Robin pushed his fingers upward through his bangs, flattening them against the top of his head as he ran his hand over his scalp. His pen tapped against the page below him as he twisted his mouth. Making a tower immediately beside his workspace was the pile of books he'd already pored over, a little haphazardly stacked. The waning light from the window beside his desk painted the white pages and papers orange, and it wouldn't be long before the low light from the laptop screen beside him became his only light source. He was already squinting as his eyes ran over the seemingly endless lines of text under him, but maybe light wasn't the culprit. Had the font size always been that small?

"Robin, if you stare any harder at that paper, you'll set it on fire," came the flippant observation from behind him, and Robin flinched in his seat. He hadn't even heard Marth come in, and he was usually so noisy when he dropped his messenger bag and books beside the door. "You've been working pretty tirelessly all week; don't you think you should give yourself a break on your last night off?"

Glancing over his shoulder, Robin looked over Marth's lean and stylishly-attired form, currently standing with his hands at his hips as he returned his look with concern. Marth always looked like he was pouting when he was any measure of unhappy, and a weaker man would have been moved by his emotive blue eyes. Robin, however, only sighed in exasperation. "It's exactly because this is the last night that I must keep working," he patiently explained. "You wouldn't have me turn in an unfinished essay tomorrow, would you?"

"Well, it isn't due until tomorrow afternoon," Marth insisted, but Robin would not listen to that. Rushing to complete a paper in the wee hours before it was to be turned in was even more miserable than staying up late for it. Finishing it now meant he could sleep in. Hopefully.

"Ahh, I see why you want it done so quickly," Marth's voice hinted to Robin that his lips had pulled into a smile, even when he wasn't looking at him. Robin wasn't sure what he was referring to, however, but his roommate was quick to rest one hand on his shoulder while he leaned over to indicate with the other something that he'd spied among the icons on his laptop screen. "That cute engineering student makes for good motivation, huh?"

Robin reflexively minimized the folder's window, hiding the suggestive video thumbnail from view, but Marth was already giggling. Robin shot him a cold look. Then, he rolled his eyes and calmly went back to his writing.

"Yes, that is, in fact, meant to be my motivation," he admitted, and Marth immediately stopped laughing.

"For real? Can't we watch it now? I wanna see! Robin, your boyfriend is so cute!" Robin had to practically push his nosy roommate's face out of his personal space. He did not turn to face him, however, opting not to provide ammunition for the other. Upon the utterance of the word "boyfriend," his face had deepened in color.

"We can't," he corrected, having no inclination to share the footage with Marth in the first place. "It's password-protected. I'm supposed to text Shulk once I've finished working, and he'll message the password to me." He hoped that he sounded bored and nonchalant as he explained, keeping his concentration on his writing.

"That's a cute arrangement," Marth admitted, looking genuinely appreciative of the sentiment. It was quickly replaced with his usual mischief, however. "You know," he sang in mock innocence, "There's probably some sneaky workaround for unlocking password-protected files even if you don't know the password for them..."

Robin was doubtful. If a workaround were that easy, Shulk would have more layers of defense in place. He was too gosh darn smart, especially with computers, to leave it at only that. To dismiss Marth, he only informed the other that he didn't have any interest in cheating the agreement, anyway.

Marth seemed to accept that, twirling away on his heel. "I'll be out with Ike tonight. It's the last night of senior break, so we're celebrating! You're welcome to come by later, just text me if you want. Okay?"

"Well, I probably won't, but... thanks."

"I know. Just thought I'd offer," Marth was grinning again as he threw a jacket on. "You have your cute junior boyfriend to entertain you once you've wrapped your work for the night, huh?" When Robin's simmering gaze landed on him, he defensively held up his hands. "Hey, I'm actually jealous! I remember having a cute younger boyfriend, too – remember that redheaded kid? I think he might even be in the same class as Shulk now. I wonder if Ike would like him..."

"Marth," Robin warned.

"Sorry. I'm going now. Really!" he dashed the short distance back to Robin to quickly peck a kiss on the side of his temple, and then was twirling away again to finally head out the door. "Don't work too hard. I mean... get some sleep, when you need it." Marth's final smile was quietly kind before he opened the door at last and stepped out.

The silence in the room was made especially empty with the absence of Robin's overly amorous friend. Robin's fingers over his keyboard seemed too loud against it, and shortly after, he found himself opening that folder again to look at the promised file.

It was a small thumbnail, and the middle of it was obscured by a big triangular 'play' icon, but the lower half of Shulk's heated face was clear, mouth open as he gasped. Just enough of his collar was visible to confirm that it was bare, and one shoulder was positioned in such a way as to suggest that he might be reaching down with that arm.

Robin lingered on this only briefly. As much as he wanted to believe a relationship with someone his junior (even if it was only by a year) to be as blissful as Marth imagined, there was a reality to the situation that was more immediately pressing. Senior break was almost over. He would be graduating soon. His eyes went to that thumbnail again, but its salacious content didn't match his mood. He returned instead to his work, seeking to bury himself deeply within it until it was done.

Stars had been casting their light from the sky for many hours when Robin finally put his pen down. He winced at the cramp in his fingers at even so minor a change in their position. His eyes slid over his written work, hardly registering it through the fog of exhaustion. When he closed the heavy cover of the book he'd been referencing, it wasn't even with pride or triumph. He nearly slumped over his desk for lack of strength, but the will not to risk smudging his writing was stronger than even that.

When he pushed himself from his chair, he only just remembered to pick up his laptop and bring it with him across the room and place it at his bedside table. He fell into bed, and the aches all over his body made themselves painfully known. Curling up, he buried his face into the pillow, groaning as he realized only now how very, very strongly his head pained him.

Sleep, his body screamed at him. It seeped into the edges of his vision somehow, even with his eyes closed.

No, he internally urged back. I have to text Shulk. He'll be worried about me otherwise. Fumbling, his fingers grasped for his phone from the bedside table. Sliding it into activation, he was surprised to see a message waiting for him there.

"How's your work going?" Shulk had inquired, much earlier in the day.

Robin lamented that he had failed to notice it before now, but answered back, "Finally finished."

Shulk's next messages were immediate. "I sent that hours ago!" and "You must be exhausted." The sound that puffed from Robin's mouth did not have enough breath powering it to qualify as a laugh. He also wondered if Shulk's swift replies meant that he had kept his phone nearby him all this time, waiting for that answer all day. He felt bad for that, and then even worse when he looked at the time and saw how long Shulk had stayed up, waiting to hear from him.

He was about to say as much when Shulk's next message arrived. "PW is Thoron."

Robin sat up. Truthfully, he had almost forgotten completely. His eyes landed on his laptop, its screen darkened after sitting there for a few minutes without use. He halfway reached for it, then recoiled, returning to the phone instead as another message pinged in.

"Um... enjoy. ❤"

Robin tilted his head in fondness. Shulk had never used a cute heart emoji like that before this moment. He quickly texted back, "Thank you. I'll watch it now," feeling that he ought not leave poor Shulk hanging there in wait. ...Again. He hit a few more controls on his phone before setting it carefully down beside his laptop.

Robin went to his laptop, angling it toward his seat on the bed and lifting the screen, since he had partially closed it when he carried it over here. He squinted against the light of the screen as he started it up, ignoring the flicker of pain behind his tired eyes at the intensity of it. Suddenly, his heart felt very full at the thought of seeing Shulk right now, even if it was only in video form, after being away from him for a full week. He input the password with shaky fingers after clicking that icon that had tantalized him over this whole break.

The video window opened with Shulk's palm nearly covering the camera, but it pulled back as he straightened. Robin watched his eyes scan what must have been the screen in front of him, checking the feedback before finally making eye contact with the lens. Robin closed his mouth and swallowed, surprised by how much his heart jumped at just that contact.

"Hi," the Shulk in the video had said, then laughed quietly to himself at the absurdity. "Er, I have never done anything like this before," he smiled, shrugging, and Robin relished the sound of his voice and warm accent, detectable even through the fairly low sound quality.

"I am a bit nervous doing this, but I hope you like it. And..." he sobered then, shaking his head to clear the nervousness and smile warmly. "Robin, if you're watching this, it means you've been studying and working hard for hours or... days, probably, if I know you. And, I..." his eye contact briefly fell, and he pulled his lips under his teeth to lick them before resuming quietly, "I really want you to know that I... am so proud of you, Robin. You're so damn smart, and you're going to be so successful. I... look up to you a lot. I've never told that to you, but... I do. So... that's why I wanted to do this for you."

Robin was shocked that Shulk chose to open this video with such heartfelt words, staring wide-eyed at the image of his boyfriend on the screen. His tiredness melted, replaced with appreciation. He hadn't known that Shulk viewed him as someone to look up to, at all.

Shulk backed away further from the camera, settling onto his knees on the comforter that Robin recognized as his bed. His hands grasped the lower hem of his sweater and he lifted it, discarding it over his head. Robin had sat up by now, too, watching with unabashed interest. He was familiar enough with Shulk's torso to know that the average-quality webcam was not picking up the full definition of his stomach muscles, and he silently resolved to buy a better one for him at the next gift opportunity, even if he had to make one up.

Shulk stuttered a nervous, "Um," as he hesitated at the zipper of his shorts. Robin saw him close his eyes as he built up his resolve, then quickly undid the closure and pushed them down. He kicked the article off, arranging himself on the sheets again as he checked the camera for his placement. Robin warmed, too, as he observed Shulk rubbing himself through the fabric of his boxer briefs with one hand while the other hand reached over the camera and adjusted its angle. He pulled it closer, so that more of him filled the screen, which Robin was grateful for.

With the camera adjusting finished, Shulk had time to get shy again, realizing what he was doing with his other hand and hesitating. He bulged against the fabric, and Robin crept his own hand into his clothes, observing the blush that colored Shulk's face as he resumed his movements as well. Then, Shulk slipped his fingers under the elastic waistband, too, the fabric stretching to accommodate his hand as it rubbed over his length once before he finally lowered the article to free himself.

Maybe his gasp and heave of his chest were a response to seeing himself revealed on his recording software, never having observed his body like this before. Either way, Robin was appreciative of it, rubbing himself with a matching rhythm.

Shulk's blond eyelashes fluttered closed then, getting airy as he jerked off. Even the static-y microphone picked up the shuffling sound of skin sliding over skin. Robin slowed his own rhythm, as excited as he was to take in all of this, because the bar underneath the video betrayed that there were several minutes to this still and he wanted to enjoy as much of it as he could.

Even the knowledge that there must be more to the video did not prepare Robin for the surprise of Shulk turning around, so that his back faced the camera. As he arranged his legs, he took the opportunity to slide off his underwear, kicking it away off the bed. Robin's eyes followed the S-curve of his back, and the cute shape of his butt, paler in color than the tan over the rest of Shulk's skin, while Shulk's hands fiddled with something in front of him. When Shulk's fingers were visible again, Robin saw them wetly coated, and could easily surmise what was coming next.

It did not diminish his surprise and pleasure as he watched Shulk's fingers slip into the crevice of his buttocks, rubbing a little circle around the hole that Robin could just barely see through the graininess of the camera. Robin wished that he could see Shulk's expression as the tips of two fingers disappeared inside. Two?! Just like that? Robin had covered the lower half of his face with his free hand while his hips twitched upward into his curled hand.

Shulk made himself more comfortable, leaning his body forward to rest one forearm against the bed, which raised his ass in the air in full view of the camera. Robin could only see a little of his face, but saw his mouth open as he heavily breathed, while his fingers disappeared further inside of him and pulled out again, their slick wetness catching the light. He appreciated how the rest of Shulk's fingers were splayed, with his thumb and pinkie pressed into the padding of his buttocks. His flushed and full cock hung below him, pointed toward his stomach and bobbing as he moved.

He pumped himself like that for a minute, until he retracted his fingers further and crept a third finger inward to join them. As Robin watched three fingers stretch Shulk's hole and press inside, he had to break the rhythm of his own pumping and just hold his cock still for a moment, fearing again that he would orgasm before this was finished. The microphone picked up Shulk's whiny groan as he picked up a quick pumping pace, and Robin devoured the sight of his boyfriend's ass taking the width of three fingers at that speed. He felt dizzy as he considered the reality of Shulk doing this to himself on his bed, with the audience of a camera. An amazed word breathed from his lips, but he wasn't even cognizant of whether it was "fuck" or "wow."

Shulk's pace slowed again, and Robin was immediately worried that he had missed the point of orgasm. He searched for signs of it as Shulk moved, surmising that he hadn't missed it at all and that Shulk was only repositioning himself. He faced forward again, fingers still plugged in, so he couldn't sit down directly, instead settling his weight to one side while he held his legs splayed so that his stretched hole was still in view. His chest, neck, and face were flushed red, his bangs hanging slightly mussed around his tired-looking face.

It was with his left hand that he pumped his hole, so his right hand was free to go between his legs again and rub over his straining erection. He practiced a few experimental jerks, while his expressions cycled from gritted teeth to open gasps, but soon he got his timing down and pumped into his ass with his fingers while jerking himself off at the same time. His raised leg – the one that was not folded below him – trembled, his toes digging into the blanket, gripping its folds.

While Shulk worked like this, Robin recognized the frame that had been used as the video's thumbnail. Maybe he had been regarding that thumbnail more than he realized, glancing at it at any point that his studying wavered, letting it fill him with resolve to keep working so that he could finally witness this.

Small grunting sounds flew from Shulk's throat, and Robin saw his body tightening. His face angled upward, releasing a fluttering moan as the tip of his cock shot white fluid in several broken streams. His right hand kept working, milking himself, while his left hand remained embedded deeply inside. As Shulk's shoulders fell when he released his breath, Robin was at the video's controls, bumping back the slider to watch the pivotal moment again, three more times.

He let it play after that, and while Shulk heaved to get his breath back, Robin pumped furiously to orgasm himself. He had slumped over, his head hanging, before sounds from the playing video reminded him to glance up again to look at it.

Shulk's tired eyes met the camera lens again, and Robin could see humbleness washing over his features as he realized what he'd just done on camera.

Still breathlessly recovering, Shulk crawled forward to the camera to speak into it again. "Uh," he managed between breaths, "I hope that... well, you know." He gave a tired smile. "I just wanted to say... thank you so much, Robin. I know you're watching this at the end of your break, so we'll be seeing each other again soon. Maybe even tomorrow."

A smile took Robin's lips as he realized that, yes, tomorrow he would be returning to campus. He was already imagining sweeping up Shulk into a big hug when he saw him, and maybe using that momentum to throw him down onto that bed he'd just been watching him on – the other reason he wanted his morning free of worrying about finishing his paper.

"So," Shulk was continuing, "I'll see you then." He offered a slightly more confident smile. He looked cute, leaning forward to smile into the camera, and even with his visibility cut off at his bare chest, Robin could tell that he was resting his weight on his arms held in front of him, hands balled on the comforter. "I hope that... well," he looked aside, and took in a big breath before continuing. "Graduation is coming up, I know, and... you and me will..." He gave his head a shake, continuing with new resolve, "I want to keep seeing you. I'll make time for it. We can make it work. Can't we? I like you, Robin. A lot. I love you." It was amazing, even after having bared himself in front of the camera as he had, that speaking that phrase humbled him and brought more warmth to his features than anything else. His heat was mirrored in Robin's features as well, who closed his mouth and swallowed.

Shulk smiled tiredly again. "Anyway, you probably need some sleep. Please rest up. I'll see you soon." His hand reached over the camera again and he flashed a final farewell of a grin, promising, "Love you," before the video footage went black.

Robin sat back. His eyes landed on the phone next to him, which he'd set up at the beginning, and picked it up now. "Of course we'll make it work," he said quietly, as if speaking to it. "I love you, too, you beautiful, brilliant creature." He chortled a quick laugh to himself for saying something so corny, and finally turned it over and tapped a few buttons. Shortly, he was back to his messages.

"That was amazing," he texted. "You're beautiful. I love you so much."

The ellipsis icon that indicated that Shulk was currently typing popped up, and stayed there for a long time. Robin knew that he was deliberating over his words, and decided to spare him by quickly messaging again.

"Here's my video. My response is there. Hope YOU enjoy it." Before sending, he tapped out a quick "❤" of his own. Shulk's typing ceased, signaling to Robin that he'd guessed correctly. Then, it was only a matter of attaching the video he'd just recorded of himself as he reacted to Shulk's footage. He hadn't put on a nice show like Shulk had, and was embarrassed that Shulk would be seeing his expressions as he jerked off, and maybe it wasn't at a perfect angle, but all of the important parts were visible, and he knew that Shulk would be appreciative of all of it anyway.

When Robin hit send, he was awash with embarrassment at the thumbnail the video file chose. Really, he was positioned much as Shulk's had looked, but he hadn't fully undressed and he looked so, so tired. He decided against clicking 'play' and watching himself, but Shulk's next messages were excited confirmations that he was watching it now, and he decided to just set his phone down beside him as he laid down in the dark for a few minutes.

He smiled quietly to himself as he nuzzled into his pillow, daydreaming about seeing Shulk again the next day, and many more days after that.

Bonus:

"Hey, just curious," Robin asked much later, while the two shared a milkshake in the campus cafeteria. "Is there a guy in your class with red hair? Spiky and all over the place – looks like a little fireball."

"There's Roy," Shulk answered after thinking upon it. "He's my lab partner. Why?"

"Just asking for my roommate," Robin confirmed, quickly tapping out a message to Marth on his phone. "How open are you to the idea of a double-date?"