"I prefer pasta," Morofushi stated with a smirk, glancing at the inspector and his detective standing beside him. Now that the case was over, the three old friends could finally relax...That was when an evil idea flashed in his head. "But actually, why don't you take Yui-san out for dinner, Kansuke-kun? You owe her one for running off without an explanation like that."

Yui's cheeks grew hot with embarrassment. "T-That's not necessary," she protested, waving her hands in front of her wildly. "Now that I know what had happened, I'm fine, really." She mentally cursed Morofushi for having noticed her concern for her childhood friend.

Morofushi's grin spread wider, as though reading her mind. "You know, the entire police force had noticed. It wasn't just me."

"Remind me to not become friends with detectives who are too smart for their own good," Yui moaned in exasperation, folding her arms across her chest. She was fully aware of Kan-chan's gaze resting on her, and she darted her eyes away from him. Even though she was an almost thirty-year-old woman who had already married once, just standing next to the gruff but particularly good-looking man made her feel like a schoolgirl giddy with her first crush again. It really wasn't fair that he could do this to her.

Morofushi chuckled. "Well, it's too late for that, I'm afraid. So, what do you think, Kansuke-kun?"

"Why not? I'd rather have soba than that pasta of yours," Kansuke shrugged nonchalantly, turning around. At this point, he didn't care what food they were going to eat. "Let's go. I'm starving!"

"Soba sounds good," Yui agreed weakly, trying to calm her speeding heart as she stumbled after them into Morofushi's car. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she too was rather hungry.

Morofushi's smirk suddenly caught her eye. She sighed, knowing that with Morofushi playing matchmaker, whatever was going to happen next wasn't going to be good.

It wasn't long before the sly inspector dropped the two off at one of Nagano's most famed soba restaurants and cheerfully waved them goodbye. He was acting almost too cheerfully, and that alone was suspicious enough. Kansuke, though, was too hungry to notice the other man's odd behavior.

Morofushi pressed hard down on the brake, and soon his car was speeding off into the distance.

"He just...left us here." Yui glared after him as his car disappeared around the corner. If looks could kill, she would have burned a hole in the back of his car by now. (Inside his car, Morofushi let out a sneeze. He chuckled, imagining what his two friends were doing right about now.)

"It can't be helped, I suppose. Shall we, Uehara?" Kansuke asked brusquely, leading the way inside.

Yui turned and followed him, unable to tear her eyes away from his broad back. Ever since they had been kids, he had always been there to protect her, and she wouldn't know what to do without him. She had even made that stupid decision to marry into the Torada family when she thought that Kan-chan had died in the avalanche...

"Oi, Uehara!" Kansuke barked, realizing that the detective had fallen slightly behind. Not that he was paying attention to what she had been doing. Really.

Yui snapped out of her daydream and quickly stuttered an apology. She shook her head slightly as she stepped into the building after him.

The restaurant was small and cozy, perfect for the chilly Nagano night. The aroma of the famous soy sauce-filled broth wafted throughout the room, and Yui's stomach growled in hunger. She hadn't eaten all day.

The two were promptly greeted by a waitress. "A party of two, right? Here for a date?" she asked cheerfully, leading them to a table in the back.

"N-No, it's not like that!" Yui dismissed immediately, her cheeks warming again. It was hot in the room. That was all.

The waitress's eyes gleamed. "Well, let me know when you've decided on what to order." She danced away, and Yui thanked the gods that the girl hadn't questioned them further.

Now that they were alone, she found herself nervously played with her teacup. She watched as the tea leaves swirled in the murky water, trailing patterns in the hot drink. No, Yui, what are you doing? You finally have a chance to be alone! She reminded herself sharply. Finally gaining the courage to speak, she lifted her head to face him. "Kan-chan, I - "

"Sorry, Uehara," he spoke up at the same time, startling her. He wasn't one to apologize, that much she knew. Their earlier conversation crept into her mind, and she blushed, remembering how he had reassured her that he didn't care about her dark romantic history.

Kansuke cleared his throat and tried again when he saw that she had fallen silent, waiting for him to continue. "Actually, I was thinking...after that case, and realizing how short life is, and all that...We're both not that young anymore, you know. What do you think about getting married?" He spoke nonchalantly, like he was making a passing comment about the weather. But inside his head, he cursed himself for stammering over his words despite his usually cool demeanor. Only Uehara could tear down his wall of thorns like that.

"G-Get married?" Yui squeaked, toppling her cup over in surprise. She winced as the hot liquid came in contact with her hand and jerked away in pain. Kansuke immediately reached over, taking her hand in his to assess the damage. But, to her surprise, he suddenly brought her hand to his lips and gently kissed the burned spot before pulling away again.

Yui's skin tingled, and she was sure that it wasn't because of the tea.

"Yeah. I figured that it would be a good idea, considering how long we've known each other. Besides, you know I'm an impatient man. I don't do dating." Kansuke smirked at her, enjoying the fact that he was the one who was making her so flustered.

"Well...if you put it that way," she mumbled. It was just like Kan-chan to do something so rash, like proposing marriage first. Kan-chan...Marriage...she wasn't dreaming, was she? Had she heard him right?

That was when she realized that he was still waiting for her response. Her mind whirled as she tried to find something, anything, to say. "B-But what should we tell the others? I'm sure we would throw the entire department into chaos when they find out that there's now both an Inspector Yamato and a Detective Yamato."

Yamato Yui. It had a nice ring to it.

Yui quickly covered her cheeks with her hands as she felt her face heat up.

Kansuke snorted at her ridiculous concern. It was just like Yui to worry about others before herself, but that was why he liked her so much. "Idiot. We can worry about that later. Besides, you'll always be Uehara to me."

"Are you ready to order?" The voice of the waitress made both of them jump.

"Does it look like we are?" Kansuke snapped, annoyed that their moment had been broken. The waitress apologized immediately before running away, almost dropping the plates she had been carrying.

Yui watched the waitress scurry off, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "Don't scare off the poor girl, Kan-chan. She was only trying to help." She scolded, tapping his hand with her own.

"Tch, I know you don't want her here either."

For once, she agreed with him.

When the bumbling girl finally brought their dinner over (they had ordered the same dish), Yui's stomach growled again. The two shared a knowing look before both digging into their separate bowls of savory broth and warm noodles.

"Mmm," Yui hummed in satisfaction, finishing the last drop of soup. "I don't think I've had such delicious soba in a long time!"

"Uehara," Kansuke spoke up. Yui looked up in confusion as she saw him moving towards her from his side of the table. He really shouldn't be moving around so much, especially after he had been locked up inside that cramped trunk all day. But before she could scold him, he said, "You've got some soy sauce on your face."

"I can get it," she began, but suddenly, he was too close, and then he was kissing her in a way she had never been kissed when she had kissed her former husband, their movements had been almost polite and - no, why was she still thinking about such trivial things when it was Kan-chan's lips moving hungrily against her own?

This kiss was just like Kan-chan, rough, coarse, but gentle and warm at the same time. It was filled with longing and desire, the result of decades of waiting and uncertainty.

She let out a soft moan, her lips parting for him. He deepened the kiss, lifting his hand to cup her cheeks and pulling her even closer. His warmth flooded through her, and Yui smiled against his lips, feeling as though she was finally home.

Safe.

The sound of shattering glass interrupted their kiss, and Yui turned to see that their waitress had dropped a stash of plates. "I-I'm so sorry!" she stammered. "It's on the house tonight, so enjoy yourselves!"

"Oh, we'll enjoy ourselves tonight, alright," Kansuke smirked, glancing knowingly at Yui. She immediately blushed as she realized what he was suggesting, and turned her head away. "Let's head back. Where's that damn Morofushi when we need him?"

Meanwhile, Morofushi was sitting in a pasta restaurant with the first division chief. They had somehow ended up meeting up, and Morofushi had offered to get dinner together with him.

Morofushi took a swig of tea, enjoying himself immensely. He only wished he was drinking something stronger, preferably sake, instead, but he still had to drive. "Well, what do you think, Kachou?"

"Hmm. I'll put in a hundred yen that he kisses her." The chief said seriously, one eye gleaming. One conversation had led to another, and soon they had started discussing the relationship between the two childhood friends. They were currently betting on how far the two would go when left alone to their devices.

"Knowing Kansuke-kun, he'll skip the dating and formalities and straight up ask her to marry him. So I'll put in five hundred yen that he does." Morofushi smirked. This was fun. He only hoped that Yui and Kansuke wouldn't get mad at him for when they find out that he had mysteriously gotten a bonus.

"Well, I'll put in a thousand yen that he has sex with her tonight. And, in six months' time, she'll have some good news for the department. How's that, Morofushi?"

Damn. He was too good.

A/n: I've been really busy lately, so I'm sorry I haven't updated my other stories! I'm trying to get back into writing again, so hopefully I'll update more in the future. Thank you guys for your continued support~

My OTP from Detective Conan is Yui and Kan-chan. They're so underrated! Here's a one-shot dedicated to these two history nerds (after the events of episode 812) ;) it's mostly filled with fluff, so enjoy! - throws fluff -