Heartbeats (Ranpo x Poe)

Someone Like You

"I think I love him."

Yosano stopped dead in her tracks. She turned to look at Ranpo, "What?"

"I think I love him." Ranpo repeated, with a light blush spread across his cheeks.

Yosano let out a small laugh before she resumed her walking and pulled Ranpo along with her. "Have you told him yet?"

"...no."

She raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised. You usually don't hold back when it comes to sharing your thoughts."

"Well I was going to kiss him but..."

"But?"

Ranpo looked away, clearly embarrassed. "I don't know how."

And Yosano was laughing again but much louder this time.

"Don't laugh at me!"

"I'm not, I'm not, I'm just..." her face suddenly lit up, clearly having an idea. "Why don't you ask him to teach you how to kiss?"

Ranpo thought for a moment before saying, "That's not a bad idea."

Yosano smiled, proud of herself for coming up with it. "I know."

__________

As soon as Ranpo got home, he opened one of the books and started reading. Well, more like skimming. He was just searching for the physical descriptions of the love interests to see if he could find a pattern.

And low and behold, he did.

Most of the men and some of the women had messy, black, unkept hair, similar to his own. They were usually very insightful and intelligent. Again, similar to Ranpo. And almost all of them had the same bright green eyes.

Poe put a lot of emphasis on the eyes of his characters and reading the way he described what were supposed to be Ranpo's eyes made his heart flutter.

Poe really did have a way with words.

__________
Buzz buzz

Poe rolled over, ignoring his phone. He was far too comfortable under his sheets to even think about getting up.

Buzz buzz

Karl nudged him, trying to get him to wake up.

Buzz Buzz

It must be Ranpo. No one else ever texts Poe so much.

Buzz buzz

Poe groaned but sat up and grabbed his phone anyway.

Ranpo:
Good morning Poe-kun!! Can I come over?

Ranpo:
Are you still asleep??

Ranpo:
It's not that early no so excuses! I'm still coming over

Ranpo:
I'm gonna have to break into your house, aren't I? Ur cute when you're asleep anyway

The last text left Poe's face burning but he didn't bother to answer. Instead, he jumped out of bed to take the quickest shower he'd ever taken. He had just finished throwing on his clothes when he heard a knock on the door.

"C-coming!" Poe called. He looked around his apartment in a panic. It was still fairly messy but he didn't have time to clean it now.

"So you are awake!" Ranpo commented when Poe let him inside.

"Why d-did you say that?" Poe's face was still flushed.

"Say what? That I would break into your house?" Ranpo was already headed into the kitchen to retrieve the rest of the cake.

"No, t-that I look cute when I-I'm sleeping!"

"Cuz it's true." Ranpo respond, no hesitation or embarrassment in his voice.

"I..." Poe had nothing to say to that. What could he say?

"Do you want any cake?" Ranpo offered.

Poe shook his head and sat down at his desk to start writing. He had work to do, whether Ranpo was there or not. Ranpo pulled up a chair near Poe's and looked over his shoulder at what the writer was doing. They did this often, Ranpo would help to point out plot holes or characters that were too simple.

Poe was grateful for his help, he really was, but it was becoming harder to focus with Ranpo so close to him. When the detective would lean over to point at something, Poe could feel his warm breath on his neck and it sent shivers down his spine. This time, however, Ranpo was uncharacteristically quiet.

"Is something wrong, Ranpo-kun?" Poe turned to him, eyes filled with worry.

"Well I do have a problem..." Ranpo stood up and leaned on a nearby wall.

"What is it? I might be able to help in some way." Poe also stood up and walked over to him, thinking something was seriously wrong.

"Could you teach me how to kiss?" Ranpo bluntly asked.

Taken back, Poe managed to choke out, "W-what-"

"I've never kissed anyone before and you have so I want you to teach me."

Ranpo watched Poe turn into a blushing mess as he tried to find a response. It was really quite adorable.

"R-Ranpo-kun... I-I don't think-"

"What, you don't think you're a good kisser? I'll be the judge of that."

"W-why didn't you ask someone e-else?"

Ranpo rolled his eyes. "Come on Poe-kun, I know you're smarter than that. It shouldn't be hard to figure out."

Oh. Oh. Ranpo reciprocated his feelings.

"I... Are you sure?"

Ranpo was now pouting again, his eyes boring into Poe's. He never could say no to those beautiful green eyes, could he?

I can't believe I'm really about to kiss Ranpo. I can't believe I'm really about to kiss Ranpo. I can't believe I'm really about to kiss Ranpo-

Taking a few seconds to build up his courage, he cupped Ranpo's cheeks and brought their lips together. It was a short kiss, Poe wasn't sure if he had the confidence for anything more, but Ranpo's lips were incredibly soft and the taste of cake still lingered on them. For once, Poe didn't mind the sweetness.

Much to his surprise, when he started to pull away, Ranpo grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back down to meet his lips.

Poe put his hands on Ranpo's shoulders and pushed him away, "Please give me a moment."As much as Poe wanted this to continue, he needed to catch his breath.

"Was that too much?" Ranpo asked, worried he had messed up.

"No no I just... it's a lot to process. I never thought that you would want someone like me."

"Well I don't l want someone like you. I want just you, no one else."

He didn't know how to reply so he simply pulled Ranpo into another kiss, reaching down to intertwine their fingers.

For the majority of Poe's life, he felt lost and alone. But now, he just might have found where he belongs.