Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Kaidou,” Kusuo began, and his pink eyes met the other’s brown ones.

“Uh-huh?” he asked, and clearly, he was a little confused. Saiki needed to be more direct.

“I’d like to come over again.” He meant it when he said it, more than ever before.

Kaidou looked as if he didn’t know what to say. Kusuo was about to walk away, until the other smiled, wider than Kusuo had ever seen him smile. “I’d like that, too!”

Saiki would have been internally cringing at the idea of going to somebody’s house, the very thought of visiting somebody like Nendou or Reita at their home. Somehow, he didn’t feel the need to back away or to make an excuse. He actually felt excited. He felt uneasy admitting that to himself.

If anything, the excitement came from the fact that he would be seeing Kaidou. He enjoyed talking to him, hearing his thoughts, as messy and all over the place as they were.

Kusuo couldn’t understand these feelings towards Kaidou.

Was this a crush?

No. He ruled that one out when he was much younger. He didn’t feel attraction like other boys his age, sexual or otherwise. He couldn’t understand the appeal of Reita’s porn magazines, or even of Teruhashi’s immense beauty. None of it was anything less than bothersome. The only thing he could come up with was platonic affection for a friend. A true friend.

What a pain.

------

Saiki looked down at his hand once he heard the school bell chime, students shuffling to get out of their seats. It was their last period, so of course, everyone was eager to get going. His glance focused on the germanium ring on his finger, blocking his psychic powers from use. He considered taking it off before approaching Kaidou, but he decided against it.

Kusuo looked at Kaidou, who was mindlessly doodling on his math book, drawing a rather detailed self-portrait, the pencil-drawn Kaidou surrounded by fire and burned landscapes. He must have been drawing that throughout the whole period. He finally seemed to notice Kusuo’s presence, scrambling to his feet and shutting his workbook with a comedic clap of the pages.

“S-Saiki!” Kaidou sputtered out, now embarrassed, seemingly aware that Kusuo had seen his drawing.

I thought it looked fine. You’re quite talented. “What?” Saiki decided to say instead.

“Cool, right?” The other boasted as if his face wasn’t bright red. “U-Um, anyway - I usually walk home. Is that fine? It’s not far!” Everyone else had left the classroom by now.

Saiki nodded his head, and Kaidou grinned. He left the classroom with Kaidou, walking in silence aside from the occasional parting greeting from other students.

Finally, Kusuo decided he should say something. He wasn’t sure what else to do. “What exactly will we be doing at your house?”

------

Kaidou shouldn’t have turned beet red at that question. He shouldn’t have let his mind wander beyond anything platonic. Saiki was his friend, and he wasn’t going to fuck that up.

What if we kissed? Held hands? Is this what couples do when they hang out? Wait, no! Saiki is just a friend.

Just a friend.

Right?

Kaidou was beyond lucky that Kusuo was wearing his germanium ring, unbeknownst to him.

He hadn’t thought of Saiki this way before. It was sort of freaking him out. He swore up and down he liked girls, at least until today, until Saiki was the one who wanted to hang out. The one who looked him in the eyes like that.

Kaidou supposed he had noticed boys before, the more he thought about it. The Magic Eye Detective was certainly handsome, but he figured his adoration revolved around his interest in the show. He recalled how his eyes were glued to his TV when he came on screen, how his face turned red the moment the Detective said ‘good boy’ to a suspect.

Oh. He definitely had a bit of a crush on him.

But on Kusuo? Kaidou wasn’t sure. They were just starting to become close, and Saiki couldn’t be interested in him! He didn’t seem to show much emotion in general and never talked about his crushes when interrogated by their friend group. He kept his thoughts inside as they kept walking.

------

“U-Um. I have some video games at home. And I was actually gonna go to the comic store until you said you wanted to hang out!” Kaidou laughed, and Kusuo noticed how awkward it sounded. He hoped he wasn’t overwhelming him again. “Do you maybe wanna go with me?”

Kusuo just nodded, until he seemed to perk up at the sound of comics. He just remembered - the latest issue of the comic he enjoyed was out today.

Thank you, Kaidou. Thank you, germanium ring. He could peacefully pick up an issue of the comic, read it with Kaidou, and avoid all spoilers.

However, there was one small problem. Kaidou’s face was completely red, and Kusuo was almost certain he was ill. He needed his powers to find out what was happening, not to mention, solve the problem so that he could read his comic without any interruption. Despite this, almost nothing was worse to him than direct spoilers, and he had been excited for this issue in particular.

Sorry, Kaidou. I’ll help you when we get to your house.

The two walked into the comic store, and Saiki hid his internal excitement perfectly. Not a lot of things brought him joy (nothing more than coffee jelly), but his comics was a major source of entertainment. Kaidou, on the other hand, was bouncing with excitement. Quite literally. His hands, balled in small fists, gently shook and waved in front of his chest.

Kusuo covered his mouth to hide his fond smile.

He glanced to the side, and there it was. The newest issue to his comic. He made sure there were at least two copies, grabbing them and walking back to Kaidou. He wanted them both to have their own copy. Kaidou, in the few moments that Kusuo had walked away, had at least five comics in his hands, looking rather proud about it.

He grinned at the sight of the ones Saiki had picked out, taking them out of Saiki’s hand when he offered them, placing them on his own pile. “You read this too? I’m so excited! We can read it when we get back!”

They shuffled into line together, and when Kaidou noticed Kusuo pulling out his wallet, he shook his head. “I’ll pay!” he happily offered, and there was that bright smile again.

Kusuo was still worried about his friend, but he couldn’t help the happy feeling inside of him as Kaidou smiled.

Once the comics were all paid for, Saiki wanted to hold the bag, as Kaidou was the one who paid.

“Are you excited?” Kaidou asked, and Saiki nodded. He really was. He hoped Kaidou could hold out with whatever was wrong until they got back.

Little did he know, Kaidou was far from sick, and reading his mind was going to reveal much more than a little fever.

Chapter Text

Walking home with Kaidou was the easy part of the rest of Kusuo’s day. Taking quick glances at each other, briefly speaking small remarks to each other to keep things from turning awkward.

“So... Are you excited to read these new volumes, Saiki?” Kaidou asked, gesturing over to the bag the other was holding, as if he needed to be completely clear what he was talking about.

“Yes, definitely. Are you?”

“Yeah! Oh, yeah, yes. I’m stoked!”

Preferring to be alone, and without many distractions, Saiki didn’t have the best social interactions and conversations. He could usually get away with minimal talking with his psychic abilities, but with his germanium ring on, he was not only handicapped, but relying on this loss of power to avoid the worst possible irritation.

Spoilers.

Saiki was fully prepared, though, to take his ring off as soon as he got to Kaidou’s house, which they were approaching much faster than he had anticipated. He needed to see what was going on with him, after all. He was not in any sort of mood to get sick, and the red face Kaidou was sporting was one Kusuo associated most with a cold.

“Oh, let me get the door!” Kaidou offered suddenly, running up to open the front door of his house with both hands, smiling proudly as Kusuo walked in in front of him.

“Thank you,” Saiki responded, glancing at the other for any signs of him coughing or sniffling, which thankfully, he did not see.

Kaidou ran up into the kitchen, quickly washing his hands off with dish soap and drying them thoroughly with a towel, before he excitedly laughed a few times.

“Come on, let’s read these in my room!”

Kusuo, who was carrying the bag from the store, nodded at his suggestion and followed behind him, and as he set the bag down on Kaidou’s bed, Kaidou shut the door behind them.

“Let’s just sit on the floor, here,” Kaidou started, grabbing a few pillows from his bed and dropping them on the floor, plopping down on one of them and bouncing a few times on it.

Saiki sorted through the bag until he found the two newest volumes of the comic, handing one to Kaidou, who seemed to vibrate with excitement before happily taking it from his hands.

Okay. Now that we’re both here, and Kaidou hasn’t read this before, I can take off my ring. That way, I can see if he’s sick, and end this hangout if that’s the case. I do not want a cold today.

Kusuo sat down across from Kaidou, sighing in a moment of relief. He set down the comic volume to reach to his germanium ring, until he glanced up at Kaidou.

The other across from him was already reading. Of course, Kusuo should have considered this. He picked up his own volume, quickly flipping to the page he assumed Kaidou was on, and a few more ahead for good measure, with the skill of very fast reading he picked up over the years.

Now, I can take this off.

Once more, Saiki reached for his ring, taking a look at Kaidou. The other had to have been halfway through the comic, by the looks of the pages. He was flipping through the pages so fast, Saiki couldn’t even tell if he was actually reading it.

With his short attention span, and clear excitement for this new volume being released, Kaidou was likely aiming to get through it as fast as possible, and then read it once again later.

This isn’t good. I’ll just have to read this first, and then take my ring off.

Picking up his own volume again, Kusuo read through it at his own pace, pleased to actually be shocked and surprised by things that happened, without any spoilers influencing his first time reading it.

He took a few glances at Kaidou every so often, who was wiggling slightly atop his makeshift seat, clearly withdrawing his own excitement as to not spoil or bother Saiki while he was reading.

Saiki finished up reading the final page, and felt very satisfied to know he completely read through it without being spoiled one bit. He set it down, and as if the comic had laid on a button or trigger, Kaidou finally released into excited laughter and movements, his hands moving around while his legs bounced.

“Wasn’t that amazing? Wait- you finished, right?” A nod from Kusuo had the other continuing. “It was just... It was perfect! Completely what I was expecting, but also not, I love how the story is continuing on! Did you like it?” Another nod. “I’m so happy!”

As Kaidou spoke, while simultaneously looking into and completely avoiding Saiki’s eyes, his face was once again becoming red and flushed.

I’m happy too, but not if you have a cold. Let’s find out what’s going on.

Slipping off his germanium ring and stowing it away safely in his pocket, Saiki once again was given his psychic abilities, looking up at Kaidou.

”I’m so happy I got to read it with you, Saiki! You’re the only one that actually seems interested in what I have to say, or what I like. I think... I think I have feelings for you.” Kaidou thought, which Kusou heard upon taking off his ring.

What?

As if affected by Kusuo’s expression, which was likely shock, confusion, and a little bit of surprise, Kaidou’s thoughts became a jumble of self doubt and assurance that Kusuo would never feel the same way.

While I’m not certain I could say I feel the same way, I can at least not leave you without a response.

Shifting his expression into more of a small smile, Saiki nodded once more.

“I’m happy, too. I had a lot of fun reading with you.”

Instantly, Kaidou’s face flushed a darker pink, and he managed to smile back at him, nodding quickly.

“Yes! Yeah, me too!” Kaidou sputtered out, standing up quickly to put the newest addition to his collection of comics on his shelf.

The psychic considered the situation for a moment. Not long ago, he was pondering having feelings for the other, too. He wrote them off instantly, as he never completely understood love, or entirely what it would mean to feel it for another.

He had a sort of affection for Kaidou that he lacked in other people, if you didn’t count his parents or family. Without a true bond like the one with his relatives, he was left confused and unsure of why he felt in such a way.

Saiki never had feelings for girls, or even understood why his peers would be attracted to them, other than the obvious, factual beauty of Teruhashi.

With boys in general, he struggled to relate to them, as with his psychic abilities, he was always a bit isolated in his own way from others around him.

But with Kaidou, Saiki was able to trust in him to wear his germanium ring, to speak with him alone, and to even consider telling him his psychic abilities, as he almost did earlier that school year.

Is this... a crush?

Despite wanting to disappear back to his room and assure himself of what was going on in his mind, he met eyes with Kaidou once again, and knew he was going to be stuck there for at least a little while.

What was Kusuo going to do now?

Chapter Text

Thinking wordlessly and sitting on the floor of Kaidou’s bedroom wasn’t going to help in any way with Kusuo’s current situation. He knew this. He could use any of his abilities: mind reading, teleportation, even creating an excuse out of nowhere to leave. However, despite all of the cards in his favor, his immediate response to pressure was always panic.

After all, who wouldn’t feel pressure if they suddenly found out the person they were hanging out with had feelings for them? Especially if, specifically, you were somebody who considered yourself to lack any romantic or sexual feelings towards any individual?

“Hey, Saiki?” Kaidou asked, ripping the psychic straight from his thoughts. “How about you stay the night for a sleepover?”

This was one of those times where dramatic music would be playing, if my life was a movie or television show.

A sleepover. Something Kusuo experienced on a school trip, and had hence decided that he did not like to sleep places that weren’t his house, or a direct relatives home. With his luck, a normal sleepover never ended well.

However, after what had just happened, as well as what Saiki had said to reassure the other in his brief panic, he couldn’t think of a way to directly refuse Kaidou’s offer.

He could easily use telepathy and tell one of his parents to call him and make up an excuse, or create some sort of fake event that required the sleepover to be rescheduled-

“Sure,” Kusuo found himself saying.

The first thing Saiki felt was regret and mild irritation, but after seeing the happy look on Kaidou’s face, as well as the sight of his hands beginning to wave around in excitement, Saiki couldn’t bring himself to stay that way much longer.

“Awesome! Hey, this is gonna be so much fun! I mean, we better be careful though. With our combined abilities in one house, the Dark Reunion will definitely be on our trails,” Kaidou warned, standing up once again to grab his phone off of his nightstand, typing and scrolling at an alarming speed.

Of course, Kaidou didn’t know the full truth, though in his fantasy world, both he and Saiki had powers. Saiki always found this extremely ironic, considering in reality, he actually had psychic abilities.

“Okay, okay, hold on,” Kaidou mumbled, sitting on the edge of his bed and skimming through what he was reading. “I found an article about sleepovers, since I’ve um, never actually had one. It says that... Oh, here! We could cook something, or do a baking activity together!”

What about coffee jelly? If I can get us to make that, this sleepover would actually be one of the more positive experiences I’ve had with a friend.

Reaching into his pocket, Saiki grabbed a note for a couple thousand yen, and exchanged it for some gelatin packets, without removing his hand for the sake of Kaidou not seeing.

“That sounds fun,” Kusuo responded simply, and stood up from his seat on the ground, opening Kaidou’s bedroom door so they could go to the kitchen.

Kaidou had a much quicker pace, energetic with excitement, and began rummaging through the cabinets and refrigerator.

“Let’s see... What can we make here?” Kaidou thought aloud, taking out milk, heavy cream, and some sugar, looking around frantically for flour. “Shoot. I think we’re out of, uh, any sort of flour.”

“That’s fine,” Saiki began, quickly taking the gelatin out of his pocket while Kaidou wasn’t looking, and pretending to retrieve the packets out of one of the cabinets. “If you have coffee, we can make coffee jelly. Have you had that?”

Curiously, Kaidou hummed and took out his phone, looking up a recipe and, thanks to Kusuo, they had all of the ingredients to make it.

“Nope, but it looks good! If you like it, I’ll like it.” Kaidou’s cheeks burned up as he realized what he said, and according to his thoughts, clearly thought some sort of alternative meaning to the words he said.

Ah. Of course. Teens Saiki’s age were frequently thinking thoughts like these.

The psychic wished he could put his germanium ring on, a little embarrassed for the both of them to intrude on such thoughts, which he usually didn’t care too much about, as he had to experience hearing similar things daily.

Kaidou’s thoughts were back to normal as he turned to fetch some coffee from the cabinet, which was instant.

“That works fine. Can you brew us a cup of coffee and add a few tablespoons of sugar?”

“Oh, sure!” Kaidou nodded, quickly checking the recipe on his phone just to be sure the two were doing the right thing. He filled a mug with water from the sink, then put it in the microwave for two minutes. “What should we do in the meantime?”

“We can start making the whipped cream,” Kusuo offered, finding a bowl in one of the cabinets and pouring some heavy cream into it, then quickly finding a whisk.

“Oh, I’ll do it!” Kaidou quickly said, taking the whisk from Saiki as he began stirring up the heavy cream.

As he did so, the microwave went off, so Kusuo went up to grab the mug, setting it on the counter. He took a packet of instant coffee, and unfortunately as he tore it open, it spilled all over his shirt, the powder staining it brown.

What a pain.

Saiki attempted brushing the coffee off, which only made the stain worse. As soon as Kaidou noticed, his eyes widened, stopping what he was doing to move up to the other.

“Oh, man, I’m so sorry! Those packets are so stupid,” Kaidou apologized, and before Kusuo could tell him not to be sorry, he ran into his bedroom.

Kaidou returned a few moments later with a shirt, which was a graphic tank top depicting a character from a comic or game Kaidou must like.

“Here, you can put this on, and we’ll clean your shirt! Is that okay?”

“Yes, thank you,” Saiki replied, taking the shirt and going off into Kaidou’s room.

After unbuttoning his school uniform, Kusuo slipped it off and set it aside where it wouldn’t get coffee everywhere. Then, he slipped on the tank top, returning back into the kitchen.

Kaidou was pretty much done with the whipped cream, looking a little exhausted from stirring with the whisk, which caused Saiki to smile and bite back a breath of laughter.

“Oh, you’re back! I finished the whipped cream, I hope it’s what you wanted!”

Kusuo took a look at the stiffness of the cream and nodded in approval, which made him feel like a head chef or something.

“By the way, what are you wearing under the shirt?” Kaidou asked curiously, gesturing to Saiki as he put the whisk in the sink to be cleaned.

Oh.

He had forgotten about his binder, for a moment, and didn’t make an effort to make the straps a bit smaller to mask it. Kusuo didn’t care too much to hide the fact that he was transgender, though it wasn’t something he ever needed to talk about.

“It’s my binder,” he answered simply, and got a new packet of instant coffee, cutting it open with scissors before dumping the powder into the mug of water.

When Saiki glanced back at Kaidou, he looked a little bit confused, but he didn’t look upset, and his thoughts weren’t at all aggressive.

“I don’t understand. What is that?”

“A binder is something that compresses your chest. I was born with a female body, when I was a baby, but I’ve been a boy since I was able to speak,” Kusuo explained, and Kaidou’s face lit up in understanding.

“Ohhhh... Okay! Thank you for explaining!” Kaidou replied, and left it at that. Their exchange was much easier than what Kusuo had imagined in his head.

“So, now we add the gelatin into the coffee, and then we will have to wait a couple hours for it to solidify,” Saiki instructed, dumping a packet of gelatin into the coffee and stirring it around with a spoon.

“Easy enough!” Kaidou grabbed the whipped cream, as well as the mug of coffee once it was done being stirred, and put both things into the refrigerator. “Now we wait?”

“Yes. Now we wait.”

Chapter Text

A couple hours. Kusuo had guessed this waiting time for the coffee jelly to fully sit, and it was probably accurate, but he felt a little bad on the inside to choose a treat that took so long to be made. Kaidou had put so much effort into finding them a sleepover activity, after all.

The two found themselves back into Kaidou’s bedroom, where they would continue to stall, waiting in tandem and struggling to find something to do to fill the time.

“We could play some video games?” Kaidou would suggest, and Saiki would nod, following the sought-after target of the Dark Reunion towards his TV, only for Kaidou to suddenly remember: “I only have one controller.”

This cycle of finding one activity to do, then suddenly being faced with the horrid realization of it being an activity for just one, continued for about fifteen minutes.

It was rather sad, in all honesty. Kaidou didn’t have any friends to hang out with, and only did things in his room by himself. Saiki could relate to this; if they were having a sleepover at his own house, he also had only one controller, only one copy of his favorite books, and only one coffee jelly maker in the kitchen.

Naturally, when you sit in a room, with nothing really better to do, you spend your time in your own thoughts. And unknowingly sitting next to a psychic in addition to said circumstances, left a fairly interesting time for Kusuo.

”What if I leaned over and kissed Saiki? Wait. I don’t this this is really what would happen. No. What if Saiki leaned over and kissed me, right now? What if he held my hand?” Kaidou thought.

Kusuo held back a snicker.

These fantasies are very mundane compared to the ones back in the kitchen.

”This is starting to make me feel embarrassed... Wait, shouldn’t I be more of the cool type? I mean, I am faced with dangers constantly. Running from the Dark Reunion has trained me to handle a little kissing! So what if he puts his hand on my thigh? And if he kisses me more each second, and I can feel his breaths against my mouth?” Kaidou added on.

Oh.

Teruhashi’s ego would be turning black and blue. Kaidou got him to say ‘oh’ before even she could!

Saiki tuned in to Kaidou’s thoughts, but he was struggling with his own feelings. He felt his stomach growing tight, and his face burning a little bit; it felt as if he was about to be sick, but also like he was on a roller coaster.

He had googled the term ‘asexuality’ not long ago, and confidently identified with it hence forth. He never understood pornography, as seeing photos and videos of sexual nature didn’t affect him at all.

In his own life, Kusuo was never faced with a situation where he would be close enough to anybody to even imagine a romantic relationship. He was forced into the horrifying ideas of being intimate with Teruhashi through her own fantasies, though, it wasn’t until now that such ideas were admittedly affecting him.

Something about it being from Kaidou was different. It wasn’t some girl, or even some guy in rarer cases. It was Kaidou, who was by far, his closest friend Saiki had made since he was a young child. Hearing thoughts from Kaidou made the psychic feel uncomfortable, anticipated, and completely unsure in the strangest way he could describe.

Kusuo had seen the term ‘demisexual’ before, but never could consider it without the experience of having such feelings for someone.

Maybe this was the experience I needed.

Admitting strange and new feelings was always difficult for Kusuo to face, and change was hard in a life that was already so challenging. If this change would be as easy as the rest of the additions to Kusuo’s life so far, then maybe he could face this new reality.

”We haven’t talked in a long while now, and Saiki is acting really strange... Should I ask him what’s up? No, wait- not after thinking about him like that! What do I do?”

“Hey,” Kaidou began, and looked as if he was struggling to keep a straight face, obviously a little affected by his own imagination. “Are you okay Saiki? You’re looking a little off, and-“

Kaidou, stop worrying. Just stop talking for one moment and I’ll give you an answer that will clear it all up.

The words from Kaidou’s mouth stopped suddenly as Kusuo’s lips met the other’s. The psychic’s eyes were open, and he gazed into shocked brown ones for a moment before he opted for closing them.

Neither of them had ever kissed anyone before, and it was painfully apparent by the stiffness in Saiki’s gesture, completely adjacent to Kaido, with the only place meeting being their lips. It was more of a peck that lasted for fifteen seconds longer than it normally would.

Moving away to assess the situation, Kusuo opened his eyes, and nearly laughed at the sight of Kaidou with his own eyes closed, lips slightly pursed despite the loss of contact.

“Saiki,” Kaidou muttered out after a few moments of collection, and his eyes opened up, meeting Saiki’s in a way that, despite such a forward action, looked completely unsure.

“Today, in class, were you dared or something to talk to me? To hang out with me? We’ve hung out before, and talked and stuff, but you’ve never been so close like this... I mean, I’m not even trying to be paranoid, but- I can’t understand why someone like you would hang out with me. And do this... I can’t understand.”

Kusuo had no idea what he was expecting to hear, but even just the look on Kaidou’s face would have been enough to shift his feelings.

“No, I was not. I wouldn’t do that. And I don’t know how else to assure you about this, but you and I are a lot more alike than you realize,” Saiki started, and noticed Kaidou’s gaze seem to relax a little more.

“I wouldn’t consider any friend at school to be as close as I am to you. And you’re my only one that I really can hang out with. I’ve never had many friends at all, and I probably never will, but I’m happy with our friendship, and I mean that genuinely.”

Kusuo didn’t take the time to think out a reply that would completely nullify the other’s feelings.

He could have said exactly what he knew Kaidou wanted to hear, but that wouldn’t have been fair, and he was already taking steps to make changes. If he was going to accept new feelings, he had to be fair just as much to Kaidou.

“I really appreciate you saying that, and as scared as I am, I really believe you. And... I know what you said was really sweet,” Kaidou paused, and his face flushed impossibly red before he spoke, “but I want to be more. More than friends with you.”

Kusuo had to be fair, completely.

”I know.” Saiki telepathically told the other.

And that started now.

Brown eyes were going wide again, and what was once a closer distance between the two boys was pulled apart by Kaidou nearly falling back onto the bed.

“What?! You... You just spoke to me! Without speaking!”

”Keep your voice down, I don’t want the whole world knowing, you know. I’m a psychic, and I have been debating telling you, but if we are going to get any closer, I want to be completely open. You deserve that.”

Suddenly, Kaidou’s ego was boosted, and the thoughts that went to his mind made Saiki snicker.

“Does anybody else know?”

”Yes. My family, Reita, Mikoto, and a childhood friend. So you can only discuss my abilities with them, and nobody else.”

Things were starting to click in Kaidou’s mind, and he was having a bit of a crisis, though the only thing that he truly was freaking out about was the embarrassing things he had fantasized about not long ago.

“So... You’ve been listening to my thoughts? All of them?”

”Unfortunately, I don’t have a choice but to hear people’s thoughts. Yes, I have heard yours, but I do not mind.”

It was then that Kaidou started to feel a bit dizzy and dazed, and his face was a beet red color that didn’t look like it was going to fade any time soon.

“Well... Way to steal my confession, Saiki! I totally built up all of that courage to confess how I felt to you, and- and you just knew already!” Kaidou whined out, puffing out his cheeks as he crossed his arms over his chest.

That wasn’t what I was expecting to hear. I thought I was starting to get the hang of this relationship thing, and Kaidou is already confusing me again. This isn’t as easy as I thought it would be, even with my psychic abilities.

Leaning a bit closer, Kusuo let his hand lay on Kaidou’s thigh, which resulted in a little jump and a surprised noise.

“I’m sorry about that. But I did hear some other things, too... You were right, that I would kiss you. But I’m curious,” Saiki considered, his hand traveling up a little closer towards where Kaidou’s hip and thigh met, “about what else you think I would do?”

A few moments passed by as Kaidou took in what Kusuo had said, taking a few glances back and forth between the other’s hand and face.

Suddenly, as if everything that had just happened clicked in a single moment, Kaidou let out a shriek, scooting away from the psychic while waving his hands out in front of him.

“W-Wait just a second! Saiki, I appreciate the gesture, but... but I don’t think I’m ready for that!” Kaidou stuttered, a shocked look replacing his previously embarrassed one.

That? Oh. Sex. But I was just doing what Kaidou was fantasizing about. Was I wrong?

Kusuo’s confusion must have been obvious, as he slowly retreated his hand away from the other. Letting out a little sigh, Kaidou scooted himself back towards Kusuo, a reassuring smile on his face.

“I loved that! Really, it just took me by surprise! But, if I’m being completely honest, I don’t think I’m ready for that tonight. I may think about a lot of things, and I apologize in advance for that! Thinking about something, and actually being prepared for it, are totally different.”

Saiki was starting to understand what Kaidou meant. Although everybody has fantasies, some that they can’t control, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they want whatever they just thought about to suddenly happen.

“You’re right. I’m really sorry for jumping into it like that,” Kusuo apologized gently, and Kaidou quickly took his hand, a bright smile on his face.

“Don’t be sorry! I enjoyed it, and I would love for you to do it again, but not yet. I still want to be affectionate with you, in other ways, okay? As long as that’s okay, ‘cause if it’s not, I wouldn’t do that without your permission!” Kaidou sputtered out, causing Saiki to smile slightly, a softer look on his face.

“Of course you can.”

Kaidou smiled at that, and after a quick few seconds of bouncing around on the bed, he shot himself up, seizing the remote from off of his nightstand and switching on the TV.

“Let’s watch some Magic Eye Detective to pass the time, and then we can go eat coffee jelly!” Kaidou exclaimed, and the psychic chuckled under his breath at the other’s excitement.

Figuring this all out day by day isn’t going to be easy, but I think it will be worth it.