Work Text:
Timeless Vows
At 8,
Heiji and Kazuha over hear their parents discussing the possibility of their marriage in the future while attempting to sneak gyōza from the kitchen to the room.
Later that day, lying on the floor next to his bed, Kazuha nervously plays with the pages of the comic in her hand.
"You know... About what mom said..."
"Hmm?" He answers, distracted by the climax of 'Hound of the Baskerville' though he's reading for the 200th time, still remains his favourite.
"The...marriage.."
Scrunching up his little nose, he asks,
"W-what about i-it?"
Little Kazuha regrets asking, tears burning at the corner of her eyes but she braves through them to save face.
"Are you against it?"
Her voice is barely even a whisper and Heiji is sure if he hadn't been within a foot's distance, there's no way he'd have heard her.
"I don't know how to feel about it..."
He shuts the book, then and gives it a serious thought.
"But.."
"But?"
"Mom and dad are married and they always get to stay together and fight and laugh and..."
Throughout his childhood, Heiji has drawn parallels between his parents and his own little bond with Kazuha , his best and well, only friend.
"And aren't we the same?"
She nods, smiling down at the lucky charm that hangs from her neck. Same, if not better.
"Then if that's marriage," Heiji says, in a rare moment of admiration that Kazuha has since, burned into her memory.
"I don't mind staying with you forever."
She doesn't sleep that night, nor any for the next few days, continuously hearing his voice carried by the wind to her ears, giggling endlessly into her pillow.
*
*
*
At 13,
In a lecture, after a ludicrous argument they have, an apologetic Heiji begins scribbling on the last page of his notebook.
They always sit together in class, so when she picks another seat that day, Heiji knows it's best to apologize before she chooses to give him a broken nose instead.
'Sorry.' He writes in barely legible handwriting, clicking his pen so she notices and doesn't continue to ignore him (very obviously, at that.)
'Go away.' Kazuha writes underneath, huffing in irritation.
She had singularly taken blame for the broken TV remote and gotten yelled at by her father who hardly ever raises his voice at her.
Still, she curiously peeks at Heiji frantically writing.
'I promise from now on, I'll let you choose what we watch on TV.' She narrows her eyes, watching him hold his ears in genuine guilt.
Bursting into giggles, she sees Heiji heave a sigh of relief and writes,
'Don't take that back.'
He laughs. 'You have to compromise something too, then.'
Kazuha taps her pen on her chin in thought.
"Aha!" She exclaims, quickly covering her mouth as their teacher searches for a source to the sudden disturbance.
'I promise that you'll always get the first serving of Okonomiyaki.'
A thoughtful moment later, Heiji replies,
'Now we're talking! My turn, then. I promise to never hit you with my Katana again.'
Kazuha chuckles.
'I promise never to use you to practice Aikido.'
"Hey, this is easier for you!" He whispers. She motions to the pen and paper.
'I promise to give you preference over everyone.'
"Ooo...Even Sherlock?" Kazuha asks and he ruffles his hair, considering her request.
"Okay. Even Sherlock."
She picks up the pen to write again in excitement.
'Then I promise to never leave you alone, even if it's some boring place your mom sent you to.'
She knows he hates going to those pointless tea parties his mom forces him to visits courtesy sake because he always drags her along and feigns a stomachache whenever she refuses.
Heiji plays with the pen in hand, clearly hesitating and Kazuha eyes him in suspicion.
When he's done, he nudges her and she reads:
'I promise to always be the shoulder you can cry on no matter how dumb the reason may be.'
It was rare for him to even say anything remotely cheesy, let alone leave evidence in writing.
She looks at his red ears and grins.
'I promise to be by your side in your darkest moments; to always put our friendship first.'
Honestly, she thinks Heiji to her, was closer than family so the thought of him before the world didn't even need consideration.
'I promise to try to always keep you happy.'
It's Kazuha's turn then and just as she writes the arbitrary 'I promise..' Heiji bends to her ear and whispers,
"Ya know, if my parents force me to marry yer dumbass,"
He keeps one watchful eye on the teacher who already appears suspicious.
" 'm gonna to read this crap in front of everyone and embarrass the hell outta you."
Flustered, Kazuha smacks his arm, the way she's used to doing and completely forgetting that they're in class.
With a teacher.
Consequently, they are kicked out, leaving with Heiji nursing his sore arm and laughing at an extremely red Kazuha, an empty 'I promise...' left as the last sentence.
Nevertheless, they live up to all their promises for years to follow without ever questioning each other.
*
*
*
At 21,
When they graduate college, Heiji finally gathers the courage to confess.
"About time" The now full grown woman humorously replies, wrapping her arms around him and leaning in for the kiss she's been waiting for since God knows how long.
They receive a bunch of excited congratulations from friends and teary hugs from family that - without knowing it- are half the reason the couple is here in the first place.
'High school detective Heiji' still solves murders here and there and his green eyed companion still accompanies him wherever he goes.
Surprisingly though , she no longer shies away from a crime scene choosing instead to keenly watch him and hence, deciding 'law' to be her preferred major.
She'd get to be by his side longer then, anyway.
*
*
*
At 25,
They attend their best friend's wedding as a couple, admiring how perfect Shinichi and Ran look together after all their struggles, even wiping away a few tears of joy when the groom bawls his eyes out watching Ran walk down the aisle.
Suffice to say, Heiji takes tons of pictures swearing to never let his fellow detective live it down.
And when the priest announces,'through thick and through thin'they marvel at how the Tokyo couple has already fulfilled that one.
Through thick and through thin, indeed.
The after-party is filled with expected comments from everyone about them being next, something along the lines of 'The detective couple of the East and West always go together.'
When Kazuha catches the flower bouquet to her own surprise, Heiji thinks so too.
*
*
*
At 27,
With a stable job as Osaka's greatest (and highest paid, he must add) detective and Kazuha having her own booming law firm, Heiji believes it's finally time.
So with a bouquet that shakes nervously in his hand and a ring in his pocket, he calls her to Ebisu Bridge, avoiding her constant 'Why is it so empty here today?'and letting his heart flow as the sun sets behind him in all its golden glory.
He knows it's the best time of the day and only prays to the highest power that it isn't ruined like the many traumatic times it has before.
(He had called Kudo all the way from Tokyo just in case.'Not excessive at all'Shinichi had mused, rolling his eyes.)
"This is where I first realised that I had fallen completely in love with you and that I figured it out much later than I should have."
As she covers her mouth in awe, he bends down on one knee, pulls out the ring and puts forward the question he had practiced in front of the mirror more times in his life than he had turned his cap.
"Will you marry me?"
As wedding bells ring through the hall, and friends and family gather to celebrate the start of a new beginning, Kazuha waits in her wedding gown, looking out the window at her parents greeting the guests wholeheartedly.
It's a day she has been looking forward to her entire life.
And as she walks down the aisle, with one hand in her father's and the other holding a gorgeous bouquet, Heiji watches her with such a lovestruck gaze, she thinks it was worth the patience.
(Heiji could finally empathize with Kudo, feeling a knot at the back of his throat, not that he wasevergoing to admit it.)
The bride can't hold back a grin even through the veil that covers her face.
After a brief hug between her father and Heiji, a quick "please take care of my daughter"and smile later, there she stands, with her hand in his, just like she always has.
As everyone settles down and the priest flips through his book, Heiji motions for him to stop.
"Back when we were teenagers, some 14 years ago, " he announces as everyone, including his wife-to-be listen in confusion.
"I had pissed her off in one of the million ways I have throughout our lives."
They laugh, amused by the sudden random confession.
"And then, during one very boring lecture, when I apologized to her in my scrawny handwriting at the last page of my notebook, we wrote down our vows."
Kazuha gasps, staring at him with her mouth agape, both in embarrassment and surprise.
Heiji grins, pulling out a crumpled old piece of paper from his pocket and puts it ahead for her to see.
The crisp edges of the sheet are a standing proof of a lifelong friendship that was now about to turn a new leaf.
"And I honestly think there couldn't be better vows than these."
He clears his throat, as words from the paper bounce off it and into the microphone.
"I promise I'll let you choose what we watch on TV from now on."
Light chickles come from the crowd, enjoying the strange twist that the evening has taken.
Kazuha looks back and forth, flushed,
"Do I really have to read this?"
Heiji grins, simply motioning to the paper.
She sighs, reading her words in embarrassment, even though she was sure she remembered them by heart.
"I promise that you'll always get the first serving of Okonomiyaki."
The crowd roars, mirth filling the quiet hall.
"I promise to never hit you with my katana."
"I promise to not practice my aikido on you."
"I promise to give you preference over everyone."
"Even Sherlock?" Kazuha chimes in from memory.
It almost feels like the people around don't exist, like they were young teenagers sitting at the back of the class in their uniforms again.
Just like that day.
"Even Sherlock." Heiji's smile expresses his joy clear as day. She rememberes.
They're in their own world then and one look is enough to know not much has changed since then.
"I promise to never leave you alone, even if it's some boring place your mom sent you to. "
"Oi!"
Heiji's mom yells from the crowd. Everyone around teases her in good fun.
"Sorry mom-in-law!"
Shizuka giggles behind the fan held to her face.
"I promise to always be the shoulder you can cry on no matter how dumb the reason may be."
This momentis glued in Heiji's memory, his hesitation, nervousness, everything and he knew it was when he realised he was in love with her (though he continued to vehemently deny it).
"I promise to be by your side in your darkest moments, to always put our...marriage first." She corrects, knowing that the tenure of their friendship has come to an end.
They're now standing before everyone as bride and groom.
The crowd hoots. Nobody can deny feeling like they are being put on a journey through an innocent childhood love story.
And none complain.
"What more can I say, even 13 year old Heiji knew he loved you." Heiji says, squeezing her hand softly.
"Still took you 13 more years to propose!" Shinichi adds from the audience and they burst into laughter at Heiji sheepishly scratching his head.
"I have just one question," He asks.
"The last vow you couldn't complete that day...what was it?"
Tears fall down her face, drenching the perfectly set curls in front of her ears.
"I promise..." She says, through quivering lips and shaky legs.
Could 13 year old Kazuha even have imagined this?
What would she think if she'd have known? That the promise she was nervous to write even that day was the final vow she'd make to him, to their future together?
Wiping a tear away with her other hand she speaks into her mic.
"I promise that once I hold your hand, I'll never let go."
Whistles and cheers resonate making Kazuha laugh while Heiji just stands there smiling, dumbfounded that all these years he was wrong, that he wasn't alone.
He wasn't the only one who fell in love that day.
"I love you."
The words come out of his mouth before he realises and the priest claps, quickly (and appropriately) ending the ceremony with the final:
"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."
He has never felt more in love with her than he does today and he knows whether it be at 30 with kids or 75 on adjacent hospital beds, he'd feel the same.
One look at her and he'd know,
Even death could never do them part.
The End