It's nearly midnight when Rei catches a glimpse of 'Subaru Okiya' in the rearview mirror, walking toward his car with something in hand.

In the darkness, Rei can see it all in his head: a knit hat, long dark hair, a cigarette between clenched teeth. Familiar features superimposed on top of the shadowy figure in the mirror.

Rei blinks, and the mental image is gone. What's left is a blond man wearing glasses, holding out a steaming mug.

"Hot chocolate," Subaru says, through Rei's half-lowered window. "It'll be a long night ahead of you. Talkative Delivery Boy-san."

"Most people," Rei says, "wouldn't be unfazed by a near stranger staking out his house. Don't you think?"

"Ah, is that so?" Subaru says. He readjusts his glasses with his free hand; the lenses gleam in the dim steet light. "I believe some people apparently consider me attractive, though of course, I'm not sure what I think of the subject myself. I suppose that I may have made an impression after that rock musician's tragic demise. We have a similar taste in music-"

"That isn't what this is about and you know it," Rei says. He smiles, and reaches through the window to take the hot chocolate and set it into the cup holder beside him.

Briefly, he wonders if it's poisoned or drugged, and looking down, he notes: "Marshmallows? A childish thing like this. You don't happen to have anything stronger. Like rye whiskey, perhaps."

"Nothing like that," Subaru says, without even flinching. "The hot chocolate is leftover from a batch I made for those children. That boy mentioned you're a waiter at a cafe. Do you serve hot chocolate there?"

That boy, without a name, obviously referring to Edogawa Conan. For not the first time, Rei marvels at the fact that this child is intertwined in this whole business; no ordinary child would be allied with the FBI and earn Vermouth's protection.

Returning to the conversation, Rei gives a genial shrug, as if bested. "We serve hot chocolate, but without any marshmallows. I'll keep your recommendation in mind, Subaru-san."

For a moment, there is only silence. Rei watches the cloud of steam rise from the hot chocolate beside him.

He says out loud: "That reminds me - the man I mistook you for, Subaru-san, had this odd peculiarity about him I never could understand.

"He smoked cigarettes; he drank coffee. It seemed like his favorite drink should be rye whiskey as a rule. Smokiness and bitterness are defining traits of rye.

"Yet he drank bourbon."

Back then, Rei had always assumed that it was some kind of backhanded insult from Morobashi Dai. A statement that had to do with their rivalry within the Organization.

Subaru smiles, the corners of his mouth upturned. "That's no mystery at all, Amuro-kun."

"Oh?"

"Perhaps your friend wanted a change of pace. A tribute. A gesture. A habit of inconsistency to make a point."

Subaru leans down close to the window, his voice soft, and Rei thinks he can catch the lingering scents of bitter coffee and smoky cigarettes.

"Bourbon is, after all, sweeter than rye."