Kudou Shinichi has a dumb crush. It is completely illogical, that was the only way to describe love at first sight, but it is impossible to ignore. Ran had somehow become friends with one Nakamori Aoko, and when Ran had forced Shinichi to go with her to meet Aoko and her friend, Shinichi had become a stuttering mess at the sight of Kuroba Kaito. Ran hadn’t helped, she didn’t point it out, but she had made fun of him for months afterword. Despite what must have been a terrible first impression, Shinichi really couldn’t remember-he had blocked it from his memory- Kaito had decided to be his friend. It was amazing how well they managed to get along, which didn’t help Shinichi’s crush, so it wasn’t a huge shock when Kaito asked him for a favor.
"I need you to be my date to a thing.“ Shinichi nearly choked on his coffee, and several of the cafe patrons around him gave him concerned looks. "Shinichi?” Kaito looked concerned as well, he looked pretty when he was concerned, “Are you okay?”
"Yeah, I’m fine,“ Shinichi waved off his friend’s worry, avoiding eye contact, "You just surprised me was all. You should really be more careful about what you say when someone is drinking.”
"I’ll keep that in mind,“ Kaito replied and dammit Shinichi do NOT think about how absolutely stunning he is when he smiles like that. Shinichi cleared his throat, begging himself to keep it together.
"So, why do you need a date?”
"I practically have to attend this classy event thing a friend of my mom’s is hosting, but it is an event for Pairs only, hence, a date is needed.“
"And why couldn’t you bring Aoko?” Shinichi asked, feeling himself becoming flustered at the mention of Pairs. Kaito let at a sigh, an annoyed look crossing his face.
"Aoko already found her Pair, and she isn’t exactly fond of the idea of pretending she’s mine.“ He looked at Shinichi like Can you believe it? "Any way, I couldn’t think of anyone else I would want to be my fake soulmate, so I’m asking you. If you’re uncomfortable with it, I completely understand, I know it’s weird.”
"No!“ Shinichi said, "No,” he said again, feeling like his first response was a bit too enthusiastic, “I don’t mind, but why are you even invited to a Pair only event? I mean, I get that your mom is making you, but why were you even sent an invitation in the first place?”
"Because I’ve already been paired.“ Kaito held up his left hand, a thin red band visible around his little finger, and, despite the gravity of what it meant, Kaito seemed completely disinterested. Shinichi was completely taken aback; here he was, pining over a guy that already had a soulmate.
"Congrats, wait, no, Kaito, if you’re already paired, why not go to the Pair event with them?” Kaito groaned, as if he had already been asked this question many times before.
"Because I don’t know who they are.“ For a moment, Kaito’s face was crestfallen, and Shinichi regretted asking, but the magician quickly replaced the emotion with one of his signature mischievous smiles. "So there is absolutely no need to be jealous Shi~ni~chi~.” Shinichi would usually allow himself to be flustered after Kaito’s teasing, but the expression on the magician’s face was etched into his mind.
"I’ll go,“ Shinichi said, taking a sip of his quickly cooling coffee, "but don’t expect me to be a fantastic actor.” Kaito’s face lit up in genuine joy, and that was enough for Shinichi, despite the burning questions that were begging to be asked.
It’s not unusual for people to lose the chance to meet their soulmate if they only quickly make eye-contact in a crowd, which wouldn’t be that unusual for Kaito, considering all of the time he spent in and around them. He knew he shouldn’t allow himself to indulge in those thoughts, but Shinichi couldn’t help himself, he was a romantic at heart. He was still thinking about it as he was walking home, butterflies filling his stomach as he kept remembering the warm smile the magician had given him.
He spent the entire day of the event getting ready. He was used to dress parties, his mother would drag him to one at least once a month when he was younger, but he was pretending to be Kaito’s soulmate. He had to make sure he didn’t tarnish the magician’s reputation. Shinichi was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, desperately trying to get his hair look less like a dead animal than usual.
Shinichi was still uncertain as to why Kaito was invitied to this party. He was Paired, sure, but it seemed unlikely that Kaito would hide the fact that he hadn’t actually met his soulmate, it was nothing to be ashamed of. Shinichi breathed out a sigh and rubbed the small ring of red around his pinkie finger.
He had met several Paired-but-not people in his time, and everytime he fantacized about how fantastic it would be if one of them had actually been his soulmate, he had received the ring when he was too young to remember and his parents said they didn’t notice when it happened. Now he finds out that Kaito was in the same boat, but he couldn’t allow himself to get his hopes up, Kaito had plenty of opportunities to make eye contact with people, it would be irrational to assume that Shinichi had somehow met Kaito when he was younger and neither of their parents realized.
Shinichi was pulled from his thoughts when the doorbell rang. Checking the time, Shinichi swore quietly and quickly made another feudal attempt at taming his hair before rushing downstairs to open the door. Kaito was on the other side, smiling in a way that made Shinichi’s heart skip a beat. He was dressed in a charcoal-gray suit and a deep scarlet shirt to add a pop of color. Shinichi was fairly certain his face matched the color.
"You look great!“ Kaito said, which did not help Shinichi’s situation, "Are you ready?” Shinichi searched his pocket for his wallet and keys and nodded. Kaito offered Shinichi his arm in a classical gentlemanly fashion causing Shinichi to let out a small laugh, but took the others arm anyway.
The party was being held in the ballroom of one of the fanciest hotels in Beika, the hosts had rented out the largest ballroom and had decorated it in a strange fashion. All of the windows in the room had large black drapes completely cutting out any light from the outside. Instead, the light was provided by small lanterns and fairy lights covering the walls of the room. The soft glow made it a little difficult to see, but Shinichi could understand the appeal of the ambiance. Another source of light was a large skylight. The large domed ceiling of the ballroom was capped off with a circle of glass, allowing the patrons to see the few stars overhead.
When they arrived, Kaito quickly excused himself in order to greet the host, promising Shinichi that he would only take a couple minutes. Feeling a little dejected, Shinichi wandering over to the snack table, grazing on tiny appetizers and mini-cakes, watching the crowd. The people who passed them were all smiling, holding hands, Shinichi couldn’t see, but he knew that thin red bands wrapped around their little fingers. Shinichi gave a sigh and worried the finger in question; it had become a terrible habit.
"Shinichi!“ Kaito called, rushing over to the snack table, "I’m so sorry, they talked longer than I expected, I really didn’t want to leave you by yourself.”
"It’s fine,“ Shinichi replied, Kaito’s regretful expression twisting his stomach into knots. "It wasn’t all that long, besides, I had food to keep me company.” Kaito laughed, pulling even harder on Shinichi’s heartstrings. “So,” Shinichi offered, “what’s the plan for tonight? I wouldn’t mind spending the whole evening by the snacks, but I’m up for some options.”
"Well,“ Kaito began, "The hostess was very enthusiastic about tonight’s ‘main event’, but she wouldn’t tell me anything about it. All she said was that it would begin 'soon’.”
"Cryptic.“
"Very,” Kaito laughed, “I’m hoping my mother didn’t send me to some weird cult event. It wouldn’t surprise me, considering the decor.”
"Well, there is a blue moon tonight, that certainly doesn’t help their case.“ They could only hold a straight face for a couple seconds before both burst into laughter, cut short by the sound of someone tapping on a microphone.
"Attention, everyone!” The hostess called, “The moon should be passing overhead shortly, we will be dimming the lights momentarily, so please find your Pair.”
"Oh my God,“ Kaito breathed, "This is actually a cult event.” Shinichi was stopped from retorting, the sudden darkness causing a moment of slight panic.
The dark room was filled with hushed whispers and giggles from within the crowd, the light from the skylight to meager to illuminate the room. Slowly, the whispers were silenced as moon light creeped into the room, and Shinichi caught his breath.
As the moonlight entered the room, it revealed something that was normally invisible to the naked eye. Red threads appeared around all of the Pairs little fingers, glowing softly, tied to their soulmate. Couples eagerly watched as the thread was revealed, looking toward their partners hand, a tangible representation of the connection they share. It was pure magic.
Coming to a sudden realization, Shinichi whipped his hand in front of his face, anticipating the string to lead out of the door, toward his mysterious soulmate he had crossed paths with so long ago. It didn’t. Shinichi held his breath as he followed the string from its place on his finger, as it dipped down from the lack of tension, as it made a loop on the floor, as it climbed back up, as it tied itself around someone else’s finger. Kaito’s finger. Shinichi’s eyes shot up to the magician’s face. The magician wasn’t looking at him, his eyes were trained on Shinichi’s hand, a look of wonder and awe on his face. Shinichi reached out with the same hand that held Kaito’s attention and slowly tilted the magician’s face up. Kaito locked eyes with him and the smile that followed stole Shinichi’s breath away.
"Wow,“ Kaito said, wonder in his voice.
"Yeah,” Shinichi replied.
"I mean, I knew I had a stupid huge crush on you, but to learn that your my actual soulmate?“
"Wait, stop. You had a stupid huge crush on me?” Shinichi was bewildered; he never could have imagined that Kaito would fall for him.
"Yeah,“ Kaito laughed, looking a little embarrassed, "Since the first time I saw you.”
"Oh God,“ Shinichi buried his face in his hands, "Do you mean to tell me we both had a case of love at first sight?”
"Wait, really? You had a crush on me?“
"Duh. I’m not exactly the best at being subtle. I thought you knew, just didn’t say anything for my sake.” Kaito laughed.
"So, soulmates, huh?“ Kaito grabbed his hands, admiring the red that tied them together.
"Yeah,” Shinichi said, gazing into Kaito’s wonder-filled eyes, “Soulmates.” Wordlessly, Shinichi leaned forward, and Kaito, without further prompting, matched his movements. For the first time, with many more to follow, Shinichi kissed his soulmate.
“A thief whose time stopped the day his father died, a jewel that traps people in their past and the detective that makes time move forward again.”
My gift for @amywalker1412 as my part of the @dcmkkaishinevents’s secret santa! I used the prompts “Shinichi with shrunk Kaito” & “Cursed Gem”. Hope you like it! :D
The last day of the event is here and this is my contribution for the @kaishinbigbang! Hope you all had fun seeing all the amazing fics and arts! I know I had! :D
If you want to check the companion fic for this art, please check Through the Veil written by @kaeviche!
“I want this. To stay by your side. To let you stay by mine. To spend the rest of our lives growing and learning together.
“So with this ring you bought me, I ask you to hold, not fold. To call my bluffs and keep the ante high. To go from two of a kind to one pair, double or nothing.”
Shinichi takes the ring and slides it onto Kaito’s finger. “Nothing is going to stop me from betting all in,” he says, letting his hands linger on Kaito’s.
