☆ opposites attract | saiouma fic ☆

twenty-five | tension

☆

"Come to think of it, it's been a while since it was just the three of us together, right?" Kokichi asked, taking a sip from his soda despite the very obvious 'no beverages in the library' rule.

"Yeah! Not since you got beat up by Maki... uh, on that note, how's your nose holding up?" Kaede replied, concerned.

Upon hearing that, Kokichi began to frown. He very slowly slumped back into his chair before letting out a loud sigh. "To tell ya the truth, it hurts. Like super duper bad, y'know?" He pouted.

"What?" Shuichi hurriedly turned his head towards Kokichi, his face full of concern. "Are you sure? It's had plenty of time to heal, it shouldn't hurt anymore..."

Kokichi sadly nodded. "Weird, right? 'Cuz, for some reason, it really aches... you gotta help me out!"

"How?"

"Uhhhhh," Kokichi hummed, pondering. "To make it all go away, you gotta hug me. That's easy, right?"

"Hug you?" Shuichi muttered in confusion, taking a few more moments to think before it dawned on him. Then he felt absolutely stupid. "...You're lying about your nose hurting, aren't you?"

"Maybe! It's not like you'll ever know," Kokichi shrugged, setting his soda can on the table as he looked to the side. "Can I still get that hug, though?"

"You can do whatever you want, I won't stop you..." Shuichi said, discreetly giving Kokichi permission. Awkwardly, he glanced back towards Kaede. "Sorry, Kaede, we got side tracked. Um- about the party, where should we throw it?"

Resisting the urge to call Shuichi and Kokichi out on their overwhelming gayness, Kaede let out a soft sigh as the attention was turned back to her.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure yet, but I was thinking we could have it somewhere nice and calm! Like, y'know, the park maybe? Unless you two have a different idea?"

"Huh... how about we throw it at my house? My mom won't be home all weekend, it seems like a good opportunity!" Kokichi suggested, now latching onto Shuichi's arm. It kinda held a resemblance to a Koala hugging a tree.

Blushing, Shuichi stiffened. "Uh, are you sure she'd be okay with something like that?" He asked. Admittedly, he was definitely a little intimidated by Celeste.

"Yuuup! C'mon, would I lie to you, Shuichi?"

"You did. Like, two minutes ago."

"Don't sweat the details! I'm being completely honest right now, m'kay? Trust me."

Shuichi sighed. "If you say so... are you on board, Kaede?"

"Yeah! This will do. We can work on inviting everyone later, but for now..." She paused, glancing towards Shuichi for a moment. "I think you two need to talk about something in private, right?"

Shuichi hesitated, but he gave her an affirmative nod before glancing at Kokichi. "Yeah, that's right, we do... uh, can we talk, Kokichi?"

"Sure?" Kokichi raised an eyebrow, turning to Kaede and motioning with his hand. "Shoo, Kaede! My Shuichi has business with me, and I gotta find out what it is!"

"Alright, alright... I'll see you two later!" Kaede said, gathering her things and giving the two a soft smile before she left the library.

After she left, Kokichi's face softened as his eyes met Shuichi's. "What's the matter?"

Looking into Kokichi's eyes, Shuichi began to feel his heart flutter. He was nervous. Regardless, he had to try his best to just power through.

"I hope you can forgive me for sticking my nose in your business, but... I asked my mom about why you got expelled. She didn't tell me everything about the situation, but I know that it's not your fault, is that right?"

Kokichi went quiet. It looked like, for once, he was at a loss for words.

"...You and your crappy detective tendencies," he finally grumbled, letting out a nervous sigh. "Answer my question first. Why did you ask her? Any reason?"

"I was worried about you, Kokichi. When I hear people gossip about you and treat you like some sort of monster... I don't like it. I hate it, you know? You've been nothing but good towards me, I always have fun with you, it's just... I needed to find out the truth. So then, maybe, once I did that, I could help people see you how I see you. I'm sorry I didn't come to you about it first."

After that was said, Kokichi could do literally nothing except stare at Shuichi for a good thirty seconds. Both of their faces were now heating up.

"Is that so? Shuichi, you precious fucking loser, I love you so much..." He muttered under his breath, whipping his head to the side to avoid eye contact.

"Sorry, what did you say? I didn't hear you..."

"Hm? I said don't worry about it so much!" Kokichi replied, lying through his teeth. He was eternally grateful Shuichi didn't just hear what he actually said. "Seriously though, it's fine. You were just trying to be protective of me, right? Then I'm not really that mad... surprised, but not mad."

Shuichi let out a small sigh of relief. "Are you sure? I understand it's a sensitive topic for you and everything..."

"Yeah. I can't right now, but I'll tell you the whole story when the time is right, okay? For now, all of this stays between us."

"Of course. Whenever you're ready, Kokichi. I'm here for you." Shuichi smiled, each word radiating a sense of warmth and sincerity.

Now Kokichi's heart was the one that was fluttering.

"Thank you. By the way... you shouldn't worry about me so much, okay? I can handle all of the talk about me. I'm not hurt. It's enough just to know you're here." Kokichi mumbled out, clearly not used to exchanging such genuine words.

Shuichi blushed for what seemed like the hundredth time today. "Yeah. Got it."