Under normal circumstances, Conan would have ignored the invitation. He might've disregarded it entirely, or even burnt it out of spite if he were feeling bitter enough. But, to his chagrin, he found himself memorizing the date, looking forward to it, even. He wasn't quite sure what had come over himself, and had at one point asked Ran to take his temperature to make sure he wasn't coming down with something.
The note was a simple one. Much less extravagant than his usual ones, the message was written simply:
For teatime on a thief's dime,
Rendezvous on Saturday
At starlight's 11th morning chime.
No names or poorly-drawn insignias had been left on the note, but the rhyming and phrasing left no other culprit than the elusive phantom thief, Kaitou Kid. The invitation hadn't come through the post, nor had it been delivered in any sort of traditional (or traceable) way. Rather, it was taped to the outside of his bedroom window. In plain sight. Conan wondered if the thief was a special kind of moron, what with how easily Kogoro or Ran could've found it and either tossed it or went in his place. Briefly, he wondered if this invitation had anything to do with the disaster of a case he was subjected to just last week, but he put it out of his mind. Whether or not either party was still feeling guilty after that incident, an invitation was an invitation, and who was Conan to decline a free drink along with some peace and quiet?
On Saturday's arrival, Conan made the excuse that the Detective Boys had invited him to hang out, yes Agasa was going to walk him there, and yes he'd be home in time for dinner. With his ward taken care of, he set off for a location that was surprisingly not too far from the house. He had never been to this particular place before, but knew about it from when it had first opened up and the girls in his class wouldn't stop talking about how "pretty" it was. Not his first choice for a meeting between two 17 year old guys, but he wasn't about to complain.
He stopped on a corner and surveyed the stores lining the streets. It was difficult for a boy his size to see the stores further down, and with a hint of bitterness he supposed he should've been used to his height by now.
"Hey, kid, you need some help?" a voice behind him spoke up suddenly. Conan was immediately on guard and turned around quickly, only to find a young man with messy brown hair, bright blue eyes, and a casual grin staring at him. They were both standing near a bus stop, so it was likely this guy had just stepped off the bus, if his blue jacket - wrinkled at the waist - was any indication. Though it was understandable, Conan also thought it unbecoming to be on the defense all the time. He made his best effort to quash that feeling of wariness and just accept assistance from the stranger.
"Actually, yes Mister! I'm looking for Starlight Cafe! Can you help me find it? I'm gonna meet with a friend there," Conan put on his sweetest "7-year-old-innocent-child-nothing-suspicious-at-all" face, even clasping his hands behind his back and rocking a little on his heels to help sell the look. The young man's expression didn't change much, just a slightly bigger smile likely due to him accepting his help. But the mischievous glint that appeared in his eye when he mentioned he was "meeting with a friend" seemed oddly familiar, though Conan assumed he could've been imagining it.
"Starlight Cafe, huh? ...Yeah, I think I know where it's at. I could show you the way if you want." He gestured over his shoulder, opposite the direction Conan had thought the cafe might've been in. "Just take this road about 2 blocks, and it'll be on your left. It's a small hole-in-the-wall place, but it's actually kinda pretty on the inside."
"'Pretty', huh..?" he muttered to himself quietly before perking up. "Ah, I mean, yeah! That'd be great if you could show me! Thanks!"
Along the way, the teen mentioned that the popularity of this place boomed during the summer season, but was otherwise pretty peaceful and served good drinks. The unprompted conversation only served to make Conan's suspicions about him grow, but he chose to relax for the time being.
"Alrighty then, here we are!" the teen announced when they stopped in front of a rather plain-looking door. A small, unremarkable sign read "STARLIGHT CAFE", but any bit of fanciness stopped there. He opened the door and allowed Conan, who took a moment to survey the scene, to step inside first.
True to his words, the place was actually quite pretty. The walls were colored a blue-violet, gradient hue, speckled with little white spots to resemble stars. He noted that the chairs and tables were arranged to fully utilize the small space they had to work with, even sparing decent walking space between them. To top it off, a large, golden chandelier with glass crystals hung above their heads, and a beautiful, Victorian-styled clock with swinging bronze pendulums could be viewed easily from anywhere in the room. As soon as he'd finished his speculation, the clock began to chime out at 11:00 a.m. exactly.
"Hm. You said you were meeting with somebody here, right?" The teen made a show of glancing about the room. "It looks completely deserted."
"Yup."
"You don't seem all that upset about being stood up."
"Oh no. He's actually pretty punctual," He responded simply. The teen cocked an eyebrow.
"Well, there's no sign of anyone coming to meet you. You sure they'll be here?"
"Actually, he's already here, Mister." Conan turned to face the teen and smirked, waiting for the 11th bell chime to ring out before continuing, dropping the childish act entirely. "Or should I say, Kaitou Kid?" The teen's smile grew into a wide, Cheshire grin. He gently shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and shifted his weight onto one leg.
"Clever, Mini-Detective. What gave me away?" he asked, though the amused look on his face told Conan he already knew what he was going to say.
"You didn't exactly make it hard to figure it out it was you. Plus, you just so happened to know a bunch of stuff about this cafe despite pretending you weren't entirely sure where it was at first." He threw an accusatory look at him before continuing, "although, taping a note to my window out in broad daylight may have been your weakest delivery yet, Kid. Anyone could've easily just walked in and-"
"Kaito."
"Er… what?" Conan's train of thought stuttered to halt with the sudden topic change.
"Just call me Kaito. And should I call you…?" Kaito prompted by a circular motion with his right hand. Conan crossed his arms and put himself back on the defensive, if only just a little.
"Conan will do just fine."
"Touché," Kaito grinned, then flagged down a waitress who emerged from the back door. They were guided to a small table in the corner of the room. It was by request, apparently, and Conan, though thankful for the extra privacy, was surprised he hadn't requested the very center of the room. They were handed two menus and left to their own devices.
"You didn't request a kids menu for me?"
"Conan-kun! Do you take me to be so cruel?" Kaito replied with feigned shock. Conan rolled his eyes. Certainly, the thief was irritating, but even he wouldn't stoop so low.
"No, I guess not. It was actually thoughtful of you to schedule this meeting on a Saturday, though. I don't know if skipping any more school or sleep would look good in Ran's book."
"Hey, I have a life outside of my night job too, you know. Saturday works better for me, anyways," Kaito countered, earning a strange look from Conan.
"...Forgive me, but it's a little hard to imagine you, of all people, attending school, or…"
"...Doing normal-people things?"
"Yeah, that."
"Ah, but therein lies the mystery, don't you think? The mystery of the Phantom Thief's normal life."
"...That you're spending here with me."
"Of course!"
Conan huffed out a sigh. Pointless conversations like this tended to annoy him, but he couldn't find the energy to care at this moment.
"You're paying, right? I hope you don't mind me ordering a little extra, then."
"Don't make me break the bank, Conan-kun!" Kaito laughed. Conan chuckled too, in spite of himself.
As an unspoken agreement between the two, Kaito ordered a coffee and Conan a chocolate-mint tea, which they swapped when the waitress left. They relaxed as they waited for the cakes they ordered to arrive, but an odd sort of pressure settled over them. Though the previous atmosphere was light and easy-going, now it was just plain stifling. It was not so much uncomfortable, but more that there was a certain talk that was to be had - the whole reason for this sudden meeting in the first place.
Conan sipped at his coffee as he glanced about the room - anywhere but at the thief. The clock on the wall now read around 11:30, and the cafe was still as empty as it was when they had arrived. Kaito, meanwhile, busied himself with reading up on the nutritional facts of certain menu items from an informational card on the table. The silence was deafening, and neither seemed ready to break it until Kaito let out a heavy sigh - a motion that startled Conan, who was so used to the thief's usual playful nature.
"Listen, I'm sure you've already got an idea of why I called you over here," he began, hesitating when he noticed Conan's astonished look. The poker face Kaito was always so proud of had slipped off and shattered at some point, so he figured there was no sense in hiding now.
"I just… wanted to apologize. For nearly letting you fall to your death last week."
"And I'm sorry for almost tearing your hand off. Now, can we please get some normalcy back in here? This ambience is killing me." It was Kaito's turn to be taken aback.
"You're… incredibly nonchalant about all of this."
"You think I haven't seen worse? How were we supposed to know that police officer was actually a murderer? How were we supposed to know he was going to tie your wrist to my hoodie with wire? How were we supposed to know that wooden beam was going to break under my feet so easily? You wanna explain all of that to me? Do you?" With each sentence, he leaned further and further in with a pointed finger, making a surprised Kaito back up until he nearly shrunk down in his seat. Conan sat back down in his chair, allowing Kaito to slowly straighten himself back up, a perplexed look on his face.
"How's the wrist, by the way?" Conan finally asked after a moment's pause. Kaito smiled a little and held his left hand up, pulling the sleeve down a bit to reveal white bandages hidden underneath.
"Still sprained, but it's okay otherwise." He pushed the sleeve back up and moved to take a sip of his tea.
"I can't help but wonder how a cop was able to get a wire stuck to you, though. Care to explain that one?" Conan propped his face on a hand and leaned onto the table. He gleaned more amusement than he thought fair when Kaito choked on his drink.
"W-well… I'm not the only one who knows some sleight of hand, it seems." He nodded sagely as he considered this. "Yes, that's it. You ought to learn some, too."
"Or could it be that you simply let him tie you? How about that?" The look on Kaito's face told him he struck gold. Kaito averted his gaze, appearing more affronted than Conan ever dreamed he'd see on the thief's face.
"The... building's stability was questionable to start with, and when I saw him snag you, I couldn't just drop it." He shifted the teacup back and forth between his fingers gingerly. "Either I'd escape and you fell to your death or got hanged along the way, or we both went down and met our end at the bottom. I simply chose a third option and partially incapacitated myself to save us." He stopped fiddling with the cup and glanced up at Conan with a serious, humorless expression. "It was terrible foresight on my part. Had I acted quicker, the whole situation might've been avoided entirely. And for that, I'm sorry."
Conan sat speechless. He never forgot how perceptive Kaitou Kid could be, but his sheer attention to detail and planning alone also never failed to stun him silent. Being able to think quickly on one's feet was vital to survival, and they were both masters in their own right.
"You say you weren't fast enough, but I have to disagree. Just in time as usual, I think. Thank you, Kaito," Conan finally said. Kaito had the decency to look sheepish as he turned away yet again.
"Don't thank me for that, you moron," he muttered quietly, though he was smiling softly all the while.
The waitress finally returned with two cakes in hand: a white and strawberry one for Kaito, and a lemon cake for Conan. Making good on his promise to order extra, Conan also received a box of sugar cookies to go. The rest of their meal went with easy conversation and a few quips back and forth at each other. The scene was all too friendly and familiar for them, but neither seemed to mind in the slightest.
"Thanks again. I needed that break from… well, everything," Conan spoke up as they stepped outside the cafe. Kaito nodded once, having trained his poker face back into place.
"Not a problem. Getting that weight off my chest was just what the doctor ordered. Not literally, though, " he winked. He pivoted on his heel with a slight wave goodbye. "Well then, au revoir, Mini-Detective."
"Kai- Kid, wait!" Conan called out suddenly, stopping Kaito in his tracks. "There's… well, there's a pizzeria just one train stop away from here. If you're not too busy, maybe next Saturday we could meet up there? My treat, of course." Kaito's casual smirk was betrayed by his eyes, widened with bewilderment. He took only a moment to think over the proposal, though.
"That sounds like a great idea. Same time?"
"Same time," Conan replied. Kaito's smirk smoothed out into something more genuine, and without another word he turned and walked in the opposite direction, leaving Conan alone on the sidewalk. Conan readjusted his grip on the box of cookies and began making his way back home, feeling an odd sense of anticipation as he looked forward to next week's meeting.