Chapter 2: First Kiss

"Say, Haibara, how about I buy you dinner?", Shinichi suggested wearing a positive look on his face while sitting on a couch at Professor Agasa's house. He decided to stay the night as Shiho had requested.

"You truly are that grateful to me, huh?" Shiho asked in response, throwing a sarcastic look at Shinichi.

She hated that part of herself feeling relieved that Shinichi decided to stay. This was not what she had planned nor what her mind wanted, but her heart did. She thought she was the kind of woman that thinks with her mind and not with a stupid heart, and yet here she was, thinking that she could give herself one last time, one last moment to spend with Shinichi. As after this, Shinichi would return to the woman he belonged to.

"So?", Shinichi brought up the offer, "Decide before I change my mind."

"Then let's have a drink," Shiho answered him while tossing a can of beer, "I hope this isn't too far from your dinner offer, right?"

"Celebration for?" Shinichi asked with a curious look in his eyes.

"For both the new antidote," Shiho's eyes averted from Shinichi's, "...and your confession to her tomorrow."

Shiho got them a couple of beers in cans and put them on the center table. She picked one, opened it and sat beside Shinichi.

"Hey, Haibara. I just thought that this is rare," Shinichi was staring at his drink, "This is the first time you asked me to drink with you."

"I know," Shiho gave a bitter smile, "There's a first time in everything."

There had been an awkward silence between them. Each had something in mind. Shinichi was still thinking how he could amend his relationship with Ran. He kept her waiting all the time but he could not do anything about it. Ran needed to know his true feelings for her. She needed to know that he loved her.

Shiho, on the other hand, was still battling with her heart. She could see Shinichi beside her, so close that she could hear his breathing, so close that she could not help but want to feel the warmth of his arms around her, one more time. If that hug they shared earlier could have been a little bit longer, maybe, it would have been enough. Maybe, if she could have been able to hug him back, maybe there would be no regrets now. Maybe if she didn't try to hold back...maybe if…

There were a lot of things going on with her mind and it just won't stop.

"If we had met under different circumstances, do you think it could have been different between us?" Shiho asked all of a sudden, breaking the silence in the room.

Shiho noticed the puzzled look on Shinichi's face, almost turned to being flustered. It must have not crossed his mind, not even once, she thought.

"Uhh...Yeah, maybe it would have been different," Shinichi answered, scratching the back of his head, and didn't bother to read between the lines.

Shiho sighed and drank the last gulp of her drink, "So, how do you plan on confessing to her?"

"Huh…" Shinichi stared at the distance, trying to find some answers, "I will... Uh… Maybe, reserve a seat to that restaurant where my dad proposed to mom...Or something better...", he chuckled while imagining the romantic thought.

Shiho's heart ached. She wanted to get rid of this pain. She put her right hand on her chest, feeling the sudden heartache she felt.

"Isn't that too…" Shiho responded with an icy tone, "...nevermind."

She thought it was very romantic. Never in her dreams would a guy do that for her. She spent most of her life working with projects that her parents had started, lived with a black blood running through her veins. Everything had changed since she met Shinichi. But it was too late to fight for her feelings now.

"Too.. what?" Shinichi got curious about what was on Shiho's mind.

"I said... that's fine." Shiho answered, trying to hide the heartache she felt, "I'll get some more drinks."

"Huh? But you already drank too much."

The table was a mess with empty beer cans. Most of them were from Shiho. Shinichi noticed this while watching how unstable Shiho walked.

"Hey Haibara," Shinichi grumbled, followed Shiho and grabbed her by the hand to stop her, "I think you had enough."

"Let go of my hand," Shiho, whose back was turned away from Shinichi, was trying to keep her composure, "Because if not, I might do something we'll both regret."

"W-what?," Shinichi could not comprehend the last words Shiho said.

"I said...let go!" Shiho exclaimed, bursting into tears. Bright flash of lightning came, immediately followed by a roaring thunder. This caused a temporary blackout to professor Agasa's house and most probably throughout their street. Heavy drops of rain started falling from the sky.

Shinichi finally let go of Shiho's hand. He could hear her cry from where he was standing, a few inches from her. Shiho turned to face him. Darkness enveloped the whole room with only the moonlight passing through the glass window as their source of light.

It was dark but Shinichi was able to see the sad expression from Shiho's face. There was a part of him that wanted to comfort her, a part of him that didn't want to see tears in her eyes. He moved closer to Shiho as if his heart was dictating his body.

Shiho was trying to keep herself from looking at Shinichi because she might do something stupid that she will regret later.

"Is everything…" Shinichi broke the silence between them, "...alright?"

Shiho could not think straight anymore. It must have been because she drank too much or because she had suppressed her feelings too much. Shiho stepped forward and planted a passionate kiss on Shinichi's lips, while tears kept falling from her cheeks.