A/N: This oneshot is the result of an ask sent by Moiloru, and takes place before Naegiri Chase Chapter Three. Please read and review, and enjoy!
The Ultimate Detective and The Ultimate Hope Gaiden: Momoharu Stuck in the Snow!
"Bye, Miss Maki! Bye, Mister Kaito! Merry Christmas!" Kiki called out, waving with her parents as Maki and Kaito walked out to their car, presents from the Naegis in tow.
"Merry Christmas!" Makoto and Kyoko called, warm, festive smiles on their faces.
Kaito looked back and grinned, while Maki's lips tugged into a small smile as they replied "Merry Christmas!" before getting in their car and driving away.
"Well, that sure was nice of them, right Maki Roll? And to think you and Kyoko held each other at knifepoint when I first saw you two!"
As Kaito laughed at the memory, Maki pouted cutely and retorted "…It's not like I hated her or anything…"
Kaito merely clapped her on the back and assured her "I'm just playing with you, Maki Roll! Still…our lives really have changed since you started working for the Naegis…for the better, I'd say. You've been smiling a lot more in public since we got to know Kiki."
Maki's cheeks flushed a faint rose color as her lips tugged into a small smile, admitting "I…suppose I have…they just…have this…optimistic aura of sorts…that makes you want to drop your guard. Even Kyoko feels that way, and she's the most cautious of the three…" Maki flashed back to the time when Kyoko had tailed her towards the end of her trial week with Kiki before shaking the memory from her head and reminding Kaito "Alright, now we have to go get groceries for our own Christmas Dinner."
"Aww, but the store's gonna be super packed!" Kaito whined.
Maki rolled her eyes and reminded him "It's not my fault you didn't go last week when you had the chance."
"Are you never gonna let that go, Maki Roll?!" Kaito shot back, their banter continuing all the way to the grocery store.
XXX
"Finally, we're out of there!" Kaito sighed in relief as they drove down the road, their trunk filled to the brim with grocery bags. "I told you it'd be packed in there, Maki Roll!"
"I repeat, it's your fault for not going earlier when it wasn't so packed. Don't try and blame this on me, you idiot."
Kaito smiled guiltily as he rubbed the back of his head, admitting "…Yeah, you got me there, sorry about…"
"KAITO, WATCH OUT FOR THE SNOW!"
"Huh?! WHOA!"
"AGH! KAITO!"
"MAKI?! MAKI, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"
Maki groaned "Ugh…I'm fine…but you just drove us into a snowbank!"
Kaito shifted the car into park and looked out the front windshield; sure enough, the car was at a thirty-degree angle, the right side of the front hood buried in snow.
"S…sorry, Maki…" Kaito hung his head as he apologized, continuing "I should have…"
Maki sighed, cutting him off as she interjected "Don't worry about that now. Come on; let's dig the shovel out of the trunk and you can shovel us out."
"R…right…" Kaito nodded as he got out of the car and circled around to the trunk, snowflakes nipping at his exposed skin as he went to fix his mess.
XXX
*Slam*
A now sweaty Kaito sighed and muttered as he and Maki buckled their seatbelts "Okay…we've got the snow shoveled. Now, we just turn the key in the ignition…" the engine hummed before Kaito continued "Put the car in drive, and…"
Kaito trailed off, his eyes lighting up in panic as the wheels revved, but the car failed to gain traction and drive onto the paved road.
"No! No no no no NO! Come on, you rusty old rocket! Why won't you blast off?!"
Maki placed her hand on his shoulder and told him "Kaito, calm down and take your foot off the gas before you overheat the car." As Kaito huffed and did as was asked of him, Maki asked as the revving sound died down "Now…did you take the car to the mechanic to get the service check like I told you to do last month?"
"Um…well…" Kaito smiled guiltily, rubbing his neck as he justified "…You know…Christmas was coming up, and I needed to save money for your gifts this year, so I figured…we could put it off until January…"
Maki sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she muttered "…Idiot…there must be something wrong with the all-wheel drive, which we could have gotten fixed if we took it for a service check after Thanksgiving."
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!"
Pulling out her phone, she quickly began tapping numbers as she muttered "…It's fine, I'll just call Roadside Assistance…Hello? Hi, my boyfriend and I are stuck on the side of the road near Ito Yokado. We need to have it towed to our house so we can take it to the mechanic after Christmas. Okay…thank you. Bye." Maki sighed as she hung up "A tow car is coming, but it's gonna be a good half hour before it gets here."
"Damn…sorry, Maki…" Kaito apologized, hanging his head.
"…It's fine…" She opened the car door and said "I'm gonna stand outside so he sees us. You keep the car running; no sense getting cold if we can avoid it."
"Yeah…sure…" Kaito nodded, hearing the car door slam shut as Maki closed the door and circled around to the side facing the road, leaning against the rear of the car as she waited for the tow car to come and rescue them.
XXX
"…I told you to stay in the car, you idiot…" Maki grumbled as she heard the car door open and close again.
Kaito grinned as he walked up to her, pointing out "Actually, you told me to keep the car warm; you never said I had to stay inside it."
"…Fine…freeze to death out here for all I care."
Kaito laughed "At least I won't freeze all alone! Besides, there's no way I could let you freeze out here. So come on, hop back in the car where it's warm, Maki Roll!"
Maki blushed, then averted her gaze, muttering "I…idiot…someone's gotta be here to signal the tow car. So just go and stay w…warm…"
Kaito frowned, turning to walk away and back to the car. Just as he was about to open the car door however, his eyes widened at the sight of the snow pile that he had shoveled nearby. The gears turned in his head, causing a mischievous grin to cross his face as he kneeled, grabbing some snow in his hand. Ignoring the stinging, cold sensation nipping at his fingers, he started packing the snow into a perfect ball before he stood up and turned around.
"Hey, heads up, Maki Roll!"
"Huh?"
Maki looked up too slow, causing the snowball to hit her right between the eyes. She wiped off the snow, an annoyed expression on her face as she narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend.
Kaito laughed and taunted "Feel like getting in the car yet where it's warm?" He knelt in the snow, forming another snowball in his hands as he asked "Or are you not cold enough yet?"
"Kaito, I'm warning you…don't you dare throw that snow…" Maki was cut off, another snowball hitting her forehead, causing Kaito to point and laugh at her. Once more she wiped the snow off her face, her annoyed glare replaced with a teasing smirk as she asked "…Do you want to die?"
"Hey, come on, Maki, don't be like that, I just wanted you to be wa…OOF!" Maki smirked as Kaito was cut off by her own, faster snowball. Hearing Maki giggle at his snow-covered face, Kaito wiped it away, grinning as he narrowed his eyes and proclaimed "You do know what this means, don't you, Maki Roll?"
"…"
"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Kaito roared as he and Maki knelt down, quickly packing some snow into balls.
Bring it on, idiot! Maki thought before they hurriedly lobbed snowballs at each other, weaving and dodging as they lost themselves in their playful snowball war, laughing and giggling all the wile as they waited for the tow car to come.
XXX
"…Finally back home…" Maki sighed in relief as she and Kaito walked through the door, their arms filled with grocery bags and their presents from the Naegis.
"I'll say, I could really use some hot ch…chocolate…" Kaito agreed, his teeth chattering as they walked into the kitchen.
"…It's your fault for starting that snowball fight, i…idiot…" Maki pointed out, her chattering dissipating as the warmth of her home warmed her body.
"Yeah, I know that…but it all worked out, didn't it, Maki Roll? The tow guy came and brought us home, and we had a fun time while we waited for him. Besides, you should have seen the look on your face when you were covered with snow!"
Maki placed her things down on the counter, undoing the ties on her ponytails before she squeezed the water out of her hair as she admitted "…I suppose it was…comical…" Maki smiled as she finished with a giggle "…Especially with the face that tow guy was giving us." Maki shivered, rubbing her arms as she complained "Though I'm still cold…I'm gonna do start a hot bath." She sauntered to the hallway entrance, stopping just before the arch to turn her head and wink at Kaito, teasing "Come and join me…after you put the groceries away."
Kaito blushed, making Maki giggle before she disappeared down the hallway and out of sight. He then looked to the massive pile of grocery bags and sighed heavily.
"Houston…we have a problem…"
XXX
Though the water in the tub had since turned lukewarm, that hadn't lowered the warmth Maki felt, leaning back into Kaito's chest as he spooned her from behind. Kaito felt no less warm as her felt Maki's bare form sitting in his lap, relaxed against him as the water soothed them after the unexpectedly hectic day that had a sprinkle of fun.
Having to wait around for the tow guy might have seemed like a waste of time at first…but I'll never forget that snowball fight. So…I guess it wasn't a waste of time after all…since it paved the way for another treasured memory!
