I Want to Be More Than Friends...

Doves

The door rang once more and Hattori held in a groan. He backed off in defeat and let Kudo go and answer the door. Internally, the Detective of the East was disappointed at such awful timing. He evened his breathing as he walked towards the front door. Behind him, he could hear Hattori scowl under his breath and footsteps following his direction. In all honesty, Shinichi had no idea who would be at the front door. He didn't have any prior appointments and it seemed odd that the police would come back without a phone call. He opened the door to greet this mysterious guest.

"Ah!" Shinichi exclaimed. "Ran, Kazuha!" He smiled, surprised at their appearance. Kazuha stayed in Osaka and Ran had been offered a job as a cook in a family friend's cafe. They both shared an apartment since it was convenient, much like Shinichi and Hattori.

Well, sort of.

"How are you guys!" Shinichi asked and Hattori popped out from the side of the door, dumbfounded. He definitely didn't expect them.

"Eh? Kazuha? What're ya doin' here?" The girl grinned.

"Just checkin' up on ya!" Ran chuckled and joined in.

"Yeah! It's been a long while since we all caught up!" Shinichi was glad about meeting up with his childhood friend. On the other hand, Hattori was preoccupied with his utter disappointment.

'So close yet so far,' a little voice rang in his head. He forced a smile. "Well, come inside!" They all made way to the dining room table, since both the girls had bags full of snacks and souvenirs. The detective of the West was the last to enter and saw how Kudo was chatting with the girls without a care, as if what happened moments before never happened.

He swallowed that feeling of jealousy that suddenly creeped and sat at the table, next to the other detective.

"So the case was solved pretty quickly, right Hattori?" Instinctively, he nodded. 

"Ho oh, Heiji being working with another detective?  Whatever happened to the one who wanted to be the best detective around?" Hattori scoffed and shook his head.

"'Ey! I'll still be the best detective around. I'm just... ya know," he trailed off and looked away from Kazuha, avoiding eye contact. After a beat of silence, they all laughed. It felt like it had been forever since they last had a conversation like this.

"Ah," Shinichi started off, now realizing how rude he was. "I should get you something to drink!" He got up to get a few cups. Hattori got up to join him.

"Kazuha water? We don't got anythin' else really," he spoke while getting a large bottle of water. He set the bottle down before roaming the fridge to see if they had anything else to drink. Aside from coffee, there really wasn't any.

"If that's what you have, we'll gladly take it," Ran responded. Kudo grabbed four cups for all of them and proceeded to the table, but when Hattori stood a little too close to the boy on the way back, Kudo briefly remembered what had moments moments before near that coffee table.  

Not noticing, Hattori just followed, unfazed.

Now Ran and Kazuha weren't idiots. They saw how clear it was that something was going on between them. Now the what of it, was the million dollar question.

"So, Shinichi," the boy perked at the sound of his name. He raised his eyebrow as he poured everyone a cup of water. "How are you both lately? Anything new?" The Osaka detective's first thought was how he had professed his feelings and how supposedly, Kudo felt the same. On the other hand, the Tokyo detective thought about the suspicious note that was left on their table.