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 14

Date

"There's a party tonight. An acquaintance of mine is throwing a birthday bash for his younger sister."

"So you won't be home for dinner tonight?"

"Well," Kaito drawled, moving to stand in front of him. "I was hoping that you would come with me. We can leave early and hang out at this new coffee shop that's opened up over there. I hear they bake incredible coffee cakes."

Shinichi looked up from where he was seated in the armchair in Kaito's—now their—living room. His book lay forgotten on his lap. Well, it was now or never. He had to ask or forever be second-guessing the magician's motives.

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

Kaito grinned, resting his hands on the armrests to either side of the detective. "Maybe. It depends. Would you come if I said yes?"

Shinichi tried unsuccessfully to lean further back into the cushions, his face turning slightly pink. His mother's words replayed in his mind and he swallowed. "And if I said yes?"

The magician's grin widened even further and he leaned in closer so he could brush his lips against Shinichi's ear. "Good. Then yes, it's a date."

And he was gone, leaving Shinichi stunned and wondering at the pleasant tingle running down his spine.

.

Relationships

"I... think we're dating."

Ran's voice sounded distinctly amused on the other end of the call. "No kidding."

Shinichi leaned back in his chair, looking at the legal reference books on his desk without really seeing them. Ran had called to ask him for suggestions on a court case she was helping her mother with—coincidentally, while Shinichi had been checking over his own homework for his criminal law class. The detective was incredibly grateful that the two of them were on easy speaking terms again. She was one of his best friends, and he wanted to keep it that way.

"So how was the birthday party?"

"It was... nice."

No one had died at it. Strange how many of the birthday parties he'd attended as Conan had ended up with a dead body in attendance as well.

"Kaito did a magic show for them." An unconscious smile made it onto Shinichi's face at the memory. "Now all of the other guests want him to perform at their birthday parties."

"He could make a business out of it."

"That's what I told him. He's already accepted three party requests, and he's planning his first big show for the beginning of next month. Do you want a ticket?"

"That would be great." Ran hesitated, then asked, "Could you make that four tickets?"

"Four?"

"Well, I'm sure Sonoko will want to see it, and Makoto's back in town after that last tournament. I think it would be a great chance for them to do something together. And... did I mention that Eisuke transferred to my university last year?"

"He did? No, you hadn't."

Although actually, Shinichi already knew. Kaito kept tabs on practically everyone in both their lives. It was a little creepy, but useful too, even though it was hard sometimes to remember what he should know and what he shouldn't.

"Are you two going out?" he asked.

"Oh, um," Ran paused, flustered. "He did ask me. I don't know if it'll go anywhere, but I've agreed to give it a try."

Shinichi nodded even though he knew she couldn't see him. Eisuke was a good person. If the two did get together, he wouldn't disapprove.

"I'm glad that it sounds like things are going well with you and Kuroba-kun," Ran said.

Shinichi had to stop and think about this. Going well, huh? He thought of the quiet afternoon in the new coffee shop before the party, guessing at the lives of the people that they saw passing on the sidewalk through the large windows. He thought of the growing number of red roses on his nightstand—he'd finally gone and bought a proper vase for them—and the kiss Kaito had given him on their doorstep the night before, and a blush crept across his cheeks.

Of course Shinichi had seen Kaito in action before in the social arena, but witnessing it and having the full force of his charm actually focused on you were two completely different things. And really, it was quite overwhelming to say the least. No wonder he was so good at getting his way. He had this way of looking at people that really made them feel like he not only saw but understood them. He smiled at you like you were special. Shinichi was sure it was something he practiced, but like everything else Kaito did, he made it seem effortless. And it took even less effort for the detective to let himself be swept away.

"I suppose it is."

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Redecorate

It had been a spur of the moment idea really, hardly more than a passing fancy.

"Maybe we should redecorate."

Kaito looked up from the rack of test tubes he'd set up on the living room table and raised his eyebrows.

Shinichi sat on the couch with several old case files in his hands that he was supposed to be perusing for class. Looking at old cases had got him to thinking about his own past cases, and that had led to other thoughts about when he'd moved into this apartment as Conan.

"I suppose I always thought I'd eventually move out before," he said, trying to explain his sudden inspiration. "It just seems like maybe a bit of redecorating might be nice."

Kaito looked thoughtful. Before him, the collection of multicolored chemicals bubbled quietly. Shinichi hadn't asked him what he was doing, because he wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to know.

"A change, huh? Why not? Some of this furniture is getting a little ragged."

Shinichi started to reply then paused. "Uh, Kaito, is that blue one supposed to be fizzing like that?"

Kaito glanced down then jerked back a split second before the glass test tube exploded, spraying fragments of half molten glass across the tabletop and onto the surrounding carpet. Multicolored chemicals splattered across the wood, several puddles catching fire and burning merrily until Kaito blasted them with a fire extinguisher.

"Well," the magician said cheerfully, "at the very least, we could use a new coffee table."

The detective looked at the smoldering mess and wondered when exactly this had become "normal" in his life.

That was how the two of them had ended up at the furniture and home appliances store downtown where they spent an entire afternoon walking through various displays of perfectly designed kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, and home offices. There were even a handful of bathroom exhibits, complete with a wall of toilet seat options. But when they finally made it home after dinner in the neighboring sandwich shop, they brought with them only two purchases.

"When most people talk about redecorating," Kaito observed as they unpacked, "I don't think a newer, fancier coffeemaker is what they have in mind."

Still, as far as making the apartment more like the place where detective Kudou Shinichi lived, it worked.

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Insomnia

It was three in the morning, and Shinichi had all but given up on the idea of sleep. When he arrived in the kitchen, he was only half surprised to find Kaito sitting at the table with a giant mug of hot chocolate and several sketches that the detective thought resembled performance ideas.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you never slept at all," Shinichi said, making a beeline for the coffeemaker. "You still haven't decided what you want to do yet?"

Kaito leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "It's my first official stage performance as Kuroba Kaito. I want it to be unforgettable."

Shinichi couldn't imagine anything the magician choosing to do being forgettable. People still talked about KID's midair walk and instant teleportation stunts.

He must have said this aloud, because Kaito smirked at him over the top of his drink. "Why thank you."

The coffee machine rumbled, and Shinichi watched the thin stream of dark brown liquid fall into his mug. There had been coffee brewing in the kitchen of the apartment earlier that day where the police had called him in. Come to think of it, that entire apartment building had looked quite a lot like the one he and Kaito currently lived in. Not that there was anything special about that. Most apartment buildings were at least somewhat alike.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Kaito's concerned voice cut through his daze, and Shinichi blinked. His coffee mug was full now, but rather uncharacteristically, he found that he didn't particularly want to drink it anymore. Still, he brought it over to the kitchen table anyway and sat with it cradled between his hands.

"Just a case this morning."

Kaito didn't press him. These days, Shinichi didn't particularly like to talk about his cases. If the magician wanted to know, he had his own ways of finding out. Scary really, how easily he'd wormed his way into the confidences of Shinichi's fellow police trainees. Hmm, Kaito wondered fleetingly if he should be concerned about that. Then again, he was one of the best at what he did.

The magician glanced back down at his notes, then nodded to himself and stood up.

"Come on, let's go."

The detective raised his eyebrows, although he found himself getting to his feet even as he asked, "Where to?"

"To look for inspiration, of course," Kaito said, tossing Shinichi's jacket to him before putting his own jacket on with a flourish.

"At three in the morning?"

The magician only grinned. "No time like the present."

.

Lost

They weren't lost. Of course they weren't. They both had excellent memories. Shinichi had trained himself to pay attention to the little details of crime scenes, and Kaito remembered every lie—and every truth—he'd ever told, not to mention all the little quirks of the floor plans of the buildings he'd conducted heists in. There was just no way that the two of them could be lost.

"So... ever heard of," Kaito slowed his motorcycle to a stop and glanced at the blue and gold sign above the nearest shop windows, "the Blue Frost Bakery?"

"I can't say I have," Shinichi admitted, peering into the brightly lit interior through the large, front windows. "But there have to be dozens of bakeries in this city."

"What about Rinka Street?"

"No, sorry."

Okay, so maybe they were lost after all.

"You were driving," the detective pointed out. "Shouldn't you know where we are?"

"Hey, I did say I was looking for inspiration. What better place to look than down some unfamiliar streets?"

His companion thought this over. "So basically, what you're saying is that you got us lost on purpose. At three in the morning."

Instead of answering, Kaito cut the engine and pulled off his helmet. "It looks like it's open. Those cupcakes look like they might be good, and I'll bet they sell coffee too."

They did indeed have coffee, and the cupcakes were delicious, stuffed with a mild, blueberry jam and topped with blueberry icing.

The two followed this snack with a cup of fried sweet rice cakes in the tiny shop next door, then wandered their way through the wood carving store across the street. The craftsman did amazing work, and they ended up buying a napkin holder with a pair of miniature, wooden doves perched upon it. There was a wall of masks too, featuring everything from horses to demons, and they stood for awhile examining each one.

"I should buy one and hang it in Hakuba's office while he's not looking," Kaito said thoughtfully, eyeing the snarling face of a monkey with its unnaturally elongated jaws crammed with sharp teeth.

Shinichi shook his head. "No wonder he doesn't like you."

Kaito only laughed and led the way back out into the street. Honestly, why all of these stores were open at this unholy hour, Shinichi had no idea. But getting lost was turning out to be quite interesting. The world was full of little places and things they didn't know about. It was easy to forget that sometimes, especially in their respective lines of work. And really, sometimes, it was nice to take a detour.

Shinichi never did find out if Kaito found his inspiration.

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Odd

"You know," Shinichi said slowly, "don't you ever think that your doves are a bit... odd?"

The detective sat at the kitchen table, staring a little blearily at the white-feathered shapes congregated upon it. The birds very much approved of the new napkin holder, and they were taking turns mimicking their wooden counterparts.

Kaito lifted the dove perched on his left hand so he could study its wings more closely in the morning light spilling through the window, a paint brush in his other hand. "I prefer extraordinarily intelligent. Turn around please."

This last bit was directed at the dove, which obediently shuffled about on his fingers so Kaito could start painting its tail feathers black.

A smaller dove broke away from the flock admiring the napkin holder and waddled over to nibble softly on Shinichi's finger. He broke off a bit of his toast for it, and it nibbled his finger again in thanks before starting in on the offering.

Well, they were certainly a magician's birds.

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Nerves

"You don't have to be so nervous, Shinichi," Ran said after one look at her friend's face. "I'm sure it's going to be great."

"I'm not nervous," the detective protested, his voice almost lost in the din of the crowd milling before the concert hall. Of course he wasn't nervous. It wasn't like he was the one getting on stage in an hour.

Oh god, there was only one more hour!

"It's his first big show," Ran continued as though she hadn't heard him. "It's understandable that you'd worry. You just want it to go well."

"Maybe he should worry," Sonoko said, frowning at the building before them, lit gold by the surrounding lights like a brazier against the evening sky. "I've never heard of this Kuroba Kaito before, and I thought I'd at least heard of all the really great magicians around. The media's making a big deal of this. Are you sure he's that good?"

It was Shinichi's turn to frown, torn between being offended by the suggestion that Kaito didn't know what he was doing and being amused by the fact that Suzuki Sonoko had just implied that her beloved Kaitou KID was an amateur.

"You'll be able to see for yourself in an hour," Ran pointed out.

Sonoko pursed her lips. "I suppose that's true. Oh, I see Makoto. Over here! I'm over here!"

There was something funny, Shinichi decided, about seeing Sonoko's stoic, martial artist boyfriend at a magic show. He didn't look uncomfortable, per se, but he did appear just a little confused. The man's arrival helped take his mind off his stomach's overly energetic summersaults—at least for a moment.

Fifty-five more minutes.

His traitorous stomach went on churning until he was settled in his box seat and peering over the railing at the audience streaming into the large auditorium. Only when the lights went dark and a spotlight came on, following the flight of a single white dove over their heads and making its feathers glow, did the nerves he refused to acknowledge finally go quiet. And when the bird circled the auditorium and came to rest upon Kaito's upraised hand where he'd seemingly materialized amidst the audience and Shinichi caught the sly smile that flitted across his partner's face, he knew that everything would be fine. All of the magician thief's performances as Kaitou KID had gone into preparing him for this stage. This was Kuroba Kaito at his best.

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Introductions

Hattori scowled, his drink forgotten in his hands.

"I don't like this guy. He's way too friendly. It's suspicious."

On the other side of the reception hall, Kazuha clasped her hands in front of her as she spoke excitedly to the young magician. Golden light from the chandeliers above glinted in his indigo eyes and shimmered in the cascade of her wavy, brown hair. Hattori's expression darkened further when said magician offered her a yellow rose.

Shinichi raised an eyebrow and asked dryly, "Would you prefer if he brushed her off?"

"What? No, but... she could be a little less enthusiastic. What brought all this on, anyway? I didn't think you'd be the one inviting us to a magic show. What gives?"

Shinichi coughed and lifted his coffee mug. "I, um, did promise to introduce you."

It was the Osaka detective's turn to raise his eyebrows. "Am I missing something here?"

Shinichi mumbled into his coffee, and his friend narrowed his eyes.

"Come again?"

Shinichi cleared his throat, his gaze sliding off to the side. "I sort of moved in with him."

Hattori's jaw dropped. "You're kidding! This magician's the guy you've been living with? How did that happen?"

"It's a long story."

Which he was saved from having to go into when Kaito swept over to them, Kazuha in tow.

"Hattori Heiji, am I correct?"

The dark-skinned detective started to fold his arms across his chest, remembered his drink, and settled for a wary, "Yeah? What of it?"

Kazuha frowned at his rudeness, but Kaito was unfazed. If anything, Shinichi thought he seemed amused.

"Nothing much," he said earnestly. "This lovely young lady just wanted me to meet you."

He inclined his head towards Kazuha, who straightened.

"She had a lot of great things to say about you."

Hattori blinked, startled. "Uh, she—she did?"

Kazuha blushed and stammered out an excuse, but none of them heard because the magician chose that moment to turn his head and give Shinichi a kiss.

.

Shock

For a long time after Kaito had left to socialize with his new fans, the two detectives were quiet. Shinichi kept his gaze focused on the depths of his coffee while he waited for his friend to get over his shock.

Not far away, Kazuha chatted animatedly with Ran and Sonoko, but their voices felt far away, muffled by the awkward atmosphere. Finally, Hattori cleared his throat.

"So... you like this guy, huh?"

Shinichi answered without lifting his eyes from his cup.

"He's... interesting. Fun to be around. Insanely clever. Maybe a little insane in general, but..." Shinichi shrugged. "He could probably be a pretty good detective too if he wanted to be."

"Which I'm guessing he doesn't," Hattori said.

Shinichi smiled weakly. "No, he says he's more interested in making mysteries than solving them."

There was another long silence, and then Hattori said with unexpected seriousness, "I guess that's good then."

The shorter detective finally looked up at that.

Hattori caught his gaze and offered a rueful grin. "Sounds like a perfect match. Still, you have a whole lot of explaining to do."

.

Ghost

The auditorium was empty. Kaito stood alone on the stage, now only dimly lit by the lights overhead, and gazed out at the ocean of shadowed seats. The gasps of wonder and applause of that evening were now but a memory, although in his mind, the detective could still hear the echoes of delighted laughter.

Shinichi paused amidst the aisles, unsure if his presence would be welcomed. The expression on his partner's face was unreadable, both serious and uncharacteristically distant. But it was getting late. Everyone else had already gone home, and it was high time that the two of them did the same.

When Shinichi reached the top of the steps that led up onto the stage, Kaito spoke.

"I wonder if this was how Dad felt after his first official performance."

Quietly, Shinichi made his way across the stage to stand beside him.

"Maybe."

"Do you think he would have liked my show?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Shinichi answered it anyways.

"I'm sure he would have."

Kaito folded his arms behind his head and turned his gaze up towards the vaulted ceiling, all but lost in the darkness, and even though there was a wry smile on his lips and he shed no tears—he'd done all of his grieving a long time ago—Shinichi thought he looked a little sad.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

For him, the theatre would always be a place for ghosts.

TBC...

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