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Byakuya Togami hated the stupid morning gatherings the students of the 78th Class had agreed on at the beginning of the killing game. He thought they were probably the most useless and time-consuming activities they had to do. He himself could have come up with a million more relevant things to do and use their precious time for. But, of course, that could just be due to Togami’s impressive intelligence. After all, he was the heir to the Togami company.
Despite of all that, this specific morning he had decided to go to the meeting, just to see what the commoners had been up to these days. He seriously hoped they had found some useful information, since they absolutely had to get out of that hellhole. So, after dressing up, Togami fixed his pretty blond hair, adjusted his eyeglasses that framed his beautiful blue eyes in just the right way and stepped out of the dorm. He couldn’t be bothered to actually follow the order strictly and arrive at the right time, so he was already pretty late. Nevertheless, his arriving to the dining hall was more than a surprise to the other students. As the heir stepped in, all eyes were instantly on him. The others hadn’t seen the blonde in a couple of days at all. As a matter of fact, that one short brown-haired boy, Makoto Naegi, was apparently the only one that had interacted with Togami in those days.
Speaking of Makoto…
“Where’s Naegi?” Togami asked bluntly as he glanced around the big dining hall. It seemed that every other student of the class was present, but Makoto was, somehow, absent. It felt odd to Togami: he had already gotten used to the sight of the spiky brown hair.
“We don’t know, actually”, Asahina answered and looked worried. The others hummed in agreement. It really seemed like they had no idea as to where the boy might have been. Togami turned toward Kyoko, Makoto’s closest friend. “What about you?” The girl shook her head.
“Don’t tell me you haven’t knocked on his door”, the heir scoffed and crossed his arms. Asahina rolled her eyes.
“Of course we have. We’re not stupid. He’s not answering, though.”
Togami pushed his glasses up slightly and frowned. Was there something wrong with Makoto? The brunette was supposed to lead them all out of the school as he had been assigned as the leader, for some reason. Togami, of course, thought that he himself would’ve been much better of a choice, but even so, he really couldn’t take the risk of losing Makoto at such an important stage. They all needed the boy. Togami needed him.
“I will go look for him”, he suddenly stated. The others looked at him, all more surprised than ever.
“Why you, Togamicchi?” Hagakure asked, sounding almost worried. Somehow, the thought of Togami going to look for Makoto made everyone kind of uneasy. Maybe it was just the fact that the bitchy heir had been such a prick to literally everyone that they just found it very hard to trust him with other people. But they also knew that Makoto cared about the other boy, for some unknown reason. So, maybe it kind of made sense to have Togami look for him.
“Do you want to find him or not? I am telling you, if I’m not going to look for him, he will not be found – at least not in a good shape.” Maybe it was a selfish thing to say, but Togami had a point.
“Okay, then. You go”, Kyoko said finally, and all the others seemed to agree with her. The heir didn’t say anything; he just turned on his heels and made his way out of the dining hall, toward the dorms once again. He was more than glad Fukawa had not even tried to say anything this time.
Once he had reached Makoto’s dorm, Togami tried to open the door on his own, just in case. Just as he’d suspected; it was locked from the inside.
“Monokuma”, he called for the bear, who soon appeared in front of him, laughing in his typical, annoying manner.
“What would the Togami heir need me for this time?” the bear snickered. Togami scoffed, rolled his eyes and pointed at the door.
“I need you to open this for me.”
“My my, why would you want to go into Makoto Naegi’s room out of all places? Don’t tell me you’ve finally acknowledged the little crush you have on our protagonist…?” Monokuma laughed, and Togami blushed very visibly. He suddenly felt like he couldn’t speak, as if he’d forgotten every word that existed ever.
What crush? Why would I have a crush on Naegi? On such a commoner?? Such a small, little, cute boy…? Why would I…? Why…? Do I–?
“No!” Togami yelled suddenly and looked furious. No, that was not it! He just needed to go check on Makoto and get him up to help the others with the investigations. There was nothing more to it. It was not like he was worried about the boy, no!
“Okay then, whatever you say, Mr. Togami”, Monokuma giggled and opened the door to the dorm. Finally. Togami didn’t even look at the bear anymore; he entered Makoto’s dorm and closed the door behind him loudly. Right after that, he heard a mumbling sound coming from the bed.
“Mmmh, who’s it…?”
Togami’s eyebrows were deeply knitted together as he stepped closer to the bed. Soon, he noticed a small lump of some sorts under the blanket. Clothes scattered around the floor, familiar green hoodie, black blazer, red sneakers…
“Naegi?” Togami called cautiously. The lump shifted a little, and a mess of brown, spiky hair appeared underneath it. Togami stepped closer and crouched down next to the bed. There he was, Makoto Naegi, lying on his bed, sicker than ever, with an extremely running nose and all.
“O-oh, it’s you, Togami-kun”, Makoto whispered with a hoarse voice. He seemed to smile a little. Togami looked at the small boy who, in that state, appeared even more fragile than he usually did (which was kind of a lot, to be honest). The blonde put his right hand gently on the brunette’s forehead and quickly noticed that it was burning.
“You have a high fever, Naegi”, Togami whispered as he still held his hand on the boy’s forehead. He absentmindedly rubbed his thumb against Makoto’s soft skin, who wasn’t really paying attention to anything.
“D-do I…? Huh, that’s kinda funny, don’t cha think, ‘Kuya?” Makoto stumbled around his words and made the mistake to use a nickname to address the heir who was known for his formality. Togami was about to correct the boy, but, somehow, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. You see, he was way too focused on caressing the boy’s burning face with his hands. For some reason, seeing Makoto like this had awaken a strong feeling of responsibility in Togami. He felt like he just had to be there to protect the other boy, to make sure he would get better sooner than ever. As he kept thinking of these thoughts, Togami rubbed his thumb along Makoto’s cheekbone, down to his jawline. Makoto sighed contently.
“Your hand feels nice, ‘Kuya…”
Then, the heir woke up to reality.
What am I doing?
Togami blushed as he realized what he had, indeed, been doing. His hand still rested upon Makoto’s jaw, and the latter looked feverish but also happy in some way. The blonde thought for a while what he should actually do about the situation, and then it dawned on him.
“Let me go get you something to eat. Something warm, perhaps”, Togami said while looking down at the sick boy. He was just about to get up, when Makoto whined slightly.
“Don’t go, ‘Kuya…”
Togami turned to look at Makoto and felt a strange kind of feeling spreading from his chest to his entire body. The brunette looked so helpless, so small and in need of help. But, as Togami kept looking at him, he also looked pretty cute under the blanket, all wrapped up and hair messy on the pillow. Togami swallowed down the lump in his throat.
Why am I paying attention to such things?
He tried his best to push those thoughts aside for now.
“You need to eat. I will be back shortly.” And so, Togami left the dorm, leaving the door slightly ajar. He walked into the dining hall, surprising the other students who were still there, apparently doing nothing.
They should be investigating. What a bunch of idiots.
“Did you find him?” Asahina yelled as soon as she saw Togami step into the hall. The heir rolled his blue eyes and crossed his arms once again.
“Why else would I be here? The boy is sick. I came here to get him something to eat.”
“Are you telling us that you are gonna take care of him?” the swimmer questioned in a tone that clearly stated she couldn’t believe the sudden change of heart Togami had had. Yes, it was true that the heir had always been a bit of a prick even toward Makoto, but maybe that wasn’t all there was to it. Togami blushed ever so slightly and averted his piercing blue eyes from the girl.
“Yes. Is that a problem somehow? We all do need him”, he said, mumbling a little. The other students just stared at the tall blonde for a while in silence, until Kyoko spoke up.
“That is true. I suppose we can leave taking care of Makoto to you, Togami.”
Togami looked at the purple-haired girl and made a mental note to thank her later in some way. Even though Kyoko had mostly been a pain in Togami’s ass, the girl was still very intelligent and because of that, she understood many things from different perspectives. It finally had paid to Togami’s own personal gain. He nodded to Kyoko, ignored the rest of the gawking classmates and went to the kitchen to prepare something for the sick Naegi boy to eat.
Togami wasn’t actually one to know that much about cooking. He hadn’t ever learned to cook anything properly, because commoner tasks like that had always been done for him by servants and such. So, he took the easy route and decided to heat up some instant soup for Makoto. Togami knew he had to boil some water and mix the powder mixture into it. Carefully, he set a pot filled with water on the stove and took the dry mixture of onion soup out of the cabinet. As he waited for the water to boil, Togami got lost in his thoughts as usual.
What was that with me caressing Naegi’s face like that? And furthermore, what was that very strange feeling I got from it? I have never felt anything like that before. It was like, somehow, my heart warmed up for some reason. Like I was happy in a way I have never been.
Master of rational thinking; that was what Togami was. He always knew why things had to go like they did, why people made the decisions they made and why something was right and something else was wrong. But emotions… Those he had never understood – not even his own. So, because of that, he wasn’t able to figure out that the feeling he kept describing to himself in those pretty accurate sentences was, in fact, infatuation.
The water was boiling now, and Togami woke up from his thoughts to prepare the soup for the probably starving Makoto. After he was done, Togami took the large bowl with him, walked through the dining hall without even glancing at the others who still stood there uselessly and went straight to the brunette’s dorm. He opened the door with his other hand and stepped in. Right there, from the doorway, Togami saw that Makoto was sleeping soundly.
Of course this had to happen.
The heir set the bowl of soup on the desk and crouched right next to Makoto’s bed where the brunette was all curled up in the blanket, sleeping with a smile on his face. Togami reached for Makoto’s face and stroked the boy’s cheek lightly. He felt himself blush a little as he saw Makoto lean into the touch. Togami couldn’t understand why he was feeling the way he was. His heartbeat was quick, his breath felt like catching in his throat any second now, and his face was heating up. Makoto sighed contently and rubbed his face against Togami’s hand.
“Mmh”, the brunette mumbled.
Why… is he… so cute…?
Later, Togami kept asking himself what had made him do the thing he next did, but he never found the answer to that question. You see, he grabbed Makoto’s face carefully and kissed the boy on the lips softly, despite the fact that Makoto was sick and had a very high fever. Togami’s lips lingered on the brunette’s for a whole minute, just to feel the small puffs of warm air Makoto was letting out in a steady rhythm. Togami could hear his heartbeat in his ears, but he didn’t care about that anymore. He was still kissing Makoto as he thought about the following thing.
Maybe Monokuma was right, somehow.
Then, all of a sudden, Togami felt Makoto stirring a little under his touch. He couldn’t pull away from the boy before the latter opened his eyes and saw Togami’s face literally pressed against his own.
“Ah–! Togami-kun!” Makoto yelped, and Togami finally pulled away, trying to hide his deepening blush.
Oh my god, this is so embarrassing.
“W-were you just… k-kissing me…?” the sick boy stumbled around his words as he seemingly tried to collect his scattered thoughts. Togami cursed himself for doing such a reckless thing. Of course you would wake up if someone was to kiss you when you were asleep! How idiotic can you even be?!
“Well, yes I was, but it was just a mistake, I–“
“Actually… I didn’t mind that at all”, Makoto interrupted the blabbering heir and smiled sweetly. Togami looked at the small boy with a gaping mouth. He had literally kissed the other one out of nowhere and now the boy was telling him that he had actually liked that?? What kind of day was this.
“W-what do you mean?”
Makoto didn’t answer; he just pulled Togami toward him by the collar and kissed him again, as softly as the heir had kissed him before. Makoto’s lips were so sweet, and to feel them move against his own sent Togami to cloud nine. He was growing breathless just from the innocent kiss without any tongue; he just suddenly realized how much he wanted to do this with the other boy. It felt so good, so right, and Makoto was so perfect, even though his nose was runny as hell, he was still perfect, and Togami loved it, loved him.
That’s it.
Togami couldn’t take that thought any further since Makoto pulled away from him, breaking the kiss and smiled up at him in the most beautiful way ever. The blonde had never experienced such loss for words before, but he just couldn’t say anything as Makoto kept staring at him straight into his soul with the enormous hazel eyes of his, smiling that sweet smile, looking so adorable.
Maybe I really am–
“D-did you bring me something to eat, Togami-kun?” Makoto asked quietly.
Oh, the soup.
Trying his best to ignore the burning of his face, Togami got up and took the bowl of soup from the desk, passing it to Makoto. The brunette sat up straight on the bed, accepted the bowl thanking Togami and smiled once again. Togami was sure he would soon pass out just from the sheer lack of oxygen. He hadn’t been able to breathe properly for several minutes now. It was like Makoto just took the air out of his lungs by sitting there and smiling. How seriously and stupidly in lo–
Wait.
Maybe that’s really it.
Togami watched as Makoto ate the soup in earnest. After only a couple of minutes, the pretty big bowl was already empty, and the brunette passed it back to Togami.
“Thank you, Togami-kun. It was good. You’re being so nice to me”, Makoto said with a smile in his voice. Togami just nodded and placed the bowl back on the desk, then turning to face Makoto again. The heir sat on the bed, next to the sick boy and sighed.
“Naegi, I think I should tell you something”, Togami began cautiously and took a deep breath. Makoto just looked at the pretty boy and smiled. “I think I– uh… I think I’ve fallen–“
“I know, Togami-kun.”
Huh?
Togami stared at the small boy in the eyes. The expression on Makoto’s face reflected love, certainty and empathy. The look in his eyes told Togami that what the other had just said meant exactly what he thought it meant. He covered his mouth with a hand, shocked. How could the other boy know something about him he didn’t even know himself?
That question seemed to be something Togami wondered a lot when it came to Makoto Naegi.
“You– you do?” he finally was able to ask, albeit uncertainly.
“Yes. I recognize that look in your eyes. It’s the same one I have in mine when I look at you”, Makoto answered, and then Togami saw it. The look in the brunette’s eyes… It was tender, loving, caring, admiring…
No way.
They didn’t say anything else to each other after that. Slowly, they moved together as a unit and pressed up against each other, kissing. Togami’s hand in Makoto’s messy hair, Makoto’s arms around Togami’s waist, they kissed and kissed and kissed, caressing each other lovingly. Soon, Makoto willingly fell back on the bed, allowing Togami to climb on top of him. The heir looked down at the boy, golden hair falling in his eyes, and finally he was able to name the feeling. He pressed his lips to Makoto’s, kicked his shoes off and loved the sick boy in every way possible. Loved. Makoto sighed as the kiss broke apart and Togami moved his lips to the brunette’s neck.
“’Kuya…”
And Togami didn’t mind the nickname at all. He kissed Makoto’s neck, sucked on it lightly and licked at the tender spots. Makoto’s eyes were closed, and he continued making content sounds.
“You will get sick too, ‘Kuya.”
“I don’t care. We can take care of each other.”
“Oh, I’d love that, ‘Kuya.”
And so they did. They stayed in Makoto’s dorm the entire time they were sick, cuddled up next to each other, sleeping, talking, reading, kissing and doing other things couples usually do. And their classmates never knew anything. Well, except for Kyoko, of course. Once the two boys had gotten better, they finally left the dorm together, holding hands. They went straight to the dining hall where everyone else was already waiting. Asahina was the first one to notice them by the doorframe.
“Look, Makoto’s back, and–! Oh. Why are you two holding hands like that?” the swimmer exclaimed and pointed at the couple’s locked fingers. Makoto glanced up at Togami, smiling, and just as he was about to open his mouth, Kyoko spoke up.
“They’re dating, of course. Have been for several days.”
Makoto looked at the girl and mouthed at her the word “how?”. Kyoko just smiled and answered in the same manner.
“I knew it all along.”