Mikau: Hi all! Sorry the update is late. I forgot that I had an art history class on Saturdays starting yesterday. It's just for three weeks, but for next week and the week after that, updates are going to be on Sundays instead of Saturdays. Before we get started, I just want to thank those that reviewed last chapter: Opal Spirit, Lady Lily Anne, and Fireflower19. Thank you so much for your support everyone!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, my editor would be knocking down my door every deadline day. ^.^;

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Chapter Eleven: Affirmation

Saguru nearly jumped. "K-Kuroba? What about Kuroba? I mean…what did you need to talk about with me?"

Ran grinned fondly at the blonde. "You have a thing for Kaito, don't you?"

Saguru did jump that time, and his voice jumped an octave as he insisted, "N-No! Absolutely not!"

Ran laughed, shaking her head. "Calm down, Saguru-kun. It's not a bad thing."

"How is it not a bad thing when I have feelings for a man who's practically married with a baby on the way?" Saguru sighed, burying his face in his hands.

"Well, as you've just seen, we're not exactly a happy little perfect family. We can be really dysfunctional at times," Ran readily confessed.

"Still. A family is a family, and you all love each other. I have no business intruding," Saguru insisted.

"I don't think you're intruding," Ran offered.

"Kudo-kun would disagree, I think," Saguru scoffed.

"Kaito and I have two-thirds majority."

"Kuroba doesn't want me either," Saguru stubbornly pointed out for the benefit of the both of them.

"Kaito needs you, though," Ran hummed, trying to entice the detective.

"Not in the same capacity as he needs Kudo-kun," Saguru argued, beginning to get frustrated. Why was she encouraging feelings that could only lead to infidelity and heartbreak?

"Sometimes Shinichi drops the ball. Case and point: he's too busy thinking about the greater good that he's failing to consider Kaito's mental well-being. I'm telling you now: if Kaito goes to England with us, he's going to break—shatter. I'm not going to be able to fix him, and Shinichi will be too far away and too busy with his war on the Organization to be able to do much either. Whom does that leave?"

Saguru shifted uncomfortably before timidly answering, "Me?"

Ran nodded like an encouraging teacher. "And Kaito isn't going to need you in the same way that he needs Shinichi. I'm not expecting you to be a 'replacement goldfish' lover. I'm expecting you to put Kaito's needs first and show him the unconditional love only a loyal friend like you can supply."

"That's a little presumptuous and selfish of you, isn't it?" Saguru chuckled.

Ran grinned unrepentantly. "You don't mind. You're desperate to help him and feel like he needs you. You want to be his support."

Saguru smiled wryly and admitted, "You're not wrong."

"I know," Ran purred deviously. "That's why I'm encouraging you. I don't expect you to replace Shinichi by any means. Kaito needs you as a supplement, especially since it sounds like we're going to be separated for a year or more. I'll be all right. I'm used to long distance relationships, and I'll have my baby to distract me, but Kaito is different. If you hadn't noticed, Kaito is clingy. Whom do you think he'll cling to in a foreign country where he feels trapped and abandoned by his lover?"

Saguru's eyes narrowed. "And you have no problem with this?"

Ran shook her head. "It's not a question of being unfaithful, if that's what you're getting at. Kaito's drowning in this relationship. You've seen him last night, this morning. He needs someone who he knows loves him more than anything, and Shinichi just isn't meeting that need. Shinichi's not perfect, despite what everyone thinks, and he's just not able to be everything that Kaito needs in a mate. I love Kaito, and I want him to be happy. It really does break my heart, seeing him in such a state. And what could Shinichi say about it? He's the one that started this multi-partner relationship in the first place. Kaito can make up his own mind about what he wants to do if and when the occasion arises, but know that I wouldn't be opposed to having you around to care for Kaito. I think you would benefit from a relationship with him too, if I'm not mistaken."

Saguru looked away. "Right now, a friendship with Kuroba is more than enough."

Ran nodded. "That's fine. This is completely between the two of you, and I don't think the idea of you as a romantic partner has even entered Kaito's head yet, so it might be that nothing changes between you two for several months. I just know Kaito, and I know he's going to need someone to hold on to if Shinichi really does send him away. I want you to know that when that time comes, if something happens and things change between you and Kaito…it's okay. Even if you guys just stay really good friends and you're there for him in a platonic way while he struggles to make it through…I want you to know that your feelings for him are nothing to be ashamed of. You're a good man, Saguru-kun, and your feelings are noble and pure. There's no need for you to feel guilty or in the wrong during any stage of this. Okay?"

Saguru considered her words for a full minute, and Ran let the seconds pass peacefully as she allowed him to take his time.

"You really think there's nothing wrong here?" he chuckled, unable to see things in the same light that she did.

"Saguru-kun, there are a lot of things wrong here," Ran sighed. "None of the three of you is particularly emotionally healthy. You're three imperfect human beings with three different sets of needs and three unique piles of baggage. Life isn't perfect, and we do what we can to get by and make the most of it. What I want you to understand is that there's nothing wrong with the way that you feel about Kaito. I don't want you putting a gag on yourself, so please give yourself permission to be in love, even if you never choose to act on those feelings."

Saguru's eyes widened slightly as he finally understood that she wasn't just telling him all this for Kaito's benefit but for Saguru's own.

"You're a very kind person, Ran-san." Saguru smiled as a sense of relief filled him. "Thank you."

Ran waved his thanks away. "You haven't seen me on a bad day. I'm not always kind. In fact, there are times I think I'm a little ugly on the inside."

"Certainly not," Saguru protested.

Ran shook her head. "I think we all have ugly sides that we try not to let others see, but honestly, in terms of heart, I hope my baby takes after his or her father more than me."

Saguru's brow furrowed. "After…Kudo-kun?"

Ran laughed and shook her head again. "After Kaito."

"Kuroba?" The creases in Saguru's forehead deepened. "So…you're thinking that Kuroba is the biological father?"

Ran nodded. "I think Shinichi did it on purpose. He only really gets in the mood to watch Kaito and me a couple times a month, but when he does, it's usually on the days I'd be able to conceive. I wouldn't put it past Shinichi to keep track and plan it out that way. I don't think Kaito has noticed, though."

Saguru cheeks flushed for what felt like the twelfth time in as many hours. "Why do you think Kudo-kun would do something like that? Wouldn't he want his own biological child with you? I'm afraid I don't understand."

Ran's serene smile widened. "It's for Kaito's sake. If Shinichi and I had a child together first, it would only make Kaito feel more like an outsider intruding on the relationship between Shinichi and me. If the baby is Kaito's, however, that's a solid bond uniting the three of us. I think that's what Shinichi is aiming for. You can see it yourself that Kaito doesn't feel secure of Shinichi's love as things are now. I believe Kaito and me having a baby together would do a lot to change that. Besides, out of all of us, family means the most to Kaito. He's always wanted a stable bond, a blood link with others. Shinichi and I don't have great family relationships, but it's nothing like Kaito with his mom abandoning him and his father using and manipulating him his whole life. Kaito wants this baby more than any of us, and I really hope, for his sake, he gets it. He deserves at least that much happiness."

Saguru nodded. "And so much more…. You know, Ran-san, I was wrong about Kudo-kun, and I'm ashamed to admit it now."

Ran frowned. "What about?"

"I had begun to think that Kuroba was right and that Kudo-kun only loved him when it was convenient or when he had some use for Kuroba. I was starting to believe that Kuroba really was just the exotic concubine, but now I'm finding out how wrong I was. Kudo-kun really does treasure Kuroba in his own way. All of this drama and manipulation and strong-arming about sending Kuroba away genuinely is because Kudo-kun is terrified of losing Kuroba. I don't think he's going about it in the right way, but he actually is acting out of love and desperation."

Ran chuckled and nodded. "You're right. Shinichi's doing a botched job of it, but his heart is in the right place."

Just then, the sound of the shower started up in the bedroom, causing Ran to smile. "It looks like they've made up."

"Any predictions about whether Kuroba was able to change Kudo-kun's mind?" Saguru wondered.

Ran shook her head slowly. "That wasn't a fight Kaito could win. He might be able to butter Shinichi up and physically bribe him at times when it comes to little things, but Kaito is the one that submits nine times out of ten when a decision this serious has to be debated in the bedroom."

Saguru's face fell. "A small part of me is excited that he's coming to stay with me for a year, but…Kuroba is going to be so discontent there. I can hardly celebrate."

"You're a good man, Saguru-kun," Ran assured, scooting over on the couch so she could reach out and pat him on the knee.

"I try very hard to be." Saguru smiled weakly.

"You're doing a good job," she cooed her approval.

A little over twenty minutes later, Shinichi and Kaito immerged from the master bedroom with hair wet and in different clothes than they had gone in wearing. Kaito's eyes were red from tears, and there were several angry bite marks beginning to turn to bruises on Shinichi's neck.

Kaito came over and perched himself on the arm of Saguru's chair despondently while Shinichi, looking grave, took his place next to Ran.

"My team and I will help you arrange it, but could you leave for England tonight, Hakuba?"

Saguru blinked, a little surprised at the suddenness of it all, but he nodded and replied, "Yes, of course. There's very little I would need to do to prepare for departure. I'll need to give Baaya notice so that she can make her own plans to follow after us, but other than that…"

"Perfect." Shinichi allowed himself a faint smile as things came together. "There's really just one thing I'd like to take care of before you guys leave."

"And what's that?" Ran prompted.

"Marriage. We need to have a wedding," the detective informed matter-of-factly.

Ran's mouth dropped open. "Shinichi…I…What…?"

"We might as well," Kaito muttered listlessly. "Haku-chan and I can serve as witnesses. Don't you need two or something like that?"

"Not my wedding," Shinichi hastily corrected.

"Then who's getting married?" Ran's head was spinning. It had come so out of the blue.

"You two," Shinichi indicated Ran and Kaito.

Kaito's head whipped around so he could stare at his mate in astonishment. "Come again?"

"You and Ran are getting married," Shinichi repeated clearly.

"Shinichi, no," Kaito refused outright. "What the hell? What put that into your head? You're the one who's supposed to marry Ran. You two are supposed to get married and have beautiful, brilliant babies, and…and… What the hell are you thinking?"

"Kaito," Shinichi replied firmly. "I'm thinking that I'm going to be separated from you two for several months at minimum, and I'm thinking that you're not going to handle this well, Kai. So before you go, I want to obliterate every single doubt in your mind. I want you to go and be okay and not ever need to question my love for you. I want you and Ran to get married so you can finally feel like a legitimate part of this family. I want to chain you to us and this relationship so that you'll never again try to bow out and leave because you think you're in the way. I want you to stop suffering, and doing things like this is the only way I can think to accomplish that."

"Oh, Shinichi," Kaito breathed, rising to his feet as tears began to spill anew down his cheeks. "Shinichi," he hiccupped, falling to his knees, wrapping his arms around Shinichi's torso and sobbing into his lover's lap. "Thank you," he laughed, the anxiety leaving him. "Thank you. I can't. I don't want to—at least not now, not at a time like this—but…thank you anyway for looking out for me in your own way."

"Of course," Shinichi whispered, running his fingers through Kaito's wild hair. "I love you, Kaito, and I'd do anything for you."

…

Mikau: Thanks for reading everyone! I hope you enjoyed it, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Next chapter is actually the last of the main arc, but after that I have three omake chapters that take place in England a few months later. I hope you'll look forward to the next chapter as well.