I'm on another writing kick, and I've had the idea for this story for a while. I need more feel-good, non-shippy Kaito and Conan stories, gosh darn it! Take this sweet sappiness in the meantime, though! 3

The ringing sound started out small, hard to discern from a dream or reality. But as gently as the noise had started, it quickly turned into a cacophonous piercing in his right ear. Conan bolted upright in bed - brutally ripped away from his peaceful sleep with a gasp - and frantically searched around the room for…

A bomb?! A sniper?! Where's Ran-!

He suddenly stopped when he realized that, loud as the ringing was, Kogoro hadn't so much as stirred from his own slumber. The man was already a heavy sleeper, but even he would startle awake at such a sound. Further assessing his situation, he found the sound was only able to be heard in his right ear, in which he discovered a small headphone-like device. Possibly, it was normally used for back-and-forth conversation, but it had been dual-purposed to wake him up, it seemed. Conan flipped the device over and and pressed the small button on the side to silence it, taking notice of a particular, crudely drawn insignia. He took a moment to catch his breath and slow his heartbeat down before setting his jaw resolutely.

"I'm going to kill that stupid thief," he muttered to himself quietly, then let out an unexpectedly loud sneeze. He clasped both hands over his mouth, sitting stock-still for a moment before chancing a glance at Kogoro. Breathing out a sigh of relief that the man still hadn't so much as budged, Conan slipped out of bed and pulled his glasses, slippers, and coat on. Hesitating for just a second, he grabbed his wrist watch, too. Never hurts to be safe, especially with this cold I've got, he thought as he sniffled slightly and made his way outside.

At first, he saw nothing. He'd walked several paces away from the building and on the sidewalk and stopped to check his surroundings. It was dark and cold, and Conan was miserable and tired after the last couple of days he'd had. He grew frustrated and was ready to head inside until a person moving into a nearby alley caught his eye. Slowly, cautiously, he readied his wrist watch stun-gun and crept towards the opening. He'd only taken a few steps into the alleyway before seeing a shadow appear from behind him. He whirled around and was face-to-face with a figure donned in white.

"I bid you good evening, Mini-Detective," Kaitou Kid, awash in shadows to obscure his features just enough, greeted him with a graceful bow. Conan ground his teeth together and readied a verbal lashing, keeping his wrist watch trained on the thief before him.

"Are you a special kind of moron, or a special kind of idiot, Kid?" His ever-growing irritation was only fueled when Kid had the nerve to look thoughtful.

"I'm to assume this is a rhetorical question, right? It's not the first time you've asked me this, after all," his polite smile quirked into a cheeky grin, "And is this how you greet everyone? For shame. I thought better of you."

"Oh, shove it! Who wakes someone up like that?! I thought we were under attack, for Pete's sakes!" Conan started his tirade out strongly, but ended pitifully with two quick sneezes.

"...My, my, a tad under the weather tonight, are we?" Kid snapped his fingers and in an instant, a dark blue handkerchief appeared in his hand. He leaned forward without stepping any closer and offered it to Conan who, against his better judgement, lowered his wrist watch, swiped the handkerchief from the thief's hand, and blew his nose into it.

"A tad, I guess you could say. Falling into a lake while chasing after a criminal doesn't exactly do your health any wonders," he sniffled and shoved the folded handkerchief into his coat pocket. Kid's expression tightened slightly - empathetically, Conan assumed.

"Is that why you missed my heist earlier tonight?"

"I was laid up in bed all day long. Couldn't even go to school today. And I don't attend every single heist you hold, you know."

"True, but I hosted this one in town just for you! I must admit, I was so disappointed you were absent, though it couldn't be helped, it seems," he shook his head sadly. "You'd never miss a challenge that was standing right in front of you, I'm sure of it."
"Believe me, I was simply burning up inside," Conan rolled his eyes, inwardly laughing at his fever-based joke. Oh, the irony. "But if you don't mind, I would like to go back to bed now, so tell me what you called me out here for, already."

"Straight to the point, I like it," Kid nodded his approval, then shifted his stance. He placed his hands in his pockets and smirked. "Do you know what day it is today?"

Considering he'd been sick and asleep for the majority of the day - and delirious, he might add - he was loathe to admit he wasn't sure. Kid chuckled and pointed to the wrist watch.

"If that watch actually tells time, too, you'll find it is now 24:03 on May 4th." Conan gaped, dumbstruck for a moment, before uttering a reply.

"M...my birthday..?"

"Correct! I had wished to be the first to congratulate you. So, happy birthday, Mini-Detective!" Kid lowered himself into another graceful bow, and Conan was frozen with shock. Had he really fallen that far out of the loop? That he'd forget his own birthday was inconceivable.

"I… uh, thank you…" he stammered, rubbing the back of his head shyly. Kid stood to full height, then removed his hat from atop his head. He flipped it around to reveal it was empty inside, then reached in and pulled out a wrapped gift. He replaced the hat on his head and again leaned forward without stepping closer, offering the gift. Conan eyed it warily before glancing back up at him. Kid smiled cheerfully.

"I couldn't let your special day go by without something to celebrate it with, right?"

"...You didn't rig this with some kind of trick, did you?"

"Mini-Detective! I'm touched that you think so highly of my skills! But I'm afraid there's no trick to this one. So sorry to disappoint."

"Hm…."

Conan accepted the gift and began inspecting it carefully. It was rectangular in shape, and slightly bigger than Kid's hands. The wrapping paper wasn't anything too fancy: it was light red with a hint of iridescence that made it shimmer in the moonlight. The wrapping itself, however, appeared to have been done by a professional hand, from the precisely folded and lined-up edges to the equal lengths of tape used to hold it together. The whole package - in just about every aspect - was perfect, almost like magic. It was a shame that he would have to tear it apart.

"Well? Are you going to glare the answer out of it, or are you going to open it and see for yourself what's inside?" Kid's voice startled Conan, who'd almost forgotten he was still standing there in front of him. He flushed slightly and levelled an unimpressed look at the thief before turning back to the task at hand. At first, he tried to preserve the quality of the paper by carefully picking and peeling back the tape one piece at a time. He gave up on that endeavor, however, when Kid let out a quiet, barely controlled snort of laughter. The wrapping paper was torn off with a little more enthusiasm, and revealed a beautiful, hardcover book. But not just any book, and Conan nearly fell down, trembling in disbelief.

"'Diary Of A Detective: The Lost Stories Of Sherlock Holmes'…" he read the title of the book out loud slowly, as if he were still trying to convince himself it was real. "Th-this is… this book was never released outside of Europe! It's rare to even find online, and it costs nothing short of a fortune!" His head shot up at the magician as he continued, "Where… how did you even get this?"

"Normally, I would say a magician never reveals their tricks. But I will tell you that I did have some help obtaining a copy. It's good to have connections, as you know."

"I'll say..." Conan replied as he tucked the book under his arm. He smiled brightly and sniffled again. "Thank you for this! I don't know how to repay you!" Kid offered a friendly grin and took a step back.

"Well, next time you're attacking me with a soccer ball, maybe don't aim for my face. It's among one of my greatest features."

"No promises, but I'll definitely try."

"Then with this, I bid you a fondest farewell, Mini-Detective. But before I take my leave, I did leave one more gift for you, though it is one you probably won't wish to keep." Kid took another step back and tipped his hat tactfully. "Happy birthday, and I do hope to see you in better health upon our next encounter."

With those parting words, a smoke bomb was released, coating the alleyway in a thick, pink puff of smoke for a few seconds. Long before it had cleared up, Kaitou Kid had disappeared, leaving Conan standing alone in the alleyway.

"Another gift? What the heck did he mean by that?" he said to himself. He sniffled and reached for the handkerchief in his coat pocket, only to find something hard and metallic in its place. Confused, he pulled the object out and found the stolen target from Kid's heist earlier that evening: the Vermillion Heart, a large garnet embedded in a gold, diamond-encrusted, heart-shaped crest. Baffled, Conan shook his head, put the jewel back in his pocket, and began making his way back home. He'd have Kogoro return the Vermillion Heart to Inspector Nakamori and the rest of the Kid Task Force in the morning. For the time-being, however, he couldn't wait to start reading his new book.

Despite still feeling sickly, he had a feeling that this would be one of the best birthdays he's had in a long time.