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Caught on Camera

Photograph: Retaliation

It was Shinichi's bedroom window. The detective himself was at the window, facing Kaito, who was perched in the branches of the tree just outside. The magician was leaning towards the window, proffering a red rose to his counterpart.

It was, Shinichi reflected, a much more tranquil scene on film than it had actually been in real life…

. . . . . . . . .

It had started with a party. There were very few parties that Shinichi had ever attended of his own free will. This particular party had reminded him of exactly why this was the case.

He'd only gone to the stupid party because Kaito had asked him to. Left to his own devices, Shinichi preferred to avoid parties. But Kaito had had a whole list of reasons why he should go in addition to his natural ability to make people forget their common sense and agree with him (it was all Toichi-san's fault, Shinichi thought grumpily. Stupid magicians and their devious ways). Anyhow, the point was that Shinichi had attended the event despite his better judgment and then found himself at a complete loss. Kaito had been accosted by his classmates the moment they'd arrived and it just went downhill from there (from Shinichi's point of view anyway).

To be fair, it was probably because they were going to different schools, and it was really only natural for classmates to fall into discussions around their shared experiences from classes to teachers to classmates and school events. For Shinichi, it felt a lot like being the only person in a room not privy to an inside joke. In other words, it was awkward. Eventually he'd excused himself to get a drink. He'd hung around the refreshment table as long as he could without getting strange looks before returning to find that Kaito had started an impromptu show. Finding a seat in the corner where he wouldn't be in anyone's way, the detective listened to the others 'oo' and 'ah' over Kaito's magic. That part of the evening was, in retrospect, the only part Shinichi had enjoyed. Unfortunately, he discovered soon after that his spot happened to be right underneath what turned out to be a very powerful speaker. Half deafened, he'd escaped back to the refreshment area as the rest of the congregation hollered for a dance contest. He didn't have to look to know that Kaito would be participating. The magician never missed a chance to show off. Time dragged on. The music had long since become little better than noise to Shinichi's ears and the endless, chaotic chatter and random bursts of laughter grated on his nerves. He had completely lost track of Kaito and the watery coffee was starting to make him angry. Whose bright idea had it been to make such a sad excuse for coffee?! He knew he was being unreasonable, but the knowledge wasn't helping.

That was when he decided it was time to go.

A whole evening of being a fish out of water had not put him in a good mood. More than that though, he'd found himself feeling just a little hurt, though he wasn't entirely sure why. He'd stewed over the matter all the way home, at which point he was too tired to want to think about anything at all. Once there, he went straight to the library and tried burying himself in a book. Usually he had no trouble immersing his thoughts in the pages of a good novel, but this night he just couldn't seem to concentrate. The words just weren't speaking to him. He'd been failing to read for half an hour when his phone started ringing. He didn't answer it. He continued to try to read for another hour before giving up.

Ignoring the twenty three missed calls he had from Kaito, he went to bed.

A good night's sleep had seen him feeling slightly better but still a little off kilter. This time, however, the books were being more cooperative. It was a Saturday, so he settled in for a day of peace, quiet, and mystery fiction. His phone was blinking, telling him he had messages, but he switched it off and dropped it into a drawer.

Kaito was the kind of person who delighted in pushing people's buttons. He derived pleasure from making people react. He liked to make them laugh and gasp in awe, but Shinichi knew for a fact that he found making people howl in rage pretty entertaining too. It was a matter of reaction—how different people reacted in different ways to different things was the foundation of many a private game for the magician in his never ending war against boredom.

Therefore Shinichi had perfected the art of "not noticing". To totally and completely ignore him was, Shinichi had found, the best way to retaliate against the attention-loving magician. It tended to drive Kaito nuts, and it had the added bonus of giving Shinichi more time to read his beloved books.

Quality reading time tended to make Shinichi feel better. When he was reading, he could forget about everything else and just submerge himself in the pages and their little, self-contained worlds where everything made sense.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Startled by the unexpected sound, Shinichi looked up from where he'd been reading at the desk in his room with an extra large mug of coffee by his elbow (it was the mug he used when he felt like he needed as much coffee as he could get with the minimal amount of effort spent walking back and forth to the kitchen).

Kaito was outside his window.

Shinichi immediately looked away, going back to the book in his hands. The rapping noise came again, but this time he knew what it was and so remained unmoved. He could feel the magician's eyes on him as he continued to read. The seconds ticked by.

Three hours later, he could still feel those eyes watching.

Unable to help it, Shinichi cast a quick peek at the window. Yep, there was Kaito still in the tree outside his window, staring at him with remorseful eyes.

Blue eyes dropped hurriedly back to the open book. What was Kaito thinking? Shinichi huffed, turning another page. Was he going to sit out there all day? But it was almost lunch time. And Kaito was a pretty big eater. He would have to leave when he got hungry. Unless he brought food with him, which wasn't entirely impossible. Even so…

Shinichi turned another page.

The weather was pretty cold today. There was a brisk wind blowing. Kaito hadn't been wearing a jacket. Shinichi's eyebrows drew together. Stupid magician. He was going to catch himself a cold. Then again, Kaito just about never got sick. Wasn't there a saying about that?

He turned another page then turned it back because he realized he couldn't remember a single thing he'd read on the previous page.

The cycle repeated three more times before he finally snatched a bookmark, jabbed it into the book, set the book on the table, and stormed to the window. He threw it open and glared at the suddenly smiling face that greeted him.

"What are you doing?" Shinichi demanded. "You're going to make yourself sick sitting out all day in this weather with no jacket! Go home."

"You could always invite me in," Kaito suggested, looking hopeful.

"I'm busy!"

"But you've just been reading for four hours…"

"Like I said, busy." Shinichi crossed his arms defiantly.

The magician's face fell. "You're still mad at me, aren't you?"

"What are you talking about? I just don't want you staring at me through my window all day. It's creepy."

"I'm really sorry about yesterday," Kaito said earnestly, producing a red rose from nowhere and holding it out like a peace offering. "I didn't mean to make you feel neglected—"

"I did not feel neglected!" Shinichi lied vehemently. "I was just tired."

"—or left out," the magician went on smoothly. "I got carried away. It was wrong of me. I really am sorry. I promise it won't happen again. So please, forgive me?"

Shinichi struggled to hang on to his resolve to be upset. His gaze focused on the rose then traveled up to Kaito's face again. He bit his lip.

"Shin-chan?"

Shinichi's breath left him in a sigh as he deflated. "Fine," he mumbled, taking the rose. "Just—don't ask me to any more parties unless you actually want me to be there."

"I always want you to be there."

Shinichi blushed, suddenly feeling a lot happier than he had all day.

That was when they heard the snap.

Both their eyes widened as the branch Kaito had been perched on began to fall away.

"Kai!" Shinichi cried out in alarm, trying to grab the magician's hand.

Kaito reacted on instinct. Launching himself off of the falling branch, he dove through Shinichi's open window, catching the smaller boy by surprise and sending them both tumbling to the floor in a heap of flailing arms and legs.

The crash they made hitting the floor was followed shortly by the sound of running footsteps. An instant later Yukiko threw open the door. She blinked, taking in the sight of her son groaning (and clutching his head, which he'd bumped on the hardwood floor) as he lay pinned under a certain messy-haired magician who had not come through the front door (she would have seen him coming if he had).

"Oh my," she said and closed the door. They could hear her giggling as she walked away.

This time Shinichi groaned for entirely different reasons.

. . . . . . . . .

…That had not been one of his better moments, Kaito mused. And he'd rather mourned the loss of that branch. It had been one of the best for reaching Shinichi's window with. On the other hand, it had fallen for a good cause.

TBC