"Did you bring clothes?" Denki's mother asked.

The dinner was finally over and people were finally leaving, with some people staying around to talk before either leaving or moving to their rooms for the night.

"Yeah, we left our stuff in the car." Denki said. "Should we go get it?"

After getting the go-ahead from his parents, Denki nearly dragged Shouto out to his car.

"Are you alright?" Shouto asked after Denki opened the doors. He hadn't said a single word on the way out to the car, and Shouto was worried. He was natuarally a talkative person, and he had been talking all night, and now he's suddenly silent?

"Yeah, I just needed to get out of there. My energy has been on empty for a while now."

Shouto nodded. "Ah. ... Um. I thought you were okay with talking a lot?"

Denki sighed and handed Shouto his bag before grabbing his own. "Yeah, I usually am, but these events always fill me with anxiety. And to keep talking on top of that? It just wears me out. And it's easier to talk more to people I know. Almost everyone there was a stranger to me."

"Oh. That makes sense."

They walked back to the house much slower than they had gone to the car. When they got back, Denki's parents let them in.

"So why are we staying overnight anyway?" Shouto asked.

"Did Denki not tell you?" Denki's mother asked.

Denki shrugged. "You didn't even tell me!"

His mother pursed her lips. "... We're eating breakfast tomorrow morning at 8:30."

" ... That's it?"

"Yes, and you can leave after breakfast."

Denki's eyes lit up and Shouto could tell he wanted to cheer and dance. "Sweet!" He said instead.

"You can go to your room now that you have your clothes, but please remember to join us at 8:30 for breakfast."

Denki didn't have to hear any more, he was already dragging Shouto upstairs to the room they were to be sharing. "We will, I promise. Goodnight mom, goodnight dad!"

~~~

"Finally, oh my god!" Denki layed back on the bed, arms spread out and feet still on the ground. "Ooh, this bed is comfy."

He looked up to see Shouto gently setting his stuff on the ground next to where Denki had opted to throw his.

"Hey," he said, getting Shouto's attention.

"Hey."

Denki looked around. "... There's only one bed. Are ... Are you okay with that?"

"Well it makes sense that there's only one bed, honestly. Since we're supposed to be dating." Shouto pointed out. Denki felt stupid.

"Oh. Right."

"Are you okay with sharing the bed?" Shouto asked teasingly.

"I—yeah, of course I am!" Denki blushed. "Just ... Be warned, I'm kind of a cuddler."

"That's fine."

Silence fell upon them for a moment. Denki had nearly fallen asleep with his clothes on, spread out on the bed, until Shouto broke the silence.

"Oh, there's a balcony." Denki opened his eyes. Shouto was moving aside a curtain to reveal a sliding door that opened to ... Well, a balcony.

Denki sat up. "Look, the sun's about to set."

Shouto nodded softly and opened the door. "Do you want to sit out here for a little bit? Watching the sunset is always nice with another person. I think."

Instead of answering, Denki followed Shouto outside and sat in one of the chairs.

"Uh. I was going to sit there." Shouto said.

"Wh-what?" Denki started to get up. "Oh sorry, you can—"

"No, no, I-I was joking."

"... You were ... Joking ... I must be really tired." Denki blinked.

"What? I can't joke around?" Shouto sat in the other seat.

"No! You can it's just, it doesn't seem like something you usually do."

Shouto hummed. "I'll have to work on that then. I tend to joke around a lot but people always think I'm serious for some reason."

Denki didn't have the heart to tell him it was probably because of his—

"It's probably because of my face. I guess I'd probably be good at pranks because of it, actually."

Denki gaped. "Yeah, you're good at keeping a straight face."

"And that's about it for me. My face and my hair are as straight as can be, nothing else."

"Oh my god." Denki laughed. "You're hilarious!"

"Or you're sleep deprived and imagining things." Shouto suggested.

"Oh no what if I am! My fake boyfriend is hilarious and it's all in my head!" Denki was nearly falling out of his seat.

He took a deep breath to calm down and looked over to Shouto, who had a small smile on his face.

"Look at you, I didn't know you could smile!" Denki joked.

That got Shouto to look away as his smile grew, Denki almost catching a glimpse of his teeth.

Dammit he's so cute.

~~~

After they quieted down, they noticed the sun was starting to set. The pinks and oranges and yellows made everything around them glow.

Shouto was lucky Denki was focused on the scenery—large gardens and pathways that cut through them and over some ponds—because when he glanced over, he couldn't look away.

Denki, much like everything else around them, was glowing. He was already golden, but the glow from the sunset gave him an ethereal aura. His long blond eyelashes looked like lights on his tired eyes. His cheekbones and other high points on his face shone. The half smile on his face made him look both exhausted and at peace, and before Shouto knew it, Denki's head started tipping forward.

"Hey."

Denki snapped his head up and to the side. "Huh? Oh. Hey." He grinned, half asleep. It made Shouto's heart flutter.

"We should head back inside, and sleep on an actual bed." Shouto suggested.

"Oh. Right. Bed. Sleep. That's a thing." Denki got up from the chair. "I should get changed and brush my teeth."

"Me too." When Denki stretched, Shouto finally looked away. "You can get ready first, I'll stay out here."

"Alright."

Alone, Shouto was left to think as the last bits of pink faded from the sky.

It really is nice to watch sunsets with company. Much less lonely than sitting by myself. It helps that Denki is—Shouto sighed. We're only fake dating, I can't get used to thinking of him this way. It might help convince everyone around us we're dating but ... If only ...

~~~

Denki woke up to the sun shining on his face. And ... An arm over his chest.

What?

He looked over to see Shouto resting peacefully, face soft and drool dripping onto the pillow under his head. The sun that wasnt blocked by Denki's head shone over the left side of Shouto's face, highlighting it. Denki smiled at how cute he was while sleeping, free from the stressors of the world and face relaxed instead of hardened into a neutral expression. He found himself wondering what Shouto dreamed of, or if he dreamed at all.

Shouto started to blink his eyes open and Denki looked away, embarrassed at the idea of being caught watching him sleep. He looked at his phone instead, and saw that it was only seven am. They had an hour and a half to get ready for breakfast. Or, to sleep some more and then get ready.

"What time's it?" Shouto slurred, removing his arm from Denki's chest and stretching a little while wiping the drool from his face.

Adorable. Denki thought his chest was going to explode. "It's only seven."

"Good, m'gonna keep sleeping." Shouto laid his arms back in their original positions—which means one of them is back on Denki's chest.

Denki couldn't fall back asleep like that. "... I'm gonna go get ready while you sleep in, then."

Shouto started to frown. "Okay. I have alarms set for seven-thirty and eight. I'll get ready at ... One of those times." He closed his eyes and buried his face into his pillow.

This guy is gonna be the death of me, Denki thought before moving Shouto's arm and getting ready for breakfast.