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A familiar, shrill wail from across the water park indicates to the entire class what they already assumed:
Kokichi Ouma is too short to ride the waterslide.
“SHUMAIIIII!!!”
Sometimes Shuichi wonders if Kokichi has the lung capacity of a trumpeting elephant, because somehow his whine is even louder than the roaring gush of water from the immense pools surrounding the waterpark. Classmates cringe at the sound— Himiko clapping her hands over her ears, Maki rolling her eyes, and Miu throwing out a word about “Shuichi better shut the gremlin up for good this time”-- before Kokichi is making a mad sprint for Shuichi’s lounge chair by the pool, wild wet tears streaming down his cheeks.
“Th-the employee told me I-I’m way too hot and h-handsome to ride the waterslide!” he wails, expertly snaking around Shuichi’s open book to practically collapse on top of him. “Wh-why couldn’t I have been born ugly l-like that whore bitchlet Miu!! WAHAHAHAAAAA!!”
Shuichi’s cheeks flush as Kokichi continues to fervently cry on top of him, delicately reaching out a hand to pat his bare shoulder. There’s an awful lot of skin-on-skin contact going on, with Kokichi in his checkerboard swimsuit and Shuichi in his own navy ones that are just a tad too tight and it’s only making his blush intensify.
After all, Shuichi has been in love with him since the beginning of this school year and has yet to confess. And with the way every classmate is slyly eyeing him, everyone in this damn waterpark except for the boy crying on top of him is aware of his hopeless crush.
“Ah, um…” he trails off, then awkwardly pats his back again. “I’m sorry they won’t let you ride, Kokichi. Maybe you could try the lazy river instead?”
Kokichi shakes his head against him, trailing a line of tears along his bare chest. “It’s c-called the lazy river because everything about it is boring , just like e-everything else at this stupid waterpark. We t-totally shoulda gone to the amusement park instead, I b-bet they’d let me ride the rollercoasters.”
“Well, if you’re too short for a slide, you’re probably too short for-”
When Kokichi raises his face and gives Shuichi a blank stare, he snaps his mouth closed. While expressionless, he know wells by now this look is screaming “don’t say another goddamn word about my height”.
So instead, he splutters, “I-I’m sure there are other fun things for you to try here! I mean, ah, maybe squirting Keebo with the water gun would make you feel better?”
Kokichi’s eyes spark with mischievous delight but then turn back downward as he frowns, “I already d-did that and stupid Miu threatened to cut my d-dick off.” Suddenly, his crying completely ceases and a wide smile overtakes his face. “Oh oh oh, I know how to fix this! Shumai should totally ride the waterslide with me!”
A deeper blush seeps in Shuichi’s cheeks and he quickly hides it behind his open book, peering just over the edge. “K-Kokichi, that’s not-”
“Whaaaat that’s what the evil giant running the slide told me! ‘Fee fi fo fum, can’t ride by yourself, but if you find someone who is tall enough, it’s totally chill with me’.” He puts his hands behind his head and giggles. “And wouldn’t you know it but you’re the tallest person in our class, so it’s gotta be you!”
“Isn’t that Rantaro-”
“Rantaro’s too busy romancing the totally creepy mask kid and I can’t get close enough to ask him without vomiting all my guts out!”
“Then Kaito-”
“How dare you.”
“Gonta?”
“He’ll burn my ears off talking about some water bug and you totally know it.” Kokichi seesaws on his feet and sniffles. “Don’t tell me— is my beloved Shumai trying to avoid this because he h-hates me?” He throws a hand against his face and cries, “And on my birthday of all days?! How cruel!!”
“Wha- it’s your birthday?!”
“And he didn’t even remember my birthday?!” Kokichi transforms into a bundle of sobs again. “Now you’ve really gotta do something to make it up to me, meanie-head!!”
Shuichi bites his lip and looks away, slowly lowering his book. It’s not that he doesn’t want to, but the idea of being so close to Kokichi, bodies pressed together in a confined space, it may make him actually explode. But if Kokichi is asking him— thinks somehow nobody Shuichi Saihara is the best fit— then he can’t exactly refuse.
“Alright,” he says quietly, folding his mystery novel and standing with his hands timidly wrapped around his arms. “Let’s go.”
The tears disappear immediately as he throws up his hands and cheers, “Yippee, I can’t wait!!” before spinning like a top toward the stairs for the slide.
Shuichi follows, trudging up the wet, concrete steps carefully while Kokichi practically flies upward. He does tell him to be careful once or twice, throws out a hand to catch him when he slips back, only to be met with puckish laughter for falling for Kokichi’s prank. All Shuichi can do is shake his head with a small smile, politely remind him he could actually crack his head open like an egg if he falls, and finally reach the top.
Violently pushing past the cutesy animal cardboard cutout denoting how tall someone must be to ride, Kokichi stands triumphantly in front of the employee on the chair, gesturing to Shuichi with an expectant grin. The man looks them up and down and shrugs, pointing to an illustrated plaque above the slide entrance showing how to ride with two people, which horrifyingly shows an embracing couple.
Shuichi’s already red face somehow grows even redder when Kokichi casually takes his hand, guides him in a sitting position beside the water jets, and begins clambering onto his lap. Warm skin blankets his own and soft tufts of hair press against his chest. With his crush so close, Shuichi can pick up the aroma of citrus shampoo and spot all the small blemishes and freckles dotting his pale back. It takes everything in him not to transform into a spluttering, melting mess beneath him and he grits his teeth hard to desperately not betray his growing agitation.
Kokichi shifts in his lap then aims a cheeky grin behind him. “Ready to get swallowed up by the dragon, Shumai? We’re probably not going to make it outta this one alive, y’know. Hope you’ve written a will!”
Shuichi swallows and nods. Slowly, he propels his body forward, grunting under the weight, and the stream of water finally takes them down the slide.
It’s a lot more cramped than he thought it would be. Shuichi has to lower his head somewhat to not hit the top and the ridges of the slide are bumping his tailbone painfully every couple second, but it all fades away at the sound of Kokichi’s laughter. Wild, eager giggling so unlike his normal exaggerated cackling. And he’s got his hands around Shuichi’s wrists, clinging to him tightly like he’ll slip through the plastic if he lets go. Shuichi finds himself enjoying this moment, listening to his joy fill the cavern of the slide, feeling the closeness of the person he will likely never have the courage to confess to. But at this moment, it couldn’t matter less.
This is enough. This is wonderful.
As light bleeds into the slide, signaling the end of the ride, Shuichi plugs his nose before being suddenly submerged in chlorinated water. His feet find the bottom and he rises past the surface with a gasp, shaking the wetness from his hair with a smile.
It’s only then he notices, while Kokichi also has his footing on the floor, only the top of his scalp is poking through. Frantic bubbles are streaming upward and his hands seem to search for Shuichi within the water. With a sharp yelp of surprise, Shuichi dives downward and wraps his arms around the shorter’s waist to carry him to the surface.
Kokichi emerges wildly coughing, likely more than he actually needs to, and splutters, “I kn-knew it! I knew th-that terrible employee was tryna assassinate the s-supreme leader of all evil, I saw it in his eyes!” With a sneaky grin, he loops his arms around Shuichi’s shoulders and coos, “Good thing I had my handsome knight to save me~”
Shuichi splutters, looking away as the ardent pink overtakes his entire face and peppers down his neck. But, of course, he can’t let the object of his embarrassment go, so is resolved to simply endure the close embrace— the soaked skin of his crush pressing against his own that is slowly becoming more intertwined as Kokichi tightens his grip.
“I-I, ah… I’m glad you’re okay, Kokichi,” Shuichi stammers. “But this is… probably why they didn’t let you ride it before. It’s probably not very safe.”
“Well, you’ll just have to save me from drowning every time then, huh?”
With a small sigh, Shuichi begins a wade for the sidelines. “Or you could try one of the less dangerous options?”
“Danger makes it more fun~” He gives him a wide-eyed stare and an extended bottom lip. “Don’t tell me my favorite subordinate didn’t have any fun?”
Shuichi bites his cheek and murmurs, “W-well, I didn’t say that—”
“Then let’s do it again, Shumai!!” Reaching the ladder, Kokichi pops out of his arms and climbs up, then outstretches a hand with an endearing grin. “In exchange, I’ll tell you some truth, ‘kay? No more lying from me!”
Cocking his head, Shuichi takes his hand and grunts as he’s pulled out of the water. “Somehow I, ah, have a hard time believing that.”
“How rude!! Your life would be a lot happier if you learned to trust people more, I bet.” He toddles forward, already heading for the stairs again, but pauses briefly to bestow him a sultry grin. “I only had that much fun because the person I love was with me, nishishi ~”
Shuichi’s heart jackrabbits into his throat and all that comes out of him are wet splutters as Kokichi skips up the steps, giggling the entire way up.