Archive of Our Own

“Are you listening?” Sonoko demanded.

Shinichi looked up from his hands.  He was not.  “Should I have been?  Sorry, I’ve been stuck on a case,” he lied.

Ran sighed.  “Come on, Shinichi, she’s trying to find a way to get Makoto to be more romantic.”  She gave him a gentle smile.  “Maybe you have advice as an unromantic guy?”

“Excuse you,” Shinichi sat back, holding up a single finger.  “I am very romantic.  But that’s not the point here.”  He raised his eyebrows, disbelieving.  “You think you can make Makoto act in a way he’s not already inclined to?  Really?”

Sonoko had no right to look so put out.  She was dating the guy she liked, and he loved her very much—for some reason, he thought uncharitably.  If Shinichi could convince the guy he liked to date him, he wouldn’t be half so picky about the rest of it.  Although, considering the guy he liked, he supposed he couldn’t speak in absolutes.

Cutting off Sonoko’s half-formed protests, Shinichi held up a hand.  “Look, that’s just not the way he shows his affection.  He’s probably got his own way of showing he loves you.”

“Of course he loves me,” Sonoko muttered, stirring her drink with her straw, lips pursed.  “I just want the occasional love note.  Is that so much to ask?”

“Did you?”  His voice sounded distant to his own ears.  Something about what she just said had struck a chord, he just wasn’t sure which chord yet.

“Did I what?”

Shinichi rolled his eyes.  “Did you ask him?  If he knew it mattered to you for whatever reason, I’m sure he’d write you your love notes.”  He straightened.  “Notes,” he realized.  “That’s it!”

Ran smiled, bemused.  “Solve your case?”

“Yeah, yes.”  Shinichi couldn’t fight back his triumphant grin.  “I gotta go.”  He pulled out enough money to cover more than his share of lunch.  “Thanks for talking, sorry for running.”

Ran waved, but Sonoko seemed annoyed.  He ignored her protests, hurrying out the door.  Kid’s next heist was in about seven hours, and he had a note to write.

Getting the note into the display case was difficult, but with a bit of inadvertent help from Hakuba, Shinichi convinced Nakamori to let him check the case.  The note was stuck to the backing of the necklace, just out of sight.

Shinichi had gone back and forth before finally deciding that he would leave multiple notes if necessary.  He didn’t know how Kid felt about him, and he didn’t know if Kid swung his way or not, but he was determined to make his feelings known.  One little note at a time.

Whenever you arrive, you take my breath away.

Kid appeared atop the case in a flash of light that set his heart thundering.  He sprung into motion, glad that he’d taken up his position along the wall.

Kid’s laugh was bright and delighted as he and Hakuba tore after him.  They lost sight of him around the corner and exchanged frowns.

“I’ll take the roof,” Hakuba said.

“I’ll check these rooms,” Shinichi agreed.  They split up with a nod, Shinichi hurrying down the hallway.  He didn’t really expect to find Kid—if he’d ducked into one of these rooms, escaping out the window would only be too easy for him—but he checked along the outer edge anyway.

On the third room he tried, he pulled up short.  Kid shoved one hand into his pocket, and for a moment, the surprise was clear on his face.

Too soon, he grinned his Cheshire Cat smile, void of any true meaning.  “Meitantei, a pleasure as always.”

“The pleasure’s mine,” Shinichi countered.  “Now, are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?”

Kid laughed, holding up a gloved hand.  “There’s no need for that,” he said.  “You can have the necklace, no need to fight.”

“You think it’s the necklace I’m after?”  He smirked.  “That’s cute.”  He dropped a hand to his belt, and Kid’s stance shifted into something defensive.  God, but he really was perfect.  Shinichi wanted to keep him.

For an endless, ephemeral moment, the world slowed to a stop.  Their eyes met from across the room.  Their hearts beat in sync.  Their breath held.  Shinichi clicked his belt and as the soccer ball dropped to the floor, the moment snapped, and the necklace soared across the room, aimed at his head.

Shinichi caught it, but it was already too late.  The soccer ball struck the window pane.

Kid was gone.

The note was no longer attached to the necklace.  His message was received.

Shinichi hadn’t signed it, but he didn’t think that would be a problem.  Who else would have left that note for Kid of all people?

Kaito was still staring at the note.  He hadn’t meant to take it with him, but he couldn’t figure out who would have left it attached to the necklace.  He knew who he wanted it to be from, of course, but that had nothing to do with reality.

There was no way that note came from Kudou Shinichi.

Unfortunately, none of the other options made sense either.  He’d narrowed his list of “suspects” down to the Inspector (gross), Hakuba (disgusting), and someone connected to the owner of the necklace.  A grandkid maybe?

Whenever you arrive, you take my breath away.

It had to be someone who attended heists regularly, but that narrowed the list even further.  Maybe it was a member of the Taskforce?  He didn’t think any of them were interested in him, but he’d been wrong before.

“What’s that, Kaito?” Aoko asked, voice bright.  Kaito slapped his hand over the note, blocking it from view.  His cheeks were burning.  She huffed.  “Jeez, no need to be so violent about it.  Just say it’s private, and I won’t pry.  Much.”

Kaito sighed.  “Sorry, you startled me.  That’s all.”  He uncovered the note.  “Be careful with it, but you can look if you want.  It’s a uh…”

Aoko pulled it over to herself.  “Kaito, is someone in love with you?”

He sighed again.  “It would appear so.  Unfortunately they didn’t leave their name.”

“That’s too bad.  Do you have any idea who it could be from?” Aoko passed the note back to him.  He tucked it into his chest pocket for safe keeping.

“Not really.  I know it’s for me, but otherwise…”

Aoko smiled.  “You’re smart, when you’re not being an idiot.  You’ll figure it out.  Either that, or whoever it is will leave you another note.”

Kaito blinked, thinking about that before smiling widely.  “You’re right.  I’ll catch them next time they leave the note,” he decided.  “And what was that about being an idiot, Ahou-ko?”

Except that the next time he found a note, it wasn’t left on his target for the night, it was slipped into his pocket during the confusion.  Your eyes shine brighter than any of the many gems you’ve stolen.

With the amount of people in attendance, it was even harder to know who got close enough to get the note to him, let alone who figured out his identity while he was hiding in the crowd.

At the next heist, it happened again.  Stuck to the inside of his jacket was another note.  My life would be darker, emptier without you in it.  Kaito had no idea what he was supposed to do with that information.  When he got home, he hid the note in his desk with the other two.

Kaito was losing his mind, note by note.  He found the next one in his back pocket.  Every day, every heist, I am grateful to know you.  And spent the subsequent two weeks agonizing over just how it got there without his noticing.

He had been up close and personal with Kudou, but he decided it was just a coincidence.  They’d been grappling for the gem at the time, so there was no way Kudou was doing anything else.

Kaito was pressed against the wall, one of Kudou’s hands covering his mouth.  “Shh,” he murmured.  “Trust me.  I saw suspicious movement at the next high rise.”

Kaito’s eyes widened further.  “Don’t have to tell me twice.  What’s our play?”

Kudou smiled.  “We just need to wait.  Hakuba and Nakamori are taking care of it.”

“They left me to you?” Kaito felt too warm, blocked in by the only detective he trusted.  His body a solid line against his.

“I’m meant to stall you here or catch you,” Kudou admitted, “but I’ll let you go once it’s safe.”  He smiled.  “It’s hardly fair if people are shooting at you.”

Kaito let himself nod, feeling a little weak at the knees.  Kudou was too cool.  It wasn’t fair.  “You know, you’ll never get a chance like this again.”

Kudou’s grin was sharp, dangerous.  “We’ll see about that.”

When Kaito got home, he found the note tucked into his front pants’ pocket.  I want to catch you, but only so that I can keep you for myself.

He covered his face with his hands.  Maybe it really was Kudou.

If it was…  If it was, he wasn’t sure he’d mind being caught.  But only if it was Kudou.  And only if he meant it.  He hid the note with the others and tried to calm down enough to sleep.  Thoughts of Kudou kept him up far longer than he cared to admit.

Kaito tried not to feel too disappointed, but it was… difficult.  After everything, after all those notes, and all the build-up, Kudou didn’t show.  Kaito couldn’t remember the last time he’d missed a heist.  It hadn’t even occurred to him to worry about it.

Weeks of psyching himself up to seeing him again, and Kudou wasn’t even there.  No explanation, no note, and none of the other police officers knew where he was either.

He’d been stood up.

He laughed to himself, straightening his street clothes with shaking hands before pulling on his ball cap.  He shoved his hands in his pockets and felt a little like he might cry.  God, he was pathetic.  He didn’t even know for sure the notes were from Kudou, but he’d been counting on getting another one, looking forward to it more than he should.

He meandered out of the museum, pausing in the exiting crowd outside as he considered where he should go.  He could go get drunk, but Aoko was sure to find out and be disappointed in his poor life choices.  He could go home and wallow, pathetic as that sounded.  He could go visit Kudou and make sure he was alive.

Kaito wasn’t sure his heart would be able to handle that.

When had he gotten his hopes so high?

Pounding footsteps distracted him from his disappointment.  He and the rest of the crowd all glanced toward the man running up to the museum.  Kudou grimaced as he caught his breath.

Kaito forgot to breathe.

Kudou was here.  Kudou wanted to come.  He looked so upset, like he’d just missed it, rather than being over an hour late.

But he came anyway.

He was still staring when Kudou met his eyes.  At once, he closed the distance between them.  Kaito took a startled step back.

Kudou stopped well within Kaito’s personal space.  “You’re still here,” he breathed like he couldn’t believe it.

Kaito jolted.  “Uh, what?”

But Kudou wasn’t listening.  His eyes went soft and relieved.  He took Kaito’s hand, squeezing it once before letting him go.  “I thought you might have already left, but I still…  I’m sorry, I’m so late.  Triple homicide.”  He grimaced.  “I tried to get out as fast as I could, but… it got messy, unfortunately.  Will you forgive me?”

Kaito couldn’t help it; he shook his head and gave a little laugh.  “Honestly, Meitantei, what would you have said if you were totally wrong?  I mean, really.  Did you pick me out at random?”

Kudou rolled his eyes.  “It could only have been you.  No one else looks at me like you do.”

Kaito blushed, trying to tamp it down when he remembered that he wasn’t wearing latex.  He felt naked; totally undisguised in front of his greatest threat.  And he had no idea how he looked at Kudou.  Was he really that obvious?

“I’m so glad,” Kudou murmured, mostly to himself.  “It figures my heist day luck would run out today of all days.”

“Yeah?  What’s so special about today?”  Kaito glanced around, pleased to see that the crowd had mostly thinned out.  No one was paying them any attention.

Kudou pulled out a small piece of paper from his inner jacket pocket.  “This.”

Kaito accepted it, trying to pretend he wasn’t still blushing.  His hands shook slightly as he unfolded the paper.

I love you.

Kaito’s head shot up, wide-eyed.  He gaped at Kudou, unable to find the words to reply.

Kudou’s smile was soft and a little rueful.  “It’s okay if you don’t feel the same, but I wanted to tell you.”  He shook his head.  “I needed to tell you.  I don’t want to live my life with any more what ifs.  You—I couldn’t stand the thought of you becoming a might have been.  Not you.”

Kaito’s grin was slow and wide.  “I never knew you were such a romantic, Meitantei.  You’ve been holding out on me all this time.”

Kudou huffed, his cheeks pink.  “You don’t need to tease me.  I know it’s a little weird, but I couldn’t think of any other way to tell you.”

“Only you,” Kaito said, still beaming.  “You could have just told me.”

Kudou shook his head.  “Absolutely not.  You never would have believed me.”

“I might have,” Kaito protested, but he had a feeling Kudou was right.  They’d never know for sure now, but Kaito was still finding it hard to believe he wasn’t dreaming.  “But it hardly matters.”  He took a step closer to Kudou, slipping the paper into his pocket for safe keeping.  “I love you, too.”

Kudou laughed, the sound a little shaky and a lot relieved.  “You couldn’t have led with that?”  He cupped Kaito’s cheeks.

“Where’s the drama in that?” he asked, settling one hand on his shoulder.  Together, they leaned in, their lips brushing together sweetly.  Kaito pressed in closer, wrapping his arms around Shinichi’s neck.  When they pulled away, he laughed, feeling giddy and breathless.

“Fireworks.”