2am Knows All Secrets

It started with just a gentle brushing against his hand, so slight he might have thought it was unintentional. But when Eijirou glanced up at Bakugou, whose eyes were set determinedly ahead, he knew it hadn't been a mistake.

There was no table to hide under this time. No place to go for cover. They were out in the open.

It wasn't that he was nervous. They had talked about this. Tonight, they were going to sit in the common space, and as everyone else talked about the day, they were going to hold hands. That way, they wouldn't have to make a big announcement of it. They just had to awkwardly wait around until someone noticed. That's all. No big deal.

Okay, maybe he was a little nervous. That's because his brain wouldn't shut up. Eijirou took a few deeper breaths, hoping to slow his brain down a bit. Take it easy, focus on one thing at a time. First of all, no one was going to think twice about their hands barely touching. For this to work, they had to actually hold hands, and make it obvious.

Bakugou seemed to be on the same page, for just then, his hand slid over Eijirou's. It was sudden, and blunt, and it really should have made Eijirou's nerves feel even more on fire. But, really, it felt more like a dream than anything. A part of his brain felt almost tranquil. He was ready for this. If Bakugou's bravery was anything to go by, he was ready, too.

Eijirou scanned the room. Most of their classmates were either unwinding a few couches over, or studying at the work tables at the other end of the hall. However, Ashido was lying on a couch directly to their left, playing on her phone, occasionally offering a snarky reply to Hagakure and Kaminari, who were chatting across the coffee table. Eijirou would have joined in their casual discussion, except that his breath was caught in his throat, his heartbeat pounding too loudly, for him to contribute anything meaningful. So instead, he nodded a few times, hummed in agreement every once in a while.

The way they were just passively sitting around, waiting for something to happen outside of their control... it made him feel a bit jumpy. It wasn't predictable. It could happen at literally any time. Or, it could just not at all. Maybe, he was just getting himself all worked up for nothing to happen. What would they do then?

... Maybe they hadn't thought this through enough.

In a moment of bravery, Eijirou overturned his hand. Bakugou's palm slid on top of his so effortlessly, fingers interlacing, like a jigsaw puzzle effortlessly falling into place. Almost immediately, his fingers clamped down onto Bakugou's in a death grip, and he was sure his knuckles were turning a little white, but Bakugou's probably were, too, so it was okay. He rubbed his thumb gently across Bakugou's, in a comforting gesture. He wasn't sure which of them he was comforting more.

The warmth, the pressure, in such a public space, was a bit startling, and Eijirou found himself peering around again, just to see if any wandering eyes had noticed this time. If anyone had given a second glance at how closely they were sitting, how their hands were overlapped.

No one had, not yet. But, someone could. And that thought made Eijirou's head spin a bit, and brought a sheepish smile to his lips. Now, they just had to wait.

There they sat, hand in hand, for what was probably no more than a few minutes. But it felt like hours, decades, eons. And once he overcame the initial anxiety, Eijirou kinda wanted to laugh. Because he and Bakugou had been sitting in the middle of the common room holding hands for at least five minutes and no one had noticed. On one hand, for how smart his classmates were, they sure were oblivious. But, on the other hand, Eijirou couldn't really blame them for not noticing something that they weren't looking for in the first place.

But then, Kaminari just had to ask a question about their English project.

Without looking up from her phone, Ashido shrugged. "I dunno, ask Kirishima".