It was utter mayhem. 

Surya herded the first-year students like cattle onto the buses. His ears practically bleeding from all the questions and pure noise they emitted. 

One of them popped up beside his elbow. "Have you always looked like this?"

"What?" Surya blinked down at him. 

"I'm just wondering if there's hope for me."

Another answered, "There's none."

And Surya pleasantly pretended he hadn't thought the exact same thing. He said, "I possibly had more acne. Now, come on, onto the bus we go."

"You must've been so popular in high school. You're a complete heartthrob."

He laughed away the compliment. "Oh, even the driver is here. Let's get on the bus now."

By the time he found his seat beside Daichi, he was already wishing camp was over. But Daichi had his earphones in, listening to music and flipping through an art magazine at his leisure. He was so goddamn attractive. And to think they could still be in bed rather than on this crammed bus. 

Sensing the torment beside him, Daichi very kindly shared one of his earphones with Surya, and they sat in comfortable silence for the whole 3-hour drive, since the ruckus from the first-years overwhelmed most attempts at conversation. 

When they arrived at camp, they headed to the hall for icebreakers. Surya was thankful that Harper had rehearsed the itinerary and the subsequent layout of the camp with him and the other seniors. Though he was far less thankful about sharing a room with these first-years for the duration of the weekend. 

But time flew. 

Surya often caught glimpses of Daichi sneaking off to the shade or somewhere out of sight to smoke. 

Eventually he managed to escape and went to join him on the patio. Daichi, who was languidly sprawled against the gutter pipe with a cigarette between his knuckles, looked far too relaxed for someone who was supposed to be watching the kids. 

"Harper would be a great prison warden, don't you think?" Daichi hummed, lazily tipping his face up to Surya's. "Patrolling the masses, refusing to let anyone escape those icebreakers." There was a pause. "Hey, that there. On the field. Is that something flying in front of my face or someone running?"

Surya followed Daichi's finger. "I think it's that first-year from the basketball team."

"Oh, he's crazy. He ran nearly double in the relay today, but to still be running now? That's some insane stamina." Daichi took a moment to smoke, then smirked. "Someone else should be working on theirs."

Surya wouldn't let him derail the conversation. "What's this? The Little Bears have hooked a new fan?"

"They're still the worst," Daichi admitted, "but he's the littlest. And I find him funny."

There was a clunk behind them as someone practically fell out of the hall. It shocked them to see Asahi, the third-year, wearing only one shoe and hopping madly over the patio, struggling to pull on the other. Then he ran down to join Malay on the field. 

Asahi lasted only two laps after trying to match Malay's pace. Then he was staggering to his knees, retching. He stayed out of commission until Malay came over and forced him to do some cool-down stretches, which earned an angry shove. He quietly continued even when Asahi stormed away. 

Then, finally done with exercising, Malay headed for the vending machine rather than the dorms. He looked shockingly refreshed after such a gruelling session, and somehow, that expression surprisingly brightened when he spotted Surya and Daichi. 

"It's Akira," Daichi sang. 

"It's me," Akira beamed at them like sunlight. 

"This is Surya," Daichi introduced, being uncharacteristically friendly. 

Surya found himself shaking the hand that Akira stuck out. 

There was a flash of disappointment across Akira's face when Surya failed to immediately recognise him from high school, but those curls were a different story. 

"Ah, it's impressive how early you arrive to my lectures," Surya said, and Akira's face lit up. "But maybe it's too early if you're sleeping through them?"

Akira choked, covering his mortified face with his hands, which had Daichi laughing. 

When he caught his breath, Daichi invited Akira to sit with them. The enthusiasm that met his invitation was nearly blinding, and in a heartbeat, Akira was plopping down. Though he didn't seem to know what to say. 

So Daichi asked, "Was that basketball player giving you trouble?"

Daichi had a poor history with that team. He was a good fighter, short and brutal, but he tried to take good care of his hands now as an artist. Of course, that didn't stop him from beating Dassin to a pulp for all those homophobic comments, but he wouldn't beat Asahi up just for messing with Akira. He didn't care enough about it. So why was he bothering to ask?

"Is Asahi giving me trouble?" Akira echoed. "No, we just got into a heated debate about the two types of people in a relationship. The person who really believes the food has gone bad and the person who doesn't think expiration dates are real."

"I can attest to that," Daichi responded. "Only the strongest couples survive such a debate. I think it'd even keep them awake, you know. If it isn't love that makes you unable to sleep at night, what else could it possibly be?"

"Could've been that you took a nap in the afternoon," Akira said, grinning. 

It was shocking to see Daichi looking so amused. If Akira wasn't careful, he'd have Daichi growing attached, and the thing about Daichi was that once he liked someone, he returned every small gesture of affection with twice the enthusiasm. 

That had caught Surya off-guard when they first started dating. There was a lot of hand-holding and gentle knee squeezes under the table. His arm somehow always snaked effortlessly around Surya's waist or shoulders, and with every opportunity, he adorned Surya with feather-light kisses on his temples and rougher palming below. And his appetite was near insatiable. 

Daichi suddenly held out a cigarette to Akira. "Would you like one?"

"He's an athlete," Surya reminded him. 

"That I am," Akira nodded, "and also underage."

"Ridiculous that it's legal to drink but not to smoke," Daichi muttered. 

"To be honest, I think it's ridiculous that people respond to 'I'll see you later' with 'not if I see you first'," Akira very seriously told him. "Does that mean if you see me first, you'll avoid me?"

Surya felt a bit like laughing himself.

"You're right," Daichi slowly said. "I've never thought about that."

"Will we ever be the same?" Surya wondered.

"Well, I'll be offended to the highest degree now. Though someone once told me my learning curve must be a flat line, so this isn't actually that unforgivable." Daichi abruptly glanced at Akira. "Any metaphors for that one?"

"Um," Akira paused, "you opened a can of worms, so lie in it?" 

Daichi cracked a highly entertained grin, so deep and genuine that it crinkled the corner of his eyes.