Shuichi slowly blinked awake to someone gently shaking his shoulder. There was a face looking down at him with a smirk tinged with slight concern. He peeled his face off the desk in front of him and winced at the sore feeling in his neck.

"Hey, there are better places to sleep than the library you know," the purple-haired person (Shuichi thought he looked familiar but couldn't quite remember his name) said. "For example,  my bed is always available. To you anyway."

His tone implied... something. Shuichi was too tired to know what and it seemed like too much effort to try and figure it out, so he just nodded. "Uh... sure."

The other person raised a purple eyebrow. Shuichi thought it looked like a little caterpillar wiggling across purple-person's pale skin. Was it healthy to have skin that pale? "Wow, not even a blush. You must really be out of it. C'mon, let's get you to your room." 

He pulled Shuichi to his feet, where Shuichi swayed alarmingly before falling back into the chair. "Ugh, really? Here I am trying to bestow this act of kindness on you, the least you could do is  cooperate." He helped Shuichi stand again, then pushed himself under Shuichi's shoulder to brace an arm around his waist. "I guess it can't be helped. Try not to trip on the way there, okay?"

.................

Shuichi woke much less abruptly this time. His consciousness gradually emerged in parts as he became aware of the weight of blankets, the sinfully plush pillow under his head, and... the sound of the shower running?

Instantly alert, he jerked his eyes open to search for intruders and shrieked.

Kokichi burst into the room. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"What is that?!" Shuichi shrieked again, gesturing at the person hanging from the ceiling by the bed.

"Oh." Kokichi's lips twitched in amusement. "Well, its a wax replica of Rantaro, obviously. I thought a detective would've been able to figure out something that simple."

Shuichi looked back at what he had thought was a person, feeling stupid. Of course it was fake. He shouldn't have needed Kokichi to tell him that. Wait... Why was Kokichi here?

Shuichi turned back to the person in question, and immediately wished he hadn't. It was obvious Kokichi had rushed out of the shower. His hair, usually poofy, was plastered to his skin, his bare shoulders and chest studded with droplets of water, and a towel had been sloppily wrapped around his hips, gaping slightly but very distractingly on the side. Shuichi wrenched his gaze back up to Kokichi's face, but that wasn't any better. Kokichi said nothing, but his big, mischievous eyes and the challenging smile on his lips seemed to speak for him. I saw you looking, and I know what you want. What are you going to do about it? Shuichi stared like a deer in headlights.

The smile turned into a smirk. "Well, if there's nothing else, I'm going to finish my shower." Kokichi stared at him for a few moment longer, waiting for a reply, but Shuichi didn't speak. He wasn't sure he could if he wanted to. When it was clear that there was, in fact, nothing else, Kokichi turned away and went back into the bathroom.

Relieved, Shuichi took the opportunity to look around the room. Aside from the creepy statue beside the bed, there was stuff scattered everywhere. A pile of cardboard boxes filled with books and binders rested in the corner. Paradoxically, the bookshelf behind the pile was dusty with disuse, adorned only with a small potted plant on one shelf. There were more books on the floor, as well two plastic storage containers that Shuichi couldn't see inside because they had their lids on. On the desk beside the bed, opposite to the statue, there was a microscope and a rack of empty test tubes. Beside that was a waste basket overflowing with crumpled paper.

Shuichi knew this must have been Kokichi's room. He tried to remember how he'd gotten there, but kept coming up blank. He was still wracking his brain, forehead scrunched up, when Kokichi came back out, this time fully dressed. He sat on the bed by Shuichi.

"You look like you're trying to figure something out. You should try asking, you'll get less wrinkles that way."

Shuichi hesitated for a moment. "I'm trying to remember how I got here," he admitted. "The last thing I remember was studying in the library."

"You should know why you're in here better than me," Kokichi replied. "I was just in my room, minding my own business, when suddenly the door slammed open and you stumbled in ranting about cats before passing out on the floor."

"I WHAT?!"

Kokichi grinned. "Just kidding! That was lie. What really happened was that I found you asleep in the library, so I decided to get you back to your room. Except, I realized that I didn't have your key, and I thought it might give people that wrong idea if they saw me rifling through the pockets of someone who was basically unconscious, so I just brought you to my room instead."

"Oh, um, th-thank you," Shuichi stuttered. "For doing that. That was very kind of you."

That mischievous sparkle shone in Kokichi's eyes again. "What makes you think I did it out of the goodness of my heart? I am the Ultimate Supreme Leader of Evil you know. Maybe I had some sort of villainous motive in mind. After all, here you are, detective, all alone in my room, and nobody knows it but me."

Shuichi swallowed, eyes wide. "That's not funny," he said, voice breathy.

Kokichi leaned forward so their faces were less than an inch apart, voice low. "What makes you think I'm joking?" he asked, and closed the distance with a kiss.

Shuichi flinched back in shock, and Kokichi pulled back with a horrified look on his face. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I did that. I... I'll leave." He moved to stand, but Shuichi snatched him back by the sleeve. "What are you-" Kokichi started to ask, but was silenced by Shuichi's mouth on his.

They stayed like that for a while, gently kissing and learning each other's heartbeats. Finally, they separated and just soaked up the other's presence, smiling and flushed.

Shuichi broke the silence first. "Um, Kokichi, if you're not busy tonight, there's this really nice cafe I know, and, um, would you... like to go with me?"

"That depends," Kokichi said with an impish smile. "Do they serve Panta there?"

"Uh, no I don't think so. Sorry."

"I don't really see how you can call a cafe nice if it doesn't even serve Panta but," he added, pretending to think it over, "I guess I can bring myself to spend an evening in such a place for your sake."

Shuichi beamed, making Kokichi smile and reach out to cradle his face. "You should smile more," Kokichi said. "It suits you."

Shuichi blushed but he didn't stop smiling. They ended up just staring at each other again, but it wasn't awkward. It was more like they couldn't help but admire the person in front of them. Shuichi didn't want the moment to end, but... "I should probably get going soon. I told Tsumugi I'd help her put up a set for a cosplay photoshoot."

Kokichi pouted. "Aw, but I want you to stay." He sighed. "I guess I can let you escape this one time, but only because I know I'll see you again tonight."

Shuichi gave him one last kiss before he left. "See you tonight."

.............

Bonus

As soon as Shuichi left, Kokichi lunged for his phone and called Rantaro.

"Hello?" said the voice on the phone.

"OH MY GOD YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT JUST HAPPENED!"

"Ah! Stop shouting, you're destroying my eardrums."

"I've got more important things to talk about than your eardrums! Oh my god it was so embarrassing but it was worth it and-"

"K, I have no idea what you're talking about. Why don't you calm down and start from the beginning."

"Um, well, last night I found Shuichi passed out in the library and I ended up bringing him to my room."

"Wait, why?"

"That not important! But this morning he woke up while I was in shower and started screaming because I'd forgotten to take down that statue of you like an idiot, so I rushed out of the bathroom and he stopped screaming but then he started STARING at me, and suddenly I realize that I'm half naked and he just won't stop staring, so I ask him if he needs anything else but he doesn't say anything so I just smile while I'm internally dying of embarrassment. But then after I finished my shower we started talking and I kissed him and he jerked away and I thought, 'that's it, time to find a hole to go die in', but then HE kissed ME and he asked me on a date and oh my god I can't believe it Shuichi asked me on a date and I'm so happy!"

Rantaro was quiet for a few moments, waiting to see it Kokichi would say more. "You good? Got that out of your system?" Kokichi could practically feel Rantaro's amusement emanating from the phone.

"No, I'm not good! What the hell do I wear? What if I spill coffee all over him or something? I don't even-"

"Kokichi, take a deep breath. You'll be fine."

"That literally does not help at all!"

"You're the Ultimate Supreme Leader, so act like it. A supreme leader wouldn't let anyone freak him out like this, would he? So just be calm, and confident, and go on your date. Then afterwards you can call me again and screech about everything you think went wrong."

"I don't screech," Kokichi protested.

"You definitely do, but don't worry, I'm used to it. Now go get ready for your date or something, I gotta go."