Notes: So, my third story of DC, and my first one in which there's no real pairing. I started this as a joke (… my second one... this here started as "hey, I want neko-Shinichi. That'll be the side effect of the antidote!"; the first one, which is also my second story of DC, and will not be posted, was about claiming and werewolves), but I liked the idea. So, I rewrote some things so it wasn't a joke anymore, and... this came to life.

This isn't a KaiShin, actually it's a pre KaiShin. You'll understand if you read. It was just... I had this image on my mind, and I decided to end at it. So I rewrote this. Hope you like it.

Also posted on AO3, same story name and username.

Disclaimer: Detective Conan isn't mine, neither is Magic Kaito or their respective characters. They all belong to Aoyama Gosho, and I own nothing more than this story.

Warnings: strange English; possible OOC; shonen-ai; pre-relationship.

Kaito looked downwards and then upwards. Down. Up. A frown was almost appearing, he sensed it. So... He was confused. But also kind of happy, to tell the truth. But mostly confused.

– So... You are back to your body. – he said cautiously. – Even if... Weak.

– Yes. – groaned Shinichi. – Haibara said that this... Side effect would disappear on its own after some time, but...

– But you came to me. – finished Kaito amused. – Why?

Shinichi shrugged, but didn't answer or look at his eyes.

Well, now he was curious – aside from confused, of course. The thief leaned forward eyeing the detective closely. He seemed... Red. Was he blushing? Now, that was unusual. He smirked at the thought.

– Wait, tantei-kun. – called him with a nagging feeling that it was getting even more interesting. – You're blushing. What aren't you telling me?

Shinichi blushed even more, and he was so cute. Kaito had realized that he loved the detective when he was still Conan, but it had always seemed more like a platonic love. Until now, that is – now it was love-love, the kind that made him want to kiss those delectable lips.

Kaito shook himself awake and backed some steps so he wouldn't be tempted to pull Shinichi close. It was dangerous – had the detective not been so distracted, he could have unmasked Kaito, and then he would be thrown into jail. And, sure, he would escape, but the police would know who he was, and he would have to run, and...

– Well, okay... – said Kaito to stop his thoughts. – Or not. Why did you want me to know about it?

– I don't know! – snapped Shinichi, and he looked more nervous than angry. – I just... Don't know. I woke up after hours of pain and thinking that I would die, and I just thought that I wanted to see you again, and I don't even know why! I guess it's just... You're my friend. I had the urge to call Hattori, too, but he live in Osaka, and he would try to get here right away, so I decided to wait until the weekend, but... That's not it. After being shrunken, I realized that I don't have a lot of friends, so now I know how important you are.

Kaito was glad about his poker face – hear all that made his heart beat faster. It almost seemed like a confession, but then he was called a friend and... He didn't know anymore.

– Oh. So I'm your friend. – he put on a smirk, trying to act like he always did. – Well, then, if that's so, I'm glad, tantei-kun. I thought that you couldn't befriend a criminal.

– But you're not a real criminal, are you? – grinned Shinichi relaxing. – Anyway, thank you for coming. I wasn't sure if you would, you know, as it could be a trap.

– Oh, but you wouldn't use a low levelled trap to catch me. You like to chase me too much for it, don't you? – answered Kaito grinning as a madman, and it felt a lot more real. – Or maybe you just like to watch me piss Keibu-san off. He is an easy target.

Shinichi laughed, and Kaito felt really good by being able to do it. And it brought him an idea. He watched how Shinichi calmed down to his relaxed stance and dropped himself on the couch to his left, where this whole conversation had came to life.

– So... – started Kaito, leaning against the couch and watching how Shinichi's head perked up with interest. – We're friends, right? And you wouldn't catch me if not on a heist. – Shinichi nodded curiously, tilting his head to the side. – Then...

It was hard. He stopped breathing for a moment, and his flight of fight instincts were screaming at him to either put the detective to sleep or run from there right now. Even so, he stepped forward, back into the light.

Had Shinichi not looked so endearing right now, he wouldn't be able to continue. But he was looking endearing – and cute, and adorable, and beautiful, and amazing, and stunning – with his shining eyes and light smile, looking like he really was just a friend.

And the talk about friends being "important" also did a good job. If he was already important to the detective, it was a beginning. Oh, don't forget the fact that, even if he was waiting until the weekend to even call tantei-han, he had managed to call Kaito to his house the very same day as he took the antidote (or the next day, if you were counting the day he took it really, and not the day he went back to his body, when all those hours of horrible pain ended); by using his dove.

Anyone who befriended his doves enough to make them do things were good investment.

So, it was it. All those motives added made Kaito decide on this moment. He was a phantom thief on a family of phantom thieves – the second Kaitou KID, son of the very first one and of the Phantom Lady –, and he was a great magician. He wasn't one or the other. He was both of them.

That's why he decided to steal Kudou Shinichi's heart. If anyone was able to do it, he was the one. He would steal his heart, and would do it for good. No escaping, no turning back. Shinichi would never know what struck him – when that dense detective finally understood what was happening, he would have already fallen in love with Kaito.

Those were the thoughts that made his hand, even if trembling, capable of taking his monocle off. Then the hat. And the cape. While it floated to the floor, smoke erupted around him. When it went down, no white uniform was visible, and he was standing there, in front of Shinichi on Shinichi's mansion in nothing more than his civilian's clothes.

– You look... A lot like me. – gasped Shinichi after some while of hesitant silence.

That sentence, so casual and normal, eased Kaito's worries, and he finally smiled – not grinned, not smirked, but smiled – and bowed down.

– Kuroba Kaito, magician extraordinary. – he greeted making a blue rose pop out and offering it to the detective. His heart was beating faster, but he kept his calm as he watched how he accepted the flower. That simple gesture made him smile wider, and when he continued, he was already on his plan. – And if you would allow me, I would love to be a real friend of your from now on, Shin-chan.