Oh, protagonists....

[conuly]

Protagonists: Your friend might be the secret serial killer!
Cousin of Fraught Relationship: He's really not.
Protagonists: Where was he when the murder happened?
Cousin: I, uh, can't say, but I was going to, uh, meet him and he's definitely not it.
Me: Because they're secret boyfriends. Obviously.
Protagonists: But you can't prove it! He must be the secret killer! We shall tail him.
Me: Oh boy.
Protagonists: Why, they're kissing! Who could have predicted this scene?

Later....

Protagonists: We have unmasked the real killer. We have also engaged in multiple acts of personal growth, and strengthened our relationship at the small cost of a few (more) burnt bridges and a(nother) war between our families! Hurrah, we are the best detectives ever!
Me: You're really not, though.

Comments

[jack]

I've often noticed a tendency to miss the explanation "your intuition that SOMETHING is up, and your intuition that it can't possibly be THAT might both be right, if it's something LIKE 'that' that you haven't thought of yet"

[conuly]

To be fair, given the conventions of the book they probably would've missed it if it'd been a m/f relationship as well.

[silveradept]

Oh, protagonists. Could you be less of a genre stereotype, please?

[conuly]

Nope! Gotta love 'em, though.