Work Text:
1 - The Hand
Edgar is having a nice dream. Within it, he's written a book that's left Ranpo stumped, and he's on a well deserved break in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. The love of his life is at his side, and they're tangled together peacefully. A ring sits on his finger, and-
A shrill scream startles him awake. Ranpo yelps, a loud 'shit!' echoes through the room, and Karl growls.
Edgar rolls over in bed, heart beating fast. "What's happening?" He gets his elbows beneath him, shifting into an upright position.
Karl is hunched over, hair standing on end, his teeth barred. Even now, he continues to growl, glaring at Ranpo. The love of Edgar's life is standing, hands raised defensively, eyes open and darting between Karl and Edgar.
"I rolled over in my sleep," Ranpo explains. "Karl was behind me."
Edgar winces. Ever since they started dating, Karl has been irrationally mean. He's only just started warming up to Ranpo, after months of standoffish behaviour and a reluctance to be near the man. Getting onto the bed with him in it last night had been Karl extending a branch of friendship, and even though it was unintentional, Ranpo has just taken that offering and snapped it over his knee.
He doesn't think Ranpo will be able to recover from this for- a long while.
Edgar shifts, sitting up properly. He reaches out, putting a hand on Karl's head. The raccoon's growls cut off, but he continues to glare, still poofed up.
"I'll take him to the sofa," Edgar decides, reaching out to scoop Karl into his arms.
Ranpo shakes his head, lowering his hands a little. "No," he says. "I can make it up to him."
"Love," Edgar says, an eyebrow raised. "Excuse the disbelief, but I seriously doubt it."
Cautiously, Ranpo extends a hand towards Karl. The raccoon sniffs it, and for a single instance nothing happens. Edgar is surprised - Karl never forgives this easily. Once, when Edgar had first gotten him, he'd accidentally locked Karl outside the entire night. It had taken him weeks to earn that trust back.
It changes in only a moment. Without hesitation, Karl bares his teeth again and sinks them into Ranpo's hand.
The man yelps, and Edgar springs into action, pulling Karl away.
"No, Karl!" Edgar yells, pulling the squirming raccoon back against his chest.
Ranpo hisses, injured hand clenched tightly within his other, and flees the room into the on-suite bathroom.
It will take Ranpo a while to recover from this indeed.
2 - The Neck
Ranpo slides his key into Edgar's front door, opening it with careless abandonment. It doesn't really matter if he causes a scene at the front door - he's here often enough that the neighbours recognise him, and he loves Edgar enough that he's started looking at rings.
Anyway, enough with that thought.
The inside of Edgar's house is as immaculate as always. Meaning it's tidy at first glance, but as he steps further in, the disarray of the place becomes apparent.
He turns into the living room, and immediately pin points Edgar's location from how his long legs hang off the end of the sofa. A blanket is half pulled over him, as if he'd begun pulling it off the back of the sofa and given up halfway through.
Ranpo does something about that first. With gentle hands, he tugs the blanket some more until its settled over Edgar entirely. He tucks it around his boyfriend, making sure it's covering his exposed ear - which Ranpo knows is his preferred way of sleeping. He thinks Edgar must've been too tired to care about his personal comforts and just collapsed on the nearest most comfortable and available surface.
There's only one thing that could've pushed Edgar to this point of exhaustion.
Ranpo begins snooping immediately. He knows Edgar's finished manuscript has to be around here somewhere. Edgar's writing is one of the only things he looks forward to in life.
(A list of things Ranpo looks forward to in life looks like this: waking up first and being able to see Edgar's peaceful, sleeping face; the Director giving him praise after a job well done; the expression that will be on Edgar's face once he's finally picked out the best ring; solving an 'unsolvable' case and showing up the entire police force; Mochi - Akiko's cat who loves him more than her; Edgar's hand in his; Edgar's mouth against his; the light in Edgar's eyes as he talks passionately about the new book he's working on; the way Edgar so venomously defends Karl with everything he has. Edgar, Edgar, Edgar-
To summarise: Edgar.)
He finds the stack of paper on Edgar's deck - the only part of it neatly arranged. The top page - the title - is still wet, and Edgar has drawn a tiny little raven in the bottom right corner. Ranpo softens at the sight of it. The love of his life is a silly man.
Ranpo clears a section of the deck, and gently slides the top page off the pile. Carefully, he places it in the recently created space, and stares down at the paper with glee.
(He knows Edgar likes to write a blurb and put it on the bottom of the pile - where it would be on a published book. But Ranpo prefers to go into Edgar's work blind - especially after that one occasion he'd solved the case from just the blurb alone.)
Chapter 1, the page reads. Usually Edgar writes a prologue. Bold of him go forgo it this time. Very interesting...
The wind bites painfully into Nakamura's skin. Particularly her arm, the skin so recently rubbed raw by-
Something hits into Ranpo's back, heavy and scratching. There's growling, and even as he flails wildly he knows that it's Karl. Logically, Ranpo knows Edgar doesn't mind if he reads his newest work as soon as possible, without asking for his express permission. But Karl is an animal - he doesn't understand that.
Even so, that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt like a bitch when Karl climbs his way up Ranpo's back and sinks his teeth into his exposed neck.
He's not ashamed of the yelp he lets out. It's entirely deserved and justified in every single way. This is the second time in a week that Karl has bitten him.
Maybe he's a little upset by that fact. He really thought they were bonding :(
After the bite happens, Ranpo's arms snap back, trying to dislodge the raccoon. Karl stops growling and climbs onto the part of Ranpo's back that he can never reach. He steps backwards, away from the desk, and trips over a discarded pillow lying innocently on the floor.
He lands with an oof. With one last growl, Karl scampers off, climbing onto the desk and sitting defensively before Edgar's manuscript. What an abnormal creature.
A glance around shows Edgar has slept peacefully through the event, and Ranpo breathes a sigh of relief even as his neck throbs.
He should get patched up as soon as possible, and start thinking about ways to regain Karl's trust.
3 - The Ankle
Good Human drops to the floor outside the room. He only had a few more feet to go, but none of Karl's prodding makes him get back up. Weakly, Good Human lifts a shaking hand, dropping it onto his head. It pats him once, then twice, then slides off, hitting the floor as he goes limp.
Karl whimpers and makes a screeching noise at Good Human, but he doesn't respond.
He looks around, sniffing. He smells familiar scents - Sugar Human is here, along with his friend Stab Human. There are other scents who Sugar Human regularly smells off. He can afford to leave Good Human here to get help.
With a growl, Karl knows Sugar Human is the best option.
Luckily, the door is open. He barrels through, following the smell to Sugar Human.
Sugar Human is sitting, one foot pulled up and the other tapping against the floor. This gives Karl a perfect shot at his ankle.
Lightly, he nibbles at Sugar Human. Just enough to get his attention and be felt through cotton. Sugar Human yelps, and Stab Human sends his Black in Karl's direction. Instinctively, Karl hisses at it, and Sugar Human shouts. The Black retreats, and Sugar Human moves to crouch next to him.
Sugar Human makes noises at him, and Karl recognises one of them. "Edgar," he says, and Karl natters. Sugar Human pauses, saying it again.
Karl grows impatient, and reaches out to grasp Sugar Human's cotton, tugging insistently. Sugar Human gets the hint, and follows Karl when he takes off, Stab Human following.
Sugar Human is loud when he sees Good Human on the floor, and races to his side immediately.
Karl knows Sugar Human will know what to do, and entrusts Good Human to him.
+1 - The Pet
Edgar wakes up in a hospital bed and winces. He was hoping this wouldn't be the end result of his continuous sleepless nights of research, and yet here he is. Again. At least the fact that he's in a different country means his family won't be contacted this time.
"You're awake!" A familiar voice says, and Edgar suddenly becomes aware of the hand holding his. His eyes follow the appendage, meeting the eyes of the love of his life, who has a lollipop held within his mouth.
"How long have I been..."
"It's only been a few hours," Ranpo supplies, and squeezes his hand. "Not as bad as your last one, huh?"
Edgar nods, grateful. The last one was... intense. He'd been unconscious for a while, but to be fair it wasn't just exhaustion. He'd also been shot, and-
Wait. That happened back in America.
"You seem surprised," Ranpo says, and moves his thumb soothingly across the back of Edgar's hand. Edgar turns his hand over, interlocking their fingers. "As soon as the doctor said you were going to be okay, I started digging."
Unsaid goes the implication that until he knew Edgar was okay, Ranpo spent the entire time being worried. Edgar feels warm, and he's unable to stop the smile spread across his face.
"Stop that," Ranpo says, and squeezes his hand tighter. "I was scared."
The smile slips from Edgar's face. There's a thin line between worried and scared. He didn't think this would make Ranpo cross that threshold. "I'm sorry."
Ranpo huffs. "You should be," he says, and lets go of Edgar's hands to grab something at his feet with both hands. He tugs a bag up onto the bed, placing it carefully. From within, Edgar can hear movement.
He's hoping Ranpo isn't about to reveal that he snuck a raccoon into a hospital.
Ranpo leans forward, unzipping the back and letting Karl's head poke out. The raccoon tries to lunge for Edgar, but gets tangled up in one of the handles.
Edgar chuckles, even as Ranpo moves forward. "He's so dumb," Ranpo complains, his hands reaching out.
His hands approach Karl, and Edgar goes still. "Wait-" he tries, but it's too late. Ranpo gets within biting range.
But Karl doesn't bite. He stops struggling, and lets Ranpo pull his leg free of the strap. He chitters at the man and, ever so gently, Ranpo lifts a hand to scratch around Karl's chin.
The raccoon allows it, making a noise of happiness before stepping back, remembering why he's here. Karl scampers up the bed, pressing his face against Edgar's shoulder and refusing to be moved, breathing in his scent.
With one hand Edgar supports him; with the other he reaches for his boyfriend. "You two are...?" He takes Ranpo's hand in his, a smile spreading across his face again.
"We're fine," Ranpo says, grinning back. With his free hand, he pulls the finished with lollipop stick from his mouth and deposits it in the bag still on the bed.
"What happened?" Edgar asks. He's curious, admittedly. Karl had bitten Ranpo twice in one week last he'd checked. What changed?
"We came to an agreement."
"Oh?"
"Yep!" Ranpo lifts Edgar's hand to his mouth, kissing his knuckles. Edgar flushes, and Karl natters contentedly in his ear. "The love we have for you is more important than any hatred between us."
There is a feeling of lightness, deep within Edgar's chest. Of course he knows that Ranpo loves him - maybe even as much as he loves the other. But it's something else to be reminded of it. For it to be said so effortlessly and without hesitation. For it to be an undeniable truth. Unchangeable because it is not opinion: it is fact.
Maybe he's still feeling weak from exhaustion, but he feels like he's floating. He strokes his fingers through Karl's fur, and he trills happily. Tugging on Ranpo's hand, the other man moves forward, dropping the bag to the floor and sitting on the edge of his bed.
"What's up?" He asks.
Edgar tucks Ranpo's hand under Karl on his shoulder, pressed against his heart. His eyelids feel heavy, and he slowly lets them close.
"I love you too," he murmurs. And he isn't so exhausted that he misses the way Ranpo's expression shifts and softens before he slips into sleep.