It had been a long night chasing criminals, and while the exercise – both physical and mental – had been good and good for them, Hakuba couldn’t ignore the exhaustion that plagued all of him, inside and out, as he stood up from the couch. “Thank you for having me over for the reports,” he said, watching Shinichi with a little smirk on his face. “I’m about to drop, though, so I’ll see you in the morning, hm?”

He gathered his paperwork and stuffed it into the briefcase he took everywhere, then gave a nod and strode toward the door. Kudou went with him, and Hakuba found himself pleased at that turn of events, waiting or him to say something, but in the end, all either of them could manage was a helpless little shrug or nod. And when they both realized this, the two detectives blushed, awkwardly nodding again, trying to murmur a goodbye and take care before Hakuba suddenly found himself whispering, “I love you." 

The blond blinked, eyes widening as he searched Shinichi’s face to see if he’d heard that, and quickly backed out of the door with a wincing smile.

WELL THEN.