[Video]

[lovestartsat0.livejournal.com]

[Ran switches on the video feed. She is wearing a turtleneck with a colorful red scarf and shining red rose brooch. Holding a steaming cup of milk tea, her nose and cheeks have gotten rosy, nipped by the cold.]

Say, is there a postal service where we're at? I've got Christmas gifts I need to mail out within the next week or so if I expect them to reach their recipients.

[She shrugs her shoulders and her smile widens.]

And I've got a question for you - if you were a guy who liked mysteries a little too much, played soccer and was traveling all the time - what kind of Christmas gifts would you like?

[Waves a hand before reaching over to shut off the feed.]

Thanks in advance!

Comments

[Voice]

[junior-cop.livejournal.com]

Don't be. It's my fault to begin with when I let her go in the first place because I was more involved in my work than paying attention to her. We went our separate ways after high school. It's bound to happen.

[Voice]

[lovestartsat0.livejournal.com]

But...does she still love you?!

[Voice]

[junior-cop.livejournal.com]

She said she did and that's why she had to leave. I didn't get it then but now I think I understand. If she couldn't get over me or what her ex-husband did to her, she would never move on.

[Tom clears his throat.]

We're not talking about me, we're talking about you so let's get back to that, okay?

Re: [Voice]

[lovestartsat0.livejournal.com]

[Yeah good luck with that.]

That's terrible! If she still loves you, you should be together! You love her, don't you?

[Fine, we'll talk about her.]

I would never be with someone else! It's not fair!

[Voice]

[junior-cop.livejournal.com]

Of course it's not fair. I used to think that as a kid, when you loved someone it was forever but I guess as we get older there are some complications that just don't add up and people drift apart. It's part of life.

Look, realistically, asking life to be fair is like asking the Toothfairy her real name. It's not gonna happen easily.

[Voice]

[lovestartsat0.livejournal.com]

[Those words resonate a little too well with Ran.]

But it doesn't have to be like that! Not always!

[Voice]

[junior-cop.livejournal.com]

[Tom lets out a sigh.]

Yeah, I know. Hold on to what you have and be thankful for it. You might be one of those lucky ones that can keep it together and maybe something more will be around the corner. Don't worry about it now but thanks...you know, for trying to cheer me up.

It really wasn't about me to begin with anyway. It just sorta went that direction.

[Voice]

[lovestartsat0.livejournal.com]

[Grumbly.]

I should point you in Shinichi's direction, if I ever knew where he was.

[Voice]

[junior-cop.livejournal.com]

[Flatly.]

No thanks. We don't exactly get along well.

[He doesn't know about this second one yet. He remembers the first one and how badly the cases that did happen were handled.]

[Voice]

[lovestartsat0.livejournal.com]

[Oh? This is news.]

You've met Shinichi?!

[Voice]

[junior-cop.livejournal.com]

Yeah, a while back. I think it was around the summer time or something like that...no, it was around fall of last year. Anyway, he never showed his face and he often took surveys while acting like some big know-it-all in the process. Not to be mean or anything, and I'm sorry if it sounds negative but he often blew cases when there were those of us that were trying to work it from the inside out.

So with that said, that's why I'm not too keen on the idea of speaking with him. He never did see eye to eye.

[Voice]

[lovestartsat0.livejournal.com]

Huh. [Her tone is flat.] I'll be sure to give him an earful on your behalf then.

[Because she is so not surprised.]