Footsteps. A warm hand touching his head. More footsteps. Sheets rustling next to him.
Shinichi was slowly dragged out of his dreams – maybe it was a good thing, since they included pictures of him as a chihuahua. When he opened his eyes, it was still a bit dark in the room, but dawn crawled closer and closer. He wasn't fully awake, if the swaying of the ceiling above his head was anything to go by, but he didn't really mind. It was warm, comfortable, his pillow just right. He felt like he was at home. Minutes passed, and the first rays of sunshine caressed his cheek, while he laid there, staring into nothing. Even if it was early, he felt way too drowsy – maybe the aftereffects of the drug?
Wait. Drug…? Kaito! What happened to him?
He became aware of the soft breaths next to him, and as he turned his head, Kaito laid right there. His hair covered his left eye, and his eyebrows were drawn into a small frown. He slept on his left side, and barely moved – when he did, he winced in his sleep, and returned to his previous position quickly. He's still in pain, Shinichi thought to himself. He still looked so pale, too. Damn, he should be in a hospital right now!
Before he noticed, Arthur already stood up, and walked over to Kaito quietly and placed his palm on the thief's neck, to feel his pulse. Such a faint heartbeat! Shinichi quietly fumed, scoffing at the carelessness of Kid. He pulled back his hand carefully – waking him up wouldn't be good. He took a moment to wince at his own thoughts, as he was more worried about Kid not getting enough sleep than himself being exposed. But he couldn't leave yet. Something… something was there, waiting for him to notice. He had a bad feeling about it. He never felt like this, only when he was at a crime scene, looking for clues.
And there was a clue, even if a small one, but it made his blood run cold: a faint red mark on Kaito's neck, shaped like a rope. He didn't know why he didn't notice it earlier, but… this wasn't good. Someone actually tried to… Someone almost succeeded… Arthur felt sick, so sick, just from thinking about it. Of course, he knew that there were people out there who attacked Kid, even before he started living with him, he's seen the thief stumble and wince too many times when he chased after him, but… actually seeing marks, the proof that it happened? And yet there he was, that idiotic thief, dancing around on rooftops, stealing gems, though only God knows why, and refused to stop, even when he was clearly in danger.
"You're such an idiot…" Shinichi whispered, as he put his palm on Kaito's cheek. "Why are you doing this?"
And Kid stirred at his words, as his frown got bigger.
"Tantei-kun?" he slurred in his sleep. Uh oh. That was Shinichi's cue to leave. In a blink of an eye he was on his pillow, hiding under the sheets again, while his heart was ready to jump out of his chest.
"Arthur?" Kaito peeked into the bedroom. Indeed, there was a lump on the pillow that seemed to shift at his voice. "I can't believe you're still asleep." he chuckled, and walked closer to the bed with a slight limp. He lifted the covers, and caressed Arthur's hair softly. "Hey, wake up. Breakfast's ready."
"Ngh… Just… five more minutes, mom…" he mumbled, clearly still asleep. Kaito smiled again.
"Alright. Five more minutes… Shinichi."
