They might have been plummeting to their deaths, but it was hardly the first time it happened to them. It wasn't even the first time it happened to them in a plane. At least this time, Shinichi was adult-sized and perfectly capable of landing the plane himself.
"Marry me," Kaito demanded, ignoring the rapidly approaching ocean he could see through the windshield.
"What?" Shinichi asked, straining the controls upwards and grimacing as the plane leveled out. "I think that was engine three blowing up. Kaito, how far out are we?"
"I said, marry me." Kaito cleared his throat, grabbing the map index from where he'd dropped it when the plane's engine exploded. "Roughly 500 kilometers."
"Check the passengers. Tell them to get ready for a hard landing." Shinichi tossed a quick grin over his shoulder before turning back to the controls with a determined set to his shoulders.
There were moments that Kaito wanted immortalized, when snapping a picture wouldn't do justice to the feelings that Shinichi inspired within him. From the arrogant tilt of his chin to the fierce way his eyes shined, Kaito fell more in love with someone he would have been better off avoiding.
He'd never been the type before to want to worship at the altar of another. But there was something about the detective that brought him to his knees, offering his wrists for restraints. It was obvious to anyone who knew him, meaning Aoko, Hakuba, Akako, Jii, and his mother, but so far no one had been able to tell that KID was under the same spell as Kaito, not even Hakuba.
This wasn't anything like their first time landing a plane together. Instead of a homicide gone wrong, some new criminal organization growing out of the roots of the Black Org decided their first major play would be to take a passenger plane hostage. Unfortunately for them, the majority of the KID task force with Kaito, Shinichi, and Hakuba were on their way back from KID's treasure hunt on Rebun Island on the very plane they'd decided to hijack. They had been quickly subdued, but not before one of them attempted to take out the entirety of the plane instead of taking hostages.
Kaito had been hard-pressed to leave everything in the hands of the police, but as soon as their escapee blew an engine and primed the other for imminent explosion, something had to be done. He was careful to not use his KID tricks, sticking mainly with items Kaito would normally carry and Shinichi's dart watch. In the end, they'd restrained their would-be terrorists in the first class section under guard, while the rest of the task force was down in the commercial class to watch over the passengers.
"We're getting ready to land," Kaito said, stepping through the door that separated the cockpit from the first class section. Hakuba and Nakamori both looked up at him, faces grim and somewhat anxious. Kaito gave them his widest grin, offering them a victory sign. "We're going to be fine. Have everyone brace themselves, yeah?"
"I'll do it," Hakuba volunteered, unbuckling and walking down the aisle past their unconscious terrorists. His balance was off due to the struggle Shinichi was having keeping the plane even and in the air with only two engines.
"Kaito-kun, are you sure you don't need someone else to co-pilot?" Nakamori asked, reaching out to grab Kaito's shoulder as the plane rocked.
"Kudou just needed another pair of hands. He showed me everything I needed to do," Kaito assured, touched that Nakamori was so worried about him. "It's not going to be an easy landing."
"We'll be fine," Nakamori said, looking over his shoulder at the bound and gagged terrorists in the seats behind him. Kaito nodded, eyes narrowed as Hakuba came back and stopped next to him.
"Don't kill us," Hakuba ground out, eyes flitting back and forth between Kaito, Nakamori, and the cockpit door. "I'm trusting you on this, Kuroba."
"Have I ever let anyone get hurt?" Kaito asked, crossing his arms behind his head which blocked Nakamori from seeing his expression so he could let a KID smirk curl his lips. Hakuba looked visibly pained, but relented. "Buckle up!"
He headed back into the cockpit, firmly shutting the door and re-settling in the co-pilot seat. Shinichi's forehead was beaded with sweat and his arms were tense, struggling with the controls of the plane to keep the nose up and headed toward the strip of land they'd scooped out between their know-how and the tower's recommendation.
Kaito let himself look for a minute, despite the dangerous situation. It was likely his dogged determination and implacable spirit that first drew Kaito in, but it was the depth of how much he cared that made him stay. Shinichi would give everything to make sure they came out of this situation safe.
"Everyone's been warned." Kaito grabbed the second headset and placed it back on, ignoring the chatter over the line as the tower walked them through basic landing procedure. "You've got this."
"Good." Shinichi's voice was hard, more strain in his tone than Kaito had expected. He reached over and placed a hand on Shinichi's shoulder, running it over his neck and squeezing his nape.
"You've got this," Kaito repeated, stretched over the controls and uncaring as the shoreline started to approach them rapidly.
"Get ready to land," Shinichi gritted out, pulling hard to get the nose of the plane higher up. Kaito let go of his nape, hands following procedure as the wheels descended and they hit the ground hard. Shinichi cried out at the force of the landing, and Kaito choked back his own shout. Dials were flashing as they wrestled the plane to a stop on the beach.
Everything was silent. Kaito could hear a ringing in his ears, fingers clenched tight around the lever at his side and the steering column before him. He exhaled hard and pried his hands away, fingers shaking just a bit before he could stop them. He started laughing, softly and then gaining as he leaned back in the seat.
Kaito turned his smile on Shinichi, who looked stunned and triumphant and more beautiful than every jewel and stone Kaito had ever stolen. The smile that crawled over his face grew larger.
"Are you still alive?" Shinichi asked, pushing his hair off his forehead with one trembling hand.
"Better than," Kaito responded, grabbing Shinichi's neck and lunging over the console between them. He used his hold on Shinichi to drag the detective closer, until he could seal their mouths together and try to show his love and appreciation. Shinichi's hands slid into his hair, gripping so tightly Kaito was afraid he'd pull away and it would all fall out. It didn't stop him from pushing in more, wresting Shinichi's mouth open with his tongue and mapping the inside of his mouth.
"Kuroba! Kudou-kun! Are you alive in there?!" Hakuba shouted from the other side of the door, banging his fist once. Kaito let Shinichi pull away from the kiss, resting his forehead against Shinichi's while he caught his breath.
"I'm going to kill him," Kaito whispered.
Shinichi snorted a laugh, dropping his hands to hold Kaito's face between them. "After you just saved his life? I doubt it."
"The worst," Kaito muttered, unwilling to move away when Shinichi was focused on him. He thirsted for Shinichi's attention on the average day. Having all of it turned on him right now, it made him a little dizzy.
"Once we get off this plane and everything's fine, I want you to ask me again," Shinichi said, words registering but their meaning lost. Kaito frowned at him.
"What?"
Shinichi just gave him an arch look, using one hand to push Kaito away and climb to his feet. Kaito watched him leave, assuring Hakuba at the door that they were both fine and asking about the progress for their rescue.
