#minigift

I'm a little late on your message this week because I thought you'd like at least one minigift and I've been so, so busy it was hard to find time to write it! I tried to make it a balance of angst, fluff, and whump, so. Here's my humble fic offerings! (Also sorry, it got kind of long. I'm not sure it will go through)

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Aoko thought it was a dog when she first heard it: a low, pained whine from an alley as she was walking by. She peered inside, but only saw bundles of trash and one half-filled dumpster. She was about to walk away, when something made her pause, something white shifting in a pile of refuse.

That figure didn’t look like a dog. It was a pile of white fabric, a familiar cape.

KID.

She gasped, hand over her mouth, and ran into the alley. She dug through the rubbish. His hang glider was broken. Fresh blood stained his suit. She didn’t like him, but that didn’t mean she wanted to see him hurt. Or killed.

The source was a gunshot wound to the shoulder. He was still bleeding freely from it. Aoko bit her lip, not knowing what to do. Her hands shook. She knew she had to put pressure on it, and that he needed medical attention, but what to do? She picked up her phone.

“Hakuba-kun,” she said. “I need your help.”

To his credit, he only asked, “Where are you?"

She told him.

"I'll be right there," he told her and hung up.

Aoko put her phone away, putting pressure on his wound. His hat covered his face partially, but the pale way he looked could only be a result of blood loss. It also meant he wasn't wearing a mask.

Aoko itched to look, but some part of her held herself back. She'd been in situations where she'd had the opportunity to see his face, but she never did, afraid of what she'd find. This time was the same. She wanted to cry.

She startled badly when a hand reached up and grabbed her wrist. His gloves were stained and splattered with blood. "Aoko," he said in a familiar, impossible voice. "Run."

"No," she said, a horrible realization dawning. "I'm not leaving you. Idiot." She wasn't before, and she's definitely not now.

Why, Kaito? she wondered. But it explained so many things, and denial could only be taken so far. She did start crying then, hand focused on keeping the blood in her best friend's body.

"Aoko," he said again, voice hazy with wonder. Or maybe faint with blood loss. He reached up and cupped her face, and she leaned into it. He wiped her tears away with a blood-soaked thumb. "You're crying."

"Hold on," she said. "Help's coming."

"...Help?" he repeated weakly.

The roar of an approaching car; Aoko tensed as the car pulled into the alley. She couldn't see past the headlights as a dark figure stepped out of the car, and she shifted to protect Kaito's body.

She blinked past the brightness, and the figure became Hakuba Saguru.

"Hakuba-kun," she breathed, relieved. Then she blinked. He'd stepped out on the driver's side. "You drove?"

"I had a feeling about whom you were speaking and thought it best to keep it between us, Aoko-kun," he said. "We can't take him to the hospital; the police know KID was shot. I would offer to host, but—" he grimaced. "My father."

Aoko shook her head. "He can't stay with me, either. But Kaito lives alone, and I have his key," she trailed off. "Help me," she said.

Hakuba did. Together they packed his wound and they picked him up and laid him in the back seat of the car. The movement jostled him aware. "Hakuba?" Kaito asked.

"Conserve your strength, Kuroba-kun," Hakuba said, stroking his forehead. He put the broken glider in the boot of the car as Aoko sat gingerly in the back, Kaito's head in her lap. She petted his hair, running her fingers through it and scratched his scalp gently. He nuzzled against her thighs, restless from pain.

Driving back to Kaito's house was a tense affair, but they made it without any issue.

Aoko went ahead to open the door, then they lifted Kaito and carried him into the house, setting him down on the sofa. The festive tree in the corner twinkled merrily, the bright colorful lights a sharp contrast to the fallen figure in white.

Hakuba maneuvered his coat and shirt off and checked him for more wounds, but it seemed that the shoulder was the only one aside from bumps and bruises. He carefully prodded it, searching for the bullet. "The bullet went through," Hakuba said. "The bleeding has slowed." Aoko helped him clean the wound and bandage it.

"That's good. Hakuba-kun, he looks so pale. What happened after I left?"

"The gunman showed again and KID led him on a merry chase before flying away on his glider, but the gunman shot at him, and he fell. Then you found him." Hakuba ran his dirty hand through his hair. Kaito's blood was bright amongst the blond strands. "We're harboring a fugitive," he said with a rueful smile.

"We're taking care of a friend," Aoko said. A part of her was upset, but he could have died. He might have if she hadn't found him. And if he had, she might have never known. “Besides, he’s not wearing the outfit anymore and therefore is not KID.”

Hakuba nodded. “Yes. You are correct. I am unsure how I could have been so mistaken.”

“That won’t hold up in court,” Kaito said weakly.

“Kaito!” “Kuroba-kun!” they said in unison.

“Aoko. Hakubastard,” he said, then coughed. “I can explain.”

“No, you can’t,” Aoko said, threatening, and then she threw her arms around him, burying her face against his naked stomach. It was so warm. “I’m so scared, Kaito! So so scared! Please don’t die,” she mumbled.

“I’m not gonna die, Ahoko,” Kaito said, annoyed. Then he shifted, grimacing from the pain, and tilted his head towards Hakuba. “I don’t understand. Hakuba, why bring me here?”

Hakuba knelt down by the sofa. “I have to defend my claim, don’t I?” he said, his voice low.

Kaito blinked, uncomprehending, and then he blushed. “What?”

“It would be a shame if anyone else caught you.” He rested his hand on his arm. “I’m the only one that’s allowed,” he said.

Kaito smirked. “Oh, are you? I’ll keep that in mind, then.” Then his face fell, and wrapped his good arm around Aoko, his other hand grasping the air for Hakuba’s, linking their fingers together. “Thank you,” he said.

“Don’t mention it,” Aoko said. “Really, don’t mention it,” she repeated, and they all laughed. “You’ll tell us about all this?” she asked. “It doesn’t seem like you’re doing so well alone. How did this happen?”

“Yes,” Hakuba said. “This is about more than being the moonlight magician.”

A deep breath, and then, “You’re right,” Kaito said. Then he began to explain.