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Living in a video game was not the glitter and rainbows fantasy escapism-loving nerds would believe it to be. Living in a video game meant going through long, boring dialogues with NPCs and accidentally triggering fetch quests that wouldn’t let you progress through the game till you collected twenty different types of flowers for Julia the florist. A florist who by all means should be collecting her own damn flowers and not forcing Kokichi and Shuichi to run around the map to find them for her.
Kokichi and Shuichi had been stuck in the real-life version of a cheesy dating simulator for about a week now. Or maybe not, time was weird in the video game world. They’d just gotten used to life at the academy when Monokuma announced that he would be sending Kokichi and Shuichi, and only Kokichi and Shuichi, to a video game world to “boost the show’s ratings”. Kokichi still couldn’t figure out what the motive was for sending the two of them specifically.
While Shuichi and Kokichi were the only ones who were actually in the game, the rest of the people in Monokuma’s reality TV show appeared in the form of NPCs. They had the same names and appearances but were clearly cheap imitations of the real thing.
Their obvious fakeness didn’t detract from the pang in Kokichi’s heart whenever Shuichi would use a cheesy pick-up line on NPC Kaede, or gift NPC Kaito a bouquet of purple flowers. Sure, they had to romance all the NPCs in order to complete the game and be allowed to leave, but it still sucked.
At the moment, Shuichi was tapping away at the in-game menu screen to give gifts to Rantaro in an attempt to increase their love points. Each time progress in a relationship was made, a “+1 Love Point!” would pop up in the air that resembled pink-stained bubbles. Shuichi made the decision to try the new gift he bought, a love potion-infused candy. In the description, it was said to make the recipient more inclined to act on their romantic feelings.
Kokichi’s train of thought was cut off by a panicked “Oh shoot,” that came from Shuichi.
“What happened?” Kokichi raised an eyebrow.
“I— uh, I clicked the wrong button.”
“What?”
“The love candy— I accidentally gifted it to you.”
Oh no. No way. Soon enough, a heart-shaped candy materialized in his hand.
Shuichi’s face grew with concern. “I mean, it’s not like you have to eat it right?”
The game had a sick sense of humor apparently because as soon as Shuichi said that, an uncontrollable force moved Kokichi’s hand and forced the candy into his mouth. It had a sugary strawberry taste that Kokichi quite enjoyed, but he couldn’t savor it over the panic of having just ingested a love-potion candy.
“Damn you Shuichi and your stupid, pretty fingers clicking all the wrong buttons!” Kokichi blurted out and slapped a hand over his mouth. Pretty . He called Shuichi’s fingers pretty while trying to insult him. Sure, he slung excessive compliments at Shuichi all the time, but in those moments he had control and could play it off as a joke, a very important aspect he was missing at the moment.
“I— I’m really sorry Kokichi, I’m sure it’ll fade soon,” Shuichi stammered, although he didn’t sound too sure of what he was saying.
This stupid love candy was making him act ridiculous and he could not risk embarrassing himself. But that was a difficult task when heat kept rushing to Kokichi’s face and his heart wouldn’t stop beating no matter how hard he willed it to.
“Kokichi, are you okay?”
“No! I am very much not okay because everything is hot, I’m sweaty, and your eyes are way too fucking beautiful to be real.” Kokichi slapped himself in the face before he spewed out more nonsense. It was like he had lost control over his mouth.
“Kokichi!” Shuichi yelped and grabbed his wrist away from his face. His lips formed a worried pout that Kokichi wouldn’t mind kissing. “Let’s go back to the inn, okay? You don’t look too well.”
“And you look too well, but you don’t hear me complaining about it!”
A bright flush of red appeared on Shuichi’s face as he let out a quiet squeak. His grip on Kokichi’s wrist weakened and muttered something about “grammatical incorrectness.”
No way in hell was Shuichi going to grab his wrist just to let go. Kokichi’s love-potioned mind made the executive decision to worsen the situation by slipping his wrist out of Shuichi’s hand just to intertwine their fingers together.
Shuichi’s jaw dropped slightly before he quickly shut it and not so subtly covered the shock with a cough. If he objected to the hand-holding, he stayed quiet about it. In fact, neither of them spoke on the entire walk back to the inn. Kokichi would often fill the lull during times like this, but he was too busy forcing his mouth to stay closed.
Once they made their way to their shared room, effectively abandoning the Rantaro NPC, Shuichi let go of Kokichi’s hand so he could shakily shove a key into the lock. The inside of the room was full of cutesy decor and two lush, frilly beds, matching the lovey-dovey theme of the game. Kokichi dove headfirst into his bed and buried himself in the soft covers. He hated this game, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t like the beds that were provided. And Kokichi would never, ever lie.
Turning his head, Kokichi saw the taller boy staring down at him with a blush on his cheeks. When he realized he was caught, the redness only grew worse.
“Shuichi,” Kokichi whined and reached his hand out, “You can’t keep staring at me like that, because if you do I’ll definitely try to tackle you into bed to cuddle.” He giggled at his own misfortune. There was nothing he could do to stop himself from saying any thought about Shuichi that popped to mind; all he could do was laugh loud enough to cover it up.
“I mean, I wouldn’t mind that.”
Pillows flew off the bed as Kokichi untangled himself from the sheets. Did the potion give him hallucinations too? Because there was no way Shuichi just said that.
“You better not be messing with me, Shuichi. It’s not kind to play with a boy’s feelings, y'know? I’ll have to have my goons come after you if you are.”
“I’m not!” Shuichi claimed a little too loudly. “I just, I don’t know, it’s not a bad idea. If you really want to, we can, it doesn't need to be weird…”
If Kokichi hadn’t eaten that stupid love candy, maybe he would think twice about this offer. Maybe he would consider the implications of cuddling the guy you were possibly developing a crush on. But those were all possibilities that would never be answered because Kokichi immediately pulled back his blanket to make room for the other boy.
Shuichi let out a small sigh of relief and settled into the bed by Kokichi’s side, a dip in the mattress indicating the presence of a new body. The warmth of the cozy blankets was a far cry from the warmth Shuichi’s body was providing. Kokichi needed more of it.
He snaked out an arm and wrapped around Shuichi’s chest, the aforementioned taking a sharp breath. It was so warm, but it wasn’t enough. Kokichi furthered the touch by hoisting himself up until he hovered over Shuichi’s body, his hands on either side of the halo of blue hair that framed the boy’s face.
Shuichi gulped, his Adam's apple bobbed up and down. Kokichi couldn’t help but reach out a finger to trail over the pale skin of Shuichi’s neck, the pad of his finger feeling the increasing heat to the area.
“K- Koki—”
The mischievous boy knocked the air out of Shuichi by letting his arms give out and collapsing onto his chest.
“Well, are you just gonna lie there or do I have to do all the work?” Kokichi snickered. Whether the joke flew over Shuichi’s head, or he just chose to ignore it, Shuichi acknowledged Kokichi’s complaints by gently embracing his back. His arms encircled the shorter boy and pulled him closer to his chest. Their bodies were melded together. Being so close allowed Kokichi to feel every quickening heartbeat and soft exhale from Shuichi’s body.
Kokichi nuzzled his head against the chest beneath him like he was fluffing up a pillow. It was nice being held by Shuichi while surrounded by a fort of cozy blankets. It was one of the few times Kokichi could say he’s ever truly felt safe. Maybe the candy wasn’t so awful if it allowed for this to happen because there was no way in hell he would normally ask Shuichi to cuddle. At least this way he could blame it on outside factors; the wonders of the external locus of control!
A hand on his back began to rub soothing circles, applying just enough force to sooth his muscles without hurting.
“You’re so tense,” Shuichi said in a whisper.
“Well, no need to be rude. I could say the same about you, you always look like you have a stick up your ass.”
Shuichi continued to massage his back despite Kokichi’s crude comment. “I’m not trying to be rude, I’m just saying you can relax now… I want to make sure you aren’t uncomfortable.”
Kokichi’s breath caught in his throat. Stupid, kind, considerate Shuichi. He buried his face against the crook of Shuichi’s neck and let out a whine. “You’re being too nice, did you have one of those love candies too?”
“N-no, I just don’t mind telling you how I feel.”
“Hm, is that supposed to be a jab at me or something?” Kokichi meant for that to come out as a joke but it sounded too much like an actual question. Sometimes he did worry about it - about if Shuichi was dissatisfied with the way Kokichi was. But if that was the case, any budding feelings between them were pointless because Kokichi wasn’t about to do a 180 on his personality for some cute guy.
Except Shuichi wasn’t just “some cute guy.” Kokichi begrudgingly cared about him and what he thought,
no matter how much he tried to lie about that fact to himself.
“Kokichi, that’s not it. I wasn’t trying to say anything about your lying, that’s a part of you, isn’t it? It wouldn’t be fair to say I liked you and then asked you to change. That would make me a liar.”
Like a jack in the box, Kokichi popped up from Shuichi’s embrace.
“What?” Kokichi almost choked.
“W-what?”
“You like me?” His heart was definitely skipping beats now. This situation was going to leave him with a heart attack.
“Well, I thought that was obvious when I agreed to cuddle you. Also when I told you that one time that I would rather go on a date with you rather than all the NPCs.”
Oh yeah. Shuichi did say that. “I thought you meant that in an ‘Oh wow I sure do hate being trapped in a video game and being forced to date husks of people against my will!’ Not an ‘Oh I really like you and actually want to date you!’ way! You need to be more direct about these things,” Kokichi groaned.
“I told you I don’t mind telling you how I feel, I never said I was good at it.” Shuichi averted his gaze, clearly feeling embarrassed.
Because Kokichi was generous (whipped), he decided to take mercy on the boy beneath him.
“Since I’m still on my love candy high, I guess I have to be the one to say how I feel in a proper way then.” Kokichi cleared his throat before launching into his confession. “Shuichi, my love, my one and only— Stop laughing!”
Shuichi’s face was flushed red and laughter spilled from his mouth. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s just funny when you’re being overdramatic.”
“I’m… I’m not being overdramatic. I’m trying to be genuine right now,” Kokichi’s voice cracked.
Shuichi stared at him with a smug grin, not falling for the fake tears welling in Kokichi’s eyes.
“Alright yeah, I’m fucking with you. My beloved knows me too well,” Kokichi smiled softly, “That’s probably why I like him so much.”
That wiped Shuichi’s smug grin straight off his face, instead replacing it with a dopey smile. Shuichi hugged Kokichi back down to his chest and whispered softly into his ear, “I like you too.”
The hot breath sent a shiver down Kokichi’s body. “God, you’re so sappy.”
“Maybe.” The smile in Shuichi’s voice was obvious without even seeing his face. The pair continued to enjoy their embrace for the night. Occasional words would be shared between them, but for the most part, they just enjoyed the warmth and soft touches that each provided.
“Kokichi, are you… are you purring?”
“You’ll shut your mouth right now if you know what’s good for you.”
If either of them noticed the continuous “+1 Love Point!” achievements popping up throughout the night, they didn’t mention it.