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Shinsou wasn't used to the change in schedule. He knew the hero course had an extra hour added in their timetable that the other departments didn’t have. Still, he couldn't foresee how it would disrupt the daily routine of afternoon naps he adopted during his previous year as a general course student. He had already gotten used to taking a power nap right after class ended, and now that extra hour was spent trying not to fall asleep.
As luck would have it, his last classes had been hero lessons and, while other teachers became a little less strict during their last week before summer break, the same could not be said for Class 2-A's beloved teacher, who instead became more demanding than usual.
So, the walk back to the dorms was torture. The hot weather and humid air made the heat insufferable, engulfing his being until he felt like melting. Walking under the shadow did little to help his situation and, while it would usually take a few minutes to get to the dorms, the tiredness slowed his pace, making him drag his feet across the hot concrete. His limbs felt heavy; muscles sore and aching after an awful combat training that only served to remind him how much he still had to catch up with his new classmates. He was, both mentally and physically, completely and utterly exhausted.
He hesitated once he got close to the building. The loudest among his class were already inside, a lot more animated than him. On a normal day, ignoring the constant buzz of energetic teenagers in favor of a well-deserved rest wouldn’t be a problem, but the incoming headache that was already making itself known and the lack of a functional AC in his room stopped him in his tracks.
Instead, he turned to the Class 2-B dorms. Despite his initial reluctance, suspicious of the other’s obnoxious ways to try and befriend him, he and Monoma had grown quite close since the beginning of the year. What started with simple studying or sparring sessions quickly became movie nights, followed by sleepless nights filled with playful banter and heart to heart conversations, confiding in each other their deepest fears and dreams, their similar past and shared insecurities bringing them even closer.
Shinsou walked in without knocking, barely sparing the blond a glance before rummaging through his wardrobe.
"What are you looking for?" Monoma asked, unfazed by the intrusion. He was sitting on his bed, reading something seemingly in a different language, judging by the cover.
"Something comfortable enough to sleep with." He searched for a little while before turning around, unable to find any suitable clothes. "Hey where do you keep your-" a stack of soft fabric hit his face with enough force to throw him off balance.
"Jerk," he muttered, picking up the clothes from the floor; an off-white cotton t-shirt and a pair of loose shorts. He could feel Monoma's stupid smirk without looking up.
"You can wear that. It's used though," Monoma said, facing the wall to give him a little privacy.
Shinsou took off his uniform, slipping into the clothes he was given. They were indeed very comfortable, no doubt made of quality material, and they smelled just like him. It wasn't the first time they've shared clothes like this; the realization that they —surprisingly— wore the same size made the unprompted overnight stays at each other's dorm rooms easier (and more common).
"It's fine, I didn't shower." He jumped in the bed before the blond could retort, sprawling on the mattress, on his stomach. The stress he'd been carrying throughout the day slipped away as he snuggled down in the warm sheets, half hugging a pillow.
Shinsou glanced over his shoulder to see Monoma’s face contorted in an over dramatic show of disgust, before settling for what looked like amusement.
"Your hair is wet," he said, carding his long fingers through the purple strands. He smiled softly before lying down next to the other. "You should keep your hair down more often, it looks pretty." Feeling the blood rise to his face, Shinsou only hummed in acknowledgment, keeping his head down in a sad attempt at hiding his embarrassment. He wasn't pretty, dammit!
Completely oblivious to the effects his words had, Monoma began another one of his usual rants, telling Shinsou all about his weekend. Something about going to a fancy french restaurant with his parents and wanting try as much as they could from the menu. If Monoma's parents ate as much as he did (his love for fancy food had to come from somewhere), then Shinsou couldn't imagine just how much they probably spent on that. He wondered out loud if they ate those gooey snails he knew Monoma loved.
"If you mean the escargots à la bourguignonne then yes, we had them as appetizers, and they were absolutely delicious." He pressed the tip of his index finger against Shinsou’s prominent forehead, grinning like a moron. "I'm gonna make you try it someday, I'll even record your reaction."
"Gross."
Monoma went off again, though now whatever he was saying was completely lost on Shinsou. To be fair, he usually enjoyed hearing him speak, he was actually quite the story teller, never failing to bring a chuckle out of even the most stoic of personalities (such as his), but he could already feel himself slowly dozing off, the fatigue of the day catching up to him.
"I'm gonna cut you off there 'cause I'm really really tired and I seriously need some rest," he said, sounding a lot more rude than he intended.
"Ahh you're so mean Shinsou-kun! you wound me. How are you so tired anyways? I mean, honestly, aren't afternoon naps a little childish?"
Childish!? "Why don't you try it then, Mr. Grown Up? Maybe then you'll stop being so damn annoying and irritable."
"Ha! As if!"
In spite of his dishonest displays of offense, Monoma did actually shut up, making the room fall into a comfortable silence. Shinsou barely heard the soft 'sweet dreams' coming from the boy next to him before finally succumbing to sleep.
The sun was beginning to set when Shinsou woke up, soft beams of light painting the room with red and golden hues. Only the faint buzz of the AC and the cicadas summer tune could be heard in the otherwise silent room. Lying on his right side, he slowly opened his eyes to see a strong arm around his waist.
He could feel the blond's breath on his neck and his chest pressing against his back, the smell of expensive male cologne filling his senses. Monoma was warm, like a heater, but he found he didn't mind it. He quite liked the feeling of being embraced, feeling safe and vulnerable in the other's arms, as if he was something fragile and worth protecting, though he would never admit it. He tried to stay still so as to not wake Monoma up, but he wished he could turn around and see his sleeping face.
His focus shifted to the arm around him, his friend’s outstretched hand and the watch decorating his wrist. 18:27. He touched the hand absentmindedly, softly grazing his palm and playing with his fingers. It was calloused and rough from training, but still a little softer than his own. Defined and neatly manicured, elegant yet masculine. He clearly took good care of them; he’d seen him putting on some of those expensive hand creams, but it wasn’t enough to erase the harshness that came with countless hours of training. He slid his hand under the blond's, gently interlocking their fingers as he lift their hands from where they rested on the mattress. They’d found not long ago, and much to his chagrin, that Monoma’s hands were slightly bigger than his. It was unexpected, considering how long his own fingers were, but alas.
Monoma had been awfully smug about the fact. Still, he refrained from bringing up who had the height advantage between the two, especially since said advantage had shortened since the previous year. He could only hope his friend wouldn’t get another significant growth spurt. He quite liked being the taller one, even if it was only for an inch.
Looking at the watch again, he realized he had spent almost ten minutes fixating on his best friend’s hands. Was that what they were? Best friends? He quickly snapped out of it, choosing to occupy his mind by watching cute animal compilations on his phone until it was time to get up.
The quiet comfort he had been feeling until then came to an abrupt stop. At some point since he woke up, the arm in which he was laying on top of had promptly fallen asleep. To make matters worse, his shirt had ridden up to his midriff, and the arm loosely resting around it was now caressing a very ticklish spot between his hip and the small of his waist. His attempt at escaping the jail of limbs ceased with the feeling of a hand softly squeezing his hip.
“What time is it?”
He turned to see furrowed brows and a confused look on his friend’s face, who was now propped on his elbow. “Past seven.”
“What!?” He groaned, dropping back down on the bed while moving his hand from its previous position on Shinsou’s skin to lay on his forehead in a dramatic manner. “Man, I can’t believe we’ve done nothing but sleep for nearly two hours.”
"I can't believe you actually fell asleep. 'Too childish' my ass."
"Shut up." Monoma yawned, loudly, stretching his arms above his head and puffing his chest out where he laid against the headboard. Shinsou tried his hardest not to stare at the hard muscle peeking from underneath his shirt. "I hate to admit it but, you were right. I'm literally a new man."
"Told you."
He got off the bed, approaching Monoma's desk to snatch his laptop which he shoved right on it's owner's lap before sitting back down. "I was waiting for you to wake up. I accidentally spoiled myself on the show we're watching while I was on my phone, nothing too bad though but we need to get back to it before one of us gets hit with any important spoilers."
Monoma rubbed his eyes as he unlocked the computer and put on the show, spreading his right arm to let Shinsou snuggle against him. Warm and cozy.
It was late into the night. The pair got hungry at some point while binge watching and had gone to the kitchen looking for some snacks, running through the hallways and giggling like a couple of misbehaving kids. They grabbed the snacks and brew some tea before going back to Monoma’s room.
Already bored of the show, they settled down on the vintage chair Monoma kept on his balcony, sitting side by side, arms pressed together due to the lack of space available on the bench. They stayed in a comfortable silence, contemplating the tranquility of the summer night, neither of them wanting to ruin this blissful moment of quiet intimacy.
“You know, there’s a festival coming up,” Monoma was the first to break the silence, looking over his shoulder towards his companion with a bashful expression. “It’s two weeks from now, a fireworks festival here in Musutafu.” He ran his fingers through his hair, pushing his bangs back the way he always did and letting the moonlight cast it's ethereal glow over his handsome features.
“Yeah, I heard about it.” His classmates had talked about it earlier that day. They were all planning to go, mostly as small groups that would join once the fireworks started. Of course, they all insisted he should tag along, and he did agree to it, but he was still a bit reluctant. He liked festivals, the food and the games and all that, but he’d never been to one of those with anyone outside of his family. He never went out with friends at all. What was he supposed to do? He was not a fan of talking, but what if they expected him to?
“Everyone in my class is going, I'm probably gonna join them," he said, unsure of where this conversation was going. "I suppose Class B also plans to go as a group.”
“Right, yes. I was just wondering…would you like to go with me?" There was a hint of hesitation in his voice.
That confused Shinsou. "What do you mean? If we're all going then what's the point of-"
"No! Ugh, I mean-" he gestured at the air with big, desperate movements. "I mean, just the two of us. You know, like a date." He looked uncharacteristically nervous, a delicate blush painting his cheeks.
"Oh." Shinsou's heart skipped a beat. No one's ever asked him out before. Of course, that was to be expected, always trying to make himself seem as unapproachable as possible. Not that it worked very well, seeing how everyone in the hero course was apparently hellbent on befriending him. Still, being the object of a romantic advancement by none other than the guy he was definitely not crushing on was-
"I- it's okay if you don't want to! It was merely a suggestion, no need to look so upset. Honestly." Monoma interrupted his thoughts, voice laced with dejection.
"I do! Ah, sorry, you just caught me by surprise." He took a deep breath, hoping to calm down his obnoxiously loud heart. "I'd love to, um, go out with you. Like a date." Was this a dream? It had to be.
Monoma let out a sigh of relief, followed by a big, bright smile. "Well then, Shinsou Hitoshi," he said, fist softly hitting Shinsou's chest. "I'll be in your care."