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Shinichi would never understand rich people. If someone pointed out that the Kudou were a rich family, he would say: Case in point. At least with his parents, he can deduce some sense of meaning from their actions. Who in their right mind wanted to host a Valentine's party in a mansion in the mountains with only one way up/down anyway? If it was about boasting their wealth, Shinichi was sure there were better ways to do so. Just did whatever the Suzukis were doing. In fact, why would you host a Valentine’s party? As if the day was not already inflated enough.
Glancing around the ballroom again, Shinichi noted all of the rich and semi-famous people in the ballroom. All 142 of them. And 14 wait staff members running around. Not to mention the security staff all over the mansion. Shinichi did not have the chance to count them yet, but considering the size of the mansion and crowd, he estimated around a dozen, if the host of this party was not into something shady or had something to hide. Which, unfortunately, was the reason why he was here and not on a date with a certain annoying someone who had promised him the ‘best seventh official date’ ever.
That egomaniac thief. As if. Also, in retrospect, he should have known his boyfriend would try to set up a date on Valentine’s Day. So typical.
Taking a sip of red wine, Shinichi glanced at the host of this party, Nagasawa Takahiro, the 47-year-old head of the Nagasawa family and Nagasawa Electronics, one of the biggest tech companies in Japan. The man was with his wife, entertaining a few rich businessmen and their wives. Shinichi was no stranger to rich people's parties, considering his parents and being friends with Sonoko, but the facade of everything was exhausting.
“Sitrep?” Akai-san’s voice was as steady as always.
Shinichi took out his temporary phone, the newest model apparently, and put it to his ear. He made sure that no one was near him enough to eavesdrop.
“Good evening, Annette, how are you?” Shinichi replied in French. There was no reason not to be extra careful. He also made sure to speak softly enough. “Yes, I am at a party in Japan. No, it is boring. No one does anything. Nothing happened. I might leave in twenty minutes.”
Target insight. No activity. Initiating infiltration in twenty minutes.
Nagasawa planned to put on a show with the lights out, a perfect time for Shinichi to sneak out.
“Copy that. Extraction team on standby and ready.” It was Furuya-san this time. “We think that the security room might be in the east wing of the mansion.”
“Apology again for the lack of information.” Despite the professionalism in their voices, Shinichi could tell they did feel frustrated that they had to send him in with little information on the layout of the place. It was honestly impressive that both the FBI and PSB were working together. But that also usually meant trouble. Not many people within Japan can just hide things from the PSB like that. Apparently, Nagasawa destroyed every possible blueprint of the mansion. The only people who knew the layout were he, his eldest son, and the architect who had already passed away. Factoring in how Nagasawa Electronics seemed to have ties with the Black Organizations, there was no suitable personnel to use the cover that the PSB had to sneak around at this party, and all information was found out just a week ago, Akai-san and Furuya-san did not need to ask twice. However, Shinichi did appreciate that both men had only asked him as a last resort, considering that he found out about this whole situation yesterday morning. It was awkward, greeting the men while in an apron with baking ingredients still lying around.
“Don’t worry. I will be fine. See you later.” Shinichi put the phone back in his purse and went back to observing the crowd. He already knew which way to sneak out. All he needed to do now was blend in and wait.
“Good evening, miss.”
Or not.
“Good evening.” Shinichi turned to look at the man. He seemed to be in his mid-20s and wore a traditional hakama. Black hair. Brown eyes. 175 cm. Conventionally handsome. No distinctive features.
“I am Matsuyama Ryo, heir of the Matsuyama clan.” The man offered his hand and smiled. Shinichi shook it. Matsuyama clan. They did various traditional businesses in the Fukuoka area. They were nowhere near the Suzukis’ or Nagasawas’ level, but rich and influential enough.
“Yoshimura Mari. Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Matsuyama.”
His cover was the heiress of the Yoshimura family, which owned several businesses and stakes in high-end Western-style fashion in Japan, the U.S, and France. She was a mix with duo citizenships of Japan and the U.S., who studied in the U.S. and Europe. She was usually used to approach foreigners. So technically, she was not ideal for this party, but she was the only one suitable enough to be here. The only annoying thing was that he had to talk and think like someone growing up abroad and learning Japanese.
“Of course, it is a pleasure to meet the heiress of the Yoshimura family.” There was something about the man’s smile that Shinichi did not like at all. It was not fake, but it felt weird nonetheless. “I must say, you look stunning. The outfit really brought out the colors of your eyes.”
Just when he was about to reply, he felt it. A gaze. It took every fiber of his body not to react and look around. Someone was watching him. It was not one of those curious or judging gazes of other rich people at this party, which he had been getting since he set foot into this place.
“Thank you.” Shinichi said as if nothing was wrong. “It was flew in from America this morning.”
He wished he were lying. Kudo Yukiko had a strong, weird commitment to dressing him up as a woman. You are the child of the beautiful and talented Kudo Yukiko; of course, you need to wear the best dress out there!
Thank gods that Akai-san was able to convince his mother that he needed to stay low-key enough to sneak around. So, he ended up with a simple twilight blue Ralph Lauren satin evening dress that conveniently had a collar to cover the voice-changing choker, courtesy of his mother; a black Christian Louboutin clutch with his new phone, a pair of communication devices disguised as earphones, a USB disguised as a lipstick, and a few other tools disguised as mundane things for women, courtesy of Hakase; and a pair of modified black stilettos that can basically be used as a defense weapon, courtesy of the FBI. Hakase was very interested in examining the shoes, while Furuya-san was hovering between impressed and annoyed. Maybe the PSB would start doing more gadgets for female agents now. Shinichi knew that it was still being debated by the higher-ups, which was just stupid. Furuya-san agreed.
The gaze persisted, intensified even. But it was familiar. Too familiar. He could not tell if that was a good or bad thing. At least he could not sense any malice in the gaze.
“I do believe you would look exquisite in a traditional kimono. And your Japanese is beautiful as well. No one would think your mother is a foreigner.”
That made Shinichi pause.
“Oh, are you waiting to talk to Nagasawa-san? It seems like he is quite invested in the same old tech business. I can introduce you to his wife, if you wish. I am sure you ladies have more fun things to talk about.”
Well, dammit. Just his luck. Whatever, he needed to get rid of Mr. Thinly-veiled Mysoginist first and find out who was looking at him. He should not approach the targets anyway.
“Tha-”
“Yoshimura-san?”
Shinichi and the man both turned to face a waiter. Around 185 cm. Had freckles. Black hair. And… those eyes. Those indigo eyes. Shinichi could recognize those eyes anywhere. And they were on the face of a stranger.
“Your request has been fulfilled. Shall I bring it to you, or would you like to go see for yourself?” The waiter said in a Kyushu dialect.
Dammit.
Why was Kaito here?
Shinichi pretended to flip his long hair to turn off the communication earpiece. It would cause an alarm for sure, but he needed to know what was going on first. The FBI and PSB can wait.
“I will check it myself. Excuse me, Mr. Matsuyama.” Whatever was going on, Shinichi was not going to let the opportunity slip away. “Please lead the way.”
They did not even wait for the guy to respond.
As they walked across the room, Shinichi glanced around. 15 wait staff. Including Kaito.
Dammit. What was that idiot doing here? Did he follow him? Shinichi definitely would have noticed if the thief was following him, though. When he called to cancel their plan for tonight, Kaito seemed to understand and even wished him luck and safety. He never said where or what he was doing. His boyfriend also did not seem too interested in the details. They also agreed to postpone the date to the day after tomorrow.
“What are you doing here?” When they were finally in a vacant hallway with no camera, Shinichi stopped and finally said in German. Again, better safe than sorry.
“Would you believe me if I said this is a coincidence?” The thief had the gall to smile and reply in German as well.
Shinichi just crossed his arms and looked at his boyfriend, waiting for the other to continue. He also braced himself for the jokes and flirts. The stupid thief never seemed to have a sense of timing and was weirdly determined to make Shinichi blush at every chance he could get. Who in their right mind would flirt while bleeding from a gunshot wound?
“He is on my list. I want to case the place.” Kaito raised his hands as if surrendering.
Huh?
That was…
Okay. Looked like his boyfriend had some sense left after all…
Shinichi narrowed his eyes and stared at the thief, who met his eyes. He did not seem to be lying. Dammit. Someday, he did wonder if the goddess of Luck just plainly hated him.
“Is your assistant here too?” Shinichi needed a plan.
“No, I am flying solo today.” Kaito slightly shook his head.
“Do you have a floor plan for this place?” It was a long shot, but might as well.
“No, but I know where the monitor room is.” The thief pointed further down the hallway.
Kaito was…weirdly cooperative and subdued. Was this how he was during casing? That should not be. Shinichi knew what his boyfriend was like when serious on a job. Focus. Intelligent. Witty. Ready. This was not it. It was like the thief was hypnotized and distracted, but still focused enough to give information at the same time. He did not seem to be drugged or anything. But there was no time to dwell on it now.
“Guards?”
“Usually two outside and two inside. They should switch in five minutes.”
Alright. Shinichi can work with this. He checked his phone. It was a bit earlier than scheduled, but it should be fine. He turned on the com again.
“Sitrep?” Akai-san asked almost immediately.
“Change of plan. I will do it now.” Shinichi said in French.
“What happened?” He could practically hear Furuya-san’s frown.
“I will explain later. I will be offline. Trust me.” Shinichi glanced at Kaito, who was staring at him, still weirdly subdued and quiet.
Technically, the operation was in the grey area. He knew the FBI and PSB would bury this as deep as they could, considering they had to use a barely legal teenager. So, the chance of them, or anyone, knowing Kaito, or KID, being here right now would be slim. But that was a chance Shinichi would not take. It took a lot of effort and negotiations to partially erase and lessen KID’s criminal history. Sure, the bigger international police organizations agreed to quietly stop trying to catch KID, but his boyfriend would add more crimes to the list now and then with his stupidly extravagant and impressive heists. In fact, he had done two heists now, since the Black Organization takedown. He knew how important these heists were to Kaito and to himself as well, so he did not even consider telling his boyfriend to stop. So, as much as it hurt his sense of justice, Shinichi was not about to let his thieving boyfriend be included in a semi-legal public record.
A second of silence on the com. The two agents seemed to be discussing how to handle his request via eye contact.
“Sitrep ASAP. One hour. After that, we are going in.” Akai-san finally said.
“Thank you.” Shinichi gave his best gratitude and turned off the com. “Alright. Let’s go to the monitor’s room.”
“Allow me, milady." Kaito did a gentleman's bow while grinning.
Seriously. Idiot.
- - -
Getting rid of four guards was depressingly easy. The security company should invest in training its staff more if this were the standard. After four adult men, asleep thanks to KID’s bomb and Hakase's new and improved tranquilizer, were tied up and shoved into a maintenance room, they talked. Shinichi updated Kaito on the FBI and PSB’s suspicion of Nagasawa and his goal. And Kaito told him that he was here to case the place. Apparently, the Nagasawa has an impressive collection of jewelry and gemstones. They were also known for their top-secret floor plan. Those two facts were basically an invitation to challenge Kaito KID, apparently.
The good news was that they had a similar target: Nagasawa’s office, where the collections and documents were kept. The bad news was that this place was a maze. According to Kaito, the guards did not even patrol the hall because they did not even know where they were exactly. They were all stationed at certain positions. The rest of the surveillance was supplemented by cameras.
This honestly made Shinichi’s job easier. He had access to the system, and the system itself was not too complicated. It did not even have a backup! He can easily erase some footage and loop others. For good measure, he can also fry the system. Sure, they would know someone broke in, but there was nothing they could do.
The show that Nagasawa put on lasted for 45 minutes, which should begin any minute now. If things went well, he should be able to slip back into the party without any commotion or question of where Yoshimura Mari went. Of course, he would still need to endure a few more hours of the stupid party, but he could live with that.
It was decided that Shinichi would stay in the monitor room to guide Kaito to the office, of course, using his personal communication device.
As Kaito finished changing into a guard outfit that was slightly too big, Shinichi could no longer ignore the elephant in the room.
“What is going on with you?” He crossed his arms and frowned at his boyfriend, who seemed to still be out of it, even after what they just discussed and done.
“What do you mean?” Kaito just looked at him.
“You are weird today. Distracted.” Shinichi knew that Kaito could infiltrate places in his sleep. He was also confident in his guiding skills. And Akai-san and Furuya-san were on standby to extract them. But that did not mean the thief should be distracted or overconfident. It was not like him to be like that either. Shinichi had seen him pretend to be so, but never actually this inattentive. “You have not made a single joke or… flirt.”
Not that Shinichi minded. Not at all. Kaito was being reasonable and professional for once. He should appreciate it… But he also knew that his boyfriend had been subtly trying to convince him to crossdress once he found the crossdressing photos of him that Shinichi’s mom left in the Kudo house, much to his own chagrin and embarrassment. His boyfriend had not been successful.
Here were the facts: Shinichi never minded crossdressing. It was useful and practical. It was just a costume or disguise for him. Why would he be embarrassed by that? It was his mom’s over-enthusiastic attitude toward his crossdressing that embarrassed him. He suspected that Kaito would react the same way as his mom. Shinichi also knew that he was conventionally attractive, considering the number of fangirls he had. So, he knew that he was good-looking enough right now. He also knew the thief liked him as much as he liked the thief.
But Kaito had not said anything.
Shinichi never paid that much attention to his appearance. Sure, he was well-dressed enough to appear in public, but that was it. Anything more was just a hassle. Most of his clothes were bought and coordinated by his mom anyway. Honestly, he did not get it at first. Why couldn’t he wear shorts and a shirt everywhere? His parents spent an entire week explaining and helping him understand the intricacy of clothes, styles, and occasions, which was good information to have as a detective. His mom also made an effort to make sure all of his clothes were comfortable enough. In fact, the little suit he used to wear as Conan was custom-made because she could not find anything comfortable enough for him. All in all, he did not care that much. Nevertheless, it stung a bit when Kaito never commented when he would flirt even when Shinichi was in his pajamas. Shinichi was also sure that his boyfriend’s comments would be idiotic and possibly filled with sexual connotations. In other words, not helpful at all. But… It was a bit weird, that was all. It was not like Shinichi liked how straightforward and flirty Kaito could be anyway. Stupid thief.
“ARG!”
Shinichi just stared as Kaito just slumped to a crunching position, hands over his face.
“Shin-chan, you are killing me!” His boyfriend whined.
“What?” What was that supposed to mean?
“You have no idea how hard I am trying to hold back!” Kaito stayed in the same position. “You have no idea what you are doing to me!”
“I… What?”
“Here I was, disappointed because I didn’t get to go on a date on Valentine’s Day with my lovely boyfriend. Trying to be productive by casing this place. Then bam, there is my boyfriend.”
Suddenly, Kaito just stood up and moved closer. Way too close, way too fast. Shinichi subconsciously took a step back. But it was not fast enough. The thief already wrapped one arm around his waist and pulled them close. Faces centimeters apart. If it were anyone else, they would have already received two kicks from Shinichi. But this was Kuroba Kaito, his boyfriend. And Kaito was safe. The thief paused for a second before leaning in for a kiss. A chaste kiss.
“Beautiful. Breath-taking. Utterly ethereal.” Kaito kissed him again, deeper this time.
Shinichi felt like his brain was muffled. Face hot like he just drank way too much alcohol.
Oh.
“I want to kiss you senseless so bad.” His boyfriend whispered as he rested his forehead on Shinichi’s shoulder. “Do you think your police friends can let you borrow that dress?”
“My mom got it, actually.” Shinichi instinctively said. Technically, it was his since it would not fit his mom anyway.
They looked at each other. The warmth from Kaito’s body was so familiar and comforting.
Dammit.
Now was not the time. They were in a time crunch.
“Urg, this is so unfair, why can’t you wear this to one of my heists?” Kaito still refused to move.
“Oi, barou. As if I would ever do that!” Shinichi did not need to see his face to know how red he had been. Still, the thief had been sensible enough to try and suppress his…flirting. If Shinichi had not asked, things might have gone differently. So technically, one could say this was partially his fault. Also, considering the effect this had on his boyfriend, Shinichi… might crossdress to a heist… someday, to throw the thief off his game, obviously. “If we wrap this up soon enough. Maybe… Later.”
Kaito whipped his head up with lightning speed. Their foreheads touched. And on his face a big, mischievous grin. A grin that only spelled chaos to everyone who saw it.
“Promise, Meitantei?”
“Get me those documents first, then we can talk.” Shinichi could not help but smirk. Now this was the Kaito he knew.
- - -
“What do you see?” Shinichi stared at Kaito as he walked up the stairs on the screen. While there was a decent number of cameras, it was not enough for them to figure out a clear path or visualize a floor plan. Getting through the main floor was easy enough, probably due to its use as a public event area. The office, according to the cameras, was on the second floor. The stairs from the first floor to the second floor were not connected to the stairs from the main floor to the first floor. Shinichi seriously questioned whoever came up with this building plan. This was a fire hazard waiting to happen.
“Three paths. Left has two vases opposite of each other. Right has one vase on the left side. Straight has two vase next to each other.” The thief stood casually, but his hand was resting on his card gun.
“Okay. See it. Take your right. Then left.”
“Roger that.” Kaito then turned right. “I have to say, while the female voice is lovely, your voice is truly music to my ear.”
“Oi, barou. Focus and talk less. Someone can hear you.” He said in a deadpan tone.
“Oh, I have heard those words before. Still demanding as ever, Meitantei.”
One day, Shinichi would have someone open up and study his boyfriend’s brain.
“That is because you keep running your mouth and not focusing, like right now. Also, I lost eyes on you.”
“I think I did a great job, though, judging by your reactions that night.” Shinichi could see the smug face Kaito was definitely wearing. “Straight and right. There is a vase at the end of the straight path. A painting on the left wall of the right path.”
“Got it. Straight. Then left.” Shinichi looked across the screens identified as the first floor. “Then the second left. Two guards right as you turn.”
“Copy that.”
They managed to eliminate a few screens. That was progress. Assuming that the floors were the same size, the floor plan was vaguely sketched out in Shinichi’s head. He continued to piece the screens together like a jigsaw puzzle.
“Clear.”
On the screen, the two guards were sleeping against the wall, and Kaito was grinning at the camera. Show-off.
“The stairs are behind a door. Try this hallway first.”
“With pleasure.” Kaito bowed to the camera and pulled out his tools.
“Also, for your information, that was normal body reactions. We are teenagers.” As embarrassing as this topic was, Shinichi was not going to let his boyfriend have the last words.
“Riigghhttt. Of course. Totally nothing to do with me or my skills.” Kaito quickly returned to the screen and winked at him. “Nothing here. Moving on.”
Stupid thief. Two can play this game.
“Oh yeah? And what makes you confident that your skills are good enough?”
Shinichi could see Kaito legitimately pause lockpicking for a second before continuing as if nothing happened.
“Well, we can discuss that in detail while I am infiltrating to steal documents on behalf of our government. Ooorrrr I can show you. Later.” The thief looked at the camera again, grinning widely.
“Assuming that you can get out of here, that is.” He was not going to let his boyfriend have the last words.
“That is the thing, though, I have Meitantei guiding me, how could I possibly not get away with it?” His boyfriend was not at the third door.
Shinichi clicked his tongue. That was true. Aside from KID’s ability to miraculously escape from sticky situations, Shinichi (and his pride) would not allow the thief to be captured by someone else if he had anything to say about it, especially if they were working together.
“Oh! Fourth times the charm, I guess.”
The stairs were found.
“Hold on.” Shinichi quickly scanned the cameras on the second floor. “Two guards, right at the end of the stairs.”
“Alright.” Kaito left the door half open and stood in the hallway. “Hey, you two, come help me.”
What came out of his mouth was the voice of Nagasawa Takahiro.
The two guards hesitated before coming down.
“I see them.” Shinichi said as the guards reached the first floor.
Kaito threw something on the floor and slammed the door closed. They were completely ambushed by KID’s sleeping gas bomb.
“Remind me to do this again with you sometimes, Meitantei.” His boyfriend’s crackle was distorted through the gas mask as he climbed the stairs.
“You want us to break into people’s houses for fun? Go straight, then third right. There should be no guards on this floor.”
“Oh, that’s a good idea! But I am talking about you being in my ear, directing me right back to you.”
Stupid smooth-talking thief.
“Two paths. Look identical.”
Shinichi closed his eyes. Assuming that this floor was structurally the same as the last floor. He knew where the stairs were. He knew the paths Kaito had taken. He knew the cameras.
“Try left first.”
“Alright.”
“Also, you talk like you cannot find the way back on your own.” Shinichi crossed his arms. “Who was it that barged into my bedroom at three in the morning to ask why I did not attend a heist?”
“Meitantei! I was seriously hurt! I prepared a spectacular show because I thought you were coming, and only old man Suzuki and Nakamori-keibu saw it.” His boyfriend somehow pouted like a child.
Shinichi had an emergency consultation with the FBI that day, so he had to go offline. He did not even get the chance to text the thief to say that he was not coming. While they could joke about it now, he remembered Kaito’s face when he barged into his house and saw Shinichi, startled, half lying on his couch. Worry. Relief. His boyfriend then proceeded to hug him from behind, with him on his lap, for five minutes without saying anything. Just arms around his waist and face buried between his neck and shoulder. While Shinichi may not be the best when it came to emotions, he understood it. It did still take him a few minutes.
Kaito was scared. For his safety. For him. For them.
It was the same fear Shinichi had when it came to Ran, Haibara, and his close ones, when the Black Organization was still active. The what-ifs were endless. So, he just left his boyfriend be. He never brought up the fact that Kaito went non-verbal and never let Shinichi out of his sight for the whole morning, because he would probably do the same if the situation were reversed.
“Would it kill you to not piss off Nakamori-keibu for once?”
“Well, I swear I will not piss him off anymore if he can solve one of my riddles on his own.” Kaito signed like he was compromising.
“A ‘yes’ would be enough.” Shinichi said as drily as possible. He looked at the screens again. “Wait, I see you. That is it.”
“So this whole place is more time-consuming than hard.”
That was not wrong. Choosing the right time, the thief could just use trial and error to explore the whole place.
“Well, the obviously modern lock does not help.” Even through the camera, Shinichi can tell it is a pin lock with a fingerprint scan.
“Lucky for us, I came prepared.” Kaito once again winked at him through the camera and worked on the door.
“I am setting things up on my end.” Shinichi started to pull up the security programs, setting it up to delete footages and fry the whole thing. He checked the time. Twenty-five minutes to spare.
“And tada. Any particular documents, Meitantei?”
“Hakase and Haibara already set up the USB. Just plug it into any computer and wait until the light turns green. As for papers, prioritize financial documents. You have at most fifteen minutes.”
“Roger that.”
Shinichi watched as Kaito entered the room and quickly plugged the USB into the desktop computer. He then went through the cabinets and drawers and started taking pictures. He also, of course, did not forget to check out the jewelry collection on display in the office.
“Huh, half of these are fake.” Kaito shrugged and went back to shifting through documents.
“Well, it is a smart move. They are probably in a sage somewhere.” No one in their right mind would just display their entire jewel collection.
“The other half doesn’t even look good. Nowhere near the two blue sapphires I saw tonight for sure.” The thief signed as if he were some sort of critic.
“Is that your next target then?” While Shinichi memorized the faces, he did not pay attention to the jewelry.
“Unfortunately, no, cannot steal what I already stole.”
Shinichi frowned. What was that supposed to mean? Did the thief pickpocket someone’s jewelry? He can forgive heists, but not pickpocketing without a legitimate reason. Then again, that did not sound like Kaito’s style.
“Oh, I am done here.”
“Do you have a spare disguise?”
“Yes. Meet you in the ballroom.”
“Alright. Be careful. My com will be on.” Shinichi would have to talk to the thief later.
“Always am. See you later, Meitantei.” Kaito switched off his com and walked out of the room with the USB in hand.
Shinichi ran the program he had been writing while his boyfriend took pictures of the documents. As it ran, he wiped down the control and did a scan of the room. Everything was in order. Time to get out of this place.
- - -
When Shinichi returned to the party, the performance was ending. He gave Akai-san and Furuya-san a quick report on his way. Now he needed to think of an exit. The fire alarm might be the best choice. It created chaos, and they could just slip away.
“Ah, Yoshimura-san, greeting again.”
This again.
“Mr. Matsuyama.” Shinichi nodded.
“How was your… request?” The man smiled stiffly.
“It was fine.” Shinichi signed internally. This man would not give up. And he was not sure if he could use this identity to tell the man to get lost.
“Would you perhaps want another glass of wine?” The man picked up one from a passing waiter.
“No, thank you. I am not interested.” Moreover, both of the older agents hammered home the fact that Shinichi was only allowed to have one glass this evening to keep appearance, even when he argued that his parents had taught him how to handle alcohol since he was thirteen.
“You know, Yoshimura-san, I know it is different where you come from, but it is impolite to just refuse people like that in Japan.”
Shinichi was tempted to introduce this man to Sonoko and let her handle it. But Sonoko was still his friend.
“Mari-chan! There you are!” A voice, French, cut through just as he was about to politely tell the man to go away.
It was a woman. Long brown hair. Estimated around 185 cm without heels.
But that face.
Those indigo eyes.
Of course, his stupid boyfriend’s spare disguise was a woman. Purse, dress, heels, and all.
Matsuyama seemed to be caught off guard as Kaito wrapped his arm around Shinichi’s waist, completely towering over both Shinichi and Matsuyama.
This was one of the things he hated the most after being cured of APTX 4869. Apparently, according to Haibara, because his teenage body spent way too much time fighting the side effects of the poison, he would essentially be stuck at 174 cm forever. That was not bad, if it were not for the fact that his boyfriend somehow got a puberty growth spurt and was not a good 10 cm taller than him. At least now, Kaito cannot disguise himself as Kudo Shinichi anymore.
“Oh, hello. I am girlfriend of Mari-chan. We go now. Bye.” The thief said in the worst accented Japanese possible and then dragged Shinichi away, without waiting for Matsuyama’s response, to a corner with fewer people.
“What are you doing?” Shinichi almost hissed in French. On the one hand, they did not make a scene, so it was not too bad. On the other hand, it might be more difficult for Yoshimura Mari if some people thought that she had a foreign girlfriend.
“Be a knight in shining armor and rescue my princess, of course. Also, I planted a trigger for the fire alarm. Should go off any minute now.” Kaito grinned and leaned in, almost whispering to his ear.
“A thief, more like it.” Shinichi whispered back. Glad they were on the same page.
“Then I guess this thief just won the jackpot with a beautiful princess with equally beautiful sapphire blue eyes.” His boyfriend winked and gently kissed his hand.
Oh.
Oh.
“Barou.” Shinichi snatched his hand away as heat once again reached up his face, while Kaito was still grinning like a madman.
“Since I did a good job today, shouldn’t that mean I get a reward?” His boyfriend played with his fake long hair while obviously sneaking the lipstick USB into his clutch.
“Didn’t you say you already won the jackpot?” Shinichi raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms.
“You know how greedy we thieves can be.” Kaito shrugged as if it were the most normal thing ever. “Also, I have been good today, haven’t I?”
“Stupid thief.” Shinichi just rolled his eyes. Honestly, it would be insulting if they somehow failed. Then again, it was supposed to be their date night, and he did get a case getting in the way, again. Even when Kaito had explicitly said that he loved that Shinichi had his cases and being a detective, and did not mind at all, he still felt guilty. He knew that this was not what ‘normal’ people would do, hyperfixating on something and ignoring everything else. And Ran was a ‘normal’ person. He supposed that was why it was so easy with Kaito. Anyone who said Kaito was ‘normal’ was just plain wrong. He was chaos reincarnated, but also incredible. Simply incredible. “Later. After my debrief.”
“I can’t wait.” Kaito kissed Shinichi’s temple.
“Just so you know, it is not like I completely abandoned our date. I was preparing when they showed up.” Shinichi faked coughing and looked away to hide his blushes.
“Oh?”
“Chocolate cookies.”
Kaito just stared with his eyes wide.
“I am not much of a cook, but baking is basically chemistry. It is not that hard.” He said quickly. Wait, that sounded like he specifically willingly baked for the first time just for Kaito, which was true… But he would never admit that. “Also, you just got lucky that Haibara caught Hakase buying baking ingredients and dumped them to me.”
“Urggg.” Kaito suddenly rested his head on Shinich’s shoulder. “You are doing it again! You are really killing me here!”
“Oi, ba-”
The fire alarm went off.
All hell broke loose.
“Happy Valentine's Day, Shin-chan. Love you.” Kaito grinned as he dragged Shinichi to run toward the exit.
“Love you too, idiot.” Shinichi could not help but smile. Maybe Valentine was not so bad after all.