SuFin - Fire Drill
Bluest-of-Jayys
Nine PM on a Tuesday night, somewhere between the end of Thanksgiving break and the beginning of Dead Week. Not close enough to Finals to be stressed, but there was nervous energy in the air and it had become a general rule that if there was anyone studying in a common room, everyone else had to be quiet. Tino was one of those people, having joined the eight-or-so students staring holes into their textbooks while enjoying the comfort of the common room couches. He switched back-and-forth from plodding away at his lab report and studying for his stats exam, occasionally looking up to ask one of his peers a quiet question to which he would receive a quiet answer. Then he'd take another sip of the grody energy drink he'd picked up at the dining hall and try to shake off the caffeine-induced anxiety it gave him. Ick.
When the alarm sounded, Tino was ready to toss his computer against a wall. Who dare interrupt his study session? Who dare possibly make him fail his stats exam, whenever the hell it was? He grabbed his phone and keys and trudged outside. The building had better not actually be on fire.
He joined his fellow students outside in the freezing temperatures, shivering underneath his pajama pants and T-shirt. From the way his peers wore similar outfits, he judged that something was indeed on fire, because if it had been pre-planned, everyone would have known.
One boy, Berwald from down the hall, had been so rudely whisked into the cold mid-shower. His resting bitchface had deepened into something that could make the most tight-lipped of criminals share their secrets, and he wore nothing save for a towel he managed to grab to preserve his dignity. But when water droplets were freezing on one's hot, naked body, there wasn't much dignity to preserve.
Berwald's hot, naked body. Tino had to stop for a moment. Did he really just think that? Out loud in his brain? Oh God, he hoped to high heaven and back that he hadn't said anything.
That was when Berwald turned his resting bitchface on Tino, who attributed his shivers to the cold and not to the fact that the hot boy from down the hall was naked and looking at him. Granted, he didn't have his glasses, so he could have been looking at a garbage can or a fire hydrant or something. Tino tried his best to impersonate a garbage can or a fire hydrant while simultaneously taking in as much of Berwald's hot bod as he could. An opportunity like this only presented itself once in almost never.
"…Tino? That you?"
Startled out of the trance brought on by staring at Berwald's amazing abs, Tino let out a loud squeal. He quickly regained his composure. "Yes? Berwald? Are you all right?"
Berwald shivered. "It's chilly an' I can't see anything."
"Yeah, it really sucks that the fire alarm went off right now," Tino laughed, trying to pretend he wasn't freaking out on the inside. "I mean, I was right in the middle of studying for the stats exam when it happened, so…"
The crowd began to move and Tino felt a hand grab his arm, cold as ice. It was Berwald, who struggled to keep the towel around his waist with his free hand. "Can't see. Help me out?" he asked softly.
Tino's heart leapt. "O-of course," he answered, taking Berwald's arm and guiding him back into the building. He silently thanked whoever had set off the fire alarm for providing him with this magical moment.
It ended too soon. They were back inside. Students scattered to return to what they had been doing, and Berwald looked like he really wanted to finish his shower as Tino led him back to his room. Berwald's roommate let him in, and he withdrew from Tino's touch.
"Thanks fer the help," he mumbled, drawing his towel tighter around his waist. "See ya around."
"Wait," Tino interjected, "after you're done, um, wanna study stats with me?"
Berwald's resting bitchface relaxed into the tiniest of smiles. Flutters erupted in Tino's gut.
"Sure," said Berwald.
AN: yayaya we made aspirin in lab and now we have to write a long report on it... due tomorrow at 4PM.
Have a ficlet~~
Real talk though, my friend set off the fire alarm last month by boiling water in a dorm-compliant water boiler with auto-shutoff. He got bitched out anyway. They took his toaster and if I recall correctly, they still have it.
The energy drink Amp gives me anxiety but it's the only energy drink they sell in the dining hall... Don't drink Amp.
