Work Text:
Bobby never would have guessed he could live in a shared room with anyone.
Back at home, he liked his privacy, the sanctuary, and the peace of his own room where no one could hurt him. It was his place and his alone, somewhere he could find peace and shelter from everyday life. After his powers had manifested in his early teens, he often froze the lock to keep everyone out.
When he had come to Xavier's School, it became obvious pretty quickly that he will have to share a room with another boy. Bobby wasn't sure it wasn't a big elaborate joke, - putting the boy with the ice powers in the same room with a firestarter. But it had worked. Not from the start, of course.
When they had first met, John had almost set fire to Bobby's bed. It had been only for Bobby's quick reflexes and a well-timed ice streak that the bed had been saved.
They had not spoken a word with each other for weeks after that. Until one day Bobby had enough.
"Look," he said in the morning, blocking John's way before he could leave the room. "I get that you don't like me, but we have to live together for the foreseeable future, so I suggest you tell me what your problem is. This silent treatment is getting ridiculous."
John crossed his arms in front of his chest but did not say a word, just kept on glaring.
"You are not leaving this room until you talk to me," Bobby said standing his ground, freezing his own shoes to the floor.
"I can melt those, you know," John said pointing at the two ice-cubes that used to be Bobby's shoes.
"So you are biologically able to speak. That's a good start," Bobby said with a grin. "And I know you can. That's not the point. What the hell is your problem?"
John kept glaring at Bobby. "It's none of your business. Leave me alone, and let me out before I set you on fire. I can melt you easily, ice boy. Don't test me."
Bobby shook his head but moved away and John stormed out of the room.
It was on a night a month later when Bobby was reading on his bed that John stumbled through the door pissed out drunk.
"What the...?" Bobby was on his feet immediately, as John collapsed into a heap on the floor. "How did you even got alcohol?"
John stretched out on the floor closing his eyes. "None of your business. Why do you always... care? Stop caring. It's confusing. You are confusing. Ssshussh."
Bobby's eyes grew large from surprise. This was more than John had ever said to him since they started school.
"Do you need a bucket to throw up into?" Bobby asked, stepping into their en-suite and filling a glass with water. Then he sat down on the floor next to John and put the glass to the boy's lips. "Drink," he said.
"Stop fussing, ice-boy. I don't need your help. I can take care of myself." In contrast to his words, John took the glass of water and gulped it down eagerly. "Why are you...? So you? No fair."
Bobby didn't know what to say to that. John was surprisingly talkative when drunk, but he didn't make any sense.
"Come on, let's get you on your bed, at least. You wouldn't want to sleep on the floor."
John swept Bobby's hands away. "Your hands are cold," he muttered and opened his eyes and looked at Bobby with big, drunk eyes. "But your eyes are warm."
And with that, he was out like a light, still spangled on the floor.
He was still there the next morning when Bobby woke up.
After making sure that he was still breathing, Bobby left another cup of water and some ibuprofen on the floor next to John and went out for breakfast.
John did not show up in the dining hall, so Bobby put away a couple of toast and some jam in a napkin to take it up with him. He knew he probably shouldn't care, but he was hell-bent to make this roommate thing work. Bobby was the happiest at Xavier's school he had ever been in his life so far, the only inconvenience was his difficult roommate.
Back at their room, he found John in a sitting position. He was still in his clothes from yesterday and was still on the floor, but Bobby saw that John took the pills he set out and drank the water.
"Good morning," Bobby greeted him cheerfully. "I brought you something to eat."
Bobby put the napkin with the food next to John and was about to turn away when he heard to boy mutter a soft "thank you" under his breath.
Bobby couldn't believe his ears.
"Wow, you must have a terrible hangover," Bobby said shaking his head in disbelief. "You are not yourself."
John didn't answer just grabbed the food and wolfed it down in seconds.
When Bobby finally left the room, he couldn't see the way John followed him with his eyes.
From there on, things slowly started to get better. John was still not very talkative, but he wasn't outright ignoring Bobby and he counted that as a win.
"How are you holding up with the roommate from hell?" Rogue asked him one day as they were studying in the library.
"He is not that bad," Bobby protested. "Yes he is often brooding and has some severe anger issues, but we all have our demons to deal with. And anyhow, he is coming around."
Rogue looked at him doubtfully. "I don't know why you keep trying. You should just tell the prof to assign you someone else. I'm sure he would understand."
Bobby couldn't even imagine living with someone else. He got used to John and didn't want anyone else.
"It's fine, really. And you know how the Professor is always going on about giving people second chances. Hell, he took Magneto back after all he had done. If he could do that, I can keep trying to get through to John."
His resolution to see the best in John was put to the test that night, by the man in question.
It was easy to see that John was in an even darker mood than he usually was. He was lying on his bed, playing with his lighter, and didn't even look at Bobby when he came in.
"Good evening," Bobby said cheerfully. "Please don't set the room on fire," he added looking at the flame in John's hand.
"As you would care," John said under his nose. "At least then you could move in with your little girlfriend."
Bobby stopped dead in his tracks and looked at John in shock. "What on Earth are you on about?"
John finally looked at Bobby, but for once, his eyes were colder than Bobby's powers.
"I know about you and Rogue. Everyone knows about you two. You don't need to pretend. I don't care."
Bobby couldn't help but laugh at that, and that didn't help the situation. "You couldn't be further from the truth," he said finally. "We are friends, John. She is a wonderful person, but we are absolutely not romantically involved," he stopped for a moment before continuing. "I'm gay."
There was a tense silence following that statement and for a moment Bobby wanted to take his words back. Maybe it was a bad idea to share that part of him with a guy he barely knew. But there was no going back now.
"What?" John asked, frowning.
"What part of I'm gay don't you understand? I'm a homosexual, John. I fancy boys. Do you need a chart?" Bobby was getting irritated. There was much he could bear, but this was one topic he was sensitive about.
"I know what being gay means. I just didn't know you were... you know... that way."
Now it was Bobby who crossed his arms. "Is that going to be a problem? Because I won't hit on you if that's what you are afraid of."
There was a long, tense silence.
"Why?" John asked finally, still frowning.
"What do you mean, why? Why am I gay?"
"No," John shook his head. "Why won't you hit on me? Do you find me so repulsive?"
Bobby was reduced to blinking rapidly, his brain trying to catch up. "What? Why? Why would you say that? No, I don't find you repulsive, but why are you...? What is going on here?"
John shrugged, looking anywhere but at Bobby. "I'm just saying I wouldn't mind if you would hit on me."
Bobby had to sit down. He was still working on wrapping his head around all of this. "Do you... want me to hit on you? Is this your way of telling me that?" He asked, his voice shaking slightly.
Bobby never really thought of John as something more than his roommate, but now that he gave it the thought, he had to admit that John was quite good-looking. But this was madness. John spoke to him a couple of words on his better days, and now he is...? Asking him out?
John shrugged again. "I guess," he said quietly. "You are kind to me. No one ever has been kind to me."
Bobby still felt unreal, like this couldn't be happening. "So that's why you got so upset tonight? You were jealous?"
John bit his lower lip and clicked his lighter a couple of times before answering. "I don't know. I guess I just like it when you pay attention to me. And you were out for so long with Rogue, and I guess I missed your fussing. I don't know anything about these things. I just like your company."
Bobby found himself blinking rapidly again. "Wow, just wow. And all this time I thought you hated my guts."
John shrugged again. This was becoming a habit of his. "I never hated you."
"Yeah, I'm kinda realizing that now. So now what?"
There was the shrug again. "I'm not good at this," he said.
"Me neither," Bobby said standing up and going over to John's bed and sitting next to him. "But we can be bad at it together."
John looked up with something like the beginning of a smile on his lips. "I would like that."
Bobby never would have guessed he could live in a shared room with anyone. But things turned out to be pretty awesome. And he got to sleep with his arms around John every night, which was absolutely an added bonus. Having a roommate wasn't that bad after all.