It's not just for the coffee
by Addy01

Enjoy!

Summary: It comes to a surprise for many that it is usually Conan who suggests they go camping. And of course, it's not without a good reason. For Poirot Café's Themed Writing Competition #23: Mornings. Beta'd by Cazuki

One-shot

Not that many people know, but it was usually Conan who suggested they go camping.

Usually when someone found out, like Kobayashi-sensei, they would praise him. Of course, they'd praise the rest of the Detective Boys as well for wanting to be in the great outdoors instead of being stuck indoors with a video game all day, like all the other kids.

Among those who already knew, Korogo reckoned that with the way the kids were tripibg over bodies every SINGLE time they went to the wood - The very few times they didn't were treated as anomalies - and being a mystery otaku like that Gaki was, the boy was probably hoping to be tripping on them too.

No sane person would ever want to go camping again after all the horrifying experiences they went through - dead bodies, murderers and violent robbers, just to name a few.

And they went right back a month after the episode at the lime stone cavern! If a gunshot wound wasn't enough to deter the Gaki, maybe he wasn't right in the head after all. Mouri Kogoro had tried to voice this once.

It ended in tears, a broken wall and Ran's fist - "Don't be so mean to Conan-kun!" She exclaimed.

On that note, if you asked for Ran's opinion on the matter, she would share with you her little theory. She speculated that camping had been a bonding activity for Conan and his family, and he may have even lived in the outskirts before he came into their care. Maybe that was why Conan-kun was always so keen on going despite all the danger that constantly plagued his trips.

She hadn't had much chance to confirm her little theory, as they usually ended up talking about other stuff whenever she thought to bring it up. She'd be fishy about it, but she had been proven wrong with many of her other theories about Conan. Since it wasn't important in the great scheme of things, she let it be. (Or rather, she hadn't wanted her little theory to be proven true, since it would go a long way to disapprove some of her other theories that she hadn't been able to let go despite evidence… but that's another story for another day.)

And Conan-kun always looked so excited, as if he was going home; even if it was only for a little while.

If anyone had bothered to ask Shinichi, he'd tell you it's all for the coffee.

He had told that-girl-who-glares-too-much as much when she complained about going camping again.

Ever since he shrunk into a first-grader, he hadn't been able to get much of the delectable brew. It was usually taken away from him before he could have the tiniest sip, or he was given an outright no.

He had to make due with Kogoro-Ojichan's leftover droplets.

It really was very challenging in the beginning not to have his morning energiser, on top of acclimatising to living with the Mouris and having to act as a seven-year-old.

He would have tried to drink some when he was at the professor's, but the man hadn't keep any in stock. Afterwards that-girl-who-really-needs-more-sleep had hidden her own stash of that delectable gold dust and wouldn't let him have any.

"Your Ran-neechan would've found out about it. And we wouldn't want the professor getting in trouble, now would we?"

That-girl-who-does-not-need-more-fusae-bags had then proceeded to tip her extra large Big Osaka mug, - they all knew she only got it for Higo's picture, even though it was as tiny as her pinky and squashed to the corner near the handle - sipping every last drop of that precious black gold.

He later deduced that she probably had a late night, and had been in a particularly vicious mood for the rest of the day, especially at the prospect of another camping trip. Hmmm… in retrospect, maybe he shouldn't have asked about her stash.

But, in all honesty, there was something else that he looked forward to whenever he goes camping.

Something more than a simple caffeine fix.

There's a ritual that all of them adhere to subconsciously and always without fail on the mornings of these camping trips.

Ayumi-chan tries to keep herself awake. It's hard, because she is still so very sleepy. But she tries anyway, because it's one of the rare few moments where she can spend some time with Conan-kun alone. Even if all he does is sip from a hot flask like some of the old men she sees on her way to school.

"It's just some hot water, Ayumi-chan" he said, the one time she asked about it.

No. It's definitely coffee. She thinks. She could sometimes smell it from where she was. She usually does if she happens to be sitting close enough. But she doesn't push. It doesn't matter anyway. Not on mornings like this.

So she sits beside him, trying her best to stay quiet. It was difficult at first, but over time, she gets used to it.

On these early mornings of their camping trip, he doesn't look like the Conan-kun she's used to seeing in classes or when they hang out, who's usually bored and wants to be anywhere else but there; or like the beyond mature and sharp Conan-kun when he tries his best to save them all from danger.

He looks serene and almost at peace, as he takes in the sunshine and the sound of the wind, letting his gaze settle across the campsite into the wilderness.

She doesn't really know who this Conan-kun is.

Sometimes, she wants to ask. But when she spots his lips settle into a soft, relaxed smile - not the smirks he usually gives when he knows something you don't - she lets it be, because he actually looks happy for once.

Mitsuhiko is the next to rise, used to waking up at the same time every day. It's his biological clock that keeping him awake, Conan-kun had explained, when he had complained about his inability to sleep in.

He steps out of the tent, Conan-kun and Ayumi-chan already seated on the collapsible chairs near the fire.

He used to get jealous about it, but Ayumi-chan told him that they never really talk during these times. Soon, he accepted it and it became the norm.

As per routine, - they had been camping so many times already - he says his greetings and takes his place on another chair; the same place where he sat the previous night. He takes a deep breath, taking in the fresh air just like Conan-kun told him. It immediately refreshes him, clearing the cob-webs that linger in his sleep-addled mind. Then, he relaxes and lets himself sink into the chair, taking in the nature around him.

There was a time when the horrors of the adventures that had become common place became too much for him. He would wake up earlier than usual and find Conan-kun already perched in his chair, alone.

It is during that time that he asked Conan-kun how he handled it; the blood and the fear and the sadness of a lost human life.

Conan-kun kept quiet for a while before plunging into a story - a myth really - about how spirits continue to linger on Earth long after they have passed, unable to move on because their deaths remained unsolved and unavenged. It's sad, he said, to be unable to move on; to stay angry for so long and have no one to pull you away from the darkness. The spirits would have been very much alone, so wrapped up in their anger. So he solves the crimes to put these spirits at ease, he said. And, secretly, to appease his own lingering guilt for not stopping the crimes in time. Mitsuhiko deduced that and he thinks he might be right about it.

It sounded like someone had shared that story with Conan-kun a long time ago. He doesn't think Conan-kun really believes in it, but he is glad that Conan-kun decides to tell him about it, regardless. It gives Mitsuhiko something to cling onto on days when their adventures became too much to bear.

Afterwards, Conan-kun shared a technique he used to relax:

Breathe in deep, sink in and take in the nature.

"That usually helps me," Conan-kun said. "It might not work for you, but you can give it a shot."

He was relieved when he find it worked for him just fine.

He agrees with Ayumi-chan that Conan-kun doesn't act like himself during these mornings. He likes to think that Conan-kun acts more like the onii-san he never had. Maybe someone who's ten years older, who had seen so much more than Mitsuhiko had ever seen in his short life, but young enough to be able to understand and relate to Mitsuhiko on a personal level. Adults sometimes forget how kids really feel.

So he is glad for this, for lack of better word, "Conan-niichan" that he can only ever catch a glimpse of during these mornings.

No matter how short Conan-kun is, Mitsuhiko will always look up to him. He doesn't want to let Conan-kun down by being too afraid of the blood and death and misery that hangs around them like a plague. He's sure that Conan-kun used to be affected by it very much - for him to address Mitsuhiko's fears so thoroughly, he had to have been - and has managed to overcome it. So Mitsuhiko wants to do that too.

He was brought out of his wool-gathering by Conan-kun, who seemed to be done thinking about whatever was on his mind. Conan-kun started to boil the kettle over the fire.

The other great thing about these camping trips, Mitsuhiko decided, is the hot chocolate Conan-kun makes for them. He makes it in the summer too, and they would just wait for it to cool a little more before taking a sip.

It's not too sweet or too bitter. It has a richness to it that's lacking in all the commercial ones he ever had. But he reckons the reason why it's the best hot chocolate he ever tasted, is because it's made by Conan-kun.

Agasa-Hakase always wakes up to the aroma of chocolate on the morning of their camping trips.

He'd had his first hot chocolate after Shinichi's visit from America when he was fourteen. He'd never tried it before, having stuck to traditional Japanese tea all his life. It hit him in his sweet-spot and he has been hooked on it ever since.

He agreed with Mitsuhiko-kun, when the topic came up, that Conan-kun made the best hot chocolate ever. It was leagues ahead of what you could ever get at the stores.

As much as he loves it, he doesn't ask Shinichi to make it for him, and probably never will. And that was even before Ai-kun started monitoring his diet. He loves her like the daughter he never had, but sometimes he wants to remind her that life is too short, so can he please have an extra bite of that delicious chocolate mousse?

It's always more special, he thinks, when someone makes it for you with no prompting. He's able to appreciate it a lot more than he usually would because of that…

Speaking of which, whenever he had the chance to observe Shinichi on these fine mornings, he reminds him very much of the teenager he used to be.

Not the arrogant, intelligent snob that he showcases to the public, trying too hard to impress the crowd; not the bumbling fool he becomes whenever he hangs around Ran-kun, trying to hide his obvious feels for her. It reminds him of the confident young man who is comfortable in his own skin, ready to take on the world; the young man that he always envisioned Shinichi growing up to be, from the moment he first laid eyes on him.

Between the hot chocolate and allowing Shinichi to have space and time to be himself, he will brave through all the murders and mysteries that haunt them like a hound dog.

By the time he steps out of the tent, Shinichi has already made his share.

"Half a cup, Hakase, just as the doctor prescribed." As per usual, Shinichi passes him a mug that's almost full to the brim, winking at him as the mug exchanges hands.

Ah yes… for Shinichi and his lovely hot chocolate, he'll take on the world.

Shortly after, Genta-kun will peep out of the tent, sniff his nose into the air, before exclaiming "Hot chocolate!" like he never expects Conan-kun to make it. Like they never drink them during every morning of the camp.

Like he never takes them for granted. And he doesn't. Not his friends and certainly not the hot chocolate that Conan-kun only makes during their camping trips.

He knows, though he never shares it, that all of them - especially Conan-kun - have too many brushes with Shinigami-sama. Every hot chocolate Conan-kun makes for them is another day that they managed to survive.

He quickly makes his way to Conan-kun, thanks him for making his share, says his respects - his mother taught him well after all - and finishes his hot chocolate in three big gulps.

Hot chocolate makes everything better, Genta decided, almost as good as a bowl of eel rice.

Haibara is always the last one to join them and they only got her to wake up by sending Ayumi-chan - it's her turn this time - with a cup of coffee.

She's the only one to have it in the camp. The only one to openly drinking it anyway. The last time Conan tried, the kids all clamoured around him, wanting to try some, and everything ended up on the floor.

Haibara arrives just as they were about to start breakfast, and as they ate, she alternates her coffee with the hot chocolate Edogawa-kun reserves for her.

Haibara doesn't hate camping as much as she may have implied to Kudo-kun.

In fact, it is something that she has come to cherish, and would have looked forward to, if there weren't so many dead bodies wherever they went camping. Especially seeing as this was one of the many little things that marks her second childhood as so much different and better than the last.

She just hadn't realised how much camping meant to Kudo-kun. Not until she woke up far too early one morning, and witnessed for herself Kudo-kun without the weight of the world hanging on his shoulders.

It's like he can finally, truly, be Kudo Shinichi for once, in spite of the situation, even if it's just for the morning. After that revelation, she doesn't beleaguer him for it as much. She doesn't stop though, because she really could do without all the tragedy and the corpses that come with it. She also doesn't buy that nonsense about the coffee. Kudo-kun can very well get coffee for himself discreetly if he really wants to. She knows he knows it too.

The monthly reprieve seems to do him some good anyway. So she lets him have his moment.

Shinichi is always the first up; and will always be up at sunrise.

He tells the kids some nonsense about his body being in tune with nature, since he usually sleeps in whenever he has sleepovers with them. But in actual fact, he just sets an alarm on his phone. It's as simple as that. He is actually waiting for the kids to catch on… he really does have to work on their gullibility, no matter how smart they have become.

He proceeds to make a big batch of coffee, taking in the heavenly fragrance as he pours himself a cup.

He takes another deep whiff, sinks into the chair, and takes a sip.

It's the same chair that he used as a child the first time round. It even has his actual name on it, written in childish handwriting when he just turned seven. It had been used on several occasions when he hung out at Hakase's place and on the rare times his father and Agase-Hakase brought him camping.

If he lets himself, and sometimes he does, he thinks back on those treasured days he spent as Kudo Shinichi. Instead of the anger and sorrow that he expected, all he feels, and he only feels this during these early mornings, is a sense of tranquillity that he has grown to appreciate.

He remembers the first camping trip he'd gone on, where his Dad had let him try his first cup of coffee, away from his mother's objections.

He hated it at first and told his Dad as much, who laughed and proceeded to add in spoonfuls of sugar, letting him try again. Shinichi found it acceptable and finished it.

He takes it without sugar now, but it still possesses the same sweetness. Full of flavour that has nothing to do with the beans and everything to do with those memories. It's the only time that his hot beverage ever tastes like this.

These mornings at the campsite have come to replace the lazy Sunday mornings that he had taken for granted when he was Kudo Shinichi.

On those Sundays, he would spend the mornings in the kitchen by himself, soaking in the morning rays that filtered through the windows, enjoying a steaming cup of his exquisite concoction and a new mystery novel.

He is not all that keen on the whole camping hoo-ha; no matter how he much he plays it off to Ran. Not the wet socks, not the tents or being elbowed in his sleep. Certainly not the murders that they constantly stumble upon.

He certainly loves the mornings after. That's what he reminds himself of whenever the kids got too rambunctious during the trips, or the murders got too much for him.

This is the closest he is ever going to get to the feeling of Coming Home.

That's why he always looks forward to camping. Being able to have the strongest, blackest coffee to go along with it is really just the cherry on top.

owari