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johnslittlespoon · 8 months ago

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It just makes so much sense that you were writing in 2013, you have the unhinged vibe that the golden fics from that era had.

I'm just here to compliment you really lol, mostly because I am giving a try to write a lil something for the first time and god I can only dream of ever being able to write as good as you. I've been writing poems and music for years now but i find writing actual coherent storys with characters and dialogue so so hard.

I was wondering if you have any tips, or like little rules you follow when you write.

all the love, xxx

🌷

I'M GONNA CRYYYY this was the sweetest thing in the world to wake up to wtf wtf <333 thank you SO much, i really appreciate this wahh my heart :'))) but also you are SILLY. don't compare yourself to others!! if we all did that constantly we'd never get anything written!! there are SO many authors i adore on here that will always have me chasing the "i wish i could write like that" feeling and it's a great motivator but alsooo at the end of the day. you gotta fall in love with your own words and characters and stories <33

and i feel that so much!! we are twinsss, i also started out writing poems and music and then realized i had stories i wanted to tell that wouldn't fit in shorter form, then discovered fanfic in middle school in the early '10s and it was all downhill from there LOL. truly such a golden era tho oh my god. growing up reading the hat fic and borderline illegible wattpad stories was certainly... formative!

yapping ahead vv (i don't have much advice bc i'm still just learning as i go but hopefully some stuff i picked up on can be a bit helpful!)

i have zero method to the madness when writing so it's a relief to know it doesn't come off that way LOL but i do have a few little things that i follow and i always look for them when beta–ing as well! they're pretty small technical things and they're generally up to personal preference, but some of them come from authors i admire and i think they can really take anyone's writing up a notch <3

i don't feel qualified to give advice because i'm just raw–dogging everything lmao i've never taken classes or anything, so take all this yapping with a grain of salt bc it's just what's worked for me!

– i try to use descriptors like "the man" or "the blond" or "his friend" etc sparingly. i wish i could remember the source, but i read a great piece about why it's better to just go with the character's name 99% of the time, and then i went through so many of my works to edit them and i felt so much more confident in my writing afterwards– it made a big difference in readability (imo).

ofc there are exceptions, like if the name of a character is unknown, or if there are too many names being thrown around in one sentence and a "the man" or "the soldier" etc just sits nicer. i definitely still use them occasionally! but it does sometimes put some distance between the reader and the story when those descriptors are used too often instead of names, so it's a good thing to keep an eye out for when it comes to flow. sometimes less or more or whateva ??

– sorta on the topic of less is more, i love challenging myself to show vs tell when i can! whether it's by keeping dialogue short and letting actions speak instead (can add to intimacy/realism– we communicate so much through body language yk), through metaphors (literally how my whole '#john egan is dog coded' fic was born LOL), or describing feelings rather than spelling them out (his heart ached vs he was sad, his pulse raced vs he was scared, you get the gist). you said you've been writing poems so i feel like stuff like that would already probably come easily to you tho! <3

– this guide on ao3 is great for smut writers! whether someone's a beginner or just looking for ways to elevate the filth, i found it really helpful, it's a fun read as well lol. it calls out stereotypes/cliches and teaches you how to reword them, gives lists of slang and reactionary words, do's and don't's, etc. i don't follow everything in it but that's the beauty of writing; we all have things that work for us and things that don't and that's so okay. :-)

– in the same way that artists use references to practice and find their style, you can do that with writing too! i know a lot of writers have a doc or note where they jot down stylistic things they find while reading that they'd like to emanate, or words they want to use, specific phrases, descriptors, etc. if i'm reading a fic and find an auditory descriptor i like, i might take note of it, stuff like that. sorta like a text document version of a pinterest board!

– thesaurus.com is my best friend truly. often going with the 'simplest' version of a word makes for smoothest reading so someone isn't taken out of the story being like wtf does that word mean lol but sometimes things can feel repetitive, or like there just needs to be a little bit more spice; i probs go back and forth btwn my doc and thesaurus a dozen times an hour tbh.

that's all i can think of rn and ik those are pretty basic so i'm sorry about that!! i really do just kinda write what evokes emotions in myself, and then i hit post and hope it translates over to whoever is reading too :') drawing from your own experiences if you can/really sitting with what the characters would be feeling in whatever scenario you're writing is probably the most powerful way to present what you see in your mind.

i have a hard time writing about emotions/things i haven't personally experienced, so i usually stray away from it out of fear of not getting across what i want to, but some people are great at winging it and putting themselves in unfamiliar shoes so!! it's again just personal preference really.

and alsooo be kind to yourself! i'm an anxious wreck every time i post any of my writing, i am very much not confident when posting new fics and i agonize over my docs so much and trash a lot of works, but i know at the end of the day i can't grow or learn if i don't get the words down, and i can't get feedback or gain confidence if i don't post. becoming your own hype man and giving yourself the opportunity to improve is essential <33

sooo much love and best of luck!!! lmk if you end up writing smth, i'd love to read it (◠‿◠✿)

#also tentatively offering beta services to mota/sb moots bc i love helping w fics <33 hmu #if i am not super busy i am SAT #this got so long WHOOPS so sorry anon #johnslittlespoon asks #johnslittlespoon yaps

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daisiesanddanganronpaimagines · 7 years ago

Text

The Blonde & The Detective

Title: The Blonde & The Detective

Word Count: 5,580

Fandom: Danganronpa, Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.

Pairing: Kaede/Saihara

Rating: T

Summary: He felt an arm hook around his waist, and the girl beside him scanned the girls in front of him, blonde hair shining under the nightclub’s light. “Babe, who are they?” Confusion swamped over him but he was careful not to let it show on his face, lest he give himself away. He hadn’t an inkling as to who she was. Written for Saiede Week (@saiedeweek) Day 6: AU

A/N: Aaaaah! I'm in love with this honestly? Does that sound arrogant? I hope not... But it's just the longest one shot I've ever written so I'm vv proud I really hope you guys like this one! <3 Saihara and Kaede are so pure I love my nerds

Anyway, maybe leave a like if you enjoyed? And please please, please reblog! Even a comment on the post or in the tags with a reblog would be amazing! <3

Thank you for reading!!

(pssst: reblogging and tagging it helps me a whole lot!!)

Ao3 Link

Fanfiction.net Link

A low groan slipped from Saihara’s lips as he rested his head on the cool surface that was his office desk. His body felt as if it were being dragged down and pressed to the lowest available surface. A sleepy feeling washed over him in waves.

Maybe if he took a small nap at his desk, no one would notice. He had been up from 9:00 the previous morning until now. His eyes glanced over to the clock on the wall, which read 5:27. A grand total of 32 hours with no sleep. Quietly, he snorted to himself. Yeah, like that was going to help his insomnia any.

A hand clasped on his back, and he sat up and turned around, ready to spew apologies to his boss, who he was sure was standing behind him.

To his relief, it was only his coworker and best friend - Kaito Momota. The man had rich purple hair that stuck up almost unnaturally so, and an equivalently colored goatee. Unlike himself, his uniform was a bit disheveled, and he was muscular. Well built.

In comparison, Saihara seemed scrawny.

The young detective sighed. “What’s up?”

Kaito beamed over at him. A sinking feeling settled in his gut, but it wasn’t the kind that came with loss. No, this was different. This was the sinking feeling of premonition.

“We’re gonna go to a nightclub tomorrow night to celebrate a case closed! You coming or what?”

Shuichi sighed, knowing this was coming. He had a feeling that he wasn’t going to be able to get out of this either, but he still tried.

“Well, I’m pretty tired, and I don’t know how much more after-case cleanup I’ll have to do…”

Kaito grinned even wider, as if expecting this response. “I’ve already talked to our boss and he says he’ll give you the entire day off tomorrow to sleep. And you won’t have that much to do because I’ve already done a lot! Plus, I’ll pay!”

Shuichi sighed. While he would love to stay home all night tomorrow night and just sleep; he wasn’t getting out of this. Well, that was provided with the fact that his insomnia would even let him sleep in the first place.

He sighed, but nodded. “Fine.”

The other man cheered, and he rested his head on the desk again for a moment. He could feel Kaito’s eyes on him, and he finally summoned up the strength to grab his bag and coat, standing up.

The blue haired man began to walk away, as Kaito called after him. “Where are you going? You’ve got after-case stuff to do, remember?”

Shuichi sighed, and then turned around. Kaito froze on the spot at the tired and irritated look in his eyes. “Kaito,” he said calmly, “if you’re going to drag me out to some nightclub tomorrow night, you’re going to do all of the paperwork.”

Kaito was dumbstruck. “But ace detectives don’t do paperwork for their sidekicks!”

Saihara sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “For the last time, Kaito, I’m not your sidekick. If anything, you’re my sidekick. Now, I’m going to bed. Good luck on the paperwork.”

He turned on his heel and left, not stopping to pay attention to the groans and moans of the purple-haired man behind him.

He had sleep to get.

A day passed, with much sleep, and before he knew it, he was waiting out front of his apartment complex, dressed in a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. His hat that he typically wore was missing. He felt a little bare without it, but what could he do, really? Kaito and whoever else he brought along were sure to snatch it off of his head the second he got in the car if he did bring it. He sighed, texting Kaito and waiting for the man's car to show up outside.

Soon enough, it did, and he climbed in the backseat. In the front was the man himself, dressed in a black shirt like his own and a very form fitting pair of jeans. They fit tightly enough hat he blushed and had to look away, cursing his sexuality for a moment.

He looked back to the backseat, where another coworker of theirs sat. His name was Ouma Kokichi. Like Kaito, he had purple hair, but unlike his friend, his was longer and came out in almost spiky tendrils at the end. It was a bit strange, but he'd never questioned it. The young man wore his usual attire, some sort of elaborate white suit (that almost resembled what patients wore in asylums), a checkered scarf, and dress shoes. Sighing, Shuichi settled himself in his seat. Only one way to do this.

And that was to go.

Kaito hit the gas, and they were off. Ouma leaned up and stuck his head between the seats. "So, what's with the impromptu nightclub visit? Did your girlfriend dump you already?"

Kaito glowered at him slightly, but his posture didn't show too much hostility. Shuichi knew this was because he had a slightly soft spot for the other purple haired man, although it had never struck him why in the world that was.

"No, I don't even have a girlfriend, idiot!"

Ouma laughed. "Yes, yes! I forgot that my poor Kaito is horribly alone!" He sniffled. "Wahh!"

Shuichi rolled his eyes. Ouma caught the movement and poked his cheek. "Hey, now that I think about it, isn't Shuichi single, too?"

Shuichi nodded reluctantly, the movement so small that it could be interpreted either way.

Kaito slapped the wheel suddenly, making him jump. "That'll be the purpose of tonight's visit, then! Find Shuichi a girlfriend!"

Shuichi let out a noise, something akin to indignation. "I thought tonight's outing was supposed to be for a 'job well done'! And plus, I don't need a girlfriend."

Ouma laughed again. "Maybe you need a boyfriend then, huh?"

Shuichi went red. "N-no! That's not what I meant-"

"Nishinishi, I knew that! I just wanted to see how red you would get."

Shuichi sighed, bowing his head. As much as he wanted no part in this, when it came to these two, he had no choice. And, now that he thought about it....

"Hey, Kaito, why didn't you bring Maki?"

Kaito flushed, and said. "Well, I asked and she said that she would rather die than go. So...I took that as a no."

"Plus, she said that if he asked again, she'd kill him!" Ouma chimed from the back, grinning merrily.

"Y-you said you weren't going to mention that!"

Shuichi laughed.

"A-anyway, back on topic!" Kaito said, the redness in his cheeks dying down. "How are we going to get Shuichi a girlfriend?"

Ouma shrugged. "I guess we'll find out when we get there."

Shuichi had a feeling that this wasn't going to go very well.

When they'd arrived, he'd just taken a seat at the bar. Kaito and Ouma could do whatever they wanted, but he wasn't going to actively take part in whatever the two were scheming together.

He ordered a drink, watching the people around him. By no means was he here to get wasted or anything of the sort, but he wouldn't mind feeling a bit buzzed.

Besides, he needed something to curb his quickly growing annoyance with the two.

The detective decided that he was going to people watch for a bit, deeming that the most suitable course of action.

The nightclub, itself, wasn't any different than how the movies described it. Flashing lights flickered all around a dance floor, and there was a VIP area, music, a bar, food, etc. All of the above were lit up in neon colors, and the bodies of club-goers shone under the lights.

People around his age crowded the dance floor, socializing and interacting. Some were grinding up against each other, but he quickly averted his eyes from those scenes. It wasn't like he minded seeing it - it's what happened in nightclubs - but it almost felt like an invasion of privacy to watch. The detective studied the dance floor, eyes skipping from person to person as he silently profiled them all in his head.

It wasn't until a pair of violet eyes caught his that he stopped.

From across the room, he could vaguely see a blonde girl with violet eyes. She had on a black dress that easily fell to below her knees, but hugged her body. The blonde's hair was piled into a messy and relatively short ponytail at the top of her head. Her feet were housed in equally black heels. They simply stared at each other for a minute. Nonetheless, his breath hitched quietly, and he could feel his heart rate elevate, pulse slamming against his skin like a jackhammer. Color bloomed on his cheeks.

In his peripheral vision, he could see her face growing in color too. But, she turned away to smile at one of her friends, thus breaking the eye contact. He averted his eyes. Staring at her would be creepy.

His eyes eventually focused on the drink he'd set on the bar. He frowned. He hadn't been looking at it for a solid 10 minutes, and even though he hadn't seen or felt anyone pass by, he didn't know that someone hadn't done something to it. Pushing it aside, he asked for another drink. He didn’t know if it was another stupid anxiety of his or what have you….but he was still worried. So, he’ll just order a new drink.

Just in case.

The bartender complied quickly, handing it over to him with a little nod. He smiled at her, and she went a little red, but looked away.

Sipping it, he returned to his previous task. Or, at least, he was going to, but judging by the three people standing in front of him, that wasn't happening anytime soon.

The people in front of him consisted of three girls, each dressed in skimpy clothing. He smiled politely and slid out of his seat, taking his drink with him. "I'm sorry, ladies. Am I in your way?"

All three of them shared a look and giggled. "Actually, no. We're here for you, cutie!"

Pink dusted his cheeks, and he forced himself to smile. Really, he should be used to this.

By no means was Shuichi Saihara bad looking - no, it was quite the opposite. Many people had told him that he had wonderful eyes, and that he just gave off an aura that attracted girls to him. He'd witnessed this firsthand as well, of course, and had sat through many nights of Kaito and Ouma's attempts to find him a girlfriend, or love, or something of the sort.

It was still unsettling, and he still didn't believe a word of it. The detective's self esteem was at rock bottom. It was a miracle that he even thought he looked decent on a daily basis.

The girls in front of him continued to make passes at him, giggling all the while. He accepted the compliments graciously, but didn't dare return any of them.

As time passed, they began to get more raunchy and daring, even placing their hands all over him. The smile from his face never faltered, even as he shifted uncomfortably from side to side.

Oh, it was going to be a long night.

Visits to the nightclub were a frequent for Kaede Akamatsu. She liked going and people watching, of course, and drinking. It wasn't like she was a party girl or anything, but it was a nice change of pace from staying inside and playing the piano all day.

Usually, no one really caught her eye - so she just talked to her friends the entire time.

Tonight, though, someone did.

He was well built - but not super muscular. Anybody that was muscular would make him look as if he were a dweeb in comparison. She had the feeling that she'd seen him somewhere, but couldn't place where. He had blue hair, blue that was such a shade of blue that it almost dipped into black. She found herself mesmerized by the way the light reflected off of it. His eyes scanned the room, back and forth in an easy swoop. He was clearly analyzing everyone, and at an impressive rate.

Somehow, she found herself wondering when he'd notice her. It was unlikely that he even would, really - there were easily a hundred people in this nightclub.

But, by some miracle, he did notice her. His light grey eyes clashed with her violet ones, and she felt as if she couldn't breathe for a moment. His eyes seemed as if they were...trapping her, somehow. Staring straight into her soul. Color bloomed on her cheeks. Under the light, he seemed handsome. God, was someone that good looking staring at her, of all people? And was she....liking it?

After a moment, though, one of her friends tugged on her arm, and she looked away, quickly smiling at them as they droned on about some topic that she hadn't been listening to. The man's eyes seemed to stay firmly pointed at her for a moment, before he looked away and she felt as if she could breathe and think again. She responded with a nod and the occasional, "Yeah, sure!", and "Agreed!"

They seemed satisfied by that and let her go, and she looked back in his direction. Part of her craved a connection with him in some way, and another, much larger part of her wanted to make sure he was doing okay.

He wasn't.

Three girls were surrounding him and giggling, but even from her vantage point, she could see that he was uncomfortable. He was shifting from side to side, but he had a polite smile plastered on his face, even though his body language said he was uncomfortable.

Her eyes narrowed. Something did not sit right with her about this. Glancing over at her friends, she decided that it was time to take action.

Sliding off her chair, she sauntered over to him. If he noticed, he showed no signs of it, even as she got catcalls. For all of her faults, Kaede Akamatsu was a good actor. She went around the group of girls, but finally got to him. Her arm snaked around his waist, and she smiled.

It was time to do what she did best, other than piano.

Act.

Shuichi thought he was about at his breaking point. He'd seen Kaito and Ouma pass by several times now, but they were making no move to help him.

Outwardly, he just kept smiling. Inwardly, however, he cursed his friends to hell and back. If they’d set this up, they were in trouble. Something told him that they were. These girls would never give up. A bitter feeling rose up within him. One person? Fine, he could handle that. Three? No thank you. He was going to get them back for this.

Provided these girls ever gave up, that was.

Just when he had thought that, something happened.

He felt an arm hook around his waist, and the girl beside him scanned the girls in front of him, blonde hair shining under the nightclub’s light.

“Babe, who are they?”

Confusion swamped over him but he was careful not to let it show on his face, lest he give himself away.

He hadn’t an inkling as to who she was.

Still, he found himself pulling her closer, hooking an arm around her waist. She took her arm from around his and curled into him, smiling.

"I don't know," he said, making eye contact with her, "why don't you ask them yourself?"

She turned to them, pearly whites flashing as she smiled. "Hey, I don't know who you are, but if you could lay off my boyfriend, that would be awesome." The blonde said it in such a sweet, yet intimidating tone that he found himself genuinely smiling as they scoffed and walked away, watching them still.

Just for show, she pecked him on the cheek and then moved around so that they were face to face and leaned into his ear. "Are they gone?"

He glanced at them. "Yeah," he whispered.

She smiled and pulled back, keeping a good bit of distance between them. "Good. Sorry for forcing you to act like that, but I guess it's better than being hit on, yeah?"

He laughed. "You'd be correct, Ms..."

The girl smiled at him. "Call me Kaede."

"Shuichi." He said in response.

They stood there for a moment, just staring at each other.

After a minute, she finally said something.

"Do you maybe want to get coffee or something sometime? Not as a date, just as a 'get to know you' thing."

He nodded. "That sounds really good actually. I'll pay, as thanks for saving me."

Smiling, she said; "Good deal! Let's trade contact info."

He nodded, and they did so. As they did, he slipped back into his seat at the bar. Conveniently, there was a seat open next to him, and she sat down, too.

"Why were they over here, anyway?" Shuichi wondered.

Kaede giggled and reached over, pinching his cheek. "Well, it's either the fact that you are cute as a button, or someone sent them your way and then they noticed you."

Shuichi sighed. "Damnit, I knew it was Kaito and Ouma."

"You came with friends?"

The detective nodded. "Yeah, they're two buddies I work with who have been trying to set me up with someone for as long as I can remember."

Kaede raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

He nodded solemnly. "Yeah. It's honestly a bit of a pain. Well, it's not that they're a pain it's just-"

She giggled. "I know what you mean. I came with friends too, but I'm not really the biggest fan of them."

This time it was his turn to quirk an eyebrow. "How come?"

Kaede shrugged, and after flagging the bartender down for two drinks for the both of them, she explained. "I just don't click with them. They want to watch those reality shows and do stuff I don't really like. But, friends are friends, huh?" She held her drink up.

"Yeah." He clinked his glass with hers, and they both took a sip.

She sighed in bliss, and then, after taking another long sip, seemed to come up with an idea. "You know, we could get some revenge on your friends...."

He smiled deviously. "I'm listening."

Something in Kaede stirred at the smile, but she didn't pay it much mind. "We could take this to the next level."

"'This'..." he thought for a second, "As in, you being my 'girlfriend'?"

She nodded, grinning. "Say, I spill some drinks all over them and totally bitch them out because I caught them trying to hook you up with someone else."

Shuichi laughed slightly. Part of him felt bad for doing this, but the other, bigger part of him, wanted revenge. "Let's do it."

And so, he bought two drinks. One for him, and one for Kaede.

Kaede clasped their hands together, and he looked at her quizzically. She laughed lightly. "We've got to make it convincing, yeah?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

They walked through the club for a bit, weaving in between couples and grinding lovers. A couple times, they'd even seen more....unsightly things.

After about half an hour or so, Shuichi spotted them. "There." He said to Kaede, moving his head in that direction. She understood immediately.

The both of them were sitting there, being chatted up by two other girls. He snorted. "Of course they found a couple girls. What else was I expecting?"

He glanced over to Kaede, who probably would have snorted at him, only to find her eyes closed for a second. "Uhh...Kaede?"

She put her finger up to his lips. "Shh."

He stood there for a moment, just watching her. She was seemingly concentrating on something, quiet and focused. After a moment, though, she opened her eyes and looked at him, lips set in a frown. "I'm ready. Let's go."

He made a face of confusion, but said nothing. Instead, he led her to where they were sitting with the girls. "Hey."

They both looked up at him, and Kaito grinned. "Hey, Shuichi! What's up?"

Ouma, seemingly not caring for his presence, simply asked; "Who's she?"

Kaede then made a face of sheer anger. "I'm his girlfriend, idiot! We've only been going out for three months!"

Ouma's eyes widened, and to stop himself from showing any emotion, Shuichi rolled his lips together and looked down as if out of shame.

"Ugh! You guys are the worst! First, you sick some girls on him and now you're forgetting about his girlfriend of three months?!?!? I can't believe you!"

Kaito opened his mouth, but she rounded on him, using the information that Shuichi had passed on to him.

"And you! I think Maki wouldn't be very pleased to see you with another girl on your arm!"

She turned to Shuichi and plucked his drink from his hand and dumped it over the two of them, huffing and stomping away.

Shuichi looked up, and simply said; "You two look better with the drinks on you, by the way."

He then turned on his heel and left, going back to the bar where Kaede was standing.

One look at each other was all they needed to start laughing uncontrollably.

The ride home that night had been....awkward to say the least. He'd had to make up fact after fact about their relationship and why he'd nodded his head. He claimed that he had actually shook his head to say that yes, he did have a girlfriend, but they'd misinterpreted it.

After he'd gotten home, though, all was well. He took a shower and brushed his teeth before ordering some pizza. Afterward, he'd turned on the TV to see if he could find anything good. No such luck, but a new episode of Buzzfeed Unsolved was out, so he thought that would make do.

He was about halfway through his second episode when his phone buzzed, screen lighting up. It was a text from an unknown number.

Shuichi paused his show, unlocking his phone and checking the text. It read:

"Hey, this is Kaede. I was wondering when our coffee shop meeting would be. I'm looking forward to seeing you again! <3"

The heart at the end of the message left him a blushing mess - but he responded.

"How about next Monday, in the afternoon? I'll only have my lunch break, but we can probably go out some other time."

Not 5 seconds later, a text came back.

"Sure! What time is your lunch?"

"2:30."

"Ooh, late lunch I see~~. Well, that's good with me! We're meeting at the Apricot Cafe, right?"

"Yep, that should be it."

"Okay, see you then! Night, Shuichi!"

He felt a genuine smile come to his face as he responded:

"Night, Kaede."

Even though they were going to meet a week and 2 days after the nightclub incident, they texted a lot. She'd text him whenever she was able, and he'd text back. They texted about anything and everything, from the stories Kaede had from working retail, to agreeing on set details about their “relationship”, to deep conversations at 3:45 am in the morning.

Kaito teased him endlessly about being “a boy in love”, to which he rolled his eyes and said “well, at least I have a girlfriend.”

He found himself having to cover his mouth to not laugh at her texts, and eagerly awaiting her responses.

On Kaede's end, it was much the same. Making him laugh was quickly becoming her new favorite activity, and she loved texting him. Her friends teased her about it, calling her the new "girl in love" to which she responded with "He's just a friend!"

But, at long last, the day came.

He made his way out of the station 10 minutes early, and arrived at the cafe and had ordered with 5 minutes to spare. He looked out the window the entire time, waiting for her arrival. He wore the standard outfit for his detective work, a jacket like top that buttoned over to his right, black pants, and his hat. He supposed the hat would come in useful today, too - as he was going to need to hide his blush often - or she'd keep calling him cute, and making him blush more.

Person after person passed by, and he watched with increasing anxiety. Eventually, though, he saw her. She stopped, and went to look in through the glass. He wanted to wave or something, but he was frozen from just the sight of her. She had on a pink vest with a white long sleeved shirt under it, and a dark purple skirt with a black music note patterning on it, looking as if it were a song. She also wore purple tights, and a pair of brown shoes. White hair clips shaped like music notes adorned her hair blonde hair, which had been left down.

She seemed to finally catch sight of him, and walked in, sitting across from him.

He smiled at her, and she beamed back, pink dusting her cheeks.

"Hey, Shuichi!"

"H-hey.." He said, growing red. He ducked his head.

She giggled. "C'mon, it's just me! Nothing to be so shy over!"

Shuichi exhaled. "S-sorry..."

The blonde pouted over at him. "Don't apologize!"

"Ah!"

She giggled. "You're so shy! It's just so cute!"

Shuichi ducked his head. "Um, so where did you come from?"

"Oh, I just came from work! I teach piano lessons and piano at schools, and I also work in retail during the time I have off from schools!"

"So, which of the three were you at?"

The violet eyed female giggled sweetly. "Well, I just came from lessons. I have a session with this old man every monday. He's learning the piano so he can play it for his wife for their 40th anniversary. He's been learning for 2 years now."

"That's really sweet." He stated, smiling.

Kaede nodded. "So, where do you work?"

"Oh, I'm the leading detective for the police." Shuichi said, blushing at the title.

Kaede's eyes lit up. "That's so cool! Do you like what you do?"

Shuichi faltered. "Sometimes. Sometimes it's hard to put someone behind bars but....I do like what I do, mostly."

Kaede nodded solemnly. They sat in silence until their food came, at which point, they started to eat. After they were done, Kaede spoke up again.

"So, what's the deal with the hat?"

"H-huh?" He said, visibly shocked.

"You heard me! Why do you wear it?" The blonde persisted, looking at him.

"Uh, because I like wearing one?

As if telling him that this was the wrong answer, she reached over and plucked it from his head, securing it on hers.

"Hmm....well you have hat hair, but even still, I think you look much better without the hat!" She giggled at his flushed expression. "Which is why I'm keeping it until we meet again!"

Shuichi gaped, and she laughed at his expression again.

Through everything going on his his mind in that moment, he couldn't help but think that she looked amazing in that hat.

Months go by, and slowly, yet surely, they meet more and become the best of friends.

Today is yet another Monday, and they're going to meet at a restaurant instead of their usual spot - a cafe.

He's five minutes early, as per the usual, and strangely enough, doesn't have his hat.

Kaede kept taking it so much that he was forgetting to even wear it in the first place.

Speaking of the blonde, she skips in right on time, wearing his hat. He'd never quite stopped being so....struck dumb by her, and he couldn't figure out why.

She slides into the seat opposite him, and they begin to chat over random things, but his mind is someplace else. Someplace analytical that it only goes for work, to profile criminals.

Except, this time, he's profiling himself, trying to figure out what's making him act this way.

He watches her closely, noting the reactions his body and mind have. Slowly, his eyes close, as he thinks over everything. Over the next couple seconds he crosses out multiple reasons why he could be seeing this, and is left with only one.

He's in love with her.

Of course, he refuses it. He is not in love with Kaede Akamatsu. If he was, that would ruin the friendship they had. So, it would be better not to be in love with her.

But, as he opens his eyes, he catches hers once more, and freezes.

The world falls out around him, and suddenly, he can't hear the clatter of servers setting down plates and the buzz of chatter. Suddenly, all he can hear is her. All he can see is her. All he can smell, think, hear, taste, do, anything, is her.

He's in love with every part of her, he realizes, from the way she smiles to the compassion she had for others to something as petty as her hair.

He lets out a deep breath, and is snapped out of his reverie when she asks; "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

He had responded with "yes," but the fact of the matter is that he just realized that he was in love with her.

And he was not okay.

Another month passed with the knowledge that he had a crush on her. He'd only told one person so far, the only other person who knew that Kaede was, in fact, not his girlfriend out of his friends.

Maki Harukawa.

When he'd said something, she had said; "And?"

"And...I don't know what to do."

Maki had sighed, but said: "Look, I'm not good with this romance stuff, but maybe you should just tell her."

"But, what if I-"

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Stop saying 'what if', and just do it."

He had stood and bowed his head. "You're right...there's not other way other than to just do it."

Maki had smiled and nodded. "Now, get out of my office."

"Yes, ma'am."

Now, he was walking to a restaurant to meet up with Kaede again.

To his surprise, she was already there when he got there, and was waving at him from a booth. This time, unlike the others, her hair was tied back and she wore a black shirt and jeans.

"You're here awfully early." He said, looking at her.

She smiled. "Last week was the last of the lessons for the old man."

He nodded. "Oh, I didn't know that."

She rolled her eyes, but giggled. "Jeez, I only talk about it all the time. You'd think that you would pick it up by now."

He ducked his head. "S-sorry."

Shuichi sat down in his seat, and they sat in silence for a minute. He dared to look up at her, and found his breath catching. It was now or never.

"Kaede....?" He asked.

"Yeah?" She replied, violet eyes quizzical.

"I- uh..."

"You...?"

"I think I'm in love with you." He said, confession coming out in a rush.

It was so sudden, so quick and easy - and rushed, that he even surprised himself. This was the second time that he had openly admitted that he had a crush on her to someone, the first person being Maki.

"You - you what?" She said, cheeks stained red. She was clearly shocked, although he couldn’t quite tell in what way.

"I think I'm in love with you. And I understand if you don't return the sentiment or something, I just thought I'd get it out there."

Kaede's tongue seemed to soak in all the saliva in her mouth like a sponge, and her breath hitched as she searched for the right words to say.

"I..."

Shuichi smiled over at her sadly. "It's okay, you don't have to say it. I think I get it. Sorry, I'll just...leave you be."

He got up from his seat and began to walk away, but her hand came out, grabbing onto his arm like a vice.

"Kaede...?!"

"Just, shut up for a minute and let me think." She said, pulling him down into the seat beside her.

He did as told, and she began to think.

This is what she wanted, was it not? A confession? To be with him? Still...it was so out of left field that she was reeling.

She had realized she was in love with him a while ago - that was no surprise. But...he returned her feelings? Was that even possible?

Only one way to find out. Shuichi was looking at the table.

She turned to face him, and then called his name.

He looked up, and she took that chance to swoop in and kiss him. He was shocked at first, but kissed her back after a moment.

After a moment, she pulled back.

"I love you, too."

He blinked. "S-so, what does that -"

"I'm your actual girlfriend now, duh!" She grinned, and then stuck her tongue out at him. "It's about time."

In response, he just grinned and leaned in to kiss her again.

She happily complied.

Anyone who had seen Shuichi before and after the confession would say that he looked like the happiest man in the world.

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