Disclaimer: Detective Conan & Magic Kaito belong to Aoyama Gosho.

Ship: Kaitou KID x Edogawa Conan

Genre: romance

Words: 2840

Summary: To remove the barrier of disguise between them, all Conan had to do was… to take a step forward.

Butterfly Knot

"Tantei-kun~! Don't forget about next week!"

"Yes I heard you, stop bugging me!"

…

Edogawa Conan gazed at the night lights and sighed. He's currently on the rooftop of a skyscraper in Tokyo, where Kaitou KID's current heist is located at. He had been avoiding Kaitou KID's heists for quite a while, and it was apparently starting to tick KID off. The stupid thief had been popping up around the detective agency whenever he was alone to pester him about his upcoming heist, and it was getting really annoying. He had no choice but to agree to attend the thief's next heist, just to get himself some moments of peace.

"Hey, Tantei-kun~ Not up for a chase tonight?"

A familiar voice caught the petite detective's attention. He had been anticipating for the owner of the voice ever since he was here. Conan turned around to face the white-clad phantom thief, who was triumphantly joggling a necklace with a big sapphire pendant and a few butterfly-shaped silver charms.

"Yeah, not in the mood." Conan turned his attention back to the night scenery, while pondering over the words in his mind and trying to figure out the best way to formulate his thoughts. Suddenly, a hand holding a blue rose appeared right before his eyes. Conan turned to his right and found KID leaning on the railing next to him, where he was standing.

"A penny for your thought?" At a quick sleight of hand, the blue rose had disappeared from the magician thief's hand, and was replaced by a copper coin.

"…really? That's a horrible joke, you know." Conan remarked sarcastically as KID shoved said coin into his palm, while trying to hide the fact that he flinched upon the sudden contact from KID. He didn't need to be thinking about how his face was burning up right now. He never had problem with KID bursting his personal bubble before, so why was he going nuts right now? Looking down at the copper coin on his palm in attempt to distract himself from the thief in front of him, Conan took a step back to increase the distance between the two of them.

Taken aback by Conan's reaction, KID kneeled down and reached out his hands to catch the retreating detective. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong…" As Conan was trying to back away again and to yank himself out of KID's grasp, he glimpsed KID's violet eyes and realized that the usual playfulness was replaced by seriousness. Was he really worried about him?

Before Conan could respond, he was pulled into an embrace by the taller teen in front of him. "You know, Meitantei… If there's something bothering you, you could tell me about it. I wasn't sure why you have been avoiding my recent heists, but like I said before…" KID released his hold on Conan and reached for his face, looking straight into the detective's eyes as he spoke again. "I like you, and I care about you. I'm not asking you to share all secrets with me, but… I just didn't like how you have been distancing me lately, be it intentional or not."

As if on reflex, Conan snapped his eyelids shut and swiftly brought his hands up to covered the phantom thief's mouth. It was precisely these words that had been bothering him over the past few weeks. When KID first confessed to him a few months ago, he thought he was kidding. Everyone knew that KID was a master of disguise, so he didn't think of the confession as anything more than another one of KID's tricks. But ever since then, he had been getting frequent visits from KID, and the thief had been asserting that he was completely serious. He eventually got used to the thief's company, and as much as he hated to admit it, sometimes he even looked forward to these unannounced visits.

He started considering the thief as a friend, and as someone that he could place his trust. Even back at the Lady Sky heist, one of the reason why he could confront the Red Siamese Cats fearlessly, was because he knew that KID had got his back. He had no idea how KID found out that he was Kudou Shinichi, but somehow, he wasn't bothered by the fact that his identity was uncovered by such criminal. Likewise, KID had introduced himself as Kuroba Kaito, and that was one of the reasons why the thief had earned his trust. It was a piece of vital information that could ultimately shatter Kaitou KID's future. Though he did wonder, why was a teenager his age a well-known phantom thief? Just like how he refused to tell KID his secrets and his affairs with the Black Organization, KID never spoke a word about his purpose and goal to him.

And that's when he realized that he had been spending a significant (and possibly unhealthy) amount of time thinking about the phantom thief. He wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, so he started avoiding the KID heists altogether. Whenever KID visited, he'd brush him off and send him away with excuses such as he was too busy, or that he wasn't feeling well. He could tell that the thief was upset by it (and that's probably why he kept pestering him about attending the heist today), but he needed some time alone to reorganize his thought. Namely, on whether or not he had any feelings aside from friendship towards the phantom thief.

When he finally prop his head up to think about it, the answer wasn't as ambiguous as he had thought. Looking back over the past few weeks, his mind was more often preoccupied by the thief instead of Ran. He stopped getting these rushes of jealousy when other guys hang out with Ran, yet he gets annoyed whenever KID flirts with his fans on TV. He had once let that thought slip in front of Haibara Ai, and the shrunken scientist merely smiled in an all-knowing manner and presented him a simple question.

What makes you hold back from the truth, detective?

Initially, he wasn't sure how to react to that question, but after taking a mental break to deliberately chew over her words, he couldn't help but shook his head in a defeated manner. She was right; there was no reason for him to deny the truth and his feelings. Then the question became – would this be a feasible relationship? Would there be any consequences with taking this risky step forward? KID was a thief and he was a detective. That fact wouldn't change no matter what happens–

Before his mind could rumble any further, he was interrupted by a loud muffled voice and two gloved hands tugging his arms down. "Argh– Tantei-kun, I don't know what has gotten into you, but suffocating me isn't going to take us anywhere." KID had both of Conan's arms locked in his hands as he pulled Conan closer to himself, "But really, what's wrong? You haven't answered my question yet."

Conan was forced to be face-to-face with KID again with their current posture. He noted how KID's cheek were slightly flushed – possibly because he covered his mouth earlier, but the earnest tone in his voice and sincere look in his eyes haven't changed. It's clear that KID wasn't going to let him go unless he got his answer. After reorganizing his thoughts earlier, he knew exactly what it was that he wanted to say to the thief.

"I have always been meaning to ask you something…" Conan paused and swallowed nervously before he continued. "What makes me special? What did you choose me?"

KID blinked as if he was confused by the questions, before a proverbial light bulb appeared on his head. "Ah, did you mean to ask what I liked about you?"

Conan could feel his face turning bright red from KID's question. He had no idea how the thief managed to say such embarrassing things all the time in such a casual manner. He could hear the thief snickering and he was certain that the thief did it on purpose to make him blush. He decided not to say anything else and just let KID carry on.

"Well, there were many reasons…" KID released Conan's arms as he brought one of his finger to his chin in a contemplating manner. "You were very intelligent and there aren't that many people who could rival my wit. You were also very cool looking when you were Shinichi, while Conan-kun was absolutely adorable– wait, let me finish!" KID immediately panicked and braced himself as Conan narrowed his eyes and aimed his tranquilizer watch towards the thief.

"If it's another one of those superficial reasons, then you can save your breath."

"Hmm, I wasn't sure where to begin, but…" KID wrapped his fingers around Conan's small hands as he brought Conan's hands up. "I have always been amazed by how someone so tiny could accomplish so much. I found it very admiring how, despite all these circumstances, you never gave up on persuading truth and justice. No matter what kind of obstacles stood before you, you always managed to find a way to conquer them. And that…" KID smiled warmly before he continued, "gave me courage to keep trying my best. Before I realized it, my eyes had been following you and my mind had been chasing after you."

"I know you're not interested in jewels or anything like that, but…" At a quick snap of KID's fingers, the sapphire necklace that KID had stolen earlier had entwined itself around Conan's neck. "You are the only person in this world who I would give everything to. Granted, this necklace isn't technically mine, but…" KID looked down at the floor as if trying to hide his expression, while he placed his hands onto Conan's shoulders as if to make an emphasis. "I-I'm absolutely serious."

Stunned, Conan wasn't sure how he should proceed. Was it KID's genuine expression, or was it KID's words that had left him speechless? He couldn't tell. Mesmerized, he took one step forward and wrapped his right hand around KID's red tie to tug the thief towards himself, as if to bring their lips together…

*cling*

Interrupted by the sound of his thick-framed glasses hitting KID's silver monocle, Conan was immediately driven out of his trance, and backed away from KID. In front of him, KID had a similarly stupefied expression. Feeling overwhelmingly embarrassed by the fact that he just tried to kiss KID, Conan's face turned scarlet as he attempted to flee, except he was stopped by a gloved hand grabbing the back of his head. Before he knew it, his glasses were removed from his face and a set of warm and moist lips had covered his own. He froze upon the contact, unable to react any further. Yet somehow, the warmth that he could feel from the other was reassuring. He might have doubts regarding his feelings towards KID earlier, but now, unbeknownst to himself, he was beginning to become absorbed into the moment.

Just as he was about to part his lips to deepen their kiss, thundering footsteps could be heard towards the rooftop. KID and Conan immediately parted from each other, and within seconds the door slammed opened to reveal a very angry-looking Nakamori-keibu and his task force. Both of them snapped their heads towards the incoming intruders with a dumbfounded expression on their faces.

"KID! Give the damn jewel back–" Nakamori-keibu stopped abruptly as he noticed that Conan's hand was gripping KID's tie tightly. "Uh… Good job, Edogawa-kun! I see that you have captured KID! Unbelievable!"

Both thief and detective duo released a silence sigh of relief as it appears no one caught on to what they were actually doing. KID flashed his signature grin to Nakamori-keibu as he dug his hand into his pocket. "Nice to see you again, Nakamori-keibu. I might have been captured by the little detective here, but I definitely wouldn't be captured by you!" Without another word, a smoke bomb was released, surrounding the two of them. The tie was pulled out of Conan's clutch at the same time. Once the smoke cleared, the white-clad phantom thief was nowhere to be seen.

"Curse you, KID!" Nakamori-keibu stomped towards the railing just as KID's hang-glider gets carried off by the night wind. Decided that chasing the already gone KID would be a lost cause, the officer kneeled down to examine the coughing child instead. "Edogawa-kun, are you all right? Your face is really red! Was it because of the smoke? What happened to your glasses?"

"Uh… KID took it earlier…" Conan continued to clear his throat as he tried to recollect himself. Unlike KID, he hasn't mastered the act of poker face. If the officer knew what actually happened earlier, he was 100% certain that he would be deep trouble. Then he remembered that he still had the sapphire necklace around his neck, so he promptly took it off and handed it to the officer. "Nakamori-keibu, here, take this back."

Overjoyed by the sight of the necklace, Nakamori-keibu quickly gave Conan a pat on the back before running off with the rest of the task force. Watching the rooftop door closing behind the officer, Conan took a quick glance around the rooftop but found no one except himself. He hated to admit it, but he was disappointed that KID simply left like that, but what can he do about it? It's not like he had wings to fly like him. He let out a defeated sigh as he walked towards the rooftop door, while trying not to think about how he should face the stupid thief the next time they meet. Should he pretend that nothing happened? That actually sounded like a good plan…

Just as he was mulling over the earlier incident, he was grabbed by a pair of hands and pulled into a tight embrace. He could hear a familiar giggle as the person who grabbed him planted a kiss on his forehead. "Tantei-kun~ Did you miss me?"

"W-Who would miss you?!" Conan stuttered as he looked up to KID, who had a huge grin plastered across his face. KID no longer had his white top hat, suit top and cape on him; it was probably used as a decoy to draw Nakamori-keibu's attention away earlier.

"But, you're not pushing me away here. So that means you miss me, right?"

Feeling immediately flushed by KID's words, Conan started to pull himself off from the phantom thief's grasp, but due to their apparent size and strength difference, his effort was futile. "Let me go!"

"Why?"

"You're bursting my personal bubble!"

"Oh? But I thought it was you who tried to kiss me first."

"I–" Stumped by KID's words, Conan seized his struggle. Thinking back, was he simply emerged into the moment and lost hold of himself, or did he have feelings towards KID? By now, the answer should be clear and was there any reason for him to keep hiding from the truth?

Looking up at KID again, behind that playful mask, he could see his hopeful eyes and the light blush on his face. What KID couldn't hide, was the slight tremor of nervousness and anticipation that he could sense via the hold KID had on him.

And really, from what happened earlier, he had already reached a point of no return, no?

"You know, KID, when you said that I gave you courage to keep trying your best, I had a similar thought. Whenever I watched your heist, I was amazed by how you managed to prevail despite having all of the law enforcement after your tail. While I might not be able to agree with what you do, or understand the reason behind your heists…" Bringing his hands onto KID's jawline, Conan pecked KID's cheek lightly with his own lips, before pulling himself away. "I don't despise the idea of getting to know you better– what's with that stupid smile on your face?!"

"Well…" KID continued to smile giddily as he pulled Conan into another tight embrace. "Not exactly what I was hoping to hear, but I'll take it."

"Huh?"

"Nothing~" Without another word, the white-clad thief kneeled down in front of Conan, brushed his smaller hand with his lips, and placed his silver monocle onto his smaller palm. "I'd love to get to know you better too."

Unsure if he should be surprised by KID's gesture or not, Conan merely shrugged as both of them started to giggle, pressed their foreheads together, and entwined their fingers into a knot. While it's true that he still have doubts about becoming more acquainted with the thief in front of him, he decided that it'd be a risk that's worth taking. Gazing at the genuine and bright smile of the phantom thief… getting to know each other without disguise sounded like a great start to him.

End.

Afterword: Thanks for dropping by to read~ Please review and give me feedback on this story! Thank you for the favs and watches, especially to the few people who had taken the time to leave a review ^_^

This story was meant to be a follow-up for Over Drive, but it can be read as its own one-shot as well.

Title adapted from GARNET CROW's final song Butterfly Knot.

I will be on hiatus for an unknown amount of time, due to a lack of reader's feedback/reviews for my recent updates, as well as physical/mental exhaustion from school + work + life. It had been fun meeting all of you, and thank you to those who're still sticking around *bows*

Last but not least; Happy Canadian Thanksgiving~ ^w^