Just One More Time

5 - I'll Love You, For Now

Shuichi glared at the ground, Shirogane's execution fresh in the forefront of his mind. You wanted this, you have no right to regret anything. It's your fault the loop restarted again. No, it's not a bad thing, it meant Himiko could be free. I wonder how Harukawa's doing... He crossed his legs, his arms limp in his lap as the cool night breeze washed around his numb body.

"What's up, Saihara? You're not doing your pushups." Interrupted from his thoughts, Shuichi turned to the astronaut beside him.

"I..." Shuichi sighed, unsure how to begin to explain any of his problems. A countless number of issues presented themselves, leaving Shuichi clueless as to the true reason for his depressed behaviour.

"Come on," Momota sighed. He grabbed Shuichi's upper arm and pulled him to his feet, dragging the male to the same large boulder they'd stargazed from last week. The cool rock felt soothing on Shuichi's back as the two males leaned in close to each other's shoulders. "We can watch the stars, it'll help you get your mind off things."

Shuichi smiled as he removed his cap, staring up at the flickering lights on the other side of their domed prison. Momota's acting odd, but I suppose there's a slight difference to his code. Maybe my error caused an error in him? I'm not going to pretend as if I know the answer. "I want this to stop."

Momota sighed, wrapping an arm around Shuichi's shoulders. "Me too Sidekick, me too."

"I can't handle watching my friends die over and over again. It's too much," Shuichi sobbed, curling his knees to his chest as he leant into his best friend's embrace. He hadn't been able to talk about it in a while and now his words flew out before he had a chance to filter them. 

"It'll be okay Saihara, we'll escape with everyone before someone else dies." Shuichi turned to face Momota, feeling the purplette's warm breath on his cheek. Before he knew it, their lips had connected, the two sharing a slow and compassionate kiss. With half-lidded eyes, the two pulled away after the brief connection, resting their foreheads together.

Shuichi chuckled softly, closing his eyes as he shifted his head to Momota's shoulder. "What was that for?"

"S-Sorry bro, I uh... guess something came over me?" Momota stuttered, wrapping his arms around Shuichi as he snuggled into the astronaut's lap. He's been so nice during the entire killing game, maybe it's not a bad idea to trust him. It's not like he's going to die, right? I'd never script something like this into the game just to murder Momota... Would I?

As Momota continued to stutter incoherent noises as an explanation, Shuichi rolled his eyes and smirked. Reaching up, Shuichi planted a soft kiss on the male's toned cheek, watching his previously pink skin bloom red. "Momota, shut up."

"U-Uh, okay," Momota chuckled, resting his head back on the boulder. "Anything for my boyfriend. We are boyfriends now, right?"

"Yes, yes we are..." Shuichi grinned. I can't tell him the truth about our fictional existence... Oh, Shuichi, shut up, will you? Come on, for now, just focus on being happy until this game ends, it's okay to be happy again. Momota won't have the same fate as Rantaro and Kokichi, I won't let it happen.

-*_*⏳*_*-

Shuichi flushed red from embarrassment, tugging on his black cap as Kaito slipped the fork into his mouth. Chewing on the food, Shuichi pouted as he stared at the dining table. Kaito had decided on feeding him during lunch and wouldn't take no for an answer. Unfortunately, the relationship attracted a lot of attention now that Kaito had announced it.

"You two are adorable together," Amami smirked. 

"Get a room," Harukawa spat, jumping to her feet with a huff. "We're in a killing game, you two are idiots," she muttered before storming out of the hall. Only Yumeno and Amami remained, congratulating the new couple on their status. According to everyone else, the two had been obvious with their feelings, even if neither had realised them before the kiss they shared that night.