After a few pasting days, Shinichi was becoming more accustomed to his new predicament, although the restricted authority issued by the house owner was putting him in a sour mood. He hated limitations, and KID knew that. The thief was clearly asking for a pissed off Shinichi. And to deepened his irritable mood even further, the thief had decided to take the liberty of following him around the Penthouse, wearing an amused smirk and those indigo eyes brimming with merit. If only his hands weren't cuffed, Shinichi would have taken great joy in punching the man in the face.

"Stop following me." Shinichi ultimately snapped, spinning around on his heels as he scowled intensely at the man in front of him. Said man titled his head to the side, returning an innocent smile. The urge to punch was growing stronger.

"Whatever do you mean, darling?", the man replied with a flutter of his eyelashes. Seeing the action made Shinichi cringed, yet he recovered; masking his discomfort with a scoff. He was no fool.

"Your lying skills have lost their touch, KID. You've been following me since 8 am this morning. Why?"

Shinichi was not astounded to hear the man chuckle.

"How could I possibly let my guard down when being in the presence of Japan's most prestigious detective? Besides, you must be mistaken."

OK...he'll take the compliment with a grain of salt but, Shinichi was confident with what he had been witnessing the past three days.

Lamentably, when it came to interrogating the other man, Shinichi's demands were often answered with unsatisfying responses. Those answers usually consisted of a sly smirk or a razor-sharp grin, or sometimes just a mere nod. Like he was supposed to know what that meant.

Needless to say, KID was observing him like a hawk 24/7 even when it was time to go to sleep.

Now, here's the interesting part that Shinichi had lately discovered.
KID had been sneaking out of the Penthouse, at exactly Midnight. Not that Shinichi was prosecuting the thief of acting shady in his own home. But anyway he had enough evidence to prove it. At first, he believed the thief had left to do some late-night groceries shopping thought that assumption didn't last long when he noticed the lack of newly brought products. Well, he can cross that off the list.

Then came the mysterious phone call. Dismally, the conversation was regularly muffled since KID always took the phone call to the living room, away from prying ears. How smart of him, Shinichi bitterly thought to himself.

And lastly, the discovery of finding blood-stained ties and shirts lying or stuffed in the most outlandish places as if KID was trying to hide the garments from him was enough to confirm his suspicions.

Hm, this finding was subsequently sending adrenaline of excitement through Shinichi's veins. About time too.

Oh, how could he forget the mention of the strange ways the thief would look at him. Especially during breakfast, which by the way was cooked by the owner himself. The detective would often catch KID studying him, head on one side, chin in hand as if he were a specimen in a museum; which in turn Shinichi found humorous since it should have been him doing the examining.

Of course, then came the exceptional compliments about his appearance (not surprising since he had been told in person he was incredibly handsome) thought it felt strange hearing it from a former rival, especially when said rival was the most wanted criminal. But hey, this was KID. When did anything from the man's lips make sense?

But when KID would speak, there was a hint of sadness or longing in his eyes. What on earth could you be yearning for, KID?

Then one morning, the day began with a serious conversation.

"Hey Shinichi", KID began. Shinichi's lips morphed into a frown. It was rare to hear his name on the man's lips instead of a nickname. Must be important.

"What is it, KID?" Shinichi chose to reply in a monotone, pushing away the now empty pile of what had been filled with a ham and cheese omelette. The man's eyebrows furrowed.

"Call me Kaito", came the unexpectedly reply, making Shinichi let out a rash cough.

"P-Please don't tell me that's your real name..."

A single eyebrow rose up. "Is there something wrong with my name?"

Shinichi didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"It's just anti-climax...bearing the same name as your alter-ego...."

Upon hearing the reason, Kaito slithered a flat smirk through his lips.

"Sorry to have disappointed you, detective. Regrettably that name you keep saying, I no longer hold any affection for.

After all, that notorious name had ended up getting his father killed. And now, Jii-chan.

Not that his detective would ever know that.

"I thought you enjoyed bathing in the spotlight of attention," Shinichi said, with a look of bewilderment as he sipped down the last drop of his coffee. Kaito found himself watching the pink tongue slip out to savour the taste. How long must he wait until he could claim those beautiful lips?

"I did, but now I prefer sticking to the darknesses." Kaito's mind snapped back to reality.

"Heh. Like a real phantom, only this time you're missing the exaggerated white outfit." Kaito laughed softly at those words, he wanted to make a snippy remark at his detective but realised he was getting sidetracked again

Heaving a cough, Kaito straightened up, allowing his poker face slip through.

"Anyway, back to business. Unfortunately, I have requested to attend a rather requisite event that I sorrowfully cannot reschedule, which means.."

Kaito trailed off, permitting the detective to register the true meaning of his words. Shinichi's mouth morphed into an 'o' shape before narrowing his eyes.

"So...you're saying that I'll be confined in this apartment all by myself until you return?"

"Ping pong! said the man in a singsong tone that juxtaposed the serious expression on his face.

Kaito was somewhat surprised to hear the other utter out a groan. "Oh? Sounds like you going to miss me, darling." he ridiculed lightly resting his chin on the palm of his hand.

Shinichi scoffed loudly, crossing his arms as he answered with a harsh "Like hell I'm going to miss you." though halfway, the detective must have realised the crudity of his reply as he covered his mouth while Kaito turned his head to the side.

Ouch. That kind of hurt. Expected though.

"Well then," Kaito sharply rose up, shifting his gaze away from the detective. Shinichi followed.
"Wait KID-I mean K-Kaito".

"I have to change my attire", was all the other man could muster, stalking over towards bedroom where he opened the room's door more brutally than he wanted, but Kaito couldn't find the energy to care. The door bounced off the wall; swiftly closing behind him with a click.

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Kaito couldn't find the heart to hum to himself as he pulled on his black jacket and adjusted his black gloves. His new outfit consisted of a blue button up shirt, black coat, black pants, black dress shoes, and lastly the monocle. Yes, black was his new colour. And lets hope he didn't have to wash out blood-stains. Now, to the situation at hand.....

He should have known Shinichi wouldn't return his feelings in a heartbeat, since he had kidnapped him. There went his brownie points to impress.

The detective hadn't even realised he, Kaito had been flirting with him since day one. It looked like the rumours of the man being dense to any romantic advances were sadly true. Maybe he should have gone out and kissed the life out of the man. Nah, that would have earned him no doubt a punch to the face or....worst, his genitals. Kaito shivered at the thought.

However, much to his surprise when he opened the door, Shinichi was standing there, wearing an expression of guilt. The man's hand was rubbing the back of his neck. Kaito leaned against the door frame, staring back with an expected look. Maybe his eyes had deceived him, but he could have sworn he saw the other's blue eyes move up and down for a second. Oh, how interesting.

"I'm sorry for my rude behaviour, Kaito," Shinichi said in a soft tone, watching the thief's reaction. From Kaito's side, hearing Shinichi say his name with the perfect intonation was making him forget all about his sulkiness towards the man.

"No harm done, darling." Kaito immediately switched to flirting mode, sending a wink which made the detective roll his eyes once more. He was worried over nothing.

"What time will you be back?"

Kaito made a considerable sound before smirking, "I'll be back before the essence of life fades away from the city's eyes". Kaito dipped forward, startling Shinichi when the back of his hand was grabbed and kissed. That's when Kaito sees it. Shinichi's cheeks are suddenly kissed pink like a rose, the blooming colour so cute against his pale skin. Shinichi looked away, finding a distraction in the sky. Kaito stepped back, allowing the other time to compose himself, while he fought back a smile that wanted to break out.

He was the cause of that reaction. He wanted Shinichi to remember that. So while his Shinichi's gaze is averted, Kaito doesn't drop his eyes for a moment.

Maybe, just maybe, he could truly make his detective reciprocate his feelings.