A dream as sweet as brown sugar

It was a relatively calm, peaceful evening. Toto, who was sitting cross-legged on Ron’s “floor of sloth”, let out a sigh and stretched a bit, trying to get rid of his sleepiness. It had been very busy at work lately, and he was completely beat, wanting nothing more than to get a bit of rest. Amamiya-senpai hadn't gone easy on him, burying him under mountains of paperwork and minor cases no one had wanted to deal with. So in other words: like always. Despite his now rising popularity, his superior’s treatment towards him still hadn't changed. Oh well, what could you do? So what was he doing currently at Ron’s instead of finally heading home and getting a well-deserved break? Well, the thing was that it had already been several weeks since the last time of them solving a case together (or more precisely: of Ron solving a case Toto had brought him), and Isshiki had to admit that he had been worried about the detective, for he knew exactly how depressive the other could get when there weren’t any new cases in sight. So he had decided to come for a visit in order to see how Ron was doing before going home, his heart twitching painfully at the mere thought of the latter being sad. But to his relief, his worry had resulted to be unfounded: Ron was now lying next to him on the floor without a care in the world and happily humming a song while knitting something that looked like a wool hat — with a platypus design. Toto very much hoped that he was making it for himself and not for him, because wearing that thing outside would be beyond embarrassing. But then again, if it really should turn out to be a gift for him, the officer would still wear it, of course, in order to make Ron happy. A slight blush appeared on his cheeks as he thought about that. And exactly at that moment, Ron turned his head into the officer's direction, smiling at him, as if he had read his mind. “Tired, aren’t you, Toto? Another long day at work?” Toto smiled back, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah. So much to do that couldn't wait until the next day.” Ron pouted a little. “And yet you failed to find even one case for me. I’m disappointed, Officer Isshiki.” “Hey! Not my fault that Amamiya-senpai still treats me like a mere errand boy, not considering me worthy of the really important cases!” Okay, so maybe the detective wasn’t that fine, after all. The latter chuckled, raising one of his hands in an appeasing gesture. “Okay, okay, point taken. Don’t get mad, Toto.” He sat up, still knitting that hat, and faced the officer. “Did at least something interesting happen at work you could tell me about?” Toto brought a hand to his chin, thinking. “No, not really. Just the usual documents, interrogations, and…” He suddenly got beet-red and averted his gaze. “And something that hasn’t got to do with work and that I’d prefer to forget.” “Oh? Tell me!” Ron had moved a bit closer, looking expectantly at him. His hands stopped working on the knitting. “I said I’d prefer to forget it!” “Oh, come on! You look like a tomato now, so I bet it’s something really interesting.” The officer got startled for a second and then let out a sigh, resigning to his fate, since it didn't look like Ron was planning to leave him in peace any time soon. “Alright, alright! Well, I was carrying some papers to an office where they had to be put away, opened the door and saw…” Ron watched his cute little Toto become even redder and grinned, waiting for him to continue. The detective was obviously having fun and enjoying the situation. “And saw two of my coworkers… kissing there!” Ron looked at him a bit questioningly, then tilted his head to the side, scratching his cheek. “And that's it?” “What do you mean ‘That’s it?’,” Toto snapped. “Can you even imagine how embarrassing that was?! How should I ever look them in the eye again at work?” The other smirked widely again and placed his knitting things aside. Toto could sense the piercing gaze of Ron’s ice-blue eyes from under his bangs, and gulped, suddenly feeling nervous, without even knowing why. “I see.” The officer was confused. What was it this time? “What do you see?” Ron pointed his index finger at him. “That you, my dear Totomaru Isshiki, have never kissed anyone in your life! This is what I deduced from your behavior!” Toto was so baffled he almost fell over, as if each word had become a bullet, aimed directly at his chest. He had turned even redder, indicating to Ron that his conclusion was, indeed, correct. But the biggest surprise was yet to come. “Well, I haven't either.” The detective shrugged his shoulders, as nonchalantly as if he was talking about trying a new kind of food. And smirked again. “So shall we try it out? What do you say?” The officer widened his eyes, looking at him as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard. He stretched out his slightly trembling hand, placing it on Ron's forehead. “Uhm, Ron, what are you saying? Do you have a fever?” Ron immediately laid his hand on top of Toto's. “Not at all. I’m absolutely serious. To be honest, I’ve been wondering for years what it feels like, wanting to try it out, and now it seems that the right occasion has finally arrived. Since there’s another thing I also deduced from your behavior.” Unable to free his hand since Ron was holding it tight, Toto felt a shudder run down his spine as he saw these gorgeous eyes staring right at him once again. “W-Which thing?” Ron removed Isshiki's hand from his forehead, however, without letting go of it, and moved so close that their faces were now just a few centimeters apart. Toto could feel his breath on his cheek. “That you have certain feelings for me.” The officer was so perplexed he forgot how to speak for several moments. Eventually, he managed to let out a quiet “H-Huh?” But before he could produce another sound, Ron placed his index finger on Toto’s lips, hushing him. “Don’t even try to deny it, Toto. I’ve never been in love myself until I met you, but I read my share of romantic novels during my isolation, and I’m also not blind. As a detective, I have to pay attention to every detail, after all.” Toto's eyes told him that he hit bullseye with his words. Ron removed his finger from the officer’s lips. The latter still looked as if he couldn't quite believe what was happening, his eyes opened wide. “So… I do have a chance with you after all?” he whispered, his voice trembling slightly. But instead of answering, Ron simply leaned forward and pressed his lips against Toto’s, whose silver eyes widened again. Isshiki's mind went blank. He was thinking about everything and nothing at the same time, still somehow convinced that it could only be an illusion, just a dream, a product of his exhaustion. This couldn't be happening! That insanely handsome and highly intelligent man he admired so much and considered his work partner and best friend could not have fallen for someone like him and much less be kissing him right now! Absolutely impossible! And yet, there it was: the warm feeling of Ron’s lips on his and the sweet taste of brown sugar entering his mouth. Not to mention Ron’s hand that was still holding his own and the other that had grabbed his waist. A few seconds later, Toto finally decided to close his eyes and just enjoy it. Even if it should be a mere dream. After all, dreaming wasn’t hurting anyone, even if it could be painful to wake up afterward and realize that nothing of it had ever happened. But he would deal with that later. After some time that seemed like an eternity but also like a fleeting second, Ron finally pulled away. He was grinning again, and a light blush had appeared on his cheeks. “So how was it, Officer Isshiki? Did you like it?” Since Toto was still unable to pronounce even one word, all he could do was nod while opening his eyes and facing the detective again. This caused the latter to take the officer’s face with both hands, pulling him closer once more and chuckling quietly. “Then how about we repeat this… meow…” Meow? The still blushing Toto blinked a few times, not understanding what the hell was going on (or rather understanding it even less than before). There was one big question mark filling out his head. And this was the moment he woke up. “Urgh…” Groaning softly, he opened his eyes, finding himself lying on his stomach on Ron's soft floor, covered with a blanket and feeling something warm and rough move across his face. The cat. Ron’s cat was licking his face. And Ron himself was sitting next to him, cross-legged, and laughing. “Haha, Toto, he really likes you!” “Urgh.. what happened?” Toto removed the blanket, sat up and rubbed his eyes sleepily, petting the cat’s head with his other hand. The animal meowed and curled up on his lap. Ron smiled at him, doing his best to not die from cuteness. “Well, I noticed that you were sleepy, so I decided to go make you some coffee, and when I got back, you were lying here sound asleep. I thought I would let you sleep a bit, I knew how tired you were, after all. But this little guy,” He stroked the cat’s back. “This little guy had a different opinion.” Toto sighed. Of course, it was a dream. There was no way in hell someone like Ron would ever kiss him or have feelings for him. But it still had been a great one, a fact he couldn't deny. Suddenly, he saw Ron’s face just a couple centimeters away from his own and got startled. “You're so red. Did you have a nice dream?” “Wha-” The detective grinned again and got up to his feet. “Okay, okay, don’t tell me if you don't want to, I won't press you any further. Should I make you another cup of coffee? The one I prepared before has gotten cold already.” “Yes, please. That would be nice.” “Alright. But you should really head home soon, you need to go to bed. Or you can spend the night right here, as you like. I don't mind at all.” “No, it’s okay. I’ll go home.” The detective smiled widely and put something on Toto’s head out of the blue, startling the poor guy once again. “Oh, by the way! I made this for you! And as expected, it suits you perfectly!” Toto took off the aforementioned object and looked at it. It was the platypus wool hat the other had been knitting. He put on a strained smile. Yep, he knew it… Then he watched Ron go to the kitchen and scratched the back of his head, letting out another sigh. Just a dream. Nothing more than a dream. Of course. And just as he was pondering about that and resigning himself to his fate, he suddenly noticed a little, yet significant detail he had no explanation for: In his mouth, he perceived… a slight taste… …of brown sugar syrup. His eyes opened wide like plates. The cat on his lap meowed again. And Ron, who was walking through the apartment with his back to him, grinned mischievously and licked his lips.