A/N: Hey all, finally got another chapter done for this. I also have the beginning of a chapter for two other fics, which I'll hopefully finish and post soon.

Hope you enjoy!


"...And with this, I shall finally take over the world!"

Nagatoro scoffed at the overly dramatic and incredibly cliche monologue the villain spat out. The movie, despite falling into classic tropes, was enough to keep her entertained.

Her left hand traced mindlessly through her friend's hair, who was sitting on the floor and leaning his head into her left leg. She found it funny how the two had developed this seating position that had become the regular for them when they hung out alone.


"Hayachi! Paisen, you made it!"

The orange-haired friend stepped aside from the door so her friends could enter. She noticed Naoto's signature uneasiness at being alone with the four girls; a situation he found himself in frequently.

"Thanks for the invite! I brought some snacks too!" Nagatoro lifted a bag from the nearby grocery store, and opened it to reveal anpans, ramen packets, and several bags of chips and treats.

"Knew we could count on you, Toro-chan," Sakura stated.

"Come on, the movie is about to start." Gamo motioned for her friends to join the rest on the singular couch in front of the television.

Nagatoro and Gamo sat beside Yoshi and Sakura, which is when they finally noticed a mild oversight.

"Sorry Paisen, I didn't realize there wouldn't be enough room for all of us."

"Scoot over, we can make room." Nagatoro urged. The four girls pressed tightly against each other, yet made little success in creating a spot for the lone male.

"It's fine, I'll sit on the floor," Naoto offered, taking a seat against the arm of the couch. The girls gave a quick, apologizing look before the opening credits began.

Truthfully, Naoto was more than okay with the floor. If he was not pressed against any of the girls, then logically they would have one less thing to tease him for.

The boy grabbed the bag of snacks and picked out a bag of chips he liked.

"Hand me an anpan please," Hayase requested from right next to and a little behind him.

As requested, Naoto grabbed an anpan from the bag and handed his friend the requested treat. Then Gamo requested a snack, as did Yoshi and Sakura.

Naoto finally passed out the desired treats and was able to focus on the movie. It was some rom-com he had not heard of, and found mixed interest in the movie.


"But I love you! What will I do without you?"

"How many times have you heard that line in movies?" Gamo asked.

"Too many," Yoshi replied.

As the movie dragged on, Naoto found himself growing tired. He was completely unaware that he had rested his head against Nagatoro's leg until she started tapping the back of his neck.

The older boy slowly looked up and saw his younger schoolmate looking at him with a mildly quizzical look, then he instinctively shot up into a proper seating position that was contact-free.

He knew he was embarrassingly red in the face as he prepared for a teasing remark, or an onslaught of jokes at his expense; the girls had begun to ease up on him over the last few months, but still took jabs at him on a regular basis.

Instead, he felt a hand cup the far side of his face and gently pushed him back into the position he had just left. The soft hand then slid up his cheek and into his hair, where the fingernails began to scratch softly yet pleasantly against his scalp.

He knew Nagatoro found amusement in how soft his hair was, yet she rarely brought it up.

So far, the two had gone unnoticed by the three others. Or if any of them noticed, they did not say anything.

Nagatoro suddenly stood up, giving her floor seated friend a little wake up. "Gotta go to the bathroom real quick. Don't pause the movie."

The girl quickly made her way to the desired room, and as soon as the door shut he could sense the other three turn to him in unison.

"So Paisen, how's the weather down there?"

"Same as up there, I bet," he replied quickly, hoping that they would ignore him if he pretended to be focused on the movie.

"Senpai-kun, do you like being at our feet like a servant?" Sakura asked. Despite having the least interaction with the boy, she was somehow usually the lewdest of the bunch.

"I bet he does, Paisen is definitely into that stuff," Gamo said with a snicker before the boy could respond.

There it was, back into their routine.

A few more remarks was all they could get before Nagatoro returned and sat between the girls and Naoto. He found himself reluctant to lean into her again, lest they notice him in an attempt to gain more material to tease him with.

But for the second time, the one he most considered a friend in the bunch led him into the position, this time gently scratching the back of his neck and occasionally drifting her hand to his upper back.

While he enjoyed the display of affection, he found himself wondering why she was doing it. In his experience, she was strangely nervous about making physical contact with him unless it was to make him uncomfortable.

A little later the movie finished and the two instinctively separated once there was nothing to distract the others.

"So what'd you think?" Gamo asked, standing up and stretching.

"Not bad. Kind of slow but interesting at times," Nagatoro replied casually.

"Not enough comedy," Yoshi blurted out in her usual speech pattern.

"It was okay, I guess," Naoto answered, hoping that offering his input would not end up making him a target like usual.

Luck was on his side this time though, and the five dove into small talk. Topics ranged from school, funny stories from their pasts, and any interesting discussions that could keep them entertained.


Nagatoro and Naoto walked in silence. The two had developed a comfortableness with each other that found themselves occasionally just quiet around each other.

This time, the silence was more awkward, like both had something they wanted to say but were too nervous to bring it up.

"Here's my place. Bye, Nagatoro," her friend said, giving her a wave as he parted away.

Nagatoro waved back, and then resumed the silent trek to her own home.

With him no longer at her side, she found herself questioning her behavior just earlier that night. She had been surprised when she felt his soft hair push into her leg, but something in her made her act differently.

She enjoyed playing with his hair and feeling his content, which led to her questioning why he was suddenly so calm around her when he almost always was on alert in any of their presences.

Even as she found herself crawling into bed, her mind refused to drop the train of thought until she finally fell asleep.


A week later, the group of five gathered for another movie night, this time at Hayase's house. Just like last time, Naoto was stuck with the floor next to Nagatoro, and just like last time he found himself leaning into her leg with her hand in his hair.

As if following a script, the movie ended and the friends conversed for a little while before leaving one by one until only Naoto was left.

"Senpai, there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

Her question was simple enough. "Do you like leaning against me?"

Naoto did his best to explain that he did but would stop if she was uncomfortable. A little jab was all she made at his expense before the two somehow found themselves in a much more intimate conversation than usual.

All she had said was a joke about him being touch starved, but was not welcomed by his usual panicked denials. Instead, he looked down and seemed to lose his voice.

A few moments later, he finally took a deep breath and opened up much more than he ever had, almost like he was forced to speak against his will.

He talked about how his dad and mom were almost always away for their jobs; once he was old enough to take care of himself the best he could, he often woke up after they left and went to bed before they returned.

He talked about how he never had anyone he considered a friend in elementary and middle school, and was a common target for any bullies that needed someone to pick on. How he had always felt lonely while everyone else was surrounded by friends.

He explained how he had first heard the term she used a year ago and looked it up, only to be startled by how close most of the descriptions matched himself.

He finally told her how, while the ways she had made physical contact when they first met had made him very uncomfortable, recently he had been hoping for more moments like the last two movie nights. How he had forgotten what it was like to receive anything resembling affection outside of a hug here and there from his parents.

By the time he finished, all he wanted was to do was dig a hole and lay down for a few days.

He was screaming at himself for being too open. He had given her so much ammunition she could use that…

She was hugging him. Her tight embrace brought his train of thought to a dead stop as he immediately returned the gesture.

The two stood there for a minute, neither making any move to pull away.

"When we're alone, you can touch me all you want."

She pulled away from him, her eyes seemingly looking into his soul.

"I won't make any jokes right now; we both know I didn't mean it that way. But…I liked it too. If you need any physical contact, just tell me and I'll try to help."

Naoto's eyes watered. He could not stop himself from pulling her back into a hug and just holding her. He felt her start rubbing his back.

It was nice.


After a long, contrived fight scene, the hero stood victorious over the villain. The world was saved yet again.

She looked down at Naoto, who had slipped his right arm between her calf and the couch and around her shin. He was not actually grabbing her, just holding her close to him.

She smiled, ruffled his hair before returning to gentle scratching, and picked up the remote to find another movie to start.

A/N: It's been a while, so I'm not sure how much my writing has changed. If you like it, or have any ideas that I might be able to use, feel free to comment.

Have a good day everyone. Take care.