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1 am was not usually the time one would consider going out for a stroll.
Yet Norton found himself unable to fall asleep and was seriously considering it. He had adjusted his posture multiple times, but nothing worked.
His sleep habits must have become messed up somewhere along the course of this semester. Norton let out a muffled sigh against his pillow, struggling not to think too much and just sleep, but his mind would not allow him to.
Examination period was soon approaching, and not to mention the long-awaited national baseball tournament. He had been practicing long and hard for this moment.
It must be the adrenaline from the practice session before that was keeping him up, Norton thought, before tossing the thin dorm-provided sheets off the bed in irritation.
He checked the time on his watch - 1.07 am - and rubbed his tired eyes. Still, his mind would not rest, and he heaved a sigh of defeat. A walk might help to clear his mind.
He grabbed the key to his room and put on a slightly oversized sports jacket - a gift from a particularly generous senior - as the air outside was rather chilly at this time. Norton did not really want to freeze to death in the school grounds. Besides, at this hour, he would not have to worry about bumping into the person who gave him the jacket and would be spared the embarrassment of being seen wearing another man’s jacket.
(It still smelt nice and flowery, despite having hung untouched in the closet for far too long.)
Norton huddled the jacket close as he stepped out of the dorms, instantly hit with the cool midnight breeze. It was a calming sort of silence, and the roads were dimly illuminated by the orange glow of the street lamps and the full moon.
He closed his eyes and inhaled the fresh air, and exhaled deeply. Then he began to wander aimlessly with no destination in mind.
His feet brought him to the batting cage where he would always stay behind to practice. If he closed his eyes, he could hear the sounds of balls being hit and the cheers of his teammates. Then, after practice, a familiar voice would call out to him from behind-
“Norton? Is that you?”
The senior from the fencing association (or simply just ‘fencing club’, as he preferred to call it) would show up having finished his own training, carrying two bottles of chilled water or sports drinks. Then he would offer a bottle to Norton (and only Norton, for some reason) and they would walk back to the dorms together…
“Norton?”
“Huh?” Suddenly realising that there was in fact, a very real voice that was speaking to him coming directly behind him, Norton jumped and turned around to face the other man-
Who in their right mind would be strolling around in the dark all alone at this ungodly hour?!
Of course it had to be none other than Joseph!
“W-what are you doing here?” Norton could hardly hide the indignant tone in his voice as he suddenly felt very exposed in front of the very senior he did not want to meet.
“I could ask the same to you. I’m surprised to see you out here at this time.” Joseph, however, had a rather amused tone in his voice. He squinted a bit in the moonlight, and his eyes widened.
“I’m also very happy to see you wearing my jacket.”
Much to the baseball player’s dismay, the fencer had immediately noticed it, and his lips curled into a satisfied smile.
Norton hugged the jacket closer to his body, defensively. “It’s cold!”
“Hmm! Indeed. I should get you a proper warm jacket next time.”
Joseph laughed, and Norton could only hope that the terrible lightning would hide his reddening cheeks.
“I don’t need it. I’ll never go out at this hour ever again,” Norton mumbled, suddenly feeling extremely self-conscious.
“But winter will soon approach…” Joseph’s voice trailed off and for a moment, Norton thought he sounded almost sad. “I wouldn’t want you catching a cold.”
“Nn.” Norton did not want to think about the unforgiving winters ahead and grew silent without any witty response.
“Can’t sleep?” Joseph asked, and Norton nodded.
“You too, I assume?”
“Haha, indeed. Worrying about the tournament?”
“Ugh.”
“I take that as a yes.”
Was he that easy to read, or did Joseph just happen to know him like the back of his hand? He wondered if Joseph was having the same thoughts as him. Although compared to him, Joseph was what one would call a prodigy, so Norton did not know if he even felt stressed during competitions.
“I also have a lot on my mind.” Joseph sighed wistfully, directing his gaze towards Norton.
“Mm.”
Now that Norton had some time to compose himself from the earlier shock of bumping into Joseph of all people, he glanced over at the fencer. His hair was down for once, not braided and tied up into his usual ponytail, and Norton found himself staring longer than he would have wanted.
In the dim light, despite his concern over Norton’s relatively light clothing the fencer himself was wearing a nightgown underneath a comfortable-looking shawl. With the smooth blonde hair resting neatly on his shoulders, he seemed way more beautiful and almost ethereal, like some kind of angel.
Or maybe Norton was getting influenced by the fencer’s rather large and noisy fan club. What was he thinking, comparing Joseph to an angel? Had he lost his mind? Suddenly wishing for the ground to swallow him whole, Norton lowered his head and averted his eyes.
“Shall we walk together?” Joseph asked, either choosing to ignore Norton’s stares or he simply did not notice. Norton hoped it was the latter.
“Yeah.” Norton mumbled quietly.
Joseph casually slung an arm around his waist, and Norton held a breath as the senior pulled him closer to him. It was so embarrassing, thank god there was no one around the campus grounds to see them like this. Norton did not want to think about the gossip that would ensue if someone caught a glimpse of such a sight.
“Relax, Norton, you’re so stiff. There’s nobody around.”
“Nnngh…”
Giving up, Norton decided to lean his head against the other man’s shoulder, and hesitantly grabbed onto the other’s hand. Since Joseph was being so shameless, Norton felt like he could do something like that too.
He heard a small gasp coming from Joseph’s lips as soon as he wrapped his hands around his. Which almost made Norton want to let go, but he had already committed to it, so he simply buried his head deeper into the fluffy shawl to avoid having to look at him.
“You’re so cute, Norton.”
“Ahh, stop it…” Norton mumbled in protest, unable to take the compliment. “I’m gonna go home…”
“Shall we head back, then? Staying up too late is bad for your skin.”
“My skin is already ruined anyway…”
“Don’t say such things.” Joseph scolded lightly, before gently cupping Norton’s face with his palms.
“Mmph?”
Close. Too close. Norton’s eyes darted away, struggling to ignore the stares from those piercing blue eyes and the strange numb sensation of the slender fingers caressing his left cheek.
“Have I told you that you are really beautiful?”
“Enough!”
“You’re really beautiful,” Joseph whispered, before planting a kiss on the flustered man’s forehead.
“Ahh… No more…” Norton headbutted the other man’s chest, causing him to stumble backwards slightly before hugging him awkwardly. Joseph was chuckling lightly, clearly enjoying himself a bit too much.
It was no use. Norton was no match for his senior’s flirtations, especially not when he was so tired… A yawn escaped his lips. Somehow, spending time with him must have made him exhausted.
“Feeling sleepy?”
“Nn… yeah… thanks to you…”
“Then I’ll escort you back to your room.”
“Wait… a bit more…”
“Oh?”
Norton wrapped his tired arms around Joseph, eliciting another surprised gasp, and squeezed him in an attempt to drain some energy from him… or something, his brain had ceased working properly quite a while ago, but he felt like he could recharge a bit doing this.
“Mmm… okay… let’s go home…”
Satisfied, he let go, and Joseph only stared at him blankly, wide-mouthed and dazed.
“Joseph?”
“Ah! Yes! Of course! Let’s go!”
Unfortunately for the sleepy Norton, his half-lidded eyes could not catch the faint red dusted over the senior’s cheeks.
This time, Joseph settled for simply holding onto Norton’s hand, and the two of them headed back for the dorms in a warm silence.