More Like A Phantom Thief

Takagi had noticed it a while now. At first, he had thought the child was simply very smart and intuitive for his age. A prodigy even? But no, there was more beneath those calculating eyes. There was wisdom, there was experience, yet there was still youth and innocence.

Even though he didn't let on, he had known something was up; maybe not from the very beginning, but he worked it out. A meitantei he was not, but he didn't have to be to deduce that smiling boy with the glasses was indeed one.

Takagi had worked out much more than that, but simply never said anything. This was partly because he did not want to give away his newest little friend's secret and partly because his deduction made him question his own sanity; should he utter these words to anyone else, they'd have him sent for a psych evaluation faster than Conan could say "Satsujinjiken", and if you knew the little detective, that was pretty quick.

For a while, he had only had the mystery that was Edogawa Conan half worked out. He knew the little sleuth was the secret behind the Sleeping Kogoro. How many times had he seen the target pop up on Conan's wristwatch, a little blur whiz by, and seconds later and then the deduction show begin after Mouri-san tumbled into position? After getting that far, it didn't take much more to observe and notice the voice changing bowtie… and then there were the orders from 'Oji-san'. As if Mouri-san who chased Conan away from the crime scene would send the boy to set up the experiments, really. It had gotten to the point where Conan had dropped the "oji-san wants…" excuse when asking Takagi for help.

So was he a bright little boy with gadgets running the show? For a bit, Takagi was willing to accept that. Even after seeing the Conan mask slip, he was still willing to believe it. Were there not organization that would train children from a young age honing intelligence and skill, and crushing childhood? Not much was known of Conan's past after all. Yes Takagi had searched high and low for information on Edogawa Conan, but none was to be found. But he always sensed it was something more. He always thought, when Conan's mask dropped, what he saw wasn't a child denied a childhood or a child wise beyond his years; it was someone way past childhood. He had spent many a sleepless night convincing himself that there was no way the eight year old could be someone older; really, how did one de-age? It was impossible.

Impossible..? Really? Takagi began to wonder just how possible it was, and after weeks and months of such he had settled on a conclusion he was pretty set in. There was a part of him that feared that he really was losing his mind and a part that had an even more dreadful fear; was he convinced Conan was actually older because he wanted him to be? Takagi had noticed how drawn he was to the boy, he was on his mind so much more than Sato, and not just as a mystery his curiousity was dying to solve. He was aware that he enjoyed the little moments he could see the young detective at work, or that he could spend with him so much that it just made his day, and then kept him up at night as he wondered why.

He was pretty sure he was falling for Conan, and part of his mind screamed that he wanted the other boy to be older, so that he wouldn't be some kind of creeper. Takagi was seriously worried about himself at a point in time. He needed to know, was Conan older? He wished it was as easy as just asking so long as the younger didn't know why he was asking. If he knew, he'd know how to proceed. If he could ascertain the boy's age, if he could know for sure if the other was a child or not, he would know what to do with these feelings. For in the event that the other boy really was beyond his looks in age, well that would require some thought… but if it happened that the boy was indeed a child, Takagi would definitely lose [squash, if need be] these budding feelings of attraction and reaffirm those of role model , guide and protector. He was sure of it, because Takagi Wataru was most definitely not a pedophile and if Conan were a child he would feel for him and view him as he should a child… well, that's what he kept telling himself anyway after multiple mental meltdowns. That's why he kept vigilant, and it paid off.

Yes he had picked it up from subtle clues, and the not-so-subtle Osakan detective and the fact that when Edogawa Conan had gone to London there was no record of him having done so [he was curious as he had already determined the boy hadn't much proper records, so he abused a bit of his police power and checked] but there was record of one Kudo Shinichi on the flight. Moreover, Conan and Kudo were never really present at the same time, well except that time with the blimp incident but that was Kid, right? And the school play… no, there had to have been some trick. He was as sure that Conan was Kudo Shinichi as Saguru Hakuba was sure that the time was currently 16:34:35:54. He just didn't dare say it. He didn't know how it was so, he didn't know why it was so, but he was convinced that it was so. Furthermore for good measure and peace of mind he had managed to get Conan's prints and run them against Shinichi's to ease his few doubts; it was a match.

So Takagi Wataru knew the little sleuth's secret. Also, Takagi Wataru had become painfully aware that he had his own secret: he was attracted to Edogawa Conan.

There was so much wrong with that he couldn't even begin to list.

They were both male. [He wasn't sure how much of a reason that was, it didn't really bother him, but would it bother Shinichi? Wait why was he even wondering about this, it didn't matter, it's not like anything would happen between him and Shinichi anyways.]

Shinichi Kudo and Mouri Ran were all but betrothed.

Mouri Ran would break him to pieces if he ever decided to attempt to court Shinichi.

Conan was currently in the body of an seven year old… he didn't know how that would work.

Shinichi would never admit the truth to him, and cornering the other boy about it would just make him keep his distance, so even if he wanted to, he couldn't make an advance without appearing like a total creeper.

He had a very caring and loving girlfriend.

Yes, he had a very caring and loving girlfriend. He cared about her as well, and for a time she had been all he could have ever wanted. However after spending time with Conan he began to realize his feelings were changing. He was developing attraction to Conan and at the same time, his feelings for Miwako were shifting from romantic to simply caring and affectionate. He had told himself he could be content with just being friends with Shinichi, that he could work through these feelings, and move past.

Hell he wasn't even sure if it was anything more than a crush at this point. He really shouldn't jeopardize his relationship with the girl of his dreams for something he was unsure of, and he would hate to make Miwako sad. Yes, he had a very good relationship and he was perfectly content with it.

So why? Why, despite wanting Miwako to kiss him, for their relationship to move forward, every time it was about to happen he would feel nervous in more than one way. There would be the "Oh my, it's happening" heart pounding, exciting nervousness, but it was overpowered by an insecure nervousness. One that screamed "No no, think this through first, is this what you really want?" and when whatever obstacle that blocked his and Miwako's progress reared its head, why oh why would he feel that calming sense of relief at the back of his mind?

He had thought long and hard about it, and came to a decision. Maybe his crush was addling his thoughts a bit, but he had determined to try to move past that crush. He was still happy with Miwako, he could still see a future with her, so he would move forward. However if this continued, or if it ever came to the point where he thought he wasn't giving all he should and could to Miwako, he'd have to do something about it. She deserved someone who could give her everything… and he deserved to love guilt free, didn't he?

For now however, he was still able to love her wholeheartedly, even if it was different from the way it was at the very beginning, he supposed it was only the "just got together" phase wearing off. Those little doubts only happened once in a while, and once he cleared his head and focused on his relationship he would be able to give Miwako his all, even if his crush lingered more than he hoped it would. So long as there didn't come a day where he thought he didn't want to be with Miwako, it would be all good.

He looked up from his hospital bed and smiled at her. She was wonderful wasn't she? How could he ever not want her? They bantered a bit and she leaned in, promising himself he would get his long awaited kiss this time. There was no intrusion, no phone call, no bombing, no murder, no interruption of any sort. It was as if the universe was finally on their side.

Despite all the rationalizing and convincing Takagi had just done, he instinctively pulled away from the kiss as she got closer.

"Ouch, " he cried, as the sudden movement did nothing good for his recently sustained injuries.

He looked up at Sato apologetically.

"Gomen Miwako," he said sheepishly, quickly breaking eye contact.

She laughed.

"It's okay, sorry I startled you," she smiled looking a bit apologetic. Just then her phone rang. "It's Megure-keibu," she supplied, before she answered.

"You need to go?" he asked.

This time it was her eyes spelling out sorry, as she smiled guiltily.

"It's fine," he said warmly, kind smile in place, "Take care. See you later."

"Yep, rest up Takagi. I'll be back in a while," and with that she exited the room, leaving the police detective alone with his thoughts.

That kiss… he had begun to panic. Not have little insecure thoughts like before, but full-fledged panic. Thoughts of I shouldn't let her do this and I don't want this. Screams of No, This would make us official, I can't let that happen, I like someone else, I can't do this to Miwako… I can't do this to me. Images of both Conan and Shinichi's grinning faces appeared in his mind's eye. The single thought of wanting to save the kiss for Shinichi…

And then Takagi knew, maybe he had been fooling himself all along, he didn't want to take the risk, he didn't want to ruin something good he had, he didn't want to hurt Miwako and maybe get hurt himself, even though lying to both himself and her and having piece of his heart elsewhere would hurt them both in the end. Or maybe he was able to move past it and dedicate himself to Miwako, was, but then before he did, he came to a place so far past that point it was no longer in sight.

It was no mystery, his feelings for Miwako had faded, fizzled out, were gone. He still cared deeply for her, but not as a boyfriend. Yes, he cared about her, but it was plain as day that no longer was he just falling for Shinich Kudo aka Edogawa Conan. He had fallen. Hard. And there was no return. A few months ago, if someone had told him he'd ever have eyes for anyone other than Miwako Sato he would've laughed, if someone had told him his heart could ever belong to someone else, he's offer to pay for them to be institutionalized.

But before he knew it, his heart was off chasing after a young detective. He had been captivated by the meitantei.

Meitantei indeed, Takagi scoffed, More like phantom thief, after all he stole my heart so stealthily it took me a while before I even realized. Takagi grinned to himself. Things were about to change and there were decisions to be made. He was ready to chase happiness even if it meant he might end up being devastated. He couldn't believe he was actually feeling a bit excited at the prospect. Well, wasn't this new.

There was a new Kaitou to be caught and First Division Police Detective Wataru Takagi was ready to see just how competent an officer he was.