Chapter Text
With a sigh, Shuichi stepped out of the bathroom clad in his usual nighttime sweats and T-shirt, rubbing one eye with a tired fist. The first thing he was met with was the surprising sensation of arms around him and a body colliding into his.
"Yayyy, you're finally out! Come lay!" Kokichi said cheerfully, leading—though a more accurate description, considering Shuichi's sleepy state, would be dragging—Shuichi over to the bed where Kaito lay, spread out and staring at the ceiling, covered in glow-in-the-dark stars. The moment Shuichi made contact with the bed, his exhaustion grew tenfold. Kaito seemed to notice and pulled the ravenette down onto his chest, leaving just Shuichi's lower legs dangling off the left side of their bed.
He hummed in content just as Kokichi made a loud whining sound.
"Heeeeey! I wanna do the cuddle pile too!" He then felt a weight on his chest, undoubtedly Kokichi. He didn't bother to open his heavy eyes. His phone, forgotten in his hoodie pocket, was slightly uncomfortable pressing against him, but he just put a hand on Kokichi's back, and let himself slowly submit to the intoxicating euphoria of sleep.
He felt his consciousness pulled up out of the murkiness. He felt the feeling return to his once dormant body. Kokichi's weight on his chest was gone, had he gotten up already? He pried his tired eyelids apart, only for them to snap wide open when he saw the room he was in. It wasn't the one he fell asleep in. It wasn't one he recognized at all, let alone to be one in his house. It was empty, save for the bed they were laying on and a dresser, and cold. He sat up immediately, and saw that even the bed was plain and almost bare.
Kokichi really was gone, but Kaito was still asleep beneath him. He felt himself start to hyperventilate and his heart started to beat out of control. Did they get kidnapped? Why did whoever captured them take Kokichi? How? Why? He didn't understand!
Kaito stirred beside him and opened his eyes. He slowly sat up like nothing was happening. A few seconds later, his eyes widened and he looked over at Shuichi, apparently noticing the ravenette before their surroundings. His first instinct was to comfort Shuichi, and that's what he did, immediately wrapping his arms around him and whispering for him to calm down. It took a moment but Shuichi got his bearings and took in a shaky breath.
"O-Okay… Where are we?" he whispered, just in case their captors were nearby. Kaito rubbed the back of his neck and looked to the side with a serious look. His hair was ungelled still, and slightly disheveled from sleep. If their situation were different Shuichi would be able to focus more on how hot he looked. Kaito opened his mouth to reply, but he instantly went silent when they heard a voice; a high, timid one, coming from outside, through the old-looking wooden door across the room. Kaito held Shuichi tighter for a moment until he realized that the voice didn't sound hostile, though they couldn't understand what it had haid through the muffling.
"...Hello?" the taller boy called. He heard a quiet squeak from the same voice, and it was quiet for a few moments. Shuichi's brow quirked in instinctual curiosity but the handle of the door started subtly rattling before he could do anything. It rattled softly, and then the lock moved. The door unlocked. Kaito stood up and rushed to the door, immediately pushing it open. A loud thud sounded, and a high squeal.
Shuichi immediately rushed over beside Kaito in case he just put himself in danger. But all he saw… was a large, empty room, made of cement walls and flooring. There was a staircase leading upward across the room and to their left, and a dirty, matted white rug on the ground on the right side of the room, with a blanket and pillow on top of it. At first glance there looked to be spots of blood in different places, but they didn't coordinate. And… just in front of them was… a child.
The child was small, with dark, somewhat grown-out hair that curled slightly at the tips, especially on the sides, and looked up at them with big, tear-filled violet eyes, just like…
Just like… Kokichi…
The child whimpered and kicked backwards on the cold concrete floor before they stood and ran over to the corner with the rug, and grabbed the filthy blue blanket. Before either of them knew it, the child was up against the corner of the room, curled up with the blanket held tightly. Their eyes were filled with large tears, some of which silently slid down their pale face. This poor little kid… looked so scared… and so much like Kokichi. But that couldn't be possible.
Shuichi didn't realize he was moving until he was halfway towards the child. He got down on his knees and held his hands up where they were visible.
"Hey…" he said softly. "It's okay. We're not going to hurt you… What's your name, can you tell me?" He made sure to be gentle, and appear as non-threatening as he possibly could, which was very easy for someone like him.
The child sniffled, and then spoke, voice high and wavering with fear. "Qui es-tu? Vous mauvais?"
Shuichi's eyes widened. French… Kokichi spoke French, too, didn't he? He never talked about it much, but he'd spoken it before, when he wasn't focused, or he was angry, or panicking. It had to have been his native language, or else it wouldn't slip out like that when he was tense.
"You…" he motioned to the child, then tilted his head slightly, hoping to convey his question.
Slowly, they pointed to themselves. "M-Moi?"
Shuichi nodded quickly with a smile. Kaito stepped closer and sat beside Shuichi, wincing quietly at how cold the concrete felt on his legs, wearing only shorts and a T-shirt. The child furrowed their thick, short eyebrows as they tried to figure out what Shuichi was asking for.
"Mon… nom?"
Shuichi smiled slightly. He didn't know what it meant, but it sounded cute. He nodded again, just to see what happened.
"Mon nom est… Kokichi Ouma."
Kaito's eyes widened in sync with Shuichi's. That… That little child was Kokichi. What happened to him? Or was it what happened to them? Was this a dream? It seemed much too real.
Apparently, Kaito was much more calm about this. When he spoke, Shuichi could only detect a hint of panic. "Shuichi, you have your phone, right?" he said slowly, not taking his eyes off of… Kokichi, who still looked terrified of them both.
That's right! He had put his phone in his hoodie pocket coming out of the bathroom. He quickly grabbed it and powered it on, but the first thing he noticed… he had no service. He wouldn't be able to call, or translate, or anything at all. He shook his head and put his phone back in his pocket. Kaito sighed with a nod, and slowly inched closer to Kokichi.
"Aah! Je suis désolé, ne me faites pas de mal s'il vous plaît! Je suis vraiment désolé!" Kokichi wailed and buried his face in the blanket, sobbing loudly. "Je suis désolé je pleure! J'arrêterai de pleurer, s'il te plait, pas plus!"
Kaito's eyes blew wide open and he backed away just a bit. Shuichi's eyes softened and he slowly, carefully inched closer until he could reach Kokichi. He reached an arm out, and Kokichi just shook his head and sobbed words they couldn't understand. When Shuichi finally did make contact with him, he flinched harshly and stayed tense for several seconds… until he realized that the hand atop his head wasn't moving. He opened his eyes and shyly looked up at Shuichi, who kept his hand, unmoving, on Kokichi's head with a kind, gentle smile on his lips. If he couldn't understand verbally that they weren't there to hurt him, then they'd have to show it through actions.
Kaito came closer, too, and put his hand on Kokichi's head as well. Then, as if thinking the same thing, the both gently rubbed his head with their thumbs. Kokichi seemed absolutely befuddled by this, and stared at both of them as if they'd grown a second head. He didn't say anything, which made Shuichi suspect that he knew that they couldn't understand him, and just closed his eyes, relishing in having a gesture of affection extended to him. It made both Shuichi and Kaito's hearts squeeze tightly.
The feeling was quickly replaced by fear when they heard a knocking coming from above. Kokichi's eyes opened wide and he whimpered. He looked at Shuichi and Kaito, and his face got even more pale—if that were somehow possible.
"Vous devez vous cacher! Il est mauvais! Mauvais, mauvais, mauvais!" Kokichi spouted fearfully. Shuichi and Kaito just looked at each other with a confused and tense look, then back at Kokichi.
"W-What are we supposed to do?! We gotta get outta here, b-but we can't just leave 'im!" Kaito asked quickly. Shuichi just shook his head, completely overwhelmed with their situation at the moment. Kokichi looked at them, processed the fact that they really couldn't understand him, and then stood up and discarded the blanket on the rug. He took Shuichi's hand and Kaito's, and pulled at their arms until they stood up, where he then left them over to the door they came from and opened it, immediately ushering them inside the room.
Shuichi and Kaito took a semi-forced step inside the room and looked back at Kokichi in confusion. The boy looked up at them and put an index finger to his trembling lips, a pleading look in his eyes. Telling them to stay silent. Before either Shuichi or Kaito could process what was going on, Kokichi looked back at the stairs and shut the door. They heard pattering footsteps get quieter as Kokichi left to keep suspicion away from the room.
Shuichi just stood there, as did Kaito, eyes wide in a mixture of shock, confusion, and primarily worry. Whoever was coming… Kokichi was afraid of them.
Creaking wood, and then the clamping of shoes on the concrete floor. The footsteps stopped.
"Je sors. Vous feriez mieux d'éviter les ennuis," a deep voice spoke coldly. Silence. For several moments, there was silence, and then…
"Tu me réponds quand je te parle, enfant pourri!" The same voice shouted angrily. They heard a thud, along with a surprised shriek, and a whimper, then silence again. Shuichi flinched harshly and tears welled in his eyes, while Kaito looked completely livid.
"Oh, hell, no…" he murmured, so quiet that Shuichi could barely hear him. For a moment, he was afraid that Kaito would storm out there and pummel whoever it was that had just hurt Kokichi. But he just stayed put, with fists clenched so tightly his knuckles paled, until the footsteps slowly got softer and the creaking of the stairs stopped. They waited, and waited, with Shuichi getting increasingly concerned that Kokichi was seriously injured, until the door slowly opened with no seeable reason, until Kokichi peeked his head around the door.
Shuichi exhaled in relief and rushed out of the room, quickly taking Kokichi in his arms and holding him close to his chest, as if protecting him from the harsh world he was exposed to. The little boy yelped and instinctively started resisting, until he realized once again that these strange people weren't going to hurt him. He relaxed then, and looked up at Shuichi with an innocent face that made the couple want to squeeze him and love him and never let him go. Shuichi stood with Kokichi held somewhat awkwardly in his arms. Kaito held his arms out to hold him, so Shuichi handed him over.
Kokichi looked so tiny in Kaito's arms. When standing, he was just shorter than Shuichi's knees; he was a really small child. Even in their timeline, Kokichi was short and thin. Shuichi shook the thought away and focused on the moment. Kokichi stared up at Kaito, and his eyes fixated on the taller boy's goatee. He reached up with both hands and felt the goatee with a fascination in his eyes.
"Drôle de cheveux! J'aime ça!" he said happily. Kaito blinked for a moment, then smiled sadly.
"I wish I knew what you were saying…" he murmured. Shuichi put a hand on Kaito's shoulder to get his attention. Once Kaito looked at him, he spoke.
"We need to get out of here," he said firmly. Kaito's eyes widened.
"Without him?!"
He shook his head. "Of course not! We have to get out—with Kokichi." The boy in question perked up slightly at the mention of his name, probably the only thing he understood among their speaking.
"But… what if he likes it here?"
Shuichi's expression hardened and he looked at Kokichi, who tensed seeing the serious look on his face. He reached up and gently poked Kokichi in the stomach, eliciting a wince from the boy.
"Ah–! Je suis désolé!" He spouted out quickly. Shuichi quickly retracted his hands, his suspicions confirmed.
"I'm sorry!" he said immediately, then looked at Kaito desperately. "He's hurt. Whether he wants to stay or not, we can't just leave him here to be subjected to this."
Kaito spared a glance at Kokichi, who was clutching his stomach in pain, and then met Shuichi's eyes again. "Alright. Let's find a way out."
They headed to the stairs and upward. To their surprise, there was a door extremely nearby, in what looked to be a kitchen. The house wasn't very clean and looked like it could use some love, not to mention undecorated. There were no family photos anywhere, or anyone else in the house. Kaito walked to the door and opened it, revealing a rather remote area with woods nearby. There was a driveway leading to a road which turned right and led somewhere that the forest blocked from view. Shuichi took a deep breath.
"Are we really going to do this?"
Kaito nodded.
"Yep."
Kokichi, however, seemed panicked. "Non! Je ne peux pas partir! Père sera tellement en colère, j'aurai tellement d'ennuis! Non, non, s'il vous plaît!"
Kaito was preoccupied within milliseconds, his focus shifting to comforting Kokichi. He rubbed the little boy's head and held him closer. He didn't say anything, knowing well that Kokichi wouldn't be able to understand him, and tried his best to convey comfort silently. Shuichi gently rubbed Kokichi's head and led Kaito out the door, shutting it behind him.
Kokichi winced when the sun hit his skin, and then he shivered and relaxed when he felt the warm air envelop him. Kaito led the way into the woods down the road, where they wouldn't be seen by passersby but could still follow the road to civilization. Kaito held Kokichi in one arm while the latter looked over his shoulder as his house got farther and farther away. As the pain and suffering got farther away…
"Kaito, look!" Shuichi exclaimed after about 15 minutes of walking. "There's a city!"
Kaito turned his focus from singing one of his grandmother's songs to Kokichi to the way ahead. "Oh, yeah! We did it! Look, Kokichi!" Kaito shifted the little boy so he was facing forward, and Kokichi's eyes widened in complete awe as he saw the busy city.
"Ouah! Tellement incroyable! Maman a parlé de la ville, mais je ne l'ai jamais vue avant!"
Shuichi smiled softly and they continued walking until he came to a realization and stopped abruptly. Kaito stopped as well, and looked back at his boyfriend in confusion. Shuichi looked at Kokichi, at the ragged, worn T-shirt and shorts, and oversized socks that looked about to fall off.
"Won't it be suspicious if he goes into town like this?"
With that, Kaito held Kokichi out slightly and looked him over. He nodded and started walking again with a more determined smile, Shuichi following behind anxiously.
Once they were just a few steps away from the end of the forest and the beginning of the town, Kaito suddenly dropped against a tree, making Kokichi yelp slightly. He looked up at a thoroughly confused Shuichi with his optimistic grin.
"One of us will go get him some clothes, while the other waits here with him!"
"So you're just nominating me to go?! A-And won't me buying children's clothes be just as suspicious?!"
"Not as suspicious as him walking around like this!"
Shuichi sighed and put his hands over his face. He shook his head and lowered his hands, expression more firm than before. "Okay. I'll go. Just– let me see if my phone will work yet…"
Shuichi pulled out his phone and glanced at it. He had service now, but only enough to make everything load eternally and never function properly. He groaned quietly and handed the device to Kaito. "Take this just in case you can get it to work. If it does, try to call Kaede. Then use a translator for him."
Kaito set the phone down on the lush grass and saluted. "Aye, aye, captain!"
Shuichi gave a short chuckle and walked into the city, hoping this little French town had some sort of children's store nearby.
Shuichi returned with an outfit for Kokichi and an ashamed look on his face. Kaito sighed in relief when he returned, and little Kokichi was busy situating himself in Kaito's shirt, peeking his head out of the neck hole as he huddled close to Kaito's warmth.
"You took forever, Shu-chi Roll!"
Shuichi's shame only grew. "...I had to beg for enough money," he said quietly. Kaito's brows flew upward.
"Seriously?! Shit, I forgot we don't have our wallets on us." Shuichi just cringed and Kaito stood up, holding Kokichi with one arm and using the other to pat Shuichi's shoulder. "Well, you did what you had to do, and now we can get a move-on! Thanks, Shu!"
Shuichi felt slightly less embarrassed, and instead chose to focus on Kokichi. He giggled at the sight of him, peeking his head out of Kaito's shirt and pressed close to the taller boy. He held up the clothes so he could see them.
"These are for you!" He said with a smile. Maybe, by some miracle, Kokichi would be able to understand him. The boy blinked and sat up a bit so his whole head emerged from the shirt.
"Pour moi..?" He asked slowly. Kaito perked up.
"Oh! That means 'for me,' doesn't it?" He asked. Kokichi just looked at him, so he tisked and thought aloud. "How do you say that… uhm… 'vous?'" He looked down at Kokichi.
"Pour vous!" He said. Kokichi's eyes widened with understanding.
"Oh! Merci beaucoup, vous n'avez pas eu à le faire pour moi! J'espère que cela n'a pas coûté trop cher! Merci, merci!" Kokichi spoke so fast, it was hard to catch anything he said, and his eyes twinkled with admiration. Kaito looked up at Shuichi.
"And 'merci' means 'thanks,' doesn't it?" He asked proudly. They'd managed to pick up on the bare minimum in the years they'd known Kokichi, so it wasn't surprising that Kaito knew basic terms. Boy, was it coming in handy. Shuichi grabbed Kokichi's old clothes and put them in his hoodie pocket. It stuck out like a sore thumb, but he had nowhere else to put them.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it does. I don't know how to say 'you're welcome,' though…" Shuichi handed the clothes to Kokichi and nodded, trying to tell him that he could change.
Luckily, Kokichi seemed to be an intelligent child, and picked up on what the ravenette meant. He wriggled out of Kaito's shirt and hopped onto the grass. He walked over behind a particularly thick tree, and all that could be seen after that was flying clothes as Kokichi tossed his old ones aside. He emerged after a few minutes with a purple T-shirt and black, acid-washed jeans, and socks with peanut butter and jelly sandwich designs on them. It looked like it all fit, and it matched his style (that Shuichi knew of). He looked adorable in it, too.
"I couldn't find shoes that fit him, but I got socks… We'll just have to carry him. Did you get the phone to work?"
Kaito shook his head and took Kokichi into his arms again, handing Shuichi his phone. "It wouldn't load. We need Wi-Fi or somethin'." Shuichi sighed disappointedly.
"Okay. We can… We'll find an ATM or something and get enough money to… to stay in a motel."
Kaito nodded. "That's a good plan, but… this place is French, isn't it? How are we going to do any of that without knowing French?"
Shuichi sat on the grass and put his face in his hands, completely and utterly overwhelmed by their situation. He wanted to pinch himself and wake up with Kokichi—the Kokichi they knew—sleeping on his chest again, and have everything normal. He didn't know what to do, so he just sat there, with his eyes squeezed shut to keep the tears from falling. He sat there, shaking, until he felt a small pressure on his shoulder.
He looked up with tear-filled eyes, and Kokichi stood on the grass beside him, reaching out to put a hand on the ravenette's shoulder. His little hand… extended to comfort someone he didn't even know. He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Shuichi's leg, which was bent up to have his knee close to his chest. He rested his cheek on Shuichi's knee and looked up at him with big, innocent eyes.
"Ne soyez pas triste, monsieur," he said softly. "Je ne sais pas comment tu es arrivé au sous-sol de mon père, mais je t'aime bien. Je vais vous garder en sécurité."
Shuichi's heart squeezed, even though what Kokichi was saying was totally foreign and not understood in the slightest. His cute voice, the way his eyes looked at him with such softness, the way he hugged Shuichi's leg to comfort him… It was all so sweet.
Next thing he knew, Kaito was at his other side and he wrapped an arm around Shuichi. It was quiet for a moment, then the taller boy spoke. "I think he was telling you not to be sad."
Shuichi sniffled and looked at Kaito. "How do you know that..?"
Kaito smiled a happy smile, though it was more gentle than his usual bold, wide grins. "I know 'triste' means 'sad'—it's the same as Spanish—and everyone knows that 'monsieur' is 'mister.' Either he's telling you to be sad, or he's telling you not to, and I think I know Kokichi at least a little."
Kokichi's eyes widened and he lifted his head and put both of his hands on Shuichi's knee. He looked at Kaito with furrowed brows, then looked at Shuichi.
"Non, non! Non triste!" He cried. Then he teared up and bounced on his feet slightly, obviously very upset at the idea that Shuichi might have thought he was demanding that he be sad. Shuichi immediately scrambled to take Kokichi in his arms and hold him.
"I-It's okay! I know what you meant, it's alright! Shhh…" He ran his fingers through Kokichi's hair. "Non triste… Merci," he said softly. Kokichi looked at him for a moment, then wiped his eyes with his fists and nodded.
"Bien," he mumbled. Shuichi smiled and held him tightly with a newfound determination.
"We can do this. We will do this," he said confidently, standing with Kokichi still held close. Kaito shot up and pumped a fist in the air.
"That's the spirit! Aaaand here we go!" He grabbed Shuichi's free hand and led his boyfriend and baby companion into the city.
Wherever they were, the place was bustling. People were all over the place. They just had to be careful; any of these people could recognize Kokichi and take him back. They had to find an ATM, get to a motel, and keep Kokichi there.
Kokichi himself looked just as in-awe at his surroundings as Kaito and Shuichi. The city wasn't too far from his house, surely he'd be used to it, Shuichi figured. But he seemed excited at every little thing besides the people—the people seemed to make him anxious, which Shuichi could understand. He held him tighter whenever he got tense. They maneuvered through the crowds until they came across a place that looked like a shopping mall. They looked up at the tall building with wide eyes and mouths agape.
"There… has to be an ATM in there, right?" Kaito asked slowly. Shuichi gave a quick nod, and they headed inside.
They made their way past store after store, recognizing very few as they did so, until they finally found an ATM near the back of the 1st floor. Shuichi sighed in relief.
Using the ATM wasn't as hard as Shuichi thought it was going to be. With Kaito, at least, who could find various similarities between French words and the Spanish and English he knew, and used that to understand just enough to properly operate the machine. Shuichi grabbed the money as it was dispensed, and he felt much more relaxed with some ground to stand on.
They roamed about the mall and purchased the bare necessities: two sets of clothes for all three of them, a decently sized backpack, a wallet, a pocket knife (Kaito said they needed one), and some little snacks to keep handy. They had a good amount of money left for a motel, and Shuichi had managed to connect to Wi-Fi on his phone. As soon as he'd gotten his phone connected, he alerted Kaito and they found a private bathroom to lock themselves in.
Kokichi seemed extremely nervous and clung to Shuichi tightly, looking around the place with furrowed brows. Shuichi sat him down on the edge of the sink and Kaito held him steady so he didn't fall off the thin edge while the ravenette pulled out his phone and found Kaede's contact. It didn't even ring once when a message played, saying monotonously that the number wasn't in service.
Shuichi sighed and shook his head, pulling the phone away and doing what was next on the list. He opened a translator, set it to Japanese > French, and typed quickly, showing it to Kokichi once he was done.
'I am Shuichi, and the other one is Kaito. We aren't going to hurt you.'
Kokichi looked at the screen with wide eyes as he read, then looked up at Shuichi like he was some sort of god. Shuichi typed in something else and showed him again.
'You can use this to speak to us. Can you spell?'
Kokichi squinted at the screen, and then looked up at Shuichi with a much more relaxed look. He nodded and made grabby hands for the phone, which Shuichi gave to him after switching the translator's settings to French > Japanese.
He held the phone with one hand and poked keys with the other. Kaito watched over his shoulder with a growing smile, a hopeful smile.
'How did you get in Father's basement?' it read. Shuichi smiled awkwardly and showed the phone to Kaito, who rubbed his neck with a sigh.
"Shit, how do we tell him that?"
"We could just be honest and say that we don't know. It won't change our situation…"
Kaito nodded and took the phone, then showed it to Kokichi. Shuichi read it from the side.
'We don't know how we got here, so we're going to take care of you until we figure it out.'
Shuichi raised a brow and his gaze shifted to Kokichi, who was reading the phone. He was young—really young—would he be able to understand all that?
Contrary to his thought, Kokichi nodded and took the phone, typing in something else and showing it to Kaito. Whatever it was, Shuichi couldn't read it from his angle, so he moved beside Kaito.
'I need back. Father will get me in lot of trouble if I not home.'
Shuichi sighed. This was just getting more complicated. He took the phone, typed, and showed Kokichi again.
'Your father is not a good person. He hurts you, that's bad.'
One of Kokichi's eyebrows twitched, as if he wanted to make a face but resisted it. He took the phone again.
'Father needs money. Father needs me for money. I need back.' He reiterated.
Kaito sighed and translated something else.
'Do you really want to go back, or are you asking to go back because your father needs you?'
Kokichi just stared at the phone for a few seconds, then his eyes welled with tears. He sniffled and wiped his eyes with his little fists. Kaito lowered the phone and shut it off, then took Kokichi into his arms and held him close. Kokichi rested his forehead on Kaito's shoulder and cried. Shuichi took the device and typed in one last thing.
'It will be okay.'
He moved behind Kaito and gently tapped Kokichi's head, effectively getting the boy to look up at him. He raised the phone so he could see, and smiled weakly behind it. Kokichi's bottom lip quivered (and Shuichi tried not to focus on how completely adorable he was) and he buried his head in Kaito's shoulder again, whimpering quietly. The taller boy patted the little one's back and they sat there for a few minutes longer while he calmed down. Once he was calm enough, they used the phone to find the nearest motel, which was—thank their lucky stars—not very far. They changed into some more civilized clothes rather than lazy pajamas, while Kokichi hid in the corner facing the wall and covered his eyes.
They left the bathroom, then the mall altogether, and followed the screenshots Shuichi had taken as the afternoon came and the sun reached its peak.
They found the motel not an hour later. Most of it was just walking, very little confusion. Shuichi took every screenshot necessary to make sure that they wouldn't get lost, and Kaito kept the pocket knife at the ready, clearly more on edge here than in their comfortable town back home. They paid up-front, and found with pleasure that the place was actually of good quality. Shuichi didn't have any concern about having Kokichi stay there.
Right upon walking in their room, there were two beds on either side of the wall directly across, and a TV across from that, sitting on something akin to a dresser. To the left of the beds was a small kitchen area, with a bathroom off to the right. Overall a decent living space for the time being. Kaito shrugged off the backpack and put it next to the left bed with a sigh. "This place got Wi-Fi?" he asked nonchalantly as he set Kokichi down on the bed and he looked around the place.
Shuichi pulled out his phone. "Yeah. My phone battery is almost dead, though. We'll have to pick up a charger or something later."
Kaito nodded and put the pocket knife in the dresser. "Let's order pizza or something."
"We're in France, Kai…"
The taller boy nodded again. "I know. That's why we'll have Kokichi order it!"
Shuichi blinked with a blank stare. Kokichi looked up at him with his big doe eyes, attention brought to Kaito at the mention of his name as he swung his legs back and forth on the edge of the bed.
Shuichi pulled out the translator and typed something in quickly, then crouched in front of Kokichi and turned the device so he could read it.
'We need you to order a pizza. Get whatever you want on it, okay?'
Kokichi's eyes moved across the screen, and he leaned forward at one point. He slowly put his hands on the phone, as if asking for permission to take it, and Shuichi relented it with a smile.
How could anyone ever hurt such a sweet child?
'What's a pizza?'
Kaito leaned down next to Kokichi when he finished putting things away, and his eyes widened.
"You… He doesn't know what a pizza is?!"
Kokichi looked up at them with eyebrows quirked in confusion, then lowered sadly. "Je suis désolé, je ne sais pas beaucoup de choses. Maman a essayé de m'apprendre, mais elle est partie maintenant…"
Shuichi pulled up pictures of pizza on his phone and showed Kokichi, whose eyes widened and he nodded.
"Ah! Papa m'en a donné un petit une fois! C'est des pizzas?"
Shuichi nodded. "Yes! Pizza!"
Kokichi nodded firmly with a determined smile. He actually looked like the Kokichi that they knew, and it made him feel like warm, soft mush. "D'accord! Je peux commander la pizza!"
Kaito and Shuichi just looked at him, and after a few seconds he seemed to remember their circumstances. He let out an embarrassed squeak and reached for the phone again.
'I can order the pizza.'
Kaito grinned widely. "Yeah! Merci, Kokichi! Uhm… Bien, right? Bien, Kokichi!"
The little boy went still for a moment—his legs ceased swinging—before his eyes got watery and he let out a little puff of air through his mouth. His lips quivered like he was trying not to cry. Kaito's eyes shot wide open and he looked at Shuichi, probably thinking that he'd said something hurtful. Shuichi shook his head with a soft smile.
"You got it right, Kaito. I think… he's just not used to praise like that, probably."
Kaito sighed loudly in relief. "Thank God."
A knock sounded on their door about an hour later. "Une pizza pour Shuichi?" a voice called, slightly muffled across the door. Shuichi got up from the bed where they were laying and watching cartoons and answered the door. He gave the person money, took the pizza, and said only 'merci' because it was all he knew. He shut the door and held up the pizza box victoriously.
"Pizza!" he shouted. Kaito sat up with Kokichi in his lap, who raised his hands like Shuichi did.
"Pizza!" he parroted. Shuichi smiled and went into the kitchen, opening the box and getting some paper plates from the cupboards.
They all sat at the small circular table and had their slices of pizza. Kaito cut Kokichi's pizza up with a fork and fed it to him while Shuichi giggled and took small bites, primarily to keep pace with Kokichi so he wouldn't be the last one eating. The small boy seemed extremely hesitant and even distrustful initially, when Kaito held the first bite up to him, but they managed to convince him that it was alright and that it was safe to eat.
Kokichi munched on the slice and smiled. "Est bon! J'aime ça!"
After they were finished eating, they put the leftover pizza in the refrigerator ( Shuichi liked his pizza better cold anyways) and they settled back down in one of the beds and returned to watching cartoons. Kokichi—who was chest-to-chest with Shuichi and lying contentedly on the taller boy—had apparently never seen anything like it before, because he was staring intently at the screen for at least a couple of hours. Eventually, though, the child needed rest, and his eyes started to droop closed as he struggled to stay awake.
Shuichi put a hand on Kokichi's back, now able to feel him breathing since Kokichi's stomach was against his torso and his hand was on his back, and rubbed gently to soothe him and let him know that it was alright to rest. All children needed naps, especially with as much stress as he endured that day.
Kokichi's head was turned on its side and facing Kaito, who saw the very moment he really fell asleep. His face relaxed completely, his hand fell from where it was holding onto Shuichi's shoulder, and he released a near-silent sigh. He looked so peaceful, so happy, just doing something so simple as lying on Shuichi's chest. Kaito knew it wasn't really that simple—not for Kokichi himself, at least—but just the mere thought made him smile.
Kaito turned the show to something better suited for Shuichi and himself, and they cuddled together until dark.
Until the peace was disrupted by the sounds of whimpering. Kaito opened his heavy eyes (he was just resting them, he swears) and looked over at Shuichi, whose face was as tranquil and pretty as ever; it was Kokichi who was disturbed, seemingly by a nightmare.
His eyes were still closed, but his brows were furrowed and quivering, and his hands were gripping Shuichi for dear life. Whimpers and shaking breaths were escaping his trembling lips, and all Kaito wanted to do was pick him up and hold him close and make him understand that he was safe and loved.
He nudged Shuichi gently, just enough to stir him. The ravenette groaned sleepily and started to sit up, until he remembered that Kokichi was on top of him.
And then he realized that that same boy was shaking and about to start crying, mumbling unintelligible things. And he was completely awake and in full comfort mode. Kaito grabbed the cheap blankets and pulled them up to cover the three of them, and he rubbed Kokichi's head as gently as he possibly could.
"Shhh… Shh… It's alright… You're safe, bubs, you're alright…"
Kaito pursed his lips. Kokichi couldn't understand that, but it was really all they could do. Kaito reached for Shuichi's phone to show him how to say something Kokichi would be able to understand, but it had died since they'd eaten. He sighed and they just continued to comfort him in any way they could. Shuichi hummed a song with no words in it while Kaito rubbed his head and sometimes his back, mumbling some comforting nothings every once in a while just because he felt like he wasn't doing enough.
After a while, Kokichi's breathing started to even out, his face gradually relaxed again, and his mumbling died down and stopped. His grip on Shuichi's shirt didn't let up, though the ravenette didn't seem to mind. He just kept humming, and Kaito even started to get sleepy from the gentle melody. He closed his eyes and put an arm over his two companions, falling asleep shortly after without even realizing it.
The last thing he saw was Kokichi's sleepy little smile.
"Shumaiii? Shuuuu-Shuuuuu~?” a voice sing-songed into his consciousness.
Shumai…? Wait, but-
Shuichi shot into a sit-up position faster than lightning, his forehead making an impact with something else, painfully.
“Owwieee!” the voice whined. Shuichi’s eyes adjusted to the warm light, and to his utter shock, there on his bed—in their bedroom that they shared and not some bland, strange, unnerving room or a motel room, sat Kokichi Ouma. The cheerful, mischievous, “evil” Kokichi they knew, rubbing his forehead gingerly with a pout.
“Jeez, what is wrong with you two today…?” he whined miserably. “Kai-chan’s been acting so strange all morning, too. It took him forever to get off of me! I wonder if you two are sick?” Concernedly, Kokichi pressed a hand to Shuichi’s forehead. Shuichi stayed completely still, eyes blown wide as he tried to process everything.
It was a dream?
“You don’t feel warm… but you two slept in so long! It’s been 500 years, y’know. Congrats, you finally woke up from your coma!” Kokichi’s face went from a rare display of concern to his usual chipper grin.
Shuichi couldn’t form any words sufficient enough to express how he felt, so he just pulled Kokichi into a firm embrace. The violette paused for a moment, and in that moment Shuichi was reminded that somewhere inside of Kokichi was that little boy who’d clung to both him and Kaito, and rarely ever smiled.
The moment didn’t last long, though, as Kokichi wiggled away from the hug and feigned a cough. “Ughh! I have Shumai’s gross sickness now! I think it may be emo cooties!!”
Shuichi sighed and moved to get out of bed. “Where’s Kaito?”
“Downstairs ordering pizza. Pizza in the morning! He said he was craving it for some reason.” Kokichi answered. Shuichi’s detective-like gears turned.
Kaito had the same dream… Then… maybe it wasn’t a dream…?