Ran wandered desolately through the crowds of happy daytrippers and holidaymakers. She wondered why she had accepted Sonoko's suggestion of a day in Tropical Land with friends. She felt no less lonely; Conan-kun had returned to America, and she hadn't heard from Shinichi in the longest time. She hadn't even been able to bring herself to join in the animated conversation about the explosions in Tokyo Bay; it seemed that there had been underground and partially underwater bunkers there, though who and what had been in them had not been released to the public yet.

It didn't matter. Nothing seemed to, recently; whenever she heard something, she wanted to talk about it with Conan or Shinichi; she missed both of them so much. Conan's absence made Shinichi's even sharper- without either, she just felt so lonely.

Ai-chan had left, too. The Shonen Tantei-Dan had been very upset about losing nearly half of their members, but they'd cheer up in no time. Children that age bounced back so quickly from loss.

Ran couldn't. She couldn't help feeling so alone, even in such crowds as she was in now.

She wandered down to the little courtyard, standing in the middle. Why had Shinichi shown her this? He wasn't really the type to go for fountains and rainbows himself, she knew. And it wasn't a publicized feature of Tropical Land; just a little surprise. Had he sought it out especially for her?

She couldn't know. She couldn't ask him. He was gone.

The fountains shot up around her, and as they did someone came hurtling down the steps. They burst through the innermost wall of water as it shot up, spraying water everywhere. Ran shrieked as he shook water off like a wet dog.

"Sorry, sorry," he gasped. Ran froze, staring at the man in shock. That voice... was it...

"Shinichi?" she said softly, as if saying his name would cause him to vanish, like a mirage. He straightened up, looking down at her, his sparkling sapphire stare piercing into her.

"Ran," he said. Then he reached out and hugged her.

Ran leaned against his chest, feeling her knees give way. She couldn't believe it. "You're... here...?" she whispered.

"I am," he said quietly. She shivered as his breath brushed her ear. "And this time I don't intend to leave ever again. This time, Ran, I swear... I'm not leaving you. It's all over now."

Ran pulled back, staring up at him, searching for any hint of a lie. It was then that she first noticed the long scar across one cheek, still looking rather raw.

"What happened?" she asked, reaching out to touch the scar. He winced a little. It wasn't just the scar; it had been well over a year since she had seen him last. They were nineteen now, graduated (though she wondered how Shinichi had managed that with his absence rate); Shinichi was taller again, no longer a gangly teen but a man, strong arms still wrapped around her...

"I told you it was a big case I was on," he said sadly, reaching up to catch her hand. "If finally ended last week at Tokyo Bay."

"Tokyo Bay- those explosions-?!" Ran gasped.

"This is the worst of it, I promise," he said, indicating the scar. "But it's all over now. It's a long story..."

"If it's all over, then we have our whole lives for you to tell that story," Ran said with a smile. "I missed you so much..."

"I missed you too," he said, his voice suddenly choked. "Every day..." Then he leaned down and kissed her.

Ran didn't notice if there was a rainbow over them this time; the fireworks between her and Shinichi shone every colour that there could have been and more. They didn't even notice when the fountains ended.

5/09/09- Happy *censored*th birthday, Dad! This fluffshot is shorter than the others, but it doesn't matter since he doesn't like manga anyway XDXD