"Oh sure, you can pick a lock, but looking up weather reports is just too difficult," Shinichi snapped, already burrowed into his heavy winter gear as much as possible. Ski goggles were keeping the wind off his eyes, but the lower half of his face felt frozen solid.
"This isn't natural weather," Kaito shot back, probably freezing to death even as he spoke. The KID costume wasn't very heavy, and neither was the hang glider cape which he'd wrapped around his upper body in an attempt to keep warm and not be thrown off his feet in the wind.
"Really? It sure feels like natural weather," Shinichi grumbled, pressing closer to Kaito's back when he noticed how much his hands were shaking. Kaito stiffened, but leaned into his warmth. He still had his silk gloves on and fiddled with the lock picks one last time. The cabin door blew open once he twisted the handle, Shinichi hurriedly pushing him in the cabin.
"I think Koizumi's punishing me for falling in love with you over her. Must have been too good a chance to pass up. Take both of us out at once in her rage," Kaito explained, helping Shinichi close the door and re-locking it.
Shinichi rolled his eyes and ignored Kaito's grumbled complaints, taking in the sparse cabin they'd located in the storm. It wasn't far from the mountain resort the KID had held his heist, but the sudden snowstorm ruined any chances for regrouping with the Task Force.
"Not much here," Kaito said, taking off his hat and grimacing at the melting snow clinging to the brim of his hat. Shinichi stripped off his own winter coat, the melted snow started to seep into the material and make it heavy, and pushed the goggles up to keep his damp hair out of his face. He turned critical eyes on Kaito, sympathy welling up as Kaito started shivering noticeably.
"There's a pile of firewood and an electric space heater. I'll check to see if the pipe's are frozen and if there's any spare clothes around. You should..." He trailed off as Kaito took off his monocle, red and bruised skin where the metal frame had pressed into his skin. "Get your costume off and try to get a fire going."
"So mean, tantei-kun." Kaito let the cape fall, disengaging it to land in a wet puddle at his feet. The suit jacket and tie followed, and Shinichi took off to check the pipes instead of watching the strip show. He ignored Kaito's pitiful cries as he took off the rest of his costume.
The pipes weren't frozen, but it took a long time for the water to even warm. A quick check of the kitchen cabinets revealed typical cold weather meals, canned soups, instant ramen, and packets of hot chocolate mix. There weren't any spare clothes in either bedroom, but plenty of spare blankets. He found several plush towels in the bathroom, as well.
So, they weren't likely to starve of die of dehydration, but freezing to death was still possible if Kaito never got a fire going or the electricity cut out.
He grabbed one of the towels, scrubbing at his damp hair, and threw the other one to Kaito. It landed on the thief's head where he was crouched on the floor in front of the fireplace.
"Any luck?" Shinichi asked, stepping up to look over Kaito's shoulder. The pitiful bundle of kindle was smoking, but it wasn't leaping to life yet. Kaito ignored him as he coaxed the fire, tongues of flame reaching up to Kaito's hovering hands as he fed more sticks to the fire. "Kaito?"
"Any extra clothes?" Kaito asked instead, rubbing his hands together over the small fire. It would take some time before the larger logs caught alight, but Kaito didn't seem inclined to move.
"No clothes. Blankets and towels, there's food in the kitchen so we won't starve, and the water still works." Shinichi loosened the lighter jacket he had on under his winter coat, wincing as the cold air started to seep inside. "It'll be a while before the water's warm enough to take a bath. Are you going to be okay?"
"I'm fine," Kaito said, hunching his shoulders up near his ears. The tremors that Shinichi could see rock his body weren't exactly supporting his proclamation.
"Sure. I believe that," Shinichi said, dropping to his knees behind the thief and roughly scrubbing at his wet head with a towel. Kaito squirmed under the assault, trying to get away from the harsh treatment. "You're going to be a KID-sicle if you don't start warming up."
"Stop! Stop! I said I'm fine!" Kaito wiggled out, dragging himself out from under the towel and huddling against the sofa against the wall. "Go take a shower or something. I'll be fine."
"Don't come crying to me when you freeze to death." Shinichi scowled, throwing the damp towel at Kaito and stomping off. Kaito could worry about himself. He was the one who'd drug both of them out into the snow to begin with, taking off on a pair of skis instead of flying off on his hang glider. Shinichi had to follow him. He'd seen the dark clouds blowing in and heard the weather report just before KID's appearance at the resort. If he let that stubborn idiot die in a snowstorm, he'd-
Well, he wouldn't have been happy.
He decided to listen to Kaito's advice, heading into the bathroom and turning on the shower. It sputtered before gushing in a steady stream, though it was still cold. He hung his clothes up, hoping they would drip dry somewhat. He ignored that guilty feeling building in his chest.
Five minutes later and the water was comfortably warm. Shinichi debated with himself, foot raised to step under the spray, but sighed and stepped back. He wrapped one of the towels around his waist and opened the bathroom door.
Kaito hadn't moved from his spot in front of the couch, but the fire was higher and it seemed as though the electric heater had been turned on, as well. Shinichi stopped beside the thief and grabbed his arm.
"Hey!" Kaito protested, but he barely put up a fight as Shinichi dragged him to the bathroom. "What the hell are you doing?! I was fine!"
"Kaito! You're shaking too hard to stand. You're not fine." Shinichi gestured with his other hand to where Kaito could barely keep his feet under himself.
Kaito scowled, an ugly expression twisting his face, jerking his arm out of Shinichi's hold. But Shinichi was faster and slammed the door shut before Kaito could retreat.
"What's wrong with you? You'd rather get hypothermia?" Shinichi ignored Kaito's angry face, wresting the button-up open one button at a time. He stopped in surprise as Kaito hissed and wrapped his arms around himself, drawing back into the storage closet. "Kaito?"
"I'll take the stupid shower. Just go." Kaito turned his back, but Shinichi was observant. He knew what he'd seen.
"I don't care about your scars. So what?" Shinichi settled his hands on Kaito's shoulders and pulled him back into his body. Kaito was freezing cold, enough that Shinichi grit his teeth in discomfort. "It's not a big deal."
"It really is. And I was going to let you see them after I'd already told you about them. Or maybe hide them so you wouldn't notice," Kaito admitted, relaxing as Shinichi dropped his arms around his shoulders and hugged him.
"I'm a detective, remember. You really think you could hide scars from me?" He let his right hand drift down to cover the largest, twisted scar just to the left of his heart. "I knew people were taking shots at you since you figured out my secret."
"It's one thing to know that. It's another to see them." Kaito let him peel off the dress shirt, letting it drop to the ground between them. Shinichi didn't think it was as bad as Kaito imagined. There were some bullet scars, two long slashes to the right of his stomach, and a burn scar over his right ribs.
"That's not so bad," Shinichi said, tracing the burn mark with a finger. Kaito shivered and dropped his head back on Shinichi's shoulder.
"They're ugly," Kaito covered his hand with one of his own, eyes squeezed shut. Shinichi almost said something about being vain before he took in Kaito's expression.
There was faint dampness under his eyes that couldn't have been from his wet hair. That was a look of pain on his face, not one of embarrassment.
"They're just scars. We all have them." Shinichi pulled Kaito out of the storage closet, using one hand to work open Kaito's trousers and help him step out of them. "I don't care about them."
"I care about them. Not really part of the KID's mystique. Or a master magician's." Kaito butted his head into Shinichi's shoulder, letting the detective pet at him like a cat.
"I'd rather you have them and be alive than to see these on you postmortem, possibly even being the cause of death," Shinichi said, matter of fact and with a touch of unease in his voice.
It was why he'd taken off after the thief into a potential blizzard. He didn't want to have to solve Kaito's death.
"You say the sweetest things," Kaito said, laughing roughly. He pulled out of Shinichi's hold to strip off his boxers and climb under the shower spray. Shinichi rolled his eyes and hung up the towel before joining him.
"Better than that flowery language you like to use." Shinichi rubbed his hands down Kaito's sides, hoping to help warm him up. The thief relaxed into him, grabbing Shinichi's arms and wrapping them around his waist.
"Romantic language," Kaito protested, pressing back into Shinichi with a roll of his hips. He yelped when Shinichi swatted his thigh. "Hey!"
"We are doing this to warm up. We are not having our first time together in an abandoned cabin in the middle of nowhere during a blizzard. It's not happening." Shinichi angled his hips back and pinched Kaito's thigh when the thief tried to scoot back into him again.
"Meanie." Kaito stretched and ran his fingers through his wet hair, sending water everywhere.
"Kaito!"
"I'm warm enough, now," Kaito declared, eeling out of the shower and around Shinichi's hands. Shinichi rolled his eyes before he dipped his head under the spray. "You said there were blankets?"
"In the bedrooms," Shinichi shook water out of his face, turning off the shower. Kaito opened the bathroom door, leaving behind piles of wet clothes and towels. Shinichi sighed. It was like dealing with a small child, willfully ignorant of ironclad societal rules.
"Ooh! Toga party!" Kaito cheered, striding out of the bedroom with a bedsheet wrapped around himself and a thicker comforter on his shoulders. "Want any hot chocolate?"
"Sure," Shinichi said, straightening out Kaito's wet trousers and hanging them up to dry out. He draped the dress shirt over the sink and opened the cabinet. There was a small first aid box, which he tucked under one arm.
Kaito was seated in front of the fire, holding out a mug of hot chocolate when Shinichi settled on the ground next to him. Shinichi took the cup, draining about half the mug before he set it aside and placed the first aid kit on his lap.
"Let me take a look at your eye," Shinichi said, opening the box and waiting patiently for Kato to lower the mug. As soon as the cup left the thief's lips, he grabbed his chin and angled it towards him. "It looked raw earlier when you took the monocle off. I want to make sure you haven't blistered your skin."
"It's just a little red." Kaito tried to duck away, but Shinichi didn't let him go. The skin was a little red, but the skin had blistered on the bridge of his nose. A dab of ointment would soothe that, and the rest would just need a little time. Kaito didn't move even after Shinichi had finished, watching him with a blank look on his face.
There were times when Shinichi hated Kaito's poker face. He had a hard enough time reading normal people based on their faces, though his time as Conan helped him pay more attention to people themselves. It was hard to know which adult in the area would be willing to listen to a child when he knew all the adults were police officers, but being able to read their willingness on their face eased the process.
Trying to read Kaito's poker face when he didn't want to be read was like being blind. He didn't have anything to go off of. Not until Kaito felt like telling him.
Instead, he reached over to grab the blanket draped on Kaito's shoulders and pulled it partly over his own. Kaito willingly slid closer, draping an arm around Shinichi's waist and burying his face into his shoulder. It hid the irritated skin from Shinichi's eyes, but did bring Kaito close enough to cuddle, so he would let it pass.
Hopefully, the storm would blow over in the morning and they'd be able to get out of here.
