Work Text:
Yawning, Shuichi scoops two heavy teaspoons of instant coffee into his mug.
It’s his third cup of the night. A difficult case has him and the police precinct scrambling, leading them to nothing but dead ends and plenty of sleepless nights with nothing to show for. There’s a stack of empty witness accounts still sitting on Shuichi’s desk, waiting to be sorted through.
Head throbbing, he watches as the kettle heats steadily on the stove. He doesn’t really like the taste of instant coffee (it’s much too watery for Shuichi’s taste), but it’s too late in the night to turn on the coffee maker. It would definitely make a lot of noise, and Kokichi is a light sleeper.
His thoughts drift to his boyfriend sleeping soundly in the next room without him. He hasn’t had the time to spend with Kokichi, and although he tries to play it off, Shuichi can see the tension in his eyes when he gives Kokichi yet another excuse of why he can’t bring him out for a date or join him in bed for another night.
Once this case is over, he’ll make it up to him. Maybe he’ll take him to take that cute new café around the corner they’ve been meaning to visit for the past few weeks. Kokichi will pick the sweetest cake (as per usual) and then have a sugar crash (as per usual) and he’ll demand Shuichi carry him home, which he will, and they’ll end up snuggling in bed together until morning, or maybe just sleep in—
A loud whistle startles Shuichi out of his trance and sends him clambering for the stove.
The thought of waking up Kokichi so late at night makes him wince, especially when he already has enough trouble sleeping without him.
He thinks Kokichi would’ve already burst into the kitchen by now (all annoyed and sleepy-eyed), so he carries on. With a careful hand, Shuichi pours the hot water into his mug.
That is, until he feels a pair of arms wrap around his middle.
“K-Kokichi!” Shuichi stumbles, almost dropping the kettle and burning himself in the process. “You scared me!”
He doesn’t answer, instead burying his head deeper into Shuichi’s back.
Shuichi chuckles, setting the kettle down. “Sorry for waking you.” He rests his hands against Kokichi’s arms. “I promise I’ll come to bed soon, I just have to finish—“
Shuichi blinks. There’s a tremble under his touch that makes him still.
He turns to look over his shoulder, but the grip around his waist only tightens. It’s normally a gesture he adores, but time is different. His fingers are digging into Shuichi’s skin through his shirt.
“Kokichi?”
His words are muffled, but Kokichi is definitely saying something now, even with his head flush to Shuichi’s back. He leans in closer. “Hey, what’s wrong—“
The voice that cuts him off is one he hasn’t heard in years, and prayed he never would again.
“Help me.”
Desperate. Afraid.
Eyes wide, he tries to face Kokichi but the boy whimpers. “No—don’t leave me—h-help me—I don’t want to be alone, please—“
With his hands gripping hard onto Kokichi’s, he turns himself around and that’s when he sees it: Kokichi’s eyes open but glazed over, completely devoid of consciousness.
Shuichi’s eyes soften. Sleepwalking. He’s having a nightmare.
He cradles Kokichi’s head to his chest. “I’m right here.”
“Sh-Shuichi?” His pleas grow louder, hiccuping with every breath. “S-Save me, Shuichi, I—“
His heart sinks in his chest. He pulls the boy in tighter, smoothing down his hair and placing gentle kisses to his cheek, temple, then forehead. “I’m not going anywhere, Kokichi.”
Kokichi sobs. “I don’t want to be alone anymore . . . please.”
The boy’s legs give out from under him, subconsciously exhausted, and Shuichi falls to the floor with him. Kokichi crumples in his arms, breaths littered with hiccups and quiet whines.
“I won’t leave, Kokichi.” He takes Kokichi’s hand from around his waist, and places it on his chest, right above his heart. “I’m right here.”
He watches as he slowly relaxes in his arms, waiting until his breaths start to match his own. It’s only then that Shuichi moves his hands to the small of his back and under his knees, and whispers in Kokichi’s ear: “Come to bed with me, okay?”
There’s no answer, but there’s no resistance when Shuichi picks him up and enters their room. He joins Kokichi under the covers, still cradling him to his chest, and doesn’t fall asleep until he feels Kokichi’s pulse fall to a steady heartbeat under his touch.
///
When Kokichi wakes, he finds himself surrounded in Shuichi’s embrace. It’s been a while since they’ve been able to wake up together like this. He had forgotten how good it feels—how warm he feels. After sleeping alone these past few weeks, it makes him happier than he’ll ever admit to Shuichi’s face.
He clutches his boyfriend’s arm and turns to face him. The morning glow peaks through their curtain window. Kokichi can’t help but stare at his terrible bedhead and his eternal eye bags which honestly, ruin the look of his pretty eyelashes. He missed doing this too—a lazy morning of just staring and admiring until the other stirs.
It doesn’t take long. Shuichi’s face suddenly scrunches and Kokichi is there with wide eyes to greet him.
“Morning, sleepyhead!”
“G’morning,” Shuichi slurs back.
He pulls Kokichi’s closer at the waist. They’re suddenly almost nose to nose, and it makes Kokichi smirk. He squeezes Shuichi back slightly. “Clingy this morning, are we?”
Shuichi just sighs. His face is half buried into his pillow, but there’s a slight smile there that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. It’s not the reaction he was looking for. Kokichi pouts. “What?”
When Shuichi turns to face him fully, he peers straight into his eyes and doesn’t say a word. It’s different when Kokichi stares at him. At least he does it when Shuichi is still asleep! Now he’s just looking at Kokichi, all warm and fuzzy-like. Studying him. Staring into his soul. This is just unfair.
“How’d you sleep?” Shuichi finally asks.
“Fine, I guess,” he replies without much thought. He’s too busy trying not to squirm under Shuichi’s gaze. He teases him instead. “Something on my face?”
“No. Just,” he reaches out to brush a hair behind Kokichi’s ear. “Wondering what you dream about.”
He frowns back at him. “That’s a little weird. Sounds like someone’s a little obsessed with me.”
“Kokichi.”
He stiffens at his tone. A breathy giggle escapes him, but it’s not fooling either of them. “You never turn off that brain of yours, do you, my beloved?”
“Do you still dream about the killing game?”
Shuichi doesn't shy away for a second, asking as if it's the most normal question in the world. As if the mere thought of the game doesn't send a chill down his spine or dredge up the memories that have been burned into the back of his eyes, buried somewhere deep years ago. Kokichi twitches, almost imperceptibly. Suddenly Shuichi’s arms around him are suffocating.
“As expected of the Ultimate Detective. Interrogating not even a minute after he wakes! Sucks. I’m not in the mood to be questioned right now.” He rips himself away from Shuichi’s grasp, turning his back towards him and burrowing deeper into the blankets.
Their bedsheets rustle behind him. His back feels warmer—closer, but Shiuichi doesn’t quite touch him. “It’s okay if you do.” His voice is low, as if he’s trying not to scare him. It makes the hairs on his neck stand all the same.
Kokichi pulls away completely, sitting up. “Well I don’t,” he says, sounding much more defensive than he’d like to be. Why is he getting so worked up about this? He hates this feeling. Besides— “It’s been years since we got out of that hellhole.”
He’s not looking at Shuichi, but he can feel his eyes soften towards him. “It doesn’t matter how long it’s been. I mean, I still have nightmares about the game, too.”
Kokichi stares at his lap. Shuichi sits with him, taking his hand and tracing small circles onto his wrist.
“But,” Shuichi says, “I don’t have as many when you’re with me.”
Suddenly it’s hard to breathe. He can’t bear to look at Shuichi right now. He’s been through the same game—same hell—and yet he’s here by Kokichi’s side. It’s too much and he’s too scared. Of what? He can’t really remember. Not anymore, at least. Instead he settles on a whisper, “Is that a lie?”
“You tell me. I’m a terrible liar.”
A smile slips out before Kokichi can help it. “You are.” His voice comes out quieter than he’d wanted it to be, but he finally looks at Shiuichi and he feels nothing but love that he still finds hard he deserves.
“And I’m sorry. I won’t let work interfere with our time together. I need you too, Kokichi.” An earnest promise from a man who probably can’t keep his word when it comes to work, but he tries, and he knows, and to Kokichi, that’s enough. So he slightly elbows Shuichi in the stomach anyway, enough to send him reeling for a quick breath.
It’s too cheesy and too sweet and Kokichi’s too happy. This is really unfair.
So Kokichi just throws his arms around Shuichi and guides them both back down onto the bed. He lets out a soft laugh as Kokichi nuzzles into his chest, while Shuichi’s hands settle at his waist and tangle through his hair. A quiet follows as they hold each other in the gentle morning light.
“Me too,” Kokichi murmurs softly after a moment.
“Hmm?”
“It’s better for me too.” He closes his eyes and hugs Shuichi tighter. “When you’re with me.”
He smiles, kissing the top of Kokichi’s head. “And I’ll always be with you.”