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There was no stopping his anger now. It was build faster than he could control it. He reached for the other and threw his hands down and paced away then stormed back. Small little intelligible noise kept coming from his throat. He took a deep breath and tried to center his anger in an attempt to calm down enough to speak.

“What do you think you are doing? You! That monocle is! I! DAMNIT!” he shouted and tore his hands into his hair.

Biting his lip, Hakuba pulled the monocle to his chest almost protectively, eyes wide as Kaito yelled at him. At least his blush was nearly gone, color draining from his face in confusion and fear. “I… I’m trying to help you, Kuroba-kun! Trying to protect you!" 

There were few things that set Hakuba on the defensive than being yelled at with included hand gestures. He frowned, quickly reaching for the lockbox to slip it back inside with a snap of the lid, moving after to get to his feet. 

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“What?” He hissed. The stared at the monocle he gave Hakuba. The monocle that bridge everything for them. His one item for Hakuba to remember him by. Everything he had given him. His faith and trust in the detective, in the person. It was being given back. He scrambled to remember what he had done so wrong to call for this.

He turned from him and set the wine down gently on the table lest not he throw it at some thing or some one. Taking a none to helpful breath he whirled on Hakuba. Anger and pain sharping his senses and making him weak in the knees.

That… wasn’t the reaction Hakuba had expected. He blinked up at him, expression faltering for a moment. “W-well…”  He gulped again, watching him set the bottle down, wondering if the red flags going up in his mind were legitimate. The anxiety had returned a hundred fold and the detective, for the life of him, could not understand what had happened. “I thought that you may want this back, as it’s… it’s an heirloom, and dangerous in anyone else’s hands… I don’t wish to compromise you, even by accident…" 

Hakuba looked back down at the object in his hands, held out in offering even so, though with the sudden tension, he wondered if he should pull it back. 

"I want you to stay safe, Kuroba-kun, and me holding this evidence… I mean, no one is infallible, myself included…" 

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He watched him. An unjustifiable anger had settle in his throat when he saw the boxes and it took him everything he had to remember that he had sent Hakuba off. That this was going to be one of the last times he got to see the detective. He shook himself somewhat free from the anger and walked over to where the detective was knelt.

That reaction was part of why Hakuba had kept himself so focused on the lockbox, quietly opening it without bothering to make sure that Kaito was even watching. Inside were a handful of photos held together with a silver paperclip, an opened pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes, large hunting knife in leather sheath, a polished silver horse shoe, and a flash drive… but the thing that Hakuba sought was the monocle carefully placed on a folded piece of velvet.

This he brought out and laid in one of his palms while he closed the box and set it aside, taking a deep breath before finally turning toward Kaito.

“I… wanted to tell you that this, and your admission, meant a great deal to me,” Hakuba said softly, swallowing back the tension in his throat. “So much more than I can really express, but I… well, it was closure that I’d lost hope of ever finding.  But, ah, I know how much your father meant to you, so I…” He held it out to him with the smallest of smiles. “I’d like to give it back to you.”

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“I know and thank you for that.” He said and winced. As the door open he gave Hakuba a brief look and stepped inside. He did a full circle taking in everything that he could see before turning back to him.

It felt strange, watching Kaito walk into his room. There had been so few people inside, and it only struck him then how intensely odd and nerve-wracking that was. He’d practically lived in the space since returning to Japan, holed up working when he wasn’t at school or on a case, and he wondered if it was obvious. Not that the room wasn’t clean; it was very neat, very tidy, but it felt like a separate apartment compared to the rest of the mansion. 

Er, aside from the opened moving boxes on the floor, anyway.

Hakuba let the door close behind him and hesitated over the deadbolt for a moment before deciding not to lock it like he normally did when home. Instead, he walked past Kaito and to the large window, pulling back the curtains to glance out at the yard beyond. The hedges below his window were neatly maintained, as were the trees just beyond, and the koi pond, but it was the sky that he looked at – nearing sunset – before settling down to a kneel in front of the window seat bench. 

“You’ll be the only one to know about this…” he explained, trying to keep his voice light and casual as he reached under the lip of the bench, searching… and pulled the lock out of place that let him raise it up, revealing a hidden storage space underneath. Worn quilts were piled on one side, and the other had a handful of boxes, including a heavy-duty lockbox. This he pulled out, settling back to sit on his heels, quickly dialing in the code which he hoped Kaito wouldn’t pick out.

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Kaito blinked at him wide eyed and felt his face flush fully. Racing after him he laid a gentle hand on the detective’s shoulder. “Okay so we are both, curious about the other. Nothing wrong with that. I …. I never went into your room. I could bring myself to intrude or sully that place for you.” 

Hakuba stiffened at the touch, but otherwise showed no discomfort with it, expression remaining the precise amount of horrified as it had since the initial revelation. He did nod, though, letting out a puff of breath. “Well, that’s… that’s somewhat of a relief, anyway… I mean, I’ve driven past your house at least a dozen times, but… I’ve never broken in." 

Shaking his head, he set his jaw and fished out his keys as he came to a stop in front of his bedroom, quietly unlocking it and stepping in to hold the door for Kaito. "God… well, please come in…" 

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Kaito rolled his eyes and brushed his free hand against Hakuba’s. “Its alright you don’t have to give me a tour. I’ve … well, don’t freak out, but I’ve been here before.” he coughed and swallowed hard. “Multiple times. so ….yeah.” 

He was blushing he could feel it in his cheeks and ears.

“P-pardon?” Hakuba asked, startled as he turned to glance at his guest. “You… you’ve been here before?!" His voice came as a whispered hiss, eyes wide, expression perturbed "You’ve been to…? Multiple? But when?! Why?! How?!" 

To his credit, the exclamations were very quiet. He didn’t seem angry, either, just so very surprised. 

"A-an-and you thought I was a stalker! Just because I looked up your class schedule and records and godamIreallyadmittingtothis?!"Once again, Hakuba buried his face in his hands, but continued to walk, whimpering. 

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Kaito nodded at the grin and followed him, not really having to glance around. He had visited before unknowing to Hakuba  under the disguise of a servant. During that time he had gotten to know a good part of the house. 

As they walked past the drawing room, then the parlor, Hakuba laughed awkwardly, pointing them out. “I suppose this is sort of like an informal tour… right in the middle of dinner…” He couldn’t bring himself to look at Kaito, so completely embarrassed by everything that had transpired. “God, my mum would be absolutely mortified. I just don’t understand how Baaya can put up with me, day after day…”

Instead of letting the thought sit in silence, Hakuba then pointed out the row of closed doors on their right, broken up by large portraits on the wall and small, decorative tables. “These… are the, ah, guest rooms. They’re very seldomly used.”

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“Sounds great, just lead the way.” Kaito continued to smile and stepped out the dinning room.

There were wine glasses in the parlor, so Hakuba left everything at the table as it was and led Kaito down the hallway. Baaya, surprised at the development, gave Hakuba a curious glance from where she stood at the entrance to the kitchen.

“Young master?”

With an awkward chuckle, Hakuba lowered his head in guilt and forced a little smile. “Incident. Kuroba-kun’s discovered my, ah, anxiety, so we’re… ah, taking a break. Could you…?”

She sighed. “Of course. I’ll have it cleaned up right away. Just let me know when you get hungry enough." 

Of course Baaya would understand. Hakuba nodded, bowing. "Thank you, Baaya. We’ll be in the parlor.”

“Understood.”

Hakuba looked to Kaito with a small and hopeful grin, then continued on down the large hallway.