Archive of Our Own ^beta

Thunder rumbled in the distance as Shuichi sprinted towards the house, feet pounding on the wet pavement as rain poured down around him. Lightning lit up the sky as he ran even faster, the large duffel bag slung over his shoulder hitting against his side as he raced towards the door of his boyfriend's house.

His boyfriend who lived alone, and was terrified of storms.

It had only been a year since the cast of Danganronpa V3 had been released from Team Danganronpa's rehab facility. The killing game itself may have just been virtual reality, but the pain and trauma never truly left any of them. It seemed that not a day went by where one of them didn't realize yet another thing  that would bring back all the memories.

And for Kokichi Ouma, he was struck with the realization that the low rumbling of distant thunder could sound extremely similar to the mechanical whirring of a hydraulic press lowering itself.

So here Shuichi was, running down Kokichi's driveway faster than he had ever run in his life, having bolted out of his apartment the second he heard the first thunderclap.

Finally he arrived at the doorstep, gasping for breath after his sprint. He slipped the spare key out from its hiding spot and unlocked the door, pushing his way inside to rescue his boyfriend.

"Koki!" He called out, slipping the house key into his pocket and closing the door behind him. "Kichi-baby I'm here! Where are you?" He prayed that the smaller boy would be able to hear him, since he was probably covering his ears.

"Shu-Shumai?" He heard a small voice choke out in the direction of the bathroom. "I-Is that you?"

"Yeah baby it's me," he replied, slowly walking towards the direction of Kokichi's voice so he didn't startle him. "It's okay my love I'm here for you. Just focus on my voice okay?"

He knocked softly on the door to the bathroom before opening it and crouching down in front of the bathtub where a shaking form sat curled in a ball. Kokichi's arms were wrapped around himself, nails digging into the skin of his arms. The second his tear filled eyes landed on his boyfriend, he perked up, hands making grabby motions towards the taller boy.

"B-Basement Shu," he stuttered, and Shuichi responded immediately. He reached into the duffel bag dangling at his side and pulled out a pair of noise canceling headphones.

"The thunder will be louder when we leave this room," he explained, handing the headphones to the purple haired boy. "These will help until we’re downstairs where it’s quiet."

Once the headphones were secure on Kokichi's head, Shuichi picked up the smaller boy in a bridal carry. Kokichi's shivers and sobs gradually faded as he relished in the comforting embrace of his lover. Shuichi tried to be as gentle as possible as he opened the bathroom door and made his way to the basement, feeling Kokichi clench harder onto the collar of his shirt with every lighting strike that lit up the dark hallways.

Eventually, the two of them made it to the basement door, Kokichi growing calmer with each step down the stairs. Since they had started dating, Kokichi's basement had become a sort of safe space for them. From the massive couch the size of a queen bed with its abundance of pillows, to the small kitchenette area stocked with their favorite snacks, it was the perfect place to go to when the two of them just needed a simple reprieve from the struggles of their daily lives.

And it was also the perfect place to comfort each other during panic attacks.

Shuichi sat down on the plush sofa, slowly shifting his boyfriend so the smaller boy was sitting in his lap. Kokichi eagerly took the hint, wasting no time in wrapping his arms and legs around the detective's back and burying his face in his chest.

"I love you, Kimchi," Shuichi said softly, a free hand traveling upward to remove the headphones before playing with the soft hair at the nape of Kokichi's neck. "You're so strong, sweetheart. You're the strongest person I've ever met and I love you so much."

Kokichi slowly pulled himself upward, lifting his head to look at Shuichi. His eyes were red and puffy, and tear tracks ran down every inch of his face, but to Shuichi he looked like the most beautiful person in the world. He placed a feather-light kiss on Kokichi’s forehead before reaching his hand up to stroke his cheek, smiling softly when the boy leaned into the touch.

“I’m right here darling, okay? I’m right here and you’re safe. You’re not alone. You never were and you never will be ever again.”

He reached behind his back to separate Kokichi’s hand from his back, interlocking their fingers as he brought their joined hands in front of him. He ran his thumb over the small silver band on Kokichi’s ring finger, a promise ring Shuichi had gotten him about a month ago. He had been worried it was too soon for a gesture like that, but the second his boyfriend saw the silver band, a small sapphire set in the middle, he had burst into tears and thrown himself into Shuichi’s arms. Shuichi smiled at the memory. He would do anything to see that kind of happiness on Kokichi’s face every day of his life. He brought his boyfriend’s hand up to his lips, placing light kisses all over the digits and smiling at the pretty shade of pink on his lover’s cheeks when he resurfaced.

“God Sh-Shumai you’re such a sap,” the purple haired boy muttered under his breath, voice still shaky from all the crying. His sparkling amethyst eyes seemed to almost glow in the dim lighting of the basement. “At least give your supreme leader a proper kiss if you wanna be all mushy.”

Shuichi just smiled fondly before pressing their lips together. He could never get tired of kissing Kokichi. His lips were always impossibly soft and they could read each other perfectly, always knowing when and how to move. Shuichi never really felt the so called “fireworks” he had always heard people describe kissing as. To him, kissing Kokichi felt like home, like safety, a constant comfort in the rollercoaster of their lives. He loved Kokichi more than anything else in the world, and as long as they had each other, he felt he could truly be content in his life.

After another a minute, they separated, resting their foreheads together and gazing into each others’ eyes. Shuichi’s hand still cupped one of Kokichi’s cheeks, now stained a gorgeous pink color, and he couldn’t stop a giddy smile from overtaking his face as he embraced the smaller boy once again.

“Hey...Shu?” Kokichi pulled away from the hug, an unusually serious look on his face. “Your uhhh...your lease ends soon doesn’t it? On your apartment?”

“In about a month yeah,” the bluenette responded, idly playing with Kokichi’s fingers. “Why?”

Kokichi’s face went bright red as he quickly looked to the side, not wanting to meet Shuichi’s gaze.

“Well Shumai I was wondering if...if after your lease was up...” He turned back to meet Shuichi’s eyes. “...you would maybe wanna move in with me?”

Shuichi felt like his heart was soaring as he excitedly nodded his head, earning a giggle out of the smaller boy. He quickly surged forward to pepper kisses all over his boyfriend’s face. Kokichi’s laughter was music to his ears and he couldn’t stop grinning. He experimentally tickled Kokichi’s sides, causing the smaller boy to yelp and tickle back ruthlessly until the two of them were laying on the couch laughing and completely out of breath. 

Shuichi could feel Kokichi snuggle into his side, and he reached up to card his fingers through his boyfriend’s soft purple locks. Kokichi let out a pleased sigh at the ministrations.

“You tired baby?” He was  granted a small nod as a response as the purple haired boy burrowed himself further into his boyfriend’s embrace.

“My clothes are still wet Kimchi. I need to change sweetheart.” This time he was only met with an exaggerated whimper.

“Noooooo,” he whined, nuzzling his face into Shuichi’s still damp shirt. “I’m all comfy nooowwww.”

“I brought one of my big hoodies for you to sleep in.”

Kokichi immediately perked up at that, eyes wide and sparkling like an excited puppy. He rolled off of Shuichi and crawled frantically over to the discarded duffel bag Shuichi had brought, digging through it enthusiastically until he found his prize. 

Shuichi quickly changed into his own sleep clothes he had brought, chuckling at the adorable way Kokichi bounced around the room in the massive sweatshirt.

The two of them flopped back down on the couch, smiling as they pulled the blankets overtop of themselves and threw their arms around each other. They had been through a lot together in the past year, and it hadn’t all been good. They had fought, like all couples do. They both had lots of mental issues from the simulation that would probably never go away.

But they had persevered, and they couldn’t be happier. They were in love, and moving in together soon, and it all felt like a dream come true sometimes.

And as Shuichi’s eyes landed once more on the promise ring on Kokichi’s finger, the same finger he himself had bandaged in that simulation all those months ago,

He knew there was nowhere else he would rather be.