Prompt: "On his birthday, Shinichi's mother comes to visit by herself and gives him a necklace with a red jewel in the middle, some sort of amulet which have been passed down her family for generations, and somehow her husband doesn't know about it. Shinichi doesn't plan on using it to catch KID despite how it would have been perfect bait, but Sonoko found out about it somehow, and then her grandpa found out and now it's all over the news.

"For some reason Kaito can't just steal it from him (hidden location which he won't tell anyone?) and so he has to try and gain Shinichi's... Trust. All the while Kaito's organization tries to force the answer out of Shinichi, too bad he's much too used to organizations after his life by now."

Summary: Kaito must earn Shinichi's trust in order to get a hold of a candidate for Pandora. This… won't be easy.

Requestor: sunnyzhp22

Pairing: eventual Kaito x Shinichi

Note(s): I will admit that I took some liberties with the original prompt. As in, made it less serious than it probably was supposed to be. I also got a bit carried away while I was writing, which is why this is over the word limit I put in. But hopefully it turned out all right?

the best proof of love is trust. – joyce brothers

Sometimes, Yukiko really couldn't believe her son.

"Shin-chan," she grumbled, scrubbing at her eyes. Shinichi stared blankly at her.

"I don't see why that rubbing your face will answer my question of why you're handing me a necklace."

"Oh, Shin-chan." Yukiko worried for the boy, really. And for his future girlfriends.

Sitting down carefully across from him, she pointed at the amulet sitting in the box in front of her. "I've told you about how this has been passed down through my side of the family, right? How it's supposed to grant its owner the ability to perform? Which explains how every Fujimine has been an excellent performer of some kind?"

"Yes," her son replied immediately. He was still staring at her as if she'd handed him a grenade and told him to pull the pin. "I don't understand why you're giving it to me."

"You're turning fourteen today, Shin-chan," Yukiko reminded him, watching as his eyes lit up with realization. "It's your birthday."

"Really." Shinichi blinked. "That makes sense, now that you mention it. I was wondering why Ran gave me a cake this morning."

Oh dear, thought Yukiko.

Out loud, though, she just motioned at the amulet. It sparkled a brilliant red, catching light and refracting it in showers of crimson shapes. Yukiko almost hated to part with it. "Anyway, darling, I wanted to pass this on to you."

"I'm not becoming an actor," was the first thing out of Shinichi's mouth.

"I understand," Yukiko sighed distraughtly. She'd so wanted him to join that theater troupe… "It's more of a tradition, really. My father gave it to me when I turned fourteen, and his mother gave it to him when he turned fourteen, and so on. That's why I'm giving it to you."

Shinichi stared a little longer. The ruby seemed to shine a little brighter, casting little scarlet stars in his eyes. He reached out tentatively to pick it up by the chain. "Well… okay."

"Thank you, sweetheart. Happy birthday." Yukiko smiled fondly at him as she rose to leave the library. Well, maybe he wouldn't join the theater troupe, but he'd always be her adorable Shin-chan.

"Hey, Mom?"

"Yes?" She glanced back at him from where she was halfway through the doorway.

"Does Dad know about this?"

"Oh, of course not," Yukiko giggled, flapping a hand at him. "If he knew I needed a silly jewel like that to improve my acting skills, I don't think I'd ever live it down. I haven't told him."

"…Okay." Shinichi gave the amulet another stare. Yukiko smiled to herself before leaving.

"It's your fault that I have to do this," Ran griped as she dusted the fifth shelf from the ground, rising onto her toes. She turned, putting hands on hips, to glare at Shinichi. "Why didn't you have time to clean up your own house during your 'big case'?"

Because I was three feet tall and living at your house, Shinichi thought. He decided not to verbalize that, though, and just shrugged.

"I was really busy."

"So busy that you could only give Ran a couple calls over the course of an entire year?" Sonoko muttered from where she was sitting at the desk, limbs crossed and glare in place. Shinichi really didn't understand why she had felt the need to tag along on Ran's little cleaning adventure.

Ran cast her best friend a chastising glance before smiling apologetically at Shinichi. "Don't worry, Sonoko's only joking."

"Only joking. Right." Shinichi rolled his eyes at the blonde. Her glare intensified.

In what was most likely an attempt to diffuse the situation, Ran chirped with exaggerated cheer, "Hey, Sonoko, how did the heist last night go? Shinichi was planning to go, but a case came up."

Instantly, Sonoko's face relaxed into a dreamy smile, one that made Shinichi sigh heavily. "Kid-sama was gorgeous!" She paused, deflating slightly. "Apparently the gem wasn't what he wanted, though, because Uncle Jirokichi found it in his coffee cup this morning with a note that said he was looking for red jewels now or something." Her grin came back full force, completely with hands clutching dramatically at her heart. "But Kid-sama was beautiful!"

"Of course he was," Shinichi muttered to himself, and Sonoko shot daggers with her eyes.

Laughing awkwardly, Ran dusted at the shelf, only to knock something loose. It fell to the ground, narrowly missing her foot. "Oh? What's this, Shinichi?"

"Huh?" Shinichi looked over. The plain cardboard box didn't seem familiar, but somehow he knew it was his. "I'm not sure…"

"Hm…" Setting aside her duster, Ran stooped to pick it up gingerly.

Sonoko flapped a hand at her. "Just put it back." She smirked dismissively. "It's not as if Shinichi-kun cares about it or anything."

"Hey."

"Oh, you two," Ran giggled in a way that meant she was nearing her limit. Both Sonoko and Shinichi wisely shut up.

"But really, what's in here?" Ran wondered, examining the edge of the box carefully.

Shinichi shrugged. "I'm really not sure. Why don't you open it?"

"Really?" Frowning, Ran gently pried the box open. Her eyes widened at the contents. "Oh my God, Shinichi."

"What?" With concern, Shinichi launched himself out of his chair and towards his childhood friend. "What's wrong, Ran?"

She pushed the box at him, smile wide. "It's beautiful!"

An amulet presented itself to Shinichi, bits of fragmented red light reflecting everywhere from the large ruby set in it. Shinichi blinked, startled, then relaxed. "Oh, right. I remember this."

"What is it?" Sonoko padded up to them. Her eyes widened. "Wow."

Shinichi lifted the amulet by the chain, smiling faintly. "My mom gave it to me on my fourteenth birthday. It's a tradition on her side of the family. I guess I just put it away because I didn't know what to do with it."

"It's so pretty," Ran sighed, expression wondering. "It almost – glows or something."

"Maybe." Shinichi cautiously placed it back in the box. "It's probably just a trick of the light, though." He was about to pull the box closed when Sonoko's hand snapped forward and grabbed the chain, yanking it free.

Alarmed, Shinichi whirled on her. "What's your problem?" he demanded.

Sonoko wasn't listening. "This is perfect!"

"Perfect for… what?" Shinichi blinked, caught off guard.

Eyes dangerously bright, Sonoko beamed, "For Kid-sama!"

And that's when Shinichi knew life was going to get a lot more difficult.

"Oh God." Shinichi dropped his head on the kitchen table. The newspaper with the headline Kudou Shinichi, Newly Returned Detective of the East, Presents a Challenge to Kaitou Kid! in huge print lay open in front of him.

Kudou Shinichi, having just returned from exposing a large, undercover criminal organization, is seeking to challenge everyone's favorite gentleman thief, according to Sonoko Suzuki, younger daughter of the Suzuki Financial Group. The detective is in possession of a large ruby set in an amulet, which Suzuki claims will be used to lure in Kid.

The whereabouts of the gem are still unknown.

Sometimes, he really, really hated Sonoko.

Behind him, the phone rang, and Shinichi exhaled hard before saying goodbye to the last bit of his sanity and picking it up.

"Excuse me?! Is this Kudou Shinichi?! Yes, where will you be keeping the –"

Yes, there went his sanity.

Kaito sat back heavily in his chair, running a hand through his hair tiredly.

"And – and here's Kudou Shinichi, the one who will challenge the Kaitou Kid! Please tell us more about the target gem, Kudou-san!"

Onscreen, Kudou Shinichi batted aside the reporter, wearing a dark frown. "Like I've been telling all the reporters," he half-yelled to be heard above the clatter of cameramen and microphone-wielding reporters, "I am not challenging the Kaitou Kid. Sonoko decided that on her own because she wanted to see her darling Kid-sama again. I'm not involved; I just own the amulet."

"Which makes you pretty involved," Kaito mumbled to himself, crossing his arms over his chest as a picture of the mentioned amulet was shown. Even from the TV screen, he could tell there was something different about tantei-kun's jewel – it seemed more radiant than his previous targets, and it was certainly big enough to house the smaller Pandora Kaito was looking for…

But the problem was tantei-kun – or rather, tantei-kun's larger form. Shinichi was extremely unwilling to reveal the location of his gem, as he'd shown through the millions of reporters he'd scorned. Kaito himself had disguised as a reporter the first day the news had gotten out to try his luck, but all he'd gotten for his efforts was a glare and a "leave me alone, I'm not going to tell you."

So where did that leave Kaito? He'd been searching for Pandora for, what, three years now, and he was no closer to finding it than when he'd first begun. And this jewel that Shinichi owned seemed like a likely candidate.

"Ugh." Kaito buried his face in his hands. But in the end, what could he do, if Shinichi wouldn't make public where he was –

Wait.

A smile curved Kaito's lips as the realization hit him. If he couldn't get Shinichi to make it public, then what if he could just get Shinichi to tell him privately?

Shoving one hand wearily through his hair and gripping his coffee cup with the other, Shinichi headed for the front door at the loud knock. "Coming, coming."

He yawned as he opened the front door, expecting another reporter screeching something about the amulet.

What he got was the Kaitou Kid.

What he got right after that was hot coffee dropped on his foot.

Repressing the growing urge to scream, slam the front door shut, and go find a bucket of ice, Shinichi swallowed hard. "Good morning," he said calmly, calmly enough that nobody would've guessed he'd just dropped scalding coffee on his foot.

Kid's eyebrows were sky-high. He was staring at Shinichi's foot with horror. "Are you okay?"

"Second-degree burns. I've had worse." With the utmost caution, Shinichi held up one finger. "One moment."

Carefully turning his back on Kid, he hopped/limped/staggered into the kitchen and contorted awkwardly to douse his foot in cold water, then grabbed his modified stun-gun wristwatch off the counter. Thank God he had left it there.

He turned around, ready to go deal with Kid again –

– only to find himself face-to-face with him.

The thief frowned at him. "Tantei-kun, are you really okay –"

Acting on pure reflexes, Shinichi kicked him in the face. With his burned foot.

This meeting was not going well, he thought as Kid lurched backwards before collapsing and he swore violently, trying desperately to fit him and his now dying foot into the kitchen sink.

"I'm not here to find out about the amulet," Kid growled. He pressed the ice pack Shinichi had loaned him to his swelling cheek, looking somewhat annoyed. "Seriously, was it really necessary to kick me?"

Shinichi huffed, crossing his legs unrepentantly in front of him. "You shouldn't have followed me into the house. I wasn't expecting to see you there." And when you spent the last year chasing down the Black Organization, you tend to react a bit… forcefully.

"That much is obvious," Kid grumbled, leaning back. In this lighting, Shinichi could see finally see him clearly. He was a work of art – all lightly-tanned skin (save for his swelling face) and messy dark brown hair with indigo eyes – and Shinichi momentarily wondered if he was wearing a disguise.

Kid seemed to hear the thought. "This is what I really look like," he told Shinichi, removing the ice pack for a moment as he met Shinichi's gaze steadily. "I'm not wearing a mask or anything."

"Right."

Apparently Shinichi's response was less than satisfactory, because Kid glared. "I'm really not. My name is Kuroba Kaito. I live in Ekoda. I'm eighteen years old."

Shinichi gaped at him. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because." Kid – Kuroba? Kaito? – set down the ice pack and leaned forward. "You came back, and I'm interested."

"You're interested." Shinichi smirked. "You're interested in me?"

Kaito blinked, then went slightly pink. "You don't have to phrase it that way, you know."

"I know." Shinichi laughed a little before he sobered. "You are aware that I could turn you in now, right? I mean – you've told me your name, where you live, and your age. I could find you in a heartbeat."

"That's right." Kaito smiled, a sudden curve of lips that somehow didn't seem quite as arrogant as Shinichi had always sort of assumed Kid was. "But I'm going to trust you."

Shinichi was suddenly very aware of how hot his face felt.

Kaito hummed softly to himself as he paused on the doorstep of Shinichi's house. He wondered, briefly, if it really was okay to surprise Shinichi like this – popping up with coffee and pastries at nine in the morning?

But to be honest, he wasn't sure how else he was going to truly win Shinichi's trust. If he was being painfully frank with himself, his only two close friends, the only two people he gave some semblance of trusting, were Aoko and Jii, and both of them he'd known for life. He'd never really needed to build trust – he'd always just… had it.

He was about to knock when a female voice shrieked, "Shinichi, you idiot!" and the door flew open violently. Kaito barely managed to duck out of the way before a tower of boiling fury stormed out of the mansion.

Eyebrows raised, Kaito managed to recognize the tower as Mouri Ran. She stalked past him without a second thought, muttering infuriatedly under her breath.

Well. Kaito glanced into the entry, the bag of pastries hanging limply at his side and the tray of coffee awkwardly suspended in midair. There was no sign of life, which was probably not a good sign.

Taking a step into the house, Kaito called out tentatively, "Uh, Kudou?"

A quiet rustling echoed from somewhere, and Kaito breathed a sigh of relief. Good. Kudou was still alive. He still needed to know where he was keeping the amulet, after all.

Stepping out of his shoes, Kaito wandered down the front hall. "Kudou?"

"In the kitchen."

Kaito followed the sound of Shinichi's voice a little farther down, entering the kitchen. His eyes widened at the sight that greeted him.

Shinichi was slumped in the far corner, nursing a bruised cheek (oh the irony) and scowling. His legs were curled up underneath him, his bandaged foot resting on the ground in front of him. The pieces of a broken plate lay at his left.

At the sight of Kaito, Shinichi's grimace turned to a tired exhale. "Oh, just what I need. The Kaitou Kid, coming to taunt me."

"Actually, I just brought coffee."

"…Is that a thinly veiled insult about my foot?"

Kaito groaned. He crossed the kitchen, watching as Shinichi stiffened instantly, and slid down into a sitting position beside him. "Not everyone's out to get you, y'know."

"That's funny, coming from you."

"I'm not that bad of a person."

Shinichi laughed mirthlessly. "Oh, really."

Sensing this wasn't an argument he was going to win, Kaito just set the bag of pastries and the tray of coffee beside Shinichi, drumming his fingers on his knees. He felt awkward and intrusive, out of place and like a stranger. All of which were true, of course.

Yet somehow, the way Shinichi's head bent forward across his lap, his bangs falling across his forehead and his arms tightening around his shoulders defensively… Kaito almost wished it wasn't so, wished he wasn't just a stranger trying to insert himself into Shinichi's life for his own gain. Wished, maybe, that he understood more about the enigma Kudou Shinichi presented, that he could unravel every little complicated layer until he reached the true Shinichi.

That… was a weird thought, Kaito decided, and he was going to avoid thinking it until it was less weird.

"Those are pastries," he told Shinichi, mostly to fill the gaping silence. "And that's coffee."

The detective raised his face. Up close, his cheek was swollen and violently red, and Kaito bit back the question of what, exactly, happened with Mouri-san? "Wow, thanks. Just what I need right now." There was sarcasm there, sarcasm that was carved into the very tone of his voice, but there was pain, too, pain concealed underneath it all.

"I'm thinking you might need stitches more than muffins, actually," Kaito remarked, reaching out absently to bring his hand to the reddened skin.

Shinichi froze at the touch, and Kaito flinched back. "Sorry, I just…"

"No, I understand." Shinichi relaxed against the cabinet behind him, blowing out a breath. "Ran came over to talk, and I finally told her the truth about Conan. She – was not happy."

"Oh." Kaito would consider not happy a bit of an understatement regarding Ran's state while leaving the house, but elected not to mention it.

Reaching into the bag, Shinichi pulled out a poppy seed muffin. "But thanks for coming, I guess. And thanks for the coffee." He reached for one of the takeout cups, gagging when he took a sip. "Damn, Kuroba, how much sugar did you put in this?"

"Uh…" Kaito stopped to think about it. "About three cups." He motioned at the other one. "That's yours, though. Mine's got thirteen."

"…Great."

"Bagels today?"

"Yep. What, do you not like bagels?"

"No, I like bagels. They're fine."

"Then why did you say it like that?"

"Say what like that?"

"You know, 'bagels today?' in that accusatory tone."

"It wasn't accusatory. I was merely asking."

"Hey, I can stop bringing you coffee and breakfast if you like."

"Eh, that's okay."

"You're breaking my heart, Kudou. Can't you show some gratitude?"

"I could… but why would I?"

"How could you be so heartless?"

"Didn't you know? We detectives always are."

"…"

"Thanks for the bagel, though."

"…You're welcome."

"Oh God. We need to work on the proper amount of sugar to put in coffee."

"Two cups this time, Kudou."

"Right. Can we try maybe two teaspoons?"

"Teaspoon? How much is a teaspoon?"

"…You may need help."

"How is it this time?"

"Um. How much sugar did you put in this time?"

"Like you said. Two teaspoons."

"…I'm pretty sure this is more than two teaspoons."

"Really?"

"Wait… could it be you mean two tablespoons?"

"…There's a difference?"

Kaito rolled back his shoulders, preparing to ring the doorbell. He felt – jittery, almost. Maybe it was just because this was his first time coming to Shinichi's house at night?

Generally, their relationship was limited to Kaito bringing over coffee and some sort of baked good and then maybe staying to have breakfast together. That was how it had been for nearly two months, at least.

And though Kaito hadn't done much except exhaust a good part of his wallet's contents and learn a surprising amount about Shinichi, he wasn't any closer to finding where Shinichi was keeping the amulet.

Which he was unexpectedly okay with. Because Shinichi was – for lack of a better word – interesting. He could be calculating and cold and curt, yes, but he could also be snarky and flustered and awkward. In fact, he was more often snarky and flustered and awkward, and Kaito found that… well, adorable.

He wasn't sure if that was a problem or not.

Swallowing, Kaito reached out to ring the doorbell – but his gaze fell on the door itself. Was it just him, or was the door partway open…?

Reaching for the doorknob, Kaito frowned when he found that he was right.

Opening his mouth, he was about to call Shinichi's name when he heard a quiet thud and a low groan that sounded disturbingly like Shinichi. Instantly Kaito tensed.

And then – "Oh, shut up," in a familiar growl.

The blood seemed to freeze in Kaito's veins. That was – there was no doubt that it was Snake. Why was he – oh right, the amulet.

Shit.

Barely daring to breathe, Kaito crept forward, down the hall. The muffled sounds of something shuffled back towards him, and Kaito felt a combination of horror and revulsion. What were they doing to Shinichi?

He paused at the library. The door was ajar, letting a knifelike beam of light spill out onto the ground. Cautiously, Kaito slipped forward, looking in tentatively.

Through the gap, he could make out Shinichi's form, bound to an armchair with duct tape plastered over his mouth. Snake and a good deal of men surrounded him, but Shinichi only looked vaguely irritated.

"Now tell us," Snake hissed, glaring as he bent over Shinichi. "Tell us where you're keeping the amulet."

Shinichi did this thing with his eyes – sort of rolled them and blinked emphatically – in a way that conveyed I have tape over my mouth, you dumbass with ridiculous clarity.

Snake scowled and ripped off the tape. Even from where he was crouching, Kaito flinched at the sound.

"Could you have done that any harder?" Shinichi grumbled, rubbing his mouth against his shoulder uncomfortably.

"Yes, I could have," Snake half-yelled. "Now tell us."

If a person tied to a chair could look disdainful, Shinichi did. "Why would I?"

"We know you've been talking to Kid. And we need to get that jewel before he does, you understand?" Snake snapped fiercely, grabbing Shinichi by the chin and jerking his head up.

"We started talking two months ago." Shinichi rolled his eyes with annoyance. "You're a bit slow on the uptake, aren't you?"

"Shut up. Tell us where the damn amulet is, and we won't kill you."

"Oh, don't even. You'll kill me anyway, won't you?" Shinichi sank back in his chair, somehow managing to be regal.

Snake was positively shaking with fury. He yanked his gun out of his jacket and settled the muzzle between Shinichi's eyes. "Tell us."

"Why?" Shinichi's gaze was calm, even. "So you can find it and kill both me and Kid?"

"Kid?" Snake scoffed. "The hell? Why do you care what we do with Kid? What, you're afraid we'll go after him once we blow your brains out?"

That was the first thing Snake said that elicited anything but boredom from Shinichi. He froze visibly.

A smile wormed its way across Snake's face. "Oh, I see. You started caring about that damn bastard, didn't you? Well, news to you: He's only here to get the jewel from you, too, and don't think for a goddamn second that he cares about you."

That's not true, Kaito thought indignantly. He shifted a little, interrupting the rectangle of light from the door, and Shinichi's gaze flickered almost imperceptibly to him.

Kaito wondered if he had imagined that as Shinichi's eyes skittered back to Snake.

"Yes, well, it's not as if I care about him, either," Shinichi shrugged, and Kaito felt his stomach sink a little. "So it's none of my business if you want to kill him. But I've reconsidered. I'll show you where the amulet is."

Snake blinked, clearly startled by Shinichi's change in demeanor. "What?"

"You're going to have to untie me, though," Shinichi continued on as if Snake hadn't spoken. "It's going to be kind of hard to describe where I'm keeping it, and if the person holding it doesn't get confirmation that I'm completely safe, they're not going to release it."

The look on Snake's face said he didn't trust Shinichi for a nanosecond, but he nodded sharply at a couple of the other men. "Untie him, then." He glared hard. "But don't try anything funny. We'll shoot you."

"Oh please." Shinichi removed himself from the chair once the ropes had been untied. He cast a quick glance at the door. "By the way, if you were looking for Kid, he's over there."

Panic shot through Kaito as the men jumped and whirled for the door. What the hell was Shinichi – oh. Was he trying to –?

Well, Kaito didn't have much choice but to go with it, he supposed.

Kaito scrambled to his feet and threw open the door. "Hello, gentlemen," he called, fixing his Kid smirk in place.

"Kid!" Snake screeched, pivoting to point his gun at Kaito –

– and then he fell over, snoring quietly, to reveal Shinichi standing behind him, holding up his left wrist. His stun-gun wristwatch glinted in the dim lighting.

"Hey, Kuroba," he called quietly before turning around and kicking one of the gawping men straight in the jaw.

Kaito rubbed at his cheek in remembrance of being on the receiving end of kick – damn it had hurt – before whirling to strike one of the other men with his elbow, then another with the heel of his hand.

In moments, they had disarmed and incapacitated all of the men.

Over the lax forms, Kaito frowned at Shinichi. "How did they tie you up?"

"Stun-gun to the neck when I opened the front door," the detective answered with a sigh. "I was caught off guard. Don't give me that look."

"If you say so." Kaito breathed out hard.

They stood in silence for a long, long moment before Kaito falteringly began, "H-Hey, Kudou…"

"What?"

"What they said about me… you know."

"About you not caring about me and being after the amulet?" Shinichi turned his eyes on him.

"Do you…?"

"Believe them? Absolutely."

Defensiveness rose in Kaito's throat. "Hey, now –"

"At least, the part about being after the amulet is originally true, isn't it?" Shinichi leaned casually against a bookshelf, nudging aside a man's arm with his foot. "Don't think I didn't know you were trying to get me to trust you just so I'd tell you where I was keeping the amulet. Your timing made it pretty clear."

That was true, but… "It's not like that anymore, you know."

"I know." Shinichi shrugged.

"But what you said –"

"That I didn't care about you?" Shinichi ran a hand through his hair tiredly. "Well, I didn't have much choice, you know. Lying was probably my best bet at that point."

Kaito felt his heart jump in his chest. "Lying? So you do…?"

Seeming to realize what exactly he was implying, Shinichi promptly went red. "Sh-Shut up," he grumbled, looking away. "But… yes, lying."

Something about him, face flaming and turned away, leaning against a wall of mystery-related novels and having just beat up part of a criminal syndicate, made Kaito's chest catch fire. It burned, but not in an unpleasant way, more in a comfortable, warm, stomach-clenchingly sweet way.

Acting purely on instincts, Kaito crossed the room and kissed Shinichi softly on the mouth.

He felt Shinichi freeze at the contact, and Kaito almost pulled back, disheartened – but then fingers slowly crawled up his back, tugging on his shirt, and he smiled against Shinichi's mouth.

Shinichi tasted interesting, Kaito thought as he slipped his tongue across the flat of Shinichi's teeth, earning a surprised sound. He tasted a little tangy, and a little bitter, and a little sweet.

But mostly, he tasted like trust.

– omake –

"So where is the amulet?" Kaito wondered, leaning over the kitchen table.

Shinichi glanced up from the newspaper (headlined Extremist Group Seeking Immortality-Granting Stone Caught!) in his hands. "You make me wonder if you were really only after my wealth," he mock-sobbed, and Kaito laughed.

"Oh, I'm after so much more," he purred, and Shinichi flushed, clearing his throat.

"But seriously, where have you been keeping it?" Kaito questioned, sitting down across from him. "I mean, I haven't seen it around."

And then Shinichi got a look on his face, a look that meant bad news, and Kaito flinched. "You haven't seen it, sure," he grinned, and stood, heading for the freezer.

Kaito gaped. "Oh. Oh no you didn't."

"Yes, I did." Shinichi opened the freezer and pulled out a very familiar ice pack, one that had spent quite a bit of time up against Kaito's face. He dug around in a drawer for a pair of scissors, cutting open one side of the plastic and sliding out the block of ice.

Wrapped neatly in a bag, the amulet lay frozen in the ice, winking a taunting crimson.

Well, hope that met your expectations, sunnyzhp22! I know the middle part where they actually get to know each other is rather rushed, but that was about when I realized I was going quite a bit over the word limit and sped things up.

Requests are still open! Rules on my profile.

On the to next request! See you all later~! - Luna