Within thirty minutes everyone was fast asleep. Everyone passed out in various areas of Dabi & Keigo's apartment. Shinsou did his best to stay up but even as he watched Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland he started to nod off. He clicked the power button on the remote and threw off his long-sleeved striped shirt, then stretched and sprawled out on the sofa. He was gloriously comfortable.

For ten minutes.

He'd been about to pass out when he heard the soft shuffle of socked feet on the wood floor. The feet stopped in front of him.

Shinsou looked over his shoulder, seeing the outline of Kaminari's hair. "What?"

"I'm cold."

Shinsou chuckled. "That's what you get for wearing that dress." Which...looks kind of good on you.

"Can I share the couch with you?"

Shinsou felt his face get hot. I'm glad it's dark in here. "It's not really a...two-person couch, Zappy."

"Just until they come back with blankets."

He cleared his throat. "I called dibs on the couch."

"I'm really cold."

"Cuddle your girlfriend then."

"It's dark. I don't know where she is."

"Then turn on the light."

"I can't, it'll wake everyone up."

Shinsou sighed, thinking for a minute. "Here." He grabbed his sweater from the floor, shook it out, and handed it to him. "Put this on."

Kaminari took it slowly, then started to put it on.

Well...he tried, at least.

Shinsou's eyes adjusted to the darkness, so he could see Kaminari stick his arm through the neck hole. "No...no not - the other way. No, now it's inside out. That's...you're holding it upside down. Ugh! Just come here." The lavender-haired boy sat up and grabbed the sweater, curling it up. "Stick your head here. Good. Now your arms."

Shinsou managed to get it pulled over his head. The sleeves were so long on him they swallowed his hands. The collar of the turtleneck covered his nose.

"Better?"

"A little."

"Okay. Good night."

"What?! Where am I gonna sleep?"

"You don't know what dibs is, do you?"

"I'm not saying leave, I'm saying share it."

"According to the code of calling dibs, I'm not obligated to share shit."

He expected another witty retort or some other kind of response. But instead, Kaminari scuffled towards the front door.

"Where are you going?"

He didn't answer as he slipped out.

"Shit." Shinsou got up and followed. I didn't expect babysitting to be so interactive, he thought tiredly. Pacifying Denki was proving itself to be more intense than watching Eri.

When he walked out into the hallway, Kaminari was almost in front of the elevators.

"Come back!" He yelled, running to get him.

Kaminari pressed the down button.

"Where are you going, you - " he trailed off when he saw Kaminari's face.

His eyes had bags under them and they were misty. But more than that...the look in them was blank. Empty.

Shinsou gasped when he remembered.

Jiro asked me to keep an eye on him. Let her know if he acted weird while she was gone.

Define weird.

I think he's in trouble.

On no. Is it -

- I think it is.

Is this what they meant by weird? He wondered. "Hey," he asked softer. "Um...where you going?"

"Downstairs. There's couches in the lounge," he said quietly.

Shinsou flinched. Zappy is his favorite. If Himura comes back to see blondie like this while I was watching him he'll kill me. He rubbed his eyes. "I'll...I'll share the couch. Okay? So come back."

Wordlessly, Kaminari dragged his feet behind Shinsou. He had to slow down more than once so he could catch up. Once they were back in the apartment, Shinsou had to feel around until his eyes adjusted to the dark again.

"I can't see," Kaminari whispered.

Shinsou held out his hand. "Follow me."

Kaminari grabbed Shinsou's hand with both of his.

A shiver ran down Shinsou's spine. His hands are freezing. Even with my sweater. "Do you smoke or something?"

"No. Why?"

"Smokers have bad blood circulation."

"Oh."

"Did you drink any booze?"

"No. Why?"

"Alcohol reduces your ability to retain body heat."

"Oh."

Shinsou forced down the blush that threatened to burn his face. "I swear I'm not feeling you up, okay?"

"What do you mean?"

Shinsou sat Kaminari on the edge of the couch and then moved his hands up Kaminari's dress.

"Uhh, Shinsou - "

As platonically as possible (if platonic fondling is a thing) Shinsou placed his palms on the tops of Kaminari's legs. Ice cold. "Kay…" then he went up the sweater sleeves to feel his arms. Those are freezing too. And there's some kinda bumps on his wrists. I don't remember him wearing bracelets. "This is gonna sound counter-productive but you need to take off your dress."

Kaminari gasped, still shivering. "No way."

"I know how to get you warm but it won't work if you're wearing clothes."

"I'll be even colder."

"Not for long. Trust me."

"Shinsou - "

" I promise it will work."

Kaminari sat there for a minute, then reluctantly began taking off Shinsou's sweater. He gently helped him, like when he helped his sister Eri. The blonde clenched his teeth and shivered. "Sh-Sh-Shinsou - "

" - Don't worry. You're gonna be warm in no time. "

Shinsou helped him slip the powder-blue dress over his head. The moment the air hit Kaminari's body he whimpered, shivering uncontrollably. All that remained were his thigh-high socks and boxers. The second it was off Shinsou pressed the blonde to his chest and wrapped his arms around him, pressing Kaminari's face into his neck. For a minute or two, his breaths came out shaky and uneven. His whole body was tense with cold. But then his muscles loosened up as he got warmer. Finally, Kaminari began breathing more evenly. He didn't feel ice-cold against Shinsou's skin anymore.

"It...it worked," he said, sounding surprised. "How…"

"Conduction. Transferring kinetic energy from one thing to another through physical contact. Skin-to-skin is the fastest way to exchange heat."

"Where'd you learn that?"

"Google."

"Oh."

"Do you snore?"

"I don't think so."

"Then we can share the couch."

Shinsou laid on his right side, and Kaminari laid on his left. Shinsou held him in his arms to keep him warm. "Are you still high?" he asked.

"I don't think so."

"Oh. For a sober guy, you're pretty chill with cuddling a random dude."

"I was cold."

"Is that why Jiro cuddles you all the time?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"I remember talking about it on guys' night."

"Oh."

"How do you feel now?"

"Heavy."

"Heavy?"

"Yeah."

"What do you mean?"

"I get this feeling sometimes. Like I've got a cinderblock on my chest."

Lines of poetry started forming in his head. Weighed down by cinder. No one shines for the bright sun. Soft starlight confined.

"Are you still cold?"

"No."

"Okay. Get some sleep then. Maybe the weight will go away."

Within the minute he was out like a light. Shinsou wanted to laugh. Alice all cuddled up with Tweedle Dee. Can't say I remember this part of the story.

Still, cuddling Kaminari wasn't so bad. In fact, it felt kind of nice. True to his word, he didn't snore. Even his breathing was quiet. He didn't wriggle or squirm. It was as if he were dead. But no. Shinsou closed his eyes and focused. He felt Kaminari's heartbeat against his chest. His exhaled as he breathed.

He composed a few lines for another verse as he fell asleep himself.

Boy with golden hair

Warm on my skin like summer

Are you hurting too?

~.~

Dabi and Keigo used the flashlights on their phones to navigate the piles of twenty-somethings riddling every surface of their apartment. One by one they plopped or draped a blanket over each person. They both froze when they saw who lied on the couch.

Fast asleep, cuddled together like a pile of puppies, were a shirtless Shinsou and Kaminari in nothing but boxers and stockings.

Keigo gawked. "We're not dealing with this, right?"

Dabi shook his head. "No."

"Like…ever."

"Absolutely not."

Keigo turned and saw Momo cuddling Jiro on the recliner. "Or that."

"Or that."

~.~

One Month Later...

Since the start of the new school year, the mall rarely saw much action, weekends being the exception. It became routine for several mall workers to take breaks at once. They started eating together in the food court. They'd all return to work with smoothies in their hand from Sero's juice bar, or bags from the Cheesecake Factory after visiting Sato.

For a while, there was peace.

Until the first day of November.

All the couples walked hand in hand as they headed for the parking lot after another long, uneventful day of work. But next to the exit, a billboard had been erected.

They all stared at it curiously, approaching it with caution, as if it were an alien spaceship crashed to earth.

Coming To You Soon...

Bakugo squinted at the sign before backing away from it with disdain. "What the hell is Target?"

To Be Continued in…

Loav & Sechz II