DCMK || AkaiShin || DCMK || Oceanside Omega || DCMK || AkaiShin || DCMK

Title: Oceanside Omega – The Long Wait For His Soulmate

Fandom: Detective Conan / Magic Kaito

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Gosho Aoyama for he created the awesomeness that is Kaitou KID. Ah, and Detective Conan, too. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Tags: m/m, alpha/beta/omega dynamics, soulmates, courting, angst, f/f, m/f

Main Pairing: Akai/Shinichi

Side Pairings: Sera/Ran, Yuusaku/Yukiko

DC/MK Characters: Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan, Okiya Subaru | Akai Shuichi, Sera Masumi, Mouri Ran, Suzuki Sonoko, Kudou Yukiko, Kudou Yuusaku

Summary: During a vacation with his family, Shuichi first met Kudou Shinichi, his fated omega, his soulmate. Who was decidedly too young for him. So he decides to go to Japan once his mate would be of mating age. But when he goes to seek Shinichi, he finds the boy looking the same as he had the first time they met. This felt like a twisted joke played by the Fates.

Oceanside Omega

The Long Wait For His Soulmate

The first time Akai Shuichi met his soulmate was at the beach, during a family vacation he had been forced to come along with. He hadn't looked forward to the vacation, to his mother's nagging. But then he met his soulmate and suddenly, he was very glad he had been there.

There was only one problem. His soulmate was still a kid. There was quite the age-gap between the two and Shuichi had to crouch down to even look into his soulmate's eyes. Not that everyone would call them 'soulmates'. Some alphas and omegas had a perfect match, a fated mate. Shuichi, he liked the term soulmate and he had always hoped that out there somewhere was the perfect omega for him, his fated mate. Though the omega was still years from even presenting fully, Shuichi could still smell it already, the scent suppressed under a layer of cotton so to speak. Despite being unpresented and not having the instincts for it yet, the kid zoomed in on him. Out of everyone on that beach, he sought out Shuichi to make his cute little deduction and afterward continued to trail Shuichi like a lost puppy, which was quite adorable. Sherlock Holmes' apprentice. And the way the boy blushed when admitting that Shuichi could perhaps be Watson. It was adorable.

Six years old. Far too young for Shuichi to even want to spend time with the kid, because what he was seeking was not babysitting and he definitely didn't swing that young. So he made a promise to himself. In ten year's time, when his soulmate would be presented and of legal mating age, Shuichi was going to return to Japan and seek Kudou Shinichi out. He'd get to know his soulmate, see what kind of young man he'd become, and start courting him. That was the goal he worked toward.

/break\

Ten years later, Shuichi felt like the Fates were laughing into his face. He came to seek Kudou Shinichi out, just to find him looking exactly as he had a decade ago. Between Edogawa Conan and his friend who looked exactly like Sherry, Shuichi figured out that this must have been some kind of side-effect of the drug. This time around, Shuichi did not have the option to pull out and remove himself from his soulmate's life, because clearly Shinichi had gotten himself involved with the same dangerous people that Shuichi was investigating. It'd be much safer for the omega if Shuichi stuck close by, because that way, he could at least protect his soulmate from further pain and harm.

Kudou Shinichi was absolutely brilliant. He played a game on several different layers. Which came in handy when Shuichi needed an out. The boy managed to come up with a plan to fake Shuichi's death, give him the new persona of Okiya Subaru and then let him live at the Kudou Mansion.

At which point Shuichi suspected that Shinichi might have realized that they were soulmates too. Quite frankly, he didn't know how far the deaging affected Shinichi's senses. Before being deaged, he must have already presented. And considering that his mind wasn't affected, perhaps he could still smell and perceive the world like a presented omega would.

Shuichi didn't ask, because if he asked and was wrong, then he owed Shinichi an explanation. And he could not talk about this with his soulmate while the omega looked like a six year old. After all of this was taken care of. When the Black Organization was taken down and Shinichi had his rightful body again. At least that was what Shuichi kept reminding himself of. And he had to remind himself more and more often these days, that one day the day would come.

"You're not going to talk about it with each other, mh?" asked Yukiko with a patient smile.

The woman regularly came by to help Shuichi with his disguise and for the longest time, he had been wondering about that. Why the Kudous would open their home to a total stranger and go out of their way to help him like this. Right now, with the smiling omega in front of him, Shuichi had a good hunch. They knew. For some reason, the Kudous knew. Yukiko's alpha-mate grunted where he was sitting at the table, but he didn't even look up from his newspaper.

"I don't know what you're talking about," stated Shuichi stubbornly.

"If you and our son elect not to talk about it yet, particularly with Shinichi's current... circumstances... we can respect that," commented Yuusaku in a neutral voice. "But don't play dumb. We've been rather generous about all of this, so don't take us for fools."

Shuichi paused at that, looking at the other alpha in mild surprise. "...Yes. We haven't talked about it yet. It feels... inappropriate. I want to be... closer... to eye-level with him when we talk about this."

"And we can respect that," noted Yukiko, still smiling. "But... be a bit more generous, mh?"

"What... does that mean?" asked Shuichi, genuinely confused this time.

"He might be in the body of a child, but his mind, his brain, is still very much that of a seventeen year old. That includes his own instincts. He's been very agitated lately, seeing his alpha all the time but not even getting... to be close to you," explained Yukiko. "And don't tell him I told you that, he will be angry at me for meddling. But ever since Ran has found her fated mate, he's become more and more restless... Give him some kind of reassurance, mh?"

Shuichi looked at her and nodded stiffly. That hadn't occurred to him yet, that his omega might feel rejected by the distance between them. He heaved a deep sigh. Yes, Mouri Ran had found her fated mate – and Shuichi didn't entirely know how he felt about that. Because her soulmate was Shuichi's little sister, Masumi. Now, Shuichi barely even knew his sister himself, but he knew that being involved with their family was dangerous and he knew that Shinichi was doing his damnedest to keep Ran safe from this life, from the Black Organizarion. By being Masumi's soulmate, Ran got dragged even more into this. Though Shuichi was happy for his sister. He wished... He wished he could get to know her, wished they could have a familiar relationship where Masumi could just happily introduce him to her soulmate. But that too had to wait.

/break\

"Sera-chan," Ran giggled a little, flushing brightly.

Sera was aiming a broad smile at her, swinging their linked hands lightly. It made Sonoko coo. She was the number one fan of Sera and Ran, just wanting to see her best friend be happy. A true match. Shinichi's heart felt heavy as he watched the three girls. This fairy tale thing that he used to dream about ever since he had learned that his mom and dad were a true match – an alpha and an omega who completed each other, who were fated mates. He'd always known that him and Ran weren't meant to be, because both were omegas. But they'd dreamed about finding their soulmates together. There was a strange sense of irony to it now, if Shinichi looked at it. Ran's soulmate was the little sister of Shinichi's soulmate. One day, if things would work out, Ran would be his sister-in-law, they would be family. That was a giddy feeling that he wished he could share with her. But Shinichi was currently seven years old, going shopping with his 'big sister' and her friends, he wasn't here as himself, he couldn't share her joy. Also, his own soulmate was still officially dead.

"Ne, Conan-kun, are you alright?" asked Ran concerned as she noticed the look on his face.

"Ah. Yes. I'm fine, Ran-nee-chan!" Shinichi quickly put on a bright smile. "I'm... just thinking about going to the professor's! We had really hard homework today, I thought I'd do it with Haibara."

Ran smiled at that and nodded. One day, she was going to be such a wonderful mom, Shinichi knew that. He feared that he'd still be a kid by then. That was his greatest fear, that he was going to miss out on everything, that he was going to be stuck like this forever. At one point, even Akai was going to grow tired of waiting for him, wasn't he? Ten years already. He wouldn't wait another ten years.

"That sounds good, so we can have a girls day out," chimed Sonoko, patting Conan's head in a nearly patronizing manner. "Nothing against you, pipsqueak, but sometimes, we near-adults need some adult time together. Time to go shopping for our double date!"

"I'm looking forward to seeing your soulmate again," Sera grinned. "Our last meeting started out a little... unorthodox. And maybe this time, there won't be a murder either."

"...That's too optimistic. Too optimistic, Sera-chan," Sonoko heaved a sigh.

"I'm going! Have fun!" announced Conan loudly before running away.

Once upon a time, it weren't 'girls day out', it were 'omegas day out', just the three of them – Ran, Sonoko, Shinichi. Because omegas flocked together, bonds between them strengthened them. Ran and Sonoko had been the first omegas Shinichi had befriended. And now... He felt replaced. Omegas days out nowadays featured Kazuha instead of Shinichi. And they had girls days out to include Sera, because she was an alpha and Ran's soulmate. With every day, with every new person in Ran's life, Shinichi felt more and more replaced. Like there would no longer be a place for Kudou Shinichi if he ever returned. Like he wasn't needed anymore.

"Edogawa-kun. What a nice surprise," Subaru smiled down at him in that not-Akai-way.

Shinichi blinked repeatedly. His feet had carried him to the Kudou Mansion on auto-pilot. He ruffled his own hair awkwardly and averted his gaze. Had he come here because he was missing Shinichi, or because he was yearning for Shuichi...? The alpha stepped aside and ushered him in and Shinichi couldn't help but follow. Both sat down in the living room together.

"What's wrong? You look like something is on your mind?" asked Shuichi.

Shuichi, not Subaru. Not the voice-modulator, but his soulmate's real voice. Shinichi's head snapped up to look at the alpha in surprise. His knuckles turned white as he clung onto his own knees. After a moment, Shuichi reached out and rested a hand in Shinichi's neck in what was colloquially known as a calming gesture between alpha and omega. Shinichi froze, before he slowly turned to look at his soulmate. He offered Shinichi a kind smile before reaching out with his other arm too, wrapping it around Shinichi and with that permission, Shinichi basically threw himself at his alpha, curling up against Shuichi's chest. The FBI agent gently pulled Shinichi onto his lap.

"I hate being like this, I hate being stuck like this, I just want-" Shinichi growled weakly.

"I know," whispered Shuichi, running a hand down Shinichi's spine. "I know. One day, we can leave Okiya Subaru and Edogawa Conan behind. Together."

Together. Together sounded good. Together gave Shinichi a sense of hope so hot and overwhelming that he felt as though he was drowning in it. Together made him cling onto his alpha and relax slowly, soaking up his soulmate's scent. Together implied a future.

~*~ The End ~*~

Author's note: Been obsessed with a soulmate AU for this ship ever since I read the flashback chapters because COME ON how inherently fates does the Sera-family and their involvement with Shinichi's life seem at that point?