Joker shrugged. "Some of them look familiar, but I can't piece it all together. Sorry, I'm a bit useless."
Akechi sighed pitifully. "Thanks for your help. I'm going to keep working on this by myself, if that's alright." He watched Joker's eyes flicker with something like regret, then returned to his papers. He was still engrossed in solving the mysterious puzzle, with or without Joker's help.
He stared at each picture for minutes on end, imagining every possible way they could be connected, but to no avail. Finally, he ordered a stack of pancakes from the barista.
She set them in front of him along with three types of syrup. "Enjoy!" she smiled, and left him to it.
He unfolded a napkin and placed it gracefully on his lap, preparing to distract himself from his work with the most satisfying thing in the world. As he was reaching for the silverware, a black blindfold was slipped over his eyes. "What the--!" he said loudly, but the person-in-question shhhhh'ed him quickly and grabbed his wrists.
"I'm not here to harm you! Please, please don't yell. That will make this all not worth it." The stranger adjusted the blindfold with their nose while pinning down Akechi's hands at his sides. "Is that comfortable?"
"You mean, is this blindfold which you clumsily put over my eyes comfortable enough? Comfortable enough to continue eating my absolute favorite meal which I suppose I must postpone indefinitely?" Akechi said roughly, but with a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Uh, yeah, I guess." The stranger seemed confused, or at least the long pause following Akechi's outburst indicated so. It was a hilariously odd scene: a blinded detective sitting in front of a stack of hot pancakes, unable to eat it, and a stranger in the booth behind him. "Nobody said you couldn't eat your pancakes," they pointed out.
Akechi "looked" around incredulously. "...! My hands." He twitched his fingers to remind the stranger that he could not access his pancakes if he could not access his hands.
"Ah, that. Allow me." The stranger readjusted their hold on Akechi, moving his hands carefully behind his back so they could hold them with one hand only. The stranger had a very strong grip, Akechi noted. With the other hand, they cut a corner of a pancake with a fork and held it aloft. "I can feed you myself," they said proudly.
People were beginning to stare. The blindfolding itself went unnoticed, which was not unusual at this cafe due to its romantic tendencies and raunchy events it hosted weekly. From the outside, the cafe appeared entirely normal, but it had a dirty secret like everyone else. Even so, Akechi's persistent resistance caught the attention of a few nearby patrons, because guests tended to go along with whatever foul play their partner introduced.
The stranger sensed the impending shift in atmosphere. They whispered to Akechi, "If you don't behave yourself, though, I won't give you your precious pancakes."
Akechi stiffened and immediately agreed. "Fine," he nodded twice. "Fine." A pause. "Fine..." Where the hell was his first bite? he thought, ignoring the possible life-threatening situation he was in. When the stranger did not reply, he opened his mouth wide. His cheeks reddened deeper the longer he waited, looking like a complete fool.
"AaahhUUM," the stranger said, delivering the first pancake bite to Akechi.
Akechi's eyes widened under the blindfold as he bit down on a large bite of syrup-covered pancake. "Mmmf," he said with his mouth full. It was difficult to be angry or scared when he was tasting his favorite treat. He felt the tension leaving his body as he swallowed. He couldn't decide whether he should confront the stranger first, or wait patiently for another bite.
"That's the spirit!" the stranger said, loosening his grip on Akechi's wrists. This was a mistake, as Akechi instantly pulled his hands free and grabbed them. "Hey!" they said, pushing Akechi back into his seat.
Akechi reached for the blindfold but the stranger was too fast. They held it firmly on his face. "Calm down," they said. The stranger was much stronger than Akechi, who quickly gave up from clawing at the stranger's hands and face. They were pinning both Akechi's blindfold and arms by leaning on his shoulders. It was uncomfortably intimate.
"Unhand me, you cretin." Akechi wasn't playing around. He knew he had wasted his opportunity to escape, and feared he would not be treated with another bite of pancakes. He struggled for a moment against the stranger's hold, but they would not budge.
"Sorry, I can't do that just yet. Want to get out of here?" they said suddenly.
"And leave the pancakes? I think not."
"I'll get them to go. Hey, we need a to-go box over here!" they called over their shoulder. The barista brought the stranger one promptly and boxed it up for them. They slapped a few bills into her hand. "That should cover it. Thanks!" They turned back to Akechi. "Ready?"
It was the oddest situation Akechi thought he had ever been in. But the stranger didn't seem to want to inflict any harm, at least. He figured he would go along with it, and try to outsmart the stranger somehow by tricking them into removing his blindfold. Although their voice sounded familiar, he couldn't quite place it. It definitely wasn't Joker.
The stranger led Akechi outside into the fresh afternoon. It was an effort to keep his hands away from removing the blindfold, but the stranger did their best. "I figured you could eat this out of sight," they said kindly.
It actually sounded like a pretty good idea to Akechi. It was a beautiful day and he was glad to get out of the stuffy café and away from the case. "The case!" he gasped. "What about all my paperwork?"
"You don't need that stuff," the stranger said calmly.
Akechi felt his face get hot with anger. "On the contrary, I was right in the middle of--"
"Of solving a fake case?"
"A fake..? No, a real case." Akechi was confused.
The stranger sighed. "I hate to break it to you, but that was all a ploy to get you and Joker back on speaking terms. It's not a real case. Well, it's a real puzzle that only Joker can solve, and he failed miserably, didn't he."
Akechi couldn't believe his ears. "I don't understand."
They reached the nearby park. The stranger sat him down on a bench in the shade, placed the pancakes next to him, and remained standing. "It doesn't matter anymore. The case was a fake," they repeated slowly. "You've been played."
Akechi could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears. He slumped over. "I should have known," he said sadly. "That's why I was finding it so impossible." He didn't want to talk about the case anymore. He was ashamed he was ever fooled into devoting his time to utter nonsense. All he wanted now was his pancakes.
The stranger came closer. "Do you want your treat now?" he said playfully.
"Yes, please," Akechi said, referring to the pancakes. He felt the stranger's face far too near for comfort. His cheeks flushed. "Wh-what are you doing? I'm ready for my--" He felt the stranger's lips on his own, warm and soft and entirely new. They tasted sweet like pancakes.
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Akechi pulled back. "Ryuji!" he gasped. He knew those lips. He didn't know how, but he remembered the boyish shape and the feminine lightness. He felt Ryuji's lips curve into a smile.
"You got me," he laughed. "How did you know it was me?"
Akechi flushed beneath the blindfold and didn't answer. Ryuji took the opportunity to steal another kiss. This time, Akechi did not pull away, and instead savored the moment, the sweet taste, the smell of syrup mixed with man. Ryuji slipped his fingers under the blindfold to remove it, but Akechi stopped him. "No," he said softly. "Leave it on."
