Murphy's Law

Chapter 3 — Interruption

By Crystal Snowflakes

It was a bright, sunny day. The sun broke through the clouds, casting rays of golden light over the riverbank. His eyes closed wearily as he took a deep breath and tilted back his head with a slight yawn. The sound of the gently flowing water and of the rustling leaves above him was pleasant and relaxing; it almost made him want to take a nap. Sitting there in the stillness, he could feel his hair dancing in the warm breeze as the scent of cherry blossoms filled the air.

"A yen for your thoughts?" Ai asked, her voice amused.

Conan's eyes snapped open, and he found himself looking right up towards her face, the glow of the sunlight above her. Her auburn hair swayed gently as her eyes glimmering with unconcealed mirth, and the slight tilt of her lips made his heart skip a beat as the scent of her faint perfume wafted down to his nose. His mind flashed back to that day—it seemed so long ago now—when he had asked her that same question, at this exact same riverbank. The faraway look in her gaze told him she was remembering the same thing.

But things were different now.

"I was wondering if I would get stood up on our lunch date," he teased, patting the seat on the bench next to him.

Walking to the front of the bench to take a seat, she let out a light huff—though the small smile on her face told a different story. "You know I can't always cater to the last-minute whims of the savior of the police force just because he was working nearby, Meitantei-san. Plus, work has been busy and—"

His lips turned into a slight scowl at her backhanded compliment. "I gave you a one-hour notice—"

"Last-minute whims," she repeated, the corners of her lips widening cheekily.

Knowing it was impossible that he would ever win an argument with her, he let out a mock long suffering sigh. His hands reached into the plastic bag next to him and pulled out the two convenience store lunches that he had purchased earlier; both of them were still warm to the touch.

"Yeah? Well, if you actually ate lunch on your lunch breaks, then I wouldn't have to force you to meet up with me on days I'm near," he retorted with an eyeroll. "Careful, soup's still hot," he reminded her with a murmur as he handed the bowl up to her.

Her cheeks flushed faintly as she opened the lid and carefully avoided his gaze. Then she cradled the bowl in her hands and took a tentative sip before taking a slightly bigger mouthful, a satisfied expression on her face.

"Good?" he asked as he turned his attention on his own bento box, pulling off the lid.

"Mhmm," she hummed. "You're a hypocrite though, you know?"

His head whipped around to face her, and his mouth almost dropped open. He couldn't believe that she had the audacity to not be looking at him when she accused him of being a hypocrite, of all things. "E-excuse me? How so?"

"How often do you eat lunch on your breaks?" she asked, a glint of mischief in her eyes. "Wait. Better yet, how often do you actually take breaks, hm?"

He stared silently at the side of her face for a few moments before letting out a snort. "Yeah, yeah. You got me," he muttered quietly under his breath.

The smug smirk playing on her lips told him all he needed to know.

It didn't take long for either of them to finish their lunch. With the garbage neatly packed back into the plastic bag, they took a small stroll down the footpath. He glanced briefly at his watch to check the time—they had ten minutes left until both of them had to get back to work.

His fingers played with the velvet box in his pants pocket, wondering if it was a good time to even ask—was there really such a thing as a 'good time' to ask though? The last two times he had tried, he had been interrupted—by a murderer and a phone call—at the most inopportune time. He glanced around the practically empty riverbank and wondered if anything else would really interrupt them again.

The sound of her steps slowly down behind him made him pause, and he turned back to gaze at her. Her attention was fully on the river, and she had that same distant look in her eyes.

"You remember where we are?" she asked without turning towards him.

He approached her and stood next to her as he took his hand out of his pocket. Maybe it wasn't a good time. "How could I not?"

When she finally turned to look at him, he had to blink—he hadn't expected that tender look in her eyes. Nor did he expect that mischievous look on her face.

"Hm." Something about the way she hummed made him uneasy, and he straightened up. "Wouldn't it be funny if you tried to ask me to marry you?"

"S-shit!" he spluttered in response and chided himself for always allowing her one-up him. "Could you not do that?"

Her laughter tinkled through the breeze.

When he was finally able to breathe again, he let out a scoff and dug through his pocket for the ring box to pull it out. Her giggles had stopped, and she was staring at him now, the corners of her lips curled up again in that way that sent his chest stuttering.

"Actually…." he trailed off, blood pumping loudly in his veins. Determined, he kneeled down on one knee as he looked up at her. What he couldn't understand was how he was still so damn nervous—it wasn't even his first time. "Third time's a charm?" he joked.

Her smile widened. "Is it?"

Just as he was about to ask, a familiar high-pitched squeal echoed throughout the area. "No way, brat!"

An exasperated groan escaped his lips, and the sound of Ai snickering made him stand up and glare at her. "I'm considering not ever asking again," he muttered, just a tad bit annoyed.

"Again, huh?" she whispered, amused. "Wouldn't that imply that you've already asked?"

"Shut up," he groused, turning around to ready himself to face his worst nightmare.

"Congratulations, you two! Have you told Ran yet?" Sonoko grinned, gesturing at Ai to show her the ring.

"Nothing happened," he muttered crossly, giving her a flat glare.

"What'd you mean nothing happened? I just saw—"

"You interrupted!" he cut her off, his scowl deepening.

"Oh jeez. I did?"

"You did! What are you doing here anyway?"

The feeling of Ai's fingers threading between his helped—just a little.

Author's Notes: Ahhh. Thank you to the readers who have been coming by and adding my CoAi fics to their favourite list! You gave me the inspiration to finish the chapter :D

As usual, comments and suggestions are very much appreciated!

Completed: April 26, 2020