Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Poe groaned as he felt a pair of arms shake him awake by assaulting his shoulders. He put a hand over his eyes to block out the glaring sunlight that came through the window; bright lights always bothered him, no matter where he was or who he was with.
“Edgarrrrrr,” a voice whined out.
Poe slowly opened his eyes when he heard his name. He looked up to see his boyfriend, Edogawa Ranpo, looking at him with excitement and anxiousness in his eyes.
“Mmh… what is it, dear?” he murmured sleepily. He blinked up at Ranpo, who was snapping his fingers together in a desperate attempt to keep his excitement at bay.
“The aquarium!!! It opens back up today,” Ranpo almost yelled, throwing his hands up and letting his excitement out. He jumped off the bed and tugged at Poe’s arm. “Can we go, please please pleaseeeeeee???” he begged.
Poe widened his eyes at this. “Well, of course, my dear! Why didn’t you say anything earlier this week?”
“Becauseeee I wanted to wait to tell youuuuu!” Ranpo said with a whine in his voice. “Get up!! It opens in thirty minutes and I want to get there before there are too many people.”
Poe nodded. He sat up and stretched, popping his back and his knuckles as well as his neck before getting out of bed and stepping over to his closet.
He picked out a white t-shirt along with a light blue blazer, and some black dress pants to go with it. He also put on two necklaces; one silver and one a darker blue to contrast with the blazer. He grabbed a white bag from the top of his closet before stepping back into his bedroom to wait for Ranpo.
Ranpo wanted to go early because they both knew that neither of them were very compatible with other people. Sure, Ranpo was better at it than Poe was, but interacting with people was *hard* sometimes, and neither of them wanted to deal with that kind of stress at an aquarium of all places.
When Ranpo exited the closet, he was wearing a matching white t-shirt along with a lavender jacket that went down to his elbows and some dark blue pants. He had a brown bag strapped to his shoulder and a brown bracelet to match.
Poe smiled as he got up to greet his boyfriend. “Ready to go, my dear?”
“Yep!” Ranpo responded eagerly, taking out two lollipops from Poe’s bedside table and handing one to Poe before popping one in his own mouth. “Let’s go!” he exclaimed, throwing his hands up again.
Poe giggled under his breath as he and Ranpo exited their home, Karl on Poe’s head and Ranpo’s hand in Poe’s.

Chapter Text

Poe smiled as he walked to the aquarium with Ranpo, hand in hand. His boyfriend had a skip in his step, showing him how eager he was. Poe couldn’t blame him; aquariums were always interesting to him, no matter how many times he went to them. And now that Ranpo was there with him, it would make the trip all the more entertaining.

When they reached the aquarium, there were maybe two or three people inside paying for the experience, just as Ranpo had predicted.

Poe paid for their entry fee, as his boyfriend had no experience in doing so. Ranpo was, well, Ranpo, in those types of interactions. He never learned how to buy himself a ticket for a train or learn any sense of direction, which resulted in Poe having to guide him through basically everything. He didn’t mind, though; it was nice to be able to take care of his dear Ranpo, even if they were simply paying for an entrance fee to an aquarium.

“All right, my dear, let’s go see the fish,” Poe said, smiling at the shorter man. 

“And jellyfish! I want to see the jellyfish, too,” Ranpo responded excitedly.

”Of course, dear,” Poe murmured. “Let’s go see the jellyfish, too.”

Ranpo let out an excited squeal and attempted to keep his excitement at bay by hitting his wrists together, but not enough to hurt himself. He failed miserably.

He’s so cute, Poe thought fondly. I’m grateful to have such an endearing boyfriend.

He let Ranpo lead the way through the aquarium; it seemed as if this was the only place Ranpo could navigate properly, and he couldn’t. He’d never been to this aquarium before, so naturally, he didn’t know his way around, but it seemed that Ranpo had been here plenty of times.

A large tank full of underwater creatures loomed up in front of them. Ranpo squealed excitedly and ran up to the glass, Poe following a bit slower. He smiled softly as he saw his boyfriend’s eyes light up, and he turned to look at the animals in the tank.

Covering the bottom of the enclosure sat pebbles, coral and polyps that stretched out into the water. A few clownfish swam in groups past the coral, and a small stingray or two glided gracefully through the water. Poe’s eyes widened in awe at the scene before him; he’d never been to an aquarium quite like this, despite being filthy rich.

He looked over at Ranpo, whose eyes were wide open and sparkling with joy. He couldn’t tear his gaze away; his boyfriend’s eyes were mesmerizing, the perfect shade of emerald green that seemed to draw him in like a siren whose song was much more beautiful than any other. Ranpo looked at him and smiled, his eyes softening.

A rush of heat flashed onto Poe’s face as he looked away quickly. He tensed as felt an arm snake around his waist and a head rest on his shoulder (not quite on his shoulder), looking over to see Ranpo relaxing against him while gazing at the fish.

He smiled contentedly and turned his gaze back towards the enclosure.

He was mildly aware of other people crowding around the fish tank, but he didn’t care. As long as Ranpo was with him, the amount of people around didn’t matter.

As long as he was together with Ranpo.

Chapter Text

Ranpo gazed at the glass enclosure in front of him, his eyes trained on a stingray gliding past gracefully. The stingray disappeared behind a head of dark brown hair, and he looked over to see Poe studying him with a soft smile on his face. He met his boyfriend’s one visible eye and smiled as well.

The taller man stepped closer and put an arm around his waist, pulling him close as they turned to watch the underwater life together. An array of colors danced on the floor of the enclosure, illuminating their faces with patterns that highlighted their features. Ranpo looked over at Poe, whose face was lit up by the luminosity bouncing off the walls of the fish tank.

The colors put spotlight on his boyfriend’s greatest features; his lips, his nose, and most of all, his eyes.

Poe’s eyes were a beautiful shade of violet, mixed in with the deepest gray that made Ranpo want to drown in the sight of his boyfriend’s gaze until he never saw any other color. There wasn’t a way to describe how heavenly Poe’s eyes were; they drew him in, luring him into the deepest pits of the sea, never to return.

As if on cue, Poe noticed his staring and returned his gaze, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

”Is… something wrong, dear?” Poe inquired with a soft look of worry painted on his face.

Ranpo blinked before shaking his head in reply. 

“Not at all.. everything is perfect,” he murmured, still looking into Poe’s perfectly pigmented eyes.

Poe’s gaze softened. He leaned in closer to Ranpo’s face, so that they were merely inches away from each other. His cheeks sparkled with the light of the water that danced across his face, and his one visible eye was glittering in a way that Ranpo had never thought possible.

Ranpo reached his hands up to Poe’s face, dragging him closer until they were centimeters apart from one another, not caring at all about the other people milling around in the aquarium, and not even sparing a glance to the several people of whom were staring.

Ranpo glanced down at Poe’s alluring lips, then back at his visible eye before pulling him in for a kiss. Their lips connected perfectly, as if they had been sculpted in a way that made sure that they would connect with no other. He felt Poe tense up a bit before relaxing into the kiss, neither of them paying any mind to the whispers of people passing by.

Several moments passed before Ranpo decided to pull away, his lungs screaming for air. He looked at Poe, seeing his face bright red, his eyelashes perfectly lining his beautiful violet-gray eyes.

Ranpo smiled softly at his boyfriend, who was wide-eyed and staring, suddenly conscious of the other people in the aquarium.

”Don’t pay attention to them. Just look at me,” Ranpo said quietly. He could hear people whispering and sense them staring, but he couldn’t bring himself to care; why should he? He was simply spending time with the person who lit up his world and emphasized it with color when it became gray.

Poe’s mouth, which had been hanging open slightly, closed as he nodded, his one visible eye looking down. Poe’s eyelashes were long, and they brushed against his cheeks with a beautiful softness. Ranpo had the sudden urge to kiss them.

He pulled Poe in for a hug, squeezing him tightly. After a moment, Poe hugged back, and Ranpo closed his eyes as he nuzzled into the crook of his boyfriend’s neck.

They fit together perfectly, like the pieces of a puzzle.

Chapter Text

After a while of embracing each other and gazing at the fish, Ranpo decided to pull away.

Poe looked at him in confusion, wondering why he decided to suddenly let go.

”I want to see the jellyfish,” Ranpo announced. He held out his hand, waiting for Poe to take it.

Poe looked down at Ranpo’s hand, then back up at Ranpo as he entwined their fingers. “Of course, my dear,” he responded, smiling softly. “Lead the way.”

Ranpo bounced in excitement and turned around quickly, leading the curly-haired author to the jellyfish enclosure. There was an indent in the glass with a platform; Poe assumed it was so that if someone wanted to, they could step inside and have the ‘underwater’ experience with the jellyfish.

Ranpo led him straight to the platform, where he promptly plopped down on the floor and stared up at the jellyfish. Ranpo’s eyes sparkled, and Poe found himself unable to look at anything but his eyes. He slowly sat down beside Ranpo, letting the latter rest his head on his shoulder as he tore his gaze away from Ranpo’s emerald-green eyes and up towards the jellyfish.

Ranpo sighed contentedly beside him. “This is, like, the perfect date,” he whispered. “I’m not a fan of all that fancy-schmancy stuff, you know, but a date is a date, and this is definitely the best one I’ve been on with you so far.” He turned his gaze towards Poe, who was still watching the jellyfish, a light blush dusting his cheeks. Ranpo grinned. “I love you, Edgar.”

Poe felt his cheeks flush at Ranpo’s words. He slowly turned to look Ranpo in the eyes, a little surprised when he noticed how close their faces were. He smiled as he gazed at the raven-haired man.

”I love you too, dear,” he responded quietly. 

Ranpo leaned a little closer. “You know, Edgar, actions always spoke louder than words to me,” he murmured. “If you love me, then show me you do.”

Poe felt his cheeks get hotter as his gaze flitted from Ranpo’s eyes to his lips and back again. “R-Ranpo, dear… are you sure? We are in public…” he pointed out anxiously.

Ranpo snorted. “Pff. Who cares? Definitely not me or anyone around us,” he retorted. “Now shut up and kiss me, pretty boy.”

Any response Poe might have given was immediately silenced by the feeling of Ranpo’s lips against his. He blinked twice before closing his eyes and melting into the kiss, bringing his hands up to Ranpo’s face and cupping his cheeks. Ranpo’s arms wrapped around his neck, and he completely forgot about everything else as they kissed. Ranpo’s lips tasted sweet, like the candy he commonly consumed.

They only stopped once their lungs began to scream for air. Poe turned his face away, a now very bright blush painting his face pink. He heard Ranpo giggle beside him as he hid his face in his hands, but even covering his eyes couldn’t block out the beautiful light that shone around him, reflecting off of Ranpo’s eyes and making him peek through his fingers just to see it.

Karl, who had practically been forgotten in the process of the kiss, had gone up to the glass and put his paws up against it as he watched the jellyfish to distract himself from whatever was happening behind him. He chittered as a jellyfish swam right past him, narrowly missing the glass.

Ranpo tapped Poe’s shoulder and Poe, who was still hiding behind his hands, slowly lowered them to meet Ranpo’s eyes.

”Edgar,” Ranpo said, “wanna go pet the stingrays?”

Poe’s face lit up and he felt the beginnings of a huge stim attack as he nodded enthusiastically.

Chapter Text

As Ranpo led the way to the stingray exhibit, Poe couldn’t help the intense feeling of excitement that flowed through him like a tidal wave. 

Fitting for the environment, isn’t it?

Poe could hardly contain his excitement; he resorted to snapping his fingers with one hand, as the other one was occupied by Ranpo. He noticed there was a skip in his step that was not present before; stingrays were one of Poe’s special interests, along with writing mysteries. Stingrays were, needless to say, his favorite deep sea creature - he loved them to no end, just as he did Ranpo.

Poe smiled softly at the comparison. Both were adorable and lovable, and both captured his attention like no other.

When they arrived at the exhibit, Poe had to force himself to stay still - as still as any person whose special interest was stingrays could be - as he and Ranpo made their way to the stone-encased pool.

Poe gazed down into the water, watching the stingrays glide by as easily as a bird in the sky. Reaching out a hand, he dipped his fingers into the water, and a small stingray immediately came up to investigate; the stingray in question decided not to let him pet it, and swam away.

Poe’s smile faded as he witnessed it glide away. As much as he loved simply watching the stingrays, petting them was his main goal, and he was determined to do as much.

Ranpo, however, was not having the same stroke of bad luck as Poe; in fact, there were stingrays lining up to be petted by Ranpo, who looked a little surprised and overwhelmed at the fact.

Poe’s smile returned as he watched his boyfriend’s hands get bombarded by stingrays desperate to be petted. He had forgotten about his own hand, however; he jumped a little as he felt a smooth, slippery texture touch his fingers. He looked back down to see a large stingray floating just beneath his hand, clearly waiting for attention, and also very clearly not patient enough to wait in line for Ranpo’s.

Giggling to himself, Poe stretched his fingers down a bit and stroked the top of the stingray’s head. The stingray seemed to enjoy his touch, because it made no attempt to swim away, unlike the first small one.

That very same small stingray was alone at the edge of the pool. Oh well, sucks to be him.

He heard a small laugh beside him. “Man, these stingrays are stunned to be in the presence of the world’s greatest detective, huh?”

Poe chuckled a bit as well. “Yes, I suppose they are, my dear. This one seems content with me, though,” he responded, pointing with his left hand at the stingray that was just.. floating there, enjoying every ounce of attention it was getting.

After a while of petting the stingrays and making silly comments about them, Poe decided, with great hesitance, that it was time to move on from the stingrays.

”Hmm… Ranpo, dear,” he murmured, “how about we go see the starfish?”

Ranpo’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

Oh boy, they were gonna be at the aquarium for a while.

Chapter Text

Ranpo took Poe’s hand and darted away to a nearby door. The door read “Starfish”, and it had a little yellow star symbol below the letters.

As Ranpo pushed open the door, Poe couldn’t help but be astonished. The room was brighter than the rest of the aquarium put together, and had walls that were painted bright colors; pink, purple, and blue, and the occasional splat of yellow. The walls were seperated by small tanks, each containing three or four starfish.

Ranpo, still holding Poe’s hand, walked over to the first tank and pointed at a starfish. It was a dark shade of blue, and it was more flexible-looking than all the other starfish in the room.

”That’s a blue sea star,” Ranpo announced. “Scientific name, linckia laevigata, phylum echinodermata.”

Poe looked down at the shorter man, smiling. “I didn’t know you liked starfish this much. It’s very pretty.”

Ranpo nodded. “Yeah, starfish are beautiful.”

Poe laughed quietly. “I wasn’t talking about the starfish, love, but they are pretty, too.”

Ranpo took a moment to process. Then, his eyes widened and his face turned bright pink. “W-Wha-?!”

Poe’s smile widened as he realized he’d caught Ranpo off-guard. “Did that surprise you, detective?” he teased.

Ranpo blinked up at him for a moment. After he’d recovered from his shock, he smirked. “Nothing surprises me,” he responded.

Poe let out a huff of amusement. “Whatever you say, my dear.” He and Ranpo turned back to the blue sea star, watching it for a few more minutes before moving on to the other enclosures.

When they reached the end of the hallway, Ranpo tapped Poe on the shoulder. Poe turned towards him, humming a small “hmm?”, but he was cut off when Ranpo grabbed his collar and pulled him down for a quick kiss.

Turning away, Ranpo said, “Let’s go to the gift shop. We’ve seen everything.”

Poe smiled softly. “Anything for you, dear.”

Chapter Text

When they arrived at the gift shop inside the aquarium, Poe was not surprised to see shark plushies and t-shirts everywhere. What did surprise him, however, was the fact that they were selling sweets that were designed like sea animals.

Ranpo, of course, immediately gravitated towards them, given his massive sweet tooth. He looked down at the cookies and cupcakes with shining eyes, as if he’d never seen a sweet baked good in his entire life. He looked back at Poe, beckoning him over with one hand.

”Look at these pastries, Poe! Aren’t they adorable?” he said excitedly, pointing his finger at the sweets. He was bouncing up and down on his feet, obviously very enthusiastic about the little designs on each one.

Poe looked down at them, getting a closer look than before. He noticed now all the intricate details that gave each pastry a personality of its own; the coral-colored starfish had sparkly sprinkles, the sky-blue dolphins had tiny little seashell sprinkles around the edges, and the turtles had intriguing designs on each individual shell.

”Yes, I suppose they are quite cute,” Poe responded with a smile. He turned his gaze toward Ranpo. “Not as cute as what I’m looking at right now, though.”

Ranpo’s eyes snapped back open from when he’d closed them to call Poe over. A light shade of crimson took over his face, and he shook his head swiftly, sticking one hand in his own face and the other in Poe’s.

”Stop it, stop it!!” Ranpo whisper-yelled. “You can’t do that!! Only I’m allowed to flirt like that!!!”

Poe let out a small laugh. “Oh, I’m sorry, dear. I will refrain from doing so in the future.”

Ranpo turned towards him again, an indignant look on his face. “Laughing is not allowed!” he announced with a clearly faked anger.

“I know, I know,” Poe replied. ”Moving on. Darling, which one of these would you like?”

Ranpo looked back down at the pastries, his embarrassment forgotten. “Hmm… ooh, I want the turtle,” he responded, pointing at the cookie. “It reminds me of you.”

Poe raised an eyebrow. “And how is that, dear?”

Ranpo looked back up at him, smirking. “Turtles are the cutest sea creature. Well, besides sea lions, of course, so I think I would be a sea lion and you’d be a turtle.”

Poe’s cheeks turned red as Ranpo got his revenge. His expression remained blank until, after what felt like centuries, a smile graced his lips. “Wow. I wasn’t expecting that,” he laughed. “It certainly worked. You had me dumbfounded for a second there, my dear.” He ruffled Ranpo’s hair with one hand.

”Alright, I’ll pay for the turtle while you look around the shop a bit more. I won’t be long, okay?” Poe said. Ranpo nodded and walked off to inspect the store’s gift shop as Poe walked up to the pastry counter, which was a few steps away from the display case.

He met Ranpo at the door they’d entered from. Ranpo was holding a blue bag that had sea animals on the front.

”What’s that in your hand, dear?” Poe inquired.

Ranpo looked down at his hand, then held it up to Poe. “I got something for you,” he announced.

Poe’s eyes widened a bit, and a smile found its way onto his lips. “Aw, thank you, darling,” he replied. “You didn’t have to.”

”But I wanted to,” Ranpo insisted. “Take it.”

Poe’s smile widened a bit and he bowed lightly. “Thank you, my love.” He handed Ranpo the bag with his turtle cookie and exchanged it for the bag Ranpo was shoving in his face.

He reached his hand into the bag and pulled out something that felt.. soft, and fuzzy. Looking down, he saw that he was holding a sea lion plushie. He held it closer to himself, then looked at Ranpo with a smile so bright that it could light up the darkest of rooms.

”It’s adorable,” he murmured. “Thank you.”

Ranpo nodded, his own smile having been there since Poe opened the bag. “I thought you might like it,” he said happily. “Now, I think we should go home, don’t you?”

Poe nodded. “Yes, of course. Karl will be hungry.” He held out a hand, and Ranpo took it in his own.

Poe led the way out of the aquarium, Ranpo by his side. There was no doubt, this date had been perfect; Ranpo and Poe had both been intrigued by the creatures of the sea from a young age, and this fact became one of the many factors that drew them together and established their now fully bloomed relationship.

Chapter Text

Unlocking the door to his mansion, Poe stepped aside, holding the door open for Ranpo. Karl jumped off his shoulder, following the shorter man into their home. Albeit the slight trouble they had going home, due to Ranpo’s inability to navigate the streets of Yokohama, they both - along with Karl - had made it home safely.

Once Ranpo and Karl were inside, Poe entered the doorway, shutting the door behind him and locking it.

Ranpo had already hopped onto the couch, and his green eyes were wide open. He was staring at Poe, a smile on his face and a look in his eye that said “come here!!!”

Poe smiled as well, taking his shoes off at the door and making his way over to his boyfriend. It wasn’t hard to tell what Ranpo wanted, so he just flopped down beside him on the couch, lying beside him and wrapping his arms around him. Ranpo returned the hug tightly.

Burying his face in Ranpo’s hair, Poe sighed contentedly, squeezing his lover a bit tighter in their embrace. Somewhere in this interaction, Ranpo had pulled a blanket over the both of them.

”That was fun,” Ranpo murmured. He sounded endearingly sleepy.

Poe agreed with a hum. He closed his eyes, feeling Ranpo relax in his arms as he fell asleep.

Poe breathed deeply, taking in the scent of his love’s hair. The shampoo Ranpo used smelled like strawberries, no doubt a reflection of his love for sweet things.

And oh, Poe was the most sweet thing he’d ever loved in his entire life.