The Heiress (MHA x Reader)

Chapter 37 - Different

The steady clack of keys echoed in the small dorm room, Katsuki hunched over his desk with a glare fixed on the glowing screen.

His thoughts were clear, sharp, and organized, unlike most of the extras in their class who'd probably leave this assignment until the last possible minute.

The door creaked open behind him without a knock.

He didn't have to turn around. Only one person ever ignored boundaries like that and lived to tell about it.

Sure enough, a pair of familiar arms slid around him from behind, warm and unhurried. He felt her chin come to rest on his shoulder, the brush of her breath against his neck.

"Hey," she murmured, peeking at his screen. "Whatcha doing?"

He didn't stop typing. "Working on our Heroics Ethics essay. The one that's due next week."

She hummed. "Right." A pause. "Alright. I'll wait for you to finish."

She was warm. And soft in a way that made it hard to think straight for half a second. 

She didn't let go right away, just leaned there a second longer, content to be wrapped around him. Katsuki felt the press of her body against his back, soft and unbothered, and for a second his fingers slowed on the keys.

She was clingier than usual today. More touchy, more quiet. Not that he was complaining, but it tugged at the edge of his attention. He brushed the thought off. 

Eventually, she let go and padded over to his bed, flopping down with a low sigh that was half-performed, half-real. He didn't look, just tracked the movement with his ears.

He could hear the soft creak of the mattress as she settled, the faint rustle of her clothes against his sheets.

His focus returned to the screen, picking apart his next paragraph, until he caught a yawn from behind him.

"Just take a nap while you're here," he muttered, still typing.

"I'm not even that tired," she mumbled back.

Bullshit. She always said that when she was tired.

Twenty minutes later, the only sound coming from the bed was her slow, even breathing.

Katsuki finished the last sentence with a final tap of the period, read it over twice, then shut the laptop with a click. He stretched once, then turned in his chair to glance at her.

She was curled up on her side, one arm tucked under her head, her other hand loosely fisted in the blanket like it had gotten caught mid-thought. Her hair spilled across the pillow. Her expression was soft. Untroubled.

He stared for a moment. Part of him didn't want to look away. The rest of him didn't know what to do with the way it made his chest ache.

She probably didn't sleep well last night, he thought.

He stood, padded quietly over, and eased himself onto the bed beside her, careful not to jostle her. She didn't stir. Katsuki pulled his laptop back into his lap and opened it again, this time queuing up something brainless and loud enough to hold his attention, but quiet enough not to wake her.

The glow of the screen lit up his face in the dim room as the opening credits started to roll.

About half-way into the movie she began to stir beside him. 

She shifted beside him, breath catching softly as her lashes fluttered. He didn't say anything, didn't look over, just kept his attention on the movie, or pretended to.