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Shuichi had never been one to adore parties. It wasn’t the people who he went with or others around him that were a bother. But, in one way or another, he often ended up on the outskirts of the event, listening more than he talked and watching the fun instead of joining in. It was okay. He didn’t hold any grudges towards anyone. How the events ended up was merely his own fault, after all, he should try to interact more, even if it was a tad daunting.
...And this was even worse than usual, considering he was about to be thrown into a closet with one of his classmates. Why most of them, though not all of his classmates, had agreed to this was beyond him. (Even if they weren’t really paying attention, regardless. Most of them were continuing their conversations as normal, just seated in a circle now. Miu was likely the only one that truly cared.) He was sure this discontent was written all over his face, because Miu immediately shoved the bowl into his face as the first to go.
“Stop having your panties in a twist and just have some fucking fun for once! You’re such a boring virgin!”
He was used to these comments from her by now, so they barely impacted him at all. Coming from her, he didn’t consider these true insults. “I just don’t want to, you can’t force me- And d-definitely not first!”
The idea to play 7 Minutes in Heaven had been Miu’s, unsurprisingly, and Shuichi had been planning not to join at all. To just refuse to grab a slip of paper from the bowl covered with a towel. But with the eyes of the others seated around him on him, some having small conversations amongst themselves that he wasn’t focussing on, he could feel his resolve wavering. Peer pressure at its finest. It would likely be awkward, horribly so. Still, at least he could get out of this without her or someone else teasing him about ‘being too scared to play’.
He just hoped he would get stuck with one of his friends, because then they could have somewhat of a conversation to cut the tension with. After a few more seconds of Miu’s whining, he sighed. Everyone was wasting their time on him hesitating, he should just get this over with. Kaito was too busy trying to keep Maki from tackling Kokichi who must’ve made some weird comment towards her, and Kaede offered him a half shrug, mentioning he didn’t have to.
“Fine, give me the bowl already. I’ll play.” He mumbled, though clearly lacking any enthusiasm whatsoever.
Shuichi stuck his hand underneath the towel. Different scraps of paper brushed against his skin, all folded in somewhat of the same way. If he’d just paid more attention to how one of his friends had done theirs… He had to stop putting this off before he changed his mind. His fingers closed around a random one and he pulled it out, opening it and holding it in such a way Miu couldn’t read it.
‘Korekiyo Shinguji’
Ah, great. Amazing. Plain wonderful. Not only was he about to be thrown into what was probably the most cramped closet in a 20-kilometer radius, but he also had to be in there with a guy who was totally, absolutely not his crush and somehow survive. And as soon as Miu yanked the paper out of his unsuspecting hand, there was no way left to escape for him. Doomed.
Shuichi pulled his hat further down, obscuring most of his features. “Alright, so Pooichi over here is paired up with the folklore cunt!” He focussed on his own inner turmoil too much to gauge the reactions of his classmates. Miu pushed his shoulder. “Come on, don’t keep your partner waiting!” He glanced up from underneath the brim of his hat. Korekiyo had already stood up so, after a second’s hesitation, he did the same.
He studied him with piercing as Shuichi shifted on his spot. “If you are uncomfortable with the idea, Shuichi, there’s no reason to take part. I will not force you.” Surely, he must’ve noticed the inventor’s complaint in reply to that, but he didn’t show it.
“N-no… No, it’s alright. I’ll do it.” He’d caused enough of a scene already. If he sat down now, he’d only attract more attention. He sealed his fate. Not to mention, he wouldn’t really mind being stuck in there with him. There were worse people to get locked in a tight space with, even if he wasn’t capable of holding that great of a conversation with him.
(It was always like this. Voice stuttering and breath stuck in his throat, chest feeling warm and fuzzy. Oh, he was so lucky Korekiyo was fond of rambling about whatever he was thinking of, otherwise, any interaction with him would have been a literal nightmare. Heat danced over his cheeks. Did he know, did he notice ? Unwelcome thoughts accompanied his presence even if he wanted to be around him, nerves sparking like a lit firecracker.)
“Don’t have too much fun in there, freaks! Only 7 minutes, otherwise, take your nasty dicks home!” Miu screeched, before slamming the door shut. Shuichi wanted to scream.
This was one of those moments where he wondered how things ended up like this. He’d never been this close to him before and it didn’t help that Korekiyo was tall. They were squished together. Their shoulders pushed against each other and Shuichi was forced to lean against him. His heart was about to hammer straight out of his chest, though it was steadily calming down. He’d never been gladder to be in complete darkness.
“I hope you don’t mind being in here with me, I know I’m not the best at this and all and… I just… Don’t want to make this even more uncomfortable than it has to be...” Shuichi rambled, barely registering what he was saying in an effort to break the silence. Korekiyo helped him as soon as he started trailing off.
“I was thinking the contrary, dearest. I would say… Even if I consider all of our classmates my friends, you are the one I’m closest to. I wouldn’t prefer sitting here with anyone else.” Was it him, or did Korekiyo move closer to him? He swore they weren’t pressed together so close before. Likely his mind playing an unfair trick on him. It could be that he was even more aware of how close he was now.
“Oh.” It was the only thing Shuichi got past his lips for a moment. “S-so you don’t even mind sitting with me in a dusty closet in complete silence?“ He meant the question to be an attempt at a joke, to lighten the mood a bit.
Korekiyo chuckled. “Exactly. There are a lot of worse things out there in the world.” He was not expecting an actual answer, not that he didn’t enjoy receiving that one. Shuichi didn’t feel so bad about sitting her anymore.
He sucked in a breath through his teeth as Korekiyo’s hand swatted lightly against the side of his face. Shuichi was tightly wound. “Ah, there you are.” In this ridiculous situation, the action was enough to get a little surprised laugh out of him. He shifted a bit, clothes brushing against his face. He found a position that was more comfortable, despite it being closer to the other than before. Korekiyo mumbled something he couldn’t make out.
“W-what did you say?”
“Nothing of importance.” The reply was instantaneous and while Shuichi thought there might be something up, he didn’t want to make this situation tenser. In any other case, it was easy to make conversation with Korekiyo.
He enjoyed teaching him about myths but it seemed that he wasn’t up to talking about anthropology right now. This hadn’t happened before, he was always quick to pick up where they left off. He strained his mind. If he could remember what they conversed about last time, the time would pass a lot faster. But his mind was on lockdown, not cooperating and instead, the only thing he could think about was every slight movement he made.
“Shuichi.” The call of his name jolted him out of thoughts. He was certain Korekiyo’s eyes were on him. There wasn’t much he could see in this darkness, but he was able to sense it, regardless. “Can I ask you something?”
“Uh-” Would he confess to him, maybe? The first thought flashing through his mind made Shuichi’s cheeks darken. He really was desperate. But he was sure Korekiyo saw him as a friend, nothing more. There was nothing to show that there was anything more present. He called everyone beautiful. This was what he needed to repeat to himself, to calm his raging heart and thoughts. “Y-yeah, sure, go ahead. What’s wrong?”
“There is no problem. What I wished to know was… Do you want to kiss me? It is common to do so during this game, yes?” Korekiyo’s voice was as even and steady as always. Shuichi hoped him asking such a thing wasn’t too commonplace.
All logical thought came to a screeching halt. “You’re saying you… You want to kiss me.” To some this might not be such a big deal, however, Shuichi was far from experienced in kissing. Not to mention, he rarely had the guts to confess to his crushes. Most stayed friends, until the romantic feelings eventually faded away with time. Such a direct request was… Unusual, to hear for him.
“Of course I am certain. I am the one requesting this of you, after all. However, if you do not want to, that’s understandable.” Shuichi messed with his hat a bit. He wasn’t sure. If they ended up kissing, and it turned out he only did this to ‘fully experience the game’ or something similar, he’d want to crawl into the nearest sewer and wither away. It’d hurt too much, because in that case, it wasn’t necessarily him he wanted to kiss.
“Hey.” He said, reflecting Korekiyo’s statement with one of his own. “Can I… Ask you something first?”
Korekiyo hummed. “I don’t see any issue with that.” He hadn't expected anything else. Shuichi shifted in his spot, fingers tapping on the wood beside him, sounding way too loudly in the cramped space. Everything was too loud. The muffled voices of his classmates outside, his rampaging thoughts, Korekiyo’s soft breathing- He’d better spit it out.
“Do you like me as m… More than a friend?” The silence that followed was deafening. Eating away at his already flimsy confidence more and more by the second, and he had to do something . Something that could lessen the nausea welling up in him. A distraction. “I mean, I just- I wouldn’t, uh, really want to kiss someone without getting serious. Because it feels special to me? And, uh, if we did that and that would be the end-”
Korekiyo grabbed his hand. He choked on the rest of his words, mindless babbles, and instead, bandages rubbing against his skin consumed his mand. His hand was warm. Were his hands just cold, or were his really so hot to touch?
“...I think I might.” That wasn’t the answer he was hoping for. Nor was it outright denial. But before he could voice the question on the tip of his tongue, Korekiyo continued. “Do not misunderstand me- This is a problem entirely of my own, it has nothing to do with you. I simply… Do not really know how to handle romantic relationships. They are still quite unfamiliar to me, for the most part. But-” He halted.
“But being around you makes me feel… Content. Warm. It brightens my day. It is… Enjoyable to find someone willing to listen to me, one that remembers. You must recognize my view by now. Everything about humanity is beautiful, even the ugliest parts. Still… You are not one of those. It’s not a twisted beauty, one that people could disagree on. You possess a true one, inside and out.” He squeezed his hand. “I don’t think I am ready to give this a name yet, however, I truly care about you.”
And if words were robbed from him before, now it was as if he’d forgotten how to breathe entirely. Because He was happy with this, at the least. It was a confirmation. It was okay he didn’t want to date him yet. Shuichi would never force him into something. Not to mention, so many things about him were blurry, especially his past. Perhaps he was treading onto sensitive territory without even being aware of it.
“I care about you too.” He whispered, eventually. “As more than a friend. You’re, uh, very pretty. I really want to be close to you and… Make you happy. If you don’t want to be officially dating yet, despite all this… That’s okay.“ Shuichi wasn’t good at putting his feelings into words, especially not ones such as this. He can’t craft an eloquent sentence like Korekiyo. Still, he hoped he could get the truth across. “I would appreciate if you told me when you decided, though.”
“I will, I promise. And…” Korekiyo quieted. When he spoke again, a smile was clear in his voice. “I thought so.”
“W-what do you mean, ‘you thought so’?”
“Apologies, dearest, you’re not very subtle.” Shuichi groaned, burying his face in his arms. He tried so hard, but it seemed he’d never be able to hide his feelings as well as he’d wish. Korekiyo tapped the top of his hat. “But I think it’s cute.” Everything instantly felt better again. A small smile spread on his lips and he peeked over the edges of his arms, in the direction his face should be.
“Now, since I answered one of your questions, it is only fair you do the same for me, yes? Should we return to the one I first asked you?” Shuichi was slowly recovering from all that, from what was basically Korekiyo’s confession and the one of his own. His brain could slowly string thoughts together again. Knowing he saw him not just as a friend, not just as some kind of experience, made him want to do it.
He nodded. Then, he realized he wouldn’t be able to see that. “Yes, I’d like to… Kiss you.” If he’d decide later on he didn’t want to date him, at least he would’ve been able to have this with someone who reciprocated his feelings. With the approval received, Korekiyo moved closer to him.
Though Shuichi squeezed his eyes shut, no lips, masked or not, ever reached his face. “H-huh?” Korekiyo’s mask brushed against his hand. It was a strange sensation; he could feel the lips moving underneath his mask. And it was still warm. (Was everything about him like that?) But it was undeniable this wasn’t the kiss he had been expecting, though voicing that felt disrespectful. He’d hoped the surprised noise he made had been soft enough.
“Hmm, were you expecting me to kiss you somewhere else, dearest?” Apparently not. As if to stress this point, Korekiyo’s fingers momentarily brushed against this cheek. He had to sense how warm his face was through his bandages. There was something slightly comforting in the fact that even this awkwardness, Korekiyo could consider beautiful.
An incomprehensible sputter left his lips. He could read people too well, with all the time he spent around them. Shuichi was like an open book. “M-maybe.” He could’ve agreed, it was already obvious what he was thinking.
“If there is something you’d like to do, right now is the perfect opportunity.” Before logical thought had time to catch up with him, Shuichi moved towards him. Korekiyo’s shoulder pressed against his chest as he pressed a light kiss to the other’s cheek. His long hair caressed his skin. He had no way to tell if he enjoyed it, he was always hard to read in both voice and mannerisms. But judging by the hand that went up to gently brush away some hair that peeked out from under his hat, it was okay.
“You didn’t even go directly for the lips.”
“T-that seems a bit quick…” Korekiyo chuckled softly.
“You’re merely helping your case here, dearest. You’re sweet.” Shuichi’s cheeks wouldn’t be turning back to a normal temperature soon. He pressed his face up against Korekiyo’s shoulder.
Shuichi didn’t move much after that, body leaning against Korekiyo’s. The position wasn’t comfortable. If he stayed like this for too long, he’d likely get cramped. But that wasn’t important. What was important, was his arm wrapping around him, pulling him flush against his side. He was floating, sweet words about to escape his mouth when-
Miu suddenly pulled the doors open, bright light flooding in, forcing Shuichi to squint for a few seconds. Though he’d been absolutely dreading this at first, now, it was a disappointment that he’d soon have to leave his spot so close to him. His head was still in the clouds, not registering that the two of them were basically on display in front of everyone now. “Aww, you two aren’t even getting it on at all! How boring. Kiyo, I thought you would do something really fucking freaky to him, like-”
Korekiyo stiffened. “If you do not refrain from talking right this second, I swear I will tear out your nerves.” Miu squealed, switching to her nervous persona in a split second, though all of his passed right by Shuichi.
The only thing he could think about though, was that their fingers were still intertwined.