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Shinichi slumped against the wall, tipping his head back and shutting his eyes. He thought for a moment that he might cry after all, but with a deep breath, the urge passed.
She’d really done it.
Shinichi had been suspicious, of course. They’d been spending so much time together, it was only natural something might change. Somehow, despite knowing how Sera felt, he’d never thought she would actually interrupt their wedding while it was in progress.
He hit his head against the wall.
Everyone he knew was going to be giving him pitying looks for the rest of his life, and it was all because Ran couldn’t make up her mind until the absolute last possible minute.
Fuck. And now, he could barely figure out what he was supposed to do. He had a small mountain of wedding gifts that Ran had forfeited the right to; the honeymoon was still booked in his name. He checked his watch. He had about six hours to decide whether or not he wanted to go.
On the one hand: luxury vacation to Paris, France. On the other hand: alone in the so-called City of Love.
Shinichi sighed. He wished he’d held out for London.
“Shinichi, have you been here the whole time?” Kaito asked. Shinichi opened his eyes; Kaito was looking down on him with clear concern in his eyes.
“Uh-huh.” Shinichi closed his eyes again. “You can join me if you want. I’ve been trying to figure out what to do.”
Kaito sat down beside him, shoulders brushing. “That sounds like you,” he said gently. “What have you come up with?”
“Nothing so far. Trying to decide what to do about the honeymoon trip. It would be a waste not to go, right?”
“I’m sure they could get you a refund, considering the circumstances.”
“I didn’t even want to go to Paris,” Shinichi complained. “It was going to be all cafés and—and walks by the river and—” He cut himself off, shaking his head.
“You weren’t going to go to any museums?” Kaito asked. He actually sounded appalled at the prospect. Shinichi glanced over at him, and sure enough, his nose was wrinkled with distaste. “Only you would go to Paris and not plan on going to any museums.” He shook his head.
Shinichi’s eyes widened. “Kaito, you’re my best friend, right?”
“Of course,” he agreed.
“You like Paris.”
“I do,” he agreed, bemused.
Shinichi turned to face him fully. “Come with me on my no-longer-honeymoon.”
“What?” Kaito frowned. “I thought you were going to ask for a refund.”
“This last minute, there’s no way they give us any money back.” Shinichi leaned toward him, feeling almost manic. “This way, I get a vacation with my best friend, I don’t have to deal with any of the pitying looks I’m sure to run into here, and I don’t let the tickets and hotel room go to waste.”
Kaito laughed, but it sounded shaky. “You want me to go on your honeymoon with you?”
“Yes.” Shinichi frowned. “If you don’t want to, you don’t have to, but there’s no one else I’d ask to go with me. And, well, I don’t really want to go alone.”
Kaito looked conflicted. “You’re sure?”
“I’m sure, Kaito.” Shinichi smiled weakly. “What do you say?”
Shaking his head with a soft laugh, Kaito said, “Well, someone has to take you to the best museums in France. Might as well be me.”
“Thanks, Kaito,” Shinichi sighed. “You’re amazing.”
“Anything for you, Shinichi.”
Kaito yawned, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. He wasn’t sure what time it was, but he was comfortably warm, an arm wrapped securely around his waist. He snuggled back into the embrace, letting his eyes fall shut again.
… Embrace?
Kaito frowned, turning his head. Shinichi’s face was pressed into his back, his hand resting on his stomach, under his shirt. Kaito short-circuited, his cheeks burning.
Fuck.
This was bad. This was very bad. Why were they sharing the bed? Didn’t they call up for a cot? He pressed his hands to his face, pressing the heels into his eyes until he saw stars. Fuck fuck fuck. This was exactly why he shouldn’t have come.
Shinichi yawned, snuggling closer. “Mm, Kaito? Something wrong?”
Kaito barely held back the strangled cry that threatened. He sounded so sleepy and sweet. He was going to die. He’d survived countless attempts on his life, found and destroyed a gem that was supposed to grant immortality, and lived through a witch’s awkward teen years, but this—this was going to be what killed him.
“Uh, no?” he tried.
Shinichi made a disbelieving noise. “Go back to sleep,” he decided. “‘s too early for worrying about whatever you’re worrying about.”
Kaito laughed shakily. There was no way he could go back to sleep now.
Kaito blinked awake again, feeling groggy. Had he… actually fallen back asleep? He looked around, bleary-eyed and confused. It was already late morning, and Shinichi was sitting on the couch, drinking a cup of coffee that looked like it was from the café down the street.
He sat up slowly, yawning.
“I got you a cinnamon roll,” Shinichi said, glancing over his shoulder with a smile. “Good morning.”
“I love you,” Kaito said, promptly regretting it.
Shinichi just snorted, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Eat your breakfast, and come help me figure out what to do today.”
Kaito breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He could do this. He was going to cheer Shinichi up, and he was going to keep his horrible, inconvenient feelings entirely to himself. “What were you thinking? Start with the touristy stuff or jump straight to the cooler, lesser known stuff?”
Shinichi hummed. “Well, I’m not really sure. I’ve never been here before. What do you think?”
Kaito scooped up the small box on the dresser and a fork, sprawling on the couch beside Shinichi. There were about fifteen brochures spread out on the coffee table, and Shinichi was holding another three.
Kaito shook his head. “I think you’re thinking too hard.” He opened the box, breathing in the sweet scent of cinnamon and buttercream. “How about this—let me handle all the planning. Relax, and let me take care of it.”
Shinichi pouted. “I don’t want to make you do all the work, Kaito. That’s not fair to you.”
“I want to,” Kaito insisted, cutting into the roll with the side of his fork. “I want you to have a fun and relaxing vacation. Besides, I’ve been here with my mom before. She knew a lot of cool off the beaten track stuff that I think you’ll like.”
Shinichi’s expression softened. Kaito’s heart thudded arrhythmically in his chest. “You’re the best friend a guy could ask for, Kaito.”
Kaito smiled like his heart wasn’t aching.
Incredibly, Kaito thought the vacation was actually helping. Shinichi looked lighter than he had in—well, weeks, actually. He looked as happy as he should have looked planning his wedding. Shinichi was laughing easily at one of Kaito’s jokes, leaning into his arm. They were surrounded by priceless works of art, none more beautiful than the one beside him.
Kaito beamed, soaking up the attention like a sunflower with sunshine.
“Honestly, some of these museums,” Shinichi said quietly between giggles, “it’s a wonder you haven’t fallen into old habits.”
Kaito gasped, feigning offense. “Shinichi! I would never,” he paused for effect, “steal from museums with such lax security.”
Shinichi threw his head back, laughing loudly enough that the other people in the museum turned to shoot them dirty looks. Kaito hardly noticed, too busy drinking in the picture Shinichi made—wide grin, the long line of his pale throat, the hint of clavicle exposed by his V-neck.
Kaito swallowed around the lump in his throat.
God, but he was beautiful.
Shaking it off, Kaito leaned closer, telling Shinichi about the artist whose work they were looking at. As he pointed out the different stylistic elements the woman was known for, he didn’t notice Shinichi watching him intently, his eyes curious and his cheeks a touch red.
They were still talking about the different artists they’d seen, walking down the sidewalk between beautiful old buildings. The way the light filtered through the tall buildings and the clouds was a little distracting, especially when they landed on Shinichi, making his face glow.
It was in one of those patches of light that Kaito watched Shinichi’s face light up, his head whipping around. “Oh!” Shinichi grabbed his arm, coming to a sudden stop. “Bookstore!”
Kaito rolled his eyes, but followed Shinichi inside, smiling indulgently. “Yes, yes. Don’t forget, we have dinner reservations in an hour. We can’t stay for more than twenty minutes.” Shinichi waved a dismissive hand, already darting into the shelves. Kaito snorted. “You don’t even read French.”
“Irrelevant,” Shinichi declared.
Kaito wandered the stacks aimlessly, giving Shinichi his space. The store was small, filled wall to wall with old books of all kinds. Kaito flipped through a book on the Impressionists, leaning against the wall as he skimmed.
“Je ne parle pas Français,” Shinichi said apologetically and a bit clumsily from the front of the store. Kaito perked up, interested. Shinichi hadn’t actually gotten around to buying anything in the other bookstores they’d already wandered through. Somehow Kaito didn’t expect him to actually find anything.
He meandered up to the front. Shinichi was bowing his head, accepting a receipt and a small paper bag with a smile. The clerk bowed his head in answer, thanking Shinichi for coming. He came up behind Shinichi, touching his shoulder.
Shinichi jumped guiltily. Interesting. “Oh, Kaito, ready to go?”
“Ready when you are,” he agreed. “Are you already done?”
Shinichi nodded, holding up the small paper bag in answer. “I found what I was looking for.”
“I’m glad.” Kaito smiled, leading Shinichi away from the register and wishing the clerk a good evening. The clerk waved an absent goodbye. When they were outside, he nudged his shoulder against Shinichi’s. “Gonna tell me what you got?”
Shinichi shook his head. “Not yet. It’s a surprise.”
Kaito’s eyebrows rose. “Yeah? You’re not gonna make me wait long, I hope.”
“I haven’t decided yet,” Shinichi said, smirking. “We’ll see.”
Kaito laughed, slinging his arm around his shoulders. “So mysterious,” he teased. “I thought that was my thing.”
“And I thought you were retired.”
Kaito gasped as if he were affronted. “Are you saying magicians aren’t mysterious?”
“Hm, maybe a little,” Shinichi allowed. His smile was all fondness. Kaito felt a little melty at the sight of it, his insides turning to goo. For a moment, in glow of the setting sun, walking through the City of Love, Kaito thought about throwing caution to the wind and stealing a kiss.
Quick as it came, he buried the impulse, ignoring it. He didn’t notice the way Shinichi’s eyes lingered on his profile.
Shinichi watched Kaito order from across the table. Or, he thought he was ordering. Shinichi couldn’t understand any French, but Kaito spoke it just shy of naturally. He and the waiter went back and forth for a bit, pointing to different items on the menu periodically.
So far, Shinichi thought it was probably the best day of their trip. They were only about halfway through, but he didn’t see how any day could be better than this one. They’d gone to two small art museums before lunch, and then they’d explored the city—wandering aimlessly, chatting about this and that. And then they’d found the bookstore, and Shinichi had found the perfect gift for Kaito.
He looked down at his plate, brow furrowing as he thought. Had he ever had this much fun on a date with Ran? It must have been months at least since they did something they both enjoyed. And once the wedding planning started, it seemed like they were both too busy to spend any real time together.
Ran had spent all her time with Sera until they eventually ran away together, leaving him at the altar. But hadn’t he been spending all his time with Kaito? And since they left, he’d barely even thought of Ran. He was surprised to find that he missed her only about as much as he missed Heiji.
He missed Kaito more when he left to perform abroad, even when it was only for a long weekend. What was that supposed to mean?
“I ordered us the duck,” Kaito declared. “The waiter insisted it was the best thing on the menu.”
Shinichi’s head shot up, cheeks flushing. “Oh, that’s—great, sounds good.”
“Everything okay, Shinichi? You look a little…” Kaito trailed off, frowning.
“Fine,” Shinichi said too quickly. “Just thinking.”
Kaito’s expression turned sympathetic. “How are you, really?” he asked, his voice soft.
“Honestly?” Shinichi leaned back. “Better than I thought I would be. I think…” He hesitated, biting his lip. “I think she was right to go. I think it’s better for us both.”
Kaito’s eyebrows rose. “Yeah? Well, I’m glad it’s… working out?” Kaito laughed, a little sheepish. “There’s really not a good way to say, I’m glad your fiancée left you, is there?”
Shinichi laughed in return, shaking his head. “Not really, but I appreciate the sentiment anyway.” With that, the discussion shifted into the French art scene, and from there into art history.
Shinichi recognized the warmth blooming in his chest, but he hardly knew what to do with it. He’d been engaged less than a week ago. Surely he’d still been in love with Ran, but a feeling like this didn’t develop in a couple of days.
When Kaito left one hand on the table, it was all Shinichi could do to stop himself reaching out and placing his own on top. How long had this been building? How had he not noticed before? And what was he supposed to do now?
When they returned to the hotel room, full from dessert, Shinichi pushed Kaito toward the bathroom. “I insist you take your bath first,” he told him. “Otherwise, I won’t be able to tell you what I bought today, and you’ll have to wait until tomorrow night.”
Kaito squinted suspiciously at him, but finally shrugged. “Should I take my time, then?”
“No, your normal length will be enough.”
Obviously curious, Kaito reluctantly closed the bathroom door behind him. Shinichi spun around and hurried to the room’s desk. He had about a half hour. He pulled out one of his nicer pens and the book he’d bought earlier—Maurice Leblanc’s Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar.
He opened to the front cover, and uncapped his pen. He’d been thinking about what he should write since dinner, and he’d finally come up with something he thought might be good enough. Taking a shaky breath, he began to write.
Dear Kaito, Thank you for one of the best weeks of my life. Monsieur Lupin will never quite live up to your escapades, but these stories have always reminded me of you, my Heisei Lupin. I first read them shortly after we began working together, and I’m not ashamed to say that I reread them whenever I find myself missing you while you’re away. My life would surely be darker without the world’s greatest magician in it. Thank you for staying by my side, through thick and thin, good times and bad.
-Your Heisei Holmes
Smiling to himself, Shinichi sketched Kaitou Kid’s insignia before drawing his own, styled after what he’d looked like as Conan. Satisfied, he closed the book and slid it back into the paper bag from the store.
It only took a minute before Shinichi began to doubt himself. It was probably way too much. Kaito was definitely going to think it was weird, and he was going to be uncomfortable. Shinichi groaned, pressing his hands over his eyes and dragging them down his cheeks.
This is moving way too fast, Shinichi thought to himself. He flopped onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. Although, I should really have been more heartbroken about Ran if I was really and properly in love with her. I didn’t even fight for her. I just… let her go.
He rolled over on the bed, frowning at the window. It was quite a jump from not in love with Ran to in love with Kaito, though. And really, those kind of feelings should not have been able to sneak up on him like this.
Even so, the way his heart beat in his chest, the way his gut clenched with nerves and his chest ached with longing, it all spoke to love.
When Kaito stepped out of the bathroom, cheeks pink from the hot water, wet hair curling against his cheeks and neck, sweatpants slung low around his hips, Shinichi fought to keep his thoughts off his face.
“Can I see now?” he asked immediately.
Shinichi snorted. “Impatient.” At least the decision was out of his hands now. It was either too much, or it wasn’t. The inscription was nothing but the truth; Shinichi didn’t want to take any of it back. Shinichi sat up and walked over to the desk, picking up the package.
He handed it to Kaito, hesitating before he let Kaito take it.
“I got it for you.”
“A present?” Kaito asked. He beamed. “Aw, Shinichi, you shouldn’t have!” But he pulled the book out anyway. Reading the title, the grin faded into a smile and then a slack-jawed expression closer to awe. “You…” he laughed, a little uncertain. “Is this what you were looking for in all those bookstores?”
“Not at first, really, but… Yeah.” Shinichi looked down, scuffing his foot along the carpet. “I, uh, wrote something in the front cover for you.”
Kaito immediately opened the book. Shinichi turned to face the window, his cheeks hot. He’d hoped to avoid watching, but he could see Kaito’s reflection in the glass. His eyes were wide and intent. Shinichi wasn’t sure, but it seemed like Kaito read it more than once, his eyes lingering longer than Shinichi was expecting.
Finally, Kaito looked up from the book, setting it on the dresser. Shinichi watched him approach in the glass, only turning when Kaito was right behind him.
Without a word, Kaito tugged him into a tight hug, pressing his face into Shinichi’s neck.
“It, uh, wasn’t too much, then?” Shinichi asked, settling his hands on Kaito’s back.
“You’re such a sap,” Kaito whined. “You can’t just say thank you like a normal person, can you.”
Shinichi smiled, resting his forehead against Kaito’s shoulder. He smelled clean, like the woodsy shampoo he preferred. “Of course not.”
“You’re the worst,” he complained. “How am I supposed to follow something like that?”
“You came with me to France, Kaito.” Shinichi shook his head. “This was actually the least I could do.”
“I’m only going to say this once, because it is way too embarrassing, but,” Kaito pulled back to meet Shinichi’s eyes, “Anywhere you go, I would gladly follow.”
“Oh,” Shinichi breathed. “That’s…” His eyes fell to Kaito’s mouth. They were standing so close, he’d only need to lean in. A couple of inches were all that stood between them.
“Too much?” Kaito asked.
Shinichi shook his head, breathless. “No, it’s—I…” He leaned in, his eyes falling back to Kaito’s mouth. Only an inch between them…
Shinichi’s phone buzzed loudly along the nightstand where it was charging. He and Kaito sprung apart, wide eyed and awkward.
“You should—”
“I’m gonna—”
They both laughed, uncomfortable. Shinichi could feel his blush in his ears, frowning as Kaito hurried to the other side of the room, his back to Shinichi. What was that? He bit his lip, moving toward the bed to scoop up his phone.
“Hello?” Shinichi answered.
“Shinichi,” his mother whined, “you haven’t called me once! I’ve been worried!”
“Sorry, Mom.” Shinichi watched Kaito’s shoulders relax. That was weird. “Didn’t mean to worry you. I’ve been keeping busy.”
“Oh, of course, honey. I’m sure it must be hard for you, trying to recover from Ran’s betrayal.”
Shinichi winced. “Betrayal is a strong word.”
“Is it? She left you for one of your mutual friends. I’d call that a betrayal.”
“I don’t know,” Shinichi sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I think it was probably for the best. She clearly wasn’t all that happy with me, and… I don’t know. I’m not as sad as I think I should be. I’ve been having a great time, honestly. I… don’t think I regret it.”
“You don’t regret any of it?” Yukiko sounded as surprised as Shinichi thought he should feel.
“I guess I regret dragging it out as long as we did.” Shinichi sighed. “I wish she’d just told me she wasn’t sure about getting married. We could have saved ourselves a lot of trouble.” He watched Kaito, eyes lingering. “I mean, how long had she and Sera been dancing around each other before they realized how they felt? Wouldn’t it have been easier for them if Ran and I had broken up sooner?”
“Honestly, Shinichi, I’m a little disappointed. You’re handling this so well, I feel like you don’t need me.” She sounded like she was pouting. Shinichi smiled.
“Could you tell me what you feel for Dad?”
“Your father drives me crazy, always teasing me. But every day with him is a good day,” she said, sighing. “Sometimes he still manages to sweep me off my feet. He may not look like it, but he’s quite romantic when he wants to be.” She hummed to herself. “It feels warm, like my heart is filled to the brim with everything I feel for him.”
Shinichi smiled. “Gross.”
“You’re the one who wanted to know,” she huffed. “Why did you want to know?”
“No reason,” Shinichi said, eyes settling on Kaito’s back. “It’s pretty late here, Mom; I’m going to head to bed soon.”
“Good night, honey.” She sighed. “I love you. Sweet dreams.”
“I love you, too. Good night, Mom.” Shinichi got up to set the phone back on the nightstand, plugging it in again.
“So, your mom, huh?” Kaito asked, wincing apologetically. “Sorry, I probably should have left the room.”
“What?” Shinichi frowned. “Why would you need to do that? It was just my mom.”
“Well, yeah, but,” he hesitated. “I figured you probably didn’t want to talk about that stuff with me. I just didn’t think about it was too late for me to leave.”
“I was already talking myself through it with you at dinner.” Shinichi watched him, considering. “I don’t think Ran and I were in love anymore. I don’t know when that changed, but it’s been true for a while, I think. Long enough that she was able to fall in love with Sera—or, realize her feelings, anyway.”
“That really doesn’t bother you?” Kaito asked, his nose wrinkled.
“Not really. I’m happy for her.” Shinichi smiled. “And a little grateful.”
If anything, Kaito looked more confused. “Grateful?” He crossed his arms. “She broke your heart, didn’t she?”
“Kaito, in the immediate aftermath, my first thoughts were about money and the people whose time had been wasted.” He shrugged. “Honestly, that’s still my biggest concern. Are they all going to want to take their gifts back? I don’t mind, but how am I supposed to facilitate that?”
“That’s not the issue here,” Kaito reminded him.
“And that’s my point! I should be crying every time something reminds me of Ran, but I don’t feel all that sad. Disappointed, maybe, but I feel better all the time. If I’m only a little disappointed that my fiancée left me at the altar, well, maybe I shouldn’t have been marrying her in the first place.” Shinichi looked down. “And honestly, it’s opened my eyes.”
“To what?”
Shinichi threw caution to the wind and closed the distance between them. If this was the only chance he had, he was going to make it count. Shinichi cupped Kaito’s cheek and pressed their lips together.
Kaito reeled back, wide eyed and gaping. Shinichi pulled his hand back, fingers curling into his palm. His lips tingled where they’d touched.
“Y-You!” Kaito’s cheeks were red, and his eyes kept darting to and from Shinichi’s face, like he couldn’t quite meet his eyes. “I don’t—Why?”
“I’m in love with you,” Shinichi said, heart pounding. He tucked his hands in his pockets to hide their slight tremor. “I don’t know for how long, but spending all this time with you without feeling obligated to Ran… I’m surprised I didn’t notice sooner.”
Kaito pressed his hands over his face. “Can you give me a sec?” He let out a shuddering breath. “I feel like I have whiplash. I’m not dreaming, am I?”
“Not to my knowledge,” Shinichi said, frowning. “Can you give me something to go on here? If this isn’t gonna work out, that’s fine, but I don’t know what kind of time you need right now.”
“Shinichi, I’ve been in love with you for four and a half years.” Kaito peeked out from behind his hands. “You can wait five minutes while I reconcile all of this with my previous worldview.”
“Four and a—Kaito, that’s basically the entire time we’ve known each other!”
“I know! That’s why this is such a shock!” Kaito ran his hands through his hair. “You’ve been with Ran the whole time, so I couldn’t exactly say anything, and it was fine—I was fine—but now you’re flipping the script! I—I never thought that you might actually…” Kaito laughed, just shy of hysterical. “I never thought I had even a ghost of a chance, Shinichi. This is a lot for me to take in.”
Shinichi shook his head. “How did you even keep that to yourself all this time? I’m a detective.”
“Denial and air-tight emotional repression,” Kaito answered immediately. “Same way no one figured out I was Kid. I think Hakuba and Aoko are the only people who figured out my crush on you.”
“I lost to Hakuba?”
“Now you sound like Hattori.”
Shinichi groaned. “God, you’re right. And here I was going to try to convince you to let me kiss you again.”
“You want to kiss me again?” Kaito’s hands lowered slowly. “Even though I reacted badly?” He took a step back into Shinichi’s space. “Even though I ruined your whole love confession?”
“Ruined is a strong word.” Shinichi cupped Kaito’s cheek again, rubbing his thumb under his eye. “But just to be on the safe side, is this okay?”
“I should be asking you that, shouldn’t I?” Kaito leaned his head into Shinichi’s palm. “You’re the one just out of a, what, six year relationship?”
“If she can jump out of our relationship and into another, then so can I.”
Kaito laughed. “That’s bad logic, Shinichi.”
“What’s that?” Shinichi tilted his head as if he were listening to a distant voice. “We should wait at least a month before acting on our mutual feelings? And in that time, share absolutely no physical contact?”
“Oh my God, you’re such an asshole,” Kaito breathed. “Just kiss me already.”
So Shinichi did. Their lips met, warm and firm. Shinichi tilted his head and cupped the back of Kaito’s neck, squeezing lightly. Kaito sighed, wrapping his arms around Shinichi and melting against him. When Shinichi licked his lips, Kaito keened, his lips parting.
The kiss deepened. Shinichi rested one hand on Kaito’s hip, rubbing circles into his skin. Kaito moaned and nipped at his lower lip. Shinichi groaned, turning them around. He separated from Kaito just long enough to push him down onto the bed, before straddling him and claiming his mouth once more.
“Is this too fast?” Shinichi asked, pressing kisses along Kaito’s jaw.
Kaito moaned. “Don’t stop, Shinichi. I’ve been waking up with you pressed against me for days. If you think it’s too fast, you should,” he moaned, a hand tangling in Shinichi’s hair. Shinichi sucked a little harder at the spot on his neck. “You should tell me now, so I can excuse myself to the bathroom.”
Shinichi pulled back, shifting until he was between Kaito’s legs, pressing his thigh to his groin. Kaito’s head fell back against the bed with a whine.
“Now I definitely don’t want to stop,” Shinichi murmured. “I don’t want to miss anything.”
“Fuck,” Kaito hissed, hips bucking. “Shinichi, how long have you been sexy?”
“Am I?” He ran a hand through Kaito’s hair, considering. “I’m not trying to be. I always thought I was kind of awkward.”
Kaito draped an arm over his eyes. “I’m gonna die. Fuck, I’ve lived a good life, but this is gonna be what kills me.”
Shinichi laughed, kissing Kaito’s cheek. “So dramatic,” he breathed, kissing his other cheek. “As far as I’m concerned, the only death we need to worry about tonight is the, uh, what’s the word? The little kind.”
“La petite mort,” Kaito mumbled. “Fuck me.”
Shinichi kissed him, pulling back to smirk. “Only if you say please.”
Kaito tugged him back down, sealing their lips back together. When Shinichi was panting for breath, Kaito pulled away again, leaning back against the pillows, smiling slow and devious. “Please?”
Shinichi sat up, kneeling between Kaito’s legs. He pulled his shirt off over his head. “If you’re just teasing me, you should tell me now. But if you want to, I’m down.”
“Do we—Condoms?” Kaito asked, breathless and flushed.
That wasn’t a no. Shinichi grinned. “They’re in the bathroom. This is a honeymoon suite, remember?”
“And uh, lube?”
“When they saw we were both men, they slipped some beneath the sink with the condoms.” Shinichi felt a step away from feral. “What do you say?”
“I already said please,” Kaito said, “do I need to make it pretty please?”
“Cheeky.” Shinichi snorted. His thoughts lingered on the idea of Kaito begging, but he shook it off. Next time, maybe. “Give me a sec.”
When he got back with their supplies, Kaito was laying back with just his boxers on. Shinichi lingered just outside the bathroom, eyes trailing over the skin on display. When Kaito met his eyes, he blushed down to his clavicle. Shinichi licked his lips, undoing his pants and stepping out of them.
“Shall we?” he asked, returning to the bed.
“Still not sure I’m not dreaming.”
Shinichi bent over him and bit his jaw lightly. Kaito yelped. “What about now?”
Kaito laughed, wrapping his arms around Shinichi. “Fine, fine. I’m not dreaming. But you are the man of my dreams,” he said, batting his eyelashes.
Shinichi rolled his eyes, kissing him as he set their supplies aside. “Let me know if I do something you don’t like or if you want me to stop.” He kissed him. “I’ve never been with another man before.”
“I get to be your first?” Kaito leaned up to kiss him. “Lucky for us, we’re on a honeymoon. We have as much time as we want to… practice.” He grinned, hooking one leg around Shinichi’s waist and pulling. Shinichi went willingly.
Kaito woke slowly, warm and comfortable, his muscles aching pleasantly. There was an arm secured around his bare waist, a chest against his back, a forehead pressed between his shoulder blades. Shinichi’s arm tightened, and his lips brushed Kaito’s back as he murmured.
A phone buzzed on the nightstand. Shinichi groaned, curling tighter around Kaito. Sighing, Kaito fumbled for the phone. Mom Calling. Yawning, he answered. “Hello?”
“Kaito?” Yukiko asked. Kaito froze. Not his phone. Oops. “Is my son there?”
“Ah, uh, yeah. Sorry, I got our phones mixed up.”
“Actually, before you give him the phone…” Yukiko sighed. “Is he actually okay?”
Kaito glanced over his shoulder. Shinichi grumbled, snuggling closer. “Yeah. He’s doing just fine.”
“Ugh, Kaito, go back to sleep,” Shinichi grumbled into his skin. “Too early.”
Kaito was about to pass him the phone when he heard a soft, “Oh my God.” He froze. “No wonder he was so blasé about it all! Honey? Honey! Shinichi shacked up with Toichi’s son!”
“Uhh,” Kaito said intelligently. “Shinichi? Your mom’s on the phone. And I think she’s jumped to conclusions.”
“Right or wrong?”
“She thinks we’re shacked up together.”
“Just hang up.” Shinichi fumbled for the phone, ending the call and setting it on the other nightstand. “Now, sleep. I don’t want to leave this room for the rest of the day.”
Kaito rolled over, curling an arm around Shinichi’s back. “I guess I should get some more sleep. I want to be well-rested for… What round are we on?”
“Sleep,” Shinichi insisted, a step away from petulant. “Talk later.”
Kaito smiled, his chest flooding with warmth. “As you wish.” He tucked himself close, yawning. “Love you, Shinichi.”
“Love you, too.” Shinichi’s breathing evened out. Kaito sighed happily, and let himself follow suit. They could deal with the outside world later. Right now, Kaito was content to remain in their own little world, just the two of them.