Pairing: Harua x Nicholas
AU: Academic Enemies → Rivals → Realization → Lovers
Vibe: Competitive silence, cutting remarks, stolen pens, and one badly timed kiss
Requested by harurasheart 

🎓 THE SETUP

Harua: Deadpan top student. Every paper is perfect. Never raises his hand but always knows the answer. Dresses like he has his life together (he does not). Nicholas: Loud, charismatic, dangerously smart. Will challenge professors in class. Has a reputation for being cocky—and for making people fall in love with him and hate him at the same time.

They've been fighting for the #1 ranking in the department since freshman year.

Now they're seniors.

There's only room for one valedictorian.

And it's personal.

📚 ONE-SHOT: "This Is War, And You Borrowed My Highlighter"

The library was quiet. Too quiet.

Which is how Harua knew Nicholas was there.

Sure enough, he spotted him at the far table—sprawled in a hoodie, biting his pen cap, a stack of color-coded notes next to him that looked suspiciously inspired by Harua's own system.

Harua narrowed his eyes.

Nicholas looked up. Grinned.

Nicholas: "Aw. Did I take your spot again?"

Harua (dry): "I didn't know the concept of 'ownership' extended to library chairs."

Nicholas: "I'll add it to the syllabus next semester."

Harua rolled his eyes and sat across from him, pulling out his own notes. For the next hour, they worked in silence—hostile, tension-filled, high-stakes silence.

Until Nicholas said:

"You highlighted the wrong line in that source."

Harua froze.

Looked at the page.

He hadn't.

Harua: "You're wrong."

Nicholas (tilting his head, annoyingly smug): "Am I? Or do you just hate being corrected by me?"

Harua stood up, walked around the table, and shoved the textbook toward Nicholas.

Harua: "Prove it."

Their hands brushed.

Nicholas looked up, something shifting in his expression. Less arrogant. More... curious.

Nicholas (quietly):

"Why do you always look at me like I've ruined your life?"

Harua:

"Because you did."

Nicholas:

"...You seriously hate me that much?"

Harua hesitated.

Then:

Harua:

"No. I hate that you make me care this much about impressing you."

Nicholas blinked.

Then smiled.

The real kind. The kind that didn't make Harua want to throw a book.

"Oh," Nicholas said, voice low. "So it's not just me."

Harua should've walked away.

Instead, he kissed him.

It was sharp. Furious. Probably a bad idea.

Nicholas kissed back like it was the final round of debate and he planned to win.

🖋️ THE AFTERMATH

They meet in the library after hours more often now. Still argue. Still compete.

But sometimes Harua hands Nicholas a highlighted article—no commentary.
And sometimes Nicholas "accidentally" leaves a coffee on Harua's table with the name misspelled.

Their friends notice.

Yuma: "They're either going to kill each other or get married."

Maki: "Honestly, both."

Last line:

"I hate you," Harua murmurs, shoving his final paper into Nicholas's hands.

Nicholas smiles.
"You love me academically."

"Unfortunately," Harua says, "yes."

📚 Scene One: Group Project from Hell (aka Chemistry Lab or Romantic Tragedy?)

Professor: "Harua and Nicholas, you'll be working together on the final project."

Everyone in class: 👀

Nicholas (grinning): "Professor, are you trying to create academic bloodshed?"

Harua (already packing his bag): "He's trying to sabotage my GPA."

They spend the next three weeks:

Arguing about formatting Competing over who can cite faster "Accidentally" sitting too close while editing slides

One night at 1AM, they're in Harua's dorm room, both on laptops, neither speaking.

Nicholas (suddenly):

"Why do you always smell like library dust and good decisions?"

Harua:

"Why do you always look like a mistake I'd still make again?"

Nicholas lunges.

Laptop hits the floor.

Project forgotten.

🎤 Scene Two: Seminar Fight + Immediate Regret Kiss

They're in a debate-style seminar.

Nicholas challenges Harua's analysis mid-presentation.

Harua snaps.

Harua: "If you'd actually read the text instead of improvising with charm, you'd know—"

Nicholas: "If I wanted charm, I'd be flirting. This is me disagreeing."

Harua: "This is you being loud with no substance."

The room is dead silent.

Professor blinks.

Professor: "...Well. Passionate discussion. Let's take five."

Harua storms out.

Nicholas follows him down the hall.

Nicholas (cornering him):

"Do you like fighting me?"

Harua:

"Do you like being wrong?"

Nicholas:

"I like you. Unfortunately."

Harua freezes.

Then kisses him so hard they hit a whiteboard.

Five minutes later, they return to class—hair messed up, lips red, way too calm.

Yuma (whispering): "That was not a five-minute break."

🎓 Scene Three: Graduation Speech of Doom

Nicholas gets chosen as student speaker.

He walks to the podium in sunglasses, dramatic as ever.

His speech is surprisingly good—funny, inspiring.

Then he pauses.

Nicholas:

"And finally, to the person who kept me up the most this year.
Who challenged me more than every professor combined.
Who made me fall in love with academia... and with them."

The entire crowd shifts.

He looks right at Harua, sitting in the front row, frozen in shock.

Nicholas (smiling):

"Harua, you win.
But I'm not quitting until I make you say you love me back.
In footnotes, if I have to."

Jo, from the back:

"This is so unfair. I just wanted my diploma."

Maki:

"Shut up, they're in love."

Harua's face is red.

But he's smiling.

And mouthing:

"Fine. You win."

✨ Final Line:

Nicholas (at the reception, quietly):

"So... still hate me?"

Harua:

"Only during office hours."

And then they disappear behind the library.

Again.