Mikau: Hey guys! So I actually wrote this for the Prompt Exchange on Poirot Café for sgchan because it was past the deadline and her exchange partner hadn't come through yet. I was going to have this up last weekend, but then other stuff came up and the exchange partner got their entry done, so there wasn't the urgency to finish that there had been. Anyway! Thanks for checking this out. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: DCMK is the intellectual property of Aoyama Gosho, and the prompt for this fic was sent in by sgchan on Poirot Café for the Prompt Exchange 2 event.

…

Sisterly Advice

"Kai-chan, can you help me with my makeup?" Ayumi called tentatively from the doorway of the magician's dressing room.

Kaito tore his eyes away from his own reflection to inspect his lovely assistant. "Ow-ow! Ayu-chan, you're gonna knock the socks off of all the boys in the audience."

"You think so?" Ayumi giggled, bashfully tucking a loose bang behind her ear. "It's not too much?"

"Not at all," he assured, coming over to make small adjustments. He pulled the dress strap over so that it covered her bra. "I think it's a good balance of sexy and classy…and the rest of the Tanteidan would have killed me otherwise. Plus, you know how Ai-chan wouldn't consent to wearing anything more risqué."

"Right," Ayumi chuckled, remembering how obstinately Ai-chan had resisted the idea of sexy magician's assistants' outfits.

"Is she here yet?" Kaito queried as he guided Ayumi over to his dressing table and bade her sit in the chair there.

Ayumi shook her head and then did her best to sit up straight, making sure to be still as Kaito got out the various powders and pastes. "Ai-chan doesn't take as long as I do getting ready," Ayumi reported, careful not to move her face too much as she spoke so as not to mess Kaito up as he applied foundation and blush.

Kaito shrugged. "She's had more practice. A normal sixteen year-old doesn't have much use for makeup. You've got all of your natural beauty still; you don't need to cover anything up," Kaito informed with a wink that made Ayumi giggle and shake her head in protest.

No one had ever told her she was pretty. "Cute", she got a lot of, but no one spoke of Ayumi's beauty but Kaito, so she readily dismissed his words, seeing as he was a compulsive flirt. Ai-chan had told her so.

"You'll believe me one of these days," Kaito clucked. "Once you've fallen in love and have someone else telling you so."

Ayumi resisted the urge to roll her eyes, as Kaito was then doing her eye shadow, eye liner, and mascara.

"For now," Kaito preached. "Stay away from makeup as long as you can. You're young and gorgeous, and you don't need it."

"Didn't you start wearing makeup when you were sixteen, Kai-chan?" Ayumi held in a smirk as Kaito winced.

"You mean back when I started cross-dressing?" Kaito chuckled. "Open your eye a little wider."

"Good?"

"Good." He resumed, "It's a little different for biological girls than it is for 'girls' like me. Do as I say, not as I do…right?"

This time she did roll her eyes, as he had finished with the eye makeup and had moved on to the lips.

"I wonder when Ai-chan started putting on makeup," Ayumi hummed as Kaito mulled over lipstick shades, testing them out on the side of his hand.

"Probably at a young age." Kaito shrugged, only half listening. "She had an older sister, and they probably got into their mother's kit when they were little. And then Ai-chan most likely started to put on makeup when her sister began to wear it, so…"

"Yeah…" Ayumi breathed, pursing her lips. "Ai-chan doesn't talk about her sister much…. I think it's still painful, but…she thinks about her a lot. I can tell because her face looks so sad…more than just her normal stoicism, you know? And her eyes…it's like they're looking really far away. I can tell she's thinking about Akemi-san then…and it feels like she's somewhere I can't reach her."

Halfway through, Kaito had set down the myriad lipstick containers and tuned in.

"Oh?" he crooned softly, interest piqued. "You pay an awful lot of attention to her."

Ayumi blushed, waving her arms in feeble protest. "I'm just with her a lot is all. She's my best friend, so…I notice things."

"Hmm?" Kaito gave a little hop to sit up on top of his dressing table so that he could face her. "Like what?" he prompted, kicking his feet back and forth like a kid at the barber shop.

"Well…" Ayumi squirmed a bit under his keen gaze. "Ai-chan's really cool and mature. She's elegant and refined like a real lady, and, on top of looks, she's got brains too. I've never met anyone as smart as Ai-chan…except Conan-kun, but—"

"—What about me?" Kaito interrupted with an injured pout.

Ayumi shook her head. "There's a difference between being clever and lucky and actually being smart, Kai-chan. And Ai-chan is a genius—a real genius."

"Hmpf," Kaito retorted. "Fine. She's a genius. What else?"

Ayumi bit her lip but was unable to rein in a smile of pure awe. "She may seem kind of cold at first, but she does value her friends, and she shows her love for them in her own way. Ai-chan's loyal and generous and kind. You can see it especially when she's around animals. Ai-chan's really loving, and she's got a big heart."

Here Ayumi's joyous grin faded into a wistful smile. "She's so perfect—everything about her. Sometimes I feel like…she's beyond my reach. Even though we've been friends for years…I feel like she's out of my league."

"It doesn't matter," Kaito replied firmly. "Even if she seems perfect or if you feel unworthy… I dated Mr. Perfect once, and I felt like he was worlds beyond me—smart, selfless, mature, kind—but that perceived distance between us didn't matter to him. He wanted me at his side no matter what, and he thought I was perfect just the way that I was, flaws and all."

"What happened?" Ayumi couldn't help her curiosity because, as far as she was aware, Kaito was currently engaged to Mouri Ran.

Kaito winced, smiling wryly as he sheepishly responded, "He broke up with me at the foot of the Eiffel Tower because I made him feel like he was on drugs. Which is actually kind of funny because I know for a fact that he's never taken anything non-prescription. Apparently, though, I was like an addiction, and his dependence on me was interfering with his work."

"Oh?" Ayumi hummed. She had always believed that Kaito had the most interesting life, and this anecdote only further confirmed her hypothesis.

"Yeah," Kaito sighed, running a hand through his hair and then frowning because he'd forgotten it was gelled. "That was back during my wild youth when I stole clock-towers and walked in midair for a living.

"—Anyway!" Kaito interrupted himself.

Ayumi smiled fondly, holding in a laugh.

"That wasn't the point!" He cleared his throat. "The point was, perfect people are tired of 'perfect'. They're sick of it, so you don't even have to worry about being on their level. You just need to be you, 'cause that's the best thing you can do for them."

Ayumi's brow pinched together in a troubled frown. "But…I'm so—"

"—Fine the way you are," Kaito insisted. "Ai-chan obviously thinks so."

"How can you tell that?" Ayumi sighed. She wanted to believe it was true, but…

"Clearly she wants you by her side, otherwise she would have pushed you away by now, right?" Kaito smiled warmly, encouragingly. "She wants you around. She truly values your presence in her life. Believe me; I can tell just by watching you two together. Ai-chan is troubled a lot of the time, but she brightens up, she's happy when she's hanging out with you."

Ayumi's face flushed in delight. "Thanks, Kai-chan," she whispered, a smile of joy bursting forth onto her lips. "I really needed the pep talk."

Kaito shrugged, hopping down from his perch and grabbing two of the tubes of lipstick. "Not a problem. That's what big sisters are for, right?"

Ayumi chuckled at her self-proclaimed big "sister".

Kaito clapped his hands together, making the tubes disappear. He clapped again, and, with a flick of his wrists, conjured up the missing makeup. "'Pretty Princess' or 'Big Flirt'?" He indicated the two shades of pink.

Ayumi pursed her lips, nibbling on her bottom one. "…Big Flirt," she finally decided, choosing the hot pink over the pastel.

Kaito smirked, making the "Pretty Princess" vanish once more. "Nice. I would have picked that one too. Just don't go taking the moniker to heart—you're only sixteen."

Ayumi gave him a teasing look. "Just think back to what you were doing when you were sixteen, Kai-chan."

Kaito glared pout-ily at his "little sister". "Hey. I didn't lose my innocence until I was seventeen and a half, and there was no risk of me getting pregnant. Boys your age are stupid and irresponsible. You just can't depend on them, so don't even think about flirting and kissing and dating and sex until you're out of med school, okay?"

"What precisely are you two talking about?" Haibara Ai glared at Kaito from the doorway. She'd caught a snatch of their conversation out in the hall as she'd passed on her way to Ayumi and her own dressing room.

"I'm trying to instill in Ayumi-chan that men are putrid slime and that she should stay away from sausages until she's got her doctorate and is married to a wealthy attorney or company president or something," Kaito informed fervently.

Haibara raised an eyebrow at the jester. She shook her head and directed her attention to Ayumi. "Listen to the fool," she instructed as she approached, taking the lipstick from Kaito. "He occasionally gets things right. Open your mouth a little," Haibara instructed with a soft, motherly smile.

Ayumi blushed and did as directed, watching Ai's lips as they rounded and widened, making the motions as if Ai were applying lipstick on herself.

"There. Rub your lips together." Ai stepped back and smiled at her work.

"Good?" Ayumi held her breath for approval.

Ai gave the nod. "Yes. Very pretty. Kaito did a good job not going overboard this time."

"I never go overboard with Ayu-chan's makeup," Kaito insisted with a snort of defiance. "I'm very conscientious of how much I put on her so that she looks like a lady, not a hussy."

"Unfortunately, you always go the hussy route with your own female apparel," Haibara grumbled, reaching out and wiping a stray bit of pink from the corner of Ayumi's mouth with her thumb.

Ayumi's face turned scarlet as the place Ai had touched burned. She did her best not to fidget.

"I have to admit," Haibara continued, oblivious. "She always looks classy when you do her makeup. You do do a good job on other people. She looks very pretty, don't you think so?" She solicited Ayumi's input.

The young girl gave a start, and it took a minute for her to find the words. "I-If you think so, Ai-chan." Her voice shook with excitement.

"Yes," Haibara responded, setting the lipstick tube down and heading for the door. Her gait was so smooth, she almost glided. "Kai-chan does occasionally make lovely things."

"THANK you," Kaito scoffed, feeling the praise to be long overdue.

"Mostly flawless forgeries and beautiful women, but…" Haibara chuckled.

"Hey," the ex-con artist whined. "The only forgeries I make nowadays are for my fiancée."

Haibara's footsteps faded down the hall without a reply from their owner.

Ayumi giggled, turning to Kaito and whispering conspiratorially, "Kai-chan, did you hear that?"

"What?" Kaito humored her by matching her volume.

"Ai-chan said I was pretty!" In her excitement, her pitch rose into a bit of a shrill whistle.

"I tell you you're pretty all the time, and you don't glow like that," Kaito grumbled sullenly.

"Kai-chan, you're a natural flirt," Ayumi sighed. "You tell ALL the girls that they're pretty."

"Only when it's true," Kaito argued.

"You even tell the ugly girls that they're pretty," Ayumi sniffed.

"No," Kaito corrected. "I raise the self-esteem of non-traditional beauties by helping them find the beauty within themselves. Everyone's got some redeeming quality like a nice smile or a kind heart, even if they don't turn heads or wear a size zero. You're misconstruing my life's work to empower young women everywhere."

Ayumi thought about this for a minute before moving on. "…But Ai-chan meant that she thought I was physically attractive." The young maiden preened.

Kaito sighed, giving up. "…Yeah. Yeah, she did."

Ayumi's bliss reigned supreme for a solid minute before she realized her makeup was complete and she had no other claim on the magician's time right before the show.

"Oh! Thanks for your help, Kai-chan." She got up and bowed, preparing to go.

"Any time," he assured with a fond chuckle. "My pleasure, Ayu-chan."

She got about halfway to the door before he stopped her.

"Hey…" Kaito called hesitantly.

"Hmm?"

He bit his lip. "Do you think you're going to tell her how you feel?"

Ayumi broke into a crimson blush and a splutter of "How?! I-I don't—I mean… What do you—?!"

Kaito chuckled softly, going over to shut the door before he beckoned for her to take a seat once more. "You're kind of obvious, and it's really adorable."

Ayumi pursed her lips and looked down at her folded hands as she wriggled. "You won't tell her, will you?"

"Never," Kaito promised, giving her an affectionate pat on the cheek. "That's for you to do."

"I don't want her to know," Ayumi whispered, a troubled expression weighing down her pretty features. "I'm afraid she'll be freaked out and not be friends anymore. I don't want to ruin things, Kai-chan." She looked up at him in desperation, tears building in the corners of her eyes.

"Hey," he called softly, reaching out and cupping her cheek. "It's okay. I've sooo been there. It's like that with every friendship turning to romance…but I get where you're coming from, the added pressure of both being girls."

"What do I do?" she whimpered, biting her lip to hold back tears.

"Well, I think the important thing to consider is, do you really think the ten year-old bond you have with her could break so easily?"

Ayumi continued to chew anxiously on her lip. "Probably…not, but…it might be different. Things might be weird between us."

Kaito shrugged. "But you two would work it out with time. Things would be okay."

"You think so?" A fragile hope shone in her eyes.

Kaito grinned warmly. "You two? C'mon. I know so. She loves you like a sister; there's no way something like this could break you up."

The troubled expression started to lift from Ayumi's face, and a weak smile began to break through. "Yeah… But…I don't know. I'm still not sure if I want her to know, though."

"You have to ask yourself if you can stand keeping quiet," Kaito counseled softly. "Like, when I was struggling with whether I should risk messing up my friendship with Ran by confessing. It got to the point where I couldn't NOT tell her. I was seriously losing sleep over it, and it was killing me. I couldn't stand being around her, close enough to touch her or kiss her but not being allowed to. So I finally cracked…. The question is, can you be by Ai-chan's side throughout the rest of your friendship and not tell her your feelings?"

Ayumi squirmed some more as she considered. "…No," she finally decided in a defeated sigh. "Maybe for a while, a year or two, but not for the rest of our friendship."

"Then the important thing is timing," Kaito advised, settling down on top of his dressing table once more. "Pick your battles. Choose the right time and place to tell her."

Ayumi's face sank back into its former stormy state.

"What's up?" Kaito prodded gently, stretching out his leg and lightly tapping her foot with his own.

Ayumi sighed miserably. "It'll just be picking when she rejects me," she mumbled.

Kaito scowled. "Hey, you don't know that. Even if she doesn't return your feelings right now, in a year or two, things might change. Heck, when I first met Saguru, I didn't even want to be in the same room as him. I would have laughed you out the door had you told me that before my eighteenth birthday I'd gladly be taking up residence in his bed. You NEVER know what the future holds, Ayu-chan, so don't get all depressed about it now. You don't know; maybe she likes you already."

"But Ai-chan likes Conan-kun," Ayumi mumbled.

For once, Kaito was silent.

Because he was well aware that Haibara had begrudgingly been harboring a flame for the young detective since they both had returned to grade school.

What he didn't know for sure was whether Ran breaking up with Kudo and Conan being doomed to stay "Conan" for the remainder of his existence had had any effect on the two shrunken teens' relationship. As far as Kaito was aware, Conan showed no interest in women in general…or men, for that matter, and Ai was pretty cool and impassive, keeping any feelings she might have had under wraps. There was really no telling how things stood between the two in question.

However, Kaito did his best to encourage Ayumi and get her to think positively.

"But just because she might have a thing for him, that doesn't mean he feels the same way. I mean, they're not an official couple, right? You'd know if they were."

Kaito's remarks only seemed to have the opposite effect to what he'd intended.

Ayumi's face paled under the thin layer of makeup, and a forlorn expression made itself at home in her eyes.

"Hey now," Kaito cooed, reaching out and tipping her chin up with his index finger. "Why the long face?"

Ayumi looked up and faced Kaito, tears about ready to spill over. "That's just it, though. I do know what's going on between them. They've always seemed particularly close, ever since we were little, in a way that they rest of us couldn't really understand. And there are often times that they seem like they're off in their own little world, but…"

Ayumi bit her lip, lowered her voice, and leaned closer. "I think…" She was barely audible. "…that Ai-chan and Conan-kun are…having sex."

Kaito nearly fell off of the table. "W-What?!" he squawked. "What gave you that idea?!"

"Shh!" Ayumi lunged forward, putting both hands over his mouth. Her entire body was turning mauve in mortification. "Shh! She might hear you!"

Kaito pried her hands off and softly inquired, "How the hell did you get that idea into your head?"

Ayumi went back to fidgeting. "Well…It's just that they're always whispering and sneaking off together. And they won't say where they're going or what they're doing or even what they're talking about. He comes and drags her off at odd times, and then they don't come back for an hour or two. He's always over at her house, down in the basement with her, and…"

She frowned, seeing that Kaito wasn't buying her story. "It's more than just supposition, you know. I'm not just making a big deal out of coincidences. It's in their body language too. He stands way too close to her, and he touches her more freely than he should. There's something between those two," Ayumi insisted adamantly.

Kaito's eyes widened slightly as he realized what that something was: they were comrades against the Organization, partners in the fight. They were each other's support system, the only other person capable of understanding the suffering associated with being trapped in bodies a full decade their mental junior. Furthermore, they were a poisoner and her victim, a criminal and her redeemer. There was an indelible link between the two that had a depth beyond Ayumi's understanding.

"Don't worry," Kaito comforted. "There's nothing romantic going on between them. It's a misunderstanding; it's not like you think."

Ayumi drew her lips into a hard line and then blew out a long sigh. "I don't know."

"I would suggest talking to her." Kaito got down from his perch and started cleaning up the makeup and supplies. "Who knows? The girl's got a lot of secrets. Maybe one day she'll open up and tell some to you."

"She hasn't in the past ten years," Ayumi grumbled.

"You're old enough to understand now," Kaito hummed. "Just spend time with her, listen, and try to dig a little deeper than fashion and boy bands. Open up to her about your dreams and your fears, and maybe she'll do the same," Kaito instructed, casting a warm grin over his shoulder. "I know you two have a strong bond what with all you've been through, and I know you're close, being her only real female friend, but maybe once you add some depth to your relationship, you'll be able to get a better grasp on how she feels for you, if you two will ever be more than friends, or if you'll have to figure out some way to move forward as friends despite your feelings for her."

Ayumi nodded, taking in his words and trying to make sense of them.

"Just don't rush things," Kaito advised, doing up the clasp on the makeup kit with a click. "You're young and beautiful. You've got time."

Just then, there came an impatient knock at the door.

"Coming!" Kaito called, but Haibara didn't wait before opening it herself.

The blonde glared icily at Kaito. "Your fiancée is going to throw you through a wall when she learns you've been shutting up beautiful younger women in your dressing room."

"No she wouldn't," Kaito scoffed, going over to prop himself up in the doorway, one hand on each side of the doorjamb so that he (marginally) loomed over Haibara. "Ran would kill me."

"I would kill you, if that woman you were fooling around with were her," Ai hissed, motioning to Ayumi. "What are you two doing in here with the door shut, anyway?" Haibara leaned to the side to peek around Kaito at Ayumi. Noticing the troubled expression on her friend's face, Ai's glare intensified, growing cold enough to cause frostbite.

"Nothing," Kaito insisted, backing away with his hands up in surrender. "Seriously. We were just having some girl talk. It's fine."

"Are you even qualified to participate in 'girl' talk?" Ai snorted, going over to Ayumi and placing a supportive hand on the other girl's forearm. "Are you okay? He hasn't upset you, has he?"

"Hey," Kaito whined. "I'm girl enough."

"It's fine," Ayumi rushed to assure, even as her cheeks blazed cinnamon and her temperature shot through the roof at Haibara's touch. "Kai-chan was just helping me out, giving me advice."

Haibara still looked skeptical, but she let it go with a sigh as she tugged gently on Ayumi's elbow, leading her back to their own dressing room. "If you say so. Come on. Let's put the finishing touches on your hair."

Over the moon with delight, Ayumi sent Kaito a grateful grin as Haibara pulled her past. "Thank you, Kai-chan," she whispered.

Kaito responded with a thumbs up and an "Any time, Ayu-chan. Good luck!"

And out in the hall as their footsteps faded, Kaito swore he could hear Ayumi ask Haibara if she'd like to go get pizza together after the show so they could sit around and talk.

Haibara seemed to pause to consider for a moment, but she eventually replied, "Sure. That sounds like fun. I'll just have to let the Professor know I'll be home late," in a tone that actually sounded excited about the prospective plans.

The

End

…

Mikau: Yay! …This turned out much longer than I intended. ^.^; That's happening to everything I write in the past month, though. -.-; Well, thank you for reading; I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you thought, and have a great night! (Or whatever time it is when you're reading this. ^.^)