Title: Silent Night
Fandom: Detective Conan
Author: Amm (SoulSeeker)
Theme: #39—hear the thunder roar and the lightning flash
Pairing: Kudo Shinichi/Mouri Ran
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Detective Conan—I just play 'Barbie' with them, because god knows they're a lot more fun than real Barbies.
Summary: Shinichi makes a decision.
"Looks like it's raining again," Kudo Shinichi murmured to himself.
Walking home, Shinichi could hear the thunder that roared threateningly over Beika. The clouds that were once a pearly white darkened rapidly, as if possessed by evil. Raindrops fell to their doom, only to splat on the ground, and Shinichi was even sure he saw lightning from a far distance. But none of this was enough to scare him.
While most ran for the cover and comfort of the indoors, Shinichi seemed to embrace the weather that day. To him, it was like a chance to wash away the thoughts troubling his mind.
He found a small clearing where he and Ran used to run and chase fireflies together as children and smiled reminiscently. He could almost hear his own childish laughter.
Dr. Agasa was expecting him at home soon, but Shinichi was never famous for being punctual. He decided to stay and let the rain do its worst. Just as he was expecting the worst however, he was surprised. He could no longer feel the gentle pitter patter of the rain against his skin. Instead, he could hear it, ringing loud and clear above him. He looked up.
An umbrella hovered over him—not just anyone's, but Mouri Ran's.
"Tell me, detective, do you have something against umbrellas?" she asked with a grin, touching his shoulder.
Shinichi smiled back, his ocean blue eyes opened wide. He decided her question was a rhetorical one. "Hey."
"Hey yourself," Ran replied. "What're you doing out here?"
Shinichi paused a moment before responding; and with a shake of his head and a shrug of his shoulders, he looked towards her. "Nothing, really."
"Shouldn't you be home?" Ran asked persistently, taking a seat beside him.
"I had some…y'know, stuff on my mind. Besides, haven't you ever wanted to…get away from home?" The detective looked at Ran expectantly, but did not receive much of an answer.
"Maybe…" she replied with uncertainty. But she wouldn't let him change the subject quite so easily. "What kind of stuff?"
"Just…stuff."
Though the storm had come not so long ago, the roar of thunder and the blinding flashes of lightning began to fade, leaving only rain in its tracks; it appeared the storm would not last long. This made things awkwardly silent; he knew Ran was expecting more of an answer from him. It was funny how roles had been reversed; it was normally him, finding her and bothering her for answers.
"I've been thinking about leaving the soccer team," he finally blurted out, and put on a devil's smile to show the confidence behind his thoughts. And though the storm was beginning to pass, his words were as shocking as a sudden boom of thunder in the silence of night.
"What?" Ran's eyes widened in utter surprise. "But…you're one of the best! They need you!"
"I know, but soccer's just a game, Ran," Shinichi replied. "It was a game I used to hone my detective skills and…well, I don't need it anymore. And I'm much more useful when I'm helping the police with their cases."
"But, you love soccer…" she murmured. "Even when you were little—"
"And I love solving mysteries," he added swiftly, before she could go on. He sighed, knowing that she would not be the only one that he would disappoint. "I don't plan on quitting soccer…soccer will always be a little part of everything I do. But I can't let being on the team distract me anymore. I'm a detective first, and I can't forget it."
Ran frowned, but admired him in being so firm. "It…it sounds like you've been thinking about this."
He nodded. His confidence was deserving of respect, but even in the firmness of his voice, Ran heard doubt. And in the shadow of doubt, it almost began to sound like Shinichi had been trying to convince himself of his decision—not just her. But she wanted to be supportive.
"Well, fine. I trust whatever decision you make, Shinichi." Ran's smile warmed the air. "You do what you need to do. But you're going to have to explain it to your team mates…"
Shinichi forced a slight chuckle, and his lips curled into a half-smile. Though he tried not to let it show, he dreaded disappointing the team. "Let me worry about that."
There was a moment of silence as Ran examined him. She stared at him with critical eyes, blinking only once, and suddenly, she frowned. "You don't seem a hundred percent sure," she said, reading what little emotion he seemed to show. Of course, when was anyone ever a hundred percent sure of their decision?
"Maybe not a hundred percent," he admitted nonchalantly.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
The detective looked at her with a smile, and there seemed to be an innocence that resonated from his face. "I think we just did, didn't we?"
"Oh." Ran nodded, a little embarrassed.
The evening again turned silent, and the pouring rain had slowed to a mere drizzle. The sun had poked out from behind the clouds again, and was now sitting low in the sky; a beautiful, glowing orb. The silence was a bit frustrating for Ran, and she wished she could get Shinichi to say more about what was on his mind. It occurred to her, too, that she was usually the one giving him answers to his questions.
She seemed to be an open book for him, but he was like a foreign book to her. Even having known him since childhood, she felt like there was so much more to know about him.
Desperate for conversation, Ran wanted to say something.
"Do you want to watch the sun set?"
Redness rose to her cheeks slightly, but Shinichi didn't seem to notice it. A beautiful rainbow stretched across the sky—seemingly across the universe, as the rain died down. And with the same smile as before, Shinichi had replied without taking his eyes off the vast, orange sky.
"I think we already are."
A/N: Woo, another one bites the dust! I don't know if anyone still reads my stories but if you are…well, thank you, and I hope you stick with me until the end. Only eleven more to go now! Haha…only…right.
