Mikau: Hi there everyone! Thanks for taking the time to take a look at my new fic. This was actually done when I had a bit of writer's block. (So I don't think it's some of my best work, but I'm happy enough with it as it is.) I was doing prompt writing where you look at a picture and write about what's going on or whatever the picture inspires you to write. This fic was inspired by a piece of fanart with Kid holding an unconscious Dark Knight Shinichi. They both had wings and were in a birdcage. This fic has little to do with the fanart I saw a few months ago, but thanks to the artist for the inspiration.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I wouldn't forget Shinichi's birthday every year. Sorry, buddy. Happy Belated Birthday, Shin-chan!

…...

Caged Birds

"Shinichi?! Shinichi wake up!" It was dark, but Kaito could see the distinct form of Kudo Shinichi in the dim light, lying not five feet away.

Shinichi didn't stir.

Kaito pulled at his chains, desperate to get to…his rival? His friend? No. The man he'd regrettably fallen in love with. His bonds weren't giving, though, and he had absolutely nothing on him to pick the locks. He'd been stripped of everything down to his playing cards and juggling scarves.

"Dammit!" Kaito cursed, attempting to get just one yard…one foot…one inch closer. "Shinichi!"

Still the detective didn't move. Was he hurt? Worse?!

Kaito's mind started whirling in dizzying spirals, round and round.

Shinichi was hurt, and it was his fault. Shinichi was dead, and it was all because of Kaito. Kaito was to blame. If Kaito had just kept his mouth shut, kept his burning secret to himself, kept Shinichi safe, none of this would have ever happened, but Kaito had gotten caught in those suffocating midnight blue eyes, and Kaito just couldn't hold it in anymore.

He'd finally broken his silence and spilled everything—that he was Kid, about Pandora, his father, the Organization—and he'd gotten Shinichi dragged into it too.

That was why they were here. Kaito had told Shinichi about his battle against the Organization, and the selfless detective, always fighting for justice, had joined in Kaito's war.

And now Shinichi could be dead for all that Kaito knew, and it was all Kaito's fault. He'd confided in Shinichi—for his own selfish gain…so that Shinichi would understand…maybe even come to respect Kaito and maybe even come to feel a little bit more than just respect. Kaito had told Shinichi so that Shinichi would be impressed and realize that Kaito wasn't just a magician-wannabe…that Kid wasn't just a smug thief. Kaito had told Shinichi his secrets, and now Shinichi was paying for it.

"Shinichi!" Kaito heard his voice break as he screamed. He felt tears running down his cheeks as he strained against the shackles.

Maybe the Organization was trying to break him. They'd locked him up with the body of his…beloved, and now they were just waiting for him to go insane.

Shinichi moved.

Or maybe Kaito was just imagining it?

No. That was definitely Shinichi's head moving…and then the legs…and the hands!

Kaito thanked whatever god had been watching out for them: Shinichi was alive! But possibly injured!

"Shinichi!" Kaito tried again.

"K-Kaito?" The sleuth mumbled, slowly rolling to his side and sitting up. "Kaito? What happened? Where are we?"

Kaito shook his head, pulling against his restraints once more in an attempt to reach his Meitantei.

"Your new home," a not so friendly voice snickered.

Kaito's head whipped to the left, towards the sound of approaching footsteps. "Snake," he hissed in recognition. "Let Shinichi go! He has nothing to do with this!"

Snake laughed condescendingly again, coming to a stop just a foot away from the bars of Kaito and Shinichi's cage. "Let me think…no. The nosey detective brat stays. I'm going to enjoy his company."

The way Snake said it didn't bode well for Shinichi, and it struck a chord of panic in Kaito's heart.

"Please!" Kaito quickly resorted to begging. "Please. I'll do anything, if you let him go!"

Snake flat out cackled at this. "No. You'll do anything because we have him here."

It suddenly felt like Kaito had ice water flowing through his veins as he realized what this meant. Shinichi was a hostage, and Kaito was about to do some very, very bad things in order to keep Shinichi safe, and Shinichi was going to hate him for it.

"You understand your position?" Snake was enjoying this oh so much.

Kaito sank down, no longer fighting against the chains. He was careful not to look at Shinichi as he nodded.

"No!" the detective argued. "I won't let you use him like that! Kaito's not your lapdog! He's not your canary! Kaito's meant to be free!"

Snake growled as he opened the cage door. He stepped inside and pulled out a gun, placing it to Shinichi's temple. "I don't think you understand your place, boy."

Kaito froze, every muscle paralyzed in fear at the sight of his intended at gunpoint.

Shinichi rolled his eyes and glared at the assassin. "You can't hurt me if you want him to cooperate."

"Correction," Snake snarled. "I can't kill you. If I rough you up a little bit, who's gonna complain?"

"Kaito will only follow your instructions to the letter if I'm treated well. If you do hurt me, he'll probably retaliate. He can be feisty, you know. Your bosses wouldn't like that. In order to insure Kaito's total obedience, you'd be best off not harming me," Shinichi reasoned.

Snake snarled.

Shinichi smirked. "I'm not playing this game, though. I know what kinds of things you people are capable of, and I know what sorts of things you plan on making him do. I won't let you use me to control him. Kaito's supposed to be free." He looked back at Kaito and smiled. "Kaito, this isn't your fault. I want you to be free…be happy."

Catching them both off guard, Shinichi grabbed Snake's hand and pulled the gun's trigger.

"SHINICHI!" Kaito screamed, watching his beloved's lifeless body fall to the ground in a puddle of blood.

…

Kaito woke with a start and froze, taking in his surroundings. TV. His couch. His living-room. Shinichi. Shinichi? Shinichi!

A very much alive Kudo Shinichi was sitting there in his living-room, on the couch beside him, watching TV.

"Hey," Shinichi chuckled. "You up?"

Kaito shook his head. He was dreaming. This right now was the dream; he was sure of it. That other place—the cage with Shinichi's dead body coating the grimy floor in blood—that was reality. It had to be. Shinichi was dead, and it was Kaito's fault, and…Dream Shinichi was laughing?

Yes. Dream Shinichi was laughing.

Kaito tipped his head to the side in confusion.

"Sorry," Dream Shinichi chuckled. "You're so cute, Kaito. I'm sorry. I knew you were really looking forward to watching the new episode together, but I didn't want to wake you. You've seemed really tired lately, and it looked like you were sleeping really soundly, so…"

Kaito blinked, taking in the sights and sounds and smells and feelings once again. It felt so real…but the cage had felt real too. He could almost feel the cuffs cutting into his wrists…the dank chill of their prison. He swore he could smell the metallic odor of Shinichi's blood, and the gunpowder was burning his lungs. It had happened, hadn't it? It was too real, too terrifying to be a dream.

"You really are still asleep," Shinichi laughed, making Kaito jump. "Are you okay, Kaito?"

Kaito gulped. "B-Bad dream."

"Well, you're awake now," Shinichi assured, and Kaito wanted to believe it so bad. "I taped the show. Wanna watch it? I swear I don't mind watching it twice in a row. It was a great episode."

Kaito nodded, surreptitiously inching closer until he could feel Shinichi's warmth, hear Shinichi's breath, smell the cinnamon of Shinichi's body wash. He wanted to bury his face in Shinichi's neck and plead, "You're really here, right? You're you, right? This isn't just a dream, right? You're okay? You're not dead? Right, Shinichi?", but Kaito was too scared to ask, lest it break the spell and cast him back into that hell that the dungeon had been.

Shinichi let his arm brush Kaito's shoulders as it fell along the back of the couch. "It's okay. You're awake now."

Kaito nodded, letting himself lean in a little more. "Shinichi? Do you think you could spend the night?" Kaito didn't think he could go to sleep without having Shinichi there. He needed to be able to listen to Shinichi breathing and be certain that he'd find Shinichi alive and well the next morning.

"Sure," Shinichi easily agreed. "It's not like there's anyone waiting up for me at home. I'll let my nosey little neighbor know I'm sleeping over." Shinichi suppressed a wince, knowing that Haibara would smirk and give him that knowing look when he told her that he'd spent the night at Kaito's. "Other than that, no one will miss me at the Kudo Manor."

Kaito nodded again, pushing his luck and moving in so that his leg actually touched Shinichi's. "Thank you. Sorry. I'm still a little shaken up."

Shinichi gave him an understanding smile. "I used to get nightmares too…back in the day, you know. When I was working on that big case and I couldn't let my name get out in the papers or anything…when I was in hiding. I had nightmares where they found me and killed everyone I loved. Does that ever happen to you? You're fighting them too, aren't you?"

Kaito turned slowly and nodded. "How…How much do you know?"

Shinichi shrugged. "More than you give me credit for. I'm a detective, Kaito. It's my job to put the pieces together. When a talented magician that looks an awful lot like you introduces themselves to you at a Kid heist, you begin to get suspicious."

Kaito closed his eyes. It was worse than he'd feared. Shinichi knew, and it was no longer within his control. At least the detective hadn't freaked and thrown him to the police. For that he could be thankful. "I don't want you involved. You could get hurt."

Shinichi gave Kaito's shoulders a little squeeze. "I'm already involved. Don't worry. I haven't gotten killed yet, and I've been on their hit list for a while. I'm okay, Kaito. You don't need to have any nightmares about me."

Kaito squeezed his eyes shut even tighter, letting his head drop to Shinichi's shoulder.

"Shh. It's okay. Watch this. Like I said," Shinichi tilted his head to rest on top of Kaito's, "it's a really good episode."

The

End

…

Mikau: Now, the real question is: which one was the dream? Bwahaha! I'll leave that up for you to decide. Well, what did you think? Was it suspenseful? Bittersweet? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks so much for reading, and thanks in advance for your reviews!