Timeless Vows
At 8,
Heiji and Kazuha over heard their parents discussing the possibility of them getting married in the future while they tried to sneak some gyōza from the kitchen to their room.
Later that day, lying on the floor next to his bed, Kazuha nervously played with the pages of the comic in her hand asking hesitantly,
"You know... About what mom said..."
"Hmm?" He answered absent-mindedly, distracted by the climax of 'Hound of the Baskerville' that though he had been reading for the 200th time, still remained his favourite.
"The...marriage.."
If he wasn't listening a few minutes ago, she was sure he was now.
Scrunching up his little nose, he asked,
"W-what about i-it?"
Heiji's reaction made Kazuha regret asking, tears burning at the corner of her eyes, braving through them to save face.
"Do you not like it?"
Her voice was barely even a whisper and Heiji was sure if he hadn't been within a foot's distance, there's no way he'd have heard her.
"I don't know how to feel about it..."
He shut the book, sighing as he sat up giving it a serious thought.
"..But.."
"But?" Kazuha had expected a usual snarky reply, but looking at him considering her question, her hopes were touching the ceiling.
She just hoped he wouldn't Hulk smash them to the ground.
"But.. mom and dad are married and they always get to stay together and fight and laugh and..."
Without ever realising it, throughout his childhood, Heiji had drawn parallels between his parents and his own little bond with Kazuha , his best and at that time, only friend.
"And aren't we the same?"
She nodded, smiling down at the lucky charm that hung from her neck. She didn't even need a second to think.
"Then if that's marriage," Heiji said, in a rare moment of admiration that Kazuha had since, burned into her memory.
"I don't mind staying with you forever."
Kazuha couldn't sleep that night, nor any for the next few days continuously hearing his words in his voice carried by the wind to her ears, giggling endlessly into her pillow.
At 13
,
In a lecture, after a ludicrous argument they had had, an apologetic Heiji began scribbling on the last page of his notebook, pushing it towards her to read.
They always sat together in class, so when he saw her pick another spot to sit in that day, Heiji knew it was best he'd apologize before she chose to give him a broken nose instead.
"Sorry."
He wrote in barely legible handwriting, clicking his pen so she'd notice and not continue to ignore him (very obviously, at that.)
"Go away." Kazuha wrote underneath, huffing in irritation.
She had singularly taken the blame for the broken TV remote and got yelled at by her father who had till then, hardly ever raised his voice at her.
Still, she curiously looked down at Heiji who frantically continued writing.
"I promise from now on, I'll let you choose what we watch on TV." She peered at him, watching him hold his ears in genuine guilt.
Bursting into giggles, she watched Heiji heave a sigh of relief and wrote,
"Don't take that back :p"
Heiji laughed, back to his casual self and writing back,
"You have to compromise something too, then."
Kazuha tapped her pen on her chin in thought.
"Aha!" She exclaimed, quickly covering her mouth as the teacher looked around to search for a source to the sudden disturbance.
"I promise that you'll always get the first serving of Okonomiyaki.".
A thoughtful moment later, Heiji wrote,
"Now we're talking!! My turn, then. I promise to never hit you with my Katana again."
Kazuha laughed aloud, covering it up by coughing so she wouldn't get caught by the teacher.
That was the second strike.
"I promise never to use you to practice Aikido."
"Hey, this is easier for you!"
Heiji whispered, watching her sign a 'shush ' and motioning to the pen and paper.
"I promise to give you preference over everyone."
"Ooo...Even Sherlock?" Kazuha asked and Heiji ruffled his hair, considering her question.
"Ah... Okay. Even Sherlock."
She signed a "yes!" before picking up the pen to write again in excitement.
"Then I promise to never leave you alone, even if it's some boring place your mom sent you to."
She knew Heiji hated going to those stupid tea parties his mom forced him to visit courtesy sake because he'd always drag her along and feign a stomachache whenever she refused.
Heiji played with the pen in hand for longer than a minute, clearly hesitating before writing and Kazuha eyed him in suspicion.
When he was done, he nudged her and she looked, honestly surprised by what she read.
"I promise to always be the shoulder you can cry on no matter how dumb the reason may be."
It was rare for him to even say anything that cheesy, let alone leave evidence in writing.
She looked at his red ears and smiled in adoration.
"I promise to be by your side in your darkest moments; to always put our friendship first."
Honestly, Kazuha thought, Heiji to her was closer than family so the thought of him before the world didn't even need consideration.
"I promise to try to always keep you happy."
It was Kazuha's turn then and just as she wrote the arbitrary 'I promise.." Heiji bent to her ear and whispered,
"Ya know, if my parents force me to marry your dumbass,"
He kept one watchful eye on the teacher who was already suspicious,
"I'm going to read this crap in front of everyone and embarrass the hell out of you."
Flustered, Kazuha smacked his arm, the way she was used to doing and completely forgetting that they were in class.
With a teacher.
Consequently, they got kicked out, leaving with Heiji nursing his sore arm and laughing at an extremely red Kazuha, an empty 'I promise...' left as the last sentence.
Nevertheless, they lived up to all their promises for years to follow without ever questioning each other.
At 21,
When they graduated college, Heiji finally gathers the courage to confess.
"About time" The now full grown woman humorously replied, wrapping her arms around him and leaning in for the kiss she'd been waiting for since God knows how long.
They received a bunch of excited congratulations from friends and teary hugs from family that - without knowing it- were half the reason the couple was there in the first place.
'High school detective Heiji' still solved murders here and there and his green eyed companion still accompanied him wherever he went.
Surprisingly though , she no longer shied away from a crime scene choosing instead to keenly watch him and deciding hence, that 'law' would be her preferred major.
She'd get to be by his side longer then, anyway.
At 25,
They attended their best friend's wedding as a couple, admiring how perfect Shinichi and Ran looked together after all their struggles, even wiping away a few tears of joy when the groom bawled his eyes out watching Ran walk down the aisle.
Suffice to say, Heiji' took tons of pictures swearing to never let his fellow detective live it down.
And when the priest announced, 'through thick and through thin' they marvelled at how the Tokyo couple had already fulfilled that one.
"Through thick and through thin, indeed."
The after-party was filled with expected comments from everyone about them being next, something along the lines of 'The detective couple of the East and West always go together.'
When Kazuha caught the flower bouquet to her own surprise, Heiji thought so too.
At 27,
With a stable job as Osaka's greatest (and highest paid, he must add) detective and Kazuha having her own booming law firm, Heiji believed it was finally time.
So with a bouquet of roses that shook nervously in his hand and a diamond studded ring in his pocket, he called her to Ebisu Bridge, avoiding her constant 'Why is it so empty here today?' and letting his heart flow as the sun set behind him in all its golden glory.
He knew it was the best time of the day and only prayed to the highest power that it wouldn't be ruined like the many traumatic times it had before.
(He had called Kudo all the way from Tokyo just in case. 'Not excessive at all' Shinichi had mused, rolling his eyes.)
"This is where I first realised that I had fallen completely in love with you and that I figured it out much later than I should have."
As tears filled her eyes and realisation struck her, he bent down on one knee, pulled out the ring and put forward the question he had practiced in front of the mirror more times in his life than he had turned his cap.
"Will you marry me?"
As wedding bells rang through the hall and friends and family gathered to celebrate the start of a new beginning, Kazuha waited in her wedding gown, looking out the window at her parents greeting the guests wholeheartedly.
It was a day she had been looking forward to her entire life.
And as she walked down the aisle, with one hand in her father's, the other holding a gorgeous bouquet, Heiji watched her completely awestruck by how wonderful she looked.
(He could finally empathize with Kudo, feeling a knot at the back of his throat, not that he was ever going to admit it.)
The bride couldn't hold back a grin even through the veil that covered her face.
After a brief hug between her father and Heiji, a quick "please take care of my daughter" and smile later, there she stood, with her hand in his, just like she always had.
As everyone settled down and the priest flipped the pages of his book, Heiji motioned for him to stop.
"Back when we were teenagers, some 14 years ago, " he announced as everyone, including his wife-to-be listened on in confusion.
"I had pissed her off in one of the million ways I have throughout our lives."
All the guests laughed, bemused by the sudden random confession.
"And then, during one very boring lecture, when I apologized to her in my scrawny handwriting at the last page of my notebook, we wrote down our vows."
Kazuha gasped in memory, staring at him with her mouth agape, both in embarrassment and surprise.
Heiji grinnned, pulling out a crumpled old piece of paper from his pocket and putting it ahead for her to see.
The crisp edges of that sheet were a standing proof of a lifelong friendship that was now about to turn a new leaf.
"And I honestly think there couldn't be better vows than these."
He cleared his throat, as words from the paper bounced of the pages into the microphone.
"I promise I'll let you choose what we watch on TV from now on."
Light laughter came from the crowd, enjoying the strange twist that the evening had taken.
Kazuha whispered to Heiji, looking back and forth, red-faced,
"Do I really have to read this?"
Heiji grinned, simply motioning to the paper.
Kazuha sighed, reading her words in embarrassment, even though she was sure she remembered them by heart.
"I promise that you'll always get the first serving of Okonomiyaki."
The crowd roared, mirth filling the quiet hall.
"I promise to never hit you with my katana."
Small claps and bright smiles spread throughout as the blue sky began to give into the night.
"I promise to not practice my aikido on you."
"I promise to give you preference over everyone."
"Even Sherlock?" Kazuha chimed in from memory.
It almost felt like the people around didn't exist, like they were young teenagers sitting at the back of the class in their uniforms again.
Just like that day.
"Even Sherlock." Heiji replied, smiling from ear to ear, glad she remembered that day just as well as he did.
They were in their own world then and one look was enough to know not much had changed since then.
"I promise to never leave you alone, even if it's some boring place your mom sent you to. "
"Oi!"
Heiji's mom yelled from the crowd, everyone around teased her in good fun.
"Sorry mom-in-law!"
Shizuka giggled behind the fan held to her face.
"I promise to always be the shoulder you can cry on no matter how dumb the reason may be."
This moment was glued in Heiji's memory, his hesitation, nervousness, everything and he knew it was when he realised he was in love with her (though he continued to vehemently deny it).
"I promise to be by your side in your darkest moments, to always put our...marriage first."
She corrected along the way, knowing that the tenure of their friendship had ended.
They were now standing before everyone as bride and groom.
The crowd hooted, cheering the couple on. Nobody could deny feeling like they had been put on a journey through an innocent childhood love story.
And none were complaining.
"What more can I say, even 13 year old Heiji knew he loved you." He said, squeezing her hand softly.
"Still took you 13 more years to propose!"
Shinichi added from the audience and they burst into laughter at Heiji sheepishly scratching his head.
"I have just one question," Heiji turned to an already emotional Kazuha, who looked up at him quizzically.
"The last vow you couldn't complete that day...what was it?"
Tears fell down her face, drenching the perfectly set curls that fell in front of her ears.
"I promise..." She said, through quivering lips and shaky legs.
'Could 13 year old Kazuha even have imagined this?' she thought.
What would she think if she'd have known? That the promise she was nervous to write even that day was the final vow she'd make to him, to their future together?
Wiping her tear away with her other hand she whispered into her mic.
"I promise that once I hold your hand, I'll never let go."
Whistles and cheers resonated making Kazuha laugh in embarrassment while Heiji just stood there smiling dumbfounded that all these years he was wrong, that he wasn't alone.
He wasn't the only one who fell in love that day.
"I love you."
The words came out of his mouth before he had realised and the priest clapped, quickly (and appropriately) ending the ceremony with the final:
"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."
He had never felt more in love with her than he had today and he knew whether it be at 30 with kids or 75 with adjacent hospital beds, he'd feel the same.
One look at her and he'd know,
Even death could never do them part.
If you've reached the end, then I just want to thank you so much for reading my story!!I really hope you liked it! ~~