Mikau: Hi there, guys! Sorry that this chapter is a teensy bit late. You can thank Poirot Café (a super cool proboards forum for DCMK fans. Check it out!) for that. They're having this writing contest, and I've been working on my submission. Keep an eye out for it, by the way. It's KaiShin, and I should finish editing and post it by Tuesday-ish. Anyway, this morning I realized it was Friday and that I hadn't gotten my BtM chapter for the week done. ^.^; I just finished this a few hours ago, so the last two thousand words are not as polished as they could be (I kind of just busted them out this morning), but I wanted to get this out there for you guys. Special thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter: Ern Estine 13624, Ambiguous Cake, Kimmiko T, Bunnyz-chan, Miss Emotion, Assasin8, GeekyGenius, Vivianne95, Lady Paper, ThatGirlWhoLooksLikePopura, and nipuLsemloH1412! I'm so thrilled to have all of you supporting me and this fic. It means a lot to me.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd put the Gosho boys in fedoras occasionally. How sexy are fedoras? I think Hakuba in particular would look good in one. And we all know Kaito could make a garbage bag look like the hottest new thing, so there's no doubt in my mind that he could pull off a fedora. He's got the rakish attitude for it, anyway. And we already know Heiji looks good in a hat; my only concern is that he might look a little bit like a member of the mafia. Shinichi…I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. Opinions?

…

Chapter Five: Beginning to Trust

Kaito wasn't exactly a morning person, but he still forced himself to get up every day before sunrise in order to get in a good workout. Because once he got going, it was hard to take an hour or so out of his day to fit it in, and staying in peak condition was essential to his continued success as a phantom thief.

And then after the workout, there was a nice long shower and breakfast to look forward to. Kaito often allowed himself to doze in the shower as the warm water pelted his skin in a gentle massage. As steam rose around him, it was his opportunity to relax, to get his to-do list in order and organize his thoughts.

As you may have guessed, most of his thoughts this morning centered on the detective still asleep in his guestroom.

Kaito resisted the urge to bang his head against the black, red, and white tiles on the shower wall. Damn his hormones and his bleeding heart. He should have never allowed Kudo into his home, into his life. He should have volunteered to commute to Beika every day himself instead of letting that detective get close to him. And now look at what was happening: Kudo was doing his detective thing, ripping Kaito's carefully crafted defenses down, wrestling Kaito's mystery and secrets away.

Why did detectives always have to be so nosey? Why couldn't they just contain their curiosity and respect other people's privacy? Kaito didn't want to be studied. He didn't want to be solved or cracked or whatever it was the law enforcement types thought that they were doing to him. Sure, he was technically a…well, he thought of himself as a vigilante, but, I guess, criminal, but most of the time Kaito was just a young man with problems and issues. Life was rough, and did the boys in deerstalkers and inverness really need to know about the inner workings of his mind? His love life? His insecurities? Was nothing sacred, Detectives?! Didn't one have a right to keep personal things personal?

Kaito sighed and shut off the water. What was the use complaining about it now? Meitantei probably had him pegged already. Kudo could see through him now that Kaito didn't have Kid's monocle and top hat to protect himself.

"Does it really matter if he sees?" Kaito mused as he toweled off. "Yes! I mean, what's he going to think of me!? What's he going to think of the real me? …Why do I even care?"

While ruffling his hair dry with the big, fluffy towel, Kaito decided that he probably cared because he respected the detective…maybe even admired him a little bit. Tantei-kun had always been a worthy rival, and Kaito had come to have a sort of esteem for the tenacious sleuth. He admired Kudo, and he wanted Kudo to respect him too, but…Kuroba Kaito was a fake and a thief. What was there for Kudo to acknowledge in him?

"There has to be something." Kaito sighed again. "I mean…I'm clever at least, aren't I? And my acting skills are amazing, aren't they?"

Kaito suddenly remembered the day before when he'd been doing Kudo's makeup. The detective had smiled and laughed and reported that he had full faith in Kaito's disguising abilities. Kudo had admitted that he admired Kaito for his skill.

Kaito found his cheeks growing warm and not just from the shower. He shook his head, trying to push Shinichi's smile—so innocent, sincere, and unassuming—from his mind. Kaito gulped as he realized that there was a cute detective sleeping upstairs coupled with the fact that he himself was very much naked.

This time he did give his head a good thunk against the tiles because there was no way in hell Kudo Shinichi, Great Detective of the East, would be interested in engaging in some heavy petting with a wanted criminal.

And at that moment, further internal debate was halted as the bathroom door opened. Kaito had just enough time to wrap the towel around his waist before Kudo Shinichi stepped in and froze, petrified like a Medusa victim as he caught sight of Kaito.

…

Shinichi hadn't slept much. Really, he was too busy trying to work out all the ins and outs of that entity and resident enigma known as "Kuroba Kaito", but at some point late, late into the night or possibly very early in the morning, Shinichi had drifted off. He awoke not long after sunrise and couldn't find his way back to dreamland, so he rolled out of bed, still groggy but no longer able to just lie there.

He decided to head downstairs to take a shower. He didn't know what time Kuroba got up, but he figured that the magician probably showered in the upstairs bathroom, so Shinichi didn't want to go in there and hog the space. He didn't want to risk being an inconvenience should Kuroba get up and need the upstairs restroom to get dressed.

Shinichi grabbed the towel that had been provided for him off of the side table by the chairs by the closet and collected his shampoo, soap, toothbrush, and other supplies.

He was still pretty out of it, so he leaned heavily on the railing as he descended the stairs, turning left at the bottom and cutting through the living room to reach the downstairs bathroom. He was resigned to the fact that he wouldn't be functioning on anything but a base mental level until he had his second cup of coffee. Thank God they had bought that coffee maker yesterday.

Shinichi paused in the living room for a second. He could have sworn he heard the shower going in the bathroom. It must have been his imagination because he couldn't hear any water running at the moment. He stopped and listened, but he didn't hear anything now.

Shinichi opened the bathroom door and was hit in the face by a wall of steam…and then the sight of the Kaitou Kid in a bath towel.

Shinichi's first instinct was to stammer "S-S-Sorry!" and flee the scene, slamming the door behind him. Unfortunately, after his mouth dropped open but before he could get the words out and run, his gaze got caught on Kaito's torso.

There, right above the heart was an old scar. It was faded, but it was still there if you looked really intently like Shinichi was doing at the moment. It looked like a wound caused by the impact of taking a round while wearing a Kevlar vest, but there were layers, like one scar on top of another, as if Kid had taken multiple hits on separate occasions but in the same spot.

Down along the sides of Kuroba's body there were other scars, definitely the work of past bullet wounds. They ranged in age and visibility, most of them from at least two or three years ago, Shinichi would say if he had to guess. He supposed that that showed that Kid had gotten better at dodging bullets over the years. Or his attackers' eyesight had diminished because they certainly weren't neglecting to practice.

Kuroba's arms too showed signs of abuse, mostly grazes. The calves as well, and Shinichi would have bet that the thighs had similar damage, but he couldn't see them at the moment because of the towel.

…So Kid really had been shot…and not just once or twice. Shinichi shivered in horror and then vowed to find out who was using his thief for target practice. He promised himself that he'd make sure they never saw the outside of prison walls ever again.

Meanwhile, Kaito was standing there in a towel. Being stared at intensely and evaluated. He could see Shinichi running his eyes all over Kaito's body, and it was absolutely maddening. What was Kudo thinking?! Was he studying the incriminating scars so that he'd be able to testify about them in court?! Or…maybe…did Kudo…like…what he saw?

Kaito was feeling lightheaded. He could just imagine Shinichi making the four great strides across the room and snatching away his towel, pressing him up against the cool tiles, and absolutely ravishing him while Kaito screamed in ecst—Oh my God!

No. No. No. And NO again!

Kaito mentally shrieked at himself to get a grip…though, the acoustics in the bathroom would be perfect for—NO! Kaito prayed that Kudo's scrutiny would end soon because he wasn't sure how much longer he could take it. He was this close to inviting the detective to take a shower with him, and the phrase, "You know, I've never done it in a shower before; would that be something you'd be interested in trying out?" was on the tip of his tongue, held back only by the fact that his mouth was so arid it would suck dry the water reserves of a cactus.

Still Kudo stared with his x-ray beams, analyzing. And when Kaito realized that there wasn't the slightest amorous intent in Shinichi's gaze, it ticked him off.

"Here I am so wound up that I'm ready to give up my virginity to you in a bathroom for crying out loud, and you don't even find me the least bit sexy!" Kaito mentally seethed. "Here I am, hunk of gorgeous, eligible, flexible, dexterous vitality, scantily clad in a towel! All you'd have to do'd be pull the damn thing off of me, and I'd be yours, but the thought of screwing me senseless doesn't even cross your mind?!"

Finally, in his outrage, Kaito got his act together and managed to snap, "Uh, Kudo, if you could stop molesting me with your eyes for a second, that would make this whole situation a heck of a lot less awkward."

"What?" Shinichi blinked, focus coming back to the present moment. He blinked again and then turned phoenix red when it dawned upon him that he'd walked in on his host and hope for salvation and then had just stared, unblinking for who knows how long. God, how creepy was that?! Kuroba probably thought he was some kind of homo freak now! He rushed to explain, but it was too late.

Shinichi had continued staring completely platonically for too long for Kaito's tastes, so, in indignation, Kaito took the towel and flung it at Shinichi, hitting him right in the face.

Kaito stormed from the room as Shinichi made all manner of strangled, apologetic, dismayed gurgling noises. Kaito slammed the door behind him and darted up to his room before he could do something stupid, like offer to wash Shinichi off with his tongue. And he thought to himself, "Great. Now I need a cold shower."

Shinichi, on the other hand, was currently stunned, still standing in one place as one thought floated around inside his mind: he had seen the Kaitou Kid buck naked. He wondered how many others shared that experience.

…

About twenty minutes later, Shinichi hesitantly approached the kitchen where he could hear Kuroba moving about. He distinctly smelled breakfast—a western breakfast of pancakes or waffles and some kind of potato smell that was probably hasbrowns and then eggs on top of all of that. And Shinichi was most likely going to be eating cold cereal unless Kuroba graciously permitted him to use the kitchen, but Shinichi wasn't holding his breath after the fiasco in the bathroom. Kuroba had seemed livid.

Wait. Shinichi took a few steps closer.

The scent of coffee was wafting into the living room. And Kuroba didn't drink coffee.

Shinichi peeked his head around the corner.

Kuroba was standing over the sink washing berries, his back to Shinichi. "What kind of pancakes do you want? I'm having chocolate chip. You usually have blueberry or mixed berry, right? I can make anything, though. Have you ever had banana pecan? Or maybe pumpkin? Pumpkin chocolate chip is good."

The magician was acting all friendly, like nothing had happened, and it was extremely convincing…only…Shinichi was familiar with Kuroba's prowess as an actor. He knew he was still in the doghouse.

Shinichi dropped to his knees into a deep, low bow with his forehead touching the wood of the kitchen floor. "Kuroba, I am so sorry about this morning! Please, let me explain! I swear to you that I wasn't doing anything weird like checking you out or anything! I was only—"

"—I know," Kaito cut him off, tone shifting from cheery to neutral indifference. "You were just looking at my old battle wounds, right?"

Shinichi blinked, lifting his eyes slightly to look at Kuroba's still turned back but remaining in his penitent bow. "Y-Yeah. You knew?"

Kuroba shrugged, moving to the stove to flip the eggs, maneuvering around Shinichi as if he wasn't there. "Yep."

"But…you seemed so angry…" Shinichi mumbled. "You're still angry."

"Yep," Kaito chuckled with a jester's grin. "Furious. Now get the hell off the floor, Kudo. I made you coffee. On the counter by the microwave."

Shinichi tentatively got to his feet, slowly in case it was a trap. If Kuroba was mad, he was definitely going to be pranking Shinichi. And it was going to be a very unpleasant, most likely nasty prank that took Shinichi a full week to get out of his hair and clothes.

He went over to the mug of coffee and cautiously picked it up. It smelled fine, but it was probably booby-trapped or had some undesirable extras in it. Still, Shinichi knew that he must be suitably punished before Kuroba would ever relent, so he took a deep breath and pressed the cup to his lips.

But nothing happened. It was just regular coffee. It was actually kind of delicious, really. Shinichi was absolutely amazed. Frankly, he'd been expecting something putrid or at least bitter to be masquerading as coffee, but…Kuroba had actually just made a cup of coffee for him.

"Th-Thank you, Kuroba. It's really good," Shinichi replied, feeling off-balance. He expected retribution, an attack from Kuroba, but he had no idea when or where it would be coming from. He kind of just wanted to get it over with. If not, he'd only be waiting for it all day long.

"Good. I just kind of read the instructions, but I'm glad I got it right." Kuroba shrugged it off, grabbing the measuring cup full of pancake batter. "What kind of pancakes did you decide on?"

"May I have mixed berry, please?" Shinichi bit his lip, contemplating his next move. In the meantime, he went over to the table and set down his coffee. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Look through the paper and tell me if there's anything in there about priceless gems coming to town," Kaito snickered.

Shinichi sat down and opened up the paper, feeling five kinds of wrong for doing it. Did this count as aiding a criminal? Was he an accomplice now?

"I was joking," Kaito kindly informed before Shinichi could have a nervous breakdown. "I've already checked the paper. Just sit there and look pretty. I'll have breakfast in just a second."

Shinichi grumpily set the newspaper aside and began to nurse his coffee with a frown.

"That's not very pretty, Tantei-kun," Kaito pretended to chide. "You should at least bat your eyes or something. It's a waste of that face of yours always wearing it in a scowl."

Shinichi held in a glare, reminding himself that he was at Kuroba's mercy. He needed Kuroba's help because he was not waiting two weeks for his parents to get back, and, besides, he'd already gotten one strike against him this morning for the shower thing. He couldn't risk another.

Shinichi took a deep breath and reluctantly asked, "And how would I go about making myself more aesthetically pleasing to you?"

Those words sent a tingle of guilty pleasure coursing through Kaito's body. He held in a leer and instead smiled earnestly and replied, "Nothing, my dearest detective, as you are the very personification of beauty. I ask only that you smile."

Shinichi's mouth dropped open in disbelief as his ears turned bright red. "Wow. So you pull lines like that out in real life too, do you, Kid?"

Kaito wore an innocent expression. "What was the line? 'Disguises are always a self-portrait'? Kid isn't entirely an act; I have my moments of charm and flirtation as Kuroba Kaito as well."

Shinichi's jaw now reached all the way to the floor. "Did you just try to quote Irene Adler from BBC's Sherlock?!"

Kaito's innocent smile persisted. "Yeah. Did I get the line right? It's been a while since I've seen that episode. I like Irene a lot. She's got spunk."

Shinichi's eyeballs might have fallen out of their sockets had he opened his eyes any wider. "Why the hell did you of all people watch BBC's Sherlock?!"

Kaito shrugged, flipping Shinichi's pancake over and looking a little sad. "What? I can't watch good TV? …Fine. I plead temporary insanity."

Shinichi raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "As opposed to your usual, perpetual brand of insanity?"

Kaito frowned as he fixed up two almost identical plates except for the different varieties of pancakes. "Yeah. It…It was a really hard time for me about two years ago. We'd just graduated from high school."

Shinichi buttoned his lip as soon as he realized that Kuroba was being serious. Shinichi didn't want to interrupt the magician when he was finally opening up because Shinichi could never be sure that it would happen again. He knew that it would never happen again if Kuroba was honest with him and Shinichi didn't react appropriately. Kuroba Kaito was not one to share, so Shinichi knew that he had better shut up and feel honored that his host was being so generous with him of all people.

"There was this girl…she was my best friend for a long time, and…well, I guess you could say that she's my equivalent of your Mouri Ran. I…I loved her," Kaito whispered, placing the hashbrowns just so on the plate. "I loved her in a dozen different ways over the years: as a sister, friend, mother, confidant, comforter…woman…but I never told her. I couldn't tell her."

"Why not?" Shinichi called softly, hoping he wouldn't break the spell that had fallen upon Kuroba, making him willing to share this information.

Kaito smiled sadly down at the eggs before shaking off his melancholy demeanor and bringing breakfast over to the table with half-grin (very much faked). "Her name is Nakamori Aoko. The Nakamoris that I mentioned taking care of me yesterday when my mom was sick? That was Inspector Nakamori. Aoko's his daughter, and I'm…" Kaito shrugged, handing Shinichi a fork.

Shinichi's mouth made a little "o" shape of realization.

Kaito chuckled softly, pushing his eggs around on the plate. "She'd be heartbroken if she ever found out. Well…first she'd fly into a blinding rage and destroy half of Tokyo, then she'd lynch me and burn my corpse, and finally she'd be heartbroken. Anyway, after high school she flat out told me that she was sick of waiting around for me and that some other guy had asked her out. She gave me a chance, but…I couldn't. I couldn't hurt her like that, and I could keep holding her back, so…I let her go. And it was really hard," Kaito laughed bitterly, forcing a smile that looked so unnatural. You could tell that he was trying not to tear up. It obviously still hurt him, but he was trying not to show it.

"Anyway, I was a total mess after that. I mean…you can imagine what kind of shape you'd be in if things went that way with you and Mouri-chan." Kaito shrugged again, trying to keep things light, trying to brush it off like it didn't affect him anymore.

"I don't have to imagine," Shinichi cut in softly.

That made Kaito blink, the fake smile dropping off of his face. "What?"

"I said, I don't have to imagine what it would be like," Shinichi repeated firmly.

Kaito just sat there looking at him for a minute or two, completely caught off-guard and not sure what to say or how to react. "W-What happened?" he managed to choke out in reply, but then he realized that that might not be something his guest wanted to talk about with him. It was none of his business.

But Shinichi smiled reassuringly. "You finish your story first. Then I'll tell mine, even though it's short. What happened after high school that ended in you watching BBC's Sherlock?"

Kaito laughed sheepishly, getting back to the tale. "Right. Uh, so…my mental state was compromised, and I was emotionally vulnerable, and I guess you know how that is, but…this friend of mine was always there for me. We'd hang out and just talk…like, really deep conversations that I hadn't been able to have with anyone before, and it was really strange because before the thing with Aoko happened, back in high school we'd sort of hated each other's guts. I couldn't stand them before, but…then I realized that they were kind of like me in that the face they presented to the world wasn't really who they were at all, so…like I said, I was a total wreck, and my friend really just saved me, and…so…for about a year I was convinced that I was completely in love with them. I watched a lot of Sherlock Holmes that year…. Besides, my best friend is a Sherlockian, so of course I've been forced to watch Sherlock at least once or twice."

Shinichi blinked, and when it became apparent that Kaito would not be continuing, he demanded (like a small child determined to have the end of the story), "Wait. What happened after that? What happened with the girl?"

Kaito blinked, looking truly confused. "Aoko?"

Shinichi shook his head. "No. Your friend. The one you thought you were in love with."

"Oh," Kaito chuckled, taking a few bites of his pancake (now smothered in syrup, butter, powdered sugar, and whipped cream). "My friend." He smiled at the memory. "They flat out told me that I was only attracted to them because of Florence Nightingale Syndrome and that I'd soon return to my senses if I really stopped and thought about it. It was kind of awkward, really. I mean, then they told me that I was a really good kisser but they preferred women."

"O-Oh?" Shinichi squeaked, cheeks coloring at the mental image of Kuroba kissing some tall, blonde, super model of a woman only to get turned down because she was a lesbian. "And…then what happened?"

"I climbed off of their lap, tried to laugh it off, and then didn't come out of my room for two weeks." Kuroba rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I mean…then they came and dragged me out, complaining that they missed their best friend, but…we're cool now. I got over it for the most part."

"That must have been really rough," Shinichi whispered, not sure what to make of Kuroba's story. He would have to go through it again and process it all better later.

"Yeah," Kaito sighed, popping another bite of pancake into his mouth. "I'm sorry. I have no idea why I'm telling you all this. I don't usually just go on and on about my life story. I don't know why I'm rambling at you so much. I did it yesterday too," Kaito grumbled as he poked at his hashbrowns. It was like someone had slipped him a truth serum, and he really needed for it to stop.

"Well, I can tell you that it's partially because you think I can read your mind," Shinichi volunteered gently.

Kaito blinked, thinking, "Well, can you? Because you seem like you can."

"But I can't," Shinichi continued, only making Kaito all the more suspicious. "You're the magician, Kuroba, not me. I'm just a detective, and all that I'm doing is putting the clues together. It's just like doing a puzzle without looking at the box…and with some pieces missing."

"Because that's not hard at all," Kaito scoffed under his breath.

"Okay, so it takes some skill, but I've had lots of practice. Anyone can be trained to do it, but…the point is, you're being more open with me in part because you think I've already got you figured out."

Kaito was about to allege, "Well, don't you?" but he held his tongue and instead asked, "What's the other half of it then?"

Shinichi shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee. (Note to self: Have Kuroba show you how to use the coffee maker. Shinichi's coffee never turned out this good.) "The other part? Humans are social creatures, and you're alone too much."

"I'm always around other people," Kaito argued with a roll of his eyes.

"It's like we talked about yesterday in the grocery store. Remember how I said that there was a difference between having a real conversation with someone and that playacting that you do when out in public?" Shinichi tried to be as nice about it as possible, aware that Kuroba could easily take offense. Usually people only developed coping mechanisms like Kuroba had after some deep hurt they had suffered, and Shinichi didn't want to rub salt in the magician's wounds or aggravate Kuroba.

"Yeah?" Kaito begrudgingly mumbled.

"You can be around people all the time and still be utterly alone." And Shinichi knew what that was like all too well.

Kaito began to squirm in his seat. He didn't want to be having this conversation anymore. Not for the first time he wanted Shinichi out of his life because it hurt. It hurt to have someone really look at him, really see him.

"I think you need someone to listen to you, someone that can understand." Shinichi nibbled on his lip a bit in thought before he continued. "You know, Kuroba…I think I get you. If you wanted to talk to me about it, I think I could understand. I…I want to understand you. You need someone to be there for you, and I want it to be me. Kuroba, I want to be your friend."

Kaito broke eye contact as a wave of…he wasn't quite sure. It was a mix of negative emotions: rage, sorrow, pain, and nearly half a dozen others of that ilk, and it came down on him like a bucket of ice water.

"You don't understand anything," Kaito whispered, voice shaking. He stood up and glared down at Shinichi, not bothering with his chair which had gone clattering to the ground. "You walked into my life yesterday, and now you think you know everything, Mr. Detective?" he snapped in a quiet fury. "You don't know anything at all about me. You understand nothing about who I am and what I've been through." Kaito began to walk off, tossing, "You don't want to be my friend. You just want to study me, Detective," over his shoulder.

Shinichi stood up. "Yesterday, you were talking about being left behind, about everyone moving on without you because of Kid. You said that you felt like you'd missed out on the last four years of your life, and, Kuroba, believe me, I understand how you feel."

Kaito paused in the doorway.

Shinichi took that as a good sign and continued. "Just think of what it's been like for me as Conan the past four years. I didn't even get to keep going to school and seeing my old friends. There may not be anyone that's particularly close to 'Kuroba Kaito' since you couldn't let people get close to you, but there are fewer people who even remember who 'Kudo Shinichi' is. Admittedly, I probably didn't have it as hard as you since I had a good life as Conan, but…now I'm Shinichi again, and Shinichi doesn't have a place in this world. You're not the only one who feels displaced, Kuroba. I can understand that much, at least, and I truly would like to listen and understand the rest."

Kaito's throat felt dry. He was finally understanding that look that had been in Kudo's eyes the previous afternoon up in the attic aviary when he'd gotten the feeling that the detective just really wanted to hug him. Kaito himself was currently seriously considering hugging Shinichi. He wanted to throw his arms around the other young man and burry his face in Shinichi's neck. God, he really did understand, didn't he?

Kaito turned around slowly and looked at Shinichi.

"I honestly do want to be your friend," the detective solemnly swore. "You're not just some case to solve, Kuroba. You're a human being that's hurting at least as much as I am."

Kaito looked away and nodded. "Sorry. I…If you hadn't noticed, I'm kind of defensive. I guess you really do get it after all. I mean…it sounds like you're having a rough time yourself." And then he remembered, and he looked up at his guest. "That's right! What happened with you and Mouri-chan?"

Shinichi shrugged, retaking his seat and absentmindedly moving the hashbrowns around on his plate. "Pretty much the same thing as you and Nakamori-san. I was stuck as Conan until just a week or so ago. Ran had been waiting two whole years, and I couldn't ask her to wait any longer. I wanted her to be happy. That was the best way that I could love her, letting her go, so…I did."

Kaito nodded, taking a step back towards the table and opening his mouth to reply.

But then music started to play, cutting him off: "You've got the right to remain right here with me. I'm on your tail in a hot pursuit. Love is a high-speed chase, racing down the street. Woowoowoo! I'm coming after you." The noise was coming from Kuroba's phone, lying over by the sink, across the room.

Kaito's entire face lit up, and he rushed to answer it. "Hey, Baby!" he sang into the receiver. "It's been three days too long since I last heard your melodious voice!"

Shinichi immediately tensed. It was obviously a woman on the phone, but was Kuroba just playing around, or was he seriously flirting with her? Could it possibly be Kuroba's girlfriend? Or maybe even…a lover? Shinichi strained his ears to hear anything at all, but it was a futile effort.

On the other end of the line, Hakuba Saguru frowned deeply. "In my opinion, three days is not nearly long enough," he snorted. "Must you answer the phone in that manner?"

"Yes," Kaito giggled. "Did you miss me? 'Cause I was so lonely without you I could hardly stand it."

Something akin to jealousy bubbled up inside of Shinichi. He didn't know why it was bothering him so much, Kuroba being lovey-dovey with this girl, but…

"You didn't give me a chance to miss you, Kuroba." Saguru rolled his eyes as he gathered his luggage at the bag return. "You texted me at least twelve times a day each of the three days I was gone."

"How was the city of love, by the way? Bring me a souvenir?" Kaito blatantly ignored the annoyed tone in Hakuba's voice.

"No. And the trip was fine thank you. The spree killer was caught, the bomb was defused, and the diamonds were returned to their rightful owners. And I shan't be going to Paris again anytime soon. Crazy things always happen when I go to Paris." Saguru shuddered, heading out of the terminal to the parking garage where Baaya was waiting for him with the car.

"Oh, is that all? Well I'm glad you had a successful trip," Kaito laughed heartily. "Next time you should take me with you. I'm sure I'd cancel out your bad luck; plus, it'd be super romantic."

Shinichi suppressed a growl. So they were planning a romantic getaway?! It was a lover after all!

"I should think not," Saguru huffed, climbing into the car and giving his foster mother of sorts a quick kiss on the cheek. "Good to see you, Baaya. I'll be off the phone in just a second." And then he turned his attention back to Kaito. "Sorry, Kuroba. Anyway, the reason I'm calling is…next Friday…the twenty-first…do you have plans? I assume you're going to the cemetery in the morning, but…would you like for me to go with you? Or did you want to visit with your father on your own?"

Kaito's bright, cheerful grin dimmed into a soft, sad smile. "Thanks for the offer, but I'll go by myself. I really appreciate it, though. Thanks for asking."

Shinichi found himself frowning, no longer following the flow of conversation. It had suddenly changed, taking on a somber tone. And then it dawned on Shinichi that this person wasn't just someone on a list of people Kid called up when he wanted to have a good time. This was someone that Kuroba trusted, someone that he had a deep emotional connection with. Girlfriend and lover, then.

"What are you doing the rest of the day?" Saguru tried again. "Are you free in the evening? If so, I'd like to have you come over…say around six? Does that work for you?"

"Sure. Yeah. Friday evening, your house, six o'clock," Kaito confirmed. "Got it."

The hair on Shinichi's skin was standing straight up. They were planning a tryst! Right in front of him!

"Excellent," Saguru continued, unaware of the misunderstanding and rage his call was causing a fellow detective. "I'll talk to you later, Kuroba."

"Bye-bye!" Kaito sang. "I love you!"

Hakuba rolled his eyes and hung up without another word.

To which Kaito just laughed. And then he remembered that he was not alone in the room. He came back over to the table where Shinichi was still sitting, wearing a sheepish, contrite smile.

"Sorry about that," Kaito chuckled, returning his chair to an upright position and sitting down. "They've been out of the country for three whole days, so…it's been a while since we've gotten the chance to talk."

Shinichi nodded, trying to look disinterested. "Was that your girlfriend?"

The very thought caused Kaito to break out into a fit of giggles. "God, no! I wish," Kaito sighed. "That was my best friend, the friend I was telling you about earlier, Hakuba Saguru."

Shinichi took a moment and thought about that. "You mean the Sherlockian. Wait…you wish Hakuba Saguru was your girlfriend?!" Shinichi went bug-eyed.

Kaito's face went raspberry red, and no amount of poker face could hide how flustered he was. He waved his hands wildly. "What I meant was that I wish that had been a call from my girlfriend…. I meant that I wish I had a girlfriend."

"Oh." Shinichi calmed down immensely. "So…you don't…you're not dating anyone?"

Kaito began to fidget.

"I just thought…you know." Shinichi himself was beginning to blush. "An attractive guy like you…"

Kaito chuckled weakly. "Haha…no. Thanks, but…" His heart was beating so fast. Kudo thought he was attractive? "No. I've never been in a relationship. The Kaitou Kid is a total flop in the romance department. Does that utterly ruin your image of me?" Kaito smiled softly. It was a nervous, vulnerable smile. He was putting himself out there but fully expecting to be betrayed and laughed at.

Shinichi blinked. "You've never been in any kind of relationship at all?" he asked quietly in that neutral, curious tone of his. There was no judgment in his voice; he just wanted to make sure that he had all of the facts.

Kaito shook his head. "Never. And I've only ever kissed two people for real, the first being Aoko when we were really little. Does that even count? So…I have zero romantic experience in real life." Kaito patiently waited to be mocked.

Shinichi nodded as he considered Kaito's question. "I think…that definitely changes my image of you, but…rather than 'ruin', I'd say that piece of information improves it."

Kaito sat up a little straighter. "Oh. Yeah?"

Shinichi chuckled, going back to his breakfast. "Yeah. I've never been able to stomach the way Kid goes around with his harem of followers, all blinded by their own infatuation. Knowing that you're actually a pretty clean-cut guy makes you more likeable in my opinion."

"Cool," Kaito laughed, a small smile blossoming on his lips.

Shinichi noted that it was one of those rare, genuine smiles. This made a grin spread across his own face. "So…you're going to start teaching me disguise today?"

Kaito nodded, feeling a little lighter now that knew there was someone out there that he could talk to that might just understand what he was going through. "Yeah. After we get breakfast cleaned up, Kudo. I'm going to teach you some basics today about using shadows and lines to change your appearance," Kaito chuckled with a flirtatious wink.

…

Mikau: As you undoubtedly noticed, this chapter did not contain the first disguising lesson. Instead Kaito and Shinichi had that all important discussion and Kaito learned to open up to Shinichi just a little bit. The disguising will come next time, and I think you'll find it amusing. That being said, there might not be an update next Friday. I've got a busy week coming up. It's my first week on an insulin pump, so I have to go to the doctors for that among other things. By the by, Eiko and Noiz are entering a costume contest tomorrow at the local Petco. My mom made the costumes herself. Eiko is going as Alice from Alice in Wonderland, and Noiz is going to be Sherlock Holmes! It's perfect since they're basset hound mixes. Wish them luck! And while you're at it, what did you think of the chapter? I don't think I even mentioned that yet. ^.^; Sorry. I'm all out of sorts since I've had so many low blood sugars today. Thanks so much for stopping in to read! Have a great week, guys!