Title: From Now On, I Love You
Author: Alice S. (alicelians@yahoo.com)
Rating: PG
Date: July 28, 2022
Tags: One-Shot, Detective Conan, Shinichi Kudo x Shiho Miyano, Fluff, ShinRan Angst at the Beginning, Post-Antidote, (Past) Shinichi x Ran
Word Count: 1000+
Description: All other emotion was overtaken by a sudden realization, that the woman in front of him could no longer be a mere friend.
Distribution: alicesficroom
Disclaimer: The characters mentioned in this story are all owned by Gosho Aoyama and Shogakukan, I do not own them.
Author’s Note: Inspired by Scully’s famous quote in “Rain King.” I was inspired by it after watching YouTube clips, and now I wish I had a super power in which I can survive on 3 hours of sleep so I can keep on watching The X-Files while keeping up with my homework (Curse you, nightly APUSH readings!). I also referenced a fun scene from Lovely Complex.

Before then, I had foolishly believed that I could never love another. After all, I had loved that girl for almost my whole life, and thought that we were guaranteed a chance to be together forever and that it was set in stone since the day we met. Yet the moment I returned, we had finally realized that perhaps we were not meant to be. Unmotivated to keep the passion of young love burning, we ended it all. Others believed that it was too abrupt, too surprising, too foolish to let go of so easily, but what else could we do?

I could only watch as she repeated the word “liar,” with puffy eyes and a choking voice.

I meant to protect her with my lies, but how could I bring myself to lie to her once more if they brought tears to her eyes every time? I believed that it would be fine if the lies piled up as long as we were together, yet, it was because of my dishonesty that we would no longer be together.

It had been several years since we parted, and recently I have been feeling fine. I had become accustomed to a routine of being called over to crime scenes and being able to communicate my deduction without pretending to be an old man. However, yesterday, an old friend and colleague of mine, Shiho Miyano was suddenly called over to Beika City, all the way from Los Angeles, and was requested medical assistance at a nearby hospital after small traces of the drug APTX 4869 were found in a local child’s body. I hadn’t been able to see her since she was requested for assistance in Haido Town with administering an experiment around Valentine’s Day. The last I remember of her was when she gave me a chocolate cake with “Obligatory” written smack middle on that cake. From then, she returned to Los Angeles, where she was training to become a medical doctor. As for a mention of the drug, it has been years since we’ve found another possible victim. When she called me to let me know that she was coming over for this reason, her voice was trembling.

And, today was the day I picked her up from the airport. She personally called me to do so, and she didn’t have to say any more.

“So, how are you doing these days?” she asked me.

I almost burst out laughing, and I choked instead. “Miyano–” I asked her, trying to recover myself through coughs. “What… are… you saying?”

She laughed at my struggle. “Just get me lunch and I’ll give you the details. I heard that there was a new restaurant opening in the city.”

We walked to a branch of Danny’s just right across the street from Poirot Cafe. I noticed that she was eyeing the poster advertising a stack of strawberry pancakes.

“Thought we were getting lunch,” I told her.

“It’s not even noon,” she smiled. “Anyway, I’m glad you didn’t bring me to Poirot. That guy still gives me the chills. Somehow, I still feel like something's gonna happen.”

The waiter walked over to our table, and curiously asked, “Who gives you the chills?”

Shiho turned around and suddenly cursed in English once she saw this man’s face clearly. “Holy shit.” That wasn’t something I heard everyday.

I blinked. “What are you doing here, Amuro-san?”

“The manager wanted me to help with getting more customers,” he explained. “So, I’d be glad to serve you today.” I looked over to Miyano, and she shook her head. There was no way she was going to spill the deets here.

I looked back at Amuro and ordered my portion. “Um, yeah, I’d like to start off with an iced latte…”

After we were done eating, we headed over to the park to talk. The trees were green with the summer, and the heat was rising with every minute. We still walked along the flower path, and there, she was able to tell me about the case she was called to.

“The subject is Suzuna Kishimoto,” Miyano looked over her notes as she was telling him the details. “She appears to be 5 years old, but was identified to be Juliet Hanasawa, a first year student at Beika Girls’ High School. I came to personally give her an antidote, but we’re going to need your help finding who poisoned her in the first place.” I could see that her grip on the folder tightened.

Miyano took a deep breath before continuing. “You know, I was talking to Julie— Juliet over the phone. She was so scared, you know. She just moved to Japan from Australia six months ago. Not even a year ago. Her voice when she was telling me about how scared she was, I spent all night thinking about it, Kudo-kun…” She looked to the side at me and was on the verge of falling over.

“You’re tired, Miyano,” I caught her before she was able to. “We have to get you to the hotel.”

She shook her head. “No way.” She then mumbled, “Weird rumors will spread.”

Then, without thinking I said. “Then let them spread.”

She then looked up at me, and for the first time in a while, she showed me a shy face. But not because of an idol of hers, but it was because of me. “What?” was the only word she could say in response. I couldn’t say anything. For some reason, although I had held her in my arms many times before, there was a new feeling that welled up inside.

I then realized that it was the feeling of new love that I have not known for so long. And the possibility of the depth of our partnership could run deeper from here on out.

After a moment of awkward silence, Shiho gave a response. “In that case, let’s go together.”

We started walking back together, and on the way to our car, we saw three familiar figures waving to us. We weren’t leaving for a while.