Boys of fortune

coffee shop

Sometimes it's the beginnings that made one a hot mess, and this one was one of them. Not more, not less. The story of them two began when Shinichi was in Osaka for a party with his parents; later on, he'd realise that it was the biggest mistake of his life to go there, but that was neither there nor here. Many things that are obvious in restrospect aren't like that at all in real time - so there was that warning at the start. Now, let the story telling begin.

He was either 21 or 22 when he met Heiji. He couldn't remember anymore, he couldn't remember a lot of things that happened in his past; many injuries to the head had been received during his time as a detective. (Oh, how naive he had been in the past.)

Unlike what most people assumed, that they met during a case or mutual friends, they met each other while Shinichi got his morning coffee in a random Cafe in the middle of some random streets in Osaka. It was a quite place, not many people, and they offered coffee for a reasonable price. Wasn't the best coffee he had, but it wasn't the worst either - and with his coffee preferences very well known, take that description as you want.

So, normal day, normal morning, normal coffee. The only odd thing was the stranger with a baseball hat, a hoodie and a dark complexion that sat right across him at his table. Not the most outrageous thing somebody has to him (oh boy, was it not), but it gave him the creeps nonetheless. Things got better when said man started talking; for some reason he preferred that over a stranger just silently watching him in the not-so-distance.

And that was how things got going. After he made the man take off his hat, he was quick to recognise the unfamiliar figure as Hattori Heiji, another famous detective. That did make him let his guard down, knowing that the odd stranger most likely had no ill intent towards him, but it wasn't reassuring at all. Not when the guy knew seemingly everything about his whereabouts, past, cases and even some random trivia. He seemed like a fanatic and Shinichi wasn't very fond of those.

But, he could hardly get rid of the guy - not when he followed suit wherever he went and especially not since this was Osaka, a place he wasn't the most familiar with. So, he had no choice but to spend time with that guy. "Where are you taking me?", was what Shinichi was reduced to, as he was being led astray by Hattori.

"Oh, it's a nice little restaurant down the street. Awesome food, pretty cheap. I've been eating there for a long time." Shinichi chose to ignore the fact that their little outing seemed more like a date by the minute. Hattori seemed to be a flirt and a half, but at least he got the looks for it. He wasn't hungry though, but he still chose to go with him - which was very illogical.

The fact that he didn't call the police on him and willingly chose to follow him spoke volumes. And also the fast that Hattori had connections anywhere in the police force, obviously, but that was not even a factor in his decision making.

And not long after, Shinichi officially had a boyfriend.