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Shuichi’s phone vibrates where it sits on the bedside table, feet away from where Kokichi’s currently snuggling with him. Letting out a sleepy little groan of protest, Shuichi stretches languidly past Kokichi, eyes half-lidded, fingers extending to tip the phone over and check the screen.
Then he sits bolt upright, the device clutched between both hands. “I. Um. Oh. Sorry. I have to, um, read this.”
“Read it,” Kokichi echoes, a little disgruntled from the sudden loss of his heat source. “You have to go somewhere else to do that? Is it a voice memo?”
“No,” Shuichi says, then cringes. It’s as if he regrets answering honestly, which, frankly, makes Kokichi have to suppress a grin. “I mean—um—I’ll be back. It’s not an emergency. I’ll just—I’ll be right back after I’ve read this.” He scrambles out from under the covers. His hair is messy, and his shirt’s lopsided, a large wrinkle running down the front. It’s cute, just like the failed lie, and the quick glance he shoots over his shoulder as he scrambles out the door. He must be checking to see that Kokichi isn’t miffed, and he isn’t, much, so Kokichi wiggles his fingers at Shuichi in a playful goodbye, then watches him leave.
Man. He is lucky he’s cute though, Shuichi. Kokichi’s never known such a terrible liar. But of course that isn’t true either; Shuichi can lie when it’s important, just not to Kokichi. And he especially can’t lie when the stakes are low. It’s just as well for him that Kokichi’s already figured out what he’s doing, because otherwise, being able to tell that Shuichi’s lying to him without knowing the reason for it—well, obviously, it’d make him paranoid. He’s supposed to be able to trust Shuichi, after all.
But no. Shuichi’s just planning a date for them, and he’s not even directly lying. It’s just that he’s so shitassed at surprises, he keeps having to come up with excuses for his behaviour, and that’s where all the tells come in. It’s endearing. And Kokichi likes that Shuichi still tries to surprise him, despite the fact that they both know Kokichi can see through him, and they both know Shuichi can’t really deceive anybody. It’s sweet. Keeps things fun! So Kokichi keeps his mouth shut, sitting on the edge of the bed and swinging his legs. He does nab Shuichi’s sweater off the edge of the mattress though, pulling it over his head to prevent the risk of boyfriend withdrawals while Shuichi’s off dealing with whatever it is he’s dealing with.
When the door reopens, Shuichi emerges, looking a bit flustered still. His phone is in his hand. He crosses the room, setting it back down on the nightstand and dropping onto the mattress.
“Sorry about that. It really wasn't an emergency,” Shuichi says bashfully. “I just, ah, yeah. Had to handle it.”
Kokichi finds himself fighting off a smile again. He glances at Shuichi’s phone. The screen is dark, but of course, he could open it. They both know each other’s passwords. He won’t, because he does respect Shuichi’s privacy on this, but just to mess with him, he stretches out, hands fluttering over where it rests on the desk, then plops himself in Shuichi’s lap instead. Rolling onto his back, he grins up into Shuichi’s surprised—and slightly anxious—face.
“Well, well, well,” Kokichi coos. “Fancy meeting you here, Shu-chan.”
“Um.” Shuichi smiles, his eyebrows raised slightly. “Hello, Kokichi. Is it really?” His fingers slide through Kokichi’s fringe, and Kokichi leans after it like a cat. “I’m sorry if I worried you.”
“Do I look worried?”
“No, but…”
Shuichi’s a fretter. It’s another one of his tells. He overcompensates when he knows that he’s hiding something. It’s cute for him to do this when he’s planning something so benign as a surprise date. Kokichi reaches up to squish his cheek, wondering if he should tease a little more, or if he should lay off for the sake of Shuichi’s heart. He does like seeing Shuichi sweat—it’s cute, okay, sue him—but push too hard and Shuichi will fully know that the jig is up. Maybe he already understands that intellectually, but at least they both have plausible deniability right now.
“You look worried,” Kokichi decides to say. “Sure it wasn’t an emergency? Like some kind of… last-minute cancellation?”
“Eh?” Shuichi blinks, and Kokichi shrugs.
“That happened to me while I was planning the assassination of my great uncle! The caterer fell through. It was a whole logistical ordeal to take care of, let me tell you, because he would only come if we promised to serve him lobster rolls, and do you know how hard it is to find those last minute? Just terrible! I had to contact some buddies over in Germany—of course, I was in Sweden at the time—and pull a few strings…”
“Ah, I see,” Shuichi mumbles. His expression has relaxed, a little smile tugging at his lips. So it was the right move after all. Shuichi’s not difficult to deal with per se, and certainly not draining, but he can be like a puzzle all on his own, just because of the different layers of his anxiety. He’s always overthinking something. Plus, he’s selective about the games he chooses to play, so Kokichi really has to refine his material. Makes everything feel a little extra special, whenever Shuichi does choose to play along. “Well, no. Nothing like that. As I said, it wasn’t an emergency. It wasn’t even anything bad.”
So his plans are probably just solidified, or something like that. That’s good. It’s good for Kokichi, because it means that he gets to enjoy the date, but it’s also good for Shuichi’s blood pressure, which is always a relief. Reaching up, Kokichi pinches the bridge of Shuichi’s nose so it’ll wrinkle, then releases a giggle.
“You could’ve fooled me making a face like that!” Kokichi singsongs. “But maybe that’s just Shu-chan’s natural funeral-goer expression, hm?”
“I’m not sure how I’m supposed to take that,” Shuichi sighs, shaking his head. Then he deflates, a hand coming up to cup his forehead. “Although… saying that…”
Holding his tongue, Kokichi waits for Shuichi to continue, but Shuichi doesn’t, merely trailing off with a small frown on his face. He looks troubled again, just this side of thoughtful, and Kokichi likes that look on his face far less. He moves his hand from the pinch of Shuichi’s nose to his upper lip instead, rubbing it until Shuichi’s gaze is back on him. Beneath his fingertips, Shuichi’s lip twitches into a sort of smile.
“Sorry,” Shuichi says, exhaling against Kokichi’s palm. “I didn’t mean to keep you in suspense. I just, um… Do you think this is silly?”
“What is?” Kokichi raises an eyebrow. “The look on your face? Don’t ask questions you don’t really wanna hear the answer to, my beloved.”
Nose wrinkled, Shuichi blows against Kokichi’s face, and Kokichi squirms, letting out a squawk of protest. It’s actually barely anything, but he likes to play up the reaction, likes it even more when it pulls a broader smile out of his partner.
“No. I mean, the… charade.” Shuichi pauses meaningfully, a brow raised. So he does know he’s been caught onto—though perhaps he’s always known. Not that Kokichi’s been dropping hints everywhere, but he hasn’t been hiding that he knows either, and Kokichi isn’t the only one who’s had a lot of time to spend observing and learning about his boyfriend. They’re both well-versed in the other’s tells by now. “Is it… should I even be bothering?”
Kokichi frowns, moving his hand to drum his fingers along Shuichi’s jawline. “Are you the kinda person who thinks you shouldn’t tell your kids that Santa exists, Shuichi?”
“Um.” Shuichi’s eyes squint. “I have mixed feelings about the practice of lying to your children about a magical entity who breaks into your house every year to leave gifts, yes. Especially if the gifts were my ideas, and the credit is going to that old white man…”
Laughing, Kokichi admits, “Ooookay, maybe that was a bad example. But still. Maybe it’s not worth it, you’d think, ‘cause you’re just gonna tell your kids eventually that Santa’s not real anyways. Right? At least I’d hope so, or you’re introducing truly idiotic and gullible adults into the world.” He shakes his head. “But is that really the case? Should you really not tell a lie at all, just because you’re going to reveal it later on?”
Shuichi’s expression is thoughtful. “You’re asking all these leading questions as if we don’t both know what your stance is on this.”
“Wrong! I’m asking them because we know what my stance is on this.” Kokichi grins. “You do it ‘cause it’s fun, Shu-chan. For the memories. The good moments. The means, not the ends. It’s worth it to put on the whole shindig because your kids are gonna look back at it later and remember how much time you put in to care about them. That’s the nice thing about lies like that, isn’t it? They act as proof that you’re loved. In that way, it’s always worthwhile—and that’s not a lie.”
Understanding has lit up Shuichi’s face; his eyes are soft now, and warm, and it makes Kokichi’s chest feel all tight and fluttery, intense. He opens his mouth again to divert, to say something stupid about a murder he committed once, but then Shuichi’s leaning forward and pressing their lips together. He tastes like his morning coffee and cinnamon creamer. Kokichi shuts his eyes and sighs into it, unable to resist the comfort that comes from kissing his partner.
His mind is wonderfully blank when Shuichi does pull back, grey eyes half-lidded and gooey with affection.
“I understand what you’re trying to say,” Shuichi says. “Thank you. I’ll keep on as I was before.”
“Good! You know, I really hate a guy with commitment issues.” Kokichi rolls out of Shuichi’s lap. See, that one’s funny, because between the two of them, it obviously isn’t Shuichi who has the trouble committing to things. “Are you hungry, Shuichi? I feel like I could plow through like three grilled cheese sandwiches right now.”
Nose wrinkling, Shuichi says, “I’m hungry, but I don’t know if I’m that hungry.”
“Hmm. Okay, well, how about I grill up four, and we’ll see what happens?” Kokichi grins. He hops backwards towards the door, a sort of precarious move, but it’s worth it to be able to see Shuichi’s expression, the way he starts to laugh.
“All right, I guess that seems like a reasonable compromise.” Shuichi gets to his feet, reaching behind himself to straighten out the sheets. Then he picks up his phone, tucking it into his pocket. “You look good in that sweater by the way. Did you get cold?”
“Uh, duh. My weighted blanket grew legs and walked out.” Kokichi shoves his feet into his slippers. “Also, I missed you.”
“Missed me?” Shuichi’s face goes red. It’s only even a half-lie, because Kokichi’s clingy and they both know it, but it is really sweet to see how bad that gets him. Kokichi grins, and Shuichi lets out a puff of breath, shaking his head and looking away. A big grin on his face, Kokichi waits in the doorway for his boyfriend to join him, then interlaces their fingers.
“I always miss you when you’re not right next to me, my love,” Kokichi coos, and it’s delightful, the way Shuichi’s neck goes all splotchy and pink. Even better when Kokichi can get a reaction like that and it’s from telling the truth. Man, he’s on fire today! When he’s grilled up their lunch and sat down to eat, maybe he’ll do some surreptitious texting of his own, and let some of his buddies know how good he’s doing at this whole boyfriend thing.
…Actually, nah. There are some things you just wanna keep between yourself and the love of your life. Besides, Kokichi’s not sure they’re the ones who will appreciate hearing it the most. Not more than Shuichi anyhow, and so, as he tugs Shuichi’s arm to drag him into the kitchen, Kokichi is sure to let him know.