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So casual – not even wearing a tie! Then again, we are working.
This gallery contains 1 photo.
I think I remember him mentioning a peacoat he wanted. I don’t remember the precise one…
It took a long time to find one with a fairly good inscription, but the signature’s still pretty well in tact.
Okay it took a lot of willpower not to keep this myself (fortunately I found a different set for my own collection) but this was still too charming to pass up.
Happy Birthday, My dear Detective!
“Ah! Wh-what?! How?! Why?! This is far too much… God, I’m… Wow. What in heaven’s name did I do to deserve this? Emi-kun… Ah, I love them all so much. I…”
“Thank you, Emi-kun. And thank you, too, Hannah-chan, for delivering them to me with such care.”
“Shhhhsh I got you a present, hope you like it.” Akira frowned as Loki circled her ankles. She groaned. Dumb cat, always needing to be fed. Food poured and cat eating away, Akira dashed out the door, almost forgetting to lock it in her haste.
Jammed the elevator button, tapping her foot impatiently, run for the stairs and hear the elevator doors slide open as she descends the first five steps and sigh. Akira flew down nine flights of stairs and beamed at the waiting Hakuba. She hopped into the convertible without waiting for him to open the door (ergo her forgoing the skirt – jumping over a door is far more fun than chivalry). “Let’s go!”
The detective stared when his classmate literally hopped into his car, hand slowly retracting from the door handle. He had, in fact, intended to open the door for her but… well, all right then!
“Yes, let’s go indeed. Don’t forget to buckle up."
Hakuba turned the car back on, smirking as the engine roared to life. He checked his mirrors, and pulled away from the curb and out into the city. They were headed for Tokyo, which was a 36-40 minute drive from their starting point. He stole a glance at her.
"Please don’t tell me that the box you’re holding is a gift for me."
Akira swore as she pinched her finger in the necklace clasp for the third time. Damn thing. Damn bitten and torn fingernails. She managed to open and latch the small golden heart around her neck with sore and red fingers and sighed in relief. And pain. Really, she should just stop biting her fingernails.
Nah. She gnawed at her thumb as a familiar vibration echoed through the apartment. Oh shit. Where had she left her phone? It should’ve been in her pocket, where it always was, but then she had just changed into her brand-new jean shorts and before these shorts she had worn a skirt and- Aha! Akira held up the elusive cellular device, plucked from the first pair of shorts she had put on for the excursion calling her. And sure enough, the sneaky side-shot she’d gotten of Hakuba while in class had appeared on the display. She hit answer.
“Guru-chaaaan,” she replied, laughing. “Be down in a mo. I’m so ready! She’s going to be so surprised when she gets back. Also happy birthday you idiot, as if I wouldn’t notice.” Akira snatched her purse from the floor and keys from the windowsill. She held a brightly wrapped package under her armpit for the stubborn detective. Honestly.
The nickname grated him, but Hakuba only grimaced to show it. Oh, and she mentioned his birthday. Well, at least they were getting all of the nonsense out right from the start. He could only hope that things would improve from that point.
“Ah, thank you, Akira-kun. But, really, this isn’t a trip about me so let’s keep that little detail as quiet and out of the way as humanly possible, please."
He glanced toward the structure again, sighing internally as he waited for her to appear. The sooner they got going, the sooner they could pick up the package that was being held. Although he’d been assured by the shop owner that they would, indeed, hold it for another week, Hakuba didn’t want to risk any chances.
Kaito blinked. “What kind of favor, Haku-kun?”
Several possibilities flitted through his mind. It wasn’t particularly common for detectives as a whole to ask for favors in this manner.
Hakuba bit his lip, considering what he’d rehearsed in his head a hundred or so times on the drive over. It would be all right. Nothing to fret about. Fighting the compulsion to check his watch again, he tilted his head to one side, smile hopeful.
“Ah, I was wondering if you’d be willing to have tea with me. At midnight. And, ah, let me stay until morning. If… if that’s agreeable?"
“It’s fine. I wasn’t really doing anything and I was awake.” He was resisting a little niggling urge in the back of his mind to rub his head against Hakuba. That was the lion talking, so to speak. Instead, he took the liberty to pull Hakuba into a hug.
That was… so nice. Hakuba returned the embrace, arms circling around his back. Without thinking, he pressed a kiss to Kaito’s forehead. Ignoring the resulting blush, he just… held on, waiting several moments before reluctantly pulling back.
“Thank you for inviting me in. I ah… I have a favor to ask."
After the adventures of the early morning, Hakuba set out for his day plans. Yes, it was his birthday, and yes he had things to do that evening (family obligations, of course), but this afternoon he was going to do something he wanted to do, dammit, and that was taking a friend shopping to buy a gift for another friend. It had nothing to do with him and that’s exactly what he wanted. Akira knew that it was his birthday, but he hoped that if he didn’t bring it up, she wouldn’t either.
He pulled his car up to the front of her apartment building and pulled out his phone, typing in her number, and waited for her to pick up. During this, Hakuba verified the time on his pocket watch and adjusted the car’s dashboard settings. Two minutes slow. Appalling.
“Akira-kuuun,” Hakuba said, leaning back in his seat. “I’m here. Are you ready for our jaunt to the city for top secret gift shopping plans?”
Kaito, meanwhile, was lazing on the couch. He had become more prone to sleeping or laying about doing nothing ever since he was cursed. Admittedly, that was how lions acted, so it was understandable.
He got up to the knock on the door and opened it. Hakuba stood outside, back to the door. “Hakuba? Nice to see you.” He smiled. When was it last that Hakuba had shown up? Oh, right, after he turned into a beast and gave him a deer leg. (So very awkward.)
“Mind coming in? I’ve missed you.”
Hakuba turned, immediately relieved to see that smile. “Ah… Kuroba-kun.. er, Kaito-kun?” He still wasn’t sure, entirely, what he should be calling him. Such a good start to the evening. “Please, yes, thank you. I’ve missed you, too. So much, actually."
The detective stepped inside, keeping his gaze trained on Kaito’s face as he did, unable to resist a smile of his own.
"I hope it’s not a bad time to suddenly show up…"