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“Guys, who is the prettiest person you’ve ever met?”
Komaeda, who was chewing on a dry piece of toast, answered immediately. “Hinata-kun.”
Hinata was out of ear-shot to hear the compliment but definitely heard the “what?!” that followed after.
“Komaeda-kun, do you perhaps have a crush on Hinata-kun?” Nevermind’s eyes were glittering in fascination. Everyone who wasn’t paying attention to the question Soda spoke earlier were surely paying attention now. Komaeda just shook his head.
“No, I couldn’t,” he said, the smile on his face vanishing for a split-second. “I think this is more of a fascination. Hinata-kun is very fascinating, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Ibuki doesn’t understand. Haji is talented but he is not very unique, no offense.”
Komaeda cocked his head to the side. “Not unique?”
“The dude is boring looking," Kuzuryu said simply. "It's not a bad thing, honestly, but if he didn't have the red eye, he would not be easy to pick out from a crowd."
Komaeda hummed. But he didn't agree. Hinata really was handsome. Beautiful , even. He could write a book on how wonderful the man was and have a whole chapter dedicated to his beauty.
"If that's what you think," the pale boy spoke. "Who am I to tell you otherwise?"
"Bro, don't go saying things like that now," Soda whined. "Don't make us feel bad. We're friends, remember?"
Komaeda nodded. They were his friends. They respected him and he should do the same.
"Blegh, don't lump me in with you losers," said Saionji.
Hinata finally walked over with a mug in his hand, his tired eyes scanning everyone's faces. They all smiled at him a little too gleefully but he was honestly too exhausted to care.
"We need to work on getting rid of the weeds on the stone pathways. Be ready at 10." They all nodded in unison as he took a sip from his mug and walked off to get started on the day. Once he left, they all looked towards Komaeda. He was tapping his foot frantically before he stood up, stuffing the last piece of toast in his mouth.
"I'm going to go help him," he stated.
"Oh, please do," said Nevermind. "We'll catch up."
He placed his dish on the counter before walking out underneath the beaming sun. The boy looked around before spotting Hinata walking into his cottage. He skipped down the steps and followed the path, wondering why Hinata seemed to be out of it today. The brunet struggled with sleep, they all knew this, but he had been taking medications so it was a bit odd. Maybe a symptom was that it made him lethargic.
He knocked on the door and heard the floorboards creak. The curtains were pulled back and Komaeda waved at Hinata who smiled and shook his head. He disappeared to unlock the door and let Komaeda inside.
"Here to help again?"
The taller boy grinned. "Of course."
He stepped in and picked up one of Hinata's shirts which was sitting on his desk. He folded it and tucked it in his drawer as the shorter boy pulled out his clipboard. The end of his pen was chewed thoroughly and he had to sift through many papers before finding a clean sheet for today's agenda. "Okay, we need to…"
Hinata stared blankly at the sheet for a moment and Komaeda could tell it wasn't because he was in thought. Hinata seemed to do that a lot, too. It was his way of rewiring his brain to catch up with his mouth. He snapped his fingers in front of the brunet and he flinched. "We need to…?"
"Um, yeah. We need to pull out the weeds, scrub the dirt off the stones, maybe plant new flowers just because…" Another pause.
"Just because." Komaeda shrugged. "Sure, we should start with the weeds, right?"
"Hm," Hinata replied.
Komaeda put a hand on the man's shoulder and pushed him back so he could look into his eyes. How long had Hinata been lacking sleep? His eyes were unfocused and it seemed like someone brushed charcoal under his eyes. But even with all that, he was still very pretty. The circles around his eyes made the colors of his eyes more significant and Komaeda could spend the rest of his day just looking at them but they had other matters to attend to.
"Did you sleep last night?"
"Yes."
"How long?"
Hinata tilted his head to the side to get a view of his clock. He furrowed his eyebrows as he counted the number of hours he actually rested. He looked back at Komaeda and gave him a tight-lipped smile. The taller boy sighed.
"You know, the prettier you are, the more you need to sleep," Komaeda said with his hands on his hips.
"Hmm, who said that?" He nibbled on the end of his pen as he scribbled a few notes down.
"It's a universal rule, Hinata-kun."
"Really?" He clipped his papers to the clipboard and placed his pen down. "Then have you been getting enough sleep?"
Komaeda focused on the boy before narrowing his eyes. "Why are you trying to turn this on me? You're obviously the one who's more important here." He picked up the clipboard and saw that all Hinata did was draw a four leaf clover on the corner of the page.
"Don't compare people like that, Komaeda. You're important to all of us."
Komaeda crossed his arms and looked away from him. "I guess I've been getting a decent amount of sleep. Maybe 6 or 7."
"You should try sleeping more," Hinata said. "Pretty people need more sleep ."
"Hmm, you think I'm pretty?" Komaeda asked as if he wasn't looking for confirmation.
"I think you're gorgeous." Hinata smiled softly and Komaeda, being the well-mannered man he was, laughed.
"I think the lack of rest is getting to your head, Hinata-kun. We can't have that." He took a new pen from Hinata's cup holder and attached it to his jacket. "I'll deal with this for now. You should get some sleep."
"Komaeda…" Hinata didn't refute him. He was going to wear himself out if he continued like this. The last thing this group needed was a leader who couldn't stand on his feet.
He undid his tie and laid it on the bedside table. He slipped his shoes off and unfolded his comforter, Komaeda pulling it so it reached under his chin. Hinata didn't grasp how tired he was until Komaeda shut his window and cranked the air conditioning up. The sound of the air conditioner along with the warmth of his comforter allowed him to be lulled into a deep sleep. Komaeda clapped to make sure he was actually asleep, Hinata responded with a light breath. He doesn't snore , Komaeda realized. He read somewhere that when a person's body completely relaxes, it decreases the space in the airways and results in snoring. Did that mean Hinata didn't relax, even in sleep?
The white-haired boy pulled the blinds down and stole one last glance at Hinata's sleeping figure before shutting the door. Everyone had already gathered at the pier, pulling at the jungle of weeds that had taken over the path. They seemed to be almost done so they could soon move on to scrubbing down the path.
"Komaeda-kun, w-where is H-Hinata-kun? If you don't mind me asking, that is…" Tsumiki turned away after she asked the question and began picking off the dirt on her gloves.
"Ah, he's resting at the moment. I'll be keeping track of things, if you all are okay with it."
"Yeah, man," Soda spoke. "Dude needs his rest. Can't remember the last time he actually took a break."
"So, where do we put these things?" Kuzuryu pointed at the bags full of the plants they yanked out of the ground. Komaeda instructed them to move it where they put the rest of the trash and had them start on scrubbing down the path. The stones near the shore needed more tending to as algae had begun to attach itself there and needed to be taken care of.
Komaeda ran a rough sponge over the path and peeled off the algae, quickly throwing it into a bag. He continued to repeat this action along with Nidai, Nevermind, Tanaka, and Pekoyama. The others tended to the path near the restaurant and their cottages. The pale boy attempted to push his hair out of his face with his shoulder but it ended up just falling back over his eyes. He sighed until he felt someone's fingers nimbly pulling back his white locks. Nevermind stretched out a rubber band between her fingers and knotted it in the boy's hair, combing her fingers through it before stepping back. Komaeda turned to smile at her when he saw her face holding a curious expression.
"What is it, Nevermind-san?"
She put a finger to her lips and tilted her head. "Komaeda-kun, I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable, but you are also very pretty. Has anyone ever told you that?"
Komaeda felt the back of his neck heat up and he rubbed it while giving her an awkward smile. "Ahah, I think? I don't really remember but I don't really see how you can think so. But thank you, anyways."
Her smile shrunk as she bowed her head as she continued to clean the path. Komaeda did the same until the sun had soon started to set. They had taken care of most of the path and dinner was being made. Teruteru was allowed to retire early since he was the one who had to cook for everyone. Everyone sat in the restaurant after cleaning themselves off, stretching and agreeing that they got a lot done today. They would have to plant the flowers another day. Maybe they could ask to get some new ones shipped from the mainland.
Komaeda was about to nod off while waiting before he heard someone speak up.
"Hmm, it seems there is a mortal missing." Everyone looked around before coming to the same conclusion.
"Yeah, where's Tsun Tsun hair?"
Hinata had fallen asleep at around 10 am and now it was 8 pm. He had slept for nearly 10 hours and he had not come out of his cottage yet. It was understandable. Maybe he was taking a shower or resting. Maybe he got sick? That got Komaeda's head buzzing.
"Shall I go check on him?" Komaeda stood up without a reply and started his way to the door. If Hinata was still asleep, he would have to wake him up. He already missed lunch and he only had coffee for breakfast. It was just Komaeda being a concerned individual, that's all.
He knocked on the door to the brunet's cottage. He rocked on his feet, counting up to one minute in his head before rapping his knuckles against the door again. When Hinata didn't open the door, Komaeda decided to peek through the curtains. He could make out the man's sleeping form in the covers, the form shifting slightly. The taller boy slammed his palm against the entrance of the cottage and watched the figure flinch before slowly rising from the bed.
After a few moments of fumbling around and getting tidy, Hinata finally opened the door, wincing at the glare of the sun peeking past the horizon. Komaeda beamed at him, not making his eyes feel any better. "Hinata-kun, I'm sorry for disturbing you. It's dinner time and I thought you would have wanted to eat."
Hinata's throat was dry and he didn't trust his voice so he nodded, rubbing his eyes as he walked back to get his tie and shoes. Komaeda waited by the door, focusing on the way his fingers expertly fixed his tie and brushed through his hair. He remembered holding the man's hand when he first woke up from the NEO program. It was soft but firm at the same time. Komaeda wondered if they still felt the same.
"I hope you rested well," he commented.
Hinata mustered a smile, though it was definitely strained. "Somewhat," he croaked before coughing to clear his throat.
" Somewhat … I'm sorry."
"For what?"
Komaeda stuffed his hands into his jacket. "Maybe I shouldn't have woken you up."
The other boy shook his head. "I slept more than I should've. Besides, I am starving."
Komaeda sighed, placing his hand over his eyes. The back of his head was starting to pain him. Hinata seemed to notice.
"You okay?"
The taller boy nodded, waving off his concern. "Definitely. Shall we?"
Komaeda didn't speak for most of dinner, just nodding at the right times and giving short answers. He rubbed his eyes, his food had barely been touched and it had gotten cold. He decided against forcing himself to eat it and excused himself to go rest.
"You really shouldn't have pushed yourself," Hinata said, walking the boy back to his cottage. "Not that it isn't appreciated."
"I'm just building up my stamina, Hinata-kun. Nothing to fret over."
"Not at the expense of your health, Komaeda."
They entered his cottage and Komaeda sat at the edge of his bed, waiting for Hinata to follow. Instead, he leaned against the doorframe, looking around before setting his gaze on the boy. "I'll leave you to get some rest."
"You don't want to…?" Komaeda shut his mouth. Of course he doesn't want to talk to me, who was I kidding?
"Pretty boys need their sleep."
The boy looked up, wide-eyed. "What?"
Hinata blinked and looked away. His tan skin did nothing to hide the redness on his ears.
"Just telling you what you told me."
The pale boy looked down at his hands and bit his lip. "I don't know about that, Hinata-kun."
"You don't have to know but just believe me, Komaeda. You're beautiful."
"You're even more handsome than I am."
"I'd have to disagree."
"Ew."
Both boys turned towards the door, Saionji stuffing her mouth with a handful of gummies. "Just kiss, you freaking weirdos." She threw a gummy at Hinata, sticking to his hair.
"Ah." Hinata tried to pull it out, half of it staying on his head. Komaeda stood up and pulled it out for him. They both tossed the pieces into the bin and studied each other.
Hinata is too good-looking to be real.
"I'm going to bed now."
"Hinata-kun, not to be rude but you were asleep for 10 hours."
Hinata's face turned impossibly pink as his gaze flitted towards the door. Komaeda waited idly for his answer.
"To be honest… I didn't sleep much."
"Oh, why?"
Hinata turned his back towards Komaeda, stepping outside.
"Um, after you called me pretty, that's all I could think about."
The taller boy felt his lips quirk upwards at that remark. "You are pretty, Hinata-kun."
Komaeda swore he heard Hinata squeak but he showed no signs of it. "So are you."
"Rest well."
"You too."
Hinata shut the door behind him, leaving Komaeda to his own thoughts. The man began to shrug off his jacket, setting it on a hook and kicked off his shoes. He went in search for his pajamas and changed without much thought. He crawled under his covers, attempting to sleep like Hinata told him. He was tired, physically. He should be resting. But there was one thing that kept coming up in Komaeda's mind that woke him up and caused him to giggle like a high school girl.
He called me pretty .