This had to be his imagination. There was no way, that anybody could use that much cologne. And above all, of all the things it had to be lavender.
Ren didn't hate exactly hate it, neither did he like it. Bu the scent drilled it's way into his nostrils, irritating him to no end.
Where was it coming from? Ren sighed. There was no way he could find out. Except maybe breaking into all of the other guys rooms and searching them to get rid of that thing.
Well, he can't do that, can he?
Or maybe he can.
Aside from a few cosmetics of various quality, he could not find anything in Masato's drawers, and none of it was lavender-scented. Ren did not know why he even bothered to check- he was forced to live with that guy, so he would be able to tell whether is him using that cologne or not. He put everything back in its place and went off to Ittoki's and Tokiya's room.
Their room was open, obviously. Ittoki was infamous for forgetting that kind of trivial stuff. Ren doubted if he still even had the key. Otoya's side of the room was messy, while Tokiya's was clean and proper. He could see an abandoned soccer ball in the corner and a few magazines about soccer- one of Otoya's many hobbies. Ren checked the drawers, but found nothing, so he snuck into the bathroom.
He checked if there were any perfumes- and there were! With a satisfied smile, he reached for the bottles, only to find out, seconds later, that none of them was the bottle he was looking for. Carefully, after checking if no one is coming, he left the room and started heading to his final destination: Shou's and Natsuki's room.
To be honest, he had some doubts about this. Natsuki always creeped him out a little bit- he couldn't tell why exactly, but there was something mysterious about him. And to add insult to injury, the way he treated Shou…
Ren shook his head. He is not thinking about this right now. He was not denying the feelings he had for the shortest member of their group, but he tried desperately not to act on them. There were rules and regulation, that were not to be broken at the Saotome Academy- and Ren did not want his career to end prematurely. So far, he succeeded in treating Shou as every other person.
When he finally arrived at the door's to Natsuki's and Shou's room, he took a deep breath and turned the knob. Immediately, he felt the foul smell of lavender; he was in the right place. He couldn't find anything in Natsuki's things, so he went over to Shou's desk. He saw a curious looking bottle, so he picked it up. It contained some white pills.
Must be medication for his heart condition, Ren thought and gently put it back. He was aware of Shou's heart problems, as was their entire group. They even had medic come in once, to show them what to do in case of some accident. Which, Ren hoped, would never happen- but it's always better to be safe than sorry.
Finding absolutely nothing in the room, Ren decided to check the bathroom. And there it was, in plain sight. A small bottle, containing lavender cologne. His nemesis. He picked it up, intending to dispose of that wretched evil thing, he turned around-
"What are you doing here?" Shou was standing in the doorway, looking at him suspiciously. Ren froze in place, caught red-handed, as a bottle of perfume was still in his hand. He didn't know what to do.
So he panicked instead.
"Well, I… See, I have too…"
Shou seemed sad, and when he looked like this, Ren immediately feelt guilty, whether he really was or not. And now, well, he was. He was caught trying to mess with his things.
"You don't like it?" Ren wasn't even looking at him at this point. Instead, he focused on the ceiling.
"It's not… I…" Well, damn it. He had no excuse. Shou was starting to look even sadder, which Ren would've thought impossible until now. "I think it… suits you?" He tried.
Shou's face lightened up a little bit. "Really?" He asked. Ren couldn't help but smile at that reaction.
"Of course. It's strong and immediately noticeable, just like you."
Ren could not tell what made him do it. The fact that Shou blushed after his words, the way he smiled or maybe something else, but he gripped his hand, pulled him closer and gently kissed his forehead. The smell of lavender instantly hit him, but he couldn't care less. When he pulled away, Shou's face was redder than Ittoki's hair, and he couldn't help, but laugh.
"What do you think you're doing, idiot?!" Shou yelled at him, but there was just a tiny bit of laughter in his voice. "But… thanks."
"Here you go." Ren gave Shou his cologne back. "Just try to use a little less, will you?"
This earned him a punch in the shoulder, but he couldn't feel any pain.
Maybe he'll come to like lavender after all.