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The hotel breakfast area was quiet, filled with listless and quiet conversations that are almost drowned by the moderately volumed TV in the background.
Daisuke sipped his coffee quietly, sitting at the corner where no one can bother him. Deciding it’s too early to be doing work, he has HEUSC turned off as he listened to the quiet chattering of his coworkers.
Eyes sweeping across the room, Daisuke noted that several people were missing. Unimportantly, Teppei and the chief. More importantly, Haru.
He turned his bored blue eyes to another table, with his relative and coworkers.
“Wanna go visit the pool later today?” Suzue shyly offered the pink-haired girl before her, her eyes soft and watching Mahoro pour a scary amount of syrup on her pancakes.
“Ehh,” Mahoro paused as she looked up at nothing in particular, pursing her lips in wonder, “if it’s not too cold… or hot.”
“I-I heard the weather’s perfect!” Suzue stammered, face pink.
Mahoro gave her a closed-eye smile and let out a little giggle. “Sure, then!”
In between them, Shinnosuke is awkwardly eating some muffins as he tries to ignore the two girls. His eyes shift between them with pain apparently, opening his mouth every so often only to close it with a noiseless sigh.
“Great!” Suzue nodded eagerly and then slowed down probably because she realized how childishly eager she looked. “T-that’s great! Really great. Uh, would you like to…”
When Suzue trailed off, Mahoro looked up and blinked at her. “Yeah?”
“Would-would you like some more pancakes?” Suzue stuttered.
“Sure!”
Getting up, Suzue accidentally knocked her knee on the rather low table and flushed. She stumbled to the breakfast area, frantically searching for more pancakes.
Tearing his eyes away from the disgustingly cute yet cringness of his relative, Daisuke clicked his tongue and accidentally burned his tongue as he took a sip too quickly. He pulled a face, trying not to let his cool down.
Boredly, Daisuke looked around the quiet room once again. This is not ideal…
Shinnosuke suddenly got up, his chair scraping across the floor and making an annoying sound, and he said with such relief in his voice, “Kato, you’re finally awake!”
Daisuke’s eyes widened a bit and he whipped his head to the entrance, where Haru is standing with a slightly dazed expression on his- on his-
Daisuke gulped.
Haru looks so pretty.
Hair messy and out of place, framing his face like a cute hat, Haru’s eyes were slowly blinking as he took in his surroundings. His face was softened into an angelic expression, no signs of his usual angry wrinkles or his frown.
Haru slowly looked at Shinnosuke and yawned, and Daisuke felt his heart hammering in his chest. Since when did yawns get so cute? All Haru did was close his eyes shut and open his mouth, yawning with a hand covering his mouth politely.
Yet the action- it looked so adorable. Haru looks so adorable. Oh dear goodness, he looks absolutely beautiful.
“What...what’s happen-ing?” Haru asked slowly as he walked over to Shinnosuke, looking like a zombie. A cute zombie.
“I’m surrounded by cringe,” Shinnosuke stage-whispered, “please save me from the cringe.”
“Hm?” Haru tilted his head, clearly not registering anything Shinnosuke had said.
“Kato!” Shinnosuke whined. “Please!”
“Shsh,” Haru shook his head several times, “too loud.”
Shinnosuke pouted but remained silent, to which Haru sighed happily.
Meanwhile, Daisuke watched all that unfold with his eyes wide and mouth slightly opened, his heart hammering away as his cheeks felt hotter and hotter. He covered his face, simply staring at Haru with mild shock and appreciation.
Kato looks so adorable… Daisuke tried to tear his gaze away from the sleepy inspector, but found himself unable to do so.
Haru let out another yawn and gave Shinnosuke a glare with no bite, compared to his other death glares. “Gimme coffee,” Haru whined-- he honest to god whined.
Daisuke’s heart is not going to make it past the morning.
Shinnosuke chuckled, his fingers itching to just ruffle his senpai’s hair. “Uh, yeah, sure. Give me a sec.”
Shinnosuke got up, still laughing at Haru’s sleepy state, as he prepared a cup of coffee for Haru.
“Kato, you look like you slept well,” Mahoro giggled at him.
“Mmng.” Haru pulled a face and he put his head down. “Ungh.”
Mahoro laughed at the strange noises and pat his head several times.
The two utterly adorable coworkers made two other billionaire simps gulp, hard.
“S-Saeki, here are your pancakes!”
“Kato I got your coffee!”
Suzue slammed the pancakes, accidentally, in front of a very surprised Mahoro. At the same time, Shinnosuke had loudly walked over to place the coffee in front of Haru, all the while laughing at Suzue’s antics.
Haru pulled a face at the sudden loudness and sloppily grabbed the coffee, got up from his chair, looked around in dazed movements, and shuffled his feet towards Daisuke. He ignored Shinnosuke's yelp with a grimace.
Daisuke straightened up and tried to look at Haru straight in the eyes, unable to stop his hands from shaking underneath the table.
Haru stared at him, his half-lidded eyes looking at Daisuke’s soul lazily.
“May I-” Daisuke cleared his suddenly dry throat, “m-may I help you, Kato?”
“Nng,” Haru made another adorable noise, “you’re quiet... I like that.”
Then Haru plopped down on the chair in front of Daisuke, his coffee sloshing, barely spilling on the table. Haru let out a little sigh and shifted around, like a dog trying to find comfort in its bed.
“Thank you…?”
“Shhh,” Haru shushed slowly.
Daisuke shushed with wide eyes.
After a moment that seems to stretch for eternity as Daisuke soaks in Haru’s features, Haru looked up from his position and took a long sip of his coffee.
“So loud,” Haru complained from his spot.
“Is it?” Suddenly, Daisuke was aware of the others, and the world isn’t as silent as he had previously thought. Suddenly, he is aware of Suzue being a mess around Mahoro as the pink-haired girl laughs, Shinnosuke whining to the two girls, the loud hum of the food machines, the tv blaring news, and the receptionist desperately keeping her voice calm as she talks to an angry customer.
“Mm.”
Daisuke, a man who isn’t dumbfounded many times in his life, sat there, dumbfounded. All because of a certain pretty, self-destructive, utterly adorable detective named Kato Haru.
“Are you truly that tired, Kato?” Daisuke smirks.
“Mhm.”
“Why did you not sleep more?”
“Nng… alarm… woke up.”
“...” Daisuke felt his heart squeezing from the adorably delayed answer. “I-I see.”
After a few more seconds of silence, Haru looked up and cutely glared at Daisuke with no bite behind it. His usual glares are hard and rather scary to some people, but right now, he looks like a little kitten angry at the world for not giving him milk or something. In other words, adorable. Too damn adorable.
“Why… why are you looking at me like that?” Daisuke asked, amused.
“I… I like your voice,” Haru admits in the same slow tone, sounding listless yet wonder-struck like a child.
“You do?” Daisuke’s eyebrows reached his hairlines, not having expected that at all.
“Mhm,” Haru nodded sluggishly, “nice and quiet. Like… like lava.”
“Lava?”
“Mnn… slow and quiet.” Haru nodded again, and again, and soon he’s nodding his head slowly yet seemingly endless. “A-aaaand…” his voice hushed as Haru leaned forward, like he’s about to tell a secret, “hot.”
“H-” Daisuke choked on his spit, “hot?!”
“Hot.” Haru nodded.
Daisuke felt his cheeks flush. “H...ot…?”
Haru scowled at him. “No.”
“No? But you just-”
“Shhh,” Haru shushed him suddenly, glaring at him with more bite lighting in his eyes, “hhhh…”
“Sorry,” Daisuke apologized in daze, “sorry.”
“Mnm, good.”
Despite the older detective replying with less than half the words he usually has, despite Haru’s rather rude lack of response, and despite being awkwardly red, Daisuke felt his soul ascend.
This… is this my reward for solving the recent case? Daisuke wondered to himself. Whatever the reason… this… this is Heaven.
“Kambee,” Haru whined- he whined again, unaware of its effect on Daisuke.
“Yes, Kato?” Daisuke quirked a smile. His smile slowly faded when Haru decided not to answer, leaving Daisuke hanging with mild concern. He cleared his throat, “Yes, Kato? ….Kato?”
“Shhh, be quiet,” Haru pouted, “or I’ll move away.”
Daisuke promptly shut his mouth, in utter fear of Haru moving away and showing someone else this utterly adorable side of him.
Haru sighs contently and takes another long sip of his coffee.
Daisuke opted to stare… to admire his partner’s new side.
Smiling in content to himself, Daisuke thanked everything and every one possible for allowing him to meet such a cute side of Haru so early in the morning.
While admiring Haru’s bedhead, Daisuke accidentally made eye contact with Suzue.
The two Kambe’s stared at each other in shock, and both realized at the same time that they’re literally mirroring each other: they are both huge simps for the person they are very much into, and are awkwardly flushing red from them being so damn adorable.
Daisuke nodded curtly, and Suzue returned the gesture.
At the same time, the two turned back to the person of their affections with matching fond little smiles.