Work Text:
Hajime didn’t know where his better judgement had been on that day, but a chain of events began the moment he accepted a used book from Junko Enoshima.
It wasn’t something that he thought heavily on in the moment he received it. She approached him on the Grand Staircase, holding the book out in her hand on the way to the Slytherin common room. “Yeah... So like, I don’t really need this anymore, and honestly, it bores me to the point of tears. Seeing as you’re a boring person, I was hoping you’d take it off my hands for me.”
Yes, on a normal day he would’ve questioned Junko Enoshima giving him anything, but today it happened that he was swamped with work from his professors. He wasn’t even offended by the snide remark. He just took the book and she ran ahead.
Looking at the cover, it seemed to be a charms book on the types of spells that would be good for household chores. He frowned, understanding why Junko didn’t want it. It didn’t seem like it would be his cup of tea either. Spotting Nagito ahead though, he knew who would enjoy it.
He gave him the charms book when they sat down to begin working on an essay they had due for Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
“A present? From you? Thank you Hajime.” He smiled warmly.
“I mean, sure, yeah, you can think of it like that. I just thought you’d like it more than me.”
“I don’t mind. Really!” He chuckled. “Anything from you is an amazing gift.” Comments like that flattered him almost to a point of cockiness. That was the thing about Nagito. He knew how to bring someone up, but also knew exactly what buttons to push to bring someone straight back down.
“Hey, you don’t have a class next do you?” Hajime asked him.
He shook his head.
“Oh, alright then.” Hajime collected his things. Time always seemed to fly by the fastest when he had a limited amount of time to do work. “I guess I’ll see you later.”
Nagito grinned. “See you later Hajime!”
~
It was upon coming back later that everything spiraled downwards.
Tsumugi greeted him urgently as he walked back into the Slytherin common room. “Hajime! Agh, you’re back! It’s Nagito, he’s-“
“Did someone say Hajime is here?!”
Being a prefect for multiple years had certainly prepared him to see all kinds of weird magic in action, but finding himself on the receiving end of it was an entirely different story.
The next thing he knew, Nagito had embraced him tightly. It was almost to the point where it was painful.
“Wh-What the hell?! What’s going on with you?”
Nagito pulled away from him, a heavy blush coating his face. “There’s something I need to tell you Hajime...” Hajime blinked in surprise. “I...I’m...in love with you! I’m absolutely stricken with you! I can’t stop thinking about your beautiful eyes, and your hair, and your perfect face. I can’t think about anything else! Do...Do you feel the same way...?”
Wait...what...?
It took a moment to register what just happened in his brain.
HUH?!
“What are you talking about?!” He tried to escape from Nagito’s grip, but it was too tight on him.
“It’s not his fault!” Sayaka approached them. “His professors said that he wouldn’t stop talking about you. It was so bad that he couldn’t participate in class. But they all noted that he was even more pale than usual though, and it was almost as if he was in a drunken state, so they asked us to investigate and... Well, Byakuya can explain.”
“Yes,” he said, pushing back his glasses. “We found a charms book open on the desk he was working at. The pages were coated in some sort of substance.”
“What do you mean?” Hajime asked him.
“It was Amortentia.”
Oh. Now it all clicked in his mind. The Nagito that was currently beginning to nuzzle up against him really wasn’t the Nagito he knew. It almost came as a relief.
“But,” Byakuya continued. “I asked him about the book personally a few moments ago, after his professors sent him back here, and he informed me that it was a gift from you.”
All eyes in the common room turned accusingly to him.
“Wait...wait... Y-You think that I gave that to him on purpose?! How perverse do you think I am...?”
“Apparently you are very perverse, seeing as you slipped your best friend a love potion.”
“I-I didn’t-! I wasn’t even the one who owned the book! Junko gave it to m-“ He stopped talking as it hit him. Ugh, son of a bitch. A beat passed as he turned to glare at the despair-loving girl. “Yeah... Junko gave it to me...”
Everyone turned from him to Junko, who smiled knowingly.
“Alright, so I may have planted it on him. So what? I knew he’d give it to Nagito and I think they’d make a cute couple.” She smirked.
Hajime’s eyebrows knitted together as he blushed. He knew that wasn’t her true motive behind it, but groaned instead of fighting her on it.
Celestia chimed in. “I would say the best thing for him to do at this point would be to sleep on it. It’ll wear off eventually.”
“You’re right,” Hajime nodded. “Come on Nagito.” He grabbed his best friend by the sleeve and began to lead him up to the boy’s dormitory.
Nagito clung to him the entire time. “Hajimeeee,” he whined. “You haven’t answered my question.”
What question is he talking about? Then he recalled his awkward, magically-induced confession. “Oh, uh, I’m not sure yet.”
“Well...” Nagito looked down, still blushing. “I hope you will give it some thought...”
Seeing Nagito, a wizard who was so talented that it was almost scary, who was borderline even scary in his ideals sometimes, reduced to acting almost like a schoolgirl with a crush took him aback. He looked away from him, beginning to blush as well.
Nagito laid down in his bed when they got to the dorm, Hajime putting the blanket over him.
“Hajime, maybe a kiss would help you make up your mind about me?”
Hajime’s face burned. “Um, no. I’m sorry. Not when you’re like this. I’ll, uh, lay with you until you fall asleep though.”
That seemed to be enough for Nagito, and he smiled. Hajime did what he told him he would do, and Nagito cuddled up close to him. This was so not what he’d prepared for this night.
Eventually, Nagito drifted off, still smiling at the close proximity to the object of his affection.
~
It took a moment when Nagito woke up for him to recall the events of the night before. His face practically exploded in a harsh blush, contrasting his pale skin.
Hajime was gone. It seemed he’d left some time after he’d fallen asleep.
It was only after they came back from a few classes later that they saw each other again.
Not only was Nagito dealing with taunting and homophobic remarks from his peers, but Hajime wouldn’t say a word to him. He honestly didn’t blame him though.
The awkward silence hung between them for multiple days, and before they knew it, Christmas break had come around.
And that was how Chiaki ended up forcing them into a random empty corridor in the absence of a majority of Hogwarts’ students.
“Okay guys, here’s the deal...” she sighed. “This is our last year here together, and...I really don’t feel like spending it with you two barely speaking.”
They glanced at each other. What was she thinking?
“So... I’m going to leave you two here.” Of course. “Oh, and trust me, I’ll know if you don’t talk it out... I have my ways.” She yawned. “I’m gonna...go take a nap... See you...”
They stared as she left, just a tiny bit surprised. Usually she wasn’t this assertive, but they knew how important friendship was to her.
Things were quiet for a minute or two as they simply leaned against the wall, but Hajime was the first to break the silence.
“Hey look, ah, I’m really sorry for avoiding you like this.”
Nagito didn’t say anything. Hajime was pretty sure it wasn’t because he wasn’t going to accept his apology, but because he was waiting for him to say more.
“I guess...a part of me didn’t know how to bring the topic up, and I know that’s not fair to you. You didn’t even do anything. I’m truly sorry.”
Nagito smiled slightly. “Your apology is accepted...but...I had fault in the avoidance too.”
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t want it to be revealed...” He sighed. “...I didn’t want you to know that...most of the things I said weren’t lies.”
Hajime let that sink in for a second. Nagito was no longer under the effects of Amortentia. He knew exactly what he was talking about. This new confession was that of complete truth and not forced out of him. As the full picture was completed, a blush crept across Hajime’s face. Nagito was blushing as well.
“But...judging by the stuff you said back when I was taken under control, I’m guessing you don’t feel the same way.”
All he did was give a sad laugh.
“That’s completely understandable, really. Why would anyone want to be with m-“
Nagito was cut off by the feeling of another pair of lips meeting his own. “?!” His eyes widened and the flush upon his face grew bigger yet.
It was at this moment that both of them couldn’t understand why first kisses were always portrayed to be so long and special in the media. It was so quick, so fleeting. In fact, it felt shorter than the kiss actually was, as if it was done in nanoseconds, leaving them only wanting more.
“You’re such an idiot,” Hajime breathed as they pulled apart. “The...The only reason I even said all that stuff is because you weren’t in the position to properly consent to anything. Even a kiss for that matter.”
Hajime cared about him that much? Nagito didn’t know when he’d ever deserved to have his feelings in a matter cared about.
“Hajime...I...” Not knowing what to say, he instead leaned in for another kiss. Hajime gladly accepting it. At first, everything remained innocent, but as things progressed, the kiss became heated.
Hajime had the other boy pressed up against the wall in a matter of no time. Hands went everywhere, and eventually Hajime’s hands began working on trying to remove Nagito’s robes from his body.
As the luckster realized what Hajime was trying to do, he stopped. “W-Wait!” Hajime stopped as well, concerned. “It’s...risky. We could get caught.”
He knew Nagito was right. Deciding to get intimate in the middle of an open corridor was no good idea, even if there was barely anyone at the school. Just the idea of what would happen to students trying to do something like that was mortifying enough.
And then, right on schedule, their attention was alerted to the loud sort of rumbling of bricks shifting. Behind them was a door that hadn’t been there when they’d first shown up. It took them a second, but they knew exactly what it was.
They’d heard about the Room of Requirement before, but had never encountered it themselves. And honestly, they’d never needed it for anything in the first place. But right now, Hajime was beginning to wonder if Nagito’s really luck was some sort of power.
Hajime didn’t hesitate to grab Nagito by the hand and lead him into the room, practically slamming the door behind them.
~
The next time they saw Chiaki was at dinner that night.
“So... Did you guys make up?”
Hajime began choking on his food immediately at the question. Nagito looked away, seeming almost as flustered as he was earlier just at the recollection of the events.
“Oh...yeah...uh... We made up alright.”
“What’s that supposed to mean...?”
“Um...Chiaki... We made up.” Instead of going into detail, he resolved to move his hands in a sort of gesture.
When Chiaki realized what he meant, the Hufflepuff’s eyes widened. “Wow...that’s...way more information than I needed to know. I think I’ll go eat with Mikan now...”
Weirded out heavily by the turn of events, she got up and left. As soon as she was gone, Hajime burst out laughing.
“She looked absolutely horrified!”
Nagito’s mouth twisted up into a smile too, and very soon, he was laughing along.
From then on out, the highlight of their school life was getting the chance to secretly hold hands in the hallway, pulling the other behind statues to kiss, or giving each other loving looks in the classes they did share with each other.
A part of Hajime knew he strangely had Junko to thank in part for it. But he didn’t care about that. All he cared about was that after years of pining, Nagito was finally his.
If he didn’t enjoy potions class before, he certainly did now.