Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan. It owns me. Really,it's true. :)

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Nighttime. The time that Edogawa Conan-no, Kudo Shinichi, hated the most. It wasn't that he was afraid of the dark,or the monsters in the closet,or anything else that someone of his apparent age would be frightened of. In reality it was a much simpler explanation. At night, he could hear her crying. Now,despite what people may think, Shinichi wasn't arrogant enough to think the whole world revolved around him. (Though his time as Conan has taught him that he could use some lessons in humility from time to time.) But he knew,without a shadow of a doubt,that every tear that was currently falling down the beautiful face of one Mouri Ran,every sigh,was because of him. And it wasn't because he was a detective. And,God- did it ever hurt to hear her crying.

He also knew,thanks to Ran telling Conan everything,that Ran believed her crying,her suffering,was worth it. That all her waiting,and by God she would wait as long as there was time itself left in this world,was worth it. That thought sent both shivers of pleasure and pain right down Shinichi's spine. Because,and he couldn't tell Ran this even as much as he wanted to...he was waiting too. Yes,he got to be with her everyday. Maybe not as Shinichi,but he was near her. But what he was waiting for,and Ran too,went far beyond a physical presence. He was waiting for the day when he could break free of this mask,drop the web of lies that he had so expertly created,and just be Shinichi again. To be able to just talk to Ran again like they used to,without the veil of childhood or a telephone, in between them.

He was waiting for the day when he could take Ran into his arms and confess the feelings he had hidden for so long in his heart and were dying to jump off his lips. He knew,knew painfully,that Ran was waiting for Shinichi to come home. And,because he was Conan,he knew how she felt about him. But he was waiting too. And someday,which he looked forward to with such a passion he couldn't breathe sometimes,they could stop waiting.

Because they would be together.

A/N: So this was just a small drabble that hit me as I was crawling into bed one night. Cliche and short I know,but review please,won't you?