For kuuma-kun from the CoAi Café discord server!
As part of their request from their Secret Santa, they wanted something fluffy with the prompts "Falling snow, rumpled bed sheet, hot chocolate and cinnamon, lazy day off."
Fair warning, it gets a little angsty at first, but the fluff that follows is more than worth it!
Lazy Day
There is something especially depressing about the winter months. The shorter days, the frantic pace of day-to-day life, the cold... The loneliness.
Shiho tries so hard not to let it affect her. It isn't Shinichi's fault that the cases dropping into his lap seem to multiply at this time of year. She has lost count of the number of phone calls and apologetic texts she has received, leaving her again and again stranded on her own in cafés and restaurants, staring down the hot drink in her hands. Sometimes, if she is 'fortunate', she'll be there when a case chooses to get her boyfriend involved. As much as she loves the spark in his eye and admires the magnificence of watching his intelligence at work, nothing kills a romantic mood more than having police officers involved.
So here she is, at the end of a miserable December, standing on her own at the entrance to Haido's largest park. In her hand she has a decadent take-away cup of hot cocoa from their favourite café. She pulls tight the warm red coat she is swaddled in, stamps her fur lined boots as she tries to get more warmth flowing to her toes. She lifts the wrist of her glove to check the time. Sixteen minutes. Late again. She has left her phone at home this time, unable to tolerate another call or text telling her she'll spend another day without him.
Winter used to be her favourite season. Shiho loved the fashions of it: the long coats, warm layers and festive colours. The choice of what gloves to wear, which scarf to drape around her shoulders; it used to excite her. Now, even the sweet cinnamon of her favourite hot drink seems to taste bitter.
Shiho thinks back to when she used to be Sherry. She's given up on waiting, instead strolling through the park as she seeks a distraction from her melancholy. Young foolish Sherry had been all about embracing the loneliness. She would go on long walks like this one, watching for the odd squirrel or just admiring the patterns of the frost forming on various glass panes, contemplating the then appreciated futility of human endeavour. It would feel nice to watch the sky turn pink, the top of the trees glinting as stars started to show, only partially obscured by the clouding from her breath.
Now, the winter cold just reminds her that the warm arms she longs for are still not grasping her shoulders, promising to encircle her waist as he pulls her close. She remembers how long Ran spent waiting for Shinichi's return, before finally deciding to move on. Shiho doesn't have half of that angel's patience. Whatever does Shinichi see in her in the first place? Does he see anything in her, or are they together simply out of some bizarre sense of guilt on his part? See, Shiho is needy. It's why she's spent so long trying to avoid getting attached: Shiho knew she wouldn't be able to cope without them once she knew what it was like to be loved with no limits.
Great, now Shiho is crying. It doesn't help that she has reached the corner of the park where she can see the roof of the Haido City Hotel, faint snowfall starting to glide its way down from the heavens. She's unsure how long she spends with teardrops trailing down her frigid cheeks. Her mind revisits that night, how tense it was. She remembers how beautiful the laying snow had been that week, and thinking how fitting it would be if she were to end things there and then...
"There you are!"
Just like back then, the words he speaks startle her out of her torpor. She squeaks as warm arms, for once wearing an actual weather appropriate jacket, encircle her out of the blue. Her empty cocoa cup drops to the floor as she whirls in the embrace to stare at the man she thought wasn't coming.
Eyes wide, Shiho stares up at Shinichi's face. The dopey grin, the intensity of his deep blue gaze, the warmth of his breath on her cheek. She frowns, schooling her features into her best poker face to avoid pouting.
"Took your time." Her voice is deliberately cold. Like her heart has felt for the last half hour. Now it feels like a furnace.
Shinichi's smile falters, but he is still smirking as he takes a step back. His un-gloved hands return to his pockets. He has no right to look so cool and collected when she is trying to dress him down.
"If someone," he says, "had been checking their phone at all, they'd know I was delayed by a train incident, not a case for once. In fact," Shinichi steps closer, his lips tantalizingly close to hers, "I refused three different cases on the way here."
Who is this, and what have they done with Shinichi? Could this be the creepy fan who got face surgery that Shinichi mentioned once? No, it can't be. No one else can make her blush like this.
"Do you want some kind of medal for that?" She asks, her fluster drowning out the intended sarcasm. Shinichi's chuckle is the only response he gives before he leans in and kisses her.
It's chaste, really. A soft press of his lips to hers, the tender warmth of his breath, the feel of his smile as she relaxes and presses her lips back against his... But after the long spell of barely getting enough time together for more than a peck on the cheek, this feels like the first time all over again. Only she knows the smell of him now, she knows what it's like to taste more, and she wants.
But not here. Not out in the cold, in the open. Not when she's still trying to pretend to be mad at him.
"Do you want to come home to mine?" Shinichi says, his cheeks rosy and smile near loopy. Clearly, she's not the only one who has been missing kisses. "I'll order in, we can watch a film, try some of that awful popcorn flavour that you swear by." He teases her as he pulls her hands to his chest, awaiting her reply.
It just takes a nod before he leads her away, the cold and loneliness left behind, replaced by the promise of warmth, a lazy night in, and maybe, if Shinichi is so lucky, the promise of rumpled sheets.
By Doyle, if this is what a lazy day feels like every time, Shinichi is going to make a point of giving himself a holiday from solving cases more often. It's the second morning in a row that he wakes up to a warm bed and tangled limbs, wandering hands helping to rouse him from dream land to the living dream that is having Shiho all to himself with no distractions. He is now recovering, sheets well and truly rumpled, his mind full of the domestic bliss both from the day before and current. He can smell cinnamon and chocolate, Shiho making them a small breakfast to enjoy together in bed before they go rinse off again and most likely enjoy another day of enjoying books together, watching the odd show, maybe another round of board games with a walk to the park.
It's not going to last. He knows that. He can already feel the itch to go back out into the world to find some mystery to sink his teeth into. He can tell that Shiho knows this too, the happy smile on her face tinted with a hint of melancholy as she brushed his sweaty bangs off his forehead earlier.
He will do better, he has to. Going over a month without being able to just enjoy being with the woman he loves without something getting in the way was hell. And frankly? She deserves better. Always has. It took him far too long to figure out what she meant to him. He doesn't intend to waste the affection she chooses to share with him.
Shinichi hears the clanking of cups being placed on a tray and sits up. As he adjusts the sheets, he spies the snow falling again out the window. There should be enough laying by now for them to play in the snow if Shiho feels in the mood. Shinichi would like that. He smiles, hearing Shiho chuckle as she enters the room.
"You're grinning like a western boy on Christmas," she says, smirking as she sits next to him, sliding the tray onto his lap. Shinichi glimpses down at the tray: two mugs of hot cocoa coated in cinnamon and cream, a shared plate of pastries and... Shiho leans into his ear and whispers. "Merry Christmas, Shinichi."
Stunned, Shinichi looks back up from the wrapped box to the woman at his side. Her silk dressing gown is loose, the clear view of her cleavage heating up his cheeks further as he seeks out her eyes. They're positively sparkling, her smile wide as she kisses his cheek.
"Thank you for the best Christmas present a girl could hope for," she adds, sliding her legs under the sheets and gesturing towards the box. "Now it's your turn."
"I-" Shinichi is at a loss for words. They don't really celebrate Christmas, though he knows it is customary for couples to exchange gifts before the marathon of New Year's with family. "For me?"
She hums and nods, grabbing a cup of hot chocolate and leaning her head against his shoulder. Gingerly, he picks up the small box and tugs at the ribbon encircling it. The wrapping quickly reveals a jewellery box that he pops open effortlessly. He gapes at the contents, eyes glued to the note attached in the lid.
"I considered," Shiho whispers, "making a puzzle of it, and having you solve the clues before giving this to you, but... We both know how slow you are about anything to do with feelings." She sounds smug. She's not wrong, but...
"Is this your subtle way of telling me you want to move in with me?" Shinichi snorts. The gentle punch against his arm more than confirms his suspicions. Clearly, Professor Agasa's improving love life is having a negative effect on Shiho's current living arrangements. He's a little disappointed that he won't be the one doing the asking, but the fluttering feeling in his chest tells him there's only one true answer to the question. "Of course, I'll marry you."
Shinichi grabs Shiho and kisses her deeply, the answering whine of delight as she struggles not to spill her drink has Shinichi breaking away with a giggle, an honest-to-Doyle giggle.
"Well then," Shiho retorts, cheeks blazing and smile threatening to become beaming. She wisely puts her mug on the side table. "Are you going to put it on?"
Shinichi glances at the ring, simple, silver and sturdy looking. It's magnificent. He moves the tray to his own bedside table and smirks.
"Make me," he challenges.
The tussle and embrace that follow, as Shiho finally manages to put the ring on his ring finger, is more than worth the somehow cold fingered tickles he suffers in the process.
He couldn't be happier. This is a lazy day he will never forget.
FIN