Golden light streamed through the windows of the quaint cafe. The aroma of coffee drifted through the homely space, and Shinichi couldn't get enough of it, being the coffee-addict that he was. Taking in a deep breath, Shinichi visibly relaxed his shoulders and sunk a little lower into his chair.
Letting out a curt snicker, Kaito shoved another fork-full of decadent chocolate cake into his mouth and amusedly eyed Shinichi whipping his head around to face him.
"What?"
Shaking his head, Kaito swallowed. How was he supposed to tell him that the detective's way-too adorable actions involuntarily elicited a snicker of endearment? Exactly, He couldn't.
"Nothing. By the way, did you read the newest installment for Kaiki Tantei Tachibana?" He tried instead, shoving another bite into his mouth.
Briefly shooting him a look of concern, Shinichi shrugged it off and responded, "It resembled a soap opera a little too much for my tastes. I heard that the author was thinking about starting a new work with emphasis on romance."
He wrinkled his nose at the thought, "Yeah, one of my favorite parts of SDI was the lack of romantic subplots. Just because she was starting a new work doesn't mean she should workshop that material into Kaitan (A/N Abbreviation of Kaiki Tantei Ikebana). And that All-vampires-and-werewolves-hate-each-other-because-of-vague-biology bit she included in that Romeo-and-Juliet-esque subplot was so unrealistic and frankly a little offensive!"
Kaito sniffed, "We have a concrete, fair and square reason for hating those blood-suckers."
"Then again," Kaito continued, waving his fork dismissively, "The author is a human so I can't really blame her. Although, I will blame her for wrongly inserting cheesy drama into what was a riveting mystery series."
Shinichi nodded in agreement and once again turned to look out the window in a pensive manner, the illuminating light of the afternoon sun turning his rich blue eyes into a pair of sparkling sapphires. He could spend eternity gazing into their mysterious cerulean depths, or tracing the detective's graceful figure with his eyes, or sharing quiet moments and mindlessly conversing about nothing in particular. Damn. He had it bad.
"Ah! It's Kaito! What're doing here? Who's that you're with?" A bright voice chirped, drawing him from his Shinichi-induced reverie.
He spied one Nakamori Aoko walking up to them cheerfully with Hakuba in tow.
Placing a hand on his shoulder once she reached them, Aoko exclaimed "Oh, it's Kudo-san! Nice to see you!"
She then proceeded to leer at Kaito, her expression melting back into its usual amiable expression when Shinichi turned to look at the two newcomers.
Eyes widening in recognition, he quickly bowed in greeting and gave a small smile, despite the wariness present in his eyes.
As if to ease a fellow detective, Hakuba extended a hand and Shinichi took it gingerly.
"Hakuba Saguru, freelance detective. Nice to meet you," he greeted smartly.
"Likewise. I'm Kudo Shinichi," he paused before asking, "If I may, what are your relations with Kaito?"
Snorting, Aoko shot him another teasing look as Hakuba explained, "I'm sure you're aware of Kuroba's status by now. Nakarmori-san," he paused, gesturing to Aoko, "and I are fellow leaders of our own respective clans. Being the most powerful clans in the region, we've made an alliance and are keeping the peace between supernaturals in this region.
"So-" Shinichi started, eyes furrowed and brain visibly whirring to process the new information to piece together a bigger picture, "you're both werewolves? Er, I mean, lunar… followers, or whatever?"
A sharp snort drew everyone's attention to Aoko as she burst out cackling, "Who do you think had to play 'Arsene' while you two went out on your little date?"
Kaito felt a blush threaten to rise, but straightened himself and shot a glare at that darned Ahoko. Oh how she loved to tease him, he lamented.
Recalling the events of that eventful day, however, he felt a little flutter in his chest as he remembered how Shinichi instantly knew it wasn't him just because of eye color. Although, yes, Shinichi was a detective—A great one at that—and observation was basically in the job description, he was still weirdly and immensely happy that the detective had been paying attention to him enough to notice such a small detail.
Stealing a glance at the graceful man seated in front of him porting a cute and innocent expression of intrigue, Kaito couldn't help but let out a soft, genuine smile.
Hakuba, coughing, interjected, "I, however, am not a lunaran. I am more like a were-bird. A venturan."
"A venturan? So, basically, you can turn into a bird and such?"
"Essentially, yes. And just as lunarans can have powers of hydrokinesis and lunar light manipulation, venturans also have the power to control air and, therefore, other things that travel through the air, like sound."
"Do you ever… lose control like lunar-lunarans? Lunarans do during the full moon?"
"Yes. During times of great wind like a storm or when a typhoon is approaching."
Shinichi hummed as he sunk into his chair a little further and brought his hands to his face in the classic manner resembling Sherlock Holmes.
The edges of Hakuba's lips tugged at the sight, but he kept his neutral expression.
Eyeing Shinichi's empty coffee mug and his own empty dessert plate, he obeyed his inner wolf that had been pawing at him, begging for alone time with the wonderful man sitting across from him, ever since the two had arrived at their table.
Mine, it whispered.
Shut uppp, he whispered back, Not now.
He cleared his throat and grinned, half sincere half not, announcing, "Well, I think it's time that we take our leave. Places to go, things to see and all. Shinichi?"
Shinichi nodded, unknowingly making the inner wolf in him melt and run around while howling like a maniac. Someone was being a little rowdy today. Hmm.
"Oh, okay. Have fun you guys!" Aoko called, waving and smiling, as the two dark haired gentlemen stood up to leave. Shinichi bowed once again and trailed behind a Kaito that had waved his hand lazily and strutted past to the cashier.
Several hours later, the muted voices of a triumphant detective and a distressed perpetrator drifted through the Kudos' living room and over from the T.V. to the two gentlemen nestled together on the couch. Shinichi had fallen asleep halfway through an episode of Kaiki Tantei Tachibana and Kaito was more than happy to lend a shoulder. The only problem was that he needed to pee. Badly.
Glancing over at the sleeping sleuth's serene visage, Kaito admired the way his dark hair draped across his forehead, tickling his eyelashes, and the way his chest rose and fell softly with each breath he took. His mouth had fallen slightly open at some point, Kaito noted with a small smile. Cute.
Sighing faintly, he ran a hand through Shinichi's hair gently for one last time and slipped away as silently and carefully as possible. His heart fluttered upon hearing a soft, dare he say adorable, whine from the dreaming detective upon being moved and losing the other's body heat.
As he padded through the dark hallway to the bathroom, however, he felt a familiar sharp pain flash in his stomach. He could feel his inner wolf claw its way from the depths of his mind and his flesh and outwards in waves. He could feel his skin growing hot and his mind start to slip into unconsciousness. Why? The full moon wasn't supposed to come until… Oh shit, Oh fuck.
Faintly registering a loud thump and a dull pain spread across his body, Kaito suddenly found himself face to face with the floor. He turned his heads upwards towards the open window instinctively and spotted the pale shining silver of the full moon, in all her silently majestic glory, peeking from behind slowly receding clouds.
With the faint tickling of the individual strands of the carpet brushing against his cheek, Kaito could feel his consciousness start to slip rapidly into oblivion while he still gazed, transfixed, towards the tender face of the silver majesty.
Before he completely lost himself to the pull of the moon, he managed a mental slap and one last criticism: … Stupid. Fucking. Dickwiggle. I should've checked my calender…
A/N: Aaaah I'm not dead :'') ! It's hard to write when all tired from writing for my university classes but I shouldn't use that as an excuse o. Thank y'all for reading!