☆ opposites attract | saiouma fic ☆

thirty-three | dance

☆

"Kokichi, you have got to stop sneaking up on me like this..." Flustered, Shuichi turned around to face his crush. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"Yup! Can I steal you from your friends for a second?" Kokichi gripped Shuichi's hands, playfully swinging them.

"Ah, sure, I don't mind. Why?"

"You'll see!" Kokichi said, before without warning, eagerly dragging Shuichi away.

They were eventually standing in the middle of a less crowded area. Kokichi's gaze met Shuichi's, and for a moment, he could've sworn he felt his heartbeat speed up. A romantic melody radiated from Kiibo's speakers, making the moment come off all the more surreal.

"My favorite song just came on! You don't mind dancing with me, right?" Kokichi tilted his head, his angelic tone of voice having Shuichi further enamored.

Albeit he wasn't all that coordinated when it came to dancing, there was no way he could say no to the offer. Swallowing his pride, Shuichi shook his head.

"No, I don't mind at all." He smiled, as an attempt to hide his crippling nervousness. "Not that I dislike it, but... why are you asking to dance all of a sudden? I wouldn't have taken you for the type to like this kind of thing. Especially not to such a slow song."

Kokichi shrugged. "I guess I just tend to do things that people don't really expect, huh? Besides, it's not really a party if nobody's dancing, right?"

Shuichi chuckled. "Yeah, you're not wrong on that. Let's dance, then."

Reluctantly, Shuichi held Kokichi's waist. Kokichi followed suit and wrapped his arms around Shuichi's neck, and with that, the two of them began to dance.

Kokichi appeared very giddy to be dancing, meanwhile... Shuichi was nothing short of a nervous wreck. But, then again, when was he not a nervous wreck around Kokichi?

"Geeeez, you're so tense. Do I make you nervous?" Kokichi teased.

Shuichi blushed. "No, I just... don't have experience dancing with people. That's all."

"You're a terrible liar, y'know?"

"I'm telling the truth,"

"Yeah, right." Kokichi snickered. "Okay! I'm curious, and this feels like the appropriate time to ask... when you said I was important to you earlier, did you seriously mean that?"

"Every single word."

"Huh. Why, though?"

"What do you mean why?"

"I mean, I don't get it. Someone like me shouldn't be important to someone like you, y'know? You're so nice and smart, and I'm me. Irritating, loud me."

Shuichi frowned, pulling Kokichi slightly tighter in his grasp. "Don't say something like that. I wouldn't trade the time I've spent with you for anything. When things are getting mundane, you always find some sort of way to make it exciting again. It's no wonder you're going to be important to me."

Kokichi took a breath and began to stare down at the floor. It was obvious he was stifling a genuine smile. "You're so weird, I swear. You're always so sweet to me. Even when your friends didn't like me, you were still there. When people talked about me, you were still there. You even went to your mom about it just so you could find a way to protect my name. Why?"

"I care about you, Kokichi. Lots. That's all there is to it."

"Yeah, I care about you too, Shuichi... to tell you the truth, that's why I—"

Before Kokichi could utter the words out, they'd both bumped into something.