DISCLAIMER: I do not own Detective Conan.
-03-
Fine, I'll stay
"Kudo-kun," Haibara Ai called as she saw her fellow classmate sitting under the shade of a flower-filled cherry blossom tree behind the school gymnasium.
Startled as he was not expecting anyone to come, Conan swiftly turned to see who disturbed his much needed peace. He visibly relaxed upon seeing a familiar face. "Oh Haibara, it's only you."
Haibara smirked and mockingly asked, "Running away from your avid fans?"
The apparent distress in the young detective's face made Haibara chuckle. He had been trying to hide from fangirls who wanted a glimpse of the Kid Killer after yet another almost-successful apprehension of the famous thief. "I thought you liked the attention, Kudo?"
He glared at her when she laughed. "Maybe as Kudo Shinichi. But as Edogawa Conan, not particularly."
"What's the difference anyway? Both are you."
Conan was silent for a moment. When he spoke, his tone was grave. "Well... Shinichi had only known of mysteries and cases and being popular. Conan had to literally face danger every waking moment of his new life. Who knows what would happen if word got out that I'm the shrunken Kudo Shinichi, no matter how absurd it sounds."
Haibara fell silent. She had no refute to that. Everything he said was the truth, and at the back of her mind, she blamed herself for dragging him to this dangerous situation.
They both let the deafening silence hung between them, both looking far ahead but at nothing in particular.
They both knew that time had passed but no one spoke until the warning bell rung for their afternoon class. Haibara broke the silence and excused herself. "I'll go back now. Unlike someone, I don't plan to skip nor be late in class."
Conan rolled his eyes. When she turned to walk away, panic welled within him and he unconsciously reached for her wrist. She looked at him inquiringly. "I, uh- why don't you stay longer?" he asked sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with his other hand. When the woman in front of him simply raised a rather elegant eyebrow, Conan sighed and said, "Look, I don't really know why I stopped you but it would be nice to have some, uh, company?" Somehow, it ended up a question, but he knew that he really wanted her to stay.
Haibara looked at him intently, making him a bit uneasy. When the second bell rung, which means no matter how fast she would run to class she would still be late, she sighed and said, "Fine, I'll stay." And she plopped beside him under the cherry blossom tree. "You owe me for needlessly skipping class today, Kudo."
Conan grinned at her. "I'll make you coffee every morning for a week," he compensated.
"Make that a month," she said in a no-nonsense way.
"Fine," he compromised before promptly lying down on her lap.
"And a new Fusae purse," she added as she softly flicked his forehead with her finger.
Conan merely laughed. Nothing could make this day worse, he thought. Not even over-enthusiastic fans nor an expensive branded bag, not even becoming a coffee slave for a month.