Detective Conan and Magic Kaito characters, settings, and ideas do not belong to me but to Aoyama Gōshō.

Warnings: Language, minor violence

TMPD Antics

By Taliya

C: Kuroba and Kudou

Kaitou KID stood on the roof of the observation deck staring, enraptured, at the citrine and milky quartz stone in his fingers. The normally tangerine color of the citrine was currently illuminated an eerie red, and Shinichi only had a glimpse of it backlit by the light of the full moon before the thief tucked it away.

"What was that?" he asked uncomfortably, an involuntary shiver of revulsion sweeping through him at the sight. It raised his metaphorical hackles on a most primal level, inciting deep feelings of cagey unease that squeezed his chest like a vise.

"It's what I've been seeking for more than two decades, Meitantei. It means this chapter of my life is done," KID answered softly as he turned, a smile Shinichi had never seen before on the magician's face painting his expression. "It means I can finally lay my ghosts to rest and live a life bereft of thieving."

Shinichi blinked, equal parts surprised, gratified, and disappointed. "So you're—you're retiring?"

KID chuckled and nodded. "I suppose, yes."

"But—" the Beika native verbally flailed a little, caught wrong-footed. "What are you going to do with the gem?"

"Destroy it," the thief answered simply, and there was a mixture of nostalgic wistfulness and ominous determination in his voice. "There has already been far too much bloodshed over a silly little bauble like this."

Shinichi did not quite know what to say in the face of the thief's uncharacteristic candor, but neither did he want to contest the thief when a mere glimpse of the jewel had sent such strong chills of repulsion through him.

"But, Meitantei," he purred conspiratorially, and the detective's guard shot back up as KID approached, wary of the magician's sudden mood change. "Fear not," he crooned right before he snagged Shinichi gently by the lines of his jawbone and planted a brief but firm kiss on his lips. The thief pulled away with an exaggerated "Muah!" and a delighted cackle as the homicide detective stood stock-still, frozen in shock. The magician danced away once Shinichi finally regained enough motor function of his limbs to make a heartfelt retaliatory swipe at the phantom thief, which was swiftly followed by a vexed soccer ball. KID dodged the black and white projectile with ease as he chirped, "You're still my favorite, Tantei-kun!"

"You—you—!" Shinichi stammered in frustrated, flustered embarrassment, all hints of his earlier apprehension at the gem forgotten in the wake of KID's outrageous behavior.

"Don't be like that, Meitantei! I'll always love you!" The phantom thief's voice echoed with bright, joyous laughter and an edge of triumph as he twisted and tipped over the edge of the building and disappeared from view in a burst of white smoke, colorful confetti, and fluttering doves.

"KURO—" Shinichi bellowed after the vanished thief, still reeling from the unexpected buss but somehow retaining the presence of mind to catch his near slip of the tongue. "I mean—KID!" He stopped by the edge of the roof, watching the smoke dissipate in the moonlight, pathetically grateful for the lack of media cameras nearby. A soft smile graced his lips as he sighed deeply and murmured, "I'm glad you finally found what you were looking for, Kuroba."

Author's Note: And this is how you learn your Roman numerals from one to one hundred. Yay. I am done with this fic for good! Thank you so much for sticking with me to the end of this; I had great fun thinking up and writing different scenarios for this. And since today's my birthday, this is my gift to all you KaiShin/ShinKai shippers (my apologies to my non-KaiShin/ShinKai shippers, but I could not resist adding a humorous scene like this to finish the series off—plus, Kaito would do this purely for the shock factor). Thank you so much again! I hope you enjoyed it.

Completed: 08.10.2016