Chapter Text
Waking up in the void was second nature to Natsuo now, and by now he didn’t have to work that hard to mold the dream into whatever he wished. It had been three whole years since he first met Tomura in their dreams, and Natsuo was proud to say that they were officially best friends now!
Natsuo thought hard about what he wanted to make for Tomura tonight. Learning what his soulmate liked had taken some time at first - Natsuo would never forget the night he dreamed up a cute Corgi he’d seen walking around, only for Tomura to burst into tears and sob for ‘Monchan’ the entire night - but Natsuo liked to think he had finally figured out what Tomura liked the most. He thought for a moment more before deciding on a super awesome lake he saw in a movie at school, complete with a waterfall and a secret cave behind the waterfall! The waterfall was kind of noisy though, and Tomura didn’t like loud noises, so Natsuo fixed it by making the waterfall completely silent. He decided to leave only the peaceful noise of a slight breeze rustling through the bushes and a few birds chirping. Natsuo couldn’t resist dipping his foot into the pond, giggling when he felt the cool water send shivers up his spine.
“Woah,” a familiar voice gasped in awe, and Natsuo’s heart began to race at the sound of his soulmate’s voice, “Natsuchan, that’s so cool! And the waterfall, it’s so quiet!”
“Tomuchan!”
Natsuo shrieked in delight and ran to his soulmate, leaping forward and tackling him to the ground. Tomura, long used to Natsuo’s exceedingly enthusiastic greetings, laughed as Natsuo wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug. Natsuo could feel his worries melting away now that he was with his soulmate, with Tomura securely in his arms and returning the hug - it had taken time for Tomura to get used to physical affection, but that only made it even more rewarding when he didn’t reject it or, better yet, initiated it. Sighing happily as he nuzzled his face into Tomura’s hair, Natsuo held the hug for a few more moments before letting go - he would be more than happy to spend the whole night hugging his best friend, and they had done that several times before, but tonight he really wanted to play in the pretty lake!
“C’mon, Tomuchan! I made this just for you! Let’s go play in the water!”
Tomura looked a little hesitant, but nodded and followed alongside Natsuo. From where he was standing, Natsuo could see all of Tomura’s reactions to the dream, and his joy only grew each time Tomura gasped in awe at something around them. Natsuo had improved a lot in the last three years, and it made him incredibly happy when he could tell how much Tomura liked something he made. And even when Tomura didn’t like something, it only made Natsuo want to do even better the next time!
“Why’d you even make this anyway,” Tomura asked while looking at the scenery, fully relying on Natsuo holding his hand to safely guide his path, “It’s winter, that’s not time for swimming.”
“Um…” Natsuo trailed off as he tried to come up with a good answer. The truth was that his father had begun seriously training Shouto and Touya refused to stop his secret training, both of which made the whole house feel far too hot for Natsuo’s body. Thankfully, Touya had started going up to Sekoto peak to do his training, but Natsuo still felt like he was going to die from the heat. He’d been wishing for any chance at relief he could get, but he’d get in big trouble if he tried getting in the koi pond. “It’s just…really warm in my house, and swimming just sounds really fun!”
Tomura didn’t look the slightest bit convinced, but Natsuo didn’t offer any more information. He’d already told his soulmate a bit about his chaotic home life, and Tomura had returned the show of trust by divulging a bit of his own hectic life. Natsuo had quickly discovered that he disliked ‘Sensei’ almost as much as he hated Endeavor, but the last thing he wanted was to ruin a fun night with Tomura by talking about sad things. Instead of thinking about all of the bad things, Natsuo led him right to the edge of the water, not hesitating to let go of Tomura’s hand and jump right into the cool lake.
“Natsuchan, wait,” Tomura stopped before his feet could get wet. He looked nervous, maybe even a bit scared as he watched Natsuo tread water. “I can’t- I don’t know how to swim. I’m really, really sorry, I-”
Natsuo furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head quizzically. “Why are you saying sorry? There’s nothing to apologize for.”
Tomura’s nose scrunched up, seemingly just as confused as Natsuo was. “Because I can’t swim. But you really want me to swim, so I’m saying sorry.”
Natsuo giggled at his soulmate’s answer. “That’s really silly, Tomuchan! You don’t hafta say sorry for that. But don’t worry, I know just how to fix it!”
Natsuo inhaled deeply and squeezed his eyes shut, letting his mind clear. He started to think hard, imagining the bottom of the lake rising up. He smiled when he felt the ground rise to touch his feet and slowly push him upwards. Tomura gasped at the sight, which prompted Natsuo to also imagine that Tomura could swim without any problems.
“Fixed it!” Natsuo cheered and waded over to the edge of the lake, holding his hand out to his best friend. “C’mon, Tomuchan! You can swim now!”
Tomura still looked rather nervous, but he took Natsuo’s hand nonetheless. Natsuo grinned and didn’t hesitate to yank his soulmate’s hand, giggling when Tomura yelped and fell next to him in the lake.
“Natsuchan!” he shrieked when his head popped above the water, but the bright smile on his face and the sparkle in his red eyes were plenty of proof that he wasn’t mad at all. Natsuo sent a wave in his direction and laughed at Tomura’s shocked expression, his laughter only growing louder when Tomura growled and tried to make an even bigger splash. “I’m gonna get you for that!”
“You gotta catch me first!” Natsuo shouted as he swam away, darting just out of Tomura’s reach and splashing him with each kick. A quick glance showed that Tomura was trying to run after him, but Natsuo knew from experience that running in water was super slow. He’d be safe so long as Tomura didn’t actually swim - or so he thought, until he happened to look up and saw Tomura running on the shore, sprinting to be directly in front of Natsuo no matter where he was facing.
“I win! You can’t get out or else I’ll catch you, and that means I win!”
“Nuh-uh!” Natsuo protested while swimming backward, “You gotta catch me to win! Standing out there isn’t catching me!”
“It is! Cause…cause you gotta get out sometime! And when you do, I’ll catch you! So I win!”
“I’m never getting out! I’m gonna stay in here all night long, and that means I win!”
Tomura crossed his arms and scrunched his nose, looking really cute despite the obvious frustration. Natsuo stayed in the lake, stubbornly treading water just to prove that he wasn’t getting out, but it only took a few minutes for him to get bored. He had just started swimming in circles when he heard Tomura’s feet hitting the ground, hardly warning him before Tomura launched himself across the lake and splashed down right in front of him.
“CAUGHT YOU!” Tomura shouted once he had a tight grip on Natsuo’s arm, “I win! And you can’t say no, ‘cause then you’re a cheater!”
Natsuo stared in disbelief at his soulmate, but the irritation quickly faded away to unbridled joy. Natsuo threw his arms around Tomura, sending them both plunging under for just a second until Natsuo mentally lowered the water’s surface so they could breathe, not breaking his hold on his soulmate the whole while.
“N-Natsuchan! Why’d you do that?!” Tomura stammered, returning Natsuo’s hug despite his confusion. Natsuo squeezed him tighter in turn, pressing their cheeks together and feeling both their faces heat up despite the cold water.
“I’m really, really happy, Tomuchan!” Natsuo giggled and finally loosened his grip, pulling back just enough to see his soulmate’s adorably rosy cheeks and big, red eyes. “I really wanted to swim with you, and- and I love playing with you! I’m always happy when I get to see you!”
Somehow, Tomura’s face managed to turn even pinker, but Natsuo thought that it only made him look even cuter. “I…I’m always happy when I see you too. I wish I can sleep forever, just so we can play together all the time!”
“You can’t sleep forever, cause then you can’t eat or do anything,” Natsuo chided, giggling when Tomura looked embarrassed and tried to avoid his eyes, “But ‘Yumi says that we can meet each other when we get big, and then we can play together forever!”
“Really?!”
“Yeah! And she knows everything, ‘cause she’s really smart!”
“Then…when we get big, can we play together forever?”
Natsuo beamed and knew deep in his heart that he absolutely meant it when he replied, “We’ll be together forever, promise!”