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Kiriko Kamata was a busy woman, she really was. Kiriko had a job, whether that job was legal or illegal, she didn't care, because that case had been dropped and she would be damned if she were to just let it be. She didn't care if she got in trouble with the law for investigating that bastard alone and without permission, she was going to do it, no matter what.
But right now, she was completely and utterly shocked and out of breath, ignoring that job she had sworn to use every waking second of her life to crack, because god dammit, Nananko Hasegawa was beautiful.
The woman was dressed in a flowy light blue dress that reached her knees and her hair was pulled into a messy bun, brown strands falling into her face that was dusted lightly with blush. Kiriko's heart pounded and her stomach seemed to do cartwheels in her stomach and she could feel her face grow hot. She had never felt this way before, not once in her entire life, but from what she could remember from middle school with all her friends telling her about their love lives -- this was a crush, something she hadn't had in a long time.
She had completely forgotten the feeling.
And if it was one, then Kiriko was crushing hard, really, really hard.
Oh god no, this couldn't be happening, not now. Not when she was in the middle of an investigation! She had specifically invited Nanako to lunch so they could discuss the investigation on Ainosuke Shindo and his connections to her son, the dam, and the abandoned mine, but now Kiriko's mind was on just how fucking gorgeous Nanako looked in that dress and how she looked like an angel and how her laughter had always sounded like bells and-
"Detective Kamata?" Nanako asked as she sat down across the table from the red haired woman, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Ah!" Kiriko exclaimed, composing herself and sitting straight, "Hello Ms. Hasegawa. Please, call me Kiriko."
Ah, maybe she should have asked Nanako to call her Kamata instead.
Nanako smiled, and wow, her smile was blinding, "Well Kiriko, you can call me Nanako then."
Kiriko's breath hitched in the back of her throat and she had to basically force it through before she responded with a quick, panicked, "Okay."
The waiter walked over and handed them menus and Kiriko basically hid behind hers, trying to make it so Nanako couldn't see her tomato red face. She scanned all the food items, finally coming to a stop on something simple -- lasagna. Lasagna would do. She didn't mind if it wasn't what she usually ate, it was the second best Italian restaurant in Okinawa, and for some weird reason Nanako's son had basically begged them to go there instead of the number one best one in town.
Kiriko silently thanked the odd boy, because if this already felt like a date, then she didn't have a dang clue what it would have felt like at Sia La Luce with Nanako of all things. She looked down at her outfit, slightly embarrassed that out of all outfits she chose to wear, she chose a button shirt and dress pants. She wished she had at least worn a blouse and she would have if she had known Nanako would be wearing that!
"What are you ordering?" Nanako asked.
Kiriko shifted awkwardly in her seat, "Uhm, just some lasagna. I like it a lot, since my parents used to make it a lot when I was little."
Oh fuck, now Kiriko was making this like a date.
Nanako leaned forward and Kiriko saw every little detail about Nanako's face, how her lashes were just a bit longer than Kiriko's own, how her brown eyes sparkled in the sunlight and Kiriko could stare into them forever. How her skin seemed so perfect and soft and god Kiriko wanted to touch it.
And the next thing she knew, she had said, "Y-you're really pretty!"
Kiriko slapped her hand over her mouth, cursing herself silently. This wasn't a date, it was a lunch to discuss their investigation. And Nanako probably didn't reciprocate her feelings at all and now Kiriko had just embarrassed herself. And what even was that compliment? 'You're really pretty' ? She wasn't a middle schooler, god that was so stupid.
"You know," Nanako gently took one of Kiriko's hands in her own, brushing her thumb across Kiriko's knuckles and causing butterflies in the detective's stomach, "You're beautiful too, Kiriko."
Kiriko forgot how to breathe.
Just that compliment would have been enough to end her on the spot, but the way Nanako had said her name afterward and how Kiriko's name seemed to roll off her lips and it just sounded so perfect was enough to cause Kiriko to short circuit, which was worse than dying, because then she would have to explain herself. She reached for her glass of water, half considering splashing the icy liquid all over her face in hopes that it would rid her of her heated face, but instead, she chugged a bunch of it and then sat it down, looking away from Nanako.
"Thank you, Nanako."
Nanako chuckled and leaned back, taking a sip from her own drink, "So, let's go ahead and talk about this investigation. Have you figured anything else out?"
Something Kiriko knew about, yes! Surely it would be enough to distract her from her current panic which she really wanted to end soon.
"Yes, I have found some more stuff out, through a secret agent," Kiriko replied, "He's a secretary for Mr. Shindo, his name is Tadashi Kikuchi."
"You're evil." Nanako said.
Kiriko tapped her head, "I'm smart."
Nanako laughed her chiming laugh and Kiriko realized discussing this wasn't going to save her from this sweet, sweet, horrible gay panic that she was having.
She liked Nanako Hasegawa, there was no getting around it, but there was no way she was going to tell her. That would be embarrassing and god knows how she would react, especially since she had had a husband before and was probably still grieving.
Kiriko cleared her throat and then said, "He informed me that Shindo is connected to the abandoned mine through an illegal skating ring. He told me nothing about the dam, but the case was thrown out considering that, so the next best thing to make sure he can't commit anymore crimes is to get him arrested for this."
"And what about Langa?" Nanako asked, clutching her glass of water so hard Kiriko wouldn't be surprised if it shattered in her hand, "Have you found anything else about his connection to my son and what might be going on between them?"
"Ah," Kiriko replied, "I'm sorry, but all I got is that he is also attending this illegal race and that's his only connection."
"That's it?"
"Kikuchi was pretty hesitant with his answer, so he might be hiding something."
Nanako chewed at her lip, clearly worried. Kiriko didn't want her to worry, she wanted Nanako to be sure her son was safe, because he was. Kikuchi was an honest man, if Langa was connected to Shindo in any other way, surely he would tell her. Kiriko leaned across the table and placed her hand atop Nanako's, acting like her heart wasn't racing a million miles an hour at the simple touch.
"Your son will be okay." She said, squeezing Nanako's hand.
Nanako looked up and locked eyes with Kiriko, her eyes full of hope and Kiriko hoped she could keep this promise, for Nanako's sake.
"Thank you." Nanako said, lacing her fingers through Kiriko's and squeezing and oh god Kiriko was going to die.
The waiter came back and the women let go of each other's hands, allowing the waiter to place the plates down on the table.
"I'll pay." Nanako said as she began eating her food.
Kiriko shook her head, "No, no. I invited you to lunch, I'll pay."
"Nope."
"Yep."
"Nope."
"Yep."
Nanako glared slightly at the detective and then exploded into a fit of giggles. If she kept doing this, she would kill Kiriko. She huffed and then took a bite of her lasagna, trying to ignore the thoughts in her mind saying she wanted to kiss Nanako so badly.
Lunch would be simple.
She hoped.
Nanako was about to leave for home after lunch, which had gone pretty well if Kiriko did say so herself.
Just before she left though, Nanako turned around and smiled, "Hey, Kiriko, this lunch was good. Maybe I can find some stuff out myself and we can discuss it another time? Maybe Sia La Luce?"
Kiriko's heart skipped a bit, staring at Nanako as she stood beside her car, holding onto her left overs, the wind blowing through her light brown locks and pretty dress. Nanako was beautiful, she really was and Kiriko was dying inside and-
"Sure.. um okay, yeah sure." Kiriko replied.
She was so stupid.
Nanako grinned, "It's a date!"
A date.
Kiriko froze.
When she came back to reality she responded with a weak, "Uh… yeah." But Nanako was already gone.
A date.
A date with Nanako.
Kiriko knew it wasn't a real date but just those words were enough to bring her hope. A date with Nanako sounded amazing, even if it was for a job.
A date.
Kiriko would survive.