I don't own anything. I wish I did… Meh…
Chapter 8: Arriving
In which they bicker like an old married couple…
"THIS is not what we talked about!" Ran hissed as she pulled Heiji into the kitchen. It was Friday afternoon and Heiji and Kazuha had just arrived at her place, bickering to no avail. Heiji exhaled audibly and gritted his teeth.
"You have no idea - I really tried to be pleasant and obliging, but it's impossible with her." Ran frowned as he got louder at the end of his sentence, making sure Kazuha would hear the last part of it. Kazuha, in turn, came waltzing into the kitchen, obviously fuming.
"I am impossible to deal with?! What about you, Mr. "Everywhere- I- go- cases- fall- from- the- sky"?!" she asked him angrily, making Ran gasp.
"There was a murder on the train?" the Tokyo girl inquired, her eyes wide.
Kazuha waved her hand dismissively. "Well, no, just a kidnapping, but still… He had to get involved, I was threatened with a knife and we were delayed for nearly three hours!"
"You were threatened with a…?" Ran started, disrupted by Heiji.
"If I hadn't gotten involved we would possibly still be ON that train! Ya know the train detective was an idiot. And it's not as if you were in any danger. You knocked him right out!"
Kazuha blew against her fringe, crossing her arms in front of her.
"No thanks to you!"
Both of them angrily stared at each other, Ran shaking her head in disbelieve. "Well, I guess you could need some peace and quiet then, right?" she tried to ease the tension, watching them.
Kazuha glanced at her friend. "Speaking of 'Peace and Quiet': Then we got to our hotel, late for the check- in and they had already given away one of our rooms. So now we either have to share one or…" She looked pleadingly at Ran. "Would it be possible for me to stay here?"
For a moment, Ran stared at Kazuha open mouthed, before flashing Heiji a glance. Her expression changed to an apologetic one.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Kazuha, I'd love for you to stay here, but there has been a water leak in the guest bedroom and a friend from school, who moved away some months ago, is staying in my room with me. There's just no room left!" Ran told Kazuha, crossing her fingers behind her back.
Kazuha looked disappointed, but shrugged her shoulders. "Well, we'll have to make do, I guess," she mumbled.
"Oh, it won't be that bad. If I remember correctly you two even shared a tent once, so never mind sharing a whole room!" Ran tried to reassure her, leading Kazuha towards the kitchenette. "Let's heat up the dinner!"
As Kazuha and Ran passed Heiji, Ran grinned at him and winked. Heiji had to grin, too. Leave it to Ran to make sure he and Kazuha would spend as much time together as possible.
Leaving the kitchen, Heiji found Conan sitting on a sofa, flicking through TV channels. The smaller detective didn't even acknowledge Heiji's presence.
"Well, Kudo, what are ya watchin'?" he asked, sitting down next to him. Conan just frowned, not even looking up.
"Nothing. So, a kidnapping, huh?"
Heiji grinned. "No big deal. Just some stupid weirdo wanting money from rich parents. Kazuha hit him right in the face when he tried to grab her."
Conan nodded. "Sounds fun." Still, Heiji detected a hint of disinterest in his voice.
"What's wrong with you?" Heiji asked, nudging the smaller boy, "you look unhappy!"
Conan's face became rigid, crossing his arms. "Well, you look happy for someone whose girl found another guy!" he stated angrily, glaring at Heiji, who in return lifted his hands appeasingly.
"Woah, Kudo. Low blow!" he stated, eying his friend. "Really, what's up with ya? Did something happen?"
Conan grimaced. "Only my whole life falling apart," he murmured, starting to tell Heiji everything about Ran's boyfriend and the failing cures.
Heiji exhaled audibly when his friend finished.
"So, at least you have a reason for being gloomy," he joked, before returning to a more serious tone. "Okay, I have no knowledge about the cure and the immunity, but I believe that Haibara knows what she's talking about, so… This really sucks!"
Conan only nodded. "Tell me about it."
Heiji thought about it before going on. "Still, the part about Ran and that guy. How can you be sure that was her boyfriend? I mean, for all you know she could have met him by chance and everything she told you about her training has been true."
Conan frowned. "But you told me about her betrayal, Hattori!", which made Heiji frown in turn.
"What? When did I tell you anything like that?!" he exclaimed, staring at Conan. The Tokyo detective stared at him.
"When we were talking on the phone?!"
"How could I possibly know anything about Ran-chan's love life?! Especially since this talk," he gestured with his hand between him and Conan, "was the first time I heard anything about it?"
Conan thought about it for a moment. "Well, the connection wasn't good. But I thought you said I was a 'poor guy' and that Ran and Kazuha talked about it."
Now Heiji seemed to be in deep thought and suddenly a look recognition crossed his face.
"Well, the connection really must have been bad," he confirmed. "I believe you mean the phone call when I had just learned about Kazuha's new boyfriend," he told Conan through gritted teeth. For a moment, Conan released a breath of relief. So it might be possible Ran did not have a boyfriend. But what about that scene with Kojiro and her in the store? And what did she want to tell Shinichi? Conan still felt confuse.
"So, Kudo, whatever you thought I told you: I wasn't talking about Ran," Heiji concluded, glancing towards the kitchen. "And concerning the other stuff… I think it might be time for you to tell Ran the truth, 'cause even if she doesn't have a boyfriend now she might find one some day. No girl waits around forever." He sighed and leaned back against the cushions. "Just look at the mess I'm in now."
Conan patted Heiji's shoulder encouragingly. "So, I take it, now you can't have her you realise you want her?" the small detective asked, a little grin forming on his lips.
Now it was Heiji's turn to shoot his friend a dark look. "You and I both know I always wanted her. So just stop your gloating."
Heiji's grimace made Conan chuckle. "At least you always know how to cheer me up, Hattori," he told the dark skinned man. "And about Ran… I guess I'll just give that last antidote a try and if it doesn't work I'll deal with the consequences. I'll tell her afterwards either way."
Heiji just nodded, standing up as he saw the girls emerge from the kitchen. "We'll both have to keep our fingers crossed," he whispered.
The rest of the evening went comparatively smooth after the long day. They sat together comfortably, eating and chatting and Heiji couldn't help but think that Ran and Kazuha had had a long talk about him in the kitchen. Kazuha seemed less annoyed and Ran shot him some cheerful looks whenever he did something nice like handing Kazuha a drink or knowing what kind of food she liked without her telling him.
Once he even thought he saw Kazuha blush when they retold the story of the kidnapping once more – this time in detail and without anybody screaming – and she told Ran how Heiji had put himself between her and the kidnapper when he tried to get up after Kazuha hit him.
At the same time, Heiji realized how unhappy Kudo seemed. By now, it had become quite normal to have a child amongst them, even Ran didn't seem to find him too young to join their chats. Sometimes Heiji couldn't help but think she might suspect the truth. Even so, Kudo himself felt out of place today. It was clear to Heiji that his friend was already mentally preparing for losing the girl of his dreams forever, never taking part in such evenings as Kudo Shinichi again.
Heiji sighed as he took a sip of warm Sake. He didn't know what he would do if he were in Kudo's place, just as much as he didn't know what to do if he lost Kazuha for good. Glancing at her he knew this weekend was his only chance to win her over.
Some time after eleven, as Ran was just starting to tell them about an old friend who had recently got engaged, Heiji felt Kazuha's head softly meet his shoulder, interrupting Ran. Looking at Kazuha Heiji realized she had dozed off. He smiled a little, looking at her relaxed features and gently pushed a strand of hair from her face. This, in turn, made Ran squeal "How cute!", which startled Kazuha who shot up straight. Heiji irritatedly glanced at Ran, who mouthed "Sorry", as he put his hand on Kazuha's shoulder.
"I think we should get going. We're taking the motorcycle I left here the last time I visited and it won't help if your too sleepy to hold on, Ahou."
Kazuha tried to glare at him, but yawned instead. "Fine," she murmured accepting defeat, getting up and hugging Ran. "Thanks for supper. We'll see you tomorrow, if I don't kill that Ahou tonight," she grumbled, taking her bag.
As Heiji put on his jacket, Kazuha stopped in her tracks, looking at him. "We can't take the motorcycle. The last time you came here I wasn't with you so I won't have a helmet!" she stated.
"That's right, you were on your own, Heiji. But I'd vow I saw a pink helmet on it the other day, when I was searching for something in the shed!" Ran interrupted before Heiji could answer. Heiji blushed, putting his hat in his pocket as he faced away from the girls.
"Her helmet was still in the motorcycle's pocket. It's not as if I brought it on purpose," he muttered and Ran grinned. Of course he did.
Kazuha just smiled, relieved. "Good, so we don't have to find a taxi," she exclaimed, walking towards the door.
As they were getting onto the motorcycle, Kazuha couldn't help but smile. Even though the day had started more than annoying, in the end their argument had somehow cleared the air between her and Heiji. In a way, Ran had made that clear for her as they were preparing the food.
"You have to admit, Kazuha, at least you bicker as you always do," Ran had told her. "Still, I'm appalled Heiji didn't try to help you when that guy on the train charged on you!"
Kazuha grimaced. "Well, he did, but I was so annoyed I had already punched the guy. He wasn't very smart," she confessed, stirring the sauce. "But when the kidnapper tried to get up again Heiji pulled me behind himself, shielding me. He then kicked the guy and he went down for good."
Ran grinned. "He put himself in front of you? That's a nice move! Protective. But then again I guess, Heiji-kun has always been protective of you," the Tokyo girl continued, innocently chopping some onions.
Kazuha blushed a little. Her heart started beating remembering all the times Heiji had been protective of her. She shook her head, realizing her anger was deflagrating. "Stop it, Ran! I'm still mad at that Ahou, don't try to appease me!"
Ran giggled. "I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention. I've somehow always been jealous of the way the two of you act around each other. You touch each other unconsciously all the time and don't even realise it. Whenever Shinichi touched me, even just taking my hand or grazing my shoulder by accident I would be so aware of it, feeling tingly all over. Must be great to have such a friendship." Everything Ran had told Kazuha in the kitchen had sounded casual and incidental, still, when they entered the living room, Kazuha hadn't been angry anymore and the evening had turned out to be really fun.
But just now, as they were sitting on the motorcycle together and Kazuha was supposed to put her arms around Heiji's waist Ran's words reappeared in her head like a flaming sign. Being aware of every touch.
"Hey, stop dreaming, Ahou, and hold on!" Heiji told her, taking her wrists and entwining her arms around himself, making sure she held on tightly. Kazuha blushed. His touch felt like a burn and she could sense the warmth radiating from his body. Kazuha groaned, the sound muffled by the starting engine. She knew she had a boyfriend, and she knew her heart shouldn't be beating faster because of Heiji anymore. It just seemed nobody had told her body that, yet.
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