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“What!” Y/N shouted louder than they should have on a Sunday night at 3am. Y/N and their friends had been up all night watching horror movies. Everyone had either left or gone to their rooms, except Artemis who was passed out on the couch. Y/N and Kurou were the last two awake and currently debating on which serial killer would be the best in bed.
“You’re insane if you think Jason would be good in bed! I’m pretty sure it’s cannon he’s never even masturbated!” Y/n stated, gripping the blanket they had tighter around their shoulders.
Kurou snorted, “How the hell would you know that? That’s never mentioned in the fucking movies you freak!” He was holding back a laugh. As a horror fan himself he would have agreed with them, but getting a rise out of Y/n was much more fun.
“It’s heavily implied!” They said exasperated, now moving their hands around as they talked.
“Jason literally murders impure people! To him it’s morally wrong!” Y/n wasn’t about to let him win this argument. Fictional serial killers and horror movies just happened to be a special interest of theirs.
“Just ‘cause he kills the impure doesn’t mean he's never masturbated! He could be killing the impure to atone for his own naughty sins.” Kurou wiggled his eyebrows and made sure to emphasize the word naughty.
“Dudddeee!” Y/n playfully swatted at Kurou’s arm and laughed loudly, too tired to try and hide their enjoyment from their frenemy as they normally would. Kurou’s eyes softened at the sight in front of him, his cheeks flushing slightly as Y/n’s laugh rang through his ears.
Kurou’s chin rested on his palm as Y/n began to ramble on about the different horror characters and how they’d fare in intercourse. A few pointed teeth were chewing at his bottom lip as he quietly observed them. His eyes flickered down to their lips and suddenly his own felt very dry. He licked his lips while red eyes continued to trace every inch of their face. Kurou liked the way their eyes sparkled when they were excited and how their ears twitched ever so slightly when they thought of something new to say. ‘Gods they’re beautiful..’
“Gods they’re beautiful..” He said to himself, a small smile creeping on his lips. Artemis’ ear twitched unnoticed by the other two on the couch.
“What?” Y/n asked, taking a moment to process the quiet mumble. Kurou’s eyes widened, his cheeks and ears were very dark and the room suddenly became very warm. He started to internally panic, seemingly frozen in place for a moment. He said that out loud. He said they were beautiful out loud in the open for everyone in this almost empty room to hear. It’s 3am and he’s tired, they must be tired too and totally didn't hear him. Yep that was it. Dear Gods he hoped so. He was certain Y/n didn't like him and wasn’t ever going to tell them how he felt. He just needed to push these feelings down and hope they didn’t hear or better yet the ground opens up and swallows him whole.
“Brahms is super hot and he would be better than Jason but I still don’t think he’d be great.” Y/n said finally deciphering what Kurou said.
“Did you know the director had to make the mask cover his whole face because the actor was deemed too hot?” They continued to ramble on about different horror movie mascots unknowing of Kurou’s internal distress. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. That’s what they thought he meant? It was adorable and he hated that. Push down the feelings Kurou.
“Kurou are you alright?” Their voice pulled Kurou from his thoughts. He hadn't noticed the state he was in. His face and ears were completely flushed a dark red and his knuckles were white from the death grip he had on the couch cushion. He glanced at Y/n.
They looked so concerned for his well being. He wanted to jump out the window.
“Fuck off! Fuck you! Fuck everything! I’m fine! Don’t fucking talk to me! Fuck!” Kurou quickly turned his face away. Y/n was used to his outbursts by now. One similar to this happened a few months ago. It was best to just let him ride it out.
A few minutes passed in silence before he spoke up again.
“Don’t.. Don’t you have something to do tomorrow? Why’re you even still here? Fuck.” Kurou spat, his face still turned away from them. Y/n stared blankly at him for a moment still not sure where this outburst came from. Maybe he was just tired.
“Well, I thought we were having a nice conversation for once, but yea I do have a thing tomorrow.” Y/n looked at the time on their phone. 3:30am. “Well I guess tomorrow is today at this point.” They looked out the window to view the snow falling from the night sky. It would be a 10 minute walk and the snowfall is light. Shouldn’t be too bad.
“I’m surprised you remembered.” Y/n smiled at him. They didn’t think he’d care enough to remember. It was nice.
“Luckily it’s not till the afternoon. You have a shift at the auto shop downtown tomorrow right?” Y/n got up from the couch careful to not wake Artemis, who was sleeping in between them. With how loud they were being, it’s a miracle they were still asleep.
They grabbed their boots by the door, putting them on their feet..
“Yeah, I do.” Kurou said, watching them zip each boot. He really liked that they remembered.
“And it’s gonna suck now that your dumb ass kept me awake.” He glared at them.
“You literally could’ve left at any moment. Your room is right upstairs.” Y/n said pointing to the stairs to emphasize their point.
“Going to my room wouldn’t block out your loud fucking mouth.” Kurou scrunched his nose and flipped them off.
“Well lucky for you it’s about to get real quiet. You’ll have nothing keeping you up after I’m gone.” Y/n stuck their tongue out and flipped him off. He really liked how they could match his energy. Y/n rolled their eyes and reached for the door handle ready to face the cold walk home.
“What the hell are you doing?” Kurou gave them his signature, ‘are you stupid?’ look as he stood up.
“I’m leaving? I thought we already went over this.” Y/n looked at him confused.
“It’s snowing.” He gestured to the window, eyebrows raised.
“Yeah?” Y/n was even more confused.
“You’re in a t-shirt... and you're going to walk home in the snow?”
“I’ll live. It’s not like my apartments that far away.”
“What happened to your hoodie?” Y/n had been wearing one when they got here. He noticed it missing a few hours ago.
“Oh, Artemis spilled juice all over it. Mordag threw it in the wash for me but I don’t think it ever got run through the dryer.”
“Are you fucking serious?” Kurou sighed with annoyance clear on his face. He started to pull off his own hoodie, the t-shirt underneath riding up revealing the start of his happy trail.
“Whoa! What the fuck are you doing?” Y/n panicked covering their face with their hands, two fingers moved apart exposing one eye. They weren’t the biggest fan of Kurou but they’d be lying if they said he wasn’t nice to look at.
“Shut the hell up and put this on.” He grumbled, turning his face away from them and holding out the hoodie. “I’ll drive you home.”
Y/n stood there shocked, their hands now at their sides with their mouth slightly agape. He’s never been this nice to them. Offering a hoodie and a drive home? Wow. Maybe Kurou didn’t hate them as much as they thought he did.
“Close your fucking mouth. You have five seconds or I’m throwing you outside with nothing.” Kurou’s lips curled back in a sneer showing a few sharp teeth. It was an empty threat but Y/n didn't know that.
As soon as the hoodie was out of his hands he grabbed his keys and started to slip on his shoes.
“Uh.. thanks Kurou.” Y/n slid their arms through the sleeves of the hoodie and popped their head through the top pulling the rest down around their torso. It was at least one size too big and still warm from him wearing it all night. They thought it would have a bad smell or something would be wrong with it, but it was comfortable and surprisingly smelled really nice.
“I’m not doing this for you.” He hadn’t looked at them yet, focusing on his shoes. “Everyone would kill me if they found out I let you walk home at 3am in the-” He sucked in a big breath the moment he looked at y/n. They looked good in his hoodie. Really good. And they were shamelessly sniffing it.
He turned away quickly, cursing under his breath. Did they like the way he smelled? He wanted them too. Would they sleep in it? He wanted them too. Would they wear it and think of him when they’re alone? Dear Gods he really wanted them too. His whole body was now very hot. Kurou needed to cool down. Now.
“Bobby needs time to heat up. I’ll call you when she’s ready.” He said this quickly, sounding even more annoyed than before, racing to the door. He had to get out of here.
“Wait, you don’t have a coat-” Their words were cut short by the sound of Kurou slamming the door. “Rude.. Why does he always call instead of text me?”
—
Outside Kurou stepped in front of the first big pile of snow he could find and plopped down face first. The cold snow felt amazing on his hot skin. His mind kept thinking back to Y/n and how they looked so happy to talk to him that night. How they smiled, how they looked at him, how they looked in his hoodie…
“Mother fucker! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Get out of my fucking head!” His curses were muffled by the snow as his fists beat against its cold surface.
He laid there in silence for a few minutes trying to collect himself, face still pressed against the snow. When he stood up his clothes were wet. Not his best idea but he wasn’t hot anymore. Now he was cold and wet. Great.
Kurou sat in his car and turned the key, letting Bobby take her sweet time to heat up. Cold air came out of her vents and Kurou sighed. He was already freezing and Bobby wasn’t helping. He turned on the radio and a rock station came through the speakers. He turned in his seat looking for his spare car hoodie in the back seat. It would be cold but it’s better than nothing. Why did he give Y/n the hoodie he was wearing and not just grab them a different one? It didn’t even have to be his, any of their friends would have been happy to lend them a hoodie for the night. Kurou knew the answer though. Because of that stupid reason he wanted it to be his. The moment Y/n needed something he wanted to literally give them the shirt off his back. He was so down bad for someone he was so convinced hated him and it was frustrating. Kurou would love to make himself believe that his feelings for Y/n were less than friendship, but he knew it was more. Learning new things about them seemed to come naturally to him. Most people he could meet and not give two shits about. Y/n had always been different and he could never figure out exactly what set them apart. Kurou could overhear what their favorite song was in passing and it would be saved in his memory on autopilot. Why did it have to be with the person he could never have?
Warm air started coming through the vents and Kurou stopped his hopeless search for his spare hoodie. One of his friends had probably taken it ages ago. He didn’t need it anymore now that Bobby granted him the mercy of not freezing to death.
—
Inside the house Artemis was sleeping soundly on the couch. Y/n had covered them with a blanket still amazed they’d slept through all of that. Their hand held the neck of Kurou’s hoodie up to their nose as they waited by the door. They weren’t sure why but his scent was very comforting.
Artemis yawned and sat up, looking over to Y/n. “Y/n are you leaving?”
“Oh hey sleepy head.” Y/n smiled at them. “Yeah, Kurou said he’d drive me home.”
Artemis’ eyes widened in surprise, “He did?”
“Yeah, I was surprised too. I think somethings up with him.” Both hands move to rest on their hips.
“Or maybe he's finally warming up to me?” Y/n said, looking at Bobby through the window.
Artemis smirked at them, noticing a certain clothing item that wasn’t on Y/n before. “Maybe he already has.”
The opening song for Zombie World Takeover III started playing on Y/n’s phone signaling Kurou was calling them. Y/n grabbed their phone from the hoodie’s pocket and answered. “Hey-”
Kurou cut them off. “Get your ass outside.”
Beep.
He hung up.
“Such an asshole.” Y/n quietly groaned glaring at their phone. They started for the door but paused, turning toward Artemis.
“Actually before I go could you do me a favor?”
“Sure what’s up?” Artemis looked at them with an eyebrow raised.
“Can you go up to Kurou’s room and grab him a jacket? He went outside without one and I don’t think he’s comfortable with me going into this room alone.”
“Yeah, I can, but wasn’t he wearing one earlier?” They asked, already knowing the answer.
“He was but he’s letting me use it after hearing about the juice incident earlier. I was surprised he gave me anything at all, let alone the one he was wearing.”
“Kurou does a lot of weird things. Probably best not to dwell on it.” Artemis shrugged, disappearing up stairs to grab a jacket from Kurou’s room. Artemis was definitely going to dwell on this but maybe it was better that Y/n didn’t. This was prime tea and you bet your ass they were going to sip.
It didn’t take long for Artemis to come back down the stairs with a jacket in hand. They handed it to y/n.
“Bye Y/n! Make sure to text the group when you get home.” They waved.
“I will! If you don’t hear from me, Kurou probably threw me in a ditch or something.” Y/n waved back exiting the house.
Artemis laughed, waving goodbye and shutting the door behind them.
As they walked closer to the car Kurou could be seen sitting on his phone scrolling. They opened the door sitting down in the passenger seat quickly to shut the door so as to not let too much of the heat out.
“What the hell took you so long?” Kurou said his lips pulled back in a sneer.
“I come bearing a gift.” They said smirking, holding up the jacket.
The jacket they held up had been hanging on the coat rack right inside his room. He hated when people snooped around his things and he certainly had things in there he really didn’t want y/n finding.
His eyebrows furrowed ready to rip y/n a new one but they spoke up before he could.
“Don't freak out.” Y/n held their hands up in defense. “I asked Artemis to get it for me. I didn’t think you’d be comfortable with me going into your room.”
“I thought you might get cold since you came out here in a..” They paused looking him up and down, not bothering to hide the smile creeping on their face. “T-shirt.” It was funny that he spoke down to them earlier about walking home in a T-shirt when he a few minutes later did the same thing.
Kurou looked stumped. He wasn’t really sure what to do with that. Red eyes stared at Y/n for a moment. They brought him a jacket so he wouldn’t freeze and respected his privacy. Dark red dusted his cheeks once more. Dear Gods, would you just kiss him already?
“Whatever. I don't need the stupid jacket.” He grumbled as he took it from their hands and put it on.
Kurou backed out as soon as they were both buckled in. The drive was quiet until y/n spoke up.
“So..”
“So what?”
“Why did you call me instead of just sending me a text when Bobby was ready?”
“Why does it matter?”
“You just don’t seem to like phone calls.”
“It’s just faster since you take for-fucking-ever to text back.” He said, shrugging his shoulders and trying to sound disinterested in this conversation. He knew very well that y/n turned off their text notification ringer because notifications constantly going off was annoying to them. Kurou also liked hearing their voice, but he’d never tell them that.
“Wha- That’s not- It happened one time!” They stammered out.
“Uh huh, do you mean that one time Artemis thought you were dead because you hadn’t replied to their text in 3 days?” Kurou smirked, glancing at Y/n. “Or the time Odina thought you were angry with her because it took you 5 hours to text back? Or-” He was quickly cut off by Y/n.
“Okay! Okay! I get it. I’m just as bad at texting as you are with directions.”
“I’m not bad with directions!”
“You just missed the turn for my apartment.”
“...” Kurou went quiet for a beat checking the street signs to make sure he didn’t miss it. “No I didn’t.”
“No you didn’t but your silence spoke volumes.” They tried to hold back a laugh looking out the window seeing their apartment complex coming into view.
“You remembered how to get to my apartment.” Y/n smirked. “You must not hate me as much as you let on.” They teased. Kurou’s grip on the steering wheel tightened and his face flushed. Bobby came to a stop.
“Get the fuck out of my car.” Kurou said flatly, looking away from them.
“Alright, fine. Text me when you get home so I know you’re not dead.”
“Whatever… Fine.”
“Good night, Kurou.”
“...Night”
Kurou waited to back out until he saw y/n make it into the apartment complex.
—
Kurou entered the house not wanting to do anything more than crawl into bed and sleep for what was left of the night before heading into work.
“It was really nice of you to give y/n a ride, Kurou.”
Kurou jumped, startled by the sudden voice of Artemis.
“For fucks sake I knew you weren’t asleep!”
“Nope.” They stuck out their tongue.
“...Were you awake the whole time?”
“Not the whole time but I did hear you say y/n was beautiful… and I saw the hoodie you gave them… and I know you gave them a ride home.”
“Fucking shit, Artemis.” Kurou groaned, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
“I… never said it meant anything.” They said a sly smirk adorning their face.
“Does it mean something?” They asked the knowing smirk never leaving their face.
“Fuck. You.” He said through gritted teeth. The dark red in his cheeks spread to his ears.
“So… how long has it been?” Artemis tried to press further. Kurou hadn't been romantically interested in someone in a long time. This was exciting! They just wished he would be open about his crush.
“I'm not answering that and this conversation never happened.” Kurou turned away walking toward the stairs.
“But-”
“Never. Happened.” Kurou said, annoyed. He quickly walked up the stairs slamming his door shut.
Kurou plugged in his phone and plopped down the bed. He grabbed the pillow next to him holding it in his arms pressing it close to his chest. His phone buzzed, the screen lighting up showing a text notification. He picked up his phone and saw a text from Y/n.
Y/n: I’m assuming you're dead since you never texted me. If I say your name three times will you appear in my mirror?
He chuckled at the message. Even over text he was charmed by Y/n.
Kurou: Yeah, I’ll appear and haunt you for the rest of eternity.
Kurou put his phone down and stared at the wall. He probably wasn’t going to sleep tonight. There was too much on his mind. His eyes trailed the wall to a collage of pictures. One particular picture always seemed to catch his eye. It was of him and y/n both sticking their tongue out and flipping off the camera. It was a great day.
Another buzz from his phone pulled his attention away from the picture on the wall. He checked the notification. It was a picture from y/n. He opened the message quicker than he’d like to admit. The picture was of y/n standing in front of their bathroom mirror with ‘Kurou’ written in red 3 times in big letters on the glass. They were in pajama pants and still wearing his hoodie. The caption read, ‘The ritual didn’t work. You must be a weak ass ghost.’
“Fuck.. they’re so cute.” Kurou chuckled and immediately saved the picture. His heart ached.He wanted y/n in his arms right now. He dropped his phone, hugging the pillow tighter in his arms. He closed his eyes hoping to get a few hours of sleep before heading to work.