Chapter Text
Snowflakes were falling outside the large university library. The gray sky loomed over the heads of the students, as if it were an omen that, now that November had begun, they would have no joy until Christmas Eve.
The first exams of the quarter were approaching. Those exams that gradually marked one's final relationship with the subject; it was certainly annoying.
On a night as cold as tonight, the desire of the vast majority of students was to fall asleep under blankets and pillows that would provide warmth and comfort. However, it was likely that this would not be possible until the early morning hours.
Among the many tables in this huge place, a group of four people had been working for three hours without a break. It was not one of their usual study days, but they had no choice but to do it at the end of the school session.
"Honestly, and with a hand on my heart... I can't look at another summary or my brain will explode." The blonde, better known as Goshi, let out a groan as he collapsed onto the table.
Shinya, who was sitting next to him, chuckled affectionately and patted him on the shoulder. In front of them were Mito and Guren, who completely agreed with the words of their friend, no matter how much they had disagreed with him in the past.
"Calm down... it won't be long now, patience, patience." The tone of his voice was soft, and he spoke so slowly that it sounded like he was talking to a baby.
"And the worst part is that I have to go home and do two more jobs. Don't they get tired of coming up with supposedly original exercises for us to do? They could save it if they don't even look at it carefully, at least not as hard as I do when I do it."
His complaints continued, and Guren let out an unfunny laugh, putting the pen down to rest his hand.
"Tell me about it, as if my things weren't enough, I have to help someone else..." his eyes slowly turned to Shinya, who gave him a broad smile.
"What are you saying? If you volunteered to search for the information with me all by yourself."
"Of course!" He clucked his tongue in annoyance, "otherwise you'd be typing away in front of the computer most of the early morning."
"Oh, how sweet, darling. I didn't know you cared so much about my sleeping hours." He brought a hand to the place where his heart was located.
His expression reflected a false tenderness that was perfectly balanced with his charming tone. Guren's reaction, however, was a complete departure from the mood he was trying so hard to create, as he rolled his eyes in obvious discomfort.
"You wish. I just don't want to sleep with you working in the background, killing the keyboard and cursing our stupid anatomy teacher."
Since their first year, Guren and Shinya shared an apartment near the college. Now that they were on their third, Guren began to question his poor choices, even if it was just a cover for how much he loved spending time with his couple.
Guren used to scold his boyfriend for leaving things to the last minute and putting his hobbies ahead of his assignments. He often tells him that there will come a day when his photographic memory and quick grasp of things will no longer save him from the predicaments he gets into. Shinya laughs at this, pointing out how envious he is of his ability and that if he had an opinion, it would be against the mess he makes under the pressure of the exams.
"Don't lie Guren, if it shows on your face when you care about Shinya, and that's usually... always." Mito supported the white-haired man and patted his shoulder while she laughed.
"I'm going to continue with this, which is certainly better than continuing to listen to your bullshit." He mumbled through his teeth in response to the stares they were giving him.
But his slightly rosy cheeks did not go unnoticed by the rest of the table. Predictably, the comments and teasing came like an avalanche, especially from Goshi, who apparently found it more fun to tease his friend than to work on the subject.
Guren's response was nothing more than to cover part of his face and try to read the contents of the book he was holding with some determination. He could not get past the first line and telling them to shut up was useless because they always chose not to listen to him; he assumed that today would be no exception.
As the laughter at their expense died down and everyone returned to their respective tasks, he raised his head to meet Shinya's sharp eyes watching him. A small smile formed on his lips, and for some reason he still couldn't figure out, it sent a slight shiver down his spine.
Guren tried to analyze his expression by diving into the deep sea that was his eyes, but there were times when Shinya was completely indecipherable, and it seemed like he was trying very hard to show his mask right now. He decided to ignore him and give his full attention to the epigraph he was supposed to be studying, but he could still feel his boyfriend's eyes glued to him. A few more seconds and he no longer felt watched. His heart began to pump again at a slow, passive rate.
The silence lasted only a few minutes. Without looking at him, Shinya moved subtly against him, leaving his own legs between his.
A simple gesture to others, but to Guren, who knew the boy well enough to write a book about details unknown to others, it made him sit up and take notice.
He narrowed his eyes at him, cautiously, but for the first time he tried to believe that it was just a coincidence, so he went on with a false peace in his soul.
To convince himself of this idea, he came to the conclusion that if Shinya wanted to bother him, he would give him a glance or two, even if only for a short time. It was something he always did, and it reflected his amusement at the invasion of his personal space, quite the opposite of how he was now, and he looked too calm as he underlined in his notebook.
Guren did not know how to see the double intention behind this peaceful face, he refused to delve further into a thought opposite to the one that would bring him mental stability. Everyone had come back into focus, and he would be one of them.
It wasn't until a few minutes later that Guren felt like he might break again.
Shinya moved his leg a little closer to his own and stayed there until he decided to move away, but far from wanting to make his boyfriend center himself as he wished, he was looking for enough space to place his foot in the free space between his thighs.
Before, Guren had felt that he had simply misunderstood him, that he had become so used to his sudden and reckless actions that he was now wary of his every move. How naive he was, and he cursed himself for thinking that, for giving him an ounce of trust.
When their eyes met again for a brief second, Shinya subtly cocked his head in the direction of the front door. The black-haired man furrowed his brow until the meaning hit his brain like a shooting star across the sky.
"Shinya." The low tone of his voice echoed in the man's ears, and Guren was sure he saw the corners of his mouth twitch to stifle a chuckle.
"Do you need anything? We can't leave yet, I want to finish at least two things and you have to make progress too, besides it's still early..." rambling with his answer, he moved the pen without lifting his head.
Over the years, especially since they had begun to grow closer, Guren had developed a tic for situations like this, situations in which the boy annoyed him in one way or another.
He took a deep breath and began to think through the possibilities so quickly that everyone would think he was a genius, thinking about a project he was passionate about. If Guren left him alone, Shinya could tease him until his patience ran out, and though he usually made an exception for the man and gave him more than he had on hand, that was already scarce. Guren wasn't sure if he could stand Goshi's mockery, knowing that Shinya was provoking him to get them to go home.
"I was just..." he cleared his throat and felt his foot drop to the floor, "I was just wondering if you wanted some coffee."
He decided to take the path between his two options, to wait and watch.
"No love, maybe later," he raised his head this time, "but thank you," and a wink was given with such a soft smile that the black-haired man felt an inexplicable desire to punch him.
"Did you see that, Mito? That's the power of love... they don't even ask us if we want coffee." Goshi's quiet voice from behind the computer made the woman sigh.
"Focus on your own thing, Norito... Guren and Shinya's relationship won't save you from fail."
Despite the blonde's more conspicuous grumbling than the rest of the library would have liked, Guren continued to scribble on one of the sheets of paper in his filing cabinet.
The hands of the clock moved slowly, and in the background you could hear the sound they made. But time was not relevant to Guren until it stopped for him.
The calm that surrounded Shinya was as false as the black-haired man's concentration. He couldn't even read between the lines when he felt his boyfriend's leg touching his thigh. It was subtle and careful, as if he was experiencing something beyond simple kisses for the first time.
Shinya was unnecessarily affectionate, loudly demonstrating that he and Guren were in a relationship. He liked to take a place on his lap, cling to his arm, or simply intertwine their fingers to walk together. But let lightning strike the medical student if he still considers himself an innocent person.
Guren thought about saying his name again, calling him out in a warning tone that only he would understand, but as soon as he separated his lips, a movement that had started on his thigh was repeated on his crotch. He came so close to blurting out a sound that would embarrass him for the rest of his life.
His teeth chattered as they met, and his mind generated a myriad of insults to his person, words he wished he could say out loud.
Where was the calmness with which he had been moving before? It certainly didn't compare to the pressure he was putting on the middle section of his pants.
He jumped up quickly from his seat; the clatter of the chair caught the attention of both his friends and a few people standing around him. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were fixed on Shinya's, as if they were having a conversation in their heads.
He heard Mito say his name from a short distance, probably demanding an explanation for his behavior.
"Are you going out for coffee? I think I'm in the mood." The source of his stress made him smile, leaning back in the chair as his lips danced with an amusement that made Guren think only of kissing him.
"No," his sharp reply made the other raise his eyebrows, curious about what he was hearing, "I want to go home now, I can't concentrate much here."
"Are you sure? You'll concentrate less at home." Guren nodded his head and started to gather his things.
"Perhaps, but we should go now." A brief exchange of glances elicited an inevitable chuckle from the white-haired man.
He shrugged his shoulders, obeyed his words, and began to put his material away as well.
"I guess I can't say no, I owe him one for last night's work," he remarked to Goshi, choosing the only person who could read the flirtatious glint in his crystalline eyes.
When they were both ready, scarf and coat in place, Guren wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's shoulders, preventing him from staying and chatting with his other two friends longer than necessary.
They disappeared between the shelves amidst the tugging of the black-haired man and the distant laughter of the younger one as he said goodbye.
"Don't you sometimes get the feeling that they speak their own language?" Mito asked Goshi, getting up to go to the chair next to him.
"Ever since we were sixteen and they finished each other's sentences, but I guess some things are better left between them."
From the way Goshi's corners moved, Mito didn't want to hear any more about it.
As the couple left the university campus on their way to their apartment, the Moon witnessed the little nudge the older man gave his boy, muttering that he was a lost cause.
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When their lips met, it was in an awkward and careless manner. Shinya's hands held onto Guren's shoulders as he took blind steps until his calves hit the edge of the bed.
He let himself fall back. A low chuckle escaped from deep in his throat before he felt his boyfriend claim his lips again, nibbling at them, begging for his tongue to enter the passageway of his mouth.
While Shinya lay on his back and watched him with something like satisfaction, Guren stayed between his legs. The hands that had once been on his hips now moved up and down his thighs with a slowness that could kill anyone unfamiliar with his modus operandi.
From the first moment their lips met, his belongings and the occasional piece of clothing fell to the ground. Guren leaned down to be close to his face, holding his thighs underneath to keep them from being further apart than was inevitable. He placed a kiss on the corner of his mouth, his tongue caressing the lower lip before joining it with his own in a brief kiss.
"I thought it was me who felt like doing this," in a murmur that would have been inaudible if they hadn't been so close, Shinya parted their mouths, noticing how they were held together by a trickle of saliva, "but it seems it's you who insists on being with me like this."
Guren clicked his tongue in annoyance, and one of the hands that had been resting on another part of his body moved to his jaw, fingers gripping it to raise his head higher than necessary. Shinya allowed the movement, molding to his intentions and waiting for the ideal moment to respond.
"I'm not even going to bother complaining to you about this, we both know who started this. What are you? An annoying teenager who can't respect a time when we're doing something important?"
"Oh, come on..." he let out a laugh as his eyes went blank, "are you going to blame me for that? With the stress, so many papers, works... I prefer to spend some time with my boyfriend and then regret it. Or don't you think so? If you deny it, I'll assume that you're lying to me because of your stupid pride."
It wasn't the first time that Shinya's intentions had revolved around that, just as it wasn't the first time that the young man had disarmed the black-haired man with a single move. It was enough for Shinya to grab the wrist that was holding him, and for the other fist to close around his shirt to change positions.
With Guren lying on his back, Shinya straddled his thighs, both sharing a smile filled with the same passion. The younger man ran his palms over the expanse of his chest, slowly, as if massaging it to relax him after Wednesday's class, before leaning down to plant a kiss that was marked by slowness and caution compared to the ones they had shared before, as if this was the perfect solution to all their problems.
Seconds before they separated, their breathing became heavier. Shinya buried his face in his neck, sinking his teeth gently into the white skin.
"Have I ever told you that I like your perfume?" he asked in a moment that surprised him.
"Sometime," he replied with a simple smile, his fingers reaching inside his sweatshirt to caress his back.
The simple touch made the white-haired man shiver, and he closed his eyes for a moment as he took a deep breath, the perfect excuse to fill his lungs with the scent he cherished so much.
When they looked at each other again, it was Guren's turn to sit on the mattress, wrapping his arms around his waist so that an embrace would bring them closer together. Their eyes were still in the same line, and Guren was mentally thankful that they had not turned on the lamp when they entered the bedroom, for he thought there was nothing more beautiful than seeing the moonlight reflect off his beloved's flawless skin.
"One day of rest is not going to kill us..." was the explanation the black-haired man gave before a hand went to the back of his neck, tugging at the hair in that area so that they could melt again in another kiss like the ones they had shared before.