Disclaimer: Take a wild guess. Go on. I'm just positive you'll be right. … meh.

Author's note: Gah! This site annoys me to no end! To those who, due to the crazy glitchiness of this site, couldn't read chapter two, I apologize. I think I fixed it today, and to make up for the time it took me to get around to posting it, I thought I'd buckle down and get chapter three written on time. /grins apologetically/ I hope you like it. (It has a plot now! I'm quite pleased with myself. Heh.)

xXxXxXx

For the first time in what seemed like a very long while, Haibara Ai felt like her other self – Miyano Shiho. She was doing the same sort of things – going to school completely exhausted thanks to spending all night in lab doing research, reading nothing but chemistry textbooks and fashion magazine Just as she was doing now – typing furiously at her computer all alone. Kudo was… somewhere upstairs, probably, but she was far too concerned with convincing herself that she didn't care where he was to actually know. APTX 4869…. APTX 4869… Oh goddamit. Screw this. With that sentiment, she stood, kicking her chair somewhere half way across the lab. The scattered papers from yesterday were still strewn across the lab – she hadn't gotten around to cleaning, and Agasa hadn't noticed. She smiled faintly. I'm sorry for making your life even more of a mess, Agasa Hakase.

She walked up the stairs slowly and silently. How many times had she done this? Slinking up the stairs to spy on Kudo… It was stupid, and she knew it. Yet she couldn't help herself. Listening in on Kudo's private conversations had become something of a bad habit. This time, though, he wasn't talking. He was pacing back and forth across the kitchen, his glasses swinging idly in his left hand while his right flowed through his hair over and over again. Her breath caught in her throat. For being all of 11 years of age, he was strangely handsome. In any other circumstances, she would have mentally slapped herself for that comment. However, she was preoccupied with the view – that, and all of her brain processes were shutting down one by one. She wanted to step out from where she was watching him, and… hug him. Mentally, she was teetering on an edge – on one side, she could go back downstairs, and keep her carefully cultivated cold façade up and running, while on the other hand, she could step out and wrap him in the hug she was imagining.

Her right foot was hovering just outside of the door, and her decision had been made, when she heard a gunshot - It was a sound she knew all too well. She did indeed step out of her hiding spot, but not under the circumstances she'd hoped. Moreover, why hadn't Kudo reacted? Was he simply too deep in thought to hear it? The idiot… a possible case and a possible threat on his life, and he hadn't noticed?

Kudo's head jerked up at her footsteps. "Oh, hey Haibara! So what did yo-"

She grabbed his arm before he could finish the sentence. "Shut it, Kudo. There was a gunshot outside, and it could very well be them. Baka." She was rambling, and she knew it. But she couldn't stop herself. What if it was them? They were as good as dead, standing in the kitchen while she was rambling and being irrationally afraid and- someone was saying her name. Repeatedly. Soothingly. She stopped rambling.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized that Kudo was the one speaking. "Haibara… Haibara, it's not them. They would never be so obvious as to shoot a gun right outside of this house."

"But what if they just wanted to draw us out, Kudo?" she interjected, "What if they-"

He cut her off for the second time in as many minutes. "Haibara, those were fireworks. Just fireworks." A shudder ran through her, and suddenly he was holding her. When did I become so paranoid? She pondered, When did lose my sense of true danger? What about my ability to analyze the sounds of weapons? More importantly… Why did that scare me so much? She shuddered again, and his comforting hold on her tightened.

The soft crackles of fireworks could still be heard outside. "Come on, Haibara. Let's go outside." She nodded faintly against his chest. Why am I letting him act like this? Hell, why am I acting like this? And yet, she was smiling when he took her hand in his.

To any onlooker, the two would have looked like the average almost-teenage couple – awkward but sweet. To the couple themselves, though, things weren't awkward for the first time in a very long while. The situation wasn't even confusing – they were both too lost in their minds to notice what they were doing while running on automatic.

xXxXxXx

It's said that some people have a natural talent when it comes to comforting others. It was apparent, as the two stood outside, his left hand clasping her right, that Kudo was one of those people.

It is also said that some people only drop the façade they always wear when they're around the people they love. It was apparent, too, that Haibara was one of those people – her icy façade, if only for the time being, was gone.

xXxXxXx

Mornings are, by nature, awkward. That was Agasa Hakase's first thought as he woke up at 6:00 on the dot. He had witnessed the entire debacle last night, and he knew that, when Shinichi and Ai-kun encountered each other at school that day, things were bound to be awkward.

Well, that or they would realize that they were madly in love with each other and would fall into each other's arms. Of course, knowing the two of them, that was the last thing that would ever happen. Shinichi was clueless, for lack of a better word, and Ai-kun wasn't crazy enough to do something like that. And this isn't a romantic comedy, he added silently.

Someday, he vowed, if they don't just get on with it already, I'm going to knock some sense into both of them.

xXxXxXx

Edogawa Conan also woke up at 6:00 on the dot, feeling fairly sure that the events of last night had been some sort of positively mystifying dream - one that he could remember unnaturally clearly. They had stood there, fingers intertwined, staring up at the flashing fireworks in the night sky. Red, blue, green, gold… Random colours that the mind strives to find a pattern in. For normal children, the sky holds dreams – traveling to space, becoming an astronaut, seeing the stars up close. For the two of them, the sky held an entirely different thing: one that spoke volumes about the things the two had been through. It held the last vestige of hope.

The night hadn't been silent, as it would have been in any movie. Tokyo was never silent. An ambulance raced by, sirens blaring, but neither batted an eyelash. You don't need silence to freeze a moment in time: all you need are two people who are willing to accept that life doesn't always go quite as planned. He couldn't think of any two people on earth who understood that more than the two of them.

A dream, surely. But still… he looked down at himself, and he could see a single strawberry blonde hair clinging to the black cotton of his shirt. He rolled out of his futon – it was strange to be sleeping at Ran's again, after the past month or so – and headed to the bathroom.

As he stared at himself in the mirror, it occurred to Conan that his recent lack of sleep was rather obvious. There were dark shadows under his eyes not befitting one who was only supposed to be 11. He spat his toothpaste into the sink and ambled into the kitchen. However, there was no typical "Good morning, Conan-kun!" from Ran this morning. Instead, there was an eerie silence – one that did not befit the household at all. He could vaguely remember someone once saying to him, "Wherever that girl lives, whoever with, there will be laughter and happiness. That is one of the few things on this earth that I am sure of."

But who had said that? Why did he only remember now, when she was missing and should be thinking about where she could be? She always leaves a note when she's leaving early, so where is it? Of course, she could have said something to old man Mouri last night… Ah. Of course.

Three seconds later, Conan had skidded into the bedroom of the "meitantei" Sleeping Kogoro. Upon seeing the sleeping form of the undoubtedly hung over detective, a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding escaped his lips. Waking up Kogoro wasn't his favorite job – not by a long shot – but if it resulted in finding out Ran was perfectly safe, then he couldn't care less.

Ten minutes of prodding the well and truly asleep Sleeping Kogoro resulted in nothing. He didn't so much as twitch. Frustrated, Conan grabbed the idiot's arm and twisted it as hard as he could, but to no avail. Loud snores continued to resound in the room. With the obligatory eye roll, Conan checked the detective's pulse – it was pounding like that of a frightened rabbit. That's strange… he mused, unless… Ah, baka. Why didn't I check that before? He pulled the detective's eyelids up carefully, and his suspicions were confirmed – his pupils were dilated fully, and they weren't reacting to light. Obviously drugged.

Conan slumped. If this wasn't proof that Ran hadn't just left early to do some extra karate work, nothing was. Why hadn't he noticed that Mouri had been drugged before? Moreover, why hadn't he noticed when whoever had done this had come in last night? Perhaps, by the time he'd gotten back, Ran had already been taken… "Dammit!" he roared out his frustration to a silent house. Why hadn't he just stayed home? Why?

xXxXxXx

As Edogawa Conan entered the classroom of 6-B at 9:30 that morning, the Japanese class that was taking place fell silent. Conan walked to his seat – next to Haibara, as always – and sat down. He stared, defeat in his eyes, at the blackboard in the front of the classroom. They work without leaving any clues… Haibara's words from long ago repeated in his head – a sort of sickening mantra to the defeated meitantei.

Finally, the teacher managed a hesitant, "Ah, good morning Edogawa-kun. May I ask why you're late?"

Conan wanted, so desperately, to laugh at her question. To laugh hysterically, over and over again, even though it wasn't funny. But he didn't. He never would. "Family emergency, sensei," he muttered, "the principal can explain." He given the principal an explanation, yes, but not of what had happened. As far as the school would find out, Kogoro had alcohol poisoning (no surprise there) and Ran had broken her leg in a particularly violent karate match.

As soon as the teacher was immersed in her lesson once more, Conan whispered "Oi, Haibara!" as softly as he could

Her only response was a soft "Hm?" But he could tell she was listening.

"I need your help, Haibara."

She wasn't surprised. "So the alcohol poisoning and he broken leg were lies. What do you need me to do?"

At any other time, he would have been surprised at her words – she was almost never in a helpful mood – though she would help indirectly all the time. "Yeah, those were lies. Ran's missing and Kogoro's been drugged. There are no clues. I… I think it's them. I need to get out of here and investigate properly."

She tensed. She knew this would happen at some point, but why when they'd reached this point of semi-happiness? "Why did you come here in the first place then, Kudo? Besides, why do you need my help?"

He sighed noisily. "I came here to get you, Haibara, because you know more about them than anyone else. And… I was worried about you, ok?"

Haibara pulled out her schedule – partially to hide her slight blush, and partially to figure out what would be the most convenient time to escape. "Right before science," she whispered to him, "that would be the best time." He just nodded, and she looked at him. He was looking at the lesson board, but not paying attention to it. She could see, from the sorrowful look in his eyes and the angry set of his jaw, that he couldn't take it – this sitting here, this inaction. It was wounding him, and she doubted very much that she could bandage that wound.

xXxXxXx

Escaping from Teitan elementary had been an easy task. Finding clues in the perpetually messy home of Mouri Kogoro, as Haibara was in the process of discovering, was near impossible. Especially when said clues only existed in theory (but surely no human could do anything without leaving some clue?) and these theoretical clues were supposed to have been left by an organization that exists because it leaves no clues.

She was frustrated, to say the least. Kudo was destroying the place more than it was already – a violent departure from his usual meticulous manner – while she was trying to work carefully, as not to erase any potentially important clues.

It was when a Japanese to French dictionary, thrown by Kudo, hit her on the shoulder that she finally snapped. Kudo either didn't notice, or simply didn't want to apologize. She stood slowly and turned to face him, fists clenched with rage. "Kudo, if you would just work in your normal manner, without- without chucking things at me. Then maybe, just maybe, I can find the clues that may or may not be here. Just… for God's sake tone it down. I understand the emotions you're feeling, but just relax. Please."

She turned away from him and knelt to begin going through a certain Yoko Okino collection again. But first, she touched her shoulder gingerly and winced. She could tell there'd be a bruise there in a few hours. Not to mention Kudo had somehow managed to hit a pressure point, and now her entire left arm was numb. Bloody well done, she thought. Just as she was about to draw her hand away and return to her search, another hand came to rest on top of hers.

She didn't turn to see who it was – she could tell, just from the placement of the calluses on the hand, that it was Kudo. She'd always had a proficiency for remembering things like that. After a long moment, he spoke. "I'm sorry, Haibara. They're just… too good at this. And I… well, you know."

She still didn't turn around, but now she was smiling. "It's ok, Kudo," she said softly, "let's get to work already."

"Wait." His voice was suddenly hoarse. She felt him kneel behind her. Don't be an idiot, Kudo, she thought, you've still got her. Don't… don't get my hopes up. He wrapped his arms around her for the second time in twenty-four hours. Only now did she turn, there in his arms. There were no tears on his face – she hadn't expected any - but there was pain in his eyes that she understood well.

His breath was warm against her lips. Their foreheads were pressed together, and she could feel his left hand in her hair, along with his right splayed upon her back. She could sense his lips drawing closer, his eyes slowly closing. Miyano Shiho, sensible as always, wanted to tell him to stop, to realize the stupidity of his actions. Haibara Ai, blinded by love, wanted to tell him that she'd been waiting for this moment for a long time. She compromised, and said nothing.

Her mouth was open, ever so slightly, when their lips touched. Her slight gasp was almost inaudible, but it was there. It was enough to convince her that this was real, and not the recurring dream she'd been having for the past month. His tongue flicking out to brush against her lips and tangle with her own tongue solidified things for her: this wasn't a dream, it was a dream come true.

xXxXxXx

Several miles away, Gin and Vermouth were smiling. Not at each other, and not happily. Their smiles were sickening, and they were directed towards a note: The Angel will die first, and she will be followed by our Silver Bullet. Sherry I will leave to you, Gin.

-The Boss

In another room, the one known as "Angel" screamed.

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Author's note: Yeah, that's a cliffie. /grins/ I rather like this chapter… I've always thought I was better at angsty writing, after all. Anyway, see the little review button down there? I really love it when people press that… /cough/ So yeah… chapter four will be up next weekend. Oh, and I apologize for the for he "dream come true" line. I've seen too many chick flicks lately. (But hey… Conan/Ai can always use some fluff) Thanks to all of my brilliant reviewers!