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Toge rested his head on Yuuta’s shoulder, comforted by the warmth radiating off of his partner. In the winter, when nights were cold, there was nothing quite like burrowing under a blanket together and snuggling on their apartment’s tiny couch.
Oftentimes, Toge liked to be sandwiched between Yuuta and the couch’s plush cushions, three blankets deep with a movie playing. It was his favorite way to fall asleep, and he never had to worry about his back hurting in the morning because Yuuta would always take him back to their room before he turned in for the night.
Currently, It All Began When I Met You played on their television — one of Toge’s favorite movies to get into the winter holiday spirit. The third story was playing when Toge felt his eyes begin to drift shut.
Yuuta carded his fingers through Toge’s hair, scratching his scalp lightly as he flipped through a book he was currently reading.
He loved it — Yuuta was sweet, caring, and let him lower his guard with no restraints. Toge slid down and laid his head in Yuuta’s lap, wrapping his blanket tighter around himself and kissing his knee.
“Are you warm enough?” Yuuta pressed his fingers between Toge’s shoulderblades, drawing a long sigh and a satisfied nod from his partner.
In his warm, sleepy haze, Toge found himself thinking about how simple their get-together had been when Toge had proposed a platonic partnership between them.
Snow sprinkled down outside of the boys’ dormitory, the whimsical little flakes of cold dusting the landscape. Toge was always prone to being cold, and much like a cat, he often found himself seeking out the warmest source of heat that he could. That often led to him finding Panda and wrestling him into letting Toge hug him tight and soak up the furry cursed corpse’s warmth.
This time, as Toge trudged to the students’ practice field, Panda was nowhere to be seen. He looked around, confusion drawing his eyebrows together.
“Kombu?” He asked, trotting up to Maki and wiggling his fists on top of his head.
Maki shook her head. “Panda’s out. He took on a solo mission from Gojo.”
“Okakaaaaa.”
“Don’t whine, you’re just mad that your personal space heater isn’t here.”
Toge crossed his arms with a pout, sulking all the way to the steps with the knowledge that he was going to have to either stand in the cold or sit in the cold. He looked at the concrete stairs, his brain quickly reminding him of how he’d be even colder if he sat down — the damp concrete would just wet the back of his pants, and he’d be left shivering to the bone.
He needed a backup plan.
Toge surveyed his options — Yuuji, Megumi, Nobara, Maki, or Yuuta.
Megumi and Maki were immediately off the table. Both of them would eat him alive if he so much as tried to put a hand in their scarves, let alone squeeze his way into their jackets and huddle with them like a penguin.
Nobara was also off the table. Like him, she tended to run cold, and he doubted that she would appreciate it if he were to stick to her.
That left Yuuji and Yuuta.
Both of them were warm, and both of them were open to snuggles if they weren’t practicing. However…
Toge looked over at where Yuuji laid on the ground, groaning from where Maki kicked his ass and laid him out like a starfish, and at where Megumi was crouched beside him, urging him up. Nah, Megumi likely wouldn’t appreciate it if Toge squeezed in with Yuuji.
That left Yuuta.
Toge looked around and spied him finishing laps around the track. He perked up, immediately homing in on the fact that he was alone and not doing anything but drinking water, and jogged over. Toge was there in an instant, pressing his face into Yuuta’s warm, broad back and wrapping his arms around his waist.
Yuuta laughed. “What’s this? Are you okay?”
“Okaka, kombu…!”
Yuuta turned around and wrapped his arms around Toge’s shoulders, rubbing away the goosebumps on his arms. “Are you getting warmer?”
Toge nodded his head and rested his cheek on Yuuta’s sternum, closing his eyes and allowing himself to soak up Yuuta’s warmth. Yuuta’s heartbeat was calm, a gentle thrum that made Toge’s eyes flutter shut and his breathing even out.
Toge rubbed his cheek on Yuuta’s shirt. “Yuuda, ikura.”
Yuuta’s heart began to beat a little faster — cute.
“Yeah, I know I’m warm, but I’m sweaty too. You’d be better off to find someone less stinky for warmth.”
“Okaka!”
He didn’t feel like finding anyone else for warmth — he’d already deducted that everyone else was either busy or unavailable. He eyed where Megumi was now laying next to Yuuji, their shoulders brushing as he watched Yuuji laugh about something. Yeah, definitely a good thing he hadn’t picked Yuuji to get some warmth out of.
But… what if Yuuta could be someone he always sought out for warmth?
“Yuuda.”
Yuuta raised his eyebrows, waddling further away from their classmates with Toge bundled between his arms.
“What’s up?”
“Sujiko, takana, shake. Sujiko. Yuuda?” Toge gestured between himself and Yuuta, hoping that Yuuta understood what he was trying to say. They could be platonically exclusive — cuddle buddies, if he were to think of it simply. Queerplatonic partners, if he wanted to put a label on it.
It could be named.
It could also not be named.
What mattered was that they were together.
Toge groaned softly, stretching in the morning sunlight. Yuuta was asleep on the couch, his book face-down on the floor, and his arm was slung around Toge’s shoulders.
The TV was off, so Toge could only assume that Yuuta turned it off and decided to spend the night on the couch with him. It was fine, though — Toge was warm, and Yuuta wasn't the most uncomfortable pillow that he could’ve had.
Yuuta’s sleeping face was too cute. Toge kissed his nose, then rested his cheek against his collarbone. He could wait for him to wake up. They had all the time in the world to snuggle over the holidays.