Okay, so, I'm not entirely sure about this story. It was kind of like stream of consciousness writing that I have a fairly loose outline for. I'm not sure if I like it? But I figured I'd post it and see what people thought of it. If you guys happen to like it, I'll write more. I have quite a few ideas for it already. So, we'll see, I suppose.

Warnings include Shonen-ai.

Kaito was sitting on the bus heading to his best friend's favorite café. His best friend being the one and only Kudou Shinichi. The sky was clear, the birds were chirping, the sun was shining—essentially, it was a beautiful day. And everyone seemed to exude the happiness that only a day like this could bring. One that was perfect for an outing such as this.

But unfortunately, Kaito was rather uncomfortable. Or… not uncomfortable. He wasn't really sure. It was a very confusing mix of emotions he was experiencing right now. Though, he was leaning more towards uncomfortable.

The reason for this, was that he was fighting back a rather furious blush, and trying desperately to hide a steadily growing bulge in his pants with the books and notebooks of his best friend's.

Speaking of his best friend, Shinichi was there with him, sitting next to him on the bus.

It was actually because of Shinichi that he was feeling so… uncomfortably not uncomfortable. They were both headed to the café to study. Well, Shinichi had dragged him to go study, Kaito merely had a problem saying no to him, and ended up joining him against his better judgement.

Against his better judgement because, Kaito had… a bit of a problem.

A problem in which the now rather large bulge he was failing utterly to conceal was an effect of.

You see, the problem was, Kaito… was in love (yes, in love) … with his best friend, Kudou Shinichi. And his traitorous body just loved reminding him.

He had just recently learned of his infatuation. He had always liked Shinichi, of course. They'd been best friends for a long time. He just hadn't known the full extent of how much.

It was during an event that had happened not too long ago that he had learned just how head over heels for his best friend he was. And now that he knew, every little bit of contact that he made with Shinichi, every minor look he received, to something as minor as Shinichi sitting next to him, sent chills down his spine and made his head spin.

And the reason for his sudden, awkward boner right now? Shinichi had passed out on his shoulder, of course. It didn't help that Kaito was a bit of a glutton for punishment, apparently, because he kept sneaking glances at Shinichi's slumbering, adorable face. It only made his persistent erection worse.

That, and, Shinichi kept mumbling adorable things in his sleep, kept shifting on his shoulder, kept snuggling closer with every bump the bus made.

Kaito readjusted Shinichi's, The Science Behind Forensics, textbook on his lap. The person sitting across him and Shinichi looked over with a slightly disturbed look on their face. Kaito grinned sheepishly at them before clearing his throat and looking away. Gosh, he wished he had the window seat.

It hadn't always been this bad. It was only after… that happened… that his body had started doing strange things around Shinichi. Had he figured out his infatuation any other way, he might be able to control his urges a little better than this. Maybe. Probably.

It had happened about a week ago. The event that had changed Kaito's whole perspective. Flipped it upside down, the whole nine.

He could remember it very clearly. Mostly because he kept repeating it in his head over and over again with no pause. That, and the events leading up to it.

One week ago,

"The red tie, or the black one?"

Kaito was eyeing the television screen of his shared dorm room intently when Shinichi had asked him the question. He was sitting hunched on the floor, holding a controller in his hands, as he shot at some zombies on the screen.

He didn't look up as he said, "The black one." Shinichi made some noncommittal sound at Kaito's quick reply.

"You didn't even look."

Kaito nodded absently. "I looked."

There was a pause from Shinichi. He could feel the exasperated, dry glare on the back of his head.

"Kaito, you've beat that game already. Now would you look?"

Kaito spared him a two second glance.

"Yeah, the black one."

Shinichi let out a sigh behind him. It was loud and drawn-out. One that implicitly stated, 'you're being a jerk and you suck, and I really want you to know that with this dramatic sigh because I'm Shinichi and I'm the biggest drama queen.'

Or, at least, that's how Kaito had interpreted it.

"The black one it is, then."

Kaito let out a, "Yes!" as he beat the stage with a perfect score. He didn't get to celebrate for long, though, when he felt something hit the back of his head. The thin strip of material flopped down over his face.

Kaito twisted around to glare. Shinichi was smirking at him from where he was sitting on his bed.

"Sorry, since you said no to me wearing the red one, I thought you might like to wear it instead," Shinichi said casually.

Kaito pulled the red tie off his head with a pout. He tossed it back at Shinichi before turning back around to start the next stage.

There was another one of those sighs behind him.

Kaito looked over to his right when Shinichi sat down beside him, and picked up another controller that was lying on the floor.

"Scoot over," he said, as he pushed into Kaito to get him to oblige. "Now get out of that and let me play."

Kaito blinked skeptically at him, but exited the stage through the start menu anyway.

"Don't you have to go soon?" he asked Shinichi, as he traversed the start screen to set it to two players.

"Yeah, but," Shinichi started, waving the controller around. "Still have plenty enough time to kick your ass."

Kaito grinned at the cocky remark, sly and haughty. "Like you could."

Shinichi merely scoffed.

As the game started up, Kaito began to snicker. "By the way, this isn't a versus kind of game. We're going to be on the same team," he told him.

"Oh, what? That's lame. Can't I be the zombie and hunt you, or something?" Shinichi asked, staring down at the buttons of his controller. The face he used to examine them was a confused one.

Kaito laughed. For someone as astute and observant as Shinichi, he could really be clueless sometimes.

"No, you can't."

The stage started up, and their characters were placed in a dingy room.

"That's okay, I guess," Shinichi started nonchalantly. "I'll just have to carry your slack then."

Kaito chuckled. His grin was wide. "Yeah, okay, sure~"

So they started to play. Kaito had to explain the controls to Shinichi, though, when the boy kept running his character around in circles.

As they slayed zombies together, Kaito spared Shinichi's concentrated face a glance.

"By the way, what's that girl's name that you're going out to that restaurant with again? I can't remember."

Shinichi's brow furrowed, but he didn't turn to look at Kaito. He seemed far too engrossed for that. Kaito smirked.

"How long have we been friends, Kaito?" Shinichi asked instead, then he chuckled. "We've been friends for years, since high school, and you don't even remember the name of the girl you encouraged me to ask out?"

Kaito huffed as he turned back to the screen. He got a headshot off on a zombie that had started to chew on Shinichi's character.

"Was it uh… Rin? Rena?" Kaito asked, just in time to watch Shinichi's character commit suicide by jumping off a ledge.

"Oh, come on. That wasn't even fair. The zombie pushed me," Shinichi grumbled. He looked over to Kaito while his character was in the process of loading back into the game. "Her name is Ran, remember?"

Kaito nodded with the epiphany that hit him. "Oh yeah. That was it."

Shinichi's character loaded back up, and he set off to continue to slay the undead. But he died to a trap he had set earlier as soon as he took his first step.

"What?! What killed me?!" he wailed at the TV, leaning forward to stare at the red, 'You died,' that flashed across his part of the split screen.

Kaito let out a huff of laughter that he was trying hard to suppress. It wasn't working out too well for him. When Shinichi glared over at him, he tried to look serious.

"You stepped on your own landmine," he said. Then he started snickering again.

"You can step on your own traps!?" Shinichi exclaimed. When Kaito nodded, he glowered back at the screen. "Well that's… stupid."

"I thought you said you were going to carry my slack," Kaito teased. Shinichi reached over to punch him in the arm.

"Shut up. You didn't explain all the rules to me. That's not fair."

"I'm so~rry," Kaito drawled. Then he nudged Shinichi with his shoulder. "You just seemed so confident earlier." Shinichi spared him a sidelong glare, but Kaito could see the hint of a smile on his lips.

They both turned their attention back to the game. Kaito had to clear a path for Shinichi, who kept running into zombies face first.

"By the way, how'd your magic show go? I'm sorry I couldn't make it," Shinichi asked. He made sure to carefully avoid all his landmines this time.

Kaito beamed when he turned to Shinichi again. "It was great! You should've heard the crowd! It was so cool to see everyone that excited. To see me!"

Shinichi smiled. "I'm sure it was. I wish I could've been there."

Kaito's smile didn't waver. "That's okay. You can be there next time! I know how busy you are with that internship at the police department and all," he said.

Shinichi shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. I would have rather went to see you, though." Kaito looked over to his best friend in surprise. Shinichi didn't seem to notice his stare, though, as he let out a sigh. "It hasn't been all too exciting really. I haven't even had a chance at any field experience yet. I'm really just observing."

Kaito looked back over to the screen, but he spared Shinichi the occasional glance. "Ah."

"So how are your acting classes going? Get any good parts?"

Kaito bounced easily back into his excitement.

"Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you! I landed the lead part in the play we're hosting at the university," Kaito said with glee.

Shinichi turned to look at Kaito in surprise at that. Even at the cost of his character's life for the third time as a zombie flew across the screen to jump on its idle body.

"What?! Kaito, that's awesome!"

Kaito grinned, feeling his cheeks flush slightly at the attention.

"Yep!" He then looked over to Shinichi. "Are you gonna go?"

Shinichi sent him a flabbergasted look. "Of course I'm going to go. I already missed your magic show, I'm not missing your play too."

Kaito turned sheepish, and felt his face heat up a little bit more. He looked back over at the screen to hide some of it.

"You died again," he said idly. He could see Shinichi roll his eyes in his peripheral.

"Well, you know, maybe if you saved me, I wouldn't die so much."

Kaito chuckled at that. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were such a diva."

"Jerk," Shinichi mumbled as he loaded back into the game. He walked his around character for a bit before he began to prod Kaito in the side with his elbow. "Hey, how do I get that shovel right there?"

Kaito looked over to Shinichi's part of the screen in confusion. "What shovel?"

Shinichi pointed. "That one. The one sticking out of the ground. I want that one," he said, as he dropped the pistol he had to try to get his character to grab it.

Kaito shook his head in amusement. "Shinichi, you can't get that shovel. It's just a part of the background." Then he laughed. "Why the heck did you drop your pistol? Pick it back up! The zombies are going to eat you."

Shinichi shook his head. "No, I don't want the pistol. It sucks. I want the shovel."

"You can't have the shovel," Kaito said with a grin and a snicker. "And the pistol doesn't suck, you just can't aim."

"Kaito, get me the shovel."

"I can't get you the shovel."

"But I want it. Kaito, get it for me."

"Oh, okay, I'll just break the game to get you the shovel."

"'Kay, thanks."

Kaito rolled his eyes.

Shinichi turned to Kaito with amusement in his eyes when he caught Kaito's eyeroll.

"What?" he started. "I can walk into my own traps, but I can't have the shovel? That's just bull."

Kaito grinned at him toothily. "Yes, Shinichi. They made this game just to mess with you personally. You don't even know how long they've waited for this moment."

Shinichi threw the controller down in mock anger. "I knew it. Assholes."

Kaito couldn't stop the snickering at this point. He paused the game to check the time. He looked back to Shinichi after.

"Oh, don't you have to leave now?"

Shinichi blinked in surprised, and lifted his arm to check his watch. He cursed under his breath.

"Ah, shit. Yeah. I might be late," he said as he stood up quickly from the floor.

Kaito started to pout, even though he was the one who had brought up the time. And was, of course, the one who had gotten Shinichi to go on this date in the first place. He didn't have a choice though. Shinichi was so shy whenever it came to anything romantic concerning his crush. Her skirt could float up a little past her knees and Shinichi's face would spontaneously combust.

Put Shinichi in front of a dead body, and he was all right. All smooth, unwavering confidence. Put him in front of Ran Mouri, a student studying law at their university, and he was a complete mess. As his best friend, Kaito felt obligated to help him out.

Shinichi quickly adjusted his tie. He grabbed his wallet and keys off the nightstand by his bed on his way to the door. Before he walked out, he looked over his shoulder at Kaito.

"Don't die too much in that game while I'm gone."

Kaito scoffed. "I'll try," he said with a grin. "Good luck! Don't knock champagne on her dress or anything. No pressure."

Shinichi smiled fondly at him. "Thanks. I'll see you when I get back."

Kaito nodded. "Yep!"

With that, Shinichi opened the door to walk through it, and closed it behind him.

Now that Shinichi was gone, Kaito let out a pouty sigh. He turned back to his game, and glanced down to his controller. But he didn't feel like pressing play.

Great, now he was bored. Shinichi just left, and he already missed him.

With another sigh, Kaito stood up to turn off the system, then he walked over to his own bed and laid on it, deciding to take a nap.

A bell chimed in the distance at Teitan University, signaling the start of the new hour. Kaito was loitering around Shinichi's classroom door, waiting for him to finish talking to his professor about something. Knowing Shinichi, he was probably arguing over something like, being a point away from a perfect mark on an assignment. Something like that.

Shinichi finally walked out of the lecture room. When he spotted Kaito, he smiled.

"Sorry about that," Shinichi said, as he walked up to Kaito.

"Eh, it's all right. I'll forgive you. Just this once," Kaito said with a grin. Shinichi shoved him lightly.

"Oh, thank you. You're too kind."

Kaito crossed his arms behind his head and smirked.

"Yeah, I try."

Shinichi snorted in amusement. "You're full of it."

"Only just a little," Kaito replied cheekily.

They started to walk, side by side, heading to the cafeteria to grab some lunch as they always did. Just the two of them. It was something of a tradition.

"How'd your date go, by the way?" Kaito asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

That's something that he had always loved about talking to Shinichi. It didn't matter if they were talking or not, it never felt awkward or forced.

"Oh, yeah, you were totally out when I got back. What was up with that?"

Kaito blushed faintly, and he shrugged. "Ah, was just more tired than I thought, I guess."

Shinichi scoffed dismissively. "Oh, of course. Because spending the day killing zombies on your day off is very taxing, I'm sure."

"Hey, man, some of those levels are brutal," Kaito said petulantly. He received another shove for his comment. When Kaito recovered, he looked over, and saw a faint blush staining Shinichi's lightly tanned skin.

"It went all right, I think," Shinichi said after a moment. "I mean, nothing bad happened."

Kaito grinned, and reached over to give his best friend's back a rough couple of pats.

"Good work, man! You're one step closer to adulthood."

Shinichi stumbled forward. When he regained his balance, he glared at Kaito's cheeky grin.

"You're right there with me, you know," Shinichi grumbled out. "You shouldn't act like you know everything." He eyed Kaito critically. "When's the last time you even had a girlfriend anyway?"

Kaito blinked a few times, raising a finger to his chin as he thought about it.

The last crush he could remember having was on his friend Aoko Nakamori. Though that attraction had withered and died all the way back in high school. That, and, he had never actually dated her. Other than that, he couldn't remember liking anyone else.

"Well…" Kaito drawled. Shinichi shook his head with a chuckle.

"Never, I know. You're a showman and a stage actor, a paragon of charm, and yet you've never had a girlfriend. It's pretty crazy to think about."

Kaito grinned sheepishly.

"So, uh, when's your next date with her? Rin, or whatever?" Kaito said quickly, wanting to change the subject. The idea of going down that road in the conversation unsettled him. There just… wasn't anyone that interested him… so far. He didn't really have anything else to add to that explanation.

Shinichi rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Ran. Her name is Ran. Why do I get the feeling that you know her name, you just pretend to forget?"

Kaito's grin just widened.

Shinichi quirked an eyebrow at him in amusement, but otherwise didn't comment on his 'forgetfulness.' "Anyway, there was somewhere I was planning to go with her."

Kaito looked to Shinichi curiously at that. "Where?"

"Hattori is throwing a party at his apartment tomorrow. I brought it up to her earlier, and she seemed to like the idea."

Kaito's face scrunched up in skeptical disdain.

"A house party, huh? Real classy, Shinichi."

Shinichi pouted, showing Kaito his upturned bottom lip.

"What? It's not that serious. It's only going to be Hattori, his girlfriend, Kazuha, me and Ran…" Shinichi trailed off as he listed the people on one hand. He leered at Kaito soon after. "I think Aoko is going to be there too, actually. You should go."

Kaito quirked an eyebrow. "Why?"

Shinichi sent him an unimpressed look. "Uh, because Aoko is going to be there?"

"Oh… yeah… right," he said sheepishly, idly scratching at his messy, brown hair.

"Will you go?" Shinichi asked. There was a hint of excitement in his tone. He seemed more thrilled about the idea now than he was just a few minutes ago.

Kaito looked over to Shinichi's expectant face, then he looked away. Damn it, it was so hard to say no when Shinichi was looking at him with those puppy dog eyes of his.

"But… Hattori-kun doesn't even like me," he tried weakly. It was a pretty flimsy excuse.

"Oh, don't go there, please. He likes you just fine," Shinichi said with exasperation. "I already get enough of that from him. I don't need you to do that to me too."

"What?" Kaito asked curiously. The look Shinichi gave him was a dry, incredulous one.

"You know how he gets. He's always accusing me of liking you more than him. I don't know where he gets that idea. Besides," Shinichi started. "My affection is not some… prize to be won at some competition. So don't go making it worse by going around saying he doesn't like you."

Kaito puffed his cheeks out in a pout, and stuck his tongue out at Shinichi. Shinichi shook his head at Kaito's antics.

"So? Will you go with me?" Shinichi asked again. Kaito spared him a considering, sidelong look.

He wasn't sure why Shinichi was so adamant about him going to some house party of Hattori's. Being some third wheel didn't sound all too appealing either. That, and, Hattori and Kazuha were more Shinichi's friends than his. Even Aoko and him had grown apart since they all had entered university.

"I don't know… doesn't Hattori always try to bust out alcohol whenever he hosts one of these… parties?" he asked, eventually.

"Oh, come on. You don't have to drink if you don't want to," Shinichi said. "I'd like it if you went."

Kaito pouted. "That's just mean. Using my love for you against me." Shinichi just grinned. Kaito felt more and more resigned to his fate the longer he stared at his best friend's excited face. "Fine. I'll go, I guess."

Shinichi beamed. "Cool. I'll let Hattori know."

Kaito stared over at Shinichi as the boy pulled out his phone to start sending a text, and he let out a defeated sigh.

Little did he know then, but he had just agreed to the moment that would, irrevocably, change the life he knew now.

The next day came around pretty quickly for Kaito. Before he knew it, he was already coerced all the way up to Hattori's apartment door.

Shinichi and him had went together, and they were both standing on Hattori's doorstep when Kaito looked over to his friend. Shinichi hit the buzzer to tell Hattori they were out there.

"Shouldn't you be taking your girlfriend instead of me?" Kaito asked after a moment. He started to fidget with the hem of his t-shirt. He still didn't really feel up to this. Not that he minded socializing, he just didn't want to sit around while everyone else got drunk and started falling all over each other. Especially Shinichi and Ran. The idea just kind of soured his mood. He was happy for Shinichi, definitely, but seeing him all over Ran would just be weird.

But, of course, in the face of Kudou Shinichi, his resolve was about as sturdy as wet tissue paper.

"She's already here," was Shinichi's response. "She was visiting Kazuha-chan."

It was then that the door opened, and Hattori stood there. He grinned at Shinichi, but when he caught sight of Kaito, his face adopted a grimace.

"You really did bring your boyfriend," Hattori commented, still eyeing Kaito with what looked like mild irritation. Kaito returned the wry grimace.

"Sorry. You know how the husband gets. Can't say no or else he gets real grouchy."

"Oh, God. Shut up and let us in, Hattori. Kaito, stop speaking," Shinichi said, already throwing his hands in his face.

Hattori started grumbling, but he did step aside. "Oh, you tell him politely to stop speaking. I get the shut up…"

Shinichi ignored him as he grabbed Kaito and dragged him along inside.

Ran and Kazuha were in the small living room. As soon as the girls saw the two of them, Ran started blushing as she looked at Shinichi, and Kazuha started giggling. Kaito realized he didn't really want to know why. Shinichi walked over to them to chat with Ran. Kaito decided to leave them alone.

Aoko was already there as well, as Shinichi had said she would be. She greeted Kaito amicably when she saw him. He returned the greeting with gusto. They had always been close, after all, and he kind of felt bad for not keeping in touch with her more.

But it was when someone else walked up behind her that he started feeling even more irritated than when he had had the mild dispute with Hattori at the door.

"Oh, yeah, Kaito," Aoko started, somewhat sheepishly. "Saguru and I… well… we're dating. I never actually got the chance to tell you."

Kaito glared, hard, at the blond standing behind Aoko. They were already on a first name basis?

"Hakuba," Kaito greeted with irritation. He had never liked the pompous jerk. Hakuba had transferred into their high school in their senior year. He had stuck around ever since. The two of them never had gotten along.

"Kuroba," Hakuba greeted with just as much hostility. The static between them was near about visible. Aoko let out a nervous chuckle beside them.

"Hey, you two," came a voice belonging to Hattori. "Stop making out with your eyes in my living room. It's gross."

Both Kaito and Hakuba swiftly redirected their glares to their dark-skinned host. Hattori easily deflected them with a haughty grin.

"Yes, just about as gross as that infatuation you have with Kudou-kun," came Hakuba's retort. His expression had lifted into a smug smirk. Hattori's grin was quick to fall into a dark frown.

Now that Kaito thought about it, Hakuba and Hattori had never gotten along all too well either.

It was then that Shinichi walked over to where they were standing, right in the way of the flying sparks. They were quick to dissipate, however, now that he was there. He turned to Hakuba to say, "Hello, Hakuba. It's good to see you again. It's been a while."

Hakuba gave a short bow. "You as well, Kudou-kun." Shinichi smiled at him.

Kaito found himself chuckling wryly. Every male in the room despised one another. All except for Shinichi. Everybody loved Shinichi.

"Heiji!" came the loud shout of Kazuha's, who walked over to grab Hattori by the arm. "Stop harassing your own guests and come help me with the drinks, you ahou!"

Hattori spluttered indignantly as he was dragged off into the small kitchen. It dispelled the last remnants of hostility in the room.

Just as Kaito had figured, it wasn't long before the alcohol was brought out. Kaito did take one, but he made sure to keep it light. He figured he'd be the responsible one.

They had all gathered in the living room. And, just as he had figured again, he was the odd one out in their dysfunctional circle of friendship. When Hakuba had explained to Shinichi at some point that he and Aoko were, in fact, a couple, had been for about a year now, Shinichi had blanched quite a pale shade, and kept casting apologetic, kicked puppy looks over at Kaito every now and then. The looks actually made him feel better. Not because Shinichi felt bad, but because they were sort of sweet. And he had Shinichi's attention more than Ran did, it seemed. Kaito definitely didn't feel petty at all for it either. Of course not.

Kaito had found a nice spot on the floor to sit, away from everyone else. Mostly because it seemed everyone was already getting drunk to the point they probably couldn't hold a decent conversation anyway.

The lights were dim, and Hattori had gotten a flashlight from somewhere.

"You guys wanna tell ghost stories?" he asked suddenly with dramatic emphasis, flashing the light under his chin in his drunken stupor. When the light blinded him, he turned it off with several blinks.

"It's… January, Heiji," Kazuha said with a hiccup beside him.

Hattori shrugged. "So?" he slurred, then he grinned. "Isn't this like… the start of every cheesy horror film? Buncha old, college friends get together and then start getting picked off. One by one."

Kaito heard Ran let out an 'eep!' and looked over to see she had begun to cling to Shinichi's arm.

"Hattori-kun, let's not tell ghost stories…" Ran said with a whimper.

Hattori let out a dejected sigh, but his face lit back up soon after. "Okay. How 'bout we play truth or dare then? That's always fun."

Hakuba looked over to Hattori, a red flush spread across the bridge of his nose. "That's… the most childish thing we could do," he said with a slur. "But I'm not all that surprised… it coming from you."

"Shaddap," Hattori retorted. Then he sat down on the floor with a lopsided grin. "All in favor, say aye!"

"I don't know, it sounds kinda fun," Aoko spoke up next to Hakuba. Hakuba looked to her in surprise and confusion. When she smiled at him, all red in the face, he relented pretty easily. The two of them sat down on the floor along with Hattori.

"That's five people then!" Hattori exclaimed, then he glanced over to Shinichi and Ran. "Are you two gonna play?"

Kaito blinked in confusion over at Hattori.

"Wait, five?" he started, perplexed. Hattori nodded at him.

"Yeah. Me, Kazuha, Hakuba, Aoko-chan, and you. Five," Hattori explained, counting on his fingers as he went along. Somehow, he had pulled up six instead of five, and he glared intently at the solitary index finger in confusion. Silently questioning when the hell it had gotten there with his eyes.

Kaito tilted his head, about to question when the heck he had agreed to play drunken truth or dare, but before he could, Ran sat down next to him. Shinichi sitting down next to Ran. Ran smiled prettily at him, and Kaito let out a sigh.

"All right! All the players are here!" Hattori exclaimed. "Now, who wants to start?"

After a few rounds of rock, paper, scissors, Kazuha was chosen to start, and the game began.

Kaito kind of tuned out several rounds of truths the girls directed at each other, including lots of girly confessions of, 'yes, okay, I found out I loved him after our third date.'

Hattori had made sure to bring out a cooler of drinks, and it kind of worried Kaito. That's where most of his attention was. Especially when he noticed how quickly Shinichi was putting them down. He was on his fourth one, and already looked completely wasted. It didn't help that Shinichi had never really understood the concept of moderation in any sense.

Kaito himself was still sitting with his first beer, nursing it in his lap. He had no intention of going for any more.

"Kuroba, truth or dare."

Kaito looked up when he heard his name. He looked around until his eyes landed on Hattori's shark-like leer from across from him.

Kaito found himself rolling his eyes. "I don't know, truth?" he said after a moment. He wasn't sure if he was prepared for any drunken dares that Hattori could think up for him.

Hattori's leer drooped slightly. "Wow, you're lame," he said, but then his grin returned. "Okay. I got a truth for you."

Kaito lifted an eyebrow warily at Hattori.

"Is it true…" Hattori started, then he hiccupped. "…is it true, that you are madly in love with Kudou?" he finished, pointing over to a woozy-looking Shinichi.

Everyone in the room collectively gasped, then the whole room went silent. Aoko stared over at him in overly tipsy surprise, Hakuba was staring out of the corner of his eyes, feigning disinterest. Ran was looking at him with a light dusting of pink staining her cheeks, while Kazuha was falling all over Hattori's shoulder.

Kaito found himself fighting a blush. The one consolation he had was that none of them were probably going to remember any of this in the morning. And he could at least blame the heat in his face on the alcohol.

"Uh…" Kaito started. When he did, he happened to look over at Shinichi.

What he saw surprised him, because Shinichi was leaning around Ran slightly, staring over at him with the most intent expectancy. There was a gleam in Shinichi's eyes, and he looked particularly curious and wistful. Like he really wanted to hear the answer. Kaito swallowed down a lump in his throat.

"Um… I'm… not?" He forced out after some time. He didn't understand why it was so hard to say.

When he looked back over to Shinichi, the boy looked… dejected? Disappointed? He wasn't sure. It was probably because of the alcohol. He took another sip of his own to distract himself.

"Liar," Hattori muttered, but he didn't pester. Probably because he forgot what his original question even was.

The game continued after that, and Kaito was eventually able to relax again. Especially when he managed to dare Hakuba into doing a handstand. Watching the blond-haired punk flop over several times was enough to get him to feel better.

It wasn't until it came back around to Kazuha's turn that things started to heat up again.

Kazuha grinned mischievously, and she looked around at all the faces in the room. Her eyes zeroed in on Shinichi.

"Kudou-kun~" she drawled out. Shinichi looked over, seemingly startled that someone would pick him, beer spilling over his chin when he had been in the process of taking another sip.

"Huh?" he mumbled. Kaito began feeling the urge to run over and save him, he looked so innocently confused. With his lopsided stare and tilted head.

"Truth or dare, Kudou-kun," Kazuha said to him. She looked delighted at the flash of serious consideration that crossed Shinichi's face.

"What should I pick…" Shinichi mumbled, looking around at everyone for answers. His stare happened to fall on Kaito, and it stayed there. Kaito froze.

Eventually, he shrugged. "Maybe truth?" A dare might be far too much for Shinichi right now. He looked ready to tip over already.

Shinichi smiled at him brightly, seemingly overjoyed that Kaito had given him an answer. Kaito felt his face flush hot from that smile. He blamed the alcohol.

"Okay," Shinichi agreed.

But then Hattori, Kazuha, Aoko, and even Hakuba began to protest. Ran sat quietly, looking like she was ready to fall asleep.

"Oh, come on, pick dare!" Hattori exclaimed.

Hakuba nodded as he said, "Indeed. Everyone has picked truth so far. I'm the only one who's picked dare."

Kaito glared at them. All of them.

Shinichi, for his part, looked cowed. "Oh… okay," he mumbled, but he looked back over to Kaito for approval.

Kaito wasn't sure why Shinichi wanted his blessing, but he sent him a sympathetic smile and a shrug of his shoulders anyway.

Shinichi's smile returned. He looked back over to Kazuha, and he nodded resolutely. "Okay. Dare."

Kazuha looked devious—a crooked smile finding its way onto her reddened face.

"Okay, Kudou-kun," she started, rubbing her hands together in mischievous delight. "I dare you…"

She paused for a moment, as she looked about the room. Presumably for ideas on what to dare Shinichi to do.

Her eyes then, for some reason Kaito couldn't possibly begin to fathom, fell on him. Kaito looked around before settling his gaze back on Kazuha. He pointed to himself, the obvious question going unspoken.

Kazuha turned her attention back to Shinichi briefly. "Kudou-kun, I dare you," she said, then looked back to Kaito's face with a grin so wide, he was afraid her jaw might come unhinged. "to kiss Kuroba-kun." She pointed at Kaito for emphasis.

Kaito's eyes widened, and he immediately felt his skin heat up considerably. He quickly began to formulate protests.

"W-wait… Hold on now. Don't I get a say in this? It's not my dare…" he went on to say, imploring the others sitting around him with pleading eyes.

Hattori, like the devil that he was, only chuckled. "It's okay, Kuroba, we'll give you more points or something. Besides," Hattori trailed off. He let out a hiccup. "He's your boyfriend anyway, it shouldn't be too hard."

Kaito stared at him in utter disbelief.

"What are you- What points!? We haven't even been keeping score!" Kaito exclaimed at him. Hattori's face scrunched up in disgruntled confusion.

"We haven't?" The dark-skinned boy looked genuinely concerned by this. Kaito let out a strangled sound in his exasperation.

"That's… that's not the point," Kaito said, trying to calm himself down. "The point is, we should both have to agree to that one since it involves us both," he finished, nodding resolutely.

But unfortunately for Kaito, nobody appeared to have been listening to him.

But more importantly, Shinichi didn't appear to have been either.

When Kaito looked back over to his best friend, he saw him crawling slowly, on hands and knees, over to where Kaito was sitting. Kaito started to choke on his own saliva when there began to be far too much of it in his mouth.

"S-Shinichi…?" he mumbled uncertainly when Shinichi was close enough to hear it. Shinichi sent him a lopsided smile.

"I have to kiss you, Kaito," Shinichi mumbled, just as quietly, and the sound sent a harsh chill straight down Kaito's spine, like an electric shock. He giggled at Kaito's stunned face. "Those are the rules."

Kaito let out harsh, unsteady pant of air. This definitely wasn't what he had been expecting when he had agreed to come here with Shinichi.

"But-" he tried, but was interrupted when Shinichi crawled over his knees to get into his lap. Shinichi at first flopped onto Kaito, his head lolling onto his shoulder, but he managed to get himself upright by steadying his hands on Kaito's chest.

Shinichi then stared at him, eyes hooded and lazy, clouded by the effects of alcohol and some emotion Kaito couldn't place.

And then Shinichi leaned in, and if Kaito thought he was hot before, his skin felt like it had caught fire now.

"Shini-" he tried to say, but the name got caught behind another mouth, trapped behind his lips and stilled on the tip of his tongue, where it stayed.

Opening his mouth hadn't been a good idea, incidentally (or perhaps it had been the best idea he'd ever had, it was up to interpretation, really), because a tongue that tasted of alcohol, but sweet all the same, slipped past his parted lips. When it did, Kaito almost choked on his own.

He reached up, and placed his hands just above Shinichi's hips. Shinichi's hands had raised to cup his face. Thumbs stroked across his cheek bones, and slender fingers pulled him closer.

Shinichi only leaned back slightly to catch a breath, before he moved back forward with needy anticipation to slide his wet lips back over Kaito's.

His eagerness, and Kaito's utter surprise and growing excitement, had them both falling backwards onto the floor.

Shinichi practically ravished the mouth he had claimed with this new angle—his tongue finding places in Kaito's mouth that Kaito hadn't even realized he had—and when Shinichi finally lifted himself up off of him, Kaito felt the absence a little too strongly. He was almost tempted to grab Shinichi and pull him back close, but he didn't.

Instead, he tried to relearn how to breathe on the floor—chest heaving with harsh, quick pants.

Shinichi didn't completely move off of him. He instead decided to perch himself right on Kaito's crotch.

Kaito let out a high-pitched noise from the back of his throat, and, with growing horror, realized he had gotten a rather large bulge in his pants during their incredibly heated kiss.

It only got worse, though, now that Shinichi's butt was on it. He only hoped he was far too drunk to feel it. Or remember it.

But holy shit was it too much of a turn on for his already frazzled brain.

He looked up to Shinichi, watched his chest heave, his irritated lips part in a breath, the red flush on his cheeks. Shinichi stared right back, examining him with an equal level of intensity.

It was then that Kaito realized something.

Maybe it was the way the crappy, dim florescent lights of Hattori's dingy apartment made Shinichi's hair shine, or the way Shinichi was looking at him, all clouded and wistful and yearning. But something clicked. It had just suddenly dawned on him. Like curtains in a dark room being pulled apart to reveal the all-too-blinding rays of light. It had hit him that clearly, that strongly.

He was… madly in love with his best friend, Kudou Shinichi. It really was true.

And then someone cleared their throat, and Kaito was yanked from the clouds to plummet back to Earth.

Tentatively, Kaito looked around. He noticed the whole room had went dead silent. Everyone was just kind of sitting there, staring at them with wide eyes and gaping mouths. Kaito felt a wave of heat envelope him. From both embarrassment, and the fact that Shinichi just shifted on his erection, and holy crap, friction.

Shinichi blinked a few times. He glanced over his shoulder briefly before turning back around to look down to Kaito. Then he started to mumble.

"Did I win?" he asked.

Kaito didn't get a chance to answer him, because it was then that Shinichi's whole body hitched. Shinichi lifted a hand to clap over his mouth, and his face turned an unhealthy shade of green.

"Shinichi?" Kaito asked warily. Shinichi didn't answer him. His body merely gave another violent hitch. "…You all right?"

And then Shinichi proceeded to vomit all over Kaito.

Back in the present,

And with that series of events leading up to his startling epiphany, leads Kaito to where he's sitting now—in the café's chair with Shinichi sitting across from him.

Everyone that had been at that party, thankfully, didn't fully remember all the details. Kaito had been the one to herd them all home when it had started to get too late. Right after stealing one of Hattori's shirts.

Shinichi didn't remember much either, (and Kaito had no intention of telling him) but he had vaguely remembered upchucking on Kaito the following morning. He had profusely apologized around a massive migraine that Kaito had been prepared for with Advil and water.

"Kaito."

Kaito looked up. When he did, he caught sight of Shinichi's worried expression.

"Hm?" Kaito mumbled, averting his gaze when he realized he was staring too long.

There was a sigh, but Kaito didn't chance another glance up, lest his eyes become glued to Shinichi's face.

"Are you okay? You've been zoned out for the past thirty minutes."

Kaito nodded stiffly.

"M-me? Yeah, I'm good," he mumbled. Shinichi didn't look convinced by his weak response.

Kaito tried to distract himself by crossing his legs and tapping his fingers idly against the wood of the table. He had to uncross them and settle for a restless fidget, though, when he noticed he still kind of had an erection. It was probably because he had thought back to that kiss. Damn it. Good thing he'd planned ahead, and had thrown on a baggy pair of sweatpants today.

"That looks stiff," came Shinichi's voice from across the table. Kaito jerked his head to look over to him, placing his hands over his crotch in a panic.

"W-what?!"

Did he notice?!

Shinichi quirked an eyebrow at him. "I said, you look tense. Are you sure you're okay?"

Kaito let out a relieved breath. "I'm fine. Just dandy." Then he let out an awkward chuckle. Shinichi looked displeased.

A young waitress walked by their table. She smiled at the both of them before lifting a small notebook in front of her.

"What can I get you guys?" she asked pleasantly.

Shinichi stared over at Kaito first, expectantly. When he didn't answer, Shinichi sent him a troubled look before turning back to the waitress.

"I'd like a coffee," he told her. She nodded.

"All right, one coffee. And for you?" she asked, turning to Kaito.

Kaito finally realized he was in public.

"O-oh… uh…" he trailed off. Absently, he reached for the small menu in front of him to wave it at his face. It was just so hot in here. He shifted a bit uncomfortably, far too aware of his own arousal. "The uh, coldest drink you have. Yeah."

"How about a vanilla milkshake?" she asked, scribbling in her notebook.

Kaito nodded. "That-that sounds good."

The waitress gave them a brilliant smile. "All right. Coming right up."

Kaito went back to fidgeting. He began to fiddle with the condiments at the far end of the table, just to keep himself distracted, and his brain from thinking back to that kiss, and the way it felt to have Shinichi sitting on his-

"Is the reason you're acting so strangely because of what happened at the party a couple days ago? Because I already apologized for that…" Shinichi suddenly asked.

Kaito jerked in surprise, spilling the container of salt all over the table.

"W-what? No… no. I'm okay, really."

"Kaito…"

Kaito hesitantly looked up from his task of scooping all the salt back into its little glass shaker. His eyes caught Shinichi's dry glower.

"You're acting more skittish and jumpy than a lobotomized monkey. You have been since that party."

Kaito averted his gaze, and reached up to adjust his collar. The little space between him and the table seemed far too cramped all of a sudden, and he pushed his chair back to give himself some room. As he did this, though, he bumped into a waiter that was serving the table behind them. He nearly caused the guy to drop the handful of food he was carrying.

"Sorry, sorry," Kaito mumbled, hopping back forward.

"Kaito."

Kaito glanced out of the window.

"Kaito."

He looked over to Shinichi.

"Did you say something?" he asked. Shinichi looked about ready to throw his textbook at Kaito's head.

"Will you tell me what's wrong? Did I do something?" Shinichi asked, a sad look flashing across his face.

Kaito shook his head vehemently, horrified.

"No!" he shouted. Probably far too loudly for such a small café.

Shinichi scooted back in his chair, blinking owlishly at Kaito.

Kaito let out a nervous chuckle, and slumped back into his seat.

"Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind," he said, and he kept it at that. Just so he didn't accidentally say something weird. Something like, 'yeah, I keep thinking back to that party. To the time you kissed me senseless. Also, do you know how freaking cute you look today? You look way too good for this café. I have a massive erection I'm trying to hide from you. I love you. Do you want to make out?'

Shinichi nodded slowly at that. "Oh. Okay," he said.

Kaito immediately perked up, his brain clinging to the 'okay,' as if he'd asked his question aloud. His mind shouted to his body, 'dude, he wants to make out. Quick, jump him!' Thankfully, the waitress came back with their orders before he did something stupid, like frantically jump across the table.

"Here you boys go," she said, as she placed the coffee in front of Shinichi and the vanilla milkshake in front of Kaito. "Enjoy!"

Kaito reached out, and scooped the milkshake into his hands, bringing it to him to slurp at the straw.

He could still feel Shinichi's stare on him, but he tried to ignore it. It was difficult though. Especially when Shinichi was the only thing running through his mind.

It became especially hard when Kaito's brain helpfully supplied him with, 'this vanilla milkshake is good. I wonder what Shinichi's vanilla milkshake tastes like.'

And then his brain skipped and his heart jumped up into his throat and his penis poked him in the leg to remind him it was there, and that it greatly approved of this train of thought.

Kaito had to push the milkshake away when he got a brain freeze from sucking at it too long without remembering to take a breath.

"Anyway, I'll be going down to the police department to talk to inspector Megure later today," Shinichi said. There was excitement in his voice. "He's going to let me shadow him on a case he's working on."

It took Kaito a moment to register in his mind what Shinichi had said, because he was still recovering from the mental shock of thinking of Shinichi's di-

"Okay," Kaito said quickly, mechanically. Shinichi frowned at him.

"Seriously, Kaito. You can't tell me nothing's up. You're starting to worry me."

Kaito grabbed his abandoned milkshake and pressed the cold glass to his face. The relief was near about palpable.

"W-what makes you so sure something's wrong?" he asked after. Shinichi gave him an exasperated look.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you're pressing your milkshake into your face like it's the only thing keeping you from catching fire?"

Kaito slowly lowered his glass to the table.

Shinichi let out a dejected sigh. "I guess you just really don't want to tell me," he said, as he lifted his arm up onto the table to lean his chin on. "Fine. I'll stop pestering you, I guess."

Kaito had to reign himself in from wanting to desperately shout, 'CAN I KISS YOU?!' at the top of his lungs, right in Shinichi's adorable, pouty face.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled instead. Shinichi glanced over at him from where he had trained his gaze out the window. "It's just uh… stress, I guess. You know… with the whole… lead role of the play thing. I have to remember all these lines… And uh… I have to work with the other lead, Akako. She's been pestering me a lot lately about practicing our scenes together."

It was true. He had been stressed about that. Not necessarily because he had to rehearse and remember lines, he had always been good at that. It was more the working with Akako bit. The girl was crazy obsessed with him. It was on a level so creepy, that the only thing he could think about while they were rehearsing their scenes together was where the nearest exits were in case of emergency.

Shinichi eyed him critically for a moment. Then he smirked at him. Kaito wasn't sure what to make of the expression.

"So, the reason you're so awkward and jumpy right now is because of this… Akako?"

Kaito blinked a few times.

"Uh… sure?" Yeah. Let's go with that.

Shinichi leaned back in his chair, assessing him.

"Well, that's a relief, at least. I thought you were acting so weird because I forced you to go to that party," Shinichi said with a smirk that Kaito still wasn't sure about, but then Shinichi's face turned sheepish. "I mean, because of the whole thing with Aoko and Hakuba. I'm sorry about that. I didn't know they'd been dating for a whole year. I felt like I forced you into going for nothing."

Kaito chuckled and gave a shrug. "Ah, that? Nah, it's all right. I'm not mad about that. Hell, I hadn't even known either, and Aoko's been a good friend of mine for years. I kind of felt like an asshole for not knowing."

Shinichi sent him a small smile. It melted Kaito's heart into a puddle of goo.

"That's good," Shinichi said. Kaito smiled at him. "But you should have told me you liked this Akako. I wouldn't have forced you to go with me before."

Kaito's happy bubble was violently burst, and he stared at Shinichi, horrified.

"…What!?" he yelped out. It had come out so high-pitched, he feared he might've busted his windpipe.

Shinichi's smile merely widened. "You've been nervous and jittery all day. I figured it had something to do with you and a new crush. I've noticed how flustered you've been lately." Then Shinichi's expression went shy, and he averted his gaze from Kaito. "And uh… I've noticed the uh… problem… you have."

Kaito tilted his head. When he didn't get what Shinichi was alluding to, Shinichi made a not-so-subtle glance down, below the table. Kaito looked down. Right at his crotch.

He could feel the heat in his cheeks burn so hot, he thought his face might melt off.

"Y-you noticed that?!"

He didn't know his voice could even reach that high of a pitch.

"Well… you're not exactly subtle," Shinichi mumbled, looking back up to stare out of the window with a blush on his cheeks.

Kaito kept his face down. He stared intently at the floor, and willed it to part with his intense gaze alone.

"B-but… you didn't… when did you… know?" Kaito half-choked.

"I'm a detective, Kaito. I've noticed since the bus ride."

Okay. Floor? Whenever you're ready.

"That, and you're… er…" Shinichi started, but he trailed off awkwardly.

Kaito looked up. When he did, he saw that Shinichi was fighting a dark blush with all that he had. He lifted his hands, and made a gesture to emphasis what he was trying to say.

"You're… you know… not small?"

Kaito stared at Shinichi, hard.

Shinichi quickly stopped making hand gestures. He placed his face in his hand, probably to hide in it.

"You know what I mean. Those pants don't hide anything."

Unfortunately for Kaito, his brain couldn't seem to get off the idea of, 'Shinichi's been staring at my crotch since the bus ride?'

"But now that I know why, I feel better. I wasn't sure if you were experiencing some severe sexual repression or something," Shinichi said, looking over at Kaito with a faint smile.

Kaito felt the muscle in his eyelid start to spasm.

Him and Akako? It made him want to barf.

He'd honestly rather date Hakuba. And that was saying something.

Shinichi then stood up from the table. "You ready to go?" he asked.

Kaito stared up at him, a cross between mortification and arousal warring for dominance on his face.

"D-don't you have to study?" Kaito asked, unmoving.

Shinichi shrugged. "I can't really concentrate anyway. I haven't been able to since we sat down. Besides," he started. He gave Kaito a suggestive leer. "I want to know more about this crush of yours. What's she like?"

Kaito had to physically resist throwing his face into his milkshake.

Why was life so cruel?

AN:

A few side notes about this story. It's sort of AU. There is no black organization, and Shinichi was never Conan. Kaito is not Kaitou Kid. Shinichi and Ran are not childhood friends. They're high school friends. Same with Aoko and Kaito. Why did I do this? Hell, I don't know. That's just how the cookie crumbled.

Originally, I was going to play around with the concept of having Shinichi and Kaito being childhood friends. But it devolved into this. Not necessarily a bad thing, I guess.

Anyway, if you like this little preview, let me know.