Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi

In Other Shoes

Chapter 16 - Long Overdue

Shinichi knew that he had to pull himself together.

Everyone but Ran was still under the impression that he was away on vacation, so no one had come calling for a case yet, but he knew that that would change eventually. He needed to be over this…mood before then or he wouldn't be much good to anyone. As a detective, he had a responsibility to appear calm and confident while working no matter how he was feeling inside because a detective who looked distressed would only cause those around him to feel unduly fearful in addition to whatever worries they already had over whatever crisis was at hand.

The problem was that moving on was turning out to be harder than he'd anticipated.

He had been back for a few days now and spent most of that time holed up in his home library with his coffee and his books. This usually helped him get back into a more normal mindset. This time, however, it wasn't working nearly as well as he'd hoped.

He was having trouble concentrating on his books.

Sighing, he sank back into the plush armchair he was currently ensconced in and gazed, unseeing, at the library's tall windows.

The doorbell rang.

Shinichi ignored it. He wasn't expecting company, nor was he expecting a delivery. And really, he just didn't feel up to entertaining guests right now.

The doorbell rang again.

And kept ringing.

Sighing, Shinichi set his half empty mug aside and stood up to go answer the door.

He was not prepared for the person he found standing on his doorstep.

"K—Kaito!" he exclaimed.

"The one and only," the magician agreed with a grin. "Now shouldn't you invite me in?"

"I… But… What…?" Shinichi stammered, still in shock over Kaito's abrupt and unannounced (and very much unexpected) appearance.

"I'll invite myself in then," the thief in question concluded and proceeded to do just that.

Shinichi backed away from him hastily as he tried to come to grips with the situation.

Kaito, however, was quite happy to take advantage of his confusion to shut and lock the door behind himself. The click of that lock snapped Shinichi out of his stupor, and he realized with a start that he was now trapped with the Kaitou KID. Shinichi gulped and stared at the taller boy with growing apprehension.

For a long moment, the detective and the thief simply stood there in the Kudo Manor's front entrance hall, staring at one another. Shinichi's gaze was one of trepidation and confusion while Kaito's was a more searching look. The tension built as the silence hung between them, highlighting each passing second with its increasingly stifling presence.

Shinichi wondered if it was too late to pretend that he didn't know who Kaito was. Okay, obviously there was no question there to debate, but he still kind of wished he'd thought of it five minutes ago when he'd first opened the door.

Finally Shinichi found he was unable to stand the silence a moment longer.

"What are you doing here?" he blurted out.

Kaito continued to watch him in silence for a moment longer, indigo eyes thoughtful. Then, with a suddenness that left Shinichi feeling even more off balance than he already was, his expression shifted into that familiar, easy grin that Shinichi had come to know so well over the last few weeks.

"Well," the magician said. "You ran off before I could finish talking last time we met. Then you went and left town without saying goodbye—which was most impolite of you, by the way. So I realized that if we were ever going to finish that conversation, I would have to chase you down. I also thought I should return your bag."

Shinichi opened his mouth then shut it again. "I—but… I mean, you…"

Kaito waited a moment to see if Shinichi was going to finish his question. When he didn't, the thief decided to take it upon himself to keep the conversation going.

"If you meant to ask me when I figured out that you were Shinko-chan, the answer is that I knew from the beginning."

"But then why did you, you know…" Shinichi waved a hand helplessly as he tried to find the right words with which to encapsulate all that had happened between the two of them these past few weeks and came up short, "do all of that?" he finished a bit lamely.

"Didn't it ever occur to you that maybe I did all that, as you put it, because I knew it was you?" Kaito asked, sounding honestly curious.

Shinichi opened his mouth then shut it again, shaking his head. "I… No, I didn't. I mean…I'm just a detective who sometimes gets in your way."

Kaito's expression fell into a fierce frown and he stepped forward. That step with that expression had Shinichi stepping back, but his back bumped up against the hallway wall, and he realized he was trapped as Kaito stepped right up to him and placed one each of his hands on the detective's shoulders.

This close, Shinichi had to tilt his head back quite a bit to look Kaito in the eyes. He froze like a deer caught in headlights. A strange shiver raced up his spine.

Those eyes, dark indigo and flecked with the memory of moonlight and the magic of phantoms and dreams, bore into Shinichi's clear, sapphire skies as though trying to delve deep and uncover the galaxies beyond.

"You are not and have never been just a detective to me," Kaito said then, tone and face alike completely devoid of mirth for once. This was a heartfelt truth for the great Kaitou KID, and he was offering it to the detective who had captured his heart like a rose. "I meant what I said. I like you. I've liked you for a long time—since well before this summer. I was trying to figure out how to approach you when I saw you in Iroyamura. It kind of seemed like fate. It was the chance I'd been waiting for to get to know you better outside of our work and for you to get to know me. It was perfect. It wasn't until you ran that I realized I'd miscalculated."

Kaito smiled a little ruefully as he admitted that. "It didn't occur to me that you might not realize that I knew who you were. I mean seriously, master of disguise here. Did you really think I wouldn't recognize you just because you'd put on a wig and a dress? You weren't even really hiding your face."

"I sort of figured that you'd stay away if you knew it was me," Shinichi admitted. "I mean, most thieves would."

Kaito looked unimpressed. "I am not most thieves."

Shinichi rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. He felt as though a great weight had been lifted off of his chest. Relief and happiness bubbled up inside him, and he felt a totally unfamiliar urge to giggle with the release. "I guess you're not."

"And don't you forget it," Kaito declared. "So now that we've got all that out of the way, I have an important question."

"What is it?" Shinichi asked a bit anxiously.

"May I kiss you?"

The detective turned a becoming shade of pink. "I…guess if you really want to, I wouldn't mind," he mumbled.

Smiling, Kaito moved to cup Shinichi's face with both hands. He caught and held Shinichi's gaze as he leaned down to bring their lips together.

Though he'd been expecting it this time, Shinichi still felt a shock run through his body the instant their lips touched. Heat and electricity danced along his nerves, and he gasped softly, eyes fluttering shut.

Kaito took the silent invitation eagerly and deepened the kiss. One of his hands slid down the length of Shinichi's body to rest on his hip while the other migrated to the back of Shinichi's neck to hold him in place—not that Shinichi was likely to want to pull away even if he'd had the space to try if the way he'd wrapped his arms around Kaito's neck was anything to go by.

When they finally parted, they were both slightly flushed. Kaito was grinning, and Shinichi was struggling to hide the fact that he was out of breath. The detective was also grateful that he had a wall to lean on because he wasn't entirely sure his legs would have held him otherwise.

"I take it this means you'll go out with me?" Kaito asked.

Smiling, Shinichi answered by rising onto his toes and kissing the magician again.

-To Be Continued-

Note: Just the epilogue left now!