A/N:

Wow guys, I am sorry this took so long! I've been sick and blah, blah, blah. Hopefully, the next chapter won't be so long in coming. If you've been to my profile, you can see how many chapters are left/when I predict they will be up. I'll try to keep it updated as I write this time. I sorta spontaneously finished this one last night, so there was no time to update it.

As usual, reviews are addressed at the bottom.

This is completely unbeta'd. I've read it through a few times myself, but if you see any mistakes, please don't hesitate to point them out. Also, this is sorta my first time really writing anything serious for DCMK, so if the characters don't seem right, please tell me that too. I know it's a pretty subjective thing, but I do enjoy feedback.

Song: Into Your Arms – The Maine

She made her way to the bar / I tried to talk to her but she seemed so far / Outta my league / I had to find a way to get her next to me.

Meeting meitantei out of his hat and monocle hadn't been Kaito's intention when he'd caught the train to Beika that morning, but there he was watching the detective lounge on a park bench while reading what looked to be a Sherlock Holmes novel. So far the thief had been content to watch, not daring to approach. His chest felt tighten and his stomach flutter as he watched the other turn a page, frowning deeply even as he read about his beloved idol. What was making the detective look so pensive? The magician's damnable curiosity perked its metaphorical ears.

Deep down, Kaito knew that his decision had been made the moment that he spotted the detective. How could he pass up the chance to visit his meitantei, especially when he was making such a face? As casually as possible, the magician strolled over to the detective and seated himself on the bench. The other didn't even look up from his book. He wasn't put off by it though; that was just the way meitantei was and Kaito was more than adept at getting people to pay attention to him.

"Must be a pretty interesting book, huh?" He said, hoping to draw the other out of his thoughts. The vacant stare directed at the book made it more than obvious that his favorite critic wasn't actually reading the words in front of him. The detective nodded absently, mumbling a vaguely affirmative answer. Kaito pouted at the non-response, bottom lip poking out and cheeks puffing. Meitantei wasn't playing very well. How could he dare ignore the Kaitou Kid? (Even if at the moment he was just Kuroba Kaito, high-school student and magician extraordinaire.) "My name's Kuroba, Kaito. Nice to meet you~"

Before the other boy could react, Kaito brought his hand up to Shinichi's face; a rose appeared in a small puff of smoke underneath the startled teen's nose. For moment, the sleuth blinked in surprise at the red rose being held out to him. Wide blue eyes traveled up the arm that held it to Kaito's face. The magician found the befuddled expression on the teen's face adorable; it made him want to press a kiss to the "o" shape of the detective's lips (involving a lot of tongue, wandering hands, and disappearing clothes). Obviously, he hadn't been expecting to look into his near mirror image.

"Ano… Kudo Shinichi, nice to meet you as well," Shinichi replied, taking the rose when it became obvious that the other wasn't going to take it out of his face. Kaito fought the urge to grin manically at this minor victory; it would likely tip the detective off to just who had taken a seat next to him (and wouldn't that ruin the moment). Unfortunately, his victory didn't last. The sleuth apparently decided that their conversation was over with at that and turned back to his book; though, this time he seemed to actually be trying to pay attention to it.

Frustrated, the magician idly began to juggle some balls he had stashed away in his many pockets. One, two, three – they seemed to appear out of thin air to anyone watching and more appeared as he got into the rhythm. Kaito was up to six before he realized that the teen next to him was occasionally sneaking peeks. After that it turned into a game to see which trick would finally make Shinichi acknowledge his existence.

Doves exploded from his clothes in a shower of confetti that exploded into glitter once they hit the ground. The juggling balls disappeared in puffs of smoke to be replaced by various items (a pineapple, Hakuba's pocket watch, Nakamori's hand-cuffs, a yo-yo, Shinichi's cell-phone, and a deck of cards.) The appearance of the cell-phone had the brunette sleuth giving him the evil eye, but Kaito smiled winningly and the cell-phone disappeared with a poof to be given back once he programmed his number into it. One by one the items disappeared, although he pretended to be puzzled over where the pineapple had come from and what to do with it before it too disappeared. The small crowd that he had gathered laughed and clapped, but Shinichi remained stubbornly buried in his book, a faint patch of red across his cheeks from the attention the magician had brought to his once quiet bench.

At the end of impromptu magic show, Kaito bowed from his seat as the crowd began to disperse. The lack of reaction on the detective's part was disappointing, but the magician was too stubborn to just give up. He sat back with a sigh, glancing to his right to find Shinichi practically buried in his book. The brushing of red on his ears had the other boy perking back up with a grin. His efforts hadn't been a total waste at least. Wetting his dry lips, Kaito decided that he needed to change plans. With that in mind, he leapt up from his seat and hurried away. But because his back was turned, he didn't see the detective look up with a disappointed frown on his face.

With a rueful shake of his head, Shinichi went back to reading his book, though looking a little more exhausted than he had been before, as if Kaito had taken with him any energy the sleuth had. He slumped a little further on the bench, eyes taking on the glazed quality from before Kaito's improvised magic show. Everything seemed so dull to him since the BO had been taken down and Haibara's treatments had finally given him back his body. He was genuinely happy to get back to his life, but his time as Conan had changed him irrevocably. No longer was he the cock-sure, naïve detective he had once been. He was also very alone after so long surrounded by friends as Conan. Very few of his relationships had translated well into his return as Shinichi.

His relationship with Ran was strained. Oh, she had forgiven him, but he'd left her waiting for years, stuck in emotional limbo with only a vague confession and a few phone calls. He'd been lucky she didn't wallop him one, but his health after the repeated treatments to return to his rightful body had left him thin and sickly. She hadn't wanted to risk killing him before she could properly punish him for leaving her in the dark for so long. Neither of them quite knew where they stood on their feelings for the other, though Shinichi couldn't help but feel that there was a gulf between them now that would take time to heal. Whatever their relationship would become once that happened, he knew it wouldn't be the same as before. (Especially if Kogoro had his way. The older man would be happy to never see the detective brat ever again.)

The Shounen Tantei-dan had accepted his transformation from Conan to Shinichi with surprising ease (and damn Haibara for telling them even if he was secretly pleased that he didn't have to hurt them with Conan's disappearance). It was one relationship that had survived. His friendship with Hattori was a given. The other had known the truth almost as long as he'd been Conan.

His relationship with the police was a bit awkward, though the children seemed to help with that. Megure-keibu was happy to see him again of course, but the rest had never really worked with him as Shinichi. Takagi had taken to giving him speculative looks though; Shinichi knew it was only a matter of time before he came around looking for answers.

Things weren't exactly right, but they were getting better. The only thing that hadn't truly changed was his relationship with the mysterious Moonlight Magician. The thief treated him the way he had always treated Conan. When facing off against Kid, there was never any doubt in his mind that the other regarded him as an equal. Though now that they were more evenly matched, their little matches had become even more intense, often leaving the Task Force far behind. It was exhilarating. On those nights, the detective felt more at home in his life than he had in months.

Shinichi let his head fall back against the bench, eyes closed as he recalled their more recent matches. Maybe that wasn't completely true. Something had changed, though he wasn't sure what yet. It had started when the thief showed up at his house and taken him on a… on a date? The sleuth wasn't completely sure how to classify the mind-boggling actions of the thief. So maybe their relationship had changed, but he couldn't really say it was for the worse. A smile curved his lips.

Something cold pressed against his forehead, scattering his thoughts to the wind. Blue eyes snapped open to find a grinning face hovering over his. Kaito lifted the can from the detective's head and held it out for the other to take. Shinichi took it hesitantly as the other boy leapt over the back of the bench to reclaim his seat. The sleuth looked down at the canned drink, pleasantly surprised to find that it was cold black coffee. He hadn't even realized they made cans of it black. With a soft but sincere "thank you," he popped the lid and took a sip. Beside him, Kaito grinned as he opened his own can of some chocolate flavored drink.

They sat in silence, Shinichi's book now forgotten on the bench beside him. Neither really felt the need to break it; somehow it felt good to just sit and enjoy it for once. Still, something nagged at the detective's mind like a half-remembered dream and prompted him to speak. There was something here, if only he could pin exactly what.

"You're a pretty good magician," Shinichi said quietly as he sipped the can of cold coffee. It seemed so familiar, but that was ridiculous. Though maybe not that ridiculous if he took into consideration that strange visit… He focused his full attention on the messy haired teenager.

"You think so?" Kaito asked, looking over at the detective with a goofy grin. Meitantei had complimented him!

"Yeah… the pineapple was an interesting touch."

The two shared a look, before both began to laugh in earnest. Yes, it had been worth the risk to approach the detective. The sight of the Great Detective of the East laughing as if he didn't have any cares burned itself into the magician's mind, a treasure he would never return.

I'm falling in love / But it's falling apart / I need to find my way back to the start / When we were in love / Oh things were better than they are / Let me back into / Into your arms

He almost doesn't go. But it is only almost. How can he stay away? The magician looks down at the single white rose in its plastic wrapping sitting on his nightstand. It can't even come close to conveying what he wishes that he had said to his meitantei. He wants to shower the other in nine hundred and ninety-nine roses. It's too late now though.

He grasps the flower tightly and leaves his room. Downstairs his mother is watching the news on the couch. As he passes the living room, the TV changes to a picture of a blue-eyed, brunette teenage boy and below the picture scrolls "Death of high-school detective Kudo Shinichi?" A sob catches in his throat and he is gone out the door before his mother can turn.

He doesn't want to think about it, but it's everywhere – on TV, in the papers, on the lips of strangers. He wants to yell at them. They don't know anything, don't know his meitantei.

Instead of yelling, he keeps running. He escapes the TV and the papers and the strangers, but it's never fast enough to escape his thoughts.

Review Response:

Mokuren no Ken: Depends. You will see if you stick around!

Foreverandeveralone: That'll be up to you! I won't say yes or no just yet.

Athieisademon: Teehee, you're making me blush. I hope this doesn't disappoint.

Yuu3: I hope this update answers a few questions! Although, I'm sure it's also given you more. Heh, heh.

Thank you all for your reviews! It really inspired me to work on this part. And thanks to all those who have been following IYA so far.