Work For Your Affection (BakuTodo)

cuddles, again

Icyhot's been the one to stand outside my room every morning, but today I decide to switch it up. His lips part when he steps into the hallway and discovers me waiting for him. My emotions betray me as a smile forms on my face before I can cover it.

Icyhot bounces on the tips of his toes. "Morning. I was just about to-"

"I know," I say. "I thought I'd surprise you."

The faintest shade of pink graces his cheeks. "Well, you succeeded."

I'll be honest, Icyhot being caught off guard has to be one of the most wholesome things I've ever seen. He brushes his fringe with shaky fingers before fidgeting with his uniform. He tightens his tie the smallest amount just to reset it to its original positioning three seconds later.

I figure I'll free him from his discomfort and give him something to talk about. "Are you feeling better? Did you sleep okay?"

With that, he relaxes. "Definitely."

He inspects my face and suddenly the dynamic between us does a 180. Now Icyhot is the composed one while I'm breaking eye contact to look anywhere else.

"You don't look like you slept much at all," he says.

I force myself to look at him again. There's a hint of concern in his eyes. He's so sweet. Almost too sweet. I feel myself getting a cavity the longer I stare at him.

"I didn't," I answer honestly. "But it's fine. An extra cup of coffee should give me enough energy to get through the day."

He frowns. "I'm sor-"

"Stop," I say, pointing my finger at him. "I told you it was fine."

I throw my backpack off my shoulder to grab Icyhot's homework assignments. When I hand everything over to him, I offer a small smile so he knows I'm sincere. His smile matches mine, which only makes me smile more.

"Thank you," he says.

I nod then bite the inside of my lip. I don't know how to move this conversation in the direction I want it to go. Do I just bring it up? Will that make me look too eager? Do I just not bring it up at all and risk him forgetting about it entirely? Oh shit, what if he did forget? That would mean he didn't enjoy last night as much as I did.

Fuck. Why is this so complicated?

"So," Icyhot says, "are we still hanging out tonight?"

Oh good, he remembered. Best of all, he brought it up so I don't have to. Crisis averted for now.

I cross my arms and scowl. "Tch. If we must. I'm a busy man, but I'll try to fit you into my schedule."

Icyhot beams at me. "Great. I'm really looking forward to it."

Oh, fuck.

Don't say anything stupid. Don't say anything stupid.

I grab the back of my neck. "I wanna do it in your room tonight."

He raises an eyebrow but doesn't respond. It's only after several seconds of silence that my brain registers what I just said.

"Shit," I mutter. "I didn't mean to do it, you pervert. I just mean...well, cuddling and stuff." My voice trails off at the end.

Icyhot blanks for a moment, but eventually nods. "Okay. Why my room though?"

"Because I don't want anyone seeing you cuddle me in the common room and you're not allowed in my room."

He smiles again. "Fair enough. Should we walk to school now?"

I nod, then we head to the elevator. Throughout our stroll out of the dorm and toward the academic campus, I sneak several glances at Icyhot. There's something so endearing about the way he carries himself. That expression of his that I always labeled as monotone, I realize isn't the case at all. He's not monotone or boring, he's just innocent.