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“…I heard Akabane made his roommate sniff a can of pepper, that’s why he’s not allowed in the dorms anymore…”
“Really? So Megumi isn’t exaggerating the rumors? Wow…”
Nagisa frowns as he hears those words. Beside him, Karma is unbothered, continuing to play a mobile game one-handed, while his free hand plays with the hem of Nagisa’s shirt.
Sneaking to have lunch together during the rare times that their breaks coincide: it’s something that feels right out of a page of a youthful manga. This spot is courtesy of Karma, finding a neat little space tucked between the horticulture club’s property and the old staff building. It should have been a peaceful lunchtime together, a time to unwind from the dual deadly deadlines from his two main subjects.
And yet…
“It’s fine,” Karma tells him, snickering against his ear. “They can’t stop talking about me, it really can’t be helped that I’m just so interesting.”
He knows that his boyfriend is the furthest thing from a pushover, but he still protests, “But they’re making up false rumors about you!”
“If they know that I moved out of the dorms because I wanted to have a lovey-dovey life with you, sharing an apartment outside…” A long, meaningful pause, accompanied by a wet stripe that goes from his neck to his jaw. “They might combust out of jealousy! Wouldn’t that be hilarious?”
He flushes deeply, but that can be attributed more to the fact that Karma is hinting at leaving marks on his neck. “They don’t have to know the real reason, but they shouldn’t be spreading falsehoods!”
“It’s fine,” is repeated against his face. “It’s just harmless talk, don’t worry.”
He can’t help but worry, because he cares about Karma very much. It’s just that it really is difficult to stay worried about that, when he also has to fend off his boyfriend’s hands from ruining the buttons of his shirt at the same time.
Eventually, they part ways, as Karma’s next class is about to start. Being in the same university is nice, so that even if they’re on different courses, they could still steal away time together while on campus.
It also makes it easy to track down the person spreading falsehoods about Karma.
“I just want to talk,” he tells the person currently sweating bullets. “And to set the record straight, as to why Karma-kun had to leave the dorms.”
It really is just a nice, polite talk. He doesn’t have a chair nor refreshments to offer, given that they’re standing behind the gymnasium. Well, he’s standing, but the other man is currently on the ground, whimpering and trying to crawl away from him.
Quite rude, if he must say so himself. He’s been nothing but gracious, smiling and courteous all throughout.
“I accidentally broke his roommate’s arm when he tried to steal my clothes,” he explains. It’s quite the sorry experience—he hasn’t failed in controlling his strength in a very long time. Unfortunately, the other party refuses to accept his apology, and has even gone ahead to lodge a complaint about him, shifting the blame and acting as if he isn’t attempting theft to begin with.
The other party has been eventually expelled, but rumors always swirl around such incidents.
It’s one thing if the rumors implicate him, but to blame Karma for it instead… It’s unacceptable.
He’s very sincere when he implores, “So, if you’re going to spread tales about it, make sure it’s about me, okay?”
He only gets a terrified whelp in response, but he supposes that that’s the best he could do.
When he steps away from the shadows, he’s immediately wrapped in a familiar embrace. It happens so quickly that his instincts don’t have time to unleash a counterattack.
…Ah, he found out.
“You should be in your class right now,” he scolds instead, even though his arms rise to wrap around Karma’s back.
“And miss seeing you act so cool?” Karma squeezes him, as he makes a fervent declaration, “Never.”
He shakes his head, but doesn’t shake off the other’s embrace. “I just wanted to set the record straight!”
“Yeah, and you were very cool in doing so, boyfriend.”
Somehow, even if that’s the truth, hearing those words still makes him flush pink. “You…”
“Cool, and very adorable, still blushing over this,” and there are hands pinching his cheeks.
“It’s because you’re saying those things!”
“And I’ll say them many more times,” is full of satisfaction. “After all, it’s very important to let the truth be known.”
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