OMG where have I been? Clearly not on FF. -_-
This isn't the fic I mentioned having on my hard drive in Hopeful Romantic, in case you were wondering. It's just some faily cliché I thought might be applicable to Shinichi and Kaito. It isn't actually all that applicable, tbh, but I spent a ton of time writing this, so I thought I'd post it.
What else… well, it's in a college AU where Conan never happened, if you must know. It's explained in the fic itself, so I won't bother trying to get into it up here. One thing, though, you might want to know is that pretty much none of the characters know each other at the beginning of the fic. And there are Shinichi x (almost) all the girls of DC hints.
…You know what? I think I'm giving away too much. Enjoy! – Luna
Break Me a Match
"Damn."
Kudou Shinichi shook out his damp hair, shedding water droplets onto the rain-blackened concrete sidewalk underneath his feet. Behind him, he could hear conversations slowly reviving in the brightly lit restaurant. The sky gave an ominous crackle, threatening him with a worse downpour then the already heavy one he had been enduring if he didn't make it back in within the next two minutes.
However, that was probably not going to happen anytime soon, seeing as he was facing a very angry karate champion if he dared to set foot back in the restaurant.
He shut his eyes. God, he should've known this was going to happen. This afternoon, when Kuroba had handed him that dismal "goodbye" as he'd left their dorm at Teitan University, it had been decided. This had been bound to happen.
Although, actually, this time it might've been more Shinichi's fault than Kuroba's…
A stray droplet of water tapped Shinichi on the shoulder, begging for attention, and Shinichi only cast it a dull glance.
How had this all started, anyway?
Oh, of course. With that first girl, the nice Osakan one with the ponytail and green eyes. Kazu-something, Shinichi thought. She was in Kuroba and Shinichi's criminal psychology class, and she had been shooting Shinichi suggestive little looks whenever that tanned friend of hers had his back turned since the first day of classes.
Shinichi hadn't bothered making a move on her – why would he need a girlfriend when his idiotic roommate (who he was pretty sure was actually the Kaitou Kid) always was pestering him?
He didn't have time to deal with another person stealing any more of his attention from study time – but that had changed when he'd accidentally walked in on his aforementioned roommate and his childhood friend, Nakamori Aoko, in what appeared to be a very serious conversation. Kuroba had looked remarkably solemn, for him at least, and Aoko had been looking like she was having some mixed emotions.
And they had been holding hands.
Kuroba had then proceeded to blush bright red and shriek at Shinichi to get out, and Aoko had just looked mildly confused as his appearance.
Needless to say, Shinichi had not been pleased at his discovery. He had been kind enough to not get a girlfriend so he could continue spending time with Kuroba, so how dare the magician not extend the same kind of courtesy to Shinichi?
(…At least, that had been what Shinichi told himself was the reason for his surge of annoyance. Because really, what else could it be? Jealousy? Ridiculous. He'd never even so much as thought a non-platonic word in the same sentence as "Nakamori Aoko.")
In a fit of irritation following his intrusion on Kuroba and Aoko, Shinichi had proceeded to approach Kazuha (yes, that was her name) and had smoothly asked her out, much to the rage of her tanned companion. Kazuha had looked startled but nevertheless had agreed to meet Shinichi at the nearest movie theater the next day.
When Shinichi had returned to the dorm later that night, he'd found Kaito waiting up for him, clutching a pillow nervously as he sat on his bed. Shinichi had greeted him calmly before announcing that he had a date tomorrow with Kazuha from psych.
Shinichi would probably never forget Kaito's expression. His eyes had darkened and widened at the same time, deepening to a deep shade of navy that both startled and intrigued Shinichi.
The magician stiffly had asked where this amazing date was going to be held, and Shinichi, who had still been in a slight daze from the sudden change in his eyes, only mumbled, "Beika Cinema, by the police station…"
Thinking back, that should've been Shinichi's first hint that something was awry. Unfortunately, Shinichi hadn't really thought about why the magician wanted to know where the date would be taking place. He'd simply assumed it was nothing after his roommate gave a slow nod and turned away, ignoring Shinichi for the rest of the night in favor of researching something on his computer and scribbling something madly in a notebook.
Once, when Kaito had abandoned his notebook to go take a shower, Shinichi had absently glanced over from his lab report to see a few hastily-scrawled diagrams that looked a bit like a blueprint, maybe of a projector room or something of the sort. Not thinking much of it, Shinichi had turned back to his report.
Good God, he'd been blind to not piece it together after that.
Shinichi had left campus the following night at six. Now that he'd had time to cool down, he was kind of regretting going out on a date with Kazuha. The girl was nice, of course, but he didn't have any actual intentions with her, and he felt guilty when he remembered how her friend – that tan guy – had reacted. He probably was in love with her.
Kazuha had been waiting for him outside of the theater, all pink bows and carefully applied makeup, and Shinichi had greeted her with a half-smile and a wave. She had blushed back, and they had gotten into a short argument over what movie to see, Shinichi calmly insisting they see the one she wanted to and Kazuha, face flaming, refusing his attempts.
She had finally given up and agreed to see the movie, and Shinichi had paid for their tickets, popcorn, and drinks before leading her into the theater. The movie was some rather typical chick flick with two guys chasing one girl, and Shinichi hadn't been able bring himself to get into it. A quick glance to his right had found Kazuha enraptured, though.
Halfway through the movie, the screen had flickered for a second before dying abruptly, just as the more perverted of the guys was about to kiss the heroine. Shinichi, who had been on the verge of falling asleep out of pure boredom, started, glancing around in the sudden darkness in confusion. A murmur had rippled through the audience, and Shinichi had felt around for Kazuha. "Toyama-san?" he'd muttered, only to find the seat next to him empty.
Once the lights had come back on, Shinichi had left the theater, searching for his missing date in vain. Giving up after a good thirty minutes of looking, he'd headed back to his dorm to find Kuroba waiting up for him.
"How did the date go?" he had asked cheerfully.
Shinichi had arched an eyebrow at him. "She ditched me in the middle."
"I see," the magician had sung, eliciting a dark frown from the detective.
The next day, as Shinichi had arrived at criminal psychology, he had discovered a very upset Kazuha awaiting him. Smacking him, she had demanded to know why he'd told he was bored and left in the middle of the movie during the blackout, and when she'd followed him out of the theater in an attempt to ask him what was wrong, he'd disappeared into thin air.
Blinking, Shinichi had started to ask what the hell she was talking about when she had stalked off, straight into her friend's arms.
Kuroba had materialized beside Shinichi right then and had questioned him about the occurrence, wide-eyed with innocence.
Shinichi had started to sense something was wrong. He certainly hadn't left the theater during the blackout, he was sure, and he sure hadn't disappeared. Really, in hindsight, the whole thing reeked of a certain magician's brand of magic, but at the time, Shinichi had only sighed, decided Kazuha was mentally disturbed, and gone on with his life.
Later that day, when Shinichi had asked Kuroba if he wanted to go get coffee, his roommate had declined his offer with an offhand, "I've got homework," before wandering off.
Deciding he still needed caffeine with or without Kuroba's company, Shinichi had headed to his favorite on-campus café, a place tucked behind a great deal of trees and shrubbery that had possible the world's best cappuccinos.
Much to his surprise and irritation, Shinichi had entered the café and immediately spotted Kuroba drinking his usual mocha at one of the booths. Normally Shinichi would've assumed he wanted to study at the café instead of in their dorm, and he would've accepted that, had it not been for Nakamori Aoko's presence.
The two had been drinking coffee, and Kuroba had appeared to be in a very good mood, babbling away happily as Aoko had smirked, nodded, and listened, taking a sip of her latte every now and then. There had been absolutely no homework in sight.
It had been literally the most perfect date scene that Shinichi had ever seen in person.
A jolt of annoyance had snapped through Shinichi's veins – Kuroba was still actively breaking their unspoken promise? – and he had gritted his teeth and hurried up to the counter, where a pretty girl with green eyes and short, wavy hair was idling.
"Hey there," Shinichi had nodded, flashing a small smile, and the girl was a goner. Sure, Shinichi had never been much of a lady killer other than having various fangirls, but he was the son of Fujimine Yukiko, and that meant he could most definitely turn on the charisma when the situation called for it.
He had soon extracted a name out of the girl – Sera Masumi – as well as the fact that she was an aspiring detective, a slight fan of him, had an older brother, had lived in America, and would indeed like to have dinner with him next Thursday, thank you.
Having obtained a black coffee, a cell phone number, and a date, Shinichi had stood and turned to find that Kuroba had been watching him during the time he'd been serenely picking up Sera. The happiness seemed to have melted straight off his face, and Shinichi had felt a sharp dagger of guilt prodding at his chest.
Instead of doing anything sensible like apologizing, Shinichi had saluted Kuroba, forced a smile, and exited the café. He hadn't wanted to make a scene. And really, he hadn't wanted to acknowledge that he felt bad for asking out Sera, because that implied he was doing something wrong. And obviously he wasn't.
Shinichi had met Sera at the restaurant located in Teitan Hotel, a high-class hotel whose name was the only nondescript part of it. They'd been having a conversation Shinichi had felt was probably rather engaging and interesting for Sera, but hadn't quite been cutting it for Shinichi. He could remember specific conversations about laundry, sheep, and dumplings all being more interesting than the current one on Shinichi's interests and past cases. (The fact that all of the other conversations had all been with Kuroba were of no consequence to Shinichi.)
Sensing his boredom, Sera had suggested they move to the hotel bar, and Shinichi had agreed without really thinking it through.
Sera had been admirably able to hold her own, downing Long Islands and margaritas with surprising ease. Shinichi had stuck to his typical bourbon on the rocks, deciding he didn't want to get too drunk considering he had classes tomorrow.
However, it seemed like he'd probably drunken a bit too much, considering that he hadn't thought anything was up when a very attractive waiter approached him and offered him a shot of baijiu, of all things. For one, it was strange for anyone to offer him a free drink considering he was not female and extremely pretty, and for another, Chinese liquor was not commonly served at bars.
But regardless, Shinichi had calmly accepted it, casting the man a cautious glance before downing the drink.
And the last thing he had been able to remember before he had blacked out was indigo eyes, strangely close to his. That should've been a complete giveaway, but Shinichi hadn't questioned it.
The following day, Shinichi had awoken in his dorm with Kuroba nowhere in sight and a raging headache. He had groggily checked the time, discovered he had a couple hours until his next lecture, and set off in search of Sera for an explanation of what had transpired after he'd lost consciousness.
He had found her working at the café. When he had approached her, eyebrows raised, she had huffed and turned away. "Really, Kudou-kun, if you can't hold your liquor you should've told me before we went to the bar. It was seriously embarrassing for you to pass out after drinking baijiu of all things and have to be carted off by that waiter." She had given an emphatic glare at this point, which had been somewhat lost on Shinichi, who had been more interested in what she had said.
"Wait, a waiter got me home?"
Sera had nodded irritably, tossing her head. "Mmhm, it was the same guy who gave you the drink. He looked a little familiar, actually…"
Having obtained this information, Shinichi had bowed out genially, apologizing for his lack of alcohol tolerance and leaving to think. Quite obviously, he wasn't an idiot, and he could see that something was not right. First the date with Kazuha and the imposter Shinichi, and then the date with Sera and the most likely spiked drink…
Shinichi had started putting the pieces together. Who had he told about the date with Kazuha? Hadn't it been… Kuroba? If Kuroba was actually Kid, then it wouldn't have been a problem to disguise as Shinichi. And the only person Shinichi had told the story about him accidentally getting drunk on baijiu at age six was Kuroba as well, so he was the only one who knew about the significance of baijiu…
Having formed a case against Kuroba, Shinichi had decided it was time to do an experiment. If he went on another date, would something completely random that was somehow linked to Kuroba ruin the date?
So all he needed to do to test his hypothesis was to get another date. Easy, right?
He glanced around and grabbed the first available female, a tall, elegant girl wearing a lab coat who had short, wavy brown hair and a distinctly bored expression.
"Hey, uh, can you help me with something?" he had asked hopefully, managing to barely flinch underneath the girl's sharp glare. "Could you go out with me on one date?"
"Why should I?" the girl had snapped, hugging a stack of folders against her chest. "What's in it for me?"
Smiling awkwardly, Shinichi had offered, "A night in my company?"
She had leveled him a sharp stare, uttered a flat, "Hell no," and started off before Shinichi had caught up to her and actually explained the situation.
The girl, though skeptical and annoyed, had agreed to go on a date with him so he could investigate the stalkerish behaviors of his roommate in exchange for a Sai Brand purse. Shinichi had learned her name was Miyano Shiho, she had an older sister, and she was a lab assistant for one of the chemistry professors.
When Shinichi had announced he had a date with Miyano Shiho to Kuroba, studying his expression, he had noted the minimal tightening at the magician's lips and eyes and how this time, Kuroba seemed more dejected than annoyed and frustrated, like he had been the last two times he'd found out Shinichi was going on a date.
"Miyano Shiho?" he had stammered, and Shinichi had given a short nod. "Isn't she Professor Atsushi's assistant?"
"Yes, that's right," Shinichi had responded, slightly surprised by his reaction. "Is that a problem?"
"…Oh. It's just, I sort of know her. She's usually around during my chemistry classes. And she already figured out that I –" Kuroba had cut himself off, jolting. "Never mind. It's nothing."
Shinichi had tilted his head at him, deciding not to question it before cracking open his physics textbook.
The next day, Shinichi had been on his way to his Japanese literature class when Shiho had popped up out of nowhere, blocking his way and demanding his attention with a look that could've cut diamonds.
"Kudou-kun, you didn't tell me your roommate was Kuroba-kun," she had hissed, looking even more livid than usual.
"Uh… was that important?" Shinichi had wondered, confused by her reaction.
"Of course it is! I can't believe you haven't realized it when he'd so obvious about it! Look, it's not that Kuroba-kun is some senseless stalker, it's that he's been…" Shiho had bitten her tongue hurriedly, forcing back the words, much to Shinichi's bewilderment and exasperation. "Whatever. Kudou-kun, you don't need to worry about Kuroba-kun ruining your dates. He has good reason to. Our date's off. Spend the time with Kuroba-kun, please. He's insufferable enough without being depressed over your recent womanizing."
With those cutting and unhelpful words, Shiho had whipped around and stormed off, leaving Shinichi gawping after her.
Well. That had been strange.
Shinichi had proceeded to Japanese literature to find that a sort-of friend of his, karate champion Mouri Ran, had saved him a seat. He gratefully had taken it, thanking a blushing Ran, before glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. She was somewhat attractive, with her long hair and amethyst eyes...
Hey. Maybe she could fill the position Shiho had just vacated? As far as Shinichi had known, Ran wasn't taking any of Kaito's classes, so she probably didn't know whatever Shiho had known about Kuroba that had made her reject the idea of going on an experimental date with Shinichi.
So after the lecture, Shinichi had asked Ran out for dinner tomorrow night. Ran had eagerly accepted before Shinichi had even had a chance to explain that it was an experiment, nearly skipping off in joy after squealing an excited "Yes!"
That night, when Shinichi had returned to the dorm, he had revealed that he would be going on a date with Mouri Ran at that restaurant by the movie theater, and Kuroba had only replied with a dull-eyed expression accompanied by a slow nod.
Shinichi had deduced that something was probably amiss with him, but despite that he was feeling something akin to regret and horror at his own actions (seriously, Kaito's reaction was quite worrying), he had decided to go on with his plan regardless.
He had still felt inexplicably cruel as he had met Ran at the restaurant the next night, giving a sweet smile and pulling out her chair for her. Everything had been going well, the conversation, though boring to Shinichi, moving fluidly; the atmosphere, though feeling as though it was lacking something to Shinichi, warm and friendly...
That is, until Shinichi had made the mistake of bringing up his reasons for the date: to see if his roommate would come along to wreck it.
At the intensely upset look that had overcome Ran's face and the way the temperature seemed to drop twenty degrees, Shinichi had belatedly remembered that he hadn't informed Ran of those reasons. He also realized that she had gotten quite dressed up for this occasion, noting her careful use of makeup and the pressed look to her red dress. Clearly she had not known he was not interested in her.
Ran had then exploded at him, screaming that he was a heartless bastard and to get the hell out of here before she killed him, and Shinichi had concluded that exiting the restaurant was the only option that would end with his limbs still attached to his body. So he'd quickly left, and that took us to now, with the rain attacking him from all angles as he stood blankly outside the restaurant.
The door behind him opened with a jingle, and Shinichi glanced over his shoulder, only slightly surprised to see Kuroba standing there, looking uncomfortable.
"Hey," the magician called, smiling brightly.
Shinichi only watched him from behind sopping wet bangs. "So you have been ruining my dates, haven't you." It was more of a statement than a question.
Kuroba shrugged. "I think 'ruining' is a bit harsh, Kudou." He shuffled his feet. "This time, I didn't do anything. I wasn't planning on it, actually."
"You weren't?" Shinichi exhaled, lifting his gaze up to the deep blue sky and ignoring the raindrops that slid down his cheeks like tears. If you looked closely enough, you could see the faint light of scattered stars struggling to shine down through the rain.
"Not this time," answered Kuroba, shifting behind him. "Hey… Kudou, do you want to get a drink or something?"
"You going to spike my baijiu again?" Shinichi cracked a grin, and Kuroba laughed.
"Not this time," he said for the second time that night. "I know a place near here." He turned, beckoning Shinichi with a flick of his head.
Unable to find a reason to reject the invitation, Shinichi trailed after the magician, striding down the mostly empty sidewalk. He mentally analyzed the way Kuroba's shoulders moved gracefully underneath his wet jacket, the way he carried himself in a way that was somehow both proud and humble, how there was that playful bounce to his step that was reminiscent of Kid's timeless confidence… It was all there, all those tiny little fragments that made him so perfectly him, nothing more, nothing less.
Shinichi momentarily wondered if he'd been drinking earlier. Generally speaking, thoughts like these did not occur in his head.
"We're here."
Startled by the sudden declaration, Shinichi only blinked at his roommate, who was now watching him concernedly. He realized that they were standing beside a nicely lit bar, one with a neatly painted exterior and a sign above the door reading "The Phantom Lady" in impeccable black script.
"Kudou, we're here," the man reiterated carefully, eyeing him for a second longer before opening the door to the bar.
Following Kuroba in, Shinichi glanced around the bar, evaluating it quickly. The place was composed of flat white walls and off-black furniture, giving off an air of sophisticated minimalism. The lighting, despite the almost stark appearance of the place, was warm and comforting, giving the austere room a much more welcoming air. A blocky bar stood calmly to the right of the door, currently unattended. The rest of the bar was void of customers, which made Shinichi lift an eyebrow. A place like this seemed like it would attract quite a bit of attention from younger generations that could appreciate modern architecture.
"Hey, Mom," called Kuroba, walking up to the bar nonchalantly with Shinichi awkwardly ambling up after him.
"Mom?" muttered Shinichi, hoisting himself up onto a barstool and shaking off as much water as he could from his jacket.
"Kaito? Is that you? You know we're closed right now..." called a faraway female voice, and a red-haired woman emerged from a door behind the bar Shinichi supposed led to the kitchen. She was quite pretty, and Shinichi instantly recognized the shade of indigo that colored her irises. She was obviously Kuroba's mother, if him calling her "Mom" hadn't been enough of an indication.
She stopped dead upon seeing Shinichi. "Hey, hey, Kaito, is this…?" she began, trailing off to glance at Kuroba with more than a trace of excitement evident in her voice.
Kuroba sighed, though Shinichi noted the hint of pink creeping up his neck with a frown. "Yes, Mom, this is… this is Shinichi."
Huh? Shinichi stared at the now full-out blushing man in surprise. Well… that was the first time he'd ever heard Kuroba call him by his first name. They'd always seemed to address each other by family names… but actually, Shinichi didn't really hate the way his name sounded coming from Kuroba. He wondered how Kuroba's given name would taste on his tongue…
(He winced at how his heart had given a little flutter and considered going to see a cardiologist. Heart flutters were probably a sign he was going to have cardiovascular problems later on in life.)
Kuroba's mother's face lit up. "Well! I see!" she trilled. "So you're the infamous Kudou Shinichi I've heard so much about!"
"Huh?" Shinichi flinched. "Kuro – Kaito's been telling you about me?" Kuroba – Kaito – visibly jumped, receding blush intensifying. Shinichi marveled at the way he felt his own cheeks heating up. Had calling someone by their first name always felt so awkwardly… intimate?
"And you call each other by your first names without honorifics!" Kaito's mother cheered, directing her attention to her son. "Kaito, I don't know why you were so depressed about him and those girls. Clearly he's also in lo –"
Kaito slammed his hands down on the bar. "Mom!" he yelped, and Shinichi sighed. Why was it that people kept starting to say something relating to him and Kaito but always stopping before they said anything crucial?
The redheaded woman only gave a girlish giggle before turning to address Shinichi. "So you're Shinichi-kun, right? Yukiko's son?"
"Huh? You know my mom?" Shinichi asked, surprised.
She laughed. "Of course! I'm Kuroba Chikage. You can just call me Chikage." She leaned forward, smiling warmly at Shinichi. "Your mother was a student of my late husband, Kuroba Toichi."
"Oh," Shinichi replied, the name sounding faintly familiar. "I think she might've mentioned you." He cast a sidelong glance at Kaito. "I didn't know Kaito was your son."
"Well, he is," Chikage sang brightly. "Anyway, I'll leave you two here now." She grinned brightly as she started to head out the back.
"You're just going to leave, Chikage-san?" Shinichi stammered, watching her.
"Of course! I can't interfere with your date," she called over her shoulder, winking as Shinichi frowned and Kaito dropped his face onto the bar. "Kai-chan, I left the key in the usual spot, so you can lock up when you leave. But if you're too busy to do that, that's okay~!"
"Don't call me that!" Kaito demanded, and Shinichi swore he heard an evil laugh as the back door closed with a faraway slam.
The magician and detective were left alone.
"You don't have to force yourself," Kaito finally said, breaking the silence as he hopped off his barstool and navigated around the bar until he was behind it, occupying the spot Chikage had just vacated.
"Force myself? To do what?" Shinichi lifted an eyebrow as he watched Kaito get out two glasses. He smirked as Kaito reached for a bottle of baijiu obscured by whiskeys and liquors. "I see you remember that story."
"Of course I do," Kaito beamed, pouring the liquor into the cups and skirting back around the bar to reclaim his spot beside Shinichi. "And you don't need to force yourself to call me by my name."
Shinichi thanked him with a nod before accepting the baijiu. He downed the glass before swiveling around to watch Kaito. "Don't worry about it. I'm not forcing myself."
"Aren't you, though?" Kaito gave a mirthless smile. "Look, I understand that you want a girlfriend right now, so I just thought –"
"I do not," disagreed Shinichi incredulously, quirking an eyebrow at him. Kaito stared at him blankly, prompting him to elaborate, "I don't want a girlfriend right now."
Heaving a cheerless little chuckle, Kaito lifted his glass back to his lips. "Could've fooled me, with all those dates you've been going on."
Eyeing him critically, Shinichi cautiously inquired, "Are you already drunk?"
"No," sighed Kaito. "What gave you that idea?"
"I don't know, you just seem really depressed all of a sudden. I thought you might be a sad drunk or something." Shinichi bent forward, examining Kaito's clear indigo eyes for any signs of drunkenness.
He soon forgot his original purpose for staring into the man's eyes, however, all excuses quickly melting as he began to simply admire the delicate, crystalline hue. Kaito really had the most beautiful eyes Shinichi had ever seen, honestly... It was almost disturbing how easily he could drown in them…
He absently reached up and pressed his hand lightly against Kaito's cheek, ignoring the way Kaito jumped slightly and inhaled hard, softly tilting Kaito's face from side to side, investigating the way the indigo shifted shades in different lighting…
Suddenly coming to his senses, Shinichi jerked, flushed, and retracted his hand, flustered. "I –" he stuttered, but not before Kaito's eyes narrowed and he leaned forward and kissed Shinichi.
Shinichi gave a small noise of shock, having not expected the action. The magician's lips were soft and warm against his, comforting almost, and tasted heavily of alcohol, which was no surprise. What was surprising was the slight undertone of something sweet and spicy – something like vanilla, maybe cinnamon. Shinichi was so intrigued that he did the last thing he'd expect himself to do in this surreal situation – he extended his tongue and tapped it against Kaito's lips.
The magician was startled, giving a short "mmpgh?!" that allowed Shinichi access to his mouth. Shinichi was somehow both shocked and completely unsurprised to find that the inside of Kaito's mouth tasted even more obviously of vanilla and cinnamon. Leisurely drawing circles on the roof of Kaito's mouth with his tongue (and making Kaito squirm in either discomfort or pleasure, Shinichi didn't know) Shinichi wondered how Kaito could still taste that strongly of vanilla and cinnamon after drinking alcohol.
They finally broke apart when Shinichi realized he hadn't actually breathed for a very long time, chests heaving and almost scared of looking at each other. Shinichi unconsciously drew his tongue across his lips. There were definitely traces of vanilla and cinnamon…
Had vanilla and cinnamon always tasted that good?
"So."
Shinichi looked over at Kaito. "Yes?" he asked, watching the other man swallow the rest of his baijiu.
Kaito seemed to have developed an affinity for the countertop, seeing as he refused to look up from it and face Shinichi. "Let's just… blame it on the alcohol."
"But why would we do that? We're not even close to drunk," Shinichi stated.
"If we don't do that, then what are we going to call it? I mean, even if it's all true on my end, it obviously isn't on yours," Kaito mumbled, dragging a fingertip over the rim of his glass. "I don't even know why I… it was… let's just forget about it."
"Wait, what do you mean, 'all true on your end'?" Shinichi stared hard at Kaito, who was appeared to be rather unwilling to remove his gaze from where it was firmly glued on the countertop.
"What, it wasn't obvious?" Kaito finally met Shinichi's gaze, and Shinichi was surprised at the dull rage in his eyes. "Even after I… kissed you?" Seeing how Shinichi's expression didn't change, the magician only pushed out a long breath. "Look, Shinichi… I like you."
"Uh huh. I like you, too," Shinichi said slowly, feeling confused as to how the words came out easily, bringing a strange kind of relief. What did that mean?
Shaking his head, frustrated, Kaito continued, "I don't mean 'I like you' as in 'I like you, you're a good friend.' I mean 'I like you' as in 'I love you, don't leave me.'" He returned his gaze to the countertop.
Oh.
The thought suddenly occurred to him – did Shinichi feel the same way as Kaito did apparently? Well, he didn't like it when he saw Kaito and Aoko together – wasn't that how this whole mess had started? – and he hadn't founding kissing him disgusting at all…
Something in both his head and his heart agreed with the statement that Shinichi maybe, possibly could also be in love with Kaito.
…Oh.
Oh.
Feeling something like relief building in his chest, Shinichi could only grin like a fool. A sudden burst of laughter broke from his lips, and Kaito cast him a glare.
"It's not nice to laugh at someone else's true feelings," he admonished bitterly, and Shinichi only laughed harder. Kaito rolled his eyes, mouth drawn tight.
Laughter subsiding, Shinichi caught Kaito's eyes. "I can't believe that you feel the same way," he said, breathless, and Kaito's eyes grew wide. He whirled on Shinichi, eyes questioning.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying 'I love you, don't leave me.'" Shinichi's eyes were twinkling, and he couldn't believe how elated he felt, like he had just solved the most difficult case he'd ever encountered. Which he might have, actually. "I'm saying 'I love you, I want to go out with you'. I'm saying 'I love you, please love me back.'"
"But what about all those girls you went out with? And – and even after Miyano-san told you that I'm in love with you, you still went out with that Mouri girl…" stammered Kaito.
"The only reason I went out with those girls is because you were going out with Nakamori-chan," retorted Shinichi sulkily, staring into the empty depths of his glass.
"What? With Aoko?"
"Well, yeah. That time I walked in on you, you two were in the middle of some… conversation," explained Shinichi, avoiding Kaito's expression.
Kaito began laughing, sounding winded with either amusement or relief. "That's what started all of this?" He sighed hard, and Shinichi could hear the slight smile in his voice as he continued, "That time I was explaining to Aoko how I've been ridiculously in love with my annoying roommate."
"Excuse me, if anyone's annoying then it's you," snapped Shinichi without thinking before he realized exactly what Kaito was saying. "Wait… so when you guys were giving each other those soulful glances…"
"Right, she was trying to help me find a way to confess. The other time in the café, I was telling her about my success in breaking up your first date and how I thought I maybe had a chance with you," Kaito admitted, smirking at the flabbergasted look plastered across Shinichi's face. "But I still don't understand that thing with Miyano-san. Didn't she tell you about how I was in love with you?"
Shinichi blinked at him. "What?"
"…No? I thought she'd told you…" Kaito went red. "She really didn't?"
"No, she didn't. And how did she know, anyway?" Shinichi inwardly cringed at the way he felt a twinge of jealousy. Dammit, even now he was getting jealous over stupid things.
"She figured it out herself. When you came to pick me up after chemistry that one time, she said she figured it out from the way I was acting. She didn't know that we were roommates, though, so when you approached her, she didn't know that the experiment was set up for me. She just assumed it was some other random guy. When she found out I was your roommate, she exploded at me and ran off to yell at you. I thought at that point, she'd explained the whole situation to you. So when you asked out Mouri-chan, I thought you honestly just wanted a girlfriend…"
Shinichi was in shock for a minute before he dropped his head on the counter, vaguely annoyed. "This whole mess could've been avoided so easily if we'd just explained it all to each other instead of all this unnecessarily complicated shit, what with you ruining my dates and me being an idiot enough to not notice or get the point. God." He swore briefly, irritated with himself. It should've been completely obvious to Shinichi what had been going on. Was he really that oblivious to love?
…Yes, yes he was.
"But it's all cleared up now, isn't it?" Kaito smiled down at him, and Shinichi looked up. The magician, though damp from the rain and more than a little scruffy around the edges, was quite easily the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen – sparkling indigo eyes underneath a roof of dark eyelashes, messily arranged brown hair stacked on top of a heart-shaped face, slight, amused twist to perfectly defined lips, just a trace of Kid present…
Shinichi couldn't hold back his own smile as he swiftly leaned in and pressed a kiss to Kaito's lips. Pulling back, he breathed, "You're right. It's all cleared up now."
...Ha ha okay I'm going now. *cries at lack of writing skills*
On another note, I've recently compiled a gigantic list of ideas to write, so you should probably expect quite a few more fics in the near future. They'll probably all be oneshots, since all the ideas seem to have a oneshot sort of feel. Y'know? Like a sort of short, to the point sort of feel. I don't know.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this & drop me a review if you feel like it! Kisses & I'll be back soon(er than you'd like)! - Luna