A/N: post game :) established relationship :)
It was a pretty obvious observation that Kokichi stole Shuichi's hat, a lot.
It was his thing, their thing. Shuichi would be lying if he said he didn't grow to find it endearing. There was the way Kokichi smiled and laughed as Shuichi tried to chase to get it back, there was the little smiley faces he drew on the hints letting Shuichi know where he hid it...It was cute.
And it all started 7 years ago.
After the game...Shuichi's anxiety had gotten much worse, so he began wearing his hat again as a sort of comfort. He did find it strange that the person he was before the game wore this, but that was better in a way. At least he had some part of his past self, even if he was long forgotten. Besides, it was the only hat he had. And he couldn't go without it. He just couldn't stand the stares people gave him. No matter what emotion they contained. The niceness seemed fake. The anger hurt his heart. The sadness made him feel weak.
So overall, it was just nice to hide and avoid as much eye contact as possible.
But Kokichi didn't like that apparently, and when they first met again, the first thing he did was take the hat off of his head.
"You look nicer without it" he claimed. It was the first time he spoke to him again.
And he was the first person that Shuichi looked in the eyes.
Those beautiful, purple eyes, the ones Shuichi longed to get close to, and the ones that now seemed to have lost all their sparkle.
It took a while for them to become close. A long while. They were broken, and they needed to take time to be fixed. Their recovery wasn't fun, and their new growing friendship was filled with troubles. There were arguments, times where they distanced themselves from each other and a lot of tears shared between them.
Still, eventually, they managed to help each other get better. Shuichi would stay with Kokichi, convincing him that he wasn't alone. He would help him with the guilt he felt, repeating over and over again that he wasn't evil, that Shuichi forgave him and that he didn't deserve to feel depressed or worthless. And Kokichi would help Shuichi, taking his hat off and convincing him that it was okay and he didn't need to hide. He would help him calm down when he was having trouble breathing and trouble thinking. It was nice having the reminder, even if it was a bit too much sometimes.
Slowly, the hat on Shuichi's head became less necessary.
And after almost a year, it was completely gone around Kokichi, only worn in public. Of course, Kokichi still insisted on taking it off himself in those situations.
"You really look nicer without it. I like seeing your eyes, and I think everyone else would too!" he explained, a bright smile on his face. It brought a smile to Shuichi too. Especially when Kokichi put the hat on his own head, or ran off with it despite the stares he was getting.
It was...fun. A type of fun Shuichi hadn't experienced in a long time.
And it kept going, their friendship kept deepening, and their smiles were more often. It was at this time that they started really developing feelings for each other, though they weren't acted on until a year later.
Kokichi was the one to initiate it, sneaking quietly into Shuichi's room and stealing his hat, yet again, planting little notes that told him where to find it.
Shuichi was originally concerned that Kokichi saw him asleep and vulnerable until he saw the last note, saying "You look cute when you sleep ;P. You'll find your beloved in the park!" It didn't specify whether Kokichi was the beloved or whether the hat was. The implication brought a blush to Shuichi's face, along with the sweet compliment. He began to rush to the nearby park, finding his hat underneath a tree.
