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“You know, it’s pretty much the same thing-” he rushes to match her pace.
“A purse is different from a bag.” Came the strawberry-blonde girl’s short reply.
“A purse is also a bag.” he tries to clarify.
“Yes, but no. For example, Mr. Detective, a purse is much smaller than a bag.” she turns her head to face him, her hair swishing to the side.
“But, if you look at it, it’s much more efficient to carry a bag. You can put more stuff and to top it off, it can also be used for self-defense.”
“You really don’t get girls do you.” she huffs as she walks yet faster.
“Wait, Haibara! I’m the one buying it, you know.” Conan runs after her.
The two enter the boutique and looks at the new releases. For a middle-school boy, there’s not much difference between every piece. But because the boy in question is actually a 24 year-old in a body of a 13 year-old, he should know better.
“Hi, we would want to replace this bag with this purse. Can you process it for us?” Haibara quickly asks one of the sales ladies.
“Sure miss, if you have your receipt with you we can process it.” the sales lady kindly replied.
“Edogawa-kun-” she calls out to the detective, still deducing the difference between the products.
“Ah yes, here you go.” he reaches for his pocket and gives out the receipt.
“Oh, Ai-chan?” a voice calls out behind them. A man in a cap and dark blue blazer approaches them.
“Higo-san!” Haibara tries to maintain composure, blushing slightly.
“Hmm...Perhaps, you two are on a date? Sorry for intruding.” The soccer player clearly teasing them.
“Ah, no-” Conan waves his hands in front of him but Haibara cuts him off.
“It’s nothing like that. Really.”
Afraid for Higo-san to misunderstand, huh. Conan thought.
“Oh, haha I see.”
“By the way, what brings you here?” she decided to change the topic.
“Ah, I was looking for a gift. I’m planning to give it to a very special woman.” Higo looks around the shop.
“A girlfriend?” Conan asks.
“It’s not like that. It’s my mom’s birthday next week.”
Haibara relaxes her shoulders in relief, but only in a slight manner that it takes someone who really knows her to notice. Like Conan, who was only a few feet away from her.
“To be honest, I was glad Ai-chan was here. Maybe you could help me choose?” He asks rather shyly.
“O-of course!” the typically uninterested girl suddenly becomes energetic.
Hah, really now. You like him that much? Conan looks in disbelief.
He sits on one of the shop’s couches and takes a magazine while the two roamed around the place. Haibara actively explaining which item suits whom.
They laugh. Conan flips the poor magazine’s pages more impatiently.
Why did I even tag along? I could’ve just given her the receipt. Who knows, I could be reading mystery novels by now. Are just few of the many thoughts that raged his mind.
Then he remembers,
Ah yeah, I said I can’t let a girl walk on her own. He then regrets being chivalrous or whatever he meant by that.
“Then, this one?” Higo finally picks a white bag with light pink gems, simple but classy.
He gives the bag to one of the sales ladies and facing Haibara again, he asks,
“What about you? Which did you like? I’ll buy it for you.”
“Eh?” her eyes widen at the sudden question.
Eh? Even the young detective was surprised.
“Um, anything is fine.” the girl tucks her hair behind her ear, looking at the ground.
“Anything? Then...this one. I think this suits you.” Higo lifts up a gold-chained, light blue sling bag with flower embroidery.
“It matches your eyes.” He added.
My, that was smooth. Conan, now amused.
“Thanks. But, really, you don’t have to do this.”
“Well, you helped me choose a bag. Accept this as my thanks.”
The young detective rolls his eyes (a habit he got from Haibara), he can’t believe he is witnessing something so cheesy in front of him.
The sales lady wrapped both of the bags and handed them out to Higo. Conan stands up with the wrapped purse and approaches the two.
“Sorry for the wait. Might as well treat the both of you. Let’s go eat.”
Higo heads out first, and holds out the door for Haibara. They went to a nearby cafe and chose the table by the window.
“You’re acting girly today.” Conan whispers to Ai.
“Hmm, I thought it was clear that I am, in fact, a girl since the beginning.” Conan felt slightly happy to receive such a sarcastic reply. Yes, this is the normal Haibara, is what he thought.
“Can I take your order?” a waiter approaches their table.
“Oh, I will have an iced cappuccino and chicken sandwich, what about you Ai-chan?”
“I’ll have strawberry frappe and blueberry cheesecake.”
“said the coffee addict-” Ai stomps on Conan’s foot that made him jump a little and stop mid-sentence.
“Can I ask what’s your order, sir?”
“Haha I’ll have strawberry frappe too.”
They talked about all kinds of stuff, from school to soccer, even the smallest things that happened today.
“Ah, before we leave, I’ll go to the washroom.” Haibara excused herself.
“She’s grown to be quite a cute young lady.”
“hm” Conan was busy finishing his frappe.
“You like her, don’t you?” Higo suddenly asks.
Conan chokes on his drink, “Wha-why? What do you mean?” he tumbles on his own words.
“I mean, I was unsure before but, I always see you two together when you were younger. Even now, the way you look at each other. And I thought all this time, you two were-” he trails off, realizing he might’ve said something he shouldn’t.
“U-um, no. It’s more complicated than that.”
“Hm? Well, I don’t know anything about it but, you gotta do something. Because if you don’t, you’re not always gonna be the person closest to her.”
Wow. I never knew soccer players are also part-time counselors. The boy thinks, partly because he doesn’t want to admit that Higo has a point.
Haibara comes back after a few minutes.
“Ready to go?” she asks them.
They went to the door and walked for a while before going their separate ways.
“Ah, wait- Higo-san.” Haibara tugs his sleeve.
“Hm?”
“Let’s take a picture.”
“Sure.”
The unwilling cameraman (Conan) takes a cute photo of the two and the sunset behind them.
What the heck. She doesn’t even like getting her photos taken.
They bid goodbye and finally walked home.
Conan talks first.
“You know, the bag he gave you, it was the same wrong bag that I bought for you. Yet you were happy with it. You’re being quite a hypocrite today.”
“There is a difference. His was a gift, yours was a debt.”
“Eh? If it didn’t matter, why were you so indignant earlier?”
“It was also the thought that came with it. He said it matches my eyes, you said it looked all the same as others.”
“Well, I also thought it matches your eyes that’s why I-” he stops abruptly, reflecting on what he said.
The girl turns to look at him, the warm sunlight on her skin. Her eyes filled with the color of sunset. Her face making such an unreadable expression. The wind slightly blowing on her tea-colored hair. It was only for a moment but, ‘gosh what a beautiful scenery’ is what he thought.
Then she smiles a playful one.
“What’s that? A confession?”
That’s when he realized.
He wanted to always be this close to her, only a few inches away. Walking, side by side. Never to be interrupted by some random guy in a cap or something. Arguing, laughing, teasing, confiding with each other. Even if he had to study all kinds of bags.
“Yes.”
Is what he said.
And that’s the story of how my mom and dad started going out.
END