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New fuzzy blanket on his shoulders, Shuuichi makes his way through the hallway towards the fancy Grand Commander’s room. This late at night, their sleeping quarters are dark and mostly quiet, with only Twice’s snoring echoing softly from behind his door, but by now, Shuuichi has learned the way without needing to see.
He’s on high alert and walking a little faster than usual, and maybe his shoulders bump into a couple walls in his hurry, but he safely gets to Tomura’s door in less than a minute, and that’s all that matters.
He hurriedly knocks twice and then immediately slips inside, not bothering to wait for a reply, partly because he doesn’t want to risk staying out there in the open more than strictly necessary, and partly because he knows he doesn’t really need one.
As expected, Tomura is a round little mountain under his thick covers, soft white light peeking through and hitting the tufted headboard.
Shuuichi breathes in. This is a room fit for a leader, with a big bed, no suspicious looking mirrors, and definitely not haunted by any evil ghosts like his own.
And his leader is awake and playing Minecraft, like the online status next to the new little bat avatar told him.
“Oi, Spinner, what’s-”
Shuuichi jumps and wraps his arms around his head, shrieking into the blanket.
“You- you- just scared the shit outta me, boss.”
Fabric rustles, and then Tomura’s hair peeks out of it, eyes tired and unimpressed. “You sneak into my room, and I’m the one scaring you?”
“I thought you were distracted,” Shuuichi says, vaguely gesturing at the console illuminating Tomura’s face.
Tomura sure looks like a ghost, even if slightly less by the day. He’s definitely pale and wrinkly and uncannily handsome like Shuuichi would expect a ghost to be, his head now looking like it’s floating from the eerie white lighting coming from under his chin.
“And you didn’t even say anything… Did you come here to stare at me in silence? That’s creepy.”
“No.”
“Ah.” Tomura squints at him, then asks, “Is your new room also haunted, then?”
“Yes.”
“What is it, the third time, now?” Tomura asks, then yawns like a cat, wide and long and a little derpy, arms popping up from under the covers. “I’m starting to think it’s just an excuse, but whatever.”
“I fucking wish,” Shuuichi mutters.
Accepting that he simply wants to spend time with Tomura would be less humiliating than having to seek out someone else’s company because he keeps attracting ghosts, despite barely even believing in them. He does want to stay close to Tomura, but that’s… that’s fine. He’s getting over that part.
Tomura promised him a beautiful, flattened horizon. Shuuichi has decided he will be right behind him to see it. Maybe, possibly, even at his side.
How could he possibly deserve such a prestigious spot, such a thoughtful gift, when he’s scared by a stranger’s face in the mirror?
“What? What did you say. Stop muttering, can’t hear you.”
“I’m not lying. I’m telling you, the energy’s all wrong. Creepy. Evil.” Shuuichi explains, then gasps. “Shit, I must be cursed. It’s probably that old chain Toga and Twice insisted looked good on me… I only wore it for a couple minutes, but that must be it!”
“There’s no such thing as curses. Or ghosts,” Tomura says, almost rehearsed by this point. “But whatever, just get in.”
Shuuichi used to think so, too, used to think that only humans are capable of the most heinous acts… and still does. Ignorance, cruelty, greed, corruption – that’s what scares him most, and it’s all an undeniably human mess. But hearing suspicious sounds and seeing weird shadows on walls and reflected in mirrors for weeks has left him uneasy in a way he’s not used to and can’t explain.
He accepts the invitation and crawls on the Grand Commander’s bed, sliding under the covers with his soft, warm blanket still wrapped around him because he needs the extra heat. He’s putting that sweet, rich people money to good use.
Tomura shuffles slightly to the side to make space for him and Shuuichi is more than happy to lean into the warmth, perhaps a little too much, but he hears no complaints, so he feels no need to pull back.
Their bodies don’t touch – that’s a boundary neither of them has dared cross yet, except for a few happy accidents – but Shuuichi feels safer and a lot warmer than he did, and that’s more than enough. Even if he knows it’s silly, it erally doesn’t many any sense, because-
“You know I wouldn’t be able to decay them, right?”
Shuuichi has started to wonder if Tomura secretly received a mind-reading quirk, but maybe… maybe this is just proof of… a connection. Either Tomura knows about his feelings or has simply accepted whatever it is that’s happening between them, and both options are as scary as they are relieving. (The secret third option is even scarier,
Despite everything, Shuuichi has become a rather lucky guy.
“If they’re haunting this place, they’re probably invested in the people who live here. They’re not gonna hurt the big boss of this mansion, are they? Sounds counterproductive.”
Tomura snorts, turning his game off and placing it on the nightstand. He gets comfortable, shuffling around a little.
“That makes no fucking sense,” he says. His voice is muffled by the thick quilt.
Shuuichi imagines him almost completely covered, with only the top of his head and messy strands of soft hair peeking out. Shuuichi has felt it brush against his hand before, and hopes it’ll happen again.
At some point, Tomura mutters, “Don’t even bother going to your room tomorrow. Just come here. We can play together.”
Shuuichi is thankful that Tomura is able to just fall asleep seconds after, so he doesn’t have to come up with a reply to that.
(Of course he’ll never go back to sleeping alone, if Tomura really means it.)