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It was a bright and sunny day, only a few clouds in the sky. There was a gentle breeze, carrying a few cherry blossom petals with it as it passed through the park. It had been quiet there until-
“Karl!”
Poe looked around everywhere- under the benches, near the fountain, in the bushes. He couldn’t find his pet raccoon anywhere. He tried peeking up into the trees, hoping to maybe see that familiar striped, ringed tail, but alas… He didn’t see his trusty companion anywhere.
He continued to walk around the park in search of Karl, hoping that he hadn’t run out of the area. They hadn’t been there that long. Poe had only stopped to throw away the wrapper for his food before looking down and seeing that he was missing. He sighed, putting his hands on his hips.
“Where could he have gone?” Poe mumbled to himself, turning his head side to side, trying to figure out where Karl could be hiding.
“Hey, Ed!”
Poe turned around, seeing his rival walking toward him. He sighed, not wanting to admit defeat, but at the same time admitting defeat when he asked, “Ranpo, I can’t seem to find Karl anywhere. Do you think you could use your Ultra Deduction to help me find him?”
“Sure, why not?” Ranpo reached into his pocket, pulling his glasses out. He slipped them on, waiting a brief moment before he started walking away from Poe, going to the other side of the park.
“Ranpo, wait up!” Poe chased behind him, attempting to catch up.
They stopped in front of a tree, Poe glancing over Ranpo’s shoulder, not seeing anything in front of them.
Ranpo pointed at the tree, waiting for Poe to take the hint. “He’s right there.”
Poe took a hesitant step around his rival, moving closer to the tree. First, he looked up into the pink sea of petals, not seeing any black or grey. Then, he looked around the tree, finding Karl curled up in a ball at the base of the tree as he took a nap, basking in the sun.
“Karl, I was so worried.” He picked up his raccoon, waking him up. He hugged Karl to his chest, despite the protests coming from him as he tried to push away from his owner.
Ranpo slipped his glasses back into his pocket, glancing up at Poe. “Ya know, I think you should treat the detective that found your pet for you.”
“Of course!”
Poe sat across from Ranpo, scolding him for trying to feed Karl candy as that’s essentially what Ranpo had picked out from the convenience store they had gone to for Poe to treat Ranpo to a snack for finding Karl. He couldn’t help but smile at his rival, admiring how he wasn’t afraid to let his guard down around him even though they were from rival organizations (and that Poe had tried to kill him before). He wouldn’t mind spending more time around him, hoping that maybe they could be more than just rivals, but for now, he could handle small things like walks in the park and watching Ranpo stuff his face full of snacks.
“Thanks for the candy, Ed!” Ranpo put another handful of gummies into his mouth, dangling one over Karl’s head.
Poe pursed his lips, trying to figure out what he found attractive about the detective, but all he knew was that he didn’t mind being around him and his silliness at times. He definitely knew Ranpo was someone that he could tolerate being around, especially with his introverted tendencies.
“Um, Ranpo?” Poe fidgeted with his coat, rubbing the fabric in between his fingers.
“Yeah?” Ranpo glanced up at him.
Poe gulped after meeting those emerald eyes, growing a bit nervous. “I…I wouldn’t mind if we were to go on more, um, walks through the park…”
Ranpo tilted his head back, laughing.
Poe’s heart sank at the sound of Ranpo laughing. He was lucky his bangs hid most of his face, hiding the embarrassment he felt for saying something so stupid. “Forget I said anything.”
Ranpo stopped laughing. “I know what you mean, Ed. You didn’t really need to shy around it though. I could tell.”
Poe glanced through his bangs, seeing the smile on his rival’s face. “You could?”
“Ultra Deduction.” Ranpo shook his head. “Plus… You also make it pretty obvious too.”
Poe smiled at the thought. “Maybe we could meet at the park again next week to take Karl out to run around.”
“Just as long as we don’t lose him again,” he chuckled. “But I wouldn’t mind that at all.”
***
The following week, the two had met again at the entrance to the park. They walked around for a little bit, admiring the beauty of the cherry blossoms as more were in full bloom and brightened the sky with their pink hue. They let Karl run around in front of them, excited by being able to have the freedom to run around rather than being cooped up in Poe’s arms.
Poe was happy that Ranpo had actually met him at the park and didn’t lie to him. He was sure that this wouldn’t be the only park visit they would have together, but for now, he was going to enjoy the moment, spending time with his friend , and play with Karl as they were out and about. He was sure that he would have to keep bribing Ranpo with more snacks and treats to get him to meet with him, but it wasn’t like it was going to be any sort of dent in his pocket to be able to spend time with the person he wanted to spend time with the most.