Egon: Don't cross the streams.
Peter: Why?
Egon: It would be bad.
Peter: I'm fuzzy on the whole good-bad thing. What do you mean, bad?
Egon: Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.
Ray: Total protonic reversal.
Peter: All right, that's bad, okay. Important safety tip, don't cross the streams.
-Ghostbusters

• • •

Shades of Grey: Crossing the Lines
by Icka! M. Chif

• • •

Kuroba did not look well, was the main thought throughout Hakuba's morning. Not well at all.

There had been a heist early that morning, the sky shifting to blue as the thief vanished into the sky, just as his heist note had predicted. The fact that this meant that there had been no time for the kaitou to stop by his house for what was becoming their usual after-heist talk did nothing to ease the quiet knot of unease that lay in the pit of his stomach. He'd barely had time to get to school before the bell rang himself.

Aiding to his anxity was the fact he swore he had seen something strike the Kid as he had glided away. The glider had jolted and veered slightly, not flying like its usual smooth path.

Kuroba had made it on time to class, but was quiet and highly subdued for the normally spirited teen, his movement tense and minimal. Hakuba kept a close eye on him and was silently dismayed when he noticed the splash of white under the short sleeves of Kuroba's summer uniform. He was even more dismayed when the material around the area began to take on a darker damp sheen.

Kid had been injured on the get away. -Kuroba- had been injured.

To say Hakuba was displeased was an understatement.

But he was not surprised when Kuroba disappeared during the lunch period.

It only took a moment for him to deduce where the thief had gone. Up. Kid and Kuroba felt most comfortable near the open sky, where there was little chance for ambush and many escape routes. Therefore the roof was the best bet.

It was warm on the roof, the air beginning to taste a bit like summer. He was slightly surprised to find that at first glance, there was no one on the rooftop. Then the sound of muttering caught his ears, making him relax slightly. Of course Kuroba would hide himself. He followed it around the small building housing the stairs to the where it provided some protection from curious eyes and shade from the warm sun.

The white button down shirt was off, clutched in the hand of the injured arm, leaving Kuroba clothed above the waist in a vest, carefully unwinding the bandage from his injury with a painful grimace. He startled as Hakuba stepped closer, pressing a hand against the obviously oozing cut as if to hide it, a trapped guilty expression flittering across his face before a fierce mask melted down, like a cornered injured animal.

Hakuba approached him calmly, keeping his own neutral mask up until he was in the shade as well, within Kuroba's space. It hurt, a little bit, that Kuroba didn't trust him with the knowledge that he was the Kid. On the other hand, he and the Kid were... close, not he and Kuroba.

He put one hand on Kuroba's bare shoulder, the skin warm under his fingers as he kept Kuroba from fleeing as he lightly pressed his other palm and fingers across Kuroba's eyes. "You did not see this." He said, his voice low and a bit on the rough side. Kuroba startled slightly, but closed his eyes anyway. Hakuba hesitated a moment, making sure that Kuroba was not going to suddenly startle or run off before moving his hands and beginning to unwind the bandage around left arm.

It was a moderate sized cut, nothing he could see stuck in it, no white flecks of fat mixed in with the drying blood. Kuroba probably had not had much time to do anything other than wrap a quick bandage on it. A bandage that had long since served its purpose.

Curiously, there was a scar paralleling the current one, a few finger widths above. This wasn't the first time the magician-thief had been grazed by a bullet.

He turned his attention from that to pulling the first aid supplies he'd brought with him out of his pocket and began to clean blood away from the wound and disinfected it. Once he was satisfied it was as clean as he could get it, he brought the edges of the cut together with butterfly stitches and taped it down, then wrapped a fresh bandage around Kuroba's arm again. Kuroba flinched slightly as he worked, the injury obviously painful, but did not open his eyes or make any noise.

"You'll have to change those later." Hakuba murmured, returning the medical supplies to his pockets and taking Kuroba's shirt from his hand. "Do you know how to take care of it?"

Kuroba nodded, subtly flexing his arm to test the bandage. "Yeah."

Hakuba hmm'd in response, carefully sliding the shirtsleeve over Kuroba's injured arm, then guiding his right arm into the other sleeve. He straighten the shoulders and the collar, then carefully buttoned the shirt closed, leaving the top two buttons undone as was Kuroba's wont.

He lingered over the task longer then he should, he knew it, but that did not stop him from enjoying this small bit of closeness. Feeling slightly emboldened he pressed his lips against Kuroba's temple, the locks of wild dark hair tickling his skin. "Please do not scare me." He requested, hoping that he didn't sound too needy or concerned.

Kuroba had been the Kid for a while now. He did not need anyone to be worried about him or concerned for his safety.

That did not stop Hakuba however.

Kuroba tensed for a second, then a hand brushed one of his in silent acknowledgement. Hakuba nodded once, then stepped sideways and walked back out into the sunlight, then back down the stairs to his desk to finish his lunch.

Kuroba did not look at him the rest of the day. Hakuba focused his attention on schoolwork.

That night, Kid visited his window, hovering on the sill as if he were uncertain of his welcome.

Hakuba smiled slightly, inviting the kaitou in for hot tea and a game of chess.

Much to his delight, Kid smiled back and accepted his offer.

-fin-

Vest = Britsh for an undershirt

• The previous scar is from 'Lead Tear', a MK chapter that is not in any of the tankubons, unfortunately. Takes place shortly after Blue Birthday, Snake has shown up at a magic show (Kaito's in disguise there, you can see him doing his father's 'Turkey-out-of-the-Hat' trick in the background), and starts shooting at girl and fellow magician who looks a lot like Yabia's sister. He takes a bullet for her in the chest. Fortunately he's wearing a bullet-proof vest. When they're being chased, a second bullet grazes his upper left arm, tearing the sleeve.
The girl then breathes a jet of fire at Snake in retaliation, slightly charring Snake. ^__^ You go girl!


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