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Kanemaru’s eyes sting, dried out from hours of staring at the television screen, watching video of Teito’s last game. Mukai Taiyou had been scary to face as a first year, but every scrap of footage he has seen since only reaffirms the fact that he will be a beast and a half as a third year.
His eyes drift closed, and an elbow pokes Kanemaru in the ribs. “Wha—I’m awake!”
Next to him, Toujou chuckles. “That makes one of you.” A pointed glance at Kanemaru’s other side shows both Sawamura and Furuya, faces squished on the table emanating drool and the soft wheeze of sleep. “It’s getting late. We should probably call it a night.”
“Yeah.” Kanemaru rubs his eyes, which his contact lenses quickly punish him for, and yawns. “If you get this cleaned up, I’ll pack Herp and Derp off to their rooms.”
Toujou nods, and Kanemaru slips out of his chair to grab both the idiot aces by the scruff and shake them awake. “All right, you scrubs, move it.”
Furuya mutters something unintelligible but drops back down to the table face first. Sawamura, on the other hand, vaults out of his chair and whips his head around. “I didn’t eat your pudding!” he babbles. “I promise!”
“Rise and shine, Bakamura.” Kanemaru gives Sawamura a brisk swat on the behind. “I’m not carrying you to bed, so move it.”
Sawamura pouts at him. “So mean!” Nevertheless, he shakes off some of the cobwebs and jostles Furuya in turn. “Wake up, Furuya! I’m not carrying you to bed, so move it!”
From the corner where Toujou is wheeling the tv cart, Kanemaru hears a guffaw. He’s happy for the support, though, because while Furuya looks like a wisp of a thing at first glance, the guy is densely muscled head to toe and heavy.
Both of them take an arm and propel Furuya toward the door until his own feet take over, and Kanemaru steers them toward Furuya’s room. Partly because it’s closer, partly because he won’t mind a free minute with Sawamura.
A tired and unsurprised Yui opens the door for Furuya to drop face first on his bed, clothes and all. Kanemaru shakes his head and tugs off Furuya’s shoes. “Dumbass,” he murmurs, but the barb holds no edge. He’s always had a soft spot for Furuya’s simple nature.
Outside the door, Sawamura waits with crossed arms and a sly smile on his face. “Big bad Shinji-kun acts like he doesn’t like us, but secretly, you’re really the team mom.”
Kanemaru rolls his eyes. “There’s no such thing, and I’ll have you know I don’t like you even when I do like you.” Even as the denial slips out, Kanemaru takes a step closer to Sawamura. He reaches up to run a finger down that familiar sun-kissed cheek. “Such a nuisance.”
“Mmm, terrible.” Sawamura licks his lips and tugs Kanemaru by the belt loops until they’re flush together.
“You seem to be under the impression I’m going to fall for your little trick.” The finger on Sawamura’s jaw drifts down until he pokes Sawamura square in the chest. “My wits don’t die after midnight like yours.”
Nose wrinkled, Sawamura’s tongue pokes out. “Do not.”
A smirk slashes across Kanemaru’s lips. “Oh yeah? Then I assume you finished the Civics essay we have due tomorrow.” The blood drains from Sawamura’s face, and Kanemaru chortles. “Gotcha.”
“Hey!” However, there is no hurt in Sawamura’s eyes as his gaze locks onto Kanemaru’s mouth, biting his lower lip with a groan. “You’re being a meany, so why should I kiss you?”
Kanemaru leans close and whispers in Sawamura’s ear, “Because no one else will have you.”
“Rude!” Despite the protest, Sawamura lists forward and presses their mouths together. “Lucky for you, you’re cute.”
“I could say the same about you.” Kanemaru claims a long, lazy kiss until Sawamura’s loud yawning rattles them apart. “Now get some sleep before I tell Okumura that you didn’t eat all three bowls of rice last night at dinner.”
Sawamura’s loud complaint is stifled by Kanemaru’s hand over his mouth. “Keep it down, or we’ll get caught by the security guard again.”
The warning doesn’t faze Sawamura. Instead, it earns Kanemaru a lingering kiss. “‘Night, Shinji.”
“G’night, Eijun.”
With that, Kanemaru saunters back to his own dorm room grinning and already anxious to get the night over with so he can start the next day anew with the most interesting yet maddening person he will ever know.