Wow. I'm publishing this with my phone. In the middle of a break at school. It's a little filler chapter or something of that kind. I still haven't planned what happens next... You'll have to wait. Anyways... Enjoy!

CHAPTER TWELVE

"Conan!"

Okay, the one thing he was and wasn't expecting was Marie literally jumping down the stairs and tackling him in a hug right when he got back from the trip. Luckily he still held his balance.

"Ouh! Marie, what-"

"I missed you!", she cut him off and tightened her grip.

Somehow it wasn't strangling like the usual hugs he got from his mother. Still, he felt like Ran was 'aww' -ing and it was embarrassing.

"Marie, let go! We're in the middle of the street!", he hissed and tried to pry her hands away.

The girl pouted but let go and stepped away smiling at Ran and Kogoro.

"Welcome back!", she grinned before taking Conan's luggage and skipping up the stairs.

The boy sighed as she watched the retreating back. If he was honest, he had missed the cheerful girl too, but there was no way he would say that in front of anyone. It had barely been three days! It's not long enough to miss someone!

"Ne, Marie-chan? What did you do when we were gone?", Ran asked trailing after the five year old.

Marie blinked at her and grinned.

"Learned magic tricks!"

"Whoa! That's cool! Can you show me one?"

"A little later. My hands are full"

Conan raised an eyebrow. She practiced magic? This was the first time he heard of that. Was that where she went every Sunday? Or almost every Sunday. There was that one when she was sick. Actually, now that he thought about it, many of her actions were a little off someway. Like when they first met. She was too… well, how to put it… familiar with him. And she didn't ask about many things. Like, she never questioned who Ran was to him. Or Agasa. It's like she knew them before they even met. And then there were her 'bad feelings' that were very accurate. It's like she… wait a minute! That time she…

'I knew something bad was going to happen'

Marie.

It was off. She was hiding something. The question was what.

Conan returned his thoughtful gaze to Marie's cheerful face as she told Ran what she did while they were gone.

What are you hiding behind that smile of yours?

XXXX

She was running.The night was quiet and chilly. It was a beach. She ran across the sand like a fire was after her. The cold waves brushed her feet as they hit the wet ground rapidly. She couldn't go any faster but she had to make it.A gunshot.It split the air with a sharp cry.Suddenly she saw a woman holding her stomach, bleeding out. Two black figures hovered over her in the sky. A hand reached forward. Her heart beat faster.It held a red and white pill.It was inching closer.The moonlight glinted from the smooth surface as it closed on her mouth and was pushed in. It was an amusement park. The dark figure with long silver hair smirked.Everything flared red.Marie shot up with a startled cry dying in her throat.

She was panting with cold sweat on her forehead. Heart beating in her ears her eyes searched the room she was in and finally stopped on her lap.

With a shaky, relieved sigh she flopped back to the futon staring at the ceiling.

It was a nightmare.

Nothing more.

Nothing dangerous.

They weren't here. She was safe.

When her breathing finally evened out, she rolled over to her phone to check the time.

5:12.

Well, no point in sleeping anymore. The school started at eight. She doubted she could sleep after that anyway. Taking a deep breath Marie closed her eyes for a second before climbing out of bed and tiptoeing to the door. Luckily Ran was a heavy sleeper. It didn't take long before she had soundlessly escaped to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water. She was just about to open the tap after climbing on top of a chair to do so, when she noticed light reflecting from it.

Moonlight.

She turned her gaze to the window letting the light through and saw a full, round moon. It was beautiful, but right now it gave her unnecessary shivers.

Reminders of the nightmare.

And her flight to Japan.

It had been a full moon then too. Right before the drop from the sky she had looked out of the window to see it.

"Can't sleep?"

Marie almost dropped the glass she was still clutching in her hand. Whipping her head around she saw Conan at the door smiling at her. He had almost given her a heart attack! Trying to calm her racing heart she finally opened the tap and let the water flow for a second before responding.

"Yeah"

They were quiet as Marie filled her glass and climbed down staring into the water.

"Nightmare?", was Conan's next question.

She glanced at him, surprised, and nodded before drinking the water in one go.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Marie considered it for a while and put the glass in the sink before jumping down from the chair.

"It was about the two black guys", she felt more then saw Conan tensing, "They poisoned me again"

She shuddered at the image flashing in her mind again. The hand reached for her wanting to take her away. Gulping she turned to her brother nervous of what she wanted to ask.

"Can I… hug you?", she watched at him with a lost look in her eyes.

The look said she was scared. Afraid of the world around her. Looking for something safe. It was so very foreign in those eyes. Conan didn't want her to feel like that. Before he could respond though Marie had taken a hesitant step closer and then threw her arms around his torso and hid her face in his shoulder. She was trembling, he realized.

"Shinichi?", the whisper was so quiet he barely heard it.

Marie never called him Shinichi in this house unless something was up. He gulped and lifted his gaze to the back of Marie's long, brown hair.

"I'm scared of them. They tried to kill us. They almost… If I see them again I think I'll freeze", her grip tightened, "But I want to help!"

Sky blue eyes narrowed and blinked forward. A small hand reached to the back of Marie's head protectively. When he next spoke, the voice was darker and full of determination.

"When that time comes, we need to protect each other. We need to remember who we want to protect from them. If you do freeze up, I've got your back. And I know you'll have mine regardless the situation. You're not the type to run away from your fears"

Gradually Marie's trembling stopped. She still held on tightly, needing the reassurance that those words were true. They stayed like that for a long moment, before Marie sighed in relief and pulled away slowly. She met her brother's eyes and nodded a small, weak smile dancing on her lips.

"Thank you. I needed that"

XXXX

They were walking towards their school side by side like every time. Only this time they stayed quiet longer. This morning's conversation had gotten to them both, though Conan had other things in mind too. He was struggling between asking and waiting. In the end he just let out his breath.

"You're hiding something", he fixed his gaze on the ground and stopped seeing the other pair of shoes slow before settling completely.

The statement got Marie's mind whirling. Conan had figured it out. He might be angry with her for keeping the secret. He might not trust her anymore if she tried to wiggle herself out of it. This was a gamble. To tell or not. Marie was scared of anyone figuring it out. She didn't want to burden anyone else with this future knowledge thing. On the other hand it would be relieving to just tell. Share it with someone else. Was Conan ready for that kind of thing? She didn't think so. Not yet anyway. She swallowed hard and lifted her eyes to Conan.

"Yes"

The boy met her gaze and Marie could tell he saw the hesitation and worry in her eyes.

"Why?"

The girl heard the other's not voiced thoughts behind the question. 'Don't you trust me?' was one that came through the easiest. It was hard not to tell him and she wasn't sure if it was a good idea to keep it, but she was scared of changes. She wasn't going to lie to her brother though.

"Because it's… I'm scared of it changing just about everything", she didn't want to make the future miserable when she knew for a fact that it otherwise had to have a good ending.

Conan looked thoughtful.

"I… I'll tell you when it feels right, okay? If you don't figure it out yourself beforehand, that is. Sorry, but I just don't feel like it's a good idea to reveal it now", she turned around to continue on the path to school.

She was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll wait"

Marie's breath hitched. He had just promised not to actively try and figure it out. To wait until she was ready. It made her smile and warmth spread through her chest.

"…Thanks"

XXXX

Oh, yeah! I'm going on a vacation for about a week starting from 26th day of this month. I can't publish anything then. Italy, here I come!