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Conan looked between Ran and Okiya. He had broken his foot kicking a brick to stop a criminal but now he had a broken foot and Ran had to go on a school trip and Agasa was out of town with Haibara for a science conference so the usual suspects that would take care of Conan when Ran was out of town were unavailable. They generally never left him alone overnight with Kogoro nonetheless when he was injured. Kogoro wasn't the worst but he was also on a paid trip after solving a case. Conan only helped a little and he was actually surprised that the old man did it himself.
"Are you sure? It won't bother your school schedule will it?" Ran worried
"We'll be fine. It's my review week for my university so I'll be studying all week. He can keep me company." Okiya, Akai, said. The university thing was a cover, but it was effective when he had chemistry textbooks laying around trying to help Ai but also not cause any suspicion when unannounced visitors came. Rei, Amuro, would stop by occasionally still since that first visit and just ask random questions and if he wanted to go to lunch or something. Conan had talked one of them into the information somehow even if they were both secret agents in their own regards, but they both seemed to like him more than most people liked snot nosed seven year olds. Akai knew though. And Conan could see the dawning realization in Rei's eyes everytime they interacted. The concern about Rei finding out was mild from Conan. He didn't think many people would believe that a pill would be able to reverse time to such a great effect on the body but it seemed right up Rei's alley. He had undercover ties to the Black Organization so he had worked closely with the kind of unhinged minds that did dirty deeds in the shadows. On the other hand, there was worry about Rei discovering Akai just under his nose. They had worked together in the Black Organization and there were some grievances that Conan didn't truly know about and he couldn't seem to piece enough together to figure out even as the world's smallest detective.
"Yeah, Ran-nee-chan! It'll be fun. I can stay in Shinichi-nii-chan's room." Conan sometimes felt that his own name was a mouthful, but he thought how generally you don't introduce yourself with honorifics. Ran was Ran, but not as Conan. He was a polite seven year old.
A small cloud of sadness passed over Ran's gaze for a brief moment before she was back to her chipper self. She had grown quite used to the lack of her not-so-boyfriend not being around except for sporadic and unpredictable occasions. Okiya reassured her again, even though they had already planned this meeting last week to drop Conan off and had even gotten a taxi on the way there since Conan was on crutches. Ran handed over Conan's bag for the seven day stay before heading off on her way.
They waved goodbye from the genkan before Conan sat on the lip to untie his one shoe. Okiya produced some wipes and cleaned off the bottom of the crutches before helping Conan over the step and into the house. They set up shop in the T.V. room. Okiya with a book, the news on the T.V., and Conan bouncing around different news articles on his phone while watching the bigger screen in front of him. Somewhere around noon Akai made a pitiful lunch but otherwise the rest of the afternoon and the early evening were much the same.
They were trying to decide what to do for dinner. Conan couldn't cook either way, healthy or not and he had just learned that Akai lived off of instant ramen and was trying to figure out how not to live off of that for breakfast, lunch, and dinner while he spent time in his own house when there was a knock on the door. Akai turned his voice changer back on and fixed his collar, before checking on it. Conan hobbled around using the wall to see who it was from the hallway. Rei stood in the entrance way holding a few grocery bags and wearing a smile.
"I heard you were detective-sitting. And if last time you were cooking is indicative of how you usually cook then I would like to spare the injured one of having to suffer another injury. May I come in?" The asking only seemed to be for formality's sake as he slipped off his shoes and exchanged them for slippers seeming to favor that Shinichi used to wear when he was home, not that Rei would know that, without really waiting for an answer.
He must have heard it from Ran on her way home as Cafe Poirot was under their apartment slash detective agency. "Hello, Conan-kun. How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay." Conan played childish as needed but felt like he was putting on a bad act. "Are you going to make us dinner, Amuro-san? Subaru-san only eats cup noodles."
Rei laughed at that statement and Conan really hoped dinner was good because he was very hungry and very tired from all the moving he had done today. He was ready for dinner and to go to bed. "I hope you like curry."
Conan did sit in the kitchen as Akai and Rei cooked, instead being otherwise separated in the living room. He wanted to see how two men pitted against each other would interact considering the lengths that Akai had gone to truly convince Rei Furuya that Okiya Subaru was a well and truly a different person than Akai Shuichi and that he just merely seemed to hang out with a criminal attracting child sometimes, and that it's totally not weird that a county wide famous teenage detective hasn't been seen in nearly a year, and he just lives there. They were like a married couple. The lines blurred of what Conan knew were their separate identities. They all had their burdens to bear. They had their sides that they could only show a few select confidants. In this strange gray area, they could be everyone all at one and just exist. Everyone just had a different name.
The curry was good.
Conan still had to sit in a booster. His kitchen table wasn't built for children as short as him. After dinner, Akai cleaned up and Rei offered to help Conan get ready for bed and he wanted to be indignant about it but his foot was throbbing and he lost the battle quickly anyway as Rei picked him out of his seat and carried him upstairs. They got him bathed and dressed for bed and Conan could imagine what it was to be a smaller child than he was right now as he was falling asleep as Rei tucked him in.
He woke up to Akai bringing him his medication and some juice. He didn't say anything or really make any sounds but Conan just knew that someone else was in the room. He puttered around in his room a little, getting dressed and picking out something to do while he was laid up. He found Akai standing at the bottom of the stairs. They made eye contact and the silent conversation of 'are you going to try that?' and 'I was planning too.' to 'you want to break your leg, boy?' to Conan heaving a sigh and letting Akai carry him to the living room. Breakfast was a parfait that Rei had brought over last night and some sliced fruit. Although Akai treated him as a child, he still let Conan have ice coffee. He worked on the piles of homework from his highschool because somehow he was still a student, but he's sure his parents had something to do with it. He's only about a month behind.
The detective boys rolled around after school only to drop off his assigned homework while he was out. They wanted to stay and play but Okiya shooed them away pleasantly and they went home to do their own work. Conan felt brain dead after switching from highschool to elementary school class work and flopped face down onto the sofa with a groan. He heard Akai chuckle.
"Bored yet?" He said.
"Do you ever think about the things you do for your cover?" Conan said changing the topic. Akai put down his work and looked up, pensive.
"Are you saying you don't want to do your school work because that's not going to get you out of it."
"You're avoiding the question. I finished all my work so there is nothing to get out of." Conan pushed himself back up into a sitting position and watched Akai with more attention. The man across from him switched hands before making a note on his work.
"I signed up for it." Was all he said. "You didn't."
Conan was struck by that. He felt a pang of loneliness at the statement. He didn't choose this. He was a big headed teenager with a Sherlock Holmes obsession from his dad and a need for flair and attention from his mom and now he was trapped and putting his friends in danger just by existing. He lucked out. He could be dead. He became despondent.
"I miss being a big brother. I wasn't around a lot for them but I miss that I didn't get to know Sera better." Akai walked towards the hallway, passing Conan on his way. He patted his head and Conan felt comforted by it. "Thanks for letting me play pretend this week."
"Learn how to cook." Conan said in lew of anything towards the emotions they were both wrapped up in. Akai knew what game he was playing and what steps he needed to take but that came with the fact that he had to disconnect from his family utterly and completely.
Conan saw his folks as much he would have, he got to see Ran and the Professor and most of his normal acquaintances per usual, but as Conan, not as himself, and the distance that it had built felt insurmountable.
"Tooru-san is here." He heard Akai call from the entrance. "He's making hamburgers."
When did Amuro become Tooru? Conan thought. He hobbled to the kitchen to find both of the men there. Subaru and Amuro. It felt different. Rei and Akai.
"Conan-kun, hello." He smiled as he usually did. He had all his ingredients out on the counter and some vegetables soaking in the sink. "Do you want to help? Or is your foot still too hurt?"
"I think maybe another day. You can teach me to cook instead, Tooru-san." Akai moved Conan to a seat so that he wasn't on his foot too much. He'd taken to not using his crutches much in the house and just leaning on the walls for support. It was a familiar scene from last night as Conan watched the two adults cook, but something still felt off.
"You know." Conan said once they had settled in for dinner.
"I know what?" Rei played stupid, but Conan could sense that he was playing with him. "I don't know what you mean, little detective." Conan glared at him.
"Now you're just being mean." Conan pouted. "You know who I am, who I really am." He saw the mischievous look in his eyes. "When did you figure it out?"
"Yesterday, but I've had my suspicions for a while now." As expected, Conan wasn't all that shocked. "Well that and I've been snooping around your house for a while now. Okiya is just being lazy and making me cook for him."
"You're just going to be as bad as him with the babying, aren't you?" Conan indicated to Akai with a disappointed face. A cheshire cat grin graced Rei's face.
"Who knows?"
Conan knew he would lose this fight. He sighed.
On Thursday, he was lucky enough to get his cast taken off. Rei had been for dinner everyday that Conan had been at the Kudo house. He had cooked every night and Conan found out Wednesday night that he would stay and have a drink with Akai until around midnight. The room would be dimly lit as they were winding down. Neither of them would talk. He felt like he was snooping on his parents when it was past his bedtime on a school night. There was an understanding between the two that he couldn't decipher. He snuck back to bed wondering if they would ever befriend each other as themselves and not as the lies they became to protect who and what they love.
Friday morning, Rei came for breakfast with a cover story in his back pocket.
"Conan-kun, would you like to play a little game of detective with me?"
"Huh?" Conan squeaked.
"Seems fun." Akai smirked.
Conan would not completely agree with Akai in this situation. He was sandwiched between the two men on a ferris wheel. He was fine for most of the day. Being seven meant that any trip that he went on was paid for by someone else, so he wasn’t worried about his wallet, and his parents gave him a pretty hefty allowance anyways. They were at the opening of a new theme park. Amoru and Subaru were now his dads and he was to play their son. He guessed spies really just liked to be spies. There was another couple sitting across from them and they were smiling happily at each other and would occasionally talk to them as well. The ride was smooth and the ferris wheel was tall. The views of the bay they were next to were wonderful and Conan could appreciate them for what they were even if he wasn’t really sure why they were here and what case Rei was working on.
In a strangely easy way, Conan handed his ‘papa’ the ice cream cone he was holding before he wrangled himself to turn around and stand in the seat and look out the window properly.
“Look at the hot air balloons.” Akai, papa, said. He pointed into the distance to a herd of balloons rising out of the field. Conan acted his physical age and said something along the lines of “That’s so cool!”, “I want to fly in a hot air balloon!”, and “Can we go papa? Please?” Rei had told him to sell the act as the target liked kids and Conan wasn’t sure what he meant when he said ‘like’, and how worried he should be about what he was walking into. Condersidering, the last time they were on a ferris wheel, they weren’t in a gondola, and very many people could have died. Luckily, there was only one casualty that day. They made it back down to the surface with the only danger being fake attentive parents and the looks they were getting from the couple across from them as Rei used a napkin to clean Conan’s face.
Conan took Rei’s hand as they walked, for the cover, he said, and not for the crowds that were overwhelming him. Akai held onto a toy that they had one at one the booths early on.
“Say, dad?” Rei looked down to him, before squatting to be at eye level with Conan. “What are we doing here? I thought we were on a case?”
“Oh no, we’re bait. So just have fun, okay?” Conan stared at the man that gave him a thumbs up before standing back to full height. “Honey, are you hungry yet?” He said to Akai who was on the other side of Conan.
“Starving.” He smiled.
Bait? What did I get myself into? Conan sighed as he was dragged along to the restaurant on the park grounds. But he played along. The need to know what was going on won over the embarrassment he was feeling. Maybe he could get an ice coffee out of them. That would make this day at least mildly worth it. At some point during the trip, Conan just forgot about the case. He was busy trying to beat Akai at a shooting game, and of course losing but he was having fun. Akai and Rei were surely treating him like he was small in size but not like he didn’t know what he wanted. They let him have his agency. They didn’t say no to the ice coffee, which made them bad parents but great allies. Rei won them a stuffed animal to go with the one they had already because he said that he needed a friend. Conan meant to ask if he named them but he never got around to it.
“All ready for bed, aren’t we?” Conan was held by Akai, Rei holding both of the stuffed animals, as they headed out of the park late that night. Conan forgot how tired that he got in his little body and was kind of happy about having not to worry about taking himself to bed. They had taken the train as the park was close to a station and Akai’s mustang or Rei’s RX-7 are too noticeable for such a low profile case, or something like that. Conan didn’t remember why; somewhere between trains he fell asleep.
“We should tell him.”
“I’m quite surprised he hasn’t figured it out.”
“He’s dense when it comes to relationships sometimes.”
“I’ve noticed.”
Conan comes to with those words ringing in his ears. He’s tucked in bed in his shirt and shorts from yesterday’s adventures. He heads downstairs to the kitchen to find Rei and Akai there. Rei is cooking and Akai is reading the paper at the table.
“If my mom cooked, you’d really look like my parents.” Akai laughed and called Rei mama jokingly. Rei retaliated with talking away his coffee.
"I kid, Rei, I kid."
"Sure you do."
Conan was gobsmacked. "Eh! When!? What's happening?"
"Not such a great detective, are we?" Akai grinned.
"Leave him alone. Most of the times we've interacted have been on more agressive terms. I did want to murder you for a period of time."
Conan felt dizzy with all the new information.
"I made ice coffee!" Rei said pleasantly. Conan gladly took the coffee and a seat and listened to the very few details they would give him about why Rei's vendetta existed in the first place and why it was gone now and now how the two spies were involved.
"It's hard to find love in our line of work."
"Is that what we're calling it?" Akai was looking over the rim of his mug.
"Why wouldn't we be?" Rei countered with an seemingly innocent head tilt.
"Oi, oi." Conan interjected. "What was yesterday then? Did I just third wheel a date?"
"Yeah."
"Yep."
"But there was serial killer that was also targeting gay couples so you were very helpful in making us easy to spot. He was caught and admitted to his crimes." Rei patted his head. "So thank you, detective, for all your hard work."
Conan swatted the hand away with no malice. He slumped down in his seat, sipping his drink. Rei left for his shift around nine that morning and said he would be back later with cake.
"When you asked me the other day if I regret things that I've done, things about being undercover." Conan looked up from where they were sitting on the patio getting some noon sun. "I wanted to ask you what you regret."
"There isn't much to be honest. I regret putting everyone in danger. I regret putting Ran in this position. But what I think I'm going to regret most is when Conan is no longer here." Conan looked back out into the yard. Akai looked down at the boy after he had avoided looking at him in case it made him shy. He saw that young child that sat next to him but he also saw the seventeen year old, the high school senior, the best highschool detective.
"I'll miss him too."
Conan looked back at him melancholy. "Thanks."
There was a lot behind the 'thanks' that couldn't be spoken, and a lot that has already been said. They sat on the patio longer than either of them planned, in silence. Once the sun began to dip low in the sky they headed back in. They left the house quiet, no T.V., no music, just them with a novel each in the living room. When Rei found them like that after work, he followed suit after bringing out a tray of coffee and cake.
It was rest. It was needed. Company included.