Work Text:
"Thank you for having us, Ranpo dear," Poe walked into the apartment like a zombie, taking off his shoes in the entryway while already halfway through his fiftieth yawn in the past two hours.
Karl was snuggled on top of his luggage, dead asleep since they first landed in Japan. Behind him, Ranpo closed the door, locking it firmly before turning to take a look at Poe and laugh at his state once again.
As expected, the flight really did put him out of commission.
Poe's brain felt more like glorified soup than anything at this point. He couldn't shake the thought that it should be morning right now, but the sky seemed to disagree with him—all dark and quiet—so his head screamed at him in its stead.
His stomach was also audibly upset. He hadn't eaten much during the whole flight. Most of the food served on the plane seemed like a crime to society so he opted out of any big meals, nibbling on maybe one or two snacks that were more digestible, but it seems even those were a bad idea.
"I brought snacks from the nearest convenience store," Ranpo added as he walked ahead, "Want some?"
The taller man shook his head but still followed Ranpo to his living room.
The place felt simple. There were snacks scattered on the coffee table, sure, and maybe some hung pictures on the hall, but it still looked bare. (Then again, of course it would feel bare when compared to Poe's usual housing. The man was known for spending his money generously...)
"How was the flight?" Ranpo immediately backtracked, "Nevermind, rhetorical questions are rude," He settled on the couch, leaving an empty spot for Poe as he popped open a sweet soda from the aforementioned pile of snacks, "What was the most annoying thing about flying back?"
Poe slumped next to him without much thought, just smiling sparingly and reaching for the sweet warmth of a nearby blanket, "Oh, being away from Karl was dreadful... Can you imagine how devastated I was when I learned they would not allow him to be sat with me on the plane??"
They kept the conversation going for another thirty minutes or so until Poe started to lean on the detective's shoulder and stifle yawns more often than before.
The lights were out in the apartment. It was just the two of them, covered by a fluffy blanket, with the TV as background noise.
The scene felt so domestic... Poe couldn't help but laugh.
"You know, I'm really happy you let me stay here tonight, dear."
Ranpo quirked an eyebrow at that, curious about where this could be going, "Happy?"
"Yes, of course," There's a beat. Then, just as Poe starts to really drift off into sleep, his eyes already blissfully closed shut behind his long bangs, "I would love to live like this forever..."
And, just like that, he was gone. Yes. Just like that, Ranpo was left to wonder if he understood the situation correctly, red spreading all the way up to his ears as he reached his own conclusions and learned that, yes, he was right to assume—