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Byakuya stared at Makoto as he strongarmed his way into paying for the books he'd chosen. He couldn't speak, or push back. He couldn't open his mouth. He could only look at this terribly, horribly, infuriatingly kind man. He was annoying in how much he cared. In how much he wanted to show his care. These books, especially the versions he chose, were expensive, dammit. He had more than enough to buy it. Hell, he could buy the entire store if he wanted. So why did Makoto still do it? He could barely feed himself for a week. That wasn't even an assumption. That was truth. That was something he had observed about Makoto.
"Why did you do that?" he managed to ask as they walked to the doors.
"You paid for lunch," Makoto responded with a shrug. "That's just fair."
Byakuya fell quiet again, just thinking of it. Makoto felt it fair. He was one of the kinds to not leave anything unpaid. He could tell that little trait would prove frustrating if he decided to go along with this and 'hang out' with Makoto again.
He didn't look away from Makoto until they reached the doors, when he stopped. Byakuya furrowed his brow and looked up.
"Jeez, it's pouring," Makoto said. Sure enough, the rain was coming down hard enough to be heard from close enough. Thunder rolled faintly from somewhere far away.
"Hm. I'll just tell him to pick us up here," Byakuya muttered absently. He pulled out his phone to alert his chauffer of this change in plans. He didn't think much of the rustling he heard from beside him until something took up his peripheral vision.
He looked up and over to see Makoto holding his sweater out to him. It was something Byakuya knew was beloved to Makoto; he was almost never seen without it. He was always wearing it or carrying it, so to see him so openly offering it to him stunned him. He didn't know why anyone would offer up something so sacred, and for no reason, too.
"To keep you and your books dry when we run out," Makoto explained, as if he sensed Byakuya's confusion. This just stunned him further. Makoto was willing to give up his own sweater, that could keep himself dry, just to keep him dry? It simply didn't register. He couldn't understand why a person would do such a thing.
Makoto seemed to take his silence as invitation, and reached up to hang the hood on his head. Byakuya felt a very unfamiliar warmth burn his cheeks, but he made no attempt to show this.
He followed Makoto's queue to run out as quickly as possible as soon as the car arrived. Byakuya made it in as dry as he started, while raindrops clung to Makoto's hair like dew to a flowerstem. Byakuya couldn't help but stare. Makoto had enraptured him with his unwavering, and seemingly no-strings-attached kindness. Suddenly, he looked different, his eyes more vibrant, his look more captivating. He had changed, in a subtle, near imperceptible way.
He took off the sweater and handed it back to Makoto. He muttered an absentminded word of thanks, which caused Makoto to smile. Byakuya couldn't bring himself to look away from that smile. It was soft, and genuine.
Growing up, every smile he saw was forced, unreal. Smiles, like words, were tools to make deals and get your way. But with Makoto, with this odd man, he smiled genuinely.
It was the loveliest thing Byakuya had ever seen.
Makoto gave him back the sweater as they climbed out to make the run back inside of Hope's Peak campus. It was a bit further of a trip, with them having to dash through the courtyard to make it inside. But they went as fast as they could, and made it inside in record speed.
Byakuya took the hood back off his head, and suppressed a smile of his own as he watched the water drip off Makoto like a wet dog. He heard Makoto snicker, a beautiful sound.
"We should head to my dorm real quick so I can get a towel," Makoto said, shaking out his hair. "Then I'll walk you to yours."
Byakuya flinched away from the flying water, and nodded. He followed him off to his room.
Byakuya sat quietly on the bed as he waited. He had never been inside Makoto's dorm, but it confirmed his previous thoughts about Makoto, which made him feel a strange sort of guilt for letting him pay for those books. He made a vow to cherish them as much as he could. He also wondered if there were any ways he could lend a hand without overstepping.
Makoto walked back out in dry clothes pretty quickly, his hair frizzy and slightly curled. It was cute.
"I'll walk you to your dorm," he offered. Byakuya stood up, and nodded once. He left the sweater on the bed, collected his books, and they started off.
"Thanks for hanging out," Makoto said, causing Byakuya to look down at him, "you didn't have to."
Byakuya laughed softly, but humorlessly. Makoto needed a bit more confidence in himself. "I can't say I didn't enjoy myself. I would consider doing it again."
"You- wait, you would?" Makoto asked quickly, his head snapping up to look at Byakuya. He let a real laugh slip as he nodded.
"I don't see why not. I suppose it would be good to go out more."
Byakuya was once again enraptured by his soft smile as Makoto nodded and said "Good." It was so endearing.
They chatted idly as they walked down the hallway to Byakuya's dorm. He was so utterly captured by this... adorable boy. He truly was adorable, wasn't he?
They made it to his dorm, and he opened the door. He stood in the doorway for a moment, turning back to say goodbye to Makoto.
"So, I guess I'll be seeing you soon?" Makoto said, an air of hope around him. It was familiar to him, his usual demeanor.
"I guess," he teased. "Goodbye, Naegi. Have a nice evening."
"You too, Togami."
They waved to each other as Byakuya closed the door.
He walked to the desk and set down his books very carefully. He needed to find a good, safe place for them.
He couldn't stop thinking of the entire day and how sweet, and kind, and cute, and handsome, and lovely Makoto was, and...
Byakuya's eyes widened and he suddenly had to sit down as the realization hit him.
He was in love with Makoto Naegi. Deeply and utterly in love with him. It was a feeling unlike any other he'd ever felt. His chest felt warm, and his head felt full of Makoto.
The overwhelming love came with a sense of dread. Makoto was a commoner.
Makoto was a boy.
He laid back against his bed, his hands folded on his chest as he stared at the ceiling and thought. He was a rather poor boy, which meant his family would never, in any way, approve of him.
But then again, had they ever approved of... anything Byakuya had done? What was one boy to them?
The death of the Togami family image, a voice whispered in his ear. He swatted it away. He refused to listen. He loved Makoto, truly loved him. The time to think about what his family would think would come later.
And that would even depend on if Makoto even felt these feelings back. He pushed it out of the way for now, and sat up.
One thing was for certain; he was hopelessly in love with Makoto. And he would be certain to see him again.