Title: Anything But Uneventful
Fandom: Detective Conan
Pairing: Miwako Satou & Wataru Takagi
Theme: #10- romance
Rating: T
Summary: Takagi's car breaks down on a mountain road in the middle of the night- and the only room available in a lodge they find is a single-bed one. Oh…no?
Disclaimer: DC is not mine! I owe it all to the great Gosho Aoyama-sama. –bows-

Takagi's car twisted and turned down the mountain road.

"Are you sure about this? I can easily hail a cab home, you know," Sato spoke from the passenger seat.

"Of course I am. It's pretty late, after all. Commuting alone isn't safe at this hour," he assured her. "And besides, I ought to be getting home already. There has been a series of robberies down at my apartment lately, and I can't be too careful."

That, and because I don't trust any of those drunken officers enough to get you home in one piece, he wanted to add.

Shiratori had invited the first division over to one of his mountain villas earlier that day. And of course, a gathering wouldn't be complete without the 'three essentials:' beer, food, and karaoke, with which, when combined with hard partying officers, does not paint a pretty picture.

"What do you mean late? It's only- wait, don't tell me it's really quarter-past 12 already?!" Sato blurted out, wide-eyed after looking at the LED time display at the dashboard.

"The clock never lies," Takagi replied, keeping his eyes on the road. "It's amazing how time can fly when you're enjoying yourself."

"I completely agree with you on that one. It seems like only an hour ago when we were on our way here," she said, heaving a sigh afterwards as a thought came to her mind. "Ugh, how am I going to explain myself to my mother?!"

"Tell her we had a really big case in our hands?" Takagi suggested.

"No, I already used that one last week. And besides, Megure-keibu only allows us to stay up to midnight, at most."

He thought some more. "You got caught in a traffic jam?"

"Tried that yesterday."

Takagi fumbled in his mind for more alternatives; but none appeared to be feasible enough. "Sorry Sato-san. That's the best I've got," he said in surrender.

"But more likely that not, she must be more happy instead of worried right now," Sato figured, folding her arms on her chest and shooting a dirty look.

"Why so?"

"She probably thinks I'm out with some guy tonight," she said, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Takagi couldn't help but snicker. "Well, technically you are."

"But you're not just some guy," Sato reasoned, making her partner blush. "That makes your argument invalid. Case closed."

"I have no objections, ma'am," he played along.

As they drove further, drowsiness inevitably settled on the two officers. Takagi could see in his peripheral view that Sato had already dozed off. To keep himself from drifting off to sleep behind the wheel, he switched the radio on to the rock station. Its effectiveness was short-lived, though, so he resorted to opening one of the car windows. The cold mountain air might do the trick, he figured.

15 minutes passed, and the city boundary was nowhere in sight. All that lay ahead was a long stretch of a curvy dirt road, darkness, and trees that projected eerie shadows amidst the moonlight- the same sight that he had been staring at for the last hour or so. Why does Shiratori's villa have to be on the peak of this damn mountain? He could've chosen a better location…at the foot maybe? His mind was fueled up with complaints. All I want now is to plop down on a nice, soft bed and get some sleep! Geez, is that too much to ask?

Little did he know that the high heavens were listening in on his every word. As if on cue, his engine died. Instinctively, he looked at the gas gauge, as he might've been low on gas without realizing it; but it was ¾ full. That's odd. The mechanic told me that my car was in tip-top shape a few days ago.

Perplexed, Takagi pulled out his keys, stepped outside and raised the hood to see what the problem was; and he was greeted by a burst of thick, black smoke. Coughing, he lost his footing and almost tumbled to the ground. When he had recovered, he used his arms to get the smoke out of the way.

"What happened, Takagi-kun?" Sato asked, rubbing her eyes sheepishly as she got off the car.

"The engine died, for some unknown reason," he gestured to the smoking anterior of the vehicle, and then continued. "But I'm sure that a call to my insurance company will sort things out in no time. They have pretty fast service, if I do say so myself."

Takagi fished out his cell phone and did as he said. Meanwhile, Sato sauntered over to the front of the car to see how bad the damage was. She was definitely no mechanic, but she could tell that it was pretty bad.

"What do you mean on holiday?! The next big event is Christmas…and that's in like, 6 months!"

Sato leaned against the side of the car and watched as things went from bad to worse.

"Tomorrow morning…what about tonight? Can you- no…sorry? Hello? HELLO?!"

All Takagi could hear was the sound of the dial tone. He tried again, but ended up hearing the same sorry excuse from the other end of the line. He placed his phone back in his pocket and sighed in defeat.

"That didn't sound like fast, reliable service to me," Sato commented, making sure that the 'fast reliable' part was emphasized enough.

"Well, for the past three years they were."

Sato stared down at the ground and kicked a pebble near her foot, which tumbled off into the woods. She felt angry at the insurance company. She was worried about how her mother would react when she found out about this. Above all, she was tired- it had been a rough day, and all she wanted was good night's sleep.

Takagi leaned beside her and tried to offer some consolidation. "Look, I'm just as tired and disappointed as you are; but we can't just stand around here until the sun rises. Our objective now is to find a place to stay in for the night…and I think we passed by a motel or something a few minutes ago-"

"Then let's go. My eyes are losing the battle of lucidity as we speak," Sato cut him off, already taking a few steps ahead of him.

Sato is definitely not a morning person,he mused as he locked the car doors and hurriedly caught up with her.

A few minutes of walking and the lights from an inn were within their view.

Takagi couldn't contain his excitement. "It seems our luck is changing."

No sooner had he finished his statement when thunder roared, followed by the first drops of rain. He hurriedly removed his blazer and placed it above their heads as they made a mad dash towards the building.

"Indeed it is. It just went from worse to all-out worst," Sato replied in between breaths. Unknown to her was that their string of bad luck was far from over.

"WHAAAAAAAAT?!"

All the sleep in their body seemed to have disappeared in the drop of the hat. They stared wide-eyed at the old man behind the counter, who seemed surprised at their reaction.

"I'm sorry, but did you say what I think you just said?" Sato asked, praying to all things holy that the banging of the raindrops against the window has affected her hearing. "Because I'm hoping that you didn't."

The man, much to her utter disappointment, nodded. "Yep, you heard me right missy. The only room available is the single-bed suite."

This was one of the moments Takagi wished he had the ability to faint at will. Blood gushed to his head as the man's words ringed through his mind.

"Bu-but don't you have any extra beds or anything? I can pay extra if I have to!" he stammered, fishing out his wallet, and holding up his credit card. "See?"

The man shook his head. "Now sir, this is not some fancy-schmancy hotel in the city. We don't have all those frills and stuff…," Takagi opened his mouth to interject, but was stopped by the man's next statement. "…those mini bars, complimentary bottles of water…extra beds…hell, young couples like you should be happy that we still have the darn room available, if you know what I mean!"

Grinning, he nudged Takagi with his elbow, and then eyed the two officers with a strange glint in his eyes.

"Happy?! Why, of all the emotions we could feel right now, should we be ha-" As if on cue, realization quickly sank in him. "…ppy. No, you don't understand…you got it all wrong here and uh…you see…me and her…," Takagi tried to clear things out, but his brain wouldn't cooperate.

As his brain was about to implode, Sato decided to take matters into her own hands.

"We'll take it."

"Sato-san?!"

Ignoring her partner's protests, she walked over to the counter and handed her credit card.

"Wise choice ma'am." The man smiled, took the card, swiped it, and gave it back along with a set of keys. "Have a good night ma'am. Oh, and before I forget…," he opened a drawer, pulled out a 'do not disturb' sign, and, with a matching wink, gave it to her.

"You might need one of these."

Sato stared at him strangely for a few seconds before taking the sign "Erm, thanks. I think."

The twosome walked up the flight of stairs and proceeded to their room.

"What was that about?" Takagi finally managed asked, his coherency having returned to normal.

Sato looked at the keys on her hand, then at the door in front of them. "This is it. Room 06."

"Why did you agree to this? How can you deal with this as though it's…normal? Routine?"

She unlocked the door and flicked on the light switch in the corner. Light instantly flooded in, revealing a cream-hued area, which pretty much looked like the average economy hotel room: there was a bathroom, desks, chairs, and cushions. The most noticeable thing, however, was the king-size bed situated in the center of the room, which seemed to be beckoning them to lie down and take a visit to slumber land.

Sato was about to step inside and give in to its wishes when Takagi grabbed her by the arm and stopped her in her tracks.

"Why?" he repeated, his voice close to a whisper.

Sato's eyes narrowed as she spun around to face him. "Do I really need a reason?"

Takagi blinked; he had no idea how he should answer that question of hers.

Sato sighed. "I'll take that as a yes."

She walked closer to him, placed a hand on his shoulder and looked him straight in the eye.

"Actually, there's not one, but three reasons. First is the fact that were not doing anything wrong…due to some strange string of circumstances, which, I'd like to point out, we absolutely have no control of, we are now forced to spend the night together, in a hotel in some mountain, on a single bed."

She paused, and then asked him. "As crazy as it sounds, tell me, where's the harm in that?"

She paused again for effect. "There's none, of course."

Takagi nodded slightly, listening on to her next words. "Second is trust. I've known you for so long…I mean, if I had a list of people I can trust with my very life, you are definitely one of them. This would've been different if I was placed in this exact situation with some other guy…but I'm with you, and I know that I have nothing to worry about."

He couldn't help but blush at her statement, which had every grain of truth in them. They smiled, and then looking at each other with all the love and respect that they had built between them all those years.

"And the third?"

"Because I'm a hell lot tired and there's no telling what I might do if I don't plop down on that awfully tempting bed right now," she answered, a grin forming on her lips.

Takagi laughed as they stepped inside and readied themselves for some well-deserved rest. He was about to lie down when he remembered about the sign the receptionist had given them earlier. He grabbed it, unlocked the door, and hung it outside.

Sato sat up from her lying position and raised an eyebrow.

"What, it was made to be hung right?" Takagi explained, shrugging.

"I guess it is. Good night, Takagi-kun."

"Good night, Sato-san."

As he lay down beside her, he couldn't help but smile. After what seemed like a terrible case of hard luck, it appeared that it was all worth it. It's not everyday, after all, that your car breaks down while you're a dirt road at night with the girl of your dreams in the passenger seat with you, with the only hotel in the area out of double-bed suites. What are the chances of that?

---

The next morning, Sato woke up to the sight of dark brown hair. She nearly fell off the bed in surprise. Oh, right. How could I forget…

She couldn't help but blush- Takagi was awfully close. Proximity was one thing, but the fact that one of his hands had found itself resting on her waist wasn't helping at all. She gently placed his hand away, sat up, and leaned against the bed railings.

She then continued looked at her partner, who appeared to be in deep slumber. His soft breathing, his parted lips, the way the sunlight streaming through the windows highlighted his features; he looked so weak, so vulnerable. Without thinking, she began running her finger along the outline of his face- but stopped as soon as the implications of her actions kicked in.

No, don't. Bad Miwako. Get away while you can.

But try as she might, she seemed to be spellbound by his charm. It was as though he had some kind of gravitational force surrounding him; a force that was pulling her down, closer and closer to him- and there was nothing she could do about it.

When the distance between them was only a mere inch apart, loud knocking came from the door.

This almost made her jump in surprise. Ugh, I guess I really am cursed.

Her heart was racing as she approached the door with a dejected look in her face. She peeked through the eye hole to see who moment-interrupting character was this time; and it was the receptionist from the previous night. With a sigh, she hurriedly unlocked the bolts and opened the door.

"Good morni-"

"What do you want?"

She must've had a tinge of annoyance in her tone, she mused, judging by the question the man raised back.

"I'm sorry, was I interrupting anything?" he asked, moving his head slightly to have a better look at the interior of the room.

"Oh, no, of course not!" she quickly answered back, straightening her blouse and doing her buttons, which seemed to imply things that she'd rather not think about. "Now, how may I help you?"

"Are you the owner of that sedan parked a few meters from here?"

"The black one?"

"Yep. That's the one."

"I'm not, but he is," she replied, gesturing towards her sleeping partner.

"I see, I see. A mechanic came by here earlier…told me to tell a certain, umm…," he pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket. "…Takagi Wataru that his car's been fixed."

Sato expression instantly lighted up. "I'm glad to hear about that! What did he say was the problem again?"

The man scratched his head. "Faulty wiring…or something like that. I'm no mechanic, you see…all his talk about hydraulics and valves sounded alien to me!" he admitted, chuckling a bit at his lack of automobile knowhow.

"I know what you mean," Sato agreed, recalling the times she'd been tasked to cases involving the way vehicles worked. Bad times.

"Well, that's all I came here for. Hope you enjoy the rest of your stay!"

Sato bid her thanks and was about to close the door when the man came rushing back.

"Oh, by the way, would you be interested in a breakfast meal? We accept all major credit-"

"No, thank you. Goodbye," she politely declined, before shutting the door completely.

"How about some souvenirs? Baked goods?"

Though muffled, she could still hear the guy's words. Ah, the things people do to make a living.

She was locking one of the bolts when a voice from behind came up.

"What was that about?"

She turned around and saw that Takagi had woken up already. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, arms stretched out as he yawned.

Sato looked at him from head down to toe. The messy hair, the heavy-set eyes, the slumped shoulders, the ruffled clothes- it was quite a treat seeing him that early in the morning. And in a nice set of boxers too, she thought secretly. Unknown to her was that he was sharing the very same thoughts as hers.

"Your car's fixed," she finally said, a little too bluntly.

"That's good to hear."

He stood up and slowly walked towards her.

"Erm, Takagi-kun?"

Sato's heart raced as he grew closer.

"What the hell are you doi-"

Her statement was cut short when his lips found their way on hers, brushing against them slowly, gently, in a span of time both had secretly wished would have lasted longer.

As he pulled back, Sato gaped, face red with surprise, excitement, and after a few moments of thought, embarrassment.

"Do-don't tell me…you were awake when I…when I…," she tried to ask him, to which Takagi only smiled playfully at.

"Maybe. Maybe not."

He went over to a chair and picked up the belt and pants that he hung on it.

"If anyone finds out about what happened in the last 7 hours, were dead," Sato spoke in a grave yet amused tone, as Takagi sauntered over the bathroom door.

"Look who's counting."

"Seriously. We might just be the next murder case the first division will work on."

"Not if they never find out."

"With all those snooping officers around? I don't think so."

"You mean Yumi, right?"

"Exactly. Wait, hey!"

"Now, I agree with you on the homicidal police officers part…but I think you have more important things to think of."

"Like what?"

"Like your worry-ridden mother who's been waiting hours for that phone call of yours."

"Oh, crap."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

"And how do you intend to do that?"

"I'll think of something soon. A 2 hour drive should give enough thinking time."

"Good point. You never fail to amaze me, Takagi-kun."

"You too, Sato-san."

Takagi closed the door and began dressing up.

In more ways than you can imagine.

I hope this fic can make up for my looooong time between updates. (again. *sniffles*) Heehee, I love placing this lovely duo in random situations. xD One more fic and I'm halfway towards this challenge! Yay! *crickets chirp* Aww, c'mon.

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THANKS FOR READING!