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It had been weeks since Kaito had last crossed the threshold of his home. A ridiculous case got him sucked out to various parts of the States as he chased after a criminal ring. Kaito had questioned why he was being assigned to the case since Shinichi lived and breathed this style of case. He sighed, dropping his bags before toeing off his shoes and zombie shuffling into the apartment.
Everything was dark, and oddly, the apartment was spotless. Shinichi wasn’t a messy person, but he was forgetful when his mind was on other things, so the fact that there was nothing out of place was odd. Kaito looked into their kitchen, walking over to the fridge, and unsurprisingly, it was almost empty. He sighed, head hanging as he closed the door. Shinichi must have been living on takeout. His stupid detective couldn’t be bothered to cook for himself so that was delegated to Kaito early on in their relationship.
Kaito yawned; his redeye flight was catching up with him. He eyed the coffee pot; he really should check in, but his stomach churned at the idea of coffee. Kaito walked away, deciding that getting chewed out was worth the nap. He grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch, wrapping it around himself before flopping down onto the plush cushions. Kaito tossed his phone on the small table next to the sofa before he snuggled into the blanket, closing his eyes.
A loud ringing sound startled Kaito out of sleep. His instincts had him on the floor, looking for the offender before it dawned on him that his phone was ringing. He huffed, grabbing the offending object, seeing he’d barely been out two hours before answering. “What!?” he snapped, winced at his tone.
“Kaito, we need you to come to the station,” Kaito sighed. It was Mark, the chief investigator, whom Shinichi and he reported to.
“Ah… right, sorry for not stopping in as soon as I got back,” Kaito muttered. The call ended, and he sagged. Two hours a nap did not make. Not when Kaito had been running on fumes for the last ten days or so. He huffed as he made the way to the door, slipping on his shoes. It was the most miserable ten-minute walk of Kaito’s life. He just wanted to sleep and possibly see Shinichi. They had hardly spoken while he was gone, primarily due to Kaito doing undercover work. It was a welcome surprise to the team he was assigned to that Kaito’s ability to infiltrate anywhere was to the degree it was. Course, Shinichi found it absolutely hilarious since he knew the reason why .
Kaito pushed through the main entrance, mindless, and made his way through the building before reaching his superior’s office. Kaito knocked before entering, but in his zoned-out state and having a false sense of comfort with his surroundings, he didn’t expect to be tossed to the ground, hands cuffed, before he was even aware of what was happening.
Kaito looked at the man, pinning him to the floor, shocked that it was one of his team members that he got along with the best. Harry was a prankster like him and loved to cause mischief with him. Their pranks were always hilarious but also dreaded. Harry looked positively pissed. Betrayed may be a better word for it. “What’s going on?” Kaito watched as Harry’s face twisted before looking at Mark, who was wearing a sad expression. Kaito was hauled to his feet before being shoved out of the room.
“You lying bastard,” Harry hissed as they started down the hall. Kaito didn’t understand what he did or what he lied about. “You have some nerve working with us, Kid .” Kaito’s stomach dropped. It had been nearly a decade since anyone other than Shinichi called him that, and it had just been as long since he hung up the cape.
Kaito didn’t argue. What was he supposed to say? Harry only seemed to grow more infuriated. “I can’t believe you managed to get Shinichi to lie for you. He was one of the best men I have ever had the opportunity to work with, and now we have to punish you both.”
Kaito hung his head, walking as he was shoved down various halls. He didn’t even bother to keep track of where he was going. Mark walked past him, pausing at the door. Kaito looked around, lost. This wasn’t the area for criminals or even interrogations. “What?”
Mark opened the door before Harry shoved Kaito inside. He stared in confusion at the sight on the other side of the door. Everyone he had grown close to was waiting inside, all grinning from ear to ear. Aoko, Hakuba, Akako, Jii, Shinichi’s parents, the detective boys, well, actually, they were college students now. Most of Shinichi’s close friends were also there: Hattori, Ran, Sonoko, her boyfriend, Sera, the professor, and his parents. Kaito couldn’t understand why they were all just watching him.
Shinichi emerged from the mass of people with the biggest grin of all. “Welcome, Kaito.”
“Shinichi… what is going on?” Kaito was startled when Harry uncuffed his wrists and walked to join the group, all traces of anger gone. He had a shit-eating grin now as well.
Shinichi walked over to Kaito before gently kissing him, “I missed you.” Kaito nodded, his mind still lost. He was even more confused when Shinichi dropped to one knee. “I know we haven’t had the most conventional of relationships. I also know one of the things that has bothered you the most over the past few years is that back home, our union would never have been legal or recognized, so,” Shinichi was giving Kaito a soft smile, one he rarely saw. “I have been working on getting things ready on my end.” Shinichi pulled out a velvet box, too large to be a ring box, but Kaito couldn’t even start to guess what was inside. “With everything we have been through, I want us to be official. Kaito, will you marry me?”
Kaito watched as the box opened, and his mind blanked. It was a Kid's monocle but done more finely. The clover charm was made of sapphires eerily similar to Shinichi’s eye color—a color that Kaito had remarked on more than a few occasions that he would love to see on a ring. Shinichi had a goofy smile, and Kaito’s expression must have been a doozy.
Kaito opened his mouth, but it had gone dry; he had no words. He had wanted this for so long, but it was a dream he had given up. Sure, living in America would allow them the luxury of being seen as a couple, but Kaito had always thought that Shinichi would be bothered by the idea. Their relationship didn’t need some superficial title to define it. They lived and breathed for each other. They were one unit that no law would ever make less valid. Shinichi stood, clearly unbothered by the lack of response. Kaito’s silence likely spoke more honestly.
Shinichi cupped Kaito’s cheeks, thumbs brushing against them. “Shall I take this as a yes?” Kaito hadn’t noticed the tears as he stared into the eyes of the man who saw him for who he was—the man who never needed to ask anything because he knew . Kaito nodded, a sniffle breaking through as he pulled Shinichi tight and kissed the life out of him. He couldn’t speak, but he sure as hell could kiss Shinichi as an answer.
It wasn’t long before the pair were laughing, Kaito’s head resting on Shinichi’s shoulder. “Why?” Kaito croaked, still crying too hard to be able to do much more.
“You stopped asking or even hinting a few years ago, but I could see the longing in your eyes when we met up with someone who was married. I knew you wanted this. I also knew you stopped asking because I have always thought it was pointless. BUT that has never made it any less valuable to you. I know you don’t want this because it would make you more secure in our standing. You want it to be able to say, ‘I’m yours and that you are mine.’ You want others to know at a glance that you love me and that I love you. How could I ever truly turn that down?” Shinichi chuckled, “I feel the same, but doing anything by the book just seems odd.” Kaito chuckled. That was true. They had started dating before Shinichi knew Kaito’s name, only finding out when Kaito had been near fatally shot protecting him. They hadn’t understood that they were dating till that moment, dense as they were.
Shinichi had taken down Snake and his men that night, saving Kaito in so many ways. Freed him from the shackles of revenge, ended the cycle of violence, gave him a place that let him lick his wounds and finally accept that he was hurt, gave him the support he needed to put himself back together, mend the relationships that Kaito had broken as his world spiraled out of control. Shinichi had given him his life back and kept doing so every time Kaito got lost.
His time as Kid had broken him in ways Kaito had never considered when taking up the mantle. Losing the ability to trust others, confide in others, and respect people with different views. Kaito had lost or given up so much of himself for the sole sake of ending something that was never his problem in the first place: the joys of a teenage understanding of the world. Kaito had even lost the ability to trust his mother, who encouraged him down his path. He knew she was hurt from the death of his father, but that never made it right to allow him to destroy himself for a man who would never be able to return.
Kaito should have been allowed to be himself, to live and grow as the bright and happy person he once was. After things ended and the dust settled, there was so much Kaito dropped because it brought back the pain and hurt he felt. Kaito couldn’t do magic anymore. The very idea made him green. He lost the one thing he had left from his father: the joy of magic and the smiles he once instilled in others. Honestly, after everything, Kaito didn’t think of his family, having very firmly decided that the past stayed where it belonged.
Kaito lifted his head and looked Shinichi in the eyes. This man had saved him and never once judged him for his broken views or harsh opinions. He gave him the love and support Kaito didn’t understand was required to heal. He was there through the night terrors and the panic attacks. He was there for the years it took Kaito to finally start to heal. All without ever stepping on his toes or impeding him. Shinichi mended Kaito’s wounds when he lashed out, broke things, screamed, and cried before holding him as Kaito sobbed because he was lost and felt so alone.
Shinichi had taken the FBI job as a way to get Kaito away from the things that triggered him and made a home for him to heal. It still took time, and Kaito was still working on things. The work he did with the FBI was challenging, given his past, but Shinichi had framed it as a way of allowing Kaito to right the wrongs, so to speak. Shinichi knew Kaito felt terribly guilty for his time as a criminal and saw how it haunted his eyes, so he proposed helping him with his work. Taught him the ways of being a detective, thus allowing him to earn his way back into the world's good graces.
Kaito knew that deep down, it was just a way to help Kaito process and move on, that Shinichi didn’t believe that Kaito had to make up for his past self. But, the Kaito from three years ago needed that idea. Required to earn forgiveness for his wrongs, he needed to make amends for his crimes, justified as Shinichi claimed them to be. Though, honestly, what detective worth his salt would say any crime is justified?! Not many. Most saw the world in black and white, ignoring the small grey band that divided them. Whereas Shinichi had learned that nothing is truly black or white, even the most heinous crimes had a reason, warped as it was. No human was truly evil, broken, lost, hurt, or driven insane by something outside their means.
Monsters are created, and thus, even the darkest people still have a little white in them.
“Thank you,” Kaito whispered.
Shinichi smiled, “For you, I’d do anything.” Shinichi kissed Kaito again before whispering against his lips, “April fools.”
Kaito looked at him before he laughed. Of course, Shinichi had to propose on the anniversary of the day they met. That was how they worked, and that was something that Kaito never wanted to change.