A/N Again, Happy CoAi Day, everyone!
I wrote this to cap off my 31 Days of CoAi project:
—Last 4/1, ShinAi Day, I posted Accomplice(Chapter 2) to start off 31 Days of CoAi!
—From 4/2 to 4/30, I posted fics daily on Tumblr. I'm still in the process of crossposting them on AO3 and FF (29 in between), Mondays and Fridays… If you want to read them, they're on my Tumblr page, see tag "x prompt fills".
—Today, 5/1, I posted this, One Chilly Morning, which is the third and final part to One-verse (One Starry Night - One Rainy Afternoon - One Chilly Morning), to end 31 Days of CoAi!
Aside from fics, I've also posted:
—On 4/1 and 5/1, I wrote two meta posts answering why I ship CoAi! If you want to read them, they're on my Tumblr page, see tag "x meta".
—From 4/1 to 5/1, I posted about my ramblings about the CoAi fics I've written one by one daily! If you want to read them, they're on my Tumblr page, see tag "x fic posts".
I hope everyone had as much fun as I did throughout the project. I never thought I could pull it off, but, hey, I pulled through! The people who have expressed their support (and just when I need it most, too!) deserves credit for helping me complete this project… You know who you are! That's you!
Thank you so, so much..!
Now on to a bit of description about this work! One Chilly Morning is posted separately from One Rainy Afternoon because it can stand on its own. On AO3, I will be collecting the three works as a series, but you don't really have to read One Starry Night and One Rainy Afternoon to get what's up here. It's just a bit of a plus if you did..!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this final post for 31 Days of CoAi!
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It's a chilly morning. Shinichi doesn't think he's sick, but he gets up earlier than usual. To kill some time before he's expected to be out and about, he goes to the study to get some books—because what do you do when you wake up early, really?
His mind isn't up to speed in the early hours yet, and he can't seem to settle on a book to reread. His restless eyes find themselves looking out the window. He tells himself he's not peeking at Hakase's house, but he is, and the first thing he sees is a white Mazda parked just outside the gate.
It's Amuro's car.
His thoughts are confirmed when the front door opens and out comes Amuro and Haibara, one after the other, Hakase seeing them off. In Amuro's hand is a Fusae shoulder bag—of course, he's acting like a perfect gentleman. Hakase waves enthusiastically, like a mom sending off her daughter for marriage, to that bag-carrying gentleman all shiny and cheery in the morning—and Shinichi doesn't really want to think about that, and how he feels a vague sense of betrayal at the image.
The two disappear into the car, Shiho first because of course sparkly host in a gray suit that Shinichi thinks is not really flattering in the morning has to open the car door for the shotgun seat for Haibara—and she doesn't bat an eye, no hesitation, zero. That makes Shinichi feel increasingly more betrayed to the point that he can't even push it down with denial because clearly this is not the first time for Haibara and Mr. Blondie to go somewhere together. He hates that he doesn't know where.
And so, as with all unimportant things regarding Haibara, he doesn't even bother deducing anything. He just straight up asks her—three rings, four rings, and then five.
She's not answering.
—For her to be unresponsive, what the hell are they doing in the car in broad daylight?!
Just after the sixth ring, it connects—"Kudo-kun?"
"Where are you?" It comes out snappier than he wants to, but, whatever, the woman's—just—out there!
A few seconds of silence, and Shinichi can hear Haibara thinking, before she answers, "What do you need?"
To Shinichi's complete surprise—not—Haibara doesn't answer his question. So, he just repeats, "Where are you?"
In a beat, Haibara replies, a bit of panic in her voice, "..! Has something happened to Hakase?!"
This, Shinichi quickly denies, "Huh, no! Just, what are you doing?"
Shinichi hears an audible sigh before a tired voice says, "Then why are you so cranky? I'm outside. What do you need?"
Shinichi presses, "Outside, where?"
"Why are you always so weird? On my way to work, why? A case?"
Work, huh… huh? So does this mean since Haibara got the job, Amuro's always been driving her there?!
Haibara's voice brings him back from his thoughts, calling him, "Kudo-kun?"
Automatically, he answers, "What?"
"You..." He can hear the irritation in her voice.
Now, Shinichi is confused. What did he do to annoy her this time? "...What?"
"You're really asking me what?! You're the one who called out of nowhere, idiot!" She ends the call.
He calls again. It goes to voicemail and he has no doubt that she blocked him.
Haibara blocked his number. She actually blocked him!
This… infuriating… woman!
Whatever! It's not like he cares!
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He does, in fact, care.
He makes sure he's presentable and all but runs to the professor's house. When Shinichi spots Hakase, he starts practically grilling him with questions, the professor rattling off the answers as fast as he can before Shinichi can fire off the next—
"—Yes, Shinichi, they go to work together."
"—Yes, Shinichi, it's been a while, but I don't remember when it started."
"—No, Shinichi, I don't know why; maybe she can tell you?"
"—Hahaha! Shinichi, what did you say for her to block you?"
"—What did you need her for, Shinichi? If it's urgent, I can tell her."
Shinichi sighs, and shakes his head, saying, "Nothing, it's nothing."
Hakase casts a doubtful look at him, but ultimately acquiesces, "If you say so, Shinichi..."
As he mooches off Hakase's breakfast, he grumbles. Hakase casts numerous surreptitious glances at Shinichi, before his curiosity wins out, and he finally asks, "Why the interest then?"
Shinichi jumps at the question, and the lettuce leaf he had been torturing with his fork drops on the plate. He immediately shakes his head and denies, "Nothing! It's just—I saw them today, I… I thought something was up. If there isn't anything then, I don't know, whatever, I guess?"
A beep rings out from Hakase's phone, and, surprisingly, the professor reads the message out loud, "'Hakase, please check if the dumbass is sick?'"
Without the professor saying the sender, Shinichi blushes and mumbles something about why she doesn't just go and enjoy the car ride to work instead of worrying about someone she totally didn't confess to.
Hakase's knowing smile hidden by his hand, he tries to keep his voice even as he suggests, "Maybe I should just tell her you're sick, Shinichi?"
Shinichi replies, "I'm fine, Hakase."
"Well... you don't know, maybe she'd come home early if we say you are."
Shinichi replies, a bit louder this time, "I'm fine, Hakase!"
Sighing, then shaking his head, Hakase drops the issue, "Whatever you say, Shinichi..."
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Dinner time rolls around, and Shinichi's phone lights up. When he sees that woman's name on his phone's notifications, he hesitates… but ultimately opens it. He reads the message: Come over for dinner.
Shinichi immediately sends a message… to Hakase: Hakase, what did you tell her?
A few excruciating minutes after that Shinichi totally did not notice go by, he receives a reply: Shinichi, I don't know what you're talking about?
Hmm. He might as well go in person to tell the professor—and, might as well, her, too—that he's fine. It's just next door, after all.
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On the table, okayu is served with the usual side dishes, and at the center is a pot of what smells like ginger tea.
Before anyone can say anything about the spread, Shiho clears her throat and says, "It's been chilly recently."
"Yeah," is Shinichi's intelligent reply.
(Hakase is grinning in the background, but neither notice.)
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By the time Shinichi is back at the mansion, he still feels so unbearably warm that he wonders why he isn't sweating… perhaps he'd caught the flu after all?
He does not think about that morning. He does not think about her message to Hakase. He does not think about her message to him.
He certainly does not think about the dinner.
He does not think about how he did not say he isn't sick. He does not think even the slightest bit of why he didn't call her out on her oh-so-obvious intentions, preparing those dishes for dinner. Intentions that he does not think about, too.
Of course, he does not think about how she /must/ have noticed that he did not call her out on it. Which had been unintentional. He simply forgot to point it out—the porridge is just that well-made after all. He'd insist on it being so had he been thinking about it. But he isn't, so.
Yep, he does not think about all of those.
(He does.)
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A/N Sigh... I want to rewrite (again!) the entire first chapter, One Starry Night… And I want to beat up past me for ever thinking it was a good idea to promise to write another chapter of One-verse. (Literally no one asked for it. Please, past self, why are you so masochistic?)
And, wow, this is really, really the end of 31 Days of CoAi... What a run..!
Check out my 31 Days of CoAi series on AO3 for a better formatted information on my project!