Yes, what you're about to read below is the most amazing piece of work you will ever see. Just kidding. Actually it's my first fanfic ever and I really hope that I did an ok job of writing it. I'm actually a little nervous about what other people will think about this story but I look forward to reading your comments. Oh and a little secret, there might just be a cookie—stolen directly from the cookie jar of course—for any person who reviews the story. So go ahead, click that button and I'm sure it'll appear. cough cough
Stumbling forward with shock, he immediately steadied himself by grabbing hold of the parking meter next to him and tried to regain his composure. Her words cut through him like the sharp edge of a knife and resounded in every crevice of his mind. I don't mind being a kid anymore, as long as I can still be with you. His mouth opened for an appropriate response but only managed a stutter.
"H-Haibara, I-I—"
"Just kidding," she teased, the corners of her mouth twitching invariably into a smile as she sauntered past him.
Still recovering from the initial impact of her words, he blinked dumbly while attempting to register in his mind what had happened. Just kidding. The force of those words hit him as hard as those that came before it and it was then that he realized what a complete idiot he was. Angry at Haibara and mainly himself for not deducing her meaning earlier, he sulked inwardly and stuffed his hands into his pocket. Seriously, what was I thinking, he thought. How could I have thought that she was actually serious—
"Conan!"
—and how could she treat something like that as a joke. I mean, I almost—
"Conan!"
—had a freaking heart attack. I swear, she's just messing with my—
"CONAN!"
He awoke suddenly from his stupor and glanced in the direction of the voice. Ayumi's face glowed bright red from continuously shouting his name and had her hands on her hips in a cross manner. Genta and Mitsuhiko had already gone ahead, despite Ayumi's request that they wait for Conan. She stood there waiting, tapping her foot impatiently.
Sighing, Conan jogged dejectedly to catch up with the rest of them and uttered a small apology to Ayumi while silently berating himself for acting so stupid, so uncool. Every now and then, he shot an angry glare towards Haibara, who seemed oblivious to it as she walked in front of him.
"It seems like the standards are getting lower," she smirked, glancing over her shoulder
"Huh?"
"Some detectives now can't even tell the difference between a serious statement and a practical joke."
Feeling his face reddening, he gritted his teeth and quickened his pace, anxious to escape Haibara's mocking remarks.
"But honestly, I didn't think you would be that surprised. Didn't you often have girls confess their undying love for you, oh great detective of the east?" she mocked, increasing her pace to easily match his.
Conan proceeded to ignore her and muttered a trail of unintelligible curses under his breath. He could feel her laughing silently at his composure and fought back the urge to kick her with his inflatable soccer ball.
Who knew the greatly praised detective could be so easily provoked, so easily flustered, she thought, still musing over his surprise-ridden face.
They turned a sharp corner, arriving at the driveway of Agasa's home. It was a lazy Saturday afternoon, and like every other Saturday, it was spent playing video games at the professor's home. Of course, Haibara usually excluded herself from those activities claiming them to be "childish" and "a colossal waste of her time". Her mature uptake on life was a clear indicator that she was different from a normal eight year old; it was also what caused most boys her age to develop an attraction to her. Of course, Mitsuhiko was no exception. The young boy had developed a hopeless crush on her, most likely the first time they met. Conan watched with great amusement as he tried to persuade her for what was the twentieth time to play video games with them.
Unsurprisingly, she promptly rejected the offer and headed for her usual workroom. He let out a deep sigh. What were they expecting? An eighteen year old couldn't possibly have anything in common with a crowd ten years younger. Although they went to the same school, took the same classes, mingled with the same people, it was impossible for them to truly be friends. Haibara and him simply possessed a different mentality than the others; one being a genius scientist and the other a renowned detective.
Conan stepped towards the TV and joined the others in a new video game that Genta brought over. Pretending to be thoroughly enthusiastic about his excitement for the game, his mind wandered freely over other matters. It mostly revolved around a certain strawberry blonde. He had wondered countless times what she was always doing, secluding herself in her office most of the time. The obvious answer would be that she was researching for an antidote for the drug, APTX-4869. The surest way would be to ask her but he imagined the scenario would probably end with some smart remarks from Haibara and either a vague answer or none at all. Of course there was a third option. He could secretly sneak into her room and find the answer himself. That would also include the possibility of being beaten ruthlessly if if he was caught somehow.
Then just don't get caught, the voice echoed in his head. Now there was an idea, of course with some consequences attached but nothing was without consequence. He grinned to himself and his hands clenched harder around the game controller. The suspense would be cut tonight; tonight is when his detective skills would be put to use. He has solved locked room cases, disassembled mercury-switch activated bombs, while concealing his true identity. How hard could it be to sneak into a little girl's room without getting caught?
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Sleep was slowly descending upon him as he forced himself awake for the hundredth time. Staring upward at the ceiling and tracing circles with his finger could only keep him awake for so long. But seriously, does the girl ever sleep? He had been lying awake in bed for hours, waiting for the room next door to cease its noise. So far, he has been rewarded with five hours of continuous clicks of the keyboard. His hand reached out in the darkness and trudged around until it felt the rough edges of the alarm clock. Turning the display screen towards him, he read the red outline of the numbers. 4:07 A.M.
Groaning audibly, he buried himself underneath the covers and rolled around the bed, doubtlessly another tactic to keep himself awake. Is this how late she usually stayed up until, he thought. Even the antidote couldn't be worth spilling so much sleep over. Thoughts swam around in his mind and muddled together as his weariness prevented him from keeping a clear head. He pulled his head from under the covers and considered abandoning the plan. As seconds passed, the fatigue persuaded him to forget about his plan and go to sleep. This is stupid, he thought. Think Kudou, what if she never goes to sleep, what will—
Silence interrupted him. Yes, the complete silence next door without the mechanical clicks of the keyboard caught his attention. Finally, she had evacuated the room.
Taking every precaution, Conan tip-toed silently across the room and slowly maneuvered the door open without a sound. He continued quietly as he approached the door of her room. Twisting the doorknob to test if it was open, he smiled with relief when he felt the door giving way into the dark room in front of it. It was pitch black except for the small stream of light emanating from the computer in the back. Just my luck, he thought. It's still on. He plopped onto a nearby chair and began searching the computer for remnants of her work.
He had barely sat down for more than a minute when a hand lunged out and clamped tightly around his mouth. He flailed wildly against his assailant, desperately trying to relinquish his hold on him. Screams were only muffled against the hand around his mouth and then without a thought, he bit down on the fingers. He felt the figure flinch behind him and smiled a little with satisfaction.
Then, a cold, hard object pushed against the side of his head and he ceased his flailing. The cool barrel of the gun pressed against his warm skin caused his blood to run cold. He could distinctly hear the loud erratic beating of his heart. However, amidst all the terror, there was a familiar scent in the air that reminded him something—or more specifically someone. Could it be Vermouth? She always had the tendency to get the drop on him when he wasn't aware and—
The sound of a finger flicking against the trigger interrupted his thoughts. He felt the impending doom descending upon him. To his surprise, his life was indeed flashing before his eyes. Amidst all his accomplishments, he still felt like a complete disappointment. He would never get to say goodbye to Ran and also, he would never get to say goodbye to her. At that instant, the fingers clasped around the trigger and with a click, he closed his eyes and waited for the pain to come.
Instead, a cool liquid trickled down the side of his face and tickled the insides of his collar. Shocked for the second time that day, he opened his eyes and pivoted around to glimpse the face of his attacker. A gasp escaped his mouth.
"You know, you didn't have to bite down that hard. Look, my hand's bleeding."
Conan stood frozen, unable to reply, face still contorted with confusion.
"It's the second time today that you've had that shocked expression. Your detective skills are seriously getting rusty and becoming incapable of seeing through a practical joke like this," Haibara lectured. "Now when are you going to say something?"
As Conan remained silent, she reached out and stuck a delicate finger against his head, and trailed down the side of his face. When she brought her fingers before his face, he realized the cool liquid he felt was just water. His confusion faded when he saw the plastic toy lying carelessly by her foot.
Conan took a deep breath and felt his anger exploding in waves. "ARE YOU INSANE? YOU CALL THAT A PRACTICAL JOKE?" he screamed at a completely calm and well composed Haibara.
"It was only a plastic water gun. Relax, and while you're at it, try to develop a sense of humor," she responded calmly.
"I THOUGHT IT WAS THE ORGANIZATION!"
"It doesn't hurt to be reminded of it every now and then. It's good to stay alert on such matters." she pointed out.
"Well, I could do without the whole gun being pointed at my head thing," he hissed in annoyance.
"Well whose fault is that?" she responded dryly.
"Huh?"
"Exactly who was the person trying to sneak into my room and rummaging through my personal things?" she reminded him.
He opened his mouth but was unable to think of a response. He settled for sticking his hand in his pockets and striding out the door. Before he was able to reach the exit, a hand caught his shoulder and twisted his face to level with hers.
"What were you doing in my room?" she inquired.
Conan could see the seriousness with which she proposed the question. But for the first time in his life, he couldn't think clearly. Her face was mere inches from his as her glaring eyes swept across his face. He was now aware of the source of that delicious scent from before and stopped his breathing momentarily to rid himself of that dizzying aroma.
"What were you doing in my room?" she repeated, with a hint of impatience.
He lowered his gaze to the tip of his shoes and muttered a series of incoherent words.
"What was that?"
"I said, I was trying to find out what you were doing," he continued, when he saw that she had become silent. "You constantly locked yourself inside this room. I just wanted to know what you were working on."
The silence remained between the two. Conan stared imploringly at her, willing her to answer his question. She, on the other hand, had lowered her gaze on his face and directed her attention to the imaginary lint on her sleeves. Concluding her obvious unwillingness to share the information, he decided to end this conversation.
"Well, it doesn't matter now. I'm going back to my room," he spoke.
As he took a step forward, he heard the soft voice behind him speaking.
"It wasn't all for you anyways. I needed it too."
"Huh?"
"Don't pretend that you don't know. You know that I've been working on the antidote lately. Even a moron could deduce that." she pointed out bluntly.
"So now I'm moron." he replied sarcastically.
"There's no need to shove it in my face. I'm already working hard as it is and—"
"That's not what I'm saying. Besides, I also wanted to tell you that you shouldn't push yourself this hard. Something trivial like this isn't worth losing sleep over," he said.
The minute those words slipped from his mouth, he instantly regretted it. He could visibly see the anger rising in Haibara and heard the venom dripping in her voice.
"Trivial…how can you call such a thing trivial. It's the sole reason that you're in that shrunken body. It's the reason why you can no longer feed your ego with others' praise for your once ingenious self. It's the only reason why you can't be with her." she snarled. "You should be blaming me for not working harder. You should be condemning me for ruining your life." Tears swelled from her eyes as she said this and fell in individual droplets, eventually streaking her face with its wetness.
And in an instant, he was in front of her, wiping the tears away gently with the center of his thumb. Her eyes were wide and filled with confusion as his fingers caressed the corner of her eyes to wipe off the remaining tears but lingered there longer than necessary. The softness of her skin against his fingers, the dizzying scent that engulfed his sense and the sound of their breaths mingling together all added to the closeness of their situation. To add to her surprise, he leaned in close and pressed his forehead against hers. She immediately flinched and pulled away at the intimacy.
"I-I d-don't think we should—" she stammered
"Your forehead feels fine. I was starting to think that you were developing a fever because of your ranting," he said brightly.
"Oh."
"Guess it was just your usual way of releasing all that pent up frustration you encounter daily. Maybe it's that time of month again…" he murmured.
Haibara could feel the mini aneurysm at the back of her head threatening to burst and cleared her throat loudly at his last remark. Straightening her shirt which had been wrinkled during everything, she stepped past him and proceeded toward the door without a word.
"There's no reason to," he interrupted, breaking the delicate silence.
"What?"
"You were just another somebody that the organization manipulated to do their work for them. You were, in a sense, another victim," he stated, quickly changing his words as he caught the narrowing look she threw at him. "What I mean is, there's no reason for me to stay angry at you. A good detective forgets about the past and concentrates on the present. The fact that you're striving to find an antidote shows me that you regretted your actions and that you're trying to make amends. It would be selfish for me to still bear a grudge against you."
The ends of her mouth curved slightly into a smile as the tear began to fill her eyes once again, except this time, even her eyes were smiling. With a last grateful glance over her shoulder, she shot out the door, careful to avoid letting him see her tears again.
But he was a detective and clearly saw through her façade. He had let her go without questioning because he could perceive the vulnerability of her situation. When his fingers had touched against her skin, he had felt her body shaking and trembling. Haibara, who was always thought of as cold and unfeeling, had been so fragile only moments before. It didn't take a brilliant detective to realize the true impact of the guilt she had been carrying on her shoulders.
Sighing, he wondered if his words had any effect on her. It wouldn't matter who forgave her if she couldn't forgive herself.
But if she couldn't lift that weight off her shoulders, the least he could do is help her carry part of it.
Hm... was wondering if Haibara was a little too emo...not thought she was ever lacking in that department (you know, constantly talking about her own inevitable death and stuff, not that it makes me like her character any less XD). Or maybe Conan is a bit out of character and a bit too caring/considerate. The offer's still on, you know. The cookie is waiting to be eaten. All you need to do is click that pretty little button...
Oh and for the record, I am SUCH AN IDIOT. I totally left out the part explaining the liquid trickling down his neck was from a water gun. So for all you who figured that out on your own, give yourself a cookie (so I won't have to). For the rest of you...sorry bout that.