AN: Maaaa…it's been a while since the last time I posted, ne? I like to keep my public on the edge… (chuckles)

But fear not! For my next update will be shortly!! Since it was the b-day of a certain someone (Yes, you. Don't play the innocent) I plan on posting two fics! She doesn't deserve it (she has been acting like a pregnant woman for Christ sake!!) but… what can I say? (shrugs) I still love her lots…(griiiins)

So!! I want to dedicate this story to three people: katiesparks (and Kirby of course) and fyliwion as a belated b-day present (Sorry guys!! Life is a bitch, you know? And teachers play a main part there), and alkyone for being a great friend and I miss you hon!! When are we going to talk again??? ; o ;

Disclaimer: Yup, I totally own Mk. Actually I'm at Gosho's office right now, sitting on his chair, drinking hid tea, eating his cookies, while pointing a gun at his head…and I won't drop it until he finishes the Magic Kaito manga. And it better have a goooooooood ending…same goes for DC…

Finding Myself Again

She still couldn't believe it. She just couldn't. Reality was just in front of her slapping at her face but she wouldn't accept it, she just preferred a life of ignorance than living in a world full of harsh truth and pain. Pain, pain, pain… endless pain. Long nights full of tears and days filled with sad memories, on and on for several months.

And now she was no longer herself, she couldn't tell if the reflection in the mirror was her. She lived a life that wasn't her own. Face and body slightly changed from that of a teenager along with the clothes and the style. Along with the days and the seasons. Along with the friends…

Friends. He was a friend too. He was a friend of the old her. The real her. What had happened to her? Where was that girl?

Not where she lived that was for sure, she searched there already. Not there.

Not where she worked, too many people to found her there. Not there.

Not with her father, he worked too much to notice her. Not there.

She was lost. Never to be found. Never to return.

"He's back!"

"Huh?" Aoko looked from her coffee to stare at her work partners. "Who's back?"

"Him! Kaitou KID!" Her friend from across the table showed her the newspaper with the notice.

"Oh." Aoko looked back down as if nothing happened and continued drinking.

"What's wrong with her?" A newbie at their workplace whispered.

"Oh, she's always been like that. She never speaks much. She's the kind of quiet girl that doesn't like to hang out much, you know? Took a lot of effort to make her come here today…"

Aoko just sipped her coffee and said nothing.

She didn't want to acknowledge the fact that he came back. She didn't want to see the truth. That was why she never thought she would see him again; much less waiting at her doorstep with a tiny smile and tired eyes...

How did he know where she lived anyway? Never mind that, she had an idea which involved some illicit ways…

A tiny 'Hi' escaped his lips and died in the space that divided them. She just stared at him with a blank face. Feelings were pooling inside of her making her heart to ache and her eyes to sting, confusing her to no end. She felt so many things…

Pain, that was always there.

Hate, she had used to.

Loneliness, everyday.

A funny warm feeling in her stomach…that was new. That wasn't there before, but she couldn't seem to recognize it. Maybe it belonged to her old self…

She finally decided to greet him as formally as possible and entered her house. She still had good manners after all.

"I'm sorry." He suddenly said.

She stopped but didn't turn, noticing how her body acted without her meaning to. He started to speak again and she tried to listen. It seemed important so she, again without meaning, listened to him, even though it had to do with that something she didn't want to know.

"I never wanted to hurt you. I was just afraid to tell you."

'Empty words, Aoko. Empty words… Keep walking and don't listen.'

"I miss you Aoko…"

'Lies, lies, lies…you always were good with those…'

"Please, let's be like we used to."

She turned around and looked at him with the same blank face. "I'm not who I used to be. So, I'm sorry but I can't."

She was just drinking coffee to pass the time, looking out the window to distract herself from unwanted memories. She hadn't expected to find him there too, a week after, with the same tiny smile and eyes more tired than before. He seemed hesitant this time, maybe unsure of how to act towards her. He politely asked if he could sit with her, for which after a few seconds she nodded with her head. Again her body acting on its own…

Neither spoke, both were too deep in their thoughts; one looking out the window, the other down at his coffee.

"How are you?" Kaito suddenly asked, startling her. A tiny question in a sea of silence…

"Fine." She answered automatically. 'Why does he care?'

He smiled again, but she noted that this one was different from last time. This smile showed sadness and regret. Like he knew what she was thinking, what she had gone through. He reminded silent and kept drinking his coffee.

"You never told your dad."

She didn't answer.

"Why?"

After some thinking she answered. "What would I gain if I hurt you too? It's already bad enough to feel like I do now."

He was staring at her with eyes so blue she felt like drowning in them. She didn't know she could still feel like that. She thought it was over, that feeling inside her should have died years ago. Was it him? Was it because of him that alien warmth was trying to reach her heart? He was a magician after all…he was supposed to do unbelievable things.

He called her, two days after their meeting at the coffee shop and asked to meet again. She said no. He kept calling her for a week, leaving messages sometimes. One day she finally answered the phone and said that she wasn't sure, too many bad memories to face them again. But he kept insisting and she, a bit unwillingly, agreed.

They were now eating lunch at a restaurant near her house. He talked about his magic shows, the places he had been, the people he had met, the things he had done. But never about his night job and she didn't want to know anyway. That subject was too close to reality, and it was cruel and sad and she just wanted to forget…

He asked her about her life, about her work, about her dad. She didn't tell him much; there wasn't much to tell actually. At some point of their talking, she lifted her eyes from her meal and what she found made a tiny blush to appear on her cheeks. There was Kaito, listening to every word she said with a cheek resting on one of his palms and a soft grin on his lips. It made her wonder how he could still pull such emotions from her with so little effort. She asked him what he was looking at. He chuckled and said it was nothing, just remembering something.

He kept that grin through the whole meal.

After that, they walked though the park talking very little about unimportant things. Now it was late in the afternoon and Aoko decided it was time to go home. With a sigh, Kaito asked her if he could walk her home. The 'no, thanks' was just about to leave her lips when she felt Kaito's hand on her own, stroking it very gently. The warm from his hand spread through her whole body like a flame making her heart to beat faster.

"Please." He said, looking down at their joined hands. "Let me be with you just a little longer."

How could she refuse him after such statement?

The following days Aoko felt like something had changed; something inside her. She felt lighter, more positive; she even pulled a little smile at one of her work partners which made them a little curious about the girl.

One evening she even dared to remember certain things about her past; about their past. Those old memories locked inside her mind came into the surface along with a swirl of emotions. Memories of a high school. Memories of sudden chases with a mop. Memories of sunny days and ice-creams (cold but sweet). Memories of a teasing boy who flipped her skirt. Memories of the first rose he gave her…

Aoko hugged her legs tighter, sitting on the sofa of her living room, and closed her eyes letting those wonderful memories to invade her whole being. A soft smile tugged at the corner of her lips while a lonely tear rolled down her cheek.

She now remembered how happy she had been at that time; such a carefree and lively person. Always smiling, hanging out with her friends, cheering her dad, watching Kaito doing magic tricks… Life was really good. How could one small event ruin it all? Why was it that without Kaito she wasn't herself? She couldn't be happy…

A knock was heard at her front door and she slowly went to answer it wondering who it might be. And there was Kaito, standing on the other side of the door with his hands casually inside his pocket jeans and looking more gorgeous than she had ever remembered him being.

"Just coming to say hi." He said when he saw her surprised expression, and instantly took out one of his hands and stretched it towards her making a rose pop out from it. "Hi. My name is Kuroba Kaito. Nice to meet you."

The reaction to that gesture was immediate. Tears started to fill her eyes clouding her vision and her hand went over her lips to stop the little sobbing that was threatening to escape. As soon as he saw this, Kaito came closer to her and stroked her cheeks making soothing noises to calm her down.

"Shh…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Aoko. I didn't want to make you cry. I'm sorry…" He then hugged her and kissed her temple with such tenderness that made Aoko melt in his arms.

She felt so safe in his arms. His body felt warm and comfortable, it made her feel like she was floating.

"I'm sorry…" He kept saying.

Aoko shook her head. "No, I overreacted. I'm sorry; I don't know what came over me…" It had been so long since the last time she saw one of his roses, she couldn't help it. She now felt so stupid, reacting like that just for a single rose.

He made her look at him and cleaned all traces of tears from her face. "Guess, that didn't go how I had expected… But then again nothing does…"

Aoko knew what he meant, but said nothing about it.

"I-" He started saying. "I was hoping we could talk a little. I…I need to- No, I want to tell you everything; about me and KID."

Aoko took a deep breath and clutched him tighter. "Why?" She said with a shaky voice.

"Because I want you to know, because you are important to me and I want to share all my secrets with you, because…" He held her against him a bit possessively. "Because I don't want to loose you again; I think I'll go mad if I spend another second without you."

She felt her legs go weaker with each minute that passed. Oh, the things he did to her…

"O-okay…" Was that really going to happen? She was letting him dig up those kinds of memories. She wondered if she was ready for that.

They talked till the wee hours; well Kaito did the mayor talk. He started telling her about his father, how he really died, why he was killed. He told her how he had found his dad's hidden room and instantly picked up from where he had left. He even talked about his last heists and how close he was to achieving his goal. And Aoko listened, sipping quietly her cup of tea, like she was a child being told a bed time story. Sometimes she gasped others she cried a little but he never stopped talking, he had said he wanted to tell her everything, the whole truth, and she was going to listen it.

It was late, the restaurant they were at was already closing for the day and just them and two other couples were there.

They had been doing that a lot recently, going out to catch something to eat or just to talk. And Aoko couldn't be more grateful for that. Since their talk about his night job months ago, she felt like something was built or reinforced between the two. Sure, she still had her I-Hate-KID issue, but he had assured her that he would soon find that Pandora gem he had been looking for.

But what mattered now, was that for the first time in years she felt like her old self. She was smiling more these days, even a grin would made its way across her face from time to time, and it was all because of him. Him, him, him… That wonderful, idiotic, sweet, jerk, loving, pervert, magician, thief and childhood friend. She now came to realize that the part she was missing to be herself was him. He made her complete, without him she wasn't the real her.

He was walking her home, like he now used to, and even joked with her on the way there. When they arrived she asked him if he wanted to come upstairs and didn't miss the little blush that came over his cheeks. She too couldn't believe she'd just asked him that out of the blue, but after a short silence and a small 'Sure' from his part they entered her house.

"Would you like some tea or coffee?" She asked.

"Tea is fine."

Why was she feeling so nervous all the sudden? She just asked him to come in to have a cup of tea and chat for a little more nothing else… It wasn't like she was expecting for something to happen between them. No matter how wonderful that sounded or how her heart suddenly started beating even faster at that thought, she knew nothing was going to happen, it was too soon after all…right?

When she came back with two cups of tea, she found him sitting on her sofa watching a rose he had gave her some weeks ago inside the vase. It was all withered already, leaving no traces of its original colour or smell.

"Why do you still have it? You should throw it away." He asked with a questioning glance towards the faded rose.

Aoko blushed and gave him one of the cups before sitting at the other end of the sofa. "B-Because you gave it to me, and I d-don't have any other of your roses, s-so…"

She didn't dare to look at him and with a mental smile she realized how childish that sounded. How much of her old self was starting to come out again. She sighed deeply. 'It's like he's leading me gently back to myself…'

She then heard a soft 'pop' on her right and saw Kaito putting a new fresh bouquet of roses inside her vase.

"There." He said with a grin that reached his eyes. "Now you won't have to worry about it anymore." He left his cup on the small table near the sofa along with hers and stroked her cheek with soft and tender movements.

"I'll give you all the roses you want from now on…I promise…" He added, whispering. "If you would just let me Aoko…" Aoko couldn't take it anymore, they were so close now; she could feel his warm breath over her lips and the sudden small pressure at the back of her head.

And before she knew it, she was kissing him with such a passion she wasn't even aware of. She felt his hands travelling softly down her neck to her shoulders and arms, to finally rest them at her waist bringing her closer to him while deepening the kiss.

At that moment she didn't care she was actually kissing an international thief, she didn't care all the sad moments they had spent together, all the tears she had cried. How things where going too fast. Only one thing mattered and that was the love she left for the man kissing her at that moment with so much passion and need; his hot kisses leaving burn trails all over her face and neck.

A gasp escaped her mouth when he kissed and teased a sensitive spot at her neck. She ran her fingers along his soft hair massaging his scalp earning a sound like a purr from him. She felt his hands going inside her shirt to massage her back with the same tender movements. He was treating her so gently, like she was made of porcelain and could break at any moment.

On Aoko's part she felt like she was in heaven, a sweet perfect personal heaven with constant shivers running down her back from his ministrations, and soft moans from when she felt his tongue caressing her skin.

After a few more kisses Kaito stopped, panting, and she opened her eyes to stare at his needy ones.

"I think we should better stop now before-" She stopped his ranting with a full kiss to his mouth letting him know that she didn't want to stop.

Kaito separated from her again making her groan in disapproval. "Just wanted to make sure you know what you are getting into." He chuckled at her pout.

She sighed; he could be such a damn gentleman sometimes. A sudden idea crossed her mind and couldn't help but try it out. She slowly gave him a sultry grin and put a hand on his tight making its way upwards. "I think I do…" Kaito's eyes were as big as two plates and the blush on his face could light up an entire city. But all that was soon replaced with hungry eyes and an evil grin matching her own that made her shudder even more.

He then lifted her up in his arms and carried her towards her bedroom leaving her gently on the bed with him leaning over her. He softly started to unbutton her shirt leaving her in her bra and jeans to later trail a line of soft kisses from her mouth down to her chest while she too tried to take off his shirt.

Once it was off, she admired his wonderful well toned body before exploring it with her hands with the same kindness he was treating her. Kaito, on his part, was already half away in removing her bra and jeans, leaving her only in her underwear.

He stopped to admire her for a few seconds, and felt his breath being taken away by the sight of the woman lying under him. He leaned down on her again and started kissing one of his breasts while massaging the other.

Aoko's moans were getting louder each time Kaito touched her in a different part of her body. His hands were warm and firm against her making some giddy feeling to pool at the pitch of her stomach.

"Kaito…" She moaned, and started to unbutton his jeans too. After all it wasn't fair for her to only see him half dressed.

With a chuckle he helped her with his jeans and soon both were left naked, making both of them to gasp at the amazing sensation of their naked skin pressed against each other.

One of his hands went behind her head, entangled between her soft hairs, and drawing her head upwards into a deep passionate kiss that completely took her breath away.

"Aoko…" He panted against her mouth, his fingers caressing softly her cheeks and lips memorizing every little detail on her face. "I'll never let you go again." He kissed her lips making a path with them trough her neck and nipping at the sensitive skin there. "Ever…I promise." He then put his arms around her waist and drawn her possessively towards his body. "You will always be mine…"

Aoko smiled and hugged him tighter, kissing him back with the same love and devotion she felt for him. "You thief…" She whispered. "Stop stealing my words…"

Kaito grinned. "Ah…sorry about that…guess I'll steal something else then…"

They continued these ministrations through the whole night, both new to the feelings produced by their actions but nonetheless wanting more and more of it, until they both reached that blissful moment…that heavenly feeling that leaves your mind completely blank, forgetting about everything else but the person sharing the feeling with you; and then you feel exhausted and sore but that's okay, because you are with that person and suddenly-

(Everything was okay).