And with this day my written exams are finished! Thank you for all the support, your kind words put me in a super good mood today! ^^
I'm not really sure what to say, you guys are surprising me every single day with your positivity and kindness, so... Thank you again, I guess.
So, I guess, I should answer a few questions...
Kensy Echo, I appreciate constructive criticism, and trust me, not only you didn't make me upset, you cheered me up completely! I'm also really grateful that you took your time to write a review, so... yeah. Can I hug you now? Okay, okay, I'll stop ^^" But seriously, don't worry, you didn't upset me. I hope you'll enjoy the next chapters too.
Neonkoi, Yukiko surely would enjoy pampering and teasing his suddenly tiny son, and I'm pretty sure that after getting over his embarrassment, Kai-chan would join in too ^^ And by the way, Kid WILL find it out, I've got everything planned :D Now that you mention it, I didn't really think about Akako's abilities to shrink people... But she'll drop by later, just to stir things up a bit.
And this is getting awfully long, so I should just shut up. Please enjoy~
Morning came awfully early for Shinichi. At 5 a.m. to be exact, as that was the time Kid decided to dance around the living room with the pillow (and Shinichi still laying on top of it) in his hands, loudly humming some unknown song.
"Rise and shine!" he chirped, while he stomped towards the bathroom. If Shinichi wasn't struggling with his almost heart-attack from being woken up and being up so high on a wobbly pillow so suddenly, he would've noticed how the thief was already dressed up, seemingly fresh, dark circles under his eyes almost perfectly hidden by make-up. Instead, he was busy with clutching the pillow with his tiny hands, praying to every single god he knew not to let him fall.
When they arrived, Kid put the pillow on top of a cabinet. The small basin he used last night to bathe Shinichi was already there, filled with warm water, and the detective couldn't hold back the mortified groan at the sight. Did he really have to through all that again? Even when the warm water seemed so inviting, even when his mind choose the worst moment to remember how good it was to be pampered, he knew he had to stay alert. He had a plan after all.
"How was your sleep?" Kid asked him as he grabbed a washcloth.
"Short. Too short." Shinichi grumbled. Damn, he really needed some caffeine.
"Sorry to hear that," the thief chirped back, his tone still annoyingly cheerful. Don't lie, you're not sorry at all, Shinichi thought to himself, and sent a far too sleepy glare to Kid. He was unaffected, still all smiles, and radiating happiness.
In the end, despite Shinichi's heroic efforts, Kid succeeded in bathing him, then left him to dry, wrapped in a big blue towel. He promised he'd be back in a minute, but Shinichi couldn't just sit there until then. There was still one question that bothered him.
He climbed out of his towel cocoon (he suspected that Kid wrapped it in a specific way just to not let him move), and trotted over to the mirror on the wall. Luckily, the edge of it reached the cabinet, so Shinichi didn't need to climb anywhere – his hand couldn't handle it anyway, as it began to throb painfully with every small movement since yesterday.
He looked… different, he realized. Not quite himself, but not Conan either. He was between the two, agewise, like his 13-year-old self. Still, he seemed dangerously similar to both, and to stay with someone who knew the real him and his alter ego so well… He needed to be as careful as possible, he couldn't let anything slip, not even the slightest hint. Only God knows what Kid might do otherwise.
"Hey, what are you doing there? You'll get cold, you know!" Speak of devil… The thief hurried over to him, gently picked him up and wrapped him in the towel again, when he found his skin and his hair still a bit wet. A few minutes later Shinichi was free from the towel-prison, but only to be wrapped in something else again – a piece of white cloth, he realized, and it had a slightly odd feel to it.
"What is this?" he asked himself, rather than Kid, but the thief answered anyway.
"My glove" he said, while he struggled to keep it wrapped around Shinichi with a small safety pin. When he finished, he smiled again, and it was that weird, not quite true smile again. He didn't give himself too much time to admire his work though, as he pulled out a small ribbon out of his pocket, then went to search for antiseptic and cotton buds. By the time he found them, Shinichi fell asleep while standing.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing?" Kid asked with an amused snort and probably his first real smile that morning, that only grew wider when instead of answering Shinichi began snoring. "Oh well…" He quickly replaced the bandage on his hand, then picked him up as carefully as possible and left the bathroom.
On his way out, he casted a quick glance at the trash bin and the bloody bandages in it, grateful that his little guest didn't notice them.
"Let's go home, okay?" he asked quietly, and let himself smile again when Shinichi just cuddled his thumb in his sleep.