Too late. The thief’s already latched onto the blond and is, apparently, making no move to let him go anytime soon.
“You’ve been overworking yourself again, haven’t you?” Hakuba slipped his arms back around him for a warm embrace, then moved to scoop him up, bridal-style. “Come on, then… to the couch we go."
Long day. Tired Kaito is tired. Someone come cuddle him.
“Oh, dear. Let me get the kettle on.”
The two detectives froze at the whimpering plea, and while Conan steeled himself for what was to come, it only took 1.37 seconds for Hakuba to know, without a doubt, who the voice belonged to. It was Kid. It was Kuroba Kaito. His Kaito. He’d never heard it like that before, though; not in any of the time he’d known him. It was so broken. And it hurt.
Taking in the scene didn’t help ease that pain, either. Both of them could smell the blood and sensed the fear, felt the tension in the air, but Hakuba recognized something else that Conan had very little experience with, and it twisted his stomach in knots. The odor of sweat and sex, though nearly impossible to describe, stirred with the evidence of torture and brought unbidden flashes to mind. But the blond detective didn’t stop breathing until he saw his moonlight thief.
Conan leveled his watch, body tense, muscles coiled and ready to spring, but narrowed his eyes at the figure shivering in the light. Was that figure, bent and bleeding, really Kaitou KID? Was that even possible? He stepped forward, listening for his companion’s actions to dictate his own, but stopped when Hakuba staggered forward. He’d expected a calm and cautious approach, soft words and authority, but this…
It was all wrong. All so wrong. Hakuba couldn’t see KID, all he could see was Kaito. None of his professionalism and training stood a chance against vivid images that overtook him, crashing through all of his protective walls like the raging sea against a crumbling dam. It was far too personal. It hurt too much.
All at once he was drowning, gasping a ragged breath of his own as he dropped the firearm uselessly to the floor. Numbly, his left hand made for his pocket, digging for the watch in a desperate and reflexive effort to salvage his sanity, but the trembling in his limbs was far too violent to even keep adequate hold. Knees giving way to the crushing emotions, Hakuba sank to the ground, face twisted in agony and horror. Kaito, oh god, Kaito, oh god!
He couldn’t speak. Could barely think. The shadow cast by his own body in the flashlight stretched over Kaito as the sheepdog over a lamb’s battered form, drawing close despite its resemblance to the offending wolf.
It was the perfect contrast; a tormented knight to the shattered joker, and it disturbed Conan to witness it. It also told him far more than he’d anticipated– Hakuba was no stranger to abuse and he probably knew who Kaitou Kid really was… or they were really close despite. There were very few alternative explanations for how quickly the foreign detective had become emotionally compromised.
In a way, it embarrassed him. Hakuba may care for the thief, but they had work to do. How was losing his shit going to help KID?
“Oi, Hakuba!” Conan barked, voice hard and scowl firm. “Pull yourself together!"
The harsh reprimand snapped Hakuba back just enough for him to give a strangled cry. "Kaito!” Reaching, half crawling through the bloody patches toward him, tears building and falling in desperation.
Fortunately, Conan dismissed the slip for a mistake on that foreign tongue, rolling his eyes as he impatiently collected the gun from the floor. Dammit, Hakuba!
He couldn’t help it, he laughed, arms wrapping around Hakuba’s neck and lips brushing against his cheek. It was ridiculous. Really. So ridiculous, how every little thing was enough to make Kaito’s chest fill with pure and utter warmth and love for the detective above him and he tugged him closer, eyes closing as he nuzzled into the crook of Hakuba’s neck.
“How about cuddling and kissing~?”
“As if I could deny such a request from you.”
Hakuba returned the affection by nosing his head and kissing his hair, laughing quietly with him. Ridiculous? Yes, definitely. Wonderful? Also a definite. With a contented sigh, he flopped onto his side, eyes on Kaito’s face to gaze at him nothing but adoration, arm draped over him, smile confident and serene. He owed him kisses, yes, but for just that moment… he just wanted to look at him, lifting his hand again to brush through his bangs.
“…how many kisses would you like? You seem quite tired.” It was all teasing, of course; he’d give as many kisses as Kaito wanted.
Kaito followed along, smile wide and soft that brightened further as he caught sight of the bed and he skipped ahead of the detective and pulled him along. His fingers tightened ever so slightly around Hakuba’s hand and he grinned, glancing back at the blond briefly, before he let himself simply drop right down onto the bed, tugging Hakuba with him.
Another laugh, and Hakuba couldn’t help but follow. Like a friendly dog pretending to be a wolf, he crawled onto the bed after him, his predatory smirk mocking at best, and came to rest with limbs on either side of him. Down he went, lowering himself onto his elbows to kiss Kaito, first on the lips, then the nose, and finally his forehead, nuzzling at him afterward with no disguise of his affection for him. If he’d had a tail, it’d be wagging happily.
“What am I to do with you~?” he asked, rubbing against his cheek.
“Like you even need to ask.” He pushed away from the desk and, unable to stop himself even with how tired he actually was, gave the blond a playful wink and an exaggerated bow. “After you~”
The detective laughed and reached a hand back for him, smirk playful and amused. “Come along, my darling thief~” Assuming Kaito took the offered hand, Hakuba quickly laced fingers to more adequately tug him along for some well-deserved rest… and cuddles, of course.
Indigo eyes blinked open slowly and he glanced up at Hakuba, processing the words, before a small, sleepy grin stretched across his lips. “Depends. You gonna keep me company?”
“Of course, if you’d like me to.” Hakuba kissed the top of his head and leaned back, stretching his arms. “Shall we go~?”
Please don’t mind him. He’s just going to…sleep for a bit. Right here.
“Pssst… Kuroba-kun~” Hakuba whispered, leaning down over him to nudge his shoulder with his hands. “Wouldn’t you be more comfortable in your bed~?”
((Debated, then decided to put it all behind a cut, ha ha ha~))
Ragged, shallow breaths were the only thing filling the silence stretching thickly through the dark, cold room – apart from the faint buzzing deep within one of the corners, but Kaito tried not to think about that, pushing the sound to the back of his mind to the very best of his abilities. If he continued listening, if he focused on that—
He choked on a cry, body stiffening and eyes clenching shut. His fingers, smeared with his own blood, dug into his scalp as he pressed himself further against the wall, another whimper and strangled sob leaving his raw throat at the burning electricity flaring through his nerves as he further agitated his wounds.
Stupid stupid stupid
If only he’d said ‘no’, if only he’d listened to that faint voice in the back of his head, if only he hadn’t been so stupid and naive—
Another shiver wracked through his bloodied frame and he knew he was cold and he knew it was bad and he knew he needed help – help please someone I can’t do this I can’t I can’t I can’t someone help me please – but the voices chanting in his mind, over and over
‘Pathetic’
‘Worthless’
‘Stupid’
‘Whore’
was drowning everything else out, numbing his senses of everything but the hollow feeling spreading through his entire being.
Worthless stupid tainted unworthy pathetic idiot naive fool child what’s the point stay why don’t you stay close your eyes it’s fine it doesn’t matter no one cares they shouldn’t why would they just stay it’s better if you just—
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Kaito could hear another buzzing join the first- it was faint, so, so faint and far away – and it sounded once, twice, three, four times, before dying away completely. He knew what it was. He’d heard it a thousand times before and it was enough to make a glimmer of something akin to hope – but it was so incredibly faint, barely visible and there at all unless one knew where and how to look – flicker in his chest along with a cold sense of panic, horror and dread and Kaito slowly opened his eyes, gaze hazily flickering in the direction of where the sound had come.
help me
Never before had Hakuba broken so many traffic laws in one stretch, but he didn’t care. Every time his calls went to voicemail, he added another 3.5 miles per hour to his speed, and it was only his experience and the adrenaline rush that kept him crashing into other cars instead of swerving around them.
Once on scene, he parked his car – very illegally – as close as he possibly could to the store in question, slapped the ‘official police business’ declaration in the window, and leapt to retrieve his medical field bag. It was then a jog to Conan, who waited at the very edge of the glass store front, staring down any onlookers with extreme prejudice.
It was his presence – the young, innocent child with the death glare – that kept the public mostly at bay. Could they look in on the horrors with a kid there? Especially one intent on snapping if anyone got too close. Not that it didn’t stop them from trying, wanting to lead him away… but, fortunately, Hakuba got there first.
“He’s with me. Official police business. Please be on your way.” Hakuba’s badge was only a consultant’s, but the seal was legitimate, and worked well enough on the lay person. Heavy duffel over one arm and black police windbreaker on his person, the detective asserted his quasi-authority to take control of the scene.
Despite his previous statement, Hakuba changed his mind as soon as they found the entry point, glancing into the dark. He heard the rasping breaths, the quiet electric hum, and glanced down at the boy at his side. “Go home, Conan-kun.”
“Like hell."
Hakuba blinked, brows furrowing at the response. ”…You’ve done your part; I’ll take over.“
"Oi, stop wasting time. Let’s move.”
Conan pushed past Hakuba without another word, leaving the blond to chase after. With a flick of his wrist, he had the flashlight activated on his watch, scanning the area for something, anything – persons, traps, instruments of torture, splashes of blood…
The tension had them both on edge, and as they ventured further, Hakuba shifted his firearm from left to right hand, ready. He kept watch above, eyes adjusting to the dark while his little companion scoured the floor, both listening, waiting.
themoonlightthief reblogged your post and added:
The moment he heard the faint sound of footsteps approaching the windows, Kaitou brightened, ips tugging into a small grin of relief as he waited, a little impatiently, for Hakuba to tug them open.
“…Hello, detective.” A slightly sheepish chuckle left the thief’s throat and he slid past the blond and into his bedroom without even so much as waiting for an invitation – not that he ever did that anyway, but. That was besides the point and there were more important matters to pay attention to right now.
Like magical gems and the apparent existence of curses.
He glanced around the dark room, hands idly – and a little nervously – playing with his cape. They just really needed something to do and rubbing his tailwasn’t exactly—
…Let’s just say he’d already tried it and he wasn’t quite sure what to think of how that had felt.
“—No,” Kaitou finally replied, grin a little more forced as he turned to look at Hakuba again, fingers curling into the white fabric. “Not…exactly.” He paused. “…What do you know about magic, detective? Not sleight of hand or illusions, but…real magic?”
The question surprised him more than anything else; Hakuba was used to Kaitou Kid doing whatever he pleased, particularly when it came to the detective, but magic? Real magic? He wondered if it was some sort of a joke. Hesitantly, he closed the windows and slipped the latch in place before turning to face him, one brow rising.
"Well… I did date Koizumi-san for a month or so…” Thirty two days, 15 hours, seven minutes, 24 seconds, precisely. “I don’t know if you recall that, but during that time, I did happen to learn quite a bit about witches and curses, demons, summoned servants, and something about spiders…” Hakuba frowned at the memory; he’d entirely lost count of how many spiders he’d had to carefully extract from the manor by Akako’s request, setting them outside in the grass.
“But, more to the point, I can tell you that love potions are evil and ill-advised.” He paused. “Are you saying that you’ve… been bewitched? Is this Koizumi-san’s doing?!”
