Conan Edogawa was a smart child.
No, that was an understatement, the kid had outsmarted Rei several times, and he was a trained, experienced adult working for the secret police.
Conan Edogawa was an enigma.
That was an understatement too, he was a unsolvable that even the man regarded to be as smart and as talented as Sherlock Holmes, he couldn't figure the child out. Couldn't figure out why Conan kept himself in first grade when he could graduate high-school with his mind. Couldn't understand why the kid didn't use his mind, didn't admit to the fact he could beat anyone in a battle of wits.
Rei offered to pay for his coffee that morning, surprised the boy actually came alone. (An eight year old, ordering a coffee, black. He was a young rough detective, hardboiled, stuck in the body of a child. But that was impossible, wasn't it? No, it's possible, but improbable. He'd sooner believe that a pig could naturally sprout wings.)
Conan Edogawa was dressed in regular clothes today, not in the overly childish suit and bowtie he regularly came around in. It sold the act of innocent child, he guessed. The suit 'my mom picked out for me.' It also meant he doubted there was a case today, (but with the way he attracted death, it was an almost overly optimistic notion.) considering that had his voice-changing bowtie.
Voice-changing bowtie.
Rei felt kind of childish saying it, but it was advanced gadgetry, no matter how it was dressed up to be fitting for a kid.
He slid the mug over to the boy, getting an overly excited "Thank you Amuro-san!" in reply to the action. It sounded kind of mocking, even. But Rei was aware of how paranoid the boy must be, whatever secret he must be hiding. One that makes him aware of the black org, that makes him so smart, at least at such a young age.
There are times he sees the boy actually happy, a joy, a shine in wide blue eyes. (Not the threatening one when he's concentrating, that one sends chills down Rei's back. No, it's not the intelligent staredown that would make any grown adult scared.) It's when he's happy, a new detective book, or even the happiness when he solves a mundane mystery. A fish in the water, and that time, no one gets hurt. It makes Rei happy, when Conan is happy. He's a good kid, and a good person.
It's rare to find someone good like that.
Conan Edogawa, his current area of interest, of amazement. "Conan-kun, you're really amazing, you know that?"
"Amuro." He turns his head to face Conan, "I think you're pretty cool, too."
He feels kind of proud of himself, probably too much when he just got praised by an 8 year old child. But really, that's not what he is, he's Conan Edogawa. The kid who claims to be from America, who speaks fluent Japanese and English, who loves detectives, who's seen too much.
Conan reminds him of himself, if nothing else.