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The warmth between them dissipated as Shinichi slowly withdrew from her. He shifted his weight, positioning himself beside her on the mattress still feeling the lingering heat of her body. Propping himself up on one forearm, turning his body toward her, wanting to see her face clearly in the moonlight filtering through the curtains. He needed to read her, to decipher the emotions in her eyes. He sighed heavily, he knew he couldn't delay any longer. This had been weighing on him for years, deep in his chest.
Was he about to ruin everything? They had built something stable out of the ruins of their past, and the fear that he was about to break that unspoken rule was overwhelming.
I’m probably destroying the best thing I’ve ever had.
Turning away from her, he reached out and opened the drawer of his nightstand with a mechanical movement. His hand trembled slightly as he rummaged through the contents. He pushed aside old photographs, a worn-out book, and a tangle of charging cables until his fingers finally brushed against something smooth and velvet. With a surge of adrenaline, he took the small, little box hidden at the very bottom.
Shiho's heart seized, stopping its beat for a terrifying few seconds when she recognized the object in Shinichi's hands.
“When… when did you buy it?” she managed to stammer in a shaky whisper. She hurried to sit up while she clutched the sheets to her chest. Her eyes were wide, fixed on the velvet box with paralyzing shock.
Shinichi’s eyes dropped to the small box in his hand. He traced the outline of its lid with his thumb, moved the box between his fingers. Finally, he lifted his eyes, meeting her gaze directly. He saw the question, the confusion and the shock reflected back at him.
"Four years ago," he confessed, his voice softer than she had ever heard it. He offered a small shrug. "Almost five."
She opened her mouth to speak, to ask the countless questions swirling in her mind, but closed it again, realizing she didn't know what to say. She could only watch, as his fingers moved to open the little box, revealing a wedding ring, a delicate band of gold that seemed to absorb the faint moonlight filtering through the window. He didn't force her to look, didn't demand a response. He simply held it out to her, offering it as a gift and a choice.
“You don't have to wear it or accept it if you don't want to,” he said. He reached out and gently took her hand, placing the ring in her palm. "You can even sell it. It's yours, after all. It was always yours."
Shiho’s gaze dropped to her palm, where the ring now rested, her fingers curled inward, encircling the golden band. With care, she picked it up, bringing it closer to her face, as she examined the subtle details. The shimmer of tiny, embedded diamonds and a minuscule inscription, a series of numbers that sent a strange ripple through her… 4869. A laugh threatened to escape her lips, to his characteristic quirk. But as she continued to study the ring, a familiar warmth bloomed in her chest and immediately she felt the prickle of tears behind her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she fought to regain a semblance of calm.
"You know," she began, forcing a playful tone into her voice, "usually, the protocol dictates that the man kneels while declaring his undying devotion and love to the woman." She couldn't help the nervous smile on her face but she quickly suppressed it, biting her lip hard, trying to control the tremor that threatened to overtake her hands.
His face lit up radiating, a boyish enthusiasm that always charmed her.
"I'm still naked," he reminded her, "but I can kneel if you want. I’m a man of my word after all." He even took a half-hearted step as if to drop to the floor.
"No, thank you," she said, her fingers closing tightly around the ring. "I think I’ve seen enough of you for one night. I'll... I’ll make it into a necklace for now."
Shinichi's smile faltered.
"So..."
"It's not a yes," Shiho said quickly.
"But it's not a no, either," Shinichi pointed out.
"But it's not a yes," she repeated, more to convince herself than him.
Seeing the light of panic and turmoil in her eyes, Shinichi’s expression softened. He reached out and brushed a strand of reddish hair from her face, gently tucking it behind her ear.
"Then it's a promise," he said, his voice filled with hope. "A promise that I'll keep waiting, keep earning your trust, keep showing you that I'm worthy of you. A promise that I'll never stop loving you, whether you wear that ring as a necklace or on your finger for the world to see."
"Shinichi, you stupid, arrogant detective," she choked out. She couldn't hold them back anymore; the tears spilled over, tracking paths down her cheeks. She let out a watery, frustrated laugh. "Where did you even read those cheesy lines? If you keep making me cry like this..."
"Yeah, I know," he said with a bright smile. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body against his chest. "I’ll never see the end of the day. You'll probably poison my food."
He kissed the top of her head, holding her as she finally let the tears take her. "I love you," he whispered into her hair. "And I'm not going anywhere."