Chapter Text
The past few days have been… Eventful to say the least.
Ranpo hadn't seen Poe since the agency yesterday, and when he called, Poe said something had come up and he would possibly be free later. Which bugged him. Poe wasn't the type to get “suddenly busy” and he had a bad habit of canceling plans to meet with him. Though it wouldn't be odd if he just showed up at Poe's place, he could simply say he was bored and what other reason would he need?
Before he could come to a concrete conclusion, Dazai got back from his mission. The living mummy had not stopped teasing him about the game he impulsively set up as if he didn't regret it enough already. Unfortunately for his sanity, Yosano would get in on the “fun” sometimes as well. Two annoying colleagues (though they were practically family) teased him to no end. At this point, he mentally prepared himself for a barrage of comments whenever either walked into the room.
Most predictably, Dazai immediately noticed the phone on his desk and took a glance at the call history. By now he really should have learned not to keep incriminating things even close to open if Dazai was around.
“Poe called? Shouldn't you be getting ready to go out? Or are you waiting for him?” Dazai questioned, he contemplated lying but knew the teasing would be ten times more ruthless if he did.
“Poe's busy, I'll be going over tomorrow,” He simply stated. Dazai had taken to bringing over his rolly chair and sitting in it incorrectly. With how that man had stated that he “didn't like pain and suffering” he truly shouldn't be sitting in his chair like that, he could break his arms, and for sure was hurting his back.
“You know it sounds like he figured it out~,” Dazai said. He somehow managed to choke on air at that statement. “Out of character avoidance, saying he's busy… Poe could be planning a grand romantic gesture you know~”
“As if, I gave him practically nothing to go on! It could not have taken him just over a week!” Though when the words left his mouth he knew they were just to cope.
“Ohhhh? Are you underestimating the same man you once claimed was closest to you in brilliance? You're getting cocky Ranpo,” Dazai teased. He didn't have to take this, he was the oldest of the agents!
“Look, Poe is extremely oblivious, he rationalizes every thought. It's going to take more than a week for all of that to come undone.”
“Then… Why don't you just call him and ask how much progress he's made on the game?”
“No-!” Ranpo cleared his throat before correcting himself, “What I mean is that when he figures it out he can come to me first.”
“And you're so sure he'd tell you because…?”
“Because of his pride.” There was his need to be praised as well, but there was no need to mention that.
Dazai let out a hum, seemingly unconvinced. Why was he being more annoying than usual today? Did he not get the chance to bother Kunikida? No, because then he would bother Atsushi. He did not want to be put in a situation where he could empathize with the two.
“You know, your love life is much more entertaining than I ever would have thought. I would've thought you'd be single ‘til you died with how unconcerned with romance you used to be,” Dazai mused.
“First, ouch. Second, why is my love life considered so interesting when compared to yours it’s boring?” He responded, that if he had to hear Dazai complain about that hat guy one more time he would consider homicide. He could probably convince Mushitarō to help him too. Yet as vindicating as it would be, that would be a bit too far.
“You think my love life is interesting?!” Dazai sounded genuinely shocked and perturbed at that thought.
“I'm sorry, do you hear yourself?! Have you ever taken a step back and thought over your past interactions with the Mafia Executive and looked at them objectively? For as smart as you are I'm surprised you can't see he has a thing for you.”
Okay maybe he shouldn't have aired that out in the middle of the agency, but he was annoyed, and this more than made up for all the teasing. He was tempted to take a picture just so he could savor the slack-jawed and flustered expression on Dazai's face. Yosano was standing in the door frame and chuckled a bit to herself.
“Should’ve listened to me Dazai,” She mused.
“I- I need to make a call…” Dazai struggled to say before hurrying out of the agency with his tail between his legs. If it was almost anything else it would have been much more difficult to get Dazai to admit defeat. This was a bullet he'd been waiting to shoot for a while.
However, the time that had passed was not enough for him to just go see Poe, and because of Dazai's teasing (actually valid points), he was starting to feel nervous about their meeting.
He had this foreboding feeling and the worst part was that he couldn't just go to Poe's house, that would be rude and inconsiderate and Poe deserved better than that. So to get his mind off it all, he did paperwork.
He was getting weird looks from everyone, especially Kunikida. All he had to do was write out reports on how he came to his conclusions, simple enough if not an absolute chore he hated doing. But he had to, if he just sat there snacking he'd get more impatient and do something impulsive, and look where impulse got him last time. Though his annoyed grumbling through his work did help to relieve the stress he put on his co-workers. At least they knew he was still himself. Unlike that one time Dazai did work…
Unfortunately, the work did not make time fly, but it did occupy his mind. The buzzing of his phone informed him of a certain writer texting him, much to his joy and relief. He checked his phone just to confirm and right there on his screen was a text telling him that his dear Ed was free. He practically leaped out of the office due to his excitement. He (thankfully) knew the way there by heart now, the roads being packed with people heading home for the day. It was late afternoon after all. On his walk, one question rang in his head, “What caused Poe to become busy?” It was a simple question and he tried to have some fun thinking it all over. A boring answer was that he had guild work, but unless it was a meeting, Poe was simply okay with Ranpo coming over while he worked. A nerve-wracking answer would be that Poe had figured it all out, what that meant for them, he did not know, and it made him sick. So he pivoted to a more funny answer, that being that Karl made a ruckus and Poe was cleaning up the damage. He'd get the answer though, as he was now at Poe's door, a simple knock and he was let inside.
Poe's house felt just about the same except there was this new warm smell that almost resembled cake though it was only lightly in the air. Perhaps it was new candles? He knew Ed loved his ambiance.
Poe brought him to the study, he hadn't said anything yet which was odd. When they entered the study he saw a tray of freshly baked cupcakes on the coffee table. The icing was amateur but passable, and they smelled great. They had an assortment of wrapping colors, from purple to blue, to green.
“Please, sit. And help yourself, I made those for you after all…”
Oh. That's why he was busy… Oh, that was so sweet of him. That man was so considerate sometimes, if he didn't know any better he'd just kiss him and get it over with but… He couldn't.
He sat, taking a cupcake as well. He licked a bit of the frosting, it was pretty yummy. Considering this was probably Poe's first time baking this was downright impressive.
“I didn't know you could bake… This tastes pretty good Ed,” He said earnestly. Poe blushed like he always did when receiving his praise, god he should praise him more often.
“It's just following instructions, nothing special, but I'm glad you like them! You could say they're baked with love…” Poe replied with a wistful look. He choked a little bit at that last part though. Great, now he was getting flustered. “Onto what I want to talk about though…” Poe hesitated for only a moment before speaking again.
“I figured out your game dear Ranpo.”
Oh… No… Wait, was Poe going to monologue? Oh, this was going to be embarrassing…
“It all started the day after, when you started acting odd,” Ranpo had been trying not to let himself slip, seems he did the opposite, “Then your vehement denial about seeing me as family, which at first confused me, but now makes sense,” That was another thing said on impulse, wow it screwed him over, “Then, of course, a couple of comments from Kyoka were quite odd, and of course the way you complimented— no, flirted with me back there.” His face was hot red from the embarrassment, he should not have underestimated Poe, and somehow the man was not done with his speech. “The only thing I wondered is why you would keep this from me. You knew about my feelings, and you seem to have an interest as well. So that's the question that kept me up late last night. Until I realized why…”
“You were scared things would change beyond recognition.”
And there it was, the intelligence that gave Ranpo chills. Poe's ability to see right through him in a way no one else could. Make him feel seen in a way that leaves him dumbfounded. A feeling no one else could give him. Poe gently took his hands and looked at him with earnest eyes.
“Dear Ranpo, you don't need to fret. I can't guarantee that life won't change, but I can guarantee that my feelings will be constant.”
“You can't guarantee that Poe…”
“I can… 6 years is a long time, and I know better now.”
“Poe…” He faltered, this was something he'd gaze at wistfully on slower days. But the cold reality of life kept him stargazing, the moon would always be out of reach for him. “I don't know if I'm strong enough to make this leap…”
“But you won't be making it on your own,” Poe gently replied.
“But what if I mess up? I don't want my actions to hurt you Poe, you don't deserve that…”
“Then tell me every terrible thing you did, and let me love you anyway.”
He was utterly speechless, Poe did always try his best to comfort him and he had a way with words. He did want more, it's what he'd wanted for so long, but not if their relationship became unrecognizable from before because he liked how they were now.
“You're always comforting and supporting me… Why?” This was a question he held for a while, why did Edgar so quickly help him out without even knowing the reason? Why would Poe comfort him when he needed it? But him…
“Because I adore you dear, and isn't that all the reason I need?”
Right… There was no logic in the love crime he committed. The only hidden feelings that his anxiety made him too blind to see. But perhaps… if this was the outcome of his slip of the tongue, then he could live to not regret it.
“Yeah… I guess you're right. I guess now I have more of an excuse to nag you to sleep in your bed,” He joked.
“I've never considered your care for my health and well-being nagging, I always found it comforting that you cared,” Poe replied.
“Looking back, it's amusing how many of our outings could be considered dates,” He commented.
“So what do we do now…?” Poe hesitantly asked. What did they do? Well he was for sure going to eat the rest of these cupcakes, and he was free the rest of the day so he could stay a bit longer…
“I could give you a kiss and then you can go back to editing that manuscript of yours.”
“A kiss?!” Poe squeaked out, he looked equal parts elated and frightened by the idea.
“I mean, I'm probably just going to read some of the new books you got while you worked on your novel anyway, but I can kiss you now too, so why not?”
Poe got incredibly nervous at the suggestion. Was that a bit too much for him right now? This felt a bit awkward. Was he not supposed to be that forward? This was new territory for him, Yosano would know the answers, and she'd read one too many romance novels. Poe surprisingly closed the gap before he could delve more into overthinking, and all cognition ceased.
Perhaps he fell too hard, or maybe he'd been repressing all his feelings too long but it just felt so… Heavenly. A new kind of reassurance that no other person could give him. Simple contact so intimate he'd keep this moment to himself. Yet it stopped all too soon, and when his thoughts finally caught up with the present he couldn't repress his smile. Poe looked quite proud of himself, and he should be, he didn't let just anyone kiss him.
Oh god, how was he going to explain this to Fukuzawa…
He'd cross that bridge when he got to it.
~~~🦝~~~
Somehow he went a whole week without announcing the fact he started dating Ed. The subject just never came up and they acted as they usually did in public, so everyone just assumed the status quo had been maintained. Well, Mushitarō knew, he'd accidentally seen them kissing each other goodbye. He'd looked on the verge of tears from relief that they finally got together as he “Was getting sick from seeing them dance around each other like leads in a trashy rom-com.”
Other than him no one else knew. He was unsurprised and maybe a bit disappointed no one noticed his uplifted mood. They were detectives yet they couldn't even notice a change in their friend? It made him a bit huffy, but to be fair most of everyone there was emotionally constipated or dense as a rock (unfortunately in Kunikida's case, he was both).
So when Poe visited the agency and they went through the regular motions, no one batted an eye. Poe had started working on a new novel, one which he looked particularly excited about. Supposedly he wanted to see what would happen if he leaned more into the horror genre for this one. Knowing Poe's penchant for the macabre this would probably leave even the most veteran horror readers with nightmares.
Yet when Poe had to leave, he instead walked him to the door, and just before Poe left he gave him a small goodbye kiss. Completely forgetting about the fact that no one in the agency knew yet. The door clicked a bit too loudly, and when he turned around he noticed everyone's eyes on him.
“What? Do I have something on my face?” He asked, absentmindedly licking the corners of his mouth in case there was any chocolate left there.
Everyone suddenly started clamoring around just begging to know more. “How long had they been together?” “Who confessed?” “Why didn't you tell any of us?” And when he tried to escape the mob that was his co-workers, Dazai caught him by his cape.
“Let me go! I'll do my paperwork if you let me go!” He pleaded but to no avail.
“Nuh-uh, I have money on this Ranpo,” Dazai said. Damn mummy and his long arms.
“You were betting on me?!” He nearly shrieked in offense. Okay, he was no better, he had money on whether or not Dazai would realize that his terms for winning bets against Chuuya were far from platonic. He had an advantage, he'd snooped through Dazai's photos.
“C'monn~ We just wanna know who confessed!”
Well, this seemed like the only way out, Fukuzawa was in his office and no one seemed like they were rushing to inform him of the news.
“Poe…” He muttered, immediately being let go, as Dazai and Yosano high-fived.
“Pay up suckers!” Dazai announced, much to almost everyone’s grumbling. He didn't know if he should feel flattered that most of his co-workers had faith in him, or offended that his closest friends didn't. Dazai and Yosano shared the winnings evenly and he simply sat down back at his desk.
Everyone went back to work after that, it was like none of that ever happened. Just another day in the agency, he supposed.