Mikau: Happy New Year! So on the Poirot Café forum we did a Secret Santa exchange this year, and the person I got was Crimson, the forum's administrator. Talk about pressure. Needless to say, my first thought was "Crap." followed by "Why me?" And she wanted a fic wherein Conan, Ran, and Kogoro spent Christmas Eve together. Sadly, that grouping is not one of my strengths, so…Kaito crashed the party. I don't think this is anything like she wanted, and it's waaaaay too long considering the suggest length was 500 words, but… So I'm worried that no one's going to read this and I've failed entirely. -.-; But the good news is that I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. I like it, and that's pretty rare, so…maybe it's okay after all. I'm going to stop talking so you can read now. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: DCMK is the intellectual property of Aoyama Gosho, and this fic was requested by Crimson Amarone on Poirot Café for the Secret Santa exchange.

…

Part I

"But it's Christmas Eve!" Ran cried in exasperation. "It's the most romantic night of the year besides Valentine's! You're supposed to spend an enchanting evening with the person you love, not stay at home with your family!"

Conan discreetly rolled his eyes even as they remained glued to the page of the manga that he was only pretending to read. He wondered if Sonoko's romantic fantasies were beginning to rub off on Ran or if Ran had had a predisposition for romantic idealism from the start. He was inclined to believe it was the latter exacerbated by the former.

"Even people without dates for Christmas Eve spend the night with their friends!" Ran continued in a whine. And then her I-insist-upon-fooling-myself scheming face slid into place and she cajoled, "Sooo why don't you see what Mom's doing, and Conan-kun can head over to the Professor's to watch TV and eat KFC with his friends, and I'll just—"

"—Go on a date with that Kuroba brat?" Kogoro huffed, somehow managing to grind his cigarette out despite the much-too-full state of his ashtray. "I don't think so," her father decreed. "I'm sitting out the annual Christmas party at the club so that I can stay home and make sure you and that Kuroba brat don't get up to nothin'. You're staying home, and that is final, Ran."

Conan tried to stifle a smirk of satisfaction as he silently thanked Old Man Mouri. It was bad enough being trapped in the body of a ten year-old without the love of Shinichi's life starting to date an ex-con who looked exactly like his former self.

"But Kaito pulled all kinds of strings to get us a reservation at Arsene's," Ran persisted, holding her breath on the off chance her begging would soften her father's heart and alleviate his anxieties. "And then he was going to take me shopping in Roppongi, and after that we were going to hit up that new sweets buffet by the station for dessert!"

Kogoro shook his head as he sighed, popping open his third can of beer that hour. "And then he was gonna hold your hand as you two walked around together looking at the lights, right? Maybe sneak in a kiss before he dropped you off?" Kogoro glared disapprovingly as Ran stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. "Or did he pull strings to make reservations at a snazzy hotel too?"

Conan surreptitiously glanced up from the manga he wasn't really reading and nibbled nervously on the inside of his cheek as he waited to hear Ran's reply.

He didn't have to wait long.

"It isn't like that!" she snapped as she flushed, even her ears and neck turning scarlet. "…Kaito is a gentleman," Ran added softly, fondly.

"More like a gentleman thief," Conan silently sighed to himself as every fiber of his being sizzled with jealousy.

If only Haibara had been able to find an antidote. Then it would have been him, Shinichi, taking Ran out on the town for a night she wouldn't soon forget. Instead, the former Kaitou Kid was taking his place.

"Doesn't matter," Kogoro snorted with a finality that strangled all of Ran's hopes. "I don't care if he's a prince or a fox spirit—he's not taking my little girl anywhere tonight, so you might as well go change out of that…frilly, pink…saloon girl costume you're wearing."

Ran was tempted to retort that she had turned twenty in March and thus was no longer a "little girl", but, knowing it would be futile to argue, she refrained. Instead she muttered sullenly, "It's not a saloon girl outfit. It's the latest design from Helen Griffin's new formal line…. Kaito got it for me."

Conan's left eyebrow shot up. "How does a college student afford a designer original? Ran-neechan, are you sure your boyfriend's not involved in anything illegal?" It had been two years since Kid retired, but the saying "Old habits die hard" existed for a reason.

Ran pursed her lips, crossed her arms, and replied with a dry heat, "Kaito isn't a thief. He's a personal friend of Ms. Griffin, and she gave the dress to him."

Conan wanted to ask if that cross-dressing freak had given it to Ran secondhand, but he held his tongue.

Ran was about to continue her defense of her boyfriend, but it was then that the upstairs doorbell rang. She sighed as she headed towards the door, looking tired and disappointed. "And that would be him."

"Tell him to scram," Kogoro advised, finishing beer can number three with a glug and clinking it down on his desk with authority.

Ran opened the door and stuck her head out in the corridor. "Kaito! Down here."

"Oh. Hey!" came an annoyingly familiar voice out in the stairwell. "I heard voices in the detective agency, but I thought you'd be upstairs," the magician chuckled sheepishly as he descended.

Conan tried not to let his resentment for the ex-thief show as he endeavored to look like he was actually reading the page he'd been staring at these past fifteen minutes.

"I came down to let my family know I was leaving soon, but…" Ran sighed as Kaito appeared in the doorway.

"Problem?" Kaito teetered back and forth from heel to toe in the passageway, not really wanting to have to greet the overprotective father and the guard-dog-like "little brother".

Ran nodded.

"Yer not taking my little girl anywhere!" Kogoro bellowed, not bothering to rise to greet their guest. "So get out of here. Shoo!"

"DAD!" Ran hissed, sending her father a glare that subtly reminded him that she was capable of breaking cinderblocks. "Don't be so rude!"

"It's okay," Kaito chuckled, taking Ran's hand as he stepped in.

Conan bristled as Kaito gently stroked the back of Ran's hand with his thumb. To Conan it looked positively lewd. He wanted to go over there and bite Kaito's hand off so that it couldn't do anything else inappropriate to his Ran.

The flames of jealousy were further stoked as Kaito leaned in and whispered into Ran's ear. "Don't worry. Playing Romeo and Juliet only makes it more fun."

Ran blushed and giggled, giving Kaito's hand a squeeze before she turned her attention back to her father. "Dad, I want to spend Christmas Eve with my boyfriend. It's especially important since it's our three-month anniversary, so if you don't want us to go out because you're worried about us being alone together, we're going to stay here where you can supervise us."

As if suddenly remembering something, Ran turned back to Kaito, pale-faced. "Unless…you just want to call it quits. I'd understand you not wanting to spend Christmas Eve with my family when you could still make it to Nakamori-san's party."

Conan picked up an extra twinge of…insecurity?…something akin to pain in Ran's voice when she pronounced the name "Nakamori-san", and he wondered what that was about.

Kaito smiled warmly, his violet eyes sparkling and grinning along with him as he assured, "Ran, I want to spend tonight with you; I'm not really picky about how we spend it. Besides, I'm going to have to hang with your family eventually, so isn't it better to get used to it sooner rather than later?"

Conan clenched his teeth, wondering just how long this Kuroba Kaito was planning on sticking around.

"Then it's settled!" Ran cheered, a smile coming back to her lips as she squeezed Kaito's hand again with both of her own.

And then she looked back at her father, and a warning glare settled into her eyes. "So Kaito is going to spend the evening with us, okay, Dad?"

Kogoro muttered something not so nice under his breath before reluctantly acquiescing. "Fine. Make yourself at home, Kuroba-brat."

"Thanks, Mouri-tantei," Kaito responded in earnest, determined to play nice for the woman he loved's sake. "I appreciate you having me." Turning to Conan, Kaito's grin began to gradually tilt until it closely resembled a smirk. "Good evening, Tantei-kun."

Conan nodded civilly, determined not to incite Ran's rage. If he played his cards right, he could completely take the romance out of the evening for his nemesis by acting the adorable, innocent, loving little brother.

"Great," Ran chirped, tugging Kaito back out the door. "Well, Kaito and I are just going to head upstairs now. Feel free to check in on us at any point because I know you will whether I want you to or not."

"W-Why are you going upstairs, Ran-neechan?" Conan's face blanched as he jumped to his feet and his unread manga fell to the floor with a decisive thump. "You're not going to your bedroom, are you?!"

"You'd better not be!" Kogoro too rose to his feet in a panic.

Ran rolled her eyes. "Well, since my fairy tale-esque dinner plans have been canceled, I'm going to have to make my own food, aren't I? And the kitchen is upstairs. You do the math," she replied sardonically to her father, letting the full force of her displeasure be known.

"I'll go with you!" Conan eagerly volunteered.

"And I'll be up in a minute," Kogoro assured. It almost sounded like a threat.

"Okay then," Ran sighed, pulling her boyfriend gently by the hand as Conan darted up the stairs ahead of them.

Conan held the door until the couple caught up and Kaito took it from him...and proceeded to close it in his face, leaning on the door so as to trap Conan inside the apartment and leave himself and Ran alone on the landing.

Ran gave Kaito a disapproving look as Conan yelped "Hey!" and started banging on the door.

Kaito only shrugged and smiled impishly. "I'm a desperate man—desperate for a moment alone with my girlfriend so I can tell her how radiant she looks in that dress."

"Kaito," Ran hummed as a blush of pleasure graced her cheeks.

"Hey!" Conan shouted again, peeping up at them through the mail slot.

"It's true," Kaito insisted, taking Ran's hand and nuzzling it tenderly before pressing a chivalrous kiss to her knuckles. He looked up through his eyelashes at her and smiled. "You're more lovely than the most splendid sunset."

A faint gagging sound was heard from the other side of the door along with a slightly muffled, "Do you seriously think she's gonna swallow your clichéd purple prose?"

Kaito's lips twisted into a frown of displeasure, but the sour expression didn't last long. "The lady deserves to be treated like a princess, Tantei-kun," Kaito clucked before turning his attention back to Ran. "Besides…she likes my poetry."

"Because you keep thinking up wilder and more ridiculous ways to tell me I'm pretty," Ran laughed, lips parting in a grin.

"Well, you are beautiful," Kaito reiterated, making a red rose appear in the hand he had just been holding.

Ran admired the bloom, eyes twinkling in delight, before she shyly whispered, "And you're pretty handsome yourself." Her hands joined with his, and they stood there smiling at each other. "…You were wearing a white tux the day we met too," she cooed softly. "Except, instead of a black undershirt and white tie, you were wearing blue and red, and your hat was different too, but…"

Conan's ears perked up. A white suit, blue undershirt, red tie, and hat… Did Ran know?!

"Do you like the fedora?" Kaito chuckled, cocking his head so that the fedora tilted rakishly to the side.

"I like the fedora," Ran giggled.

Their conversation was brought to an end at that point by Kogoro emerging from the detective agency below and looking at the couple in suspicion. "You two are still out here in the hall? Where's the freeloading brat?"

"We were just going," Kaito assured at the same time Conan shouted, "I'm in here! That jerk trapped me inside so that he could be alone with Ran-neechan!"

Kogoro scowled.

Kaito smiled sheepishly, opening the door with a soft, "After you," to Ran.

As he went by, Kogoro muttered a reproving, "Watch yourself, Boy."

To which Kaito offered a reconciliatory, "Yes, Sir."

…

"So tell us about how you two met," Conan entreated as he danced around Kaito and Ran's legs in the kitchen, ensuring that he was always between the would-be lovebirds.

Ran, not seeing Conan's scheme for what it was, smiled and laughed and thought nothing of her little brother's interference.

"Yeah," Kogoro seconded from where he sat at the living room table, smoking the nth cigarette of the day. "How did you two get to know each other? You met at Beika U, right? I don't remember you mentioning him when you were back at Teitan."

"Well, we had run into each other from time to time at Kid heists in high school," Ran explained as she smiled serenely, chopping carrots and potatoes for the curry.

So she did know.

"Kaito is Nakamori-keibu's daughter's childhood friend, Dad—but we didn't really meet officially until last June at his birthday party."

Conan raised an eyebrow at that. "How did you end up at his birthday party if you didn't know him?"

"Fate," Kaito replied in all seriousness (earning him a dirty look from Conan) as the magician tried to avoid aforementioned munchkin and get over to Ran's side. Conan managed to remain firmly in Kaito's way without arousing Ran's suspicions.

Kaito smiled wryly down at his shrunken foe, his eyes clearly communicating "I know what you're doing, and I will get you for it later" even as he continued to speak in a chipper tone. "Actually, Ran and I have a lot of the same friends—Hakuba Saguru, Sera Masumi, Suzuki Sonoko…. Hakuba was throwing the party for me in order to try to get me over…a recent catastrophic breakup, and Sono-chan and Mi-chan were already invited, and they suggested inviting Ran as well."

"We really hit it off at the party," Ran chuckled as she remembered that night—the pool, how competitive Kaito had been at the party games, the inflatable flamingos…the unexpected kiss for which Hakuba-kun still owed Kaito a surprise fish attack.

Her pleasant reverie was cut short when Conan snapped, "So Ran-neechan is just a rebound?", all the while vowing with his eyes to disembowel Kaito at the first opportunity.

"No," Ran laughed softly at the misunderstanding. It seemed so silly to her because she knew the depth of Kaito's feelings for her. "Kaito and I were just friends for over a year after that."

"It's true that we kind of bonded over getting over our respective previous partners," Kaito admitted with a shrug, "but we didn't start dating until both of us were feeling emotionally healthy again."

Conan gave a little snort of incredulity, but he didn't challenge Kaito's assertion out loud. Still…Ran was over Shinichi? …But then why was she dating a guy with Shinichi's face? Clearly Ran was only kidding herself.

"So who confessed first?" Kogoro probed, taking a genuine interest that was unusual for him. It was his only child, though, and after that nasty breakup with that Kudo brat… He'd seen his beloved daughter in pieces over her last boyfriend, so this time he wanted to make sure that Ran's suitor was on the up and up.

Kaito raised his hand with a bashful grin. "That would be me."

"It was super romantic," Ran chuckled as she transferred the vegetables from the cutting board to the pot with her knife. "He somehow managed to commandeer the university's rooftop greenhouse for the night, and he set up a table and chairs and these ginormous, elegant candelabras in there. He made me dinner, and it was absolutely scrumptious. I've never met another guy my age that could cook like that."

"Well, I did grow up living by myself, so I kind of had to cook to survive. Because of that, I have a bit of an unfair advantage over other guys, but you shouldn't praise me too much. I mean, my cooking is nothing compared to yours, Ran," Kaito pretended to be humble even as he inwardly preened.

Ran shook her head as she stirred the pot. "Still. Dinner was to die for. And after that we went out on the roof to look at the stars. At least that's what he said we were going to do, but then this joker—"

"—Well, we did look at the stars for a few minutes," Kaito broke in with a chuckle, finally giving up on trying to get past Conan and instead settling in to lean up against the kitchen counter. "Remember? I showed you some constellations before the fireworks show started?"

"Fireworks?" Kogoro frowned. "Don't you need a permit for that?"

Kaito grinned unapologetically. "Maaaaaybe."

"But at the end of the show," Ran continued, "the finale spelled out 'Will you go out with me?'"

"And she, of course, was charmed into saying yes?" Conan snorted.

"You got it," Kaito crowed with pride.

"And then I bet you kissed her," the jealous ex grumbled.

"What?!" Kogoro yelped, and the cigarette fell right out of his mouth as his jaw dropped.

"I kissed him," Ran corrected with a sly grin directed at her boyfriend.

Kaito returned the smile with a fond grin and a loving gaze of his own.

It made Conan's stomach turn, it was so sickening…like soured milk. What's more, Shinichi and Ran had never kissed despite being in love for years, so where did this Kuroba bastard get off stealing her lips after only knowing Ran for a little over twelve months?!

Meanwhile, Kogoro was making beached whale noises. "Ran!" he gasped. "Your first kiss?!"

Ran waved away her family's overreactions. "Oh, you would have kissed him too after such a romantic evening. Everything was perfect—the setting, the mood, the music, the food, the stars, the fireworks… It makes me wonder how he's going to top it for the proposal."

Conan nearly choked. "P-Proposal?!"

Kogoro leaned so that he could look into the kitchen at the man trying to steal his daughter. "You've only been dating three months. Are you seriously thinking about sticking in this for the long haul?"

"Oh yeah. Definitely," Kaito easily replied. "Sometimes you don't need long to decide that this is the person you want to spend your life with. Sometimes you just know, and I knew that Ran was special from the very moment I laid eyes on her."

"Oh? You mean when you knocked her out and put her in a lifeboat so that you could impersonate her?" Conan murmured softly under his breath.

Kaito seemed not to hear as he continued, "My own parents only knew each other a week before they got married, and they have a love to last for the ages, so I don't really see only dating for three months as being a problem."

"Let's not rush things, okay?" Kogoro growled. "Ran's got to graduate and get her doctorate of juris…juris…her lawyer degree before she can afford to think about marriage."

"Don't worry," Ran assured as she broke up the curry blocks and slowly added them to the pot. "We've talked, and we've decided that we want to make sure that we're both independent and financially stable before we settle down and start a family. It'll be a long engagement, so you'll all have plenty of time to get used to the idea of me marrying Kaito before it actually happens."

"But, Ran-neechan!" Conan cried, busting out his "immature five year-old" whine. "You can't marry him!" Conan rushed over to Ran and pulled childishly on the tulle of her dress's skirt. He looked up at her with big, soulful eyes and insisted, "Ran-neechan's going to be my bride. Aren't you?"

Ran smiled gently and bent over slightly to kiss Conan on the forehead. It was a little easier now that he was older and his head came up to her midriff. "Conan-kun, I'm always going to love you as a sister, but the love between a husband and a wife is a little different than that, and that's the kind of love I feel for Kaito."

"Don't worry," Kaito assured as he stepped in and placed an arm around Ran's waist now that Conan was distracted and no longer keeping him away from his girlfriend. "I could never replace you in Ran's heart, and I'm not trying to crowd you out, Tantei-kun. Ran's told me how important her 'little brother' is to her, so I want you two to keep being as much a part of each other's lives as possible. I'm not here to take away your sister—or your daughter, for that matter, Mouri-tantei," Kaito raised his voice slightly as he addressed the man in the other room. "So think of this instead as gaining a big brother or a son." Kaito smiled brightly as he gave Conan a pat on the shoulder.

Conan pulled away as his head whirled with all of this new information. He'd known that Ran was friends with Kid. He'd heard about Kuroba Kaito from Ran over a year ago, and he was fully aware of the fact that Ran had recently started dating the former thief. She'd told her family right away, much to their alarm and dismay…but…Conan had never realized that it was serious. Maybe he just hadn't wanted to see it before, but now it was horrifically apparent that Kudo Shinichi was being left behind in the dust and Kuroba Kaito was taking over in his absence.

Ran had stopped waiting indefinitely for her beloved childhood friend. Sure, she had called and told Shinichi that it was over nearly two years beforehand at the end of high school, but…Conan had never realized how absolutely serious she had been until this very moment.

"But…" Conan whispered in a daze. "Maybe this isn't permanent either."

Ran blinked, and her face clouded over. "Conan-kun? What do you mean, Sweetheart?"

"I mean, maybe you'll get tired of him and stop loving him too, just like you did with Shinichi-niichan."

Ran's lips parted in a startled "Oh" as she looked with distress at her younger brother.

"Ran?" Kaito called softly, tightening his hold on her as he shot his beloved anxious glances.

Even Kogoro got up from the table and came to check on his daughter, unsure how the utterance of the forbidden name would affect her. "Ran?"

Ran shook her head and broke away from them all, directing her attention back to the curry pot, now bubbling enthusiastically. She turned the burner down to low heat and began to stir continuously. "It's okay. Conan-kun…you'll understand when you're a little older, but things between me and Shinichi… Sometimes…even if two people love one another, they can't be together for whatever reason. It was like that with Shinichi and me. He had to choose between his work and our future together, and…and he decided that it was more important to be out there putting his life on the line so that he could save a lot of other people," she explained, voice strong despite the tears building in the corners of her eyes.

"I can't blame him for that," Ran whispered. "Shinichi's work is very important, so I didn't mind for a long time, but…I eventually discovered that I couldn't keep going in a relationship like that. I needed someone who could be there when I needed him, someone who would be by my side, so Shinichi and I broke up. I'll always love him as my dear friend, but…I can't love him as a man anymore."

"Ran," Kaito breathed, coming up behind his darling and encircling his arms around her. He nuzzled her ear and pressed a kiss to the junction of her neck and shoulder.

Ran smiled, patting Kaito's hand resting on her stomach. "Thanks. I'm okay."

She quickly pulled herself together, pasting a smile on her lips for the sake of the men she loved. "The curry's almost done. Dad, can you get the plates out? Kaito, can you help him? And, Conan-kun, you get the paddle for the rice, okay?"

The three quickly assented, not daring to risk upsetting her when she was so close to the edge.

Conan hung his head as he searched the drawer for the rice paddle. Guilt clung to him, squeezing the life out of him like a straightjacket. He'd never meant to dredge up the wounds of Ran's past. He'd had no idea she'd react so strongly. He'd had no idea about a lot of things. Had he just had his head in the sand these past two years since the breakup? He'd missed so much as he struggled against the Organization, scrambling to piece the clues together and return to his original body, return to her. He'd been oblivious to what was going on around him.

Conan jumped as a pair of strong hands gently came to rest on his shoulders.

"Hey," Kaito whispered as Ran and Kogoro carried the curry and the flatware respectively into the living/dining area. "Don't worry too much about before, Tantei-kun. Yeah, Ran's still struggling with all that stuff that happened with Kudo, but she's a strong chick, and she's going to be okay. She's got the right way of thinking about it now. She used to think that she was the problem, that there was something she was lacking and that's why Kudo didn't stick around and wasn't there for her, but now she knows that he just had important stuff that he had to do and it wasn't her fault. She's got things straight, and she's come to peace with a lot of it. What's more, she's got a family that loves her and strong friendships…and…I'm going to keep being there for her, so…she's going to be okay. So don't worry, and don't beat yourself up about upsetting her before, okay? Everything's going to be okay, so you don't have to worry about your family getting taken away from you or falling apart again."

Conan looked up at Kaito in surprise. "My…family?"

"Yeah." Kaito shrugged. "Ran told me about your family situation…how your folks left you here and don't write or call or visit much." Kaito's face darkened slightly as he confessed, "I kind of know what it's like to be left behind and forgotten about. My old man was murdered when I was little, and my mom…didn't take his death very well. Then after she got out of the hospital a year later, she took off, and…I still don't see her much…but I made a new family for myself like you've done with the Mouris, so I have some idea of how you must feel about Kudo drifting away and then me coming in and rocking the boat. I know I'd want things to go back to quote, unquote 'normal', and I'd be pretty prickly myself and try my hardest to get rid of the intruder if someone threatened my family, so…I just wanted to assure you that everything's going to be okay, and I'm not here to take anything away from you. So just relax and be a ten year-old for once, okay, Tantei-kun?"

Conan snorted to himself, breaking away from Kaito as he finally found the rice paddle. He snatched the requested item out of the drawer and shut it with a bang, turning and stalking off into the living room. He did, however, mutter sullenly over his shoulder, "I appreciate what you're trying to do, Kuroba, and I'm glad you could help to make Ran happy after things didn't work out with Shinichi-niichan, but you have no idea how I feel."

There was no way that Kuroba could guess what all he was robbing Shinichi of. He had no way of knowing that his presence in Ran's life was choking the life out of Shinichi's last hopes for the happiness he'd been dreaming of with Ran since he was a child.

…

Dinner was actually a fairly peaceful affair. Kogoro and Conan, of course, worked together to make sure that Ran and Kaito couldn't sit next to each other, but sitting across the table from one another still allowed them to gaze dreamily at each other throughout the meal…much to Conan's chagrin.

The younger of the two detectives was uncharacteristically silent throughout most of dinner, contenting himself with listening to the Old Man interrogate Kaito with a barrage of loaded questions. He did, however, speak up once at the beginning to inquire as to whether Ran had forgotten to put the meat in the curry.

"I don't taste it, and I can't find any chunks of it like there usually are," Conan remarked as he spooned through the curry and rice mixture.

"Come to think of it…" Kogoro studied a spoonful of his own curry rice and found it decidedly without a scrap of chicken or beef. "The freeloading brat's right."

"Kaito doesn't eat meat," Ran sniffed indignantly.

"Well, you could have made a separate pot of curry for him. There's no reason why the rest of us have to suffer," Kogoro griped but ate his portion regardless.

"I could be eating filet mignon and drinking extremely expensive wine right now," Ran reminded. "You're lucky I made any for you at all, Dad."

"…But what about the squirt?" Kogoro countered, seeing the validity of her point. "He needs protein to grow, doesn't he? I mean, he's already tiny for his age; do you want him to be a shrimp for life? Shrimps have a hard time making friends, succeeding in school, and, most importantly, dating. It's been scientifically proven, Ran."

"Then it's a good thing Conan-kun already has a solid group of friends, does exceptionally well in school, and is a total hit with the ladies," Ran retorted as Conan blushed profusely.

Kaito chuckled as he turned to his right to elbow Conan playfully. "Are you really a stud, Tantei-kun?"

"Absolutely," Ran answered for him. "Both Ayumi-chan and Ai-chan are crazy for him, and he just got his sixth love note of the year in his shoe cubby last week. Furthermore, you should have seen all of the chocolate he received on Valentine's. I think he spent over five thousand yen in White Day chocolates."

Kaito whistled lasciviously, giving Conan an equally lewd grin. "Way to go, Tantei-kun."

"Can we talk more about him and not so much about me, please?" Conan begged, casting a pleading glance at Kogoro. "Don't you still have to ask him about how many people he's slept with and whether or not mental illness runs in his family?"

Kogoro shrugged, reaching for his second-to-last can of beer. "Well, Kuroba-brat?"

"One and yes," Kaito replied unashamedly, refusing to back down. He was in this for the long run.

Kogoro's grip on his spoon tightened to the point where the metal started to bend. "One person including or not including my daughter?"

"I've never slept with your daughter," Kaito quickly replied, eager to clear up any misunderstandings that might end in him in a body cast. He seemed to remember that the elder Mouri practiced judo.

"Ah. I see." This answer seemed to please the protective grizzly bear papa.

"Then…that one person would be…Nakamori-san?" Ran gulped, face a little whiter than it had been before.

Conan's eyes widened at the repetition of the name that had distressed Ran previously. So it was Kuroba's former flame…and probably Nakamori-keibu's daughter. Conan wondered if she had known that she was dating the Kaitou Kid.

Kaito nodded shamefacedly and then added for Conan and Mouri's benefit, "Nakamori Aoko is my ex-girlfriend. If it helps, I was in love with her for twelve years before anything physical happened between us, so…"

"So you slept with her?" Ran quietly asked her plate of curry.

Kaito bit his lip. "I thought it would be better to tell the truth in case your father goes around trying to dig up dirt on me. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you more delicately, Ran, but…it was way before 'us', and…besides, haven't you and Kudo…?"

"Of course not!" three voices chorused in perfect unison, nearly knocking Kaito over with their adamancy.

"Oookaaay." Kaito chewed nervously on his lip. "I guess that will just have to be something that I really make up for later in the relationship, but…can we talk about my family history of mental illness or my criminal history or something now, please?"

Conan nearly choked on a chunk of potato.

"Do you have a criminal history?" Kogoro seethed, eyeing Kaito as if he were one of the lowlifes Kogoro had interrogated years and years ago when he was on the force.

"Look me up," Kaito offered. "No criminal record. Not even a traffic violation."

Ran stifled a laugh at this, causing Conan to feel both relieved and ticked. He was glad to see her smile again after she had seemed so distressed over the fact that her boyfriend had had a previous physical relationship, but at the same time, it irritated him to witness further proof that Ran was aware that the guy she supposedly loved was an ex-criminal.

"And what's the mental illness about?" Kogoro continued calmly.

"My mother suffered a mental breakdown nearly a decade and a half ago when my father was murdered. She's the only case I know of, but…" Kaito shrugged, trying to play that traumatic experience off nonchalantly.

Kogoro nodded, seeming to accept Kaito's answers. "What's your favorite thing about Ran?" he challenged.

Kaito smiled in relief at the question. "Depends on the day, really. Somedays I like her elegant beauty best, and other days I prefer her sharp wit. There have been times when her spicy temper has been my favorite, and others when I've been supremely grateful for her patience and forgiving nature. There are even times when I find the things that annoy me about her to be endearing."

"Like what?" Ran prompted with a cold glare.

"Like when you call me 'Shinichi'," Kaito quickly supplied.

Ran blushed, gaze dropping down into her curry once more.

Meanwhile, Conan felt a trill of victory go through him. This new development lent further credence to his theory that Ran was only using this loser as a surrogate for Shinichi.

"Sorry. You find it endearing when she calls ya by some other guy's name?" Kogoro stared skeptically at his daughter's boyfriend.

Kaito shrugged. "Well, obviously it ticks me off, but I also like that about her because it shows she's loyal. Some girls can be really fickle with their affections, but Ran's love is actually worth something. It endures. Even after Kudo smashed her heart into pieces, she still cares about him, still treasures him. If she can still love the guy that jilted her, how much more can she love me?"

Kogoro harrumphed as he turned to his daughter. "Be careful. This one's got a silver tongue."

"Doesn't he?" Ran chuckled softly. "And he may talk big, but when I actually call him 'Shinichi', he pouts like a child for hours, if not, days."

"But I've never once called you 'Aoko', have I?" Kaito challenged.

Ran pursed her lips, unable to return his volley.

"And that's another thing that annoys me about her," Kaito picked up the previous thread of conversation. "She's super insecure about me and Aoko. On the one hand, I wish she would just trust me when I tell her it's over…but on the other…I think she's adorable when she gets unsure of where she stands with me. I like it because it lets me know how much she cares about our relationship. It's the same when she gets jealous. It's kind of insulting that she thinks I could be charmed away by some fangirl off the street, but at the same time, Ran's gorgeous when she's jealous. I love that fiery spirit of hers, and I really do like when she gets possessive of me," Kaito explained with a grin of contentment.

Conan thought that Kaito was nuts. Jealous Ran had only ever been scary as hell in Shinichi's opinion. He decided that the crazy thief must be some kind of masochist.

Ran's cheeks burned as she scooped some more rice onto her plate. "Do we have to talk about me so much? Why don't we go back to interrogating Kaito? That was interesting."

"Way to throw me to the wolves, Hun," Kaito chuckled nervously.

"It's your own fault for upsetting me," Ran countered with a prim sniff.

Kaito smiled even as his girlfriend gave him the cold shoulder. "Sorry. I was just trying to be truthful with the future in-laws since they're both probably going to run background checks on me, interrogate everyone who knows me, stalk me for a week, and dig up all kinds of dirt on me in general."

"You bet your britches I will," Kogoro snorted.

Kaito continued unfazed. "But…I swear I'll behave from now on. Okay?"

"You'd better," Ran threatened, waving her chopsticks to intimidate him. The scene wouldn't have been so scary without the knowledge that Ran could kill a grown man at least six different ways with those chopsticks.

But still Kaito grinned, looking at Ran in adoration.

Her hard exterior cracked, and she sent him a soft smile that revealed that she wasn't quite as mad as she was pretending to be.

"So how do you plan to support Ran-neechan in the future?" Conan broke in, desperate to derail the Hallmark moment unfolding in front of him.

"That's a good question," Kogoro hummed. "Good job, Squirt," he praised and then trained his eyes on Kaito. "What's your major and what do you plan on doing with it?"

"Kaito's an extremely talented magician," Ran supplied with a hint of pride in her voice. "He already preforms professionally, and someday he's going to be touring internationally like his father did before him."

"A stage magician?" Kogoro did not look impressed.

"Who is also working on degrees in engineering and technical theatre," Kaito added, hoping to persuade the detective that he would be able to take proper care of his only child. "So I do have other options if being a professional magician ceases to be viable for us as a couple…or as a family when that time comes. I could always find a job as an engineer or a stage manager."

"Or even as a private consultant for a securities firm, right, Kaito?" Ran expounded. "Dad, Kaito has worked as a consultant before for the police and several private companies. There are a lot of options, and all of them pay well."

Kogoro raised an eyebrow at Kaito. "So you think you'll be able to take care of my daughter? Provide her with everything she could ever dream of?"

"If that were necessary." Kaito chuckled with a sheepish shrug. "Ran's a smart, independent woman. As you know, she's aiming to be a lawyer, and, knowing Ran, she's going to not just succeed, but thrive in her field. She's not the type of woman that needs a man for anything."

Ran practically glowed with pride at Kaito's words.

"…But," Kaito stressed, "if at any point she wants to quit to become a stay-at-home mom, I've got the family covered."

"She'd better not become a mom anytime in the next decade," Kogoro hissed (a sentiment that Conan echoed precisely). "Do we understand each other?"

"Yes, Sir," Kaito responded promptly, sweat trickling down the back of his neck.

"Dad," Ran scolded.

"What?" Kogoro huffed. "You're too young to be thinking about having kids."

"How old were you and Mom when I was born?" Ran countered.

Kogoro paled and remained silent.

Kaito took the opportunity to lighten the mood of the evening by steering the conversation in a more favorable direction. "Well, I think we've talked enough about me for one night. Really, I'm kind of boring."

Conan snorted in dissention. If an ex-international jewel thief was "boring", what hope did the karate club president (who also had his eye on Ran) have?

"So let's chat about something more interesting, shall we?" Kaito continued, either ignoring or not hearing Conan's snort. "Ran tells me that you're a big fan of Okino Yoko, Mouri-tantei. It just so happens that one of the magician's I open for preforms at a lot of the same venues as her, so we've run into each other a dozen or so times. She actually gave me backstage passes for her next concert, but, unfortunately, I have a gig that night. You wouldn't be interested in going in my place, would you?"

Conan cursed under his breath because, with that, he knew Kuroba Kaito had won a place as one of Old Man Mouri's favorite people.

To make matters worse, Ran then helpfully mentioned that Kaito had the devil's own luck and was surprisingly good at picking winning horses.

And things went downhill from there as, for the rest of the meal, Mouri babbled excitedly about his personal interests, all the while finding more and more things about Kaito to like.

…

Mikau: I just had to split this up into two parts. It was waaay too long to manage otherwise. ^.^; But I hope you liked part one. Part two should be up next week. Please let me know what you thought. Thanks so much for reading!