Aw, man, not again!

Touko rushed across the street towards her dorm building.

I can't believe I lost track of time. Again. I was just catching up with some old friends in the dining hall, having a good old time, and then suddenly an alarm went off in my head: my laundry! I completely forgot about it!

Once she reached the building, she tore open the door and flew up the stairs. So help me, if someone dumped my clothes on the floor and I have to wash them again… she shook her head. Why does this always happen? Why must I do this to myself? Damn my constant tardiness!

She reached her dorm room and shoved her key into the door. Whipping the door open, she ran inside to get her laundry basket.

"Oh! Ah, hey Touko! Back already?" she heard her roommate, Bianca, ask.

Bianca had been one of her best friends since they were both kids, and Touko was beyond excited when she found out that they were both going to the same college. She was such a sweet girl, and she was also the perfect roommate, even if her side of the room was a little cluttered at times.

"Yeah, I, being the genius that I am, forgot about my laundry again," she answered, turning to face Bianca only to notice that she wasn't alone. Touko smiled and shook her head.

"Hey, Cheren, how's it going?" she said before ducking under her bed to grab her laundry basket.

"Um, I'm doing well, thanks," Cheren scratched the back of his head sheepishly, scooting a few inches away from Bianca. Touko had to stifle a giggle. These two. They've had a crush on each other for years, and even though they're practically inseparable nowadays, they still can't figure out the other's feelings.

Cheren was another one of Touko's childhood friends. He, Bianca, and Touko all grew up together in the same town and then went on to the same college. Cheren and Bianca were in a class together, and it seemed that Touko had interrupted their study session, due to the pile of books and notes sprawled out on Bianca's desk.

"Alright," Touko bounced back up, laundry basket in hand. "Everyone cross their fingers that my clothes are okay, because I really don't have an extra couple of hours to rewash them and I'm running out of underwear, so there are high stakes here."

Bianca frowned. "Oh, dear, do you think someone dumped them out again? The people in this building are so impatient."

"Wait, again? Just how often does this happen to you, Touko? I'd think that you would've learned by now," Cheren said, raising an eyebrow at her.

Touko just stuck her tongue out at him in response as she hurried out of the room. She almost stumbled down the stairs, but recovered and ran into the laundry room. There was someone else in there folding clothes, but Touko was too focused on the task at hand to notice. She checked dryer 23 (her favorite dryer, as it was the only one that consistently dried her clothes properly) and let out a groan of frustration when she found someone else's clothes spinning in the machine.

Running her fingers through her dark brown ponytail, she started to search the room for her clothes and hoped that no one threw anything away. The clothes were nowhere in plain sight, so she set her basket down and knelt down to check underneath the table in the middle of the room. She didn't notice when someone started hovering over her.

"Were your clothes in machine number 23?" a soft voice asked.

Touko looked up to see a guy with long green hair peering down at her. She quickly got up and brushed the dirt off of her knees.

"Yeah, they were, do you know what happened to them?"

"Yes."

Touko blinked at him. "…could you tell me where they are?"

"They're here in my basket," he gestured to the basket on the table, "I folded them. There were no dryers open and your clothes were done, so I took them out."

Touko sighed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness! Thank you so much. I thought that I would have to waste more time washing them again. I have so many assignments to do without having to worry about-"

"Is that your basket?" he interrupted, pointing beside her.

"Huh?" She looked where he was pointing, and saw her picture-covered laundry basket. She had taped pictures of her with her family, friends, and Pokémon on it before she moved out. "Oh, yeah, that's mine, why?"

"Are those your Pokémon in the pictures?"

She looked back over to the basket. Several of the pictures showed her playing with all of her Pokémon. Students weren't allowed to keep Pokémon in the dorms at this university, and Touko missed hers terribly. Part of why she put the pictures there was to make her happy while doing her laundry. Covering the boring, plain white color of the basket was just a bonus.

"They sure are! Do you have any back at home?"

"I have a couple." He stared at a picture of her hugging a large Serperior. "Your Pokémon… they seem to be happy with you."

"Aw, yeah, I love them a lot. They're the best. I only wish I could bring them with me to school. I'm here to study Pokémon, though, so even though it's been hard, it's worth it to learn more about them."

The guy stared at her for a minute, and Touko grew a little uncomfortable under his intense gaze. She coughed nervously and then started to transfer her clothes from his basket to hers.

"So, yeah, I really appreciate you doing this."

"You should…be mo…spons…" the boy mumbled, his face suddenly serious.

Touko cocked her head. "I'm sorry? I didn't quite catch that."

"I said that you should try being more responsible. If I hadn't been here, then your clothes would have been ruined and you would have had to wash them again, which would cut into your studying time, which could potentially lower your grades and cause you to stop coming to school and learning more about Pokémon, which would be awful, so do try being more punctual next time," he spat out quickly.

Touko was taken aback by his sudden outburst. She tried to piece his words together and make sense of it all, wondering whether or not she should be offended. She shrugged and just laughed it off.

"Ha, well, maybe I should." The guy looked at her curiously in response. She continued, "Anyways, thank you for saving my laundry, um…"

"N."

"Hm?"

"My name is N."

"Oh, okay, then." Interesting name. Must be a nickname, right? I mean, who would name their child N? She brushed the thought off. "I'm Touko, good to meet you. I have to say, you are officially the hero of the laundry room, N. Thanks again, and I guess I'll see you around!"

Touko smiled at him, grabbed her basket, and strode out of the laundry room. So, that was weird, she thought to herself while climbing the stairs. What a strange person. Whatever, he was nice enough to save my laundry, and I guess there's nothing wrong with being a little different.

I wonder if I'll actually see him around again.

A/N: Hey guys! This is my first fanfic, so I would appreciate any commentary that you guys have. I wanted to write some NxTouko fanfiction because it's one of my absolute favorite ships. This is a college AU, but there will still be some Pokémon elements involved! I haven't figured out how long this will be, but I'm pretty sure there will be at least a few more chapters. Hope you all enjoy!

-goldcrocodiles