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Bombastic dance music fills Saihara’s mind. Vibrantly colored lights flash in his eyes rapidly as he watches the figures of his classmates ecstatically dancing along to the music from the safety of the desserts table.
To say Shuichi is overwhelmed by it all would be an understatement.
Shuichi was never one for parties. On the rare occasions he gets dragged into one, he always preferred finding a nice quiet spot to himself somewhere until it was time to leave. Does it destroy his social life? Oh, definitely, but he doesn’t mind it too much.
His friends do, however. Ever since they met Kaede, Kaito and even Maki have all tried to get Shuichi to interact more often with people and be a little more sociable than what he’s used to. He’ll never forget the day Kaito had Shuichi order pizza through the phone and how his voice cracked more often than a grade schooler.
He definitely appreciates their help however; he can definitely see how he’s improved throughout these past two or so years. But Saihara naturally gets overwhelmed when thrown into a situation like the one he is in now, and they try to respect that as much as they can.
For the preparations leading up to the party, they made sure and asked Saihara continuously if he really did want to go, and that he can always just stay home where he’s most comfortable. He always insisted that it’ll be fine, and that it’ll be a good experience for him. He even said that he’ll try his best to join in on the fun with everyone else.
But now he’s not so sure if coming was a good idea.
He’s been having to suppress an anxiety attack all night and his only comfort right now are the delectable sweets that he’s trying so hard to ignore right now.
And don’t get him started on the gaudy suit that he made the mistake of ever borrowing from his uncle. He had forgotten to buy himself a suit so instead had to grab his uncle’s as a last resort. It was the worst thing he could’ve worn. Ever.
He could’ve come in a band shirt and jeans and it’d be far less offensive than the outfit he had cursed himself with.
Shuichi sighs as he takes another sip of his cider. All he could think of now is the disappointment his friends must feel in his inability to just get over himself and grow a pair. But he just can’t bring himself to do it. All he wants to do now is get back home, change into something much more comfortable and find warmth in his soft bed, bury himself in blankets and clutch onto his dearest whale plush.
But for now, he’s going to have to bear with it. If he can’t have fun with Kaito, Kaede and Maki, then he can at the very least not ruin their night further with his internal moping and nagging to go home.
Shuichi then inexplicably feels a pair of eyes on him and he looks up. He makes eye contact with bright purple eyes that even now in the intensity of all of the neon colors, he can still distinguish. Kokichi Ouma. The most mischievous boy in the class, hands down.
Now that he thought about it, Ouma had been looking back at him quite a number of times now.. Once when he was first arriving at the party, and then a second time when Shuichi was swiping treats and drinks from the table (much to his embarrassment). Shuichi didn’t pay it too much mind, but now it was starting to get curious.
He keeps eye contact with Kokichi, as if to signal to him that he’s been caught, to which Kokichi responds with a confident smirk; A bad omen, Shuichi thinks to himself. Though he couldn’t help but feel his face warm up just a little bit at the smile. He quickly hides away that thought before it could fester before he realizes that Ouma had started approaching.
Oh lord, he’s done for, is he?
God only knows what Ouma of all people wants, especially after their little staring match.
“Hey hot stuff~! Say, you’re the best lookin’ guy here!”
Mischievously snickers Ouma. Shuichi frowns at his obvious sarcasm, but finds himself unable to say much as his face turns a slight red.
“What’re you doing around these parts instead of dancing? Lemme guess, you’ll only dance with someone you like huh?” Ouma playfully asks as he fiddles with his checkered tie. Before Saihara could answer however, Ouma approaches Shuichi a little more, the distance between them closing at a pace Shuichi is a little overwhelmed by.
“Look into my eyes, Saihara-chan… You’re going to like me, you’re going to like me, you’re going to like meee~”
He chants, twirling his finger in front of Saihara in a lackluster attempt to “hypnotise” him. Shuichi only stares at Ouma with a bewildered expression.
“..Ouma-kun, what do you want?”
“Nishishi! As cold as always, huh Saihara-chan? Eheh, whatever~”
He steps back and swings his arms back to nonchalantly rest his head against them.
Shuichi admittedly found it odd to see Ouma so well put together for once.. Or at least as well put together to have actually bothered to style his hair. Though Saihara doesn’t know about how his pants cut off way above his ankles.. But Shuichi was in no position to say anything. Ouma was more well put together than Shuichi, so to outwardly critique him and his style would be a type of bold move Shuichi is not comfortable making just yet.
“Say, ain’t it boring for you? Standing here.. Watching everyone have their own fun while you’re off to the side? Isn’t that a little… y’know.. Tiring? Jeez, just thinking about it makes me wanna nap.”
Ouma slouches a little, bringing his arms down and slipping his hands into his pockets to accommodate them into a more comfortable position for them. Shuichi gave a small shrug to his words, to which Ouma huffed at.
“C’mon~ I’m sure you gotta know some dance moves!”
“I don’t know how to dance.. It’s gonna be embarrassing for the both of us if you dance with me.”
Shuichi found himself confused at Ouma’s insistence to dance with him
He couldn’t particularly understand why he was so determined to get the detective to dance with him. But the dedication is surprising; most would’ve just given up by now, but even still Ouma stands firm, and he won’t let Shuichi change his mind.
The two had an odd relationship up until this point- Too distant to be considered friends but too intimate to just be classmates or acquaintances. Saihara couldn’t really tell if he considered Ouma a friend, an acquaintance or something more.
He didn’t have much time to think about it however, as Ouma quickly takes Shuichi’s glass and places it on the tablet before he drags Shuichi out into the middle of the hall. Saihara’s anxieties immediately took precedence over everything.
“O-Ouma-kun! W-Wait, wait! I-I’m not r-ready!”
Shuichi could feel the sharp gazes of the rest of his classmates watching at the show playing in front of them, a feeling Shuichi fears the most. Shuichi tightly shuts his eyes and keeps his head low in a desperate attempt to keep his cool and to try and ignore the overwhelming fear that ignited inside of him.
Saihara felt both of his hands be held by two smaller yet warm hands rubbing his own digits gently. It was then he realized that the music had stopped.. Or did it? No, Saihara could still hear it, but it was much quieter now.. He opened up his eyes once again and looked up. The vibrant colors were gone and instead the cool, dark blue of the night made its presence known with a gentle breeze.
They were at a gazebo surrounded by a flower garden with a gorgeous array of hydrangeas and forget-me-nots, and with no one else in sight to disturb the peace. Perfectly trimmed and dainty vines clung to the pillars holding up the roof of the gazebo.
Inside was an assortment of iron benches and a watering can being used as a pot for a bouquet combining the hydrangeas and forget-me-nots. There were no decorations in the center, leaving a rather large empty space there for reasons Shuichi is a little too tired to try and uncover for now.
The building where the party was being held wasn’t too far off, but it was enough to give Shuichi’s senses a break.
Overall, the garden was serene; A stark contrast to the party that continues to rage on just behind them.
“H-Huh..? Why did you..” “It was getting annoying, nishi. So I took us to a place you might like a little more. Thank me later.”
Ouma pretends to check his nails while he sits himself comfortably on one of the benches. Shuichi takes a seat on one across from Ouma, which catches the other boy’s attention.
“What, after taking you out here, you won’t even sit next to me?” “I need some fresh air, Ouma-kun..” “Oh. It was pretty crowded in there huh.” “M-Mmn..”
Shuichi takes in a deep breath and lets himself relax a little. He closes his eyes and allows the gentle breeze to lull him into a sense of serenity. Ouma doesn’t say anything, which surprises Shuichi but he appreciates the kindness.
When Saihara opens his eyes, he finds himself meeting once again with the same vibrant purple eyes from before. Now they compliment well with the cool blue of the night and the colors of the flowers. Both men were caught off guard by this sudden eye contact as Shuichi felt his cheeks warm up again and a very subtle blush had crept onto Ouma’s cheeks. The two stare at one another before Shuichi makes the first move to break the gaze after what seemed like forever.
Ouma, quick to recover after such a moment, clasps his hands and leans forward.
“Well? You done?” “Huh? Done with what?” “Done catching your breath, silly! I wanna play! And playing with someone outta energy is not fun!”
“O-Oh.. right. You mean you want to dance.. Uhm.. Can I ask why?” Ouma smirks at the detective inquisitiveness.
“You’re a smart boy, you can figure it out yourself~ ...Or are you dumber than I thought?”
Shuichi raises a brow. He thinks he has an idea but.. Does Ouma really feel that way about him? Shuichi couldn’t really wrap his head around it. But that’s for another day, as Ouma had begun to stand up and walk over to Shuichi.
Ouma extends his hand to Shuichi, who hesitantly takes it after a moment of pondering whether he really should. Ouma helps Shuichi stand and the two lock gazes once again as Ouma leads Shuichi to the center of the gazebo. Saihara only now realizes why the gazebo was so devoid of much furniture or decoration aside from the few assortments.
Shuichi stares nervously down at his feet, unsure of where else to go. He then feels the gentle touch of Ouma’s hand graze his cheek to cup it.
“So? You ready?”
Shuichi parts his lips to respond but he’s unable to form any words, so he remains quiet at first. He’s surprised by the affection Ouma is giving to him, waiting for the reveal that it’s really a trick from him, but Ouma never says anything of such. He seems genuine with his affection. Shuichi then gives him a hesitant nod before finally responding.
“U-Uhm.. I.. I think so.. Y-You’re going to have to lead u-us..”
“Nishishi! Silly Saihara-chan! I can’t dance either! We’re on the same boat, my beloved detective!”
Chuckles Ouma as he lets go of Shuichi’s cheek to instead hold his hand. Shuichi is left flabbergasted by his admission of inexperience.
“W-What?? Ou-Ouma-kun!” huffs Shuichi. He flusters when Ouma’s hand clumsily slips on Shuichi’s waist, seemingly more focused on getting prepared to dance with the detective.
“Hm? What? You thought I knew how to dance? Well, you’re wrong! Nishishi, sorry!” He teasingly snickers. Shuichi blinks before hesitantly placing a hand on Kokichi’s shoulder to try and get ready for what’s to come. Kokichi encouragingly gives the detective’s hand that he’s holding a brief squeeze.
Shuichi purses his lips, still a little taken aback by the situation, and after adjusting the positioning of his feet he looks back at Kokichi in the eyes, noticing a soft pink blush spreading across his cheeks. He feels his own heart flutter at the sight, but is snapped out of it once Kokichi speaks again.
“Alrighty! Here we go!”
Kokichi begins to lead Shuichi as he takes a step forward. The detective stumbles along, stepping back. Ouma is surprisingly patient with Shuichi and his clumsiness, waiting for Shuichi to re-adjust himself before he takes any other step.
Ouma at first made sure to keep it slow to let Shuichi get into the groove of waltzing. The blue-haired man’s eyes kept darting down to the floor to check the position of his feet, like a child beginning to walk for the first time. Time and time again, Saihara would almost trip or would stumble over his feet. Ouma didn’t make a peep about his lack of any grace however, focusing solely on the detective’s face rather than any of the mistakes he makes.
Then, with a mischievous smirk, the purple haired man began to quicken the pace of his waltz, dragging along his bumbling dance partner. “Ou-Ouma-kun!” sputtered out Saihara as he clumsily attempted to keep up with Ouma.
The other boy only returned a grin as he swiftly spun the detective around before pulling him close once again.
Overwhelmed by it all and embarrassed by his inability to keep up, Shuichi tries to pull away, putting the dance at a halt. The detective almost gets away too, until the smaller boy takes Shuichi’s hands and pulls him back.
Shuichi doesn’t look Ouma in the eyes, too ashamed to do so. He just assumes that Ouma is holding back laughter and just wants to add this onto the pile of things to tease the meeker boy later on with.
So Shuichi tries once again to pull away and head back into the main building, his dainty pale hands almost slipping away from being intertwined with those of Ouma’s.
But, Kokichi insists.
He pulls back Saihara again, this time much closer than he had done previously. This prompts Shuichi to finally turn back to face Ouma, at first to tell him to let go.
But, what Saihara is unable to do so, as instead of seeing a sneer, he instead sees a determined Kokichi who stares at him in the eyes. His violet eyes gleamed softly underneath the gentle moonlight that had embellished them, which drew Saihara to them even more.
Shuichi is astonished by this. Why? For of all things, why was he so persistent to dance with someone who can barely even take a step without hesitation or stumbling. Why was he so persistent in dancing with a fool like Shuichi?
And then, it clicks.
“You get it now, dont’cha?” finally says Ouma. His voice was calm and smooth.. It was a little jarring yet so alluring for the shy boy. He could feel Kokichi gently rub Saihara’s hands with his own digits as if to comfort him. This, alongside his realization, convinces Saihara to stay.
Saihara then nods, pursing his lips and furrowing his brow to try and feign the same determination Ouma had shown to him. This causes the leader to chuckle a little before they move back into place.
Shuichi once again copies Kokichi’s positioning, this time with some help from the other boy.
“Since Saihara-chan is just beginning, then I guess I’ll help him out just a little bit..” Kokichi playfully draws out with an eye roll.
And with that, Ouma took a step forward with his left foot, waiting for Shuichi to follow along
Shuichi follows Ouma’s movement, staring down at his feet. At first he accidentally put his left foot forward but quickly corrects himself once he catches his mistake.
...One…
After Saihara has secured his position, Ouma takes another step forward with his right foot and then waits for the bluenette to make the next move. Shuichi hesitates, thinking hard on the next step as if carefully calculating where he should step next. He finally places his left foot to the back.
...Two…
Ouma then slips his left foot to be next to his right. Shuichi follows along by dragging his right foot to be by his left.
...Three…
“See? You’re halfway there..~” Kokichi snickers. He gives his beloved a gentle squeeze of his hands.
“I still can’t believe you’re doing this…” huffs said beloved man.
“Who said you have to?” snips Ouma with a smug tone in his voice and with a smirk that stretched wide across his face. Shuichi, unable to come up with any snarky retort, huffs again with a rosy color becoming visible on his face.
Ouma hums a tune as his right foot takes a confident step back, seemingly deciding to continue. Shuichi, catching onto this, takes a step forward with his left.
..One.
Confidence began to rise within Saihara. While he continues to glance down at his feet, determination rises within Shuichi to quicken his pace so as to not drag down Kokichi anymore.
Ouma slips in a playful wink, noticing the determination in the detective’s face. He keeps quiet, however, much to Shuichi’s confusion. He can’t tell what’s going on exactly through Ouma’s mind, but he’s grateful that he isn’t getting chewed out by the other man for his lackluster dancing.
Ouma keeps his eyes on Shuichi and, perhaps to test his confidence, hesitates before stepping back his left foot. When Saihara quickly follows with his right, a large smile creeps up to the leader’s face. ..Two.
“You’re getting the hang of it huh? Saihara-chan isn’t as stupid as I thought!” “I-I’m not dumb.. Just learning..”
“Nishishi~ Of course, of course~”
During their banter, Kokichi swept his right foot to the front. Shuichi did the same with his left but the two end up bumping into each other. Despite the mistake, Ouma quickly rebounds and to keep Shuichi close to him, he tightens the grip of the hand that rested on his waist and pulls in. Their bodies hug up against eachother which greatly flusters the detective. “O-Ouma?! Wh-What’re you-!” “Relaaax~! I’m tired of playing by the numbers, baby~” “B-Baby?” stammers the detective, mindlessly echoing Ouma’s words in an attempt to make sense of what he had in store.
“Just relax! Nishishi, you play too much by the rules. Dancing isn’t as rigid as you think it is, so c’mon!” Shuichi feels Ouma pull him by the hand as the pair twirl around in the center of the gazebo. Ouma laughs and giggles while Shuichi struggles to keep up once again. Shuichi could feel his head spinning as the whole world around him blurs and all he can focus on is the sly grin of the smaller boy who whisked him off his feet. While he can barely follow along, Shuichi eventually decides to give in and bursts into laughter alongside Ouma as they spin together.
In all of his glee however, Shuichi doesn’t feel Ouma’s hands creeping up to his back and hands. The pair find themselves staring deeply into one another’s eyes, struggling to catch their breath, and Ouma dips Shuichi down; A proper finale, it seems, to their dance.
“Hm? Disappointed? Did you want more, Saihara-chan~? Never thought you were the type to be so greedy~” Ouma teases in between his breaths.
“...Not at all.” Shuichi responds, a soft pink tinting his cheeks. Before Kokichi can properly respond, he’s taken aback when he feels a soft kiss get planted on his lips by the man he’s carrying. Despite his arms and legs becoming wobbly, a rush of victory runs through Kokichi enough to keep him and Saihara still standing.
Maybe the kiss itself was probably just a quick peck, but to the pair, it felt like an eternity: as if time itself stopped to allow them to indulge in their fervent kiss. As they pull away, Kokichi lifts Shuichi back up and takes a step backwards, the space between them becoming filled with awkwardness. Ouma puffs out his chest in an attempt to hide the butterflies fluttering in his stomach while Shuichi turns his head to face away from Kokichi.
A slightly uncomfortable silence fills the void before both men turn to each other again with an awkward, stifled giggle. By now, the music of the party could be heard after the pair’s focus on eachother had finally broken, even if it was for just a moment.
The silence is broken when Ouma clears his throat, a sly way of getting the other man’s attention, realizes Saihara. “Well then! I got what I wanted, so now it’s time I ditch these losers.” he snickers, charamastically passing a hand through his hair as he pretends to actually care about how it looks.
Shuichi rolls his eyes over Ouma’s quips. “You’re not staying?” “Of course not! There’s nothin’ left for me here~ I came here to steal your heart, afterall! Though..” Kokichi’s signature trouble-making grin tugged at the corners of his lips again and he playfully places a finger to his lips, coming across as more flirtatious than troublesome.
“I can’t exactly say I’m satisfied… Maybe we’ll have a rendezvous again, my beloved Shuichi!”
Bombastic as always; if there was one thing Shuichi had to admit is that Ouma can be incredibly charming when he wants to be.
Or at least when he’s not acting like a complete buffoon.
Kokichi gives a short, playful bow, before he begins climb over the fencing of the gazebo. In a panic, Shuichi rushes over to the leader as he’s on the edge. “W-Wait! O-Ouma-ku-” He’s cut off by his own gasp when Ouma falls off and stumbles into the bushes that surrounded the gazebo. His heart races and he’s about to follow downwards before he hears rustling of the shrubbery and grumbled curses coming from down below. A sigh of relief slips from his lips as he watches over the edge to make sure Kokichi hadn’t injured himself.
Eventually, the figure of the leader was visible, as he made it out the otherside. Shuichi can see Kokichi waving to him and to return the wave, he blows the other a kiss. Ouma pretends to catch the kiss before he playfully sticks out his tongue.
Shuichi leans his cheek against the palm of his hand and his arm rests on the wooden fencing of the gazebo. He watches as his partner disappears into the night. While he was disappointed he couldn’t spend even more time with Ouma..
He knew that Ouma Kokichi would always return to play another game with his beloved detective, Saihara Shuichi.