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The room rang silent, embarrassing and awkward.
And it continued to keep a silent node until the president of the detective agency spoke up.
“...So… what your saying is… You invited THE Edgar Allen Poe here… and he left his… key?” The elder sighed, pressing two fingers against his nose in an attempt to calm himself down from this mess.
“Exactly what you heard.” Ranpo nodded, a smile on his face
The area grew quiet once more. Before Ranpo got up, creating a small-ish grunting sound as he lifted himself up from the chair and waved bye to Fukuzawa.
“Goodbye, oldie,” The detective said as he closed the door behind him.
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A soft whistle breezed around the cold wind, waves of cold and dry splashing around the city of Yokohama, and straight in the middle of the city, was Ranpo, walking around with a freshly new coat and dangling keys in his hands.
He was whistling alongside the wind, walking against the wind's path and channeling warmth from the light brown coat.
Taking turns left and right to his final destination, and once he reached it. He knocked on the door, awaiting someone to open the pristine door with aged lines and gentle carvings.
Slowly, the door creaked open. A loud screeching treading through as the door slides with the floor. “..Hello?” a man in a Victorian-style suit and messed up hair that covered half his face peered through the small opening of the door.
It took an eerie moment, Quiet and awkward just like the scenery before.
“...Ranpo…? What are you doing here..?” The Victorian-styled man queried, his covered eyes pointing to the shorter male.
“Well,” Ranpo smiled, tilting his head a slight bit. “You forgot something while you were at the agency.” The boy tossed the keys far into the small crack between the door, straight into the messy brunette-haired boy's hands. “Gee, can you even see with that hair of yours? No wonder why you left them.”
Quickly, Ranpo forcefully opened the doors, despite his shorter and smaller frame, he was relatively strong. Strong enough to open the door being blocked by someone.
“H-HEY..! W-WHa-” the taller male was cut short as he attempted to speak, being pushed off to the side as Ranpo so rudely barged in.
“Holy…” Ranpo’s eyes opened as he looked around the living room, filled with antiques that spoke ‘haunted’ all over the dim area. Lighting that settled the areas perfectly to an older time-frame. “Woah, so you’re rich rich.” he glanced behind him before glancing back at the area.
“Come on, Poe. Let’s settle down over here.” Ranpo sat down on the antique couch, the plush couch sinking underneath him while Poe, the taller man. Sat down on the floor, His legs put into an upright pretzel position.
“So you’re just gonna stay here?” Poe asked, tilting his head to one side quietly
“Why not, it's a long walk from the agency to here.”
“...Okay…” Poe’s demeanor changed, forming a slightly annoyed facial expression, barely readable due to the hair covering his face.
. . .
A couple minutes passed as the two settled in within the living room, so much so they’d gotten quite comfortable, so comfortable that Ranpo’s legs were hanging off of Poe’s shoulders, the rest of him still sitting against the plush couch.
“...Your hair is so tangled… gee..” Ranpo grimaced between each tug on Poe’s hair, his hair brush barely passing through the tangled brown locks of the man hunched over in front of him.
“You’re the one who suggested that you brush my hair..” Poe muttered, book and calligraphy pen in his lap, fixating on any ideas that have been coming through his haunted mind.
“Still thinking of a good mystery book to trap me in?” Ranpo glanced above Poe's shoulders, reading through the small letters of the pages.
“PHHHSHHTTTT!!” Poe loudly shushed the short male, his pointer finger pressed onto his pursed thin lips in a rather funny way. “YOU AREN’T SUPPOSED TO READ IT YET! IT'S NOT DONE!!” Poe said out within a rather whispery-yell, leaning forward to cover the now closed page. A messy attempt that led to the book falling out of his lap and onto the floor, with ink splattering into the floorboards.
And suddenly, unscripted, and without a queue. A gentle laugh came out from Ranpo’s mouth.
“You’re STILL trying to trap ME with an unbeatable mystery!?” Ranpo stopped brushing Poe’s hair, the hairbrush falling to the ground as he pressed his hands against his stomach, unable to contain his laughter. “Thats impossible, you know, no one is as good of a detective as me.”
“Thats the point, taking down the best.” Poe said silently, leaning back into Ranpo’s thighs.
“..Your mysteries are really good.” Ranpo paused, patiently awaiting the perfect moment to continue. “In fact, they’re the best I’ve ever read. I'm not really a book guy. But somehow. Yours suck me right up.” he continued, gently brushing the long dark brunette locks from Poe’s face. A therapeutic moment to finally see him in.
The scene stayed like this for a couple seconds, just them staring at each other quietly. endearing and romantic.
Just two boys. One from the armed detective agency, and another from the guild. A moment where they can respite within each other without other members coming to their asses about paperwork or mysteries, or anything.
And as the moment settled deeper, it stopped quicker than the speed of light.
“So you like my work?” Poe smiled, staring up at Ranpo, who appeared to be upside down from his point of view.
“Exactly what I mean.” Ranpo’s voice softened, a trail of roses following the sound of his voice.
No words were fit to describe the two in this moment, no sentence or phrase, not even a painting that spoke many words would even be able to slightly manage to form the structure of their feelings towards each other. They were enemies by organization, but lovers by heart. And soon enough, if one of them didn't stop staring at the other. They’d be bound by life and death, destined to come across one another in each and every single life.
“You have really pretty eyes, y’know..?” Ranpo muttered out, leaning even closer to stare brightly into the deep blue-ish grey eyes of Poe's “How come you hide it?” the male finally asked, awaiting an answer only to gain a soft glance away from him.
The male hunched his shoulders slightly, a small sigh as he tilted his head, still waiting for the reply.
“I just want to confirm my suspicions.. But okay. You don't have to share if you don’t want to.”
Ranpo rested his back against the couch, his hands used as a pillow to rest his head against and his eyes closed. Calmly chilling underneath the yellow lights of the estate.
Poe also lifted his head from Ranpo’s lap, hands fixing the mess he’d created earlier, yet also not caring enough to bother with cleaning the ink leakage on the floor.
“Tch… now i have to restart with this page…” Poe let out a sigh, ripping out the ink-stained page and setting it aside, next to him for him to throw out later, when Ranpo leaves.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have freaked out.” Ranpo murmured as he stuck his pinky into his nose, lazing around once more.
Silence struck the two once more, this time, it was slightly more awkward, still gentle, but more awkward as no one had anything to say.
Poe sighed, breaking through the silence in a muttered agreement.
“I guess you’re right…” He muttered alongside two quick nods.
“I always am~” Ranpo nodded with a chuckle, gently kicking the calligraphy pen and the book away from Poe's lap before quickly lunging himself onto the male. “Well, before I head off, Mwah!” He pressed a harsh-ish kiss against Poe’s cheek, quickly getting up and heading to the door. With a red-faced Poe following alongside him.
The door creaked open, yet before Ranpo managed to leave. Poe’s hands managed to wrap around his wrist.
“...I-I love you.” Poe finally let it out, staring with hearts in his grey-ish eyes. 3 words the two had never imagined they’d be able to relate to.. At least, not with one another.
“...me too.” Ranpo nodded, a smile like no other gently placed on his lips.
With those last words towards each other, Ranpo left the home with an accomplished feeling within his heart, waving goodbye and skipping off back to the agency. “GOODBYE POE!!” Ranpo yelled out, skipping backwards with his arms proudly and loudly waving goodbye to the victorian-dressed male.