A/N: Onto chapter two. :D As of right now, I don't have much to mention here other than thanks to my father to letting me hijac-cough- borrow his computer (not that he'd see this).

On the whole, I really hope to meet the challenge that inspired this fic. If not…eh, it was practice -shrugs- And what better way to learn than from mistakes, am I rite?

Something I forgot to mention: this story is being written as File 786 is out. So if you aren't up to speed with the manga, this might have spoilers, so watch out.

Also, here, as anyone familiar with my previous work, AWA, would know, I reply to reviews~

aly-angel flight, Ninada, YELLOW JACKET PRIDE, CoolKid94 - Thank you all kindly. :3

Chelseaj500 - I'm glad you're enjoying it. Unfortunately, this probably won't go to the epic proportions AWA did, but it'll definitely be interesting, I can assure you.

Enji86 - If thou wish, thou shall receive.

Part-Time Dreamer - Glad that you like the diary portions. I tried really hard to make them 'different' than the usual diary entries you see around. I also like the way you phrased that last line of yours xD "The real One"

Arisana - Thanks for the long review, always love those. :D Anyway, you're among others who've mentioned that "knack". Weird, as I kind of don't see it :| And as for Ai's refusal to can Ran by her name…it's difficult at times to say the least xD Regarding humour, there'll be plenty scattered about, but you're right: there'll probably be less than usual (I'm generally more serious in fics than comics and captions, though)

Grey Shades of Love

Chapter 1: Expedition

"I believe that there's hope, buried beneath it all" ~Let the Flames Begin Paramore

"Treasure, treasure! We're going to camp and then find gold, for sure~!" singing their own original tune, the Detective Boys continued on in good cheer as Agasa's Beetle made its way down the mountain road. Pulled away from her original childhood to pursue a top-secret project in the Black Organization, Ai had to wonder if hunting for treasure was a natural part of being a kid.

Kudo didn't seem to think so. "Come on, guys. We go searching for 'treasure' almost every camping trip we go on. Can't we just relax once?"

"No way!" though starting off in unison with the boys, Ayumi eventually broke away, "Don't be such a party pooper, Conan-kun."

"Yeah!" In true Mitsuhiko fashion, he agreed with Ayumi almost immediately, "Treasure-hunting is fun. Relaxing is just boring."

"Besides," looking back from the front seat, Genta argued, "we search every trip we go on, but have we found any treasure yet? No. That's why we can't give up yet!"

Sitting to her side, Ai heard Kudo mumble, "That's why you should give up."

Enjoying any opportunity of the kind that came her way, Ai teased, "That doesn't sound like you, Edogawa-kun. I mean, you're the kind of guy that doesn't give up no matter what gets in his way. Even if you lost an arm, you'd still head for your goal. What makes treasure-hunting any different?"

"H-Heh, come on, I'm not like that," receiving many looks around the car that said otherwise, Kudo finished the circle with his own annoyed face aimed at Ai. After holding the scowl for a few seconds, he finally sighed in defeat, "Fine, we can 'search for treasure'. Don't blame me if we end up empty-handed."

Despite the pessimistic spin Kudo had put on his agreement, the Detective Boys applauded louder and happier than they had before. Luckily the campsite wasn't too far at that point or Ai would've gotten one hell of a headache from all the noise. Judging by his face when he stepped out of the car, Kudo had already gotten his. Hand to his forehead, he glanced around the area. "This doesn't look like your regular camping grounds. Are you sure we're in the right place?"

Appalled by Kudo's lack in faith, Agasa replied in a flush, "Of course! There is a bit more greenery than normal, but that just adds to the experience. You can't see them now, but there are cabins scattered about these woods."

"This is awesome!" clenching his fist in determination, Genta grinned, "This is just the sort of place where treasure would be! There's probably a bunch of stuff buried under logs or near creeks!"

Excited by Genta's small speech, Mitsuhiko added on, "There might even be an empty cabin where the owner left their fortune for others to find! Like collectables, paintings, jewellery-"

"Oh, that's right! I almost forgot!" interrupting Mitsuhiko's list, Ayumi plopped her backpack onto the ground. Sifting through it for a few seconds, she finally smiled. Turning to Ai, she held out a small wrapped box. When Ai asked what it was, Ayumi answered, "Well, just the other day I realized that we've never asked about your birthday before. So, just in case we missed it, I decided to get a little gift! …Actually, when I saw it I thought of you right away, so I think I would've gotten it for you anyway."

Not the only one in the dark about the present, Ai scanned the other surprised expressions around her before she began to work at the wrapping paper. Lifting the lid of the box that had been hidden by the paper, she blinked a few times. Leaning in to her side, Kudo also batted his eyes before letting out a breath in awe, "Whoa, that's nice."

Though his word choice was lacking, Kudo was right: the pendant was beautiful. Under what looked like a cloud where the chains connected, the main section was shaped like a drop of rain. Engraved on it was an incomplete heart with some swirls laid out around it. When Ai twisted in in her fingers it glinted. She also noticed that it wasn't just a pendant, it was a locket.

Before checking it, however, she sent a curved smile Ayumi's way, "It's lovely, I appreciate it. But…didn't this cost you a lot?"

"That doesn't matter," waving it off simply with a cat-like smile, Ayumi somehow got even brighter with her next sentence, "Besides, the locket isn't the real gift. Look inside it!"

With everyone peering over her shoulders now bar Ayumi, Ai wedged her fingernails into the opening of the locket. Giving one swift pull, she revealed the "real" gift inside. It was a surprise to all of them.

Just the week before they'd found an old photo booth, taking a few shots for fun, they hadn't really thought much of the event (at least Ai hadn't). However, one of those very pictures had been cut and slipped into the locket. In the front, Genta, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi herself wore broad grins. Behind them, Kudo and Ai smirked with the usual weighed patience. It was a lovely photograph, perfect for the locket. Amazed at how well the picture had been put into the already marvellous locket, Ai's stoic façade broke for a second. "Thank you so much, Ayumi-chan."

"You like it, then?" Overjoyed after Ai's nod, Ayumi hopped in excitement, "I can help you put it on! It'll look great on you, I'm sure!"

Lifting up her hair as Ayumi fidgeted behind her, Ai couldn't help but smile. It didn't last long as she glared when she noticed Kudo's cheeky grin. She didn't quite understand why he thought the situation required a taunting look. Was her smiling really something he liked to mock?

Mentally noting to get him back later, Ai jutted her thumb towards the wood when Ayumi finished clasping the locket. "We should find a good camping ground before it starts to get too late. After all, we want to explore the area, don't we?"

Letting out another cheer in unison, the Detective Boys rushed forward much to Agasa's dismay. Hollering a reminder that they could easily get lost, Agasa followed after them. Ai and Kudo also trailed, but at a slower pace. Taking the chance, Ai joshed with him, "So, where are you and your girl going to hold the celebration of your 'love'? Will it be in front of Big Ben as well?"

Blushing immediately as she'd expected, Kudo stuttered, "Wh-What are you talking about? I-I just told her I liked her, alright? What's this about a 'c-celebration of love'?"

"Nothing in particular. Though, I suppose you can't celebrate until she answers back," recalling that small bump in the road for the 'pair of the ages', Ai turned to Kudo with a more serious expression, "Does she have any…plans for that yet that you know of?"

"No, not yet. She's still flustered about the whole thing," giving off a half-hearted smile, Kudo shook his head, "But it doesn't matter. I actually-I prefer how things are going right now. Ran's happy, but because of her embarrassment she's not worrying about me as much as usual. It's a bit of a relief."

"But surely you haven't forgotten," Ai narrowed her eyes, "what'll happen once she finally gives you her reply?"

"I know," with any spark of happiness evaporating off his face, Kudo continued on in a solemn tone, "She'll fret even more about me, all the while oblivious to the fact that I'm fine, standing right beside her. It's weird, but I…

"I'm almost dreading the day she'll give me her answer."

Up until that point, Ai had always had the impression that underneath it all, Kudo wanted badly to spill everything and was only resisting the urge on her and Agasa's word, but at that moment, she couldn't be sure on his motives. The way he'd said his last phrase, it almost sounded as if he wasn't dreading her response, but rather the guilt that would come with it: guilt that could persuade him to tell her the truth. It seemed crazy, but Ai could only come to one conclusion: what he was afraid of was telling her the truth.

Ai would've prodded into the subject more if not for the yells ahead for the two of them to hurry up. They could've easily went on at a slightly quicker pace, but Kudo ran forward with the aim to catch up. Unable to stop him, Ai also switched to a faster gear. When she made it to the group, she made a quiet vow to talk to Kudo later.

Disappearing along with the sun, the Detective Boys' hopes and cheers dwindled into moans and groans as they fidgeted about the campsite. As Kudo had predicted, they hadn't found any treasure, so naturally the group was downtrodden…except for him of course. Ai normally wouldn't have cared either, but while they had been on their escapade something had happened.

Always one to notice a change in people's behaviours, Kudo pulled Ai away from the group under the guise of finding some more firewood. Once they were out of hearing range from the others, he wasted no time in getting to the point. "Alright, what's up? You've been acting weird for a while now."

Although she knew he was going to ask about it, Ai wasn't about to let him get what he wanted without resistance. "How so?"

Playing along with her game, Kudo began a list, "Partway through our trek in the woods you wouldn't respond at all, you've been looking around the ground anxiously, volunteering to do jobs you usually wouldn't deign to, and lastly, you're not wearing the wonderful gift you received earlier today."

"How is that odd?" He was close and she could feel it, but Ai hadn't given up yet, "Maybe I didn't want to get it dirty or caught on something."

"Then you tuck it under your shirt," Kudo continued before Ai could argue anymore, "Of course, that's assuming you have it in the first place."

Caught, not that she expected any less. Kudo always had to search for that 'single truth', even in the most minor of things. He needed to see the world for what it was, not for its deceit…which is exactly why Ai was no less surprised when he began to delve deeper into the topic.

"Just where do you think you lost it? During our trip in the woods?" checking his watch, he added, "We could retrace our steps, but it's going to be dark soon. …Why didn't you mention it? We could've been searching while it was still light."

"I didn't notice the exact time that it went missing. Besides, it would've distracted from our 'treasure hunt'," looking towards the setting sun, Ai narrowed her eyes, "And I very well couldn't let Ayumi-chan down like that."

"Heh, it would've been more satisfying to search for that locket. At least that way we would've actually found something," exchanging his smile for his deducing face, Kudo placed his hand on his chin, "Now, you might've not noticed exactly when it fell off, but you did notice it eventually. By eliminating the areas we visited after you noticed it was gone, we can narrow down the search."

Aware that he wasn't going to quit until he got a straightforward answer, Ai didn't bother to hold back, "If you insist, I believe I realized it was gone around when we first found the small river. You know, right after pushing our way through that dense part of the wood?"

"That early and you still didn't mention it?" glancing at her from the corner of his eye, Kudo mumbled, "You really should've brought it up…or at the very least told Ayumi-chan about it."

"I can't do that," having sat down on the grass, Ai hugged her knees, "She'll be heartbroken."

Silent for a while, Kudo remained standing. As the sky grew red and the shadows stretched over the landscape, Ai listened intently. Had he finally realized what she had been getting at? Of course.

…but that didn't mean he agreed. "I'd say that it'd hurt her more if she found out on her own." Turning to face him with wide eyes, Ai spun just as he was sitting down. While the grass bent beneath him, he also twisted to look her in the eye, "The longer you wait, the more it'll sting when the truth eventually comes out."

With her lower lip abandoning the top one, Ai's look of revelation was complete. Likely Kudo thought that she was just coming to realize he was right, but that wasn't the whole case. In a way, he was right and part of her agreed with him, however that wasn't what made her eyes shake. What shocked her was the double meaning behind the words he had just said.

'Is he serious? Doesn't he realize those very words apply just as much to him as they do to me?' staring directly into his eyes for a few seconds longer, Ai could tell that he wasn't a hypocrite: he really was ignorant of the message between the lines. She furrowed her brows. 'He honestly doesn't see the irony.'

Detecting the slight change in her face, Kudo questioned, "What is it?"

Not about to be caught twice, Ai lied, "I was just thinking that you might be right. I'm still not going to tell her, not yet."

"You really ought to," Kudo rose and said something about firewood as he wandered off, but Ai didn't focus on that. All she could think about was the conversation they'd had. If they had switched lines, every word would've fit perfectly in regards to his situation revolving around his secret identity. Ai almost felt she should point it out, but that would just lead to a liability. Keeping Edogawa Conan's life as Kudo Shinichi in the dark was the right thing to do.

Or was it? Conceding to help with Kudo's ploy, Ai thought over it as she picked up pieces of firewood. People's morals changed with the flip of coin and every side of a situation had advantages. How could she tell what was right or wrong? Peering over her shoulder, she watched as Kudo filtered through the grass in search of twigs, unaware of her gaze. Maybe the 'right' thing was to let the truth out, at least to her.

But she couldn't be sure.

"S'mores! S'mores! I want some more~!" regaining their cheer from earlier in the day (no doubt from the sugar), the Detective Boys gleefully sang another original tune. "S'mores! S'mores! They'll give us energy and tomorrow we'll score~!"

"And everyone says I'm tone-deaf," starting off on a whispered note, Kudo quickly raised the volume before taking a bite of his snack, "Haibara, why aren't you having any?"

Luckily using their dog-like hearing to catch the last tidbit rather than the first one, the Detective Boys instantly latched their eyes onto Ai. After sharing a quick glance between each other, they began to hastily make new s'mores. Mitsuhiko finished first, and as soon as the second graham cracker was placed on the marshmallow, he extended it towards Ai. Not about to turn it down when all three kids were so determined and Kudo was grinning again, Ai took the treat with a crooked smile.

Flinching a bit when the marshmallow threatened to drip, she examined the s'more in search of the best angle at which to bite. Feeling the unsaid message that she was taking too long from the side, she abandoned the hope of eating it in a clean way and simply took a bite. With the marshmallow clinging to the sides of her mouth with some melted chocolate, she felt sticky and gross. She couldn't deny the wonderful taste, however, and thus she smiled.

"I never knew that marshmallow and chocolate on mere crackers could taste so good," picking up her handkerchief to wipe away the remains near her mouth once she finished, Ai noticed the cloth was hugging her fingers, "It's just too bad that they're so adhesive."

"That's half the fun!" swallowing down another s'more, Genta licked his lips hungrily and aimed his eyes upward in imagination, "Besides, some of the best foods are the messy ones. Ribs, spaghetti, cotton candy, ice cream…"

"I've gotta agree," smiling, Mitsuhiko went about making another s'more for himself, "You can just wash yourself off afterwards, so what's the harm in a little stickiness?"

"You said it, Mitsuhiko-kun!" After failing to notice Mitsuhiko's blush, Ayumi went on to begin another exciting conversation with the boys. Meanwhile, Ai sat and watched with a grin on her face.

Beside her, Kudo also smirked. "That was your first s'more, wasn't it?"

"Yes," determined to cut his tease short, Ai responded quietly, "Unfortunately it was difficult to go out and buy marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers when I was usually in a lab. A campfire was even more of an impossibility."

"Geez, forget I asked." Kudo's smile didn't dissipate despite his comment. Ayumi, however, changed that.

"Ai-chan, where's your necklace?"

Ai felt Kudo's stare boring into her side. He was waiting for her reply more intently than Ayumi. Not one to disappoint, Ai didn't make him wait. "I took it off when we were getting into the dense parts of the woods. I didn't want it to catch on anything. I guess I just got caught up in the adventuring after that. Right now…well, I wouldn't want to get marshmallow all over it."

Though Ayumi took Ai's response in full stride, Kudo disapproved of it completely. His eyes were no longer glued to her and when she peered to the side he was merely munching on a s'more, but she knew that he was displeased. Not that Ai cared: she'd told him before that Ayumi wasn't going to know the truth, he should've been expecting her reaction.

What she did care about, however, was his knowledge of the situation. She didn't feel it was too much of a problem, but if he wanted to Kudo could easily come clean. A large part of her doubted that he'd do such a thing, but the remaining portion doubted. It knew that Kudo would do something, and at that moment, spilling the beans was the only option.

There was another choice, but at that time Ai wasn't aware of it. She'd only come to the realization on that the next day.

Amidst the extra layer of darkness provided by her closed eyelids in the middle of the night, Ai heard something stir in the tent. Always alert, she was immediately awakened. Sitting up quickly, her eyes met with shining pair in the dark. As hers blinked, the others closed and a shush came from below them.

"Go back to sleep."

Raising a brow at Kudo's pleading face, Ai continued on as if he hadn't spoken. "What are you doing?"

"I'm just going to the bathroom," he whispered back, annoyed, "I was trying to be quiet to avoid something like this, but of course-"

"Just do it somewhere away from the camp," cutting Kudo off, Ai laid down once more, "I didn't see an outhouse when we were out before…and I don't want to find anything unpleasant in the morning."

Kudo gave a weak chuckle and Ai expected to hear the fabric of the tent moving immediately after. But it didn't. Curious, Ai rolled over to take a look. Kudo was still standing there. At her glance, he flinched and spun towards the exit. Stalling for a bit longer, he broke the silence one last time with a hushed murmur.

"Good night."

"Agasa-hakase! How could you do that!"

"It wasn't my intention! I swear that the breakfast was packed before we left!" Raising his hands in defence from the hungry, half-asleep Detective Boys scowling at him, Agasa turned to Ai for assistance. "Isn't that right, Ai-kun? You put it in the bag, right?"

"Oh, don't try to pin this on me," crossing her arms, Ai gave Agasa a scolding glare, "You know very well that you were in charge of the food. If I remember correctly, you even insisted on handling it."

With Kudo not awake yet and none of the children willing to back him up, Agasa sighed in defeat. "I suppose we'll just have to go find one of the cabins around here and hope its owners are kind enough to lend us a bite to eat."

As the kids let out their cries of disbelief, Ai shook her head. It was unlikely such a thing was going to work, but it was the only thing they could do. Though, what was more unlikely was the odds of Kudo sleeping in.

Staring at the tent, Ai faced the group for a few seconds as she announced, "I'm going to wake up Edogawa-kun. Maybe he can think of something."

Pulling the material that composed the door of the structure out of her way, Ai looked at the undisturbed bundle of blankets in the middle. Her eyes widened considerably, the reason being that she saw that's all they were: a bundle of blankets. She'd been too distracted before by the ruckus and her drowsiness to notice, but Kudo wasn't there. Immediately she left the tent, as there was no point staying there.

A few questions headed her way which she answered calmly, but internally she was anything but composed. The kids and Agasa guessed that Kudo had simply gone to the bathroom as soon as he'd woken up, but Ai knew better. As much as she wanted to believe their theory, she knew the truth.

He hadn't been in the tent since late the previous evening. She knew this: his glasses weren't in their usual place and when she'd stirred at his leave, he'd been wearing them. Something had happened, and judging by the police sirens that had just started to ring through the air, it wasn't anything good.

(Chapter 1: END)

Dun-dun! …Yeah, who wasn't expecting that? :P

Sorry for the late update. I did warn you about it, but I'm going to confess this probably was later than it should've been. I've been getting distracted by LPs lately coughchuggaaconroycough

There's also school I guess. …But the LPs are more distracting! D:

Anyway, reviews help fuel the fire or however the saying goes, so let me know how this is going so far!