Work Text:
"Shit!"
A fist to her hip, Y/N stared out the window and watched what looked like a hurricane of snow plummet to the ground. The expanse of campus that she could see was thick with a sugar-like blanket, dusting cars and buildings with a vengeance.
"I told you I shoulda left earlier," Erik reminded casually from the couch, sifting through note papers. Y/N sucked her teeth. He had told her that almost two hours ago, but she insisted they finish answering all the questions to the study guide their professor had given them. Midterms were among everyone, and the library was packed with students trying to cram as much as they could before receiving their hard-earned Cs.
Y/N was used to studying by herself, finding it much easier to get work done without too many other voices and opinions, so she was shocked when Erik Stevens, the top student of their class asked if she wanted to study with him.
"Poliack be goin' crazy with the Quantum theory questions. I think I got it down a little, but I know you the only person in class I can actually get an answer from."
Y/N was even more shocked to hear that compliment. She and Erik did not talk much in or out of the classroom. The only time they did converse was when they would debate about a topic, the rest of their peers looking on to see who would win. When it was Y/N, she'd give him a look before giving her attention back to the professor, and when Erik did, he'd cock a brow and stare at her until she looked away. Their rivalry wasn't a loud one, but it was there.
"Uh, yeah, sure," Y/N said, and they agreed to meet at six in the evening. Erik had a Calculus class he was assisting a professor with and wouldn't be off before then. Sucked for them, because the library was crammed all the way through the front lobby. The lecture buildings, too. "Just come to my place," Y/N offered reluctantly when Erik told her he lived ten miles from campus.
Though she thought it would be awkward being alone in a room with him, getting her PhD in engineering was the most important thing in her life at the moment. She could not afford another semester at M.I.T in order to obtain it, so she could deal with him for a few hours. Erik had always seemed so lax about getting his degree; showing up to class late or even missing it. Alas, he was a straight-A student. Y/N could tell it did not take him much effort to be one either - he had filed out the answers to their work with a single gloss of his eyes over a textbook page and even solved the inquiries she mumbled to herself without a glance.
Show-off, Y/N had mused. Must be nice to be born a genius. Y/N did not short herself; she knew she was intelligent, too, but it took her much longer to grasp materials. She hated when the natural sense of jealousy would bubble within her when they were in class. He responded to the professor as if they were peers and his voice never shook when he presented his research to the class. He had a natural charisma and confidence Y/N wish she could have, but she would never tell him that. Erik's arrogance was quiet, but there. He was not a smiler, but he smirked often, especially when she said something he had a quick and direct counter to. She learned through their time at M.I.T that his ego could not be fed, least of all by her.
"It's not like I kept you here against your will. You could've left if you wanted to." Y/N turned from the window, her arms crossed.
Erik shrugged without lifting his eyes from the paper. "You right. But it seemed like you needed some more help."
Y/N cocked a brow. "Pardon?"
His gaze finally met hers, its easiness contrasting against the challenge that immediately formed in her eyes.
"One of the questions was could momentum be hidden to the human eye like kinetic energy is to heat. You said no when the answer is both yes and no. In a regular mechanical system with macroscopic parts, momentum can't be "hidden" to human eye. But in other systems, it can be hidden. In an electromagnetic system-,"
"I know, I know. Momentum can be transferred to the electromagnetic field, which is invisible to the human eye at most frequencies. Therefore, momentum can be "hidden" in the electromagnetic field," Y/N mimicked in her best Erik voice.
For the first time, Y/N saw Erik laugh, and she wasn't sure if she should be offended by it or the butterflies that swam in her belly because of it.
"Whew, you somethin' else, girl," he surmised and closed his notebook.
"Whatever," Y/N mumbled and fanned herself. The janky heater in her apartment was always making it much too hot despite the freezing temperatures outside. Without thinking, she turned it down a couple of notches and stripped herself of her navy blue M.I.T sweater, leaving her clad in only a tank top and leggings. Y/N was so used to it just being herself and her roommate, Miranda, in the apartment that it was like muscle memory to remove her outerwear without much thought. Y/N felt his eyes on her, and instead of tensing like she wanted to do, she folded the sweater halfway and hung it on the back of a chair like it didn't bother her. She silently thanked God that she was at least wearing a bra.
She sat down in the chair across from him, crossing her legs and exhaling roughly. "So, what are you gonna do?" she asked him.
Erik tilted his head. "You expect me to drive?"
"I don't expect you stay here."
"Why not?"
"You want to stay here?"
"I ain't really got a choice do I?" Erik nodded towards the T.V. where a weather woman was informing watchers that the snow would be coming down until one or two in the morning.
Y/N quirked her lips and exhaled. "I guess you'll have to spend the night then."
She was acting indifferent about it, but she was freaking out on the inside. Y/N had dated a couple of guys before, but neither had been around long enough to spend the night. And yet there Erik was, just a classmate to her, about to be in her space like he was her man. She almost opened her mouth to say she wasn't sure if Miranda would take too kindly to a vitural stranger being in their apartment, but she had already told him earlier that she had gone to her parents' house that morning and would not be back for three days.
"Guess so." Erik began to untie the laces of his boots. Y/N almost asked what he was doing until she realized he was just getting comfortable. She must have been making a face, because he asked, "What's wrong with'chu?"
She blinked, straightening. "Nothing."
Y/N stood suddenly to go into the kitchen. Being in close proximity to him felt...off now, and she was uncertain if it was in a bad or good way. "Are you hungry? It's uh, kinda late for me to cook anything, but I have a frozen pizza I can heat up. That okay?" She spoke fast when she was nervous or uncomfortable, and she hoped he couldn't tell.
Erik did not answer immediately, and Y/N assumed he had dove into his cell phone. She turned to look at him and ask him again, but instead of his line of vision attaching to his phone screen, it was on her, right on her backside.
He lifted his gaze and responded mildly, "Yeah, that's cool."
Y/N's eyes squinted. Erik Stevens would not have her feeling uncomfortable in her own place.
"Eyes are up here, Stevens." She leaned against the counter with an assuredness that made him simper.
"Can't blame a nigga for lookin'," he teased, and Y/N fought against the flush of her skin. What was going on with her? She did not look at Erik in that way. He was just a classmate that she was always trying hard to outdo. But now, she was noticing the easiness of his demeanor beneath the roughened facade, the way his shoulders bounced when he chuckled, how nice his smile was. On top of that, he made it clear he was checking her out. It made her want to shudder.
"What, you always be lookin'?" Y/N was not sure why she challenged him; finding out the answer would be nerve-wracking either way.
As if taking her up on an offer, Erik's eyes swept across her body again. "And so what if I do? You fine as hell."
Y/N was at a loss for words. So instead, she just laughed and turned toward the freezer. She took a pepperoni pizza out the icebox. "Erik...I know you don't check me out like that."
"How you know what I be doin'?"
"Because!" Y/N threw her hands up, laughing again to hide her embarrassment. "You act like you don't even like me in class." She dipped down to grab a sheet out of the cabinet. She set it on the counter. "If you're not tryna be a smartass, you're scowling."
"Me? You trippin'." Erik looked at her as if she really was. "You act like you got somethin' against me every time we got a class together, walkin' around like you got somethin' to prove."
Y/N's brows furrowed. "I do have something to prove. Half the time we're the only Black people in those classes. You don't think those professors look at us differently?"
Erik snorted. "I know they do, so that's why I carry myself the way I do. Ain't nothin' none of them muhfuckas can say about me that I don't say about myself." Erik shrugged, and Y/N could tell he meant every word. "But you?" he turned it back on her. "You make it noticeable that you tryna be the best. Everyone knows you smart. I know you smart, so how come you be tryna make everything a competition?"
"I-!" Y/N stopped short at the knowing look he gave her. Whether or not he knew it was a smolder was beyond her. She felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment. He was intense without even meaning to be. "...don't...do that."
"Y/N, yes you do. It really be makin' me laugh sometimes, like this girl really thinks I'm tryna be better than her. When we argue in class, I don't even care that much; I just wanna see how far I can take you. You worried about which one of us will get the highest score on the exam while I'm just wondering which jeans you wearin' the next time I see you."
Y/N's eyes widened and her mouth opened and closed like a fish. She shook her head and straightened, telling herself, again, that she would not be flustered by him. "So the only thing you care about is my body? That's shallow."
Erik began laughing again, and it was beginning to annoy Y/N, especially since she couldn't tell if he wasn't taking her seriously. "Girl, you don't be listenin'. I've wanted to get wit'chu since our first year in this program, but you walk around with a chip on your shoulder. Can't hardly talk to you without you lookin' like you wanna bite my head off."
"What?!" He had to be kidding. "Erik, you walk around campus like you wanna beat someone to a pulp! Always wearing tight ass shirts tryna show off your muscles."
"Oh, so you have been lookin' at me?"
Y/N opened her mouth to counter him, but the words were lodged in her throat. "Whatever," she finally dismissed, taking the pizza out of the box and putting it onto the baking sheet. She turned the oven on to preheat. "I'm surprised you're even here. You don't have some girls sniffing around you on campus to go to?"
"Prolly. Don't wanna be with any of them, though."
"Why not? They're pretty and smart."
"Yeah, but that's it. Lotta them don't have substance. You make a nigga like me think, and that's hard to do, considering the genius-level intellect and all." He tapped at his temple.
Y/N smirked, shaking her head. "That's cool and all, but all them pretty words don't mean I like you like that."
Erik rose a brow. "Oh word?"
"Word."
"Stop playin', ma. I can see beyond that front you put on. You like me 'cause I check you. You ain't used to niggas doin' that."
"Check me?"
"Yeah. You used to dudes sniffin' around you, doin' everything you ask because they just wanna fuck. But me? I hold you accountable, and you like that."
"How do you know what I like?"
"The way your face changes. Even when we was studyin'. You like to call me a "smartass," but I know you appreciate the help. Also, I ain't a smartass. I just know my shit, just like you. What's wrong with that?"
Y/N shrugged, annoyed that he made a good point, but just like he said, grateful that he had. "Nothing."
The oven beeped, signalling it was ready to prepare food. Y/N put the pizza in the inside and set it for thirty minutes before turning back to him. "Well . . . I guess we both learned something about each other."
"Yup."
Y/N went back into the living room, sitting across from him again. Though she would not tell him, Erik was good-looking, sexy even. Even in his loose sweatshirt, his muscles poked through, his broad chest and shoulders planes she would like to touch. She averted her eyes before he could notice.
*
"There's no changes to the weather; we're still looking at a foot of snow. Morning commutes will be stalled as roads are salted. All schools in the area will remain closed..."
The news wore on as Y/N and Erik dined on their pizza. She washed hers down with a glass of Mosacato and he with a bottle of beer. She was not a fan of what she called "wheat soda," but Miranda was, and a half-empty six-pack sat in the fridge. Y/N knew Miranda wouldn't mind the one missing, but she made a mental note to go out and replace it once the roads were clear.
Erik stretched, and Y/N hated that she watched his midsection to see if his sweatshirt would lift a bit and show off the abs she knew he had. "I'm beat, bro. Been up since eight."
"Try six," Y/N said as she gathered their plates.
Erik tsked. "Still tryna one-up me."
Y/N giggled. That wasn't what she was trying to do, but she appreciated his lightheartedness.
"You got a cute ass laugh, ma," Erik complimented, smiling himself. "Like to see you smile more instead of frownin'. Even though your frown is more like a cute ass pout."
Y/N rolled her eyes and dumped the paper plates in the trash. "Who knew Erik Stevens could be such a lug?"
Erik scoffed. "I ain't. I just like to see you blush."
Y/N shook her head. "Well, you can sleep out here; I have some extra pillows and blankets-,"
"What, you mean I ain't sleepin' with you?"
Y/N eyes darted to him. He had the wrong idea. Just because they flirted a bit didn't mean he'd find his way in her sheets. She opened her mouth to say something, but his light grin showed he'd only been teasing.
"Ha ha," she mused. "I probably have an extra toothbrush and washcloth. You're free to use the shower, just don't make a mess."
"Girl, does it look like I make a mess?"
It didn't. Other than the scruffiness of his beard, she had to admit Erik was always well put together; clothes nice and smelling good.
Her shoulders lifted and dropped. "I just had to let you know."
*
Erik made a makeshift bed on the floor and Y/N's eyebrow hiked up. "There's a whole couch right there? You don't have to sleep on the floor."
"It's all good, ma. I like flat surfaces."
Y/N lifted her hands in surrender. She wasn't gonna fight him on that. "Well, I'm gonna head to bed-,"
"When you gonna let me take you out?" He interrupted, pulling off his sweatshirt as he did so. Y/N snatched her eyes away from the way his tank top was hugging every muscle of his core.
She coughed. "Excuse me?"
"You know you heard me. I wanna take you out sometime."
"Erik, we're just getting to really know each other..."
"So we can't get to know each other more over dinner?"
Y/N exhaled, looking him up and down carefully. "And where would this dinner be? Golden Corral?"
He shrank back as if truly offended. "Girl, fuck type of niggas you been with? I was thinkin' more along the lines of Pierre's or Long Island."
Y/N nearly gasped. She was not materialistic and liked a good conversation over an insanely expensive dinner, but shit. He wanted to wine and dine her like that?
"Unless of course Ruby Tuesdays is more up your alley. I know everybody ain't into big shit like that," he amended coolly, and she appreciated that. It wasn't that she wouldn't enjoy her time at a fancy restaurant, but she was a chill girl. A burger, shake, and endless laughter is what really got her going.
But she couldn't let him know that. Not just yet. She smirked, tapping his chest twice lightly with her fingers. "Goodnight, Erik."
*
"Thanks for lettin' me crash, ma. Hope it ain't the last time."
Y/N simpered. "We'll see."
Her alarm had awakened her at its scheduled six a.m.. In her morning daze, she'd forgotten that the roads hadn't been cleared just yet and had gone out to the living room to awaken Erik.
All but his name had escaped her lips before she took in his sleeping form. Something in her softened. She had never seen him look so...innocent. He was snoring lightly, his mouth parted a bit. He looked boyish, peaceful. Y/N wondered how a man like him could even managed to appear so gentle. She woke him up after she dressed herself, the moment a memory tucked into her mind.
Erik smirked and then just looked at her for a second. Before Y/N could ask why he was staring, he leaned down and placed a kiss on her cheek, his lips lingering for a second longer than necessary. Her skin was warm when he pulled away.
He turned to head down the hall, but Y/N grabbed his arm. She leaned up and kissed his cheek, too, then twisted him back around before he had any other ideas. She heard him chuckle as he went on his way.
"Oh, by the way?" he called out and Y/N tilted her head and raised a brow.
"I know Quantum theory like the back of my hand."
It took her a second, but when she realized it had all been a ruse to get to spend time with her, her mouth dropped open. He laughed and headed toward the elevator.
Y/N shook her head, the giggle bubbling within her spilling passed her lips.
She would call him. Maybe. Maybe...
*****
I think I might create a collection of these little drabbles for this relationship... let me know if I should in the comments! Also, if there's any little drabble you'd like to see, let me know and I'll see what I can do :)