Work Text:
9:20 AM.
Shinichi was not going to be late, surprisingly.
To be fair, he aimed to arrive at the café at 9 AM. But one purse snatcher and another pick-pocketer at the subway station derailed that plan spectacularly.
Maybe he should have used the car that his parents left him. He was old enough and got his license after all. However, with his habit of walking and people-watching/deducing, he opted to use public transportation. Technically, Hakase and Akai-san, who was still staying at his house as an unofficial bodyguard for him and Haibara, both offered to drive him. He declined in the end. Hakase probably meant well, but he got a feeling that Akai-san wanted to scoop out who he was going on a date with. Haibara and her big mouth.
Akai-san and Haibara were conspiring something together for sure. Sometimes, Hakase, the Shounen Detective, Ran, Hattori, and even Amuro-san, believed it or not, joined them. Shinichi was sure that they had a group chat or something similar. They did their best to hide it. Well, everyone but Akai-san and Amuro-san tried to hide it. Since it didn’t seem to affect him that much, he just let it slide.
Shinichi should be glad that Haibara was getting along better with Akai-san now, after…well…everything going on between them. Somehow, he felt like he just unleashed a terrifying monster by making them make peace with each other.
Shinichi would have spent a lot longer time giving statements to the police if it had not been for Officer Yumi and Officer Miike vouching for him to submit his statements later. Perks of knowing so many police officers, he supposed.
It was a pain, trying to rebuild all of the bridges and connections he had with police all over the country as Edogawa Conan. With his luck in running into cases, the task was not as hard as it seemed. Still, the officers and detectives were not as lenient to Shinichi as they were to Conan, but his deductions were enough to convince them. At least he was now at the point where they gave him free rein at a crime scene. It was worth it in the end. His contact list had never been longer. And it was only four months since he returned as Kudo Shinichi.
A scream ripped through the busy streets of Tokyo.
Crap.
It was coming from his 12 o’clock.
Shinichi quickly scanned through his surroundings of confused pedestrians as he ran to the place. No one suspicious so far.
The scream came from a café.
The café.
Where he was supposed to go.
Where he was supposed to meet his date.
Shinichi groaned inwardly.
It was just his luck, wasn’t it?
If he solved the case fast enough, they might have time to do something else later.
But there was no time for that now.
“Everyone stay where you are! Someone calls the ambulance!”
Good, someone said so already.
Three staff and seven customers. Six males and four females.
The people inside were shouting and panicking, wanting nothing more than to leave the place. It was chaos all around. The center of it all was a woman lying on the ground, curled up in a fetal position, no longer breathing. Damn, if he had arrived just a bit sooner.
She seemed to have fallen from her chair. Her face was twisted in pain. Her nose was bleeding. She also seemed to have been vomiting. Poison?
Shinichi put on the gloves he kept in his back pocket. It was Haibara’s idea and he couldn’t argue with that, as much as he wanted to.
The woman’s arms and legs were already sprouting some bruises. Her nails were nicely done. There were also some tiny spots of bleeding under her skin as well. Too much injury for just falling down a chair.
Shinichi took a sniff around her. A mix of perfume and an odor. A bit rotten fish. A bit garlic-y. Rat poison?
Her purse was on the ground, with make-ups all over the place. So they were out when she was poisoned. Her clothes were nice and from a brand as well. Her hair looked recently done as well. Only one glass of water on her table.
“Hey, what are you-”
“Call the police as well! It was a murder!” Shinichi looked at the confused staff.
He had a case to solve.
---
“What?” Shinichi stared down at the thief in front of him. Surely, he had misheard because of the wind on the rooftop of the building.
KID matched his gaze.
“Meitantei,” KID said again, still holding the stupid smile on his face and Shinichi’s hand. He even theatrically bowed down again, as if Shinichi was some maiden. “would you bless this poor lowly thief with a date with you next weekend?”
They stared at each other again.
Shinichi could practically feel his cheeks heated up. Thank god KID had cut the lights on the roof, or the magician would have seen them. Stupid thief.
It was not like Shinichi did not want to go on a date with KID. He knew that his feelings for the man had gone passed rivalry and friendships ages ago, even when he was still Conan. It was confusing and frustrating, to say the least.
Shinichi had always thought he and Ran were going to be together, ever since he was in elementary school. At first, he thought that him being Conan only put that plan on hold for a while, until he got his body back. They even managed to become a couple while he was still Conan! But all the lies started piling up and the emotions started to change. Shinichi genuinely could not see Ran anything further than his best friend and sister, no matter how hard he tried.
He knew that Ran felt something amiss too. But her idealism and the pressure of “we-have-to-be-a-couple-there-is-no-other-way” from our friend group got a strong hold on her.
It was a sad day when they broke up. They both cried. They were both hurt. They were both confused. They were supposed to be a couple after all.
But they moved on.
Ran gained a new girlfriend who can actually be there in the form of Sera.
And Shinichi miraculously still had his best friend.
It was rough for a few weeks, but they both loved each other too much to hold grudges, especially Ran.
And amid all this emotional drama was Kaito KID.
Shinichi knew it was not the stupid thief’s fault, but he couldn’t help but blame the man for parts of his suffering.
Why did the idiot have to be so smart and crafty? Why did he have to come up with such interesting heists? Why did he have to be so gentleman-y and annoying? Why did he have to be so understanding of Shinichi’s situation?
It all started with exchanging some favors. Your help for me letting you go. Your help for my help in the future. Somehow, it escalated to Shinichi, still as Conan, being KID’s personal detective and getting him out of pinches and people trying to frame KID for murder. Somewhere in the middle, the thought of arresting the stupid magician left Shinichi. The heists became more of a battle of wits and them showing off who was smarter than getting a gem and arresting a thief. It was not like KID actually stole anything.
And at the end of it all was the late-night talks.
Not after the heists, of course. They were too full of adrenaline, the scene was too chaotic, and still too many police officers going about.
It all started when KID sent one of his doves to be an actual mail pigeon and delivered a meeting request to Conan to ask for his help. At least the thief talked to him, instead of just kidnapped him.
The one meeting then spiraled into multiple late-night talks on rooftops where they ranted about their lives, as much as KID could rant without giving away his identity. It was their haven, where they could be themselves and pour their hearts out, even as they were in disguise, without worries. It was one of the few moments that Conan can be Shinichi without a worry in the world.
“I will give you a pass, you know.” Shinichi remembered himself saying as Conan.
“What?” KID looked at him with a dumb expression.
“Anything you revealed or accidentally revealed during our talks,” Shinichi turned his gaze back to Tokyo’s skyline, sparkling in the night. “I won’t use it against you.”
“Oh.”
It was not like KID was doing anything illegal right now. The man had proved himself to be a great ally amongst everything else. Shinichi can also tell that the thief had something going on in his life. No one just ran around breaking in, evading police, and checking out gems under the moonlight for fun.
“I thought that went without saying.” Shinichi swung his tiny legs as if they were not dangling hundreds of meters above ground. “It just doesn’t seem fair if I can talk about whatever I want and you couldn’t.”
It was not like Shinichi couldn’t deduce the thief’s identity, with all the information he had. He was pretty sure his parents knew who KID was as well. But he never got to it. It was not a mystery he was interested in anymore. As people would say: Something is better if it remains a mystery. It was not like him at all and he knew it. Sonoko and Haibara would be laughing at him in his face if they found out.
Shinichi glanced at the thief, who was staring at him. He looked much younger and smaller without the top hat and the cape on his shoulder. Shinichi couldn’t tell what the thief was thinking with his poker face.
“What?” Shinichi narrowed his eyes, cheeks heating up a bit. If the man was going to tease him, he swore-
“Nothing.” KID said, still holding on to his poker face, and turned his gaze to the Tokyo skyline. He finally continued after a moment of silence between them. “Thanks, Meitantei.”
It was the start of their more genuine friendship. Thanks to that, they soon found out their problems were connected after all. Honestly, what were the chances that two criminal organizations wore black clothes and had dealing with ages and immorality running around Tokyo at the same time?
The friendship morphed into something more. Shinichi couldn’t tell what emotions they were. Partly because he was still confused about the whole thing with Ran. Partly because he still rationalized being on good terms with an annoying thief.
Before Shinichi knew it, KID had become a part of the future Shinichi wanted.
And it all led to here, after the downfall of the Black Organization, after getting his body back, after attending a few heists as Kudo Shinichi, KID asked him out, while the police were still screaming and running everywhere looking for him. Such audacity.
“Are you being serious right now?” Shinichi narrowed his eyes. KID had asked people on dates or confessed to police officers, both male and female, before to confuse and embarrass them.
“Yes, I am.” His indigo eyes matched Shinichi’s stare all the same. No twitch. No flinch. No shame. None of his usual joke reactions or clowning around either. It made Shinichi want to kick the magician, go home, and hide his face even more. Stupid thief. Seriousness did not fit KID at all. When was the last time Shinichi saw KID this serious? Maybe it was when they were planning out their assault on the Black Organization that practically turned their lives upside down. Or maybe it was when KID reassured Shinichi that their plans would work on one of those rare quiet nights during the assault. Or maybe it was when KID holding a gun, confronting the man who orchestrated the death of his father.
“Are you just going to give yourself up like that?” Shinichi took his hand from KID’s and folded them in front of his stomach. “I am a detective, you know. I could just drag you to the nearest police station.”
It was not like he would actually do it. And because of KID’s help with the Black Organization, all the international alphabet soup organizations and Japan’s NSA had quietly ceased their pursuit of KID. Officially, the raid was helped by unnamed collaborators who would remain top secrets and would not stand in court for their safety. Coincidentally, Kudo Shinichi helped with a small part of the raid after his long investigation and KID’s international warrants expired. Perks of having a well-connected and respected father and friends in multiple organizations.
“And here I thought somebody said anything said outside of a heist was off-limit.” KID grinned, standing upright, slightly shadowed Shinichi. Stupid thief and the stupid poison that stunted his growth.
“Idiot. That only applies to our talks, not on a…” Shinichi couldn’t even bring himself to say the cursed word.
“You know, those late-night talks can totally be counted as dates too.” The thief started pretending to think.
“Wha-”
“You know, you and me, alone, at night, under Tokyo’s sky, illuminated only by the stars and the moon. Isn’t that romantic?” KID popped out a blue rose and placed it gently in Shinichi’s jacket's front pocket. Their eyes never left each other. “Of course, it was under the moonlight that I found two precious sapphires.”
KID was so close. Shinichi could faintly smell deodorant and the smoke that the thief used in his trick. He could kick KID right now. The audacity. Stupid smooth-talking shameless sneaky thief. Out of all people, why did he have to be Shinichi’s match in wit? Why did Shinichi have to fall for him? Why did they have to have so much mutual respect and trust toward each other? Stupid thief.
“With how much you called me that, dare I say “stupid thief” is your affectionate nickname for me?” the man even grinned while saying so, as if he just won a prize.
“Idiot! That is just what you are! Stupid thief.” His face felt way warmer than it should be. He didn’t forget to jab the magician in the stomach, which the man dodged expertly. Stupid reflex. “Shouldn’t you be going now? You are awfully relaxed for someone on the run.”
“Aw, are you worried about my safety?” Shinichi swore he would one day kick that grin off the thief’s face. “I come prepared, you know. We have all the time in the world.”
“Did you organize a heist just to ask me out on a date or something?” Shinichi narrowed his eyes. KID halted for a second before continuing his theatrical.
“And what if I did?”
The shameless thief!
“Nakamori-keibu would strangle you when he finds out.” Who on earth would plan a heist just to ask someone on a date? However, the trick in this heist was particularly clever with a lot of inside jokes and references that only Shinichi knew… Crap, he should have seen this coming.
“Ah, finally piecing things together, Meitantei?” KID put his hands in his pockets in a relaxed pose.
“Can’t you just ask me out like a normal person?” Removing his hands from his face, Shinichi glared at KID.
“Where is the fun in that?” KID now folded his arms behind his head, like a child that he was. “I figured you enjoyed the challenge more.”
Shinichi did enjoy the challenge more. But the day he told the thief that would be the day the world ended.
“Next time just give me a text or a call, like a normal person.”
“Meitantei, are you already planning our second date? You haven’t even said yes to our first date.”
Crap. When did KID move so fast? Too close. That stupid grin again. So Shinichi instinctively kicked him, which the magician dodged again as he laughed.
“Idiot! I was just saying!” Shameless. Utterly shameless. Shinichi had enough of this. “I agreed, alright. Send me the time and location later. Now shoo.”
He didn’t even look at KID as he turned around and left the rooftop.
“Look forward to our first date, Shin-chan!”
Urg, that stupid thief.
---
“I would say this is a surprise, but it is really not, is it, Kudo-kun.” Takagi-keiji smiled at Shinichi. Shinichi nodded at the man and Satou-keiji before returning to examining the victim’s phone.
“I was in the area for something when I heard the scream.”
“At this point, we might as well give you a badge, Kudo-kun.” Satou-keiji laughed and gave him a pat on the back.
“Satou-san! That is a bit…”
Honestly, Shinichi wouldn’t mind a badge. It would make his job somewhat easier. Still, he didn’t plan to become a police officer so it was not like he would ever get a badge. Like Sherlock Holmes, he aimed to be a consultant detective.
“Alright, Takagi, Kudo-kun, what do we have?” Satou-keiji switched to her work mode. Soon enough, the victim’s information was laid out.
She was here for a date, just as Shinichi deduced through her clothes and make-up. She seemed to be a typical woman on a date. However, her phone told a different story.
The woman was a cat-fisher/gold-digger. She dated multiple men and tricked them into funding her lavish lifestyle. Apparently, this type of woman did exist in the real world. Looking through her bank info and photo albums, Shinichi estimated the victim scammed men out of hundreds of thousands, maybe even up to millions, of yen. He had seen people killed for way less.
By the time Shinichi finished going through the phone, Takagi-keiji, and Satou-keiji had got information and alibis of the eleven people present when the murder happened. The ME also confirmed Shinichi’s suspicion: the cause of death was rat poison and there was no trace of poison on the table or her belongings.
Ten witnesses/suspects were in the café. Three were staff, one male and two females. Eight were customers, five males and two females. The two women were on dates with two of the men.
Apparently, this was a popular dating spot because it frequently gave discounts to couples. This weekend’s special menu was lemon pie and chocolate ganache cake. Idiot thief.
“So the main suspects are these three,” Takagi-keiji said as he organized his note. “Obi Masahiro-san, Nakada Ryuu-san, and Kuroba Kaito-san. They are all here for a date.”
Shinichi looked at the men, scanning them one by one. They were all in their late teen and early 20s, lean, well-built, and could be considered attractive. While Obi had a cleaner and more studious look with neat clothes and glasses, Nakada had a bad boy look with baggy clothes, dyed blond hair, and piercings. Lastly, Kuroba…
Shinichi halted for a second.
Kuroba dressed casually, with no distinctive style. His messy hair seemed natural. He stood relaxed as if he was not a suspect in a murder.
His indigo eyes met Shinichi’s.
It was almost like Shinichi was looking at a mirror while lazily attempting to disguise himself as another person.
Except for the height. And those indigo eyes. That pose. That air around him.
Shit.
That was KID.
Kuroba was KID.
And his date was a suspect in a murder.
Crap.
Just his luck.
The stupid thief dared to wink at him as well!
“Shall we start the questioning, Kudo-kun?” Takagi-keiji thankfully brought him back to the situation. He still had a case to solve. He would deal with the thief later.
Obi’s and Nakada’s questionings were standard. Honestly, by the end of it, Shinichi was already pretty sure Obi-san was the culprit. The motive was revenge for his deceased brother, who was one of the dead woman’s victims. He just needed to find a bit more evidence so he couldn’t deny it.
It was Kuroba’s turn.
Shinichi hoped that the thief at least had some sense and acted like a normal person for once.
“Hello, Kuroba-kun, as we discussed earlier, we would like to ask you a few more questions to make clear of this situation. Oh, and this is Kudo Shinichi-kun, he is a consulting detective for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police.” Takagi-keiji said as they sat in the staff-turned-interrogation room. They exchanged greetings. So far so good. “Could you tell us again why you are here in this café and what you were doing when the murder happened?”
“Ah. I am here for a date at 9:30. It is our first date, so I want to be early and make sure everything is alright. I was sitting at the table by the window, looking at the menu when I heard the scream and realized what happened.”
“Alright,” Takagi-keiji said as he noted. “It is well past 9:30 already, may we ask where your date might be?”
Shinichi flinched immediately. Kuroba instead just grinned. Their eyes locked on each other for a second before Kuroba turned to Takagi-keiji.
“Ah, he is a busy guy, so I am honestly not sure. He might be caught up with work.” Kuroba now turned to look at Shinichi with mischief in his eyes. “I have been told he had a history of missing out on dates and hangouts for work.”
Shinichi narrowed his eyes. It was not his fault that cases happened around him. Stupid thief.
“So where did you guys meet?” Takagi-keiji continued.
“Oh, we met at an acquaintance’s party and hit off from there. He looked terribly bored and lonely, so I came in to rescue the knight in distress.”
“Are you sure it is not you projecting on him?” Shinichi frowned at the grinning man.
“Who knows? But I must say, I didn’t know the police now had consultants.”
“Ah, Kudo-kun is-”
“Please don’t change the subject, Kuroba-san.”
“Hey, I never said it was a bad thing.” Kuroba raised his hands as if he were surrendering before re-posing himself as if he were on a stage and bowing. “Allow me to re-introduce myself to the famous detective. Kuroba Kaito, magic extraordinaire. A pleasure to finally meet the Kudo Shinichi face to face.”
“Oh, you know Kudo-kun?” Takagi-keiji looked between them.
“Of course! Kudo-san is famous after all. If anything, Kudo Shinichi has no more ardent admirer than myself.” Kuroba grinned.
That stupid sneaky shameless thief!
“I don’t think your date would appreciate that statement.” Shinichi folded his arms and glared at Kuroba. There was no point trying to hide his blush now.
“I supposed I could always find a new date then.” Kuroba’s eyes were not subtle at all. “Say, are you free after this, Kudo-san?”
“And what makes you think I want to go on a date with you? What are you planning to do? Show one of your sleights of hand tricks?”
“Now now, Kudo-san, a magician never reveals his secret.” Kuroba took a deck of cards out of thin air and shuffled them expertly before making them disappear again, barring one card. The Ace of Heart. With a phone number written on it. His phone number no doubt. Stupid thief. “That is the magic, after all. You never know what is going to happen.”
He even winked. Shinichi was definitely going to kick him after this.
“Ahem.” Takagi-keiji coughed awkwardly, blushes spread across his cheeks. Oh. Crap. They were in an interrogation. “Kuroba-san, Kudo-kun, should we move on?”
“Ah yes. We should.” Shinichi gave an equally awkward cough. Stupid thief. He had to solve this case quickly and gave him a lesson.
Thankfully, Kuroba dutifully answered all the questions after that and soon left the room. He left the card on the table, so Shinichi picked it up. There was a piece of paper stuck behind the card.
Shinichi immediately glanced at Takagi-keiji, who was still organizing his notes, before looking at the piece of paper Kuroba gave him. It simply said Poison Pocket.
Shinichi frowned. The police had already checked the clothes and body of the victim and everyone in the café. Shinichi watched them do it. He checked his own jeans pockets to be sure. Nothing there. So it could only mean one thing. Kuroba had the murder weapon sitting in his pocket that he somehow managed to snatch before Obi-san could and hide from the police search. That idiot.
Shinichi would have been impressed if he hadn’t known Kuroba was KID. Stupid thief. He should have just said so to him in the first place.
“Kudo-kun, what do you think?” Takagi-keiji asked as Shinichi stood up.”
“I want to take a look at the crime scene one more time if you don’t mind.” And somehow found a way for Kuroba to pass whatever he had to him.
“Ah, sure. I will update Satou-san then.”
They both left the room. On their way back to the dining area, the three suspects were standing in the hallway with two police officers watching them. Obi and Nakada looked nervous while Kuroba seemed relaxed. He even smiled when he saw Shinichi walking toward them. That idiot.
“Keiji-san, how long do we have to be here?” Obi asked when he saw Takaji-keiji.
“That is right! We are innocent, right? It is not like you guys find any evidence one of us did something wrong!” Nakada got angsty as well.
“Please, Obi-san, Nakada-san. We are still investigating.” As Takagi-keiji tried to placate the two men, Shinichi went ahead. As he was near Kuroba, he pretended to slip.
Immediately, arms shot out and circled around his waist and shoulder, preventing his fall. He could also tell something was slipped into his jean pocket. Mission succeeded.
“Careful now, Kudo-kun. Don’t start falling for me now.” Kuroba smiled as he helped Shinichi up. The idiot had to say that, didn’t he?
Instead of responding, Shinichi just stood straight up, ignoring all the stares he got from the commotions, and walked away.
Let’s end this quickly. He had a date to kick.
---
“Honestly, what were you thinking, picking up the murder weapon like that?” Shinichi folded his arms and glared at Kuroba, walking next to him.
“Well, if I hadn’t, Obi-san definitely would have done so and destroyed it.” Kuroba smiled sleepily. “I was planning to drop it somewhere for the police to find when you barged in with all your shirt and cardigan, so I kind of…forgot.”
“So it was my fault?” Shinichi’s eye twitched.
“No! I mean, seeing you in suits and uniforms is nice and all but seeing you in casual clothes is just…nicer.” Kuroba dared to blush a bit as he looked away. “Kinda makes me realize that you are actually there, to go on a date, with me.”
“Oi oi.” Shinichi couldn’t help but blush as well. Smooth-talking thief. “You didn’t look bad yourself.”
Kuroba was not. Even though he did not have a distinctive style, Kuroba’s clothes suited him ridiculously well, highlighting his well-built body.
“Aw, thank you, Shin-chan.”
“And don’t call me that!” The nickname just reminded me of all the time his mother tried to hug him to death or used him as a doll for too many clothes. There was a reason Shinichi knew too much about female clothing and did not shy away from crossdressing if needed.
“Well, I can’t really call you Meitantei, can I?” Kuroba shrugged as he folded his arms behind his head.
“Just call me Kudo then.”
“How about I call you Shinichi and you call me Kaito?” Shinichi frowned at the thief. He was probably aimed for that from the beginning.
It was not like he minded calling KID “Kaito,” it just took some time to get used to it. He knew KID’s civilian identity now. And it was Kuroba Kaito. His parents must have had a really distinct sense of humor.
“Whatever.”
They walked in comfortable silence for a while.
“We did make a great team, didn’t we?” Kuroba… Kaito said as he leaned closer to Shinichi. “Ever thinking of taking in an assistant, Shinichi?”
Shinichi just snorted.
“As if. Taking the murder weapon aside, don’t get me started on your behavior in the interrogation. What was that?!” Shinichi noticed that Kaito’s arm had sneakily and gently placed around his waist. It hovered for a few seconds as if to see if Shinichi would move away. When he didn’t, it firmly found its place on his hip. Sneaky idiot. “Also, what with that Lupin’s quote? Are you trying to out yourself?”
“It was not like keiji-san gonna understand that.”
“Oi oi, don’t underestimate Takagi-keiji. He is sharp when he wants to.” Shinichi frowned. Takagi-keiji was the one who figured out and somewhat confronted Shinichi about his time as Conan. Granted that it was after the fact and through multiple interactions, but the detective was still the only one in the Tokyo Police Department who figured it out.
“That is high praise, coming from you.” Kaito whistled quietly.
“Well, it is what it is.” Shinichi shrugged. The man was the police officer Conan was most familiar with after all. Despite his nervous nature, Takagi-keiji knew how to keep a secret so Shinichi didn’t mind telling him. Shinichi was more concerned about his married life with Satou-keiji than anything. How could he still be so anxious even though they had been married for months now? “Speaking of which, where are we going?”
The date was ruined, thanks to the murder. Even though it was not a complicated case, Shinichi still had an urge to sit down and decompress.
“Shin-chan, you have severely underestimated my preparedness for this date.” Kaito grinned as he took out his phone and showed Shinichi the screen.
The stupid thief did put a lot of planning into this. Way too much effort for Shinichi’s comfort. There seemed to be a solution to every scenario. There was even a scenario where a rouge Black Organization member showed up.
Shinichi felt bad.
The most that he did was to go early in case he ran into cases.
“Don’t worry about it Shin-chan.” Kaito gave Shinichi a firm hug with the arm around his waist. “Let’s continue our official first date!”
And Shinichi followed. He supposed he could make up for the stupid thief on their second date. Not that the thief would know.
Idiot.