Title: Poker Face
Author: kirin-saga
Rated: PG-13
Pairing: Possible Hakuba/Kaito
Warning: attempted suicide
Summary: Sequel to Crumble
Word Count: 563
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The problem with Poker Face, Hakuba mused, was that if a person were good enough at it, no one could tell what they were thinking. Or if they were hurting. And the problem with believing someone was Kaitou Kid was that any abnormal behavior could be blamed on their suspected night activities. 'I really should have noticed,' he thought as he traced a finger over the hand he held, trying to ignore the bandages on Kaito's arm as he stared at the sleeping – sedated – boy's face.
Someone should have noticed how much Kaito was suffering, if not Hakuba, than Aoko. And if not Aoko than certainly his mother. 'I guess Poker Face fooled us all,' he mused, attention turned briefly to the other side of the room as Aoko tried to convince the crying woman that she wasn't a bad mother. She wasn't, Hakuba knew. A bad mother wouldn't have used the hem of her favorite nightgown to try to stop the bleeding while anxiously waiting for the ambulance to arrive. A bad mother wouldn't have woken up in the middle of the night with a strong feeling of dread and gone to check on a son that had been so cheerful just hours earlier. 'Thank god for a mother's instinct.'
The faint click of the door opening attracted his attention and he turned to see Nakamori-keibu slip into the hospital room. The man looked tired, exhausted, but then it was three o'clock in the morning. He had been speaking to the doctor, having taken over for Kaito's mother when she couldn't calm down enough to answer questions. Nakamori and his daughter had been there since almost the beginning of the emergency, having been awoken by the ambulance's sirens. Aoko had called Hakuba as soon as they knew Kaito was out of danger and she had time to think. He wasn't quite sure why she had called him, or why he couldn't seem to bring himself to let go of Kaito's hand, but he supposed it didn't matter.
Aoko seemed to have finally gotten Kaito's mother to laugh - a broken, tear filled laugh, but a laugh all the same - by saying she would put fish stickers on everything potentially dangerous in the Kuroba and Nakamori homes. Hakuba considered adding some to his own as well, despite the fact Kaito had only been to his house once and that had been for a school project they had been partnered for.
A heavy hand landed on his shoulder and he looked up at Nakamori's face. Nakamori wasn't paying him any attention, his gaze drifting between Kaito's too pale face to the bag of blood hanging from the IV stand, to the heart monitor that let them know that despite how still he was, Kaito was still alive. Hakuba could only guess what the man was feeling. Lost and helpless and guilty like he himself was most likely.
Nakamori sighed suddenly, reaching out with his other hand to gently stroke through Kaito's hair. Kaito twitched and sighed, the sedative beginning to wear off. Hakuba didn't know what to expect when the boy finally woke.
He did know two things though. One, nothing would ever be the same as they were before this night. And two, he was never going to allow himself to be fooled by Poker Face again.