Side effects include

by LMeg9.20

Series of one shots with same plot. Haibara produces a cure & Shinichi returns to his rightful age, but it has some unexpected side effects. Each chapter will be a different side effect. Pairing is always KaiShin. Warning! Some chapters may include mature content.

16. Sleepwalker

It all happened so fast. It seemed like between one moment and the next, they had gone from safe to unsafe. Or more specifically, she was unsafe. Somehow they had come to suspect Haibara, that she was somehow connected to the missing Sherry.

It started when they both began to notice more Black Organization members around Beika. They were obviously looking for someone. Because of some very careful snooping on Conan's part, he and Haibara knew that someone had spotted Haibara and seen the obvious resemblance between her and Miyano Shiho. The Organization hadn't actually figured out what the resemblance meant, they seemed to think she was some kind of relative of Sherry's. It didn't matter. The important thing was they were now searching Beika looking for her. Not Sherry, they were searching for Haibara.

Their only saving grace was that they didn't yet know where she was, but it was only a matter of time. She couldn't attend school anymore. All pretense of her being a normal 8 year old had to be abandoned in favor of buying a few more days of safety.

"We have to get you out," Conan said more to himself than to her. His small fist was brought to his chin in thought, and Haibara could almost read the thoughts behind his eyes as he quickly formed a plan, could nearly see him weighing ideas, discarding the ones that wouldn't work while holding on to the ones that had potential.

"Where will I go?" She asked, unable to keep the fear from her voice. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, but where could he possibly send her that would be safe?

"My parents, in America. They can hide you," he answered her, sounding distracted as he continued to formulate his plan.

"Haibara Ai doesn't have a passport," she pointed out.

He impatiently waved her words away, "Irrelevant. My parents will take care of it."

And for a moment, she really believed him. He sounded so confident, so sure, that she couldn't help but think everything was going to be okay. But then a new thought occurred. "Once Sherry is out of their reach, it's only a matter of time until they connect Kudo Shinichi with Conan. You won't be safe anymore either. You'll have to come too."

Instead of answering her like she expected, he closed his eyes and slowly exhaled.

Her eyes widened in realization, "You already know that you're in danger, but you aren't planning on running, are you?"

He turned away from her, unable to look her in the eye, "I can't run. I can't let them win."

She gripped his arm in frustration, willing him to understand. "Staying will be suicide! And not only will you be endangering yourself, but Mouri-san and her father as well. You won't be able to stay with them anymore, and you won't be able to stay with the professor either. So what will you do?"

"I don't know yet, but I'll figure it out. But I can't run, not only because I want to take them down, but for our safety too. If I go to America, it would only be a matter of time until we are found again. We would always be looking over our shoulder, knowing any day could be the day they find us," he answered.

She froze momentarily at the determination she could see in his gaze. She had seen him do some amazing things with that look in his eyes. She closed her eyes and mentally gathered herself. "Give me 3 months, no better make it 2. Your parents will need time to make arrangements for me anyway. In the meantime, I'll finish the cure for you."

His sharp gaze focused on her and she almost flinched under the intensity of it. "Can you really do it?"

"Sometimes desperation can provide the best motivation," she said with a strained smile before looking somber again, "I won't leave you defenseless. I will finish it in time. I've actually been getting close for a while. If I no longer have to attend school, that will give me the time I need to work on it."

He continued looking at her for a moment before nodding, "Then I think it's time Conan and Haibara started to say their goodbyes. Not at the same time of course, that would be too suspicious. You'll go first, because the longer you are out in the open the more at risk you are of being caught, but you'll have to say your goodbyes first. If you were to just disappear, people would question where you went, drawing attention to your absence."

She nodded in agreement, "And what about you? Will you wait until the cure is finished before Conan leaves?"

He shook his head, "We've been put on the defensive, but we're going to have to take the offense or we will lose. Things are already moving fast, if I wait another 2 months, I'll be losing precious time. I'll wait about a month myself before Conan leaves."

"And when Conan leaves, what will you really be doing?" She asked.

The fire was back in his gaze again when he answered. "Gathering our allies, and building a trap for them."

This time, she did believe him. She knew without a doubt that he would find a way to take them down once and for all.

0-0-0-0-0

Though she didn't say anything, Conan knew saying goodbye to the kids had been harder for Haibara than she had anticipated. He didn't blame her. They both had come to see the kids as real friends after spending so much time together. As he watched Ayumi cry on Haibara's shoulder, he promised himself that this wouldn't be goodbye forever for Haibara and the Detective Boys. He knew that Haibara didn't plan to take the antidote once she made it. Once he took down the Black Organization and it was safe, Haibara could come back and resume her new life she had built for herself. This was no longer just about him and his fight against them, he was now fighting for Haibara too.

School was worse without Haibara to keep him company. He had grown used to having someone around that shared his secret. What was worse was that she wasn't around for him to keep an eye on her and protect her if needed. Logically he knew that she was safer hiding at the professor's house rather than being at school, and if something were to happen, there wasn't much he could do to protect her in this small body anyway. But he still didn't like it.

Her absence also served as a reminder of how dangerous their situation was. It had been easy to forget and play the part of the gradeschooler, fall into a routine, and let himself relax a little. But those times were behind him now. Every time he looked at her empty desk, he was reminded of the danger they were both in, and not just them either, but everyone they loved. Which was why he had to leave.

"Ran-nee-chan?"

Ran turned from the pot she had been stirring with a smile, "What is it, Conan? Dinner will be ready soon if you're hungry."

"Ran-nee-chan, I just got off the phone with my mom! She said she and dad are ready for me to come live with them in America. I'll be leaving at the end of the month," he told her.

Ran stopped stirring the pot and turned to give him her full attention, "Oh! Conan, that's great news. I'm sure you've really missed your mom and dad." She gave him a watery smile.

He nodded, "I have. But Ran-nee-chan, I'm really going to miss you."

She crouched down and pulled him into a warm hug, sniffling a little, "I'm going to miss you too, Conan."

0-0-0-0-0

Conan stood on the roof alone, waiting. He stood with his back to the roof access door, staring up at the moon. He didn't have to wait for long before he heard running foot steps, followed a moment later by the door being thrown open.

Kaitou KID called out to him, "I had wondered where you ran off to, Tantei-kun. Did you feel like playing the role of a phantom thief for a moment? Is that why you're on the roof by yourself, gazing at the moon? A little word of advice, a cape goes a long way for added drama."

Conan snorted, "Hardly. I was waiting for you actually."

"Something tells me you weren't waiting in an attempt to catch me. You wanted to speak with me, Tantei-kun?" KID asked, his mask only revealing mild curiosity.

"I wanted to say goodbye," Conan said. He stuffed his hands in his pocket, looking down at his feet for a moment. Out of all the goodbyes he had given so far, he hadn't been prepared for how hard this one would be. He looked back up at the thief and continued speaking, "This will be the last KID heist that Conan attends. In one week, to the rest of the world, Conan will be returning to America to live with his parents again."

"Does this mean that Kudo Shinichi is about to make a return?" KID asked.

Conan shook his head, "Soon, but not yet."

"Does this have anything to do with the little scientist leaving?" KID asked.

Conan hesitated, unsure how much he wanted to tell the thief, " They found out about her, and it wasn't safe for her anymore, which means its not safe for me anymore either. I'll be laying low for a while, and hopefully she can finish the antidote to return me back to Kudo Shinichi. Once I regain my original body, I'll take down those that did this to me."

KID seemed to think over his words for a moment. He apparently came to a decision and nodded, "Then I think it's about time I allied myself with you, Meitantei."

The small boy shook his head firmly, "While I'll admit the thought crossed my mind more than once, I can't let you do that. It would be too dangerous."

KID gave a teasing grin, "Are you worried about me, Tantei-kun? I know you'll be working with others in your fight to take them down, but you don't want my help? Is it because you can't bear the thought of me getting hurt? I'm touched!"

Conan jolted in anger, "As if! It's because the people I will be working with are from the FBI and Interpol. All trained professionals. And while you might be very talented and skilled, you don't have professional training! If my allies found out you were involved, they would be forced to try to arrest you. You would be more of a hinderance than a help."

KID cupped his own face with his hands and gushed, "On top of worrying about me, my Tantei-kun just called me talented and skilled!"

Conan's face burned, "S-shut up! Did you miss the rest of what I said?"

KID laughed and leaned forward to ruffle the smaller boy's hair. Conan yelped and slapped his hand away, which just made him laugh more. "Stop treating me like a kid when you know I'm not one!" Conan growled.

KID gave him another teasing grin, "Only if you stop treating me like a normal civilian. Maybe I'm not part of some professional government agency to take down criminals, but you aren't either. And I'll remind you that I'm anything but normal. As for the risk my arrest, well I have an entire task force devoted to my capture and they haven't succeeded yet. Now are you going to work with me and let me help you?"

Conan sighed and tried to smooth his hair back down, "You're going to do what you want anyway, aren't you? Fine, I guess I'll take your help, but only on one condition. I want to know why you are so eager to help anyway. The real reason, not some excuse about 'taking care of your detectives.' I won't believe it."

KID's smile had a little more bite to it this time, "Your goals and my goals might line up more than you think. It just so happens that the ones targeting me are the same group that you are after as well."

Conan's eyes widened, "You mean the snipers that are sometimes at your heists? They're with the Black Organization?"

"Well I'm not actually sure they are one and the same, but I think they are somehow connected," KID answered.

Conan thought it over and gave a nod, "Alright. If the snipers that target you aren't part of the Black Org, once they are taken down and I no longer have to look over my shoulder, I'll help you take down your group."

KID gave him a wide grin, "I knew you would come around. Well I think it's about time I made my escape, Nakamouri-keibu and his men should have gotten out of that glue trap I left them in by now. I'll be in touch, Tantei-kun!"

Conan watched him jump from the roof, his glider growing smaller and smaller in the distance. He hadn't expected that when he came to tell the thief goodbye, he would instead gain another ally in his fight against them.

0-0-0-0-0

After that, things moved very fast for the shrunken detective. Conan officially moved out of the Mouri household and went to live with his parents in America, but in reality he moved back in to the Kudo Manor. There, he was able to move freely, preparing for the take down of the Black Org. He was constantly on his phone, coordinating people and leading investigations. Akai Shuichi was his only company for a while. Considering it was supposed to be a secret that Conan was living at the Kudo Manor and Akai (as the disguised Subaru Okiya) didn't usually have company over, it would be strange if people were suddenly seen coming in and out of the Kudo Manor. And after only a few days, Akai left as well seeing as he no longer needed to keep an eye on Haibara, leaving Conan alone in the large manor to plan out the take down of a major crime syndicate. Well, almost alone.

"I know you're there, you might as well come out," Conan said, sounding distracted while leafing through some papers looking for some specific data.

KID stepped into the doorway looking mildly abashed at being caught, "I bet it's because I was watching you for too long. You have a pretty good sixth sense about that kinda thing."

Conan just hummed in non-answer.

"Its rather disarming seeing you without your glasses, Tantei-kun," KID commented.

Conan shrugged, "There's no point in the disguise anymore. Nobody to hide from, and I never needed them. They did end up being rather useful on multiple occasions thanks to all of the gadgets the professor added to them, but none of those would be useful to me right now."

"Even so, I am going to miss them, they made you look extra adorable. Though I suppose now I can better appreciate your beautiful, blue eyes," he answered with a wide grin.

Conan groaned and put his face in his hands to hide his heated face, "I can't believe you're such a flirt that you would even flirt with a child. You really can't turn it off, can you?"

KID wagged his finger, "Ah, but you aren't actually a child, are you? And you did ask me to stop treating you like a child when I know you're not one."

Conan just sighed and changed the subject, "What are you doing here?"

"I need an assignment. You are aware of my skills. I could easily disguise as someone and bring you more information. I just need a name and location," KID answered.

Conan vehemently shook his head, "That's way too dangerous. If they were to find out…"

KID looked insulted, "Did you forget who you're talking to?"

Conan finally looked up from his papers to give KID a hard stare, "Of course not. But I still don't think you get it. If they find out who you are, not only will they kill you, but they will kill everyone you love. You must have people you care about? Your assistant for one, maybe some family? Friends? Are you prepared to risk them like that?"

KID returned the stare, looking unusually serious, "I'm aware of the risk, and I won't get caught."

Conan looked away first. "As much as you love to play the part of a phantom, you are still human, and humans make mistakes. But this is a mistake you cannot afford. It will get you killed. It almost got me killed."

KID approached him and gave a reassuring smile, "I won't get caught. If you and I work together, we will make a formidable team. I've watched you speak to people on your phone and take notes. You move people like a general moves his army, and I can be your secret weapon. And don't forget that you need them taken down as soon as possible. You are also risking yourself and your loved ones. You said it wasn't safe for you anymore. Doesn't that mean they could target Mouri-san and that sister figure of yours to get information on you? Or the kids that were always following you?"

Conan gave a tired sigh and moved to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose, then stopped when he remembered he was no longer wearing them. "We plan to take them down before it comes to that. They are suspicious of Haibara, and they know she's in Beika, but they don't know exactly where, though its just a matter of time. We hope to have slowed them down by removing her from school, and once my parents are able to get her out of here to America, she will be out of their reach for a while. They would next investigate the people that she was closest to, which would inevitably lead them to Conan, and through me, my friends. That's why I had to leave as well. I believe Ran or her father will not be targeted since Mouri-san is a famous detective. They wouldn't want to involve "the Sleeping Kogoro" unless they knew they could gain some useful information out of it. As for the kids, we have to hope that they will be disregarded since they are children and wouldn't be expected to know anything. Nobody should be taken as hostage or bait since they won't even know how to alert me that they have done so. The Organization has always prioritized secrecy. They wouldn't make any unnecessary moves that could draw attention to themselves if they don't stand to gain anything from it, though once enough time passes they may get desperate enough to try."

"Then let's take them down before it comes to that. My abilities and skills are yours to command," KID answered, and his gaze was full of nothing but trust as he met Conan's gaze.

Conan met that gaze and finally let his reservations go. Yes, the two of them would form a formidable team. And he knew he could trust KID to take care of himself, maybe even more so than anyone else Conan was working with to take them down. With KID added to the team, their chance at success had risen exponentially.

He gave KID a confident smirk, "Alright, I'm sure I can think of a few options of people you can disguise as."

0-0-0-0-0

Conan went to take a drink from his coffee mug, only to stop when he realized it was empty. He glared, as if it was the mug's fault, before standing up and making his way to the kitchen for a refill. He froze when he entered and saw a strange man waiting for him. A man wearing all black.

Then he let out the breath he was holding, almost a sigh of relief, and addressed the man, "Jeez, KID. Don't scare me like that. That's a good way to get a soccer ball to the face."

Smoke enveloped the man and when it cleared, KID stood in his place. "That's got to be a new record for you, Tantei-kun. How did you know it was me?"

"Not tellin'. Think of it as payback for nearly giving me a heart attack," Conan told him while standing on his toes to reach the coffee pot, feeling too lazy to get out the step stool. He normally would love the opportunity to share his deductions, but he knew this way would irritate the thief more.

"Not fair!" KID whined while reaching past Conan to the coffee pot he was failing to reach. He refilled Conan's mug and returned the pot to the burner. "If I don't know what I did wrong, I can't fix it for next time, which could lead to me getting caught. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

That made Conan pause, mug half raised. Then he shook his head and brought the mug the rest of the way to his lips, ignoring KID's gagging noises while he sipped his black coffee. (Usually he preferred his coffee with a splash of milk, but he had forgone it with a guess that it would be a good opportunity to annoy KID.) "It's not something you need to worry about. I doubt anyone else would catch it unless they also knew Kaitou KID."

KID hummed and let it drop. Instead he flicked his wrist and was suddenly holding several small slips of paper. "I know you told me to bring you anything I could pick from their pockets, no matter how irrelevant I might think it is, but can you really use a handful of receipts to help you take them down?"

Conan's eyes flashed in excitement when he saw the slips of paper KID was holding and he eagerly held out a hand for them. Once KID placed them in his hand, he immediately began to study them. "Don't underestimate receipts, they can tell us a lot."

"Like what?" KID asked while crouching down and peering over Conan's shoulder to look at the paper slips with him.

Conan angled his body so that KID could see the receipts better while he flipped through them, "They are a record of exactly where a person has been, with the exact date and time. What a person is spending their money on can tell you a lot about a person as well. They can be used to establish patterns, or prove or disprove alibis."

"I see. And what information have you gained from these?" KID asked.

"These receipts are from a few different organization members over the course of a couple days, right? Notice they all go to the same dry cleaning service," he said sounding thoughtful.

"Maybe that dry cleaners excels at cleaning black clothing without causing the color to fade?" KID asked.

"Or maybe they have another reason to go there so frequently," Conan replied.

KID nodded and stood back up, "Sounds like I have my next assignment. I need to sneak into that dry cleaners."

"I know you don't need me to tell you to be careful, but…" Conan trailed off.

KID gave him a soft, reassuring smile rather than one of his teasing grins. "Don't worry, I'll take every precaution. And this won't exactly be my first time breaking in somewhere. I know my heists are usually known for drawing in attention, but I can be subtle when I need to be."

Conan nodded, "I know."

0-0-0-0-0

It was three days later that Conan saw KID again. He had just gotten off the phone with Jodie-sensei and entered the library to find the thief lounging in his favorite arm chair. As soon as his eyes landed on the thief, he immediately began assessing him looking for injuries. Some of the tension left his shoulders when he didn't immediately see anything.

"KID, how did it go?" Conan asked.

KID gave a triumphant smirk, "Better than I expected. It seems your instincts were right about this one, Meitantei."

Conan's gaze sharped, "Tell me everything. Don't skip a single detail."

KID waved a hand at him, "All in good time, but first I'm hungry and you're going to eat with me. I bet its been far too long since you last ate anything, and you could use the company after hiding out here in this large house by yourself for so long."

Conan was about to protest when his stomach gave a loud grumble. He closed his mouth and felt his face heat. Instead of arguing he said, "I guess I could take a short break."

He turned around and led KID back to his kitchen. He opened up the pantry and hopped onto a step stool, still needing to rise onto his tip toes, and inspected the middle shelves. He called out to KID over his shoulder, "What flavor of instant noodles do you want?"

KID came to stand behind him, resting a hand on his shoulder to steady him, and inspected the shelves with a bemused face, "That's a lot of instant ramen."

Conan frowned, feeling defensive, "Well I can't exactly go grocery shopping since I'm supposed to be in hiding, and nobody can bring me anything since I can't risk someone seeing people coming in and out of the house since it's supposed to be empty. It's also hard to cook in a body that can't reach the counters, and do I need to remind you I'm busy with the take down of a major crime syndicate?"

KID held his hands up in mock surrender, "Take it easy, Tantei-kun. Lucky for you, I was expecting this and came prepared."

He clapped his hands and the dining room table behind them was covered in smoke. When it cleared, the table now had a white cloth draped over it, and on top was two cloches and a small vase holding some small pink and white flowers.

Conan blinked at the table in surprise.

KID chuckled, "Well don't just stand there, your food is going to get cold!" He put his hands on Conan's shoulders and began to steer him to the table.

Conan glared at KID over his shoulder while allowing himself to be pushed to the table, "I'm going to figure out how you did that."

KID just laughed, "I'm sure you will, but first let's eat."

Conan pulled himself into the chair and lifted the cloche, revealing a plate of chicken marsala with roasted potatoes and broccolini. He was able to smell it now that the metal cover was no longer in the way, and he felt his mouth begin to water. "Is this from that Italian restaurant that just opened nearby? I thought you had to have a reservation to get in."

The thief gave him a sharp grin, "In a restaurant as busy as that one, its was child's play to sneak in as another dishwasher. And don't worry, nothing was stolen. Our meals were paid for in full."

"I knew it wasn't stolen. You only steal what you can return. Well, I guess until you find whatever it is you're looking for," Conan replied before popping a piece of broccolini in his mouth. He groaned in appreciation, "This is delicious. I was beginning to forget what vegetables tasted like. Or anything that wasn't instant noodles."

"Well now 'll just have to bring you dinner every time I show up for our debriefs," KID answered with a happy grin, "Any requests for tomorrow?"

Conan shoved a large bite in his mouth so that he could chew, giving himself a moment before answering, "Actually, tomorrow I take the cure. I don't expect I'll be able to eat much tomorrow, assuming I survive." The last part was supposed to come out light, like a joke, but instead fell flat.

KID's smile faltered, "What do you mean 'assuming you survive'?"

Conan shrugged, aiming for nonchalance and failing, "Well I'm basically fighting this poison by taking another poison. There is a chance something could go wrong, though Haibara told me the chances are small. About 37% chance of failure, she estimates."

KID looked a little pale, "Isn't that a bit high?"

Conan shrugged again, "I've survived worse, the poison that did this to me, for one. I only had a 0.001% chance of surviving that."

KID was oddly silent for a moment, picking at his food. Then he finally spoke, "I'll come tomorrow for my debrief, and I'll bring you something delicious. Maybe a nice soup, in case you can't stomach more than that. Not chicken noodle though, since you've had enough noodles. So you better not die, otherwise if you aren't here to taste my soup, my feelings might get hurt."

Conan felt something warm spread through his chest. He tried to morph the smile on his face into his signature smirk, but he wasn't sure how successful he was. "Well I wouldn't want that. If Sonoko ever found out I hurt her precious KID-sama's feelings, she might resurrect me from the dead just to kill me all over again. I guess I'll just have to survive tomorrow. I'll be at the professor's for most of the day so that Haibara can monitor my condition, but the professor's couch and Haibara's exam table aren't the most comfortable place to sleep, so I should be back home by the early evening."

KID nodded.

Conan ate the last bite of chicken and looked at KID expectantly, "There, I ate. Now tell me what you found at the dry cleaners."

The rest of the night was spent plotting together. It was exciting to work alongside KID, for both of them to combine their skills and intellect for a shared goal. And at least for tonight, Conan let himself forget the stakes, let himself pretend this was some kind of game he was playing with his friend, that his and Haibara's lives weren't literally on the line. He felt himself actually have fun. It made his heart clench a little, seeing how well he and the thief got along. He hoped that once was this was all over, if he survived, maybe he and KID could be friends.

0-0-0-0-0

Shinichi leaned heavily on the professor, one arm around the older man's shoulder while the professor half carried him inside his home. "Are you sure you don't me to want to stay the night, Shinichi-kun? I could sleep in one of the spare bedrooms," the professor offered.

Shinichi shook his head and made his way to the sitting room with the professor's help. Once there, he half collapsed onto a couch, breathing a little heavily from exertion. "There's no need, professor; Haibara wasn't worried. We knew I would be a little weak for the first day or two, she said I might even run a low grade fever. All to be expected."

The professor raised a finger in exclamation while recalling the conversation, "That's right, she did! We should check your temperature now. I'll go grab the first aid kit."

The detective waved him off, "Don't worry about it. I'm going to go upstairs and go to bed. Haibara said any symptoms I have will be self limiting; I just need to rest."

"At least let me help you upstairs," the professor offered.

Shinichi eyed him warily, concerned for his older friend. Now that Shinichi was back to his normal height and size, he wasn't as easy to carry as he was when he was Conan. It was one thing to help Shinichi walk over from next door, it was quite another to help him upstairs as well. He was just thinking of how to turn his friend down when a new voice spoke up.

"There's no need, I can help tantei-kun upstairs," KID said as if he had been in the room and part of the conversation the whole time.

"Kaitou KID-san? What are you doing here?" The professor turned, looking surprised.

"Making a soup delivery for my favorite detective," he answered, holding up a take-out container, as if it was completely normal for KID to drop off food for detectives.

The professor looked back and forth between KID and Shinichi, looking confused. Shinichi for his part didn't answer, feeling fatigue settle over him, fogging his brain. The older man finally asked, "Are you going to be okay, Shinichi-kun?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah, he's harmless. I'll be fine, I trust him," Shinichi answered, trying and failing to focus.

KID looked pleased for some reason. "I'll get Tantei-kun upstairs and make sure he eats something before he goes to bed. Thank you for taking care of him," he said, addressing professor Agasa.

The two seemed to exchange a few more words, but Shinichi for the life of him couldn't seem to concentrate on what they were saying. He felt himself blink, and he had difficulty reopening his eyes, but they snapped open again when he felt himself being lifted. The professor was gone and KID had lifted him into his arms.

"Put me down, I can walk," he protested.

KID snorted, "And look like a baby fawn stumbling to walk for the first time? I don't think so, Bambi. This is easier, so hush."

Shinichi thought about arguing more, but a wave of dizziness swept over him as KID walked, so he closed his eyes and rested his head on KID's shoulder instead. With his eyes closed, the dizziness was better. He felt his consciousness slipping again.

"As much as I want you to rest, I'm a little worried that you're letting me carry you this easily," KID said managing to sound both teasing and concerned.

"Oh just shut up and let me sleep, stupid thief. You're warm and safe and 'm tired," Shinichi grumbled sleepily without opening his eyes.

KID laughed, "You're really delirious right now, aren't you? Though I must say, you're pretty cute like this."

Shinichi scrunched up his nose in distaste, "Not Conan anymore, 'm not cute."

Shinichi felt KID's shoulders shake as he chuckled, "No, you're adorable, and really testing my self control right now. Ah, here we are, we reached your bedroom."

Shinichi opened his eyes and saw they had indeed reached his room. He wasn't even surprised the thief knew which one was his. KID gently laid him down on his bed, then began unbuttoning his shirt.

"What are you doing?" He asked. If he had been coherent he might have been freaking out more, especially when the hands finished with his shirt and slid his pants off instead.

"You can't sleep in your clothes, detective. You have to put on your pajamas," KID answered.

Shinichi thought that over and decided that sounded reasonable. "I can do it without help."

KID gave him a disbelieving look, "Tantei-kun, I've seen white paint with more color than your face. Let me help you so you can get some rest. Besides, I'm already done."

Shinichi looked down and saw he was indeed changed, though he wasn't wearing his pajamas. "I don't own Kaitou KID pajamas," he stated.

"Don't complain. It was between this or a panda onesie, but I was worried the onesie might make you overheat with your fever," KID told him.

KID helped him sit up more against his pillows, than pulled the container of soup seemingly out of nowhere. He offered a spoonful to him, but Shinichi just glared and refused to open his mouth. KID raised a questioning brow and asked, "What's wrong? I promise it shouldn't be too hot."

"I don't need you to feed me," Shinichi argued.

KID rolled his eyes, "I swear, you are the worst patient." But he didn't argue anymore and handed Shinichi the spoon. He watched Shinichi shakily feed himself with a pained expression before asking, "Are you sure you don't-"

"-Not happening," Shinichi shut him down.

KID just sighed, "You can be so stubborn, Tantei-kun."

Once he had finished the soup, he handed the bowl off to KID and settled back against the pillows, thoroughly exhausted. He didn't protest when KID helped him lay back down and pulled the covers over him. KID murmured something about being right back and left for a moment, but he quickly returned with a cool cloth he put on Shinichi's burning forehead. Shinichi sighed in relief and closed his eyes for a moment. He briefly felt a hand push his fringe from his forehead and fingers running through his hair but when he opened his eyes again, KID's hands were at his side. He must have imagined it.

"Sleep well, Tantei-kun. I'll just be in the bedroom next door if you need anything," KID said before turning to leave.

"Wait," Shinichi said and mustered up the strength to grab KID's sleeve before the thief could leave. KID turned back and gave him a questioning look. "Thank you for taking care of me," he said before his eyes slipped closed again.

The feeling of fingers in his hair again. He leaned into the touch, not opening his eyes this time. He was asleep before he heard KID's answer.

0-0-0-0-0

Shinichi woke the next morning feeling refreshed and fully rested. He raised a hand in front of his face and inspected it. It was definitely an adult hand. He rested his forearm across his eyes for a moment and felt relief wash over him, the corners of his lips turning up in triumph. So it wasn't a dream.

He sat up and it was then that he noticed the Kaitou KID pajamas he was wearing.

Oh.

Shit.

So that hadn't been a dream either.

Memories came flooding back, each one increasing his feeling of mortification. Oh god, did KID really bridal carry him up the stairs? And dress him? And Shinichi let him? He collapsed back on the bed with a groan and pulled his pillow out from behind him to smother himself with.

"Good morning~," a familiar voice called to him in a teasing lilt, "I see someone is feeling better."

Shinichi lifted the pillow high enough to give the thief a warning glare, "KID, let's both agree to never speak of last night ever again."

"I will agree to no such thing," KID answered while plopping himself on the edge of Shinichi's bed. The detective noticed for the first time the plastic shopping bag the thief was carrying and could smell something delicious. To further his embarrassment his stomach had the audacity to growl audibly. KID chuckled and opened the bag, sifting through the contents. "I'm glad you have an appetite, your fever was pretty high last night. But the little scientist was right, you got through it just fine. So do you want the veggie quiche or the bagel breakfast sandwich?"

"Quiche please," Shinichi answered and eyed the bag hopefully, "Did you happen to also get…"

"Coffee? Of course, I didn't forget your addiction," KID replied while producing a to-go cup from seemingly nowhere.

Shinichi's face lit up and he accepted the mug KID handed him. He took a sip and closed his eyes in bliss. "Should I give you two some privacy?" KID joked but Shinichi resolutely ignored him.

They both ate in comfortable silence. Once finished, KID spoke up again, "So what's next from here, Meitantei?"

Shinichi sipped the last of his coffee and gave the empty cup a mournful look before answering, "Haibara will be over soon to do a full check up on me, make sure there aren't any kind of concerns or side effects from the antidote. After that, I can move on to the next phase of the plan to take down the Black Organization. Haibara will be around for another 2 weeks before my parents will be ready to sneak her to America for her safety, so she'll be able to monitor my condition until then."

"I see. Well I better take my leave. I have a little less time on my hands now that I'm gathering intel for you in addition to my heist planning," KID announced.

"You're still planning heists?" Shinichi asked in surprise.

"Of course," came KID's immediate response, "It would look suspicious if KID suddenly stopped. People might wonder what I'm doing instead. It's best if my heists continue on like normal."

Shinichi nodded thoughtfully, "That makes sense."

"Will you be joining my heist, Meitantei?" KID asked with a wide excited grin.

Shinichi laughed, "And what would be the point of that? I think it's rather obvious that I no longer intend to turn you in."

"Hmm? But that hasn't stopped you before. You haven't wanted to turn me in for a long time, but you still chased me at my heists," KID teased.

Shinichi's felt his cheeks turn pink. He hadn't realized the thief had figured him out. "I won't be able to attend any heists until after Haibara is in America, but once she's out of Japan and safe, Kudo Shinichi can return to Tokyo. I'll probably be too busy taking down the organization to attend any heists, but once they are gone, I suppose I could attend your heists again. But you better watch out, KID. In this body I won't have any trouble catching you," he said with a confident smirk, his eyes shining with challenge and excitement.

KID's gaze returned that challenge, his grin looked a touch manic, "Just more motivation for me to help you take them down as soon as possible. I look forward to your attempts to catch me, Meitantei."

Shinichi opened his mouth to give some kind of witty retort about how he wasn't going to attempt anything, he was going to succeed, but the words died on his lips when KID took his hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it.

"I'll see you next time, and congratulations once again on getting your gorgeous body back."

Shinichi's entire face turned red with the force of his blush and he sputtered incoherently since his brain had apparently decided to turn itself off. By the time his brain turned itself back on again, KID was gone.

"Stupid, shameless thief," Shinichi grumbled to himself, "Does he think I'm going to let him flirt with me just like he does with everyone else? Next time he tries to tease me like that, I'm going to kick a soccer ball right at his face."

The back of his hand tingled for the rest of the day.

0-0-0-0-0

Professor Agasa woke up with a groan and stretched his aching back. Getting old was rough. Maybe he could invent some kind of massage table with robotic arms to rub his back? Not a bad idea, he should write that down. But first, breakfast.

He left his room for the kitchen and saw it was empty. He wondered if Ai-kun was awake yet and if she wanted breakfast as well. He made his way down the hall to her room, taking care to make as little noise as possible. If she was still sleeping he didn't want to wake her.

As he turned down the hall, he was startled when he saw a figure's silhouette crouched in front of her door. Before he could panic and decide how to best protect the young girl in his charge, his eyes adjusted to the dim light in the hallway and he recognized the figure.

"Shinichi-kun?" he asked, confused.

The young man he thought of like a grandson was crouched on one knee with his back to Haibara's door. The stance looked both offensive and defensive at once, especially with the tranquilizer watch held up and pointed right at him.

"What are you doing here? Is everything alright?" Agasa asked in concern when Shinichi failed to respond.

He took a step closer to Shinichi with his hand raised, reaching out for the younger man. Then he noticed Shinichi's eyes. They were void of expression, his gaze glassy. It was like he was in a trance.

Then everything went dark as the tranquilizer dart hit its mark.

0-0-0-0-0

"Kudo-kun? Kudo-kun? Kudo-kun!"

Shinichi woke up with a start.

"W-what?" He asked in confusion.

He noticed immediately that he was crouched with his watch held ready in Professor Agasa's house. The professor was lying flat on his back in front of him, snoring away in a deep sleep. Shinichi realized to his alarm that he must have darted the professor.

"Kudo-kun!" he heard someone call to him again.

He looked and saw Haibara standing nearby, taking care not to touch him. It was then that he realized he was in front of her bedroom door.

"Haibara? What happened?" He asked.

"I think you were sleepwalking," she answered, still sounding apprehensive.

"Sleepwalking?" He repeated in disbelief, "But I've never sleepwalked before."

She nodded, "Let's get the professor off the floor and somewhere more comfortable before we continue."

In the end, the professor was too heavy for Shinichi to lift his dead weight up off the floor, and Haibara was of course unable to help in her small body, so they slipped a pillow under his head and covered him with a blanket to make him more comfortable until he woke up.

Shinichi made some French toast and left some as an apology for his elder friend when he finally woke up, and Shinichi and Haibara quickly ate their own. Once finished, they made their way down to Haibara's lab in the basement. The young scientist had just finished running her tests when the professor finally woke up and joined them, his plate of French toast in hand. He waved away Shinichi's apologies good naturedly.

"Your bloodwork came back as mostly normal, though these elevated values here indicate high levels of stress. The stress could be the cause for your sleepwalking," she told Shinichi while referring to some numbers on his test results that meant nothing to him.

"Perhaps the investigation of the Black Organization is getting to you, Shinichi-kun, not to mention Ai-kun being in danger," the professor offered.

"That's not it," Shinichi denied, then corrected himself, "Well at least not all of it. I haven't been able to sleep since I took the cure. Well, aside from the first night when I had a fever. I think I was too exhausted not to sleep that night."

"But you took the cure 3 days ago! You didn't mention any insomnia to me. Kudo, that's something I need to know," Haibara chided him.

"Well, it's not exactly insomnia," Shinichi answered looking uncomfortable.

"Don't tell me you're obsessing over the case and pulling all nighters," she said looking disappointed, but Shinichi shook his head. She frowned with impatience when he didn't elaborate, "Well, what is it then?"

"I'm having nightmares," he finally answered.

"Nightmares?" She repeated.

He nodded and explained, "Ever since I took the cure, aside from that first night, every night I have had nightmares. But they aren't normal nightmares. They are incredibly vivid, and I always remember them in great detail. I wake up in a cold sweat and can't go back to sleep afterwards."

Haibara listened carefully and seemed to be thinking over his explanation. "And you've never had a problem with nightmares before?" She asked to clarify.

He shook his head, "Not like this. I've had the occasional bad dream before, but nothing like this. This is…different."

She nodded and thought for a moment before speaking, "Some medications have been reported to cause strange, vivid dreams, though it isn't known why. Many different kinds of antidepressants for example. It's possible the antidote to the apoptoxin has the same side effect as those medications and is causing you to have nightmares."

"Is there anything we can do about it?" He asked, feeling hopeful now that he had an explanation.

She shrugged, "It should resolve itself with time. In reported cases of people whose dreams are affected after they start their medications, it usually only lasts for a short duration before their body grows used to the medication and the vivid dreams seem to stop on their own."

Shinichi felt himself relax with relief, "Okay, that's good. How long does it usually take before the vivid dreams stop?"

"There isn't a lot of data covering the topic, but from what has been reported, it seems to take a few months," she answered.

Shinichi winced, "A few months, huh?"

She nodded, looking sympathetic, "I'm afraid so. In the meantime, try to get some sleep. Otherwise who knows what you might do while sleepwalking?"

0-0-0-0-0

As it turned out, Shinichi was unfortunately not able to get more sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, his worst fears were waiting for him. More often than not, it was someone he cared about dying. Sometimes he found their bodies, too late to save them. Sometimes they were violently murdered in front of his eyes. It was always awful. He had seen enough death and crime scenes for his mind to get creative with the deaths and accurate with the details.

So he didn't get any sleep. He operated on coffee, fear, and stubbornness. And after about 2 or 3 days awake, he would eventually fall asleep in exhaustion, and he would inevitably sleepwalk. It was always to the professor's house, always guarding Haibara's door. Agasa and Haibara grew used to it and knew what to do. Both were careful not to approach Shinichi and whoever found the detective first would call out to him to wake him. Then Shinichi would go back home, and the cycle would continue.

"Still not sleeping, Meitantei?" KID asked in concern after Shinichi yawned for the 9th time.

Shinichi shook his head, "No. But my parents are finally ready and Haibara leaves for America tomorrow. Once she's gone I won't have to worry about her anymore and maybe I'll stop sleepwalking."

KID seemed to consider him for a moment. "Well I don't have anywhere to be early tomorrow. How about I stay here for tonight? If you have a nightmare or sleepwalk, I can wake you," he offered.

Shinichi was surprised to find he was actually considering it. The idea of the internationally wanted thief sleeping over at his house (for the second time, he might add) didn't bother him any more than it would to have Hattori sleep over. He remembered the night before he took the cure, only a short time ago, how a part of him had hoped that maybe he and the thief could be friends one day. He realized now that he had already come to think of KID as his friend.

He also realized that whenever KID was around, he couldn't help but feel calmer. Yes, the thief was chaotic and a prankster, two things that normally caused others feelings of anything but calm, but whenever KID was around, Shinichi knew that nobody would get hurt. It was, after all, KID's number one rule. For someone like Shinichi who had seen more murder and death than some police officers twice his age, that knowledge was invaluable to him.

"Do what you want, it's not like I could stop you anyway," he answered.

"Oh, somebody is acting tsundere again~. It's okay, I know you're secretly glad that I'm staying," KID teased. "So, it's getting pretty late, and we already had our debrief. Shall we go to bed?"

He snapped his fingers and smoke surrounded Shinichi. When it cleared he saw he was once again in the Kaitou KID pajamas. "I guess I should just be thankful its still not the panda onesie," he said in resignation.

He went upstairs and brushed his teeth, KID producing a toothbrush of his own from seemingly nowhere and following suit. Shinichi recognized the toothbrush as one of his extras for when he switched brushes and wondered how the thief knew where he kept his spare toiletries. When he went to head into his bedroom and KID still followed him, he raised a brow. "Uh, why are you still following me?"

"How can I wake you if you're having a nightmare or sleepwalking if I'm sleeping in another room?" KID asked as if it was obvious, and okay, maybe it was, but still.

"But you can't sleep in my bed," he stammered while his eyes darted around for a good excuse as to why. He finally settled for pointing at KID himself, "What about keeping your identity a secret? Are you planning on sleeping in your top hat and monocle?"

"Don't worry! I have a plan for that already," he answered cheerfully and held up a sleep mask.

Shinichi thought for a moment, then finally sighed, and, seeing no other reason to argue, he continued on to his room. "Fine, but you keep to your side of the bed, and I'll stay on my side."

"Aw, but Tantei-kun! I wanted to be the big spoon," KID whined.

"As if! Try it and I'll definitely kick a soccer ball at your face," Shinichi said with a growing blush.

"Fine, fine. Now get into bed and put on the sleep mask so I can change out of my KID suit."

Shinichi climbed into bed and scooted as far to the edge as he could. He put on the sleep mask and lay on his side, his back facing KID. He heard the rustling of clothing and his light switch flip, then the mattress dipped as KID climbed into the bed. KID wasn't touching him, but he thought he could feel KID's body heat.

"Good night, tantei-kun," KID said, and Shinichi thought he could feel his breath on the back of his neck. Just how close was the thief?

"Good night, stupid thief," Shinichi answered. He thought it would take hours to fall asleep, but sooner than he expected, he began to relax, and he drifted off to sleep.

0-0-0-0-0

Shinichi's phone alarm went off with the most annoying chime available in the settings. It was a noise that demanded attention, one that he couldn't ignore and sleep through. He groaned and slapped blindly behind him, aiming for his nightstand where his phone rested, intending to turn the damn thing off, but instead of hitting his nightstand, he felt himself slap something like a warm, firm pillow.

"Ow! Jeez, I'm turning it off, Tantei-kun. No need to hit me."

Except pillows didn't talk.

His eyes flew open, or they would have except some kind of cloth seemed to be covering them.

It was than he remembered he was wearing an sleep mask…and he had slept with KID.

Okay okay whoa wait, he hadn't slept with KID, they had just shared a bed. Which was not a big deal. Friends shared beds all the time! He had shared a bed with Hattori once or twice before. It was not a big deal. Totally not worth freaking out about.

"You can stop freaking out and remove your sleep mask now," KID said.

He hastily removed the mask and turned in the direction where the voice had come from with a glare. "I'm not freaking out."

The fact that he had slept through the whole night without having a single nightmare was also not a big deal. He must have finally adjusted to the antidote. It was a coincidence that he didn't have any bad dreams while sharing a bed with KID, it had nothing to do with the thief's presence.

"Sure you aren't. You get dressed and come downstairs when you're ready, I'll make us breakfast. Then we can see off the little scientist to the airport," KID ordered before disappearing from the room.

Shinichi opened his mouth, then closed it, mind still not fully caught up with everything that had happened. It was only a few months ago that they had been rivals, but somehow in a rather short amount of time, they had become friends. He supposed joining together to take down the Black Org had been the catalyst they needed to jump start their friendship. But to think the thief would be going so far as to share a bed with him and cook him breakfast. Why was his life always so strange?

Once he finished getting dressed, he made his way downstairs. As soon as he entered the kitchen, KID handed him a mug filled with coffee. Instead of his normal white suit, KID was wearing a nondescript black shirt and a black hat, the brim pulled low over his eyes. "Have a seat, pancakes are almost done. Would you like yours topped with fresh fruit and whipped cream?" KID asked while flipping a pancake onto a waiting plate and then pouring more batter.

"Uh, just fruit please," Shinichi answered while sliding into a chair, staring at the thief's back while he cooked.

It was all rather…domestic.

Somehow it felt like they weren't rivals turned friends, but more like-nope. He wasn't going to think about that. He took a large gulp of his coffee to distract himself and almost scalded his tongue in the process.

"Don't burn yourself or I might have to kiss it better," KID teased and Shinichi almost spat out his coffee in surprise. "Just kidding~."

"You're the worst," Shinichi complained while cleaning up the coffee he had dribbled down his chin.

"I know you don't really mean that," KID replied with a cheeky grin as he set two plates piled high with pancakes on the table.

Shinichi decided to ignore him and dug into his breakfast, then, once finished the two of them headed next door to the professor's house.

"Shinichi-kun, good morning. And you brought a friend with you? Ah, I almost didn't recognize you outside of your normal white suit, Kaitou KID-san. Welcome," Professor Agasa greeted them both.

Shinichi raised his eyebrows at the professor's friendly greeting to KID as if he was just another one of Shinichi's friends. He wondered for the first time just what the two of them had talked about that first night after he had returned to his body and had been sick with a fever.

"Kudo-kun, you're looking well-rested this morning," Haibara commented.

Shinichi nodded, feeling pleased, "I was finally able to get some sleep last night. I guess I've finally gotten used to the antidote."

"Hmm? Is that why you were able to sleep last night?" She asked, then turned to KID, her gaze scrutinizing, "And what about you, KID-san, did you arrive this morning?"

KID stayed silent, his face was a pleasant mask.

Shinichi interrupted, "So professor, are you finished packing? It was rather last minute for you to decide to go with Haibara, right?"

The professor nodded, "I think I have everything. Some of my stuff for my inventions will unfortunately have to stay behind; airport security can be rather strict sometimes. No matter! I'm sure I can always replace what I couldn't bring with me once we arrive in America."

They continued to make idle chit-chat, but Shinichi could feel the time when they had to leave drawing near like an invisible weight. Finally the professor cleared his throat before saying, "Well I think it's about time Ai-kun and I headed to the airport. Kaitou KID-san, could you help me load the luggage in my car? Shinichi-kun, maybe you and Ai-kun could do one last check of the house. Make sure I closed all of the windows and such."

For some reason the professor's request made KID smile in amusement.

Shinichi and Haibara walked around, checking the windows, making sure the oven wasn't on, checking that none of the professor's inventions looked ready to explode, the usual. Haibara seemed unusually quiet, but Shinichi figured she was a bit apprehensive about her upcoming journey so he didn't mind. Maybe he should say something to settle her nerves? He wasn't sure what he should say though. He had never been good at these kind of things.

Instead Haibara broke the silence herself with a sharp, "Kudo-kun."

He turned and looked at her questioningly. Her voice had been confident but when he looked at her he thought her expression didn't match. Her shoulders were a little hunched in, lips drawn down into a small frown and her brows drawn together in concern. For once she looked every bit the 8 year old she pretended to be, except for her eyes. Her eyes looked older than even her true age. He was reminded once again that Haibara had had a very hard life long before he had come to know her.

Neither of them were really the hugging type, but he decided they could both probably use one right now. He crouched down on one knee in front of her and pulled her into a fierce hug, trying to convey without words that everything was going to be okay. After a brief moment, he felt her small arms wrap around him, returning the embrace.

"You'll take care of yourself, won't you?" She asked full of concern.

He blinked in surprise. Wait, she was concerned about him?

He must have taken too long to answer and she knew him well enough by now to guess at the reason for his confusion. She released a huff of frustration and pulled back to give him a glare. "I'm not worried about me, you idiot. It's you I'm worried about."

"Me?" I asked dumbly.

"Yes, you. I'm running off to hide in America, leaving you to face them alone," she replied hotly.

"Haibara," he started but stopped short. He had been about to tell her that he would be fine, but he didn't want to make promises he wasn't sure he could keep. She knew just as well as he did the dangers of going up against the Black Organization. Empty promises wouldn't bring her any comfort right now. Instead he decided to change tactics. "I'm not alone. I've managed to make myself a lot of strong allies in my fight, you know this. I've got Hattori, Jodie-sensei, Akai-san…"

"And don't forget me," KID chimed in. The thief was lounging lazily in one of the professor's arm chairs, as if he had been there the entire time, though Shinichi knew that chair had been empty when he and Haibara had entered the room to check it. He sprang up fluidly from the chair as if gravity had little effect on him and sauntered over to them with his hands in his pockets. He continued, "He has me as well, arguably his most important ally, if I do say so myself."

Haibara was watching him carefully, and her expression turned cautious when he bent at the waist and held his hand out for her. She relaxed mildly when he flicked his wrist and was suddenly holding a small pink flower. He offered it to her, and she took it gingerly.

"You have my word that I will do everything in my power to keep him safe," he told her.

Shinichi watched the exchange and mentally squirmed in discomfort. He wasn't really sure how he felt about what KID was saying, but he decided not to interrupt. For, as silly as his words were, Haibara actually looked like she was taking comfort in them.

She scrutinized him for a moment more before she seemed to come to a decision, "In that case you had better keep a close eye on him. He can be pretty reckless, no matter how many times he promises you that he won't be. And for a genius, he can be incredibly stupid at times. And dense too."

Shinichi's eye twitched. "I'm still right here."

KID jumped to his side and threw one arm around his shoulder, pulling him close. The other hand gave Haibara a V for victory. "I'll keep an eye on him. You enjoy your time in America, and Meitantei here will make it safe for you to return before you know it."

Haibara gave a soft smile. "I know he will."

Agasa entered and joined the small group. "Ai-kun, the car is ready. We had better leave," the professor said addressing the small scientist, then he turned to Shinichi, who still had KID wrapped around his shoulder, "Take care, Shinichi-kun, KID-san."

The professor handed Haibara a small bag that she slipped over her shoulder, then headed for the door with the small girl right behind him. She paused just before leaving and turned to Shinichi one final time.

"Take care, Kudo-kun."

0-0-0-0-0

Shinichi woke with a start and a scream dying on his lips. His eyes darted around the room wildly, looking for unseen threats while he panted, trying to regain his breath. His heart was beating so fast he could hear his blood roaring in his ears.

After some time, his heart and breathing slowed to a normal rate and his mind caught up with his surroundings.

Shit.

That had been one hell of a nightmare.

He closed his eyes to steady himself but quickly opened them again in fear that he might slip back asleep again. He didn't want to risk resuming the dream where it had left off. He grabbed his phone off the nightstand and winced when he saw what time it was. Well, two hours of sleep wasn't the worst, maybe he could think of it like a refreshing 2 hour nap instead? Minus the refreshing part.

He pulled himself out of bed and made his way downstairs to start the coffee pot. He might as well look over the Black Org case file again. It didn't look like he would be getting any more sleep tonight.

He had really thought his vivid dreams were over too. He had slept so peacefully the other night when KID had been with him. If he hadn't adjusted to the antidote like he had initially thought, did that mean it had been KID's presence that helped him sleep?

He buried his burning face into his hands, even though nobody was around to see him.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out finding one new message. He opened it to view a picture sent from his mother. His mom was standing behind Haibara with one arm clutching her tightly in a one armed bear hug, the other hand was obviously holding the camera taking the selfie. She was flashing the camera a bright smile. Haibara in contrast could only be seen from the bridge of her nose up, Yukiko's arm not quite long enough to fit them both in the picture (and even if it wasn't a conscious thought, if she could only fit one of them fully in the photo, the retired actress would obviously choose herself.) Haibara was giving the camera a deadpan stare. The message underneath the photo read, ' look who we picked up at the airport!'

He smiled and slipped the phone back into his pocket. Well, at least if he started sleepwalking again, he wouldn't be able to sleepwalk to the professor's house this time. Now that Haibara was safely in America and he no longer had to worry about her, he didn't think he would have to worry about waking up in strange locations anymore.

0-0-0-0-0

KID waited in the Kudo library for his favorite critic to find him. The last time he had seen the detective had been two days ago when they had seen the little scientist off together. Since then he had been back in the shadows, finding evidence and information to help in Kudo's fight against the men in black. The work was easy enough for someone like him; it was a lot like preparing for a heist, though the ramifications if he were caught were much more deadly.

Pfft, as if he would ever be caught.

His crossed leg bounced on his knee, excitement and impatience slipping through his mask though nobody was around to see it. His detective always had a way making his control slip, but thankfully the other man didn't seem to realize how much of an effect he had on him yet.

But KID couldn't help but feel excited. He had come to love these debriefings they had together. It was similar to their rooftop meetings they'd had as rivals, but if trading wits and banter together had been fun when they had been on opposite sides, he found that working with the detective was even more exhilarating.

And there was just something about that look in his detective's eyes while he sorted through the information KID gave him, mind working furiously as he turned over the information. Then he would find something particularly interesting and his eyes would glitter like stars, and his lips would curl in a triumphant grin, exuding confidence. Seeing that look up close was really something. Knowing that he had played a part in putting that look on the detective's face was even better. KID found he couldn't get enough of it.

Ah, finally he could hear his detective approaching the library door. He made sure his cape was flowing behind him off the desk just so and fixed his posture to make himself look confident and casual. The finishing touch was the wide KID grin on his face.

The door opened and the detective entered, his eyes finding KID immediately. KID's grin slipped off his face immediately falling into one of concern and within a moment, he was off the table and crossed the distance between them in a few long strides. His hand rose to cup the detective's cheek, his thumb gently tracing the deep circles under Kudo's eyes.

He was standing close enough that the detective had to tilt his head back to look up at him. When he had been 16 and disguising himself as the detective, they had looked nearly identical. But two years was a long time for a teenager with a lot of growing happening in a short amount of time. The differences between them were much more obvious now at even a casual glance and became even more apparent the longer one looked, the most obvious difference being their heights. In the last year, he had hit another growth spurt, while Kudo hadn't grown at all since before becoming Conan. KID knew from the information his doves brought him from Kudo's check-ups with the little scientist that the antidote had aged him properly to his rightful age of 18, even though when he shrank he had been 16. KID was unsure if the detective's lack of growth was a side effect of the apoptoxin poisoning him at such a pivotal time of his body's development, or if the detective was always just going to be small. Either way, he found he didn't mind, even if it would make disguising as the detective harder in the future.

His hand had moved to rest on the detective's cheek without conscious thought, but he didn't regret the movement. His actions had caused a blush to color the detective's face, his wide startled eyes blinking at him in confusion. And this was KID's other favorite expression to see his detective wearing, Kudo's flustered face tying for first place with his case-solving face. KID allowed himself a moment to enjoy it before returning to more important matters.

"You aren't sleeping again, Tantei-kun."

Kudo winced and his eyes drifted to the side in an admission of guilt. KID also noted with interest that he didn't try to pull away from KID's touch. "I've just really been wrapped up in this case," he offered as an excuse.

It was a lie, and Kudo had to know he would see through it, but he didn't call him out on it.

"Did you bring me more information?" Kudo asked.

KID allowed the change in topic and dropped his hand from Kudo's warm cheek. He flicked his wrist to produce a rose and offered it to the detective, who accepted it with a roll of his eyes, though he looked like he was fighting off a smile. "Of course, Tantei-kun. I always come prepared to our little meetings."

Kudo's eyes sharpened with interest, "Where is it?"

His KID grin returned and he answered, "Why, I already gave it to you. Check your breast pocket, Tantei-kun."

Kudo's eyes flicked to his shirt pocket in surprise while he asked, "When did you…a thumb drive? Did you get access to one of their computers? How did you manage that?"

"I have my ways~," He answered, "Though I'm afraid my hacking skills are subpar at best. I brought you what I could and hopefully something on there can be useful."

Kudo nodded, "No, this is better than I could have expected. Even the information that can seem mundane initially can hide valuable clues."

KID nodded as well. He had seen first-hand what Kudo could figure out from a handful of receipts.

"Actually, do you think you could regain access to one of their computers again? I bet if I ask Haibara, she could find a way to remotely hack in with your help," the detective continued.

"Consider it done," KID answered, "Just let me know what she needs me to do. In the meantime, I also wanted to give you this." He offered the detective a small envelope.

"What's this?" Kudo asked curiously.

"An invitation to my next heist, of course. I'm giving you your invitation a little early so that you have extra time to solve the notice. I know your case takes top priority, but it's healthy to take a break on occasion," KID answered.

Kudo looked at the envelope with renewed interest and his eyes danced with excitement, "Well I guess since you are going through the trouble of giving me extra time on the notice, I might as well attend the heist. Besides, its been proven numerous times that taking breaks improves focus and boosts creativity when you return to work."

KID laughed, "You don't need to justify it to yourself or to me. But I look forward to your attendance."

"Look forward to being caught. Just because we are working together doesn't mean I'll go easy on you," Kudo said with a challenge.

KID's grin grew in answer, "My dear detective, I wouldn't have it any other way."

0-0-0-0-0

Kaito silently entered his house. He took off his shoes and made his way upstairs without turning on any lights. It was late and he couldn't let anyone in the Nakamori household see the lights on when he was supposed to be asleep by now. With expert steps, he made his way through the dark to his bathroom, only turning on the light once the door was shut behind him, then he quickly slipped into the shower and scrubbed off the dirt and grim from crawling through air ducts and hiding crouched in dusty rooms all day. It was dirty work, both preparing for his upcoming heist and spying on the Organization. Once clean, he quickly towel dried his hair before turning the light back off again and making his way to his bedroom. He had just enough energy left to pull on his pajamas before collapsing onto his bed.

It was not easy work, juggling spying for Kudo, planning KID heists, and living his civilian life as Kuroba Kaito. Luckily he had always had more energy than most. But even someone like him could still get exhausted on occasion. So with the last of his energy, he pulled the blanket up to his chin and fell into a deep sleep.

He woke some time later feeling refreshed, though still a little drowsy. He could tell from the light coming in through his windows that it was still early, only the first traces of dawn by the looks of it. What had woken him?

As his mind became more awake he noticed a weight on his chest. That was strange. He noticed his arms seemed to be wrapped around the weight, holding it. Whatever it was was warm, and seemed to be breathing?

The last thought snapped the last bit of sleep from his mind and he was instantly wide awake. Horror movie slow, he raised his head from his pillow to look down at the weight that was settled on his chest.

It was Tantei-kun, sleeping peacefully on top of him, his head tucked under Kaito's chin.

Kaito's jaw dropped open in a silent scream.

0-0-0-0-0 (Good place to end chapter one? Not half way but still a good stopping point)

Shinichi woke slowly. He didn't remember falling asleep, he must have passed out from exhaustion again. But he felt more rested and refreshed than he had in a long time. He also realized he hadn't had a single nightmare. That was strange. The last time he had slept this well and hadn't had a nightmare had been the night KID stayed over…

The thought woke him more, and, with his mind no longer fogged with sleep, the next thing he noticed was how warm he felt. The mattress under him seemed to be the source of the warmth, and was also more firm than he remembered his mattress being, though it wasn't uncomfortable, actually far from it. Except… was the mattress… breathing?

"Finally awake are we?"

Mattresses don't talk.

Shinichi's eyes shot open, wide awake. His head turned to look up at the source of the voice and he found indigo eyes gazing back at him. Another look revealed that his "mattress" he had been resting so comfortably on had actually been a chest.

"Um… where am I and who are you, strange person?"

The owner of the indigo eyes snorted, "Really, Tantei-kun? Was that supposed to be believable?"

Shinichi felt his face heat in embarrassment, "Give me a break, I'm not at my best when I first wake up! And I have no idea what you're talking about."

The other man cocked an eyebrow at him in a manner that said he wasn't fooling anyone. "How long have you known my identity?"

He dropped the act and cleared his throat before answering, "I don't know, maybe 8 months?"

The other man sighed, looking fond, "Why am I even surprised? Well, allow me to introduce myself properly. Kuroba Kaito, magician extraordinaire, though you already knew that. Forgive me, usually I would offer you a rose but I'm afraid you caught me unprepared."

Shinichi blinked, unsure what to say.

"So if you've known for that long, why didn't you ever say anything?" Kuroba asked him.

Shinichi didn't answer, not sure how to reply. Because he was afraid it might negatively change their relationship? Because he was afraid the other man would see it as a sign of broken trust and be angry with him? Because he was afraid of scaring Kuroba off and driving him into hiding? Because after he had found out Kuroba's identity, he had realized instead of feeling accomplished, he felt nothing but regret? Because he realized instead of figuring out his identity, a part of him wanted Kuroba to trust him with the information himself?

Kuroba spoke up again when Shinichi didn't answer, "You know, I've known that you no longer wanted to turn me over to the police for a while now."

Shinichi pulled himself from his thoughts and looked back up, meeting Kuroba's eyes again. He waited for the other man to continue.

"It wasn't a matter of trust. I no longer thought that if I revealed myself to you, you would ruin me. Instead I found myself keeping my secret for another reason," Kuroba told him. Shinichi cocked his head to the side, silently asking for an explanation. "I kept my secret to give you the choice to pretend, if you wanted. To pretend like the reason you weren't turning me in was because you had no way of doing so. I didn't want you to have to compromise your morals."

Shinichi was the one to snort this time, "Idiot thief. As if I would ever pretend. I would much rather face the truth. And my morals might be a little more gray than they once were. My time as Conan stopped me from seeing everything in black and white."

Kuroba laughed, "Spoken like a true Meitantei. I think I'll keep you~."

Shinichi's face grew hot at the thief's teasing comment. His blush deepened further when he noticed that he was still lying on Kuroba's chest. To make things worse, Kuroba's arms were wrapped around his waist, his thumbs rubbing in little circles on his back. Why hadn't he noticed that sooner? He really was a mess without his coffee.

"Yeah uh, I-I should go. Sorry for intruding and… everything else," he managed to stammer out. He went to climb out of the bed and away from the warm body he was currently laying on, and for a moment the arms around his waist tightened as if to hold him there, then they let him go so quick he wondered if he had imagined it.

He scrambled out of bed and looked around to see if he had brought anything with him, hopefully his wallet and keys at minimum. He spied them along with his phone sitting on Kuroba's nightstand. He grabbed them and checked his wallet and found a used train ticket inside. The ticket was for the last running train at midnight. Well that explained how he had gotten here last night. He shoved his belongings in his pockets.

"What's the rush?" Kuroba asked drawing Shinichi's attention back to him. The other man gave him a warm smile, "Before you leave, have breakfast with me."

The smile was so bright that, for some reason, Shinichi found he couldn't say no.

0-0-0-0-0

He entered his library after getting a coffee refill and saw that the room was no longer empty. A woman stood at his desk, flipping idly through his stack of papers. He tensed a little before relaxing again. If she had wanted him dead, he already would be and there wouldn't be a thing he could do to stop her.

"Vermouth," he said in greeting.

"Cool guy," she greeted back. She gestured at his desk, "I see you haven't been idle since your return. This is an impressive amount of information you have on us. I wonder how you were able to acquire some of it? Perhaps a new ally?"

"Why are you here?" He asked instead of answering.

"Just checking on you. You are doing well for yourself; you have surrounded yourself with strong people in your goal to take us down. With everyone's combined efforts, you just might be able to catch us. Well, most of us at least," She replied.

Shinichi was silent for a moment before he answered back, "You're talking about the leader."

"Precisely so. At the rate you're working, it won't be long before you have an exhaustive list of everyone involved in the organization, and an extensive amount of incriminating evidence, but you have nothing on the leader. At this rate, he's going to slip through your grasp," Vermouth said.

"Why are you even telling me this? Aren't you a part of them?" Shinichi asked.

She looked away, and for a moment Shinichi thought there was something vulnerable in the slight drop of her shoulders, but when she answered her voice was strong and matter of fact, "It's simple really. I want out. But one doesn't get to leave the organization. If I want to walk away, the only way I'll be allowed to do so is if they are gone."

"You know that when I take them down, that includes you as well. I know you may have helped me in the past, and you could have at any time told the organization that Kudo Shinichi wasn't dead and was actually Edogawa Conan, but I still can't look the other way after all of the crimes you committed. That would not be justice," Shinichi warned.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Cool Guy. But I'm afraid I don't intend to be caught, not even by you," she answered confidently, then her tone shifted, "You can't make a move against the organization until you have a way to get the leader as well. Otherwise this will all be for nothing."

"I don't suppose you have a suggestion? Anything that might help me?" He asked.

Vermouth was silent in thought before she answered, " Anokata is the most cautious of us all. Even someone like me, the so-called favorite, doesn't know where he is. You'll need a way to draw him out, something he can't resist."

Shinichi raised a brow, "Such as?"

"He is obsessed with immortality and is investigating multiple avenues to get what he wants. I think he would find someone like you very interesting," she replied.

"You mean because I survived the poison that had a 100% death rate until I took it? No, that's not all of it. I didn't just survive, I was de-aged," Shinichi grimly answered.

"Bingo!" she said with false cheer, "I know if anyone can come up with a plan, it's you Cool Guy. Don't lose site of the goal. Take down Anokata, and the rest will fall as well."

With that last word of advice, she left the library on silent steps, as if she had never been there at all.

0-0-0-0-0

Kaito fell into his bed with a groan of appreciation. Was his mattress always this comfortable? He should write a thank you letter to the store his mom had purchased it from.

Okay, maybe he was more tired than he thought if he was considering writing love letters about his mattress.

Well, at least he would get a break soon. His heist was just a few days away, and once it was finished, he could put all his focus on espionage for Tantei-kun, at least for a little while. It was okay for KID to have an occasional gap between heists, so long as he wasn't gone too long. But really, after this heist he probably wouldn't have to worry about another one before the take down of the organization. Not at the rate Tantei-kun was working.

He grinned to himself at the thought of the detective. He had somewhat mixed feelings on the thought of the organization finally being taken down. Of course he would be happy when they were gone. They were evil, and they had killed many and hurt many more. They were a danger to others, including his own Tantei-kun. But he would miss working together with the detective. He wondered once the organization was behind bars if Tantei-kun might be willing to help him find Pandora?

Well, it was an interesting idea at least.

And one he would put more thought into some other time. For now he was exhausted. He allowed his eyes to close and he was instantly asleep.

Only for them to snap back open again a short time later.

His eyes settled on what had woken him, then his gaze softened. "Again, Shinichi?" His words were exasperated but his smile was fond.

The detective stood in front of his bed, one hand resting on Kaito's arm as if asking for permission. His eyes were open, but his expression was blank like a doll's. He was sleepwalking again.

Kaito chuckled quietly, then lifted the covers in invitation. "Well, come on I guess."

Shinichi didn't need to be told twice. He climbed onto the bed and Kaito reached for him, pulling him closer. Shinichi ended up with his head settled under Kaito's chin, and his eyes closed again, though Kaito couldn't see it. He could, however, feel Shinichi relax as he fell deeper into sleep.

Kaito felt himself grin. "He's going to be so embarrassed in the morning," he said to himself quietly, careful not to wake the sleeping detective.

He pulled Shinichi a little closer before allowing his own eyes to drift shut.

0-0-0-0-0

Shinichi glowered at his oatmeal. His breakfast hadn't actually done anything to deserve such a look, but he needed a target for his anger and between the oatmeal and his host, he chose the oatmeal. His host, after all, had been nothing but kind to him after he had broken into his house again to sleep in his bed.

"Quit pouting and eat your breakfast, Shinichi," Kuroba told him.

"I'm not pouting," was Shinichi's automatic reply, then he replayed what the other had just said, "Wait, did you just call me Shinichi?"

The other man paused for maybe a nanosecond, which considering the person in question was very telling. It was like he hadn't even realized he had done it until Shinichi pointed it out to him.

"I did. It seems rather silly that we've been sleeping together but are still calling each other by our surnames, don't you think, Shin~i~chi?" He said with a grin. Truly Kuroba had no shame.

Shinichi felt his face heat up, and he tried to cover it by crossing his arms over his chest and fixing the magician with a glare, "Don't refer to it like that, you're making an embarrassing situation worse."

Kuroba cocked his head to the side in question, "Which part is embarrassing?"

Was this guy serious? No, he was obviously mocking him. Well, Shinichi wasn't in the mood to play along. "Never mind."

The grin was back again, "You don't mean the part where you woke up cuddling with me, do you? Because that's a rather fond memory for me. Nothing to be embarrassed about~."

"Kuroba-" Shinichi warned.

"Kaito," the other corrected, "Repeat after me, Kai-to."

Shinichi rolled his eyes, "Kaito. There, happy?"

Kaito smiled at him, actually looking happy. For some reason it made Shinichi's heart speed up for a moment. "In any case, I should get going. I have a lot to do if I want to make it to your heist this Saturday."

Kaito brightened, sitting up a little straighter in interest, "So you figured out my heist note? As expected of the great detective. But you should really finish your breakfast first, you're already too thin. You won't be strong enough to thwart evil organizations or chase after moonlit thieves if you keep skipping meals."

Shinichi thought about leaving anyway. Kaito didn't know what he was talking about, Shinichi skipped meals all the time and was fine. And yet… "I guess it would be rude of me to waste food after you went through the trouble." He sat back down and picked up his spoon. His staying had nothing to do with the fact that it would make Kuroba, or rather Kaito, happy.

Kaito gave him a knowing smile.

0-0-0-0-0

Shinichi stood on the roof of the museum, and watched the white glider get smaller as its pilot flew away. His fists were clenched at his sides, trembling slightly.

Nakamori-keibu came up behind him and rested a hand on his shoulder in camaraderie, "Don't sweat it, Kudo-kun. We'll get that no-good thief next time."

Shinichi just nodded, and didn't correct the inspector on the true reason for his current feelings.

The inspector continued, trying to cheer the younger detective up, "You know, when you first showed up tonight with a personal invitation to the heist from KID, I was ready to kick you out on the spot. I didn't need another amateur wannabe detective sticking his nose where it didn't belong. But as much as I hate to admit it, if I tried to interfere with a personal invite from that no-good thief, it wouldn't have gone well for me and my men. But I have to admit, you surprised me, Kudo-kun. You got closer to KID then anyone has since your little cousin, the KID Killer himself. You even prevented KID from stealing the jewel! You're invited back anytime."

Shinichi mentally steeled himself, then forced himself to relax. He unclenched his fists and stuck his hands in his pockets to look casual and gave the inspector a rueful grin, "You're right, Inspector. I guess I'm just disappointed because I really wanted to catch Kaitou KID. But I'll get him next time!"

Nakamori-keibu slapped him on the back good naturedly, "That's the spirit! How about you get home, it's getting pretty late. You can stop by the station tomorrow to fill out your report."

"Thank you, Inspector," he said, then seemed to remember something, "Oh and do you think you could…"

"You want your name kept out of the media, right? That's the reason you were wearing that face mask and hat when you first arrived? Don't worry about it. We won't be able to keep your name out of the official police report, especially since you were the one that got the jewel back from KID, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. Reporters don't often check the police records anymore for standard heists," Nakamori told him.

Shinichi gave a grateful nod and waved a final goodbye before pulling his black face mask back over his nose. He dug the black ball cap out of his coat pocket where he had stored it to protect it from the high winds on the roof and put it on as well, pulling the brim low over his eyes. As he made his way down the many flights of stairs back to the ground floor of the museum, his mind raced.

There had been a sniper at the heist tonight. He had noticed the glint of a scope just in time and called out a warning to the thief, and KID had been able to escape unscathed. At least he was pretty sure he made it out unscathed. Shinichi played those moments over and over again in his head. The glint of the scope, the flutter of KID's cape, the sound of the bullet ricocheting off the ground where KID had been standing a half second ago, before burying itself in the softer wall of the structure housing the roof access door. He hadn't seen so much as a speck of red on KID's pristine white suit.

Yes, he was sure. Kaito hadn't been injured. Hadn't even been grazed. He knew logically that his friend was fine.

It did nothing for the tight feeling in his chest.

His continued anxiety was illogical and therefore did nothing to improve his mood, but he knew in the back of his mind that humans weren't always logical, and as a member of the human race, even he wasn't immune to such moments.

As he walked to the train station, he was interrupted from his thoughts by the feeling of being watched. He whipped around to look behind him, and he spotted his watcher. It was a dove. More specifically, it was one of KID's doves.

The sight of the snow white bird made him finally relax, and he allowed himself a small smile behind his mask. If KID was watching him, he must truly be okay. He raised his hand in invitation and the dove glided down to perch on his index finger. He brought his free hand up to gently pet it and the dove cooed happily.

There was a very small camera on the dove's foot, and Shinichi knew from the brand that it was recording both audio and video. He pulled the face mask down below his chin and brought the camera close, mindful of potential eavesdroppers despite the late hour and lack of people around. "I promise you, we will take them down soon. And if the ones targeting you aren't a part of them, then I will just have to capture them as well. So get some rest, dumb thief. You're going to need it because I have more work for you tomorrow."

Once he finished speaking, KID must have called his dove back to him because it took off, flying in the general direction of Ekoda. Shinichi watched it go for a while, then turned back to continue heading to the train station.

Uhh, sleep.

He was so tired. He still couldn't manage to sleep more than an hour or two at most before he was woken by his nightmares. Well, unless he was sharing a bed with Kaito. Maybe he could call the thief and ask if he could come over? Just for a nap at least?

He shook the thought from his head. That would be way too embarrassing. Still, he wasn't sure how he was going to stop himself from sleepwalking over to Kaito's house the next time he collapsed from exhaustion. He couldn't exactly do anything to restrain himself. That might have been an option if Haibara and the professor still were next door and could release him in the morning. He'd tried a simple barricade, but the problem was that anything a person could do while awake, they could do while sleepwalking, meaning he just took the barricade down while asleep, or he would exit out a window instead. He tried hiding his wallet from himself so that he wouldn't be able to buy the train ticket to Ekoda, but that hadn't worked either.

Haibara was sure that the vivid dreams would stop soon, he just had to be patient. In the meantime, the answer was probably more coffee. With his new plan in mind, Shinichi finally made his way onto the train platform, and saw that his train hadn't arrived yet. He gave a little yawn and sat down on a nearby bench to wait. It was pretty late, only the last trains of the night were running. The platform was mostly deserted with the few people around being either overworked businessmen that had finally gotten away from their semi-mandatory office drinking parties, or a couple groups of younger people closer to his age that were heading home after a night of karaoke with their friends. None of them paid him any mind or tried to join him on the bench while waiting for the train, which was good. It still wasn't safe for the public to know of Kudo Shinichi's return yet.

Some more tension left him and as he waited for his train, he didn't notice his eyes slip closed in exhaustion.

0-0-0-0-0

Some hours later, Kaito opened his eyes and wasn't surprised to see Shinichi standing at the end of his bed. He had even been expecting it somewhat. He knew that the detective still wasn't able to get much sleep lately, and usually he couldn't go more than 2-3 days before he finally passed out from exhaustion, then once that happened he would sleepwalk over to Kaito's house. And if he was counting his days correctly, it had been 3 days since the detective had last visited him. So yeah, he wasn't surprised Shinichi was here now.

What did surprise him was what the detective was currently doing. In the past, he either woke up to Tantei-kun either in the process of climbing into his bed or already in bed. But not this time. Kaito sat up and as his eyes adjusted to the dark, he realized that Shinichi was crouched at the foot of his bed with his back to Kaito. He looked ready to defend against an attack, and he had his watch raised and dart ready.

He was guarding Kaito.

The realization brought with it a feeling of warmth, causing him to smile softly at the detective's back. "Well I guess that settles it," he whispered quietly to himself, "Before I was protecting you, now you are protecting me."

If Shinichi heard him, he didn't react, and continued to stare off into the dark, guarding Kaito from some unseen threat. Kaito carefully climbed out of bed and padded softly to the detective. He wrapped his arms around Shinichi's shoulders, not caring at the moment about the recommendations to not touch someone while they were sleepwalking.

"Come to bed, Tantei-kun," Kaito murmured to the smaller man softly.

Shinichi allowed himself to be steered to the bed and climbed under the covers with little coaxing on Kaito's part. On impulse, Kaito kissed him on the forehead before tucking his head under Kaito's chin. "Sleep well, Shinichi."

0-0-0-0-0

Another three nights later, and Kaito was not at all surprised to wake up to Shinichi once again crawling into his bed. He simply opened up his arms in a silent invitation for the detective to cuddle closer. What did surprise him was when Shinichi didn't immediately lay down and go to sleep… or deeper asleep since he was technically already asleep? Instead, he was laying on his stomach, propped up on his elbows, looking at Kaito. His eyes were still expressionless, but somehow he still looked expectant.

Kaito furrowed his brow in confusion. Shinichi continued to stare. Finally, Kaito asked, "What?"

Shinichi blinked at him, and even without showing any expression, Kaito could tell he was being called an idiot. The detective brought up one of his hands and pointed to his own forehead.

Kaito looked from Shinichi's pointed finger, to his forehead, to the expectant look on his face. Then he realized: Shinichi wanted a forehead kiss.

His poker face shattering was nearly audible.

Shinichi continued to wait while Kaito had a small crisis wondering how it was possible for Shinichi to be so cute. Finally, once Kaito had calmed down enough, he placed a kiss on Shinichi's forehead. Seemingly satisfied, Shinichi laid down with his head pillowed on Kaito's shoulder, and went to sleep. Kaito wrapped his arms around him with barely a thought, but it would be a long time before he was able to fall back asleep himself. He was thankful that the one and only time someone had so thoroughly ruined his pokerface, nobody had witnessed it.

"Only you can do this to me, Tantei-kun. Only you."

0-0-0-0-0

"Oi, Kudo. Do ya have that info from… wait I found it," Hattori said absentmindedly while shuffling some papers.

Shinichi craned his neck around to peer at what Hattori was reading, "Ah, that. The rest of the report is under that stack of papers there."

Hattori grunted in thanks.

Shinichi raised his mug and frowned when he found it empty. He sighed and made to stand, "I'm going to get a refill. Want anything from the kitchen?"

Hattori paused and looked at his watch, then grimaced, "Actually I think it's about time I headed to bed. And you probably should too." He finished with a pointed look.

Shinichi gave a noncommittal shrug, "Maybe in a little bit. I feel like I'm making a lot of progress. You can go ahead though. Your guest room is already prepared."

Hattori frowned at him, "Kudo, I know the both of us tend to get wrapped up in our cases, but even I gotta admit it's time for a break. We've been at it all day."

"Yes, but you go back to Osaka tomorrow, and this is probably the last time we can get together before we move into the final phase of the plan," Shinichi pointed out.

"You and I both know we already got everything figured out for my part of the plan. You can consider the Osaka branch of the Black Org finished. Once ya give me the signal, I'll start my part of the take down," Hattori argued before asking with a hint of concern, "So what's this really about?"

"It's not about anything, I'm just obsessing over a case, like I always do," Shinichi snapped.

Hattori stared at him for a moment, clearly thinking, before he said, "Ya still aren't sleeping."

Shinichi sighed but didn't respond.

"I thought you were supposed to adjust to the cure by now?" Hattori asked.

Shinichi shrugged, "Haibara thought it would take a couple months, but said it might take longer. She's confident the problem will go away eventually, she just can't give me an answer for how long it will take."

Hattori studied him for a moment longer before suggesting, "Well, the problem is your vivid nightmares, yeah? So how about I sleep in your room and if ya have a nightmare, I'll just wake ya?"

Shinichi thought it over. Well, it had worked with Kaito, right? He had lost track of how many times he had woken up in Kaito's bed, but he did have to admit he always slept great. And, as embarrassing as it was, he still hadn't found a solution to get him to stop sleepwalking to the magician's house. He could give Hattori's idea a shot. "Alright, but we'll sleep in your guest room and you can take the bed, I'll take the floor. I'm not about to let a guest sleep on the floor."

Hattori raised a questioning brow, "Or neither of us have to sleep on the floor if we share a bed. It's not like we haven't done it before when ya where brat sized."

Shinichi thought of all the times he had woken up cuddling with Kaito. Before his time as Conan, he hadn't really been the cuddly type, but he supposed that had changed. He didn't want to risk the embarrassment of waking up cuddling with Hattori. He could practically hear Hattori's laughter now. "Better not risk it. My fight or flight reflexes might kick in if I have a nightmare and you so much as bump me, and I don't want to risk hurting you. Besides, you hog all of the blankets."

Hattori huffed, "I do not. And I'm not worried about ya hurting me."

"This is the compromise I'm offering, or I'll just chug another pot of coffee and continue working like I originally planned," Shinichi stubbornly replied.

Hattori rolled his eyes, "Fine. Go grab ya pillow and blanket, I'll meet ya in my room after I change and brush my teeth."

Shinichi met Hattori in his guest room after both of them finished their nightly routine. Shinichi had his pillow tucked under one arm and a blanket in his other hand. As soon as he entered the room, Hattori took the pillow from him and tossed it on the bed next to his own.

"I thought we had a compromise," Shinichi growled.

"I try to make it a habit not to make compromises with people that are bein' absolute morons," Hattori growled back.

"I'm not being a moron!" Shinichi shouted at him.

"You are!" Hattori roared back, "What's the real reason ya don't want to share a bed with me, Kudo?!"

"What are you talking about!? I told you the real reason! I don't want to accidentally hurt you!" Shinichi yelled, his face beginning to color in anger.

Shinichi could have a bit of a temper at times. He always tried to be cool and level-headed, but if the right thing set him off, he could get angry. And he was no stranger to yelling either. Hanging out with Sonoko had given him years of practice when the two would get into arguments together which often devolved into shouting matches until Ran eventually intervened. But though shouting arguments with Sonoko had given him the practice, Hattori was clearly a master.

Hattori's shouting was at an impressive volume with an intimidating timbre. This much was true. But it wasn't the volume and timbre that so thoroughly outclassed Shinichi. It was the way his words resounded and filled the room, almost like something physical. Really, Shinichi never stood a chance.

"YOU'RE LYING AND WE BOTH KNOW IT. SO YA CAN EITHER TELL ME THE REAL REASON YA DON' WANT TO SHARE A BED WITH ME, OR YA CAN QUIT ARGUIN' AND GET IN THE DAMN BED."

Shinichi glared for a few second longer before he finally let out a loud exhale and all but stomped to the bed, unaware that he was acting like Conan. He had never been the best actor when he was shrunk, most of his "acting" was carried by other people seeing what they expected to see, but he did put in some effort, and 2 years of habits born from his acting weren't going to disappear after only a couple of months. He climbed into the bed and turned his back to Hattori, laying on top of the bed's covers and using his own blanket instead.

Hattori loudly muttered to himself, complaining about "brat-sized mini detectives growing into adult-sized brats" and turned off the light before climbing into the bed next to Shinichi. He grumbled to himself a little longer before falling silent and both men stewed in their anger at the other, giving each other the silent treatment. But eventually their anger faded as their exhaustion returned with a vengeance, and they both fell asleep.

0-0-0-0-0

Shinichi crouched in front of the dead body, looking for clues. The body was of a young woman and she was on her stomach, her long hair obscuring her face. He carefully pulled back a curtain of hair, and saw to his horror that it was Ran. Suddenly her previously lifeless eyes snapped to his, her gaze accusing.

"No, Ran…"

He fell back and his back hit something behind him. He twisted around and looked behind him and saw that he was resting against the metal bars of a small animal enclosure. He looked out past the bars and saw a giant, larger-than-life Haibara wearing her lab coat with a clipboard in hand. She scribbled down notes of her observations. Sometimes her face was superimposed by that of the older Shiho. He realized it was him she was observing, a lab rat in a cage. He wondered if it was her that was large or him that was small.

He noticed a bomb collar around her neck and shackles around her wrists. She was just as much a prisoner as he. They must have found her and brought her back. Another one he had failed to protect.

He turned his back to Haibara/Shiho and began to run. He was running down an endless hallway that seemed to stretch on to infinity. He wasn't sure where he was going, only that he needed to keep moving. Eventually he left the hallway behind, but he wasn't sure where he was now. Everything around him was dark, but he could see light up ahead. As he got closer, he could see someone on the ground in the direct center of the circle of light. He had seen enough crime scenes to know he was looking at a body before he could even make out the details.

Don't look.

He instinctively knew it would be bad. But his feet continued to carry him forward. Once he was close enough, he recognized the body, Kaito's body. He blinked, and now it was KID. Another blink and Kaito's body returned.

He collapsed to his knees.

"It's your fault you know. You failed to protect him. To protect all of them," a voice said in his ear.

Kaito's body was gone and Gin stood before him. Shinichi was still on his knees. He tried to run, to move, to do something, but his body suddenly felt as heavy as lead. He could do nothing to catch himself as his body pitched the rest of the way to the ground. He felt a hand grab a fist full of his hair and lift his face off the ground, and it was exactly like that night 2 years ago at Tropical Land. And he knew what happened next.

0-0-0-0-0

Shinichi woke to the sound of someone yelping in pain. His eyes snapped open and he tried to slow his panicked breathing. Awareness came back slowly, but after a moment he recognized the bedding in front of him, the room he was in, and finally the groans of pain behind him. Once his heart had settled to a rate slow enough to be counted, he turned to look behind him.

Hattori was clutching his nose, his face screwed up in pain and irritation. "Yer lucky, I don' think it's broken," he groaned.

"Um… Sorry?" Shinichi offered.

Hattori waved it away, "It's my fault too. Ya warned me not to touch ya. I tried shakin' yer shoulder and ya punched me. Guess I'm lucky it was a punch and not a kick, otherwise ya might have taken my whole head off."

Shinichi winced and sat up. He felt some of the tension leave him when he realized he had woken facing away from his friend, the same position he had fallen asleep in last night. So he hadn't cuddled with Hattori in his sleep last night.

He looked at the clock and blinked in surprise, "Hey, it's 6 a.m., looks like I was able to get some sleep at least."

Hattori looked at him in disbelief, "Ya say that as if ya aren't going to try to go back to sleep."

Shinichi involuntarily shivered, "Yeah, I think I slept enough. I'm awake now, might as well get up."

Hattori frowned at him, "Kudo, do ya remember what time it was when we finally made it to bed last night? No way you got enough sleep."

Shinichi shrugged, "More than I usually get. Stop worrying, Haibara is confident my sleeping troubles will resolve on their own soon."

Hattori yawned loudly, "I sure hope so. Well alright, I guess I might as well get up as well. We can go over the plan some more before I gotta leave to catch my train."

"Great, I'll start the coffee," Shinichi offered.

0-0-0-0-0

Shinichi sat in the library by himself working on the Black Org take down plan, Hattori gone hours ago. A yawn escaped, probably his 5th one. A glance out the windows showed him the sun had long set. It must be late.

His eyes burned with how tired he felt. He knew his current sleep schedule wasn't sustainable. It wasn't healthy to stay awake for multiple days before he finally collapsed from exhaustion. At least once he finally did collapse, he always slept great.

His face heated when he thought of the reason for that.

Why did he always sleep so great when he shared a bed with Kaito? He always felt so refreshed afterwards, and he never had a single nightmare. Something that was not true when he shared a bed with Hattori, evidently.

True he was at least able to sleep. That was more than he could do when he was alone. But his dreams had been plagued by his vivid nightmares. And he didn't have that same refreshed feeling when he woke up. Sharing a bed with Hattori had been better, but still not the same as sharing a bed with Kaito. He just wasn't sure what the difference was.

'Are you sure you don't know?' A traitorous part of his mind whispered.

"No, I don't know, and I'm sure I'm too busy to think about such things right now," he said to himself with a grumble.

He yawned again, ignoring that he was now apparently talking to himself. He had been able to get at least a few hours of sleep last night, so theoretically he could probably pull another all-nighter. But this current sleep schedule was beginning to take its toll. Maybe he should try lying down? A couple hours of nightmare-filled sleep was still better than no sleep, right?

Mind made up, he headed up the stairs. He ignored the way his palms started to sweat, and tried not to think about the dreams that were waiting for him. He brushed his teeth and went to change into his pajamas, then paused when he opened his dresser. Sitting there on top were the Kaitou KID pjs the thief had given him. He studied them for a moment before putting them on. Maybe they could bring him some of the thief's luck or something? At least nobody was around to see him wearing them.

He flicked off the light and climbed into bed. A few moments ago he had felt ready to collapse with how tired he was, but now that he was in bed, his heart was racing, thinking about the dreams he might have. "They aren't real. Just go to sleep," he said to himself in frustration. He shouldn't let his dreams affect him this much, but that was easier said than done.

After what felt like hours, he felt his heart finally begin to slow and his eyes started to feel heavy again. But before they could drift shut, they suddenly snapped awake. Someone was climbing in through his window.

"Kaito? What are you doing?"

The magician shut the window behind him before turning around and yawning loudly. He pulled his black recon shirt over his head and Shinichi hurriedly looked away while his face grew warm. He felt the mattress dip and his eyes snapped back to Kaito again, relieved to see he was now dressed in pajamas.

"Move over, Meitantei," Kaito instructed while crawling onto the bed, "It's been a long day and I'm tired."

"That doesn't explain why you're here instead of at your house," Shinichi said.

Kaito let out another yawn, his eyes staying closed a little longer after each yawn. When he opened them again, he had a strange look on his face. "My doves saw you sleeping with the Osakan."

Shinichi blinked. Was it his imagination or did Kaito sound jealous? Shinichi wasn't really sure how to respond, so he didn't.

"But you still didn't sleep very well, right? Not like when you sleep with me." The jealous undertones were gone and now he sounded self-satisfied. "You must be tired. And I know I'm tired. How about we skip the part where you sleepwalk to my house and go straight to the bed sharing part?"

Shinichi's blush resurfaced. He opened his mouth, though he wasn't sure how to reply. Before he could answer, Kaito scooped him into his arms and all but collapsed on top of him. The magician pulled him close, cuddling him like Shinichi was his personal teddy bear. If Shinichi's face had been warm before, it was on fire now.

"Kaito! Just what do you think you're doing?" He stammered. Instead of answering, the magician let out a loud yawn and closed his eyes, but Shinichi wasn't ready to give up yet. He jostled Kaito's shoulder and tried again, "Don't go to sleep, we aren't done here!"

Kaito's eyes reluctantly opened, and he momentarily looked confused before a look of understanding crossed his face. "Ah, sorry. I almost forgot."

Then he leaned down and kissed Shinichi's forehead.

The rest of Shinichi's argument died on his lips as his brain force quit. Kaito, clearly satisfied, pulled Shinichi back against him, who went without a fuss, his brain still not back online yet. In moments, Kaito's breathing had evened out as he fell asleep.

Shinichi, on the other hand, felt so awake that he wasn't sure he would ever sleep again. But Kaito was warm and the arms around him held him close, making him feel safe. With his face buried in Kaito's chest, the magician's smell surrounded him, his scent familiar and comforting. The rhythmic sounds of his breathing pulled the remaining tension from his body. Much sooner than he expected, Shinichi felt himself relaxing, and his eyelids began to feel heavy.

Instead of continuing to fight it, Shinichi snuggled a little closer to the other man and closed his eyes. He was asleep within seconds.

0-0-0-0-0

The next morning, neither Shinichi nor Kaito mentioned the forehead kiss. He wasn't even sure if the magician remembered it, considering how exhausted he had been. He had given the detective a teasing grin when he noticed the KID pajamas Shinichi was wearing, but that was the extent of it. Shinichi knew he had gotten off lucky.

He decided to act like nothing out of the ordinary had happened, and he and Kaito both made their way into the bathroom. Shinichi dug around in the back of the cabinet for the toothbrush Kaito had claimed and handed it to him before grabbing his own. He was glad he hadn't thrown it out after Kaito had used it that first time. Kaito seemed oddly pleased that Shinichi had kept it, and he had to look away from the delighted smile the magician was giving him. No weird feelings before coffee.

Once finished in the bathroom, they both changed, Kaito borrowing some of Shinichi's clothes, and made their way downstairs. Shinichi made a beeline to the coffee maker while Kaito made them a quick breakfast of eggs and toast. Once they had finished breakfast and Shinichi was on his 2nd cup of coffee, they both began pouring over the notes Kaito had collected from his latest intel gathering. It was Sunday, meaning Kaito didn't have to attend class.

It was several hours later when Kaito finally made them take a break for lunch, but Shinichi couldn't complain. He was surprised at how fast the morning had passed and looked in wonder at the amount of progress they had made. He knew part of it could be attributed to working after a full night's sleep, but a large part of it was just working with Kaito. The magician really was just easy to work with, his intellect equal to Shinichi's, but thinking in ways that complimented his own thought process. Soon, very soon, they would be ready to spring the trap and take down the Black Org once and for all, except for one thing. They still had nothing on the leader.

"Shinichi," Kaito said interrupting his thoughts, "I've given it some thought, and I've decided I'm going to start sleeping over here."

"Why?"

Kaito raised an eyebrow at him, as if the answer should be obvious. "Because you're still not sleeping. Your nightmares are continuing longer than I think you or the little scientist were expecting, and you can't keep this up forever. You need sleep so that you're in top form for the final take down. And you're obviously able to sleep just fine with me."

Shinichi blushed and gave a small frown, but otherwise didn't refute his statement. He had been thinking along the same lines the other day, after all.

"Also, it's not safe for you to continue sleepwalking to my house. Really, I should have started sleeping here a long time ago; we've been lucky that nobody has recognized you yet, considering you're still supposed to be lying low," Kaito continued.

"That's true," Shinichi conceded. He forced down his embarrassment and continued, "I guess if you are willing and able, I would greatly appreciate it."

Kaito gave him a smile, as if he knew how hard that was for Shinichi to say and was praising him for it. "Then it's settled. I'll just grab a few things I need from my home, but otherwise I'll continue to return here at night."

"What about your civilian life?" Shinichi asked.

Kaito gave a shrug, clearly unconcerned, "I'll give my friends some excuse as to why I won't be home for a while, and I'll just need to get up a little earlier to make it to class."

"If you're sure," Shinichi answered.

With that discussion out of the way, Kaito returned home to grab what he needed while Shinichi got back to work on the plan to take down the Black Org.

0-0-0-0-0

Thus a new routine was established. Kaito would juggle attending class and spying on the Black Organization, and Shinichi would make use of the information Kaito brought him and coordinate with the FBI and everyone else involved in the take down. At night, they would go to bed together. At first Shinichi had tried just sharing a bed without any cuddling, but, to his embarrassment, no matter how they had positioned themselves the night before, they always woke up the next morning in a tangle of limbs, spooning, or with Shinichi's head pillowed on Kaito's chest. After a few failed attempts, Kaito had taken to pulling Shinichi into his arms, making him once again feel like Kaito's teddy bear. Shinichi would let out a few half-hearted grumbles, more on principle than any real protests, before going to sleep. And sometimes, in the last moments before Shinichi fell asleep, he thought he felt Kaito place a gentle kiss on his forehead.

Shinichi couldn't help but think things were going well. He was sleeping better than he ever might have in his life (a fact he didn't want to dwell on right now) and they were drawing closer and closer to the final take down. Shinichi even had a couple of ideas on how he might draw out the leader, something that had been weighing heavily on his mind since his meeting with Vermouth. Of course, with his bad luck, it was just when he was thinking that things were going well that something would try to go wrong.

He was wearing his ball cap and mask combo, going on a grocery run. Kaito had offered numerous times to get the groceries, but Shinichi had refused. Kaito was doing enough already without adding more onto his plate, and Shinichi was tired of staying cooped up in the Kudo Manor. He eyed his grocery list in thought. Kaito wasn't expecting to get back until after dinner tonight and had said he would grab himself some take out, meaning Shinichi was free to get himself some fish if he wanted. Well, what Kaito didn't know wouldn't hurt him, but he decided to also grab the magician some chocolate as a silent apology.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard someone scream.

For a moment, he was conflicted. He really shouldn't get involved, he might risk being seen. He banished the thought as quickly as it came. He could never walk away from a crime if it meant potentially letting the culprit walk free. With a final curse, he ran in the direction of the scream.

The scream had come from a nearby park. A woman was lying on the ground, and a quick check for a pulse revealed she was dead. "Nobody move, this is now a crime scene. Someone call the police," Shinichi instructed while examining the body and surroundings.

He'd already done a thorough search when the police finally showed up. Shinichi's bad luck continued to follow him when he looked up and saw that he didn't recognize either of the officers. He had been hoping for a familiar face.

He approached the officers, doing his best to make himself look as nonthreatening as possible, which wasn't easy with his suspicious looking hat and face mask ensemble. "My name is Kudo Shinichi. I happened to be nearby when I heard someone screaming, so I came to investigate. The victim's name is Sachimo Motomi. She was out with a group of her friends when she was murdered. I believe she was poisoned, though I won't know for sure until the toxicology report comes back. I've narrowed the suspects down to two of her friends."

One of the officers gave him a scrutinizing look, "Do you have any identification, Kudo-kun? Last I heard, Kudo Shinichi was off somewhere working on some major case."

Shinichi pulled out his wallet and gave them his ID. The two officers studied it before the other asked, "This looks real enough, but we're going to need to you remove the hat and mask too."

He inwardly sighed, but did as he was asked. Once his identify was confirmed, he slipped the mask and hat back on and the two officers were much more willing to talk to him. He wrapped up the case as quickly as he could and promised to drop off a report at the station later, then continued on to the grocery store. At least the case had been rather simple and easy to wrap up. He even still had plenty of time to make it to the store and get himself some fish. Maybe his luck wasn't so bad after all?

0-0-0-0-0

Some hours later, Shinichi was back at home and the groceries were put away. He had just finished cleaning up the last evidence of his finny dinner, and Kaito wasn't due to be back from his spy work for another hour. He sat down on the couch feeling quite pleased with himself. He turned on the TV and switched it to the news, keeping it on in the background while he worked, in case anything interesting came on. Then he dug out his plans for capturing the leader of the Black Organization.

He quickly lost track of time. He was in the middle of reading a heavily coded file that Jodie-sensei had sent him when he became aware of eyes on him. His head whipped around to look over his shoulder, only to see Kaito leaning against the door frame, chocolate bar in hand.

"Is this for me?" Kaito asked with a cheeky grin, "You didn't have to bribe me, you're already my favorite, but I shall happily accept your gift anyway." He took a bite and gave an exaggerated moan of appreciation.

Shinichi rolled his eyes while trying not to feel too pleased that Kaito enjoyed his gift so much. He turned back to the email and responded, "You should go take a bath, or a shower at the very least. You're reminding me of the little soot spirits from Spirited Away. How did you get that dirty anyway?"

Kaito shrugged and took another bite of chocolate before answering, "Spying is messy work. Air ducts are usually disgusting, despite what Hollywood would like you to believe."

Shinichi nodded, looking a little distracted as he tried to continue to read the coded file while holding the conversation, "That's why KID doesn't actually use the air vents that often during his heists, right? Especially with that white suit. And during the heists if you did use them, I noticed that the vents were always unusually clean. I surmised you must clean them before the heist if you were planning to use them."

"Of course! KID can't do a show with a dirty suit. So usually I only use the vents for recon before my heists. Yet you never decided to share that observation with my task force," Kaito responded, his teasing grin returning.

Shinichi scowled but didn't turn away from his laptop screen, "I've already told you I stopped trying to capture you long ago. I don't know why you continue to bring it up."

"I just enjoy hearing you admit it! I'm going to go clean up. Be right back!" He said with a little wave.

When Kaito returned later, Shinichi had finished reading the coded email and was grinning triumphantly at his work. "I know that smirk, it's the look you always got on your face right before you revealed my disguised identity to the rest of my task force," he said with a shiver, "Now standing on this side of it, I have to say I much prefer that look when it's not aimed at me."

"Kaito, you're just in time! Come take a look," he paused while Kaito vaulted over the back of the couch to land gracefully next to him, not even bothering to yell at the thief for the treatment of his furniture, "I've just finished putting together the final plans for luring out and capturing the leader of the Black Org, and the rest of the organization with him."

"Really!?" Kaito asked while a wide grin spread across his face, "Shinichi, that's great! So what's the plan?"

"More like plans," Shinichi corrected while flipping through his notes, Kaito looking over his shoulder, "There's plan A, B, and C, and each one is further divided into multiple subgroups."

Kaito chuckled, looking mildly impressed, "I'm guessing your contingency plans have contingency plans?"

Shinichi gave a small shrug, "Just trying to be as prepared as possible. I'm going to give the signal for the next phase of action soon. Depending on how they respond, that will dictate which plan we go with."

Kaito nodded, "So what is the next phase of action?"

Before Shinichi could respond, his phone chimed with a new message. He opened it and his face drained of color. Kaito looked alarmed and leaned over so that he could see the message too.

The message was from an unknown number and simply read, " You're out of time, Cool Guy."

Under the message was a linked video from someone's social media page. The video was of Shinichi at the case he had solved earlier today. To his horror, he saw himself remove his hat and mask in full view of the camera, revealing his face. If there was any shred out doubt left, the audio could just make out the two officers confirming his identity. The camera shifted as the person shooting the video came into view, looking ecstatic. "I can't believe I get to witness a real case getting solved by the Kudo Shinichi! This is so exciting!"

Shinichi turned off the video, having seen enough.

The two men sat in silence for a moment before Kaito finally broke it, "That video sure had a lot of views."

Shinichi gave a grim nod, "Well, I guess that means we are going with plan D."

"There's a plan D? What's plan D?" Kaito asked.

"Plan D is in the event that the Black Organization finds out I'm still alive," Shinichi answered sounding much calmer than he actually felt. "If I had to guess, I would say I'm going to be kidnapped by the organization by the end of the week."

Kaito looked at him in open shock, not even attempting to put on his poker face. It didn't last long before it was replaced by a look of grim determination. He grabbed Shinichi by the wrist and stood, pulling Shinichi up as well. The detective exclaimed in confusion, but Kaito didn't answer, dragging Shinichi upstairs. In Shinichi's bedroom, Kaito released his grip on Shinichi's wrist and threw open the door to his closet. "Grab one of your suitcases, a small one. You're going to need to pack light," Kaito instructed.

"Kaito. I'm not running."

Kaito growled in frustration, "Yes, you are. You just said that you're going to be kidnapped by the Black Organization. I'm not going to let that happen."

Shinichi was shocked. He had never seen the magician like this, so obviously not in control. Kaito was looking through his closet frantically, trying to decide what Shinichi might need. His hands shook when they were still, and his eyes looked wild. Shinichi swallowed thickly as he realized the only time he had ever seen him so visibly shaken, it was because the magician was worried about him.

He slowly approached the magician, telegraphing his movements so as to not startle the other man. Once he reached him, he placed a gentle hand on his elbow, though Kaito still flinched. He turned him so that they were facing each other, waiting for Kaito to look at him before speaking.

"Kaito, I'm not running. I can't run. Yes, they are going to kidnap me, but I'm going to be prepared, and you're going to help me escape. And once I make my escape, it will be the end for them."

Kaito shook his head furiously, "No, it's too dangerous."

Shinichi gave him a reassuring smile, "It's going to be okay. I know you'll rescue me."

Kaito pursed his lips, clearly unhappy. He looked like he wanted to argue more, but instead Shinichi was caught off guard when he threw his arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace.

Once he was over the initial surprise, Shinichi wrapped his own arms around Kaito. His hold tightened on reflex when he felt Kaito pull them over to the bed before he tipped them both over, and they landed on the mattress with a flop.

"Alright, tell me about this plan of yours," Kaito told him.

Shinichi tried to pull away, but the arms around him only tightened their hold. "Are you going to let me go first?"

"Hmmm…. nope," Kaito said, popping the 'p' sound, "This is your punishment. Since you are causing me so much worry, you have to take responsibility and let me cuddle you until I feel better."

Shinichi let out a loud sigh, but otherwise made no move to try to get away, instead shifting into a more comfortable position. "How long is that going to take?"

"Don't know, might take a while! So you might as well start talking," Kaito answered, one of his hands tracing small patterns on Shinichi's back. The thief was never able to sit still for long.

Shinichi rolled his eyes, but started telling him about his plan anyway. He spoke for a while, Kaito only interrupting on occasion to ask a question. Once he finished speaking, Kaito went through the plan with him again, but with his own suggestions and ideas. As he listened to him speak, Shinichi felt his eyelids growing heavy. Strange, he would have thought the Black Org finding out that he was still alive would make him too nervous too sleep, but now he found he couldn't keep his eyes open.

The last thing he was aware of before he fully fell asleep was a gentle kiss being placed on top of his head before Kaito pulled him closer.

0-0-0-0-0

Shinichi stared at the message on his phone, or more specifically, the unknown number that had sent the message. Well, there wasn't any point in putting this off any longer, was there? He called the number.

It rang twice before someone picked it up. "Cool Guy, I wondered if you might call, but I'm afraid I can't help you. There's nothing I can do about a video on the internet. You're best bet is to run," Vermouth said.

"So the organization does know I'm alive," Shinichi said,

"They do," Vermouth confirmed, "They still haven't decided if they are going to finish the job, or kidnap you first. Some members are very curious how you managed to survive and escape notice for so long."

"Good, I'm going to use that to my advantage. Vermouth, I know how to pull the leader out of hiding, but I'm going to need your help to do it," Shinichi told her.

"I can't get involved. I want out, but I also want to survive long enough to enjoy my freedom," was her automatic answer.

"If you weren't willing to get involved, you wouldn't have sent me that video, giving me a way to contact you," Shinichi pointed out, "Besides, this won't be dangerous for you."

Vermouth was silent for a moment, clearly thinking it over, before she finally asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"I need you to tell the leader that the apoptoxin not only failed to kill me, but that it also de-aged me by 10 years. Use whatever proof you think might be necessary to convince him, I'm sure you have something just in case you needed it," Shinichi instructed.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Cool Guy?" Vermouth asked.

Shinichi hummed in affirmation, "And I think I'm going to start a new routine of stopping by the convenience store every night for a coffee. If someone were to monitor my movements for a few days, they would see that I'll be going completely alone, at night, when it's dark and there aren't many witnesses around. I think if I were to be kidnapped, this Friday at 10:00 would be the perfect time for it to happen."

Vermouth chuckled, "You really are an interesting guy, aren't you? Alright, I'll see what I can do."

With that parting remark, the line went dead. Shinichi put down his phone with a sigh, wondering not for the first time what he had gotten himself into.

0-0-0-0-0

"Kaito."

The magician had his arms crossed, full body turned away from him, and refused to look at him.

"Kaito," Shinichi called again, drawing the name out in warning. The other man reluctantly met his eyes. "I need you to promise me."

Kaito huffed and pulled a pack of playing cards from nowhere, shuffling the deck in progressively more complicated patterns. Shinichi had noticed that when he was nervous or upset, he practiced card tricks as if using them as an outlet.

"Fine, I promise," Kaito bit out.

"Nuh-uh, no loop holes. What do you promise, exactly?" Shinichi asked with his hands on his hips and a raised eyebrow.

"I promise that I won't follow you this Friday, even though we both know I would never let the Black Org see me watching you," Kaito muttered the last part, the cards flying wildly, almost too fast for the eyes to track.

"And?" Shinichi prompted.

Kaito scowled, "And I promise not to do anything to prevent you from getting kidnapped by them."

Shinichi sighed in relief, "Thank you."

"Are you sure I can't disguise myself and switch places with you?" Kaito asked.

He dismissed it immediately, "Absolutely not. If something goes wrong, you'll have an easier time getting me out than I would you. Not to mention that we are going to have the support of everyone I have been working with in the take down. We can't risk them finding out about Kuroba Kaito's involvement. It would create questions we don't want to answer. It will be bad enough if I'm unable to keep Kaitou KID's involvement out of this."

Kaito put the cards away, giving Shinichi his full attention. "I don't like it."

Shinichi sighed and flopped down on the couch next to him and leaned heavily against the back rest. "There's a reason it was plan D, but I don't have any other choice now that they know I'm still alive."

Kaito was silent for a moment and Shinichi thought he was still pouting, but then he finally spoke, "I don't like it, but I don't see a better way. And I know you've thought it over a lot. Just please, be careful."

"I will," Shinichi said with a small smile.

"I guess it's all going to be over soon."

"Yeah, you're right."

Kaito bumped their shoulders together, "What's the first thing you're going to do once this is all over?"

"The first thing?" Shinichi asked, looking far off in thought, then he smiled, "I think I'll call Haibara and tell her it's safe for her to come home."

Kaito smiled as well, making Shinichi's stomach do a little flip flop. "And after that?"

Shinichi hummed in thought before responding, "I guess after that I'll tell Ran I'm home."

Kaito's smile wilted before he seemed to catch himself, "Ah yes, she's been waiting for you all this time, right? Now you'll finally be able to be together."

Shinichi scrunched up his nose in disgust, "Ew, don't even joke like that."

Kaito blinked in confusion, "Eh?"

Shinichi scowled, "Wait, you aren't joking? Please don't tell me you also think Ran and I have a thing for each other. She's like a sister to me, even before the Conan thing happened."

"But the young heiress is always calling you Ran's husband?" Kaito said in bewilderment.

"Yeah, as a cover for Ran," Shinichi said. When his explanation was met with more confusion, he elaborated, "I was Ran's beard? Ran doesn't even like guys! But she wasn't ready for anyone to know yet so we kept it a secret. Sonoko would loudly yell about us being husband and wife as a cover and to get other guys to leave Ran alone. Actually, I'm pretty sure Ran had been texting Sera before I moved out of the Mouri's household."

"Oh," Kaito said looking surprised and pleased.

"Well, what are you going to do when it's over? It's already been confirmed that Snake works for the Black Org, so this is going to be your victory as well," Shinichi asked.

Kaito grinned, "I suppose you're right. Well, I'm not exactly sure what the first thing I'm going to do will be, but I know that once my mission is finished, I want to focus more on Kaito for a change. I've been so focused on KID and my mission, I haven't really had time to put much effort into anything else."

"Yeah? Does that mean KID is going to retire?" Shinichi asked, feeling a little sad at the thought.

"More like semi-retire. Pandora still hasn't been found, after all, and even if Snake and his employers are caught, there's always more men like them out there. But even once I do find it, I don't think I could fully retire KID," Kaito answered with a rueful grin.

"Enjoy it too much?" Shinichi asked with a grin of his own.

"Maybe," Kaito answered with a telling smile, then it faded a little and Shinichi thought he looked a little vulnerable for a moment. "Would that bother you?"

Shinichi blinked, surprised by the question, "If you didn't fully retire KID? No, of course not."

Kaito looked stunned, then his face lit with joy, "Really?"

The detective snorted, amused by Kaito's reaction, "As long as you continue to return everything you steal, except for Pandora I guess, and you never hurt anyone."

"Tantei-kun!" he exclaimed and Shinichi barely had time to brace himself before Kaito tackled him in a hug.

"Kaito!" he yelped.

"You're amazing, Tantei-kun. This is why you're my favorite," Kaito said nuzzling his cheek against Shinichi's with his arms wrapped tightly around him.

Shinichi rolled his eyes, couldn't help but smile in return.

0-0-0-0-0

Shinichi walked home, sipping his conbini coffee and trying to look casual. He felt a pair of eyes on him and resisted the urge to turn around. Today was Friday, so if all went well, it would happen exactly as he had planned. After a moment, one pair of eyes became multiple, and he knew this was it. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the bag of candy he had just purchased, then he popped a piece into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed, but with the next bite, instead of popping another piece, he slipped the location tracker out of his sleeve and swallowed it.

He grimaced and chased the tracker down with a gulp of coffee. The professor had made it as small as possible, but the encasing shell that protected it from stomach acid also increased its size marginally. Well, he couldn't complain, it was the best the professor could come up with both on short notice and having to give instructions to Shinichi and Kaito over video chat on how to make it. If the professor had made it himself, it never would have shipped from America in time. They had tested the tracker and knew it worked, but he hoped the shell would hold. It could literally be the difference between life and death for him.

He felt another set of eyes on him, but this presence felt different, more familiar. His eyes flicked up before he could stop himself, and he saw a pair of pigeons watching him. His shoulders relaxed when he spied them and he smiled fondly. Well, Kaito had promised he wouldn't follow him, but he had said nothing about his birds. Trust him to find a loophole. At least he was using his pigeons instead of KID's more noticeable doves. And he had to admit, seeing Kaito's pigeons spying on him made him feel a little better.

Not that he would ever admit it to Kaito.

He was approaching the mouth of an alley, and Shinichi figured the Black Org would snag him there. His palms were sweating, but seeing Kaito's pigeons and knowing the magician was watching gave him the courage he needed to continue without breaking stride. He reached the alley, and, as predicted, a hand reached out to grab him while another pressed a cloth over his nose. Sometimes he hated being right.

His eyes sought out the pigeons again, and through them Kaito, both asking and offering reassurance. Then everything went dark.

0-0-0-0-0

"So, you are Kudo Shinichi."

He couldn't make sense of the words being spoken to him and decided they were unimportant. He was so drowsy, maybe he should just let himself drift back into unconsciousness? A part of him whispered that he needed to wake up, but when he questioned why, he couldn't find an answer. He felt the darkness creeping back over him again.

"I think you've slept long enough," he heard them say before he felt a sharp pain across cheek, "the Organization has a lot of questions for you."

His eyes snapped open, the last statement waking him more effectively than the slap. The first thing he noticed was that someone had removed all of his clothing and possessions and changed him into a thin hospital gown. Next he became aware that he was strapped down to a table in what looked to be some kind of lab. The place appeared to be empty except for him and another man dressed in a lab coat.

His throat immediately closed up in fear and he felt his heart rate pick up. He suddenly couldn't get enough air.

' Relax, you need to keep your wits about you. This is all part of the plan,' he told himself, trying to stop himself before he hyperventilated.

'Easier said than done,' he quipped at himself even during his growing panic.

His eyes darted around before settling on the scientist in front of him again, who was watching him with clinical interest, then drifted down to his white coat. He forced himself to think of another who favored white. He closed his eyes and slowly counted to ten. When he was done, he reopened his eyes and met the scientist's gaze in a silent challenge.

"Very impressive, Kudo-san. Most in your position would have already started crying and begging by this point. It would seem you have a strong will," the man said.

"What do you plan to do with me?" Shinichi asked, trying not to shiver. The hospital gown he was wearing really wasn't providing much warmth, and the cold metal of the table was not helping.

"The Organization has three objectives that concern you: one," he held up a finger beginning to count off his points, "to figure out how you survived our most effective poison; two, to figure out how the poison de-aged you; and three, to use you for information on Sherry and recover her for the Organization."

Shinichi noticed when he spoke of finding Haibara, his face twisted in displeasure. Interesting. He put it into the back of his mind, but for now he had a part to play. "De-aged myself? I don't know what you're talking about. And I don't know anyone called Sherry."

"Don't play dumb, Kudo-san, you aren't very good at it," he said with a bored look, "We know all about your time spent as Edogawa Conan, and we know you couldn't have turned back to your proper age without the help of someone familiar with the drug that did it to you. Who better than the traitor that created the drug herself, the missing Sherry?"

As he finished speaking he went to a cabinet full of vials. He selected one and grabbed a syringe, drawing up the vial's contents.

"What is that?" Shinichi asked.

"A prototype truth serum I've been working on for the Organization. The interrogation team intends to spend time with you to get our answers on Sherry, but I told them there isn't a need. My prototype is ready and will show everyone how useful I can be to the Organization," he answered as he pulled up the drug.

Shinichi marveled at the hubris of the man, being so willing to say so much. He had no reason to tell of the Organization's plans or answer Shinichi's questions. He obviously didn't see him as a threat. His mistake. One of Shinichi's greatest strengths was gaining knowledge and knowing how best to use it.

"You don't want to give me that truth serum," Shinichi said evenly, hiding his panic. He could not be given a truth serum. Not just to protect Haibara, if everything went according to plan, the Organization would be dismantled before she was ever in real danger even if he did give information on her location. No, the real concern was giving away information on the plan to take them down.

The man ignored him and came closer, going to the crook of his elbow. Shinichi continued, "I know exactly where Sherry is and how to find her. If you give me that truth serum, they will bring her back, and you won't be the lead scientist for the Organization anymore."

The man paused, looking up at Shinichi in consideration. "I would still be important to the Organization, more so if my truth serum is what leads us to finding her."

"But you will no longer be on top. The Organization already has you, do they really need her? I'm sure now that you have me, you can fix the imperfections in her poison, making sure nobody ever survives again. Even better, you can use me to create a new drug for your boss, one that will de-age him and effectively grant him immortality, making you the new favorite."

The scientist continued to consider him, the needle of the truth serum dangerously close to Shinichi's arm but forgotten for now. "I know you're only saying this to protect Sherry."

Shinichi shrugged as best he could while bound, "Doesn't make what I said any less true. Instead of giving me the truth serum, pretend you did and tell them I have no idea where Sherry is."

"I could give you the serum anyway and only tell them that you don't know," he said in consideration, "I would still love this opportunity to test out my serum."

"If you give me the serum, you risk someone else coming in to question me while I'm under its effects. Then not only would I tell them where Sherry is located, but you would be exposed for lying to the Organization," Shinichi pointed out.

The scientist stared at him for a moment longer before retracting the needle away from Shinichi's elbow, and the detective mentally sighed in relief. That had been closer than he would have liked. His eyes snapped back down when he felt a prick in the crook of his elbow. Didn't the scientist decide he wasn't going to give him the truth serum?

"Don't be concerned, I'm just getting a blood sample," the Black Org member said, "The Organization won't be pleased with the loss of Sherry, so I better get to work right away on completing our other two objectives. Once I'm done, they will forget all about her, and I will be regarded as their best scientist."

Shinichi didn't answer, as his thoughts had already moved elsewhere. He just had to wait while everyone he had been in contact with for the past several months got into position. Soon it would all be over, he just had to hold out a little longer.

0-0-0-0-0

He lost track of time. The room had no windows and the only clock seemed to be on the scientist's computer, which was too far away for Shinichi to see. Once the other man had obtained a few blood samples, he had stopped speaking to Shinichi in favor of running tests and analyzing the data. Shinichi was bored out of his mind, but he couldn't complain. Bored was better than the alternative, at least until his team was ready to move. They just had to wait for the right moment to strike, and he was sure that moment would present itself soon.

Shinichi estimated he had been in the organization's custody for approximately 8 hours, making it now the next morning since he had been kidnapped, though he had no way to know for sure, when the lab door was thrown open and another organization member entered. "Hosoda," the new man said, addressing the scientist.

"What is it? I'm very busy," the scientist, Hosoda apparently, answered flippantly.

The other man snorted in reply, "How busy can a guy be that doesn't even have a codename?"

He had obviously struck a nerve, though Hosoda tried to play it off. "Well that might not be true for much longer. Now what is it? As I said, I'm incredibly busy."

The new man shrugged, looking like he was enjoying himself. From the way the two interacted, Shinichi guessed that the new man probably didn't have a code name either and most likely was an even lower rank than Hosoda. His own rank obviously didn't matter to him, not as much as reminding others, such as Hosoda, of their own lack of power.

"I'll be out of your hair in a moment. I was just ordered to come down here and tell you that the big man himself will be here this evening," he said with a mocking grin.

Hosoda gave him an impatient look, "Who is it you're referring to?"

"Oh you know, the one some refer to here as Anokata?" he said with a leer.

Shinichi's eyes widened before he could catch himself, though luckily nobody was paying him any attention.

"You mean our superior is coming here?" Hosoda asked in surprise before he continued, sounding panicked, "But I've only just barely started on my research. I won't have anything for the boss when he arrives."

The other man smiled, looking like he was enjoying this, "You don't have to worry about that. The boss has taken a keen interest in this detective here. He plans to assign a whole team of researchers to his new little project."

"B-but I am the one in charge of the research on the detective. I don't need a team to help me," Hosoda stammered.

"There seems to be a misunderstanding. The team isn't to help you. You are to help them. You're no longer in charge here," he said, definitely enjoying Hosoda's reaction. He turned and began to exit, chuckling darkly, "You have 12 hours until that person arrives."

The door slammed shut behind him and Shinichi felt his pulse quicken in excitement. This was the moment they had been waiting for. Once the leader of the Black Org arrived, his team could strike, capturing the members and dismantling the Organization for good. He just had to hold out for another 12 hours.

"No, they can't do that. They can't do that!" Hosoda, said.

Shinichi craned his neck as much as he could from where he was bound to the table, trying to look at the other man. He didn't like the desperation he could hear in the other man's voice.

"I'll just have to make a breakthrough before our superior arrives. Then I can prove to him how valuable I really am. That I'm just as good as Sherry. No, I'm better than her!" Hosoda said to himself while pacing the lab. He seemed to have made up his mind and returned to his research.

Shinichi watched and waited, but Hosoda didn't say anything else, putting all of his focus into his work. He inwardly sighed in relief. Just 12 more hours. He could do this.

0-0-0-0-0

With nothing better to do, Shinichi's mind drifted, not focusing on anything in particular. Occasionally he could feel someone watching him, but he couldn't properly look at who with the way he was bound. Still, he had a pretty good idea of who it was that was watching him and if he was right, he wouldn't want to look in their direction and risk giving them away.

'Just follow the plan, Kaito,' he mentally willed his friend, though inwardly he was smiling. He couldn't help but feel more at ease knowing that the thief was in some air vent nearby.

He didn't exactly sleep, fear of his situation wouldn't allow for it, but he got close a few times. It was while he was half asleep that Shinichi was suddenly startled awake by Hosoda slamming his palms on his desk. He craned his neck to look at the other man and saw that Hosoda was leaning heavily on his hands, his head drooped low between his shoulders, and his back to Shinichi. He could tell by the rise and fall of Hosoda's shoulders that the other man was breathing heavily.

Hosoda began to mutter to himself, "I just need to make some kind of breakthrough. Then they will see how brilliant I am. They won't take this from me, they can't take this from me. I just need to prove myself to them somehow."

As he spoke, he began to frantically shuffle through some of his notes and papers. He continued to speak under his breath, Shinichi only able to catch occasional words. Even without the full context, Shinichi could tell he was spiraling. It made him uneasy, he knew from experience how dangerous a desperate criminal could be.

"That's it!" Hosoda suddenly shouted, "I'll know more once I'm able to watch the process happen."

Shinichi eyed him, feeling apprehensive. He didn't like the sound of that. His fears were confirmed when the scientist turned around to face Shinichi, and he was holding a familiar looking capsule.

"I just need to give you the apoptoxin again, and I can study you as the drug takes effect!" Hosoda said looking somewhat wild as he slowly approached the detective.

"You don't want to do that," Shinichi told Hosoda, though the other man ignored him. "Hosoda-san, that's a bad idea. They'll kill you if you kill their lab specimen. Do you hear me?"

He began to struggle against his restraints, even though he knew it was useless. He had no idea what would happen if he was given the apoptoxin again. Would it actually kill him this time? Would it shrink him again? And if it did shrink him, would the antidote work a second time? Something told him he didn't want to find out.

Too bad it looked like he wasn't going to have much choice.

Shinichi's mind raced as he tried to figure out what to do, watching Hosoda draw closer and knowing he was running out of time. Both men stopped when they heard a canister hit the ground and roll towards them. At the first sign of gas, Shinichi held his breath. Hosoda did not.

The scientist had barely hit the ground before Kaito appeared at his side. He slipped a gas mask over Shinichi's face, and the detective gratefully took a few gulps of air. While he caught his breath, Kaito set to work freeing him from his restraints. Once his arms were free, Shinichi sat up and removed the gas mask. Kaito had only used one canister and it didn't take long to dissipate.

"Kaito!"

That was all he got out before Kaito impatiently pulled off his own mask, then pulled Shinichi into a tight embrace. Shinichi stiffened in surprise, then relaxed against the chest in front of him. He leaned his head against Kaito's shoulder and closed his eyes. Just moments ago he had almost been drugged again. He could have died. And he wasn't even out of the woods yet. He was still in the Organization's lab, but now that Kaito was with him, he couldn't help but feel like everything would be okay.

The magician was warm and Shinichi was acutely reminded of the fact that the only thing he was wearing was a thin gown. He shivered and Kaito immediately took notice, pulling him closer still. He went willingly, allowing himself just a moment to relax. Once he felt like he had collected himself, he gently pulled himself out of Kaito's arms, immediately missing his warmth. He told himself it was because he was cold, and that was the only reason.

"Kaito! You shouldn't have rescued me yet, this isn't part of the plan," Shinichi admonished.

Kaito rolled his eyes, then began working on the bonds around Shinichi's ankles. "As if I was going to let you be poisoned again."

"But this could be our only chance!" Shinichi argued, "The Organization's leader will be here-"

"In one hour," Kaito interrupted, "He's supposed to be here in one hour. The plan is still on, we just need to make a few changes."

Shinichi inhaled sharply, then let it out slowly. Just one more hour, then it would all be over. "Okay, so we stay down here in the lab and wait for the leader to show up. Once he does, we signal to the rest of the team, and capture them all," he said, thinking quickly.

"While that would be great idea, I'm afraid you can't stay here," Kaito told him while he finished untying him. He helped Shinichi down from the table, keeping one hand on him to steady him, which Shinichi was grateful for. His legs didn't want to work properly after being tied down for nearly 24 hours. "Someone is going to be here soon to take you to interrogation. I overheard that their boss wants you roughed up a little to make you easier to work with before his arrival. Said something about-" He pitched his voice lower in imitation- "'one hour is more than long enough to break one little detective.'"

Shinichi shivered as his bare feet hit the cold stone floor. Kaito pulled out a bundle of clothing for him, and he took it gratefully. His pride was also happy that he wouldn't have to take down a major crime syndicate while wearing nothing but a hospital gown with his backside exposed for all the world to see.

"I don't suppose you also found my tranquilizer watch and soccer belt?" Shinichi asked hopefully.

Kaito held the two up and Shinichi's heart sank. It looked like the Organization had dismantled them either in search of bugs or to try to figure out how they worked.

"I can repair them," Kaito rushed to say, "I just need a little time. And now that that scientist is knocked out, I can borrow some of his tools."

He went to Hosoda's desk and began looking through his tools, selecting a tiny screwdriver, while Shinichi quickly changed. "So I can't wait here in the lab, and I can't allow myself to be taken to interrogation either. Do you have another plan?"

Kaito made a noise of triumph and turned around with a wide grin, presenting the now fixed tranquilizer watch to Shinichi. "Of course I do! I'm going to do the two things I'm best at. First, I'm going to steal you back from them. I am a thief, after all. Then," he snapped his fingers and was instantly covered in a cloud of smoke. When it cleared, his black recon outfit had been replaced by his white KID regalia, "I'm going to provide a distraction."

Shinichi couldn't help but grin in return. The moment was short-lived however when the lab door was opened, startling them both. Vodka and another member entered, both men pausing when they saw them, clearly not expecting this.

"Kaitou KID? How did you get in here?" The unknown member said while raising his gun.

"The detective has freed himself," Vodka said at the same time.

Both KID and Shinichi immediately dove behind the large desk out of sight.

The unknown member laughed darkly, "Hiding only works if we don't already know where you are."

"Careful, the detective already gave us the slip once and Snake has been failing to take out Kaitou KID for years," Vodka cautioned.

"Snake is incompetent," the unknown member argued, sounding closer.

Vodka didn't answer, which meant Shinichi couldn't tell which direction he was coming from.

Suddenly, the unknown member threw himself around the desk, gun raised. Before he could properly aim, KID was already on him, spraying his face with sleeping gas. He went down instantly, though Shinichi didn't see it. He was busy guarding KID's back, meaning he was ready when Vodka came from the other side. As soon as Vodka showed himself, Shinichi shot him with a tranquilizer dart.

Shinichi watched him for a moment, making sure he was truly unconscious, then turned back to KID. "We need to get moving. With my luck, while we didn't have eyes on them, they may have alerted the others of my escape and your appearance," as soon as the words left his mouth, an alarm began to sound. He deadpanned, "Sometimes I hate being right."

KID didn't waste time answering. He grabbed Shinichi's wrist and exited the lab at a run, dragging Shinichi behind him.

"Wait, KID! If Vodka was here, then that should mean that Gin is also-"

KID screeched to a halt and Shinichi almost ran into him. Gin was in front of them blocking the hallway, gun raised and centered on KID's chest.

Yeah, sometimes he really hated being right.

"You must be Gin! I've heard a lot about you. Can't say it's a pleasure," KID said with false cheer.

"Kaitou KID, thank you for bringing the detective to me. Now it's time I cleaned up Snake's mess," Gin sneered.

Shinichi moved, putting himself in front of KID and blocking Gin's view of the magician.

"Tantei-kun," KID said sounding strained.

"It's okay, KID," Shinichi said without taking his eyes off Gin, noting that the other man looked murderous but made no move otherwise. He couldn't help but give Gin an arrogant smirk. "He won't shoot. He can't risk hurting me; I'm still important to the Organization."

Gin gritted his teeth but did nothing.

Shinichi's mind was racing. He had managed to temporarily save him and KID, but now what? Gin was still blocking the hallway and no doubt reinforcements would arrive soon. He had already used his only dart on Vodka. He had to hope that KID had something on him that would help. The thief had been unusually quiet since Shinichi had stepped in front of him, probably taking the opportunity to prepare something, but Shinichi didn't dare turn around to look at what he might be doing. If Gin saw an opening, he wouldn't hesitate for a moment. The best thing to do was continue to cover KID and trust that he had a plan.

The detective tensed when he heard foot steps making their way towards them. After a moment, a man with a strange mustache joined Gin. Shinichi recognized him from KID's description and the FBI's files. He sensed KID tense as well.

"Looks like today really is a day to celebrate! Capturing the detective was a win for the Organization, but more importantly, I finally get my chance to take out Kaitou KID!" Snake said with a laugh while raising his gun.

Gin turned to him with a glare, "Put that down. You can't risk hurting the detective."

Snake glared at the silver haired man, "I'm aiming for the one in all white behind him."

"And we've all seen how good your aim is when concerning him in the past," Gin sneered, then he ordered, "Put the gun away."

Snake continued to glare, but didn't lower the gun. "The Organization just needs the detective alive, nobody said he couldn't be a little hurt. In fact, wasn't he supposed to be on his way to interrogation for something like that right now? If he gets shot in the process of killing KID, just consider it a head start."

Gin turned his gun on Snake, "I hate repeating myself. Put the gun down."

Snake's eyes widened for a moment, then he turned his gun on Gin as well, "I don't care about what the Organization wants. Nobody is going to stop me from taking Kaitou KID out today. He's made a fool of me for long enough."

Shinichi watched the two men argue, looking for an opportunity. He couldn't let them kill each other if he could help it, not if he wanted to see them brought to justice, but he couldn't allow him or KID to be hurt either. He watched them both, not taking his eyes off of them for a moment as they argued, when he felt something pressed into his back. Something with a very familiar shape.

He smirked and reached an arm behind his back, grabbing the soccer ball belt that KID had repaired. He hit the button and barely gave the ball time to inflate before he was already sending it rocketing at Gin with a mighty kick. It struck its mark head on. Gin went down leaving only Snake, but Shinichi didn't waste time worrying about him. He knew KID had it covered.

He was proven correct when KID used the moment Snake was distracted to hit him with some kind of sticky bomb. The bomb exploded on impact, covering Snake in some kind of slimy substance that hardened instantly, encasing the mustached man and making him unable to move. Sometimes he really loved being right.

"KID, you bastard! I'm going to kill you!" Snake shouted, red in the face with anger.

KID chuckled, "Is that the best you've got? I've heard worse from Nakamori-keibu on a Tuesday."

He sauntered over to Snake and sprayed him with sleeping gas, then did the same to Gin for good measure. He turned back to Shinichi, holding up a pair of handcuffs and offering them to the detective, "Tantei-kun, would you like to do the honors?"

He took the offered handcuffs with a grin and slapped them on Gin's wrists.

He didn't have time to bask in the victory as his phone suddenly vibrated. He pulled it from his pocket and saw he had a new message from Jodie-sensei.

Karasuma Renya has been spotted. Spring the trap now.

Almost as soon as he finished reading the message, he started to hear shouts and gunshots from somewhere above them. Then his phone began to blow up with incoming messages.

Team 4 reporting in. All targets have been captured.

Team 9, targets captured. We need medical assistance, but no casualties.

Team 2, targets captured.

Team 12, one low rank got away, all other targets captured.

Message after message came in. All those months of planning, the years of work, and it was finally coming together. It was almost too much. Then another message came in that caused him to stop breathing for a moment.

Karasuma Renya has been captured.

"Shinichi?"

The use of his given name rather than KID's usual moniker caught his attention immediately. He looked up from his phone and was startled to realize that KID was right in front of him. When had he moved?

"Kaito," he murmured, barely loud enough for the magician to hear. Then he continued a little stronger with a smile, "We won."

KID lunged forward, jostling his hat causing it to fall to the ground, and captured Shinichi's lips with his own. The kiss was like a roller coaster; fast and leaving him breathless, and all Shinichi could do was close his eyes and hold on. And just like a roller coaster, it was over too quick.

Kaito pulled back and stiffened, as if just realizing what he had done. Shinichi opened his eyes, unsure when he had closed them, and Kaito watched him, looking uncertain. Shinichi could feel his cheeks warming, but he ignored it and gave Kaito a small grin before boldly stating, "Well, it's about time you kissed me while I was awake."

In an instant, Kaito's uncertainty had vanished and was replaced by a look of delight. He leaned forward for another kiss, and Shinichi met him halfway.

The kiss was slower this time, Kaito taking the time to explore his lips with his own. A hand came up to cup Shinichi's jaw and tilted his head, deepening the kiss. Shinichi's arms went around Kaito's neck, pulling him closer and slotting their bodies together, while Kaito rested his other hand on Shinichi's hip. He felt a tongue on his lips, asking for permission, and he opened for Kaito, allowing him entrance. He felt a tongue brush against his own, exploring him, and he made an appreciative noise, Kaito swallowing the sound eagerly. When they finally parted, Shinichi was once again breathless. His arms stayed around Kaito's neck while both of Kaito's arms had now settled around his waist.

"So I take it that you like me?" Shinichi said with a cheeky grin.

Kaito rolled his eyes with a fond smile, "No, I just let any detective cuddle in bed with me. And practically move in with them so that I can tuck them in every night. And give them forehead kisses."

Shinichi chuckled, "Well that's too bad, because I might like you too. But I suppose if you do that stuff with just any detective…"

"I lied," Kaito said as he lunged forward again and began to pepper him with kisses, causing Shinichi to giggle as he halfheartedly tried to push him away, "I do like you."

Shinichi smiled at him, "Good, because I like you too. Now put your hat back on before somebody sees you, and let's finish this up so we can get out of here."

0-0-0-0-0

The walk from the basement labs upstairs took longer than Shinichi had anticipated. Part of it was due to the size of the building, this place really was huge and they had been at the bottom most subbasement, but most of it, frustratingly enough, was because Shinichi was running out of steam. He supposed it was to be expected, he had been held captive by the Black Org for about a full day now with no food or water. The adrenaline spike he had gotten when KID rescued him and during their confrontation with Vodka and Gin was starting to wear off, leaving him drained.

Shinichi placed a hand on the wall and leaned heavily against it, looking up at the endless flight of stairs in front of them. The elevators had of course been disabled so they were in the emergency stairwell. He had already climbed two flights, but they were still nowhere near the ground floor.

"My offer still stands to carry you," KID said.

Shinichi shook his head, "I'm much heavier than I was when I was Conan, and that's too many flights of stairs. You'll exhaust yourself, and you should save your strength in case we run into Organization members that have escaped capture. I'm relying on you to protect both of us."

Before Conan, he never would have admitted to needing someone else, now he said it with barely a second thought.

"I have an idea," KID said, pulling out his grappling hook. He shot it up at the top in the space between the staircases. He gave it a few firm tugs making sure it would hold, then held out his arm in invitation to the detective.

Shinichi eyed the grappling hook skeptically, but he went to him without hesitation and wrapped his arms around KID's shoulders, holding on tight. KID in turn wrapped his arm around Shinichi's waist, pulling the detective against him with a firm grip. KID looked down at him and his smile was wide and manic. Shinichi had seen that same grin many times before at KID heists, usually before the thief would pull some wild stunt. He felt his own heart begin to race in excitement.

"This better hold both our weights," he warned, "I swear if you drop me-"

"I would never drop you."

Shinichi's eyes softened. "Yeah, I know." He really did. He placed a quick peck on KID's cheek and rolled his eyes with a smile when the thief fist pumped in celebration. Then that arm was back around his waist again and suddenly they were in the air, and they shot up to the top of the stairwell.

They exited the emergency stairwell and were greeted with noise from the team Shinichi had helped to put together for the take down. They must be nearby. He moved to join them, then thought better of it and pulled KID into what looked like a supply closet instead. KID wagged his eyebrows at him, "Pulling me into the supply closet, hmm? Someone can't keep their hands off me~"

Shinichi gave him an unimpressed look but otherwise ignored the comment, "Before I meet up with the FBI, I need access to one of the Black Organizations computers, and it has to be one connected to the main server."

KID didn't question it, "There's one nearby. I'll lead the way."

A couple turns down a few hallways, and Shinichi was in a new room in front of a computer. He pulled his house keys out of his pocket, glad that they hadn't been lost when the Organization had captured him, and separated a keychain from everything else on the keyring. It was a small, chibi style keychain figure made to look like Sherlock Holmes. It looked like something that could have come from any number of the gachapon vending machines in Akihabara, but this one had actually been a gift from the professor. He gave the toy a careful twist, removing Sherlock's deerstalker and revealing the hidden thumb drive that was inside, a gift from Haibara.

KID looked at the thumb drive curiously, "That looks pretty similar to the one the little scientist sent me when we were still gathering intel on the Black Org."

Shinichi nodded while he booted up the computer and plugged in the drive, "She sent me one too, though mine is a little different. It contains a virus that will target and corrupt certain Black Organization files. Haibara and I are in agreement that it's too dangerous for anyone to have the files on the apoptoxin, even if it's the FBI or Interpol or anyone else that's supposed to be on our side. This will take care of it, along with a few other items Haibara deemed too dangerous for any government agency to get its hands on."

"Not a bad idea. But I'm surprised you would be willing to destroy evidence that can be used against the Black Org, especially since the Black Org has used the apoptoxin to end so many lives."

"It won't completely destroy the files, just key parts of it, enough so that nobody will be able to recreate APTX 4869," Shinichi answered, "No more lives will ever be destroyed by again."

KID took his hand and gave it a squeeze.

Once the virus had done its work, Shinichi removed the drive and slipped it back into his keychain. He slid his keys back into his pocket, feeling like a large weight had been removed from his chest. Now it truly felt like it was all over.

Shinichi briefly felt the accomplishment of a job well done, then the exhaustion came creeping back again. He tried telling himself that he still had to meet up with the FBI and wrap everything up, but his tired mind refused to listen. He moved on autopilot, exiting the room and following the voices of the nearby take down team, trusting KID to watch his back. They walked for a while, the team further away than the noises sounded due to echoing hallways. It was due to his exhaustion that he didn't think about KID being with him when he met up with the FBI until they had already found them.

Jodie had her arms crossed in front of her with a scowl on her face, "Kudo-san, you tell us about this insane plan to get yourself kidnapped by the Black Organization, but assure us you have a plan to escape. You were frustratingly vague on how you would accomplish this, though it was obvious you had help from someone. Kudo-san, the FBI is full of some smart people. It wasn't that hard to put together a suspect list of who it was that might be helping you, but it was an unspoken agreement to leave it alone and not dig any further. Now you waltz out of your kidnapping with none other than the internationally wanted Phantom Thief 1412, one of the prime suspects on the list, at your side. Are we really going to talk about this? Because you do not want us to talk about this."

Shinichi blinked stupidly for a moment before looking at the thief by his side with an 'oh shit' look on his face. How could he forget that the FBI wasn't supposed to officially know of KID's involvement with the take down? His thoughts tripped over themselves trying to think what to do.

KID gave a deep, showman's bow before addressing Jodie and the handful of FBI agents with her, "As much of an honor as it would be to be included in Meitantei's plans, I am afraid I was simply in the right place at the right time and decided to offer my assistance to the detective. I do have a duty to keep an eye on my detectives and while Meitantei has only been to 2 of my heists, he is the older cousin of my favorite rival, and Meitantei himself shows promise as a future challenge to me. I couldn't let something happen to this detective before our rivalry had even properly started. Now that the detective is safe and my job here is done, it's time I took my leave."

He snapped his fingers and the narrow hallway they were standing in was engulfed in smoke. Shinichi felt the ghost of fingers on his shoulder, then they slide down his arm and down to his hand, giving a gentle, reassuring squeeze, then they were gone. When the smoke cleared, there was no sign of KID.

The agents with Jodie blinked and looked around confused, obviously having never seen Kaitou KID in action before. Jodie just let out a tired sigh before addressing her men, "No point looking for him, he's probably long gone by now."

'Not quite,' Shinichi mentally corrected her, feeling a pair of eyes on him from nearby.

0-0-0-0-0

As much as Shinichi would have loved to immediately head home, it couldn't be that easy. He had played a key role in both the planning and the actual take down of the Black Org, meaning that for him even though the members had all been caught, his work still wasn't done. There were dozens of people to talk to, reports to give, things to check on, the list dragged on. He didn't even want to think of all the paper work he would have to complete, but thankfully that would be done another day.

At some point, one of the rookies (one with familiar indigo eyes) blurted out something about Shinichi being kidnapped and held by the Organization for a full day, which reminded everyone else that yes, he had been kidnapped and medical had yet to check him out. He gave the "rookie officer" a small glare and received a cheerful wave in return before he was sent to a waiting medic. The medic had promptly confiscated his coffee and replaced it with a water bottle and a banana. He'd tried to tell her that he needed the coffee to stay awake and continue working, but that had backfired when she had lectured him about how he had been kidnapped and what he needed right now was rest. She ordered him to head home and take the next 3 days off to rest and recover.

"I can't take the next 3 days off, I'm going to have to finish up my reports and paperwork for the FBI," he argued.

"Mr. Kudo," she said in English, her Japanese not as good as Jodie-san's, "that's what phone calls, video conferences, and zoom calls are for. Any paperwork you have to do can be sent by email or regular mail, or I'm sure it can even be sent by fax. I've been told how much Japan still loves the fax machine. My understanding is that you had already done most of your work via these methods anyway, I don't see why now you suddenly have to do everything in person when your health is on the line."

He opened his mouth, then closed it when he realized he couldn't refute her statement.

"Oh, but no working for at least 24 hours. Tomorrow, you need to focus on just resting. Doctor's order. I'll make sure these guys," she jerked her thumb vaguely at the rest of the take down team, "know not to try to contact you or send you any paperwork tomorrow. Now go home and rest! I'll have my assistant tell the people that matter where you went. And make sure you finish that bottle of water before bed!"

Left with no choice to obey, Shinichi headed home as instructed. He called a taxi, unable to take a train due to the late hour, and once he was inside the cab, he felt the eyes that had been watching him for the past few hours leave. He wondered if Kaito was waiting for him at his house, hoped for it even. Then he thought of the kiss, and how they had both confessed to each other, and he felt himself blush.

They of course hadn't had time to talk about their relationship after that. Were they now dating? Was Kaito his boyfriend? Or maybe he would prefer to be called his lover? But they hadn't done anything other than kiss so far, was "lover" a term reserved for couples that had been intimate together? Kissing Kaito in the moment and confessing his feelings had felt so easy, but now that he was finally able to stop and be alone with his thoughts, he realized he had no idea what he was doing.

The taxi dropped him off and he entered his house, feeling a little nervous. He removed his shoes and had barely exited the entryway when he was pulled into a tight embrace. "You finally did it," Kaito said into his hair, "I'm so proud of you."

All of his previous nervousness melted away and was replaced with a tangle of happiness, accomplishment, pride, and relief. "I couldn't have done it without you," he said while returning the hug.

They held each other for a moment and Shinichi felt his fatigue returning. As if sensing it, Kaito pulled away and said, "Alright, you heard the doctor; you need to rest. I'm sure you want to clean up, but I was worried if you took a bath you might fall asleep in the water, so just a quick shower tonight. I already laid out your pajamas for you."

"Are you supposed to be my mom or my-" he suddenly cut himself off as he remembered his earlier dilemma in the cab.

"No, I'm your supposed to be your boyfriend," Kaito said with a grin, then the corners dropped a little and he looked uncertain, "At least, if you want me to be."

Shinichi's heart flip flopped and he rushed to answer, "I do! I mean, I do. Want you to be my boyfriend that is."

Kaito beamed at him, no longer looking uncertain, and he leaned forward for a chaste kiss that still left him feeling dizzy. "Good. Well as your boyfriend, it's part of my duties to take care of you. So go get cleaned up, or I'll drag you into the shower myself. Or maybe you were hoping I would join you?" he said with a sultry grin.

Shinichi's face warmed and he smacked the laughing magician's shoulder without any real heat. He quickly made for the bathroom, not wanting to further tempt the other man.

Once he finished his shower, he found the pajamas Kaito had set out for him. He wasn't even surprised that they were the ones with little KID designs on them again. Now in the context of their new relationship, it felt a little possessive.

He kinda liked it.

Kaito was waiting for him in his bedroom, having already cleaned up and changed into his own sleepwear. He went to Shinichi with a small smile and took his hand, leading him to the bed. He turned off the lamp and both settled in. Kaito pulled the covers up to their chins before pulling Shinichi close.

"You know, I'd half thought you might be a little nervous sharing a bed together now that we're a couple," Kaito said while tracing small patterns on Shinichi's shoulder.

Shinichi yawned before answering, "I'm too tired to feel much of anything right now. Besides, we've slept together dozens of times now, with you clinging to me like an octopus and everything. This is not different from anything we've already done."

"Hmm true, except you left out the part where you cling to me just as much. And also, instead of stealing forehead kisses, now I can kiss you like this," Kaito said with a devious glint in his eye before capturing Shinichi's lips.

"Yeah, I guess that is different," Shinichi said once they parted, then flushed when he heard how breathless he sounded, "but a bit counterproductive if you're trying to get me to go to sleep."

"Oh~ did I make your heart race with just a kiss?" Kaito teased.

"Shut up, stupid thief," Shinichi stammered.

Kaito chuckled and pulled Shinichi closer, running his fingers through the detective's hair. "Good night, Shinichi."

"Good night, Kaito."

He felt Kaito place a kiss in his hair, and as if it was what his body had been waiting for, he relaxed fully and drifted off to sleep.

0-0-0-0-0

Shinichi sat on a bench near the airport's line of luggage carousels, playing idly on his phone. He looked up when he heard the flood of people entering, having obviously just gotten off of a plane. He spotted two familiar faces and made his way to them.

"Shinichi-kun? I didn't realize you were coming to meet us," said the professor.

"Of course, I thought I might give you a ride, though I had to borrow your car. I hope you don't mind," Shinichi said a bit sheepishly.

The professor laughed, "Not at all, not at all. It sure is better than paying for an airport taxi. Though now that you've returned to your original body and are no longer hiding from a major crime syndicate, maybe it's about time you got your own car?"

"Kudo-kun, aside from picking us up from the airport, was there anything else you needed?" Haibara asked.

"Yeah, there was. I wanted to be the first to tell you. Welcome home, Haibara. You're finally safe."

He had obviously caught her off guard, and she blinked rapidly as her eyes shined.

0-0-0-0-0

It was several months later that Shinichi realized his vivid nightmares had stopped. He wasn't exactly sure when they had stopped since he and Kaito would sleep together every night, and he never had nightmares with Kaito present. The realization came one afternoon when he had been working on make up work to graduate, and he had accidentally fallen asleep at his desk. He had woken a few hours later with a bad kink in his neck, but the only "nightmare" he'd had was that he went to turn in his make up work, only to realize all the pages were blank and he would have to start all over again. Horrifying to be sure, but not exactly traumatizing compared to his other dreams.

He couldn't wait to tell Kaito…except.

If he told Kaito, his boyfriend wouldn't have a convenient excuse to sleep over every night. While Kaito did sleep over often, or sometimes Shinichi stayed at Kaito's place, they weren't actually living together yet. He thought about waking up alone instead of in Kaito's arms, no sleepy smile from Kaito, no lazy morning kisses.

Maybe he should see if Kaito wanted to move in with him?

He gut reaction was to dismiss the idea, they hadn't been dating for very long after all, but once the thought was there, he couldn't seem to stop thinking about it. He shook his head, laughing at himself ruefully. Was he seriously going to entertain the idea? Sure they had known each other for a long time, but from most of their friends' perspectives they had only just started dating a couple of months ago. Everyone would think they were crazy if they moved in together.

'Since when has either of us done things like everyone else?'

And really, they could think what they wanted, but it wasn't anybody else's business but his and Kaito's. If they both were okay with it, that was all that mattered, right?

He still couldn't believe he was really considering this.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard his front door open and Kaito called out, "Tadaima!"

Shinichi immediately called back, "Okaeri! I'm in here!"

An especially excited looking Kaito entered the library. His eyes found Shinichi's and his smile widened further. The magician bounded over to him in a few strides and smacked some papers down on his desk, scattering a few of his homework sheets with the force of it.

"Shin-chan! Look what I found!"

He leaned forward to look at the pages curiously. "Are these apartment listings?"

"They are! This one here is pretty close to the police station; you could easily walk to it in under 10 minutes. And this one is near that park I like to hold performances at, but its location makes it a little on the pricey side. Oh and this one! It has two extra rooms but is surprisingly affordable. I figure we could convert one of the rooms into an office/library for you, and the other room could be where I work on new magic tricks."

"Kaito, are you saying that you want to move in together?" Shinichi asked neutrally, not wanting to get excited in case he had misunderstood.

Kaito blinked and smiled sheepishly, "I suppose I am. I know we haven't been dating that long, but I know what I want, and I've never been the type to do things a certain way because everyone says that's how I'm supposed to do it. When I woke up this morning with you in my arms, and I studied your sleeping face-"

"Creepy."

"Don't interrupt, we're having a moment. I realized how happy I was and how I wanted to wake up like that every morning! And maybe you think it's too soon and that's okay, but I thought I might as well ask. So…what do you think?" Kaito asked, looking hopeful.

"I love you," Shinichi blurted.

His eyes widened as he realized what he'd said, and he felt his face burn with the force of his blush. Kaito looked elated, his eyes dancing with happiness. He moved around the desk over to Shinichi, who tried to back away until he felt his back hit the bookshelves behind him. Kaito's grin looked just a bit predatory.

"Did you just say that you love me?"

"N-no?"

"Aw, well that's a shame. Because if you had said it, I might have said it back, but I guess if you really didn't say it, then-"

"I lied," Shinichi interrupted, "I did say it."

Kaito's grin was definitely predatory when he answered, "Good. Because I love you too."

Then Kaito was kissing him. Shinichi held on to him, melting into the kiss, and delighted at the way Kaito pulled him closer. Kaito's hands tightened on his hips, his grip almost bruising and Shinichi made a noise in the back of his throat, wanting more. His own hands found their way under Kaito's shirt, feeling the chiseled muscles underneath his fingers, and this time Kaito was the one to hum in appreciation.

They both finally parted when they could no longer ignore their need for air. Both were panting, trying to regain their breath and holding on to each other. Kaito gave him a cheeky grin. "So does that mean you'll move in with me?"

Shinichi's lips quirked into a smile of their own, "I guess I could look at those apartments with you." Kaito fist pumped in celebration and Shinichi couldn't help but laugh. "I only said I would look, I haven't actually agreed yet."

"Yeah, but you will. Because you love me, right?" Kaito asked with so much tenderness in his gaze that Shinichi's chest felt tight.

"Yeah, and you love me," he answered with a smile, knowing and not caring that he probably looked just as love sick.

"Hey, Kaito. I actually have something to tell you. It's about my dreams."