My muse has been missing for several days. Send “Where were you?!?” For mine to suddenly show up at your muse’s doorstep, in rough shape.
Kaito flinched, just barely managing to stop himself from taking a step back, his gaze shamefully, guiltily, darting off to the side and towards the ground. Maybe this had been a bad idea after all. He knew there would be questions – of course there would be – but he’d hoped against hope and prayed that his other self would, at the very least…
…He wasn’t quite sure how to finish that. And, in all honesty, it didn’t really matter at the moment anyway, did it?
Swallowing thickly, he opened his mouth, then closed it again, hesitating, before glancing back up towards the thief again. And the expression that met Kaito only made the guilt and utter selfloathing grow to the point that he felt like he might just throw up.
“Ah, I…”
A thin, weary smile curved at the corners of his lips and a bloody hand selfconsciously tugged the equally bloody and dirty sleeve down his other arm and Kaito chuckled, quietly, tired indigo eyes flickering away once more.
“I went to buy chocolate and got lost on the way home…?”
“That so…” A thoughtful noise slipped from his throat as he idly folded the once,twice, before letting it rest beside the rest of his counterpart’s belongings. “Looks like it’s not just me, then.”
And the stalling continued.
Kaito took a small step back, eyes briefly flickering towards the buttons on the thief’s shirt, but despite how similar they were and everything, he knew that he’d been pushing it when he’d removed the other teen’s tie and starting to unbutton his shirt was bound to raise a few questions about his strange behavior.
Which left him with very little else to do but begin to work on his own clothing and oh god, maybe this had been a bad idea, after all.
“Hey, um…” The magician hesitated, fingers hovering uncertainly over the buttons on his own shirt, gaze nervously locked on the floor. “This is gonna sound really stupid, but, uh…could you maybe turn around…?”
Odd, maybe. Stupid… not really. The only reason the request came off as strange at all was because Kaito had been the one saying the thief could go through with his earlier offer. The reaction the other had to a shirt starting to be removed a time before kinda made it clear the magician wasn’t comfortable with it.
Kid simply smiled teasingly and took a small bow.
“Hmm… I guess I can. I am a gentleman, after all~” Sometimes. Unless he didn’t feel like it. But the brunet turned so that he no longer faced his other self, resisting the urge to glance back and instead occupying his eyes on staring at the buttons on the jacket and shirt as he worked to get them undone, getting the former off and setting it to the side without turning his head.
My muse has been missing for several days. Send “Where were you?!?” For mine to suddenly show up at your muse’s doorstep, in rough shape.
Kaito flinched, just barely managing to stop himself from taking a step back, his gaze shamefully, guiltily, darting off to the side and towards the ground. Maybe this had been a bad idea after all. He knew there would be questions – of course there would be – but he’d hoped against hope and prayed that his other self would, at the very least…
…He wasn’t quite sure how to finish that. And, in all honesty, it didn’t really matter at the moment anyway, did it?
Swallowing thickly, he opened his mouth, then closed it again, hesitating, before glancing back up towards the thief again. And the expression that met Kaito only made the guilt and utter selfloathing grow to the point that he felt like he might just throw up.
“Ah, I…”
A thin, weary smile curved at the corners of his lips and a bloody hand selfconsciously tugged the equally bloody and dirty sleeve down his other arm and Kaito chuckled, quietly, tired indigo eyes flickering away once more.
“I went to buy chocolate and got lost on the way home…?”
He hummed, shooting his counterpart a slightly wider grin that almost mirrored the thief’s own. One step, two steps, three, closer, and he took the opportunity to casually swipe the other’s monocle, carefully placing it on the sink beside the hat.
“I hope you’re certain about that, robot-kun, or it’s going to turn into quite the shocking shower, y’know. For both of us.”
Not that it wasn’t already going to be rather shocking – or uncomfortable and awkward and emotionally draining and painful in so many ways of the word, but Kaito tried not to think about that.
At least, not right now.
Not when he could continue stalling his own undressing by curling his fingers around his double’s tie and idly pull it loose from around his neck.
"…Do you switch between red, pink and orange ties too, or is that just me?”
The thief blinked a couple of times at the sudden removal of his eyepiece, but he just smiled at the comments. It wasn’t as though he needed to worry much, considering the magician, of all people, would of course fall into his list of people who could take it off. It just… felt a bit strange to have someone else do it so casually, for once.
And the small surprises continued. Not as though he wasn’t okay with his double taking off more, but he’d placed the monocle removal as just something to go with the banter. Interesting choice of question, if more than a little random… His head still turned up slightly to consider it, though.
“Hmm… I guess I do. I don’t really plan on it or anything, but when you have more than one colour, the others are bound to get used at some point… Just depends on which one is out.”
Kid grinned as he accepted the treat, giving a word of thanks himself before his counterpart caught him off guard slightly. There may have been a slight pout, but it largely got covered by the smile that broke though it. The thief had missed his other self being more playful like that.
He looked at the gift, considering, before turning to the magician again. The kiss will be returned later, for now…
“…You know… If I had to guess, I think there’s enough here to share. If you’d like to~”
My muse has been missing for several days. Send “Where were you?!?” For mine to suddenly show up at your muse’s doorstep, in rough shape.
Kaito flinched, just barely managing to stop himself from taking a step back, his gaze shamefully, guiltily, darting off to the side and towards the ground. Maybe this had been a bad idea after all. He knew there would be questions – of course there would be – but he’d hoped against hope and prayed that his other self would, at the very least…
…He wasn’t quite sure how to finish that. And, in all honesty, it didn’t really matter at the moment anyway, did it?
Swallowing thickly, he opened his mouth, then closed it again, hesitating, before glancing back up towards the thief again. And the expression that met Kaito only made the guilt and utter selfloathing grow to the point that he felt like he might just throw up.
“Ah, I…”
A thin, weary smile curved at the corners of his lips and a bloody hand selfconsciously tugged the equally bloody and dirty sleeve down his other arm and Kaito chuckled, quietly, tired indigo eyes flickering away once more.
“I went to buy chocolate and got lost on the way home…?”
Kaito exhaled a quiet breath of relief, the almost painful hold his fingers had on his shirt loosening ever so slightly. At least that was one small hurdle done with.
“Th-then…yeah. I’d like you to.”
His gaze lifted, eyes glancing up towards the thief again, lips quirking into a small smile with just the barest hint of hesitance. One hand idly raked through his hair and he looked in the direction of the shower, then back at his double with what almost looked like a lightly playful gleam.
“That is, if you’re one hundred percent sure you can really handle water, robot-san.”
A small bit of relief went through the uniformed teen as well. Honestly, he’d been holding onto that hope of his counterpart not backing away again, so this… this was a good sign.
The door closed now, gently, though he didn’t lock it. No real need to. And he did laugh softly this time.
Definitely in a better mood now, aren’t we?
Kid took a step closer, a grin rising as he casually took off his hat.
“Oh… I think I’ll be fine. If I did have problems with my ‘waterproofing’, magician-kun, I’m fairly certain I’d have already short circuited a few times already,” he responded, setting the top hat down on the sink.
“Oh? Well, I hope this won’t sound too narcissistic~ Certainly a cute and handsome devil, observant and frankly beautiful eyes, and very good with your hands, however you choose to take that. And you’re an excellent cuddle buddy, when you don’t mind a certain robot-san bothering you~
Good sense of humour… or no, wait, people have said it was bad?
We really do need to see about bothering the detectives together, as much fun having two clever minds with the same face and slew of tricks would be in shaking up their logic. Would love to see them solve that mystery…”
My muse has been missing for several days. Send “Where were you?!?” For mine to suddenly show up at your muse’s doorstep, in rough shape.
Kaito flinched, just barely managing to stop himself from taking a step back, his gaze shamefully, guiltily, darting off to the side and towards the ground. Maybe this had been a bad idea after all. He knew there would be questions – of course there would be – but he’d hoped against hope and prayed that his other self would, at the very least…
…He wasn’t quite sure how to finish that. And, in all honesty, it didn’t really matter at the moment anyway, did it?
Swallowing thickly, he opened his mouth, then closed it again, hesitating, before glancing back up towards the thief again. And the expression that met Kaito only made the guilt and utter selfloathing grow to the point that he felt like he might just throw up.
“Ah, I…”
A thin, weary smile curved at the corners of his lips and a bloody hand selfconsciously tugged the equally bloody and dirty sleeve down his other arm and Kaito chuckled, quietly, tired indigo eyes flickering away once more.
“I went to buy chocolate and got lost on the way home…?”
“Would…”
He swallowed, the rest of the words suddenly feeling like they were stuck in his throat. His gaze awkwardly dropped to the ground and his face tinted a faint pink in embarrassed uncertainty. Don’t. He could do this. Deep breath. Calm down. It’d be alright. It would be.
“Would it be alright if I…” Kaito tried again, quietly, unable to bring himself to look at his counterpart. “…If I took you up on it?”
The thief waited, patient and watching, as his double formed the words, pausing when the question finally came out. His head tilted slightly, having to push down the urge to laugh a little. He honestly wasn’t sure how it’d be taken, though he did still smile wider.
“…I wouldn’t have offered in the first place if it wasn’t alright, magician-san.”
The hand on the knob pushed the door further, as if to close it, but Kid didn’t shut it quite yet, just faced the magician.
My muse has been missing for several days. Send “Where were you?!?” For mine to suddenly show up at your muse’s doorstep, in rough shape.
Kaito flinched, just barely managing to stop himself from taking a step back, his gaze shamefully, guiltily, darting off to the side and towards the ground. Maybe this had been a bad idea after all. He knew there would be questions – of course there would be – but he’d hoped against hope and prayed that his other self would, at the very least…
…He wasn’t quite sure how to finish that. And, in all honesty, it didn’t really matter at the moment anyway, did it?
Swallowing thickly, he opened his mouth, then closed it again, hesitating, before glancing back up towards the thief again. And the expression that met Kaito only made the guilt and utter selfloathing grow to the point that he felt like he might just throw up.
“Ah, I…”
A thin, weary smile curved at the corners of his lips and a bloody hand selfconsciously tugged the equally bloody and dirty sleeve down his other arm and Kaito chuckled, quietly, tired indigo eyes flickering away once more.
“I went to buy chocolate and got lost on the way home…?”
“You know, I’m starting to wonder that maybe those people who say I’ve got a bad sense of humor are right.”
He snorted, shooting his double a small smile tinted with amusement, before moving past him to set the bundle of clothes down onto the bathroom counter. As bad as the thief’s joke had been – really, robot-san – it had managed to lighten Kaito’s mood, just a little, his shoulders not as tense as they’d been a few moments before.
Maybe it’d be alright to—
"…So, um,” the magician began, hesitating, fingers curling around the hem of his shirt, indigo eyes flickering back towards his counterpart. “About your…sort-of offer from before…”
The thief simply grinned at the humour comment. Hey, so long as it amused, couldn’t really be considered bad, technically. He’ll take any smiles that he can get~
Hand still on the knob, Kid hesitated, glancing from the other to the open door out of the corner of his eye, before focusing again on his double as he began to speak. And when he continued, the thief blinked a couple of times, surprise, and maybe a bit of hope springing up, though he didn’t let much of it show.
My muse has been missing for several days. Send “Where were you?!?” For mine to suddenly show up at your muse’s doorstep, in rough shape.
Kaito flinched, just barely managing to stop himself from taking a step back, his gaze shamefully, guiltily, darting off to the side and towards the ground. Maybe this had been a bad idea after all. He knew there would be questions – of course there would be – but he’d hoped against hope and prayed that his other self would, at the very least…
…He wasn’t quite sure how to finish that. And, in all honesty, it didn’t really matter at the moment anyway, did it?
Swallowing thickly, he opened his mouth, then closed it again, hesitating, before glancing back up towards the thief again. And the expression that met Kaito only made the guilt and utter selfloathing grow to the point that he felt like he might just throw up.
“Ah, I…”
A thin, weary smile curved at the corners of his lips and a bloody hand selfconsciously tugged the equally bloody and dirty sleeve down his other arm and Kaito chuckled, quietly, tired indigo eyes flickering away once more.
“I went to buy chocolate and got lost on the way home…?”
Kaito shot the retreating thief a final, brief glance, the smile falling from his face as he disappeared from view. He frowned and have a quiet sigh, his feet moving him almost on autopilot towards the closet where he simply grabbed a handful of clothes – a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt, along with some underwear – before slowly heading back down the hall and towards the bathroom.
Idly, he adjusted the clothes in his arms, tugging them just a little closer to his chest as he thought about what to do next.
To tell or not or show or not and what to expect and do and in the end, he didn’t come to any kind of conclusion this time either and before he knew it, he was standing in front of the bathroom door.
Kaito blinked, taking a moment to snap out of it and get back to reality again. And then he gave the door a tentative knock.
“Hey, robot-san? Can I come in, or…?”
Kid looked up at the knock, unfolding his arms and standing straight from where he’d been leaning against the sink. Getting the shower ready didn’t take much time, after all, so he’d been debating whether or not to simply leave the room himself. The magician may have said he’d consider the half-proposal for the thief to stay… it looked more like he’d been humouring the tease than anything. As badly as his double had reacted to just suggesting a shirt removal before… Kid was more cautious about what he’d do. He wanted to help, yes, but he didn’t want to push too hard.
Especially if actions he’d done before could trigger panics right now…
“Well, since you seemed able to walk at least, last I saw, I’d think you can…”
The light tease still played in the voice as the thief moved to open the door, smiling at his counterpart.
My muse has been missing for several days. Send “Where were you?!?” For mine to suddenly show up at your muse’s doorstep, in rough shape.
Kaito flinched, just barely managing to stop himself from taking a step back, his gaze shamefully, guiltily, darting off to the side and towards the ground. Maybe this had been a bad idea after all. He knew there would be questions – of course there would be – but he’d hoped against hope and prayed that his other self would, at the very least…
…He wasn’t quite sure how to finish that. And, in all honesty, it didn’t really matter at the moment anyway, did it?
Swallowing thickly, he opened his mouth, then closed it again, hesitating, before glancing back up towards the thief again. And the expression that met Kaito only made the guilt and utter selfloathing grow to the point that he felt like he might just throw up.
“Ah, I…”
A thin, weary smile curved at the corners of his lips and a bloody hand selfconsciously tugged the equally bloody and dirty sleeve down his other arm and Kaito chuckled, quietly, tired indigo eyes flickering away once more.
“I went to buy chocolate and got lost on the way home…?”
Though the magician found himself unsconsciously stiffening at the offer, there was also the barest sound of a laugh, quiet and soft – but it was there. He followed the thief inside and shot him another glance, smile stretching just the tiniest bit wider.
“M-maybe. I’ll think about it.”
Though he wanted to tell his counterpart the truth, talking was more difficult than he’d ever imagined it would be and, perhaps, showing him would be easier, but…
Indigo eyes scanned the entryway, before they darted back up towards the thief again. They were the same, but at the same time they weren’t and maybe that’s what made him feel so conflicted, but this wasn’t the time, and Kaito merely took a breath, awkwardly raked a hand through his hair, before moving further into the house.
“I’ll…be right back then. With clothes. …Thank you.”
Kid hummed. …Better than what happened last time, at least. So long as he could get the other to relax after being gone the past few days, he didn’t entirely need an explanation, unless the magician felt like telling. So he just kept the smile and took a little bow.
“You’re welcome, magician-kun~”
There’s a slight pause before the thief goes to keep his promise on starting the water for the other, glancing back out of the corner of his eye as he went.
Moonlight Archive 