Title: Treasured

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan or any of the characters… Unfortunately.

A/N: I'm sorry, I haven't written a decent story in ages! (As if this is decent, hahaha...) Anyways, I hope you like it~ This is for all those Shinichi x Ran fans out there!

He stood there unsure what to do. Should he really just…?

No. Maybe yes…? Oh, darn it…

A silhouette moved by the window and halted there, making him hold his breath.

"Come on, Shinichi… Get a grip of yourself!"

He shook his head slightly, trying to get some of his senses back. He was a man after all… And a while back even Ran had said that a man should be brave enough to take on what's in front of him. But he wasn't… At least not when it came to women. Especially not Ran Mouri.

Working with the police and inspector on crimes, deducting… Everything seemed so much easier than just talking to her. He really had the urge to hide himself behind stacks of research. No matter how much he wanted to see her in this form and going through all that trouble to persuade Ai into getting another pill. Ah, and that melting of his bones…

And all for what?

So he could just stand in front of the window, stare at her reflection in awe and mumble how much of a coward he was? But he needed to know… He really wanted to ask her something that clearly bothered him so much that it robbed him of his sleep.

"Aaagh!" Frustrated, he ruffled his hair.

Ah, nevermind… As long as she didn't notice him he could just leave and wait for another chance to come. Right? He shrugged and turned before he halted in his steps.

No— that wasn't entirely true. He had to take every chance he got! Not that he feared to develop antibodies against the pills that altered his body to what he was now. And besides… Haibara would, without doubt, rip his head clean from his body if he should waste her work like this—

"Shinichi, how long do you exactly plan on standing there watching me like a pervert?"

Ehh! He had been caught red-handed!

The young detective's face rapidly burst into ten shades of red and he almost didn't dare to look at Ran who was leaning over the windowsill of her room. A slight smirk was displayed on her lips, very similar to the one he himself had plastered on his face when seeing straight through a crime.

"How did you know I was here?" he looked at her confused, raising an eyebrow at the same time he inquired his question.

A soft laughter caught his ears. "From Yukiko! She said you'd come over tonight to keep me company since Dad's out of town."

Shinichi narrowed his eyes. He should've known from the start that telling her about his plan would backfire on him somehow. (That enormously loud cheer that had made him extremely suspicious of his mother. After all she was all into setting Ran and him up.) Originally he had intended on taking Ran out to dinner and talk, what she had been wanting all this time… (At least since he could remember when she repeatedly told his Conan-self.) Instead he had stumbled over his thoughts on the way here and once he caught her eye everything in that moment seemed… silly.

And now what?

Now he was here, unprepared and without a plan to back him up! His mother had ruined it all.

"Well… I, uh—" He rubbed the back of his neck— a nervous habit.

A drop touched the tip of his nose, making him blink in surprise. Wha? A moment ago not a single raincloud was in the sky and now he spotted several after casting a quick glance above the rooftops. The surrounding sound was quickly filled with the constant patter of droplets. And it didn't take too long before he was soaked either. He shuddered when he felt beads of cold water slide down his back.

Oh, just great.

And that Ran was laughing at him didn't make the situation any better. "Well, baka, will you let me in or not?"

She grinned one last time at him before pushing herself away from the window and disappearing. He walked to the entrance of her apartment, patiently waiting for Ran to open the door and let him in the warmth of the house. And it seemed to take forever until she finally did, greeting him with a grin plastered across her sweet face.

"Now move aside, Cheshire Cat. I can't get soaked any more than this," Shinichi grunted, not wanting to admit the fluttering of his heart at that very moment. He walked past her slightly pushing her with his shoulder and making her stumble back a few steps.

"Geez, Shinichi!" Ran frowned, clearly not amused by his actions. What was up with him anyway? First he stalks around the street before her house, as if she hadn't noticed him for the past half hour! She had patiently waited for him to do something, secretly watching him. But he hadn't done anything! And then… when he turned around to leave a streak of panic was set loose within her. She was afraid that he would leave again. …So she had called out to him.

She threw something she had held behind her back into his face. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

It hit his face soft and the moment it met his skin Ran's fingers were there, unwinding the cloth and scrubbing it through his wet strands.

"H-hey, what are you— My hair! Argh, Ran, dammit!" he cursed, pulling at her hands. Did she even know how long it had taken him to get his hair straight?

Ran sighed heavily at his narcissism her eyes rolling at the exact same time. How could one love himself so much? She would never understand that. And yet she did, she noted with a small blush of her cheeks.

"Don't worry, you still look handsome." She mumbled, now clearly dabbing the water droplets from his face. Royal blue eyes widened somewhat at her faint words.

"What was that?"

Clearly embarrassed, Ran squeaked and smacked a handful of cloth in his face. "Nothing!"

He chuckled softly in amusement. He knew what he had heard, he just wanted to make sure he had heard those words correctly. And according to her reaction he did.

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Shinichi?" Oh, how he loved the way his name rolled off her tongue. …Until he saw her suddenly saddened face while he continued to dry his hair, gently folding the strands on the back of his head. Her fingers lingered there for a moment, brushing through them. It sent a tingle through his entire body. And for a moment it felt as if the effect of the pill was fading. But then the sensation vanished as soon as she let her hands drop to her sides.

It had been long.

The last time she had seen Shinichi was… on the Lost Ship. No, that wasn't right! …It was in London. She had screamed at him that he should at least try to deduce what was in her heart and ran away. Which was embarrassing. Later on he said that the heart of a woman whom one likes couldn't be deduced… Another embarrassing part that made her blush every time she thought about it.

And that Lost Ship— Ehh… Well. Just a while back, there had been another incident and she had in fact met Shinichi Kudo, but it hadn't been him at all. The infamous thief Kaitou Kid had disguised himself as the young detective, fooling everyone. Oh, and had she been fooled! She even kissed the guy that pretended to be her secret love. …And that was more than just embarrassing.

She mentally shooed the thoughts from her mind but to no avail.

For days she hadn't been able to look at herself in the mirror, feeling the guilt of betrayal. Now that Shinichi was standing before her she didn't know what to do or say. The last person that had touched her lips were Kaitou…! But she hadn't wanted that. She scowled to herself. She hadn't! And yet she remembered in a daze that she had in fact… enjoyed it. Indeed she still felt the kiss linger on her lips.

How humiliating! What kind of friend was she when she couldn't even tell her childhood friend and love apart from a mere thief?

She threw her hands to her heated cheeks not aware of the confused look Shinichi was giving her. "Ran? Are you alright?" He reached a hand out to her.

"N-no!" she squeaked and backed into the wall. She couldn't help but blabber in a nervous laugh. "Haha, Shinichi! I'm fine, no need to worry!"

"You sure?" He walked up to her tilting his head down so blue eyes met with blue. "Your face is all red," he stated with raised eyebrows.

You're too close, Shinichi. Too close!

Ran's thoughts were tumbling over one another and with his body and gorgeous face so close she wasn't able to pick out one straight thought. For a split second she just stared openly at him, taking in the wet bangs plastered to his brow and forehead and the soaked shirt tightly hugging his torso. She trembled at the feelings building up inside her and didn't know how to deal with them.

Attempting to push him away she laid her hand palms on his damp chest.

"Ran."

His voice was husky, yet had a strong ring to it. She looked at him puzzled when he rested his hand over her own, moving it to the spot above the left side of his chest.

She felt a fast rhythmic beat under her palm and felt her fingertips tingle slightly at the beat. Shinichi's heartbeat… And it was nearly beating as fast as her own…

When she raised her head to look at him she noticed that he was watching her intently. Slowly he lowered his head down to her, closing his eyes in the process.

Was he going to… kiss her?

Her heart skipped a beat. Shinichi…

Eyelids fluttered close and it seemed to take forever when she finally felt the warm puffs of his breath touching her lips. She licked them in anticipation, excited to no end. But then another urgent feeling tugged at her and she opened her eyes just before his lips leaned in to touch hers.

They came in contact with her fingertips and surprised, yet disappointed Shinichi looked at her with openly blue eyes.

"Y-you're…"

Removing her fingers from his lips, she swallowed when the first words came out. She had to know. An awkward silence was pushed between the both of them, clearly unbearable.

"Yes?" His voice sounded strained. After all she had just stopped him from kissing her. It wasn't as if taking that step was hard enough already…

"You're not him, right?" Another swallow. "Kaitou Kid, that is…"

She had to know if it was really him and not… that thief who had wanted to steal her heart.

Closely watching Shinichi's reaction she waited for… something. She wasn't even sure what. Anger, an outburst, jealousy, sadness… But instead she saw a small flicker of emotion and then his face was blank.

Her face fell. Next to him running off without a word of goodbye this was the next worst thing. Not knowing what was going on inside Shinichi Kudo's head. He was usually so carefree around her, but now… She hated it.

"You're kidding," he scoffed. "Me, being Kid? Are you out of your mind?" He gritted his teeth trying his best not to snap at her.

And there it was again, the pure jealousy and anger that boiled within him. With every fiber in his body he just wanted to… rip that damned-to-hell-thief apart. Not because he was an infamous thief and had stolen several of valuable treasures, no. …Well, yes. Indeed, he had. He had stolen something valuable from the very lips of his cherished treasure.

"Shinichi, I-"

"It's that goddamn kiss, isn't it?" He leaned his weight on the wall behind her frowning.

"Well, I… I just want to make sure—" She blinked. "How did you know?"

"I-!" He rolled his eyes. "Does it even matter?" There was a flicker of disappointment and frustration in his eyes that instantly made Ran feel guilty for whatever she had done. Against her will tears sprung to her eyes.

When he saw the tears shimmer in her eyes he mentally smacked himself. This probably wasn't any easier on her than him either. Maybe he shouldn't be too hard on her…

"I told you to wait, right?" Now his voice was soft. And fainted almost into a whisper.

Ran stared. "I… I did wait."

She flung her arms around him and held onto him tightly. Tears rolled down her cheeks, wetting his shirt with new drops. "I promised I'd wait, didn't I?" Shaking she pulled back to look at him with sad blue orbs. "I did and I always will, Shinichi… Because you're just that dear to me."

Sniffling she ran her hand through the side of his bangs. "And all I want is for you… to be you," she said softly. "…And for you to be the last one to touch my lips. Only you."

His cheeks heated up. He didn't know what to say. At least not in this moment. Nothing what he could say would make the moment what it was without destroying it.

Slowly, and what seemed to last an eternity, he titled his head once more and minimized the space between their lips until there was nothing but a soft and warm sensation left behind.

And it was far better than anything else.

…Something they cherished both.