"By the way, I don't have a spare futon, so the bed is yours."
Shinichi blanked, staring at him with his mouth half open, in the middle of brushing his teeth.
"Whe'e wi yo shleeb?"
"I can't understand you like his, Kudo."
Shinichi rolled his eyes and spat the mix of toothpaste into the sink in front of him, only to repeat himself.
"Where will you sleep?"
The former thief in front of him shrugged, then gave one of his cheeky smiles as he folded his hands behind his head. He didn't look half as threatening anymore, wearing his pajamas, even with the KID-grin on his lips.
"Pandora's on the couch, so probably in Kaa-san's bed."
Shinichi felt the urge to tease him about this but alas, he was kind of grateful the thief made him stay. It was pretty late outside afterall, especially for a young adult like him who had a few shady organizations after him. At the end, he just settled for an acknowledging nod, and turned to rinse out his mouth.
"Sure. Are you really comfortable with me all alone in your room?"
"What, you want me to sleep with you?"
"Fuck no, don't touch me."
"Ouch, Shin-chan."
"Just saying. I could snoop."
"You'd find schoolbooks. And you already snooped."
"How would you know?"
There was a sudden pause in this conversation, and Kaito turned to shoot him a cocky smirk.
"Wouldn't you like to know. Business-secret."
"You put tape at the door and found it ripped off when you came back, didn't you."
"...perhaps."
"And you knew the entire time I was here."
"Maybe."
"Why didn't you call me out?!"
Kaito shrugged again, the same cheeky grin on his lips. What could he say, he couldn't help himself.
"See it as my form of revenge for breaking into my house."
Shinichi rolled his eyes and quietly put his utensils back into the small cabinet behind the bathroom mirror, then marched out past him.
"I hate you."
"You don't."
At the stairs, Kaito just gave him a quiet nod which Shinichi reciprocated, a little awkward.
"Good night."
"Sure."
It felt weird, closing the door of Kaito's room on himself. Being alone here, trusted by Kaito not to do anything stupid and yet, here he was, thinking about all the things he could snoop through in peace now.
"No. You're a guest now."
That would be really fucking impolite. Shinichi sighed, crawling under the sheets. They smelled new and freshly washed- Kaito must have changed the sheets while he was getting ready in the bathroom. The sleuth felt a little bad, having him do so much for him even tho he was the one breaking into his house.
It was relieving to say the least, seeing his nemesis being so... normal. He seemed alright, more than alright. Shinichi had been concerned, after all the way they parted hadn't exactly been what he would call 'relaxing'.
With a rather stupid smile, he nuzzled into the pillow, burying his thoughts and red face. He was fond of that stupid thief.
***
In the morning, Pandora was the one to shove Shinichi out of the bed.
The sleuth stared back into those happy far too awake eyes, unblinking. What time was it again? Where was he?
"...Pandora." Shinichi finally stated, as if to assure himself.
Pandora backed a step away as Shinichi sat up, giving him the space to stretch a little. Well, that definitely wasn't his bed. And why is Pandora here?
Right.
Some... things... did happen.
"Befriended Kaitou KID, huh... No. Kaito."
Shinichi's lips curled up into a fond smile. Pandora cocked his head to the side, confused. Was there a particular reason for Shinichi to be staring at the wall with a stupid grin on his face?
Pandora awkwardly shifting next to him brought Shinichi back to reality- acting as if nothing happened, he swung his legs out of the bed and got up with a sigh.
"You think Kaito has coffee? I could really go for one."
It didn't last long until the sleuth was fully dressed and really for the day. The moment he opened the door to the corridor, a smell of freshly cooked rice hit his nose.
Kaito making breakfast? Shinichi bit back a teasing remark as he entered the kitchen and loomed over Kaito's shoulder.
"Need help?"
"You could set the table," the thief hummed, not taking his eyes off of the pot. Pandora next to him stepped wordlessly to the drawers and pulled out silverware for three, and Shinichi stood awkwardly aside.
Well there goes his task.
"Anything else?"
"What, can't sit down? You're still a guest, Shinichi."
Kaito finally turned back, a grin on his face. His response was a soft huff. Shinichi was not awake enough for this.
That was the moment his eyes fell onto the small coffee machine in a corner, squished inbetween empty jars of nutella and crushed wrappers of chocolate bars.
"Does it work?"
Shinichi bent over the machine, eyes sparkling.
"It's plugged in at least. Kaa-san drinks a lot of it, when she's here at least. Maybe it needs a clean?"
Shinichi may as well have heard there was a stash of gold buried within the machine; a second later he was busy taking it apart and giving it a thorough deep clean. Even as Kaito filled the table with food, Shinichi was still cleaning the coffee machine.
As Kaito called for him, Shinichi was still cleaning.
As Kaito called again, Shinichi was still cleaning.
As Kaito took the coffee maker out of his hands, Shinichi protested.
No use arguying- Kaito pulled the sleuth to the table.
"Geez now I know how Aoko feels."
"Who's that? Also what's that supposed to mean?!"
Aoko taking care of Kaito and her father, Nakamori-keibu, obviously. But Kaito was wiser than explaining that to an obviously miffed Shinichi, and wordlessly sat him down at the table.
"Don't mope, Shin-chan. Food's getting cold."
"Don't call me Shin-chan!"
"Say ah~"
"Fuck you."
Shinichi glared at Kaito and grabbed his own chopsticks; fully aware Kaito would not let him get away without ingesting some sort of food.
"I'll finish that one later I guess..."
"You don't need coffee to be awake."
"I do."
Pandora just sighed soundlessly. He could feel them bickering. Hopefully that wouldn't always be like that.