DISCLAIMER: I do not own Detective Conan.

WARNING: Fluff ahead. Read at your own risk! *insert cheeky grin*

THE GAME

"Edogawa-kun," Haibara started. She averted her eyes from initially meeting his when she spoke, as a prominent tinge of pink blemished her otherwise pale, flawless cheeks. Haibara had her hands behind her back; even though Conan couldn't see what she was doing with them, he knew she was fidgeting.

Conan looked at her closely. She seemed nervous based on her restless actions. What could be wrong, he wondered.

It was halfway through their lunch break when Haibara called him to the roof. It was a bit strange of her to do that. She never did that with anyone. At all. Plus, it was April now, and even though spring was just right around the corner, there was still the occasional cold days where people would rather stay indoors. Now was one of those days.

When Conan arrived at the roof, he was met with an empty space. No Haibara. He frowned. She was never late on scheduled meetings either.

He was startled at the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him. He spun around and was faced with an uneasy looking Haibara just a few steps away from him. "Haibara," he had remembered calling her. "What's wrong?"

He asked but he was met with silence. It was a while before she cleared her throat once more and called him out, voice shaking and hands fidgeting behind her back.

"Yeah?" He acknowledged. "Is there something wrong?"

Really, this was concerning. Haibara wasn't acting like herself at all. Did something happen? Was it the organization again? But she would have been upfront to him about it. This Haibara in front of him looked like she wanted to say something but was too nervous to do so. She was never nervous. Not when speaking her mind to him, no.

So what was wrong, really?

"I-" Haibara started again, but she stopped short. She cleared her throat once more as if whatever sort of tension she was having would dissipate with that simple action. It didn't but she continued anyway. "I-I have something to tell you, E-Edogawa-kun," she stuttered. Again, Haibara didn't and would never stutter! At all! What the hell was wrong with her?

Conan smiled, albeit a bit forced since he was becoming uneasy, and stretched his arms out as an act to reach her – to help abate whatever troubling feeling she was having. "Haibara, are you really okay? You don't look well. Should I bring you to the infirmary?" The concern was evident in his expression.

This time, Haibara looked annoyed at him.

There, that was the Haibara he knew – eyes squinted in an irritated stare and forehead creased as she lifted an eyebrow. "I'm fine, Edogawa-kun," she huffed. "Will you just listen to what I have to say?"

"Y-yeah," Conan visibly swallowed, and if not for the seriousness of the situation, Haibara would've smirked at him in amusement. Only she could do that to the proud Edogawa Conan. "What is it?"

Haibara took a deep breath and released it slowly. Conan noticed, she was still fidgeting with her hands behind her.

And then, she started talking – her eyes looking everywhere but his own.

"Actually," she started. "For a long time now, I-" she breathed deep once more, as if that would help ebb her nervousness away, before continuing. "I have always liked you, Edogawa-kun."

There, she said it. Finally.

"Here, it's almost two months late, but I have chocolates for you," she said, handing over the small red box that she was apparently holding behind her.

Conan stared at her in shock as he absentmindedly took the box from her.

That was such a surprise attack that if this was reality with murderers on the loose, he would have keeled over for being hit without his knowledge.

Conan's mind reeled with the new information. Or could it be called information? Wasn't it a confession just now? A confession? From this evil-eyed-yawny girl? From Haibara, of all people? And to him too!

What? How? Since when?

Conan had so many questions but he was only able to utter an ineloquent and broken, "W-What?"

"I told you, I-"

"I know what you told me. It's just, " Conan struggled as he wildly gestured his hands, including the one holding the box, around not really knowing what to say. In the end, he settled for – "Why?"

He didn't really know what to say. But he couldn't help feeling flustered at the revelation and his face reddened in – embarrassment, maybe? He didn't know, but his heart started thumping loud against his chest. It made him speechless. Or less eloquent at the very least.

Haibara, on the other hand, felt insulted and it was shown on her look of disbelief. She was about to speak and defend herself when Conan held up a hand, his free hand, to stop her.

"I'm sorry, that did not come out right," he said. "What I mean is – No, what I'm trying to say is – Well, I'm just surprised. It was so sudden, I didn't know what to say. I-" he stammered. "Since when? I mean, how-?"

Haibara huffed for the second time that day and cut Conan off. "Are you normally this rude to the girls who confessed their hearts to you, Edogawa-kun?" She had that expression of disbelief again – an eyebrow raised and a deadpan look.

An indignant look cross Conan's face as he hurried to answer, "Of course not! It's just-"

And she cut him off once more. "Whatever. I like you and that's that. Just open the damn box, will you?"

She was back to normal again, Conan thought. The kind of normal where she was either looking bored or annoyed. The latter being the case, and which she almost always only showed to him.

Still flustered at the turn of events, Conan fumbled with the box muttering an "Oh, okay."

He examine the red box. It was small, he could hold the base of it with one hand. It wasn't overly decorated either. It was a simple red box wrapped in a white ribbon, which he slowly undid. After doing so, he stared at the lid of the small box. He gulped. For some inexplicable reasons, he was feeling nervous.

For what? It was just chocolates, right? She said so herself. What was he being so skittish for?

Skittish? No, he wasn't skittish. He was just surprised that this was happening at all. Haibara confessing to him? Ha! No, he wasn't excited or anything like that at all. Nope.

He lifted the lid and he was met with a small white card on top of three round chocolates. But his eyes wasn't focused on the chocolates. His eyes narrowed suspiciously at the white card with a cursive writing that Conan could only associate as her own.

And then he turned to Haibara with a harsh glare.

Happy April's Fool, Edogawa-kun!

The note said.

April's Fool.

He checked the calendar he had mentally familiarized with on his head. It was April 1st. And then realization hit him.

It was a prank, darn it.

What the hell?

And to make matters worse for him, Haibara had an amused smirk on her face, gloating at – thanks to him – her successful prank.

He thought it was real. Darn that little evil-eyed-yawny-and-apparently-good-at-acting girl. If he didn't know she was a genius scientist, he would have recommended an acting career for her. Maybe ask his mother to help her.

Darn it. She had him there, really. She actually had him believing at her confession that, now that he thought about it, looked too out character for her. That woman, playing him for a fool.

"Happy April's Fool, Edogawa-kun," Haibara said with a smirk. This woman was having too much fun about it. "How'd you like my gift?"

Conan rolled his eyes. He took the card and held it under the box. He popped one round chocolate to his mouth and nodded. "At least the chocolate tastes good. Not too sweet."

Haibara shrugged. "Well, of course. I made it to match your preference."

Upon hearing her words, Conan choked on the chocolate that he was just starting to swallow down his throat. Haibara just looked at him in amusement. That woman wasn't even going to help him, sheesh.

When he was calming down, he stuttered a reply. "W-what? You- You made these?"

Emulating him from earlier, Haibara also rolled her eyes as if he was being stupid. "What do you take me for?"

Conan stared at her in incredulity. She was seriously asking him that? Would a person normally make the prank chocolates that they were giving as a prank confession to the other person that they were pulling the prank on? Emphasis on 'prank' alright. So maybe some would, but Haibara? No, it wasn't in her character to do that. Even if it was only a -Conan wanted to flip a table right now- prank.

Then again, this woman was simply an abyss of mysteries. One moment he thought he had her figured out and then she did something to question his claim.

He shook his head. That was when an idea hit him.

Well, two can play the game, right? The game that she oh-so-deviously started. He smirked.

He walked slowly towards her, his face donning a smirk that could only mean mischief. Haibara narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

He stopped just an arm's length from her, a corner of his lips lifting further up as he saw the apprehensive look on Haibara's face.

Masking a look of indifference, Conan spoke. "Well, I really like the chocolates, Haibara. And though it was a prank-" Conan rolled his eyes at this "- I still appreciate the underlying sentiments behind doing this."

Haibara crossed her arms. "Sentiments?" She echoed, a deadpan look on her face.

"Hm, yeah." Conan crossed his arms as well but with one hand lifted up to his chin in his usual thinking manner. "Though it was a prank, you still thought of me – " he lifted an eyebrow and smiled suggestively at her. "– very carefully and deeply, I might add, and how I would react. And you thought of a sly one at that."

Haibara continued to stare at him, growing more apprehensive with time. The bell was bound to ring soon and she still wasn't sure what he was getting at.

"And because of that, I thought of an equally devious one too," he continued.

Suddenly, before she could comprehend what he was doing, Conan lowered his head to her level; because you know, at seventeen, she was fairly shorter than most of their peers. Now he was looking directly at her wide eyes. He smirked. The tables have turned.

"W-what?" If not for her womanly pride, Conan was sure that she would have taken a step back now.

"This," he muttered as he tilted his head to the side and placed his lips gently on her cheek. He then pulled away just slightly and moved further to her ear and whispered, "I like you too, Haibara."

This time, he moved back to examine her reaction. She was red on the face and she was sputtering a reply. He wanted to laugh. He didn't expect this cute reaction at all.

Wait, cute?

Right, who was he kidding? Of course this was cute. She was cute, darn it.

He decided not to prolong her suffering from not knowing what to reply so he spoke again, in his normal proud voice this time. "I'm almost a month late from White's Day and I haven't prepared you chocolates. I hope the kiss is compensation enough." Conan said with a cheeky grin.

Oooooh, how she wanted to wipe that arrogant grin on his face! Haibara thought. And then she thought of something.

He was playing the game too, but what he didn't know was that she didn't intend to lose.

She wiped the embarrassment off her face – as best as she could because her heart was still beating hard after what just happened – and shrugged. She smiled sweetly at him. He eyed her warily.

"It's alright, Edogawa-kun, " she said. She stepped closer to him, now they were so close she could feel his ragged breathing. She smiled inwardly knowing that she had this effect on him and that her plan was working. She looked up to him, to his eyes, and placed a dainty hand on his cheek. Her hand was warm against his cold skin. It was nice. "I rather like it," she whispered. "Better, actually. Thank you."

Conan returned her intense stare, drowning in the sea of blue and the rare brown flecks in her eyes. His heart that had not stopped its erratic beating since earlier seemed to go wild with their proximity. He gulped. She was playing with him. He knew she was playing. Heck, he was playing along too. But he couldn't pull away from her somehow. He rather liked the closeness.

When he saw the slight lifting of one corner of her mouth in a suppressed smirk, Conan snapped out of his reverie. He cleared his throat and looked away. Damn. He was losing this game. The harmless April's Fool prank that had somehow turned into 'who would make the other surrender first' game.

She probably had no idea that all he wanted to do now was to pull her closer and leave no distance between them at all.

Or maybe she did, if the amused look she had on was of any indication.

Darn it. To hell with losing!

She had her arms crossed across her chest again, and the smirk was prominent this time which was a clear indication that she was only feigning affection earlier. Something about that didn't suit well with Conan, but whatever.

Conan donned his very own mischievous grin, mind racing with so many ideas.

"Since we both like it – like this – " he gestured between them "Surely, it's only appropriate for us to, I don't know – date, maybe? "

That was rather smooth, Conan thought, proud of himself.

The flabbergasted expression that Haibara had after hearing him almost made Conan laugh. He was enjoying this now. Far too much than necessary.

But he wasn't playing anymore, no. In fact, he was taking advantage of the situation now. He was turning the tide in his favor, and turning it did.

The school bell rang then, which signalled the end of their lunch break. Conan sauntered towards the door, looking far too smug for his own good.

"That's it. Let's go back, Haibara. We have Chemistry next. I know you don't like being late, especially in Chem class," he said, walking away from her. Haibara could only watch him in shock.

"And oh-" Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and turned his head so she could see his face. He was smiling. "Tonight. 7pm. Wear something nice, which is stupid to say because you always do anyway. I'll pick you up." And then he was out the door and out of her sight.

Haibara stood frozen.

Did he just seriously ask her out? That annoying and arrogant detective did?

Ha! Seriously.

Haibara shook her head as if she was only imagining things and she wanted to erase those fantasies. And then she chuckled when she realized this was all real.

Oh how the tables have turned. On her, no less. But she wasn't complaining. Nope. She rather liked it – liked this.

So now, who actually won the game?

Author's Note: What do you think? I seriously got this idea a couple of hours ago and immediately wrote it down and this is how it came out. Also, did you notice? I have been on a publishing spree lately. Yay!

xoxo

Miss SunnySunshine