“ How drunk are you right now ? ”

“ Me ?  I’m not drunk right now ! ” Kosuke hastily replied, his warm smile straining in the face of an unflappable man before him.

He’d never again leave the house without a second shadow if Emiko knew his plans for a peaceful meeting in neutral territory had fallen through to intoxication and loose lips.  After an hour of small talk and discussions on the finer details of local museums, a person needed a drink or three to stay hydrated, that’s all ! 

And besides, in a corner of the steadily filling bar, a redhead with a black scarf looked suspiciously like…

Nevermind that, Kosuke slowly slowly laid his glass, with less than a sip of rum swirling along the bottom, on the wooden bar, and took another crack at breaking the ice with Hiwatari.

“ I’m serious, ” He looked into the man’s sharp eyes, feeling his face relax with the steady warmth in his stomach.  “ Don’t you think they’ve already shown themselves to be a good team ?  The tower, the door… ”

“ Ignoring the persistent criminal activity by one party ? ”  Hiwatari tilted his head, his black hair gently following the motion.  He bit the bait this time, but shards of ice lingered in his light words.

“ That’s - ”

The security of a public location had it’s own limitations, and Kosuke’s tongue tied itself for an answer that would keep him and his family out of jail.

“ That has a purpose. ”

The knowing smile on Hiwatari’s face lowered the air temperature between their two bar stools by a couple degrees.  Kosuke wondered if Emiko would lend him the scarf.  There’s no way he knew about the Niwas’ preparations for a battle, did he ?

Kosuke’s fingers tapped his neglected glass and his eyes shifted to the other one resting beside Hiwatari’s arm.  He couldn’t remember the man taking a single sip that night.  Maybe Kosuke should have ordered something lighter.  

Or nothing at all, he glanced towards the corner of the bar where she - was gone !

“ You have your own purposes too, I’m sure. ”  Kosuke continued diplomatically in the face of extreme awkwardness.  But he couldn’t stop there as the din of the bar reached a crescendo.

“ Though I’ll admit I’d almost been disheartened after hearing about your attempt to shoot my son - ”

“ I would never - ”  The man’s widening smile might have been frightening in the dim light, but…

“ And more than a little impressed that you convinced your own son to do it - ”

“ Backhanded compliments are doubly insulting from you, Niwa-san. ”  With a folding of thin hands and a tone suggesting he just might recant his aforementioned “never” if Kosuke didn’t cease tumbling down that particular rabbit hole.

“ Hiwatari-san, think about it ! ”  While half of Kosuke silently screamed to shut the hell up, the other half seized the momentum of the conversation with all the courage he had in stock.  His face had already flushed with determination.

“ If you’d convince Satoshi-kun to meet with Daisuke more often then they could combine their skills and we our knowledge to… ”  He stumbled only twice around the name of a certain phantom thief, but finally the meeting had come to fruition and he laid out his entire plan.

“ You have a bright mind, ”  Hiwatari leaned forward, eyes sparkling.  Kosuke strained to hear him above the noise.  “ But you limit yourself too much, given what’s at stake.  I have ideas beyond mere idealism. ”

The zeal faded fast while the flush in his cheeks lingered. Kosuke sighed and relaxed against the bar,  “ You agreed to come here.  So what are your ideas ? ”

“ You’re not yet drunk enough for those. ”  Hiwatari pushed his untouched liquor towards Kosuke.

” Haven’t you had enough, sir ? ”  A familiar voice cut in from behind the bar before Kosuke could refuse.  

So, what does this little married couple simulation feel like?

Of all the mental images...