Hi guys! Thanks for being here. Here is the 6th chapter, set 2 MONTHS after the last one. It's the longest chapter I've ever written (and I think I won't write anything longer in the future). Have fun reading!
Conan got awakened by his phone's ringtone, he had forgot to turn it off before sleeping. The sound didn't last long, a sign that he had received only a text message. He cracked an eye open and determined that it was still dark outside, but not too much, meaning that it was early morning. He delicately extended his arm to the bedside table, where his smartphone was, trying not to move too much in order not to wake up his wife who was sleeping almost entirely on the top of him, embracing him.
He grabbed his phone and turned on the screen, narrowing his open eye because of the blinding light coming from it. He checked the time, it was 5:13 am. 'Who is the idiot who texts at this time of the morning? This better be about something important'.
The sender was his mother, who was currently staying in San Francisco with his father. Conan frowned, 'Okaa-san... well... I guessed that it was an idiot... did she forget about the time zone?'.
'Shin-chan, don't forget what day is today'
Conan made a doubtful expression. 'What day is today... It's not my birthday, also because in that case, she wouldn't have reminded me of that in order to keep the surprise effect... Ai's birthday was a few months ago... Akemi's death date is... no wait, Okaa-san can't know when her sister died... it's not the day we defeated the Black Organization because making me remember of that wouldn't make any sense...'
His thoughts got stopped by a hum emitted by Ai, she was becoming conscious.
"Hmmmm... Already awake?" she mumbled with a sleepy voice without opening her eyes.
"Shhhhh... It's still early, come back to sleep" he whispered and stroked her hair. She nodded in agreement and adjusted her head's position on his chest, then sighed peacefully and fell asleep again many seconds later.
Conan turned off the phone and put it back to its place. 'I'll think about this later and maybe... ask Okaa-san directly... this isn't the right moment, maybe sleeping on it will help me' he decided, then locked his arms around Ai and intertwined his hands on her back. His mind also went back to unconsciousness not too much time later.
When Conan woke up a pair of hours later, he felt a weird sensation, as if he was lighter than usual. He opened his eyes and saw that Ai wasn't on the bed anymore, but before getting up she had covered him up to his neck with the blanket; he smiled. He sat up straight and yawned rubbing his eyelids. The clock on the bedside table showed 7:30 am. He could barely hear the sound of water flowing down from the bathroom, suggesting that Ai was likelytaking a shower.
He remembered the weird message that his mother had sent to him a few hours earlier, he still couldn't figure out what she was talking about. He acknowledged the fact that he was too lazy to play Yukiko's games, so he concluded that calling her was the best thing to do. He turned on his phone and put his decision into practice.
"Hello?"
"Hi Okaa-san"
"Shin-chan! Awwwww, you made your mother happy, finally you're calling me!"
"Actually, I'm calling you only to know your reason for texting me at 5am. Did you forget the time zone?" Conan asked gruffly.
"So this is my reward for trying to help you?" Yukiko acted dramatically as usual.
"If for 'helping me' you mean 'waking me up and ruining my sleep', then yes" Conan answered with annoyance, "so now care to tell me what did you mean with 'don't forget what day is today'?"
"This is not good, Shin-chan, you already forgot?"
"Forgot what?" Conan asked in confusion.
"I'll give you a clue, try to remember, okay?" Yukiko cleared her throat, Conan was waiting for her to continue, "Awwwwww, my Shin-chan is growing so fast!" she acted as she was exclaiming between tears.
"And this should be a clue?" Conan questioned, irritated by his mother's acting.
"Doesn't it remind you of anything? Think harder" she said in an impish tone.
Conan hummed while rubbing his chin with a hand and examining his mother's words. Many seconds later, the solution hit him, he remembered when his mother pronounced those words with that tone, it was right after he and Ai were declared as husband and wife, the day of their wedding.
"Wait, don't tell me that today is–"
"Happy first anniversary, Shin-chan!" Yukiko exclaimed cheerfully.
"Oh geez, how the hell did I forget about this?!" Conan cried out in frustration covering the upper half of his face with his free hand, he couldn't believe he'd forgotten such an important day.
"How the hell did you forget about what?" a familiar voice suddenly asked loudly right after the sound of the door opening.
"Is it Ai-chan?" Yukiko asked in a whisper.
"I'll call you later Okaa-san, bye" Conan hang up the phone and looked at Ai.
"So? What did you forget?" Ai questioned in an accusing voice and a raised eyebrow.
"W-who? I?" he asked back nervously.
"No, actually I was talking with a Martian who had just landed in Halase's backyard" her voice was even more hostile, "who do you think I was talking to?" she crossed her arms at her chest.
Conan swallowed hard and scratched the back of his head, sweat flowing down on his forehead, "I-I forgot..." he paused for some seconds, "I forgot to call Okaa-san" he came up with an excuse and laughed nervously.
"But if you never care about calling her?" Ai went on with the interrogation, starting to grow even more suspicious.
"T-that's w-why I forgot, I-I should call her once in a while" he was stuttering, wishing for her to give up, but for his bad luck, she didn't.
"So who were you talking to at the phone?"
"I was talking to..." he looked at the clock, "Wow! Look at the time! We'll be late for school!" he desperately attempted to change the topic and free himself from her questions.
"Idiot, we don't have school today, it's Sunday" she pointed out, "in fact, we're at your house if you haven't noticed"
"Oh right! This must be the thing I forgot about!"
"But didn't you just say that the thing you forgot about was calling your mother?" she smirked.
"I-I was wrong" he laughed nervously again, "So why are you already up if there's no school?" he finally took his chance to change the topic and save himself from his wife's dangerous interrogation.
"Idiot, did you forget that the kids are coming to Hakase's house in half an hour? Later we have to go to help that Ayumi-chan's friend to find her cat" she approached the closet and took some daily clothes from it.
"So we should head to Hakase's house and have breakfast" Conan suggested.
"Or else we could welcome them here so they would discover that we spend the night together, if you prefer," she said with her usual sarcasm and a bit of bitterness, shifting her gaze to him and sending him a death glare.
"N-no, of course not!"
She turned back to the closet, "So what are you waiting for? Do you want me to dress you? Hurry up!" she ordered.
He blushed at her second question, clenched his teeth, and scratched the back of his head. 'Not good, she's already in a bad mood, I'll probably be dead by the end of the day'.
It was almost lunch time.
After helping Ayumi's friend to find her cat, the two shrunken adults were walking back home from the center of Beika. There was an uncomfortable silence between them since Conan didn't dare to say anything to avoid questions from Ai that could probably lead her to discover that he had forgotten their first wedding anniversary.
He was pondering what he should do to fix the situation, 'Maybe I should find an excuse and buy her a gift, but she wouldn't let me go alone, she seems to be suspicious... Actually, she neither talked about our anniversary, maybe she's waiting for me to do it... Is it possible that she forgot about that too? That would be good for me... or not? That would mean that she doesn't give much importance to that day... but wait, I forgot it too... Damn it! What a situation!'. He was getting nervous, a worried look was printed on his face, and he was sweating from his forehead.
"Why do you look worried and nervous?" Ai's cold voice suddenly brought him back to reality.
"W-who's nervous? Not me" he replied in a hurry.
"What the hell has gotten into you today?" she ignored his previous answer, taking for granted the fact that he was lying.
'Damn it, why does she have to torture me?! It seems that she's doing it on purpose' he mentally slapped himself, trying to regain some composure.
"So?" she seemed to be getting impatient to hear his answer as if she was ready to slit his throat as soon as he would respond.
He gulped, "I-I... what do you mean?" he tried to act as he didn't know what she was talking about.
"Don't mock me, you didn't even make your deductions show when we found the cat, you have been completely useless and absent, forcing me to do all the work to help the kids" she pointed out sharply and crossed her arms at her chest.
"I-I... w-well I..." he paused, she waited for him to go on. He suddenly grabbed her wrist, "I'm starting to get hungry, let's head home" he started running towards home, dragging her with him.
"Hello, Ayumi-chan?" Ai answered the phone call.
"Ai-chan, would you and Conan-kun like to come with us to the cinema tonight to see the latest movie of Gomera?" Ayumi invited. Conan approached Ai and leaned towards her to try to hear the conversation
"I'm sorry, Ayumi-chan, but I and Edogawa-kun have to help Hakase with something" Ai politely denied while glaring at Conan, who immediately pulled a few steps back from her.
"Okay, Ai-chan, have a nice evening then, bye" Ayumi greeted with a bit of disappointment and hang up.
"I didn't know that Hakase needed our help" Conan commented, feigning curiosity, already having a bad presentiment about what was gonna happen.
"He doesn't need it in fact"
"So why–"
"We have to talk" she stated, interrupting him abruptly.
'This is not good' he thought, perceiving her anger from the tone of her voice and the look on her face. He bit his lower lip.
"Don't you have anything to say?" she questioned and intensified her death glare, her hands on her hips.
"Well... Ai... I..." he hesitated to admit the truth. 'If I don't spill it, she will persecute me until this day ends'. He gulped hard and shifted his pupils away from her face. He started to sweat and his heartbeat boosted its speed. He clenched his teeth, closed his eyes and got himself ready to receive a slap or something like that.
"Ai, I-"
"Forgot that today is our wedding anniversary" she finished his phrase.
He stayed silent and slightly opened an eye.
"Am I right?" she asked for a confirmation, even though the answer was pretty obvious.
"I'm sorry" he quickly whispered and shut his half-opened eye again.
She observed him silently. He seemed to be worried, scared, guilty, and anxious, and she found his look very cute. She started to chuckle, which evolved into a loud laugher a few seconds later. At that sound, he gave her a puzzled glance, completely astonished by her reaction, which he expected to be more dangerous.
"You should've seen your face," she said while laughing, pointing to his face with her index finger.
"W-what?"
"Today is not our anniversary", she tried to stop laughing but didn't manage.
"W-what?!"
"Our anniversary is tomorrow, your mother only wanted to mock you" she calmed a bit and wiped out a few tears from the corner of her eyes, then let out another quick laugh.
"W-WHAT?!" he exclaimed, his tone started to become angrier now.
"Stop screaming like a broken record" she finally ceased her laugh.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
"Actually, I already did, since I and your mother planned this trick"
"Don't you think you went too far with your childish mocks?!" he scolded against her.
"Now don't play the victim's rule, even though our anniversary is tomorrow you would've also forgotten it, my dear" she pointed out, and she was right.
His look softened, "You're right... probably" he sighed. He didn't exactly know how to feel, whether relieved for avoiding a precocious death or extremely mad to his mother for plotting such a trick. Actually, he was feeling both ways, but he decided to give it a cut and focus on the actual situation.
"So... what do we do now?" he asked hesitantly with awkwardness.
"Since this surprise is gone, if you want, we could anticipate the 'party'" she put a strong accent on the last word, causing him to raise an eyebrow.
"The party?"
She chuckled, "Come with me", she used an arm to gesture to him to follow her, he obliged. The two went to Ai's room, and Conan got surprised by what he saw. On her bed, there were two rectangular small boxes, one was white, and the other one was light grey, and also some of their bent adult daily clothes. The first box was a fancy and elegant style, the second one was metallic and neutral style.
Ai proceeded towards the bed and sat beside the two boxes, then gestured to Conan to sit beside her, which he did. He watched her calmly taking the metallic box in her hands and passing it to him, who hesitantly took it without opening it, wondering about what its possible content could be.
"What are you waiting for? Open it" she exhorted.
Conan took a quick glance at her, then focused back on the object in his hands. He slowly lifted the lid, his eyes widened as he saw two pills in the inside. One pill was half red and half white, while the other one was half blue and half white.
"W-what are these?" he reluctantly asked her.
"Improved versions of the temporary antidote to the APTX4869, it will last sixteen hours, but there are some additional modifications to improve it" she explained.
"S-so this was the project you had been working on for the last weeks" he concluded, still a little confused. Ai simply nodded in answer, watching his reaction.
"B-but why?" he then asked almost in a whisper.
She giggled, "Don't tell me that you don't want to spend some time with me..." she leaned towards his hear, "... in our adult bodies" she whispered seductively, trying to make him understand the implications of spending time together in their true form. It took a few moments for him to realize what she meant.
"So this is what you meant when..."
*FLASHBACK*
2 months ago...
"Be patient, I promise I'll do something about this, you just have to wait".
"But-" she moved a finger on his lips and cut him off.
"Do you trust me?" she asked. He sighed and nodded.
"Good, I promise it won't take too long" she assured him.
*END FLASHBACK*
"... was it back then when you came up with this idea?"
"Excellent deduction" Ai commented with a smirk.
"This is so... unexpected from you" he was still incredulous, he couldn't believe that she did all of that for him.
"Don't fool yourself, this will be the first and last time that we use the antidote to-" she was about to give him a warning but her statement got interrupted by Conan, who wrapped both his arms around her shoulder and pressed his lips hard on her cheek, then buried his face into her neck and started to plant a series of kisses on its surface, whispering numerous 'thank you' against her skin.
She wasn't surprised by his reaction, she knew that he was waiting for an occasion like this, so didn't make any resistance, not until he pushed her back down on the bed with him attached to her.
"You know, we're supposed to do this later tonight, after taking the pills" she noted.
He interrupted his assault on her neck and glanced at her face, "Speaking about the pills, why are they two different colors?"
"I'll tell you later... it's nothing crucial, just a small detail" she smirked at him, who loosened his hold on her shoulder and sat straight again with her. He grabbed the box again after putting it on the bedside table to 'thank' her.
She took it from his hands and handed the half-blue pill to him, "Here, you take this one, I'll take the red one" she took a look at the clock on the bedside table, "It's 5:00 in the afternoon, sixteen hours from now, means that the effect will last until tomorrow at 9:00 in the morning"
"We'll make them be enough" he affirmed jovially.
Ai put the box with her pill still inside it on her lap to free her hands to grab his adult clothes and give them to him, "You go first".
"Why? Don't you want to take it together?" he asked a bit dumbfounded.
"You're my guinea pig, that implies that you must take it before anyone else," she said with her traditional sarcasm.
He rolled his eyes and headed to the bathroom. Once he was inside it, he wore his adult clothes and took off his glasses, then swallowed the pill, getting ready to feel the usual pain. Kudo Shinichi was back. After the transformation ended successfully, he was surprised to notice that it took less time than usual, and the pain was greatly reduced comparing to the other times he took the antidote.
'So this is what she meant saying that this was an improved version' he deduced. He exited the bathroom, finding Ai standing in front of him.
"I see it worked" she proudly stated.
"Yeah... you know what?"
"What?"
"You're so short" he kneeled down to face her directly since she was still in her child form, and the top of her head only reached the high of his hips.
"Move, it's my turn now" she ordered, waiting for him to free the way to the bathroom.
He held her shoulders, "Wait... before taking the antidote, can you let me do something I've always wanted to do very badly?" he delicately requested, his puppy eyes imploring her to say 'yes'.
"O-okay" she stared at him with curiosity.
As soon as he earned her approval, a full grin appeared on his face, he tightly held her hips and lifted her from the floor.
"Oi! Just what–"
"You said 'okay'" he joked and didn't give her the time to reply as he carried her towards the bedroom and leaned her on the bed, not caring about her bewilderment. He started to tickle hard her tiny body and conceded himself the satisfaction to listen to her laugh and to take revenge for all the times she teased him.
"Oi! Stop it!" she begged while laughing. She was instinctively struggling against him to free herself, but she wasn't able to do that because he was in his adult form, while she was only in a thirteen-years-old body, so he easily managed to hold her despite her resistance.
Shinichi giggled childishly, "Someone here is ticklish" he teased while continuing with his fingers' work. After several seconds, he stopped tickling her since he could tell that she was becoming breathless due to the constant laughing. He gave her some time to stop laughing and begin to breathe properly again. Still grinning, he observed her wiping away some tears that were about to escape from her tear glands, she was still inhaling heavily. He leaned down and dropped his head on her chest, shutting his eyes, his ear listening to her heartbeat. He let his face being moved up and down by the rise-and-fall movement of her chest. After several seconds, Ai managed to calm herself down.
"Satisfied now?" she asked.
He responded with a chuckle, not moving an inch from his position.
"Good... get off now, you're heavy" she grunted, holding his head and trying to push it away from her chest. He did what she requested and let her get up.
She flipped her hair to fix it, "What a pervert... playing with a child's body".
"Actually, you're older than me" he handed her the remaining pill from the box.
"Don't say things that could rebound upon you in other circumstances" she warned with a smirk, then took the pill from his hand and made her way to the bathroom.
"I'll wait for you here," he said out loud right when she closed the bathroom's door.
She wore her adult daily clothes and swallowed the pill. After a few minutes, she changed back to her true form. She looked at her reflex in the mirror and squeezed her hands to regain familiarity with her adult body; before then, she had changed back only three times, unlike Shinichi. Ai took a deep sigh and went to open the door.
While pushing it onwards, she heard Shinichi's voice close to her, "Finally, I was starting to get..." his voice trailed off as he could now admire the beauty of Ai's true aspect; of course, she was beautiful also as a child, but obviously more attractive in the body of a twenty-four-years-old woman.
"... worried" he merely finished his previous cut phrase as he looked at her complete figure, his cheeks warmed up. He remained silent and continued to stare at her.
"Seems that the Great Detective has lost his ability to speak" she stepped closer to him.
"A-Ai... I... n-no I mean y-you are..." he stammered, she covered his mouth with a hand and chuckled, amused by his being clumsy and shy.
"Just shut up and come with me" she whispered and headed again to the bedroom, being followed by him.
"If you take me out for a date..." she took the other box from the bed, "... I may forgive you for forgetting about our anniversary and not having a gift for me", she turned back to face him.
"A d-date?"
She nodded and opened the box, revealing their wedding rings, the last time they had worn them was on the day they got married.
"A date as husband..." Ai took his ring and made it slip on his left ring finger, then did the same with hers and finished her phrase in sync with her actions, "... and wife", she then closed the box and put it back to its previous place.
He was still speechless as he couldn't believe that Ai was capable of being and acting this way. Usually, he would be, or rather try to be the romantic one between the two, but most of the times his efforts would be penalized by his difficulty to understand feelings and emotions. Now he realized that she had managed to be romantic very confidently, as if she was used to acting in that way.
"So?" she was waiting for his response, although she could perfectly tell what was going on into his brain by looking at his stunned expression.
Since he didn't know what to say, he let his actions speak for him and leaned to kiss her. She shut her eyes and let herself dive into his passion, responding to the kiss.
"So? Where do you bring me to? I leave to you the task to propose something," she told him after he pulled back, their foreheads were knocked together, his hands affectionately cupping her face.
"Hmmmm... Cinema?" he asked, caressing her cheeks with his thumbs.
"Hmmmm... Approved" she agreed and gave him a short but slow kiss.
Shinichi didn't move an inch, he enjoyed the atmosphere and their close proximity, he could feel the air from her exhales tickling his neck, sending shivers down through his spine. He continued to draw small patterns on her cheeks, concentrating all his senses to the feeling of her soft skin under his fingers.
"You know... we should move" she noted with a smooth voice, adding a bit of her sarcasm, but not too much to ruin the moment.
"Let's stay like this for a few minutes, then we can go" he suggested, receiving an approving nod from Ai.
Conan and Ai, or rather Shinichi and Shiho, were several steps away from the main entrance of the cinema, walking hand in hand.
"So this is how it feels like" Shinichi broke the silence between them.
"What?" Shiho asked and looked at him.
"I mean... holding hands in public" he gave her hand a soft squeeze.
"And how does it feel?" she smiled at him.
"Mmmm... your hand is so... cold"
Her smile disappeared and she gave him a bored glance, her hand withdrew from his, "Well sorry if I didn't have the time to warm it up in the microwave"
"Hey! Come on!" he protested against her gesture and grabbed her hand again.
"It was you who said that my hand was cold" she retorted sharply.
"Well sorry, I didn't mean to offend you..." he apologized, also with a bored tone, "it's just that I can't understand why your body's temperature is always under the average"
"You sure know how to devastate a romantic atmosphere"
"And you sure know how to make such a big deal out of that"
They engaged one of their ordinary arguments.
"You're the most stupid person I know" she fought.
"And you're the most susceptible person I know" he fought back.
"Worst husband ever"
"Worst wife ever"
They glared at each other, their faces were so close that they could feel their respective breaths mixing together. They both closed their eyes and started to chuckle in sync, signing the end of their short fight.
Shiho leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed in contentment. She liked arguing with him in that way as much as he liked it too. It was one of their ways, however unconventional, to express their affection for each other.
"So... what movie would you like to see?" Shinichi asked.
"Hmmm... you decide... but exclude crime, because living with you implies solving murders every time we go out, and also romance since my stomach is sensitive" she exposed her conditions and conceded him the liberty of choosing the movie.
"Mmmm... okay"
"I still can't believe that you choose the newest movie of the saga of Gomera," Shiho said to Shinichi while entering the screening room.
"Hey! It was you who told me to choose the movie, I went random, excluding crime and romance, and it happened to be this one" Shinichi pointed out to defend himself.
"Fine. Now, where do we sit?" she asked looking around. All the front rows were already taken since they hadn't made any reservations.
"Here" he led her to the last row of seats, which was completely empty.
"Why right here?"
"You know... the movie is not my main interest" he answered grinning, putting a strand of her strawberry blond hair behind her ear.
She chuckled and sat right beside the hallway seat, which got occupied by Shinichi. They looked at each other and held their hands on the armrest between their seats.
Shinichi leaned his face to whisper something into her ear, "Hey, if you get scared by special effects, don't hesitate to cling onto me" he assured her adding a bit of teasing tone.
"Me? Scared by the special effects? No way" Shiho affirmed proudly.
"I remember that time we were at the cinema with the kids when you and Ayumi-chan death-gripped both my arms because you were scared" he teased more.
"By the earthquake, idiot, we were scared by the earthquake" she elucidated, her eyebrows automatically furrowed.
"Okay okay, but my exhortation is still valid"
"Thanks, I'm adding it to the list of things-that-will-never-happen" she diverted her gaze from him and focused on the big screen in front of them.
Seeing that he had lost this little battle, he opted for one last little brickbat, "Ungrateful woman"
She didn't lose the opportunity to debate, "Cocky detective"
The movie ended two hours later.
Shinichi stared at the head resting on his shoulder, a scene that had become obvious as time passed. When they watched a movie or something like that together, it was rare for Ai not to fall asleep on her husband's shoulder, it was almost instinctive, as if she was really supposed to do that. It didn't matter what movie they were watching, it could have even been a war movie or something extremely noisy, she would always fall asleep on his shoulder, which was now used to support her head's weight.
Shiho's right hand was still intertwined with his, while the other one was holding his arm, or rather resting on it. He was feeling sorry because he now had to wake her up.
"Ai, wake up" he whispered gently and squeezed the hand he was holding, also leading his other hand on the one which was on his arm, giving it a little shake.
Her senses seemed to awaken as she slowly opened her eyes. She yawned and lifted her head from his shoulder, using a hand to rub one of her eyelids.
"Hmmm... already ended?" her voice was still gruff from sleep.
"Actually, it lasted two hours, but you slept for half of its length so..." he informed her and stood up from his seat, she did the same after a few moments.
They were about to leave when some familiar voices resonated into their ears.
"The movie was really good!"
"Yeah, and the special effects too"
"I was a bit scary at some point"
'Damn it, I forgot that the kids were also going to watch this movie' Shinichi mentally blamed himself for neglecting that. Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko were walking down the same hallway where he and Shiho were, and inevitably noticed something familiar in them.
"Hey, who are those two? They look kinda familiar" Mitsuiko observed, a few steps away from the two adults.
"Right, it's as if we already saw them before" Genta agreed.
The kids got closer to Shinichi and Shiho, all three staring at them with a questioning look.
"Excuse us, have we ever met before?" Ayumi asked them politely.
"N-no, I don't think so, let's go" Shinichi hurriedly replied and grabbed Shiho's hand, but before they could move a step, Ayumi interrupted them.
"Ohhh! I know you," she exclaimed, pointing at Shinichi, "Aren't you Shinichi-oniisan, Ran-onēsan's childhood friend? The detective Conan-kun always talks about?"
Actually, when Conan solved a case, sometimes he still used Shinichi as excuse to give an explanation for his extraordinary and uncommon deductive and knowing skills.
Ayumi continued with her questions, "Ran-onēsan told us you had gone to live abroad, right?"
Shiho glanced at him as to intimate 'Say something', since he was still mute and nervous, and Mitsuhiko and Genta were growing suspicious.
"Y-yeah" Shinichi gulped hard, hoping that that single word he managed to pronounce would satisfy Ayumi's curiosity.
"And who's this woman? She also looks kinda familiar" Genta noted.
Mitsuhiko rubbed his chin, and after a few seconds raised his index finger, "I know who she is!" he exclaimed.
Both Shinichi and Shiho raised an eyebrow and held their breath, it was impossible that he knew about her and Ai being the same person.
"She looks like he woman who saved us from that fire in the Gunma's forest many years ago" Mitsuhiko clarified.
Shiho sighed in relief.
Ayumi's face brightened up, "You're right, Mitsuhiko!" she praised him, then turned to Shiho's direction, "Thank you for saving us back then! We wouldn't be alive anymore if it wasn't for you" she greeted her, Mitsuhiko and Genta did the same.
"You're welcome" Shiho feigned a slight British accent and then quickly winked at Shinichi, who instantly understood her strategy.
"So how do you know each other?" Ayumi asked them.
"Actually, she's my wife," Shinichi wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gently puller her closer, "she can speak Japanese because she lived here for a period, but she's originally British, we met abroad on a case many years ago, after I had moved away from Japan, right?" he looked at her asking for a confirmation of his statements, which she gave with a simple nod.
"May we know your name?" Ayumi asked.
"My name is..." Shiho took some seconds to think before answering, Shinichi had just said that she was British, so telling them her real name would mean stimulating Ayumi's curiosity and having to give more explanations.
"Elena, my name is Elena" she used her mother's name, who sounded pretty foreign to them.
Shinichi's eyes widened a bit, but then rapidly came back to their normal shape. He smiled and gave a warm squeeze to her shoulder.
"It's a beautiful name" Mitsuhiko praised shyly, blushing a bit since he actually liked her, seeing her very nice figure.
"You know, Elena-san, you are very similar to a friend of ours" Genta observed, obviously referring to Ai.
"Right! You look like the adult version of Ai-chan!" Ayumi agreed enthusiastically.
Shiho chuckled, "Who knows, maybe we're far relatives"
"We should go now, remember that we have to leave Japan in a few hours" Shinichi reminded her, who nodded.
Shiho leaned down to face the kids directly, then placed her hands on Ayumi's shoulders.
"It was really nice to meet you," she said to her, also glancing at Genta and Mitsuhiko.
"It was really nice for me—" Mitsuhiko quickly corrected himself, "I mean for us too" he nervously scratched the back of his head as his blush increased.
"But before we go, could you do a favor to us?" Shiho asked gently, they nodded, "Don't tell anyone that you've met us, please" she used a low voice. Shinichi watched her amused.
"Okay" the three kids answered in sync.
"Thanks" she stood up and lightly waved her hand at them before turning away with Shinichi and starting to walk towards the exit.
"Hopefully we'll meet again," Mitsuhiko said out loud, causing his two friends to stare at him.
Before leaving the room, Shinichi and Shiho took a last short glance back at the kids' direction. They both smiled as they observed Genta and Ayumi jokingly singing the phrase 'Mitsuhiko is in love' on repeat, making him blush terribly.
"Dinner?" Shinichi asked.
"Yeah"
Shinichi and Shiho went to a restaurant not too far from the cinema. He chose an expensive one since he wanted the best for this special occasion. It was situated on the last floor of a palace, from there, they could watch such a romantic view of the city of Tokyo. The sun had already fallen and the sky was dark, but the city lights managed to compensate and make the picture equally stunning.
The table for two where they were sit was right next to the large wall windows, allowing them to easily admire the view, and the candle set in the middle of the table made everything more romantic.
"Did you like dinner?" Shinichi asked her.
"Yeah... the dinner, the view, the atmosphere, us... everything was perfect..." she rested her chin on her palm and take a look at the view.
"But?" he could discern from her tone that there was a 'but'.
"But the thing that amazed me more is that..." she smirked at him before finishing her sentence, "...your corpse-magnet's effect hasn't manifested yet" she mocked with sarcasm.
He scowled at her and leaned his temple on the back of his hand, "And then you say that I am the one who ruins the atmosphere" he mumbled in annoyance, but she still heard him clearly.
She simply snickered and shifted her head towards the window again. Even though she was looking at the view of the city, her gaze was lost somewhere, as she wasn't really interested in that.
He noticed her thoughtful expression, "What you're thinking about now?"
"I'm thinking about what happened with the kids before... it's already been six years since they came into my life, or rather since I came into theirs" she continued to stare at the window.
"Yeah... They're growing, aren't them?" he also gazed in the same direction as her.
She nodded, "You know, before, when I talked to them, I really felt like their mother"
"That would imply me to be their father" he determined.
She chuckled, her eyes met his, "Yeah... even if sometimes you behave like you were their same age" she teased.
"Well... you also know how to be childish, when it's convenient for you" he debated.
She chuckled, he was right, sometimes having the body of a kid had its advantages, and she had learned well how to use them at her own benefit.
"Being a kid has also made you improve your talent to lie" she pointed out, "When we were with the kids, I only had to give you an incentive by simulating a slight foreign accent and you immediately came up with a complete story of our relationship, I'm impressed" she complimented with mockery.
"Who knows who's been influencing me for all this time"
"Are you calling me a liar? How dare you?" she jokingly pretended to be offended.
He hummed, "Maybe... also because if you hadn't been a liar... you wouldn't have induced me to think that today was our anniversary when in fact it isn't"
"I didn't induce you to think of anything, my dear... I only indirectly gave credit to what you were already thinking" she rectified.
Shinichi stayed silent, thinking about what to retort not to lose again against her, eyes closed to avoid her pungent gaze. After acknowledging the fact that he wasn't succeeding to find a proper comeback, he took a deep sing of resignation and added that small discussion to his boundless list of 'arguments lost against the evil-eyed yawny girl'.
She perceived his surrender and smirked in triumph, adding that small discussion to her boundless list of 'arguments won against the corpse-magnet'.
They both let some minutes pass in silence to restore a calm and more relaxed aura between them.
"Hey Ai" he called her softly after a while, his gaze was directed towards the window.
Shiho hummed as to tell him to continue with what he was going to say.
"Do you believe that it's already been a year since... you know... we got married?" he asked with a deep voice.
"Actually, it's been 364 days, so not a year yet"
This time he didn't get nervous because of her sarcastic comment and just giggled, then regained his thoughtful expression.
"Okay but, seriously, did you enjoy being with me for all this time?" he asked, now focusing his eyes on her.
"You know... being with you can be really tiring sometimes, you attract crime in an unbelievable way and forget about everything else when you have to solve a case, you're naive and dense whenever it comes to feelings, you can be stubborn and careless and put yourself into danger..." she paused, she could see Shinichi pouting more and more at every her statement, which made her smile and laugh in her mind.
Shiho gently covered his hand on the table with hers, causing him to remove his actual facial expression and to replace it with an astounded one.
"... but..." she continued, "... I already knew all of this when I vowed to love you and be by your side forever..." he blushed at her words, she sounded so sincere and profound.
"Ai, I–"
"I haven't finished yet" she interrupted him, "Before this year, I had never slept in someone's arms, I had never felt so warm and comfortable, and I had never been... happier... this is..." he observed her who was trying to find the right words to conclude her answer, he fought the urge to kiss her because he knew that she didn't like being interrupted during speeches like this.
"This is... the life I've always wanted" she concluded with her delicate and warm smile, the smile she reserved only for her husband.
He stared intensely at her, touched by her words, and unconsciously moved his free hand to caress her face. He was about to lean forward and kiss her when a scream resonated in the whole restaurant.
"HELP! THERE'S A CORPSE HERE"
Shinichi mentally slapped himself and covered his face with a hand in frustration, mumbling a low 'why now?'. His famous bad luck, or rather a curse, had occurred again.
Shiho sighed, "I knew it wouldn't last", commented and got out of her chair, "Let's go and quickly solve this case, Sherlock"
"Kudo-kun! It's been years since I last saw you!" Megure joyfully greeted Shinichi after arriving on the crime scene with many police agents, including Sato and Takagi.
"Megure-keibu! Nice to see you again" Shinichi greeted back a bit nervously, actually he had met him a few days before on another crime scene, but as Conan.
"So, what are you doing here? I knew you were somewhere out of Japan" Megure asked friendly, patting his shoulders.
"Actually, I'm leaving very soon, but this is not important now" Shinichi glanced at Shiho, who was at his side but half a meter behind him. He reached to wrap an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, obtaining a gasp in surprise from her.
"Megure-keibu, I'm pleased to introduce you to Mrs. Kudo" he affirmed proudly and smiled at her astonished expression, especially when she quickly blinked several times at him, as to ask 'why did you do that?'. At that moment, he wished he could tell the entire world's population that she was his wife, especially because in their normal life they had to keep it secret from everyone. He was having a feeling of pure satisfaction.
"Very nice to meet you, I've known Kudo-kun since he was a kid, and I'm also a great friend of his father" Megure greeted offering her a handshake, which she politely accepted.
"Very honored, Shinichi had already told me about you," Shiho said and smiled at the inspector.
"Megure-keibu, I'm sorry to interrupt this moment, but we have a case to solve" Takagi whispered to his ear.
"R-right, let's go" Megure stuttered a bit from the embarrassment and headed towards the dead body.
Shinichi and Shiho also began to investigate. Sato and Takagi watched them interrogating the main suspects and searching for clues, nothing different comparing to when they solved a case as Conan and Ai, they were partners.
"Hey Wataru, don't they remind you of someone?" Sato whispered to Takagi.
Takagi rubbed his chin, "Yeah... but I don't understand who"
"Mrs. Kudo huh?" Shiho squeezed Shinichi's hand.
They were walking various meters away from home. There wasn't a soul in the street, only them, also because it was almost midnight. Until then, they hadn't talked much while coming back to their neighborhood, except about the case they had just solved.
"Yeah, don't you like it?" he asked innocently.
She nodded in response, then added, "It's just that... I'm not used to be called like that".
He awkwardly scratched the back of his head, he wasn't quite sure about what to say to make the conversation go on. Silence followed for the next minutes until they found themselves in front of the Kudo Mansion's gate.
"I'm sorry" Shinichi muttered while grabbing his keys from his pants' pocket.
"Sorry for what?" Shiho asked, puzzled.
"For ruining the atmosphere... you know... with the case... maybe it's true that I'm a corpse-magnet" he opened the gate and started to walk slowly towards the main door, Shiho went on his side.
"Indeed," she showed a bit of her sarcasm, then her expression softened, "but I'm used to it, and solving cases together is part of our life as partners, don't you think so?"
"Yeah but... I feel like it ruined the moment we were having" he looked down at the floor.
"Mmmm... in this case..." a smirk found its way on her face.
He didn't have the time to reply as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his face closer, pressing her lips tightly against his cheek, her chest gently bumping against his side. He gasped at her sudden action and blushed furiously as she continued to kiss his cheek intensely.
"What are you doing?" he asked in confusion, and a bit of embarrassment.
"I'm restoring the atmosphere..." she whimpered into his cheek, "... now collaborate" she ordered.
"But— wait—" Shinichi was incapable of forming a proper phrase as the physical contact was gradually short-circuiting his brain. He didn't do anything to her because they weren't inside his house yet. He hardly managed to take a few steps towards the entrance as she aggressively gripped the collar of his shirt and pushed his back against the door, moving her lips from his cheek and leading them on his mouth, brushing them on the short stretch of skin which separated the two parts of his face.
Shinichi gasped in surprise, flabbergasted by her manners, unintentionally allowing her to swoop her tongue inside his mouth. Although his body was practically pleading his mind to respond to her stimulation, he couldn't satisfy it, not before entering the house. Luckily for him, the key was already in his hand, he just had to insert it into the keyhole. His hand was trembling because of his growing impatience, so the key continuously patted the area around its spot without entering it.
Meanwhile, Shiho's fingers reached to open the first button of his shirt, then the second one and the third one, and so on.
His eyes went instantly wide, "Oi! Wait!" he exclaimed into her mouth and tried to break the kiss, but her lips were determined not to let his go.
"Hurry up" she ordered as her fingers continued what they were doing.
Shivers and strings of pleasure flowed through his spine as the last button got opened and she slipped her hands under his shirt, sensually rubbing on the skin of his torso, causing him to blush even more and curse his hand for not being able to insert that key into the keyhole.
"Finally" Shiho whimpered as she heard the sound of the key turning and unlocking the door after many Shinichi's attempts.
As soon as the door was opened, she guided them both into the house, sliding his shirt off of him at the same time and making it fall on the floor.
"Wait" he mumbled into her mouth as she was still kissing him, then extended his arm and grabbed the doorknob, shutting the door, a bit abruptly. With his other hand, which was still holding the key, he locked the door, succeeding at the first attempt this time.
"And now..." he said smoothly as she encircled his neck with her arms, "... I'm all yours".
"Yusaku, they're coming" Yukiko called her husband in a whisper, spying the returning couple through Agasa's residence's windows with some help by her binoculars.
Yusaku approached her, "It's late, they're not kids anymore", he glanced at Shinichi and Shiho, "Even physically... basing on what I see"
Yukiko snickered, "Hey, look," she told him as she saw Shiho kissing her husband's cheek.
"Mmmm... don't you think we should give them some privacy tonight? It's their first time, right? Let them have fun" he exhorted her.
Yukiko ignored his advice, "How nice to be young— Oh, things are becoming interesting" she commented intriguingly as she watched Shiho backing Shinichi against the door.
"Ups..." she chuckled as she saw her already starting to undress him even before entering the house.
"Aggressive..." Yukiko added when Shiho pushed them both into the Kudo Mansion.
"Come on, the show has ended" Yusaku held Yukiko's shoulder and gently dragged her away from the window, but not without hearing an 'Uffff' from her.
7:30 am, the next morning...
"Yukiko, where are you going?" Yusaku asked, having just spotted his wife heading towards Hakase's house's door.
Yukiko winked at him, "I just wanna go to check on our little lovebirds" she answered and went out before even giving him the chance to debate.
Yukiko used her key to unlock the Kudo Mansion's main door and stepped in. She giggled at the view of Shinichi's shirt laying on the floor. She proceeded towards the stairs where she found a female informal blazer, presumably Shiho's one, her grin went wider.
She silently reached her son's bedroom and smiled at what she saw. The door was half-opened, revealing the couple still peacefully asleep on Shinichi's bed. The rest of their clothes was sprawled on the floor. Luckily for them, the sheet covered the important parts of their bodies. Her head was resting on his chest, his arm around her shoulder, and his other hand holding hers placed right onto his heart.
Yukiko couldn't help but take a picture of them with her smartphone. 'If one day I'll make an album of their photos, this one will surely be there'. She suppressed a laugh and decided to give them some privacy, or, more correctly, to stop violating it.
A few minutes after Yukiko left, Shiho's senses awakened. She regained her consciousness accompanied by the movement of Shinichi's chest, letting it lift and lower her head at every breath he took. At that moment, there wasn't another place in the whole world where she wished to be.
Since their body hadn't shrunk back yet, she deduced that it was still early in the morning, also because the sun wasn't completely enlightening the room yet. She lifted her head to glance at the clock on the bedside table, it wasn't even 8 in the morning, but she felt she had slept long enough.
She conceded herself a moment to stare deeply at her husband, a long moment. She observed his facial traits. There weren't many differences between his 23-year-old look and his 13-year-old one, his traits were a bit more mature, yet he still looked like a teen, unlike his father at his age. His hair was also the same, she had always found it a bit ridiculous, but in a good way. She noticed a hair which was a little longer than the rest, it was fluctuating in the air because of the rhythmical wind coming from his slightly-opened mouth every time he exhaled.
'So cute' she quietly giggled and her cheeks flushed.
She began to place long and sweet kisses on his skin, starting from his chest, up to his collarbone, and then his neck. She focused on the latter, continuing to kiss it and filling herself with his scent, which could easily be smelled in that area. There wasn't any specifical aroma, she couldn't tell what did he smell of, it was just his scent. She enjoyed the freedom granted by the fact that he was still asleep until the silence got unexpectedly broken.
"You have a nice way to wake me up" Shinichi suddenly spoke, causing her to pull back instantly and blush more, taken aback.
"You know, you can continue if you want" he seductively told her, "I know I'm a very handsome man and it's perfectly normal that you go crazy for my bod— Ouch!" his proud and teasing statement got interrupted and replaced by a yell of pain when Shiho abruptly hit his hip with her knee.
"Don't flatter yourself" she menacingly said to mask her embarrassment.
"There was no need to beat me up" he protested, massaging the part where she had hit him.
She snorted, "Handsome or not, you're still an idiot and arrogant detective, who, not to forget, still owes me a favor"
"Excuse me?"
"If I worked so hard to make these antidotes, it was only to solve the problem you had been having recently and please you," she remarked in a superiority tone.
"Well... your actions tell me that you wanted this as much as me..." he also noted, putting a teasing accent on his words, before pronouncing the last ones more sensually, "... or even more than me".
She blushed madly, "There's no proof".
"Really? So how do you explain the fact that, even before closing the main door, I was already shirtless?" he brought his face closer to hers.
She shut her eyes and snorted again, turning on the opposite side to hide her burning face from him.
He chuckled, proud of finally managing to win against her, then came closer to her and kissed her exposed shoulder.
"Ai, I have a doubt" his tone became more serious now.
"Are you doubting your modesty? Well, I can tell you that there's no need to do that, since it never existed"
"Of course not, also because you remind me of it... let me think... always?" he noted the obvious.
"So what is it?" she asked, annoyed.
"I mean... we did what we did without thinking that... well... what if you got pregnant?" he hesitantly put his thoughts into a question.
She turned back, now face to face with him, "Do you think I'm that naive?"
He raised an eyebrow in confusion, "What—"
She interrupted him, "Why do you think my pill was different from yours?"
He pondered her words and understood their meaning. She noticed that he had got the right conclusion and smirked.
"I'm a brilliant chemist who created a drug capable of shrinking people, editing a bit the formula to prevent an unplanned pregnancy wasn't that difficult" she proudly affirmed.
He was astounded, she had planned everything in detail.
"You truly thought about everything, didn't you?" he caressed her cheek with his hand, a smile adorning both their faces.
"That's because I know I constantly have to fill your lacks" she mocked, making him chuckle.
"I love you" he closed the distance between their lips, kissing her slowly but passionately as she kissed him back.
"Hey... how much time do we have... before shrinking?" he mumbled between the kisses.
"One hour... approximately..." she mumbled back.
"And we can't waste it, right?" he asked flirting.
"Of course not" she agreed in the same tone, "what are you thinking of?"
He hummed into her mouth, "Would you like to... do a second round?"
She chuckled in agreement and put the sheet fully over them.
"Have you been fine?" Conan whimpered while using his tongue to play with Ai's one.
They were still on the bed in their 'lovebirds' mode, which was quite unusual for them. Their bodies had shrunk back a few minutes earlier, without too much pain. The sound of their snickers and laughter was filling the room.
"You're the detective, find it out" she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him deeply, transmitting her positive answer to his question.
"Should I take it as a 'yes'?" he asked smoothly.
"Maybe"
They stared at each other's eyes for a few seconds, then burst out in laughter together and resumed their kisses.
"You know..." he snickered in her mouth, "we look like... two junkies," he mocked. Although he was being ironic, there was a hint of truth in what he said; they didn't use to behave like now, but it was presumably due to the fact that they had just had their first real night together.
Her reaction to his statement consisted of a short laugh, which made his smile grow wider.
"And..." he added playfully, "... I've found a new nickname for you..."
"Oh really? Is it anything similar to 'evil-eyed yawny girl' and 'Ice Queen'?"
He chuckled, "It's nothing like that", he guaranteed.
"So what is it?"
"Mmmm... you know..." he lifted his head from the pillow and rested it on his palm, shifting its weight on the elbow, "... last night, and also less than one hour ago... you were more close to... 'The Queen of Fire'"
Ai sarcastically narrowed her eyes at him, "'The Queen of Fire'? Really? Is that the most creative thing you can come up with? How many criminals have praised you for your extraordinary imagination? And yet you can't think about a more particular nickname? I'm so disappointed now", she derided, despite being amused by the new alias he gave her, she just wanted to play with him a little.
"I hope you didn't marry me just for my wild imagination, I have better qualities than that" he debated, playing her game.
"Of course not..." she smiled and got closer to him, snuggling her head in his chest and enclosing her arms tightly around him.
He placed a kiss on the top of her head and nuzzled her hair, "Happy anniversary", he whispered.
"Happy anniversary you too" she whispered back.
Silence followed until Ai felt her face vibrate a bit because of a grunt coming from Conan's stomach.
She laughed, "Seems that you're starving", she sat up straight to get out of the bed and go downstairs to prepare breakfast. When she was about to stand up, he impeded her by gripping her wrist, causing her to gasp in surprise and turn back her gaze at him.
"Don't go, stay here with me" he pleaded, utilizing his puppy look.
"We've already had enough fun. And then, what sort of wife would I be if I let my incapable-of-cooking husband starve to death?"
"But—"
She didn't give him the chance to retort, "If you feel lonely you can also come with me", she proposed.
He took a sigh and accepted her exhortation with a nod, loosening his hold on her wrist.
"But before coming downstairs, pick these clothes up from the floor and put them in order" she instructed before putting on a few clothes and leaving the room.
A few moments later, Conan found himself blushing madly, his head was literally fuming as he stared at his smartphone's screen.
A message from his mother.
'You're sooooo cute'
Attached to the text, there was a photo, which portrayed him and his wife sleeping together still in their adult form, the one she had taken when she had come to their house to inspect the 'crime scene'.
'That devilish woman, I swear she will pay for this... someday'.
THE END
A/N:
So that's all for this chapter, I've been having this in my mind for more than one month. I also have many ideas for the next chapters, but I think that some time will pass before the next update since I'm also going to dedicate some time to other fics I have planned (of course CoAi/ShinShi themed).
I don't think this story will ever reach an end, also because every chapter has its own plot, yet quite simple. Anyway, comments and reviews are extremely appreciated. Thank you for reading!
