Title: From Where We Left Off

Author: Jaroslav Lewis

Fandom: Detective Conan

Pairing: ShinRan

Summary: They were finally together but he still hesitates and she wonders why.

Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan and any of Gosho Aoyama's characters. I simply borrow them when I'm bored.

She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes as she inhaled his familiar scent. They were both silent. All she could hear was his heavy intake of breath as he stiffened under her simple gesture of scooching closer to him. She wondered if he felt uncomfortable, if he had a bruise on his shoulder she forgot about and at that moment she could've been hurting him with the pressure and weight she put on, after all it had only been a few weeks since he came back for good, a few weeks since the final take down of the syndicate, a few weeks' worth of recovery. He still had some bandages and visible signs of injury but the doctor said that he was well enough to come back to school.

And so there they were, slumped on the floor of the Kudo Residence study (because this way they could work closer together), working on months' worth of school work and lessons that Shinichi had missed during his absence. Ran being such the sweet peach of a childhood friend, now girlfriend is there to help him catch up with everything he missed.

Ran knows very well that Shinichi is more than capable with the academics but she knew with everything that had just happened she couldn't just let him go through it alone. It was months' worth of school work but more than anything else, she just couldn't let him go through with it again.-Being alone when things are going downhill. She's not gonna make the same mistake again.

For a moment they decided to take a little break from their study session and so there they were in that position, Ran brain-drained and Shinichi as well. Ran with her head on Shinichi's shoulder because she felt a little dizzy reading all those books with him and Shinichi? He remained unusually silent for a pretty long time. It was starting to feel deafening on Ran's part. The Shinichi that Ran knew would be blabbering non-stop about Sherlock Holmes no matter how much he had on his plate. But this time, he just sat there next to her, stiffening under her slightest bit of touch making her wonder whether or not she should remain or pull away.

Ran decided, maybe it was too much. Yes, they have been dating but maybe this was taking too much of his personal space. So, she decided to pull away but as soon as Shinichi felt the weight of her head leave his right shoulder, he lifted his right forearm just so he could use his right hand to touch her cheek and make her lean on him for as long as she wants. Ran's face heated under his touch.

"Just stay. This feels nice…" He said, finally breaking the silence between them. Unbeknownst to Ran, a faint blush had already spread across his cheeks.

"Really? I thought I was making you uncomfortable. " She spoke with relief.

"Barou." He teased with a half-hearted chuckle. "What made you think so?"

"Well you are awfully quiet." She answered honestly. Truth be told, for the past few weeks since he came back, Shinichi had been more quiet and aloof around her, almost borderline indifferent. Of course Ran understood after what he went through it must've been difficult for him to go back to the way it was. He was still recovering after all. But it irked her to know what's going through his mind. It was difficult for her to tell. After all, she was no detective.

"I'm just tired." He shrugged.

"You've been very quiet since you came back…" She pointed out, worriedly. "Come on, Shinichi. What's wrong?"

This time, Ran pulled away so she can look up at him. Shinichi in turn tried to avoid her gaze, getting all fidgety with the thought of her face being so close to him.

Shinichi didn't expect to be suddenly put to the hot seat but he knew Ran would have some questions. He was acting very weird lately. But who wouldn't just right after all that had happened? Taking down a syndicate at the mere age of 17 and then coming back alive to live a normal life once again. All he wanted was for everything to go back to how it was and he never really knew how difficult it had to be until now.

On top of that, he still can't put his finger on how Ran, despite everything that had happened, is still by his side and making things easy for him. How could she forgive him after all those lies?

When the truth about Conan was revealed, Shinichi was afraid Ran would break up with him. But (thank God) she didn't. Much to his surprise, she took it rather well and more calmly than he expected. She shed a few tears but that was it. No Karate punches were thrown at his face. But despite that, Shinichi felt no relief. Instead, he felt guiltier and in some weird kind of way, he felt that he could only be rid of such guilt if Ran did scream at him and beat him to a pulp. He felt like he deserved it after all, he made her wait and worry for so long. All the lies he told her, all the dark secrets he held from her and even endangering her life at the end of the long battle. It was too much. He didn't deserve her kindness and acceptance. But it is what she gave him anyway.

"Well, I've been thinking…" He began, mustering all the courage to tell her what he had been thinking for the past few weeks. "You and I never really talked about the incident…"

Ran cocked her head to the side and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"What do you mean? "She asked, confused.

Shinichi shifted his position so he could face her this time. He held her hands, steadying his own shaking ones. He let out a deep breath, to calm himself.

"You never really told me how you felt about me, how you felt about what happened…" He said looking into her amethyst orbs. Ran's expression softened as she gazed back into his sapphires. She took time to ponder at how different this Shinichi was before her. He looked more vulnerable and more insecure. She figured it was unlikely of him but she felt that it was nice that he was letting her see such parts of him, more imperfect, more human…

"Well, for starters… I didn't break up with you…" She told him, giggling as she used her forefinger and her thumb to cup his chin and lift his head up. "Shouldn't that give you all the information that you need? You're supposed to be the detective here, dummy."

"Yeah, but that doesn't really tell me much…" Shinichi retorted almost whining in frustration. Ran couldn't help but smile at how strangely cute he was when he pouted and looked so confused but then his expression changed, his eyes were sad and down cast. Ran felt a pang in her chest. "I hurt you. I lied to you even if I've always fought for the truth, all these years…"

It was Ran's time to be silent. She hadn't really thought about it that much and now, she wondered why and it struck her. Perhaps she was avoiding talking about it as well. But she figured, what else was there to talk about? And where should they even begin?

"Shinichi, you told me… You did it to protect me right?" She asked, leaning closer to him as she moved her hands to his shoulders. He lifted his head to look at her with sincere eyes and he nodded, unable to speak.

"Well, then what else is there to talk about?" She told him with a soft smile that made Shinichi's heart hurt. It broke his heart at how so kind and pure she was and it hit him how perfectly fitting it was for Vermouth to even call her Angel.

"But…How can you trust me?" He asked, still unsure. "Aren't you supposed to hate me?"

"Because I know that you mean it." She said. "Shinichi, we've known each other since we were kids. Everything you did was always for the best intention of others. Give yourself enough credit… I have to admit; I was hurt because I was worried about you. But in the end I just couldn't be mad at you…"

Shinichi opened his mouth to reply but he struggled to find the right words as it seemed to have slipped away from him. So instead he lifted his hand to touch her face and brush her stray hair to have a clear view of how beautiful she looked. He had always thought she did but this time she looked even more beautiful than she ever was…

His heart raced and his mind hurt trying to look for reason. It was hard to figure out how someone like her could still go on loving him, tirelessly. But his heart told him it felt right that maybe this time, things didn't need to be complicated like the cases he solved. That this time, no matter how unreasonable things seemed he should just go on without giving it further thought.

"So… What happens now, Shinichi?" Ran asked, worried about his silence, wondering about what he had to say because he seemed to be thinking about something. Shinichi started to smile and her heart leaped from her chest.

"I honestly don't know… I wanted to say, that I want for us to start over again…" He replied, stroking her hair gently. "But I honestly don't know where to begin… So much time has passed. So many opportunities wasted…"

"Well… Maybe we don't have to start over again…" She suggested, leaning closer to him. As she wrapped her arms around his neck, unable to stand the distance between them even if they were already so close to each other. "Maybe we should just pick up from where we left off…Well, what do you think?"

"I think… I'm uncertain about a lot of things… But I do know that I love you Ran…" He said, catching his breath as he pondered on how close she was and how much closer he was leaning towards her. "And I badly want to make it up to you for all those moments we lost…"

"Well good, 'cause you better…" She warned, her ears ringing as her heart beat rapidly in her chest, a surge of emotions running through her, making her breathless as she felt his breath on her face. She couldn't help but eye at his lips which were only a few inches away from hers.

"And, I love you too, Shinichi…" She added, whispering and it was the last thing she could say before he closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against hers in what started out a soft kiss until he tilted his head and lightly brushed his tongue against her lower lip, hoping to taste more of her. Ran quickly responded to grant him access, marveled by his newfound boldness. She also took notice of how he tasted of peppermint.

Soon all hesitation from both of them were lost in the heat of the moment, the excitement of exploration that took over them. Before they knew it, all homework and readings were left on the floor, almost forgotten as Ran laid, sprawled against the pool of papers with Shinichi on top of her, slowly pulling away from such an intense kiss he never thought he'd finally be sharing with her…

AN: I had this idea after the Kyoto Arc Kiss. Ever since that arc I've just started to wonder how Shinichi and Ran would be taking their relationship to the next level. I just felt that development, you know. They were less hesitant to move forward and I've started to actually think that once everything falls into place Shinichi and Ran would totally be taking the plunge. However, I also wondered how the Black Org take down would affect their relationship and I wanted to explore that, especially Shinichi's feelings after lying to his girlfriend. So this is what I came up with. Back in the day, I imagined an overly dramatic confrontation with Ran, a lot of crying and all that shit but IDK. I just felt like writing Ran in this approach. IDK if it was OOC for you guys but honestly, I think as the series developed, Ran's becoming more and more mature and I honestly think that she would bear no grudge against Shinichi after learning about the truth. Ran's just that kind and understanding and she knows him all too well to even think that he'd betray her or hurt her on purpose. So this is what I came up with…

~J