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[And here's the reaction he was expecting. With a light laugh, he lifts the hand with the gift, waving it a little.]

You don't have to commit to a relationship or anything, by the way. I'm totally head over heels for you, but I know what I'm like, nishishi! So...I'm just asking for one date.

[He glances towards the exit of their floor, humming.]

It's just really beautiful out...seemed like it'd be a shame not to enjoy it. And it'd be a shame to miss the chance of telling you how I feel again...

Edited 2019-12-20 23:50 (UTC)

[And it'd be a shame to miss the chance of telling you how I feel again... There it is. Absolute proof that he was right about just how long Kokichi has had these feelings. Again can only mean one thing, after all. That he'd missed his chance to say so during the killing game because death had snatched it away from him.]

I... [Just one date...that's not so unreasonable a request, is it? No, it's not. Even if Shuichi still isn't sure what to make of all this, even if he still feels incredibly wrong-footed...he can give Kokichi that much. He can give him one Actual, Not Just As Friends date. So he reaches forward and takes the flowers and gift bag from Kokichi, though avoiding eye contact as he does so, cheeks faintly pink as he speaks in an even softer voice than usual.] It...w-would be a shame not to enjoy it. You're right.

Edited 2019-12-21 00:00 (UTC)

[And Kokichi is immediately beaming, obviously overjoyed that Shuichi agreed.]

I'm ready to go when you are then!

[Go get ready, friend!]

[You're easier to please than you seem, huh Kokichi?]

Ah...right. Um...just...g-give me a minute to change into...something nicer.

[Not that...he really has any dressy clothes? They just don't need stuff like that here. Or at least, they haven't so far.]

You can come sit in the living room, if you want? So you don't...have to stand out here...

[He sure is. At least where Shuichi is involved. But he takes that invitation and slips inside, taking a seat on the couch.]

Take your time! And don't worry about being too fancy or anything. These are just nice street clothes that I haven't torn apart yet, nishishi.

[He's dressed nicely, yes, but definitely not suit and tie or dress shirt and slacks levels of nice. The fanciest thing he has going on are black painted nails and having pulled his hair back into a ponytail.]

[Okay but Shuichi is already in his pajamas...he can't go out in his pajamas. That's why he's already wearing them despite the fact that it's still technically the afternoon. He was planning on just...spending the evening reading. Surprise.]

[He doesn't immediately head for the bedroom once they're both inside though. instead, he pulls a mug out of one of the cupboards and fills it with water, putting the flowers in it and setting it down on a counter. He...he doesn't have a vase because why would he? But a mug works, right? The flowers certainly don't seem to be complaining about it.]

[Only then does he head into the bedroom, Kokichi's giftbag still in hand. He's not sure if he should open that now or after the date...what is the protocol here? He's never been on a date before so obviously he's never received a date PRESENT before either. So once inside, he just sets it down on his bed before turning to his closet.]

[After a few minutes, he reemerges wearing the pinstriped pants and plain white dress shirt of his old school uniform. Teeth brushed? Check. Hair combed? Check. He is READY for this d-- okay no he's not even remotely ready, despite how ready he looks, appearance-wise. But it'll just have to do, because he can't back out of this now.]

Okay...I'm r-ready.

[A classic outfit but a good one too. Kokichi approves, and once Shuichi is ready, he gets to his feet, straightening his clothes a little again and gestures for the door.]

Let's go then!

[And, once outside in the hall, he laughs a little.]

Maybe the first thing we should do is go vase shopping?

Aha...m-maybe. [He closes his dorm door behind him.] But...I think they'll be okay in the mug. I wouldn't really...have much use for a vase after they die...

[He starts walking towards the exit, slowly so that he doesn't get too far ahead of Kokichi.]

In retrospect, maybe I should have put them in one of my flasks instead...they're deeper and it's not like they're getting any other use right now...

[Kokichi keeps pace with him, smile becoming something playful as he winks.]

I bet I could give it some use.

[It's not like he's only allowed to give you flowers once, you know.]

[Shuichi stares blankly at him for a moment. He's...what possible use could Kokichi put his flasks to? He's not a chemist, and magic is dead anyway oh wait he's talking about the vase, isn't he?]

[Yeah, he's probably talking about the vase. Meaning he's probably implying he'd get him more flowers...]

[What happened to not having to commit to anything, Kokichi?? Shuichi flushes a little bit and hastily looks down at the floor.]

R-Really, Oma-kun, it's fine. I thought you wanted to enjoy the festivities in town? Looking for a vase would just take time away from that, s-so...

[Kokichi laughs a little, the sound light and happy.] True, I did say that, huh?

[He moves his hand, hesitates a moment, then takes Shuichi's hand.]

Though first, are you hungry? We can eat before we do any wandering around. I heard Candlenights foods are reaaaaally good!

[Kokichi will find it easy enough to take Shuichi's hand, since both of them are just hanging loosely at his sides. Though when he does so, it causes the detectives cheeks to flush even darker.]

Um...I c-could eat, sure.

[He's not the only one blushing, but Kokichi still does his best to act totally natural.]

Let's go get dinner then! I think they have a general feast for Candlenights, buuuuuut I saw some cute little restaurants that should be less crowded to visit. So I'm gonna treat you to one of those!

[Because he knows Shuichi would be more comfortable in a less crowded environment. And the one he has in mind, he thinks, will probably have more food that the detective favors. So he starts leading the way with a gentle tug on his hand.]

M-mm...okay.

[He's not wrong...less crowded environments are preferable to something like a feast when it comes to Shuichi. So he allows himself to be led away without a fuss, though keeps his eyes on the ground as they walk.]

[Don't think Kokichi doesn't notice that. As they walk, he takes side glances towards him, just trying to gauge how Shuichi's doing or feeling, how comfortable or uncomfortable he may be...and while he doesn't do anything about the fact that he's keeping his eyes on the ground, he does try to make this less uncomfortable and awkward.

Because it's probably pretty awkward for the detective. He's sure that Shuichi doesn't feel even close to the same way about him, even if he agreed. This date was a mixture of wanting to enjoy the experience and wanting to try and see if he could catch the detective's eye at all, even a little...to see if it would ever be possible.

And so, he does what he does best. He talks to fill up the silence!]

Oh man, so I was looking around the other day to find a good place to eat at and ended up running into one of the guards. You know, those big cats?

[It is kind of awkward, yeah. But not as awkward as it could be. Because while he definitely does not feel the same as Kokichi...the leader is a very dear friend. It's not like he hates him or anything. In fact, now that Maki won't be around as much, if at all...he's probably the closest friend Shuichi has.]

[The detective looks up a little as Kokichi speaks, meeting his eyes for the first time since they left his room. His cheeks are still faintly pink.]

Um...yeah, I've seen them... [From a distance. He hasn't really spent any time in New New Aspen, even though the Moonbase is so close now.] What happened?

Well I wanted to pet it because who doesn't want to pet a cat? And, by the way, that was a great idea. They're suuuuuper soft, I highly recommend it. But I ended up getting distracted from restaurant quest because after a little bit of petting I started walking away and it saw the belts on my pants.

[You know. The dangling ones that sway when he walks?]

Guess what happened.

[Shuichi can't help but smile a little. Oh no...he thinks he can see where this is going.]

The cat started chasing your belt?

[Please don't tell him you got pantsed in the middle of the street by a cat.]

Edited 2019-12-23 00:04 (UTC)

It did! Very successfully. [Shuichi might notice, now, that Kokichi is not wearing a pair with belts on them.]

It caught one of them in it's mouth and started trying to kill it, as cats do, and just tugged that leg out from under me. I fell flat on my face! And then it proceeded to lift me up in the air by my leg while trying to play with it!

[He's laughing as he retells the tale, clearly too amused by the experience, even if he ended up a little scraped up.]

I had to actually cut it from my pants to free myself.

[He did notice, though didn't think anything of it because he kind of figured it was because Kokichi was trying to dress nice.]

A-ah-- [That's actually a much less funny ending than he was expecting! And even though Kokichi is clearly okay and is laughing about it himself...Shuichi can't. He just looks worried.] Are you alright?! That sounds terrible...

[It...did make the situation less awkward though? So Kokichi did succeed in his goal, just...not the way he was presumably aiming for.]

Edited 2019-12-23 00:22 (UTC)

Hah? [There's a moment of surprise on Kokichi's face before he giggles and waves his free hand.]

Don't worry, Saihara-chan, I'm fine! I mean, I totally thought I was gonna be cat food at the time, but just a few scrapes in the end, nothing to worry about!

[It may not have gone the way he expected, but that doesn't bother him any. Shuichi's unpredictable and he likes that. Plus...it'd be a lie to say that he doesn't like the detective worrying about him.]

M-mm...if you say so...

[He can't really argue the point, the evidence speaks for itself. Kokichi looks perfectly fine, he clearly didn't sustain any real damage from the attack. It just sounds kind of horrifying to be dangled upside down BY THE LEG by a giant cat.]

[It wasn't that horrible. It made him a little dizzy and totally ruined a pair of his pants, but it was an okay experience Shuichi. You should try it some time.]

Nishishi, I appreciate the concern though! It's nice to have someone worried about me for once.

[He gives his hand a little squeeze.]

Edited 2019-12-23 00:51 (UTC)

[Noooooooooo thank you!]

[But Kokichi has kind of brought back the awkward again, his latest comment causing the detective to nod with one of his little stuttered noises of affirmation before looking back down at the ground again, cheeks bright pink.]

[You're welcome? He guesses? Though it seems odd to actually say you're welcome for something like worry...because concern isn't something you should have to be thankful for...]

[And yet he is, since a lot of the time people aren't concerned about him. But he's not going to elaborate on that at all, and instead launches into another conversation topic. This one is about all of the neat points of interest New New Aspen has that Kokichi discovered in his adventures. A little less worrisome, and something that maybe Shuichi would find interesting. He leaves out the fact that there's a cute book shop, since that's part of his plans for the evening though...but the rest is a good way to fill up the time on their way to the restaurant.

And it's a really quaint little restaurant that they enter. He wasn't kidding about less crowded, the cute hole in the wall diner having a cozy atmosphere and not too many people there. They're greeted as they enter and led to a booth seat, handed menus and a cup of water each before being left to decide on their dinner. Shuichi will notice, as he reads through the menu, that there are a lot of vegetarian options here. Most of the menu comprises of dishes made of mainly or only fruits and veggies, with pastas and the like as well. There's a decent selection of tea on the menu and both decadent looking as well as less sweet dessert options.

Kokichi gets himself a soup and an entirely too sweet dessert, plus some tea, and pays for both of their meals. He chats with him more during dinner too, about the food and the town and how much he misses Panta...he does his absolute best to make it a pleasant experience. Even if, predictably, there's some teasing and lying and playing with his food that definitely happens too. But it's lower key than normal. No food fights, no crocodile tears, no grand theatrics that attracts the attention of everyone present...just a reasonable amount of playfulness.

And he holds the door open for Shuichi as they leave, a satisfied grin on his face.]

Man, I kind of hope we stay grounded. The food here's pretty good!

Edited 2019-12-23 01:17 (UTC)

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