phantom-thief-kid:

“…During the beginning of the show, I was thinking of showing up dressed like Kaitou KID and making it look like the event got crashed, while still doing a trick or two, then revealing it was me instead,” Just hoping that someone other than Hakuba’s dad didn’t try anything.

The arm around him surprised him slightly. Hakuba didn’t really strike him as a touchy type, but it was possible he was mistaken. (He wasn’t a detective, after all.) The thunder boomed outside once more and he saw a fuzzy blur run out from under the couch and ran in the direction of his room. “Are you coming to the event?”

Hakuba wasn’t a touchy person, at least not with people that he knew personally. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure how he felt about having his arm around Kaito, but he left it there and tried to stay calm and casual. The comment on KID earned an amused chuckle, and Hakuba relaxed a little more.

“I don’t think they’ll be expecting that… Should go over quite well. And, yes, I’ll be there.”  Hakuba turned his head to look at Kaito, tilting his chin downward some to see him better. “Even if I weren’t forced to go to all of these events, there’s no way I would miss it. Your performance aside, my father doesn’t take responsibility for these often… that’s my mother’s realm, and she’s threatened to fly out to see how he does for herself. He’s all nerves and anxiety." 

He laughed again, then looked up to the ceiling, stretching his legs out in front of him.

"Papa was such a fan of your father. He’ll be thrilled to hear that you’ve agreed to it." 

phantom-thief-kid:

“Glad to hear it,” Kaito said with a wink. He settled back into his position, head resting on Hakuba’s shoulder. “Guests should be made comfortable, after all.”

Still, back of his mind, he thought of the time. Sunset would be at about seven. He nuzzled Hakuba just a bit, trying to get a bit more comfortable himself. 

“Mm.” 

Ah, the nuzzling. Hakuba shivered, and considered the practical merits of potentially cuddling back at Kaito. He was more likely to raise his core temperature that way, certainly, and there was no doubt that he would enjoy it. The problem was that Kaito was not one of his conquests, so the detective had all of the want, but none of the skill accessible that he’d need to really be suave. 

But that’s not what it was about anyway, was it? Kaito was being friendly, and a good host. And perhaps there was more between them than awkward acquaintanceship/rivalry. 

Rosy cheeked and face looking like a dog getting into something it knows it shouldn’t, Hakuba shifted some to sneak his arm around Kaito’s back and shoulders. For warmth. 

“So… ah, what do you have in mind for your performance at the charity event? You had quite the scheming face earlier…” 

phantom-thief-kid:

Kaito noted the slight silver necklace, but just put it in the back of his mind. As much as Hakuba tried to hide it, Kaito was used to sleight of hand.

Why Hakuba was doing so being the foremost question Kaito had, but the awkwardness made him hold his tongue. Another sign, he noted wearily, that his KID persona was really starting to change him. He would have asked a lot of questions if this were to have happened much earlier. (…Though this probably wouldn’t have happened in the first place at that point in time.)

As Hakuba got the other shirt, Kaito unfolded the blanket and draped it over their laps. “Warmer?”

When all of the changing nonsense was done, and Hakuba had put his shirt over the arm of the couch, he nodded. “Yes. I think so." 

Part of that was the heated embarrassment that had reached his ears. Another was still being so close to Kaito. But the warm, dry shirt had actually helped considerably, though it did fit a bit snugly, as he’d expected. 

But, the worst was over, and it was time to relax. He turned his head to look at Kaito, offering a somewhat sheepish, hesitant smile. "Thank you, Kuroba-kun. I think this will do quite nicely.”

phantom-thief-kid:

Kaito blinked, snapped out of his thoughts. “Oh, right… Uh, sure…” Noting the blush around Hakuba’s cheeks, he got up and headed off to his room. He grabbed a long-sleeved shirt and a blanket from his closet. Coming back, he sat down next to Hakuba again, holding out the shirt, with the blanket still under his arm. (After Hakuba was done, he planned to drape the blanket over them.)

“Do you wish for me to turn away to protect your modesty?” He grinned just a bit. “I don’t know if you have some weird British thing about changing shirts.”

Well, he didn’t have a weird thing about changing shirts until about fifteen seconds ago. But by that point, it was a matter of pride. Hakuba shook his head. “N-no… I don’t mind…”

Except that he did mind… because he was still wearing the cross. 

The detective hesitantly took the shirt and set it in his lap, reaching up to the collar of his current shirt to begin unbuttoning it. Why did he always have to wear button-up collared shirts? It would only prolong the agony. 

But maybe he could take it off when he took off the shirt? Some kind of sleight of hand witchcraft that would hide it. As the buttons came free, and subsequently the cross, he tried to palm it into his hand and hold it with his thumb while continuing the undressing. But the chain wasn’t that long, which soon became obvious. He let it go and braced for comment, hands fumbling to finish the job as quickly as possible so that he could peel the shirt from him, ignore the shining silver, and get the other shirt- which was sure to be snug- on. Which he’d do if not hindered in the process. 

phantom-thief-kid:

“Yeah. And you feel frozen through. That can’t be healthy.” He nuzzled Hakuba just a bit. He was fond of touching, but he generally avoided it if he could. Getting too close emotionally to targets and detectives when thieving spelled trouble. This was unwise on his part, but he just wanted to enjoy it.

Likewise, Hakuba had committed to not getting involved with anyone that he had regular contact with… and Kaito definitely fit that bill. It was bad enough that he tried, at times, to be Kaito’s friend… and worse still that he didn’t do his duty and take down KID… and yet… and yet…

The detective’s blush deepened and he frowned, stiff against the nuzzling, trying not to enjoy it. Dammit, Kuroba-kun…  Why did he have to be so.. so infuriatingly attractive? Why was he just barely obnoxious enough to be fun and interesting instead of infuriating? 

“Ah.. n-no… it… can’t.”  Think, Hakuba, think. Rational, logical solutions to the problem at hand. “Do you have a blanket, perhaps? Or, ah, a shirt I could change into.. just until my clothes dry?" 

Yes, suggest that you get half naked- with blankets! Brilliant.

"T-to ward off… potential hypothermia.. of course.”

God, the nuzzling. There was no way that Hakuba would survive this unscathed. 

phantom-thief-kid:

“Sorry there’s no tea.” Kaito inched closer to Hakuba until their shoulders were touching. He noted the expression at the news of lack of tea, a bit surprised by it. So Hakuba really loved his tea. It was something he stored in the back of his mind, next to “Let Nakamori occasionally win if he’s feeling too down due to heists.”

He rested his head on Hakuba’s shoulder. This was probably unwise, but sharing body heat is something he didn’t mind. It was preferable to that nipping low-level cold that bit into one’s body during prolonged exposure to the rain. It was the kind of cold that settled into one’s bones and didn’t take to leaving so easily.

Hakuba was British, after all, and they were built to operate on tea dispersed at specific intervals, with extra here and there. The tea was nearly forgotten, however, at the physical contact. The detective glanced down at Kaito, eyes fluttering in momentary confusion and surprise.

“Ah, it’s… really… all right…” he said, stumbling over his words. Hakuba averted his gaze, looking toward the chair with his suit jacket awkwardly, blushing ever so slightly over his pale cheeks. He was cold, though; and the other teen’s warmth permeated through his damp shirt quite effectively and reminded him just how cold he really was. 

“Er, I suppose your heater’s out, then, isn’t it? It’s a bit cold out.”

There was a flash of light outside the window, and thunder roared only a couple of frantic heartbeats later. The more the storm progress, the darker it got, and Hakuba leaned back against Kaito, reluctantly. 

phantom-thief-kid:

“Hmm…” Kaito got up and headed over to the kitchen, ignoring the vague chill creeping into his extremities. “We may not have any British teas, but I’ll see what I can do.” He then looked for a tea kettle, grinning in a vaguely amused way. If he were able to go back in time and tell his past self (from when Hakuba was overly antagonistic) this, that would’ve been priceless.

After finding it behind a pot, he filled it up with water and set it on the stove, trying to turn it on. He frowned and turned the switch back to the off position, then back to the on position. After a moment, he headed over and tried flipping the light on, to no avail. He headed back to the living room and sat back down next to Hakuba. “Uh, strike that. The power’s out.”

Certainly, Hakuba’s current state would amuse several previously-antagonized parties. When Kaito left for the kitchen, the detective let out a breath and finally took a seat on the couch. He stayed on the edge of the cushion, and as far to the left as possible, and stared at the carpet ahead tiredly. 

It didn’t matter if it was Earl Grey or not. He’d long since learned to get by with any sort of tea, be it green, oolong, chai, whatever. As long as it was hot and in a cup of some sort, he would be fine. Milk and sugar only made it better. It was the simple act of holding a warm tea cup in one’s hands, and spreading that warmth throughout the body with gentle pulls that made it calming. Made it wonderful. 

Tea would set things right. Tea always set things right. Hakuba managed a small smile as he told himself this. 

So when Kaito returned with the bad news, the heartbreak on his face was something akin to the shattering of a million small children’s dreams, dashed upon the pavement and dragged under a tractor for fourteen miles. 

“Ah…” was all he managed to say, turning to look at the thief in disguise next to him. And then, after a faint whimper. “That’s all right. Th-thank you, anyway." 

Then silence and more shivering. Somehow, the world had suddenly become a much colder place. 

phantom-thief-kid:

“…I’ve kept them separate, to be honest. Cats eat songbirds frequently. She may be well-behaved usually, but I’d rather not chance it.” He looked over to Hakuba. “Are you okay? You look cold.”

“That’s probably for the best, that… and me?” Hakuba chuckled grimly, rubbing at the still damp sleeves of his shirt.

“This… last trip to London was more exhausting than most, and I haven’t quite recovered. I’d hoped that walking here would do me some good, but I’ve only managed to get stranded here in the middle of a bloody thunderstorm. I keep worrying that I’m wasting your time and all I can think about otherwise is my fireplace back home. God, and what I wouldn’t give for a cup of tea." 

phantom-thief-kid:

Kaito was even more curious now, due to the timeframe (years plural and parole were indicative), but the way Hakuba had acted made it sound much less like a normal case for him. “Well, I got a cat. Someone just left her at the doorstep and I took her in. And I had a strange dream of being attacked by Yamato no Orochi… Boring stuff, really.”

He was omitting a lot, though. The KID stuff was out of the question and the stuff that was basically magic was also out of the question. He didn’t want one of his detective’s heads to explode.

“Ah, yes, the hissing from under the couch.” Hakuba stayed standing next to the chair, unsure of what to do with himself. Even his words sounded distracted at best. He pulled the towel away from his shoulders and shivered again, draping it over the seat of the chair, and folding his arms afterward to try to retain some of his body heat. 

“I’ve never had a cat myself, but they seem like they would make good, quiet companions… I trust there’ve been no issues with your lovely doves?”

phantom-thief-kid:

“You can put it…” Kaito looked around. “Over on that chair.” He gestured toward the chair in question. He didn’t really care all that much, to be honest.

“Almost everything about that seems normal for you. An emergency, though? What happened? Someone get hurt?” (Curiosity may have killed the cat, but he was now currently unkillable, as far as he knew.)

“N-no, not exactly…”  

Hakuba stepped over to the chair and, still carefully, draped the suit jacket over its back. Nothing, as far as he could tell, was out of order. He checked his collared shirt, as well, draping the somewhat damp towel over his shoulders to ensure that nothing would be seen. He would not repeat the same mistake that he made with Heiji.

“Ah, a criminal that I put away years ago was up for parole for ‘good behavior.’ I only found out the day before his trial, and took the first available flight back home to prevent it from being granted." 

He cleared his throat, awkwardly. "But that’s… taken care of, now. What have you been up to, if you’re able to say?"