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Love letters were something Saihara never expected to get, for a multitude of reasons. So when one day he woke up, discovering a caringly crafted paper had been slipped under his door, he couldn’t help but be bewildered. Tentatively he had picked it up, almost worried it’d be something bad, despite it looking so obvious. A pale pink heart on construction paper, ink glittery purple. A frilly pattern scribbled along the edges with a just as glittery dark purple ink. His detective skills- or well common sense- told him right away it was an anonymous love letter. One that was cute, childish, precious, sweet. It warmed Saihara’s heart and made him feel outright fluttery.
The feeling didn’t last too long-- Saihara’s brain and his anxiety told him he couldn’t be that lucky to get something this nice, his own low self worth getting the best of him. At first part of him thought this was a prank, which made him think of one person. A short boy, his classmate, who often wore all white and a staple checkered scarf around his neck. Ouma Kokichi, the Super High School Level Supreme Leader himself, practically the king of pranks in his classroom-- no, in all of Hope’s Peak Academy. Everyone knew he was a trickster, and with this awkwardly delicate paper in his light grip, Saihara was sure it had to be a prank.
Though, if he had to be fairly honest, he hoped confronting Ouma would produce different results than confirmation of this. What he wanted, he wasn’t sure himself.
. . . . .
“Ouma-kun, I need to talk to you.” Saihara had started, the next morning after class, while everyone was packing up and leaving. Ouma had looked up to him, his purple eyes curious as he tilted his head. Saihara could only clutch the letter in his hand tighter, careful to not rip or crease it too much.
“What is it, Saihara-chan? Here to confess your undying love to me?” Ouma snickered, standing up as he threw his bag over his shoulder.
“Wh-What? No! No no! What even gives you that idea?”
Ouma’s face was bright, his eyes practically glittering with mischief. He pointed his finger at the letter in Saihara’s hand, grin wide and cheerful. “Nishishi, that’s a love letter in your hand isn’t it! Is that for me, Saihara-chan~?”
“No! That... that’s not it at all!” Saihara couldn’t help but fidget with his sleeves. It was days like this he wished he still had his hat to hide behind- before he ditched it in hopes of facing his anxieties head on. Ouma always had a way of making him embarrassed, and he could never put his finger on why. Ouma was a mystery, a liar, amusing, childish, and Saihara wanted to figure him out. Desperately wanted to, even.
Saihara took a breath, focusing. He couldn’t worry about what his feelings towards Ouma were right now. He had to ask his question. “I found this slipped under my door, I-I was wondering if... did you possibly write this as a prank? Because… if so-” Before he could finish, Ouma snatched the letter from his hand, examining it.
Ouma hummed, reading the words out loud. “Dearest detective, my heart has been stolen, for I did not secure it safe enough. I do not want it back, as I hope they’ll make a trade. So please, detective, won’t you give me your heart in return? Love, a secret admirer.” Ouma’s face scrunched up, as if he ate something sour, before looking back up at Saihara, his voice more serious than before. Shockingly so, that Saihara was taken aback by it. “So you think this is a prank?”
“Yeah… I mean... I don’t get why anyone would give this to me, and you seemed like the likeliest culprit for a prank.” Saihara rubbed his arm awkwardly, unable to meet Ouma’s questioning gaze. His hat would have been a lifesaver to have.
With a groan, Ouma shoved the letter back into Saihara’s hands. “Saihara-chan is an idiot…” It was quiet, out of place and uncharacteristic for Ouma. But before Saihara could question it more, Ouma lit back up again, face bright and eyes twinkling once more. “Of course I didn’t write it! I don’t do sappy shit like this!”
A pang of disappointment rang through Saihara. Part of him, no, all of him had wanted Ouma to confess he wrote it. Why though? Why would he want it to be from Ouma? Ouma only ever teased and made fun of him. Was Saihara looking for an easy way out with not having to deal with a stranger writing him love letters? “Oh. Okay, sorry for thinking it was you then.”
With that Ouma huffed, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, it’s not a big deal! Well, anyway, see you later, my beloved Saihara-chan!” With that, Ouma left, leaving Saihara blushing at the title-- a title Ouma used many of times before that always got a reaction from Saihara. Now Saihara had to deal with Ouma’s playful teasing, along with someone possibly crushing on him? He was never going to stop blushing at this rate, would he? One day he’d probably wake up with his face on fire.
So what had started as one simple love letter somehow evolved into something more. This anonymous person sent at least one every day. It had become a staple in his daily routine. Sure, he was flattered, but they just kept coming. Every single day, one a day, one after another. Saihara couldn’t wrap his head around the fact someone liked him like this. It was so foreign. But this had too much determination written over it to be a prank.
The fact it was guaranteed to happen, it was a small comfort in his daily life. He knew those letters would be there sometime before the day ended. Saihara kept every single one, with a small note of the date just so he knew when he got them. Someone spent time on these, and even if he didn’t know who it was, it felt rude to toss them. Each one made him more flustered then the last.
During the start after the first, they were often written on torn notebook paper, construction paper, index cards, and stationary. The font would change constantly; sometimes they’d have drawings, other times it’d be newspaper cut-outs. It was always a surprise for Saihara. Endearing. Often childish. But sweet and cute. Glitter ink, sharpie, watercolor paint, crayons, anything and everything that one could write with had been used at least once. One time he was sure they even used blood. He was highly concerned that day until he realized it was probably fake blood, the type used in acting.
He couldn’t help but wonder who it was--it was practically always on his mind, consuming much of his free time. Whoever it was, they were really dedicated to this. Saihara wasn’t sure at what point this was going to cross into creepy or awkward. It was like they knew when he wasn’t at his dorm, busy, or sleeping. He’d sometimes get them before he got back to his room, and other times he’d go to sleep and wake up with one there. That evidence alone pointed to it being someone he knew, however all of his classmates had said they had no idea who wrote them.
. . . . .
“I don’t understand, guys. This has been going on for weeks. Who’s doing it?” Saihara had been at lunch during school with his friends Akamatsu, Momota, and Harukawa. They were all very supportive people, with a lot more confidence than anxiety-ridden him. Maybe in turn they upped his confidence, made him want to be a better detective.
“You know we can always help you, Shuuichi!” Momota spoke up, shoving food into his mouth as he finished speaking. Thankfully he didn’t chew or talk with his mouth open.
Akamatsu leaned over, eyes sparkling with a fierce determination. “Yeah! I’m sure if we look over the letters, we’ll be able to figure it out.”
This vigor about something so small made Saihara want to figure out even more who it was, so he just nodded, smiling. His friends were great; he probably should have came to them sooner. Even if Harukawa was quiet and seemed uncaring, she’d also tag along nonetheless. “Thanks guys, it’s... it’s really appreciated.”
So after lunch, they gathered all their things and returned to Saihara’s dorm. It was a single room, like all of Hope’s Peak Academy. Saihara wouldn’t have been able to handle rooming with another person with his anxieties, especially with someone he wouldn’t know. But this meant he had no roommate he could ask to keep an eye out for future letters.
“Here we are,” Saihara entered his room, tossing his keys on the desk with his friends trailing behind him as he sat on the floor, and pulled out a large box. When he looked up, they were all a bit shocked and wide-eyed.
“Holy shit, bro, I thought you were exaggerating.” Momota spoke quietly, sitting across from Saihara as Akamatsu followed suit, with Harukawa sitting on his desk chair nearby.
Saihara could only nod in response, taking a few of the letters out.
“Aw, you have them labeled and everything!” Akamatsu cooed, grabbing one letter. It was cut like a diamond, painted in watercolor with golds and purples swirling together. The font was cursive, with hearts dotting the i’s. Akamatsu cleared her throat and read the letter out loud, much to Saihara’s embarrassment. “Dear Shumai, I find myself stealing one more glance into your eyes, with pools of swirling gold that entrance me, and that makes one glance turn into two, two to ten, ten to hundreds. Love, a phantom thief.” Akamatsu couldn’t help but snort, turning into a few snickers.
Saihara sighs and looks down, running his hands along the carpet. “Yeah, it’s-”
“This is so adorable!” Akamatsu blurted, grinning, even though she was still clearly giggling. “Saihara-kun, seriously, we have to figure out who wrote these!” But her face read a bit smug, and Saihara couldn’t help but wonder if she already had a small idea in the back of her head.
“Uh, I mean they are, but...”
“Dude, we’re going to figure this out for you! Whoever it is, she’s going to be so happy when we figure it out!” Momota cheered, giving Saihara a thumbs up as he picked up another card.
Akamatsu chuckled, shaking her head. Saihara couldn’t help but be suspicious of her reaction. “Momota-kun, I really doubt it’s a girl.”
It was no secret to the class that Saihara was bisexual, even if it took him a bit to come to this consensus, even then he had a hard time understanding his own feelings. But nonetheless, Akamatsu’s theory still came as a shock to Saihara.
“Oh? And what gives you that idea, Kaede?”
Akamatsu stared right at Momota, and the two seemed to be having a quiet conversation through eyes alone. She even held up one card, then another, showing it to him. Momota’s face lit up with realization.
Momota was a bit stunned, glancing down at the letters she was holding, then the ones he was holding as well. “Oh shit! You really think…?”
Akamatsu scoffs. “Of course I do!”
Saihara was curious, but he didn’t say much of anything. Instead, they searched through the letters. At a point, Akamatsu asked for pen and paper and starts scribbling down notes. Saihara couldn’t help but wonder.
“Can I see?”
“Nope, Saihara-kun, I need to make sure my theory is correct before I tell you!” She sounded so sure of herself though, and Saihara didn’t want to argue. He wouldn’t win anyway.
So they spent a good deal of time going through letters. It was fun, and Saihara liked looking over them. Momota and Akamatsu were aweing over the letters, entranced by how sweet they were. However, Saihara started to get thirsty after reading all the letters out loud. “I’m going to head down the hall to get a drink.” He stood up and opened the door. “Be right back you guys.”
Thankfully he was on the first floor-- it’s not a far walk to the vending machine. Sure, he keeps water in his mini fridge, but he’d much rather get a soda, no matter how counterproductive.
Thankfully there are plenty of choices, but as he arrives at the machine, he gives it a once over. The labels lopsided, and he always tended to mess up buying the right drink. He wasn’t fully sure what to get this time, however. Humming, Saihara decided on a cola and pressed the buttons for it, only to realize he was one off. Not surprising. Instead he receives a grape soda, and Saihara stared at it blankly. This is Ouma’s favorite brand, right?
“Yes, it is my favorite!” A sudden voice caused Saihara to jolt to attention as a hand swiped the soda from him. It was Ouma, and he had already cracked it open, taking a sip. More like a chug. Or a swig? Whichever is bigger.
Saihara sighed and reached out for his soda, but Ouma moved it out of his way. “Ouma-kun…”
“I’m an esper you know… but that’s a lie!” Ouma lying--never a surprise to Saihara. “I’ll give it back… Nishishi... if you tell me what you’re up to! What’s so important that you had to involve Harukawa-chan, Momota-chan, AND Akamatsu-chan!”
It’s not worth lying to Ouma. He knows a lie when he sees one. It’s pretty amazing to be fair. “I was having them help me figure out who’s been sending me those anonymous love letters…” Saihara trailed off when he felt Ouma’s eyes inspecting him. So he rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact.
“Oh! Sounds like fun! Let me help!” Ouma piped up, practically jumping up and down, surprisingly not spilling his drink--or, well, Saihara’s drink.
He figured more people looking over them would be helpful, but Ouma would treat it more like a joke if anything. Is it worth bringing him when two of the people present don’t like him much? Probably not, but at the same time he does look super excited. Maybe it will be interesting and he’ll be able to figure out Ouma better. Ouma is someone he wants to understand better.
Saihara smiled and threw more coins into the machine, buying another drink. This time it was the cola he wanted. “Alright then, let’s get going.”
It was a short walk back to the room. But Ouma ran up to the door and flung it open. “Hello! I am here to help!” He practically yelled while skipping into the room past a glaring Harukawa, and in between a surprised Momota and Akamatsu. “So~ my beloved Saihara-chan informed me of this mission! And I’m here to help!”
Another glance was shared between Momota and Akamatsu, while Harukawa got up and left, pushing past Saihara as she did so.
“Maki Roll! Wait!” Momota yells out, but Ouma leaning on his and Akamatsu’s shoulders kept him sitting on the floor, not able to get up without actually pushing Ouma off.
“Aw, leave her be, we have to find out who wrote these letters!” Ouma chirps, sitting down finally, pulling out letters as he does so. He lets out a visible grimace in disgust.
Saihara himself finally closes his door, joining the slightly different trio in his room now. It’s weird how Momota and Akamatsu are sharing glances between themselves now and Ouma. Ouma who seems oblivious, sipping his soda and laughing at letters. From there they seem to not get much done, but Saihara is smiling. He’s actually enjoying himself a lot more now. It’s a weird change of pace.
“Well!” Momota speaks up for the first time in a while. Ouma had ended up taking over the conversation with his boisterous personality. Not like Saihara minded though. ”Me and Akamatsu are gonna head out now Shuuichi, seeya later?”
“Oh, yea, see you guys.” Saihara speaks up, waving as the two leave.
Ouma waves dramatically with a huge grin, still looking over the letters himself. “Seeya’ later!”
That just leaves Saihara and Ouma alone, and to be honest, Saihara doesn’t mind at all. “So, Ouma-kun, what do you think?”
Ouma hums, thinking with a click of his tongue. “I think it’s definitely a human being!”
Saihara smiles softly. “I was personally hoping whoever wrote me these was actually a werewolf.”
Ouma smirks as he leans backwards. “Is my beloved a furry?”
Saihara chokes a bit on his own saliva, eyes wide. “N-nope! I am not a-” A finger is pressed onto his lips. It’s soft and stops Saihara in his tracks as he looks forward towards the owner of it. Ouma, who is smiling so genuinely-- Saihara wonders if he is dreaming.
“Nishishi! I’ll believe you this once!” Ouma chirps as he hops up, moving over to the desk, leaning back on it. The way his smile turns mischievous makes Saihara doubt that. But Ouma continues speaking as he twirls away from the desk, hands behind his back. “Anyway! I have places to be! Seeya later, Saihara-chan!”
With that Ouma slips out of the room, leaving Saihara alone to clean up. He can’t help but think of Ouma, how soft his finger to his lips was. Would they be even softer in his hand? Why is he even thinking like this, he has to worry about who wrote these letters first.
Cleaning up goes by fast, and Saihara soon enough is ready for bed. He quickly falls asleep as soon as his body hits the bed.
In the morning Saihara wakes up, there is another letter. It’s a picture of a key. It’s weird, and nothing like the others, only saying ‘I have the spare ;)’. Saihara assumes they’re probably joking about it being a key to his heart.
. . . . .
It’s only till that evening he realizes his dorm mailbox key is gone. Is that what the letter meant? Or is it pure coincidence? Did the writer maybe mean key to his heart instead?
He quickly finds out it’s not a coincidence when the key is somehow back on his desk. It’s weird, but Saihara puts it back on his keychain before tossing his keys back on the usual location on said desk he keeps them.
That night or morning he gets no letter in his room. Instead he starts to get presents in his dorm room mailbox. Bigger things. Rocks, candy, a small teddy bear, one day just confetti, another was just garbage. None of it screams love letters anymore, but they’re just as childish. Saihara can’t help but be curious as the gifts keep coming.
So, Saihara plans a stake out. If he sits in the lobby, he can see anyone who enters or exits the mail room. He’ll hide as best he can, in a small corner where people can’t see him easily. Unless they’re looking there. It’s the best he has, and he’d rather the culprit not run away once they see him.
The first person he sees on his stake out and the first to enter the building is Ouma Kokichi. Who of course, notices Saihara right away. He seems a bit surprised, but rushes over immediately. “Saihara-chan! Why are you down here? Let me guess… uhm, your room is on fire!”
Saihara shakes his head no. “No, sorry but actually my room flooded and a mermaid took residence in it.”
With a gasp, Ouma pulls a chair over and plops down in it. “Oh, that was my second guess!”
“That’s a lie, right?” Saihara chuckles, earning him a nod from Ouma.
“Saw through me again!” With a laugh Ouma leans forward, face getting serious as he stares into Saihara’s eyes, with a tilt of his head. Saihara wouldn’t be able to meet the gaze back easily if he didn’t find Ouma’s eyes so entrancing. “Now, what are you actually doing here?”
Ouma’s fingertips dancing along Saihara’s arm, causing his gaze to glance down for a moment, a shiver spreading through his body. “I’m uh… I’m doing a-a-a-” He takes a deep breath. “A stake out.”
Ouma jolts back, hands now behind his head. “Ooh, fun! Mind if I join?”
Saihara can’t even answer in time, Ouma taking advantage of Saihara choking on the word to reply without an answer. “Doesn’t matter! I don’t care what you think!”
With a frown, Saihara straightens himself out as he simply nods at Ouma. That disappoints him to hear-- lie or not.
“So, why are we staking out anyway?” Ouma finally asks, and
“My mailbox… someone is shoving gifts in it but there’s no return address or stamps.”
Ouma nods and hums, as if this is something he can just solve by pondering it over. “Well, let’s get to it then! I’ll crack this case wide open for you!”
So the two of them stake out, Saihara writing down everyone who goes into the mailroom. Ouma is a chatterbox usually, but he manages to stay quiet, and the company is a nice addition. Though, at the end of it, not many people go into the mail-room, and no one puts anything in his mailbox. Saihara can only sigh in response.
“Oh, so sad!” Ouma pouts, sniffling as he wipes his eyes of the nonexistent tears. “Nah, not really! I can’t have someone sweeping *my* beloved Saihara-chan off his feet!”
Saihara stammers a bit. Ouma’s always teased him like this, calling him beloved, and it always manages to embarrass him. Not like it means anything, though. Just Ouma being Ouma. “W-well… would you possibly want to join me for another stake out tomorrow too?”
Some sort of surprised emotion covers Ouma’s face, and Saihara can’t put his finger on it. But it vanishes quickly, to be replaced with a cheerful signature grin. “Nishishi~ I guess it’s a date then!”
Saihara turns red as a beet as Ouma skips off. Saihara just sighs as he follows, witnessing Ouma getting on the elevator, closing it before Saihara can see him off. Which is amusing because Saihara knows they both live on the first floor. Opposite ends in the hallway. Maybe he’s visiting Amami-kun? He does live on a higher floor.
So Saihara heads to his dorm once more for bed.
When Saihara wakes up, he checks his mailbox. Another gift, it’s a tiny toy binoculars. Weird choice of a gift, but… maybe the person is hinting they know he’s doing a stake out? Or maybe he’s just overthinking. Though, that’d explain quite a bit, but Saihara decides to stake out once more, with Ouma joining again.
“You really think this is going to work?” Ouma asks, chewing gum loudly and obnoxiously as possible next to Saihara. He even blows a bubble towards Saihara’s face.
“I don’t know… I wonder if they know, they gave me a weird gift.” Saihara takes out the small toy, showing it to Ouma who gives it a look over.
“Mmm, who knows!” Ouma dismisses it, shrugging. “You’re the detective, not me! I’m just here for our lovely date!”
Saihara turns red again for what feels like the thousandth, focusing on watching who goes in and out of the mail room. At the moment, it’s no one. “You-you’re uh… yea, mhm.” The idea of a date with Ouma sounds interesting to say the least. He can’t become distracted with Ouma’s teasing though, he needs to find out who’s sending these notes. At this point, it’s not even about wanting to date whoever it is, it’s about the satisfaction as a detective of knowing who it is. Granted, that doesn’t mean they couldn’t date, it just depends on who’s sending them of course or if he’s willing to give them a chance. But at the end of the day he's mainly just curious and needs to satisfy that desire.
“Nishishi, wow, Saihara-chan sure is red!” Ouma pokes Saihara’s cheeks, then goes to squishing both of them, causing Saihara to turn even redder. “So cute! You’re like a bottle of ketchup!”
“Ouma-kun… please.” Saihara sighs, not moving his face as he carefully pries Ouma’s hands off said face. “I’d prefer you didn’t distract me. Another day perhaps?”
Ouma pouts, crossing his arms. He doesn’t say anything else but the two of them watch while Saihara records results. That being said, they don’t find out anything Saihara deems useful.
“Well, I’m tired! I’m heading to sleep! Seeya’ tomorrow!” Ouma fakes a yawn, making Saihara think otherwise. When Ouma skips off, Saihara goes to his mailbox. It’s empty still. The person could have put it in his room but the issue here is there’s two spots the culprit can leave gifts.
If Saihara was one for crime or petty cases of vandalism, he’d mess up the metal to force jam. Instead he’ll not break it, but it will still take maintenance to fix it. Breaking a small piece of paper clip from off the floor, he shoves some metal into the hole. That should stop any keys from being used to break it open for now, and it’s not like he was getting much mail before.
In the morning there’s a letter slipped under his door. It’s a crudely drawn mailbox with a sad face on it. Does that mean the person who has been doing this tried to use the mailbox? Seems so. Saihara quickly stores it before heading to his classes for the day before heading back to his dorm.
When Saihara hears knocking on his door, he’s a bit surprised. Only person he’s supposed to be meeting up with is Ouma, who he hasn’t told about the stake out plans changing to his room. He’s even more surprised when he does open his door and it actually is Ouma who is now barging in.
“Wow, Saihara-chan, nice room! I’ve never seen a room as lovely as this!” Ouma coos, flopping over onto the carpet with a smirk.
“You were in here the other day.” Saihara states flatly, closing the door and locking it behind him.
“That was my evil twin of course!”
Back on topic before Ouma derails everything. “Why are you up here anyway? The past few days we've been meeting by the mail-room.”
“For the stake-out of course!” Ouma looks at Saihara liked he asked the dumbest question on earth ever.
“Why wouldn’t you meet me by the mailboxes as planned?” Saihara asks, leaning against his door and folding his arms.
Ouma sits up, finger to his cheek as he twists it back and forth. “Mmmmm... Uuuhhhh… Mmmmhhhmmmm. Uhm, well… HMM! Uh. Well you see. I was… I could.... Sometimes I just...”
Saihara narrows his eyes. “Any day now, Ouma-kun.”
“Wwwwweeeeelllllllllll~! Yonaga-chan’s Kami-sama told me the stake out would be in your room today, and I just couldn’t pass up an opportunity to this!” Ouma smiles brightly, hands situated now in his lap.
“That’s a lie.” Saihara hadn’t told anyone he jammed the mailbox. Ouma shouldn’t know that. How does he even know? It’s not like he’ll explain but Saihara sure can ask. “How do you actually know I’m doing it here?”
“Nishishi~ that was a lie as you said, I didn’t know, but now I do! In all honesty, I just missed my beloved and wanted to see himself as early as possible!”
Saihara curses himself internally for revealing that information, but another part of him thinks Ouma’s lying about it being a lie. That he actually did know they were doing the stake out being in his room. But how? He doesn’t think Ouma’s telling the truth about just wanting to see him as early as possible- as much as that thought flusters him.
“W-well… uh, alright, since you’re here, the stake-out is just listening for anyone passing and using the peep-hole on the door once in a while to see who’s coming by.” Saihara informs Ouma. It’s a pretty basic plan, and Ouma seems fine to go along with it.
“Can we at least play a game, I brought-” Ouma pulls out a deck. “-cards!”
Saihara agrees, and they end up playing silly games. It’s fun, he enjoys himself. Despite Ouma trying to make up rules- even forgetting about the stake out entirely. He doesn’t worry about checking it, figuring out Ouma is a lot more fun right now and he’s too comfortable sitting on the carpet.
“So! We’re tied!” Ouma cooes, leaning forward. “Now for the win! Highest draw wins! One card each! Whoever wins can ask for one thing!”
Saihara rubs his chin. “One thing?”
Ouma nods.
“I accept.” Saihara would probably ask something to try and figure out Ouma better. Even if it doesn’t mean he’d get a true answer.
“Nishishi-” Ouma shuffles the deck. “I wonder what Saihara-chan wants! I know I want to ask for a… aaaaaa~ kiss!” He even smacks his lips together, causing Saihara to turn beet red. It's a surprise he hasn't actually went up in flames yep.
“Ouma-kun!” Saihara yelps as he covers his face as Ouma giggles more. Clearly he is taking joy from his pain. “Is that a-”
“Now, now, Saihara-chan, you have to lose to figure that out!” Ouma shuffles the deck a few more times before putting the deck down. Saihara uncovers his face just as Ouma draws the first card and turns it around. “A seven! Good luck beating that, your chances are even!”
Taking a breath, Saihara leans forward and swipes the next card. After a moment he turns it around after the suspense turns to too much. “Ah… it’s…” It’s also a seven.
“Oh! Saihara-chan aimed for a tie!” Ouma coos once more as he snatches the cards back. “How devious!”
“I didn’t…” But Saihara is met with a finger to his lips.
“Hush my beloved! I understand you now! You want to play even more games with me!” Ouma snickers as he jumps up. “But alas! I must go! Until tomorrow!” With that Ouma takes his belongings and leaves behind a confused Saihara.
It isn’t until a few minutes later that Saihara realizes he forgot the stake out when a simple red paper heart slips under his door. But he doesn’t jump up to check who was there, he doesn’t really care anymore. All he can think of is about Ouma and one other thing. The fact both his and Ouma’s cards were seven of hearts. Ouma definitely rigged that deck, and Saihara just smiles softly.
. . . . .
The next day Saihara wakes up with no class. Akamatsu drags him out for some coffee with her and Momota at a nearby cafe. It’s nice and quiet- well, except for the fact Momota’s voice practically fills up the cafe. He’s just that loud normally.
“So, you figure out who’s leaving the letters?” Akamatsu asks as they walk over to a small table, sitting down with their drinks in hand.
Shaking his head, Saihara sips his drink. “No… but I uh, don’t think I care anymore?”
“WHAT?” Momota yells even louder than normal, slamming his hand on the table. “Dude, why the hell not? After all that work… you just don’t care anymore? Are you giving up or something?”
“N-no! Of course not! I uh… uh… just think maybe I like Ouma-kun?” Saihara says unsure, glancing down at the floor. It’s times like these when Momota calls him out he still wishes he had his hat. Surely Momota and Akamatsu will question him for his possible crush. No one is too fond of Ouma’s pranks to be honest and will probably want him to explain. Akamatsu is better at dealing with Ouma then Momota though at least. Nonetheless, neither are really too fond of him.
Momota and Akamatsu share a glance before Akamatsu speaks up. “Saihara-kun, what do you plan on doing about your crush?”
“Nothing.” Saihara mumbles quietly. “I don’t want to ruin our friendship. Plus, what if he doesn’t like me like that? Sure everyone knows Ouma-kun is gay but being gay doesn’t mean he likes every boy he sees.” Saihara remembers that conversation when Ouma told Momota he was gay. Took a good week to teach Momota that no, just because Ouma told you he was gay, doesn’t mean he’s into you. Then of course Momota got upset because he thought Ouma was telling him he was ugly, which started a whole other argument. Which ended and started with Ouma saying yes, Momota was ugly, but no, that wasn’t what he was initially trying to tell him. With extra lies added in of course.
“Saihara-kun, have you seen the way he looks at you?” Akamatsu says sternly which makes Saihara look back up as she narrows her eyes.
“Well, yea but…”
“You don’t think he likes you?”
“Well, probably not… I mean, he has talked about how cute Amami-kun is a few times before.” Saihara drinks more of his drink quickly.
Akamatsu keeps her eyes narrowed at Saihara. “You know he sees him like a brother. Besides, what if he was the one leaving you the love letters and gifts?”
“No way, he said he didn’t already… though… he could have been lying. But!” Saihara points a finger at Akamatsu, raising his voice slightly. “He helped me stake out and said he wanted to help me figure out who it was! Why would he go through all that just for it to be him?”
Akamatsu blinks slowly then lowers Saihara’s finger. “He’s a liar, you know that. Besides…” Akamatsu sucks her cheeks in as she looks away. “I’ve been pretty sure for a while it’s been Ouma-kun leaving you the gifts and letters for a while now… but I uh…”
“But what?”
“I couldn’t find any solid evidence… and then I got busy with school.” Akamatsu sighs. “I’m not a detective like you but… the way he looks at you, and always finds a way to be around you.”
Saihara sucks in a cheek as he thinks, trying to rack through his brain for an answer. Normally he’d get such bad anxiety that Saihara wouldn’t believe it, but this time he wants it to be true. That hope burns brighter than his anxiety just this once. “What would you suggest I do?”
Akamatsu’s eyes light up. “Oh! To be honest I thought that I’d have to gather the entire class to hold an intervention because you wouldn’t believe Ouma-kun liked you back!” She laughs, sipping more of her drink with a hum. “We would have had to argue with why Ouma-kun was insanely gay for you, I’d send Harukawa-san to drag him to the intervention, then leave you two alone in a locked room!”
Saihara laughs a bit, smiling softly. “Yea… well, I’d like to ask him before I do chicken out, what was your idea?”
Akamatsu smiles gets up as she hops over across the table- dragging a confused Momota who had forgotten he was apart of the conversation- explaining her general plan to the both of them.
. . . . .
The next day Saihara has a plan. He’ll do one last stake out. This time in his room. Just the two of them. He invites Ouma who eagerly accepts. To be honest Saihara took a few creative liberties with the plan Akamatsu suggested, but nonetheless he hopes everything goes well.
Ouma practically invites himself in Saihara’s dorm room. Walking in like he owns the place- not even knocking on the door. Which is quite interesting because Saihara knows that door was locked. Though, it’s not a secret Ouma knows how to lock pick. Which to be honest, does actually make the trickster more viable for the one sending the letters to him.
“Saihara-chan!” Ouma hops over, closing the door and draping himself over Saihara. “So, what’s planned for- oh shit, Panta?.” He gets back up, grabbing a soda and opening it before spotting a square thin box near it. “Saihara-chan, what’s this?” He goes to open it but Saihara stops him.
“I had a really good feeling that uh... today’s the day I’d catch whoever’s leaving me letters and gifts.” Saihara smiles, moving the box away. “I figured we could enjoy a desert after the fact to celebrate. But, the soda is all yours.”
“Is beloved that sure?” Ouma shrugs, sitting down on Saihara’s bed as he opens his soda. “Well, hopefully you won’t have to enjoy that alone!”
Saihara continues to smile- nodding every so slightly as he tries to hide his amusement. “I guess we’ll have to find out to see?”
The stakeout goes the same as the others. Saihara and Ouma spending time just hanging out and watching the door as Ouma drinks all the soda. Of course it’s fun and Saihara enjoys the time he spends with the supreme leader. This time however, Saihara is a bit nervous but he's pretty sure he hides it decently. Not like Ouma asks him about anything. So a few hours pass when Ouma finally jumps up from their game of stacking cards- which fall over as Saihara squeaks in shock as he fails to catch any of them.
“Well!” Ouma stretches dramatically. “This has been fun like always- but!” Ouma hops towards the door and grabs the handle. “It seems Saihara-chan can’t have his cake and eat it too~ nishishi~!”
Saihara gets up slowly- stepping over the deck of cards littering the floor. Before Ouma knows it Saihara has his hand on the door- preventing it from being opened. “Ouma-kun… it’d uh, be a waste to leave the cake with me. I could never eat the entire thing by myself alone” He clears his throat gently. “Why don’t… you uhm, take it with you? I can always get another one since it seems my hunch was uh… wrong?”
Ouma tilts his head curiously before grinning. Saihara is afraid Ouma won’t buy it- but it seems Ouma is too interested in getting free cake to care enough. “Nishishi, alright!” He hops over and grabs the box before leaving quickly as Saihara opens the door for him.
Saihara smiles and waves goodbye- closing and locking it behind him. Like expected, Saihara gets no love letter that night and not getting one actually makes him quite happy as he falls asleep that night.
. . . . .
The next school day Ouma is not in class and Saihara almost panics. Almost. Ouma is known to avoid things and Saihara knew what was written on the cake may catch him off guard but… he’d rather give Ouma some space before confronting him. Confronting Ouma in a bedroom without much time to think would probably be a mess, and it's not like Ouma can run and hide when they live on campus anyway. Sure he could try but Saihara would just have to take Akamatsu's earlier suggestion and use Harukawa to seek out Ouma. Making sure she doesn't kill him in the process.
Though, no one else seems to really notice or care Ouma’s gone- he does like to skip quite a bit. The only ones mildly interested are Akamatsu and Momota- who both send small glances at Saihara showing their curiosity if the detective followed through.
So after class Saihara heads to Ouma’s dorm after informing his friends. Ouma who also rooms alone. Probably a blessing to everyone in their class. Saihara doubts Ouma would give anyone a break if they roomed with him.
Saihara gently knock. “Ouma-kun.” There’s some slight shuffling in the room. “Have you thought about my offer?”
There is more shuffling before Saihara hears a thump against the door. “Saihara-chan, no one’s home!” Thankfully the voice is cheerful and Saihara is relieved. It's nice to not hear a panicked or upset Ouma. It makes Saihara less anxious- which it's surprising how confident he is right now.
“That’s a lie.” Saihara snorts and smirks as he chuckles lightly. “Can you open the door so we can talk?”
There’s humming and tongue clicking. “Mmmnnnn-nope! What if I’m still mad at you for guessing wrong that first time? You thought it was a prank and I told you it was one after all!”
“Clearly you were lying and I was an-”
“-idiot?”
Saihara nods despite Ouma not being able to see him. “Yea, the biggest idiot.”
“Aren’t you a detective or something?” Ouma cracks the door slightly- a huge grin on his face. “You even made an incorrect guess yesterday! One day off is a big deal you know!”
“In training.” Saihara takes advantage of the small crack to invite himself into Ouma’s room. It’s a mess which doesn’t shock Saihara at all. But at least Ouma can’t go anywhere, though it seems he wasn’t planning to go anywhere anyway. He has a small purple throw wrapped around him. Though he is showered and dressed- which Saihara assumes is just Ouma being iffy on whether or not to go to class that day. “Also… technically I was on time with my guess. I just uh… didn’t get to witness you reading the confession on the cake.”
Ouma scoffs as he moves over to his bed- examining his fingernails. “You just had some lapses in judgement and guesses is all, Saihara-chan. Happens to the best of us! Even me… well not me! I’m a genius of course!”
Saihara follows and sits down on Ouma’s bed. He notices the entire cookie cake is gone. It’s just an empty box now. “Ouma-kun… did you.... Eat that entire cake in one sitting?”
“Two sittings! I was just soooo sad when I read the message that I burst into tears! To think!” Ouma sniffles dramatically as fake tears leak. “You accused me of being your anonymous secret admirer then asked me out on a date!” Ouma begins to bawl- but Saihara wipes the fake tears which successfully shushes Ouma.
Two sittings sounds like a lie but he says nothing about that. “Well… I still think I caught the right culprit this time.” Saihara smiles warmly which causes Ouma to blush and glance to the side.
“Oh? What are you going to do- handcuff me?”
“I mean, you did accuse me first of being the one to steal your heart... so I think I’d have to arrest myself at this point.” Saihara wipes away more remaining fake tears. “I’d suggest we do that trade… but I think it’s safe to say we stole each others hearts already… right?”
Ouma can barely talk- the words stuck in his throat as he glances back as Saihara every now and then. “So… the cake? Your confession message?”
Ah yes, the cake. The cake that Saihara had a confession written on it saying he knew Ouma was the one who was sending the love letters. The cake that he also confessed to Ouma and asked him on a date. Thankfully the baker had fine handwriting- and Ouma didn’t mess up the frosting upon transporting it seems either.
But for now Saihara nods gently as he cups Ouma’s cheek- unsure where his little bits of courage are still coming from. Maybe it’s how Ouma’s cheeks turn the loveliest shade of pink, how his eyes close as he peeks out from under his eyelashes now and then, how he leans so softly against his hand.
“Well… in that case I guess I can’t deny your request to take me out on a date!” Ouma finally looks back up at Saihara- causing the detective’s heart to speed up tenfold. The supreme leader picking up on this moves closer to Saihara- clinging to the taller boy. Who in turn is now the one red as a beet as Ouma speaks once more. “On. One. Condition.”
“Y-yes?” Saihara chokes out- caught off guard from the changed dynamics.
“My beloved Saihara-chan calls me boyfriend.”
“I-I think I can allow that. But uh...” Saihara manages to choke out as he clears his throat. “On one other condition…”
Ouma tilts his head.
“I know neither of us won that card game… but uh… I’d like that kiss you impl-” Saihara doesn’t even manage to finish his sentence. All he does is turn even redder as Ouma kisses him ever so softly and suddenly. Saihara is expecting it to taste like Panta- but funnily enough the kiss makes Saihara think of cookie cake and frosting. And as quick as the kiss came, Ouma parts then goes to rest his head in the crook of Saihara’s neck.
“I think I can allow that.” It’s all Ouma says ever so quietly, and Saihara swears he could just stay like this forever. Despite, well, you know... Ouma’s mess of a room and Saihara’s concern that Ouma ate that entire cookie cake confession in one sitting.