Kid's Retirement Event

"For Kid to retire, he has to retire," Kaito had said to Aoko. And to Saguru. And to...pretty much everyone in the know to convince them this was a good idea. Sure, he'd given police statements by now as disguised as possible. And the news had picked up on that fact despite attempts to keep it under wraps. He could have let Kid fade into obscurity and be one more unsolved mystery as people wondered if he'd lived or died or fallen off the face of the planet.

After eighteen years it felt more fitting to end it with one last show. One last safe show hopefully, Kaito thought to himself as he finished the last few preparations.

Aoko was not happy about this. Nor were Takumi or Saguru, even though Saguru and Aoko both understood why he needed to do this. Hell, Kudo understood why he needed to do this because Kudo had ended his double life with a spectacle too. It was the only fitting way to end Kid, and Kaito rather thought his father would have approved. Start with a show, end with a show, leave them wondering for years if it was real or not. Save the mystery but make the show's end clear on a high note.

The 200th heist had not been a high note.

The injuries from his crash had long healed and he'd rehabilitated almost back to where he was before. Not quite all the way, he'd never have quite the same amount of strength in his arm or a leg free of twinges, but aches and pains were par for the course really; he'd abused his body enough over the years that he had no illusions about the hell old age would be one day. His hands had their dexterity, his body was as flexible at thirty-five as it had been at twenty-five because he'd never let it deteriorate (and hadn't that been a hell of a thing to get back when he could move fully again. Aging hips did not like doing splits anymore.)

This would be it. One last flash-bang for the road to leave them dazzled and seal Kid into urban mythos forever. Kaito's fingers fiddled with a long line of fuses. He'd always known he'd be glad to retire, but he'd thought he'd feel more reluctance to part from the adrenaline rush and show-high that Kid's spotlight gave him. But what was waiting for him—another shot at Aoko's friendship, days not filled with frantic research and information networks, time spent relaxing with his son, future dates with Saguru to spring upon the detective to add spontaneity to his life... God, he wished he'd had a chance to retire sooner.

The fuses clipped into place. He'd light them with a remote button to get the timing just right. Two hundred fireworks for two hundred heists. Tokyo would get a little mid-winter show.

He donned Kid's hat and monocle before sliding on the gloves. It was an old suit, well mended and not as white as it had once been because some stains never came out no matter how hard he tried, but no one was going to notice that. There was a tremor of nerves running through him that he hadn't felt in a while but if it was because last time he wore Kid's suit he'd almost died or because he was dreadfully out of practice at pulling on Kid's mask, he wasn't sure. (The former, who was he kidding, or course it was the former.) Mask on, a grinning jester's face that invited mischief. Check the mic on him, a crackle of soft static in his earpiece, the hidden speakers around his stage silent for a bit longer. Breathe in. Breathe out.

Kid strode to his starting point; enter, stage left.

There had been a note, there'd had to be a note with the copycats that popped up in the last six months, just a time and a place. No riddle, no games. The police had been through their ranks enough that it felt safe to do. That didn't stop the instinctual part of his brain from a tiny moment of panic as he appeared in the spotlight. That was Kaito though.

Kid felt the weight of eyes on him and grinned wider. His breath fogged the winter air as dozens upon dozens of faces lifted to see him perched on the clock tower. He'd chosen here because it meant something. Because he'd met Aoko here, and saved this tower with a heist, and now he'd end Kid here.

"Ladies and Gentlemen and Officers of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department!" Kid said, voice echoing from his hidden speakers around the open space. He paused to let them yell and shriek his name because his fans knew the real deal when they saw it. "It seems," he continued, the crowd quieting to listen obediently, "that there have been some rumors of my death over the last few months. Clearly false, as you can see. Despite others' best efforts, Kid has lived on. Unfortunately," Kid said with heavy dramatics, "it is time for Kid's final curtain call." There was a veritable wave of whispers, a fog of unease rippling through his eager crowd. "All good shows come to an end," he said gently. Out in the crowd, the police were moving for him. A helicopter was nearby and there was a moment of déjà vu, standing here with a gem in his hand and Kudo staring down the barrel of a gun in his direction. Kudo didn't have a gun aimed at him tonight, though. "I leave you, beloved audience, dear critics, with one final show, a last finale. No theft tonight, only goodbyes."

This was where he was most vulnerable, three steps out and up into what appeared to be open air. No shots came. Kaito internally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you for seeing me through the years," Kid—Kaito—said to the people before him. "I hope that if you think of me, you'll believe that there is magic in the world."

A press of the button, police swarming the clock tower, Kid tipping forward into an explosion of doves and mirrored confetti. Above, fireworks exploded into bright, colorful lights, and Kid's uniform fluttered down to the ground in a heap, empty but for a single calling card with an apology for not returning Pandora.

The final firework exploded in the shape of Kid's caricature. From his hiding place, Kaito listened to the police climbing through the clock tower and the chaos in the crowd below. Little by little, he pulled Kid's mask away and let it drop somewhere in his mind. It would be easy to find again if he wanted to, but Kaito didn't plan on pulling it back out again.

He laughed silently to himself. So. It was over. For real this time. He could live without Kid. It was about damn time.

Later, much later, after the police cleared out and the scent of gunpowder from the fireworks cleared away, Kaito crawled out of his hiding spot and into the clock engine room. He wasn't terribly surprised that Saguru was there waiting for him, sitting below the mass of gears and workings like he had been there for some time and would comfortably have sat there longer. It was cold as heck even in the engine room.

"You didn't have to wait," Kaito said, jumping down to his side.

Saguru caught one of Kaito's hands, warmed it between his own. "I wanted to be here for you after. How do you feel?"

"Hmm." Kaito prodded the emotions from the last few hours. "Lighter. I feel like I really could fly if I wanted to."

"Let's not test that," Saguru said, dry humor appreciated. Kaito pulled him to his feet and Saguru came, slowly. They were both getting old, so old, all aches and pains and all the bullshit that came with every year past thirty and living life a bit too harshly.

"You don't think I could do it?" Kaito teased. He let Saguru balance on him until he had his cane settled.

"Kaito, if anyone could manage to learn to fly, I would believe you could," Saguru said.

"I'll pencil in a flight attempt."

"So long as you come out of it intact."

"Of course. Naturally I'll take precautions."

Saguru shook his head, but he was smiling so that was a win for Kaito.

"It's really over," Kaito said, looking at where their hands were clasped together, the scars on his hands somehow all the more noticeable next to Saguru's.

"Yes."

Kaito let that sink through him again. It still felt good. He'd need to tell himself that every now and again until eventually he'd believe it inside and out. He tugged Saguru toward the stairs. "I am going to need a lot of new hobbies."

"The ones from the last few months aren't enough?"

"You can never have too many hobbies," Kaito said, only half-joking.

"Maybe we should do a hobby together," Saguru said.

Kaito grinned to himself. Yeah, he was definitely in love with this man. "Knitting?"

"Not exactly what I was thinking, but..."

"Hmm, playing Go? Birdwatching? Or maybe gardening—but not really the best considering we live in apartments."

"There's plenty of time to try things until we find something we both like."

Which meant Saguru definitely would be sticking around long term. Which meant he saw them together in the future. Which still filled Kaito with a quiet kind of joy he didn't have words for whenever Saguru did or said something that emphasized it.

Kaito linked his arm with Saguru's. "All the time in the world."