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He heard plodding footsteps outside, and sat up on the sofa, peering at the door. There it was, the drowsy knock. He smiled to himself, and strode over to the door. Davide looked tired. Bane pulled him inside and kissed him. “Good work!” he said, and Davide nodded, sluggishly removing his shoes and his coat, and then his scarf, and finally his blazer. Bane rubbed Davide’s shoulder in a comforting way, and then ushered him over to the sofa and let him collapse into it. Bane reached over the sofa, to the armrest he normally used, and fished up the remote. He wagged the remote in the air for a moment until he was sure Davide had seen it, and then pushed it into his hand. He moved to the kitchen, calling, “Put something else on if you like?” and as he warmed the milk in a pan, he heard the skips and jumps of catches of words and bits of music, until call-and-response of dialogue and audience reaction flowed on seamlessly.
Bane placed the mug on the table in front of the sofa. Davide looked up at him. “It’s cocoa,” Bane explained. Davide nodded, it seemed gratefully, and slid himself off the sofa and under the blanket attached to the table. “Comedy?” Bane said, looking at the screen. He’d never seen these guys before, but they seemed to be in the middle of a complicated skit. Davide took a sip of the cocoa, breathing a huge sigh over the wisps of steam from the cup. Slowly, he pushed the mug away from him across the table and sank down onto the table top, head resting on his folded arms. Bane stroked the top of Davide’s head, and Davide purred at him. “I’ll get dinner on,” Bane said, taking a little bound to the kitchen area, and feeling the apartment shake as he landed.
Icchan had been understanding enough to give Bane something foolproof. Just heat it up on the stove, it’ll be fine. It bubbled away nicely, the faint hissing muffling the sound from the TV. Bane didn’t even know he was hungry ‘til now, and the pleasant spicy smell must have reached Davi, because he raised his head and looked over at Bane. “Nearly ready!” Bane said, and soon enough he was carrying over full dishes of food and placing them in front of Davide. He tucked himself under the table at Davide’s side, looking down at his portion in anticipation. Icchan was a life saver. Davide muttered something quietly, and Bane said, “Yeah, let’s eat!”
The guys on the TV had moved into some kind of pun-based skit. Davide straightened his back and squinted at them. “Like, are they even trying,” Bane said, and Davide scoffed a mouthful of food in marked disapproval. “Even you could kick their asses,” Bane slapped Davide hard on the shoulder, making him jump, “just goes to show how shitty they are, right.” He cackled, so Davide took a piece of food from Bane’s dish and ate it.
Dishes could stay in the sink to soak for tonight. Bane sat down on his side of the sofa without taking his eyes off the TV. The sports highlights were on now, his team were doing okay. Not excelling but they were hanging in there. Davide groaned from the table. He stood up, with visible effort, and flopped onto the couch beside Bane. He curled his hands around Bane’s arm and leaned over, resting his head on Bane’s shoulder. The TV showed a messy scene where the players got angry at an umpire’s call at 3rd, but the call held. Next up, motorsport, and Davide was breathing softly now, relaxing. Bane shrugged his shoulder to shake at him. “Hey. Don’t sleep. Gotta get in the bath first.” Davide did not sound pleased. “C’mon. I’ll tell your mom if you don’t.” Davide sat up and scowled at him.
The bath was full, but Davide was still stood under the showerhead like a zombie. Bane moved him aside with a touch to his lower back. “Did you even wash?” Davide made a thoughtful noise, moving out of the spray to get the soap, and leaving enough space for Bane to rinse his hair. Davide faced the stream, eyes closed, and let the hot water beat against his body, carrying away the soap suds in rivulets over his skin. Bane had to nudge Davide out of the way again in order to rinse out the shampoo, and Davide stood just at the edge of the shower’s range, shivering and yawning. “Come here,” Bane said with resignation, as he pulled Davide’s back towards him. He mixed the shampoo on his palms, then ran his hands through Davide’s wet hair, combing out the curls with his fingers, and Davide’s head pulled back slightly with each pass. He sounded very happy, and that was what saved him from having cold shampoo poured suddenly onto his back. Bane bit his tongue. It would’ve been funny, though.
Bane got into the bath, and Davide followed, leaning his back against Bane’s chest. He was probably going to doze off again. Bane wrapped his arms loosely around Davide’s waist, beneath the water, and leaned forward to kiss Davide’s shoulder. So sleep, you’ve done well today. The steam condensed against the tiles, and Bane thought about the paper that was due yesterday. He chased the thought away. This was definitely where he’d rather be. And Davide jumped as if he’d woken, and turned his head. “What’s up?” Bane said.
Davide cleared his throat. “What about your finals?” his voice was sticky from sleep.
Bane found himself grimacing. “Well… you’re not supposed to worry about spilt milk…” Davide sighed, and so Bane said, “Don’t worry, it’ll work itself out. I’ll make up the time.” He scratched at his temple with an idle finger. Would he, though? Davide seized his hand and squeezed it. “Ah well, if I have to re-sit a year, we could go to class together!” He laughed at Davide’s excited gasp. “Yeah, you can do my homework for me!” He stopped laughing when Davide elbowed him in the ribs.
Davide dried his hair while Bane brushed his teeth, and then when they’d finished they traded places. Could really feel the cold out of the bath! Davide pulled some pyjamas out of the drawer that was reserved for him, and dressed in quick, jittery movements. Bane pulled the doors as far closed as they would go, and then flicked out the lights. They dove under the covers together, teeth chattering, and clinging to each other for warmth. They lay still for a while like that, facing each other, as their eyes adjusted to the dark. He loved Davide’s face. He stroked Davide’s cheek and wondered if Davi could see him smirking. And Davide inched closer, ‘til Bane could taste the toothpaste on his breath. “Thanks, Bane-san,” Davide said, and it was irresistible, so Bane held him closer to cover his face in smooches. Davide chuckled at him. Davide stretched himself out, and whispered something through a yawn.
"What?" Bane said. It wasn’t cold any more, he felt warmth spreading like fire within him, but Davide was already falling asleep and couldn’t repeat himself. He kissed Davide’s forehead and settled down to sleep, and when he dreamed, he dreamt he was at his parents’ house. His dogs were licking at each other, and his mother kept asking him if he was in love, and for some reason he couldn’t stop giggling.