Chapter Text
The cool autumn air stung Shuichi’s cheeks as he stepped out of his car that had spoiled him with the heat. He pulled his scarf up to his lower face to try and warm himself up just a little bit, his constant shivering was starting to annoy him. He reached into his car to grab his work bag, then finished up by closing the driver door and locking the car which responded in a chirp. A quick breeze swept by his face which gave him the motivation to start walking swiftly towards the entrance to his apartment building.
Once he opened the front doors, the heated lobby rushed over his face with a nice tingling sensation. He let out a content sigh as he let the doors close behind him. Though as nice as it was to confirm the lobby’s heaters were in fact working, he really wanted to go back to his apartment and just relax after today. God, Shuichi’s day at work felt agonizingly long, and the thought of a warm shower encompassed his thoughts as he entered the elevator and pressed a button with the number 7 on it. With a light humming noise, the elevator began to rise and Shuichi released the last of the remaining shivers in his body with a sigh. With a ding, the elevator reached Shuichi's floor and he strode out to make his way over to the door to his apartment. He began fumbling with his keys a bit before finally twisting open the lock and opening his door.
He walked in and called out to his roommate. “Hey, I’m back.” A voice called back to him from the couch of their living room. “Hey, welcome back. How was work?” Shuichi hung up his bag and coat before making his way to the kitchen area. His response was an exaggerated groan as he opened the refrigerator. “What screwed you over this time, Shu?” Shuichi grabbed a cup of pudding from the fridge and a spoon before sitting down next to his friend who was currently playing Overwatch on their playstation 4. He tore off the lid of his pudding and sank the spoon through it.
“Oh my god, Maki, you have absolutely no idea how many times today I had to question the sanity of my coworkers…” He ate a spoonful of pudding as he watched Maki get a string of headshots as Widowmaker. Once Shuichi’s mouth was free of pudding, he spoke again. “Of course once I got to the office to file my findings from Friday, I was handed yet another report of a crime scene that may relate to my case. I’m tired of all the maybes, I just want to come across a solid yes or no for once.”
He took in another bite of pudding as the TV flashed the victory screen and Maki set her controller down on the coffee table in front of them. “Honestly, I get where you're coming from. I’m also really sick of all of these unstable responses when all we want are answers. Though honestly, with this kind of uncertainty, it's possible to be hopeful and see it as a chance to potentially work out in your favor.”
She looked over to her roommate who was looking at her with the spoon sticking out of his mouth. She grabbed the handle to gently pull it out of his mouth, then proceeded to throw it at his shoulder while laughing about the situation which in turn caused him to laugh in return. They kept laughing as they both playfully threw nearby light objects at each other. Shuichi throwing the spoon back at her, Maki grabbing an empty water bottle that was on the coffee table, Shuichi reaching for a wadded up wrapper before getting hit in the side with a pillow.
If you were to tell anyone who knew these two back in High School that they were just playing around like a bunch of children, they would laugh and think you were talking about the wrong people. Maki and Shuichi? Giggling like schoolgirls? Unimaginable, they were always all work and no play back then.
Shuichi would much rather be left alone to drown out his issues with angsty music, while Maki despised anyone being concerned about her and would insist on dealing with them by herself. With their similar ideas of being left alone, they understood each other and began to talk, but not without a little nudging from their friend Kaito.
At first things felt slow, mainly due to Maki’s natural intimidation combined with Shuichi's habit of submitting to anyone who had a sense of confidence. Though as they hung out around each other more often at school, they cared about the other’s situation more and more. Until it got to a point where Maki tried to help Shuichi gain confidence and stand up for himself and what he wants sometimes. As Maki helped him overcome that and he gained some confidence, he used it to stand up and try to tell Maki that it was okay to accept and embrace her feelings, and she could balance said emotions so she can learn to properly feel happiness but control her anger when it kicked in.
Together they spent time to help better each other personally and mentally, until they became practically inseparable. They still had a long way to go, but their bond wasn't going to falter anytime soon after all they’ve done for each other. Cut to a few years later, they’re sharing an apartment because they absolutely couldn't imagine anyone else they were nearly as cozy with. They've seen each other at their worst, and helped them through it, and they have absolutely no thoughts of leaving the other's side. They saw home in the other, they were their own family. They could be their true selves around one another.
Now here they were, laying on the floor catching their breath after they finally called a truce.
“Honestly, you made a good point, Maki.” Shuichi said in between heavy breaths whereas Maki only hummed in question. “About how uncertainty can still leave you hopeful. It may not guarantee what you want, but it also doesn't guarantee what you don't want.”
Maki sat up and gave a small pat to Shuichi’s shoulder with a small smile. “It’s nice to not be sad for once.” Shuichi lightly hit her arm with the back of his hand with a small chuckle. “You’re one to talk, considering you got sad when it was too cold for ice cream last week.” “Hey you know damn well how nice cookies and cream ice cream sounded..”
Shuichi lightly rolled his eyes with a smile before sitting up next to Maki. “It’s still way too cold for ice cream, but you want to go out and get something to eat?”
Shuichi stood up and offered his hand to help lift Maki up in which she accepted. “Sounds good, but didn't you just have pudding?” He shrugged. “I don't care, I’m still hungry.” “Heh, fair enough.”
They walked towards the door and grabbed their coats from the hanger and Shuichi grabbed his bag. “What sounds good to you?” Shuichi asked as he opened the door for her. “Hm.. it’s been a while since we've gotten Subway.” He locked the door behind them and they both walked down the hall to the elevator. “Sounds good to me.” Maki hummed in satisfaction as the elevator doors opened for them.