a/n: I'm sorry! This is so late. Again. But I got an ask on tumblr to participate in Fictober, and while I'm behind, I'm going to do my best! Thank you for reading! :)

Fictober Day 1: "It will be fun, trust me."

"It will be fun, trust me!"

Rin said the words so easily, with such an innocently wide smile that it was hard not to cave. Genuine excitement glistened in his gaze, and who could tell him no without being pinned as the bad guy?

But that innocence, Suguro quickly learned, was false; the fact that he'd just been hit square in the face with a snowball proved it. He should've known. He damn well should have known.

Classes had been canceled for the day—both in cram school and in regular—due to the weather and at first, Konekomaru and Suguro (but unsurprisingly, not Shima) were planning on spending the day catching up on their studies. It was the perfect opportunity, after all, considering there was too much snow outside to really do anything else.

At least, Suguro had thought so. Until he realized that Shima and Okumura were texting behind their backs and before they knew it, Rin was in their dorm, waving a magic key around. The three students were promptly dragged into a snowball war.

So here they were now, just outside the old boys' dorm, where Okumura and their professor resided. Suguro's brow twitched in annoyance. Especially when he got sight of Okumura's posture—a complete one-eighty from the puppy-eyes and naivety. Now he just looked cocky, from his grin all the way to the lazy swishing and swaying of his tail.

"Oh, you asked for it," Suguro growled, narrowing his eyes.

"Uh-oh," Shima said, bug-eyed as he looked back at Okumura. "You better run."

Okumura's laughter was loud and full when he swooped down low to collect more snow, molding it into a ball as Suguro chased after him. Both were too involved in their competition to notice the way Konekomaru and Shima bolted out of their path, watching as they hurled snowball after snowball at each other. First in horror, and then fascination, and then amusement.

"Too slow," Okumura teased. "Oh! Still too slow. Man, are you getting rusty?"

"Don't let your rage control you, Bon," Shima cried out from the sidelines, although the advice sounded more mocking than intended.

"Shut up," he snapped, and that moment of distraction left an opening for Okumura.

An opening of which he took full advantage. Cold, wet snow hit Suguro's shoulder.

Suguro seethed, his gaze snapping back to Okumura in frustration. His gloved fingers tightened around the snowball in his hand, and with an almost battle cry, he hurled it at Okumura's dopey, unsuspecting face.

Okumura's eyes widened in surprise. He threw his hands up to guard his face.

When the blue came, Suguro was unprepared.

They burst outward, melting the snowball and the snow around them in seconds. Somewhere, he heard Konekomaru shouting. Once they reached Suguro, he steeled himself for the pain—a pain that never came. Only waves upon waves of warmth, wrapping him up in a cocoon, disintegrating the coldness that lingered from the impact of Okumura's most recent snowball.

Huh, he thought, almost in awe. Strange. Thought it woulda scorched me.

A strangled sound pulled his attention away from the blue flames to the boy now staring wide-eyed at him barely ten feet away. And then the warmth was gone, and Okumura's expression bled absolute horror.

"Oh my god, are you ok? Suguro? Did I burn you?" He was running up him, looking hysterical. "I didn't burn you, did I? Did I? Shit, I'm sorry. I'm so stupid. I'm so fucking stupid. I'm sorry."

Suguro blinked several times as Okumura continued to ramble, and it took a few moments for the shock to wear off and his words to register.

He frowned. Leaned over with exaggerated slowness, scooping up another decent amount of snow and compacting it into a ball.

Rolled his arm back.

Hit Okumura right in the nose.

That shut him up instantly, and the way he just stood there and gawked was absolutely priceless.

"You left yourself open," Suguro said, daring to smirk. "Payback's a bitch, ain't it?"

Rin sputtered. It was the funniest damn thing.