Chapter Text
Alex slumps against the door as soon as he’s inside, his book bag dropping with an oomph from the weight. He doesn’t think much of it, although Alex is usually very careful about handling his books. It’s just been a long, long day and all he can think of is dozing off into the next century on his very, very comfortable bed– if his limbs would just cooperate and make that happen.
He ends up falling asleep like that anyway and when he slips back into consciousness it’s already the middle of the night, and his stomach is so mad about the lack of sustenance that he has no choice but to scavenge for food in the boarding house’s shared kitchen. Still in the clothes he’s been wearing all day, he’s already back out of his room after fishing his phone from the book bag. Mentally promises to apologise to his babies later, as unfeeling as they are for being paper. He squints at his phone’s brightness as walks through the hall and passes by the common room, mindlessly checking the notifications to make sure he hasn’t missed out on anything important during his trip to no-dreamland.
It’s just a couple of text messages from his group chat with June and Nora, a missed call from his mother, and some chats about chores in the housemate group conversation– nothing for his FOMO to act up on. That’s good. There aren’t any sudden announcements for his Law courses that would require intense cramming either.
The fridge is full of labelled food belonging to the other three people he lives with and none adorning his name, but he grabs a gallon of milk and switches targets. The cabinets, however, are full of uncooked shit he feels too lazy to do a whole session in the kitchen with, but a box of opened cereals by the counter catches his eye and he’s not about to be picky. It’s a free for all staple in the house along with milk and bread, so he shoots a chat to the group about covering the next cereal box and milk gallon when he restocks and dumps them together in a bowl.
Once he’s satisfied with the soggy-slash-crispiness of his dinner and breakfast, he switches the kitchen light off and pads out to the common room– only to realise it had already been occupied by someone with a taste for baking competitions.
It’s one of his housemates’ friends; the one who always spends his free time lounging in the common room with Pez (the other boarder in question) even though he just lives down the street. Alex knows this, because this is also the guy who always walks his dog at the same time Alex goes on his runs when he isn’t buried in multiple readings the night before, the guy he’s exchanged polite nods with when he gets to rise early like the morning person that he is, in spite of his caffeine-fueled system.
His name was Dave– David , was it? He couldn’t recall despite the fact that this guy may as well be a boarder of this apartment complex himself. Pez always brings him up in ways that, if Alex hadn’t known better, would be perceived and classified as homoerotic and everything but straight. And by knowing better, Alex also means that while David is gay and Pez is, for all his unconventional thoughts and tastes, as available for everyone who likes to get some, the two of them have the chemistry of water and oil.
David is sitting on one side of the couch, leaning back against his neck pillow, eyes closed, and pointedly unbothered by the argument happening on the screen about flour measurements. He’s asleep, giving Alex the liberty to switch channels, so he does and settles on a channel playing a rerun of the Night at the Museum. He can’t hear much of what’s going on, but Alex decides that it doesn’t matter anyway. It’s just for white noise.
He hangs there for a bit to eat his cereal and scrolls through his phone. When he’s finished, he puts the bowl in the sink for later and momentarily goes back to his room to fetch the book he’d been up in the library going through.
When he resituates himself in his earlier spot on the sofa, he swipes a quick glance at David, still as he were when Alex stood up, although now his head is hung low and some of his hair has followed suit. He contemplates poking the blond, just to make sure he’s still alive, but instead contemplates other things: The wall clock states the time to have just struck 2, Alex’s first class in the morning isn’t until 11, he has enough mental energy to read a couple dozen pages before finally checking out to catch a little more rest, his estimate of the hours of sleep he can get is just 4.
He gets to it and leaves David to continue his rest, which doesn’t look any comfortable honestly. Alex had the thought to perhaps get Pez or wake the man himself so the matter is dealt with, but his brain supplies him of the fewer moments he’s seen this happen– always with leftover alcohol on the table and Pez either passed out or in the midst of retiring to his room, and David has always been left with a blanket draped over him which only started making sense during a passing comment Pez made about David’s troubles in getting consistent hours of sleep. Waking him up when he’s peacefully dozing off to do anything but sleep for even a mere second will have been more than enough to wake his brain until the next time it’s checking out again.
So Alex reads, and half the time he's looking over at David and how relaxed he looks like asleep — face void of the tight-lipped bemusement he always seems to be sporting as a resting face — and tries not to feel like a creep about it, which, he would argue that he's only observing the man's breathing to make sure he was alive.
When David does wake up around 6, Alex still flipping through his book as he’s bordering on sleep himself, he comically blinks at Alex like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Alex offers a lighthearted smile at the man across from him and nods at one of the windows, the sky outside steadily lighting up by the minute. “G’morning.”
“Right, good morning,” David replies before going quiet for a moment. Alex lets him regain his bearings or whatever, David’s presence is rather nice and he’s not about to kick his boardmate’s best friend out for no reason.
David eventually gets moving, making a quick visit to Pez’s room and back for a jacket he was now shuffling to wear. Alex watches all of this happen with open interest, not really hiding the fact that he looks like he’s expecting something from David as the blond tidies up the space he previously occupied despite the lack of litter.
“Sorry, for crashing.” David starts, which Alex had already responded with a reassuring shake of his head. He knew David was going to apologise, Alex's first impression of him was the type to say sorry for bumping into inanimate objects and opens doors for other people who are way behind him.
Alex shuts his book close at that, motioning to head off to bed as well with a yawn, “What’s Pez’s is also yours at this point man, ‘sides, you were in the common room.”
“I suppose so…” Alex looks at David, anticipating the unsaid question that had basically faded into oblivion, eyebrows raised in the slightest. David clears his throat before adding, “Did you– I mean, how long have you been there?"
“A few hours or so.”
“Oh.”
None of them says anything for a moment, just carefully considering each other as the world starts waking up outside. More sun filters in the living room, Alex notices how softer David’s hair looks when he sees it more clearly, gets the slightest urge to see if it’s as soft to the touch as he wonders.
A beat, a small smile, and then a yawn.
It snaps both of them out of whatever that was. David looks at him in a way that Alex can’t quite discern– with softness or fondness, he can’t tell. His brain is just chanting to go to sleep at this point.
"Lock the door when you leave?" Alex half-asks, half-reminds. Just to say anything, really.
"Of course." David says as he turns to head out. "I'll get going then."
Alex nods, walking towards his room, "Bye David."
David's head snaps back to Alex's direction, eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly you'd think it wasn't even there. Alex, having just removed his glasses again as he yawns once more, doesn't see it.
David takes a couple seconds before slightly shaking his head, like he's just imagining something and is now actively wiping the thought away. He opens the door before he responds. "Bye Alex."