Disclaimer: We don't own DCMK

Caught on Camera

Photograph: Ships at Sea

Both of them were somewhat surprised to find that the following handful of photographs were all ones they'd taken themselves.

"Remind me to upgrade the security on my computer," Kaito grumbled, shooting his father a pointed look out of the corner of his eyes. "I seem to be having hacking problems again."

"At least we know we weren't being spied on at the time now," Shinichi noted. He'd been starting to wonder about that. Didn't their parents have anything better to do?

"Oh, don't be like that," Yukiko laughed. "Anyway, I'm glad to see you two had fun on that trip."…

. . . . . . . . .

It was summer vacation after their third year of college and the Kurobas and Kudos had decided to spend it in America beginning with some time in San Francisco which included a two week cruise that began and ended in said city and ending with some time in New York with a couple other cities and sites in between. Personally, Shinichi thought the whole plan sounded way too extravagant and a great deal more like work than school ever did. But considering he'd been handed the plane ticket and the itinerary the morning they were to board their flight his opinion didn't count for much. Kaito was just as surprised by the news as Shinichi was, but he hid it much better. In his opinion it all sounded like a grand adventure and a great way to unwind from a year of college courses on top of planning and performing shows.

The plane ride was a pain as most long flights tended to be. Shinichi had brought several books to read but Kaito got bored a mere third of the way into the flight.

"Can't you sleep or something?" Shinichi asked exasperatedly as Kaito shifted restlessly in his seat, jiggling his knees and drumming his fingers until Shinichi could feel his own seat shaking in tandem. It was starting to get distracting. And he was getting to the best part of the book too.

"It's the middle of the day!" Kaito shot back. "And I'm not tired."

"Or you could read. I have four other books with me."

The magician made a face. "I don't feel like reading about dead and dying people."

Shinichi frowned. "Not all mystery novels are about murder you know."

"Maybe, but you can't deny that most of them are. And I know most of yours aren't what we'd call exceptions."

"Well, I brought one of your books too," the detective said a bit irritably, nudging his carryon bag towards Kaito before turning determinedly back to his reading.

"Aw, don't be like that Shin-chan." Kaito rummaged through the bag and produced the aforementioned book. It was one of his favorites. It was also sitting in the bag beside a large pack of mixed chocolates. He grinned and pulled that out too.

"Are these for me?"

Shinichi gave him a wary look. "Only if you promise not to cause any trouble. And the coffee bean ones are mine."

"Deal." Kaito leaned over and kissed him, ignoring the squeak of protest about being in public, before settling back into his seat with his new chocolate and his book. "Thanks."

The chocolates kept peace all the way through the remainder of the flight and Shinichi applauded himself for remembering to bring them. Of course he might regret it later when they got off the plane and all the candy-induced energy kicked in, but at least they hadn't caused a scene on the plane. Next time they went somewhere this far away by plane he was going to ask Toichi-san to give Kaito some tips on staving off boredom in such limiting situations.

The moment they touched down in the San Francisco airport, Kaito promised their parents they'd be at the pier in time for boarding, snagged Shinichi, and headed out for some exploring. They spent a very rushed few hours running to all the major tourist sites of the city. By the end of it Shinichi was exhausted.

"When were we supposed to be at the docks again?" he asked, sinking wearily onto a bench.

"The ship sails in an hour so I'd say we'd better get over there now."

Shinichi couldn't stop the groan that escaped his lips at the thought of having to start moving again so soon.

"I could carry you," Kaito offered, finishing off the soda he'd been drinking.

"No," the detective said quickly, edging away from him as his face turned red at the thought. "Don't even think about it."

"Well, if you change your mind, just let me know~."

Their parents had said they'd take care of the luggage and the rest of the formalities so Kaito and Shinichi only had to make sure they got there on time and filled out their individual information, etc. The attendants recognized their names and sent them in. Figuring that their parents were already on board since they hadn't seen them on the pier, they got their key cards and located their room. Their luggage hadn't arrived yet but they did find a schedule, ship guide, and a map laid out and waiting for them.

"What room were my parents staying in again? We should let them know we're here."

"They said 312 on deck nine," Kaito replied. "Mine should be in 338."

They decided to go to Shinichi's parents' room first. The door opened when they knocked to reveal a tall woman with black hair and gray eyes who Shinichi had never seen before in his entire life. She was wearing a bathing suit and had a towel in one hand. It seemed she'd been about to head out.

"Oh," she said, obviously just as surprised to see them as they were to see her. "Can I help you?"

Shinichi backed away hurriedly, bowing and stammering as he went. "S—sorry, wrong room." With that he grabbed Kaito's arm and bolted down the hall.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Kaito said when they'd finally slowed to a stop. "But that didn't look like your mother."

"It wasn't."

"So unless your dad has something he should be telling us, then that wasn't your parents' room."

"Could you have remembered the wrong room number?" Shinichi asked a bit hopelessly. Kaito's memory was superb, but if that was the right room with the wrong people in it then…

"I think we may have been tricked."

"Let's look around," Shinichi declared, straightening and glancing around at the carpeted halls. "Maybe they gave us the wrong number on purpose. I wouldn't be surprised."

They spent the next few hours searching the ship from stem to stern, top to bottom. By the time they reconvened at their room, they had both reached the same conclusion.

"They're not on the ship."

Shinichi sighed. "…I know."

"So do you think they're trying to give us a break or get rid of us?"

"Probably both," he sighed. "What I don't understand is why they had to fly us to America to do it."

"If I had to take a guess, I'd say it's probably because they wanted to spend time in San Francisco for whatever reason and they still want us around for the rest of the trip. So this was the most convenient solution."

Shinichi flopped back onto the bed and threw an arm over his eyes. "You're probably right…"

"No need to sound so depressed." Kaito sat down beside him and started juggling four balls and three packs of cards. "Think about it this way. We're not paying. And we can't reasonably demand they sail back to San Francisco just so we can get off because we got ditched by our parents. So since we're stuck anyway, why not take advantage of the opportunity and have some fun? Just imagine, a whole two weeks without the peanut gallery."

Shinichi turned that over in his mind. The situation actually sounded pretty good when put that way.

There was a knock at the door and Kaito bounded off the bed to answer it. He came back moments later with two small suitcases. Shinichi sat up for a better look and frowned.

"That isn't my luggage."

"And I could've sworn this one was one of dad's." He checked the tags. "They've definitely got our names on them. Should we see what's inside?"

"Might as well get it over with."

The suitcases were unzipped and laid open for the magician's curious eyes as Shinichi lay back down.

"Hmm, it looks like your mom picked clothes for you. She even has these little tags telling you which set is for which day."

Shinichi groaned into his pillow.

"Don't worry, I think she was exercising some self restraint—or Mom was helping. Looks like they got me some clothes too."

Shinichi turned his face to the side to free his mouth. "Let me guess. Matching sets?"

"More matched than matching, but yes, it looks that way. Rather thoughtful of them really."

He snorted. "That's one way to put it."

"Come on, let's go get dinner. I'm starving and according to this note from your dad we have reservations."

"That was nice of him."

X

Shinichi had to admit that the little table for two by one of the ship's huge windows was nice. And it seemed they'd have the table every night. His parents may have a tendency to make plans without consulting him, but they tended to be thorough. He was pulled from his thoughts by a fwap as Kaito snapped his menu shut and dropped it on the table.

"What's wrong?" Shinichi asked. Kaito had only just opened the menu so he couldn't possibly have already picked what he wanted. Even the fastest readers needed some time.

"It's all different kinds of fish," the magician complained, glaring at the menu like it had mortally offended him. Which he probably thought it had.

The waitress who'd been pouring their water let out a gasp of realization. "Oh, you're the one with the sea food allergies, right?"

Kaito blinked then smiled benignly at her. "Yeah. I don't suppose you have any alternate menus?"

"We do actually, just let me get one for you. It's not usually all sea food but the chef wanted to do an all ocean theme for the first night. Sorry about that."

"No problem," the magician assured her.

Shinichi gave him a look as the waitress bustled off for the alternate menu. "Sea food allergies?"

"Must've been mom's idea. Remind me to get her something when we get back."

They took a walk around the upper decks after dinner. The wind outside was cold, carrying with it the salty tang of the sea, and the waves stretched away in every direction as far as the eye could see. It was really quite amazing, Shinichi mused, and maybe a little frightening too to see just how small they were in comparison to this great, untamable realm of water.

X

Shinichi wasn't particularly surprised to wake up the next morning to find that Kaito had decided to migrate into his bed some time during the night. What did surprise him was the woozy feeling in his head. Neither he nor Kaito were prone to motion sickness, but some time during the night the wind and the waves had both become rough and with the ship traveling at fairly high speeds Shinichi found himself feeling nauseous and lightheaded. He groaned as the ship gave another heave. For a few seconds he felt like he was floating, then he was sinking into the mattress before the cycle repeated.

"You too huh?" came Kaito's slightly groggy voice. Apparently even he was feeling ill.

"I wish I could just knock myself unconscious," Shinichi grumbled back, burying his face in Kaito's shoulder as the ship heaved again.

The magician chuckled, suddenly feeling a lot better, and tightened his hold on his companion. "It should get better. I took a quick walk earlier and one of the crew members told me that even he was feeling it today. Apparently this isn't normal."

That didn't make it go away, Shinichi thought, but he didn't have the energy to voice the notion. So the rest of their second day was spent curled up together in their room but for one trip Kaito made to get them both something simple to eat. Not, granted, that either of them really felt like eating at the moment. Thankfully things calmed down on the sea sickness front after that.

X

"Rise and shine Shin-chan! We wasted a whole day yesterday. Don't want to sleep another one away."

Shinichi cracked open an eye to look at the clock before swiveling it to stare balefully at the magician. "Kaito, It's six thirty in the morning. And we're trapped on a ship with nowhere to go. How can we possibly waste time?"

"There's always something to do if you look hard enough," Kaito declared, grabbing a fresh set of clothes and beginning to change.

"Kaito! The curtain's open!"

The magician paused in what he was doing and glanced at the window, then at Shinichi, and back again. He applauded himself for not bursting into laughter, but he couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice—not that he really tried. "Shin-chan, there's nothing but ocean out there."

Operation Exploration lasted for the next several days. The ship, Shinichi decided, was a lot smaller once you'd been to all the accessible corners. It was frankly a little claustrophobic when you realized that you were basically trapped onboard. Thankfully there were plenty of places to go. There were also plenty of events arranged for the guests which Kaito had decided that they should take advantage of. Shinichi was just grateful he managed to escape karaoke night. Then again, it probably helped that Kaito knew he couldn't sing to save his life.

They were having deserts at one of the venues where people could dance when Kaito finally lost his self restraint and the entire room filled with colored smoke ranging all over the rainbow in shades. There was a moment of absolute chaos as everyone from the guests to the staff present tried to figure out what was going on (in other words, where the fire was). Then the smoke cleared and Kaito was standing in the middle of the dance floor under a spotlight (how he had rigged that in so little time, they would all wonder for the rest of the evening).

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he announced, spreading his arms wide in a gesture of welcome. "Why don't we light this place up a bit?"

Impromptu or not, Kaito's shows were always eye-catching and he had everyone in the room entranced in moments.

No one was dancing anymore as the magician had taken over the dance floor as his stage so the rest of the guests moved to find seats. Minor scuffles broke out as people tried to grab the best seats before others could do so first. One girl wandered over to Shinichi's table and paused behind the empty chair across fom him.

"Can I sit here?"

Shinichi nodded. "Go ahead."

"Thanks." She sat down and turned to watch Kaito producing several empty wine glasses from thin air which he then sent to drifting around the room (which probably meant he'd actually planned this ahead of time). As they bobbed along like little boats on some invisible river, they gradually began to fill with wine. Each glass came to a stop in front of a different audience member and stayed until it was taken. That made several people very happy. And as each glass left the parade a new one was added until everyone had one.

"Hey, why is yours the only one that's not wine?" Shinichi's tablemate asked, glancing over at his glass of cider.

"He knows I don't like alcoholic drinks," he replied absently.

"So you know him then?" she asked curiously.

"We grew up together," Shinichi explained.

She nodded and smiled. "Oh, I see. I guess you've seen all this before then huh?"

He snorted. "No. He's always coming up with new tricks or new ways to employ old ones. He says his goal is to never give the same show twice."

"That sounds pretty cool. It must be fun getting to watch all that."

"It is," Shinichi agreed, thinking back over some of the things he'd seen Kaito do over the years. A few of them really were amazing, though he could have done without the times the magician had decided it would be a grand idea to drag Shinichi into a part of his performance without asking. It usually resulted in some kind of embarrassing situation. "He gets carried away sometimes though."

The girl laughed. "I can imagine. I don't suppose he has a girlfriend?"

Shinichi blinked at the sudden change of topic then shook his head. "No, he doesn't," he replied honestly, thankful for the dim lighting in the room that was hiding the tint of color he knew had crept onto his face.

"Really?" She sounded surprised. "I would've thought someone like him would've found someone a long time ago. But I guess it might be hard for anyone to measure up. I mean, you don't find many people that out there. I suppose the rest of us must seem kind of dull." She heaved a heavy sigh and it seemed as though she was thinking about something else. "Good guys are so hard to find these days. Or maybe it's just a human thing. Sometimes I think we just always end up making things harder and more complicated for ourselves, you know?"

"I…guess you could say that," Shinichi answered a bit uncertainly. He wasn't used to having total strangers talk to him so familiarly.

"Yeah, I mean, people keep inventing things and stuff to make life easier for everyone but at the same time that means there's so much more that can go wrong and so much more everyone has to learn to keep it all working right. Not that some of the stuff isn't useful and good, but all that convenience gives people ideas and now there's so many more ways to trick people too. Sometimes it seems like things must have been easier way back when."

"Um, I don' mean to interrupt," Shinichi interjected hesitantly. "But are you all right?"

She blinked then laughed. "Oh, I'm sorry, I was rambling wasn't I? Sorry."

"No, that's all right," he assured her. "It was interesting."

"That's nice of you to say. By the way, I never did get your name. I'm Katherine. It's nice to meet you."

"Shinichi Kudo," he replied, remembering to flip his first and last name.

"Kudo…" she mused. "Isn't there a writer with that name? Yuu-something, wasn't it?"

"Yuusaku," Shinichi supplied automatically.

"That's it," she agreed. "Do you know him then?"

Shinichi grimaced faintly. "He's my dad."

"Really? That must be interesting."

"Not as interesting as you might think."

She laughed at that. "You sure know a lot of cool people. A writer and a magician. Are you in the entertainment business too?"

"No," he said fervently. "I'm a detective."

"Wow, I've never met a real detective before. What's it like? You must meet a lot of interesting people."

"I…guess so," Shinichi replied, wondering if it counted that half of those people were dead. In his experience, a lot of interesting people led interesting lives which made them interesting enemies who got them killed. Probably not the best thing to mention in casual company…

Their conversation was interrupted as people all around them broke out into cheers. They both looked around to see Kaito bowing deeply to his audience, broad grin stamped across his face. As soon as he straightened people began to swarm around him, asking questions and exclaiming over his performance. Shinichi could tell he was basking in the attention. He'd always reveled in being as visible as possible. It was a tendency Shinichi had never really understood. Sure, he could sympathize with wanting to be recognized for something you were good at, but that wasn't really the same. Maybe he'd just spent way too much time being paraded around by his parents to enjoy getting stared at, but it did make him wonder.

X

"Well, that was fun," Kaito remarked as the door to their room swung shut behind them.

Shinichi made a distracted sound as he wandered over and lay down on his bed and rolled over on his side. Kaito watched him for a moment before moving to join him.

"What's the matter?" he asked, lying down and pulling Shinichi into his arms.

"…It's nothing."

He snorted. "Riiiight. Come on, you've been awfully quiet. Now talk."

"Really, it's nothing. It's just… Have you…"

"Yes?" he prompted when Shinichi trailed off and didn't continue.

The detective took another moment before letting out a quiet sigh. "I was just wondering… Have you ever, you know, thought about—about being with someone else?"

Kaito felt a cold chill race up his spine and he tightened his hold on his detective, pulling him closer. "Why are you asking me that?"

"I was just wondering…"

"About what exactly?" Kaito pressed. He didn't like this topic very much, but he wasn't about to let it drop either. Not before he figured out exactly what was going through his companion's head. "Aren't you happy?"

Shinichi blinked then frowned. "It's not that. I—I'm happy with things the way they are."

The magician relaxed, relieved but also rather mystified. "That's good to hear. For a moment there I thought you were going to say you wanted to leave me."

"What? Why would I want to do that?"

"That's what I was wondering. So then what exactly were you thinking about?"

Shinichi mumbled something and the magician's eyebrows rose a fraction. "You know, if even my ears can't hear what you just said with you right here, you know you have to speak louder."

"I said I was just wondering if you…might be happier with someone different…"

"Different?" Kaito repeated, puzzled. "Different how?"

"Just—someone more…more outgoing, you know—more like you, I guess… More interesting…"

Kaito paused for a moment, imagining a Shinichi who was more like himself. It was…kind of horrifying and all sorts of wrong. Besides, he had the feeling he'd drive himself insane (really there were times when he marveled at the fact that he hadn't driven Shinichi crazy yet). There wasn't a stage big enough for two of him. It would be a nightmare! He liked planning shows (so he was a schemer, he'd admit it and be proud) and being the center of attention, but it wouldn't be any fun if he didn't have an audience. And while he wasn't choosy about audiences, it meant more when the person you could make smile was someone you cared about. All he really wanted, he mused, was for Shinichi to always be there. He didn't really need or want him to be different. He rather liked his detective just the way he was. Even if he could there wasn't anything about the other he would want to change. After all, he loved Shinichi precisely because he was himself. Besides, what could be more boring than someone who was exactly like you?

"Don't be ridiculous," he said finally, tucking Shinichi's head under his chin. "I love you. Take note of the 'you'. So why are you thinking about this?" he prodded, curious and maybe a little concerned.

"…I was just…talking to someone earlier… H—hey!" He shot Kaito a slightly miffed look as the magician bounded up off the bed and scooped him up out of his comfortable spot on the mattress. "What're you doing? We just got back!"

"I didn't say we were going out. Let's take a shower," the magician declared cheerfully, grinning when Shinichi instantly turned bright red (and by extension stopped thinking about whatever it was he'd been thinking about). "Obviously you've had way too much time on your hands if you're filling your head with such nonsense." He leaned down and kissed Shinichi before he could say any more. He was glad they'd sorted that out, because there was no way he was ever letting anyone else lay a hand on his Shin-chan.

X

There was a party on the ship the nigh before they were to arrive back in San Francisco.

Kaito had gotten several requests from assorted guests and even crew members for one last show and he was more than happy to oblige. So after dinner the two went down to the central court where the party was just getting into full swing. Shinichi found himself a seat near the fountain to watch with a glass of pineapple juice.

At some point in his show, Kaito walked right off the railings of one of the upper decks and onto what looked like thin air. For the first time that evening his entire audience fell silent in shock. Shinichi wondered when he'd found the time to set up the wires he was probably using. Kaito had been with him for almost every minute of the last several days. Maybe he'd decided to take a midnight stroll while Shinichi had been sleeping?

Distracted by his thoughts, Shinichi let out a cry of surprise as he felt his seat disappear right out from under him. Then he was standing on what he realized instantly was some of those invisible wires Kaito had strung up with the magician in question grinning mischievously at him. Caught off guard—and not accustomed to such precarious footing anyway—Shinichi pin-wheeled as he lost his balance and fell. People below them shouted out in warning—not, he reflected, that that helped much. But Kaito caught him before he could actually fall and the warning shouts turned to relieved ones mixed in with cheers.

"Kaito!" Shinichi exclaimed, half relieved and half angry. That had been far more frightening than he cared to admit. And of course now people were laughing—and were those camera flashes? He blushed and smacked the magician on the shoulder. "If we break out necks, it's going to be your fault."

"We won't if you'd just hold still," Kaito countered, laughing.

Shinichi opened his mouth but all that came out was another cry of surprise as Kaito spun around sharply on his heels. He grabbed a hold of the magician's jacket on impulse as the world vanished in a swirl of smoke and he felt the rush of air. When the smoke cleared he found that they were now on the ground—or at least Kaito was standing on the ground still carrying him. People began to applaud. Shinichi was mildly horrified later to find photos of the incident for sale in the photo gallery section of the ship. The two attendants working the station informed them cheerfully that they'd had to make a lot more copies of it than any other photo they'd ever taken. Apparently everyone had thought it quite the grand old show.

. . . . . . . . .

…"I still don't understand why you guys had to send us away though," Shinichi said, eyeing his parents. "What were you up to?"

"Well, parents need time alone too you know," Yukiko declared.

"So you shipped us off to sea without saying anything?"

"You had fun, didn't you?"

Shinichi groaned. "That's not the point! You could have just asked."

"But that wouldn't have been half as fun!"

TBC

A.N: This one was a lot harder to write than I thought it would be ^^ Anyhow, I did a picture the other day that felt like it'd be a good cover pic for this collection. If you're interested, you can see it here:

http:/alaena-h(dot)deviantart(dot)com/#/d468nz0

Just replace the "(dot)" with a ".".