Title: The Story You Already Know
Author: RanMouri82
Pairing: Kudou Shin'ichi and Mouri Ran
Fandom: Detective Conan
Theme: #26 – if only I could make you mine
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Detective Conan is pwned by Aoyama Gosho. I only admire his l33t skillz. (Published 3/12/2016)
Notes: Prompt of a Ran and Shin'ichi reconciliation fic from hislips. Enjoy!

The Story You Already Know

Catching his breath, Kudou Shin'ichi slowed to a stop beneath the darkened windows of the Mouri Detective Agency. Harsh streetlight streaked the dim sidewalk with his shadow. Looking up, he shivered as evening chill seeped through his Teitan blazer. He had not been prepared for the dip in temperature or the murder that had delayed him for several hours. Though he usually could not care less about catching a cold, and though he had long missed this old routine, nothing else mattered right now than reaching Ran.

As his mother would say, it was time to "face the music".

Wiping the chilled sweat from his forehead, he turned, groggily trudged up the cement stairs toward the Mouri's apartment door, and turned over in his mind each apology gone wrong. Earlier that day during school, Sonoko had blocked every single one of his attempts to talk to Ran and barked at him to get lost. Not surprising, since Ran had just experienced the worst shock and betrayal of her life. Their fellow classmates, clueless that he had spent months as elementary schooler Edogawa Conan, simply chuckled about how Ran had divorced him.

Shin'ichi knew too well that Ran was not a girl who craved space, even when she was pissed off. This was different. Her sullen silence was eating her alive.

After school, Ran had let his call to her cell phone go to voicemail. A half hour ago, as soon as he had torn himself away from the latest crime scene, Eri hung up the house phone. At least, now that Ran had either parent hovering at her side whenever she was home, this told Shin'ichi it was her mother's shift.

Shin'ichi reached the front door and hesitated. He was starting from zero. Shaking his head, he found his resolve and knocked.

After some shuffling, Eri opened the door by a mere crack, crossed her arms in front of her chest, and arched an eyebrow at Shin'ichi. The lavender tunic sweater she wore added the thinnest layer of softness to the severe look of scorn she gave him. "Returning to the scene of the crime?"

Shin'ichi sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I deserve that."

"Damn right you do. I know it was not intentional and the circumstances were extremely unusual, but you hurt Ran terribly, and I mean terribly. I expect you to take responsibility for that."

"I know. That's why I'm here," he said, nodding. He swallowed the hard lump in his throat. "She deserves an apology. And an explanation."

"True, but not tonight." Eri peered at him over the rim of her glasses. "She's not here."

"Listen, I know she's there," Shin'ichi said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Her sneakers are right behind you, with the laces tucked in like she always does, even when she's in a hurry." When Eri set her jaw in response, he added, "Please, I just want to know if she's willing to talk for a few minutes. If she's not, I'll leave."

"Let him in, Mom," said a hollow voice from a short distance behind the door. "It's okay."

"Ran, what are you doing—?" Shaking her head, Eri opened the door and moved aside.

Ran walked from a small corridor toward her mother and stopped an arm's length away. Her hair was stringy, her face red, and her eyes puffy but dark as they stared at the floor. Though she had changed from school clothes into jeans and a pink tee-shirt, she squirmed as if wearing itchy wool. Nodding, she said, "Please come in, Shin'ichi."

Stepping inside, one of the first things Shin'ichi noticed, other than Ran's mother glaring holes into the back of his skull, was the low dining table. How many evenings had he and 'Ran-neechan' spent eating dinner together and laughing at a game show or groaning in unison as the old man screamed over idol singers? For the moment, however, the table held only a teapot with two humble cups.

"I was about to ask if you wanted me to bring you some tea," Eri said, hushing her voice as she smoothed Ran's hair, "But if you're accepting that person's company, feel free to drink it out here."

Ran nodded and gave Eri a weak smile. "Thanks."

Eri gently kissed Ran's forehead and stroked her tear-stained cheek. "I'll be in your room in case you need me."

With one last, sharp, warning glare at Shin'ichi, Eri spun on her heel, stepped into Ran's bedroom, and closed the door behind her.

The sudden silence thickened the air.

Shin'ichi found a spare pair of slippers, walked into the room, coughed, and said, "Where's Uncle? Ugh, I mean—"

"Dad's off playing mahjong," Ran said, wrapping her arms around herself and cradling her elbows. She walked to the table and, standing beside it but facing the far wall away from Shin'ichi, added, "Of course, Mom locked him out."

He nodded. Mahjong and beer were a natural pair for Kogorou, and the man was beyond noisy when he was drunk, so whenever he came home that way, his punishment was sleeping it off on the agency's couch. Nights like those ironically had given them more sleep-well, especially Conan, since he was free of the old man snoring in his ear.

Ran said nothing else, but knelt beside the table and began to pour. Jasmine scent wafted into the air as green tea filled the ceramic, handleless cups rimmed with a simple, dark green glaze. The ceiling lamp reflected on the surface of the tea as it rose higher and higher.

Shin'ichi crossed the room and sat opposite Ran. For once, he struggled to speak. Everything he had done as Conan made sense at the time to protect Ran's life, but nothing he had done protected her heart. The explanation and apology clung to the tip of his tongue. Neither were good enough.

When Ran slid the cup across the table to Shin'ichi, he mumbled, "Thank you."

Ran giggled, just above a whisper. "You've never been this quiet."

Shin'ichi stared at the steam curling up from his tea. "I'm sorry, Ran. For everything."

Ran smiled and shook her head. "Idiot. I know you mean that, but you don't even know what to be sorry for."

Her words jabbed his stomach. She was right.

"The reason I let you in, though," Ran said, maintaining that gentle, sad smile, "was because I've been thinking about what happened—a lot—and I think I understand some things better now." She sought his eyes. "Will you hear my deduction?"

Shin'ichi blinked. This was new. Not knowing what to expect unnerved him, but being in no position to refuse, he nodded again.

Ran straightened up on her cushion and cleared her throat as if preparing to tell a story. "Starting from what I remember, after solving a murder at Tropical Land, you saw something and ran off without me. What you saw were those men in black from the roller coaster about to do some shady business." When Shin'ichi sighed, she tsked and tugged her lips into a tight smile. "Really, Shin'ichi, you smell a crime and run after it like a bloodhound."

"Thanks," he said, frowning. Still, he was grateful she had only recognized Vodka, and that only from his arrest. Like a predator refusing to be anyone else's prey, Gin had chosen suicide. At least Ran was spared the sight of his bloodied corpse.

"They were too much for you, right?"

"Yeah."

Ran traced her finger around the rim of her cup. "For the longest time, I thought Professor Agasa hid you from dangerous people by shrinking you to child size, but then, the other day, when Ai-chan mentioned an antidote," Ran continued, her hands trembling, "I realized those men poisoned you."

He nodded.

"Next thing I know was that, long after I got home and tried calling you, you didn't pick up the phone." She sniffled, but breathed deeply and regained her composure. "I was right to worry, after all, wasn't I?"

Shin'ichi stared at the tea and said nothing.

"By the time I reached your house, Professor Agasa already knew the truth about you, and you two had already decided to hide it from me."

Clenching his hands, he said, "Yes, but—"

"Don't worry, I know why." Ran paused to sip from her cup, but quickly set it down and made a face. It was still too hot. "You were so flustered when the professor introduced you as his relative. That only makes sense if it was his idea. He realized if the men who poisoned you found out you survived, we would all be in danger. That's why he was willing to take in Ai-chan, but not you, right? Living next to your house would've been too suspicious."

A fond glimmer caught her eye. "No wonder the name Edogawa Conan was so weird. You probably made it up on the spot."

"Well, you did back me into a corner," Shin'ichi said, managing an awkward grin. As he watched, Ran's eyes began to well with tears.

"I-I just," she whispered, "I know I wasn't in hiding like Ai-chan or a detective like Hattori-kun or like any of the agents involved with the case. But why didn't you trust me?"

Cringing, Shin'ichi rose to his knees and said, "Ran, it's not that I didn't trust you—"

"Liar! You didn't!" Ran cried, slamming her fists on the table. The ceramic cups rattled and the tea swished, but did not spill. She squeezed her eyes shut and tears rolled down her already flushed cheeks. "You didn't trust me to be safe if I knew the truth. You didn't trust me to stay alive, did you? Did you?"

Shin'ichi blinked, stunned as her words hit him full force. He sank onto his heels. "...No."

Ran opened her eyes and stared at the table.

Shin'ichi grit his teeth.

"Dammit, Ran, I knew you were strong. You kicked more than one huge guy's ass in front of me. And I knew you were tough. No matter how much I made you cry, you never gave up or stopped waiting for me. I wanted to tell you from the start," he said, blushing as he remembered the first time Ran said she loved him. "More than once, I came this close," he quickly went on, pinching his thumb and forefinger, "but being a kid around you was dangerous enough. If I told you the truth I could never take it back."

Each word drained Shin'ichi as he grappled to understand it. If it stood to reason that Ran was safer not knowing his identity, why had such a deadly secret been hard to keep at all? Why had Agasa's and Haibara's warnings barely stopped him from telling Ran? Why had he gone back and forth on it so many times?

Then, he smiled, realizing his real reason was not based on reason at all.

It was fear.

"I couldn't risk them knowing I loved you. That I'd die if they killed you."

He hated watching Ran cry when she thought he could not see. But more than he hated hurting Ran, he feared what could happen if she knew.

"And that scared the hell out of me."

Ran clung to the table edge, her fingers pale. Her eyes glistened with tears even as they flew open in shock.

"Still, I could've taken Dad's suggestion and left for America." Shin'ichi hung his head. "Instead, I stayed close to you, lied to you, and kept you involved. That was selfish. Really selfish."

For a moment, the two sat in silence. Only the faint ribbons of steam moved.

Slowly, Ran reached her shaking arm across the table and touched Shin'ichi's hand. "Idiot, don't be sorry for that. Even though you pretended to be somebody else, I got to see your stupid face every day. If you asked me what I wanted, no matter what, I would've wanted you to stay."

Her fingertips were ice cold.

"I'm still mad that you lied and hid everything from me," Ran went on, "but if it's because you were scared, that's okay. Losing you...I'm scared of that, too."

Shin'ichi lifted his hand to close it over Ran's. "You had no way of knowing how much danger I was in, or that I was safe, even when you saved my life."

Ran tearfully nodded. "More than that," she murmured, "I wanted to believe you. So much. Even when I knew you were lying to me."

Both fell silent. Shin'ichi's watch ticked the passing time.

"I didn't know another way, Ran. But I still hurt you," he said, blushing at the contact but refusing to let go. "I'm sorry."

"I forgive you," she murmured, with a sniffle, "detective geek."

Panic surged within Shin'ichi's stomach as he realized what he had to do now. There was only one way to start making this right.

"Would letting you stay beside me, even when it's dangerous, make up for it a little?" His insides screamed at him for being reckless, because dammit, there were murderers who would not hesitate to kill Ran in many, horrible ways, but he ignored it and watched Ran begin to smile.

"Yes." Her smile was infectious and her hand warmer.

"Can't promise I won't freak out or do anything stupid," Shin'ichi said, "but I promise I'll try."

"Silly," Ran said, "Don't you think I know you well enough by now?" She winked. "If you run off, I'll run, too."

"Heh," Shin'ichi replied, "deal."

Coughs echoed from the corridor.

The pair glanced up to see Eri emerging from Ran's open bedroom.

Shin'ichi bolted, Ran gasped, and they yanked their hands apart, which was difficult since their fingers were entwined.

"So I take it you're staying for dinner?" Eri said. She took a tablet computer she had tucked under her arm and swiped its screen. "Judging by the evening news, you haven't eaten." When Shin'ichi's stomach rumbled, answering for him, she walked toward the kitchen and said, "Drink that tea before it gets cold."

He obeyed. Though it was lukewarm by now, the jasmine scent soothed him. It was a pleasant surprise.

"Oh wait," Shin'ichi said, checking his watch. "Ran, you wanted to catch tonight's premiere of that historical drama. It's starting in a few minutes."

"How did you know—oh!" Ran blinked. She held her hand to her lips and giggled. "That's right, I mentioned that to Sonoko three weeks ago when we went shopping in Shibuya and dragged you along. Though you looked bored to tears at the time, 'Conan-kun'."

"Ha ha," he said, smirking and handing Ran the remote control. "Still your place, not mine."

Ran took the remote, playfully whacked Shin'ichi on his knee, and turned on the television. Okino Yoko appeared on the screen, dancing among floating orange slices in a vitamin-infused lipstick commercial, and suddenly the old routine settled in, different but the same. A burning scent soon floated from the kitchen, and Ran and Shin'ichi laughed, each glad in their own way to be together again.