CoAi oneshots!

Dancing in our light (9)

...

As Haibara and Shinichi approached Oliver, Kudo noticed Eisher was holding a few bags. He couldn't help but ask:

"What are those bags for?"

"Me and my girlfriend's clothes for the occasion. I came to pick them up a bit before."

Shinichi was hit with a wave of relief. Did he find a date? He'll finally leave his partner alone then.

Haibara interrupted:

"Enough of the chit-chat. We should hurry and buy some clothes."

She wouldn't admit it but she was excited to buy nice clothes. And she probably wouldn't pay for the dress! After spending sleepless nights for the antidote, it was a nice gift for her.

The boys nodded in agreement. The trio decided first to choose Shiho's dress because Shinichi guessed she couldn't wait and oh well, 'ladies first'.

...

Shiho was looking around, she visibly knew in terms of clothes. Oliver Eisher was helping her out he seemed to know what would fit the occasion...And look good on her. Shinichi simply stood there he was a bit annoyed he was of no use and that the two chuckled a few times. The jealous detective walked away to the Men's section. He got enough tips from his mom to know what would fit the occasion.

He just went for a nice suit, marine blue, and picked out a nice tie. It looked like his previous suits but the style was slightly retouched. He held the clothes he'd buy later and returned to check on Haibara and Eisher. He wasn't taking risks and wasn't leaving without her. Hell no.

To his surprise, Haibara wasn't there, There was only Oliver sitting in front of a dressing cabinet. Presumably waiting for Haibara. He rolled his eyes. Second time of the day he'd done that.

Kudo still asked him anyway:

"Where's Hai- I mean, Hana-san?"

Oliver responded smiling as always:

"Hana is trying out a dress we picked up."

Shinichi flinched. What?! Since when were they THAT close?! Good thing he only knew her fake alias or else he would have probably glared at him.

The boys were standing in front of the cabinet where Shiho was. Oliver seemed to attract attention from a few customers who glanced at him. Shinichi simply tried to make himself small in his cap since well, we all know why.

The tension between the two men seemed to be non-existent for Oliver. It kind of annoyed the great detective.

...

Haibara peeked from the cabinet. The sight of her partner being troubled was pretty amusing. She'd tease about that later. Now, she was trying out the dress; making sure everything was in its place. She wouldn't look at the mirror until she'd finish so it would be a sort of surprise for herself.

...

As Miyano looked around the dresses with Eisher, they stumbled upon a beautiful dress. Eisher immediately picked it up and gave it to Shiho.

"This shade of red would look stunning on you. And the ornaments that you can see on the skirt would complement everything about you, Hana."

Huh. Since when did she allow him to be that familiar? Whatever. This nice dress was only a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She was taking it.

She smiled at Eisher, something unusual for those who knew her, and she went to the cabinet to try on the dress.

Eisher sat down in front of the cabinet. He knew Kudo would eventually return to check on his partner.

...

After continuous zipping sounds, it seemed Shiho had finally put on the dress. She looked at herself in the mirror. She was mesmerized by the beauty in the mirror. It...It was her. She took off her wig in the cabinet and looked at herself. She felt happy. She would have wished Akemi and her parents could see. They could see that she'd done what Akemi wished. For her to be happy.

She stopped herself from crying and put on again the brown wig that made her look brunette and made sure she didn't look like she was sobbing just now.

She stepped out of the cabinet.

"How...Do I look...?"

Okay, Kudo had to admit that this was WAY better than the thoughts of her partner in a nice wedding dress. And he was ready to admit that Eisher and Haibara did a good job at choosing the dress.

He was mesmerized but he quickly shook his head to wake up his rational thoughts so they could stop his irrational thoughts from rising.

"I knew it would look stunning on you, Hana."

Again, that Eisher and his smug words. Shinichi knew that the girlfriend he mentioned before was just a one-dance thing. The detective was going to compliment HIS partner too:

"As Eisher said you look,"

That's when Shinichi Kudo remembered he was bad with compliments. Even Ran gave up on hearing compliments from him. Just a thumbs up sufficed her.

"Um, astonishing..?"

Apart from the hesitation? that was a nice choice of word, right? He hoped he didn't make a fool of himself.

Shiho seemed to care about what her partner thought about her dress. So she was relieved he said it was good. Then she cursed herself. Ran is dating him. I'm only a one-dance fake date.

But she was so happy with her dress that the reminder didn't take a toll on her as it usually did. She returned to the cabinet to put back her clothes.

...

They went to the counter to pay for the clothes. The lady put them in different bags. It was the woman who winked at Haibara. Before any of the boys were about to insist they would pay for Shiho, the lady interrupted them;

"Oh oh... Young love I see. I remember being in a love triangle before...I ended up with the smart guy after a while. We're so happy together."

Well, Shiho's smart guy was too dumb to get the hint.

Shinichi chuckled awkwardly:

"That's a nice story, ma'am, but um we're not in any way a love triangle."

How the hell did they look like a love triangle?!

After that, Eisher and Shinichi were about to fight about who'd pay for Shiho as if it were a big deal. As much as the attention from Shinichi was great, they were fighting like children so she decided she'd pay herself.

That made the smart guy and the actor shut up.

...

Then Haibara and Shinichi parted ways with Eisher to go back to Agasa's residence.

They walked, still silent.

Shinichi hesitated. What would he say to have a conversation with her..?

He felt a bit embarrassed...