Chapter Text
Previously in the movie Sunflowers of Inferno:
The detective boys were accompanying the Suzuki family and Mori Kogoro to a museum where one of the sunflower's paintings was exhibited. Suzuki Jirokichi had plans of obtaining and borrowing all seven of Vincent van Gogh's sunflower paintings to have them exhibited together in a dedicated museum built by the Suzuki group. During a visit to one of the museums, the detective boys were excited and all over the exhibits as usual. The shrunken girl Haibara Ai met an elderly woman who she later found out visited the sunflowers regularly. While the detective boys were fascinated by the sunflower exhibit, and Conan tried to tame them a bit, she was standing next to the woman while watching Conan handle the detective boys. While the girl was watching them, unknowingly to the girl, she had an expression on her face that could be deciphered by someone who had experienced something like that before. And that something, was love. The elderly women commented as such, however the shrunken adult did not want to admit anything of the likes. Most likely to herself.
Chapter 1
Ai was laying in her bed wide awake. It was past 2 am, but still she was unable to rest. She couldn't stop thinking about what that elderly woman back in the museum had said to her. She had never allowed the thoughts about her feelings for Kudo to come to the forefront of her mind. This time was different though. She couldn't get the words of that woman out of her mind. She didn't want to get this out of her mind. Little girl, you seem to be interested in something other than the Sunflowers. Do other people really think it looks like he means something to her other than just some child's friend? If only she had someone to ask for advice in such situations - if only she had her sister. That thought brought a tear to her eyes. She missed her sister. Ever since she had escaped the Organization, she felt lost. Yes, she had the Professor, Conan and she even had the kids who valued her as a great friend. But to her, they all were just... there. There were so many things she couldn't talk to them about. She needed someone she could talk to about all of this. Someone who was neither Conan nor the Professor.
With this goal in mind, she finally managed to convince her mind to let her fall asleep and rest for the night. If she would have stayed awake for a few minutes longer, she would have been able to hear a quiet but noticeable thump followed by the faintest whimper through the open window, coming from the neighboring mansion's gate.
The next morning, Ai sat at breakfast with a dull expression on her face. She felt both tired and out of energy. She woke up to the same thoughts as she fell asleep to, which didn't help her mood in the slightest. She was deep in her thought, when she heard voices outside the front door. The Professor was currently out of town, so it couldn't have been him.
She must have been deeply in thoughts, as only when the front door opened, she realised that is was just the kids with the bane of her existence, Conan, in tow.
She wanted to finish her breakfast in peace and quiet, and so for the next 20 minutes or so, Conan kept the kids occupied by coming up with some sort of quiz, while, Ai kept eating in silence as to not disturb them. The kids of the Detective Boys were occupied with thinking up solutions to the quiz while Conan proudly listened to the deductions they came up with. Seeing him so much in his element and to try and support the young detectives like that made her heart melt. She couldn't stop admiring him for the great detective he was. Although she thought that in some degrees he was also the worst detective she had ever met. He has not even once realized that maybe, maybe there was something different about Ai. About the way she acted, about the way she was stealing glances at him, by the way she was looking at him. Then it hit her. The things she didn't want to think about, the things she had spent denying about herself just the previous evening. Why was it even confusing for her. The problem was there, and the answer was simple. She felt something for Conan. Something she has never felt before, and something she never thought she would ever feel for anyone. But here she was, just glancing at Conan from afar, with a fond smile on her face. She admired him. She was in love with him.
Shortly after Ai had finished her breakfast, she heard a phone ring from where the kids and Conan were standing. She identified the ringtone as one of Conan's cellphones. After a bit back and forth by him and the person on the other end of the call, the call ended. Conan and the kids came over to where Ai was sitting, and Conan started to explain. "Ran-neechan just called. She and Sonoko-neechan are going to Beika Aquarium, and she asked if we would like to join. Apparently Sonoko-neechan has backstage tickets and they invited us to join them. So you guys want to go?" He looked between the kids and Ai. "I know this is short notice, but we would need to leave in a few minutes though to make it in time for the opening." After a few more moments of silent communication between the kids, they all got excited and wanted nothing more. What could possibly be better than to spend this boring morning at the aquarium?
When Ayumi realised that Ai hadn't reacted, she became worried. "What's wrong Ai-chan? Aren't you excited about the aquarium at all?" After a quick contemplation, she answered. "I'm not coming. There is something I need to take care of today. And I'm sure you all will manage just fine without me." Ayumi had a bit of a sad look on her face, but nodded her head as she tried to respect her decision.
A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. Ai went to get the door, as the kids and Conan were still in the process of grabbing all their stuff that they left in the living room of the professor's. When she opened the door, she was greeted by Ran. "Good morning Ai-chan. Where is everyone else?." "Edogawa-kun and the others are still grabbing their stuff. They will be out in a minute" Ai answered. Ran nodded her head, with a questionable look on her face as she took in Ai's figure which was still dressed in her sweats. Before Ran could ask her question though, Ai explained to her that she was not coming along for the trip. Sonoko walked up behind Ran, and started talking to her. Ai didn't particularly listen to their conversation, she only heard that it was about a classmate of them. She apparently zoned out so much, that she didn't even realise that Conan had walked up behind her. She realised this however, when he started talking, and seemed very enthusiastic about the topic at hand. "Is this true? Is Eisuke-niichan really back from America?" to which Ran and Sonoko only grinned widely and nodded.
A very excited Conan went back inside to let the kids know that they should hurry up to get in he car which was waiting for them outside, while Ai followed behind him like his shadow. Just like she had always been. It made her happy to see Conan so excited about something. She didn't see that side of him too often, mainly just when there was some complex riddle or case he had to solve. It was something, she wished she could see more often from him.
When Conan saw that the kids had packed up all their stuff, and he got Genta out of the kitchen, he took Ai off to the side and explained. "I'm looking forward to have some time with Eisuke. We haven't had a chance to talk since our last conversation before he left. He actually figured out who I really was on his own and I just want to catch up with him again. To get to hear what troubles his clumsiness has caused him. We didn't really have a chance to properly talk before he left for America." At the revelation that Eisuke knew Conan's secret, she was shocked. The moment Conan saw the shock written all over her face, he calmly added. "Don't worry. I know he is one of the good guys. And he doesn't know about you. But then again, he didn't spend as much time with you as he did with me. So he probably won't figure you out." Those words made her relax a bit. He was right. Even if Hondo-kun were related to the Organization in some way, which he wasn't, he didn't know about her situation. And even if he was observant enough to figure out Conan's secret, he'd never talked to her enough for him to get suspicious about her. About the fact that she, too, was a shrunken adult.
When Conan and Ai finally got the kids out of the house, and got them to sit in the car, Conan turned around to face her. "You don't need to worry about Eisuke. He is a good guy, and he is on our side. I want to take you to meet him at some point." He smiled at her, and then took off towards the car before she could respond. She just stood in the door dumbfounded. What exactly did he mean with that? He wanted to take her somewhere? To meet someone? It almost sounded like a date - she shook her head. Not with Conan. He was way too dense for something like that. Ai watched as the car took off, and after a few minutes of standing in the door, being a bit lost in her thoughts, she went back inside.
Since it was still morning, and with nothing better to do, she decided to read a book. It was quiet around the house, surprisingly not interrupted by explosions or similar in the basement where the professor usually worked on his projects. She decided to take one of her favourite book, and to go upstairs to read. Just recently she had put a large table with a comfortable chair in front of one of the large windows on the upper floor to make for a comfortable reading spot and atmosphere. Given that Kudo never really was upstairs when he was over, he likely never even noticed it. The table and chair were placed, so that the if you looked out of the big window in front of you, it had the Kudo mansion in full view. The shrunken adult took a seat in her chair and opened the book where she had left off last time.
After a calm while of reading peacefully, some movement outside took her attention. There was someone who walked up to the gate of the Kudo mansion and was ringing the bell. Ai knew that no one was home, with Conan on a trip to the aquarium, his parents being in America and Subaru-san, the person currently residing there being out for the day. So what did that person want, and from whom? The shrunken adult kept watching for a few minutes, until the person ringing the bell seemed to give up. They looked like they were contemplating on what they should do for a moment, but then turned around and started walking away. Or so Ai thought. After a few thoughts of who this person could be, Ai shrugged her shoulders and turned her focus back to her book again. Or at least she tried to, because a few minutes later, the doorbell on the Agasa residence sounded. The only thing the shrunken adult could think of was that the kids must have forgotten something. She got up out of her reading chair and walked downstairs to answer the door and to her surprise, it wasn't one of the kids who rang the bell, but someone she recognised nonetheless.
Ai identified the person standing in front of her as the same one that she was watching through the window earlier. And as it turns out, it was non other than Hondo Eisuke. Who she noted had a bruised nose, which seemed to explain the thud she had heard through the open window the night before. From the gate, a nervous Eisuke started talking to her. "Excuse me, does Kudo Shinichi-kun happen to be here by any chance? I was at his house, but no one seemed to be home. Or- or is Conan-kun here? I- I wanted to see him too. I met him during..." he kept on stuttering. Ai pressed the button to open the gate which fortunately stopped him from continuing his ramble. She sighed. "You know that we have met during a case before, right? And I know. About him. - Come inside. I need to talk to you." Ai said nonchalantly as she turned around, gesturing for him to follow her inside. Eisuke was both confused and shocked at her coldness. "What- what are you talking about..." When the door closed behind them, the shrunken adult turned around to face the boy. "I know that Edogawa-kun is Kudo. I have known for a long time. And... I'm the same as him... In fact, I caused him to be that way." At that thought, a tear started to form in her eye. She turned away in hopes of hiding the stray tear from the teenager. "I'll make us some tea." With that, the shrunken adult walked off to the kitchen, leaving the baffled teenager in the foyer.
Once the tea was all prepared, and the teenager and shrunken adult were seated on the sofa, Ai started talking. "Why are you back? Last I heard was that Edogawa-kun's dear "Eisuke-niichan" went to the US to follow his sister's footsteps to become a CIA agent. What is the reason for your visit now?." A valid question Eisuke thought. After all, him being back was a bit sudden. Before Eisuke could answer this, he had to address the big elephant in the room. "So the same thing that happened to Conan also happened to you..." he still had to process this. "And you said that you made him that way. What did you mean by that?" he had an expression on his face that was a mix of questioning and shocked. The shrunken adult sighed. "I will tell you. But first I want to know why you are here. Last I heard, you went to leave Japan. Why are you here now?" The teenage boy sighed. "I did go to the US to join the CIA. But not as an agent. I work as a data analyst for them and I was able to transfer back to Japan. Being an agent wouldn't be anything for me." he took a sip of his tea. "I just got back, and I wanted to see everyone again. Especially Conan, since I had to leave rather abruptly the last time we saw each other."
The girl took a sip of her tea, and started. "Kudo told me about you. That you figured him out on your own. Good job on that." The girl smiled at him. "Even though he's not very good at keeping that from being too obvious. I just hope that I really can trust you. I don't have a lot of people I can trust anymore, and I have no family left. All that I still have is the Professor, Kudo and the kids. And it would break me if I lost that." I can't lose that. Quietly and more to herself, she whispered "He's my reason to still be here." She didn't think much of it. At this comment, which she probably didn't intend to say for him to hear, he quirked his head with a knowing smile. When Ai realised that she had said it louder than she had intended, a small blush started to form on her cheeks. She tried averting her gaze by sipping her tea. "Now those are some news. Conan has a girlfriend? Who would've thought." At that comment, Ai almost choked on the hot tea, which burned her throat. After she managed to collect herself, a genuine smile and a blush on her cheeks started forming at the thought. She smile was short-lived however, when she reminded herself of the reality. With a sigh she answered. "I really wish that were the case. But I doubt I have any chance there. That idiot is too dense to figure anything out on his own." She sighed. "He may be a great detective, but when it comes to feelings, and especially the feelings of other people, he is too oblivious for his own good. And even though I would give anything, there is probably no way it would ever work out between him and me. Not as long as he is still hung up on his karate-girlfriend he so desperately wants to return to." An empty expression was plastered across her face.
At that, Eisuke had something to share. "Another reason I came back to Japan was that I need to talk to someone who is very special to me. I want to finally confess my true feelings to Ran. I think Kudo has let Ran wait for too long. She deserves someone she can depend on and who is there for her. Not someone who is constantly looking for excuses to be away. I understand Kudo's reasons, I really do. But it is not fair for Ran. She deserves someone better. I'm not saying that I'm that someone. But I'm going to be trying my absolutely hardest." At this, the teenager looked very determined. "And I can see that there already is someone who values Kudo the way he currently is." Another blush on the girl's cheeks. He smiled at the girl, satisfied with his reasoning.
"I wish it were as easy as just going up to him and telling him, ignoring the fact that I don't have the courage to do that. I have always admired him and his confidence. The first time really was back when he saved me from a exploding bomb on a bus. Back then, I thought that everyone would be better off without me. That Kudo, the Professor and the kids would be safer without me around. But now, I couldn't imagine a world where I lost them. The Professor is the only father-figure I have had in a long time. Genta and Mitsuhiko are still young, but seeing them grow makes me feel happy and proud of them. Ayumi is like a daughter to me. Being her role-model in some things really makes me happy. Just the feeling of what I can give to her that I was never able to get from my family. Of what the Organization robbed me of."
After a few moments of comfortable silence, the dreaded question arose. "What exactly happened to you. Who were you before it happened?" Ai knew this question would come at some point. "And why did you say earlier, that you made Conan the way he is now?"
Ai sighed. She knew that sooner or later, this topic would have to be breached. No. She had to tell him either way. Though it didn't change the fact that it was a painful topic for her. "My name is Shiho. Miyano Shiho. I'm 18 years old. Me and my sister were practically born into the Organization. I'm a biochemist, and while I was "working" for the Organization, I mainly did research and development on toxins and medications that could be beneficial for them. They shrunk Kudo with a toxin that I developed, which unknowingly to them had the side-effect of shrinking the victim. And as it turns out, all that while actually being less lethal than they thought. Kudo was given the toxin with the intend to kill him after he witnessed something that he shouldn't have. As for me, after the Organization murdered my sister, who by that point was the last remaining family I had, I just wanted to get away. I had no one anymore, and no reason to live. I took that toxin in the hopes that it would fully erase me from this world. But instead, I got this second chance. A chance to hopefully one day take them down so that they can't hurt anyone else." "Since I met Conan as Haibara Ai, he really changed me, made me enjoy the little things in life again. I can now value to be with the people I love. With the kids. And... yeah...." Her face changed from the happy looking face she had whenever she talked about Conan into a sad look. With that she closed her eyes.
"You never had it easy by the sound of it. But I'm happy for you that you've got a family now. And don't lose that goal of trying to get him to realise you. If you lose hope, then it's going to get even harder" Eisuke quietly stated. At that, Ai had to avert her eyes again. She knew that if she never acted on this, she would never reach her goal. She knew just how dense that moron detective was. Likely, even if she spelt it out for him he might still not get it. She needed to tell him. Tell him in a way that he would get without much confusion. That was now her main goal. It was more than just needing to "tell" him.
"I know what I have to do." the shrunken adult sighed. She was facing away from the teenager when she heard a growling stomach coming from his direction. When she looked at him with a knowing smile, she saw his slightly embarrassed face. "I'm sorry. I haven't had much for breakfast today, and it's about lunchtime now." Was it really that late already? Time sure does fly when your mind is occupied. "Let's go get something to eat then. I'm getting hungry as well, and I'm not in the mood to cook anything right now." Eisuke offered to put away the empty tea cups which Ai however declined. They got up from the sofa and the shrunken adult took the cups to the kitchen. After rinsing off the cups, the girl and the teenager got ready to leave for lunch.
When they were sat at lunch, and they both had their food on the table, Eisuke started digging in right away. The young girl however, just sat there. She quietly started. "I don't know what to do. I don't know what I can do to get his attention. Well, at least not in the way I need it. I think realistically, I need to spell it out for him. And even then, he might be too dense to get it". "What is it that you see in him?" The boy asked. "I've only ever known him as Conan -" the boy continued "-and we always got along really well. You have been with him for a lot longer. You must know him on a different level than me. There must be some things about him that make you want him as more than just a friend. What do you think some of those things are?"
"I... I don't know how to talk about it. I've never talked about it out loud. But... he already is like family to me. Whenever I'm with him, it makes me really happy. As you might've figured out, I'm not the most expressive person when it comes to showing feelings." At that, a small smirk appeared on the boy's face. He had noticed. "I've suffered under a lot of depression and nightmares. In those nightmares I see everything from hearing of my sister's death for the first time again, seeing Ayumi getting hurt or losing the Professor or Kudo-kun. These dreams terrify me, but I don't want to burden anyone with that. And of course I can't involve the kids in this for obvious reasons." "Have they gotten any better lately?" the boy asked. The shrunken adult nodded slightly. "The depression is still there sometimes. But I'm starting to be able to pull myself out of that hole when I think of him. I need a reason to exist. Right now, that reason are mainly the kids, and maybe the Professor. But I want him to be my main reason. I need a proper reason to live again. I really lost that when I lost my sister." The teenage boy had a slight smile on his lips. That determination in her voice was unmistakable. It felt like she was on a mission. A mission which should lead her to her happiness.
After they finished lunch, they just sat there and talked. They were still at the restaurant as they didn't see a reason to change location. By the time they finished talking, the sun was already setting. Eisuke decided to head back to his hotel. He had wanted to talk to Conan, but he figured that someone else had more important things to discuss with him. With that, they bid their goodbyes and went their separate ways. They had decided to get in touch a few days later to update each other on the whole situation's progress. By the time Ai got home, it was already dark outside.
She was sat in her chair with an open book. To the clueless observer, she might have looked like she was deeply entranced by the book she was reading. But in reality, she had been unable to finish the page she was currently on for the past hour or so. She couldn't focus on the book even if she tried. After what felt like an eternity, she heard the front door open. She didn't hear any voices coming from the door. That probably meant that the kids were not there. The footsteps were light but they sounded like they were dragging. When she took a look down towards the door, she saw a very exhausted looking Conan. She had expected that either the kids would accompany Conan to the professor's house, or he would go home directly, given how tired he looked. Confused, she got up and went downstairs.
"You look like you have one foot in the grave. What happened? And why are you not at home?" she quirked her head, but with a kind smile on her face. A very exhausted looking Conan looked her way. "I just want to go to bed. Is it alright if I stay here for the night? Ran is staying with Sonoko, and I don't feel like having to deal with the old man right now." Over the years of Conan's existence, he and the Professor had converted an old, unused room at the Professor's to house another bed and a small drawer for Conan to stay at when he needed a place. This idea originated from the fact that Shinichi had started spending more time at the Agasa residence ever since he shrunk. "Of course" the girl responded softly. "Did anything bad happen on the trip? You seem different than usual. And not in a good way." The boy shook his head. "I'm just absolutely exhausted. The kids were a lot of work today, and I just want to fall into bed and sleep for an entire day..." He looked her way and took in the girl's appearance and her body language. "You on the other hand. What's going on? You seem different than usual. Or is it just me being too exhausted to properly see?" A small smile appeared on the girl's face. "Nothing exciting happened really. I had a chat with a new friend of mine today. Other than that, nothing interesting happened today." She took another look at Conan's tired looking face. "Come on. Get ready for bed. I'll make you a cup of tea so you can relax and sleep better." The boy looked both confused and tired. He didn't think that this was the same girl as he had seen before they had heft for the aquarium. "What the hell happened to you? You sound like a wife" the boy questioned sarcastically. The girl turned away and started walking towards the kitchen with a small smile on her face. "I am NOT your wife. And you go get changed. Otherwise I will dump the cup of hot tea over you when it's done." The thought of being married to him was a bit weird to her. She couldn't imagine being a housewife. But she could imagine being together with him - being his girlfriend. Very much so actually.
When the water in the kettle was boiling, she poured it into a mug with a tea bag. She carefully put the mug on a saucer and brought it towards Conan's room. The girl quietly knocked on the door, to which Conan asked her to enter. He was sat on the bed, facing the door. "Here, drink this. It will help you to sleep better" - she handed him the cup of tea, and put the saucer on the nightstand. After Conan had taken the first sips, the girl took a deep, deep breath.
"Kudo, can I ask you something?." The boy gave her a look that prompted her to continue. "What will you do if there is no way for me to reverse the effects of the apoptoxin? I will keep working on it, but what if I can't do it? So far I've only managed to get a temporary antidote, and I'm not even sure if a permanent one is even possible. All you have done so far is to try to find an antidote to be able to return to Ran-san... But what if there is no antidote and the effects are indeed permanent?" The boy had a worried and confused look on his face. The cogs in his brain were turning. He had never really thought about that. He has always been looking for a way to find the people who were responsible for his current state, and get them to reverse the effects. But the person who knew the drug best was standing in the door frame in front of him at this very moment. And she just told him that she possibly was not able to do anything for a permanent solution. How would he keep going if there was no way out of this situation? There would be no way for him to return to Ran. Everything that he had done up until now has solely been to achieve that goal. What was he going to do? His heart started racing and a slight panic started to set in. Ai could see the distress on his face. She gently put a hand on his knee and in a quiet voice, she whispered soothing words into his ear. The touch of her hand seemed to ground him to reality. His breathing started becoming less erratic and the panic seemed to slowly subside from his face. Once she had figured that he had come down enough, she asked her final, and to her, most important question. "Are you going to chase after Ran forever? Even if you're still Conan? Or do you think that at some point you can start to let go and open yourself up for other chances in life?" The fact that he knew she was right in this regard hurt. More than all the things she had dropped on him before that. Of course he had thought of the possibility that he would never be able to return to his old self again. But those were thoughts he had always pushed away as soon as they had arisen. He had never wanted to think of the fact that he might never be able to return to be Kudo Shinichi. He had always desperately, and successfully avoided those questions his mind had come up with. But now he was directly confronted with them. And he didn't like it one bit.
Anger started to arise within him. "THEN WHAT SHOULD I DO OTHERWISE? If I can't be with Ran, WHAT should I do? Can you tell me HOW someone who is TEN YEARS older than everyone around him could get SOMEONE TO BE WITH HIM? NEVER MIND THE FACT THAT A TEN YEAR AGE DIFFERENCE IS REALLY WEIRD, BUT UNTIL THESE KIDS WHO ARE AT 'OUR AGE' RIGHT NOW WILL BE INTERESTED IN SOMETHING LIKE THAT, SOMETHING LIKE EIGHT YEARS WILL STILL HAVE TO PASS. Never mind the fact that there is NO ONE LIKE THAT AROUND!" His eyes were now glassy from tears. "I'd have to wait eight years to be 'in the right age to have a girlfriend' or something like that. At the earliest. And then I'd still be together with someone who is ten years younger than me. And then there would still most likely be all the secrets about my past, and I don't want something like that..." tears were now streaming down his face.
The girl was silently standing in the door frame in front of him, just listening. It hurt her to see him in so much emotional pain. In a kind voice, the girl started. "What if you found someone who understood you. Someone who knows you, and knows about you?" The young detective frowned at that. "What are the chances of that? And that wouldn't solve the problem of either being ten years older, or me looking 10 years younger then the other person anyways. That wouldn't work either way. And telling someone is a huge risk for them, which I don't want to take." The girl was starting to get annoyed by his stupid reasoning. "What if there is someone who already knows about you, and where all the other things are also not a problem?" "If this person existed and would indeed like me, I'd gladly like to meet this person." He said with a sarcastic undertone. "I highly doubt something like that will ever happen." Ai almost face palmed at that. How can someone be so good at solving cases and riddles, and yet be THIS stupid and oblivious? It was indeed just as she had thought. She had to spell it out for him. She took a seat next to him on his bed, and started.
"Kudo-kun, let me tell you a story, a good friend of mine told me. This might help you a bit with the way you look at this situation. When my friend was young, she lost both her parents. She however had an older sister who took care of her after their deaths. When my friend got old enough, she went to study science because she wanted to be able to work side-by-side with her older sister. After she graduated, she started working in the same company as her sister, in a lab. She thought highly of the projects she was working on, and what she was doing was very important to her. She didn't have any other family left and so her sister meant the world to her. One quiet day at work, just like any other, she received a phone call with what turned out to be some terrible news. She was informed that her sister had passed away unexpectedly. My friend's world suddenly came crumbling down on her. She had lost the most important thing in her world, and was suddenly alone. Her work didn't feel like it was worth anything anymore." Conan was looking at her with wide eyes. It seemed he understood where this story was heading. "She thought about ending her own life. On more than one occasion. In the end, that choice was made for her. Only that her life didn't end, but instead she was offered a new life. A reset one might say. She was taken in by a kind man, who over time became like a father figure to her. Her first father figure in a very long time. The start of a proper family for her. She slowly started making friends, but she was different from most of them, and on first glance, one might think that she didn't quite fit in. But her being different was what made this situation interesting. And funny enough, in the end, it was what made her fit in. She never really had any friends before that, and because of this, she started valuing their friendship more than any others. My friend was special. She was very mature, compared to her other friends. Well, maybe all but one. Over time, she started growing fonder and fonder of her friends, and she started to feel like a parent for them." The boy just quietly sat next to her with a compassionate smile on his face. The tea which was now sat on the nightstand, which was so not relevant to this situation, sat there totally forgotten.
"Amongst those friends, there was one person who was different. He was observant and to her surprise, equally as mature as her. Their relationship started out rocky, but after they got to know each other and understood each other, they somewhat became friends." She took a deep breath before continuing the story. "My friend was the type of person who generally didn't show any feelings. But after a while, she started admiring the boy. The way he handled situations. How he always took care of their friend group and always taught them new things, almost like a good parent would." A clear smile appeared on his face at that analogy. He too, sometimes felt that this was a kind of parenthood. "As the days of being with that group turned into weeks, those weeks turned into months, and those months turned into years, my friend's feeling of admiration towards the boy changed." She said that last part with a bad undertone to lead him on the wrong track. Conan's smile vanished from his face at that. He seemed to understand what the story meant, but also seemed worried about what it was that he had done and what she had meant with it. "What did he do?" he carefully asked in a cautious tone. After a dramatic pause, she continued in a happy tone. "Oh, he didn't do anything wrong." She put on a teasing grin, and went on with the story. "One time, both of them were in a museum with some beautiful paintings as exhibits. However, there was a case that occurred, which the boy was very intrigued by. While the boy was working on figuring things out with this case, my friend was watching him from a small distance. She loved seeing him being so in his element. While she was standing there, watching him while he was working on a case, an elderly woman approached her and sat down next to her. She started talking to my friend, while looking at her face. There was something in that face, that the woman could clearly see. Something that possibly not even my friend herself could see at that time. What the woman saw in that face was love for the boy." The detectives eyes widened a bit, and the girl slowly averted her gaze. "And the woman was right." She let out a breath. "My friend didn't consciously know it back then. But after a while, and quite some sleepless nights later, I was sure." She was now starting to tear up herself. For the first time in a long time, she didn't feel the urge to suppress it in front of someone else. "You made me feel at home." Now she was in tears. "I know I'm not expressive when it comes to my feelings, but I need you in my life. Kudo-kun, I've never had this feeling before, but..." she tried wiping her tears away with her sleeve. "I'm in love with you Kudo-kun."
The young detective was shocked. He had understood the direction the story was heading in, but to say he was prepared for it would be a lie. He has only ever had eyes for Ran. He knew that understanding feelings was hard for him and it always has been. Yes, he had always wanted to return to Ran. But he never truly understood why she always seemed mad when he called her over the voice-changer. But now he started to slightly understand. He had always promised Ran that he would come back to her, once "this case" is settled. But truth is, it will never truly be settled. And he might never be able to return to her as Shinichi, which by the looks of it seemed more clear, now than ever before. Haibara was right, he couldn't hold onto Ran forever.
The young detective didn't know how to start. So after what felt like an eternity for the girl, he started in a quiet voice. "How long have you been feeling that way?" he wanted to smack himself in the face for such a stupid answer. The girl looked up. This was not directly an answer she was expecting - she thought that now she would probably get a rejection or at least in a very unlikely event, a confession from his side. But him sitting quietly next to her was not something she expected. "I don't really know myself." She was looking at the floor. "I guess what the woman in the museum saw in me wasn''t wrong. But I didn't consciously know it back then. I only really figured this feeling out for myself a couple of nights ago." After a long moment of silence from the detective, Ai started getting nervous. She got the feeling that she had made a big mistake with all of this. What if she had just thrown all of this at him, and he rejected her now. What was she going to do then? It was now her mind that started going crazy. When she couldn't take the rising anxiety inside her anymore, she got up with the plan of taking the now cold cup of tea back to the kitchen. While she got up, in a quiet voice, she decided to say one more thing to him. After that, she didn't know what she was going to do. Leave the house, leave the city? It was late, but she would find something. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to force this on you like this. Of course you want to be with Ran-san". Followed by a even quieter "I understand."
When she turned her back on him, and was about to leave the room, she could feel him grabbing her wrist. After his initial firm grip on her wrist, his grip softened, and moved down to her hand. He gave her hand a small squeeze, and silently asked her to stay. She put the cup back on the nightstand again, while being quite perplexed about what had just happened. She sat down next to him, although this time she sat closer to him than before. Also finally, she was holding his hand. And she was not going to let go of it so easily.
Conan was slowly starting to look her in the eyes again. For the first time in what felt like an eternity to Ai, he opened his mouth to speak. "I..." he took a deep breath and started again. "I'm sorry that I haven't really responded to anything you told me just now. It was a lot for me. It took me a bit just now to sort out my feelings and everything." Now he was the one taking a deep breath. "I'd really like to be with you. I... I didn't see it. I never did. I'm sorry. I have always only been focused on Ran and I never even thought about anything else... I'm sorry for putting you through all this and being such an idiot about it all... And I mean it. I really want to be with you." He was looking very sure of this to her eyes. "-and I'm sorry I'm such an idiot." He lowered his head and was now sadly looking at the floor. After a few moments of silence, he felt her slowly put her head in the crook of his neck as she gave him a comfortable sideways hug. He had never felt this before. Not like this. It was a nice, warm feeling. A few months ago, he would have never thought that the girl who usually was so icy cold to outsiders, can in reality be the warmest person, both figuratively and literally. The girl just smiled at him at that. "I know you Kudo, and I knew how dense you can be. I knew what I was getting myself into if this worked out, and I really want it to. So please don't worry too much about it, okay?" The boy gave a slight nod as response. Unconsciously, the boy started playing with strands of her hair, and after a minute or so, he spoke up. "Haibara?" She gave him a hum as response. She still had her head put in the crook of his neck and her eyes were closed while she was enjoying the warmth of his body. He took a deep breath, at which the girl slightly opened her eyes. He turned his head to the side so he could look at her. "Do you want to... no. Haibara, will you be my girlfriend?" The way her eyes lit up at those words would be something Conan was never going to ever forget. Her head jumped up, and those bright blue eyes were looking at him with more energy in them than he had ever seen before. Ai saw a chance to do something she had wanted to do for a long time. She took him by surprise as she leaned forward and captured his lips with hers. And all of a sudden, it was as if the whole world stood still. She had dreamt of this for so long, but she never thought this would actually ever happen.
This was it. For the first time in what felt like ages, she felt truly happy. Her eyes started tearing up a bit, but the feeling was worth it all. Her long wait was finally, once and for all, over. When they finally pulled apart after what felt like the most beautiful eternity, tears of joy were streaming down her cheeks. "I love you Shinichi. And I'd very much love to be your girlfriend." His eyes beamed at that. The kiss was a surprise, but a welcome one. With his thumb, he carefully wiped away the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. "I love you too Ai" He wrapped his arms around her, gave her a tight embrace. "And I want to be with you no matter what." Hearing those words made the girl incredibly happy and evaporated all her previous worries. While still holding each other in the embrace, they started leaning backwards until their backs hit the mattress. It was at this point where exhaustion from the past days finally caught up with the girl. The times where she was unable to sleep, where she was laying awake in bed until late at night were now all coming together. Before she could fully fall asleep next to Shinichi though, he shook her awake again. "Hey, how about you go change into your pyjamas and then come back if you want? I'll get ready for bed too." The girl gave him a small nod and tiredly started getting up. The detective took the opportunity to place a small kiss on her forehead. When she got up, she took the cold cup of tea to put next to the sink on her way to her room. Conan took that time to change into his sleep clothes as well, and got into bed. A few minutes later, the tired looking girl came back, dressed in her pyjamas. He lifted the blanket next to him as an offer for her to join him. The girl turned off the lights, and took him up on that offer. She slipped under the blanket next to him, throwing her arm around his neck. They moved around a bit until they found a comfortable position to sleep in. But to her, the most comfortable part in this whole sleeping situation was to feel the warmth of the person she loved. For the first time in a very long time, she really was happy. She felt a small kiss on her cheek which induced a small smile on her face. She turned her head a bit, and gave him a small peck on his lips. With the wonderful feeling of his warm body next to her, she fell asleep easily for the first time in what felt like ages.