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Sera Masumi… Nope, it was Akai Masumi again, now that the organization was defeated and she was living with Shu-nii in the States. It made sense, after all, she only reverted back to her Mama’s maiden name for the sake of a disguise while in Japan. It hardly mattered now though. No, what mattered was that Akai Masumi was not someone who got nervous.
Scared? Sure, she was a detective after all, and she got into lots of scary situations, especially after getting involved in Shu-nii’s investigation into an international crime syndicate. But she knew what to do with fear most of the time; grab it, and channel it into punching and kicking the source of that fear until it stopped being scary.
Worried? All the time, especially about her friends and remaining family. She wasn’t heartless after all, and she always worried about those around her and how to protect them. With worry, the trick was to not let it devolve into panic, and work through everything to make sure there was nothing to worry about.
But Masumi never got nervous. Not about tests, not about investigations, not about a fight. She’d either ace it, deduce it, or beat it.
That is, she didn’t get nervous, until now.
Because, unfortunately, none of these options applied right now though, as she was tapping her foot impatiently against the sidewalk, glancing at her watch constantly. According to her watch, Masumi had only waited about 4 minutes in total, but it definitely felt like it was a lot more than that. She wasn’t one to arrive on time normally, since cases tended to follow her everywhere. Masumi actually smirked as she imagined Sonoko-chan’s voice complaining about how Masumi had been cursed like Shinichi-kun. So yeah, being on time for something was strange for Masumi, and she wondered if this was normal;
Being so stressed about having gotten the time wrong for her date?
And she had checked the time when she arrived and couldn’t spot her date anywhere. But no, Masumi’s fears turned out to be for naught, as the time was set at three in the afternoon, and she simply had to wait. And that was perfectly fine. After all, Masumi herself had run through a dozen or so excuses in her head this morning, preparing for the inevitable delays on her path here. So, she could understand someone being a bit late.
Doesn’t mean she had to like it, as her watch showed that it had been five minutes now.
Or was she stood up? At what point could one consider having been stood up on a date? It’s not like she had someone reliable to ask; Ran-chan and Sonoko-chan would have said ‘a few hours’ given who they were dating. Her cousin, Shiho, would have said fifteen minutes and then told her not to wake her up again at this hour on a Sunday. Shu-nii would probably wait until the next day, smoking a few packs along the way.
Why can’t I know any normal people? Masumi thought, feeling slightly annoyed as she checked her phone. Still, no new messages, and the time for the date was the correct one, so Masumi supposed that she should wait longer.
Her foot kept tapping in nervous jitters a little faster.
Biting her lip, snaggletooth digging a little deep, Masumi tried to shake off the feeling of worry about being stood up. No, that didn’t make any sense. Both of them had been so excited over the phone when they planned everything, even if the plan consisted of Masumi being overly enthusiastic and claiming that she’d figure out the entire itinerary for them. Something that Masumi then proceeded to spend the rest of the evening slapping together along with a nice outfit to wear.
The outfit admittedly ended up being her favorite brown leather jacket, over a sporty top, her best pair of black biker jeans, since she was taking her motorcycle, and some comfortable moccasins. Not much, but it was definitely her look, and honestly, Masumi didn’t feel like wearing something too fancy. At least not for a first date. Didn’t stop her from getting a quick 15-minute tutorial from Sonoko-chan on how to apply some foundation and barely visible lip gloss though.
Honestly, given that she managed all of that, didn’t screw up her makeup, and managed to arrange three separate places for their date, made Masumi was quite proud of her quick organizing abilities…. Even if it was stressful. Maybe she should stop flying by the seat of her pants when it came to things like this.
“Nah, that’d be no fun,” Masumi chuckled to herself, before sighing. Putting her phone away, she crossed her arms and leaned back on her motorcycle, trying to get a good look at the street. Given that it was around three in the afternoon, Masumi was surprised at how many people there were on the streets. Then again, it was Washington on a Sunday. And something told Masumi that even on a weekday, it’d be pretty busy.
It did make looking for short people a bit of a pain though.
“Okay, Masumi, just breathe,” she tried to coach herself into remaining calm, despite the fact that at this rate, they might miss their reservation. Not that it really mattered, Masumi did have backup plans in case that happened, but she would have preferred not to miss her go-to idea. She was sure that it’d be very much appreciated from what she’d observed.
Ran-chan would have probably giggled at how seriously Masumi was taking this, but in Masumi’s mind it was to be expected; she hadn’t exactly gone on a lot of dates, on any dates really, and she definitely didn’t want to mess this up. After all, growing up with her attitude and general appearance most guys ignored her, or were outright afraid of her,
Glancing at her watch, Masumi saw that another 3 minutes had passed.
The annoying part about being a detective for Masumi was how easy it was to slip into worst-case scenario mode, thinking of everything that could have happened to her date on the way to their meeting spot. Kidnapping was a definite possibility, especially given that news coverage regarding the people who took down a multi-national organization of killers, blackmailers, and assassins was still going strong even after 6 months. Mugging was something that could happen, but Masumi wasn’t too worried. That taser gun could pack a punch, as the two marks on her stomach could attest. The only thing that Masumi really didn’t want to think about was the possibility of mur-
“Masumi!” a pleasant, recognizable voice cut through the crowd, immediately snapping Masumi’s attention toward the voice’s owner. Sure enough, making their way through the crowd, and clearly out of breath, was Masumi’s date.
“Naomi!” the tomboyish detective beamed, as her date approached. They had dropped the honorifics a few months ago. Naomi Argento was the last person Masumi expected to end up dating after the whole Black Organization fiasco, yet when both of them found themselves returning to the States they decided to keep in touch. While it was nice to talk with everyone else as well, it helped that there wasn’t a 14-hour time difference with Naomi. It certainly cut down on the rude wake-ups in the middle of the night when one side or the other forgot said difference.
That was six months ago, and during that time Masumi had grown to really enjoy her chats with Naomi. While it wasn’t uncommon for Naomi to start talking about tech stuff that Masumi had no prayer of understanding any time soon, it was just nice to watch the older girl be so passionate about things that excited her. It always seemed to bring a certain shine to Naomi’s eyes when she started to get lost in tech jargon.
It admittedly took Masumi a while to reason out her feelings toward Naomi, and realizing that she found her attractive was a bit of a shock. Not so much about the fact that Naomi was a girl, Masumi had long stopped questioning who she was attracted to, but because it was the first time Masumi had liked someone who wasn’t a detective. When she talked with Sonoko-chan about it, the heiress just giggled and started proclaiming how she was ‘finally not alone.’
Shiho had been better about the whole thing, and so were Shinichi-kun and Ran-chan. They had just encouraged her to try her best… And that if she did hurt Naomi, Shiho had advised Masumi to start preparing all her food by herself.
Masumi was certain that her cousin was joking.
90% sure, but it wasn’t like she was planning on hurting Naomi.
If she was, she wouldn’t be feeling like her stomach was tied in some very impressive knots at the thought of making a bad impression. After all, while it did take Masumi a while to reason out her feelings, one thing she was sure about was that she really did like Naomi, arguably more than the rather one-sided crush she had on Shinichi-kun. After all, these feelings weren’t built on a single interaction ten years ago.
So, when Naomi had agreed to the date when Masumi asked, there were a good five minutes of just laying in bed and humming so happily that Shu-nii asked if she had drunk anything from the liquor cabinet. He was very supportive though, and even offered her a few good date spots he knew around the city.
So here they were, about to start the date, and Masumi already felt her hands start to clam up a bit, especially with just how good Naomi looked, despite the fact that she was out of breath and rather red-faced. Naomi’s soft light brown hair was done as usual in a French braid, only this time it was on the side, hanging over her left shoulder. Despite not wearing a drop of makeup, Naomi’s face looked perfect, and alluring, making Masumi stare maybe a hair longer than it would have been necessary, before turning toward the rest of Naomi;
The engineer was wearing white high-waist trousers, a green button-up shirt, and a sporty red jacket, the colors making a nice little casual, but stylish ensemble. Masumi was definitely blushing now, or at least close to it. Given that until now she had mostly seen Naomi in either work clothes, or casual home clothes, this was a definite change. And quite the welcome one.
“I’m so sorry I’m late,” Naomi panted, as she finally managed to reach the spot Masumi had been waiting. “I lost track of time working on a new bit of code and-” she was about to jump into an explanation, and as cute as Masumi thought she was whenever she started motor-mouthing, they were a bit pressed for time.
“It’s fine Naomi, I only waited for a few minutes,” Masumi assured her, leaving out the fact that she had been stressing the entire time. “You, uhm, look great,” Masumi offered with a smile. The compliment caused Naomi’s lips to quirk upward appreciatively.
“Thanks, I kind of slapped this together last minute,” the engineer admitted, her voice sounding slightly embarrassed.
“Damn, and you still look more stylish than me,” Masumi, joked, but Naomi shook her head, adopting a thinking pose, her eyes roaming up and down Masumi’s body.
“I don’t know,” Naomi said with a hum. “You’ve got a very dashing look going on here, with the jacket.”
“Dashing, huh?” Masumi smiled her snaggletooth on full display, even as she blushed a little at the praise.
“Definitely,” Naomi nodded.
“Well, in that case, I would be more than happy to dashingly drive you to our date! I made reservations for us, somewhere I think you’ll like,” Masumi encouraged and gestured toward her motorcycle.
“Oh,” Naomi said as she noticed Masumi’s Yamaha bike. “I’ve never actually ridden a motorbike before,” Naomi admitted.
“So it’s going to be your first time, huh?” Masumi joked. Almost immediately though she realized how that sounded and sputtered. “That’s- I just- Uhm… Please forget I said it?” Masumi requested, as she quickly shoved her spare helmet into Naomi’s hands.
Great job Masumi, she thought to herself. Less than a minute in and you’re already making horrible jokes. I’m doomed…
“It’s okay, Masumi,” Naomi giggled at the tomboy’s distress. “I’m not going to leave after a single bad joke,” she promised, even as she started putting on the helmet.
“That implies there’s an upper limit though,” Masumi pointed out.
“Maybe there is, but I’m not telling,” Naomi winked at Masumi, who only swallowed hard at the news. As she did, Naomi broke down laughing, almost doubling over.
“I’m glad my distress is entertaining,” Masumi groaned as she slapped her helmet on.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Naomi said, wiping her eyes a little. “It’s just you’re so cute when you’re all flustered, that I couldn’t resist.”
“You and Shiho have been hanging out way too much,” Masumi sighed, before gesturing toward the back of her motorcycle seat. “Just sit there, and keep your feet on the rests here,” Masumi gestured. Sure enough, Naomi quickly climbed on the bike, while Masumi kept it stable for her.
“Okay, and I just grab onto you?” Naomi asked, and Masumi nodded, lowering the visor on her helmet. It’d help hide the blush that was very much felt on her face.
“Yep,” Masumi nodded at her date, as she slung her leg over the bike. “We’re in town and I won’t be going too fast, so you don’t have to hold on too hard,” she explained to Naomi.
“Okay,” Naomi nodded, and Sera felt slender hands wrap around her waist from behind, with Naomi scooting just a little closer to Masumi’s back. Despite the minimum contact, Masumi could already feel her heart rate accelerate, as she grabbed hold of the handlebars.
This was going to be a long, but pleasant date.
-TS-
“Going to be honest, I did not expect a place like this, Masumi,” Naomi said cheerfully, as she started going through the menu.
“What did you expect?” Masumi couldn’t resist asking. “A bar?”
“Definitely not a high-end cake café,” Naomi chuckled, conveniently avoiding answering the question.
“Well, hanging around Sonoko-chan for so long has kind of clued me in on the fact that pretty girls like sweets,” Masumi admitted. And that was true. When she started planning the date, she knew that given the time, a nice little afternoon cake and coffee place would be perfect for a start, before they went to a park that Shu-nii had recommended.
And the café itself was very cute, even though Masumi wasn’t the best judge of places like this. Still, nice cozy clay red walls, and an abundance of beautiful wooden furniture, combined with the low lights, made for a very comforting atmosphere. Quiet music eclipsed most of the ding that came with the rest of the patrons, and the smell of fresh baked goods lulled one’s senses into not wanting to leave.
You didn’t have to be someone like Ran-chan to think that this was a cute and wonderful little date spot.
There was admittedly the chance that someone died, interrupting the date, but Masumi was fairly confident that she could get the situation under control enough not to completely tank her chances.
Probably.
Besides, the only way to completely remove the chance of walking into a murder would have been a date at Masumi’s place, and there was no way she was having a date while her brother and Jodie were there at the same time. She needed at least some dignity.
“Why, Akai Masumi, are you saying I’m pretty?” Naomi teased, looking over the menu, a smile on her face. Masumi couldn’t help but notice the cute little dimples that formed at the corners of Naomi’s mouth.
“Are you refuting the accusations, Miss Argento?” Masumi teased right back, even though her stomach was doing a weird thing that felt like a drunk performing flips.
‘Not as long as you know the same applies to you,’ Naomi shot back, and Masumi immediately thought that the nearby painting was very interesting, and if anybody claimed it was because she was embarrassed, they were lying.
“Did you, uhm, pick out what you want?” Masumi asked, trying to salvage some of her dignity.
“Cherry cheesecake and cappuccino,” Naomi said, putting the menu down. “You?”
“Double chocolate cake and some black coffee,” Masumi said, having memorized the menu when she picked out the café yesterday.
“Black?”
“It helps me to get some more work done,” Masumi shrugged nonchalantly. It also helped when she couldn’t sleep the previous evening because she was worried about how today would go. At least she didn’t have circles around her eyes.
“You’re still doing detective work, even here?” Naomi asked as she flagged one of the waitstaff to get their order.
“It keeps things interesting,” Masumi admitted with a shrug, while Naomi gave her order. “Though I’m mostly helping Shu-nii and Jodie these days. Police around here aren’t as amicable as the ones in Beika were when it comes to teens butting in.”
“Their loss is the FBI’s gain,” Naomi praised, bringing a smile to Masumi’s face. “Though it must be nice to not have to chase down criminals.”
“Eh, kind of miss the thrill honestly,” Masumi admitted with a broad, toothy smile. “I like knowing I helped, don’t get me wrong. But bringing someone down by yourself has a certain charm to it.”
“Fearless as ever I see,” Naomi smirked, leaning her elbow on the table, head propped up in her hand.
“You know it,” Masumi winked and was rewarded with a slight blush from Naomi.
“Still, I think it’s nice that you’re safe,” Naomi said, and the tone in her voice really struck a chord, making Masumi scratch the back of her head.
“Glad you cared so much, Naomi,” Masumi chuckled. “But you know that there’s little I can’t handle… Except someone ambushing me with a taser, that is,” Masumi teased and was rewarded for her efforts, as Naomi hid her face in her hands, and gave an annoyed sigh.
“You’re never letting me live this down, are you?” Naomi asked, but despite her tone, Masumi could tell that she was having fun. There was that slight little sliver of mirth that Naomi never managed to suppress whenever she was faking being angry. Masumi would’ve been a poor detective if she hadn’t picked up on it after all.
“What can I say? Maybe I like a woman who knows how to take care of herself,” Masumi tried to flirt back. “And if she happened to be a beautiful, super smart, older Italian lady, how can I resist?”
“Sweet talker,” Naomi smiled back at Masumi, leaning forward a little. As she did, Masumi noted that one of Naomi’s hands was resting on the table, halfway toward Masumi. Mentally preparing herself for what she was about to do, Masumi reached over and placed her hand over Naomi’s briefly enjoying just how soft the older girl’s skin was.
“I have my moments,” Masumi offered with a wink. Unfortunately, that particular moment got ruined when a waiter walked up with their orders, causing Masumi to pull her hand back as the cakes and coffee got arranged on the table.
If Masumi was any less polite, she would have thought some very unpleasant thing about the waiter. Still, not his fault for doing his job, even if Masumi’s hand was feeling a little cold now. At least, Naomi looked just as inconvenienced about this, even as she grabbed her fork to enjoy her cake. Sighing, and trying to play it off, Masumi did the same.
“Enjoy!” Masumi wished, as she picked up her own fork, but was more focused on watching Naomi try her dessert first. Sure enough, the Italian engineer used her fork to slice off a piece of the cake, before popping it into her mouth.
“Mmmmh!” Naomi let out a satisfied little groan as she chewed, causing Masumi to raise a quizzical eyebrow.
“That good?”
“It’s great,” Naomi assured her as she swallowed. “It helps that I hadn’t had any cheesecake in a few months,” the older girl admitted, sounding somewhat uncomfortable with the revelation.
“How come?”
“I’ve been… Kind of working too hard and kept forgetting,” Naomi admitted sheepishly scratching her neck. The unexpected answer, got a chuckle out of Masumi as she took a bite out of her own dessert.
I need to come here more often, she realized as she felt the sugar hit her system.
“Well, maybe I should take you out more often?” Masumi joked, even as she felt a bit of a blush creep back in across her face.
“Already planning a second date?” Naomi asked, sounding surprised. “Bold of you, Masumi.”
“I’m working on the assumption that you’re enjoying the first one,” Masumi admitted, half-fishing for confirmation. Naomi though, seemingly having fun with the situation, took her time to answer, choosing to drink her coffee, for far too long. When she finally put the small cup down, she said;
“Well, the coffee is good, the food is delicious, and the company is better than both,” Naomi said, with a broad smile, that seemed to light the room around her. It caught Masumi completely off-guard, and she could do nothing but just look, ‘stare’ was probably a better word, at Naomi for a good thirty seconds, before she caught herself.
“And you say I’m a smooth talker?” Masumi laughed. “You’re pretty good yourself. Is it just more experience?” Masumi asked with a wink, causing Naomi to giggle.
“Hardly,” she admitted, with a wave of her hand. “I think I’ve just been spending a bit too much time with Shiho on calls. Her wit must be infectious.”
“Not sure if this is a good, or bad thing for me,” Masumi admitted, knowing full well, how scorching her cousin’s wit could be if necessary. “But really, you’ve not been on dates before?”
“I’ve been on two, but they were pretty uneventful,” Naomi admitted, with a slight frown. “I’ve always been the smart one after all, and that… Intimidates people. Combined with the fact that I had to move a lot for dad’s job, skipped a few grades, and was always the youngest and most timid… Most people didn’t even know I was there,” Naomi said with a sigh.
“Still, two is more than the zero I’ve had until now,” Masumi encouraged, drawing a surprised look from Naomi.
“Zero? You’re telling me nobody ever asked you out? Or knowing you, that you’ve never asked anyone out?” Naomi asked, sounding stumped.
“I’ve always been the crazy kid,” Masumi admitted with a toothy grin. “And once I started learning Jeet Kune Do from Shu-nii’s training tapes, that escalated. Few wanted to date someone who could knock them out.”
“Young boys can be silly,” Naomi chuckled, but Masumi just scratched the back of her head.
“I ended up punching quite a few girls too,” Masumi admitted. “And that’s without mentioning how Mama…” Masumi’s words died on her tongue, as she thought back to her mother. Flashes of short blonde hair, and piercing green gaze, coupled with a voice that could flay an ox hide. Images of the most caring, yet seemingly cold woman Masumi had ever known, came to the forefront of the tomboy’s mind.
“Masumi?” Noami’s voice brought Masumi out of her little spiral, and back to the present. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Masumi shook her head free of the thoughts. “Sorry, just-”
“Masumi, it’s fine,” Naomi assured her, with a soft smile. “It’s not even been a year after all. Not to mention you spent a good chunk of that time, bottling everything up because of the organization.”
“I know,” Masumi sighed, rubbing her temples. “Shu-nii said the same,” Masumi said.
“He wasn’t as close with her as you were though,” Naomi pointed out, and Masumi found herself nodding, as she started picking at her cake.
“No, they didn’t really talk much after he left for the States and we stayed in Britain,” Masumi admitted. “He’s trying admittedly… But really, Jodie has been of a lot more help,” Masumi said.
“I guess, she does have a good idea what you’re going through,” Naomi guessed, causing Masumi to hum in agreement.
“She has,” Masumi said slowly. “And honestly, I don’t think she had given herself time to grieve until recently either so… It’s nice to have someone to commiserate about things like this,” Masumi said leaning forward on the table a bit. And it certainly helped that Jodie was visiting her and Shu-nii often enough. Masumi knew that the blonde FBI agent was primarily there for her brother, but she never tried to push Masumi away either. Masumi’s brother was still grieving himself, both for Mama and Akemi-san, but at least he wasn’t pushing his colleague away anymore.
“I’m glad you have people that can help you, Masumi,” Naomi said in a soft voice, even as she reached over and took hold of Masumi’s hand.
“Me too,” Masumi agreed, giving Naomi’s hand a small squeeze. “Sorry for bringing this up during our date, I know that-”
“I’m here to be with you, Masumi,” Naomi reassured the tomboy. “I don’t want you to hide things for my sake, okay?” she smiled gently, causing Masumi’s heart to skip several beats.
“Thanks, Naomi,” Masumi said, feeling a weight off her shoulders as she did.
It did feel nice having people who were willing to help. It helped if they were pretty too.
-TS-
After Masumi’s small little emotional moment, the rest of their time at the café passed pleasantly. Masumi might have tried to lean a bit too much into jokes, to recover the atmosphere, but Naomi didn’t seem to mind. Masumi was fairly sure that Naomi endured her humor just to help the detective get out of her funk.
After they finished their coffees and Masumi paid for them, they had left the café got back on the motorbike, and Masumi drove them toward the second destination she had picked; a nice park with lots of shade, and benches, overlooking a river. When Shu-nii recommended Masumi this place, she was a little surprised that her brother would come here unless dragged to it, but it made sense now that she was actually sitting down; the view was nice, the water was close enough that Masumi could hear the sounds, making it an almost sleepy atmosphere. Since it was midday, there were people around, but not enough to be a distraction.
The drive there was also uneventful, though Masumi noticed that Naomi had been holding on a little tighter than the first time, which the younger girl found really nice and comforting. And also not a little distracting, feeling Naomi’s body pressed against her back.
Still, they didn’t crash despite all the distractions, so Masumi was definitely patting herself on the back for that.
“How about there?” Naomi pointed toward one of the empty benches, right next to the water.
“Wherever the lady wants,” Masumi winked as the two of them made their way toward the bench and sat down. As they did, Masumi noted that Naomi seemed to scoot closer to her, their legs almost touching.
Masumi swallowed, somewhat unsure of what to do next. They’d talked quite a bit at the café already, and honestly, the silence seemed to be rather comforting, making Masumi reluctant to break it. Not to mention that for all of her bravado, Masumi was rather reluctant when it came to touching Naomi for whatever reason. Which was weird, given that she had no trouble invading personal spaces before. When she was with friends, Masumi was the first to jump in and hug people, needle them, and tease them. Especially Ran-chan. It was so fun to turn the poor girl into a traffic stop light.
For some reason though, she just couldn’t summon the same kind of energy when it came to today.
It wasn’t that hard to figure it out; she was just afraid of coming off as too forward or aggressive toward Naomi and potentially scaring her off. Sure, it had never happened before, while they were friends. Naomi just took a bit to get used to Masumi’s personality. Now though, since there was slightly more at stake, it somewhat paralyzed Masumi. Even holding Naomi’s hand earlier felt like she was being too forward, which was ridiculous. Naomi had not objected one bit after all, so it was okay. Should she have taken that to mean that she could be a little bolder? Would it be okay if she put her arm around Naomi and hugged her? Or was that a bit too forward still? After all, while the older girl did say she’d like another date did that mean they were officially dating?
Maybe I should have swallowed the embarrassment and asked Shu-nii or Jodie for some advice, Masumi thought, somewhat annoyed at her past self.
As Masumi struggled, with what to do though, she felt something nudge her leg and looked down to see that Naomi was nudging her. Turning around, Masumi saw that Naomi was leaning forward, looking in her direction with a smile.
“You know, when you’re deep in thought, you get this cute little frown and your snaggletooth is visible,” Naomi said fondly. “It’s adorable, like a puppy!”
“T-thanks…” Masumi stuttered, looking away blushing.
“You’re not thinking about anything bad, are you?” Naomi asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
“Not exactly,” Masumi said evasively. After a second though, she spoke up again; “Promise not to laugh?”
“I promise,” Naomi nodded.
“I was wondering if I should hug you or not?” Masumi admitted. A beat passed before Masumi noticed that Naomi’s shoulders were shaking a little. “You promised not to laugh!” Masumi accused, causing the engineer to pull back, waving her hands.
“I swear, I’m not!” Naomi promised, but her voice didn’t quite match the words, as Masumi picked up how much she strained not to laugh. Instead of answering verbally, Masumi just crossed her arms at her date, and did her best to look hurt, even though Naomi laughing was always a win in her book.
It took about a minute or so, but Naomi finally managed to get herself under control, with the help of some deep breaths, before she could talk again;
“I’m sorry, I really am,” Naomi apologized, still slightly red-faced from holding back her laugh. “But Masumi, you’re supposed to be the logical one here; I agreed to a second date and this entire time I’ve been nothing but happy. I think it’s safe to say I’d be okay with you holding me,” Naomi encouraged, and Masumi had to agree that when broken down like that, it did sound pretty ridiculous that she’d been worried.
“In that case, may I?” Masumi asked, as she leaned back on the bench, one arm outstretched. Naomi didn’t answer, instead merely leaning back as well, leaning a little toward Masumi. Taking the invitation, Masumi grabbed hold of Naomi’s shoulders and pulled the older girl toward her, until Naomi’s head rested on Masumi’s shoulder. It still surprised the tomboy that Naomi was older than her, but still a few inches shorter. It was adorable really. And it did mean that she fit compactly against Masumi.
“Your hair smells nice,” Naomi commented, causing Masumi to stiffen a little.
“Thanks, I showered,” Masumi muttered, before realizing how lame and dumb that sounded. She could feel Naomi’s laughter as the other girl’s body vibrated against Masumi’s.
“I can see what Shiho means when she says detectives can be idiots on dates,” Naomi admitted, causing Masumi to roll her eyes.
“She says that yet continues to date Shinichi-kun without reservations,” Masumi commented.
“Well, she complains about both him and Ran,” Naomi pointed out. “Still, no matter how often she does, there’s never any malice behind it.”
“Malice? Please, that little smirk she has on her face when she does it, tells me she enjoys every minute of it,” Masumi accused with a laugh.
“Guess I can always copy her if you think it’s that charming,” Naomi teased.
“Well, if you really want-” Masumi stuttered a little, using her free hand to scratch the back of her head.
“Mhm, I think it might be nice,” Naomi said contently, as she seemed to snuggle a little tighter against Masumi. “After all, I’ll be having my own idiot detective to date by the looks of it.”
Okay, this heart rate cannot be good for me, Masumi thought as she felt blood rush to her face, and the distinct feeling that her ribcage was a few sizes too small.
“Well, I-” Masumi tried to say, but then it finally happened;
“HE’S DEAD!” a woman’s scream pierced the air around them, and Masumi instantly bolted on her feet, and started to glance around, trying to find where the scream came from. Sure enough, Masumi spotted someone lying on the ground, a steak knife jutting from their skull, blood pouring from it. It was at one of the picnic tables, and a small group of other people appeared to be going into hysterics at the sight.
“Naomi, I’m-” Masumi tried to apologize to her date, but Naomi just shook her head.
“Go solve that murder, so you can walk me back home, okay?” Naomi offered with a wink. Feeling a smile blossom on her face, Masumi nodded;
“I’ll get it done in a jiffy!” she promised and turned to leave. Before she could though, she felt a tug on her arm. Slightly puzzled, Masumi turned back. “Naomi w-Mmmf!”
Masumi’s words died as Naomi pulled her into a kiss, the force of the pull almost smashing their foreheads together. Masumi stiffened with the surprise of the action, having been completely unprepared. As she felt the soft lips press against her own though, the tomboy’s posture quickly melted, and she leaned into the kiss, slowly closing her eyes as she did. She could feel Naomi’s fingers bury themselves into her short black hair, keeping Masumi’s head in place, as the kiss continued, the two of them losing themselves for what felt like hours.
When they finally broke apart, Masumi was certain that she forgot to breathe completely, because she was feeling dizzy, and her knees were definitely shaking a little. At least, Naomi was blushing just as hard as Masumi felt herself and was refusing to look directly at her.
“I… thought it’d be a nice good-luck charm,” Naomi muttered, playing with her braid. At this point, Masumi was sure that she was taken in, hook, line, sinker, and most of the rod.
“Yeah… Luck,” Masumi said, her throat dry as sandpaper, even as she felt like she could explode from happiness. It was only the continued shouts and accusations that radiated from the murder scene, that stopped Masumi from completely losing herself.
Case first, then I need to get back to my… Need to get to my girlfriend as quickly as I can, Masumi reaffirmed in her mind as she broke off into a run.
She was going to solve this murder so quickly that it’d make heads spin.