❝My ultra deduction tells me that...❞
❝That...?❞
❝... That you're in love with me. ❞
⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⋅✧⋅
There were many unique people Y/N had come across in her life, but no experience of any sort could prepare her for the dark-haired boy with enticing...
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THERE WAS NO such thing as too much sugar—that was Ranpo's philosophy. He consumed it in such high amounts that Y/N had now decided that she absolutely, most certainly would not serve him a single treat unless he ate an apple.
But getting him to eat fruit had proven to be nearly impossible. In the end, Y/N had bargained that in exchange for that one, single apple, she would reward him with not one, but five goodies of his choice.
And with that, he had finally, finally complied with her deal and eaten the red fruit. And now, he stared at the sweets laid out in front of him with stars in his eyes.
What a child, Y/N thought to herself with an amused smile.
She left him to eat while she went to serve another customer, coming back to find almost half of the food gone within five minutes—including an entire chocolate cake. That apple would undoubtedly prove to be useless now.
She sat down opposite him while he continued to chew happily on a macaron, a somewhat comforting silence falling between them.
"You know, Y/N..." Ranpo began, breaking said silence. "I've been thinking about it, and"—he wiped the crumbs around his mouth with the back of his hand—"your friend from yesterday is kind of unsettling."
"Yuriko?" the girl asked with a light laugh. "I know she's not the best at making new friends, and at first, she can definitely seem a little... aggressive...?" She shook her head. That wasn't the right word to describe Yuri with. "I assure you though," she interjected quickly. "She's lovely once you get to know her."
The detective didn't agree, but chose to remain silent as Y/N continued speaking.
"In fact, I'm sure the two of you probably have a lot in common. If you could just stop arguing for a minute and coexist peacefully—"
"No!"Ranpo interrupted, turning his head away from her stubbornly, not even willing to hear her out.
She sighed, wondering why she even tried in the first place. Deciding not to mention Yuriko any further, she attempted to change the topic to something he was passionate about.
"How are the cherry puffs today?" she asked curiously, resting her head on her palm, interested in his opinion. "I tried making them a little differently and I'm not sure if it worked in my favour."
Ranpo swallowed the bite of puff pastry in his mouth, then said enthusiastically with pastry flakes still scattered all around his lips, "It's amazing—even more so than usual."
It was meant to be a compliment given without much thought to it, yet Y/N still felt the heat rise to her cheeks. Coming from Ranpo, it didn't just feel like empty praise as it did with most of the comments she received. Ranpo said it like he truly meant it.
"Thank you," she mumbled, averting her gaze towards the window in hopes that the glaring sun would make the blush on her cheeks less noticeable.
