This is our 6000hits celebration-story. Check out our homepage for the sweet sweet picture that goes along with this. My first Kogoro/Eri story, wonder how you liked it...

The Stalker

By Jojo

What had turned out like a normal working day, quickly turned into a disastrous experience. Eri talked hurriedly to her assistant, pointing as unobtrusively as possible at something right outside her window. The younger woman nodded, now agitated as well. She hurried outside to her desk where the portable telephone was at the moment, turning out the lights of Eri's office.

The lawyer meanwhile waited patiently and observed the foreign being on the street, not far away from her window. That guy hadn't bulged for the past half hour, his face staring at the building her office was located, maybe even directly at her window. What was adding to the strange and dangerous feeling of the situation, was that outside it was raining relentlessly but the stalker, as she was sure he was one, did not seem to care.

Just as Eri heard her assistant hurry back with the telephone for them to call the police, the lawyers' eyes widened in realisation and she quickly held up her hand to hold the young woman back. Almost chuckling to herself, Eri called the whole excitement.

"It's ok, I just realized that I know our little stalker." Was all that she offered her assistant as explanations, along with a small apology and a wink for her to go home if she wanted to for it was already late. She could use the back door, if she still felt worried, Eri added absentmindedly.

As the confused girl left the main office, she could have sworn she saw a small smile on Kisaki Eri's lips.

The latter, meanwhile, decided to take pity on her "stalker". Not as fast as she could have managed to if she had wanted, she picked up her umbrella, stroked her cat as she walked by and strolled down the stairs slowly. Opening the door, she stepped outside, nearing the obscure figure and half screamed at the man outside to "move his butt inside this instant".

Without serious hesitation he obeyed, head hanging down which was unusual for that man. Eri closed the door behind them and lead the wet object who was a tad taller than herself up to her office. She left him standing there, making him look like an abandoned, and wet, child, before returning half a minute later with a towel in her hands that she handed him.

Walking away to let him dry whatever he could with one towel, she eventually turned and leaned against her desk, looking at the man who seemed to be ashamed but was at the same time keenly trying to hide this fact from her. Another hidden smile danced over her lips for the split of a second.

As, after almost two minutes of tense silence, neither had spoken up, she decided to take the lead and help the lost looking figure, just this one.

"So, would you mind explaining yourself, Mister stalker?"

He blushed at that and extremely fast built up a wall of defence. "Hey, don't call me stalker."

A rare smile crossed her lips now. "I will until you can explain to my satisfaction why exactly you are not one."

A light rose painted on his cheeks. "W-well, you know how it is. Always work, work, work…I was observing somebody for a client. It's a new case, you know…" He trailed off, looking around her office, finding various interesting things that allowed him to avert his gaze from her piercing eyes.

"What kind of new case?" She asked, her voice a little more gentle than before.

Mori Kogoro thought about this and she could see a muscle twitch behind his moustache but he quickly gained back his composure. "I am sure you of all people understand that I can not tell you that. It's absolutely confidential."

It took her a little longer to answer that he would have liked and already he was feeling a familiar turmoil going on in his stomach, becoming stronger and more forceful. However, he remained to hold her gaze stubbornly and calm himself to a satisfactory point.

"I see…" She said slowly and stood back up again to her full height. She advanced one step and he gulped. "But obviously you weren't that well prepared. Look at you! You are all wet!"

He looked down at himself. "Y-yeah, that rain did come a little unexpected indeed…"

"Get your shirt off, Kogoro."

His gaze met hers quickly, betraying his light shock at her demand.

"You are all wet! You'll catch a cold that way. Let me hang it over the heater."

Obviously reluctantly, he turned half away from her and hesitantly started unbuttoning his shirt. Eri almost laughed loudly at this, seeing how her husband was actually hesitating to undress in front of her. Sometimes he was too amusing, really, but she tried to not let him see her amusement, knowing how touchy he could be at times.

Taking the shirt from him, she went to the room next door, hanging it over the heater.

"Well, did you have any luck?"

Kogoro had sat down on her chair, grumbling to himself, the towel around his neck. Goro, Eri's cat, jumped on the desk and approached him, gently brushing her back against his arm that was steadying his chin on her table. Under silent protest, the detective moved his other arm up and started stroking the grey fur of the feline.

"With what?" He asked, not really thinking.

"With your work, of course. The observation and so on…"

"With my…Ohh, the work!" He almost slapped his head but restrained the urge since she had just reentered her office with a new, dry towel. "No, unfortunately no luck at all."

"Oh. I am sorry to hear that." She gave him the towel and sat down on her own guest's chair.

"Thanks…" He muttered and quickly looked back at the towel in his hands. He tried very hard to ignore the happily bouncing feeling in his stomach at the sight of the wedding ring on her finger that he had noticed the moment she had handed him the second towel.

A thick silence engulfed them once again before either broke it to start a light conversation.

"I am sorry for bothering you…if you have work to do I can just…" He looked at the door, then back at her.

Eri shook her head with a gentle smile. "No, it's all right. I was about to call it a day, anyway."

"Oh…ok." He said, trying to sound indifferent but his slight, moustache covered smile betrayed him.

"How is Ran doing? Everything all right…?" She had meant to end her sentence with "at home" but for some reasons had restraint herself from doing so.

Kogoro nodded. "Yeah, she's fine. At the office with that little brat, probably cooking dinner or putting him to bed."

"I see…She's really fond of little Conan, isn't she?" Eri smiled sweetly.

"Yeah and he's still just as crazy about her."

"He really is a remarkable boy…" She added and looked out of her window into the dark night, lost in thoughts.

"Yeah…" Kogoro eyes her as inconspicuously as he could and coughed into his balled fist. "Speaking of remarkable…I've heard in the news about your really tough case."

"Oh, yeah…"

"Remarkable how you managed to deal with it, and that after being attacked by that man…" He trailed off, his gaze gaining intensity as he now obviously eyes her.

"You know how it is, the news always exaggerate. It wasn't half as bad as they make it sound." She smiled.

He coughed again and stroked the cat, looking at it while speaking to Eri. It was obvious that the following question had been burning on his tongue from the start. "Well, are you all right then?"

The tough lawyer looked at him surprised, her guard now down completely. Clearly, she hadn't counted with that question coming from the man in front of her. After a short while, she did answer him though, suppressing the tingling feeling in her stomach. "Yes, I am all right."

Did she just hear him sigh in relief?

She looked at him curiously but he didn't meet her gaze, staring almost stubbornly at the cat in front of him. As a lighter silence filled the room, she observed him, leaning back more fully in the chair. It was now that she really realized that he was still sitting topless in front of her, in her own chair.

Certain her cheeks had colored against her will, she averted her gaze and looked at her cat, too. Soon, Goro's soft purring filled the room, demolishing any tension that had lingered in the air before.

After quite some time, it was him who spoke up with almost soft and quiet voice. "Maybe I should go back…Ran will be worrying…"

Not averting her gaze, she nodded slowly. "She probably will…"

"And it's getting a little chilly." He added, lifting his gaze for the first time to look at her with a small smile on his lips.

"You need to change your clothes an warm up…" Then it hit her and she stood up with a start. "I'll quickly make some tea before you go! It'll help you against the cold."

Not waiting for a reply and not able to stand his surprised but not at all displeased look, she turned and hurried out of the room to make them tea. Was it her or could she almost physically feel the tender gaze that followed her out of the room?

Some unknown time later, they were standing at the door, meaning to say their goodbyes. Yet, somehow neither knew how to start. Soon, Kogoro coughed again slightly embarrassed.

"Thank you for the tea and…well, everything…"

Eri gave him a slight smile. How was it that big silly of a husband of hers could make her feel like a schoolgirl all over again with nothing but an embarrassed smile?

"You are welcome…"

"Well…" He looked up at the sky, at his hands, shoes, streetlights and back at the sky. "Maybe we could… sometimes…I mean…well, if you don't have anything better to do or…or…repay you…you know, take you out for tea…dinner…sometime…if you want and…" He hated the shy schoolboy feelings that she awoke in him and even more how stupid he was sounding to his own ears at the moment. That's why he quickly closed his mouth and went about cursing himself for his own stupidity. To his immense surprise and pleasure, he heard her answer only a short time later.

"Thank you, that would be very nice."

His gaze shot back to hers as if meaning to verify the truth behind her words. As he found her looking back sincere, he opened his mouth in a happily excited manner, obviously meaning to say something, let her know something. But as no sounds seemed to leave his tongue, he closed it again.

Feeling stupid, happy and embarrassed at the same time, he gave her a quick nod. "Bye then." Quickly turning, he started walking away, almost unnaturally hurriedly.

"Bye." She said softly, looking after him, her hands linked in front of her .

Kisaki Eri smiled, fingering the ring on her finger unconsciously and she could have sworn that she had seen a smile on his face the split of a second before he had turned to leave.

---

As chance would have it, the next day which was a beautiful Saturday, Eri ran across her daughter in the super market. Greeting each other happily, the two woman started talking.

After some time, purposefully casually, Eri let a sentence drop that Ran hadn't counted with. "How's the new case of your father going?"

Ran looked confused at her. "New case? Father hadn't had a new case all week!"

Eri turned quickly to look at her daughter in utter surprise.

"Oh Mom, did you see? They're selling three bottles of milk for the price of two!" Ran turned to look at her mother as she did not respond. "Mom? Did you hear me? Oi…Why are you suddenly smiling?"

Eri turned to look at her, caught off guard for a second. "What? Oh, it's nothing." She said, smiling at her daughter happily. "Nothing at all."