Speaking Your Mind (Fanfic100)
Title: Speaking Your Mind
Fandom: Detective Conan
Characters: Yuusaku/Yukiko (General series)
Prompt: #46-star
Word Count: 7046 words
Rating: PG-13
Author's Notes: I do not own Detective Conan. It all belongs to Gosho Aoyama. I simply borrow the characters, tie them up, and dance them around like life-sized puppets. I do wish they’d stop complaining.
Summary: An evening out turns into a trip down Memory Lane. Yuusaku/Yukiko
Sneaking off to Japan was always a treat, Yukiko privately thought with a smile-especially the horrified look on Shinichi’s face when he answered the door and found them there. But they were his parents, and so he grudgingly granted them entrance to the mansion. Granted, it was technically their house, but it was Shinichi’s home.
And soon to be Ran’s home as well, they had recently been informed.
They had tried to keep it quiet, but somehow, a reporter had gotten wind of the story, and the shy couple had found their engagement announcement plastered all over the front page of every newspaper and tabloid in the country. He was, after all, a major celebrity (given his part in the Syndicate’s fall).
His fan-club had wept. Shinichi, however, had never been happier…except for the fact that reporters and journalists were continually badgering him (and more upsetting, badgering Ran) for interviews and information about the engagement and their wedding plans.
Actually, their oft-annoyed son was currently out with Ran-the affianced couple had snuck out for a night on the town. Yuusaku had made certain to tell Shinichi to behave himself as he was leaving, prompting a glare and a stammering disclaimer before Shinichi had just slammed the door and gone on his merry way. Yuusaku had chuckled and gone back to reading his paper.
So here they were.
And as fun as it was to visit…Yukiko was bored. She did not take boredom well. And sadly, her husband seemed completely oblivious to her restless state.
Finally, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She got up, walked across the room, and plucked the paper right out of his hands. Before he could say anything, she said, “I want to go out!”
He blinked at her from behind his glasses.
Yukiko managed to not roll her eyes. For as brilliant as he could be, sometimes he had to be the densest creature on legs. She stooped and poked him in the forehead. “I want to go out tonight. You are going to take me out. Do you understand?” She straightened and clapped her hands, her face breaking into a wide smile. “We’ll call it a celebration! Celebrating Shin-chan’s engagement!”
Yuusaku stared for a minute before smiling indulgently-he was long accustomed to his wife’s impulses. “All right. It’s a deal,” he stood up. “And I’ll even let you pick the restaurant.”
“Oh, I know exactly where I want to go…”
“Yes?”
“Since tonight is going to be a celebration,” she grinned mischievously, “I want to go back to the restaurant where you decided that you absolutely couldn’t live without me.”
He had the decency to blush a tiny bit before grinning back. “Hmm…well, I don’t think I can argue against going to the place where you admitted that you couldn’t live without me. Lead on.”
Yukiko headed towards the door. “Of course. And it was the best decision of my life.”
Yuusaku stared at her. “Well, I won’t argue.” He sounded strangely pleased.
By now, shoes and coats were on and he was ushering her out the door.
“Well, it makes me very happy to hear that you won’t argue about it,” she said as they paused to lock the door. “But I remember it all so clearly.” She giggled. “Especially how nervous you were!”
He gave her an indignant look. “Of course I was nervous! Any man proposing gets nervous!”
“I know that,” she said. “It’s just that you seemed more nervous than I thought you would be. You don’t get worked up very often-you’re usually so smooth and relaxed.”
“Well…” he paused, then shook his head. “Nothing. Let’s go.”
“Eh?” Yukiko blinked. “Wait, wait, wait-well what? What is it?”
He gave her a sidelong look. “You seem to think that I had no doubts whatsoever that you would say yes. And that’s…not completely true.” He looked vaguely uncomfortable. Then again, she knew full well that she had a strange knack or vibe or whatever you wanted to call it that somehow got him to tell her things that he probably didn’t want to talk about-feelings tended to top that list.
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. “I didn’t know that. I guess I just thought that you…well, that you knew. You’ve always been so confident around me-even from day one.”
“Logically? Yes, I was quite certain that you’d say yes,” he said delicately. Logic was his dear friend, and governed so much of his life; that was something he had passed down to their son. “But other things…” Now he trailed off.
“What other things?” she prodded gently.
“…things,” he replied evasively.
She reached down and tangled her fingers with his. “Yuusaku, talk to me. What other things?”
“Well, there’s logic, and then there’s…other things.”
Okay, so they’d inadvertently hit on a topic he really didn’t want to discuss. And the man could be far too stubborn sometimes. Yukiko sighed and conceded defeat. “It’s fine,” she said, biting her lip. “If you don’t want to talk about it-I know some things are hard for you to express.” She managed a weak smile.
Yuusaku frowned. “You already know-“
“I probably do, but it’s different when you say it,” she replied. “You’re a detective, and I’m an actress-an artist, if you will. You function through logic, and I live through emotion. I can be logical, but most of the time…I guess my thinking process is different from yours, and so the way I express myself is different as well. I’m not afraid to tell you I love you. You tend to prefer to show than tell, but…” her tone grew wistful, “…it’s nice to hear it once in a while.
Yuusaku opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off. “You know what? Let’s just go have dinner. It was stupid to even bring this up…” She said it cheerfully enough, but she did turn her face away from him as she started walking down the sidewalk towards the street. They had been standing by the front door for several minutes now, having this conversation.
Yuusaku frowned and pulled on her hand. “Yukiko.”
She paused. “…yes?” She didn’t turn around to look at him, though.
“Come here,” he said in a tone that didn’t leave a whole lot of room for argument. He tugged carefully on her hand to try and pull her back.
She took a few steps backwards, letting him draw her closer. But she still didn’t turn around to look at him. “What is it?” Her voice was level-a bad sign for one who was usually so energetic and emotional.
He raised his free hand and carefully touched her cheek, trying to turn her head. “Look at me.”
At last, she turned around, yet she kept her eyes focused on some seemingly-invisible point behind his left ear. She took a deep breath, like a sigh, but didn’t say anything.
“Yukiko. Look at me,” he said in that same firm tone. His hand was still lingering on her shoulder.
She finally looked up at him, though she was biting her lip. “Hmm?”
Now he frowned. “None of that,” he scolded, dragging his thumb over her chin to try and draw her lip away from her teeth. Meanwhile, his other hand still held hers; he slid that arm around her waist, trapping her hand behind her.
Startled, she leaned back slightly. “…Yuusaku?”
He paused at her action. “Hmm?”
Quickly she shook her head. “Nothing. Just…surprised, that’s all.”
“Yukiko,” he said seriously. “You know how I feel about you.”
She shrugged. “I do know. It’s just that you were being sort of evasive…so I just figured that if you didn’t want to…say anything first…it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“Of course I’m going to worry,” he said flatly.
Yukiko shook her head…and impulsively rose up on her tiptoes to kiss him.
When she leaned back, he swallowed hard. “…you know? You understand?”
“Of course I know,” she said. “I was just being silly.”
Yuusaku didn’t look convinced. “Don’t ever doubt.”
“I don’t want you to ever doubt either,” she reached up and brushed at his bangs. “Do you understand?”
He looked faintly uncomfortable. “…you do know I love you. Right?” he asked very, very softly.
Now she smiled. “I know. And I love you too. And don’t ever forget that-remember that agreeing to marry you was the best decision I ever made.” She pressed another quick kiss to his lips.
He cleared his throat, now looking extremely embarrassed. “Right…well…dinner?”
Yukiko grinned and chuckled. “That’s right.” Impulsive, she gave him one more kiss and then stepped back. “Let’s go eat. I’m starving!”
Yuusaku cleared his throat and took her hand. “Let’s go, then.”
-o-
As luck would have it, their “special table” was open when they got there. The waiter was good enough to take them there when they requested it, and they were seated in very short order. Yukiko looked around, obviously delighted. “Oh, it’s just as lovely as it was before!”
Yuusaku looked around and nodded. “Seems like it was yesterday in some ways…”
“…except that it wasn’t,” Yukiko replied; she suddenly looked stricken. “Oh god, I’m getting so old! Shin-chan’s getting married, for goodness sake!” She put her elbow on the table and put her chin in her palm.
He grinned. “For what it’s worth, you don’t look any older to me.”
“That’s very sweet, honey,” she quirked a wry brow, “but I think we might need to up your eyeglass prescription.”
“You know perfectly well that I had an eye exam a month ago,” Yuusaku said. “My prescription is just fine. I speak only the truth.”
The waitress chose that moment to appear. Both ordered white wine, and returned to their conversation as the young woman absented herself in search of their drinks. Yukiko glanced back at him and grinned. “Love is blind, Yuusaku. I look in the mirror every day. I know exactly what I see.”
“I know what I see as well, Yukiko,” he retorted. “And I’m telling you what I see.”
Yukiko raised both hands in a placating gesture. “Fine, fine! You know, the decorations in this place haven’t changed, either.” She looked around, remembering.
“…and you subtly change the subject,” Yuusaku said with a fond smile, obviously amused. “But you’re right. It does look exactly the same.” The waitress returned with their wine and offered them a few more minutes to decide on their meals. “Did Shinichi tell you that he brought Ran here to propose to her?”
She had been taking a sip of her wine; when he mentioned it, she did a spit-take, and was a hair away from spraying the drink across the table. “What-what? He did? Are you serious? I didn’t know that…”
Yuusaku nodded. “He did. Granted, he didn’t actually tell me. Ran mentioned it, but I don’t think she knew the whole story or why he picked this particular place. I wonder which table it was…wouldn’t it be ironic if it was this one?”
“It would, but I don’t think he could have known what table to ask for-unless you told him. I don’t think I ever mentioned that part to him,” Yukiko sat back in her seat. “But oh, that’s just so…! I never would have thought Shin-chan would plan such a romantic gesture!”
“Of course he’d plan something like that,” Yuusaku grinned and sipped his wine. “He’s my son, after all.”
Yukiko rolled her eyes. “Well, do we think he interrupted his romantic proposal to go run off and solve a murder?” She had heard that particular story; it seemed that dead bodies followed her boy around.
“After everything that happened, I doubt he would risk that again,” Yuusaku shook his head. “He’s seen far too many chances slip by-I’d like to think he’d be smarter than that, at least.”
“Well, I’ll be happy if he’s at least recognized that he should definitely stay with the woman he’s with and let the police handle the rest,” she nodded in mock-satisfaction.
“If he hasn’t learned that lesson yet…” he pondered, “…well, I suppose it’ll be up to Ran to make him see reason, won’t it? But I think she’ll be able to handle it.”
“That’s true,” she said thoughtfully. “It would be very easy for him to fall back into an old habit. Letting solving mysteries become the top priority…”
“Indeed,” he agreed. “And forgetting all about his long-suffering wife until she decides to take matters into her own hands. Which probably won’t be pretty.”
Yukiko nodded her assent. “Absolutely. I mean, what else would there be for her to do? She can only be expected to take so much before she cracks.”
“But I think that holds true for everyone,” Yuusaku added. “If I recall, you’ve had to put me in my place once or twice…but I have no doubt that Ran will find a way to get it through his skull. She’s a very resourceful girl when the need arises.”
“Ran is definitely a resourceful girl,” she agreed. “There’s never been anyone that can keep Shinichi in check like she can. She’ll be fine. And for the record, I’ve had to ‘put you in your place’ more than a couple times, oh wise one.”
Yuusaku looked amused. “More than a couple of times? I don’t remember there being that many…”
“Yuusaku,” she deadpanned, “I came here to Tokyo from Los Angeles during one of those times.”
“First of all, that was completely uncalled for,” he half-scolded her. “Secondly, if you’re going to run off, could you at least let me know where you’re going?” He was…almost pouting. “Honestly-leave a note or something!”
Yukiko frowned. “You came home in the wee hours of the morning completely drunk with lipstick marks all over the collar of your shirt. Or have you forgotten that?”
“And I woke up the next morning and didn’t know where you were. For all I knew…” he stopped in mid-sentence and took a long sip of wine.
Her expression darkened. “All you would have needed to do was take a good look at yourself to figure out why I took off. I assume that’s what you did. Or you deduced it some other way.” She took a sip as well.
“That’s not the problem,” he replied flatly. “I knew why. But I didn’t know-“ he stopped short, cleared his throat, and turned to look out the window.
“If you knew why I left…then you would have known that I wasn’t in any danger,” she seemed confused. “That seems pretty obvious.”
“It wasn’t a matter of danger,” he said. “I know that you’re smart and plenty capable of taking care of yourself. And yes, I could guess where you’d gone, but I didn’t know if…” He trailed off again.
Yukiko had the sudden impression that they were inching into the Yuusaku Discomfort Zone. “If…what? Yuusaku, you’re going to have to clarify because you’ve lost me. I mean, where else would I go?”
He was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. “Yukiko…why do you think I came after you?”
She shrugged. “To bring me back home. You said as much. You followed me to my friend’s home and solved the mystery-poor Shin-chan was stumped.”
“To make sure…you came home at all,” he said quietly, keeping his gaze squarely out the window.
Yukiko was stunned into total silence. She just stared at him.
After a few seconds, he went on. “You were very upset, and really had every right to be. Of course I could figure out where you’d gone. But I didn’t know if you were coming back. So…I went after you.”
“Yuusaku, I…” she fumbled for words, and took a sip of her wine to try and relax. At the rate she was going, she would need another glass very soon. “I didn’t…I, um…” She couldn’t think of anything reasonable to say.
The waitress chose that moment to return for their orders, and so the conversation lapsed for a minute as they both selected their meals. Once the young woman had absented herself once again, they returned to the serious conversation at hand.
Yukiko took a deep breath. “I never knew you thought that I had left…really left.” Truth be told, the thought had never even crossed her mind. But then again…he had been so lost to the world when he came home that night. Given his state, it was quite possible that he’d woken up and realized that he had gone way past the line and might have screwed things up irreversibly.
He shook his head. “It wasn’t that I necessarily thought that…I guess it was more that I didn’t know if maybe things had gone too far. So I came. I had to make sure.”
At the time, she had gone running off without a second thought. She had been furious, even to the point of saying to Shin-chan that maybe she should find herself someone else as well. But she hadn’t been at all serious about that. Now, given what he had just told her…she felt guilty for having worried him like that. It was one thing to get back at him for doing stupid things; it was another entirely to make him truly suffer. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly, shaking her head at herself. “I should have called or left a note or something. It’s just that at the time…”
“You were angry,” he finally turned his head slightly to look at her. “I don’t really blame you.”
She met his eyes for one second before looking away. “I thought that maybe…maybe you were having an…having…never mind.”
Now he turned to look at her full-on. “No-go on.”
Yukiko shook her head. “It was stupid and it’s not worth mentioning. I reacted like a spoiled little girl.”
Yuusaku sighed. “Yukiko, please just say what’s on your mind.”
She looked at him for a moment, then looked down. “I…” she said in a very quiet voice, “…I thought that you might be having an affair.” Her gaze slide sideways to the window in a mirror of his earlier posture.
He sighed again and turned back to the window. “Yukiko, why would I betray you like that?”
Her hands clasped together even more tightly on the tabletop. “I…I don’t know. But I thought…you know, you’d been drinking a lot and you were coming home late, and the lipstick smears…I just started to wonder if…” Her voice was starting to shake.
Yuusaku chuckled-a dry, humorless noise. “I don’t think there’s enough sake in Japan for that.”
She kept her eyes towards the window and made a sad sound. “Yuusaku…when people get drunk, they don’t usually retain good controls of their common sense.”
He sat back in his chair and studied her profile intently for a moment; she could feel his scrutiny, but did not meet his eyes. “Drunk or not, how could I betray the perfect woman?”
Now she turned to look at him in surprise. “I’m not perfect,” she said with a slightly self-deprecating smile; she turned back to the window. It was a beautiful night out there.
Yuusaku smiled slightly. “You could have fooled me.”
“You know that I’m not the movie star. You recognized that from day one,” she pointed out. “There are plenty of flaws. Plenty of them-you should know that better than anyone else.”
“I know you have flaws,” he replied. “No one ever said that perfection necessarily meant an absence of flaws, did they?”
She kept her face towards the window, but in her reflection he could see that her eyes had soften. “It’s just that…Yuusaku, you’re unbelievably admired. Fans all over the world. It’s not jealousy-it’s just a fact.”
With a disbelieving shake of the head, Yuusaku rested his elbow on the table and put his chin in his hand and regarded her with sad bemusement. “And you’re not unbelievably admired? You know you are-you’ve even told me so. Jokingly, of course. But I don’t worry because I know you. And I know you would never do something like that.”
“But I don’t run in that circle anymore. I gave that all up,” she pointed out. “And don’t get me wrong-I’m happy that I did. And you’re a famous writer, and you’re required to make appearances and meet with the fans, which is fine. I don’t want to change that either. But when you came home that night like that…I just couldn’t help but think that…maybe…” She nervously toyed with her hair.
“Yukiko. Do you really think that you don’t have admirers anymore?” he said dubiously. “Think very hard. There are plenty of fans who still adore you and would gladly snatch you away, given the chance.”
Finally, she turned to look at him sharply. “I didn’t say that! I just meant that I don’t tend to go to premieres or afterparties or gatherings or anything like that anymore. So it’s a little more difficult for some fan to ‘snatch me away,’ as you put it.” Her fingers tangled together tight on the tablecloth.
Yuusaku stared at her for a moment, then sighed and closed his eyes. “Have you already condemned me for this-for something I didn’t do? Do you really think I would just throw away you, our son, and our marriage because I had a little too much to drink?”
“If that’s true, we wouldn’t be here now, would we?” she replied. “You came to Japan because you weren’t sure. I was upset, yes, and I ran away, but…I was never planning to leave you for good. I’m just trying to explain how I felt when I saw you come home like that!”
“And I’m telling you that I would never do such a thing-especially not to you. You’re my wife, and I love you,” he said, almost angrily; he sat back and looked out the window again. “So don’t worry.”
Yukiko sighed. “It was a bad idea to talk about this. I really shouldn’t have said anything.” A tense pause. “I’ll be right back.” She got up and headed towards a door that he knew led to a hallway where the restrooms were located.
Yuusaku sat still for approximately two seconds before he got up and followed her through that door and out into the hallway. “Yukiko.”
She stopped and turned around when she heard her name. “Oh…Yuusaku…” Was it just his imagination, or did her eyes look just a little bit misty? Some celebration this evening was turning out to be…he was upset and she was crying. Wonderful.
He hesitated for a second, then walked straight up to her and put his arms around her without saying a word. She stiffened in response before she buried her face in his chest. “Yuusaku…”
“No more,” he said softly.
“But…I-“ she looked up at him.
“No more of that. It’s all right,” he sighed. “I’m sorry.”
She pulled one arm free to wipe haphazardly at her eyes. “Me too…” Yukiko swallowed hard and seemed to be trying to get a grip on herself. After giving her head a good shake, she looked up at him and managed a small smile. “They might have brought our dinner by now.”
“And they’re probably wondering where we are,” he chuckled; he stepped back and offered her his arm.
“I bet they are,” she took his arm with one hand and began combing her fingers through her hair with the other. “Do I look all right? Is my hair okay?”
“Lovely. As always,” he grinned and escorted her back out to the table, where the waitress was setting down their plates with a slightly confused look on her face at their absence.
The poor girl jumped when Yukiko popped up behind her. “Oh, that looks wonderful. Thank you!”
“Yes, thank you,” Yuusaku added, pulling her chair out for his wife before taking his own seat. The baffled waitress nodded, wish them a pleasant meal, and absented herself again.
Yukiko took a bite and closed her eyes. “Just as delicious as before.” She already seemed to be in a much better mood than she had been merely ten minutes ago.
He watched her for a moment, smiling, before starting in on his own meal. He took a bite, chewed thoughtfully, and nodded in concurrence. “I agree. The food is still excellent.” And with that, most of the conversation went on hold in the interest of eating.
When most of the food had been polished off with great relish and their wine glasses had been emptied and refilled, Yukiko glanced over towards another part of the restaurant. “Do you hear that?” They both listened as light music filled the air around them. “It sounds they still have the string quartet. I wonder if the dance floor is still there…”
Yuusaku swallowed and set his fork down. “If they do…may I have this dance?”
She blushed slightly and smiled. “Of course!”
They were pleased to see that the dance floor was still there, and there were already a few other couples out there, enjoying the pleasant sound of a minuet. He pulled her into a dancing position, with one of his hands at her waist and the other holding hers. “We haven’t done this in a while.”
“I know!” she said, seemingly excited about the idea. “But it’s nice that it would happen here…”
He nodded. “It is very fitting.”
As they slipped easily into the rhythm, Yukiko impulsively let her head rest comfortably against his shoulder. “In spite of our little chat earlier…I’m so happy right now.”
Yuusaku chuckled lightly. “And the night is still young.”
She smiled, even though he couldn’t see it. “It is, isn’t it…oh! And don’t you dare let me forget to order dessert! I remember how good it was last time…”
“Of course,” he said. “Something chocolate, wasn’t it?”
“Chocolate mousse…something,” she said, nodding against his shoulder. “I can’t remember whether it was alone or over cheesecake or something like that. We can’t leave until we’ve had dessert!”
She could be so childlike sometimes-it was rather endearing at moments like this, to his mind. “After this song, then? Dessert…and then what? Where should we go next? Since tonight is turning into an adventure, we can’t stop at just dinner.”
Yukiko straightened up and looked at him. “I don’t know…where do you want to go? I chose to come here for dinner, remember? So it’s your turn now.”
He gave her a rather sly smile. “The movies. Hokkaido. The stars. We can really go wherever we please.”
She laughed. “I don’t think that stars are really an option for us.”
Yuusaku spun her out, then twirled her back in. “You crush my dreams. You crush them so hard.”
“I’m not crushing your dreams,” she laughed at the spin. “I’m just applying that logic stuff that you’re so fond of, my dear.”
“Every once in a while, logic need not apply,” he said airily. “So…to the stars, then?”
Her smile and tone were both soft. “Absolutely. Let’s go.” And he spun her again as the song ended and the restaurant patrons applauded the live musicians while the couple walked back to their table. Their waitress was just returning with a dessert menu, and left them to decide.
“Did I mention that you dance divinely?” Yukiko teased, taking the menu.
“Well, I have a very graceful partner,” he replied casually.
She picked up the menu and being browsing the options with obvious relish. “Oh, that looks good. So does that. And that one does too! Not that one, though…no wait, yes it does…”
He was watching her with an amused smile. “What looks the best?”
She raised a hand dramatically and put on an air. “I’m sorry, Yuusaku, but you can’t rush the process. I haven’t weighed all the options yet. These things taken time.”
To her surprise, he leaned forward and snatched the menu right out of her hands. “If you won’t decide, then I suppose I will.” He opened the menu and began looking at the listings, ignoring her pout.
When he grabbed it, she snatched at the empty air, and then frowned at him. “Aww…that’s just not fair. It takes time!” When he ignored her and kept looking, she sighed. “Don’t just pick some random thing, either. Read the ingredients and everything…”
Yuusaku scanned the menu one final time and grinned. “I think this will do quite nicely.” He signaled the waitress; when she came over, he pointed to the menu. “That one please, miss. Thank you.” As the waitress wandered off again, he returned his attention to his wife. “Trust me, you’ll like this.”
She folded her arms and sat back to wait. “I’d better.” She pouted slightly, just for emphasis.
“Just wait until it gets here,” he said soothingly. “I promise that you’ll be in a much better mood.”
“I sure hope so,” she said. “Because you just robbed me of the art of deciding.”
“Patience, patience,” he chastised her.
The banter continued for a few moments until the waitress appeared once again, bearing their dessert. And what a dessert it was: a chunk each of raspberry cheesecake, turtle cheesecake, and fudge brownie, topped with a dollop of whipped cream and served in a long-stemmed dessert glass.
Yukiko’s eyes were enormous, and she leaned forward for a better look. “Is that it?”
“Yes. Yes, it is,” he chuckled and handed her a spoon. “I trust it meets with your approval?”
She took the spoon. “It’s so pretty!” She took a careful bite and closed her eyes. “Oh. My. God.” He raised an eyebrow and took a bite himself without saying anything. Yukiko didn’t notice; she was extremely wrapped up in the dessert. “Oh wow…unbelievable…” She looked up to see his reaction, and was surprised to find him watching her with a grin and slightly-suggestive quirked brow; she frowned. “What? Don’t give me that look. You haven’t even tried it yet! Try it. Then you can say something.”
He didn’t reply, but continued to grin and watch her obvious enjoyment. As was usual with him, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking, but she suspected it was nothing good.
Yukiko blushed. “Stop looking at me that way! Try it and you’ll see.” In spite of her firm words, she couldn’t quite keep herself from taking another bite. “Oh my…”
Yuusaku chuckled and finally took a bite. “Divine…”
Now her look was wholly triumphant. “See??”
He swallowed. “I already told you that it was delicious,” he said cheerily, taking another bite.
“…I can’t believe you’re not having the same reactions I am,” she quipped, sounding mildly irritated. “You’re just so calm, sitting there.”
“I’m enjoying the entertainment,” he replied, giving her a pointed look.
Yukiko flushed a bright crimson. “Shush you! That’s it-I’m not having any more! I’ll wait for you to finish it.” She set her spoon down and folded her arms defiantly.
Yuusaku shrugged and took a very slow bite. “This is just wonderful…”
She looked at the unfinished dessert, and then looked away. “Yeah, but I’m full.”
“Hmm…then maybe we should get going,” he suggested, setting down his spoon as well.
Now it was her turn to quirk an eyebrow. “I am amazed at how quickly your brain jumps from one topic to another. Your attention span is almost frighteningly short sometimes.”
He adopted a deep, dramatic tone. “A good detective is always thinking, Yukiko. It’s just a matter of what we’re thinking about-sometime it’s a case, and other times it’s something completely mundane.”
She watched his little act, quite amused. “Yes, and I can only guess what you’re thinking about and how you got there. I probably don’t want to know, even though I could hazard a guess and be right, I’m sure.”
His grin grew wider. “I can’t help it. You’re beautiful, and I’m certainly not blind.”
Yukiko shook her head at him in mock shame and rolled her eyes towards the heavens. “Oh no, you can’t help it…I knew I should have picked dessert.”
Laughing, Yuusaku handed the check to the waitress with the appropriate amount, and then rose, offering her a hand. “On to the next adventure?” He was smiling.
“Tonight’s a night of adventures, isn’t it?” she grinned, taking his hand and standing. “That’s right, though…you said you were going to take me to the stars.”
“Yes, I did,” he said, squeezing her hand. “And I have every intention of doing so…in some manner.”
She leaned closer as they wandered out of the restaurant and towards the elevator. “And what, pray tell, are you planning? How do you intend to accomplish this?”
He put a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture. “This is a secret.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder as the elevator started moving downward. “Tell me. Please?”
He shook his head. “Not now.”
“Just a hint?” she gave him a puppy dog look. “Please?”
“Well, let me ask you this,” he said as the elevator dinged and the silver doors parted before them. “How would you like to go to the stars?”
Yukiko looked thoughtful for a moment, then replied, “It doesn’t matter. I just want to go with you.”
Yuusaku squeezed her hand again. “Then it doesn’t matter how we get there, does it?” he said with a grin.
“You always do that,” she sighed in mock-aggravation. “You ask me one thing, and then you trick me by asking me something else, and I wind up contradicting myself.”
“It’s a gift, I assure you,” he said, opening the door for her and ushering her past him to the sidewalk.
“A gift for you, a pain in the neck for me,” she said.
“Now why would I want to hurt your neck? It’s lovely. And for the record,” he went on, “I do have a couple of ideas…but you might swat me for them.” His grin took on a more mischievous air.
She gave him a Look. “Might swat you? There’s no might about it, dear. If it’s one of your ideas, then it’s definite. Your ideas always seem to end up with me wanting to swat you.”
“You might swat me, but I’ve never heard you complain in the end,” he raised an eyebrow.
She decided to oblige, and gave him a light swat on the arm. “There’s one for you-I’m sure it’ll be the first of many. It’s still early, so you have plenty of time to earn another, Mister I Think I’m So Smooth.”
“I am smooth,” he said haughtily. “You’re just stubborn.” He winked and raised the hand he was holding to kiss the back of it. How he could be so brilliant and yet so childish and impulsive at the same time remained a mystery to her.
Yukiko blushed and tried to hide her smile. “Did you have to take a special class for your charm? First course, Flirting 101. Second course, Lowering Your Voice About an Octave 102…”
“I must add,” Yuusaku grinned at the joke, “that I aced Dashing Smiles 301. It was an advanced-level course.”
“I should let you know that I got honors in the direct equivalent of that course,” Yukiko ran her free hand through her hair. “It’s called Resisting Dashing Smiles: A Crash Course for Turning Your Head to Grins That Should Be Outlawed in Half the Country.”
He pretended to look hurt and pointed to his heart. “You wound me, my dear. Truly. Right here.”
“Oh, was that from Romantic Dramatics 303?” she rolled her eyes. “Or Sad Puppy Eyes 401?”
“I’ll have you know that Sad Puppy Eyes was only a two hundred level course,” he said airily. “And I’ll also have you know that I aced it as well.”
“Oh, forgive me. I’m sure it must have been a breeze for you,” she teased. “My instructors told me to just throw out a ‘Don’t give me that look’ to the sad puppy dog eyes. Like magic, they disappear.”
“I think not,” he replied. “Let it never be said that I was an inadequate student. But back to the topic at hand-since you oh-so-cleverly wounded my idea, how would you like to go to the stars?”
“Oh no,” Yukiko shook her head. “You said you were taking me to the stars. I think you need to be more creative with how. My only stipulation was going with you. You’re a famous writer-now come up with a plan.” She raised an expectant eyebrow.
“I suggested something that would get us both there, and you rejected it,” he said mischievously. “So I’m asking you for an idea.”
“”I didn’t actually reject anything,” she let go of his hand to adjust her purse on her shoulder. “I was just commenting on how smooth you think you are.” She swung her arms at her sides like a little girl.
“Oh?” he stepped behind her and slipped his arms around her waist, stopping her from going anywhere. “So you’re not rejecting my suggestion?” To drive the point home, he lightly kissed the side of her neck.
She probably would have been embarrassed if there had been many other people on out there to see them, but the sidewalk was almost empty. Plus, she was a bit giddy at the moment, and with that came a slightly adventurous attitude. “Well, I don’t know…” she tilted her head slightly to the side. “I mean…we could always head to an observatory. Could look at different constellations…” She was teasing him now, just to see what he would say.
He chuckled. “You enjoy trying to mess with my head, don’t you?” He kissed her neck again, this time with a little bit better access because she had moved her head, granting him a wider area to play with.
“It’s just that you make it so easy sometimes…”
“If you say so,” he replied, tightening his arms around her waist. “Now what do you want to do? As you say it, so shall it be done.”
She paused for a moment, considering it, and then gave her answer. “…let’s go to the observatory. We haven’t gone stargazing in ages, and it’s a perfect night for it.” She smiled widely, knowing that she had just squashed his idea. But a little disappointment was good for him.
Sure enough, his responsive sigh was obviously disappointed. “All right. Let’s go.” He let go of her waist and took her hand again. “Walk, or catch a taxi?”
She chuckled at his expression. “You’re too funny sometimes…” she shook her head. “Let’s hail a taxi. These heels are killing me.”
He raised his arm to obligingly hail a cab. “Then why do you wear them?”
“Because first of all, they make me look taller,” she replied as a taxi stopped in front of them. “And secondly, it’s like the cherry on top of a sundae. The dress looks nice, but the heels make it look nicer.”
Yuusaku ushered her into the backseat and gave the driver the address before replying to her comment. “…so you’re an ice cream sundae, hmm? Really?” His cheeky grin spoke volumes.
She swatted him playfully. “In your eyes, I probably am.”
He looked uncomfortable. “Do not tempt me. In a taxi out in public or not, do NOT tempt me.”
The look she gave him could only be described as an ‘oh please’ look. “I highly doubt that you’re planning to give our taxi driver a private show,” she said in a low voice, and then casually adjusted her outfit.
His arm slid around her waist. “Reminds me of when we were first married.”
“And just what exactly are you remembering?” she asked, arching a brow. “That you couldn’t keep your hands to yourself? Because I don’t recall that being exclusive to our newlywed phase…”
“If I’d had my way, I doubt we would have gone out in public. You were just stubborn.”
“Stubborn, huh?” Yukiko said. “I do believe that every once in a while, people have to eat a regular meal, take a shower, get outside for some sunlight and fresh air…finish their manuscripts…”
Yuusaku sighed. “I still can’t believe they called me while we were on our honeymoon. They knew where I was. Some people have no decency…”
“Maybe if somebody had finished the manuscript before we got on the plane instead of expressing their enthusiasm over the accommodations, they would have had to call.”
“…et tu, Brute?” Yuusaku deadpanned. “Honestly, you have no faith in me.”
“Correction,” Yukiko tapped the tip of his nose with one finger. “I have plenty of faith in your ability to jump on a plane for a whirlwind romantic adventure. Not so much faith in your ability to make your deadline, or to do anything work-related without making your editors and publishers suffer.”
“And yet you never protest when I suggest the whirlwind adventures,” he pointed out. “And there’s the observatory.” The taxi stopped at the curb, and he paid the driver before getting out and scooting around the car to open her door for her.
She stepped out of the taxi and took his arm as they began walking towards the entrance. “Well, I do believe I protested on our last trip to France. You were two chapters behind, and they were starting to actually call me because they figured I could get you to actually do some work.”
“And yet we continued onto Vienna,” he retaliated.
“That’s because I made you finish your story before we could actually do anything, and you faxed it over. Complaining every single second of the way, I might add,” she corrected him.
He rolled his eyes before his expression turned thoughtful. “Vienna. Such a beautiful city. We should go there again sometime-maybe after Shinichi’s wedding?”
“Oh, I would definitely not mind going there again…wait…” she paused and gave him a suspicious look. “Yuusaku, you aren’t hiding from a deadline again, are you?”
He waved her question off. “Of course not. I’m appalled that you would think so.” He opened the door and ushered her through. “Now…how about those stars?”
PS. Before anything else is said, I would like to make it very very clear that this is totally, one hundred percent magic_truth’s fault. She turned me into a Yuusaku/Yukiko fangirl via AIM. However, she says that I turned HER into a Y/Y fangirl as well, so I guess we’re even. But yes, we got to analyzing their relationship a bit, and…this wound up appearing in the chat window, more or less. There’s so little canon of those two…I would like to see more of them. Just from what we’ve gotten, they seem to have a very interesting relationship dynamic.
And in the Desperate Revival arc, there is an image of when Yuusaku proposes. That is the most flustered-looking he has ever appeared. It’s sort of endearing, given that I initially did not care too much for Kudo-papa. But he’s grown on me, I suppose. As for the IC-ness of this…I seriously envision those two as big
And with this not-so-little fic…we’ve reached the big number twenty-five! I am officially a quarter of the way through the fanfic100 challenge. That’s actually why I decided to finish this ginormous one for it. It’s a celebration! This was originally going to be number ten, to celebrate moving into double-digits, but…that didn’t work out. So you can have it now instead. I would also like to apologize for any typos-I just got a new computer, and there’s some lag between the pressing of the key and the letter appearing on screen, and I type very fast. So I might have missed some errors.
Thus ends the Author’s Note That’s Longer Than the Bloody Story. Thanks for reading, all! Much love!
Oh, and the dessert they ate? I’ve actually had it, honest to goodness. BEST DESSERT EVER!! And it didn’t hurt that I was engaged in very interesting conversation with a British man who happened to be a former pro soccer player :D
Fandom: Detective Conan
Characters: Yuusaku/Yukiko (General series)
Prompt: #46-star
Word Count: 7046 words
Rating: PG-13
Author's Notes: I do not own Detective Conan. It all belongs to Gosho Aoyama. I simply borrow the characters, tie them up, and dance them around like life-sized puppets. I do wish they’d stop complaining.
Summary: An evening out turns into a trip down Memory Lane. Yuusaku/Yukiko
Sneaking off to Japan was always a treat, Yukiko privately thought with a smile-especially the horrified look on Shinichi’s face when he answered the door and found them there. But they were his parents, and so he grudgingly granted them entrance to the mansion. Granted, it was technically their house, but it was Shinichi’s home.
And soon to be Ran’s home as well, they had recently been informed.
They had tried to keep it quiet, but somehow, a reporter had gotten wind of the story, and the shy couple had found their engagement announcement plastered all over the front page of every newspaper and tabloid in the country. He was, after all, a major celebrity (given his part in the Syndicate’s fall).
His fan-club had wept. Shinichi, however, had never been happier…except for the fact that reporters and journalists were continually badgering him (and more upsetting, badgering Ran) for interviews and information about the engagement and their wedding plans.
Actually, their oft-annoyed son was currently out with Ran-the affianced couple had snuck out for a night on the town. Yuusaku had made certain to tell Shinichi to behave himself as he was leaving, prompting a glare and a stammering disclaimer before Shinichi had just slammed the door and gone on his merry way. Yuusaku had chuckled and gone back to reading his paper.
So here they were.
And as fun as it was to visit…Yukiko was bored. She did not take boredom well. And sadly, her husband seemed completely oblivious to her restless state.
Finally, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She got up, walked across the room, and plucked the paper right out of his hands. Before he could say anything, she said, “I want to go out!”
He blinked at her from behind his glasses.
Yukiko managed to not roll her eyes. For as brilliant as he could be, sometimes he had to be the densest creature on legs. She stooped and poked him in the forehead. “I want to go out tonight. You are going to take me out. Do you understand?” She straightened and clapped her hands, her face breaking into a wide smile. “We’ll call it a celebration! Celebrating Shin-chan’s engagement!”
Yuusaku stared for a minute before smiling indulgently-he was long accustomed to his wife’s impulses. “All right. It’s a deal,” he stood up. “And I’ll even let you pick the restaurant.”
“Oh, I know exactly where I want to go…”
“Yes?”
“Since tonight is going to be a celebration,” she grinned mischievously, “I want to go back to the restaurant where you decided that you absolutely couldn’t live without me.”
He had the decency to blush a tiny bit before grinning back. “Hmm…well, I don’t think I can argue against going to the place where you admitted that you couldn’t live without me. Lead on.”
Yukiko headed towards the door. “Of course. And it was the best decision of my life.”
Yuusaku stared at her. “Well, I won’t argue.” He sounded strangely pleased.
By now, shoes and coats were on and he was ushering her out the door.
“Well, it makes me very happy to hear that you won’t argue about it,” she said as they paused to lock the door. “But I remember it all so clearly.” She giggled. “Especially how nervous you were!”
He gave her an indignant look. “Of course I was nervous! Any man proposing gets nervous!”
“I know that,” she said. “It’s just that you seemed more nervous than I thought you would be. You don’t get worked up very often-you’re usually so smooth and relaxed.”
“Well…” he paused, then shook his head. “Nothing. Let’s go.”
“Eh?” Yukiko blinked. “Wait, wait, wait-well what? What is it?”
He gave her a sidelong look. “You seem to think that I had no doubts whatsoever that you would say yes. And that’s…not completely true.” He looked vaguely uncomfortable. Then again, she knew full well that she had a strange knack or vibe or whatever you wanted to call it that somehow got him to tell her things that he probably didn’t want to talk about-feelings tended to top that list.
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. “I didn’t know that. I guess I just thought that you…well, that you knew. You’ve always been so confident around me-even from day one.”
“Logically? Yes, I was quite certain that you’d say yes,” he said delicately. Logic was his dear friend, and governed so much of his life; that was something he had passed down to their son. “But other things…” Now he trailed off.
“What other things?” she prodded gently.
“…things,” he replied evasively.
She reached down and tangled her fingers with his. “Yuusaku, talk to me. What other things?”
“Well, there’s logic, and then there’s…other things.”
Okay, so they’d inadvertently hit on a topic he really didn’t want to discuss. And the man could be far too stubborn sometimes. Yukiko sighed and conceded defeat. “It’s fine,” she said, biting her lip. “If you don’t want to talk about it-I know some things are hard for you to express.” She managed a weak smile.
Yuusaku frowned. “You already know-“
“I probably do, but it’s different when you say it,” she replied. “You’re a detective, and I’m an actress-an artist, if you will. You function through logic, and I live through emotion. I can be logical, but most of the time…I guess my thinking process is different from yours, and so the way I express myself is different as well. I’m not afraid to tell you I love you. You tend to prefer to show than tell, but…” her tone grew wistful, “…it’s nice to hear it once in a while.
Yuusaku opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off. “You know what? Let’s just go have dinner. It was stupid to even bring this up…” She said it cheerfully enough, but she did turn her face away from him as she started walking down the sidewalk towards the street. They had been standing by the front door for several minutes now, having this conversation.
Yuusaku frowned and pulled on her hand. “Yukiko.”
She paused. “…yes?” She didn’t turn around to look at him, though.
“Come here,” he said in a tone that didn’t leave a whole lot of room for argument. He tugged carefully on her hand to try and pull her back.
She took a few steps backwards, letting him draw her closer. But she still didn’t turn around to look at him. “What is it?” Her voice was level-a bad sign for one who was usually so energetic and emotional.
He raised his free hand and carefully touched her cheek, trying to turn her head. “Look at me.”
At last, she turned around, yet she kept her eyes focused on some seemingly-invisible point behind his left ear. She took a deep breath, like a sigh, but didn’t say anything.
“Yukiko. Look at me,” he said in that same firm tone. His hand was still lingering on her shoulder.
She finally looked up at him, though she was biting her lip. “Hmm?”
Now he frowned. “None of that,” he scolded, dragging his thumb over her chin to try and draw her lip away from her teeth. Meanwhile, his other hand still held hers; he slid that arm around her waist, trapping her hand behind her.
Startled, she leaned back slightly. “…Yuusaku?”
He paused at her action. “Hmm?”
Quickly she shook her head. “Nothing. Just…surprised, that’s all.”
“Yukiko,” he said seriously. “You know how I feel about you.”
She shrugged. “I do know. It’s just that you were being sort of evasive…so I just figured that if you didn’t want to…say anything first…it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“Of course I’m going to worry,” he said flatly.
Yukiko shook her head…and impulsively rose up on her tiptoes to kiss him.
When she leaned back, he swallowed hard. “…you know? You understand?”
“Of course I know,” she said. “I was just being silly.”
Yuusaku didn’t look convinced. “Don’t ever doubt.”
“I don’t want you to ever doubt either,” she reached up and brushed at his bangs. “Do you understand?”
He looked faintly uncomfortable. “…you do know I love you. Right?” he asked very, very softly.
Now she smiled. “I know. And I love you too. And don’t ever forget that-remember that agreeing to marry you was the best decision I ever made.” She pressed another quick kiss to his lips.
He cleared his throat, now looking extremely embarrassed. “Right…well…dinner?”
Yukiko grinned and chuckled. “That’s right.” Impulsive, she gave him one more kiss and then stepped back. “Let’s go eat. I’m starving!”
Yuusaku cleared his throat and took her hand. “Let’s go, then.”
-o-
As luck would have it, their “special table” was open when they got there. The waiter was good enough to take them there when they requested it, and they were seated in very short order. Yukiko looked around, obviously delighted. “Oh, it’s just as lovely as it was before!”
Yuusaku looked around and nodded. “Seems like it was yesterday in some ways…”
“…except that it wasn’t,” Yukiko replied; she suddenly looked stricken. “Oh god, I’m getting so old! Shin-chan’s getting married, for goodness sake!” She put her elbow on the table and put her chin in her palm.
He grinned. “For what it’s worth, you don’t look any older to me.”
“That’s very sweet, honey,” she quirked a wry brow, “but I think we might need to up your eyeglass prescription.”
“You know perfectly well that I had an eye exam a month ago,” Yuusaku said. “My prescription is just fine. I speak only the truth.”
The waitress chose that moment to appear. Both ordered white wine, and returned to their conversation as the young woman absented herself in search of their drinks. Yukiko glanced back at him and grinned. “Love is blind, Yuusaku. I look in the mirror every day. I know exactly what I see.”
“I know what I see as well, Yukiko,” he retorted. “And I’m telling you what I see.”
Yukiko raised both hands in a placating gesture. “Fine, fine! You know, the decorations in this place haven’t changed, either.” She looked around, remembering.
“…and you subtly change the subject,” Yuusaku said with a fond smile, obviously amused. “But you’re right. It does look exactly the same.” The waitress returned with their wine and offered them a few more minutes to decide on their meals. “Did Shinichi tell you that he brought Ran here to propose to her?”
She had been taking a sip of her wine; when he mentioned it, she did a spit-take, and was a hair away from spraying the drink across the table. “What-what? He did? Are you serious? I didn’t know that…”
Yuusaku nodded. “He did. Granted, he didn’t actually tell me. Ran mentioned it, but I don’t think she knew the whole story or why he picked this particular place. I wonder which table it was…wouldn’t it be ironic if it was this one?”
“It would, but I don’t think he could have known what table to ask for-unless you told him. I don’t think I ever mentioned that part to him,” Yukiko sat back in her seat. “But oh, that’s just so…! I never would have thought Shin-chan would plan such a romantic gesture!”
“Of course he’d plan something like that,” Yuusaku grinned and sipped his wine. “He’s my son, after all.”
Yukiko rolled her eyes. “Well, do we think he interrupted his romantic proposal to go run off and solve a murder?” She had heard that particular story; it seemed that dead bodies followed her boy around.
“After everything that happened, I doubt he would risk that again,” Yuusaku shook his head. “He’s seen far too many chances slip by-I’d like to think he’d be smarter than that, at least.”
“Well, I’ll be happy if he’s at least recognized that he should definitely stay with the woman he’s with and let the police handle the rest,” she nodded in mock-satisfaction.
“If he hasn’t learned that lesson yet…” he pondered, “…well, I suppose it’ll be up to Ran to make him see reason, won’t it? But I think she’ll be able to handle it.”
“That’s true,” she said thoughtfully. “It would be very easy for him to fall back into an old habit. Letting solving mysteries become the top priority…”
“Indeed,” he agreed. “And forgetting all about his long-suffering wife until she decides to take matters into her own hands. Which probably won’t be pretty.”
Yukiko nodded her assent. “Absolutely. I mean, what else would there be for her to do? She can only be expected to take so much before she cracks.”
“But I think that holds true for everyone,” Yuusaku added. “If I recall, you’ve had to put me in my place once or twice…but I have no doubt that Ran will find a way to get it through his skull. She’s a very resourceful girl when the need arises.”
“Ran is definitely a resourceful girl,” she agreed. “There’s never been anyone that can keep Shinichi in check like she can. She’ll be fine. And for the record, I’ve had to ‘put you in your place’ more than a couple times, oh wise one.”
Yuusaku looked amused. “More than a couple of times? I don’t remember there being that many…”
“Yuusaku,” she deadpanned, “I came here to Tokyo from Los Angeles during one of those times.”
“First of all, that was completely uncalled for,” he half-scolded her. “Secondly, if you’re going to run off, could you at least let me know where you’re going?” He was…almost pouting. “Honestly-leave a note or something!”
Yukiko frowned. “You came home in the wee hours of the morning completely drunk with lipstick marks all over the collar of your shirt. Or have you forgotten that?”
“And I woke up the next morning and didn’t know where you were. For all I knew…” he stopped in mid-sentence and took a long sip of wine.
Her expression darkened. “All you would have needed to do was take a good look at yourself to figure out why I took off. I assume that’s what you did. Or you deduced it some other way.” She took a sip as well.
“That’s not the problem,” he replied flatly. “I knew why. But I didn’t know-“ he stopped short, cleared his throat, and turned to look out the window.
“If you knew why I left…then you would have known that I wasn’t in any danger,” she seemed confused. “That seems pretty obvious.”
“It wasn’t a matter of danger,” he said. “I know that you’re smart and plenty capable of taking care of yourself. And yes, I could guess where you’d gone, but I didn’t know if…” He trailed off again.
Yukiko had the sudden impression that they were inching into the Yuusaku Discomfort Zone. “If…what? Yuusaku, you’re going to have to clarify because you’ve lost me. I mean, where else would I go?”
He was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. “Yukiko…why do you think I came after you?”
She shrugged. “To bring me back home. You said as much. You followed me to my friend’s home and solved the mystery-poor Shin-chan was stumped.”
“To make sure…you came home at all,” he said quietly, keeping his gaze squarely out the window.
Yukiko was stunned into total silence. She just stared at him.
After a few seconds, he went on. “You were very upset, and really had every right to be. Of course I could figure out where you’d gone. But I didn’t know if you were coming back. So…I went after you.”
“Yuusaku, I…” she fumbled for words, and took a sip of her wine to try and relax. At the rate she was going, she would need another glass very soon. “I didn’t…I, um…” She couldn’t think of anything reasonable to say.
The waitress chose that moment to return for their orders, and so the conversation lapsed for a minute as they both selected their meals. Once the young woman had absented herself once again, they returned to the serious conversation at hand.
Yukiko took a deep breath. “I never knew you thought that I had left…really left.” Truth be told, the thought had never even crossed her mind. But then again…he had been so lost to the world when he came home that night. Given his state, it was quite possible that he’d woken up and realized that he had gone way past the line and might have screwed things up irreversibly.
He shook his head. “It wasn’t that I necessarily thought that…I guess it was more that I didn’t know if maybe things had gone too far. So I came. I had to make sure.”
At the time, she had gone running off without a second thought. She had been furious, even to the point of saying to Shin-chan that maybe she should find herself someone else as well. But she hadn’t been at all serious about that. Now, given what he had just told her…she felt guilty for having worried him like that. It was one thing to get back at him for doing stupid things; it was another entirely to make him truly suffer. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly, shaking her head at herself. “I should have called or left a note or something. It’s just that at the time…”
“You were angry,” he finally turned his head slightly to look at her. “I don’t really blame you.”
She met his eyes for one second before looking away. “I thought that maybe…maybe you were having an…having…never mind.”
Now he turned to look at her full-on. “No-go on.”
Yukiko shook her head. “It was stupid and it’s not worth mentioning. I reacted like a spoiled little girl.”
Yuusaku sighed. “Yukiko, please just say what’s on your mind.”
She looked at him for a moment, then looked down. “I…” she said in a very quiet voice, “…I thought that you might be having an affair.” Her gaze slide sideways to the window in a mirror of his earlier posture.
He sighed again and turned back to the window. “Yukiko, why would I betray you like that?”
Her hands clasped together even more tightly on the tabletop. “I…I don’t know. But I thought…you know, you’d been drinking a lot and you were coming home late, and the lipstick smears…I just started to wonder if…” Her voice was starting to shake.
Yuusaku chuckled-a dry, humorless noise. “I don’t think there’s enough sake in Japan for that.”
She kept her eyes towards the window and made a sad sound. “Yuusaku…when people get drunk, they don’t usually retain good controls of their common sense.”
He sat back in his chair and studied her profile intently for a moment; she could feel his scrutiny, but did not meet his eyes. “Drunk or not, how could I betray the perfect woman?”
Now she turned to look at him in surprise. “I’m not perfect,” she said with a slightly self-deprecating smile; she turned back to the window. It was a beautiful night out there.
Yuusaku smiled slightly. “You could have fooled me.”
“You know that I’m not the movie star. You recognized that from day one,” she pointed out. “There are plenty of flaws. Plenty of them-you should know that better than anyone else.”
“I know you have flaws,” he replied. “No one ever said that perfection necessarily meant an absence of flaws, did they?”
She kept her face towards the window, but in her reflection he could see that her eyes had soften. “It’s just that…Yuusaku, you’re unbelievably admired. Fans all over the world. It’s not jealousy-it’s just a fact.”
With a disbelieving shake of the head, Yuusaku rested his elbow on the table and put his chin in his hand and regarded her with sad bemusement. “And you’re not unbelievably admired? You know you are-you’ve even told me so. Jokingly, of course. But I don’t worry because I know you. And I know you would never do something like that.”
“But I don’t run in that circle anymore. I gave that all up,” she pointed out. “And don’t get me wrong-I’m happy that I did. And you’re a famous writer, and you’re required to make appearances and meet with the fans, which is fine. I don’t want to change that either. But when you came home that night like that…I just couldn’t help but think that…maybe…” She nervously toyed with her hair.
“Yukiko. Do you really think that you don’t have admirers anymore?” he said dubiously. “Think very hard. There are plenty of fans who still adore you and would gladly snatch you away, given the chance.”
Finally, she turned to look at him sharply. “I didn’t say that! I just meant that I don’t tend to go to premieres or afterparties or gatherings or anything like that anymore. So it’s a little more difficult for some fan to ‘snatch me away,’ as you put it.” Her fingers tangled together tight on the tablecloth.
Yuusaku stared at her for a moment, then sighed and closed his eyes. “Have you already condemned me for this-for something I didn’t do? Do you really think I would just throw away you, our son, and our marriage because I had a little too much to drink?”
“If that’s true, we wouldn’t be here now, would we?” she replied. “You came to Japan because you weren’t sure. I was upset, yes, and I ran away, but…I was never planning to leave you for good. I’m just trying to explain how I felt when I saw you come home like that!”
“And I’m telling you that I would never do such a thing-especially not to you. You’re my wife, and I love you,” he said, almost angrily; he sat back and looked out the window again. “So don’t worry.”
Yukiko sighed. “It was a bad idea to talk about this. I really shouldn’t have said anything.” A tense pause. “I’ll be right back.” She got up and headed towards a door that he knew led to a hallway where the restrooms were located.
Yuusaku sat still for approximately two seconds before he got up and followed her through that door and out into the hallway. “Yukiko.”
She stopped and turned around when she heard her name. “Oh…Yuusaku…” Was it just his imagination, or did her eyes look just a little bit misty? Some celebration this evening was turning out to be…he was upset and she was crying. Wonderful.
He hesitated for a second, then walked straight up to her and put his arms around her without saying a word. She stiffened in response before she buried her face in his chest. “Yuusaku…”
“No more,” he said softly.
“But…I-“ she looked up at him.
“No more of that. It’s all right,” he sighed. “I’m sorry.”
She pulled one arm free to wipe haphazardly at her eyes. “Me too…” Yukiko swallowed hard and seemed to be trying to get a grip on herself. After giving her head a good shake, she looked up at him and managed a small smile. “They might have brought our dinner by now.”
“And they’re probably wondering where we are,” he chuckled; he stepped back and offered her his arm.
“I bet they are,” she took his arm with one hand and began combing her fingers through her hair with the other. “Do I look all right? Is my hair okay?”
“Lovely. As always,” he grinned and escorted her back out to the table, where the waitress was setting down their plates with a slightly confused look on her face at their absence.
The poor girl jumped when Yukiko popped up behind her. “Oh, that looks wonderful. Thank you!”
“Yes, thank you,” Yuusaku added, pulling her chair out for his wife before taking his own seat. The baffled waitress nodded, wish them a pleasant meal, and absented herself again.
Yukiko took a bite and closed her eyes. “Just as delicious as before.” She already seemed to be in a much better mood than she had been merely ten minutes ago.
He watched her for a moment, smiling, before starting in on his own meal. He took a bite, chewed thoughtfully, and nodded in concurrence. “I agree. The food is still excellent.” And with that, most of the conversation went on hold in the interest of eating.
When most of the food had been polished off with great relish and their wine glasses had been emptied and refilled, Yukiko glanced over towards another part of the restaurant. “Do you hear that?” They both listened as light music filled the air around them. “It sounds they still have the string quartet. I wonder if the dance floor is still there…”
Yuusaku swallowed and set his fork down. “If they do…may I have this dance?”
She blushed slightly and smiled. “Of course!”
They were pleased to see that the dance floor was still there, and there were already a few other couples out there, enjoying the pleasant sound of a minuet. He pulled her into a dancing position, with one of his hands at her waist and the other holding hers. “We haven’t done this in a while.”
“I know!” she said, seemingly excited about the idea. “But it’s nice that it would happen here…”
He nodded. “It is very fitting.”
As they slipped easily into the rhythm, Yukiko impulsively let her head rest comfortably against his shoulder. “In spite of our little chat earlier…I’m so happy right now.”
Yuusaku chuckled lightly. “And the night is still young.”
She smiled, even though he couldn’t see it. “It is, isn’t it…oh! And don’t you dare let me forget to order dessert! I remember how good it was last time…”
“Of course,” he said. “Something chocolate, wasn’t it?”
“Chocolate mousse…something,” she said, nodding against his shoulder. “I can’t remember whether it was alone or over cheesecake or something like that. We can’t leave until we’ve had dessert!”
She could be so childlike sometimes-it was rather endearing at moments like this, to his mind. “After this song, then? Dessert…and then what? Where should we go next? Since tonight is turning into an adventure, we can’t stop at just dinner.”
Yukiko straightened up and looked at him. “I don’t know…where do you want to go? I chose to come here for dinner, remember? So it’s your turn now.”
He gave her a rather sly smile. “The movies. Hokkaido. The stars. We can really go wherever we please.”
She laughed. “I don’t think that stars are really an option for us.”
Yuusaku spun her out, then twirled her back in. “You crush my dreams. You crush them so hard.”
“I’m not crushing your dreams,” she laughed at the spin. “I’m just applying that logic stuff that you’re so fond of, my dear.”
“Every once in a while, logic need not apply,” he said airily. “So…to the stars, then?”
Her smile and tone were both soft. “Absolutely. Let’s go.” And he spun her again as the song ended and the restaurant patrons applauded the live musicians while the couple walked back to their table. Their waitress was just returning with a dessert menu, and left them to decide.
“Did I mention that you dance divinely?” Yukiko teased, taking the menu.
“Well, I have a very graceful partner,” he replied casually.
She picked up the menu and being browsing the options with obvious relish. “Oh, that looks good. So does that. And that one does too! Not that one, though…no wait, yes it does…”
He was watching her with an amused smile. “What looks the best?”
She raised a hand dramatically and put on an air. “I’m sorry, Yuusaku, but you can’t rush the process. I haven’t weighed all the options yet. These things taken time.”
To her surprise, he leaned forward and snatched the menu right out of her hands. “If you won’t decide, then I suppose I will.” He opened the menu and began looking at the listings, ignoring her pout.
When he grabbed it, she snatched at the empty air, and then frowned at him. “Aww…that’s just not fair. It takes time!” When he ignored her and kept looking, she sighed. “Don’t just pick some random thing, either. Read the ingredients and everything…”
Yuusaku scanned the menu one final time and grinned. “I think this will do quite nicely.” He signaled the waitress; when she came over, he pointed to the menu. “That one please, miss. Thank you.” As the waitress wandered off again, he returned his attention to his wife. “Trust me, you’ll like this.”
She folded her arms and sat back to wait. “I’d better.” She pouted slightly, just for emphasis.
“Just wait until it gets here,” he said soothingly. “I promise that you’ll be in a much better mood.”
“I sure hope so,” she said. “Because you just robbed me of the art of deciding.”
“Patience, patience,” he chastised her.
The banter continued for a few moments until the waitress appeared once again, bearing their dessert. And what a dessert it was: a chunk each of raspberry cheesecake, turtle cheesecake, and fudge brownie, topped with a dollop of whipped cream and served in a long-stemmed dessert glass.
Yukiko’s eyes were enormous, and she leaned forward for a better look. “Is that it?”
“Yes. Yes, it is,” he chuckled and handed her a spoon. “I trust it meets with your approval?”
She took the spoon. “It’s so pretty!” She took a careful bite and closed her eyes. “Oh. My. God.” He raised an eyebrow and took a bite himself without saying anything. Yukiko didn’t notice; she was extremely wrapped up in the dessert. “Oh wow…unbelievable…” She looked up to see his reaction, and was surprised to find him watching her with a grin and slightly-suggestive quirked brow; she frowned. “What? Don’t give me that look. You haven’t even tried it yet! Try it. Then you can say something.”
He didn’t reply, but continued to grin and watch her obvious enjoyment. As was usual with him, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking, but she suspected it was nothing good.
Yukiko blushed. “Stop looking at me that way! Try it and you’ll see.” In spite of her firm words, she couldn’t quite keep herself from taking another bite. “Oh my…”
Yuusaku chuckled and finally took a bite. “Divine…”
Now her look was wholly triumphant. “See??”
He swallowed. “I already told you that it was delicious,” he said cheerily, taking another bite.
“…I can’t believe you’re not having the same reactions I am,” she quipped, sounding mildly irritated. “You’re just so calm, sitting there.”
“I’m enjoying the entertainment,” he replied, giving her a pointed look.
Yukiko flushed a bright crimson. “Shush you! That’s it-I’m not having any more! I’ll wait for you to finish it.” She set her spoon down and folded her arms defiantly.
Yuusaku shrugged and took a very slow bite. “This is just wonderful…”
She looked at the unfinished dessert, and then looked away. “Yeah, but I’m full.”
“Hmm…then maybe we should get going,” he suggested, setting down his spoon as well.
Now it was her turn to quirk an eyebrow. “I am amazed at how quickly your brain jumps from one topic to another. Your attention span is almost frighteningly short sometimes.”
He adopted a deep, dramatic tone. “A good detective is always thinking, Yukiko. It’s just a matter of what we’re thinking about-sometime it’s a case, and other times it’s something completely mundane.”
She watched his little act, quite amused. “Yes, and I can only guess what you’re thinking about and how you got there. I probably don’t want to know, even though I could hazard a guess and be right, I’m sure.”
His grin grew wider. “I can’t help it. You’re beautiful, and I’m certainly not blind.”
Yukiko shook her head at him in mock shame and rolled her eyes towards the heavens. “Oh no, you can’t help it…I knew I should have picked dessert.”
Laughing, Yuusaku handed the check to the waitress with the appropriate amount, and then rose, offering her a hand. “On to the next adventure?” He was smiling.
“Tonight’s a night of adventures, isn’t it?” she grinned, taking his hand and standing. “That’s right, though…you said you were going to take me to the stars.”
“Yes, I did,” he said, squeezing her hand. “And I have every intention of doing so…in some manner.”
She leaned closer as they wandered out of the restaurant and towards the elevator. “And what, pray tell, are you planning? How do you intend to accomplish this?”
He put a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture. “This is a secret.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder as the elevator started moving downward. “Tell me. Please?”
He shook his head. “Not now.”
“Just a hint?” she gave him a puppy dog look. “Please?”
“Well, let me ask you this,” he said as the elevator dinged and the silver doors parted before them. “How would you like to go to the stars?”
Yukiko looked thoughtful for a moment, then replied, “It doesn’t matter. I just want to go with you.”
Yuusaku squeezed her hand again. “Then it doesn’t matter how we get there, does it?” he said with a grin.
“You always do that,” she sighed in mock-aggravation. “You ask me one thing, and then you trick me by asking me something else, and I wind up contradicting myself.”
“It’s a gift, I assure you,” he said, opening the door for her and ushering her past him to the sidewalk.
“A gift for you, a pain in the neck for me,” she said.
“Now why would I want to hurt your neck? It’s lovely. And for the record,” he went on, “I do have a couple of ideas…but you might swat me for them.” His grin took on a more mischievous air.
She gave him a Look. “Might swat you? There’s no might about it, dear. If it’s one of your ideas, then it’s definite. Your ideas always seem to end up with me wanting to swat you.”
“You might swat me, but I’ve never heard you complain in the end,” he raised an eyebrow.
She decided to oblige, and gave him a light swat on the arm. “There’s one for you-I’m sure it’ll be the first of many. It’s still early, so you have plenty of time to earn another, Mister I Think I’m So Smooth.”
“I am smooth,” he said haughtily. “You’re just stubborn.” He winked and raised the hand he was holding to kiss the back of it. How he could be so brilliant and yet so childish and impulsive at the same time remained a mystery to her.
Yukiko blushed and tried to hide her smile. “Did you have to take a special class for your charm? First course, Flirting 101. Second course, Lowering Your Voice About an Octave 102…”
“I must add,” Yuusaku grinned at the joke, “that I aced Dashing Smiles 301. It was an advanced-level course.”
“I should let you know that I got honors in the direct equivalent of that course,” Yukiko ran her free hand through her hair. “It’s called Resisting Dashing Smiles: A Crash Course for Turning Your Head to Grins That Should Be Outlawed in Half the Country.”
He pretended to look hurt and pointed to his heart. “You wound me, my dear. Truly. Right here.”
“Oh, was that from Romantic Dramatics 303?” she rolled her eyes. “Or Sad Puppy Eyes 401?”
“I’ll have you know that Sad Puppy Eyes was only a two hundred level course,” he said airily. “And I’ll also have you know that I aced it as well.”
“Oh, forgive me. I’m sure it must have been a breeze for you,” she teased. “My instructors told me to just throw out a ‘Don’t give me that look’ to the sad puppy dog eyes. Like magic, they disappear.”
“I think not,” he replied. “Let it never be said that I was an inadequate student. But back to the topic at hand-since you oh-so-cleverly wounded my idea, how would you like to go to the stars?”
“Oh no,” Yukiko shook her head. “You said you were taking me to the stars. I think you need to be more creative with how. My only stipulation was going with you. You’re a famous writer-now come up with a plan.” She raised an expectant eyebrow.
“I suggested something that would get us both there, and you rejected it,” he said mischievously. “So I’m asking you for an idea.”
“”I didn’t actually reject anything,” she let go of his hand to adjust her purse on her shoulder. “I was just commenting on how smooth you think you are.” She swung her arms at her sides like a little girl.
“Oh?” he stepped behind her and slipped his arms around her waist, stopping her from going anywhere. “So you’re not rejecting my suggestion?” To drive the point home, he lightly kissed the side of her neck.
She probably would have been embarrassed if there had been many other people on out there to see them, but the sidewalk was almost empty. Plus, she was a bit giddy at the moment, and with that came a slightly adventurous attitude. “Well, I don’t know…” she tilted her head slightly to the side. “I mean…we could always head to an observatory. Could look at different constellations…” She was teasing him now, just to see what he would say.
He chuckled. “You enjoy trying to mess with my head, don’t you?” He kissed her neck again, this time with a little bit better access because she had moved her head, granting him a wider area to play with.
“It’s just that you make it so easy sometimes…”
“If you say so,” he replied, tightening his arms around her waist. “Now what do you want to do? As you say it, so shall it be done.”
She paused for a moment, considering it, and then gave her answer. “…let’s go to the observatory. We haven’t gone stargazing in ages, and it’s a perfect night for it.” She smiled widely, knowing that she had just squashed his idea. But a little disappointment was good for him.
Sure enough, his responsive sigh was obviously disappointed. “All right. Let’s go.” He let go of her waist and took her hand again. “Walk, or catch a taxi?”
She chuckled at his expression. “You’re too funny sometimes…” she shook her head. “Let’s hail a taxi. These heels are killing me.”
He raised his arm to obligingly hail a cab. “Then why do you wear them?”
“Because first of all, they make me look taller,” she replied as a taxi stopped in front of them. “And secondly, it’s like the cherry on top of a sundae. The dress looks nice, but the heels make it look nicer.”
Yuusaku ushered her into the backseat and gave the driver the address before replying to her comment. “…so you’re an ice cream sundae, hmm? Really?” His cheeky grin spoke volumes.
She swatted him playfully. “In your eyes, I probably am.”
He looked uncomfortable. “Do not tempt me. In a taxi out in public or not, do NOT tempt me.”
The look she gave him could only be described as an ‘oh please’ look. “I highly doubt that you’re planning to give our taxi driver a private show,” she said in a low voice, and then casually adjusted her outfit.
His arm slid around her waist. “Reminds me of when we were first married.”
“And just what exactly are you remembering?” she asked, arching a brow. “That you couldn’t keep your hands to yourself? Because I don’t recall that being exclusive to our newlywed phase…”
“If I’d had my way, I doubt we would have gone out in public. You were just stubborn.”
“Stubborn, huh?” Yukiko said. “I do believe that every once in a while, people have to eat a regular meal, take a shower, get outside for some sunlight and fresh air…finish their manuscripts…”
Yuusaku sighed. “I still can’t believe they called me while we were on our honeymoon. They knew where I was. Some people have no decency…”
“Maybe if somebody had finished the manuscript before we got on the plane instead of expressing their enthusiasm over the accommodations, they would have had to call.”
“…et tu, Brute?” Yuusaku deadpanned. “Honestly, you have no faith in me.”
“Correction,” Yukiko tapped the tip of his nose with one finger. “I have plenty of faith in your ability to jump on a plane for a whirlwind romantic adventure. Not so much faith in your ability to make your deadline, or to do anything work-related without making your editors and publishers suffer.”
“And yet you never protest when I suggest the whirlwind adventures,” he pointed out. “And there’s the observatory.” The taxi stopped at the curb, and he paid the driver before getting out and scooting around the car to open her door for her.
She stepped out of the taxi and took his arm as they began walking towards the entrance. “Well, I do believe I protested on our last trip to France. You were two chapters behind, and they were starting to actually call me because they figured I could get you to actually do some work.”
“And yet we continued onto Vienna,” he retaliated.
“That’s because I made you finish your story before we could actually do anything, and you faxed it over. Complaining every single second of the way, I might add,” she corrected him.
He rolled his eyes before his expression turned thoughtful. “Vienna. Such a beautiful city. We should go there again sometime-maybe after Shinichi’s wedding?”
“Oh, I would definitely not mind going there again…wait…” she paused and gave him a suspicious look. “Yuusaku, you aren’t hiding from a deadline again, are you?”
He waved her question off. “Of course not. I’m appalled that you would think so.” He opened the door and ushered her through. “Now…how about those stars?”
PS. Before anything else is said, I would like to make it very very clear that this is totally, one hundred percent magic_truth’s fault. She turned me into a Yuusaku/Yukiko fangirl via AIM. However, she says that I turned HER into a Y/Y fangirl as well, so I guess we’re even. But yes, we got to analyzing their relationship a bit, and…this wound up appearing in the chat window, more or less. There’s so little canon of those two…I would like to see more of them. Just from what we’ve gotten, they seem to have a very interesting relationship dynamic.
And in the Desperate Revival arc, there is an image of when Yuusaku proposes. That is the most flustered-looking he has ever appeared. It’s sort of endearing, given that I initially did not care too much for Kudo-papa. But he’s grown on me, I suppose. As for the IC-ness of this…I seriously envision those two as big
And with this not-so-little fic…we’ve reached the big number twenty-five! I am officially a quarter of the way through the fanfic100 challenge. That’s actually why I decided to finish this ginormous one for it. It’s a celebration! This was originally going to be number ten, to celebrate moving into double-digits, but…that didn’t work out. So you can have it now instead. I would also like to apologize for any typos-I just got a new computer, and there’s some lag between the pressing of the key and the letter appearing on screen, and I type very fast. So I might have missed some errors.
Thus ends the Author’s Note That’s Longer Than the Bloody Story. Thanks for reading, all! Much love!
Oh, and the dessert they ate? I’ve actually had it, honest to goodness. BEST DESSERT EVER!! And it didn’t hurt that I was engaged in very interesting conversation with a British man who happened to be a former pro soccer player :D