I wasn't going to do more with Shuichi's ex, but since you guys demand it, I will bring her back at some point. But not right now. Gotta build up the tension for her return. This one is just pure fluff with a bit of mystery.
The Phantom Detective
Shuichi shivered as Kokichi piled even more blankets on top of him as he lay on Kokichi's couch in his apartment. He tried to repress a cough, but it came out anyway, dry and heaving. Kokichi gave him a concerned look.
"Are you feeling any better, my love?" he asked.
"N-Not r-really," Shuichi murmured. He shuddered, "I s-still feel s-so c-cold."
Kokichi sighed. "I told you walking home in the pouring rain was a bad idea," he said, "You should have called a cab or something."
Shuichi started a loud and wet coughing fit before he could answer. "I'm sorry," he wheezed, "I thought I could make it back before the downpour." Kokichi sighed again.
"Would you like me to make you some soup? Or maybe run you a hot bath?" he suggested.
"Both, please," Shuichi replied weakly. Kokichi smiled and leaned down, kissing him lightly on the cheek.
"Ok, I'll make some chicken noodle soup for you then run you a nice hot bath," he promised. Shuichi smiled weakly and nodded.
As Shuichi lounged on the couch, Kokichi went into the kitchen to prepare his soup. He could've easily made it from a can, but Kokichi wanted his love to feel special, so he made it from scratch. It took longer that way, but it tasted better and was a labor of love.
He a brought a bowl out to his beloved, who took with a small thank you.
"I've never taken care of a sick person before," Kokichi confessed as Shuichi took small sips of soup, "I hope I'm doing a good job."
"Don't worry," Shuichi murmured, "You are."
Kokichi smiled and stood up. "I'm going to go run your bath for you," he said, "You finish your soup, ok? I want you to finish every last drop."
Shuichi nodded as Kokichi headed into the bathroom. He started filling the tub with hot water and also dropped in a soothing bath bomb to help Shuichi relax. He wished he could join him in the bath but knew he would have to save kinky bath sex for another day.
"Your bath is ready, my beloved!" Kokichi called, going out into the living room, "It's all nice and hot to warm you up! And I added a bath bomb just for you."
Shuichi looked up from where he was just finishing his soup. "You're too good to me," he mumbled.
"Nah, I'm happy to do it!" Kokichi assured him, "It's what good boyfriends do!"
Shuichi looked down at the floor which made Kokichi frown. "What's the matter, my love?" he asked. Shuichi sighed.
"Well, you've been such a good boyfriend to me," he replied sadly, "Even before we got together. You keep me calm. You help with my anxiety. And now you're taking care of me when I'm sick. But I haven't done anything for you."
"That's not true," Kokichi pointed out, "You've supported me, whether you know it or not. Like when I took those pistols back from that club owner. Or you defended me to your ex. And love isn't a competition, Shuichi. You don't have to try match me or anything. I don't do these things for you because I want something out of it. I do them because I love you."
Shuichi blushed and hid his face in his hands. Kokichi smiled fondly at him.
"Now come on," he urged, grabbing his arms, "Your bath awaits!"
Kokichi helped Shuichi off the couch and into the bathroom. Before he could start stripping him, Shuichi swatted him away.
"I can take off my own clothes, Kokichi," he muttered, a blush forming on his face, "I'm not that sick."
"Aw! If you say so!" Kokichi whined. Then he grinned mischievously. "Want me to help you bathe? I can scrub your back for you!"
"Get out of here!" Shuichi scowled, throwing a towel at him. Kokichi laughed and ran out of the room.
While Shuichi took his bath, Kokichi went about fixing up the living room. He disinfected the couch as he decided he would be sleeping on it tonight and Shuichi would take his bed. And he didn't want to catch Shuichi's cold. He carried a few more blankets and pillows into the bedroom before going to the other bathroom (yes, he had two bathrooms) and looked in the medicine cabinet for some cold medicine for Shuichi. By the time he was done with his chores, Shuichi was coming out of the bathroom, towel-dried and dressed for bed.
"How was your bath, my love?" Kokichi asked him. Shuichi gave him a small smile.
"It was refreshing," he replied, "I feel a lot better, if a little tired."
"Well that's good, because I made up the bed for you," Kokichi told him. Shuichi blinked at him.
"I thought I would just sleep on the couch," he said.
"Of course not, silly!" Kokichi laughed, "You're taking my bed tonight and I'll take the couch! You're sick, you need all the rest you can get! So I don't want to hear any arguments!"
"But—"
"Ah! Ah! No arguments!" Kokichi insisted, "You go straight to bed, mister! Get a good night's sleep!"
Shuichi blushed and murmured a hurried good-night to him before shuffling off to bed. Kokichi watched him go before heating up some soup for himself. When he was finished with it, he put everything away and curled himself up on the couch and fell asleep.
…
"Can you do me a favor, Kokichi?" Shuichi asked his boyfriend the next day.
"What is it, my love?" Kokichi wondered as he gently pressed a cool, damp cloth to his beloved's forehead.
"Can you go to my office and put a sign up on the door letting any clients know I'll be out for a few days?" he requested, "Would you also write my cellphone number down so they can call me if it's an emergency? I have a feeling I'll need a couple more days to recover, and I want to make sure I'm completely fine before I go back to work."
"Of course, my darling!" Kokichi replied, "You can count on me!"
"Do you know where my office is?" Shuichi asked him.
"Oh sure! I've snuck in when you weren't there plenty of times!" Kokichi assured him, causing him to frown.
"Thanks for letting me know," Shuichi muttered, "Now I know to add extra locks to all my doors and windows."
"Nyee hee hee! Like that will work!" Kokichi snickered, "Anyway, I'll go do your chore for you now. I think I'll stop by the store as well on the way back. Do you need anything?"
"A heating pad would be nice," Shuichi replied, wrapping the thick blanket even tighter around himself.
"You got it, love! I'll be back as soon as I can!" Kokichi leaned down and kissed him on the forehead before skipping out the door.
He hated to leave Shuichi alone when he was sick, but Kokichi wanted to show Shuichi he could depend on him. Luckily, the sunshine had returned, so it didn't take Kokichi long to reach Shuichi's office. Shuichi's office was one of many in a building where people rented out spaces for their own businesses. In Kokichi's not-biased opinion, Shuichi's detective agency was the only reason to go into the building.
Kokichi was just finishing putting up the sign Shuichi had asked for when he heard someone coming towards him. He turned and saw a tall, lanky young man with wild white hair wearing a green jacket walking towards him. He looked troubled.
"U-Um, are you Shuichi Saihara?" the young man asked, "The detective?"
"No, sorry. He's sick right now" Kokichi replied, shaking his head, "I'm his partner and lover."
"O-Oh," the man sighed, disappointed, "So you can't help me…"
"Hold on now, that's not true!" Kokichi claimed, "I'm a bit of a sleuth myself. I've been with Shuichi long enough to know how he works. And we are lovers after all. We can totally help you!"
The white-haired man seemed unconvinced at first but seemed to slowly change his mind. "O-Ok, here's my problem: my name is Nagito Komaeda, and I have a boyfriend named Hajime Hinata, whom I've been dating for seven years. I decided I want to finally propose to him, so I used my last bit of money to go out and buy a ring. But, ah, as my rotten luck would have it, when I went to retrieve it this morning, I found it had been stolen."
Kokichi cocked his head. "How do you know it was stolen?" he wondered, "How do you know you didn't lose it?"
"Because this was left where the ring was," Nagito answered, pulling out a business card. Kokichi took it from him and inspected it.
The card was totally blank except for a drawing of a laughing clown and a single word: Jack. Kokichi frowned.
"What is this?" he asked.
"I don't know," Nagito confessed, "I just found it where the ring was supposed to be. I think it's supposed to be a calling card or something."
This isn't any calling card I know, Kokichi thought, And I know every criminal in the city. Must be a new guy.
"Do you mind if I keep this?" Kokichi asked, "It will really help in our search."
"No, I don't mind at all," Nagito replied, "Please find the ring. I spent the last of my money on it and Hajime means so much to me!"
"I understand," Kokichi said with a nod. He really did. If he had been planning on proposing to Shuichi and something like this happened he would be devastated!
After exchanging a few details, Nagito left and Kokichi finished locking up the office. Then he pulled out his phone and called a certain number.
"Gonta!" Kokichi's best friend, Gonta Gokuhara exclaimed when he answered, "Gonta here!"
"Hey Gonta, it's me, Kokichi," the thief told him, "Listen, I want you to do me a favor. I want you to look through all the newspapers of the past month or so and see if in the confidentials anyone had anything stolen. And go to the police and ask them as well. Specifically ask them if their stuff was replaced with a business card."
"Gonta can do that!" Gonta replied, "But why can't Kokichi?"
"Because Shuichi's sick right now and I have to take care of him," Kokichi answered.
"Got it! Kokichi can count on Gonta!"
"Thanks, Gonta. You're a big help," Kokichi told him.
Before heading back to the apartment, Kokichi made sure to stop by the store first, getting everything he needed, including Shuichi's heating pad. When he returned home, Shuichi was fast asleep in a cocoon of blankets with only his face sticking out, and Kokichi couldn't help but smile.
"You're so cute, Shumai," Kokichi murmured to himself, "I could just eat you up."
He went over to his boyfriend and sat down his bag of groceries. He took out the heating pad, plugged it in, turned it on, and carefully put it behind Shuichi. Then he went to the kitchen to start making lunch. Hopefully Gonta would call back before too long.
It was a few hours before Gonta called. Shuichi had woken up briefly to eat but then he had fallen asleep again, so Kokichi was watching TV, waiting for his friend's call.
"Gonta did what Kokichi asked!" Gonta said after their greetings, "Gonta has found five people who have had their stuff stolen and replaced with a business card. Gonta wrote them down for you!"
"Thanks, Gonta," Kokichi said, "Would you mind swinging by and showing me that list? I want to get started right away."
"Sure thing, friend!" Gonta agreed. They hung up and a few minutes later there was a knock on Kokichi's apartment door.
"Hey Gonta," Kokichi greeted quietly when he opened the door, "You got the list?"
"Gonta sure does!" Gonta exclaimed, holding a piece of paper up. Kokichi quickly shushed him.
"Don't speak too loud!" he huffed, "Shuichi's asleep!" Gonta gasped slightly.
"Gonta sorry! Gonta wasn't aware!" he said. He held out the paper. "Anyway, here is list like Kokichi asked for!"
"Thanks Gonta," Kokichi said, taking it from him, "Do you want to come in for a bit?"
"Gonta would love to, but Gonta have to head out," the big guy answered, "Gonta giving lecture about spiders at the college and he doesn't want to be late!"
"Nice!" Kokichi grinned, "Good luck! I have some work to do of my own!"
They said good-bye to each other, and then Kokichi got to work. Gonta had been thorough. Not only had he written down the names of the people who were robbed, he wrote down where they lived, their phone number, and what was stolen. At the bottom of the list he wrote that the business card they found had all been the same: a blank one with a drawing of a clown and the word Jack. It saved Kokichi the trouble of having to contact them all and get that information himself.
Looks like I might have a new rival in the thieving business, he thought to himself. Now the only trouble would be tracking down this Jack.
But hey, that's what Phantoms were for.
…
Kokichi, or rather The Phantom Thief, crouched on top of the edge of a building, looking down at the streets, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. After putting Shuichi to bed, Kokichi went out as the thief to see if he couldn't find out any more information about this mysterious marauder.
As he stared out from the rooftops, he suddenly saw a flash of a dark cloak rushing down the street. Kokichi grinned. That looked like someone running away from a crime scene. Not very subtle this guy.
Time to put his thieving skills to work for a good cause for once.
The Phantom Thief raced along the rooftops, keep pace with the figure below. He needed to wait for the right time to jump down and confront him. He had to corner him.
He looked down below and saw the figure turn down an alley and that's when Kokichi struck. He slid down a gutter (don't try this at home) and landed behind the mysterious silhouette. The figure stopped in their tracks at the sound of Kokichi landing.
"Evening fellow thief," Kokichi called, slowly approaching, "Mind telling me what you've got there? And maybe your name as well?"
The figure turned around and Kokichi finally got a good look at him. He wore a black cloak but a jester's outfit. His hair was spiked out in all directions and each spike was a different color. But most striking was his face. Half his face was covered by a blank, white mask. The other half was painted in clown make up.
"Greetings, Phantom Thief," the person said, "My name is Laughing Jack. And I am the one who will soon rule this town with fear!"
Kokichi scoffed. "Please! I've never seen a more ridiculous outfit!" he snorted, "And I've looked at myself in a mirror! And you're not exactly going to rule the town when I can find you so easily."
Jack huffed. "Perhaps. But you are an experienced thief who has never been caught," he pointed out, "But mark my words. This city will know my name before long! My name will be even more infamous than yours!"
Yeah, that's not going to happen, Kokichi thought. "Look, you took something from a… friend of mine and I need it back. The engagement ring. Either you return it to me or things are going to get nasty."
Laughing Jack smirked. "Oh will they?" he taunted.
"You don't want to make enemies with me, Jack," Kokichi warned, "Trust me. It's better to just return the ring now before you make a big mistake."
Jack stared at him for a moment longer before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small ring box. He gently tossed it to Kokichi who easily caught it. Making sure the ring was actually there, Kokichi opened it and was relieved to see it was. He took it out and inspected it to make sure. Sure enough, engraved on the inside were the words "To my Beloved Hajime."
This was the ring Nagito was looking for.
"Mark my words, Phantom," Jack hissed, startling Kokichi out of his thoughts, "This is the last time I'll be nice. When you see me next I'll be ruling this town!"
Then, with a flick of his cape, he dashed past Kokichi and disappeared.
"Uh huh, I'm sure you will," Kokichi scoffed.
…
"Thank you so much for getting the ring back!" Nagito said the next day when Kokichi called him to the office, "I don't know what I would have done without you!"
"Ah, it was nothing," Kokichi assured him.
"I'm sorry I have nothing to pay you with…" Nagito told him a little guiltily.
"You don't have to pay me," Kokichi said, "All I want is an invite to your wedding." Nagito grinned widely.
"It's a deal!" he promised.
Shuichi was still a little sick but doing a lot better. He had no idea about any of Kokichi's escalades in the nights or that he even took on a client. When Kokichi got back to the apartment, he was curled up on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, sipping a mug of coffee.
"Where were you?" he asked when Kokichi walked in.
"Oh, just getting a few things done," Kokichi replied.
"Nothing illegal, I hope," Shuichi said in warning yet gentle tone.
"Of course not! Would I do something like that while you're sick?" Kokichi teased.
"Probably."
"Well this time I didn't. And I'm not lying," Kokichi assured him. He walked over to the couch and sat down next to Shuichi, gently snuggling up to him. "How are you feeling?"
"Better. Thanks to you," Shuichi replied, "Thank you for taking care of me these past few days."
"Of course, my beloved! I would do anything for you!" Kokichi told him.
"I know." Shuichi gave him a small smile. "I love you for that."
Kokichi's eyes widened and he felt like his heart stopped. Did Shuichi say what he thought he just said? The smile on Shuichi's face told him that, yes, he did say what he thought he said.
After a moment of silence, Kokichi threw himself at Shuichi and kissed him deeply, damn all consequences. When he pulled away he had a huge grin on his face.
"I've been waiting to hear you say those words for so long," he breathed.
"Kokichi!" Shuichi gasped, "You're going to catch my cold!"
"Aw who cares?" Kokichi dismissed, "Say it again!"
Shuichi sighed and smiled. "I love you," he said.
Overcome with happiness, Kokichi kissed him again and again and again.
And then the next day Kokichi got sick and it was Shuichi's turn to take care of him. But it was so worth it.
That got way longer than I meant it to. This was supposed to be just a fluff fic with Kokichi taking care of a sick Shuichi. But then I just kept getting ideas and it kept getting longer. Oh well. Hope you enjoy the sweet sugary goodness at the end. Be sure to leave a comment and look forward to the next installment!
