Mikau: Hi guys! Good to see you! Are you all keeping warm? We got some heavy snow on Sunday, and now the temperatures are ridiculously cold (comparatively, anyway). I know a lot of the US is really suffering from crazy temperatures, so I recommend that you all stay inside and read fanfiction. Yes. Go back and reread your old favorites. Run along now. Oh wait! But read this first! Haha. Anyway, thanks so much to my reviewers from last chapter: patternleap, Bunnyz-chan, and Guest!

Disclaimer: Let's be honest—I own nothing. I'm not even caught up on Conan. I'm back at episode 523. Though, I have watch all 523 episodes in their entirety and some episodes around 650-666 that were airing while I was in Japan. I'm catching up quickly, though.

…

Idealistic Interest

It was scary. Shinichi had been gone for over a year now, and it seemed that Ran's idea of who and what Shinichi was was just getting more and more distorted by the day.

Before he had left, Shinichi had been a rude, immature, insensitive, clueless tease. Sure, he had his moments where he was cool, selfless, and sweet, but the majority of the time, he was a teenage brat, full of his own ego.

Somehow, all the bad memories and less desirable qualities had been deleted from Mouri Ran's mind, and that was scary to Shinichi. All that was left was this idealized picture of a Prince Charming that wore Shinichi's face. The real Kudo Shinichi couldn't live up to that.

If he were to come back and be the man he really was, Ran would be disappointed. Would she even really want him anymore?

"I would give up, Shin-chan," Kaito cooed gently. "Once she stops seeing you for who you really are, it's over. She doesn't want you; she wants the man she thinks you are. She's in love with someone who doesn't actually exist. You two don't even know each other anymore; how can you be in love?"

Conan sighed, taking a long sip of his coffee.

"Sorry. You asked me to be honest." Kaito bit his lip, wondering if he should have been a little less brutally honest.

"No. You're right." Conan set down his coffee mug and looked Kaito in the eye. "Our relationship is dead. It's time to move on."

"I know it's not much consolation, but I'm here for you, Shin-chan," Kaito offered weakly. What were you supposed to say to a man who had just lost the love of his life?

"No, Kaito. It means a lot to me. Thanks." Conan was able to muster up a genuine smile.

He may not have had a clear picture of how things were going to end up in the future, but he did have some idea of where he was going.

Kaito returned the grin.

…

Mikau: Yay! Cute KaiShin fluff. I hope you liked it. Thanks so much for reading! You guys stay safe and warm! Until next time.