☆ opposites attract | saiouma fic ☆

thirty-eight | progress

☆

After a little while of cuddling and sleeping some more, they were eventually interrupted and called down for breakfast. Kyoko may or may not have witnessed them snuggling with each other, which was extremely embarrassing on Shuichi's part. Kokichi, on the other hand, felt little to no shame about it. As usual.

Kyoko, Shuichi, and Kokichi were engaging in some pretty basic conversation at the table. Makoto, on the other hand, was completely distracted and occupied with the cat. Being allured by the cuteness, he didn't seem to care at all that he was getting fur all over his work clothes.

"So, how was the party yesterday? Did you two have fun?" Kyoko asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Yup!" Kokichi nodded vigorously. "It went, like, shockingly well. Probably 'cuz I spent most of my time with Shuichi."

Kyoko chuckled. "I'm glad that you two are so close now. When you were babies, you'd always steal Shuichi's toys from him and make him cry, you know?"

"Seriously?" Kokichi tilted his head, entertained. "Well, don't worry! I'm a changed man now. The only thing I'm interested in stealing from him is his heart."

At the same exact time, Makoto and Shuichi almost spit out their drinks. Kyoko had a slightly puzzled expression, but overall, she wasn't shocked. If anything, Shuichi couldn't believe Kokichi just said something like that in front of his parents so confidently. His cheeks went very, very pink.

"What? Lighten up, people! I'm just joking!" Kokichi playfully scoffed, crossing his arms. "Anyways, Mr and Mrs Kirigiri, since you seem to be pretty chummy with my mom, what was she like during your school days? I'm very curious."

"Ah, yeah, actually, I'm curious about that too..." Shuichi chimed in.

Still trying to recover from Kokichi's previous statement, Makoto cleared his throat and started to talk.

"Well, let's see... she was pretty intimidating at first, but after a while, she became easy to talk to! I'd often play Mahjong with her and Nagito."

"Huh? Who's Nagito?" Kokichi raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, he was another Ultimate Lucky Student, like me. Your mom was always trying to test out our luck to see which one was better."

"Ooh! So did your common ultimates make you enemies or something?"

"No, no! Of course not, we're still good friends."

They'd all continue to talk for a while more, up until they finished their food. After that, Shuichi and Kokichi both decided to go on a walk together. They ended up passing by the park on the way, and of course, Kokichi begged Shuichi to go play. That was exactly what they did.

"Now that we're here, I can't remember the last time I've ever been on a playground..." Shuichi said quietly, gently pushing Kokichi back and forth on the swings as he admired the nostalgic scenery around them.

"Seriously? Playgrounds literally solve all of your problems. You're never too old to play." Kokichi huffed, swinging his legs back and forth.

Shuichi chuckled. "I guess so, yeah. I've just never had time to be a kid anymore."

"I get it. Years fly by fast, don't they?" Kokichi let out an exaggerated sigh. "Hey, can I ask a question? Don't take it in the wrong way, I'm just curious."

"Of course, I don't mind."

"Have you ever dated anyone before?"

Shuichi hesitated. "Oh, um... other than Kaede, no, I haven't."

Kokichi almost fell out of his swing after hearing that. Luckily, Shuichi quickly caught him and helped him back up. Although slightly embarrassed, Kokichi couldn't help but feel a little giddy that he was caught by his crush like that.

"Ahem..." Kokichi cleared his throat. "Pardon me? Who?"

"Sorry, I didn't tell you, did I? It was a long time ago. We were, what, twelve or so? We broke up, because, well... we didn't like the opposite gender."

"Jesus. I did not expect that... it's kinda funny!" Kokichi quietly snickered. "Okay, seriously, how about this. Do you have a crush on anyone?"

"I do, yeah." Shuichi responded, reluctance in his tone. "I've... been spending a lot of time with him lately. He's really fun and generally good to be around, you know? I think he's certainly succeeded in stealing my heart."

Kokichi's heart fluttered. "Oh, is that so? Good to know."