"Aww, she's so cute!" Yukiko yelled excitedly at Chiharu who was eating her breakfast in her high chair, "I still don't believe I had became a grandma, and to this cute little girl here."
She finished her sentence as she pinched lightly Chiharu's little nose. The little one giggled at her in return.
Haibara smiled from the kitchen counter, seeing the grandma-grandchild duo teasing each other. She was glad to see her adopted daughter had grown to laugh more as the days went by. The house too, had became livelier with the arrival of Shinichi's parents.
"She won't be finishing her breakfast on time if you tease her so much." Yusaku said to his wife from across the dining table.
"And, it's almost time for us to get going, mom." Shinichi continued as he entered the kitchen and went to the countertop, "We still need to drop Chiharu by the day care first."
When Haibara handed his lunch bag, she saw his tie was a bit crooked. So she initiated to fix it and he let her. His face flushed because of their sudden closure, but he enjoyed it.
She smelled nice. He said to the back of his mind.
While she was fixing the tie, she felt the dorsum of her hand brushed something hard hidden under his shirt.
It shaped like a circle.
Then she realized it was their wedding ring pendant.
She suddenly recalled the night when he gave her the other pair and the words he said to her. She felt her cheeks becoming hotter.
Yukiko grinned mischievously, watching how stiff the two lovebirds from the corner of her eyes. Looked like she got an idea to push them further. It pained her neck when she saw how slow their progress were.
Yusaku saw her grin and he sighed in defeat.
"Boo, it's too bad we had to part this soon, Chiharu-chan." Yukiko ruffled her hair lightly. Then she turned to her husband.
"Hey Yu-chan, why don't we go somewhere tonight with Chiharu?" Yukiko gave her husband a wink, "Today is Friday anyway, it's weekend night."
"Good idea." The novelist got the hint, "Let's make it grandparent-grandchild bonding night."
"Then, let's pick her up later and go straight for the ride." She continued, "While at it, why don't we ask Professor Agasa and his wife to join?"
"Sure, the more the merrier."
"Yay! Did you hear that Chiharu-chan?" Yukiko turned to her again, "We are going somewhere tonight, so be ready."
Chiharu clapped her hands and laughed while saying 'yay' in return.
The talk between the grandparent had brought Shinichi and Haibara back from the little sweet moment they shared. They were dumbfounded by the direction their conversation was going.
Had they gone out of their mind? And to their surprise, Chiharu too?
"Are you serious?" Shinichi asked his mom.
"Of course!" Yukiko pouted childishly, "And you guys better go spend some time together tonight. You're a newly-wed after all."
The two blushed awkwardly at the last sentence Yukiko said. Right, yesterday was the day they submitted their documents to the registry office and it was approved, so they could call themselves a husband and wife now. Although, they didn't know why it rang so much in their ears when their marriage happened only for conveniences.
So that was her objective from the start. Shinichi thought.
"If that's so, then I'll prepare Chiharu's stuffs for tonight." Haibara said. She knew when it came to this, no one could argue more with her mother-in-law.
What more could happen between her and Shinichi, anyway?
.
.
.
It was such a sunny afternoon and Haibara was sitting by the window in her classroom, feeling bored as the lesson went on. The time seemed to move too slow after lunch.
She suddenly felt her phone vibrated. It was a message from the detective which was more interesting than the lesson in front. Lucky for her, she was seated quiet at the back so she went on and checked the message.
Bet you're feeling bored. He assumed.
Not anymore. What do you need? She typed back.
Can you help me identify this man?
Then he sent her a photo attachment.
Do you realize I'm still in the middle of a class, Kudo-kun? She typed with an annoyed look.
His reply this time came a bit slower than a second ago. Like, he was lost on what to respond to her retort.
You've gone through those classes more than ten years ago. He argued.
That was true, and that was why she was feeling bored.
Give me thirty minutes then. She smirked.
She began her research with her smartphone, while using her textbook to cover whatever she was doing from the teacher. However, Ayumi who sat beside Haibara, noticed her best friend had made various expressions within a minute.
How rare of her to be that obvious with her emotions.
Haibara finally sent her compiled report to the detective after she was done with her research, and she was just in time for the bell to her next lesson. She felt her phone vibrated again.
Thanks, Ai. The detective said.
She almost dropped her phone when she read his last message. She tried to suppress her face from reddening, but to no avail.
What had gone into his mind this time?
Even though it wasn't her real given name but it was still hers. Moreover it was given by the Professor, her adoptive father. It held the same weight in her heart. So, if he called her with that name, how did she suppose to react?
Ayumi grinned when she noticed Haibara's unusual expression again. It occurred to her that her best friend was really enjoying her time in class today. And now she was curious of the guy who she had been texting to.
He must be an amazing person to allow the cold Haibara to make such faces.
But for now, she would give her some space and observe her from a distance. She knew how hard her best friend would open up regarding personal matters such as this.
.
.
.
The house was surely felt empty without Chiharu around. She would usually crawling and cruising around once she stepped inside the house from the day care. Sometimes she would try to form some short sentences using her own baby speech to tell her adoptive parents how fun today's activities were.
But tonight, she wasn't at home with them for the first time.
Haibara was now curling up on the corner of the sofa, reading her fashion magazine while waiting for the delivery guy to arrive with their food.
Shinichi and her decided to have a take-out tonight so they could enjoy their free time without doing too many house chores.
She just realized that ever since their fated encounter that day, his proposal, her acceptance, their marriage, and the things with Chiharu; she hadn't been able to have this much free time for herself. Taking care of Chiharu really took more than half of her time in a day– longer than creating the antidote in her lab. It was fun though, and she had started to miss her now.
Was her life always this quiet and free before Chiharu came?
She was too immersed in her thought to notice someone was approaching her.
"You're still reading those magazines?" Shinichi asked.
She was flabbergasted by his sudden voice from behind her ears; her left cheek was touched by the warm steam from his hair. It appeared he had just gone out of the bath. He still had his towel around his neck too, and he got a can of beer on his right hand.
He chuckled at her reaction.
Perhaps reliving a life as a normal girl for eight years had made Haibara less coldhearted.
"Geez, can you please stop making my heart jumped, Kudo-kun?" She protested.
He somehow winced at how distant she called him. She did it once during their texts, but he tried to ignore it. He didn't know it felt so cold until she said it on his face.
"And when did I?" He teased.
"Your message this afternoon." She was annoyed at his innocent act, "What happened to the forensic team? You could have asked them to do the research instead of me."
"Nothing happened. They were just too slow while I needed the data quick." He replied as he sat on the sofa, next to her, and took a sip of his beer.
"And who authorized you to ask a high schooler, eh, Kudo-kun?"
He cringed again at the way she said his name. Did she purposely do that? She had said it with the same manner for two times in less than a minute.
"You can be my collaborator." He defensed.
"What made you think I'd agree, Kudo-kun?"
There, she went again. Was this her payback for this afternoon when he called her first name in his last message? Or was this for what he did a minute ago? But it wasn't his fault for the latter one.
"And what made you think you can keep calling me with my last name?" He finally couldn't stand it anymore.
He tried to turn the table to his side.
"Oh, then what should I call you?" She acted innocent now, "I've been calling you with that name for years."
She was right. There was nothing wrong with her calling him by his last name. She had been doing that since the first time they met.
Then why did he suddenly get agitated by it?
Shinichi also didn't know. He just didn't like it. She sounded so far when in fact she was this close to him.
"Start calling me with a friendlier name at least." He tried to give her a hint.
"Like what?" She teased, "Tantei-san? Chiharu's adopted dad?"
He groaned. As if those were friendly names.
"Shinichi." He said firmly while staring at her eyes deeply, "Call me by my first name, Ai."
Haibara flinched when he suddenly said her name. If her heart was almost jumped just from reading her name on his text, so how her heart would stand when she heard him saying it openly like this?
Of course, her heart would explode.
Moreover, he purposely stressed her name so it stood out more from all the other words he said.
He wasn't actually expecting her to react this much when he saw how red her face could get. He could feel his heart beat louder from excitement. He felt satisfied.
He had eventually turned the table now and she wasn't expecting this.
She clenched her mouth as she tried to fight back.
"W-Why should I call you by your first name?" She stuttered. He knew for sure she was displeased now, but the tint was still on her cheeks.
Yeah, why should she?
"Because as of yesterday, you're also a Kudo." He smiled, "Don't forget we share the same family name now, Ai."
He showed that smile to her. The smile he always had whenever he checkmated his opponents.
At that instance, Haibara understood she had no way of escaping this aside from acknowledging her defeat. No, in fact, she knew from the moment she stumbled, she was ready to fall anytime soon.
"Why don't you try saying it now, Ai?"
And how could she think of anything when he called her name numerous times like this? She could feel her ears were getting hot now. It sounded so perfect in her ears.
Shinichi too, couldn't control his mind anymore when he saw her ears were getting red. He drew closer and she backed away as far as she could. She hugged her magazine tightly to her chest and brought her curled up legs to keep the gap between them.
She started to panic when she realized she had no more rooms on her back. Curse her for choosing that spot to sit.
Shinichi chuckled again at how timid Haibara was now.
Turned out she could be cute sometimes.
He wasn't going to retreat soon though. Just push her a bit more and he would achieved his goal.
"So?"
Haibara could see excitement in his eyes. Damn, he enjoyed this.
She lowered her head and shut her eyes to save herself from his gaze. She could hear her heartbeat now. Or was it his? All she knew the room was now filled with the beating sound and he was waiting for her to say his name.
"Shi-"
She was finally going to say it, but her voice came out too soft.
"Hmm?"
So he got closer.
His upper body was now almost hovering her– his right arm was rested on the headrest while the other was beside her. She could feel his body temperature and his drooping towel on her knees.
"Shi-" She raised her voice a bit.
Almost there.
"Shini-"
DING DONG!
Both of them were startled by the door bell. It was their food delivery.
Shit.
Shinichi groaned again in disappointment. He had waited for this moment yet why did the delivery guy had to arrive now?
She sighed in relief. She better gave the delivery man a tip later as her thanks for getting her out from this damn situation.
When everything had calmed down, suddenly Haibara's stomach made a loud growling sound.
The two looked at each other in surprise, then the tint on her face was hardening. She was mortified by how unladylike she was, but he laughed.
Shinichi saw how her ears were red again from getting embarassed, and he couldn't help but think how adorable she was. Without thinking, he brought his left hand to cup her right jaw and nestled his thumb on her right ear. She whimpered at their sudden contact, but she didn't protest.
He didn't realize the next thing he did, as he closed the gap between them and kissed her forehead before getting up from his position.
The kiss lasted only for a few milliseconds but he could feel his face getting warmer when he walked away. He heard the door bell rang again but he ignored it. He needed to calm himself before he opened the door.
Meanwhile, Haibara stayed in her position with her hands covered the spot he just touched and kissed. His touches were still lingered, hot on her skin. Looked like her blush wasn't going to fade soon.
What had happened just now?
They spent the rest of the evening in quiet. No one was brave enough to look each other in the eyes even though they were eating on the same table or doing their own things in the same room. It felt awkward after they realized what they just did before.
"Why don't we watch a movie?" Shinichi was the first one to break the silence.
Haibara lowered her magazine to stare at him with suspicious eyes. She was no longer curling up on the corner but in the middle of the sofa, while Shinichi was occupying the armchair. What did he want now?
"J-just to kill time while we're waiting for Chiharu to come home." He laughed sheepishly.
She smirked when she couldn't stand the awkwardness anymore. At least he had tried to break the tension in the air.
"Sure." She replied, "You choose the movie."
Shinichi was glad the unpleasant feeling between them was resolved. He opened the movie app on the TV to see the available collection while thinking of which one should he choose for them to watch.
"What genre do you have in mind?" He asked without looking at her.
"Anything but mystery please, Shinichi." She answered without looking at him either.
"Okay."
It took him a second to realize she had called him by his first name.
He turned his head to stare back at her in disbelief. Even though she tried to cover the lower half of her face with the magazine she held, but he still could see her glancing at him with a blush. It was rare of her to show such kind of a face on her own.
Her expression confirmed him that he heard nothing wrong, and so he blushed.
"What?" Haibara tried to get her cool composure again.
"Can you say it again?" Shinichi asked excitedly, his blush was still there.
"What?"
"Not that, but the one before that." He wanted to hear it nice and clear this time, "Say my name again.
"Hell no." She retorted shyly.
"Aw, come on." His grin was getting wider.
"You better stop this, Shinichi." She said it while looking away to hide her face further.
His heart was full with happiness when he heard his name coming out from her lips again. He felt the distance between them had became closer now. And it was even closer than the one they once had eight years ago.
He made a note at the back of his mind to say thanks to his mom later, for leaving the two of them by themselves tonight.
Author's note: I hope Haibara wasn't too OOC in this story, especially with her blushing here and there. Well, what I had in mind was she had spent her time as a normal girl for eight years, free from the BO and grew in an environment full of love (unlike before). So these stuffs might change her character a bit, don't you think? Especially when she was best friend with a charming girl such as Ayumi.
Please give me your comments and reviews.
Happy reading!
Disclaimer: All characters of Detective Conan are belong to Aoyama Gosho. I don't own any single of them.