I will admit, this was written pretty quickly because I realized it's been a week since I last posted anything. Ack. So I wrote this in, like, an hour. Sorry if there are any mistakes!
Standard warnings (shounen-ai, possible grammar mistakes/typos) and pairings (Shinichi x Kaito, Eisuke x Ran, Hakuba x Aoko) apply.
Without further ado, enjoy! - Luna
Cinematic Appreciation
It was storming.
Rain pattered heavily against the roof, a few beats off from a melodic sort of rhythm. The wind howled as it buffeted the house madly, tearing at the tree in the front yard and rattling the open gate violently.
Kudou Shinichi cast the ceiling a cursory glance as he examined his living room, hands on waist. The couch was positioned a number of feet off from the TV, with a couple pillows in each corner. It looked clean enough. At least, he hoped it was clean enough. Who knew how clean was clean enough when it came to Ran.
The doorbell rang, the sound resonating through the house, and Shinichi ran to get the door. He skidded to a stop in front of it and opened it to find Kuroba Kaito standing on the doormat, dripping wet and quivering madly.
"You look very warm," Shinichi remarked, and Kaito glared at him, shoving back a handful of drenched bangs.
"Thanks for that, tantei-kun." He pushed past Shinichi, who smirked and shut the door just as a few wet leaves smacked against it.
"I got the movie," the magician called over his shoulder as he unceremoniously toed off his shoes, yanked off his damp jacket, and tossed it haphazardly onto the coat rack. Shinichi watched with an expression of calm disapproval as water dripped from the article of clothing and formed a puddle on the ground.
"Good. I see you also brought the East China Sea." He motioned at the puddle, and Kaito grinned airily.
"I know! It was so kind of him to come along," he sang and pranced off into the living room.
Shinichi sighed as he followed the phantom thief. How had he gotten involved with this idiot, again? Oh, right. At a Kid heist.
Where most debatably bad things happened.
After he had returned, Shinichi had kept going to heists. Because why not? They were somewhat interesting, mildly irritating, and fairly challenging. The perfect distraction from the monotonous string of murders.
Ran, of course, had insisted on coming with him, because "like hell am I going to let you anywhere out of my sight after you ran off on a case for a year!" (Shinichi couldn't really say no to that, really. He could understand her feelings pretty well.)
It was at one of those heists that Ran had bumped into Nakamori Aoko, a girl around her age with remarkably similar features to hers and her own childhood friend – Kuroba Kaito.
When Ran had enthusiastically introduced Aoko and Kaito to Shinichi, Shinichi had immediately recognized Kaito as the Kaitou Kid. He'd seen it in the pleat of Kaito's lips, the eternally smooth motions, the mischievous glimmer in his eyes – all of it was so Kid that Shinichi had been surprised neither Ran nor Aoko had figured it out either.
He had burst out, "Aren't you –" before Kaito had begun flapping maniacally and silently screeching at him to shut up. Which Shinichi did.
Once Kaito had managed to send Ran and Aoko off, he had begged, begged, begged Shinichi not to tell.
And something about Kid, the magnanimous, elusive, frankly amazing Kid begging for something had made Shinichi give in and agree.
After that, it was, as they say, history. At first, Kaito had been rather wary of Shinichi, but when both Ran and Aoko suddenly got boyfriends who were not their childhood friends (Ran starting going on about five dates a week with Hondou Eisuke, of all people, and Aoko wouldn't stop blushing whenever a certain blond detective was mentioned), they'd sort of… bonded. Over being awkward third wheels. It made sense for them to get stuck together when all their friends were together – everyone else was paired neatly off into couples, leaving just the two of them.
To be honest, Shinichi didn't really mind it. Because really, Kaito wasn't bad company at all, and he was kind of… attractive.
Wait, no, Shinichi didn't just think that. That would be really weird.
Anyway.
Tonight was an event that Ran and Aoko had planned together – a "romantic movie night." At Shinichi's house.
Yes, really.
According to Ran, this was a good way to, um, "strengthen relationships by showing how much you appreciate romantic gestures." (Shinichi seriously didn't understand girls.) She and Aoko were planning on bringing their respective boyfriends over.
As the whole thing was being hosted (unwillingly, but the prospect of death by Ran's karate was enough to get him to agree) by Shinichi, he had to attend, and Kaito, when he heard, had laughed for about twenty minutes straight before offering to come to keep him company. Shinichi had agreed thankfully. He did not want to think about how awkward it could get watching a romance movie with two couples.
"No one else is here yet, huh?" Kaito plopped down on the couch and threw the DVD at Shinichi, who caught it reflexively and lifted an eyebrow at the DVD cover.
"Should I ask?"
"Nope, because I don't know. Aoko just told me to get that," replied Kaito, leaning back.
Shaking his head, Shinichi set down the case on the DVD player. He was about to join Kaito on the couch when something vibrated against his hip.
With a sigh, Shinichi dug his cell phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. Ran was calling him…? He hit the answer button and held it to his ear, Kaito eyeing him quizzically.
"Yes?"
"Oh? Shinichi." Ran's voice was muffled and a bit strained. Shinichi tilted his head.
"That's me. Is something going on?"
"Um, yes. I don't think we'll be able to make it tonight, Shinichi."
"What?" Shinichi jumped. "Why not? And who's 'we'?" Kaito was frowning at him now, clearly concerned.
"Eisuke, Aoko-chan, Hakuba-kun, and me," Ran answered. "We went to Aoko-chan's house for dinner, but it's storming so badly right now that we can't leave the house."
"Oh." Shinichi exhaled. "So what do you want us to do?"
"'Us'? Did Kuroba-kun make it over there, then?"
"Yes, but –"
"That's too bad. Tell him the movie night's off. I'm so sorry, Shinichi! We'll make it up to you two later. My phone's going to run out of battery soon, and I need to call my dad. Sorry!" The call clicked off.
Defeated, Shinichi slumped against the TV set. "Ran and the others can't make it," he informed Kaito, who lifted an eyebrow. "The storm's so bad over at Nakamori-san's house that they can't leave."
"Oh." Kaito blinked. "Then…"
"I don't know," Shinichi said apologetically, shrugging. "You could go home if you want."
"Uh…" Kaito glanced at the ceiling as a particularly loud roar of wind rang throughout the house. He fingered his still wet bangs and cocked an eyebrow "Maybe not?"
"Okay then." What are we supposed to do, then? Shinichi stared at his hands. "Uh… well… I don't really have anything to watch. You could find something to do, and I guess I could go finish up some of those unsolved cases I have…" He trailed off upon seeing the exasperated look on Kaito's face. "What?"
"Is it possible for you to go for one night without poking around dead bodies?"
"Yes," scowled Shinichi, affronted.
"Prove it, then. Stay away from your dead bodies for tonight." Kaito curled up on one side of the couch. "We can watch a movie. Like planned."
"Er… I don't have any movies."
Kaito blinked at him owlishly. "You don't have any movies. What."
"I mean – I have a lot of mystery movies, but –"
Holding up a hand, Kaito cut him off. "Say no more." He gestured at the DVD still sitting on top of the DVD player. "Let's watch that."
Shinichi gaped. "That's a romance movie. As in, a… love-y movie."
"I know what the definition of 'romance' is, tantei-kun."
"Could've fooled me," muttered Shinichi as he picked up the movie and examined the cover forlornly. "Do we have to?"
The magician leveled him with a firm stare. "Do you have any better ideas that don't involve dead people?"
Wordlessly, Shinichi popped open the case and put it into the DVD player.
"I'm pretty sure that doesn't happen in real life."
"Oh, really."
"No, seriously. The probability of them meeting on two different continents over the course of a week is, like, almost impossible. Not every person goes to Scandinavia for two days and then flies out to Bolivia for absolutely no reason. Especially two people who go to the same coffee shop every morning and subconsciously find each other attractive."
"Tantei-kun, this is a movie. Where there's fate and destiny and the power of true love."
"And scriptwriters."
"…That too."
"Okay, there's absolutely no way that he's not a psychopath."
"This is a very… delicate scene, tantei-kun. Stop talking, you're ruining it."
"He's trying to bite her neck, Kuroba. This isn't some kind of vampire movie. Speaking of vampires, have I mentioned that case with Hattori –"
"No mentioning dead people. Also, I'm fairly certain he's kissing her neck."
"…Oh. The nudity makes more sense now."
"How did they not see that coming? Her sister had a picture of him! That she had noticed before! How did she not realize that they were ex-fiancés all this time? And anyway, shouldn't she have remembered the face of her sister's ex?"
"This one… I'm not even going to try to explain away. You're right."
"And now they're breaking up – oh, God. An hour and a half of progress wasted. Just because some girl has a really bad memory. Kill me now, please."
"No dead bodies, tantei-kun."
Shinichi blinked at the scene, at a loss for words. Beside him, Kaito was watching with a blank expression.
"…Kuroba."
"Yes?"
"Is kissing in the rain really that… um… amazing?"
Turning from the rather risqué mid-thunderstorm making out that was happening in front of them, Kaito shrugged. "I don't know. I've never actually kissed anyone in the rain."
"I can't imagine it would be that comfortable," Shinichi commented pensively. "If you were a girl, unless you had the foresight to know you'd be out in the rain later and use waterproof makeup, it would probably start to run. That wouldn't be very attractive, would it?"
"And you're wet, too. And probably cold. There's a high chance you'll get sick if you don't go dry off right after." Kaito narrowed his eyes. "Seriously, what's so amazing about kissing in the rain?"
They blinked at each other. Outside, the storm wailed away, the wind bashing at the house, the rain dancing against the roof –
Rain?
It seemed Kaito thought of the same thing at the exact same moment Shinichi did, as he slowly began to ask, "Hey, you know, it's raining right now, so why don't we try it out?"
"But we're both…" Shinichi raked a hand through his hair. In the dim lighting, Kaito's eyes positively glittered at him, sparkling indigo and sapphire, and his expression was relaxed, his face, so familiar from being obscured behind a monocle and hat, arranged casually and… the slightest bit hopefully.
"Okay," Shinichi was agreeing before he knew it. "Let's do it."
Kaito's face froze for a second – he probably hadn't expected Shinichi to actually agree – and he fumbled with the TV remote before pausing the movie. "Are you serious?"
So serious it's scaring me.
"Sure." Shinichi tried to keep his heart from clacking against his ribs. "I mean, why not? At least neither of us has to worry about our makeup running." He shot Kaito an unsteady, trying-to-be-sardonic glance. "Unless you're hiding something from me."
Kaito regarded him carefully for a second. "Well…"
Shinichi forced a reassuring smile. "We might as well try to find out why kissing in the rain is so romantic, right? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity." Standing up before he could lose his nerve, Shinichi headed for the front door, struggling to put on his shoes once he got there. His hands were shaking too hard.
"I don't know about once in a lifetime, but…" Kaito said uncertainly as Shinichi opened the door and was immediately bombarded with a torrent of icy wind.
"Damn, it's cold," he muttered as he stepped outside. Rain pelted his cheeks, chilling him instantly, and he tugged his shirt up higher around his neck.
Behind him, Kaito shuffled nervously. "You know, we don't have to actually… I mean…"
Whipping around, Shinichi cast him a reproachful glance. "I'm already getting wet. It's a bit late for that." Before Kaito could protest, Shinichi grabbed him by the hand – in contrast to the air around him, it was warm and human and comforting – and yanked him out the door and into a kiss.
It was as if time had slowed down. Shinichi suddenly didn't feel the frigid water on his skin, or the slap of wet leaves hitting his back, or anything. He was tasting Kaito, feeling Kaito, overloading his senses with Kaito. That was all that mattered – Kaito's soft lips underneath his, Kaito's shoulder blades underneath Shinichi's palm, the wet silk hair tangled in his fingertips – a world of perfection, created entirely by one person.
Shinichi wasn't entirely aware of pulling back. He was breathing hard, little sounds falling from his lips, and Kaito was staring at him, wide-eyed and pink-cheeked and okay, so maybe Shinichi did find him very, very attractive and he should stop denying it soon.
The rain continued to pour down around them, rivulets of water streaming from Shinichi's bangs and obscuring his vision. Kaito was shivering in his arms, and there was a leaf plastered to his cheek. It was probably the most adorable thing Shinichi had ever seen.
"Well," Kaito finally said, breaking the silence as he grinned. "I think I can understand the appeal of kissing in the rain. You?"
"Not quite. I don't think I've got it yet," Shinichi managed, smirking as Kaito's expression turned bemused. "I think I'll have to do it again to really get it."
"Oh." Comprehension dawned on the magician, and he beamed. "Go right ahead."
"I think I will," Shinichi responded before he dove in once more.
Not completely sure where this came from, really. Um, yeah.
Well, despite that, I hope you enjoyed this at least a little! Please drop me a review if you did, because it makes me ridiculously happy. Yeah. See you around, my darlings~! - Luna