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“Hey, Poe?”
Poe hummed, looking up from her desk. The two of them were, as had become typical, in her room, Ranpo splayed out on her bed. Generally, the day felt like any other – simple, but not quite boring.
At least, it would’ve if it wasn’t New Year’s Eve.
“What’s New Year's Eve like in America?”
Poe wrinkled her nose.
“Dreadful.” She replied honestly. “Why do you ask?”
Ranpo shrugged. “Just curious.” She said, sitting up on the mattress. “What’s wrong with it?”
Poe hesitated. “It’s not the holiday. Just… the celebrations grow very loud, and I’m not too fond of it.”
“Ah.” Ranpo tilted her head to the side, like she was examining the writer. “That’s it?”
“Er… yes?”
“You don’t sound very certain about that.” Ranpo said, hopping off of the bed and walking over to where Poe sat. The windows exposed a bare, black sky, dotted with only stars; across the globe, she could imagine it was lit with colorful fireworks.
Poe just shrugged, her posture tensing slightly as Ranpo leaned forward, her hands landing on the writer’s arms and her head resting on one of her shoulders.
“Are you going to tell me the real reason you’ve been tense the whole day, or am I gonna have to deduce it?”
Poe winced. She turned her head, planting a kiss on the detective’s cheek.
“It’s not as important as you think it is.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” She replied easily, tilting Poe’s head with her finger until the two were finally eye to eye.
Poe blinked, struggling to maintain eye contact as she spoke.
“I, uh…” She swallowed, fighting the urge to look away. Ranpo hummed encouragingly, offering her a small smile.
“My - my parents. They threw very extravagant parties for the occasion, and I was just recalling them. That’s all.”
“Li-ar!” Ranpo said in a sing-song voice, cocking her head slightly to the side.
Poe shut her eyes with a somewhat frustrated sigh.
“I -”
“Oh my goodness, Ed. I just want you to talk to me.” Ranpo pulled away, grabbing Poe by the wrist and yanking her out of her chair and eliciting a yelp from the writer. “Is that so hard?”
Poe frowned. “It… alright.” She relented. Ranpo just beamed, hopping back onto the mattress and taking a seat against the headboard. Gingerly, Poe followed.
“My parents weren’t bad.” She said quickly, looking ahead of her with her hands fidgeting in her lap. “Just busy. With, uh… with their work and such.”
She swallowed harshly. It was as if all of her words had vanished from her head in an instant, and all she was left with was the vocabulary of a kindergartener.
“But it was lonely. I mean, I was gracious, of course, belonging to as rich of a family as I did, but…”
“But that didn’t make up for it?” Ranpo filled in.
“No, I suppose not.” She agreed.
With a small sigh, Poe continued.
“Those parties. I hated them. Because New Year's Eve, it was one of the few occasions that they wouldn’t work. That they’d stay home. And they just didn’t want to spend that day with me.” Poe wrinkled her eyes, looking back at Ranpo. “It wasn’t that they couldn’t. It was that they didn’t. And - And I suppose that…” she trailed off. Slowly, Ranpo rested one of her hands on top of Poe’s, raising an eyebrow at her.
“I suppose that that hurt.” She spat out almost shamefully.
The room was quiet for a few moments, until Poe spoke again.
“Holidays don’t mean anything,” she said quietly, “if you don’t have anyone to spend them with.”
Ranpo watched her for a second before raising one of her hands, brushing aside the writer’s bangs.
“You wanna know what I think?” She asked.
Poe hummed, her gaze softening as Ranpo shifted her hand to her cheek, leaning into the touch almost unconsciously.
“I think your parents were imbeciles.”
Poe smiled gently, one of her hands coming up to rest atop the others’.
“I wouldn’t go that far, but –”
“I would.” Ranpo interrupted. “Because you’re the smartest, sweetest, most interesting person I know.”
A beat.
“Aside from myself, of course!”
“Of course.” Poe agreed, a small laugh escaping her.
“Better than your stupid parents, you’ve got me to spend today with.” Ranpo smiled, wrinkling her eyes. “And I plan on staying with you every second of the year that I can. How’s that for a resolution?”
Poe blinked, her face flushing.
“It’s, uh -” She laughed, narrowing her eyes at the other. “It’s one that I plan on returning.”
“You’d better!” Ranpo replied. “I don’t call you my lover for nothing, Poe. That’s a title that must be upheld.”
“Oh, I’m honored.” Poe bowed slightly, a grin evident on her face. “I thank the great Edogawa Ranpo for allowing me to hold such a prestigious title.”
Ranpo hummed.
“You know what else I think?”
Poe raised her eyebrows in response.
“I think that you look really pretty when you’re flustered.”
The writer felt her eyes widen, a sound mortifyingly similar to a squeak escaping her as Ranpo leaned in, leaving a chaste kiss on her lips.
“You’re evil. That’s what I think.” She grumbled. Ranpo just laughed, a hand snaking up Poe’s arm until the latter’s chin was in between her thumb and index finger. She pulled her in for a longer, deeper kiss, not pulling away until they both needed air.
“Better, sweetheart?” Ranpo teased as Poe sucked in a breath.
She just frowned.
“Don’t patronize me.”
“I wasn’t!” Ranpo said defensively, leaning against the other’s side. “I was just making sure that all of my partner’s needs were met, that’s all -!”
“Oh my god.” Poe groaned, covering her eyes with a hand. “Don’t word it like that.”
“What, you don’t like it when I call you ‘sweetheart?’”
“I don’t - ugh. Just be quiet.” She snapped, but the corners of her lips were tugging into a smile.
Ranpo hummed, leaning in for yet another kiss, her hand moving to thumb at Poe’s bottom lip, her tongue slowly slipping into her mouth. She didn’t pull away until Poe let out a shaky sigh, her fingers twitching from where they rested on Ranpo’s shoulders, pulling her in closer.
“Somebody’s a little impatient.” She said mockingly. Poe furrowed her brow, yanking Ranpo closer with her tie.
“Just come here, you asshole!”