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“Jeez… you’re the first.. Nobody else has ever made me wanna stay in one place for so long. I wanna get to the universe as fast as I can but… I don’t want this to end. Hey, you understand what that means?”
Shuichi had an idea what it meant, alright. After having a strange dream about him and Kaito delving out a fantasy in the love suite, the detective was awoken by the 8 a.m. Monokubs call. His day was starting out like every other before it so far, but he felt anything but normal this morning. Kaito Momota, the Ultimate Astronaut, had confessed to him in a dream. How was he supposed to just brush that off and continue as though everything was normal?
He knew that it was just a dream, but.. A part of him wanted that dream to be reality. After Kaede had been executed, Kaito came by like the hero he was and managed to sweep Shuichi right off of his feet. He couldn’t confess to Kaito in his dream, for reasons the detective himself didn’t know. The laws of dreams are a mystery to humankind, afterall. Even the greatest neuroscientists and psychologists out there haven’t figured out the truth behind dreams. However, this was one mystery Shuichi Saihara was going to take in stride and solve. Did Kaito Momota, the self-proclaimed Luminary of the Stars, really have feelings for him? He was determined to find out.
Getting up out of bed, Shuichi changed into a new, but identical, outfit. He brushed his hair with his fingers, getting the small tangles out with ease. His plan was to observe Kaito’s behavior, to see if maybe, just maybe, the astronaut-in-training had had the same dream as Shuichi did. There was a slim chance, but he was willing to bet on it.
Shuichi made his way to the dining hall, running into K1-B0 and Gonta on his way. He stopped to say good morning to each before continuing to his destination. When he arrived, quite a few of the students were there already. Breakfast was being served to those sitting at the table already, so Shuichi joined them. Kaito was not yet at the dining hall, as he was typically one of the last to join. The detective entertained his classmate’s small talk before seeing a familiar purple-haired boy walk into the dining room.
“Hey! Sorry I’m late.” Kaito called out, quickly making his way over to the table and taking an empty seat.
This is where Shuichi’s observation would begin. Kaito being late wasn’t out of the ordinary, but the faint redness on his cheeks was. Could he be feeling ill? Was he flustered about something? The blue haired detective had to observe a bit more before figuring that out completely, but he couldn’t make it obvious. He didn’t want Kaito to-
“Oi, Shuichi, why are you staring at me like that?” Kaito asked, breaking through the detective’s thoughts.
“Ah!” Shuichi gasped out. Crap. “S-Sorry Kaito, I was lost in thought. I wasn’t actually staring at you.”
Yeah, what a great lie, Shuichi, he thought to himself.
“Oh, my bad. You okay? Something on your mind, sidekick?” Kaito asked with a small grin. He believed Shuichi. I mean, it’s not like Kaito would have a reason not to believe him.
“A little.. Don’t worry about it.” Shuichi replied with a small smile in return before turning his attention down to his food.
Thinking to himself for a bit, the detective deduced that Kaito’s concern wasn’t out of the ordinary, but something wasn’t quite right. He couldn’t put his finger on it. Was Kaito not being as boisterous as usual? Was Shuichi just overthinking like he does often and overreading a situation?
“Hey, Shuichi.” Kaito started again.
The blue-haired boy glanced up from his plate to see Kaito’s purple eyes staring right at him, his expression more serious than before. Shuichi took a quick breath, trying not to overthink before he responded with a faint “yes?”
“There’s.. Something I gotta talk to you about after breakfast. As bros. You free?” The astronaut asked.
Shuichi nodded quickly before going back to his food so he wouldn’t say or ask anything he shouldn’t. Was this about the dream? Was it about training? The detective felt a few butterflies flutter in his stomach as he recounted the dream he had about Kaito. If the astronaut had to talk to him, this would give him the opportunity to ask about his dream. He wouldn’t delve into detail unless he knew the purple-haired boy had the same dream.
Breakfast continued as normal after that, the other students giving no reaction to the two’s conversation. Slowly, the others began to trickle out of the dining hall and to their respective activities. When Shuichi finished his breakfast before Kaito, he stayed near the door of the dining hall to wait for him. Twiddling his thumbs and staring at the ground, the detective tried to occupy his mind as he waited for the other to follow.
Luckily, it didn’t take long for Kaito to follow suit. The taller boy put a hand on the other’s shoulder, signaling that he was there. Shuichi glanced up, yellow eyes meeting purple as he felt his face grow pink from even looking at the man next to him. He was down bad, wasn’t he.
“There’s something I gotta say. You wanna go back to my dorm?” Kaito asked.
Shuichi found that wording very interesting. It was almost identical to what Kaito had said to him in his dream when the other had proclaimed he was going to win their final plane race, and that when he did, he was going to tell Shuichi something. He was very determined to do so. Was this a hint that the astronaut had, in fact, shared Shuichi’s dream? With a quick nod to reply, the pair walked back to the dormitory building and up the stairs to Kaito’s dorm. When they walked in, it was a bit messy, just as Shuichi predicted it would be. It was Kaito Momota, after all.
Kaito sat on his bed, patting the spot next to him. The detective took the signal and walked over, sitting next to the other. There was a minute of silence as the two sat and looked at anything but the other. This was Kaito’s idea, so why wasn’t he saying anything? As Shuichi tried to piece together his own thoughts, the other boy broke the silence by clearing his throat.
“So, uh.” He started. “I gotta be honest with you.” Kaito began. “Please, just listen to me and don’t interrupt me until I’m done. And don’t think I’m weird either, okay?”
Shuichi gave the other a nod, replying “I understand Kaito, go ahead.”
With a deep breath, Kaito began.
“I.. I had a dream about you last night. It was you and I, and we were in some sort of hotel room. I think it was a suite or something. Anyway- We.. We were pilots, enemies of some sort. We’d had a tie of 99 races between us, and we were about to do our last battle to see who truly was the winner. And I..”
Kaito paused briefly, trying to calm down his nerves.
“I sort of… confessed. In a way. I didn’t say it directly but.. In my heart, I know what I meant. And I think you, dream you, knew it too. You didn’t say anything, but I could see it on your face. We walked out of the room and then I woke up. It’s.. It’s all I have on my mind. I just-”
“I know I said I wouldn’t interrupt you, but I have to.” Shuichi started, looking over at Kaito, who quickly looked back at him with a flushed face and a shocked expression.
“I… had the same dream you did. I was thinking about talking to you about it as well. I just wanted to make sure you had the same dream before I said anything.” Shuichi replied.
For a second, the pair just stared at each other, faces flushed pink as they both understood what that meant. So they both shared the same dream, in which Kaito Momota confessed his feelings to Shuichi Saihara. Shuichi had yet to respond, but they were both taking this moment in. After what felt like hours (but was about 30 seconds), the detective spoke up.
“I never got to respond to your feelings in the dream, but… I’m here to do it now.” Shuichi started.
“Kaito, since we lost Kaede, you have done nothing but support me and be my shoulder to lean on and cry on. I don’t know how I can even begin to thank you for doing everything you have for me. You’ve pushed me to become a better version of myself, both with your encouragement and our training sessions. You’ve… really become a hero, Kaito. My hero.”
Shuichi’s face grew a darker shade of red as he spoke. It was hard, but if he didn’t confess now, the detective knew he never would. Not when Kaito felt the same. At least, he thought. That dream was evidence enough, right?
Shuichi paused. He didn’t even wait to see if Kaito’s feelings were true. After all, what he was going off of was just a dream, albeit a shared dream. His yellow eyes widened as he glanced back at Kaito to see the man smiling warmly at him, lilac eyes focused solely on him.
“Then how about I tell you what I was plannin’ on telling you once I won our dream battle?” Kaito asked.
Biting his lip, Shuichi nodded, urging Kaito to continue. Taking shaking hands in his, Kaito gazed into Shuichi’s eyes.
“Shuichi Saihara, I meant every word I said in that dream. I’ve always been on the move, always rushing ahead to try and get to the stars as fast as I could. I never stuck around for anything because nothing else seemed worth it to me other than reaching my goals. That was, until I met you.”
“Sure, our circumstances are anything but ideal right now, but I can’t help it. You say I’m the hero and I’m the one who helps you? Bullshit. You’re the real hero. You made me come back down to earth and realize that I have more to live for than just my dreams of space. I still wanna get to the universe as fast as I can and be the youngest man to be sent into space, but… Now I don’t wanna do it until I know I have the prettiest, strongest, most honest and kind future detective waiting for my return. I like you, Shuichi. I think.. I might even love you.”
The blue-haired boy didn’t even have words in response to that confession. Without words, Shuichi pulled Kaito in for a hug, holding the purple-haired man tightly. He never wanted this moment to end. The astronaut hugged him back just as tight, his heart racing like never before. Ultimately, Kaito was the first to break the hug, staying close to the other. He gently lifted his hand, cupping Shuichi’s face like he was the most fragile thing in the world. With a gentle smile and nod from the other, Kaito leaned in and the two shared their first kiss. It was sweet, gentle, a bit awkward, but everything the two wanted it to be.
Maybe dreams really are a sign of the future after all.