"There was a box in Shinichi's desk."

There was a box in Shinichi's desk.

Ran didn't notice it until lunch period was ending and she was about to sit back at her seat.

It wasn't very noticable, sitting inside the compartment under the desktop.

Ran looked around the room, Sonoko was already back in her seat, looking at her questioningly. But there wasn't anyone paying attention to Shinichi's desk.

'I wonder if someone put it in the wrong desk...' Ran wondered.

It wouldn't surprise her if it was for Shinichi. But she also knew that the girls at their school assumed that she would be the one to give him chocolates. And they would be correct to assume so, if Shinichi was here.

Ran had contemplated making chocolates for Shinichi, and even joined Sonoko in making chocolates (which she planned to later give to Kyogoku-san). However, in the end, Ran wasn't sure what she should do with the chocolate that she had made. Shinichi wasn't here anyways. And he doesn't even like sweet things.

In the end, she just left it in the fridge.

"Ran? Why are you just standing there?" Sonoko's voice startled Ran out of her musing. She must have paused long enough for it to look unusual to Sonoko. She turned to her best friend with a wry smile.

"It's nothing, Sonoko." Then an idea hit her. "Actually, Sonoko, did you notice the box in Shinichi's desk?" Ran asked her friend in a faux whisper voice, not really wanting to draw other people's attention to the box.

She's pretty sure the other girls will start filling up Shinichi's desk too if they saw that she didn't have any problems with the box currently in his desk right now. And Ran really didn't want all those chocolate to go to waste.

"Hm?" Sonoko tilted her head, and then moved towards Ran to look at Shinichi's desk. "A box?"

Ran nodded. She knew the exact moment that Sonoko spotted it through the change in her friend's facial expression.

"Ehhhhh? Did someone decide to give Shinichi-kun chocolate after all?" Sonoko said quietly next to her. Ran shrugged. It's not like she knew who put the box there, or if it was even Valentine's related.

"It's just a shame that the chocolate will go to waste, though." Ran turned to Sonoko with a frown. "After all, Shinichi isn't back from his case yet."

Ran wondered what she should do with it. It's probably not safe to just leave it there to go bad. But it also feels wrong to just throw the chocolate away when it was supposed to be a gift to Shinichi.

"Do you think someone put it in the wrong desk?" She asked Sonoko.

"Hmmm, nah. There's no way!" Sonoko answered with an incredulous look on her face.

Ran understood the sentiment to be honest, after all Shinichi was quite popular and famous in their school.

"If you don't want it to go to waste, you should just take it back with you then." Sonoko suggested, disrupting her distracted musing again.

Wait...

"What? I can't just do that! Sonoko!" She protested.

"Why not? If anyone deserves to eat Shinichi-kun's chocolate, it would be you! You might as well take it if you think it will go to waste."

"But..." Ran looked back at the box.

"If you don't take it with you, we'll just end up throwing it away later anyways." Sonoko pointed out the very thing Ran thought of just seconds ago.

"You really think I should?" Ran looked back at Sonoko, unsure of all this.

"Of course! If he asks about it, which we all know he won't, just say you took it as payment for having to deal with his mess."

"Mou, Sonoko!"

The belt rang. They were both startled out of their conversation and moved to sit at their seat before the teacher got back. It seemed that Ran will be taking the box home with her after all. She couldn't help but feel bad for the poor girl wanting to give this to Shinichi.

"I'm home!" Shinichi called out into the Mouri Detective Agency as he entered.

"Welcome home!" He heard Ran calling out from the kitchen. From the noises coming out from the kitchen, he could guess that Ran had already begun preparations for making dinner.

He had come back to the Agency later than usual due to being guilt tripped by Haibara into hanging out with the kids after school. Honestly, he's pretty sure Haibara just gets a kick out of making him feel bad about things. It's not like he's been avoiding the kids. They literally see each other everyday at school. Not that mentioning this to Haibara would help his case.

He headed to the kitchen.

Ran was moving around the kitchen, cooking, as he assumed correctly. He dragged himself up into the chair, when he noticed a box on the table.

"Eh, what's this, Ran-neechan?" He leaned closer to take a closer look at the box.

"Ah, that," Ran turned to look at what he was talking about before focusing back on her cooking. "I found it in Shinichi's desk today. I think someone wanted to give him Valentine's chocolate?"

Oh right, Valentine's day, the reason why his backpack was stuffed with little notes and letters from who knows what. The reason why he didn't want to stick around at school in the first place. Sure, he's gotten used to hanging out with the kids now, but getting love notes from some of the children in his class still creeps him out a little.

After all, he is ten years older than all these kids.

He also wasn't expecting chocolates from his high school classmates considering the fact that he's been gone for almost a full year now.

"Hmmm, what are you doing to do with it, Ran-neechan?" He asked with the curious kiddy voice that he usually used to endear adults, to get answers out of them.

He might not have been expecting to get chocolates, but he still wanted them. It was his gift, after all.

"I'm not sure actually," Ran answered. Deciding that he didn't care, Shinichi reached out for the box, and pulled the ribbon off. "I was thinking maybe I'll give it to dad? Or maybe just keep it for myself, like Sonoko said I should."

Shinichi frowned and took the chocolate with what looked like a garnish of lemon skin and took a bite.

"Mmm! Delicious!" He exclaimed in surprise, startling Ran.

The sharp tang of the lemon and the smooth creaminess of the white chocolate shell still lingered in his mouth. It was almost more sour than sweet, but the sourness, the creaminess and the sweetness all balances each other out. He popped the rest of the chocolate into his mouth before turning to Ran, mouth full of delicious lemony chocolate goodness.

"Ran-neechan! Can I have the chocolates?" He said around his mouthful of chocolate, forcing his eyes wide. Hoping the kid-wide-begging-eyes will take effect on Ran.

"Oh," Ran was looking at him with a surprised expression, before it morphed into an indulgent smile, "oh why not, go ahead Conan-kun."

He smiled before grabbing the box of chocolate, covering it with the lid again, and hoping down to go to his room.

"But don't eat them too quickly, okay?" Ran called out after him.

"Okay!"

In the privacy of his room, Shinichi allowed himself to savor the chocolates.

The coffee one was just as delicious in the bittersweetness of it. He could tell the coffee used was a good, dark roast, from the lack of sour aftertaste that's usually present with beans with a lighter roast. Another piece surprised him with matcha flavor, encased in the same dark chocolate shell as the coffee one.

It surprised him that none of these chocolates were too sweet for his liking. The flavors and texture all balanced each other out. They really were good chocolates. Well, they're probably truffles, considering that all of them have mousse fillings. The mousses themselves were all very delicious as well.

Shinichi looked back at the box lying next to him.

It was a plain brown rectangular box, no patterns or note stuck to it. Just a bright cobalt blue ribbon tied into a bow before he pulled the ribbon off.

Shinichi wondered who the chocolate was from. While most guys don't really like sweets, lemon and coffee were quite specific flavors for it to just be a coincidence, surely...

a gift for my little man, if gosho won't let him rest, then the least i could do was give him some chocolate. #freeshincihifromconan2020