Again,I'm not the best drawer,I'm absolute shit at body and drawing,but this is how I imagine Karl looking when he's grown up^ he has a different clothing as a child tho-
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The ability turned the raccoon into a child,a very small and cute child. It fit perfectly like a charm as an addition to the detective and writer's family.
But what if the ability had turned Karl into something different?
What if it happened when Ranpo and Poe weren't together yet?
Something that would make even Poe wish the ability hadn't hit the child.
So in another universe,it explored just that.
....
Poe couldn't help but feel awkward when he saw what Karl had turned into,laid down on his bed with his legs crossed and his hand holding a book. He didn't need to guess that the raccoon had been hit by the ability of the man he passed by while going to the agency,and it made him sick to the stomach.
The raccoon had turned into a fine looking man,tall enough to beat Atsushi in height but not enough to beat Poe,short silver hair covering one of his ocean blue eyes,teeth as shiny and white as pearls,his smile itself was charming and sweet and he wore a brown fashionable coat with a sand coloured shirt underneath,a cape behind his back almost matching as Poe's,and necklace with a similar cat pin as his owner's hanging from his neck.
He licked his finger and turned the page,his tail thumping up and down on the bed while his ear flicked from time to time.
"K-Karl?"
"Yeah dad?"
The brunet paused for a moment,almost flinching when the raccoon's gaze trained on him,his icy blue eyes staring into his soul.
He didn't realise the smaller's voice would be so deep,almost as deep as Fukuzawa's but managing to keep his charming tone.
"I-Is this how you've always been?" The violet eyed asked,trying to keep the tremor in his voice steady as the other swept his tail in boredom.
"Yeah. Anyways,excuse me I'm gonna go get myself a boyfriend," Karl rasped,getting up from the bed and tossing the book back onto the sheets,rolling his sleeves down and going over to the taller's desk to comb through his hair,taking the bottle of musky perfume the detective had given the writer at the side and sprayed some on himself while the other watched in a stunned silence.
"B-Boyfriend?"
"Since you're too much of a coward to grab his ass,I'll be the one to do it."
Confusion swirled in the author's chest as the raccoon got out of the mansion,his owner trailing him from behind,wondering who his 'pet' was going to pick up. He watched with a worried tremble when Karl went into the armed detective agency,knowing full well who he was going to.
The brunet's walk slowly turned into a jog then a full on sprint when the silver haired burst into the room by slamming the door open. The plum eyed wanted to cry the moment everyone saw his pet standing confidently behind the door,striding to the desk that had a raven haired man seated behind.
The whole agency was alert then,wondering who this mad man with raccoon ears and a tail on was. Ranpo looked from his marble to the man,tilting his head curiously while twirling the lollipop in his mouth.
"I've found you. My dear Ranpo-san,will you go out with me?"
The time seemed to stop,everyone's eyes wide open,even the detective's whose beautiful shocked emerald eyes were on full display by the silver's proposition. There was no tremor or hesitation in the man's voice,only flattery and confidence as his hand was stuck out to the smaller with eyes shining similarly to Dazai's when he flirted with the waitress in the usual cafe.
"Ranpo-kun! Please don't mind him. It's Karl,he's more...charming than I expected," Poe panted as he stood beside his shorter companion who snorted,pushing one of his bangs aside to reveal his gorgeous sapphire coloured eyes.
"I can see that very clearly," Ranpo clicked his tongue in response after a processing pause,twirling the lollipop in his mouth and paying no mind to the raccoon in front of him. The silver haired pouted at how his 'love interest' treated him,crossing his arms and puffing out his cheeks while his tail lashed around.
The agency turned into a dead silence,all eyeing what was once the adorable raccoon they'd all pat. Karl sighed and dusted off his coat,his face twisted to show a slight sense of boredom,clearly uninterested in the awkward silence his father created.
"If all of you are going to stay silent for the rest of the day,I'll leave you all to it. Come,Ranpo-san,there's a new dessert place opened! I heard there are mountains of treats to try there,and I can't wait to get my hands on some," the silver haired didn't even wait for the detective's response as he grabbed the shorter's hand,dragging him out of the office while the emerald eyed tried to find ways to protest before pulling on Poe's coat to drag him along too.
True to his word,there was a new dessert place opened in the city,filled with sweets unlike any other. Ranpo had buzzed around the shop,yelping joyously as he scanned each treat,Karl standing beside him ever so elegantly with his tail high in the air in respect with his head bowed down while the smaller dashed from one place to another,pushing his face to the glass separating him and the food,his hands clutched together until he slid down onto his knees.
"This is horrible! I can't choose!" The emerald eyed whined,pouting as his gaze landed on each special little dessert.
"And...what makes you say that?"
"My money would go poof if I bought everything!"
Smirking,the blue eyed swiped out a credit card from his pocket,leaning down to where the raven sank and waving the card in front of him. His grin was filled with nothing but mischief as his cunning fingers played with the bard like it was a toy,licking his lips in satisfaction at the thought of satisfying his 'love interest's' sugar cravings from his hard hard work.
"Where did he get that credit-Wait,Where's my credit card?" Poe panicked as he checked his pockets,taking out his wallet and finding that his card was gone.
"KARL!"
"Come on dad,I'm a raccoon,the master of thieving," Karl sneered,standing up back to his full height with a grin as wide as the Chesire cat's. He turned back to Ranpo who wasn't paying attention to their argument,instead,his mouth was watering from the many treats that occupied his mind.
"Now then,do you feel better to get up? Both me and the desserts are waiting for you," the taller whispered,the shorter looking up as if he were a knight in shining armour,the animal extending his hand out for the detective to grab and pulling him up.
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Ranpo yipped,hopping to the counter and ordering almost everything on the menu until Poe stopped him and ordered him to get only a few things. Eventually all three of them were seated with their desserts delivered to them,the emerald eyed sitting beside the raccoon while the brunet sat opposite them.
"The desserts taste so good! Aren't they,aren't they?" The raven asked gleefully,digging his fork into the vanilla flavoured puff topped with whip cream and cat shaped sprinkles filled with chocolate cream.
"I bet you're the most tastiest dessert here," Karl smiled strikingly,even the group of women sitting opposite them couldn't help but flush when they watched him flirt around while he had been taking a medium sized portion of his strawberry flavoured pudding and feeding it to the smaller. Poe could've sworn that there was a faint blush painted on the emerald eyed's face,sliding his nails across the table out of caution,no totally not jealousy or anything,just caution.
Ignoring the comment,the raven went on with his food,then turning to the author and holding up his fork to the brunet's mouth,the small portion of the pastry he was eating on the tips of the utensil. Reluctantly,Poe let his mouth fall slack and let the fork drop the small treat onto his tongue,nomming on it as the detective pulled back,a small little grin on his face as he stared adoringly at him.
Karl pouted,his tail thumping up and down on the seat in jealousy as he grabbed the smaller's hand,jerking it towards him and biting on the fork,licking away any extra cream left on the tips,his fingers tapped softly on the older's hand as he smirked and stole the fork from his hand.
"Hey,my fork-!"
The shorter's complain was interrupted when a map was shoved in his face,Ranpo grumbling as he tore it from him and studied the map. The raccoon traced his finger over to a small spot on the map marked out in red,his eyes narrowed into sly slits as his tail bounced around excitedly.
"Do you wanna go there?"
"It depends on what place that is."
Poe gave in to his curiosity and snatched the map from the detective's hands,apologising softly before taking a look at it. It wasn't a place he'd seen before and no matter how many times he turned the map over and upside down,he never got to find out exactly where the place was.
"It's a mystery to behold! Do you wanna go or nah?" The youngest amongst them yipped,his tail swinging around as he set all of his attention on the smaller. Deciding that it was way too fun to just deduce everything with ultra deduction,Ranpo pretended to ponder for a while before standing to his full height,grabbing the leftover pastries with his hand and stuffing it in his face like a squirrel.
"Wemh? Lesh ngo!"
Karl squinted his eyes,tilting his head as he tried to figure out what the other was saying.
"He's saying 'well? Let's go!' If you didn't know," Poe sighed,standing up and using his coat to help wipe off the crumbs on the detective's face,a soft smile on his face when the other beamed and licked the side of his lips mindlessly and skipped out of the shop,the raccoon sulking behind when he realised his chance to touch the emerald eyed's face was snatched away by the brunet.
"Papa would've made a great raccoon if he were one," he growled to himself as he dragged himself to the two men who were already ahead of him.
...
Poe hated to admit it,but he had no idea where the place they were going was,and that meant,his 'pet' had the chance to shine. Karl lead the way,the raven by his side as he babbled away about the weather,the buzzing noises,the good mystery books they came across.
"The good mystery books they came across? That's what me and Ranpo were doing," the writer gritted his teeth in jealousy but made no attempt to separate the two from their conversations.
After all,Ranpo looked so happy,it was only right for him to want his love interest to be happy right? He followed the two talkative men in front,crooking his posture as he glanced around cautiously,his face getting further and further from jealous,more scared and confused as he scanned his surroundings.
"H-hey,are you sure this is where we're supposed to go?" He murmured just loud enough for the other two to hear. Taking in the small timid tone in the author's voice,the second youngest among them finally looked around,his gorgeous emerald eyes cracked slightly open as he realised he wasn't in the city anymore.
"Yeah,where are we going?" He was suddenly shushed by the raccoon who swished his tail over the older's mouth,his ears angling to the front.
"As I said my dear,it's a surprise~" Karl pushed his fingers to his lips,his tail raised in a form similar to a question mark as he continued to stride on,the detective hurrying after him in curiosity while the author dragged himself to follow them despite the alarming fear in his timid heart.
As they continued deep in whatever conversation that made into their minds,the tallest hugged himself,shielding himself from the ferocious cold of the forest they were in. Forest? Yes,they were in a forest,one filled with greens and creatures hopping around from one place to another.
He flinched away from the wind,holding tightly onto his coat and careful not to let it sweep away,though he wasn't very happy with how his hair was pushed back by the wind. A low growl from the woods interrupted the conversation in front of him,all of their eyes turned to a dark side of the trees where two huge yellow eyes pierced their souls.
Ranpo clutched the blue eyed's arm uncontrollably,hiding behind him as the creature watched their every move. Realising that his 'date' was thinking he was in danger,the younger snarled,sliding his claws out as the creature growled at him behind its mask of shadows.
The mysterious beast withdrew,giving one last snort before retreating,its tail slamming against each tree trunk it passed as it left.
"You saved me! My knight in shining armour! I love you so much!" The raven threw himself onto the silver haired,the taller swinging him around bridal style as the both of them trotted into the woods leaving the poor lost writer back in the lonely gloomy and dark forest.
Did that happen? No,it was just a vision,a horrid nightmare that replayed in Poe's mind over and over again like a broken record,but it still scared him to death thinking about it. He was fine with the emerald eyed going out with someone,even if that meant he would be terribly heartbroken after,but seeing him every day and talking to him normally while knowing that he was humiliated that his own 'pet' had stolen his love interest away from him.
The embarrassment,the emptiness,the 'normal things' happening after scared him a lot. Plus,he didn't really want to be left alone in a dark and gloomy forest while his companions were on a date. Him sulking made him seem like he blended in with the shadowed forest,watching and keeping a close eye on the two people who stuck out like sore thumbs,chatting cheerfully without a care in the world as they got further and further into the trees.
Even if he hadn't said it out loud,Ranpo's actions alone made it clear that he trusted the raccoon even more after he was protected from mere rustling trees unlike Poe's strong imagination,the way he held tightly onto Karl's hand,how he wasn't as tense as before around him,how he almost leaned onto the ice eyed's shoulder,it was as clear as day,no detailed poem could compare to how smack right in the face close they were.
The oldest among all of them grimaced as he followed them,jealousy pecking at the small fragile heart of his when he remembered how it was him in the raccoon's place just a day before. It took them ten more minutes to where Karl wanted to bring them,Poe not being surprised that the raven had complained over and over again asking when if they were there yet and whining about how tired he was.
"I'm Japan's treasure! I shouldn't be walking for so long,carry me,carry me!"
As bratty as that sounded to normal people,the brunet found it endearing and just plain adorable. He wasn't wrong to ask those things after all,he deserves to be treated like a king,he's gone through enough to earn that.
Ranpo gasped softly as his gaze fleeted from one place to another,his hand gripped tightly on the silver haired's as he edged closer and closer to the view. They'd ended up at the end of a cliff,where there was a view of the cities lit up by tiny little lights that could've been mistaken for fireflies. The slight breeze through the forest made a quiet and beautiful melody that could lull a child to sleep,accompanying the breathtaking view of the city made it seem like a beautifully composed music video.
Poe hated to admit it but Karl had chosen quite a romantic place to go to,definitely more romantic than wherever Poe himself would've invited the detective to. The author couldn't help but feel left out as he was cornered into the darkness of the painting where the raccoon and the emerald eyed were portrayed,chatting gleefully as the sun set perfectly in front of them.
Karl swiped a hidden rose from his pocket,sliding the flower in his lips as he leaned forward until both his and Ranpo's face touched.
"Those pesky police officers aren't wrong when they say you're trash. I'm a raccoon after all~" he almost purred seductively as he smoothly pulled the rose from his lips,graciously tucking it behind the older's hair. Ranpo giggled in response to the silly (but quite smart and charming in his head)pickup line,wearing his beaming smile that never failed to make the butterflies in the plum eyed's stomach flutter like they were facing a hurricane.
There sounded a small crack in Poe's heart as his companions got closer and closer to each other,now moving on from cheesy pick up lines to the pretty sight of the blinking show ahead of them. He sighed,feeling himself retreat away from the image in front of him,a well written poem he couldn't grasp and read by the looks of it,being the watcher of a to-be couple.
He remembered Karl had said that in his raccoon years he is 23 anyways so their age difference really wasn't very different so there was nothing standing in that couple's way.
"Poe-kun,join us! The view would be a waste without you!"
The brunet blinked in surprise as he turned back to Ranpo who had called out to him,waving that tiny little arm of his to catch the author's attention. Cursing under his breath at being seen so weak by his love interest,he hesitantly sat beside the both of them,ignoring the light hiss from the second tallest as he admired the city before him.
He jolted slightly when he felt a weight on his shoulder,glancing over to see Ranpo tucking his head on his shoulder,his cat like grin stuck up his face while opening his beautiful eyes.
"So pretty..." he murmured,his eyes glinting with amusement when he felt the taller heat up beside him,the raccoon hissing next to them. There was a tiny silence between them before Ranpo turned away from the sights of below and faced the author,his eyes soft just like his face.
"You're just as pretty as this scenery,I love you so much Poe-kun."
His heart stopped,so did time,sounds,just two of them in a single framed picture that he'd remember for all eternity.
HOW?! HOW IS THIS HAPPENING?!! Poe was just wallowing in his own misery a few minutes before after the thought of his heart being broken and now Ranpo was calling him pretty and and and that he loved him? Was Ranpo drunk? Did he need help or something? Poe's brain was in a flurry of messy thoughts,his throat dry at the sudden confession and his hands gripping his thighs so hard he thought they might bruise.
"R-Ranpo-kun-I-I-love you too," his last few words were muffled and soft,embarrassed as he looked away,his fingers touching one another while the detective tilted his head. That's it,that's how his brain is going to shut off. From a simple confession from his new lover,as expected.
"That's great! By the way Karl,thanks for taking us out on the date! You're the best son!" The smallest chirped,remaining oblivious to the heartbroken and stunned look the raccoon shot him,his whole body stiffening as he watched the man he was chasing after getting together with his dad,the scenes unravelling unforgivingly in front of him.
"D-Did I just get son zoned?" Karl muttered under his breath as the other two fought over who was the most flustered. In the end,even as an adult,Ranpo still thought of him as a son,and there was no way the raccoon could complain,he'd be too pouty to even if he wanted to.
....
Meanwhile in the current kiddo Karl universe-
Karl:I wan food!
Ranpo:I wan snacks!
Poe:-looking at the clock reading 3.00 am- and I wan sleep
Their little shenanigans is still going on of course,just like any other usual day.
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Authors note
Hi :D why haven't I been updating? The angry fan readers ask. Well-I'm focusing more on my Ao3 account rn so I'm not going to be updating so often,though I promise I'll still update this pls bear with me thank you. Also the next chapter will go back to kiddo Karl again,this is just a special chapter. Thank you for staying for so long and I promise there'll be more wholesome stuff in the next chapter. Ngl tho I was pissing myself in laughter at using Karl's name so seriously. Oh yeah,for more context,Ranpo thought that he and Poe were already dating,so he didn't know Poe would be so shocked when he made the simple 'ily' comment🥺