-1Title: Night Stalker

Spotlight On: Conan/Shinichi

Word Count: 609

Summary: Shinichi, still trapped in his grade school body, watches Ran sleep. Mulling over desperate fantasies he's knows won't come true, the detective wonders if he truly qualifies as a stalker now.

"Mm…" she muttered incoherently, turning over in her sleep.

I smiled softly, sitting by her door in the hallway. Adjusting my glasses, which I'd begun to wear out of habit, I cautiously peeked in.

The moonlight streamed in through the open window, gently banishing the shadows to tenderly highlight her hair splayed across the pillow like a fan. Captivated by that angel's face, I openly stared at her still form.

'If only I were those sheets…' I thought wistfully.

Startled by a sudden movement, I quickly ducked back behind my shield, cheeks still burning a bright red from earlier musings.

"Shinichi." My name was clearly pronounced by her lips, and I bit mine.

'Ran…'

Desperately, I tried to resist the urge to dash in screaming, "I'm here, Ran! Over here! It's me, Shinichi!"

Relishing in my fantasy of telling Ran everything and the two of us successfully wiping the Black Organization off the face of the earth, I knocked my head against the door to shake out those thoughts.

'It's too dangerous,' I told myself sternly.

With a small sigh, I turned back to continue staring at the sleeping Ran.

Uncomfortably, I shifted, realizing if she woke up, I would appear extremely stalker-ish. 'Or if Kogoro caught me,' I nervously shuddered, grasping the idea that I actually was a stalker.

Still, I couldn't help it. After all, I couldn't gawk at Ran while she was awake!

A part of me wished she would wake up, though. That she would instinctively know who I was…that she would tear off my glasses and cry my name…maybe kiss me.

I smacked myself, cursing my wandering mind.

"What did you do that for?"

At the speed of light, I spun to gaze with wide eyes at a barely awake Ran.

"Sh-"

'Shinichi! Shinichi!' I prayed.

"Shh…I'm trying to sleep, Conan," she grumbled, but not unkindly. No, Ran was the epitaph of kindness…unless you made her mad.

"Conan" finally registered in my brain.

'She still thinks…'

Despondent, I sighed, "Sorry. I'll leave."

"OH!" she exclaimed, sitting abruptly upright.

Foolishly clinging to my last shred of hope, I mentally willed for something more than "Shh…" to be said.

Of course, that didn't happen.

"Unless you had a nightmare?" Worried, she looked at me questioningly.

'A waking one,' I said in my head miserably. Outwardly, however, I pasted a cheesy smile on my face and chirped, "Nope! I just couldn't sleep!"

"Ok then," Ran sighed, obviously relieved and too exhausted to ask "So you came to watch me sleep?".

"Night," I whispered so she wouldn't hear, closing her door as I exited. I didn't want to have to suffer through "Good night, Conan." Even the thought of having to listen to that pseudonym be said by Ran instead of my name made me clutch my aching heart begging to burst out of my chest.

Bitterly, I wished it would. Maybe it would end this pain.

'Please, any god that exists, smite the Black Organization! Send them to hell!' I begged. 'I want Ran to call me, to my face, Shinichi! The phone calls just aren't enough anymore!'

Softly closing my door even though I sighed to slam it in frustration, I added as I climbed back into bed, 'I want Ran to finally tell me "I love you."!'

But next morning's news said nothing about a mysterious organization being arrested/blown up/disappearing off the face of the earth. Ran still said, "Good morning, Conan!" not "Shinichi, I desperately need you! Let's go get eloped!".

…However, the possibility of that happening even if she did know that I was Shinichi was extremely slim.

I cursed the gods anyway.