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It only occurred to him to ask about it as she was convalescing. He didn't ask her directly, of course. She had humiliated him enough the day he was thinking about asking about...
Conan's cheeks flushed crimson as he recalled his first proper introduction to the girl once known as Sherry. She'd made a right fool of him, and he still didn't understand how one could find so amusing the act of fooling him into believing his oldest friend had been harmed.
He leaned towards that same older man now.
"Hey, Professor..." Conan held onto the railing as he turned to the white-haired man fussing with the mezzanine's blinds. "How long did she wait? Before she chose to meet me?"
Professor Agasa paused his pulling of the cord to look at the shrunken teenager, perplexity twisting his brow. Conan sighed before grumpily turning back to the railing and muttering a clarifying addition.
"Oh, how long between when I found her and when she joined your class?" The professor sounded jovial as he considered his question. "About a month, I'd say? She—"
As the professor volunteered more detail on his and his refugee's thinking, Conan looked down upon the sofa below, his perch on the balcony offering an ideal view to observe the young bandaged-up girl, resting her eyes as her tea went cold. She looked dwarfed by the crutches resting against the armrest.
Conan couldn't fathom waiting a whole month to meet someone else in the same situation as him. Even allowing for her circumstances — being the creator of the poison that shrunk him, namely — in her place he'd have been desperate just to feel seen.
He recalled the events of the Haido City Hotel, how close to death she had come, the name Pisco had whispered just as Conan had arrived to her rescue.
Shiho. So that was her real name.
She kept surprising him, this Shiho Miyano.
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Ai Haibara watched as he scribbled in his notebook, brow furrowed and chin twitching.
He's like a dog, she thought. One of those terriers that's always a moment away from tearing off onto their next chase. It looked exhausting, he really could benefit from slowing down and taking a minute to rest.
Still, something in her smiled at seeing him so dogged in his pursuit of truth. It was a refreshing change of pace from the world of schemes and shadows she grew up in.
"Hey," she said, leaning right into his space, her forehead resting against the soft wool of his dark bonnet. She delighted in the startled expression he gave her. It gave her a warm feeling she was willing to chase.
After the interruption of the conversation, she was content to sit and wait for him to catch his reward. Ai was used to waiting after all.
Only he went and got himself trapped, didn't he? The fearful faces of the other children, the picture she was forming from the clues she'd noticed Conan putting together... She wasn't used to being the one hunting out truths, but if felt so natural to follow his trail.
It was a relief when they found him again, the villain of the day defeated by the reveal that the crimes had all been for naught.
She went back to waiting then, but found she didn't mind jogging by his side every now and then.
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The two fell into a strange back and forth after that... A rhythm building but struggling to maintain itself. She'd overshoot, he'd overcorrect... For one so keen on truth, he sure worked hard to keep her in the dark — A dark so bright and warm with the promise of a normal life. She let herself believe it for a while. He delighted in the quiet moments where he could watch her breathe and play, without the strain of her past life souring her features. She and the professor delighted in the moments where they could stump him with a brain teaser, bring him down to earth with the reminder that there's more to life than mysteries.
Professor Agasa, of course, saw the signs well before either of them did. Ran Mouri even called it out in front of Conan once, though he hadn't believed her to be aware of enough of the facts to take serious note. Of course, she didn't need to know the facts to see what was there. She only needed eyes.
And all the two had needed to find their mutual rhythm was the antidote. The Syndicate buried in years worth of litigation, their bodies returned to their true size, well...
Shinichi Kudo and Shiho Miyano sparked with chemistry in the back and forths their friends soon witnessed. It was honestly a relief to Ran when Shinichi finally said yes to dating Shiho instead of her. The Professor made sure to keep her informed of all the gossip, in return for a safe space to stash some of his guilty pleasure pastries.
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It went a little like this:
"Come on Miyano, I'm tired of waiting!"
"Hold your horses, Kudo, alright? If something is worth doing, it's worth doing right!"
"Do you have any idea how hard it is not to crease this shirt while you're powdering your nose?"
"Look, I might not have been your first choice of plus one for this award ceremony, but now you're stuck with me. Deal with it."
"..."
"Are you doing a sulky face?"
"Miyanooooo..."
"Hush, you big baby, I'm done."
"...!!"
"Thought you'd be pleased."
"Is that the latest—?"
"Hot off the press, deluxe edition. You had better check out the dedication right now."
"Dear Shinichi Kudo, congratulations on your big award. The lovely lady gifting you this was very intent that I write the following..."
"Keep going!"
"Will you do Shiho Miyano the honour of taking her to the awards night not just as your plus one, but as your date?"
"..."
"...!!"
"So, you going to give me an answer, master detective?"
"I... Yes, damn it. I've been meaning to ask you out properly for weeks."
"!!"
"You look stunning by the way. Now, we'd better hurry...!"
"Kudo, you dork, don't start reading while walking me down the corridor!"
Needless to say, the pair made headlines in the local news.
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Fin
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