Side Story: Chiharu's Wish

The last thing she remembered, she was having a very good dream in her sleep and when she opened her eyes in the morning, she was greeted by the warmest smile she could ever see in her life. It was the smile that she missed for the whole night. The smile of her mom.

After a warm bath, her mom would make her breakfast while she was waiting on her high chair. Not long after, she felt a very big warm hand ruffling her hair. It was ticklish so she was giggling at it. The big hand belonged to her dad. Then she smelled something nice in a cup, but she didn't know what it was. Her mom gave it to her dad and he drank it. It was such a lovely morning like any other mornings she would usually had.

They went on a ride but somehow there were many bags and stuffs behind the car. When the car stopped, her mom carried her to a door. There, they were greeted by a stranger.

Oh, Wait.

On a second thought, she knew who he was. He was her mom's childhood best friend which she forgot who his name was. She had met him once in a while, but not too often. They had a conversation, but it was too fast for her to catch. She only understood some words like 'going' 'days' 'take care' and her name. Then her mom handed her to him. So now she was carried by the man.

Her dad told her to behave well and not to make trouble for the man in front of her. They would be back after she slept for five times, and she nodded. She felt afraid when she knew her parents were going to leave her, but then her mom kissed her forehead and said they loved her.

She complied, feeling much better.

It wasn't so bad playing all day with this man. He had so many weird books with a lot of alphabets, but no pictures. She enjoyed it though because he read it for her.

Some time after she had her first sleep, she woke up and saw the man looked at her with sad eyes. But why?

When the evening came, she started to seek for her mom. She felt uncomfortable with the new bed she had, and needed her voice singing lullaby in order to sleep. Then she cried as hard as she could. She felt the man cuddled her but it was still not right. As she was tired from all the cries, so she was drifted to sleep.

That night she had a nightmare. The night after that too. And no matter how many times she had slept, her mom and dad were not coming back.

Until one day, she felt another arm. It wasn't her mom's but it had the same warmth. And her hushing voice was so soothing as her hand stroked her back in slow motion.

When she looked up, she saw a face that was quiet similar to her mom's but it wasn't her. She had a shorter hair and its color was different too. It was pinkish, like a mix of strawberry milk and apple jams. Her eyes were blue and cold, but it became warm when she talked to her.

Chiharu snuggled to her more. She had decided she liked her.

She definitely wanted her hug and her voice saying good night when she was going to bed tonight. And the night after tonight. And the night after that too.

She also wished these same arms would be there to hold her every time she had nightmares, and every time she woke up in the morning.

No one could replace her mom's arms, but these new ones were nice too.

.

.

.

"Here you go."

Shinichi handed her a mug of hot coffee as he sat down beside her. He knew she would need her caffeine if she was going to survive for the night. It was the least he could make for her in this late hours.

Haibara received it with a tired smile as she slumped more into the sofa. She made an almost inaudible moan sound after she took a sip of the coffee. It was perfect to her liking. It amazed her how he still remembered the way she made her coffee.

It surely felt nice when there was someone who gave you warmth. Just like how this coffee emitted its comfort through the thin wall of the bone china.

"She missed her mom." She said softly.

"Yeah."

Both of them knew losing both of her parents at one year old was hard for Chiharu. It wouldn't be as bad if she was younger than six months, but for a one-year-old baby, she had recognized people's faces and had gotten familiar with touches. So she already knew so well that she hadn't seen her mom and dad for days.

And only Haibara could sooth Chiharu out from all the insecurities she felt.

Well, call it a woman instinct, or maybe just two people who shared a similar fate.

"This reminds me of the times when I was working on the antidote." Haibara remarked while staring at her half empty mug.

She tried to break the heavy air.

"And I would sometimes call you during these hours because I was sure you were still awake." He chuckled at the memories.

Looked like he got the hint.

"Right, because you were toiling me."

"But you agreed."

They went quiet for awhile before they smiled to each other.

When was the last time they had a friendly argument like this?

"Why don't you move in here instead?" He asked on a whim, "It saves you from running back and fort in the ungodly hours."

"And since when have you cared for me?" She smirked.

"I have always cared for you, you know."

She smiled at his pouting face. Moving in with him was actually a nice idea though, since she had been literally staying the night here for two nights in a row and only to get home at every dawn. She needed to move in here once they were married anyway, which was by the end of this week.

"Okay." She said, "I will occupy the room beside Chiharu's then."

Shinichi blushed harder when he finally got her words. Of course, they wouldn't be sharing the same bedroom because their marriage only happened due to some inevitable circumstances. What was he hoping?

"Pervert." She teased when she noticed his expression.

Well, it seemed Chiharu's wish had been granted.

Disclaimer: All characters of Detective Conan are belong to Aoyama Gosho. I don't own any single of them.