Wait Till I Grow Up

Created: 4-5-04

WAIT TILL I’M ALL GROWN UP

"Excuse me, sir! I’m a star-seeker. Would you like to become a super model?"

"Super model?!"

Conan couldn’t believe his luck. He was actually approached by a star-seeker to be asked to become a super model. Conan couldn’t help feeling elated about it.

"Ah, you look so perfect up close and personal," the star-seeker said, rubbing his chin. "You have a handsome face, an attractive and charismatic aura, and you are, what, at least 170 cm, no? You are just the type of boy we are looking for! Where have you been all our life?!"

Conan felt even more elated. His group of friends Ai, Ayumi, Genta and Mitsuhiko, who were no taller then his shoulders, looked apprehensive about all this.

"Would you mind telling me your name, Mr.…?" the man asked, handing him one of his business cards.

"Shinichi Kudo. You can call me Conan!" Conan replied excitedly.

"And how old are you and which school are you in?"

"I’m 12 years old and studying in Kansai Elementary!" (A/N: I dunno the name of the school where Conan and his little friends study, so I made it up. :P)

The star-seeker was stunned. He chuckled nervously and said, "Come on, don’t play games with me. Seriously, how old are you?"

But before Conan could confirm his statement, the man caught a glimpse of his name tag and was shocked to see that the name of his school ‘Kansai Elementary’ was written there in bold, bearing the class Year 6 Class 3. He stared at Conan in disbelief before backing away and, "Sorry, little boy. I thought you’re a college student. We don’t use small children for models!"

"Nani…?" Conan was stunned at first, but then let out a relaxed laugh and said, "Oh well, being a model is pretty cool, but I’m still a sixth-grader! Ha ha ha~!"

That’s right, ours truly Shinichi Kudo a.k.a. Conan is a sixth-grader, as in an elementary student. He was born with the physical maturing speed of a speeding bullet, and looks almost someone who was just fresh out from high school. Because of his grown-up look, other people far older than he was often mistook him to be a grown-up. It was both a blessing and a curse to him. When the person knew that he was only a sixth-grader, they would immediately have a 180 degrees attitude change, just like before. Many women and star-seekers were captivated by her beauty, not to mention gays as a matter of fact, yet were shocked by the reality of his age.

"Well that’s because he thought you’re a grown-up, so he treated you like one!" Ayumi said. "You practically dress up as one, for goodness sake! Now take off that name tag! School’s over and we’re gonna head off to the cinemas to watch LXG! Come on!"

"Well, you can’t blame me for having the body of a grown-up. These are Ran’s father’s clothes, not mine," Conan said as he took off her name tag. While he was busy fumbling with the clasp, suddenly he was accidentally knocked down by a passer-by and he was in the verge of falling off the stairs. He was too late to regain his balance and when he thought he was going to break his neck sooner or later, he felt a hand grabbing his wrist.

When he got back to his senses, he realized that he was in the arms of a tall, smart-looking guy. He asked in a deep mature voice, "Daijobu deska? It would be a pity for a boy as cute as you to fall and break your neck."

As he looked up, he was shocked to see that he was the most handsome creature he had ever encountered. He was slightly taller than him and was strong and built. He had his hair smartly cut, with great bangs to match. His eyes were a sparkling set of blue and shone like diamonds. His skin was dark, like he had been sun-kissed for quite a long while, yet it didn’t deter his handsome features one bit. There was something about him that made him look cute and cool at the same time. Conan’s heart pumped hard at upon looking at him. He was taken aback—was he experiencing love at first sight?? Was he actually a gay like some men who came and flirted with him? Whatever the reason was, he had to get his chance.

"But then, for me to save a handsome big brother like you, I have to be the luckiest man alive, don’t you think? I bet those kids you’re babysitting must be real jealous, eh?"

Conan was struck. Before he had the chance to introduce himself, another problem came in. Obviously, he had again mistaken him for a man older than he was, just like the rest of the people who tried to tackle him. How could this happen to him?! He liked the fact that he was truly more handsome than other boys and he kinda enjoyed the compliments, but to be mistaken as an older man, that’s just not what he needed!

"Oh, gomene, I gotta go now. It’s nice meeting you," the boy said as he walked off. Conan was shocked. He can’t let him go now! He simply can’t! He must meet him again! Hastily, he came up with a plan of having a date with him.

"Annou, sunimase, I…" Conan stopped. Just when he caught his attention and was about to tell him who he really was, he begun to contemplate the consequences. What if he knew that he wasn’t the man he thought he was and rejected him right on the spot, just like the other men and women who approached him? That would be the death of him! It wasn’t always that he could get a date, even though it’s with a guy, and at this age too! He had to play along. Putting out a cool, mysterious pose, he smiled.

"My name is Shinichi Kudo. You can call me Conan. To show my gratitude for saving my life, how about a date?"

The boy stared at him with his magnificent blue eyes. Conan could feel himself trembling and his heart pumping 1000 beats per minute as a million things went through his mind: Is he falling for it? Is this how it feels to be a grown-up? Will he accept my offer? Did I have that cool, mysterious look? Am I convincing enough? Should I…?

"When do you want it?"

Conan realized that the boy was talking to him. He immediately blurted out, "How about this Sunday?"

Again, the boy fell silent. Conan was beginning to think that he wasn’t going to fall for it when he let out a smile and said, "The name’s Heiji, Senior 2. If you don’t mind me being younger than you are, we’ll meet here at the subway station this Sunday then, Kudo-san."

Conan was all smiles. He was convinced now that they both share the same ‘interest’. He was actually going out on a date, and with a cute guy at that! He was so glad and lost in his fantasy that it took him a few minutes for his friend Ai’s sarcastic voice to reach his ears saying, "Great. Our friend Conan here is both a growing giant and a gay."

"What are you gonna do now?" Ayumi protested, followed by the rest of the gang. "He really thinks that you’re older than he is! I dare not even think of what would happen if he knew the truth!"

Conan’s world came back to focus as he realized what he had done. ‘So…Sodeska!’ he thought. ‘Although that Heiji agreed to go out with me, he did that because he thought that I am a grown man! I gotta make his impression right! I gotta!’

So as soon as he went home after watching the movie ‘LXG’ with his friends, he approached Ran, his only grown-up best friend, and begged her to lend him some of her father’s clothes that would make him look both suave and grown-up. Ran was only too willing to do so, thinking that Conan was going out on a date with a girl. Then he started applying different kinds of cologne to test and see which one was suitable for him. He even looked into books to see which hairstyle was cool and tried to experiment it on himself. After a whole day’s tedious work, he finally made himself a grown-up. He felt so glad—he couldn’t wait for Sunday to arrive.

Finally, the day came. He stood at the entrance of the subway station waiting for his prince to come. He was a tad early but he didn’t mind. It would be worth the wait.

His wait didn’t go wasted. Finally Heiji appeared in his body-fit sleeveless shirt and denim vest and his fashionably torn jeans and canvas belt. He looked so handsome and cute that Conan almost drooled looking at him. But he managed to gain control of himself.

"Have I kept you waiting for too long?" Heiji asked in his suave way.

"No," Conan replied as mature as possible. "I just got here. I’m kinda tired standing around and waiting though. Let’s take a seat on the bench before we go anywhere else."

"Sure, no problem," Heiji replied as he led him to the bench. The subway station was somewhere near the park, so the seat was pretty near. His leather shoes he borrowed from Ran was kind of killing him as he stood stock without moving, but that had all gone when Heiji arrived. He sat beside him and crossed his legs in an attitude kind of way and was hoping that Heiji would notice it.

Suddenly he saw a lady who was walking her dog sniggered at him. When he tried to find out what’s wrong, she realized that he forgot to zip his pants and his underwear was showing. Out of embarrassment, he hastily stood up and accidentally tripped in the process, landing face first on the ground. Others present in the park sniggered, including a couple. He felt so embarrassed; it was his first date and already he had made a wreck of things.

Just when he thought things were not going to get any better, he felt himself lifted up and in a man’s arms. He blushed when he realized that it was Heiji, his prince! His face was so close that he could almost see through his bright blue eyes. He asked, "Are you alright, Kudo-san? Take a seat, Kudo-san. You ought to calm down. I can see that this is your first date."

Conan’s heart was filled with bliss. He was definitely someone totally different than all the guys he knew in his school and the other boys that tackled him. He couldn’t help feeling that he was suave and cute and a real gentleman.

"Although I must say, Kudo-san, that your reaction just now certainly seemed like a small kid. You’re really funny, you know that?"

It was like being hit by a 10 tonne truck when he heard him say that. ‘A kid?!’ he thought. ‘I can’t be a kid! I’m an adult! I have to be an adult! I can’t let him know I’m really a kid! He’ll dump me for sure! I gotta try harder this time!’

"So, wanna go get something to eat?" Heiji asked.

"Uh, yeah! Yeah, sure, why not?" Conan stammered as he got up abruptly and walked with him side by side to a coffeehouse called ‘Café de Rue’.

Inside the café, as they were looking at the menu, Conan’s eyes sparkled when he saw a great hunk of display of sundaes flashed before his eyes. He was tempted to get one but he had to keep his grown-up figure. So when Heiji ordered coffee, he did the same. He didn’t add any sugar, as he wanted to impress him more with his grown-up attitude by drinking dark-coffee.

His plans to be mature and with attitude backfired when he almost choked with the horrible bitterness of the coffee. He didn’t think that dark coffee would be so strongly bitter. He was mortified. Looks like he might swear not to touch coffee ever again. As he tried to gather himself, Heiji’s question struck him cold.

"Kudo-san, daijobu deska?"

"Daijobu, daijobu. I just choked a little, that’s all!" Conan forced a smile while he mentally cursed the cup of coffee for being so bitter.

Heiji stared at Conan for a while, then turned to the waitress and said, "Sunimase, miss. Can you get me a chocolate sundae, please?"

Conan stared back at Heiji in surprise. ‘Now that’s something new,’ he thought. ‘I didn’t think he would order a sundae.’ When the sundae arrived, Conan looked at it secretly with longing. How he wished he were eating the chocolate sundae instead of forcing down the dark coffee into his gut. That’s when Heiji did something unexpected.

"Kudo-san, if you don’t mind, would you like to exchange your coffee with my sundae?"

"Huh? Annou…But…But I thought you ordered it for yourself?" Conan was even surprised.

"Yeah, I did order it for myself. But…well, let’s just say seeing is believing. The more I look at it, the more I feel full. Yet if I don’t finish it, it’ll be a waste. So if you would be so kind as to finish it for me, I’ll be very much happy."

Conan was at lost of words at first. He didn’t think that Heiji would be such a cool and sweet guy. ‘He must’ve guessed that I’m forcing myself to drink coffee,’ he thought. ‘Oh well, guess I have to go with the flow.’ He let out a sweet smile and said, "Well, I don’t usually have a sweet tooth and all, but it is a waste if I don’t eat it. Itadakimas!"

After their snack they did a little window-shopping together. They passed by a man selling digital watches at the roadside and they both stopped to take a look. They fascinated Conan, the sixth-grader he was.

"Do you want a watch?" Heiji asked. "I’ll buy one for you as a gift."

Conan was elated. He loved receiving gifts as much as he loved giving them, and this time he was actually receiving it from a date! But then the words of Ran when he asked for clothes that day struck him, "My father wears nothing but branded stuff, like from Calvin Klien or Gorgio Armani or popular brands like these." He assumed that that’s what grown-ups wear all the time, he put up an attitude pose and repeated the same thing Ran said to him. Heiji looked slightly disappointed.

"Yeah, I guess you’re right. You’re a grown man; you wouldn’t want to get involved with accessories from the roadside stops."

Conan almost wept inwardly. He wanted so bad to have one of those high-tech digital watches displayed there. He didn’t think being a grown-up would be so hard.

"Wait, you stay here, Kudo-san," Heiji said as he left slowly. "I’ll be right back."

Moments later, Heiji came back with a small plastic bag, gesturing him to open it. Conan emptied it of its content and saw that it was a bracelet for men with a small fake diamond studded on the clasp. Conan was about to ask why the sudden gesture but Heiji answered first.

"I was kinda thinking what kind of gift I could give you to remember this fateful day and of course I can’t afford a B.U.M. watch or sorts, so, uh, how’s this?"

"I like it! Arigatogozaimas," Conan said, smiling sweetly and in genuine. He was so happy that he liked Heiji even more. To avoid losing the bracelet, he slipped it into his daily planner. When he looked up, he saw that Heiji was incoming closer and closer towards her. He realized that Heiji was actually going to kiss him! He mentally told himself not to panic and go with the flow.

Ignoring the sniggers and staring eyes of passers-by, they kissed…

When they parted, Conan could feel his heart thumping wildly, like about more than 1000 beats per second. They decided to chill out and sat on the pavement. Then, almost suddenly, Heiji popped out the big question.

"I like you, Kudo-san. Will you be my boyfriend? I mean, I know that you’re older than me and that you know that…well…we share the same ‘interest’ in each other, but you wouldn’t make that a barrier, right?"

Conan didn’t expect that to happen. He loved to be his boyfriend but he couldn’t continue to lie to him like that. He was about to blurt out the truth when a few small kids—about first or second graders, maybe—passed by and chanted naughtily "Eew! Boy loves boy! Boy loves boy!" Heiji let out a chuckle.

"Kids will be kids, don’t you think, Kudo-san?"

‘But the truth is I’m just about like them…’ Conan thought sadly. He decided to give him a hint, "Uh…Heiji-san. If I were to be like them, say, a sixth-grader…would you still want me to be your boyfriend?"

"What kind of joke are you pulling?" Heiji let out another chuckle. "I would never date an elementary school kid. Think about my offer, OK? I’ll go get us some juice."

As Heiji left, Conan’s eyes began to well up. How could this be? This has always been like the last few times. He was back to Square One all over again. How could he ever let him know that he was really a sixth-grader when he already said that he would never date little boys like him? If he were to know, he’ll regret ever agreeing to date him today…It would be better if he disappeared from his life right now…

The next day at school, he pulled a seriously long face at his group of friends when they asked about the date that Sunday. He told them everything that had happened, from the good to the bad.

"I see," Mitsuhiko replied. "Boy, that really is a stinker. No wonder you’re so blue. So what are you going to do?"

"I have no choice!" Conan replied. "I have to let him go! The only thing I’ll ever remember him by would be the bracelet he gave me!"

As he rummaged through his bag, he realized that his daily planner which kept his bracelet were gone. He couldn’t find it anywhere in his bag. He must’ve left it on the pavement when he was running away from Heiji after his respond to his question. Now that the bracelet was gone, everything was gone as well. He realized that everything was lost for good this time: the date, the memories, the smile on Heiji’s face, the kiss…Was he really going to just sit there and let it all go without explaining to Heiji about his sudden departure? Was he really going to let everything go and forget that he had ever liked him?

"Conan, where are you going?" Ayumi asked when Conan stood up abruptly.

"I have to go and look for Heiji! I have to tell him the truth!" Conan said as he ran out of class.

"But where are you going to find him?? You don’t even know where his school is!!" Genta called after him.

Conan did think about that when he ran out of the school compound and towards the gate, but he had to try anyway. He will find him, and tell him the truth about his age, and also tell him how much he liked him for everything he had done for him…

As he was about to reach the school gate, he saw a figure standing outside in waiting, and lo and behold! It was his prince charming with the bright diamond-blue eyes Heiji, waiting for him with that look on his face that was simply irresistible. He knew right now that he had been busted.

"You dropped your daily planner at the pavement and you just left, and there’s the name of your school written on it. I thought it could be your younger brother’s or something and you were just borrowing it but…I never thought that you would really be a sixth-grader…"

"Gomenasai," Conan replied. "I should’ve told you earlier, but I was afraid that you would reject me just like the other older guys who tried to tackle me. I wanted to be with you so much…’coz it was love at first sight…and I didn’t want to lose you. I wanna be with you forever…"

A long silence hung between them. He had finally said what he wanted to say and he was ready for the consequences. Finally, Heiji said, "Close your eyes and hold out your left hand."

Conan obliged, not sure what he was going to do. When Heiji ordered him to open his eyes again, he was surprised to see that the bracelet was on his wrist. He noticed that the bracelet was slightly altered with an additional long, thin chain, and that part of the chain was wrapped around his ring finger and fastened with the diamond-studded clasp. He was speechless. Why did he do that? What does this mean?

"Actually when I found out that you’re an elementary student, I was pretty shocked and pissed and I had a mind not to come here or see you anymore…" Heiji admitted. "But then again, when I thought back…none of that ever matters anymore, ‘coz the person I love is not the grown-up you or the child you, but you and you only. The Shinichi Kudo you is what I’m asking for."

"Heiji…I can’t believe it…! You’re too kind…" Conan was at lost of words and in the verge of breaking into happy tears.

"So this bracelet will be a sort of reservation spot. When you finally grow up to be the man you are, I’ll let you wear a real ring, and this will be our only promise…"

He was about to kiss him, but then realized that they were still in Conan’s school compound, so instead he took his hand and kissed the diamond instead.

"Guess I’ll have to be patient then for the time being," Heiji said with his usual cool and cute smile.

Conan longed for the day that he would grow up and become a real man.