It was such a sunny weekend when Shinichi was discharged from the hospital. He was so excited to be back home that no one could stop him from grinning too much. Although it took him so much more time than necessary going through the discharge papers that suddenly turned into an autograph session.

It was surprising that many of the medical staffs happened to be his fans. They weren't only one or two people but they were all over the place, really. And the fact that his splinted right arm was temporarily unmovable didn't hold them from asking for some photos instead.

Damn, fans. He used to love having them back in the old days before he shrunk. However, living his two years as Conan had changed his personal view on this– his life was more peaceful without them.

It was an implausible dream to have such a placid life though, because he was back in the light of the medias once he returned to being Kudo Shinichi. News started to spread and those fans were gathering once again. Not that he mind about all that, but he just couldn't stand giving them fan services like what he did right now; unlike his cheeky sixteen-years-old self.

It was already noon by the time he completed his discharged papers while he was supposed to arrive at home by the late morning. Nonetheless, his grin was still there untiredly.

"Would you stop showing that face? It creeps me out." Ai snickered at him.

"Aren't you happy seeing me out from the hospital?" He replied her, still with the flowery smile on his face.

"Yeah, yeah." She gave up a smile at that. Today was his day after all, so she let him get anything that satisfied him. "But are you sure you want to walk home? You sure are going at a turtle speed here."

"I have enough with sitting all day on the ward bed, so I need to move a bit." He assured her. "Besides…"

He turned his gaze toward her and swiftly took her right hand into his left, weaving their fingers all together then pulling her closer. As her shoulder was glued to his upper arm, Ai was surprised by the feel of his sudden warm palm on hers; her blood was rushing to her cheeks, leaving them rosy like she was wearing a blush-on. Shinichi's smile was widened watching how cute his wife was.

"…we can count this as having a date, can't we?" He sweetly said to her ear.

Ai turned her head to the other way in an attempt to hide her shyness from him. Even so, he could feel it from her hand he was holding, that she actually yearned to have a moment like this as well. Because, she couldn't stop her hand from getting hot and sweaty and red, yet she didn't retrieve it– or so the prove in his hand was telling him.

Moreover, putting everything of their stuffs in a small backpack was an unexpected idea coming from her. It had given her hands their freedom which intrigued Shinichi more into holding it in his. Walking hand in hand enjoying the cool breeze the new season had brought; listening to the noises of the hustle bustle of the side streets; getting caught up in their own world without brooding over to whatever people thought of them– because who would complain when he looked just like a patient with a splinted arm who was helped by his assistant? It was something the both of them could rarely do.

What a bliss.

He had to let go of her hand though when they almost arrived at the main door of their house. She needed her fingers to get the house key from the side pocket of her bag. Inserting it and opening the door, they were astonishingly greeted by some party poppers and flying confetti.

"Congratulations for your discharge, Shinichi-nii!"

It was the detective boys and Chiharu.

As surprised as he was, Shinichi dropped his jaw in awe. He looked to his side to find some clues from Ai; she replied him with a shrug and an unknowing small smile.

"They insist on doing this since they couldn't visit you at the hospital." She informed him.

"But how did you guys know I was hospitalized?" He curiously asked the detective boys. They grinned so widely back at him.

"We all saw Haibara talked to the staff teacher before she urgently went home in the middle of the class." Genta explained excitedly like he and his detective team had won over something big. "She looked hellishly troubled."

"Then we pestered that Sensei to tell us what happened." Mitsuhiko continued with the same intensity. "From then on we worked on the clues and concluded it was you who was hospitalized."

"The news on the newspaper confirmed our deduction further. And since we already knew that much, Ai-chan told us in the end that today is the day for your discharge. So, here we are." Ayumi finished the explanation.

Amused by how they did their own searches and deductions, Shinichi proudly smiled. These little kids who used to drag him all around for some dangerous treasure hunts had really grew into some fine aspiring detectives, it seemed. And they did all that because they clearly knew from the start that they won't get anything about this out of the strawberry blonde herself. In which, it was kind of a nice try.

While the detective boys together with Chiharu were excitedly telling him to follow them to the kitchen–despite it was actually his house– to show him all the things they had prepared; and while Ai excused herself to help him put his stuffs upstairs, Shinichi caught a sight of someone familiar standing just right in front of him. Someone whom he had not seen since the last incident in the mid of Ai's summer holiday; it was Yuuto.

It left him dumbfounded to find the boy here, and with them. All the surprises and the confetti had distracted him from noticing the boy earlier. But after the detective boys left for the kitchen and everything had calmed down, Shinichi realized he was there all along with them right from the start. In fact, he might play apart in helping the boys and Ayumi prepare the welcoming party for him.

After this long, why did he have to be here again?

"Good day to you, Kudo-san." Yuuto smiled, greeting him with so much of an angelic innocence. "Looking great as always, I see."

"Same goes for you." Shinichi forced a smile back, trying to look as pure as possible. "Haven't seen you around for awhile, huh?"

"Well, what can I say? I was recuperating from the fatigue after all." The soccer captain reasoned, while both of them knew it was partly a lie.

"Glad to see you recovered well." Shinichi replied purposely ambiguous as he walked pass him for the kitchen. The boy would be so dumb if he didn't catch the sarcastic phrase. But before he could take another step, he was halted by Yuuto's voice. Looked like he understood that Shinichi was talking about that one particular moment that eventually broke his heart.

"You know, I haven't given up on her entirely." He said. His tone was coated with so much seriousness than before. Turning around, Shinichi was reflexively showing such an agitated look on his face. Just what the hell did this guy mean by that? Didn't he clearly know that Ai was married to him? And here he was telling him he hadn't given up on his feeling for her?

Watching the detective with such an expression, Yuuto couldn't hold his laughter. He started it with a stifled snicker but ended up with a guffaw. Instead of getting more upset, Shinichi was down to a confusion. Was this guy mad? The laughter soon subsided and he began talking again.

"Worry not, Kudo-san. I don't mean to snatch her right away from you." He chuckled. "What I'm trying to say is, I will wait for her no matter how long it takes. Unlike you, I still haven't passed my twenty yet."

And that is why I told you to give up on her. You'll be surprise if you knew her real age. Shinichi rolled his eyes and replied inaudibly. However, he had to admit that this soccer guy was so confident and pretty much determined about this goal of his.

"I will start slowly by being her mere friend now." Yuuto said so with a smile. And still with that same smile, his voice was going as low as if he was giving Shinichi a reminder. "So if you ever made her cry, I won't share my mercy on you. I might as well turn the chance to my own advantage."

Listening to his say, the detective smiled smugly in reply as he caught a hint of challenge in those words he uttered. This was interesting; such pride and fearlessness had he got there. He was indeed a normal seventeen years old guy. Nonetheless, never take a teenage hormone too carelessly– that was what Shinichi said to himself after jogging his own memory of his young self. He once was involved in the great case when he was around that age too and it happened only for the sake of his feeding dopamine.

"And I don't need any of those graces from you either." Shinichi said. "I assure you, she won't ever feel miserable even the slightest for as long as I live."

Being twenty seven didn't mean he had lost his touch, especially when it came to things related to her. Well, he was somewhat a late bloomer in romance to begin with. So getting a challenge from a teenager didn't really back him away.

Coming in terms with each other rivalry, both Shinichi and Yuuto smiled to themselves. The tense atmosphere around them was diminished as they made clear of each other's stand point. Veritably, it was actually one step ahead for Yuuto to begin walking again from his crush and focus on another things to come.

"Why aren't you guys coming in?" Ai suddenly broke into their space, startling the two guys who were still standing near the genkan.

"Ah, r-right. I'm going to check with Yoshida-san for the lunch." Yuuto sputtered with a fluster as he left for the kitchen.

Ai watched the soccer captain went away before she turned to look at her husband with suspicious eyes.

"What were you guys talking about?" She pried.

"Nothing. Just some boys' talk." He grinned, feeling satisfied from watching her curious eyes on his. "Let's join with the rest."

If she could have one or two little secrets, so why couldn't he?

"Heh, fine then." She smirked, somehow getting his hint. She quietly agreed as she followed him to the kitchen.

Today was his day after all.

.

.

.

Lunch with the detective boys and Chiharu were merry like always. As mindful as Ayumi was, she cooked something that was easy to eat with a fork. She was concern with Shinichi's splinted right arm which held his movement only to one hand. So napolitan spaghetti for the main menu, that was. With a little secret tips from Ai, the sweet girl had successfully seized all the boys' hearts for her improved cooking skill.

Shinichi too, was unknowingly teary in the inside while eating the homemade meal. Three days of eating hospital foods had given his tongue a tasteless taste bud. Ai noticed that from the corner of her eyes, and she threw a snickered smile at him. He blushed lightly in embarrassment.

The six of them spent the entire afternoon talking and discussing things, mostly it was about the latest replay soccer match between the two rivalry teams that was held last week: Tokyo Spirit vs Big Osaka. It was funny when Shinichi and Yuuto finally had something to agree upon without any conditional clause, that as Tokyoites they should support the blue zebra team. And it was hilarious the moment the two of them realized they couldn't even beat Higo when it came to Ai's most favorite soccer player.

Meanwhile, Mitsuhiko helped the girls carry some trays of desserts and drinks from the kitchen, and Genta couldn't be more self-conscious to not drool himself over the sweets. As for Chiharu, she was fallen into her nap on Shinichi's lap as she listened to his deep voice. Guess, she missed her dad that much.

The sun almost set completely when the detective boys and Yuuto said their goodbye to the detective. No one questioned about Ai's reasoning to stay in the house though. While Yuuto had already knew the truth, the rests were still assuming that the strawberry blonde was there to help Shinichi taking care of the little girl. Somehow they could imagine how disastrous he could be if he was to be left alone with Chiharu. And now that his dominant hand was restrained, all the more reason for him to be in need of her assistance.

The moonless night was soon to come to wrap the day as the Kudo household finished their dinner and getting ready to turn in for the night. Having done tucking Chiharu in the bed, Ai silently walked away from the closed door of the nursery and to the door of her bedroom– their bedroom.

She almost touched the handle when she was startled by Shinichi who accidentally brushed the side of her hand with his. He had just finished taking his overlong bath, and he was going to return to his bedroom. Really, it was by a pure coincidence that he was reaching for the door at the same time as her.

The two of them were looking at each other, stunned; while confusion was creeping into his mind. Wasn't this the door to his room? She smirked however, as if she could hear the question inside his head. He was getting puzzled by her vague silent gesture.

Being the first one to get back to the ground, she grasped the handle and pushed it to open.

"Didn't you ask me to move into your room?" She broke his thought with her statement before she walked in. "So, here I am."

"Eh?" He stupidly asked in return. His brain still hadn't caught up with the things that were going on yet. Perhaps, staying in the hospital had slacked his brain muscles off pretty well.

Ai leered her eyes on him from over her shoulder. A slight blush was seen on her cheeks and a small pout was on her lips. That expression of hers looked somewhat teasing rather than being annoyed at his slow poke.

"I'm going to sleep here starting tonight– and with you, dummy." She said. Afraid for being unable to suppress her embarrassment over all these 'moving in' stuffs any much longer, she averted her attention to her front. She didn't wait to see his reaction and walked away to the closet to grab her pajamas, leaving Shinichi flabbergasted all the more.

The color of his face slowly changed to that of a boiling crab. It was red and hot and steamy; his 'mini me' inside his head started to run around and scream in excitement. All his ear could hear was his own heartbeat as it blurred everything else Ai had been trying to say to him. She was probably just telling him her excuses only to deny the true reasons for this decision of hers, which he didn't give even the slightest damn about.

All in all, Shinichi couldn't hold his grin for the umpteenth time today. He was smiling from ear to ear while gently striding down his way to his wife. She was too busy tending her stack of clothes to notice that he was all looking at her small back now with his softened gaze. She was only to get stupefied when he curled his left arm around her shoulders, pulling her slightly backward against him, and pressed his smiling lips against her head in a sweet smooch.

Her strawberry blonde hair that smelled a lot like creamy strawberry milk, her sylphlike figure that felt so perfect in his arm like a missing piece of puzzle that was just found, her heart that beat in rhythm with his own composing their own melody. He could enjoy these every little things of her all night long from tonight onwards.

"Finally." He whispered loud enough for her to catch it.

She blushed madly in a split second, getting stiffened at his small nudge on her. The feel of his hot breath on her hair brought goosebumps all over her skin; the infiltration of his chuckle to her ears burned down all the expressions she had on her face. It was clear to him that Ai had been holding herself from showing any signs of being perturbed. But however tense she was getting, at least she had braced herself up and allowed him to pull her to another step forward in their marriage.

Truly, today really was his day.

Author's Note: Moving on was hard, I know. So that was why I wrote this as if Yuuto was still having a crush on Ai. I'll make sure he played it fair though, really. And in the midst of it, who knew if he found another more compatible crush for him to completely move on from this one? That was why I also wrote that this was one step ahead for him to look on what other things offered.

Anyway, I hope you like this chapter as well. 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.