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The school bell tolls and Shoto stretches out with a grunt. Their last exam just ended, and they're finally one step away from a short academic freedom. Summer break's around the corner and he can almost feel the scorching heat and the sticky sweat. He was already looking forward to the 101 things he can do from the comfort of his room, however he's also dreading the weird summer weather.
The classroom was bustling with students trying to hurry home and talking animatedly with their friends. Shoto starts packing up his things, too, having no clear plans for the afternoon. Some of his friends have already headed out, and Shoto thinks of snuggling at home with a game and a pizza. He only has the weekend to rest until he has to worry about their class project that is not due until the end of the month.
He's already craving the comfort of his gaming chair when he gets startled by a light thud. Uki flung his pencil case on the table, huffing and pouting.
"What's up?" Shoto asks while zipping up his bag, ready to leave. He saw Uki's furrowed brow and he couldn't help asking.
"Mr. Saito wants the final project done next week."
"What?"
Uki sits, facing Shoto. "He asked Shu and me if our class could hand in the paper on Monday and do the presentation by Friday. I'm so glad Shu was there to stop me because I would've said something inappropriate."
Shoto immediately frowned. "What, is Mr. Saito for real? Our class hasn't even finished half of our paper yet. Huh?" He can't help the annoyance seeping in his voice.
"He said the department needed our grades earlier than what he had initially thought." Uki pulls out his phone while still complaining to Shoto. "He even had the audacity to say that it'll be good for us anyway so we can enjoy our summer break earlier." Uki finishes, rolling his eyes.
"That's so… bad. What did you guys say? What did Shu say?"
"Well, Shu initially tried to explain that our class probably can't do it, obviously. But Mr. Saito said he wouldn't mind if the presentation and the paper aren't perfect."
Shoto chews on his bottom lips. "Shu must've said yes to Mr. Saito, right?"
Uki, still typing on his phone, lets out a light chuckle and a nod. "You truly know each other, huh. Of course, Shu said yes. He told Mr. Saito that he'll see what he can do."
The two of them settle in a comfortable silence after that. Shoto's starting to get more and more annoyed with the situation the longer he thinks about it, already saying goodbye to his plans for the weekend. He'll have to ask what are Shu and Uki's plans for the project so he can adjust his week accordingly.
"Where's Shu?"
"He was with me after we got out of the faculty," Uki looked up from his phone, scanning the room. "Huh, I don't know either."
Shoto looks over at Shu's seat and sees that his things were still sprawled on the table. Shu obviously hasn't gone home yet. Where is he? Shoto was watching Uki as he got up and started tidying his things, fully prepared to head home when Shu walked in.
"Oh, hey Sho. You're still here?"
Uki asks a question of his own before Shoto could reply. "Where were you?"
Shu reaches his desk and carefully places down a paper he was holding. "I actually saw Mousey and Bao downstairs. Told them about the thing with Mr. Saito, and they said they'll try to ask their group mates if they could hand in their work by tomorrow."
"Oh, really? If Mousey finishes her group's part by tomorrow, then we'll finish Chapter 1. We already finished Chapter 2 before, and Bao's group is tasked with Chapter 3. We can probably complete the paper on Monday, wow." Uki said out loud, surprise written on his face.
"Yeah, hopefully." Shu replies.
"So, maybe it's not that bad." Uki said while putting on his bag, with Shoto following suit. "Well, it's a problem for tomorrow, anyways! We just finished our exams and I think that's enough academic productivity for today."
Shu laughs shortly, his bag already strapped on. He joined the other two as they went out of the room. "Well, you're kinda right, Uki. We can actually rest for today at least."
"Kinda right? I'm always right!"
Shoto was just listening to them, chuckling at Uki's smug reply. He sees Shu yawn, and he finally notices how exhausted Shu actually looks. The guy had darker eye bags than usual, and his eyes looked as if he's struggling not to close them out of tiredness. His voice is a little raspier, making Shoto think he probably stayed up the entire night while drinking coffee. He still has his usual slouch and his outward appearance doesn't actually show any sign of disarray, but Shoto must've stared at Shu a little bit too much to pick out these miniscule details on him.
"Okay, I'll go and enjoy my Friday afternoon now," Uki announces once they've reached the school's gate. "I have to go this way since I'm meeting up with Fulgur, you guys take care on the way home! Shu, get some sleep, okay? You must be so tired."
Shu asks a high-pitched, 'what' and Uki points a finger at him. "Shoto, watch over this guy please. Make sure he rests and sleeps, tie him to the bed if you have to. I mean," A pause. "if you guys are into that?" Uki wiggles his eyebrow at them suggestively.
Shoto barks a 'shut up' at Uki’s cackles, pulling at Shu's backpack. They waved Uki goodbye, and started walking the other way.
"You must really be tired, you didn't even ride your bike today." Shoto commented as they were waiting to cross the street. There were a few students who were waiting to cross with them, wearing different uniforms. Shoto glances at Shu again.
"Yeah, kinda?" Shu answers vaguely.
"You didn't sleep last night, did you?" Shoto probes, his body now turned to face Shu. The other is purposefully avoiding Shoto's stare, showing more interest in the passing cars. He knows Shoto will scold him for not resting, so he avoids Shoto's keen eyes.
The stoplight quickly grants Shu a relief by turning red. He grabs Shoto by the shoulders and steers him across the crosswalk, ignoring Shoto's spluttering.
"Hey, Mr. Yamino! You know that's not healthy, right? Don't push yourself too hard." Shoto said immediately once they were on the safety of the sidewalk. They started walking again, with Shoto asking questions about his tasks and Shu can only offer an apologetic grin when Shoto hears about the amount of work he took on during the finals week.
"Wait, why were you the one doing that? Isn't that Hiro's job as Class 3-3's representative? You're Class 3-2's rep, not 3-3's. He should be the one distributing those worksheets to his classmates, not you?!" Shoto rants with annoyance etched on his features. Shu knows he should be taking Shoto’s complaints seriously but he got distracted with Shoto's cutely furrowed brows and slight pout. He reached out and intertwined their hands together.
"It wasn't really that much of a bother, I think…?" Shu trails, recalling the incident with Hiro at the faculty with his thumb subconsciously rubbing the back of Shoto's hand to comfort him. "I'll just make sure it won't happen again."
They finally reached Shu's street, surprisingly with fewer people than you'd expect from a shopping street. When Shoto first went by Shu's house, it was around Christmas time and the street was buzzing with couples buying gifts and families going out for meals. Although the holidays are long over, the street is still filled with the occasional crowd.
"Oh yeah? As if you can say no.” Shoto lightly scoffs. ”Uki told me about the stuff with Mr. Saito earlier, you know. You're so dependable and always working so hard that’s why our teachers burden you with things like that." Shoto says, squinting at Shu.
"I only did what a decent, upright student would do! I just said we’ll try our best and see if we can make it," Shu stammered, defending himself. "And besides, isn't that one of the things you like about me?" Shu grins sweetly at Shoto, trying to coax Shoto from his indignation.
Suddenly, Shoto stops walking, effectively tugging Shu with their intertwined hands. Shu looked back at Shoto who was trying to free his hand. Shu got surprised by the sudden action that he subconsciously gripped Shoto’s hand tighter instead.
“What? Why are you removing your hand?”
Shoto stopped struggling and was quiet for a second. Shu took the time to analyze Shoto for any sign of discomfort. He notices Shoto’s reddening cheeks and it clicks for Shu.
“Wait, are you blushing right now?”
“No I’m not,” Shoto retorts, avoiding Shu’s gaze.
“Totally are. Oh god, you’re blushing so much. Stop blushing!”
“Stop talking!” Shoto bites back.
Shu’s teasing laugh only got louder, now getting the attention of several bystanders. Shoto got more embarrassed so he dragged Shu forward to save himself from further humiliation.
“Why were you even blushing at that, I didn’t even say anything romantic.” Shu said once they were in front of Shu’s apartment complex. He was still giggling, much to Shoto’s humiliation. “You’re still so red, by the way.” Shu comments once he’s calmed down while absentmindedly stroking Shoto’s red ears. It visibly backfired, with Shoto’s ears flushing into a deeper red. Shu immediately retracted his hands, trying to save Shoto,
Shoto consciously tugged on his backpack, muttering a low “you’re so annoying,” which only fueled Shu to giggle again. “Just go home, okay? Stop pestering me.” Shoto said, pushing Shu towards the stairs.
Shu lets himself be dragged, but then he quickly turns to Shoto. “Oh, right! Wait here, I have something to give you. I’ll be back!” Shu quickly runs up the stairs and goes into their apartment, thankful for the fact that his parents or his sister weren't home yet. He quickly drops his bag and shuffles through his study table. He pulls out a folder and checks if it’s the correct documents. Once satisfied, he goes out of the apartment again, rushing back to Shoto.
But Shoto wasn’t by the stairs anymore. He peeks into the shop on the ground floor of their complex, but Shoto wasn’t inside. He scans across the vicinity, but Shoto is nowhere in sight. Shu decides to walk further, and he finally spots the guy in the alley beside their complex.
Shoto was leaning over a white and pink claw machine, his backpack placed by his feet. His eyes were zeroed in on the prizes, calculating the distance of the claw from the plushie. He was so engrossed with the game that he didn’t hear the footsteps walking towards him. Shu pokes his side, and Shoto lets out a short scream.
“Oh, hey, you’re back.” Shoto says breathily, beaming at Shu. “Let me just finish this round.”
“Can you even win this? Crane games are a scam, you know.” Shu says flatly, which earned a chuckle from Shoto.
“But I’m a master at arcade games, didn’t you know?” Shoto says distractedly while steering his claw. “Besides, it isn’t even that hard. Just get the plushies.”
Shu ignores the joke and watches Shoto position the mechanical arm, “I mean, statistically speaking, if you play for a single game, you have a very low chance of winning a prize.” Shu mentions with his eyes also glued on the machine, tempted to watch how the crane will go,
Shoto, seemingly satisfied with his claw position, purses his lips and presses the eject button. He shuts his eyes and looks away, nervous to see how his attempt went. He hears Shu gasp loudly beside him, and Shoto cracks an eye open to check his crane. He sees the stuffed animal cradled between the claw, and he hears a soft thud from the bottom of the machine. He quickly bends down and retrieves the prize, hoping that it was real.
“Oh my god, you really got one!” Shu says, disbelief and excitement lacing his voice. Shoto hands it over to him, and Shu inspects the plushie. It was a medium-sized frog plush, with beady eyes and a small semi-circle for a smile. The feet are flaps made out of felt, and the plush was so soft that Shu just had to squish it a few more times.
“I told you I’m a master at crane games.” Shoto smirks smugly.
“Yeah, yeah whatever.” Shu jokes, not wanting to boost Shoto’s ego any more. He returns the plushie to Shoto and suddenly remembers the folder he’s holding. “Oh, right. Here.”
“What’s this?”
“It’s a presentation draft I made for our class project. You and Uki will be doing the presentation, right? I just made an outline of the paper’s draft. You’d probably have to check the contents again with Bao and Mouse, but I think it’s already completed? Assuming they didn’t change anything big after their drafts.” Shu explained while Shoto was putting the folder inside his bag.
“You honestly didn’t have to, but thank you so much, I appreciate it. That’ll help us a lot.” Shoto says sincerely. “Wait, is this why you were up last night? On top of reviewing for the test?”
Shu lets out a nervous chuckle, “Maybe…? Kinda?”
Shoto raises an eyebrow and Shu slowly nods. Shoto lets out a defeated sigh at Shu’s sheepish grin.
“Take a rest for tonight, okay? I’m ordering you.” Shoto says strictly. “Get some sleep but don’t forget to eat before sleeping. Okay?” Shu nods in return.
“Good.” Shoto adds, pleased at Shu’s obedience. He can’t believe how Shu is one of the most brilliant people he had met, but forgets to take care of himself at times. Shoto is even more surprised at himself, that he’s even willing to take care of this guy. Shoto’s not entirely the most warm and nurturing person in the world, but something about Shu unconsciously brings out this instinct from him.
Shoto bites the bottom of his lips, and thrusts the frog plush at Shu’s chest. “Here. Take this.” Shu catches the plushie and stares quizzically at Shoto. “Put it by your pillow on your bed or whatever. It’ll tell you when to sleep since sometimes you forget you need sleep to survive.” Shoto finishes with an air of nonchalance, seemingly more interested in the street scene behind Shu.
Shu stares at the plushie, and back at Shoto. Shoto acts like he’s not affected, but Shu sees the blush creeping up Shoto’s neck. He decided not to comment on it anymore, smiling at the plushie. “Thanks, Sho.” Shu says lightly, moved by Shoto’s unique way of making sure he rests. He can feel his heart expand, and he suddenly gets the urge to cuddle both Shoto and the plushie. He stares at the plushie again, testing its softness, when he feels a pair of lips steal a kiss on his cheek.
Shu was too stunned to do anything, but he heard Shoto’s loud ‘bye!’ echoing above the noise. He whips to catch Shoto, but he was already far away, speeding towards the main street. Shu covers his burning cheek and watches Shoto until he becomes a tiny speck. He felt a little self-conscious, realizing that somebody must've seen it, but he can't bring himself to care. He was too overwhelmed by the urge to get revenge on Shoto by flustering him until he's tomato red, or probably stealing a kiss of his own. The idea was so silly and so childish but it pleased him, going by the wide grin now on his face.
"Come on, Mr. Frog," Shu murmurs to himself and to the small green plush clutched in his hand as he makes his way back to the apartment.. "Time for bed."