Mikau: Hey guys! Good to see you again. Sorry that the update's a little late this week. The JET program application became available online about a week ago, and I've been scrambling to get everything together. The whole application packet is due in Washington on November twenty-first, so I wanted to get everything done early so I wasn't running around like a headless chicken later. Anyway, thank you so much to Mai-chan63, MysteryConan, Aniki-xvi, Sweetest Writer, and OO for reviewing.

Also, OO raised the question of the rating. I went back and looked at the guidelines again, and it says that T means suitable for thirteen and up. M is for sixteen and up, but I don't think there's any content in here that's that graphic. There are chapters that contain more innuendo and implications than others, but I would feel comfortable letting someone thirteen years old read it. I mean, thirteen year-olds generally know how babies are made and all that stuff. Granted, some thirteen year-olds are more mature than others, but fourteen and fifteen year-olds are in high school, and there isn't anything in this fic that I feel is inappropriate for them. I think what I'll do is keep the rating the same but put warnings at the beginnings of the chapters that are a little more limey. What do you guys think? Am I wrong? I figure if people are still reading this far, they see it building and know what to expect. I doubt any young children we need to protect are still reading this, and it's never going to get any more graphic than innuendo and implications.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I would have Hakuba wear suits more often. The inverness coat and the deerstalker look a little better in the newer episodes, but the suit from the detective koushien looked best.

….

Coming Clean

"Hey," the pint-sized detective greeted with a shy smile. He held up a bouquet of deep scarlet roses like a peace offering. "They reminded me of the ones you're always giving out, and I thought that I should get you something since, I mean…well, you're supposed to give the person you love a gift after the two of you…and, I mean, what says 'I thoroughly enjoyed sleeping with you,' better than roses and chocolates? May I come in now, or shall I continue blabbering on like an idiot a while longer for your amusement?"

"Chocolates first," Kaito insisted, taking the flowers and holding out the other hand for chocolate.

"Here you go." Conan grinned fondly at his mate, taking the box out of his backpack.

"Oh! Godiva!" the currently taller brunette squealed. "My man's got good taste!"

"You earned it," the grade schooler chuckled.

"You better believe I did!" the magician snorted. "How many other guys do you know who are able to bend in half? I don't know anyone else who could have gotten their legs up over your shoulders!"

"You're amazing, Kaito," the smaller teen professed, the glow of "stupid-in-love" shinning all over his face.

Kaito smiled, scolding himself for ever doubting Shinichi. "So are you. Come here." He moved the presents to his left hand and picked up his little love, positioning the boy on his hip.

They Eskimo kissed and chuckled as Kaito took them inside.

Conan blinked when he picked up a faint hint of pine scent. "You smell different today. Did you change body washes?"

The magician bit his lip as he set his boyfriend down at the kitchen table. "Don't freak on me, but I spent the night at Saguru's afterwards. He doesn't like the smell of your shampoo and stuff, so I used his. Nothing happened, though…well, actually…you know what? Let's start eating 'cause this is a long, long story." Kaito sat down next to his detective and started opening the cartons of Chinese—sweet and sour shrimp, pork fried rice, crab rangoon, vegetable dumplings, and, of course, fortune cookies.

"So…you spent the night with Hakuba?" Conan reiterated, somehow making it sound like high treason.

"He didn't touch me. That's what you want to know, right? No love making, no groping, no kissing, no nothing. He's a gentleman. Anyway, let me start from the beginning, please. Just hear me out from start to finish, and then you can decide if you still want me or not." Kaito mentally steeled himself as he picked up an eggplant dumpling.

"I'm listening," the former Detective of the East mumbled, picking at the rice.

"First I'd like to inform you that I'm an idiot. I know that you love me, but after you left last night, I kind of got a little worked up and forgot. I mean…that was my first time, and I was a little worried about why you just hadn't stuck around afterwards, thinking that maybe you didn't really love me after all…that maybe I was just a rebound from Ran-san, so—"

"—You're wrong!" the chibi shouted, standing up on his chair and slamming his palms down on the table. "Kaito, I love you more than anything! Sure, I'm not still completely over Ran, but you have to realize that I've been in love with her my entire life! It's just like you and Aoko-san. Sure, I still have leftover feelings for Ran, but I'm in love with YOU! I swear that you're the only one for me!"

"Calm down," Kaito chuckled, giving the child's head a pat. "I know. Saguru told me about what you said that night that I was shot. He personally assured me that your love for me was genuine."

"H-He did? Hakuba did?" Conan blinked, absolutely floored. "Why would he do that?"

Kaito shrugged. "Because he loves me…and he's a masochist."

"He told you?!" The older teen's mouth fell open.

The magician chuckled, reaching for another crab rangoon. "Well, the masochist bit is just an extrapolation of his behavior in the past, but…sorry, yeah. It all kind of came out in the wash last night when I went over there. I didn't want to be alone, and Mom's off on a business trip, so Saguru was the logical choice, like always…. He's a really great friend, you know. I don't know anyone else who would give objective romantic advice to their own crush."

Kaito sighed, moving some sweet and sour shrimp from the carton to his plate. "I've been horrible to him. God, I've hurt him so much, and yet he still loves me. He's either a saint or a mental case. I'll have to do something to make it up to him…but anyway, so, I went over to Guru's. He told me how stupid I was being and how much you love me, but…we got into an argument where I was just shouting at him for, like, half an hour until he just grabbed me and kissed me. He apologized and tried to talk his way out of it—I think he didn't want to put anything else on my mental plate—but I finally got it out of him that he's been in love with me for a long time."

Conan nodded, eyes lowering to stare at the half-eaten dumpling on his plate. "So…what did you tell him?"

"The truth," Kaito gulped. "I love him too, but I don't deserve him. Unfortunately for the sake of keeping things simple, he doesn't care. He still wants me despite everything, and I want him too."

"You're sure?" The shrunken sleuth bit his lip.

Kaito nodded. "I've been keeping a secret from you, Shinichi. I've been keeping it from everyone for years. Not even my mom or Aoko knows…just Saguru…and now you. That secret is the reason why I can't choose between you and Guru. I can't choose because I'm not only making this decision for one person."

"What do you mean?" Conan's brow furrowed as he stared intently at his lover.

"I have a multiple personality disorder," the teen confessed.

Conan blinked, dropping a chopstick.

"There are three of us," 2.0 continued after a pause to let the information settle. "The first is the original Kaito from before Dad was murdered. That's Kaito No1. I'm the second Kaito that took over when No1 couldn't handle the grief. They call me Kaito 2.0, but you can just keep calling me 'Kaito.' The third is Kaitou Kid. He came to be a few years ago when we found out about Dad's secret night job."

"Then…which one of you did I…" the tiny tantei blinked, looking like his head was about to pop. "Which one of you am I…"

"Me," 2.0 responded. "I'm the main personality. No1 doesn't come out, and Kid only takes over from time to time. Kid was actually the one you first started talking to, but from the day I appeared before you in my true appearance, it's been me that you've been with. Kid came out to play from time to time, but I'm the one you're dating. I'm the one that you made love to. Well, the others feel everything that I do, but…I was the one in control at the time."

The chibi nodded. "So…I'm dating 2.0…. Could I…talk to Kid? Can you do that? Just…switch?"

"Sure." Kaito shrugged, and then it was Kid sitting at the table.

The thief smirked. "Hey there, Tantei-kun."

The detective blinked. "I always thought Kaito was just a great actor."

"Oh, he is," Kid chuckled, picking up where 2.0 had left off with the shrimp. "I'm a good actor too."

"Are you two very different?" Conan shifted uncomfortably.

"Not really." Kid shrugged. "I'm a total horndog, but that's only because I need to be touched. However, I'm a gentleman—more logical and tactful. So, anyway, what I really want to know is, what was it like making love to Kai-chan? I know what it felt like for me, but I was kind of on the receiving end of things. What was it like to kiss him? Touch him? Feel him? What I wouldn't give to have been able to see his face! You need to put mirrors on your ceiling so that I can watch."

Conan's mouth fell open.

"Oh, I'm in love with him, by the way," Kid informed the boy succinctly. "And with you by proxy. You see, No1 is just mad for Saguru, but Saguru's just my friend. I mean, I'd sleep with him because I'm a tactile person, but…Kaito's the one I want. Therefore, I want you because of the similarity of appearance. I mean, I like you a lot, Tantei-kun, don't get me wrong, but it's Kaito that I love. You excite me, though. Whenever you chase me, I—"

"—And that's quite enough of that," 2.0 snorted, cutting Kid off. He turned to Shinichi and blushed. "Please forget everything you just heard."

"I couldn't, even if I tried," the little gumshoe replied. "So…No1 likes Sagu—Hakuba. Kid prefers me, but you…who do you like, Kaito?"

The magician gulped and admitted, "I'm in love with both of you. It's a tie, right down the center, and it's not like tug-o-war, either. I need you both for different reasons. I love you both the same, and yet, I love you two differently. I can't choose between you."

Conan was silent for a good while as he concentrated, going over the facts.

Kid had seen that same look many a time when the little sleuth was solving a case.

Finally the chibi brunette sighed and looked up at Kaito. "Okay, so what are we going to do about this? It doesn't look like any one of us is going to fall out of love with any one of the others any time soon, so…what do we do?"

Kaito took a deep breath. "Saguru said that he was willing to share."

Conan raised an eyebrow at the magician-thief. "Share? Like…timeshare boyfriend or something like that?"

"I'm not exactly sure how it would work, but…would you be willing to let me love Saguru as well?" Kaito held his breath.

"I don't see how I can stop you, even though I'm less than thrilled about it," the former Heisei Holmes sighed, scratching his cheek. "We'll have to all meet up and discuss the terms of our relationships, but…are you sure that you love me, Kaito?"

"Shinichi, I've been sure about my feelings for both of you for about a week now. I've been head over heels for the both of you for a long time." Kaito smiled sweetly. "I swear to always call out the right name, and I'll always remember anniversaries, and I'll keep a calendar so that we'll be sure who the father is and—"

"—Okay, stop," Conan laughed. "You've cheered me up already." He took a breath and his smile faded into a serious line. "So…you and Sa—Hakuba are going to start sleeping together too now?"

"Not for a long time." Kaito shrugged. "It's not a matter of days or weeks. It could be months. Could be years, knowing Guru. We're just starting our relationship, so he wants to take it slow and make sure we go through all of the steps before we move up a level."

"He sounds boring," the other detective grunted. "Where's the spontaneity?"

"I prefer to think of it as romantic…stable. I'll come to you when I want wild, crazy, spur of the moment. I need both. Besides. That means that it'll be a while before my relationship with Guru gets physical. You have me all to yourself until then…my lips…my body…"

"Stop please," the former Kudo begged. "I already want you bad, Kai-chan. Don't make it worse when it'll be another couple weeks until I get to be with you again."

"We have to wait another couple weeks?!" Kaito groaned. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Better than developing an immunity to even the temporary antidote and not being able to make love for the next couple years."

"Don't even say that!" the younger teen gasped in horror. "We'll make due for the next couple weeks. We'll just…we'll figure it out." It was silent for a moment as the gravity of the situation sunk in. "Shin-chan, will you spend the night with me tonight? To make up for not sticking around last night?"

"Of course," Conan pledged. "I'm really sorry, Kaito, but I have to go back to the Professor's to change back. Mad Scientist's orders. But I take it that things weren't so bad over at S—Hakuba's?"

"I understand," Kaito lied. "Yeah, things were pretty good, actually. I got breakfast in bed, and he fed me and pampered me and flattered me to death. He likes playing Prince Charming and spoiling me. And we already know how much I love playing Shindou Ella."

"Damn Brit, setting the bar high," Shin-chan pouted.

"Don't worry about it." Kaito shrugged it off, picking up the rice carton and scrapping the remainder out. "I can assure you that I didn't enjoy it half as much because it wasn't you."

"Liar," Conan snorted. "You loved it. You're just saying that to make me feel less guilty about not spoiling you myself."

"He didn't give me chocolate," the imp informed his little love.

($_$)

Mikau: The chapter of Trapped in the Twilight is up too, and the forum I was talking about should get under way by the end of November. In other news, the Halloween party I went to was a lot of fun. It was mostly meant for kids, and I knew that, but I went in costume to help out wherever they needed me. I ended up stationed at the entrance handing out candy and entering people into a drawing with a guy friend of mine. After the first hour, not a lot of people came, so he and I were just standing there talking for two hours. I discovered that we have a lot more in common than I'd previously thought. He asked where I'd gotten my costume, and I told him that my mom made it because I go to anime conventions. Then he said, "Oh, so you're a cosplayer?" I nearly died right then and there because he knew that word and pronounced it correctly. We also discovered that we share a love of many different shows, both Japanese and American. Best of all, he watched "Case Closed." I'm thinking this friendship has possibilities. Thanks for reading, guys! See you next time!