Hi! Thank you for your reviews and favourites and follows, they really kept me going! I'm glad to be here once again with new material. Be warned, this is another hurt/comfort angsty-fluff fic! It kinda follows the first fic of this series, Unspoken, but I think it could stand alone if you haven't read it. And there are some tiny but very relevant references (spoiler alert!) about the file 1000 series of the manga (which you should definitely read, if you haven't already).

Once again, take into account that I'm not a native English speaker, so if you detect anything that needs correcting, don't hesitate to tell me.

Nothing more to say, enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: not mine. I wish, but DC and its fantastic characters are not mine.


Title: Strong, stubborn, gentle and sensitive

Characters: Shinichi and Ran

Summary: "I'll let you be at my side, but you have to promise something too: not to cry."

Genre: hurt and comfort


"Thank you for being here." Conan said, out of the blue, when they came down of the giggling-without-any-apparent-reason competition. "I really haven't said it much, but I guess being small has taught two or three things to the arrogant jerk I was."

"You don't need to be that hard on yourself," Ran replied, in all her good-hearted grace. "I do forgive you, because I know that you would never hurt me if it wasn't absolutely necessary."

"But still… I hurt you, and I would have understood if you had karate'd me into oblivion and then walked away from me."

"It was never going to happen, mister," she replied. "We have a solid relationship –ah, friendship, I mean," Ran corrected, flustered, "and it can and will withstand anything fate will throw our way. You won't get rid of me that easily," she added, with a little blushing smile.

"Not that I would want to…"

Heart pounding strongly in his chest, he was glad he had gathered all his courage to articulate those 6 words out loud, even if it had been quietly, when he saw the beautiful smile she was giving him.

There were thousands of things that he wished they could talk out, that were burning his tongue, but it was Kudo Shinichi who had to take part in that conversation, not Edogawa Conan. He had to be patient, and trust that it would only get better from now on. Any moment now Haibara could come knocking…

"What are you thinking?" asked Ran while squeezing his hand tighter, waking him up from his reverie.

And just like that, there was the dreaded knock on the door.

"Hello, Kudo-kun, Ran-san," said the little scientist solemnly, while entering the library. "I bring you good news, I think. The antidote is ready."

"Yes! Haibara, thank you!" yelled Conan, excited. He was up from the sofa in a flash, bringing out his hand so that Haibara could give him the pill.

"I should inform you that, for the change to be permanent, I had to alter the composition of the antidote a little," said Haibara, while dropping the pill in his hand. "Therefore, it is possible that the transformation will be worse than the others you have experienced."

"How much worse?" asked Ran, worry etched on her face. She walked to where the shrunken teenagers were, kneeling on the floor.

"I cannot tell you exactly. It is just a possibility. Perhaps this change is the easier yet, perhaps it's not." Haibara answered, with a mildly apologetic look directed at Ran. Those words didn't appease the karate champion in the slightest, but Conan was quicker than her brain-to-mouth connection.

"It will be okay, Ran, you'll see, it has to be," he assured, smiling.

"Well, that said, I will leave you to your own devices," said Haibara, already grabbing the door. "Come see me when you are back, Kudo Shinichi."

When the door closed after her, Shinichi feared the worst, and he was right. Shinichi and Ran hadn't known each other their whole lives for nothing.

"Shinichi, please…" begged Ran, holding both his hands in hers and forcing him to look at her.

"Ran, I know what you're going to say, but you know that my answer is no. I can't live as Conan anymore, I can't. I need to be back to myself…"

"I can wait 10 years for you!" she replied.

"It's not about that. I understand that you're worried, and if our roles were reversed, I would wait for you 10 years, even 20, if there was no other option. But there is, there is, and it is right in my hand. And I need to take it, I need to be back, as myself, for you and for myself. Please understand, Ran."

Conan looked at her imploringly, hoping that she could understand in his gaze the desperation he was feeling. He had been living a nightmare entrapped in the body of a child, and now he had the chance to be free, to be himself again. It was not entirely about her, because he knew that their love for each other was powerful enough to overcome the flow of time or any other hardship; it was for him. She would have fought a little more, but she understood when she looked at him, without the need of words. She sighed, accepting defeat.

"Okay, okay. You win. But I have one request, and you can't say no," she declared.

"What is it?" Conan questioned, knowing that he was not going to like this one bit.

"I want to be at your side when it happens," he was already opening his mouth to counterattack, but this time she was faster. "No, please, let me finish. Just as you need to come back, I need to see you come back. I want to be there for you, hold your hand, run for help if you need it. Haibara said this transformation could be the hardest yet, and you will not go through it alone."

"But Ran… Even if it's not the worst, it'll be painful, and you don't need to see that. I promised you at that restaurant that, someday, I would definitely come back, even if I was dead, and that's why I wanted you to wait for me. Well, I'm not dead, and I'm fulfilling my promise now. All the pain in the world is worth it, Ran, if it brings me back to you," he smiled sweetly, his eyes full of devotion and love, in the same way that he had done sometimes before Conan had stumbled in their lives, when she hadn't been looking. With those words, even if they were true, he had fully intended to distract her, but the look that Ran was giving him told him he hadn't succeeded at all. "Ran, please, you can't ask this of me," he pleaded.

"Shinichi, I'm sorry to say this, but… I need to be there with you, or else I'm going to be outside your door, screaming with every scream you let out. We're in this together," Ran said, cradling his face to look at him directly in the eyes. After a moment, she looked away, hesitating. "And also, I need to see you come back. I know you're Shinichi, but I need to really see it to wrap my mind about it."

"But Ran, that doesn't make any sense!"

"You turning into a child doesn't make sense either, Shinichi!" she said, desperation rising her voice.

"But! Please, Ran, it can be really painful to experience, and even more to see," he pleaded, desperate now, because he felt his determination crumbling upon gazing at her eyes.

"I know, but all the more reason… I don't like to see you suffer, but… I'm your girlfriend now, aren't I? You said so after Kyoto. What would it make me if I couldn't be at your side at your lowest –shortest?" asked Ran, knowing that she was very close to winning this argument. He laughed at her correction, in spite of himself.

"Agh, okay," he accepted finally. "Man, I don't know what I'm going to do with you and your stubbornness someday… I'll let you be at my side, but you have to promise something too: not to cry."

"Deal!" and her smile was so bright that he couldn't help but smile back. Excited, she threw her arms around him, not really remembering that he usually felt awkward during those weak moments, but she didn't care. She rejoiced when she felt his little arms going around her, and his nose inhaling the scent of her hair. It was comfortable, safe. Even if he thought that she had suffered enough and didn't want to add anything more to that pile, he realised that he couldn't have said no to anything she asked. If he really thought about it, he had been always at her command, had always been wrapped around her fingers, and she knew it fully well and sometimes even saw fit to use that power to get her way, but he wouldn't have her any other way. That was his Ran: strong, stubborn, gentle and sensitive.

"Okay," he repeated, taking a step to separate them and grabbing her shoulders with incredible force. "Moment of truth!" Conan declared, putting his best childish smile at display.

He went up to his room to change into adult-fitting clothes, as he didn't want to make things any more uncomfortable. A few minutes later, he returned to the sofa, where he sat upright. No more words were necessary. He was trying his best to hide it, but Ran's eyes were able to see clearly that his shoulders were tense and his breathing was a little quicker than usual. He wasn't walking into this blindly, he knew where taking the pill could lead, but he was truly confident it was going to be okay. It should, really, with all the obstacles and trials and tribulations they had endured. That pretended optimism of his was contagious, so she had no other choice but to feel that there was no way to go but up, for both their sakes.

His loud sigh pulled her out of her own musings, and he took her hand, smiling at her reassuringly, while he swallowed down the fateful white pill. Few seconds after, he was already sweating, his temperature sky-rocketed, and he grabbed his chest where his heart was, while she rested his body against hers on the sofa, worrying. She knew this was necessary, but that didn't make it any easier to bear. She began chanting random words of encouragement, hugging him with all her might, so even if she couldn't do anything about the pain, she could show him that he was not alone. She watched, equally amazed and horrified, how his body enlarged in fits and starts.

Right in the middle of awkward thirteen, he opened his eyes through the numbness of his mind, and tried his best to smile.

"I'm fine, Ran," he said, through ragged breaths and with a confident smile. At first she didn't know if that was a white lie or it was true. He noticed that she didn't believe him fully, and added "Just humour me. It's almost done."

"I know, you're doing great," she replied, knowing that it was going to be okay if he had the strength to joke around. Putting her hand on his forehead to move away his bangs, she removed some salty sweat drops and the very few tears that had escaped his eyes. She remained stoic, however, since she had promised Shinichi that she wouldn't cry.

At confident fifteen, he let out a horrible scream, of the kind that can freeze one's blood, and he became very still. She held him tighter to her chest, hoping to ease his pain. With the last jerk, he returned to glorious seventeen. He kept breathing, quietly, so Ran knew it was only a matter of time that he would open his eyes. And he did, after what seemed an eternity.

"Hi…" he said, smiling. He became aware of his position, with his head resting on her bust and his legs dangling off the sofa, and he became flustered, but a simple look from Ran told him that she was not going to let him away anytime soon.

"Welcome back, sunshine," and if his face wasn't blushing bad enough already, he was sure he could spontaneously combust right now after hearing her words. "How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted, but I've been worse. I'll be fine, given time." Shinichi replied, while a ghost of his most charming smile tugged at his lips.

He stared at her, deeply, since nothing but her and her gaze and her smile existed in his world at that moment. With only his eyes, he was making use of their connection to tell her that this chapter of their lives was over, that she needn't worry anymore. She understood, and almost drowned herself in the vibrant blue of his eyes, realising she didn't want to be rescued. However, he noticed that her lips were trembling and that she wasn't as happy as she was letting on, that something was amiss, and his hand came up on his own accord to caress her cheek. He could read her like an open book, and so he smiled sincerely while saying:

"You can cry now if you want, Ran, I won't call you a cry-baby anymore."

Having his permission, not one second had passed that she was bawling like an idiot, not only because of the overwhelming last minutes that had transpired between them, but also because he remembered word for word what he said to her in one of the most precious moments they had ever shared. She couldn't help hugging the life out of him, her arms coming down to embrace his chest and her face resting on his neck, while she cried her eyes out. He was back, and that feeling overwhelmed her. Shinichi put his arms around her and started combing his fingers through her hair, in a response that had come naturally. He was glad that his body could provide the warmth she needed, and that he could be enjoying this kind of closeness for the very first time with not one regret holding him back. It was his turn, now, to recite quiet words of reassurance. She relaxed little by little, and somehow, her sad tears changed into happy tears, and prompted a teary laughter along the way, and these were wholeheartedly welcomed by Shinichi.

She lifted her face, locking her eyes with him. Her bright red brimming eyes and crimson cheeks enhanced her ethereal beauty, and he gave in to the temptation. They needed this, it was solely theirs and they deserved it. Trying his hardest to tone down the butterflies in his stomach and the loud erratic beating of his heart, he applied a tiny pressure on the nape of her neck to bring her back down, meeting her lips with his in a very sweet and innocent gesture. Her eyes widened, but she closed them a second later to indulge in this wonderful new feeling. Their two wounded hearts had finally reunited, and they were healing each little prick, each little scar, just by being together.

Maybe following Gin down that alley had not been his best decision, and maybe everything that happened afterwards had been a nightmare that he wouldn't even wish to the cruellest of his enemies. He understood that every little thing he did, which was for her and her only, had been leading to this, to them being finally together. And even if he would have paid all the money in the world to avoid hurting Ran, he knew that Conan was necessary: it had been his wake up call. Conan had set his priorities straight, and so every tear, every sleepless night had been worth it if it meant that now he could spend every minute of the rest of his life with her. They belonged together, after all. He was willing, and he would give his life to make her the happiest woman in the world. And, upon looking at her face, seeing the brightest, most beautiful, most-Ran smile that she was dedicating him, so similar to the one that had strummed his heartstrings that blessed day 14 years ago, he knew he wouldn't change a thing.


Yaaay, the fluff. I'm addicted to this pairing. They have suffered so much, and they deserve a break, Gosho, give them a proper real kiss! Maybe there was a little bit of OOC on both parts, but somehow, I can see Ran insisting on being with him in the final transformation, because she wants to be there for him (and not because she wants to see it, that was just an excuse because he was being difficult). Also, about the effect of the antidote, I think it is plausible that the final antidote takes a little more time to transform him, but based on the file 1000 series, in which the effect was pretty quick and apparently not as painful as the previous ones, I tried to compromise. Well, I wouldn't be able to make him suffer much, so...

Sorry, I was rambling again... I hope you liked it, nonetheless!

I promise I'll try not to make the next story a hurt/comfort one... I'm trying, belive me!

Thank you for your wonderful reviews. Hope to see you again this time!

With love,

DCSR392.