"honesty and grace" (Mezo Shoji X Reader)

Chapter 41

The world around you was lit up suddenly, causing your already closed eyes to scrunch. Shoji had flipped on the lights after shutting off the alarm you had slept through. You both agreed on waking up at five in the morning so you each could gather the things necessary for the class ahead of you. Aizawa had given you a list of recommended supplies that you may need or would find suitable for your school environment, but you didn’t even look at it.

Shoji walks over with a tired expression, his eyes shut as a mouth on his left side yawns. An eye forms on his right as he reaches out for you. “(Y/n), it’s five o’clock. Do you want to start getting ready?” He asks, though your only response is to roll over and use a pillow to cover your head. The boy huffs, placing a hand on your side. “School starts at eight o’clock, and you should be getting ready as early as you can.” His efforts to awake you are to no avail, as you just pull the blankets up higher on your shoulders.

He sighs, laughing slightly to himself. Silently, Shoji wanders about the room and tidies up certain things; boxes that lay scattered about the room now lay in organized stacks and rows, the garbage bags labeled “clothes” get pushed near the closet, as does a box with shoes inside. A smile comes to his face while he looks about the room.

A lot of the boxes you had were labeled with things like “kitchen” and “living room”, something a person would normally see when helping someone move from house to house. In this case, it was better for you to keep things like that, given that it meant you wouldn’t have to spend much money on other things like that when you finish school. You had even decided to keep the reclining chair only because it was in almost perfect condition despite you and your mother owning it for almost six years.

There was a large work desk stationed in the corner of the room. It was made of what looked to be some variations of dark wood, each small drawer seeming to be a different shade of brown. It wasn’t distasteful, but it didn’t look like it would be in your style. The small cabinets on them were zip tied shut to keep them from swinging open when they were being moved. In the leg space sits a comfortable desk chair that looked similar to his teacher’s. He walked near it and pulled it out, sitting on it slowly. It creaked slightly, though not loud enough to awaken you.

Mindlessly, he opened the thin drawer that ran just above his thighs. Within it were a few pencils and pencil-top erasers. They rolled silently as he shut the drawer, though his finger stayed on the small knobbed handle. It was a spherical silver knob that ran between his rough fingers smoothly.

Another one of his arms reaches over to a drawer on the left. It slides open with a small squeak, causing Shoji to glance back over at you. From within the drawer was a binder that looked almost as if it was too small for its contents. On the front, it was just a pale blue, the blank space just being a flat rectangle. His curiosity turned on him as he reached for it. The spine of the binder has a word in bold black marker. “Pictures?” The teenager questions, though refrains from opening it.

He flips the binder a few times in his hands, not paying attention to anything around him but the object he holds. With his eyes away from everything else, it allowed you to silently slide out of bed and look around the room with sleepy eyes. Your feet moved with a level of stealth that you didn’t know you were capable of. When you finally reached him, you run your fingers along his muscular shoulders. Shoji audibly gasps, whipping his head around in surprise. The tip of his hair brushes your forehead as you lean downwards, looking at what he holds.

A smile comes to your face as you reach for the binder. “My old pictures, huh? Did you look at any of them?” You ask innocently.

He raises an eyebrow, shaking his head softly. “Of course not. I apologize for looking around your room without your permission.” The boy’s expression changes to that of a child being accused of something they actually did.