Chapter Text
“I can’t believe he didn’t throw you out,” Shinichi said as he and Kaito took a few minutes to sit at one of the tables around the perimeter of the room. It had been several hours since Kaito had made his announcement and the two had continued to talk with many others around the room. Sonoko had eventually found them and explained her uncle’s decision, but they still kept out of Jirokichi’s way.
Now, they were resting their feet and deciding what to do next.
“I can’t believe I didn’t get more of a reaction.” Kaito pouted as he sipped at his drink. “I even went through the trouble of connecting his various electronics to my remote before the party! I should have gotten more than a couple minutes of shouting!”
“When did you even do that?” Shinichi asked, curious. “I was with you pretty much every day up until the party.”
“Ah, and that is your answer.” Kaito grinned. “‘Pretty’ much does not mean ‘all’.”
Shinichi rolled his eyes and took a sip of his own drink. By happenstance, he looked over to the crowd and caught sight of the group of girls that had been following them all night.
Now, Shinichi was no stranger to fans. He had met several at book signings and conventions and had dealt with them politely. He had even had some that recognized him on the street for both his writing and his detective work. He knew they were to be expected, especially with how famous he and Kaito were.
But these girls were different.
They had followed them around all night, never really getting close enough to ask for an autograph or picture, but never really leaving the two alone either. More importantly, though, their eyes had always been on Kaito, never on Shinichi. And he wasn’t jealous, don’t get him wrong, but the thought of Kaito going off with one of these lovely girls and leaving Shinichi on his own?
It kind of hurt.
It was only by some miracle that one of them hadn’t gotten up the courage to ask Kaito to step away—a miracle that looked like it had just come to an end.
“Kuroba-sensei?” a girl in a pretty magenta dress asked. “You are Kuroba-sensei, right?”
“That I am,” Kaito said, already turning on the KID charm. “And who might be asking, Ojou-sama?”
“U-um…Kirigaya Yuri.” The girl’s cheeks tinted before she got a hold of herself and clasped her arms behind her back. This had the added effect of pushing her chest out the slightest bit more, though nothing close to indecent. “And I was wondering if I could have a dance with you?”
Shinichi looked away.
“Hmm… It would be the gentlemanly thing to do, would it not?” Kaito asked.
Shinichi’s chest stung, like a fractured rib. Had he broken anything recently? He shouldn’t have. He’d only been back to work for a week.
“But I’m afraid you’ve put me in a tough situation, Ojou-sama,” Kaito continued. “You see, I am already escorting someone tonight. Leaving my date behind to dance with another person wouldn’t be very gentlemanly at all, now would it?”
Shinichi whipped his gaze back, eyes wide in surprise.
“But… I’m sure one dance wouldn’t hurt?” the girl tried, voice disappointed.
“I’m sorry, but my hands are tied.” Kaito gave a shrug and a gentle smile. “But I’m sure a lovely girl like you will have no trouble finding someone else to dance with, neh?”
The girl pouted, but didn’t press further. Instead, she turned and walked quickly back to her group, head held high.
“You could have danced,” Shinichi said quietly. “I wouldn’t have minded.”
“And risk Aoko’s wrath for doing so much movement while my ribs aren’t one-hundred percent?” Kaito gave him a wide-eyed look. “No thanks!”
“Oh, I see, I’m just an excuse for you then!” Shinichi shot him a sly grin and set his drink on the table.
“For sure!” Kaito agreed, but then caught Shinichi’s hand before he could place it back in his lap. “And, because it’s true.”
Shinichi felt his mouth go dry. “H-Huh?”
“I am already escorting one lovely princess tonight. I have room for no other princesses in my sight,” Kaito said, slick as can be. His smile turned infectious as he laughed. “Although, you’re more of a prince, I suppose.”
“Of course I’m a prince,” Shinichi said haughtily. “I am an independent prince who don’t need no knight to fight my dragons for me.”
Kaito couldn’t hold back his laughter at that and ended up doubling over, despite the pain it seemed to cause his ribs. Shinichi couldn’t stop watching as his friend wheezed and fell apart over an, admittedly, lacking joke—one Shinichi should probably be ashamed of. But he didn’t care if it meant he got to see pale cheeks red and indigo eyes bright with mirth beneath that wide-brim hat.
Not once, during their banter, had Kaito let go of his hand. Neither did he let go when they went to throw away the disposable cups and cutlery or when they conversed with more fans and party guests. Not even did they let go when they got to the car, with Sonoko opting to steal the driver’s seat.
It was only when they had gotten to Shinichi’s front door that Kaito finally let go. They stood not-quite-awkwardly on the front step, looking at each other and wishing they didn’t have to part yet.
“See you later?” Kaito asked.
“Yeah.” Shinichi nodded. “I have a few cold cases I’m working on, but nothing too big. I should be free next weekend if you want to do something?”
“Great! I’ll text you if I think of something!” Kaito beamed and gave Shinichi a quick hug. “Thanks for the evening, Shinichi.”
“Thanks for making sure I didn’t die of boredom,” Shinichi replied, with a laugh from Kaito. Then Kaito pulled away and walked back to his car. Shinichi stood in the doorway, watching as Kaito got in. He waved when Kaito started the car and then the other was nothing but taillights on a dark street. Then he was gone.
Shinichi sighed and walked inside, closing the door behind him.
“Ugh, finally! I thought you were going to pine out there all night long,” Sonoko said from where she was sprawled on his couch. Her fancy stilettos were hooked onto her fingers, hanging off the back of the couch. Her feet were propped on his coffee table, looking red where the bands of her shoes had rubbed. Not for the first time, he was thankful he wasn’t a girl. “So how did you like your first date?”
“I wasn’t pining and it wasn’t a date,” Shinichi said, kicking off his own shoes at the entryway and walking over to join her and Ran. “And I’d like it if you stopped making comments like that.”
Sonoko stared for a long moment before putting her feet on the ground and turning to him.
“Sonoko…” Ran warned.
“No.” Sonoko pointed a finger at her. “This has gone on long enough.”
Shinichi looked between the two, confused. “What has?”
Ran frowned, but Sonoko went ahead. “Shinichi, I want you to use your brilliant deductive reasoning with me for a second.”
“Okay?” He wasn’t sure he liked her tone.
“I know two people,” Sonoko started. “They have a project they are working on together. They keep in contact via text messages and phones with only the occasional face-to-face interaction in order to work on the project. You following me?”
“Yes.”
“Soon, they are meeting in person more than they are texting and calling for reasons other than the project. After a while, the project is finished and the two still meet up.”
“So they became friends,” Shinichi deduced.
“At one point, one gets in a spot of trouble and the other helps but gets hurt doing so. The other is really thankful—”
“As they should be.”
“And goes over every day to see the one that saved them, going out early and staying long into the night, only coming home to sleep and get a change of clothes,” Sonoko continued over his interruption. “Eventually, the one gets better and the other decides to invite them out to an event where they will most likely be seen together and people will assume the two are dating. The one knows this, but decides to invite the other anyway. They hold hands at the party and when they get home, one kisses the other at the doorway before going home.”
“Is there a point to this story?” Shinichi asked.
“I want you to tell me the relationship between the two,” Sonoko said.
“Obviously they are dating.” Shinichi rolled his eyes at the simple deduction. “Anyone who doesn’t see that would be blind—why are you looking at me like that?”
Ran held her face in her hands, a deep sigh coming from her as Sonoko gave him the most deadpanned look he had ever seen. “Shinichi, that story was about you and Kaito.”
“W-what?!” Shinichi nearly startled out of his seat. “N-No it’s not! That’s not us!”
“Isn’t it though?” Sonoko leaned back and crossed her arms, shoes still in hand. “You and Kaito started this project as strangers. You became friends as you continued to interact with each other until the point where you got kidnapped. Kaito put his life on the line for you to get you away from that stalker. And after that, you spent nearly every day at his house! It got to the point where, if I came to find your house empty, I didn’t call Ran to figure out where you went. I called Aoko.”
Shinichi opened and closed his mouth, but he had no defense to this because it was all true.
“And tonight!” Sonoko continued. “You told me weeks ago that the reason you didn’t bring a plus one was because people would get the wrong idea and assume you were a couple! But then you invited Kaito without a second thought! And you held hands throughout the gala, even when talking to other people! With the exception of the kiss, everything I told in that story is about you!”
But we didn’t kiss! Shinichi wanted to argue, except now he was thinking of that it would be like to kiss Kaito. To feel his soft lips against his own, to feel the heat of the other and his breath on his skin, to feel his heart beating as quickly as Shinichi’s own.
Shit.
He was in love with Kaito.