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“Erik?”
“Hmmm?”
“What are you doing?”
Charles could feel the sly grin that was likely creeping onto Erik’s face as he finished settling down on the bed, pillow resting against Charles’ back, Erik having reclined onto the pillow, resting his head on the small of Charles’ back.
“Reading, Charles. What do you think I’m doing?”
“I’m not a human pillow, you know,” he chuckled, but made no move to dislodge the other man. Erik smirked in victory and settled back down, opening his textbook again and reading the week’s chapter.
They lapsed into an easy silence, the only sounds the tapping of Charles’ keyboard as he worked on his latest term paper, and the occasional rustling as Erik turned the page.
“Erik?”
“Mmmm?”
“My legs have gone numb.”
Erik bit his lower lip to keep from laughing, but obligingly sat up, causing Charles to groan in relief. He stretched and flexed his legs, sitting up and swatting at the appendages as if they had misbehaved. He mock glared at Erik, who was currently standing in front of him and trying not to laugh.
“‘S not funny, you know,” Charles murmured, sighing when the feeling returned to his limbs. Erik simply grinned again, never one for speaking more than was necessary. He reached out to ruffle Charles’ hair, the touch turning into stroking, his fingers carding through the dark locks affectionately. After a moment, he simply let his hand rest atop Charles’ head, earning him a quirked eyebrow and a skeptical look.
“Am I now your dog, Erik?”
“More like my new puppy, what with those large eyes of yours. Or maybe a fawn, as innocent as you are.”
Charles scowled at him, and swatted his hand away. Erik laughed, patting him a few more times on the head, before stepping closer and letting his hand come to rest on his shoulder.
The smaller man stared at him, a slightly confused look on his face, before seeming to mentally shrug and accept that this was just one of those days where Erik was feeling particularly vulnerable or affectionate or something, and as such, needed to touch Charles more than normal. The taller man was starved for attention; Charles could read it in the way he glared whenever Raven hugged him, or the way he followed after Charles’ hand unconsciously when he patted him on the shoulder. Without discussing it, they’d fallen into this strange sort of relationship, where it was perfectly acceptable to touch and cuddle and hold the other as much as they needed or wanted.
So he sat patiently, studying Erik as his large hands roamed over his shoulders, neck, cupping his cheek with one, the other carding through his hair, then back down to cradle the back of his head, loosely grip the back of his neck, then back around to his face, each hand framing and tilting his head back, studying him.
Charles didn’t move during the entire thing, but his heart began to pound when he caught sight of the look on Erik’s face. They were quickly coming to a place they hadn’t before discussed, hadn’t deemed okay for their relationship, and Charles’ heart was racing, knowing full well what Erik was intending to do next, knew that the slight puckering of his lips meant he was about to be kissed.
He wasn’t sure if he was thrilled or upset that his prediction was right.
The kiss was soft, gentle, and brief. Charles barely had time to react to it, as Erik pulled away almost as suddenly as he’d bent down.
“Er. Sorry about that,” he mumbled, looking anywhere but at his roommate.
“No, no, it was…ah…” Charles struggled to find the right words, unsure of if he’d wanted that or not.
“No, it wasn’t. I’m going out for a drink. I’ll be back tonight.”
As quickly as batting an eye, Erik’s mood changed for the worse, his face turning down into a scowl, his body suddenly tense, his gaze hard and closed off, a sight that made Charles’ heart sink. He watched as Erik tossed his hooded sweatshirt on and slipped a pair of tennis shoes onto his feet, scowling at the table where his things were strewn across it, finally snatching up his phone, wallet, and room key, before wrenching the door open.
“Erik.” Charles’ voice was soft, but commanding.
Erik paused, his back tensing.
“Erik, you don’t have to leave. I’m not angry.”
Silence.
“I’ll be back later. I’ll try not to wake you.”
Sighing, Charles flopped back down on the bed as Erik slammed the door shut behind him, most likely storming off to the local bar for a beer and a possible nameless fling.
He found the idea upset him more than previously thought.
He knew he wouldn’t be able to focus on his paper again for several more hours, so he laid where he was instead, fingers lightly tracing his lips where Erik had kissed him. Charles found himself wishing for more.
~~~~~
He fell asleep while waiting for Erik to return, laptop open beside him on the bed as he took notes over the latest podcast from his abnormal psychology professor. The podcast had long since stopped playing, and the screen had dimmed and gone into screen-saver mode when Erik finally returned. He entered the room as quietly as he could while intoxicated, setting his keys and phone down on the desk before stumbling over to where Charles was laying, hand limply gripping a pencil. Sighing, Erik shut the laptop and placed it on Charles’ desk, before moving the notebook and pencil away, proud of himself for not dropping anything, before he crawled into the narrow bed behind Charles.
“Erik?” Charles stirred slowly, shifting as though he was going to turn around and try to face Erik. The taller man pressed a hand to his hip, softly shushing him.
“”m sorry, Charles,” he murmured, curling his body around the smaller man, sliding his arm around his waist protectively and tucking his other arm up underneath the pillow.
“It’s all right,” Charles replied softly, already drifting back off to sleep, hand curling around the one resting on his stomach.
“It’s not, though,” came the slurred response, Erik’s voice low and slightly pleading.
“In the morning,” was Charles’ soft reply, his breathing evening out once more. Erik didn’t push the issue further, instead closing his eyes and following in his friend’s lead, and allowing himself to sleep.
~~~~~
They never did talk about it the next morning. The kiss Charles planted on Erik’s lips by way of greeting said everything either one of them could think of, effectively sealing the deal.
Erik was hard pressed to keep his hands (and lips) to himself for the rest of the day. Charles found he didn’t mind one bit.