Disclaimer: I only own Detective Conan in my dreams… So sad…

Chapter 4: Epiphany

P.O.V. : Conan Edogawa/Shinichi Kudo

"Was I too harsh? Yes, she rejected me, but she deserves to be happy. We have only ever paid attention to each other. I have never liked another girl. She has never liked another boy. Until now." I looked at Haibara and Hakase's concerned faces.

"Shinichi, maybe it is time to let her go."

"Why?"

Haibara interjected, saying, "We both know that I may never find a cure, Kudo-kun. Do you really want to prolong her suffering?"

"No… Did I go too far by calling her Mouri-san?" my expression hardened, and they exchanged a glance. "No. That is what I will call her now. She is not the girl I grew up with."

Agasa knew what I meant. Ran never had any female friends until she met Sonoko because we were so close. Even when we were five, she was mine and I was hers.

Actually, we acted somewhat like Haibara and I do now. My eyes snapped open; I hadn't even realized that I had closed them.

The choice was now clear- I had to focus on Haibara. Now, there was nothing holding me back. Nothing would ever hold me back from her. Ever again.

P.O.V.: Ai Haibara/Shiho Miyano

"Are you truly so dense as to not notice what is right in front of your face?" I almost yelled.

"What do you mean?"

"She is messing with your head! She is trying to make you jealous so Shinichi will come back faster!" He blinked. The thought had probably never crossed his mind.

"I don't care." Is he really so dense that he can't see that I am about to cry?

He slowly crossed the room, coming toward me. When he reached me, he pulled my hands from my face. "I don't care," he said, "because I have you." I looked at him, not quite believing him. He must have seen the look on my face, because he kissed me. "Believe me now?" I nodded, dumbfounded. When had the young detective started developing feelings for me?

"Dumbass!" I said, suddenly bursting with laughter.

He looked at me crossly, saying, "What now?"

"Tomorrow I was going to put my plan to win you over into action! Now I don't have to."

He smiled. "We still can if you want to, Ai-chan." I felt a blush begin to creep up my neck.

"Meet me here at noon, Conan-kun." A blush matching mine appeared on his face.

"See you at noon, Ai-chan."

P.O.V.: Third Person

The next day, Ai woke up at precisely nine o'clock. She made sure everything was prepared, and got dressed. She knew that, in front of him, she didn't have to try hard. Still, she wanted to look good. She decided on jean capri pants and a deep red shirt. When Conan arrived, she was somewhat relieved to see that he had tried to look good too. He had jeans and a button-down brown shirt. She grabbed the basket and grasped his hand, knowing that it would be a good day. "So, where are we going?" Conan asked.

"The place where everything began." was her enigmatic reply.

When they arrived at their destination, he was surprised to see that they were at Tropical Land. "Haibara, why are we here?"

"This is where it all began."

"But I met you at school!"

"Yes, but everything began here. If you had not been here with Ran that day, you would have never swallowed APTX 4869, and you would never have met me." He nodded; when explained that way, it made sense. They unpacked their basket, setting up the blanket and laying out the bentos Ai had prepared. "Itadakimasu."

"Itadakimasu." They ate in silence. When they finished and packed up, they went inside. "Thank you, Ai-chan."

"For what?

"For everything." They spent the rest of the day going on as many rides as possible, holding hands the whole way. They had at least as much fun as they would have in their normal bodies, if not more.

Around eight, the park closed and they had to leave. "Can I have one last temporary antidote, just for tonight?"

Surprised, she replied, "Why?"

"To tell Ran." She agreed, and he called Ran and asked her to meet him at the park that was exactly halfway between their houses.

-At the Park-

As soon as Ran saw him, she yelled "SHINICHI!" and ran toward him, wrapping him in a hug. He hugged her back awkwardly. A few tables over, Ai sat, eyes narrowed at the sight. She had also taken some of the antidote.

"Hi, Ran."

"What is the case you have been working on like? I'm so excited, I can't belie-"

"Ran."

"Yes, koi?"

"First of all, I am not your koi. And you have a boyfriend." She tried to interrupt, but he held up a hand, effectively silencing her. "I know that you were trying to make me jealous. But that was just cruel, especially to him. And second, I have my own koi." Hearing her cue, Ai stood up and walked over to him. Ran's eyes went cold.

"Who is this, Shinichi?"

"This is my girlfriend, Haiba- Shiho Miyano. She is much better than you; she would never pull anything like you did."

"You're lying! You just want to get me back for what I did to you!"

"No. She is mine and I am hers." Angry, Ran stood and stormed out of the restaurant.

After a few moments, Ai said, "That went better than I expected." Conan agreed. They stood and grabbed each other's hands and ran back to Hakase's, preparing to shrink again. After they had, they sat and talked Holmes, without a care in the world.