Chapter Text
Midousuji Akira was not themself. They were not feeling like themself at all, and honestly hadn’t for the past 2 months. They were mostly themself at the interhigh until they had accidentally come in contact with a small climber with a big smile and round eyes and a constantly optimistic outlook on everything. After reluctantly giving their number away— something they normally reserved exclusively for teammates and official team business— they began talking to Onoda. It started with the enthusiastic kid sending a few simple texts like “how was your day Midousuji-kun?” accompanied by disgustingly cheerful emojis until it evolved into spending weekends at his house, biking to Akihabara and marathoning anime (mostly cheesy shoujo when Onoda got to choose). When they weren’t spending time together Midousuji kept their phone close and waited for Onoda to text them; they would never admit how much they loved stupid little things like “good morning!” and hearing Onoda go on about anime and his training and even his ridiculous teammates.
It was now at a point where any time spent apart was just time waiting to be together again. Midousuji trained vigorously and cycled faster than ever before, trying to evade the constant thoughts sakamichi sakamichi sakamichi.
They weren’t really upset when they found that Onoda’s warm glow was inescapable.
They were looking at that warm glow right now, Onoda smiling up at them over the anime magazine they were reading in his room, perched together on the same rolling chair at Onoda’s desk. It was autumn, soon to be winter, and the heating didn’t quite reach Onoda’s otaku cave but Midousuji found their palms becoming sweaty and their face heating up at the way their leg pressed up Onoda’s and their shoulders bumped and Onoda’s pinky finger lightly grazed theirs.
"Doesn’t this new anime look great?" Onoda chirped, pointing down at the magazine. "I’ve never read the manga but I’ve heard it’s really good! Maybe I should try reading it before I watch it… Have you read it, Akira-kun?"
Midousuji blinked and their lip curled. “This? I don’t read that kind of magical sparkle garbage.”
"Ah, I should’ve known! I know you don’t really like this genre." Onoda scratched the back of his head, unfazed by Midousuji’s blatant criticism and continued flipping the pages.
Midousuji’s choice of words wasn’t always kind but Onoda knew that they never meant them to be as harsh as they sounded. They just weren’t used to communicating in a soft way— or at all, really.
Onoda suddenly scooted closer and their pinky fingers overlapped and Midousuji’s eyes widened as their mind whirred and their heart beat faster. This was more than just sitting close because they’re sharing a magazine and a chair. This was very intentional closeness, something most people avoided with them. Onoda was already pressed up to Midousuji and he had tried to move closer. He wanted to be this close, to be closer, to make contact with… with someone like me Midousuji thought, and they shuddered.
“Are you cold, Akira-kun?” Onoda looked up at them and Midousuji felt so overwhelmed they wanted to look away but found themself staring back at their friend. “I’m sorry it’s so cold in here!” Onoda apologized and his arms moved, he twisted his torso to face Midousuji and wrapped his arms around their wiry body. “I-is is that better?” Midousuji felt frozen in time and the heat of Onoda’s arms made them click their teeth nervously but found themself leaning into the smaller boy’s embrace. They hadn’t been held like this since… well, since they were a child and their mother hugged them. Onoda’s face turned so that his chubby cheek pressed into Midousuji’s bony shoulder and it felt so, so warm. The heat of his body was even warmer than the glow of his sweet smile and far better than any fleeting touch they had shared in the past. Midousuji wanted to be closer. Wanted to get close enough until they were consumed by the warmth of Onoda Sakamichi. They surprised themself by turning their body and awkwardly placing their lithe arms around Onoda’s shoulders and dropping their forehead to his neck. The smell of clean laundry rose to their nostrils, along with the faint smell of the curry they had eaten for dinner. Onoda huffed out a small breathy laugh and Midousuji’s fingers clutched at the fabric of Onoda’s shirt. Neither of them moved, they just breathed.
A series of knocks on the door had the two jumping apart as Onoda’s mother bustled through into the room. Midousuji turned away to guiltily hunch over the magazine, pretending as if he had no idea there was an intrusive mom in the room.
“Sakamichi it’s getting late so you and Midousuji-kun should put on your pajamas and go to bed! And I see that guilty look on your face, I know what you’re planning!” Midousuji’s shoulders stiffened and they grinded their teeth. “Just because it’s the weekend doesn’t mean you should stay up until sunrise watching your anime shows!” she scolded playfully and Onoda looked like he was going to fall apart.
“Y-yes mom! Of course! Haha it’s r-really getting late isn’t it? Where did the time go? I h-have no idea!” He stammered and scratched at the back of his head nervously, avoiding eye contact. “We’ll go to bed then!”
“Don’t forget to brush your teeth!” She called as she left the room, leaving the door open. The discomfort of what had just happened hung in the air. Onoda stood up suddenly and adjusted his round glasses, “Um, I’m going to go change in the bathroom so, uh, you ch-change in here,” his voice cracked and he hurried to gather his night clothes and shuffle quickly to the bathroom down the hall, shutting the door behind him. It took 30 seconds before Midousuji awoke from their paralyzed state and started banging their head against the desk a little too hard.