Epilogue

Four months later

Jo knocked on a familiar mafioso's apartment. Chuuya was upset – to put it mildly – knowing Jo knew where he lived, but apparently not annoying enough to move. Something he was reconsidering, however, after learning the Brit was his new neighbor. Having apparently moved into Fleur's old place across the hall.

The apartment was practically paid for, after all, and Phil Robinson (the only other not-imprisoned inheritor of Fleur's estate) hadn't objected. Which was surprising, since Jo had landed both of Phil's brothers and his dad in jail.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" A familiar voice growled, wine glass held in his right hand. The other gloved hand braced the door open, loose sweatshirt and lounge pants verifying he'd settled in for the evening.

Jo couldn't even bother to snip back at Chuuya's tone. Instead, she thrust a file over. "That new Mafia hire came out clean. Not an ability-user, but his brother stole his identity a few months ago. He was the one conning those people."

Chuuya, still annoyed, snipped, "You couldn't have brought this over to the office tomorrow?"

Jo checked her watch. "Stuck in a stake-out tomorrow. I was hired to watch one of your henchman's wives."

Chuuya narrowed his eyes at Jo, about to say something, when he perused her frame. Apparently noticing her outfit for the first time.

It was a simple black dress, extending just past the Brit's knees, rest of the fabric hugging her frame. The V-neck cut-out went well with the C-cup bust Jo usually hid behind flannel shirts (Or, so Yosano had said when she'd helped pick it out). Jo's curly hair had been tamed and pinned to the back of her hair in a loose clip, strands hanging around her lean face. The make-up Yosano had helped apply brought out the pentagon-shape of her eyes and emerald color, additional touch-ups highlighting her smooth cheek-bones beneath.

"Hot date?" Chuuya questioned slyly, leaning against the door frame with a knowing smirk.

"Um, no."

"Wait… do you want me to ask you out?" The red-head accused, going from teasing to offended in the blink of an eye.

The blonde couldn't resist an eye-roll if she'd tried. "Yeah, Chuuya, I walked across the hall in a hot dress just to get you to come hither. What the fuck do you think?"

"Then what?" He huffed, taking a sip of wine.

"I'm meeting with a colleague about business… stuff," the blonde finished lamely, waving a slender hand in the air.

"What colleague? You work for the Mafia now."

"Remember we talked about this," Jo corrected as though Chuuya was five and learning the alphabet. "I'm not Mafia. I do odd jobs for your employees and grunt-work for you and anyone else willing to hire me in this city. Say it with me: Not. Mafia. I'm a Private Investigator."

Chuuya scowled at her condescension. But really, how long would it take him to get it straight?

"I'm too drunk to care at this point." Then leaning closer, he lowered his voice like the two were sharing choice dating secrets. Sky-eyes less than a foot from her own. "But, as a Mafioso, let me just say that any business involving that dress is going to mean taking it off tonight. Go get fucked."

With a chuckle at Jo's scowl, Chuuya slammed the door. Too fast for the blonde to do anything particularly damaging to his hot face.

"Yeah, just keep drinking. Maybe it'll improve your attitude," Jo said to the door at a volume audible inside the apartment.

When there was nothing but a swear-word in response, the blonde finally departed.

Thanks to Chuuya, Jo couldn't help being a little self-conscious about her attire as she descended the apartment steps.

Dr. Yosano had said black dresses were appropriate for every occasion. Even weddings. All that mattered were the accessories. Apparently, as long as Jo didn't wear a lot of jewelry, stockings, or do anything fancy with her hair, it was perfectly acceptable as an elegant dinner dress. And the 3-inch heels she'd borrowed were (apparently) also better than stilettos.

Still…

It wasn't a date, so maybe she should just change? Jo could probably still find some pants.

As if sensing her hesitation, the blonde's phone chimed. One text from Yosano had come in. Just about to open it, Jo's eyes caught on another text that had arrived while she'd been showering. It was from an unidentified number that hadn't texted her in the past.

Arrived at the Riviera. Enjoying the sun, it said.

What followed the text was a selfie picture of a young woman in a black one-piece swimsuit. Her waist-length raven hair was coiled atop her head, damaged eye hidden behind a pair of shades.

At the woman's shoulder, practically forehead-to-forehead, was a teenager with mismatched hair, ivory strands falling in his face and the other raven half tucked behind his ear. A wide smile was plastered on his face, caught mid-wave at the camera lens. Bandages around his forearms extended from his wrist to under the sleeves of a royal-blue cotton t-shirt, just as thin as he'd been when Jo had last seen him in person months ago.

Behind the selfie of the pair were snippets of pale sandy beaches and clear cerulean waters.

Jo shot a text back.

Kidnap a jellyfish for me. But if you can't, take plenty of pictures.

"What are you looking at?"

Jo's eyes snapped up from her phone.

All thoughts of Frost and Q immediately vanished.

The dark-wash jeans emphasized his slender legs and (undoubtedly) firm ass. A V-neck shirt was tucked into the waistband, dark suit jacket again pointing out the fine proportions of a man who practiced martial arts daily. Even without the trade-mark glasses, his hazel eyes were still sharp, long pony-tail just as long.

"Um… Frost sent me a picture," Jo managed to get out, somehow recovering her voice.

Just… God. Men had it so easy. All Kunikida probably had to do was throw on a shirt and some pants and… wham. Instantly impressive. And… yeah, still staring.

The agent, oblivious to Jo's wide emerald eyes, stepped over to her side to look at the phone image.

"That's good to hear."

Jo, setting her phone on silent, returned it to her bag. "Ready to eat?" She asked, glancing up at his lens-free face.

"I believe the restaurant I found is more than satisfactory," Kunikida answered, as though closing a job with an Agency client.

"Perfect. I can catch you up while we're there," Jo agreed, letting Kunikida lead her from the apartment complex.

Even though this wasn't a date. Just business.

As if reading her thoughts, a window on the second story slid open. Jo was too caught up in walking to the sidewalk to notice until a familiar voice shouted, "Enjoy your date! And remember, safety first!"

Jo froze. A blush spread across her cheeks, teeth grinding. Be nice, Jo, not in front of your dat- er, Kunikida.

So, looping her arm through Kunikida's – just larger than hers – Jo forced a smile. Her blonde not-date was also blushing, probably harder than her, but his stoic expression was doing a good job of making her think it was just a trick of the light. Even if his hazel eyes weren't meeting hers.

"Let's leave the pint-sized adults behind, shall we?" Jo asked, making sure she was loud enough for the apartment above them to hear.

Then, giving Chuuya the middle finger (Behind Kunikida's back, of course), the two non-daters strolled off into the night. Chuuya's wine-inspired-giggling filling the air behind them. Giggles overtaken by swear words when Dazai strolled by.

But Jo left that behind. Business or personal, this night was her time. Something, even she had to admit, was leaning towards 'personal' as Kunikida didn't remove his arm from hers. The two adults strolled down the Yokohama streets in semi-formal dress, towards their dinner… meeting.

This was her new life. No one knew about her ability, and no one cared. Jo Kipling had people in her life now that were just as weird, if not weirder, than she was, and a city full of new challenges.

Her mentor was dead. Her best friend was off living her life with her nephew. And yet…

Jo asked Kunikida about his day at the Agency office. Still holding arm-in-arm, he answered.

Life continued on.

I'm not too sure I'm happy with the way this ended... both with Q and Jo stuff. Just seems a little... rushed, or something. So I want to do more with it. With all of it, actually, that utilizes more canon characters and story-lines. But we'll see what I can manage.

At any rate, I hope you guys enjoyed reading this AU as much as I enjoyed writing it. But even if not...

Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading! I welcome anyone's thoughts on this, please PM or review.