“Uh…” Was it really that weird to hide it? After all, C-ta had said so blatantly that this sort of agreement was under tentative reasoning, so announcing it to the public only to fall back on it… wouldn’t that be bad for both of them? Work would be awkward, and people would regard them strangely, therefore…
“I think… with these grounds, I want to make sure I really like you before we tell anyone… does that make sense?”
Somehow that made Shinichi’s heart pound with excitement. How.. cute. C-ta never ceased to be adorable. It took Shinichi a moment to recover from that, his gaze elsewhere as he took a breath and calmed down.
“Yeah, it does.” He answered, although it didn’t. Pretty much the whole force figured something romantic was going on between them. Heck, Haibara even put condoms in his office’s drawer. Not… that he was aware of that for future purposes or anything. “That is fine by me. Whatever makes you feel comfortable.”
Oh, god- um, C-ta just sort of froze in place and looked at Shinichi’s– head? He didn’t really know what to do by this point, although he did figure it was probably something the detective had wanted to do for a long time now. He bit his lip and told himself to bear with it, returning the hug and trying not to look awkward.
“We… probably shouldn’t tell anyone about this, though…”
“Huh?” Shinichi let go of C-ta and blinked at him. The puzzlement on his face was quite easy to read, although Shinichi hadn’t meant to sound so shocked over it. “You want to hide it?”
“Don’t say it like that… whose care have you been in this whole time?” Plus, that was so formal and strange that it flustered him a little, but maybe it was somewhat worth it. He hadn’t seen Shinichi look that happy in a long time, aside from when he heard news of coffee machines being fixed.
“I’ll be in your care too, then.”
And right at that moment, Shinichi did the most unbelievable thing possible. – Which, considering who his mun was, wasn’t that strange, actually. – He wrapped his arms around C-ta and pulled him into a hug, his nose pressed against the other’s neck as a result of that.
“Don’t get me wrong, this is… really on whim, haha…” He rubbed the back of his neck, not looking at Shinichi despite facing him.
“I told you before that I wanted to give you a chance, and this is me saying I would be okay with trying. I don’t really know if it’s a thing that will work out, but… if that’s alright, then, yeah…”
“No… I’m fine with that.” He chuckled and then smiled again, one of the cutest blushes ever showing up on his cheeks.
“I’ll be in your care then, C-ta.” Ironically enough, he already was in C-ta’s care, but let’s dismiss those details.
“… Saying that sort of thing doesn’t make it easier on me…” He mumbled, lifting his hand back and starting to fiddle with the both of them.
This felt so on whim and random to him, even though the detective had been less than subtle all these months and really, C-ta was the one being disrespectful, right? He had told him before that he would give him a chance, but ever since then, he hadn’t gone through the effort of looking at him like a romantic love interest at all.
“Eh?” Shinichi stared at C-ta for a while, his whole body and mind in shock. Was C-ta serious? Was he really okay with dating Shinichi? Oh dear Holmes, master of logical reason, won’t you tell him what just happened here?
“You mean it?” He was dead careful with his words now. “You’d be okay with dating me?”
“W-What?” Had he implied that? C-ta thought about it a little more and, well, somehow, his sentence could have been interpreted that way…
“Uh… it’s not like I want you to change for me or anything, Shinichi… are you really sure you want to date me, anyway? I’m pretty normal compared to everyone else here, and I think someone more eccentric would suit you better.”
“Of course I do. I think you’re cuter than them.” Shinichi answered quickly, taking a short breath afterwards. “And I told you, didn’t I?”
“You’ve been the person to me for quite a while now.”
“… Aah, you just never seem to give up, do you?”
Although, he had to admit, for Shinichi to still be infatuated with him for this long, while bothersome at some points, it was really cute. Despite the fighting from a while back, the detective was growing on him, even with his invasive ways and his ability to irritate everyone in the department.
“Honestly… I’m never sure what you want me to say to these things.”
“An act of reciprocation would be ideal, but not necessary.” He smiled at C-ta and then bent down to kiss the back of his hand.
“Just hearing you say you missed me too is more than enough to calm the relentless tides of my uncertain heart.”
C-ta wasn’t sure what to be more embarrassed over. Shinichi’s actions, or his words, so he decided just to be embarrassed at both and curled his fingers instinctively – maybe blushed a little by pure instinct.
“Haha, I don’t think that’s… isn’t Haibara-chan more fitting for the role of Alder? Somehow, she’s really smart.”
“Haibara’s my Watson.” He answered. Ever since she started helping him out, she had proven to be great at the role. With her knowledge and intellect, she could easily become a doctor too.
“But you, you are the Irene Adler to my Sherlock Holmes.” He lowered C-ta’s hand and held it with both of his own now, using his thumbs to massage the brunet’s knuckles. “I’m pretty certain of that.”
“You’ve been the person to me for quite a while now.”
“Even if you say that, isn’t it your own fault that you left?”
To tell the truth, he’d worried that he’d turned Conan for a while and left the scene, which had surprisingly made him a little paranoid. He had the urge to ask, but refrained and lifted a hand to tap Shinichi’s.
“It’s nice to see you again, too, irresponsible boss-san.”
Why was everyone around here blaming him?!
His heart jumped a second when he felt the other’s hand touch his own, but his surprised face soon melted into another smile and he took the opportunity to grab C-ta’s hand instead to keep it against his own cheek.
“Even so… That doesn’t take away the fact I missed you.” And he closed his eyes now, nuzzling the Secretary’s hand afterwards.
