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

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi

In Other Shoes

Epilogue

Kaito had to return to Iroyamura because he still had two shows scheduled to take place there before the end of their summer vacation. After some discussion, Shinichi decided to go with him. Partly it was because Kaito had invited him to watch those last two shows, promising that they would be the best yet—the perfect finale to a spectacular summer of magic.

Partly though, it was also because Shinichi felt like he should go back and reassure his coworkers at Miyako's Café that he was all right. He knew he had left rather abruptly, and, according to Kaito, everyone there was worried about him.

Shinichi had, despite everything, enjoyed his time at the café, and he didn't want to leave things the way they were. He owed it to the people there who had helped him find himself again.

They also, the two boys agreed, needed to confront their mothers, both of whom had obviously been holding out on them.

Even with the things they had to clear up though, it was still the best two weeks of an already incredible summer for both of them.

Kaito smiled to himself as he returned to the performance hall dressing room after his last show in Iroyamura. The cheers of his audience were still ringing in his ears.

It felt real now, he reflected. He had truly begun his career as a professional magician.

And what a beginning!

So much had happened in so little time, and it finally felt like the world was turning properly again. He could see the road ahead, a shining ribbon of possibilities, and he couldn't wait to explore it.

He realized with a start that the boredom and restlessness that had plagued him at the start of the summer had now left him completely.

Kaito's smile widened into a full on grin as he swapped his suit for more casual clothes. As he did so, he noticed that there was a package wrapped in rose red wrapping paper and secured with a gold ribbon sitting on the corner of the dressing room table. Next to it was a small, white card. It hadn't been there before the show when he'd come to change into his suit.

Curious, he picked up the card. He recognized his mother's handwriting.

"Yukiko and I put this together for the two of you. Consider it our blessing. Yukiko also wishes to apologize for any distress her actions may have caused," he read.

Curiosity growing by the moment, Kaito set the card aside and picked up the package. It was flat and rectangular. The weight also suggested it was quite solid. Perhaps a book of some kind?

Well, there was one fast way to find out what it was.

Undoing the ribbon with a tug, Kaito ripped off the wrapping paper. As he had guessed, the object now lying in his hands was a hardcover book. The covers were a deep forest green, and stamped across the front in elegant gold lettering was the title "A Summer to Remember". Beneath that title was the current year stamped in much smaller, tidier text.

Suspecting what was coming, Kaito opened the book.

As he'd anticipated, it was full of photographs. There, in vivid color, was his and Shinichi's summer here in Iroyamura from Kaito's very first magic show and Shinichi's first day working at Miyako's café to that fateful summer ball and everything in between. Most of the pictures had probably been taken by one or the other of the mothers, but there were also quite a few that must have been contributed by the performance hall staff, Shinichi's coworkers, the bookstore owner that the detective had befriended, and others. Each of their little adventures and mishaps both together and apart were laid out there, and Kaito had to laugh.

This truly was an awesome gift—the perfect memento of this turning point in both their lives.

Although he could have done without the picture of Shinichi and that architect student out on their first and last date.

Then Kaito reached pictures that he knew had been taken only recently, including several of the lunch that he and Shinichi had had with their mothers. But there were still several pages left. Puzzled, he paged on.

Indigo eyes widened in surprise.

The last several pages of the photo book were comprised entirely of studio-grade photos of Shinichi in a variety of costumes ranging from elegant to funny to cute.

Then Kaito turned another page and froze.

This latest photo showed his Shin-chan in a maid uniform, only this maid uniform resembled the Miyako café uniform about as much as a bikini resembled a scuba diving suit. It was easy to see from his posture and the pink blush on his cheeks in the photo that Shinichi had been embarrassed. The end result, however, was that his detective somehow managed to look both adorably innocent and absolutely scandalous at the same time.

Kaito gulped. He still had a few pages to go, but his hand didn't seem to want to turn the page. The dressing room had suddenly grown rather warm, and he realized that his pants had suddenly become uncomfortably tight.

Kaito had a feeling he knew exactly what he was going to be dreaming about tonight.

Of course that was when a light knock came at the door, and Shinichi's voice called, "Kaito? We're going to be late for our reservation if we don't leave soon. Do you need help packing?"

Kaito did not panic because the great Kaitou KID did not panic. But he did very hastily stuff the photo book into his backpack along with his laptop. Then he zoomed around the room, packing his suit and all the other little knickknacks and props that had accrued in the room over the course of his stay. It was a good thing he'd had plenty of practice at speedy setups and takedowns for the sake of both his night job and his pranks.

"I'm done!" he declared, slinging the backpack over one shoulder and grabbing the suitcase then heading for the door.

Shinichi was waiting for him outside (still in his disguise as Shinko because he wasn't quite ready to share his secret with the people in town who didn't already know). Kaito couldn't help but smile, both at the sight of those big blue eyes he loved and at the sparkle that had returned to those eyes.

"I need to drop this stuff off at the apartment first," Kaito told him. "I can meet you at the restaurant if you want to go ahead."

"That's all right. I'll stay with you," Shinichi replied, falling into step beside him.

Kaito's smile widened at his words. He caught Shinichi's hand with his free one and gave it a squeeze. "That sounds perfect."

-End-

Note: And that's it! Thank you for reading I hope you enjoyed it.