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"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"…"
"…"
"Are we there yet?"
Kaito sighed, closing his eyes and wanting to massage his temples to get rid of the in-coming headache. But he couldn't, not when both of his hands were busy holding onto Aoko's as he continued to lead her down the path of the road.
"Can you stop asking the same thing every two seconds?" Kaito drawled.
"Two seconds?" Aoko gasped. "It feels like five minutes."
"You have the worst sense of timing."
"Says you! When you're the one who was late for today's date!"
Kaito blinked, allowing the brief surprise to slip through the crack of his mask, just because Aoko was blindfolded and couldn't see his face anyway. He wasn't shock at her retaliation, no way, and it was true that he was late.
But he didn't know that this was considered a date.
But luckily, in a way, Aoko had saved him from having to rack his brain and think of a reply when she tripped, yelped, and fell forward until her face planted straight into his chest.
"Gosh—" Kaito muttered, helping Aoko to steady on her feet as she continued groaning. "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah." Aoko rubbed her nose grudgingly. "Can I just take this off?"
"No." Kaito pulled Aoko's hand away from the blindfold. "Then it won't be a surprise."
"I can't see anything."
"That's exactly the point."
"But—"
Kaito took her fidgeting hands, and he felt her fingers relaxed under his grip. "Remember: I'm guiding you. Your only job is to walk a straight line."
"…Okay." Aoko nodded, squeezing his hands back. "Don't let go."
"I won't." Never will.
They continued in silence, and Kaito made the extra effort to kick everything—any small stones or broken twigs—away from Aoko's path. He constantly gave Aoko an update about the proximity of the distance left whenever he noticed her fingers started to fidget too.
It happened all the way until they reached the gates.
"We finally reached." Kaito heaved a sigh as he took a brief moment to look over the field behind the open gates. He had been here twice, and this was the third time, but it was always as breathtaking as the first. His night activity gave him the best view of all the lights and man-made wonders, but seeing something crafted by mother nature was a different and better feeling.
Moreover when he could actually share the view with Aoko too.
Aoko was about to take off her blindfold when he stopped her again.
"Wait— Don't take it out yet." He said.
"C'mon." Aoko whined. "The suspense is killing me already."
"Just a bit more." Kaito said, gently pulling Aoko's hands through the gates and leading her into the narrow spaces between the sunflower fields. He continued guiding her and instructing her along the way when she needed to duck her head or move to her sides before the huge sunflower hit her face.
They walked for another minute until they reached the centre of the field, which was also the best spot Kaito found during his last visit. Slowly, he untied the blindfold behind Aoko's head and took it off before stuffing it into his pocket.
Aoko slowly opened her eyes, blinking around and trying to get used to the sudden light. It was the third and the fourth blink when her eyes widened in shock before she spun around in circles with tiny squeals escaping from her mouth.
"K-Kaito!" She exclaimed, her hands gesturing wildly at all the sunflowers surrounding them. "Where are we?!"
He laughed. "A sunflower field, duh."
"I mean— How? How are we— How did we get inside here?"
"It's privately owned. But I asked the in-charge for a free pass." Kaito said. It was true for Aoko's case, but for him it wasn't free; nothing in the world is free. In exchange for this one-hour visit, Kaito had spent his weekends plucking out weeds at the other farm that the owner owned.
But of course, seeing Aoko's shocked face was pretty much worth it.
"I know you're upset that the Suzuki's Sunflower Exhibition was ruined before you get a chance to go." Kaito continued. "So... I thought this can be an alternative for you."
"Kaito…" Aoko mumbled, her eyes looking watery.
Kaito scratched the back of his neck. In both Kuroba Kaito and Kaitou Kid form, he was used to her angry tears and shouts, but this… he wasn't all that sure. "Um… are you actually crying?" He asked, deciding to be blunt.
"No, I'm not." She turned away, sniffing a bit and rubbing her eyes, as if that would totally hide the fact that she was about to cry. But Kaito gave her the benefit of the doubt that she could be sensitive to the pollens being so close around.
He was still a little confused, though. "Do you not like it?"
"Do I not like it?" Aoko spun around in shock. "I love it! Kaito. I love it a lot. And I want to thank you so much for this… I'm just— I'm just so happy I think I might kiss you." She blurted.
And then silence.
Kaito let his arm fall to his side as he blinked, a little unsure if he heard it correctly through the midst of Aoko's blabber or if it was a dream. "...What?"
Aoko's face had become entirely red. "T-This is a figure of speech! Not literally!" She yelled, nearly bursting his eardrums. "I said it to Keiko and the o-others too!"
"Geez," Kaito rubbed his ear. "You don't have to shout."
"Y-You don't have to look at me so accusatory too."
"I didn't."
"You did." Aoko looked away.
"Fine, fine." Kaito rubbed a hand down his face. Damn it. He didn't bring her here just to argue, but there was something else that was bugging him… "About that figure of speech, do you say that to Hakuba as well?"
"Hakuba?" Aoko frowned at him. "No, of course."
"Good." Kaito cleared his throat. "Anyway, don't you think something is missing?"
Aoko tilted her head and glanced around. "I don't see anything missing." She looked back at him. "Everything I ever wanted is here."
Kaito could say the same thing back, but not now.
Not yet.
So instead, he flicked a finger on her forehead (which he earned himself a snarl), before clapping his hands together. As though shuffling cards in the air, he pulled his hands away, revealing nearly a dozen of colourful butterflies between the space.
Aoko gasped, watching in muted shock as the butterflies fluttered its delicate wings and dispersed themselves across the field. Their blue eyes followed the dancing creatures as they wandered around the sunflowers, the colours of their wings adding to the sea of yellow and green.
"Now," Kaito grinned, looking over at Aoko. "Is this better?"
She nodded, eyes still glued to the field before she gently laid her head on his shoulder. "Yeah. Nothing could ever be better than this."