Chapter Text
Maki and Kaito were not dating.
A simple fact that anyone could easily state. Ask Shuichi, he’d shrug and say they were not dating. Ask Kaede, she’d giggle with a mischievous look in her eyes, but she’d still agree that they were not dating. Ask literally anyone in the class and they’d all agree: Maki and Kaito were friends - really good friends - but they were. Not. Dating.
So why, then, was it becoming so damn hard for Maki to stop herself from saying “I love you”? And it wasn’t a platonic “I love you” either, oh no, it just had to be a romantic one.
It was becoming a big problem; Maki would be hanging out with Kaito doing something totally benign, then she’d be hit with the all-encompassing urge to proclaim her undying affection for…absolutely no reason at all.
One time it had happened when he told her how much she meant to him. Okay, that made sense – who wouldn’t feel touched enough to confess their love when someone says that to you?
Then another time, Kaito had simply smiled at her, and Maki felt that urge again. This was a little strange, but she could still rationalize it as him being charming (though she’d never admit it).
But then came the time she almost burst with love when he was cutting carrots in the kitchen, or when he was trying to find a missing sock that had stars all over it, or when he sniffled a little because of a cold, or when—
Well. Maki was in denial about a lot of things, but even she couldn’t explain away her drastically lowered standards for saying “I love you”. It was becoming ridiculous, really.
And, as stated before, Maki and Kaito were not dating.
So what the hell was she meant to do?
“Tell him!”
The water Maki was drinking burst out of her nose, much to Kaede’s amusement. Maki furrowed her brows. When she divulged such personal information to the pianist during lunch, she was expecting the usual tactful empathy Kaede was so well-known for.
So much for tact.
“If I could solve it just by saying it aloud, don’t you think I would’ve done that? Why would I bother going to you?”
Kaede shrugged, a tad resigned. “Well, I don’t know what you expected, honestly. What else is there to do? Swallow your feelings until he goes to NASA and you never see him again?”
“You don’t need to be so dramatic. We’ll keep in touch.” Probably, she thought with a touch of anxiety. Kaede simply sighed, setting down her sandwich and looking at Maki straight in the eyes.
“Listen, Maki, I know you don’t like beating around the bush, so I’ll just say it.”
Oh? This is new. Maki raised an eyebrow, which Kaede took as a sign to continue.
“You’ve had these feelings for ages now, and nothing has progressed. I don’t think Kaito even has a clue. Do you really think that’s fair? Don’t answer that.”
Maki shut her mouth and pouted a little.
Kaede went on, “My point is that…life’s short, you know? And we’ll be graduating before we know it and we’ll all go our separate ways. Even if you promise to keep in touch, it won’t be the same. And I think you know that.”
The cafeteria rush was all Maki could hear for a few seconds. Her resolve weakening, she escaped Kaede’s stare and looked at the floor, her fingers brushing through one of her pigtails. A little sigh came from across the table.
“I’m just saying that…time’s running out. You gotta tell him how you feel! Besides,” the pianist’s tone lightened, “You never know what could happen! For all we know, he’ll say it right back!”
That caught Maki’s attention. She zipped back to Kaede’s gaze with a scarlet glare. “Don’t say that.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“…” Maki crossed her arms and scoffed a little. “…it’s not a good idea to have any expectations. He would probably shrug off what I said and continue being his idiotic self.”
“But then you’d still be free, and you wouldn’t have this problem anymore! Telling him will get rid of that heavy weight in your heart.”
“Pfft. You’ve been reading too many romance novels.”
“Hey! I like to read lots of different stuff!” It was Kaede’s turn to pout. “And there’s nothing wrong with romance stuff, I’ll have you know! Oh, hey, have you ever heard of the love story between Robert and Clara Schumann? They were both pianists in the 19th century…” And with that, the conversation turned back to its regular light-hearted nature – Maki teasing Kaede while Kaede teased her right back. But unlike other times, Maki didn’t find the energy to enjoy herself. Instead, her thoughts drifted back to her problem with Kaito.
Because she’ll have to do something about it eventually, she knows that. But what, exactly? Going with Kaede’s well-intentioned but unrealistic idea of just ‘telling him’ would end in a brush-off at best, and a ruined friendship at worst. There was no point in considering a positive reaction on Kaito’s side; such hope would only bring Maki to despair.
No. She would have to figure out how to rid herself of this compulsion without straight-up confessing to Kaito. But how?
Maki bit her lip. Perhaps she would need some outside help.
“Wait, you want me to research what!?”
Maki sighed, exasperated. “Shuichi, it’s not a big deal.” She smirked. “You’re a detective, aren’t you?”
This didn’t seem to unfluster the poor boy, who continued to stare at her. Maki rolled her eyes. “I don’t understand the issue here. Can you research it or not?”
“Uh, I mean, I suppose I can. But,” he seemed to pull himself together, looking at Maki with an analytical gaze, “Why do you need to know about how to show love to others without saying it?”
“Do you interrogate your clients like this when they ask you to detect something?”
“Um, it depends on the case—”
“Just do it. You don’t need any extra information.”
“Yikes! Okay, okay!”
The detective was rattled, that much was certain. Maybe I was a bit too harsh. Maki crossed her arms with a glance at the floor.
“…I’ll owe you one.”
“Huh?”
“Just what I said.” Maki looked at him meaningfully. “If you do this for me, I’ll owe you one. And you know the full extent of my abilities.” I don’t think he’d actually get me to assassinate anyone, but maybe there’s a baby cousin or something he needs me to babysit.
Shuichi crooked an eyebrow. Then, he gave a confused Maki a smile. “We’re friends, Maki. You don’t need to do anything for me in return.”
“You don’t need to say that.” Still, it was a nice sentiment which Maki begrudgingly accepted. “Please just…do this. Okay?”
“Sure thing.”
The Ultimate Detective lived up to his name. Within an hour, he had presented Maki with a printed document of findings, filled to the brim with summaries and citations about how to show people you love them. Maki was impressed. He even had a back-up copy that he kept for himself.
“Hope this helps! Though,” Shuichi chuckled nervously, “If you really want my advice, Kaito won’t really get that you have feelings for him unless you just say it—AH!” Shuichi froze. A sharpened hairpin had whizzed past his skull, landing an inch away on the wall behind him with a resounding pang. His eyes slowly crawled from the hairpin to the red-faced assassin in front of him.
“Shut up.” Her eyes darkened with the certainty of a person who has killed before and will do it again. “I don’t miss twice.”
It took a few seconds for Shuichi to get his breath back, but once he did, he shook his hands in front of him placatingly. “It’s alright, I won’t tell anyone! Just…don’t overthink it, okay? Do whatever feels right, and it’ll work out.”
The fact that he could provide reassurance when met with a sharp object directed at his face said a lot about his familiarity with Maki. She silently nodded at him, took the research from his hands, and walked away. Shuichi sighed.
“Good luck,” he said under his breath. Even he didn’t know if he meant it for Maki or Kaito.
…Both, maybe.