Title: Red String of Destiny

Pairing: Kaito x Shinichi

Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito.

Cover Art: Drawn by Me.

To call Kaito weird was like calling the kettle black. It was pointless to point out such an obvious fact.

So when Kaito got a sudden interest in books about different myths Shinichi didn't really think much about it.

But as time went on little things started to catch his attention.

Like when Kaito started paying more attention to hands or more precisely, fingers; Both his own, Shinichi's and random people they would meet, particularly couples. On more than one occasion when Shinichi caught him in the act he could see the magician staring, gaze intent as if searching for something that should be there but wasn't.

This went on for about a week before Shinichi started to become concerned. Kaito seemed to be... deflating, for the lack of a better term. Sure he was still acting happy and cheerful but to the detective the smiles weren't as bright or the teasing was more forced.

The hand observing was also becoming more frequent.

In short something was making his magician unhappy and Shinichi couldn't figure out what.

That is why the detective was sitting at a booth in Cafe Poirot with his best friend Ran, words tumbling out of his mouth as he tried to explain the whole situation.

"I am serious Ran. Something is really bugging Kaito."

Ran pushed the straw around in her glass of water, "And you haven't asked him what his problem is?"

"No. Kaito is a master when it comes to evading topics or deflecting questions. Besides, if he hasn't told me what is bothering him already then it must be something very serious and he doesn't want me to know about it..."

"Because it might upset you or is probably about you." Ran finished.

"Right. But... I don't think I've done anything to upset him."

Ran watched as her childhood friend looked down at his coffee cup which was still full despite the fact that the two had been sitting there for almost twenty minutes. To see him so worried was really touching but also amusing because well, Shinichi would deny it, but Ran knew the man was a sore loser. Being unable to figure out what was bothering Kaito probably irked him as much as it concerned him.

"Alright Shinichi," She said and pushed aside her glass. Folding her arms on the table she leaned forward, giving him her full attention, "Lets start from the beginning. When did you say this all started?"

"A little over a week ago."

"And did anything special happen around that time?"

The detective rested a hand against his chin as he thought back over the past couple weeks.

"No..." He said slowly. "Nothing out of the ordinary anyways. I did find Kaito sitting in the living room the night before this all started but that isn't unusual. He watches movies all the time or special TV programs."

"Perhaps it was that. Do you remember what he was watching?"

Shinichi shook his head, "No. It was already over and the credits were rolling when I checked in on him. That had to have been at about eleven."

Ran sat back, a finger pressed over her own mouth. The only movie she could think of that had aired around that time was... Wait. No. Kaito wouldn't watch something like that would he? Oh but if he did then everything fit. The fingers, the books, his deflation. Everything! A triumphant grin broke across her face and she started to laugh, much to Shinichi's surprise.

"Ran...?"

"Oh Shinichi! I know exactly what your problem is!" She said delightedly.

"Really?" He looked a touch hopeful at the statement.

"Mhmm! And I know just how to fix it." She waved a finger with a wink. "All you have to do is..."

The first thing Kaito noticed was the lack of warmth.

Sluggishly he reached out a hand across the bed and fumbled the rumpled sheets, brow furrowing. An indigo eye cracked open and he forced himself to sit up, running a hand through his hair as he peered around the room.

Sure enough he was alone and that was unusual. Shinichi was almost never up before him; it usually required a cup of coffee to rouse the detective after a late night of case files or mystery books.

The second thing Kaito noticed was the delicious scent wafting from the bedroom door that was cracked open. Was that eggs, bacon... pancakes? Coffee... and Chocolate? What? His foggy mind grasped at the word: breakfast. What time was it? Kaito looked towards the clock which read 7am.

Wait, so Shinichi was up at seven in the morning and making... breakfast. The man who lived solely on coffee and take out was actually using the kitchen?

Okay, Kaito was starting to freak out now.

Flinging off the sheets he slid from the bed and grabbed pair of jeans that were sitting on the floor nearby. It was during this that he noticed the third thing.

Kaito stopped with one leg in and one leg out of his trousers to stare at his right hand and lifted it over his face for a better view. Was that...? He blinked in surprise then started to laugh as he ruffled his hair with his other hand.

It was fact that Kaito never could hide anything from his detective.

With a fond smile and a growing blush the magician tugged gently on the thin red piece of string that was tied neatly with a bow around his pinky and indigo eyes followed the length of thread as it snaked over the floor at his feet and out through the cracked door.

Shaking his head he quickly finished pulling on his pants and started towards the door, carefully gathering up the string as he went so it wouldn't snag on anything.

Shinichi laid the last two eggs onto the plate in front of him and glanced towards the wall clock. If he was right, Kaito would be waking up soon. Carefully he placed the pan into the sink and set the plate onto the table. He then stepped back to observe his work.

Two plates with two eggs each, toast and a couple pieces of bacon sat near each other. There was also a third plate piled high with chocolate chipped pancakes, a small thing of syrup, a fresh thing of coffee and a tall glass of orange juice. There was even the newspaper sitting off to the side.

Did he go overboard? Maybe. But this was Ran's idea and she was very adamant about it being done correctly.

"The Red String of Fate!"

"The what now?"

Ran smiled and waved a hand, "Seriously Shinichi. I've mentioned it to you before. That myth about how two people destined to be together are connected by a red string, called the red string of fate!"

"Oh you mean that sappy thing about soul mates or whatever?"

"Yes that."

"Okay. What does that have to do with Kaito?"

"Well if my deductions are correct, which they are, that is your boyfriends problem."

The detective stared in disbelief, "Come again?"

"Think about it Shinichi! Looking at everyone's hands or fingers, Myth books and Kaito's attitude. Clearly he watched the movie about it that night and is searching for signs of this string!"

"... You are insane." Shinichi remarked with a shake of his head.

"Shinichi. This is a girl's intuition. Trust me. Kaito is probably starting to think that perhaps you two aren't destined to be together. You should do something."

Shinichi sighed as he looked at his hand and the other half of the red string tied securely around his pinky. Honestly, would Kaito really go for something like this? Ran seemed so certain and since he didn't have a better idea he agreed to her plan which included the string and breakfast - a home made breakfast on top of that.

Shinichi had never considered himself a very good cook. Sure, he was capable but nothing he did could be considered gourmet. Plus it meant dirty dishes and he didn't like having those piling up in his sink since he was already busy enough with work.

He didn't even want to think about what would happen if this whole 'woman's intuition' thing turned out to be wrong.

"Shinichi?"

The detective jumped at the voice turning to look at the half dressed magician standing in the entryway to the kitchen, a small bundle of excess red thread in his hands.

"Kaito! Ah... er Good morning." A moments pause as he looked at the table, "I.. uh... made breakfast if you are hungry."

"I can see that." Kaito smiled warmly and took a seat. "It smells good."

So far so good, Shinichi thought as he poured himself a cup of coffee and watched as the magician started to pile some pancakes onto his plate. He seemed to be happier if that earlier smile had been any indication. Maybe Ran had been right. With a bit of satisfaction the detective slid into his own seat and started to munch on a slice of bacon as Kaito dove into a conversation over the food as well as whatever topic crossed his mind.

The two were half way through their meal when Kaito suddenly trailed off in his commentary about his doves and set down his fork, "Shinichi...?"

"Hm?" The detective hummed as he flipped through the newspaper next to him. He blinked when he felt a hand close over his. He turned to find Kaito beaming at him, his cheeks colored in a faint blush.

"Thank you."

Azure eye's softened and Shinichi smiled, his own face growing warm at the sincerity the magician's voice and expression held. "You're welcome."

Omake

"It was Mouri's idea wasn't it?"

"What?"

"This!" Kaito waved a hand at the meal. "And this!" He lifted his other hand to reveal the string that either of them had yet to remove.

Shinichi blinked then laughed softly, "Heh, you got me."

Kaito grinned, "I knew it. Shin-chan isn't romantic enough to come up with this on his own. Nor would you make a whole breakfast like this without some sort of prompting."

"Hey now! I can be romantic." The detective objected and slapped the magician's arm gently with the back of his hand at the tease.

Kaito laughed, raising his arm to defend against the 'abuse'. "Yea. Right."

"Idiot." Shinichi grumbled with a roll of his eyes and returned to his meal.

Kaito's grin faded into a small smile as he rested his chin in his palm and looked down at the string once more. Even if it was Mouri's idea, Shinichi had been willing to do it. That alone was meaningful and touching to the magician.

Maybe they really were connected by that so called red string of destiny.

(And hopefully that string was much shorter than their current one.)

Author's Notes: Okay so I had re-watched the first DC movie and at the end when Ran talks about the red thread of fate... I couldn't resist. I've always found that idea cute so here is a little write up about it.

This can be taken as either ShinKai or KaiShin. I think it works both ways.