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The sun had just begun to sink into the horizon when within Puspa cafe, a black haired college student stood from their seat, snatching the attention of the white haired male sitting across from him. "I'm off for the day." The fox cosplayer sighed, before narrowing his eyes at him, or rather at the way he was busy sipping on his Venti sized chocolate chip frappe. "Don't finish all of that, or you're not gonna sleep a wink."
The desert born man furrowed his brows in annoyance, but obediently stopped slurping on his half-finished drink. With a pop, he unlatched his teeth off the straw and placed the remaining drink into the table, before leaning back on his seat and crossing his arms. "Fine. I'll keep the rest in the fridge." With a satisfied nod, the other swung his backpack onto his shoulder and pushed his chair under the table they'd been using.
"Tighnari, leaving already?" A familiar voice piped in, and the synthetic fox ears of the headband twitched disturbingly realistically as dual toned eyes turned towards apathetic teal. "I'd just ordered my tea," Al-Haitham said, lightly jiggling the cup of steaming hot tea within his hands as he stared at him blankly.
"Yeah," Tighnari answered as he untied his short ponytail, freeing his hair from its captivity. "I've got class tomorrow morning and so do you, Cyno." He pointedly looked at his best friend who was idly playing with the moisture building up by his plastic cup's exterior. "So I gotta run. Haven't eaten dinner either." Again, Tighnari gave a pointed glance at Cyno, who met his gaze passively.
"Don't worry about me," Cyno replied as he tilted his head, shifting all his hair to one side, "I've gone with less." His words did not seem to alleviate his best friend's concern, for he had still yet to leave.
"Why don't Cyno just have dinner at our place?" A cheery voice piped in, and all three eyes turned towards the blonde male who'd just entered the scene, a bright smile upon his face as his twinkling eyes betrayed his eagerness to have Cyno's company. "We have some leftovers from today's dinner."
Cyno couldn't help the small, yet fond smile at his friends' concern, and ducked his head as he tidied up his belongings in a futile attempt to hide it. "Thanks, but I'm afraid that it's too dark out, so I'm gonna have to pass."
"Why should you pass?" Al-Haitham, who'd been quiet so far, piped in. Amber eyes turned towards the man who was casually leaning against the wall as he sipped leisurely at his drink. The fact that he couldn't read this man was always such a bother.
"Isn't it obvious?" He asked, but upon the other's raised eyebrow, he found himself getting irritated for absolutely no reason. Slowly, with an annoyed frown upon his face, he spelled out, "It's dark outside, and contrary to popular belief, I do need my sleep."
A hum was his answer, and Cyno almost thought he was on the clear, for the man simply continued to sip at his drink. Tighnari had left a while ago, and Kaveh was just watching their interaction with something akin to expectation as his eyes shifted back and forth between his roommate and his good friend. "And your nutrients." He piped in, just as Cyno had shoved the last of his things into his sling bag.
With a heavy sigh, Cyno pushed at the chair with a bit too much force, sending an ear-piercing screech across the wooden boards. He tensed in an instant and awkwardly cleared his throat as he made eye contact with everyone who turned their heads his way. "..Sorry." Thankfully, they shifted their attention not long after. Another sigh was heaved as he turned towards the door. "Fine, just this once." As he swung the glass door open, he could vaguely hear Kaveh's excited talks and barely any response from the linguistics student. As he trailed his eyes across the dark skies, he truly had to wonder, what had he gotten himself into?
It was a few hours later, right when Cyno had just finished eating at Al-Haitham and Kaveh's shared apartment, that the main question of the night was addressed. "I'll sleep on the couch." He suddenly spoke as he placed his fork on his empty plate, breaking Kaveh's very enthusiastic storytelling.
"What?! No!" Kaveh exclaimed in shock, instantly snapping his head towards him. "You are not sleeping on the couch!"
"So, what are you proposing?" Cyno asked, raising an eyebrow with his arms crossed across his chest, "I can't just take your beds, and there's no way I'm letting you sleep on the couch at your own house."
Two pairs of eyes turned towards him and he blinked, shifting self-consciously as they comedically turned their heads to share a secret wordless conversation between one-another. With a deep sigh, Al-Haitham turns to look at him, "We'll share a bed."
Almost immediately, the law student froze, and he could've sworn he felt his heart stop as the implications of his words began to sink in. " What ?"
He choked out. Him and Al-Haitham? Already, he could feel his heart speeding up in both anxiety and, strangely enough, exhilaration.
"Me and Kaveh, I mean. His bed comes with a sliding bed." He explained, and all of a sudden, Cyno felt complete and utter relief, though a small part of him couldn't help but wilt at the fact that Al-Haitham would rather share a room with Kaveh. It was illogical of him, he knew. After all, Kaveh was his own roommate for archon's sake!
"Okay."
It was too late when he finally realized the predicament he'd gotten himself into; after he'd taken a bath and was now only clad in his shorts with Kaveh swinging the door shut behind him. He was in Al-Haitham's room. He was going to sleep on Al-Haitham's bed. Oh, god.
Stiffly, he climbed onto said mattress and buried himself under the covers, closing his eyes, but even after what felt like hours of laying down, he had yet to drift off into dreamland. For some reason, Cyno was so tense, he couldn't sleep. Was it the caffeine? It probably was. He never slept well anyways, and now he was almost certain that he won't be able to sleep tonight. His brain was wide awake, even if his body was exhausted.
Curses, he should've listened to Tighnari. Actually, he shouldn't have drank caffeine in the first place, no matter how sleepy he was feeling during their group project. Then again, it might also be the fact that the scent of old books and fresh mint is engulfing him.
There was heat in his face as he shyly burrowed himself deeper into the sheets, deeply inhaling that soothing scent in an attempt to calm his restless mind and jittery body. He tried to sleep again, but his constantly twitching feet and racing mind was not giving him that chance. With a sigh, he throws the sheets of himself and silently peeks through the doorway.
The lights of the hallways were still on, illuminating the two student's shared kitchen and living room. As quiet as a mouse, he tip-toed across the floor and tried to grab a small cup from the cupboards above, which was way too tall for him. Pursing his lips, he quietly picks up a nearby chair and places it underneath the cupboard, before climbing on top of it and finally opening the cabinet. He didn't really know which cup he should take, but he ended up with one that had a small little crack on it. This one should be fine right?
"What are you doing?" A deep, somber voice suddenly spoke. Cyno could've sworn he jumped out of his skin, proven by the way the cup actually slipped out of his grasp, though he managed to catch it without a fumble, thankfully. Wide eyed, like he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't have, he hid the cup behind his back and stared at Al-Haitham, before realizing that it only made him look more suspicious. Reluctantly, he slid the cup from his white-knuckled grip and onto the counter. Al-Haitham's eyes trailed after it the whole while, before shifting back up to meet his own.
Without a single word, he walks past him and opens the fridge adjacent to him. When Cyno turned to look, he almost fell from the chair upon the white jug shoved up his face. Once the initial nerves calmed down, however, he realized that it was simply a glass jar of milk. Hesitantly, he gingerly takes the cold jug into his hands. Nervous of it accidentally slipping through his fingers, he placed it next to the cracked cup on the counter, before dismounting the chair.
He eyed the jug and Al-Haitham apprehensively, as if he was a cornered animal that's not sure as to whether or not it could trust the giant in front of it. Al-Haitham, however, did not seem to care."It helps me sleep." He shrugged nonchalantly, already having a cup of milk in his own hands.
Watching him be so casual ebbed away some of his tension, and though still nervous, he followed Al-Haitham's lead and poured the milk onto the cup, before taking it into his hands. A small sip did he take to test the waters, and almost instantly, the cool, refreshing liquid settled his nerves down. When the taller man walked towards the couch, he found himself automatically following him - not before placing the jug of milk back into the fridge, of course - but when he sat down, Cyno hesitated, until Al-Haitham's raised eyebrow and open body language prompted him to take a seat next to him, leaving a few inches between their bodies. One of which was completely lax and the other, utterly tense.
Cyno found himself playing with the rim of the cup, which reminded him of his frappe stored in the fridge of this apartment, even when the cup was drained of all milk. A comfortable silence settled over them and Cyno allowed himself to almost melt into the couch. "..Not sleeping?" He asked casually, hugging the empty glass to his chest, feeling the cold seep into his skin.
"I could say the same to you." Al-Haitham said almost absent-mindedly, arms stretched out around the back of the couch as he rested his neck fully against it, staring up at the ceiling. From this angle, Cyno could see the jut of his Adam's apple very clearly, and had to force himself to look away. "Was the bed uncomfortable?"
"..No, it was perfect." Cyno answered truthfully, shivering as the cold of the night wrecked shivers through his bare torso now that the adrenaline and the caffeine had died down. He wished he had a blanket. "And you?"
"..Hm, Kaveh's still loud even when he's not working on a project." Al-Haitham mumbled, "and the spare bed was hell." Cyno huffed a laugh at that and averted his gaze back to the cup he was still playing with.
"This is why you should sleep on your own bed." He joked, earning himself a slight curl of Al-Haitham's lips as the slightest bit of twinkle appeared in his eyes. A strange sense of satisfaction bubbled up from within him from the sight. He forcefully pushed it down.
"Maybe we should sleep on the couch." Al-Haitham suggested, before doing something with the armrest of the couch, not even waiting for his answer. Wide-eyed, Cyno found his body suddenly leaning backwards as the top half of the couch slowly bent until it was as flat as the bottom cushions. The glass was still in his hands.
"Um," Cyno smartly said. With a slight chuckle, Al-Haitham leaned across his position, and plucked the ceramic cup off his hands, before placing it onto the table. Cyno had a perfect chance to spot his contracting muscles, before another shiver wrecked through him.
"Cold?" Al-Haitham asked, looking at him with a rare, open expression and a slight smile on his face. Cyno did not know why he nodded. He must be out of his mind from the sleep deprivation. The clock on the wall says that it's nearly 2 a.m., and his mind helpfully supplies him that he needs to wake up in 4 hours due to having class at 7, but then a pair of strong arms circled around him, and he found his breath catching in his throat as the larger male pulled him to his side, wrapping his arms and legs around him. "This should keep you warm." He whispered right next to his ear. His breath tickled Cyno's nape, and despite the rabbit-quick pounding of his heart, he soon found himself getting drowsy as the other's warmth lulled him to sleep.
In the morning, at 8 a.m., Cyno, who was red in the face, huffing and puffing, would appear in his class with dark bags under his eyes. With a deep and sincere apology to the teacher, he takes his usual seat next to his best friend and sags in his seat with a groan.
"What happened?" Tighnari would ask in concern, for it was not usual that his friend would be late, even if he didn't get enough sleep yesterday. Strangely enough, his question only seemed to elevate Cyno's supposed fever, for he buries his face into his bag and grits his teeth.
"I think I fell in love." If the desert dweller had looked up at that very moment, he would've seen Tighnari's completely unimpressed face. Because seriously? He just realized? Now? It had always been so obvious.
With a heavy sigh, the agriculture and forestry student pats his friend in the back sympathetically, knowing it's not easy for him to deal with this thing called 'feelings'. "I know, Cyno. I know," which only caused his friend to groan even louder and bang his head against the table.