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[All-nighters are plentiful now. Of all the lame options in the Inaba police department, Adachi had to be saddled with the one with an actual work ethic. As in all facets of life, he was just exceptionally lucky. Elbows sliding forward on his desk, Adachi's forehead hits the mountain of papers in front of him with a muffled thud. Going through them will be useless, he knows (and after all, he surely knows best). They won't find their killer in here, wedged between words and fine print text, ink smudged because newspaper is cheap, but if Dojima looked up from his own immersion into the articles, searching so desperately for clues, he might find the culprit sitting across the desk.]

Do we really have to go through all of these again?

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[A wince. Adachi's head stays there - hanging, but a hand raises to rub the sore spot.]

It was an accident.

Gimme a break,

How many times to I have to tell you to pay attention? C'mon, stand up.

Yes, sir.

[Oh so obediently, Adachi rolls onto his knees and then pushes himself onto his feet, brushing his clothes off afterward. Barbecue was looking less and less likely. In fact, if he got off without being scolded, he'd consider himself lucky, so he might as well take that opportunity now. He takes a step backward.]

Well, I guess I'll take my leave now. Have a good night, Dojima-san!

What do you think you're doing?! You're gonna walk home?! You could've done that hours ago, before you wasted my time rambling on about crap unrelated to the case!

I don't even know why I bother carpooling your sorry ass around..

[Because you're a sorry excuse for a person, Dojima-san, and you haven't got anyone else who would give a rat's ass about what you do, except for the higher-ups, who are just waiting for you to screw up so that they can replace you with someone better from the city.

Adachi stands there and takes it in, because he knows the type - Dojima's one of those men who talk just to hear the sound of their own voice, because no one else is going to take the initiative and make conversation with someone with a stick shoved so far up their ass.]

S-Sorry, sir. I-I didn't do it on purpose, and I figured that late night snack plans were kind of thrown off, so I was gonna cut the chase short and just get out of here so you can get home.

You...

Geez. You already convinced me to close up early, alright? Let’s just get something to eat and then we can call it a night.

[Well, if he couldn't escape the prattling, then at least he could get his full stomach. Adachi nods mutely, looking abashed, though the rest of the walk is filled with an uncomfortable silence.]

Mind lending me the lighter, again? Last I remember they don’t allow smoking in this place.

[Silently, Adachi reaches into his pocket again, pulling out the small item and pressing it into Dojima's open palm. He waits outside with him, because who knows, Dojima might yell at him for walking in without permission now. Bow-wow.]

What? You giving me the silent treatment now? Didn't hit you that hard, did I?

'Welcome to one, if you want.

[Adachi looks sideways and down at the cigarette for a moment. For his age, Dojima sure had awkward little ways of almost-apologizing. It was almost cute, and Adachi's stoic face can't keep up. He cracks half a smile, like part of his face still wants to sulk, and part of it can't help the amusement, and plucks the smoke from Dojima's fingers, lighting it after his superior is done.

All right, he schools himself, can't hold grudges too long. You have to be the nice guy, you have to forgive. You have to do both your shares of forgiving, because come December, you'll never get any again.]

Thanks.

[He eyes the lit cigarette for a moment, twirling it between his fingers (surprisingly deft for someone usually so clumsy), before bringing it to his mouth.]

Hey, look at the menu, Dojima-san! They've got a late-night special now, for beef! Oh, and a special on this combo with the nabe...

What are you going on about for? You’ve been here before.

Just pick whatever you want.

[And Dojima talks about his bipolar tendencies? One second the guy was yelling at him for tripping, for goodness' sake. The next, he was offering anything on the menu. Adachi grins, pointing to one of the specials - an all you can eat for certain hours of the night they happened to fall between. Most importantly, it had a lot of meat.]

Hey, hey, let's try this one!

Said you could pick anything,

Not everything.

[Adachi frowns. He glances back at the menu for a second, seemingly looking for something, before a victorious smile lights his face.]

It's not everything, sir! It doesn't include drinks!

Well that's no good.

Guess we'll have to make do, sir.

[There are times when Adachi can pick up on Dojima's humor (there are times when he has to, since it's part of the act, and he'd be a terrible actor indeed if he couldn't figure out what it was that was expected of him). He smiles at his superior, just as another patron of the restaurant exits, with a mumbled, half-drunken 'Excuse me'. Adachi promptly gets out of the way, and like a good policeman, calls after him.]

Be careful, sir! Do you need some help?

[Of course he doesn't, and the stranger says as much, but that's fine - Adachi had been hoping he wouldn't.]

Price is a little steep, but this place ain’t too bad. Good choice, Adachi.

Edited 2010-01-02 03:52 (UTC)

[While Dojima's not looking, or at least while his vision's slightly hazy with alcohol, Adachi smiles wryly to himself. Figures. Dojima was probably the only person in all the world that would commend a person for taking advantage of him. It's enough to make a guy feel bad, or just...laugh. He opts for the latter.]

Haha, Dojima-san, you should trust me more often!

[But that's a lie if he ever heard one.]

Ain’t gotta trust anyone who’s not competent enough to finish his paperwork.

Pass the hot sauce will you.

[Obediently, Adachi passes the red bottle with a sigh.]

Man, it's just that there's an awful lot, sir. You'd think there'd be less for a quiet country town like this, but boy was I wrong.

Things’ll calm down once we’ve got our perp. You shouldn’t be dragging your ass in the meantime.

...Yes, sir. Sorry, I'll try harder.

[Adachi lowers his head until his chin almost touches his chest, just putting his cup to his mouth and sipping at it with little enthusiasm to spare. Maybe getting scolded isn't good for his appetite - which might not be a good thing, considering how their table was covered with a sheet of plates. Adachi doesn't particularly make a good conversation partner when he's quiet, ironically enough.

If you keep dragging your ass, you won't find your perp at all, old man.]

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