Tag Archives: smokebombsandmirrors

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The Meaning of the Monocle

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The dawn of the fourth day, Thursday, March 27th, found one Hakuba Saguru up early to prepare. First it was jogging, which had become a daily ritual without school to get in the way, then a shower, and finally breakfast with tea. Once the newspaper had been scoured, the detective checked all of his messages, called into the station, and prepped his paperwork for next week’s cases over more tea. 

He drove through Tokyo traffic to deliver the case files and stopped for a light lunch with his father, who couldn’t make it, then stopped by a bookshop before finally going to the grocer for some last minute items for the evening. The cook had already begun the roast hours beforehand, but he was going to make dessert himself, for which his fairly particular tastes required personal selection.

Three hours to go. The mansion was spotless, the dining room set, the wine selected and chilled, and the chocolate cake cooling. When Baaya asked what he was going through so much trouble for, he simply shrugged and offered a helpless, “Mum raised me to be a good host, Baaya. That’s all.”

Ten minutes to, Hakuba straightened his tie, looking himself over in the floor-length mirror on the inside of his closet door. He looked fine, of course. He always did. There was nothing to be nervous about; simply meeting a friend for dinner and drinks, something long overdue for classmates. Kuroba had been his only friend, really, and even then they hadn’t been particularly close…  Hakuba sighed, shut the closet door, and nearly tripped over one of his handful of moving boxes scattered about his bedroom floor. 

None of them were packed or sealed except one next to the book case; books were always the easiest to pack as they fit into boxes and stacked so neatly. Even then, he’d had to open and reseal it twice already to get at books he’d wanted to reread in his empty evenings. 

It wasn’t as if he knew where he was going yet, either. For all he knew, he was staying in Ekoda for the foreseeable future. The thought made him wince, but he brushed it off and left the room to begin the trek to the front of the house. He didn’t want to be mussed when his guest arrived, hopefully, right on time… 

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Pride and Obligation

smokebombsandmirrors:

Kaito nodded and let his hand fall to his side. “In four days then.”

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Another laugh. “Thursday, March 27th…” Hakuba shook his head and went for the door, letting himself out. “Ja, Kuroba-kun." 

There was a certain thrill in being so informal with his former classmate. Though it raised plenty of red flags, Hakuba felt pleased. For every step forward, they’d taken several back. But still, every venture, even unspoken, couldn’t be taken back, and they had begun to chip away at something… 

Only time would tell exactly what that something was. 

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Pride and Obligation

smokebombsandmirrors:

“I’ll try … Oh, and Hakuba.”  He smiled that lopsided tooth grin and barely brushed his hand over the others. “Thank you.”

At the door, Hakuba slipped his sandals on, barely noticing the hand contact. He glanced down, anyway, then back up at Kaito with a quirking smile of his own. “It was my pleasure, Kuroba-kun. See you soon." 

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Pride and Obligation

smokebombsandmirrors:

Kaito had turned back to him just in time to see him smack into the frame. He blinked and covered his mouth in an attempt to hide the smile and laugh. pulling on the low riding sweat pants he hurried down stairs to him.

After making it down the steps and back into the living room without further mishap- pausing only briefly to glance into the kitchen where breakfast sat woefully uneaten -Hakuba hurried to gather his medical duffel and toss it over his shoulder, not wishing anything to further deter his leaving and, thus, ability to destress. 

Kuroba’s choice in clothing didn’t help matters, though, as he hesitated once the other approached.

“Good luck with your leg,” he said, forcing his gaze toward the door, which he diligently walked toward once Kaito had caught up. “Please promise me you’ll take it easy for the next little while?" 

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Pride and Obligation

smokebombsandmirrors:

He went to say something and froze open mouthed where he stood. The sudden urge to just simply kiss the man was definitely NOT what he was wanting to do just then. Yet …. His gazed drop to Hakuba’s lips before they quickly moved back to his eyes. Embarrassed with himself again Kaito smiled just a little to quickly. “I-I’ll walk you out.”

He actually stuttered. HE did. Shifting in place for a moment he remember that he was standing in just a shirt and his tight underwear. “Just let me grab some pants. Yeah, I need those. Don’t want the neighbors to see.”

He was rambling now small little whispers to distract himself from the still fresh urge. 

Hakuba noticed the glance. Noticed that look. He blinked, ignoring that his cheeks colored yet again for the hundredth time since arriving at the Kuroba home, and forced an awkward chuckle in an attempt to cover it. Right, yes. Kaito just wanted to walk him out. Suuuuuuure… 

Of course, at the mention of Kuroba’s lack of pants, the detective looked him over again to verify that, yes, indeed, those were some very bare legs. Oh. O-oh.  Closing his eyes and turning away, he nodded with overly enthusiastic agreement. “Right, yes, pants are a very good idea. I’ll, ah, I’ll meet you downstairs,” he stammered, and immediately ran into the doorframe before stumbling out into the hall. 

Ow.

Cue more nervous laughter as he hurried to the stairs, bright red and one hand against his forehead, carefully watching his step. 

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Pride and Obligation

smokebombsandmirrors:

He shuddered and glared and the mention of fish. “I’m pretty much good with anything and six sounds great.”

Laughing again, Hakuba all but sauntered to the doorway, shaking his head. “Splendid. I’ll see you then, Kuroba-kun.” As much as he was wary to just leave so soon after everything that had happened, there was no way that he could deny that they both could use some time to themselves, either. 

Besides, he really hated wearing jeans. 

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Pride and Obligation

smokebombsandmirrors:

He chuckled. “Sounds great.” and because he wanted to say tomorrow he waited and thought about it before answering. “Is in four days good? There is still some stuff I have to take care of and I have to work.”

“Yes, I think that should do quite nicely. Around six, perhaps? I can have dinner ready for us.” Hakuba pushed up from the bed and stood, stretching his arms out in front of him with a yawn. “I remember that you have an aversion to fish, but I can’t recall if you’ve any other dietary restrictions or preferences, other than for the sweets." 

With a laugh, he looked back at him, grinning. "Do let me know if you have any requests.”

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Pride and Obligation

smokebombsandmirrors:

“So I’ll be the first?~” He smirked. 

He was a little shocked. He hadn’t ever expected the detective to invite him over at all much less this soon into their …. friendship? It wasn’t like he didn’t know the Hakuba Manor. He had been in there thousands of times. ‘To know thine enemy’ and all. It was just going to be hilarious to actually walk through the front door. Blinking he placed a placed a hand to his chest and blinked. It was hot and his heart was racing just slightly. Excited? About being invited in to Hakuba’s home? 

No, it was being welcomed by him. To know that he was willing to share the same space that he could relax completely in with him. To let him share that personal side that no one else has. Kaito relaxed and smiled at him.

“Thank you.”

Hakuba laughed, mostly in spite of himself as he looked away toward the door, sheepish and wincing. “Yes, I suppose so. I was never really good at making friends, you understand, and I had a distinct disadvantage here in Japan…” He hefted a sigh. “Ah, anyway, just pick an evening and I’m yours." 

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Pride and Obligation

smokebombsandmirrors:

Kaito looked at him and smiled. A small little smile that showed just a little bit of tooth and crinkled around the eyes. That was his real smile and that was some thing he didn’t get to do often. “That sounds a lot better than being alone.”

He was glad of it; it made it so much easier to let just a little bit more of the tension go, and Hakuba laughed again, shoulders hunching as he shrugged, suddenly bashful. As with most things Kuroba, the smile was infectious. “Good. I’ll… have you come over some time soon, then. Actually…”

Hakuba shifted onto his hip to pull out his mobile, flipping open the calendar application. “I have a case to work on this afternoon, but I’m free most evenings this week if you’d like to, ah, come over… It seems somewhat odd to me now that I’d never invited you before, but I guess I never really invited anyone… ever… so…"