Chapter Text
His eyes flickered towards the pianist—fingers were gliding smoothly from key to key, the gentle melody of his instrument filling the space—before his gaze returned to the person across him again. Conan had taken great pains to make a reservation ahead of time at this particular venue because they were known for their flavourful dishes and remarkable scenery. And still, with the picturesque scene outside the window, all he could focus on was the woman who had somehow ensnared him with her mocking smirks, flat glares and dry humour. He found it impossible to look away.
The golden hue of the sun string lights suspended from the ceiling made her skin glow, and he couldn’t stop staring at the way her eyes gleamed as her lips curled upwards. Her cheeks were pinked by the wine, and not for the first time tonight, he took a quick glimpse of her dress; she looked so stunning in red. He knew he was a lucky man, but he also knew if he kept staring, it was more than likely that she’d call him a pervert.
Again.
Before he could rip his gaze away from her, she spoke up, “So?” She took a sip from her glass. “Is there a reason why you’ve brought me here for dinner, Tantei-san?”
He felt his heart jump to his throat as he remembered exactly why he had invited her here, to this particular place. Everything had to be perfect. He had one chance—there would not be another opportunity to surprise her. And he could not mess this up. The palms of his hands were sweating already, and he forced himself not to rub them against his pants.
Why was he so damn nervous? He had known Ai practically his entire life—his second life. They even lived together, for God’s sake. And it wasn’t like they hadn’t talked at all about marriage. She’d been open to the idea, right? At the very least, she had encouraged him to pop the question; though knowing her sense of humour, she might have wanted him to ask just so she could decline.
He shook his head, and tried desperately to not show his nervousness; she had the innate ability to read him like a goddamn book—it was frustratingly irritating.
“Do I always need a reason to take you out?” he asked instead, hoping he was exuding enough confidence that she’d drop the subject for the time being.
Her eyebrow quirked, and her lips twisted mockingly as if she knew. And for a horrifying moment, he was sure she knew; but that was impossible. He had painstakingly waited for months after their discussion at the professor’s house to ensure that she wasn’t expecting—
“I had to blackmail you the last time I wanted to go to a fancy restaurant,” she murmured wryly.
His thoughts came to a screeching halt when his brain comprehended exactly what she had been referring to. Blood rushed to the tips of his ears, and he felt his heart thudding loudly against his chest. Idly, he wondered how obvious and embarrassing it would be if he buried his face in his arms.
“Oi,” he muttered as he forced out a chuckle. “That’s not necessarily—”
She let out a huff, little wisps of her light hair blowing about her face. “I literally had to coerce you by threatening to show Hattori and Kuroba a picture of your—”
“Oi!” he hissed across the table. “Please never bring that up again!”
Great, now his cheeks felt warm too. He wished so much for the ground to open up and swallow him whole. It was an incident that he had hoped would never come to light again. Except she had brought it back up and it was now at the forefront of his mind. If only he could bleach his brain—and hers.
She let out a small laughter before swirling her glass and biting her lips to keep from smiling too much. “I had to prove a point,” she said, her voice teasing. “So are you going to tell me? Or should I speed dial—”
“Well,” he said, letting out a harsh sigh. His fingers twiddled with his own glass of wine, his body tense.
Maybe it was better to ask now, before dinner, just to get it over with. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to eat anything anyway; his stomach was tied in knots at the idea—on the off chance—that she would say no. And if she said no, did that mean that their relationship would be over? Or did she mean for them to just live together for the rest of their time together?
He knew he was being ridiculous and that his thoughts were spiraling out of control. Why was this so damn hard?
Breathe, Edogawa, breathe.
Blood pounded in his ears and he struggled to relax and regain control of his mind before it went on another tangent.
His stiff, sweaty hand fumbled in his jacket pocket, and for a second, he thought he had forgotten the ring and that it was all for naught. The next moment, his fingers brushed against the velvet smoothness, and his shoulders almost sagged in relief. Before he could think further and question himself—question them—he whipped out the dark jewelry box and popped it open.
She made a small, startled sound as her breath caught.
He could see the diamond ring in his mind without even looking at it. The amount of times he had pulled it out of his side table—his not-so-secret hiding spot—while she was deep asleep next to him to stare at it was absurd..
“Edogawa—”
“Ai…” he cut her off before she could dismiss him; he had to say his piece first. Despite the fact that he had never called her that in all the years they had known each other, her name rolled off his tongue. His gaze darted briefly past the windows to study the small snowflakes fluttering down, but his mind was envisioning a riverbank cast in vibrant amber hues. It was a memory that evoked so many feelings of grief, loss, and relief.
“You asked me once what I wanted the future to look like,” he murmured, a smile crossing his lips. And then his eyes studied the blue shade of her eyes, the curve of her cheek, the curl of her lips. “I knew then what I wanted already.”
Her eyes widened. “C-Conan…”
The corners of his lips widened at her shocked stare. Prying her hands from her wine glass, he laced his fingers through hers.
“So?” he asked.
“So?” she echoed.
He couldn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes in mock annoyance. “Geez, woman. Are you really going to make me ask?”
Her gaze was blank for a moment, and as she opened her mouth to respond in a no doubt sarcastic manner, a shrill scream resonated loudly through the restaurant. His head whipped around towards the sound before he could even think about it, and he watched Ai do the same from the corner of his eyes.
Shit.
A long-suffering sigh escaped him. So much for everything being perfect; he should have known that something would happen while he was around. From the sound of the scream, it was probably a corpse falling over somewhere.
And even then, he didn’t dare stand up—didn’t dare move.
One of his hands was still clutching onto the ring box.
Now what?
“Only you, Corpse Magnet.” At least she was amused—still exasperated, but mostly amused.
“Oi,” he murmured. A sense of failure swarmed him; it was frustrating how dead bodies continued to outwit him and thwart his plans. His gaze snapped to hers when he felt her pull her hand from his.
Was she mad?
She took a sip of her wine before staring down at him. “Well, Meitantei-san?” she asked. “Are you coming along?”
His heart jumped, and he felt his eyebrow lift, not daring to hope.
Her lips quirked upwards. “The crime isn’t going to solve itself.”
He had never scrambled to his feet so quickly. The smile playing across the corners of his mouth was uncontrollable as he grabbed a hold of her hand before dragging her towards the crime scene.
If he had any doubts before—which he had never had to begin with—he didn’t anymore. She was perfect for him.
“You know you’ll have to ask again, right?”
He’d ask over and over again if it meant he could spend the rest of his life with her. Confidently, he looked backwards with a cocky smirk.
“I’ll try again tomorrow.”