Welcome to: Why Shinichi and Ran's relationship compels me, an essay:
In the first chapter/episode, we're given a glimpse into what we can assume their relationship has been up until now: full of bickering and tsundere-esk crushing. (I have to admit, this is not my favorite dynamic by far) However, with the Conan Event™, their relationship is forever changed, specifically in this moment, which is one of my favorites in the series:
here you can clearly see Shinichi playing into their old dynamic, he's teasing Ran, not expecting a serious answer. Probably something along the lines of "of course not! why would I like that detective geek?" But instead:
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 is the moment where everything changes. And not just because Shinichi now has confirmation his feelings are requited. This here is the moment his situation becomes the most real it ever has been. He 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 Shinichi anymore, he's interacting with Ran like they haven't met before. The thing he's probably wanted to hear the most from the girl he likes, was given to him just like that. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. And he immediately regrets it, knowing he has to tell Ran the truth:
You can just see how guilty he feels over this. Of course, Mouri interrupts them before he can actually confess.
But this is where their dynamic changes forever. Shinichi can never go back to their juvenile will-they-won't-they. Instead it gives him a concrete goal: return to his body, that way he can confess his feelings to Ran.
As for Ran, Shinichi's disappearance changes things for her. She took their relationship for granted, just assuming they'd always have each other, that they had all the time in the world (they both did). But now Shinichi's gone. The only thing she cares about is having him back.
This is where their goals differ from each other, all because of this piece of context Shinichi has but Ran doesn't. And this is what really strains the scenes where Shinichi briefly shows up, adding all the tension (which I 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦).
Starting with Ran, she's worried sick. Her best friend disappeared without a trace, she can't get into contact with him, it's 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨. The only thing she can really do is hope he isn't in danger, and burn her fear away with anger. All she cares about is getting Shinichi back, and returning to their previous dynamic. As long as he's safe and by her side again, she's not focused on anything like confessing feelings or deepening their relationship (at least at this point). She just wants him back. Which is why her focus is on "catching" him, and holding onto him:
(of course a lot of this has to do with Kazuha's influence, but that's an entire topic for another day). The few times Shinichi is around, all Ran wants is for him to stay.
Meanwhile, Shinichi has a completely different goal.
He wants to return back to his life, for things to be "normal" again, but his relationship with Ran is the exception. He 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 to get his feelings across, not just to make up for accidentally hearing her confession, but also as a promise to her. Every time he takes an antidote, he knows his time is limited, so he's pushing their relationship further and further, to make up for lost time. Asking her to "wait for me."
In the Diplomat Murder case, he's too out of it to really focus on anything, and his time is so short. In the Desperate Revival case, it's important to remember he thinks he's back permanently. The very first thing he does (after the play and murder of course) is invite Ran out to dinner so he can confess to her. He chickens out a few times, but he still has every intention to confess. Even ignoring a murder case! After this, of course, is when he knows his time is limited.
The next two times they interact, the Murderer Kudou Shinichi case and Holmes Revelation, Shinichi is unprepared. The first one he accidentally takes an antidote and is backed into a corner in terms of the time limit. The second time he took an emergency dose because he messed up, leading Ran to trap him in a phone booth. At first he tells her to wait, eluding to a confession, and of course we all know about his confession in London. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 is the first time their goals realign.
Ran reached a breaking point. Shinichi must have been making fun of her, not caring about her feelings. She's the only one who wants him back, for their friendship to go back the way it was before.
Shinichi's confession not only showed Ran that 𝘩𝘦𝘳 feelings were requited (something she hadn't even considered at this point!) but it also gave her a new understanding of the situation. She's known Shinichi practically their whole lives, she can read him, can tell when he's being genuine. It's never directly stated, but it's clear to me that this makes Ran understand that Shinichi doesn't 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 to be away from her. It's very clear Shinichi isn't the type to confess his feelings (and he probably never would have if Ran didn't confess first!) at the very least he wouldn't without solid evidence that she feels the same. And he practically tells her that he 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 have that evidence!! He can't read her feelings unless she directly states them to him. Which, as far as she's aware, she hasn't. Shinichi is going out on a 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘦 limb to confess to her. Which helps to clue her in on how serious he is about solving whatever this case is and returning to her. That was exactly what she needed to hear to clear any doubt in her mind and be more comfortable with his absence. Of course, she still wants him to return, but she's no longer hurt and angry about his disappearance, she now has certainty of where they stand. That confession scene only works 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 of how much these two know each other. Play it from an outsiders perspective, and it doesn't work. It 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 works because it's 𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘢𝘯.
And then we reach the Scarlet School Trip, where things are finally comfortable between them. The tension of their two separate goals is no longer a factor, and they can just be comfortable and have fun!
Shinichi is fully prepared this time, he's intentionally showing up, for the first time since Desperate Revival. With the bonus that he 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 his time is limited. Once again it's not directly stated in the manga, but judging by the attitude of those around them and Ran especially, it's understood Shinichi is only here for the class trip. There are no uncertainties, therefore there's no hurt, or jealousy, or freaking out. (The only problem would be Shinichi leaving just before kissing Ran, but she is never shown to have any negative reaction to this). It's official that they're dating, and that is exactly what Ran needed.
(I've seen some people complain that at Ran's uncertainty of if they're dating or not, Shinichi immediately insults her by calling her an "idiot," but that just goes back to their friendly bickering like before, it has the same level of heat as her calling him a "geek" or "nerd" (which is none at all) and is used as a reminder of their bond, he's not belittling her! And she doesn't take it that way either.)
By far the catalyst to all of this is Ran's confession at the beginning. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 is the moment things go from comedy to tragedy in their relationship, which makes it SO much more compelling to follow. There would be a lot of meaning lost if Shinichi was going back to Ran just for them to continue dodging around each other. It's that one moment that makes me a Shinran fan.
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