Chapter Text
It took a little bit of time for them to tell everybody else. “Everybody else,” meaning, the whole school, because no doubt about it was the story of two students discovering their status as soulmates would spark high attention.
Ouma was noticeably nervous about the whole thing at first, as much as he attempted to conceal the anxiety by lies. Saihara knew why -- it was because he’d officially be known around the school for being previously Soulmate-less. Not as if not having a Soulmate was a particularly bad thing, of course, but because it would ruin Ouma’s reputation. After all, he was a skilled liar, and people either believed what he said or did not. Some may even come to believe Saihara was manipulated into falling in love with him, while some couldn’t care less.
When the day, a bright Thursday of July (about a month after being together and keeping their relationship a secret) came about, and the two waited patiently for Kaede Akamatsu’s arrival, Saihara took keen notice of Ouma’s quiet behavior. The supreme leader was simply toying with the straw that was in his large glass of Panta. Without much introduction, Saihara patted his head gently, “It’s going to be fine. Kaede’s a good friend of mine.”
Ouma’s head turned towards his newfound Soulmate. Although they had only been with each other for a month, it had already felt like a forever had taken place and another started anew. Ouma chuckled, “Nishishi~ who said I was worried, Shuuichi-chan? Look at your own face! Y-You’re practically sweating!”
Saihara couldn’t help but laugh. Ouma’s poor attempt at a lie of an excuse was simply that laughable -- even Ouma himself knew he could do better. Sometimes, there was just no use covering his tracks if Saihara could always find them. That was both the fortunate and unfortunate part of being Saihara’s lover. There were much, much more golden perks, though, like how Ouma could now freely scoot closer and cuddle into Saihara’s chest, “Shuuichi-chaaan~”
“H-Hey now, someone might see,” Saihara mumbled, becoming flustered over the closeness. Over the course of the month, hiding their affections was something that had to be done in order to draw less suspicious to them. A lot of Ouma’s prior behavior was very much already affectionate, like random hugging and calling Saihara his beloved detective. But there was so much that they couldn’t do, like hold hands, kiss briefly, have Saihara hold Ouma like he did some nights when Ouma wanted to be childish and couldn’t quite sleep without “Shuuichi-chan’s mother-like rocking.” It was a lot. It was painful, even, sort of.
“See what?” A familiar voice called out, and the two immediately scooted away from each other when Kaede made her appearance, a pleasant but unknowing smile on her face. Saihara was about to explain, but fortunately, his quick-thinking (boy)friend beat him to the punch.
“I was just sipping some of Shuuichi-chan’s disgusting coffee. I started pouring loooots of sugar in, but my beloved was worried that people’d think we’re wasting,” Ouma explained, so swiftly and smoothly that it just had to be convincing enough to be real. Kaede made a face of slight confusion, but her expression showed her letting the topic go with a nod.
“Ah… alright?” Kaede finally managed, the ‘alright’ coming out along with a nervous chuckle. She sat down in the booth in front of the two’s shared one, and she suddenly felt the actual heaviness of the situation. She came here knowing that Saihara would be with Ouma… but this felt like an interrogation of some sorts. “So…. what did you need to talk to me about?”
Saihara gave a quick glance over to Ouma, who responded well with only a glance back and a sly, but joyous, grin. Saihara nodded quietly, his own smile on his face, now that they were both ready to share with the world the happiness they could bestow onto each other. They didn’t need to hide anymore after this. They didn’t need to keep quiet or still, leaving their relationship to shadows and darkness. No, there wasn’t use for that anymore -- at this point, they both knew they weren’t turning back. They both were happy with that.
The detective gave a moment’s inhaled, and exhaled softly before lifting up his left hand -- showing off the heart tattooed onto his palm, “I found my Soulmate’s Connection.”
Kaede’s eyes widened immediately. “What!? That’s great, Saihara!” Her eyes were on Saihara, but they were drawn immediately to Ouma, who was pulling aside his scarf and tugging down the collar of his shirt, revealing the same exact heart, “I found mine, too~”
The pianist took a moment to process this. Then she practically jumped out of her seat, “YOU GUYS ARE SOULMATES !?”
Kaede’s outburst that day had obviously caught the attention of other students at the cafe. Some simply looked, others came to ask what was going on, and others knew exactly what she had said. And there it was, right for the showing -- identically drawn hearts on Saihara’s hand on Ouma’s heart. The news didn’t fail to travel quickly around the school, and in a matter of a few hours, they were bombarded with questions after classes.
They were pulled away from each other’s company during a majority of clean up time, and it was only at the last 10 minutes of the hour were they able to meet one another’s side. When Ouma saw Saihara sweeping up a classroom, mouth dry from answering far too many curious questioners, he practically dropped the bucket of water he was carrying in order to fly into Saihara’s unexpecting being.
“G-GAH!” Saihara yelled, not seeing Ouma until it was a second too late -- Ouma tackled him into a hug from the front, the broom he was using falling to its side limply in replace for the supreme leader. “A-Aha, hello, Kokichi.”
“My beloved Shuuichi-chan~! I’m gonna diiiiie~ I haven’t gotten to kiss you since lunchtime!” How petty of him. Did Saihara really mind, though? No, not really. He treated Ouma to a nice kiss on the lips (restraining himself from initiating it any deeper) and let him go.
“There… you got your kiss. Go back to cleaning, now…,” Saihara joked, and Ouma’s face grew offended.
“Whaaat? D-Does Shuuichi-chan not appreciate my company anymore? ...How rude! Don’t be such an asshole, Shuuichi!” Ouma scolded, but Saihara knew all too well about this little front. He sighed offhandedly through his nostrils, bending down again to kiss him once more on the lips.
“There,” Saihara hummed, satisfied, leaving a pink-cheeked leader to stand there as he picked up his broom and began sweeping again. Ouma stammered, trying to come up with another false accusation, but ultimately failed. Oh, it was fun having each other’s hearts -- he was glad Ouma taught him this.
That evening, when the two thought they could finally have some peace and quiet with one another, a knock came from the door. Ouma groaned, openly complaining about all the interruptions they were receiving now (“Maybe we should’ve just continued being scandalous lovers, dont’cha think, Shuuichi-chan?”) as Saihara took it upon his own hands to open the door. It was their formal invitation and excuse of absence for the academy’s Soulmate’s Paradise Special -- for their students who had found their soulmate in another ultimate.
“Oh, y’know what that means, Shuuichi-chan!?” Ouma squeaked, waving the brochures and invitation back and forth. “That means we can have some islands alllll to ourselves!”
Well, they didn’t have the island all to themselves.
The island, called Jabberwock Island, was connected to Hope’s Peak Academy through a company called the Future Foundation -- a company in which graduated of the academy were encouraged to join after their high school years. Of course, students obviously had the choice not to take the job, but if they were to, it was an easy access for the graduates of Hope’s Peak Academy. Future Foundation’s entire goal was to spread across the teachings of all the amazing talents of each prime worker at the facility. A good example would be, if you worked as an athlete, you’d travel across the globe to give inspiring tips and speeches to young children.
Jabberwock Island was one of the Future Foundation’s base stations, and was also a means of field trips and vacations for the students or others around the globe that wanted a nice vacation away from it all. Ouma and Saihara were greeted by Future Foundation members on the Saturday of their planned leave, suitcases all packed with swimsuits and sun lotion, as they piled into a private jet and headed straight for the Pacific Ocean.
From their landing, they were given a basic tour of the main island, a map, and the card to a cottage in which the two would be sharing. While other visitors of the island were staying in the hotel nearby, the cottages themselves were reserved for those special highschool soulmates.
Once the two were settled into their shared cottage, Ouma danced around Saihara, hugging him tightly, “Maaan, it feels pretty good to be all alone with my beloved detective~ we should go and play some games!” Saihara agreed fondly.
The two spent their afternoon doing various things that Jabberwock Island had to offer. Exploring the facilities, traversing the beaches, and playing in the ocean. It had felt so long ago to Saihara. When exactly did he last visit a beach? Had he visited a beach at all in the past? Yes, he probably did… but when was the last time just out of pure enjoyment? In his pondering, Ouma splashed him harshly with the salty seawater, “Earth to Shuuichi-chan! You’re being boring. Keep splashing at me!”
Ouma was right. There was no use to think about the past like that. He only cared about Ouma right now, and how great everything felt -- how strangely proud he felt, watching Ouma have the time of his life, that black heart bearing itself proudly upon the boy’s chest. It was one of the best pictures Saihara could ever paint in his memories.
After getting dried up some, the two continued to traverse around the islands, both exploring and simply… talking. Talking was nice. It was fun. Ouma could supply Saihara with more built up crime scenes, and Saihara could solve them faster and faster. When the two arrived at a library, they spent a good rest of the afternoon simply cuddling against each other and reading. After all, many of the guests at the island were spending their time now swimming or doing other fun summer activities -- with that crossed off of their list today, the two could sit in unbothered silence.
With Ouma soon complaining about being bored of the activity, then, Saihara didn’t mind to set aside the book he was reading (he’d have to remember its title and where he left off, and hope there’d be an available PSD online) and continue to walk around with his soulmate, continuing to traverse around the islands. After stumbling upon a movie theater, the two took it into their own hands to watch something interesting until nightfall -- Ouma excitedly chose a horror films, as they were pretty much comedies in his eyes.
Ouma didn’t fail to deliver, as for a duration of the movie, Ouma was simply calling the actors out on their ludicrous acting and openly critiquing its plotline. It was almost miraculous that nobody else was in the showing at the time -- it saved Saihara from having to apologize to everyone who would have been there. The movie’s ending managed to come, after a long hour and fourty five minutes of Ouma complaining to no end about the movie’s quality, and decided to head back to the main island for dinner.
In the Hotel’s Restaurant, a buffet was taking place. The visitors indulged themselves, including Ouma and Saihara who, upon showing the front waitress their status as Hope’s Peak Academy Soulmates, were treated with a free ticket and all-you-can-eat pass. Saihara had somehow managed to convince Ouma to eat more than just all of the desserts that were out for grabs, and by the end of the meal, Ouma was still attempting to bite into more cake. “If I knew that treatment would be this good, I would’ve made out with you much sooner, Shuuichi-chan! Though, I don’t know… you aren’t that good of a kisser,” Ouma admitted, patting his stomach once he managed to get that last bite of cake in.
“H-Hey,” Saihara mumbled, knowing that he was joking, but still. He wondered momentarily about his quality of kissing -- personally, he thought Ouma was a pretty good kisser. Then again, he had never kissed anyone passionately before like he had with the leader, so there really was no way to compare…
“...Just kidding. Your kissing makes me horny, Shuuichi-chan~” Ouma chimed, which only flustered Saihara even further. The detective blushed, looking away.
“N-Not here, Kokichi!” Saihara reprimanded, though, the stutter certainly didn’t help this situation.
“Ohohoo~? Nishishi~ does Shuuichi-chan wanna swoop me off my feet and take me back to his love nest~?”
Saihara’s initial reaction to the statement was a blurted “K-Kokichi!”, but when the two arrived back to their cottage, behind a gently shut door, there was a much different story. Finally alone, finally in a space where they could just be themselves to each other, Saihara lifted Ouma’s skinny and light body enough for a bold kiss on the lips. He could feel Ouma’s smile into it, and the giggle that broke them away, “Nishishi~ perverted, Shuuichi-chan~”
Nothing explicit was done that night -- only some long kissing in the bed, and a little bit of touching. Saihara was unsure if it was alright to go ahead and hit a homerun, and eventually decided to save that for another day. After all, they had many, many more ahead of them -- this one was only one out of hundreds. When the two (or more of Ouma) was satisfied with the amount of kissing and touching they were doing, they made a lazy effort to change out of their daily clothing in favor for comfortable sleep wear. Ouma practically flopped back onto the bed once he had.
“Maaaan. Kissing you can be real tiring, Shuuichi-chan. Phewww…,” Ouma sighed out, and proceeded to start snoring. Saihara watched him fondly, intently. Well, the way he was “sleeping” was certainly unnatural -- but he could tell that it was an attempt at a somewhat true representation of the actual way the supreme leader slept. Ouma peeked out of a slightly opened eye and stared right back at Saihara, who was standing at the side of the bed, and proceeded to try and make his sleep more convincing. “Snnzz… I’m snoooring… so tirrrred…”
Saihara let out a snort of amusement as he made himself comfortable by taking his own position in the bed, pushing Ouma aside so that they were both under the covers. Ouma didn’t even take a moment to hesitate as he wrapped a majority of his body onto the other, clinging to his side. Saihara couldn’t help but find this to be absolutely adorable -- they had slept next to each other before, and even though it wasn’t a new thing… it was special. It was something that the two of them could only do with each other, and Saihara knew that feeling of specialness. It was a feeling he had to continue to cherish.
Carefully, Saihara leaned down slightly in order to give Ouma a caring peck on the head. Ouma shifted, “Ew. Shuuichi-chan kissed me. How gross~”
“Gross,” Saihara repeated after him, trying the word out on his tongue for himself. Yes, that was obviously a lie, and Ouma didn’t even need to say so to indicate it. Instead, he only snuggled further closer to the other, as Saihara wrapped his arm around his upper body, finding the perfect slot right in the crook of Ouma’s neck and gently draping around it. “...Kokichi.”
“Mmm~?”
“...You’re special to me.”
“Awww. For such a smart guy, you say pretty dumb things sometimes,” Ouma replied swiftly. Saihara listened quietly for the continuation he knew was coming. It did. “...Y’know. Saying things that I already know. But it’s not like all dumb things are bad, so I guess it’s fine.”
“...Alright. I can live with that,” Saihara agreed, and couldn’t help but smile along, too. Ah, well, he had chosen Ouma of all people to be his soulmate -- he expected nothing less than this out of their relationship. But in the end… minding was something he didn’t do. Kokichi Ouma was an enigma. An enigma he was still trying to figure out.
“Hmm… but y’know, I love you , Shuuichi-chan,” Ouma chimed happily, voice quieter. Saihara didn’t know why, but he didn’t tell Ouma to stop. “You’re the most interesting person I’ve ever met. I pride myself with knowing every surprise in the book… but sometimes, you seem to outsmart even me, Shuuichi. I love your surprises, though~ I can see all of your love when you give them to me.”
Saihara glanced downwards and observed Ouma’s face through the pale moonlight. His cheeks were slightly darker -- he was blushing. How adorable, but Saihara didn’t feel like getting teased out of the nice mood. Instead, he kept the knowledge of Ouma’s cute face to himself (he’d be the only one to get the fortune of seeing that), and responded, “Well… as long as I continue doing it, I guess I’ll never bore you, right?”
“Mhmm. So I want you to keep throwing everything you’ve got on me! Keep interesting me, Shuuichi-chan,” Ouma commanded, looking up at Saihara, and making eye contact. Those galaxies… yeah. He was there, and they no longer felt alone. He was there because Ouma let him be there. “And let’s build a pretty interesting image of our future, yeah?”
Saihara shifted downwards by a slight, as he let Ouma see his smile before meeting it with Ouma’s own. This was not done before Saihara whispered, just to him, “Yeah, Kokichi.”
Under the moonlight, and with Ouma’s soft lips entwined with his own, Saihara let that thought simmer in his head. An interesting future, with Ouma. Something that was not quite clear, but not quite blurred, either… the two were no longer staying put with each other’s emotions and feelings, and staying static. No, they instead, were letting their hearts carry themselves forward, hand in hand, and Saihara had let this all happen. It was all for the boy that had taught him how to love, when neither of them had somebody to be there. When both of them were inexperienced, while they still were. Regardless of the circumstance… they understood well that they had each other. And that was the most important part.
That was the truth.