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Shuichi came home expecting that Kokichi would greet him at the door. However, since he hadn’t heard from him in a few days - almost Shuichi’s entire trip - he was immediately alarmed at the state of the house. Just from the doorway, he could see that the couch was flipped, books and video game cases flung all over the room. The baseball bat they normally kept by Shuichi’s side of the bed was just lying in the center of the mess. His heart was in his throat as he imagined the worst possible scenario. Shuichi probably should have called 110, but he was on autopilot. He had to find Kokichi first thing. It took a minute, moving slowly to the other rooms (everything pulled from their bathroom cabinets to spill out between the tile and the hallway, their mattress pulled halfway off the bed frame and covered in fruit gummy wrappers, a smashed lamp below a hole in their bedroom wall, and a weird pink stain on the mat in the kitchen) but he heard shuffling from the living room and anxiously checked under the couch to find Kokichi, perfectly unharmed, but shaking like a leaf. Instantly, Shuichi could breathe again, but he made himself approach slowly, reaching out his hand first like he would with a spooked cat.
"Beloved, it's okay, I’m here. Can I come closer?"
Kokichi nodded, opening his mouth with nervous, high pitched laughter, but whatever lie he was going to tell died on his tongue when Shuichi wrapped his arms around him. The tension melted from the man’s back, body unfurling from its curled position in order to bury his face just under Shuichi’s collarbone.
"Y'know, there were seven enormous burglars and they stole everything I loved and left me here and it was so scary! I can't believe you weren't here to protect me. You're so mean!!" Despite the shaky, knee-jerk response Kokichi’s words were, as though the lie was knocked out of him forcefully, Shuichi let out a sigh of relief.
"The door was locked. None of the windows are broken." He'd forgotten those facts in his initial panic. This was not a break-in. Kokichi fell silent so Shuichi kissed his forehead and then cupped his face, pulling away from the hold just slightly, "Did you do this?"
"I can’t fathom how you could accuse me of such a thing after all I’ve been through, my love is so cruel and-" Kokichi's voice neared wailing pitches and Shuichi hurried to cut him off before the situation could spin out of control.
"Kokichi."
"Just yell at me already," this time his voice was soft. Defeated, like a kicked puppy and with the pin-drop silence in the room, one could probably hear Shuichi’s heart crack in half. He’d been too forceful, too careless with his words. Somehow, he’d confirmed Kokichi’s fear that something was wrong. This would take even more de-escalation before they could start to solve the problem.
"I’m not going to yell at you, Kimchi. I’m not even mad. You are going to help me clean this when you feel better, but I’m not mad. Do you want to sit here for a while before we talk about it?"
Kokichi nodded as Shuichi had guessed he would and shoved his face back into his new hiding spot as his boyfriend wrapped his arms back around him, taking to carefully stroking his hair.
Now that the adrenaline had faded some, Shuichi started noticing small details, like how knotted Kokichi's hair felt when his fingers carefully moved over it, or the way his stomach kept growling so loudly or, "Are you wearing my clothes?"
"No, they belong to my other boyfriend. He only comes around when you leave," Kokichi said grumpily, difficult to hear when he refused to pull away from Shuichi’s embrace. Shuichi chuckled, but they were definitely his own clothes. He recognized the hole on the shoulder of the shirt Kokichi had on. It was fairly easy to start piecing together this puzzle on his own without any confirmation from the man himself. However, this was going to require patience.
Making sure to not let go of his boyfriend, Shuichi hauled both of them up, somehow managing to dramatically princess-carry him to the kitchen without stumbling. A rush of pride ran through him at how that made Kokichi snort.
"Are you in the mood for some pb&j?" He suspected those fruit gummy wrappers he’d seen might have been about the only sustenance Kokichi had in at least a few days. Could somehow picture Kokichi perched like a gargoyle at the foot of their bed, staring blankly out at the room as he tore into his snack.
Kokichi shrugged, but when Shuichi set him on the counter to start making the sandwich, Kokichi’s hand darted over to where Shuichi stood apart from him only a foot or two away, latching onto his shirt sleeve. Luckily, it was enough slack for Shuichi to keep working so he allowed it with a small, sad smile. While Shuichi spread the peanut butter, he hummed a little absentmindedly and increased the volume when Kokichi relaxed some into leaning against the cabinet behind him. Before he could start on the jelly, however, Kokichi snatched the jar away with a goofy frown, “Marshmallow?” being his only argument. It was enough, so Shuichi got out the marshmallow spread instead.
Once the sandwich was all assembled, Shuichi gave Kokichi a second once over and decided to kill two birds with one stone and gave him a piggyback ride to the bathroom all while humming Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” (badly) to Kokichi’s delight. It took some sorting through the mess between the bathroom and the hall with his foot, but Shuichi finally located a hairbrush and carefully finagled picking it up without dropping Kokichi.
They sat in a clear spot of the living room, Kokichi in Shuichi’s lap. As his boyfriend ate, Shuichi started gently brushing his hair. Starting at the ends and moving slowly upwards to detangle the most snarled sections with the least amount of pain he could manage.
Kokichi finished eating and began rambling nervously again, identifiable by the slightly higher pitch his voice took and the breathy way he spoke with few breaks, “-and then one of them tied me to the kitchen table while they ransacked everything. They just kept talking about the world’s most valuable computer chip and how they knew I had stolen it and the big burly one started threatening me with a knife if I didn’t talk so I finally told them I had sold it to the yakuza already and they were too late and that made them even more pissed… ”
At least he seemed like he was in a better mood. If only slightly. They had to talk eventually, though, and Kokichi wasn’t going to like that much. For the moment, Shuichi let him get that nervous energy out of his system, gesturing wildly with his sticky hands, as he braided his boyfriend’s thick hair.
Once Kokichi's hair was all braided, Shuichi kissed his cheek and let him go wash off his hands before he smeared marshmallow residue everywhere. Kokichi took a while in the bathroom and came back with an obviously forced grin on his face, a stuffed animal held tightly in his crossed arms. Sensing the mood shift, Shuichi had Kokichi help him flip the couch back over (how he managed to do that originally on his own , Shuichi may never know) and assemble the cushions on it so they could sit properly.
"You ready to talk?" Kokichi shrugged, playing with his stuffed animal and looked, for anyone else, disinterested and calm but Shuichi knew neither were true.
"Before I start, I'm reminding you that I love you and nothing that either of us says is going to change that." Shuichi said, folding his hands in his lap and wishing more than anything they could just curl up in bed and whisper sweet nothings to each other for the rest of the night. He’d daydreamed about it the entire way home from work. He’d waited six days already. He could wait longer. Certainly, Kokichi would likely let him do such a thing without talking but… this was too important.
"Obviously! Who wouldn’t love me? I’m a-amazing," Kokichi scowled at the way he tripped on the word, momentarily breaking his nonchalant façade and Shuichi had to force himself to stay still and not immediately wrap Kokichi back up safe in his arms.
"You're right, you are amazing. I don't really think that you believe that though, for some reason. Is it okay if I ask questions?"
"I can't stop you since you just did," all saccharine smiles and syrupy voice, as he continued to pick at the teddy bear’s ear.
"Why did you stop answering your phone? I tried to call and text you several times. I was… I was really worried, Kokichi," Shuichi frowned, hating the tremor in his voice that came with his returning anxiety. He wanted to stay calm for Kokichi, not stress him out further but this was hard.
"Can't break up with someone if you can't reach them," Kokichi muttered darkly, so quiet and immediate a response, Shuichi doubted Kokichi actually wanted him to hear.
"Kokichi, I'm not breaking up with you. I didn't want to when I left and I don’t want to do so now." Kokichi's head snapped up, searching Shuichi’s face.
"Say it again."
"I don’t want to break up with you and I’m not going to." This was more easy to say than breathing, confident and assured and exactly what Kokichi needed from him.
Kokichi nodded, barely perceptible, eyes darting over Shuichi’s features as he searched for any sign of deception. Shuichi had never been more certain that Kokichi would find none. The moment dragged out, and Shuichi let him take his time to be reassured. However, he could also tell Kokichi was struggling with something and when Kokichi’s tugging on the ear of Buttons grew more aggressive, Shuichi spoke up.
“Do you want something?” Shuichi prompted.
“Hold me, please ,” Kokichi breathed out like he’d been waiting for permission to ask.
Shuichi lunged for his boyfriend, engulfing him in the tightest hug he could. Kokichi crumpled into it; Buttons squished between them, his singular green button eye digging into Shuichi’s stomach and he couldn’t have cared less.
“I thought about you every day I was gone. Pictured coming back and spoiling you with all the gifts I got you and kissing your face. Kokichi, I’m not going anywhere. I hate every second I had to leave you for that business trip.”
Kokichi squeezed him harder, like he was scared if he eased up Shuichi might vanish completely. “Me too.”
Shuichi kissed the top of his head, “So, about those robbers that ransacked the place? Funny how they didn’t steal anything, huh?”
Kokichi huffed, staring up at him, apparently not finding his joke very amusing, “Do we have to talk about it?”
“Why don’t I say what I think actually happened and you can just… squeeze my hand if I’m right?” Shuichi suggested, holding a hand out to him. Kokichi took it, holding Buttons close to his face with the other hand and not meeting Shuichi’s eyes. It was probably the closest thing to a confirmation Shuichi would get.
“I left for my trip and the longer I was gone… it stressed you out, right? I can imagine how it might have been easier to deal with that stress by trying to push me away before I could leave you, do something to try to piss me off? It makes sense to me, to attempt to regain control in a situation you feel you have none. So you trashed the house. But then I came home and you felt scared that I might actually be angry, so you hid. Does any of that sound accurate?”
Kokichi clutched his hand harder, attention completely focused on his teddy bear.
“Okay. I think that’s all understandable, beloved. It’s okay to feel scared. Next time, though, can we maybe try communicating in some way with me? You feel better talking to me, right?” Another firm squeeze. “Alright, so if you message me, I’ll be able to remind you how much I adore you when your head tells you otherwise. I don’t want you to suffer alone, Kimchi. I’m so sorry that you had to deal with this by yourself for almost seven days,” Shuichi barely got through that, making himself blink away tears at the thought. He was going to spoil the hell out of his boyfriend once they were done cleaning.
Kokichi gave a half-hearted shrug, squeezing Shuichi’s hand a final time and not relaxing his grip. Shuichi pulled him back against him, holding the smaller man and trying his best to not cry.
“Please tell me what you need, sweetheart.”
“Can… can we just go to bed and clean the house tomorrow?” Kokichi asked, not sounding as anxious or upset as he had before. Mostly just tired.
“Of course we can. We just have to sort out the bed first and then I can hold you all night, deal?”
The other nodded eagerly, pulling Shuichi up and leading him to their bedroom. It didn’t take very long to change the sheets and dump the old ones in the laundry for tomorrow after shaking all the wrappers into a trash can. Together they centered the mattress and settled in for the night.
Kokichi usually preferred to be held little spoon style, but tonight he situated himself on top of Shuichi. While Kokichi pressed small kisses to Shuichi’s jaw, he ran his hands up and down his boyfriend’s back and whispered all the things he missed being able to do with Kokichi while he was gone. They fell asleep like that, Kokichi reassured that Shuichi wouldn’t be going anywhere in the middle of the night and Shuichi comforted by having the weight of his boyfriend on him. But not before they had the chance to murmur, half-asleep,
“I love you, Kokichi.”
“Love you too, Shuichi.”
***
“Close your eyes and hold out your hands, Kimchi.” Shuichi said seriously, gripping the present behind him so Kokichi couldn’t see.
“If this is a prank, it’s a very bad set-up, I’ll have you know,” Kokichi pouted, but did as asked.
As soon as Shuichi set the object in his hands, Kokichi opened his eyes, brows furrowed in confusion. Shuichi grinned, watching Kokichi turn over the band, inspecting it before finally giving up. “What is it?”
“It’s a bond bracelet. I have one too. You just wear it and when we’re apart but thinking about each other, you tap the bracelet and the other one will vibrate so they know you’re thinking about them. I have to warn you though, I might annoy you. I sort of think about you pretty much all day-” Shuichi cut off from his nervous rambling when Kokichi threw himself at him, a giant smile on his face.