"You what?" Surya demanded, rising off his pillows to stare down at Daichi.

"He clearly doesn't have a dorm he can use. I think he's quite literally sleeping at that bus stop." Daichi rubbed the sleep from his eyes. His low voice hoarse from having just woken. "I felt bad for him."

Surya faced forward, trying to process what Daichi was saying.

"So," Daichi continued, "that's why I offered him your couch."

"And then came to sleep with me in bed?" Surya hissed. "You don't think that looks suspicious?"

"Would you have preferred me to crowd the couch with him?"

Anger clipped every word: "The carpet looks pretty comfortable to me."

Daichi's mouth curled. 

He was a trust fund kid, which was why he could half-heartedly pursue a career as an artist, yet still own a car and dress so well. He would have happily supported Surya if they decided to move in together off campus, but Surya liked this proximity to class, and he didn't want to be so dependent on Daichi. 

So they packed themselves into Surya's dorm, which was still an upgrade from their previous one. It had a compact, self-catering kitchen just adjacent to the wide entrance hall. They'd even crammed an absurdly thin couch and knee-high table into the hallway, which acted as their lounge. 

But now someone was sleeping there. It felt like Akira was breaking into every corner of Surya's life, and worse, the usually anti-social Daichi had just adopted him like a stray cat. Just because Akira provided some source of entertainment didn't mean they had to keep playing with him. 

"Next time, I'll put him in your bed instead," Daichi said. "I'll leave it up to your imagination about whether I'm also there or not."

Surya leapt off the bed. "I'm sending him home."

"Ah, come on," Daichi protested, and Surya heard him stumbling off the mattress to follow. 

But there was no one on the couch. Surya hesitated in the doorway, and Daichi peered curiously over his shoulder, murmuring something. Daichi then wrapped his arms around Surya's waist. He playfully began to sway, and pointedly ignored Surya's elbow in his gut.

Palms hit the ground, and they got the fright of their lives as Akira pushed up from the floor. 

But Akira looked more bewildered than anyone else. His hair was badly mussed up, sticking up at every angle like he'd been electrocuted, and confusion blanked his expression. It gave Daichi and Surya a chance to step away from each other. 

"Good morning," Daichi cheerfully called, intrigued enough to go over to him. "You want something to drink? Coffee? Tea? Water?" There was a pause, then: "Whiskey?" 

"Um," Akira mumbled, looking more disorientated. 

"I'm afraid we don't have that," Daichi said. "However did you end up down there?"

"I fell?"

Daichi found that very obvious answer funny. He even reached down to help Akira onto his feet. And, well, that was an undeniably adorable sight, since Akira appeared even more frazzled standing. His one sock was missing, and when he was following Daichi to the kitchen, he bumped into the table and had to be caught. 

But Akira ended up in front of Surya. "Hi, sorry for imposing."

Daichi called from the kitchen. "Pay us back by making breakfast!"

Akira glanced at Surya, not moving at all until Surya relented with a sigh, and gave him permission. As Surya went to shower and change, he could hear the low hum of their conversation and the clattering of pots being retrieved. It was unusual but not unpleasant.

Once Surya was drying his hair, he heard a knock on the wall outside his door, and Akira peeked inside. "S-sorry, I just wanted to check, is there anything you don't want on your omelette?"

Surya glanced at him. "I like anything that would go on a normal omelette."

Akira ducked away, and Surya could hear Daichi laughing like a hyena as he muttered, "Is it your mission in life to trick me?"

Surya finally came to take a seat at the tiny kitchen table. There Daichi was, rocking his chair backwards with his arm hooked languidly over the backrest, and he turned his half-smile from Akira to Surya. It was nice seeing him so at ease. 

Well, no doubt the kitchen felt full with all three of them, and Akira's cooking smelled heavenly. 

"Breakfast is served!" Akira spun around with a flourish, presenting their plates to them. 

He put his hands on his hips, looking immensely pleased with himself, and Surya had to admit the dish looked delicious. He didn't usually have breakfast this early, but his stomach was grumbling.

Still, he felt a little guilty about digging in after running away from Akira last night. 

He watched as Akira moved back to the counter, beginning to wrap up the cheese, and he cleared his throat. "About what I said yesterday."

Akira's shoulders moved in a small shrug. "You were right. I overreacted by storming away like that. If you're willing to tutor me, then I'm grateful. And I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

It was such a mature response that he was quietly shocked. "I apologise for yesterday, too. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that or used basketball against you."

Akira finally glanced over at him, giving an impish grin. "I mean, what else could've caught my attention like that?"

Daichi was smiling. "Be honest, Surya, do you prefer that omelette over what I usually make for breakfast?"

The corner of his mouth quirked up. "Is that why you tried to sabotage it?"

"Lies and slander," Daichi gasped, hand over his chest in offense, but Akira squinted at him, and he admitted. "I thought you'd like the pickled radishes and chili sauce."

Surya laughed. "You're such an ass."

"And a fine one at that."

It took a long minute before Daichi caught Surya's attention, gesturing at Akira, who was packing everything into the fridge without any intention of eating with them. Daichi definitely wanted to say something about it, but he'd pulled one too many tricks lately, so Akira was on guard against him. 

Surya sighed, putting down his fork. "Ah, Akira, before you leave, can you show me how you made this? So that I can avoid being poisoned in the future."

Akira paused in surprise. "Oh, but there's nothing special about how I made it. I just went a bit wild because of how many things you had in your fridge."

Not that easy, huh?

"What did you end up using?" Surya rose to his feet to stand beside him. "And you just, what, mixed it into the eggs?"

Akira looked unexpectedly flustered, and while stammering through his demonstration, he made another omelette. He only realised how he'd been played when he held it out to Surya, who put it on the table. 

"There's no way I can have seconds," Daichi dramatically told them. 

Surya just pulled out a chair for Akira, then took his own without waiting. 

"You're just as bad as him," Akira muttered. 

Daichi just slid the salt over, and Akira tentatively sat. Then they witnessed how Akira utterly engulfed his food. In the blink of an eye, he was taking their plates to the sink to wash them, and Surya was beside him, drying them. It was unexpectedly fun to have Akira up to his elbows in soapy water, laughing at Surya and Daichi's dumb conversation. 

Much later, Surya trailed behind Akira as he went to the door. "It's the weekend, though."

"We could watch a movie," Daichi suggested from the bedroom. 

But Akira stubbornly told them, "I missed my morning run, so I have to run double."

"Pretty sure that's not how it works," Daichi's voice lowered, "but how would I know? I'm no athlete."

"I didn't mean it as an insult!" Akira whined. 

Surya opened the door for Akira, merely so he could bar the way with his arm. "Come back after your run. You and I should plan our tutoring sessions for next week, and I can't contact you without a phone."

"Ah, okay." Akira nodded, looking both elated and embarrassed. "But I, I can't stay long."

"How come?" he demanded before he remembered that it was none of his business. 

"I have work." Akira ducked under Surya's arm, escaping. "See you guys later!"

Scowling, Surya shut the door after him. He went to sprawl beside Daichi, who started a movie for them. But the fact that Akira had shunned every one of their invitations for him to stay bothered Surya. He was unaccustomed to someone shying away from him, and it made him feel guilty when he thought it might be because of his childishness yesterday. He hated that Akira had seen him in such bad form, and he wanted to fix that. He wanted Akira to see him as perfect, so he could brush him off.

But why was he becoming hooked? 

It was always easy with Daichi. Probably because Daichi just didn't give a shit about anyone's business but his own, which made Surya want to break him down and make him his. He felt that appeal with Akira, but why? Akira was nothing like Daichi, the casual trickster with rough hands and light laughter. Akira was so innocent that he was practically clueless. That made him too easy a target for college bullies and Daichi. 

Unlike Daichi, who was reliable and steady, and who rarely involved himself in anything boring or overly taxing, Akira felt like a ticking bomb that Surya now had to handle.