"Jumin, I have a unique surprise for you this year.” As per usual, Daisuke showed up unannounced with Genevieve and an assistant in tow carrying what he’s brought and getting straight to the point of the matter: his best friend’s birthday celebration. In years passed he’s come bearing gifts of fine wines and trips abroad to stay at elegant hotels, but this year he felt like adding more of a personal touch to his gesture- a sure sign of the changes he’s been going through now that he’s finally found an amount of closure in his life.

“I did make an attempt to cook for you once before, but this time I have far more experience forcibly ingrained in me through my time with a certain stubborn detective. I could never promise anything of professional quality, but I’d like to share this with you.” A hint of sincerity bled through his usual aloof, pretentious mask, even accompanied with a small smile before Daisuke was immediately ordering his assistant to take his ingredients into Jumin’s kitchen where he quickly got to work preparing Japanese style curry, something he’s had countless times alongside Haru- and the very first thing Haru ever had him help prepare. Though, this time there was far less injury involved to himself, even if his vegetable cutting still left much to be desired.

All through the process he was willing to humor Jumin if he felt like talking and catching up, or working diligently on his own, feeling a sense of pride once he was finished and setting the table all on his own with their meal and complimentary glasses of wine, having just about forgotten the status he and his friend held and how easy it would be to have anyone else do this for him. This was just how it was at Haru’s place. There were no servants or chefs, just them having a meal together prepared by their own hands and it was an experience Daisuke hoped to share with another who was precious in his life after all of these years Jumin has remained at his side.

“Ugh. Have you run out of all other parties in this building to annoy?” Daisuke scoffed, not even trying to hide his irritation upon seeing the other detective. There were absolutely others the magnate couldn’t stand in this building, first and foremost being a certain red-headed buffoon his partner refused to cut off, but Ranpo sure did his best to make it near the top of Daisuke’s ‘if anything happens to them I didn’t witness it’ list.

“I’m perfectly capable of drawing conclusions from the current evidence in my current case using HEUSC and my own skills of observation. Go find another case to shove yourself into as subtly as a wrecking ball. My suspect will be in cuffs by the end of the day.” It would’ve been earlier if he actually had it his way of perhaps pushing a little here and there to create opportunity, but Haru would probably have an aneurysm if he tried. Oh, how Daisuke wondered at times how he put up with such heroic, by-the-book nonsense...

@endlesscacophony : ☮ (Haru waking up Daisuke? 👀) ☮ = waking them up after a nightmare .

The scene was all too familiar and yet not at all recognizable: thunder crashing, wind howling, rain soaked through his clothes, and blood- so much blood-... but the body laid in the pool of deep red was not the beautiful, dark-haired woman of his memories, no, it was a man. It was a very familiar man with a head of messy, taupe hair and golden eyes robbed of their usual fiery warmth as he lay lifeless on the ground with a figure clad in all black standing over him, brandishing a knife. But that dark figure too was different from memory: shorter, leaner, with dull blue eyes looking on coldly at the crime he’d just committed.

What should he do? What could he do? His feet were impossibly heavy, stuck in place. He felt far too small, powerless, and no matter how hard he wanted to scream he couldn’t make a sound, and--

Sweating, pale, with a cry caught in his dry throat Daisuke woke with a start, barely registering the body beside him as he attempted to re-center himself by pinching his eyes shut and taking deep, shaky breaths. It wasn’t real, it couldn’t be real, because that would never- he would never-...

It wasn’t until a moment had passed and his fear began to ebb away that one important, overlooked factor in his situation was finally noticed: Haru. Vaguely, he’d felt warm presence of another close by, maybe even heard his voice, but now, finally, did it dawn on Daisuke that his partner had just witnessed an ugly part of himself he hadn’t wanted to show- worse yet, he could feel the wet trails left behind of tears he’d shed on his cheeks. How embarrassing. How pathetic.

“I-...” He began, trailing off when his voice came out as little more than a croak and he hadn’t a clue how to continue anyway. There was no salvaging this situation, no way to pick up the shattered pieces of his pride, and no way to run when Haru wasn’t likely to let him go and he doubted his legs would be steady enough to take him anywhere right now. All he could do was curl in on himself, arms wrapping tightly around himself, praying to deities he didn’t believe in that for once Haru wouldn’t poke and prod with all of his usual stubborn determination to get to the bottom of a case.

“Hmm...” Daisuke hummed thoughtfully from where he was perched, lounging on Haru’s bed he’d decided to take over, head propped up on one hand as he carded the fingers of his other through Haru’s hair sat on the tatami just in front of him. The taupe locks could definitely still use a bit of work, they certainly had gotten softer since Daisuke had all but forced his partner to start using new products, but that wasn’t quite what caught his attention right now.

“Inspector... Katou... Katou... Inspector Katou... Katou-san............ Haru.” Having decided he was utterly dying of boredom after hours sifting through archaic paper files looking for even a hint of useful information for their case, Daisuke continued calling Haru’s name over and over as he has been for approximately the last five minutes. Haru of course, the ever stubborn and dutiful detective, was determined to ignore the magnate much to his chagrin.

It seemed the longer they spent in each other’s presence the less Daisuke could as effectively rile the man up the way he used to with same ease as breathing... or Haru just wanted to piss him off in return. Either situation seemed equally likely, which is why Daisuke decided he had to step things up in order to win.

"You didn’t make any plans today, did you? If you did, reschedule them.” Was the first thing out of Daisuke’s mouth once Haru’s apartment door was open after a series of insistent knocks from the impatient billionaire. Any normal person may assume someone might want to spend their birthday with family or friends, but Daisuke was a man with no family so that didn’t cross his mind even once and he was mostly sure Haru didn’t have friends or acquaintances outside of work so, logically ( to him ), as Haru’s boyfriend he clearly had the priority here to take over the man’s time.

“Our flight leaves in-...” He takes a moment to check his watch, scowling at the time before he all but shoved past Haru and barely had the thought to remove his shoes at the door to go further into his partner’s space. “There isn’t much time so I suppose I’ll assist you in packing a bag. Prepare for cold weather, we’ll be staying at one of the finest mountain resorts in Europe. I really should have prepared these plans better but we have been rather busy lately and-...”

Finally Daisuke takes a moment to hit the brakes and settle down for a moment to actually look at Haru who he’d been largely ignoring since the door opened, whether his partner was protesting or not. “I’m-...” sorry would be the next word, but he always found it a difficult one to say, instead leaving a pause as he gathered his thoughts.

Daisuke was feeling uncharacteristically nervous as he waited on Haru’s arrival, having to shove his hands into his pockets to keep from fidgeting while he tried his hardest to ignore the sweat building on his palms. He’d lacked the experience many had when they were younger getting nervous around a crush and it seemed the universe was set on giving it to him now as a grown adult in his first real relationship with a man he’d go to the ends of the Earth and beyond for just to see him smile.

He’d agonized over this plan for weeks, putting together an elaborate set of clues for Haru to follow that would all end up eventually leading him to where Daisuke waited now at a privately booked rooftop bar decked out with fresh flowers and twinkling lights and candles around a single table set for two where they’d share a five course meal specially made by a private chef flown in from Europe just for this purpose. Extravagant enough to suit Daisuke’s tastes but also understated enough ( by his own standards ) he felt Haru could enjoy it without fussing in his usual manner- hopefully.

It was after what felt like an eternity of pacing and needlessly adjusting his tux to make sure it was perfectly pristine that Haru would finally arrive through the ornate door into their venue and those buzzing nerves and chaotic thoughts would finally start to settle, soothed by the presence of the one man on the planet that left Daisuke feeling wholly at ease. From there it was a lot easier to slip into his usual demeanor, wanting to impress and make a grand statement that Haru would never forget as he plucked a rose from the table and casually strutted over to offer it to his partner.

“I’m not sure what you expected- if you expected anything- when locally this holiday is far simpler, but I am not simple and I believe you deserve far more than a box of chocolates even if I did have a lovely one imported from Switzerland.” He began, gently tugging at Haru’s free hand to bring him toward their table, but stopping short to lift that very same hand to his mouth to place a light kiss over Haru’s knuckles.

@kisumshi​ : ‘ what do you mean the car won’t start ? ‘ naoto @ dai?

“If that was a joke I heavily recommend you do not quit your current job to pursue comedy.” Daisuke scoffed, pulling the keys from the ignition after getting no results from trying to start the car thrice in a row.

“I mean do you enjoy playing the fool or are you genuinely daft? I’m having a bit of trouble concluding which is the truth at the moment.... Unless, of course, you possess some errant thought in your head that your hand can somehow mystically achieve something mine cannot then by all means do give it a try.” Lips pursed, icy eyes casting a sidelong glare at his companion as he pulled the keys from the ignition and carelessly tossed them in Naoto’s lap.