Chapter Text
Haibara was idly bouncing down the halls, looking for his bestest friend—Nanami Kento! He was so happy today, because he finally got him to agree to one of the many trips that their senpais offer them. Well, it was mostly Gojo-senpai nagging Nanami since he was always down for a hang-out. He pauses a bit in his search, wondering how Gojo-senpai finally managed to get him to agree. But a quick glance at a clock brings him out of his quiet musings—he wouldn’t dare be late to this hangout! Or let Kento wheedle himself out of it, no no! He puts a pin on that train of thought, and much more seriously conducts his search.
Geto-senpai always says that he can always trust him to find his dour best friend, with Ieiri-senpai calling him a Nanami detector. Gojo-senpai always agrees, albeit a little begrudgingly—mostly because if anyone wanted to find Nanami, they just needed to find him. He still remembers Nanami unhappily agreeing with Ieiri-senpai calling him “Haibara-kun’s gloomy shadow or raincloud”. And after all the effort he made defending his friend's honor, too! But, on the off days when Nanami isn’t hanging around him, truly—Haibara is the only one who can find him. …Without using any curse techniques. There was a reason any sight-related activity was banned for the Goodwill Event. And why Geto-senpai can’t use his Technique unsupervised on campus.
When asked how he always finds Nanami in a pinch, Haibara always tells them—”It’s pretty easy actually! He only has a couple places he likes to go to on campus, you just have to figure out his mood! The kitchen when he’s bored, his room when he’s tired, the woods when he’s feeling a little out of his skin, and so on!” And when the inevitable questions comes on as to how he can figure out the moods of his eternally miserable friend, no one ever believes him when he tells them about the night and day differences in his frowns. No one except Gojo-senpai, of course! His Six Eyes can really be a blessing at times. And speaking of Gojo-senpai…
“Hey Nanami, what’s up with the sweets? I know you’d take some pasta over vanilla cupcakes any day of the week. So what gives?” Nanami finishes packing up said vanilla frosted cupcakes in tupperware, putting it and a large thermos inside their picnic basket. He watches him tidy up the kitchen counters of any crumbs that might’ve fallen, refusing to comment on his friend’s slowly pinkening ears. “Well… it’s Gojo-senpai’s fault that I’m coming along to this picnic, so I brought something to make sure he isn’t gonna be too annoying today.”
He feels his face brighten as Nanami continues his explanation, slowly reddening as he watches Haibara’s face. Skillfully avoiding the basket, Haibara throws himself at Nanami with a megawatt grin. “I knew it! You’re finally warming up to our senpais! I always believed in you!” “No, no I’m not! This doesn’t mean anything!” “Yes, yes—because it means everything, Nanami! Oh, I’m so happy for you!” He gives him an almost backbreaking hug, a couple of Nanami’s bones cracking from it. Haibara has to hug him tight though, otherwise he might squirm away like some kind of snake. But maybe he can loosen it a bit for now though—Nanami’s hand pat him desperately on the back, wheezing. “Can’t—Haibara, I can’t—I can’t brea—” “Sorry, sorry!” He loosens his grip, nuzzling into Nanami one last time before finally letting go. “I’m just so happy you’re getting out of your shell!”
He carefully rifles through the bag. “If the cupcakes are for Gojo-senpai, did you bring anything for Geto and Ieiri-senpai? Oh, maybe I should’ve done that too, it would’ve been perfect! What did you bring for—” Nanami clears his throat. He crosses his arms, widening his stance. “I. I didn’t bring anything. I didn’t bring anything else for our other senpais. I just. I just got the cupcakes for Gojo-senpai. Thats, thats it.” He looks Haibara dead in the eyes, almost glaring. He would be intimidated, were it not for the fact that this was Nanami and that he was turning as red as a tomato.
“Oh. My. Gosh.”
Haibara full on squeals as he crowds Nanami against one of the counters. “You like Gojo-senpai?” A gasp. “You like like Gojo-senpai?!” He’s giddy, too giddy for a grown up high school sorcerer like himself to squeal and dance in place at the news of his best friend having a crush. And yet, he does. Nanami meanwhile, buries his head in his hands in pure mortification, muttering about how “I should’ve never told you, I should’ve never bought the cupcakes—better yet, I should’ve never let Gojo-senpai convince me…” Haibara barely resists the urge to shake Nanami by the shoulders in pure glee at this news. He shoulders the basket, grabs Nanami by the hand, and rushes them out the door. “You have to tell me all about it on the way there! And don’t worry, I swear on my life that I’d never tell anyone!” “H-hey! Be careful with those cupcakes—all the frosting is gonna end up on the lids!”
Nanami does tell him all about it as they make their way to the picnic grounds, in low and muttered tones and definitely-not flustered gesturing. About how his vitriol was horribly disguised awe and admiration, about how he could see the kindness buried deep inside despite the constant pride and well-placed confidence. About how when he got a glimpse of his Eyes for the first time, he was taken back to Denmark in the summers and the winters. About how it reminded him of snowy mountains and the sea, of calamitous strength and quiet perseverance. Haibara listens in quiet awe and joy, as he watches his best friend finally inch out of his Fort Knox-like shell to yearn and reach for the one that always lent out a hand to him, despite his constant refusals. His cheeks ache from smiling so much, and Nanami is more than a little winded from both talking and walking when they finally make it to their senpais, who’ve already set something up in the clearing. Ieiri-senpai waves her hand and calls out to them.
“Hey, what took you guys so long?” Haibara rushes over, bouncing with glee. “Nanami made cupcakes! There’s enough for everybody!” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nanami twitch before his careful wording registered. Haibara begins unpacking their food, as Nanami breathes a quiet sigh of relief. “Yeah… there was a sale, and I knew about the picnic so—” Nanami shrugs, noncommittal to anyone but himself. Haibara snorts to himself, noticing the forced stiffness of his arms in an attempt to look… nonchalant, he supposes. Gojo-senpai’s head swivels to him immediately at the sound, his gaze heavy on his shoulders. Haibara stills for a moment as he unboxes his handmade onigiri.
Is Gojo-senpai also…
“Are these the mythical cupcakes I see?” Haibara barely registered the tupperware being swiped out of his hands, and Nanami’s squawk of indignation. “Be careful with the frosting, Gojo-senpai!” Said senpai, who was inspecting the tupperware way too closely, immediately slowed—gingerly setting it down and opening the lid. Haibara couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, the frosting hadn’t ended up on the lids at all, quietly assuming Nanami would kill him if he ruined the cupcakes he got for Gojo.
Gojo was turned to and facing Nanami, as he felt the weight of Gojo’s Gaze on him. Haibara would laugh to himself if he felt that any wrong breath wouldn’t turn him into a cursed pile of ashes—he wouldn’t dare interrupt his best friend and his love as they… threw insults and barbs at each other with a weird tension? Eitherway, he was preoccupied with setting up the food and looking over the games they brought. He kept an ear to them though, absentmindedly listening to their conversation while he laughed at Ieiri and Geto-senpai throwing unsubtle jabs at leaving them to do all the work.
“What’s the… flavor?”
Haibara piled up his plate with a few of his own onigiri, with a large scoop of Ieiri-senpai’s special fried rice and some of Geto-senpai’s yakisoba noodles. He sheepishly scratched his head at his senpai’s incredulous faces at his overflowing plate of carbs.
“... vanilla… no strawberry…”
Haibara grabbed some empty plates to hand to Nanami and Gojo-senpai, as he stuffed his face with more of Geto-senpai’s yakisoba. He debated on whether to fill them with food already, but decided otherwise, thinking that the two would prefer filling each other's plates. The Gaze was heavy on him.
“... pineapple… better…”
Haibara was careful to make sure that there was a portion for his two chatting friends, as he hung out with Geto and Ieiri-senpai. He might not know what was in that thermos that Nanami threw in last minute, but he made sure to nudge it closer to them as he grabbed a spare water bottle from their basket. The Gaze was heavy on him.
“... Why?...”
Haibara watches as Geto-senpai let loose a small bird-curse into the air, the hopes of finding a pond, or a cave, or a rock structure, or something interesting in their hearts. He takes a tissue from near Gojo-senpai and hands it to Ieiri-senpai, whose mouth is speckled with frosting and crumbs. The Gaze was heavy on him.
“... makes… taste better…”
Haibara’s eyes can’t help but stay glued to Geto-senpai’s real smile as he slowly jogs away, waving and gesturing to them about his bird-curse finding something. He thinks that maybe if Gojo-senpai knew about how he thought of Geto-senpai, he wouldn’t Look at him so hard. The Gaze was still heavy on him.
“... the worst… horrible…”
Haibara looks back, following behind his two dark haired senpai to whatever that forest may bring. He’s a bit a ways away from the two left behind on the picnic blanket, the Gaze now just turning into a regular gaze. The two are much, much closer together than Haibara or anyone has seen them be. They’re talking, or maybe murmuring to each other—Haibara can’t read lips this far away. He stares a little longer, finally happy for his friend to finally reach out when… Gojo Looks? looks? directly at him, a smug and triumphant little twinkle in those oceanlike eyes.
Nanami finishes the cupcake in Gojo’s hand, back turned towards Haibara. That same hand wipes the bit of frosting left on Nanami’s lip and licks it off his finger, even sucking it a little. He swears there’s a bit of a possessive smirk there.
Haibara merely smiles, assumption finally confirmed.
He cups his hands around his mouth as if to shout—and in the tiniest whisper, says “you got this, senpai.” He turns and bolts before he could see his senpai’s face morph into pure incredulousness, laughing to himself all the while. It doesn’t take long to catch up to Geto and Ieiri-senpai, and doesn’t take long to grant them some time together.