#dsdrabbles

Summary: You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.
Written Feb 2020
Read on AO3

“The other night dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms,” Shinichi sang, soft and slow laying in his bed wide awake. It was long past the witching hour, but he had a lot of trouble sleeping these days. He thought a lot about Katio, his laugh, his infectious smile, and the warmth of his body. He sang these lullabies, as tone deaf as he was, in the hopes it would ease him to sleep. When he found singing didn’t help, he began speaking them, and then “You Are My Sunshine” just stuck, looping on repeat, all throughout the night.”But when I woke dear, I was mistaken, so I hung my head and I cried.” Kaito had left almost a month ago. They had been dating for over a year, and Shinichi really loved him, but Kaito left, so maybe he didn’t say it enough, maybe Kaito just didn’t love him back.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make happy when skies are gray. You’ll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine.

“I’ll always love you, and make you happy,” Kaito had teasingly sung to him one time. They had been sitting on the couch when Kaito decided he was bored with Shinichi just reading his book and threw a pillow at him. That, of course, meant war. Shinichi immediately retaliated with a pillow; Kaito knew it was coming so he was able to dodge it. He didn’t expect the second pillow directly after. It hit him square in the face and he made a very comical “oof” noise. Unwilling to allow Shinichi anymore ammo, Kaito opted to keep hold of the pillow and just repeatedly hit Shinichi with it, with no real force, of course. Shinichi managed to grab hold of the pillow, and the force of it pulled Kaito back towards Shinichi, pinning Shinichi underneath Kaito. He was grinning and giggling, Shinichi could feel his heart melt, and he started softly singing to Shinichi, causing his heart to melt even more. “If only you will say the same.” Shinichi, too embarrassed to speak, just nodded.

“But if you leave me and love another, you’ll regret it all one day.” Shinichi told himself, sitting on the same couch, a novel in his hands, but he was unable to focus on the pages, his thoughts filled with the man who left him.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray. You’ll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.

“Once once told me, dear, you really loved me,” Shinichi said, looking at himself in the mirror, trying to gather the courage to try to confront the courage to go confront Kaito. Sure they broke up almost half a year ago, but Shinichi still thought about him every day, and the knowledge that Kaito broke up with him over text now just infuriated Shinichi. He didn’t see him in person after that, not even at the KID heists. KID never allowed himself to be within twenty feet of Shinichi, and certainly never alone. He probably didn’t want to get chewed out for breaking up with him over text , yeah, Shinichi was mad. “And no one else could come between,” He nearly choked on the words, remembering the day Kaito came over, visible shaken, but excited all the same, and told Shinichi that Aoko had confessed to him. That’s how the two of them came together after all, they commiserated and consoled each other about their apparently unattainable loves. Kaito was the one who proposed the idea that they should date, at first just to better help one another get over their respective love interests, they had, after all, shared secrets about one another they hadn’t told anyone else. Shinichi thought those dates had evolved into something more, especially considering how intimate they had become with one another. Shinichi’s first kiss was with Kaito, and people say that you never forget your first kiss. A week after Aoko confessed, Shinichi got a text from Kaito saying that he wanted to be with her. He apologized to Shinichi, saying that he enjoyed their time together, but the entire message was so clearly calculated and cold, it left Shinichi numb. “But now you’ve left me and love another,” A lump was forming in Shinichi’s throat, burning. Over text , some gentleman he turned out to be, didn’t even have the decency to tell him in person that he wanted to break up. Aoko didn’t know half the things that Shinichi did, Aoko didn’t even know about Kaito’s alter ego, does he just plan to leave her in the dark for the rest of her life, does he plan to tell her long after he retires, after the statute of limitations runs out just in case she incriminates him? Shinichi can confidently say he loved Kaito more than life, more than he ever loved Ran, he saw a future with Kaito, one where he didn’t have to put his significant other at risk or lie to them. It looked bright. “You have shattered all my dreams,” he whispered to the mirror, his voice giving up on him.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray. You’ll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.

“In all my dreams, dear, you seem to leave me. When I awake my poor heart aches.” Shinichi had awoken from another nightmare, his dream, of course, about Kaito. These were by far his worst nightmares. For once, he or the people he loved weren’t in danger, but Kaito would just expose all of Shinichi’s worst fears, leaving Shinichi abandoned and worthless, telling him that’s why he left Shinichi, he was too flawed to love. The worst of those nightmares were the ones that started out sweet. Kaito would be asleep in his arms, or across from him at the dinner table, and he would be kind, like the Kaito Shinichi remembered, gentle and caring. Joking and always doing something with his hands. Then the dream would change, and Kaito would look at him with cold, emotionless eyes, a look he only saw when Kaito would talk about the organization, a look reserved for people he despised. Even in his dreams, Shinichi could feel his stomach drop at that look. It has been almost a year and Shinichi still had these dreams. Everyone around Shinichi has noticed that something has changed, but because Kaito and Shinichi kept their relationship secret since they had no reasonable excuse as to how the two would have met, Shinichi couldn’t tell them about the heartache. Shinichi thinks Ran knows, though. Ran looks at him with pity, and encourages him to try to go out on dates, they had fallen into a comfortable friendship since his return and Ran had begun dating other people, something Shinichi was relieved he found he didn’t feel jealous about. Shinichi had contemplated dating again, but nothing ever felt right, not like being with Kaito did. So now, here he was again, one of the few nights he was able to fall asleep and he woke up from a nightmare. He knew he wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep so he stared up at his dark ceiling, letting out a long sigh. He needed to talk to Kaito, he at least needed to find some closure, but he desperately wished for more. All he knew was that he couldn’t live without Kaito in his life anymore. “So when you come back,” he whispered, hoping the when was the right word to use, not an if, a when, “and make me happy,” Shinichi desperately wanted to be happy and just seeing Kaito probably could make him, “I’ll forgive you dear,” he didn’t care that Kaito broke up with him over text anymore, he didn’t care that Kaito would never look him in the eye, he didn’t care that he avoided Shinichi like the plague, he just wanted him in his life again, “I’ll take all the blame.” And he would. It was Shinihchi’s fault he didn’t cherish Kaito enough, of course he would go back to Aoko, Shinichi was terrible with expressing his affection, he tried, but it never seemed to be enough, and it certainly didn’t match what Kaito showed Shinichi. He would try to see Kaito, try to make up for it. He needed too.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray. You’ll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.

Shinichi was shaking, standing outside of Kaito’s house, trying to find the courage to ring the bell. It had taken him so long just to get himself to Ekoda, let alone Kaito’s street, so he knew he couldn’t turn back now. Shinichi took one last breath and pressed the bell. The faint ding-dong he heard just behind the door was like a hammer driving a stake into his heart. He felt sick, his stomach was a bottomless pit, a black hole placed into his core. He was so consumed by fear that he didn’t hear the footsteps approaching. The door unlocked, opened, and a voice spoke.

“Shinichi?” Shinichi didn’t realize he had been staring at the ground until his head jerked upward to face the voice. And there stood Kaito. He looked tired, but his eyes were still that fascinating shade of blue that held so much life, although Shinichi could see the question swimming in them, wondering why he was here.

“Hi,” his voice came out rough, a near whisper.

“What are you doing here?” Kaito stood back from the door, making way for Shinichi to come in, but it wasn’t an explicit invitation, and Shinichi didn’t take it.

“I just, uh… I really needed to see you.” He tried to meet Kaito’s eyes, but he didn’t have the courage. “I know it’s been almost a year, but you never let me talk to you at heists and it didn’t feel right to just text you about it, I didn’t know if you blocked me, I wouldn’t have blamed you if you did, so I just wanted to talk.” He had rambled, he hated it when he did that. He was still looking at his shoes, and Kaito wasn’t saying anything, why wasn’t he saying anything? Did Shinichi’s rambling make Kaito hate him? Did he shut the door in Shinichi’s face and he just hadn’t noticed? Shinichi wanted to look up, just to make sure Kaito was still there, but he didn’t want to see a look of disgust on his face.

“Shinichi…” Gentle hands caressed the sides of Shinichi’s face and guided his head up. Kaito smiled a sad smile when Shinichi finally gave in, he kept his hands on Shinichi’s face.

“Hows’s Aoko?” Shinichi asked, he couldn’t think of anything better to say. He regretted it when he saw Kaito flinch at the words.

“We broke up.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah…”

“…When?”

“About a month after we started dating, we just…it…it wasn’t right.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“You shouldn’t be!” Kaito half-shouted. He sighed, his face scrunched in frustration. “I… I fucked up, Shinichi. And I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about.” Well, Shinichi’s brain supplied, He did break up with you over text .

“I have a lot to be sorry for, for starters, I broke up with you over text.”

“Yeah, that was kinda a dick move.”

“I know! I knew it was when I wrote the damn thing out! But I just couldn’t say it to you in person. You should see all the drafts I have, it’s honestly embarrassing.”

“As long as you didn’t do that to the next girl, I think you’ll be fine.” A smile crept its way onto Shinichi’s lips, it was bittersweet, but talking to Kaito was so easy, this felt right. Shinichi could feel the weight of the past year lift off of him. It was such a relief he felt like he could cry.

“That’s the other thing I’m sorry about.”

“Huh?”

“Breaking up with you was a mistake, Shinichi. I was stupid to do it. When Aoko confessed to me, I felt like everything I had ever dreamed of was coming true! But even before we started dating, I kept finding myself wanting to text you about something, or wanting to see you, or wanting to tell Aoko, or anyone really, about something we did or just about you! I convinced myself it was just because we had spent so much time together, that the feelings I had for you were just because I wasn’t dating Aoko. I was wrong, Shinichi, I loved you and I was too stubborn to realize it. After dating Aoko for just a week I realised that every moment I spent with her, I would rather be spending it with you. All this time I’ve just been too chickenshit to talk to you. I didn’t know how to tell you sorry. Hell, I didn’t know if you would even let me see you.”

“…You still love me?”

“I don’t think I ever stopped loving you.” Shinichi felt tears well up in his eyes. He started fighting to get air past the lump in his throat. Shinichi lurched forward and buried his face in Kaito’s shoulder, wrapping his arms tight around him. Kaito’s arms quickly reciprocated. “Do you forgive me?” There was a warble in Kaito’s voice, Shinichi recognized the sound of holding back tears only if he had been doing it all year. Shinichi didn’t want his own voice to break, so he just nodded his head furiously from its place in Kaito’s shoulder. Kaito squeezed him harder, and Shinichi could feel warm droplets of water fall onto his shoulder. Shinichi pulled away so he could look at Kaito.

“This is the only other chance you get, okay, asshole?” Kaito laughed, and Shinichi couldn’t help but think how pretty he looked, tears falling down his face and all.

“That’s the only chance I need.” Kaito pulled his hands up to cup Shinichi’s face and he pulled the detective into a kiss. “You’re like sunshine, Shinichi, you make my whole world brighter. I never realised it until I lost you.”

“You know,” Shinichi smiled, wiping away the tears from Kaito’s eyes, “I can say the same thing about you.”

Summary: Kaito has to keep himself entertained while Shinichi finishes up some work and he ends up being quite the distraction.
Written Aug 2019
Read on AO3

Shinichi was busy looking over files at the desk, a pad of paper for notes beside him, but he was struggling to maintain concentration while Kaito tried to keep himself occupied while he waited for Shinichi to finish. He could see the magician out of the corner of his eye perform different, simple tricks. Usually, Shinichi could handle the distraction if it was all the magician was doing, but this time he was insistent on carrying on a conversation with himself. Shinichi didn’t say anything, so he was sure that Kaito didn’t know he was listening.

“Shinichi is such a great boyfriend, you got so lucky,” Kaito told himself, flipping a coin between his fingers, “Now all you have to do is keep him.” Shinichi suppressed a smile in case Kaito caught on. What could he say? Kaito was just too cute.

“That probably means getting married, but does he even want to get married? Shinichi doesn’t seem like the proposing type.” Well, now Shinichi was offended, he had been trying to scheme a proposal for months, but Kaito kept snooping through Shinichi’s things and he didn’t want Kaito to catch on. Currently, all of his plans were stored in a box under Ran’s bed. She was more than thrilled to say the least. “I guess it’s up to you, Kaito,” the magician sighed to himself, “You just have to be careful that he doesn’t catch on, which should be easy considering you’re sitting six feet away from him and he can’t hear a thing.” The last part was said a little louder, and Kaito looked toward him, and Shinichi would bite.

“Hmm? Did you say something, dear?” Shinichi asked with the most innocent look he could muster.

“No,” Kaito blushed a little at the pet name, “I was just talking to myself,”

“Oh, well, I’m almost finished, so keep yourself entertained.” Kaito hummed in response. Shinichi did focus back on his work, he had too, and he found that he really did zone out, and he only realized Kaito had started talking to himself again when he heard the word “ring”.

“…ring he would like. Probably nothing too elaborate, but would he even want an engagement ring?” Shinichi risked a glance toward his boyfriend, who was lost in his own thoughts, mindlessly shuffling a deck of cards. “I think I would like an engagement ring,” Kaito said, his voice almost a whisper and a soft look on his face. “It doesn’t even have to be fancy, it could be made of paper for all I care.” Shinichi’s heart swelled, so he flipped to a fresh piece of paper and ripped a strip off of the bottom. “Shinichi?” Kaito asked, his voice much louder now. Shinichi didn’t respond, too focused on the task at hand. Kaito didn’t pry further, probably assuming Shinichi just got a little frustrated.

After just a minute, Shinichi stood from his desk. “Shinichi?” Kaito asked again. Shinichi didn’t say anything, just held his boyfriend’s gaze and marched toward him. “Is something wrong?” Kaito’s look of confusion intensified when Shinichi dropped to his knee. It soon became bewilderment when Shinichi produced a paper ring.

“It’s not fancy, but you said you’d take one.” A series of emotions passed across Kaito’s face.

“Are you serious right now?” Kaito’s voice was full of suspicion, which Shinichi didn’t blame him for, most people had more meaningful proposals than this, but Shinichi felt that it had to be now.

“Kaito, will you marry me?”

“Oh my god, were you listening to me? Are you doing this to just prove me wrong?”

“Well, yeah, I mean, how could I when you questioned my ability, especially when I have been trying to figure out how to propose for months now.”

“So you just decided that you’d do it now?”

“I mean, why not?”

“Fair enough.” Kaito’s smile made Shinichi’s heart flutter.

“So, will you marry me?”

“Of course, you absolute idiot,” Kaito replied as he leaned down to kiss him.

Of course, Ran wasn’t pleased Shinichi had gone ahead and proposed without Ran’s knowledge, so she made them have a “real” proposal the next month. It was wonderful and magical, but Kaito still preferred to wear the paper ring instead of the silver “real” one.

WARNING: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH
Summary: Shinichi always finds himself sighing, and one day a guardian angel appears to help him smile more.
Written Oct 2018
Read on AO3

Shinichi let out a sigh. He did it so often it had just become second nature to him at this point, he can’t even remember how it started. He let out another sigh, it was unpleasant to think about. The senior officers on the force would tell him about his teenage years, how he would never sigh, just face all of the cases head on. They couldn’t tell him why he started to sigh either, that or they refused to tell him.

   He knew there was something wrong with him, some trauma blocking his memoires. He remembered his childhood, how he fell in love with books and mysteries and soccer, but after his sixteenth birthday, everything is a blur. The gap spanned to when he was twenty. More than four years he had lost, and his newest memories began with him waking up in a hospital.

   His mother was there, she was crying, when he addressed her, she only said she was sorry, that she couldn’t believe it either. When he asked what she was talking about, she ran to get the doctor. No one ever explained why he was there.

   His life went on. He had been on the force as a detective for several years now, Megure was glad to finally have him as an official member of the team. He threw himself into his work, he decided that it was unimportant to focus on his past when it wasn’t something he could remember. He still found himself wondering, but he could always convince himself it was nothing to be remembered.

   He let out another sigh. He always started to reflect on these things to much, right around the first of April. The weather was still warming up from a record cold winter, so the roads were mostly deserted on his walk home. He had stopped by a small coffee shop to warm himself up, the liquid scalding his mouth, but he drank it anyway. Surprisingly, he found his eye drawn to a park across the street. It was practically devoid of human life, a few joggers braving the cold. He let out a sigh. He didn’t have anything to do tonight anyway. Ran was busy this weekend and had turned down his offer for dinner.

   Ran was nothing like he remembered. He thought that they would be dating by his twenties, but when he confessed, Ran acted…off. She was shocked at first, then a melancholic look fell across her face. She turned him down, but she wouldn’t give a reason, she just said it was better that they remain friends. Then she introduced him to several new faces, at least, new to him. Masumi Sera and Hattori Heiji were both detectives he had been introduced to, Hattori even vehemently told him about what good friends they were, but Shinichi couldn’t recall them, however familiar they seemed. He knew he acted colder now. He shied away from spending much time around anyone but the police force and Ran, the looks people gave him made him feel even worse than he usually felt, at least Ran had the decency to pretend to hide those looks.

   Shinichi let out another sigh. There he went, thinking about unpleasant things yet again. He shook himself from his thoughts as he entered the park, the trees were just about to bloom, the cold holding them back. There were a scarce few birds chirping somewhere in the boughs, a calming sound in Shinichi’s ever hectic life. The nature was a nice scenery for coffee and a walk, a distraction from his constant sighing. The playground he eventually stumbled across was empty of children, so he allowed himself to take a seat on the swings and finish his coffee. When was the last time he had been to a park? It hadn’t been since the gap in his memories, the whole park atmosphere made him nostalgic for something, or someone, he couldn’t remember.

He let out a sigh as he downed the remaining drops in his cup. Why couldn’t he just act happy for once? It was silly to live the rest of his life like this. He knew it wore down on those around him, particularly Ran. It wasn’t a surprise to him when she turned him down for this weekend, he wouldn’t want to spend time with himself either. Shinichi sighed.

   “You really need to stop doing that.” A voice said, surprising Shinichi. He hadn’t heard any footsteps. He opened his eyes to a startling sight. A young man, in his late teens/ early twenties, was standing in front of him. He had messy hair and his eyes were a peculiar shade of blue, his face was scrunched in distaste, assumedly at Shinichi’s sighing, and his attire seemed completely out of place. He wore a white suit with white shoes and white gloves, even his shirt and tie were white. The thing that really startled Shinichi, however, where the pair of large, white wings sprouting from the man’s back. “You need to smile more. “Just give me all of your sighs, and I’ll turn them into happiness!” The man’s face lit up in a bright smile, and, oh, Shinichi’s heart ached for some reason, this man reminded him of someone, perhaps his younger self? They looked very similar after all.

   Shinichi was shocked when a “please” fell from his lips, almost too quiet to hear, but the man gave him a soft smile and offered him a hand. Shinichi allowed himself to be pulled up from the swing, the cloth of the glove soft, yet startlingly cold, beneath his hand. Suddenly, there was a puff of smoke, and Shinichi found himself holding a bouquet of flowers. Bright red and dark red roses, along with some pink carnations and forget me nots. Shinichi stared in amazement at the flowers for a moment before looking back up at the man. His face had a large smile across it, pleased with the trick, but it suddenly fell when Shinichi looked at him.

“Oh, no, what’s wrong? Do you not like flowers?” He raised a hand as if to touch Shinichi’s face, but stopped himself, a look of pain coming across his face.

“No, nothing’s wrong,” Shinichi said, raising a hand to his face, he was surprised to find he was crying. “I’m sorry,” he said, wiping at the tears that formed, “I…I have no idea why I’m crying, this is embarrassing, I’m sorry.” Shinichi let out a frustrated sigh, why was he crying? And in front of a stranger nonetheless. The man’s face looked in pain, just for a moment, when Shinichi sighed.

“You don’t need to be sorry,” his voice was calm and gentle, as if he were soothing a child, “If you want to cry, then cry. You don’t have to be strong all the time, Shinichi.” That was definitely weird.

“Who are you?” Shinichi eyed the man, he didn’t recognize him, but then again, he didn’t recognize a lot of people he supposedly knew. And then there was the question of his attire, and those wings. The man pondered his answer for a moment.

“Well, I guess, your guardian angel?”

Shinichi was sighing less. He had to be if his coworkers were commenting on it, and he had his “guardian angel” to thank for it. It still seemed absolutely absurd. Why did he need a guardian angel, why did he show up now? But whatever remains, no matter how improbable, and all that. The man certainly appeared supernatural. He appeared out of nowhere, even inside of Shinichi’s home, and he always wore the same attire. Despite his otherworldly nature, the angel seemed to prefer performing human illusions, human magic tricks that felt nostalgic in some way.

The angel appeared before him when he would sigh, and he would perform some magic tricks, the angel’s delight in performing lifting Shinichi’s mood more than the tricks themselves. Soon, the angel just started hanging around all the time, not that Shinichi minded. Not only were his tricks fun, but the angel could hold a good conversation, and seemed in tune to Shinichi’s interests, even if he held an opinion different than Shinichi’s own, how anyone could look so displeased at the mention of Sherlock Holmes, Shinichi didn’t know. The sight of the angel brought a smile to Shinichi’s lips, he couldn’t recall the last time he had been so happy. He didn’t care that the angel refused to give him a name, well, it hurt a little, but he knew that it wasn’t for any malicious reason. He also didn’t care that the longer he spent with the angel, the more he seemed to have nightmare. He never remembered what they were, the memory fading when he woke, but he always found himself in tears.

Memories started returning, too. He remembered the day at Tropical Land, with Ran. He remembered becoming Conan, remembered the Shonen Tantei and Haibara, the scientist looked almost tearful when Shinichi ran over to tell her about his returning memories. The day he remembered Hattori was eventful. He called up the detective and within the day, the Osakan was at his house, chatting about a storm and berating Shinichi for ever forgetting him, all in good humor. Hattori questioned him on how much he remembered, and they discovered that almost all of his memories returned, just a few lost days in several months and the area surrounding whatever event caused the amnesia. From Hattori’s reaction, it seemed like he knew what the event was, but he refused to tell Shinichi anything surrounding that time. The angel was there too, watching Shinichi bond with his forgotten friend, smiling until his lost memories came up, the angel probably believed the expression was hidden from Shinichi’s view, but he saw the man’s face fall in a mirror. He probably knew what that trauma was, if he was his guardian angel like he claimed, it probably wouldn’t be a good memory to see your human hurt, but seeing the angel’s face in pain caused a tightness in Shinichi’s chest that he couldn’t place.

After one particularly hard day, multiple homicides, all of them incredibly brutal, Shinichi, who admitted to himself he sighed quite a lot that say, came home to find the angel in his library, A mischievous smile on his face. He lead Shinichi to the couch, his hand once again incredibly cold, and made him take a seat. If the angel hadn’t looked so excited, Shinichi would have just ignored him and gone to bed, but how can he say no when the other looked to excited. “Today, Kudou Shinichi, I have an extra special show just for you!” The angel threw his arms wide in a grandiose gesture. Shinichi gave him a polite clap in return, he really didn’t think he could be the kind of audience the angel wanted him to be, but he would humor him anyway. The angel did not disappoint. He performed card tricks and other staple magic, Shinichi smuggly explaining each after they happened, the angel letting out a huff, but never stopping Shinichi’s explanation. Gradually, the tricks increased in skill, Shinichi having to think more on how the trick was done, the angel obviously pleased by this development. “And now for my final trick!” The angel made a top hat and wand appear, showing the detective that the hat was empty, then waved the wand over it. “Three, two, one!” in a puff of smoke, several doves appeared from inside the hat and flew toward Shinichi, landing around him and cooing softly. Reaching out a hand, Shinichi careful stroked one of the bird’s feathers, the other doves moving in closer, apparently jealous.

“You’re smiling,” Shinichi turned to look at the angel, a content smile on the other’s face, as he realized that he was, indeed, smiling, “I’m glad.” Shinichi turned away, slightly embarrassed by the idea that the angel did all of this for him.

“Thank you,” Shinichi said, focusing his attentions on the birds now fighting for their turn to be pet, “for this, and everything else.”

“Of course, Shinichi.” How was it that the detective could so clearly hear the smile in the angel’s voice, “It’s what I’m here for.” Shinichi turned to look at the angel as he made a flower, a gardenia, appear and offer it to Shinichi. As Shinichi took the flower, his hand brushed against the angel’s. It was notable, because this hand was incredibly warm, even through the glove the other always wore. It was because of this that Shinichi realized that it was the first time the angel ever offered him his right hand. The angel seemed to notice as soon as Shinichi did, and quickly pulled his hand away, brushing the situation off by scolding the birds for fighting for Shinichi’s attention.

The seasons were changing again. Summer had passed by, and Shinichi had made the best memories he had in a long time, his sighs almost nonexistent. The nightmare were still occuring, traces now lingered in his mind. Blood on his hands, rain pounding on his back, a gunshot or was that the sound of rain? He didn’t know if it was fiction or reality, but the sadness always lingered with him long after he woke up.

The angel almost never left his side. No one could see him but Shinichi, so it wasn’t necessary to try to keep him hidden, Shinichi just had to be careful not to look crazy talking to himself in public. His tricks, too, were bringing memories with them now. Nothing concrete, just feelings of familiarity and adrenaline, excitement, and joy. Another feeling blossomed in his chest when he saw the angel smile, but Shinichi hesitated to name it.

They were walking in the park, the trees beginning to turn colors, the chill returning to the air, when it happened. They were just talking, the angel speaking enthusiastically with his hands, the look on his face bright and full of joy, when a name came to him, Kuroba Kaito.

Shinichi froze, at first confused. He didn’t know anyone by that name, at least, he didn’t remember. “Shinichi?” Kaito turned back to face him, his face now worried. Wait, Kaito? That was him, wasn’t it? Shinichi moved to sit on a nearby bench, his head beginning to throb in pain. “Shinichi? What’s wrong?” Why did he know this angel’s name? Why did the name bring such feeling of…of…affection?

“You died.” It fell past his lips before he had a chance to process what he was saying. He looked at the angel standing above him, his eyes wide, afraid of what Shinichi just said. Then Shinichi passed out.

There had been a chance of rain, but Kaito had been sent on the heist being tonight. He told Shinichi that he had backup plans for his backup plans, that everything would be alright, but as Shinichi ran up to the roof the meet KID, the rain audible from inside the concrete stairwell, a terrible feeling was building in his chest. When he made it to the roof access, he hit the door without stopping, he knew something was wrong, there was no logical reason to believe so, but he just knew.

Sometimes, he hated it when he was right. In all of the pounding rain, he didn’t hear it, no one had heard it, a gunshot. But it must of happened, there was no other reason for KID to be bleeding out, he was clutching his shoulder, what little of his face Shinichi could see was twisted in pain. He was ducked behind an air conditioning unit, just a couple yards from Shinichi. The sound of the opening door drew the thief’s attention, and a look of panic spread across his face, Shinichi was in danger.

It happened before Shinichi knew what was happening. KID moved from his hiding place, running toward Shinichi, and pushed him to the ground. A gunshot. A scream of pain. A weight pressing down on him. Something warm soaking into his shirt. Iron in the air. Blood. Bleeding. Shot. KID was shot again. Kaito was shot again. They are still in danger. Move. Move! MOVE!

Shinichi lifted Kaito’s weight off of him. Moving the both of them back to his original hiding place, his blood pounding in his ears, mixing with the sound of the rain, Kaito’s chest was rising and falling with effort. Shinichi threw open the thief’s jacket, trying to find the bullet wound. His chest, red was blossoming from his chest, practically his heart. Shinichi ripped off his on coat and bundled it over the wound. It took him several moments before he realized that Kaito was speaking, his voice weak and cracking. “…Nichi, Shinichi, I did it.”  The smile on the magician’s lips was truly happy, despite the pain he must be in. “I destroyed it, that’s why they’re so angry.” He attempted to laugh, but it quickly morphed into a wet cough, his chest stuttering with the effort, his breath wheezing.

“Don’t speak,” Shinichi’s voice was rough with emotion, tears begging to sting in his eyes, “everything will be okay, we can talk later.”

“Shinichi,” Kaito looked at him, the look in his eyes twisting Shinichi’s chest into an impossible knot, “ I don’t think I’m going to get a later.” The magician’s eyes were shiny with tears, their salty form mixing with the rain, unceasing against the pair. “I think tonight was my final performance.”

“Of course it was,” Shinichi’s voice was heavy with false happiness, “Kaitou KID has completed his mission, now he can elegantly disappear, and Kuroba Kaito can take center stage as the world’s greatest magician.” Kaito laughed, breathy and almost inaudible.

“No, this was Kuroba Kaito’s last show as well, he will finally be revealed to the audience. Aoko is going to be so mad.” The magician’s lips trembled, his voice breaking with sobs and fear. Shinichi bit his lip, holding back from scolding the magician, like any of that mattered right now, he had to get to a hospital, he had to be okay, Shinichi hadn’t even told him yet-

“I don’t want to die.” Shinichi had never heard the magician sound like that. Even in the darkest moments, Kaito always hid his fear, always looking ahead with that insufferable smirk on his face. This was raw emotion, Kaito knew, Shinichi knew, too, however much he tried to deny it, there was only one truth. “I really don’t want to die, Shinichi.” Kaito reached one hand toward the detective, who held it without a second thought, using one hand to push down on Kaito’s wound, throwing his coat away to press down directly, as the other gripped the magician’s hand, which at some point lost its glove. His fingers were cold, whether from the rain or the blood loss Shinichi was unsure. He was sure that his grip was too tight, but the magician didn’t complain. Shinichi couldn’t find any words as the magician continued to cry, his heartbeat growing weak beneath Shinichi’s hand.

“I love you,” the magician said from his weaking sobs, “I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time now, but I promised myself I would tell you after I found Pandora, and, well, this is my last chance.” Shinichi sucked in a breath, shaking his head, trying to get the magician to stop, he didn’t want this to be goodbye. “I love you, Kudou Shinichi.” The smile the magician gave he was warm, despite his cold hand. Kaito let out a long breath, apparently content with his words.

He didn’t breath back in. His hand fell slack in Shinichi’s grip as his heart stopped beating beneath Shinichi’s other hand. Abandoning its place on Kaito’s chest, Shinchi moved his other hand to hold Kaito’s. He knew he was crying, he was sure he was sobbing, but all he could hear was the sound of rain and all he could feel was Kaito’s cold hand. Kaito couldn’t be cold, Kaito was never cold. He was warm, he was light, he was a beacon of hope in Shinichi’s darkest times, he couldn’t be cold.

Shinichi let out a breath, trying to warm Kaito’s hand. It couldn’t be cold. He did it again, and again, and again, and again. He didn’t hear the task force reach the roof, he didn’t hear Nakamori’s revelation of Kaitou KID’s identity, he didn’t feel them pull Shinichi away from Kaito, he just kept letting out air. He couldn’t be cold.

Shinichi woke up on the park bench, sore from sleeping in such an uncomfortable surface, his eyes wet with tears. He remembered now. He remembered Kaitou KID and how he discovered his identity. He remembered promising to help KID take down the people who were after him and Pandora in exchange for KID’s help taking down the Black Org. He remembered Kuroba Kaito and his ability to light up a room, make people laugh, bring a bit of joy, a bit of magic, into every situation. He remembered why he fell in love. He remembered that he never got to tell Kaito that he loved him.

Becoming more aware of his surroundings, he realized that his hand was in Kaito’s lap, a cold hand resting on his side as a warm hand carded through Shinichi’s hair. “You remember now, right?” Kaito’s voice was soft, as if fearful of Shinichi’s answer.

“Yeah,” Shinichi said, his voice just as quiet, “I do. Kaito let out a low laugh, completely mirthless.

“Well, cat’s out of the bag,” Kaito said, trying to make light out of the situation. Shinichi sat up, forcing Kaito to pull his hands away. As Shinichi faced him, he grabbed Kaito’s right hand and held it, just like he had that terrible night so many years ago. It was warm beneath his grip, but Shinichi let out a breath onto it anyway. “No matter how cold I have felt,” Kaito said, a bittersweet expression on his face, “that hand has always remained warm.” Shinichi met Kaito’s eyes, tears threatening to reemerge. Those sighs, they were the unconscious memory of trying to warm Kaito’s hand. His subconscious refused to let him stop until he knew that Kaito was warm.

“It was cruel to leave me like that, without waiting to hear my response.”

“Your response?” Kaito looked confused for a moment, the realization hit him and his face turned red, Shinichi almost laughed at how cute it was.

“Me too.” Shinichi said, giving Kaito’s hand a squeeze.

“You too?” Kaito looked hopeful, and his smile only grew as Shinichi nodded.

“I love you, too” Kaito moved in and kissed Shinichi, his lips cold, yet so alive. He pulled away almost reluctantly.

“No matter what, Shinichi, I promise I will always be beside you.” Shinichi only nodded in return before Kaito leaned back in to kiss him.

When Shinichi next opened his eyes. Kaito was gone.

It took a while, but Shinichi finally found the resolve to visit Kaito’s grave. Nakamori-keibu had been nervous to tell him where it was, seeing how badly Kaito’s death had affected him, but he had eventually agreed. He laid down a bouquet of red roses and began to talk of trivial things. What had happened since Kaito left, how he was readjusting to life since his memories returned, a magic show he saw recently. He stood there for a while, sometimes just in silence, but as he did, he felt a warm presence holding tightly onto his hand.

Shinichi let out a, content, sigh.

Summary: Kaito is angry at Shinichi and locked him outside. He will let him back in on one condition.
Written July 2018
Read on AO3

This is why Shinichi avoided arguments with Kaito like the plague. He was currently stuck outside of his house, Kaito having bolted the door, and none of the windows would open. It was embarrassing enough to have your boyfriend lock you out of your own house , but he had Hattori and Hakuba over to discuss a recent string of serial murders. It was just a silly argument and now he had to freeze out in the autumn evening being judged by his contemporaries until Kaito decided to be merciful. “Kaito!” Shinichi shouted at the door, “Please! It’s cold out here!”

“No!” came a shout from inside, “I’m still mad at you!”

“Kaito! We have guests! Be a good host!” Shinichi waited a moment, but he got no reply. He sighed and turned to look at the other two detectives, who gave him a pitying look. “Fine! What can I do to make it up to you!”

“I told you what you have to do!” Shinichi paused. Kaito never told him what he had to do, but if he says that he did… Oh God no.

“Kaito, that was a joke right? You’re not going to make me do that in front of Hakuba and Hattori , are you?”

“I think my demands are clear.”

“Kaito, I am not doing that now . You can kick me out again after their gone, but-”

“There’s no point in it if they’re gone, Shinichi!” He wasn’t going to let this go, was he? He glanced back at his friends, who were now looking at him in a mix of confusion and fear, they knew what Kaito was capable of. “Start singing, Shinichi!” The magician’s pleasure was clear in his sing-songy tone.

Slowly, with embarrassment burning bright on his face, Shinichi began mumbling something under his breath. “Come on Shinichi! You have to say it for all to hear!” Shinichi squeezed his eyes shut and tried to pretend that he wasn’t standing in front of two of the most intelligent people he knew. “Shin~i~chi~!” Shinichi took a large breath and began to recite the cursed words.

“I’m a little teapot-” he heard Hattori let out a snort, “short and stout. Here is my my handle,” Shinichi moved a hand to his hip, “and here is my spout,” he moved his other hand to the “spout” position. Hattori was practically cackling at this point, Hakuba was silent, all to used to the pain of being through Kuroba’s jokes. Shinichi could hear faint snickers through the door as well, he knew he only heard them because Kaito wanted him too.

“You’re doing so well, Shinichi! Keep going!” Shinichi let out a small whine, this had to be cruel and unusual punishment. “Come on, you’re halfway there!”

“When I get all steamed up hear me shout-”

“You have to shout this part, Shinichi!”

“Kaito!” Shinichi dropped the ridiculous pose, “I am not going to shout a children’s song in the middle of the neighborhood!”

“The faster you fo it, the faster it will be over.” That sing-song tone had to be the voice of the devil.

“Yeah, Kudou,” Hattori managed through his laughter, “it’s just one more line.” Shinichi turned a harsh glare on the Osakan.

“We are no longer friends.” His words seemed to have the opposite effect, Hattori laughed harder. Hakuba only gave him a defeated look. Composing himself, Shinichi regained his pose and cleared his throat.

“Tip me over and pour me out!” He could hear how his voice echoed down the street. As soon as the last word left his lips, tried the door handle. It swung open with ease. He marched past his boyfriend, the tips of his ears bright red. “I hate you,” he said, feeling more than seeing the giant, evil grin on the magician’s face.

“No one don’t~” Kaito replied, ushering in his guests.

“No,” Shinichi sighed, more to himself than to Kaito, “I really don’t.”

Summary:Sometimes life is cruel, which is the case for these two. Luck never seems to be on their side, but they are able to find some solace in one another. What luck that a deck comes with a pair of fools.
Written April 2018
Read on AO3

It’s funny how time works. Day bleeds into night, a perfect cycle, but time is strict, rigid. One second it is March, the next, April. This is what a small detective was thinking of as he sat on the roof of the Haido City Hotel, the breeze still warming from its frosty, winter cold. He was there to meet someone for the first of April, someone who would only appear on the first of April, not a second earlier, so when he heard footsteps approach him from behind, he knew the month of Mars had passed.

“You’re here earlier than last year.” The thief eased himself down beside the small detective, who gave a weak chuckle in return.

“It’s not like I have anything better to do, you know that.”

“No progress, huh?” A hum in confirmation. “Looks like Lady Luck abandoned us both.”

“Luck was never on my side in the first place.” That had to be true, there had been an absence of luck for years, every since the incident at Tropical Land.

The thief knew this, he knew a lot of things about the detective, much more than those who constantly surround him. He knew the boy looked forward to this day every year, much like himself. It was a day without masks, without lies, without names.

Names were dangerous. They were fluid, easily changed, and in abundance, especially for people such as themselves, so the two never used them on the first of April. They just talked, a place to speak freely, without repercussion, a tradition which started almost years ago, a year after their first meeting.

It had been on accident, they had both arrived without the knowledge of the other, planning to take a moment’s reprieve from their usual lives. Upon realization that they both desired the same thing, they decided to find that reprieve in one another. They knew they were safe with one another, safe from all of the things pressing on their minds big and small.

As the years progressed they had spent more and more time on the first together, last year it was close to a whole day, and as the detective’s current persona grew older, he was given more freedom, something both were glad to take advantage of.

“So,” the thief said, a cheerful, eager tone in his voice, “ we have several hours until sunrise, and therefore breakfast, what do you want to do?” The detective turned to face him, an amused smirk on his face.

“I know you have some sort of magic show planned, idiot.” The thief smiled.

“You know me to well detective.”

So that’s how their day began. The magician performed a magic show on a cool spring morning on the top of a hotel for an audience of one. The audience refraining from his usual critic in favor of not ruining the relaxed, joyful look the performer held on his face. After the magic show, they contented themselves in swapping stories about some of the high points in the last year, many ended up involving one another. By the time the sun rose, they were already blending into the street below, no one the wiser of their late night meeting, and soon they were sitting in a small cafe in a district where the chance of anyone they knew seeing them was low.

“Hey,” the detective spoke up from his place across from the magician, who was happily perusing the menu’s pastry section.

“What is it?” Indigo eyes met the detective’s, bright in a way that had he had not seen since last April first.

“Are you not wearing a disguise?”

“Hmm, nope.”

“Oh.” It was surprising in a way, but in another, it wasn’t. They did look startling similar, well they would be if the situation was different.

“You order a hot chocolate, I’ll order an iced coffee, then we’ll swap when the staff isn’t looking.” The detective hummed in agreement.

The zoo was a nice trip. They made their way there after breakfast, it was still early in the day, not to mention a school day, so the zoo was quiet, even if the staff shot curious looks at the pair. The more nocturnal animals were settling in to sleep, but they could still be seen, and the other animals were eagerly waiting around the front of their enclosures for breakfast. If they bypassed the animals of the aquatic affinity, neither mentioned it. They passed the time by quizzing one another on animal facts, stopping to eat lunch at one of the concession stands near the North American animals. A bison was loitering near the fence and the magician was pleased to see the detective fight down a snicker when a top hat just so happened to appear on the animals head before disappearing before any zookeepers could notice.

The detective lead the thief through shopping district after shopping district across Tokyo, hitting all the smaller, locally run bookstores. The trains they took between each location began to slowly fill with students returning home after school. Hats placed low on each of their heads, the magician would ask the detective about some of them, what clubs each student was in, how they were doing academically, just things to pass the time.

Of course the magician wanted to have dinner at the Tokyo tower. He seemed to have an obsession with heights, but the detective didn’t mind. And if they were dressed far more casually than the other patrons and were shot dirty looks from the diners as well as the staff, neither cared.

“I do believe it’s your turn to buy the meal, detective,” the magician said as their haughty waiter gave the magician the bill. The detective only sighed as he took the check from the other’s hands and placed his card inside, he didn’t get to use it that often nowadays anyways, and it was worth the look on the waiters face.

The sun had completely set by the time they made it back to the roof of the Haido City Hotel. The magician pulled out a small electric light and a set of cards and they made small talk for a few more hours, the detective giving the thief a pointed look whenever he tried to cheat at the game they were playing.

After several games, the thief stood, placing the cards back inside of his suit, which he changed back into at some point, though his hat was held at his side. “It’s almost time, detective. I do believe it’s time for the finale. The detective sighed, the day truly did go by to quickly, even if he had to admit the lack of sleep was starting to get to him.

“Well, I’m never one to forgo tradition.” The two shared a smile before a bang and flash of light illuminated the sky.

The citizens of Tokyo never understood why the Haido City Hotel lit up on April first. The staff was asked constantly, but they never had an answer to the public’s inquiry. It was even staked out a few years, but they never knew when the fireworks would go off. It started several years ago, a display went off early in the morning. The following years it slowly bleed into the day, then into night, and there was never evidence that someone had been there. It was a sight, however, so no one truly cared. Large displays of bright colors and shapes, coloring the sky for no particular reason, the city eventually wrote it off to a very dedicated prankster. Only two people knew the true significance behind the marvel. A testament to the meeting of April’s favorite fools.

Summary:Prompt fill:  Soulmates share their sense of taste.
Written Feb 2018
Read on AO3

It was always incredibly important to Kudo Shinichi that he always ate delicious food, not because he was a connoisseur of any sort, nor because his family had the wealth to do so, but because he felt it was his duty to ensure that his soulmate would be privilege to the greatest tastes Shinichi could afford. His parent were the ones to instill this mentality in him, telling stories about how they would feel so connected to one another when they were able to share a meal without meeting one another. How they would neglect eating their own meals in order to not ruin whatever the other was eating. Shinichi had no way of knowing who his soulmate was, where they lived, whether or not they had the level of privilege he had, so, as soon he was told about soulmates, he would always beg his parents to take him to the restaurants with the greatest food, unaware of their cost at the time, and his parents would always comply. The tradition continued until he lived on his own. He had to be conscious of his spending money, so he altered his approach. He was constantly online, looking for the restaurants that were lesser known, lower priced, but praised for their exceptional food. Shinichi discovered some of his favorite restaurants this way, and by the way he would crave those restaurants, his soulmate must like them too.

Speaking of his soulmate, Shinichi had always found them peculiar. Home-cooked meals could always be picked out, and Shinichi always enjoyed the days he could taste such a meal on his lips-and he was thankful Ran was always offering to make meals for him, otherwise his soulmate might hate him for constantly eating convenience store food-so it was one of the highlights of Shinichi’s day when he would taste those meals, it made him so much more connected with his soulmate, and he kept track of the kinds of things his soulmate ate in order to try and deduce the things his soulmate liked or hated. His soulmate loved chocolate, in all forms, and didn’t seem to eat a lot of fish, which made him think his soulmate wasn’t Japanese for quite a while. His soulmate also ate some weird combinations, some to gross to even think about physically eating. He hoped most of those were for dares or some kind of punishment game.

At about the age of eight, Shinichi found he was glad he had decided to keep a journal about his soulmates eating habits. At all the usual times he would taste some meal on his lips, he tasted nothing. It lasted weeks, only occasionally tasting crackers or other easy to digest foods. He worried that his counterpart had been hospitalized, but hospitals gave their patients proper meals, so Shinichi decided that it must be something more mental keeping his soulmate from eating. He set out on a quest, scouring back through his notes to find the foods he deemed his soulmate liked the most. Yusaku and Yukiko became slightly concerned when their son started to demand foods he usually ate in moderation, chocolate, in all kinds of forms, meals cooked a certain way, as little fish as possible, certain restaurants, and when their eight-year-old finally disclosed the reason for his behavior, they complied. And it seemed to work, Shinichi began to have certain cravings, sometimes for foods he was eating, other times for meals that he quickly begged his parents to have, and, eventually, he began to taste proper meals on his lips again. Still afraid his soulmate would stop eating, Shinichi started yet another tradition, on Saturdays, he would ensure he ate whatever he thought his soulmate would most enjoy.

That tradition he carried into his teens, incorporating the ever-growing set of data, the small restaurants he would frequent, and begging for the occasionally favor from Ran to help him cook a meal. Ran would always agree, and soon made it a tradition of her own to spend Saturdays with Shinichi, cooking or going out to meals with him. She loved watching him, how dedicated he was to this person he didn’t even know, and hoped that his soulmate would one day be able to appreciate this, and go to these meals with him. His soulmate seemed to at least become attached to Saturdays, Shinichi wouldn’t taste anything until well after the times Shinichi ate.

Shinichi was content, he was rising in popularity as a detective, and he loved being one, sure, but if asked, Shinichi would always say that food was his absolute favorite thing in the world. That statement made his fame slightly more uncomfortable as fans would send in different kinds of foods, expensive ones, homemade one, desserts and bentos to giftcards to some of the most luxurious restaurants in Tokyo. Not only were his fans keen to try to exploit this fact, but so was Suzuki Sonoko. She would offer the use of her family’s private chef, or just paying for one of the more expensive restaurants on Shinichi’s list in exchange for favors. The most frequent one might be her most outrageous.

“If you catch Kaitou KID for me, I’ll pay for all of your meal expenses for the next five years.” Shinichi looked up, taken aback.

“I’m sorry? You want me to what?” Sonoko sighed, placing her hands on her hips and leaning menacingly over Shinichi, where he sat at his desk.

“I want you to catch Kaitou 1412 for me and show me his face before taking him in to police custody in exchange for all of your food expenses for the next five years.” Shinichi’s face must still have shown confusion, because Sonoko let out another sigh and elaborated, “Kaitou KID is like, the most notorious criminal right now, and if anyone can catch him, you can, you detective nerd, so take that as a compliment and do this for me.”

And that’s how Shinichi began his hunt for a phantom, he couldn’t turn down that offer, it would be absolute lunacy. All of his food expenses? Shinichi had learned to go about it cost effectively, but with Sonoko as his wallet, he could frequent the higher ticket restaurants more frequently, or buy higher quality ingredients, or take cooking classes. He had to do this favor for Sonoko. The first few heists he attended, Shinichi was so caught up in trying to catch the thief that he got nowhere close to him, so he put his goal on the back burner and just tried to focus on the phantom thief as much as possible.

Shinichi began to experience the heists in a completely new way. He picked up on the meaning behind the notices quicker, and with each passing heist, began to meet the thief’s pace. He came to respect KID, he was clever and he pushed Shinichi to think in different ways, and if the banter the two would exchange was any indication, KID liked the challenge the Shinichi brought to him as well. This continued on for a few months until a certain heist, the first one to ever be scheduled on a Saturday.

It shouldn’t have been as surprising as it was, but through all of the research and analysis Shinichi did on the thief, Saturdays were the least likely KID picked for heists, it was one of the reasons why Shinichi allowed himself to pursue the thief with such fervor. The owner of the jewel had challenged KID to steal it, however, so Kaitou KID, never one to turn down a challenge, really didn’t have a choice. As much as it pained Shinichi, he couldn’t miss a heist, and, sure, he found the phantom thief to be a great rival, but Sonoko’s offer was too good to pass up. He made sure his breakfast was quite elaborate, an unspoken apology to his soulmate, and hoped the flavor helped his soulmate, if the taste of an energy bar and black coffee, unusual for his soulmate, was anything to go by.

The heist location was in the museum the gem’s owner curated. He had brought the sizable peridot out of storage for one day only, and had smugly challenged Kaitou KID to steal it from “the one of a kind security” of the museum. Shinichi didn’t understand why all of these rich people think their security is any different than the others, the thief always gets through it. Shinichi was at the heist location around five, managing to grab a sandwich at a small western deli he had found on one of his cheap food hunts. He wasn’t the biggest fan of deli food, but it was quick and easy and he was now craving said sandwich, so his soulmate must be enjoying the taste. It wasn’t like he was the only one eating pre-heist either, many of the officers were eating quick bites in between planning.

Shinichi, however, was more concerned over who wasn’t eating. His soulmate still hadn’t had anything but the energy bar and now he tasted, what, some kind of cosmetic? It certainly didn’t taste like the lip balm he often felt on his lips during the colder months, and it felt more dense than lip balm too.

Shinichi was thrown out of his musings by the feeling of someone staring at him. Quickly jerking his head around, he scanned the area, no one was making eye contact with him, and no one looked like they were actively trying to avoid him, he did, however, notice the curator and his wife. They must have just arrived, as they were talking with Nakamori-keibu. The curator looked as Shinichi had assumed, a pompous man who was dressed formally, like he was trying to shove his wealth in everyone else’s face. His wife was just as pompous looking, her face heavily coated in makeup with intensely red lipstick. Which just brought his thoughts back to his soulmate.

It was rare for his soulmate to wear lipstick or lipgloss, and he usually only felt it in the evening, so was it cosmetics for dates? Shinichi didn’t want to think about that. He knew a lot of people dated outside of their soulmate, as it was rare to actually find one another, but what could he say, Shinichi was a romantic at heart.

Shinichi shook himself from those thoughts, he had to focus on the heist. He took a seat on one of the benches on the side of the exhibit hall, it was evident they were there for more aesthetic purposes rather than comfort. He pulled a copy of the heist note from his pocket, it was fairly straightforward, a clear acceptance of the curator’s challenge, but there was something else in it, something Shinichi hasn’t quite discovered yet. His suspicion was that the thief had incorporated a clue as to who he would disguise himself as in order to enter the museum, but it was a struggle to find in what way the thief had coded the hint.

He had lost himself trying to decode the note in every cypher he knew of, and when he had finally gotten it, it was just about the time of the heist. Almost jumping from his seat, Shinichi rushed to find the inspector, he was still standing on the other side of the exhibit by the gem with the curator and his wife, who were apparently quite displeased with division two’s plan. “It is just outrageous that you people even need to be here!” the curator exclaimed, with a voice as pompous as he looked.

“My husband had this place upgraded to the best security system in all of Japan, isn’t that right dear?” His wife, with a voice equally as pompous, added.

“Of course, just look for yourselves! There is absolutely no way Kaitou KID could break into this case,” the pair stalked over to the display case the jewel was resting in, “Only my handprint can open this case,” the curator explained, reaching for the panel keeping the case locked.

“Wait! Don’t get to close!” Shinichi yelled, still too far away to prevent what happened next, which was his wife, with a quick smirk aimed toward the detective, forcing the man’s hand onto the panel, unlocking the display case, and with an explosion of smoke, the curator’s wife was gone, and Kaitou KID stood smugly on top of the now empty case.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” KID gestered out to the clearly shocked group of officers and reporters, there only because the curator allowed it; Shinichi, however, was still making his way toward the thief. “I’m terribly sorry I have to cut tonight short, I do hope you forgive me, but I’m usually occupied on Saturdays, and as there is still time left in the day, I hope we can all go home and enjoy it.” That statement shocked Shinichi enough to stop his approach, so the phantom really did avoid Saturday heists. It was nice to confirm one of his suspicions, but it only raised more questions.

In a flash, KID had thrown another smoke bomb, the cover allowing him to remove himself from the display before the task force could make their move. Shinichi wasn’t certain which way the thief would escape, but his gut told him the roof was his best bet. He was pleased to find his hunch was right. Throwing open the door, he could clearly see the thief standing by the edge of the roof, his whole body showing ease and confidence. Before  Shinichi could even register it himself, he was already deploying a soccer ball which hurled toward the phantom at a breakneck speed, then-

Blood. Shinichi tasted blood, but he wasn’t bleeding, did his soulmate bite their lip or…

“Jesus, Tantei-kun, give a guy some time to react next time, did I do something to offend you?” Shinichi brought his attention back to the criminal in front of him. KID was holding the left side of his face, visibly turning red even in the dim light. And his lip… was busted and bleeding. Oh .

Shinichi couldn’t jump to conclusions, it could just be a coincidence, but, “KID, tell me, did you use some kind of cosmetic on your lips for your disguise today? Not on a mask, but your actual lips.” KID, through his pain, gave Shinichi a questioning smirk.

“Why detective, I didn’t know you were interested in cosmetics. To answer your question, yes, I did, it was a lovely shade called “He’s With Me”. Don’t ask me why they name lipsticks these kinds of things, I don’t understand it either.” Okay, well, Shinichi didn’t need all that information.

“KID, what have you had to eat today?”

“I really don’t understand the interrogation, Tantei-kun, first you hit me in the face with a soccer ball, now you sound like my mother asking about how I’ve been eating.”

“Please, KID, just tell me.” The thief seemed to consider it for a couple seconds.

“Well, it’s a heist day and it was kind of sudden, so I had to do a bit of setup and recon this morning, so, I don’t know, I guess I just grabbed a power bar and some coffee, as vile as straight black coffee is.”

Well great. Shinichi had no idea what to do with this information. Well first I should probably… “KID, I think we’re soulmates.”

“What?”

“Yeah, I’m fairly certain. I made chocolate chip pancakes this morning with a side of bacon, then for lunch I went to a deli and got a turkey sandwich on rye bread with lettuce, tomato, and provolone cheese.”

“…Was the bread toasted?”

“Yeah.”

“… You really need to take me to all of these places, Tantei-kun, do you know how tragic it is to crave something and then have absolutely no idea where to find said dish? I have been searching for that yakisoba place for months .” Despite himself, Shinichi let out a little laugh.

“Well, like you said, there is still time left in the day”

“You mean, you’re fine with…this?” KID gestured to himself, a small, genuine smile on his lips.

“Only if your okay with dating a detective and, you know, you don’t try to assault anyone, and I think those are pretty reasonable standards.” KID laughed, a sound Shinichi could listen to for the rest of his life.

“Well detective, I think we have ourselves a date.”

Summary:Prompt fill:  Person A: “Welcome to my humble abode.”
Person B: “This is a tree house.”
Written May 2017
Read on AO3

The heist had taken a turn for the worst, at least, it had in Shinichi’s case. Presently, Kaito stood in front of the detective quite stunned, as the man had just tried to stop KID from escaping, he had attempted to kick his soccer ball at him. It backfired. Kaito had quickly maneuvered to the left, behind a glass pane he had set up for one of his tricks, which Shinichi had accounted for, but failed to take note of the large piece of glass; however the glass held, and Shinichi ended up with a face full of soccer ball. Now he was passed out, on the floor, in some out of the way shrine displaying  a holy gem they had kept hidden for ages and refused police aid for. Kaito had absolutely no idea what to do with the detective, if the members of the shrine found Shinichi in here they would most certainly have him arrested for trespassing, they had even threatened the police with such, so there was only one thing he could do. Luckily, Shinichi had been the first, and so far the only , person to find him, so kidnapping the detective without anyone noticing would be simple. So he did.

~~~~~~~

Shinichi’s head ached. Was it usually this miserable to be hit with a soccer ball? He almost felt guilty for aiming at KID so many times, but not only had Shinichi hit himself with his own soccer ball, he had also been thrown off balance and hit the floor, hard. Speaking of, how had the heist gone? The light meeting his still closed eyes made his headache worse, so he must have been knocked out for the rest of the night. The people at the shrine were adamant about not having anyone unrelated enter the shrine and that they could protect the jewel themselves, so he must have been arrested for trespassing. The birds cooing were too loud, did they have to be cheerful this early? Why could he hear birds this clearly? It was like they were right on top of hi- Shinichi opened his eyes and let out a little yelp. A bird, a dove he noted, had been laying on his chest, far too close to his face for comfort. The dove, similarly startled, quickly flew off of him and came to rest on a man’s arm.

“Finally awake, Meitantei?” The smug voice could only belong to one person, someone who, at this moment, Shinichi was glad to see. Shinichi sat up slowly, trying his best not to agitate the pounding headache, and looked at KID more closely. He was dressed in a black shirt with black pants, a black baseball cap low over his eyes, his incognito gear then , Shinichi thought. His eyes were as well hidden as always, but his smug grin was as clear as day.

“I have to be honest,” Shinichi started, a smug grin of his own, “I’m relieved I’m somewhere I’m not sure of instead of in holding.” KID laughed, a honest laugh, his grin becoming more genuine for just a second before the cheshire smile returned.

“How do you know we aren’t in a cell of some sort?”

“Because cells don’t let you keep pets,” he pointed at the dove perched delicately on KID’s shoulder, “and they don’t have floors and walls made of wood with completely open windows…” Shinichi’s sentence drifted off, much to KID’s amusement. The detective’s confident air quickly turned curious, his face scrunching up as he tried to deduce where he could be without aggravating his headache to much. Deciding to let the detective off the hook, Kaito spoke up.

“Detective, welcome to my humble abode!” He gave a grand gesture, throwing his arms open as if to indicate how amazing the small room was, the dove on his arm, and a few perched around the room flew out the window just past Shinichi head just for added effect.

“KID,” Shinichi paused, confirming his next words before he said them, “this is a tree house.” KID kept his arms spread as if he were expecting some sort of acknowledgement or applause; however, Shinichi gave him no such thing, slowly standing and brushing himself and straightening his clothes. “I appreciate you keeping me from being arrested, as ironic as it is, and I appreciate you letting me rest somewhere instead of just dumping me outside of the heist site, but I have to get going, I have things to do today.” He looked around for a door out of the room, a quick glance out of a window told him it was far to high up in the tree for one to simply jump out of, so there had to be a way to climb out. To his dismay, the only exit he could see was a trap down beneath KID’s feet.

“Come on, detective.” KID crossed his arms, frowning in a way that was clearly meant to be an exaggeration, “Do you dislike me so much that you don’t want to spend some time with lil’ ol’ me?” Shinichi stared at him for a few moments, an expressionless face meeting a pouting lip with what would be puppy-dog eyes if Shinichi could see them, before he eventually sighed and sat back down on the bed.

“Magician Under the Moonlight, Heisei Lupin, the great thief, Kaitou KID, wants me, a detective, to stay and have a chat, in his super secret base, a treehouse.” He said it in a mock-serious tone, more of a statement than a question, but KID seemed pleased the detective had understood what he wanted. “Well then, what does the great thief want to know about me that he doesn’t already? My favorite book? Favorite soccer player? Favorite food?” KID shook his head, still giving Shinichi his smug smile.

“Of course not, I already know all of those things. What I want to know is,” he paused, seemly for dramatic effect, prompting Shinichi to tell him to continue, “Do you have a lover?” The room went quiet, neither spoke for quite a while, Shinichi too stunned to respond. His mind thinking of all the possible reasons as to why Kaitou KID would ask him such a question. The doves, who had returned to perch in several different windows, started to coo nervously and flew closer to KID and looked at him curiously.

“Why would you want to know something like that?” Shinichi final responded, his face displaying just how wary he was of what KID would do with the information. KID merely shrugged in return, casually leaning back into a window frame.

“I was just curious.”

“About a rival’s love life?” Another shrug from KID.

“Why not, I already know everything else about you. A thief has to stay informed.” Shinichi sighed, visibly mulling over the question before properly answering.

“I don’t have a lover, no, but there is someone I’m interested in.” KID stood a little straighter and leaned, intrigued, in Shinichi’s direction.

“Oh? Do go on detective, who’s the lucky lady? Still Miss Mouri, perhaps? Or is it some young thing in the police force? Just say the name I’m sure to know them fairly well.”

“I would hope you did.” Shinichi said it like it was an unconscious retort to his statement which, frankly, made Kaito nervous. Was it someone on his taskforce? Was it Aoko? He really hoped it wasn’t Aoko, that would be painfully awkward.

“So you won’t tell me who they are?” Shinichi shook his head, a smug grin on his own face as Kaito was the one who now looked confused.

“Maybe you should just let me go so I can meet them.”

“You’re seeing them today?!” KID started pacing the length of the small room, “You go to one of my heists, in the middle of nowhere , when you know you have a date tomorrow? Seriously?” Shinichi shrugged.

“I wasn’t planning on being abducted by a master criminal.”

“You should have told me sooner! Go! Don’t be late!” Kaito threw open the trap door and gestured wildly to it. Shinichi laughed then walked over to the door.

“Wow, you really are a gentleman.” With that, Shinichi climbed out of the tree house and onto the world below, calling up one last time before leaving, “I’ll see you soon KID.” Kaito just closed the trapdoor and slid onto the floor, pulled off his hat and shoved his face into his hands, his doves surrounding him, sensing his foul mood.

“Great job Kaito,” he mumbled sarcastically, “You get your crush alone in a cute little tree house hideout, get him to tell you if he likes anyone, then encourage him to go on a date with that person, perfect!” he pulled his bag out from beneath the twin sized metal bed Shinichi had been sitting on, and pulled out his phone. He had several missed calls from Aoko and one text message.

A : Bakaito, I called and rang your doorbell far too many times to count. I wanted to tell you in person, but I guess this will have to do if it gets you back here. I got you a date with that detective you’re always gushing about, you’re welcome, it’s today, so don’t be late!

Kaito read and reread the message multiple times before it finally sunk in and, as soon as it did, the doves were all in a stir as Kaito grabbed his bag and practically leapt out of the tree house. He was a gentleman after all, he shouldn’t keep his date waiting.