A/N: Just a quick note at first; this story starts right after they were mushroom-hunting and Ai and Mitsuhiko got threatened by the bear-hunter (or so they thought).

Confessions

Sighing, glad that Mitsuhiko and Ai had made it out alive, Conan - or Shinichi, as was his real name - looked forward for the day to end. Although crime and, especially, murder was interesting enough, it got a little too interesting once it put hi own friends in danger. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, and only when his friends were safe could he breathe properly again. When something like that happened, there seemed to be an extra edge to him, making his thoughts work more frantic than ever, even though he tried not to let it show. If he did, it would probably just upset the people around him, or even worse; it might cause them to panic, which would be fatal. If someone paniced, Conan knew he would probably get distracted too much for his own good, and he might end up doing stupid mistakes that would cause him to use much extra time solving the case. That extra time might mean life or death for someone in some cases, and when it came to his friends, he certainly wouldn't want that.

"Ah... Conan-kun?" Looking up, he gave Mitsuhiko a questioning look. They were currently walking back towards professor Agasa's car where they would have another chat with the police before driving to a police-station to give their witness-statements. Or rather, Mitsuhiko and Ai would seeing as Conan and the others hadn't witnessed anything. What could Mitsuhiko possibly want now?

"What?" He asked, putting his hands behind his head.

"Could I... could I talk to you alone for a moment?" Slightly surprised, Conan looked at him carefully, taking in just how nervous, yet determined, the other boy looked. Nodding silently, he couldn't help but wonder what the young boy wanted that was private enough to warrant them to talk alone. It was probably just something silly, like asking about what his opinion of Ayumi or Ai or something stupid like that, he thought to himself. Walking together, they distanced themselves from the professor, Genta and the girls, rounding a car so they were out of sight as well as hearing range.

"Now, what'd you want?" Stopping once they were out of sight, Conan looked at Mitsuhiko's back before the slightly taller boy turned around to face him. Noticing the way Mitsuhiko was fidgeting with his hands and the light blush staining his cheeks, Conan's curiosity got picked. This seemed to be something more than just asking about his opinion on someone. Maybe he was going to ask him to ask Ayumi or Ai if they wanted to date him for him. He would have come up with other possibilities in his head, but before he got that far, Mitsuhiko seemed impossible close and then a pair of soft lips were covering his in a clumsy, inexperienced kiss. Eyes wide, Conan stood frozen in shock as he was practically pushed up against one of the cars. 'That was a bit more than asking my opinion indeed...' was the only vague thought he could muster in his shocked state as he could feel heat rush to his cheeks.

Pulling back, Mitsuhiko's eyes had darkened slightly and held even more determination than before; he had obviously been encouraged by the fact that Conan hadn't pulled away. For a moment their age-difference seemed less present than ever, and they were just two ordinary boys who stared at each other, both a little flushed from the kiss.

"Conan-kun..." the taller boy started, swallowing what remained of his nervousness. "Do you... I mean... please, will you be mine?" he asked softly, the words coming out fumbling and uncertain, awkward. It was obvious that Mitsuhiko had been practising what to say, probably in front of a mirror, and the words seemed foreign to him as he was trying to sound more mature, older, than he really was. Staring for a moment in awe and shock at the other boy, the blush on Conan's cheeks increased. Then, without further ado, reality came crashing down on him. He already had someone he liked, no, loved... perhaps. And he was really seventeen, not six or seven, and the body he wore was not the one he was supposed to wear. Not only that, but he had people chasing him, wanting nothing more than to wipe out his entire existence along with his friends.

Bowing his head, feeling strange after the confession, he let out a small, humourless laugh. He smiled ironically at himself. And here he had been warning Mitsuhiko that Ai would hurt him... He had Ran, he reminded himself, and he was sure she, in her own way, loved him, but he could already see that their relationship, if they ever got that far, would end up disastrous. It wasn't like he thought they'd go in Mori and his wife's footsteps, they couldn't even if they wanted to, but everything that had happened were putting more and more distance between them. He could hear it every time he talked to her on the phone, and it hurt a little bit more each time. And yet, here, when he had shrunk down to a fourth of his real size, when he acted like a child and had to pretend that Ran was his 'nee-sama', did he find someone that was not afraid of telling him what he felt, that wasn't afraid to be with him... Of all people Mitsuhiko could have chosen to ask...

"Gomen... Mitsuhiko-kun," he shook his head sadly, regretfully. "You see, I... am like Ai. I'll only end up breaking your heart," it was almost a pity he had to reject the other boy, because despite the difference in age, and that he had mostly used Genta, Ayumi, and therefore also Mitsuhiko, as a hiding-place, something to convince people he really was a child, he had also started to view them as real friends despite their childishness. He had also learned to appreciate Mitsuhiko's intellect; not that the boy didn't make mistakes, or was as childish as the others, but he was no doubt a lot smarter than them, and in time, when he matured, that would certainly make his company more enjoyable. Really, he wished he didn't have to break the young boy's heart like that.

Looking back up, Shinichi felt his heart clench slightly in discomfort and regret as tears were welling up in Mitsuhiko's eyes. Taking a deep breath, he told himself sternly that this was just silly. Mitsuhiko was a child, he would find someone else and quickly forget everything about Conan, and things would go back to normal again. Then why did that thought make his chest hurt even more? It was clear that the other boy was struggling not to cry, and he swallowed in an attempt to swallow his tears and any possible whimpers. Just as Conan was about to offer a word or two of comfort and to apologize again, Mitsuhiko looked defiantly at him through his tears, startling Conan with the intensity in his eyes.

"At least tell me why!" He demanded stubbornly. "You owe me that much! And don't give me any crap about not liking boys; you wouldn't have let me kiss you had that been the case!" he looked at him, seemingly having won his fight against the tears, but the hurt still lingered in his eyes. Feeling cornered, and guilty for the pain he was causing the other, Conan swallowed audibly as he inwardly cursed himself for not having pushed the other away previously or something, something that could have given him a convenient or easy reason. Of course, he didn't have to give the other boy an explanation, or a reason, but it was not in his nature to do that, besides, remembering that tear-filled gaze from earlier, he felt he owed him one.

"Well?!" Mitsuhiko demanded again, backing him up against the car again, only this time, it was definitely less comfortable or enjoyable as when he was kissed, feeling cornered like that. Racking his brain for a plausible explanation, Conan was almost frantically looking for an escape, wishing he were anywhere but there. After some feeble attempts at explaining his rejection, and each one of them being shot down by Mitsuhiko, he was finally getting annoyed. Really, sometimes Mitsuhiko was too smart for his own good!

"Fine!" He spat out, giving up as he could not find anything to distract the other boy either. It seemed it was much harder to escape Mitsuhiko's demanding glare than Ran's when he just put his mind to it. "But only if you promise never to talk about it, ever, ever again! It's a matter of life and death!" The intense look in Conan's eyes must have worried the other boy a bit, because he backed off a little and he nodded, even though he looked slightly frightened at the mention of "life and death".

"You see... Ai and I, we're... having some really bad people after us..." Taking a deep breath, Conan found himself, surprisingly enough, telling the other boy about his situation, however, he left out a few details, hoping to God, if he did exist, it would protect him. Inwardly he was cursing himself for the weak moment that had caused him to start tell Mitsuhiko about it all. Mitsuhiko was just a child, for chrissakes! He didn't need to know anything about his condition, he didn't deserve to be put in such danger, and yet... he had found himself telling him the truth, a truth only a very few people had gotten to know before him. It was too late to stop now anyway; he had already said too much, and as much as he wanted to, he could not take back his dangerous confession. Later he would like to think that had been a need to lessen his own burden, a need to talk to someone that had caused him to tell the young boy all this, and not those sad, teary eyes that had looked at him in such a heartbroken fashion. Nope, not at all.

"So you see... since I'm really 17 and Ai's not much older than that...It'll only end in heartbreak," he finished, giving the other boy an apologetic look, hoping slightly that the fact that he was ten years older than he really seemed, not to mention ten years older than the other boy, would make him change his mind. As he waited for a response, he tried analysing Mitsuhiko's expression, but it was unreadable as Mitsuhiko was staring at the ground, no doubt thinking over and trying to grasp this new information.

"What... what's your real name?" he asked softly after a while, looking up and straight at the smaller boy, his gaze this time a little fearful, but the defiant and determined look remained, to Conan's surprise.

"Shinichi... my name's Shinichi," he replied after a moment of hesitation, his voice soft before he turned back to walk back to the others, knowing they would probably be waiting for them, maybe even worrying about their disappearance, however, he was stopped as the other called his name.

"Shinichi!" Turning his head in surprise, Conan waited. "Do you think you'll ever get your body back to normal?" Mitsuhiko asked, looking at him, pouting slightly. Surprised at his question, Conan thought about it for a while. To be truthful, he didn't, but he hoped.

"Ai's talented, so... yes, maybe," he replied.

"You know..." Mitsuhiko grabbed Conan's wrist, forcing him to turn fully back to face him. "I don't care about all that! You're still Conan for now... I... I... I really, really want you... please?" he finished rather lamely, staring at the ground and biting his lower lip as he waited for the second rejection. Had he looked up, he would have noticed the bright, red flush covering Conan's cheeks.

Actually thinking it over, Shinichi found, to his own surprise, the thought attractive; that he wouldn't mind being with the younger boy like 'that'. Since Mitsuhiko now knew his secret, maybe... maybe he could... entertaining the idea for a moment, he pushed away the small voice in his head that accused him of being a paedophile. Smiling brightly, yet fondly at the other, he finally nodded.

"Alright!" Seeing the other's stunned expression as his head snapped up to stare at him, he was about to say something else as soft lips again covered his, for the second time that day. Only this time, he closed his eyes before happily returning it.

Owari

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Omake:

Mori Ran was pacing in the living room, some thoughts obviously bothering her. She had been thinking about this for months now; Conan was behaving strangely. His behaviour had become even more strange than usual, and his cheery smile, and his good mood really had her worried. Now, normally she wouldn't be worried because a child was being cheery and happy all the time, but this was Conan she was talking about. Conan, who seemed to enjoy very little other than tagging along to the various crime-scenes that her father almost stumbled over. Conan, who behaved much more mature than most kids his age and was so realistic it was almost scary at times.

Hearing some giggling from his room, Ran stared at the door, wondering what was going. Lately, he had not been hanging out with his friends as usual, at least not as often as he used to. Instead, he had taken to hanging out with only one of them more often than not, and the two boys didn't seem to be bothered that Ayumi, Ai and Genta could not, for some reason they never told her, play with them. It was very strange indeed, and as another giggle was heard from the room, it broke Ran's resolve to respect the young boy's private life. Tip-toeing silently towards the door, she opened it quickly.

"Conan-chan, would you and your little friend want..." she began, going to ask them if they wanted milk and cookies or something, but she stopped mid-sentence at the sight before her. Sitting on Conan's bed were two blushing boys staring wide-eyed at her, having just been interrupted in the middle of a rather heavy make-up session. Seconds of silence dragged on as you could practically see the clockwork-wheels work inside Ran's head.

--

In Osaka, Heiji blinked slightly as he looked at Kazuna who looked at him in turn from where she had been about to water the plants in the living room while Heiji was reading some detective-novel.

"Did you too hear something?" she asked, puzzled. "It sounded like a girl screaming far away."

"Weird," Heiji shrugged, before they both let it go, she going back to watering her plants, he to read his novel.

A/N: Alright... so, I know it's kinda OOC to have Conan tell Mitsuhiko about the Organisation and stuff but uh whatever. I tried to make it as IC as I could. Hope you all enjoyed it :3

Reviews are lurve! :3