Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi

Lyrical Spices

Basil

[Song Inspiration: What Ifs by Kane Brown]

"Kuroba Kaito, soon to be the best magician in the world! But you can call me Kaito."

Shinichi stood frozen, staring at the young man standing before him in the airport.

The man waited a moment then raised an eyebrow. "What, is there something on my face?"

Shinichi drew in a deep breath as he searched for his words. He ended up with only one. "Why?"

"Eh? Why what?"

The detective frowned. "Don't pretend you don't know."

The thief kept his faux clueless expression on for a moment longer before letting it fall with a laugh. He dropped a hand on top of Shinichi's head and ruffled his hair.

"You'd have found out when we got there anyway. After all, I was the one they invited. Showing up in disguise wouldn't make much sense."

Shinichi winced. He should have realized that, shouldn't he? It was pretty obvious. But he hadn't been thinking about it.

A sudden sense of unease swept over him. His gaze dropped to the floor.

Indigo eyes narrowed, but the announcer called for their flight to start boarding at that moment. So the thief grabbed Shinichi's hand and began towing him towards the gate. They could talk about whatever it was that was bothering his detective later.

-0-

"Ah, Kuroba-san! It's great to see you again. We're so glad that you decided to come," a middle-aged woman with her hair in a bun beamed at them as she bustled around the hotel counter. "Oh! And who's this?" she added, spotting Shinichi. "Is he your little brother? He's adorable!"

Shinichi ducked his head, groaning inwardly. What was it with older women and cooing over him? At least this one didn't try to pinch his cheeks.

Kaito laughed. "Oh, no. This is Conan-kun. He's the son of a family friend. His parents are on a business trip, so I volunteered to watch him while they're gone. He was super excited when he heard I'd be performing here in Okinawa."

"Really? Well, dear, I hope you enjoy your time here," she said, patting Shinichi on the head like he was half as old as he looked. Smiling, she turned back to Kaito. "My husband regrets he couldn't be here to greet you himself, but he's in a meeting. He wished to invite you to dine with us tonight. Unless you have other plans?"

"Dinner would be great."

"Excellent! Our daughter has been most excited to meet you ever since we told her about your spectacular performance at that new theater in Tokyo."

"Speaking of performances, I'd like to get a look at the stage as soon as possible."

"Of course, of course. I can show you the place now. Just leave your luggage here. I'll have someone take it up to your room for you."

-0-

"Wouldn't it have been easier just to say that we're related?" Shinichi asked. He was perched on the edge of the bed (there was only one king-sized bed because the hotel owners hadn't anticipated Kaito bringing a guest and, with the place fully booked, they couldn't change his room. Though Kaito assured them that it was fine) in their rather lavish hotel room and watching Kaito go over his inventory. The amount of magical paraphernalia that the magician thief could pack into two suitcases was mindboggling.

"Perhaps, but it would have made things more complicated later when it's safe to let people know we're dating."

Shinichi could feel his face warming. "I didn't realize we were dating."

Kaito just chuckled. "Did you bring any formal clothes?"

"No. I didn't think I'd need any."

"Good thing I brought a set for you then." Kaito snapped his fingers. There was a blinding flash of light. When Shinichi could see again, he found himself holding a set of child-sized formal clothes. He held it up and stared at it dubiously. Most of the outfit was white. The dress shirt was blue.

"You can't be serious."

"Oh come on. Now we match."

Feeling a sudden sense of dread, Shinichi looked up at the thief—who was dressed in, an ensemble that looked just like his KID suit sans cape, hat, and monocle.

"Are you insane?!" he squawked.

"Very likely. What, is there a problem?" The thief's expression was way too innocent to be real.

"You have to ask?!"

"Well, I am Kaitou KID's biggest fan. It's hardly surprising for me to style my outfit accordingly."

"Biggest fan…" Shinichi trailed off then shook his head. This was too weird to deal with. "Well, I'm not wearing this."

"I guess if you really don't want to wear that, you can wear this bunny suit, and I can pull you out of a hat. I'm sure our hosts would appreciate the show."

Shinichi gaped in horror at the bunny suit that looked suspiciously like it would fit him perfectly. Then he picked up the miniature clone of Kaito's outfit and ran for the bathroom.

-0-

Dinner that night passed in a bit of a haze for Shinichi, lost as he was in his own thoughts. Not that it mattered much. Their hosts had all their attention focused on Kaito. The daughter in particular hung onto his every word, though the girl herself took some time to scrape up the courage to start asking questions of her own. She was clearly infatuated, and, if their behavior was any indication, her parents wouldn't mind the match at all.

At the end of the evening, the girl shyly offered to show Kaito around the city sometime.

Back in their room, Kaito and Shinichi both changed into pajamas. They ended up sitting on the bed as the magician reviewed the plans for his show.

"Maybe you should go with her," the detective said into the silence, tone thoughtful. "She seems nice."

Kaito looked up, quirking an eyebrow in amusement. "My, my, Tantei-kun, are you trying to get rid of me?"

"It's not that. I just…" Shinichi sighed, looking away. His stomach twisted painfully. "Time is precious. It's something you can never get back. You shouldn't waste it."

"Spending time with you is not time wasted, Shin-chan," Kaito said quietly. All signs of mirth had left his voice. His gaze too was deadly serious.

Shinichi didn't notice this because he was still looking away. "It's just… I might be like this forever. There might not be an antidote. And even if there is one, I don't know when it will be or how risky it might be. It might not even be worth it, all considered I've already spent so many years as Conan. I…could just grow up again as Conan. No more Shinichi. A lot of people already believe Shinichi's dead anyway…"

Kaito's jaw clenched.

"But that's not really the point," he continued, voice soft. "It's you. I…I don't want to hold you back. You're…you're really amazing. You're a great magician. Your career's basically set. And it's going to take you all around the world, You'll be even greater than your father someday just like you wanted."

"Yes," Kaito murmured, easing over to gently but firmly scoop Shinichi off of his seat and onto Kaito's lap. "But all those things will mean nothing to me without you."

"That's not true. You had those dreams long before you met me."

"A magician needs his audience. Otherwise, who would he impress with all his impossible feats?"

"There are billions of people out there," Shinichi reasoned, voice growing even quieter. "I just thought… I mean, I'm sure you could find someone more suitable if you—"

"Don't be ridiculous," Kaito cut him off, arms tightening possessively around Shinichi's waist. "I love you, Shinichi. I wasn't joking when I told you that I wanted you to be mine. You are the one I want to spend my life with. There may be billions of people out there, but believe me when I say that very few of them can keep up with me the way you can. And none of them have a smile or a spirit as beautiful as yours."

Shinichi's breath seemed to leave his lungs. He felt warm and dizzy and a little confused. How could the magician say such things with such sincerity? "That's just… I'm not…"

A calloused finger pressed itself against his lips, silencing him.

"Let me finish. You said it yourself, Tantei-kun. Time is precious. For all we know, the sky could fall tomorrow. So why shouldn't I spend my time with the one I love? Or are you saying you don't feel anything for me?"

Shinichi shook his head quickly then sagged in the thief's hold. "I just… I don't want to be a burden to anyone else."

"What makes you think you're a burden to anyone?" the magician asked, sounding honestly confused.

Shinichi shook his head. How could he put this simply? Murders and other crimes plagued him and everyone who associated with him everywhere they went. He was still young enough that running around by himself was tantamount to inviting trouble, but he had no choice but to run around. Okay, well, he technically had a choice, but his sense of responsibility wouldn't allow him to choose to sit around at home when he could be out there making a difference. And that made people worry. In retrospect, it was a good thing his parents lived too much in their own world to concern themselves with what he did. Not like Ran and Agasa. Even Hattori and Haibara had suffered their fair share of anxiety because of him.

He didn't exactly feel guilty because he was only trying to do the right thing, but… It didn't mean he was happy about upsetting the few people who cared about him.

And most of that hadn't even been a result of his sudden de-aging, which brought its own boatload of trouble for any relationship he might have.

It was all just a huge, tangled mess of complications. Anyone would get tired of having to deal with it day in day out. Hell, even Shinichi got tired of it sometimes. That was how this strange relationship had started in the first place after all: trying to hide away from it for a few hours in that coffee shop.

"well?" Kaito prodded gently.

Haltingly, Shinichi tried to put his thoughts into words. He wasn't used to voicing his concerns at the best of times. The fact that the issues at hand were so personal only made it harder. But this was important, so he forced himself to forge ahead.

Kaito remained silent for a long time after he was done. When he did finally break the silence, his voice was stern.

"Shinichi, I'm not going to leave you—especially not just because you're worried that things aren't going to work out. In case you didn't hear me the first time, I love you. I enjoy spending time with you. And frankly, every relationship is a risk. But it's a risk for the good just as much as it's a risk for the bad."

"Doesn't it bother you at all? That I'm like this."

Kaito only laughed. "If it did, we wouldn't be here. All it means," he added, voice dropping into a teasing purr, "is that I'll have to wait a few years before I ravish you."

Shinichi blushed and elbowed him. "I'm being serious here."

"So am I." Pulling Shinichi more firmly against his chest, Kaito leaned forward so he could see the side of Shinichi's face. "Tell me, do you like me?"

The color in the detective's cheeks darkened a shade as he nodded slowly.

The magician smiled. "Then there's no problem. We'll make it work. I promise."

-End of Chapter-