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What is he doing?
Why was he, the man who swore off from working with anyone ever again, standing in a room of dead bodies and broken glass whilst cradling a crying teenager like it was his life's only purpose?
The aforementioned teenager gripped onto Fukuzawa's clothes with desperate strength, tears soaking through. The young genius kept muttering apologizes, yet Fukuzawa paid no mind to them. Although he didn't have the greatest understanding of children, his body somehow reacted with some hidden instinct to hug Ranpo and hold him tightly. He rubbed small circles onto Ranpo's back in an attempt to soothe him, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was currently hugging a random teenager he met no more than day ago.
Fukuzawa was... confused by the sudden surge of emotions he felt after getting to know the talented, albeit obnoxious, boy in just a short time. In the past 24 hours, the two had gotten food (it still amazed him how much Ranpo was able to consume in one sitting), went to a play, solved a murder, and gotten involved with a kidnapping scheme. In that amount of time, the man had felt so many different emotions.
Anger.
Confusion.
Bewilderment.
Frustration.
Resentment.
More anger.
Shock.
Concern.
Pity.
Horror.
Surprise.
Fondness.
Fear.
Sympathy.
In all his years working as a bodyguard, he'd never felt so much in one day. And never from just one person. But standing here, bathed in the pearlescent moonlit pouring from the enormous windows, embracing a sobbing teen with so much pain finally being released all at once, he couldn't help but feel like this was where he was meant to be. In his arms, Fukuzawa felt a sudden change in Ranpo's weight, feeling the boy go limp against him. It made sense he passed out, with the constant action and adrenaline keeping him moving, along with a lengthy tear session, tiring him out to the point of exhaustion. Yet it still caught him off-guard.
Now he was faced with a concerning dilemma. Ranpo was homeless, meaning he had no where to go. He'd told Fukuzawa during their shared meal that he'd been kicked out of school, meaning he didn't have a place to sleep for tonight.
Or the next night.
Or...
...there was no way Fukuzawa could just leave him here. They were still in the enemy's lair, and even though he's sure he's taken out all the guards, that didn't mean more wouldn't come. The thought of them getting their hands on Ranpo, hurting him, torturing him,...
...killing him, made his blood run cold.
He let out a sigh before making the decision to take him back to his apartment, and would figure out what to do once they were truly safe. Carefully picking the sleeping teenager, he maneuvered the boys body in a bridal hold, and was stunned by how light he was. Fukuzawa knew he's stronger than most people, being able to lift people almost twice his body weight, and yet Ranpo awfully light.
He barely weighed anything in Fukuzawa's arms, almost like he weighed no more than a few grapes. Through Ranpo's clothes, he could feel the child's bones poking through, just showing how malnourished and uncared for he was. He made a small mental note to find a book about teenagers dietary needs and how to set up a proper meal plan to get Ranpo back to a healthy size and-
Wait, He realized, Why am I trying to plan this out? I can't keep him with me for to long.
Fukuzawa dawned on the realization that he wasn't ready to take care of someone, much less a traumatized and emotionally repressed child. He could barely keep himself healthy and sane, and he was just one person. What would he do once the next day came and Ranpo asked about their plans for the future? Could he look at those hopeful green eyes and tell him to go back to the streets of Yokohama?
...
He didn't know.
❀ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 ❀ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 ❀ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 ❀ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 ❀ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 ❀ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟
Walking out of warehouse, a cold midnight breeze washed over Fukuzawa, sending a slight shiver throughout his body. His yukata gave him enough warmth, yet Ranpo was not as lucky in his school uniform, judging by the sudden shaking his arms. Ranpo leaned in closer to Fukuzawa's chest, almost trying to burrow inside it to get warm. The older man, once again unsure of how to handle something like this, simply held him tighter, pressing the shivering mass into his body. A small whine escaped Ranpo as he felt his body being compressed, but relaxed into Fukuzawa even more, jet black hair falling over his face as he quickly relaxed into the feeling of comfort and safety the lone wolf provided.
"Mngh...", Ranpo stirred, slowly opening his eyes halfway. "...Old man? Where are we goin?" he slurred, giving Fukuzawa a barely conscious look.
"We are heading towards my apartment." He replied, keeping his voice soft and low to not wake the boy up entirely. Ranpo looked at him with a confused expression. "Oh, huh. I thought you were just gonna like, leave me or somethin,"
Fukuzawa paused for a moment, stunned by his expectation to be abandoned once again. He didn't- surely Ranpo didn't actually believe he would walk out and leave him alone in the middle of the city with nothing?
His grip on Ranpo slightly tightened. "I would not leave you behind. Especially not after tonight. You are much to young to be by yourself, and I could not leave you there without it weighing heavily down on my morals.", he explained.
That was the trigger to breaking the boy.
The genius's eyes started to water up before tears cascaded down his far-to-hollow cheeks. "Oh... I-but..." he stammered, clearly not expecting that answer.
"I- everyone always leaves though? No matter what I do or what I say no one stays with me..." he choked out between sobs, his mind to tired to regulate his usually cheery and loud attitude. "Ma and Pa died, no one from school cared about me, and everyone in the Police Academy wanted me gone for good."
Tears poured out of Ranpo's eyes as if they were waterfalls, creating streaks down his cheeks and reddening his eyes behind the glasses he believed gave him an ability.
God, how do I handle this? What should I do? Fukuzawa panicked, utterly at a loss on what to do. Think, what would a parent do in a situation like this to calm a crying child? He sighed, gently hugging Ranpo more-so in his embrace. "Ranpo, I promise you this; I will not leave you until they day I die, and even then I will fight to keep myself alive for you. I will make sure that you always have me to turn to for whatever you may need."
Ranpo's hands clung to the fabric of Fukuzawa's clothes, holding onto him for as if he would disappear if he let go. The older man continued to whisper small affirmation to quell the boys fears as he began to continue his walk back home, never loosening his hold on Ranpo.
It was strange that, despite how aggravating Ranpo could be, Fukuzawa couldn't help but feel a deep sense of veneration towards him. From how he could deduce a murder in less than a minute to his non-gifted ability to see the tiniest of details and piece them together to form one cohesive narrative at such a young age made him want to see more of what Ranpo could accomplish.
So even if he made his head hurt, or made his heart race with horror when he put himself in danger, Fukuzawa vowed to never abandon this child like everyone else has. Instead, he will be there at end of the day to provided a warm home, decent meal, and comforting gestures to make Ranpo feel loved.
Because even if he makes him sigh, he will still hold him tight.
