"Hey, Kudo." Heiji called his friend's name as his eyes went through the jewelry glass displays. "Which ring do you think should I choose?"

"Hm?" Shinichi who stood beside him only hummed in respond.

"Ah, what do you think about that one?" Heiji asked again, his forefinger was pointing at one of the rings that caught his attention. "Would Kazuha like that design?"

"Mhmm?" Shinichi hummed again in respond.

"But, don't you think it is too much for her?" Heiji asked again, his eyes were not leaving the display case. "Would it suit her? I mean, she's a tomboy and all."

"Mmm?" And Shinichi hummed again.

That was then, the brain cord that was connected to Heiji's patience finally snapped inside his head.

"Oi, Kudo! Can't you answer me properly?!" He raised his voice as he turned to look at his friend, one big vein was popping up on his skull. He was annoyed as hell as to why his friend had been answering his questions so ambiguously since somewhile ago.

"Ah, sorry. What was it again?" Shinichi finally looked up from his smartphone, his face was showing no remorse at all despite the apology he uttered to his fellow detective friend. Instead, he was all smiling so gleefully, exactly like a complete idiot. So many hearts and flowers were flying all around him; his pink mood was so contagious except for Heiji who seemed to have a strong shield against it.

At once, the Osakan detective understood what his friend had been busy all this while. Looking at how much a fool he was with a phone on his hand, without a saying, Shinichi must have been too preoccupied exchanging chats with that 'long-distance' wife of his. So, it was clear to him now that things were getting better on the Tokyoite detective's side ever since he made that implicit confession through the national TV live broadcast. And it made Heiji want to curse him all the more.

"Damn you, Kudo." He groaned. Another vein popped up on his skull. "Just tell me already how you could ever be so lucky with girls."

He just didn't understand why this best friend of his was really good with finding his ways out to confess to the girl he set his heart at. All his timings were unplanned yet perfect. While he was supposed to be the dense guy when it came to feelings, would it be that perhaps, he was a natural when it came to this sort of thing? A flair for romance, maybe?

Meanwhile, as unfair as God seemed to be, Heiji had failed many attempts to propose to his girlfriend. He even kept the ring in his pocket all the time, just in case he had the quick chance to get his plan going. But then, he lost it somewhere, probably in the mid of an investigation few days ago, and he only realized it when he was going to present it on the night of the Christmas– another perfect moment gone by in futile. In which, this was the reason why he was in the jewelry store right now, looking for a new ring. He even managed to drag Shinichi along with him to ask for his opinion, or so he thought.

"I guess I have to put it in my new year's resolution list once again this year." He sighed. Shinichi could only smile wryly in reply, trying to show his empathy over his friend's desperation although in fact, he was actually holding his itchy tongue from making a sneering comment on him.

"How mortifying." Hakuba suddenly joined their conversation uninvited, crashing some scornful remarks from behind the dark-skinned detective. His eyes were fixated on a jewelry set in one of the display cases, a hand was inside his pocket while the other was holding his chin in a thinking pose. "For a hot-headed and impetuous guy like you, you sure are taking your time slow, eh, Hattori-kun?"

Shinichi and Heiji watched him. Both of them were a bit stunned by his sudden utterance, although the latter showed more of his irritated look rather than dumbfounded.

"And why are you coming with us again?" Heiji asked so unwelcoming. Getting reminded of his overdue engagement proposal was the least thing he ever wanted, and getting it from the half-Japanese detective irked him even more.

"Excuse me, miss. Could you wrap this one for me, please?" Hakuba smiled charmingly to the store attendant, his forefinger was pointing toward a bracelet inside the glass display. It was as if he purposely ignored the Osakan detective to aggravate him, which he effortlessly did since Heiji had thrown some inaudible curses to him by now.

"Damn you…" Heiji groaned in the end.

"Well, I'm here to find a new year gift for my fiancée." Hakuba scoffed as he intentionally put a stress to the last word. "So it's only a coincidence if we ran to each other four times in four different jewelry stores. Is that so wrong?"

"You…!"

"Since we're going to see the first sunrise together, might as well use the chance to give the gift to her." He sarcastically bragged. "A perfect plan to make her heart melt if I may say."

And so, the banter between the two of them continued, whereas Shinichi was speechless looking at their ridiculousness from aside. He rather refrained himself to get tangled up in their endless trivial arguments. That was then, a ring suddenly caught his interest.

It was a solitaire white gold ring with a row of diamond accents. Its center stone was shaped like a snowflake, not too big but not too small. Indeed it was more extravagant than their wedding rings, but it was modest enough to be called excessively lavish, and it was pretty, and Shinichi couldn't help but imagined how it was if Ai were to wear it.

Come to think of it, he never really bought her an engagement ring before. He himself had long realized his proposal that day was so lame that if he had the chance to redo it, he would surely do it. Knowing how high her taste was with things, preferring quality over quantity, he felt so gratefully lucky that she accepted him without a second thought.

Then, why don't you redo it now? An inner voice suddenly barged into his head, leaving him stumped with his own self.

But he was right.

Wouldn't this be the perfect chance for him to propose her with a real ring? Even though they were married, but with their current circumstances, they were looking more and more like a normal going-out-long-distance-couple now. So it would be just like a normal boyfriend asking his normal girlfriend for a hand in marriage, wouldn't it?

Now that he thought it like that, he felt nervous so suddenly. He knew she won't ever say no to however his proposal would; with or without a ring, she had promised to come back to him after all and he believed she would never take her words back. Yet, it still churned his stomach when he tried to guess what her reactions would be if he proposed her for real this time. Gosh, why was it a lot more difficult than the time he gave her the wedding ring?

"Um, excuse me. Could you please wrap this ring for me?" Shinichi asked the store attendance with a shy smile and cheeks that were slightly rosy. He had decided to buy it and think the rest later. What was so wrong for a husband to buy his wife an occasional gift anyway?

Heiji instantly stopped arguing with Hakuba once he heard Shinichi talked to the store attendance; he was dumbfounded. It was him who dragged him around the jewelry stores in search for a ring, yet why did it him who found it in the end? It seemed like his best friend had gotten himself a spontaneous idea for a sweet plan to surprise his wife.

Shit, why was it so easy for these people to be so impromptu with romance?

"Damn you all…" Heiji cursed almost inaudibly.

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Things were always so hectic on January the first. Despite the chilly weather of the winter, many people chose to go for their first shrine visit of the new year rather than having a lazy holiday under the kotatsu. The streets and the public transportations were totally crowded, the temples and the shrines were even more livelier. But no one cared and they still went to pray.

The Kudo household was no exception.

It wasn't that they did this every year though, since Yukiko and her husband were rarely coming back to their hometown during this time of the year. They were always being held back by endless year-end social parties and events right there. Shinichi who lived alone also prefer to spend the day in his library rather than spending the day off in the crowd.

It used to be Ran who dragged him to the shrine with her and Sonoko before, saying that it was important to pray for his safety first things first before the year truly began. After all, he went into life-and-death situations for far too often. And when he thought she would stop tugging him once she was married, turned out she still did it even after Chiharu was born. Last year marked the last time though.

So thinking that this year would be different, he forgot that there was his mom who fancied attending such festivity. Eri would be there too to see Chiharu and they should spend the day together as one big family, she said. Therefore, together with the little girl, Yukiko pulled him out of the bed and dragged him out of the house.

Everything seemed so clear to him what her real intention was when he saw Ai standing in front of her own gate. His ears caught the cringing sound coming from the Professor's gate lock before his mom called out her name. She was there with Ayumi, and they looked like they were going somewhere as well.

Her eyes caught his the moment she looked toward Yukiko's direction, and instantly, they held each other prisoner. His dark blue orbs were locking her blue ones, wordlessly stripping her out of her concealed emotions leaving her unshielded in his eyes. She let him as she did the same to him, ministering to their longing for each other.

The time stood still for the both of them. Their intense gazes on each other were blurring Yukiko and Ayumi's conversation out of their ears altogether with everything else around them. A hint of blushes were appearing on their faces. They were getting bolder and bolder, not sure if it was because of the cold or because of their bursting heart rate.

"Oh, what a coincidence!" Yukiko's overly cheerful squeal sent them down to the ground almost immediately. She was still chit-chatting with Ayumi, it seemed. "Why don't we go together then? We're also heading for the shrine right now."

"Eh? Can we?" Ayumi replied with the same manner before she turned her head to the strawberry blonde. "Let's join them then, Ai-chan. It's been months since I saw Chiharu-chan too!"

"It's alright with you, right, Shin-chan?" Yukiko also turned her head to her son and asked him excitedly.

"S-sure." Enthralled by the sudden change of mood, it was the only thing Ai and Shinichi could manage to say in response to their sweet friend and mom. It was too late for them to take their words back by the time they realized everything was actually a set up to get them closer. Now that they had fallen into the trap, all they could do was to curse under their dry smiles.

Without further ado, the five of them were walking down the street together. Chiharu was gleefully holding Ayumi's hands on one side and her grandma's on the other, while the detective and the shrunken teenager followed them from behind, side by side. No words were spoken between the two; no one dared to ask anything, nor they dared to steal glances over one another. In fact, they were trying so hard to avert their eyes to whatever ahead of them. However, the faint pinkish blushes on their cheeks told everyone that they were actually enjoying each other's presence.

"Never knew you'd go for a shrine visit during the new year." Shinichi finally broke the silence.

"I went too soft on her when Yoshida-san pleaded with me to go, I guess?" Ai replied with a slight sigh.

First of all, she never liked going to crowded places. So, going for a shrine visit in the new year was definitely something that only happened in her dreams. But then, Ayumi came to her so early in the morning, asking her if they could go together since her parents were out of town again. Ai went somewhat peeved at that. Were Ayumi's parents going on the thing that people usually called as a second honeymoon?

Looking back at her best friend, the strawberry blonde was going to decline it. However, her pair of teary turquoise eyes stopped her. The sweet girl looked exactly like a lost puppy when she pleaded, and Ai found it so hard to resist. That was why she eventually complied without any questions.

If only she knew she would end up in this kind of situation, she would definitely reject Ayumi's request no matter what. She somehow regretted agreeing to it now because, how could she act natural in front of everyone when her heart was filled up with overflown feelings for the man beside her? And that tacit confession he made a week ago made it harder for her to calm her inner self. It was easier to manage when all she saw were his voiceless texts and all she heard was his unseen voice. Yet, feeling his presence for real with all her complete senses were so much different– it thrilled her.

Indeed, exchanging messages and phone calls were never enough to contain her pining for him.

Shinichi chuckled lightly at her response. He was relieved that the things between him and Ai weren't as cold as they could get. Despite the fact that they were keeping tabs on each other through messages and calls, he still felt unsettled once it came to meeting her for real. Her touchable fingers she used to type her texts, her kissable lips she used to let her voice out– how could he restrain himself when all he wanted was to taste every little thing of her that he could see, hear, smell, and touch, right here right now?

His smile was diminishing shortly after, and a hush took over its place in the air around them. They fell into a comfortable silence once more as their blushes were getting more obvious than minutes ago. Although they had only traded two sentences, yet it was more than enough to shatter their coolness. Nervousness aroused within them that they were lost in their thoughts as to what to say or ask to keep their conversation going. Oh well, no one disagreed with the reticence though so they just let it be. There were actually so many things they wanted to talk about, but everything was forgotten the moment they felt butterflies in their stomachs.

The cold weather was absolutely beautiful today. It was perfectly chilly that they had to wear their mufflers. So, burying their hot burning cheeks in the thick scarves, they were trying to hide whatever expressions they were having from each other right now. Their gazes were avoiding each other, both were looking so shy and timid, just like two lovebirds who had just started going out recently.

They kept walking side by side, instinctively maintaining their rhythmic pace. They didn't realize that in their front, Yukiko and Ayumi were actually watching them from the corner of their eyes. The ex-actress and the sweet girl quietly exchanged their smug smiles, feeling satisfied as they witnessed the success of their secret plan. Chiharu who saw it all only giggled to her heart out, sensing the glee atmosphere around her.

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As much as Shinichi wanted to curse out loud, he just couldn't do it when there were numerous bunches of mass swarming into the train. When he thought that they'd get more room once the crowds were getting off, another crowds came in. And he couldn't help getting pushed farther away from his group every time another new crowds swarming in. It was a good thing that his mom had gotten herself a seat and Chiharu was with her sitting on her lap, so that left Ayumi alone.

"I hope Yoshida-san doesn't get pushed too far from your mom and Chii." Ai plainly said, disconnecting Shinichi from his trance of thoughts.

Standing near the train doors, her eyes were fixated on the passing scenery outside the small windows. She was trying so hard to suppress her urges to make a move on him as she felt his body press on hers. She knew he was only trying to shield her from getting squeezed by the crowd, yet this distance was too close for her.

He was literally enfolding her with the smell of old hickory bark mixed with cinnamon creamed coffee, a smell that reminded her of one lazy day in front of their fireplace at home; and his natural musky scent– it was a fragrance that she would never forget, a smell that made her recall his burning touches on her bare skin. It was all the things that her senses could perceived right now, in this damn proximity.

Realizing how close he was with her physically, Shinichi wasn't sure if he had to feel happy about this or the other way around. His nose captured her overly too sweet fragrance, a scent that was like a strawberry ice cream mixed with icy winter air. It was too sweet and intoxicating like a rich, redolent rosé, that he was drowning to his memories of her soft moans on his ears.

"Y-yeah." He could only crack a smile in the end.

But to think that he and Ai would be stuck in this position, guess it was better this way than getting lost in the wave of these commuters. Although they had to tiringly hold themselves so they won't lose their minds.

Just until our stop. They thought.

"Damn it." Finally, Shinichi spilled the indecent words that had been on the tip of his tongue. His thumb was working on his phone screen, pressing the red button once he heard the voicemail operator getting his call instead. "She didn't pick up her phone."

"Yoshida-san too." Ai said as she put her phone back to her purse. It had been the umpth time they tried to get through to Ayumi and Yukiko but no one were picking up their phones. "I don't think they're planning to get our calls either."

"So, they have been planning all of this behind our backs, huh?" The detective groaned.

Acting like they coincidentally met on the way to the shrine, then going together as a group since they had the same destination– surely, Yukiko and Ayumi knew what they were really doing. They also knew that Shinichi would instinctively do anything to protect Ai, so when the train was swarmed with people and when their group got separated, they knew he would end up stranded together with her because he could never let her go alone.

Shinichi just didn't expect they could calculate things as far as this on their own, and so neither did Ai.

"Now you know befriending a great detective only turns someone in to a smart strategist." The strawberry blonde quipped only to see him pout back at her.

"So, what should we do now?" Knowing he won't ever win in a battle of banter with her, he deliberately changed the subject. "Should we just go home? You wouldn't queue for the shrine to pray, would you?"

"Why wouldn't I when my husband seems so easy to get himself involved in somewhat life threatening situations?" She said as she huffed her warm breath to her bare cold hands. Dang, this cold weather made it harder for her to cover up the blushes on her cheeks. "I only said I wouldn't visit the shrine on the new year but I never mentioned about going on the second or the third day, didn't I?"

Shinichi blushed at that. So, his wife was so worried about his safety, huh? Perhaps, her memory of that one time when he got shot on the chest had put her mind restless. Nevertheless, he couldn't stop himself from feeling blissful at her concern.

"Fine, but at least put this on." Taking off his right hand glove, he shyly took her wrist and put it on her right hand for her. "Geez, how could you not wear your gloves when you knew the weather is this cold?"

"Shut up." She embarrassedly replied. She was in a hurry after all that she forgot to bring her gloves with her. She was going to throw some remark at him, but he cut her short as his bare hand was slipping itself on her left hand. It surprised her the moment she felt his fingers interlace with hers only to pull them into his coat pocket– it felt so warm.

"I just don't want you to get lost in the crowd." He justified his action with trifling nonsense, while the truth was that he was too afraid to lose her. So holding her hand tightly, at least he was sure she would stick by his side all the time.

Ai understood it without him to explain things further. Still with her cheeks flushing, she quietly clasped her hand onto his and followed him so close obediently. Everyone was too busy with the new year rituals to even notice the famous detective anyway, so just for today would she let him hold her like this in public.

Her right shoulder was touching his left upper arm as they blent with the crowds. Although their coats were in the way but she could feel it– they could feel it– the electrifying stir that it brought to their hearts.

Now, if only Shinichi knew from the start that he would have a chance like this with her, he would definitely bring the ring he bought with him today and put it on her finger like he put his glove on her hand just now. Noticing how bare her left ring finger only urged his regret more than he already felt.

Maybe, he should have learnt from Heiji to keep the ring in his pocket all the time, eh?

Author's Note: I'm not sure if it happened to you as well, but I had some troubles accessing my account these past few days. But lucky enough, I could still update my fic. It would be devastating if I couldn't make an update when I knew many of you had been waiting for it.

Anyway, I hope you like this chapter as much as the other. And as always, please drop in your reviews and comments. Happy new year and happy reading!

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