Work Text:
By all stretches of the imagination, Martin should not have been the type of guy to impose on Jon's life. Martin did end up sharing some classes with him, so they would've met either way, but Jon hadn't considered the possibility of being forced into having a roommate.
He'd got on perfectly fine before with a smattering of friendships and one intense and short lived relationship. They were still friends at least. Occasional interactions with Georgie would help him if he didn't make any friends. He could call his grandma too. He'd been planning to go through three years mostly alone.
University had other plans for him.
He walked into his dorm and found his roommate was already there. Martin introduced himself as a future English major with an interest in poetry. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his degree, but he hoped to find out over the next three years. They stuttered through all the formalities like "what classes are you taking" and "where are you from" before Martin said they should do an icebreaker. He suggested they say three things they like, so he said dogs, tea, and spiders. In that moment, it struck Jon how their likes were complete opposites. And he wasn't sure what overcame him, but he said the truth. He said cats, coffee, and not spiders. Martin's eyes widened before he broke into laughter.
"You've looked so serious this whole time, I didn't expect you to say that." Jon hadn't expected to say that either, but there was something about Martin that relaxed him. The worries he had about this stranger becoming privy to so many personal details of his life didn't seem as daunting. He came to the conclusion that it was because Martin looked just as out of place as him. He looked introverted and likely didn't want a roommate as well.
"I know you didn't want a roommate, but that doesn't mean we have to be total strangers. It would be a little awkward otherwise. I think so anyway." He smiled at Jon while fiddling with the hem of his sweater.
"Quite."
A sudden realization seemed to dawn on Martin. "I'll let you get settled. Sorry for keeping you, Jon." Martin sped out of the room before he had a chance to reply.
Jon began unpacking his things on one side of the room to give Martin one less thing to stress about. Though he was polite and okay to talk to, that was all he needed to be. The less interactions the better. It should've ended with that. One surface level conversation to make sure neither was a serial killer, and then they'd never talk again.
But, he began picking up on little things Martin did, like how he got him breakfast sometimes and knew when to give Jon space. Because of that, he found himself actually wanting to talk to Martin. It was a gradual process at first, hellos, good mornings, how was your days, good nights, but they ended up talking to each other all the time. At first it was out of convenience, but Jon really did start considering Martin as a friend. Eventually a close friend. One of the best, really. It ended up teetering on something that took Jon a while to place.
Two years of uni went by, and while they remained closer than ever, their interactions with other people had dried up by the first year. Since they had each other, they didn't mind. That was more than enough for them. They became an unlikely duo. He felt bad for viewing Martin so poorly at first, but they talked it out and Martin was more understanding than he expected.
So after all those endless hours of studying, they needed to do something fun as a change of pace. Something outside of "spicing things up" by going to a different coffee shop. Martin suggested a road trip. They wouldn't have a lot of time to do that kind of thing after graduation, so he said they should do it before getting funneled into the workforce and becoming wage slaves. Martin's words, though he didn't disagree.
He explained to Martin that going to Scotland was interesting enough while still reasonably close, and Martin said he wanted to go to the beach, so they compromised. They decided to drive around the coast of Scotland. It was a well known route that passed through many sights and attractions. Even though Jon strongly disliked trips, he found himself genuinely looking forward to it. As it got closer and closer, Martin got even more excited as the days went on. He would wake Jon up to tell him more things he found out they could do, and Jon didn't mind Martin being so in his personal space all the time. He realized it was very endearing to watch Martin excitedly ramble at him. His instinctive reaction was to repress the feeling, but sometimes, he felt Martin's gaze linger on him too.
Eventually, the time for the road trip was upon them. They were both literally and emotionally done with the semester, so it was the perfect time to get away from everything. Jon worried Martin might implode if he didn't do all the things he had been planning out for months. After spending hours packing, they got onto the road. Martin was the better driver of the two of them, mostly due to Jon's anxiety and inexperience, so he drove most of the way. Jon made up for it by taking control of their packing, since Martin was incredibly prone to forgetting basic necessities. Jon knew from the first couple weeks of uni they had together.
Even then, he remembered a funny feeling spreading throughout his chest as he let Martin share some of his plates and mugs. It was embarrassingly obvious to him now, but he wanted to hold out a little longer before jumping into anything. Martin focused on the road with a furrowed brow. But sometimes, he caught Jon's eye, and his whole face would melt into a smile. In those small moments, everything stirring within Jon would surge like a rollercoaster about to drop. He had to calm himself down each time.
After he'd been driving for about an hour, Martin seemed more comfortable with talking. Time passed much faster when he could both listen to and ramble at Martin. He hadn't realized how bored he was before. The hours started to slip away until the sun began its descent.
While they drove along the coast, Jon had seen plenty of houses, but eventually he noticed a long row of beautiful white cottages in the distance. They were pristine and looked directly over the sea. He found himself drawn to the idea of living in one. Jon wasn't too fond of the ocean, but he saw how Martin's eyes sparkled as the water would occasionally poke into their view. Seeing Martin's expression like that again was worth more than any opinion he had. Jon asked him to roll down the windows to see if Martin liked the sea's scent too. When the breeze flowed through the car, Martin took a deep breath like he was coming home.
As the cottages got closer, the sun dipped further into the horizon. The white was painted a golden orange. Seagulls called from above them, and the air tasted salty and fresh. He thought about the other times he had been to the beach and how the sand felt under his feet. They hadn't planned on going to the beach since Martin knew Jon didn't like it, but it was as if something had been written over the memories in Jon's head. All he wanted to do was experience that with Martin. He knew Martin's happiness would become his own.
Martin was like a painting brought to life while he was smiling and driving in the setting sunlight. Jon didn't want to ruin their road trip with his feelings, but if he didn't express them in some way, he knew they would come out all together. He couldn't stop the words from spilling out of his mouth.
"I'd like to live somewhere like this with you."
He hadn't thought it through. Martin stared at him before slamming the breaks. Jon whipped his head around to check if there was anyone behind them. Thankfully, there wasn't.
"Do you really mean that???"
"Holy shit Martin, why would you stop like that! That was so dangerous, what the hell." He spoke in complete monotone while gripping the handle above the door.
He looked over at Martin who had tears in his eyes. He was trying desperately to hold them back, but the tears were winning. Jon had no idea how to react. He didn't want Martin to cry, but he also didn't know why he was crying.
"I'd like to live with you too." He extended the last word in a pitiful whine. "Anywhere would be fine, anywhere you're happy. But I wouldn't mind here at all."
Jon reached up to pat his head and comfort him. He assumed that would be the end of it. Another one of Martin's emotional outbursts he'd grown accustomed to. Jon could tell Martin wanted to say something else.
"Do you like me?"
It took Jon longer than he'd like to admit to process what Martin said. Though after that, everything clicked into place. He was willing to take a chance to see if he was right. Jon, ever the communicator, decided to lean in and kiss Martin instead of saying yes. He closed his eyes for a quick and hesitant peck. His nose squished against Martin's cheek, and Martin's lips were warm from being in the sun.
Jon pulled back. "Does that answer your question?"
At first, Martin was nodding along in a confused and excited manner, before he switched to shaking his head.
"Can you just say yes or no—"
He was hoping he could do that after he prepared more, but one look at Martin's face told him it was now or never.
"Okay yes, fine, I do like you and I want to date you." Not exactly poetry, but it had to do.
"Oh, okay."
Martin turned to slam his head on the car horn. Blaring resounded throughout Jon's entire body. The situation was so absurd that Jon burst into laughter. He clutched at his aching sides while Martin peeled himself off the wheel.
"Don't laugh at me! I've been having a crisis over how much I like you since I met you. This a lot for me to take in! But god, I can't be mad at you. You're so cute, and I've never seen you laugh this hard at anything else before. I love you so much."
He stopped laughing when Martin said I love you, but he chose not to comment on that yet. Jon knew he felt exactly the same. Martin had no problem with being awkward and open with his feelings, and Jon wanted to be like that too. He wasn't quite there yet though.
"You're lucky we're in the middle of nowhere because if you had stopped in the middle of a highway, I would've gotten out of your car and walked."
It was Martin's turn to laugh. A clever deflection away from laying his feelings out so early on, but one look at him, and he knew that Martin understood. He would wait as long as it took. They looked at the sea, and how the sun had been fully submerged into the waves. Martin started his car up, and they finally began their true journey. Together.