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“Kestrels, Hawks,  falcons, pretty much Raptors.” The older man answered and stood once he had Twig’s approval. “At times I miss it, others, particularly when I have talons swooping by my head, I don’t.” He laughed boomingly.  

From the side Shinichi watched quietly and carefully. Ready to step in just as quickly as Twig to stop Jon in case he got carried away, which for him happened far too many times than he cared to mention.

The familiar territory of the conversation had done a great deal to put Hakuba more at ease, though the longer he stood, the more his back hurt. He leaned on the cane, letting things stretch out, and ignored the burn for the moment, nodding in favor of the avian discussion instead. “Ah, yes, they can be quite the handful! I used to have a Eurasian Sparrowhawk, myself… Watson was her name. Beautiful bird, but somewhat temperamental." 

He paused, then, glancing toward the silent Shinichi, then back to Jon with a timid smile. Social convention had been fulfilled for the stranger, and he didn’t want to keep the detective waiting. ”I’d love to see your portfolio some time.“

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Jon laughed deeply and loud. “I’m good with either. The kid and I” as he spoke he clapped a hand on to Shinichi shoulder. “have this deal that when ever he speaks to me it’ll be in English since he doesn’t get to use it that often here in Japan.” He stooped down and extended out a hand for Twig to sniff. “But none of that pertains to you and I’d have to say that your not from here, are you?”

“Jon was a documentarist’s photographer for avian research across Europe and the middle east. ” Shinichi explained and rotated his shoulder some. 

“No, certainly not,” Hakuba said to Jon at first, watching their interactions, and then that of Jon and Twig. “I’m from England, actually, ah… oh, avian research?" 

Twig’s tail stopped wagging while she sniffed Jon’s hand, but then let it continue once she was sure that he was safe. She gave him a lick, then sat down with a huff, ears falling back so that she could look up at Hakuba with a little doggy groan. 

The blond then shook his head, realizing that he’d answered in Japanese, and switched to English immediately, flushed. Old habits. ”Right, then. Avians. Any particular bird?“ 

Birds were a very comfortable topic. Safe. Familiar. 

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“Yes, unfortunately.” He sighed. Though his words were harsh they held the fondness of a sibling speaking. 

Jon scowled at Shinichi and pinched him on the rear causing the detective to yelp and jumped. “What did we promise?”

“I didn’t think that mattered when introducing someone." Shinichi huffed back and rubbed the soar spot. "Hakuba,Twig, this is Jonathan Wriggly, Jon this Hakuba Saguru, a fellow detective and his companion, Twig.”

“Nice to meet you.” The burly man said in a surprisingly flowy kind of Japanese and earned a glare from Shinichi.

Switching back and forth between languages? Hakuba looked from one to the other, then back again, uncertain. He was so concerned, even, that he failed to notice that Shinichi had addressed him as a fellow detective, but that would come back to him when there were less pressing things on his mind. Which convention was appropriate in this instance? A bow or a handshake? If any. The larger man was obviously American, so a simple nod might have done, or a wave, or a muttered growl, perhaps, but… 

“A pleasure to meet you, as well,” Hakuba finally replied, opting to stick with Japanese until he was absolutely certain, giving a small, polite bow – oh god why did he come back to Japan? – and an offered hand. “Do you, ah, prefer Japanese or English?" 

Twig looked pleased, tail wagging, because although Hakuba was acting like a nervous nelly, he was at least operating under normal enough conditions. She panted, smiling, and waited to make sure that the transaction of pleasantries went according to her expectations. 

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Shinichi ignored the impulse to take the others bag and walked normally to the door. He did hold it open for Twig and her owner because she need it not Hakuba. So he told himself. He barely got out of the way from them before he was bear hugged into Jon’s ham like arms and barrel chest. Squirming he used his free arm to push against the other and fussed at him in English.

 “Jon! Inappropriate! You have to let go!” He shouted.

“You still are so short, my friend! Like a girl.” The man teased and grunted when Shinichi’s fist plowed into his diaphragm. He staggered back and rubbed the sore spot. “Just as feisty too.”

Shinichi glared at him.

The entire exchange caught the half-brit completely off-guard. Hakuba stumbled back two steps and out of the way, backing into the outer wall of the cafe while Twig tugged at the leash to lead him to a safer spot. The man – John? – intimidated him, he couldn’t deny that at all, but he held back the sudden anxiety with a look of bemused confusion. 

“Ah…” he began in Japanese, speaking to Shinichi once he was free. “Is this your friend, then?” he asked, glancing to the man after with a polite smile. Was he supposed to be addressed in English? Should he offer a handshake?

What if Jon took his arm and yanked him over, crushing his spine and leaving him paralyzed all over again? It seemed a very possible outcome, so he stayed where he was, hoping Shinichi would explain the proper procedure for him.

Twig, for her part, pressed against Hakuba’s leg to keep him where he was, large ears angled at the new human while she sniffed in his direction to determine if he was safe. Boisterous, she thought, but not evil… He might be okay… 

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“No need. I’ve already paid for the both of us and the cab has been taken care of as well.” He stated and finished off his water. Collecting his bag and the food he glanced outside and watched the cab pull up.

“Jon’s early.” He murmured and glanced down at his watch. Looking down to Twig then back up the Hakuba he asked them both. “Ready to go?”

By the time the attention had returned to him, Hakuba managed to get himself into some sort of presentable condition. He didn’t want to lean on his cane any more than necessary, even with the tension in his back. Yes, Kudou knew that he’d been injured, and it was obvious to anyone with any sort of basic observational skills, but that didn’t mean that he wanted to go out of his way to appear weak. 

He spared a glance down at Twig, who wagged her tail, looking right back, then gave a nod. “Yes, I believe so.” Despite saying thus, Hakuba reached back into the booth to retrieve his bag, which he shouldered as a sort of counter-balance to the cane, and started toward the door. 

The limp wasn’t so bad, really, now that he’d had a chance to rest, but his gait was stiff, anyway. Still, determined to be as brave as he could muster, he bore that smile again and walked, anyway. “Thank you for the tea, Kudou-san… it was just what I needed." 

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“Yes, yes, Thank you. Five minutes.” He sighed, hung up, and pinched the bridge of his nose where the headaches liked to gather. Glancing back inside he looked at the detective sitting there.

There was a lot of pain there, some of which he knew only too well. Inhaling the exhaling deeply he opened the door again and ventured back to the other detective. Azuza stopped him briefly to handed him back his card and a bag.

“Its curry. I thought you might want something to eat when you get home.” She said and gave him a shy smile.

He blinked at before taking it showing off an appreciative smile. “Thank you Azuza-san.” 

He sat back down and shuffled the flies back into his bag. “Five minutes.”

Hakuba put on a bravely optimistic face when Shinichi returned, nodding to the timeline. “I’ve just now finished, so the timing is ideal.” He hated assuming that his costs had been taken care of, but he’d watched the transaction between Shinichi and Azuza, and thought it better than presuming otherwise. 

Taking his time to slide out of the booth, bracing himself against the table until he could get a grip on his cane, he opted for a more careful approach. 

“I just need to settle my tab…" 

Twig, meanwhile, gathered up her leash and trotted out from underneath the table, rearing up to make sure that the end of it brushed against Hakuba’s hand before he straightened up completely. 

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“Let me call the cab.” He said and slipped his phone out of his beast pocket. 

He walked towards the exit, paused briefly to talk to Azuza about the check, handed her a card, then walked out. 

Hakuba and Twig both watched Shinichi go, the former draining the teacup while the latter angled her large ears forward, sniffing after him. From successful communication to a meeting – in person! – at a cafe, and then to the inside of Kudou’s home? He could hardly believe it. Perhaps it was karma… which he knew often worked in very strange and mysterious ways. 

Did he deserve the show of tender mercy? He doubted it, but wasn’t about to turn it away. He’d have been a fool to. And, really, if there were ever a time for fate to spare Hakuba Saguru a break in the storm, now was the time.

…if nothing else, it might be the last opportunity for it. 

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“Thank you.” said to Twig and gave her a gentle rub around the ears and continued to collect the papers. “I could always carry her when if she gets to tired. I’d offer to carry you as well but I think our height differences might pose a problem." 

He offered a small smile to him and stacked the papers up on top of the tables.

Twig wagged her tail and went back to lying down once it seemed that everything was back to status quo; papers back on the table, pets given, and her master no longer giving signs of an oncoming anxiety attack. Job well done. 

Meanwhile, Hakuba fought the color that came to his cheeks at the somewhat awkward joke, but managed a genuine little laugh, despite. It was the smile from Shinichi that really sold it. "God, and I know I’m underweight, but I’m certain that I way more than you do. Let’s avoid having to have you carry me, I think… A leisurely walk or a cab would be just fine.”

He took up the tea cup again, expression all-together amused as if he had far too many private jokes that he was unwilling to share.

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“If you’re sure.” He replied not convinced by the detective’s words. He reached for his drink and took a sip from it.

“Take your time. No one is forcing you to heal as fast as you can. Sometimes the best thing is to go at the pace you can handle.” It took him four years. Four long lonely, painful years to heal from The Change.  He blinked then gave him a pained smile.

“I apologize. You’ve probably heard that too many times now.” Embarrassed by his sudden step into therapy he took another sip and hope to god he didn’t just offend the other.

As comforting as the words were, facing his situation, even to such a small degree, was even more painful than the actual injury. Hakuba averted his gaze, looking to the tea cup, then pressed the rim to his lips for another quiet drink, taking his time. He didn’t want to admit that the other de- that the detective had hurt him; he knew it was unintentional, but the apology called attention to it. 

Another sip.

“It’s all right.” It wasn’t, but Hakuba didn’t bother to change his tone to match the words. It would be useless against Kudou, anyway. “Perhaps once I’ve finished my tea. Do you have a car here?" 

God, what a situation to be in. He had to stay calm, had to push the thoughts away. Relax. He took another sip of tea. He could be stable. This was no matter at all. 

Twig nosed his leg and he blinked, shifting some to look under the table. She wagged her tail, ears back, and huffed. Hakuba managed a tiny smile, then straightened up again, train of thought successfully derailed.