Kaito couldn't let this happen. He went overseas for two stupid months, working on his international tour as a magician and enjoying notoriety as Kaitou KID. Two months of phone calls to Aoko and his mother, encouraging Aoko to get up the nerve to date whatever guy she had her eyes on. He even remembered telling her to go for it, tell him how you feel honestly and be bold.

If he'd known she was trying to get Hakuba, he would have flown home. Before she told him all the gooey details of their sappy romance without giving him the name of her new love.

Which was suspicious as hell, looking back, but he'd been so happy for her he'd let it slip past.

Stupid!

Thankfully, Akako was on his side. Kaito had hopped on the first plane back to Tokyo, leaving behind Jii and all of his supplies except his bag of KID tricks. He was in a hurry, but not enough to leave incriminating evidence around. Akako offered to pick him up from the airport and give him the location of the wedding, but that was where her help ended.

It was enough.

He could navigate Tokyo and all of its surrounding districts with his eyes closed. He'd make it over the Beika and the church before the nuptials ended. He started running, ignoring the people on the street and all obstacles in his path, using his skills to springboard over crowds, dodge oncoming traffic, and evade the police who decided he was endangering the lives of his fellow commuters.

It was pure skill that had him losing the police only three blocks from the church. He hoped that he would be in time.

"Stop! You can't marry him!" Kaito shouted as he crashed through the doors of the chapel, tossing smoke pellets, confetti bombs, and five of his doves out into the room before him. He caught sight of Aoko, dressed in white with a veil and standing taller than he remembered. He sprinted down the narrow aisle, nearly collapsing on his knees as he pulled to a stop on the steps up to the dais. "I refuse!"

"Who are you?" Aoko turned to him, lifting her veil out of the way, and that wasn't Aoko. It looked like her, but only at first. This girl was taller, her features more fine, and her eyes a darker shade of blue than Aoko's.

Panic seized his chest.

Kaito turned to look at the groom, but it wasn't Hakuba. It was some man in glasses, messy dark hair, and a sharp expression. Kaito stepped back as the rest of the chapel became increasingly unfamiliar. He recognized the maid of honor as Suzuki Sonoko, and the crowd on the bride's side was scattered full of private detectives, police officers, and the famous lawyer Kisake Eri.

"Uh. That's... I'm really sorry!" Kaito turned on his heel and ran off, face burning in mortification. Akako told him the wrong place and he believed her! Why would Aoko want to have a western-style wedding in a chapel? Her parents had a traditional ceremony, and Hakuba would have caved to whatever she wanted. "Damn it!"

"Who are you? What the hell was that?" Someone grabbed his wrist as he exited the chapel, doors slamming closed behind them. Kaito paled as he realized the person who held his arm was famous detective Kudou Shinichi.

"That was an accident! Someone told me the wrong place. I'm very sorry," Kaito said, trying to wriggle his arm out of the detective's grip. It wasn't loosening at all.

"You nearly ruined my friend's wedding. Sorry is too small." The detective tightened his grip even further. Kaito swallowed back a yelp.

"What else could you want?!" Kaito demanded, dropping a hand into his pocket and throwing a smoke pellet to the ground between them. As the detective brought one hand up to cover his mouth, the grip of his other hand loosened enough that Kaito could pull away and back out of reach. "Look, I need to go."

He took off before the detective could recover, vanishing into the crowd and climbing hurriedly into a bus headed back to Ekoda. He collapsed in one of the seats, dropping his head into his hands and groaning. There was no chance he'd make Aoko's wedding before it ended. And they were already legally married at this point anyway, with the ceremony a formality and excuse for a party.

"Stupid," he muttered, squeezing his eyes shut in disappointment.

He'd never quite fallen out of love with Aoko. She'd be his first love forever, but the degree to which he loved her had faded. Hearing about her being happy with someone else just made him happy, enough that he could give her honest advice. He supposed he could learn to love her as a sister, which would mean to accept her choice to marry Hakuba. But there was no chance he'd ever accept some asshole like Hakuba to be an acceptable partner for her.

He could always sabotage their marriage, he supposed. Hakuba hadn't chased after him when Kaito took to the world's stage instead of just Japan's, but being enrolled in university and then police academy training weren't responsibilities he could easily shift. Maybe now that Hakuba would be free to pursue a position in Interpol, he could lure the bastard onto his trail and away from Aoko.

Kaito sighed.

That wouldn't work.

He got off the bus only a block away from his house, calling a greeting to his mother as he entered.

"Kaito! What in the world are you doing home?" His mother asked, face confused as he kicked off his shoes and headed for the living room. He fell onto the couch, hiding his face in the cushions.

"Aoko got married. To Hakuba. And I couldn't stop it," Kaito said, voice muffled by the cushions. His mother's fingers smoothed down his hair, squeezing the back of his neck once in acknowledgment.

"Are you going to be alright?" She asked.

"Fine. Made an idiot of myself, but I'll survive." Kaito groaned loudly and sank deeper into the couch. "Or not. Leave me here. Go on and enjoy your life without me."

"Kaito," his mother snapped, smacking the back of his head lightly. "At least call Jii and let him know you've arrived safely. You're going to get a reputation as being irresponsible and you'll never surpass your father's reputation."

"Yeah, yeah." Kaito pushed himself upright and dug out his cell phone. He blinked. There was a message from Akako.

/Sorry to trick you. Sent the bride your well wishes./ And attached to the short message was a picture of Akako in a deep blue kimono standing in arm with Aoko, wearing her uchikake in all white.

Kaito threw the phone at the wall.

Someone knocked at the door.

"Hello." He heard his mother greet their guest, but Kaito ignored them, hunching his shoulders up and crossing his arms. At the very least, he could sabotage their reception party. "Please come in."

"Thank you. Sorry to intrude."

Kaito froze.

"It's no trouble, Kudou-kun. How are your parents doing?" His mother asked, footsteps coming closer as she led their guest to the living room.

"Still traveling the world. But mother sends her love, Kuroba-san."

Kaito couldn't help but gape at the detective, standing beside his mother being perfectly friendly with all of Kaito's doves from earlier perched on his shoulders.

"Kudou-kun. This is my son, Kaito," His mother introduced, stepping up to the couch and coughing pointedly when Kaito didn't movie. He scrambled to his feet, jumping as the doves took off to cluster around his own shoulders. "Kaito, this is Kudou Shinichi. Toichi was his mother's mentor when she first started acting."

"What?" he squawked out, waving the doves away. Kudou smirked at him.

"We've met, Kuroba-san."

"Is that so?" She turned a curious look to Kaito's astonished face and laughed. "I'll bring some drinks for you boys. Be nice, Kaito."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Kaito hissed, taking a defensive stance.

Kudou ignored him and sat down on the couch, studying the room intently. Kaito inched away from him and scooped up his cell phone from where it lay on the floor. Kudou folded his hands on his knees and pasted a look of polite interest on his face right when Kaito's mother returned with a platter of tea and some biscuits.

"Please help yourself, Kudou-kun. Kaito, mind you manners and offer our guest some tea," His mother ordered, bowing politely at the door and leaving them alone.

Kaito ignored the order.

"It wasn't that hard to figure out who you were. I thought you looked familiar, past the most obvious," Kudou said, leaning forward to fix two cups of tea. "Ran thought it was hilarious that someone who looked like me crashed her wedding, considering everyone thought we'd eventually be married."

Kaito tried to ignore the tea being thrust out to him, but the detective wouldn't budge until Kaito took the cup from him.

"And the clues I had about your identity weren't difficult either. My age group, obviously a performer of some type considering the tools you had at your disposal, clever enough to get away from me. But leaving your doves behind was your biggest mistake. I only needed to follow them straight to your house." Kudou's polite face fell, the same smirk from earlier stretching his lips.

Kaito nearly snarled at him.

"What did you come all the way here for?"

"Honestly? I wanted to know what kind of idiot would crash a wedding, and then get the wrong wedding." Kudou laughed as Kaito glared at him. "And partly, I wanted to know who to get restitution from."

"Restitution?"

"You did nearly ruin her ceremony. I promised Ran I'd make sure you were feeling properly remorseful." Kudou leaned forward then, a razor-sharp smile on his face that wouldn't have looked out of place on KID's. It was unsettling to have it turned on him.

"I could apologize..." Kaito trailed away as Kudou's hand shot out, grabbing his wrist. "Hey!"

"I was thinking I could escort you to the reception and supervise your apology." Kudou softened his smile until it was an actual grin on his face, not the cocky expression from earlier. "Unless you'd rather I take you out one on one."

Kaito stared at him, disbelief drawing his eyebrows up and his mouth dropping open. To his utter embarrassment, he felt a flush start to show on his face.

"What?" he croaked.

"A date, Kaito-kun." Kudou's grip loosened, pads of his fingers running over the backs of Kaito's hand. "To make up for all the fuss you've caused."

"You're joking."

"Not in the least." Kudou placed his cup down and stood up, using his hold on Kaito's hand to pull him towards the door. "Come on."

Kaito considered planting his feet and slipping out of the loose hold. He thought about calling for his mother and ducking up the stairs, out of reach. He even thought about throwing another smoke pellet and running down into KID's hideaway.

"Please?" Kudou asked.

And Kaito caved.

He might as well. It would certainly keep his mind off Aoko's wedding, anyway.

"Fine."

"Thanks," Kudou said, the smile on his face reaching his eyes. He didn't look half bad, Kaito mused. He'd been on worse dates.