Hey I wrote this story a while ago and I've finally gotten around to typing it up. I hope you enjoy this and I welcome constructive criticism. Also I apologize if the characters seem OOC. I tried my best. Disclaimer: All characters belong to Gosho Aoyama. Don't sue me please for using them.

Chapter 1: Those Who Comfort

Everything started with a phone call. Hattori had come to visit Conan and they had gone out to try a new restaurant. Of course being two body magnets it wasn't long before they had run into a case. As they finished the case, Shinichi's phone had rung. Leaving Hattori to talk to the police he went off to a quiet area nearby. Pulling out his bowtie he adjusted the settings before answering.

"Hey Ran! What's up?" Conan noticed something had been bothering her recently. Hopefully she was willing to discuss it with Shinichi since she always changed the subject if he brought it up as Conan.

"Shinichi there's something I need to tell you." Her voice was quiet and subdued. It almost like she was afraid.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt? Where are you?"

He heard a sigh on the other end. "I'm dating Eisuke."

Conan blinked. "What?"

"I'm sure Conan already told you about Hondou Eisuke," she sounded exasperated, "and I enjoyed hanging out with him. I decided to ask him out about and week and a half ago and he said yes. I just can't keep waiting for you. I've waited long enough and I decided it's time for me to move on." She paused as she waited for his reaction. "I still want you to come home. I still consider you one of my best friends. It's just…I want someone who's actually around. Shinichi?"

Conan held himself back from doing what he wanted to do which happened to be begging her to reconsider but that wasn't fair to her and it wouldn't help him any. He'd pushed her too far and maybe it was for the best that they stay friends. That didn't stop him from wanting to scream at the moment. He needed to ask one vital question before he fully accepted her decision.

"Does he make you happy?"

"Yes. He's very kind and he treats me like I'm the most important person in the world. He's sweet and fun if a bit clumsy. I think I could easily fall in love with him."

Conan heard the giddiness in her voice and he let out a breath. Eisuke beat him. He had won Ran's heart and as long as she was happy then Conan could live with her decision. It would be painful to see them together and her conversations with Shinichi might be a little strained but he didn't want to lose her completely. So he would bow out gracefully.

"If he ever hurts you say the word and I can make sure no one ever finds the body." He was half-joking.

One of the drawbacks of having been friends for so long was that she could tell that he wasn't showing all of his feelings on the matter. She always could read him almost better than anyone. His parents and Hattori might be the best.

"I'm sorry. I just slowly started to realize that I had a crush on him. I still care about you a lot Shinichi and no one can ever replace you."

A pained smile crossed his face. He could see Hattori heading over. "I know and you have nothing to be sorry for Ran. In fact I should be sorry for making you wait for so long. Look I have to go now but I promise to call again soon."

Her response was unsure but the relief was unmistakable. "Alright then I'll talk to you later. Take care of yourself Shinichi. Bye."

He hung up the phone without responding. No matter how brave he sounded on the phone, as soon as the conversation was over he felt a piercing pain in his chest. As Hattori approached Conan hid his eyes behind his bangs.

"Hey Kudo was that nee-chan? What did she want?"

"She stopped waiting for me." The words were whispered.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you what with you being so small now. Speak up." Heiji was grinning. Every now and then he just had to tease the twerp. Then Conan glanced up at him and all the air seemed to rush out of his lungs as he was physically hit. The raw pain in the teenager turned child's eyes was overwhelming and Heiji felt like it might drown him.

"What happened?!" Heiji hadn't told anyone but he'd realized a while ago that he was in love with the shrunken detective. He would do anything to keep bring a smile back to his male best friend's face.

"Ran called to say that she and Eisuke are dating now."

"Bastard! Let's find him and kick his ass for even going after Ran. That fucktard knows about what happened to you correct? How dare he do this to you! I'll teach him a lesson for stealing the girl from someone he calls a friend."

"It's fine."

"Of course it's not fine. We need to locate him a make sure he understands that…"

"STOP!" Conan was panting as he tried to keep control of himself. "It doesn't matter. She chose him. She made it clear that she wouldn't wait for me anymore. I can't really blame her either." That last part was spoken quietly with a bitter edge. "Why would she wait for me anyways? She doesn't need me and I would only bring trouble to her. I have to face the fact that I can never make her truly happy. I'm probably better off staying as Conan since everybody's moved on with their lives. Shinichi is quickly fading from their minds as my house becomes known as a haunted house. We're still far from bringing down the organization and I doubt I'll ever get my body back anyways. Maybe it would be better for everyone if I just move to America with my parents and start over. I should just let go of Shinichi." He went quiet.

Heiji had listened with horror, realizing that his friend was serious. He was actually considering living as Edogawa Conan in America. He watched the teenager stare at the ground, the weight of the world having finally crushed the little sleuth's spirit. Slowly Heiji crouched down to be level with the top of the boy's head. Reaching out he gently brushed through the other's bangs before grabbing them and forcing his head up. He wanted Conan to face him eye to eye. The child in front of him, for that's what he truly was right now was a lost child in a big world, offered no resistance to the move. His eyes were glassed over and Heiji got the feeling that Conan wasn't seeing him right now. Well then Heiji would change that.

"Listen to me Kudo and really listen or I might have to hit you to knock some sense into you. Just because people have moved on with their lives doesn't mean they don't miss having you there with them. Everyone you know cares about you and wants you to come back even if they don't say as much. Did Ran say she never wanted to see you again?" This was a gamble but Heiji felt that Ran still wanted her childhood friend back even if she was fed up with waiting for the teen to ask her out. If not Heiji was ready to storm over and slap the stupid out of her.

"She wants me to come home because she still misses me. I also promised I would call her soon and she seemed relieved." Heiji cheered on the inside when he noticed life coming back into Conan's eyes. He smiled gently at the boy.

"Like I said, people still care. The world may not revolve around you but people notice when you aren't there. Besides," here Heiji paused but decided to continue, "I would miss you if you stayed as Conan."

Now Conan looked like a teacher having to explain a simple problem for the third time to a student who refused to pay attention. "Idiot, you know I'm really Shinichi so even if I stay this way we would still be friends. It's not like I would never speak to you again."

"No it wouldn't be the same." Heiji took note of the condescending look Conan was giving him and resolved himself. It was bound to come out eventually and it might help Shinichi even if just a little. Or it could forever wreck their friendship. Heiji steeled himself before staring directly into the detective's eyes. He then proceeded to blurt out what he thought he would never reveal. "I'm in love with you!" It didn't fully explain his reasons but he felt like his point across. Eyes widening, confusion clouded the boy's face causing his nose to scrunch up as he tried to process and decipher Heiji's words. Heiji would have found it adorable if he wasn't terrified of how the other detective would respond. He wanted to explain himself first. "The first time I heard of you was working on that case in the mountains. Some teenage brat kept beating me to all the clues and evidence and it annoyed me as much as it made me curious. When we crossed paths I decided you would be my rival. Later I started to hear about you exploits and how everyone compared us. Suddenly, you disappeared from the media and I grew worried. What was I to do without my rival? So I decided to investigate and came to the conclusion that you were nearby watching Ran but I couldn't understand why. Why hide? Then during the diplomat's murder case I thought I had you beat when you showed up and flipped everything around. I was amazed but something was wrong. You didn't appear to be fine and then you disappeared again. I was left with so many questions. You showed up and revealed the truth to a case I thought I'd solved and in turn opened my eyes to how much more growth I required if I wanted to call myself a detective. I focused so much on 'Shinichi' that I disregarded 'Conan' entirely. Another mistake. The Holmes tour seemed the perfect opportunity to meet with you again. Unfortunately, while Ran arrived you weren't with her. I hoped that you were waiting to show up last minute like before. A case popped up and I pushed you to the back of my mind so that I could focus on it. Maybe that's why I was able to notice Conan. Instead of the case I found myself focusing on the little boy who kept getting underfoot and acting like a professional. You were hiding something and I wanted to uncover the truth. Everything fit together when I woke up to myself solving the case without having spoken a word." Amusement colored Heiji's tone. "Your accent might have been terrible but the way you solved the case was reminiscent of a certain teenage detective who I met not long ago. I chose to confront you Kudo and found I had been right. I almost didn't believe you but the proof was before my eyes. It terrified me but I understood that you craved help and a friend even if you wouldn't admit it so I promised myself that I would do whatever I could. As we met more and more, solving cases left and right, we became close friends and I realized I was falling for you. Your strength and determination was stunning and you were strong in your beliefs. I also admired your intelligence but as I learned more about you it became easier to read you. I became amazed. You're much stronger than even I realized. You were suffering every day but you never stopped moving forward. There were moments you were overwhelmed but those around you helped you back up onto your feet. Self-sacrificing and kind, you took too much of the burden onto yourself so that others wouldn't suffer but you always moved forward. It was painful to watch but I was proud of you. You're an amazing human being and I've never known anyone similar to you. It wasn't much of a shock to find myself madly in love with you."

Conan quietly listened to everything Hattori had to say, letting the detective speak his mind. He didn't know what to think. Hattori was in love with him and it sounded like he's known for some time. How did Conan miss this? He watched as Hattori's eyes glazed over in memories. The proper teen's face fucking glowed as he talked about Shinichi, the object of his affection, and he had no doubt the Osakan detective had fallen in love with him. Conan felt himself blushing when Hattori confessed the second time.

Heiji noticed Conan's blush and moved before he really understood what he was doing. Leaning forward, Heiji lightly pressed his lips to the boy's forehead. Once his brain caught up with his body he quickly pulled away. "Sorry it's just your blush was so cute and I wanted to kiss you but it would leave a bad feeling to kiss a child, not to mention how others would view it, so I…yea, sorry." Heiji scratched his cheek with his free hand, a nervous tick, as a light blush stained his tan cheeks.

Conan's face burned as he tried not to put too much thought into what just happened. Opening his mouth for the first time since Hattori confessed, he spoke. "Oi Hattori can you let go now? It's uncomfortable."

"Oh sorry." Heiji pulled his hand away but stayed crouching. He would wait patiently for Kudo to react to his confession.

As far as Shinichi understood about himself, he's straight. Conan responded hesitantly. "I can't return those feelings right now. I haven't gotten the chance to even get over Ran yet and I don't want to use you as a rebound. You are one of my closest friends so maybe one day I could love you back but not today. Not for a while."

Heiji was speechless. The rejection he expected. The sort of subtle hint they would stay friends was also expected though doubt had plagued him. The admittance that one day that they might actually be able to be together; that blew him out of the water. Never in his wildest dreams would he allow himself to consider it, afraid that he would start to disappoint himself when it didn't happen. To have Shinichi say that encouraged him. Grabbing Conan he clutched the boy to his chest in a tight hug. After Conan escaped his clutches and regained his breath he glared at the teen but it didn't faze Heiji. He was on cloud nine.

"You know what? Forget I mentioned anything. I've obviously given you a bigger head or something. Anyways weren't we heading somewhere to eat?"

Heiji snorted and stood up shaking his legs out. "Talk all you want but you aren't going to be able to wipe the grin off my face today." He neatly dodged the kick aimed at his shin and moved out of reach. "Well hurry up I'm starving."

No they weren't dating and Shinichi would still have to struggle through the pain but in time he would heal and maybe then Heiji would have a chance. No matter what, Conan would always have a friend guarding his back and watching over him.

So it was fun typing this up since I wrote this story over a year ago. While the writing wasn't terrible I still changed a lot. I'm pretty happy with this chapter and I'll try and get the next one up very soon. Reviews always help!