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Chapter 9

It was hours later when they got to Beika's police station, and by then Shinichi was visibly weary. Kaito frowned, glancing sideways at an officer he recognized, for all that he was younger than the one he'd known. "Hey, Takagi-san?" he interrupted the man's quiet conversation with a uniformed woman.

"Yes Ku—err, Kuroba-san?" The man turned to look at him, his tone changing slightly mid-sentence from professionally polite to slightly puzzled.

Kaito let his gaze flicker back to Shinichi, slumped in a rolling chair, "Is there someplace Shinichi can lie down? He shouldn't be pushing so hard; he's not well, yet."

"Not well?" the woman's gaze sharpened into something familiar as she took over the conversation, leaving Takagi blinking. "Did something happen?"

Kaito sighed, "He only got out of the hospital a few days ago and we already had a long day… he needs to take his meds and rest for a while."

The woman's lips thinned, "Right. Takagi-kun, take them to the overnight room. I'll talk to the Inspector about getting this wrapped up."

"H-hai!" Takagi turned to Kaito, who was already making his way back to his tired husband.

"Up you get," Kaito murmured, ignoring the officer moving over to them as he provided most of the force to get Shinichi on his feet. "Takagi-san's showing us to someplace quieter."

Shinichi nodded slightly, fingers coming up to rub at his temples as he curled forward, just a little. "Good idea."

"Head?" Kaito asked rhetorically, placing a careful hand over Shinichi's nape. He grimaced, "You're starting to feel a little warm. Let's get you medicated and lying down—I do not want you to relapse on me."

"Ano…" Takagi started hesitantly as Kaito slid under Shinichi's arm to support some of his weight.

Twin sets of blue eyes flickered towards him, one questioning and one tired.

"This way," Takagi led them through the station hallways to a room Shinichi was—interestingly—not familiar with. Several couches and two low cots—ah, a nap-room. "I'll get some water," the officer informed, turning back towards the door. "Go ahead and get settled—the cots are more comfortable than the couches, if a bit squeaky."

xxxx

"Keibu," Sato stated firmly, interrupting him as he shuffled irritably through several stacks of paper—witness statements, she noted.

"Ah, Sato-kun*," Megure glanced up, "Do you need something?"

"Kudo-san is in poor health," she informed. "Takagi took him and Kuroba-san to the overnight room, but he has only recently been released from the hospital and needs proper rest. If at all possible, I think Kudo-san's part in this should be either wrapped up quickly or postponed until a later date."

Megure straightened, frowning, "He was in the hospital? Is he injured?"

Sato shook her head, not quite a denial. "I didn't ask, but the wording seemed to imply illness over injury."

Megure's frown deepened, "I see. Well, I'd better get this straightened out and go talk to him. Sato-kun, if you could get the paperwork?"

"Hai; I'll meet you there."

xxxx

Kaito sighed, checking Shinichi's temperature again. A little warm, but not rising, and he needed to quash the lingering fear messing with his rational thoughts. He pressed his forehead against the edge of the cot and listened to even breathing.

Shinichi was fine. He was. Being easily tired was to be expected after that severe an illness, and the 'a little warm' wasn't even high enough to count as an actual fever. Although getting him home might be difficult, what with the last dose of antibiotics making him woozy.

"Shin-chan," Kaito complained quietly, not actually wanting to wake his husband, "I don't want to stay at the mansion tonight." Might have to, though, seeing as how Kaito's home in Ekoda was far enough to be a problem.

Footsteps in the hall had him shifting into a position where he could be on his feet in an instant, though the light tap on the door eased out some of the habitual tension. Black Org people weren't generally inclined to be polite. He settled back into a kneeling position, though one easier to get up from, and called a quiet "Hai?", throwing his voice towards the door to be heard more clearly.

Megure, good, he'd always been an ally, if a little… well. Megure.

"Ah… Kuroba-kun? How is Kudo-kun?"

"Not sleeping anymore," Kaito informed, dropping the attempt at quiet when Shinichi's breathing shifted. "Hey, Shin-chan? You up to dealing with questions?"

"Mm," Shinichi didn't open his eyes, "Sooner we get finished, sooner we can leave. I want to go home."

"Yeah, me too. Which one?"

"White," Shinichi opened his eyes and reluctantly started to lever himself up.

"Not sure we can get you that far safely," Kaito murmured when Shinichi wavered. "Lie back down; you know those antibiotics make you dizzy."

"Yes, Kaito," Shinichi let himself fall back against the thin padding, the cot's frame squeaking protest.

Kaito huffed at the tone, "Shinichi, my dear husband; if you pass out again, I'm tying you to the bed for a week."

A strange sound came from the direction of the door, rather like a strangled frog.

"That's—an effective threat," Shinichi observed. "Although you may have missed how it sounded." Doubtful, though, Kaito had probably calculated the statement for Most Entertaining Reaction from the police in the doorway.

"Husband?" Megure sputtered from the doorway even as Sato and Takagi came up behind him.

"Oh, did we… not mention that?" Kaito blinked towards the Inspector. "I mean, I know he didn't want to distract you from the case, but I don't think we meant to skip it entirely."

"Husband?" Megure asked again, at a loss.

"Blame our mothers," Shinichi huffed, lips curling in a fond smile. "They thought it'd be cute."

"It is cute," Kaito pointed out, "Kind of. Would have been nice to have some warning, though."

"You two are married?" the woman from before asked, blinking.

"Oh, hey, Sato-san," Shinichi offered a tired wave. "Yeah. For… what? A little over a week?"

"Ten days, give or take," Kaito agreed, hiding his surprise at the revelation. The Sato he'd known had been… sharper, harder; like a knife-blade. "If it hadn't been Shinichi, I would have freaked out and refused to sign the papers. I can handle being married to Shinichi. Any other childhood friend? No."

"I feel special," Shinichi murmured drily. "Fortunately, we're on the same page, there. Kaito's crazy, but…"

"I'm crazy?" Kaito huffed, "You're the one who walks up to dead bodies without so much as batting an eye!"

"I'm used to it—and you turned your entire class rainbow tie-dye; skin, clothes, hair, and all. Including the teacher."

"So?"

"The teacher didn't even pause the lecture."

"Eh, they're used to it," Kaito waved dismissively.

Shinichi let out a resigned sigh, closing his eyes again. "Exactly my point. That aside, however, Keibu? What do you need for us to be able to go home?"

A few more moments in which Megure made several false starts at speaking finally ended with the Inspector apparently deciding to ignore the new information and answer the question. "There's the usual paperwork and we need statements from both of you."

Shinichi sighed again and Kaito glanced over at him, thoughtful. "I can handle most of the paperwork," he informed, producing a clipboard and pen from nowhere while the papers Sato-san had been holding obligingly poofed to said clipboard in a wisp of faintly blue smoke. Kaito ignored the gaping and set to work.

Shinichi, eyes still closed, groaned in exasperation. "Kai, we've been over this. Doing that from across the room is overkill and breaks several laws. Of physics."

"Gravity and intervening space are mild and often avoidable inconveniences," Kaito returned, flipping the first page over to start on the back. "You know that."

Shinichi did, actually, what with the rules of sorcery that they had not only learned, but learned to use. Neither of them was a true sorcerer, but tweaking how small inanimate objects moved through the world could be done—provided they could spare the energy cost.

"Just don't break any police minds, okay?"

"No promises."

"Ahem," Megure cleared his throat, finally entering the room properly with Takagi and Sato trailing behind him. "Kudo-kun, if I could have your statement while Kuroba-kun is busy…?"

Shinichi nodded briefly and started to explain what had happened at the train station.

xxxx

"Well, it looks like that's everything," Takagi informed. "Megure-keibu is finalizing the paperwork, but you two can head home."

"Thanks," Kaito bounced to his feet in a show of energetic agility that had the officer blinking. "Oi, Shin-chan! Time to wake up!"

"Not sleeping," Shinichi murmured, pushing himself upright. "White or black?"

"We've got school tomorrow, so I'd rather white, but…" he glanced over the detective's form in a quick visual inventory. Fine tremor, a shade more pale than Kaito was comfortable with.

"Ano, do you need a ride?"

Kaito glanced at Takagi, cautiously optimistic. "If someone can, yeah. I don't think I can get Shinichi back to Ekoda safely on my own."

"My shift's been over for about ten minutes," Takagi informed, "I can take you home."

"Thanks, Takagi-keiji," Shinichi murmured, swaying.

Kaito moved to brace him, "Yeah, thanks. Shin-chan's exhausted and, honestly, I'm not all that much better."

Takagi offered a small smile, "Well, I'm glad to help. Kudo-san… well, you've helped us a lot, even if you can be a bit…"

Shinichi smirked tiredly, "I know."

Kaito grinned as he steered the detective after Takagi as the policeman led the way out of the building. "He's a lot nicer when there isn't an audience. The 'smug bastard' act keeps a fair number of people from fangirling, though unfortunately not all of them."

Takagi paused to stare, "You mean you do that on purpose?"

"Only when there's any chance of media attention or believable rumor… which is all the higher-profile cases and a fair number of the others… and most of the precinct; police officers gossip worse than housewives." Shinichi grimaced, "Fan mail is okay, if annoying, but I really don't like dealing with stalkers. I've found gloating while near other high-school students tends to diminish the number of ridiculous letters and being a visible bastard cuts back on the stalking."

Takagi considered that as he unlocked his car, "Well. That's… huh. Makes sense, I guess."

Once everyone was sitting and buckled—both Kaito and Shinichi in the back seat—Takagi started the car. "Ano… where am I taking you two? I know you said Ekoda, but…"

"You know where Nakamori-keibu lives?" Kaito asked, because while Takagi had certainly known when Kaito had first met him, that hadn't been for another year or so. He closed his eyes briefly and tapped 'Tenses are a nightmare,' on Shinichi's knee.

He sensed the commiserating grimace even without looking.

Takagi, of course, had no knowledge of the byplay, "Aa, I've been there before."

"Right next door," Kaito informed.

"Well, that makes this easy," Takagi noted, glancing in the rearview at his passengers. "Is Kudo-san asleep?"

Kaito glanced sideways, "Almost. If you don't mind, I could stand a nap, myself."

"Go ahead," Takagi offered a smile, "There's a some construction along the way right now. It'll be a while before we get there."

xxxx

Takagi scrambled out of the car to catch Kudo's arm as Kuroba hadn't quite managed to brace properly to take the detective's weight before he'd staggered. "Oi, Kudo-san, are you all right?"

"Thanks," Kuroba muttered, shifting himself more fully under Kudo's shoulder.

Takagi frowned, eying the detective, "Kudo-san?"

"The meds make him really woozy after a while," Kuroba explained, "Between that and simple exhaustion, he might be pretty out of it."

"Oh," Takagi hesitated a moment, "Do you need help getting him inside?"

Kuroba glanced towards the house and grimaced, "Yeah, that's a good idea. Come on, Shin-chan, move your feet. Don't make Takagi-san and I do all the work!"*

That stirred a bit of reaction, "Mm," the detective managed, close-lipped, stumbling along with the support as one hand flickered through a strange set of gestures.

Kuroba huffed a laugh, "Not as incoherent as you are dizzy, huh?"

"What?" Takagi glanced over, puzzled.

"Oh, he's correcting my grammar in sign, which means he's got severe vertigo but is thinking clearly. Understandably, the vertigo often comes with nausea, so…"

"Oh," Takagi didn't know sign language, so it was fairly obvious why he'd missed the silent message. "Ano… hang on, I'll help him balance while you get the door."

Kuroba grinned and flicked his fingers, the key suddenly unlocking the door without any visible method of either getting it into the lock or getting it to turn, then the door opened itself for them.

"Um. Ah," Takagi blinked at the somewhat creepy image, "What was that?"

Kuroba grinned, "Magic!" A pause, "Well, more like telekinesis, but there's no need to go spreading that around."

"Ah… ha, right," Takagi accepted the silent urging and helped get Kudo into the house, a little uneasy. Telekinesis? Even with only what little he had seen of the teen so far, he really hoped not.

"Okay, now for the hard part," Kuroba somehow managed to replace three pairs of shoes with slippers on three sets of feet without using his hands or letting Takagi figure out how it had been done despite the fact that one of the sets of feet was his own.

Telekinesis was looking a bit more terrifyingly likely.

"Hard part?"

"Stairs," Kuroba explained, guiding Kudo towards a somewhat narrow staircase with Takagi's support.

"Ah," Takagi eyed the steeper than normal steps. There wasn't quite enough room for three abreast.

"Can you spot us from behind? Shouldn't be too bad, but just in case?"

"Right," Takagi eased himself out from under Kudo's shoulder, leaving Kuroba supporting the brunt of the detective's weight.

Said detective grimaced, but didn't otherwise comment as his already unstable equilibrium was further altered.

Takagi sighed in relief as they managed to get upstairs without any mishaps. "Do you need me to do anything else?"

Kuroba frowned thoughtfully, "Well, if you could head to my room at the end of the hall and turn down the bedcover, that'd be great. I'll get him into sleepwear—he can shower in the morning; rest is more important right now."

Takagi nodded and did as requested, though he ended up turning in surprise as Kuroba pulled a… square sheet? Excessively large handkerchief? Something out of nowhere and flipped it briefly over the other teen, magician-style.

When the piece of cloth was withdrawn, Kudo was wearing loose sleep-clothes and a wry smile as he flicked through a quick set of gestures even as Kuroba unceremoniously dumped him into bed.

Kuroba obligingly translated, "Shinichi would like to thank you for the ride and the help, Takagi-san. Would you like some tea before you go? It's still a bit of a drive back to Beika and I'd hate to have you get too tired before you get home. I've got a strong ginger that'll give you a very caffeine-like boost for about an hour before wearing off."

Takagi considered how he felt, "That might be a good idea," he conceded. "Thank you."

Ten minutes later, Takagi was being treated to a sharply-flavored tea that really did have him feeling a lot less tired—by virtue of burning more than hard alcohol. He coughed at the first swallow, "Ah, wow. That's strong."

Kuroba grinned at him, sipping a cup of sweetened chamomile. "Yeah, the burn kicks you awake pretty quick. The actual ginger takes a bit longer, but it lasts a bit longer, too. You should probably drink the whole cup if you want it to last all the way back to Beika."

Takagi grimaced and knocked back the rest of the cup like a shot before coughing again. "Okay, I'm awake, now."

Kuroba's grin widened and he pushed the third cup—which Takagi had assumed he'd been intending to take to Kudo—across the small table. "Here, orange juice. It'll take the edge off."

"Thanks," he sipped at the juice, surprised at how quickly it dulled the burn in his throat. "I should probably get going."

"I'll see you to the door, then," Kuroba stood, offering Takagi a hand up. "Thank you, Takagi-san."

"Huh?" Takagi blinked in mild confusion.

Kuroba smiled, "For caring. Shinichi… doesn't have a lot of people who do, not really. Comes with fame, I suppose, that people care more about 'what' than 'who'."

"I…" Takagi considered that alongside what the high-school detective had admitted to earlier and came to a somewhat depressing conclusion. "He cares," he stated after a moment, remembering the cases he'd seen Kudo break apart and that shaded, angry grief that was always in his eyes while he stared down murderers. "Even when he's… well, he cares about everyone. It's only fair that someone care back."

"But it didn't have to be you." Kuroba pointed out, gentle in a way that Takagi had the feeling he rarely was, "So… thank you."

Takagi bowed his head, "You're welcome." Because to try and deflect again would cheapen the sentiment, and Takagi might be just a bit naïve and more than a little shy for someone in law enforcement, but he wasn't oblivious.

He glanced back at the white house before getting into his car, thinking over the revelations he'd had handed to him. Kudo Shinichi wasn't who he'd thought he was. Was better than he'd thought he was, more than just smart. Kudo Shinichi was… Takagi smiled faintly, getting into his car and starting it.

Kudo Shinichi was everything a detective should be. He sought justice with bared truth, but there was a kindness he kept masked and that Takagi hadn't expected. As he pulled out into the street, Takagi realized that the Detective of the East was someone who could be a friend.

xxxx

*-kun is generally used as a less formal suffix than –san for males. In the series, Megure, Agasa, and James Black all use '-kun' regardless of the gender of the person they're talking to. This probably says more about the writer than the characters, but there it is.

*This is an example of easy-to-mistake incorrect grammar (English). The conventions for the 'and me' or 'and I' depend on whether you would use 'me' or 'I' without the preceding other person's name. (i.e. the sentence 'Don't make Takagi-san and I do all the work' is incorrect because if 'Takagi-san' was not part of the sentence, you would automatically say 'Don't make me do all the work,' as a native English speaker. I will concede that non-native English speakers would likely have more trouble with the 'automatic' part, especially if they are new to the language.

xxxx