Shiratorizawa - Dorm Days

Movie Night (Part 2)

"You have the worst taste in movies."
The corner of Tendo's mouth tilted upwards slightly, "So predictable Kenjiro," he sighed "though your bluntness is refreshing, I will admit. You never sugarcoat anything."
They had just finished watching the movie. It was relatively boring, but Shirabu did smirk at a few of the stupider scenes. Meanwhile, Tendo had huddled up under the blankets the whole time, even letting out a little shriek during one of the jump scares. Shirabu had enjoyed that.
"I didn't think it'd be so scary!" The middle blocker had complained in his defence.
Near the end, as the credits started to roll, Tendo had begun to mellow out a bit (Shirabu always watched the credits, much to Tendo's chagrin. His upperclassman had a very short attention span). Now the middle blocker was lying on his back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling with a surprisingly thoughtful expression on his face. Shirabu waited for Tendo to get up and leave. It was 11:00 o'clock after all, and Shirabu was not a night owl. Tendo, however, remained right where he was. Not really having another option, Shirabu lay down, too. He stared at the ceiling. He'd never really noticed how empty it was before now. Maybe he'd have to give in and finally buy a few of those glow-in-the-dark solar system stickers or something...
"You wanna go into medicine, don't ya, Shirabu?" Tendo broke the silence. He was usually the one to do so on their team.
"Yes," he replied. He didn't bother saying anything else. That had answered the question sufficiently. He wasn't one to offer up excess information without reason.
"It must be nice to have that kind of direction." Shirabu frowned and propped himself up onto his elbow, but for once his upperclassman's face was unreadable.
"Do you have an idea of what you want to pursue after high school?" It was a pointless question, Shirabu knew. Obviously, Tendo didn't, but still, he found himself asking it.
"No idea. Is that a bad thing?" It wasn't a plea, but a genuine question, so Shirabu considered for a moment.
"No, I don't think so," he answered honestly. "In fact, I don't think it's possible to have your entire life mapped out in high school. There's a bunch of pressure to pick something right away, but in reality there's lots of time to figure it out. It annoys me. This is the real world, everyone's path is different." Shirabu actually felt a bit embarrassed. He never monologued like that. He guessed Tendo's question must have hit a little too close to home. After all, the school was constantly pressuring them about their plans for after graduation. As if life could be mapped out so easily. It grated on his nerves.
Tendo had clearly picked up on Shirabu's frustrations. The third year arched an eyebrow and a flash of mischief sparked in his eyes. To Shirabu's surprise, though, he didn't comment on it. Instead, Tendo sighed contentedly.
"This is exactly what I needed today," the third year was smiling now.
Shirabu didn't really know what Tendo meant by that, so he ignored it.
"How'd ya decide on medicine then, Kenjiro?"
Shirabu shrugged, "Well, up until this year I thought I was going to be a lawyer like my parents. Then, I had the incredibly deep realization that I hated that idea and actually really enjoyed biology, so here I am. It's scary, but sometimes the scary thing is the only thing worthwhile. Or else you'll end up regretting it and becoming one of those sad parents who tries to live vicariously through their children."
"It scares you, then?" Tendo asked.
Shirabu grit his teeth. Hadn't he just said that it did? Tendo was so nosy. The redhead was the only one who could loosen his lips on certain occasions, and it annoyed him to no end. "Of course it does," he scoffed anyways, "I think you'd have to be stupid not to be at least a little bit scared."
Tendo snickered to himself, and Shirabu wondered what he was thinking. Shirabu didn't ask though. He almost never did.
Instead, they lay there in silence. Tendo seemingly had gotten out what he wanted to say, and was now content to enjoy the quiet that came naturally with night. Another half hour passed like this, and at what was probably around midnight, Tendo got up.
"I suppose I'll get out of your hair now, hmm, Kenjiro?" Tendo winked, "I know you're not much of a night owl."
Shirabu stifled a yawn, his body agreeing that no, no he was not.
"Nighty, night!" Tendo called from the doorway. "Try to get some sleep, and don't let biology run you ragged, hmm?"
Shirabu rolled his eyes but nodded in acknowledgment. Tendo slipped out of the room then, and Shirabu watched the door thoughtfully for a moment before switching off his small bedside lamp. His biology work sat unfinished on the table, but for some reason, it didn't even cross his mind as he drifted into unconsciousness.

Thanks for reading! It been a bit of a rough ride, so I based some of the things in this chapter around some of the stresses in my life recently. Also, did anyone catch that these past two chapters have been based on something Tendo says in chapter 7 (Running Early Part 2)? Anyways, there's been a lot going on in the world recently, so I hope everyone's doing okay and taking care of themselves. I'll update Tanakiyo Oneshots next, then will probably be back on here with a Yamagata chapter. Idk why it's taken me this long to write from his perspective and it's a source of shame for me every day.
~lunxpop