Detective Conan and Magic Kaito characters, settings, and ideas do not belong to me but to Aoyama Gōshō.

Puck's Unveiling

By Taliya

II: Concession

Kuroba Shinichi came to an hour later, stretched on the couch with a blanket tucked around him. On the floor before the lit fireplace sat his parents, snuggled next to one another with his father absently contact juggling the Heart of Mahal Mumtaz in his one good hand. His sharp intake at the reminder had both of his parents looking his way, their faces silhouetted in burnished golds and bronzes from the flames. Neither moved towards him, giving him the option of staying or leaving. Shinichi pushed himself up into a sitting position, eyes unable to hold the nonjudgmental gazes of his parents.

After some time, Shinichi ventured, "Were you ever going to tell me?"

Kaito swiveled to lean on the coffee table, his back to the fire, and Aoko copied him. "Yes," the neurosurgeon replied, vanishing the ruby. "I had always intended to tell you, Shinichi." His father's eyes were warm and gentle. "I just wanted to be sure you were ready for that particular truth. Well, that and you had a bit of fun figuring it out."

"Bakaito," his mother chided, nudging him, "Leave him time to think it through." She turned her eyes, which were equally warm and open, towards him. "Take as long as you need to think it over. We both believe you are old enough now to have any question you ask answered, and... well, there are no more secrets between us anymore." She stood up gracefully and made her way over to her adopted son. Leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead, she murmured, "We weren't expecting you to find out like this, but... At least try to get some sleep tonight, okay?"

"Alright," he replied, and hugged her around her waist, which she returned before heading to her and Kaito's shared bedroom to retire for the night.

Kaito smiled lightly at his son and twisted back around to face the fire, content to bask in its warmth for a while longer. Shinichi remained where he was for several more moments before he stood and shuffled to sit next to his father, the blanket abandoned on the couch. The pair sat quietly before the flames, Shinichi uncertain of how to broach the topic that was foremost on his mind, and Kaito allowing Shinichi all the time in the world to think things over.

In hindsight, it was all too easy to make the connection from Kaitou KID to his father. Though the idea had occurred in passing, Shinichi had never given the thought more than a cursory glance. It had never occurred to him that his father, of all people, willingly broke the law on a regular basis. Kaito was someone who, despite possessing one of the most impish personalities he had come across, abided by the law like any other regular Japanese citizen, and he had never once demonstrated any sort of kleptomaniac tendencies. Sure, Kaito was incredibly smart and a superb magician, but Shinichi had never truly given thought to the idea of Kaito turning his skills to thievery.

"Why did you steal?" The question was soft and low, and Kaito almost missed it entirely had he not been waiting for Shinichi to begin.

The now-retired thief released a puff of air, eyes still firmly on the flickering tongues of fire before them. "You know how my father instructed your mother—Yukiko-san—in how to disguise?" At Shinichi's nod, which registered in the periphery of his vision, Kaito continued. "Well, Oyaji was actually the first Kaitou KID. Kaitou KID was born as result of meeting my mother, Chikage."

Shinichi blinked, unsure of why Kuroba Touichi meeting one woman had turned him to a life of thievery. The youngest Kuroba had met his adopted paternal grandmother several times whenever she visited from Singapore with her second husband. She was a spunky woman, energetic and quirky, and Shinichi had liked her immensely. She reminded him of his own biological mother Kudou Yukiko, only not quite as… insane?

As if reading his son's thoughts, Kaito chuckled. "Oyaji met Kaa-san in the middle of a theft in Paris, when she had still been known Phantom Lady. And please note, at that point in time he was not the thief." Kaito immensely enjoyed the look of utter befuddlement and emerging comprehension on his son's face. "She was."

"S-Seriously…?" Shinichi stuttered, processing this latest bombshell. Scratch that thought about his biological mother. Kaito's mother was worse. "You're crazy," he whispered, feeling the beginnings of laughter well up inside him. "You're all crazy!" The laughter bubbled from his lips, and he guffawed long and hard.

Kaito watched his son carefully, looking for signs of impending shock. Luckily, it seemed that this time around Shinichi was a little better equipped to deal with life-changing factoids, for he sobered up quickly enough. The magician quirked an inquiring eyebrow. "Feel better?"

Shinichi snorted. "Yeah," he answered, getting the last of his giggles out of his system. "So… Phantom Lady?"

"Kaa-san, like Yukiko-san, always had a flair for the dramatic. It was part of the reason they got along so well while Yukiko-san was under Oyaji's tutelage." Kaito returned his eyes to the flre. "Kaa-san took up being a phantom thief because she felt that the powerful corrupt did not deserve the fineries they could buy with money. She stole forgeries of famous items and turned them in to the police. The people who bought the forgeries could not lodge complaints because to do so would reveal that they had wanted to buy a stolen item."

"Everybody wins in such a scenario," Shinichi murmured, seeing the logic behind Phantom Lady's actions.

"But she was still a criminal," Kaito remarked with a shrug.

"So how did your dad get mixed into the phantom thief business?" he inquired.

A fond smiled graced the surgeon's face. "Oyaji happened to be at a display inside the Eiffel Tower the night Kaa-san held a heist. She got 'cuffed to a motorcycle that had a fake diamond embedded into it. The whole setup was a trap by a group of forgers determined to flush Phantom Lady out once and for all. Luckily for Kaa-san, Oyaji drove the bike out the window, releasing her from the handcuff at the same time. He glided away with Kaa-san in his arms, and at the same time asked her if he could date her. The rest, I guess, is history." Kaito leaned back on his hands. "Kaa-san quit being Phantom Lady, and Oyaji picked up where she left off."

Shinichi took several minutes to digest this latest bit of data before he asked, "So where do you come into the story?"

Kaito shot his son a grin, one that Shinichi had come to recognize as uniquely KID. "I'll get to that in a moment. Back to Oyaji as the first Kaitou KID—he picked up where Kaa-san left off after several years of training himself for the role. When he finally emerged on the world stage, he caught the eye of many, police and otherwise, for his skill. One of those to approach him was a syndicate after a mythical gem said to grant the seeker immortality under the right conditions. This stone was called Pandora. To make a long story short, Oyaji refused, and so they chased and eventually murdered him for his refusal as he had learned too much about them."

The young detective shuddered, recognizing the blankness in his father's tone—that could only be KID's infamous Poker Face at work. He gazed at his father, who had fallen silent as he contemplated the orange depths of the flames, and flicked him lightly on the cheek. Kaito started with a small protest, and Shinichi admonished, "No Poker Face. Not here."

The surgeon sighed with a sheepish grin. "I'm getting chided by my own son," he lamented. "What's this world coming to?"

"Barou," Shinichi retorted jokingly, leaning on his father's good shoulder, and Kaito automatically wrapped his arm around his son's. The two of them sat comfortably, enjoying each other's presence. "Why did you never teach me Poker Face?"

Kaito leaned his chin thoughtfully on the crown of his son's head. "Because I wanted you to be who you were, without my interference. Of course," he added with a somewhat apologetic smile that Shinichi could not see, "In many ways it was inevitable that I would have some influence on you—being your adoptive father and all, but I wanted you to be the person you were always meant to be: the one who unfailingly sought justice, no matter who it was. The one who believed that all life was precious, no matter whose it belonged to. The one who always gave his all to corner me at heists for twenty years. No masks, no deception, no need to hide who you are." He sighed, and the sound held a tinge of regret. "That's… that had always been my role."

Shinichi sighed. He wondered absently what it would have been like to grow up having known how to use Poker Face, but then thought of the various ways it would have changed his outlook on how he viewed people and the world. Shinichi was no stranger to the darker aspects of society, having been confronted with death for as long as he could remember. But had he learned Poker Face, how to hide and lock away his emotions… "Thank you," he murmured, surprising his father, "For not teaching me Poker Face." He felt the warmth of his father's deep exhale in his hair. "So?" he prodded, "When did you pick up the monocle?"

"I found out after I turned sixteen that Oyaji had been Kaitou KID, and not long after I encountered the same group of men who had killed him." A melancholy but affectionate smile graced Kaito's lips, though Shinichi could not see it. "Then I met you as Edogawa Conan. We played—we chased, teased, bickered, and fought with each other. But then you requested my help to infiltrate the Black Organization. It's why both Haibara and Hattori did not know about my participation. I was fully undercover and could not reveal myself. I got you the information you needed to bring them down. Then I continued on my merry way as KID, and along the way… you helped me catch Oyaji's murderers, brought down the Syndicate they had been a part of." He pulled away, regarding his brilliant son with steady, grateful eyes. "And that is the debt I can never repay, Shinichi. Without you… they would have never been arrested."

The surgeon's son gazed bashfully back at his father. "I would have done that for anyone," he murmured, blushing under his father's eyes.

Kaito laughed as he pulled Shinichi in for a hug. "I know. And that is why you've always been my favorite critic, Meitantei."

Shinichi barked a laugh. "But now I can't say I've caught you, since you willingly revealed yourself to me, Kaitou KID."

"Oh really?" Kaito inquired with humor infused in his question. "Did you want me to keep stealing so that you can try to catch me?"

The teenager snorted softly. "No. Bad enough that Kaitou KID just happens to be my dad, but that he's married to an assistant inspector?" He chuckled. "Who the hell did I piss off in a past life to warrant this?"

"No idea," the magician answered, "But regardless, I personally wouldn't have changed anything if it meant I lost this." He ruffled his son's hair, and Shinichi laughed in agreement as he swatted at his father's hand.

The pair sat in quiet for a while before Shinichi broke the silence. "So who were they this time?" When his father glanced at him quizzically, he gestured to Kaito's injured arm, the one that he had not used once during their interactions this evening. It was luckily his left arm that had been injured.

Kaito glanced down at his wounded arm, his brows crinkling. "I'm not sure. You had been thorough enough to round up all of the Syndicate. I can't imagine you would leave loose ends. Besides, they only winged me—not enough damage to debilitate." The surgeon's eyes hardened. "But if they are after Pandora, I'm going to have to stop them since I know I found it last night. You saw it yourself."

Shinichi shuddered, recalling the gem that repelled and repulsed him on the most primitive of levels. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Destroy it," Kaito replied casually. "Make it so that no one will be able to obtain immortality. But I'll also have to let this newest set of seekers—I doubt there will be only one person involved—know that I've destroyed it without letting on to anyone else that it ever existed to begin with."

"So have one last heist and hide the message in the notice," Shinichi concluded simply. "You draw them out; leave the rest to me and Kaa-san." There was a glint of determination in Shinichi's eyes, one that was so achingly familiar to the expression that had graced Edogawa Conan's face that it momentarily arrested Kaito's breath. Shinichi grinned, and Kaito could not help but grin back, content with the knowledge that if Shinichi was the one doing the planning, then he really had nothing to worry about.

They sat companionably for a while longer before Shinichi asked, "Do you think I'll ever regain my memories?"

Kaito frowned contemplatively. "Honestly, Shinichi, I couldn't tell you. The antidote—at least the second time around—was only meant to buy Haibara and I time while we figured out how to halt the progression of your Alzheimer's. But despite everything we tested, nothing seemed to work. And through all that time, you just kept growing. Neither of us has given up—not unless you truly want us to. Until you give us the red light, I know that both of us will keep searching for a cure—a preventative—anything to get your original memories back." Despite not knowing the exact numbers, Shinichi knew a large chunk of the grant money both Kaito and Haibara earned had been funneled towards research on early-onset Alzheimer's.

Shinichi was, and always had been warmed deeply by his father's earnestness. And though he yearned to have that part of his life back, to know exactly what he had been through, the fact that he had such a large and supportive family had eased that knowing desire into something manageable, something that he could and was still learning to cope with. He might not have the memories of Kudou Shinichi, but his friends did and had maintained their bonds with him, and he could not have been more blessed by the gods to have people like Ran and Heiji in his life on top of both sets of parents. He was fifteen now, and in the ten years he had lived as a Kuroba, he had gained so many wonderful memories.

"You know," he said softly, eyes staring into the fire, "Despite that fact that I do want to remember, if I never regain those memories, that's okay—because if you had not been there, I would not have any memories whatsoever to speak of." Shinichi turned to lock his cerulean eyes with Kaito's indigo ones. "You've already given me so much. I can't keep asking you for more."

Kaito wrapped his arm around his adopted son and formal rival, ally, and friend. "Of course you can. You always can."

The gift of eternity has been broken

With the disappearance of crimson

Like Qin Shi Huang's unifying Victory,

Vanished with the rise of the Han

Moon with the Pig ruling the skies.

-Kaitou KID

Shinichi watched with no small amount of awe as Kaito prepared his equipment for his final heist. All these years of living in Kaito's old room and he had no idea that a portal existed behind the portrait of Kuroba Touichi—there had been no reason to suspect, after all, since Shinichi had never minded the painting and rather liked it. Being able to see his adopted grandfather's face, along with seeing his father's and his own, sometimes allowed him to believe that he was actually related to them by blood and that they were truly a family in every sense of the word—considering how similar they all looked.

The portrait was one of several entrances into Kaitou KID's workroom scattered throughout the Kuroba household, and the first time Shinichi had seen his father disappear through the painting his heart had nearly stopped. The painting itself rotated on a vertical axis down the center, flipping between the image of the magician Kuroba Touichi and the thief Kaitou KID. Shinichi had poked his head through the opening only to stare in awe at the extensive space that the house hid. There were workbenches lining the walls, along with shelves of gadgets and papers…

Shinichi had immediately jumped through, landing on the worn leather armchair before hopping up to shadow his father as he began peruse his equipment stash. Occasionally something would catch the young detective's attention and he would lean in for a better look. He knew by now, after months of chasing KID that appearances were deceiving, and that many of the items inside this room were likely hazardous in some form or fashion, be it chemically, biologically, or physically. He had pelted his father with questions, to which Kaito had laughingly answered without reservation.

Being able to watch his father craft a heist notice was also an experience. It was impressive the amount of research Kaito put into it, carefully choosing his words so that the there were meanings within meanings. He was still chewing over how Kaito had managed to connect the name of a Chinese dynasty with the date of the heist. The Han Dynasty rose following the fall of the Qin, and yet the word "han" also meant "half"—pure coincidence. What were the odds that the name could be used as a hint? When combined with the first word of the subsequent line "moon", Kaito was telling the Task Force he would show up on the night of the next half moon. The time was easier, the Pig being the giveaway.

The target for this heist was the Qin Victory, one of many rubies the second Emperor Qin Er Shi had buried with him in his tomb. His reign had signaled the fall of the Qin Dynasty. A massive star ruby, the gem possessed a perfect hexagonal rutile structure within to create the characteristic six-pronged chatoyance, but the size of it was what made it worthy as a collector's item. The stone had been smoothed into a cabochon with an intricate Chinese dragon carved in relief. It certainly was not the type of gem Kaitou KID normally pursued, as all of his previous targets had been transparent enough to see through, but considering that Kaito had already found his prize this was no longer an issue for him.

Shinichi had been working alongside his mother in order to entice Division One's participation in the upcoming heist. The three Kurobas had formulated a plan to draw out KID's newest assassins. Aoko had been unabashedly vocal with regards to how unhappy with the plan she was since it put Kaito in danger, but Kaito had argued that such danger came with the territory of being Kaitou KID. Shinichi had wisely stayed out of the argument, knowing that if he were forced to pick a side, he would have chosen his father's. He thanked any god listening that he had not been forced to voice his opinion—there was no need for either him or his father to hear his mother's speech about her boys' recklessness—again.

Luckily for the Kuroba family, Aoko managed to gain the cooperation of Division One. It helped that Inspector Satou, who had never before participated in a Kaitou KID heist, was undeniably curious about how KID's shows operated. With Inspector Hakuba's help, the two divisions had utilized the plan that the Kurobas had drawn up, and thus the police unknowingly set the stage for what, to the world, would be Kaitou KID's final heist.

The heist was already well underway. The policemen, per Inspector Hakuba's orders, had canvassed the buildings surrounding the skyscraper housing the National Japanese Gallery, and though none had been stationed within the buildings, they discreetly observed the building entrances. Already through the earpiece that Shinichi wore, he had heard that six suspicious men carrying long-range sniper rifles had been arrested, having made their way in pairs onto three different buildings with ideal vantage points. Shinichi panted as he chased KID through the halls and up the stairs, not having to pretend difficulty keeping up with the phantom thief. For being five years shy of hitting fifty, his father was still in damn good shape!

He heard the door to the roof slam open, and Shinichi calculated that they had maybe thirty seconds before the rest of the Task Force arrived. The young detective sailed through the portal two seconds later as the quiet but distinctive whoosh of a high-speed projectile reached his ears, and he barely registered the sound as his world went black and he tumbled sideways, knocked off his feet, unable to get his arm up to use his stun-gun wristwatch. Kaito and Aoko had given the weapon back to him in the event that the plans they had laid out went awry and he needed backup. He and his assailant rolled on the ground before he was yanked back, vision unshielded to find he was behind one the walls of the stairwell. KID had lunged at him, rolling them to cover, and his cape had been the reason Shinichi had been unable to see.

"Kaitou KID!" a rough but calm voice growled, and KID held a gloved finger to his lips, asking for silence. Shinichi nodded. "It's no use hiding. I know you have it."

The thief's customary grin graced his face as he responded lightly with that infuriating, lilting cadence, "Oh? I happen to have lots of things, Grumpy-san; you're going to have to be more specific."

"Don't play coy with me, KID," the man rumbled, the echoing of his voice indicating that he was sidling closer to their hiding spot. "You know exactly what I'm asking for."

"I might," the phantom thief conceded, and in the distance they could hear the approach of helicopters, which would be the police. One helicopter approached more swiftly than the others, coming to a hover above them as a searchlight shone down on the huddled pair. KID stood to shield him as the unnamed gunman leapt around the corner, but between one breath and the next, Shinichi had been crouched beside the phantom thief and suddenly he was being hoisted into the air by a none-too-gentle arm around his chest and lifted off the rooftop.

Kaitou KID twisted at the reflexive grunt Shinichi released as he was yanked upwards with unmasked fear in his eyes, and that moment of distraction was all that was needed for the gunman to shoot the thief in the leg.

"KID!" Shinichi screamed, and though he yearned to struggle to get his captor to release him, he recognized the fact that they hung just off the edge of the building hundreds of meters above the open streets and instead latched his fingers around the man's belt, watching with tight-knuckled horror as the magician crumpled with a pained grunt. TOU-SAN! The man advanced with an air of certain victory, his fedora shielding his face from Shinichi's view, and Shinichi could only watch helplessly as his father tilted his head, presumably to watch his assailant's approach. By this time the other helicopters had approached and realized the severity of the situation.

"Now, KID," he roared over the sound of the helicopter's rotors as he pressed the muzzle of his silenced gun to the blue band of KID's hat, "Where is Pandora?!"

Shinichi watched, heart beating in terror in his throat, as KID replied something too faint for him to catch before he smashed a smoke bomb at the floor, screening the rooftop from view. Then he was free fall despite the fact that his captor's arm was still around his chest. There was sharp, nauseating heave that stopped their fall before they were swinging towards the windowed exterior of the building that housed the National Japanese Gallery. Had Shinichi not laced his fingers into his abductor's belt, he would have assuredly slid out of the man's grasp. But as it was, Shinichi, realizing what his father was doing, braced himself for impact against the glass.

The panel exploded in a shower of shards around the young detective as he, his captor, and KID tumbled to a halt inside the office space. Shinichi rolled onto his feet, using the stun–gun wristwatch he had once used as Edogawa Conan, modified by the professor to fit his larger frame to knock out his abductor. The phantom thief whimpered as he crawled to his feet and limped to a support column, tying the rope from his grappling gun around it. Shinichi was immediately there, helping to tie off a secure knot on the rope that was oddly taut and led out and up from the broken window.

"The other end's attached to the helicopter," KID explained wearily, cutting the rope and stowing the grappling gun.

Shinichi watched the phantom thief who was his father wince. "Can you make it out before the police get here?" he asked worriedly.

KID grinned weakly before performing a quick change that left him in his reconnaissance blacks and with extra strips of cloth in his hands. "I can make it back home, provided I don't bleed out before I reach it," he answered as he wrapped and tied the strips off around his right thigh. "Lucky for me, I don't really need my legs to fly. Landing might be a pain though." The last part was muttered under his breath.

The young detective helped Kaito to the window, murmuring a promise to see him soon before watching his father disappear into the Tokyo night sky. Shinichi patted his ear, suddenly aware that his earpiece had been dislodged. He replaced it to find his mother frantically calling for him. "—ichi?! Shinichi?! Where are you, Shinichi?!"

"I'm here, Kaa-san," he replied, cutting through her increasingly desperate calls.

"What happened?" Aoko demanded, worry evident in her voice.

"KID and I got ambushed on the rooftop before the helicopters arrived by a single gunman and two of his associates in a helicopter. They grabbed me as a distraction and shot KID," he said softly, keeping an eye on his sedated abductor.

"Oh my god, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Kaa-san. I'm still in the building—" he replied, squinting at one of the room numbers, "—on the twenty-ninth floor. I've one of the men here, sedated. I also have their helicopter tied to the building, so the pilot can't run. Did you get the guy on the roof?"

"Yes. Hakuba-keiji tackled him. There was a KID dummy on the roof with a bullet hole through his head." She released a shuddery sigh. "I take it KID escaped?"

"Yeah. He's injured though." Shinichi closed his eyes, wondering if heists as harrowing as this had been a routine part of his father's life as Kaitou KID. He sighed, suddenly feeling beyond exhausted. "Can we go home, Kaa-san?" he asked plaintively. He desperately wished to see his father again, to ensure that Kaito was still alive and not bleeding out on a street somewhere between Minato and Ekoda.

"Of course," Aoko replied, "I'll be by with backup to grab your man, then we'll head home."

Shinichi burst through the front door, kicking off his shoes and sprinting into the house without regard for his house slippers, though Aoko was not far behind him once she had closed and locked the door. "Tou-san!" he called, eyes roving the house for the familiar figure of his father.

"Kaito?" Aoko shouted, her expression screaming her anxiety. "Where is that idiot?"

"The workroom," Shinichi breathed, certain of the sudden brainwave. "Tou-san's in the workroom!"

The pair scrambled to the faux closet that housed the metal stairwell that descended into the KID workroom. They froze at the base, finding the object of their search sitting in the worn leather armchair, silently contemplating the KID outfit that hung in its wardrobe. There was a blood-spattered hole in the right thigh of the KID costume, where Kaito had been shot. The magician in question had already changed into a clean set of clothing and was absently rolling the Heart of Mahal Mumtaz in one hand and Qin Victory in the other.

"You know," Kaito murmured, his voice barely breaking the stillness of the room as he pulled his eyes down to gaze at the Heart of Mahal Mumtaz while vanishing the Qin Victory, "There were times when I thought I would never live beyond being Kaitou KID." His brows furrowed as he stared, unaware of his family's approach until they each laid a hand on his shoulders. His fingers curled tightly around the cursed ruby. His breath hitched. "Even now, it… it all feels like a dream." Kaito raised his eyes to gaze at his son and his wife, tears pooling in his eyes. "Am I dreaming?"

"No, Kaito," Aoko answered gently as she leaned down to hug him around the shoulders, pressing her cheek against his.

Shinichi remained where he stood, though he transferred his hand from Kaito's shoulder to his free hand, giving his father's fingers a warm squeeze. "You're not dreaming," he finished, watching as his father sank back into the chair with a sigh and released silent tears of relief.

Between Aoko and Shinichi, they managed to get Kaito back into the living room after properly stowing away Kaitou KID's damaged costume. Aoko checked Kaito's wound, which luckily did not require stitches, while Shinichi made tea. The family of three settled onto the couch after Aoko had cleaned, packed, and dressed the injury, Kaito seated in the middle with Aoko on one side and Shinichi on the other.

"So what happened on that rooftop?" the Division One policewoman asked, since she had been roaming the hallways and therefore had not seen the action with the turncoat helicopter.

"Tou-san and I made it to the rooftop, just the two of us. He tackled me the moment I stepped out of the stairwell. I thought I heard a bullet…?" Shinichi mentioned quizzically.

"You're not wrong," Kaito acceded. "Had I not pushed you, you would have had a bullet in your eye."

Aoko gasped while Shinichi paled. He had no idea that he had come that close to dying. The homicide detective took a few gulps to steady herself. "And…?"

Shinichi continued after giving his father time to pick the tale back up. "We hid behind the stairwell while Tou-san and that man danced around the topic of Pandora. One of the helicopters that I though was Hakuba-keiji's turned out to belong to the other guys. They dropped a line and grabbed me before I had time to react." Shinichi ducked his head. "Because of me, Tou-san got shot in the leg."

"Hey," Kaito soothed, voice soft but firm. "I would have willingly taken a hundred shots if it meant you were unharmed," he said, ruffling Shinichi's hair gently before pulling his son further into his side.

"I wouldn't ever want that," Shinichi muttered emphatically as he curled into the warm of his father's side. "Ever."

"Of course." Kaito snorted softly at his son's antics before he picked up the tale. "My options were rather limited then, with me relatively immobile and Shinichi dangling off the building. I told the man that Pandora would never be his before I dropped a smoke bomb with knock out gas in it. I barely ducked in time to replace myself with that dummy that got shot in the head. To get Shinichi to safety, I had to sprint towards the helicopter before severing the rope he and his captor were hanging from, all the while praying that Shinichi would have somehow secured himself better to the guy holding the rope. I cut it with a card before simultaneously snagging the helicopter with my grappling gun and grabbing the rope with the two of you attached to it. I had to use your momentum to swing us into the building."

Kaito neglected to mention how narrow a window he had had in which to grab the broken rope holding Shinichi and his captor. He had dove off the building, arm outstretched in order to reach that flapping, teasing end, snagging it just as he twisted midair and shot the hook of his grappling gun at the helicopter's belly. The magician would never admit aloud how frightened he had been—not for himself, but for his son. The overpowering fear from the possibility of the rope slipping through his grasp would be a nightmare he knew he would endure for years to come.

"And you know the rest of it," Shinichi finished, savoring the feel of Kaito's fingers carding through his hair. Normally Shinichi disliked anyone messing with his hair, but as he had nearly lost his father this night, he not only allowed it, but also relished in the sensation.

Kaito turned to his wife, her gaze distant and thoughtful as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "Aoko…?"

Her eyes slowly rolled to meet his, and it was easy to read her love, fear, and relief in those gorgeous orbs. "You're done," she said softly, voice painfully grateful. "I'm just—so glad you're still here with me," finally said with a wobbly smile.

Kaito pulled both his wife and son closer to his sides, placing a loving kiss on both of their heads. "As am I," he answered, "As am I."

Author's Note: So the heist completely stumped me for a while, hence the reason there was such along time between chapter completions. But I am glad I finally got this one done! I admit to feeling my nose itch a little while writing this one, since it's rather sappy and all, but family fics make me feel all WAFF-y all over. I hope you enjoyed it.

Completed: 23.11.2015