Inspired by The Sound of Music, but modern day… in Japan… with DCMK characters… and an entirely different plot. Yeah. But since it originally started out as a Sound of Music AU, I decided I'd use a lyric from Something Good as the title.

This started out as a quick, fun AU, and then I realized Valentine's Day was coming up and decided to quickly force this to be somewhat Valentine's Day themed. But then it was super long, so I'll be posting it over the course of three days. It's three parts in total, by the way.

Warnings include shounen-ai, grammar mistakes / general errors, my sudden inability to write well (actually, that's not sudden), terrible pacing, accidental-siren!Shinichi, starving-college-student!Kaito, precocious-as-hell!Detective Boys, etc. ALSO, vague references to domestic abuse and violence, so if that triggers you, please be aware.

Also, I have no idea how the Japanese adoption system works and I'm too lazy to research it, so we're going to just… casually pretend I do, shall we?

Enjoy! - Luna

Must Have Done Something Good

When Kaito had first seen the ad, a tiny rectangle occupying the bottom corner of Touto University's weekly newsletter, he had been confused. Mostly because the ad had read Wanted: Person who has been through hell and back. And is still alive. Or someone who is willing to go through hell and back. 15,000 yen per hour. Please call and arrange here with a phone number trailing off the end.

Kaito had scanned his tiny apartment, with the broken air conditioning and slightly moldy tatami mats and never-ending cold drafts, and then peered at his reflection in the fogged mirror – he had looked about as healthy as an autopsied corpse, a testament to the fact that he barely had enough money to cover both tuition and food – and had decided yes, he met the requirements. For – whatever the insanely well-paying job was.

He had called the number, resulting in a short conversation with a young, harried-sounding male voice. Together, they had decided that Kaito was to come to Beika, district two, block twenty-two on Saturday, at 8:00 a.m.

It was all rather ominous and disturbing, and had Kaito not been desperately in need of some kind of job, being a starving university student and all, he probably wouldn't have actually shown up to the house in question. This whole thing sounded undoubtedly like some kind of ploy that would end in Kaito being sold off into slavery or disemboweled or something.

So when Kaito actually got to Beika, district two, block twenty-two on Saturday, at exactly 8:00 a.m. with pepper spray tucked into his back pocket and the police on speed-dial, he needed to take a moment to gape, double-check the address, and then gape some more.

Because rather than the dusty, abandoned warehouse with broken windows and peeling paint Kaito had been expecting, a luxurious, Western-style mansion stood in front of him. Rows of windows refracted the morning sunlight like square diamonds, and the wrought-iron gate before him was yawning partway open in the breeze. The front lawn was jade green, dewdrops sparkling along the blades of grass, and the leaves of the huge oak siting serenely on the left waved merrily as wind frolicked through the branches. The whole thing was straight out of a real estate magazine.

Cautiously, Kaito made his way through the open gate and down the pebbled path, stopping once he reached the magnificent mahogany door. He lifted one hand to knock, hesitated – this was his last chance to escape – and then rapped his knuckles against the wood.

Immediately, the door swung open, revealing a plushly carpeted floor and a long, winding hallway. Nonplussed, Kaito blinked (there was nobody there…?) until his gaze flickered downwards.

A small, dark-haired girl around six or seven years old, clad in a blindingly pink pinafore dress and a matching headband, squinted up at him with unconcealed distrust. "Who are you?" she demanded, scowling.

Before Kaito could recover himself, another girl, probably around the same age, emerged from an unseen door. She was blonde, her wavy hair cut in a neat bob, and she carried herself with a notably precocious air. "Yoshida-san, you shouldn't open the door to strangers," she chided, and the dark-haired girl turned to blink at her.

"But, Haibara-san, don't you think Shinichi-oniisan would rescue me? If I got kidnapped by a bad man or something?"

The blonde (Haibara?) rolled her eyes irritably, though there was no acidity to her words as she reminded Yoshida, "Don't you think you should try not to cause trouble for Kudou-kun?"

"Hm." Yoshida stuck out her bottom lip, pouting, and Kaito blinked, entirely confused about what exactly was unfolding before him.

As he was wondering what the best course of action was to do – was he in danger, facing two six-year-old girls? – there was the sound of something heavy falling overhead, and then footsteps, accompanied by a low grumbling, pounded down the staircase on the left side of the entry.

Glancing over at the stairwell, Kaito was just in time to see the most adorable man he'd ever laid eyes on thundering down the last flight of stairs, nearly growling. His hair was mussed, a mess of bedhead and cowlicks, and the oversized blue t-shirt he was wearing kept slipping over his shoulder to reveal pale, unmarked skin. He landed a little clumsily at the foot of the stairs, nearly losing a slipper in his haste, and stalked over to where Yoshida and Haibara were standing.

Ignoring the open door, Kaito, and Kaito's sudden racing heartbeat for the moment, the man cast a glare down at the two girls. "Ayumi, I've told you before. Don't open the door for strangers."

"That's what I said," Haibara muttered under her breath, earning a slight grin from the man before he returned to sending a disciplinary look at Yoshida.

Yoshida – Ayumi, Kaito supposed her name was – blinked large, innocent eyes up at him. "But wouldn't you save me if I was taken, Shinichi-oniisan?"

"Of course I would," replied the man with equal parts exasperation and fondness. He reached out to pat her on the head, giving a slight, affectionate smile when she beamed at him. "But all the same, let's keep the rescue missions to a minimum, okay?"

"Okay!" Ayumi chirped, and the curve to his lips turned to a full out grin.

Kaito had almost forgotten why he was there until the man straightened, running a hand through his hair as he looked apologetically at Kaito.

"Um, sorry about this," the man said sheepishly. Upon closer inspection, he was startlingly young, the light in his desperately azure eyes still lively with youth and the skin pulled over his sharp cheekbones and jawline was unblemished, smooth. He couldn't be much older than Kaito.

It took Kaito a moment to realize that he had been addressed, and he gave a polite cough. "Oh, it's… not a problem." He was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable, under the man's and both of the girls' combined gazes.

"I'm sure you're wondering what's going on here," the man went on, "considering how the ad was written. I'm Kudou Shinichi, and," at this point, he motioned at the girls, "these are my children."

"O… Oh." Kaito blinked, a little surprised. They were his children? Wouldn't that mean that Shinichi had had children while in his teens, considering he couldn't be older than twenty-five? And hadn't Ayumi called him oniisan? "Uh, I'm Kuroba Kaito."

Noting the mystification that was clearly apparent on his features, Shinichi sighed. "I'll explain later." He glanced up the stairs, narrowing his eyes at the ceiling. "I actually have two more boys, but it appears they aren't awake yet."

Two more? Kaito thought with some trepidation.

It was at that moment that Shinichi seemed to notice that Kaito was still standing outside and gave an awkward cough. "Oh, I'm sorry. Come in, come in." Pushing the heavy door open more, he made way for Kaito, gently nudging Haibara and Ayumi out of the way.

Kaito tentatively entered, toeing off his worn-out sneakers and trading them for a pair of slippers that Haibara wordlessly procured from somewhere. He felt like a bumbling peasant, which he supposed wasn't too far from reality, but the feeling still sunk to the pit of his stomach and settled in like a chunk of granite. He clung to the bag slung over his shoulder.

Meanwhile, Shinichi had shut the front door and was still glaring at the ceiling. Without warning, he called sharply, "Genta! Mitsuhiko! I know you're both awake! Get down here, please!"

Recoiling at Shinichi's sudden shout, Kaito almost missed the sound of frantic scrambling above them before two boys came careening down the stairs to land in a messy, groaning pile at the bottom of the stairs.

Shinichi stood over them, lifting an eyebrow. "Ten points for that landing."

"Thanks, Shinichi-san," one of the boys – the smaller one, Kaito decided – grinned, shoving the other boy off of him and clambering to his feet hurriedly. His eyes widened at the sight of Kaito standing behind Shinichi. Kaito instantly felt even more out of place.

The remaining boy, a large, stocky six-year-old, stood with much more groaning and complaining. "Mitsuhiko, that was so your fault," he groused, and the other boy heaved a sigh of resignation.

"Well, now that we're all gathered." Shinichi put his hands on his hips, and he would've looked a lot more intimidating if his shirt hadn't tilted alarmingly over his right shoulder and a cowlick hadn't been standing up on the back of his head. As it were, all the children were sharing barely hidden grins, which he pointedly ignored. "Everyone, this is Kuroba Kaito. He's going to be your, uh… care… giver."

Kaito blinked. "What?"

"Huh?" Shinichi glanced over at him. At the bemused expression on Kaito's face, he deflated. "I… forgot to actually tell you what the ad was for, didn't I?"

"Yes?" It sounded like a question, which it wasn't, but Kaito was too busy gawping at Shinichi in barely-concealed shock to consider changing his stunned tone of voice.

"Oh." Clearly uncomfortable, Shinichi reached up to rub at the back of his neck and straighten the neckline of his shirt. "Well, um, that ad was for a caregiver position for when I'm unable to take care of the children." He flinched, averting his gaze. "It… hasn't really worked out the past… couple times."

"More like the past eighteen times," someone muttered. It sounded a little like Haibara.

Clearing his throat pointedly, which accomplished nothing and instead left Haibara wearing a disturbingly sadistic smirk, Shinichi angled Kaito with a hopeful smile. "Regardless of… that, would you still be interested in the job?"

Under the full strength of those gorgeous azure eyes, as well as the assorted other eyes of the children, Kaito capitulated embarrassingly quickly. "Of course," he found himself agreeing, as Shinichi's eyes lit up like stars in the night sky. "I'd love to work here."

"Thank you, Kuroba-kun," Shinichi beamed, glowing brighter than candles on a birthday cake and lights on a Christmas tree combined, and Kaito nodded, powerless under the force of his smile.

Whirling around, Shinichi motioned at Ayumi. She was eyeing Kaito with the same expression of distrust she'd worn when she first opened the door, and Kaito felt a shiver go down his spine. He tried to smile at her. Why did she seem to dislike him so much, he wondered?

Oblivious, Shinichi was smiling at the both of them. "Kuroba-kun, that's Yoshida Ayumi. Ayumi, say hello to Kuroba-kun."

"Hello, Kuroba-oniisan," Ayumi greeted obediently, caginess evident in her tone, and Kaito attempted a smile in her direction.

"This is Haibara Ai," Shinichi went on, motioning to the blonde girl, and she inclined her head politely at Kaito. Kaito returned her nod with one of his own.

Shinichi put a hand on the larger boy's shoulder, leveling him with a behave yourself look. "This is Kojima Genta," he introduced, and Genta stuck out his chin, staring down Kaito with something akin to challenge in his eyes.

"Behave," Shinichi actually vocalized, a hint of irritation creeping into his tone, and Genta subsided, lowering his chin, though his expression didn't change.

"And last but not least," Shinichi said, smiling at the remaining boy, "is Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko."

The boy bowed formally, though the look on his face was impossible to decipher. "Hello, Kuroba-san," he mumbled to the ground, with an underlying note of steel, and Kaito awkwardly bowed in response.

"Well." Shinichi's smile was a little strained. He was clearly puzzled about his children's behavior, and Kaito could relate. "Now that we're all acquainted, I've really got to go."

"Go?" Kaito choked, stomach dropping, and Shinichi nodded in his direction as he started for the stairs.

"I've actually got an investigation going right now, so I really can't afford to be late," he said apologetically, clearly missing the please don't leave me alone with your children Kaito was fervently trying to telepathically communicate, before disappearing up the staircase.

Haibara was the first to break the painful silence that filled the front entry the moment Shinichi was out of earshot. "Let's eat breakfast," she suggested, and the other three children hurried towards a door down the hall. But not before they all gave him wary glares.

Kaito gaped after them for a long minute. At his side, Haibara smirked condescendingly. "Good luck, Kuroba-kun," she hummed, remarkably unhelpful, before trotting after her siblings.

Shinichi reappeared down the stairs, hair mildly less mussed and clad in a button-down and slacks, just as Kaito was forcing himself to start walking down the hall. He frowned apologetically in Kaito's direction as he padded to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, and Kaito found himself smiling hesitantly in return.

"I'm sorry about all this," Shinichi intoned lowly, casting a glance in the direction of the kitchen. "I should've explained on the phone, but Genta had been trying to climb out his bedroom window and Haibara had refused to help me stop him."

He didn't allow enough time for Kaito to fully process that statement before moving on, leaning towards him conspiratorially. Evidently, Shinichi had also put on cologne while he'd been upstairs, because Kaito was immediately acutely aware of how good he smelled, sort of like fresh pine needles and citrus. "If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm a police detective."

Oh. That would explain the "I have an investigation" comment earlier. Kaito nodded in understanding, his bangs brushing against Shinichi's with the motion.

A flicker of sadness passed through Shinichi's eyes. He let out a soundless sigh. "You've probably also figured out that I'm not those children's biological father."

"I did sort of assume you weren't," was out of Kaito's mouth before he could stop himself.

Fortunately, Shinichi didn't seem to take offense. He just looked even unhappier. "They're good kids," he muttered, eyes skittering away from Kaito. "But bad things happened to them. To their parents. All of them are orphans or have – unfit parents. So I adopted them. I just… I just couldn't stand to see the foster care system cycling them through homes, not when they've gone through so much. They don't deserve that." He suddenly appeared much, much older than the twenty-or-so years he was. "But really, now, I doubt I'm a better parent than any of the foster parents. I'm always so busy with work and I don't have time for them. I'm really not cut out for parenting."

Something in Kaito's chest was tight. He didn't stop the impulse to reach out and touch Shinichi on the shoulder, watching as Shinichi's eyes jumped to meet his. "I think you've done a marvelous job," he tried, hoping the sincerity in his voice would come through. "They're all clothed, fed, happy. They all respect you. You've done well."

"You think?" A tiny, relieved smile curved Shinichi's lips, and he reached out to pat Kaito on the cheek. His palm was cool and dry. "You're an abominable flatterer, Kuroba-kun, but I guess that's all right."

Kaito stared at him and wondered why he had such a strong urge to lean in and –

"Shinichi-oniisan!"

Jerking backwards, Kaito glanced around wildly until he spotted a scowling Ayumi standing in the hallway. She was looking at him as if she personally wanted to use a branding iron on his eyeballs, and he flinched. But all she said was, "Shinichi-oniisan, you're going to be late."

Blinking, Shinichi pulled back one sleeve to check the platinum watch on his left wrist. His eyebrows shot up, and he hurried for the door. "You're right, Ayumi." He spared Kaito one last smile before he finished pulling on his shoes. "Sorry about this, Kuroba-kun. Haibara can help you with anything." With that, he disappeared out the door, leaving behind a blank-faced Kaito and an Ayumi who was still pouting fiercely.

"Come over here, Kuroba-oniisan," she grumbled, motioning towards the kitchen. Kaito gulped, mentally questioning how a six-year-old managed to be so intimidating, then did as she asked.

The kitchen was a warm, comfortable place. Goldenrod sunlight filtered through a large bay window, and the pale yellow walls only further enhanced the overall sunny atmosphere. The kitchen itself was fairly clean, though Kaito raised an eyebrow at the small army of bags of coffee beans huddled in one corner, and the separated dining area, home to a round wooden table and matching chairs, was also relatively neat.

Mitsuhiko, Genta, and Haibara were clustered around the table, pouring cereal and milk into bowls. Kaito stood in the doorway, observing, as Ayumi shot him a last squinty look before she took her place at the table.

"Do you guys always eat cereal for breakfast?" he asked once they had lapsed into a frenzy of crunching.

Mitsuhiko was the first to answer, setting down his spoon. "Yes, although occasionally Shinichi-san takes us out to breakfast. He can't cook at all. Last time he tried, we had to call the fire department."

Wincing, Kaito ran a hand across his mouth. Was it bad that he actually thought that was a little cute? "Well, next time I'm around, I'll try to make something. Do you guys like pancakes?"

"Yeah, pancakes are good," Genta agreed, though he wasn't smiling when he met Kaito's eyes. He was giving Kaito the same skeptical expression that Ayumi had given him before. Kaito groaned.

"Okay, would someone please tell me why all of you seem to hate me so much?" he demanded, searching each face.

Nobody moved.

Finally, Haibara gave a quiet chuckle, drawing all eyes to her. She leaned over her cereal bowl to angle an unreadable look at Kaito. "They're afraid you'll fall in love with Kudou-kun."

Of all the reasons he was expecting, from the fact that he was clearly a starving college student to the way his hair fell, that was not one of them. Kaito blinked, mouth falling open. "What?"

Haibara shrugged. A wayward strand of hair fell across her cheek, and she primly rearranged it. "It happens quite often, actually. All eighteen of our last caretakers – they all fell for Kudou-kun. And he had to fire all of them, because we told him we didn't like them and because they were all planning to find a way to take advantage of his kindness. Most likely to seduce him or just to have their way with him."

"Wait, have their way with him? What?" Kaito sputtered. "But I'm a guy?!"

He didn't mean for it to sound like a question. Haibara didn't take it as one. "Nine of our last caretakers were men, Kuroba-kun. That's half. I think the reason why so many men apply for this job is because the ad makes it sound so dangerous. Kudou-kun was half-joking when he put that ad out, so." She traced the rim of her bowl. "But the point is that I'm sure you've already experienced it. Kudou-kun is very charming, in his own way. It's odd, considering what a dense idiot he really is. But all the same, he's attractive to most people – men, women, and everyone else."

"O-Oh." Kaito blinked furiously. So Shinichi had some kind of strange – seduction ability? Was that why Kaito had thought he was so adorable?

Mind working frantically, Kaito turned on the rest of the children. "So the reason why you guys all seem to want to assassinate me is because you think I'm going to try to seduce your dad?"

"I don't really think of Shinichi-oniisan as my dad," Ayumi corrected, and from the twin spots of bright pink in her cheeks, Kaito didn't doubt her. Her gaze hardened as she continued to stare at him. "But I still don't want any weirdos to try to do anything to him."

"We all admire Shinichi-san," Mitsuhiko contributed, eyes narrowed. "And we don't want anything bad to happen to him. We don't want him to end up sad in the event of a bad breakup."

"Shinichi-niichan deserves better than that," Genta added.

Kaito stared. "How old are you guys?"

"Six," was the resounding answer, and Kaito rubbed at his face wearily. Just his luck, taking care of four overly mature six-year-olds.

"Okay," he mumbled, raising his face to meet their eyes. "Okay, if I promise that I won't fall in love with Kudou-san and-or try to take advantage of him, will you all stop looking at me as if you'd like to sever my jugular? At least for today?"

Haibara regarded him with detachment. Going back to her cereal, she murmured, "I suppose I can just think about castrating you rather than looking as if I'd like to, so sure."

Shuddering – how did she know the word castrate? – Kaito scanned the rest of them. "Your answers?" he prompted, eyebrows raised, and Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta all gave reluctant sounds of consent.

"Great. Thank you all for your cooperation." Blowing out a breath, Kaito relaxed. Well, this was… progress, wasn't it?

Another glance at the children, all shoveling cereal into their mouths with a certain viciousness Kaito didn't doubt was directed at him, had him thinking twice.

"Your children are terrifying," was the first thing Kaito told Shinichi when Shinichi walked through the front door.

Shinichi stared blankly, the door shutting behind him with a soft click. Kaito looked attractively rumpled, his threadbare sweatshirt sagging wearily around him and his hair sticking up in a miraculous thirty-four directions. He was propped up beside the coatrack, rubbing his face with one hand as he gazed unwaveringly at Shinichi.

"They are, but they're also perfectly lovely," Shinichi said in response, shucking his shoes and stepping into the magnifying glass-print slippers Haibara and Ayumi had given him for his last birthday. He angled an inquisitive look at Kaito. "I assume they didn't completely scare you off, as you're still standing?"

"Standing?"

"As opposed to crumpled into a ball and sobbing, I mean." Shinichi couldn't help but smirk as the color drained from Kaito's face.

"You're joking, right?"

"Well…" Shinichi trailed off. That had only happened twice, but Kaito didn't need to know that. "Yes, definitely. Totally joking."

Swallowing, Kaito took a few steps towards Shinichi. It took Shinichi a few moments to realize that Kaito was trying to reach his shoes, and he hastily stepped out of the way.

"I've already put the kids to bed," Kaito murmured as he carefully placed his slippers aside and stepped into his tattered sneakers. Shinichi fleetingly wondered if he could feel the ground through them, considering how thin the soles had gotten.

Having finished tying his shoes, Kaito straightened and let out a long exhale. He collected the ragged shoulder bag he'd left by the coatrack. "I doubt they're sleeping, though. The kids, I mean." He rolled his eyes, glancing towards the ceiling with something close to exasperation.

Shinichi smiled at him. He already liked this kid – hopefully he'd last longer than a month. "They never are," he remarked dryly. "Thanks for today, Kuroba-kun." Digging around in his back pocket, he extracted the check he'd written while between cases at the police station. "Here you go."

Kaito accepted it gratefully, tucking it into his bag before he met Shinichi's eyes. "Thank you, Kudou-san." A smirk. "Call me."

It took Shinichi's brain a few seconds to realize Kaito meant call me if you need me to babysit your kids and not call me so we can get go on dates, the latter of which was what Shinichi had been idly considering ever since Kaito had shown up on his doorstep, and by the time he'd worked it out, Kaito had already slipped away.

Standing in the entry, Shinichi felt momentarily lost before he turned and found that Ayumi, Haibara, Genta, and Mitsuhiko were all standing on the stairs, staring down at him with varying degrees of uncertainty.

Neither the children nor Shinichi dared to break the silence for a long, long moment.

"Do you… do you like him, Shinichi-oniisan?" Ayumi finally asked, voice barely carrying far enough for Shinichi to hear, and Shinichi exhaled slowly. Did he like Kaito? Sure, Kaito certainly seemed like a good man, though Shinichi still hadn't decided how much of the easygoing personality he had presented was a show for a new employer, but from what he'd seen… he wouldn't mind having Kaito around.

Judging from his children's faces, though, they weren't entirely sure yet.

He eventually turned Ayumi's question back on her. "Do you guys like him?"

Nobody moved.

Haibara was the first to break the silence. "He promised not to fall in love with you, so."

The admission startled a gasp of laughter out of Shinichi. "Fall in love with me? What are you talking about?" He searched Genta's face, then Mitsuhiko's, then Ayumi's, then finally Haibara's. "Are you all still going on about your caretakers suddenly being obsessed with me? You know that's not true." I'd be able to actually have a stable relationship if people were that easily attracted to me, he thought privately.

"Yes, it is," Mitsuhiko interjected, eyebrows drawing together. There was a tangible edge of desperation in his voice. "Don't you remember Homura-san? And Iwami-san and Takayama-san? They were all…" His voice fractured. "They were planning to… to –"

In a moment, Shinichi was up the stairs, holding Mitsuhiko to his chest. "Shh, shh," he hummed until Mitsuhiko's breath stopped catching and he stopped shivering. He didn't want to even think about what had happened to Mitsuhiko's mother, and he could tell Mitsuhiko was comparing their situations, considering how Shinichi was now his only parent.

"That won't happen to me," he assured Mitsuhiko, pulling back to study Mitsuhiko's face. Mitsuhiko's freckled cheeks were pale, but he nodded.

Around them, Ayumi was clutching at Shinichi's shirt, and Genta's hands had clamped tight around his forearm. Haibara didn't deign to touch him, but her arms were folded across her chest. A surge of understanding flooded through Shinichi. They were all so concerned for him, scared of him being hurt or losing him, like their parents had been hurt and like they'd lost their parents.

Shinichi slowly peered around the little circle of faces, and his heart seized a little at the pleading expressions that greeted him. They were all such good kids, kids who hadn't deserved what they'd gone through.

"All of you," he murmured, gently maneuvering so he could weave a hand through Ayumi's hair and press his forehead to Genta's, "all of you are so important to me. I don't know what I'd do without you watching out for me. Thank you for your concern. But I won't let anyone touch me, so please don't worry."

Ayumi promptly burst into tears, pressing her face into his bicep.

As he soothed her, Shinichi offered a smile to the rest of the children. "Well, tonight has been rather fun," he announced, trying to sound less like he was about to break down in front of them. "Can I have your word that you won't try to scare off Kuroba-kun? You already did get him to promise he wouldn't do anything to me." It seemed dating Kaito was out of the question, but Shinichi would do anything and everything for his kids, and not dating Kaito was the least of it.

"Okay," Genta muttered, albeit without a surplus of excitement. Haibara and Mitsuhiko gave equally unenthusiastic affirmations, and Shinichi felt Ayumi nod against his arm.

"Great," Shinichi beamed. "Now let's go to sleep. You all must be tired."

He was met with loud exclamations that no, none of them were tired, it was only nine-thirty, didn't he know they were all six years old, and he replied that of course he knew, they were practically ancient, that's why they must be tired, and the evening ended with comparisons of six-year-olds and Egyptian pyramids.

Later, Shinichi had to take a minute to wonder how he'd gotten lucky enough to have such amazing children. He really didn't know.