Only a fool would face one of the Seven Crows with nothing more than a tranquilizing dart. Only Shinichi Kudo would dare try that while standing less than ten paces away from his would-be killer. He'd been lucky to escape with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. After how he'd survived poisoning with APTX, someone had to be looking out for him.
With the Organization crumbling, Shinichi was safe to go home and recuperate, and Shiho thought it was only proper to see how he was doing. Someone had to let him know how insane he was. Everyone else would just fawn over him for his daring.
On crossing into the Kudo home, Shiho felt something was unusual. It wasn't the first time she'd visited his home as herself, not as "Ai," but those previous occasions had been a long time ago. Nor had she seen the house so lively. With Shinichi's family returned from the States for the forseeable future, they were taking care of the house during Shinichi's convalescence. There was tea brewing when Shiho arrived, and Yukiko Kudo was quick to offer refreshments.
Yukiko was a nosy woman. She had so many questions for Shiho. What was she going to do? Did she have plans for university? Maybe travel the world for a bit?
Shiho hadn't thought that far ahead. She'd spent years wondering how she would die. To think she would be living instead was still a surprise. Every so often, she would pinch herself to see if she were experiencing some cruel dream.
Though she did insist Shiho say a little bit, Yukiko eventually allowed Shiho to see Shinichi. He was sleeping, but Yukiko had no problem leaving Shiho with him, in spite of her husband's concerns. "Though this may be the first time we've met this way," Yukiko said, "I think we all know whose side everyone is on, right?"
That was charitable of her. Shiho and Shinichi had been allies of circumstance and need. He would protect those in danger because that was what he did, no questions asked. Shiho had only been looking out for herself. When she approached him, he had been a convenient tool.
Shinichi was sleeping, and Shiho thought that for the best. There were no words to express what she felt. Disbelief? Gratitude? Admiration? Even together, they felt like shadows trying to approximate a real thing. Instead, Shiho pulled up a chair and took a book down from a shelf. In a surge of fleeting fancy, she leaned over and kissed him on the eye, but she ended the moment almost as soon as it began, and she started to read.
"Haibara," said a weak voice.
She tensed up, but he seemed none the wiser—only happy that she was alive and well.
"What are you reading?" he asked.
She smiled and flipped back to the first page. "In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine at the University of London…"
For Valentine's Day 2020 Kiss Challenge – "Eyelid"