from skybluescramble :

hello again, guys!

your warm feedback really makes my day.

i'm genuinely happy here, so… this is the second chapter!

credit to all reviewers: Guest, faiz1996, white-lily00, paprika, hai-edogawa, guest (again), TheYokaiOtaku, Eirlys, and (another) guest.

last but not least… credit to 2nddairy, my best friend for proofreading this.

enjoy, and leave me reviews!

hehe.


DISCLAIMER:

Detective Conan/名探偵コナン

Gosho Aoyama©1994


:: Tea for Two ::

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CUP #2:

Morning

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EDOGAWA Conan simply stared at the narrow back of Haibara Ai, who was busy wiping blotches of oil from the area around the stove using a piece of cloth. She was just done making breakfast for them—cooking was one of a few things she did every day since she started living in his house. It was a little shocking to know that the girl he ever referred as Droopy-Eyed Ice Queen could actually cook almost anything. Well, it wasn't that he didn't know at all about her capability of cooking. Back then, when he was fallen ill, she treated him and made him some meals. They were delicious even to his bitter tongue, but they weren't tricky to whip up. Now that he knew what else she could make, Conan was—finally—convinced about the fair amount of femininity the girl possessed.

"Stop it." Ai spoke out of the blue, sending Conan back to reality.

He blinked stupidly. "What?"

"Stop staring at me," she repeated. "I've told you to eat first. No need to wait for me if you're hungry. Go ahead."

Conan shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous. Why should I eat alone if we can eat together? We'll look like an unhappy couple in a broken marriage."

He thought he accidentally piss her off when Ai turned around so swiftly. She looked at him for a moment with unreadable expression across her face, but then she cracked a smile and began to laugh. It wasn't a surprised giggle she usually had. Instead it was a free, heartily one and the sound of her laughter rang around the dining room like a bell.

It couldn't be helped if Conan thought how beautiful her laughter sounded.

And contagious, too, because now he was chuckling as well.

"That," Ai said breathlessly while wiping her teary eyes due to excessive laughing, "was funny."

"You think so?"

The strawberry blonde-haired girl nodded, shrugging off her apron and putting it at its proper place. "For an absurd reason, my brain chose to imagine Detective Mouri and his wife. Were they like that, Kudo? Before they decided to get back together?"

Conan didn't answer right away. It was quite difficult to recollect Kudo Shinichi's childhood. Many events and happenings were now only blurs. The days he spent being Edogawa Conan and played around with the rests of Detective Boys had taken the biggest part in his memory department.

"I had never seen them eat separately, I guess. No matter how they always squabbled, Uncle Kogoro and Aunt Eri never failed to stay civil during meal time. Probably it was for Ran's sake."

"Wow." Ai sat down on a dining chair across Conan and filled her plate. "They really love each other more than they think they do."

"That's why they got back together."

"I guess so."

Ai raised her face, smiling, and Conan couldn't remember if there was any moment when she looked more beautiful than now.

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Morning – end.