Work Text:
There weren’t many sounds inside Kokichi’s dorm room, besides his own breathing and the gentle whir of Kiibo’s fans. The robot was seated across from him on the bed, arms crossed with an expectant look on his face. Kokichi had called him over earlier in the day for a rendezvous to discuss a “top secret super special plan,” as he had put it. In reality, nothing of the sort was on the books. There was only one thing on Kokichi’s mind.
Despite knowing his own intentions, actually spitting out the words was somehow more difficult than he had imagined. “Well, Kii-boy-”
Kiibo’s face twitched with irritation. “Kiibo,” he corrected.
Kokichi threw his arms behind his head, leaning back against the headboard. “Hm? Yeah, Kiibo, that’s what I said. What’d you hear?”
Kiibo’s brow furrowed just slightly. “You called me ‘Kii-boy,’ which I have informed you several times is not my name.” The smile that crossed Kokichi’s face at the annoyed response was more genuine than he would’ve liked.
There was just something about Kiibo that made Kokichi want to prod at him until he broke. At first, Kokichi had chalked the feeling up to his own general malicious tendencies. No matter how many times Kokichi said or did something rude or asinine, Kiibo always continued to talk and hang out with him of his own volition. The way Kiibo conducted himself with such naivete for someone who, at least according to his own boasting, was meant to be so smart, perplexed Kokichi. He wanted to know how far he could push him before Kiibo actually gave up.
“I did not! Have you had Miu take off your lid and straighten out your wires recently? I think you’re starting to get a little screwy. Won’t be long till your system’s totally bricked.”
Kiibo sat up straighter, his lips curling into a frown. “How rude! I’m perfectly up to date in all of my software, thank you very much. In fact, I can play back an audio recording of this conversation to prove you called me the wrong name.”
Kokichi gave him a lazy smile. Kiibo was just too easy to rile up. “You’re recording this? Creepy.”
“I record all of our conversations.” And suddenly, it didn’t feel so funny anymore.
Kokichi kept on his casual smile, certainly enough to fool Kiibo into thinking nothing was amiss. “You do?”
Kiibo nodded curtly and began to ramble about the minute details of his recording function. His face had shifted from mild irritation to full blown pride as he prattled on about the inconsequential feature that was going to be haunting Kokichi’s thoughts for the next month. What did he do with those recordings? Did he record his conversations with everyone?
Kokichi stood from the bed, listening halfheartedly to Kiibo as he went to pick up a book from his cluttered table. “Kokichi.” The tone of Kiibo’s voice was tired the way it always was when Kokichi was getting on his nerves. Kiibo slid off the bed himself, walking over to the other side of the room and running his hand over one of the many piled up boxes. “Do you have to keep your room so cluttered? It’s bad for your mental health to live in a messy environment.”
Kokichi rolled his eyes and dropped the book he was holding. “Where’d you read that, Wikipedia?” He strolled over to Kiibo and reached up to poke his forehead. “I know you don’t have any mushy brains up there to know firsthand.”
Kiibo brushed Kokichi’s hand away before he could make contact, rolling his eyes all the while. “Just because I do not have an organic brain does not mean I do not feel the same emotions you do. I keep my room tidy for the same reason.”
It was easier to hum and go along with it than try to explain to Kiibo the idea that living like this was comforting to him. Though Kokichi would never say it out loud, Kiibo’s ability to feel and understand human emotion was objectively impressive. However, it was still quite obvious at times that some more complex feelings still tripped him up. Trying to explain something as contradictory as “living in filth makes me feel better” would likely have them there for the next several hours.
Instead, Kokichi caught Kiibo by the wrist and leaned closer into his personal space. “You should show me what’s in there instead of a brain some time, I wanna know. How’s it fair that you know what’s in my head but I don’t know what’s in yours?”
What Kokichi didn’t expect was for Kiibo’s breath to hitch and the LEDs beneath his synthetic skin to light up bright pink. An anxious look overtook his face and he looked away from Kokichi. “I- That’s- My insides are a rather intimate part of myself…” he mumbled.
There was absolutely no way Kokichi was backing off now. Every time he had attempted to inquire about Kiibo’s intimates, he had gotten panic stricken looks, terse replies, and loud accusations of robophobia. Even Kokichi could admit that Kiibo was justified in reacting that way, but it didn’t make him any less curious. Kokichi curled his bottom lip out into a pout. “But you let Miu see. How’s that any different?”
Kiibo frowned. “You let your doctor see you undressed, it’s much like that.”
Kokichi quirked a brow. “You’re saying that skanky bitch is your doctor? And she’s totally not weird at all about seeing you naked?”
“Naked is not quite the word I would use-”
“Okay, okay, seeing your insides exposed, whatever. She’s completely normal about that?”
Kiibo averted his gaze once again. His blush had lessened, but a soft pink hue still shone under his pale skin. “Not exactly. She has tried to be inappropriate before, but she has certainly never succeeded.”
Hearing that Miu tried to have her way with Kiibo at one point or another irked Kokichi more than he wanted it to. “One of our upperclassmen is the ultimate mechanic. Why don’t you go ask him to do your repairs, or whatever the hell it is you ask her for, and drop that worthless cum dumpster?”
Kiibo narrowed his gaze at Kokichi. “I trust Miu, she’s my best friend. Can we stop talking about this? I don’t believe my privates are any of your business.”
Kokichi grinned, his grip on Kiibo’s wrist tightening. The words were out of his mouth before he could even consider them. “And what if I want them to be my business?”
Kiibo’s eyes were wide and frantic as he searched Kokichi’s face for any indicator of exactly what he had meant by that. “Huh?”
Kokichi let go of Kiibo’s wrist and instead moved to cup the side of his face in a convincingly composed way. So this maybe wasn’t going in any of the thousand ways he had planned it out in his head over the past several weeks. Regardless, now was the time to spit it out. Maybe then he could stop feeling this awful way around the stupid tin can. He leaned closer to murmur against Kiibo’s microphone, “I like you, Kii-boy.”
A simple rejection was about what Kokichi expected. Kiibo would sigh and tell him he didn’t feel the same way, potentially even that he wasn’t capable of feeling the same way. Kokichi would shrug it off and leave Kiibo to wonder if he had even been being serious in the first place.
What Kokichi didn’t expect was for Kiibo’s hands to fly up to his chest- and push him away with all of his force. There was a stern look on his face, far past the typical mild irritation he often showed Kokichi. No, he was angry. His face that had once been flushed a pretty pink with embarrassment was now red with fury. “I am sick and tired of you treating me like this,” he declared. Kokichi cocked his head in honest confusion, but Kiibo didn’t allow him to get a word in. “Just because I am a robot does not mean you can trivialize my feelings. I would have thought we had spent enough time together that you understood that. I would have expected this from you when we first met, but by now I should think you would have grown out of your robophobia. I have put up with so many things you have said to me because that’s what friends do, but I see now that we are not friends.” He stepped closer to Kokichi, jabbing an accusatory finger into his chest. “You only ever ask me to hang out with you because you see me as a toy to be played with.” With that remark, he turned from Kokichi and stormed over to the door. He gave one small glance back at Kokichi, and then he was gone.
Kokichi didn’t move from his spot, just stared dumbfounded at the door for a moment. He brought his hand to his mouth, biting down on his thumb in a desperate bid not to start crying from frustration. So much for “the worst they can say is no.”
Going to the dining hall the next day must have seemed completely normal from anyone else’s perspective, for the most part. It was Kokichi’s thing after all, keeping a perfect mask up so no one else could possibly know what was going through his head. He waltzed into the room and lazily flopped down on a chair as he waited for Kirumi to bring out his special omelet like she did every morning, loudly singing some obnoxious song he had heard on the radio a few days earlier.
“Hey,” Maki interrupted, not bothering to look at Kokichi. “Some of us are trying to have conversations over here.”
Kokichi bounced out of his chair, sprinting over to Maki and Shuichi and slinging an arm around either of them. “Oh yeah? What are we talking about?” he asked, grinning as he looked back and forth between the two.
Maki gave an irritated grunt as she shirked him off. “Nothing that concerns you.”
Kokichi settled down in Shuichi’s lap, to which the detective mumbled something in protest. Kokichi needed something to take his mind off yesterday’s blow to his ego and these two were always good for a distraction. All he could hope for was that Kaito would walk in at any second and see him sitting in Shuichi’s lap. He would flip shit and not be able to explain himself since he didn’t have the guts to confess to Shuichi. Comedy gold, in simple terms. “I just wanted to know what you guys were up to, I’m not trying to impose or anything,” he told her, forming a faux pout.
Shuichi spoke before Maki could snap back. “We were just discussing some plans to go do some karaoke-”
“That you’re not invited to,” Maki cut in.
Shuichi smiled awkwardly. “Uh, later tonight with Kaito and Kiibo,” he finished.
At the mention of Kiibo, Kokichi frowned. Quickly, he worked it into a part of his act by dramatically rolling his eyes and huffing. “I see how it is, I’m not an important enough friend for you to invite.” He brought a hand up to pick at his cuticles, just to really rub in the dejection. “You’d rather take a hunk of scrap metal than a real person.” Maybe some bitterness was seeping into his voice, but it worked with his act, so it didn’t really matter.
Shuichi’s brow furrowed. “I thought you two were pretty close these days. Why do you always have to say rude things about Kiibo?”
Kokichi had no intention of answering the question in the first place, but if he had wanted to he wouldn’t have gotten the chance. A booming voice entering the dining hall made it impossible to focus on anything else. All three of them looked over to see Kaito and Kiibo chatting amicably, Kiibo laughing at something the other had said. Kokichi stiffened just slightly and the moment he did he felt Shuichi’s gaze snap over to him. Fuck.
When Kiibo looked away from Kaito and over to the three of them, his face fell instantly. Kokichi could almost feel the lingering anger radiating off him and his glare wasn’t hidden in the slightest. Where Kokichi could keep a near perfect lid on his emotions, Kiibo was like a goddamn book laid out to read. At times it was charming, and right now it was irritating.
“Yo! Maki! Shuichi!” Kaito called out, then glared at Kokichi. “Ouma,” he spat.
Kokichi tried his best to ignore Kiibo as he grinned up at Kaito. He was mad enough that he called him by his last name, this was a golden opportunity he didn’t want to miss out on just because of some stupid robot. “Hey, Kaito! What’s the matter? Not happy to see me? I’m wounded,” he whined.
Kaito looked over to Shuichi, raising a brow and gesturing vaguely at Kokichi sitting in his lap. Shuichi sighed and shook his head. He grabbed Kokichi’s wrist and pulled him off his lap, then stood up, dragging Kokichi along behind him. “Sorry, guys, I’ll be right back. I just remembered Kokichi was supposed to show me something this morning,” he told them, then tugged Kokichi out of the dining hall.
“Good morning, Maki!” Kiibo’s loud voice could still be heard even as they exited.
Kokichi could damn near kill Shuichi at this moment. He barely even got to provoke Kaito at all. “You know,” Kokichi started. “You’re better at lying than you used to be, but you’re still kinda shit.”
Shuichi looked back at him with a frown that was more reminiscent of a kicked puppy than a full grown man. “I don’t necessarily want to be good at lying.”
Kokichi tugged his wrist out of Shuichi’s weak grip and skipped ahead to walk in front of him. “You’re really good at lying to Kaito about your feelings, though.”
Shuichi’s soft face hardened at that, clearly unamused by Kokichi’s comment. “We’re not talking about me, we’re talking about you.”
Kokichi feigned surprise, putting a hand over his chest. “Moi? What could you possibly want with me?” He gave an exaggerated gasp. “Are you confessing your undying love to me?”
“No.”
“Okay, thank god, I’m not ready yet. I’ll need to put on my best outfit and I want it to happen under a big cherry blossom tree-”
“What happened between you and Kiibo?”
Kokichi tried his best to keep an innocent smile on. “Whaddaya mean?”
“Well, I felt you get tense when Kaito and Kiibo walked in earlier. At first, I wasn’t sure which one of them was the problem, but Kiibo made it pretty obvious,” Shuichi explained, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.
Kokichi crossed his arms, suddenly uncomfortable under the detective’s knowing gaze. Shuichi could always see past more of his act than anyone else, it was sort of his job after all. “Kaito was mean to me too. How do you know it had nothing to do with him?”
“Kaito’s always mad at you, Kiibo almost never is.”
It didn’t matter how many questions Kokichi fired at him to distract him, Shuichi would just continue to give his answers patiently. He was so annoying. Kokichi threw his hands behind his head and put on a relaxed smile. “Okay, you win! We fought yesterday! Hmm, no, that’s a lie. He bitched me out and then stormed off. I had nothing to do with it.”
Shuichi fixed him with an incredulous look. “Nothing? I find that hard to believe, Kokichi. Kiibo isn’t the most… even tempered person I’ve ever met, but you have a record of incensing people. Look, I don’t know what happened, and obviously you aren’t going to tell me, but it must’ve been pretty intense if Kiibo hasn’t forgiven you yet. You should apologize to him. You can lie about it as much as you like, but you wouldn’t spend so much time with him if he weren’t important to you. Don’t lose him over whatever happened yesterday.” Before Kokichi got the chance to lie to Shuichi about how far off the mark he was, Shuichi had already turned around to start heading back to the dining hall.
Goddamn know-it-all detective sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. Kokichi really hadn’t done anything wrong. He told Kiibo how he felt and Kiibo was the one who blew up on him, but why would Shuichi believe him?
…Why would Kiibo believe him?
The realization that Kiibo had thought he was lying to him probably should’ve hit approximately the moment Kiibo left without even acknowledging Kokichi’s feelings, but better late than never, he supposed. Now the issue lay more in what to do about that fact. How the hell was he supposed to get Kiibo to believe he was being honest without embarrassing the ever loving shit out of himself? The first confession was embarrassing enough.
With an overly dramatic sigh that no one was even there to bear witness to, Kokichi began to trudge to the only place he could think of for help.
Without any form of announcing his presence, Kokichi shoved the door to Miu’s lab open and strolled in. Miu was sitting on the floor, some strange looking invention in front of her that she was deeply engrossed in. Kokichi stalked closer, looming behind her to observe her work. If he had to venture a guess, it was probably another one of her weird inventions that allowed her to do something entirely unnecessary while she slept.
Kokichi leaned forward, close enough that he could blow a breath on the back of Miu’s ear. With a gasp that sounded all too much like a moan, Miu whipped around to face Kokichi. “Huh?!” She blinked at him a few times, her panicky eyes darting about his body before she settled back into her usual self. “What the hell are you doing here? And have you ever heard of a fucking doorbell?”
Kokichi shrugged, dancing back away from her before she got the chance to swing the wrench she was holding at him. “Can’t say I have, can you explain?”
Miu rolled her eyes, turning back to her invention. “If you don’t have any business with me, then see yourself the hell back out. I have actual things to do with my life, unlike you,” she snapped. Kokichi narrowed his eyes. She was being even more flip with him than usual.
“I do too have business with you!” he whined. Miu didn’t reply to him this time, just continued tightening a bolt. Feeling quickly frustrated by Miu’s refusal to take any bait, he decided to take a more direct approach. He walked around to stand in front of her and put his hands together in a pleading manner. “Oh great girl genius, I need your golden brain to solve my problems!”
Miu didn’t so much as look up. “You’re a lying sack of shit.”
Kokichi grimaced. “And you’re a stupid whore, now get up and help me.”
Miu shot up off the floor, eyes wide and her face suddenly red. She quickly got a hold of herself and rolled her eyes, but still left her invention behind in favor of flopping down onto her gaudy tiger print couch. She sat in a lazy manner, head lolled against the back of the couch and stretched out to take up more space than two people normally would. It suddenly hit just how scantily she was dressed. Her lacy tank top left nothing to the imagination and her panties rode up to leave only half her ass covered. Kokichi wondered distantly if she ever had shame.
“I already know what you’re here for,” Miu told him.
Kokichi joined her on the couch, her words immediately making him feel more on guard. “So you know that I need you to invent something so that I can pull pranks while I sleep?”
Miu reached forward, grabbing a messily ripped open bag of chips from the coffee table in front of them. “I know you’re fucking with me, but that’s not a bad idea.” She sighed. “You went way over the line with Kiibo yesterday and now you want me to fix your fuck up, right?” Kokichi held onto his smile, just how badly this situation was irking him was exactly none of Miu’s business. “Well, news flash, fuckpipe, I’m not helping. He came to me crying yesterday, or like, as close to crying as robots get. Y’know, his voice modulator was all funked in the guts and his irises were watery. Whatever the hell you did, that’s on you, not my problem.”
Kokichi didn’t let his surprise show for even a second, instead he threw his hands behind his head and leaned back against the couch. Kiibo never cried in front of him. He would roll his eyes, snark back, tell him all about how robophobic he was being- but never cry. It was slowly dawning on him just how badly he had screwed this up. “So he didn’t tell you what went down?”
“No. I asked him like a hundred times and he clammed up every single time.” She turned to glare at him. “You must’ve said something real nasty.”
Suddenly, Kokichi’s chances of getting help without giving Miu the best blackmail of her entire life were a lot higher. “Hmm, okay! I’ll tell you what happened!” he told her, a gleeful grin on his face. Kokichi leaned in conspiratorially and waved Miu to come closer too. The best lies have a bit of truth in them, the worst have none, and Kokichi hasn’t spoken the truth in years. So, when she was close enough that he could whisper in her ear, he told her, “I confessed my love to him.”
Exactly as expected, Miu shoved him away with an annoyed groan. “I don’t know why I thought you’d actually tell me.”
Kokichi shook his head and balled his fists, pulling out his crocodile tears. “No! No! I am telling the truth! And he rejected me, can you believe that?!” he shouted.
Miu’s brow furrowed and she glanced away from him like she was contemplating something. “I don’t understand why he likes hanging out with you. You’re completely insufferable, yet every god damn day he comes in and tells me about what you two were doing the day before. Tag, hide and seek, video games, walking around the school, he tells me every fuckin’ thing you two do,” she groused, chip crumbs flying out of her mouth as she spoke. Kokichi could only wonder if he had ever mentioned to her all the times that Kokichi had come into his room unannounced and sat on his bed in silence just to be near him, or if that had registered to him as moments too intimate to share with the crass girl. He didn’t dare ask.
Kokichi smiled, swooning overdramatically. “So he does care about me!” Kokichi’s face twisted into a pout too quickly to even pretend there was sincerity in the look. “Then why do you think he rejected me?”
Miu crammed an oversized fistful of chips into her mouth. “If you actually said that to him, he probably wouldn’t.”
There was no doubt in Kokichi’s mind that his mask was still perfectly concealing everything he was feeling, but it felt dangerously like all his emotions were laid out for Miu to see when those words left her lips. All Kokichi was attempting to do at the moment was figure out how to get Kiibo to believe that he was being genuine so that he could get properly rejected and Kiibo would stop being mad at him, he hadn’t thought there was any shot Kiibo would actually reciprocate. With a renewed vigor and some semblance of a plan in mind, Kokichi decided he’d well and truly had enough of that conversation. “So what’s this I hear you tried to put the moves on Kiibo once?” he asked.
Miu scoffed. “That was like, a year ago. He turned me down fuckin’ immediately.” She turned away from Kokichi, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. “A woman has to try, y’know.”
Kokichi quirked a brow. “But he still lets you mess around with his insides?”
“Oh please, what we do is like me going to see a gynecologist. I don’t get turned on just cause some doctor is rooting around in my pussy and neither does the doctor. It’s strictly business, unfortunately.”
Kokichi leaned forward with a smirk. “So you’re saying he can get turned on, your ugly pig face just doesn’t do it for him?”
Miu glared at him despite her red face. “Keep asking shit like that and I’m gonna start to think you really did confess to him.”
That was definitely his cue to leave before Miu got any more suspicious of his actual intention. Kokichi hopped up from the couch and just to sell the idea that it was a lie one more time, he smiled and told her, “That’s because I did! You need to start listening when people tell you things or else they’re gonna start to like you even less than they already do,” before casually walking over to the door.
“Hey! Kokichi!” He paused for a moment, throwing his head over his shoulder to look at Miu. “Whatever the hell you’re planning on doing, make sure you don’t hurt Kiibo’s feelings again, ‘kay?” Her face was solemn as she spoke and for the first time since he arrived, she actually looked serious.
Kokichi didn’t acknowledge her statement, just left the lab and didn’t look back. First Shuichi and now Miu. He was getting tired of getting lectured on how to go about his personal relationships and he especially didn’t need to hear it from Miu Iruma of all people.
That night, Kokichi waited at the entrance to the dorms for Shuichi, Kaito, Maki, and Kiibo to come back from their karaoke night. He glanced at the time on his phone, it was approaching midnight so there was no way they could be out all that much longer. He was about five seconds from banging on Gonta’s door and telling him about some made-up emergency that required him breaking down everyone’s doors, just to have some entertainment. But then, the main door to the dorms swung open.
Kaito’s boisterous laugh quickly filled the small common area. “We’re finally back and we can get you all hooked up, buddy.” As he spoke, Kaito ruffled Kiibo’s always perfect acrylic hair.
Kiibo laughed quietly, his eye displays appearing half lidded. He had sunk down ever so slightly into his collar and Kokichi stared for a second, fighting to keep in his laughter when he saw the bowtie tied around it. It was strangely charming.
Kokichi launched over, wrapping his arms around the other boy. “Kii-boy! You’re back!” he exclaimed, and he would’ve spun him around if he wasn’t almost two hundred pounds. “I missed you soooo much today, you didn’t even tell me you were going out,” he whined, bringing his hands up to cup either side of Kiibo’s face.
Kiibo never was one to stay mad at him for too long. Whether he was just used to Kokichi’s antics or if it was simply because he was a forgiving kind of person, Kokichi wasn’t entirely sure, but it was probably a little of both. Usually, when Kokichi did or said something that upset Kiibo, he’d roll his eyes and scold him, then they’d move on. There was a nonzero chance Kokichi could get away with never apologizing.
Maybe it was the fact that Kiibo’s eyes were forcibly half lidded to alert others he was on low battery that made him look even more irritated than he otherwise would’ve. “Kokichi, I do not have time for your inane shenanigans right now.” He weakly attempted to wriggle free from Kokichi’s grip, to no avail.
“C’mon, I just wanna have a little chat, you can spare me five minutes, can’t you?” Kokichi pulled out his best pair of puppy dog eyes as he stared up at Kiibo.
“Actually-” Maki cut in. “He really can’t.” And in that moment, the gentle whir of Kiibo’s fans slowly quieted down and his eyes went dark. It wasn’t often that Kiibo completely shut down, but this wasn’t the first time Kokichi had seen it happen either. “I’m gonna leave him to you guys and split here. See you in the morning,” Maki told them, waving a hand over her shoulder as she promptly headed for her own dorm room.
Kaito sighed. “This idiot. He knew he was running low but he just couldn’t let me carry him. I never thought when robots became intelligent they’d be so damn prideful. Maybe intelligent is the wrong word for this one,” he joked, wrapping an arm around Kiibo and easily lifting him up.
Shuichi laughed gently. “I hope he isn’t in a rest mode where he can still hear you.”
Kaito knocked into Shuichi slightly, smiling at him. “I’d be on his shit list for the rest of my life.”
There was a moment where Kaito and Shuichi simply stared at each other before Kokichi cleared his throat loudly. “It’s really cool watching you two eye fuck each other and all-” Shuichi quickly averted his gaze while Kaito glared at Kokichi- “but we should probably get the super computer on his charger.” Kaito huffed and headed for Kiibo’s dorm room. There really was little more fun than messing with Kaito and Shuichi.
Once inside, Kaito dumped Kiibo on his perfectly made bed. “Didn’t he tell us once his battery lasts over twenty four hours?” He awkwardly futzed with the blanket to try and pull it over Kiibo.
Shuichi came closer, peering around Kiibo’s bed. “He must not have charged himself last night. I wonder if something was keeping him up.” Shuichi glanced at Kokichi as if now, after almost three years of knowing each other, he’d finally decide to open up to him.
Kokichi only laughed. “What do you mean keeping him up? Robots can’t have insomnia, silly.” Ignoring the look Shuichi was giving him, Kokichi stepped closer to the bed and shoved his hand between the head board and mattress. He fished around for a moment before pulling out a thick charging cable.
Shuichi tilted his head. “How did you know…?”
Kokichi put a finger to his lips. “Nishishi! A true magician never reveals his secrets.” Kiibo always crammed his charging cable deep in the bedding. Something about how if someone walked into his dorm room they wouldn’t be able to tell he was a robot right away. For being so confident in himself, he certainly had his oddities about appearing human. Kokichi swiftly slipped the charger into the port hidden away inside Kiibo’s collar. “Et voilà!” Shuichi stared at Kokichi in a way that he didn’t much care for. “What? I have to know so that if he ever goes berserk I can save us all by making sure he can’t charge back up!” It was a half assed lie at best.
Kaito didn’t seem to particularly care, as he wrapped an arm around Shuichi’s shoulder and began to tug him over to the door. “All right well I’m seriously tired myself, so let’s get to bed.” He looked over at Kokichi. “You comin’?”
Kokichi waved his hand. “Nah, I still have some business here.” He gave his best mischievous look.
Kaito looked down at Shuichi, face taut with concern. Shuichi glanced one more time at Kokichi, then shook his head at Kaito. Wordlessly, the two left the room, leaving Kokichi alone with the unresponsive Kiibo.
He looked down at the other, taking in his neutral face. Kiibo hated powering down in front of other people, it made him look vulnerable and weak according to him. He had likened it to fainting once, but when a human faints it isn’t usually because of their own reckless desire to be cool for their friends. Inevitably, when he woke up, Kiibo would blame it on Kokichi for stopping him in the common area like somehow in the minute Kokichi was bothering him he could’ve gotten back into his dorm, shooed everyone out, and plugged himself in without powering down. Kokichi prodded one of Kiibo’s soft synthetic cheeks. He could be so annoying, but if he wasn’t, there probably wouldn’t be that much fun in hanging out with him.
Kokichi reached out and tugged on one end of the bowtie, slipping it off of Kiibo.
Strange. There was really no better word for it. Kiibo was without a doubt one of the strangest people Kokichi had ever met, even in a room full of ultimates.
He ran a finger over the glass displays of Kiibo’s eyes that had finally lit back up, displaying his closed eyes. He had been wrestling with these annoying feelings for almost a year now, even if he only recently found it in himself to admit it. Whether Miu was right and Kiibo returned them or not, he would just be happy to have this miserable experience over with.
Kokichi had only taken one step away from the bed when a devious idea struck him. Given the fact that he was currently in the dog house with Kiibo, it was without question a bad idea. But since when did that ever stop him. Nudging Kiibo over just enough to make space, Kokichi slipped underneath the covers and settled into the bed. He laid on his side and stared at Kiibo for a moment longer before the soft noises from Kiibo’s body and gentle light of his eyes helped him drift off.
There was some sort of shaking going on. Kokichi gave a soft whine of protest, but unfortunately he was already awake. Groggily, he opened his eyes and had to quickly stifle a laugh. Kiibo was sat perfectly upright, staring down at Kokichi like he had three heads, an utterly scandalized look on his face.
“Good morning Kii-”
“What are you doing in my room?!” Kiibo shouted.
Kokichi’s eyes slid closed again. There was barely any light coming into the room, so it couldn’t have been more than five in the morning. He had really thought after a full shut down that Kiibo would take more than five hours to recharge. “You don’t have to sit all the way on the edge of the bed, y’know. I only bite if you want me to.” Kokichi cracked an eye open to catch Kiibo scooting an infinitesimal amount closer to him.
“This is not funny, Kokichi.”
Kokichi rolled onto his other side away from Kiibo. “I don’t see what the big deal is, it’s not like this is the first time I’ve been in your bed.”
Kokichi didn’t have to look to know Kiibo’s face was bright red, likely tucked away in his collar the way he often did when embarrassed. “Do not phrase it like that!” Kokichi sniggered quietly. Kiibo was just too easy to rile up. There was silence for a moment, almost long enough that Kokichi could’ve fallen back asleep, before Kiibo spoke again. “I mean it Kokichi, please explain yourself or leave. I am not in the mood to entertain you after the other day.”
Kokichi sat up and rubbed his eyes, giving a sideways smirk to Kiibo. “Trying or not you’re a riot-” Kokichi paused, fighting the urge to use the nickname that always upset the other boy. “Kiibo,” he finished. Kiibo didn’t say anything back, but his shoulders seemed to have relaxed slightly. “Hey, tell me something before you kick me to the streets.”
“I am not kicking you to the streets-”
“Are you still recording this?”
Kiibo crossed his arms and looked away. “I cannot say that I am.”
Kokichi leaned closer into Kiibo’s space and Kiibo reflexively leaned back. “Why do you normally record our conversations?”
Kiibo’s gaze returned to Kokichi with a glare. The scowl seemed foreign on his lips, but Kokichi could fix that even if it required some slightly unorthodox methods. “I have to make sure I have it on record if you make any robophobic remarks that cross the line into harassment so that I can report it.” Kiibo was a great many things but a good liar was not one of them. Why, for some reason, he appeared confident he could get away with it, Kokichi wasn’t sure.
“Then why aren’t you recording now?” Kiibo attempted to remain stoney faced, but Kokichi could see all the minute shifts in his expression. The way his eyes widened slightly and his lips twitched almost imperceptibly. “Since I was just making fun of you the other day, I should be at my most likely to say something robophobic, right? Just admit it-” it was time to take a shot in the dark. Kokichi was no ultimate detective, but Kiibo didn’t make it too hard to figure him out. “You only record my voice so you can listen back to it, but you’re mad at me right now, so you don’t care about what I’m saying.” Kokichi quickly swung a leg over Kiibo, effectively trapping him against the headboard. Kiibo’s scowl straightened out in surprise and his fans kicked in louder. Kokichi narrowed his eyes and smiled. “Did I get it right or do you wanna try to lie to me again?”
Kiibo’s brows pulled together and suddenly he looked less angry and more frustrated. “Is this line of joking really that funny to you? Somehow, I thought you were more creative than bullying me for my feelings.” Bingo.
Kokichi leaned in slightly closer, raising one brow. “Your feelings?”
Kiibo steeled his gaze. “I feel as though you may be the one recording this.”
“Check me.”
Wearily, Kiibo raised his hands and ran them over Kokichi’s lithe body. He checked meticulously, fingers running over his arms to his chest and around to his back. When they threatened to glide over Kokichi’s bottom, he quickly changed course, causing Kokichi to snicker. Kiibo narrowed his eyes but didn’t back down, instead patting down the length of his hips. He circled about Kokichi’s thighs before finally giving up when he found nothing and removing his hands.
Kokichi grinned. “So? Do you believe me? Or do you need to keep feeling me up?”
“Comments like that are not helping your case,” Kiibo scolded, rolling his eyes. Finally, the soft pink color had come onto his face.
Kokichi grabbed Kiibo’s hands and tugged them up. “Hold on, I think you missed a spot. You wanted to be thorough, right?” He placed Kiibo’s hands on either side of his face, cupping his cheeks. Kiibo stared at Kokichi, eyes darting down to his lips in no subtle manner. “I was just trying to help you find the hidden microphone, but if you wanna kiss me, I won’t stop you.” Kiibo’s face turned from a soft pink to a bright red, gaze laser focused on Kokichi’s mouth. His fans were loud now and his finger tips were becoming warm to the touch. If it wouldn’t completely ruin the moment, Kokichi would make a comment about how close he looked to bluescreening. The longer Kiibo took to actually do anything the closer he got to saying it anyway.
Then, Kiibo leaned forward and pressed his lips to Kokichi’s. It was an unpracticed movement, no doubt he had never kissed anyone before, but then again neither had Kokichi, so it didn’t really matter. Quickly, Kiibo pulled back and stared at Kokichi in a silent request for approval. Instead of using his words, Kokichi leaned back in and reconnected their lips. It was awkward at first as they both got the hang of moving their lips together, but it hardly mattered. Kiibo made a small, surprised noise when Kokichi’s tongue met his lips, but opened his mouth regardless.
Kokichi quickly pulled away after. “Your mouth is wet?”
Kiibo tilted his head. “Of course. I would not be able to speak properly if it weren’t. While I am incapable of producing human saliva, I instead-” and that was enough of that tangent which would have gone on for at least ten minutes if Kokichi didn’t shut him up. For a moment after pressing their lips back together, Kokichi thought Kiibo might just push him off to continue his lecture. Thankfully, he refrained. So kissing was a viable option for shutting down Kiibo’s rambling, that was good to know.
After a good few minutes of reaping the rewards of his embarrassing confession, Kokichi pulled away and rolled off of Kiibo. As much as he would’ve enjoyed playing with the now wildly flustered Kiibo, he was still incredibly tired and would very much so enjoy a few extra hours of sleep.
“Wait, Kokichi!” Kokichi looked back at Kiibo, whose face was still exactly as red as it had been earlier. “What are we?” he asked sheepishly.
Kokichi hummed. “Does it matter?” No way was he saying something as embarrassing as “boyfriends.”
“I suppose not.” There was a small amount of dejection in his voice, but Kokichi couldn’t bring himself to do anything about it. For a while it was silent and Kokichi almost thought that was the end of their little talk. Of course it wasn’t, and Kiibo spoke once again, “If you, um, feel this way about me, why were you sitting in Shuichi’s lap the other day?”
Kokichi snorted. “Are you jealous?”
“No!”
“Okay, I totally believe you. But to soothe your totally, one hundred percent not jealousy, I just wanted Kaito to walk in, see, and get upset cause that’s always funny.”
Kiibo sighed. “You have a strange sense of humor.”
Kokichi turned back to the wall again and closed his eyes, ready to fall back into a sweet slumber. He could hear the covers rustling behind him and before he could drift off, a metal hand placed itself over his arm. He had never loved being touched and it wasn’t exactly the most comfortable thing having Kiibo’s heavy, stiff metal hand resting on him but- though he would never admit it aloud- if it made Kiibo happy, he didn’t really mind it at all.