Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi

Rating: T

In Other Shoes

Chapter 5 - Mother Knows Best

Yukiko pounced on Shinichi the moment he walked through the apartment's front door. He let out an involuntary and most undignified squeak and dropped his bag of books as he tried to fend her off. As luck would have it, said books landed on his toes, and his squeak turned into a yelp of pain.

His mother finally backed off at that, though she didn't go far. Instead, she planted her hands on her hips and regarded him with a knowing smirk that only served to unnerve him further.

"You should have told me you were going on a date," Yukiko said admonishingly. "I would have helped you prepare a more appropriate outfit."

Shinichi choked on thin air. "What? I wasn't—what are you talking about?"

"Now, now, I saw that young man you were with, so there's no point trying to hide it~."

"We were not on a date!" Shinichi exclaimed, blushing bright red. "I just ran into him at the park, and he insisted on walking me back."

Yukiko leaned forward to peer intently into his face. "Is that really all?"

"Of course it is," he spluttered, pushing her away and ducking down to pick up the bag of books he'd dropped. "I don't know why you would even think that it might have been a date. That's so random. It's not like I even know the guy."

His mother heaved a melodramatic sigh. "Well, you can't blame a mother for hoping."

That comment earned her a bug-eyed stare from one flabbergasted detective. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think it would be good for you," the (crazy) woman continued with an earnest expression that Shinichi was not very inclined to buy. "You need to spend more time with people your own age outside of crime scenes. Make some new friends. Let yourself enjoy life a little more. If you did, I'm sure you wouldn't feel so stressed all the time."

"Dating is for people who don't have anything better to do with their time," he grumbled. "If I had to waste time socializing, I'm pretty sure I'd only be more stressed. It's not like criminals wait around for you to finish having your time off."

"But you're on vacation now," his mother argued. "At least think about it. I know you and Ran-chan didn't work out, but that doesn't mean you should give up on finding someone altogether. You don't really want to end up all alone, do you?"

"Mom," Shinichi sighed, the one word managing to express a weariness well beyond what anyone his age should be experiencing. "Please. This is ridiculous." He headed into his room to put his new books away with his mother trailing on his heels.

"It's not ridiculous at all," she argued. "At least consider it. Everyone deserves a chance, don't they?"

Shinichi grimaced. "It doesn't matter one way or the other. Like I said, he was just walking me back because he didn't want to let a girl walk around alone at night. He's not interested in me like that." So there, he added to himself. That should put an end to the matter.

Except of course it didn't.

"He's interested. I can tell," Yukiko declared. "You just wait and see."

"Right. Whatever."

"So you should really think about what you're going to say when he asks."

"He isn't going to ask," Shinichi exclaimed in exasperation. "Besides, he doesn't even know who I am." And he would like to keep it that way, thank you. "It would be irresponsible to start any kind of relationship while I'm in disguise. It wouldn't be fair. If anything, it would be downright cruel to lead someone on like that."

"It wouldn't be leading them on if you're being yourself," his mother pointed out, though she sounded at least somewhat subdued. "This is your chance to get to know some people without the bias of your reputation getting in the way."

Shinichi had to admit that his mother was making a logical argument—but only to an extent. "How am I supposed to be myself while I'm in disguise? That just fundamentally doesn't work."

"It would be like when you were Conan," Yukiko replied. "You were mostly being yourself then too even though you were in disguise."

Unable to refute her latest point, Shinichi sank onto the foot of his bed and frowned up at his mother where she was hovering in his doorway. "Mom, I understand where you're coming from, but I am not looking for a relationship. So can we please talk about something else?"

His mother was silent for a long moment as they locked gazes—mirrored pools of sapphire blue glittering in the room's soft, artificial light. Eventually, the former actress let out a short exhale.

"Come on. Miyako-chan ordered us some takeout from a place run by a friend of hers. She says it's very good." Yukiko turned towards the apartment's well-lit kitchen. "Oh but Shin-chan, I expect you to think about what I said. Everyone needs someone they can open up to. It doesn't have to be a lover, but there should be someone."

Shinichi trailed after her, wondering when his mother had become so…motherly. It was weird. He wasn't sure what to make of it.

All his life, his parents had been, well, not the kind of people a child goes to for things. The ceaseless teasing had always driven Shinichi mad, and those know-it-all looks from his father! Like the man knew everything already that you were trying to figure out and was laughing at you for not being quite at his level… Was it any wonder Shinichi never wanted to ask the man for help? Then there had been his mother, always the carefree spirit doing whatever she wanted without a care for the consequences. They were like overgrown children.

To put it bluntly, his parents had been unreliable, selfish, and self-centered geniuses in their own worlds where a child was really just another outsider. They had loved him, he knew that much, but they had always been more in love with their own lives and work—living in the moment and flying all over the world, being the glamorous couple.

Over the years, they had become more like an aunt and uncle than a mother and father to Shinichi, who felt like he had already surpassed both elder Kudos in maturity by the time he turned fourteen.

So it was no surprise that he had no idea what to say when Yukiko started behaving like a parent.

-To be Continued-