Archive of Our Own ^beta

It's already annoying enough having to deal with Hakuba Saguru while wearing the suit, but then the bastard has the absolute gall to land himself in Kaito's class, as if intent on making Kaito's life harder than it already tends to be. 

Hakuba, of course, doesn't know that he's in the same class as the thief he just spent the last few days antagonizing, which means that following the latest trend in Kaito’s luck, he immediately zeroes in on him as the main person he wants to befriend. 

Were it anyone else, Kaito would be flattered at the fact that they took such an instant liking to him. Unfortunately, it's Hakuba, whom he doesn't want anywhere near him and whose behavior is nothing short of bewildering, all things considered.

A new routine starts to form against his will, his school days now starting with a soft spoken, "Good morning, Kuroba-kun", and ending with a, "See you tomorrow, Kuroba-kun", interspersed with "Would you like to pair up, Kuroba-kun?"s, "Isn't the weather nice today, Kuroba-kun?"s, "Let's have lunch together, Kuroba-kun"s, "Can I borrow your eraser, Kuroba-kun?"s, and on and on; to the point that Kaito begins to develop a new understanding for the role of a mother duck, followed around all day long without respite. 

He wants to quickly put a stop to whatever friendship Hakuba is attempting to build, but regrettably realizes that in his civilian identity he doesn't have a legitimate reason for wanting nothing to do with him. Aside from Akako, who is the bane of his existence, Kaito has never been anything but nice and inviting to everyone around him. If he starts behaving differently towards Hakuba than he does everyone else, it's bound to get people talking, which will eventually reach Hakuba's ears and probably pique his interest even further, making his entire plan spectacularly backfire. 

He's caught somewhere between a rock and a hard place, and to make matters worse, Hakuba seems completely impervious to the indifferent attitude Kaito shows him, remaining unruffled and calm with that ever-present infuriating smile of his. It's like he's been raised by monks and has a calming chant constantly playing inside his head. Kaito, who is prone to emotional outbursts and constantly has to do his utmost best to maintain his poker-face, cannot even begin to fathom what kind of mindframe you have to be in to manage such a level of patience. He wants to crack Hakuba's skull open and peek inside, figure out how he works and what it takes to truly make him tick. (Except that would definitely go against his intentions of making him lose interest in him.)

To add onto the already growing list of problems Hakuba brings into his life, Aoko, the traitor, takes to him so fast it's almost like she does it on purpose, making it even harder for Kaito to escape his presence. Things that used to be reserved for just the two of them, with the occasional addition of Keiko or Akako, now come with an open invitation for Hakuba as well. He’s everywhere, like a looming shadow watching Kaito’s every move. He’s there when they go out, he’s there when they have lunch, he’s there at birthday parties and movie nights and park hangouts. Slowly but surely integrating himself into their friend group, and like a tick that’s dug its way deep into an animal’s skin, it eventually becomes impossible to pull him out without drawing blood.  

"Personally, I think you should be kinder to Hakuba-kun," Aoko says, because she's under the impression that Hakuba is an angel who's come down from heaven with the single mission of ridding them all of KID's existence. "He's been nothing but nice to you." 

"I'm not…not nice to him," Kaito says, just a tad defensively. He’s never been outright mean or cruel to Hakuba before, he’s just not extremely enthused by his presence. "It's not like I'm insulting him to his face or pushing him around. I gave him some of my lunch today!" 

"I don't think giving him a piece of carrot because you were full constitutes being 'nice', Kaito." 

He scowls, looking away. He shouldn't even have to explain himself in the first place. Hakuba’s been trying to get him behind bars for the past few months, he thinks he's at least a little justified in not wanting to be nice to him.

"Besides, he likes you, you should at least be gentle letting him down if you don't like him back." She crosses her arms over her chest, seeming ready to defend Hakuba's honor should Kaito say anything against him. 

Except he doesn't have anything to say, not when he's still stuck on the part where she said Hakuba likes him.

"What do you mean, he likes me ?!" He gets up off her bed, his switch catapulting off his lap and onto the carpet at his feet. The thought is so ridiculous he's almost worried for her health for even suggesting it. 

"Don't play dumb," she rolls her eyes, leaning over the side of the bed to grab the switch off the floor, "everyone knows it." She dusts the device off, inspecting it for damage. "This isn't cheap, you know? You should take better care of your things." 

He swipes it off her hands, scowling. "Everyone does not know. In fact, I'm positive you're making this up." 

She stares at him for a moment, eyebrows slowly rising. "You really didn't know?" She tilts her head. "But he's always trying to get your attention, I thought even you would've caught on by now." 

"What's that, even you?" He lifts his fingers in air quotes. "I'm very observant!" Just because Hakuba likes attention it doesn't mean he likes Kaito. Aoko has definitely been reading way too many shoujo mangas lately if this is the sort of thing she's started to fantasize about. 

"Apparently not on this," she shrugs. "Just be nicer to him, Kaito. You wouldn't like it if the person you liked was so cold to you."

“He doesn’t like me!” He insists, heat climbing up the back of his neck. 

She gives him a flat look. “Believe what you want.”

And believe it he does, until a week later, when Hakuba corners him by the front gates at the end of the school day and asks him if he wants a ride home. 

“Aoko-san said she had something to do with Keiko-san, didn’t she? So you’ll be heading home alone today. My house’s in the same direction, it’d be no trouble giving you a ride.” He’s leaning just the slightest bit forward as he says this, as if tempted to step closer, his hands clasped behind his back. 

“I’m used to walking home,” Kaito tells him, keeping his eyes fixed over Hakuba’s shoulder. For some reason, ever since Aoko’s ridiculous claim that Hakuba likes him, being around him has become harder than it used to be. It doesn’t bother Kaito, really, since he knows it’s not true, and even if it was, it would be Hakuba’s problem, not his. But, well, he’s found himself noticing things he usually wouldn’t, like the way Hakuba pouts when he speaks, or how his cheeks get red when he’s under the sun for too long, or the way he brushes their arms together when they walk side by side. It’s silly, there’s nothing of note about any of it, and yet, his eyes linger against his will, like a child with a shiny object. It’s all Aoko’s fault. 

“It’s so hot out, just let me give you a ride. We could take a detour and get some ice-cream?” Hakuba raises an eyebrow invitingly.

Kaito lets out a sigh. He doesn't want to admit Hakuba is right, but it is unbearably hot, and he’s been sweating through his undershirt all day, the fabric uncomfortably sticking to his skin. Without Aoko to distract him, the walk home would be miserable in this weather. 

Some ice-cream and a ride can't hurt, surely.

“Fine, but only today,” he relents.

Hakuba’s smile twitches almost minutely, the only visible sign that he’s happy about Kaito’s response. “Sure.”

Hakuba’s housekeeper comes to pick them up, dropping them off next to a grocery store with the promise to come get them once she’s done running a couple of errands. Kaito’s never really hung out with Hakuba by himself, since there’s always been someone around, be it his classmates, Aoko and Keiko, or even Akako when she’s in the mood to antagonize him, so this is a new experience for the both of them. He only wishes he could erase Aoko’s words from his mind, just so he wouldn’t be so hyper aware of every look Hakuba sends his way, every touch and laugh and swallow. It’s maddening. 

“Kuroba-kun,” Hakuba says as they’re walking out of the store, ice pops in hand, “can I ask you a question?”

Kaito blinks. “Uh, yeah…?”

“About KID,” Hakuba says, then licks up the side of his ice pop where some of it has melted, eyeing Kaito from the side like he’s awaiting a response of some sort.

“Okay…?” Kaito says slowly, averting his gaze. “What about KID-sama?”

Hakuba gives him an odd look. “Does Aoko-san know?”

“Know?” Kaito is starting to feel like he’s on the verge of an aneurysm. He bites into his ice pop, trying to cool down. “I’m a little lost here.”

Hakuba eyes him for a second, frowning, then seems to find something enlightening in his expression, nodding to himself. “That you’re a fan of KID’s,” he clarifies, though the way he says it is odd, his tone light and amused, as if they’re both in on some kind of doublespeak. 

Kaito frowns at him - why does he always have to be so weird about everything. “She does.”

Hakuba hums, then abruptly changes the subject. "Summer holidays are coming up, are you traveling anywhere?"

The sudden switch seems odd, but the heat is too intense for Kaito to bother thinking too hard about it. His brain feels foggy, like he's inside a sauna sweating his mind out of his pores. He's never been good with hot weather, much preferring the chill of winter over the sweltering sun that makes up the summer. He wants to dip his head into cool water, clear his jumbled thoughts enough to follow along with the conversation. 

"Nope," he drags the last remains of his ice pop up the stick with his teeth, letting the ice melt on his tongue for a moment. "Where would I even go? And travel alone? No thanks." He purses his lips. "You?" 

"I'm thinking of sticking around as well." Hakuba has already finished his ice pop and is lifting it up above his head, eyes squinting under the sun as he checks the writing on it. "No luck," he says, nose wrinkling. 

Kaito quickly cleans off his stick and checks his own results. "Ha! I got it!" He waves it up in the air, bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement. "We can get one to split. I think they had those in there." He turns to grin up at Hakuba, already thinking of which flavor to get, but feels his heart skip a beat when he sees the look on his face, the soft indulgent crease of his eyes. 

"Sure," Hakuba says, stepping off to the side to throw his stick in the trash. A gust of wind blows some of his hair out of his face, leaving his forehead bare for a moment. He brings a hand up to fix it, a gesture so simple yet enough to get Kaito's racing heartbeat rising to triple speed. "But you can eat it yourself, you don't have to share." 

"No, uh, I don't want a full one. Let's- let's go get it," Kaito says, throat dry, and turns around to head back towards the store. Hakuba keeps pace with him, the gentle expression gone from his face as if it'd never been there, replaced by an easy smile, blissfully unaware of Kaito's faltering pulse. 

So…maybe Aoko wasn't delusional, after all. 

This might become a problem. 

Whether Hakuba likes him or not, he's still the biggest pain in Kaito's ass when it comes to heists. 

"Give me the jewel, KID." 

Kaito eyes his extended hand with a raised eyebrow. "I don't know, detective," he twirls the stone between his fingers, striking a careless pose, "this one sort of matches my outfit, maybe I'll take it home with me." 

Hakuba drops his arm to his side, cocking his head. "Doesn't seem like your usual M.O."

"Perhaps I'm in a mood for change." 

"I'm sure," Hakuba gives him an unimpressed look. "Go on, throw it over." 

Kaito sighs. "You're no fun." He flicks his wrist and the jewel goes flying into Hakuba's waiting hands. "There. Happy?" 

"Very." Hakuba’s mouth slips into a smirk, face illuminated in patches by the light over the rooftop door. "You've been pretty active lately, I take it you won't be taking a break during summer?" 

Kaito hides a frown. "What am I, a street musician?" 

"I guess that's a no, then?"

If this is some kind of new intimidating tactic, then it's not really working. Kaito doesn't think he could ever find Hakuba intimidating, not after having watched him bump his head on the classroom's door frame multiple times. You don't come back from that sort of thing. 

"Sure! And next, I'll email you my daily schedule!" He gives him a plastic smile, palms up to the sky. They're two blocks away from the original heist location, the sound of sirens distant and the searchlights far enough to be just out of sight. It's nice to be away from all the after-heist mess for once. With just Hakuba, who is a mess of his own, but bearable enough as he is. "Seriously, why would I tell you anything about my plans?”

“I’m just curious,” Hakuba says, and is that a pout edging its way onto his lips? Pigs are sure to fly sometime later tonight, Kaito thinks. 

“Didn’t you know curiosity killed the cat?”

“And satisfaction brought it back, no?” His expression turns amused. “I’m sure you’re very familiar with that, given your personality.”

Kaito rolls his eyes, glad the shadow of his tophat covers the motion. What would Hakuba know about his personality? For all he knows, KID could be the lamest person on earth in real life. 

“Shouldn't you be on your way, detective? No new murders to solve?" 

"There's always a murder to solve."

"How grim." 

"Can't stop them, only solve them," Hakuba says with a shrug, though his mouth twists as if he's tasted something sour. He steps closer, a light catching on his brown eyes. Kaito doesn't like the way his chest flutters at the sight. "Except for you. I can definitely stop you." 

"You can try~"

Hakuba lifts one hand in his direction, grasping at the air before him. "I will." 

Kaito almost laughs at that. What a jerk. 

He jumps back over the railing, flipping around mid-fall and opening his hang-glider, then throws up a two fingered salute over his shoulder, mockingly. 

As if he'd ever let himself get caught. 

“No, no,” Kaito groans, swiping the brush out of Hakuba’s hand. “You’re doing it wrong.”

“Give him a break, Kaito, he’s never done this before,” Aoko says, sending Hakuba a sympathetic look. She’s kneeling next to him, working on one of the flowers on the box that’s meant to be placed next to the one Kaito and Hakuba are painting. She’s also, as it stands, halfway through hers, while Kaito has been trying and failing to guide Hakuba’s work for the past half hour. 

“Why don’t you teach him, then?” Kaito says, already dipping the brush onto the palette. Aoko goes tellingly quiet. She obviously wants to be saddled with the role of guiding Hakuba even less than Kaito does.

“Perhaps it would be better if I went to help Akako-san with the heavy lifting,” Hakuba suggests, though he still shifts closer to Kaito, watching his fingers with rapt attention as he expertly paints inside the lines. “I seem to only be slowing things down over here.”

“Kind of,” Kaito agrees.

“Kaito!” Aoko admonishes, then turns to Hakuba. “Nonsense, Hakuba-kun. We have plenty of time still.”

“Ah,” Kaito lifts a hand to his ear, pretending to hear something, “I think Akako's calling you, Hakuba. You really should go help her.”

Hakuba smiles like he thinks Kaito’s being particularly endearing, something that has unfortunately become a trend in the last few weeks. The guy seems immune to any sort of annoyance. “Alright, I’ll leave you two to it. Good luck.” He gets up and heads off towards where they last saw Akako, hands in his pockets.

Kaito turns to Aoko. “You know he’s not some poor defenseless little lamb, right? You don’t have to protect him from big evil Kaito. He doesn’t care.”

“That’s just because he’s good at hiding it, Kaito! Deep down, I bet he gets hurt when you dismiss him like that!” 

Kaito gives her a look that he hopes conveys how much he doubts that. Hakuba is made of steel, at this point Kaito is almost convinced that nothing short of a meteor falling on them could faze him. Maybe even then, he would just stand there with his breezy smile, watching the chaos unfold with little care. 

“He’s fine, Aoko. You worry too much.”

“You worry too little.”

Kaito doesn’t reply, focusing back on his work. Without Hakuba to get in his way, it doesn’t take him long to finish what they set out to do. Still, Aoko finishes hers faster anyway, and by the time he's done with his she's already long gone from the room. He sighs as he puts his box up by the window, inspecting his work one last time before he sets off to find her. 

It takes a few minutes of searching, but he finally spots her chatting with Akako outside one of the lower floor classroom's windows, all wide smiles and waving hands. Her smile turns upside down almost as soon as she sees him approach, though, and he can already feel a lecture coming.

“Kaito! You’re done?” She doesn’t let him answer before continuing, “Good. Go help Hakuba-kun clean up his shirt, he’s in the gym locker rooms.”

“Uh, why would I do that? What happened?”

“Takami-kun spilled glue all over him,” Akako says, looking like she’s trying very hard to hide her amusement. For some reason, she likes to pretend to be some sort of angel in front of Aoko. Kaito doesn't get why she goes to all that trouble, Aoko would still think she's the most wonderful creature on earth either way, she's biased like that. 

“Hakuba-kun was only working with them because of you sending him away, Kaito. The least you could do is help him out now,” Aoko says, all righteous determination.

Kaito stares at her for a long moment, hoping she realizes how much this is, in fact, not his fault, but she remains unmoved, glaring into his skull until he gives up and sighs out, “Fine, I’ll go. Whatever.”

He leaves the two girls and reluctantly makes his way down the side of the school building until he's at the gym doors. He finds Hakuba in the locker rooms, as promised, bent over the sink in only his undershirt, scrubbing soap into his button up with a zoned out look on his face. Kaito wonders how long he’s been at it.

“Hey,” he walks up to him, peeking down at the state of the garment. It looks soaked through, with soap bubbles covering most of it, so much so that it’s impossible to see if there’s still any glue on it or not. “How much glue got on it, exactly?”

If Hakuba is surprised by Kaito’s presence, he doesn’t show it. Instead, he gives a wry smile and says, “Almost the full bucket.”

“Sucks,” Kaito says commiserably. Or as commiserably as he can be with Hakuba, whom he's still determined to keep at arm's length. 

Hakuba pauses in his scrubbing, resting one hand against the side of the sink and half turning to face him. “Did you need something, Kuroba-kun?” The question would sound abrasive coming from anyone else, but Hakuba somehow manages to make it sound genuine, head tilted in interest.

“Aoko sent me to help you out. Something about it being my fault,” Kaito grumbles the last part.

“But you weren’t even there,” Hakuba says, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Right?!” Kaito throws his hands up in agreement. “But, anyway, I’m already here. Let’s see what we’re working with.” He steps closer and grabs the shirt by the shoulders, pulling it up until it fully hangs before them. “Yeah, water’s definitely not gonna do it,” he says, finally seeing the massive glue stain starting right below the collar. Anyone else would've realized that by now, but Hakuba is nothing if not stubborn. “We need acetone.”

Hakuba purses his lips, thinking. “They have it in the chemistry lab, don’t they?”

“Right,” Kaito squeezes any excess water off the shirt and hands it back to Hakuba, who holds it far from himself as if afraid the dried glue will somehow spread to his other clothes. “Let’s go, then.”

Hakuba looks down at himself, hesitating. Now that he’s paying attention, Kaito realizes his undershirt is sleeveless and white, almost see through. That wouldn’t bother most boys their age, but Hakuba seems like the sort to be uncomfortable at the idea of walking around the school grounds dressed like this, the lines of his torso on display, arms bare shoulder to wrist. 

Forcing himself to look away, Kaito says, “C’mon, it’s summer, no one will care. Half the guys in school are already walking around with their shirts open anyway.” When Hakuba remains unconvinced, lips turned down into a frown, he adds, “I have my extra gym shirt in my locker, we can stop there on the way.”

“I don’t know,” Hakuba says, though he finally follows Kaito as he makes his way out of the room. “Would it even fit me?”

“You’re, like, 5cm taller than me. I’m sure it will.”

“Six, actually.”

Kaito glares up at him, and the fact that he has to infuriates him a little in the context of the conversation. “It’s oversized, anyway, so that doesn’t matter.”

Oversized on Kaito, as it turns out, is the perfect size for Hakuba, though the shirt still clings to him just a little bit across the shoulders.

“See,” Kaito says, ignoring the uptick in his pulse at the sight of Hakuba in his clothes. “It fits just fine.”

Hakuba hums in agreement and stuffs his undershirt in his locker, closing the door with almost no sound. 

“Labs now,” Kaito declares, and they make their way down the school corridor until they’re at the very end of the building, where the chemistry labs are located. 

“Find the acetone.”

He drops the shirt in one of the sinks and Hakuba comes up behind him a moment later, acetone in hand. They spend the next few minutes scrubbing the shirt with it, a task made harder by the sharp chemical scent of the liquid that climbs up Kaito’s nostrils and makes him want to cover his nose with his collar.

Once the glue is fully gone, they wash the acetone off and set the shirt to dry on one of the benches by the windows, where the sun is shining through.

“That was easy, wasn’t it?”

"Hmm," Hakuba hums as he finishes drying his hands off on a spare towel. Kaito steps closer to him, expecting him to hand it over once he’s done, but instead of doing so, Hakuba reaches for one of his hands and starts carefully rubbing the cloth over his palm, "thanks for the help." 

Almost rendered mute by Hakuba's touch, Kaito somehow manages to grumble, "I would've never heard the end of it from Aoko if I hadn't." He doesn't pull away, stuck in place by some unseen force. 

"Still," Hakuba says, turning Kaito's hand so he can gently dry the back of it. Kaito can't tell if the limb is shaking, or if it's just his mind playing tricks on him, heart thundering in his chest as Hakuba runs the pad of his thumb over the skin he's just finished wiping. "Thank you anyway." He lets go, moving as if to grab Kaito's other hand, but the absence of his touch is enough to finally snap Kaito back to reality, and he takes a faltering step back, snatching the towel from Hakuba's grip. 

"I can do it myself," he snaps, scrubbing angrily at his wet fingers. 

Hakuba nods, unbothered by Kaito’s tone, and leans back against the counter, watching him finish up. The silence remains as Kaito hangs up the towel to dry, and continues as they leave the room and make their way down the hall back to where they came from. Only once they're back outside under the scorching heat does Hakuba break it. 

"You said you're not traveling, but do you have any plans for summer break already?" 

Kaito shrugs, shading his face with his forearm. For some reason, his heart rate refuses to return to its normal pace. "Not really. I'll probably just do the usual, hang out with Aoko, go to the beach…"

He can feel Hakuba's gaze on the side of his face. "Then, can we hang out too?" 

Kaito sends him an annoyed look. "Why ask me? You know Aoko's gonna invite you anyway." 

Hakuba tilts his head, then looks up ahead of them. "But there's no point if you don't want me there too." 

Kaito swallows, turning away. Is he reading too much into Hakuba’s words, or too little? He can no longer tell if he’s unbiased in his perceptions. "Uh, it's whatever. I guess I don't mind you coming, either." 

This seems to be enough for Hakuba, who smiles down at him with renewed vigor. "Alright." 

"This was a bad idea." 

"I'm not disagreeing, but what other option was there?" 

"Anything other than squeezing ourselves into a closet," Kaito whispers, glaring up at the vague shape of Hakuba’s face he can make out in the dark. 

Shifting against him, Hakuba leans closer to the small crack between the closet doors, peeking out into the room. "He won't leave the doorway." 

"Still armed?" 

"Yes," he moves back, chest brushing up against Kaito's for a moment, before he finds his previous position again, leaving at least a few inches of space between their upper bodies. 

Kaito had planned for an eventful heist, on account of the jewel being one of those big Pandora contenders that tend to attract the attention of the organization he’s been chasing after - however, he’d assumed said organization would at least try to be subtle about their criminal acts. Obviously, he’d overestimated them, because as soon as he popped out next to the jewel, a gunshot had sounded off, and the entire heist had turned into an impromptu chase scene.

Somehow, Hakuba had ended up in the same place as him - Kaito still isn’t sure if he followed him here or if they simply ran into each other by accident amongst all the chaos.

"They're after you, aren't they?" 

Kaito grimaces, pulling on his tilted tophat. "Obviously." 

Hakuba doesn't seem too happy with his response. "Why?" 

"They have guns, and they haven't hesitated to shoot them. Why do you think?" Kaito grits out. 

"Right." 

They stand there in silence, legs pressed together, the scent of Hakuba's cologne the only reprieve from the dusty, moldy, smell of the closet. Kaito gives into the urge to lean his head just the slightest bit forward, enough so that his nose lands a few inches away from where Hakuba's neck curves into his shoulder. He takes a small breath, the woodsy scent filling his lungs, mixed with Hakuba's natural body odor. It’s a nice smell, but he finds himself immediately recoiling at his own actions, leaning back and as far away from Hakuba as he possibly can in the enclosed space, which isn't much. His heart protests violently in his chest, like a caged animal trying to break free. 

Thankfully, Hakuba doesn't seem to notice his odd behavior, bringing a hand up to check his glow in the dark watch. "I texted Nakamori-keibo almost ten minutes ago, they're taking a long time," he whispers, tone taking on a concerned edge. 

"Maybe they have hostages," Kaito suggests, trying to sound as normal as possible and not like a guy who in a momentary lapse of judgment decided to sniff him just now. 

Hakuba shifts in discomfort. "We can only wait," he admits with a sigh, breath blowing across the side of Kaito's head, ruffling his hair. 

“Wait for the task force to come and get me, you mean.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Hakuba says, amusement in his voice. 

“In jail,” Kaito grumbles, dropping his head forward so his hat hits Hakuba in the face.

Hakuba swats it aside with a soft noise of surprise, and Kaito feels it dislodge from his head and fall off, getting stuck halfway down to the floor between Hakuba’s left arm and the wall. Even without it, it’s too dark in the small space for his face to become properly visible - still, he feels somewhat naked like this, and makes a quick grab for it with his right hand.

“Stop moving,” Hakuba says, grabbing the hat himself and placing it on Kaito’s head. His fingers brush the tips of Kaito’s ears as he does, leaving a hot tingle in their wake. It almost seems purposeful, his hands lingering for a moment before he drops them to his sides. “They’ll hear us.”

“It’s just one guy, and if he hasn’t heard us until now then he’s a lost cause,” Kaito says, swallowing dryly. “Why is he even waiting by the door? He didn't even search the room.”

Hakuba ignores him, moving to peer through the crack again, one hand coming up to grip at Kaito’s shoulder. “Wait.” He watches for a long moment, the line of light coming through the crack illuminating his eye, blond lashes brushing his bangs as he blinks. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”  

“I think…” His fingers tighten, digging into the suit’s shoulder pad. Another long pause, as he watches whatever’s going on outside with rapt attention. “He’s leaving.” He turns to Kaito. “And he looks agitated, too. The task force must have finally gotten here.”

Kaito pushes his hand off himself, sweat gathering under his collar. “Great, that’s my cue, then.” He looks through the crack to check that Hakuba is telling the truth, then pushes open the closet’s doors, stepping out into the room with a deep breath of relief. “Talk about claustrophobic.”

Hakuba walks out behind him, looking as serene as ever. “Really? I thought it was fine.”

Kaito scoffs, dragging the back of his gloved hand under his chin. “You’d be the one to enjoy enclosed spaces.”

“Only ones with you in them,” Hakuba corrects, then looks down at his watch as if he hasn’t said anything out of the ordinary. Kaito stares at him in disbelief, mouth half open. “You better go now, unless you’re planning to stick around for Nakamori-keibo.”

Kaito shakes himself out of his stupor and moves towards the window, ignoring the wild beat of his heart and the warmth spreading up his face. He turns the latch, pushing it open, then looks back at Hakuba one last time. “Not gonna try and catch me?”

Hakuba smiles. “I’m working on it.”

Infuriating bastard.

Summer break comes and brings with it the realization that Hakuba really had been serious about hanging out with him. 

They don’t see each other every day - in fact, Hakuba shows some unusual restraint and only shows up to the plans Aoko invites him to, without any attempts at inserting himself into the rest of Kaito’s break - but even so, the few times they do meet, Kaito can’t help but feel off kilter. No matter what, Hakuba’s behavior during his last heist won’t leave his mind - all the touching, that one ridiculous line. There was intent there, the same intent he shows whenever he leans closer to Kaito when they’re sitting together, when he allows his gaze to linger even after Kaito catches him staring, when he picks a leaf off of Kaito’s hair and smiles down at him. Except he did it to KID , not Kaito, which begs the question: what exactly is he playing at?

He’s aware that he shouldn’t care, really. What is it to him if Hakuba is off flirting with other people? But his mind keeps going back to what Aoko said, about how Hakuba supposedly likes him. He certainly acts like it, but then again, maybe Kaito has let himself get carried away by Aoko’s assumptions. Maybe the only reason Hakuba acts this way around him is because he finds his reactions funny, and there’s no deeper meaning to it. 

The thought doesn’t sit well with him. 

“I think you’re overthinking it,” Aoko says, blowing on the freshly painted nails of her right hand. “Your mom never comes home for the holidays, you know this.”

“Still,” Kaito says, applying the second coat to her ring finger, “even if she doesn’t, I don’t know if I wanna spend a weekend in close quarters with Hakuba and Akako.”

She huffs. “Oh, come on. You’re not still trying to pretend you hate Hakuba-kun, are you?” Then turns a glare on him. “And I don’t get what you have against Akako-chan, she’s lovely.”

“To you maybe,” he mumbles, ignoring her comment about Hakuba. “Besides, how come Keiko’s parents aren’t using the summer house themselves?”

“They’re working, Kaito. It’s this thing people do during the summer when they’re no longer in high-school,” she says, as he finishes off her hand.

“Har har,” he rolls his eyes. “I just thought rich people would be able to get off work for the summer.”

“You’re rich too,” she points out.

“And my mom doesn’t work, hence why I wouldn’t know.”

“Well, regardless, Keiko has the beach house, so we can go there for the weekend.” She shrugs, blowing on her left-hand nails. 

“I don’t know…”

“It’ll be fun!”

He eyes her for a long moment, taking in her raised eyebrow and expectant look. Finally, he says, “Fine,” and throws himself back on the bed as if it greatly pains him. “I’ll go.” He points one finger at her, narrowing his eyes. “But if things get weird, I’m leaving.”

“Weird how?” She asks, exasperated. “It’s just a weekend away with friends, Kaito, you big baby.”

“Shut up.”

Things get weird. 

Of course they do. And Kaito can’t even tell Aoko ‘I told you so’, because she’s not in the house, having had the brilliant idea to go down to the nearby market to buy sparklers with Akako and Keiko and leaving him alone with Hakuba in the house. No witnesses. 

Thankfully, Hakuba isn’t out to kill him. On the other hand, maybe death would be better than whatever this is - sitting uncomfortably close on the couch, in silence, watching a random documentary about koala bears in the wild, which Kaito is pretty sure Akako had been intently watching before the girls left. (Why would she even be interested in such a thing? Is she secretly an animal lover? Or was she planning on doing something nefarious with whatever information she obtained on koalas? Kaito shudders at the thought.)  

“I think Keiko-san brought popcorn,” Hakuba says after about ten minutes of only nature noises and the soothing voice of the documentary’s narrator.

Kaito cocks an eyebrow, turning to look at him. “Popcorn to watch a documentary?”

“Are there restrictions on when you can eat popcorn?”

“Well, no, but-”

Hakuba gets up before he can finish speaking - which is just rude. Kaito reluctantly follows him into the kitchen, frowning all the way.

“Butter first,” Hakuba says, opening the fridge and pulling out a butterstick. “Then the popcorn.”

“Seriously? You want to make cinema popcorn?” Kaito leans his hip against the kitchen island, watching as Hakuba putters about grabbing all the necessary utensils.

“You’d rather eat it dry?”

Kaito grimaces. “No.” 

Even though his back is to him, Kaito can see the edge of Hakuba's smile as he turns on the stove. “Okay, then.”

The dim light of the kitchen makes for a strange atmosphere. Kaito wonders how Keiko’s parents manage to cook full meals in here, what with the overhead lamp being so weak. The flickering flames of the stove seem stronger than it somehow, casting shadows across the room and turning Hakuba’s profile into a painting. Kaito’s eyes follow the movement of his shoulders as he works on the butter, the pull of his shirt across their wide expanse. He wants to step forward and dig a finger into the nape of Hakuba’s neck, see if the skin turns white under the pressure. It’s a stupid thought, but he can’t stop imagining it over and over, eyes catching on the trail of soft hair that stops inches above the jutting bone of Hakuba’s spine. Maybe he should’ve taken a nap on the three hour ride over, the lack of sleep is clearly getting to him.

“Can you pass me the kernels, Kuroba-kun?” Hakuba asks, turning to look at him over his shoulder. His eyes flicker like a bonfire, reds and oranges and yellows mixed together. 

Kaito stares at him, unmoving.

“Kuroba-kun?”

He startles, coming back to himself. “Ah, right, kernels.” He moves to grab them off where Hakuba left them on the kitchen island, but almost drops the packet when he turns back around and finds that Hakuba has stepped closer. “Here…” he says. 

Hakuba’s fingers brush his as he takes the packet from him. He utters a small thanks, but doesn’t step away like Kaito expects. They stare at each other, a strange tension filling the air. He can feel it in his veins, in the racing beat of his heart in his chest, tingles running down his fingers from where they touched. The intensity of Hakuba’s gaze burns into him, raising goosebumps all over his skin. He can’t decide if he wants to grab him by the front of his shirt and pull him closer, or plant his hands on his chest and push him away. 

There’s an allure to him that Kaito’s been doing his best to ignore for a while - the line of his neck, the shape of his eyes, the red of his lips. Despite his best efforts, his eyes linger on all the places they shouldn’t, and he doesn’t know if Hakuba can tell or if he’s too busy doing the same in return to notice Kaito’s gaze. His gut burns with something unnamable, the feeling growing the longer they stand there in silence. 

Just as he thinks one of them will do something, the moment is broken by the loud sound of the girls entering the house.

“Kaito!” Aoko calls from the other room. “Where are you guys? Come get your sparklers!”

Hakuba moves out of his space, a quiet, almost regretful look on his face. “Go on, I’ll finish up here.”

Kaito stares at him for a moment longer, insides squeezing, but Hakuba doesn’t bother waiting for his reply, already turning back to the stove. With a sigh, Kaito pushes off the kitchen island and walks back out into the living room, leaving him and the suddenly nauseating smell of butter behind. 

The house has three bedrooms, which means Kaito can at least be spared the experience of sharing a bed with Hakuba. Instead, the girls all decide to sleep in the main suite together, sharing the california king bed it comes with, and Kaito and Hakuba each get one of the leftover bedrooms. This means that in the morning, when Kaito wakes up and makes his way to the kitchen, he finds out that everyone else has apparently been up and about for more than an hour already.

“You could’ve just woken me up,” he mumbles into his cereal bowl, as he watches Aoko hurriedly fill her beach bag with snacks and pieces of fruit.

“You’re not a morning person, Kaito. No one wants to be the one to wake you up.” She throws in the last cereal bars into the bag, then hooks it over her shoulder. “Besides, someone has to go downtown with Hakuba-kun to buy a pair of swim trunks, anyway. I’ve delegated you.”

He stops with his spoon halfway to his mouth, scowling. “Didn’t he bring any?”

“Apparently, someone neglected to tell him we were going to the beach,” she says, with a pointed look in his direction.

“It’s a beach house,” he deadpans, “what else would we do? I thought it was obvious.”

“Well, it wasn’t,” she says, “clearly.” She adjusts the straps of her bag and turns to leave. “So, you go with him to get the swim trunks, then you guys can meet us after. We’ll be settling down right in front of the house, so there’s no way you could miss us.”

He stubbornly glares at her as she walks away, but resigns himself to it when he realizes she has already taken his silence as agreement.

Hakuba comes to find him a few minutes later, already dressed to go out, sunglasses perched on top of his head. 

Placing his just washed bowl aside to dry, Kaito walks up to him, inspecting him from top to bottom.

"You know," he says, looking down at Hakuba’s hips. He’d noticed it before, but now that he’s wearing casual clothes it’s even more apparent that despite his wide back, his torso slowly tapers off at the waist. "I'm pretty sure you'd fit into my other swim trunks. I have a pair that's a bit loose on me." 

Hakuba makes a small noise in the back of his throat, glancing down at himself. "You think so?" 

Kaito reaches forward and pulls on one of the legs of Hakuba's shorts until the fabric is straining against his thigh. "Yep. Not much bigger than mine." He manhandles him around until Hakuba's back is to him, then after a long moment of silent staring, says, "It'll probably fit." 

The back of Hakuba's neck is flushed as he says, "Yeah?" 

Kaito steps back, suppressing the urge to touch his fingers to the soft flesh peeking out from under the bunched up end of his shirt. 

"Come, let's see if they fit you."

They go up to his room, where he grabs his largest pair of swim trunks out of his bag and hands it to Hakuba, then goes out into the hallway to wait for him to change. It's not that Kaito's never seen him in his underwear before, but still - somehow, this seems different from the casual glimpses one catches in the locker rooms. 

Hakuba steps out into the hallway a few minutes later, hands on the hem of his shirt as he pulls it up to reveal the waistband of the trunks. Kaito can barely tell if it stretches more than it usually does when he wears them. 

One thing he didn’t consider, though, was the length. On him, the shorts end just a few inches above his knees, but on Hakuba, they seem smaller, ending further up his thighs and revealing a wider expanse of milky skin. They don’t look too short - in fact, plenty of people wear swim trunks with that exact length. But still, Kaito can’t help but stare, transfixed by the thin white stripe where Hakuba’s summer tan ends and his usually covered skin begins. 

Clearing his throat, he says, “See, I told you it’d fit.”

Hakuba glances up, a torn expression on his face. “It looks okay?”

“Just fine,” Kaito says with a thumbs up, watching as he finally drops his shirt back over his stomach.

With that resolved, there’s no longer any need for them to go downtown, so they get their things and head out to the beach, where they find the girls already all lined up on their towels, sunbathing. 

Kaito drops his towel by Aoko’s head and sinks his feet deeper into the warm sand, grateful the morning sun hasn’t yet reached unbearable levels and turned it coal hot.

“Did you not buy the swim trunks?” Aoko asks, twisting to look at Hakuba, who’s retreated under the parasol the girls had already set up.

“My other pair fit him,” Kaito tells her with a shrug, pulling off his shirt.

As he starts to lather himself with sunscreen, he gives Hakuba another glance, noticing he’s now tapping away at his phone, still fully dressed.

“Are you gonna stay there the whole time?” he questions, rubbing sunscreen over his face.

Hakuba looks up at him, his eyes unreadable behind his sunglasses. “I already put on sunscreen at the house,” he says, then quickly looks back down at his phone.

Kaito grunts and drops his sunscreen bottle next to Aoko, crouching down beside her and gesturing silently for her to do his back. She rolls her eyes but complies, generously spreading the cream all over his skin like a mother would a child under 5 years old. Kaito knows his back will look white as a sheet, but it's better that than look like a lobster and risk skin cancer.

“Not going in the water?” Keiko asks Hakuba after a few minutes.

Kaito, who's spreading out his towel right behind the girls’, looks over at him and finds Hakuba already glancing his way.

“Are you, Kuroba-kun?” He asks, rolling his neck and dropping his phone inside Aoko’s bag, which is safely hidden in the shade.

“No.”

Hakuba makes a questioning face. He slowly gets out from under the parasol and pulls his shirt up over his head, dropping it at his feet beside his still folded towel. Kaito tries not to stare too hard as his stomach flexes with the movement. 

“He’s scared of fish, Hakuba-kun,” Aoko chimes in, completely unwarranted, as if she’s not blurting out one of Kaito’s most guarded secrets. He’s not so much annoyed at Hakuba finding out as he is Akako. Who knows what she could do with this kind of information.

“Traitor,” he mutters under his breath.

“Really?” Hakuba glances at Kaito with curious eyes.

Kaito scowls, moving to lie down, hands behind his head. “It's not a big deal.”

Hakuba drops his towel next to Kaito’s and sits down, shifting close until he’s looming over him, casting a shadow over his upper body. “It’s a little unexpected, Kuroba-kun. I didn’t think you’d have a phobia like that.”

Kaito squints up at him, focusing on keeping his gaze above Hakuba’s neckline. “Shut up.”

“I’m not insulting you,” Hakuba says lightly, shifting so he’s no longer blocking the sun but instead facing it, eyes closed and head tilted back. “I think it’s quite charming. Everyone ought to have at least one weakness.”

Kaito sputters, ignoring Akako’s derisive snort from behind them. 

“Kaito has plenty of weaknesses,” Aoko claims, unprompted, as she seems to be in the mood to embarrass him today, “you’re just willfully blind to them, Hakuba-kun.”

Akako hums in agreement. Kaito preferred it when she wasn’t weighing in on the conversation, thank you very much.

“Whatever,” he grunts with a scowl. “You’re still scared of Anpanman, Aoko.”

That shuts her up fast, and Keiko quickly shifts the topic into childhood shows and what characters used to be the most scary for each of them, always eager to come to Aoko’s aid. 

Kaito only half listens, too busy willing his quickening heartbeat to slow down and trying to distract himself from the way Hakuba’s proximity feels like a live wire, sparking right next to him, as if daring him to get closer.

Time passes slowly as they sunbathe, and when the others go into the water to escape the sun for a few minutes, Kaito retreats under the parasol to give his heated skin a break as well.

He's biting into a cereal bar he's fished out of Aoko’s bag when Hakuba returns alone, kicking sand with every step and coming to a stop right beside him. The sun is at just the right angle to shine on his front, refracting off of every water droplet rolling down his chest and making every part of his skin look like it's glistening.

Kaito grinds his teeth and focuses intently on his cheek instead.

“I found a shell,” Hakuba says, slicking his wet hair back with one hand and presenting Kaito with a mid-sized seashell with the other. 

Kaito eyes it for a second. “That’s nice?”

“You can have it,” Hakuba declares, arm still extended towards him, waiting for Kaito to take it. “You can hear the ocean inside it.”

That's just an echo, Kaito thinks, but he's pretty sure Hakuba already knows that, so he simply takes the shell from him and puts it up to his ear, a strange emotion welling up within him. It's a nostalgic sound, reminding him of when he was a kid and often took walks on the beach with his parents, picking up shells that washed up on the shore and insisting the three of them listen in on the secret ocean hidden inside them.

“Thank you,” he says as he slowly brings it down from his ear. Despite being under the shade of the parasol, his skin is getting hotter, his palm sweaty where it holds the seashell. “It's pretty.”

Hakuba smiles, seemingly satisfied that his gift was accepted, and Kaito feels his breath catch in his throat. He runs a finger over the textured back of the shell, head bent to hide his expression. 

It's a fact that he doesn't like the influence Hakuba seems to have over him, making him feel things he normally wouldn’t. But at the same time, he's not sure he wants this to stop - this small bud that grows with each look Hakuba gives him, each touch, each word, each gesture. 

Allowing this to continue is… definitely a bad idea. And yet.

Wearing the KID suit during the summer, even at night, is not ideal, but Kaito doesn't have much of a choice in the matter, not unless he's planning on making a KID suit: summer edition. 

He's sweating, and uncomfortable, and his bangs are sticking to his forehead where they're trapped under his tophat. Still, he crawls his way down the vents until he's kicking out the cover off of the one leading out onto a back alley, coughing at the dust that flies off when he does. 

As he's getting to his feet and pulling off a bunch of spider webs from his jacket, he hears a pair of lone footsteps approaching and turns just in time to see Hakuba appear at the mouth of the alley. 

“Ah, detective,” Kaito says, trying to keep his composure as Hakuba walks closer. He saw him just earlier today, when they went downtown to get ice-cream with Aoko. Hakuba had been wearing a white polo shirt then, which Kaito had thought looked particularly good on him, but the look he's got right now is also really nice - the brown slacks, the cream button-up. Hmm, what a terrible train of thought. “So nice to see you.”

Hakuba smiles like he's amused by that. “Right, it's been so long,” he says, and it sounds a bit sarcastic, but Kaito’s pretty sure that's because Hakuba kind of sucks at word inflection sometimes. He finds it a little endearing, which is just further proof towards his recent suspicions that he caught some kind of parasitic worm during their stay at the beach house that now is slowly eating away at his brain.

“I'm busy right now, come back later,” Kaito says sweetly, turning to leave.

“Hey,” Hakuba calls after him, “the jewel, KID.”

Kaito slowly turns back around, waving his empty hands in front of him. “It’s no longer in my possession.”

Hakuba frowns. “Then where is it?”

Right now, it's probably still going unnoticed inside the inner pocket of Nakamori’s suit jacket, Kaito thinks. 

“Isn't that your job to figure out?” He asks with a grin, spreading his arms in a cocky manner.

“I guess if you don't have it, it's already safely on its way back to the task force somehow,” Hakuba says, unbothered, lifting a hand to brush his bangs off his face. “Are you okay? It's pretty hot out tonight, I hope you're drinking enough water.”

And what a non-sequitur that is. “I'm…fine,” Kaito says, giving him an odd look. He'd asked him the same thing earlier today, but Kaito had been too busy arguing with Aoko to reply, and afterwards the conversation had shifted so he'd completely forgotten about it. 

Is Hakuba just going around checking on everyone’s levels of hydration now? Even KID’s?

“Are you wearing a cooling shirt underneath your suit? Those are supposed to help with regulating body temperature.”

“I'm not telling you what I might or might not be wearing under my suit,” Kaito says, voice pitching a little high against his will. What is this, some kind of summer health third degree? “Are you going to actually try and catch me or can I leave?”

Hakuba looks a little put out at that, crossing his arms over his chest. “You can leave, I suppose.”

Kaito stares at him. “I can leave?”

Hakuba points back down the alley with his chin. “Go on. The heist is over, and you don't have the jewel anymore, what exactly am I meant to do? You should go home and take off that suit before you get heatstroke.”

Kaito opens and closes his mouth, blinking like an idiot. “I'm not getting heatstroke!” He turns on his heel and marches down the alley, shouting very maturely over his shoulder, “ You go home and take off your suit!” Then clamps his mouth shut when he realizes how that sounds, face getting even hotter than it already was.

“I will, thank you,” Hakuba calls back, because he seems to think Kaito was being genuine for some reason. 

Since when has being KID become so embarrassing? With every encounter he has with Hakuba, he becomes more and more uncool. It's got to be that damn brain worm. Nothing else could explain this.

Summer vacation is ending soon, and Kaito almost allows himself to think he’s done a great job not getting carried away by his emotions when Hakuba shows up at his house unannounced, straw hat on his head and a pair of tickets for a dolphin watching boat ride in hand.

“And no one else was available for this?” Kaito asks, eyeing the tickets with deep distrust - he doesn’t exactly have a great track record with boats.

“I didn’t ask anyone else,” Hakuba says, frowning like this should’ve been obvious. There goes Kaito’s heart again, skipping a beat against his will. “My father’s work friend gave these to me for free. And I know you’re not comfortable with fish, but I thought I’d ask anyway just in case it’s different with mammals.”

It’s not about them being mammals or not , Kaito thinks. It’s the look of them that really gets to him: those dead eyes, the gaping mouths. Dolphins and whales are mostly okay for him only because they don’t look like your average fish. He’s not so comfortable with them that he’d try and touch them or anything of the sort, but he supposes seeing them from a distance wouldn’t really bother him.

Still, he can’t give in that easily, lest Hakuba actually start thinking he likes him or something crazy like that.

“You couldn’t have called ahead?”

Hakuba tilts his head to the side. “Are you busy?”

Kaito pauses. “No.” He sighs and scratches at his elbow. Nevermind, what's the point of playing hard to get this far down the line? “I don’t mind dolphins,” he admits, then lifts one hand to stop Hakuba from opening his mouth. “But! If the boat sinks or something like that, you better be prepared to financially compensate me for any resulting emotional damage.”

Hakuba looks mildly confused, but doesn’t question Kaito’s words. “Okay.”

“When is it, anyway?”

Hakuba looks at his wristwatch. “In two hours. We have enough time for you to get ready and for Baaya to drop us off.”

Kaito looks at him, wide eyed, then tries to lean around him to check if he can spot the car. “You dragged her along with you?”

“She offered to drive us,” Hakuba says with a shrug, placing a hand on Kaito’s side and pushing him gently inside the house. “You’re coming, then, right?”

Kaito gives up on finding Hakuba’s housekeeper and just nods, allowing himself to be ushered further into the house, hyper aware of Hakuba's hands on him.

“You’ll need a hat, sunscreen,” Hakuba starts listing as he slips off his shoes, “a towel, and it’d be best to wear swim trunks too, people usually get sprayed with water.”

Kaito gives him a sarcastic salute and climbs upstairs to his bedroom, leaving him to wait in the entryway. 

He comes back a few minutes later wearing his pair of red swim trunks and a white loose fitting tank top, hat on his head and backpack slung over his shoulders. 

“Have everything?” Hakuba asks, eyeing him up and down, gaze lingering somewhere around Kaito’s collarbone for a moment before their eyes meet. 

Heat gathering in his belly, Kaito says, “Yup. Let me just grab something to eat from the kitchen.”

“No need,” Hakuba stops him, “I brought enough for the two of us.”

Kaito hesitates - is it normal to bring food for two when you hang out with a friend? He has no point of reference besides Aoko, and she always packs food for both of them when they need it because they mostly eat at her house anyway. 

Then again, this is Hakuba, does it even matter if it's a thing friends do at this point? 

“Okay, I guess…”

Hakuba smiles, that disarming one of his that makes the corners of his eyes crinkle. Kaito hates it a little bit, mostly because of how easy it's been for it to get his heart racing lately. Brain worm, brain worm, he chants mentally. “Let’s go then.”

Surprisingly, the boat ride goes okay. They only manage to catch sight of some dolphins at a distance, but Kaito enjoys watching them jump over the water as if showing off for the humans. Hakuba takes pictures like it’s the best thing he’s ever seen, zooming in every time they come up to the surface, slick backs shining under the sun. 

It’s only once the ride is over and they’re back on dry land that things get slightly out of hand. It’s nearly 8pm, and Hakuba seems to think this means they should go ahead and just get dinner at one of the restaurants in their vicinity. 

“I am hungry, but,” Kaito says, frowning down at the fingers Hakuba has around his wrist, pulling him across the street towards an italian restaurant. “Did you tell your housekeeper?”

“I informed her beforehand that we’d probably stay for dinner, and that if you didn’t want to I’d call her to come pick us up.”

“Very premeditated, huh?” Kaito says, stepping over the curb. “Not that I’m surprised.”

Hakuba only gives him an amused look over his shoulder, pushing the door to the restaurant open. “Are you saying you know me well, Kuroba-kun?” 

Kaito doesn’t immediately answer as they head towards one of the tables at the very back of the room, slightly more isolated than the rest. They sit across from each other, chairs cushioned with red seat pads, and as Hakuba picks up his menu and starts reading over it, Kaito finally says, “I think so, yeah.”

Hakuba glances up, a look of bemusement crossing his features before he seems to remember what he’d previously asked. Kaito watches the realization of what he’s said sink in: Hakuba’s eyes lighting up, mouth curling into a sweet smile, a hint of pink rising on his cheeks. “Oh.” He covers his face with one hand for a moment, then lowers it back to the menu, visibly swallowing.

Kaito waits for him to say something else, but he doesn't. He keeps staring down at his menu, teeth pressing lightly over his bottom lip, just enough that Kaito can see it fold inwards. It's a perplexing reaction coming from him. Kaito expected some teasing, maybe a silly joke, but not this . Not Hakuba looking flustered, like he can't manage to come up with anything to say back, eyes sliding quickly across the same place on the page, over and over, not reading.

Kaito snaps his gaze down to his own menu, face on fire. Did he really say something that strange? It's true that he knows Hakuba, isn't it? He grabs the part of the tablecloth that falls next to his leg, rubbing it between two fingers, trying to shake out the sudden nervous energy running through his entire body. 

It's all Hakuba’s fault, why does he always have to react so unpredictably?

They sit in mortifying silence for a couple of minutes before a waiter comes to take their orders. Kaito quickly rattles off his and watches with warm cheeks as Hakuba carefully pulls himself together and asks the waiter for a lasagna and a still water. 

“Did you like the boat ride?” Hakuba asks once the waiter is gone, seemingly trying to pretend he didn't just go mute from something as small as Kaito saying he knows him. 

Kaito clears his throat, fiddling with his fork on the table. “Yeah, it was fun. Send me the pictures later.”

Hakuba nods. “Right.”

They stare at each other for a long moment, and Kaito feels his pulse intensifying in his throat and behind his ears, so loud it's almost deafening. He wonders wildly if Hakuba can see it pumping away under his skin from where he is.

“Listen,” Hakuba says, which immediately sends Kaito into high alert. “There's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while…”

“Wait,” Kaito cuts in, raising one palm up, desperately stalling for time. He feels like he knows where this is going, somehow, and while a part of him is hoping for it, has been thinking about it ever since that day Aoko opened his eyes to Hakuba’s possible feelings, another part of him can't help but focus on the negatives, the way this could all blow up in his face. And no amount of denial will get him out of this now, not with the way Hakuba seems so ready to spill his guts. “I uh, I need to go to the toilet.”

Hakuba gives him a bemused look, but leans back in his seat. “Alright,” he says, toying with the edge of his napkin, and nodding for Kaito to go ahead, “I'm not going anywhere.”

Kaito gets up and fast-walks his way out of the room and down the hall that leads towards the toilets. He pushes the door open to the men’s restroom and steps right up to the sink, staring his reflection down in the mirror.

He's in too deep. He let himself get in too deep. And the worst part is that he probably wouldn't be panicking this much if he was one hundred percent sure Hakuba is as deep in it as he is. But he can't be sure of that, and without that surety, he can't know if the risk of a relationship with him is worth it. 

It all comes down to the fact that Kaito is KID - and Hakuba, who doesn't know this, has been after KID for as long as Kaito has known him. There's no way they could ever move forward without Hakuba knowing the truth, but Kaito can't find it in himself to trust him with it. And pathetically enough, he's not even sure if he's afraid of Hakuba trying to catch him, or of Hakuba changing the way he thinks of him.

He turns on the tap and runs his hands under the cold stream of water for a few minutes, trying to tie himself back to reality. This is a disaster, and it's one of his own making. In truth, he liked the tension, the looks, the smiles, but he never looked into the future and thought about what that could mean. He didn't want to, because then he'd have to face the fact that this could never work. Not realistically. Not with KID. 

He gets startled out of his internal panicking by a knock on the door. 

“Busy!” He calls out.

There's a pause, and then, “Kuroba-kun?” Hakuba’s concerned voice says from the other side.

Kaito lets out a sigh, running a hand through his hair in frustration. Clearly, he's been here longer than he realized. 

Reluctantly, he opens the door and steps out into the hall, where Hakuba is standing with an unreadable expression on his face.

“Ahah…lost track of time,” he says, then almost smacks himself at the stupidity of it. Lost track of time doing what? In the toilet? Might as well have just said he was constipated.

Hakuba shifts from one foot to the other, looking down the hall towards the main room, then back at Kaito. “Look, Kuroba-kun, I didn't mean to push you.” He rubs his hands together, thumbs whitening as they press against each other. “I apologize, maybe I did this too soon.”

Kaito stares at him, mind working at a crawl. 

Too soon? If they were any other pair of people, that description would be completely off. Kaito feels like it's been an eternity since this entire thing started, nothing Hakuba was about to say today could've been too soon. And yet, because of Kaito’s secrets, his insecurities and trust issues, it somehow has turned into this. 

Too soon.

It doesn't sound right. 

“It's not-” he presses the back of his hand against his mouth, feeling lost and unsure for the first time in a while. This is it, the time for him to make a decision. Hold it tight, or let it go. There's never been a middleground, no matter how hard he's been trying to hold onto the idea of it.

He looks at Hakuba, really looks at him: his downturned lips, his soft brown eyes, the hair that turns darker under the dim lights of the restaurant’s hall. He's impossibly perfect and also somehow the worst thing that's ever happened to Kaito. He wants to keep him, he wants to pull him by the collar and kiss him hard until the growing lines of distress under his eyes are fully gone. He wants to be able to tell him who he is and still have Hakuba look at him like he hung the moon and the stars. Because that's how he's looked at him, how he looks at him, how he's still looking at him. Kaito can't think of anything worse right now than to have that look change into something else.

“Tell me,” he says firmly, hands falling to his sides, gripping the seams of his shorts. “Tell me what you were going to, before I left.”

Hakuba hesitates, mouth half open. “Are you sure?”

Kaito nods, unwilling to say anything else for fear of losing his conviction.

Hakuba presses his lips together, eyes intense as their gazes meet. “Okay.” He pauses, visibly swallowing, taking a sip from his own well of courage, and finally says, “I like you, Kuroba-kun.” 

Kaito doesn't know what it is, the feeling that rushes over him. It's a mix of euphoria and melancholy all wrapped into one. It goes all the way down to his toes, the tingles swallowing him whole, like static electricity all across his body. He can feel his face heat up, knows it must be flushed red for the second time tonight, but he consoles himself with the fact that Hakuba is in a similar situation himself, blushing to the tips of his ears. Always composed and confident - and yet, Kaito has seen him like this twice in just under an hour. Surely that must mean something.

“Yeah,” Kaito breathes out, unable to stop looking at him, “I know.” 

Hakuba gives him a small, slightly wobbly smile. “I hoped you did, after this long.”

Something warm stirs in Kaito’s gut. “Why are you telling me now?”

Hakuba shrugs, hand rising to the back of his neck. “It felt time. I didn't think you’d-” he stops, appearing embarrassed at his own slip up. “I thought you might be ready to hear it, after what you said.”

Kaito chews on the inside of his cheek. He feels like grinning like an idiot, even though nothing has been resolved, and all Hakuba’s done is confirm something he pretty much already knew. “Because I know you?”

“Because you know me,” Hakuba repeats, gaze dropping like he's flustered all over again by the words.

And Kaito, well, some might call him impulsive. Because instead of responding to the surge of affection that rises in him like a normal person, he grabs onto Hakuba’s face and forces it down, pressing their mouths together in a slightly harsh kiss. Hakuba responds immediately, though, eagerly wrapping his arms around him, fingers dragging across his shoulder blades, so instead of pulling back, Kaito pushes into his space until he's backed into the opposite wall. He doesn't exactly have any experience with this sort of thing, but he doesn't think Hakuba does either, so he probably isn't judging him too harshly for just doing what feels good: licking into his mouth, thumb under the curve of his jaw, and swallowing every low sound he makes in response. He thinks he might be making some noise too, but he's too distracted by the press of Hakuba's body against his to care - the feel of his skin right beneath his hands. If they were anything but human, this would be the sign - here's my neck on display, my jugular right at your fingertips, do what you will. As it is, Kaito still feels a thrill from it, presses in with his fingers until Hakuba makes a strange noise, like he enjoys it and is surprised by that fact. 

They pull apart for a moment and Kaito takes in his face, a fire burning in his chest at the sight of him, head tilted slightly back against the wall, breathing harshly, Kaito's hand wrapped around the side of his neck, thumb resting just above his adam’s apple. 

Hakuba licks his lips and pulls him closer with the arms he has wrapped around his middle. His eyes are half-lidded and his mouth is only partly curled into a smile, yet Kaito doesn't think he's ever seen him look so pleased before. It makes him want to kiss him again, so he does, and Hakuba responds in kind, teeth grazing over Kaito’s bottom lip, then straying to the side to bite lightly on his cheek. That's weird, Kaito thinks absently, then does the same to him and realizes that maybe, huh, not that weird, after all. 

They kiss and kiss and kiss, hands trailing over each other's bodies, ears deaf to the noise around them. Kaito is dizzy with it, and he doesn't think that's the lack of air talking. Hakuba’s smell is all around them, like some kind of aphrodisiac incense, and now that he has permission it doesn't feel as strange to nudge his nose behind his ear and breathe it in, dropping a kiss there for good measure. Hakuba seems to like it, because he makes a small noise in the back of his throat and pulls Kaito back in, lips sliding against his, his tongue tasting of mint from the gum he'd been chewing on the boat earlier. Kaito momentarily wonders if he tastes okay - the last thing he remembers eating was a chocolate chip cookie - but Hakuba seems unbothered by it, so he quickly brushes the thought away. 

He doesn't know how long has passed when he hears the sound of the restroom door opening behind him. He pulls away from Hakuba to look over his shoulder, and makes eye contact with a clearly embarrassed man stepping through the doorway. He must have passed by them on his way in, but they somehow managed to miss his presence. Or Kaito did, anyway - Hakuba is a bit shameless, so he might have noticed him and just not cared.

“Oh, excuse us,” Kaito says, dropping his hands from Hakuba's hair and taking a step back. Not too far, though, because Hakuba - seemingly not getting the memo - is still holding him by the hips.

The man shakes his head as if to say no worries, hands waving frantically in the air, and quickly makes his way down the hall back to the main room. Poor guy.

Kaito’s mouth feels swollen and numb as he turns once again towards Hakuba, and he kind of wants to lean back in and return to what they were doing, but now that the moment’s been broken his brain has recalibrated and won't stop reminding him that he still hasn't done anything to solve the glaring issue of Hakuba not knowing he's KID. Damn his own rationality, he’d been enjoying turning that side of it off.

Hakuba, for his part, is looking at him with glazed eyes, lips red and cheeks dusted a pretty pink. His hair is brushed off his forehead, thrown back and ruffled like he's just come out of a windstorm. Kaito did that to him, and the knowledge feels a little bit like winning a prize. First place, Kuroba Kaito, for getting Hakuba Saguru to look like he's just been ravished in the back room. Thank you, thank you, it was nothing!

Shaking his head, he puts a hand to Hakuba’s chest, maintaining the distance between them. “Umm, so,” he purses his lips, looking off to the side. “We were talking.”

“Before you kissed me,” Hakuba says with a nod. Kaito almost forgot how annoyingly straightforward he can be.

“Right.” He pushes against Hakuba's chest, forcing him to release him from his embrace, and finally takes a step back, far enough away that he can breathe without feeling like he's drowning in the scent of him. “There are things that I can't tell you about myself,” Kaito says slowly, crossing his arms over his chest, feeling the need to shrink a little into himself, “even if we do this.” He grimaces, looks up at Hakuba. “At least not yet.”

Hakuba smiles sweetly. “I know.”

Kaito pauses. “You do?”

“Whatever it is, I can wait,” Hakuba continues, closing his eyes and tipping his head back against the wall. “I also know you, Kuroba-kun,” he says, and Kaito finally gets what all the fuss was about, the way the words burrow into his chest, make him warm all over, a strange intimacy to them, a soft tender whisper of familiarity. “And I've seen a lot of things because of what I do. The awful ways people get twisted by anger, greed, envy.” His eyes open, gaze falling back on Kaito, warm and gentle, the same as always, the one Kaito doesn't want to give up. “And you don't have it.”

“What?” Kaito stares at him, unblinking.

“You don't have that capability, Kuroba-kun,” Hakuba says, like he's letting him in on a secret, “to be malicious.”

Oh.

His nose itches. Stings. He presses his palms to his eyes, rubbing off the hint of wetness he can feel slipping out the corners.

Is that how Hakuba sees him? A good person? Kaito’s never thought about himself in those terms. Would Hakuba think differently if he knew the truth?

“Isn't everyone capable of that, though? You just have to put them in the right situation,” Kaito says, swallowing down the tremble in his voice. 

Hakuba tilts his head to the side. “I don't think that's true, you're just talking hypotheticals. We're all made up of our experiences, but the Kuroba-kun I know is like this. Another Kuroba-kun could've been different, but not you.” He shrugs. “I might be wrong, I'm not the judge of the universe. But to me, whatever choices you make, I know you never set out with the intent to hurt anyone else.” He extends an arm, rests his hand on Kaito’s shoulder. “Whatever reasons you have, you can tell me when you're ready.”

“Reasons?” Kaito echoes. He feels parched, mouth dry, lungs squeezing in his chest, the beat of his heart painful behind his ribs, a thump, thump, thump, unwilling to be ignored.

Hakuba nods. “For being KID.”

And the world drops out from under Kaito’s feet, then comes back unaligned, tilted sideways, a sensation that sends his stomach swooping like he's just descended a rollercoaster. “W-what?” He tries to swallow but can't, there's something lodged in his throat. “What do you mean, being KID?”

Hakuba frowns, looking a mix of  bemused and worried. “You don't have to talk about it now, Kuroba-kun. I just wanted you to know I don't think ill of you for it, and I'm sure you have good reasons for-”

“No no,” Kaito cuts him off, raising his hands halfway to Hakuba’s mouth as if to shut him up, “I mean- you knew?” He shakes his head, temples throbbing. “Since when?”

Hakuba makes a strange face, eyebrows rising then furrowing. “Since always.” He looks just as confused as Kaito feels now, pulling his hand back and pressing a knuckle to his forehead. “Why are you surprised? You knew this.” When Kaito vehemently shakes his head again, he insists, “No, you knew this, Kuroba-kun. Wasn't that- isn't that why you-” He looks down at his feet, seems to think for a long moment as Kaito quietly talks himself out of running away. “I thought you just didn't want to admit it out loud, since I'm a detective.” 

“But you never said you knew,” Kaito groans, covering his face with both hands. Even though his fight or flight instinct is yelling at him to get the hell out of here and never see Hakuba again, a much bigger part of him is just glad his worries about Hakuba knowing the truth were all for naught, since he apparently already knew the whole time . 

And the weird way he always talked to KID makes so much more sense now. He thought Kaito knew he knew. He thought they were - what? Flirting on the job? Or something of the sort? Ah, his headache is worsening.

“How could I have known?”

“It never seemed like you didn't,” Hakuba says tentatively, looking like a kid who's about to get punished. 

Kaito takes a deep breath, pushing past his anxiety. The name KID is too tied to the word secret in his mind, the thought of someone knowing about him this whole time and him never even realizing it sends chills down his spine. Still, there's no point in getting angry about this now, not when Hakuba is clearly as surprised as he is about it. 

“How did you find out, though?” He asks, because, well, it’s not supposed to be easy . He knows Hakuba is a detective, but for him to have known since the beginning means he set eyes on Kaito and somehow figured him out immediately. That’s a scary thought - that he could be so easily seen through.

“Oh.” Hakuba scratches his cheek. “You perfectly matched the results from the analysis grandfather’s analyzer run on KID’s hair,” he stops, then adds, “plus, you’re also a magician.”

“ That’s it ?” Kaito asks. He thought there’d be something more, some kind of slip up he made that led Hakuba to definitive proof of it. Compelling evidence. Something that could actually get him arrested.

Hakuba looks almost petulant as he says, “I didn’t say it would hold up in court, just that I knew.”

Kaito sighs, willing his heart rate to return to normal. What a ridiculous conversation. How is it that Hakuba always manages to throw curveballs at him when Kaito finally thinks he has him figured out?

“Next time you find out something about me, please just tell me straight up,” he says, stepping back closer to him. “Could’ve saved us a lot of trouble.”

Hakuba makes a small disagreeing noise. “If that was your level of hostility not knowing I knew, I don't know what it would've been like if you did.”

So he did notice Kaito's attitude towards him, he just chose to ignore it. Not that that's surprising. Though now that he thinks about it, this means the reason Hakuba was clinging to him from the very moment they met was because he knew he was KID. Was he trying to catch him out? Get some proof? He clearly got sidetracked somewhere along the line, which Kaito thinks is actually quite funny now that he doesn't have to worry about getting arrested. What kind of detective tries to catch a thief and ends up falling for them? That's pretty embarrassing of him.

“Well,” Kaito says, “all things considered, I guess I can forgive you for being an idiot this once.”

Hakuba raises both eyebrows. “Thank you?”

“Only because I like you, though,” Kaito adds, and watches in triumph as Hakuba's eyes widen, mouth opening and closing. 

A flush steadily rising up his neck, he grumbles, “Unfair, Kuroba-kun.”

“What, as if it wasn't obvious anyway,” Kaito scoffs, rubbing a thumb across his own lower lip. 

Hakuba follows the motion and swallows. “Yes, um,” he gets a conflicted look on his face, then looks up at the ceiling and back down at Kaito. “Just,” he pulls him by the waist, then dips his head and drops a peck on Kaito’s lips, then another, and another, all in quick succession. It feels just as good as the first time, warmth spreading from every point of contact like metal dipped in hot water. Kaito tries to grab his cheeks to keep him still and prolong the kiss, but Hakuba holds him by the wrists and pulls away. “Wait, no more, our food is probably getting cold.”

Kaito cocks an eyebrow. “You’re thinking about lasagna right now?”

Hakuba gives him a ‘be serious’ look, releasing his wrists. “Aren't you hungry?”

Kaito pauses. Well… “Fine,” he moves back semi-reluctantly. “They probably think we dipped, though.”

“We left our things on our chairs,” Hakuba says, pushing off the wall. He starts straightening his shirt and hair, but despite his best efforts he still very much looks like someone who's just been kissed silly. Kaito decides to keep quiet about that - what he doesn't know won't hurt him, or whatever.

He pulls down his own shirt, stretching out the wrinkles, and starts heading down the hall, Hakuba falling into step beside him. As a small form of protest, Kaito takes his hand and says, “You know, Aoko said you liked me months ago.”

Hakuba hums, fingers squeezing his. “I did tell her.”

Kaito comes to a halt, forcing him back as he tries to keep going. “What?”

“I told her,” Hakuba says, seemingly completely unbothered by the fact that she then went and told Kaito about it.

“Uh.” Kaito makes a face. “Did you tell her it was a secret?”

Hakuba cocks his head to the side. “It wasn't a secret, though?”

“Oh,” Kaito says, going silent for a moment. He’d just been trying to tease him, he didn’t think he’d end up being thrown for a loop again. “Uh, did you tell anyone else?”

“Not really,” Hakuba says, starting to walk again and pulling Kaito along. “I told her because she asked.”

Kaito sees a talk with Aoko in his near future. She seems to have decided to leave some very important details out of her little Hakuba likes you speech. Like, for example, was it really that obvious that he liked Kaito, or did she just ask him point-blank about it and have the luck of him being the world's most unnecessarily honest guy? No wonder she was so confident in it when she said it - she found out from the source!

“Sometimes, ignoring invasive questions like that is the best response,” he says as they approach their table, doling out much needed wise advice. He suspects Hakuba doesn't know such things.

“You think so?” Hakuba asks, releasing his hand and casually pulling out his chair before circling the table to his own seat. “She's my friend, though.”

Kaito sits down, blinking quickly. He's never gotten a chair pulled out for him before - it's not an unpleasant experience. “You don't have many friends, do you, Hakuba?”

“We're friends,” Hakuba says, looking mildly offended.

Kaito wrinkles his nose. “Are we?”

Hakuba hesitates for a second. “Right. Maybe not.”

“Yeah,” Kaito smiles innocently, picking up his utensils to cut into his food, “I hope you're not going around kissing and saying you like all your friends.” However short that list might be, anyway.

Hakuba shakes his head seriously. “Of course not.” 

“Good,” Kaito snorts, extending his legs and trapping one of Hakuba's between his ankles. They're both wearing shorts so they end up skin to skin, the soft hairs along their legs brushing together.

Hakuba doesn't seem to understand what he's doing, because he starts trying to pull his leg out from between Kaito’s, and when that doesn't work, uses his other leg to trap Kaito’s right leg between his as well. He only seems satisfied then, finally stopping his struggling.

And this is when Kaito realizes he might be a little bit too into him, because instead of finding his actions odd, he just ends up thinking it's sort of funny and endearing. He can’t even blame it on the brain worm anymore, this is just his taste: young master with ambiguous social skills and a really nice smile. Damn.

“Don't tell people I'm KID, though,” he says as an afterthought, pointing a finger at him.

Hakuba gives him a baffled look, fork halfway to his mouth, and says, “I didn't even tell you .”

Which, huh, he’s got a point there, doesn’t he? 

END