There's a subtle buzzing sound coming from the window, probably a bug stuck between the curtain and the glass, the temperatures warmer than ever and Aki feels sweat dripping down his forehead down to his chin. He watches as a droplet falls over his sheet of work and sighs. It was only the start of summer and the heat was already getting to him.
Aki wasn't a summer person, neither was he a winter person. Extreme weathers never suited him, always too cold or too hot. He didn't like sweating and couldn't survive shivering for too long. Haruki always made sure to keep the air conditioning on max when Aki entered the room, ensuring that he would stay cool. Or Haruki would keep the kotatsu heated and ready, letting Aki take up all the space.
There's a sneeze opposite him and Aki glances up to see Hiroto's head propped up on the desk. He had come about an hour ago and taken a seat with him, not even bothering to do any work. The library was in complete silence for once, except for the light background noises, and Aki had finally made a start on his assignment.
Putting his pen aside, Aki leans forwards with his chin held up by the heel of his palm, looking down at Hiroto's. He had pretty eyelashes, almost good enough to compete with Levi. Hiroto scrunches his nose every now and then, mumbling something about his hay fever. Surprisingly, that was the one thing that Aki didn't have.
"I know I'm irresistible, but if you stare at me that hard I'll get shy," Hiroto says when he opens his eyes to catch Aki staring at him. He holds his hand to his face to cover it from Aki, almost as if he really was shy.
Aki rolls his eyes and pushes himself away from the table. "I'm getting myself a drink, you want one?"
Hiroto contemplates for a second, looking as though he was struggling to come up with a decision. "Yeah, a cold drink would be nice in their weather."
"Watch my stuff," Aki says, pulling out his wallet and hurries over to the vending machine by the entrance of their library. He hovers his finger above one of the options and frowns. "Which one should I get?" He asks himself, looking between the different drinks.
A hand suddenly passes by his head and picks one of the options Aki didn't want. He gasps and spins around, glaring up at the guy who had done so.
"Hey," the stranger says dumbly, leaning across Aki to pull out the drink. "Thanks for the drink."
"Pay me for that." Aki sounds confident and holds his ground when internally he was panicking. The stranger was a good few inches taller than him and was looking down at him with his muscles tensed. Aki pats his own arms and curses the fact that he had too much of a sweet tooth and never took care of his health.
"Pay you?" The guy sounds confused. He holds his drink up, a sour orange juice with strawberry mixed in it, and then turns to Aki. "You want me to pay you for this?"
"Yeah," Aki says. "I was getting a drink for myself."
"Hm, let me think," the guy holds a hand to his chin, pretending to think before looking down and Aki with a smile. "I've decided not to."
Aki opens his mouth to say something back when from around the corner Kanae appears. They both see each other and freeze as the guy between them looks at the two.
"What are you doing, Shota?" Kanae asks, hurrying over to the two and standing between them. The large stranger, apparently called Shota, turns to Kanae with a grin.
"I was just getting a drink from this guy," he says, looking proud of the fact that he had just stolen from Aki. Kanae looks confused and glances over to see Aki glaring at Shota.
"He stole it from me," Aki corrects, trying to reach for the drink. Shota is quick to grab Aki's wrist and slams him into the vending machine. The sound of Aki hitting the machine, which in turn hit the wall behind him, echoes in the quiet library. Aki winces as he tries pulling his wrist away, already feeling a bruise forming where it was and on his back, where he had gotten pushed straight into the handle.
"Don't touch me," Shota says, his eyes piercing into Aki's. "You gave me the drink, I didn't steal it."
"Hey, let go of him," Kanae says softly, averting his eyes to the ground when Aki looks over to him. "You got your drink right? Let's go then."
Shota tightens his grip on Aki's wrist once again, causing Aki to cry at the pain that courses through his arm before he lets go and allows Aki to drop to the phone. He clutches to his wrist as Shota places a foot on the machine beside him. He leans down and holds the drink in front of him. "That's like a good boy, stay put."
A thread snaps in Aki and he sends a punch straight for Shota's face, but Shota is bigger and stronger than Aki. His reaction time is faster and he slaps away the fist as though it was nothing but a fly.
"Didn't I tell you not to touch me?" Shota looks angry, his eyebrows creasing and hands clenched into fists. He steps back to ready his fist and Aki shuts his eyes close, his uninjured hand coming up to protect himself. But the punch never reaches Aki. "Who the hell are you?"
Aki cracks an eye open and looks up to see Hiroto standing in front of him, holding onto Shota's fist. "Let me ask you that, just who the hell are you raising your hands at Aki?"
"Hey, come on. Let's go," Kanae cuts in, grabbing Shota's arm. The larger boy turns to him before looking back at Hiroto. He shakes Hiroto's hand off and shrugs.
"Whatever, let's go," Shota says, turning around and dragging Kanae away with him. Instantly, Hiroto drops to the floor to hold Aki's wrist in his hands.
"Are you okay?" Hiroto asks, running his fingers down Aki's wrist, pausing every time he winces. "What else did that asshole do?"
"It's fine," Aki smiles, using his free hand to caress Hiroto's cheek. "I shouldn't have messed with him knowing our size difference, and you shouldn't have either. You could've gotten hurt."
Hiroto shakes his head and kisses the dark bruise on Aki's wrist. "I don't mind getting hurt to avenge you."
Aki laughs softly. "You don't need to avenge me. You can do one thing for me though," Aki says, causing Hiroto to look up at him with questioning eyes. "Can you help me to the toilets? I think I'm bleeding from my back."
-
"The cut on your face had just recovered and now this?" Hiroto sighs, using a tissue to clean the wound. Aki watches Hiroto's reflection as he takes care of him. He had so many thoughts wandering around his mind. Who was that person Kanae was with? Kanae didn't like talking to people like that, perhaps it was because he had distanced himself from Aki that he fell into the wrong influence? But then Aki also needed to tell Hiroto about the deal he had made with his dad.
"Hey," Hiroto spins him around and holds his face, making him lookup. "What's wrong, why do you look so upset? Is it because of what your friend did?"
"It's nothing," Aki dismisses quickly, stuffing his face into Hiroto's neck and inhaling his scent. Ever since the bond they had made, Aki became more and more reliant on Hiroto's scent to calm him down. Aki was worried that after their bond disappears, his nerves would suddenly spike up. "I'm just tired from studying."
Hiroto holds his hand on Aki's back and kisses his head, causing warmth to flood Aki's chest. Hiroto was unfair. He was too affectionate, Aki might end up misunderstanding his actions.
"Alright, let's get food, yeah?"