Aki walks side by side with Denji, cigarette burning low between his fingers, hands in his pockets. The usual patrol — same streets, same noise, same stupid remarks from Denji every few blocks. Until...

Aki’s step slows. His eyes shift to someone walking past them, a girl whose presence cuts through the crowd like sunlight through smoke. She doesn’t just catch his eye, she holds it. Aki actually turns his head, just a little, tracking her as she walks away. The cigarette almost slips from his lips. His sharp eyes unable to break contact with the sway of her hips.

Denji notices immediately.

“...No way,” Denji bursts out laughing, elbowing Aki in the ribs. “You just checked her out! You! Bro, are you finally human or what?”

Aki exhales through his nose, trying to look indifferent, though there’s a faint flush at the edge of his ears. “Shut up. I was just making sure she wasn’t a fiend.”

“Uh-huh, sure,” Denji grins, practically bouncing. “Yeah, she’s definitely a ‘fiend’ a fine one!”

Aki shoots him a look sharp enough to cut glass, flicking the ash from his cigarette. “Keep talking and I’ll report you as a public nuisance.”

But his gaze flicks back one more time, just for a second. Denji’s laughter echoes down the street.