Chapter Text
*3rd Person POV*
Hajime fumbled with his keys as he unlocked the door to his new dorm room. He picked up his bags and pulled his suitcase into the room with him, shutting the door with his foot. He set down his things and admired the dorm. It was quite spacious and had a few rooms. There was a kitchen-living room combination with a small laundry closet. There was also a bedroom with two beds, two desks, and two chests of drawers, with a bathroom attached.
"Wow, I guess this makes up for having to have a roommate." Hajime said to himself. When he was first accepted into Hope's Peak University, he couldn't believe it. It was a prestigious collage with government funded, state-of-the-art facilities, and only the best of the best got in. If he was being honest, Hajime Hinata didn't think he deserved to be here. He was incredibly, inexplicably, absolutely, and utterly average, but he must have done something right to be accepted into the prestigious university. That thought gave him a little hope.
When he arrived on campus a week ago for the tour, the guide explained to them how the campus functioned and gave them all a few tips about collage life. He also explained that they would each have a roommate during their stay in the dorms, and that they would do well to make friends with them as soon as possible.
Speaking of which, where was that roommate? Hajime thought that he should be here by now. Just like he had summoned him, a boy stumbled through the door. The boxes he was carrying tumbled out of his hands and his belongings scattered over the floor. He pushed his fluffy white hair off his forehead, and was he drenched? He was, he was sopping wet from head to toe.
"Are you ok?" Hajime asked, rushing over to help the poor boy. He knelt down next to him and tried to help him pick up some of the strewn items.
"Yeah, I'm fine." The boy said, in a somewhat airy yet raspy voice. "I'm sorry to have made such a bad impression! I truly am the worst huh? Stumbling through the door and dropping all my things, you must think I'm a klutz. I even got splashed when a truck drove through one of the puddles from the rain earlier today. haha ha haha." He rambled on, ending it all with an awkward laugh.
<<Wow. That was a lot>> was all that went through Hajime's head as he finished picking up the boy's stuff. <<Well now I know why he's wet.>> Was the boy still talking? Hajime realized he had been a little zoned out and returned his attention to the conversation.
"Ah, but how rude of me ramble on like this, I haven't even introduced myself yet." The boy smiled, in an embarrassed manor, "I'm Nagito Komaeda."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Hajime Hinata." He said with a smile, "Do you want to change or something? You're completely soaked, I wouldn't want you to get a cold or something." He rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand, a fidget he did whenever he was nervous or uncomfortable.
"Wow how kind of you! You treat someone like me as an equal! How could I ever be so lucky?" Nagito smiled and took a change of clothes and wandered off to go look for the bathroom so he could change. Hajime looked at the now re-packed boxes. He picked them up and moved them to the bedroom and set them at the foot of one of the beds. He went to the door and locked it. He didn't have a reason to do this, but it made him feel safe, and it offered some sense of security.
He turned and surveyed the dorm one more time, taking it all in before heading back to the bedroom. He sat down on a bed. The bed was actually quite comfortable and Hinata let himself lay down and sink into the bed.
Collage is going to be...interesting.
And that was his final thought before his head it the pillow.
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*Komaeda's POV*
I walk out of the bathroom in dry clothes, at least my underwear wasn't wet, I guess. The warmth of my green and red sweater is comforting after the cold wet clothes. Man, I really am unlucky, getting splashed by a truck? Dropping all my things and my roommate having to help pick them up? He must think I'm worthless.
Then something catches my attention, did he...did he move my stuff for me? That was very kind of him, to help trash like me, he must be some sort of angel. I look over to the other boy, Hajime, wasn't it? That seemed right. He was laying on the other bed, dozing. It wasn't that late, right? I checked a clock, only 6:35. He must have had a long day then. The Autumn glow filtered in through the windows giving everything a honeyed glow. The other boy was laying in one of the rays coming in through the windows, and he glowed.
But the sun must be in his eyes, huh? I should close the blinds a little. I walked over to the window and pulled the blinds down so that he could sleep a little better, it's the least I can do to repay his kindness from earlier. I walked back over to my bed and took the boxes clothes and collage packing list items. I didn't really have anything to do so I might as well unpack right?
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*Hajime's POV*
I slowly open my eyes. Did I nod of for a second? Guess I must have, because the clock says 7. I sit up and notice the room is different, well half of it is. The half belonging to Nagito. The boxes are gone, and so is the white bed. Well, the bed is still there but the sheets are different, a light green replacing the previous color. There are two plushies on the bed, a black and white bear and a pink and white rabbit, they feel...wrong. There are a few chargers on the side table next to his bed, and a cheap looking lamp there is also a water bottle but it's badly dented. On the dresser is a photo of a big white dog, and a few plants which seem to being clinging to life by a thread.
"Did I wake you by being too noisy? I apologize." an easily recognizable voice says from somewhere to my right. Nagito.
"Huh, oh no you didn't wake me up. And your side of the room looks good. I didn't really bring any decor or things like that." I say a little nervously. I stand up and head to my own stash of bags and boxes. "Should start unpacking then huh?"
The room is quiet, the awkward kind of quiet that's almost better to let stay quiet. I start to unpack my clothes and put them in the dresser. Then he starts talking, "So, Hajime, what are you majoring in?" I turn to see him sitting on his bed, smiling softly.
"I'm majoring in law," I respond as a turn back to the task at hand, "What about you?"
"Criminal Justice, with a minor in criminology. Seems like we have similar interests." He says, I think he might be smiling.
"Yeah," I say absentmindedly, "what job were you hoping to get?"
"I've always wanted to be a detective, what about you? Lawyer?"
"That's right, how did you know?" I say, turning around a little.
"I might be a good detective, or it might have been a lucky guess." He says, with a shrug. We lapse into silence, and it's more comfortable this time. I finish putting my things away and stand up.
"I'm going out to the store, do you want to come with?" I say as a search for my keys.
"I think I'll pass this time." Komaeda said, pulling out his computer.
"Alright, I'm heading out, should I get you anything?"
"Haha, don't worry about me, I'll get my groceries later" He turned his attention back to something on his screen.
I find my keys and say an over the shoulder goodbye before hurrying out the door. I turn around to lock the door behind me and when I turn around I bump into someone.
"ah!"
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*3rd Person POV*
"ah!"
"I'm so sorr- Chiaki?!" Hajime says in surprise.
"Oh, hello Hajime." says a soft voice. Chiaki is a smaller girl with dusty blonde-pink hair. She smiles up at Hajime as he helps her to her feet.
"How have you been? I haven't seen you since graduation." Hajime says, smiling back at her.
"I've been good, I'm sorry I didn't contact you. I forgot I was alive and had friends over the summer." Chiaki says with a sheepish smile.
"Sleeping?"
"Sleeping."
The share a moment catching up and talking a little about Hajime's summer and the first impressions of the school. After a few minutes Hajime remembers why he left the dorm in the first place.
"I have to get going, but it was great to see you Chiaki." He says, as he makes his way to leave.
"Oh, before you go Hajime, there's a welcome to Hope's Peak party tonight. It's being hosted by someone in the dorms, I think. Did you want to go?" Chiaki asks.
"Not really, did you?" Hajme asks in return.
"No, did you want to hang out and play Mario Cart in your dorm? I have my Nintendo." She asks again.
"Yeah that sounds great, can my roommate join in? I'd feel kinda bad making him just watch or stay in the room without inviting him." Hajime says, a little timidly. He doesn't know why the idea makes him nervous. Well, he never was very good at making friends, he only became friends with Chiaki because she approached him. That was probably it.
"I think that would probably be okay, I think." Chiaki says, she sounds confident and unsure at the same time, it's truly a talent. She and Hajime say their goodbyes and they go their separate ways.
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*Komaeda POV*
Hajime comes back with quite a few bags of groceries; I'll have to make sure to help next time. I do my best to find places in the fridge and cabinets to store everything. It's about 8:30 now, and if I'm going to make it to the party I should get going sometime soon. It's being hosted by Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu and Kazuichi Soda. I've known them since high school, and their parties are pretty wild.
I don't really want to go, but it'll be fine, I'll hang out for an hour then head back. It'll be fine. Then, out of the blue, Hajime asks me something.
"um...hey, Nagito?" He says, getting my attention, "I have a friend coming over soon, we're going to play Mario Cart and just hang out. Did you want to join us?"
The question is more like an answer to me, and I still can't help but marvel at how kind he is. Inviting me to hang out with him and his friend? How very thoughtful of him.
"Yeah, I'd be delighted. I'll make something to eat, since you got the groceries." I say, heading into the kitchen. I pull out my phone and shoot a quick message to the group chat.
The Idiots
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Hey I'm not feeling well prolly gonna be able to go srry. I'll. make it up later.
Soda Can 🥤
That sucks man.
Baby Gangsta🔫
It's alright. Just make sure to catch
the next one.
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I close my phone and release a breath I didn't know I was holding. I feel a little bad for not going, but it's better not to force myself. I look into the freezer and pull out a frozen pizza. I start the over and start to get out a pan when a knock sounds on the door.
Hajime goes to answer it. A smaller girl walks in. She has pinkish-blonde hair, and she's wearing a cat hoodie, or maybe it's video game themed? I can't tell. She's carrying a backpack, and I can see a few cords weren't fully zipped into the bag, so she's the one bringing the games and console.
"oh, yeah. Chiaki meet Nagito, Nagito, Chiaki." Hajime says, remembering that we don't know each other. I smile at the girl.
"Nice to meet you Chiaki." I say, as I go back to preparing the pizza.
"It's good to meet you took Nagito." she says, in return.
Hajime leads her over to the T.V. in our small living room and Chiaki starts to set up the game. I put the pizza in the oven and set a timer. Wandering over to one of the couches, I sit down and watch the two work.
Well my gaze keeps moving back to one person in particular. The way they talk and how their hands move as they work with the machines. Just the way they are makes me want to be their...friend. Friends. It's quite a pleasant thought. Friends with Hajime. The oven beeps and brings me out of thought.
I take the food out of the oven and cut it up. I put a slice on each plate and hand one to Hajime and Chiaki each. They seem to have finished setting up the game, and music plays through the speakers. We eat, and each of us goes back for more until eventually we finish the pizza. Hajime takes the dishes back to the kitchen as Chiaki start the game and takes us to the character select screen.
"I've never played before." I say, with a sheepish laugh.
Chiaki looks at me shocked before going on a long explanation of the controls. When she's done I have a pretty good idea of how the game works. Hajime is in the seat next to me, and Chiaki is sitting on the ground near him, despite there being room for another person on the couch.
We start the game, and play late into the night.
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*Nagito's POV*
It's already been a month since the official start of the semester and me and Hajime have already become quite close. I now consider him to be quite a close friend. We've been discussing our classes, and it turns out that we have a break at the same time. So, all week we've been getting lunch and studying in a small cafe down the street. However, today Hajime suggested we study in the library.
Normally this wouldn't be weird, we started off going to the library before we found our cafe. But today is a weekend, and Hajime is the type to sleep in when he doesn't have anything to do. So, you can imagine why I feel so honored he asked me to keep him company while we studied.
I headed over to the library and looked around. I don't see Hajime, so I found a seat and waited for him to arrive.
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*Hajime*
'Crap' I'm late. I run through campus; I hope that he's not been waiting too long. I invited him here after all, and on a weekend too. What was I thinking?
Well....
I was sitting on my bed and going through an assignment Mr. Naegi had given us when Nagito walked into the room. He smiled and put his bag away. It amazed me how tidy he was. Everything had its proper place, and he always put it there. Meanwhile, I put things wherever they fit. My side had an order, but it always looked like a mess, especially compared to Nagito.
"How were classes?" I asked, as a rephrased yet another sentence on my assignment.
"As good as morning classes can be, when do yours start?" he asked back, sounding tired.
"In about an hour. I still can't believe that you have all morning classes. Afternoon classes are way better." I say, jokingly, "But I have to be leaving in about 45 minutes."
"Morning classes only suck for you because you can't wake up on time to make it to class. Oh, how are your classes going by the way?" He asks, in a teasing manner that makes my face go ever so slightly pink.
"Good, good..." I say absentmindedly, "Hey, um... Nagito. Would you like to go study at the library tomorrow?" I say, why am I so nervous? You guys do this all the time, it's just Nagito. 'Then why am I so scared right now?'
"Are you sure the library is even open tomorrow?" He asks, slightly confused.
"Why wouldn't it be closed?"
"Tomorrow is Saturday, Hajime, but I would be happy to accept your kind offer." He says, with a smile. It lights up his face the way the sun peaks over the mountains at dawn, it's so...pretty.
'But that's just a normal thing for friends to think right?'
"Yeah, I totally forgot it was Saturday, but after we go to the library we can head over to the cafe." I say, I little dazed.
"That sounds lovely." He says, and again that smile. That smile.
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*Still Hajime*
Oh yeah, that's how I got here. I slow down to a walk a few steps from the door to the library and catch my breath. I try to make myself look a little more presentable and open the door to the library. I scanned the library and saw a familiar puff of soft white hair. I walk over to Nagito and sit down.
He had his headphones on and doesn't see me sit down in the chair next to him. Or so I think. The second I put my bag down he pulls his headphones down and looks over at me.
"Your late Hajime." he says with a playful smirk. I give him a light shove with one hand. The other pulls out my own laptop and I open it to another new assignment from Professor Naegi. I start to pull up the page when Nagito speaks.
"How do you study without music? I've been meaning to ask you for a few days now." He says, holding one headphone off his ear to hear my response.
"To be honest, I've never tried it." I say, with an awkward smile. "I don't usually bring my headphones or earbuds to class anyway, so if I wanted to, I probably still couldn't.
"Want to try it?" Nagito asks, a serious expression on his face.
"How would that even work?"
"Like this," Nagito pulls a pair of earbuds from his bag and plugs them into his computer. He places the headphones he was using in his bag. He gives on to me and put the other one in his left ear. I likewise put the earbud in my right ear. The wire isn't very long so I move closer so that it's more comfortable for both of us.
We're sitting shoulder to shoulder and as I reach down to grab paper from my bag, I brush against him. Right around then is when Nagito starts the music, it's soft, and the tab that he has open labels it only as "Study Music". I don't mind it, and it's actually a little relaxing. I started to work and so did he.
We sit there, brushing shoulders and stealing glances for who knows how long, but when we leave, the sun starts to dip.
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(*Hajime's POV*)
It's hot. Like, really hot.
College started in mid-August, and now as we're nearing the end of the month, a sudden heat wave has washed over the city. All the fans are on in our dorm are blasting cool air on the highest setting, but despite this me and Nagito are laying in the middle of our dorm's floor.
It's so hot I'm struggling to think, struggling to breathe, and I'm flushed on top of that, but maybe it's not from the heat.
Nagito and me are laying side by side, if we turned our heads, our noses would touch. The thought brings more heat to my face, an unwelcome action in this sweltering room.
"Hey Hajime?" Nagito says, he sounds choked, and out of breath, like the heat is strangling him.
"Yes?" I answer, my voice equally raspy.
"I heard there is a pool on campus, feel like taking a swim?" He says, sitting up and looking at me with a hopeful smile.
"You know what?" I sit up, "That is a fantastic idea." I struggle to my feet, and I can feel the sweat on my back cooling rapidly in the path of a fan. I offer a hand to Nagito. He takes it and I pull him up.
Maybe a little harder than I should've. He doesn't weigh much, and when I pull him up, we end up closer than I anticipated. We stay like that for a moment, inches apart, hand in hand, looking into each other's eyes. Then I blink and the spell breaks, we each take a step back and our hands fall to our sides.
"...we should get dressed." Nagito says, his voice a whisper. Is it just from the heat? It must be.
"Yeah..." I smile faintly. I walk over to my dresser and rummage around for a pair of swimming trunks.
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(*Nagito's POV*)
HolyShitHolyShitHolyShit!
HOLY. SHIT.
Did that just happen? Did I really get that close to Hajime? Did I really ask him to go swimming with me? I can't even swim very well. Just my luck, I get a chance to spend time with Hajime and I ruin it by suggesting something that will make him embarrassed to be seen with me. What an idiot.
But he agreed. I can't believe that he would be ok with spending time with someone like me. I'm honored, truly. I'd better get changed too. It looks like Hajime is making his way to the bathroom, so I should find my swimsuit.
I dig through my dresser and look for the place that I know that I put them. I haven't touched my trunks since I unpacked them. I don't know why I even have them in the first place, since I can't really swim, and it wouldn't matter anyway because they seemed to have disappeared. I'm not even surprised at this point. These things happen to me all the time, I've gotten used to it.
But that means asking if Hajime has an extra that he can lend me. I'd ask my friends, but none of them are my size, I'm much skinnier that Soda, and Fuyuhiko is a lot smaller than me. Me and Hajime are actually pretty close in size. That's quite handy.
The thing about my luck is that whenever it closes a window it opens a door. The worse the thing that happens to me, the better the reward. For example, I could have two plants, and one of them would wilt and die, and because of that, the other would flower and thrive. That's how it's always been for me.
I think Hajime is coming out of the bathroom now. I should probably ask now. This is going to make everything awkward.
Well here goes, "Hey Hajime? I seem to have lost my swimsuit, did you happen to have another?"
He looks at me and his face seems to light up. "Actually, Nagito," He smiles and leads me to his wardrobe, "I do, and it's just a little too small for me. I think it'll fit."
See. There my luck goes again. I lost my swimsuit and Hajime just happens to have one my size. What are the odds? Actually, I don't want to know. I take the swim trunks after a wave of thank you's and head to the bathroom.