Waking up in a hospital bed.
It was such a familiar setting. He'd done it so many times before.
This time, it wasn't even anything serious, just a shallow knife wound across his solar plexus. It hurt like hell, of course, but it would heal in a few weeks. And then it would just be one more scar to add his ever-growing collection of them across his slender body.
Shinichi sat up slowly, deliberately. It was night-time, and the pale moonlight coloured the room faintly silver. The room was sparsely furnished; except for the bed and the medical instruments only a lone chair stood by the window. Said chair was currently occupied by a young man with wild hair and sky- blue eyes.
Those eyes were currently closed in deep slumber, and the man's chest rose and fell slowly with each breath he drew. Shinichi looked fondly at the sleeping figure. Civilians were not supposed to stay overnight with patients, especially when their condition was not critical. Not that such a rule would ever stop the world-renowned thief and magician from spending the night right by his lover's side. The detective knew he should reprimand his boyfriend for breaking the rules, but in his heart, he was grateful for the other man's presence.
Things had been hard for them lately. Kaito had finally made it big on the official stage of magicians, and he travelled all over the country and the world to give his performances. He still officially lived in Tokyo, but his time spent there diminished every year. Meanwhile, Shinichi had a lot on his own hands. Coming back to being himself again had not been easy, even if he'd had a tremendous amount of help from a lot of different people. Two years after his reappearance he'd managed to gain back the trust of both the police and the civilian clients who came to him for help, but it had been a long journey. Working as a private detective suited him, and he was again being praised in media as the Great detective of the East, even though it now came without the "high- school".
Kaito stirred in his chair, waking the detective up from the depth of his own thoughts. Eyes of a peculiar blue shade opened slowly. The magician blinked a few times before his gaze settled on the figure sitting on the bed.
"Shinichi"
Just that. Just his name, but spoken with such softness and reverence that Shinichi couldn't help but smile as the now familiar warmth filled his chest.
"You're awake" Kaito continued, and he rose from the chair and walked to the bed. His feet made no sound as they treaded lightly across the moonlit room. Sitting down at the edge of the bed, Kaito took Shinichi's face in both his hands and rested their foreheads together. Shinichi said nothing, only basked in the feeling of having the other so close. The thief's skilled hands cupping his face gently, his breath on the other's lips. The warmth radiating from his lover's body, the sound of his heartbeat in the otherwise silent night.
Shinichi closed his eyes. Oh, how he wished that he could save this moment forever. As it was, it ended all too quickly.
Kaito drew back, and his hands fell away from Shinichi's face to grab hold of his hands instead. The thief's eyes now had a stern look in them when they met Shinichi's sapphire orbs.
"You took unnecessary risks again" The Moonlight Magician said with a sad tone in his voice. And before Shinichi could answer, he continued; "You could have waited for the others to come back before you apprehended the culprit. You are not a cop, you should let them do their job sometimes."
The words sank to the bottom of the Detective's stomach. He'd been reckless again, and Kaito had cancelled a show to come to the hospital. Shinichi was aware of just how much his partner worried about him, but some situations could not be helped.
"There was the issue of calling him out in front of his family." Shinichi softly shook his head. "I wished to speak to him without the pressure of others weighing into his decision. His crime was not very grave, considering the circumstances, and I did not expect him to lash out at me like that." Raising his head towards the ceiling, Shinichi replayed the day's event in his mind. "I wanted him to know all his options so that he could make a rational decision."
"And for all that kindness, you were rewarded with ten stitches in your chest and a night at the hospital", Concluded Kaito with a deep sigh. "Some people are just not worth your compassion, even if you're ever so ready to dish it out." With the last words, the thief rose from the bed and stepped over to the window. With an unreadable expression, he stood there, still as a statue. The moonlight made the tips of his dark hair appear almost white.
Shinichi knew that Kaito wasn't angry with him, not really. Worried and tired, yes, but not angry. Shinichi was also tired, in both body and soul. Carefully, the detective lay back down in the bed, wincing when the wound pulled slightly on the stitches. Immediately, Kaito was back at his side, helping him lay down without upsetting his wound.
After making sure that Shinichi needed no more aid, Kaito pulled the chair up next to the bed, and settled down. They stayed like that and, for a while, only thoughtful silence filled the room. The light from the window swept through the room slowly as the moon wandered across the night sky. In the end, Kaito was the one to speak first, breaking the delicate silence with words barely audible.
"I love you"
Shinichi's eyes widened. He'd heard those exact words before, of course, but they had surprised him nonetheless. Before he could answer, though, Kaito continued;
"I'm crazy about you, and have been for a long time, you know that. But lately, we barely see each other, and I can't even remember the last time we had the opportunity to really speak with each other!" Frustration was clear in the thief's voice, and he let his head drop into his hands as he spoke. "You had to get hospitalized for me to realize that… that we're hardly even together anymore!"
Stunned, the detective watched, and listened, to his lover's monologue.
"I still want the two of us to work." The thief finished with a sigh. Shinichi could tell that the man was deeply concerned about the issue, an issue he himself had been contemplating every time he'd come home to find his partner already fast asleep or whenever he'd miss their dinners together. Both of them pursuing their own careers at more than full- time schedules was just not working out, and something needed to give. Shinichi was not sure he'd be ready to give up his profession completely though, and there were several issues with trying to cut down hours, as unexpected events often kept him going into late nights and on weekends.
It was the same with Kaito. The magician had worked hard to earn his reputation and was now at the very height of his performative career. Cancelling shows or tours was out of the question if he wanted to stay relevant.
"I will cancel the tour in China and Australia." Kaito's voice pierced through Shinichi's inner monologue, and he shot up from the bed, ignoring the sharp pain in his chest.
"What? No!" He stared at his boyfriend incredulously. "You can't cancel the shows, not when you've finally gotten so far!"
Kaito calmly put his hands on the detective's shoulders, forcing him to lay down again.
"It's not as if I'm never doing them." He clarified with a small smile. "I'm just not doing them right now."
Shinichi still stared at him in disbelief, so he continued; "I am still going to Europe though, and that tour will take three months." Leaning forward, the thief's eyes gazed into those of the detective.
"Come with me."
It was not a demand, but a request. A gentle request from the lips of a lover. Shinichi was taken aback at first, but his very practical brain was already probing at the prospect of leaving Japan for three months. The pros and cons, what about the cases he'd miss? But travelling Europe with Kaito would be amazing. But the magician's work would surely take up a lot of the time? And it's been so long since they did something together…
A soft laughter from Kaito brought him back to reality. Smiling a little sheepishly, Shinichi realized that his lover probably wanted an answer from him.
"No need to rush the answer." Kaito smiled knowingly down at his boyfriend. "Better make a rational desi-"
"I'm going!" The words came out a little bit rushed, and Shinichi smiled at the confusion in the other man's eyes. The confoundment was short- lived though, as sheer happiness soon filled the thief's very being, and he beamed at his detective.
Leaning down, so that their noses brushed against one another, Kaito whispered; "You don't know how happy you make me, Meitantei."
But as their lips met, Shinichi thought he had a pretty good idea of how exactly his lover felt at that moment.