"Put me down, Toto. I don't want anyone to misunderstand…. If they find us with our arms around each others' corpses, they'll think we were some kind of detective couple."

Isshiki sat at his desk in his room and buried his face in his hands. "What the heck?! Why'd he have to say that?"

"Say what?"

Isshiki jerked upright, overbalanced, and fell out of his chair. There, in the window, sat Spitz as though climbing through someone's window was a perfectly ordinary thing to do. Isshiki scowled at the man and climbed back up into his seat. "Ugh, can't you come in through the door like a normal person?"

Spitz shrugged and hopped in, flopping down onto Isshiki's futon and flipping open his cell. "So Tototo, what did Ron say?"

Isshiki spluttered. "How'd you know Ron said something? I could have been talking about anyone!" He was uncomfortably aware that his ears were burning.

Whether it was the redness around his ears or something else that gave Isshiki away, Spitz just gave him a disbelieving look and returned to his phone. "Like you talk about anyone else," the man muttered, voice so low it was hard to tell if he'd actually said anything.

With a sigh, Isshiki told Spitz about the conversation. To his surprise, Spitz put his phone away and sat up with sudden interest. "And? What did you say?" His gaze was oddly intent.

Isshiki flushed and looked away. "I just agreed that I wouldn't want that." Now the back of his neck was hot too, and if he better resembled a boiled octopus than a person, well, that was all Ron's fault too!

Spitz groaned and flopped back dramatically. "You idiot! That was your chance!"

"My chance?" Isshiki peeked at Spitz in confusion. "To do what?"

"To tell him your feelings! You could have refused to put him down! You could have given some smooth line like 'would that really be so bad?' or maybe you could have kissed him and said 'are we not?' or at least admit that if you have to die, you'd rather do it with Ron in your arms than without!" Spitz yelled, arms and legs flailing like he was only barely preventing himself from leaping across the room to throttle Isshiki.

"I - but I don't - that's not - Ron wouldn't -"

"You two are going to be the death of me," Spitz declared with a sigh. He fell limp and pulled his phone back out. "Well, it's a good thing I saved you then. Sooner or later, another chance will have to pop up." His tone was vaguely threatening, as though he'd devise a chance if fate didn't do it for him.

Isshiki gave up. "How did you know?" he asked rather than continue to deny it.

It was the truth after all. Isshiki was the sort of naive fool who'd fall for a person just because they made him feel a little bit special. He hated that about himself. Every time Ron turned to him, each time Ron's eyes sought out him rather than anyone else, Isshiki told himself it was nothing but friendship. But even that just made his heart pound, because Ron didn't acknowledge friendship with anyone else.

The way Ron's lips twisted down when he was upset. The way they curved into a gentle smile when he was happy. The way they pursed together when he was deep in thought.

Isshiki had spent a lot of nights thinking about those lips.

And Ron's eyes. The bright blue of happiness, the dark blue of anger, the cloudy grayish blue of sadness… There had to be something wrong with Isshiki, because he even loved the way Ron's eyes shone with unholy light as he pressured a criminal to kill themselves.

Spitz stared at Isshiki and smiled ruefully. "How did I know, you ask, when it's written all over your face. I can always tell when you're thinking about Ron." Isshiki covered his face and peeked out from between his fingers, making Spitz laugh. "What are you, a maiden in love?"

"I'm not a maiden!" Isshiki spat back.

"But you are in love?" Spitz asked with a smirk.

"... Maybe." Isshiki closed his eyes and dropped his head. "But it doesn't matter. Ron will never feel that way about me." He was fully aware of his own character, both his appealing qualities and his shortcomings. Yes, he was strong, loyal, decisive, and even reasonably cute. He was also straightforward and easy to read. He was gullible. He had perfectly normal intelligence and no great ability to piece together clues. There were no mysteries to solve when it came to Isshiki's person. If Isshiki ever lost his position as detective, Ron would have no further use for him.

Spitz hummed thoughtfully. "I don't know that you meant to say all that out loud, but I think you're wrong. At the beginning, maybe, but I think Ron would stay with you now even if you never brought him another mystery." He shrugged. "But, well, that's just my opinion. Just a feeling I have. Either way, I think you should tell him. Even if he turns you down, at least you'll know."

Isshiki's heart clenched at the thought of Ron turning him down. "I'm not that brave," he murmured.

"And you think Ron is?" Spitz asked quietly. "What if he feels the same way? What if that was his way of inviting you to change the status quo?"

If Ron felt the same way for Isshiki as he felt for Ron? Isshiki's eyes widened. He could imagine it. They'd keep their individual places, but Isshiki would start spending the night at Ron's. They'd sit together and watch movies, and Ron would mock Isshiki's taste, but he'd have a gentle smile on his face while he did it. They'd eat dinner together, and Ron would pour that brown sugar syrup all over his food like always. And then after dinner, while Isshiki washed the dishes, Ron would come up behind him and wrap his arms around Isshiki's waist. They'd kiss, and Ron would taste like syrup, which would suddenly be a far more appealing taste. The dishes would go forgotten as Isshiki found himself drowning in brown sugar kisses and then…

Isshiki shook his head violently. "No way no way no way!" He pressed his hands to his overly warm cheeks. "No way," he repeated.

Suddenly he looked up, eyes narrowed. "Why are you here anyway?"

Spitz blinked. "Oh, right, Ron needs you for something, but your phone's dead."

"Damn it Spitz, start with that!" Isshiki grabbed his phone and, yes, sure enough, it was dead. He cursed and shoved the offending electronic into his pocket as he scrambled out the door. "I'm heading out!" he called as he haphazardly shoved his shoes on. "And don't leave through the window, Spitz! It's weird!"

Isshiki slammed the door behind him, leaving Spitz to sigh. He looked at his phone, where he had a picture of Tototo blushing furiously. He slid his finger across the screen. The next picture was of Tototo's soft smile as he thought about Ron. He swiped again, and this time it was a picture of Tototo looking adorably flustered. Spitz sighed again and opened the messaging app.

Thought you'd like these, he typed and sent the pictures to Ron.

A moment, and then confirmation that the pictures had been seen appeared. No thanks came, but Spitz hadn't expected any. The fact that Ron didn't have any snide comments told him he'd been right. Next, he texted Mofu.

Operation: Make Them Admit It started.

Yes! Let me know if I can help! 3 3

Will do.

He closed his phone and stood. It would be difficult, but he owed those two far too much to let them reach an unhappy end. One way or another, he'd unlock the Toto/Ron happy end route. That in mind, he climbed back out the window.