“I’ll take your advice any day, Kaito.” Saguru frowned, “And I’m not so black and white. I’ll pretend not to be offended by that.”
“But I think you’re in no position to ensure my safety when you go around taking your own for granted. I appreciate the thought, and I’m aware you want to avoid worrying me, but how many times have we had the talk that silence worries me more?” His hand lurched forward to brush his fingers against Kaito’s, even though with Naoto’s hand, it didn’t have the same effect, yet he wanted the sentiment to be present regardless.
“You think I hadn’t read the reports of gunshots during your heists?”
“I know what I’m getting myself into, at least. I take precautions when I can, because I know what’s out there.” He was all too familiar with Snake’s appearances at his heists, and had taken liberties in planning them accordingly. He at least knew who was out to get him.
“Fine, you want the truth?” The feeling of the hand against him was both the same and different, the same warmth but from a different source, right and wrong and weird. But everything was weird at this point, so maybe it made more sense than it should have. “I just don’t want to lose you, too.”
Saguru raised a hand before Kaito could finish of his last sentence, letting out a hefty sigh and deciding to set something straight. Go figure. He was never one to brag about how his fame had attracted the wrong type of media; Saguru was more inclined to bask in the spotlight, but Kaito…
Geez. Did he have to be spoonfed?
“I’ll pass on the warning. I’ve had my fair share of shooters after my own head too, and I’d rather not have my capabilities in organized crime being sized up by a phantom thief. ”
Not something he wanted to hear, and he bristled slightly at the idea of anybody targeting his detective, but the point had been made. Experience was experience was experience, regardless. As much as he wanted to, he wasn’t going to push it.
“Okay, fine. But it’s there if you need it.” The feeling of wanting to say something he couldn’t wasn’t the most unfamiliar in the world, but he had to pause for a moment to collect them back. “Not like you’d take a criminal’s advice, anyways.”
“Understand what, your amusement for having an assortment of killers on your trail?” He sighed, rolling his eyes and wondering if he would have preferred for his thief to mix up an excuse, instead of giving him half baked answers as always. Kaito sure enjoyed being a mystery, and Saguru was an idiot for finding it to be one of his attractive points.
Or well, usually it was attractive. Now, given the context, he just found it worrying, even if he’d had an inkling all along.
“Let me guess, I’ve to figure it out for myself like a good little detective?”
“I’d rather you not figure it out for yourself,” he said, completely honestly and, in his opinion, completely reasonably. “Or at all, for that matter. No offense, Sagu, but you’re not cut out for this.”
Truth be told, neither was Kaito. Neither was anybody for that matter, but once you go black (organization), you never go back…or something like that. “You don’t need to get in over your head.”
“In my defence, it was interesting to see the world through Naoto-kun’s eyes for once. I’m always intrigued by the limitations of the psyche, how we’re incapable of seeing the world through another perspective no matter how much we want to. But satisfactions aside, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t fun messing with you there.”
Oops. He rambled. Psychology was something he’d given a lot of thought to when studying criminology, naturally, but it had spread to a minor curiosity for other subjects.
“… Although I must say, you’re quite open with her, Kuroba-san.”
Urk- he bit back a nervous scowl at that. “I’m not open with her…”
He was close to floundering around for an excuse for a moment, but withheld himself. “She’d just…understand better, is all.” He didn’t want to admit that Naoto already knew more than Saguru did (he didn’t know if Saguru even knew that, and in either case, that was more Akio’s fault than his own - seriously, he had to talk to him about blabbing to everybody), but that was the way that it had turned out.
He wondered if it would be any consolation to say that he hadn’t wanted to worry Saguru - not a lie, but no, he’d probably just be reproached for that.
“I’ve been trying not to, either, but this is partially the reason why Naoto-kun and I were keeping it a secret. Less awkward on others, albeit more straining on us.”
Still, he couldn’t help but stiffle a laugh at Kaito’s expression, forever amused whenever he pulled that exact look. “If it’s any consolation, it’s as weird for me as it is for you.”
“And see how well that worked out,” he muttered bitterly under his breath, but snickered lightly at his next words. “Good. I don’t know how I’d react if you said you were used to-”
Yeah, that joke was going to go nowhere good, so he just stopped that train of thought where it was. “Well, you got a kick out of fooling me for a bit, at least.” Needless to say, Kaito felt like something of an idiot after that whole debacle. “Isn’t that right, tantei-chan?”
He had gotten over the initial shock, true, but there was nothing odder than talking to your boyfriend….girlfriend….significant other while they were in another person’s body. “I don’t really want to think about the logistics behind this.” And with that, he cleared his throat, ruffling Saguru’s - Naoto’s? - hair slightly. At least it was a good feeling to be taller than your beau.
“Well, I mean… movies are often geared towards general audiences, no? That’s how marketing works with the media and products - some things even get pulled off the shelf if a gender other than the intended audience begins to take–” Saguru paused, realizing he was rambling again about trivia that no one really cared about, and that, frankly, didn’t contribute to the mood at all.
Not that the mood was in the high, either.
“Ah… er, the– movie sounds great.” Attempting got get back on track, the half-Brit cleared his throat and nodded to reaffirm his statement. “My, I wonder… that sounds so familiar and yet I can’t place my finger on it,” he mused, dropping his head against the top of Kaito’s. “I’ll watch whatever you want. I’m content just being able to spend time with you.”
Nobody was allowed to say that Saguru wasn’t aware of the world’s injustices, at least, but he was grateful nonetheless when he stopped.
“Don’t be sassy with me,” Kaito groused, but there was no force behind his words. Instead, he just huffed lightly, his eyes flickering up as he placed a hand over the one around his waist. “You’re such a sap, you know. Sapguru. That’s your new nickname.” He wasn’t going to say any more, lest he be a hypocrite. After all, he had suggested it just for the two of them, after all.
“Ah, still as tacky as ever.” Saguru murmured, flicking at the rose, but leaving it there because why not. Instead, his arm came down to wrap around Kaito’s waist instead, balancing his book in the opposite hand and trying to turn the page with his thumb. It didn’t work very well, but it was worth it. Sort of.
“Your magic is always debatable.” Especially the type of magic in question. “As for the movie, I haven’t seen that… although I hear it’s a little old? Isn’t that a chick flick, Kaito?”
He was going to get back at Saguru someday, just for calling his magic tacky, but the fact remained that he was currently too comfortable to do so.
“Surprise, Sagu, women watch movies. Everything’s a chick flick. Everything.” With a slight huff, he continued. “But that’s beside the point. I was just wondering if you had seen it- do you know what it’s about?” And here, he was going to answer his own question. “It’s about two people who are enemies- not really enemies, rivals, who dislike each other on principle, and…”
He mumbled out the last part, “well, it’s a romcom…you know how it goes. I just thought it was…interesting.”
Which made him raise his brows, because he wasn’t really expecting Kaito to respond in that manner. A thief was a thief, after all, and didn’t like being cuffed for too long, but oh well.
Instead, he took his attention to the popcorn kernel and rose a brow– “How romantic.” He remarked. “A downgrade from your roses, I have to admit, but a little less tacky somehow.” As for the movie suggestion, he liked that, but he had to wonder what sort of things Kaito watched.
And… when he thought about that, he yearned to know more about his boyfriend; they bickered like a married couple, but he still wanted to know the small things that made you married. “Movie night sounds good.”
“A downgrade? Less tacky? I’m offended.” He huffed slightly and returned the kernel to his palm, squeezing it gently into a fist before opening his hand up once again to reveal a red rose, reaching up to settle it behind Saguru’s ear.
“All of my magic is amazing, and you know it.” He relaxed once more against his boyfriend, humming slightly. “Have you ever heard of You’ve Got Mail?”
“I won’t arrest you.” Saguru reassured with a small laugh, cupping his book in one hand to thump Kaito on the side of the head with the edge. “I may arrest your attention for the remaining time I have you, but there will be no cuffs involved.”
“Unless you have other ideas for them.”
Of course, he was only joking - actual handcuffs hurt like that. His cuffs had already shown signs of worn before that he, certainly, had not recognized, which only implied they had been stolen by a thief and then safely returned.
Saguru blamed Akio, by default. And he was not going to follow in his example so soon.
Ow. He rubbed the spot where he was thwacked; while it didn’t hurt, per se, he was still allowed to pout about it.
“Perhaps not yours, but if you’re offering, I could probably find a proper pair…” He trailed off with a snicker, although he soon fell into silence afterwards. “We should have a movie night,” he said matter-of-factly. “Just you, me, Netflix, and all-you-can-eat popcorn.”
To prove his point, he snapped his fingers, and a single popcorn kernel popped from his hand, which he offered to Saguru.
