Thread by @DarklingM

"Are you sure you're okay?" Shouta asks doubtfully, eyeing the boy next to him on the couch.

Hizashi is pale even in the low light from the tv, clutching the blanket on his lap with white-knuckled hands, and when Shouta talks his eyes flash over to him, wide and staring.

"I'm totally fine! A-absolutely!" he squeaks. He clears his throat, bringing his voice into a more normal register. "I'm great! This is great!"

"We can watch a different movie," Shouta tells him while the group of teenagers on the screen split up to explore the abandoned house.

"No way!" Hizashi shakes his head rapidly. "Watching horror movies is a staple of sleepovers!"

"You look like you're going to jump out of your skin," Shouta says bluntly.

"I'm fine!" Hizashi insists. "What kind of hero student can't even watch a horror movie?"

"Okay," Shouta relents, but not a moment later, a stair breaks under a character's foot, making her let out a shriek, and Hizashi shrieks right along with her--thankfully not quirk-loud--and grabs Shouta's arm.

Then he lets go, rubbing the back of his neck and laughing.

"Sorry!" he says awkwardly.

"It's fine," Shouta says gruffly. It was just a quick touch, but his arm is tingling where Hizashi touched it.

He kinda wishes it would happen again.

Not a minute later, he gets his wish. The old grandfather clock at the top of the stairs chimes suddenly, and Hizashi jumps at the loud noise, his hands finding their way back to Shouta's bicep.

"Sorr--" Hizashi starts, but Shouta cuts him off with, "I said it's fine."

"I don't mind."

But Hizashi still moves away, and Shouta can't help but be disappointed.

For a while, things are calm on the screen, and he can see Hizashi start to relax. The music is gentle, and the house is still dark, but it's less scary and more comforting.

Then lightning cracks, lighting the screen up white--except for the outline of the monster.

Hizashi's yelp covers up the roll of thunder, and his hands wrap about Shouta's arm and squeeze desperately.

But then he starts to move away again, slowly and reluctantly.

"...Come here," Shouta growls, like he's annoyed, but his palms are slightly sweaty as he wraps the arm Hizashi had been clutching around the other boy's shoulders.

There's not even a moment of uncertainty. Hizashi sinks into Shouta immediately, cuddling up to his side.

Hizashi's eyes are glued to the screen, but Shouta sneaks a look down at his friend. Now that they're pressed together, he can feel him shivering.

He doesn't bother asking if he's alright. He'll just deny being scared again.

Instead he just pulls the blanket down from the back of the couch, wrapping it around both of their shoulders.

He's barely even paying attention to the movie anymore, but Hizashi is, and when the monster bursts through a door, he jumps again.

Holding onto to Shouta seems to be important, because Hizashi grasps for his other arm now, reaching across his chest.

A sudden surge of bravery hits him, and Shouta catches Hizashi's questing hand with his own, lacing their fingers together.

Hizashi immediately begins trying to strangle his hand. Shouta squeezes back comfortingly, and when his grip slackens a little as the characters make it to safety, he tries rubbing his thumb across the back of Hizashi's hand.

Hizashi sighs in relief.

Shouta's palms are still sweaty, but Hizashi doesn't comment on it. Hopefully he's too engrossed in the movie to notice.

It's nice, though. He hadn't been that cold before, but now he's comfortably warm, their combined body heat trapped by the blanket.

It's comfortable but at the same time exhilarating, the fluttering in his chest having nothing to do with the scary movie.

Hizashi clings to him for the next hour, and it never stops being nice.

But eventually the movie is over.

Hizashi gives Shouta's hand a squeeze before letting it go, and his heart flips. Shouta gets ready to move away, but Hizashi is looking at him.

It's too dark to tell for sure--are his cheeks pink? He looks more uncertain than scared, now.

"Thanks," he says quietly, and then--he darts in and kisses Shouta's cheek.

Just as soon as he does, he jumps up, his back to Shouta as he stretches. Shouta's hand comes up to touch the spot where his lips had been, and if his heart was fluttering before, it's flying now.

"Well, time for bed!" Hizashi chirps like nothing had happened, but when he turns around, his face is definitely red, but he smiles at Shouta. Then he holds his hand out.

Shouta takes it, letting him pull him off the couch.

An hour later, Shouta is drifting off to sleep when he hears a rustle. Suddenly, he's wide awake, picturing the monster from the movie--okay, maybe he wasn't entirely unaffected by that.

But it's just Hizashi's sleeping bag, he figures out as it rustles again.

"Shouta? Are you asleep?" Hizashi whispers.

"I'm not now," Shouta grumbles.

"Oh," Hizashi whispers back, and then he's quiet. But just for a moment before he speaks again. "I can't sleep."

"Can I...sleep up there with you?" he asks tentatively. Like there's any chance Shouta's going to say no.

"Alright, fine," Shouta sighs, but he's already scooting over to make room, holding up the side of the blanket as Hizashi sits up.

Another ten minutes and Hizashi is asleep, snoring quietly into Shouta's shoulder, his arm slung across his chest.

Shouta is still awake enough to smile into Hizashi's soft hair.

Watching a horror movie had been a good choice.