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The rain had been going steady for what seemed like forever. Shuichi had only meant to stay over for about 2 hours originally, but it was hard to leave when his favorite little leader had been protesting adamantly. He begged and pouted annoyingly every time Shuichi even mentioned the thought of leaving.
Now, don't get him wrong, Shuichi loved spending time with Kokichi. That wasn't the problem. It was, however, the fact that Shuichi had an appointment the next morning. Sure, he could probably reschedule. But Shuichi absolutely hated changing plans after they had already been made. He was particularly inflexible, unlike his boyfriend who changed his mind like Utah weather went from sunny to snowy.
"Kokichi, you know I can't stay over tonight." He sighed, failing to sound as unbothered as he wanted to. Look, Just because he hated missing an appointment didn't mean he didn't like making out with Kokichi in his bed. He kind of wished he didn't. The world didn't seem to exist during those moments. Kokichi frowned, flipping over onto his back.
"Shumaiiiii.. It's already 11 PM. You can't drive home in this weather!!" He cried, drawing out the sound of his vowels. He nudged himself closer, socks off, shorts discarded. He was too comfortable. Shuichi had been dealing with this kind of clinginess ever since he had known Kokichi, and he still wasn't used to it. He wasn't sure he ever would be. But Kokichi's tendency to strip certainly didn't help.
"I- I can just get an uber-" Shuichi blushed slightly. Kokichi cut him off. "Ughhh... You're being so RUDE! It's like you don't even wanna be here." He pouted. He wouldn't look him in the eye. Even after kissing sessions, he was still prone to embarrassment when he had to be emotionally honest. He really didn't want Shuichi to leave.
It got silent for a moment. Kokichi began to flip his switchblade back and forth in his slender hands with an inappropriate amount of casualness. He threw his leg over Shuichi's, his trousers too formal for this environment. That was just like him.
"... You're not bored of me, are you?" Kokichi asked, in an unsure, quiet voice. Shuichi scanned his face. Honesty.
"What makes you say that, cariño?" Shuichi asked. He'd learned not to baby Kokichi over things like this, but with how nice things had been, he couldn't really help but to be sappy. Yet, Kokichi was normally the sappy one. Shocker. He took a peek at Shuichi through his bangs, eyes flickering back and forth.
"You're doing that thingy with your hands." He pouted. He put down the switchblade for a moment. Shuichi looked into his eyes, curiously. "What thing?" He asked, genuinely. Kokichi started exaggeratedly twiddling his thumbs dumbly. Shuichi couldn't tell if he was mocking him. "The nervous detective twitch thingy, you dingus!" Kokichi cried. He was back to the dramatics. He dropped his head onto Shuichi's chest.
He suddenly became aware of himself, stilling the movement in his hands. He had no idea he'd even been doing that. And if it had a name, then it had to be a habit of his. How had he never caught that? "I- I Had no clue I was doing that in the first place, Kokichi." The other refused to look at him.
"You do it whenever you're about to interrogate me about my feelings. I hate it." Shuichi made a face as if he was offended, although Kokichi wasn't looking.
"I wasn't going to. I don't interrogate you." He laughed. Kokichi groaned in annoyance. "Yes you do. You're evil!" He replied, rolling his eyes. "You do it all the time."
Shuichi looked down at him once more, catching Kokichi's hands in a hold. "Why does that upset you so much?" He smiled.
Shuichi knew he wasn't supposed to poke at Kokichi when it came to things like this, but he found himself not caring. Kokichi groaned again. Shuichi realized that he was doing just that— interrogation, right now. "Sorry." He said, adding, "But- it's important to me. You're important to me."
Kokichi looked up at him, finally. He seemed to be blushing just slightly. His eyebrows were furrowed. "My lies, DUH!" He all but shouted. He wasn't really mad at Shuichi, but he pretended to be, almost wanting to see what he'd do. These days, he seemed oddly patient with Kokichi. Kokichi wasn't sure if he liked it or not.
"You're always trying to get me to grow emotionally. It's the worst, Saiharacchi! You're supposed to just let me be awful and love me anyway. I'm the best." He said, but it lacked all of his usual bravado, due to his state of vulnerability. Shuichi recognized that.
Shuichi pressed a tender kiss to the crown of Kokichi's head, bringing him in closer. "It's because I love you. I fix things I love. I'm a fixer, you know that about me, cariño. Besides, you invited me over here when it was pouring out. I think you can take a little bit of honesty for once. I showed up for you. Because I love you." He said, all too honestly. He felt Kokichi's nose press deeper into his chest. He also felt his shirt get a little wet there.
"You're such a dick, Shuhara. I didn't invite you." Which Shuichi understood to be code for, "I love you, and I'm really embarrassed to say that back to you." So he pressed another tender kiss to kokichis head. Kokichi banged his fists on Shuichis chest in response. He felt fluttery. So Shuichi kissed again. Somehow, this felt more intimate then any of the other things they'd done. It felt real. It scared Kokichi to death. "That's a lie, Kokichi."
Kokichi finally lifted his head to look at Shuichi. "Don't tell me what's a lie, you stupid detective. You don't know nothing." He frowned. His eyes were bright and watery, his cheeks wet. Shuichi brought Kokichi's smaller fists up to his lips, and pressed a soft, forgiving kiss to his knuckle. Then to the other. He let go of Kokichi's wrists, his grip light.
"It's hard not to interrogate someone who's so interesting." Shuichi smiled. Kokichi was scared. Scared that Shuichi'd find better. Scared that he wasn't enough. Scared that he was so boring, he'd be forgotten. Shuichi had begun to understand this, as much as the other didn't want him to. Kokichi smiled too. "Blah, blah, blah." He mocked. He never wanted Shuichi to leave, ever. Parting is such a sweet sorrow.
Shuichi leaned in, close enough to whisper. "I love you. I love you when you're loud. I love you when you're quiet. I love you when you're fun, I love you when you're not. I love you when you love me, and I love you when you hate me. I love you." He said, honestly. He meant every word. Kokichi stayed quiet for a moment.
"...That's not a lie, is it." He whispered back, cheeks streaming with quiet tears again. It was more of a question than a statement. For a moment, he thought Shuichi might kiss him.
Instead, he leaned even closer, pressing another tender kiss to Kokichi's wet cheek. He didn't seem to mind that Kokichi was crying. He looked into those watery eyes, sure as everything true and real. He kissed the other cheek, evening it out. He brought Kokichi closer, pressing an innocent kiss to Kokichi's neck, the shell of his ear, then to his shoulderblade. He felt Kokichi sigh against him. It had been a long day for him. He just wanted the boy he loved to stay close, not to go home.
"You're the worst, Shuichi." He laughed, pulling back to look at him. Shuichi smiled. "You always say that." He replied. His hand found the back of Kokichi's head again, stroking softly. His fingers pulled through Kokichi's hair. "Because I mean it." Kokichi giggled
"And I like you anyway." Shuichi responded, soft as ever. Kokichi scrunched his nose in disgust. "Blegh." He rolled his eyes.
"Really, I mean, you are just so icky, Shumai. It's awful." He added. Shuichi leaned in despite him, looking him in the eyes lovingly, before closing the gap with a tender, sweet kiss. And then another peck, like he couldn't help himself. Kokichi exhaled heavily, like letting go of all the shitty parts of the day in one swift breath. He buried his face back into Shuichi's chest.
It was silent for a few minutes. And just when Shuichi had let his mind wander, Kokichi responded back. So quiet, almost imperceptible, "I love you."
Shuichi smiled even wider, his heart fuller than ever, thinking that this must be the best feeling in the world. He turned his head, yet again kissing Kokichi's head sweetly and softly.