owner and main bartender, Aiba Masaki. It was a very cozy place, with a unique decoration, and a lot of big fluffy pillows, making clients feel like they were at home. Even the bar seats were comfortable, and Sho sighed when he sat on one of them, resting his tired body.

“You look tired Sho-chan. Hard case?”

“No… More like new colleague.”

The bartender started preparing his drink, without asking him what he wanted. Sho always trusted Aiba, who knew exactly what was good for him - even more than Sho himself.

“He's Tanaka-san’s replacement.”

“I thought that old man was insufferable. Is the new person worse?”

“Not worse… Different. Matsumoto sensei is really competent at what he does.”

“But…”

“He's a little… Special. And super hard to read.”

Aiba hummed in interest, putting a glass with some pinkish liquid inside. Sho tasted it, smiling at the good taste.

“That’s delicious, Aiba-chan. I bet even Matsumoto wouldn’t have anything to say about what you prepare!”

“Oh, so he’s a picky one?”

“Yes. The first time we went for lunch with Ikuta-kun, he kept saying weird stuff about how it wasn’t the ingredients’ fault if the food was like that. He also spent an awfully long time with his new clients, even though they had already been interviewed. Never went with him for them, but Ikuta-kun says he asks very detailed questions. A lot of them.”

“Sounds quite annoying.”

“I know, right? But apart from that and his general weirdness, I can’t deny that he’s really good. He’s been here for a week, but he’s done a lot already.”

Aiba gave him a knowing look.

“You want to work with him, don’t you?”

“He seems to see things in a different way than I do, and that actually makes me curious. I want to see who Matsumoto Jun really is.”

-

Sho finally had the opportunity to team up with his new colleague a couple of months after the latter had started working in his department. Small cases were usually handled by one lawyer, but when it was more complicated, it had to be taken care of by at least two of them. And their new client wasn’t asking for a simple thing at all.

Ohno Satoshi was a professional calligrapher, multiple award-winner and well-known for being one of the least celebrity-like celebrities. He was 38 years old, but when Sho saw him in one of the meeting rooms of the Okada firm that day, he looked 10 years older. He had bags under his eyes, and his hands were slightly trembling.

According to the file that Okada had given them prior to the meeting, Ohno wanted them to defend Ninomiya Kazunari, 26, who had been accused of murdering Sonohara Mariko, a 22-year-old college student.

“Ohno Sensei, my name is Sakurai Sho, and this is Matsumoto Jun, and we will be taking care of Ninomiya-san’s defense.” They shook hands with the very tired man, exchanging business cards and sitting down across from him.

“I know Nino didn’t do it. I’ve known him for a long time, and I’m sure he has nothing to do with what happened. Mariko-san was my calligraphy student, and he was just accompanying her back home.”

“Don’t worry, Ohno sensei. We will make our best to investigate properly for this defense.”

“There is only one truth.” Matsumoto said calmly. “How long have you known Ninomiya-san, and what exactly is he to you?”

Ohno seemed startled by Matsumoto’s attitude, but he answered him right away.

“He has been my personal assistant for ten years. And he is innocent.” He seemed to hesitate a little before adding. “He is also my… my lover.”

“I see.” It was an expected answer for him, and this surprised Sho.

When they came back to their department, the lawyers went through a more detailed file about Ninomiya Kazunari and the case. The victim was living in a small apartment close to her campus. She was taking calligraphy classes at Ohno’s house, which was a 20-minute bus ride away from where she lived. On the night she was murdered, Sonohara had missed her last bus, and Ninomiya had been the one accompanying her. He had even come up with her, according to the footage of the surveillance camera in the elevator, and he had been the only one to enter and exit the building within the pronounced time of death. In addition to that, his fingerprints were found on the murder weapon, which was a pair of scissors.

“It’s kind of weird that he accompanies her even in the elevator, but there’s no camera on the stairs, and literally anyone in the building could’ve done it. Well, apart from the fingerprints on the scissors.”

The two lawyers were in Sho’s office, and they were examining the police reports and autopsy results.

“The fingerprints themselves are weird. They’re only on the part that you grab normally to cut with them, but the outside part has been wiped clean, as it seems, and you would grab them like this” Matsumoto took a pair of scissors from his bag and grabbed them as if he was ready to hit Sho with them. “From the outside part. The autopsy also shows that there was a fight. I need to verify things. But I want to interview Ninomiya first. Do you have a car, Sakurai sensei?”

“Yes.”

“Perfect. Let’s go!”

-

For a man who had been accused of murder, Ninomiya was very calm – calmer than his employer and lover had been.

“So, it’s Oh-chan who hired you to defend me. That old man is way too worried for me.” He had smiled tenderly, quickly reverting back to an indifferent expression. “It seems that there’s a huge misunderstanding that happened, and they’ve been trying to make me admit that I killed Mariko-san because she didn’t want to sleep with me. As if I was interested in women in the first place…”

Ninomiya answered every single question that the lawyers asked him without hesitation, even the quite personal ones from Matsumoto, who had questioned him about a lot of things that were not really related to the case. Sho didn’t understand why his colleague was that insistent on unnecessary details, but he listened attentively to Ninomiya’s answers, as well as the scratching that Matsumoto made with his pen while writing every single explanation in his notebook.

In the end, what they had learned about the events preceding the murder, Ninomiya had been the one accompanying Sonohara home after she had missed her last bus because she had been helping the calligraphy master in the preparation for some sort of party that he regularly organized to congratulate his students who were passing to a higher level in his classes. Sonohara was an art student, and she was one of the most advanced students, and it hadn’t been the first time she was helping her calligraphy teacher in preparing decorations. She had been cutting down patterns in paper, and at some point, she seemed tired, so Ninomiya had taken over, hence the fingerprints that were found on her scissors. The man had accompanied her in his car, and on the way, she had mentioned that she was a little scared because she had some sort of stalker, who kept sending her weird emails for 3 months and she felt like she was being observed all the time. She had told him about the fact that she had tried to go to the police, but that they hadn’t made much effort in helping her out, telling her they would reinforce the patrols around her building, especially at night. Ninomiya had been worried for her and offered her to escort her until the door of her apartment, going back to his car only after hearing the sound of the door being locked.

He had been extremely sad while talking about the incident, telling his lawyers about the guilt he felt for not being able to do more to help her before it was too late. He was convinced that the mysterious stalker was the killer, and that made Sho want to investigate more.

The next place they went to was the police headquarters, asking about the victim’s belongings, especially her cell phone and laptop content. There hadn’t been anything suspicious found, but the two lawyers were allowed to borrow the items within a surveilled area with one of the police inspectors with them.

“We checked everything, from her social media to her personal data. Nothing relevant was found.”

“The victim had reported a stalker to her closest police station around a month ago, and she wasn’t taken seriously. Is it possible to have access to her deposition?”

The officer nodded, asking one of his colleagues, while Sho started checking the Sonohara’s cell phone and Matsumoto her laptop. Once they got the elements of her deposition, it became clear that the stalker had tried to erase all traces of his existence. There were some copies of the harassment emails that were in the file of the depositions but nowhere to be found in the mail inbox.

“She had stopped posting cute selfies approximately two months before she was killed.” Sho was frowning at the cell phone.

“You might want to check people who started following her or sending her a friend request for the past four months or so.”

“I’ve already checked that. She was quite popular on social media, but the number of new followers in the past months isn’t that high, and there’s nothing suspicious from their profiles. I know they could be hiding behind a fake identity, but I have a feeling that we won’t find out guy with these obvious methods.”

“So you think he erased all traces of himself.”

“It seems so. I know someone who can help us with digging more into the hidden data.”

Apart from being a great bartender and awesome friend, Aiba Masaki was a computer genius. He had pro hacking skills and an IT diploma, and he was quite excited to be able to contribute to the case. He usually didn’t work during the day, so he came pretty fast to the police station. Sho didn’t like the smile he had when he was introduced to Matsumoto, and all he could do was drag his colleague out with him, in order to go to the crime scene – he rolled his eyes at the bartender’s poor attempt at a wink before he closed the door of the room.

They started out by interrogating the Janitor, an old woman with a very strong Kansai accent.

“She was such a nice and polite girl, I tell you. Very pretty too. Such a pity, she was so young!”

“You were the one who discovered the body, right?” Matsumoto directly asked her.

“Yes. I was doing some cleaning up like I usually do almost every morning, and I noticed her door was opened. I would’ve left it as it is, but then I saw – oh my god – the blood!” She looked at them with her eyes wide open. “Poor girl was lying down in her genkan, with that pair of scissors right into her chest.”

“Can you show us the security footage from that night, please?”

They watched both footages, showing Ninomiya entering the building with Sonohara at 11:44:21. They went out of the elevator at 11:45:51, and Ninomiya went back in the elevator at 11:49:06 and left the building at 11:50:47. Sho watched Matsumoto rewind the footages again and again, taking notes of the times and other things that were quite hard to read. When he seemed satisfied, he got up and started searching in his bag, getting out a video camera and a pair of gloves.

“Obaa-san.” The janitor, who seemed to have fallen asleep, almost jumped out of her chair. “Can you help us with something?”

“Don’t tell me you plan on…”

“Exactly, Sakurai sensei. We’re going to recreate the events, because I’m really curious about how Ninomiya-san could’ve possibly done the whole murder within 3 minutes and 15 seconds.”

Matsumoto gave his instructions to the old lady, who was quite happy to be of any help, especially with “two handsome young men like you”, she had winked at them, before going to Sonohara’s floor to wait for them in front of the elevator, as Matsumoto had instructed her to.

The two lawyers went out of the building, and they did a final recapitulation of the steps to take. According to the autopsy, the victim had an injury at the back of her head that was the result of being violently pushed against a wall. She had taken the scissors out of her bag – she hadn’t removed it before she was killed – and her aggressor had grabbed her wrist really hard to disarm her, leaving a clear mark there. The scissors had first hit the wall, and the murderer had left a total of five holes in there before stabbing the victim.

The old lady followed the two men with the camera well-positioned when they went out of the elevator, taking her role very seriously. Sho opened the door of the apartment, and as soon as he had removed his shoes – the victim was found shoeless – he felt the other man gripping him and trapping him against the wall. He ignored the weird sensations that he was having, grabbing a pair of scissors that they had put in his bag before staring, and he was immediately stopped by Matsumoto, who didn’t put too much pressure on his wrist but still hurt him a little, taking the weapon from him and acting as if he was stabbing the wall, stopping right before the pointy edge was inserted into the already formed holes. He then grabbed them and scared Sho when he mimicked the stabbing process, telling him to hold the scissors in position and to play dead. As Sho was sliding to the floor, Matsumoto removed the gloves, getting out of the apartment while leaving the door open, and going back to the elevator, followed by the old lady.

They had many other takes after that, alternating the speed of their actions, but as fast as they were while keeping it at a logical speed, and when they were finally done, it was already dark outside. They saved the surveillance camera footage as well as their own footages on a USB and thanked the very tired but happy old lady.

“You can go ahead without me, Sho-san. I need to verify something.”

It was only when he had reached the closest parking to the “Kizoku” that Sho realized that his colleague hadn’t called him Sakurai sensei like he usually did. He blamed the quickening of his heartbeat on tiredness and curiosity for the “juicy info” that Aiba had told him to have discovered while he was at the police headquarter.

The bartender was already preparing his drink when he went in, putting a cup filled with a dark purple mixture in front of him when he sat down.

“What did that gorgeous colleague of yours do to tire you up that much, Sho-chan?”

“Reenactments of the crime.” Sho groaned, taking a gulp of the drink. “I was playing the part of the victim.”

“So Matsujun sensei…” he looked at him with a teasing smile “stabbed you!”

“I’m glad he didn’t.” Sho ignored the innuendo. “And what’s with that nickname anyway?”

“He looks like a Matsujun to me! And I know you’re in complete denial but trust good old Masaki when he tells you there’s some interesting tension between the two of you.” Sho rolled his eyes, and Aiba changed into serious mode, continuing in a low voice. “Talking about interesting. I shall tell you that I found some information about our stalker. I was able to recover some of the emails that were deleted, as well as some deleted info on social media. Our guy is an obsessed admirer of hers, and he had liked every single one of her posts. I wasn’t able to trace him, because it seems that he used different net cafés and untraceable devices. However, I was able to recover a very important info, and that is the exact time when the data was deleted, and yes, it was all done during the night of the murder, until early morning. And the more interesting thing, that actually allowed me to recover most of the info, was that everything was deleted form the victim’s devices.”

Sho’s eyes widened at the last part, and he was so deep in thought that he didn’t even notice Aiba leaving him alone to serve another client.

When he arrived at the office the next day, Matsumoto was already there, organizing the information about the case on a big board in the common space of the department. He was helped by a couple of paralegals, and when he saw Sho, he left the rest of the work to them and went towards him with a big smile.

“I have new information, Sho-san!”

“Good morning, Matsumoto-san. So do I.”

Matsumoto had stayed at the apartment building with the janitor, and he had asked her to show him the files of everyone who was renting an apartment there. He had then talked to Sonohara’s next door neighbor, a middle-aged office lady.

“I actually wanted to talk to her earlier, but she apparently works until a late hour, so I waited for her. And it seems that on the night of the crime, she came home late, and she told me that she clearly remembers her neighbor’s door being closed. I checked the surveillance video, and it shows that she came back more than almost two hours after Ninomiya-san had left.”

“But Sonohara-san was already dead at that time.”

“Exactly. Which is why I wanted to borrow the building’s residents’ files.”

“Makes sense. Let’s look into them after I show you what I have.”

He showed him the data Aiba had given him the night before, and they started to add everything to the board.

“That’s some solid info we have here. You can thank your hacker boyfriend for me.”

“Oh. Aiba-chan is not my boyfriend. He’s a very close friend though.”

“I see.”

Sho felt himself blush, but he ignored it and pushed his teasing inner Aiba back, concentrating on putting information together.

“By the way, Sho-san. I also copied the surveillance footage for the past couple of months, because that was a little before the stalker sent her an email about knowing where she lived. I already singled out the files of new residents of the building, and I want to stalk them a little.”

Matsumoto was smiling as if he had made some sort of joke, but Sho knew that he was serious when he was talking about looking at all the footages. There were four people that had moved into the building in the last six months, so they had to look out for them and for Sonohara herself on the footages.

They divided the work between the two of them and started watching the accelerated videos with a lot of determination. When Sho was finally done, he noticed that the sun was rising, and that his colleague wasn’t in the common room. He removed his headphones and started stretching when Matsumoto came back with two cups of coffee. Sho almost hugged him when he gave him one, and it was prepared exactly how he like it.

“Sho-san, otsukaresamadesu.”

“Otsukaresama.”

Matsumoto glanced at the paper where he had been taking notes, smiling.

“So, you also noticed the pattern.”

Two of the four people were in their twenties and they were students in the same university as Sonohara but didn’t seem to have any link with her. They went in and out at relatively regular times. The other two were in their forties, and while one of them was a salaryman who went out early and came back late almost every day, the other one was a freelance photographer, and since he had moved five months ago, his at first irregular appearances had taken some sort of discreet pattern, in which he went out an hour to fifteen minutes before Sonohara did, and came back way after her. One month before the murder, he had stopped going out during her calligraphy class time.

“Nakano Tatsuhisa. He lives on the same floor as the victim, but on the other end.”

They googled the photographer’s name, and they found his official website. It was full of pictures taken in different parts of Tokyo, and the photo gallery had more landscapes than people. But his style and preferences hadn’t been the same as before, since the older folders were full of high-school graduation pictures. It appeared that he was a specialist in them, but he had suddenly changed.

“The landscape folder starts….um… five years ago.” Matsumoto clicked on the last graduation pictures folder, going through the different photos of happy teenagers.

“Wait… Five years ago. The victim was 22 years old. She might’ve been in…”

“You’re right, Sho-san.” Matsumoto cut him off, clicking on the last picture of the folder to enlarge it. It was Sonohara Mariko, smiling in her graduation kimono.

-

“I declare the suspect, Ninomia Kazunari-san, innocent.”

As soon as the judge said those words, Sho felt relief and satisfaction, smiling at the emotional way the now free man was embraced by his lover when almost everyone was out of the room. A crying Ohno then went to them and shook their hands.

“Sakurai sensei, Matsumoto sensei, thank you so much.”

“Ohchan made the right choice. I will eternally be grateful to you.”

“There's only one truth. And we will know the whole story once the real murderer is arrested.”

“That will happen very soon, thanks to you. How about we celebrate that?”

Ohno invited them to a high-class sushi restaurant for dinner, and it seemed to be to Matsumoto's taste since he ate a lot of anago sushi with an appreciative smile on his face. Sho couldn't help but find him adorable, but he hid his growing crush by asking Ohno about calligraphy.

“I’ve always loved arts in any form, and I always try to incorporate stories and drawings into the characters I paint. But I only found real inspiration after meeting Kazu.”

Ninomiya smirked to hide his embarrassment, but his blushing face said it all.

“That guy here is completely hopeless on his own. He was searching for a live-in assistant because the previous one was getting married, and when she gave me the list of things to do I was so surprised at first!”

“He was still in high-school, and Yuu-chan, my assistant at that time, was against hiring him at first but he managed to convince us.”

“Oh wow! He was able to be a live-in assistant, even though he was still studying?” Sho was impressed by the man.

“Yeah. Well, I actually had no choice, because I was kicked out by my parents at 16 when I came out to them. I needed money and a place to live. Found those two in the same package, along with the love of my life.”

“I was also kicked out by my parents when I came out to them.” Matsumoto was participating in the conversation for the first time since they had come to the restaurant. “I was fifteen. Ended up going to my uncle’s, who worked as a drag queen in Shinjuku ni-chome.”

“I thought my dad would disown me when I told him I was queer. It was in my first year of university. He took it pretty well, but I think he kind of hopes I will fall for a woman and give him a bunch of Sakurai grandchildren. But he still has my siblings for that, so no pressure!”

They continued talking about siblings, kids and drag queens, and they exchanged line IDs before leaving, promising to hang out another time not as lawyers and clients but as friends.

-

The police went to Nakano Tatsuhisa’s house the next day, and they discovered that he had been stalking the victim since her high school graduation, taking many pictures of her. He had taken the stalking to another level once he had discovered her on social media and he couldn't stop at being a fan, sending her emails, moving out in the same building as her and then killing her. It seemed that he couldn't stand to see her with other men, so he had wanted to keep her to himself through the incredible number of pictures that were found in his apartment. He had confessed the fact that he had been waiting for her in her apartment on the night of the crime and that he had removed all data related to himself after killing her, before going back to his own place in the morning.

Sho had read the police report with a disgusted face. He hadn't noticed that Matsumoto had entered his office.

“Such pathetic people are unfortunately numerous.”

He was startled by the other man, but he looked at him and hummed in agreement.

“I'm glad this one won't be able to do anymore harm.”

“Yeah. Because we uncovered the truth.”

“I wish we could've done something before it happened.”

“You're a good man, Sho-san. But we're criminal lawyers, so the only thing we can do is to make sure our clients receive a fair judgment. And in that case, we avoided having an innocent man put in jail for a murder he didn't commit.”

Sho smiled, thinking of Ninomiya and Ohno, and how they made a really lovely couple. His colleague had made himself comfortable on the couch that Sho had bought as soon as he had gotten this private space. He looked really irresistible, with his tired smirk and his tie slightly loosened.

“You’re staring, Sakurai sensei.” Sho blushed. “Not that it’s bothering me.”

“I thought it was Sho-san. Are we back to the formal way now that the case is closed, Matsumoto sensei?”

Matsumoto got up and walked to the desk, going around it and turning Sho’s chair so they were facing each other.

“I was kind of hoping for the opposite to happen. Unless you want to go back to being formal, Sho~san~”

Sho got up, his heart beating faster when he noticed how close he was to the other man. He looked at his lips, noticing the cute little moles around them and wanting to kiss them. He was about to act on his desire when they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Matsumoto went to the other side of the desk and Sho sat back down, trying to calm his heart and his crimson cheeks.

“Yes?”

Okada entered the office, and he looked like he was trying hard not to laugh.

“Matsumoto-san, Sakurai-san, congratulations on the last case! Are you done with the report?”

“We were actually finalizing it. I just sent my part to Sakurai sensei, and we were talking about the police report. I have to go now, if you will excuse me.” And he left the office as quickly as he could.

When the door was closed, Okada looked at his friend with a big smile on his face.

“I wonder made the Matsumoto babble… I just interrupted something, didn’t I, Sho-kun?”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Don’t try to deny it. Your face says it all. I’m happy that your cute ass will be getting some~ No office sex though~” Sho mumbled something intelligible, burying his face in his hands and making his boss laugh amusedly. “Anyway, I wanted to check on you and congratulate you. Don’t forget to send me the report, and then you can get some well-deserved rest… or maybe not?” He winked at him before leaving the office.

Matsumoto went back in not even five minutes later, closing the door behind him with a timid smile.

“I guess we were interrupted?”

Sho couldn’t resist anymore, trapping Matsumoto against the door of his office and kissing him with all the pent-up frustration that had accumulated ever since he had met the man. He bit on the other man’s lower lip, inserting his tongue into the now opened mouth and deepening the kiss. He felt one hand roaming on his back, while the other one was getting lower, until one of his ass cheeks was grabbed and squeezed.

“You have no idea how much that perfect bubbly ass of yours was a temptation.” Jun muttered against his lips, squeezing even more. His mouth went to Sho’s ear, biting the lobe and making him shiver from pleasure. “It makes me want to do so… so many things.”

Having that sensual voice whispering such things in his ear made Sho’s dick twitch inside his pants. He wanted to push Jun into the desk, strip him and fuck him silly… or be fucked silly by him. But the office wasn’t the most private place, and he wanted to enjoy it as much as possible.

“Maybe we can go to my place… when I’m done sending the report? I don’t live very far from here.”

Matsumoto hummed in agreement, and they reluctantly separated. Since the beginning of his career, Sho had never been that fast in finalizing and sending a report. The tension was still there during the car ride, and as soon as they entered the apartment, they were all over each other, kissing and touching and stripping off their suits while going towards the bedroom.

They were completely naked when they reached the bed, Jun straddling Sho and grinding into him, both of them moaning loudly into each other’s mouths. Sho had taken the lube and condoms on the way, and he watched his lover prepare himself with a sense of urgency, before riding him like his life depended on it. They both didn’t take too long to come, going for other slower rounds right after, enjoying each other’s bodies and releasing all the sexual tension and longing they had for each other.

The next morning, Sho realized how much Matsumoto Jun wasn’t a morning person, and he found that absolutely adorable. The younger man was wrapped in the cover, his head almost buried in the pillow.

“I can feel your eyes on me, Sakurai.” He groaned.

“How can I not look at adorable grumpy Jun?”

“I need coffee. And I’m not adorable.”

Sho laughed and prepared some coffee and toasts, and he was about to call Jun when he saw the man coming to the kitchen, wearing his boxers with one of Sho’s t-shirts. He couldn’t resist ruffling his messy hair, smiling at the dissatisfied groan.

“Here’s your coffee, sensei~”

Jun seemed to be more human after drinking a little, thanking Sho for the breakfast.

After that day, they ended up seeing each other frequently after work, going on dates in different places, or at their homes. They were also regulars at Aiba’s bar, and the man had teased them, bragging about how he knew there was something between them from the start. They even hung out with Ohno and Ninomiya from time to time.

Sho and Jun were together and going strong on a personal side, but also professionally, as the Sakurai-Matsumoto combi became quite famous in courts. They could work in perfect sync, and sometimes they didn’t even need to talk to understand each other. Ikuta and the paralegals stopped being shocked about it after a couple of big cases that needed the whole department to be involved.

-

“Is this tie ok? No! It’s too formal!”

Jun had been talking to himself for some time, changing his mind about his choice of clothes, and then tie. He was quite nervous, because he was going to meet Sho’s parents that night. The couple had been together for eight months, and Jun had moved in with Sho a couple of month ago. Sakurai Mai had already met her brother’s partner, and she was totally charmed, talking about him to the rest of the family. Sho’s parents ended up asking their son to bring him along to one of their regular family dinners.

“Jun, you could even go without a tie and it will be ok. You’re gorgeous, and they will all love you.” Sho hugged his lover from behind, and he looked at their reflection in the full-length mirror in front of them. “Can’t you see how happy you make me? They will see it too. My dad might try to intimidate you a little, but he’s a big softie on the inside. My mum is like Mai, and my brother will like you as long as you don’t hurt me.”

Sho had predicted his family’s reaction correctly, and apart from Sakurai Shun being cold and a little scary, the others completely accepted Jun as part of the family. The younger lawyer was still not on speaking terms with his own parents, so he was very touched by how the Sakurais were reacting to him being their son’s partner. He had introduced Sho to his uncle when they had moved in together, and they both got along really well, but he wished he could proudly bring him to the Matsumoto home.

“What are you thinking about, Jun?” The man had been silent since they had entered Sho’s car. “I hope my dad didn’t scare you too much.”

“Oh no. Your father just wants you to be happy. You’re actually quite similar to him, acting cautiously around strangers that might get closer to you in a way. Remember when we first met?”

Sho laughed at the comparison, realizing how far they were from that day when he had first seen the other lawyer in Okada’s office.

“You were so infuriating, acting like the job offer didn’t matter to you. I was thinking… who does that guy thinks he is? But I was also curious about your competences. And, let’s admit it. You’re not bad to look at.”

“To tell you the truth, I accepted the job because you intrigued me. I think Okada-san already knew that you would be able to convince me. That man is exceptionally perceptive. He also knows the power of your bubbly ass.” Jun smirked in a suggestive way, groping one butt cheek after going out of the car in their building’s parking.

“He never fails to remind me that my ‘adorable squeezable ass’ – his words not mine – is getting some, thanks to him.”

“Well, he’s not wrong.” Jun muttered against Sho’s lips as soon as their apartment door was closed. He kneeled and pulled down his lover’s pants and underpants in one move, turning him around, and showing him how much he appreciated his behind… among other things.