A kiss.

Isn't that all a teenage girl wishes for? To get that one kiss... from that one special guy. Or maybe it's just to find that one special guy in the first place... Either way its a wish that all girls fantasize about.. but for Mouri Ran, her wish wasn't to find the right guy, she had already found him. It wasn't to get that one kiss, well... not as much. What she really wished for.. was for her one guy, to come home. It had been what seemed like months, since she had talked to Shinichi last. For all she knew, it had been that long. Supposedly, his case had gotten a lead and he had no free time. That was, of course, just the news she wanted to hear. Not.

Every call, she would hear the same thing, "I'll be home soon! At least for a little while. I promise." , and every time it seemed that his promises meant less and less. She didn't mean to, but it just felt like her hope that he was going to come back home, was slowly slipping away. She felt like she had been waiting forever.

Ran sat on the couch in the living room of the Mouri Detective Agency. In her hands was a cup of hot cocoa that had long gone cold. Her blue orbs seemed to stare at the couch across from her, but to anyone who took a good look, they could tell her eyes were looking passed the couch and that she was lost in thought. Thats what little Conan Edogawa saw as he stood in the doorway of the living room. His eyes held sadness for knowing that the reason she was so sad and out of it lately, was because of him.. or rather him as Shinichi Kudo. He hated that he had to come up with one lie after another when he would finally make himself call her as Shinichi, hoping that maybe, just maybe, a call from him would help.. even just a little bit.

But it was getting harder, and he could tell she was loosing hope that he would ever return, as Shinichi. He had been asking Ai close to every day now, if she had gotten any closer to coming up with a cure. Each time, she had told him the same sort of thing.. about the fact that science couldn't be rushed, or something like that. Shinichi hadn't really been paying attention because it hadn't been the answer he wanted to hear. He was close to just asking if she could come up with another temporary cure. Anything.. just so he could make Ran happy for a little while.

Finally he walked into the living room further, and to the couch where Ran was sitting. He gave her the usual innocent look as he tilted his head to the side a bit. His eyes widened slightly for a moment as he saw a tear slip down her cheek and yet another pang of guilt hit him in the chest. He shook it off as best he could and returned to his innocent routine.

"Ran-neechan? Are you okay?"

Ran nearly jumped out of her skin at hearing the young, innocent voice. She quickly removed a hand from holding the mug of cocoa and wiped at her eyes, then sitting the mug down on the coffee table in front of her. After doing so, she looked to Conan and forced a smile.

"Conan! Yes.. I'm fine. How about you? What are you doing up so late?"

She looked to the clock, only to find that it was 3 A.M. And then looked back to Conan. He didn't have school tomorrow, but she didn't think it was too good for him to be up so late and get out of a sleeping pattern. Little did she know, Conan was always up later than the 9 o'clock bedtime she set for him. He was usually up reading one book or another, preferably one of his father's.

"I just couldn't sleep I guess."

He said. That was the truth. Tonight, he just hadn't been able to sleep. He had finished the current book he had been reading and needed to pick up a few more from his home to read, or re-read. That he would do later. He smiled to Ran, but was worried. He knew she had been up late quite a bit lately and was worried that she hadn't been sleeping much, if at all. She definitely didn't seem herself. Ran smiled to Conan and placed a hand on his head.

"Are you having nightmares? Or is something on your mind?"

"Ah... uhm... well.."

Conan began. 'If I tell her that she hasn't seemed herself lately... she might just hide it more. Then it'll be harder to help her during the time I can't show up as Shinichi.. rather than Conan..'

"No."

He decided, forcing a smile.

"Its just... you seem tired Ran-neechan! Maybe you should get some rest too.."

Ran smiled softly and weakly.

"I guess you're right Conan."

The boy tilted his head to the side again, hoping that maybe he could get her to talk about what was bothering her a bit, though he was positive he knew what it was. How quickly he could fix it, and for how long, were the million dollar questions.

"Is something on your mind Ran-neechan?"

Ran blinked in surprise but sweatdropped a bit and sighed.

"Am I that obvious Conan? Ah... well..."

"Is it Shinichi again?"

At that, the older girl couldn't help but bush, at least slightly.

"..I guess so. He's just been gone for so long.."

And at saying that, Ran's smile had faded. The sad and distant look that had been upon her features before when Conan had first entered the room, now returned once more. Bringing that look to her features added to Shinichi's guilt yet again. He hated to be the cause of her sadness and pain.

"He'll be back soon!"

Conan chirped.

"Just you wait and see."

He said with a smile. Ran slightly and quietly laughed with a weak smile as she sighed once more.

"Wait... more waiting."

She then shook it off and forced a happier smile, taking Conan's hand.

"We should get you back to bed. Both of us need rest you know!"

She picked up the mug still slightly full of cold cocoa and she dumped it in the sink, filling the cup with water and sitting it in the sink. She then walked up the steps with Conan and tucked him into bed once more. Looking to him as her hand went over the light switch in his room while she stood in the doorway.

"Good night, Conan."

Conan had taken off his glasses and set them beside him as he laid back, pulling the covers to his chin.

"Good night, Ran-neechan.."

Ran then turned off the light and left the room, walking to her own where she sat down on her bed and looked to the picture that sat on her desk of herself and Shinichi when they went to Tropical Land. The look in her eyes saddened and tears slowly began to well up.

'That night... that night I felt that I would never see you again. Now.. every day I have that same fear. The fear that you will disappear from my life... forever.'