Chapter Text
It was rare for either of them to allow themselves to become lost in their emotions like this. Rarely did they get the opportunity. Between Saiko being mobbed by a series of fans after his money and fame and Saiki’s group of friends who didn’t know how to keep their noses out of his business, it was surprising when they actually managed to find five minutes to be alone together. Let alone enough time to indulge in the more physical aspects of their relationship.
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The next morning, finds Saiki sitting against the tree he had claimed as his own, watching Kaidou as the younger boy slowly begins to lose his marbles. A sight which greatly amuses Kaidou, even if he would appreciate it if Kaidou would stop trying to kill him off in his fantasies. He sits back, a small smirk dancing across his lips when, out of nowhere, Kaidou produces a black marker and begins to draw so rather horrifying doodles all over his face.
His eyes skirt around the beach, watching Nendo swimming around the sea, while Yumehara attempts to console Kaidou, this time trying to stop the boy from delving further into his fantasy and describing in vivid detail how they were all going to end up murdering each other for something to eat when their stores inevitably ran low.
Saiki sighs, relaxing back against his tree when he catches movement in his peripheral vision. Turning his head, he smiles when he sees Kuboyasu and Teruhashi slowly making their way across the beach to Saiko, who has taken up his place on the rock again. He tunes into their thoughts, shaking his head when he sees what they are about to get themselves into, and pushes himself to his feet. They may just need his help if they are actually going to try and console Saiko.
“Hey Saiko, we just wanted to offer you something to eat. We don’t think you should blame yourself for the ship sinking.” Kuboyasu smiles up at Saiki, trying to offer the silent Heir some wrapped bread.
“Yea, no one here blames you for any of this, Saiko. So why don’t you come on over and sit with us to eat?” Teruhashi offered up one of her patented grins, flipping her hair over her shoulder in hopes of cajoling the older teen into doing as she wished.
“What are you two plebians going on about? Of course, it wasn’t my fault that the ship went down. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. You hear stories of this happening every once in a while.” Saiko turns to glance down at his classmates, raising an eyebrow at the sight of Kaidou and Nendo fighting in the water without a care in the world while Yumehara shouts at them from the safety of the beach. “I am not going to lower myself to eat any of your poor people's food. Not unless…”
Kuboyasu and Teruhashi freeze, turning back around from where they had been walking back to their friends after having decided to leave the rich Heir to his own devices. They glance up at Saiko, watching with trepidation as a smirk dances at the corners of his lips.
“Unless?”
“Unless Saiki feeds it to me.” Saiko comments, shooting his smirk over to his boyfriend, who comes to a halt behind Kuboyasu and stares over at Saiko with an unreadable expression.
Saiki inwardly rolls his eyes. He knew that Saiki didn’t actually expect him to feed him the bread and didn’t truly want to force Saiki to do anything he didn’t want to do. Saiki knows that he just wanted to tease them as much as he was able to while they were still standing in front of their friends. And if it wasn’t for his Cryokinesis, then Saiki knew that he would be blushing. However, two could play at that game.
When Kuboyasu and Teruhashi splutter out at the odd request and go to turn away from their classmate with the bread still clutched in their hands, Saiki stops them. Ignoring their questions, he grabs two packages of bread filled with raspberry jam and climbs up onto the rock facing Saiko. Slowly opening the plastic wrap, Saiki allows his lips to upturn into a devious smirk when he holds the food out to his boyfriend in offering.
“Saiki…?”
What? You said you weren’t going to eat if I didn’t feed you, and I happen to quite like the fact that you are alive right now, Metori.
But what if everyone…
If they find out about us, then they find out about us. This vacation has made me realise that I shouldn’t care about what other people think about me or my choices. I chose to date you, Metori. I love you, and I am not going to let my aversion to attention stop me from showing it when I want to.
Saiko pushes his hand closer to Saiko and watches in satisfaction as his boyfriend takes a small, tentative bite before leaning forward for another. Saiki smiles invisibly, only enough for Saiko to be able to see due to their close proximity. He ignores the frantic thoughts swirling around Kuboyasu and Teruhashi’s minds as they continue to watch his actions, their eyes unblinking.
I love you as well, Kusuo. I won’t announce our relationship, but would you allow me to hold your hand and hug you when I want?
I would never want to stop you, Metori. As long as I am permitted to do the same.
Saiko grins over at Saiki, sliding his hand across the rocky surface so he can interlace their fingers together. However, Saiki still realises that it is the hand obscured from the view of their friends by their crossed legs, but he doesn’t comment. He merely tightens his grip around Saiko’s as much as he can without crushing the other’s fingers with his strength.
Saiki and Saiko are thrown out of their bubble when a loud scream cuts across the beach. Turning to face their classmates, their eyes widen, they spot a large green and brown snake slithering along the sand toward Yumehara.
“Kaidou, Kuboyasu, do something!” She shouts, running to hide behind Teruhashi, who scuttles away from the approaching serpent.
Kaidou and Kuboyasu began to freak out. They didn’t know how to deal with a wild snake. Even though Kaidou had thought he had been able to handle the one that had broken into their classroom earlier in the year, he hadn’t been able to replicate the attack he had used, and so he didn’t know how much help he could be in this situation.
However, it turned out that they didn’t have to do much because a moment later, a long spear came sailing through the air and pierced the snake, drawing it to an abrupt halt. At first, everyone believes that they have come across a small tribe of people who occupied the island, but when the strange figure steps out of the woods and into the light, it is clear that Mera has just become one with the forest around them. When Kaidou goes over to thank Mera for saving them, she hands him a large sack full of food, grumbling ineloquent syllables at them, which Yumehara has to translate for them all.
“She says that she wants us to have this as an apology for eating all our food.”
“Oh, thank you, Mera.” Kaidou opens the bag to find an assortment of mushrooms. “We still have plenty of food left, so we will save these for later.”
What they don’t know is that Mera was not only apologising for the food she had eaten on the Yacht as they were sailing but for eating the rest of the leftover food that had still been stored in the pantry. Saiki shook his head, leaning back against the tree he had claimed from himself; he had a feeling that this was what Mera had been referring to, but with her thoughts as in disarray as they were. However, he didn’t say anything to his classmates; he didn’t think there was anything he needed to say at the moment.
“Hey guys, what’s that?” Kuboyasu shouts, ignoring Kaidou, sulking on the floor to have a closer look at whatever he had seen floating in the ocean.
The rest of their friends went over and joined the ex-delinquent, their sorrowful expressions shifting into ones of joy when they saw that the brightly coloured packets bobbing up and down on the waves were several cans and bags of food that would last them days. No one questioned just how the food had managed to travel all the way from a sunken ship to their island, nor did they question the fact that a metal kettle and tin opener had somehow managed to drift ashore.
“Oh wow, this must be because of how much the gods love Teruhashi!”
“Yay for Teruhashi!”
Saiki crosses his arms, rolling his eyes as he watches the ridiculousness that was his friends. He was so focused on his classmate’s antics, on Teruhashi’s failed attempts to deny her friends’ claims, that he didn’t notice Saiko sidling up to him. He doesn’t notice the arm slipping around his waist until a hand grips his side in a secure but gentle grip.
“I don’t know how exactly you managed to pull this off, Kusuo, but you are amazing for doing this for your friends.” Saiko glances over at their classmates before he drops a quick kiss on Saiki’s cheek, nuzzling along the boy’s cheekbone for a moment before he moves away again.
I didn’t do much, but these guys would be dead by the end of the day if I didn’t at least do this much. I need them to at least survive until I can think up some way to get us out of here. Saiki comments, leaning a little closer to Saiko, who tightens his arm around Saiki’s waist.
“You may say it like that, Kusuo but I know that you care for our friends a lot more than you like to admit. Don’t worry, though; you know I am not going to say anything to them.” Saiko drops another kiss on Saiki’s cheek, loving the very faint flush he can see forming on his boyfriend’s ears. Saiki rolls his eyes but doesn’t deny the other’s statement. Instead, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a high-class sandwich filled with pate and salmon. A combination he knows Saiko adores.
“You… you bought this for me?”
Well, I couldn’t have my boyfriend starving now, could I? I am quite fond of him and would like to keep him around for as long as I am able. Saiki rolls his eyes, glancing over his shoulder to make sure that no one was paying them any mind before he drops a very chaste kiss to his boyfriend’s lips.
“Wait a minute. If you have this on you since earlier, then why did you feed me that bread in front of the others?” Saiki could have just shoved this at me and walked away…
Even I am allowed to have a little fun every once in a while.
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Saiki couldn’t deny that it was a good idea; he just couldn’t believe that such a sound thought came from Nendo, of all people. How none of their other friends had managed to come up with the idea to try and build a raft to float them to safety was beyond him, but he wasn’t going to deny his classmates the enjoyment of manual labour. It would give him a little amusement, at the very least.
He settles down along one end of the beach, under the shade of a large palm tree, with a hammer in hand and a pile of nails nestled in a few leaves by his feet. Of course, he had teleported back home to purchase the tools they would need to build said raft as, as ridiculous as it may seem, Nendo’s idea had given him the opening to come up with a plan all of his own to save himself and his friends.
“This is going to take us too long. Maybe we could get some more hands to help us out.” Saiki hears and glances up to see Teruhashi, Kaidou, and Kuboyasu making their way along the beach to Saiko, who is once again sunbathing on a large rock just shy of the waves.
“Hey, Saiko, we are building a raft to get us off this island. Would you mind giving us a hand?” Kaidou questions, his voice timid but polite.
“Hmmm. Now, why would I want to do that? You expect me to do manual labour? That is for plebians such as yourselves,” Saiko comments, sticking his nose up into the air. Saiki can’t help but chuckle a little. Saiko really did love winding up their friends. “However, I will help you out if I can get a small kiss.” Come on, Ku. I know you can’t resist me.
Kuboyasu pulls Teruhashi behind himself, his eyes narrowing when he catches sight of the amused smirk dancing across Saiko’s lips. He should have known that the boy wouldn’t help him without some underlying condition. It was ridiculous. He was also stuck on this desert island with them, and yet, it seemed like he was only here on a short vacation.
Saiki rolls his eyes, brushes the sand free from his hands, and pushes himself to his feet. Walking along the beach, he gently pushes past Kaidou and sidesteps past Kuboyasu and Teruhashi before he stops just short of the rock where his boyfriend had perched. Tilting his head to the side, Saiki takes a deep breath before he stretches up on his toes and places a kiss on Saiko’s lips.
Everyone freezes at the action. They had assumed that Saiko had been referring to Teruhashi when he had been asking for a kiss, but with the way he was threading his fingers through Saiki’s hair and the way Saiki had stepped closer to the taller boy, it was clear that that hadn’t been what Saiko had been hinting at after all.
“Saiki…” Kaidou squeaks out, his face flushing brightly at the display in front of him.
“Kusuo… wha…” Saiko breaks away first, his lips slightly redder than they had been before and his eyes widen as if his thoughts had only just caught up to the events that had just transpired between himself and his boyfriend in front of the majority of their friends. His eyes flicker over his boyfriend’s shoulders before focusing back on green-tinted violet.
I was only playing around, Kusuo. You didn’t actually have to kiss me; I would have helped you all out eventually.
I know that Metori. You forget that I can read your mind.
“But… you don’t want too much attention… what?”
I wanted to kiss you, Metori. I am tired of keeping our relationship a secret from everyone. It has been far too long, don’t you think? Saiki comments, slipping his hand into Saiko’s as he comes to stand by his boyfriend’s side.
“But I thought… If this gets out, then you are going to have so much attention. I mean, I am constantly on the news or on the television, and it is hard for me to walk down the street without being stalked by some bint reporter. I don’t want you to have to deal with all that.” Saiko mutters, just loud enough for their friends to hear, and they are shocked by how gentle the rich heir could sound. They openly gape when Saiko reaches forward to brush his fingers through Saiki’s hair, down his cheek.
I don’t care about that anymore, Metori. I care more about being with you than I do about the attention I could potentially receive. Besides, it is only in front of our friends for the moment, and I am sure that none of them are going to go around blabbing at anyone unless we give them the okay. Saiki smirks over at Saiko, tightening his grip on the older boy’s hand. He proceeds to drag his boyfriend over to the raft, where they spend the next few hours securing thick wooden beams together with vines and nails.
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Saiko chuckles as he picks his way along the beach with Saiki at his side. Their conjoined hands swing leisurely between them as they bask in the silence of the island at night, the sounds of the wildlife going about their business, the waves washing against the sand. He steals a glance at his boyfriend, a large smile playing at the corners of his lips, when Saiki just rolls his eyes with a huff.
It is not that funny, Metori.
“Oh, come on, Kusuo. It is a little funny.”
I was not being that obvious. Saiki continues to deny it, shaking his head as a frown begins to form between his brows.
“They weren’t just talking about you, Kusuo. I believe our friends have known about our relationship for longer than we may have realised. Kuboyasu, at least.” Metori drops Saiki’s hand and wraps an arm around the younger boy’s shoulders.
I still don’t see how we were so obvious about any of this…
“I don’t either,” Saiko confesses, stroking a hand along his chin as he gazes up at the twinkling stars.
“You guys were so obvious; it was almost painful to watch.” A voice mutters from behind them, causing Saiko to jump marginally, his grip tightening around Saiki’s shoulder, who merely smirks up at his boyfriend. He had, of course, heard the other approaching.
“What? No, we weren’t.”
“Maybe not at school,” Kuboyasu shrugs his shoulders, pushing himself back so he can lean against a nearby tree with his arms folded over his chest. “But since you first offered to take us on this trip? You have both been so obvious.”
Saiki and Saiko don’t say a word against Kuboyasu’s words; they merely stare at the ex-delinquent. The purple-haired boy sighs and drags a hand through his hair.
“For example, everyone knows that Saiko used to be obsessed with Teruhashi, but about 4 months ago, that just stopped. There was no mention of your intentions to marry her or have her see how you were the perfect man for her. You just stopped, and I could only conclude that you had suddenly gotten over Teruhashi… or someone helped you get over her, and you didn’t want to cause any jealousy in this new partner or friend or whatever…
Then you say that we can only come with you,” Kuboyasu points over his shoulder to their sleeping companions with his thumb. “If we can convince Saiki to come along. You again, mentioned nothing about Teruhashi and seemed extremely happy when Saiki actually agreed. That tipped me off even more. Saiki, you didn’t even hesitate when I asked you to join us. It was almost like you were waiting for one of us to extend the invitation.”
Saiki drops his gaze to the floor, eyes shifting behind his glasses as he feels his cheeks heating up and his ears reddening at being exposed like that. He hadn’t thought that he had been that obvious when he had accepted the invitation. Shuffling closer to Saiko, Saiki relaxes minutely when his boyfriend drops a soft kiss on his head.
“Then there was the way the two of you kept hanging back together on the ship. You would whisper between yourselves, smiling and laughing together when you thought no one was paying attention. Not to mention, you were definitely holding hands when you came across us trying to stop Mera from eating all the food in the Pantry.” Kuboyasu shoots a smirk over at his friends, winking when Saiki merely glares over at him.
“Saiko practically went feral when you dropped from seasickness, Saiki. I thought he was going to bite Teruhashi when she reached forward to take you off him so you could rest. Besides, he locked the room you were sleeping in, and neither of you was seen again until we crash-landed on the island. Not to mention all the touching and kissing the two of you have done while on the island.” Kuboyasu snickers at the deepening flush dusting both his friend’s cheeks and shakes his head.
I didn’t know… Saiki mutters. He takes a calming breath before glancing up at Saiko, who is smiling shyly down at him.
“It is my fault, Saiki. I was so excited about us finally being able to go on vacation together that I forgot about our friends and got ahead of myself.”
No, if I didn’t like anything you did or said, Metori, then I would have stopped you or pulled away. Besides, I already told you that I don’t mind if our friends find out about us. I am ready for us to tell people, and I don’t want to waste any more time with you.
“Kusuo…” Metori leans down to brush a very gentle kiss on his boyfriend’s lips, breathing out a contented sigh when Kusuo leans into his frame and burrows his face in his neck. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, Kusuo and I would wait however long for you to be ready for our relationship to go public, you know this.”
I do, and I don’t want to hide anymore, Metori. I want the world to know that I love you, that you are mine, and no one else can have you.
“Look, before you guys get any mushier, I am going to split, but just know…” Kuboyasu pushes himself from the trunk and makes his way over to the couple. He pats their shoulders, smiling. “I am happy for you both, and so are the rest of them. It was just a bit of a shock. Look after him, Saiko, or you won’t like the consequences.”
“You have my word. Kusuo is the light of my life, my one and only. If I have it my way, then we will be together for the rest of our lives.”