Nakamori-Keibu looked down at his watch and groaned. Aoko's going to kill me. 11:30…She wanted me to eat dinner tonight…
The ex-leader of the Kid Task Force pushed himself up from the table riddled with ex task force members and other police officers and headed towards the bar, debating on whether he should order water or a coffee for the trek home.
"Coffee." He said to the bartender. The bartender nodded, moving to the other end of the bar, coming back with a small Styrofoam cup, steam billowing from the top. He paid and with cup in hand he turned towards the door and sighed, looking down at the black liquid in the cup. I really should have gone home tonight…I really shouldn't have come out. I had only meant to come out for an hour…but… he took a long drink of his coffee and started walking, dreading the wrath of his daughter. As he walked the twenty feet towards the door, he peered around at the people in the room. As he watched all the different people laughing, flirting, or trying to forget whatever they were here to forget, he noticed one man at the end of the bar, with his head on the edge of the bar and his arms dangling down at his sides. Nakamori stopped in front of the man. With a raised eye brow he stared down at the kid. The kid was no more than twenty-five, his hair pointing in all direction, shrouding his facial features that weren't being pressed into the wood of the bar. Nakamori watched as one of the bartenders shook the kid's shoulders trying to get him to move. It took a few moments before the boy moved, lifting his head slightly off the table. The inspector's eyes widened, as the boy's sunken blue eyes stared emotionlessly up at the bartender in front of him. He swatted the other man away with a heavy hand before thumping his elbows on the bar, burying his face in his hands, one of his hands coming to rest on the back of his neck, pulling at the hair back their slightly.
Nakamouri-keibu walked towards the boy slowly, almost dream like. It's him, I can't believe it… He watched as the boy moved his arms; say something to the bartender, who produced a glass of clear liquid. The kid looked down at it, eyes glazed over slightly, mouth creased down, and brow furrowed slightly. Nakamouri's heart lurched slightly. The boy was hurt-no, more than hurt, his eyes said that much at least. The boy took a big gulp of the liquid and stared down at the glass, swallowing thickly.
Nakamori stood behind the boy, hand outstretched, about to clamp down on his shoulder, but retracted his hand, opting to sitting next to the boy.
The boy didn't seem to notice the police officer, staring hard into the glass of what the inspector assumed was water.
The inspector slouched against the bar, motioning for the bar keep to bringing him another coffee. He sat silently, eyeing the boy every few minutes.
"That's always been your problem Nakamouri-keibu," the boy said softly before taking a sip of water, staring into nothing, "You have never been very inconspicuous."
Nakamori smiled softly, "Yes, well you have always had a way of disappearing when things got sticky." The boy simply looked down at his glass, frowning. Nakamori stood, grabbing the boy by the shoulder, firmly but gently. Lifting him from his seat, nodding to the bar keep, "Come on, I'll make sure you get home safely."
The boy sighed, "Thank you, Nakamori-jiisan."
"My pleasure, Kaito."
III
They didn't speak most of the trip home, The Inspector guiding Kaito to his old home a few blocks from his own. Nakamori had thousands of questions, but kept quite.
It was Kaito that spoke first. "How's retirement from the task force inspector?"
The inspector almost laughed. Of all the things he says… "It's boring…"
There was silence for a few moments. "I'm sorry you were never able to catch him. Kid, I mean."
Nakamouri's hand on Kaito's shoulders tightened slightly. "It's…okay, by the end of it, I didn't really want to catch him. I just wanted him to come home."
Kaito looked at the other man, eyes wide. "Sir."
Nakamori stopped in front of the Kuroba house. "Go home Kid…you mom's waiting for you. I know she's not the only woman to miss you while you were gone…"
Kaito's eyes fell. "No, I don't really think so."
The older man clapped the younger man on the back. "Let's get a drink sometime together; I'll escort you to the bar this time next week. I'm sure as hell not paying for everything you drank tonight; my tab's too big as it is. We can catch up." Kaito nodded. Nakamori turned to leave, taking a few steps before turning around. "I know what you probably think, but you should stop by my house for dinner, she'd love to see you again. We'll keep this between us for now, but I expect her to find out sooner or later. You've caused her a lot of pain, and I don't think that I want to know the answer to why you've made the decisions that you have, but I do know that if I didn't think she still…held a place in her heart for you...this situation would be completely different. If you understand my meaning Kid-san."
Kaito gulped. "Yes, Sir." With that, Nakamori left.