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Monoma checked the clock beside him. It read 3:11. 19 minutes until he had to go to Shinsou’s room, so he could tutor the boy in English. Well, it had started off as tutoring at least. The past couple of sessions had ended with homework being done 10% of the time and 90% Monoma hanging off the edge of Shinsou’s bed to complain about the latest stunt Class 1-A pulled while Shinsou half-listened half-rested at the table.
The blond boy didn’t want to think too much about how comfortable he had gotten with his study partner; that would mean unpacking the sudden attraction he had for the kid, and he was still suppressing that, for now at least.
Instead, he packed his bag, grabbing at pencils, current homework, and old essays he’d use to explain literary techniques to Shinsou. Of course, Monoma wasn’t doing this for free- he quickly had the worrying thought that he would do anything for Shinsou for free, but, again, that was something meant for later. The lavender haired boy helped him with math in return, the only subject Monoma had yet to perfect (he always got top marks in History, English, and hell, even Science; it was just math that gave him way too hard of a time).
Standing up, he passed by the mirror to do a once-over of his features. He ruffled his bangs and adjusted his collar. Kendo had seen him do the same once before he went to a previous study session and joked it was like he was getting ready for a date. The words had stuck with him since and never failed to make Monoma blush, but not enough to get him to stop fussing so much over his looks.
Finally, he swiped his tongue across his teeth, slightly amazed by the smooth texture. He’d gotten his braces off recently after 3 long years, and he’d since been smiling to himself often to appreciate the change.
Backing away from the mirror, Monoma stepped out of his dorm, bag tucked under his arm. He passed by Awase in the hall which he gave a solid wave to and continued to Shinsou’s door. He was a little early, so he hoped Shinsou wouldn’t mind. Then again, he’d never stuck to a specific time when meeting the other boy; as long as Monoma was there before the set time- that was largely ignored- he called it punctual.
Knocking on the door out of politeness but swinging the door open despite the lack of response, the blond boy was met with an empty room. Well, the cat his friend had snuck on campus was lounging on one of his shelves, so maybe just a Shinsou-less room. Still, he’d been here countless times before without Shinsou being there, so Monoma just made his way to the small table, placing his bag on top.
It wasn’t until he looked up from his spot before he noticed the figure on the balcony. With his back facing him, Shinsou leaned against the railing, seemingly enjoying the view. Monoma gave himself a quick second to admire his own view before calling out to the other boy.
To his credit, Shinsou didn’t jump at the sudden noise, but he turned around a little quicker than normal. Monoma immediately flitted his eyes down to the joint held between the boy’s fingers. The thought was way hotter than it should’ve been.
“You smoke?” He managed to choke out.
Shinsou shrugged. “Not often, but yeah. Helps me relax. You won’t snitch, will you?”
Remembering himself, Monoma shook his head slightly harder than he meant to, simultaneously answering Shinsou’s question and forgetting the images of Shinsou taking a drag from the joint. “And lose my precious classmate over something so harmless? Really, Shinsou-kun, have some faith in me.”
The blond boy then went to join him on the balcony, ignoring the skeptical look from Shinsou. He hopped up on the railing, sitting so that he was facing the boy without being dangerously close to the edge. It was a fall he had taken before when they had first gotten to the dorms, and he’d love to never revisit it. Shinsou just sighed, relaxing a bit as his shoulders drooped and went back to his place along the railing.
The two sat there for a bit, enjoying the comfortable silence. The smell from the joint was slightly overwhelming, to put it lightly, and Monoma knew he’d have to throw the clothes he was wearing into a couple cycles of laundry, but Shinsou was just close enough that if he were to spread his legs a bit, they’d make contact with the boy’s forearm. He’d endure anything for that. Ok, so maybe he was more a stupid, gay teenager than he thought, but who could blame him?
Shinsou slid his eyes over to Monoma, and the boy suppressed a blush that threatened to form from the gaze alone. He looked anywhere but to the boy on his left and instead studied the spider’s web above the window intently.
“Do you wanna try,” Shinsou asked, breaking the silence.
Well, Monoma was certainly not expecting that. He hadn’t put much thought into smoking. To be perfectly honest, it wasn’t something he wanted to pick up as a habit, but he didn’t mind if others were into it. He’d seen Komori and Kaibara doing it plenty of times outside the common room. However, sharing a joint with Shinsou? That’s an indirect kiss, isn’t it?
Remembering Shinsou was still waiting for a reply, Monoma hummed. “How do you know I haven’t before?”
The boy scoffed. “Maybe it’s the everything about you. You wouldn’t be so riled up all the time if you have.”
Rude. He didn’t dignify that with a response, instead, reached out a hand. Shinsou looked at him funnily but gave him the stick. The boy looked like he wanted to say something, but he stayed silent, so Monoma raised the joint to his lips. He hesitated slightly. It was just a simple inhale and exhale; he didn’t need to get cold feet now, especially in front of his- oh god, he was admitting it- crush.
“Wait!”
Monoma peeked at Shinsou. His face was a little redder than he remembered it, but he quickly chalked it up to a side effect of smoking.
“If it’s your first time, you might choke doing it like that.”
When Monoma raised an eyebrow, Shinsou continued, rubbing his neck and glancing to the side. “There’s another way that’s easier. That is, if you still want to do it.
He had come this far, hadn’t he? The curiosity tugging at Monoma also made him consider. Surely, there’s no other way to smoke it besides doing it yourself. He hoped this other option didn’t consist of needles or drinking something because he really wasn’t interested in anything further than this.
“Which is,” he prompted.
The blush on Shinsou’s face reddening only served to increase Monoma’s curiosity further. He walked over to stand in front of the blond boy and slid closer so that he was almost completely occupying the space between Monoma’s legs. Now, it was his turn to blush.
“Shotgunning.”
“Shotgunning,” he repeated almost dumbly. Ok, he knows he said he’d do anything for Shinsou before but getting shot was an exception.
A little more frustrated and alot more confident, Shinsou stepped closer and placed one of his hands on the railing next to Monoma. Scratch the getting shot thing; Shinsou was going to kill him if he kept doing whatever this is. He leaned back slightly to put some distance between them just so he could breathe, but Shinsou wasn’t deterred.
“Let me just,” Shinsou mumbled and plucked the joint from Monoma, “show you.”
Monoma watched as he took a long drag, held it in, and looked back to him. His unoccupied hand made his way to Monoma’s face, cupping his cheek and simultaneously making the blond boy’s heart stop in the process. He gasped at the movement, and Shinsou took advantage, tilting his head and blowing smoke into Monoma’s mouth.
The very last few functioning parts of Monoma’s brain told him to inhale. He shut his eyes and let the smoke enter his lungs, basking in the light-headed rush it gave him. He felt Shinsou remove his hand and lean back; Monoma immediately missed the close proximity.
“That’s all, really. Just thought I-”
“Again,” Monoma said, cutting off Shinsou and surprising himself.
Shinsou seemed to be surprised as well, eyes going wide at Monoma’s admission. He quickly schooled his expression before a rare smirk crept upon his face. Monoma’s head was working overtime to wrap itself around how good he looked and the reality of what he had just done with said good-looking boy.
“Didn’t take you for the type to be a stoner, Monoma.”
“It’s not so much the smoke that I’m after, Shinsou-kun.”
For the first time that evening, Monoma was able to make his friend blush because of his words. Some of his usual confidence had returned after he swallowed the hit, and Monoma planned to regain some control over the situation now that it was back.
Shinsou started again. “And what is it that you’re after?”
Monoma could end this right now, confessing his embarrassingly large urge to kiss him silly, but who was he if he wasn’t a little difficult? Despite the small space between him and the other, he slipped down to stand on the balcony, bringing him almost chest to chest with Shinsou. He felt the boy peer down at him, but he simply sidestepped and headed back towards the room.
Reaching the door, he turned around and suppressed a laugh at Shinsou standing there dumbly. “Help with my homework, of course. That’s the only reason I came here, after all.”
And with that, he went inside and began to unpack his things. Shinsou joined him not a moment later after crushing the joint with his foot, quietly sitting on the other side of the table. The boy made no move to speak, so Monoma just read through problems, jotting down formulas and solving what he could. He was just about to silently curse Ectoplasm for making them go over derivates again before he heard Shinsou shuffle around a bit in front of him.
Despite already on edge from the previous moments, Monoma didn’t let himself shoot up when he heard Shinsou call his name. Instead, he acted like he never heard it in the first place, faking a sigh and leaning his head on his hand.
“Monoma,” Shinsou gritted, a little louder.
Well, he supposed he shouldn’t be mean for too long. Considering he was dangerously close to spilling his not so platonic thoughts about the other, Monoma didn’t want to sabotage any last chances at keeping their friendship.
He glanced up with a hum but was left breathless at Shinsou’s gaze. The boy had a weighted expression on his face, hands curled up onto fists on his thighs. He moved them to rest his forearms upon the table and leaned over into Monoma’s space once more.
“What were you going to say back there?”
Monoma faced him head-on, his heart hammering in his chest. “Why should I tell you?”
“God, you are so-” Shinsou snarled before sighing. “I want to know because I like you, and I’ve had to keep myself from kissing you way too many times. You’re annoying.”
Well, which is it? You like me, or you don’t? Monoma so badly wanted to say, but he was a little tired of dancing around this- around them- for so long. Riding on the high of his feelings being returned, he pressed forward and placed his hands on both sides of Shinsou’s face before closing the gap.
The kiss was quick: Monoma unsure how to tilt his head and Shinsou still caught a little off-guard. The blond boy pulled away but kept his hands where they were. “I like you too, Shinsou-kun, in case that wasn’t clear.”
The boy in question was still rigid, and Monoma could practically see the words connect in his head. Admittedly, he wished Shinsou would say something faster because now that he got a taste, Monoma wanted to kiss him again, and maybe do that for the rest of eternity.
He got his wish when he felt one of Shinsou’s hands cover his own. “Again,” he commanded, mimicking how Monoma was earlier.
Monoma had never been much of a follower, but he still moved quickly to meet the boy’s demand. The kiss lasted longer this time as the pair worked together to find the perfect positioning. Shinsou moved his hand to rake through the back of Monoma’s hair, which the blond rewarded by letting his mouth part slightly. His partner took the opportunity to slot their lips together properly, and Monoma could moan with how amazing it felt.
Eventually, the need to breathe outweighed their desire to keep kissing, so they broke apart, resting their foreheads against eachother. They were both panting a bit, but once they calmed down, Monoma met Shinsou’s gaze and beamed. Shinsou matched his smile and brought one of the hands Monoma was using to cup his face into his and interlaced their fingers.
“Can we do all that gross dating stuff you talk about now?”
Monoma laughed softly. “It is not gross, and yes, I expect no less. Dinner, flowers, movie nights; I want it all.”
The hand holding his squeezed a bit tighter as Shinsou gave him a small peck. The boy lifted his head, and Monoma gulped down the noise at seeing the stupidly soft look plastered on Shinsou’s face.
“‘Course. Anything you want.”