They Don't Know
AN: This idea wouldn't let me sleep, so I had to write it down. They say that some of the best fanfic's come in the very early morning. We'll see if they're right. (It's 2:15 am!)
Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan or the song.
You've been around for such a long time now,
Oh baby, I could leave you, but I don't know how.
Ran stared out the window, her thoughts returning to the man she loved. Every night, she sat here and cried, thinking of the times that had past them by. Oh, Shinichi, she thought, where are you? Why haven't you come back? I don't know if I can take much more of this.
And why should I be lonely every night,
When I could be with you, oh yes, you make it right.
"Ran-neechan?" Conan's voice came from her doorway. "You alright?"
Ran quickly wiped away her tears. She didn't need to show her pain to the eight-year-old boy.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she lied.
Conan walked into the room and propped himself up on to her bed, sitting himself next to her. "No you're not," he told her, like he knew she was lying. "You've been this way every night."
Ran put on a fake smile. "I just can't fool you, can I?"
Conan put on a big grin. "Nope!" His face then softened, and turned somewhat deeper. "It's Shinichi-niichan, isn't it?" he halfway asked, halfway told her.
Ran turned back to the window. "I miss him a lot, Conan-kun. It's just, he's never there for me when I need him."
Conan cringed I'm sorry Ran, he silently told her. I can't tell you, it's too dangerous. It would be better if you lost your feelings toward me, even though I'd die if you did.
"Why don't you go out with another guy like everyone tells you to?" Conan asked.
And I don't listen to the guys, who say,
That you're bad for me and I should turn you away.
Ran shook her head. "I can't do that Conan-kun. I love him too much. Even though he's still a mystery loving, crime solving baka, I love him with all of my heart. I just can't help but wonder, though, that maybe the reason he disappeared is that he doesn't care about me anymore."
"NO!" Conan's sudden outburst startled her. "Shinichi-niichan still loves you. He's told me."
Ran smiled for real and hugged Conan. "Why do you always make me feel better?"
"Because I'm your younger brother," Conan happily answered in her arms, hugging her back.
'Cause they don't know 'bout us,
And they've never heard of love.
Ran felt strangely comforted, knowing that Conan, at least, would be there for her.
"You feel better now?" Conan asked from where he laid buried in her arms.
"Yeah, thanks a lot Conan-kun," she told him as released her hold on him. "Now, it's time for bed. Come on, I'll walk you back to your room." Ran stuck out her hand, but Conan jumped off of the bed instead.
"I can go back on my own, Ran-neechan. You need to sleep," he told her. Conan then turned around and walked out of her room, shutting the door.
I get a feeling when I look at you,
Wherever you go now, I wanna be there too.
Ran watched the retreating form of the young boy that she'd taken into her house and family. Her brain once again started comparing the similarities between Conan and Shinichi. They seemed so much alike, one could almost think that they were the same. It was a little funny, the night that Shinichi had disappeared, Conan had first come into her life.
Ran knew that when Shinichi came back, she wanted to be with him. What surprised her, though, was the fact that she wanted to be with Conan as well. It was almost like someone had sent Conan to her to replace Shinichi while he was gone.
Almost every time that one of them was with her, the other wasn't. I've already had these thoughts disproved more times than I care to count! Ran told herself, shaking her head vigorously. And not just once, but many times. Conan and Shinichi aren't the same person. After all, how can a person shrink back ten years in age?
They say we're crazy, but I just don't care,
And if they keep on talking, still they get no where.
"Ran?" The sound of her dad's voice echoed in her quiet room. "You still awake?"
Ran looked at her door and saw Kogoro sticking his head inside. "Yeah, dad. Just thinking, that's all."
"It that darn Kudo boy, isn't it?" Her dad started his usual ranting and raving on Shinichi. "You should dump him and go for someone that will be there for you. It's crazy to hold out for someone who isn't coming back. He never was good for you anyhow."
Ran felt her anger start to bubble inside of her. "Dad, I don't care what you say. I'm waiting for Shinichi even if I have to wait until I die."
"But Ran, why are you hurting yourself? If that brat cared about you, then he'd be here for you, not off on some case."
So I don't run and they don't understand,
When I look at you and you hold my hand.
Her dad's words hit home, startling her. But then, thankfully, Ran's brain kicked back in and provided some ammo. "He's out there saving lives! I'd rather wait for him than to have someone die because he didn't put a murderer behind bars in time."
She got up and walked over to her dad. "Now, if there's anything else you want to say..." she let the threat hang as she clenched a fist.
Kogoro, though stupid at times, was not an idiot. He knew what he daughter meant, and he frankly didn't want to meet her karate in action. "Fine, but when he comes back, he and I are going to have a long talk." He backed out of the doorway, heading for bed.
Ran shut her door and also headed back to her bed. Instead of sleeping, her mind returned to the day that Shinichi had disappeared. Mostly to what she'd felt that day when he'd been holding her hand. She couldn't have explained it then, but that night she'd hit it right on the head.
'I love Shinichi!' she had told Conan when she was walking him to her house, after she'd first met him.
'Cause they don't know 'bout us,
And they've never heard of love.
It was true. Even though her friends didn't agree with the fact that she was head over heels for him, she loved him with every fiber of her body. There was nothing that anyone could do to break them apart. Oh sure, everyone had tried when it came apparent that Shinichi couldn't be found quickly. Many thought that he was running off after some other girl. What if that's what he's doing? Ran questioned. She quickly shook her head. You know better than that! He's never done that and he never will. You should know him. You claim to be his childhood friend, she told herself.
Why should it matter to us, if they don't know you?
We should just take your chances while we've got nothing to loose.
It never bothered her before what people thought of them together. Growing up together, they'd been very close. During their junior high school days, they'd even been teased about going out. It never seemed to bother him, and so she never let it bother her. It had taken her the better part of high school to even realize that Shinichi was different than other guys. There was something different that made him more fun to be around than even other girls. She realized that this was what had brought her close to Shinichi. It wasn't that she liked what he did, but who he was.
There's no need for living in the past,
Now I've found good loving, I'm gonna make it last.
Still, Shinichi wasn't here right now, and she was living too much in her dreams. Everyone, when mentioning him around her, commented that she seemed to live in two worlds. The one of reality and the one of her dreams. She couldn't bring that Shinichi out, so she had to wait for her Shinichi to return to her. Funny, she thought, since when was he my Shinichi?
Another part of Ran's brain answered her. Since you realized that you loved him.
When Shinichi returns, I'm gonna chain him to my side, Ran firmly decided that night. This way, he can't go and disappear on me again. I want to be with him now!
The more rational side to her decided to disagree. What about the others? What will they think about you locking Shinichi to you for good?
Tell the others don't bother me.
'Cause when they look at you, they don't see what I see.
She'd tried for ages to get Sonoko to stop trying to play matchmaker, but to no avail. Everything she tried, everything she told Sonoko, she'd just say 'It's because you think that you still like Shinichi-kun.' Ran had eventually given up on trying to pursuade Sonoko otherwise and just didn't show up at the prearranged appointments because she mysteriously fell ill that day or had to take care of Conan or forgot or just couldn't get her dad to let her go.
All of them were excuses, Ran knew, but she couldn't come up with any other way that Sonoko would stop trying to find another guy to replace Shinichi.
No I don' listen to their wasted line,
But with my eyes wide open, I can see the signs.
No, she thought, I really don't care what others think. They can call us anything they want, but when I see him, I know that we were meant to be together.
Some people may call it fool hardy dedication, but to those in love's grasp, there was no greater show of affection. There was no greater reason to stay with the one they loved. There was no better purpose to serve than to liven the other's day just by simply being there for them.
THAT is why I'll stay true to him. That is why I love Shinichi, Ran told herself.
'Cause they don't know 'bout us,
And they've never heard of love.
And love she did. There was no one else that invoked such a passion in her. Not even her own parents. It was a burning passion that threatened to consume her whole being every time that she saw him. It was this passion that held her true to him. It was this passion that made her cry at night when he wasn't there. It was this passion that allowed her to not even look at the other guys that Sonoko was trying to hook her up with.
Ran smiled contently as her brain drifted off to more joyful thoughts and she fell asleep, hugging her pillow.
No I don' listen to their wasted line,
But with my eyes wide open, I can see the signs.
Conan sat in the darkness, his thoughts drifting back to Ran again. He knew that he couldn't tell her who he really is, but right now, he didn't care about that. Instead, his mind was working on an idea of how to let Ran know his true feelings, using his normal voice. He didn't want to tell her through Conan. No, he wanted to hold her in his arms, look into her eyes and tell her to her face.
But, it seemed that this would not be granted to him. He knew how he felt before that fateful night that he'd been shrunk. That fateful night that Conan had been 'born'. The same night that, unknowingly, Ran had told him exactly how she felt about him. Now, many months down the road, he could see how deep that love ran. Ran was willing to wait forever, just to be with him.
I don't deserve this dedication, Conan told himself many times over the past months. Not after lying to her so much. Even if it is just to save her.
'Cause they don't know 'bout us,
And they've never heard of love.
Love, does anyone know what that truly means? Conan wondered. He wasn't for sure, but he knew that he wanted to find out. Keep holding on to your hope, Ran. I'm doing everything I can to come back to you. When I do, I won't ever leave your side again. I promise.
AN: Whew, finished! (It's now 3:47 am!) Please review. This is my first try at a song fic, so let me know what you think. The song is "They Don't Know" by Tracey Ullman. Great song, if you haven't heard it.