Mikau: Hey guys! Thanks for coming back for more! I'm tired, so I'll keep it short and sweet for fear of making grievous spelling/grammar errors, but thank you so much to Kaito Dark, Wieselchen, Aniki-xvi, and Raifuujin for your reviews. I'm glad people are liking this story too, even though it's not as popular as its sister story, The Truth in the Subconscious. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, the suspenders never would have happened. I don't care if they are a useful gadget. Conan, Darling, you look like a complete and total nerd! That kid is going to get bullied with his dorky bowtie, oversized glasses, and goofy clothes.

….

Losing Hope

A week or two after his amazing surprise party, courtesy of his crush, Hakuba Saguru began to realize that Kuroba Kaito was not interested in being anything more than friends.

Of course, this had dawned upon him at Kuroba's own birthday party when Saguru had been ignored and overlooked in favor of whomever the magician kept texting and calling, but…when Kid had gone out of his way with the magnificent fireworks and Kuroba had thrown a whole party especially for him and made those hand-crafted dolls…he had allowed himself to hope that his beloved had gotten over his mystery caller.

Sadly, this was not the case.

Saguru and Kuroba had hung out several times since Hakuba's birthday party, but every time the impish brunette had had his phone close at hand, and twice he had texted with that bloody other person in Saguru's presence.

"Are the brussel sprouts not cooked to your liking, Bocchama?" Baaya's voice brought him back to the dinner table where he was poking at the veg on his plate repetitively with his fork.

"No. They're fine, Baaya. Thank you," he muttered, spearing one and popping it into his mouth.

It'd gotten a little cold. How long had he been zoning out?

"Thank you for the meal," Superintendent Hakuba said as he dabbed at the corner of his mouth with his napkin and rose to leave. "It was delicious as usual. I'll be in my study, if you'll bring tea at seven. Good night to the both of you."

"Yes, Sir. Good night," the servant replied dutifully.

"Good night, Father," the detective responded with what he hoped didn't sound like disinterest.

Baaya waited until she heard her master's footsteps reach the top of the stairs before she turned to her foster-son. "Alright, Saguru. What's the matter? You've been down in the doldrums for about a week now. Is it a case or something, Sweetheart?"

"Or something," Saguru sighed. "Don't worry yourself, Baaya. It's just teenager drama; it's not important."

Baaya's eyes widened in interest.

Teenager drama? Since when did her child engage in teenager drama?

"Tell me about it anyway," she urged. "You spend too much of your time trying to get everyone to think of you as an adult. Be a teenager for a few minutes and tell me what's wrong."

"It's complicated," Saguru mumbled, pushing the brussel sprouts around on his plate some more.

"Probably not nearly as complicated as some of the cases you puzzle out at me," Baaya chuckled. "Try me."

"Alright. Don't laugh," the poor boy pouted. "Kuroba is in love with Aoko-kun, but Aoko-kun has a small crush on me and an even bigger one on Koizumi-san; however, Koizumi-san has a crush on Kuroba. Kuroba, for the moment, has decided to give up on Aoko-kun and chase after some mystery person I've never met, but they're always bloody on the phone together, calling and texting—always. I mean, the buffoon will stop in the middle of a conversation with you to text."

"Oh, Honey…" Baaya got up and came to sit beside her charge, running her fingers through his soft, wavy hair. "That is a bit complicated…. And you're upset because you don't think you stand a chance with Kuroba-kun?"

Saguru's face turned beet red as he whipped around to stare in astonishment at his caretaker. "H-How did you know it was Kuroba?"

"Same way I knew when you fancied your little friend Rodger when you were twelve." She smiled knowingly, patting her child fondly on the head. "I'm afraid you're a tad obvious, Bocchama."

Even the tips of his ears turned scarlet as Saguru buried his face in his palms. "God, you don't think he knows do you?"

"No, Sweetheart. He hasn't the foggiest," Baaya assured, beginning to gently massage the back of her foster-son's neck. "A boy thoughtful enough to painstakingly prepare a surprise party for you complete with your favorite desserts would not consciously flaunt his crush on another person in front of you, if he were aware of how you felt about him."

"Good," Saguru breathed, sitting up. "Good. Thank you, Baaya."

"No worries, Dear."

"But…Baaya, what should I do? It's obvious that nothing's going to happen, so I should just give up, shouldn't I? I'm only going to get my heart broken, after all, so shouldn't I just give up on this love nonsense?" the teen grumbled.

"Saguru, you're being overdramatic," Baaya laughed.

"Baaya, I'm being serious. It's obvious I'm meant to be alone, so why even try?" Saguru pouted. "It's a waste of my time; I could be out solving cases. It's what I'm good at."

"Oh, use your loaf, Child," Baaya chuckled all the harder. "Humans evolved from apes, right? Well, apes are social animals, and we are too. We need to belong to a group. You're not meant to be alone; you're supposed to interact and bond with others. It's coded right in your DNA."

Saguru's mouth opened and closed a few times, but he said nothing.

How could he argue with science?

"Sweetheart, even if nothing romantic happens between you and Kuroba-kun, at least you'll have made a friend, right? Then you'll actually have someone to do things after school with instead of going to the movies by yourself so that you can pretend that you're out doing things with friends just so that I don't worry about you."

Saguru's mouth opened and closed thrice more as he tried to come up with something clever to say.

She knew about him going to the movies to kill time so that he could pretend to be hanging out with his peers. How did she know that?

"Saguru, someone wonderful will come along eventually. You might get hurt a few times along the way, but love is worth it in the end. You shouldn't give up yet, not when you're only just starting out," she urged, gently tracing circles on his scalp.

"So…your advice is to just hang in there?" He had been hoping for a little more than that.

She nodded. "It's all you can do—make friends with Kuroba-kun, look for someone new, and keep going. Someday you'll look back on this and realize things weren't as bad as you thought they were at the time. You tend to dwell on things, Saguru. I swear you'll feel better once you learn to let go and let loose a little bit."

"Baaya, that doesn't fix my problem," Saguru sighed.

"Dear, it's not my job or place to fix your problems. You're nearly a grown man, after all. All I can do for you now is cheer you on and give advice and assurances from the sidelines," she replied with a shrug and gave him a pat on the back.

"Baaya, whatever happened to telling me what I wanted to hear?" the sleuth sighed again.

"I'd be a bad mother, if I just coddled you all the time. Sometimes it's necessary to tell your children what they need to hear instead of what they want to hear." She got to her feet and started clearing the table.

"Baaya," Saguru whined, sticking his bottom lip out in a pout.

"You'd never get away with acting like that in front of your real parents," she scolded.

"You are my real parents." The teen rolled his eyes and continued to pout.

"You know, my own boys say the same thing about you," his caretaker chuckled. "They tell me I'm more of a mother to you than I ever was to them. I suppose I was a bit too busy taking care of your mum and then raising you to pay much attention to my own children."

"…Do you regret it?" Saguru whispered, the pout fading into concern.

"No, Sweetheart. Frankly, I like you much better than my other two. My biological sons are both insufferable gits. They get it from their late father who raised them. You take after me. You're the only one of my four that I've managed to raise properly."

"Four?" Saguru blinked, wondering how he was miscounting.

"Yes. Four. Though, your mother Helen was already set in her ways when I became her governess when I was seventeen, but I've always thought of her as my first child. Frederic and Gregory came along a few years after that when I married, and by that time I was already quite tired of children and busy with my work, so their father, rest his soul, did the majority of the child-rearing. I remember I was almost in my late thirties when you came along. Helen's grandmother had forced her to get married and keep you, and the girl had no idea what she was doing. You were barely two months old when I came to take care of you, and you were my child from that day on."

She gave her son a soft smile and patted him on the head. "I suppose a little more coddling couldn't hurt a great deal. Follow me to the kitchen, and we'll make some hot cocoa and cookies. That's what you really want, isn't it?"

"Thank you, Baaya," Saguru chuckled, kissing the woman who had raised him on the cheek. "Can we go sit on the couch and watch an old black and white film too?"

"Yes, Child."

"And can we light the fireplace as well?" Saguru pushed his luck. "And make popcorn with chocolate and nuts?"

Baaya turned and raised an eyebrow at her charge. "Just how upset are you about this Kuroba-kun thing?"

"Absolutely devastated?" Saguru tried his best to look distraught.

Baaya rolled her eyes. "Alright, but only because you're my favorite."

000

Kuroba continued to come over once or twice a week as he had been doing since Saguru's party, and they often hung out after school, albeit with Aoko-kun and sometimes Momoi-san and/or Koizumi-san.

Saguru tried to keep Baaya's advice about letting go and befriending Kuroba in mind, but he found it exponentially harder than he had anticipated since actually spending time with the object of his affections was only making him like the magician more. He was totally smitten, but all he could do was grin and bear it.

Kuroba's obsession with his mystery caller was only growing stronger.

Saguru had asked once or twice, "Is that the person you like that you're texting?" and "What's her name?" but Kuroba had only replied, "Yep," and "It's a secret," respectively each time.

One day, while Kuroba was over to play video games, he'd gotten up to go to the restroom, leaving his phone sitting there on the couch.

As soon as Kuroba left the room, the phone pinged, signaling a new text.

Saguru had a brief moment of inner struggle before he picked up the phone and looked at the caller ID readout. He blinked when he saw the words "Kudo Shin-chan".

The only Kudos the detective could think of at the time were the author Yusaku, the actress Yukiko, and the detective Shinichi, but Kudo Shinichi was most definitely male.

It was probably just a text from a friend, then, and not Kuroba's crush.

Saguru put down the phone, utterly ashamed of himself for his ungentlemanly behavior.

However, he had to rethink his conclusion when Kuroba came back in and got that look on his face as he eagerly responded to Kudo-kun's text.

"I-Is that…the person you like?" Saguru inquired tentatively.

"Yep." Kaito smirked.

"Oh. That's…that's cool," the detective stuttered.

Saguru wasn't sure what to think.

On one hand, he was happy because his being male was no longer an issue standing in the way of their love. On the other hand, Kaito liked Kudo Shinichi who was smarter, more confident, and a great deal better looking than Saguru could ever be; there would be no reason for Kuroba to downgrade to an inferior detective.

After that, Saguru tried to think of Kuroba as just a friend and endeavored to find someone else, but the magician-thief was like catnip to the detective—an unsolvable puzzle, his physical and mental match. He found himself comparing prospects to his friend, and every last one came up short.

000

"Kuroba, I'm busy," Saguru lied.

"You're not busy; I asked Baaya. Now, why don't you want to come to my Halloween party?" Kaito snorted on the other end of the line.

"I…" …don't think I can handle seeing you today. "…don't have a costume."

"Then go buy one. You've got plenty of cash, so no excuses," Kaito scolded.

"I'm not feeling well. I think I've caught something, and I wouldn't want to give it to anyone." Saguru debated faking a cough.

"The party's at seven. You've got four hours to drink some orange juice, buy a costume, and get your butt over to my house. If you're even a minute late, I'll be on my way over to collect you. Don't make me drag you out of bed." Judging by his tone, Kuroba was dead serious.

"Right," Saguru sighed.

"…Hey, you mad at me or something, Hakuba?" Kaito softly inquired.

"Not at all. Why do you ask?" Saguru replied in surprise.

"You've just been kind of distant this past week. I was kind of wondering if I'd done something to make you angry with me since it sort of feels like you've been avoiding me." Kaito shrugged, even though his friend couldn't see it.

"No, Kuroba. I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel like that; I've just been having a bit of a rough week."

"Wanna talk about it?" Kaito offered.

Saguru blushed.

His heart fluttered for a moment and then constricted in pain.

Kaito could be so sweet sometimes, and it just killed him.

"No thank you, Kuroba. It's just something silly; I'll be fine, but I really do appreciate it. Your friendship means a lot to me." Saguru was glad his crush couldn't see his cheeks turning scarlet, but he wondered if Kuroba could hear it in his voice.

"Aww, shucks. You're making me blush, but…same here, Hakuba," Kaito laughed. "Just come to the party. You'll feel better afterwards. I swear."

"Alright. Who all's going to be there?" It was hard to win an argument against Kuroba Kaito. The magician always seemed to get his way.

"Almost everybody from school said they could make it, and Kiku-chan and her…uh…friend Kei-san are gonna drop by. I have a couple friends from other schools and activities, and oh! My cousin Kudo Shinichi…'s cousin Edogawa Conan and his friends and various associates are coming. You know Conan from Kid heists, don't you?"

"Uh…yes. Yes, I do." Saguru blinked.

That had been strange.

"Well, that sounds fun, Kuroba. I'll make sure to be there on time," Saguru promised.

"Knowing you, you'll be early," Kaito laughed. "Oh. Hey, I've gotta go; I've got another call, but I'll see ya then!" He hung up before Saguru could say goodbye.

The detective was betting that the other call was from Kudo Shinichi.

000

"I knew you'd be early," the Kaitou Kid greeted him in Kuroba's voice as he leaned lazily against the door frame. "Come on in. You can help Mom and Aoko bring out the snacks."

"You're Kid," the sleuth stated rather intelligently.

"And you're Prince Charming, right?" the monocled thief chuckled.

"Right." Saguru blinked.

Now that he looked more closely, there were about a dozen differences between Kuroba's Kid costume now and the one he wore while jumping off of skyscrapers and committing grand larceny.

"You know, I'd thought for sure you'd show up in your deerstalker and inverness coat, but this is a nice change. It fits you." Kaito turned and gave him a winning grin as he bowed and motioned him into the kitchen.

"T-Thank you. Did you make your costume especially for tonight?" Saguru reasoned that Kuroba couldn't risk using one of his real Kid suits.

"Nah. I go to Kid conventions. I made this two years ago right after Kid's big revival," Kaito chuckled as he bounced up to his mother…who was dressed as Phantom Lady.

Saguru was not going to think too hard about all this.

Aoko-kun was also there, modeling a suit and mustache that looked very similar to her father's. "Hey there, Hakuba-kun!" she called cheerily. "Aoko's glad you could make it!"

"Good evening, Aoko-kun. I like your costume; it's very authentic." Saguru gave the girl a friendly smile as he set to work helping with the snacks.

000

The guests arrived in a steady stream after the party officially started at seven.

As Kaito had promised, those in attendance included most of the students from their year and many from the other two grades as well.

Mostly it was all people that Saguru didn't know, and Kuroba was too busy playing host to hang out with him for too long, but Saguru made due, chatting with his small group of friendlier acquaintances, eating snacks, listening to the music, and watching others play various games.

It was mostly awkward, but he was having a bit of fun despite himself.

That was, until seven thirty when the doorbell rang and Edogawa Conan and his party showed up—Mouri Ran, Suzuki Sonoko, Edogawa Conan, and several young children dressed as a fairy princess, Kamen Yaiba, Gomera, and…a scientist.

Kuroba greeted them warmly and made a big, Kaitou Kid-worthy show for Suzuki-san when she squealed over his costume.

Saguru noted that Kuroba seemed to be on friendly terms with all of the other children, not just his cousin's cousin (who had come as a Count Dracula).

Kuroba scooped up the little vampire and nuzzled him affectionately.

Saguru sat on the sidelines watching his crush after that for a great deal of the evening.

The way they interacted was…odd. Kuroba was teasing—flirting with!—the young boy, and Edogawa-kun was playing back. They talked and laughed and were often interrupted by someone—usually Aoko-kun or Koizumi-san, but sometimes Mouri-san and Suzuki-san as well.

Saguru sighed, feeling marginalized and jealous.

"Ya look like ya could use a drink," a deep, rather monotone voice observed to his left.

The teenage detective jumped, startled by the sudden presence. He hadn't heard anyone approach. Had he really been spacing out to such an extent?

Saguru turned and froze at what he saw—a rather tall man of mixed Asian and Caucasian ancestry with rusty red hair and the bluest Prussian eyes Saguru had ever seen.

"Just apple cider," the stranger assured, holding out an extra glass.

"Uh…thank you," our hero finally got out as he snapped out of his stunned silence.

"I saw ya lookin' at Kid." The redhead motioned towards Kuroba.

"I wasn't—"

"—What are ya gonna do if ya ever catch 'em?" Those ocean blue eyes stared at Saguru like they could see straight through him.

The detective took a tentative sip of his cider and took a long, hard look at his target. He sighed. "I used to think that I would lock him up, put him behind bars where he could do no harm and where no harm could befall him. Lately, though, I've been rethinking my plan. A jail cell no longer seems like a safe place for him, so I've been trying to come up with some alternatives. No matter what, I plan on protecting him."

His companion nodded, the corner of his mouth turning up slightly—a smile? "That's a good answer."

"I'm sorry, but what did you say your name was again?" Saguru found himself slightly disturbed by the empty smile and vacant eyes of the other man.

"I never did."

"I'm Hakuba Saguru. It's a pleasure meeting you," Saguru started the introductions, growing slightly more creeped out by the minute.

"I know who you are," the older man replied a little too eerily for Saguru's taste.

"Kei! There you are! You wondered off while I was kicking that guy's ass at darts," an alto female voice scolded, and Saguru's mystery man turned around.

"Chris," he greeted. "Gets boring the third time in a row. I was talkin' to Hakuba Saguru."

"Who?" A lemon-yellow blonde with highlighter green eyes (probably cosmetic props) peeked her head around her larger friend and blinked at Saguru. "Oh! Hey! Nice outfit; it suits you. Don't you just love Kei's? I put it together myself."

Saguru turned to look over Kei-san.

He was wearing a brown fedora and a skin-tight, teal T-shirt. He had matching teal corduroys and yellow high-tops as well.

Saguru blinked as he tried to think what the costume could possibly be of. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with your character, Kei-san."

"You're kidding, right?" The blonde girl in the blue, spandex catsuit gave him an incredulous look. "He's a semi-aquatic, egg-laying mammal of action! He's Perry! Perry the platypus! You know, Agent P from Phineas and Ferb."

Saguru blinked.

"Oh, come on. Do they not have Phineas and Ferb where you come from?" the other blonde huffed.

"Chris, he's Japanese, not a foreigner," Kei-san mumbled, his emotionless monotone sounding slightly miffed, and was that a semblance of a frown forming on his face?

"Well, they have Phineas and Ferb in Japan. I've seen it, and I like the voice acting." She paused. "Oh. You meant you were offended when I said 'where you come from' because he's a half—uh…I mean, only half Japanese…forget I said 'only,'" the girl began to get flustered as Kei's almost frown grew more noticeable.

She sighed. "Sorry. I always forget that you're sensitive about the half…multi-racial thing. You know, maybe he isn't."

"We all are. Maybe not some of the Asian-Japanese because they can pass, but the European-Japanese ones tend to be sensitive," Kei growled. "You know what it's like being treated like you don't belong here because you look foreign."

The blonde woman nodded, turning back to Saguru. "Anyway…he's a platypus secret agent from a show I watch. I picked out his costume, and he picked mine."

"Zero Suit Samus? From the Metroid games?" Saguru hazarded a guess.

That little not-smile was back on Kei-san's face. "She has the body for it, so it's worth dressin' up like a platypus."

Saguru did not comment.

"I'm gonna go find Runt," Kei nodded to his…girlfriend? "You talk to Hakuba-kun about what we talked about."

"Rodger." She gave him a sharp salute. "Shouldn't be too hard to find Kiddo in his Kid costume," she laughed. "Tell him he needs to drop by my place to pick up the parts he ordered. And, in case I forget, tell him to bring me some almond Pocky—unopened and factory sealed and all that."

"Rodger." Kei saluted back and was off to find, presumably, Kuroba.

Saguru cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. Have we met before, Miss? You look familiar, but I can't seem to remember your name."

She broke into a hardy laugh and slapped him on the arm. "Goldilocks, it's me! Chrisy! No way you've forgotten about me already."

"Oh! I'm terribly sorry. Chrisy-san…I didn't recognize you with the wig."

He could have sworn he heard her chuckle "without".

"Don't worry about it." She smirked.

"Kei-san said you had something to talk to me about?" Saguru asked hesitantly.

"Mm-hm. Kiddo." With a toss of her head, she indicated Kuroba (who had set Edogawa-kun down and was now chatting with Kei-san). "It was right around his birthday that he stopped asking me things like, 'Do girls like…?' and 'What does it mean when a girl…?' and 'What would a girl think if I…?' Naturally, I got curious…borderline worried, and I asked him if he'd lost interest in Nakamori-chan. He told me he had decided to put things with her on the back burner for the time being and that there was someone else he was interested in.

"Now, don't freak out on me, Goldilocks, but Kei and I keep an eye on the people in the Kiddo's life, and that includes you. Think of me as his controlling older sister or vicious guard-dog or whatever you wish, but we just so happened to notice that you and the Kiddo have been spending an awful lot of time together recently. Care to tell me what you know about Kiddo's little crush?"

Guard-dog indeed. Chrisy's teeth as she smiled pleasantly looked rather…sharp.

"I can assure you, it's not me." Saguru took a cautious step back.

"Please," Chrisy laughed with a snort. "I'm no detective, but even I can work that out for myself. If it were you, he'd be stuck to you like crazy glue. It's obvious you don't have a chance, but I thought since you'd become such good pals that you'd know who it was I need to be running background checks on."

It hurt to have an outside party confirm what he already knew in the back of his mind.

"It's Kudo Shinichi," he mumbled, gaze dropping to his expensive dress shoes. "Please excuse me."

"Oh, hey." Chrisy dropped her belittling tone as she grabbed on to his shoulder. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that; I mean…I tend to exaggerate. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings…. If it really is Kudo, you don't have anything to worry about. It's not gonna work between them. Kudo's in some deep fecal matter right now, and even when he does get out of it, he's got a girl waiting for him. Kiddo's gonna get his heart broken…. You know, if you're a patient man, willing to stand around waiting to catch him… It's just…I'd rather there be someone there to pick him back up when he falls."

Saguru turned back around and gave Chrisy a gauging look. "You're positive about this Kudo thing?"

"Oh, yeah," she replied quickly, with conviction. "I'd bet Kiddo's life on it."

Saguru had come to understand that that meant a lot to her…probably more than her own.

"I don't know," Saguru sighed, glancing longingly at the magician. "Even if I am there for him, there's no guarantee that he'll want me."

Chrisy sighed, stuffing her mouth with cake before she could say something she'd regret. When she'd finished chewing and really thinking about what she wanted to say, she took a deep breath. "And why wouldn't he? What's wrong with you?"

Saguru's brain stalled.

No one had ever challenged him when he'd put himself down in the past.

"Well…I'm…" He couldn't really think of anything.

"…Lacking in self-esteem because your parents didn't love you enough," Chrisy completed the sentence for him. "…Afraid of rejection, so you don't risk getting close to others and distance yourself by acting haughty and superior…. Unsure of how to relate to people, since you have very little experience dealing with them. They confuse you, so you avoid them…. Terrified of being alone, and yet terrified of letting others in. You're weak, self-pitying, and you love to wallow in your own misery. Kei was right; you're just like how I used to be," she spat in disgust, clearly having no tolerance for any of that kind of behavior or maybe just enraged by others suffering through pain similar to her own. "You, Hakuba Saguru, are broken…but you can be fixed."

"…How?" Saguru whispered, barely making himself heard over the thumping bass.

"First, it's gonna take a little effort on your part. All you have to do is let one person in. Pick your person very, very carefully, though. You want someone you know you can trust completely before you start to let your walls down, 'cause if you choose the wrong person and they end up burning you, you're never gonna be able to trust again. It helps to pick another damaged person; normal people don't have a way of really getting us, but other broken people kind of understand where we're coming from."

"So…you're saying I should trust you?" Saguru was a little skeptical about this plan of action.

"Hell no!" Chrisy snorted, clearly finding the idea comical. "Goldilocks, I'm not your savoir. I'm merely an interested party. Though, I did have someone in mind for you." She smirked and indicated Kuroba Kaito once again.

"I…I can't," Saguru muttered, looking away from the man he loved.

"Sure you can. All you have to do is stop dwelling on your jealousy and feelings of inferiority to Kudo when you're around him. Replace the negative thoughts with a mantra, like, 'He'll be mine someday,' or 'They're never going to work.' I used to chant 'She's all wrong for him,' and 'They'll never last.' It got me through the engagement…and the wedding…and the pregnancy…but then he placed his beloved son in my arms, and it didn't matter anymore because that baby was more important…. But I'm absolutely positive about the Kudo thing not working out, so you just hang in there, okay?"

"I'll try," Saguru compromised, knowing better than to ask for the story behind Chrisy's tangent.

"Good. Try hard." The strange woman took another bite of cake.

"So what's the next step after letting one person get close to me?" the detective sighed, not putting much faith in Chrisy's method.

"Talk to him about everything. Bare your soul a little bit at a time. Let him help you fix yourself. Once one person tells you you're okay the way that you are, it's easier to let another person see your true self too. Once someone else loves you, it's easier to love yourself…because you have to love yourself first before you can start loving someone back." Chrisy smirked sneaking a glance over at Kei-san and Kuroba, still having their own little chat.

"Chrisy-san? Just who are you?" Saguru finally asked.

She chuckled tapping the crystal chrysanthemum locket around her neck.

"You know what I meant. I mean, who are you? What do you do? Just how do you know Kuroba?" Prince Charming tried not to be short with Zero Suit Samus. He could tell she was somewhat like Kuroba—she acted in an antagonistic manner partly just to get a reaction out of people. He wouldn't give her what she was looking for.

"You're the detective. Work your Sherlock Holmes magic on me; you can probably deduce more than I'd tell you voluntarily." She shrugged, still smiling.

"Very well." He could use the mental challenge. "We'll start with the incredibly obvious—you're in excellent shape. You get regular vigorous exercise, but you don't do it because you're concerned about your health or weight. That's obvious by your choice of snack. There were plenty of fruits and veggies on the snack table, but you picked cake, and that's not even your first piece as is obvious by the frosting smudges left behind by pieces number one and two. Now, it is possible that you shared the plate with your boyfriend, but—"

"—He's not my boyfriend," Chrisy chuckled. "Minus ten points."

Saguru blinked, quickly running the data again. "He's not? But he…"

"…is in love with me? Yeah. It's complicated. We'll get married and have kids together someday, but he's just my friend. We work together. Don't worry about it; just get back to my multiple pieces of cake." She smirked, waving him on.

"Ahem. You could have shared the plate with Kei-san to cut down on trash, but he doesn't seem to be a sweets kind of person since he's avoided the sweet fruits in favor of vegetables and other, more bland snacks. I also observe that you are eating your cake slowly, savoring it without the guilt of a dieter. You are also not inhaling it like a binge eater who has been deprived of sweets. It is therefore my theory that you are physically active for your job.

"What could you be? A personal trainer? Athlete? Judging from the way you move, you've been injured severely several times in the past. Could still be an athlete, but from the way you watch people and take in your surroundings, I'd say you're some special branch of law enforcement. May I feel your hands?"

"Go right ahead." She offered them for his fingers to explore their marks and calluses.

"Ambidextrous. You use your guns quite often, but not the small ones you've got strapped to your ankles. Your main weapons are a little bigger than the two you've got with you." He looked up at her and frowned. "You strike me very much as a soldier, but based on Kei-san's earlier comment of you knowing what it's like to be treated like you don't belong here because of your western ancestry, I gather that you live and work in Japan. From your quite authentic Kyoto accent, I would say with confidence that you have lived here for a very long time with the exceptions of your brief stints abroad. You are Japanese, and you are some kind of solider, but that doesn't make sense because Japan doesn't have military."

"They don't breed and genetically alter people to be human weapons either." She smiled darkly but then continued. "And they don't make giant robots and they don't capture small creatures and make them battle and they don't believe that the emperor is a god and they don't actually think ninjas wearing orange jumpsuits are historically accurate and they don't believe teenagers can be shrunk to the size of children and they know time travel isn't possible because we've yet to see any robot cats come back from it and they don't believe witches are real and they don't think foreigners are capable of eating sushi." She stopped and smiled again, this time more playfully.

Saguru blinked, choosing to ignore everything he had just heard. His sense of reality couldn't take most of it. "Was I wrong about anything?"

Chrisy shrugged. "I told you that you could probably deduce more than I'd freely tell you. Incidentally, my name is occasionally Crystal Monroe, usually when I'm in trouble, and I like shopping and knocking the stuffing out of people that piss me off. My goal in life is to keep the people I care about safe and smiling. That's really all there is to know. The other stuff may or may not be true, but it's not important. The stuff that I just said…that's the stuff that matters. Who are you, Goldilocks?"

"I'm…not sure yet…but I'll get back to you." Saguru allowed himself a shallow smile.

"Good. Here's my number, in case you need me. Text first to make sure it's okay to call. Sometimes I go places where a ringing phone could get people killed." She handed him her card, slapped him on the back, and walked off before he could ask if she were joking.

He assumed she wasn't and made his way over to the snacks table, just to give himself something else to concentrate on.

It was about an hour later when someone tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to jump.

"Whatcha doin' being a wallflower, Hakuba?" Kaito laughed, coming around in front of him. "Aren't you having fun?"

"Kuroba…" Saguru bit his lip to keep from smiling like an idiot. "What happened to Edogawa-kun?"

"He and his friends have a curfew," the magician sighed, looking rather strange as he pouted in his Kid costume. "So, how's the party?"

"It's good," Saguru responded immediately, taking a look around the room at the various guests. "You know how to throw a party; everyone looks like they're having a good time."

"Are you having a good time, Mr. I-Don't-Have-A-Costum-Plus-I-Think-I'm-Coming-Down-With-Something?" Kaito snorted, raising an eyebrow at his friend.

"More than I thought I would," the blonde confessed. "I don't do well at social events. I don't interact with others well, but I'm content to watch everyone having fun."

"Hakuba, where's the fun in that?" the host scoffed. "Life is not a spectator sport."

"It's fine," Saguru returned with a small shrug. "When it's all you know, you can be content with very little. You needn't pity me because I'm socially awkward, Kuroba; I have other things that I enjoy."

"You mean work," Kaito replied flatly. "Hakuba…" He bit his lip. "…Come dance with me."

"E-Excuse me?" Saguru must have misheard.

"Come on," Kuroba urged, taking his friend firmly by the arm and tugging the blonde towards the dance floor. "If you're not having fun, I'm not doing my job as host right. Now, we're gonna dance and play party games and what have ya until you have fun."

"But don't you think two men dancing together is a little…" Saguru blushed, not knowing exactly how he wanted to end that sentence.

"You homophobic or something?" Kaito's grip on Hakuba's arm slackened slightly.

"No…" Saguru shrugged.

The exact opposite, really.

"Just self-conscious."

"Good," Kaito chuckled, suddenly pulling the detective forward and catching him in a dance hold. "If anyone asks, we'll tell 'em you finally caught your thief, and I met my prince. You wanna lead, or should I, Prince Charming?"

"You lead; I'll follow," Saguru mumbled.

That was rather the way they always did things, wasn't it?

And so he let go of his inhibitions, taking both Baaya and Chrisy-san's advice to heart. He didn't bother worrying about the future and allowed himself to enjoy the present where he had the full and undivided attention of the man of his dreams.

…

o(w.w)o

Mikau: I think it looks a little vexed. It reminds me of a look my brother occasionally gives me. So, I watched that new Sherlock Holmes show called Elementary, and it was okay. It was a good detective show, but that man is not Sherlock. I much prefer the BBC Sherlock. Anyway, thank you so much for reading! I hope you liked it, and I'd be grateful if you took the time to send in your thoughts on the way out. See ya next time!