And There It Lay

by katiesparks

She hated thieves. So then, he wasn't one, just for her. KA Happy b-day, s2lou-chan! Tied very loosely to Velocity.

Loosely tied in with another story of mine, Velocity. You don't have to read it to understand. Explanations at the end.

He watched them bring her in from the roof of one of the abandoned shops. Her hair was matted and her face was covered with grime, but the worst part about her was her eyes. They were blue he knew, but they looked so faded, so worn that they were almost gray. She looked younger than him, not by much, but enough. She was flat and she was skinny. She was small and she was all bones, hollow bones, just like a bird. Jii had a hand on her small back and he guided her over Meimu, a kaitou who was long past her prime. The woman put an arm around the girl and led her away. Jii turned back and caught Kaito's eye.

Just as I thought it was going alright
I found out I'm wrong, when I thought I was right
It's always the same, it's just a shame, that's all
I could say day, you'd say night
Tell it's black when I know that it's white
It's always the same, it's just a shame, that's all

He approached one day, when he was older and she was too, though she was still so skinny, still so hollow-boned.

"Hi, you're Aoko, right?" He said, sitting down next to her on the crumbing wall she was perched on.

"Hello. Yes." She answered, not even looking at him. Her eyes were fixed on some unseen point in the distance and Kaito wondered what could be captivating her so much out in the distance. He wished he could see it too.

"You've been around here for a couple of years now, haven't you?" he asked idly.

"Since I was twelve. That year." She said and he found her sentences strange and alluring, disjointed, but making more sense that he did.

"You know what we do then?" he asked and she nodded, still not looking away and, dammit, what was she seeing?

"Thieves. Of course." She said and he thought he detected some undertone there, some kind of emotion her voice that he couldn't place, didn't know.

"Would you like to come with us sometime? You're so tiny, you'd be great to have around." He asked without thinking about what he was saying. And even he didn't consider that his first observation might have nothing to do with his second. It didn't even flicker into his mind for a moment.

She turned away from what she was looking at then. "You want me to come with you?" And that emotion was still there, that strong undercurrent the rushed and rippled like a river of its own.

"Yes, its lots of fun." He said and the empty look dropped off her face for a moment to reveal her anger, her ire, before slipping up and he wished he could've seen more.

"I hate thieves. Like that." She said and turned away again to focus on the same, unseen point as before.

"Well," Kaito said, scratching his head and feeling guilty for some odd reason. ", okay then."

I could leave but I won't go
Though my heart might tell me so
I can't feel a thing from my head down to my toes
So why does it always seem to be
Me looking at you, you looking at me
It's always the same, it's just a shame, that's all

Weeks later, he tried again, finding himself being drawn to her like a moth the flame. No doubt he would be burned as well.

"So, you don't like thieves?" he asked and this time she looked at him immediately.

"I hate thieves. For reasons. Important reasons." She said and he nodded.

"Then I'm not a thief. For you, I'll just be Kaito. And we can be friends." He said, offering her a rose that he'd pilfered on his way home. But she didn't know that. Or maybe she did.

"Okay then. It is a promise."

She accepted it easily and, as her fingers touched his, he wondered about her, everything about her. And he just had to know.

Turning me on, turning me off
Making me feel like I want too much
Living with you is just putting me through it all of the time
Running around, staying out all night
Taking it all instead of taking one bite
Living with you is just putting me through it all of the time

He came back late one night to find her sitting in front of his shop, his base, his home. She sat on the crumbling wall, her feet barely brushing the ground. They were older now, almost adults, but still such children. But they both knew that. And that made it okay.

"Hey." He said, moving in to stand by her. She spotted the long scrape on his arms and looked worried. Her fingers brushed against it, set the nerves on fire in a way that wasn't painful, but he knew it should be. He grabbed her then, kissing her hard on the mouth with no room for arguments.

She kissed him back and then moved past the wall, under the canopy, through the door. What happened after that....

They were older now, almost adults, but still such children. But they both knew that.

So that made it okay.

I could leave but I won't go
It'd be easier I know
I can't feel a thing from my head down to my toes
But why does it always seem to be
Me looking at you, you looking at me
It's always the same, just a shame, that's all

"Do you still hate thieves?" he asked the next morning. Awkwardness had never intruded and he wondered why, but he didn't care. It was one of those things. With her, it was always just one of those things.

She hesitated. "Yes. Always." She reached over the side of the bed and pulled a creased photograph out of the pocket of her pants. "For him."

Kaito took the photograph from her with nimble fingers, handling it carefully. It depicted a gruff looking man with a mustache and a little girl on his knee, her eyes bright and adoring. Even through all the years between them, he recognized her there. A dear friend. Someone more.

"Ah." He said and swiped a picture frame off his nightstand, which was little more than a small plastic table next to his bed. He handed it to her.

It was a picture of a wild-eyed boy, a vibrant young woman and a man with a smile that said the world.

"Ah." She said and handed the picture back before reclaiming her own.

He hesitated as he returned hers and finally, the words came from his lips without any sort of order from his brain. "I could get you a frame."

She turned back to the bed, letting herself get lost in it. "That'd be nice."

Truth is I love you
More than I wanted to
There's no point in trying to pretend
There's been no-one who
Makes me feel like you do
Say we'll be together til the end

She waited for him now, after his heists. He was always surprised to see her there, sitting on the crumbling wall with her eyes turned towards the moon.

He'd walk, or jump, or fly, to her and she'd look over.

"Hey." He'd say.

"Hey. What where you doing tonight?" she'd ask.

"Just hanging out with some friends." He'd lie.

She accepted that without question, knowing the lies as well as she knew herself. They both knew the truth. But it was just so much easier to lie.

I could leave but I won't go

It'd be easier I know

I can't feel a thing from my head down to my toes

So why does it always seem to be

me looking at you, you looking at me

It's always the same, just a shame, that's all

"Hey, girl, what are you doing in this section of town? Dontcha' know it's dangerous?" a dark skinned youth said, walking up to her.

Kaito swooped in out of no where. "She's with me, Hattori. Why are you here?"

Heiji shrugged and turned to the other gang's boss. "Kudo's lurking around; apparently, he has no shame and stalked Neechan to these parts. Keep your nose clean, Kuroba. And watch out for the girl. He'll take her home. They look the same."

Kaito nodded, he knew this much. "Right."

The other left and Aoko turned to Kaito. "Neechan? Kudo? Who are they?"

"No one important. Just a stuck up detective and his girlfriend who he plans to propose to this Saturday. But you need to stay out of sight until he's gone, okay? He turns a blind eye to most of us, he owes me, but you look a lot like his girlfriend, he wouldn't be able to leave you here." Kaito said, wrapping his arms around her.

Aoko paused for a moment, her eyes wandering to some point in the distance. "I can do that. You'll stay with me?"

"As long as you'll let me."

But I love you
More than I wanted to
There's no point in trying to pretend
There's been no-one who
Makes me feel like you do
Say we'll be together til the end

"Say, I'm about to leave for...work. Do you want to come?" Kaito asked one time as dusk fell over the decaying outskirts where they stayed.

She paused. "Thieves. Right?"

Slowly, Kaito nodded. "Yeah, thieves. You coming?"

"I won't steal anything." She clarified.

"Of course." He said easily.

Then she nodded. "Okay."

Just as I thought it was going alright
I found out I'm wrong when I thought I was right
It's always the same, just a shame, that's all
I could say day, you'd say night
Tell me it's black when I know that it's white
It's always the same, it's just a shame, that's all

Later, as they sat on the roof and gazed at the stars, he turned to her, the street lights from below casting an otherworldly look about his blue eyes. "Do you still hate thieves?"

She didn't speak for a long while and he wondered if he might have pushed too far.

"Depends. What kind?" she said and he started.

"My kind. 'No One Gets Hurt'. At least, not on purpose." He answered and she nodded.

"Those kind? No. I couldn't hate them. I could dislike them." she answered.

"What kind could you hate?" Kaito asked, already knowing the answer, but wanting her to say it, wanted to hear it on her breath and see it on her lips.

"The kind that made sure I had no where to go." She said, choking on her words a bit and his arm went around her shoulders.

"You do have somewhere to go. And, better yet, you have somewhere to stay. As long as you want." Kaito said and she shivered, scooting even closer to him.

"Okay. Forever."

That's all

And I finished!

This is s2lou-chan's birthday fic! *rains confetti on sara-chan*

We knew we wanted to write her something KA, but we didn't have any ideas, not any at all. So, you see, as Kirby-chin kept insisting that Kaito was some kind of mafia boss like Heiji in Velocity except he was the boss of a group of thieves, I decided "Why the hell not?" and wrote this. I thought it needed a song too and I rather like the one that I ended up choosing. It honestly does fit, I swear but, well, some people might not get it. I don't own 'That's All', by the way.

Either way, hope you like the prezzie, sara-chan! Happy b-day! And we can just forget about that deal that happened on the First, can't we?