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Caught on Camera

Photograph: Fear

"Why did you guys keep a picture of this?" Kaito demanded, frowning at the hospital room. He didn't have to look at it to remember exactly what it looked like. Beside him, Shinichi shifted a bit uncomfortably.

"Just because it's not pleasant, doesn't mean it's not important," Yuusaku replied, reaching up to adjust his glasses…

. . . . . . . . .

It was the worst day of his life. It had started out normal enough. He'd gone to school and afterward he'd met up with Aoko so that they could work on a school project. They'd almost finished when his cell phone had rung. He had run all the way to the hospital. The details of the call and the journey were blurred. He couldn't remember talking to the front desk at all, though he assumed he had.

What he did remember was that little white room and the equally white sheets. He remembered the pallor of the face on the pillow even though he would rather not. And he remembered how limp Shinichi's hand had been in his as he sat beside that too white bed.

His parents had been there. So had Shinichi's. He thought he might have noticed the doctors and nurses drifting in and out as well, but none of them mattered. The only time he dragged his gaze away from Shinichi's closed eyes was when the doctor came to tell them that the detective would be all right.

That was around when he started breathing again.

He spent the following days drifting through his classes in a worried haze, doing his work on autopilot and scaring his classmates and teachers half to death with his abnormal lack of activity. He'd woken up in a cold sweat that first night from a nightmare where Shinichi never woke up. He'd climbed out his window and run all the way to the hospital where he'd snuck into Shinichi's room to make sure it was just a bad dream. It hadn't been that hard to sneak in and he'd wondered briefly if he should send the hospital an anonymous tip on how to improve their security. But the thought was fleeting as he had other things on his mind.

Shinichi had been just as they had left him earlier, of course. But he couldn't get that stupid dream out of his head. It was odd, he thought, because it wasn't until that moment that it really struck him exactly what Shinichi was spending his time doing. Every time he got involved in a case, he was dealing with people who had killed before and might not have any second thoughts of doing so again. Of course he'd known this before, but he hadn't really known. It was a chilling realization. So he'd sat by the bed and watched the smaller boy sleep, thinking how he wished the sheets weren't white. The following morning he'd woken to the nurse's startled cry at discovering him in the room.

He'd gotten a light scolding for that after which his father had advised that next time he should not get caught. Then it was his father's turn to get the scolding. That had been entertaining to watch, but he wasn't really in the mood to appreciate it.

When Shinichi woke up, Kaito had, rather coincidentally, been working on the same project he'd been working on when he'd gotten the first call. Aoko had looked at the expression on his face then sighed.

"Go," she'd told him. "But we are working on this tomorrow during lunch."

He really did love those beautiful blue eyes and the way they lit up when they saw him. He couldn't imagine losing them—or maybe he could and that was the problem. It hadn't been serious this time, but next time—and it was all too likely that there would be a next time—it might be different.

The thoughts were still whirling through his head, but he only got to say hello before Shinichi's parents arrived, Yukiko looking like she was on the verge of tears. So he excused himself to go get something to drink and give the Kudos a moment alone with their son. When he got back it was to the sound of shouting. He slipped silently inside, keeping by the wall.

"You got shot!" Yukiko had cried out, voice rising to almost hysterical levels. "You could have been killed! This kind of job is too dangerous for someone your age to be doing! That's why we have police! From now on you are going to stay home and do normal things like everyone else your age!"

"But Mom—"

"No! I don't want to hear it!" With that, Yukiko burst into tears and ran out of the room, leaving a stunned silence in her wake.

It was Yuusaku who finally broke the silence. "I'll go talk to her." He paused by the door, glancing back at his son with a frown etched between his brows, then he shook his head and stepped outside without a word.

"She can't be serious…" Shinichi slumped back into his pillows with a frown of his own. "I mean, it's just one accident… I've been doing this for almost three years without anything happening."

Kaito slid back into his chair. "I hope you're not implying that it's okay to get shot once every three years or so."

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm not. I'm just saying it's not like it happens every day."

"Which makes it so much better, obviously," the magician replied, sarcasm dripping from every word.

Shinichi paused and turned to study Kaito's face, feeling somewhere between uncertain and wary. The magician was smiling, but it wasn't reaching his eyes. Unlike most people, Kaito didn't frown when he was really upset. Instead he had a tendency to smile in a way that made everyone else wish he was frowning because that would probably be less creepy. Shinichi didn't find himself on the receiving end of that expression very often and it was making his insides squirm uncomfortably.

"Um, Kai…?"

The magician didn't answer immediately. He hadn't intended his first conversation with Shinichi to be an angry one, and angry words were generally not very good ones anyway. Besides, it wasn't Shinichi he was upset with, not really. Finally he sighed, shaking his head.

"You gave us all a scare you know."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen either."

"Well, just make sure it doesn't happen again."

"I…I can't promise never to get hurt, Kai," he said honestly, a quiet sigh fluttering from his lips. "Accidents happen… But I promise I'll be more careful."

The corners of the magician's mouth twisted into a slightly bitter smile that made Shinichi's stomach twist. "I guess I can't really ask for more than that, huh?"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize for doing something you think is worthwhile," Kaito said sharply before his eyes softened. "It's who you are. Although don't think that excuses you from having to be careful."

"I won't," Shinichi assured him, sounding more than a touch relieved.

"Good." Kaito leaned over and placed a quick kiss on Shinichi's lips before picking up one of the detective's hands from where it had been fiddling with the sheets and clasping it between both of his, warming it. "So do you know what you're going to say to your mom when she comes back?"

Shinichi sighed. "I'm not sure yet. I'll have to see what kind of mood she's in when she gets back first."

The next person to walk through the door however was Chikage with a basket over her arm. "Good evening boys. It's good to see you up Shinichi. Are you two hungry yet? I brought dinner. Toichi will be here once he's done talking to Yuusaku and Yukiko."

The teens traded looks but Shinichi subtly shook his head. He wasn't going to ask what they were talking about. Whatever his parents' resolution was, he would find out for himself when they were ready, and figure out how to go about things from there.

So they had dinner. A few minutes later they were joined by the rest of the parents. Yukiko seemed to be back to her usual, bubbly self and no one brought up the screaming match from earlier. Kaito could tell however that it was stil on all the Kudos minds, so he didn't complain when his parents gestured that he should leave with them. Visiting hours were almost over and Shinichi and his parents needed to talk.

"I'll be back tomorrow to escort you home," he promised before bidding the elder Kudos goodbye and slipping out of the room.

. . . . . . . . .

…Later, Shinichi told Kaito that he had wound up giving his parents much the same promise he'd given the magician. His mother still wasn't really happy, but she'd relented since she knew this was what Shinichi wanted to do. She wanted her little boy to be safe, but even more than that she wanted him to be happy. So in the end the person who'd been the least bothered by the fact that he'd been shot was Shinichi himself. He was, however, sorry that he'd worried everyone else. Although he'd grown rapidly less sorry every time Kaito used the event as an excuse to drag him into one of the magician's crazy schemes. The fact that he would probably have been dragged into said schemes anyway was only mildly mollifying.

TBC

A.N: I know Shinichi's parents from the series are actually rather blasé about everything, but I've always felt they were a bit too much so—kind of like they really think everything's a game. This world's not as drama-ridden though and since they're actually around I think they should react more strongly.