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

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi

Lure

Chapter 39 - Holiday Spirit

With the end of the year drawing near, the weather grew ever chillier even as the city streets began to glitter with ever more festive lights. Colorful decorations sprang up in shop windows and doorways, and people's eyes too began to gleam with the anticipation of the numerous holidays and celebrations that always came with this time of the year. The general atmosphere of good cheer that permeated the streets softened many an otherwise stern or weary visage.

Perhaps it was the cheer of the coming holidays or just Kaito's good luck kicking in, but Shinichi had seen a marked decrease in murders as November drew towards its end, and he was feeling truly relaxed for the first time in what felt like forever but was really only the few weeks since Halloween. The hype over the debacle with Tomoyama had died down considerably now that she and her publisher were busy building their defense. And though court dates were still to be set and the online discussions were still buzzing, the weight of public attention was finally shifting to other things such as the latest virtual reality technology. And though he knew he would be called upon to testify for the case when the time came, Shinichi was happy to let Ran and her mother manage the proceedings. This was, after all, their case now far more than it was his.

And so, somewhat to his surprise, he found himself with some real, honest to goodness free time for once. So he had taken a few days to get himself fully caught up on all his school work, cracked three cold cases, and was now left with the prospect of more free time than he knew what to do with. Yes, finals were coming up, but, precisely because they were coming, none of his classes had assigned any new work. It was all review. And, with his excellent memory, Shinichi really didn't need that much time to go over old notes or otherwise prepare. On top of that, half of his final exams were actually final papers that just had to be turned in by the end of finals week. He had already completed those and handed them in, meaning he essentially already finished half his exams.

He had pondered reviewing the materials for the few exams he still had to take again but, two pages into it, he realized the pointlessness of doing so as he knew all the materials too well to need to review them again. And with that delightful epiphany, he had put all his class books back onto their allotted shelves in the Kudo library and brought down a dozen novels instead.

Those novels were now stacked on the coffee table between him and Kaito.

"We should build snowmen," Kaito commented as he sat in one of the comfortable reading chairs in the Kudo library. Shinichi sat in a similar chair across from him. Each young man held a mug of hot chocolate complete with marshmallows in hand.

Shinichi, who had been reading a draft copy of Arata Mashiro's next book (sent to him by the author just last week with a polite entreaty to see if he could give any advice on improving the structure of the murder case), looked up, blinked, then glanced out the library's tall windows at the star-dusted sky.

"There's no snow," he pointed out, taking another sip of his hot cocoa.

"I meant when there is snow, obviously," Kaito replied with a snort. "We should get a tree too. I always wanted to go all out with Christmas lights the way some people do—you know, when they put it all over their houses and trees and build glittering animals with them on the lawns. They always look amazing. And they really bring out the holiday spirit. Or at least that's how they've always felt to me."

"They do brighten things up," Shinichi agreed. "But there won't be much point doing it here. I hope you realize. I mean, it's not like we can invite everyone over for a party. We're still technically supposed to be strangers who've never met."

Kaito heaved a melodramatic sigh. "Yeah. That does get in the way. But hey, there are people who know already. There's me, you, my mom, Jii, your little scientist friend, and the professor. Seems like enough for a small party at least. Especially if your parents come. Do they tend to come home for Christmas?"

Shinichi grimaced into his hot chocolate. "It depends… Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Well, actually, it's most of the time they don't. They like the Christmas parties in the States."

"Well, I suppose Christmas is a much bigger holiday over there." Kaito paused, considering. "I notice you don't sound particularly disheartened by the fact that your parents rarely come home for the holidays."

Shinichi snorted. "The thing about my parents is that they're a lot easier to deal with when they're far away."

Kaito raised an eyebrow at that. "Really?"

"Yes, really," Shinichi insisted. "It would be impossible to find any peace and quiet if they were always home."

"Don't you ever miss them though?" Kaito asked.

Noting the hint of concern in Kaito's voice, Shinichi frowned slightly, lifting his mug of hot chocolate again and gazing down at the little marshmallows bobbing around on the surface like they were part of a riddle he was trying to solve.

"I…guess I do sometimes," he said eventually, tone much more subdued than it had been earlier. "I don't mean to say that I don't care about them, or that I don't like spending time with them. It's just… I don't know. We're so different that sometimes I'm not sure how we can be related." He looked up then with a slightly lopsided smile. "I suspect a lot of people feel that way about their parents though. I've certainly seen it in more than one case."

"I think every generation feels that way about their parents—and probably about their kids too, for that matter," Kaito replied. "Though I like to believe that I understood my dad, and that he'd understand me if he were here now."

Not sure what to say to that, Shinichi reached across the table to place his hand on top of Kaito's. The magician turned his hand over to twine his calloused fingers with Shinichi's.

"I think Tou-san would have liked you, you know," Kaito murmured then, voice soft as a winter's breath as his eyes glimmered with an emotion that Shinichi couldn't quite place. Something sorrowful but bright and joyful all at once. "He'd tell me I'm being foolish, chasing after a detective of all people, but he'd tell me that, if I'm serious, then I'd better do it right. Treat you right and all that. And make sure that you know that, no matter what, you can always count on me to be there for you, to protect you. To keep you safe and whole and happy. Because that's what a Kuroba does for the people he loves."

"You're being kind of sappy, you know," Shinichi observed, though his tone was fond. A soft blush had risen in his cheeks.

Kaito chuckled. "I suppose I am. But that's another thing about holidays. They're meant for being sappy on."

Shinichi snorted at that, but he had to concede the point. There really was something about the holiday season—a kind of sparkle to the atmosphere.

Shinichi would even admit to feeling more than a little sappy himself, especially on those comfortable evenings when he and Kaito curled up together on the living room couch to watch a movie or just to talk as a fire danced in the fireplace, filling the interior of the house with light even as the world outside lay in deep and tranquil darkness. In those moments, he realized that he was happier now than he had ever been before. Sometimes, he would even find himself wishing that time would stand still for a while. That they could stay in this perfect little world all their own.

He never actually said any of this out loud though because it was too embarrassing. Still, when he looked into Kaito's laughing, knowing eyes, he suspected that the magician knew exactly what he was thinking, and he was in full agreement.

One particularly memorable night, they had actually toasted marshmallows in the fireplace after turning out all the lights in the house. The flickers of firelight had danced across the floors and walls, casting long, flickering shadows in every direction and transforming the otherwise familiar living room into an entirely different space—one with a touch of magic.

Kaito insisted on telling campfire stories as that cuddled by the fire on the nest of blankets and pillows they had arranged for the occasion. The magician had originally wanted to set up an actual tent too, but Shinichi had managed to dissuade him on that front. Being outside would have been one thing, but, inside where the temperature was comfortably cozy, the blankets and pillows were all they needed to be comfortable. Kaito was quick to agree with the sentiment and point out that it was more romantic this way, to which Shinichi had rolled his eyes. Although later, as he lay panting on the blankets and watched the firelight play across Kaito's face as the magician leaned over him, he had to admit that Kaito had a point. The flames made the light sheen of sweat on his magician's tanned skin glimmer and those predatory indigo eyes glow like dark opals with hearts of flame. The sight had heat curling in Shinichi's stomach and rippling along his nerves until every inch of him was tingling with want.

Sliding his arms around Kaito's neck, Shinichi pulled him down into another passionate kiss even as he wrapped his legs more firmly around Kaito's waist, silently asking for more.

It was a request Kaito was more than eager to answer.

Smiling at the memory, a faint blush dusting his cheeks, Shinichi opened the Kudo Manor mailbox and gathered the contents into his arms. It was a considerable pile, he noted, although the brief glimpse he caught of glossy pictures as he collected them made him think that most of it had to be advertising.

Carrying the entire bundle inside, he set it down on one end of the kitchen table and began sorting quickly through it. As he had suspected, a vast majority of the mail was advertising, a large proportion of which was aimed at holiday shopping. Recalling that he had yet to even begin thinking about Christmas presents, Shinichi set aside a few of the more interesting-looking catalogues and dumped the rest of the advertisements into the recycling bin.

The coffeemaker let out a shrill little tune to announce that it was done brewing. Shinichi immediately abandoned the mail to go pour himself a large, steaming mug of coffee. He spent another long moment simply reveling in the heavenly aroma and rich, dark flavor of his beverage of choice before returning to the table and the more important mail.

There were two requests for aid that he set aside for more careful perusal later in the library where he would be able to conduct any necessary research while going through heir details. There was also a third request that struck him as a prank but which he made a note to answer just in case it wasn't. Then there was a lovely card depicting a cherry blossom tree in full bloom with the words "Thank you" written in elegant, calligraphic letters. Puzzled, he opened it to find that it was from Nobu and his wife. The man explained that everyone in their household was doing very well now and working together to put the house back in order. They had decided to take the opportunity provided by the fire to renovate large portions of the mansion. Once they were done, they were planning to bring his uncle's considerable collection of antiques and arts out and putting them on display in their own home gallery where the art could be shown to guests instead of left to gather dust in the basement.

He expressed his apologies for the part he had played in Shinichi's close call with the fire, so he would understand if Shinichi would prefer to leave the entire incident behind. But, otherwise, Nobu and his family seemed to be expressing a genuine desire for him to visit them again so they could have tea and sit down to a proper talk.

Feeling more confused than enlightened by the rambling letter, Shinichi set it aside and picked up the last of the mail.

The names of the senders instantly had him on high alert. Kudo Yukiko and Kudo Yuusaku.

His parents had sent him a letter.

Dread building in his gut, Shinichi picked up the surprisingly thick envelope between two fingers like he thought it might be leaking poison. Then he stared at it for a very long moment, trying to determine what exactly its contents were going to be.

The outside of the envelope was perfectly plain, so his parents were trying to get his guard down. They wanted him to take this seriously. Or rather to think that they were being serious and not their usual whimsical selves. That meant they wanted something.

There was no way to guess from looking at the outside of the envelope what that something might be though. So, bracing himself for the worst, Shinichi opened the letter and pulled out yet another greeting card. This one was made of heavy stock. The picture on the front was a stylized painting of a young woman and a young man, presumably her boyfriend, standing before a lovely country house. They must have just knocked on the doors because they appeared to be waiting.

When Shinichi opened the card, the image from the front was also drawn on the inside, only inside, the door was open and an older man and woman were standing in the doorway while the girl who had to be their daughter—they looked too much like her parents not to be—apparently introduced them to her beau.

And that was it. There were no written words anywhere on the card. He checked every flap, front, back and inside. Nope. Nada.

What he found instead was a pair of airplane tickets. Tickets to San Francisco.

Shinichi was still sitting at the kitchen table, staring at that wordless letter when Kaito let himself into the house and found him there.

The magician frowned at the sight of his detective's face. "You look pale. Are you all right? What's that you're looking at?"

"It's a card… It's from my parents…"

"And?" Kaito prompted when Shinichi trailed off.

"They…they sent plane tickets."

"So they want you to visit," Kaito concluded, wondering why Shinichi sounded so befuddled. Wasn't it normal for parents to want to see their kids around the holidays? Or any time of year for that matter. "Wait, you said tickets. So they sent you more than one?"

"Yeah. Um… Apparently, you're invited." He showed Kaito the card and the pictures on the outside and the inside of the young woman introducing her boyfriend to her parents. "I'm pretty sure they're telling us that they know."

"Well, Mom did say she talked to Yukiko-san about us. So that really isn't very surprising."

"I guess…" Shinichi returned to staring at the card as though waiting for it to bite him. "What should we do about it?"

"I say we go," the magician replied without hesitation. "I'll have to meet your parents sooner or later. It might as well be sooner."

-To Be Continued-