Chapter Text
-Ran-
Ran's sharp, violet eyes narrowed against the cold, night air, her gaze trained steadily on the figure of the seven-year-old boy running up the sidewalk through the yellow light of the street lamps ahead of her.
Conan-kun had slipped away from the crowd the second the magic show part of the heist ended. Presumably, he was off to confront the thief and return the jewel, which was perfectly fine, except recently it had been taking him a very long time to accomqplish that task. Ran wasn't worried, per se, she knew he was smart, and she trusted that Kaitou Kid would never hurt him, but at the same time, it wasn't good for a seven-year-old to stay up so late!
The kid entered the large revolving door of a fancy, well-lit hotel. Ran followed, wondering what part of the notice had given Conan the idea that Kid would be at such a place, and what on earth it had to do with the heist… She lingered behind as he caught an elevator to the top floor, then calmly waited for the next one.
Five minutes later, she was standing in the doorway that lead out onto the roof. The door itself had been left wide open allowing the cold, night air to blow in down the stairs.
-Conan-
Conan squinted up at the large, green gem in his hand, turning it one way, then the other, watching the moonlight glisten and refract on the highly polished facets.
"Glaring at it won't make it Pandora," Kaito said, leaning back on his hands and gazing up at the stars.
The detective frowned. "I know," he mumbled, sitting down beside his boyfriend, continuing to turn the stone over in his hands. "I just can't wrap my head around your story…"
"Yeah… I'm not always sure I believe in it myself," the thief sighed.
Conan hummed in response, his mind occupied with reviewing the details surrounding Pandora and Kaito's family history.
Silence settled over them. A gentle breeze buffeted their faces, carrying the distant clamor of the traffic below, but the detective didn't notice any of it until his boyfriend pulled him out of his thoughts by pulling him into his lap.
"It's not gonna get solved tonight," Kaito murmured, hugging the small detective close, "don't worry about it."
Conan sighed and slid the jewel into his coat pocket for safe keeping until he could return it to the police later. He rested his head against Kaito's chest, and allowed himself to relax.
Heists were some of the few times they got to see each other. Sure, he'd been to the magician's house since they started dating, but with everything else going on in their lives, they just couldn't see each other as frequently as they wanted to. Sometimes they just needed a few minutes to cuddle.
The very first time they'd embraced at a heist, Conan had been extremely worried about being seen by anyone, especially the police, so Kaito was always very careful about making sure his dummy would lead them far away from their actual location, helicopters and all.
-Ran-
Ran's grip on the doorjamb tightened. Part of her wanted to dash over, rip Conan out of Kid's arms and demand an explanation. The other part of her was wrestling with confusion, and the desperate hope that this was some kind of misunderstanding.
Conan hadn't seemed scared or resistant when the thief had pulled him into his lap… in fact, the two appeared to be extremely calm and relaxed with each other. Hugging also wasn't technically anything to be concerned about, even if it was weird…
A thought occurred to her, and an icy dread crept into the pit of her stomach. If Kuroba-kun was Kaitou Kid it could explain how they're so close… but… that would mean Conan-kun knows he's Kaitou Kid, and— OH MY GOD, DID I SET MY BEST FRIEND UP WITH KAITOU KID??!! She squeezed her eyes shut tight and shook her head. It wasn't the time to worry about Shin'ichi's relationship.
A quiet sound came from the top of the roof-access building Ran was lingering in. The clicking of high heels on concrete. It stopped just a short distance away from the girl's head. For a moment, everything was silent, except for the frantic racing of her heart.
-Conan-
A shrill, woman's laugh shattered the peaceful calm that had settled over them. Conan nearly jumped out of his boyfriend's lap, but Kaito clutched him tighter to his chest, muttering a curse under his breath. The detective peered over his boyfriend's shoulder. Behind them, a woman dressed like… like some kind of fantasy sorceress- complete with a golden snake staff and matching jewelry- was standing on top of the roof-access building.
"Who is that?!" Conan whispered in a panicked hiss, as Kaito stood up, setting the detective down on his own feet.
"A classmate of mine…" The magician grumbled.
They turned to face the mysterious woman together.
"Kaitou Kid," She spoke with an amused smirk. "It's been awhile~."
"I thought you were done trying to kill me," Kaito shot back.
Conan blinked. Kill him?? Is she that dangerous??
The woman laughed again, holding the back of her hand to her mouth like an anime villain. "I was merely biding my time. When the Lord or Darkness told me about you and the Knight of Light, I just had to come see for myself."
Kaito's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "What do you want?" He demanded.
The woman smirked. She stepped off the top of the roof access building and- and appeared to gracefully descend an invisible staircase, until she was standing on the roof with them.
"I'm here to speak to Kudou-kun this time, actually," she said, turning her sharp gaze on the detective.
Conan's breath caught in his chest. She knows about me? How?!
"Akako…" Kaito's voice was thick with warning, his eyes narrowing into a glare.
The sorceress- Akako, apparently- held her hands up, as if to placate the magician. "Relax," she said, "I'm not gonna hurt your precious 'Tantei-kun'." Then she turned to address the detective directly. "Kudou-kun… do you believe in magic?"
Conan's eyes narrowed with suspicion. He glanced up at his boyfriend for some kind of sign about what this lady's deal was, but Kaito simply… looked away.
"No…" He responded carefully, "I don't." Sure, he was a bit baffled by her invisible stairs trick, but obviously there had to be a logical explanation behind it.
The woman's smirk grew into a wicked grin. She lifted her right hand, and with it, the small detective was hoisted into the air. His heart rate spiked as panic gripped his chest, arms and legs flailing as he tumbled around in nothingness.
Wha-? What's happening?? How is she doing this?! In his bewilderment, he tried to rationalize it, but there was nothing attached to him, no vent blowing air up from below, and certainly nothing magnetic!
"Akako!!" Kaito shouted. "Put him down!!"
Conan couldn't see what she did next, but he was suddenly blinded by a burst of yellow light that seemed to consume his entire being. In the blink of an eye, it was gone again, and he was being slowly lowered back down to the roof.
His feet touched the solid cement and he wobbled a bit, having temporarily lost his sense of balance, not to mention, it had been awhile since he'd been so tall. He stared down at himself. The transformation had been immediate and completely painless, and perhaps most shocking of all, his clothes had grown with him.
"Shin'ichi…" Kaito whispered, stepping closer. The detective turned to face him, speechless from a combination of awe and horror at the thought that magic was… real. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but smile as he gazed into the magician's eyes. Neither of them spoke, too enamored by their partner to bother with words. Kaito lifted a gloved hand to gently caress his lover's face. Shin'ichi's eyes drifted shut as he leaned into the warm palm.
Akako cleared her throat. The boys frowned and glanced over at her. "I can permanently return your body to normal," she said to the detective, "if… you break up with him."
The detective's eyes narrowed to a fierce glare. He put his arms around Kaito's shoulders, pulling his boyfriend close. "Never."
"I see…" The witch murmured. She snapped her fingers and suddenly Shin'ichi's feet were dangling in midair as his child-sized arms clung around Kaito's neck. The magician was quick to grab him, holding the smaller boy comfortably in his arms. Akako turned and began walking towards the edge of the roof. "See you in class, Kuroba-kun," she said with a brief wave of her hand, and then, she vanished.
Kaito scowled and grumbled something under his breath, then immediately turned his attention to his boyfriend. "Are you okay??" He asked, voice laden with concern as he knelt down to set the detective on his own feet.
"I- yeah- I just… I don't understand…" He took a moment to sigh and rub his temples, attempting to collect his thoughts. "Is magic really… real?"
Kaito sighed as well and pulled the detective into a warm, comforting hug. "Yeah…"
"But, it doesn't make any sense!" Conan complained, burying his face in his boyfriend's shoulder.
"I know… however, it does seem to be extremely rare. I highly doubt you'll ever run into a case that has anything to do with magic."
Conan groaned.
-Ran-
Ran drew in a slow, deep breath through her teeth, wide eyes gazing into the darkness of the descending staircase. Her back was pressed against the cold wall beside the open door, in the corner where she was hidden from view. Everything that had happened in the past few minutes swarmed her mind.
Shin'ichi… is Conan, and Kuroba-kun is Kaitou Kid… and… they know each other's secrets and they're still dating… And to top it all off… magic is real??
Part of her felt like just sliding down the wall and hugging her knees to her chest, huddling up while her brain was occupied with sorting through the barrage of shocking realizations, but she knew "Conan" would soon be heading back to the museum, and she didn't want to confront him about the truth yet, so instead, she quietly took off down the stairs and ran to the elevator.
Her heart hammered in her chest as she stood in front of the unmoving doors, glancing from the floor number above to the staircase down the hall. If Conan came down before the elevator arrived…
The doors opened and Ran dashed inside, repeatedly pressing the 'close doors' button, and finally breathing a sigh of relief only once the conveyor began descending.
Once safe, her mind began spiraling again. The Conan I know doesn't exist… it's been Shin'ichi this whole time… She collapsed against the back wall and held her head in her hands. I suppose I did suspect it at times, but… to think that it's actually true…
And Kuroba-kun also!! Ran pushed her hands up her face and gripped fistfuls of her hair. He seemed like such a good guy… I guess if Cona- er- Shin'ichi is still dating him, he must have a good motive of some kind… Wow… I might be one of only a handful of people in the world who knows the identity of Kaitou Kid!
Out of the hotel, she returned to the museum to meet back up with her dad and Sonoko. Soon after, Conan came running back as well.
Ran watched him hand the jewel off to a police officer before he walked over to their little group.
"Ready to go?" She asked, a casual smile forming easily on her lips as she looked down at her best friend.
He smiled back- the bright, innocent smile she'd come to know so well from Conan-kun- and replied with an up-beat, "Yep!"
A pang of grief struck the girl's heart, mixed with the tickle of a suppressed laugh from knowing it was her best friend in that tiny body, having to act like a child. A child she'd really grown to care about over the last several months…
They left the museum and saw Sonoko off, then returned to the detective agency. There, Ran collapsed face-down on her bed, and breathed a heavy sigh into her pillow.
She let the mixed emotions wash over her one after the other like gentle waves rolling over the beach.
Conan-kun was gone… but her best friend was back, kind of… at least she knew where he was… What had happened to him?? She knew he was able to change back temporarily but… would he ever return to normal again? Was he… safe?
Oh, Shin'ichi… what did you get yourself in to…?