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

Pairings: Kaito x Shinichi

WARNINGS: shounan ai (boy/boy pairing), you have been warned

Dark Side Chances

By V. Shalyr

File 11

Antidote

Conan stared at the pill that sat seemingly so innocuous upon the white envelope in which it had arrived. He hadn't so much as thought about the possibility of an antidote for two years, ever since he'd moved in with Kaito. It felt almost surreal now to finally, finally have the cure that Haibara had been working on for so long. How long had he been Conan now? Five years?

He reached out to pick up the pill then stopped, letting his hand drop back to his side. Something inside him was holding him back and he sat for a long time contemplating what it was. What was it exactly he wanted to do now? Even if he took the antidote, he couldn't go back to his old life. For one thing, he'd be twenty-one. For another, too many things had changed—the people around him, the world in general, and himself.

What he wanted to do most right now was talk to Kaito.

Or maybe that was the problem right now. He just wasn't sure how Kaito would react. The magician had become incredibly important to him, he realized with a strange lurching in his stomach that he didn't feel like dissecting at the moment.

Slipping the pill back into its envelope, Conan hurried into his room and stowed it safely in a drawer in his closet.

No amount of sitting here and thinking about it was going to tell him how Kaito would react. No, he'd have to work up the nerve and talk to the magician when he got home.

The moment Kaito stepped through the front door, he knew something was up. For one thing, Conan was sitting on the couch holding a book—upside-down. Now, Kaito knew the detective had many talents, but as far as he was aware, reading books upside-down wasn't one of them. Besides, the boy's eyes weren't moving.

Dropping his backpack on the floor, Kaito walked over and plucked the book out of his hands. "Problem?"

Slowly, clouded blue eyes rose to meet his indigo ones.

"I just—I was wondering…" Conan started, faltered then trailed off, not quite able to sort out the feelings welling up inside. Why did he feel so anxious? It seemed ridiculous but he really had no idea. He was a detective for heaven's sake!

"Take your time," Kaito advised, placing the book upon the table and dropping onto the couch next to him. "I assume it has something to do with that." He gestured at the letter opener still upon the table.

Conan remained quiet for a moment longer then got up off the couch and vanished into his room. When he returned, he held out a single white envelope. Curious, Kaito accepted it and slid it open to examine its contents. When he was done, he handed the envelope back.

"I don't see what you're so upset about. Isn't this what you've been waiting for all this time?"

"I'd pretty much given up on it," Conan muttered, but the thief had a point. "I guess it's just that I want to go back to being able to live a normal life but I also like the way things are now."

Studying his troubled face, Kaito carefully reached out to brush a lock of hair behind his ear. "You know I won't kick you out or anything, right?"

He chuckled at Conan's startled look. "Honestly, Tantei-kun, it's not like I only let you stay because we had a common enemy and were fighting the same fight. I've grown quite fond of you. So I'll tell you now that you'll always be welcome here."

.

Stay

"Do you think… you could stay with me?"

It made him feel a bit nervous to have someone there when he took the antidote, but he also didn't want to be alone for once. Kaito blinked at him in surprise then smiled, a strangely gentle and reassuring smile that made his stomach turn over for some inexplicable reason.

"Sure. I'll just sit in this chair here and look the other way until it's over." So that the detective could have some measure of privacy.

Conan nodded gratefully and slipped under the covers of his bed. For a long moment, he just stared at the glass of water on the nightstand and the pills sitting so innocently upon the folded tissue beside it. Then he took a deep breath and downed the pills along with half the cup of water before bracing himself for what he knew was about to hit him.

The first wave of pain had him gasping for breath despite himself. If anything, it was worse than before, and once it started, it only grew more intense until he was shaking uncontrollably beneath the blankets now drenched with the sweat rolling off his skin. He curled into himself on his side, clutching at his chest and trying not to scream while wishing for the agony to just be over. Until at last, his prayers were answered when his consciousness spiraled into dark, blessed unconsciousness.

As for Kaito, listening to the whole ordeal from the sidelines, he was just glad that this would be the last time his favorite detective would have to suffer through the effects of the poison that had so radically changed his life. Though perhaps they had to be thankful for the poison too, at least a little. Because it was at least partially responsible for bringing them together in the first place. And that was worth more than a bit of sacrifice.

Perhaps that was what people meant by everything having a silver lining.

.

Echo

It felt strange to wake up and realize that he was, in fact, Shinichi again—albeit a Shinichi rather different from the old arrogant, genius, high school detective who thought he knew what justice really meant and thought he had the right to pass judgment. No, this Shinichi was quieter, more thoughtful, more careful, and perhaps a little less certain of himself if no less confident in his skills as a detective. There were still echoes of the old Shinichi in him, but they were so faded and changed by the passage of time and the grinding of experience that it hardly seemed worth thinking about it. Besides, he had decided all those months ago that he was moving on—starting over. And to do that, he had to focus on the future and leave the past where it was.

"Shin-chan, is that really you?"

He winced at the excited exclamation on the other end of the phone, holding the offending object farther from his ear to avoid going deaf.

"Yes, mother, it's me."

"Aww, you sound back to your old self. So I take it Ai-chan's antidote worked?"

"Yeah."

"That's wonderful. Are you going to be at home next week? Your father and I could come see you. It's been such a long time."

Shinichi hesitated, glancing out the window at the night sky. "Um, actually, I don't think I'll be moving back for awhile."

"Are you still staying with that friend of yours?"

"Yeah."

"Hmmm…" His mother trailed off and he waited for her to say more, feeling oddly nervous. It was never a good thing when his mother got all quiet. It meant she was turning some idea over in her head, and usually something that would make his life more difficult in the short run. "Is he treating you well?"

"Huh?" That seemed like a strange kind of question to ask about a friend. Or maybe it wasn't since they were living together? "I guess so."

"That's good then. What did you say his name was again?"

"I didn't."

"Well?"

"…Kaito."

"That's an unusual name. So when are you going to introduce us?"

"Um, I don't know." Preferably never?

"Oh, don't be like that, Shin-chan. What kind of mother would I be if I didn't even know my own son's boyfriend?"

Shinichi spluttered, his face instantly going red. "What? He's not my boyfriend!"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! What kind of question is that?"

"Well, a pretty good one considering how well I know you. You like him, don't you?"

Shinichi opened his mouth to deny it but stopped himself. Instead, he said, "Of course I like him, but not like that."

His mother just giggled in a way that told him she absolutely did not believe a word of it. "If you say so, dear. But you still have to introduce us."

Shinichi would have liked to refuse, but really, there was no reason not to and he knew from personal experience that it was useless to argue with his mother anyway. His parents were impossible. For heaven's sake, KID was easier to deal with than his parents. At least KID was fun and exciting as well as frustrating.

After his mother had finally hung up, Shinichi set his phone down on his desk and glanced at the clock yet again. What was taking Kaito so long? Shinichi would have liked to attend the heist too, but he had too many other things on his plate at the moment that needed sorting out before he could get his life back on track. All the same, that didn't stop him from wanting to be there or staying up to wait for his return. Just to make sure the magician got back all right, of course, or at least that was what he told himself.

.

Wishes

"It's a beautiful stone, isn't it?"

Shinichi turned the jewel over in his hand, making a sound of agreement, although Kaito's offhanded comment sounded more apathetic than anything. This wasn't the jewel he wanted and so it held little interest for him anymore.

"Were you going to mail it back, or did you want me to take it to the police station?"

"I'll mail it back," Kaito said after a moment's thought,. "The dear inspector is going to start getting suspicious if you keep bringing the jewels back after KID's stolen them."

Probably true, although very few members of the police force would ever dare entertain the idea of the famous Kudou Shinichi being allied with the equally infamous Kaitou KID. Life liked its practical jokes too.

Shinichi passed the gem back to him and Kaito made it vanish with a snap of his fingers.

"This beauty was called the Queen's Star, you know—when it belonged to the queens of old. People used to believe that it allowed the queen to grant wishes."

Folding his arms behind his head, Kaito lay back on the roof to stare up at the sky, the night just giving way to dawn.

"People and their wishes... What would you wish for, Tantei-kun?"

Shinichi sighed and lay down next to him, a small part of him wishing that they could see stars despite the light and the pollution in the city air that got in the way. "I guess I'd wish for people to shape up and stop killing one another. If people would just make the effort to understand other people and to see that we're all just human beings, so much violence could be avoided."

Kaito chuckled. "A very philosophical wish from a tired homicide detective."

"What about you?"

"As I said before, I haven't got the time to bother with wishes. Still, I suppose if I did have the time, that would be a pretty good wish."

TBC...

AN: Please note that it will be some time before the next chapter is posted for this story. I've been seriously stuck in it for awhile and haven't figured out how the next part should go.