Falling for my best friend [OFFICIAL]

Chapter 28: Getting to know my best friend IX

"Kaede, you're so persistent." I giggled. He isn't wrong about that. The air that was one of comfort and happiness turned into melancholy. Shuichi looked down at his hands.

"I'm sure you've noticed, but I tend to hide myself under that hat... It's hard to face people sometimes." I slowly reached out to hold his hand. He looked up at me and I nodded to him. I wanted him to feel safe and confident that he can tell me anything. His shoulders relaxed and he gave me a half smile. He looked down again. "As you know I want to be a detective and I've assisted my uncle many times. One day, I wanted to take a more serious case. A homicide." His hand tightened around mine. "I was able to solve the murder case faster than the police."

"That's incredible, Shuichi!" I looked at him in amazement, but he didn't return the same expression.

"Everyone thought so, too... But I remember when I saw the criminal. He looked straight at me, his eyes full of malice and hatred. I can never forget it... Later, I found out that the culprit killed the victim to avenge his family. The victim was actually a horrible person who had tricked the culprit's family driving them to commit suicide. That's why I can't look at anyone in the face. I keep seeing those eyes."

"Shuichi, you didn't know. You can't blame yourself for that." I looked down not knowing what to say. "No matter your intentions or motivations, you should never kill someone. You did what was right and locked up a murderer."

"I feel like I sided with the 'victim'." I could feel him shaking as he thought back to that moment. I got up and sat on his lap holding his head to my chest.

"You didn't, Shuichi. I promise you didn't. You should never, ever shy away from figuring out the truth."

"The truth..." he repeated barely audible to my ears. I separated his head from my body to look  into his eyes.

"Thank you for telling me this." I ruffled his hair again shaping a small smile on his face. "But now that I know, I can't let you wear this."

"Huh? Why not?" His smile disappeared and he raised on eyebrow at me.

"Shuichi, the reason you wear this is because you're scared. You don't want to see those same eyes again. Yet, I can't let you do that. If you want to be a detective in the future you have to look passed the lies and find the truth. Plus, I love your eyes." He blushed and returned back with an even bigger smile.

"Thank you, Kaede." I shook my head.

"Don't thank me for this, Shuichi. Remember? I know you'd do the same for me." We both laughed and returned back into a deeper embrace lying against the bed. "You know, we could cuddle all day or I could take you to my safe haven."

"Hmm? Where is that?" I smiled and stood up. I took Shuichi's hand and we put on our shoes before leaving the house. "We can take my car, you know."

"It's not far, don't worry." After a couple blocks, we reached our destination. In front of us was an old park accented with slides and a swing set. "I used to go here as a kid all the time... Come." I sat down on a swing and he followed sitting on the one next to mine.

"It's peaceful here. Do kids come often?" I shook my head.

"That's why I loved it so much. My room was perfect for some peace and quiet, but sometimes I needed to enjoy the outdoors as well. Let me teach you a game I used to play." I started swinging and he followed suit. I got higher and higher each swing and I could see him getting nervous. "Ready?" I asked.

"Ready for what?"

"Jumping off!"

"What?! We can't! This is too dangerous!"