Hmmm... Not really sure if Conan calls his mom 'Okaa-san' but well... who cares? ^_^

Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not my property. I wish it were but it isn't and there's nothing I can do about it.

Woah! Long chap.... Not much happens, though... Just a lot of words...

CHAPTER 10: A SUBSTITUTE~YUKIKO'S POV

"Moshi moshi. Agasa residence."

I recognized the voice immediately and replied, "Ai-chan, is that you?"

"Shinichi no... Okaa-san? (Shinichi's Mom?)" A smile tugged on my lips. They're on a first-name basis now. Good going, Shin-chan!

"Are you looking for Shinichi? He's right here beside me."

"Wait, Ai-chan!"

"What is it?" she asked, but there was no trace of curiosity in her voice.

"Don't make any plans for Friday night, okay?" I just replied mysteriously.

~~~~CONAN'S POV~~~~

"What do you want?" I said as I gave a resigned sigh, taking the phone from Haibara. Is God telling me not to confess? This must be the worst day of my life...

"Shin-chan... Is that really the way to greet your beloved mother whom you haven't seen for years?" a hurt voice said.

Sigh... Here we go again... "We saw each other 6 months ago. That doesn't exactly count as years, does it?"

"Six months is a long time for a mother separated from her son," my mom said, still in that hurt actress tone of hers.

Just cut the crap already. What do you want? That's what I thought but it's not what I said. If I did, God knows what kind of hell she'd put me through. "... Why did you call?"

Her hurt tone was replaced by a teasing one and she said, "Look out." I walked towards the window to look outside. My mom waved at me from Hakase's yard. I guess my surprise was apparent even from afar, because my mom started to giggle.

"You're unusually slow today, Shin-chan," she chuckled,"Why don't you invite me inside? You wouldn't want my phone bill rising, would you?"

"Even if it did, you still would have had the money to pay for it," I muttered. A thought occurred to me. I wanted to ask her something, but it wasn't really something I could say over the phone, or in front of Haibara who was still watching me. "Ummm... Let's talk at our house... There's... Something I want to ask you..."

"Something you can't say in front of Ai-chan?" she said teased.

"Wh-what!?" My cheeks turned red, and a curious but amused look appeared on Haibara's face.

"I know all about it." She mimicked my voice and whispered, "Ai... Omae no koto s-"

"H-how do you know that!?"

"Shin-chan," she said, a grin splitting her face, "I'm your mother. I should know who my son's latest love interest is."

My face was hot, and I had a feeling that if I looked in a mirror it'd be redder than a tomato. Haibara was still leaning by the doorway, a smirk on her face. She probably knows what we're talking about. Goddamit. If she does, why won't she just tell me she knows? It's possible she's doing this just to spite me. Does she even like me back? God... My thoughts don't even make sense anymore...

"Shin-chan?" My mom's voice snapped me to attention, and I remembered what I wanted to do.

"So, umm... Listen. Go back to our house. We'll talk there." She was about to say something but I put the phone back in its cradle. I turned to Haibara and said, "Listen, my mom's home, and I gotta talk to her." I didn't stay to listen to her reply, if she even did. I just rushed out the door and grabbed my mom by the wrist, pulling her away.

"How long have you been here?" I asked, closing the door.

"Not even a welcome hug?" she asked teasingly. I frowned at her, my eyebrows meeting each other. "Hmmm... Starting Saturday."

"Saturday..." I repeated, trying to remember if anything significant happened then. "You mean-"

"Yup! The day you cried in the rain and hugged Ai-chan! That was a very passionate hug!"

"I-I wasn't r-really..." I said, a blush creeping to my cheeks.

"No need to hide it. Okaa-san knows everything," she said, smiling. Then her smile turned to a frown. "I'm glad you made progress but still... Damedayo, Shin-chan!"

"Dameda te... nani yo?"

A/N: 'Dameda' could mean 'Stop', 'Don't' or 'You shouldn't'. Now when Conan said 'Dameda te... nani yo?' it means 'What do you mean 'Dameda?'"

"A confession should be done in a special place. It should be memorable for the girl you're confessing to. It shouldn't be something you blurt out at impulse. And you should do it in a place where no one can bother you. You already tried confessing about three times today, right? Each and every time someone stopped you. Well... I guess that's a good thing. Now you can prepare for it."

I was silent for a moment, taking in what she said. "I... I guess so..." I replied hesitantly. I raised my eyes to meet hers. "So you're trying to say I should bring her somewhere special? Somewhere Mitsuhiko can't bother us and I can give her a memorable confession? Is there even such a pl-"

The restaurant where I brought Ran!

My mom looked at me critically. "I know what you're thinking, Shin-chan. You're thinking of bringing her to the place where your father proposed to me, right?"

"H-How did you know?"

She gave a small smile. "Living with your father for years has given me detective instincts as well. But I advice you against it." With the second sentence, her smile dropped, replaced by a stern expression.

"Why not?" I asked, pouting. Do my ideas suck that much?

"I don't think it's a good thing to bring her to a place where you brought Ran." My eyes widened at that. "It will make her seem like a s-"

"A substitute," I finished for her.

"I'm glad you understand."

"So you're trying to say I should bring her somewhere else?"

That teasing smile returned."You might not want me meddling in your affairs but I already reserved a restaurant for you on Friday. It's on the top floor of a hotel and they even have a garden on the rooftop. Now that's romantic! You two'll be the only people there. No obstructions, no-"

"Wait. We'll be the only people there?" I repeated.

"I reserved the whole restaurant!" she announced happily.

"That's great!" I said. I was about to say more, when a knock sounded on the door. We both looked at it, surprised, then it opened, revealing the face of my housemate. "Haibara?" I said, alarmed. Did she hear what we were just talking about?

She looked at us, expressionless, then said, "Dinner's ready." She turned to my mom and said, "Would you like to eat with us?"

My mom smiled. "I don't mind." She took my hand and said, "Let's go, Shin-chan."

I didn't really like the idea of her joining us for dinner. She'll tease me like crazy. I thought of a distraction, something that would make her change her mind. "What about dad? Didn't you come here with him? Do you want him to eat dinner alone?" I shot these questions one after another, seeming like I wasn't really asking for an answer.

She intentionally ignored the fact that she knew I didn't want her over. "Your father is attending a dinner conference right now. If I don't join you, then I'll have to eat alone. Besides, I don't want to refuse an invitation." She smiled at Haibara when she said the last sentence.

I gave a sigh, knowing that I had lost. We went back to Hakase's house, heading for the kitchen. We took our seats, my mom sitting next to me, Haibara across the table, and said, "Ittadakimasu."

The woman beside me took a bite, then stopped. "Ai-chan!" she exclaimed, "This tastes wonderful!"

Haibara seemed surprised for a moment, then smiled shyly. "Thank you."

She's so cute, I thought, then scolded myself for staring at her. The annoying woman who was my mom caught the stare and said to the shoujo (girl) I was looking at, "Your husband will be a very happy man."

Something tugged at Haibara's lips, a half-smile, half-smirk. "I sure hope so," she replied, "He is marrying me after all."

They both laughed at that and for the rest of dinner, I kept sneaking peeks at her but my mom didn't say anything and I was grateful for that.

When we finished, Haibara started clearing the plates. I helped her and my mom stood back, watching the scene, not saying anything. When we finished, my mom said, "Thanks for having me over, Ai-chan."

The shoujo nodded at her and said, "It was a pleasure. Ja... Oyasuminasai. (Goodnight.)" With that, she climbed the stairs, leaving me alone with my mom.

I didn't say anything until I heard the soft 'click' of her bedroom door closing. I released the breath I was holding for some unknown reason, frowned a little and thought, I know I love her and all, but it still kinda pisses me off to see that she actually has manners in front of everyone else.

Then something came to me. Something that caused me to lose my spirit and start to worry. I guess it was obvious because mom looked at me, a worried expression on her face. "What's wrong?"

I looked down, hiding my eyes with my hair, refusing to look at her. "Ne... Okaa-san..."

She knelt down to my height, trying to catch a glimpse of my eyes. "What is it, Shin-chan?"

"I'll be confessing to her and all, right? But..." I trailed off, not knowing if I should continue.

"But?"

I raised my head, looking at her. My eyes must have been full of worry, because the lines on her forehead deepened. "But..." I continued, "What if she rejects me?"

Her frown disappeared and she sighed with relief. "Is that it? Is that what you're worrying about?" she asked gently.

I nodded, confused at why she would act like that. She smiled and said, "Do you remember what I told you before? I told you 'The only reason girls would stare at a boy-unless they have something on their face-would be because they like him."

I blinked, still not getting what she meant. "What are you implying?" I asked.

"During dinner, Ai-chan stared at you five times."

I blinked twice. "Eh..? Then you mean..."

"Yup. I'm sure Ai-chan likes you, too." Then, in a teasing tone, she added, "But I think you like her more than she likes you. Because you stared at her seven times."

I blushed, my cheeks three shades of pink. But I thought of something once again and that thought made me worry even more.

"But... Okaa-san..."

"Hmmm?"

"I... I asked her 'Do you like me?' ... And... she said..." I mimicked Haibara's voice, "Don't flatter yourself, Kudo-kun."

My mom laughed a little. "That's a perfect imitation of Ai-chan," she exclaimed softly. Then she calmed down and said, "But think about what you just said, Shin-chan."

"Eh?"

"Don't flatter yourself... Isn't exactly a no is it?"

"Well... no..."

"And even if it were, think about it."

I stared at her for a moment, not understanding. Then, realization dawned on me. "You mean-"

"Yup."

I smiled a little. Then I guess there's no problem now. "Hey, it's past eight. It's about time you go," I said, starting my annoyed son act.

"Aww... Can't I stay for a while longer?" she responded, getting into the act.

We argued for a while, but my thoughts were elsewhere.

I promise you Haibara Ai. You're definitely not... a substitute.

CHAPTER 10: A SUBSTITUTE end~~~~

Read and review please!

Preview: Confrontation! With Mitsuhiko? With Ayumi? Don't ask me. (Even I don't know) Haha ^_^ Look forward to it.

Oh, and please read my other story Soap Opera. I swear it's not a tear-jerker. It might seem like it due to the title but it's not. It's not even directly about soap operas. It's a Conan x Ai fic. Only 3 chaps long. (But I haven't uploaded chap 2 yet) Please waste your time and read it!