SaguShin || DCMK || SaguShin || Time Ticks True || SaguShin || DCMK || SaguShin

Title: Time Ticks True – The Fated Holmes Geeks

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, soulmate AU, soulmate timer, identity reveal

Main Pairing: Saguru/Shinichi

DC/MK Characters: Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan, Hakuba Saguru, Mouri Ran, Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou KID

Summary: Saguru was obsessed with time, right down to the micro-second, because he always kept precise track of his soulmate timer. Time runs out and the person he meets is utterly unexpected.

Time Ticks True

The Fated Holmes Geeks

Hakuba Saguru was known for his obsession with time. He always knew when something happened, down to the micro-second. Kuroba liked to poke fun at him about it. But then Kuroba also had met his soulmate as a little boy already and never had to obsess over his timer.

Every person was born with a timer on their wrist, counting down the days, hours and seconds until one would meet their soulmate. Saguru kept track of time because he didn't want to miss the exact moment he was going to meet his soulmate.

When the invitation to the Sunset Mansion came up, Saguru contemplated if he should even attend. It was the weekend he was going to meet his soulmate. But then what if that place was where he was going to meet his soulmate? So in the end, he decided to attend.

Coming down the stairs, Saguru was acutely aware of the time ticking down on his wrist, as he took in all of those other detectives. At least his soulmate was a potentially brilliant detective. But by the time his own time ran out, he stood with the only two non-detectives.

"Mouri-chan," Saguru offered his most charming smile to the girl.

She was pretty, that much was for sure. And, apparently, his soulmate. Because his time was up to the second and the only two people with him were Mouri Ran and the Mouris' young charge. Though Ran simply smiled at him in mild confusion. Perhaps she was one of the people who didn't keep precise track of her timer? So he tried to be subtle, taking her hand to shake it and twisting it gently just enough to take a look at her timer. Her... still running timer.

"It's... nice to meet you, Hakuba-kun," Ran sounded confused.

"Yes. Yes, it... is," Saguru trailed off as his eyes drifted over to Conan.

The young boy looked tense and was clasping his wrist. He was wearing a broad-banded watch on his wrist that covered his timer, but the shifty-eyed look on his face told Saguru that it was true. This child was his soulmate. Saguru had seen soulmates with age-gaps before, but this seemed quite extreme, particularly considering their ages. What was he supposed to do with this...?

/break\

Over the weekend, Edogawa Conan proved to be quite brilliant. More brilliant than the adults in the room anyway. Still, he hadn't gotten a chance to actually talk to Conan. Before he knew it, the gathering came to an end and the Mouris left. Granted, he knew how to find Conan to talk, but if he was being honest, he also didn't know what to say to his pint-sized soulmate.

The first thing he did when he was back home was look up Kogoro Mouri and, by association, Edogawa Conan. It was interesting to see that Mouri's solving rate had sky-rocketed after Conan had moved in with the man and Saguru didn't think it was a coincident. What was even more interesting to find out was that Conan had made a name for himself as the KID Killer. If this wasn't his soulmate, Saguru might have taken offense to the fact that another detective got recognized as KID's greatest enemy. Which however meant that he had an address to go to.

"Kuroba-kun, I want to know more about Edogawa Conan."

Kuroba looked genuinely surprised at that. Saguru had cornered Kuroba before school, to talk in private, and the thief most likely suspected that Saguru would once again accuse him of being KID. The denial was, however, growing quite old to Saguru at this point.

"Who's that?" asked Kuroba feigning confusion.

"He's..." Saguru pressed his lips together in a thin line for a moment. "My soulmate."

A leap of faith. Perhaps, just perhaps, this might make Kuroba more cooperative. But the thief simply continued looking at him as though he had no idea what Saguru was talking about.

"Ah, I'm so glad for you to have found someone," Kaito smiled and patted him on the back. "But I have no idea who that is. You have to introduce us some time, ne?"

"No, Kuroba-kun-" Saguru interrupted himself and grit his teeth. "I know something is off about him, there is something that I'm... There is something and I can't pinpoint it yet. What makes this boy the enemy of Kaitou KID? Tell me what it is about him."

Kuroba just blinked large, violet eyes at him. "My, my, I'm sure you'll figure it out."

Of course was the blasted thief not being helpful, what had he been expecting?

/break\

"Hey, Ran," Shinichi adjusted the bow-tie in front of his mouth, the phone stuck between his ear and shoulder. "How... How have you been, lately?"

"Shinichi?" Ran sounded surprised but happy. "Oh, Sonoko and I are currently at a KID heist!"

Shinichi knew that; he was at the same heist. Currently waiting for KID to show up at the roof-top. He figured he'd use the time to call Ran, because there was something that was driving him up the wall right now. For weeks, he'd been tossing and turning about it and now he finally came to the conclusion that he absolutely needed the help of his best friend.

"That's nice," Shinichi smiled a little to himself. "I hope you're having fun."

"Yes! His heists are always quite exciting. Though Conan-kun must be having even more of a good time," Ran laughed to herself. "But what about you? How are you? Did... Did something happen?"

"I... Yes, I guess," Shinichi ran his fingers through his hair. "I think I met my soulmate."

"You did?" Ran gasped, sounding so excited for him. "I'm so happy for you! Who is it? When will I meet them? You have to come and visit so we can meet."

For a moment, Shinichi considered his words. "I don't... I haven't even told him yet. We met during the... This big case I'm working, I'm kind of undercover, Ran. I can't just reveal who I am to him. And what if... What if I drag him into this case and he gets hurt because of me?"

"Shinichi..." there was something compassionate to her voice. "I... This person is your soulmate, whatever you are shouldering on your own, perhaps it was a sign that you met your soulmate during this time. Perhaps your soulmate can help you with this, even if it's just emotionally."

That would be nice, but could Shinichi really put that kind of pressure on Hakuba? What if the Black Organization would target him, would actually kill him? And it'd be Shinichi's fault? The fluttering sound of KID's cape alerted him of the fact that he needed to end the call.

"Ah, Ran, I gotta go. I have a meeting coming up. Thank you, for you words."

He hung up and turned around to face the smirking thief. A welcomed distraction today. Pocketing his phone, he straightened up and tilted his head back to look up at the smug bastard.

"Tantei-kun, I hear congratulations are in order!" KID snapped his fingers.

Shinichi tried to dodge the sparkly confetti raining down on him. "You listening in on my calls?"

"No, I actually heard it from the horse's mouth. The horse being an annoying British detective."

Interesting. Then again, Shinichi knew that Hakuba chased KID too. Damn it, was he really desperate enough to ask the thief for advise on the matter? He glared and crossed his arms.

"Say it," Shinichi's voice was impatient. "I know you have an opinion. Just spit it out."

The look on KID's face seemed to actually soften. "You know, it's not good for me personally, to have my toughest chasers be soulmates, but I guess that the Fates knew how to pick. Two annoying, stubborn Holmes geeks who live to make a poor, little thief's life harder than it had to be."

"But I can't tell him..." Shinichi trailed off, motioning at himself. "Look at me, KID."

"The thing about you, tantei-kun, is to look past what you can see. And I do think that if you present tantei-san with enough solid evidence, he will believe the truth," replied KID kindly before grinning brightly. "But please, don't team up on me. That wouldn't be good for my health!"

Shinichi huffed and shook his head, though he had to smile a little. "Thank you."

/break\

When someone rang at his doorbell that night, Saguru didn't know who he was expecting, but when he opened the door and saw his soulmate, he didn't know what to say. The boy shifted some, the light reflecting in his glasses. As the boy tilted his head back, he looked at Saguru with serious eyes before holding up his wrist. No watch, only the glaring zero of the timer.

"It's time we talk, isn't it?" asked Conan, sounding not an ounce like the child he appeared to be.

What shone through was the intonation of an adult, the way he had commanded the other detectives at the mansion. Saguru straightened up and nodded, before leading the way to the library.

"I've been thinking about what to say to you on the matter," admitted Saguru.

"Let me start," requested Conan, taking a deep breath. "By introducing myself. My name is Kudou Shinichi and we... have a lot to talk about, because there are many things I need to explain to you."

Saguru's eyes widened and he raised his eyebrows high. He knew that name. The Heisei Holmes, he'd read that name often times before. A detective he'd been looking forward to meeting. Yet, this was not what the pictures in the newspapers looked like. He couldn't wait for the explanation.

/break\

Saguru became more obsessed with time, but in a different manner. He counted the seconds until he'd get to see his soulmate again. Mostly during KID heists. It had taken him some to wrap his head around the fact that Kudou Shinichi got shrunken into a kid, but with all evidence presented – DNA, finger-prints, even just the photos side by side. Understanding it was easier once he learned about the Black Organization. Which was when he got to bring himself in there too, because he had been chasing Spider for years now and knew of Snake. The soulmates turned into a team to take down the men in black and together, they actually did it. So right now, the time Saguru was obsessing over was the moment he'd get to meet his soulmate in his actual body.

"Hello," there was a charming smile on Shinichi's lips. "I've been looking forward to meeting you."

Saguru spotted a matching smile as he approached Shinichi. "So have I. We're... a good team."

They interlaced their fingers and Shinichi leaned in, resting his forehead against Saguru's. "Yes."

Years of tension melted away from them both as they stood in each other's space.

~*~ The End ~*~

Author's note: The soulmate timer always seemed like THE perfect soulmate AU for Saguru and it was about time I wrote my first SaguShin soulmate AU! ;D