Disclaimer: Do not own The Magic Thief Kid, any related characters or the opening theme to Nadesico, which rocks IMHO.

Epilogue:

"You get to burning! You get to burning!" Kaitou hummed the opening theme to 'Nadesico' as he waited in an old tree loft near Aoko's house, waiting for her to come and kill him. He grinned.

It would be worth it.

Things had changed between the two of them recently, due to Akako's interference, and he couldn't be happier about it. He hated having to lie to people, Aoko and his Mom especially. He had a feeling that his Mom knew about his double life, but she didn't say anything about it, so he didn't say anything about it and they both went on with their lives in a mutual silence. But Aoko...

Kaitou didn't have very many friends. He loved people. He loved being around them, he loved talking to them and he loved to see them smile. But, he was different. Between his magic, his sense of humour and his other skills, it was hard not to stand out from the crowd. It was hard to find people who could, much less would, accept him for all that and attempt to keep up with him.

Akako didn't quite count as a friend, she was more interesting in the power games that the 2 of them played. There was a bit of affection and respect there, but nothing he couldn't live without. (not to mention she gave him the creeps occasionally. way too clingy in the wrong ways...)

Aoko was the only person he considered a true friend. He had plenty of acquaintances, people to hang out with if he desired, but she was the only one who honestly -cared-.

And she hated the Kaito Kid. There wasn't many people who could say that.

Which is why the idea of Aoko knowing he was the Kaito Kid, which had once sent cold chills down his spine, now brought a smile to his face. She knew. And she still cared about him.

He supposed he ought to thank Akako for that, but he didn't want to give her the wrong idea. For one thing, she might try to hurt Aoko for that, and he couldn't afford that. He cared about her too.

And she was so much fun to tease. (he -loved- to tease her. she had the best reactions!)

This evening's heist had been a basic one. Get in, get past Nakamori-san, get the jewel, get past Nakamori-san, get out. Nothing fancy, nothing major. But he couldn't resist the urge to tease the Inspector any more than he could resist the urge to tease the Inspector's daughter.

The main difference being that A: Inspector Nakamori wasn't NEARLY as gropeable as his daughter, (as if he would -want- to. *shudder*) and B: where as Aoko would just hit him with a mop, her father was doing his best to throw him in jail and throw away the key.

In fact, sometimes it was to the point that he occasionally played with the idea of getting caught just to see if Nakamori would pass out from the shock. Of course, he'd escape before they actually got him to jail, but that went without saying.

But he'd been in a playful mood this evening, and had decided to slip the jewel onto the Inspector's person as a gift. And he would have had the perfect disguise for it too.

If Aoko hadn't decided to show up while he was disguised as her.

He still wished he had a camera for the look on Nakamori's face when he saw 2 daughters standing side by side.

Aoko had been confused for all of half a minute (as well as the rest of the police force, oh that had been funny!), before getting mad and started screaming at him. He had had a blast mimicking her actions and words, acting just like a mirror image, confusing everyone even further.

Until she pulled his wig off.

With a small ~poof!~ he transformed back into the Kaito Kid, jumping behind Aoko. "Everyone stand back!" He ordered, both hands on her shoulders. She had stood shock still, suddenly afraid of what he was going to do. "Or I'll..."

"You'll what?!" Nakamori growled, looking for all the world like an over protective mother bear.

"I'll steal a kiss!" He had announced brightly. (he was a thief, after all.)

Several people face faulted. He'd grinned, tossed a smoke bomb down and disappeared. But not before taking the opportunity to make good on his threat. It hadn't been much, just a quick brush of his lips against hers, but it had been enough that he could still taste the cherry chap stick she used in his mind.

The funny thing was, he wasn't even sure why he had done it in the first place, it had completely a spur of the moment thing. The Kid was a perfect gentleman, he'd kiss girls on the hand or occasionally the cheek. Kaitou on the other hand, well he might have flirted a bit, but then he was also a magician, it was to be expected. It was all in good fun, and no one took it seriously.

Or at least he hoped no one took it seriously. (did this mean that Aoko and he were more than friends?)

He smiled ruefully, stretching. She was going to deck him hard for that one, and he'd let her. She never actually landed a hit on him unless he -knew- he deserved it. And boy, did he deserve it for that one. (theirs was a 'give and take' relationship. he'd give her a hard time, then take his lumps like a man)

Speaking of the devil... He glanced back as Aoko climbed up the tree trunk to the platform they had built there many summers ago. "Good Evening!" He grinned.

To his surprise, she smiled pleasantly back at him and sat down next to him. "Good evening." (first sign of being in deep trouble: Aoko is calm.)

"Hope your Dad wasn't too mad." He said, offering a tentative apology. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.

She sniffed, sitting down next to him. "He wants the Kid's liver on a platter so he can eat it. Either that or feed it to the dogs."

"Ah." He nodded. Pretty much as expected then. "How are you?"

Aoko appeared to think it over a bit, (second warning sign. he was in it realllllllly deep) before smiling at him. One part malice, one part mischief, stir well and serve. Kaitou began to sweat.

To his surprise, she then leaned forwards and brushed -her- lips across his. He tasted cherries again as he stared at her wide-eyed, too stunned to move. (she... uh... wow!) "I'm stealing my kiss back." She murmured, an embarrassed pink blush creeping across her cheeks.

::WHAM!::

"Next time, ASK before you kiss me!" Aoko snapped with her usual fire before she stormed home, her cheeks still blushing bright red. (next time?!)

Kaitou slowly sat up, grimacing as he rubbed the bump on his the top of his head from Aoko's fist. She always did have a mean punch. A grin slowly worked across his face as he remembered the kiss before it.

One of the reasons why he adored Aoko so much: She burned with a fire as unpredictable as his own.

Fin.

Note:
This was written for the same reason why 'Understand' was written. No Freaking Clue. ~_~;; Just kinda grabbed me by the ear (again!) and refused to let me work on the other fics. *grrrr...*
Um... nope, don't know why he's making comments to himself (in these things) or if Aoko really does use cherry flavoured chap stick , but I CAN tell you why he's humming the opening song to Nadesico!!!
-It's because the Voices couldn't remember the rest of the words to the song that starts out 'like a moth to the flame burned by the fire'. *facefaults*