Chapter Text
"Be sure to call every few days, alright? And don't do anything stupid like your sister, study hard, don't procrastinate-"
Ethari watched his mom go on with a small smile on his face while he and his father carried the last of the stuff from their van up to the front of the dorm buildings. Ethari didn't want to go inside just yet, so he said he just wanted his stuff on the lawn for now.
The first day of the start of his college life. As he glanced up at the tall building, he could practically see himself sitting in the dorm, studying or just hanging out. Hopefully he gets a roommate that was cool.
"And if you need extra cash, I left a fifty in your bag." His mom finished, just as his dad set down the last box of things. Ethari glanced back at them, just as his mom pulled him into a hug. Without a moment of hesitation, Ethari hugged back and buried his face into her shoulder like he used too when he was younger. "We're gonna miss you." She said and though Ethari couldn't see her face, he knew that she was on the verge of crying.
He was too. He felt the tears well up and he hugged her tighter. "I'll miss you too."
"Elli. C'mon, let's go. I don't want to miss my show." His dad called, but Ethari knew he didn't mind staying a little longer. He was a joker, even if it was kinda hard to tell when he was being serious or not. Kinda made things a little better though.
Still, Ethari frowned a when the hug broke off, only to smile again quickly after, if only to cheer up his mom. "Be safe, Ari. And please, please call us if you need anything, kay?" ETHARI could barely manage a nod as his parents retreated into their car, his mom having to be dragged into the van by his dad, then drove off. Leaving Ethari alone.
Most would be happy about the sudden lack of their parents around. For Ethari, though... He missed them already.
Ethari carried his stuff up to the room number written on his hand. The paper with all the information had been trashed when his younger sister's dog had gotten ahold of it so he could barely make out much of the information. His roommates name had been written on it, but now the writing was smudged and smeared and seemed to sell Rumm instead of something that made sense. At least the room number had been saved.
He opened the door, dropping the stuff his parents had left by the door, and walked in with a whistle.
The dorm had a small hallway, about 3 feet long and 2 wide, separating the door and the actual room. In that hallway was a small door with a bathroom in it (score) and on the other side of the hall were small counters. There was a small lobby/hang out area outside the doors but apparently if someone wanted a microwave or their own coffee maker, it'd be fine to put it here.
He walked into the actual room, marveling at it. It had carpet floors and white walls, with two beds each in the opposite corners, each bed had a mattress and a frame, a single, small desk hanging from the foot of it (also a score). On either side of the doorway, where the room closed into the hall, were little closets. No doors, just small, open closets. Plenty enough room for clothes and maybe a small drawer set or something. Shelves lined the walls, placed carefully in points so that the room looked like a mirror image of itself at the window between the two beds. It looked amazing.
Ethari pulled his stuff in and began setting up a tv on one side. He didn't want to pick a side of the room yet, he'd just take whichever side 'Rumm' didn't want. So, for the time being, he placed a tv on one of the shelves, hooked it up to his hotspot, and picked a movie on Netflix to settle down and watch. He grabbed his sketchbook from his bag and began sketching as he watched.
Ethari didn't realized the hours had shifted until he finished the movie he had chosen. He looked outside the window, painted just a little lighter than the walls and already covered with blinds but not curtains. He frowned when he realized the sun was setting. Which meant it was about 8 pm and his roommate was still not here...
He became a little worried. Maybe something happened and the other got into a car accident? Or maybe they got sick? Odd for someone to worry over a person they've never met but Tinker had been called odd enough in his life. Still, he shook his head and, finally, chose a side of the room to call his, if only to keep himself from thinking about the possibilities of his roommate.
The first thing he did was set the sheets up on his bed. Each were purple, green or extremely dark blue, and the blanket (He only had one but he planned to get more eventually) was decorated with swirls he himself had painstakenly sewed into the cloth. Probably cheesy, but he didn't care. He realized soon enough that the beds could move and, along with them, so could the desk. He hummed happily when he moved the desk to sit beside the bed, by the pillows, then plugged in his self-made plasma ball alarm clock and set up little toys and trinkets he had also made.
He then began emptying boxes and arranging them so they could act as makeshift tables, then placed more things on them, two boxes were specifically placed and organized for school stuff but he knew this would all be a mess by the end of the week anyway so he didn't try too hard. He did place a purple and green lava lamp over a small stack of books though, covering up the blue dragon on the cover of the top book and almost covering the title "Eragon" as well.
Next, he began hanging posters. He had left his old anime ones at home, instead picking the Ravenclaw poster and the various dragon posters he had to come along with him to college. Then he put up older drawings he had done when he was younger but still felt proud of, like the various drawings of white haired elves with pretty marking around their face and eyes. Each had a different expression, each had a different story. He always fell in love with those elf drawings. But that was him just being a huge fantasy nerd.
The final step was probably the most extra of them all but Jesus he was bored.
He pulled out the various knives and swords he had and began setting them up on the shelves. They had been difficult to get cleared by campus security, he had to do so much paperwork for them, but seeing them hanging on the shelves was so worth it. Especially the one he wanted to go over his bed. This one was green and teal in color, with darker shades from the steel used to make it.
The door to the dorm opened with a silent squeak. Ethari turned to look, curious, but he ended up getting his foot caught in his sheets and tripping, falling to the ground with a loud oof.
"... Ethari Lunaris?"
Ethari looked up slowly, to find the confused expression of a guy with white hair, pulled back into a braid except for two pieces of hair up front, which were bound with silver clasps of sorts. His eyes were lagoon green and holy shit they were so pretty.
Etharigot up quickly with an awkward clearing of his throat, then smiled awkwardly. "Um, yeah, that's me! Hi." He offered his hand, and Runaan took it with a hum.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ethari." And just like that, Ethari died a little inside. This guy had a nice voice, yeah, but Ethari's name on his- No. No thoughts like that! "I look forward to being your dormmate and colleague." He let go and moved past Ethari swiftly .
Ethari just kind of stood there for a second, taking in the other's appearance. Unlike Ethari's casual clothes, the white haired man only wore a suit. It was dark green, borderline black but not in an ugly way, with the undershirt being more of a lighter green but not lime, and the tie being teal-ish. All in all, it complemented the other's eyes well. And the hair. And it kinda hid but still showed off the other's other features as well. He quickly realized the other was getting visibly uncomfortable and looked away at something else, biting his lip. "I hope you don't mind me picking a side already, you took awhile so..." He shrugged.
"Understandable." Was the only response he received as the other began unpacking.
Ethari frowned further, then sat down on his bed and began toying with a rubix cube. He still didn't know the other's name... "So... My card thing was destroyed by my dog and I couldn't catch your name." He started, making the other man pause in unpacking suit after suit of similar designs to the one the other currently wore. "So... what is your name?"
"Runaan Adversus Moonshadow." The other answered, then got back to what he was doing. Ethari watched the way the braid, apparently only half way braided and let loose after that, swayed as the other moved. After the suits were all in the closet, Runaan began making his bed. Apparently he knew beforehand that the beds and such moved because he pulled the bed back a little, then placed the desk between the head and the wall.
Ethari, out of respect and also nervousness, played another movie and watched it while Runaan worked, but his interest was caught when Runaan pulled out a laptop. The case was black but with small lines like veins etched into it, the same teal as Runaan's tie, and the charger was the exact same. Runaan didn't open it up but judging by the new look of the case and the charger, Ethari knew it was way more expensive than any normal college student could afford.
"Do you have wifi?" Runaan asked suddenly, catching Ethari's attention again.
Ethari paused, looking back at Netflix, then shook his head quickly. "I use hotspot."
At that, the other sighed and pulled out a Wifi box. A fucking Wifi box. "This has unlimited gigabytes, the password is Midnight capital M, one word. Feel free to connect to it but if you stream Youtube, I'm killing you in your sleep, understand?"
Ethari was caught at 'unlimited gigabytes.' Seriously he fell in love with Runaan at the moment because damn he was giving Ethari free wifi?? Amazing. Ethari managed a nod but just barely.
After that, Runaan settled down (finally) and began working on the computer and yep, that thing had more buttons than Ethari thought possible.
Runaan, Ethari learned quickly, was very closed off. He only responded with one word answered when Ethari asked him things and only hummed when Ethari went on about his own home life. Soon enough, Ethari gave up and let the room be filled with the sound of typing keys and the movie he was watching and nothing else.
And so it began: the first year of college, a year Ethari would spend with an antisocial but extremely hot man as his dormmate.
Maybe it wasn't so bad.
After all, free wifi and a hot man?
Hell yeah!