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The carriage door closes behind him, and every nerve in Kokichi’s body flies into fight mode. He’s snuck out of his castle plenty of times, whether it be to see Shuichi or run off into the woods with Dice. Hell, he even managed to trick a group of bandits out of robbing him during one of these escapades- and ended up stealing from them instead! He’s the most talented liar he knows. If anyone could do this, it was him. He was Crown Prince Kokichi of Jabberwock, after all!
Well… I suppose now he was Naegi Makoto, wasn’t he?
It isn’t difficult for him to blend into the busy crowd of advisors and other various guards stationed to secure the newly wedded prince and princess. Kokichi can’t help but mock them—internally, at least. No way was he about to risk all of this turning to manure by making a stupid slip up.
“Return to your steeds! We will be moving onward shortly!” That’s as good a cue of any. He’s careful to keep his posture slack, the farthest from ‘elegant’ of what had been drilled into him since forever. Despite all this, and the hood obscuring his face, he still feels out of place. As though everyone’s eyes are on him, like they know what he’s done. What he is.
Kokichi does his best to hold back a shiver thinking of his parents’ words spitting with venom, but the chill wracks his body. He clenches his jaw. Dammit, I’m really off my game. Kyoko had been understanding, which he was beyond grateful for, but he could almost guarantee that anyone else here would burn him at the stake if given the chance.
His earrings. He’d forgotten to take off the earrings.
Well, it’s not necessarily that he forgot. It was never part of his daily schedule to begin with—hell, he didn’t even take them off when he slept. But if someone saw him wearing flashy gold and shimmering sapphires? God, he wouldn’t make it another ten minutes. Alright, I can do it. I’ve fooled pop and the old hag with this trick, everything will be swell.
He glances around, taking count of the number of people around him. Not too crowded, but enough that he won’t cause a scene… he trips over his next step, barely bracing himself as he falls to the ground. The hood covers just enough to allow one hand to reach up underneath without being too obvious. When the earrings are removed, he peers up from the hood and shakes his head to clear hair from his vision. A guard is approaching him, with an annoyed glare in his eyes.
“Get your ass up! We don’t pay you to stumble around and eat dirt!”
“Yes, sir. Apologies, sir.”
“Damn commoners…” The soldier scoffs, striding forward. Kokichi immediately takes a breath of relief, the two earrings giving him a sense of security in his palm. He smears a bit more dust and grime on his face, then slips the sapphires into one of his deep pockets as he stands. Others around him spare him the quickest of glances, as though an attempt to sympathize with him. Good; he’s even blending in with the commoners themselves.
Kokichi can’t afford to dawdle, though. He needs to catch up in order to fall behind. Black horse, white spots, braid in mane, he repeats in his head like a mantra. It doesn’t take long to spot Lucky Stars, the carefully braided mane with a lavender colored ribbon causing her to stand out. Kokichi holds back a smile. How endearing… Kyoko was right. Makoto truly was a good man.
“Hey, Lucky Stars,” Kokichi coos, holding a hand out for her to sniff. She appears unimpressed at first, huffing and turning her head away. Kokichi grabs her by the rein, trying to keep his desperation in check. “Here, girl. Come on, take it easy.” With a bit more persuading, Lucky Stars eventually sniffs at his hood. She must recognize Makoto’s scent, as she reluctantly allows Kokichi to climb upon her back. “Good girl,” Kokichi breathes, sighing in relief. He pats her along the neck, adjusting himself on the saddle. He’s made it this far. Just a bit more.
He’s almost back to his love. To Shuichi.
The convoy begins moving once more. He ushers Lucky Stars ahead gently, certainly not in any rush. By now, the adrenaline is pounding through his veins. Every impulsive urge in him wants to turn around, try and make his escape now, but he knows that won’t get him anywhere but perhaps prison.
Be patient, my love, Shuichi would say to him. There are some things you can’t rush.
Kokichi knows he’s right. But he can’t help his twitching fingers, grasping and releasing the rein between stiff fingers. He can’t help but stare at the sun, wishing it would set sooner. Sure, even in broad daylight he could likely break away without anyone even noticing. But he wanted to wait until nighttime.
Nighttime is your favorite, Shuichi knows.
But it’s also when he had to part with his beloved.
Then maybe you’ll get back in time for us to reconnect at sunrise.
Shuichi was waiting for him. Shuichi would always wait for him, and he knew that.
That’s likely what kept him composed, the knowledge that Shuichi truly did love him. It was long before he had accepted that. Far too long, he thought bitterly, knowing now what he did. If only he hadn’t been so stubborn… perhaps those extra few moments could have changed something.
That didn’t matter now, though. Because he could recount every moment with him. He could remember every kiss, every touch, every dance, every embrace and every one of their encounters deep in the night. Most importantly, he could recall Shuichi’s words, and believe them wholeheartedly.
I love you, Shuichi had said, countless times. It made his heart ache, because it was true. Not even he could run from that.
Kokichi counts the seconds as he rides along, steadily falling to the back of the convoy. Minutes pass, then hours. Until finally, the sky is painted with deep blues and purples, along with streaks of gold. The sunset reminds him of Shuichi, like he’s calling all the way from the kingdom. Come back to me.
I’m on my way, Kokichi promises. His heart begins to patter. Now is the time.
The final shadows of night fall upon the convoy and various riders begin to light oil lamps to guide their way. Kokichi has spent long enough running through wooded paths to know that he’ll need nothing more than the moonlight to guide him home. The moment the opportunity reveals itself, Kokichi turns Lucky Stars around and begins to retrace the path they’ve taken. He trots at first, then begins to canter, until he whips the rein and brings her into a full gallop.
His heart pounds in time with every thump of her hooves against the path. He knows that it’ll take hours to get back—that is if he calculated correct, at least—and yet every minute seems to speed by in seconds. Part of him missed this, he realizes. Despite the stakes, he couldn’t deny the thrill of having the wind blow through his hair and the rich scent of nature permeate the air.
Kokichi only stops to allow Lucky Stars some rest, as well as feed and water her. Almost there, he repeats to himself, as he has been for the past… however long it has been. I’m almost there, Shuichi. Wait for me.
He barely realizes that he’s made it through the hidden path he and Dice used to traverse daily until the sound beneath Lucky Stars’ hooves has changed from dirt to stone. He looks up to see distant candle flames lighting the inside of the castle, the moon casting a faint glow across golden trims and stained glass.
Good riddance, he bids, pulling the reins back so she slows to a trot. His parents certainly wouldn’t bother to check in on him in Kyoko’s kingdom, but it would pose a problem if anyone happened to see him sneaking around here.
“Only the three of us will know the truth.”
Sorry, Kyoko… Kokichi snapped the reins and slipped into the treeline. But I’ll have to break our promise just a bit.
Kokichi knows Shuichi better than he knows himself, which means he knows that after the events of today, there’s only one place he could be. Not his home, not with Kaede or Kaito or Maki. The only person who could truly provide him with comfort while also lending a listening ear. That’s where he would be.
Shuichi’s uncle was sitting in his rocking chair upon the front porch when Kokichi trotted into the street and stopped in front of the house. He took one look over Kokichi, sipped his beer, and then laughed like he had been expecting him to come the whole time.
“He’s in the back garden.” Kokichi could only nod, slipping down from Lucky Stars’ back and loosely wrapping the rein around a fencepost. He had been away from Shuichi for far too long. Thus, as expected, he couldn’t bother to go through the house and out the back door like a normal person, no! He dashes alongside the side, squeezing his way through bushes and pulling on his hood as it catches on thorns. He jumps the fence, landing silently in the grass and moving towards the center as he scans the Saiharas’ well-tended garden for that head of blue hair he knows so well. He’s here- he knows he’s here, he just needs to see him—
Kokichi’s breath catches in his throat when he finally finds him. There he is; sitting on a stone in the middle of the garden, surrounded by purple morning glories. His posture is hunched in on itself, head down. He’s fidgeting with something in his hands, but he isn’t shaking. He must have gotten out all of his tears earlier.
I’m here, beloved.
“Shuichi!” he stiffens as he hears Kokichi call his name. No, he’s sure Shuichi is thinking. That can’t be possible—Kokichi is gone. Several seconds pass until Shuichi slowly begins to turn, and then whips around fully, bracing a hand on the rock behind him. Those beautiful, whimsical golden eyes of his widen at the sight of him, mouth gaping wide as he takes a deep breath of chilled night air, and Kokichi can’t help but smile wide.
“Kokichi…” he can barely begin running into his beloved’s arms before Shuichi has already reached him, pulling him in and clutching him to his chest. “ Kokichi! ” Shuichi pulls back from the hug, one hand holding his face while the other pats down his body, desperately trying to make sure that yes, this is the real Kokichi standing in front of him. Once satisfied with his inspection, Shuichi wastes no time grabbing his face with both hands and pulling him into a kiss. Their lips desperately melt into one another, thousands of words unspoken between the two. When Kokichi tries to slip away for a breath of air, Shuichi yanks him right back and exchanges his own breath.
Shuichi always knows how to surprise him. That fact can’t help but make him weak in the knees—it always does. Kokichi grabs fistfuls of Shuichi’s coat for support, barely able to get a breath in before Shuichi’s lips are back on his, sucking away all his air once again. Kokichi’s legs nearly go out underneath him, but Shuichi is quick to keep him upright with an arm around his waist and fingers threaded through his hair. He holds onto him so tightly, as though he fears the moment he lets go Kokichi might fade away, and he probably does. He doesn’t pull away until Kokichi begins to shove at his shoulder, and they finally release for gasps of air.
“Kokichi, you… You- you’re here!” When Shuichi laughs, Kokichi feels his heart swell with every emotion imaginable. I’d give anything in the world just to hear him laugh again, he’d told Kyoko. Oh, by the heavens, was it worth it. It’s the warm, familiar laugh he knows so well. Starting gentle as just a few breaths of air, his lips begin to quirk. His smile grows, stretching until his teeth show, and then the uproar comes. He begins to laugh so hard it’s as though he can’t stand, curling in on himself to keep a sense of balance; then with that comes, as it always does, his strong but gentle squeeze as he grasps a part of Kokichi, be it his arm or his side or his back, in order to keep himself upright.
Kokichi reaches deep into his pockets and pulls out one of the gold-sapphire earrings. He presents it to Shuichi.
“Will you marry me?”
“Will I- whhaht?! ”
“Marry me. You’re my whole universe, Shuichi. I’m infatuated with you. I’m so deeply in love with you, I couldn’t live without you. The last twenty-two hours have been the most painful hours of my life.” He places the earring in Shuichi’s palm, closing his fingers around it before clasping Shuichi’s hand with both of his own. He brings the hand to his lips, kissing his knuckles. “I never want to be apart from you again. So, Shuichi… will you marry me?” Shuichi grasps onto every word, eyes welling with tears the more he speaks. He gives Kokichi his signature, soft, affectionate smile.
“Of course I will, Kokichi.” His response causes the ex-prince to grin, and his eyes follow Shuichi’s in a wave of tears. He’d expected that answer, of course. But to actually hear it come from his lips? Kokichi feels weightless- and not just from the way Shuichi grabs him by the waist and lifts him off his feet, twirling him around before clutching him close to his chest.
“I can’t believe it… you’re really back!”
“That I am, beloved.” And just in time, he thinks to himself, squinting as rays of sunlight begin to spill over the horizon. The sky explodes in soft pinks and oranges, more light shedding upon the two lovers’ reunion. The sunlight makes Shuichi appear as though he’s glowing… though, Kokichi supposes, his beloved is always glowing, in his eyes. He’s beautiful.
“I’m not ever leaving you again. You’re stuck with me for forever.” Shuichi grins, and he has to strain his neck in order to kiss him—funny, given it’s usually the other way around.
“That sounds like the best thing I could ever ask for,” Shuichi laughs, lowering Kokichi to the ground so he can cup his face and kiss him again. His thumb traces his cheek, wiping away some of the dust still there. Shuichi’s voice lowers, eyes gazing into his soul like he’s the most precious treasure of all. “How did you do it?”
Kokichi chuckles, and taps him on the nose. “That’s a secret.” Shuichi understands. It’s not that Kokichi doesn’t want to tell him, but rather he can’t. Not here, at least. Not while they’re in Jabberwock. Shuichi slides the earring back into its rightful place on Kokichi’s ear, then takes a deep breath and meets his eyes.
“Will you run away with me?” he asks, grabbing both of Kokichi’s hands. Then, he follows it up with a cheeky grin and says, “I couldn’t let you beat me to asking that, too.”
Kokichi can’t help but grin giddily. God… he is irrefutably, insatiably in love with this man. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Of course I will, Shuichi. I’d let you whisk me away to the ends of the earth if it meant we could be together forever.” Shuichi laughs softly, pressing their foreheads together and brushing Kokichi’s nose with his own.
“Well, now we will. We’ll be together forever.”
And now, nothing will keep them apart again.