Requested by harurasheart

AU: Police vs. Criminal

Pairing: EJ x Nicholas
Cast:

EJ's Unit: Jo (tech), Fuma (field), Harua (intel)

Nicholas's Crew: K (hacker), Yuma (lookout), Maki (con artist), Taki (explosives)

Vibe: Enemies-to-lovers energy, loaded banter, moral tension, danger-flirting

1. Jo's Plan to Counter Nicholas's Crew

Jo's been watching Nicholas's team for months—every digital trace, every encrypted message, every unexplained traffic cam blackout.

Jo's plan is surgical:

Split the crew. Use decoys to lure Yuma and Maki out with false supply drops.

Track their signals. Jo plants a ghost app in a burner Nicholas left behind—one he wanted them to find.

Feed false intel. He leaks a fake location to K, knowing the hacker won't be able to resist testing the bait.

Intercept and isolate. Once they move, Fuma and Harua tail and extract—clean, quick, no casualties.

"We don't take them all at once," Jo says in the ops room, eyes sharp behind the monitor glow. "We make them feel safe. Then we cut off the exits."

He pauses.

"And if Nicholas gets in the way?"

"Then we find out whose side he's really on."

Scene: The Capture

It starts with an alley chase under neon lights.

Nicholas runs like the devil's chasing him—he's not wrong. EJ's unit has been on his trail for weeks.

And tonight? EJ's done playing.

Fuma corners Nicholas in a dead-end alley.
Harua cuts off the fire escape.
Jo, voice in EJ's earpiece: "He's boxed in. Move now."

EJ walks in last. Calm. In control. Gun raised, voice sharp.

"Game's over, Nicholas."

Nicholas raises his hands, grinning like this is fun.

"Took you long enough."

Scene: The Interrogation

Interrogation Room No. 5 is cold, quiet, and locked down.

Nicholas is cuffed, slouched in the chair, looking way too comfortable for someone who just got tackled into custody.

EJ walks in. Closes the door. Leans against the table.

"You've got five seconds to tell me where the explosives are."

Nicholas raises an eyebrow.

"Five? That's generous. I thought you were the tough one."

"You want tough?" EJ leans in. "I'll show you tough."

Nicholas smirks.

"Careful, officer. I might enjoy that."

EJ freezes. Just for a second. Then sits. Leans forward.

"Why do you keep letting us catch you?"

Nicholas blinks, feigns surprise.

"Are you saying I want to be caught? By you?"

The silence stretches. The tension simmers.

"Maybe," Nicholas adds, "you're the only chase that's still interesting."

EJ says nothing.

Because he feels it too.

And that's the problem.

Scene: The Teams React

Jo, watching from behind the one-way glass:

"They're going to kiss. I swear they're going to kiss."

Fuma: "No, EJ's too professional."

Harua: "They've been eye-flirting since the arrest. I give it ten minutes."

Meanwhile, in a dark café across town...

K: "If Nicholas doesn't make it out, we're torching the holding facility."

Yuma: "Subtle."

Maki: "We should be worried, right? He's flirting with his arresting officer."

Taki: "Honestly? That's how he gets out of most things."

Scene: The Real Moment

Back in the room, EJ tosses a file on the table. Photos. Blueprints. Evidence.

"You're good, Nicholas. But not untouchable. Give me your team, and I might keep you out of maximum."

Nicholas studies him.

Then, quieter:

"Would you still want me locked up if I wasn't the bad guy?"

EJ looks up.

"Are you saying you're not?"

Nicholas shrugs. "I'm saying... I never meant to hurt anyone. I just stopped believing the system could help the right people."

EJ's voice softens. Just a touch.

"Then why keep running?"

Nicholas leans forward, chains clinking.

"Because every time I stop... I end up here. With you."

A pause.

Loaded. Messy. Real.

Scene: The End... For Now

Jo bursts in.

"Explosion at the west docks. It's them. It's Nicholas's crew."

EJ stands, grabs his gear.

He turns back once—just once.

Nicholas stares up at him from the chair, eyes unreadable.

"This isn't over," EJ says.

"Didn't think it was," Nicholas replies. "You don't strike me as the type to give up."

EJ hesitates—then walks out.

But his hands shake.

Just a little.

3. Team Tension During the Explosion Alert

The second the alert hits—"Explosion at the west docks"—everything fractures.

Fuma's already strapping in his vest. Jo's typing like his keyboard owes him money. Harua scans the room.

And EJ?

EJ's frozen for a heartbeat too long.

Everyone notices.

"Are we moving or waiting on Nicholas's permission now?" Fuma snaps.

"Enough," Jo says sharply. "We don't have time for this."

EJ finally speaks.

"We go. All of us. Nicholas stays locked down."

But Harua's eyes follow him out.

He knows better.

4. Sequel: Beneath the BadgePremise:

Nicholas's crew goes dark. Explosions stop. Silence is worse than action. Intel says they're planning a hit on a diplomatic convoy, and the only person who can get inside is Nicholas—if someone goes with him.

Someone they trust.

EJ volunteers.

Jo calls it reckless. Fuma calls it betrayal.

Harua just says, "If you're doing this for closure, fine. But if it's for him... be honest about it."

Undercover Tension: EJ x Nicholas

They meet again in a dim safehouse, Nicholas smirking like he expected EJ to show up eventually.

"You in or out, officer?"

"I'm not here to play."

"No," Nicholas says, stepping in close. "You're here because you can't stay away."

They fake being partners in crime. Shared rooms. Whispered plans. Close calls with Yuma and Maki. K growing suspicious.

One night, on the rooftop after a nearly-botched meeting:

"You're not the same guy I arrested," EJ says.

"You're not the same guy who put me in cuffs."

"Maybe I should again."

"Maybe you should try."

They kiss.

It's angry. Desperate. Real.

Then Nicholas pulls away.

"You sure you know which side you're on?"

EJ doesn't answer.

Where It's Going:

Nicholas is slowly changing. He starts feeding intel back to EJ in secret.

Lines blur. They share a bed one night for "cover"—but no one moves.

Jo finds out. And now EJ has to prove this isn't betrayal—it's strategy.

Final twist: Nicholas chooses EJ over his crew. But the cost? His freedom.

"Run," EJ says in the final mission.
"Not this time," Nicholas replies. "I'm done running."

He turns himself in.

End.