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Saihara stretches in his seat, glancing to the clock. Seven in the morning, almost a whole hour after he awoke. Almost a whole hour spent preparing a note. Well, and mulling over the excruciatingly complicated plan he has going on for Ouma’s birthday. The six hand-crafted chess pieces lie on the table innocently, waiting to be used.
To be fair, Ouma only deserves the best. For being a “surprisingly tolerable boyfriend” as his friends had described it. Saihara’s boyfriend of three years. And Saihara has to say, nothing’s better than being with the mischievous boy. He chuckles to himself, sending a glance to his still sleeping boyfriend.
Well, he’s wrong about him still sleeping, because Ouma rolls onto his side, grumbling.
“…Shumai? ‘s cold, what are you doing?” Ouma mumbles. Saihara drops the chess pieces into a small bag and sets down his pen, making his way from his desk to the bed.
“Sorry, Kokichi. I was just preparing something, that’s it,” Saihara explains, climbing onto the bed and pressing a light kiss to Ouma’s forehead. Ouma buries his head into his chest.
“Happy birthday, too, before I forget to say that,” Saihara murmurs, brushing back Ouma’s hair with a hand. Ouma shifts.
“We have the whole day. I don’t think you’d forget,” Ouma points out groggily, throwing an arm over Saihara’s waist. Saihara smiles to himself.
“Yeah. We have the whole day to ourselves, huh?”
Ouma doesn’t know that Saihara has something big in store for him.
Ouma wakes with his head facing the window, the sun’s light hitting him directly in the face. Disgruntled, he flips onto his other side, and to his surprise, feels no one next to him. That’s what fully wakes him up.
Shumai’s not in bed? He wonders, struggling to open his eyes. Seeing as the light was so bright, he can only assume that he slept in pretty late.
When he pulls himself into a sitting position, he yawns, rubbing his eyes. The first thing he notices when his eyes focus, is the note propped suspiciously against his nightstand lamp. He reaches out for it without a second though, pulling it towards himself.
It’s folded in half, and when Ouma opens it, he finds a neatly written letter inside. Written by Saihara, too.
I hope you slept well, Kokichi. You’re probably wondering where I am, but I’ve prepared something special.
I know you like treasure hunting. Given that piece of information, I’ve set something up for you. By the time you read this, I’m guessing it’s around eleven in the morning. I’ve cooked up some miso soup and steamed rice, so enjoy that!
Right around noon, please meet Momota-kun at the place I confessed to you. He’ll explain things further.
Again, happy birthday, Kokichi! I love you.
-Shuichi ♡
Ouma smiles to himself. A treasure hunt, huh? Saihara never fails to surprise him.
He climbs out of bed and prepares for the day, feeling oddly refreshed. A quick glance at the clock tells him it’s indeed nearing eleven (Saihara’s ever the detective), and Ouma skips to the kitchen, deciding on having breakfast before anything.
After he finishes his breakfast, he checks the time again. Almost half an hour has gone by… he’ll go through his phone to check for any texts.
Sure enough, he’s received multiple texts wishing him a happy birthday from all his high school friends. All his high school friends, except for five: Akamatsu, Harukawa, Momota, Iruma, and Amami. Strange, he thinks, but shrugs, tossing his phone onto the couch. Maybe they’re planning on telling him later.
He pulls on his favorite hoodie and a pair of shorts before he leaves, grabbing his car keys (yeah, it’s still a miracle that he even learned how to drive), and heads to his car. The sun’s bright today, and he squints, slamming the car door shut after him.
First stop… the place Saihara confessed… The Hope’s Peak Academy front gates? Ouma raises an eyebrow, starting up the car. Yeah, that’s the place. As if he could forget so easily.
”Saihara-chan. Why are you giving me a rose?” Ouma asks, staring at the red flower skeptically. Saihara scratches the back of his neck, looking nervous.
”Um… I have something to tell you,” Saihara explains quickly, before thrusting the red rose into his chest. “I really, really like you, Ouma-kun!”
Ouma stares at the flower. Then at Saihara. Then back to the flower. “Wait, you what?” Ouma asks, mouth dropping in disbelief. Saihara nods shyly, turning his head away.
Of course, he accepted. Though, it took a bit of persuading himself to do so, he managed. And it’s safe to say, he’ll never regret accepting that confession.
Well, Momota should be there, anyhow, and the drive is relatively short. Ouma’s curiosity grows by the minute.
Parked outside the high school, he squints, and makes out Momota’s familiar form through the window.
Huh. Momota-chan’s here.
He’s standing there, relaxed, just outside the school. Ouma makes his way to the astronaut, skipping down the sidewalk. Momota notices him before Ouma can say anything.
He holds a hand up in greeting, surprisingly not shooting him an insult upon sight. “Yo, Ouma.” He says simply, and Ouma almost rears back. Okay… who is this? Momota would never call him by his given name.
Ouma skids to a halt in front of him, eyeing him suspiciously. Momota sighs, the hand that was previously in his pocket pulling out a familiar looking object.
“Well, first, happy birthday, I guess,” Momota says, dropping the item into Ouma’s opened hand.
It’s a chess piece. A pawn, to be exact. But what can Ouma do with this?
“Shuichi’s telling me to give you this, but I dunno why, so don’t ask. You’re supposed to head to Maki next, at the place you guys had your first date,” Momota explains. Ouma crosses his arms, the chess piece in his hand.
“Wow, Momota-chan sure is being nice to me today, nishishi!” He chirps, smirking. A flash of annoyance flickers across Momota’s face, and the astronaut clicks his tongue.
“You really had to ruin the moment, huh,” Momota sighs. Ouma raises an eyebrow.
“The moment? What moment?” He deadpans. Momota shakes his head giving him a nudge.
“Well, Harumaki’s waiting, don’t be too long or she might actually kill you,” he urges. Ouma huffs.
“Momota-chan’s worried about me now. This is interesting.”
“…Shut up. I’m trying to tolerate you for today.”
The place Shumai and I had our first date,” Ouma thinks, That would be the Hope’s Peak Cafe just down the street.
Ouma remembers the place by heart, because he and Saihara actually went back to the cafe many times, even before they started dating three years ago. Ouma remembers their first official date very clearly: Saihara was still a stuttering mess around him, even after gaining confidence from Akamatsu and Momota.
”Would Saihara-chan pay for my food~?” Ouma teases, clinging to Saihara’s arm. In all honestly, he didn’t really intend to have Saihara pay for him, but teasing the detective is way too fun.
”A-ah. Yeah, I would,” Saihara murmurs, face displaying a cute blush. Ouma feels his heart skips a beat, and his gaze travels to the floor.
Ouma fidgets with the chess piece in his hand. He’s still curious about it, obviously… Saihara’s better explain it soon. He doesn’t like being left in the dark.
The cafe is opened, still the same as Ouma remembers. He leaves the car, searching around for Harukawa. When he finds that she isn’t outside, he concludes that she’s probably inside.
As soon as he walks inside, he notices Harukawa sitting at one of the tables alone, her eyes glued to her phone screen.
Woah. Harukawa-chan’s here, too. Hopefully she doesn’t murder me, nishishi, he thinks, amused.
She wears a simple turtleneck sweater, and her hairstyle is the same as usual— tied into pigtails. Unlike Momota, she doesn’t notice as Ouma comes closer: it’s only when he calls her name and slides into the seat across from her, that she notices.
“Harukawa-chan!” He calls, settling into the comfortable chair. She freezes, eyes darting up to him, before realizing it’s him.
“Oh, it’s just you,” she mutters, closing her phone and pocketing it. He pouts, leaning back in his chair.
“How rude, could’ve at least said hi!” He gasps in mock offense, garnering a snort from Harukawa.
“Well, since you’re here,” she begins, ignoring his last statement, “Have this piece. Saihara-kun said your next stop is the place you had your first kiss, and Amami-kun will be there.”
Harukawa hands him another chess piece: this time, a knight. He stares at it, trying to wrap his brain around what’s happening.
Ouma can’t exactly decipher what’s going on entirely, but he’s suspecting it’s all leading to something important.
Did Harukawa just say Amami was next? Is Saihara roping all their friends into this scheme?
Then, he remembers something. Of all the classmates he’d received texts from, Momota and Harukawa weren’t included. Neither were Amami, Iruma, or Akamatsu. Is he supposed to be meeting them next?
He smiles to himself, eyes sparkling. This just got real interesting.
Harukawa leaves the cafe shortly after, with a simple “My job here’s done.” Ouma leaves, too, but heads to a different destination.
The place he and Saihara had their first kiss. Jabberwock Park.
Upon Ouma’s insistence one evening, Saihara brings him along to the park for a walk. Really, it was just to observe the nature and spend time with each other, but it surprisingly develops into something more.
”Ouma-kun? What are you doing?” Saihara asks as the two of them sit on the bench, side by side and holding hands. Ouma hadn’t realized it himself, but as he was busy staring at Saihara’s face, he had leant in, very close, until his lips was mere centimeters away from the other’s face. His cheeks heat up, and he leans back.
”Huh? What do you mean, Saihara-chan? I wasn’t doing anything,” Ouma insists. Saihara locks eyes with him for a moment, before leaning in and suddenly pressing his lips against Ouma’s.
Ouma’s eyes widen a fraction. Confusion, excitement, adrenaline, surprise, all flash through him, and he freezes.
Saihara pulls off almost as fast as he even leaned in, and apologized. “Sorry, was that too much?” Saihara murmurs, worry in his eyes. Ouma blinks, before throwing himself onto Saihara, re-locking their lips.
Ouma whistles to himself as he walks towards the benches, hands wrapped around the two chess pieces in his pocket. Will Amami be giving him something next?
Sure enough, Amami’s sitting on the bench with his phone. Amami notices him from the distance, and waves, smiling brightly.
“Hey, Amami-chan!” He calls out, running towards the green-haired male. Ouma can say with confidence that Amami’s basically his older brother. As soon as Ouma reaches him, Amami fluffs up his hair.
“Hey, Ouma-kun. Happy birthday,” he says, grinning. Ouma pulls back, trying to fix his hair.
“So touchy! I bet you missed me, didn’t you?” Ouma teases. Amami snorts in amusement.
“I just saw you yesterday, don’t be ridiculous,” he replies, and then he opens a hand to reveal yet another chess piece.
A bishop.
“Anyways, happy birthday. This is what you came here for, yeah?” Amami asks, handing him the piece. Ouma takes it, inspecting it in the sunlight.
“Haha yep, still dunno what it’s for, though,” Ouma sighs, pocketing the piece. The other two lie there innocently.
“I heard Saihara-kun has something special prepared for you,” Amami notes. Ouma tilts his head, shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets.
“Huhh, really?” He asks, interested. Amami nods, checking his phone again.
“Yeah. Anyways, he told me that you’re to head to Akamatsu-san next. At the place you first let your feelings out to him,” Amami informs him, a coy smile on his cheeks. Ouma feels his cheeks heat up just slightly.
That’s… embarrassing, but okay.
“Good to know! Well, I’ll head out now, Amami-chan,” he says, waving. The green-haired male waves back, and Ouma heads in the direction of Jabberwock Garden.
It’s nearby, only a ten minute walk away. Ouma remembers the day he had broken down in front of Saihara very clearly. He wasn’t at his best, that’s for sure, but it’s special to the both of them since it’s the first time he had all his walls down in front of anyone.
”I don’t get it,” he cries, the lamps around them dimly lighting the night sky, “Four months. Four whole months, and you still haven’t broken up with me. Why?!”
”Ouma-kun,” Saihara whispers, a hand reaching for his cheek. Ouma slaps it away, trying his hardest to blink his tears away. Saihara doesn’t relent, though, reaching for both his cheeks and holding them gently in his palms.
”Ouma-kun. It’s because I don’t want to break up with you. I care about you, isn’t that obvious now?” Saihara murmurs, voice soft but surprisingly firm. Ouma stares pointedly at the ground, refusing to listen.
”You’re lying. I hate liars, Saihara-chan. How could anyone want to be with me for more than even a month?” Ouma whispers. Saihara presses a soft kiss against his lips, and the tears flow freely from Ouma’s eyes.
”There’s something I would say now to make you feel better, but it might be too fast,” Saihara whispers against his lips, “But know that I really do care for you. I wouldn’t trade our relationship for the world. You can tell if I’m lying, right?”
Ouma sniffles, pulling back, and covers his face with an arm. He knows Saihara’s telling the truth: he can hear it. But to be able to put up with him for so long… it’s practically the work of a saint. So how..?
Suddenly, Saihara freezes. “…Unless you…” He starts, sounding guilty. “Unless you don’t want to be with me?”
Ouma swears his heart shatters a bit at those words.
”N-no!” Ouma blurts out, wrapping his arms around Saihara’s waist. “Don’t leave! I want… I want you to stay.”
Saihara seems surprised for a moment, but quickly returns the hug. Ouma decides, maybe it’s okay to indulge in this relationship a little longer. Until the inevitable downfall of their relationship, of course.
More than two and a half years later, and they’re still together.
When he arrives at the park, he looks around. Where’s Akamatsu?
“Ouma-kun!” Ouma turns around upon hearing his name being called, and sees Akamatsu waving at him from the flower path, holding onto a sunhat above her blonde hair. “Over here!”
He makes his way to the pianist, and right as he arrives, she holds out another chess piece. This time, it’s a rook.
“Happy birthday! This is for you! It’s the rook, right?” Akamatsu guesses, and Ouma takes the piece from her hand.
“Right-o, Akamatsu-chan!” He chirps, closing his fist over the piece. He looks up at her, gaze curious. “Do you have any idea what Shuichi’s up to?”
Akamatsu’s fiddles with her sleeve, eyes raised to the sky thoughtfully. “I have a vague idea. Iruma-san probably knows, though— I heard that she helped Shuichi prepare. Oh yeah, Shuichi wants you to go to her next, at... the place you guys first revealed your relationship to us!”
Ouma blinks. That’s an interesting choice, because the place they first revealed their relationship to the others was at Iruma’s house. Which is, by far, probably the blandest place anyone could choose.
...Well, maybe there’s a reason for it. He’ll just have to go along with it, he guesses.
“Okaaaay… I’ll be going then, see you whenever, Akamatsu-chan!” he sings. Akamatsu hums, nodding happily in agreement.
As Ouma situates himself into his car, fastening his seatbelt, he notices something underneath the rook piece that Akamatsu had given him. He wouldn’t have noticed, had it not been placed directly under the sunlight, but it’s there nonetheless.
It’s a small latch, one that nearly camouflages with the black piece. It looks extremely well crafted, too.
Huh. This must be Iruma-chan’s doing, Ouma realizes, nudging a fingernail underneath the opening. It pops right open. Impressive, to be able to make something like this without me figuring out. Kudos to you, Iruma-chan.
There’s a small, hidden compartment. In that compartment, lies a rolled up sheet of paper. Ouma looks at it warily, before pulling it out. It unravels by itself, and Ouma takes a look at what’s on the paper.
”ph”
“…ph? What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Ouma wonders aloud, flipping it over to check for anything behind. Nothing. He pulls out the previous three pieces, laying them on his lap.
If this one has a hidden compartment, the others might too, Ouma thinks, flipping all three upside down. As he thought, the three also have the small latches wedged into the base of the piece. Ouma’s lips quirk into a smirk.
Saihara had this all planned out. A puzzle, per se: if Ouma hadn’t caught the rook in the light, he would’ve never found out. He guesses that Saihara had intended for him to find out, by having Iruma craft the chess pieces this way.
It honestly still amazes Ouma how much Saihara can do to shock him. He’s never a bore, and offers fun puzzles to keep him entertained. Damn, Ouma really has it for him…
He thinks he falls a little more in love.
Ouma opens the compartments for the other three chess pieces, gathering the slips of papers he finds inside, and sets them in front of himself. In the order of which he got them, it reads:
”Zloo”
”brx”
”pduub”
And with last slip, it reads “Zloo brx pduub ph.” Assuming that’s the order the notes are supposed to be in, that is. But what the hell does that even mean? It seems like a bunch of gibberish scrambled together.
Ouma folds the papers neatly in half, tucking them into his pocket. He’s assuming that Iruma will have another piece, most likely a queen, for him, and that someone else will come along and get him a king. Maybe then, he can decipher what the notes contain.
Decipher…
Ouma raises an eyebrow. Maybe it’s a code? A secret message? Though, he does have to wonder if there’s anything he can use to decode it. He and Saihara were studying ciphers a few weeks back, he remembers. He’ll have to figure out which one, if any, that Saihara is using in the notes.
Maybe his analytical skills aren’t the best, but he can assume for the time being.
Ouma starts up his car. The next stop is Iruma’s house. He smiles when he remembers their reactions to his and Saihara’s new relationship, because wow, they were excited.
”This might be a bit overdue,” Saihara says, and then wraps an arm around Ouma’s shoulders. The seven other students (Amami, Iruma, Akamatsu, Momota, Harukawa, Keebo, and Shirogane) sitting in Iruma’s living room for their small house party look up from the board game, and notice their close contact.
”We’re dating,” Ouma reveals simply. It goes deathly quiet for a moment.
”Holy shit…” Iruma whispers, eyes widening. Ouma’s lips curl into a smug grin, directing it to Iruma, who still has disbelief written all over her face.
”You guys… are dating?” Shirogane asks, her expression contorting into one of delight. At Saihara’s affirming nod, she squeals, and turns to Akamatsu, who beams at the revelation.
”I knew it!” Shirogane exclaims, and then points a finger to Momota. “Pay up, Momota-kun!”
Saihara practically chokes, and Momota holds his hands up defensively. “H-hey, what are you coming after me for? I didn’t make a bet or anything, hah…” Harukawa scoffs in disbelief, but Ouma swears he sees a small smile on her face.
”You bet on us.” Ouma remarks flatly, earning himself a pensive look from Momota, who sighs and pulls out a twenty dollar bill. Shirogane grins evilly, pocketing the bill.
”Well… this is certainly surprisingly, but I assumed you’d get together soon anyways,” Amami comments, smiling softly. Ouma shoots him a thumbs up in acknowledgement.
”I don’t exactly understand human emotions and dating very well,” Keebo begins, “but, I wish Saihara-kun and Ouma-kun a healthy relationship.”
Ouma’s a bit taken aback by the robot’s words. Well, at the end of the day, he’s still capable of human emotions.
”Heyyy, Keeboy! You’re not bad for a robot, nishishi!” Ouma exclaims, and Keebo looks caught between offended and pleased.
”It went well, didn’t it?” Ouma whispers, nudging Saihara in the side. Saihara winces, but has a huge smile on his face.
”Yeah,” Saihara agrees, “We shouldn’t have worried so much, huh?”
As the memory fades out, Ouma pulls up to Iruma’s driveway. He looks out the window.
Oh. I don’t even have to go inside, she’s just standing there, Ouma notices, seeing Iruma standing outside her door. She’s dressed up as if she’s going out somewhere, and is staring directly at his car.
When he skips up to her, she snorts. “Sure kept me waiting, shrimpdick,” she says. Ouma sticks his tongue out.
“Hey, you could stand to be a little nicer on my birthday,” he complains, crossing his arms. Iruma waves him off.
“Did you expect that treatment from me? You’re a fucking moron,” she says, a teasing glint in her eyes. Ouma sticks his tongue out at her defiantly.
Iruma rolls her eyes, holding up a piece, and as Ouma had guessed, it’s a queen piece. “Take this last piece before I chuck it onto the road, ya gremlin,” she grumbles, and drops it into Ouma’s hand. A quick once-over, and he confirms that there’s a small indentation in the bottom, signifying that there’s another hidden compartment. Noted.
And then he repeats Iruma’s last words in his head. Wait, rewind. Last piece?
“Hm? What do you mean, last piece?” Ouma asks. Iruma pauses to stare at him for a minute, before crossing her arms.
“Eh. Well, last piece before Shyhara, I guess,” Iruma mumbles. His heart skips a beat. He hadn’t seen the detective since early this morning, he wonders what Saihara’s got in store for him.
Oh yeah. Iruma-chan’s the one who crafted these pieces. She must know what’s going on.
“Hey. Iruma-chan, what’s going on?” He asks, twirling the piece in his fingers. Iruma adverts her eyes to stare upwards.
“Well, even if I did know, I wouldn’t tell you. But, Shyhara didn’t even tell me, even if we were technically working together.” Iruma clicks her tongue, shrugging. “Anyways, go meet your sappy boyfriend at the place you first told him you love him. You’ll figure it out soon enough.”
Ouma’s gaze lingers on Iruma for a moment, before he nods in acceptance. Then, he frowns.
“What the hell are you doing, so dressed up and everything?” He questions, eyeing her outfit. She stiffens, and then glares at him in offense.
“Huh? What’s it to you?” She asks, pulling back a bit. Ouma snorts.
“Whatever, if you’re gonna be going to a club later, it’s not like I can stop you,” he remarks slyly. She huffs, but doesn’t reveal where she’s going.
“Oh yeah, before you go, happy birthday, you little shit,” she says, her hands on her hips. Ouma pouts, poking her in the ribs.
“You’re still a meanie. That won’t change,” he insults. She pushes his hand away insistently, shooing him away.
“Go! Don’t keep your stupid boyfriend waiting,” she says.
Okay… he supposes it’s about time he steel his nerves and finally get going.
As he’s buckling himself into the driver’s seat, he takes out the queen piece. Opening the small compartment in the bottom, he takes out the rolled-up paper inside.
”Rxpd”
Now, Ouma’s almost certain it’s some sort of code he has to decipher. If he were to guess, it would most likely be a shift cipher, but if it were, he’d have to know the number of letters the original message was shifted…
Well, in any case, his next destination is Jabberwock Beach. The place Ouma first told Saihara he loved him.
Saihara was the first to tell him those three words. Ouma hadn’t returned them until weeks after. It’s not because he didn’t love him, but it was more because he actually did that he had waited. He hadn’t ever been in love before: it’s certainly a scary concept, but honestly exhilarating. He just wasn’t ready to say those words for the first time, though.
Ouma trudges through the cold sand, watching the stars that fill up the night sky. He walks hand in hand with Saihara, an earbud plugged into each of their ears.
They both pause, water sloshing around their feet. Saihara turns towards the ocean, and when Ouma stares into his golden-yellow eyes, softly glowing in the moonlight, he swears he sees the ocean swimming in them.
The breath feels knocked out of his lungs. Damn, he’s really in love with Saihara…
The music ends, and Saihara hums. The grip on Ouma’s hand tightens. “I love you, Kokichi,” Saihara breathes. The third time he’s said it so far. And Ouma’s mouth opens faster than he can even process.
”I love you, too.”
The happiness on Saihara’s face, and the way he practically lights up in the dark beach, makes it all the better.
Ouma follows the familiar path down to the beach, retracing the steps from before. He reaches a familiar stone, and then his gaze travels upwards, towards the beach.
Ouma’s breath hitches. Saihara…
Saihara’s standing there, his back faced to him. His hair is gently carried to the side by the breeze, and he literally looks majestic. A model, straight out of a TV show. Saihara seems to notice him lingering to the side, and he turns his head slowly. When their eyes meet, Saihara smiles.
Ouma quickly makes his way over to Saihara, who wraps him in a tight hug. “Happy birthday, Kokichi. I love you,” he whispers. Ouma almost misses it, from the strong gust of wind that brushes past him, but it’s there. He hears it.
“Nishishi. Saihara-chan’s being awwwwfully suspicious,” Ouma comments, but it comes out more fond than teasing. Saihara lets out a light chuckle, then pulls away, reaching into his pocket. He pulls out the final chess piece: the king.
“I’m sure you’ve figured out the secret behind these pieces, right?” Saihara asks, handing him the piece. Ouma nods, rolling the king over, and then proceeds to open the compartment in front of him.
“I wonder what my beloved has in store for me?” He teases, pulling out the rolled-up slip. He doesn’t miss the flicker of doubt that passes Saihara’s face in that split second.
“Nrnlfkl?”
Together, the whole message reads, “Zloo brx pduub ph Rxpd Nrnlfkl?” Ouma rewinds to a few weeks back, when he and Saihara had worked together to learn a specific cipher.
“Caesar Shift,” he murmurs. Then, louder, he looks up to Saihara, gaze questioning. “Caesar Shift, am I right?”
Saihara’s lips quirk into a smile, and he nods. “I knew you’d figure it out,” he says, and it sounds proud. “The shift of letters is the number of years we’ve been together.”
Caesar Shift, one of the simplest ciphers out there. One would select a number of letters to shift to, and the encoded message would comprise of the letters that the original message had been shifted, or encrypted, to. Decrypting it would be easy: Ouma would just have to figure out how many letters the original message had shifted, and work backwards from there.
The amount of years he and Saihara have been together. Three. So the shift would be three.
With shaky hands, Ouma pulls out all the notes, holding them in his hands in the order he received them. It’s time to decode them, he guesses.
Zloo —> Will
brx —> you
pduub —> marry
ph —> me
Rxpd —> Ouma
Nrnlfkl? —> Kokichi?
Ouma’s mouth drops, and he snaps his eyes up to meet Saihara’s. Saihara smiles shyly, before dropping to one knee, and oh my god I can’t do this reaches into his pocket. He pulls out a small box, and Ouma knows what it is, but he can’t bring himself to process the information.
What if he wakes up and this is all a dream? There’s no way in hell Saihara could be proposing to him, now.
“I think you’ve got the message by now,” Saihara starts, and opens the box to reveal a silver band embedded with blue and purple gems. “But… you don’t realize how happy you make me, Kokichi. We’ve been together for three years now, and not once during that time, did I think that I wouldn’t want to marry you in the future.” Saihara laughs breathily. “I guess the future is... now. Ultimately, I don’t want to force anything upon you. It’s up to you. I love you, and happy birthday, Kokichi.”
Ouma feels his legs tremble beneath him, and he drops to the ground, the small slips of papers fluttering onto the sand around them. Saihara yelps, holding Ouma up by the hand that isn’t occupied by the ring. He feels the tears well up in his eyes, and he quickly adverts his gaze.
“This… you aren’t lying, are you?” Ouma whispers, “I don’t want to wake up to this just being a dream.”
Saihara’s expression goes from panicked to soft all in a split second, and he smiles. “It’s the truth, ‘Kichi. So, will you marry me?”
Ouma bites his lip, unable to let the answer out. Instead, he conveys the message by pushing his hand forwards to Saihara. His boyfriend’s eyes widen in shock, before settling both of them into the sand. A warm hand picks up Ouma’s own, and slips the ring onto his finger. It fits perfectly.
“Wow. I’m glad I got the right size,” Saihara breathes, sounding dazed. Ouma wipes at his eyes, and then pulls Saihara into a hug, burying his head into his shoulder.
“I love you, too. And, you’ll be the one crying at our wedding. I promise you,” he says, with no heat behind his words whatsoever. Saihara lets out a muffled sniffle into his shoulder, and holds him.
While Ouma was always happy with their relationship, just being boyfriends, he can say with utmost certainty that this makes him ecstatic beyond words. Simply dating Saihara was enough, but now being engaged to the man he loves… it offers a sort of comfort he never knew he would receive.
He smiles into Saihara’s shoulder, letting the tears run freely.
*Bonus*
“Surprise!” A chorus of screams echo around Ouma, and he almost rears back out of his house. Well, he tries, but Saihara’s standing behind him, and catches him, laughing.
“What took you guys so fucking long! I’m starving here, you know!” Iruma shouts, holding a birthday hat. Ouma watches in unadulterated horror as Iruma walks towards him almost menacingly, trying very obviously to put the hat onto his head. He shrieks, trying to duck, but it’s futile: it gets snapped directly over his head.
“Happy birthday, Ouma-kun!” Both Amami and Akamatsu chorus, fist-bumping each other. Ouma notices Toujo hovering in the back with a large cake, offering him a small smile.
Counting everyone in the room, he totals sixteen, including him and Saihara. Everyone’s here, he realizes. A soft smile slips onto his face instinctively. Everyone’s here, huh?
Well, leave it to Iruma to ruin the mood. Actually, he’s a bit thankful: he’s wasted enough tears today.
”Is that a ring? Holy shit, I think the gremlin’s wearing a ring!” She shrieks, and everyone’s eyes snap to Ouma’s hand. He hides it discreetly behind himself, smirking triumphantly.
“What?” He asks innocently. Akamatsu gasps.
“That’s what the whole setup was for? You guys went and got engaged?” Akamatsu asks, sounding disbelieving and excited. Saihara nods sheepishly, and everyone other than his five helpers looked around, confused.
“But, yeah,” Ouma interrupts the chaos, holding up his hand. “We’re engaged, bitches.”
The room erupts into screams again.