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Seize the Day

Title: Seize the Day Summary: Drifting away from Kaito was easy, Aoko thinks. Coming back to find he's changed completely in her absence is much harder. Tags: POV Outsider, Reconciliation, Domestic, Future Fic, Light Angst, Established Relationship, Original Child Characters Rating: T Word Count: ~11k

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Written for the One Prompt Challenge as hosted by Mac and @dcmkkaishinevents. Part four of Suits 'Verse.

The prompt was, "I won't be good company."

"Doesn't matter."

As always, [Mirror on Ao3]

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[0]

Kudō is humming in the briefing room, smiling as they get the gruesome details for a case in which they share jurisdiction. Aoko recognizes the tune, since it's a Queen song that Kaito used to sing all the time. It's a bit uncouth, and Aoko isn't the only member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department that thinks so, but it doesn’t mean he’s not taking it seriously. He still offers his pointed observations, three or four steps ahead of everyone else. It’s not like he’s trying to smile, though; it’s more like he’s distracted.

She shakes her head. He must have had an incredible vacation.

Aoko hasn't seen him this way in—she thinks about it for a moment—ever, actually. Kudō is always serious, intense, almost to the point of farce, but he’ll drift from the conversation, start losing control of his facial expressions, begin humming again, looking down at his hand.

It doesn't take heavy investigative work to realize Kudō is wearing a gold band. Beautiful and expensive, marked with sapphires.

They're not exactly friends, more like acquaintances, they don't even work in the same criminal investigation division, but they have mutual friends in Saguru, and occasionally they're called to work cases together, especially if a theft involves homicide. And with Kudō-kun, it usually does.

She's a professional, so she waits until their shared break in the briefing to ask him. (It wasn't because she wanted time for the betting pool to set up. No, not at all.)

“So someone got married on their vacation,” Aoko says.

Kudō smiles. “Yeah.”

“I didn't even know you were dating.”

“It was a surprise to me too,” Kudō says, playing with his ring. His soft smile lights up his entire face.

“So who is the lucky lady?” Aoko asks, nonchalant, as if a not-so-insignificant amount of money did not depend on it.

Kudō grins, and suddenly she can't breathe. The face is different, but it's Kaito's enigmatic grin, almost an exact picture of it, and she wants to pinch his face to make sure Kaito hasn't sneaked back into the country. He didn’t promise not to come back, not in so many words, but he worries her. He worries her a lot, more and more as the years go by.

“—friend.”

“Huh?” Aoko says eloquently.

“I said it was an old friend I've known since we were sixteen,” Kudō repeats, tilting his head to the side, frown tugging at the corner of his lips.

"I won the pot," she mutters.

Her face heats up when Kudō says, "It's not Ran!"

He heard her! "People seem to think Ishikawa’s your type.” Aoko only bet that it wasn't a coworker and that it wasn’t his best friend. Which somehow was ninety-nine percent of the other bets.

Kudō’s flat look told her everything she needed to know. “And what do you think?” he asks.

“That just because you like the fact she’s competent at her job doesn’t mean you’re drooling over her. But you took a vacation at the same time and that’s ‘suspicious,’” Aoko says.

“Her grandfather died,” he says with a frown. “That’s terrible.”

“People will gossip about everything,” she says.

“That’s true enough.”

He looks so in love she can't help but say, “Congratulations, Kudō-kun,” in a soft voice.

"Yeah," he says, scratching his cheek. "Thanks." He gestures back to the briefing room. "Let's get this murderer, eh, Inspector Nakamori?"

Aoko is more surprised than anyone to find out he puts in his resignation the same day. He stays long enough to put his affairs in order and finish his active cases, and then he leaves.

She doesn't think about it, not for a long time. But afterwards, it makes perfect sense. Hadn't Saguru said his friend Ran's wedding was in Las Vegas? And hadn't that Ran been the same Ran as Kudō's friend?

(And Kaito was in Las Vegas, and by all accounts, including his own, he'd made it as a star, just like he wanted. Aoko wouldn't know. She refused to ever read anything about him. It hurt too much. To see him there, and happy in a life without her as anything more than a distant voice.

It hurt to see what they said, the good and the bad. No, she wouldn’t keep up with him by tabloids. It just didn’t feel right.)

Little does she know.

[1]

Aoko’s desk is messy with leads for the half-finished case she’s on. It’s giving her a headache. And they’re so stupid! None of the culprits have Kaito's skill. Thanks to him, she can solve these in her sleep. So much for a crime wave!

She misses him, Kaito.

Kaito, who at one point, had called her every day.

Kaito, who doesn’t call her anymore, but still steals into her thoughts on a regular basis.

When it was days, weeks, it was easy to not think about it. As the days and weeks turned to months, she felt his absence keenly. As the months turned into years, the wound formed a Kaito-shaped hole in her chest.

Aoko stares at the phone.

(To her regret, it was always him calling her. She thought about calling him a time or two, but never went through with it, even as her inability to do so grew to all-encompassing anxiety. It’s so easy. So why can’t she do it?)

It hits her that she doesn't talk to anyone much, anymore. Her father is in a different department, but Aoko doesn't want to be seen as someone who made it in on the back of her father. She works all the time, and she limits their interaction at work, for both his sake and hers.

There's Akako and Masumi, but that situation is—well, complicated.

And Saguru's betrayal still kind of stings. Well, she can't call that a betrayal either, they just wanted different things from life. And they weren't dating at the time, and hadn't dated in a long time, so she doesn't know why she—ugh, she's getting away from the point. Resenting him for keeping contact with Kaito when she hadn’t is unfair. But she'd used Saguru too, treated him like he was Kaito, and then she'd gotten angry with him when he failed to meet her expectations.

No one can be Kaito except Kaito himself, and it's her own fault they're in this half relationship.

Yes, he stopped calling her, but she never tried to call him back. Not even once. She'd gotten so used to him being the one reaching out that when he stopped, she didn't call him. Didn’t try. Didn't even think of it until she was the one missing him. And then years had passed.

So she stares at the phone, urging herself to just do it. The sharp ball of anxiety in her stomach seems to harden, and it makes it difficult to breathe.

It's been so long. What if he hates her now?

And even more importantly, what if he's changed his mobile number?

Hardening her resolve, she dials it at her work desk before she can think better of it, each ring agony. The more it rings, the more she regrets.

He picks up after four rings. "Kuroba speaking. Hello?" There's a shrill, childish shriek in the background, and then a giggle right next to the receiver. A child. He has a child. "Hello?" he repeats.

"Hi, Kaito," she says. Her voice sounds strangely weak.

"Aoko!" he chirps, delighted. "Hi! It's great to hear from you. What's up?" She's silent. "Aoko?" he asks, concerned.

She can't speak. Words won't form. A child means he's been with someone—and he didn't even tell her—but she's the one who drove him away, isn't she? Not once but twice, first when they were sixteen and then again at twenty-six.

"You're not in trouble are you? Do you need money? I can send you money—"

"Kaito," she says, her voice firm. It shuts him off mid sentence. "I don't need money, and I'm not in trouble." It's sad though, that he thinks she's calling him because she needs something.

He's quiet for a few moments. "What have I done now?"

Had a child without telling me.

Why is she so upset? It's not like she's entitled to that information now. And it hurts that he had gone from her needing something immediately to her accusing him of something.

(But has she really given him any reason to think otherwise?)

She clenches the phone. "You haven't done anything, Kaito. Anything at all. I...just miss you."

"Really?" he says, disbelieving. And that tone of his might hurt even more, except she hasn't given him much of a reason to believe her, has she? His voice is cautiously hopeful when he says, "I've missed you too." And then, "Hey, no no no, Hi-chan, put that down!"

A loud crash. "Got your hands full?" Aoko says.

"I have twins," he admits.

Aoko's eyebrows shoot up into her hairline. "Twins?"

"Twins," Kaito says. "They're almost three. They get into everything."

"A lot has changed since the last time we talked, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry, Aoko. I know I should have kept in touch—"

"I think the phone line goes both ways," Aoko says. Why is he apologizing? It’s her fault. "And I've been busy with work, and you've been busy with life, it seems."

"Things have been really crazy for the past several years, yes," Kaito says. "I always meant to, though. I really missed you, Aoko. You're still my best friend."

Aoko fights the stinging in her eyes. "The Kaito I knew wasn't such a sap."

"The Kaito you knew didn't know what he had before it was gone."

That doesn't sound like him at all. "Kaito, what happened to you?"

"It's a long story."

Aoko bites her lip. She always justified it to herself that the distance was necessary because of Kid, but it's been years.

"...We should catch up sometime. I'd like to hear it."

"That'd be great," he says, soft.

Suddenly, she misses him so much it squeezes her chest and makes her dizzy. "I've got time next month," she says. "The first. I could come see you?" She doesn't know what makes her say it.

There's silence on the line, and a mumbled, furious discussion she can't make out. Then, hesitantly, "I'd like that. Though I," he trails off. "I won't be good company."

Her brow furrows. Why would he…? Oh. Right. Twins. "Doesn't matter. It's been so long since I've seen you."

“Aoko, I do miss you, but,” he trails off.

"Do you think we can be friends again, Kaito?"

"As far as I'm concerned, we never stopped. I know how you feel about—"

"I'm calling you from police headquarters," she says.

"Ah. Right."

"I realized that before it was always you reaching out, back then. I think it's time I tried earning your forgiveness."

"You don't owe me anything, Aoko."

"I know. But I've said and done so many things I regret."

"Haven't we all?"

"I want my best friend back."

"....Yeah. So do I." A sigh. "But Aoko—there's still so many things I haven't told you."

"After the way I've been acting, I don't blame you. It wasn't the promotion," she says.

"What?"

"The reason I stopped answering your calls."

"I understand why you felt you couldn't talk to me. I knew sooner or later, it would come to a choice. And I'm grateful for what you have done and continue to do for me," Kaito says, being so infuriatingly understanding that Aoko wants to scream. No posturing. No laughing it off. No teasing her. He's a completely different person. He's a completely different person and she's missed it all.

He’s grown up.

Kaito lowers his voice. "And I understand if you don't want to do that anymore."

"Are you kidding me? Do you think I'm the kind of person that would do that to your family?"

"No, but—"

"I should have told you about the promotion. It's stupid. I don't know why I didn't. It's just that—" Aoko silences herself, aware of being overheard. "We'll talk in person." It takes only a few clicks and an exorbitant ticket price to book a flight. “It arrives at 18:00 local time.” She bites her lip. Tokyo being seventeen hours ahead, that’s ah, eleven the next day.

"Sounds good. I'll pick you up the first at six."

"Sounds great." Aoko bites her lip, wondering if she should say it. "Love you, Kaito."

"Love you too, Aoko.” She hears the solid warmth in his voice, and it makes her eyes burn again. “Have a safe flight."

[2]

The less said about the flight, the better.

But Kaito looks as ageless as always, standing outside the terminal next to his supercar. It's sleek and white and big. His hair is as messy as always, he's smacking on gum, he's wearing pilot sunglasses, a distressed leather jacket, and dirty red canvas shoes.

He looks like a runway model, not a dad.

He pulls her into a tight hug, smelling of clean laundry and a slight chemical tang she associates with his magic tricks. He buries his nose against her neck and this could be thirteen years ago, which makes her tighten her embrace. "It's good to see you again," she murmurs. "You look great."

"So do you," Kaito replies, wide grin on his face.

Aoko picks at her ratty Namako Otoko shirt, the happy sea cucumber on it faded and cracked with age, and looks down at her tight yoga bottoms. Right. Instead of commenting on that, she asks, "Where do you put the car seats?"

As he opens the hood in front to put her suitcase in, it barely fits that. She's abruptly glad she didn't pack much; a bigger suitcase wouldn't have fit.

"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't escort you home in style?" Kaito says, wiggling his eyebrows. "My partner's watching the kids. We thought it'd be better to ease you into it."

"I'm not fragile, Kaito." And then what he says registers. "Partner? You're not married?"

"I'm married," he says, and shows her a ring. A familiar sapphire and gold ring, though she can't recall where she's seen it before, with an expensive engagement ring on top of the band.

A squeal interrupts them. "Kaito Kuroba! Oh my god!"

Only long familiarity makes Aoko aware of the clench in his jaw and the tension in the line of his mouth before he pastes on a smile and turns to his fans. Two of them. The bottle blonde one looks at her and immediately dismisses her, which makes the muscles in her face twitch. "Hello, ladies~"

"Will you sign my copy of Sins of the Father?" The rather buxom brunette says holding a film case out to him. The cover has fast cars and guns and Kaito at his most serious back to back with a blonde in a black catsuit.

Aoko’s jaw doesn’t drop, but it’s a close thing.

Her friend elbows her. "You've been keeping it in your purse?"

"Shut up, it's for the flight!" she says, burying her face in her hands, but Kaito takes pity on her and signs the disc.

"Thank you so much!"

“I see you still have fans,” Aoko comments as the girls giggle and leave.

“So it seems,” he says, and then lets out a sigh.

"So you're a movie star on the side?" Aoko asks wrly.

"Not on purpose," he mutters, which sounds like a story.

"How many have you starred in?"

"I've done...three?"

"Three?" Aoko can't help but be incredulous.

"Right?" he says, and takes off his sunglasses as they get into the car. The wing-like doors throw her off a moment, but she figures it out, lifting it with ease as it pivots upwards. "I'm a magician, not an actor. They keep casting me."

He sounds bewildered, like he can't believe his own luck. It makes Aoko laugh.

Then she properly looks at his face. Bags under his eyes from exhaustion. Stress. Is it because of her, or something else?

"I've never known you to be so modest," she says. Changing the subject, she says, "So what exactly are you easing me into? What's more shocking than twins and the fact you're a movie star?"

"I have a husband," he says.

Aoko sits up in her seat, ramrod straight. Then she relaxes after a moment of thought. "Well, I did think the Kaitō Kid was gay."

"And Akako and I both told you that time was her."

Aoko looks out the window. "Yeah." It’s still not that much of a surprise. Kaito has always had a profound appreciation for the human form.

He laughs. "You really still don't read the papers, do you?"

"I know Kid is active again," she says as the city scenery passes by. "But that's mostly from office gossip." She wants to feel disappointed in him, but she's not. Thinking about it makes her stomach swoop. She thinks maybe it's worry for him, not judgment. She's not who she was at sixteen. "I still think it's better for you that I have plausible deniability." Though she’s not so sure it’s him anymore. Or at least, solely him. Kaito’s been sighted multiple times elsewhere while the Phantom Thief Kid’s been performing his heists at various points around the globe.

(He has a husband, her mind whispers, the final missing piece.)

"Do I need to drop you off at a hotel?" he asks.

It might hurt, but Aoko would have asked him to, once. "No. I came to visit you," Aoko says. "That defeats the purpose."

"I just don't want you divided against yourself," Kaito says.

"You're my friend. But don't do it in Tokyo," she says.

"I can't promise that~" he says, sing-song, and Aoko puts her face in her hand and lets out a very exaggerated sigh.

"I know. But I had to ask." The dense city scenery falls to the outskirts, rows and rows of cookie cutter houses. It's never been her work versus him, she's coming to realize. "You know, you will always be my priority," she says. "You could have come back home any time you wanted."

"I know."

She's not so sure he does. "Something happened to you, didn't it? More than getting married and having children and being famous."

"Yeah. We were the target of a serial killer. I almost died."

"What?" Aoko can't stop the shrillness of her voice.

"Ow," he says, sticking his finger in his ear and rubbing it. "I almost lost everything, Aoko. It doesn't take much to realize how precarious everything you've built can be. He saves me. He keeps saving me."

"Literally, or?"

Kaito laughs, but it's weak. "That, too."

Silence for a while as they drive further out, the houses growing farther apart.

"Does he know you were Kid?"

"Yeah. That's how we met."

Yeah. The husband is definitely the one playing Kid while Kaito performs.

"I never hated Kid, you know. Not really."

"You stopped answering my calls." It's leading. He wants to know why. The only problem is, Aoko doesn't know if she can give him an explanation that satisfies him. She can't even find an explanation that satisfies herself.

"You stopped calling," she says, deflecting.

"It seemed pretty clear to me you didn't want to have anything to do with me anymore."

"There's a time that wouldn't have stopped you," Aoko says.

"Yeah, well. Things change." They pull into a mansion drive, landscaped with rocks and desert plants. The house towers over in the distance; Kaito opens the gate and pulls into a massive garage.

The strange thing is the cars are all expensive. Well, almost all. There's an old Honda close to a second garage door. The collection is curious. Kaito was never really into fast cars. "I don't want to argue.” Aoko says. “I already said it was my fault, okay?"

"Yeah," he says, his voice rough. "One last thing: please don't yell or raise your voice out of anger, okay?"

That was easy enough, but "Why?"

"Ren's been through a lot and it helps." He opens the door into a fancy ornate foyer with a sweeping staircase.

"Ren?"

"Our son." Before she can process that, she hears him shout, "I'm home!"

"Papa!" Aoko hears a yell back.

Okay, so yelling for happy reasons is alright. A blur comes speeding down the hallway and crashes into Kaito's torso.

"You made it home!"

"I did," he says.

“You’re safe!”

“I am,” Kaito says, holding him close. He lets him go and gestures to Aoko.

"This is your Aunt Aoko."

A face that looks almost entirely like Kaito's did when he was small looks up at her. "Aunt Aoko?" he says, eyes wide.

"Hi," she says. He ducks his head. Aoko leans over on her knees, bringing herself down to his level. "You must be Ren."

"Yeah," he says, looking down.

"It's very nice to meet you, Ren."

He nods, then turns to Kaito, inching away from her. "Dad bought fast food," he says with all the air of conspiracy.

“Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. It is his turn to cook tonight,” Kaito says with a wide grin.

They walk into a formal sitting room and the first thing Aoko sees is a bright-eyed little girl with a cup of soda half as big as her torso. It takes her two hands to lift it. Sitting on the sofa, with another little girl asleep against his chest, drinking from a much smaller child-sized cup, is Kudō “Savior of the Japanese Police Force” Shinichi. He has crooked bows pinned all over his not quite shoulder length hair, and one perfectly braided forelock.

Her jaw drops. The ring. The old “friend.” All the pieces come together in a blinding realization, and she wonders why she didn’t see it before. Some detective she is!

And Kaito didn’t tell her! On purpose!

(And then it hits her who exactly Kid is now, and a surge of dizziness sweeps through her, making her feel faint. That Kudo Shinichi? The detective Kudo Shinichi?)

Laughter bubbles up from deep inside her. “It’s been a long time, Kudō-kun,” she says once she’s finished.

Kudō holds out his hand, shaking hers. “Shinichi, please,” he says.

“Shinichi,” she says. She can do that.

He gestures to the room. The floor and seating are filled with toys and the low coffee table has a spread of half-eaten food. “Sorry for the mess, it’s been kind of crazy here today.”

With that many kids? “I’d be more worried if it wasn’t,” Aoko says. She turns to the little girl who’s awake. “And who might you be?”

“I’m Hi-ma-wa-ri,” she says, enunciating each syllable of her name carefully. “An’ that’s Yo-tsu-ha.” She slurps.

“Hi, little sunflower. I like your name.” Aoko says. “Mine’s Aoko.”

“Blue Auntie,” Himawari nods, her face very serious. Then she takes another large sip of the soda. Aoko smiles at her. Sunflower and four-leaf. She’s not surprised at all.

“How’ve you been?”

“Mostly good. What did you do with the bet money?”

“Treated myself.”

“Bet money?” Kaito asks, tilting his head.

“I bet on who married the ‘Savior of the Police Force.’”

“And you picked me?” Kaito asked, incredulous.

“I said it wasn't Mōri-san, Detective Ishikawa, or a fan of his. Somehow that won it.”

Kaito moves a plush dinosaur out of the way and pats the seat next to him, so Aoko sits. “I have to know how this happened.” she says. “You were only gone for that week. You can’t have met him before. I’d have heard of it.”

“We actually were passing acquaintances, if you know what I mean,” Shinichi says. “I was pulled into something way over my head and he helped me out a couple of times.”

Kid. “I see,” Aoko says, but she really doesn’t. "I'd heard you went missing." Or undercover, or faked his death; it was never really clear.

Shinichi nods. "You can sort of say that Kaito's the one who found me."

“But that still doesn’t explain why you got married.”

“So get this,” Kaito says. “Shinichi was deadass drunk at a bar in the same casino I work in.”

“Deadass!” Himawari chirps. Shinichi sighs, but doesn't bother to correct either of them.

“Right?” Kaito says, picking her up and settling her into his lap, bouncing her on his knee. “Blackout drunk.”

“Somehow, I have a hard time imagining that.” Aoko says. “You were always so serious.” Though it's hard to imagine that serious façade now, what with his hair, and the absolute ease and relaxed dignity he wears it with.

“It was a bad time in my life,” Shinichi says, tightening his grip on his sleeping daughter. “When he took my drink away from me, I tried to trade for it back using a ring.”

Kaito holds out his hand, wiggling the finger with the engagement ring on it. “This ring, as a matter of fact! He knelt down on one knee and everything. Told me he knew I was looking to steal it. It was such a sweet proposal.”

“So you went and got Vegas married?” Aoko asks. Honestly, that sounds more like a Kaito thing than a Shinichi thing. Not that she knows Shinichi well. Even so, it’s certainly a paradigm shift. He was always so serious. She can’t get over that.

“No, I got drunk first to match him, and then we got Vegas married,” Kaito says, beaming.

Shinichi frowns. Then he cuts his eyes at Kaito and throws a pillow at him. “Hey!” Kaito yelps.

Ren and Himawari giggle in the background. The child in his lap sleeps on.

“He escorted me around town to make sure I didn’t hurt myself, put me to bed, like a gentleman, and we got married when we were sober the next day,” Shinichi says. “It’s not that interesting.”

“I disagree,” Aoko says. “You looked so happy, Shinichi, when you came back.”

“We were both lonely,” Kaito says. “And saw in each other a solution to that problem. And then we fell in love.”

“That’s us,” Shinichi says. “Doing everything backwards.”

Awkward silence, only interrupted by another slurp.

"I'm happy for you both," Aoko says, sincere. She knows how it feels to be lonely, though she doesn't really understand the appeal of love or romance. She's always been fine with just herself, doing whatever she wants. The thought of someone else permanently in her private space makes her shudder.

She’s happy for them, though.

Kaito's house is comfortably messy. It's a nice house and decorated in an upscale way, but the room they're in is cozy and well-lived. The house is wide and open, she can see a landing upstairs. A stylistic painting of the phases of the moon hangs under the stairwell.

"Thanks, Aoko," Kaito says. "Are you hungry?" He lifts up a paper bag. "We've got your favorite."

She shakes her head. Her stomach is churning so badly she doesn't think she could eat anything right now. "Do you have somewhere I can freshen up?" Aoko asks.

"I can show you to the guest room, or?" Kaito trails off.

"That'd be nice. I'm tired. It was a long flight."

As they leave the room, she hears Ren say, "Dad, can I finish your hair?"

"Sure thing, kiddo," Shinichi says in response.

He takes her through another short hallway and into a large bedroom. "It has an attached bathroom with fresh towels," he says.

"So, Kudō Shinichi, huh?" She still can’t wrap her mind around it, not really.

"Yeah," Kaito says, smiling. His smile falls though, as time passes and she doesn’t say anything, and he’s tense, watching her with wary eyes.

How can her opinion still mean that much to him? Did it ever mean that much in the past? What changed?

"You both look happier."

"Are you," he makes a circling gesture, bouncing on his feet. "Okay with this?"

"If I wasn't, would it matter?" Aoko asks.

"Aoko—" he bounces faster. What is he, a rubber ball?

"You have a lovely family," Aoko says. "I'm happy for you," she repeats. She sets her suitcase on the enormous bed, right on top of a beautiful handmade quilt. "I just wish I hadn't missed it all."

"Aoko," Kaito says, and her name is half a sob. He pulls her into a tight hug, sniffling.

"You can't be crying," she says, returning the hug just as tight.

"I'm not. That would require tears to be falling and they're not."

"Idiot Kaito," she says without any heat, pushing him away. "I need to take a shower."

"Denied!" He says most emphatically in mock hurt. "I'm going to snuggle with my husband. He loves me."

"Kaito," she warns, fighting the laughter.

"Yeah, I'll leave you alone. Let me know if you need anything," he says more seriously, and then indeed leaves her alone.

Aoko exhales, her breath slow and measured.

Kaito, married to Kudō Shinichi. The both of them as she has never seen them.

Her heart hurts. She wants to go back in time and see it. Kaito becoming the man she always knew he could be. The distance she herself put between them aches.

Why didn't she call him? Why did she ignore his calls? It's not like she was going to be able to hide her promotion from him forever. It's just when he brought it up, congratulated her for it, she panicked, embarrassed about it, and then resented him for the feeling that she was the one who'd done something wrong.

But she can change the present, and she wants a relationship with her childhood friend. At this point, she doesn't really care at what cost. She's worked hard at her job. She enjoys her career. But Kaito is, and will always be, her friend.

She bathes, braids her hair back low, and then heads back into the room to find all five of them asleep. The food's been cleared away.

Shinichi's hair has even more braids, though the bows are a little neater. His face is pressed against Kaito's chest, and Yotsuha is still on his lap while Himawari is somehow balanced on his side, stretched out and barely fitting but splayed out like a cat. Ren is on Kaito's other side, snuggled against him and Shinichi both.

Aoko snaps several photos, delighted. Then she tiptoes back to the guest room and leaves them be.

[3]

A soul-chilling scream wakes Aoko up in the middle of the night. She's on her feet in an instant, scrambling out the door. Another scream. It's coming from upstairs and she clears them in an instant.

She finds Kaito outside an open door. "What's going on?" she asks.

"Ren's having a night terror, he'll be fine," Kaito says. But his face belies his worry. Inside the room, Shinichi hovers helplessly as Ren thrashes on the bed.

"Why isn't he doing anything?"

"Restraining him makes it worse. It will stop soon," Kaito says.

"Is there anything I can do?"

“No. It just has to pass.”

“What happened to him?” Aoko has to ask.

“Too much. He was kidnapped alongside Shinichi as a hostage to make him cooperate. Not only that, his mother was killed in front of him.”

“The serial killer,” she says quietly.

“Yeah. We couldn’t leave him after that." He inhales a shuddering breath. “He hasn’t had one in a while, or I’d have warned you."

“Will he be alright?” Aoko asks.

A panicked "Dad!" and Shinichi is right there, pulling him into his arms, pressing soft kisses to his hair and holding him close.

Kaito walks inside at that point, murmuring low words into his ear and stroking his back, and unease churns in her gut, intruding on their privacy, and so she heads to the kitchen for a glass of water, thinking.

She missed these scars of his, too. She missed it all. He could have died and she wouldn't have known, not until after.

He's her friend.

She thinks back to that last desperate year of high school. How she hadn't understood what she'd wanted, needed from a relationship, and took out her frustration on him. How later, the same thing had happened with Saguru, how possessive and territorial she'd been over her time, her space, how resentful she'd been they intruded on both.

She drinks.

Aoko just wants her friend back. She just wants him to be happy, to not have to deal with so many dark things.

Why does happiness always have to come at a cost? She's fiercely glad he met Shinichi, that he was there for him, that they've built this—she can't even think of a good word—fortress in each other from outside.

It's so easy to tell they're a unit. Even the way they move and interact, they orbit each other's space, so constantly aware of one another, of their children. It's incredible.

She stares at the green numbers on the microwave, unseeing, every so often taking a small sip of water, deep in thought.

Movement draws her eye. From the kitchen island, she sees them descend down the stairs, talking in low voices, and then pause at the foot of them, Kaito taking Shinichi into his arms, kissing him hard. She looks away. What right has she to be here?

None, she thinks.

A few minutes later, Shinichi joins her in the kitchen, Kaito missing. He must have gone back to bed.

“I’ve been wanting to talk to you alone,” he says, putting on a cup of coffee before sliding into the seat in front of her.

Uh-oh. Aoko braces herself for an unpleasant conversation. It must show on her face because Shinichi says, “I’m that bad, am I?”

“No, I just know what you’re going to say. I hurt Kaito. I shouldn’t be here.”

“I didn’t say that.” He shakes his head. “That's the guilt speaking. I think you’re already hurting yourself enough, Nakamori-san. You're here, aren't you?”

She scoffs. "It's the bare minimum."

"I wanted to apologize, actually, for not telling you about us."

Aoko takes another sip of her water to stall. "I wouldn't have taken it very well."

"Maybe not, but it still wasn’t right to keep that from you. At that point you were still talking. And I'm the one that told him about your promotion." She had figured out that much. "I can't help but feel a little responsible."

"You're not. I told him it wasn't the promotion."

"I know."

Of course he does. What don’t they talk about? Ah, she needs to quit while she’s ahead. She doesn’t want to be resentful or bitter towards him for finding his happiness.

She did what she did.

"I panicked, Shinichi. And that's the nice word for it." She bites her lip. "Do you ever feel like the world is just careening too fast to hold onto? Like if things could stop, just for a day or so, you could finally relax and be able to handle them again?"

"All the time."

"Kaito wasn't the only one I cut ties with, either."

"Oh, we know. Otherwise you wouldn't have been so surprised about the twins."

...Meaning Saguru knows. Of course he does. The thought curdles her stomach. “I see.” Why is this so hard? It shouldn’t be so hard. Grasping for conversation, her eyes land on his hair. “The hair’s new.”

He doesn’t owe her an explanation, but he tells her anyway. “Ren used to help his mother with her hair, so I'm growing it out. It helps ground him,” Shinichi says.

“Did you and she,” Aoko asks, only thinking better of it after it is already out of her mouth. It’s none of her business. She’s already intruded enough.

“Ah, no. I didn’t even know her. But they killed her and hurt Ren to get to me.”

Aoko is speechless. Shinichi continues. “Adopting Ren was the only thing we could do in that situation, and I don't regret it for a moment."

Everything she hears about the situation makes it worse. “I really missed a lot, didn’t I?”

"You're here now. Isn't that what counts?"

"I guess," Aoko says.

"The way things happen—my priorities have shifted in ways I never thought they would. But I don't think I'd change it. I don't necessarily think things happen for a reason, but you just move forward."

"It's really the only thing you can do," Aoko says. It's why she took the plunge and called Kaito, and why she came out here. It was a small thing. But small things snowball into bigger and bigger things until they're completely unmanageable.

But that talk about priorities…Kaito’s had regular performances while Kid was active. Which really does mean—

"Do you regret it?"

"What?"

"Being Kid."

He laughs. "Not at all. Sorry to disappoint, Nakamori-san."

He admits to it so easily. Just on Kaito's belief that Aoko won't say anything. Did she and Kaito ever have that kind of relationship? That kind of trust?

Maybe they did, once. His confession, his earnest plea for help that night had moved her. It was maybe even a nonzero reason behind why she decided to follow in her father's footsteps. A way to protect him like he’d protected her. Not that Kaito would see it that way.

And given the way she's acted after, how she let that small bit of panic nearly ruin their relationship, why does Kaito still trust her? She almost ruined everything.

"Aoko."

"Hmm?"

"You can call me Aoko. You're my best friend by proxy, aren't you?" she says.

“I’m not sure that’s how that works.”

“You let me into your home, didn’t you?” And she’s here, let into their sanctum only by sake of her past relationship with Kaito, and it feels like cheating, somehow. "I want to make up for the things I've done." She can't stop the sniffle. "More importantly, I want to make up for the things I didn't do."

"It's not as difficult as you might think," Shinichi says. "I've hurt him in ways I couldn't help."

"I don't think that's possible," Aoko says. "You're so in love it's palpable." She wants that kind of love. But would she be able to have it with what she has to offer?

"Love makes me want to try. It doesn't make it easy," Shinichi says. "We're both difficult, stubborn men."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" Aoko says, wry.

"Not at all," he says.

"So which is it, difficult or easy?"

"Loving him is as natural as breathing," Shinichi says. He takes the mug of coffee from the maker, spins it around in his hands. There's a cup of tea with angry eyebrows printed on it and words she can't decipher through his fingers. "But when I hurt him, he forgives me, even when I think he shouldn't. When he hurts me, it's incidental, so how can I hold a grudge? He tries so hard for me. I love him so much it hurts."

"He's a very easy man to love," Aoko says. He has his faults, everyone does. But he was, and still is, so very kind. How could she have forgotten that? She knew even then his words for her were sincerely meant. So why?

"He's already forgiven you. I respect his decision," Shinichi says, taking a sip of bitter black coffee. "But for his sake, keep trying. Reach back, when he reaches out." He downs the rest of the cup, knocking it back. "Try."

"I will," she says.

"I don't want to see him hurt again." Shinichi stands up, puts his cup in the sink. It's a clear dismissal.

He leaves her to her thoughts. Biting her lip, she opens up her phone, types Kaito’s name in the browser, and begins to scroll.

[4]

Aoko wakes up to a giggle, and a significant weight on her chest.

She opens her eyes and two blue ones are staring right back at her as she giggles again.

Aoko recognizes that face. The other twin. "Yotsuha…?" she says, groggy.

The little girl on her chest explodes into giggles again.

"Didn't I lock the door?" Aoko mumbles.

A long, thin nail dangles in front of her face from tiny fingers. The knobs are the simple household kind that don't require keys, and it's more than long enough to disengage the lock. Isn't that dangerous for her to have…?

"You're Kaito's spawn, all right," she says, putting the pillow over her face and groaning.

That just makes Yotsuha giggle again. "Blue Granny's gonna miss breakfast~" she says.

"It's Blue Auntie," Aoko grumbles.

"That's what I said! Blue Granny!" Yotsuha tugs at her pajamas. "C'mon, c'mon!"

"I'm up, I'm up," Aoko says.

Satisfied with her mission, the grinning demon bounds off, presumably to visit harm on some other unsuspecting person.

Definitely Kaito's daughter. The impression she'd gotten from Yotsuha's long nap yesterday that she was less rambunctious than her sister couldn't have been any more wrong.

Ugh. Jet lag is hitting her hard. She looks at the mirror and winces. Her hair is sticking up any which way, she has pillow wrinkles on her face, and apparently at some point in the night, she'd drooled. Lovely.

The smell of breakfast is a siren song, though, and it does more than anything else to perk her up.

She zombie shuffles into the kitchen, where they're all seated at the table, and there's a big western breakfast spread.

"Waffles," she breathes, and Kaito laughs, knowing her predilection for them. "Don't laugh at me, you gave birth to a mini demon that acts just like you."

"Oh, I gave birth, huh?" Kaito asks, delighted. "Without my knowledge. Or the anatomy. Imagine."

"Yeah, yeah laugh it up," Aoko says, "I meant what I said," and she piles her plate full of waffles, covers them in strawberries and syrup and digs in. They’re so delicious. Given the batter stuck to his cheek and the apron, Kaito’s definitely the cook.

She lets the chatter wash around her. Kaito and Yotsuha are in an animated discussion about...cars? She holds up a small red model supercar with iridescent paint. It’s got butter on the top of it. "And this one's the princess!"

"You mean it carries the princess?" Kaito asks.

"No, it is the princess, don't be silly, Papa!"

"Me, silly? Never," Kaito says with an exaggerated huff, crossing his arms with his whole body in motion.

Yotsuha giggles.

Ren is reading a book in English that looks pretty dense for his age. How it’s not a sticky mess with the plate of half-eaten waffles next to it she doesn’t understand. He seems content. That’s good. She’s been worried about how last night affected him.

Himawari must be the night owl in the family because she’s quiet. Her hair is as messy as Aoko’s, and she looks like she’s going to fall asleep right in her waffles.

Shinichi though, is wearing glasses and reading through something on a tablet. His food is untouched, getting cold. His hair's wavy from the braids. Ren's practically a little mirror of him with the book. It's cute.

“—Aoko?”

“Huh?” she asks.

“I said, so what do you want to do today, Aoko? I’ve got work this evening, but the morning’s free. I could show you around town."

The thought of running into more fans makes her feel squeamish. She broke her own rule and looked him up last night. He’s famous famous. Rising star, newly A-list Hollywood famous. What is she next to that?

Aoko holds up her hands. "I think I'd like to spend at least the first day resting, if you don't mind."

“Oh,” Kaito says, face falling.

“In that case, Captain Brooks wants to see me about that homicide on Fremont, Kaito,” Shinichi says, annotating something with a stylus.

"You still work homicides?" Aoko asks. Homicides, parenting, acting, Kid...how do they do it all?

Shinichi grins, that same half-manic one she remembers seeing years ago. "Of sorts. Consulting detective. I like to keep myself busy."

"But not too busy," Kaito warns.

"But not too busy." Shinichi turns to Yotsuha and says, "That's why we delegate!" He looks at her expectantly.

"De-leg-ate!" she parrots, proud. "People helping you work."

"Exactly! See, you're getting it!" he ruffles her hair. She beams.

"Dad, I wanna color," Himawari says, tugging at Shinichi's sleeve.

Aoko blinks. Somehow she'd inhaled the rest of her waffle without Aoko realizing.

"I do! I do!" Yotsuha says.

"Help your brother clean off the table and we'll all color together, alright?" Shinichi says.

"Dad, you didn't eat," Ren says, his quiet voice somehow still cutting.

"I ate the bacon," Shinichi says.

"Dad," he insists.

Shinichi narrows his eyes at his son. His son glares right back, fierce mirror images of one another. Ren says, “You know the table rules, Dad.”

With a sigh, Shinichi gives in first, sets his tablet to the side, and begins cutting into his waffles with a fork.

Aoko’s seen criminals run from that glare. She guesses living with him would quickly make anyone immune.

“What’s the table rules?” she stage whispers to Kaito.

Kaito holds up a finger. “Meals are for family time. Eat at the table. Business is allowed, but meals must be respected.” He lowers his finger.

Aoko nods. "Sensible." She watches as they move around one another, cleaning up the table, rinsing and stacking the dishes with ease. Even the little ones help, though Kaito has to dive and juggle to keep Himawari from breaking a plate with her enthusiasm.

“Good job!” he praises anyway.

Yotsuha splashes water across the table more than wipes it down, but Kaito praises her, too.

They dry it down, and Kaito produces a stack of coloring books and three large packs of crayons from nowhere.

"Help me, Blue Auntie," Himawari says, grabbing one and spreading a page and looking up at her. It's a school of fish around sunken treasure. Aoko glances at Kaito who has a deer-in-the-headlights expression. "Papa doesn't want to do this one with me."

Kaito hides his discomfort quickly, barely even there now, but Aoko smiles. Some things never change. "I imagine not," she says.

The five of them color as Shinichi finishes his breakfast and then does the dishes in the background. The sound of water and the clinking is soothing.

The knot of tension in Aoko's stomach loosens as she bleeds color onto the page. The last time she'd done this had to be her first year in middle school. She pauses in the middle, considering them both. Somehow, it suits them, being parents. Kaito has always been gentle with children—the Kid Killer notwithstanding—and it shows again here.

After he finishes the dishes, and joins them in coloring a not insignificant amount of pages, Shinichi says, “You should watch Kaito’s first film. It’s good.”

Kaito blushes. He tries to hide it, but his face reddens, and he looks away. Aoko tilts her head. Why is he so embarrassed about it?

“How did that happen, anyway?” Aoko asks.

“Spite,” Kaito says, blush disappearing, a shadow passing over his face.

Shinichi reaches over the table, grabs his hand, links their fingers together. Kaito's grip on Shinichi's hand is so tight the skin's mottled red and white.

Their faces, the shared grief present on them…what happened? Something significant, something she’s missing. Aoko wants to know, but. Prying seems like too much.

“It was really fun!” Kaito says, and the dark atmosphere disappears, like it’d never been there at all. “They cast me for a bit part and they enjoyed my scene so much they wrote me in as a major character!”

"He's the male lead, and they wrote the new romance with input from him," Shinichi says.

"Alex helped a lot, too," Kaito says. At Aoko's blank look, he adds, "My co-star."

Aoko bites her lip. She's not so sure she wants to watch a film with Kaito in a romance. In the end she agrees, if for nothing more than curiosity.

It's a whole affair. They pop lots of popcorn and settle the children in with toys.

Shinichi leaves just before they begin, presumably for the homicide investigation as a private investigator. Ren curls up in the corner chair with his book, and they begin the movie.

It starts as a sequence of cliches, a woman crying over a grave, black umbrellas and rain, a bouquet of red roses against the colorless world, and a vow of revenge.

Kaito comes in about twenty minutes in, a playboy character, and they have a fight in a really enjoyable action sequence, trading banter back and forth. Kaito gets his ass soundly handed to him, but it doesn't matter because in the end, the heroine spares him.

The character Kaito plays has a father who is responsible for the death of the heroine's father and Kaito is clueless. As the film progresses, Kaito learns more and more about the dark web of his father's business practices, until the reveal at the end his father wanted to kill him himself but couldn't because of his resemblance to his mother. That didn't mean he couldn't manipulate things so the heroine was responsible for his death.

By falling in love, and the heroine choosing to spare him, they thwart his plans, but there's a sequel hook in Kaito being his heir to the criminal empire on paper but not in name, in the theme of the cycle of revenge.

It's filled with melodrama, but Kaito's acting is incredible, and the stunts are something else. Car chases, explosions—the romance is the most understated part of it, focusing on their friendship and growing respect for each other first. They have good chemistry, bouncing off one another.

It’s good.

Every scene with Kaito has brought home the fact that Aoko has never really been able to tell what's an act and what isn't. Sincerity is one of his masks, and she's not the detective wunderkind that can decipher it. That skillset belongs to Kudō Shinichi.

Ah, that's unfair of her. He's been sincere in ways she knows to be true, it's just his acting. She can’t tell. She’s never really been able to tell.

"So Aoko, what did you think?" Kaito asks, puppy dog eyes turned on her.

“I loved it,” she says, honest, and Kaito beams.

“You’re an incredible actor,” she continues. “But then, I knew that already.” She can’t quite keep the bitter tone out of her voice.

“That hurts,” he says quietly. “Aoko, I’m trying.”

“And I’m not?” she snaps back immediately.

Kaito flinches back as if wounded. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Ren stiffen, putting his finger between the pages, watching her warily.

That shames her more than anything else. “I’m sorry,” she says immediately, “it’s just that—I’m sorry.”

Kaito, hesitant. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. Stop forgiving me.”

“No,” Kaito says.

They glare at one another. Aoko’s lower lip wobbles in an unconscious pout. Then she bursts out into tears.

“Oh, Aoko,” Kaito says, gathering her up into his arms. “You have to learn to stop punishing yourself for things that have long since been over.”

“No!” she sobs, grabbing hold of him. “If I don’t hold myself accountable, who will?”

He lets her cry. He lets her cry while all the things she's been holding in come out all at once. "I missed you so much and it's my fault you left and it's my fault you didn't call and all I ever do is hurt you these days how can you stand me?"

“Because you’re trying, too. I missed you, Aoko.”

“Don’t say that,” she begs.

“It wouldn’t make it any less true,” Kaito says.

“I know!” Her head is spinning, her eyes hurt, and she’s acting like a three-year old. No, given the three-year-olds are looking at her like she’s sprouted a second head, she’s acting like an infant.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” she says. “I don’t deserve it.”

"Aoko,” he says in a flat voice, and there it is, finally, that annoyance she’s looking for. He pushes her away just so he can glare at her. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but you're important to me, too."

“But—”

“‘But’ nothing, stupid Aoko.” Two gasps. His face softens, and he looks at his twin daughters and says, “Don’t repeat that. This is a special case.”

Two bright voices saying, “Okay!”

“Aoko, pushing me away because you feel guilty and expecting me to punish you is really mean. I mean really, really mean.”

A spike of irritation because he’s right, but suddenly the tears leave and she just feels…tired. So, so tired.

"I'm sorry," she says.

"Don't apologize unless you're not going to do it again." He glances over his shoulder. "Ren, do you mind getting me a hot washcloth?"

Ren shakes his head and departs towards the linen closet. A faucet turns on somewhere in the distance.

"When I told you about me, you listened. You didn't like it, but you listened to me. Sometimes it feels like the first time you ever did," Kaito says. He inhales, lets it out slowly. "Sometimes I feel like all we ever did was talk at cross purposes."

Ren hands him the cloth. "Thanks," he says, and wipes away her tears with a gentle hand. The heat feels good against her face. She’s starting to get a headache.

He's babying her. "I'm not a child," she grumbles, just to complain, and yeah, okay, she deserves that look he's sending her. He hands her the cloth and she wipes her own nose, then sniffles. "You've become a total dad," she complains.

He laughs.

"Why did you start again?" she asks. "You said the last one was it."

"It was.

"So is it only Shinichi, or?"

"No, it's not always Shinichi. Sometimes it's me, or him, or both."

"And the reason?"

He lets out another sigh. "Is complicated. Shinichi saw I wasn't happy. He asked me if I'd be happier doing it again, and I said yes, and here we are."

"I see," she says, and this time she really does.

“I’m not angry at you, Aoko. I never have been. I was hurt. There’s a difference. Trying to make me angry at you isn’t going to work.”

“It was a good try though, wasn’t it?” Aoko asks, just to needle him.

“No.”

“Damn.”

“Blue Auntie, what’s wrong?” Himawari asks, tugging on her sleeve.

“Don’t bother her, honey,” Kaito says. “Sometimes adults get overwhelmed too. Remember that time your stuffed dinosaur got a hole in it and you cried?”

“Yeah,” she says.

“It’s like that.”

“Ooooooh,” she says. She turns wobbly blue eyes on Aoko. “I’m sorry your dinosaur got broke.”

Aoko can't help but smile at the absurdity. “It’s okay.”

Himawari grabs it from where she’d been making it race Yotsuha’s princess car. “You can have mine, if you want.” She offers it to Aoko.

“No, that’s alright. It’s yours. I think it needs to stay with you,” she says. “That’s very sweet of you, though.”

“Ren, why don’t you take the girls to the den to play?”

“Papa, are you sure?”

“I'll be fine."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Ren's still suspicious, but he guides his sisters out of the room.

"If you have anything else to say to me, now's the time," Kaito says. He shifts and tenses, like he's expecting her to hit him.

"You didn't have to send them away," Aoko says.

"Aoko, I'm at my limit," Kaito says, and slumps back, tired. "Excuse me for not wanting my kids to hear this."

Aoko doesn't have anything to say in return to that. The hot ball of shame curdles her stomach. "I'm tired," she says. "It's just hard, seeing how much you've changed, and how little I was there for."

"It's not like it matters anyway," Kaito says in reply. "Even though we've been friends for literally our entire lives, you still think I'm out to get you, all because I found out my father was an internationally wanted criminal."

"Kaito, most people with that kind of revelation wouldn't go, 'Oh wow, that sounds like such a good idea! I’m going to follow in his footsteps!'"

"I was sixteen. I missed him. It was my way of feeling closer to him. We saw how that worked out."

"What Occhan did—"

"—is not the point of this conversation, and I don't want to talk about this anymore."

A long, awkward silence.

"You know, this is my first vacation in about, oh, eight or nine years."

"That explains the stick up your ass."

Aoko snorts. There's the Kaito she knows.

"I think we all, in some ways, become our parents," Aoko begins.

"Like hell," Kaito says. "If anything, it's a template for what not to do."

"What I'm trying to say is I think I forgot how to not be suspicious. So much of my job is not taking anything at face value coupled with lingering guilt over my mismanagement of the situation. Sometimes I think that's why Dad lied to himself about you for so long."

"Aoko—"

"Anyway, I am sorry. Thank you for being patient with me. I'm struggling with the fact I wasn't there for a lot of this, and taking it out on you, and that's very unfair of me."

"Maybe if you loosened up and had a little fun every now and again it wouldn't be an issue," Kaito says.

"I do have fun sometimes," she says, thinking again of Akako and Masumi.

"You should come and see my show tonight," he says suddenly.

Aoko blinks.

"C'mon, it will be fun. Shinichi can escort you, that’ll really get the papers going."

Given some of the things she read, that makes her giggle. “You like antagonizing the tabloids, don’t you?”

Kaito beams. “It’s my second favorite hobby. And it takes attention away from the kids! Bonus!”

Aoko bites her lip. "I just don't want to interrupt your time with your family," Aoko says, voice quiet.

“And you’re not family?” he asked. “I’m shocked. Just, utterly shocked. The adoption papers already went through!”

Aoko laughs, warmth welling up inside her heart.

"We have a few regular babysitters Aoko, it's fine. Life doesn't end when you have children."

Oh, logically Aoko knows that. But it just seems like such a hassle. Better as someone else's problem. Kaito's children are cute, and already she'd do anything to protect them, but she can't imagine the work; she knows how easy it is to screw up another human being and the thought of being responsible for them terrifies her. She remembers lonely nights at home, waiting for her father return, missed birthdays that still ache throughout the years.

And that's what it is, isn't it, she thinks. She doesn't want to become like her father. Anymore than she is already. Kaito may have broken away from the mold, but she hasn’t.

“I didn’t bring anything nice enough to wear,” Aoko says, chewing her lip.

“Aoko!” Kaito places his hand over his heart. “Who do you think you’re talking to?”

He whisks her away to the master bedroom. Their bed is massive, and there’s French doors leading out into a balcony. There’s two doors, and he pulls her into the left one. It’s a walk-in closet the size of her bedroom, if not more. Clothes of all shapes and varieties fill the room, and the back wall has a whole rack dedicated to fancy, beautiful gowns. Matching shoes rest in little cubbies to the side.

“Pick one. Shinichi will take it in for you, he needs some more practice with alteration.”

“Kaito, are you sure?”

“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t.”

Aoko looks at him, and then back to the dresses. They’re all beautiful, and most likely expensive. Kaito leaves her alone, taking his phone out of his pocket as he does, and leaving her alone.

She looks through them. Aoko doesn’t have much of a head for fashion. She knows a few brands, but nothing really speaks to her until she gets to a silver dress with a halter neckline, falling to just before the knee.

She takes it off the rack and holds it to herself with the mirror behind the door, then leaves the closet to find Kaito lying on the bed with his hands behind his head.

“Shinichi just got home, and I called the babysitter. We’ll pick up some shoes on the way, yeah?”

“It’s too generous,” she says.

“Aoko, what did I tell you?”

“That I’m family?”

“Exactly! Now put it on!”

She walks back inside the closet and does. By the time she’s finished, Shinichi is there.

“I see you’re my date for tonight,” Shinichi says, and then he grins. “Excellent!”

“Kaito’s not the only one that likes antagonizing the press, is he?” Aoko says.

“The ‘press.’ Right,” Shinichi says. “Let’s get you fixed up. Kaito, you’re running behind if you want to stop for shoes.”

“Oh, is it that late already?” Kaito says, looking at his watch. He jerks up and runs towards the bath. “Ahhhh!”

Shinichi pulls out pins and a sewing needle from a kit Aoko didn’t know he had. “This shouldn’t take too long.” He begins working and it’s incredibly quick, almost like magic. He’s not as fast as Kaito, but it’s still the difference between a snail and a greyhound. It’s tailored and fits her snugly like it was made for her.

Then he starts on her hair and makeup, and before she knows it, she looks like a film star. Like she’s worthy of being seen next to the two of them.

Kaito comes out of the bathroom, already finished and perfect as always in a black tailcoat and white vest, and when she looks over again, Shinichi is in a better suit, white with black waistcoat and shirt. Their ties match each other’s shirts, Shinichi’s white and Kaito’s black. It’s so cute. Not only that, they’ve subtly included hints of silver with matching cuffs, tie pins, and handkerchiefs. Aoko laughs, excited to be included in the other side of Kaito’s mischief for once.

Once again, she’s struck by how much of a united front they present to people. Dressed like this, it’s imposing, and she bets that anyone that dares go against them for any reason soon finds themselves in trouble.

Anticipation builds in her. It’s been a long time since she’s seen any of his magic shows. She bets he’s much better now.

They all head down the stairs, ready for a night out.

In the foyer at the bottom of the stairs is an unfamiliar man with copper skin, warm brown eyes with crow’s feet, and salt and pepper hair covered by a black cowboy hat. “Oh hello there. You’re the old friend of Kaito’s, aren’t you?”

“Yes. I’m Nakamori, oh, excuse me, Aoko Nakamori.”

“Miguel Salazar. It’s wonderful to meet a new friend of Kaito's. He needs more.”

“Miguel,” Kaito mutters, but there’s no heat in it.

“What? It’s true!”

“He’s right,” Shinichi says. “You do need more friends.”

“Diviértanse en el show de magia, you're gonna knock them dead!" Miguel says, clapping Kaito’s back.

Shinichi stiffens. “Oh hell, I hope not.”

Aoko’s face scrunches. “Am I missing something?”

He grimaces. "You remember the department gossip. Some say that death follows me. Dead bodies at one of Kaito’s shows is the last thing we need."

Oh, right. She'd forgotten. "That's just silly," Aoko says. Sure, Akako calls herself a witch, and sure, maybe Aoko's seen a thing or two, but that still doesn't mean—She turns it over in her thoughts. Maybe it does.

"Won't hurt to knock on wood just in case then," Miguel says, and does just that, rapping on the console table.

"You know where the emergency numbers are and how to reach us," Kaito says.

"This isn't my first rodeo, man," Miguel says. "Mis sobrinitos will be fine."

"Right," Kaito says, already distracted with a half a dozen things as he paces and double checks the placement of the tricks in his suit.

He exits out the back door and comes back rolling an enormous cage filled with a dozen doves. Aoko catches a glimpse of the aviary outside and it's massive, taking up a shaded portion of the garden, set up with ramps and shelves and several baths.

Kaito fusses with the dove cage, putting it in the back of an SUV, worrying over them.

It's frantic but focused, and when he finishes Aoko and Shinichi join him in the front.

The ride back into the city is quiet, Aoko lost in her thoughts.

And as for Kaito, well. They're friends again. It's more than she ever thought she could ask for. She's looking forward to the next few weeks. It’s been difficult, but everything worth having is.

But first, tonight, his show. The setting reminds her of Occhan’s show, when Kaito had teased her, and the feeling is bittersweet. How it began, and right now, how this period in her life is ending, with Kaito on the stage in place of his father, and with a new friend in Shinichi to her side.

The lights go down, the spotlight shines, and Kaito steps forward, his suit immaculate and his hands raised.

“Ladies and Gentlemen!”

It’s almost like watching a ghost in ways. But as he pulls out trick after trick, he’s happier than she’s ever seen him. She glances over at Shinichi, and he’s enraptured just watching him. Thinks on how much in love they are. How much that love has changed Kaito for the better.

Because even time can’t explain it all, not really.

It’s a beautiful thing. Aoko is so happy for them.

And Aoko’s not going to let time get away from her again. This time, she’s going to take each day as it comes.

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