She sees him in the midst of the lavender fields, an all too familiar side profile that catches her eye as abruptly as she rushed off the train an hour ago, having fallen asleep in her seat by the window, almost losing her straw hat in the process. This was supposed to be her vacation, her month off of work, and it was supposed to be relatively stress-free, for god's sake, but for some reason, she's facing the very reason she left Tokyo all those years back — would that be giving him too much credit?

She was in Paris just a week ago, and London two weeks before that; she fancied walking along the Seine and shopping at the Champs-Élysées, and she definitely enjoyed trips to the Louvre followed by stops at the best cafés and bakeries for a casual afternoon. London, however, was a different experience; she visited the Big Ben and, afterwards, found herself at 221B Baker Street, staring at the Sherlock Holmes Museum. She had fifteen euros to spare, so she walked inside — perhaps that was a mistake.

Everywhere reminded her of Shinichi Kudo.

It was the perfect weather and timing, so she packed her bags for Provence. She'd been wanting to see the lavender fields for a while, so why not? Now, surrounded by brilliant purple flowers, the scenery around her did not disappoint; for the last three years, she carried a vintage camera with her, snapping pictures that would encapsulate the freedom she finally earned. With her eye focusing on the viewfinder, she surveyed the fields to find the best angle before pausing in shock at the sight of a familiar figure approaching her.

Dressed in a swoon-worthy white dress shirt and navy slacks, he was walking along the other side of the row of lavenders in the opposite direction, hands in pockets as he admired the flowers. As he looked up and saw her, he flashed her that smile, that stupid smile of his that she knew nobody could resist, and she was no exception.

"Hey, Haibara," he said.

His voice sounded so familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time; after all, it had been three years since she last saw him. For a second, she was unsure how to respond — should she smile? Wave? Turn around and walk away and never turn back again? Words, however, escaped her mouth before her brain could tell her what the most logical thing to do was.

"What are you doing here?"

He smiled sheepishly. "Not exactly excited to see me, huh? That's cold of you, isn't it? Well, I have a case, you see."

"Since when did the Great Detective of the East get an upgrade to be employed worldwide?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Also, if you have a case here, then why are you slacking off? Shouldn't you be working?"

"Don't worry about it," he said, laughing. "So how have you been? It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Are you seriously catching up with me after three years in the middle of a lavender field halfway across the globe?"

"Well, then, let's do that over a cup of coffee, then, if you insist," said Shinichi.

She stared at him at a loss of words. He's not allowed to do this. He can't just show up in her life all of a sudden after years of her attempting to cut him out for good and fill the Shinichi Kudo-shaped hole in her heart. Who the hell did he think he was?

"What do you want from me, Kudo-kun?"

"What do you mean? You left Tokyo all of a sudden three years ago and I haven't been able to get in contact with you at all."

"I've been… busy. Why should that matter?"

"Isn't it normal that I want to see you?" He sighed. "I've missed you."

No matter how much every inch of her being screamed at her with the want to throw herself into his embrace, she held back, biting her lip as she stared into his eyes. "You…"

"Come on, Haibara," he said. "Give me a chance to spend time with you again."

"…That's not even my name anymore," she said, averting her gaze.

"Ah, right, sorry," he said, laughing. "Shiho."

She hated that her heart skipped a beat at the sound of her name. Was she supposed to laugh or cry at his naivety? Sighing, she turned around and headed towards the exit.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Shinichi called from behind her, struggling to keep up. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Miyano! I sincerely apologize, so don't just leave like that again!"

She sighed once again before she turned around and looked at him, at the one person she didn't expect to see here.

"We're getting coffee, aren't we? It's on you, though."

Surveying her surroundings, Shiho hummed as she took a sip of her espresso. Mmmm, too bitter, but she's used to the bitterness. Shinichi, however, frowned at his latte, drowning another pack of sugar into the liquid.

"So…" It was Shinichi who broke the silence. "How have you been? I'm sure you have a bunch of stories to tell, considering we haven't seen each other in three years."

"There's not much," Shiho replied. "I've been traveling when I haven't been working. I have a month off of work, so I was visiting the famous lavender fields. Instead, I ran into something I didn't expect to see."

"Come on," he laughed. "Are you not happy to see me?"

"Not in particular."

"I'm happy to see you, too," Shinichi said, rolling his eyes. "Really, you haven't changed at all over these years."

Neither have you, she wanted to say. He was just as she remembered him to be, and it frustrated her how many details regarding him have stayed in her memory. "What about you?"

"Ah, me?" Shinichi took a pause as he took a sip of coffee. "It's been three years since I got this body back, huh? Well, detective work is always ongoing, so not much to talk about there. I can share some details about some interesting cases that stick out over the years, though. Hmm… I'm still in college — I go to Tokyo University, by the way."

"Of course you do," she said, biting back a laugh. "What about everyone else?"

"Professor's doing okay; he misses you a lot, though. He's been pretty healthy and actually following your words like you're still there. The kids are doing well, too. I see them occasionally and they ask about Conan and Haibara — I'd have to give them the same cover story of overseas studies over and over again."

"What about… Mouri-san?"

"Ah, she…" A moment of awkwardness flashed across Shinichi's face, but it disappeared as soon as it appeared. "She's doing pretty well. I'm sure her current boyfriend would know better, though."

Shiho furrowed her brows in confusion at the implications of his words. There was no way he meant what she thought he meant. Did Shinichi Kudo and Ran Mouri, the "it couple," break up? What in the world…?

"But uh, I've been meaning to ask you this," said Shinichi, staring at her. "Three years ago, why did you leave?"

She stared back at him. "I didn't know I was obligated to stay."

He frowned. "That's not what I meant," he said. "Do you have to be this sour?"

"I just didn't want to stay."

"Why?"

She was beginning to get frustrated. "There aren't that many reasons," she said. "I wanted a change of scenery. I was finally free to live my life as myself, free to do whatever I wanted to do. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Sorry," he said. "I just… I wish you stayed by my side."

Don't get tricked, she told herself. He's Shinichi Kudo — born to flirt, yet unconscious of the things he says. Don't overthink it. "I had a good time, though. Everywhere I went, I took photos of my travels, documenting my life and all that. I have to say, it's a pretty good life."

He stared at her camera on the side of the table as he took another sip of his coffee. He looked up at her with a determined gaze before speaking. He seemed a little nervous, and that itself made Shiho herself a little nervous as well as she wondered what exactly he was nervous about.

"Can I become a permanent subject in your future photos?"

Those unexpected words fell from his mouth, and she couldn't conceal her surprise as she stared at him, eyes wide. This isn't like him, to say such things in such an evasive manner. He needs to be more direct, and she'll definitely make him explain himself later, but for now, she'll say the exact words on her mind with how she truly felt:

"Well, I guess we'll just have to take a few test photographs to find out."