A.N: This was written purely for amusement's sake, and because of a conversation I had with my sister. We were talking about how "tone deaf" didn't seem to be the right term for Shinichi, since he's shown to be able to identify notes he hears. It's just that he can't reproduce them. That led to a couple other things, and then this. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK.

Genre: Humor/Romance

Pairing: KaiShin [KaitoxShinichi]

Summary:When Ran roped him into playing the accompaniment to the song she was singing for the party, Shinichi had no idea he'd end up with a stalker—er, singer intent on recruiting him for a band.

Music to My Ears

The first time they met was at Suzuki Sonoko's birthday party. Shinichi hadn't particularly wanted to go to the party because Sonoko's birthday parties were always massive affairs with tons of people and noise. Ran's argument that Sonoko was his friend and therefore he should be happy to be there didn't carry much weight for him as he was fairly sure the birthday girl wouldn't miss him if he wasn't there. Ran was adamant, however, because she had drafted him into playing the accompaniment for the song she had decided to sing at the party for her friend. Why she had decided to sing he had no idea, though he suspected it had to do with those karaoke get-togethers she'd been having with her mother, but the gleam in her eye forbad any argument.

And that was how he'd ended up seated at a corner table in the darkest corner of Sonoko's gargantuan living room, trying not to be the first human to prove that a person could die of boredom.

He was seriously starting to debate sneaking out and taking his chances with Ran's wrath later when someone dropped into one of the empty seats at his little table, whistling a cheery little tune as he set a glass of cider on the table. "Hey, mind if I sit here?"

Shinichi gave the stranger a deadpan look across the table. "You ask that after sitting?"

"Well, I was pretty sure there was no one sitting here before," the stranger replied. "The reason I ask is to let you know that I might consider leaving if you really don't want me here."

Shinichi tilted his head to one side. He hadn't missed the 'might' in that statement.

"Though really," the stranger continued, ignoring the look he was getting from his tablemate, "aren't you bored sitting here all by yourself? You haven't even eaten anything!"

Now Shinichi had to stare. "How did you know that?"

"I was watching you," came the casual reply as though there was nothing at all strange about that.

Shinichi seriously debated getting up and finding a different table. This stranger was starting to creep him out.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Kuroba Kaito," the stranger announced, doing a half bow from where he sat, a playful grin making its way across his face. "Just call me Kaito."

He looked expectantly at Shinichi who found himself with a difficult dilemma. Did he want to tell the strange (creepy) young man his name? Not really, but he also didn't want to be rude. And so it was with the sense that he might be making a terrible mistake that he answered.

"Kudo Shinichi."

Kaito's grin broadened impossibly. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Would you like to dance?"

"…What?" Had he heard that right?

"Would you like to dance," the other repeated patiently, waving towards the mass of people not too far away who were doing just that.

Feeling decidedly off balance and with no idea whatsoever of what he was supposed to say, Shinichi was rescued from having to answer by Ran's sudden appearance. She was smiling and slightly out of breath, obviously having just gotten off the dance floor herself.

"Hey Shinichi," she greeted as she pulled out a chair and sat down. "Who's your new friend?"

Shinichi opened his mouth to correct her assumption but Kaito was faster. "Kuroba Kaito. And you are?"

"Mouri Ran," she answered, eyes lighting up with recognition. "Oh, you're Aoko's friend right? She mentioned you when we were drawing up the guest lists with Sonoko."

"Really?" Kaito looked interested. "So what's Aoko been saying about me? Good things, I hope."

"Mostly," Ran laughed, "though she also mentioned that you like to play pranks and drive people crazy."

Kaito heaved a melodramatic sigh. "Alas, no one appreciates a true genius."

"Well, she also said you have a good voice and that you play the guitar pretty well." Ran's face lit up with a sudden thought. "Could you do me a favor? I'm going to be singing later. I don't suppose you could give me a few pointers afterward?"

"It would be my pleasure. Speaking of favors," he continued, casting a glance in Shinichi's direction. "I don't suppose you could help me convince your friend here to dance with me?"

Ran blinked in surprise, glanced at Shinichi (who was trying to convince the world that he was invisible), and back at Kaito. Then her face cracked into a decidedly wicked grin and she nudged Shinichi. "Go on Shinichi. You should give it a try. You've been sitting here since the party started anyway. It's about time you did something."

Blue eyes turned to stare at her in wide-eyed horror. "What? But—"

"It's not going to kill you," she cut in, giving him a light push which was nevertheless just forceful enough to dislodge him from his chair.

Kaito took the opportunity to slide out of his own chair and catch Shinichi before he could either sit back down or run away. "Come on, I promise you won't regret it."

Shinichi cast one last pleading look at Ran but she only waved at him as he was dragged away by the madman. He had danced with a total of two people in his entire life. His mother and Ran. And generally only because they hadn't found someone else to dance with. He didn't even like dancing! Now his best friend had just sent him onto a crowded dance floor—with a guy no less. Had he done anything recently to make her mad? He couldn't remember doing anything that might upset her, but why else would she betray him like this?

And of course the music chose that moment to become something slow when all night so far it had been pouring out beats like it was trying to win a race. Luck never had been his forte.

"Um, you're not actually serious about this dancing thing are you?" he asked hopefully as Kaito tugged him farther and farther away from the tables.

"Of course I am," came the unhesitating answer. Finding a clearer space on the dance floor, he pivoted and pulled his companion closer. Shinichi stiffened when he felt a hand on his hip.

"Just relax," Kaito instructed, a soft chuckle brushing past Shinichi's ear and making him shiver involuntarily. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Shinichi thanked all the powers that be that the lights had been dimmed because he could feel that he was blushing. "What do you think you're doing?" he hissed back.

"Dancing. Isn't it obvious? Although it would help if you would move your feet."

Shinichi opened his mouth then shut it again with an audible click. Okay, so the practically-stranger wanted to dance. No big deal, right? No need to make a scene over it. But he did reach down and tug on the hand on his hip. It didn't seem to want to move but he shot the owner a glare and it relented just enough so that he could inch it up to his waist instead. Feeling a little more comfortable, he allowed Kaito to pull him into the dance.

It actually wasn't so bad.

But he wasn't going to tell Kaito that. Who knew what the guy would do with that information? He was already being far too familiar as it was for someone he'd just met.

When it came time for Ran's performance, she found the two of them back at Shinichi's original table and dragged him off, promising Kaito to return him shortly. Which Shinichi found kind of weird, but he didn't say anything about it since it was probably true that he would be back once the performance was over.

The performance itself went almost just as Ran had planned. Shinichi had been expecting a piano because he knew Sonoko had one, but it turned out her parents hadn't liked the idea of leaving the grand piano to the mercy of a teenage party and had it moved. However Ran had mentioned her need for an instrument so Sonoko had provided a keyboard instead. Fortunately for Shinichi, he'd played around with one before so it wasn't an issue even if he did prefer real pianos. And Ran got to sing her song to the general approval of the crowd.

Once the song had ended it was time for Sonoko to open the rest of her presents. Not being particularly interested in seeing her gifts, Shinichi returned to his table to find that Kaito was still there, though he had procured himself a drink and another slice of cake.

"I didn't know you played the keyboard, you should have mentioned!" For some reason Kaito was grinning (more so at any rate), indigo eyes sparkling with excitement as he watched Shinichi slide back into his seat. "I'm putting together a band. Would you like to join me?"

"No," Shinichi said without a moment's hesitation.

Kaito frowned. "You can at least think about it. It'll be fun!"

"I'm not interested."

"Why not?"

"Why can't I just not be interested?" Shinichi countered, starting to feel a bit irritated. He'd only learned how to play the thing because his mother had gone and bought one on a whim and he felt it would be a waste to just let it sit around unused. That wasn't to say that he didn't like playing it. The keyboard had its fun parts too with all those special effects and he'd spent a fair amount of time playing around with it. He liked music quite a lot as long as he didn't have to sing, but his favorite instrument was actually the violin (although admittedly he may be slightly biased in that department due to the influence of his favorite series of detective stories). And even if it wasn't, he'd pick a real piano over an electric one any day.

"Who wouldn't be interested?" Kaito asked back, sounding like he really believed no one could be uninterested in starting a band.

"Just because you find it an interesting idea, doesn't mean I have to. Besides," he added as an afterthought. "I can't sing."

"You wouldn't have to. I'm singing. Come on, if you never try it you'll never know if it's fun or not, right?"

"Isn't that kind of like arguing that you can't know for sure that a fire is hot unless you touch it first?" Shinichi asked dryly.

"It's not the same at all!"

"I'm going to get something to eat," Shinichi decided, getting up and making his escape. Now that the main event was over he could probably get away with leaving without incurring Ran's wrath.

X

About a week after Sonoko's party, Shinichi opened his front door in answer to the doorbell—to see Kuroba Kaito standing on his front doorstep. "Good morning~."

Shinichi could only think of one thing to say. "How do you know where I live?!"

"Easy. I asked Ran-san."

Shinichi struggled with this piece of information for a moment before giving in with a defeated sigh. "What do you want this time?"

Kaito grinned, completely unfazed by the less than ecstatic welcome. "Well, I heard there was this restaurant here in Beika with a really good lunch special and I thought I'd come try it out. Would you like to come with me?"

Shinichi stared at him. "What?"

"My treat," the other offered. "It's called Miko's. It's not actually all that far from here."

Shinichi paused at that. Miko's did have pretty good food. He hadn't had lunch yet (or breakfast for that matter, since he liked to sleep in on weekends) and going would mean he didn't have to cook. Considering he'd forgotten to go to the grocery store yesterday, that was a really good thing unless he felt like having broccoli sandwiches for lunch. Which sounded gross even in his thoughts.

"I guess I could go," he found himself saying. "Just let me get a jacket."

Kaito beamed.

X

Lunch with Kaito was actually…kind of fun, Shinichi thought with some surprise. He'd been expecting to feel awkward, but after he got over the fact that the guy had just shown up out of the blue at his door he'd found he couldn't help but relax. There was just something about the other's cheerful, twinkling eyes that made it impossible to dislike him.

In the mere span of time it took to eat that one meal, he found himself conversing with Kaito not like people meeting only for the second time but like they had known each other forever. If he'd spared the notion a thought, he might have found it creepy. It was like magic.

"Do you come here often then?" Kaito asked as the waiter cleared their plates away and left to get their dessert.

"Not really," Shinichi replied, picking up his coffee. "Just when my parents are in town. My mom loves their pies. Last time she and dad were here they were having one of their arguments and she dragged me here every day for two weeks. And I'm not exaggerating when I say every day. I haven't been back since."

"Ah." Kaito hesitated a moment. "Do your parents argue a lot? You don't have to answer if you don't want to," he added hastily.

"No, it's not a big deal," Shinichi assured him. "They're just like that. It's like little kids arguing. They do it all the time but they never mean it."

"Oh, that's good." He paused then frowned thoughtfully. "Or, I don't know, is that good?"

"That would depend," Shinichi replied, hiding a smile. "It's annoying when they're like that at home, but since they're usually overseas it doesn't matter much. I mean, they're still the ones who pay for the phone bill when mom calls to complain."

Kaito laughed. "No offense, but your parents sound kinda weird."

"You have no idea," Shinichi sighed, grimacing. "What about your parents?"

"Dad's a magician. He's in Paris right now," Kaito replied, eyes lighting up (and probably not just because the waiter had just placed a slice of cake in front of him). "Mom's working on writing her own cookbook so she's usually home, but lately she's started trying the strangest ingredients." He gave an over exaggerated shudder. "I can't even name half the stuff she's been bringing home these days. So I've been trying to catch most of my meals away from home."

"So that's why you came all the way to Beika just for lunch?" Shinichi marveled. "Seems a little extreme."

Kaito just shrugged, grinning. "Hey, it's a Saturday. Besides, I wanted to see you."

Shinichi raised his eyebrows. "Do I want to know why?"

"Lots of reasons. For one, are you sure you don't want to join my band?"

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "That again? Yes, I'm sure."

"Just give it a try," Kaito pressed. "I'm not asking you to dedicate the rest of your life to it or anything. Just give it a few months to see if you like it. I promise you'll have fun."

"Kaito… How many times are you going to make me repeat myself?"

"All right, all right." Kaito held up a hand to forestall further protests. "I just thought I'd ask in case you'd changed your mind. So are you busy tomorrow afternoon? I have two tickets for that new movie."

Shinichi blinked. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell, are you trying to recruit me or ask me out?"

"Can't I do both? You don't have to agree to both at once," he added as an afterthought. "Although I would be happy if you did. But if you have to pick one, I'd rather you agree to go out with me."

"…" What was he supposed to say to that? He'd never met anyone so… He couldn't even find the right words to describe what it was. 'Sudden' might be a good start. After all, they barely knew each other! Although he had the feeling that, if he brought that up, Kaito would say that was the whole point of dating—to get to know each other better.

"You don't have to answer now. So do you want to go see the movie with me?"

"I…I'll think about it."

Kaito looked slightly disappointed but then he was smiling again and he produced a white card. "The tickets are for tomorrow at five. Just call me tomorrow morning and let me know if you want to go, all right?"

X

"So how did it go?"

Shinichi scowled at the sound of Ran's voice as it emerged from the phone he'd just answered. It had started ringing almost as soon as he'd set foot into his house after Kaito walked him home (even though Shinichi had said he didn't need to). "Why did you tell him where I live?"

She didn't need to ask who 'he' was. "Because he asked, of course."

"…That's the reason? That's it? What if he'd been some kind of criminal or something?!"

Ran let out a snort of laughter from the other end of the line. "You've been reading way too many crime novels. Besides, he's one of Aoko's friends, so I know he can't be a bad person. The least you can do is give him a chance. It's not like you're seeing anyone and it'll do you some good to get out more."

When the conversation ended, Shinichi sat in the armchair in the library for a long moment, just staring at the shelves across from him.

So Ran thought he should get a—a boyfriend? He wasn't sure what he was supposed to think about that.

Okay, so he couldn't deny that he'd enjoyed the time he'd spent with Kaito. He was fun to talk to and didn't make Shinichi feel like a misfit the way a lot of other people his age did (it wasn't that he didn't get along with people, but he'd always had a hard time understanding people his own age). Maybe… Maybe Ran was right that he needed to get out more. It wouldn't hurt to give it a try, right?

They could at least be friends. He was pretty sure he could manage that much. More than that… Well, there would be time to think about that. Friendship should always come first anyway.

Picking the phone up again, he pulled the card Kaito had given him out of his pocket and began tapping in the numbers.

Months later, he would look back on that day and be eternally grateful that he had decided to take the chance.

X

The first time they kissed, Shinichi had been half expecting and half dreading it. Expecting, because he was more surprised that Kaito hadn't tried to kiss him yet (was that bad?), and dreading because even though he kind of—okay, maybe more than 'kind of'—wanted it, he had no idea what he was supposed to do if it happened. He'd never been in a romantic relationship before. Hell, he barely knew what to do with normal friends sometimes! Ran was always telling him that he was a hopeless case when it came to social matters.

When it happened they were at the park. They had just had dinner together and were taking the long way round back to Shinichi's place. The Beika district officials had decided to decorate for Christmas this year in a fit of holiday spirit so the entire park sparkled with a sprinkling of little lights that wreathed the trees with a warm, golden haze.

They had come to a stop under one of the glimmering, star-dusted trees when they'd noticed the first few flakes of snow. Standing together, they watched as small, white flakes began to spiral down from the dark sky above. It was the first snow of the year and it made Shinichi smile. With all the lights and the snow it was like standing in a fairytale. And it was amazing how warm he could feel right here, right now, despite it being a winter night.

Then he'd turned to look up at Kaito—maybe to ask if he felt the same or just to see what his expression was—and the other had leaned in.

It felt so natural that he had to wonder what he'd been worried about.

X

Kaito never brought up the idea of Shinichi playing in his band again, but he did talk a lot about his music. He often brought his guitar with him when he visited and played snatches of the songs he'd been writing, asking for suggestions or just to see what Shinichi would think. And sometimes he was just showing off, but Shinichi didn't mind. Kaito really was a good singer. He started to look forward to those afternoons they spent just hanging out at his place when Kaito would work on his music while Shinichi went about his household chores (living alone in such a big house meant he had a lot of chores). They would chat and trade stories, all interspersed with the melodic strumming of guitar strings and snatches of tune.

And it got Shinichi thinking.

If he was really honest with himself, he'd always loved music. He'd originally asked his mother if he could learn to play the violin because his favorite character played it. His mother, however, had said that he should learn the piano if he was interested in music because that was where a lot of musicians started and it gave good basics. He didn't get her logic (who cared where other people started?), but he'd gone along with it because arguing with his mother was like trying to stop the tide. Difficult and pointless.

He had discovered to his surprise that he actually rather liked the piano. Unlike his voice, it knew exactly what the notes he hit were supposed to sound like (unless it was out of tune, but that was beside the point). When he finally got his hands on a violin, he'd found they weren't quite as easy in the note-finding department. Lucky for him, he had a good ear even if he couldn't sing.

Yet even though he liked music, he'd never considered it as a profession—or even seriously thought about performing it for people for that matter. It had always been one of those things someone else you didn't know personally did.

It was a difficult profession to break into, and even harder to succeed in.

Kaito, however, always talked like it wasn't only possible but probable (even certain). And the more he talked about it, the more Shinichi found himself believing it.

He wanted to believe it too, he realized, because he wanted Kaito to succeed.

X

It was the beginning of their second year of high school that he finally made up his mind. Kaito had taken him to the cherry blossom festival in Ekoda earlier that day—partly to see the flowers but mostly to watch the taiko performance. They had spent some time with Kaito's mother, but left well before dinnertime to head back to Beika where Shinichi decided that he'd make dinner (thinking back, he hadn't recognized that thing flopping around on Kaito's mother's counter either).

Afterward they sat down together in the living room to watch a movie. Just for fun they had lit a fire in the hearth even though it wasn't all that cold. Shinichi had always liked how a hearth fire could make the oversized house feel cozier. The relaxing atmosphere prompted him to finally broach the subject.

"So…how's your search for a pianist going?"

Kaito made a face. "I've talked to a few people, but they're all so dull. The only one who had any spark at all was this girl from my math class, but she wasn't interested once I told her I was already seeing someone. So I'm pretty sure she wasn't all that into the idea of being part of the band to begin with."

"Oh." Shinichi blinked then frowned and snuggled more firmly into the other's embrace.

"I suppose I could always just work without a pianist," Kaito continued, sounding thoughtful. "But it'd be cool to be able to add a piano line into my songs." He let out a soft sigh that ruffled through Shinichi's hair. "Ah well, I'd much rather work without it than have to play with a bore."

"Well, um, Kaito," Shinichi began, paused, then forged onward. "I guess…if you really still want to try this band thing, I wouldn't mind playing in it with you."

Kaito's arms tightened a little around his waist, but it was a moment before he said anything. "It's not that I'm not happy to hear you say that, but are you sure? I don't want you to do it if you're feeling obliged to just because we're dating or something. I'll love you even if you don't."

Shinichi could feel himself blushing at the honestly spoken words. Shifting around on Kaito's lap so that he could look Kaito in the eyes, he smiled. "I'm not offering because I feel obliged to. I guess…I was thinking about it, and you're right, it wouldn't hurt to try." And, well, Kaito always looked so happy when he talked about music in general and singing in particular—about his dreams and all the places he wanted to perform. His enthusiasm was contagious, and Shinichi wasn't immune. He wanted…to see if it was possible.

Sharp, indigo orbs peered intently into his for several long moments before Kaito's face broke out into a brilliant smile. "In that case, nothing would please me more than to have you join me Shin-chan."

Shinichi couldn't help but smile back. "But you can't replace me if someone who plays better comes along."

Kaito laughed and pulled the smaller boy into a deep kiss that left Shinichi breathless and blushing. "I would never replace you," he murmured into Shinichi's ear before capturing his lips again. Shinichi melted into the kiss, feeling content and happy and full of possibilities.

X

The following afternoon Shinichi found himself being introduced to the Kuroba house's spare room, which had been modified by Kaito into his own personal studio. There were papers strewn all over the desk near the door. Shinichi recognized in the glimpse he caught of scribbled notes several of the tunes he'd heard Kaito humming as well as some of the songs the other had sung to him. That made him smile. The rest of the room was cluttered with assorted instruments. There was an electric piano pushed into the corner which Kaito was in the process of pulling out and setting up as he told Shinichi about how he'd soundproofed the room and where he'd gotten this and that and whatnot. In the opposite corner was a pile of objects that might have been the pieces of a disassembled drum set. A couple music stands stood around like spindly, metal trees.

Shinichi cleared his throat to catch Kaito's attention and interrupt the stream of information being poured at him. "So…where's everyone else?"

Kaito blinked. "What everyone else?"

"…You mean there's only the two of us?"

"For the moment," Kaito agreed cheerfully. "I thought you knew that. I mean, I've only been telling you that since the beginning."

"I assumed you just meant you hadn't found a pianist yet. I didn't realize you meant you hadn't found anyone at all."

Kaito laughed. "Don't worry. I just need a few more pieces of information and we should be able to acquire a few other members."

"…Information? Kai, are you blackmailing people?"

"Of course not," Kaito replied and Shinichi sighed in relief. "Call it creative persuasion."

Shinichi smacked his forehead. What had he gotten himself into?

Owari

A.N: I suppose there could've been more to it, but I have a different music one in mind for a longer story (er, in the somewhat distant future after I finish some of my other fics). I guess classical music just fits better in my head—well, for Shinichi anyway. Anyhow, have a nice weekend!