Chapter Text
Connor turned off his phone and ran to the bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror. He fixed his hair, changed his shirt, and grabbed his bag.
He shoved his laptop, notebook, pens, and textbook inside, barely managing to zip everything closed.
He really never studied, so this would be interesting.
Hopefully, Fraser could save him.
"Hey, Frank, I'm going to study, so I won't be here for a while," Connor said over the phone, checking that he hadn't forgotten anything.
"Okay, that's new for you."
"Fuck off."
"I'm just saying. Also, I'm going to a friend's house, so you'll have the dorm to yourself tonight."
"Okay?"
"You're welcome."
"For what?"
"Your privacy, Connor. Some of us are considerate roommates."
Connor rolled his eyes. "Bye, Frank."
"Love you!"
Connor hung up before Frank could say anything else and rushed out the door.
The coffee shop was a cute little café tucked away between a bookstore and a convenience store near campus. It was much bigger inside than it looked from the outside, with little tables scattered around the room and a couch tucked into the corner.
The walls were covered with hockey posters, signed sticks and pucks, and jerseys from the college teams.
It was always so pretty.
Connor looked around for Fraser.
And there he was, sitting beside their favorite table, right underneath both of their jerseys.
"Hi, Fras," Connor said, dropping into the seat beside him.
"Hey, Con."
Connor pulled out his laptop and textbook, placing everything on the table. Fraser looked at the textbook. Then at Connor.
"Have you even opened that?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Recently."
Fraser laughed. "You're so screwed."
"That's why I'm here, genius."
"Fair enough."
Fraser leaned over to look at Connor's notes, his shoulder bumping against Connor's.
Connor didn't move away.
Neither did Fraser.
"So, what do you want to eat?" Fraser asked.
"Food?"
"Thank you, Connor. Very helpful."
"You're welcome."
They stood up and walked to the counter, Connor immediately pointing at the brownies behind the glass.
"Oh, they have those chocolate things!"
"The brownies?
"Yes, Fraser."
"I was just checking."
"You literally come here with me every week."
Fraser laughed. "I know what you like, Con."
And apparently, he did, because Fraser
ordered Connor's usual hot chocolate, toasted sandwich with extra cheese, and a brownie without even asking.
Connor stared at him.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You look confused."
"Because you remembered my order."
Fraser shrugged.
"You get the same thing every time."
"Still."
"You're welcome."
Connor rolled his eyes, smiling as they stepped toward the register.
Fraser immediately reached for his wallet.
"I've got it," Connor said, pulling out his own card.
"No, I'll pay."
"You always pay!"
"Because you always argue with me about it!"
"BECAUSE YOU ALWAYS TRY TO PAY!"
The person behind the counter was watching them.
Neither of them cared.
Eventually, Fraser paid before Connor could stop him.
"Fine," Connor said, pointing at him.
"I'm paying next time."
"Sure, Con."
"I'm serious."
"Okay, okay."
They grabbed their food and headed back to their table.
Connor immediately stole one of Fraser's fries.
"Hey!"
"What?"
"Get your own!"
Connor stole another one.
Fraser stared at him before pushing the rest of the fries closer.
"You're actually so annoying."
"And yet you keep buying me food."
"Unfortunately." Fraser grinned.
They settled back into their seats, their books spread across the table between them.
"Okay, show me what you're struggling with," Fraser said.
Connor opened his textbook.
Fraser stared at the page.
"Connor, this is an entire chapter."
"I know."
"And you haven't studied any of it?"
"I studied two pages."
Fraser dropped his head into his hands.
Connor started laughing.
"You're the worst student I've ever met."
"You're the smartest person I know, so teach me."
Fraser lifted his head, shaking it with a smile.
"Fine. Give me your notebook."
For the next twenty minutes, Fraser explained everything Connor needed to know while Connor took notes and tried his best to concentrate.
He actually did pretty well.
Until Fraser leaned over his shoulder to point at something in his notebook.
"See? You missed this part here."
Connor leaned slightly toward him to get a better look at the page, their heads nearly bumping together.
"Where?"
"Right there"
"Oh"
Fraser reached across him to grab a pen, his arm brushing Connor's as he did.
Neither of them thought anything of it.
They'd always been like this. Sitting too close, stealing each other's food, borrowing clothes without asking, and leaning against each other whenever they were tired.
It was normal.
They were friends.
Best friends, actually.
So Connor didn't question it when Fraser rested his chin on his shoulder to read what he'd written.
And Fraser didn't question it when Connor leaned back against him while trying to understand the next question.
"Con"
"Hm?"
"You're leaning on me"
Connor glanced over his shoulder.
"Oh. Sorry"
He started to sit up, but Fraser barely moved.
"It's fine. Keep going."
So Connor did.
A few minutes later, Fraser was explaining something about the chapter, and Connor was nodding along, occasionally asking questions.
"Wait, explain that again."
Fraser sighed dramatically. "Were you even listening?"
"Yes!"
"What did I just say?"
Connor paused.
"...Something about the chapter?"
Fraser burst out laughing.
Connor groaned, dropping his forehead onto the table.
"Oh my God."
"You're actually hopeless."
"You're a horrible tutor."
"And yet you begged me to help you."
Connor lifted his head and shoved Fraser's shoulder.
Fraser shoved him back.
Connor laughed so hard that the people at the next table turned to look at them.
"Shut up," Connor whispered, still laughing.
"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO STARTED IT!"
"OH MY GOD."
Fraser was laughing, too, and for a moment, neither of them cared about the homework sitting in front of them.
Eventually, they settled down, Fraser pulling Connor's notebook back toward him.
"Come on. One more chapter, and then we can take a break."
Connor groaned.
"Five minutes."
"You said that ten minutes ago."
"And I'll say it again."
Fraser shook his head, smiling as he leaned over to look at Connor's notes again.
"You're lucky I like you."
Connor grinned.
"Yeah, yeah. Love you too, Fras."
He said it casually, like he always did.
Fraser didn't even look up from the notebook.
"Shut up and study, Con."
Connor laughed, turning back to his textbook.
And for once, he actually did.
Mostly.
Because Fraser was sitting right beside him, their shoulders pressed together, and Connor was starting to think that maybe studying wasn't so bad after all.
Especially when his best friend was the one helping him.
By the time they finished studying, Connor had somehow managed to understand most of the material, and Fraser was threatening to never help him again if he left everything until the night before.
"You're literally my favorite person," Connor said, shoving his textbook into his bag.
"Yeah, yeah. You owe me."
"I'll buy you food next time."
"You're paying for everything next time."
Connor laughed, standing up and throwing his bag over his shoulder.
They walked out of the coffee shop together, the evening air colder than either of them expected.
"Do you wanna come back to my dorm?" Connor asked.
"We could watch something or whatever."
Fraser glanced at him.
"Sure. Frank's not there?"
"Nope. He's staying at a friend's place."
"Perfect. We can actually watch something without him talking through the entire thing."
Connor laughed.
"THANK YOU. Someone understands my suffering."
Fraser shoved his shoulder.
"You're so dramatic."
"And yet you're still friends with me."
"Yup"
Connor grinned, bumping their shoulders together as they started walking toward the dorms.
Neither of them was in any particular hurry to get there.
And honestly, neither of them wanted the afternoon to end just yet.