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AN: Happy Holidays! Here's a fic set in NLTSA universe, written back in August.
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Kaito twisted pieces of a puzzle box around in his hands as Takumi did assigned reading on the living room couch. It was Takumi’s favorite spot since Kaito and Saguru moved in together, a much plusher replacement for Kaito’s old one that had been slowly falling to disrepair for years. The steady tick of the bookshelf clock and the occasional flip of pages were the only sounds at the moment, and while normally Kaito would be soothed by the peacefulness, he couldn’t reach that calm today.

He slipped a segment of wood free, testing panels for which one would budge next, mostly on automatic. Kaito’s real attention was on Takumi and the way Kaito’s heart beat a bit too quickly for sitting calmly in their living room. “I was thinking,” Kaito said.

“Mm?” Takumi turned a page. “About what?”

“About life.” Kaito twisted a carving. “How we’ve settled here. The future.” A careful glide of fingers along a seam and one of the three hidden compartments in this box slid open. Empty of course because he hadn’t put anything in it yet. “Whether Saguru’d say yes if I asked him to marry me,” Kaito said as nonchalant as possible, heart beating too fast as he waited for Takumi’s response.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: "Take me back my friend"

Ok, so back in JAnuasry I wrote some 3 sentence fics for a thing on dreamwidth. I have meant to post them since February, but literally every time I remembered to go look at them/edit/search back the prompt something has gone wrong with my computer. So here, have a few ficlets since I haven’t been around with writing much. (a slightly longer Howl’s Moving Castle fic to follow, if by slightly longer I mean more like 2 pages, not 100)

Kingdom Hearts: Kingdom Hearts, Riku, regrets

Once, before everything, Riku had thought of himself as the strong one, the oldest and therefor the wisest of his group of friends; the one to lead and plan and bring all of them to great things. It seems so simple and naive now, arrogant, shortsighted and harmful. When it came down to it, Riku’s choices had nearly killed them all just because he thought he knew best, and that would always haunt him, that taint of darkness and fear that he’d make the wrong choice again–he hadn’t meant to hurt his friends but he knew better now and he’d fight himself every day if he had to to keep from hurting them again.

Howl’s Moving Castle, Howl/Sophie, you’re holding in your hands the two halves of my heart

Howl didn’t know when he realized it was love. Maybe it was listening to Sophie and Calcifer bicker back and forth and the fond way he always let her win, or maybe it was when she didn’t fall for his boyish smile like so many other women had in the past, or the stubborn glint in her eyes that meant trouble and worrisome things for him and his spells and spiders. It wasn’t a logical thing, but he supposed hearts weren’t logical things at all–she’d somehow managed to charm his heart when he didn’t even have it in his chest and it pulsed its phantom echo in his veins all the same, as inescapable as the Witch of the Waste’s abominable curse… and he wouldn’t change a thing.

Princess Tutu: Princess Tutu, any, “if you look away, even for an instant, then our hero will surely perish.”

The breath caught in Tutu’s throat–she couldn’t tear her eyes from the clash of swords. It felt like if she turned away it would all be over, one would be defeated and she wasn’t sure what outcome she could even hope for in this moment. Mytho or Fakir; the thought of either of them being struck down by the other was equally upsetting. Blades slid against each other with a shriek. Fakir faltered. Words burst from Tutu’s throat but she couldn’t hear anything above that final awful clang–she hadn’t looked away, but Fakir fell regardless.

Hunter x Hunter: Hunter x Hunter, Killua/Gon, first kiss

"I dare you,” Killua said, grinning, “and you give me ten chocorobos if you chicken out.”

“Killua,” Gon complained, his best friend’s addiction to chocolate a little ridiculous by this point.

“You scared?” Killua teased, poking Gon in the side.

Gon narrowed his eyes and dragged Killua in to a kiss. Killua froze, eyes huge. “Killua, if you want me to kiss you, just ask!”

Kingdom hearts: Kingdom Hearts+any, Sora, visiting new worlds

The best part of a new world, Sora thought, besides the breath-taking moment of first seeing it in the gummy ship, was how different each one was. Some had humans, some were full of talking animals, some were creepy or wet or cold or full of aliens–and Sora never knew what he was going to get from that first sight of the world. He’d grown up on an island where seasons barely happened and you knew everyone who lived there from birth; there was nothing more magical than discovering someplace different and meeting someone new.

Dragon Knights: Dragon Knights, Gil & Bierrez, So I guess we’re good guys now?

It feels kind of wrong, like we cheated,“ Gil said looking down at his hands that are, against all probability, his and alive and strong. "We were demons and yet here we are part of the dragon clan and in important positions. We didn’t earn it."

Bierrez was perhaps one of the only people who could understand since he’d been in Rath as well; he didn’t seem as troubled by the change though. "Didn’t we? What was all that suffering for if not to lead us to a point where we can fix what caused it?”

Detective Pikachu: Detective Pikachu, any, “you’re not allowed to SAY words like that!”

Pikachu looked over the edge of the building and groaned, “Oh fu—”

Tim slapped a hand over Pikachu’s mouth and hissed, “You’re not allowed to SAY words like that!”

“They can’t even understand me!” Pikachu said squirming free. “Sometimes a situation calls for a bit of swearing, just look!”

Tim inched closer to the edge. “Oh….fuck.”

Avatar the Last Airbender: Avatar: the Last Airbender, any, birthdays

“It’s weird…I’m thirteen, but also a hundred and thirteen and I don’t remember any of those birthdays,” Aang said, looking a bit sad.

Katara reached out, ready to pull him into a supportive hug, but Aang suddenly sat upright, grinning.

“Wait,” he said excitedly, “since I’ve missed a hundred years of birthdays that means I can have a hundred catch-up birthday parties!”

Howl’s Moving Castle: Howl’s Moving Castle/Castle in the Air, disguised!Howl & kitten!Morgan, Sunday father and son

There was a small blond-haired child with the biggest blue eyes Eva had ever seen standing at her counter with a kitten in his arms. He had money on one fist, staring up at the assorted goodies behind the counter like they held the answers to the universe. “I want a really big thweet-roll,” he said, “with frothting."

"Of course, sweetheart,” Eva said, pulling out a roll from the display. “Are your parents around?”

“They’re shopping. Wanna thee my kitten?” He held up the little bundle of black fur. The kitten purred so hard it was vibrating.

“Aww, it’s very cute.”

“He'th like my thon,” the boy said with all the solemnity a small child could manage.

Eva melted a little; children and baby animals were peak adorable. “I’m sure he’s going to grow into a big strong kitty, too. Here’s your roll.”

“Thankth!” the boy lisped, grinning with gapped teeth. He stretched and set the handful of money on the counter. “Ith that enough?”

It was just short of what the roll cost by a half penny, but Eva wasn’t going to tell him that, not with those big blue eyes looking at her so earnestly. “All good! Have a nice day, honey!”

“Thankth, ma'am,” he said with perfect little manners, leaving with his kitten in one arm and his sweet roll in the other.

Eva smiled after him, the encounter buoying her mood on an otherwise dull Sunday afternoon. At least until a few minutes later when a frazzled woman with reddish hair escaping from her hat every which way burst into the shop.

“Have you seen a child? Blond with a kitten?” the woman asked, sounding a bit desperate.

“Yes, just a bit ago. He bought a sweet roll.” Clearly this must be his mother and he had wandered off instead of having permission. “He turned right when he left.”

“Thank you!” the woman said before rushing back out. Eva could swear she heard her say something about feeding fancy shoes to someone. Eva had the distinct feeling that she didn’t want to know. Hopefully that poor woman found her son. He’d been such a sweet boy after all.

Fic for an anon on tumblr

Gotta Spend Some Time, Love

Aoko made a note in the notebook she kept under her bed. Another one for the left column. Aoko smoothed a finger over the lines, spanning several pages now. Kaito is Kid. Kaito is not.

She started the list when her dad first suspected Kaito was Kid. One thing in each column that day—the left: Kaito replaced himself with a dummy (I can tell the difference from my best friend Kaito), the right: It isn’t possible to get from the amusement park to the heist site and back in the length of that movie. The left column had the added: Kaito makes the impossible a hobby. She’d added to it ever since then, bit by bit. Evidence for, evidence against. Hakuba Saguru’s accusation was in the left column, all the times Kaito got into a heist site because he was her friend, Kaito’s skills with sleight of hand and acrobatics. The other column held the time Hakuba handcuffed Kaito to him—that was the real Kaito that time, she was sure—and how he tried to help her dad by pointing out blind spots when he was asked, how Kaito was afraid of fish so he’d never have been part of those heists with the submarine or the boat.

If Aoko could pick her worst trait, it was that her emotions clouded her thoughts. She reacted, always reacted, first and thought second. It was a trait she shared with her father. It was a trait she’d had since she was a small child, jumping to conclusions without proof and her mother used to hold her hands and talk her through it, piecing together why her conclusion was or wasn’t right. It had almost been a game then, a puzzle, pretending to be a police officer sometimes like her dad.

When it came down to it, Aoko was and had always been a police officer’s daughter.

Aoko’s finger stopped on Kaito loves Kid which she’d written on both halves of the list. On the one hand, Kaito was a magic geek and Kid’s heists were the sort of spectacle that Kaito loved. On the other... Kaito was just enough of an egoist to join his own fan club.( Read more... )

This took a lot longer than I thought it was going to take to write--I kept wanting to do a proper casefic in the middle and getting stuck, but it wasn't to be. My brain does not like writing mystery no matter how much I try to force it. :/ BUT! This is finally done and hopefully is a satisfactory conclusion to the series. It's set a year from the start of Not Left To Stand Alone, so in March right before the new school year begins :) Appropriate that this story finishes here as well as surprisingly appropriate for me to end it the same time of year in real life. Here's to moving forward and new years and endings as beginnings of new things. Thank you everyone who's read along and all comments in the last year. It was one of the brighter things from last year. Hope to see you again with future writing projects ^_^

To London, To London

The walk up to the London flat was one Saguru could do in his sleep. He’d lived six years of his adult life in that flat, walking to a store down the road or driving to work down the crowded streets because the public transit was further than he wanted to walk with a bum leg. There was the coffee shop a block away that had a weekly music night he and Mel occasionally went to. There was the Indian restaurant that Saguru got takeaway at when neither of them felt like cooking. There was the neighbor who had a cat that liked sunning itself on Saguru’s balcony. The downstairs neighbor had plants on her balcony again this year, and window boxes just starting to have bits of green poking up.

The front door still had the ‘Welcome Holmes’ welcome mat in front that Mel got him as a joke. It was covered in a few months’ worth of dirt and debris, the person Mum had taking care of the apartment clearly not extending that to the outside very often. As he approached what had been his home, Saguru had to stop and take a moment to breathe past all the bittersweet memories around him.

A hand touched his elbow, and Saguru looked back at Kaito. Kaito who was out of place here, but also paradoxically fit in seamlessly. The touch helped, grounding him in the here and now instead of the past. “Nice welcome mat,” Kaito said lightly.

Saguru could kiss him. He didn’t since he didn’t feel inclined to public displays of affection at the moment. “It was a birthday gift. From Mel.”

“Impeccable taste,” Kaito said.

Saguru smiled. He wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Kaito. He might have left this go indefinitely, paying for a flat he never used and storage for things he no longer needed but didn’t want to let go. Starting things anew with Kaito... that made him want to resolve everything. It still took more than a few seconds to muster the will to unlock the door and let them in. Saguru ushered Kaito in before him.

He didn’t know what Kaito saw in the apartment. Saguru stepped in and he saw the walls with faded squares where photos once hung, the missing clutter and covered up furniture. He saw the scruffs on the baseboard from years of hasty vacuuming, the faint difference in the wall where it had been plastered over after being dented moving a new couch in. He saw the lack of shoes by the door and the dust trapped in the corners. He smelled the stale air of a room shut up too long and the slightly off smell old wood got when it wasn’t aired out enough. There was the flecks of paint on the light switch cover from when Mel repainted the entryway. Divots in the wood floor where they dropped a heavy jar of tomato sauce that had exploded all over the floor and walls. The lack of soft music playing in the background. The blinds closed and the rooms dim. A box with all of Mel’s recent playbooks next to the empty bookshelf because Saguru had decided not to take them to Japan in his hasty flight from London. Left with the distant thought that maybe Mel’s parents would want them even though they’d only asked to have some photos and the set of dishes Mel’s grandmother gave them at their wedding.

Saguru didn’t move from the doorway for long enough that Kaito had to tug him forward and close the door behind them.

The bedroom door was shut to their right, the office and guest room open across from it, followed by the bathroom and the kitchen/living area at the end of the hall. Kaito glanced at the open office and walked past it toward the living area where the empty bookshelf and some stacked boxes were visible. Saguru swallowed hard, forcing the messy tangle of emotions rising in him down. It had been a bit over a year since he was here; he could handle walking in his old home.

( Read more... )

His eyes keep sliding shut, despite the cold air around him. His stupid child body and the stupid enforced bedtime schedule has made staying up until midnight for New Years after a long, emotionally draining, case-filled day feel like he’s pulled back to back all-nighters for some case or another. Shinichi used to be able to skip a night of sleep no problem. Being a child again ruins pretty much everything once again. Shinichi blinks awake once more, yawning.

Beside him, Hattori nudges him in the ribs. “C’mon it’s not that bad.”

“It’s late,” Shinichi grumbles, sounding exactly like the child he resembles.

“Not that late. It’s only eleven fifty, Kudo.”

“Shh!” Shinichi says out of habit. Hattori only rolls his eyes. Shinichi glances at where Ran and Kazuha are still lingering near the door, half listening to the New Year’s Eve music show that Mouri had playing on TV. Naturally, Yoko had sung earlier. Now it is a J-pop band Shinichi can’t recognize as they wait for the last few minutes of the old year to be over. “I don’t see the point in staying up late when we’re getting up in a few hours to watch the sun rise.”

“It’s the principle of things,” Hattori says. “Ya gotta be with the people you care about, end and start together, y’know?”

“It’s not like we’re close enough to a temple to hear them ring the bells.”

“That’s what TV is for.”

Shinichi closes his eyes again. “Why are you and Kazuha here anyway? Instead of with your families? New Year is a time for family.”

“And friends,” Hattori says lightly. “And all things ya want to hold onto.”

Shinichi grunted. “In the West, New Years is a party time where you celebrate being alive. And kind of a date night.”

“Well we’re not in the West,” Hattori says. “Though I can get behind the celebratin’ life part.”

“There’s also kissing at the stroke of midnight.”

“Ya trying to tell me somethin’ Kudo?” Hattori asks with a lopsided grin.

Shinichi gives him a tired glare. “I’m trying to figure out why you’re over here with me when you could be over there with Kazuha.”

“So yer telling me ta kiss Kazuha,” Hattori concludes, still grinning.

“I’m saying she’s the one you want to spend the year with so you should probably go over there instead of watching me fall asleep sitting up,” Shinichi grumbles. “I’m not exactly great company right now.”

“But maybe I want to keep ya company,” Hattori says. “And I see Kazuha every day. Maybe this year I wanna spend more time with you.”

Shinichi gives him an unimpressed look.

Hattori clicks his tongue. He glances at the girls laughing at something on their phones and leans close. “Look, Kudo. You’re right. I like Kazuha and I like being around her. But if ya think I don’t feel anything for you, yer more stupid than I thought.”

Shinichi blinks, wonders if he’s interpreting that the way it was intended. “Excuse me?” He’s awake all of a sudden, shock and confusion giving him a little burst of adrenaline.

There’s a faint blush on Hattori’s cheeks and, yes, it was intended to be romantic. “What? Ya don’t think I come to Tokyo a couple times a month just ta solve crimes with ya and talk about mystery novels do ya? I mean even Kazuha noticed how much I call you.”

Shinichi gapes at him for a long moment before his jaw clicks shut. “Oh.” Another moment passes as he tries to wrap his head around it. “Wait. Actually romantic—?”

Hattori shoots the girls another look before cupping Shinichi’s face in one of his hands. Somehow this more than anything is a reminder that Hattori is the age Shinichi’s supposed to be while Shinichi’s stuck tiny. “What do you think, idiot?”

“But I’m little!”

“I like you for your brain not yer body, Kudo.” Hattori leans back away, flicking Shinichi in the forehead.

Shinichi rubs the spot. He’s not tired now. He’s not sure how he could be tired when Hattori just dropped all that on him. “You sure have a funny way of showing it,” he mutters.

“I like being with you. I like solving cases and visiting tourist spots or just sitting around like this with ya. Yer the one I think to call if I see something cool or run across something challenging.” He shrugs. “I want all the time you’ll give me, Kudo.”

“Oh,” Shinichi repeats.

“Ya don’t haveta give an answer,” Hattori says, turning back to look at dark, city streets. “Just don’t go sending me away, okay?”

For a split second, Shinichi wonders why Hattori would ever think Shinichi would send him away. Then common sense kicks back in. “Don’t be stupid,” Shinichi says. “You’re one of my best friends.”

“Huh. Good to know.” Hattori smiles and back in the doorway the girls start counting down to the new year. On the TV, bells begin to ring. Mouri sings off key and drunk some unrecognizable song and Ran and Kazuha laugh together. “Happy New Year, Kudo.”

“Happy New Year,” Shinichi echoes right before they’re caught up in Ran and Kazuha’s New Year well wishes and cheerful hugs.

Here have an extra for NLTSA universe: Christmas at Aoko's

I'd cut it out of the epilogue, but it worked to go back to as an extra. (The whole 'Aoko gives clocks, Kaito gives flowers' kept pestering me and wanted a resolution where that was subverted showing their progress away from fighting. So ficlet).

Happy Christmas if you celebrate it, if not, happy holiday season, and almost happy new year ^_^

Updated LitA this morning with its Extra bonus AU Chapter. I have to say that there's some irony in the fact that the bonus chapter is actually longer than the totality of LitA. But I guess that's just how it goes sometimes, haha ^_^;; Now perhaps my brain will let me finish other things since I am not allowing it to do any more AU shenanigans with my own story >_>

If anyone is interested, I feel like in the AU universe to Lay in the Atmosphere and Not Left to Stand Alone, KAito and Aoko would reach a point where they got along a lot sooner than in NLTSA. With Kaito entering into a relationship, she'd be forced to move on quicker. Shinichi would help Kaito oust his organization of criminals from Japan, but for all that Shinichi could pass on to his network of people in the US, neither he nor Kaito are equipped to globally battle them, so it's mostly a stop-gap while Kaito's still searching for Pandora. He can't quite retire yet, but heists aren't as dangerous, stressful, or high stakes as they were in NLTSA, thus less of a strain with Aoko there as well.

Takumi is both more and less mature. He's more mature in understanding his own emotions and in being responsible for others--he's a big brother in this universe and he has four parental figures to help him through things--but less mature in that he's not as self reliant as in NLTSA (he has 4 parents, he has more people to fall back on and SOMEONE is available at almost all times if he needs them) and a bit more prone to goofing off. Less Aoko and Kaito fighting = less tension in his day to day life + stability of sorts with Ran-Shinichi-Kaito household.

That said, everyone suffers at least a little trauma via Shinichi's corpse-magnet issues. Takumi's not as innocent of how dark the world can be in this and Kaito's family group does have some danger just because Shinichi attracts danger. :/ So it's some trade offs.

As for Hakuba in that AU verse, well I debated on if Mel would even die in that universe and went 'ok, Shinichi and Kaito got JAPAN clear, but that still leaves London a mess' so it made enough sense that he'd still end up dying. (and I would miss Hakuba if he wasn't there I mean story wise it is more fun (for me) to have him there. Sorry Hakuba. You still suffer) So Mel dies, Hakuba goes to Japan as he did in NLTSA, only there is no convenient Kaito-neighbor to latch onto and buoy him up. There's also no Takumi lashing out at him--Takumi doesn't have the same desperate urge to find more about his parents before their divorce because they're more open about things since they aren't always fighting in this universe. He has stability and a loving familial model around him, he doesn't need to try and picture it, so even after he does figure out Hakuba is someone Kaito knew it's more of 'huh, small world' instead of a 'need to test him because I'm frustrated with everything'. They get along fine, and Hakuba tries really hard not to single him out. Hakuba also spends the first like 3 weeks expecting heavy pranking and is baffled when it doesn't come, cuz, like, is this Kaito's child or not??? Then he manages to catch sight of Takumi and Shinemi's prank war on each other and it's like, "Ah, he has another outlet."

Kaito is already happily in a stable relationship and not looking for anything else. He does flirt a but with Saguru, but it's more his usual level of charisma, not anything pointed. Hakuba meanwhile labels him completely off limits because he's clearly in a committed relationship. Sometime he has...thoughts...but he's not going anywhere with them. He ends up dating Hiroto a biiiiit later than in NLTSA (because he's deeper in depression in this universe with no Kaito to start pulling him out of his shell til later) . He still gets a call from Hiroto at work one day and ends up finding more of the people Kaito and Shinichi missed and resolving Mel's death. And Chikage busts in like 'hey, guess what I've been spending literal years doing?? INFO DUMP" and Shinichi is really uncomfortable with 'Aunt Chris' but eh, they're not on opposite sides anymore and she's not currently doing anything illegal. Ish. She's stopped killing at any rate. His morality has gotten more gray as time goes on really. When you're comparing everyone you meet with murderers, your standards get lower so quickly. Hakuba unofficially gets adopted into the family friend fold and is invited to Kudo-Kuroba family get togethers for all eternity. There. Happy.

Not Left To Stand Alone Master Post (copypaste from tumblr since I want to have this somewhere...)

Since the extras vs main story can get confusing, I figured I’d make a master post to keep things chronological for anyone wanting to read in order if they haven’t been reading as it updates. Eventually I hope to go back and make it clear where extras go in the main story itself too. I’m going to update this as extras get added. (and remaining chapters/extras get posted) Links are for AO3 as that is where my edits are most consistent >_>

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4 (First Literature Club Omake)

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8 (Second Literature Club Omake)

Chapter 9

Extra: In Which Takumi Doesn’t know What to Do with Hakuba Saguru(covers ch 1-9)

Chapter 10

Chapter 11