Chapter Text
"Ranpo, what is it? You’ve been glaring holes into me the whole day." Edgar said, putting down his quill to look at his pouting boyfriend. Ranpo only crossed his arms and turned his head away in response. Edgar sighed and returned to his writing, knowing that Ranpo would eventually talk.
However, he was mistaken. Ranpo didn’t speak to him for the rest of the afternoon. Edgar was thoroughly confused, but he decided not to press him about it. Ranpo could be unpredictable sometimes, and he did things for reasons Edgar never understood, so he assumed this was one of those things. His writing continued as if everything was normal.
Later that evening, Edgar was putting his quill back into the glass container that held all of his writing utensils. He looked over them all to see that one was missing. He searched his desk, but it was nowhere to be seen. He looked over at Ranpo, who was sitting on the couch, reading a book.
"Ranpo, dear, did you move my-" Edgar started, but Ranpo stood up, walked away from him, and into the library. He shut the door with a slam , making Edgar jump. He sighed, starting to feel worried. Ranpo, as strange as he may be, wasn’t normally like this.
"Something must really be bothering him, Karl." He said to the raccoon now perched on his shoulder. He scratched behind Karl’s ears and he chittered happily in response. Edgar then stood up and walked over to the kitchen. He decided he would make Ranpo a sweet treat as an apology. Well, an apology for whatever he may have done. He knew that whenever Ranpo was upset, it was better to apologize, even if you had no information.
Karl scurried off his shoulders and onto the counter as he reached for an apron. He slid it over his head and tied the strings in the back. He then pulled out a recipe book from the shelf.
"Let’s see, Karl." Edgar said as he opened the book. Inside was every recipe Edgar had ever heard of. Baking was one of his hobbies, aside from writing, of course. He knew Ranpo loved his baking, so he thought a sweet treat would be the perfect apology.
Edgar looked through each recipe, mumbling a small "no, that won’t do." after each page he turned. Whatever it was, it had to be perfect. He continued flipping pages until something caught his eye.
"That’s perfect! He’ll love this." He said to himself as he started gathering the needed ingredients. Fruit tarts were easy to make, and they didn’t take too much time. They were one of the first recipes Edgar had learned, and they were by far Ranpo’s favourite. Edgar remembered the look of joy on Ranpo’s face whenever he came home to the smell of Edgar’s baking. He wanted to see that look again, so he started baking immediately.
Edgar sang softly as he worked, the sound of his voice and the smell of tarts filling the house. Karl spun around on the counter, dancing along to Edgar’s melody. Edgar laughed at this and continued rolling out the dough. He wished Ranpo was there to see him, but he knew his reaction to all of this would be even better.
He didn’t know how long had gone by, but soon enough, the tarts were finished. They looked beautiful; the crust was a light golden-brown and the fruit added pops of colour to the whole desert. Edgar was proud of this work, and he was sure Ranpo would be, too. He snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Karl inching towards one of the tarts out of the corner of his eye. He shooed him away with his hand, and Karl gave an angry chirp in response.
"These are for Ranpo , not you, silly." He said, chuckling softly. He then decided it was time to surprise Ranpo. He placed the fresh tarts onto a plate and carried them to the library.
"Ranpo, love, I have a surprise for you." Edgar called, opening the mahogany door. Ranpo was sat in a chair, his face stuffed in a book. As soon as Edgar said the word "surprise", Ranpo perked up, his eyes sparkling.
"You made tarts? For me?" He asked, setting his book down lightly on a nearby table. Edgar smiled warmly at him and nodded. Ranpo motioned over to the couches in the centre of the library and sat down.
"I wanted to make something for you as an apology. You seemed to be upset about something, and I was wondering if it was about something I did." Edgar explained. He set the plate on the table between the couches and sat down himself. Ranpo picked up a tart and took a bite, getting pastry cream all over his face.
"I approve of the tarts." He said when he had finished the treat. Edgar chuckled at his expression; it was a laughable sight.
"Laughing is forbidden!" Ranpo scolded, pouting. Edgar brought his hand to his mouth to try and stop laughing. Once he had calmed down, he decided to try and get answers out of Ranpo. He moved to Ranpo’s side of the couch and sat next to him. When he saw Edgar approaching, Ranpo crossed his arms and turned away.
"Love, tell me what I did. Why are you upset?" Edgar asked, wrapping his arms around Ranpo’s waist from behind. He pulled him in close, and Ranpo didn’t object. He placed his arms on top of Edgar’s and sighed. He brought his knees to his chest and Edgar closed his legs around him.
"’M not upset." Ranpo mumbled.
"Then why were you avoiding me earlier? I just want to know, so please, dear. Tell me." Edgar pleaded, intertwining his fingers through Ranpo’s.
"…It’s embarrassing." Ranpo finally said. His voice was almost a whisper, but Edgar heard him just fine.
"Darling, I’m sure it’s nothing I can’t handle. I just want to know what was bothering you." Edgar said. "Look at me."
Ranpo slowly turned around to face him. Edgar gently placed his hand on his cheek and caressed it. Ranpo leaned into his touch, enjoying the familiar feel of Edgar’s calloused hands. Ranpo copied his movements and reached up to place his own hand on Edgar’s cheek. Edgar smiled and set his free hand on top of Ranpo’s. He turned his face to kiss Ranpo’s palm, his lips soft against his skin. Ranpo giggled; he liked it when Edgar was affectionate like this.
"You’re being quite affectionate right now." Ranpo said, smoothing his hand over Edgar’s hair.
"Should I not be? I thought you loved it when I was like this." Edgar replied, letting his hand drop from Ranpo’s cheek. Ranpo huffed and immediately picked his hand back up to press it back to the same place.
"I do. That’s why I was upset earlier." He admitted, the tips of his ears turning pink.
"I guessed it was something like that." Edgar said, the same warm smile returning to his lips.
Ranpo looked shocked. "Edgar knew this whole time?" He thought to himself.
"Y-You knew?" Were the only words Ranpo could muster. His cheeks grew even darker with blush as Edgar smirked.
"How could I not know? Love, I know everything there is to know about you, so there was only one option to why you were upset." Edgar replied, chuckling at Ranpo’s flabbergasted expression.
"Hmph." Ranpo huffed. He crossed his arms and scowled at Edgar. Edgar quickly stopped laughing, a gentle gaze soon returning to his face. His bangs were parted so that Ranpo could see one of his dark grey eyes. He loved Edgar’s eyes; how they were so dark but yet so comforting, how it seemed as if there was nothing there, but yet there was so much love and warmth . It was one of the many reasons he had fallen in love with Edgar.
"I want a kiss." Ranpo declared. If Edgar was going to be smirky with him, he sure as hell was going to return that attitude.
"Pardon?" Edgar replied, his confident disposition slowly fading.
"I said ," Ranpo leaned in, "I want a kiss."
Edgar sputtered, not able to process the words being said. He and Ranpo had been dating for months now, but the idea of kissing him still made his heart flutter. With Ranpo, it would always feel just like the first time.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts.
"As you wish." He said, leaning in slowly.
He gently pressed his lips onto Ranpo’s, closing his eyes. Ranpo hummed happily and sifted his hands through his plum-brown hair. Ranpo’s lips were soft on his, and Edgar placed his hands on Ranpo’s waist to pull him closer. Ranpo giggled into the kiss, making Edgar smile. Edgar didn’t always like affection or touch, but when it was Ranpo, he didn’t mind it so much. He broke the kiss to look at Ranpo. He was beautiful; the light blush dusting his cheeks, his emerald green eyes, his adorable smile. Everything about him was perfect, and Edgar knew how lucky he was to have him.
"You’re beautiful. You know that, right?" Edgar said softly, taking Ranpo’s hand. He brought it to his lips and gently kissed the back of his hand.
"I wouldn’t mind hearing it again." Ranpo said. He smiled when Edgar pressed another kiss to his knuckles.
"You’re a strange one, Love." Edgar said.
"Hey! What’s that supposed to-" Ranpo started, but was cut off by Edgar’s voice.
"But there is no exquisite beauty…without some strangeness in the proportions." Edgar spoke quietly, almost stopping his sentence halfway, making Ranpo eager to hear the full thought. When he had finished speaking, Ranpo looked at him in awe. Edgar had always managed to surprise Ranpo with the words he spoke. His poetic way of thinking and the ways he expressed ideas always had him wanting to hear more.
"I love you." Ranpo blurted out, not knowing what he had just said. He and Edgar were dating, sure, but neither of them had said that yet.
Ranpo looked up at Edgar, who was smiling so wide it looked ridiculous.
"I love you too, Ranpo. I love you so much." He said, practically glowing with love and happiness. Ranpo placed his hands along Edgar’s jaw to pull him in. Edgar’s lips met his once again, and the same shiver went down his spine. Their lips moved together in sync, fitting together like two perfect puzzle pieces. Ranpo parted his lips so Edgar could deepen the kiss. Edgar could taste the sweetness of the tart in Ranpo’s mouth, making the moment even better. Edgar was so drunk on this feeling , so drunk with love . Every kiss was just like the first, and Edgar knew Ranpo was the only person who ever could and would make him feel this way.
Ranpo soon pulled away to catch his breath. Edgar chuckled, laying his head on Ranpo’s shoulder. Ranpo ran his hands through his hair softly, humming a quiet tune. They sat there with each other, regaining their breath and calming down.
After the few moments of quiet, Edgar looked back up to press a kiss to Ranpo’s forhead. They smiled at each other, lost in the others beauty. That was, until Edgar caught sight of the scene behind him.
"Karl! No!" Edgar yelled as Ranpo left his embrace to grab the now terrified raccoon. Edgar followed suit, racing to the table to try and save what was left of the tarts. He sighed as he looked down at the mess that was once a tart. Splattered cream and fruit littered the table.
"Gotcha!" Ranpo exclaimed, walking back over to the table holding Karl. His nose and face was covered in crumbs. Ranpo looked ridiculous holding him, but Edgar thought it was adorable nonetheless.
"Karl. What did I tell you about stealing food?" Edgar scolded him, crossing his arms. Karl squeaked and wiggled out of Ranpo’s arms to run out of the library. Edgar sighed and made a mental note to apologize to him later. He was shaken out of his thoughts by Ranpo’s laughter.
"Oh, man-" He laughed again. "Now that is what I call fun." Edgar joined him, laughing with his love.