Chapter Text
Mondo let out a noise that sounded somewhat similar to a donkey giving birth.
"What?! Whadda you mean?!" He proceeded to shout down the phone, gripping a handful of his hair while the other hand tightened its hold on the phone until his knuckles were white. That caught Kiyotaka's attention, prompting him to look away from his activity and raise an eyebrow at his boyfriend.
Said boyfriend was supposed to be packing his bags right now. It was the final day of term before Winter Break, frost lining the dormitory windows and casting the room in a hazy silver glow, and most of the students of Hope's Peak had already departed for their homes by this point. Kiyotaka should've been among them considering he had packed his bags much earlier than anyone else (mostly so that he could double-check that he had everything twenty times before he left, which wasn't an issue when you had seven identical uniforms and some notebooks to your name, but it still helped him feel better) but instead he had opted to help Mondo with some last minute packing.
Not that he should've needed to help. He made sure to remind the biker every few days to begin packing his belongings, and every few days he was met with a dismissive hand wave and a "I'll get around to it bro, don't worry!". Well, that was the case until that morning, when a sheepish Mondo had come a-knocking on his door with a plate of rice balls.
("You... haven't even started?" Kiyotaka couldn't help the way his jaw hung slack and eyes widened at that. Mondo ran a hand over his face and groaned.
"No, I ain't started. I- I figured I'd have done it by now, and- I jus' didn't have time, okay?!" His voice raised instinctively, before he caught himself and cast his gaze downwards, "I guess I don't deserve your help, but, if you would..."
Kiyotaka's gaze softened and he clicked his tongue. "I'll help you Mondo, don't worry. I can get any train after 6pm to my father's, so it won't be a hassle." Mondo's face lit up, and Kiyotaka gained a smug expression, "But I'd like to remind you of how many times I told you this would happen-"
"Yeah, yeah." Mondo rolled his eyes playfully, "You were right, Taka. You're always right."
"I know I am.")
So there they were in Mondo's dormitory, Kiyotaka sitting cross-legged on the floor and folding jackets so that he could pass them to Mondo who sat on the bed with the suitcase. They were nearing the end of the biker's extensive clothing collection when he got a phone call, and then let out that horrific noise.
"Daiya, I ain't got a single other place to go!" The hand in Mondo's hair dropped and resorted to gesturing angrily at the wall. Daiya's muffled voice came from the receiver. "No, I can't stay with Michi! I-" The voice became more stern and Mondo dropped his head, breathing deep, "Okay. Yeah. Yeah, I'll see about a late application. Yeah. Right. Whatever. Bye."
The call clicked. Silence filled the room as Mondo dropped his head and sighed into his hand, which was now rubbing his temple.
"...What was that?" Kiyotaka eventually asked, finishing folding the final jacket and setting it neatly on the bed. The other looked over at him with frazzled eyes.
"God, fuckin'- Daiya's had some kinda emergency in the gang and he ain't gonna be home for winter. An' I ain't got a fuckin' spare key so the fucker's basically locked me out." He sighed and looked away, "I gotta ask if the college will let me stay here for the break. Even on the, uh, short notice..."
"Ah, they won't." Kiyotaka's mouth worked faster than his brain as he instinctively recited the rulebook, watching Mondo jerk bolt upright and only then realising his mistake, "Um, well, you need to give at least week's notice that you'll be staying, otherwise they turn off the electricity in your room..." Mondo looked shot, "But, uh, maybe they'll make an exception for unforeseeable circumstances!"
The biker's head fell into his hands again. "I'm fucked."
Mentally, Kiyotaka couldn't help but agree. It was incredibly last minute -- the college was due to turn off the utilities to unused dormitories in about an hour -- and he doubted Mondo had the finances to book a hotel for such an extended time. The biker had no family aside from his brother, and surely didn't want to intrude on the lives of his other gang members who would struggle to even feed just themselves during the harsh winter, let alone an extra guest. It was a tough situation...
Suddenly, an idea reared itself in Kiyotaka's brain. It was a terrible idea, comparable to an earthworm or a mole with how it burrowed into his brain and broke the surface to tempt him. The thought was stupid and impossible and would never work out. But, when he looked up at Mondo and saw a man crumpled in on himself at the stress, he couldn't help himself.
"You could stay at my house."
The words sort of fell out of his mouth, clunky and uncertain as his thoughts continued to spin. Mondo looked up at that, eyes wide, biting the inside of his cheek in that way he did when he was worried.
"Your house?" The biker parroted as if saying it again would cause it to make more sense.
"Yes. My... Well, my father is always saying how happy he is that I finally made some friends..." Kiyotaka reasoned, fiddling with his sleeve now. What he neglected to mention was how often his father followed that up with warnings of not falling behind on studying or getting mixed up 'in the wrong crowds'. He cleared his head. "He'll be at work until long after we arrive there, but I'll be sure to tell him about your stay as soon as he's home! I'm sure he won't mind!"
Mondo sat fully upright now. He blinked a few times, taking in the information, before breaking into a wide grin.
"Hell yes!" He exclaimed, pushing himself to stand and reaching a hand out to Kiyotaka, who took it and also stood, "A whole six weeks with my boyfriend, no studies or exams to distract us..." Mondo pulled him closer, now joining both of their hands together and leaning in to the other. He lowered his voice, "Whatever shall we get up to..?"
"My father works late shifts..." Kiyotaka smiled and played into the flirtatiousness, stepping forward to press his chest into Mondo's and look up at him through low eyelashes, "No-one would be there to interrupt us."
At the reciprocation, Mondo flushed a deep red across his nose and right up to the tips of his ears, causing him to turn nervously to the side. Kiyotaka took this as his victory. He smiled and stepped backwards, unlinking himself from the biker in order to focus on the matter at hand: he turned back to the bed and began setting the folded jackets into the case.
"No fair.." Mondo huffed from out of sight, "Gettin' me all worked up.."
Kiyotaka laughed, "I do believe you started it, Mondo."
"That don't mean you gotta finish it!" Came the defensive retort from behind him. Kiyotaka lulled his head over his shoulder to look backwards and give a playful smile. Mondo fanned his face, attempting to get rid of the blush that still remained, then glared at Kiyotaka and stuck his middle finger up at him.
The pair laughed -- Kiyotaka at the crude insult, Mondo at hearing Kiyotaka's laugh -- as the prefect zipped up Mondo's suitcase with a sense of finality about him.
"All packed." He announced redundantly (Mondo had eyes, after all). It was laughable how different their luggage was: Mondo had three cases stacked on his bed, each full of excessive amounts of clothing and tools for his bike, while Kiyotaka only had one backpack to his name. Still, Mondo looked over and smiled.
"Thanks, Taka." He hummed, glancing around the room to check if they'd grabbed everything. Once confirmed, he looked back at Kiyotaka and shrugged, a wide smile on his face, "Shall we go get this train, then?"