Yes! I finally worked out some issues with ! (I'm SeleneMoon over on AO3) I'll get to work on the other chapters (though I do think I am having a few other issues...)

Hey boy
Two simple words graced his neck, just above his collarbone. It was a phrase Kudo Shinichi heard a lot of these days. He figured he must have heard it pretty often when he was a child the first time around. Now that he was a child-detective, Shinichi heard it even more often. Shinichi probably met his soul mate without even realizing it, and he didn't care.

Shinichi stopped caring about soul mates a long time ago. His parents weren't soul mates, and they couldn't be happier, even if they did get on each other's nerves sometimes. They taught him that love wasn't limited to one person. You could fall in love with anyone you wanted. Even though it was better to find your soul mate. Shinichi stopped believing that when he realized that Ran's parents were soul mates.

It didn't matter how often he heard the phrase. Shinichi didn't care. He was in love with Ran anyway, and he knew that she was in love with him. That was all that mattered. Even if he'd been shrunk… That made it harder.

"Hey boy," The white clad thief stopped behind Conan while the diminutive detective readied the signal he'd brought. Conan didn't even react to the greeting, though the skin beneath his bowtie prickled uncomfortably. He should probably have Agasa check to see if the voice changer hidden in it was releasing some kind of electrical charge. "What're you doing at a place like this…" Conan lit the rocket and turned to the thief with his largest, innocent smile.

"Fireworks!" He answered cheerfully as the charge exploded above him.

. ^_o~

Fireworks!
The word hit Kaitou KID hard. His poker face held firm, despite the instant turmoil the teen thief felt. This was his soul mate? This child? KID didn't have much time to process it. Even as the word on his collarbone tingled a happy confirmation, one of the police helicopters above the museum turned towards them.

"Oh, a helicopter! It looks like it noticed us!" The boy pointed in delight… Exaggerated delight. Kaitou KID recognized an act when he saw it. A smile tugged at KID's mouth despite himself. He considered the child.

"You're not a normal brat, are you?" KID commented as casually as he could. The kid smirked at him.

"Edogawa Conan." He introduced himself. "Detective."

"Oh?" KID peered at him behind his poker face with interest. This kid had deciphered his riddle? That was… unexpected… and promising.

"Is this okay, Kaitou KID-san?" The little detective challenged him. "If you don't run, the helicopter will get here…"

"Hm…" KID made a show of considering his options. He liked this brat. But KID didn't trust how he'd put his hands behind his back, as if preparing his next trick. Besides, KID wasn't going to run. What kind of impression would that leave? No… Now was the time to impress. KID drew a radio out of his suit. He cleared his throat, keeping an eye on the boy's perplexed face. "Chaki here! I've found Kaitou KID on the roof of the Hyde City Hotel!" KID reveled in Conan's shocked expression that grew more astonished as the thief altered his voice again. "It's Nakamori! All officers in the Hyde Hotel! KID is on the roof! Everyone go get him!" KID lowered the radio, pleased at the various expressions his tiny soul mate was letting run rampant on his face. The child needed to learn a poker face, but then KID wouldn't be able to see such amusing faces. "Satisfied?" KID asked smugly. The boy was trying figure out what he was up to. KID's smile grew. "Tantei-kun?"

Nakamori and the other officers arrived on the scene. KID turned his attention on them, though he kept an eye on the detective. They seemed to think they had him cornered… Didn't any of them realize? This was just a test run. He never intended to take the Black Star tonight. It was a fake anyway. He had to goad Suzuki-san into bringing the real one out in the open. "April Fools." KID grinned, activating his hang glider and causing the cops to rush him on mass. KID dropped a flash bomb. The child, his soul mate, covered his eyes with his arm before it went off. KID felt an absurd rush of pride for the boy for noticing the danger. He couldn't say that he approved of his 'career' choices though. Maybe KID could get him to reconsider…

"Hey boy!" KID got Conan's attention. "A thief is a creative artist who takes his prey in style..." KID smirked. "But a detective is nothing more than a critic, who follows our footsteps... and tries to find faults." KID used most of the time the cops were blinded talking to Conan, so he dropped a smoke bomb on top of the flash bomb to ensure that no one recovered while he changed into a cop's uniform and blended in with them. KID left his note behind (taping a rose on it on an impulse), giving the real date of his heist, April 19. KID enjoyed the look of frustrated confusion on Edogawa Conan's face. The please feeling was quickly tinged by uncertainty. He had some things to think about. KID slipped away as soon as he could. He needed to get home, where he could let his poker face fall and figure out what to do next.

. ^_o~

Kuroba Kaito, aka Kaitou KID, sat at his desk in Ekoda. His fingers tangled in his already messy hair in frustration. In the days since he learned of his soul mate's identity he had scoured his resources for information on him. Kaito was becoming so caught up with learning about the young detective that he was falling behind on his heist planning, but who could blame him? Kaito had always had complete faith in the soul marks. Learning his soul mate was a child had been discouraging. Kaito knew that there were platonic soul mates, he hadn't wanted one but he knew that they existed. It seemed that that was what they were destined for, meeting each other when one of them was still a child. Even more frustrating was Edogawa Conan's hobby; detective work. A thief and a detective could be friends. His father had gotten along with Nakamori, and that Kudo Yuu-something… kind of, but for a thief and a detective to be soul mates? It seemed like a sick joke.

Kaito decided that he had to do research on the boy. Edogawa Conan had popped up a few months ago in the care of Mouri Kogoro; right at the man's rise to fame. Probably not a coincidence, but Kaito couldn't be sure. He followed Conan and his family around for a few days. It seemed as if the little boy had a crush on Mouri Ran. It bothered Kaito. The child shouldn't have a crush. Not when he had a soul mate. It was annoying. Kaito narrowed his eyes as Conan laughed at something the girl said. That was when an idea occurred to him.

Kaito had known that he would need to spend more time with the boy that this research from a distance wasn't enough. He needed some one on one time with Conan. And if he could infiltrate the party where the Black Star was being shown at the same time, he'd be killing two birds with one stone. Kaito smiled. This could work. He returned to his heist planning in earnest.

. ^_o~

Kaito was overly pleased with himself. He had successfully gotten close to Conan. He was irritated that Conan seemed to act a lot more childish around Ran, the girl whose face he wore, but maybe the maturity he thought he glimpsed beneath the act that night was just his imagination. Kaito watched the child closely while Conan considered the magician Suzuki-san hired. Suddenly the boy looked up. That calculating maturity was back in his gaze. Conan turned it on the people that Kaito would have selected as his disguise if the Black Star had been his only goal. Kaito tried not to grin. It wasn't in his head after all.

Kaito tried not to get annoyed as he got pulled into the other magician's show. The other magician wasn't bad, but he wasn't as good as Kaito was. Kaito lost track of Conan while he was drawn into the show. After Kaito made the card announcing KID's presence appear, he looked for Conan out of the corner of his eye. The boy was standing beside inspector Nakamori, wearing a cocky smile. He was looking right at KID.

KID tried to attribute it to him, as Ran, pulling KID's announcement card, but the intensity that Conan was looking at him with wasn't normal. KID shrugged it off. It was time to get the pearls rolling. So much of magic was about preparation. The pearls that Suzuki-san had so generously provided began popping out of the broaches and rolling across the floor. Now for the fun part. He played the part of Ran perfectly as he followed the pearl, though he grinned in anticipation behind his poker face. Then the pearl exploded. It was harmless of course, but that didn't stop people from panicking. Suzuki-san fell in the chaos. It was so easy to slip the Black Star off, anticlimactic almost. Then came the scream. The predictable rush of people out of the room, and the equally predictable reaction of Nakamori's men to round them back up.

Suddenly KID felt himself being dragged along with the rest of the crowd by his wrist. "Eh?" He looked down and found Conan holding his wrist tightly for such a small hand.

"Let's get him too, Ran-neechan!" Conan exclaimed. KID was about to protest, as he was sure Ran would have when Conan looked back at him with a knowing grin. "I know who Kaitou KID is." He declared.

"Whaaat?!" KID gaped at Conan. The poker face slipping. That was okay, though, Ran would have been surprised too… And it wasn't like Conan actually knew who he was. Right?

. ^_o~

Conan led KID down to the boiler room. KID could feel his nerves mounting. This wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind when he'd set out to spend some time with his soul mate… "Is Kaitou KID really here?" KID asked Conan nervously. The boy had pulled a soccer ball from somewhere.

"Say, Ran-neechan, do you know anything about gem meanings?" Conan asked as he started bouncing the soccer ball around. KID hid behind the persona of Mouri Ran. This was getting bad. KID hadn't counted on them being one on one for any length of time. 'Ran' expressed confusion and surprise at all of the right times while KID felt his quiet admiration for the boy growing with each deduction. KID weakly tried to throw the clever detective off, suggesting the magician was Kaitou KID, only to be casually dismissed. Conan calmly (and correctly stated) that 'Ran' was Kaitou KID-san.

…and Kaitou KID's poker face cracked.

"I'm impressed." Conan continued without looking at KID. "I didn't notice at all." KID couldn't repress the twinge of pride there but it was quickly smothered by growing panic.

"S- Stop fooling around, Conan-kun." KID could only try to convince Conan that he was mistaken. Something that was becoming increasingly difficult as the crack in his poker face widened and some of his nervousness leaked through. Conan calmly dismantled all of his arguments against his identity. KID was sure some of his admiration was leaking past the poker face also, in the form of astonished stares at the boy's cool-headed deductions. This was going poorly… It was time to go. "A- All right, if you doubt me that much, I'll call the police here." KID said, picking up the boiler room's phone. He'd just blend in with them agai-

BAM! KID stared in shock at where the phone had been. The soccer ball bounced innocently back towards the boy who'd kicked it. KID's eyes were wide as he looked at Conan, still holding the receiver in his now shaking hand. What the HELL was that?!

"You won't use the same trick you used on the roof." Conan told him. "Calling all of those police officers there to loose yourself in the crowd." Of course he'd figured out that trick. KID swallowed. He had to stop underestimating the child. He set his jaw. Conan trapped the soccer ball under his foot again. The poker face that was 'Ran' left KID's face entirely. "Besides, calling someone here is totally unrefined." Conan continued. "I went to the trouble of respecting the artist of the crime and called you to a one on one battle even though we're in the middle of a panic," that you caused... was implied but not stated. This was not exactly what he'd intended when he said that. It seemed Conan had taken his words as a challenge rather than an insult. "Most great artists are known after they die." KID glared at Conan grimly. "I'll turn you into a legend," Conan's grin hadn't left his face since he shattered the phone, now it widened. "by sending you to a graveyard called prison." This had gone on long enough. It was time to cut his losses.

"You got me." KID raised his hands with a short laugh, the pearl peeking through the handkerchief he held to protect it. "I'll give up on this pearl." Conan didn't seem in the least disturbed by KID's voice coming from Ran's face. KID had to think of something to keep Conan from directing that deadly soccer ball at him. "Tell the missus I'm sorry for ruining her party…" He tossed Conan the Black Star.

"Bit late…" Conan caught the pearl. KID knew what had to be done. He wasn't terribly proud of it.

"That's right, the girl I borrowed this dress from is sleeping in a lifeboat." KID said, pulling at the neckline. Conan's confident grin fell into a face of childish confusion. KID pulled a bra out from under the dress with a grin and a wink. "I'm a perfectionist." Conan's jaw dropped in shock. KID didn't like the blush that accompanied his implication, but there wasn't much he could do about it. KID took advantage of Conan's shock to drop a flash bomb and make his escape. Leaving the clothing for the panicking detective. KID raced in the opposite direction. He heard Conan curse loudly after him. KID flinched. The child had a very adult vocabulary.

KID's little confrontation with Conan had cut off most of his escape routes. Conan had delayed him so much that the police were all over the ship and he couldn't even make it to his hang glider. And he couldn't disguise himself for long with the face pinching Nakamori running around. In the end, KID had no choice but to swim to shore (praying all the way that the sea was too polluted for any finned monsters).

. ^_o~

Kaito sneezed as he jumped on to his bed. He hoped he wasn't catching something. His phone buzzed with an alert of a KID story being posted. Kaito groaned and rolled over to grab his phone. He sat up suddenly. Edogawa Conan looked out at him with a strange expression on his face and hand raised in a victory sign. The reporters must have taken the picture as soon as he got off the boat. Kaito smiled, his hand automatically reaching for the soul mark that he'd covered with make up while wearing Ran's dress. That kid was amazing, even more so than he'd expected. Kaito saved the photo and leaned back against his pillows. A frown battled the smile on his face. What was Kaito supposed to do about his troublesome soul mate? A detective… A detective ten years younger than him.

Kaito finally let himself really feel all of the emotions that he'd been hiding behind his poker face as he replayed the night in his mind. Edogawa Conan was brilliant… Calm and collected (with everyone except his Ran-neechan), unless he was playing up the child angle the way Kaito slipped on a poker face. Kaito couldn't help but laugh every time he thought of the shocked and perplexed expression on the boy's face the first time he'd disappeared or the sudden flustered blush when Kaito pulled that last bluff.

Kaito didn't have any romantic feelings for him now (how could he be expected to?), but he could easily develop them in the future. Kaito thought of Conan's quick wit and sharp eyes and tried to imagine him ten years older. A ghost of a smile flitted across his face. Dammit. He was already falling in love with the man that Conan would grow up to be. Kaito groaned. Lady Luck was generally kind, but when she wasn't, she had one hell of a right hook. Kaito imagined the confident grin Conan wore while giving his deductions on a face ten years older. He swallowed. Well… that was definitely worth waiting for.

Kaito looked at the photo on his phone again. That really was an absurd expression, yet it was somewhat… endearing. He could feel the urge to see the boy again swelling in his chest. No, it would be better if he kept his distance, just until Conan was older. Kaito didn't want to risk introducing himself and having Conan grow up to see him as an older brother (though if his crush on Ran was anything to go by, it might not be a problem). Besides, Kaito's ears went slightly red, he'd almost definitely end up falling in love with the child too soon if he saw him often. It was better to wait. Enjoy the times the little detective came to his heists, and then introduce Kuroba Kaito to him when they were both ready. Heck, if Kaito was lucky Conan would grow out of this detective phase by then, it was a long time after all. Kaito sighed loudly. Ten years… Why was life so unfair?

. ^_o~