Shuichi "Beta-est of Betas" Saihara ✯ 最原 終一 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
diffidentive) wrote2017-11-13 11:58 am
diffidentive) wrote2017-11-13 11:58 am
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Wh--? No, I...that's not--
[That's not what he was saying at all. Not even close. But he can't get the rest of the sentence out once he sees that grateful expression on Kokichi's face, even if it's only there for a fraction of a second.]
[That's not what he was saying at all. Not even close. But he can't get the rest of the sentence out once he sees that grateful expression on Kokichi's face, even if it's only there for a fraction of a second.]
[It's not what he was saying at all, but the soft, defeated sigh that punctuates Shuichi's incomplete protests says that he's not going to argue it. He's just going to take another sip of tea and resign himself to his fate.]
Good. we'll start tomorrow then.
Good. we'll start tomorrow then.
[Victory. The smile he gives the detective this time isn't that same grateful one from before, but a cheeky grin that says he's proud that he got what he wanted out of it.]
Alright! So do you have like...a schedule or something? Or are you just gonna call me over whenever? How does this work now, since I assume it must be pretty tough to train around the same time with how much Akamatsu-chan and I visit you. And, you know. At night is probably tough to get time for in general, riiiiight?
Alright! So do you have like...a schedule or something? Or are you just gonna call me over whenever? How does this work now, since I assume it must be pretty tough to train around the same time with how much Akamatsu-chan and I visit you. And, you know. At night is probably tough to get time for in general, riiiiight?
[Shuichi's cheeks flush an even darker pink and he suddenly becomes very interested in the lid on his tea. Wow, look at that. Fascinating.]
I haven't been keeping to a set schedule here, no... [For exactly the reasons Kokichi just listed.] But it's easy enough to get back on one. We'll just have to find a time that works for both of us and go from there.
I haven't been keeping to a set schedule here, no... [For exactly the reasons Kokichi just listed.] But it's easy enough to get back on one. We'll just have to find a time that works for both of us and go from there.
[It's easy enough to get him to rest his head on her shoulder. Even though it puts him in such close proximity to her boobs, he doesn't make any effort to resist.]
[Perhaps surprisingly, he starts humming along with her almost immediately, as though he hadn't needed his memory jogged for that particular song.] ...I liked that one.
[Not that he...doesn't like basically every song Kaede plays for him, but that was one of the ones that he'd especially enjoyed. It was sad but oddly soothing. He hadn't realized it at the time but...she's right, isn't she? That soothing feeling is a hopeful one, isn't it? Just a little bit.]
[He nuzzles his face against her shoulder, giving a small chuff of laughter.]
I never stopped to think about that, but...you know, he'd probably ask me why I wasted my time missing him when I have you here with me. Or something like that, you know? Play it off and try to sound cool...
[Be a teenage boy, basically. Comment on how hot his girlfriend is, that sort of thing.]
[Perhaps surprisingly, he starts humming along with her almost immediately, as though he hadn't needed his memory jogged for that particular song.] ...I liked that one.
[Not that he...doesn't like basically every song Kaede plays for him, but that was one of the ones that he'd especially enjoyed. It was sad but oddly soothing. He hadn't realized it at the time but...she's right, isn't she? That soothing feeling is a hopeful one, isn't it? Just a little bit.]
[He nuzzles his face against her shoulder, giving a small chuff of laughter.]
I never stopped to think about that, but...you know, he'd probably ask me why I wasted my time missing him when I have you here with me. Or something like that, you know? Play it off and try to sound cool...
[Be a teenage boy, basically. Comment on how hot his girlfriend is, that sort of thing.]
Edited 2018-03-17 22:37 (UTC)
[It's on the tip of her tongue, to point out that he's never said he doesn't like one of the songs she's played for him, but honestly she's too smitten with the fact that he was able to hum alongside her to comment on it. Just. That was really cute, almost like they'd been playing together.
She can't help but laugh quietly herself, nodding as her fingers graze over his ear as she keeps brushing his hair.]
Yeah, that does sound like something he'd say... You'd have to really twist his arm to get him to admit that he misses you, too.
[Because surely Kaito is out there on another space station, somewhere. Probably trying to find his way to them, knowing him.]
I think... it's okay to miss everyone, as long as it doesn't stop us from moving forward.
[Easy for her to say, harder for her to do. But she's trying!! And talking about it might help, a little. She hopes.]
She can't help but laugh quietly herself, nodding as her fingers graze over his ear as she keeps brushing his hair.]
Yeah, that does sound like something he'd say... You'd have to really twist his arm to get him to admit that he misses you, too.
[Because surely Kaito is out there on another space station, somewhere. Probably trying to find his way to them, knowing him.]
I think... it's okay to miss everyone, as long as it doesn't stop us from moving forward.
[Easy for her to say, harder for her to do. But she's trying!! And talking about it might help, a little. She hopes.]
Mmm...
[He closes his eyes and falls silent again, just enjoying the feeling of being held like this. After a few moments, he starts idly twining the ends of Kaede's hair around his fingers again. Yes, talking about it does help, a little bit, but apparently Shuichi's done enough talking for today.]
[Missing his friends hasn't stopped him from moving forward, this time. It's not the same as the killing game, where he knew he'd never see them again. It's just a matter of waiting it out here, right? So even if it makes him a little sad to think about them, and even if he wishes they were all here...it's okay, in the long run. He's okay.]
...hey, Kaede?
[He closes his eyes and falls silent again, just enjoying the feeling of being held like this. After a few moments, he starts idly twining the ends of Kaede's hair around his fingers again. Yes, talking about it does help, a little bit, but apparently Shuichi's done enough talking for today.]
[Missing his friends hasn't stopped him from moving forward, this time. It's not the same as the killing game, where he knew he'd never see them again. It's just a matter of waiting it out here, right? So even if it makes him a little sad to think about them, and even if he wishes they were all here...it's okay, in the long run. He's okay.]
...hey, Kaede?
[Her heart pounds a little harder in her chest when he says her first name without prompting. Maybe eventually it won't make her heart race, but not just yet.]
Hm?
[She hums questioningly in response and nuzzles her nose against the top of his head.]
Hm?
[She hums questioningly in response and nuzzles her nose against the top of his head.]
Can you teach me to play the piano?
[How's that for an abrupt subject change?]
[How's that for an abrupt subject change?]
Weellllll I'm never doing anything important, so I'm free whenever. Oh, except early in the mornings. I know you're a late sleeper so it's not like I have to actually worry, but I refuse to do anything before 6am.
[It's said with a shrug as he finally starts working on the second pastry. He doesn't really care about when it is beyond that. He knows himself, if he's just waking up he'd probably fall down halfway through his first push up just because he'd be too groggy and tired to function still.]
[It's said with a shrug as he finally starts working on the second pastry. He doesn't really care about when it is beyond that. He knows himself, if he's just waking up he'd probably fall down halfway through his first push up just because he'd be too groggy and tired to function still.]
[Quite abrupt, indeed! Kaede lets out a little noise of surprise and pulls back, trying to glance down at him.]
You really want to...?
[She sounds cautiously hopeful, like this is a request that's just too good to be true.]
I'll do my best to teach you, if you really want!!
You really want to...?
[She sounds cautiously hopeful, like this is a request that's just too good to be true.]
I'll do my best to teach you, if you really want!!
Mmm. [He nods, trying to keep his head pressed against her even as she pulls back. He was comfortable! Come back!] When we were humming, it made me think of...that dream where we played together.
[You know the one.]
It was nice...
[It was nice and he'd like to do it for real.]
[You know the one.]
It was nice...
[It was nice and he'd like to do it for real.]
Don't worry, I don't like waking up that early either. [He doesn't even push himself out of bed at 6am, let alone do push ups. He is a boy who appreciates his sleep.] How about 4pm tomorrow?
[Shuichi smiles and sits back, picking his tea up once again to take a drink.]
Thank you, Oma-kun. I appreciate this.
[Because they're totally doing it for his sake, not Kokichi's. That's definitely the reason he brought this up.]
Thank you, Oma-kun. I appreciate this.
[Because they're totally doing it for his sake, not Kokichi's. That's definitely the reason he brought this up.]
[While he raises a brow, his smile doesn't falter. He's the one who should appreciate it, but hey. He'll take an excuse to protect his pride.]
You're welcome~
[He takes a sip of his own tea, silently going over the situation in his head again. It's nice, getting an invitation like this. It'd be a lie to say he hadn't been jealous of the training entourage back at the academy. And while this, of course, isn't really anything like that at all, it's still...really nice. Comparable enough to make him pretty happy.
Even if he's sure Kaito and Maki would want to kick him back out of the routine if they ever showed up.]
...I appreciate it, too.
[Just gonna mumble that a little around a bite of his sweet, not looking at the detective.]
You're welcome~
[He takes a sip of his own tea, silently going over the situation in his head again. It's nice, getting an invitation like this. It'd be a lie to say he hadn't been jealous of the training entourage back at the academy. And while this, of course, isn't really anything like that at all, it's still...really nice. Comparable enough to make him pretty happy.
Even if he's sure Kaito and Maki would want to kick him back out of the routine if they ever showed up.]
...I appreciate it, too.
[Just gonna mumble that a little around a bite of his sweet, not looking at the detective.]
[They probably would. And if they ever show up, Shuichi will just have to start training twice a day. Once with Kokichi, and once with Kaito and Maki. He could probably use it anyway, let's be real.]
[Shuichi smiles in response to Kokichi's mumbling, taking a long drink of his tea. He heard that. But he's going to pretend he didn't so you can lie about it later if you want.]
[Shuichi smiles in response to Kokichi's mumbling, taking a long drink of his tea. He heard that. But he's going to pretend he didn't so you can lie about it later if you want.]
[Shuichi you are too good to him...
After a little comfortable silence, once Kokichi has finished his pastry and has opened the cup of fruit to start working on that, he hums a little to get Shuichi's attention. One line of thought had led to another, and the detective "appreciating" him agreeing had brought his mind back to an earlier comment and conversation. And while, at the time, he had decided he didn't want to discuss the fight he had with Kaede at all, he's ended up changing his mind. Sure, there wasn't really any need to address it, and his friend hadn't pursued the issue or anything, but...
Once again, he's choosing not to look at him while he talks.]
So, uh...since you of course know about the fight Akamatsu-chan and I had, I just wanted to tell you I'm going to leave her alone. Not alone alone or anything, of course, but with regards to...you know. That.
[That big pink elephant of, "I care way too much about Shuichi's feelings when I have no right to," that's constantly following him around.]
Oh and I'm going to let her know too, so don't worry about trying to drag me over there to talk to her myself or anything.
After a little comfortable silence, once Kokichi has finished his pastry and has opened the cup of fruit to start working on that, he hums a little to get Shuichi's attention. One line of thought had led to another, and the detective "appreciating" him agreeing had brought his mind back to an earlier comment and conversation. And while, at the time, he had decided he didn't want to discuss the fight he had with Kaede at all, he's ended up changing his mind. Sure, there wasn't really any need to address it, and his friend hadn't pursued the issue or anything, but...
Once again, he's choosing not to look at him while he talks.]
So, uh...since you of course know about the fight Akamatsu-chan and I had, I just wanted to tell you I'm going to leave her alone. Not alone alone or anything, of course, but with regards to...you know. That.
[That big pink elephant of, "I care way too much about Shuichi's feelings when I have no right to," that's constantly following him around.]
Oh and I'm going to let her know too, so don't worry about trying to drag me over there to talk to her myself or anything.
[Shuichi brings his attention back from the window to Kokichi when he speaks, quirking a brow. Yeah, he knows Kaede and Kokichi got into some kind of argument and that it had something to do with the killing game and Kaede not considering his feelings but...]
[When are they NOT fighting? He honestly didn't think much of it, especially now that Kokichi had clearly realized the hypocrisy in telling Kaede something like that. Surely that's why he'd come to apologize again, right?]
[All that said...he's clearly not 100% sure what "That" is, judging by the look on his face. The killing game??]
Um...well I wasn't going to drag you anywhere. But...that's good. [He guesses?]
[When are they NOT fighting? He honestly didn't think much of it, especially now that Kokichi had clearly realized the hypocrisy in telling Kaede something like that. Surely that's why he'd come to apologize again, right?]
[All that said...he's clearly not 100% sure what "That" is, judging by the look on his face. The killing game??]
Um...well I wasn't going to drag you anywhere. But...that's good. [He guesses?]
[Kokichi frowns a little at that kind of reaction. He clearly knew about the fight, so...shouldn't he be more relieved? Or hell, this would be a perfect opportunity to lecture him? Which...well, no. He can't say "surely he would", this is Shuichi. In situations like this, he's never sure what he would do. Maybe they'd talked it out, and the detective got over it. Or maybe Kaede didn't give him the full details at all, so he wouldn't know - the more likely option here, with that look on his face.
He decides to test the waters, shrugging and glancing out the window.]
Huh, here I thought you'd be happier that I wasn't going to hound your girlfriend anymore.
[He hasn't exactly hounded her, but exaggerating should give him exactly the answer he's looking for. Just how much does Shuichi know or care about the sitation?]
He decides to test the waters, shrugging and glancing out the window.]
Huh, here I thought you'd be happier that I wasn't going to hound your girlfriend anymore.
[He hasn't exactly hounded her, but exaggerating should give him exactly the answer he's looking for. Just how much does Shuichi know or care about the sitation?]
Wait...
[He frowns. Now that he thinks about it...Kokichi had said something similar that one time in the park, after Kaede had bought her keyboard. He hadn't thought about it when Kaede had come to talk to him the other day, because of everything else they'd talked about. But that was...at least twice, three times including their first day here, that Kokichi had gotten onto her about being more considerate of Shuichi's feelings.]
[But that still isn't exactly hounding. That's three separate instances, at least two of which were actually prompted by the situation itself.]
Just how many times have the two of you argued about that?
[At least now he seems to be a little more sure about what "That" is.]
[He frowns. Now that he thinks about it...Kokichi had said something similar that one time in the park, after Kaede had bought her keyboard. He hadn't thought about it when Kaede had come to talk to him the other day, because of everything else they'd talked about. But that was...at least twice, three times including their first day here, that Kokichi had gotten onto her about being more considerate of Shuichi's feelings.]
[But that still isn't exactly hounding. That's three separate instances, at least two of which were actually prompted by the situation itself.]
Just how many times have the two of you argued about that?
[At least now he seems to be a little more sure about what "That" is.]
[He glances over at him, eyeing him and trying to gauge what his reaction means.]
...not enough to actually call it hounding. A few times, though. Four, maybe? I don't actually keep count or anything, but there have definitely been at least three times where I talked to her about that specifically, and one where it was just kind of a vague thing.
[As he talks, he continues to just sort of observe him, feeling a little out of place in this kind of situation. As is usual, when he's ever being honest about something involving his own feelings. Rather than explain himself or his point of view, he's choosing to just answer Shuichi and wait for a reaction. He already knows Kaede's view on the whole thing, but he should learn the detective's too since he's still somewhat involved. Maybe not directly, but he is the subject of the arguments.]
...not enough to actually call it hounding. A few times, though. Four, maybe? I don't actually keep count or anything, but there have definitely been at least three times where I talked to her about that specifically, and one where it was just kind of a vague thing.
[As he talks, he continues to just sort of observe him, feeling a little out of place in this kind of situation. As is usual, when he's ever being honest about something involving his own feelings. Rather than explain himself or his point of view, he's choosing to just answer Shuichi and wait for a reaction. He already knows Kaede's view on the whole thing, but he should learn the detective's too since he's still somewhat involved. Maybe not directly, but he is the subject of the arguments.]
Oh.
[Well, he guesses that explains the whole "He really cares about you" thing. If they've discussed it even when he's not around...]
[He glances down at his cup, still frowning as he taps his finger against the side. Though it's clearly more of a thoughtful one than an angry one.]
[He's no exactly sure what to say. It's still weird to think that Kokichi cares THAT MUCH about his feelings.]
Well...thank you, then. For backing off Akamatsu-san.
[.......]
And...for looking out for me. That's why you kept bugging her about it, right?
[Well, he guesses that explains the whole "He really cares about you" thing. If they've discussed it even when he's not around...]
[He glances down at his cup, still frowning as he taps his finger against the side. Though it's clearly more of a thoughtful one than an angry one.]
[He's no exactly sure what to say. It's still weird to think that Kokichi cares THAT MUCH about his feelings.]
Well...thank you, then. For backing off Akamatsu-san.
[.......]
And...for looking out for me. That's why you kept bugging her about it, right?
["I hate you, actually!" "I just wanted to argue with her!" There are a number of lies he could throw out there, protecting himself and his true feelings from Shuichi. But...he keeps them to himself. He wants to be better, to be more considerate, to not be the monster he was in the killing game anymore. And that starts with being a little more honest, even if it terrifies him in some ways.
So he hums a little at first, looking down at the last couple of pieces of fruit in his cup. His expression is incredibly soft, a mixture of both apprehension but something fond and grateful too. He thanked him...]
Yeah. It is. I mean still stand by what I've told her. [Meaning he still wants to try and look out for him.] I'd probably still point it out to her if...I felt like I had any right to, honestly. But I know I don't, so. Yeah. You're welcome.
So he hums a little at first, looking down at the last couple of pieces of fruit in his cup. His expression is incredibly soft, a mixture of both apprehension but something fond and grateful too. He thanked him...]
Yeah. It is. I mean still stand by what I've told her. [Meaning he still wants to try and look out for him.] I'd probably still point it out to her if...I felt like I had any right to, honestly. But I know I don't, so. Yeah. You're welcome.
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