(Rum'verse!)

"I'm home!~" Kaito cheered as he sauntered into Conan's home, a grocery bag thrown over his shoulder lazily. Hotaru and Ai glanced up at him from the couch as Shou peered out of the library door. "And I brought snacks!"

"Hi Kai-nii." Hotaru waved her small hand in greeting while Ai just smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Conan-kun isn't home right now." She said as she returned her eyes to the book in her lap. Kaito pouted before walking over to slump over the back of the couch. The grocery bag slipped from his shoulder and landed with thump between the two girls.

"What's he doing that is more important than being with family?" The magician said, though it was hard to make out as he had let his face fall into the couch's cushioned back.

"Well he did just go out to buy some more ice cream because someone," Hotaru sent an accusing glare at Shou as he slipped into the room, "ate the last of it but then he ran into a case."

Kaito rolled his eyes before wondering at how exactly this had become a normal excuse as the small girl held up her cellphone so he could read the text. The magician snatched up the phone and started to texted adamantly. Hotaru smiled in amusement before blinking at Shou as he dug into the grocery bag.

"Hm? Cherries?" Shou pulled out the bag of red fruit curiously. Kaito snapped the phone shut and handed it back to its owner with a huff.

"Yeah, there was a sale at the store when I went to buy more hot cocoa mix so I grabbed some." The ex-organization members shared a glance when Kaito mentioned the hot chocolate. Only Kaito could drink something like that when it was hot enough outside to cook an egg on the sidewalk. Even Conan had taken to drinking his coffee iced.

"You didn't want to test out that rumor?" Ai asked as she plucked out a cherry, biting the fruit off of the stem easily.

"Rumor?" Hotaru asked while Kaito just tipped his head to the side in question.

"There's this myth that if you can tie a cherry stem in a knot in your mouth that you're a good kisser." Shou smirked before popping a stem into his mouth. After a few amusing face he pulled the stem out only to find that he hadn't knotted the stalk. Ai chuckled at his perplexed frown as she too put a stem in her mouth, though when she pulled it out there was a knot near the top of the stem.

"Wha-? How?" Shou asked, his frown deepening. Hotaru and Kaito each snatched a cherry and tried. When they spit out their stems they were both as untied as Shou's.

"How do you do it?" Kaito frowned at his stalk when Ai produced another tied stem.

"Natural talent." Ai teased Kaito with a smirk. The thief pouted before popping another stem in his mouth and getting the same result.

"Well this is a myth." Hotaru said huffily as she chewed on another cherry. "There isn't any scientific backing to support it."

"I don't know. The tutor Conan-kun and I had when we were young said it was very true." Ai gave the two children a knowing glance that Kaito missed as he concentrated on the stem in his mouth.

"What does she know?" Shou grouched and plopped down to lean against Hotaru's legs.

"Niichan holds her in a very high regard." Hotaru nudged her sibling's back with her knee.

"She did seem to know everything at the time." Ai tapped her chin in thought.

"Who knew everything?" The group turned to face Conan as he entered the room, carrying a plastic bag and looking exhausted.

"That mentor we had when we were kids." Ai said ignoring Kaito as he glared at the untied stem in his palm.

"When did she come up?" Conan groaned as he trekked across the room to the opening that led to the kitchen. "By the way, they didn't have any Neapolitan, Shou."

"What?" Shou asked dejectedly as he followed his elder sibling into the kitchen.

"We were talking about that myth concerning cherries and knots." Ai said in a slightly raised voice so Conan could hear her.

"Again why?" Conan called back.

"I brought over some cherries." Kaito said, getting up to glomp Conan as he came back in through the doorway. The detective ignored the magician as he made his way over to sit next to Ai. Kaito ended up on the floor with his upper body slumped on Conan's lap.

"It really is a nonsensical legend." Conan swatted Kaito's hand as it tried to wriggle behind his back so he could hug the icy boy. "What does it matter if you are a good kisser or not?"

"I bet you are just saying that because you can't do it." Shou teased while Hotaru shot him a look that said 'like you?'.

"I bet you he can!" The girl huffed.

"How much?" Shou smirked at her.

"A month of chores." Hotaru smirked back.

"Deal." The children shook hands before turning to smile brightly up at their big brother.

"Well?" Hotaru asked making Conan raise an eyebrow.

"Well?" He parroted back.

"Try it." Shou commanded.

"To satisfy your silly little bet?" Conan's voice was incredulous.

"Yup!" They both chirped making the teen sigh before plucking up a cherry and tossing the whole thing in his mouth. The detective chewed the fruit and swallowed before making only the slightest bit of faces. After a moment he pulled both the stem and the pit, a perfect knot tied in the exact middle of the stem.

"Satisfied?" Conan raised an eyebrow. He smirked when he took in the kids', as well as Kaito's, awed expressions and Ai's amused shake of the head. Kaito suddenly grinned a very KID-like grin.

"Well now we need to test the other half." He drawled. "Just to see if it's true."

"What?" Conan blinked blankly down at the magician resting in his lap. Kaito's grin became manic as he launched up to catch Conan's lips. The detective flushed bright red and dodged the attack, pushing Kaito off of his lap and bolting out of the room. The magician was up within seconds, pursuing his 'friend' with a frightening intensity.

"Come on Co-chan! Aren't you a fan of the scientific method?!"

"Stay away from me Kaito!"

"Where did he learn to do that?" Shou asked Ai, disregarding the random bangs and threats.

"Vermouth-sama was always a fan teaching us things we could use later in life." Ai smirked down at the kids.

"Just one little kiss, Co-chan!"

"I have a soccer ball and I'm not afraid to use it!"

BANG!

"Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me!~"

"Away, foul demon!"

"Hey Hotaru. I bet you Kaito is gonna win." Shou snickered to his 'sister'.

"Sucker's bet." Hotaru shot back.

-Who would win in a fight between Ironman and Captain America? Chuck Norris.-

Have you ever heard of that myth before? Because I hadn't.

Poison: You just love teasing us don't you? *points to the almost-kiss*

Yes… *taps fingers together*

Hua: When the heck did Ai get here?

Just now…

Hoshi: What is a sucker's bet?

It's when someone offers a bet about something obvious.

Sketchy: How did Conan's ice cream not melt on the way home if he was stopped by a case?

magic?