Tantei Gakuen Q Ryu/Kyu/Megu
Title: Preparations
Fandom: Tantei Gakuen Q
Theme: Jamie's list #25: Necktie
Pairing: Megu/Kyu main, hints of Ryu/Megu and Ryu/Kyu
Rating: G
Words: 1260
Summary: Follows Interpreting Dance. Time for Ryu, Kyu and Megu to start their assignment, after a few final touches.
When she arrived, Megu found Ryu was waiting for her in the minor swirl of confusion going on outside the front gates. That was something of a comfort. Megu couldn’t help feeling like she still didn’t know what to expect.
The assignment was simple enough. Their host had been getting a frustrating assortment of threatening letters demanding that the entire affair be canceled, though none of those threats registered above, ‘or else.’ They were only meant to blend in at the party, make sure nothing went wrong, and try to seek out the letter-writer, if at all possible.
At least since the party was meant for a sixteen-year-old girl, the four of them wouldn’t look too out of place. It was the odd formal atmosphere of the whole thing that made Megu nervous. Both parents and daughter seemed strangely old-fashioned about the entire thing. Megu hadn’t heard of anyone outside an old, romanticized drama having an official coming-out party, though apparently that was considered normal enough for this family.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” Megu said in greeting.
“You’re not late. Kinta just went inside.”
Ryu had been watching her the whole time she approached, as she looked between him and the other guests who kept walking up the front drive. They would probably look different once inside, away from the odd tint of twilight, but not so much so that she wouldn’t recognize them.
At least Ryu looked like he belonged. Megu was sure his normal air of quiet elegance would fit in perfectly with even the most refined crowd.
Megu brushed nervously at her skirt. It was simple enough, patterned in soft grey and lacy white. She had only been thinking that it wouldn’t stand out too much in a crowd. A silvery crystal necklace, borrowed from her sister on the promise of sharing any good gossip that came up, rested with an unfamiliar tickle just below the dip in her collarbone. The borrowed jewelry made her feel uncomfortably like a little girl playing at dress up.
“You’ll blend right in,” Ryu told her, seeming to guess her worries.
Megu wanted to return the compliment. She wanted to tell Ryu how handsome he looked, but shy embarrassment was flapping around inside her chest and telling her not to say it.
“Is Kyu here yet?”
“I’m still waiting for him.”
“Oh.”
Megu’s mouth felt dry with the sort of tense silence. Maybe it was just her feeling tense, not knowing what to say to Ryu.
Before the dry, silent air between them could get uncomfortable, the silence was broken by Kyu’s voice, calling over the more genteel murmur of the other guests.
“Megu! Ryu!”
Megu turned at her name and the sound of running feet, just in time to see Kyu waving wildly as he charged up. The moment he caught up to them he bent nearly double, hands on his knees, to catch his breath. A navy blue tie was draped around his neck, untied, and it almost slipped off completely when he took a minute to gasp for breath.
“Are you okay?”
“You can’t call so much attention to yourself,” Ryu said at the same time.
“I know, I know,” Kyu gasped, straightening back up. “But I just couldn’t get-” Kyu stopped to pull his tie so that it was centered again. He just kept jerking back and forth at it, completely unable to tie a proper knot. “And then I’m late and I still can’t get it tied!”
“I’ll do it.”
Ryu took the ends of Kyu’s tie in his hands. Kyu let him, tilting his chin up and taking his hands out of the way as Ryu straightened both his tie and collar.
It looked natural enough as Ryu deftly tied Kyu’s tie, but when he took his hands away the knot had come out exactly backwards.
Megu managed not to giggle. She couldn’t help finding it cute to finally see a small flaw in Ryu. He must only be used to tying his own tie, so that his fingers only remembered how to do it one way.
“Let me,” she told them, gently taking the tie from Ryu’s hands and undoing the backwards knot.
Just having seen it done once or twice, Megu was able to mimic the correct loop and tuck to fix Kyu’s tie properly. She almost stopped, frozen, before she could finish straightening it. Just seeing her fingers go through a sequence she had watched before was enough to summon a memory so clear that it superimposed over the sight of her own hands.
She remembered her mother and father repeating this same ritual over the breakfast table. Her mother’s gentle voice saying, ‘Let me do it, dear.’ The deft way her mother’s fingers repeated the same exact motions before flipping her father’s collar back down and smoothing it. The way her father would gently catch and squeeze her mother’s fingers without a word.
It had been years since she’d seen that ritual, now that she was living with her older sister. Megu didn’t think she would have understood the unspoken affection in those few movements if she didn’t have the perfect image of them in her mind, ready to be replayed at any time.
Megu felt her face grow warm as she flipped Kyu’s collar down. She smoothed her fingers over it, all the way around the back of his neck, just to be sure. It was probably a safe guess that Kyu wouldn’t associate the innocent gesture with the sort of deep, familiar affection between wife and husband. She was only straightening his tie was all.
“Thank you!”
Kyu beamed at her, and the sudden glow of that enthusiastic smile was quite enough.
“You’re welcome,” Megu answered, feeling herself smile in return.
Kyu leaned to one side for a second, as if checking on something over her shoulder. Before Megu could turn and find out what he was looking at he had snapped back and thrust his bent arm out at her.
“I’ll escort you in, okay?”
Megu glanced uncertainly over her shoulder at Ryu, who was carefully looking away from both of them. If Kyu was being prompted, he wasn’t being very subtle about it. Still, Megu didn’t see any harm in it. If Kyu walked her in, they suddenly had a reasonable excuse to confer together during the party. Maybe that was all there was to it.
Laying her hand delicately on Kyu’s arm, Megu allowed herself to be guided to the front walk. Kyu kept looking down at her hand then up at her face, strangely cute in his indecisiveness.
“We’ll fit right in,” Megu reassured him, repeating the words Ryu had just given her, as if they were a good luck charm.
Kyu fidgeted about for a minute before replying with an unusually soft, “Megu?” A pause and then, “You look. . . really nice.”
“No, not really,” Megu tried to argue, modestly.
“Yes you do.”
It was strange the way that awkward compliment made her chest and cheeks warm. Embarrassment was nothing next to the spark of confidence Kyu had given her. The feeling of being somehow caught out as a child dressing up melted into nothing. All that was left in its place was the feeling that they could do this.
It wasn’t just Ryu, following a step behind like a silent shadow, who would fit in here. All of them would do their own part. That feeling carried Megu every step up to the front door, practically floating where Kyu’s arm guided her.
Fandom: Tantei Gakuen Q
Theme: Jamie's list #25: Necktie
Pairing: Megu/Kyu main, hints of Ryu/Megu and Ryu/Kyu
Rating: G
Words: 1260
Summary: Follows Interpreting Dance. Time for Ryu, Kyu and Megu to start their assignment, after a few final touches.
When she arrived, Megu found Ryu was waiting for her in the minor swirl of confusion going on outside the front gates. That was something of a comfort. Megu couldn’t help feeling like she still didn’t know what to expect.
The assignment was simple enough. Their host had been getting a frustrating assortment of threatening letters demanding that the entire affair be canceled, though none of those threats registered above, ‘or else.’ They were only meant to blend in at the party, make sure nothing went wrong, and try to seek out the letter-writer, if at all possible.
At least since the party was meant for a sixteen-year-old girl, the four of them wouldn’t look too out of place. It was the odd formal atmosphere of the whole thing that made Megu nervous. Both parents and daughter seemed strangely old-fashioned about the entire thing. Megu hadn’t heard of anyone outside an old, romanticized drama having an official coming-out party, though apparently that was considered normal enough for this family.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” Megu said in greeting.
“You’re not late. Kinta just went inside.”
Ryu had been watching her the whole time she approached, as she looked between him and the other guests who kept walking up the front drive. They would probably look different once inside, away from the odd tint of twilight, but not so much so that she wouldn’t recognize them.
At least Ryu looked like he belonged. Megu was sure his normal air of quiet elegance would fit in perfectly with even the most refined crowd.
Megu brushed nervously at her skirt. It was simple enough, patterned in soft grey and lacy white. She had only been thinking that it wouldn’t stand out too much in a crowd. A silvery crystal necklace, borrowed from her sister on the promise of sharing any good gossip that came up, rested with an unfamiliar tickle just below the dip in her collarbone. The borrowed jewelry made her feel uncomfortably like a little girl playing at dress up.
“You’ll blend right in,” Ryu told her, seeming to guess her worries.
Megu wanted to return the compliment. She wanted to tell Ryu how handsome he looked, but shy embarrassment was flapping around inside her chest and telling her not to say it.
“Is Kyu here yet?”
“I’m still waiting for him.”
“Oh.”
Megu’s mouth felt dry with the sort of tense silence. Maybe it was just her feeling tense, not knowing what to say to Ryu.
Before the dry, silent air between them could get uncomfortable, the silence was broken by Kyu’s voice, calling over the more genteel murmur of the other guests.
“Megu! Ryu!”
Megu turned at her name and the sound of running feet, just in time to see Kyu waving wildly as he charged up. The moment he caught up to them he bent nearly double, hands on his knees, to catch his breath. A navy blue tie was draped around his neck, untied, and it almost slipped off completely when he took a minute to gasp for breath.
“Are you okay?”
“You can’t call so much attention to yourself,” Ryu said at the same time.
“I know, I know,” Kyu gasped, straightening back up. “But I just couldn’t get-” Kyu stopped to pull his tie so that it was centered again. He just kept jerking back and forth at it, completely unable to tie a proper knot. “And then I’m late and I still can’t get it tied!”
“I’ll do it.”
Ryu took the ends of Kyu’s tie in his hands. Kyu let him, tilting his chin up and taking his hands out of the way as Ryu straightened both his tie and collar.
It looked natural enough as Ryu deftly tied Kyu’s tie, but when he took his hands away the knot had come out exactly backwards.
Megu managed not to giggle. She couldn’t help finding it cute to finally see a small flaw in Ryu. He must only be used to tying his own tie, so that his fingers only remembered how to do it one way.
“Let me,” she told them, gently taking the tie from Ryu’s hands and undoing the backwards knot.
Just having seen it done once or twice, Megu was able to mimic the correct loop and tuck to fix Kyu’s tie properly. She almost stopped, frozen, before she could finish straightening it. Just seeing her fingers go through a sequence she had watched before was enough to summon a memory so clear that it superimposed over the sight of her own hands.
She remembered her mother and father repeating this same ritual over the breakfast table. Her mother’s gentle voice saying, ‘Let me do it, dear.’ The deft way her mother’s fingers repeated the same exact motions before flipping her father’s collar back down and smoothing it. The way her father would gently catch and squeeze her mother’s fingers without a word.
It had been years since she’d seen that ritual, now that she was living with her older sister. Megu didn’t think she would have understood the unspoken affection in those few movements if she didn’t have the perfect image of them in her mind, ready to be replayed at any time.
Megu felt her face grow warm as she flipped Kyu’s collar down. She smoothed her fingers over it, all the way around the back of his neck, just to be sure. It was probably a safe guess that Kyu wouldn’t associate the innocent gesture with the sort of deep, familiar affection between wife and husband. She was only straightening his tie was all.
“Thank you!”
Kyu beamed at her, and the sudden glow of that enthusiastic smile was quite enough.
“You’re welcome,” Megu answered, feeling herself smile in return.
Kyu leaned to one side for a second, as if checking on something over her shoulder. Before Megu could turn and find out what he was looking at he had snapped back and thrust his bent arm out at her.
“I’ll escort you in, okay?”
Megu glanced uncertainly over her shoulder at Ryu, who was carefully looking away from both of them. If Kyu was being prompted, he wasn’t being very subtle about it. Still, Megu didn’t see any harm in it. If Kyu walked her in, they suddenly had a reasonable excuse to confer together during the party. Maybe that was all there was to it.
Laying her hand delicately on Kyu’s arm, Megu allowed herself to be guided to the front walk. Kyu kept looking down at her hand then up at her face, strangely cute in his indecisiveness.
“We’ll fit right in,” Megu reassured him, repeating the words Ryu had just given her, as if they were a good luck charm.
Kyu fidgeted about for a minute before replying with an unusually soft, “Megu?” A pause and then, “You look. . . really nice.”
“No, not really,” Megu tried to argue, modestly.
“Yes you do.”
It was strange the way that awkward compliment made her chest and cheeks warm. Embarrassment was nothing next to the spark of confidence Kyu had given her. The feeling of being somehow caught out as a child dressing up melted into nothing. All that was left in its place was the feeling that they could do this.
It wasn’t just Ryu, following a step behind like a silent shadow, who would fit in here. All of them would do their own part. That feeling carried Megu every step up to the front door, practically floating where Kyu’s arm guided her.