Weekend mornings were the perfect time for staying under blanket. There was no work for Shinichi, no school for Ai, and no daycare for Chiharu. However it seemed the youngest member of the Kudo family couldn't get the names of days yet, but she had grasp the concept of time. So she was the first one among them to wake up to greet the Saturday's morning sun.
The first thing she did was to get down from her crib and then cruise toward her door to get out of the nursery room.
Ai was the second to follow, because she needed to prepare Chiharu's breakfast and bath if the baby was awoke. She heard her bedroom door opened but her eyelids were to heavy, so she ignored it. No one else but them were in the house anyway. Then she felt little fingers were brushing her hair from the side. She opened her eyes a bit, and was greeted by her daughter's smile and babbling.
She smiled back and greeted the little one a good morning. She yawned as she sat up straight. It was time for her to get out of the bed.
The last one to wake up was Shinichi. As always, he would sleep late on the weekends to finish a mystery book or watch mystery crime series marathon. He was planning to get up late, just before the time for him to drive the Professor and his wife to the airport. But then he felt something climbed on top of his back and gave him small punches.
He groaned, awaken by the disturbance and turned his back around. He heard small giggling as his shoulder and arm fell on the thing beside him. He snapped open his eyes to see it was Chiharu. Maybe she thought he was playing wrestling with her.
He laughed and said good morning to her. Instead of getting up, he snuggled more to the baby, making her a human bolster– which earned him a kick in the stomach because she kept wriggling to escape from his hug. He finally gave up on getting his sleep back and got up to start the day.
It was such a fine Saturday morning filled with Chiharu's laughter. It had been a month since she was adopted to the family and she was getting accustomed to the new routines she had.
It had also been a month since Shinichi and Ai were married and they were still stuck with exchanging first names.
Well, at least they progressed a little (thanks to Yukiko who was already back to America with Yusaku).
They were now standing in the middle of the busy airport, because today was the return flight for Agasa and his wife to England. They wanted to stay longer but Fusae was going to launch a new apparel design so she had to get back soon. While Agasa didn't want to be separated from her for too long.
Such a lovey-dovey couple they were.
"I'm gonna miss you so much, Ai-kun." Agasa hugged Ai.
She smiled as she hugged him back.
"Don't forget to watch for your diet, dad." She reminded him, as always.
She then turned to Fusae to bid her farewell. The two ladies were having a small talk, while Agasa approached Shinichi who was carrying Chiharu on his shoulders.
He stood a bit farther than the rest to give space for the family to have their last talk before they parted again. And Agasa used this chance to have a private talk with the young detective.
"Please take care of Ai-kun, Shinichi." Agasa reminded him, "Even though some parts of her has changed but nothing could really change her dark past."
Shinichi was taking the words into his mind seriously. He knew well enough that right now the Professor was saying this to him not as his acquaintance but as a father to Ai.
"So please let her feel what happiness is in this second chance of her life." He continued, "I won't forgive you if you ever make her life suffer again."
Shinichi nodded in response and smiled to reassure the old man.
"I will, Professor."
With that, they heard the last call for their flight was announced. Agasa and Fusae were then saying goodbye to Chiharu and walked to the departure gate as they waved their hands to the three of them.
They left the airport once the old couple were completely unseen in the crowd. The time on the departure board showed it wasn't even afternoon yet, so it meant they still had the whole day to themselves today.
"So, do you have any idea where we should go now?" Shinichi asked.
They were walking to the car park, side by side. Chiharu was still on Shinichi's shoulders.
Ai shook her head to tell the detective that she also had no idea. This was the first time they went outside, the three of them. There were actually a lot of places for a family outing, but Ai was worried.
Would they look normal walking together?
He was twenty seven years old and she was seventeen. Although they were legally married, but would their society accept that? From all perspectives, their relationship would only be seen as something improper.
Furthermore, they were with Chiharu now. Wouldn't it look like an irresponsible adult having a baby with a high schooler?
Telling them that she was a shrunken-twenty-eight-years-old scientist would be impossible too. That was why, aside from to avoid getting questioned, she asked to make this marriage a secret.
She only wanted to protect this new little family she had. It was the only string that link her to him.
Shinichi seemed to understand what she had been thinking. They weren't partners for nothing.
In fact, he was also having the same thought as hers. As the head of the family, he had the responsibility to protect his family but as a man, he wanted to keep her safe by his side. Just like how he kept her safe from them years ago, but this time it wasn't because of the antidote.
It was the promise he made to her adoptive dad and he would definitely do anything to keep it.
He brought his hand to Ai's head, ruffling her hair a bit.
"Let's go somewhere a bit farther then." He grinned.
Ai was at loss by his sudden gesture, although she understood that he was trying to tell her not to endure the burden by herself. He was also in this with her together.
"You're messing my hair." She tried to look annoyed, but she couldn't hide the tint on her cheeks.
If God were exist, she would pray for this little joy to last.
However, little did they knew that in this hustle bustle of the airport and the 0.001% chance for them to meet someone they recognized, there was a certain someone who saw them.
"Isn't that Haibara-san from class B?" A boy around seventeen years old said to himself.
He was standing near the café counter, waiting for his frappe when he glanced at a familiar strawberry blonde hair.
The boy was going to call out to her but he was stunned by her blushing annoyed face. He was also blushing without him realizing. He never knew if she could make another expression aside from her usual poker face.
She looked cute.
Although it looked like there was someone beside her. He tried to peek a bit more to see who the person was, and to his surprise it was the famous detective of the East. What was more, there was this little baby girl on the detective's shoulders. They walked side by side and were having a fun conversation. They seemed to have a close relationship– just like a family.
What was that?
"An order for Yuuto-san!"
The boy was startled by the voice of the barista.
"H-Here. Thank you." The boy replied.
They were gone out of his sight when he looked back to the direction he last saw them. Maybe he could ask her about this some time later when they met at school.
.
.
.
"Dadda!"
Both Shinichi and Ai stared at the baby with their wide eyes. She was waving her hands cheerfully toward the detective, asking for a cuddle.
The three of them had just arrived at their destination and Shinichi was going to unbuckle the baby seat at the back to let Chiharu out. That was when they heard a voice. They were sure no one was talking between them.
Was that Chiharu's voice just now?
"Dadda!"
It was her voice.
The two grown ups were having teary eyes when they realized Chiharu was talking her first word, especially Shinichi who was suddenly making a fuss over it because she called him daddy.
"Did you hear that, Ai?" He asked unbelievably, "She is saying her first word and calling me daddy at the same time!"
He really was Yukiko's son, huh?
"Yeah, yeah." Ai answered with a cool smile.
But she was happy. She softened her smile as she watched Shinichi tried to make Chiharu talked once again.
Right, she definitely would pray for this little joy to last, if God were exist.
Author's note: Notice the changes I made with Ai's name? Right, since Shinichi and her had been exchanging first names, so what's the point of keep calling her Haibara in the narration? She was a Kudo now, anyway. Hope you like this chapter too.
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Disclaimer: All characters of Detective Conan are belong to Aoyama Gosho. I don't own any single of them.