Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.

Pairings: Kaito x Shinichi

WARNINGS: Shounan ai (boy/boy pairing), you have been warned

With Each Season

By V. Shalyr

4. Spring

"If this were a fairytale, you'd be the smart and selfless princess who sacrificed so much to protect her kingdom, and I'd be the mysterious magician with a dark past who helped her get back her life. And now would be the time we got married and lived happily ever after."

"I thought the princess was supposed to marry a knight. Or maybe a prince."

"But a magician is so much more interesting! ...I'm surprised you're not arguing about being the princess."

"What's the point?"

"Aww, Shin-chan, you used to be so easy to fluster. Now you just get all reasonable on me. What happened?"

"You happened. It's a self defense mechanism. Besides, there are far worse things than being considered a princess by you."

"That's certainly true."

They could both be dead, for one. Shinichi could never have gotten his life back. Kaito could have been killed in that fire. The Black Organization could still be at large...

They could have never met.

And being Kaitou KID's "princess" meant that the thief considered him someone very special to him, and Shinichi had to admit that he liked that. Liked knowing that he was special to Kaito.

"So then," Kaito said more quietly, folding his arms behind his head and lying back to gaze up at the stars, "are we going to live happily ever after?"

.

The crowd in the street rang with cheers, screams, shouts, and laughter. Pressed against the side of a building and trying his utmost best not to be swept away by the masses, Shinichi could only shake his head. It seemed he only ever had to attend one of KID's heists to remind himself just why real, diehard fans were so… frightening. Woe to anyone who dared insult the infamous yet much beloved Phantom Thief in this crowd. The magician thief himself basked in the attention, but then he was certifiably insane so it didn't count.

The sound of cursing in a familiar voice reached his ears moments before Hattori joined him, pressing himself back against the bricks to avoid having his toes accidentally trodden into the concrete.

"Shouldn't he have retired by now?" the Osaka detective muttered, grimacing.

"Just when he's finally able to cut loose and enjoy himself?" Shinichi asked with raised eyebrows. "Not likely."

Hattori shuddered at the thought of the eccentric magician enjoying himself. Like he hadn't been a right terror before. "I almost feel sorry for Hakuba."

Almost, but not really. The blonde brought it on himself by choosing to stay with the KID Taskforce even after everything that had happened.

"I feel like I'm going to go deaf," Shinichi sighed, rubbing at his poor ears as another group of girls burst into excited squeals. Maybe he should have joined the heist participants inside after all. But he was almost a hundred percent sure that if he put in an appearance, something terribly embarrassing would happen to him. As KID, Kaito had absolutely no restraint and was even more of a showman now that he didn't have snipers to worry about. Shinichi supposed he could have chosen to stay at home, but even if they didn't have to worry about snipers anymore, it was hard to break out of the habit of keeping an eye out for them. Besides, there was something nostalgic about attending these heists, even if he wasn't chasing after the thief anymore and hadn't done so in years.

Not long after the fireworks went off—Kaito seemed rather fond of fireworks these days—Shinichi started as an arm snaked around his waist, dragging him back against what by all appearances seemed to be a complete stranger, except that he knew better. The detective squirmed and frowned, turning his head to look up into eyes gleaming with mischief behind dark green contact lenses.

"I wish you'd at least drop the disguise before doing this. It's a little disturbing."

"I'll keep it in mind," the taller man said with a wink. Acknowledging Hattori with a nod, he added, "So then, Tantei-han, seeing as I'm taking Shin-chan here with me, how do you feel about being the one to return the jewel to Nakamouri tonight?"

The Osaka detective groaned. "You just don't want to wait around for an hour while the inspector yells at Kudou for not alerting him when you showed up to pass along your target."

"Can't argue with that. What can I say? I've already made plans."

"Fine," Hattori said hurriedly before Kaito could offer to tell him about these plans. He'd learned quickly that Kaito's plans, whether or not he really had them, were better left alone and unknown.

"Great. I've already put it in your jacket pocket."

Hattori's hand flew to said pocket and he sighed. "Right, of course you did. Goodnight then, you two."

They bid their friend farewell and watched as he moved towards the museum building, his figure quickly disappearing into the masses.

"Home?"

"Home," Kaito agreed, leading the way through the milling crowd in the opposite direction. "And don't look so worried. I didn't actually make plans." Yet. "I just want to get back."

.

Truth be told, it wouldn't have been entirely correct to say that Kaito hadn't thought of retiring his alter ego. Whatever good he did as KID, however much fun he had, he had to acknowledge that KID was still a criminal, and that entailed certain risks. He was fine with the risks himself—always had been, but he knew that on some level, it still bothered Shinichi.

And so he'd taken his detective out to dinner one night and had a talk with him about it, and he offered to retire as KID if that was what Shinichi really wanted.

Shinichi had been tempted. The last thing he wanted was for Kaito to end up in jail, unlikely though that was, or to make any more enemies that might start shooting at him. It had happened before. But it wouldn't have been fair for him to make that decision. KID was too much a part of Kaito. Whether or not he continued to go on heists, Kaito would always be Kaitou KID just as Conan would always be a part of Shinichi. Quite frankly, Shinichi himself found it hard to imagine what life would be like without KID, and maybe he would miss the heists too—just a little.

"It's your choice," he'd told Kaito in the end. "I'm okay with whatever you want to do. Just as long as you're careful."

The final verdict had been that KID would continue to go on heists for at least the next couple years. Kaito would have time to plan and execute heists without the shadow of the past hanging over them all, and they'd have memories of the moonlight and the magic that would be untainted by danger or anxiety or hate. And then maybe, after that, Kaito would hang up his cape for good, but they would cross that bridge when they came to it.

Besides, they had more immediate problems to deal with, like settling back into regular, college life so they could graduate on schedule. Shinichi had it particularly rough, although Kaito had to point out that this was largely because his detective seemed unable to comprehend the idea of letting other people share his case load. Despite only officially working for the police part-time, he tended to spend more time at work than he did at school and home put together. It didn't take Kaito long to decide that this was unacceptable. He'd spent two months on the run and then even longer masquerading as a stranger in order to infiltrate a crime syndicate. He expected to be able to spend quality time with his beloved detective when he wanted to now that the masquerade was over, and he was damned well going to see that this happened no matter what.

Fortunately for the members of the Beika police division, Kaito had taken the time to introduce himself to them way back when he'd first started courting their teenage detective. If he hadn't been so considerate, they might have done something really stupid—like try to get in his way...

.

"Shinichi!"

Shinichi started in his seat, looking up from the report he was working on to find Kaito scowling down at him. "Kaito? What are you doing here?"

The magician rolled his eyes. "What am I doing here, you ask. I've barely seen you for the last two weeks, and you ask me what I'm doing here?"

"I'm sorry," Shinichi apologized, rubbing at his tired eyes, "but I've got so much work to do."

"Not anymore, you don't."

"Huh?"

The next thing Shinichi knew, Kaito had lifted him bodily out of his chair and into the magician's arms. "Hey!"

"I'm kidnapping him for the rest of today, and probably tomorrow too," Kaito informed the office at large, shifting his grip on his detective so he couldn't get away. "He hasn't had a day off in a month. I'd say he's overdue for a few days' rest."

"But my cases," Shinichi protested, though he sounded halfhearted even to his own ears. He really was tired.

"Someone else can handle them. You're not the only detective on the police force, you know."

Takagi watched the pair leave uncertainly. "Should we have let him do that?"

"You want to be the one to try and stop him?"

He thought about this and shuddered. The answer was definitely a no. "I suppose Kudou-kun did look like he really needed a break."

Kaito didn't bother hiding his grin, catching the snippet of their conversation as he left the main office. "They learn pretty fast sometimes, don't they?"

"You didn't give them a choice," Shinichi muttered, recalling the first few times Kaito had dropped in to visit him at work. His magic tricks had seemed like only a distraction to the division at first, mostly harmless entertainment—until they'd seen Kaito at work on a crime scene. That man really shouldn't have tried to hurt Shinichi. The magician really wasn't very forgiving or particularly merciful, especially where people trying to hurt his detective were concerned.

"What can I say? I'm good at training law enforcement officers to do what I want."

"I think Inspector Nakamouri would blow a blood vessel if he heard you say that." Shinichi sighed and shook his head. "Are you going to let me down now?"

"Nope."

"But, Kaito," Shinichi protested, squirming a little as they emerged into the street. "I'm really well known around here. People will recognize me. They'll talk."

"Good."

Giving up, Shinichi relaxed and let his head fall to rest on Kaito's shoulder. He didn't think there was anyone left in Beika or Ekoda—or Osaka for that matter—who didn't know Kaito was his boyfriend anyway. "So where are we going?"

"Home. You're going to go to sleep. And then we're going out for dinner. There's an amazing Italian place that just recently opened downtown with a great view of the city. As for tomorrow, maybe we should hit the movie theatre?"

.

...Honestly, neither of them particularly liked to watch movies. They didn't particularly dislike watching them either, but Shinichi was a bit too skeptical and Kaito a bit too critical for either of them to enjoy movies in the same way most other people did. Still, Shinichi figured he may as well try to keep in touch with modern trends since it was occasionally useful during his cases, and Kaito used the time in the dark to cuddle his detective while picking the movie's special effects apart. In any case, it provided a good excuse to take a few hours not to think about anything serious, and with Kaito around, it seemed that people became a lot less likely to drop dead.

Sometimes, it made Shinichi wonder if he really was cursed, except that he didn't believe in such things.

Then again, Pandora had turned red in the moonlight. Of course, whether or not it really could grant a person immortality, they weren't going to find out. Kaito had tried multiple ways to destroy the jewel from sledgehammers to diamond cutters, but nothing had so much as scratched its surface. So instead, he'd had to settle for hiding it somewhere and surreptitiously spreading the rumor that it had been destroyed. For now, that would have to do.

.

Returning to their apartment after a heist always felt oddly surreal, like they had stepped from one world into another—which was almost true, stepping from the world of KID and crime back into the world where they were simply Kuroba Kaito and Kudou Shinichi.

Kaito shut the door behind them and Shinichi made a beeline for the kitchen and its coffeemaker.

"Do you want anything to eat?"

"Not especially," Kaito said, following him. He picked up a copy of that day's papers on the way and sat down at the kitchen table. Because of the heist, he hadn't had time to read the papers that morning, something he usually did religiously.

Shinichi had questioned him about the habit once, and had been rather amazed to discover that the magician really had read the thing from cover to cover—and still remembered everything he'd read. The knowledge had come in handy during more than a couple cases.

"Do you have work tomorrow? I know you don't have classes."

Shinichi thought about it, blinking over the rim of his coffee mug. What day was—oh, yeah. Thursday. "No. I've been ordered in no uncertain terms to stay home and keep you company over the weekend. I think they're afraid you'll show up if I don't take weekends off. They find you kind of intimidating."

"Really?" Kaito lifted an eyebrow at that. "I didn't think "intimidating" was a word I'd generally associate with myself."

Shinichi raised his own eyebrows in return, but chose not to comment. Generally speaking, he supposed he'd agree. Kaito was dangerous, certainly, and perplexing too. Frustrating? Most definitely, especially if you were a policeman. But intimidating? Not unless you'd ever seen him truly angry, which didn't happen all that often, thank heavens.

It was just unfortunate for the First Division officers that they'd gotten to witness one of those rare, genuine displays of anger.

It had been during a murder and kidnapping case, always delicate at even the best of times. Shinichi had been quite proud of himself for having been able to get all three children out of there safely. Unfortunately, he himself hadn't been quite so lucky and the situation had degenerated from there.

Kaito had caught wind of the case somewhat later than he would have liked and abandoned the magic show he was preparing for to rush to the scene. And the scene that had met his eyes had not put him in the mood for subtlety.

Shinichi could believe that that particular criminal would have nightmares for the rest of his life of that moment, wondering what might have happened if that coldly smiling, messy-haired lunatic—for surely, only a lunatic would break into a hostage situation in such a way—had decided not to miss with that gun. Wondering what might have happened if the magician had carried out his threats, and whether he had been bluffing or not. Even killers tended to value their own skins, or perhaps it was especially killers who valued their own lives above the lives of others.

But for the most part, the magician went out of his way to put people at ease, something he was incredibly good at when he wanted to be.

"I don't think they know quite what to make of you."

Kaito smirked at that. "Is that so?"

The newspapers rustled and the magician appeared to return to his reading, except Shinichi couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched nonetheless. He'd gotten somewhat used to the feeling though, and endeavored not to let it bother him too much as he took another sip of his coffee.

"You don't have to keep me company," Kaito said abruptly. "I know you're exhausted. It's been an eventful week."

Never a good thing for a homicide detective.

"Oh, is that why you haven't..."

"Molested you yet like I usually do on heist nights?" Kaito grinned wickedly at him over the top of his newspapers and Shinichi blushed, grumbling incoherently into his mug. "Did you want me to? I mean, I'm more than happy to oblige. I just figured you could use the break. And it's not like I won't have plenty of opportunity over the weekend."

"Thank you for being so considerate," Shinichi said dryly, trying to cover his embarrassment. He wished he had a copy of the newspapers too so he could shield his face behind it. "And sleep sounds good. It's just—well, I didn't want to leave you here by yourself... Not sure if I could sleep with you out here anyway..."

And right after heists, the magician was usually still running too high on adrenaline to bother with sleep.

The expression on Kaito's face softened. He cast the papers one last glance then refolded them and set them aside. Standing, he moved around the table to pull Shinichi to his feet as well, taking the mug from his hands and steering them towards their shared bedroom.

The detective had been both happy and strangely relieved to move into Kaito's apartment all those weeks ago. His own family's Beika residence had always seemed a bit too big and a bit too empty with just one person living there. Frankly, it was a bit much even for three people. Kaito's apartment was different. For starters, it was a much more reasonable size. And he wasn't alone in it. Kaito made sure that there was never a dull or lonely moment. Sometimes this was a bad thing, but for the most part, Shinichi felt grateful.

After everything he'd been through in his short life, he knew how to be grateful for these seemingly little things.

"Get changed and go to sleep," Kaito ordered, pushing him gently but firmly towards the bed. "I'm going to grab some of Tou-san's old files then I'll be back. I've got some last notes to add anyway, just to complete the records. There's no reason why I can't stay here and keep you company while I do it."

By the time the magician returned, Shinichi was already under the covers. Kaito switched off the light overhead, leaving only the lamp on the nightstand to shed a dim, golden glow about his side of the bed. He didn't say another word, just settled down with his back against the headboard and his father's old records in his hands, a serious expression on his face that Shinichi knew other people seldom saw. It made him look older, the detective thought, the shadows accentuating his angular features and reminding him how much they'd both grown up. They weren't children anymore. Maybe they hadn't been for a long time despite Shinichi's time as Conan and Kaito's nighttime alias—or perhaps it was precisely because of those things. How ironic.

Shinichi couldn't pinpoint exactly when he fell asleep, but the last thing he remembered before his consciousness drifted away was a stray thought that life really was a mysterious thing. No matter how smart you were, you could never know for sure where you'd end up or who would become so important to you.

.

"You know how people say that a picture is worth a thousand words?"

"Yeah?"

"I used to think it was true. Now, I'm not so sure."

Kaito raised an eyebrow, throwing his jacket over the back of the couch and joining Shinichi before the living room table. Laid out on the tabletop were several photo albums.

"I found them when I was organizing the bookshelf," Shinichi said. Actually, he'd been adding his complete collection of Sherlock Holmes stories to Kaito's vast literary collection.

Kaito glanced at the picture Shinichi had been looking at. There were four people in it, all smiling so cheerfully, as though none of them had a care in the world. Not that that meant very much where these particular four individuals were concerned. To these incredible masters of disguise, a simple smile was child's play.

Nothing in the picture hinted at the fact that now, more than a decade later, one of the people in the picture would be missing and another would be dead. Nothing hinted at the fact that one of them was an internationally wanted jewel thief, that one of them would follow in those footsteps, or that a third was a Black Organization criminal. Perhaps a picture could be worth a thousand words, but sometimes, a thousand words weren't nearly enough.

"We should put together our own album," Kaito said, choosing not to address Shinichi's comment. "Personally, pictures are only really worth a thousand words to the people who take them."

The people who knew the whole story behind each image, each moment captured and preserved in time.

"I've already got several photos that we can choose from."

"You do? Since when?"

"Well... Some of them are from your mother, and some of them my doves took for me."

"You know what? I don't want to see those photos. Don't tell me about them. And we're not including them in any albums."

"Aww, but Shin-chan! I've got some lovely pictures of you."

"..."

.

With the arrival of spring, a festive mood swept through their friends, lead by none other than Suzuki Sonoko. The moment the sakura blossoms began to open, she threw her efforts and enthusiasm into gathering all her friends for a decent get-together. "No" was not an option on her invitations, not that any of them really minded. Ideas were discussed, plans made, and a date set for the reunion. It would be the first time that all of them had done something together.

Kaito and Shinichi got up bright and early on the day chosen for their get-together. Never at his best before his first mug of coffee, Shinichi didn't notice the package on the kitchen table until they were almost completely done with breakfast.

"What's this?" he asked, eyeing the colorfully wrapped package cautiously.

"It's for you," Kaito informed him, grinning into his own coffee mug.

Curious but wary, Shinichi unwrapped the rectangular package to reveal—

He gasped, an excited smile breaking out across his face. "But this—I've been waiting for this book to come out for forever! But how..."

The smile faded a bit from Shinichi's face to be replaced by a slight frown. "How did you get this? I thought it wasn't going to be on the bookstore shelves until next week."

"It isn't," Kaito agreed cheerfully.

He didn't elaborate further and Shinichi decided after some consideration not to ask. Whatever Kaito had done to get the book, whether he'd pulled some strings or outright stolen it, at least the detective could be sure that he would have compensated the original owners for the loss. The magician thief had his own honor code after all. He might as well just enjoy the gift.

So instead of asking more questions, the detective said simply, "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Suzuki Sonoko being who she was had secured for them a prime location for cherry blossom viewing despite the stiff competition. Kaito and Shinichi arrived at around the same time as Hakuba, and they were soon joined by the girls who'd been caught up in a kimono show. Hattori was the last to make it to their gathering, dropping onto the picnic blanket with a groan and a mumble about dangerous if beautiful flower displays. None of them asked any further questions. They didn't want to know if someone had been murdered on his way to meet them. This was their first reunion in forever. None of them wanted to risk spoiling it.

The early afternoon passed with much talk and laughter. They discussed their lives, what they'd been doing for the past few months, their work, and their thoughts for the future. Shinichi found himself smiling in a mixture of happiness and surprise to realize—seemingly for the first time since everything had happened—that they had a future to think about. Sitting here amongst all his closest friends, that elusive and rather fragile truth was finally able to sink in. They were moving forward again, and it was both a pleasant and a slightly frightening realization.

"Maybe we should visit a temple later," Hakuba noted, perhaps his thoughts having run along similar lines.

Hattori couldn't resist. "I was sure you of all people would be a strict atheist."

"I don't really think about it much," the blonde replied stiffly. "And anyways, it doesn't hurt, does it?"

"You know what they should really do?" Kaito mused. "They should build a shrine to Lady Luck. I bet she'd get lots of dedicated visitors."

"And I suppose you'd be her number one supporter," Hakuba muttered.

The magician grinned. "Of course. Lady Luck loves me after all."

Even if most of his "luck" was really his carefully laid out layers upon layers of contingency plans. Kaito liked to let people believe what they would about that. Some good, solid superstitions did a person good and made life just a bit more interesting.

Hakuba snorted. "Yes, she does. And I suppose that's why she seems to hate Kudou."

The blonde tilted an eyebrow at his fellow detective, who was currently sitting in Kaito's lap. Shinichi resolutely ignored the comment. He hadn't survived this long as Kuroba Kaito's significant other without developing a certain ability to tune out things that might be detrimental to his mental health.

Just as the sun began to set, bathing the trees in shades of warmth, Sonoko stood up. "All right, everyone. Let's take a group picture. The lighting right now is perfect and the professional photographer I found should be arriving any minute."

Or any second as it turned out.

Kaito wrapped an arm around Shinichi's waist and grinned his shark's grin at the camera. The detective leaned against him, a soft smile finding its way onto his own face. Around them, their friends were still laughing and chatting, providing a pleasant backdrop as the cameraman searched for the perfect angle.

Later, Shinichi would have the photograph framed and hung on their living room wall, the first of many—scenes frozen by the camera lens documenting a life that perhaps one day, their other friends and relatives would look at and wonder about.

.

"So how does it feel?"

"Hmmm?"

"To be done with university, I mean."

Kaito shrugged, lounging on the couch while he watched Shinichi organize the notes from his classes that semester. The detective still had one more year after all, not to mention the summer course he'd signed up for. "Hard to say. I don't think it's quite clicked in my head yet, and I'm not sure what I'm going to do now."

This made Shinichi look up at him in surprise. "You're not going to start performing? I thought you'd want to start your professional magician's career right away."

"That was my original plan," Kaito agreed, expression unreadable. "But I've decided that there's something I want to do first. Graduation is, after all, supposed to be the start of the rest of my life, yes?"

"So that something would be?"

The magician hummed in response but said nothing, which Shinichi took to mean that he'd find out eventually.

.

"Shin-chan, let's go to Paris."

Shinichi blinked into the depths of his morning coffee then looked up at the magician who had slid into the seat opposite him at the kitchen table. "You want to visit the place where Kaitou KID made his first appearance?"

Kaito grinned at that. "It's wonderful that you know me so well."

"I wonder what that says about me," Shinichi sighed, taking another gulp of his coffee.

"You should feel honored. You're the only person in the world who can say he really understands the great Kaitou KID."

"Very honored," the detective said dryly, but his heart wasn't in it. Really, it wasn't like anyone else could understand. Kaito tended to go out of his way to confuse most people. And most people would only ever see the lights and the glamour, not the shadows that lurked behind them.

Sometimes... Sometimes, when they were alone, Shinichi thought he could still see something dark in the magician's indigo eyes—something dangerous in a way that KID tried hard not to be but that had crept through his soul with all the time he had spent in the shadows. At times like that, the detective was reminded harshly of the reality they had fought through, and the fact that Kaito had fought those battles from a place far removed from the laws and the justice and the rules that Shinichi worked by. It was a look that reminded him of what Kaito could have been, how he could have turned out if everything had gone sour—if the magician hadn't had the iron self control he had, if he hadn't made the decision to confide in Shinichi. Maybe that was one of the ways in which real killers were made, the kind of criminals that really made Shinichi's blood run cold and his heart beat with a fear that he would never admit to. Maybe what people needed was to know that they weren't facing the world alone, because there was so much darkness in it and it was so easy for the darkness to overshadow the light.

"Shin-chan, it's way too early in the morning for you to be looking so serious," Kaito sighed, reaching across the table to tuck a strand of Shinichi's hair behind his ear. "No one's even died yet."

Shinichi grimaced. "Don't even joke about that. And I have work. I can't just go on vacation without giving them any notice."

"Sure you can. I handed in a notice for you last week. They won't be expecting you at work for a fortnight. And before you ask, I've cleared it with your professors too. There aren't going to be any exams, and you're ahead in your studies anyway."

"Oh." Shinichi stared, his brain still not quite up to speed yet in the morning. Really, he shouldn't have been surprised. "When is our plane leaving them?"

"In four hours," Kaito replied cheerfully, "so you better get ready. It's an international flight, so we should plan to get there at least three hours in advance."

And of course Kaito spoke French.

They ended up spending a week in France and then touring England before returning to Japan. It was the first real, long vacation Shinichi had been on since... Well, since his time as Conan. Come to think of it, it was probably the first real, long vacation Kaito had been on in just about as long—probably even longer. Everything in their lives always seemed to be moving so fast, heists, cases, and class work all piling together.

He hadn't realized how much he'd needed the time to just sit back and breathe until the chance had been given to him.

Perhaps that was what Kaito had wanted too. The magician was always so energetic, always on the move, and it was a little startling to realize that maybe he'd also wanted this time away from it all. Then again, being a free thief was a fulltime occupation.

Of course, Kaito's idea of "relaxing" included waking Shinichi up to go mountain climbing before dawn and taking walks on the roofs of skyscrapers at half past midnight. But then the sunrise had been beautiful and the glittering nighttime cityscape made the detective feel pleasantly nostalgic.

Once they got back, Kaito would be launching his career as a professional magician, a career he'd always dreamed of. Someday, he'd promised himself that he would be the best the world had ever seen. Shinichi still had a year of college left, and then thee was his detective work with the police, a position he had all but held since high school. In other words, they had the rest of their lives ahead of them. There was no need to rush.

.

"Mom? What are you doing here?"

Although he wasn't really as surprised as perhaps he ought to have been to run into his mother on the streets of London. Last he'd heard, his parents had been traveling Europe.

"Is that any way to greet your mother? And besides, I should be asking you the same thing. I didn't think Kaito-kun would let you go wandering off without him on this little vacation of yours."

Shinichi opened his mouth then shut it again and looked away, grumbling under his breath.

Yukiko raised her eyebrows. Now this was interesting. "Did something happen?"

Shinichi looked down at his coffee then at his reflection upon the glass of the coffee shop window. "It's nothing."

"Come now, Shin-chan. You can tell me."

"It's nothing," he insisted. He picked up his mug, muttering the rest of his words into it, "It wasn't really his fault..."

It wasn't. Kaito flirted with women all the time, but they both knew he didn't mean anything by it. And Shinichi was the one who'd gotten them involved in that case. Shinichi was the one who'd wanted more information, and Kaito had gotten it for him without raising any suspicions or ruffling the feathers of the local police. It was just... Well, did he really have to promise to eat dinner with her? And why had Shinichi declined joining them like Kaito had wanted? Sometimes, Shinichi thought that one of the hardest people in the world to understand was Shinichi.

Across the table from him, his mother stifled a giggle. How adorable. Her baby was having boyfriend troubles. Five minutes with her son and she was already in a better mood.

"You know," she said lightly, spooning some sugar into her teacup and stirring it, the tiny spoon clinking against the sides, "at least your boyfriend has impeccable manners and knows how to romance a girl, not like a certain someone."

So that was why she was out here on her own. Go figure. Not that he could talk. How scary was that? He was acting like his mother.

"I'm sure that whatever Dad did this time, he didn't mean it."

Yukiko made a sound in her throat but refrained from further complaints about her husband in favor of indulging in her son's relationship instead. "Seriously, Shin-chan, if Kaito-kun is anything like his father, you really don't have anything to worry about."

And Kaito was more than a little like his father.

"I always did like Toichi-sensei," she mused. "He was such a charming man, and so thoughtful. Maybe I should have married him instead."

Shinichi choked on his coffee.

"Just kidding! Well, mostly kidding," she laughed then winked. "Who'd have thought my Shin-chan and Toichi-sensei's son would end up together?"

"Yeah, who'd have thought." But he couldn't help the faint smile when he said it. If he was honest with himself, he really didn't have any regrets. He knew better than anyone what kind of man Kaito was.

He should have just gone to dinner with them instead of excusing himself and running away here to sulk. Not that Shinichi would admit outside the privacy of his own head that he was sulking.

"It seems he's come looking for you."

Blue eyes blinked and scanned the street beyond the window. Sure enough, he spotted a familiar head of wild, brown hair headed their way. The shop door swung open with a gust of cool air and a tinkle of bells, then Kaito was beside their table, leaning down to kiss Shinichi before nodding towards his companion.

"Ah, if it isn't my cute detective and his beautiful mother. I've been looking all over for you. Sorry, Lady Yukiko, but I need to steal Shinichi for the rest of the night. I made reservations."

"I thought you just had dinner," Shinichi said.

"But I'll bet you haven't. And anyway, I saved room for dessert."

Yukiko hid a smile behind her cup as she waved them away. Her baby was all grown up.

How strange.

She supposed that it had been inevitable. Sometimes, she did wonder if she had missed too much along the way, but then her attentions hadn't exactly been welcomed. In any case, she was glad that Shinichi had found someone to care for him, someone that he could love. You wouldn't know from looking at them right at this moment just how much these two had been through. Whatever part she'd played—and she liked to think that she'd played quite a big part, she was proud of how her son had turned out. She imagined that her old teacher would have been proud too.

.

"Hey, isn't that Kuroba-san?"

"You mean that magician who's been getting so popular lately? I've always wanted to attend one of his shows. I heard he's one of the best there is even though he's still so young."

"Yeah, I'm almost positive that's him! I heard he graduated from this university already. What's he doing here now?"

"Do you think it's possible the school invited him to give a performance for our graduation?"

"Right, we should be so lucky."

"Hey, it could happen. He does specialize in outdoor performances after all, and the ceremony's being held outdoors."

"I still think you're just dreaming. Who's ever heard of having a magic show at a college graduation? He must be here for another reason."

"I wonder if he has a girlfriend..."

The whispers followed Kaito as he made his way through the university campus. The magician smirked a little to himself but otherwise ignored them. He had his reasons for being here, that was certainly true, and they'd all find out about it soon enough. The idea had all come about after a conversation with his favorite detective some days before.

"Are you looking forward to it?"

"To what?"

"Graduating. Your graduation's next week. Don't tell me you forgot."

"No, I remember." It was a little hard to forget with how excited all his classmates were. Ran was excited too. It seemed like everyone was excited. Well, almost everyone.

"So?"

"I don't know."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It just doesn't seem like it's going to change anything."

"Hmmm." Kaito looked up at the sky, tucking his hands in his pockets. "Oddly enough, that makes perfect sense. I suppose we both grew up a little too fast."

"I suppose so." Which was a little ironic seeing as how crazy most people thought Kaito was and how many years Shinichi had spent reliving elementary school.

Glancing back over at his detective, Kaito grinned. "Well, no need to worry about that. I'll make sure your graduation day is memorable."

Shinichi winced. "You know, I wasn't worried until you said that."

Then again, Shinichi said that a lot when Kaito got excited about things and started scheming. Kaito knew he had fun anyway. Well, most of the time. Sometimes... not so much. But hey, this was his beloved Shin-chan's college graduation! Was it so wrong to make sure that it was a graduation ceremony to remember? Kaito didn't think so, and he knew he could get the criminology department staff to agree with him.

The staff didn't need to ask who he was. When Kaito stopped through the door of their main office, nervous anxiety swept through its inhabitants like a tidal wave. All activities paused and every eye turned towards him.

The magician smiled his charming, predator's smile. "Beautiful morning, isn't it? Listen, I've got a proposal for you all..."

One thing was for sure. Shinichi wasn't the only one who would never forget his college graduation. Students would talk for years about the crazy magician who gave one of the graduation speeches, the fancy decorations that had appeared like magic around the auditorium, and the snowy doves that carried each scroll to its intended recipient.

.

"Sonoko's been complaining again. Mostly about her love life. I don't see why she and Ran have to talk about these things when I'm around."

"If I had to guess, I'd say it's because you have a serious love life and they feel this means you should have some insights about these things. So what was she complaining about this time?"

"She's been pining for her own "happily ever after". Apparently, she feels like it's never going to happen to her, and it's somehow unfair because she thinks it's happened for me."

"Hmmm, she's never going to get her happy ending if she thinks that way. People have to make their own ever afters."

"Their own happiness, you mean."

"That too."

"I agree with you, but you better not let her hear you saying that."

"I, Kuroba Kaito, am not afraid to say or do anything." A chuckle and then a more serious, "But no, I won't tell her that. People have to find these things out on their own or it doesn't mean anything. Besides, she likes me too much to take anything I say seriously."

"A little counterintuitive but true."

Indigo eyes watched Shinichi move about the kitchen from his seat at the dining table. The detective finished arranging the rice and side dishes onto two platters and moved to join him.

"And so here we are," Kaito mused aloud, "a professional magician well on his way to being famous worldwide and one of Japan's most admired detectives. I suppose this means we both have what we've always wanted. Somehow, I can't help but wonder if it's all really what we dreamed that it should be."

Shinichi paused, some rice halfway to his mouth. "I'm not sure I understand."

Kaito just smiled that unreadable smile of his and picked up his own chopsticks. "I simply observe that life makes you sit back and rethink your priorities sometimes and what's important. Dreams are important, but somehow, I don't think attaining them would be half as satisfying without someone to share them with."

"...Is this going to be one of your embarrassingly romantic speeches?"

"You wound me! I was being perfectly serious. Besides, speeches are boring, and I don't do boring."

"I know that look. It means you're plotting something."

"I'm always plotting something."

"I realize that. But that look means it's something big. It has something to do with me, doesn't it?"

"I guess you'll just have to wait and see."

.

"Okay, Kaito, what are we doing here?"

The question left Shinichi's mouth the moment the door closed behind the waiter. Kaito had reserved a private room for them at an elegant but simply furnished lakeside restaurant with its own balcony overlooking the water.

"We're having dinner."

Shinichi's brow furrowed. "I see that. But this is obviously some kind of special occasion. Does this have anything to do with why Hattori and Kazuha suddenly delayed their visit? Have I forgotten something?"

It wouldn't have been the first time. He was, after all, known to forget his own birthday on a regular basis.

"No you haven't," Kaito assured him. But aside from that, he didn't offer any more information and Shinichi knew better than to pry.

The food was excellent, as was to be expected from any restaurant that Kaito would bother making reservations for. They chatted about everything—work, parents, Shinichi's father's new book, their next vacation plans—and Kaito expertly avoided answering any of Shinichi's subtle, searching questions. The sky outside darkened and the lights strung all along the balcony flickered on, making the balcony railing glitter. When the soft strains of music drifted up to them from the floor below and Kaito drew him out onto the balcony, Shinichi expected him to ask him for a dance. Instead, the magician knelt on one knee and took one of Shinichi's hands in both of his.

Alarm bells began to ring in the detective's head. He had the feeling that he knew where this was going and the heat immediately began creeping up into his cheeks. Sure enough—

"Shin-chan, will you marry me?"

And somehow, even though he had half been expecting it, the question still managed to catch him off guard. He stared wide-eyed at his boyfriend of more than a few years, trying to find his voice. At last, he managed a slightly weak, "You realize that it wouldn't be legal here in Japan."

"We could always go somewhere where it is. It's no one's business but ours. And besides," Kaito smirked, "when have I ever cared what was legal?"

Well, that was certainly true. Shinichi looked away, blushing furiously and more than a little glad that they were alone on the balcony—although really, even from the beginning, there had always been only one answer that he would give. It was a clear night too with a sky full of stars, and he just knew that Kaito had somehow planned that too.

"Yes, of course I will."

.

"So then... are we going to live happily ever after?"

Shinichi cradled the warm mug of coffee in his lap and glanced at his companion. "I'm surprised you'd even ask a question like that. I didn't think you'd ever let it be anything other than happily ever after."

Kaito met his gaze with a thoughtful look and let a sharp smirk settle onto his lips—the kind of smirk KID wore that said nothing was impossible if he was involved. "Hmm, I suppose not. Although I'm sure we'll have plenty of other adventures along the way."

"I'm sure we will."

And it was both a prediction and a promise.

END

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