Thanks to reviewers:

Dagron - Hmm... I guess Kogoro'd be pretty upset...if he's sober enough to notice. (Okay, fine... I always pick on him for liking beer and exaggerate it.) Thanks for telling me Mitsushiko was your fav. DB... gave me a new idea about Haibara's response (I never really plan out the details like this, so they're pretty flexible). I dunno... we studied amines last year in 10th grade, so I just wrote that part in for fun (can you tell I hate school?).

Anna - I'm living in the US... otherwise my English would be horribly incomprehensible (like my Chinese).

Me - Haha... that's similar to what I've planned for them!

Spede - Uh... these entries were written 3 weeks ago when Ran died, but I just brought them up to clarify the whole death thing b/c I hadn't given very many details up 'til that point.
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Last time:
"Why?!" Conan screamed. "All I've heard from you about that is something along the lines of 'no', 'don't', 'you can't'. I saw how upset it made you, and by Doyle's grave, I can't figure out a logical reason, but I respected you and held back any questions. Now you're using this reasoning to stop me from doing something I have to do, so I think I deserve an explanation: why? Why won't you just let me go?" He demanded, clearly frustrated.

Being an introvert, Ai was clearly torn between divulging sensitive information and holding back, but remained silent.

Sighing, Conan turned to leave, adjusting his backpack and stepping over the doorframe into the soft glow of the moonlight. He breathed in the scent of the night air, the scent of the city, knowing that he would never return.

"I..." Haibara paused, face cast in defeat. "I... it's because I—I love you," she choked, allowing the tears to course down her face unchecked.
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The Quandary
Chapter 9 - Revelations

Conan was shocked. All along...? And she put up with the way I acted for half the day? Wow... I have some apologizing to do. But yeah... she-I-we... Just give her those three words and shut up, freak! But he couldn't get the words out. Instead, he looked back at her slight, trembling figure standing by the wall, noticing how her pale face was bathed in moonlight, how the tears trailing down her cheeks reflected the glow of the moon, and not for the first time, thought, Gods, she's beautiful...

"I didn't-I shouldn't...sorry," Haibara had noticed Conan's silence. "I shouldn't have said that. I kept telling myself to keep it inside; that's-why-I-never-explained-why-I-didn't-want-you-to-leave," Ai began running her words together, "because-I-was-afraid-you'd-react-this-way-and-I-would-find-myself-bereft-of-even-the-comfort-derived-from-our-friendship," she whispered, the words rushing from her mouth like a flowing river. She realized that she actually felt relieved as she released the pent-up emotions, and that the tears didn't bother her one bit.

In two quick strides, Conan crossed the room and gathered Haibara in his arms, pausing to marvel at how perfectly she fit, like a key to its lock. Ai was still shaking violently, so he lowered his voice before speaking.

"No, it's fine!" he insisted in a soothing tone, looking down into her eyes, losing himself in the limpid blue pools. Slowly, he reached out with his right hand and cupped her face, gently brushing the tears from her pale face as he tilted her face upwards. "Because I love you too," he whispered, unable to tear his eyes from the entrancing depths of Haibara's eyes.

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The rising sun began its routine journey across the sky, heralding the start of a new day. After a sleepless night, Ai stood by the window, staring outside, occasionally reaching up and running two fingers over her lips. In the next room, Conan quietly left at first light and snuck across the carpet, entering the room next door silently. Seeing Haibara with her back turned, he crept forward.

Ai didn't even start as a pair of arms encircled her waist from behind, pulling her into a hug. Triumphantly, Conan tilted his head and whispered into her ear, "Got you that time."

"Think about what you just said," Ai answered without turning around.

If she didn't react to the physical contact, that means she was already aware of my presence, which means I failed to sneak up on her... again.

At the lapse of silence, Haibara smirked to herself, but dropped the expression immediately. "Anyways, about last night..." Conan detected a tinge of embarrassment in her voice. "I'm really sorry; I was totally out of line and-" she was cut off abruptly as the hands crossed at her waist loosened and slid up to her shoulders, applying slight pressure and spinning her around to face Conan. Instinctively, Conan lowered his head and put his lips to hers.

A rush of emotions coursed through Ai's veins, feelings she hadn't though possible, to extents she hadn't thought possible; she felt as if she had just truly begun to live. All coherence and reason fled as her intellect surrendered to the onslaught of emotions. Then the instability settled in, gnawing at her strength. She pitched forward, glad for something to support her.

Conan felt like he had just downed a Bloody Mary on a wintry, snowy day; a warm glow radiated from his heart, enveloping his body. He nearly collapsed from the sensations flowing through his body, so he pushed Ai against the nearest wall for support as he continued to breathe her in. Seemingly of their own accord, his fingers slipped into her hair, pressing her to him and closing the barely-existent gap between them. A while later, a thought somehow pushed through, bringing him to his senses. Reluctantly, he broke away.

The foreign emotions still circulated within, and her recently-revived mind quickly labeled them as dangerous. Dangerous, yet addictive; it had only been a second since he'd pulled away, and she already felt strangely different... incomplete. She felt incomplete. Ai's eyes widened as she came into full realization of what she had just done. Pointedly avoiding Conan's gaze, she stared at the white carpet of her room, willing the color of her flaming cheeks to recede.

Drawing a deep breath, he began, "Ai... that-that was amazing...but what about Mitsushiko?" Conan asked, his tone betraying his confusion.

"What about Mitsushiko? There's nothing to discuss about him." Ai replied plainly.

"He asked... he-you-I..." Conan stuttered. What did 'nothing to discuss' mean?

"Wait, is that... is that why you were so upset earlier? Because Mitsushiko asked me out?" All evidence of her previous embarrassment had vanished from Ai's face; her eyes sparkled with amusement yet her face remained impassive.

"I..." Conan was thoroughly embarrassed. What had he been thinking? "Y.. yeah," he finally admitted slowly. "I guess I have a lot of apologizing to do now. Firstly, I'm sorry I thought you would actually seriously consider Mitsushiko, I'm sorry I acted like a total jerk as I wandered down the path beaten by my deluded conclusions, I'm sorry I thought you were willing to turn me in, I'm sorry I tried to sneak away, I'm sorry for not trusting you, I'm sorry for my stubbornness yesterday... and last night... I'm sorry I suddenly, randomly did that without ensuring that you were all right with it, but I'd be lying if I told you I'm sorry it happened." He smiled as he remembered the spontaneity of last night, how he had suddenly dipped his head and covered her mouth with his.

"In my eyes, all you did wrong was stop," Ai heard her own voice answer softly. What? Did I just... She felt her face burn as she quickly looked down again.

Conan 's smile widened as he broke the silence. "Let's go get something to eat."

Sitting at the table over a bowl of cereal, Conan stirred the mixture with his spoon uninterestedly. "So... what-where exactly are we?"

"'Where...are we'?" Haibara repeated.

"We... are we-are we going out?" Conan stumbled over his words, staring at the swirling milk in his bowl.

"...I guess I should tell Mitsushiko first..."

"You can just call him. We don't want him to make a scene at school, anyways." Conan answered.

"Never know who might be around to overhear...possibly even Genta and Ayumi. I think we'll have to discuss this in person." Haibara answered.

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"Mitsushiko, I'm sorry, but I can't accept your offer." Ai said as the boy sat down across from her at a coffee shop.

All of the excitement that had built up inside of him drained as Mitsushiko froze, a devastated look on his face. "Why?" he croaked, feeling as if he had just been punched in the face.

"I... there are things about me that you don't know." Haibara replied simply.

"It's not like you're a mass murderer on the run from the law. You... you're perfect. You're brilliant, quiet, pretty... you're the kind of girl a guy meets once in a lifetime, and luckily for me, you're my age."

"You see only what appears on the surface," Ai told him calmly. "I can't go out with you because... well, I-"

"She's dating me." A voice cut in.

Mitsushiko gave an involuntary start as he stared at the speaker. ?"

"Hey, Mitsushiko... are you hitting on my girl?" Conan teased.

Mitsushiko shook his head in awe. "Wow... now I see it. You guys are perfect for each other. I..." he turned to Haibara. "Thank you for not doing this in school. I should've seen this coming, but I was blinded. I... I have to get home now."

"Please don't tell anyone about this; keep it a secret, okay?" Ai asked as he rose to leave.

Mitsushiko nodded. "If that's what you want." Turning to face the pair squarely, he spoke, "Conan, Ai... I wish you the best of luck." He left, leaving Conan sitting beside Ai.

"Your girl?" Ai asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Conan blushed, staring at a spot on the table. "Sorry. But I wanted him to leave."

"That's okay. Actually, I like it; it sounds... right." Ai replied with a slight smile.

The sudden rattle of a vibrating object against coins and keys emanated from Haibara's pocket, shattering the lighthearted atmosphere, pushing Haibara back into the corner of her mind she held as a sanctuary, the corner to which she had not retreated for years. Ai's face hardened, and a cloud passed over her eyes, dulling their clarity. Subconsciously, she began to shake as she reached for her pocket.

Conan's eyes narrowed as he watched her reaction, as she slipped back into the refuge her mind had created to escape the pain she had suffered. That call... it had to be from the Organization. He reached over and placed a hand on Haibara's shoulder, gently squeezing it reassuringly.

"Sherry here." Ai forced herself to identify herself using the name she thought she had escaped.

A/N: Sapfest delivered as promised (Read the A/N from Chapter 2 of In Vino Veritas). Not much else to say, except thanks to reviewers!