Day Twenty-eight: Falling in love

If there was anything Saguru has learned about love, it's not like the stories tell it.

There is no sudden realization that you love them, and it's not a sudden feeling that you feel either. You can't just look at someone, get that flutter in your stomach, and realize 'this is it, this is love'. Though it would be much nicer if it was like that. But alas, the human mind and it's emotions don't work that way- at least, not for him.

Love wasn't a word that he often thought about. Sure, he was a flirt- that comes with being attractive, you know- but he never really thought about what would happen if he actually pursued a full time relationship with one of the girls that came and confessed their "love" for them (they used the word far too loosely in his opinion), which was probably why none of his relationships lasted very long (even though he was the one to break up with most of them).

Usually his mind was on cases he had to solve. Where did the gem go? Who murdered the old man? What was he going to do this time to catch Kaitou Kid? He got a thrill doing this kind of work and he loved it. He loved the feeling of finding out the answer after working hard at trying to find it. Going step-by-step though the equations, examining the details, talking about motives and questioning the suspects; that was his life ever since he was a teenager and nothing ended up changing it, just how he wanted it.

And then Taylor came along.

Taylor, he decided, was the one puzzle he could never figure out. Every time he thought that he had done it, had finally unraveled the mystery that was Taylor Maddox, she revealed another part of her that he had to try and work into the large knot that was her personality.

She had shown him sides that no one else has seen before, and he's done the same with her. Sometimes he wondered if she knew him as well as he knew her- if not better than what he understood of her. She could read his face and somehow figure out his feelings; could examine his actions and get herself in his head and find out what he was thinking. She had weaved herself into his mind whether she had intended it or not. She probably wasn't even aware of doing it.

But, somehow, Saguru found himself not minding this. She was forever his puzzle that he was going to solve, and she was only going to get more complex as time went on and they shared more experiences with each other. He loved that he was going to be able to do that, loved that they could understand each other like they do, loved that he could stay by her side and have it seem like the most natural thing that ever happened to them.

He loves her, and he's known for years.

And really, he knows that she loves him as well. They both know that they love each other- they've just never said it aloud, as they've had no need to. They could tell by the way they acted around each other, they way they trusted each other with their lives (something that they've unfortunately had to put into action, with the dangerous situations his job sometimes forced her into), the way they looked at each other and the way they can see the vulnerable emotions in the other's eyes. But perhaps it was time that one of them said it aloud. And he knew that she wasn't going to do it first.

"Saguru, you're staring at me. Don't get me wrong, I'm flattered and all, but it's starting to reach that point where it's creeping me out." Saguru snapped out of it and realized that he's been staring at her while he was thinking.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." He apologized, placing his hand on top of hers. He ran his thumb over the back of her hand, feeling the fabric of the gloves she was wearing. It was starting to get a bit cold, even for late autumn, but she had insisted that they were to go on a walk and enjoy the last of the leaves before snow came to cover them up in a cold blanket.

Taylor scoffed. "I knew you weren't listening."

He knew that she knew he wasn't listening. She could take one look at his face and realize when he was zoning out to his own thoughts again. He could tell she realized when he was doing it because she got this slightly annoyed look on her face- the same look she was giving him right now. "I'm listening, so continue."

She rolled her eyes. "I'll back up a few minutes so you can get caught up on what I was saying. So anyway- wait a moment." Her eyes brightened and she practically leapt to her feet. "I think that's a pile of crunchy leaves right over there. Excuse me while I go step in it."

And as Saguru watched her run over and jump onto the pile, witnessing the grin grow on her face as she heard the satisfying crunch they made under her boots, he thought that he never wanted to live his life without her in it. Of course, he's known that already, but that didn't stop the small box in his pocket from feeling like it was growing heavier, as if it was ready to be shown to the world on one certain girl's finger. "Taylor?"

"Yes?" She turned and he almost forgot what he was going to say. Her blue eyes were shinning with happiness, her hair shimmering with the last of the afternoon sun when she moved to look at him fully. She pulled strands of hair that was covering her face back, tilting her head slightly as she stared at him curiously. "What is it?"

He opened his mouth.