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The light…
Shuichi slid his back up against the headboard of the bed, settling himself into a sitting position. He squinted at the light pouring in through the crack of the door and tried rubbing the weariness from his eyes, mind still hazy. Out of reflex, Shuichi’s hand patted the spot next to him, only to be finally jolted awake by the lack thereof. His eyes scanned the rest of the bed and the rest of the room before returning to the light outside the bedroom.
What was Kokichi doing up at this time of night?
Shuichi slipped off the bed and made his way to the door. When he opened it, he winced at the greater intensity of light that fell upon him, but surely enough, Kokichi was sprawled across the sofa playing whatever it was on the TV. He was bundled in layers and layers of blankets with assorted pillows to accompany. So that’s where all the pillows went.
Aside from Kokichi, the bed had also been missing all of its pillows other than the one Shuichi was using. Until now, Shuichi never realized they owned this many pillows and blankets.
“Kokichi?” He grimaced at how raspy his voice came out. Typically, Kokichi had the ability to sense his presence before he even made a peep, but Shuichi will let the late hour excuse the way Kokichi jumped in his bundle and whipped around with alarm. When Kokichi saw Shuichi in his defenseless black tee and gray sweatpants, mussed hair, and half-lidded eyes, he eased up and giggled.
“Whoa! Shumai, you look flattering,” Kokichi said, despite being in the same state himself.
Shuichi sighed as he walked to the sofa, pushing aside the mountain of blankets to make himself a seat at the end. Kokichi let out a whine of protest but shuffled some of the pillows as well.
The video playing on the TV made Shuichi turn to Kokichi in a mixture of puzzlement and incredulity. He cleared his throat. “What is this.”
“Goats, Shumai. Didn’t you ever learn this in school?”
“Yes, but what are you doing at 3 AM watching… goat videos?”
“Ehh? Why am I being interrogated? You’re outside work hours.” Past Kokichi’s cheeky grin, Shuichi made out the vague bags underneath his eyes. His skin was also paler than usual, almost ghostly white, and Shuichi began to suspect if this had been going on for a while now.
“Are you okay? You don’t look too well,” Shuichi spoke slowly.
“Perfectly,” Kokichi said.
“Kokichi,” Shuichi said, voice firmer.
“Shuichi.”
“Do you mind telling me why you haven’t been sleeping?”
The atmosphere in the room suddenly dropped. The video had ended, and only silence filled the room as Kokichi chewed on his lip and Shuichi waited for his response. Kokichi leaned back in the sofa. The yellow light glossed his hair and brought to vision the specks of dust that floated through the ray.
With averted eyes, Kokichi whispered, “I have a disease.”
Shuichi’s heart stopped.
“Juuust kidding~!”
The heavy atmosphere was lifted, and Shuichi felt like such a fool to have fallen for another one of Kokichi’s tricks, fallen for Kokichi. Shuichi bent down, face falling into his palms. “Please don’t scare me like that… If you were trying to distract me, just know it didn’t work.”
“Aw, man.”
“Kokichi, please.”
“Insomnia.”
The response was so quick and blunt that Shuichi almost did a double take. He turned to Kokichi again to find any trace of mirth on his face — not that he’d be able to tell anyway. However, the answer this time sounded more reasonable, and Kokichi wasn’t looking him in the eye, now flipping through more animal videos on the TV.
“I see,” Shuichi finally said, figuring Kokichi wouldn’t want to elaborate. He was satisfied enough with an honest answer.
He stood from the sofa. He passed Kokichi’s line of vision, and he felt the other’s eyes lingering on him as he entered the kitchen and flicked on the lights. As he opened the fridge, he heard the beginning of another goat video. This brought a small smile to his lips, but he focused on retrieving the carton of milk from the fridge, reaching for the jar of honey in the top cabinet, and fetching Kokichi’s favorite mug, the one with the horse that Miu got him for Christmas. At the time, Kokichi had loudly declared how ugly the thing was, which Miu had retorted saying it looked like him. Although troublesome at the time, Shuichi now chuckled at the memory and thought that it wouldn’t hurt Kokichi to be more honest.
He heated up the milk and then added a spoonful of honey to the liquid, slowly stirring it as he made his way back to the living room. Kokichi was in the same position as he left him, but he turned at Shuichi’s approaching footsteps.
“Here,” Shuichi said. He gave the drink a few more stirs before letting the metal spoon hit the rim with a clink. He held it out to Kokichi, who raised a brow but nonetheless accepted it with both hands. “It’s milk with honey. It should help you sleep.”
“Aww, Shumai is sooo considerate!” Kokichi beamed.
Shuichi sighed. “You worry me too much.”
“Too bad Iruma-chan’s ugly mug ruins it.”
Shuichi shook his head as Kokichi brought the mug to his lips. His sips were slow, but Shuichi was happy to see Kokichi drinking it.
Kokichi pulled away and licked his lips. “It’s sweet.”
The corner of Shuichi’s lip tugged upwards. Affection swelled in his chest at Kokichi’s rare tranquil expression. “Isn’t that how honey’s supposed to taste?”
“Hm, yeah.” Kokichi took another sip. “But—” his eyes shift to Shuichi “—I know something sweeter.” The smaller set the mug on the coffee table, and before Shuichi could even react, Kokichi pulled him down by the front of his shirt and connected their lips.
It’s sweet, was Shuichi’s first thought. He almost chuckled, realizing he was repeating Kokichi’s previous words. He relaxed into the kiss and voluntarily lowered himself further to decrease the strain for them both. This meant crawling entirely onto the sofa and settling atop the blankets, while also making sure he wasn’t sitting on Kokichi.
Their lips detached for a second, to catch breath, before they met again. Shuichi wasn’t sure how long they spent kissing that night, but by the end of it, he made sure the mug was empty and washed and that Kokichi was back in bed where he’s supposed to be. The TV was turned off, and the pillows and blankets could be left to tidy in the morning.
Now 4 AM, in the darkness, Kokichi’s chest rose and fell at a steady pace. Shuichi brushed aside the bangs that fell over the other’s face and pressed his lips to his forehead.