#i thought this would be a fun way to work with sonoko and her celebrity crush on kid

[rachello344]

kaishin soulmate au where sonoko is the first person who finds out that they're soulmates and flips a lid bc kid is supposed to be her soulmate. kaito and shinichi are mildly terrified bc lbr sonoko is kinda scary and doesn't know when to quit. ran is laughing her ass off. (so is aoko if she knows???)

hm, I’m gonna have to make a feeeeew changes to this for Plot Reasons, but I like it.  Very good.  XD  I hope you enjoy where I take it.  ;D

Shinichi fidgeted with his watch in an effort not to touch his tattoo.  The tattoo–the four suits from a deck of playing cards, clover and heart atop diamond and spade–had appeared on his wrist shortly after he was born.  He’d never seen their match before.

“I’m telling you,” Sonoko said, leaning into his space, “I saw the same tattoo on Kaitou Kid.”

“And I’m telling you,” Shinichi snapped, “I think I would notice if my soulmate was Kaitou Kid.”

“Would you?”  Sonoko raised an eyebrow, looking every inch a princess, her hip cocked and her head tilted.  Royal pain, more like.  “Would you check a criminal for your matching tattoo?  One of us wanted him to be their soulmate, and that person wasn’t you.”

“She has a point, Shinichi,” Ran said reasonably.  “What if she’s right?”

Shinichi scoffed.  “What does it matter?  It’s not like I can just waltz up to his house and let him know.  Besides, what kind of thief would want anything to do with a detective?”

Kaito sneezed, rubbing his nose with his sleeve.

“Someone must be talking about you,” Akako said.  “Nothing good, I’m sure.”

“Ha ha.”  Kaito rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair.  The heist last night had been close.  That Suzuki girl had been hot on his heels, and Kudou had almost gotten him with that nasty watch of his.

He knew he should lay low for a while, but there was something about being chased by Kudou that was just thrilling.  His heart kicked up a notch just remembering how in sync they’d been.  Kudou was always just a step behind him, occasionally throwing him for a loop long enough to overtake him before Kaito could get his bearings back and return to the lead.

He sighed.  Hakuba had found him so quickly, so why didn’t Kudou?  He wanted to see if they got along as well as he hoped they would, damn it.  And, well, Kudou was gorgeous, all long legs and confident superiority.  Kaito wanted to ruffle his feathers like nothing else.

Kaito was halfway to his favorite coffee shop when he realized that he’d left the bracelet he usually wore on his desk.  He glanced down at his tattoo, plainly visible in black and red.  Well, nothing for it.  It was a little unusual to see people with their tattoos showing, but not unheard of.  He was a well known eccentric anyway.

No one paid it any mind until he was pouring creamer into his coffee.

“Kaitou–” a girl gasped.

Kaito raised his eyes with a frown, schooling his expression quickly when he put a name to the face.  What the hell is Suzuki Sonoko doing here?

“Sonoko, who’s this?” Mouri Ran asked, smiling politely.

“This is him,” Suzuki hissed.  “See?  His tattoo is the same, just like I said.”

“My…?”  Kaito froze.  He’d forgotten his bracelet at the heist, too.  He hadn’t even thought about it, but he’d run out of concealer the night before.  How had Suzuki managed to get a long enough look to recognize it days later?

“Wait, you mean he’s–?”  Mouri covered her mouth, eyes wide.  Did they both know?  How did they make the connection?

“Come sit with us,” Suzuki said.  It wasn’t a request.

Kaito frowned, but allowed her to lead him to their table.  “Look, miss, I think you must have me mistaken for someone else.”

“Don’t play coy,” Suzuki said, sitting and taking a sip of her tea.  “You’re cute, but that’s not going to work on me, even if I am a fan.”

“A fan?  Look, I really think–”

“I know who your soulmate is,” Suzuki interrupted.

Kaito opened his mouth, but couldn’t think of anything to say.  He touched his wrist, unthinking.  If Suzuki Sonoko knew who his soulmate was, it had to be someone she was close to.  Her two best friends were Mouri Ran and…

His face felt hot all of a sudden.

“Figured it out, have you?” Suzuki looked smug.  “Then you should realize that I don’t want to turn you in.  Quite the contrary.  This isn’t a ‘quit your night job’ talk, it’s a shovel talk.”

Kaito’s brow furrowed in confusion.  “Shovel talk?  So what, you’ll hurt me if I hurt my soulmate?”

“Oh no,” Suzuki said, shaking her head.  “I supply the comfort food.  Ran will hurt you.”

Mouri smiled politely.  “I’m a black belt and my school’s captain of the karate team.”  Her voice was sweet, but it promised nothing but malice.  Kaito shivered.

“You haven’t even told me who you think my soulmate is.”

Suzuki huffed.  “I know for a fact that Kudou Shinichi’s soulmate is Kaitou Kid,” she said.  Her voice was low, but confident.

“Well, my name is Kuroba Kaito, not Kaitou Kid.”  He took a drink of his coffee, cheeks still warm.  “I’ve never met this Kudou Shinichi, but…  I’d like to.”

“Then you’re in luck,” Mouri replied cheerfully.  “He’s meeting us here.”  She looked over Kaito’s shoulder and waved.  “Speak of the devil!”

Kaito couldn’t bring himself to look, concentrating on drinking his coffee.  He’d taken two long drinks when he heard Kudou walking toward them.

“Who’s this?  You didn’t tell me we were meeting anyone else here.”  Kudou’s voice was smooth and cool.  Kaito turned to meet his eyes.  He’d never seen him without something between them–a disguise, a monocle.  Kaito was hyper-conscious of how small the distance between them was.

Kudou’s gaze dropped to the inside of his wrist, exposed through Kaito’s grip on his mug.  His eyes went wide, and his face went red.

“Good,” Suzuki said, “now that you’ve figured it out, Ran and I can leave you lovebirds to get to know each other.  Kuroba Kaito, meet Kudou Shinichi.”  Suzuki stood.  “Shall we, Ran?  I want to go shopping.”

“Celebrating?”

“Of course.  It’s not every day I get to tell the detective otaku I told you so.”  Suzuki paused in collecting her things.  “That reminds me, Shinichi:  I told you so.”

Without further ado, she and Mouri strolled out the door, pastries in hand.  Kudou seemed to fall into the chair across from him.  He covered his face with his hands, muffling a groan.

“What the hell,” he mumbled into his hands.

Somehow, seeing Kudou so off-balance made him feel more stable.  Whatever happened, he wasn’t alone.  If everything went well–no, best not to get his hopes up.

“Imagine how I felt.  I was just minding my own business, getting coffee, when your blonde friend blindsided me and accused me of being Kaitou Kid.”

Kudou snorted.  “I’m surprised she left so easily.  I expected her to give one or both of us a hard time.  I mean, she was really hoping you’d be her soulmate.  She has a soulmate, but she’s always been interested in you.”

Kaito bit his lip, dropping his eyes shyly.  “And… what about you?  Are you… interested in me?”

“I thought that was obvious,” Kudou said.  “I don’t make a habit of chasing thieves.  Just you.”

“You never tried to find me.”  Kaito hesitated.  “I mean–”

“It didn’t seem fair.  I know Hakuba found you outside of the heists, but it doesn’t really count, does it?  He doesn’t have proof or anything.  It’s only a win if it’s during the game.”  Kudou looked out the window, playing with the band of his watch.  He was blushing again.  “And anyway, I think the rules have changed for us.”

Kaito reached forward, touching his wrist just below the watch.  “Can I see?”

Kudou jolted, but nodded quickly, undoing the strap and setting it aside.  Kaito turned his hand over, comparing the tattoo to his own.  A perfect match.

“Does it bother you?” Kudou asked.

Kaito looked up to meet his eyes.  “Does what bother me?”

“This,” he said, gesturing between them.  “My being a detective.”

Kaito rubbed his thumb over Kudou’s wrist.  “Does it bother you?”  Kudou shook his head.  Kaito smiled, letting go of the last of his tension.  “Good.  And no, it doesn’t bother me.  Even though we’ve never really had time to talk, I feel like you understand me.  Your being a detective doesn’t negate that.”  He laughed a little.  “Besides, soulmates can’t be forced to testify against each other in court.”

Kudou snorted, taking Kaito’s hand and rubbing his thumb over the matching mark.  Kaito shivered.

“Go out with me?” Kudou asked.

Kaito grinned.  “Of course.”