I'm here... [ShinRan]

Good to know

They returned to Ran's apartment late this day. Kogoro wasn't home, probably out playing mah-jong or pachinko. It felt right to hold hands while they were walking, so they did. Shinichi was proud of himself that he did develop only a slightly blush. Ran was in high spirits since she smiled at and greeted everyone they met. Geez – as if nothing had happened.

But they'd changed. Even Akai noticed as they passed him at the front door. He eyed him suspiciously though he didn't interfere. They would have to talk soon enough. After all Ran had to be accounted for in any of their further plans. Not that he wanted to endanger her but knowing his Ran, she wouldn't remain on the sideline when he stood in the middle of it. She would want to stand right beside him.

He sat down at the table while Ran disappeared in the kitchen to prepare their meal. Shinichi wondered if it would be like this – when they were engaged or... married. Not eager to face her with such thoughts on his mind, he regarded the TV though he left it switched off. He sheepishly indulged himself in the image of him and Ran sharing a common flat, maybe a house, living together and even having children.

All this seemed so far away at the moment. He had to plan every step from now on. He couldn't let anything bad happen to her. He simply wouldn't... He couldn't cope with it.

"Rice and curry good enough?"

Ran leaned out of the kitchen door wearing a kitchen apron. He watched her tying it around her hips and looping it carefully. Then only did he allow his eyes to travel back to her face.

"Of course."

Why shouldn't it be? He always ate everything she prepared. Ran's cooking was nothing special but she did it with all her heart. And he savoured every bit of it, having grown fond of it in his time as Conan. Now he was here as Shinichi though.

"May I help you?"

"No, no. I'll just be a minute. Suit yourself!"

She vanished again and he looked at his surroundings. The apartment strangely felt both familiar and odd. He explained to her last night that he sometimes had to act deliberately childish to get acknowledged by the grown-ups. He would have to school his expression when she was close by. And she would, too. In no way could they act like a couple when others were present. He insisted that they had to be extremely cautious.

And that was a sad thing in turn. So what, he revealed the truth to her. And what good did it do to him? Only at times they were alone could they show their feelings. Shinichi sighed – not for the first time this day – and folded his arms on top of the table to rest his head upon. It made things more difficult, certainly.

And then Ran placed a steaming pot of rice in front of him and draped her arms around his shoulders and under his chin.

"It's good to know you're here."

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouthand Shinichi closed his eyes. It made things more difficult, yes. But then itmade them so much better also. To hell with tomorrow. He would deal with theOrganization when they came face-to-face. Now he wanted to be with Ran and he intendedto cherish every single moment of it.

*~The End~*

Thank you very much for reading this far. At the end I just had to add some fluff because... yeah, I honestly couldn't get enough. XD

Hope you liked it and had fun reading it. If you find any mistakes (especially with my English) 

I'm not sure yet how to proceed. The main part of my stories will still be posted on www.fanfiktion.de (cause home is where my heart is) but I definitely will be writing in English soon. It was fun to freely write to my heart's content but I'm gonna switch back to German for now. 

Who knows, I might even post some one-shots here. Stay tuned... or how a friend of mine puts it:

Step right this way! Watch carefully!

And: See you next illusion ;-)!