Midnight Hours [PRG Hydra & Bittersweet]

Yushin stared intensely at his own feet, making his eyes go dry. Around the time when he heard approaching footsteps, tears had started to fill his eyes. They threatened to slip, but they just gathered in the corner of his eyes. He fought the instinct to blink, but he wouldn’t be able to keep that up for very long. The door was shoved open, and the familiar human stepped out on the roof.

Yushin cursed his bad luck and considered turning away, instead he slouched back against the wall he was leaning against. When the human stepped closer, he wanted to snap at him. ‘There’s really something wrong with me today’, Yushin thought, curling and uncurling his fingers in frustration.

“It feels like I’m suffocating, I can’t move. When did the air become this heavy?” he whispered, feeling his knees buckle. With a whine, he knelt down on the ground. Yushin buried his face in his hands, letting the tears fall. ‘When had he become weak?’ he asked himself, biting down on his bottom lip. It was pitiful, such behavior. But when he thought closer on the matter, he remembered the jar of blood tablets he’d tucked away deep in his drawer. When was the last time he dropped them into one of his drinks? He couldn’t remember. Just that minor detailed proved that it had been way too long.

Riku watched with huge eyes full of disbelief as the boy knelt down on the ground, buried his face in his hands and burst out into tears. Out of all the reactions he had been expecting, this was not the one. He couldn't even comfort a crying baby, so how could he possibly cheer up a tall, strange guy who he didn't even know that well? Was it even worth a try?

He let out a frustrated noise. Approaching the boy hadn't ended well the other day, but to just leave him be when he was crying on a rooftop in the middle of the day would be a real asshole move.

"Oi. Do you think you've got sunstroke?" he asked as he knelt down in front of him, careful to keep some distance between them just in case he would try something funny.

Just how long had he been sitting there before Riku showed up? Maybe he had been wrong in assuming that the Night Class students were all bright and brainy asshats, but then again, it wasn't like he had actually interacted with them much.

'What a joke. So the Night Class aren't all that high and mighty, eh?'

It was hard to make out what the other male was saying. The words seemed to drift through his head, but they didn’t sound like a language at all. Yushin rubbed at his temples, which only caused his head to hurt even more than it did just a few seconds ago. This wasn’t good.

Yushin muttered an apology to the other male and leaned in closer, placing his forehead against his shoulder. Breathing in the other boy’s scent made his stomach flutter, but he was not driven into sinking his own teeth into the soft skin of his neck. For some reason he just felt like leaning against him, against something solid. Yushin was sure that he once again would scare him away, and that he feared. As if to make sure that the boy wouldn’t leave, Yushin reached for his arm. He grabbed hold of the fabric of the black jacket, clutching it in his hand tightly.

Yushin closed his eyes, feeling the radiated warmth of the other boy calmed his nerves greatly and when he finally got to his senses he considered moving. But even if he tried, he couldn’t force himself to move away. “Even though I don’t know your name, hearing the beating of your heart is really calming.” Yushin mumbled, fighting the urge to nuzzle into the other boy’s shoulder. “I’m sorry for this rather inconvenient position. I’ll move if you want me to.”

Riku was probably as stiff as a board, but he soon came to the realization that having the other guy leaning on his shoulder wasn't entirely uncomfortable. He could feel his own pulse beating like crazy and thought: 'How embarrassing.' But one could hardly blame him for that, given how casually he had described Riku's heartbeat as being calming. (He couldn't understand that, though; it felt like his heart was jumping out of his chest.)

He swallowed and cleared his throat before speaking, because if he didn't it didn't feel like he would be able to speak at all. The situation was just too overwhelming.

"Uhm", he said, patting the other boy's shoulder awkwardly. "It's... alright. For now. I'm Riku Miyamoto, by the way."

Had it been any other situation, Riku would definitely had pushed him away by now. The Night Class student clearly wasn't in his best condition, though, so he couldn't do that without feeling bad. Even Riku could have some consideration when it came to other people.

"You shouldn't stay out in the sun for too long, dude", he muttered, giving him a disapproving look. "I bet you elites aren't used to this much sunlight. Let me help you inside. Once we're in there you can sit down on the stairs", he said while carefully sliding one of the boy's arms across his shoulders.

He tried to heave him up the best he could when he slowly started to stand up, but it was hard given how tall he was (and heavy, for that matter).

"Shit. Lean on me, okay?"

Yushin noticed clearly that the boy called Riku Miyamoto was struggling, but he was seriously too tired to move. He shamelessly leaned on him, happy with the support. Riku was much shorter than him and he found himself finding the other’s height adorable.

They made their way inside the school building and Riku gently dropped him down on one of the steps. Yushin leaned against the rail, patting the space beside him as he looked up at Riku. When the sun shone in from behind him, it almost made the human look godly with his blue hair and his grassy green eyes. “Thank you, Miyamoto-kun. Now, please. Sit down and rest” he said, reaching out an arm to him, making a gesture that screamed for him to come closer. It was embarrassing how Yushin longed for Riku’s warmth. Thinking about it made him feel uneasy and he almost grabbed Riku where he stood. Yushin bit down on his bottom lip, hiding his face with one of his hands.

Riku was breathing heavily by the time they reached the stairs, so when the other boy offered him to sit down beside him he was happy to oblige.

"I'm not used to this, y'know", he told him while sighing deeply. "I'm not the helping type. I beat guys up."

He eyed the sandwich which he still hadn't gotten to finish with a hungry expression, wondering if it would be rude if he started to eat it all of sudden.

'It probably is', he decided. 'I don't care, though. I got him inside, he can't expect me to starve to death.' Feeling satisfied with his conclusion, he finished the sandwich in what felt like one bite.

When he was done, he turned around slightly so he could meet the other boy's clear blue gaze.

"You still haven't told me your name."

Yushin smiled softly when Riku chewed away on his sandwich and he could tell that Riku was trying to open up to him. Somehow, at least. It was strange, seeing the human when he was not angrily aiming for his face with a clenched fist.

“My name? If that is what you want, then you shall have it. Yushin Kobayashi, at your service”, he said, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Do you often eat lunch on the roof, Miyamoto-kun?”

Was he actually making small talk with a Night Class student? Firstly he had been called to the headmaster's office and now this? The world never ceased to surprise him.

"Nah, it doesn't happen very often. Just when I need to calm down after kicking some dudes ass." Realizing that he probably sounded like some kind of thug, he quickly closed his mouth.

He let out a nervous laugh, scratching his neck. "Anyway... you gave me some trouble when you left me your uniform jacket, Kobayashi. You see, my roommate found it and immediately thought I was secretly in the Night Class or some shit. Speaking of that, what were you doing out there? Aren't you supposed to be like, asleep during the day?"

Yushin smiled at Riku. It was quite a miracle that Yushin, of all people, was able to have a conversation with a person. He didn’t often associate with others, which was quite frankly understandable. Yushin wasn’t known for being a lunatic for nothing.

"You get into fights a lot don’t you, Miyamoto-kun?" he asked, fighting the urge to place a hand on his head, to tangle his fingers into those blue strands of hair.

“I suppose so, but my roommate locked me out. I don’t get angry over many things, but I guess I was very moody this morning. Oh, and if that roommate of yours is bothering you I can shove his face down a toilet. He shouldn’t stick his nose into such matters.” He said, calmly. “Not that I doubt that you could do that just fine by yourself, of course.”

Nervously, Yushin looked down at his shoes. “I’m sorry, it’s probably not right for me to resort to such methods, when I don’t know the person I speak so carelessly off. I just feel very strongly for arrogant roommates at the moment”, he prattled, flexing his fingers. “I dislike having to share my space with people I don’t like”, Yushin admitted silently. “I know that they don’t like me either. So tell me one thing, Miyamoto-kun. Do you think I'm a lunatic?”

Riku nodded in agreement to Yushin's first question. Most of the time he got into fights on a daily basis. He would have been concerned about it if he actually did care.

He was a little surprised to hear the other boy talk so much. He thought that maybe Yushin didn't have a lot of people to talk to, which was kind of sad. Riku realized he wouldn't mind listening to him talking about nonsense, though. He had a nice voice, he found it soothing somehow.

Riku snorted when he started telling him how he had been locked out of his room. "You should have kicked the door in", he remarked. "And while I definitely can shove his face down a toilet myself, I could always appreciate a helping hand. Even guys like me get lazy, y'know?" He flashed a grin at him.

However, when the conversation took a surprising turn, he found himself unsure of what to answer. He was usually pretty straightforward and said whatever was on his mind, and while he could come up with some lie he felt like Yushin deserved an honest answer.

"Uh, remember when I told you our personalities don't clash together that well?" he asked, chewing on his lip. "That's... probably true, I think... but you don't seem like a bad guy. Just a little strange, that's all."