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“That feel better?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Nice. Want me to do your other hand again?”
“If you’d like, sure.”
“I would!”
“Kiri, for the last time, stop wiggling your damn toes! They’re gonna smudge! ”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
Hitoshi is…quite confused. He’s not exactly sure how he ended up in this situation: seated on the floor of Kirishima’s room with his back propped against the bed. Kirishima sits between his bent legs—back to Hitoshi’s chest—massaging his hand while Ashido paints his toenails.
But it’s not like this is the first time he’s been swept up with whatever it is his friends are up to that day. Sometimes you go to Midoriya’s room to borrow a pencil and end up outlining an entire combo move with eight different potential outcomes—for characters in a film you just watched with him. Sometimes you go to the kitchen to snag a can of orange juice only to be roped into helping Bakugou prep a whole three-course dinner for the class. And sometimes you run into Todoroki in the common room at 3 AM, share your deepest traumas together, and then eat strawberry matcha ice cream for breakfast at his suggestion.
So, Hitoshi isn't really surprised that clutching his stiff and aching hand has somehow led him to this. He’s officially been a part of class A for three weeks now so he’s learned not to resist when these things happen. He just goes with the flow and sees where it takes him; more often than not, he rather enjoys where he ends up.
Even so, getting accustomed to the closeness and general intensity of his new friends is one thing. But being normal when his crushes are pampering the hell out of him while also being super close and super intense is a whole different beast that Hitoshi isn’t entirely sure he’s winning against.
“You like the color, yeah?”
Hitoshi looks up to see Ashido watching him with kind, excited eyes.
“Wanna make sure before I do the second coat!” She gestures at his feet and he lifts his toes, taking in the matte indigo that she’d chosen for him.
“Hey, it looks great!” Kirishima exclaims. “Complements mine pretty well, don’tcha think?” He pulls up his own toes—painted a dark red-violet— and bumps them against Hitoshi’s. Ashido swats at him and Kirishima yelps.
“His toes have to dry too, dummy!”
“Sorry!” Kirishima grins, reaching an arm out for an apologetic shoulder poke.
Ashido huffs, her lips twitching as she physically moves and pins Kirishima’s feet down before picking up his color for his second coat. Hitoshi watches Ashido as she gets to work with her deft hands, eyebrows furrowed and lips pouting as she focuses on her task.
Their precious conversation picks up again, though it’s mostly Ashido and Kirishima talking while Hitoshi is happy to listen. They look to him every now and then for his input. His heart goes through palpitations at one point when Kirishima leans his head back into his shoulder, eyes trained on Hitoshi’s face as he speaks.
Once she’s deemed both their toes completed to perfection, Ashido shuffles aside for Kirishima to roll out from between Hitoshi’s legs. Before he can process the odd sinking feeling at the loss, Ashido instantly takes up the space.
“This okay?” she asks with a bright grin, taking his hand and resting it on her knee. The touch sends a tingle down Hitoshi’s spine. “Thought I’d paint your fingers too, while Kiri takes care of my toesies!” She’s already grabbing his indigo while Kirishima nods encouragingly, tying his hair back into a little ponytail first.
“Yeah, of course,” Hitoshi says, only just managing not to stutter.
“Oh, yay!” Ashido exclaims, popping a quick kiss on Hitoshi’s cheek before starting on his right pinky. “It really brings out your eyes, you know.”
Hitoshi blinks, eyes wide and cheeks warm. Kiri looks up from where he’s bent over Ashido’s big toe, meeting his gaze with a cheeky grin and a wink even though his blush mirrors his.
All of this is so new. All of this is also kind of…a lot. The touching. The attention. The smiles that could melt the damn sun. He’s not used to any of it, at least not in such large doses.
But as the cheerful chatter begins again, Ashido’s laughter vibrating against his chest and Kirishima’s good-natured teasing making him chuckle along, Hitoshi thinks he’d like to become familiar with it all. As always, all he’s gotta do is allow himself to be swept along for the ride.