"Do you have to go?"
Shiho averted her gaze as she nodded, unable to bring herself to look into his eyes; she was scared that with one glance, one look, he'd convince her to stay. That would defeat the whole purpose of leaving, after all; she'd decided to move away from Tokyo to somewhere far, somewhere she could start anew.
"I see," said Shinichi. The disappointment was apparent in his voice, and he did everything he could to suppress the sadness that bubbled up from deep within his heart. "Well, you'll still be back to visit, right?"
The hopefulness, the yearning in his voice scared her; after all, she already decided to leave this, leave him behind. There was no backing out now; she wasn't running away, she told herself. She already decided she wouldn't do that anymore. She was simply moving forward, towards the future. Besides, to say that he was the whole reason that she was moving away would be giving him too much credit. She was recruited for a job that would be a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity, even for her, and she would be an idiot if she declined.
"I'm not sure," she said. "The position I was offered doesn't allow many breaks for me to take long-distance flights."
"But what about Professor?" He blurted out in a rush. "And the kids? Wouldn't you want to see Ayumi again? And Mitsuhiko and Genta?"
It was only then that she was able to bring herself to look at him, and she knew that was her mistake. She already told him that he didn't need to send her off, but he had a flight on the same day, so it was only natural for him to say his last goodbyes before she boarded.
"I don't know," she repeated slowly. "We'll just have to see."
Shinichi could only sigh at her answer. "Well, as you can see, I brought you a parting gift," he says, handing her a delicate bouquet of flowers.
"Forget-me-nots," she said matter-of-factly as she gazed at the blue blossoms.
"So that you don't forget me, even when you're thousands of miles away," said Shinichi, cracking a rueful smile.
At this, Shiho smiled ever so slightly. "Don't worry, you'll probably be haunting me in my dreams even if you're not there," she said. "It'll be hard to forget you."
"Thanks a lot," he said, rolling his eyes. "I won't forget about you, either."
Shiho bit her lip as she looked at him once again. "You should start heading towards your gate," she said. "I'll be off soon."
He paused for a few seconds before speaking. "Thanks for everything, Haibara— no, it's Miyano now, isn't it?" He chuckled as he ran a hand through his messy hair. "I'm able to stand here like this, as Shinichi Kudo, because of you, and I want you to know that I'm very grateful."
"Yes, yes," said Shiho, sighing. "I know, Kudo-kun. This isn't like you, saying all the sappy things."
"You know, I really thought our fates were intertwined like threads, but they're actually just as fragile, aren't they?"
Shiho closed her eyes as she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. She didn't know what was wrong with him today, but there must be something wrong with her, too, for her to second-guess her own decisions once he uttered those words. It was heartbreaking to hear, but she already decided that it was for the best that the two of them parted ways.
"Kudo-kun, I—"
As if anticipating her voice, the airport intercom interrupted her, notifying all passengers of her flight to begin boarding.
"I have to go," she said, picking up the handle of her suitcase. "Thanks for the flowers. Good luck on the cases you have to solve, Mr. Detective. I wish you the best."
Without another glance behind her, Shiho headed towards her gate. She didn't turn around until she reached the end of the airport, where she took a brief glance towards where Shinichi had stood. He was no longer there, and she smiled at her stupidity before walking towards the plane.
"If only you knew," she murmured to herself. "That if you had asked me to stay, I would've considered it."
He walked away from the gate hastily and didn't stop until he collapsed into a seat near the gate for his flight. He put his head in his hands and closed his eyes as he tried desperately to erase his urge to chase after her from his heart.
"You don't want to stay, so what right do I have to keep you in my life?"
Neither of them would have known that their relationship could be as fragile as it seemed to be strong. Like threads, their fates became intertwined as they entangled themselves in each other's business, but in the same way, the threads undid themselves, and they were left with two broken shards for hearts.