A fluffy story to kick off the winter season! Hope you enjoy! (I don't own anything)
Non-Beyblade, High School AU
Brooklyn flashed one of his famous smiles at the other teen sitting next to him. "Thanks again for tutoring me," he said coolly.
Hiro quirked an eyebrow at the younger boy. "Yeah, no problem. I have to admit though, I always thought you were bragging about how you never studied for anything. Why the change?"
Sighing, Brooklyn answered, "Well honestly Mr. B doesn't like me. I think it has to do with the fact that I told him his class was a joke that one time. Anyways, he told me to ask you for help studying. I'm not even sure why."
Hiro nodded. Mr. B was clearly a teacher who expected his students to have to put a lot of effort into his class, Calculus, and hated when those who didn't still passed the tests. For some reason their teacher had taken a liking to Hiro, and thus suggested to the other students to go to him for help. It was somewhat annoying, to always have random kids asking him questions when he was trying to eat his lunch, but he figured it was a good thing to be on the strict teacher's good side.
"Well I should get going, then," Brooklyn said with a yawn. He stretched his back as he stood up from the table in the kitchen.
That kind of made Hiro sad. Sure, he knew that Brooklyn had been at his house for a couple hours now, but he liked having the other as company. His brother and grandpa lived a few towns over in the dojo, leaving Hiro alone in his small apartment. Of course it was his decision to go to the famous BEGA High School, but that didn't make his living arrangements any less lonely.
Also standing up, Hiro glanced out the window above the sink and saw large white flakes quickly making their way down to the ground. "Oh, I didn't realize it was snowing," he said amusedly.
Brooklyn frowned softly as his gaze turned to the window. "Ahh, I hate the cold," he pouted.
"Would you like to have a warm drink before you go, then?" Hiro asked.
Tapping his pointer finger against his chin for a moment, Brooklyn hummed thoughtfully. "Yeah, sure! It's Saturday night, so there's no rush to get home," he beamed.
Hiro's heart fluttered slightly at the other's smile. It wasn't just that someone was at his house that made him so happy, it was the fact that it was Brooklyn. The orange haired teen had somehow captured Hiro's heart back in Sophomore year, and his feelings had only continued to grow since then. Something about his confidence-that-was-really-cockiness attitude combined with his melts-your-heart smile had first caught Hiro's eye, but as he got to know the other better, he realized how much more there was to Brooklyn as a person. The other high school Senior surely had had more than his fair share of hardships growing up, something that Hiro could relate to.
"So... what do you have to drink?" Brooklyn asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Hiro blinked. A blush tinged his fair skin as it dawned on him that he'd been staring at the other boy. "Uh, yeah, I have coffee, tea, cocoa..."
Brooklyn's eyes sparkled. "Do you have marshmallows?"
"I think so," Hiro answered. He rummaged around in a couple of cabinets before pulling out an unopened bag of the fluffy sweets. "Cocoa it is then?" he asked, smirking slightly.
Brooklyn nodded in answer.
Hiro got busy boiling water and setting up two mugs with the powdered chocolate drink. As the water continued to heat up, Hiro spared a glance at Brooklyn. He smiled warmly at the other's excited expression. "A big fan of cocoa, huh?"
Brooklyn nodded enthusiastically. "I used to drink the stuff all the time! But I haven't had the opportunity in so long." He turned his bright smile to Hiro and let out a little chuckle.
Soon the water was boiling rapidly, so Hiro turned off the heat on the stovetop and poured the liquid into the mugs. Handing one to Brooklyn, the two boys began to stir their drinks. Grabbing the bag of marshmallows, Hiro led the two of them back to the small kitchen table.
Once they'd sat down, Brooklyn grabbed the marshmallow bag, tearing it open. "I looove these," he all but purred, dropping five of them into the mug, only to have two of them plop out.
"Marshmallows make me think of my childhood," Hiro said thoughtfully, putting two into his own mug. "My brother used to eat, like, a bag of them everyday." Hiro shuddered at the thought.
"Lucky kid," Brooklyn laughed before taking a sip of the steaming liquid. "Mmm, so good. Thanks Hiro," he said.
"Yeah, it's no problem. And I appreciate your company, anyways," Hiro said, the last part being more directed at his drink rather than the person sitting across from him. He could feel his ears heat up at how lame that had sounded. Hiro hoped that Brooklyn hadn't caught it.
Of course, that wasn't the case. Brooklyn turned his face away from his mug to stare at Hiro for a moment. Eventually, he just smiled wholeheartedly and went back to drinking.
But Hiro knew there was more meaning to that smile than most. It wasn't as dazzlingly bright as his normal smiles, but it held much more happiness and genuine emotion. Hiro's ears felt a bit warmer.
Casually, Brooklyn commented, "You're cute when you blush."
Hiro's eyes immediately widened, and he nearly spat out his drink. Forcing himself to swallow the hot cocoa, he began to cough. Regaining his breath, Hiro turned his burning face to his companion. "W-w-what?" he stammered out.
Brooklyn could only laugh at the display. He shook his head and laughed. "I just said that I think you're cute, I didn't expect you to flip out like that."
Eyes still wide, Hiro searched Brooklyn's face. The other was calmly drinking his cocoa again, appearing as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "But... You really... think I'm cute?" Hiro asked quietly. He could feel a faint flicker of hope in the pit of his stomach.
"Of course. If I didn't have a crush on you, do you really think that I would have ever come here to study? Even though Mr. B told me I had to do it, I wouldn't have if it was anyone else," Brooklyn chuckled, a faint blush evident on his own cheeks now.
Hiro could only gape at Brooklyn for a while, until his brain finally remembered how to talk. "You have a crush on me?"
With a nonchalant wave of his hand, Brooklyn replied, "Yeah, so? Have a problem with that?" His words sounded uninterested, but his eyes revealed that there was some slight nervousness hidden behind them.
Swallowing thickly, Hiro took a moment to compose himself before saying, "I don't mind, as long as you don't care that I have a crush on you." Hiro's heart was hammering in his ribcage and his face felt like it was glowing it was so hot.
Brooklyn blinked at his friend for a second before a huge grin split his face. "I guess I don't mind." He put his mug down on the table and stood up from his chair. He crossed over to Hiro, and held out a hand to him.
Curious, Hiro took the hand, standing up as well. Immediately, the shorter boy pulled Hiro into a tight hug. Hiro smiled as he buried his face into Brooklyn's hair. Feeling bold, after a moment of just embracing one another, Hiro pulled back and looked at Brooklyn's face. Closing his eyes, Hiro leaned in and felt his lips connect to Brooklyn's. It was brief, but it was still fantastic feeling. The two boys pulled back and smiled at each other.
"Hey, wanna watch a movie or something?" Brooklyn asked, arms wrapping around Hiro.
Hiro cocked an eyebrow. "I thought you said you had to leave," he glanced at the clock on the wall, "about 20 minutes ago?" He playfully smiled at the other teen.
Brooklyn's own smile turned into a bit of a smirk. "Baby, it's cold outside," he said in a slightly sing-song voice.
Chuckling, Hiro said, "Hmm I can't argue with that." He glanced out the window to watch the snow continuing to drift down. He placed his own arms around Brooklyn's waist, pulling himself closer to the other's warmth. Maybe it was cold outside, but Hiro had nothing to worry about there, in Brooklyn's embrace. Hiro turned back to Brooklyn and quickly pecked his lips. Pulling away, he led the other into the living room, where they could spend the night watching movies and cuddling on the couch.
And to think, it all happened because it was cold outside.