Collection Title: Fleeting Moments
Title (Japanese): あなたが来ないって、日記に書いた
Author: roankun
Pairing: Haibara Ai/Edogawa Conan
Fandom: Detective Conan
Theme: #03 Jolt!
Word Count: 1,188
Rating: K+
Date finished: 01 December 2011
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Detective Conan franchise.

Jolt!
by roankun

"Come here. Now." Beep.

Conan stared in disbelief at the phone receiver for a good ten seconds before putting it back on its cradle. He couldn't decide whether she was just rude, or ill-mannered, or discourteous, or ill-bred, or impolite, or indecorous, or maybe they all just meant the same thing, or perhaps she was just plain blunt. Always straight to the point, that woman.

He shook his head in exasperation. He hadn't heard from her since summer break started, and the minute she calls, this was all she had to say? Couldn't she have spared a little 'Hello, how are you?' just for the sake of it? Running a hand through his hair, he looked for someone in the house to ask permission to go to the Professor's house. Not that he needed it. He could have reached the place blindfolded with his hands tied behind his back and he was, technically, nineteen years old. He could take care of himself.

But still, he needed to tell someone he was leaving. Who knows what sort of spazz attack Ran would have if he suddenly disappeared, especially at this sort of time, when a lot of not so nice people seemed to have their eyes set on Mouri Kogoro. Finding no one, he left a message on the coffee table that he was going to the old man's house and would call if he couldn't come back early.

This was a good time actually, he mused as he headed for the street. He had been meaning to go pick up his repaired skateboard, but something almost always came up before he could leave. Like the smoke bomb through the window, the firecracker in the mailbox and all the threatening letters. There was no way the Organization was behind it, and as time went on, it became obvious that they were just pranks —dangerous pranks, some of them, but pranks nonetheless— by someone who was obviously not fond of Kogoro.

No one had been hurt yet, but the traps were well-set and hard to trace. Then again, the culprit had slipped and one or two of the letters had been in an envelope exclusive to one of the smaller companies in Northern Beika. It wouldn't take long for the police to find him.

Pushing the thought aside, he Wondered About Haibara's mysterious phone call. There had been no urgency in her tone, though she usually didn't have much emotion in her voice in the first place, except for, say, irritation and sarcasm. She rarely even called him, and when she did, it had been about—

As the answer came to him, he found himself cursing at the absence of his skateboard. How could he not have realized it earlier? If he had known, he wouldn't have wasted those five minutes looking for someone to ask permission from to play outside like the nine-year old they thought he was.

When he reached the Professor's residence, panting, he found the gate slightly open, the door somewhat ajar, as if the person who had been waiting for him there had given up and just went back inside the house. Barging inside the house, he suddenly heard a loud 'thud!' and the sound of glass shattering from the basement.

"Haibara!" he shouted, alarm piercing his veins as he dashed to one of the two rooms in the underground – that woman's laboratory.

When he ran into the room, he saw the overhead bulb on, a lone lamp lit on the desk, broken glass scattered on the floor, a table overturned, the CPU humming, the screensaver jumping across the screen, the wall clock reading 4:15, and a bunch of other trivial details. But no Haibara.

"Haiba—"

"Would you please stop screaming my name? I feel like the dead husband of yesterday's TV drama."

Relief washing over him as he heard that familiar irritated voice, he turned around and found her standing behind him. Found her standing close behind him. Too close behind him. Close enough to kiss...

He jumped back instantly, more surprised at that last thought than at her sudden appearance. "Wha—You—That—" he stuttered for a moment before regaining the last bits of his composure. "Damn it, Haibara," he finally mumbled in defeat. "I was worried something happened to you."

Her eyebrows rose a millimeter at his statement. "Well, thank you for your concern, Kudo-kun," she said, without much gratitude. "As you can see, I'm perfectly fine."

"Well, what happened?" he asked.

"Nothing really," she confessed, bending down to scoop the broken shards into the dustpan he didn't notice her holding. "I just came back here to do something useful other than waste my time waiting for someone who didn't understand what 'now' meant—" He grimaced at that. "—And just when I start typing, I heard the doors banging open."

Erecting the table, he grinned sheepishly. "I'm sorry about that."

She finished sweeping the last pieces of glass and dumped them into the trash can for non-burnable garbage. "I'm also at fault here. I can't believe something so insignificant actually unsettled me."

"Must've been some top-secret things you were typing." He stepped towards the computer. "It probably would've been bad if the wrong person saw it, right?" He grinned and moved the mouse to hide the screensaver. All his mind registered was that Microsoft Word was open before the stinging pain of a slap overwhelmed his senses.

"Wha—"

"It's gonna get bad if the wrong person saw it, Kudo-kun," she hissed at his face. He noticed that she had turned off the monitor, and that the hand that had slapped him was the same one that switched it off, and that she was wearing an aquamarine sleeveless blouse that matched her eyes, and that her hair had grown slightly since he last saw her, and that her lips were somewhat cracked from the dry weather...

He jumped back again, scared of another slap and, perhaps, of that last thought as well. "I, uh, I'm sorry," he mumbled, averting his eyes. Somehow, looking into hers made his cheeks heat up.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. The clock echoed the passing of seconds.

"So, um," he started, "What did you call me here for, anyway?"

"Wait for me in the living room, Kudo-kun," she ordered. "I'll tell you there."

Can't we do it here— he wanted to ask, but as his eyes slipped to the computer, he realized that she must have wanted to hide that document in case he tried something funny. He wouldn't, of course, but this woman could be so paranoid sometimes. It did pique his interest, though. He could almost swear he saw his name there…

"What are you waiting for?"

The curt tone reminded him of where he was and he gave one last look at the machine before heading for the door. "I'll be waiting upstairs then."

As soon as the door clicked close, she turned the monitor back on and closed the program, regretting that she couldn't finish today's diary entry.

"It'll be bad if the wrong person saw this, Kudo-kun," she sighed. "Really bad."

~.~.~.~
Worrying is a waste of time. It doesn't change anything; it just messes with your mind and steals your happiness.

I Wrote in My Diary that You Weren't Coming
~.~end~.~

Title (Japanese): あなたが来ないって、日記に書いた
Title (Romaji): Anata ga Konaitte, Nikki ni Kaita
Title (English): I Wrote in My Diary that You Weren't Coming

Author's Notes: I started this chapter with the intention of making this for Wada Calcium CD3, but it ended up quite different from what I originally planned. Oh well, Wada Cal could just be like part two of this chap. ...or not... ^^;

But uh… I'll be leaving for a trip to America, so that means no updates 'til I come back (probably). :( I'll be back by June, though, so in the meantime, leave me lots of reviews so I can be motivated enough to bulldoze through the rest of the chapters when I come back. ^^ But if I manage to get my hands on some internet connection (which might be a bit difficult), I'll update.

Thanks for all the reviews so far! I was kinda surprised to see that the people who used to review my stories are still around. That made me kinda nostalgic. :D