Chapter 42

"Your sensei- is- being set- up-" Gakushuu tried to speak through the interruption but his biggest distraction laid one more kiss on his lips and Gakushuu gave up.

He dropped the file he was trying to show, wrapping his hands around Karma's shoulder and kissed the other boy like he had silently been trying to convince Gakushuu to.

Almost immediately after, Karma parted his lips, his heat capturing Gakushuu's soft moan and they were lost in each other.

Someone cleared their throat loudly from behind Gakushuu, and they pulled away from each other reluctantly.

Gakushuu straightened his school uniform and Karma smirked roguishly. Ren rolled his eyes from behind them, and Anaya smirked alongside.

"Have fun with that," Gakushuu said mock-sweetly, his eyes on his very obviously bruised lips. Karma grinned, giving Gakushuu a cheeky look.

"You too," his eyes wandered to Gakushuu's throat and Gakushuu realised Karma had just wiped out the make up covering up the marks. They were probably no more than faintly visible though.

He scowled, before he shook his head, unable to help the smile.

"You're such a dick," Gakushuu laughed.

Karma winked.

"You know it, babe," he replied, sticking out a tongue at him. Gakushuu was about to respond but Ren interrupted them.

"I think you guys can continue this after . We're going to be late," Ren said, his voice sounding utterly done.

Karma met Anaya's laughing eyes and he smirked.

"Later then," he sneaked in a quick kiss and Gakushuu struggled to keep his smile down, watching Karma wave as he walked away.

"You're so whipped," Ren sighed, sounding exasperated.

Gakushuu smiled, tilting his head up when Anaya took out a concealer from her bag. He had asked her to prepare ahead, thankfully.

Anaya applied it quickly, melding away the marks Karma had left on Gakushuu's skin. She smoothed it together while Ren lectured Gakushuu on safety and subtlety that seemed to have fled Gakushuu's capacity since he started dating Karma.

Gakushuu hummed in the right places and in a few minutes that felt far longer than it really was, Anaya was done.

Ren picked up Gakushuu's file, dropping it on Karma's living room table before setting out for school.

Gakuhou had been unexpectedly lax and Gakushuu had taken complete advantage of it to spend even more time with Karma, doing everything short of sleeping over at Karma's place.

It was why he had missed his morning student council meeting and Ren and Anaya had literally come out from the school to get him before he could be more late.

Gakushuu, for the first time in his life, was completely unrepentant about missing an appointment. It was totally worth it for the breakfast and the kisses Karma sneaked in between.

It almost felt like when they first got together and Karma would constantly touch him. An arm over his shoulder, a touch to get his attention, a quick kiss on his cheek, or hands or his neck.

It was overwhelming.

It was the best feeling in the world.

Karma was always touching Gakushuu and he was almost always startled by it. By the amount of feelings Karma could fit in a single offered touch.

Now, it felt natural to lean into Karma, to touch him back. To hold him when he felt upset or to show casual affection by their touches. It took months, but Gakushuu appreciated Karma's patience with him even more for it.

He loved the fact that Karma had realised Gakushuu's problem before him, and he had worked on it since. He loved Karma's unspoken words, his patience, his love and attention and every single effort he made for Gakushuu.

He liked that Karma paid so much attention to him, to his problems even when he didn't have to.

The unasked requests had always been the hardest, and Gakushuu loved Karma for fulfilling them for him.

Though he would have loved him regardless.

But then Ren was rolling his eyes like he couldn't believe how low Gakushuu had fallen, and Gakushuu strangled together a few of his remaining brain cells and readied to go to school again.

Karma didn't come back after school, much to Gakushuu's dismay. He had been hoping to see him again, but with the things going on with Koro-sensei, he guessed it was bound to happen.

Gakushuu went ahead with his other activities instead.

Might as well be productive, right?

Karma wanted absolutely nothing more than to go back home to Gakushuu.

He wouldn't call it a mess exactly.

But Itona's situation was just sad. (And annoying. And terrifying.)

He ran and ran and tried to hopelessly fight against the reality of his situation. Just one against the world, and it went down the only way it could have, even with inhuman tentacles and human experimentation involved.

Itona was crushed by the world. Crushed further by the man he had trusted. Or had he? Was it a suicide run or just a desperate lunge for survival?

Honestly, Karma didn't want to figure it out.

Terasaka had undertaken that burden and Karma didn't need to think up a way to keep his classmates alive anymore, and that would have to be enough, thank you.

He didn't like to get involved in anyone's personal issues. Gakushuu was just the exception, not the rule.

Of course, it would be different if they asked for help, but he had become quite aware of the fact he had treated Gakushuu far more differently than before.

It was like he had changed the angle he was walking in, just slightly, and kept on walking until he ended up in a completely different place.

It wasn't always like that, he remembered. But somehow, it had ended up like that after a while.

Maybe it started before he knew about Chiho. Maybe even before he was suspended.

He wasn't sure.

When he finally reached home, he groaned to himself when he realised the lights were all off.

It had become quite rare for Gakushuu to not be there when Karma came back, but still not as unusual as he wished it would be.

Gakushuu was his comfort, his oasis in the mess of inevitability that was his class. He gave him what he needed instead of what Karma felt he wanted.

It wasn't fights, that's for sure.

Gakushuu never offered fights to Karma.

But his warmth would sink bone deep into Karma, warming him in a way his empty house never could.

But Gakushuu also had a life outside of just them, just like Karma.

Karma was sure Gakushuu was still going through a rigorous schedule of extracurriculars even though he had assured Karma that he had dropped almost half of them.

Gakushuu was a complete and utter workaholic. Honestly, his tendencies made Karma scoff when he remembered wanting to beat Shuu without even working half as hard as he did.

Shuu worked all the time. He did most things like they were as natural as breathing to him. He took time off when he needed (emphasis on the needed) and made time to have an extensive social life and still managed to spend most of his time at Karma's.

If Karma hadn't seen Gakushuu speed through his homework and assignments, he would have wondered whether Gakushuu was still a student of Kunugigaoka or not, never mind his student council duties.

Kunugigaoka was tough on normal students. On their Ace, it would have been even worse. Especially with his father hovering to share a piece of his mind anytime he messed up.

He sighed in disappointment.

Then Yuki came swishing to look for Karma and he had to smile. He was so fucking glad he had their cats with him.

He always made the best decisions of his life with Gakushuu right by his side, and the cats were definite proof of that.

Then he sighed, running a hand through Yuki's soft fur.

The meaning of their assassination classroom had been changing for a while now. Since their failed assassination on Koro-sensei during the holidays, even the government was taking class E more seriously.

Though "more" didn't mean much when they had been thrown at the world ending monster as bait in the first place but it was enough that the class was becoming more aware of the outside forces that had its claws dug into their class.

If the assassination training and Koro-sensei had taught them anything, it was to dig their heels in and fight for what they wanted.

They were going to fight for their right. Whoever came next, they were going to grit their teeth and fight them for their assassination time.

Gakushuu came across a rare sight.

Karma was sleeping peacefully on the couch, a hand under his head, his face relaxed in his sleep and he was wearing casual clothes with a towel thrown over a chair not too far away.

Gakushuu set the towel to dry off properly and then came back to the right of Karma still sleeping.

Gakushuu sat down on the rug under the couch. He dropped his bag beside him and rested an elbow on his leg, and looked at Karma wonderingly.

Karma was…chaotic. But he was stable. He was strength to Gakushuu's weakness and weakness to Gakushuu's strength. He was the damsel and the petty thief stealing away with his heart in the dead of night.

Karma was many many things.

Some annoying, some not so.

But he was also someone who was there when Gakushuu needed him. Someone who gave him things he had never asked for, or even thought to ask for.

Gakushuu's life had always been fulfilling, even before he met Karma. He had things he liked to do, people he liked to do things with. He had friends to call his own, and maybe a shitty father, but it was a father who loved him, even if it came to doubt at times.

He would even go as far as to call it his ideal life, even for the person who he used to be.

After all, what more could you possibly need?

Karma was a kindness that almost felt like pain. A touch he had never asked for, but had always needed.

He couldn't call Karma his weakness in any way. Instead, he made Gakushuu feel whole, he made him feel strong in a way he hadn't in a long time.

Gakushuu stared at Karma.

He was objectively beautiful. He was pretty, with long lashes and beautiful eyes that cut through to the heart of him, seeing him through in ways he didn't even let his father.

But farther than skin deep beauty, no matter how much beauty that was, was the heart of gold. It weighed heavily on Karma and Gakushuu could only support him in keeping it aloft.

Karma was beautiful in his struggles. He was beautiful in his fights. But he held Gakushuu's heart in his soft eyes and faint smiles that he didn't even realise he was making.

Gakushuu's heart was too small for his body sometimes. And his body was far too small to contain the force of his emotions for Karma.

It seeped out of him, like he was trying to hold onto an ocean with his bare fingers. Like he was trying to fist up the water, trying to hold it in his hands and it slipped through like sand.

Gakushuu looked at Karma with his heart in his eyes and carefully brushed their lips together, so faintly that he could barely feel the light ghosting of lips over his.

He pulled back with a smile, unable to stop an actual smile from coming out.

Wasn't he just really really lucky to be with Karma?

Even just this small act, made Gakushuu feel high. Like his head was in the clouds.

He ducked his head, covering it with a hand, before peaking out to look at Karma again.

He wasn't unfamiliar with shyness, especially when it came to Karma. But it almost felt forbidden, to admire Karma as he slept or to remember that this boy was all his.

Gakushuu was smiling a stupid, giddy smile when Karma opened his eyes, staring back at Gakushuu with only a slight hint of sleep in his eyes.

Gakushuu flushed, dropping the smile in favor of looking away shyly. He scratched a cheek, biting the inside of his lip, before looking back at Karma.

He was still staring at Gakushuu.

"Hey," he said, shyly. His fingers tangled together.

Karma smiled faintly, he reached out with a hand pulling one of Gakushuu's hands away and letting theirs tangle together.

Gakushuu blushed a little harder.

Karma blinked a few times, bringing his hand up to drop a kiss right below his knuckles.

Gakushuu stared, feeling like the blush might as well become a permanent part of his face. Karma gave him a slightly sleepy, but distinctly cheeky grin back.

"Hey," he greeted back.

Gakushuu leaned forward and lightly pressed his lips to Karma's, softly. A gentle touch that neither tried to further.

A kiss, just because they could.

"Hey," Gakushuu said, mouthing the words against his lips.

When he pulled away, Karma was just smiling. He was just looking at Gakushuu and smiling, like 'wow, how did I get to be this lucky?' and Gakushuu could relate.

He thought the exact same thing about Karma after all.