"S" is for the Smell of Your Love and Coffee ☕ Saimatsu ☕

Picnic

Kaede walked to the park, feeling the breeze on her skin. It was perfect weather, not warm but not cold, fresh and breezy. Once she got to the park, she pulled out her phone and called Shuichi.

"Hey Shuichi, I'm at the park already. Where are you?"

"I'm by the fountain"

"Oh okay! I'll meet you there!"

With that, Kaede hung up the phone. She skipped to the fountain, spotting Shuichi standing by it. Kaede waved to him, Shuichi waved back. He struggled a bit to wave at her, since his arms were full with containers of food. He was wearing a simple light gray t-shirt and black jeans. The shirt wasn't tight nor baggy, just slightly oversized. Kaede ran over to him while holding the basket carefully.

"Hey Shuic-! W-Whoa...! The food looks so good! Did you make it?" Kaede asked, her eyes completely fixated on the food.

"Y-Yeah, I made it m-myself..."

"It looks delicious!! Here, I'll put the food in the basket. We should probably go sit down somewhere" with her final declaration, Kaede grabbed hold of Shuichi's wrist and ran off.

"K-Kaede w-wait!!" Shuichi instantly put his other hand on his hat, desperate to not let it fall off.

People around the park looked at the two, many letting out an "aww" while others giggled causing a blush to spread on Shuichi's face.

Kaede ran to the grassy area of the park, "Which spot do you think looks best?" She came to a sudden halt.

"U-Uh" Shuichi gulped "M-Maybe that spot close to the tree?" He suggested.

"Alright then!" The two walked over to the spot, Kaede took out the picnic cloth and set it down. They sat down, Shuichi holding onto the basket. "I wanna see what you brought, Shuichi!"

"O-Okay" he took out his containers, opening them one by one. Kaede gasped when she saw how good the food looked.

"I brought two bento, Tamagoyaki, Korokke, Katsu Sando, and lastly Kani Salad."

"S-Shuichi! This looks amazing! How in the world did you make all of this?!" Kaede was extremely shocked.

"Haha it's not really that big of a deal." He smiled softly at her. In reality, her compliment was enough to fluster him.

"Could we start eating now? I'm really hungry and this looks so good."

"Of course...!"

"Yay!" Kaede took out the food she brought and offered some to Shuichi. The two went back and forth between each other's food. Their hands occasionally bumping into each other's. That never failed to make them blush.

"A-Ah sorry Kaede. I bumped into your hand again."

"N-No it's okay..!" Kaede nervously swallowed a piece of watermelon before changing the topic. "Y'know, I'm always rambling about the piano but, I've never actually played it for you"

"Now that I think about it, you're right..." Shuichi said.

"Haha guess I've just forgotten, I'll play it for you soon. I promise!"

Shuichi chuckled "I'll be waiting until then".

Kaede smiled at Shuichi, "We talk a lot about me but not enough about you, soooo," She paused, "today we're talking about you!"

"M-Me?! Are you sure?!" Shuichi asked.

"Of course! If I want to be your friend, I have to know you!" Kaede took a bite of her Korokke and swallowed before speaking, "So where should we begin? Hmmm.....how about....oh yeah! You said you got into detective work because of your uncle, right? So my question is, why were you helping him in the first place?"

"Oh uhh, that's a tough one hah, but uh...before I came to university I lived with my uncle and his wife. I've lived with them ever since I was about four years old. I felt like it was the only way to repay him after all the support he's given me."

"O-oh...! Sorry...I...didn't mean to pry..." Kaede said, she was genuinely sorry, she was looking down at her lap.

"Oh its nothing tragic, don't worry...! My parents just live abroad and are always busy."

"If you don't mind me asking, what are they doing abroad?"

"From what I've heard, they have many projects around the world, since one's a screenwriter and the other's an actor."

"R-Really?!"

"Heh I don't think it's anything special, they're really distant from me."

Kaede looked at Shuichi, a supportive smile on her face, "Well I'm just really glad you were able to find support somewhere!"

"Yeah my uncle's a good guy! I remember I almost fell off his shoulders though." Shuichi laughed. Kaede laughed with him as well, "How did that happen!?"
"I was 5 years old and he was carrying me on his shoulders, but he got distracted by a bird and almost tripped, his wife thankfully caught me before I fell, but I still think it's pretty funny."

The pair shared a laugh before finishing the remainder of the strawberries.

"You should take the leftovers home, Kaede" Shuichi suggested.

"What?! No way! It's your food! I can't take it!"

"No it's fine, share it with Maki, Tsumugi, and Miu."

Kaede pouted, the detective knew she would be stubborn about this so he made a compromise, "O-Okay, I'll take the remaining bento box, and you can take the rest"

"Hmmmm...Alright fine!" Shuichi sighed in relief, that was a lot easier than he thought. The two packed up, making sure they didn't forget anything.

"Shuichi look!!!" Shuichi picked the basket up and looked to where Kaede was pointing. "Sprinklers?" He said, in confusion. "Yep! C'mon! Let's run through them!"

"A-Ah but K-Kaede! Our clothes will get wet!"

"Let loose a bit Shuichi! Have fun for a little bit!"

Shuichi gave in. "It wouldn't hurt to have fun" he thought. "Alright let's go then." In an instant, Kaede took off, "H-Hey!! Wait for me!" Shuichi quickly followed suit, taking off after her. He soon caught up to her and was met with the cold water of the sprinklers on his legs. The sprinklers were going pretty high up so his entire body was getting soaked. "WOOHOO!!" Kaede shouted.

Kaede grabbed Shuichi's hand and began jumping up and down. She would twirl around and laugh, Shuichi couldn't help but laugh with her too. Suddenly Kaede got an amazing idea, she began throwing water at Shuichi, "W-What?! K-Kaede-! Haha! You're throwing way- haha- too much water at me-!" Shuichi was laughing the entire time. He needed to get payback. He was throwing water on her making sure it would hit her. "G-GAH! S-Shuichi! Hahaha that's-! HEY! not fair-!"

They sprayed water on each other for a good 15 minutes, occasionally putting their hands up in defense. They were having so much fun they didn't even notice the people looking at them. It didn't matter though. None of it mattered. Shuichi hadn't felt joy like this in such a long time. To Kaede and Shuichi, it was only them, not a single other soul was there, only them.

And that was all that mattered.

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The two walked home together, laughing and giggling the entire way.

"What time is it, Shuichi?" He took out his phone, "It's, 3:32?!"

"H-HUH?! I didn't think we took that long! But, I guess time does speed up when you're having fun, huh?"

"Y-Yeah...you're right...I...had a lot of fun" he spoke lowly, tilting his hat down.

Kaede stopped in front of her door, "I had a lot of fun with you too, Shuichi. We should do this more often...!"

"D-Definitely...! Well, I'll see you later Kaede"

"See you later Shuichi!"

Maybe there was light in Shuichi's life.

Yep! This entire chapter is saimatsu fluff cuz they deserve it! Hope y'all liked this