Work Text:
Edgar Allan Poe had many talents, writing being one. He could spend hours scrawling tales of mystery and terror until his fingers ached and begged for rest. Something he didn't like? Parties.
The mere thought of being forced into an inescapable situation terrified Poe, even if it was something they wrote about regularly. He would feel like he was back in America, enjoying one of his few passions; acting. he hated doing improv scenes, feeling his life was one big one. What was he to say? What was he to do? These concepts confused Poe until they got overwhelmed and anxious about whether he was doing as he was asked to do.
This is how he felt in real life; what were they to say when asking for the towel next to the kind young lady? Were he to say 'please may you pass that towel?' And seem lazy considering it was within reach or grab it himself? Seeming rude to just barge past her. These questions buzzed around Poe's brain like bumble bees destinated to carry out their mundane task of pollinating.
'How did they even end up in this situation? They don't like party's?' Well, these are the questions of Edgar Allan Poe himself, not just you. He remembers his dear rival, Ranpo, begging him to at least consider going to a party the Armed Detective Agency was holding. Of course, Poe's initial response was to refuse, making up a story that consisted of being to caught up in work. However, he found it difficult to refuse his dear Ranpo. And so, that is the story of how he ended up here, wanting to curl up into their own skin and disappear.
They sat in a corner, resting their chin on their knees as Karl brushed his soft fur against their face, a desperate attempt at comforting his owner. Poe watched as the other members of the Armed Detective Agency celebrated whatever major victory they had accomplished. They could feel their skin start to feel repugnant, like it was trapping their bones in a cage of flesh and tissue. He felt the urge to gouge out his eyes in an attempt to avoid the harmful ray of the artificial lighting that hung above him. He want to take a knife to his ears and slice through them till he remain deaf till his old age. The feeling of his clothes becoming suffocating, like a hand was grasping his neck, it's only goal to kill him.
They looked at the floor, holding back tears as the noise only grew, making them want to scream and harm himself. He started to bite his lower lip until it drew blood, seeping into his mouth and staining their lips with the warm, metallic liquid. He blinked away his tears, his mind screaming at him to leave and run as far as he could away from this hellish cluster of noise. The cacophony of laughter and conversation made him feel empty and hollow, like he may ruin the warm atmosphere if he burdened any of them with their struggles.
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
A couple minutes later, when Poe feels himself about to erupt into a dangerous spiral of emotions, Ranpo came and sat next to them.
"Come with me, I think you need to get away from everyone for a while"
The sweet words were like a personified knight in shining armour, rescuing the desperate damsel in distress. They got up and followed Ranpo to Fukazawa's office, the noise of the room next door still present but now much more barrable.
"Thank you, Ranpo... I'm sorry for tearing you away from your friends, you can go back to them, I'll be fine by myself"
Ranpo turned off the lights and gestured to the bean bag in the corner of the office, obviously meant for Ranpo when in similar situations as Poe finds himself in now.
"Nah, I'm alright. I was getting bored anyway."
He smiles as he leans against the wall beside him. Karl wraps himself around Poe's neck again, burying his face in their neck.
"Are you sure? I assumed you were having fun with your co-workers?"
"Talking to drunk people is boring."
"Oh."
Poe was trying to appear fine towards the shorter man, playing with Karl to avoid showing obvious stims. He moves his paws up and down and moves him to his lap, burying his face in his soft fur. All Poe really wanted to do was scream and cry until his throat felt hoarse. He wanted to tear his skin off with his own finger nails and take out his bones, cleaning them until they didn't feel so dirty. Forcing himself to speak when in a non-verbal state made him feel sick, like forcing the words out was like forcing vomit.
"I know you're upset, Poe, you don't need to pretend you aren't"
Poe looked up, his long bangs moving to expose his shocked eyes. As if Ranpo could read minds, he answered their internal question.
"I wouldn't be the greatest detective in the world if I couldn't tell when my own rival was upset. I may not know or understand how to deal with emotional states like now but.. I can at least try, right?"
Poe bit their lip as they felt tears escape their eyes, starting to realise that they had unconsciously started to scratch at their forearms, leaving red marks and blood
"S-sorry..."
They let Karl climb back onto their neck as he put his head in his hands, crying until their hands were moist with salty tears.
Ranpo stood there, watching him the whole time. Some people may see this as insensitive; Poe saw it as comforting. Knowing that a person is just simply be with him instead of actively comforting him felt better, making him seem like less of a problem. He cried as Karl chittered in his ear, sending the comfort he needed. He kept crying for roughly ten minutes, feeling slightly better than he did before. They still didn't feel comfortable talking, and so resorted to using sign language (he was still learning Japanese sign language but learnt American sign language to help communicate with people in situations like this back in America).
He looked at Ranpo, moving Karl to be able to use his hands.
"Sorry. I didn't want to alert anybody in case I were to burden yourself or others"
Ranpo smiled and sat across from Poe on the floor
"You being upset wouldn't burden anyone. I think people would prefer if they knew in case you started harming yourself or others"
Poe nodded, sitting back on the beanbag. Ranpo looked at him again, opting for speaking rather than signing
"Can I sit with you?"
Poe nodded, moving to allow Ranpo access to sit beside him. They sat in silence for a while, the only noise were the incoherent conversations next door. Poe smiles, sitting with Ranpo has brought him more comfort than words of affirmation ever could.
"Thank you... Ranpo..."
Poe rests his head on Ranpo's shoulder, the touch not causing him unnecessary stress.
He can't help but enjoy being with his dear Ranpo.