Ask and you shall receive. Due to the amount of interest in this story, and all the support (like wow, thank you guys) I am happy to present you all, chapter 2.

Why do I keep updating all of my stories super late at night? I don't even know. There's something wrong with me.

Life was... hard... for Kaito now. Very hard.

It was torturous, really.

He had been trying to deal with his feelings for Shinichi for about a week now. His general thought had been, that maybe his infatuation would die down some after the initial shock. Unfortunately, it hadn't.

Honestly, it had only gotten worse.

Daily habits that were so mundane and ordinary before, normal, had started to become something of a chore for Kaito. He had started dancing and skirting around Shinichi whenever they did something as simple as walk into the bathroom together to brush their teeth. Because, for some reason, his brain couldn't handle seeing Shinichi with a foamy, white mouth.

Shinichi had continued to pick up on Kaito's odd behavior, of course. Kaito wasn't exactly subtle. Subtle wasn't something he did all that well. Not for a lack of trying, however. Shinichi was just too observant for his own good.

But honestly, he was sure anyone would have realized how weird he was being. Especially if they witnessed all the times Kaito had begun to ostrich his head in his pillows to hide whenever a mad blush overtook him. All because Shinichi had walked by him without a shirt on.

Shinichi had tried confronting him about it, saying things like, 'Okay, this isn't just about the Akako girl, is it?'

But whenever Kaito tried to explain himself, he'd end up choking on air, saliva, or nearly his own tongue, because Shinichi would end up doing something so freaking cute, or distracting, or... or sexy, that his mind would short circuit, and he'd lose all cognitive functionality.

Like say, there was one time in which he was in the process of burying his head in his pillows after Shinichi had just walked out of the shower. His best friend had given him a skeptical look, and had asked him what was up with him. When Kaito hadn't been able to respond beyond a muffled, 'yewr nekked o'vr thur', Shinichi had given up, and had walked by him to grab a shirt out of one of his drawers. As he had passed by Kaito's bed, he, for some reason, had thought it'd be funny to smack Kaito's upended rear end.

Kaito hadn't thought it was funny.

In fact, Kaito had almost thought that Shinichi had single-handedly caused enough trauma to his frying brain with that single action, that he had thus become about as sentient as a freshly baked potato.

Had someone walked in at that moment, and had smelled the scent of something cooking, they probably wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

He hadn't been able to move from that spot for about an hour. It had gotten to a point where Shinichi had honestly thought he'd died. If Shinichi poking his butt with his toes had been anything to go by.

In his defense, who the hell spanks their best friends in jest while they're half naked?

All in all, Kaito just knew his brain was going to be nothing but a pile of scrambled eggs by the end of the semester.

He had tossed around the idea of just telling Shinichi that he had fallen in love with him.

But uh… he wasn't sure how to breech such a topic. Because… Shinichi and Ran were still very much a thing. It was unsettling, and annoying, and frustrating…

Didn't help to be reminded that he had been the one to set them up…

But, even though it was quite frustrating to listen to Shinichi fawn over the girl he had gotten him to date, he didn't really want to ruin anything for Shinichi either.

He would just have to deal with it, and cope, he supposed. He was still holding out some hope that maybe he could get past this… phase… Because, even if he did tell Shinichi that he had fallen in love with him, that didn't mean that Shinichi would automatically feel the same. The attraction he seemed to have to Ran was a real one.

"Yes, I remember that Valentine's day is coming up," Shinichi's voice permeated the small space of their dorm room, phone pressed into his ear.

Kaito looked over to where Shinichi was sitting at the edge of his bed. He watched Shinichi scratch idly at the back of his neck, and Kaito found himself overtly enthralled by the action. Good thing Shinichi wasn't paying attention.

Kaito was sitting on the floor, trying (and failing) to shoot zombies. He'd died probably fifteen times already. He'd sort of lost track.

"You're going to make chocolate?" He heard Shinichi say. There was a chuckle. It was deep and alluring, and it did sinful things to Kaito's overreactive body. "Planning on giving it to anyone in particular?"

Kaito silently wished Shinichi would talk to him that sexy-like. A zombie proceeded to eat him.

"Fine, I won't pry," Shinichi said. "I'll just wait patiently."

Kaito grumbled at the screen.

"So… are you doing anything tonight?"

He sent Shinichi a narrowed eyed look.

"Do you want to do something?"

When Kaito looked back to the screen with a glare, he noticed he had gotten through the stage with an F.

"Cool. I'll stop by your room later tonight then. Yep. All right, see you soon."

With that, Shinichi hung up the phone. Kaito didn't look over at him, instead choosing to scowl at his awful score.

He heard Shinichi stand up, and let out a content sigh. Then footsteps padded their way over to where he was sitting.

"Wow. What a terrible score," Shinichi said with a chuckle. "Forget how to play?"

Kaito didn't answer him. He merely pouted at the screen some more.

But then Shinichi sat down beside him, and Kaito felt his skin start to heat up. Shinichi picked up the other controller, and waved it at him. Kaito mechanically exited the game.

"So, I'm sure you heard me over there, but I was planning on doing something with Ran later today."

Kaito nodded absently as he started up a new game.

Shinichi nudged him with his shoulder when he didn't speak, and the contact sent little sparks up Kaito's spine. He let out something of an, 'eep!' and scooted a little away from Shinichi.

Shinichi sent him a confused look, but didn't comment. He turned his attention to the game.

"So, uh… I was going to ask, what should I do with her? Have any suggestions?"

Kaito was trying valiantly to keep his eyes on the game, and his body to himself. He was trying so hard, in fact, that he completely missed Shinichi's question.

He didn't notice Shinichi look over to him, focused on his task as he was, and he didn't notice the brief flash of hurt that crossed Shinichi's face.

He also didn't notice when Shinichi scooted over the small distance Kaito had put between them. Not until Shinichi's shoulder and thigh touched his own.

"Hey, why are you ignoring me?" Shinichi asked. Kaito finally looked over.

"H-huh? What? Ignore? Who's ignoring what now?" Kaito stammered, staring down at where Shinichi's leg was touching his.

"You. Are ignoring me," Shinichi said with slight irritation.

Kaito tore his eyes away from their legs to look up to Shinichi's unimpressed frown.

"You? Me? Ignore? Never. I love you."

Kaito wanted to shove both of his feet into his mouth.

When Shinichi's face made a complete one-eighty into startled confusion, Kaito quickly looked away with a mad blush fighting its way onto his face.

"What did you say?" Shinichi asked.

"I-I think whatever you decide to do with her will be fine. Y-you should trust your own judgement more…"

Kaito could feel Shinichi's steady gaze on him, but he did not dare to look back over.

"Well, sure, I guess. I was just wondering if you had any ideas," Shinichi said, finally allowing Kaito to breathe when he took his eyes off the side of his face to look back over at the screen.

"Um…" Kaito started eloquently. If Shinichi wanted an honest opinion from him, he'd tell him to leave the girl alone, she wasn't going anywhere, and that he should stay here, with him. They could uh… sit around… and stare at each other.

Was it sad that that actually sounded like a good idea to him?

Shinichi sighed. "You're doing it again."

Kaito turned to him. "What?"

Shinichi was back to looking unimpressed, and he scoffed at him. "Being weird. Though recently, it's starting to become your norm."

"Oh…" Kaito mumbled.

Shinichi stared at him, waiting. Kaito started to fidget. When he didn't respond, Shinichi let out an irritated, impatient huff of air.

"Seriously, what's gotten into you? Some crush on a girl couldn't be affecting you this badly. Nothing gets to you. There has to be something else."

Kaito tried to pay attention to the game. He really did, but it wasn't working. He didn't know what to say at all.

But… this could be it. This could be the 'in' that he needed. He could just blurt everything out to Shinichi right now. Consequences be damned. At the very least, he could get it out in the open. He could stop feeling like ducking into the nearest hole whenever Shinichi just barely grazed him.

He didn't know how everything would turn out if he did tell him, and honestly, not knowing was scary, but… they'd been friends for so long. Surely they could get through this. At least be able to talk about it.

Shinichi was a reasonable and logical person. He wouldn't just ditch him.

So Kaito made up his mind, and he looked over to Shinichi with determination.

But, he had taken too long, because the moment seemed to have passed, as Shinichi let out a sigh, and turned away from him to stare back at the screen.

"I guess you're right. I shouldn't keep bothering you about what to do. I'll think of something."

Though, as Shinichi said this, he looked a little deflated and somber. Looking at his dejected face made Kaito feel bad. He thought for a moment, that maybe it would be best if he kept his thoughts to himself instead of risking making Shinichi look even worse.

He continued to stare at his best friend. Felt his heart stutter when Shinichi cast a subtle glance his way. His resolve steeled.

No, he needed to… needed to say something. He couldn't just let this pass. He felt too strongly for Shinichi. And yes, they had been friends for years. Best friends. And he owed it to his best friend to explain to him why he had suddenly started acting like a sexually repressed and confused gopher for the past two weeks. He had to be brave.

It's about time he took his own advice for a change.

So, he opened his mouth.

"I… uh…" Kaito started, and trailed off with a muttered curse. Shinichi glanced back over to him curiously. Kaito let out a breath, and turned to face Shinichi fully. "I think you should stay here today."

Shinichi blinked at him a couple times. "Stay here?" he parroted.

Kaito nodded. "Yeah," he said, feeling a little more brave, more resolute. "You should stay here." He swallowed down the nervous lump in his throat. "With me."

Kaito could feel his face flush hot, but he refused to turn away this time. He'd hold his ground until he got third degree burns, damn it, because he was not going to run.

Shinichi ended up being the one to look away. He looked a little flustered.

"Um…" he mumbled, training his eyes on the controller in his hands. "W-why?"

Kaito recoiled.

Damn it, why did he have to ask questions?! Kaito wasn't ready for questions.

"U-uh… because…" Kaito stammered. "Because… well, Ran isn't going anywhere. Y-you hang out with her too much." And damn it, this wasn't the tangent this conversation was supposed to go on.

Shinichi blinked at him. "Oh. But, weren't you the one telling me to go for it? You told me I wasn't trying hard enough just a couple weeks ago."

Kaito sucked in a breath, and nearly choked on it.

"D-did I say all that?"

Shinichi eyed him with consideration. It made Kaito want to fidget.

"Have I been talking to her too much lately?" Shinichi asked after a moment. When Kaito didn't respond right away, a realization seemed to dawn on Shinichi. He spun around on Kaito to look at him severely. "Have I been neglecting you? I'm not turning into one of those types of people, am I? The ones that completely ignore their friends when they find a girlfriend."

Kaito stared at Shinichi in shock, and started to splutter. He tried to get a word out, but it got caught in his throat when Shinichi leaned forward, and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"Is that really how you feel? Kaito, I'm so sorry. Why didn't you just tell me?" Shinichi asked.

Kaito opened his mouth, but no words came out. He closed it with a click, feeling a measure of guilt creep up on him.

Shinichi then turned away from him, and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"I'll tell her something came up," Shinichi said, typing away at his phone.

Kaito stared at Shinichi's profile, feeling a mix of exasperation, desperation, and guilt. That… wasn't how anything was supposed to go. And now he felt like a complete jerk. He should probably tell Shinichi that that wasn't what he was feeling at all. Not exactly…

"S-Shinichi…" Kaito mumbled. Shinichi stopped typing for a moment, and looked over at him. Kaito looked up to Shinichi's worried, expectant, fond expression. He swallowed. "U-uh… what uh… what should we do for dinner?"

Oh, you coward. You freaking miserable, sad excuse for a friend, awful coward.

Shinichi smiled at him. "You want to order some take-out later? Or do you want to stop by the store?"

What Kaito really wanted to do was slap himself in the face and go shove his head back into his pillows.

"… whatever you feel like is fine with me."

Shinichi nodded with an even brighter smile, then he leaned forward, and pulled Kaito to him in an embrace. It was one of the warmest things he'd ever felt, but Kaito still froze.

"I'm sorry, Kaito. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

Kaito was tempted to kick himself in the ass.

"O-Okay…"

They ended up ordering take-out, and Kaito continued to throw himself a pity party for the rest of the night.

On the bright side, Shinichi did pay him ample attention. Even if he felt like he didn't deserve it.

Another week passed, and Kaito still didn't feel like he was handling his situation any better than the day he realized it.

Shinichi had stopped asking him about what was wrong. He had fully committed to the idea of Kaito being neglected, and suffering from a one-sided crush on the girl in his acting class. It was… somewhat agonizing.

Kaito didn't know how to go about correcting Shinichi's false assumptions, though. Or even if he should. It became especially difficult to decide whenever Shinichi walked into their dorm room with a happy smile on his face as he said, 'I think she really likes me, Kaito.'

It was cute and all, sure. But ugh. He just wanted to groan out loud and curl up in his bed and never leave it. But, of course, he still couldn't keep Shinichi out of his head for more than five seconds. Kind of defeated the purpose of hiding in his blankets.

On top of that, he still felt horribly bad about making Shinichi think he had done something wrong to him. Shinichi had become rather attentive to Kaito after their talk a week ago. Kept making sure he asked Kaito if it was okay to talk to Ran.

It was the sweetest, cutest, most endearing, most saddening, most guilt-inducing thing Kaito had ever been on the receiving end of. Just another cocktail of confusing emotions to throw onto Kaito's steadily growing pile of muddled crap that was his mental state concerning Kudou Shinichi.

He didn't know what to do. His situation wasn't getting any easier, but there was nothing he wanted to change about it. He didn't want to be apart from Shinichi, but didn't want to blurt out any more ridiculous things that made him sad anymore, and he especially didn't want to lose the relationship he did have with him. It wasn't the kind he was realizing more and more with each passing day that he wanted really bad, but it was the relationship that he had always had with Shinichi, and could probably live with. Made it difficult to proceed when he didn't have any idea of what to do, though.

But then, not-so-thankfully, one day, Shinichi proposed to him, a plan.

"How about I bring her here? We could… I don't know… watch movies together."

It sounded like the worst idea ever.

It was made worse by the fact that it was brought up on one of those days Kaito was feeling that urge to curl up into the fetal position, burrow into his blankets, and forget about his incessant, unquenchable desire to drag Shinichi into it so he could cuddle the boy into submission. Maybe brain wash him into loving him back with kisses, and snuggles, and promises made of gold.

"Or we could… play board games?"

Kaito let out a sigh so exasperatedly unimpressed (one in which he didn't even try to hide), that Shinichi let out an affronted humph.

"You know I'm not good at these things. You could throw out some ideas."

Kaito grumbled, and sat up on his bed to glare at Shinichi. The boy was standing at the foot of it, looking put-out and sulky. Probably because Kaito wasn't being all that helpful right now.

"You are probably the most boring person on the planet, you know that, right?" Kaito told him.

And I freaking love you for it.

Shinichi threw up his hands in his own vexation. Then he placed them on his hips and leveled Kaito with a look.

"Well, I don't want to leave you right now. You're moping. Again. But I feel bad that I haven't talked to Ran much at all lately. Besides, I would like it if you two talked. I want you two to like each other. So?"

Kaito looked at him, torn. He felt too guilty to say no, but he felt way too… jealous to say yes. It was a tricky sort of decision for his weary mind to make.

Eventually, he sighed, and plopped back down onto his bed, limbs fanned out like a beached starfish.

"…The movie idea sounds fine… I guess," he mumbled.

Shinichi looked disapproving of his disheartened response, and moved over to sit at the edge of Kaito's bed.

"Kaito…"

Kaito sent him a petulant look. He felt like a childish fool, but he couldn't summon up enough will to care.

Shinichi sighed, and a rubbed a hand along his temples.

"Have you even tried talking to this… Akako…?"

Kaito felt disturbed by the question. It was probably reflected on his face, along with a look of,

Hahahaha, hell no.

He was about to retort with a surly, I would rather jump into an aquarium tank full of sharks (he was sure that Shinichi would have been proud of his extreme level of sass) but then he noticed the disgruntled look of irritation that had crossed Shinichi's face.

"Because if you don't, then I just might," Shinichi finished, looking to Kaito with a determined, angered sort of expression.

Kaito blinked in confusion.

"Wha?" he mumbled uncertainly.

Shinichi turned away from him, crossing his arms.

"I'm getting tired of seeing you looking so worn-out and depressed all the time. At the very least, she can address it. The idea of her ignoring you while you sit around suffering from heartache is really starting to grate on my nerves."

Kaito stared at Shinichi, caught somewhere between adoration and distraught amusement.

Oh, Shinichi, you sweet, loveable, adorable, clueless person you.

If only you knew.

Kaito groaned, and rolled around onto his side. He felt his shirt ride up his stomach a bit, but he didn't pay it much attention.

"It's… fine…" he mumbled.

Somehow, I think I'll get over her.

Shinichi's face scrunched up in confusion and irritation at Kaito's lack of resolve to do anything about his situation.

"Kaito…"

Kaito didn't move or respond to the frustrated use of his name. Not until he felt a shift on his bed, and felt a hand be placed on his side. When a warm hand touched his hot skin, Kaito felt a jolt.

He almost yelped at the immediate shudder it caused. Then he sat up swiftly, and held Shinichi's phone out to him with gusto.

"H-here! If you're going to invite Ran-chan over, you'll have to do it soon. It's getting late!"

Shinichi pulled his hand back, letting it hang limp in surprise between them at Kaito's sudden outburst. He stared at the offered device, blinked once, then looked down to his pocket, feeling at it in confusion.

"How did you-"

Kaito interrupted him to shove the phone into his suspended hand.

"I'll pick out the movie!" Kaito said quickly, scurrying off the bed and away from Shinichi. Shinichi was left to sit there, bewildered.

Shinichi had eventually called Ran over. It took some convincing from Kaito, who had to insist to Shinichi that he was all right.

The detective didn't buy it for the first thirty minutes after Kaito's sudden mood shift. Kaito had to tell him repeatedly that no, he hadn't experienced temporary insanity, but had decided to take Shinichi's advice to heart, and stop moping. Shinichi still hadn't seemed satisfied, but he had given up when Kaito had started rummaging around through all their drawers for movies to watch with unbridled vigor.

Ran had arrived shortly after Shinichi had invited her over. She was in the same dormitory housing district as they were, after all.

Shinichi opened the door when there was a knock, and Ran stood outside of it with a pleasant smile on her cherubesque face.

"Hey, Ran," Shinichi greeted casually. Ran beamed at him. The wattage of her smile was enough to blind Kaito from where he was sulking in the corner next to the dresser.

"Hey, Shinichi! Thank you for inviting me!" she said with enthusiasm. Kaito rolled his eyes at her excitement.

"Of course," was Shinichi's response, as he stepped aside to lean all sexy and beautiful against the doorframe so she could walk in.

She did, and when she spotted Kaito, she spoke with a smile.

"Hello, Kuroba-kun. It's nice to see you again."

Kaito looked over with a pout, but as he noticed how happy she seemed to be, he tried a smile. He hoped it didn't look too crooked and out of place on his face.

"Hi," was the best he could do.

It didn't seem to affect her good cheer, so he supposed his greeting was passable.

"So, what are we doing? Do you guys have any plans?" Ran asked, turning back around to face Shinichi.

"Yeah," Shinichi started, as he pushed himself off the doorframe. "We were thinking about watching a movie."

Ran looked way too pleased over that.

"That sounds great!" she exclaimed.

Shinichi sent her a charming smile. Kaito glowered at it.

…Shinichi never smiled at him like that…

"Great," Shinichi said, as he walked over towards their TV. Then he turned to Kaito. "Kaito was just picking one out."

Kaito started a little when he noticed he had everyone's attention. He cleared his throat, and turned back to the movies.

Now, what to pick?

Their movie selection didn't vary too much. It wasn't very extensive either. It consisted mostly of mystery themed thrillers, documentaries, Sherlock Holmes renditions, and the occasional recording of a magic show.

Kaito glowered briefly over his shoulder at the expectant faces behind him before looking back down at his choices. He didn't like them all too much. They all sucked.

Not that they actually sucked, he loved all of these movies and documentaries. It was just that they were special. To Shinichi and Kaito. Just Shinichi and Kaito.

Kaito sulked as he slowly began to accept his fate with resignation, that he would have to pick one.

That is, until he spotted a particular movie hidden behind the rest. Kaito reached for it, and picked it up from the pile. A grin broke out on his face.

It was a horror flick.

A paranormal activity horror flick.

Oh, how the devious gears that made up his complicated mind were turning. Kaito wasn't sure if he should feel bad for his jealousy, but as he took one last peek over his shoulder at Ran, who was standing way too close to Shinichi for his liking, it snuffed out any conscience he had left.

Perfect choice.

Kaito stood up from the floor, and walked over to the two of them.

"Here you go!" Kaito chirped, handing the DVD case to Shinichi.

As soon as Shinichi took it, his brow furrowed, and he glanced up to Kaito in confusion. Ran paled beside him.

"Um… Kaito…" Shinichi started, looking askance at the movie in his hand. "Don't we have… I don't know… anything else?"

Kaito's grin fell into a pout that he aimed directly at his best friend. "Ye~ah," he drawled. "But… I wanted to watch that one~"

Shinichi looked conflicted. He glanced briefly over to Ran, who looked so pale, she could match the shade of the ghostly white, creepy girl on the front cover of the case.

"Kaito… I don't know…" Shinichi trailed off. He then walked up to Kaito to whisper a bit harshly into his ear. "What kind of choice is this? Ran hates ghosts."

"Oh, come on," Kaito started, whispering back to him. "Think about it, she'll be all over you during it. You can be like… her savior, or something."

Shinichi took a glance at Ran before turning back to Kaito.

"I still don't think it's a good idea…"

Kaito made his best kicked puppy face at Shinichi.

"But… I wanna watch it," he said, jutting out his bottom lip for emphasis. Shinichi stared at him. It looked as if there was a massive battle of wills going on behind his troubled eyes.

So Kaito sealed the deal with a pouty, "please?"

Shinichi relented at that.

"Fine, fine," he said dismissively. But Kaito knew the only reason he'd approved was because Shinichi had just as much of a problem saying no as he did.

Though, perhaps he was abusing his privilege, making Shinichi choose a movie that he knew his girlfriend would hate.

Oh, but he loved the power he had. And he was feeling particularly like a sore loser at the moment.

Kaito watched, with glee, as Shinichi walked over to their DVD player to put the movie in. Ran looked far less enthused than she had previously.

"Um… Shinichi?" she mumbled. Shinichi looked over his shoulder. "I don't mean to be rude… but uh… do you really not have anything else?"

Shinichi looked sheepish. He gave a shrug and a sympathetic smile. "Well… uh…yes? But… I heard this was… pretty okay. Kaito seems to think so, anyway. Don't worry, we can leave the lights on, if you want. And you can sit next to me."

Kaito thrummed his fingers together like the evil mastermind he felt like right now. He cast a narrow-eyed look at the lights.

"I think it'd be cool if we turned the lights off, actually. We'll be able to see the TV better, and just think of the ambiance," he said, keeping his tone casual. Shinichi sent him a pointed look. Ran practically whimpered.

"Kuroba-kun, can we uh… leave them on?" she asked. Kaito grinned.

He rushed over to the switch near the door and shut it off just as the TV had flickered on. Ran let out a yelp.

"It'll be great! Trust me. Shinichi will protect you. You've got nothing to worry about," Kaito said with devilish sweetness.

"Kaito," Shinichi's voice came out stern from where he was seated next to the TV.

"Oh, come on, guys. Where's your sense of adventure and wonder? A movie is an experience. A spooky atmosphere is part of what makes it awesome!"

Shinichi started to grumble under his breath, but he didn't argue any further. Ran was quick to sit down and huddle up to Shinichi's side. Her face was already in the position to shove into his shoulder for when things got bad. Which would probably be the entire movie for her.

Kaito walked back over to sit on the other side of Shinichi. When he sat down, Shinichi sent him his barbed stare. Kaito just grinned at him. Shinichi leaned over to whisper harshly to him again.

"Kaito, what the hell are you doing?"

Kaito's grin widened, displaying his full set of pearly whites. "I'm doing you a favor," he replied.

Shinichi did not look like he appreciated his 'favor,' but he crossed his arms and turned towards the screen without further comment.

So, the movie started. Shinichi had begun to glare at the screen in unimpressed irritation. A stare that stayed on his face as the movie played out. Kaito had figured as much. Movies like these never scared him.

Well, to be fair, nothing ever really scared Shinichi, actually. He was too rooted in his logical and level-headed understanding of the world, and Kaito supposed, when you willingly chased after the most terrifying evil it had to offer, something like a paranormal horror movie probably wouldn't scare you all that much.

Ran, however.

"Eep!"

Kaito sat casually, snickering under his breath as he marveled at his grand master plan. She definitely wasn't going to want to come back after this anytime soon.

But, pretty soon, he ended up getting distracted from watching Ran trying to break Shinichi's shoulder with her forehead every time a jump scare happened, or the music picked up.

His attention became caught by the movie, and he stared at the screen, watching it with growing trepidation and anxiousness. It was actually turning out to be scarier than he thought it would be. Kaito swallowed down a nervous lump in his throat.

A ghost on the screen shrieked, and Kaito jumped slightly. He ended up reaching out for the nearest thing to him to steady himself. That nearest thing happened to be Shinichi's arm.

Kaito was so transfixed on the screen, he didn't notice when Shinichi looked down to where Kaito's hand was touching his arm. He still didn't notice the other's quirked eyebrow when his grip tightened as a ghost ripped one of the characters to shreds. Kaito unconsciously leaned a little closer to the body next to him.

"Kaito?" he heard Shinichi mumble next to him.

Kaito didn't answer him. Instead, he jumped again as another ghost popped up on the screen, and he reached up both hands to grip onto the sturdy object next to him.

Why did they have to do the creepy thing with the head spinning around on the shoulders? That was so weird… and gross. He didn't like it.

"Are you… scared?" he heard Shinichi question. There was curiosity and mild amusement in his tone. Kaito still didn't answer him. He only gripped him tighter.

Unfortunately for Kaito, since he wasn't paying Shinichi any attention, he didn't notice when a grin slowly broke out onto the other boy's face. He also didn't see him turn to whisper something to Ran, as she let go of Shinichi to scoot away.

He didn't notice when Shinichi gently removed his grip from his arm, and carefully moved away.

But he did notice eventually, when there was nothing to hold on to when another ghost appeared on the screen.

Kaito looked over, and when he didn't see Shinichi, he began to panic.

But Kaito didn't get much of a chance to fret over Shinichi's sudden absence, because it was then that something seized both of his arms from behind, and then there was a scream.

"Ah!"

And Kaito wailed right along with it.

"AAHH!"

Kaito jumped forward—because there was no way he was going down without some kind of… manly fight—but he ended up faceplanting right onto the floor in his scramble to escape his would-be killer.

Some guffaws started up from behind him, obnoxious as they were, as he began to pick his face up off the floor.

Kaito sat up with a grimace, as he finally noticed Shinichi, who was desperately clinging to his stomach, and laughing tears into his eyes. Kaito's grimace widened in his dismay.

"Asshole…" Kaito muttered, but he didn't think Shinichi even heard him over his own mirth. Even Ran had stopped being terrified, and was secretly hiding her quiet snickers behind her hand.

Okay, fine, whatever, he probably deserved that.

Still… asshole.

"Oh my God, your face!" Shinichi exclaimed through his tears and laughter, then he started cracking up again.

Kaito puffed out his cheeks, and sent Shinichi a pitiful, pouty frown. He felt his face heat up from embarrassment.

"A-are you okay?! I didn't think you would jump!" Shinichi tried to say, but it came out more like a yell.

Kaito's pout deepened, and he stood up from the floor. He didn't answer Shinichi as he walked over to the light switch, and flipped it back on.

"Wait, wait, wait, Kaito! What are you doing? What about the experience and the ambiance?!"

Kaito continued to give Shinichi the cold shoulder, as he plopped back down beside him, crossed his arms, and glowered at the screen in utter irritation.

There was no way he was letting that happen again.

The rest of the movie went by without any more unwanted interruptions. Kaito pouted the entire time. He continued to pout even when Shinichi tried to apologize to him multiple times throughout the rest of it.

He still pouted even after he stopped feeling butthurt about the whole thing, when Ran eventually left and it was just the two of them again.

"Kaito, I'm so~rry, stop being a brat," Shinichi said with a chuckle, as he reached over to ruffle Kaito's unruly hair. Kaito just pouted more.

He would have stopped any other time, but…

It kind of gave him an excuse, and… he sort of liked all the attention he was getting.

And yeah, he'll admit it, he loved the feeling of Shinichi running his fingers through his hair. Sue him.

Kaito was sulking.

It was super late at night, and he was lying wide awake in his bed. He couldn't sleep.

Surprise, surprise, it was because he couldn't stop thinking about Shinichi.

He had actually just woken up from a particularly naughty dream, and now he couldn't close his eyes long enough without the thought of something dirty interrupting him.

Gosh, it'd been how long now? Almost three weeks? He'd told himself he needed to deal with it. That he could live with this. But he wasn't coping well.

A flash of naked skin and sharp, knowing eyes, and bedraggled hair flitted through his mind, and he shivered.

Okay, so, maybe Kaito wasn't coping well at all.

And the sad thing was, for what he sorely lacked in the physical sense, his mind was desperately trying to make up for with dreams like these.

Lots and lots of dreams...

Dreams that ranged from innocent to downright raunchy. Dreams as innocent as confessing to Shinichi that he loved him, all the way to incredibly messy floor sex in one of the backstage bathrooms of one of Kaito's magic shows. Dreams that never deviated from Shinichi. Dreams like the one he had just woken up from.

Kaito let out a sigh as he reached down a hand, and tentatively cupped at the bulge that had formed in his pajama pants.

This was just his fate now, he guessed. Blue balls. He could already feel the ache.

Unless…

Kaito sneaked a peek over at Shinichi's side of the room. He looked to be sleeping. Maybe if he was really quiet…

Kaito bit at his tongue in concentration as he reached over to his desk that sat in-between the beds, and carefully moved back one of the drawers. He paused, only for a moment, when the hinges gave a creak. When all Shinichi did was roll over, Kaito continued.

He managed to find what he was looking for, a bottle of lube, and quietly pulled it out.

The immediate relief he felt when he touched his slick hands to his taut skin was intense. So intense, that he let out a muffled whine through his closed lips.

He closed his eyes, and allowed his mind to take him back to that day. Just to remember what it felt like to have Shinichi's lips against his own. To have a curious tongue feel and explore his all-too-willing mouth.

And Kaito groaned, because his brain took that feeling and pushed it further. Presented to him, a wonderful alternative―what if no one had been in that room?

Kaito was so enthralled by the sensations of finally letting out a lot of pent up arousal, that he didn't notice a shift on the other side of the room.

His next groan was louder than the last, and he tilted his head back into the soft pillows beneath it.

"Kaito?"

Kaito's eyes flew open, and he sucked in a sharp breath; he immediately pulled his hands out of his pants.

Abort! Abort!

"S-Shinichi?" Kaito mumbled awkwardly. He felt his whole body start to burn with embarrassment.

Because this was a great plan. Mhm. Yep.

Shinichi moved closer in the dark until he stood next to Kaito's bed.

"I-I wasn't doing anything!" Kaito said quickly, sitting up to bunch his blankets on top of his lap.

"Oh?" Shinichi said in a quiet voice.

As Kaito heard it, he stopped fiddling with his blankets, and turned to Shinichi to try to gauge him.

If Kaito didn't know any better, he'd have thought that Shinichi had sounded… nervous? Perhaps a bit worried?

"Well that's good," he heard Shinichi murmur. "I thought I woke you up. I-I mean, that's kind of what I wanted to do, but…"

Kaito blinked, and when he couldn't really tell what Shinichi was thinking with how dark it was in the room, he reached over to turn on the lamp on his desk.

The light flickered on, and he squinted. Shinichi did too. It took them both a second to adjust.

When Kaito was able to, he gave Shinichi a once-over. What he saw kind of worried him.

Shinichi had bags under his eyes. The delicate skin looked bruised. He didn't look like he'd been able to sleep at all.

"Hey, hey, are you okay?" Kaito asked, immediately reaching out to grab the boy's arm. He pulled Shinichi towards him. Shinichi moved closer without much resistance.

"…I'm fine. I just… can't sleep," Shinichi said after a moment.

Kaito took a second to register that.

"Wait… does that mean that you… have been awake this whole time?" When Shinichi nodded at him, his face flushed. "D-did you hear anything?"

Shinichi shrugged. "I heard you groaning… I thought you were just dreaming though. You've been doing a lot of that lately."

Kaito nearly choked on his own spit.

But he didn't get too much of a chance to wallow in his own embarrassment, because it was then that Shinichi let out a tired sigh. Kaito looked back up to him in worry.

"How long have you been up?" he asked. Shinichi glanced down to his feet miserably. He looked back up to Kaito after some time.

"Um… since last night."

Kaito gaped at him.

"What?!" he squawked.

Shinichi stared about the room absently. He looked troubled. Kaito felt sort of like an ass for yelling at him. He shook the arm in his grasp to get Shinichi to look at him. He did eventually.

"What's wrong? Why can't you sleep?"

Shinichi looked like he was about to tip over from fatigue. When he almost did, Kaito tugged at him to get him to sit down.

"I… just keep thinking back to this case…" Shinichi mumbled after sitting down at the edge of Kaito's bed. He lifted his hands to rub his palms into his heavy eyes.

"Case?" Kaito asked in confusion. Shinichi lowered his hands a bit to look at him.

"Yeah. I told you about it. The case inspector Megure let me shadow him on," Shinichi explained.

Kaito's eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh! Yeah, I remember."

...but just barely. He'd been so caught up in thinking of his own issue, that he had completely tuned out everything else.

Now that he thought about it, Shinichi had been acting rather strangely after getting back from his internship yesterday. A lot more skittish.

"Yeah… we closed it yesterday," Shinichi mumbled.

Kaito tilted his head in thought. "Oh. Well, that's good, isn't it?"

Shinichi looked down at his lap. He fiddled with the strings on his sweatpants. The expression he was wearing didn't make it seem as if it was a good thing.

"Yeah, I guess so."

Kaito's brow furrowed in disdain. There was something he was missing, evidently.

"Shinichi,"

It took some time, but Kaito didn't go on until Shinichi looked up at him with his tired gaze.

"What happened that was bad enough to make you want to wake me up?" Kaito went on.

Shinichi's face flushed slightly, and he averted his gaze back to his lap.

"I think I'm just being ridiculous," he said quietly. So quietly, that Kaito had to move closer just to hear him.

After he heard what Shinichi had mumbled, he leaned back, and let out an audible, contemplative sigh through his nose.

He'd been so obsessed with his own dilemma that he hadn't even bothered to ask Shinichi earlier what was wrong when he had noticed the odd behavior the first time. Some friend he was.

"Shinichi," he tried again, and gave the sleeve of the boy's shirt a light tug. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."

Shinichi looked back over to Kaito's face with a pout and a dull glare. "That's kind of hypocritical of you. I've had to fight tooth and nail to get you to talk to me about what's been going on with you lately…"

Kaito faltered with a blush, but he pushed forward soon after with a steady gaze he pinned on his best friend.

"Perhaps… but here's the thing," he started. Shinichi stared at him through weary eyes. Kaito took a breath, and soldiered on. "You came to me."

Shinichi's eyes widened a fraction, and he turned away with a blush. But Kaito didn't allow him an easy escape. He reached over, and grabbed Shinichi's chin to move his face back towards him.

"And since you did, you must think I can help," Kaito said gently. "So, what happened, Shinichi?"

Shinichi looked torn. Kaito eventually let him go, and waited to see if he would talk. He did.

"You… promise you won't laugh at me?"

Kaito's face took on a baffled expression.

"What? Of course I won't. Why would I laugh at you?"

How bad of a friend did Shinichi think he was? Jeez.

Shinichi looked bashful.

"Oh. It's just because, I laughed at you… that time when we watched that horror movie," he said.

Kaito huffed.

"I kind of deserved that," he admitted. Then he considered what Shinichi had said to him. He gave the boy a calculating look. Shinichi seemed to shrink away from it. "Are you… scared, Shinichi?"

Shinichi looked momentarily panicked, and he glanced back down to his hands with a deep grimace.

Kaito stared at him, wide-eyed.

Shinichi? Scared? Stuff like that just didn't happen. If Kudou Shinichi was scared, then that must mean they were all screwed.

Kaito reached out, and placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder. Shinichi tensed.

"I won't laugh at you," he told him sincerely.

Shinichi let out a sigh that shook his shoulders, but he did look better.

"Ah… well, the case I've been working on… we'd been investigating a series of murders," Shinichi started. "At first it seemed random, but we found out that the motive was more personal. They all had something to do with an incident that happened a few years ago."

Kaito stayed silent, listening patiently.

"We found the killer. It was a man that I hadn't suspected at first," Shinichi went on. His brow furrowed, and he looked shaken. "He, uh… he burned himself alive before we could apprehend him."

Kaito's eyes widened in shock, and he watched as Shinichi turned to stare at him sullenly.

"We couldn't put out the flames fast enough. He died in the hospital yesterday morning."

Kaito opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He closed it soon after.

Shinichi turned away from him with a weathered expression. "I just keep thinking about it… The way he screamed… the way I couldn't stop it…"

He shook his head.

"It just kind of rattled me, I guess," he said. Then he chuckled without any humor. He placed his head in his hands, and rubbed circles into his temples. "It shouldn't be getting to me this much. This is what I do… you know? I should be able to handle this better. Much worse things are bound to happen."

As Shinichi spoke, he glanced back up to Kaito. His eyes looked searching. He looked like he might be looking for a negative reaction. Or maybe a sign that he wasn't crazy.

Maybe he just wanted someone to tell him it'd be okay. That it wasn't his fault.

Kaito stared at him, at the way he looked so drained and tired. At the way he looked like he was about to collapse.

He felt like even more of a jerk now. Damn it, he should have pulled his head out of his ass long enough to be a good friend and notice that Shinichi was upset. From the looks of things, he'd been keeping this to himself the whole time.

But now he knew, and he definitely didn't want to make the same mistake twice.

"Okay," Kaito said with a determined look. He then shuffled out of his tangle of blankets to straighten them out. He crawled onto one side of his bed, and laid down on his side, Shinichi watching him curiously all the while. He patted the spot beside him after. "While I do think you might be in need of a serious pep talk, I really think you need sleep first."

Shinichi stared at him quizzically, and a blush found its way to his cheeks.

"Um…" Shinichi mumbled, clearly not following. Kaito patted the spot beside him again.

"Trying to fight your nightmares alone isn't working, so stay here," Kaito told him, and then he grinned. "Don't worry, I'll keep them at bay."

Shinichi's blush darkened, and he stared down at the spot Kaito was patting. He cast a brief glance back over to his own bed. It seemed so much farther away than it really was. Shinichi looked back down, unsure.

Kaito's grin dulled into a smile, but a fond one. "I won't let anything happen to you, Shinichi."

Shinichi blinked in surprise at him, then his whole body seemed to droop against the strain. He carefully laid down next to Kaito, and he stared at him, somewhat shyly, through worn, blood-shot eyes.

"…You won't tell anyone about this… will you?" he asked. He sounded all too vulnerable right now.

Kaito pulled the blanket over Shinichi, and smiled at him after. Then he reached over him to shut off the light.

"I'll take this secret with me to the grave."

Shinichi returned the smile, and it stayed on his lips as his eyes slowly began to close.

"Thank you… Kaito."

Kaito waited until Shinichi was fully asleep, until he started snoring softly, and his chest rose and fell with every steady breath, to mumble, "Anything for you."

The following morning, Kaito blinked the sleep from his eyes as he slowly started to wake.

He woke up warm, incredibly so. Not uncomfortably, definitely not. It was the kind of warmth that reminded him of waking up in the dead of winter next to a fireplace, covered in blankets, and snuggled up to a favorite, life-sized teddy bear. A cozy kind of warmth.

Kaito let out a content sigh, as a smile found its way to his lips. He still felt groggy, and his eyes felt heavy. He pulled the warmth in his arms closer, and cuddled into it. His nose hit something soft, and he breathed it in. It smelled kind of like lavender and mint.

Hm… he didn't know warmth could have a smell like lavender and mint. He was more expecting the smell of roasted chestnuts, or maybe burning wood.

And damn, this teddy bear felt awfully perfect against him. Since when did they make ones that molded against you?

But then his teddy bear let out a quiet groan, and Kaito felt a breath brush against the junction between his collar bone and neck. Then his teddy bear cuddled him back.

Kaito's brow furrowed, and, slowly, he began to open his eyes fully. Confusion riddled his mind as he tried to collect his thoughts. He looked down.

Inside his arms, a sleeping Shinichi lay.

Kaito's weary eyes widened as his mind began to awaken.

In his sleep, he had somehow wrapped his arms (and even his legs) snuggly around his best friend, like some overly cuddly octopus.

Kaito's first thought was to panic. Because, he had latched onto Shinichi when the boy was at his most vulnerable. When he was sleeping. Was this sexual harassment? Shit, he hoped not.

Kaito's arms were wound around Shinichi's back and torso. One was wrapped up behind Shinichi, across his back to rest against the spot between his neck and shoulder. The other arm was nestled between his bed and the detective, reaching across his lower back for his hand to rest along his hip. One of his legs had draped itself across Shinichi's legs.

Shinichi's arms were pressed against Kaito's chest. His soft cheek was pressed against his neck.

Okay, uh, yeah. So, this was happening.

Delicately, Kaito began trying to extricate himself from Shinichi.

Shinichi let out another groan, and moved his hands up to wrap them around Kaito's neck. Kaito froze.

This new position made it increasingly difficult for Kaito to remove himself from Shinichi. Not because he couldn't move or anything.

…he just didn't want to.

An inner battle of conflicting emotions ensued.

Okay, he probably should let Shinichi go. The boy didn't even know he was acting as teddy bear to possibly the cuddliest person on the planet. It was probably a condition, or something, but he couldn't help it. He liked to cuddle things, okay?

It didn't help that Shinichi just slotted against him like they were just made to fit each other. The boy was the perfect snuggle material. All lean muscle and slender in build.

Kaito told his body to release itself from Shinichi, but he only ended up pulling him closer.

Damn it.

Why did Shinichi have to be so warm?!

Shinichi mumbled something next to Kaito's ear, and Kaito felt the skin there start to burn. Then Shinichi stretched out languidly, pressing his body up against Kaito's as his back arched.

Kaito let out a muffled, strangled breath of air.

Don't get a boner. Don't get a boner. Don't get a boner. Please don't get a boner?

His mantra didn't spare him.

Kaito cursed, but he still didn't want to let Shinichi go. Even if he was starting to poke him.

"Do you even know how damn irresistibly freaking cute you are?" Kaito muttered into Shinichi's messy, dark hair. Shinichi merely mumbled again in his sleep, and Kaito let out a miserable sigh. "Of course you don't."

Kaito was almost positive that Shinichi had been sent down to Earth just to be an unobtainable tease to poor unsuspecting magicians.

He let out a pitiful groan as he hugged the boy in his arms a little bit closer.

"Why can't I just have you? Hm?"

Shinichi didn't answer him, obviously. Kaito sulked.

"Will you just give yourself to me? It would save me a lot of hassle, you know," Kaito continued. He idly lifted the hand that had rested across Shinichi's back to play with the tousled strands of dark hair. "You don't even know what you've been doing to me lately."

Shinichi let out a sigh, and adjusted in Kaito's grip. He snuggled his face against Kaito's shoulder.

Kaito felt too hot, but for the life of him, he didn't want to escape it.

He buried his face into Shinichi's hair, and clung to the boy in his arms tighter.

"God, Shinichi, I think I'm really screwed right now…" he trailed off, and then he chuckled.

"I wish I could ask you for advice. I could really use your logic."

Shinichi let out another mumble. It sounded a lot like, 'Kaito…' but it was hard to tell. Kaito let out another sigh, and began to trace irregular shapes into the small of Shinichi's back.

"I don't when it happened, you know?" Kaito went on. "When I fell in love with you, I mean."

"I mean, I know when I realized it. That kiss at the party? It was crazy."

Shinichi shifted against him, and let out a soft snore.

"But like, as far as when it happened? Hell, I don't even know."

Kaito buried his face deeper into Shinichi's wonderful smelling hair.

"I should let you go, shouldn't I?"

Shinichi made an incoherent noise. Kaito felt just the smallest bit pitiful.

"But I don't want to."

Kaito felt his heart clench. Why did this have to be so difficult? All of this. To adjust, to pretend. He was an actor, so why couldn't he fool his tricky heart with all the promises that he would be fine with what he had? That he could deal with this. It wasn't that bad.

He had never felt this way when he had had a crush on Aoko. Hell, he had never felt this way for anyone. Just Shinichi. Always Shinichi.

Anything for Shinichi.

"I don't know how much longer I can take this, Shinichi…" he mumbled. "I don't even know what I'm doing anymore."

Kaito felt his eyes sting, and he bit his bottom lip to distract himself.

"You're the only person that I've ever cared for this much…" Kaito murmured, trailing his fingers through the fine hair at the nape of Shinichi's neck. "To the point that I'd be reduced to… whatever the hell this is."

Kaito let out a dry chuckle.

"Hell, I don't even know if you'd like another guy like that. Telling you all this seems pretty pointless."

And then the smile fell from his lips, and he sighed deeply.

"If Ran makes you happy… Then I can… I'll let you go."

Kaito gave Shinichi one last tight squeeze, then he slowly removed his arms from the body next to him. It was the hardest thing for him to do. He carefully took Shinichi's arms, and unhooked them from around his neck. Then he moved away.

He didn't know what he was going to do now. Maybe he could purchase a ticket to nowhere and live out the rest of his days as a hermit. It, at the very least, was a viable option.

He was about to get up off the bed. Shinichi was probably going to be asleep for a little while longer. He'd been awfully tired last night. Kaito didn't want to disturb him by rolling around and flopping all over him.

But just as he was about to sit up, Shinichi's brow furrowed, and his eyes scrunched. He mumbled something, louder this time, and he reached out.

His arms found Kaito, and he pulled him close. And Shinichi's grip was actually pretty strong.

Kaito let out an 'oof,' as he was pulled back into Shinichi. He looked over, startled.

"Shini-" he started, but then Shinichi started to mutter harshly.

"No…" was Shinichi's mumbled protest.

Kaito blinked a few times.

"Um…" he tried to say, but Shinichi was proving to be quite the distraction, as he snuggled back into him. And then he said something.

"… I need you, Kaito…"

Kaito wasn't sure if he'd heard that right.

"Huh?"

The furrow in Shinichi's brow deepened.

"…I love you."

Kaito's brain came to an abrupt halt, and it promptly crashed.

"Wait, what did you say?"

Kaito leaned in closer, hoping that maybe Shinichi would repeat that, but he didn't.

The only thing Shinichi did was press his face back into Kaito's neck, and his brow relaxed.

Kaito lay there, absent, and he stared up at the ceiling. He felt a whole new wave of confusion.

Did Shinichi just…

He couldn't have. He was just dreaming… right? Just sleep talking.

Kaito turned his head over to look down at the person cuddling into him. Shinichi grumbled, and reached an arm over to rest across Kaito's chest. Kaito flushed scarlet.

Shinichi let out another grumble, and tugged at one of Kaito's arms. Kaito moved the one Shinichi was lying against, and wrapped it around him. Shinichi stopped grumbling.

Yep… okay… wow.

Did he have a chance?

Shinichi let out a quiet groan, and a leg wrapped itself around Kaito's. And then he mumbled, "…stay with me…" Kaito didn't so much as hear it as he felt it, against his neck. His blush threatened to engulf his entire body at that.

Okay, maybe he really did.

A smile slowly tugged at the corners of Kaito's lips. He felt his heart start to beat a little bit quicker.

He needed to tell Shinichi. Needed to tell him that he loved him. Screw letting go.

Er… needed to tell him to his face. Preferably when he was awake.

Kaito's smile evolved into a grin.

He could do it. He was going to do it. If there was something to this, and he really had a chance, then he should.

Then the grin fell away.

But how?

Kaito gave it some thought.

He needed a plan. A plan that would for sure be unable to be misinterpreted. Also, he had to go about all this very carefully. Being a homewrecker didn't sound all that appealing.

His grin returned easily, and he rolled back onto his side to hug Shinichi to him. Shinichi let out a content sigh.

It'd be okay. He'd figure something out.

After all, now that he had a course of action to take, a goal, things felt a little bit clearer. Like a light at the end of the incredibly murky tunnel.

For now, he'd cuddle the shit out of this man until he woke up. (And then he was going to run away frantically to hide his erection in the shower, but, you know, whatever)

AN:

So, I have a solid idea of how this story is going to go now. It's going to have a total of four chapters. Each chapter will probably be around this length, roughly 10k words. The next one might be longer.

The next update will probably take a little bit more time than this one.

On a side note, what do you guys think of the cover art? I drew it up a little bit ago, and I think it came out quite good. I quite like it. I've been trying to draw lineart with my tablet more. It's been hard, man. I'm so obsessed with the pen tool, it's unreal. I'm trying to break the habit. QQ

Anyway, until next time.