For the first time since arriving at Aoba High, Takara Minami didn't feel like a guest in his own dorm room.
It wasn't just the poster of his favorite band tacked up by his desk or the chaotic splash of art supplies across his half of the room—it was something else entirely. Something quieter, warmer.
Kayo Tsukishiro sat cross-legged on his bed, headphones askew, a gentle frown on his lips as he scrolled through class notes on his tablet. Takara watched him from his desk, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
This was their space now.
Their shared space.
Takara still wasn't used to that. The idea that someone saw him, knew him—mess and all—and chose to stay.
A soft knock interrupted the peace.
Kayo looked up. "Expecting someone?"
Takara shook his head and crossed the room to open the door.
Outside stood Kana from 1-C, one of Takara's classmates. She held a basket in her arms, her face lighting up when she saw him.
"Minami-kun! Good timing. We're doing a study session downstairs in the lounge. Want to come?"
Takara blinked. "Oh. Uh… sure? I mean—what subject?"
"Math. Nishimura-senpai's latest quiz nearly killed me."
Kayo snorted from the bed. "Not surprised."
Kana leaned over and caught sight of him. "You can come too, Tsukishiro-kun! You're, like, a human calculator, right?"
"I already finished the review problems," Kayo replied, cool as ever.
Takara narrowed his eyes. "Liar. You were cursing at question twelve last night."
Kayo rolled his eyes. "I said the question was poorly written, not that I couldn't solve it."
Takara turned back to Kana with a grin. "We'll be down in five!"
"Great! Bring snacks!"
As she disappeared down the hallway, Takara closed the door and turned back to Kayo. "You're coming."
"I'm not a group study kind of guy."
"You're my guy," Takara said simply. "And I want my guy there."
Kayo raised an eyebrow, but there was no real protest behind it. "You're lucky you're cute."
"I know."
The common lounge was already buzzing with first-years when they arrived. Piles of textbooks and notebooks covered every surface. Kana waved them over to a corner where a few students had claimed a low table near the window.
Takara flopped onto the carpet. "Alright, who's ready to suffer?"
Someone groaned. "We're already suffering."
Kayo settled next to him with a sigh, pulling out his tablet. "Let's get this over with."
The session quickly devolved into organized chaos. Takara's explanations were dramatic but surprisingly effective—he used food metaphors and over-the-top analogies that somehow made trigonometry seem less terrifying.
Kayo, meanwhile, was a quiet anchor—correcting mistakes, pointing out patterns, offering calm guidance in his low voice.
Takara kept sneaking glances at him.
It wasn't fair. How could someone be that hot while calmly explaining angles?
Halfway through the session, Kana leaned close to Takara and whispered, "You two really balance each other out, huh?"
Takara blinked. "What do you mean?"
She smiled. "You're like the sun. He's like the moon. Total opposites—but you orbit around each other."
Takara didn't know what to say to that.
But his heart did this dumb, fluttery thing.
Back in their room later, Takara collapsed onto his bed with a groan.
"My brain is soup."
Kayo glanced over. "You said that last week."
"And it was true then too."
Kayo set his tablet aside and crossed the room. "You did good. They understood because of you."
"Yeah, but I was kind of annoying, right?"
"No more than usual."
Takara pouted. "That's not the comfort I wanted."
Kayo sat beside him, brushing hair from his face. "Then let me rephrase. You're smart in ways people don't expect. And that's… pretty amazing."
Takara blinked. "Okay, that's the comfort I wanted."
They stayed like that for a moment, close and quiet, the buzz of their earlier study session fading into soft silence.
Takara shifted closer. "Can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
Takara hesitated. "When did you… start liking me?"
Kayo looked thoughtful. "I think it started the first time you yelled at me."
Takara blinked. "Seriously?"
"You were so loud. And passionate. I couldn't stop thinking about it."
"That time I told you you weren't better than anyone just because you liked books?"
"Exactly."
Takara buried his face in a pillow. "That was so dramatic."
"It was real. You saw me when I was trying hard to disappear."
Takara peeked out. "That's kind of beautiful, Tsukishiro."
Kayo smiled. "Well, you're kind of infuriating, Minami."
That night, the line between their beds blurred again.
Not in a grand, cinematic way. But in the way Takara fell asleep with Kayo's hand loosely curled in his own, the space between them gone.
And for once, neither of them felt like they had to apologize for it.