Chapter Text
Octopi are known to be incredibly unique creatures, fitted with nine brains, striking blue blood, and three hearts. Although 8 of these brains are reserved for independent function of their tentacles, octopi are still known to be seriously clever creatures: demonstrated through usage of tools, countless number of neurons, and ability to recognize individuals outside of their own species.
Nakamura has one brain, and one heart. And in this very moment, he could absolutely use a spare of both. If he had another brain, he could more easily ignore how his singular one seemed to have shut down into a fuzzy grey blur. If he had another heart— even just one more, not three like octopi (if that’s too much to ask)— he wouldn't be worried about the health of his heart, beating so quickly and soundly in his chest it was almost to the point of pain.
He was suddenly jealous of Iichan for his natural possession of both extra hearts and extra brains. He could really use one of each right about now.
“Nakamura-kun? Is that you?!” Hirose leaned towards him, lips pursed and eyes partially shaded by a slightly longer fringe than when Nakamura had last seen him with.
He had just completed his college orientation, skin sticky from sweat and thighs itching from sitting out in the spikey grass of the lawn all morning, as the guide droned on about college residential life. Upon receiving his keys from the resident assistant, he was informed that his roommate may have already moved in, as half the cohort was scheduled to move in a couple hours before.
Heavy bag in tow and new college sweater sticking to his back, Nakamura sucked in a breath, rapping his knuckles lightly on the hollow wood of the door to his assigned dorm.
He was not a religious man by any means, but in that moment he closed his eyes and prayed to whatever god would listen, pleading that he could move in before his roommate.
Maybe Nakamura should have been more devout in his past life, because his plea fell on deaf ears.
“Come in!” A voice chirped, and he breathed a sigh, steeling himself for a social interaction that would likely drain his already dead battery.
With his breath coming out in a final rush, he pushed open the door, scanning the room quickly in search of his new roommate. Although some of his former classmates had chosen to go to the same university as well, he had opted to join the roommate lottery, hoping he would be one of the lucky few with a single room.
Nakamura had no such luck, prayers that fell on deaf ears, one brain, and one heart.
“Up here!”
Because above him was his new roommate, Hirose Aiki, sitting on a lofted bed, leaning almost half his body over the wooden rail. His head was upside down, and he flailed his arms around, trying to gain Nakamura’s attention.
His heart had stilled, voice choked in his throat. His feet might as well have been rooted in place.
His roommate, the one who he would be in intimately close quarters with for the next YEAR, was Hirose Aiki?
He really could use a heart or two to spare.
“Um, H-Hirose-kun! I didn’t even know you were going to university! Are you my….”
“Roomate!! Yes! I enrolled kinda later than everyone else, sorry for not telling you.” Hirose swung his legs over the edge of the bed, dangling back and forth like a pendulum about a meter from Nakamura’s face.
“Butttt, I may or may not have requested for you to be my roommate. To tell the truth, I was a bit nervous coming into college, and noticed your name on the roommate registry!” His hand reached upward to brush through his own hair, pulling a strand from the back and detangling it between his fingers.
Nakamura choked, mouth agape.
Hirose WANTED us to be roommates?
It had been nearly two years since the two had become friends, the memories of which remained a deeply-buried puppy-love-filled blur for Nakamura as time passed. Since their time as first years, they had fallen into a comfortable routine, becoming decently close friends. Petrified by the prospect of rejection, Nakamura never went for it, instead contenting himself from watching Hirose from afar.
He had resolved himself to quietly let his first love pass him by, instead focusing on pursuing a university degree for marine biology. But Hirose supposedly had other plans regarding their friendship.
The latter was tilting his head, waiting patiently for a response. Even from this complicated angle, Nakamura strained his neck, curious to see how his friend may have changed over the summer. Although his sun-kissed face had matured quite a bit, his hair was maybe a few centimeters longer, and his legs a few centimeters taller, he was still the same Hirose, staring back at him with the same mischievous glint in his eyes he sported since he was fifteen.
Try as he might, Nakamura himself couldn’t help but feel like he was also back to his fifteen year old self, lifting the collar of his shirt to conceal his blush, gaze migrating squarely to a chip in the wood flooring.
“So?” Hirose prompted, causing him to snap his head back up, fighting to meet his eyes. “How’ve you been, roomie?!”
As they idly chatted, Nakamura began unpacking his essentials. It was easier than making eye contact with Hirose, who was unknowingly making it very hard to achieve that goal.
They discussed each other’s majors first, Hirose’s being nursing. Nakamura was surprised to hear that he had chosen such a rigorous course of study, but when he thought back to Hirose’s dedication to being class health rep, it definitely clicked more into place.
“Is your department doing anything tonight? The nursing department is supposed to have a get-together at a nearby restaurant, but I was kinda nervous to go alone.” Hirose scratched his leg, fingers idly busying themselves with picking a stubborn piece of lint from his jeans. Nakamura cleared his throat, properly facing Hirose and willing his blush to fade.
“Ah! That’s right. My department was supposed to meet up as well. We were going to meet at the KBBQ place near the base of campus. Is yours near there?” Hirose hummed in response to Nakamura’s question, hopping off his lofted perch and ducking to join Nakamura at his desk.
The room layout featured two parallel lofted beds, each with a desk underneath. Although Nakamura looked forward to his private desk space, he worried about hitting his head each time he ducked down, as he had grown quite a few centimeters since graduating high school.
Hirose ducked under with practiced ease, moving closer than Nakamura anticipated and leaning towards his shoulder. As the scent of Hirose’s shampoo and the warmth of his breath flooded Nakamura’s senses, his brain might as well have leaked out of his ears. He willed himself to listen to Hirose’s next words, who was presently tapping furiously on his phone in search of something.
“It’s here!” he exclaimed, pulling up his maps app. He had begun to lean into Nakamura’s shoulder now, the warmth seeping through the thin layers of his orientation sweatshirt. Nakamura bit his cheek so hard it almost drew blood, and focused his gaze on what Hirose was showing him.
The pinned location was a sushi place about a block from the KBBQ restaurant, which Nakamura quickly showed Hirose the location of. They agreed to walk together, and Hirose threw him a blinding smile, cheeks warming with mirth.
Hirose smoothly asked if they should share locations with each other for safety reasons. Although he tried to agree calmly on the outside, Nakamura secretly hoped that, as a nursing major, Hirose could not hear his heart flatlining inside his chest. He sincerely hoped he miraculously survived to see the end of this semester.
Hirose eventually extracted himself, excitedly discussing room decor and moving to smooth out his bedsheet, standing on his tip toes to reach the loft. Nakamura found sardonic joy in the fact that Hirose was still quite short.
Taking Hirose’s lead, he busied himself with unpacking, struggling to make his bed on the loft. Hirose giggled as he tripped over his own feet, the sound warm rather than mocking.
When this sisyphean task was finally completed, he pulled out his backpack with finality, the octopus keychain he was gifted in the first year clinking back and forth. Hirose’s eyes zeroed in on it immediately, and he gasped.
“You still have it!!” He strided over to close the few meters between them, grasping the keychain in his hands, fingers gently running over the smooth texture.
“Of course.” Nakamura muttered, wondering where Hirose’s own lay. He didn’t have to wonder for long, as Hirose grabbed his forearm, dragging him towards his own bed area.
“Mine didn’t quite survive the last couple years. Or at least the clasp, the crab is still intact!” Hirose was pointing upwards, towards the ceiling right above his pillow. The crab keychain clicked back and forth above his bed, affixed to the ceiling with a rather impressive amount of duct tape. It swayed almost like a baby mobile, and Nakamura’s heart pounded at the thought of it being the first and last thing Hirose saw every day. Nakamura smiled gently, his eyes narrowing into adoring slits.
“Looks good up there!” He nodded with finality. “Did you use the whole roll of tape?” he tacked on, as Hirose huffed in mock offense and punched him lightly in the shoulder.
“I needed it to stay! It was important, you know?!” He pouted, cheeks lightly pinked as he tapped the tip of his toe against the wood floor. The two laughed together, and Nakamura began to feel a bit more at ease with the whole rooming-with-former-crush situation.
Although he only had one heart instead of three, and one brain instead of eight, he’ll still survive this semester, right?