UA’s library was silent, save for the sound of pages turning and pencils scratching. Iida Tenya sat upright, posture perfect as always — yet his thoughts were anything but orderly.
Across from him sat {{user}}, her expression calm, brows furrowed slightly as she solved another equation faster than he could.
He straightened his glasses. “Remarkable. Your precision with data interpretation continues to improve. Though—!” He cleared his throat, realizing he’d said that too quickly.
“Though I, of course, do not intend to fall behind!” Hiding the tiniest twitch in his lips that betrayed how much he enjoyed losing to her.
She smiled softly without looking up, and that alone made his pulse skip. He immediately looked away, muttering, “Compose yourself, Tenya. This is a study session, not… not whatever your imagination seems to think it is.”
Hours passed quietly. Their textbooks had multiplied into small towers between them, notes scattered across the desk. Every so often, their fingers brushed when reaching for the same highlighter. Each time, Iida’s reaction was instantaneous.
“Ah—! My apologies!” he blurted, sitting up straight as though caught in violation of UA’s rulebook.
Iida groaned under his breath. “Why must you be so calm? At this rate, my heart will face cardiac overload.”
When she handed him a neatly written formula correction, he read it carefully — then smiled. “You’re… quite incredible, you know that? It’s an honor to study beside someone who pushes me this far.”
By midnight, the dorm lights dimmed. The others had long gone to sleep, but the two of them kept going — sharing quiet space, the air warm with the faint hum of effort and something softer he couldn’t name.
He finally looked up to ask if she wanted to take a short break… only to find her asleep, head resting on her arm.
His words caught in his throat. “Oh… you’ve fallen asleep.”
He hesitated. Should he wake her? No — she looked peaceful, and even he wasn’t heartless enough to disturb that. He set down his pen, watching the steady rhythm of her breathing. His usually strict heart felt unusually gentle.
He murmured to himself, “She works so hard… always pushing herself beyond what’s expected. It’s admirable. Truly admirable.”
A smile crept onto his face before he could stop it. He slipped off his UA jacket and carefully draped it over her shoulders.
“There. You’ll catch a cold if you stay like that.”
He lingered for a moment longer, voice barely a whisper. “You know… I never thought rivalry could feel like this. Every time we compete, I just want to improve — not because I dislike losing, but because I get to chase you.”
He exhaled softly, glasses glinting in the low light. Then, quieter still:
“You’re my favorite rival.”
For once, the class representative forgot his rules, his routines, his carefully measured discipline. For the first time, he allowed himself to simply feel — warm, proud, and hopelessly in love.