王馬

He hadn’t noticed he’d held his breath until Kokichi uttered some sort of joke and he let a sigh out. Sure, he could get annoyed about it–if he wasn’t really damn worried, to begin with. Hell, he’d be more worried if Kokichi didn’t try to brush it off in some way.

“Dunno.” In turn, he’d reply as though it was a mystery. Really, it wasn’t–Kokichi clearly trusted him to some degree. “Why would a guy with a panic attack run into the door of a guy certified in CPR?” There’s… some dry amusement there. A little. He knew that probably wasn’t why, but it sold it for him. “Listen, panic attacks happen. Same with night terrors. I get them too.”

It’s painfully honest. There’s an inhaler on his nightstand, no longer hidden away like a dirty secret. It just… didn’t matter anymore if the others found out he had asthma.

He’d stand up and head into the bathroom, fill up a glass with water, and return with it, offering it. “Did you hit the door hard? Should let me look at that.”

Huh. How underwhelming. He expected the astronaut to get upset, but for some reason he caught Ouma off-guard by remaining calm. Wasn’t that weird? He should get angry at him. After all, he had pretended to be ungrateful and dramatic about something silly. Ouma snorted at his joke. Alright, that was an excuse he could deal with.

“ Right. It’s ‘cause I’m so smart. All the nurses are incompetent anyway. ”

During Momota’s brief absence, he inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh. It was hard to admit just how much he felt better being in this room. Not that he’d ever seen it. Slowly, he sat up and ran his fingers through his hair, only to retract them with a small hiss. He accepted the glass with a small nod and took a few gulps. 

   “They weren’t lions,” he starts, getting defensive of a family he’s still going to lie about. The jungle part is wrong, too, but he only seems to fixate on the animal species. “And nothing like that happened, because they weren’t lions. They were nice wolves.” …Would a family of lions have taken him in, if that were the case? He could wonder the same of wolves, honestly. 

Gonta proceeds to reach up with both hands, trying to scoop the spider up in the least offensive way possible. “Sorry to ruin your little home,” he speaks to it. “You can make bigger and more beautiful webs outside, you know?” 

Once it’s in his palm, he cups both of his hands so that the spider is enclosed and less likely to escape. The very lightweight and delicate feel of its legs is a source of comfort for Gonta.

“There.” Now he’s speaking to Ouma again, turning to face him. “Now it can only hurt Gonta, if it wants. Let’s go outside now!”

“ Right, wolves. Nice, fuzzy wolves! I knew that, of course ”, he said as if lying through his teeth, though for once he truly wasn’t. Something still felt wrong about all this but he didn’t want to think about it. Lions in a jungle, that was ridiculous, and wolves in a jungle even more so. Gonta had said he grew up in the wilderness but didn’t specify nearly as much as one would expect. Wasn’t that weird? Yeah, totally!

Ouma grimaced when the small animal moved in Gonta’s hands but was relieved to see it covered. Right. Nothing dangerous here, just a hairy beast captured by a gentle giant. This was okay! ...he still wanted to leave as quickly as possible. The little leader wasted no time to push against Gonta’s back and get him out of the room. Not that he’d be strong enough to do so unless the entomologist relented.

“ Let’s go, let’s go, I want it out! I trust you with it, so don’t disappoint me. ” 

                          saihara didn’t technically have a brain to hurt anymore,  but he could  SWEAR  he had a headache after listening to ouma for this long and being subjected to tears that seemed honestly pretty fake.  he set down the marker next to the board and walked closer to the human,  golden eyes staring at him with a sort of quiet intensity as he tried to figure out whether the display of emotion was genuine or not.

                            …  exaggerated,  if nothing else.

                           “ if you just want someone to spend time with,  you can just say so. ”  the ghost told him;  it was  VERY  difficult to actually speak out loud,  his voice barely above a whisper and hoarse in an almost wheezing sort of way.  “ i don’t mind keeping you company.  i’ve been lonely for six months.  what i  WILL NOT  stand for is being treated like a toy.  i’m a person and want to be seen as such.  does that seem fair? ”

                               it was impressive,  how assertive irritation made him.

“ H....huh? ”, Ouma blinked and shivered faintly when he could make out a voice. A silhouette that approached him, sharp eyes taking in his behaviour and words that sounded weak, strained from it’s lack of usage. The prankster rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands and the look he gave Saihara was borderline hopeful.

“ Really? I’m so glad...! ” Relief washed over his features, so bright and innocent it could hardly be fake. Or could it? Maybe...? “ Okeys! I promise I’m gonna treat you with nothing but my utmost respect. Only that, nothing else! ”, he chirped, yet the exaggeration towards the end sounded ominous at best. Was he doing that on purpose?

Out of reflex, he reached out. Ouma’s expression fell when the realisation hit him that his hand would most likely pass through the other. To his own shock, the opposite happened — he briefly got a hold of the boy’s sleeve and managed to pull. After blinking in surprise, he smiled at Saihara.

“ So I can touch you a bit. Why didn’t you say so earlier, hm? ”

@dreamtofbluebirds​ inquired:  Together, Kaito and Shuichi would find the purple-haired mischief-maker and offer their presents in turn. Shuichi had found a historical prank book--detailing what was known through the years--and Kaito would have a vibrantly colored star light, the same hue as Kokichi's eyes. "He picked it out so it's just as much his gift to you as it is mine, haha." Embarrassed, but content; although Shuichi would give him a scolding glance. "Happy Birthday, Kokichi!"

“ I should’ve known that Momota-chan’s lazy like that. Is that really the best you can do? Besides... you guys do know that I hate lies and jokes, right? ” 

A phrase that wasn’t unheard of coming from his lips. He had accepted both of their presents and was examining them with care. The mischievous smile had faded from his lips as he flipped through the pages of the book and inspected the star light. He’d have to see that one in action before he could judge it, but he knew he would love it. The few lines he skimmed over in the book already made it hard to force down the curling of his lips. 

“ Hmm, I’m not sure... is this really supposed to be for me? I would’ve expected something a little more pompous... ”, he stated dryly. After shooting them an inquisitive glare for a few seconds, his facade was split in half by a dazzling grin.

“ Nishishi... but you already know that’s a lie. I love it! I’m gonna have a blast with these! ”

Ouma got to the tip of his toes. With a gentle press of lips against their cheeks, he offered them a kiss as thanks. Receiving a present from both of them was a happy kind of feeling.

@blueveines​ inquired: "happy birthday, kichi-kun," shuuichi says affectionately, pushing some of kokichi's hair out of the way to give him a kiss on the forehead. he hands him a gift; a container of purple stimming slime, specifically of the noise-making variety. "i wasn't sure what to get you, but... i love you."

His heart swells at both the nickname and the affectionate gesture. Getting to spend time with his beloved on his birthday is almost too wonderful to be true. But he had come to embrace it, with all its ups and downs, and the love the detective filled his heart with was endless.

“ Aww, is Shuumai worried? You don’t gotta! I trust you got me something fun ”, encourages before unwrapping the present and laying eyes onto the wiggly substance. Oh! He had only tried one of these things a while ago but this looked oddly nice. Curiosity drives him to open the box and stick his finger inside - the noise it makes instantly causes him to giggle.

“ Pfft haha! It makes noise? That’s so silly! You gotta try it too! ” For a moment he indulges and makes the other poke it, before he finally calms down. With a warm smile on his lips, he gets to the tip of his toes and places a tender kiss on Shuuichi’s lips.