Here we go with the 7th chapter, there's a gap of 6 MONTHS between this and the last one. Have fun reading!


10:30 am.

Agasa residence's main door got opened by the professor, who stepped into his house. After him, two adults in the bodies of two 14-years-old, both supported by a pair of crutches, a leg brace was around their right leg, and a pout printed on their faces, such a comic view. They limped inside the house, almost in sync.

Ai was quite used to this kind of pain, it wasn't the first time she was forced to move like that. On the other hand, in twenty-four years, Conan had never had to walk using crutches, so he was still lumbering. Small sounds of fatigue and pain escaped from his slightly-opened mouth every time he took a step, increasing Ai's irritability at the point that she couldn't stand it anymore.

Eyebrows furrowed, she shoot a death glare at her husband, who was beside her, "Could you please stop whining as if you were carrying a bag of a ton?!"

"You're the one to talk! Who is the person who has been complaining about 'the too-hard pillow' or 'the too-enlightened room' for the whole two weeks in the hospital?"

Agasa sighed as he acknowledged that the two shrunken adults were about to initiate the umpteenth quarrel of the last so-long-and-interminable two weeks. They both had been hospitalized for a broken leg, caused by an 'incident' that had occurred after solving a case. Someway, Conan and Ai ended up jumping from the third floor of a burning townhouse. Luckily for them, Conan had his anywhere ball dispensing belt with him, which he used to break the fall. Although they didn't die or report serious injuries, the impact was still strong, enough to cause them a leg fracture.

"Oh well sorry if I didn't celebrate the stay in a hospital's room!"

"So don't snap my head off for these silly reasons! This condition is already distressing enough without your constant criticism."

"If you're not able to walk using crutches, I could always break your other leg too so you would use a wheelchair instead!"

"Okay timeout now, shouting at each other won't do any good," Agasa interrupted their loud argument, trying to restore some peace, "you both should take some rest instead of disputing continuously", he suggested.

Conan and Ai had to admit that the professor was right, although they were still glaring at each other, a fiery aura surrounding them.

Agasa sighed again, 'These two... they will never change', he thought before his attention was diverted to his phone which started ringing. He answered the call.

While the professor was talking at the phone, Ai and Conan slowly headed to the living room and settled themselves on the two edges of the couch. After they assumed a comfortable posture, Agasa came into the room, a worried look marrying his face.

"What's wrong, Hakase?" Ai asked even before the professor had the time to speak a word, her voice showed that she was already expecting to get some bad news.

Agasa laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head, "You see, guys... one of my clients has just told me that she had a problem with the new invention I sold to her, I should go there to fix it..."

Conan perceived that Agasa had something more to say, "And?"

"And... it may take several hours" the old scientist continued, beads of sweat dripping down his face. The thought of leaving the two invalids at home alone, both of them already in a terrible mood, concerned him.

"Will you be fine?" Agasa asked them gently.

Ai sighed, "We will survive" she stated with indifference, massaging her temple.

Agasa then went to his laboratory to take his tools, while Conan turned on the television and started switching channels to find something decent to watch and Ai began to read a fashion magazine which she took on the table before the couch.

The professor came back after a while and stepped towards the main door, "I'm going, see you later and... don't kill each other", he waved his hand at them and exit the house.

After a few minutes of switching channels, and unconsciously disturbing Ai more and more, Conan gave up and switched off the TV.

"Geez, there's nothing good at the TV" he complained, resting his chin on the palm of his hand who was currently leaning on the couch's armrest.

"Did it take all this time for you to figure it out?" Ai remarked with annoyance.

"Could you please give me a truce? It's been two weeks since we don't do anything but arguing, and it's becoming tiring" he begged, exasperated.

"Well you should only thank yourself for that, it's only your fault if we're reduced to this" she retorted, not shifting her gaze from her magazine.

"Again with this! If it wasn't for me, we would be dead right now" Conan protested.

"If it wasn't for you and your superhero-complex, the firemen would have rescued us without any complications"

"Seriously?! Do you need me to remind you how things went?"


*FLASHBACK*

2 weeks earlier...

"We have to jump!" Conan shouted at Ai.

"What?! Are you crazy or what?!" Ai shouted back at him.

"This balcony will also be on fire soon!"

"The firemen are already here! Let's wait for them to rescue us!"

"We don't have any more time to wait! We must jump!"

"But we're on the third floor! We have no chance to survive at such an impact! Let's wait!"

"I'm gonna use my belt to drop a giant ball and break the fall!"

"NO WAY! It's too dangerous!" she rejected his idea in the most absolute way.

Conan didn't answer, instead, he turned his back to her and held her hands tightly, wrapping them around his midsection. She watched him from behind, bewildered, and wide-eyed.

"Hold me tightly" he instructed her in a serious tone.

"Oi! Just what—"

"There's no way I'm leaving you here. On the count of three, we jump."

She wanted to contest but didn't find a right argumentation, instead, she did what he said and tightened her grip on him.

"One..." he started counting.

"Wait—"

"Two..."

"Conan!"

"HOLD TIGHT!"

*END FLASHBACK*


"What point are you trying to prove?" Ai questioned, shutting the magazine and putting it on the near table. She glared at him, obviously spreading all her hostility from her eyes.

"You also agreed on jumping" he asserted as if he had just solved a case.

"I don't exactly remember me saying things like 'okay' or 'you're right'" she pointed out, narrowing her eyes at him.

"But you followed my instructions"

"Because you seemed so determined in what you were about to do and didn't even give me the time to object" she battled.

"Are you saying that you would've left me jumping alone?" he brought the discussion right where he wanted, smirking slightly.

She looked away from him and muttered something, but her voice was too low for him to catch her words, although he could spot a hint of red making its way on her angry face.

"Excuse me?" he asked, waiting for her to repeat the words she'd just mumbled.

"You know that..." she murmured while thinking, 'I should've done it'.

"Know what?"

She let several seconds pass in silence before giving up and taking a long sigh. Her look softened, but she wasn't turning to him yet.

"I couldn't" she spoke quickly.

Her brief answer dissatisfied him, although he didn't renounce, he was determined to end the antagonism between them, "Is that everything you have to say?"

"I just couldn't"

"And would you be so kind to tell me why?" his attitude was getting more sarcastic now.

She remained silent, but her rosy cheeks could perfectly tell why. He jostled to change his position and get closer to her, trying not to provoke pain to himself by moving his broken leg too abruptly. She detected his movements but didn't do anything in order not to show that she was affected by his actions, not until she felt something falling onto her lap. She gasped instantly and glanced down, only to come face to face with Conan and his thin grin.

She acknowledged the fact that she couldn't escape now. Her look was uncontrollably melting as if hypnotized by his electric-blue irises, and so her mood.

"I'm sorry... all these days have been stressful, and honestly I've had enough of all of these discussions..." he apologized, "Peace?" he gently proposed.

She contemplated his offer and realized that she was also tired of arguing nonstop. She reached a hand down to caress his face, "What should I do with you?"

"Peace?" he repeated, trying to sound as much sweet as he could manage, his puppy eyes praying her for approval.

Ai waited for a few moments and used her other hand to brush his hair before finally giving in, "Peace."

He ignored the accent that she put on the single word she had just spoken as if she was conceding him a courtesy, but not at all actually since the first thing he thought after hearing her response was 'I should stop giving her the appellation of Queen'. It didn't count anyway because he threw that thought away when she cupped his face in her hands and affectionately rubbed her thumbs on his cheeks, forming thin waves with his skin.

He closed his eyes let himself get lost in that celestial feeling. Even though her hands' temperature was under the average, her touch felt so warm, it was a sensation that he could never contrive to describe nor comprehend. A soft vibrant moan escaped from his closed mouth.

"Do you know what is the best part of arguing?" he asked smoothly in a whimper.

Ai giggled, "Enlighten me"

"Making peace"

She smirked, "Hmmm... I bet you think so because at last you always end up being cuddled by me." she stated as a matter of fact, adding a hint of irony to her voice.

He also chuckled, "Come on, I bet you enjoy it too... other girls would kill to touch mewwww—" he trailed off as she used her fingers to pinch his already pink cheeks; he deserved an appropriate punishment for his apparently-unlimited overconfidence, which always unsettled her.

"I would like to remind you that right now you're in a position where nothing can stop me from pressing a pillow hard on your face" she threatened politely, gradually hardening the grip.

"Oi! Leggfmeeww!", it was all he managed to cry out between his stretched, shaking, and merely-open lips.

She tendered his cheeks a bit more before snorting and releasing them abruptly, proudly watching him massaging his aching and burning face and then getting himself up from her lap, now sitting straight on the couch.

"You're not cute at all" he muttered.


2 hours later...

"Do you mind switching off that thing, please? It's giving me a headache." Ai asked with boredom her husband, who was sitting beside her on the couch watching a crime movie on the television, their broken legs resting on two stools.

"Seriously, do you need concentraion to read a fashion magazine?" he complained while obediently satisfying her request.

"It's not what I said, and however, how can you watch a crime-themed movie when you solve cases almost every day?"

"The last time I solved a case was the day of our incident"

"I see... so now you're in a sort of..." she put a finger on her lower lip and looked upwards trying to find an appropriate expression to tease him, "... withdrawal, right?" she sarcastically smirked at him as she found the perfect word.

"Haha... how witty." he pouted and narrowed his eyes at her.

Ai laughed at his facial expression and leaned her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his forearm. He reacted by replacing his current look with a more relaxed one and then sighed.

"Ai, I'm feeling a bit peckish"

She glared up at him from her position, "You're not expecting me to cook in these conditions, are you?", she anticipated him with a menacing voice.

"Geez, of course not... so susceptible", he muttered the last words in a whisper.

"Good", she held his forearm tighter and rubbed her cheek on his shoulder.

"I was thinking, we could order something from that Ramen restaurant.", he suggested.

"Oh, you mean the cursed death-Ramen restaurant?"

"Hey, it's not cursed... it just happened to be correlated with a few crimes... two or three times... but that's not meaningful. The thing that counts the most is that that's the best Ramen restaurant I know. Even your cousin and your aunt used to buy food there."

"Hmm... then okay, I can trust Mary-obasan in the field of flavors", she agreed since she knew that her aunt had good tastes.

"So you trust her more than me?", Conan questioned, offended.

"Are you sure you want to know it?"

"No, better not."


Almost an hour later...

The doorbell rang.

"This must be the food delivery from the restaurant.", Conan speculated.

"You go.", Ai said in a statement.

"Why me? You said yourself that you're better than me when it comes to walking by using crutches."

"What race of husband are you that let your wife do all the heavy work?"

"I've got an idea, let's draw straws", he proposed.

"Agree", she said smirking.

As she expected, he got sorted out and had to put all of his energies to reach the entrance and bring the food to the table before the sofa. He had never been lucky when it came to draws and bets, and she was even more amused because now he had been the one to propose that, it was such a hilarious and paradoxical thing.

Conan finally sat again beside Ai, letting out a soft noise of relief.

"I'm exhausted.", he murmured while using the sleeve of his sweatshirt to dry the few drops of sweat that had formed on his forehead because of the hard effort.

"Don't tell me that you're too tired to eat on your own and need me to feed you", she ridiculed.

"It would be nice of you."

"No. Way."


"Delicious.", Conan expressed his appreciation for the food and put the empty bowl on the table. He dropped his back on the sofa's backrest and brushed his belly with both of his hands.

"Yeah, not bad.", Ai indifferently agreed, putting another bite of noodles into her mouth. While Conan had practically devoured the food, she took it more slowly and ate with elegance.

He closed his eyelids, and he would've fallen asleep right there if only the doorbell hadn't rung again. He immediately glanced at Ai, his eyes accomplishing the task to plead her to go to check.

"No way, I'm still eating, you go.", she hit him with another death glare.

He groaned in tiredness and obliged. This time it was the postman, who delivered him a rectangular package, and luckily for Conan, it wasn't that heavy nor too big so he could carry it under his armpit.

"It's for you.", Conan informed Ai and put the package on the same table, near his empty bowl.

She raised an eyebrow, not knowing what to expect from it.

After finishing her lunch, she took the package and placed it beside her to open it. The content consisted of a note and a set to play shogi.

She flipped the note to read the message. What it said made her smile.

For Ai-chan and Conan-kun.

Have fun during your convalescence.

Get well soon, Shukichi.

"It's from Shukichi.", she told her husband, who was watching her curiously.

"Your cousin?"

She nodded, "A nice thought, by the way, I guess later I'll send him a text to thank him."

He made space on the table and settled there the shogi set, getting ready for a match against the a auburn-haired girl near him.

"Do you know how to play?", he asked her.

"Hmm... my sister never taught me how to... and I've never had the willpower to learn it on my own..."

"There's no problem, I'm gonna teach you so we can kill time by playing."

She accepted his offer and listened carefully to his explanation of the rules. The way he sounded during his teaching made him seem like he was an expert shogi player, when in fact he wasn't.

"Are you ready to begin now?"

"I think I've understood almost everything, so yes... but don't play too well, I haven't got much experience with this, not as much as the person who taught me.", Ai requested.

"Okay"


The more Conan looked at the shogi pieces' disposition, the more he acknowledged the fact that yes, he was losing the game, miserably. He was amazed by Ai's sudden ability to play shogi, and normally, this would've made him proud of his apparently-efficient explanation, but she was definitely too familiar with the game strategies to be someone who had just barely apprehended the rules. It was clear that she already knew how to play, and the fact that she'd lied to him only to get a triumphal victory was upsetting him.

He glanced at her with an annoyed glare, "How the hell are you managing to win against me in such an absolute way?"

She simply shrugged.

"You cheater, you already knew how to play, didn't you?"

"Hmmm... maybe...", she chuckled.

"So why did you tell me that you didn't know how to?", he crossed his arms at his chest.

"I don't remember I've ever said that.", she retorted.

"Oh yes you did", he immediately said back.

"I said that my sister had never taught me this game nor I had ever had the willpower learn it."

"But then how do you—"

She cut him off, "Shukichi instructed me about this, he also told me all the best strategies to mislead the opponent."

Conan's head was now fuming, how was he supposed to win against someone who has been trained by an international champion of the game they were playing?

"You tricked me! You devilish girl! 'Don't play too well, I haven't got much experience with this, not as much as the person who taught me'", he quoted her imitating her voice and dramatically batting his eyelashes.

"Well that was true, I could never have as much experience as Shukichi.", she gave him her most provocative smirk.

He gave up on his outburst and took a sigh of resignation, reminding himself that there was no win against this woman, in any sense.

"When did he teach you?", he sounded desperate.

She started musing to give him an accurate answer, "Before we got married, and also before he got married to Yumi-san... 2 years and a half ago, more precisely."

Conan nodded in understanding, contemporary letting his back fall backward on the backrest, "Anyway, given that continuing with the game would be useless since you cheated—"

"You mean because you got beaten so hard.", she corrected him.

"Whatever, I'm tired, so I'm taking a nap, right here, right now.", he tiredly announced as yawned and he let his eyes take a break.

"You're too lazy to walk to bed, aren't you?", she hit the point.

He let out a short nod, he was feeling too weak to debate, also because she was flawlessly right.

Ai giggled and carefully got closer to him, paying attention not to make any sharp movements with her broken leg. She hugged him and laid her head on his chest, also closing her eyes, causing him to grin and utter a peaceful moan.

They remained silent for several seconds until Conan decided to say something.

"How I missed this...", he whimpered as he guided one arm around her and stroked her hair with his other hand.

Another thing that caused them to be in a bad mood during these last two weeks was that they couldn't sleep well. It was common knowledge for them both that they had trouble sleeping alone.

Ai stretched her lips in a slight but meaningful smile, "Conan...", she moaned his name and then stayed silent until the both of them drowned in the sea of sleep.


Agasa came back home at around 4 pm.

He already mentally prepared himself to find himself in the middle of a battleground, basing on how things were going between the two shrunken adults when he left them alone.

Instead, he saw the couple taking a nap together on the couch. They were embracing each other, and a smile was printed on both their faces.

'I'll never understand these two. I leave them nearly killing each other, and then I find them in their sweet lovers mode... what a unique couple.'

THE END


Thank you for reading! As always, comments and reviews are extremely appreciated.