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The mission at the Tokyo Casino had been a long one, to say the least. You blearily recounted the blurred events of the night, as you walked with your friends back into the school grounds. From the constant machine gunfire you had to deal with, to the quest of finding Ifrit’s heart and the crazy encounter with Tsathoggua on the 48th subfloor… in a shrine floating in outer-freaking-space… no wonder your body, much less your brain, felt like it got hit by a train several times over.
“Whoo! What a night!” You hear Kengo punch his fist into his open palm. Unlike your slightly hunched, staggering form, Kengo was walking upright, full of energy. You glared at his back - not out of malice, but a tired irritation at how much energy he had compared to you. “I needed a night of excitement like that, after all those boring days at school.”
“If only you would apply the same level of vigour towards your studies.” Shiro huffed, removing his spectacles. He procured a small cloth from his pocket and began to wipe them clean. “At this rate, you’ll be in for a painful study sleepover in the upcoming Summer holidays.”
“Can you give the study lecture a break?” Kengo groaned, cracking his knuckles and his neck. “We already had a long night, and I doubt you’d really want to be thinking about that right now.”
“Come on, let it go, Class Rep.” Ryota patted Shiro’s shoulder, calming him down. Shiro exhaled sharply through his nose, and let Kengo’s bad study habits slide once again. He returned his glasses to his face. “Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing what Choji made for dinner tonight!”
“Haven’t you had enough food for tonight?” You yawned. “Surely you tasted some in the kitchen?”
“I actually barely got to try anything!” Ryota cried, sadly sucking on his lollipop. “There was just so much to do, what with the plating up and the mission!”
“Fair enough, I suppose.” You hum, before smacking your lips. You actually didn’t really get to enjoy your meal much either. “I’m glad we all got out okay tonight. I didn’t think it was…”, you felt yourself get lightheaded. “Ever.. gonna.. end..--”
“Woah! Careful there, guild master.” Shiro caught you as you tripped on a part of the concrete footpath. You staggered to your feet and he looked you over with concern. “You’ve had a long night tonight. Please, let me help you.”
Tensing a little from the sudden interaction and closeness, you jolt yourself awake to some low level of consciousness, enough to say, “N-No, I can make it.” You averted your gaze when Shiro looked at you, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. “I-... I can.”
“Oh, guild master…”, you heard Shiro sigh. “Kengo, Ryota, feel free to go on and grab some supper. I’ll escort our esteemed guild master here to the dorms. I’ll... likely pass on a meal as well.”
“Are you sure, Class Rep?” Ryota asked. “Want us to save you guys some, at least?”
“I think we’re too quite tired to bother, but thank you for the offer.” Shiro smiled, reassuring his friend. “Enjoy the food, you two.”
“Sure thing. We will! I can’t wait!” Ryota and Kengo grinned to each other. The four bid their goodnights before they split ways. You felt yourself sway, and you grabbed your head, closing your eyes. You re-opened them upon feeling your companion’s arm wrap around your shoulders.
“I-It’s not time to sleep yet - we’re almost there.” You both began slowly walking to the dorms, and you softly sighed.
“Thank you, I…” You grabbed Shiro, feeling your knees buckle a bit. “Ugh…”
“Please, a-allow me…”
“Wh-Whuh…?!” You suddenly felt yourself being hoisted up, carried bridal style by him. “S-Shiro, I’m too heavy, y-you can’t--”
“Please, guild master.” Shiro smiled gently down at you, but you could tell he was straining with the effort. “You’ve done a lot for me and the guild. The least I can do is this.”
“I--...” The warm, comforting scent of Shiro enveloped you, and you gave in to your exhaustion, resting your head against his shoulder. You closed your eyes to rest, and you did not notice the smattering of pink across his cheeks. “Okay.”
“G-Good. Hang tight.”
You both arrived at the dorm building, but Shiro first made a detour towards his room. It was apparently closer, you heard him whisper when you drifted back into consciousness momentarily. He wanted to leave some food for his D-Evils first, before escorting you to your room. They were likely famished.
Instantly when the door clicked shut, the D-Evils emerged from the mist that came out of the Necronomicon, even while it was still closed in Shiro’s book carrier.
“Scree…” The D-Evils hovered around the desk, where their bowls would typically be laid out. They watched as Shiro laid you down on to the bed, and knelt down to speak to you.
“This is just for the moment,” Shiro mumbled, unsure if you were even awake to hear him. “..while I feed my friends.” He groaned as he rose from his knelt position, and moved through the motions to pour out food for his familiars.
You murmured incoherently in protest, but it was too faint to hear. This was embarrassing, getting tended to by Shiro as if you couldn’t even make it back to your room yourself.
“He probably thinks less of me,” you thought. But the utter softness of the duvets and the all-encompassing scent of Shiro combined to make a warm hug that lulled you easily to sleep again.
“Good work tonight, my friends.” Shiro petted a few absentmindedly as they screeched quietly in delight, trying to be considerate of you. The soft crunching of their food filled the room with a slightly homely ambience, and Shiro walked over to you. “Alright, let’s…”
The words fell away from his lips as he watched you on the bed, asleep, murmuring softly as you did. Your face, pinched with exhaustion, steadily shifted to a peaceful one. Shiro felt his heart skip a beat, though he wouldn’t admit that to anyone but his private journal.
Shiro frowned, looking upon your sleeping form. If he disturbed you, he would likely wake you, but, well…--
“S-Shiro…” You mumbled, cracking an eye open.
“Y-Yes?” Shiro knelt down to eye level, looking as attentive as he could. Your hand slowly moved to touch one of his on the bed, and you felt him tense up. His eyes widened as his gaze darted to your fingers resting on his, and back to you. He gulped. You whispered softly to him.
“S...Sleep, with me, tonight…”
“S--Sleep? I--”
“Too tired… just.. please?”
Shiro paused. His tired brain attempted to find the will to say no, that the rules strictly prohibited students sleeping in the same bed, this was inappropriate, but…
Deep down, he knew he wanted to.
And the overwhelming heaviness in his body forced his hand, overtaking his pedantry for this one night.
He nodded quietly. You closed your eyes.
And now, this left him unsure.
He had never slept with anyone like this before.
“What to remove…?” He mused. Shiro reasoned taking off his coat was a good idea, and his shoes. This left him in his dress shirt and pants. “This will have to do, I suppose. They’re still in their dinner attire.”
Shiro crawled into the bed beside you, ensuring there was a small gap, an imaginary line, separating the two of you. He awkwardly faced the ceiling, trying to make himself small. You did not move.
“Good--goodnight.” Shiro mumbled. You let out a short “Hnn” in affirmation, and then, the room fell quiet once again, as the D-Evils had finished eating and were beginning to rest after their meal.
Although this situation could have kept him up all night, the exhaustion of the day finally weighed its full effects on Shiro’s body, and he found himself on the verge of sleep in a matter of minutes.
But then, in your deep sleep, you rolled over, completely engulfing the almost pathetic bit of space Shiro tried to leave. He gasped as your arm wrapped around him, and you snuggled up to the male student in your happy dream state. He became flushed, uncertain of what to do. He whispered out your name, but there was no reply.
Sighing deeply, Shiro slowly shifted and wrapped an arm around you too, and closed his eyes, waiting at last for sleep to finally take him.
“I think… I love you...”