When Pandora bleeds... (Shinkai)

Sweet Agreement

Shinichi was frowning over his novel, fingers frozen in place on his laptop keys. He wanted to continue, especially now that Kuroba had given him space, but his thoughts kept flying back over and over again to the man he loved.

Surprised and confused, completely caught off guard, eyes wide...

Shinichi remembered his expression clearly when he had kissed him. It made him nearly blush to be the one that caught the famous magician Kuroba Kaito off guard, and Shinichi found that he liked it.

"...Haibara?"
"What is it now, Kudo?"
Shinichi pursed his lips, quietly pressing his phone against his ear.
"I may have... acted without thinking."
There was a pause at the other end before a deep sigh was audible, filled with mild acceptance.
"What have you done, Kudo?"

And Shinichi began to ramble, pouring his heart out to the sarcastic teen who listened intently.
"Would you like a love potion?" a melodic voice chirped into the phone and Shinichi flinched, staring at his screen Wait, was that-
"Give that back Akako," he could hear Haibara's voice, followed by a grumble.

"N-no thanks."

Shinichi felt a bit embarassed Akako had heard his entire ramble and silenced for a while. Haibara took that as her cue to start off her own advice.
"...so you want to make it less awkward but not only does Pandora pull you close to him, you also love him. And Pandora pulls him to you, and you're pretty sure he likes you too but is just too stupid to realize that. Is that the gist of it?"
Shinichi gave an agreeing nod, only to realize that Haibara couldn't see him.
"Y-yes."

Pause.

"Maybe try to find something you both enjoy. How about you watch him do his magic tricks? That could make it less awkward. You have something to deduce and he can do what he loves most. Or ask him for a few of his funny old stories as KID, for your novel."
Shinichi nodded quietly along, he could at least try that. It was unbearable how he stepped on nothing but glass around Kuroba.
"...thanks Haibara. I'll hang up now."

And sapphires were back glaring at his screen, still frustrated and yet with a bit more clarity behind the scenes. Kaito was an idiot sometimes...

***

Kaito kept his distance for a while, worrying the sleuth a bit. Had he gone too far? Shinichi knew he shouldn't have kissed him like this.
And when he finally approached Kaito to talk about his, unable to bear his distance any longer, he was surprised to see the usually calm and collected Kuroba Kaito flinching at his appearance. Had he been in thought?

Shinichi opened his mouth but Kaito made his move beforehand, cutting him off.

"Kudo, I know what you want to say. Don't apologize."
Shinichi stopped right in his tracks, mouth closing shut again like a ziplock bag. So? Why wasn't he supposed to?
"I... have been giving out some mixed signals, and I sincerely apologize for that. Usually... it's not my preferred way to handle things."
Kaito looked down at his hands, a playful sigh escaping his lips. He looked so mature right now it was unusual for him.
"...currently I am at a point where I do not even know anymore what I want, myself. And I supposed I am projecting that onto my actions... I'm sorry, Kudo."

The magician looked up, lips curling up into a half smile as he eyed the sleuth.
"...you're just special, Meitantei."

Shinichi felt his heart skipping a beat, his cheeks took on a rosy colour. Stop being so attractive you dimwit. The sleuth pinched the bridge of his nose with a deep sigh, smiling himself with closed eyes. Sometimes Kaito was too much to handle.
"How about... we try it? Not officially I mean, we couldn't anyway, we are considered twins in media. But... we could try it. No strings attached, no pressure... Maybe it works out, maybe it doesn't, but that wouldn't be the end of the world and... we'd know."
Kaito hesitated, watching Shinichi take his hands. Gosh he hated it when Shinichi was flattering like this but this time, he had a hard time declining that offer.

"Fine," he said, hinting amusement, before he pulled Shinichi down next to him and wrapped his arm around him- he earned himself the cutest yelp he had ever heard from his former detective-
"We should try to be physically more comfortable with one another, then."
"Yeah. You don't like being touched too much, right?"
Kaito gave a silent nod while Shinichi quietly leaned against him, enjoying the rare physical touch of the magician.
"But I'm planning on practising this... I mean, I used to like hugs and stuff so much. It just ended up... suddenly being uncomfortable."

Shinichi let out a laugh, sapphires sparkling with glee.
"Actually, I think you're just touch starved. You still like it just as much but you're not used to it anymore, that's why it feels weird. We don't have to cuddle right away, you know?"
The sleuth inched away with a smirk and took instead Kaito's hand, holding it gently and placing it onto his own thigh.
"I don't want you getting an aneurysm from being touched- let's start by holding hands like this, yes? And occasional hugs."

Kaito couldn't have been more fine with this; he let out a soft laugh and leaned over to Shinichi to press a gentle kiss against his temple.
"You know, I think I like this. If you're slow like this and patient with me, I'm sure I can work with this."
Shinichi let out a snicker, appreciating the gesture quite a bit.
"I waited 10 years to find you, Kuroba. I can wait a few more months too."

...

"...so..." the sleutch began after a few seconds of silence, turning a bit awkward again, "...can you tell me a few stories of KID's life?"
Kaito quirked an eyebrow before an amused grin slipped onto his lips.
"Probably just for your amusement and not for your novel, right?"
"Definitely just for me, I wouldn't ever."
Shinichi giggled and Kaito joined in, before the latter finally began to spill a few of his more amusing times as KID, only for Shinichi to take his mental notes for the novel.