Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi [Well, KaitoxConan to begin with]

Rating: T

Genre: Romance/Hurt/Comfort/Friendship

Warning: None

Summary: It began with a chance meeting and, of all things, a brief conversation about time travel. If asked, Shinichi would say that he didn't know why that had started it all. Kaito, however, would say that it was all because of that smile.

Lyrical Spices

Powder Sugar

[Song Inspiration: The Real Me by Natalie Grant]

Seated at a small, coffee shop table, Kudo Shinichi—or rather Edogawa Conan at the moment—stared morosely into the depths of a coffee cup. The woman at the counter had given him a slightly odd look when he'd ordered coffee, but fortunately she had taken the view that it didn't matter what her customers were ordering as long as they paid. Shinichi was grateful for that. He really wasn't in the mood to talk, especially not if the talking involved arguing about whether someone his age should or shouldn't be ordering coffee.

It had been three years. Three long years during which everything he had been and wanted to be had been stripped away from him.

Back at the beginning, he had been sure that he would solve the case, catch those men in black, and be back to his old life in no time. But as time wore on and he learned more about his enemies, he had realized that it wasn't going to be that simple. The organization was much bigger and more dangerous than he had initially believed. Yet still he had believed. Maybe the journey back to his old life wouldn't be as quick as he had hoped, but he'd believed the time would come. He would solve this problem and go back to where he should be.

How naïve he had been.

It was strange, laughable really, that it had taken him this long to realize it. To realize that, even if he did bring an end to the organization and get the antidote, he could never go back to his old life. He could never go back to the person he had been. Time moved on, and people changed. There were no exceptions. His old life wasn't waiting for him because it was just plain impossible for it to do so. It wasn't like he'd hit a pause button when he'd been shrunk and could hit play again when he got back. Reality wasn't that obliging. His life as Conan and his life as Shinichi weren't different lives at all but one life that had veered terribly off track. Even if he found his way back to the main road, the time spent and the wear and tear of the detour would remain—not just for him but for the road as well.

It was confusing and frustrating and just plain depressing really.

Lifting his cup to his lips, he took a large gulp of his coffee. The bitter beverage was still just a little too hot, but at the moment he didn't care.

The bells over the café doors tinkled as one of the customers left. They jangled again as yet another customer came in. Shinichi barely paid either any attention.

He was just so tired of it all. He was tired of wishing he was himself again. He was tired of having to pretend to be a bright little child without a care in the world. He was tired of having to look over his shoulder for shadowy villains in black, and he was tired of regretting that awful mistake he'd made that day back in Tropical Land. Hell, he was tired of being tired of it all, and that was worst of all.

"Isn't it a little late for someone your age to be out by yourself?" an unfamiliar voice spoke up from right beside his table. "Or are you waiting for someone?"

Shinichi scowled at the reference to his age and lifted his head to level his best glare at the stranger. It was a tall young man with brown eyes. A few strands of ginger hair peeked out from beneath a baseball hat with a Jolly Roger on it. There was something about that emblem combined with the stranger's cocky grin that stirred a sense of familiarity in him, but he wasn't really in the mood for puzzling over it. All he wanted was to be left alone to stew in his problems. Was that too much to ask?

Apparently so.

The stranger sat down in the chair across the table. He didn't ask if Shinichi minded, the detective noted with irritation. The guy had just invited himself to sit. How rude.

"What do you want?" he asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at the stranger.

"What makes you think I want something?"

"There are plenty of open tables," the detective replied bluntly. "But you sat down here."

"Maybe I just like this seat," the stranger suggested.

Shinichi only continued to glare, unimpressed by the answer. Was this guy mocking him?

"Come now, don't be like that," the stranger said, laughing. "I always sit here when I come to this place. Besides, it wouldn't be right of me to turn a blind eye when there's a child out all alone at this hour. Who knows what could happen."

Shinichi was starting to think that this guy was precisely the kind of stranger little children should avoid when alone. He was being way too friendly to be normal. He had to be up to something.

Not that people couldn't be nice. Shinichi still believed (wholeheartedly, and maybe a little desperately sometimes) that there were a lot of good people in the world. But there were some things that just weren't normal.

He was interrupted before he could say anything by the sound of a phone ringing.

Realizing it was his own, Shinichi quickly pulled his phone out and glanced at the Caller ID. It was Ran. Heaving a mental sigh, he braced himself and answered the phone.

"Hi Ran-neechan," he greeted in a falsely cheerful voice.

"Conan-kun, where are you?" the girl asked without preamble. She sounded somewhere between annoyed and worried. "Do you know what time it is? Why haven't you come home yet?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was so late already," he lied. "I stopped by the bookstore, and I kind of lost track of time…"

Ran sighed, but he could hear the amused exasperation in her voice. "Alright then. Be careful on your way back."

"I will. Bye!" He hung up. This time he sighed out loud.

Sometimes he caught himself wondering if it would be so bad just to live out the rest of his life as Conan. After all, he'd already settled into it. If he changed back into Shinichi, he'd have to adjust all over again. There would be a hell of a lot of catching up and explaining and all that other stuff.

But whenever those thoughts crossed his mind, he inevitably ended up angry at himself for thinking them. How could he allow himself to get so comfortable living this—this lie? It was unacceptable. It would feel too much like giving up.

"You know, it's not good to lie to your sister like that."

Shinichi almost jumped out of his seat. He'd completely forgotten that he wasn't alone at his table anymore. Annoyed, he glared at the stranger. "And what makes you think I haven't been at the bookstore?"

The stranger didn't appear the least bit bothered by his snappish tones or glare. "Nothing. But I know you're not there now, and I can tell you were only pretending to be surprised by the time."

Shinichi shrugged and turned his attention back to his coffee. He didn't need to explain himself to some stranger. The thought didn't stop him from feeling a smudge guilty about his latest set of lies. The lies, however, were more bearable than the thought of going back to the agency right now. Of having to be Conan.

Was it too much to ask that he be allowed to just be himself for a while without having to feel guilty about it for one reason or another? Never mind that he wasn't entirely sure what it even meant to be himself anymore.

"Yoo hoo~"

Argh! Couldn't a person even mope in peace anymore?

"What?" he snapped.

"Now, now. No need to go losing your temper. I'm just trying to help."

"I don't need help."

"Tsk, tsk, everyone needs something," the stranger replied, wagging an admonishing finger at him like someone scolding a four year old. "There are only those with the courage to admit it and those who are too afraid to do so."

Shinichi scoffed. "That's ridiculous."

"Is it?"

The detective rolled his eyes and went back to his coffee.

"Come now, it can help just to share it with someone," the stranger persisted.

"You realize I don't know you."

"Of course. Isn't that the point? I am a complete and utter stranger whom you are unlikely to ever meet again. Seems like the ideal person to share your woes with."

"…" Shinichi sighed. "Sharing won't help me change the mistakes I've made," he muttered more to himself than to the stranger.

The stranger heard him anyway. "Ah, so you wish to be a time traveler."

Shinichi blinked. "Wait, what?"

"You want to change the past. Therefore, you wish to be a time traveler."

Shinichi snorted. "I guess you could put it that way. Not that it's any help."

"Don't jump to conclusions, my dear little friend. Time travel is actually quite easy."

"…" Shinichi was starting to think that this man was crazy.

"You're thinking I'm crazy."

Shinichi blushed. "I never said—"

"Sanity's overrated anyway. So would you like to know the secret to time travel?""

"Uh, sure…why not…"

The man leaned forward to speak in a conspiratorial whisper. "There is one easy way to be a time traveler. And that is to become a historian."

"…"

"…"

Shinichi started to laugh. He couldn't help it. Between fits of uncontrollable giggles, he managed to gasp out, "That wouldn't help at all!"

The stranger sat back with a grin. "Oh, I don't know. It made you smile. Really though, it's all about perspective when you get down to it. Maybe things could have been better. Maybe they would have been worse. The question is, if you hadn't done it, would you be regretting that now instead?" The stranger glanced at his watch then rose from his chair. "I've got to get going. Don't lose that smile, Tantei-kun. It would be a terrible shame to lose something so beautiful."

Blue eyes grew wide in shock, but by the time Shinichi looked up, the man had already vanished.

-End of Chapter-

A.N: This is going to be structured more like a series of connected one-shots. Each will be based on a different song and be its own self-contained event. Happy Thanksgiving!