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Ranpo loved sweets. This was a well known fact of the Armed Detective Agency, and a Ranpo without snacks was most certainly a cause for concern. It was a slow day for the agency, so a bored Ranpo reached down to his stash of snacks carelessly with a lazy smile on his face, except his hand just brushed the air. He froze for a second before looking down with a frown, it appeared as though his whole snack drawer was empty.
“Oh Kunikida~ do you think you could take me to the store for some snacks? It seems like I have run out” Ranpo asked while looking at his coworker through barely open eyes.
“Not now Ranpo, I have to finish this paperwork.” Kunikida responded.
Ranpo pouted and glanced around. Atsushi and Kyouka were out on a mission, Dazai was napping on the couch, and the Tanizaki’s and Kenji were no where to be seen. Frowning to himself, Ranpo walked over to Yosano’s office, hoping that she would not be too busy.
Ranpo glanced into the doctor’s office and was met with the sight of a struggling Junichiro getting held down by Yosano for treatment. He quickly shut the door and backed away, he was not about to interfere with that.
Ranpo then moved onto his next best option, the president. He knocked on the office softly before opening the door. Fukuzawa was standing with his back to the door, angrily conversing with someone on the phone. Deciding not to interrupt, Ranpo left him alone. He felt a bit of panic set in now, he couldn’t work or focus unless he had something to distract himself with, like food, and the absence of it was starting to stress him out. Ranpo quickly ran back into the main office to try Kunikida again, but that idea was quickly shot down in his head when he saw Kunikida glare at him.
Ranpo slowly backed out of the room, panic setting in fully now. He was so focused on his own panic that he missed Dazai waking up and shooting him a worried glance.
Ranpo ran as soon as he was out of the room, all the way to a small table which he pushed himself fully under, the beginning of a panic attack setting in. Ranpo had never been without food readily available ever since Fukuzawa took him in, and he wasn’t sure how to handle its absence. Lost in his own mind, he didn’t even notice Dazai approach him and crouch down beside him.
“Ranpo? Can you hear me?” Dazai asked softly. After getting no response, Dazai sat down next to Ranpo and started rubbing his back.
“Try to breathe with me Ranpo, in and out.” Dazai sat by Ranpo and guided him through his breaths until he had calmed down enough to look over at Dazai.
“Why? Why help me?” Ranpo asked, curious as to why Dazai was helping him.
“Well I don’t know what got our master detective so panicked, but I wasn’t about to leave you alone when you were that lost in your mind,” Dazai said with a soft yet knowing smile, “would you like to tell me what got you so worked up?”
Ranpo sighed before looking at Dazai slowly “I ran out of snacks and no one was available to go with me to get more.”
“Oh?” Dazai looked at him curiously. “I’m sure there’s more to it than that.”
Ranpo looked at him slowly, as if weighing his options before sighing. “I suppose you’re right, though I’d expect nothing less from you. I… was homeless for a while, before meeting Fukuzawa that is.” Ranpo stopped for a second, glancing at Dazai whose gaze seemed to prompt him to go on. “And when I was… homeless… it was hard to get food. Especially when I couldn’t get a steady job. I never knew when I would eat next. I know it may seem silly but… I like to always have food on hand. It helps me stay grounded and focused I suppose. Not having access to food is very… stressful for me.” Ranpo stopped talking and stared at the ground.
Dazai looked over at his coworker with empathy in his eyes. “Well, I may not feel the same as you right now but… I do know what it feels like to not know when your next meal will be. I also know what it feels like to be… homeless. We are quite similar I suppose Ranpo. And… if it is really that stressful for you to not have snacks on you, then let’s go get some now! I am more than happy to take you to get some food whenever you want, it’s a lot more interesting than paperwork after all.” Dazai finished and smiled at Ranpo.
Ranpo looked back up at him and smiled shakily. “Ok then, let’s go to the store so I can restock my stash.”
Dazai stood up and reached his hand out to pull Ranpo up. They both left the agency without another word; both of their perspectives on the other had changed. Ranpo was able to get his food and finally felt safe again.