Author's Comments: Finally! Finally, I managed to whip up a Kaito&Aoko pairing, even though it's not either of the ones I'd been working on. I plan to publish more Kaito&Aoko love later, but for now, I hope you enjoy this!

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito.

"Aoko."

Scribbles.

"Aoko."

A thoughtful hum.

"Aoko."

"What, Kaito?" She rolled her eyes. "I'm kinda busy right now."

Kaito sighed dramatically. "I had a completely free day today, and out of the goodness of my heart, I figured I'd visit my best friend and try to help her out with that English report, only to find her nose in a book full of number puzzles."

"It's called sudoku, Kaito, and you know I finished my report yesterday." A triumphant smirk lit up her face as she drew in one final number. "You came because you wanted to freeload off the groceries and steal the leftovers from last night's dinner."

"Regardless of why I'm here, it's still rude to ignore guests," he pointed out.

"Just get your food."

"I did already. Half an hour ago."

Aoko tapped her chin with her pencil, her eyes never leaving the page. "Then why are you still here?"

"You're a terrible hostess, you know that?"

"You're a terrible guest to demand more than you're offered."

Another dramatic sigh escaped his lips as he threw himself onto the couch next to her. "I suppose my understanding of us being 'best friends' was one-sided."

Only a "hmm" was given as she began a writing frenzy all over the page. "That goes there…and this is here…so then this is… here…"

"When did you get so into that?" Kaito peered over her shoulder, a mixture of curiosity and confusion outlining his face.

She slowed to a pause, darting her eyes over the paper. "I saw one of my friends doing it yesterday and she let me try it. It's addicting."

"Obviously."

"You really have nothing better to do than bug me, Kaito?"

He drawled, "Of course not. Why else would I be here?"

She flinched for a second before quickly scribbling in more numbers. "Is that so? I'm only your boredom relief, then?"

Neither the flinch nor the hint of hurt in her voice went unnoticed. Crap, he mentally slapped himself. "That's not what I meant, Aoko."

"What did you mean, then?" she murmured.

Secretly, he didn't really know. He was used to seeing her at least once every day. He was used to arguing with her over every small issue. He was used to getting lost in her clear blue eyes at least once every ten minutes.

Secretly, of course.

And secretly, he was becoming more and more agitated with the fact that she hadn't looked at him once since he arrived. Out of the past thirty-seven minutes he'd been in her house, he'd utilized his poker face for the latter thirty. It drove him crazy he hadn't drowned in blue yet.

It was time to do something about it, he decided.

"I meant," he began to clarify, his quick mind kicking into gear, "that you're the only person worth spending time with, whether I've got something else to do or not."

From her lack of reaction, he assumed his quip didn't work. "Whatever, Kaito."

He crossed sweet-talking off his list. "You painted your toenails," he noticed. "Cute. Pink suits you."

"Thanks." She drew in a few more numbers.

Flattery didn't work, either. Time for the big guns. "Is it me, or is it hot in here?" He wiped his forehead, deliberately trailing his hand down his cheek to the collar of his button-up shirt.

"Turn the fan on, then."

"But that'll just blow all the hot air around. I'll overheat and die if I don't take off my shirt," he slurred, fingering a button.

"No you won't. Just stand in front of the fan."

Behind his poker face he gritted his teeth. She's really pushing him. What to do next…

With a silent sigh, he settled for the age-old, never-fail taunt, praying she didn't stab him with that pencil.

"I bet I can guess what color your panties are, Aoko."

Utterly unfazed, she turned the page and began writing. "Hmm."

Hmm? Hmm? That's all he got for a panty comment? What kind of incredible power did this sudoku have on her?!

Just as he was about to surrender his efforts, something clicked. Sudoku…the cause of all this…

A sly grin emerged just a tad from his poker face before he began his attack.

"Aoko."

"Hm?" Her eyes remained glued to the puzzle book.

He sat up, scooting closer to her. "Aoko."

"What?" she distractedly asked, writing a number in.

He placed his hands on the couch, one on each side of her, trapping her successfully. "A-o-ko," he sang softly.

A spark of glee lit up within him as he saw Aoko's eyes widen. "W-What are you doing, Kaito?" she stuttered.

He slowly took hold of her pen and the blasted book, throwing them aside. "Look at me."

Timidly, her eyes inched upwards to meet his. "K-Kaito?" she whispered.

Relief washed over him as he took in those beautiful blue eyes. "You're not paying any attention to me," he pouted, never tearing his gaze away. "Is that silly number game more important than me?"

She shook her head. "N-No, of…of course not…"

"Hmm," he moved closer and closer. "I'm not convinced. Why don't you prove it to me?"

Without waiting for an answer, he captured her lips with his, molding and moving against her. Slightly surprised, she soon kissed back, cradling his face with her hands. For what seemed like hours they kissed until both ran out of breath.

"Still not convinced," Kaito said breathlessly. "I think I need more proof."

And so, they engaged in a different, much more enjoyable numbers game.

Author's Afterthought: I literally came up with this no less than five minutes ago. What do you think? I love sudoku, by the way. It's super, super addicting! Thank you for reading!