((Running to work now, stupid late… probs won’t be back until this evening. I hope you all have a lovely Valentine’s Day and get all of the chocolate or whatever. I’m allergic to it so I’ll… get… chinese food, instead. Awyeah. Anyway, the point of this was to say that ILU all so very much, and so does Hakuba <3 <3 <3))
✿ – something my muse finds very special
Soft tinkles tumble out of an porcelain music box as a minx’s usual playful demeanor tumble off her face, only leaving a gentle smile — no games, no messages, no falsity. Air in G major. If she didn’t know better, Jeanne would’ve suspected he knew she was of the wind.
And if she didn’t know better, the divine wind thief mused, as she traced the filigree of the box with her fingers and the porcelain’s floral design, that he knew her. She simply loved music boxes. Oak, porcelain, with the gears producing melody out of a small box. In fact, she liked most things that could be called antique, but music boxes held a special place in her heart.
The smile didn’t leave when she looked up at the detective. Tiptoeing, Jeanne left a long kiss to his right cheek. Sure that she couldn’t keep a bit of rose creeping into her face, the blushing maiden didn’t move away after the act and moved closer to rest (or hide her face) in the crook of his neck, still holding the music box.
“Happy Valentines, Saguru.”
His name, she said in a whisper. It was the first time, and probably, the thief thought, the only time she’d say it. Jeanne wasn’t sure if she could again, but it did feel natural this time.
.. And if she didn’t know better, she’d think being with him felt natural.
It was beginning to take less exacerbating amounts of courage to engage him in this way- sure, it still took a considerable amount, which left her heart to flutter and her cheeks to rise with their standard flushed hue. He laughed against her lips and she couldn’t help a chuckle in return.
She would accuse him of flattery with his words, but knew that
he wasn’t the kind to offer words of affection unless he truly
meant them.
”Well it isn’t much,
I think,
But I’d hate to think that you might go a day without knowing how adored you are- by myself and by others, (but in this case, particularly by me). If I surprise you, it’s because you don’t expect nearly enough of the affection and kind gestures you deserve.So if you’ll thank god for me, my most darling detective.
Than I too, thank god for you.
Thank god, perhaps most,
Not only for your being,
but that I was truly
blessed
enough to meet you.”Her thumbs coursed over his cheeks softly, and she smiled even brighter for a fraction of a second, before briefly pecking the corner of his lips again. She had no plans, for the day, save affectionate messages being sent to those important to her life— no elaborate romantics to speak of. Yet if this was to be the only amorous endeavour for the whole of the Holiday, she could count it a great success.
Hakuba had kissed him.
Hakuba had kissed him on the lips.
Hakuba had kissed him on the lips, in the middle of a restaurant.
Hakuba had kissed him on the lips, in the middle of a restaurant in front of a lot of people.
Hakuba had-
Hattori’s head fell forward and smacked, quite hard, against the table. His mind was spinning, and he was starting to get a little dizzy. His face was as red as a firetruck, and he couldn’t seem to concentrate. He didn’t understand what was happening. First Hakuba had held his hand, and complimented him, and now he was kissing him.
In public.
Hattori let out a loud whine and let his head collide with the table a few more times.
Meanwhile and a few moments later, Hakuba regarded himself in the mirror while he washed his hands. What was it that had changed? He dried his hands off, then ran fingers through his hair, making sure that everything was carefully in place. Yes; he still looked quite fine. Very appropriate for being out and about. The little display at the table had been unconventional for their location, but not too awfully obvious. It would be fine and forgotten soon enough by the locals.
Odd that he felt that sort of… tugging at the back of his head, though; that normally meant that he was forgetting something. And why was this all so familiar, really? He checked his pocket watch, then phone, while he attempted to sort out his thoughts. Still, nothing came to him.
Nothing, that is, except for the constant pressure to go back out and rejoin his Osakan counterpart. Yes, he’d been away for far too long.
With a nod to himself, he cracked a charming smile and slipped back out into the restaurant, heading back to the table without further delay. Fortunate he was in timing, too, as the server had beaten him there, and was in the process of setting the food down.
“Uh… are you okay?” she asked, wondering if doing so had been such a good idea.
Hey don’t sound so dubious it’s gonna give me a reason to be suspicious of you.
No but really it’s not a bad thing.
At least I don’t think so.
It’s v a l e n t i n e ’ s day, which may not be as exciting as White Day for some people but we didn’t even celebrate White Day when I was in America so I’ve always thought an awful lot of it—
Not the point.
For a moment, he was too stunned to react. But heartbeats – two, three? he somehow didn’t manage to keep track despite his best efforts – later, he melted into the affection and smiled. He couldn’t help it. Kissing or not, his lips could not still and he laughed, so close to her, warm affection in his eyes.
“Th-thank you, Emi-kun. I have to admit I was not expecting this or, well, anything for the holiday. But you always do have a way of surprising me, don’t you? Thank god for you, my dear, sweet journalist. Your ability to scribe meaning, with and without words, I think, will always leave me in breathless wonder.”
“T-Thank ya.” He chuckled, a bit nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to think of something to do, something to say that would change the atmosphere once again. He took another deep breathe and opened his eyes, about to bring up cooking once again – that seemed to be a pretty neutral topic…
Hakuba was right in front of him.
Hattori let out a soft squeak as he spoke, voice low and oh god, he should talk like that more often, but not right now, not like this. Not with how close he was. “T-Tha’s fine, ya can do wha ever ya wa-“
Before he had a chance to finish that sentence Hakuba kissed him.
Hakuba kissed him.
His brain stopped functioning and he just stood there staring at Hakuba like an idiot.
“Now, now, what were you saying about being so formal?” It was a tease. Hakuba smirked, then reached out a hand to give Heiji an affectionate ruffling of his hair before he walked off toward the restrooms.
Why he’d done what he’d just done he really couldn’t say. Something about it all felt oddly familiar, though he couldn’t place it. He glanced over his shoulder toward the table and Heiji just before pushing through the swinging door and shook his head, amused. Others had seen it, too. Their shock was almost pleasing to him.
Such a thing, he said to himself, his very head voice sing-songingly recounting his actions… and considering others.
Oh wait also
Hakuba-kun can I steal you for like two seconds I promise it’ll be super quick.
“Ah… yes, Emi-kun?”
Hattori was mentally kicking himself in the face. Even though that wouldn’t technically be possible, he could do what ever the hell he wanted to do in his mind. He was acting like a bumbling love-sick teenage girl. He needed to take a deep breath, collect himself, and start being witty again, or at least stop acting like a fool.
Right, food. He had to order food. Hakuba was giving him signals, that he was supposed to talk.
“A-ah, right, um.” Hattori swallowed and closed his eyes, taking that deep breath, calming himself – his voice may have been a bit higher then normal. “I’ll have tha Tokyo iekei style Ramen.” Hattori answered, pulling his hand from table where it had stayed even after Hakuba had let go.
“I’ll get that going right away~”
The server wasn’t sure what was going on between those two, but they weren’t exactly keen to stay and figure it out. Awkward business men, seriously. Shaking her head, she slipped into the back to get the order up.
Meanwhile, Hakuba turned his head to watch said staff member leave before looking back to Hattori, eyes bright, cheerful. “A good choice,” he said, giving a little sigh. If he’d been an outside observer, he’d have noticed several odd… behaviors that had developed in the last few moments and become very nervous. As it was, he had no idea that anything was different at all.
He put his hands on the table and carefully pushed back and out from the table, getting to his feet. Hakuba put on an apologetic smile and closed the distance between them, coming to Heiji’s side of the table, getting close to speak, voice low.
“Hattori, if you’ll excuse me just a moment; I need to use the restroom. I hope you don’t mind too much.” Then, once he was certain that Heiji was looking at him, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he leaned in and pressed a kiss onto his lips. “All right~?”
“Y-Yere welcome.” Hattori answered, eyes purposely not looking at the hands that held his, because what was going on. Why was Hakuba holding his hand, why was he being so, so… unformal. He’d never seen Hakuba act like this before, reaching out to teach others in an intimate way like this.
“A-Ah, yeah… right…” Hattori swallowed, feeling Hakuba’s hand leave his. Part of his was glad, because his brain could think again, and part of him was sad because he missed the warmth.
“Waiter!” Hattori called out, probably a bit too loud.
A little too loudly, indeed. Hakuba cocked his head in the other direction, looking Heiji over again with a sort of quizzical smirk. Had his actions really been that different? Had the little bit of warmth he’d shown genuinely had that strong of an effect? Interesting, to say the least.
Regardless, the server came shortly afterward to take their orders, smile pleasant, voice chipper. “What can we make for you today?”
“Nabeyaki udon, please.”
It was a risk, getting something that he genuinely enjoyed, but the mood had changed so much that Hakuba felt that it could be worth it. He turned to Heiji afterward, wetting his lips with his tongue before he nodded for him to go ahead. Although both his and the server’s attention were focused squarely on the other detective, only one of them was concerned about the menu.
