Vineyard [Detective Conan fanfic, Vermouth x Gin]

Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Detective Conan belongs to Gosho Aoyama and associated parties. I do not make money nor own anything with the exception of my own original characters.

Author's note: The main storyline stays the same with added content. But it has been heavily rewritten and uploaded as of 28/06/2022, so please read it from the beginning. This story is officially set in an alternative universe where the Miyanos and Akais aren't related.

Chapter 12

The bane of all married men—waiting for their wives outside the restroom. Gin and Yusaku sighed simultaneously, along with the horde of husbands and boyfriends as the audiences streamed out of the theater.

Vermouth waited for Yukiko to get into the stall first before stumbling into one herself. Beads of sweat collected on her forehead. Her hand trembled, holding onto the wall. A sharp pain ripped through her entire body. Her blood boiled as if it was burning lava. Her world turned into a muted black-and-white movie. The agony came in seemingly never-ending waves, crashing continuously on the shore. There wasn't anything she could do but steel her nerves and hope the tides wouldn't drown her.

Fortunately, it didn't last long. Vermouth sighed in relief, catching her breath. She closed the toilet lid, sat down, and clenched her shaking hands in an effort to stop the tremors. The blonde actress sighed in relief, gathering her thoughts and strength, enough to erase any signs of distress. She waited an appropriate amount of time to flush the toilet, then got out.

Yukiko was in the middle of drying her hands when she saw the other woman emerging. "Can you believe him?"

Vermouth had no idea what Yukiko was talking about, but she could pretty much guess. Turning on the faucet, she smiled wryly. "Don't push the kids too hard. It'll backfire. Soon enough, they'll settle down and have kids of their own, then you'll be a grandma."

Yukiko froze in place, mimicking one of those living statues. She would love her grandchildren to bits, yet the notion of getting old terrified her. Being a grandmother was the highest threshold of age. "I'll give them some space."

"Just enjoy it, Yukiko." Who knew how long it would last?

***

Sitting in the passenger seat, Yusaku noticed a couple of curious notes from the blond man. He started glaring at Sharon the moment she emerged from the restroom. He kept glancing at the rearview mirror while he was driving. And the most curious thing, he turned up the thermostat, even though it was quite warm already.

In the meantime, the women were having the time of their lives, chatting.

"Shinichi has his own detective agency now. Ran is an elementary teacher." Yukiko's enthusiasm seeped into the air, lightening up the mood. "We can go shopping then—"

Yusaku pulled his phone out and said with an extremely apologetic tone that he had perfected in two decades of marriage, "Sorry, honey. The publisher has just moved up my deadline. I have to work all day."

"Aw, so it's just us and the kids."

Yusaku didn't miss the other man's knowing smirk, pushing him to nervously admire the scenery outside the window. Gin kept his mouth shut. It's a man's honor code to not ruin a fellow man's excuse from shopping with his wife.

"Then have dinner at my place." Vermouth offered, narrowing her eyes at the novelist. "Yusaku could spare enough time for a meal."

"I'm not cooking." Gin objected as soon as he heard anything along the line.

"How adorable! You still think you have a choice." With a sickeningly sweet tone, Vermouth grinned and assured him that his suffering was going to be long and never-ending. He rolled his eyes at her words, but said nothing.