A/N: Hi everyone! I'm back with another TsubaHonks fanfic! Hope you'll enjoy this ^_^ (Crossposted from AO3)

"I can't do this anymore!"

A skull-smashing thud sounded as Honoka slammed her head on the desk in the dorm room she shared with her friend. She raked her hands through her ginger locks in frustration, making unintelligible grunts while her hair quickly resembled a lion's fiery mane. The regret of sleeping through lectures swelled steadily in her stomach. Now she only had until the next morning to revise for that all-important exam. She stole a peek at the bread-shaped desk clock and promptly let out a bloodcurdling shriek which, in turn, caused the other occupant in the room to bolt wide awake with a scream of her own.

"Honoka!" Sonoda Umi clutched her chest, breathing hard. She swore her heart almost exploded from her roommate's sudden outburst. "Are you trying to wake the whole building?"

"Sorry, Umi-chan..." Honoka muttered meekly, twiddling her fingers. "Time's running out and I just can't remember the stuff for tomorrow's test."

"Serves you right. I had already reminded you many times to do your revision in advance. Honestly, I've lost count."

Honoka winced at the bluenette's severe tone. Umi was grumpy, alright. She was never one to appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night. Then again, who was?

"I'm fine with you leaving the lights on but please, no more noise, understand?"

"Yes, demo-" Fortunately, Honoka caught herself and swallowed the last part of her sentence, albeit biting her tongue in the process. She knew better than to incur the wrath of a grouchy Umi, especially when she had been rudely awakened. Sighing, she turned back to her books. The ant-like words began swimming around the longer she stared. Before she knew it, she was humming the tune to the latest radio hit and tapping her pen to the rhythm... all the while trying to beatbox too.

Keyword: trying.

"Tikat tik tik tikat pssssh! Poom poom woarr..."

A slim navy brow twitched.

"Chukka chukka chukka... Bssshhh!"

Fingers calloused from years of archery practice curled into a white-knuckled grip.

"Tssk tssk chukka chukka... PHOOM!"

And PHOOM went Honoka when a supersonic pillow struck her in her head, knocking her clean out of her chair and onto the floor.

"OUT!"

And that was how Honoka found herself trudging along the corridors in her sleepwear, textbooks and notes cradled precariously in her arms. It was truly quite embarrassing to be out in a sloppy oversized T-shirt that kept slipping down her shoulders - what's more it still had glorious food stains from dinner. Yup, those caramel spots were definitely from the instant ramen she had devoured earlier. Honoka tugged uncomfortably at her red and white polka dot shorts. The usually boisterous girl was feeling uncharacteristically self-conscious for once; as late as it was, there were still chances that she might bump into someone she knew. No thanks to Umi who had given her a mere ten seconds to gather her things and, in said friend's chilling calm-before-the-storm tone, excuse herself.

"Umi-chan is a demon."

As close as they were, Umi could be awfully strict when it came to discipline and responsibilities. And it didn't help that Honoka just had to disrupt her sleep a second time with her lame attempt at beatboxing.

"Maybe I should have sung instead. My singing is pretty good, if I do say so myself." Honoka nodded, a proud grin spreading across her face. The self-empowering thought brought about a spring in her steps and she skipped towards the study table along the stone path between two dormitories.

Nope, Kousaka Honoka hadn't learned her lesson. Not at all.

The ginger dropped her books carelessly on the solid timber, causing them to be strewn in a messy pile. She had absolutely zero motivation in resuming her revision. Glancing around for something to hopefully put her in the mood for studying, she spied the glowing mother of all goddesses. In the distance stood a blindingly bright candy vending machine - Honoka swore it had a heavenly halo above it. She was like an ant, drawn towards it automatically.

"Wow! They added bread!" Perusing the selection of snacks, she was instantly piqued by the perfectly round and fluffy-looking bun sitting in the second top row. She pressed her face against the glass - God knew how grimy that actually was - eagerly reading the description on its packaging.

Made with premium wheat flour, Hokkaido milk and mouth-watering custard that oozes! Eat this and you will be the happiest person on earth!

Honoka swallowed loudly, falling hook, line and sinker for the over the top advertising. Her mouth was watering even before she tasted the bread which looked so divinely pillowy soft that she couldn't wait to sink her teeth into it. She could imagine its glossy crust yielding to a chewy middle and a delectable pool of golden custard. If I eat this, I will definitely have the energy to study, she convinced herself - not that she actually needed any persuading; bread was her weakness after all. Shoving her hand into her shorts' pocket, she dug around for the loose change she had managed to snatch together with her room key before Umi hurled another projectile at her. Honoka squealed in glee when her fingers touched metal but her joy was quickly shot down when she realized she was short of 50 yen. Sad, azure eyes stared longingly at the object of her desires.

Wait! She perked up. Someone might have dropped coins around here! With this brilliant thought, she got down on all fours, butt high in the air as she squinted under the vending machine.

Kira Tsubasa strolled aimlessly around the dormitories. It was an unusually quiet night - not a peaceful quiet but one thick with tension. She attributed it to being exams week. Most students were either pulling an all-nighter or recharging themselves for the exams. As for Tsubasa, she was one of the lucky few who did not have an exam scheduled for tomorrow. Despite that, she would still like to be snuggling in her cozy bed instead of loitering around at such an ungodly hour.

But she couldn't.

Elegant sandy brows knitted in irritation as she recalled the events leading to her being forced out of her own room. At times like this, she hated her roommate. Shaking her head lightly, she decided not to dwell on upsetting matters. Her emerald eyes gazed upwards, admiring the countless twinkling specks in the unreachable distance. The sky was a perfect midnight canvas not unlike Vincent van Gogh's "Starry Night". She smiled, gradually losing herself in its beauty.

"U-Ugh...! Gargh... Yargh..."

Discordant grunts broke the senior out of her reverie. If it weren't for the fact that the voice sounded vaguely familiar, she would have thought she had bumped into one of the spooky Seven Mysteries every campus seemed to be plagued with. Bravely jogging towards the source of the noise, she came face-to-face with the one thing she least expected to see.

A full and well-rounded butt clad in utterly short shorts wiggled unabashedly in the air while its owner's face was awfully close to kissing the floor beside a vending machine.

"You are..." Tsubasa started uncertainly.

The butt froze. And then a panicked curse.

"N-Nope! You don't know me! I-I'm not somebody from the class you are assisting in!" That distinctly animated voice was a dead giveaway. Its owner turned her head to the wall, hoping to hide her identity. Try as she might, Tsubasa couldn't help but snicker at the lousy cover-up.

"Kousaka-san, what are you doing?"

The girl on the ground flinched visibly and bashed her head against the clunky machine.

"Ow!"

Tsubasa cringed, feeling bad instantly. Crouching down - and finally tearing her eyes away from that fine ass - she attempted to make sense of the situation. But the gears in her head stalled like creaky old steel when she caught an eyeful of Honoka's cleavage and girlish baby blue bra - courtesy of her loose-fitting top and gravity. It took all of Tsubasa's willpower to avert her eyes once again. She cleared her throat. Loudly. Twice.

"Could it be that your arm is stuck?" Tsubasa mentally congratulated herself on finding her voice.

There was a whimper from the third-year student. Honoka was acutely aware of the rush of heat to her face. Of all the people she could have bumped into, it had to be the cute student assistant for one of her modules. If she had met the popular senior while dressed in her best garb, she might have actually been pleased with herself but no, she had to be caught scouring the gap under a snack machine for a few crummy coins to buy a bread of all things AND getting her arm stuck while clad in her most embarrassing clothes. Why did she have to wear that pair of polka dot shorts tonight?!

Tsubasa tried another question when she didn't receive a coherent response. "How did your hand get stuck?" She brought her face closer to inspect Honoka's right arm and scowled upon spotting the redness spread across the girl's otherwise fair skin. It must hurt a fair bit.

"I... wanted to buy the bread..." Came the sheepish reply. Tsubasa followed the direction Honoka's free hand was pointing at and blinked in surprise.

"Oh, I had no idea this machine sold bread!"

"I know right!" Honoka's enthusiastic voice boomed so suddenly that Tsubasa barely stopped herself from falling by grabbing the edge of the machine. "They should've done this long ago! Bread is the best!"

Tsubasa coughed, readjusting her crouching position. "And how did you end up stuck down here?"

Honoka gave a weak laugh. "I didn't have enough money and I saw some coins under the machine so... Eh heh heh..."

Tsubasa briefly wondered how someone who had already attained adulthood would go to such lengths for a bread. Then she glanced at Honoka's face which still retained a naive and child-like quality and realized common sense did not apply to the free-spirited girl. Shifting herself behind the ginger, Tsubasa wrapped a firm arm around Honoka's middle while resting her other hand on the stuck limb. The junior stiffened against her.

"K-K-Kira-san?!" Honoka's voice came out strained and hoarse. Her mouth had turned dreadfully dry. Where did all the drool from fantasizing about the bread go to? Every swallow was like a giant lump waiting to choke her airway. "W-What are you doing?"

"Relax. And please, call me Tsubasa."

She wasn't sure if the charismatic senior was doing it on purpose but Tsubasa spoke right next to her ear, sending vibrations down to the pit of her stomach and giving rise to a foreign yet not totally unpleasant sensation. Honoka squirmed. How did Tsubasa expect her to relax? And wasn't this position similar to the so-called spooning that couples did in bed? Suddenly, Honoka wished she hadn't been there when Nozomi proudly shared about her bedtime habits with Eli. The knowledge only made her more flustered than necessary in this situation.

"Kousaka-san." Tsubasa's crisp voice possessed a slightly commanding tone - which sounded lethally sexy to Honoka. "I'm going to pull your arm so it may hurt."

"H-Honoka," the junior blurted.

"Hmm?"

Shit. The hum sent another wave of reverberations through Honoka's ear.

"I... I mean... p-please call me Homo-Honoka."

"Homo-Honoka?"

"NO! I meant Honoka!" she literally screamed out of embarrassment.

Tsubasa was silent for a second before she giggled - which Honoka wished she wouldn't do at such close proximity. She wasn't sure if her body could hold up if Tsubasa continued being so... stimulating.

"Sure, Honoka-san." Tsubasa's breath gave off a cool, minty freshness that Honoka wouldn't mind reveling in - if she ever had the chance to be so close to her again. Although she couldn't see her, she could picture Tsubasa's ever charming smile in her head. The arm around her stomach tightened, brushing the underside of Honoka's breasts. She squeaked. She was sure her face resembled the scarlet hair of a certain second-year music prodigy in their university. Unbeknownst to her, Tsubasa was having a mental struggle of her own.

Tsubasa was known to be especially forthcoming in her interactions with people, often to the extent of invading the other party's personal space unintentionally - not that anyone minded though. No one on campus had ever witnessed the collected senior exhibiting a behavior that was considered less than confident. Yet here she was feeling butterflies in her stomach for the first time in years. The cause: the infamous klutz, Kousaka Honoka. Tsubasa discovered she liked the softness of Honoka's body; it reminded her of the fluffy teddy bear she used to cuddle to sleep as a child. The girl's infectious vivacity had left a deep impression on Tsubasa the first time she laid eyes on her. Many times, Tsubasa would overhear Honoka's excited chatter with her friends along the corridors. Some students deemed the bubbly girl noisy and disruptive but Tsubasa found comfort in listening to her voice; it was oddly endearing.

Tsubasa turned a little to admire Honoka's face which was kissed pink like the cherry blossoms in spring. She chuckled at how rigid Honoka had become. "Ready, Honoka-san?" She adored the way the name rolled off her tongue. Heck, she wouldn't mind getting used to saying it.

Honoka merely nodded, not trusting herself to speak when her nerves were a jumbled mess.

"Here we go. Let me know if it hurts too much."

Honoka's breath hitched when Tsubasa tugged her arm. The brunette was strong despite her diminutive size. Honoka winced silently when pain shot through her body, not wanting to worry her savior. However, Tsubasa was more sensitive than she thought.

"Sorry. That hurt, right?" Tsubasa relaxed her hold before trying again only for Honoka to hiss in pain. Tsubasa reassessed the situation; Honoka's elbow was the main obstacle. If she applied force carelessly, she could risk popping it out of its socket and she certainly did not want to put Honoka out of commission right before a big paper.

"Honoka-san."

"Eh?"

"I'm going to see if there's anything in my room which could help. Wait for me, alright?"

"A-Ah... Okay. I can't really go anywhere anyway." Honoka grinned shyly, eliciting a small laugh from Tsubasa.

"That's true. Silly me." Tsubasa let go of Honoka and stood up. "I'll be back soon."

And off she went. Honoka exhaled loudly, finally daring to steady her breathing. She was amazed she hadn't fainted in Tsubasa's arms. On the contrary, her heart sank in disappointment when the other girl's warmth left her. Tsubasa was the embodiment of perfection as long as one disregarded her height. Aside from her good looks and impeccable style - hell, she made a white boyfriend shirt paired with a royal blue camisole look so fine - she was remarkably sincere and gentle. So lost in her thoughts, Honoka nearly missed Tsubasa's return. She raised her eyebrows when she spied the heavy blush on Tsubasa's face. The brunette appeared rather displeased too.

"Is there something wrong?" Honoka asked cautiously.

Tsubasa swiftly put on the easy smile she had perfected over the years. "Just... walked in on my roommate and her girlfriend being..." She shook her head, not wanting to recall the scene. "I thought they would be done by now. But it's not like it hasn't happened before so I'm kind of used to it," she ended with a nonchalant shrug.

Honoka's mind trailed back to Nozomi's sharing session and her face instantly went aflame. "Is that why you are out at this hour?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Anyway, I got what we need."

"What's that?"

Tsubasa's green eyes shifted uneasily as she held out a deep purple tube. "It's my roommate's lubricant. If I had a choice, I really wouldn't want to take it but it was the first usable item I saw and I couldn't stand another second in there..."

The blush on Honoka's face now matched Tsubasa's. The pair stayed in awkward silence until Tsubasa cleared her throat. The priority was to help Honoka. Suppressing a grimace, she squeezed out a generous amount of the clear gel on her palm and rubbed it over the accessible parts of Honoka's arm.

"Sorry about this."

Honoka couldn't help but be charmed by how apologetic and serious Tsubasa was. She muttered a bashful "it's okay" to alleviate the other's guilt - and tried not to think about the intended use of the lubricant. Tsubasa grasped and pulled Honoka's arm gingerly. Bit by bit, it slipped out from under the vending machine. I should thank Anju later, Tsubasa made a mental note. Honoka massaged her sore elbow, trying to get rid of the pins and needles.

"Thanks, Tsubasa-san!" She spun around with a grateful beam only to lose her balance and crash right into Tsubasa whose arms caught her in reflex. They tumbled to the ground with the senior acting as a human cushion.

Tsubasa wheezed, feeling the wind knocked out of her. Honoka was heavier than she'd thought. Peeking open an eye, she uttered through gritted teeth, "Y-You're welcome..."

Honoka let out a loud gasp and quickly scrambled to her feet, all the while apologizing profusely for her clumsiness.

"You are the first person to take my breath away in such a literal manner, Honoka-san," Tsubasa joked with a wry smile as she pushed herself up. Anju and Erena would never let her live it down if they knew about this - the great Kira Tsubasa being topped by the resident klutz. Those two perverted minds would keep reminding her about it all the way till graduation, she was sure.

"I'm so sorry!" Honoka said again with a deep bow of her head.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Tsubasa lied - there would no doubt be a nice, big bruise on her butt tomorrow but there was no way she'd admit it. "Come on. Let's go and wash that... substance off your arm."

After exiting the nearest restroom, Honoka thought that would spell the end of her encounter with Tsubasa but it seemed like the night had more surprises in store for her. She watched curiously as Tsubasa approached the vending machine, inserted a few coins and purchased the very bread that had brought about their fateful meeting.

"Here." Tsubasa plopped the bun in Honoka's hand. "I managed to grab some change just now."

The junior could only gawk dumbly between Tsubasa and the bread.

"Say, are you cramming for tomorrow's exam?" Tsubasa gestured to the pile of books and notes on the study table. "I could help you since I learned the stuff last year," she offered.

Honoka's hands slacked and the bread dropped to the ground.

The next morning, Honoka yawned for the umpteenth time during the paper but the copious amount of caffeine she had ingested earlier kept her awake long enough. As severely deprived of sleep as she was, she still remembered the important content Tsubasa had taught her. She wasn't breezing through the paper but she was fairly positive she wouldn't get a big fat F. Dragging her feet out of the exam hall, she rubbed her bleary eyes... and stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed a very familiar figure leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

"Hi, Honoka-san!" greeted Tsubasa, perking up the moment she sighted her target. She appeared as fresh as ever unlike the third-year who sported heavy bags under her eyes. God is unfair! Honoka mentally wailed. Tsubasa held up a pine green plastic bag adorned with white cursive words. "I passed by the bakery just now and bought some bread. Want to eat them together?"

All traces of sleep abandoned Honoka immediately at the mention of freshly baked bread. She took in a deep whiff, allowing the sweet aroma of cinnamon and baked apples to fill her entire being.

"You bet!"

I could marry you right now! She squealed in her head - or so she thought.

"That would be a bit of a rush... but we could start by dating?" Tsubasa's amused voice sliced through her elation like a hot knife through butter. Oh, how Honoka wished a five-ton truck would coming rumbling by this very instant and spare her the embarrassment. Tsubasa simply laughed at Honoka's rapidly reddening face and stretched out an open palm, smiling encouragingly.

"Shall we get going, my date?"

Honoka stood there, flabbergasted and at an utter loss for words. She gaped uselessly at the inviting hand for a few good seconds before lifting her own towards it. She inwardly cursed at how much she was shaking. As soon as her fingers made contact with Tsubasa's, the senior pulled her close and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Relax. I don't bite... unless you want me to," Tsubasa jested with a playful wink. As suggestive as that sounded, all Honoka could focus on was how right her hand felt in Tsubasa's. A sense of bliss bloomed in her chest and her nervousness began subsiding. She returned the squeeze while her other hand dug into the bag of bread and fished out one.

"I'm not food so," Honoka shoved the bread right before Tsubasa's mouth, "you can bite this instead." She stuck out her tongue cheekily.

Tsubasa broke into a large grin. If she wasn't smitten by the adorable ginger earlier, she certainly was now. She found this mischievous side of Honoka particularly appealing. Deciding to play along, she whispered into Honoka's ear, "Sure, only if you feed me."

Oops. Maybe it was still too early for all-out flirting because Honoka dropped a second bread in less than twelve hours.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I will probably write a follow-up to this when inspiration hits. I'm still toying around with different ideas so feel free to shoot me some in the reviews. In the meantime, I'll be working on a longer TsubaHonks crime fiction. Not sure if that would actually see the light of day though as I'm not too familiar with that genre ^_^;;