Icyhot's been the one to stand outside my room every morning, but today I decide to switch it up. His lips part when he steps into the hallway and discovers me waiting for him. My emotions betray me as a smile forms on my face before I can cover it.
Icyhot bounces on the tips of his toes. "Morning. I was just about to-"
"I know," I say. "I thought I'd surprise you."
The faintest shade of pink graces his cheeks. "Well, you succeeded."
I'll be honest, Icyhot being caught off guard has to be one of the most wholesome things I've ever seen. He brushes his fringe with shaky fingers before fidgeting with his uniform. He tightens his tie the smallest amount just to reset it to its original positioning three seconds later.
I figure I'll free him from his discomfort and give him something to talk about. "Are you feeling better? Did you sleep okay?"
With that, he relaxes. "Definitely."
He inspects my face and suddenly the dynamic between us does a 180. Now Icyhot is the composed one while I'm breaking eye contact to look anywhere else.
"You don't look like you slept much at all," he says.
I force myself to look at him again. There's a hint of concern in his eyes. He's so sweet. Almost too sweet. I feel myself getting a cavity the longer I stare at him.
"I didn't," I answer honestly. "But it's fine. An extra cup of coffee should give me enough energy to get through the day."
He frowns. "I'm sor-"
"Stop," I say, pointing my finger at him. "I told you it was fine."
I throw my backpack off my shoulder to grab Icyhot's homework assignments. When I hand everything over to him, I offer a small smile so he knows I'm sincere. His smile matches mine, which only makes me smile more.
"Thank you," he says.
I nod then bite the inside of my lip. I don't know how to move this conversation in the direction I want it to go. Do I just bring it up? Will that make me look too eager? Do I just not bring it up at all and risk him forgetting about it entirely? Oh shit, what if he did forget? That would mean he didn't enjoy last night as much as I did.
Fuck. Why is this so complicated?
"So," Icyhot says, "are we still hanging out tonight?"
Oh good, he remembered. Best of all, he brought it up so I don't have to. Crisis averted for now.
I cross my arms and scowl. "Tch. If we must. I'm a busy man, but I'll try to fit you into my schedule."
Icyhot beams at me. "Great. I'm really looking forward to it."
Oh, fuck.
Don't say anything stupid. Don't say anything stupid.
I grab the back of my neck. "I wanna do it in your room tonight."
He raises an eyebrow but doesn't respond. It's only after several seconds of silence that my brain registers what I just said.
"Shit," I mutter. "I didn't mean to do it, you pervert. I just mean...well, cuddling and stuff." My voice trails off at the end.
Icyhot blanks for a moment, but eventually nods. "Okay. Why my room though?"
"Because I don't want anyone seeing you cuddle me in the common room and you're not allowed in my room."
He smiles again. "Fair enough. Should we walk to school now?"
I nod, then we head to the elevator. Throughout our stroll out of the dorm and toward the academic campus, I sneak several glances at Icyhot. There's something so endearing about the way he carries himself. That expression of his that I always labeled as monotone, I realize isn't the case at all. He's not monotone or boring, he's just innocent.
A couple times during our walk, our knuckles accidentally brush against each other. Okay, only some of them are accidental. The rest are deliberate on my part. How badly I want to take his hand in mine for real. Whenever we hold hands, I'm provided a comfort I don't experience anywhere else. And even though I'm sure Icyhot will simply flash that sweet smile of his if I do it, I'm too scared to follow through for some reason.
I guess I'll just have to wait until tonight when he'll wrap me in his arms. I can tell by his gentle demeanor that Icyhot gives the best cuddles. I grin from ear to ear the rest of our walk just thinking about it.
God, I can't wait.
*
Icyhot's smile when he answers the door is so cute it's disgusting. He takes my hand in his and leads me into his room. I'm reluctant to let go, but I do when I observe the arrangement he has set up.
There's a large plasma television on a stand near the center of the room, not too far of a distance from his futon. That television was definitely not there the last time I was in here.
"When the hell did you buy that?" I say.
His eyes shift toward the TV. "I went to the mall after school and bought one so we could watch something. I figured it'd be better than watching on my laptop."
I can't fight back my smile. He really went to the store and bought a fancy ass television just for our hangout session tonight. No doubt he used his dad's credit card. It pays to be rich, I guess.
"We should get comfortable," he says.
I assume he means on the floor, so I motion to sit down in front of the TV. However, after Icyhot shuts off the lights, he settles onto his futon and peers down at me.
"Aren't you gonna get in?"
"Huh?"
He pats the empty space on his mattress. "There's enough room for two people."
My mouth hangs open. I blink repeatedly. My breathing halts.
When I suggested spending time tonight in his room, I never considered the possibility of sharing a bed with him. I've never been in another person's bed, and there's no way in hell anyone's ever been in mine. Even a couple days ago, I never hugged anybody outside of my parents, and that's because they threaten to throw away my All Might 84-piece collectible set every time I refuse.
And then I hugged Icyhot. And it wasn't terrible. I didn't die, my skin didn't burn off or anything like that. If anything, it was the opposite. And I'm sure the next time I hug Icyhot will be even better since I'll know what to expect.
So, if I'm going to share a bed with someone for the first time, I guess Icyhot makes the perfect candidate.
I climb in next to him and get under the blanket. Icyhot positioned the TV perfectly. It sits on a stand diagonally across the left corner of his futon. We're both able to see it just fine.
The second he wraps me in a hug and pulls me close, I'm thankful it's dark in here. There's a zero percent chance I'm not blushing right now.
Feeling shy, I drape an arm across his midsection and nuzzle my head into his chest. His soft hand caresses my back, and little by little the tension in me diffuses.
This is just as pleasant as last night, maybe even better. There's something so comforting about being held by Icyhot right now, and I think it's being heightened by a captivating scent exuding from his shirt that my face is pressed into. It reminds me of the cozy atmosphere of roasting marshmallows by a warm fire.
"Are you wearing cologne?"
"Oh," he replies. "Um, yeah. I bought it at the mall too. Is it too strong?"
I hum into his chest. "No. It smells really fucking good."
I lift my head up a bit to catch him smiling at me. From this angle, I can tell how long his eyelashes are. Damn, they're pretty.
"I'm glad you like it."
"What are we watching?" I mumble.
Icyhot grabs the remote off his nightstand and flips through several options on his Netflix account. To be honest, I don't give a damn what we watch. As long as he keeps holding me like this, I won't be completely miserable at least.
When he makes his selection, I scrunch my face. "I've never heard of this show."
"It's an anime," he clarifies. "It's really funny. I like it a lot."
"Sure," I say. "Go ahead."
He presses play, and I make it all of five seconds before I conclude that this anime is not for me.
"Kiss, kiss, fall in love," the theme song plays.
"What the fuck is this?"
Icyhot suppresses a giggle and moves his hand from my back to my hair. "Just relax."
Shit, with the way his fingers are gliding along my scalp, that's a very easy request to follow. I snuggle him tighter, inhale more of his scent, and close my eyes. I slow my breathing patterns so they match his. He continues playing with my hair, my smile stretching until my cheeks hurt.
Time moves slowly as we lie like this. Honestly, I won't mind if time stops completely. This is too euphoric of a feeling that the thought of us having to separate saddens me.
So I choose to enjoy the time that we do have. I hug Icyhot like he's my own sacred treasure, our legs now tangled with one another. The room is silent apart from the anime playing in the background, as well as Icyhot's gentle breathing.
That is, until he starts laughing.
I open my eyes at the sound. The vibrations in Icyhot's belly from his laughter tickle my heart. There was that set of modeling photos I saw that he was laughing in, but this is my first time hearing it in person.
It may just be the sweetest thing I've ever heard.
All I can do is watch with admiration. The way it increases in pitch more and more the longer he laughs. The way his little button nose crinkles as he bursts into hysterics. The way he shields a forearm over his mouth, covering his teeth that are too pretty for his own good.
Fuck, this anime may not be something I'd normally be interested in, but if it causes Icyhot to laugh this hard, it may be my new favorite show.
When he's done laughing, he looks down at me. "Why are you smiling?" he asks, sporting a fairly large grin himself.
Feeling my cheeks warm up, I bury my face in his neck. "No reason," I mutter.
He switches to rubbing my back again. At one point his hand accidentally slips under my shirt and makes contact with my bare skin. I'm too flustered to tell him how amazing it feels, so he retracts his hand and just hugs me.
I don't know how long we lie like this. All I do know is that it's nowhere near long enough. I hear the TV muted, then feel Icyhot nudge me.
"It's getting late," he says. "We still have homework to do."
I groan into his skin and hug him tighter. "No."
"What's wrong?"
I squeeze him again. "I wasn't done."
A soft chuckle escapes his lips. How much I'd pay to hear that beautiful noise on repeat. "Do you want to sleep over?"
I lift my head to meet his gaze. "Huh?"
"You can come back here after you finish your homework and get ready for bed."
I suck in my lower lip and nod. "Yeah. I think I'd like that."
There's that gorgeous smile again. I can't take my eyes off his lips. They're probably as soft as cotton candy. I bet they taste even sweeter.
Woah, Katsuki, slow down.
I haul out of Icyhot's room at rapid speed, not because I want to get away from him but because I want to be back in his room cuddling up to him as soon as possible. I breeze through my homework, rush through my nighttime routine, and am back at his room in under an hour. It's a good thing I don't run into anyone during this fiasco, because it's kind of embarrassing how eager I am to spend time with this bastard.
I help Icyhot with the last bit of his homework, which is actually quite enjoyable. He develops this little wrinkle in his forehead when he concentrates and it's beyond adorable. I don't mind holding off on snuggling him if it means I have the privilege of witnessing that.
Finally, when it's time to sleep, we both climb into his futon with huge smiles. We're facing each other, the distance between us almost nonexistent as we're sharing a pillow. He reaches for me first, his arm snaking around my waist. I opt to rest my hand on his hip, my thumb caressing his side.
Icyhot inches his face a bit closer and flutters his eyelashes. "So, are you admitting that you think cuddling is a lot of fun?"
It's fun when it's with you, I want to say.
However, I play it safe. "It's not so bad."
Given our close proximity, I detect a small twinkle in his eye. "I told you so."
I snort before embracing him. "Whatever, moron."
He giggles before adjusting the two of us so his head lays comfortably on my chest. After throwing one of his legs over mine, he gives me a possessive hug. "Good night."
"Night," I whisper.
Icyhot falls asleep first, his light snores the only source of sound in the entire room. I run my fingers through his hair for a few minutes, that sweet lavender scent blessing me once more. I don't think I'll ever get used to how soft his hair is, or how soft Icyhot is in general.
But holding him like this? Having his beautiful face be the last thing I see before I fall asleep? Yeah, I can get used to that.
Smile unable to stretch any further, I shut my eyes, knowing I'm about to have the best sleep of my life.