Work Text:
Pale hands pressed against the glass, his breath creating a fog against it. His small, violet eyes lit up in delight as he watched the animals wander behind the glass. The shelter had animals of all kinds, and right now, Saihara was watching Ouma quietly obsess over the baby goats. As cute as they were, they were not going to be able to keep a goat in their current apartment.
“Come on Kokichi, seriously? Why are we looking at the goats...you know we can’t have one. You’re only torturing yourself.”
“But Shu-chan, look at them! They're so cute and fun and adorable! How could you not want one?” He puffed his cheeks out into a pout, and further squished his face up against the window.
“And stop pushing your face against the glass! You're like a little kid.”
The detective’s tone was teasing as he ruffled his hair, with Ouma immediately retaliating as he tried to rub his fist against Saihara’s head.
As the two bickered back and forth, one of the attendants from the shelter came out, seeing the two boys standing in the window for more than a few minutes. She gestured to them from the door, and waved them in.
“You two interested in adopting or are you just window shoppin’?”
Saihara pulled away and looked at her with flush spread across his cheeks.
“Yes, sorry, we're interested...we...um…”
“We were just showing all the animals who the alpha males are!” Ouma piped up and Saihara groaned, begrudgingly moving forward and following behind the unimpressed attendant. As they went inside, Saihara could see the open spaces where the animals were roaming. There were animals of all types here, and he could see Ouma’s eyes alight with wonder. Warmth swelled in his chest as he looked at him. There was nothing in this world that made him feel happier than Ouma’s smile.
The purple haired boy noticed Saihara’s far away look, smirking a little before nudging him.
“What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?” he smirked as he joked, noting how his delivery matched right as they walked past the pen with the kittens.
Shuichi blushed, looking away from Ouma and continuing forward. There were animals of all kinds here, animals that were unwanted and abandoned. They chose a shelter that was nearby, and was cruelty free. They could both use a companion when the other was gone, and getting a pet was a great first step after they had just officially declared themselves, “boyfriends.”
It was a loaded word that Shuichi wasn’t sure he was all that ready for, but he was the one to blurt it out. He had been thinking about it for months. Even though they moved in together before they were officially dating, it was a quiet, unspoken agreement that there was more to them than just “friendship.”
But Ouma was good at feigning a lack of care and hiding his feelings, and Shuichi sure as hell wasn’t good at expressing them. So it was a good thing that they had finally, finally, taken the extra step of considering themselves “officially dating.”
As they approached a pen, he could see Ouma rushing towards the animals that appeared to be hopping around on the soft carpeted floor. Because of the rainy weather, all of the animals that normally roamed outdoors were kept indoors for today. Saihara was thankful, he didn’t like getting his shoes muddy.
His eyes followed the bolt of purple to the pen. The woman was right behind him, and she couldn’t help but smile at his childlike happiness at the creatures.
“You...like the rabbits?” she asked, smiling at him and crouching next to him as he cooed next to the fence.
Ouma nodded, a quick, “Yep!” coming soon after. He was entranced by the little fuzzy beings that were roaming inside the pen.
Shuichi couldn’t help but smile too, noting the way that Ouma’s eyes lit up at the furry creatures. They were small, he noted, and he could tell that they probably weren’t very old. The attendant stood and opened the pen, allowing both Ouma and Shuichi inside. She gestured to the litter, and walked to the center, where the many rabbits hopped towards her in anticipation of being fed. She had a small bag of hay in her hands, and gestured Ouma over.
“Want to feed them?” she asked, noting the way that the bunnies sat and stared at her in hunger. It had only been a few hours, but babies were needy. Shuichi made a mental note of that, and wandered over.
“Yeah! Yeah! How do I do it? Just sprinkle food down?” Ouma wanted to make sure he did this right. He would never forgive himself if he hurt one of these precious beans.
“Yup. Just be careful not to give them too much.” she said, and waved Shuichi over too. He walked over and sat next to Ouma, before pointing at a rabbit that seemed to cower in the corner.
“Oh..what’s wrong with that one?” he asked, frowning slightly. It looked smaller than the rest, with white fur and black spots around its eyes. It seemed alert, and slightly afraid. The attendant didn’t even need to look to know which rabbit he was talking about.
“That one?” she thumbed behind her towards the corner. “That one’s the runt. He’s a scaredy rabbit.”
After sprinkling a bit of food down for the bunnies around him, Ouma turned to look at the one Shuichi and the attendant were referring to. As soon as he saw it, he knew that was the one he wanted. Quickly, but carefully, he moved closer to offer the runt some food. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m gonna take you home with me!”
“What?” she said, turning and looking at him with confusion. “Why? There are plenty of other ones here to choose from.” The rabbit had been notorious in the shelter for being pretty skittish and not wanting to eat. Especially from the hands of humans. Shuichi wasn’t even surprised, laughing and looking at Ouma as he moved closer to the rabbit. Of course he’d go for the runt.
Of course.
“Yeah, there might be plenty of other choices. But who else would want this little fella? You’re almost sounding like you don’t want him to go to a loving home, you know.” Ouma was nonchalant with his accusation, gently holding his hands out and waiting patiently for the little runt to eat.
It wasn’t a secret. None of the people in the facility really believed that the little guy was going to make it to next week. She just didn’t want the two to be disappointed or heartbroken if he died because he refused to eat.
“Well, n-no! It’s not that!” she was still embarrassed, and didn’t want to come off that way.
“It’s..it’s just that he doesn’t really like to eat from the hands of people, so we always have to leave him alone in a pen to eat by himself. And then sometimes, even then he doesn’t like to eat. I just wouldn’t want you to take home the sick rabbit. Losing a pet can be really traumatizing.”
Shuichi could already tell that Ouma was attached by the way he defended it, and he crouched and sat next to Ouma as he watched the rabbit stare at him. The two were in a heated staring contest, and Shuichi couldn’t tell if the rabbit was going to run or not.
“I think he’s measuring your worth,” Shuichi joked, before his eyes widened.
The bunny slowly, but surely, began to hop towards Ouma, with a bit of limp in his hop.
Ouma didn’t react as he watched the bunny move toward him. He just focused on keeping his breathing steady so that he wouldn’t accidentally spook the poor thing and need to start all over. He knew that this bunny would be fine with the right care, and he seemed to be the only person willing to give it.
He needed to earn it’s trust and take it home. For both of them.
The attendant was quiet, watching the unthinkable unfold in front of her. She never thought she’d see the rabbit do so much as blink in the direction of a human, nonetheless move towards one so willingly. The rabbit was obviously nervous, but it continued to hop until it was only a few inches from Ouma’s hands. Shuichi could feel his heart tightening with that familiar feeling again, seeing his boyfriend’s tender features at the sight of this small, defenseless creature. He didn’t dare say a word, not when it was so close to both of them. The other rabbits in the pen continued to mind their business, eating the hay that Ouma had sprinkled previously.
It took another limped hop before it was directly near his fingertips, and it stared at him in anticipation.
Slowly, Ouma moved his fingers down a little bit further, giving the bunny better access to the food that was in his hands. Some fell onto the ground, but the majority of it was still on his fingers. Even if the bunny ate from the food on the ground, that was a good sign. It was eating.
He continued to stare back, repeating over and over in his head that everything is okay.
The bunny sniffed the food on the ground, before moving to eat directly from Ouma’s fingertips. Shuichi had to withhold a small noise that threatened to escape his throat. The attendant was stunned. In the month that they’d had the rabbit litter, the runt hadn’t taken food from humans once.
It nibbled slightly, before showing great enthusiasm towards the hay that was in his hand. The tenseness that lingered in the air was gone, and he could see the bunny happily chewing on the hay in it's mouth. In that moment, Shuichi knew.
This rabbit, was the one.
Ouma smiled happily as the bunny ate from his hands, relieved to know it had chosen him as well. He still didn’t move, still careful to not scare it, but he relaxed and let out the breath he didn’t know he had been holding.
“Wow. It trusted me before it trusted any of you. That’s really funny.”
The attendant was sheepish, feeling more embarrassed than before. It was clear that the rabbit had chosen him, and wasn’t going to accept food from just anyone. It always warmed her heart to see a bond like this. It’s what made her job worth it.
Shuichi was still quiet, watching the bunny eat exclusively from Ouma’s fingers. While a few pieces of hay fell onto the carpet, it still only ate the hay that Ouma held. He always knew he was special. That’s why Shuichi picked him too.
“Looks like we found our pet, huh?” he asked, leaning his head on Ouma’s shoulder carefully. He wanted to make sure not to disturb their new fur son.
As the bunny ate more and more of the hay, it had to move closer and closer, eventually hopping into his hands to continue to eat. Ouma beamed, bringing the small fluff ball close and laughing. “Did we find him, or did he find us?”
Shuichi giggled, already knowing the answer to the question. “Pretty sure he found us...” he said, before moving his hand slowly towards the rabbit’s head and hovering over it. The rabbit froze for a moment, sniffing Shuichi’s fingers briefly before deciding that he too, was safe. Shuichi glowed with happiness and moved his fingers gently through the rabbit’s soft white fur. There was nothing that would have made their first pet choice better.
“So shall I get those papers for ya? I think we have a winner.” she smiled, standing and walking towards the pen gate.
“Yeah! And more snacks for the little guy!” Ouma said, moving his face closer to the bunny to let it sniff him more. He was so happy that this worked out, and he was super excited to have a furry companion.
After signing a few waivers and papers, Saihara and Ouma were on their way home, with their new bunny resting cutely in Ouma’s lap. The two idly chattered as Saihara drove them both home, and he almost got distracted by Ouma snuggling their bunny at the stoplight.
Finally, it was home sweet home, and the two made it up to their apartment, with their small bunny in tow. Shuichi was happy that they managed to have a successful trip, and went to their room that they had designated “the pet room” before they decided on adopting a pet. Guests were rare for them, and neither of them minded allowing their pet to have a small place of their own. After all, this rabbit was family now, and he needed a comfy place to stay.
Setting up the room wasn’t too difficult, as the crate was mildly easy to figure out. Shuichi filled the bottom of the large crate with shredded newspaper, and he looked at Ouma as he entered the room with their new fur child.
“How’s he holding up?”
“He’s doing great! Besides trying to eat my hair and my scarf, the little guy really likes being cuddled. He tries to jump on me anytime I put him down.” He laughed, holding the small bunny close to his chest. “Got everything set up?”
“Almost! Just trying to set up the crate and then I’m going to put down the little tunnels for him to crawl around in. He seems...really attached to you!” he said happily, his heart warmed from seeing Ouma so happy. He had been struggling a lot as of recently, unsure of where he could go with his talent. Everything that Hope’s Peak Academy promised-- no matter what happens, as long as you graduate, you’ll be set for life.
Yet here they both were, unemployed and searching for their life purpose. Saihara had quite a few detective agencies reaching out to him. It’s not like people didn’t want to hire him, it’s just that he didn’t know who to choose. Or if he wanted to continue being a detective at all, really. It had never really been his lifelong dream, but rather something that he just found himself really good at. He always had an affinity for mystery novels, and enjoyed the idea of solving them. His father was a detective, and his mother was a police officer. Working in the force just made sense.
But his heart was still making up his mind, and so he decided to move out of his parents’ house and into a place where he could free his mind and escape their pressure. Living alone was hard, and they were both working odd jobs here and there to pay rent and bills. He wanted to be able to be consistent for Ouma. Reliable. He had been hoping that the pet would help bring them some kind of routine, and add a little more joy in their lives.
And seeing Ouma’s smile, that smile.
It convinced him that his hunch just might be right.
“Yeah! Maybe he’s as attached to me as I am to him. After all, us runts gotta stick together!” Ouma chimed, not thinking too hard about what he was saying. Normally he was better at that, but he was so excited about the pet his usual mannerisms and calculated moves weren’t as sharp as they normally were.
Not that he kept up those acts up around Shuichi that much anymore. He was able to let his guard down for once, and it was so nice to not worry about what everyone else was thinking. He could just be himself.
“You’re not a runt,” he commented, closing the door to the crate and standing. He brushed the excess hay from his shirt, and walked over to where Ouma stood in the doorway.
“You’re both just tough, and careful about who you trust. I think that just makes you smart. After all, since when has size had anything to do with how powerful you are? I mean you are the Ultimate Supreme Leader after all. Who says our little bunny isn’t...I don’t know...the...Ultimate...Supreme...Bunny?” he smiled, moving closer to Ouma and wrapping his arms around him from behind, careful not to squish the little creature that they were now both going to care for. He looked down at it from over Ouma’s shoulder, and it twitched its nose at him.
Shuichi tried to twitch his nose back, before failing miserably and feeling embarrassed about it. The rabbit twitched his nose again, and Shuichi couldn’t help but feel like it was laughing at him. He blushed and hid his face in Ouma’s shoulder.
“I think our rabbit is making fun of me. In my own house!” he whispered, before looking at the rabbit again.
“I don’t know if I can deal with two Kokichis.”
Ouma laughed as he watched Shuichi try to play with their new friend. Moving on from the slightly self deprecating topic, the mention of two Kokichis reminded him that the bunny needed a name.
“Hey! Only one Kokichi in this house, and that’s me! But we still didn’t decide on a real name for this guy, did we? How about… Bunni! Get it? Like bunny, but with ni, because you said two Kokichis?” He was smirking the entire time, laughing at his kind of terrible pun. He wouldn’t be surprised if Shuichi rejected that name.
“Bunni?” he raised his eyebrow at him, though he had to give him credit for making a pun. It sounded pretty unoriginal, but the important part was that the two of them would laugh anytime people came over and asked about the rabbit’s name. It’d be their inside joke. And the perfect name for their new pet.
“Bunni. I like it!” he decided, pulling away and moving in front of Ouma to crouch down face to face with the rabbit.
“Do you like that name Bunni?” he asked, tilting his head slightly as he did so. The bunny’s head quirked in confusion, as if it wondered why the hell Shuichi thought that he could respond.
“I think he likes it...maybe. Can I hold him?” he reached out, extending his palms to the small animal.
Nodding, Ouma gently moved Bunni away from him and towards Shuichi. “Don’t worry little guy, Shuichi won’t hurt you. He doesn’t bite. Unless you ask him to!” His voice was soothing and gentle until the last sentence, where the gentleness was replaced by a harsh tease.
“H-hey! None of that in front of our son!” he pouted back, before reaching out and gently taking Bunni into his arms. The little rabbit was tense at first, but after looking up at Ouma and seeing his face, he began to calm down and relax in Shuichi’s arms.
“He let me hold him!” Shuichi beamed, happy that he too, had been accepted by their new pet.
“Why don’t we let him get used to his new room while we go make dinner for us?” he asked, gesturing with his body towards the setup.
“Sounds good. So what’s for dinner? Instant ramen and Panta?” Ouma said, gently petting Bunni’s soft little head. “We should also get Bunni some dinner too.”
“I tried for something a little nicer than that…” he said, crouching down and letting Bunni into his crate. He left the door open so that he could roam around when he was ready.
“We’re going to have udon and wine.” he grinned, the two foods slightly more ‘adult’ for tonight’s dinner.
“I started making the udon broth myself before we left. It’s going to be good.” he had been saving up for a nice bottle for the two of them. It would be a date to celebrate their new addition to the family.
Bunni crawled inside the crate, sniffing the hay that laid inside, before expectantly looking up at Ouma, who still stood by the door.
He looked down and waved at Bunni, leaning down to pet him one last time before moving away from the crate. “That sounds really nice. Nicer than what I suggested, even if only by a little.”
“Bye Bunni!” Saihara waved too, before closing the door and leaving their furry companion inside. They walked to their kitchen, only a few feet away and began preparing their dinner. Shuichi stirred the broth that was on the stove, and began to heat it up. His ear perked up as he thought he heard a noise come from the other room.
“...Do you hear that?”
Ouma was leaning on the counter, looking ready to take a nap. “Hear what? The sound of your beautiful voice? Because I can definitely hear that.”
Shuichi hushed him, the blush on his cheeks obvious that he heard him but wasn’t going to entertain him. “Shhh! No….” he paused, before hearing the faint crying noises of what sounded like Bunni. He had never heard a rabbit cry before, but he was pretty sure that’s what one would sound like.
“That! That noise!” he hurried back towards the room, waving Ouma to follow.
Groaning slightly, Ouma moved to follow Shuichi back to Bunni’s room. And sure enough, now he could make out a mix between squealing and crying and whining. “Is that Bunni?” he asked, even though it couldn't be anything but Bunni.
Shuichi opened the door and watched as Bunni quickly hopped over and sat on Ouma’s foot. The crying stopped, and Shuichi stared down at the rabbit.
“Oh no. We can’t spoil him like that. He’s using his cries to summon us. He’s the puppetmaster now.”
He tried to pick Bunni up and put him back into the room, but he began to cry again in refusal, hopping back towards Ouma and sitting on his foot once again.
“He’s already spoiled. I can’t believe this. Look what you’ve created.”
It was too late. Ouma was already picking up Bunni and placing him gently in his scarf. “C’mon! It's the first day! He needs time to adjust!”
“First your scarf...and then the world.” Shuichi mumbled, before leaning in and kissing Ouma’s cheek.
“Come on, I guess we’re all having dinner now.”