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The diner, as per usual, was empty save for its staff and a grouchy green-haired gamer that hid behind the counter. You swivel on the barstool, watching Ren play his games. Technically, you were both on the clock, however, with the typical lull of the eatery, it had become customary for the two of you to busy yourselves with everything but work.
Ring!
You tear your eyes away from Ren’s phone to see a familiar face shutting the door gently behind him.
“Shinjo-kun, hey!” you beam at him brightly.
“MC, Mr. Shiranami,” the gray-haired male smiled blithely and nodded in your direction,“The usual–one black coffee, please. To-go.”
Ren gave you a look that said, “Can-you-do-it-I’m-about-to-go-on-a-raid,” you huff and narrow your eyes on your unenthusiastic coworker.
“Shiranami-san, could you take care of my order? I would like to discuss something in private with my partner,” Ritsu cuts in before you make it behind the counter.
Partner? That’s a first. He’s never called you just his partner before. Ritsu was all about the formalities. To him, you were always “The Inspector” or “My business partner” – he rarely calls you by your own name, much less a partner. Still, you could feel your face get warmer as you stare at him. He looked unbothered, not a hair out of place as he smiled at your coworker. Were you overthinking it?
“One black coffee coming right up,” Ren grumbles and shoves his phone into his apron pocket.
With a satisfied look on his face, Ritsu turns to you with an ever-present smile on his face. You wonder what he could possibly want to discuss. There wasn’t an active Sinostra mission that you could recall–in fact, it’s only been a few days since you’ve finished your first interhouse mission with Romeo. Could that be it?
“Do you wanna debrief about what happened at the cemetery?”
He shook his head, “No, some other time, maybe. I would like to discuss something else with you after business hours are finished and when we are both at our leisure.”
What? What could he possibly want to discuss?
“Sorry, I have to meet with Kaito and Luca after this,” you smile apologetically. You’d promised to Kaito that you’d make it up to him for dragging him into a mission with Romeo. According to him, it was traumatizing enough to be surrounded by ghosts, but to also be terrorized by his debt-collector at the same time? Yeah, no–he claimed he required emotional compensation for the distress he went through.
Ritsu frowned, “Could you possibly make an exception just this once? The subject is of utmost importance to me.”
You cock your head to the side and raise a brow, “Well, you’re here, so why can’t we talk about it now?”
Tapping his watch, Ritsu shook his head, “Unfortunately, I’ve other matters to attend to at this hour. I only stopped by for coffee.”
“As always,” you scoff at him, “Could you at least give me a hin–”
“Here’s your coffee, Shinjo-sama,” Ren interrupted, a steaming cup in his hand. Mentally, you curse at him for cutting you off.
Ritsu nods once and thanks him. He bows his head and says that he must take his leave now, but tells you to wait for him here when your shift is done. You were about to call out, but you found that your voice died in your throat as you watched him briskly walk out of the diner, confused as ever as to what the subject matter could possibly be. Scratching the back of your head, you turn to look at Ren who wore a smug look on his face.
Ren whistled lowly, “How much are you willing to bet he’s going to confess.”
“Ritsu?” you point at yourself, “confessing to me? No way.”
“Yeah, way. You like him too, don’t you?” Ren gave you a shit-eating-grin as he propped his elbows up for his head to lean on. Your face burned, which only led to your friend's smirk growing wider.
“Absolutely not.”
“Sure. Whatever you say. He’s your problem to deal with now, though,” he responded with finality as he untied his apron and hung it on the rack, “I’m off now, see ya.”
“Yeah, see you.”
But before Ren exited, he stopped and looked at you over his shoulder, “Oh, and, tell me how he professes his love to you later, okay?”
You gawk at him, your face red with both fury and embarrassment as he smirked wistfully once more before turning back around. He snickers as you yell his name, but you are quickly reprimanded by the head chef. You’ll get back at him for this.
Your feelings towards the paralegal was a sensitive topic. When you had confessed your feelings about Ritsu to Kaito and Luca, it was nothing short of embarrassing. Though Luca was supportive as per usual, emboldening you to be more proactive about your feelings. Kaito, on the other hand, looked nothing short of mortified when you told him. His jaw practically hit the ground in a cartoonish manner as he sputtered out questions and exclamations on why Ritsu would be a bad match for you. You were annoyed, yes, but you understood where he was coming from. So, you kept it hidden.
Ritsu was an acquired taste–he’s prideful to a fault, nosy, and headstrong. Initially, you disliked him. The way he would drag you everywhere and claim you were his business partner but then drop you the moment it was time for him to retire for the night without so much as a courteous farewell. The times he would chide you for your lack of legal background or if you were just a mere five seconds late to your scheduled meet-time made your blood boil. But, slowly, you began to realize you had grown fond of him. You aren’t sure when it changed or why, but have come to accept it. Ritsu’s legal-speak became amusing, and the way Taiga would fluster him was endearing. His encyclopedic was no longer a chore to listen to. And with each mission–each debrief at the diner, you found yourself leaning forward, listening intently as he spoke. And you swear that he, in turn, would lean in, too.
Things only worsened when Ren caught wind of your feelings. It was bad enough when Kaito found out, but Ren? You might as well have dug your grave.
You remember it clearly–it was one of your debriefs with Ritsu. The two of you sat at your usual booth, and he ordered a coffee. He was giving you a rundown of his findings since the last time you had met. When, out of the corner of your eye, you saw Ren staring at you. It wasn’t the kind of spaced-out-daze he usually wore on his face, no. His eyes were flickering between you and Ritsu from behind the counter as he made the coffee. You could practically see the cogs turning in his head as he made the connection. His eyes lit up with amusement while you felt a cold pit grow in your stomach.
He knew.
It was made exponentially worse when you started working at the Mystery Diner. Especially when your shift overlapped with Ren’s. He would send you messages in-between your conversations with Ritsu when the aspiring lawyer would drop by or he would make snide comments that only you could hear. You supposed it was because it was another form of entertainment at this otherwise boring job. Sure, you couldn’t fault him; if you found out that he had a crush that visited often, you’d be egging him too but it still grinded your gears when he sent an all-knowing look your way.
For reasons unknown to you, Ritsu started frequenting the quaint diner during your shifts. His order was easy to memorize. After all, it was just coffee; he never ordered food. You noticed that, rather than sitting at the debrief-booth, he opted to sit at the counter. You two often made idle chatter, elevator talk, if you will. But nothing beyond that. He wouldn’t linger for too long, always leaving sharply at the 20 minute mark. Still, his absence made your heart grow fonder. Even now, in the quiet of the diner, you miss him just a little more than you did yesterday.
The rest of your shift was filled with anticipation on wondering what Ritsu wanted to talk to you about. Anxiety welled in your stomach as you combed through all the topics that could be brought up.
Was it something bad? No, he looked normal earlier. Could it be that Sinostra was en route to win the Laurel Crown?
You pause for a moment and shake your head, No. Not with how Taiga and Romeo are right now.
Bidding the owners goodbye, you idle around the front of the diner. The sun had already begun to set, and beautiful orange-pink hues trailed after it. For a moment, you forgot about the feeling of impending doom in the pits of your stomach and marveled at the sky. You were so enamoured that you hadn’t noticed a certain someone making his way toward you.
“Good evening, MC.”
“Shinjo-kun!” you exclaim, your hand jumping to your chest, “Sorry, you startled me.”
“My apologies.”
A comfortable silence rested on your shoulders. You eyed him–he seemed nervous, oddly enough. Almost as nervous as you. Ritsu cleared his throat and straightened his posture.
“First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude for being my business partner. You’ve made my time in Sinostra much more bearable between the many deficiencies of this house and my captain’s… indifference.”
You giggle at his description of Taiga. He wasn’t far off, but for Ritsu to be uncharacteristically candid about his thoughts, about a client no less, was nothing short of amusing.
The last golden rays peeked beyond the horizon, but they illuminated Ritsu’s face just enough that you could see a shade of pink creeping from the tips of his ears to the apples of his cheeks. The streetlamps flickered on not long after and the blues and black gradients overtook the orange as the sun tucked itself good night beneath the cityscape.
“Second, though I believe it is customary to give confectionery or flowers, after knowing you for a considerable amount of time. I’ve taken it upon myself to note your personal preferences. After much consideration, it seemed to me that the best course of action would be to give you neither. Rather, as a token of my gratitude, I would like to give this to you,” he pulled something out of his pocket and showed it to you. He elegantly untied the neat bow with one hand to reveal a box with intricate engravings on the sides. Curious, you reach for the tin–only for Ritsu to pull it away from your grasps. You huff and fold your arms, but his gaze holds your own so passionately you nearly shrink into yourself.
“All this to say, that I’ve come to a conclusion. I’m sure that by now you have noticed that our time together has significantly increased compared to when we had initially met. Additionally, I’m also sure that you are aware that I do not spend my time flippantly and put great effort into how I should best allocate it. Of course, that is not to say that I do not appreciate the efforts of both Zhou-san and Mayumi-san, however, I admit that I particularly have enjoyed my time when it is spent with you. I do not tend to admit my own shortcomings, however, I will say that when it comes to articulating matters of the heart, it does not come easy to me as most things tend to. Be that as it may, I would like to propose an arrangement.”
Feeling your heart flutter harder in your chest, you shift your weight from one foot to another in anticipation, “An arrangement?”
“By now, I am sure that you are familiar with the fact that I have my clientele ‘seal the deal’ with a contract. To bind–cement our agreement in stone. And, with that in mind, I hope that my intentions have been made clear.”
Ritsu’s face was flushed, but his gaze was unwavering. Your eyes widened, as he placed the tin in your palm–his gloved hands enclosing yours. With your heart hammering fast against the confines of your ribs as his fingers guided your own to open the lid. You gasp quietly, as you peer into the contents of the box.
It was a promise ring.
“If you will have me,” Ritsu paused, a look of hopeful uncertainty that you had never seen before hung on his face–one that was quickly overshadowed by determination, “I would like for our partnership to extend beyond that of business relations.”