Disclaimer: roankun does not own Detective Conan
Note: This is my second Christmas fic ever. ShinRan, with a touch of ShiShi. (That's Shinichi/Shiho, for the knowledge of you non-believers ^^) Hope you enjoy it~
Note 2: A big cheers to Blue Hurricane who helped through lots for this fic. He's my unofficial beta, so go give him a little pat on the back. Cheers!
December 22nd 09:03
"I don't know Sonoko… It's like Shinichi and I never talk anymore…"
Mouri Ran poured her doubts all over her friend since middle school. It had taken Suzuki Sonoko, self-proclaimed successful beauty and businesswoman, a good hour and a half of nagging and chipping away at Ran's wall of fake confidence before she finally got the chocolate-haired woman to confess.
"All he ever does is work work work. It's always cases cases cases for him. And —"
"He spends time with you never never never," butted in the light brown-haired woman.
"Y-Yes." The karate champion's voice broke at that one little word.
Sonoko, clad in her dress-for-success outfit (a typical businesswoman suit), temporarily threw away her think-of-success mindset and became the best friend of the woman she moved to sit beside on the leather couch. Gently pulling Ran into a hug, she stroked the woman's long tresses as she listened to the story of what seemed to be a neglected housewife.
"He stays at his office until midnight, and when he does get home, he just flops on the bed and falls asleep. By the time I wake up, he'll be gone and at the office again. I tried to wake up earlier than him, but Shinichi isn't a morning person, so he's practically a zombie.
"I asked him before if he had to go to work on Sundays, but he just told me off with 'Crime doesn't take day-offs' and left. I feel like it's been such a long time since our conversation lasted longer than a I'm back-welcome home routine."
"Hey Sonoko," Ran whispered as she laid her head on her best friend's shoulder. "Do I fail as a wife if I want him to spend more time with me?"
"Aw sweetie, don't think like that." Sonoko's stroking motion stopped as a light bulb lit above her head. "Ran, do you two have plans for Christmas Eve?"
"We haven't talked, remember?" the twenty-seven year old drew out the last word, regret lacing her tone.
Sonoko's lips formed an almost devilish smile. "Then I've got just the plan. It'll make the perfect Christmas gift."
December 23rd 15:42
"Hey, Miyano. About this file—"
"Kudo-kun," Miyano Shiho, forensics chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, cut off Kudo Shinichi mid-sentence. "How many times have I told you to leave that report to me?"
The famous detective smiled sheepishly and answered, "This'll be the seventh and a half time." Seeing her dubious look, he shrugged, "Well, since you technically haven't told me this time yet."
The reddish brown-haired female sighed and snatched the papers from Shinichi's hands before sitting down at her desk. "Look, Kudo-kun, it's two days before Christmas. You should have taken a leave a week ago and you've been working overtime ever since the -ber months started. Aren't you planning on spending some special time with Angel?" She raised a skeptical eyebrow at him.
"Yeah, well…" Shinichi took the seat opposite his partner and rested his head on his hands as he kept talking. "Do you remember that fight we had back at the end of August?"
"August 29th, 9:47 PM," Shiho replied mechanically, focusing on the files in front of her, sorting through them.
"Wha- You… You remember that much?" He sprung up, wide-eyed.
"You wouldn't shut up about it," shrugged the woman, setting the folder on her desk.
"R-Right…" Shinichi sat back down, biting his lip. "Ever since then, I uh… Didn't really know how to apologize, so I've been kinda… Avoiding her…"
"Knowing Angel, she's probably forgotten about that already," Shiho sighed, raising her gaze to meet Shinichi's squarely. "Come on. You've already got a peace offering that you bring everyday to work. What's so hard about a little 'sorry-let's-make-up'?"
The former High School Detective of the East shifted his eyes to the right to avoid the woman's knowing look. "I know that but…"
"Oh well," she threw to the air, stood up and turned her back to him, a tug on her lips. "But, Kudo-kun, when your heart is broken into little pieces and scattered all over the floor, just remember—"
Shinichi rolled his eyes and muttered sarcastically, "'I told you so,' right?"
Shiho did a little half-twirl that made her hair flutter and frame her face perfectly for a second. Her fiendish smirk transformed into a smile so sweet, it could cause cavities. "Just remember: Miyano Shiho doesn't vacuum."
December 24th 18:34
"Sonoko, are you sure this will work?"
Ran stood shyly in front of a mirror, wearing slinky, half-transparent lingerie that she'd never have worn under any circumstance. She had her arms crossed over her breasts; if she hadn't, her nipples, clearly outlined by the lace that hugged her curves, would have been available for the eyes of any observer to feast on.
"It's perfect!" Sonoko squealed, eyeing her 'masterpiece' in delight. "Shinichi-kun would fall in love with you all over again!"
"I-I don't know about this…" Ran's blush deepened. "It seems really… daring."
Shaking her head, Sonoko facepalmed and grumbled, "Ran Ran Ran Ran Ran Ran Ran Ran Ran. Do you know what's missing from your husband-wife life with Shinichi-kun, huh?" Circling the seemingly timid female, she continued without waiting for an answer. "It's excitement!"
"Excite…ment…?" echoed the housewife, tugging on the edge of the lingerie in a futile effort to make it longer than it actually is.
"Yes! You've gotten so used to—" Sonoko paused for a second as the gears in her mind moved. "Well, I could go on and on about this for ages, but Shinichi-kun might catch me here with you, and that'll ruin the surprise." Picking up her coat and bag off the bed, she waved good bye to Ran and wished her luck.
"Wait!" the lingerie-clad woman tried to stop her friend from leaving.
Right before Sonoko closed the door, she gave one last wink, one last wave and a 'Toodles~' to Ran.
"Sonoko… Will this really work?" wondered Ran, giving herself one last look in the mirror before she positioned herself by the front door, ready to follow her best friend's directions.
December 24th 21:21
"Why do I have to spend time with you, of all people, in your house, of all places, on Christmas Eve, of all times?"
Shiho mock-complained as Shinichi parked his car in front of his humble abode and turned off the engine.
"It's not my fault I forgot the file at home, okay? And yes, I know—" He cut her off before she could say anything. "We could always do this some other day, but this might be our big break. I can't believe it took me this long a time to actually find a loophole in that criminal's plan."
She gave a defeated sigh and shrugged her shoulders as she followed him to the front door.
Shinichi put his hand in his pocket and fumbled around for his key. When he finally grabbed hold of it, he stuck it inside the keyhole, turned the lock and opened the door—
To find his wife.
Striking one of the smuttiest poses he has ever seen.
Wearing one of the most revealing lingerie he had ever laid eyes on.
With Shiho right beside him.
Shinichi froze. Shiho crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow. Ran had her mouth open to greet her husband "Welcome home nya~" She had already said the last word before she noticed the guest who had come with her husband.
Silence. Stillness. And then—
"Shit, Ran. What are you doing?" Shinichi broke the reverie that had lain upon them.
Ran scrambled for the bedroom, slipping and tripping once as tears made their way from her eyes to the floor. Shinichi turned around and pushed Shiho outside, slamming the door shut behind them. He was breathing hard and his forehead was dotted with sweat.
"What the hell was that…" he mumbled.
Closing his eyes, the detective took a deep breath to calm himself down. He shook his head, trying to take control of the situation in his head. Finally, he opened his eyes and gave his reddish-brown haired partner a look. "I'm sorry you had to see that," he apologized. "I'll go run back inside, get the papers, and then we'll scram."
He faced his not-so-humble abode and took another deep breath before putting his hand on the door knob. He was about to turn it when he felt someone's hand touch his arm.
"Kudo-kun," whispered a sultry voice in his ear.
Shinichi turned around and found Shiho close to him. Dangerously close. The distance between them was decreasing as the woman inched closer and closer to the confused detective.
"Mi-Miyano?" he stuttered, locking gazes with the female. "Wh-What are you doing?"
"Kudo-kun," she repeated, putting a hand on his shoulder, another on his cheek.
"Shi-Shiho?" he whispered, when he felt warm breath on his face, her lips an inch or two away from his. He shut his eyes closed, waiting for what seemed like the inevitable. Two seconds passed. Three.
"I can't believe you Kudo-kun."
Shinichi peeled one of his eyes open and saw that Shiho was already a safe distance from him. He was so focused on the sensation on his lips that he hadn't noticed her moving away. A feeble "Wha-what?" was all he could manage as a reply.
"Why didn't you pull away from me?" the forensics chief pointedly asked, crossing her arms.
"Why… you ask…" Shinichi set his eyes on the ground, embarrassed, and probably, humiliated.
Shiho heaved a big sigh and lectured him. "If I were you, Kudo-kun, and if Angel was my wife, you know what I'd do?" She didn't wait for him to answer; he didn't seem capable of answering anyway. "The minute I stepped inside your —my— house, and saw your —my— wife giving me a Christmas surprise, I'd have thrown my guest out right that second, no hesitation, and brought my wife to bed.
"I don't know what your problem is, but you've got your priorities wrong. Do I make myself clear?" She raised that infamous eyebrow at him.
Shinichi was having his moment of realization, a grin trying to break its way onto his lips. Shiho let herself show him a gentle smile, patted him on the shoulder, gave a pointed look at his pocket and said, "Go for it."
By the time she reached the sidewalk, he was already gone.
December 24th 21:15
"I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up…"
Ran was sitting dejectedly by the front door, having waited for her husband for the past three hours. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and curled into a ball as she began to console herself.
"Well, it's not like I didn't know this would happen. I was just going with what Sonoko had said, and she jokes more than half the time. And it's not like I'll ever let Shinichi see me like this. I'd have died if he did. And it's not like—"
She suddenly heard the hum of an engine in front of the house. She panicked a little, confused at what to do now that she had resigned herself to not go on with Sonoko's plan. Hearing the lock on the knob turn, she found herself lying in the position Sonoko had coached her to do.
When she heard the creak of the door, she heard a voice that was much like hers saying those foreign words: Welcome home nya~
She raised her eyes to meet his, only to feel her stomach go cold and the rest of her body ice over as she saw someone she had not been expecting. Miyano Shiho.
She didn't know what she should do. Or say, for that matter. She couldn't think of anything else but how embarrassing it is for her husband's best friend to see her lying by the front door acting like a slut. Her eyes blurred and her heart seemed to have stopped beating. Then –
"Shit, Ran. What are you doing?"
The dam burst. The tears that had been welling in her eyes broke free and flowed freely down her cheeks. She willed her feet to move and she ran to her sanctuary. Her feet caught once on the edge of the carpet and she tripped, but she hastily regained her footing. By the time she made it to the door, she heard the two of them leave and the front door slam.
She tore the lingerie off and covered herself with a blanket as she lay on top of the bed, a pillow in her arms. "I don't know what I'm doing Shinichi… I just don't know." She closed her eyes and wished she could fall into an eternal sleep.
…
The small creak of the bedroom door woke her up, thirty minutes later. She rubbed her eyes, and tried to clear her head, fuzzy as it was. When she remembered what she had tried to run away from, she regretted waking up and tried to un-clear her mind, impossible as it may sound.
Then she heard a rustling sound, and just as she was about to pull the blanket down to see what was going on, she couldn't suppress the 'oh!' that left her lips when she felt a warm presence embrace her.
"I'm sorry."
From beneath the blanket, the voice was a little indistinct, but Ran would recognize that tone anywhere. Shinichi. She huddled deeper in the blanket and refused to acknowledge his presence.
"Listen, Ran. I was a fool. I've been avoiding you all this time just because my damn ego wouldn't give me permission to say sorry to you and— Argh. Now I'm blaming my ego. But my ego is still part of me so when I blame it, I'm also blaming me and—Right."
She was smiling at his idiocy, and at his honest attempt to apologize.
"What I'm trying to say is… I'm sorry Ran. Forgive me?"
Finally, she gave up and pulled down the covers, just enough for him to see her eyes. "If you think I'm letting of you the hook because of that, you're sorely mistaken, mister."
Shinichi's relieved smile greeted her and he held out his hand. Ran gave his empty palm look before meeting Shinichi's eyes inquisitively. He smiled and said, "Your hand."
She gingerly held it out. The detective took it and, from his other hand, produced a modest silver ring. Stopping just before he placed it on her ring finger, which already held their marriage ring, he said, "I love you Ran. Will you marry me?"
A gentle smile found its way on her lips. "Stupid. We're already married."
He met her eyes squarely, that cocky grin not leaving his face. "Even if we're already married, would you still marry me?"
Ran couldn't help but giggle as she told him her answer.
"Since you ruined my Christmas gift, I guess marrying you wouldn't be a bad substitute."
His grin widened and he placed the second ring on her finger. "I love you, Ran," he whispered, before moving in for a kiss. "Merry Christmas."
Note: The –ber months are the ones with -ber on them. SeptemBER, for instance.
Author's note: Hope you liked it. I wanted to write a ShiShi romance Christmas fic, but I couldn't do that without either a) killing off Ran or b) making Ran betray Shinichi, which in either case, would result in Ran going through this and that. And I didn't want that, since it's Christmas and all.
This is my gift to all you readers. Merry Christmas!