"So, is that time alright? Or does Kuroba-kun have a show?" Ran asked, looking up from her calender to meet Shinichi's eyes. "Shinichi?"
"That time should be fine," Shinichi said, absently flipping through two different case files and making notes in a notebook to his left. "Kaito's canceling his shows for that week. Midterms. No one at Tokyo U would show up and he'd be depressed."
"I'm glad it'll work out. See you next week!" Ran shut her calender and took off.
"Yeah, bye, Ran." Shinichi gave a half-hearted wave at her retreating back.
-X-
"We're actually going to dinner, but you could always join us. It'll give Saguru and Shinichi-kun a chance to talk without a case being involved," Aoko offered, grinning at the face Kaito made in response.
"But they'll talk about Holmes all night," he complained.
"Just remind him to be good during dinner and he'll get a reward. That always works for Saguru." Aoko giggled and darted in quick to give Kaito a hug. "Dinner at seven. That new place. Don't forget."
"We'll be there," Kaito said, taking out his phone and texting the time and place to Shinichi. He hesitated over the 'reminder' that Aoko suggested, not sure what she was implying. He just added a quick 'Don't just talk about Holmes!' and hoped for the best.
-X-
Kaito noticed first. He was better at reading people and their moods than Shinichi, but the changes had been so gradual over time that nothing had jumped out as unusual. Not until Kaito was looking back over three months full of invitations to couples dinners and double dates.
The latest invitation was staring him down, a tacky heart-shaped card with a lacy edge proclaiming to be a ticket for two on Suzuki Sonoko's Valentine's Day Cruise.
He rolled the invitation between his fingers and placed it down on the coffee table in contemplation.
He wasn't dating anyone. Shinichi wasn't dating anyone. Therefore, Sonoko shouldn't have felt the need to pass on an invitation. More suspect, she'd only sent the one. One card for two to Kaito and Shinichi's apartment.
Suspicious.
He left it on the table, reminding himself to ask Shinichi about it once the detective was back.
-X-
Shinichi should have noticed sooner.
Ran called, upset and angry that neither he nor Kaito had shown up to Sonoko's cruise. Shinichi couldn't even remember getting an invitation. He frowned all the way back home, opening the door to find Kaito wearing an apron and cooking dinner while practicing sleight of hand tricks.
"Do you know anything about Sonoko's cruise trip? Ran just called me angry that we missed it." Shinichi dropped his case files on the coffee table, unthreading his tie and folding his jacket over his arm.
"A cruise?" Kaito hummed, juggling bottles of spices with one hand and tossing vegetables in a wok with the other. "Suzuki was throwing one for Valentine's day. She sent us a card. I forgot to tell you. It should still be on the coffee table."
"You never forget about parties," Shinichi accused. "And we wouldn't have even seen fish on the cruise ship, so don't give that excuse."
Kaito fumbled the spices at the dreaded finny word, squawking in outrage even as Shinichi ignored him. "That was mean!"
"There's nothing on the coffee table," Shinichi said. He shifted over his case files and the magazines Kaito subscribed to. He deactivated several of Kaito's smoke bombs before he could trip them, sending a wave of playing cards to the floor. He finally pulled something red and lacy out of the pile and frowned.
"A couple's invitation? Why wouldn't they send us each one?" Shinichi asked, bringing his prize back into the kitchen. Kaito stacked the spice bottles into a pyramid and poked at the vegetables with a spatula. He looked over at the invitation and snapped his fingers.
"That's why I forgot. I couldn't tell if they were trying to not invite one of us, or were trying to set one of us up on a blind date, so I left it." Kaito turned off the stove, splitting the beef and vegetables between two plates and handing one over to Shinichi.
"They wouldn't do that. It must be something else," Shinichi said, taking his plate and joining Kaito at the small kotatsu.
"Well, it felt like something. Are you sure your friends like me? They always ask if you can go to some things too when they suggest places." Kaito prodded at his dinner, face taking on a sullen cast. "And even my friends like you better. And Hattori-kun never wants to talk to me."
"My friends love you," Shinichi assured, reaching across the table to hold Kaito's wrist. "I know Ran, Sonoko, and Kazuha adore you. And Hattori is probably still holding a grudge over inviting Kazuha to be your assistant."
"But it was her birthday! I didn't know what else to get her!" Kaito protested, flipping his hand over to hold Shinichi's hand tightly.
"I know that. But Hattori's hotheaded sometimes. Especially when it comes to Kazuha. Just explain that you're not interested in her and he'll back off." Shinichi squeezed Kaito's hand. "And as for your friends, Hakuba's probably the only one that likes me more, and that's because I haven't tormented him for years. And even he'd probably try to kill me if you ever got hurt."
"But they always want to do couples things. It's always dinner at romantic restaurants, or couples parties, or-" Kaito stopped, closing his eyes and starting to laugh. "I'm so stupid."
"Maybe right now you are," Shinichi muttered, not having whatever epiphany that Kaito had.
"Shinichi. We're dating. That's why they're doing all of this," Kaito shook their clasped hands to draw attention to them.
"No we're not. One of us would have asked the other to date them and I don't remember that question ever getting asked," Shinichi said, starting to relax now that all of the unusual invitations were starting to be placed in context.
"You never asked me either," Kaito protested. "In fact, you didn't even ask me to share an apartment with you. You just assumed I would."
"You complained about being stuck in the dorms without being able to practice your magic, seeing as no one wanted anything to do with you after that dyeing prank in the community showers," Shinichi volleyed back, using his other hand to start eating again.
"You packed all of my stuff with yours!" Kaito pointed at him with his chopsticks, grinning when Shinichi flicked them away with his own.
"You boasted about your mother teaching you to cook now that you would be living in a real home."
"You were excited about your parents giving you a car we could use so I could accept invitations to perform out of the city."
"You spent all of your first commission on that queen-size bed," Shinichi dropped his chopsticks and leaned over the table to kiss Kaito's smirking mouth.
"You never bought your own bed," Kaito whispered into the space between their lips as they drew apart. "I think that's the smoking gun here."
"Let's just tell them we had special plans of our own," Shinichi suggested, leaning in one last time to wipe that sly look off Kaito's face.
"Of course." Kaito rolled his eyes and crawled over the table, pushing at Shinichi's shoulders until they were flat on the dining room floor. "We'll never live it down otherwise."
"Brilliant," Shinichi muttered as Kaito's clever hands traveled down, down, down. "You can tell them."
