Spain Without The S!

Chapter 23: Or Is It...?

——

  "But you haven't even kissed! So how can you see?!" Elise asked.
  "I- I don't know! But it's amazing to see you again!" Chuuya picked her up and spun her around.
  Elise giggled in delight.
  Kouyo couldn't stop smiling, "I'm so glad..."
  Dazai stood beside her, also smiling.
  "And you have no idea how this happened?" Kouyo asked.
  Dazai shook his head, "no clue."
  "You know..." Kouyo said in a serious tone, "I came in early this morning to just check on him..."
  Dazai grew tense, "I..."
  Kouyo sighed, "but I know you didn't do anything. I understand that it happened subconsciously... But it surprised me that Chuuya hadn't hit you or something..."
  Dazai sighed in relief. "Well... I should probably go back to the agency..."
  "Yes, you have been neglecting your job."
  Dazai chuckled, "it's not like they really need me."
  Kouyo sighed, "and... thank you... I know how difficult this must have been for you..."
  Dazai smiled, "this was nothing."
  Kouyo shook her head slightly.
  Chuuya hugged Elise tightly, "you have to tell me what Dazai was wearing."
  "I can do you one better! I can show you!" She pulled out a phone.
  "Leaving before I embarrass myself," Dazai quickly snuck out.
  Kouyo giggled to herself......"

  "And... that's what I have in this book..." Poe said sheepishly.
  "Hmm... that was pretty good... but..." Ranpo said skeptically.
  "But?..." Poe asked nervously.
  "But what if instead," Ranpo grabbed a pencil, "Dazai did this....

  "Goodnight, Elsie," Chuuya pat her head.
  "Goodnight!" She said, "and remember. Your deadline is tomorrow."
  Chuuya sighed, "how could I possibly forget that?"
  "I dunno."
  Dazai entered back in, "I'm back."
  "Deadline tomorrow!" Elsie turned to him.
  "Oh... right..." he walked over to the two of them. "You know, I'd been thinking. You wouldn't really believe us if we kissed and you didn't see it, right?"
  "No, not really... you might lie."
  "Exactly," Dazai said.
  Chuuya folded his arms irritably, "let her go to bed."
  "Yes," Kouyo entered, "it's passed her bedtime already..."
  Elsie pouted, "bedtime doesn't matter right now."
  Kouyo sighed, "yes it does. Now, come along."
  Elsie started walking over.
  "Wait," Dazai said, "before you go,"
  Elise turned back around, "what?"
  Dazai, suddenly and unexpectedly, gripped Chuuya's face angling it up, leaned down, and kissed him. On the lips.
  Elise couldn't hold in her gasp.
  Chuuya's eyes went wide, like he had a delayed understanding of the situation.
  Dazai pressed a little harder.
  Chuuya braced his hands against Dazai to push away.
  "No! You have to kiss back!" Elise shrieked.
  Chuuya didn't listen and was about to push Dazai.
  But Dazai let go and moved back before he could. Breathing hard, he pressed the back of his wrist to his mouth as he cheeks flooded with pink.
  Chuuya stood where he had been, as if frozen in shock.
  "Come on," Kouyo took Elise's arm, "time for bed..."

  "Uhm... but..."
  "Isn't that a little more in character for how spontaneous and weird Dazai is?" Ranpo asked as he propped his feet up on the desk.
  "Uh, yes..." Poe said slowly, "but... what would happen after?... Would Chuuya be able to see? Wouldn't it be awkward between them for a long time?..."
  "Huh??? You ask too many questions, Poe." Ranpo waved a chip at him, "just go with your gut..."
  "But that leaves the most important part of the story unwrapped..." Poe muttered, "how would I end it?..."
  Poe was faced with a challenge he didn't think he could complete.
  Then he got an idea, "what if it had two endings? The one I made and-"
  "Nah, too much work!" Ranpo opened a ramune bottle, "just keep your ending, then."
  "Oh..." Poe felt a little bad that his idea had been shot down so quickly.
  "I mean, would you feel that awkward around me if I suddenly decided to kiss you?" Ranpo asked.
  Poe twitched and made a gouge in his paper with the pencil unintentionally. "Uh, what?"
  "Would you?"
  "Y-yes, I would think so..." Poe stuttered, trying to keep the intrusive thought of Ranpo kissing him out of his mind.
  Ranpo shrugged, "I wouldn't really find it that surprising." He took a drink.
  "You wouldn't?... W-well, I guess not... because it w-would be you..." Poe kept his eyes angled down at his pages.
  "Yeah?" Ranpo asked, leaning over. "Maybe you would find it surprising becuase you don't have my Super Deduction."
  "Right," Poe said as he leaned away, "exactly right."
  Ranpo set down his ramune and pointed to the large line across the page, "you gonna fix that?"
  "Ah-y-yes!" Poe fumbled with the eraser.
  Ranpo watched him erase the line and rewrite the words that it had murdered. He opened his eyes slightly, peering through his eyelashes at Poe.
  He reached his hand out to move Poe's hair.
  Poe flinched and moved back instinctively.
  "Hey, what color are your eyes?" Ranpo asked.
  "Uh... I don't really think that's... relevant..." he managed to speak.
  "But I wanna know," Ranpo approached him again.
  "H-hazel," Poe stuttered out, "they're hazel."
  Ranpo reached out again.
  Poe tensed up as if expecting to be hit as he closed his eyes.
  "Well, it doesn't help if your eyes are closed," Ranpo said after moving Poe's hair.
  Poe slowly and timidly opened his eyes... to find Ranpo's emerald green irises looking right back. That's right. Ranpo's eyes were completely open.
  Poe stared, transfixed at Ranpo.
  Then, Ranpo let go, causing Poe's hair to fall back in front of his eyes.
  "Hmh," Ranpo shrugged, "guess you're right." He picked his ramune up and sat back down.
  Poe carefully moved back to his papers. Without even noticing it, he asked, "you wouldn't actually kiss me, right?..."
  Ranpo looked over at him and Poe felt his soul leaving his body. He regretted everything he'd ever done in his entire life.
  Ranpo shrugged, "probably not. Do you want me to?"
  "Ah- uh- I- I mean-" Poe fumbled over his words, understanding that Ranpo would know if he lied, "y-you already known th-the answer, don't you?"
  Ranpo nodded, "I do."
  "Then... why a-ask?..."
  "Because I want to hear you say it."
  Poe searched Ranpo's face for any sign he was kidding or bluffing, but found nothing.
  Poe opened his mouth to speak but... he didn't think he could force himself to say it. "I..."
  Ranpo, quite suddenly, rushed foreword and quickly kissed Poe.
  Karl covered his eyes with his little raccoon hands, like a child disgusted by their parents' affection.
  Then, Ranpo pulled away and sat back down like nothing happened.
  Meanwhile, Poe was left in a state of shock. His mind running circles as to why Ranpo would do that and what he should do now.
  Ranpo smiled to himself, for no one else to see.