Disclaimer: Detective Conan & Magic Kaito belong to Aoyama Gosho.

Ship: Pre-Kaitou KID (Kuroba Kaito) x Edogawa Conan (Kudou Shinichi)

Words: 3113

A/N: Merry Belated X'mas! Here is a super late end-of-the-world + x'mas fic. Slight spoilers to the Bell Tree Express Arc.

in little time

If the world were to end today, I would…

Friday, December 21, 2012, 14:12 Japan Standard Time

"…Shinichi?"

Edogawa Conan looked up upon hearing Mouri Ran's voice and nearly choked on his juice as he stared at the "Kudou Shinichi" who was standing by the entrance of the Mouri Detective Agency. He was pretty sure that his mom was still travelling somewhere in France according to her last e-mail, and there was no reason why she'd disguise herself to visit. "Conan" was her distant relative, after all. Could it be Vermouth? Or…

"Shinichi! Where have you been? You haven't called in ages and now you suddenly show up without notice!" Ran scolded angrily as she stepped forward and pinched the fake Shinichi's cheek. Well, the red pinch mark answered Conan's question. Conan hid his giggles as he watched him rub his cheek. Served him right! Stupid thief…

"Owwwww that hurts, Ran! Sorry, I was busy with cases lately… I bought you a Christmas present, so don't be mad, please?"

Ran peered curiously at the small gift box briefly before she took it from "Shinichi's" hands. "You remembered that Christmas was coming up? I'm surprised. You tend to forget these things."

"One of my clients gave me one so-"

"Shinichi-niichan!" Conan interrupted as he couldn't stand watching the impersonator chit-chat with Ran anymore. What the heck did the annoying thief want? "It has been a while! How are you?"

"Conan! I've been doing great and I hope you are as well! By the way…" Conan yelped as he was picked up by KID. "Ran, Conan's parents asked me to take him to their place for the weekend, so we need to get going now. I hope you like the present!" Before Conan could protest, KID turned around and left with the boy in his arms.

Something had been bothering Kuroba Kaito for a while. Ever since he learned that Edogawa Conan and Kudou Shinichi were one and the same, he found him to be even more intriguing than ever. Why did the famous Heisei Holmes disguise himself as a child, and how was it physically possible to do so? Judging from what happened on Bell Tree Express, it seemed he was in some sort of massive trouble that Kaito wasn't sure if he should really be involving himself with. He wondered why he agreed to help the detective and the girl out when he could have simply fled with Jii-chan (though being a gentleman thief, it wouldn't be polite of him to turn away from a maiden in distress).

What surprised him the most, however; was that he felt grateful he was there to help the detective out during that incident. If he wasn't there, the detective could have been hurt or even killed by those armed criminals, and he would never be able to see the detective again – and that very sole thought, was the reason why he decided to seek the detective out today. He wasn't a superstitious person, but Akako had been saying how the wheel of destiny would turn tonight and what not, well… I-if the so-called Mayan apocalypse was really true, and the world was really going to end today, then he would like to get his feelings towards a certain child-sized detective straightened out. Did he really fall for him in the romance department, or was it simply because he was treating the detective like a friend of some sort?

First, he would need to get the (very cuddly) subject of the day to stop wiggling in his arms.

"Conan-kun, I'd really appreciate it if you would stop moving around so much. It's getting hard to keep a hold of you!"

"Then put me down! I didn't ask you to carry me, Kosodoro-san!"

"A-re-re~?" Kaito exclaimed in great exaggeration. "Who's that? Last I checked my name was Kudou Shinichi."

That earned him a deadpanned look from Conan. "You know as well as I do that you're not Kudou Shinichi, for a deadly obvious reason. If you don't put me down in the next second… eh? My-"

Kaito snickered as he tightened his hold on the alarmed boy with his left arm while popping a plastic watch, black belt, and cell phone into his right hand. "Looking for something?" His grin widened as the boy snarled at him. The poor boy didn't even have his power shoes on because he was dragged out of the house while eating snacks! "My dear Meitantei, listen, I promise that you can have them back at the end of the day if you'd stop trying to escape, deal?"

The not-child finally ceased his struggle and let out a deep sigh in exasperation. "Fine, what do you want from me?"

"Hmm, your unconditional love would be nice."

"Unconditional- what?!"

"Just kidding~" Huh, he had unconsciously started to flirt with the detective. That's probably saying something… anyhow- "How about we put our differences aside today and just take a day off to relax and have fun? It's almost Christmas, after all. We could take this wonderful opportunity to hang out and get to know each other better."

"This better not be another one of your tricks."

"I swear on my beloved chocolate ice cream cake that it's not." Kaito mockingly held up three fingers as if to make a vow and watched in amusement when the detective face-palmed. It vaguely reminded him of how Aoko looked when she was torn between swinging her mop at his head and ignoring him.

"I beg of you- stop doing stupid acts like that with my face, please…"

This must have been one of the weirdest days he had spent with anybody, Conan reflected. First, KID dragged him to the Christmas Trail by the river bank and took photos with every single piece of Christmas decorations they could find. After the first few shots, he managed to convince KID to put some sort of hat or cap on to cover himself up a bit. After all, he couldn't risk Kudou Shinichi being seen by the Black Organization, especially not on such a joyous occasion where there are people literally everywhere. He couldn't understand why KID had to pout (with his face) when he insisted that he wouldn't take another photo together unless the thief complied (and it was even harder to comprehend why such threat actually worked. Did KID really wanted to take all those photos with him that badly?)

Though after KID had reluctantly put a red Santa hat on (he was totally not surprised that KID would have one of those on him), he started to see KID somewhat… differently. As the day progressed, the shadow of Kudou Shinichi began to fade away and he started to see KID as KID rather than just someone impersonating him. When he watched KID's eyes go all sparkly and aww-ed over the diversely glamorous entries of the Gingerbread House Creativity Contest, he began to wonder if this was how KID normally behaved when he was outside a heist. Conan certainly wouldn't get all excited over gingerbread houses (though admittedly some of the entries were indeed quite impressive), and he certainly didn't expect to see such genuinely cheerful expressions on the usually cool and composed phantom thief. KID was acting more like a kid than he was… yet somehow it didn't felt like a bad thing at all. To the passersby, they probably merely looked like two brothers or cousins having a fun and enjoyable day out. Who would've even imagined that it was the great Kaitou KID right there with his arch nemesis Edogawa Conan?

He had also begun to notice the subtle differences between his and KID's appearance. From what happened at the Mouri Detective Agency earlier, he already knew that KID wasn't wearing a disguise. Now that Kudou Shinichi's distinct hair style was covered by the hat, he realized how different they actually looked, despite the similarities. For example, KID's eyes had a slight shade of violet, and he had an aura of naïveté surrounding him. It was intriguing to be able to witness the other side of Kaitou KID that any KID fan would've killed to learn about (with Sonoko immediately coming into mind). Without him realizing, he was enjoying KID's company and submerging in the Christmas spirit, with his annoyance over KID's intrusion completely gone and his deductive mind taking a rest rather than deciphering KID's intentions. He was also getting used to being carried around by KID or their hands being joined together while being dragged along various food booths at the Christmas Market. That's when he couldn't help but wonder… if KID wasn't a criminal and he wasn't a detective, could they have been friends, or something more?

Before his thoughts could carry on further, the big hand holding onto his smaller one had stopped abruptly and tightened to the chirm of a bell. Conan looked up and realized that they were standing in front of the clock tower in the Ekoda district. Because his watch was currently still MIA (thanks to thief next to him), he didn't even realize that it was already 8pm. In other words, he had spent nearly six hours hanging out with KID.

"This is it, eh…"

"KID?"

"All right, Tantei-kun, let's head for our final destination!" KID flashed his usual confident and cheerful grin at him before picking him up and running straight to the back entrance of clock tower. Was it just him, or did KID's expression darkened briefly before he said those words?

Friday, December 21, 2012, 20:02 Japan Standard Time

If Kuroba Kaito had any doubts about his feelings towards Kudou Shinichi before, he certainly had no more doubts by now; it was evident by the way he's clutching Tantei-kun protectively in his arms while sitting on the rooftop of Ekoda clock tower. If the world was really going to end in nine minutes, right at 20:11, he hoped that he could just stay like this for the little remaining time of their lives and forever engrave this moment into his heart.

Overall, it was a wonderful and enjoyable date (though Tantei-kun would probably disagree on the "date" part). They took tons of photos together, watched a few shows here and there, and ate dinner together. He still remembered the terrified expression on Tantei-kun's face when he devoured his quadruple gelato cone in three minutes, all the other moments when Tantei-kun rolled his eyes at him whenever the detective deemed that he was acting silly, and that faint yet warm smile that faded onto his face when he was watching Kaito performing magic tricks for nearby children. In the past few hours, he had seen more sides of the detective than he had ever seen from his heists, the detective's cases, and the news reports. He would have said that he had no more regrets, seeing how well everything went by today, but…

He'd be lying if he said he didn't want more. He wanted to see what other expressions the detective had. He wanted to uncover all the secrets that he had been hiding. He wanted to keep his arm embraced around him and protect him from any danger that might take him away. He wanted to see his true form as Kudou Shinichi, and to continue to feel his presence. He wanted the detective to call his real name, and he wanted to be able to do the same. For the first time in his life, he was feeling possessive over somebody, and that somebody was unfortunately, on the opposite side of the law. He wanted his full acceptance, not only as Kaitou KID, but also as Kuroba Kaito. He wanted to tell him everything about him, about his father, about Kaitou KID, and about the ones after him. But what if the detective rejected him? And even if he wasn't rejected, would he really want to drag the detective into the immense disaster he currently had to face, when the detective himself seemed to have his plate full already? There's so much he wanted to do, so much that he had to ponder over, yet he had so little time-

"Oi… KID!"

"Huh?"

"Let go… I can't breathe...!" Conan grunted as he tried to wiggle and free himself from Kaito's arms.

"Oh- sorry. I was just trying to keep you from falling." Kaito loosened his grip, but continued to keep Conan trapped in his arms. He was, apparently, too submerged in his internal conflict to realize that he had unconsciously tightened his hold.

Conan took in a deep breath as he rubbed his sides and his arms. It probably was rather painful if he had to illustrate his point like that. "Something's wrong? You were all cheerful and idiotic the whole day and now you're all quiet and melancholic ever since we got here."

"Idiotic? I'm sure there's a rule somewhere against using such adjective to describe the greatest phantom thief in the world, Tantei-kun~!" Something about the way the boy stared at him told him that he wasn't buying his current attempt to brighten the mood. Ah well, might as well… "Have you heard of the Mayan apocalypse?"

"The Mayan apocalypse?" The detective blinked his eyes as if he couldn't believe what Kaito had just said. "Yes, I know that it's today- but what does it have anything to do with you kidnapping me here? Don't tell me you actually believe in that?! That's ridiculous. There are tons of logical and scientific rationales disproving that prophecy!" That look on Conan's face certainly looked (adorably) unimpressed.

"Hey, anything is possible. I just thought it would be a fascinating idea to face the apocalypse together with the brightest detective in the world. Haven't you heard of that saying? If you couldn't be born together you could at least die together or something." Kaito retorted cheekily while hiding a slight blush behind his poker face. Did he really just say that…?

"Why would I want to die with you of all people?!"

"Meitantei, I feel insulted. I thought I served as a great company today! Well…" Ignoring the deadpanned look from the not-child, Kaito took a quick glimpse at his watch. "Three minutes before 20:11. Are you gonna leave now so that you don't have to die with me, or are you gonna stay to prove that I was being superstitious?"

"Obviously I'm gonna stay and show you how idiotic you were. There's no truth to the apocalypse prophecy, because…" As Conan continued to list all the countering rationales, Kaito tried to recollect himself by shoving Akako's words off his head for the moment. While he couldn't exactly chit-chat when the detective was so focused in rumbling continuously about the prophecy, he could still relax and simply allow himself to treasure the current moment. Or perhaps he could…

Three… Two… One!

When Conan's explanation was interrupted by the sound of an exploding smoke bomb nearby, he could feel KID's hand grabbing the back of his head, and at the same time, something rather moist, warm and soft had touched his forehead. When he turned around to see what the heck KID was up to, he realized that he was no longer sitting on KID's lap – in fact, it appeared he was the only one left on the Ekoda clock tower rooftop. His belt, watch, and cell phone were sitting in a neat little pile right next to him, along with a small note card, a red rose, and a light green scarf with a four-leaf clover pattern on its edge. His eyebrows frowned as he read the words on the card-

Dear Meitantei,

Thank you for your company. Guess we didn't have to die today after all, eh? Don't forget to stay warm for the holidays. I look forward to meeting you again at the next heist.

Kaitou KID. [doodle]

No riddles. No codes. Just a simple greeting and a brief message. Conan continued to stare at the card until he truly convinced himself that nothing else could be deciphered from it. Why did KID want his company out of all people, on an occasion like this? The phantom thief was indeed an enigma; he could probably never figure out what exactly was going on in his mind. And just what the heck did he do to his forehead?

Despite his initial irritation over the event, the day turned out to be memorable, and somehow he found that he wouldn't mind to join KID again shall he plans a similar day out like this. He could get to know the thief better… Conan tensed slightly and laughed at his own thought – a detective that wanted to get to know a thief better – he briefly wondered if he had turned insane, but the thought was quickly brushed away. Just because he still aimed to catch the thief and throw him behind bars didn't mean he couldn't respect the thief and enjoy his company, right? Deciding to spend the rest of his weekend at Agasa-hakase's place (KID had already told Ran that he'll be stay with his parents, after all), Conan picked up his belongings and the items KID left him. He briefly checked himself and the items over for any bugs, similar devices, or traps (hey, just because KID was nice didn't mean that he wasn't sneaky). Satisfied that there was none, he wrapped the scarf around his neck and picked up his pace to the stairs as a cold breeze brushed by him. Unbeknownst to him, a figure stepped out of the shadows as the door to the stairs closed.

Kaito let out a sigh when the detective was no longer in sight. The detective would probably never know how much courage he had to conjure just to steal that opportunity to kiss the detective's forehead. Part of him was beating himself over why he was too chicken to steal a kiss from his lips instead, and seeing how the detective seemed to be completely oblivious to what he just did … Oh well, he'll get his point across next time.

Akako's words resounded in his head again. So it seemed she wasn't referring to the apocalypse after all… While of course he was grateful that she wasn't, he couldn't help but wonder if this – how he completely fell head over heels for the detective today – was what she meant.

And he certainly hoped that deep blush on his face right now wasn't permanent. He got a heist to plan now (opportunity to see the detective, yay!), and he needed his poker face to be functional for it!

End.

Afterword: Thanks for reading! Please review and tell me your thoughts! I've been trying different styles to see what works best for me… Big thanks to everyone who fav-ed/alert-ed/reviewed my other stories, as well as everyone who put me on their author fav/alert list! ^o^ I think rumble too much. I intended to write about 1000 words and ended up writing 3000. Because of that I didn't manage to post on the 21st… *face palm*

Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed reading this fic. Merry belated x'mas and have a great holiday! Overall, 2012 had been a great year for me, and I hope it was too for you!

The exact time for the Mayan apocalypse was December 21st 11:11 UTC, which translates into 20:11 JST.

Title adapted from GARNET CROW's in little time.

Kosodoro = sneaky thief.

A-re-re~? = a phrase that Conan abuses- I meant, uses a lot to catch adults' attention when he found something and wanted to point it out. I thought it'd be cute if Kaito uses it to mock Conan. XD

Edit: Sequel up! It's called "I can't take". Please check it out from my profile page~