Post by SharaRaizel on Oct 9, 2014 6:58:31 GMT
So I got bored and not wanting to go to bed just yet so I decided to give this Daily Word Prompts a try. I think they'll become a series of related one-shots that'll make up a fan fic that I've had planned in the back of my mind for a while. Now I'm a huge fan of Hakuba Saguru so these will feature him, but I'm not going to get too ship-y with any of these so for now they'll just be a series of friendly friendship Hakuba interactions (though there may be hints of ships). We'll see how these go. This one in particular features Hakuba and Aoko. Enjoy!
Catastrophe
It was only Saturday morning and Hakuba Saguru was already lamenting the fact that he was never going to get any work done at this rate if his phone didn’t stop pinging with new text messages. He was tempted to shut the damn thing off, but he was expecting an important text message from his father about a case he was working on.
*PING!*
Saguru’s eyebrow ticked in irritation. Giving in, he snatched up his phone to see who’d messaged him this time. He had 4 from his mother, 6 from Kuroba Kaito pestering him about some nonsense he could care less about, and 1 new message from… Nakamori Aoko?
Intrigued, Saguru opened the message.
CAN WE MEET UP? I REALLY NEED TO TALK TO YOU.
Saguru pondered the message for a moment before giving his casework load a mournful look. So much for getting anything done today. He supposed that he could always tell Aoko that he was busy, but she was his friend and she’d never really asked him for help before. It had to be serious if she was asking. He made sure to make his reply quick and concise.
SURE. WHERE?
He waited a couple of minutes for her replay when the doorbell rang. Surprised and not sure what to expect, Saguru hurried to the front door. He was startled when he opened the door and saw Aoko standing on his porch looking utterly miserable and on the verge of tears.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, rubbing her arm in a self-conscious manner. “It’s just… I don’t know… I was walking and saw your house… I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Saguru told her, full of concern as he ushered her indoors. “Please, come in.”
He brought her to the living room and once they were seated Aoko burst into tears, making Saguru flinch. He wasn’t used to having to deal with crying women. Angry, upset, and tearful women, yes, he met them all the time on cases, but he never had to comfort someone as upset as Aoko appeared to be. Someone else – a family member or friend – was usually there to do that. He handed her his handkerchief.
“I’m so… so st-stupid!” Aoko wailed, breaths hiccupping as she cried. “How c-could I be so blind?!”
Saguru shifted nervously in his seat.
“…Aoko-kun?”
“You were right!” the girl screeched, going from sad-upset to angry-upset in a flash. “Oh, stupid Aoko! The signs were everywhere. I just didn’t want to see it. Stupid!”
She took in a shuddering breath and seemed to deflate.
“You’ve known all along haven’t you?” she asked. “It wasn’t just speculation that Kaito was Kid, was it? You knew…you know.”
Saguru stared at he long and hard, gauging her reaction.
“I was very vocal about my suspicions that Kuroba is Kid when I first got here. But there was no proof. No concrete evidence.”
“Yes, you were, weren’t you?” Aoko sighed miserably before looking curiously over at him. “But not in a long time. After the Nightmare Heist… you haven’t actually accused Kaito of being Kid outright… why? You’re right. You just need to prove it. Why have you stopped trying? You still attend heists, but I’ve seen you. It’s like you’re only going through the motions of trying to catch Kid.”
Saguru shifted uneasily in his seat.
“How do you really feel about Kuroba being Kid?” he asked her.
“…I don’t know,” Aoko sighed, rubbing at her eyes. “I just don’t know. I think… I think that I always knew…deep down…”
“That he was Kid,” Saguru finished gently. “You said so yourself. You just didn’t want to see it.”
She nodded miserably.
“Well,” Saguru sighed, rising to his feet. “There’s only one thing we can do now. Bake a cake.”
Aoko looked up in surprise.
“…A cake? …What?”
“C’mon,” Saguru smiled, pulling her to her feet and led her towards his kitchen. “We’re just upsetting ourselves about something we can’t really help.”
“But what does that have to do with baking a cake?” she asked bewildered, watching Saguru pull out ingredients and cooking apparel from various cupboards, drawers and the fridge.
“Everything,” Saguru said simply. “When I’m upset, I find that cooking something sweet is the best thing to do. I think a strawberry cake will do, don’t you?”
“Ah… sure, but how does this help?” she asked curiously, taking a mixing bowl and started adding ingredients.
“It gives us something to eat latter on while watching a movie or two,” Saguru smirked. “It’s what my mum and I do when either of us has had a bad day. We’ll make a mess of the kitchen baking and then spend the evening watching rubbish on the Telly or have a movie marathon. ‘You gotta cook your feelings, then eat them,’ is what my mum says. Personally I think she just likes to pig out on sweet baked-goods instead of gorging on a tub of ice cream, but I find the process of cooking therapeutic. Eating what we bake is just the icing on the cake.”
Aoko chuckled, a smile quirking at the corners of her lips as they started making the strawberry cake.
A couple hours later Aoko and Saguru were situated back in the living room but with a sizable strawberry cake lightly topped with a thin coating of vanilla frosting and several sliced strawberries while watching Disney’s Frozen.
“Mmm!” Aoko hummed appreciatively as she took her first bite of cake. “Oh, this is good. And just what I needed. I didn’t realize you could cook, Hakuba-kun.”
“My mum and Baaya taught me.” Saguru smiled. “I’d be happy to give you the recipe, if you’d like.”
“Oh, yes, please,” Aoko said. “I have to make this for my Tou-san sometime.”
“You helped make this one, so half of it is yours. Whatever we don’t eat you can take back home. I’ll find you some tupperware that you can return at your earliest convenience.”
“Thanks. …You’re a good friend, Hakuba-kun. Thank you. For everything.”
“What are friends for?” Saguru shrugged. “Come over anytime.”
“When you’re actually here,” Aoko chuckled.
“Well, yes,” Saguru huffed. “That is obvious. But even if I’m not here, you can always reach me by phone if you ever really need to talk.”
“I’ll remember that.”
They continued to eat their cake and watched the movie until it was over. Aoko actually stayed over to have a late lunch with Saguru and they chatted about trivial things watched a few more Disney movies until it was time for her to leave with what remained of the strawberry cake. When Saguru headed into the kitchen to cook up something for supper he did an about-face and went to peruse the selection of takeout menus instead. The state of the kitchen was a catastrophe. No way was he going to clean that mess up and cook himself dinner only to make another mess. He’d already spent a good chunk of his day eating cake, so what was a little junk food?
*PING!*
Saguru’s eyebrow ticked in irritation. Giving in, he snatched up his phone to see who’d messaged him this time. He had 4 from his mother, 6 from Kuroba Kaito pestering him about some nonsense he could care less about, and 1 new message from… Nakamori Aoko?
Intrigued, Saguru opened the message.
CAN WE MEET UP? I REALLY NEED TO TALK TO YOU.
Saguru pondered the message for a moment before giving his casework load a mournful look. So much for getting anything done today. He supposed that he could always tell Aoko that he was busy, but she was his friend and she’d never really asked him for help before. It had to be serious if she was asking. He made sure to make his reply quick and concise.
SURE. WHERE?
He waited a couple of minutes for her replay when the doorbell rang. Surprised and not sure what to expect, Saguru hurried to the front door. He was startled when he opened the door and saw Aoko standing on his porch looking utterly miserable and on the verge of tears.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, rubbing her arm in a self-conscious manner. “It’s just… I don’t know… I was walking and saw your house… I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Saguru told her, full of concern as he ushered her indoors. “Please, come in.”
He brought her to the living room and once they were seated Aoko burst into tears, making Saguru flinch. He wasn’t used to having to deal with crying women. Angry, upset, and tearful women, yes, he met them all the time on cases, but he never had to comfort someone as upset as Aoko appeared to be. Someone else – a family member or friend – was usually there to do that. He handed her his handkerchief.
“I’m so… so st-stupid!” Aoko wailed, breaths hiccupping as she cried. “How c-could I be so blind?!”
Saguru shifted nervously in his seat.
“…Aoko-kun?”
“You were right!” the girl screeched, going from sad-upset to angry-upset in a flash. “Oh, stupid Aoko! The signs were everywhere. I just didn’t want to see it. Stupid!”
She took in a shuddering breath and seemed to deflate.
“You’ve known all along haven’t you?” she asked. “It wasn’t just speculation that Kaito was Kid, was it? You knew…you know.”
Saguru stared at he long and hard, gauging her reaction.
“I was very vocal about my suspicions that Kuroba is Kid when I first got here. But there was no proof. No concrete evidence.”
“Yes, you were, weren’t you?” Aoko sighed miserably before looking curiously over at him. “But not in a long time. After the Nightmare Heist… you haven’t actually accused Kaito of being Kid outright… why? You’re right. You just need to prove it. Why have you stopped trying? You still attend heists, but I’ve seen you. It’s like you’re only going through the motions of trying to catch Kid.”
Saguru shifted uneasily in his seat.
“How do you really feel about Kuroba being Kid?” he asked her.
“…I don’t know,” Aoko sighed, rubbing at her eyes. “I just don’t know. I think… I think that I always knew…deep down…”
“That he was Kid,” Saguru finished gently. “You said so yourself. You just didn’t want to see it.”
She nodded miserably.
“Well,” Saguru sighed, rising to his feet. “There’s only one thing we can do now. Bake a cake.”
Aoko looked up in surprise.
“…A cake? …What?”
“C’mon,” Saguru smiled, pulling her to her feet and led her towards his kitchen. “We’re just upsetting ourselves about something we can’t really help.”
“But what does that have to do with baking a cake?” she asked bewildered, watching Saguru pull out ingredients and cooking apparel from various cupboards, drawers and the fridge.
“Everything,” Saguru said simply. “When I’m upset, I find that cooking something sweet is the best thing to do. I think a strawberry cake will do, don’t you?”
“Ah… sure, but how does this help?” she asked curiously, taking a mixing bowl and started adding ingredients.
“It gives us something to eat latter on while watching a movie or two,” Saguru smirked. “It’s what my mum and I do when either of us has had a bad day. We’ll make a mess of the kitchen baking and then spend the evening watching rubbish on the Telly or have a movie marathon. ‘You gotta cook your feelings, then eat them,’ is what my mum says. Personally I think she just likes to pig out on sweet baked-goods instead of gorging on a tub of ice cream, but I find the process of cooking therapeutic. Eating what we bake is just the icing on the cake.”
Aoko chuckled, a smile quirking at the corners of her lips as they started making the strawberry cake.
A couple hours later Aoko and Saguru were situated back in the living room but with a sizable strawberry cake lightly topped with a thin coating of vanilla frosting and several sliced strawberries while watching Disney’s Frozen.
“Mmm!” Aoko hummed appreciatively as she took her first bite of cake. “Oh, this is good. And just what I needed. I didn’t realize you could cook, Hakuba-kun.”
“My mum and Baaya taught me.” Saguru smiled. “I’d be happy to give you the recipe, if you’d like.”
“Oh, yes, please,” Aoko said. “I have to make this for my Tou-san sometime.”
“You helped make this one, so half of it is yours. Whatever we don’t eat you can take back home. I’ll find you some tupperware that you can return at your earliest convenience.”
“Thanks. …You’re a good friend, Hakuba-kun. Thank you. For everything.”
“What are friends for?” Saguru shrugged. “Come over anytime.”
“When you’re actually here,” Aoko chuckled.
“Well, yes,” Saguru huffed. “That is obvious. But even if I’m not here, you can always reach me by phone if you ever really need to talk.”
“I’ll remember that.”
They continued to eat their cake and watched the movie until it was over. Aoko actually stayed over to have a late lunch with Saguru and they chatted about trivial things watched a few more Disney movies until it was time for her to leave with what remained of the strawberry cake. When Saguru headed into the kitchen to cook up something for supper he did an about-face and went to peruse the selection of takeout menus instead. The state of the kitchen was a catastrophe. No way was he going to clean that mess up and cook himself dinner only to make another mess. He’d already spent a good chunk of his day eating cake, so what was a little junk food?