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To say that Shuichi was tired would be an understatement. The detective was exhausted.
Classwork was tiring enough on its own, especially since Shuichi was blessed with the fortune of having an investigative talent. However, he had been moving around a lot as well, traveling to grab stuff in another classroom or simply for comfort and privacy.
Needless to say, he needed some sleep right now. Unfortunately for him, the dorms were on the other side of the school, and Shuichi was trapped in a hallway across from there. The boy kept walking as everything began getting blurrier, his sleepiness beginning to kick in. He began to wonder whether Chiaki felt like that, always about to fall asleep at any time.
Eventually, he couldn't move any further. Shuichi held onto one of the lockers for support, even as it swung open due to his hold, and he looked at the interior. It would be an uncomfortable place to sleep, but Shuichi was a little flexible and way too tired. It seemed like the best position at the moment, so he slid into the locker and shut the door, curling himself up into a ball.
He hoped it would be comfortable enough for him to take a nap in, so he closed his eyes and began letting his mind wander as he slowly drifted off to sleep...
Meanwhile, Kokichi was running from the local hallway enforcer, Kiyotaka Ishimaru, or just Taka. It all started when the supreme leader was too broke to get a grape soda, so he began kicking the machine to no avail. Eventually, he went over to ask Kaito who reluctantly helped, and Kokichi got his grape soda. The only problem was that Taka saw the whole thing, and since Kaito had conveniently disappeared right as Taka began walking towards them, the hall monitor set his eyes on Kokichi.
Taka didn't run, but he was still close to Kokichi somehow. Maybe it was years of expertise and training, or the fact that Kokichi had been worn down by the chaotic day already, but Kokichi could feel his presence right behind him.
"Ishimaru-chan, please!" Kokichi begged as he ran, trying to well up the fake tears despite the fast movement not letting him. "I'm just a poor boy, so I had to get my hydration one way or another! And besides, it's Kaito that-"
"I'm not trying to get you into a large amount of trouble, Ouma!" Taka replied, trying to calm down the boy while still yelling at the top of his lungs. "I simply want you to explain yourself!"
Kokichi screeched as if he was running from a horrifying monster, specifically a robotic bear, and he kept running. While they were both continuing their chase, Kokichi then got an idea to escape from it. He had always believe in cartoon logic, so now it was time to put it to the test. He opened the bottle of grape soda, whispered "Please help me evade him. I believe in you, grape soda," and chugged the bottle.
While it did slow down his speed, the sudden boost of energy allowed Kokichi to create more distance before Taka could grab him. He saw a corner, and he knew he was about to approach the locker-filled room, so Kokichi made a run for it. He grabbed the nearest locker and smashed into it, closing it just in time for Taka to pass by.
To his credit, Taka did search a few lockers, but he couldn't find Kokichi, and as the hall monitor sighed and left the room in exasperation, Kokichi sighed as well, but out of relief. He was safe now, and as long as he waited a few minutes for the coast to be clear, he could return to his normal activitie-
"Nng..." That noise definitely didn't come from Kokichi.
"The hell?" Kokichi yelped out, looking around and then down. "Oh. Oh, shi-" He had accidentally entered the same locker as Shuichi, who was apparently sleeping?!
Kokichi knew he had probably exhausted Shuichi quite a bit by having the detective chase him around a few times that day, but he didn't know he was that exhausted. "Wha... Who..." Shuichi slowly began to open his eyes as Kokichi crouched down.
"Jeez, Shumai, I'm genuinely sorry for you right now. Look at you, sleeping in a locker!" Kokichi couldn't help but giggle at that last line, but deep down he was genuintely concerned for Shuichi.
"I... What time is it... Hu- Kokichi?!" Shuichi almost sprang up when he saw Kokichi, but it was so cramped he had to sit back down and stand up slowly. Kokichi decided to let him stand up by pushing himself against the locker's cramped wall. "What are you doing here?" Shuichi asked.
"Well... It's a long story. To put it short, I stole something, got caught by our local hall monitor, ran from him and hid here! In this locker! Which you just so happened to be sleeping in!" Describing it felt so unreal, as if the scene belonged in a romcom instead of real life. "I mean, you're not gonna do any french kissing or that gross stuff to me, right? This isn't a movie!" Kokichi tried to flail his arms to emphasize his last point (which was clearly a lie), but he only moved them weakly due to the lack of space.
He was pretty sure he was seeing things, but Kokichi felt Shuichi's eyes lowering when he had mentioned no kissing. But that didn't mean Shuichi had any romantic feelings for him, right?!
"Haha, just kidding about that last part," Kokichi said, and he saw Shuichi's eyes lighten up again. "Uh, are you okay? You're practically beaming." Then, he let out a gasp which was mostly fake. "Ohmygod. If I'm right, then Shumai, my precious detective and my dearest love, is also in love with me?!"
"Kokichi, stop..." Shuichi couldn't hide the blush that took over his face, though. He looked away as an attempt to hide it, but to no avail. Despite no words being spoken, the truth was out. They were hopelessly in love.
Welp, time to change that. "Then we've got to make it official, you know?" He put both of his hands on the other side of the locker, between Shuichi, causing the detective to turn back to Kokichi with most of his flushing undone. "Since we've basically confirmed that we're in love with each other, we have to make it a real relationship with a kiss!" ...And Shuichi's blushing was back when he said the word 'kiss'.
"D-Don't relationships usually start with a date...?"
"Well, they can also be started with a kiss."
"..." Shuichi looked away again and closed his eyes.
"Hey, it's okay if you don't want to start now." Kokichi removed one of his hands to pat Shuichi on the shoulder. "Take as much time as you need. I'll be ready when you are."
"No... I... I'm ready!" And in a flash of a moment, Kokichi felt Shuichi's lips on his. The movement took him by surprise, but eventually he recovered, moving his hands to lay on Shuichi's shoulders.
Looks like Taka wasn't the only one who deserved a participation award after all. Shuichi did try to kiss well, but he was mediocre, so this was probably his first kiss ever. It was sloppy and tongues went all over, but Kokichi would never ask for a better kisser if they weren't Shuichi. And this was his first kiss, with his crush too, so he was going to savor it no matter what!
Eventually, the cramped atmosphere forced them to pull apart and basically gasp for air, and Kokichi wiped off some of the saliva that drooled out of him. "Ew... That was gross!" Kokichi exclaimed once Shuichi cleaned himself up as well. "But it was with you, so I'll issue an official pardon!" Shuichi smiled softly at that last sentence, despite Kokichi's gross comment being an obvious lie. It looked like he would need to be more straightforward in serious topics like love, then.
"Th-Thanks... It was my f-first kiss ever, so I should have w-warned you in advance... Sorry..." Shuichi muttered. Kokichi smiled and blushed a little at the gesture, but he patted Shuichi on the shoulder to say that it wasn't necessary.
"I seriously wasn't expecting you to actually do it, though," Kokichi reassured Shuichi. "...But can you just tell me whether you actually like me or not? Just to make sure, even though it's too late to go back by now?"
"No, it's fine, I..I do love you, Kokichi. Eurgh-" Shuichi put his hands over his face to hide his blushing, and Kokichi patted his shoulder for the third time in five minutes.
Eventually, Kokichi let his arm fall back to his side, and Shuichi looked back at Kokichi after calming himself down. "So... We did it. We are now official." Kokichi moved to open the locker door, and Shuichi pulled up an arm before letting it fall too. Kokichi opened the locker and stepped out. "Step 2 is to go on a date! So where should we go? The arcade? A restaurant? The movies?"
"Not the movies," Shuichi replied. "Maybe on a fourth date, but I would prefer talking." As he said that, Kokichi moved aside so Shuichi could also exit the locker.
Kokichi smirked, having successfully let out Shuichi's investigative side after making his whole face flush just a few minutes ago, before continuing the conversation too. "Well, you said you liked video games while we hung out at one point, so maybe the arcades?" Aside from a suspicious glance from Shuichi, the detective didn't question Kokichi's odd smirk, and he began pondering the arcade idea.
"Hm... Sure." Shuichi smiled at the prospect. Despite there being a small blush to his face, talking about the technicalities had calmed him down a lot.
"Arcade it is, then! After you get some rest, we can decide on a time and which arcade to go to! See you there!" And with that, Kokichi was gone. At least Shuichi had his phone to contact Kokichi, and he was feeling energized enough to make it to the dorms now.
As for Kokichi, he had to evade a certain hall monitor for at least a few months, but getting together with his crush made it totally worth it.
And then he bumped directly into someone wearing a white uniform.