How to Spend the Weekend

Saturday - 6 Days Before Christmas

Mina twirled before dancing on her toes in front of the door. "You got this, girl!" she coached herself, before jumping up and rapping her knuckles on the wood. She hummed a loud melody as she waited, hopping from one foot to the other as excess energy spilled out of her.

A few moments later, the door creaked open. She was met with the stunned expression of a blonde-haired girl with glasses. "Um… Are you lost?" the girl asked in a meek voice.

"This is the class 1-J dorm, right?" Mina asked, checking the sign above the door for the eighteenth time in the last two minutes, even though she'd met Roan outside of the building multiple times for the bento exchange.

"Y-Yeah, but… aren't you Mina Ashido from the hero course? What are you doing here—"

She caught sight of white hair in the room beyond, then pushed her way past the unwitting dorm-guard. "Hideshiro!" Mina chirped. "How are you, buddy?!"

The aforementioned student stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to look at her. His white hair was combed to the side and his brown eyes were wide in a combination of shock and horror. "A-Ashido?"

There were glances and whispering from a handful of other business-course students, who were gathered on the couch and floor watching "Law and Structure" while working on new designs for their business cards. Hideshiro's pale cheeks flushed as pink as Mina's skin when he realized everyone was staring at them. "W-What do you want? I barely know you."

"Can you tell me if this tastes good?" She dug in the bag she was holding, produced a heart-shaped white chocolate, and forcefully popped it into his mouth.

"Mmf! H-hey, wath the…" The boy swallowed before staring at her with an affronted expression. "W-What was that about? Are you messing with me?!"

"Maybe a little." She winked. "So? Was it good?!"

He scratched his cheek. "I… guess? Tastes like chocolate." He shook his head adamantly, then smirked. "I get it. You haven't stopped thinking about me since we met a couple of days ago, right? You're realizing that Mount Fujinari isn't all it's cracked up to be. I get it. I'd take me over that socially mutant giraffe, too."

She clasped her hands to her chest. "OMG, giraffes are actually my favorite animal!" She sent him another wink before continuing. "If he's a giraffe, does that make you a big-mouthed hyena?"

Hideshiro's ears went red before he huffed and put his nose in the air. "I take it back. You two are clearly made for each other. Such disrespect."

"Hey, while we're on the topic…" Mina put her hands behind her back and proffered her most charming smile. "Can you take me to Ro-Ro's room? I would totally owe you!"

"Ah. So that's why you were cozying up to me." Hideshiro narrowed his eyes. "Can't you text him?"

"He never checks his messages, that shy boyfriend of mine!"

The muttering from the group of kids in the living room increased.

"If you don't tell me where he is, then I'll just have to hang out with you today!"

Hideshiro cleared his throat. "Alright, alright. Come with me."

Score!

Mina skipped after the white-haired boy, down the first-story hall all the way to the last room on the right. There was a piece of notebook paper taped to the door with a crudely drawn, jagged-toothed monster on it and the words: "Don't disturb the beast!"

"Did your little sibling draw that, Hideshiro?" she asked, feigning innocence. "So cute!"

The boy cleared his throat again before snatching the paper and crumpling it into a ball. "You know how it is. Poor Fujinari really is a sad case. I have to do everything in my power to keep bullies from ruining his high-school life. If he just tried to be a little less… himself…"

Mina rolled her eyes when he wasn't looking, then knocked on the door.

No answer.

"Is he outside?" she asked.

"Who, Fujinari?" Hideshiro laughed. "On a weekend? You're kidding right? I've seen bats that get more daylight than he does."

Mina knocked again, louder this time. "Ro-Ro! Open up, it's meeee~"

"Honestly, you should just give up. He's probably snoring in his coffin right about now. Come dusk, he'll sneak out to drink the blood of some poor tomatoes in the kitchen before going on a night prowl."

"Roan!" She slammed both fists on the door. "If you don't open up, then I'm just gonna stand out here and sing!" She took a deep breath, then started to beat-box one of the songs from the album they'd been listening to yesterday.

Two seconds later, the door opened just wide enough for a yellow eye to glare at her. "Why… here?"

"Cuz I wanted to see you, duh!" She pushed the door open and invaded the boy's bedroom without further consent. "Whoa~ Your room is so spacey~" she marveled at the constellation diagrams and planet posters on his walls.

"Mina, I didn't invite you here," Roan snapped. "This isn't part of our…" he glanced at Hideshiro in the hall. "I'm busy right now."

"Workin' on your project?" she asked as she sat in his desk chair and peered at his computer screen.

He quickly walked over and closed the browser before pulling the chair away from his desk. "Get out."

"Aw, but I wanna talk to you about something important!"

"No."

She flopped onto his bed and picked up the book sitting on his pillow. "Oooh, Robotic Dawn! What's this about?"

Hideshiro smirked in the hall. "Looks like you don't need another tormentor after all, Fujinari. Maybe I can go on vacation and let your girlfriend torture you for me. Finally, some relaxation." He started to close the door, but Roan was there in an instant.

"No, you don't!" He yanked the other boy into the room before slamming the door shut and locking it. "Don't you dare leave me alone with her."

"But we're not friends! I hate you!"

"I hate both of you," Roan groaned.

"Hey!" Mina sat the book down. "That's not really nice when I came all the way here to give you a present!"

Roan pinched his temples and held up a hand, demanding silence. Mina and Hideshiro were both still as he gathered himself. "What… want?"

She grinned before opening her bag again and presenting him with a neatly wrapped box. "It's almost Christmas~ And since we're a couple, I had to get you a present!"

Roan eyed the package for a long time. Mina watched his expression, noting the distrust and irritation in it. Honestly, she'd known there was a good chance of this blowing up in her face, but… After their conversation with Ochaco yesterday, she'd been restless. She couldn't sleep or eat, and could hardly stand to be next door to her friend. The guilt was eating her alive. So, in the middle of the night, she decided that the best way to handle her feelings was, of course, to let Roan be a distraction from them!

"Is it a prank?" he asked. "Is it dangerous?"

"No, silly! They're just chocolates! Hideshiro tried one and he's still alive, so that proves they're safe for consumption!"

Hideshiro sweat-dropped. "I was your test rat?"

Roan opened the box and peered at the heart-shaped contents with an expression of disdain. "Where did you buy these? They look terrible."

Mina felt heat touch her cheeks. "I made them!"

Both of the boys looked at her with matching expressions of surprise.

"What?" she shrugged. "I was bored and the recipe was easy! Plus, Sato has a ton of cocoa powder and stuff for baking, and he let me borrow some! I didn't know what you liked, so I made some milk chocolate, white chocolate, and dark chocolates too!"

Roan picked up one of the dark chocolates and examined it carefully. Mina leaned forward on his bed, hopefully, but he simply put it back in the box, shut the lid, and shoved it into Hideshiro's hands. "I don't like chocolate."

Mina wasn't sure why, but she suddenly felt a deep pang of disappointment. Why am I so upset? It's not like I ever asked him if he likes sweets, and I knew he'd probably reject them anyway. Still…

"Honestly, Fujinari." Hideshiro tsked. "Is that any way to treat a Christmas gift from your girlfriend? I told you, Ashido. You'd be much better off with someone who can appreciate your many talents." He opened the box, selected a milk chocolate, and ate it while sending her a long-lashed wink. "Delectable. I can taste the love you poured into them. Don't worry, princess, I won't let them go to waste."

"...annoying…" Roan grumbled before snatching the box out of his hands and depositing it on his desk. He continued to mumble something too low and unintelligible for even Mina to hear this time, though she thought she heard the word 'princess' in there. "Get out," he snapped, finally. "I have a project to work on."

"What about me?" Mina asked with a grin. "You have to give me a present now, Roan~ Since we're a couple and everything."

"We're not…" he glanced at Hideshiro again and then let out the most dramatic sigh she'd heard from him yet. "I'm not getting you something."

"But that's so mean! It took me hours to make those chocolates! I didn't even sleep last night!"

"Not my problem." He slouched into his desk chair and turned his back on them.

"He's as frigid as he is tall," Hideshiro sighed. He sat down on the bed next to Mina and put an arm around her shoulder. "I'll get you something, Ashido. My family is wealthy, you know? I could get you jewelry or nice clothes. Anything to convince you that Roan Fujinari really is a beast."

"This is harassment," Roan complained with another groan. "...come into my room… insult me…"

"Hey, you pulled me in here!" Hideshiro countered. "And I'm glad you did, because I can't bear the thought of all the verbal abuse Ashido would have endured without me to protect her!"

Mina rolled her eyes. This guy really is something.

Roan suddenly stood. His back was still toward them, and something about his posture seemed tense, almost scary. Mina felt herself instinctively leaning back. Oh no… maybe I went too far. I just wanted to come over to get my mind off of Kirishima and Ochaco for a little while… and maybe to make him laugh like he did yesterday before Ochaco interrupted us. I wasn't trying to make him mad, but…

"Hideshiro. Get out." His tone was dark, a severe command.

"Fine." Hideshiro stood up and tugged Mina up by the hand. "Let's go, princess. The beast wants to be alone."

Roan turned around, his teeth bared in a wolf-like expression of anger. He gripped Hideshiro's wrist. " I told you to get out. Not her."

"So scary." Hideshiro's eyes blazed in response to the challenge. "Leave her alone with a brute like you? Not a chance."

"G-Guys, come on!" Mina held her hands up. "We're just playing around, right? No need to get all serious on me! I'm not worth fighting over, you know?"

Hideshiro jerked away from Roan, grabbed Mina's hand and reached for the doorknob. "Let's get out of here, princess."

Roan gripped her wrist and pulled her hand out of Hideshiro's. "Call her 'Princess' one more time, Hideshiro, and I'll show Ectoplasm the video footage I have of you stealing the answer guide for our calculus test."

"Y-You didn't catch that on video," Hideshiro's face paled.

"Want to try me?"

"Roan, that's enough." Mina tugged on his arm. "It's not a big deal, you don't have to be so grouchy!"

"Yeah, Roan," Hideshiro mocked. "You don't have to be so grouchy." He shoved his palms into the taller boy's shoulders. Coupled with Mina's tugging on his arm, Roan was thrown off balance. He stumbled backward and twisted to catch himself as Hideshiro retreated into the hallway and slammed the door behind him.

Mina squeaked in surprise, but it was too late to do anything but brace herself. Roan crashed into her and they toppled against his bed. She buckled backward until her spine was flat against the mattress, legs pinned down by his as he stopped himself from crushing her just in time. His fists gripped the comforter and he stared down at her, practically trapping her beneath his looming form.

For a moment, they were frozen.

Mina stared up at him, his face mere inches from hers. His hair draped around them like a waterfall, seeming to enclose the space around her so that all she could see were his electric-yellow eyes peering into hers. His lips were parted as he panted for breath, still affected by the adrenaline of his confrontation with Hideshiro. She traced the shape of them by instinct, listening to every sharp inhale and feeling the way the sound made goosebumps spread down her arms and legs, as if she was listening to the bridge of her favorite song and it was physically affecting her.

Her heart was pounding, heat coating every inch of her body as she waited for him to… what?

In a flash, the moment ended. Roan was suddenly back in his desk chair, back turned toward her and body slumped against his desk.

She sat up and smoothed out her shirt, an unwarranted shiver running through her body now that the contact was over.

Minutes ticked by as she waited for him to speak. But the boy was perfectly still, only the rise and fall of his chest giving evidence to any signs of life.

"I'm sorry for bugging you," she said, quietly. "I was just trying to have some fun, but I didn't really think about it. I know you don't like people… and the contract didn't say anything about surprise visits or me dragging along your bully, so… I'm really sorry."

He lifted his head and rested it on his palm, still not turning toward her. "I don't… like random or unpredictable things, Mina. I don't like it when I'm not in control. I hate… surprises."

"I know!" She sighed. "I'm sorry. I should have left you alone. I won't do it again."

He sat up fully. "Just… warn me next time. You pestered me for my phone number for a reason, didn't you?"

She felt a light flutter in her chest. "You really don't mind me coming here?"

"I mind," he said in a groan. "But if you're going to do it anyway to spite me, then you can at least give me a heads up so I can prepare to be miserable."

She grinned. "A little bit of randomness is exciting, right? It helps keep you on your toes!"

"Hm." He made a quiet sound. A… chuckle, maybe? "You keep me on my toes, Mina Ashido."

"I'll take that as a compliment!" She laughed, but the sound morphed into a loud yawn. Suddenly, the exhaustion of a sleepless night weighed down on her. Dizziness made her head spin and her limbs feel heavy. She rubbed her eyes. "I… think I need to go lay down."

"Did you really stay up all night making me chocolate?"

"Mhm!" She yawned again. "But also because… I haven't been feeling very good, you know? It's hard to sleep when you're totally depressed!"

He didn't say anything as he opened his web browser back up and continued whatever he was working on before she'd interrupted him.

"I'll talk to you later, kay? I'm gonna go take a nap." She started to stand, but his voice made her pause.

"...stay."

"What was that?"

He clicked and typed, almost as though she wasn't there at all. But then, he spoke again—louder this time.

"You can stay and nap there, if you want."

"Seriously?" She felt a strange feeling stir in her stomach. "You want me to stay here with you, Ro-Ro?"

"No," he answered quickly. "But you could faint on your way back to your dorm and I don't want the hassle."

She smiled and laid down, resting her head on his pillow. Already, exhaustion threatened to pull her under. "Whatever you say, Roan…" She stared at the back of his head for a long time as his scent enveloped her from his pillow. "Be honest…" she said, feeling her words devolve into mumbling as sleep dulled her senses. "You just… want to keep an eye on… your princess…"

She thought he might have replied to this, but whatever he said was lost to her, as she surrendered to the sweet embrace of sleep.

Sunday - 5 Days Before Christmas

Finally, Roan could relax.

He'd spent most of his Saturday prepping his essay for the final project. Now, all he had to do was wait for the numbers to come in. He couldn't quell his excitement for tomorrow. That was when Uwabami would mention his website and survey in her interview. As it stood, he had around 200 questionnaire answers to go on, but to have results from all over Japan? That would give him much more rounded results.

As much as I hate this stupid contract, I'm grateful that Mina is so social. I wouldn't have any of this without her. She's… kind of amazing.

He groaned aloud. Did I seriously just think that?

He had to keep in mind that she was just using him. As helpful as she was, this was the same girl who was essentially bribing him—or was it blackmail?—into being her fake boyfriend. All to get under the skin of some meathead guy who wasn't even interested in her.

"Pathetic."

Oh well. The end was in sight. Only five more days of hell, then he'd be rid of Mina and her schemes and unannounced visits and unwarranted touching. Five more days and he'd turn in the best project a Class 1-J student had ever produced, and his parents would get off his back, and he'd never be threatened with expulsion again.

It's almost over.

Today was a day to celebrate. Alone, of course. As it should be.

He stretched out on his bed, still in his pajamas despite the late hour. Robotic Dawn sat on his headboard, where he'd laid it after Mina woke up from her hour and a half long nap on his bed.

I can't believe I let her do that. What was I thinking?

He'd regretted it when he tried to get some sleep himself last night. He could have sworn he smelled her hair or something on his own pillowcase, and couldn't shake the unsettling feeling he had in his gut until he turned the pillow over.

He opened the book and gave a contented sigh. He'd been so busy and stressed out the past few days that he hadn't been able to pick up where he left off in this sci-fi gem. He was almost finished with the book, too, which meant he could look forward to Robotic Noon when it was released next week.

He dove immediately into the mind of the cyborg protagonist…

"When the second star rose on the luscious moon, his Alien princess was gone. He thought to find her, to draw her back into the cabin of his ship and never release her. But in the artificial valve within the cavity of his chest, he knew he could not claim her as his bride as of yet. Not until the treaty was enacted, the contract upheld, and his enemies annihilated. Though, it was more than this that held him frozen like an Sllazek egg on the icy planet of Rrinsgra. For he knew he could not love her in his current state, not until the programming in his cyborg side had been adjusted. When he could learn to truly love his ruby-skinned princess—only then could he make her his queen."

Roan closed the book with a disappointed groan. "That's all?" The rest was epilogue and author comments. Here, he was hoping for a final battle before the story ended. Instead, he had to be inundated with more of the romance garbage. Though, the horned alien princess had grown on him lately.

He remembered Hideshiro calling Mina 'princess' yesterday and it made him grit his teeth. He'd been afraid that if Hideshiro said it enough times, Roan wouldn't be able to differentiate the images in his mind of the Alien princess from the novel and his own personal alien tormentor. He didn't realize until she was mumbling to herself on his bed that his behavior might have been perceived as possessiveness or something. He didn't think of her as his princess, or any kind of princess at all. He was just irritated at Hideshiro using the word and tainting his love for Robotic Dawn.

Mina is anything but a princess.

He sat up, stretched, and put the book on his desk. He'd be posting a detailed review of it on his blog later, but for now he decided to achieve maximum relaxation with video games.

He started up "Matter Effect" on his computer, and plunged into another sci-fi world where he was named Herder, and it was up to him and his in-game moral choices to save or doom the galaxy.

By some twist of fate, he was at a checkpoint in the game where he had to decide whether or not to pursue a romance with an alien on board his ship. It was beginning to feel strangely as if this was a theme in his waking and fictional lives.

"...mocking me," he grumbled. He was sure there was some god out there that found all of this hilarious. Then again, there was no real correlation between Mina's presence in his reality and the aliens in the world of fiction. He was simply hyper aware because of her presence. That was subliminal messaging, an outstanding marketing technique.

Normally, he didn't pursue romances in these types of games. He was there for the plot and various endings. But… this time, he figured he'd give it a try, for curiosity's sake and nothing more, of course. He had already played the game to completion twice, so… side plots could make it more interesting this time. That was all.

He was halfway through a suggestive cutscene, cheeks feeling weirdly warm despite the coolness of his room, when he saw his phone screen light up. He paused the game—lest he miss any important plot points unrelated to the alien make-out session—and looked at the screen.

A groan escaped him when he saw his mother's name. He thought about ignoring her, but it had already been three days since he last responded to a text, and he really didn't want her pestering him during his final week of the trimester. So, he picked it up and answered.

"What?"

"It's nice to know you still have your phone. I was beginning to worry that it had been stolen."

He stared at his ceiling and sighed.

"How is your project coming along," she asked, getting straight to the point. "I hope you're working on it instead of playing video games?"

"It's fine."

"Have you finished it?"

He pinched his temples in irritation. "No."

"I thought that girl was helping you. Ashido?"

He looked back at his paused game screen. "Yeah," he said simply.

"Then why haven't you finished your project?"

"God, can you get off my back?" he grumbled, hand over his face as the annoyance spread.

"No one can hear you when you mumble, Roan."

"She set up… an interview with Uwabami… tomorrow," he explained. "I can't study the results until after the interview shout-out."

"Are you lying to me?"

Why did his mother always jump to that conclusion? He swore he hadn't lied to her that often in childhood. Just… wherever social activities or effort was involved.

"No," he answered.

"What time does this interview air? I'd like to watch it."

"Can you just not?"

"Roan." Her voice was sharp, and he knew he wasn't going to get out of it.

"Six," he sighed.

"And she'll mention this project of yours?"

"Yes. I'm hanging up now."

"There's one more thing."

Roan threw his controller on the desk because clearly he wasn't going to be enjoying himself today.

"I've heard some… interesting rumors," she continued. "About my son sneaking off after school with some girl."

"It's Ashido," he snapped. "You know, the one helping me meet your expectations."

"She's been making you lunches and clinging to your arm, has she not?"

"Are you spying on me?" Then the truth hit him. There was only one person who'd seen Mina holding onto him. "Hideshiro."

"A classmate of yours may have spoken to your father about some concerns he had for a fellow peer," she confirmed.

"I don't know what he said, but I'm not dating her."

"Roan, if you've been lying about working on your report just so you can spend time with a girl—"

"Listen to yourself," he snapped. "Me? Hooking up with some girl? I couldn't, even if I wanted to. I was blessed with your charm."

"What exactly are you implying?"

"That no one in her right mind would want to be with me," he seethed. "I'm cold, scary, and mean. Just like you."

"Is that any way to speak to your mother?"

He ignored her, going off on his own tangent now. "I'm not fun, or charming, friendly or confident." He thought of someone from the hero course. A boy with spiky red hair and a sharp-toothed smile. "I'm not the kind of person a girl would want to date."

His mother was silent. He caught himself glancing to his desk and the box of chocolates there, still untouched since he snatched them from Hideshiro. "Besides," he said, and he pushed the entire box off the edge of his desk and into the garbage, "she likes someone else. So, get off my back. I'm not distracted from my project."

She was quiet a moment longer. Then, "I used to feel the same, you know? What man could want a woman like me? Cold. Scary. Mean. But then I met your father, and he was just crazy enough to chase after me, often at his own detriment."

"Ugh, I don't want to hear this."

"All I'm saying is that you're not doomed to a life of loneliness, son. There are people who will accept you for who you are. Whether as friends or lovers, only time will tell. But those people do exist."

He stared at the box of chocolates in the garbage for a long moment. "Are we done with this heart-to-heart?" he asked, finally.

"Yes. Enjoy the rest of your day. I look forward to seeing this interview tomorrow."

Without his own parting words, Roan hung up the phone.

Her call left him with a sour taste in his mouth. He felt an inexplicable bitterness creeping through him. He was used to feeling bitter and disappointed, of course. But this was different. This was tinged with a dark emotion he was usually able to avoid.

He didn't want to name it, afraid of what it would imply. Yet, he felt it, hanging onto the edges of the bitterness like creeping tendrils. Wounding, aching, and—he realized suddenly—directly linked to that stranger.

Kirishima.

The name made the bitterness and… sadness… grow.

Kirishima was the type of person who could have anything he wanted. Anything at all. Roan might as well have been his long shadow, stretched out by the setting sun, lurking in the darkness.

He was distracted by these thoughts when his phone screen lit up again. This time, it was a text message from a certain pink-haired girl.

"Heyyyy~ so good, right?"

He raised an eyebrow. Normally he ignored her messages, but…

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"The chocolates! The ones I slaved in the kitchen to make for you duh!"

He eyed the garbage can.

She sent another text. "Are you gonna get me some chocolates now too?"

"No," he answered. "It's not part of the deal."

"Awwwwwww." She sent a gif of a sad-looking cat that almost made him smile.

His thumbs hovered over the screen. Another glance at the discarded sweets. Then, he typed: "it would have made more sense to make them for the boy you like. It could have gotten his attention."

He waited, but didn't see the ellipsis signaling her response for some time.

"I didn't think about that," she wrote, which made him roll his eyes. Of course she hadn't thought about it. She was too much of an airhead to put together a plan that made sense.

"Idk," she continued, "I was just thinking about you."

He stared at these words, his heart thumping somewhere in his throat. He clenched his jaw and replied: "you're stupid and distractable, not to mention unfocused. Don't do stuff like that for me. I'm just your fake boyfriend."

"I know but… aren't you my friend too?"

"Friends don't use each other." He was about to press send when he paused. Something stopped him from digging the knife in deeper. Instead, he erased the message and typed: "As your friend, I recommend not staying up all night to make sweets. You looked like death yesterday."

"Aw, you do care!"

He chose not to reply to this, finally tossing his phone onto the desk. For a long time he simply sat there, not picking up his gaming controller, not moving. The conflicted emotions he'd felt a moment ago were muted, muffled somehow by his text exchange with Mina.

You're wrong, Mina Ashido, he thought, as he dug the box of chocolates out of the garbage. I don't care, he told himself, as he picked up a heart-shaped dark chocolate and slid it past his lips. I don't care at all.

A/N: Some fluff to ease your spirits and cushion the blow of the angst to follow~