Chapter Text
The second day felt different.
The third day felt normal.
By the fourth day, Ferrari had somehow become routine.
Which was probably the most ridiculous sentence Katsuki had ever thought.
Every morning followed the same pattern.
Wake up, hotel breakfast, Ferrari shuttle.
Work, training, meetings, engineering.
Repeat.
The schedule should have become boring.
It didn't.
There was simply too much to see, too much to learn, and too much happening at all times.
Still, patterns began appearing.
People sat in the same places during orientation. The same engineers preferred the same coffee machines. The same groups formed during lunch. The same conversations surfaced every day.
Routine.
Human beings were annoyingly predictable.
Including Shouto, especially Shouto.
Every morning she arrived exactly on time. Every afternoon she disappeared for lunch with people she'd apparently known forever. Every evening she left before the hotel shuttle arrived.
Home.
The word still felt strange.
Mostly because he still couldn't picture it.
----
By Thursday, Katsuki finally asked.
"How far is your house?"
Shouto looked up from her laptop "Depends."
"On what."
"Traffic."
Helpful.
"Normally," She actually thought about it "Twenty minutes."
Twenty.
The hotel was forty-three.
Katsuki hated that information immediately for reasons he preferred not to examine.
Lunch happened outside that day.
Italy seemed personally committed to perfect weather. The sun hung high above the courtyard while students occupied every available table. Engineers wandered past carrying coffee. Conversations drifted between departments. Life continued.
At some point, someone asked Shouto where she'd learned Italian.
The entire table turned toward her.
Waiting.
"Here."
"...Here?"
"Yeah."
The confusion spread instantly "You mean in Italy?"
"Yes."
"How old were you?"
Shouto blinked "I don't know."
Silence.
The table gave up immediately.
Again.
Apparently her childhood had involved casually spending part of every year in Italy.
Normal.
Completely normal.
----
The evening shuttle was delayed.
Nobody knew why, nobody seemed particularly concerned.
Students sat on curbs, checked phones, complained about the heat, and waited.
The summer air lingered long after sunset. Warm light stretched across the parking lot while the sky glowed orange and gold above Maranello.
Katsuki leaned against a railing, watching the road.
Not intentionally.
The realization arrived several minutes later.
He was waiting for the red Ferrari.
Which was stupid.
Very stupid.
Unfortunately, the Ferrari appeared.
Exactly on schedule.
Bright red.
Completely unnecessary.
Impossible to ignore.
----
The driver's window lowered.
Touya. Of course.
"YOU." Katsuki immediately regretted making eye contact, Touya pointed dramatically.
"Why are you still at the hotel?"
"...What?"
"The hotel."
"What about it?"
Touya looked genuinely offended "It's far."
There it was.
Again.
Another one of Touya's attempts to adopt random Ferrari interns.
Shouto appeared from the passenger side carrying a folder, entirely unsurprised by the conversation taking place.
Apparently this happened regularly.
"You told him."
"I tell everyone."
"Why."
"Because it's far."
A perfectly serious answer.
Which somehow made it worse.
The shuttle still hadn't arrived, Touya noticed immediately.
His grin appeared.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
"You need a ride?"
"No."
"You do."
"I don't."
"You've been standing here for fifteen minutes."
"That's not your problem."
"It is now."
Shouto closed her eyes.
The expression suggested this wasn't even close to the first time Touya had decided someone from Ferrari was his responsibility now. Not even close.
Ten minutes later, Katsuki was sitting in the back seat of a Ferrari.
Against his will.
Mostly.
Touya was driving.
Which somehow made everything worse.
The roads wound through the Italian countryside as golden evening sunlight spilled across the hills. Small towns passed outside the windows. Vineyards stretched into the distance.
For a while nobody spoke.
"The hotel is still far."
Katsuki briefly considered opening the door.
At speed.
Shouto laughed, actually laughed.
The sound filled the car for a moment before fading into the warm evening air.
And for some reason, that moment stayed with him long after the ride ended.
----
The Ferrari eventually pulled up outside the hotel.
Katsuki climbed out immediately.
Freedom.
Finally.
Touya leaned across the center console "See you tomorrow."
"Unfortunately."
Touya grinned "He's growing on me."
"No."
"Yes."
The Ferrari accelerated away before Katsuki could argue further.
Gone within seconds.
Leaving him standing outside the hotel, watching the taillights disappear into the Italian evening.
And suddenly, for some reason, the hotel felt a little emptier than it had a week ago.