Archive of Our Own ^beta

Almond panted as he scanned the crowd. Pursuing Roguefort, also known as Phantom Bleu, was always a challenge. But tonight was especially frustrating, because Roguefort felt like toying with him more than usual. They keeps dipping into crowded locations while wearing some disguise, and then dashing off the moment they’re within Almond’s grasp. 

Roguefort had already disguised themselves as a friendly looking old woman, a young child (somehow), a dog (seriously, how ?), and even a fellow police officer! Clearly, they had no regard for standards and would pretend to be anybody Almond might trust.

The thief was running across rooftops now, making Almond unsure of where he was going. However, there was no way he’d let the phantom out of his sight for a moment!

Roguefort jumped in through a window, and Almond followed without thinking. But when he looked around, the office seemed familiar. 

It was Cappuccino’s office!

Almond looked around. Cappuccino went on vacation recently, so his office should be empty right now-

Almond saw “Cappuccino” walk in to the room holding a cup of coffee.

In the blink of an eye, the detective had “Cappuccino” handcuffed to him. Last time Roguefort was in handcuffs, even though it took him some time, he was able to escape without a hitch. Almond had planned on handcuffing Roguefort to himself in order to prevent such a thing from happening again. And, seriously, how could Roguefort decide to pretend to be someone Almond trusts so much? Do they have no limits?

“Uhm… What are you doing, Almond?”

 Almond pulled Roguefort along by the handcuff. “Drop the act. You’re coming with me!” Roguefort… blushed?!

“C-coming with you?! But I’m so busy…” He yawned, weakly resisting Almond. Clearly, Roguefort has done their research. 

At least, that’s what Almond thinks, until he hears a buzz on his radio.

“Roguefort has… Roguefort has escaped! They escaped with the diamond!”

Almond blinked, then looked up at Cappucino, who looked like he was about to pass out.

“You’re… not Roguefort, are you…?” The question was redundant. He knew the answer by now. “I’m very sorry. I thought your vacation would last longer.” 

Cappuccino shook his head. “It’s fine, it’s fine… I never get to take long vacations. But I only just returned home last night.”

Last night? Knowing Cappuccino, he hasn’t left the office since then.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment. Almond isn’t sure why his face feels so hot. 

“I’ll- I’ll let you go… give me a second.” He rummages through his pockets, searching for the key. He made sure it would be difficult to reach so that it would take Roguefort at least a moment to reach it, but that was backfiring now.

“Aha! I’ll just put this in the handcuffs, and then-“

Almond dropped it. The key. It fell silently into the endless piles of paper and mess in Cappuccino’s office.

Almond blinked. Cappuccino blinked.

Cappuccino took a sip of his coffee and yawned. “I guess… We need to look for it.” He knelt down on the floor.

“Right. I have places to be, and you’re obviously extremely busy.” Almond followed suit.

It seemed like finding that key would be damn near impossible. Almond wasn’t sure how Cappuccino dealt with such a messy room. Almond always has to be perfectly clean in order to focus, so he’d probably go crazy having to properly work in the office. It was one thing to visit Cappuccino in order to discuss different cases, but now that he actually had to deal with the mess, it was exhausting. And Almond was already exhausted!

At one point, Cappuccino fell asleep and leaned up against Almond’s shoulder. Almond felt hot all of the sudden, but he didn’t do anything to move Cappuccino or wake him up. Because they’re friends and friends let each other sleep when they’re exhausted, obviously. 

Almond sighs as he finally finds the key, carefully moving to uncuff the two of them. Almond sits there, for a second, looking at Cappuccino as he sleeps. The lawyer was snoring and pressing himself against Almond. Because he is cold, probably. 

Almond moves to get up, which accidentally startled Cappuccino awake.

“I-I didn’t realize! I’m very sorry, I’ll… I’ll leave you alone!” Cappuccino rushed over to his desk. “I have work to do, and I know you have work to do too.”

“Actually, Roguefort got away, so until they’re spotted again, we won’t be able to get any more leads. Trust me, I’ve tried. They’re only seen when they want to be.”

Cappuccino sighed. “You still have a daughter at home. She needs you, doesn’t she?”

“She’s at a sleepover.”

There was silence between the two of them, before  Cappuccino laid his head down on the desk.

“Why are you fighting so hard to stay here with me? I know you know how I feel, and I doubt you’re the type to tease…”

Almond paused at this, unsure of what to say.

“How-how you feel?”

“That I’m in love with you!”

They stared at each other. Almond’s face flushed at this statement. He tried to respond, but he was left utterly speechless. Cappuccino seemed so sure that Almond was aware of this, but apparently these “obvious” feelings flew right by Almond’s radar.

“You… You… You..”

“Are you ok?” Cappuccino lifted himself from his chair and made his way to Almond, investigating his face. He had to look upwards a bit, due to the height difference.

“Wait… you didn’t realize? But you’re a detective!”

Almond put his face in his hands and stepped back a bit. “I know, I know, it’s just…” Almond never thought that his best friend would have feelings for him, but that wasn’t the part that startled him the most. He was most worried about the fact that he was one hundred percent sure that he returned said feelings.

He put a hand on Cappuccino’s face, leaned down, and kissed him.

It lasted for a fleeting moment, before he quickly retreated, leaving the two men incredibly flustered.

“I… I’ll stay here with you, if you’re planning on pulling an all-nighter.”

Cappuccino nodded, unable to say another word, and went back to his desk. He walked more awkwardly than usual, unable to comprehend the situation. Almond followed behind him, pulling up a chair to sit beside the other man.

The detective took out his phone and called Walnut.

“Hey. I know you’re at a friend’s house, but I thought you should still know. I’m not coming home tonight. Is that ok?”

There was silence between them, for a moment.

Then, Walnut responded. “Ew, dad, don’t tell me you’re on a date or something!?” There was giggling in the background. Peppermint must be getting some entertainment from their interaction.

“Then, I won’t. Have fun with your friend, Walnut. And make sure to go to bed at a decent time. It’s already way too late for you both to be wide awake!”

Almond hung up the phone and looked over to Cappuccino. It seems that Peppermint wasn’t the only one who thought that him and Walnut were humourous.

Cappuccino put his head on Almond’s shoulder again, but this time Almond knew he was awake. It wasn’t an accident. Almond put his arm around Cappuccino’s waist, and Cappuccino began looking over the documents on his desk again.

The two of them didn’t stay awake long, however, as the two of them were both exhausted already, and they didn’t exactly have youthful energy anymore. They fell asleep at the office desk, holding each other and snoring lightly.

From outside a window looking into the office, a lone figure smirked. Phantom Bleu never did anything meaninglessly, from getting arrested to jumping into the office of the man who wanted them in prison for one hundred and fifty million years. 

“I never could resist myself. It hurts to see two people in love without getting together!”

With a whisk of their cape, Roguefort was gone, another outing having gone exactly as they had planned.