Disclaimer: No ownie! Belongs to the noggin of Aoyama Gosho.

Of Black Silk and Laces

Ran stared down at the piece of clothing she'd just changed into. The fine black silk hugged her body as it cascaded down her features, embellishing the look through a series of black lace embroidery around the side of her waist and falling on her thighs. She was starting to doubt whether she'll actually be able to go through with this or not.

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"It looks perfect on you, Ran!" Sonoko exclaimed brightly, bringing her interlaced fingers to her chest.

"I don't know, Sonoko. Doesn't it seem a bit…slutty?" Ran hesitated as she examined herself in the mirror of the dressing room of Shibuya Hikarie. Her eyes narrowed as they fell on her chest. It was a deep V-neck revealing quite a bit of cleavage that's rarely considered decent. It also had some leafy designs along the border of the revealing neckline, but she was sure that would hardly even be noticeable in comparison to what such a deep neckline would present.

"Are you kidding me!? Look how well it is accentuating your curves! And don't worry about the neck, because trust me, out of all the nightgowns we've looked so far, only this one compliments your breasts so well! Shinichi-kun is going to drool over you, I swear!" She grinned evilly as she finished her justification of the outfit.

Ran just sighed in defeat. Although still unsure about it, she knew there was no arguing with Sonoko once she'd set her mind to something.

To be frank, she was also getting a bit edgy since they hadn't ventured since their wedding six months ago. Shinichi had been busy with his cases ever since, which in the end, was just a miserable excuse to the fact of how dense her detective husband was when it came to the subject of "bedroom activities". Hence, when Sonoko had proposed the idea, she, though initially unwilling, had eventually agreed to the idea of seducing him into doing the act.

As they exited the store with their filled shopping bags in their hands and an excited Sonoko chatting away of how impatient she was to know about the developments that were going to result from this little shopping trip, Ran could feel the trepidation slowly building up inside her.

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She bit back a sigh. This was it. She was going to do this tonight. He was going to arrive any minute now. After their shopping trip, Sonoko had taken the time to coach her extensively on how to "use the product effectively". She blushed as she remembered some of the details of her "coaching".

The doorbell rang and Ran's heart skipped a beat. She gathered her bearings and grabbed the robe that came along with the nightgown. It was carved with silk and lace and it made the outfit double as a bathrobe, effectively hiding the deep neck, backless spaghetti nightgown underneath. The hem of the robe was just shy of her knees. Effectively covering up her chest by tying the robe around her waist, she went up to answer the door.

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"I see you were having a bath." Shinichi said as he emerged from the door, wearing his regular blue business suit. He gave her a charming yet tired smile as she took his laptop bag from him. Ran felt a pang in her chest. He was always so tired since the last few weeks. The current case he was working on was proving to be more abstruse than he'd initially given it stock for, resulting in more stress from overworking. For a moment, she started reconsidering whether she should go ahead with this plan or just let him sleep the night away. Because it clearly felt like he needed it.

"Ran?" He waved his hands in front of her eyes. "Are you listening?"

Ran snapped out of her trance and looked up to find a questioning look in his eyes. "Ah! I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention." She smiled sheepishly. "What were you saying?"

Shinichi raised his eyebrow as if wanting to probe further, but then decided against it. "I was just asking if you went shopping today".

"Ah, yes I did! With Sonoko!" She could feel her heart drumming against her chest. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I haven't seen this bathrobe you're wearing before". She could feel her cheeks heat up. "And judging from its style, I'm betting this was Sonoko's choice." He grinned as he saw her eyes widen.

She just hummed in response. What else could she say? She was already feeling mortified thinking about what she'd planned for the night.

"Go get changed." She said before he could inquire any further about her ensemble. "I'll get the dinner ready."

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Dinner was a rather normal affair. Shinichi talked about the latest developments in the case he was working on. The person they were suspecting of being the culprit had been found murdered in his apartment.

As he engrossed himself in giving out the details of the case, Ran's phone buzzed. She opened her phone to find Sonoko's text.

"Are you ready, missus? 3"

She blushed. But then she remembered just how exhausted Shinichi looked the moment he'd stepped inside the house.

"I don't know, Sonoko. He just looks so tired. Apparently, the current case is giving him a lot of stress. I don't feel like imposing on him when he clearly needs rest…." She texted back.

"You don't understand Ran! He needs this because he's undergoing stress! Don't you know how much stress-relieving sex can be? There is a study that has shown that people who had daily intercourse for two weeks showed lower stress-related blood pressure than those who abstained from sex! Not only this, it also improves sleep and reduces heart-attack risk!" Sonoko typed post-haste before pressing send.

Ran sweatdropped as she read her text. Sonoko could be surprisingly knowledgeable when it came to things like this.

She sighed inwardly. Guess she really has to do it. She sent her a quick "Alright, I'll do it…" before turning her attention back to Shinichi.

"And what's more surprising is that we found the gun in the trash with the victim's fingerprints all over it! When we checked, we found that this was the missing murder weapon from all the crime scenes that had been used to kill the rest of the victims. Moreover, he had also been shot by it. This means that there was someone who'd managed to turn the tables on him. Or, there is a possibility that he was shot by someone who was trying to pin the blame on him" He finished his monologue with a frown on his forehead.

Ran's cellphone buzzed again. It was a final text from Sonoko reading "All the best 3". Ran suppressed another sigh.

"Who's that?" Shinichi enquired. He'd only come to notice now that she'd been texting for a while.

"Oh, just Sonoko" Ran replied sheepishly. "She's just talking about today's shopping trip".

"Okay" Shinichi said and continued munching on his food.

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After dinner, when Shinichi retired to the library to go over his case files once more before calling it a day, Ran took it as her cue to execute her plan.

Slipping out of the bathrobe and checking herself for the last time in the mirror of her dresser, she padded to the library. Her heart was doing tachycardia and when she reached for the doorknob of the library, she was compelled to reach a hand towards her heart and draw a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

Twisting the doorknob, she opened the door and stepped inside. Shinichi was sitting at his desk on the far end, absorbed in his case files. She heaved another deep breath before calling out to him.

"Ne, Shinichi?"

"Hm?" He replied without glancing up.

Okay, this wasn't going to work if he didn't see her.

"I'm going to bed." She bit her lip nervously. "Do you want to join me?" She added after a moment's hesitation.

"No, you go ahead Ran. I still have to…." His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as his gaze finally fell on his wife, his mouth hanging wide open, effectively distracting him from whatever he'd been doing.

Blood rushed to his face as he stared slack jawed at her, as she made her way inside the library. She stopped a few feet away from him.

Had the situation been any different, Ran would've laughed at the expression he was displaying right now. But, his stare was just adding to her shooting tremulousness. Suddenly, she was feeling very conscious about herself.

"R..Ran!?"

"Wh.." He swallowed. "W..what is this!?" He was stuttering. His mind was asking him to look away, but his eyes wouldn't obey.

Wow, the smooth-talking, great detective of the east was stuttering! That should give her some confidence-boost!

But instead, it only served to make her more aware of the outfit she was sporting. Subconsciously, her hands moved to cross themselves around her chest, trying to cover some of the exposed areas, shifting her in a more defensive stance.

Garnering all her intrepidity, she parted her lips to respond.

"It's the nightgown I bought today with Sonoko." She said fidgeting.

"Do you like it?" She asked tentatively.

Shinichi opened and closed his mouth, trying to formulate a response. But for some unknown reason, he was finding this extremely difficult.

"Uh" He finally found his voice. "It's alright, I guess…" That was probably the best he could do right now.

"So" She continued biting her lips. "How about having an early lights-out tonight, Tantei-san?"

Although she was trying to sound confident, she was actually flustered to the roots of her hair. Although the nightgown she was wearing looked all exquisite and sexy, in reality, it was quite uncomfortable.

Now that she stood with her arms crossed over her chest, she could feel the leaf-patterned lace on the neckline rub against her chest, probably giving rise to red marks around them. The adjustable straps had come loose at some point, making them fall over her shoulders again and again. And because of all this, Shinichi's intense gaze only served to unnerve her even more.

Shinichi broke out of his little trance as he noticed her visible discomfort. He could now clearly see that she was fidgeting and kept pulling up her straps. Not to mention how warily she was actually standing in front of him right now.

"That dress is uncomfortable, isn't it?" He stated in a matter-of-fact manner.

"Eh?" She was taken by surprise with his sudden inquiry. Looks like he'd managed to see through her after all. Now that he had, she didn't see any point in lying. So she just looked away and sent him a sheepish smile. "A little…"

"Really?" He arched his eyebrows. "Just a little?"

She sighed and finally threw her arms in the air. "Alright! I admit! It's very uncomfortable."

Amused by her response, he smirked in return and gave her his typical know-it-all look. "Then why did you buy it in the first place?" He asked, trying to sound irritated although the blush on his face was giving him away.

"Because Sonoko insisted! Plus she said that you'll like it…." She turned perpendicularly and glanced sideways at him "…rather expressively"

'Man, she's right…..I love it. But…'

He let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead.

"Listen, Ran".

He walked a few steps until he was standing right in front of her and took her hands in his. Ran hesitantly looked up while blushing.

"You don't have to do this for me, Ran. You don't have to dress in clothes that make you uncomfortable just because you want to please me."

"Really?" She said locking eyes with him.

"Yes! I love you, idiot! And I like you the way you are!"

She smiled at his words as a wave of relief washed over her. This was fine! She could think of some other way of getting him into bed. No need to wear such alluring and risqué outfits that would only serve to make her more uncomfortable. "Thank you so much, Shinichi!"

She tiptoed and kissed him on the lips. "I love you too" She said shyly after extricating her lips from his.

Now Kudou Shinichi was a man. And like any other man, he knew exactly where to look when his semi-exposed wife was standing so close to him.

One look down at her and he swore he could make out almost everything through that exposed neckline. Now, he was on the verge of getting a nosebleed.

"I'll go change out of this" She beamed at him and then left the library, shutting the door after her.

Had she spared one more look at the detective, she would have noticed the intense blush painting his cheeks right now.

'Geez….That Sonoko' His eyes narrowed in the infamous half-moon position, only the blush still dusting his cheeks betrayed his masked emotions.

Owari

A/N: Happy 1000 files guys! This would be my tribute to File 1000 while I wait for the ShinRan bomb to go off in 1004 XD
Okay, so I haven't exactly written pure fluff before so I don't really know how this turned out. Hence, please tell me how I fared :) Review onegaishimasu!

And thank you so much for your wonderful responses for Hitori Ni Shinaide! Having received so much positive feedback, I would definitely like to do a sequel :D