Notes: Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the final chapter of 'Behind The Scenes'! I will be replying to some reviews below the chapter so stay with me please. Don't miss the illusion!

Quote Of The Chapter: Nothing this time :P

X

Shinichi curled up on his tiny and scratchy couch, flipping the letter and ticket over and over in his hand. His mind was filled with tumultuous emotions and he didn't know what to feel. On one hand, he would be able to get a glimpse at the person behind the mask but on the other hand, it felt wrong, like a taboo. KID's identity had always seemed like a mirage, there but just out of reach, untouchable. Shinichi didn't know what to think.

And, I don't really want to find out if KID really is Kaito…

He was afraid. Afraid that he would begin looking at Kaito differently if he turned out to be KID, he was afraid that Kaito would begin acting differently around himself if Shinichi knew he really was KID. He had really grown to treasure the friendship - and hopefully more - between them and didn't want it to be impacted by any revelations.

Standing up, he trudged off into his kitchen (that really couldn't be called a kitchen with how small it was) and fixed himself a cup of hot chocolate. Usually he would go with black coffee but this time he wanted something sweet and sugary, something that would sufficiently distract himself from the pieces of paper sitting innocuously on his desk.

He tried to convince himself that he really wasn't thinking of Kaito when drinking the hot chocolate.

(He failed.)

X

The next few days was spent in a blur of motion. On Sunday, he was dragged by Kaito to one of the supermarkets to buy groceries ("Yes I know that you're only going to be here for two months but you can't survive for those two months on just takeout!") and was currently trailing behind Kaito as he bounced around, trailing fingers over the packaging of the boxes and occasionally popping up with a question or two for Shinichi over some very generically shaped boxes that he had absolutely no idea over the identity of.

Shinichi fingered the ticket in his pocket whist staring fondly at Kaito chattering with one of the sales assistants (and suppressing the jealousy that bubbled up unbidden when he saw the girl blush and giggle at whatever Kaito had said) and cast his eyes over a box of fortune cookies. The kindly old lady with a face full of laugh lines who was promoting those cookies noticed him and smiled warmly, thrusting one of the fragile cookies in his hand. He tried to refuse but the woman was persistent and in the end Shinichi was left with a fortune cookies in one hand and Kaito's hand in the other as he was pulled to another small stand where they were promoting chocolates (as expected of Kaito's chocolate radar). As Kaito released his hand upon reaching the stand, Shinichi fiddled with the fortune cookie before snapping it cleanly in half and popping one half in his mouth while unravelling the paper strip…

...and promptly beginning to choke on the egg-flavoured bit of cookie in his throat that was presently trying to go down his windpipe and set up shop inside his lungs.

You already know the answer to the questions inside your head.

That was creepy. What were the chances that the paper slip inside a random fortune cookie from a random old woman in a random supermarket store promoting a random fortune cookie brand would give an answer very much related to what he was troubled over.

Turning back to look at the stand again, he hesitated slightly before walking over and picking up a box.

No reason not buying one, it tasted pretty good after all.

X

From Monday through Friday, Shinichi spent his time traversing the whole of New York City just solving the movies and being chauffeured by the NYPD police officers to the crime scenes. There was a strange incident, however, that made him

unsure of his tentative decision to not attend the convention.

Shinichi crouched down beside the motionless and limp body of a preschool teacher, prodding at her wrist and frowning when he found wetness behind her ears. He flicked her hair away and inspected her ear. Foundation. That meant that combined with the strange black mark on her left forearm, the only one who could be the murderer would have to be the the father of one of the woman's students who was her previous ex. Wow, what a convoluted relationship.

Standing up, Shinichi relayed his theory to the officer standing at attention behind him, a clipboard and pen in his arms. The officer was staring at him with unconcealed admiration and awe, a face that Shinichi had seen on too many people but nonetheless still managed to make him feel uncomfortable. A few years ago he would have been delighted and puffed up like a peacock at the admiration and praise but a case that Shinichi had been completely unable to solve yet was easily cracked by a relatively unknown detective brought reality crashing down on him. He wasn't omnipotent, he didn't know everything and he had no right acting that arrogant.

A tap on his shoulder drew him from his reverie and he turned to see one of the suspects, a young woman with bright red eyes and hair an inky black. Without any forewarning, she smiled mysteriously and began muttering out something that sounded like a prophecy before walking away to join a hunched man dressed in a suit.

"When the sixth of seven comes around, a step taken might result in a giant leap made. The masquerade of one ends with the revelation of another."

Shinichi tried to ignore how that sounded so much like what he had been worrying about for the past week but it came back and stuck in his head like magic, tickling the back of his mind.

Well, it might not be so bad to finally relieve the curiosity. No matter the results.

X

Shinichi grimaced as he avoided yet another cosplayer while Kaito laughed beside him. Here they were at this convention which Kaito had procured a ticket for himself for (Shinichi was almost confident he knew how) and Shinichi had to twist his body to avoid bumping into any sweaty, overeager people who were boisterously laughing and conversing. Opposed to how uncomfortable Shinichi felt being in such a crowded location, Kaito was the opposite, seeming at home in the crowded exhibition hall. He fluttered around easily despite being blind and unable to see anyone (which caused him to crash into more than just a few people) and he was waving his cane around like a parade baton.

Sometimes I swear he's a child in a man's body.

Shinichi thought fondly before redirecting his attention to the stage set up at one end of the hall. It had a singular table and chair right smack in the center and a microphone lay innocently on the white tablecloth. There were several security guards scattered around the stage and the area around the stage was cordoned off. There were plastic chairs set up in the pocket of space in front of the stage and excited, curious convention goers were crowded around the blocked off area, some even tried to sneak in.

Shinichi could hear people gushing about how they were so eager to find out who KID was and the tickets cost so much money to get and it was so difficult to even get one of the tickets. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kaito frown slightly and a nervous expression come onto his face before it smoothed out.

Since there were a few hours before the meeting session with KID, they went to a small diner famous for their donburis and found a round table with two chairs in the corner. Throughout their meal, Kaito picked at his salad, then picked at his rice and finally, most worryingly, he picked at his cake. His chocolate cake. Shinichi shot worried glances at Kaito, who never - and it was no exaggeration - left any chocolate substance untouched if he could help it. To have him unwilling to eat the cake brought a sense of unease to Shinichi, though he supposed he could guess why. He really didn't want to acknowledge it, despite how the clues screamed at him and he resolutely decided to believe that Kaito and KID were separate entities unless he was blatantly told otherwise, like how he would be at the convention.

X

They were in the convention and seated down in the front row seats (or at least Shinichi was, he had seen Kaito sneak off and he pretended not to notice. The chattering of the people beside him filled his ears and invaded his mind, making him unable to think properly due to the squeals of the girls being detrimental to clear and proper thinking.

There was a loud tap from the stage and suddenly, everyone quieted down. There was a palpable tension and there was an air of expectancy. The eyes of everybody, both sitting down and crowding outside the cordoned off area were riveted on the stage. Shinichi guessed that it was because the time for the meet-and-greet had just arrived.

Footsteps sounded out from behind the black curtain at the back of the stage and everybody visibly held their breaths (were those girls turning blue? Shinichi hoped that they wouldn't die) as the curtain ruffled and a hand appeared, clutching onto one side of the curtain.

The curtain drew back slightly and a cane appeared. Shinichi felt his eyes widen and his heart rate speed up. That was Kaito's cane, which meant Kaito was KID and that Shinichi had been right after all.

The next thing that appeared was Kaito's shirt. He was wearing the exact same clothes as earlier and they looked ruffled and wrinkled after a long day. He stepped out fully, masquerade mask on and eyes visibly closed even under the mask. His cane tapped rhythmically on the wooden stage floorboards and Shinichi found himself giggling (the horror) internally at the shocked faces on the girls next to him as well as the others who looked like they were about to fall off their chairs.

Kaito - KID? - felt around and pulled out the chair, plopping down in it and setting aside his cane, propping it against the edge of the table. He picked up the microphone, tested it and spoke out hesitantly even as the crowd was still shell shocked.

"Hello everyone, my name is Kuroba Kaito although you all most probably know me as KID."

Just like that, it seemed as if a spell was broken and chattering erupted, the most prominent shouts were, "I don't believe it!", "Are you really blind?!" and "Show us your face!"

Kaito smiled faintly, looking smaller and more nervous than Shinichi had ever seen him look before. He reached up a hand and placed it on the edge of his mask and the crowd hushed once more. With a fluid motion that seemed unnecessarily dramatic, - well, that was in Shinichi's opinion at least - Kaito pulled the mask away from his face and the features that Shinichi had gotten to know so well came into view.

Well, if there was any doubt, it's all gone now.

X

Shinichi trudged through the streets, the magazines and televisions all talking about how 'KID was Kuroba Kaito, an amateur actor.' and sighed slightly. Kaito had unexpectedly been avoiding him and Shinichi was very much done with it. Apparently (according to Hakuba who was now his informant on all things Kaito since Kaito was avoiding him…) Kaito had gotten into his head that Shinichi would begin to act differently around Kaito now that his identity had been revealed - that was a ridiculous notion, Shinichi loved him too much for that though Kaito didn't know that - and he didn't want to face Shinichi. Which led to where they were now.

Breathing out a breath of air, he watched it turn into glistening crystals. The air was freezing cold. Shinichi hurried into his apartment building and entered the elevator. The moment the elevator arrived on his floor, he was met with a sight he definitely didn't expect. Kuroba Kaito was currently standing looking adorably awkward - damn you hormones - outside his front door as if debating whether to keep waiting or just head off. Shinichi made that decision for him by calling his name softly.

"Kaito?"

Kaito's head turned towards him so fast, it looked like he gave himself a whiplash from the movement. Shinichi walked over, placing a hand on Kaito shoulder and feeling a stab of pain when Kaito flinched. Ignoring that, Shinichi unlocked the door and led Kaito in, locking the door before settling him on the couch. Kaito twiddled his thumbs and looking uncharacteristically shy.

"You know, I don't mind you being KID and not telling me or anything. I'm not going to ignore you just because of that."

A choked and startled gasp,

"W-what, how do you know that I was thinki-"

"Hakuba-san told me."

"...Oh."

Shinichi frowned when Kaito stopped speaking and sat there silently without any response and felt an annoyance bubbling up in his chest. Their relationship would never proceed if he kept quiet. In a fit of courage, Shinichi leaned forward, pressed his lips to Kaito's - warm and soft and perfect - and felt Kaito struggle slightly before Kaito pressed back and Shinichi saw Kaito's face heat up and he knew his own was doing the same. He pressed harder and tasted an interesting taste, vanilla and dark chocolate? That taste was interestingly good and he knew it was just Kaito.

When they broke away, Kaito was panting and Shinichi felt his own breath escape in whooshes. Kaito licked his lips and in a rough, hoarse voice - Shinichi felt his face redden even more at the low undertones - breathed out,

"Y-you...I...bu-but…"

Shinichi gently grasped Kaito's face between his hands and turned his head to face his own before intoning in a clear and serious voice full of emotion,

"I love you, Kaito."

Kaito's face rapidly heated up and he tried to turn his head away but Shinichi's hands kept his head there, warm and steady. He muttered out something in a low voice that had Shinichi grinning like an idiot and he pulled Kaito into his chest, burying his face in his hair. Kaito turned his face into Shinichi's shirt - smelled like pine and lemon - and spoke out something that was muffled by his shirt.

"Huh?"

"I said that I wished I could see. I want to be able to know what you look like, to have a face to that wonderful voice in my head…"

Shinichi smiled lovingly - Sonoko's eyes would positively pop out of their sockets at that sight - and threaded his fingers through Kaito's hair.

"Well, I have short brown hair and blue eyes. My cheekbones are… higher than average and my skin tone is fairly pale. Does that help?"

"No…"

Though he said that, Kaito was smiling and he hugged Shinichi even harder.

"But that doesn't really matter in the end."

-END-

*Omake*

"Shinichi, they're coming!"

"I know, Kaito, I know."

"What do I do? I can hear them screaming!"

"...Throw a cap on?"

"They know it's me!"

"...Why are they coming my way?"

"Oh God, Shinichi, run!"

"Kaito, they're just girls."

"No they're not, Shinichi, they're fangirls."

"What the heck, they took my scarf!"

"Shin-chan, run or they'll get you!"

"I'm going!"

And that was how Hakuba found one Kuroba Kaito and one Kudo Shinichi, hiding out in his house with all the security and trying not to gain the attention of KID's - or Kaito's now - fanbase.

*Omake End*

A/N: Woot woot, I finished the chapter and this story (did I say anything about an epilogue? I meant an omake *cough cough*) If there are any questions about the chapter or the story in general, just PM me. That poll up in my profile? Yep, it's closed now. There were only four votes *sad face* but three out of the four votes voted for 'That Which Binds Us' and that is what will be posted next! : Currently I have 6 prompts ready but I would like to request for y'all to suggest some other ideas on the new fic's review section that you want to hear. Thanks!

Review Replies!

oreioreo: Thanks for the compliment ^^ as you wished, the fic has been updated and completed!

Lover Of Emotions: Thanks for the compliment!

Yuukki: Haha, the moment of truth has appeared. Thanks for the review!

Costell: Wow that is a great compliment for me who nobody really knows about. It means alot, thanks!

10th Squad 3rd Seat: Nyahahaha, yep, Shinichi used the taboo word. Kaito would have a field day. And Kaito really likes overthinking things huh? Kaito really does love his chocolate, like really loves it. Even I don't like chocolate that much and that's saying something. I also love that pointing thingy Shin-chan does :3

The Midnight Dream: Thanks for the review! Yep, Hakuba as a manager, it fit somehow in an ironic way and I couldn't think of anyone else for that role considering Kaito and Hakuba's relationship in canon.

Guest: Thank you! It means so much that you loved it. There's no BO or syndicate in this story but Kaito's dad is still dead - sorry Toichi-san - and Kaito is blind not from any incident but because of a natural birth defect. Does that clear it all up?

Hebiaczek: I'm glad that I brought to you what you were looking for :) Thanks for the review!

Shana-Fujioka: Non non non, you must not sacrifice studies for reading badly written fanfic like mine. I did that and look at me now! Kaito's blindness is perfectly natural since I saw a fic that had a blind Shinichi but none of blind Kaito's so I wrote one. Also, I realise that I didn't clarify who wrote the note.

Okay, so basically, Kaito wanted to invite Shinichi to this event which was the other reason Kaito was in New York and he read it out to Hakuba who wrote it down so… it's a team effort?

JelpHasNails: Haha, Shinichi is a true grim reaper huh? It's true even in the canon. I'm happy to be able to bring you a fun read.

neonkoi: *cough* I was hoping for someone to pick up on that reference *cough*. No monsieur/madame, don't die! The Black Org hasn't been defeated yet! Kaito hasn't found Pandora yet! Snake isn't in prison yet! You must live!

Thanks for reading, have a nice day!

-SilvCyanide