Hakuba nodded in agreement, ignoring the fact that Kuroba most likely couldn't see his head, due to the fact that he currently had his head in the refrigerator while Kuroba inspected the kitchen cupboard for snacks. It was just the two of them at the Hakuba household tonight. Homework was done, the girls were at Koizumi's, Baaya was still out, and they were foraging for something to snack on before finishing the movie. "Your English has improved quite a bit." He commented idly. They didn't have much in the way of leftovers and he wasn't quite in the mood to make something. He opened the freezer door and found some ice cream. Close enough.

"Your fault, y'know." Kuroba informed him loftily. "Suddenly having someone to practise with will do that. Ah-ha! Wasabi peas! Extra hot!" The bag was waved around like a joyous pirate with booty on a raiding party.

He chuckled to himself, pulling out the ice cream and wondering what they had that would go with it. A glance in the refrigerator revealed a number of possibilities, including "Ha. Chocolate sauce."

"Wasabi peas and chocolate sauce?" Kuroba's voice was a perfect mask of puzzlement. "Oh-kay, it's your taste buds."

"Not together." He grumbled, setting the ice cream and chocolate sauce on the counter next to the bag of wasabi peas. Both of them stopped and looked at the foodstuffs. Chocolate sauce, Ice Cream and Wasabi peas. They exchanged looks. This could go one of two ways.

One: They raid the refrigerator and cupboard for the most bizarre combination of ice cream toppings they could think of.

Two: ....

"Nah."

Decision unanimously made, they returned to their respective food scrounging. Although Hakuba did find himself eyeing the leftover pickled daikon with an analytical eye. There was some fish cake in there too, if he was feeling suicidal enough to attempt to serve it to the ichthyophobe.

"I found donuts!" Kuroba announced. There was a slight pause and he leaned back to find Kuroba examining the box of donuts as if expecting it to explode. "Well, makes sense... this is a cop's house..." The magician mused quietly.

Hakuba straighten. "I take offense at the stereotype." He informed Kuroba regally.

Kuroba tossed a smirk at him. "No, you don't."

"You are right. I do not." He admitted with an easy shrug and a grin. It was so much fun to try to jerk Kuroba's chain.

His reward was a mercurial smile. "Ha."

Chuckling, he went back to poking at the foodstuffs in the refrigerator as Kuroba returned the donuts to their previous spot. "Have you ever heard of Fried Ice Cream?" He inquired idly. Blast it, they were out of maraschino cherries. He smirked to himself, remembering Koizumi's reaction during their impromptu cherry stem-tying contest several months back. He couldn't remember who the winner had been. Hm. He'd have to ask her later.

Of course, that would probably result in another cherry stem tying contest, but who was he to argue?

"Fried Ice Cream?" Kuroba echoed. "Is that like ice cream tempura?"

"Not quite. It's a South American dish. There's no batter added to it, they deep fry the ice cream then add sugar and lots of cinnamon."

"Straaange." Kuroba drawled. "But it sounds good. No chocolate?"

"I supposed you could add some if you wished." He shrugged. Trust Kuroba to want chocolate.

"Uh... Hakuba?"

"Yeah?"

"Why's there a pair of socks in here?"

Hakuba blinked. "I have no idea."

"Okay then."

Foraging continued. Carmel ice cream topping was discovered. He allowed himself to get slightly side tracked by the possibilities.

"Hey, Hakuba?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I found a hidden candy stash." The magician's face was split in a broad grin as he pulled out a few boxes of pocky and a bag of jellybeans.

His father's candy stash. "Knew I kept you around for a reason." He'd been looking for that for a while. All he had to do was give the thief permission to dig around to find it.

"Heh. I-" Kuroba went silent as the front door slammed shut. A moment later, his father walked into the kitchen, loosening his tie with a tired expression.

"Welcome home, Father." Hakuba paused, trying not to be obvious about looking around the room. Where had Kuroba disappeared to? The cupboard door was closed, but there was no way for anyone to fit inside of there, regardless of how flexible they was. "How did your day go?"

How his father managed to maintain such a big grin on his face throughout the majority of the day was a puzzle even to him. He figured it had something to do with the sheer amount of sugar his Father ate on a frequent basis. Either that or drugs. He had decided several years ago not to inquire into it too deeply.

"Fine, fine." Father grinned at him. "Having a snack before supper?"

"I w as considering it." Kuroba wasn't hiding behind the island in the middle of the kitchen. "Do you want anything?"

"I'm good." Father waved him off. "Don't eat too much sugar. And you can tell your friend they can come out of hiding now."

A nervous chuckle met the remark. Hakuba looked up to find Kuroba stuck in the corner, clinging against the sides of the walls and the ceiling. He blinked. "Kuroba? What are you doing up there?"

A bead of sweat slid down the side of Kuroba's face, his face scrunched up in an embarrassed wince. "Habit?" He offered weakly.

Made sense, if you knew that Kuroba was the Kid. But since that wasn't common knowledge...

Father let out a deep belly laugh, tears forming in the corners of his eyes as he cackled. "HABIT?!"

"Kuroba-kun's best friend is Nakamori-keibu's daughter." Hakuba supplied. This set Father into fresh peals of laughter.

"Habit!" He roared one more time before strolling out of the kitchen, still howling.

Kuroba jumped down from the ceiling. "So... that's your Father."

"Yes." Hakuba nodded. He got that reaction a lot. He had shared that sentiment for a long time when he was younger, one reason he'd lived with Mum in London, she was a bit more sane in her own way most of the time. Of course, she had married Father in the first place, so that was not saying much.

But then there was that saying 'You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your relatives'...

"I..." Kuroba blinked, as if struggling to find something to say. Anything at all. Something. After a too long pause, the magician shrugged apologetically. "I just don't see the resemblance. Sorry."

"I believe I shall take that as a complement." Hakuba smirked, pulling out two bowls and spoons from their respective places. "However, I'm afraid that honour demands that I add wasabi peas to your ice cream for it."

"Hey!" Kuroba's irritation faded into a calculating look while Hakuba scooped equal portions of ice cream out into the bowls. "Okay, fine."

Hakuba raised an eyebrow. Interesting turn around. "Ho?"

"Yup. But-" Kuroba opened the fridge and pulled out the container of leftover pickled daikon, a look of triumph on his face as he set it on counter next to the wasabi peas. "These go on yours."

Pickles and Ice Cream? "What am I, pregnant?"

Wide eyes and a gasp of surprise met the dry comment. "Hakuba! You've been cheating on me?! Oh, how could you?!"

The detective made a rather rude gesture back. "Pillock."

The only person he'd been doing anything that even came close to constituting as 'cheating' was Kid, which Kuroba was perfectly aware of, seeing as the theif and the magician were the same person. Besides, he and Kuroba weren't even offically dating.

"Yeah, yeah." Kuroba grinned. "All right, fine. I retract the pickles. On one condition."

"Which is?"

"I get jelly beans on my ice cream too."

"... Ew."

-fin-

Daikon- Japanese Radish
Ichthyophobia- Fear of fish.

Hakuba's Dad shows up for all of 2½ pages in Magic Kaito, during Hakuba's first appearance. He's big, round and laughs a lot. I think he's smoking something. Voices think he's just weird.

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