Some faint noises were invading his ears as Yuuto opened his eyes slowly. All he could see was white. He squinted his eyes, unable to take the light in for it was too bright to his sobering eyesight. He then brought one of his hand to cover his view.

He somehow felt lightheaded.

He gained his consciousness completely few seconds later. His vision and hearing were getting clear too. He could see the white thing that looked like a ceiling now and it was so bright because the lights were on, while his ears could finally catch some muffled noises of two people talking from somewhere outside the room. He rolled his eyes to his side, trying to perceive the situation he was in.

To his relief, he saw Haru sitting by his side. He threw a weak smile at the dog that seemed to be guarding him all this while.

"Woof!" It said, greeting its master happily while panting.

The boy sat up slowly, gaining him a slight throbbing headache. He groaned as he brought his hand to caress the spot that throbbed the most. He then noticed a fallen blanket around his waist. At once he realized that he was just woken up on a couch in the Kudos' living room.

Did he just pass out?

He looked around to search for something that might give him some clues about his current state. He felt lucky when his eyes landed on the grandfather clock that sat on the corner of the room. To his dread, the clock hands showed it was nearing dinner time. So now he knew he had fainted for almost half a day!

He tried to recall what happened to him before he passed out. As minutes passed by, pieces by pieces of his memory were recollected and his eyes were widened upon remembering everything completely. He blushed madly when he recalled the last part he witnessed: the kissing scene.

Soon after, he heard the door to the living room gently opened.

"You've regained your consciousness, it seems."

It was Ai. It looked like she had changed her camisole into something least exposing like a loose t-shirt, although she was wearing the same shorts he last saw her. Still, he couldn't hold his blush from deepening when he saw her face; the image of her receiving a kiss from the detective kept replaying over and over in his head.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

She approached him with a glass of water in her hand and handed it for him to drink. He received it with a muffled thanks. Ai understood why he reacted that way; he must have seen some unfitting scenes between her and the detective. She brushed it off though by keeping her cool facade on her face. Then she sat on her knees and grabbed Yuuto's free hand to check on his pulse. He froze for a moment there.

"Do you feel hurt anywhere?" She asked him again.

"N-No." He stuttered. He felt too self-conscious realizing this was the closest he had ever been with her.

"You should be fine then." She explained, releasing his hand. "Just don't do your physical training too hard for a week and you will recover from your fatigue in no time."

Yuuto nodded unknowingly. He was astonished by the way Ai explained things about his condition. It was so precise as if he had been consulting his health to a doctor. He knew she was well-known for being one of the smartest girls in their school, but this was his first time to witness it himself.

"How is he, Ai?" Shinichi asked as he walked into the room.

Both Yuuto and Ai turned their heads to look at him. Just then, Shinichi noticed the boy had awakened and was in his sitting position.

"Ah, you're conscious now." He remarked.

The soccer captain threw him a glare in return, displeased at his sudden intrusion for breaking the good mood he shared with Ai.

"He's fine, only a low blood pressure and some fatigue." Ai stood up and walked toward the detective, filling him in with every information she knew. "It seems he hadn't eaten his breakfast this morning as well considered his low blood sugar level."

"So that's why he passed out when he hastily stood up from such position." Shinichi continued with the conclusion.

Ai nodded in agreement.

"I've injected him with some glucose a little while after you left this morning." She explained further. "It's a good thing I always put some in the Professor's first aid kit."

Just like he always did, the detective was amused at her detailed explanation. She surely could manage everything well even without his help.

"Practicing really hard, weren't you?" He turned to the boy with a smirk plastered on his face; he was teasing him.

"Shut up." Yuuto hissed back.

He somehow was pissed off watching the detective and the strawberry blonde engaged in a talk that he didn't truly grasp. He knew they were discussing about him, but their flow of conversation was just too fast for him to follow and they were using some terms he didn't really understand.

They seemed to have their own world that was out of his league.

"Mammaa?"

The three of them heard Chiharu's voice from the hallway. She was looking for her mom, but she didn't cry or wail– only calling. It seemed she got lonely for being left alone in her playroom that was just right beside the living room. Although it hadn't been an hour since her mom left her there to get a talk with her dad.

"I guess I have to get back to Chii now." Ai told Shinichi; he replied her with a light chuckle.

Noticing the time, she bet the baby girl did not only feel lonesome but also hungry by now.

"Mammaa?" The little girl called her again, louder this time.

"Coming, Chii." She replied as she walked toward the door and left the room.

Shinichi's small smile lingered on his lips, his eyes followed his wife until she was no longer seen and the door closed. Contrarily, Yuuto's shoulders slumped in a depressing manner. His heart had unknowingly dripped some blood when he heard the little girl called his crush. So she was not only a wife to the detective but also a mom to Chiharu now.

The room was filled with silence once the two guys were left alone.

"So." Shinichi was the first one to break the stillness as he plopped onto the armchair, leg crossed. His head was leaning on one side to his fist in a thinking pose, his elbows rested on the armrests. "Looks like you have a lot of explaining to do here."

"Me?" Yuuto was lost to what the detective meant by his last throwing line; he was too dumbstruck by the new-founding secrets about his crush and the man in front of him. His brain was too small to take everything in all at once.

"From what I see, you should be Tomomi-san's grandson who was away on a three-days summer camp– well, soccer training camp if I may say. Am I right?" Shinichi deduced. "What were you doing behind those bushes in my yard?"

Yuuto immediately slapped himself for forgetting the fact that he hid in his yard this morning. That certainly demanded an explanation from him to Shinichi as the owner of the house.

Aside from that, the detective's deduction had left him flabbergasted. He never told him about the camp, not even the fact that he was one of his acquaintances' grandson.

Was it the dog that hinting the red string?

How could such a little hint gave him this much extend of a deduction?

Damn, detective.

"I did nothing. I was only delivering something Obaa-san asked me to." He replied with a scowl. "But something startled me, so I hid myself in the bush."

He was too mortified to say it was Shinichi who startled him.

"Oh, is that so?" Shinichi asked doubtfully, although he clearly remembered the promise Tomomi made about sending them something for Chiharu. "Then which part of our conversation did you eavesdrop?"

It took a short second for Yuuto to let go of his scowl before he finally blushed once again as his memory replayed the image of the strawberry blonde receiving a kiss on the forehead from the detective for the umpteenth time this evening.

Screw his memory– he just couldn't forget her expression. It was unlike any other expressions he had ever seen on her face in spite of their recent close friendship. It was even much intriguing than the one he saw months ago at the airport.

"L-Like hell I'd like to hear them!" He retorted with his flustered face. "I only heard the last part!"

"Really?" Shinichi rolled his eyes, not missing the embarrassed face the soccer guy made.

Yuuto's grip on the glass– the one he had been holding on his hands– was tightened. He tried to calm himself, but couldn't hold the veins on his skull from popping up. He was agitated by those interrogative questions.

Even though he knew he was at fault here for accidentally overhearing their talk while he wasn't suppose to do that, it didn't mean that Shinichi was innocent either in this case.

"Heh, why am I the only one being interrogated here?" He scorned. "You have something to explain too, haven't you?"

Instead of answering, Shinichi purposely acted to know nothing by pointing himself with his forefinger and having that innocent look on his face. In which, it aroused the soccer captain more than he already had.

"Don't give me that dumb look. I heard very nice and clear when you called Haibara-san your wife this morning." He asked straightforwardly as he deepened his stare into his eyes, seeking the truth behind his incoming replies.

"So what if I did?" Shinichi replied without any hesitation in his serious tone. His gaze was sharpened in a split second, piercing back into the boy's in a protective manner like a lance. And as if he had been practicing the line over and over before this, he finally said, "It is only right to call her that when Ai is indeed married to me, isn't it? But it isn't like this matter is related to you."

Yuuto was taken aback. While he was thinking he would deny it and tried to cover it up, he didn't expect the detective would easily admit such a mind-blowing truth that he had been keeping as a secret.

Besides, he conscientiously agreed that he didn't have any rights to meddle in this. He was only a friend who had a crush on the strawberry blonde. Even so, he had to say he did mind a lot about this matter. He could care less about whatever people would call him– an egoist, a busybody, anything– his heart couldn't just let this slip off.

"Why her?" The soccer captain asked. "She is only seventeen, damn it."

Shinichi could see anger and jealousy in the boy's eyes, just like how he used to see them in his own dark blue orbs about two months ago when he was struggling with the mystery of his own feeling. He sighed, knowing he won't back away that easily– a particular proof that he needed to draw a very clear line for the boy to give up on his wife.

"Why do you think a guy proposed a marriage to a girl?" He replied with another question.

"Wha–? Just answer the damn quest–!"

"Of course it's because I love her." Shinichi cut him off. "It's because I love Ai that I asked her to marry me in spite of everything."

And he hoped these words were strong enough to kick whatever feeling the boy had for Ai, giving his consciences a nudge that he better put the flame to an end before it was too late.

He discreetly crossed his fingers though at the half truth that he only realized he loved her after they were married. But perhaps, it wasn't totally a lie either if the spark was already there when they met again that day, which urged him to utter the-seemed-to-be-nonsense proposal.

"So it isn't because of the thing with Chiharu-chan's adoption?" Yuuto knitted his brows in a slight.

"Well, that." Shinichi halted his tongue for a bit before continuing. His serious expression fell into a smile then he chuckled lightly at the fond memory. "You can say it was Chii who let our lives intertwined with each other and gave me a chance to confess this lingering feeling I have for her."

Yuuto shut his mouth, speechless by the fact that Shinichi answered his questions without even the slightest hint of wavering, specifically at the brief moment when he said he loved her– it vexed Yuuto greatly.

And by the look he saw on Ai's face every time she was interacting with this man, he could guess that she reciprocated his feeling. That explained a lot why her icy walls seemed to melt whenever she was with the detective.

Never did he know until now how suffocating it could be, realizing he didn't even have one little chance to get closer to his crush's heart.

"Look, I'm not trying to be a hypocrite here." Shinichi took the opportunity over his silence. "But can you keep this truth a secret from everyone, especially the detective boys?"

The soccer captain looked at him with wide eyes before he clenched his teeth and lowered his head until his fringe covered half of his face in its shadow. How could this man ask such a shameless thing after his secret was revealed?

Shinichi noticed the guy's indecisiveness in giving out his answer. He wasn't surprised if he had a lot of objection with such a request. Anyone would certainly think twice to take this to their graves when they clearly knew the society wasn't easily pleased by the scenario of an adult marrying a high schooler.

Nonetheless, he had promised Ai that everything would be alright and he would make it true no matter how.

"Honestly, I don't really care much if this secret was revealed to the public, but since Ai hates public's over-attention so I respect her will to keep it that way." Shinichi said.

Yuuto tightened his lips into a thin line in misery. How sly this man was, to use her name while he totally understood that his heart was weak against her.

"Fine." He replied, holding back his anger. "I'll keep this a secret from everyone."

Shinichi sighed in relief. Despite using her name to his advantage, he felt lucky that the boy was willing to cooperate with him to keep all the things he witnessed as secrets.

Watching the detective almost back to being gleeful because he finally agreed to him, Yuuto rolled his eyes annoyingly.

"As for your information, I'm doing it for her, not you." He added with an irritated hiss.

The detective only managed a weak smile in return, hoping he had discerned wrongly about the boy's hint of determination.

Other than that, he was relieved that at least everything was all well-settled in the end.

.

.

.

The door to the living room was slowly opened as its creaking sound filled the silence in the room. The strawberry blonde entered the dwelling with a confused look to see her husband was alone in there.

There wasn't even a sign of the golden retriever anywhere around.

Shinichi was sitting on the single-seater with his eyes closed and his fingers pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked so tired before he lifted his eyes upon sensing her intrusion to the room.

"Did he already leave?" She asked him.

"Yeah, some minutes ago." He replied with a tired smile as he stood up and walked closer to her.

She looked at him in the eye, desperately wanting to ask him how the things went after she left him and Yuuto by themselves. She ceased it, however, noticing the exhausted mind of the detective.

"Well then, too bad the dinner's ready." Ai plainly said, trying to loosen things up a bit.

Shinichi let out a small chuckle in return. Of course the boy won't have the guts to join them for dinner after the talk they were having.

Assuming everything was alright on his end, she broke their eye contact a short second later. She was going to turn around, hinting Shinichi to follow her to the kitchen to have their dinner. Yet, he grabbed her wrist before she could move and pulled her into his arms– she squealed in surprise.

"Wha–"

"Only a minute." He said huskily, interrupting her before she could go on with her fuss. "Let me stay like this only for a minute, Ai."

She didn't budge right after that or did she say anything to break the hug. With a faint blush on her cheeks, she cluelessly let him quench himself by staying still in his embrace.

Then just like he said, he released her a minute later, with a grin plastered on his lightened up face.

"Alright, I'm all recharged." He cheerfully said and began to walk pass her, toward the kitchen.

Ai followed him with her eyes, a bit stupefied by his sudden whim. But then her face fell into a soft loving smile as she watched him from his back. She took some steps, getting closer to him and slowly reached one of her hands out for his arm.

"Ah, right." Shinichi suddenly stopped his track, turning his body slightly to glance at her from over his shoulder. His brain was reminded to ask her about their daughter. He was feeling a bit guilty for spending only a very little time with her this evening. "How is Chii–"

He was just in time though, for her hand to land on his forearm, grabbing it with a bit of force, and pulled him against her. He gasped recklessly without finishing his question, as he staggered to her side before he felt his cheek met with her lips.

"I love you, Shinichi." Ai whispered to his ears and sweetly threw him a smile. She walked out of the room afterwards, heading for the kitchen while leaving her husband who was standing in a daze by himself.

"Chii is already asleep in her room, by the way." He heard her voice from the hallway, replying to his previous question. "What time do you think it is?"

Although it didn't matter anymore now.

As he felt his blood rushing in and out of his heart through his arteries and veins, Shinichi couldn't stop himself from blushing madly upon hearing her out of the blue confession. It was so rare of her to say those words during their passionate moments, let alone under normal circumstances. In fact, this was only his second time receiving a love confession from her– the first ones was during their very first night.

He couldn't find any other perfect words to describe the feeling he had right now, except that he was over the moon. He smiled a minute later, enjoying the happiness she had brought to his ears; his worries and exhaustions were all long forgotten.

Absolutely, everything would be alright if Ai had clearly avowed that her heart only belonged to him like this.

Author's note: Oh well, having someone finding out their secret marriage made Shinichi too self-conscious I guess? (haha).

Anyway, do not forget to give 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.