Work Text:
you’re in some random house, with some random dude. who is this again? you haven’t a clue. there’s something you’re supposed to be doing… a game? some kind of task. the guy keeps talking but you can’t hear him, and somehow you know he isn’t making any sense anyway. you hear a gun cock-! or- no. the unlocking of a door and
oh. it was a dream
you’re woken up by the sound of your roommate, john, coming in the front door.
you can barely see, since you’ve just woken up, but he sounds irritated. he must’ve noticed you had just woken up, cause he quietly stepped past you and went into his room, presumably to unload after work.
you get your bearings and look around. you must’ve fallen asleep while watching tv on the couch. a couple of episodes of bojack horseman (your favorite show) had passed since the last one you remember watching, and you’re all cuddled up to one of the couch pillows.
a bit embarrassing for john to have walked in on, but it’s fine, you guys have been getting closer lately anyway.
you get up, pick up the trash from the snacks you’d eaten while he was gone, and return the couch to its original state.
once you finish cleaning up, john comes back out of his room.
“hey dude, how was work?” you say, shooting him a look that says you already know what answer is coming.
“ugh! it was awful! well, it wasn’t that bad today, but it was awful! there was some bitchy guy who kept picking on me and other customers, and my coworker wasn’t holding herself up AT ALL and-”
he’s looking away from you, explaining how his day was, and you zone in on his features for a minute.
his eyes are so expressive, the way he moves his hands, and his dorky teeth. they’re almost… cute. an almost unnoticeable smile begins to form on your lips.
he looks up at you and catches you staring, and his sentence cuts off as his cheeks flush just a little.
“uh- dude? catch any of that?” he laughs nervously and looks away again, picking at his fingers
“oh, yeah, sorry, just zoned out a little. my bad. sorry your day wasn’t the best” you say, trying make the both of you forget what just happened as soon as possible
he looks at you again. this time, he’s got a smile on his face. he sighs. “it’s all good. nothing better than coming home to my best bro passed out on the couch like a loser right?” he smirks.
“dude, okay, i was tired. and absolutely bored out of my mind.” you say. best bro, huh?
he goes into the kitchen and starts rummaging through the fridge. he pulls out the stuff to make a sandwich. this god awful loafed bread, you can’t even describe the flavor, that he always insists on buying, sliced turkey, and shredded cheese, of all things.
it’s all you guys have got. money’s tight, okay?
he devours it in less than a minute. dude must’ve been hungry at work all day. he finishes up, glances at you, and walks back to his bedroom.
don’t even say goodbye then, damn you think and laugh to yourself a bit.
before you can decide what to do next, he comes back out of his room and instead of the tshirt he’d been wearing, he’s now got on a hoodie. it’s got some dumb little video game character on it. cute.
he walks over to the front door. “well, you coming?” he says and looks back at you, holding the doorknob.
john loves to drive, as you’ve come to find out over the past year you’ve been living with him. sometimes he’ll disappear for a few hours and come back, seemingly having gone nowhere. and sometimes, he invites you to come with him.
“oh uh- yeah sure. totally. where we goin?” you ask, walking over to join him. he opens the door for you and ushers you outside. it’s cold.
“you know, the usual.” he says.
you walk down the stairs leading away from your apartment before john, and you hear him locking the front door behind you. you reach the bottom and soon he is next to you again. you look around for his car and see it sitting a few spots away from where he usually parks.
“what’s up with the parking?” you ask as you both walk towards the car.
“some old guy parked in my spot, and i wasn’t up for fighting today.” he says and shakes his head a bit.
“oh okay, mr. ‘i pay for this spot!’” you tease, he gives you a little angry/pouty face and you grin at him. his pout quickly turns to a blush.
you reach the car, he gets in the drivers seat and you in the passengers. as he turns the key, the air conditioning comes on full blast, and so does his car seat headrest cd.
you shiver at the rush of cold air, already freezing from outside. he realizes your discomfort and turns the air down, also turning down the volume of the music.
“hey, hold on a sec” he says and opens his door. before you can reply, he’s walking around to the trunk. he clicks it open, grabs something, and returns to his seat.
“here you go, thought this might help” he offers a dark green hoodie to you. you try to hide the rising feeling in your chest as you pull it over your head.
“cool,” he says and smiles at you. he starts to switch gears.
“hey, seatbelts!” you say, buckling your own in.
“ugh, fine.” he says and follows suit.
he pulls out of your apartment complex. it’s about 11pm, there aren’t too many cars in your area around this time usually. he drives down the road you’re both so familiar with, and heads towards the highway.
you love being able to sit in a car at night, it’s so cold and yet so cozy, and all of the passing lights are just visible enough to be the prettiest thing you think you’ve ever seen. you zone out watching all of the other cars pass by, and soon you’re stuck in your head.
“oh shit.” john’s voice snaps you out of it. almost twenty minutes have passed.
“i’m almost out of gas.”
you pull up maps on your phone, and direct him to the nearest gas station you can find. he pulls into a spot and hops out of the car to refill the tank.
“hey, you wanna grab a couple snacks?” he says and holds out a $20 bill to you.
“yeah sure!” you say, grabbing the bill and getting out of the car.
“can you get me a diet coke and a kitkat bar?”
“sure thing.”
you walk into the door, and hear the little bell above the door go off. there’s two other people inside, and they appear to be together. quick in and out. you grab the stuff john wants and get a vitamin water and mini donuts for yourself.
on the way back out, you see john’s already in the car. from this distance it almost looks like… he’s fixing his hair? funny.
you climb back in the car and set the bag between your legs while you get settled into your seat.
“freshening up for me, huh?” you say, giving him a nudge on the shoulder. he looks embarrassed as he realizes you saw what he was doing.
“what? no, i was just- there was something stuck up there.” he manages to excuse his actions.
“okayyy, whatever you say” you say and try to hold back your laughter. he’s quick to change the subject.
“so, i was planning on driving up the mountain a bit, to see the cities from afar? how’s that sound?” you think of the spot the two of you found a few months back, secluded and absolutely stunningly beautiful. being there with him, it feels so… homey.
“sounds great.”
he pulls out of the gas station parking lot. you open the glovebox and look through his cds. you find the case of the one that’s currently in the car. you check the tracks on the back
my boy - car seat headrest
your favorite song. you switch the track on the radio to this one and turn the volume up a bit.
john continues driving, not paying much attention, but when he hears the lyrics start, he seems to realize it’s one he knows. not that it’s a difficult song to get the hang of. you start singing along, and before you know it, you both are singing together.
you look over at him, at his bright eyes, his soft grin, his messy hair, and for a second, you feel like kissing him.
he really sings his heart out with the last line.
“♫we won’t beeeeee alone♫”
your smile widens.
before you know it, you reach the spot. you have to walk through a couple of bushes and dodge a couple of boulders, but soon after arriving you see it. a bench under a couple of trees, right on the edge of the mountain, overlooking the city you live in. luckily, no one else is here.
john brought a few blankets to lay on the bench and over ourselves, in case we got too cold. he laid the folded blankets down on a nearby rock, and then sat on the bench. you set the bag of snacks on top of the blankets. he gestured for you to sit down next to him, and you did.
wow. it is so pretty up here. you’d never seen anything quite like it. you’re shivering hard, though you barely notice it because of the view. a hand on top of yours catches you off guard. you look over at john.
he’s staring, how hadn’t you noticed that? he looks nervous, he’s fidgeting his fingers on his other hand, and he’s looking at you like he’s searching for words.
“john?” you say. “are you oka-”
before you can finish, he’s kissing you, and you’re so overwhelmed and so happy and so nervous and ultimately, shocked.
he pulls away and it’s over almost as fast as it began.
“john, i-” you start and he cuts you off.
“i think i like you” he says
you kiss him again.