Chapter Text
"I'm not surprised." Ranpo slams the papers down on the table, a look like boredom etched into his features. Poe turns towards the sudden sound, only for his one visible eye to comically widen as he sputters and reaches for the crumpled up sheets, his own handwriting staring back at him as he hastens to tuck them under his arm.
"Ah, you see-"
"Frances Sargent Osgood? I have to admit, that was quite clever of you. I hope this Frances also happened to be a clever girl, otherwise the gesture was wasted on her."
"She...was most definitely clever, yes. A fine young damsel, with a face like a cherub but a temper like a summer storm. Our love may have been a brief affair, but it was nonetheless as passionate as it was fleeting; to this day I recall the moments spent in her company with the utmost clarity."
"Is that so. Hey, you look the kind of guy who's into some really freaky stuff- does that play into the whole "passionate" part, by any chance-?"
At this, Poe splutters, the tips of his ears glowing red. No man in written history has ever been documented actually choking to death on his own saliva, but Poe makes a valiant effort nonetheless.
"Ah-! The two of us, our intimacy, our, well-"
"I was just joking, by the way. I know for a fact you're into some really freaky stuff." the corners of Ranpo's pull into a grin, baring all his teeth as per his usual.
Being close in any capacity to Ranpo Edogawa means nothing is neither secret nor sacred, yes, Poe is very well aware of this. Still, that doesn't stop his heart from skipping one too many beats from the shock.
"I...what prompted you to bring this up, exactly?" attempting to rebuke him is pointless. Poe accepts his fate with a long sigh.
Ranpo's eyes flicker towards the poetry nestled underneath his arm. Poe's face heats up again- he's never been ashamed of his more sentimental pieces, no, quite the contrary. He takes great pride in his craft, regardless of the contents or the subject, but something about having Ranpo read them, it...tugs at something uncomfortable in his chest for reasons he cannot begin to explain.
"Let's just say...oh, it doesn't matter, not right now, at least. Anyways, I was going to ask you a question." Ranpo plants both his elbows down on Poe's desk, lips still curled and eyes still shining with something that makes Poe uneasy. The older man wants to retort that this definitely matters to him, but hell hath no fury like a determined Ranpo Edogawa, so he relents, already dreading whatever it is he's about to ask.
"…Is that so."
"Indeed! You're very experienced when it comes to the ins and outs of love, yes?"
Poe's only visible brow raises, disappearing into his bangs. He's not sure why Ranpo even bothered posing it as a query; they both know of Poe's admittedly long list of former lovers (even though he never really brought them up in Ranpo's presence, but this is Ranpo we're talking about).
"Yes, I guess you could say that."
"Good! Well, I'm not. At all. I guess that kind of thing just never really interested me, y'know-? Some people have showed signs of physical or romantic attraction towards me in the past, but, I never saw the point in pursuing anything with them. Relationships, even casual hook-ups- nothing about them appeals to me."
"…I have reason to believe this has changed, then-?"
"Yes and no. I'm still not that interested, but, I have grown rather curious. Especially after seeing how even you seem to be so affected by the whims of your own heart and body, I mean- there must be something more to it, then? Some reason it's all such a big deal?"
Poe swallows. He suppresses the growing urge to chuck the poems tucked underneath his arms out the window (he'd definitely regret that).
"…And?"
Ranpo shuffles a little closer, closer- until Poe can make out the individual strands of hair framing his face. His breath hitches (but why?).
"I want you to show it to me. Hands on, I mean."
Poe isn't sure what expression he makes or what sound it is that escapes his throat, but it nonetheless solicits a low chuckle from the smaller man.
"Oh, easy there now, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were going into cardiac arrest.
It most definitely feels like cardiac arrests, Poe grumbles to himself in a corner of his mind.
"Uh...this is...well-"
"No pressure, by the way. You don't have to do this- I merely asked it of you because you're the only person I felt comfortable asking. That's all."
At this, something inside Poe snaps and he freezes.
Ranpo...only feeling comfortable...asking him? He knows the other sees him as a friend- a close friend, even-! But, to think, to think that the Japanese detective would, in this hypothetical (or not so hypothetical) scenario choose to rely on him, him-! Something in his chest flutters, and unlike before, it's not any kind of disagreeable feeling...Poe can't recall ever having felt any, hm, inclination or desire to perform physical acts of intimacy with another man (not that the thought downright repulses him, however), but, perhaps because it's Ranpo (and somehow, it's always Ranpo), he, well-
Said Ranpo leans back and sighs, waving a hand in front of his face.
"It's a yes or a no. If you're not interested, I won't bring this up again."
"Yes! I mean, yes-?"
Poe himself is struck by how...enthused, he sounds.
So much so that he feels to the need to try and snuff out his own voice, a hand slapped over his mouth.
While it's true it has been a while since he's taken a lover, it's also true that he hasn't really felt the need or the desire to do so- well, to some extent, at least. He does miss having someone warm his bed and all, but lately, he's just been so focused on Ranpo, Ranpo, Ranpo that he can't bring himself to yearn for his lost loves as he once did, to write verses overflowing with heartache or let out long, sorrowful sighs whilst gazing at the moon from his window-
"Hey." Ouch-! Poe flinches. A flick against his forehead. It stings.
"What was that for-!"
"You're doing it again."
"Doing what?"
"The whole "thinking way too hard about things you shouldn't really be thinking that much about". Stop it."
Poe gulps. Thinking too hard-! If anything, he has a sinking feeling he isn't thinking hard enough, because there's something here that just doesn't make sense to him and-
…No. He's right- as always. He really is giving it too much thought. After all, didn't Ranpo say it himself? He has no interest in pursuing anything with Poe (and Poe feels the same, really, he does) and is only...curious. Yes, he's just curious! And looking to satisfy his curiosity. With him. That's all.
"Alright, then. I'm no longer thinking- of the things I shouldn't be thinking about, as you put it."
Ranpo makes a face and lets out a hum, as if he isn't entirely convinced (he's definitely not) but lets go of whatever it is he wished to say. He has other priorities.
"Great! Then..." He gets up, grabbing the chair he was sat on seconds ago and making his way towards the other side of Poe's desk, letting it drag on the floor before setting it right in front of the older man and plopping down.
"Let's get started."
"…Now?"
"When, then?"
"Uhm, well, it's just, this is a little sudden and-"
"So you don't want to kiss me right now?"
The word "kiss" shoots through the air like an arrow and pierces Poe's skull, causing him to freeze, mouth agape.
Why did that word startle him so? He's no stranger to kissing, not at all, and yet...
Right. No thinking about unnecessary things. No thinking at all, actually, that would be most beneficial.
"I...do. I do, actually."
"Good! Then kiss me." Ranpo puckers his lips in a comical fashion, and Poe can't help the way he snorts.
The man...the man is cute. He was aware of this before, but he's just... making an additional mental note.
"What? Did I do something wrong?"
"Not necessarily, no. It's just not the sort of thing you would do before a kiss, that's all."
"So I shouldn't get my lips all moist and ready for another pair of lips?"
"No, really, there's no need. Just relax. Keep your eyes closed."
Ranpo complies, letting his shoulders sag and his whole body decompress. And Poe- oh gosh, what on earth is this nervousness-? He's done this many, many times before, and yet, something has grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt and is holding him hostage! He suddenly doesn't know where to put his hands, what to say, what to-
…Right, right. Thinking. No thinking.
"How long am I supposed to wait like this?"
"Oh! Not long at all, not at all. In fact..."
Poe leans in. No thinking.
His lashes are quite long, though. Long enough to earn any woman's envy (no thinking).
And his lips, his lips are very nice, too. Thin, but pink. A little dry, but inviting. To Poe, that is (still, no thinking).
"Not long at all..." Poe lets out a whisper, inadvertently slipping into that tone he's only ever used before pressing someone against a wall, or pulling their bodies close to his own while inside them. He doesn't miss the way Ranpo's smooth skin covers in goosebumps.
He also doesn't miss the way he completely freezes up once his lips press against his. Poe lingers for a moment- there's something fluttering in his chest again but he pays it no heed.
Ranpo's lips are as soft as he had hoped, and a part of him, a part of him wishes the other would allow him entrance, but no, no-
Poe pulls himself off. He should take this one step at a time- in spite of the fact that his libido, which up until this point he had paid little to no heed to (it rarely reared its head as of late) was hitting him like a freight train. For the love of Christ, Poe, yes, it has been a while, but have some modesty! Keep your composure; he may have asked it of you, but nonetheless, that's no reason to press the metaphorical accelerator and zip past every base at the speed of sound! Not to mention, Ranpo has no experience at all, making said hypothetical action even more inappropriate.
"Hm." That's all he says- "Hm", and Poe can both feel and hear his heart drop to the floor.
"Uh, I apologize, was that bad, did I make you uncomfortable, did I-?"
"Oh, no, not at all. I was just...considering."
"Considering?"
"Wether I liked it or not."
Right. That was the reason for their arrangement, why they had even done this in the first place; Ranpo is trying to figure stuff out.
The younger appears deep in thought, as if he were analyzing all the details of a case presented before him. Poe swallows, watching him, scrutinizing him, looking for any sort of hint, anything that would indicate the other man had indeed not entirely despised what was most likely his first kiss (and that, maybe, just maybe, he was willing to kiss him again. Hopefully. Hopefully-?).
"I guess I'm indifferent."
Poe doesn't bother lying to himself, and admits that that stings, just a little, or maybe even a lot. The only thing worse than being told your advances are hated, is being told that the other party doesn't care for them in the slightest.
"Oh."
"But I want to do it again."
"Oh-?!"
Surprise tinges his voice. Ranpo grins, and oh, Poe is soaring, soaring-! The poems he let fall to the floor are long forgotten, for his heart is far too full with sensations grounding him in the steady present to even bother reminiscing.
"Yeah. And so do you."
Poe smiles. He's right. He- he doesn't stop to consider what this means. He's really not thinking right now. Actually, scratch that, he is, he's thinking about-
Ranpo's lips. And the fact he wants to feel them again.
And again. And again. And again.
(Ranpo lets him do as he pleases. This, in turn, appears to please him).