Note: Hiya, people! :D It's been a while, ne? I hope you like this little one-shot!
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan, sadly! :(
-.-
Flowers Speak
-.-
"Everlasting friendship."
-.-
The very first flower that Kudo Shinichi has given his childhood friend, Mouri Ran, was a yellow rose.
It was when they were still six years old and one of the guys in their class teased him about Ran being his best friend because he always hung out with her. Shinichi, furious and slightly embarrassed, screamed at him that Ran was nothing to him.
It was the very first time he lied.
He felt so horrible after that; he couldn't sleep at all. He kept thinking, asking himself why he had lied about it. If he wanted to become a detective like his role model, Sherlock Holmes, he would have to be truthful, right?
As he was walking through the park, thinking about it for the umpteenth time, his blue eyes rested on a small garden of yellow roses. One between the whole caught his attention the most—for it had a single drop of dew sparkling brightly at one of its soft petals.
He carefully plucked out the rose, being careful not to let the dew drop slide over, and made his way to the Mouri Detective Agency.
Once he spotted his friend, he presented her the rose, mumbling under his breath something suspicious like best friends forever.
Ran didn't understand, but felt happy all the same as she accepted it.
And she doubted he knew what the flower conveyed.
-.-
"Innocence, purity, faith, cheer, simplicity."
-.-
It was her ninth birthday.
Kudo Shinichi didn't know what to give his best friend at her ninth birthday. When he asked his father, he told him that he could give her a chocolate bar, while his mother argued that maybe he could give her a teddy bear.
None of those seemed appealing to Shinichi.
Ran could get a chocolate bar anytime she wanted, right?
And he knew for a fact that she had at least 2 teddy bears. Besides, she was growing, why would she need a stuffed toy?
Girls are so complex!
But either way, he found himself wandering through the streets, looking at the shops here and there to find a gift for Ran. He stopped when he came in front of a key chain shop. He looked through the display window, seeing the various key chains. One caught his attention.
At the end of it was a red heart dangling from it. It sparkled under the light and Shinichi thought that it would be the perfect gift. He went in and brought it.
But while he was walking home, he paused in front of another shop. Weighing his options and checking his money, he decided that he would bring her some too.
Later that night, when he finally went to visit her, he presented her his wrapped gift plus a small bouquet of daisies.
She blinked up at him, eyes sparkling with happiness and innocence. "For me?"
"Yeah." He could feel his cheeks burning.
Ran took the gifts from him, smelling the daisies deeply. "Why daises, though?" she looked him curiously.
He blushed and scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know. I was just walking and I saw the shop. And while I was just looking at them—I don't know..." he trailed of awkwardly. The truth is that the flowers reminded him of her, but he couldn't tell her that.
Ran smiled warmly at him. "Arigatou, Shinichi."
He grinned back at her with ruby cheeks. "Happy birthday, Ran."
-.-
"Invitation to dance."
-.-
Mouri Ran looked around her, shifting uncomfortably.
Tonight was the night that students said goodbye to their junior high days and welcomed the days of their high school. Junior high prom was excessively packed tonight, Ran reflected, shifting again.
She was so uncomfortable.
She wasn't planning to come over, mind you. But Sonoko insisted that she should.
"It happens once in your lifetime. You can't miss it, Ran!"
And so, here she was, looking around the room filled with 14 to 15 years old adolescences, dancing to the music, laughing at jokes, drinking and eating at the food table, and playing some games to pass the time.
As she scanned the room, she was disappointed when she found out that her best friend wasn't there. Although he promised he would be there, he was late. She sighed, shaking her head.
He must have lost track of time while reading one of his Sherlock Holmes book, or got stuck in a case with the police. Although he wasn't a famous detective yet, as she was sure he would be in the future, no doubt, the police still asked his father to come over and he liked to tag along.
Ran smiled fondly.
Her best friend was such a mystery-otaku.
It was nearing the end of the night, and the DJ was slowing it down a bit.
"Grab a partner for the last dance, guys!"
Couples slowly began filling the dance floor, and Ran watched, smiling small as they began swaying to the gentle music.
"Hey..."
She looked up, startled, just so her eyes would clash with blue ones. They held hers, his lips curling up into a small, affectionate, yet guilty smile.
"Gomen. I lost track of time."
"I know."
She blinked as he held out a hand for her. She looked down, seeing that his fingers were curled around a green stem, the four flowering pink buds sparkling towards her eyes.
Ran racked her mind for a name to the plant. She was sure she read about it—what was its name?
Viscaria.
Ran felt a small blush cover her cheeks as she reached out and took the flower. She looked up at her best friend, seeing his own ruby cheeks, but wide smile as he silently inclined his head to the dance floor.
All she could think about—as she twirled in his arms, and she felt his hand holding hers in a comfortable hold, the flower stem resting between their two palms—was that she must have been looking like an idiot with her huge smile—and that she was never as happy as she was right then.
Of course, his own smile was mirroring hers.
It was the first time they had danced together. And she was happy that he invited her.
-.-
"Refined beauty."
-.-
English class was boring.
Shinichi tried his hardest not to fall asleep. Tried being the keyword! The teacher drowned on and on about something or the other while Shinichi's head popped up and down, his eyes sliding shut.
With a soft thud that was lost to the teacher's loud voice, his head hit the smooth, cool paper of his book. He groaned internally. He already knew all this—thanks to his father—why should he go through all the torture all over again?
He blinked his eyes open lazily, sighing lightly, and traced the page with his hand. He paused as he saw an English word and its meaning in Japanese. His eyes widened considerably, as he sat up straight, staring down at the word with fascination.
Wow...
The bell rang.
"Shinichi."
He blinked up at his childhood friend, his cheeks quickly acquiring a lovely pink blush.
Ran smiled innocently, unaware of his thoughts. "Come on, sleepyhead. Class ended. We need to go home."
"H-Hai."
Quickly gathering his stuff, he slung his black bag over his shoulder and they walked out of the classroom. In no time at all, they were walking through the familiar avenue of Beika, heading towards the agency.
Ran took a deep breath. "Such a beautiful afternoon."
"Ah." Shinichi nodded, giving her a sideway glance.
She smiled at him. "Ne, Shinichi, let's take a walk through the park first; 'tousan is going to be late anyway, so I don't need to make dinner right away!"
"Right now?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Hai. It's such a wonderful day! It'll be a waste not to enjoy it the max!"
Knowing that he won't be able to deny her the request—especially with her looking at him with those huge, beautiful violet eyes—he nodded, grumbling under his breath.
Ran giggled, skipping forward.
When she wasn't looking, Shinichi allowed a fond smile to cross his lips. God, that girl was so—
"Come on, slowpoke!"
"Hai. Hai."
They walked through the path of Beika Central Park, laughing about something Ran said Sonoko was doing in English class. Shinichi's eyes sparkled when he saw that her own face was sparkling brightly in the afternoon sun.
She looked very happy.
Maybe—
"Hey, look!" Ran suddenly exclaimed, excitedly, cutting his train of thoughts. "Orchids!"
And she skipped away, leaving him to stare after her. His mind went back to his English book; his eyes fixed on Ran as she knelt down and smelt the beautiful purple and white flower.
To Shinichi's eyes, she was the most beautiful orchid he had ever seen.
-.-
"I promise."
"Thinking of you."
-.-
It has been six long, agonizing months.
Mouri Ran glanced subconsciously at the lone, empty desk that was at the far end of the classroom and diagonally from hers. Her eyes slowly filled with tears which she stubbornly refused to shed. He has been away for six months with only the occasional phone call every once in a blue moon.
Why was he being such a prat? Couldn't he at least ease her worry by sending a letter if he couldn't call? Couldn't he come home every once in a while so that she could see by herself that he was healthy and well? Why was he torturing her like this? Better yet, why was she torturing herself?
But she couldn't let go—no matter how many times her friends told her, no matter how many times her father hinted it, no matter how many times her mind just screamed for a break, her heart wouldn't let go.
The bell rang loudly.
"Ran!" Suzuki Sonoko grinned, popping out of nowhere in front of her best friend. "Let's go. You don't have karate practice today, right?"
"Iie."
And the two seventeen-years-old set forth towards the agency, chatting nonchalantly about the new guy Sonoko had her eyes on. Ran couldn't help but laugh nervously.
Sonoko already had Matoko-san, so why was she running after other guys? Ran couldn't understand it. Sure, Matoko-san wasn't always there as he had to travel to America to attend the Martial Arts Academy there and all, but Sonoko could at least keep her thoughts on him and him alone, right?
She is not like someone I know, her mind informed her, bitterly.
Finally arriving to the agency, the two girls parted, promising to meet tomorrow again. Ran made her way up the stairs, stopped to greet her father in his office, smiled at Conan-kun and asked him what he wanted to eat for dinner, and proceeded up towards the apartment.
She never noticed the small shadow tailing after her.
When she arrived to her room and set her bag on the desk, she was startled as she turned around and found a beautiful, fresh bouquet of clovers and bell flowers waiting for her. The two flowers complimented each other as Ran took them into her arms, burying her nose in them and smelling their sweet fragrance.
Sighing, she took notice of the small card with the hastily written words on it lost in between the soft petals:
I'll be back soon.
Ran took hold of a clover, smiling as a tear ran down her cheek. "I'll hold you to that promise." She whispered to it.
Behind her, the door closed softly.
-.-
"Eternal love."
-.-
Ran had never been this happy before!
She was over the moon as she strolled down the shore lit with only the moonlight along with Kudo Shinichi. His hand was holding hers comfortingly and the soft waves lapped at their feet playfully. Ran giggled every once in a while.
It seemed like ages ago when they had had their biggest fight in the history of their friendship when the truth about Conan-kun broke out. But now, here they were, laughing and strolling down the beach, hand in hand, allowing the moonlight to bathe them with its soft glow as the salty air brushed past them and teased their hair wildly.
"Come on, here," Shinichi led her towards a more secluded area where he had set a table lit with candlelight and a single red rose in a vase in the middle. Two plates of food were waiting for them.
Ran grinned brightly. "You went all out for this, didn't you?"
"Well, you asked for a romantic dinner, and what is better than for it to be on the beach?"
"I never knew you were such a romantic, Shinichi," she teased, gently.
He blushed and made a mental note to never tell her that he had tips from his mother and her mother. He held out the chair for her and then went to take his own.
Dinner was pleasant as they talked about anything and everything. They laughed as they reminisced the past and gave secret smiles as their hands reached out for the other. Later, when they had long since eaten and gotten full, Shinichi stood up from his seat and took the single red rose into his hand.
Ran watched him curiously as he advanced towards her, holding out the rose. His grinned never flattered, albeit it was a bit nervous. "For you."
"Thank you," her lips curled, cheeks flushing.
Getting the rose into her face level to take a whiff, her violet eyes caught a sparkle embedded in between the soft, red petals. Ran's eyes widened, her breathing catching in her chest as she stared at the beautifully cut diamond ring resting between the petals.
She looked up at Shinichi, who was watching her with the utmost expression of adoration and hope.
"Marry me, Ran," he declared softly.
The moon, the stars, the flicker of the candlelight, and the soft, harmonious sounds of the waves were the only witnesses as Mouri Ran nodded her head, and launched herself into his embrace. They were the only witnesses as Shinichi slipped the ring into her fourth finger and sealed the promise with a tender kiss.
-.-
"Thankfulness."
-.-
The silent room was bathed in the golden rays of the morning sun as Kudo Shinichi slowly eased the door open and entered noiselessly as to not disturb the occupants of the room. His wife, Kudo Ran, looked up at him as he entered, smiling serenely.
"Hey," she whispered.
"Hi," he whispered back, moving over and sitting on the chair beside her bed, resting the light burden in his arms across his lap.
She looked down at the blue bundle resting against her bosom before extending it out to Shinichi. "Hold him."
Gulping silently, he rested the bouquet of agrimonies in her lap before allowing her to place the small bundle inside the protective ring of his arms. Shinichi felt his heart hammering in his chest as he gazed down into the small, soft face. His son's eyes opened wide and stared directly at him.
Shinichi smiled. "He has your eyes."
"I'm sure he'll grow up to have his father's intelligence, though," Ran replied, hugging the roses into her chest. "They are beautiful, love. Thank you."
Looking up from the little miracle in his arms, Shinichi gazed at Ran, shaking his head slowly. "No, Ran. Thank you. For being my best friend. For staying with me. For waiting for me. For saying yes that night. For our son."
A tear broke free from the dam he was holding tight and brushed down his cheek. "Just thank you, Ran. For everything."
Ran, crying in earnest, reached out and laid a hand on his cheek, wiping his tear away. "I love you."
"I love you, too." he whispered, leaning over and capturing her lips in a sweet kiss that conveyed his feelings.
The agrimonies brushed against the white stain of the hospital bed and sat innocently, the petals sparkling brightly under the thin rays of the sun that penetrated the glass.
The End!
Note: So, what do you think? Your opinion matters the most! :D
Until next time!
Take care!