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

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi

Lure

Chapter 29 - Costume Shopping

Friday afternoon found Shinichi making his reluctant way towards the mall where he was to be meeting Ran and Aoko. He wondered if he would see Kaito there, and he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted the answer to that to be a yes or a no. On the one hand, he really did want to be able to spend time with Kaito in their civilian lives, but on the other, letting Kaito help choose his Halloween costume was basically asking for trouble.

But no, as Shinichi approached, he saw only the two girls at the doors. They waved him over and introductions were made all around again just in case any of them had forgotten who any of the others were in the few days in which they had not seen each other. Then the girls were dragging him into the shops like hunters heading into the wilderness, armed and ready for their quarry.

Frankly, the intensity the two women were giving off was scaring Shinichi. They were awfully determined to find those perfect costumes. He just hoped they left him out of it.

They browsed through several shops with racks upon racks of the typical costumes from witches and princesses to cats and werewolves. They were all too ordinary, Aoko and Ran agreed. They wanted something with a little more flare.

By the time they emerged empty handed from the fourth store, Shinichi was ready to just buy the next costume they saw that was his size so that he could leave. He made the mistake of saying so to Ran. The next costume she brandished at him involved bunny ears and a fluffy tail.

"It's your size," she threatened.

He decided to keep his mouth shut after that.

The real problem was when they saw the rack of child-sized Kaitou KID suits. Aoko had gaped at them then immediately flown into a towering rage.

"They're promoting theft!" she'd roared. "How could they?! And with little children too! Have they no shame? They're teaching the next generation that it's okay to be insane criminals that steal things and ruin people's lives! It's irresponsible and just, just, argh! It's an affront to justice! To society! Where's the manager?!"

Aoko whirled around, eyes blazing, fully intent on hunting down the store manager and demanding that the offending costumes be removed at once.

"Wait! Aoko." Ran caught the other girl's arm and held her back. "I think you're overreacting."

"How can you say that?" the inspector's daughter demanded, rounding on her. "You can't possibly think it's all right for them to be promoting that—that fiend!"

"No, no, of course not," Ran said hastily. "But Halloween costumes are just Halloween costumes, you know? They don't really mean anything. It's all just for fun. It doesn't actually mean anything. It's like if someone dressed up as Blue Beard or something. Having a costume like that doesn't mean you're promoting killing people. It's just more fun to pretend to be something that people would recognize."

"It's still not right," Aoko grumbled, but she seemed to have calmed down, if only a little. "It's different when it's a real, currently existing person—let alone a criminal." But she allowed Ran to gently steer her away from the mini Kaitou KID costumes and to a less controversial collection of outfits.

Shinichi found the answer to his problems in the form of a wizard costume. It consisted of a set of plain, dark blue robes that came with a wide sash stitched with an intricate pattern of silver runes. It came with a pointy hat that also had a thin band of silver runes around it that was slightly too large for him, but otherwise acceptable. The costume wasn't nearly as gaudy as the many others he had seen, and the material it was made of was actually comfortable to the touch. But best of all, the costume came with a black book cover that he could slip over one of the novels he bought last weekend. That meant he'd be able to bring a good book to read and have it disguised to look like part of his costume so that Sonoko wouldn't jump on his back for daring to imply her party would be boring by bringing a book.

Ran looked over his choice in costume with a knowing gleam in her eyes that told him she knew exactly why he had picked it. "I guess it'll do, but you realize that this is a masquerade. That means everyone is going to be masked. Your costume doesn't have a mask."

"But it has a large hat," he argued, putting said hat on his head. It immediately slid down over his eyes. Frowning, he adjusted the brim, tilting it so that he could actually see. "I don't think I could wear this hat and a mask at the same time. It would look weird, and it would be impractical."

Ran hid a smile. Shinichi probably had no idea how adorable he looked in that too-big hat. It reminded her of his Conan days. "Well, you might have a point. But don't be surprised if Sonoko comes after you about it."

"I'm sure she'll find something to come after me about regardless," Shinichi said dryly. "How about you two? Have you picked your costumes yet?"

Ran smiled as her face lit up with excitement. "We think we might have, but we're going to go try them on to be sure. Come and give us an opinion, all right?"

Shinichi trailed after the girls to the dressing rooms, where he took a seat on one of the sofas to wait. There was a small television on the wall there. It was playing the news, though the sound was muted. Shinichi was startled to see it introducing Kaito's Halloween show. The reporter appeared to be interviewing one of the temporary assistants—a very pretty young woman with delicate features and a brilliant smile. She was wearing her costume for the show, which Shinichi was glad to see was indeed much more appropriate for public viewing.

A sudden wave of melancholy caught Shinichi by surprise. He had to wonder when he would be able to actually attend one of Kaito's shows without having to worry about anything. To be able to just go somewhere together in the open under the daylight without having to wear disguises and monitor their friends and acquaintances' whereabouts.

They had set their plans in motion, and those plans appeared to be unfolding just the way they'd hoped. Ran and Aoko were becoming fast friends, and it would only be a matter of time before the girls' friendship led to a proper introduction between Kuroba Kaito and Kudo Shinichi. But even if they played their cards right to make the meeting as natural and unsuspicious as possible, Shinichi wasn't sure if people like Hakuba would ever stop scrutinizing them in the hopes of finding evidence that Kaito was KID (and, at the rate things were going, that Shinichi was KID's accomplice). Would they ever be allowed to have a normal relationship?

On the other hand, neither of them were normal people. Well, actually Shinichi considered himself to be fairly normal (it was everyone else who made no sense), but he'd always been told that he was weird. After all, he was a detective who could solve insanely complex cases but couldn't name which bands were popular. He had learned to cope with being a magnet for homicidal maniacs, solved hundreds of cases before graduating high school and lived through two separate childhoods. Okay, so maybe he wasn't particularly normal. But he wouldn't be the person he was if he hadn't been and done all those things. And Kaito wouldn't be the Kaito that Shinichi loved if he wasn't a crazy genius of a magician thief with all his love of chaos, his confidence and his penchant for defying logic and reality alike.

So maybe their relationship could never be normal. It didn't matter because normal just wasn't who they were.

"So what do you think?"

Shinichi looked around at the sound of Ran's voice and blinked. For a moment, he thought he was seeing double except that the doubles had come in different shades.

Both Ran and Aoko were dressed in elegant, layered fantasy-style gowns with a butterfly motif. Large, gossamer butterfly wings fanned out behind their backs, and their faces were hidden by ornate, butterfly masks. Ran's costume came in shades of red and gold while Aoko's mirrored hers in blue and silver. The only reason Shinichi could tell them apart was that Aoko's hair was distinctly messier.

"So?" Aoko asked, holding her arms out to either side. "What do you think?"

"They certainly look like a pair," he said. "The wings are kind of large though. Won't they be inconvenient?"

Ran laughed. "It'll be fine. Besides, I like the wings. The patterns are beautiful."

Aoko clapped her hands together. "It's decided then. Let's go change back."

As the girls were turning to return to the dressing rooms, Ran noticed the interview on the television and paused. "Oh hey, that's Kuroba-kun's show they're talking about, right?"

Aoko followed her gaze then nodded. "Yeah. It's why he's not coming to the masquerade."

"The party runs pretty late though," Ran pointed out. "When does his show end?"

"It's not when it ends that's the problem," Aoko explained. "It's the location. It's all the way on the other side of the city."

Ran nodded in understanding. "That's too bad. Sonoko really wanted to introduce him to some of her other friends. They're all huge fans."

Aoko snorted. "People really need to stop feeding his ego. If that idiot's head swells up any bigger, he's going to need to buy a whole new set of hats."

Ran only laughed. She knew that Aoko was truly thrilled by her friend's success at this profession he loved, but the girl seemed to have a hard time just saying so. It was puzzling but also kind of cute in its own way. Friendships really did come in many forms.

Since everyone had chosen their costumes, the three of them headed for the checkout lines.

That night, Shinichi sat curled up in the large armchair in his library with a steaming mug of coffee and his phone cradled against his ear, listening with a soft smile as Kaito described the many wonders he would be wowing his audience with on the following night. He spoke with such passion and delight that it filled Shinichi's chest with warmth. He could see Kaito's beaming smile in his mind's eye. He could picture every magic trick and hear the gasps of the audience and the applause as they stood and called for encores. Letting Kaito's voice wash over him, he sank into a contented haze, picturing dazzling stage lights and Kaito standing there above it all, the great conductor of a fantastic realm of magic and mystery.

"I wish you could see it," Kaito concluded.

"Me too," Shinichi murmured. He thought he could hear Kaito's smile on the other end of the line.

And he knew with a sudden clarity that it didn't really matter if he couldn't watch this show. There would be others. What mattered to him, the only thing that mattered, was to be able to hear his magician sound so absolutely thrilled with his work. To hear the love Kaito had for his magic and for his father's teachings filled Shinichi with a sense of peace that was all the more powerful because it was a happiness he could share with the man he loved.

"I heard you went costume shopping with Aoko and Ran-san today."

"I did. Nakamori-san had a fit when she saw they were selling Kaitou KID costumes for children."

Kaito chuckled. "I imagine so. You know, I should charge for those. It's a Kuroba family design after all. It's a copyright issue."

Shinichi snorted. "You may have a point. Of course, you'd have to be willing to go to court."

"I have other ways. But I'm feeling magnanimous."

"Aoko would like to remind you not to let the fame go to your head."

"I shall endeavor not to disappoint her. So did you find a good costume? Or do you need my help?"

Shinichi blushed. "No, I found one. Just something simple."

"Too bad. I had some excellent ideas."

"Well mine comes with a book."

Kaito laughed. "Why am I not surprised? That's good though."

Shinichi blinked. "How so?"

"I was afraid you'd have a terrible time without me there to keep you company. But this way, at least you'll have something to do."

The detective rolled his eyes, hiding his smile in his mug even though there was no one to see. "I was kind of hoping this would be it," he confessed.

There was a quiet sigh on the other end of the line. "Me too. But hey, we're getting there. Suzuki-chan's been sounding me out about some potential shows around the end of the year."

"As have a lot of other people, if I recall."

The magician hummed. "What can I say? No time of the year calls for magic the way the holiday season does. But I haven't committed to anything yet. I'll make the Suzukis my top priority if you make sure you can be there."

"I'll try. Provided I survive Sonoko tomorrow."

"I'm sure Ran-san will protect you."

"She'll try," Shinichi muttered darkly. "She may not succeed."

A chuckle. "I have complete faith in her abilities."

-To be Continued-