Work Text:
Three years.
It's been three years since that day on the staircase.
Three years since that gruesome day at the mansion.
Three years since Kambe pushed him away from his problem. Away from his life.
It's been three years of Haru wondering what could have happened between them had he not let Kambe win in that stupid game of chase and hide-and-seek. Or what could have happened if he didn't let his anger cloud his judgment and accepted the fact that the millionaire wasn't the culprit behind Cho-san and Takei-san's deaths.
Because it didn't even take him three months since that time before realizing he merely wanted someone to blame. He was angry at the heat of the moment. But when the situation simmered down? He was left with guilt and regret
And now here Haru is, having spent the last three years stewing on hate, not on Kambe but on himself for letting those happen.
For not letting things happen.
If he chased Kambe…
If he followed him through the end of the case…
followed him through the ends of the world…
Would Haru be surprised to see Kambe wheeling a shopping cart at the grocery store?
Would he take a step back to see Kambe smile at him?
Would his heart ache at the sound of the very voice haunting his dreams for the past three years?
What could they be now if Haru just…
had he just gathered the courage and said "I love you, Kambe."?
Would that even change their future from three years ago?
Haru doesn't know the answers.
And so he turns to the next aisle with only one thought lingering in his mind.
"I love you still, Kambe."