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At first, Sakuya found it incredibly annoying that his roommate was, just like him, Japanese. I mean, he’d spent months imagining what it would be like to move to Korea and share a room with someone from a culture at least somewhat different from his own, only to be greeted by Ryo on his very first day.
Ryo wasn’t bad. He was pretty clean for an eighteen-year-old, and his desk was surprisingly organized. So it didn’t take long for Sakuya to thank the heavens for his seemingly boring roommate.
Ryo’s presence also made it way easier for Sakuya to socialize, since they went to all the freshman orientation parties together and shared most of their classes. In the end, it was only natural that the two spent most of their free time together, playing video games on Sakuya’s old console.
Their first conflict occurred two months after they moved into the dorm. Sakuya had gone out for a few hours to a kind of comic event, only to return to the apartment and find his roommate with a plastic bag over his head, trying to restore the bathroom sink to its original color.
“What the fuck did you do?” Sakuya asked, throwing his backpack on the bed. Ryo widened his eyes. Two months had been more than enough for him to learn that Sakuya's swearing was a sign of danger.
“Well... I’m dyeing my hair.” Ryo watched Sakuya’s expression before continuing. “Trying to, actually. But I think I suck at it.”
“You think?” Sakuya glanced between the sink and the bathroom floor.
If Sion—the senior student responsible for helping foreign students get integrated—had been in that bathroom, he probably would’ve reminded Ryo that Sakuya was just Sakuya and that there was no real reason to be afraid of him. But Ryo shared a room with him, and even though none of Sakuya’s waves of rage had ever been directed at him, he knew the younger boy had a hot temper.
Sakuya studied Ryo for a few more seconds before letting out a deep sigh and stepping closer to check the condition of the hair under the plastic bag.
“How long has the dye been on?” Ryo blinked, confused, staring at Sakuya “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Weren’t you mad at me like two minutes ago?” Ryo asked, and Sakuya rolled his eyes.
“I still am. But I’ll be even more pissed if I have to walk around campus with you and your blotchy hair.”
Ryo smiled.
“It’s been about thirty minutes since I put it on.” Sakuya nodded and pulled the plastic bag off Ryo’s head.
“Okay, let’s rinse this out. Then I’ll help you clean the bathroom.” Ryo nodded and walked to the tub, resting his head on the edge. Sakuya rolled up the sleeves of his hoodie and started washing out the excess dye.
“What do you want for dinner? You can choose, and I’ll pay.” Ryo offered cheerfully, and Sakuya rolled his eyes again.
“I guess... pizza.”
Ryo smiled again.
“Then pizza it is.”
Some things changed between them after that day. Ryo seemed more and more comfortable invading Sakuya’s space and annoying him, while the younger one seemed oddly fine with accepting Ryo’s small acts of kindness. Another new thing had also emerged between them: physical contact. Ryo had started treating Sakuya like his go-to pillow—resting his head on his shoulder and intertwining their arms. Sakuya, on the other hand, had developed the habit of always walking behind Ryo and gently guiding him by placing a hand in the small of his back.
The second conflict happened seven months after they started sharing a room. Although Sakuya liked to pretend he had a maturity he didn’t actually possess, he was the one who broke the dorm rules and left Ryo extremely nervous that day. Basically, he found a kitten and felt obligated to help.
“You can’t bring that in here,” Ryo said, staring at the younger boy while he gave the cat a warm bath. “You know it’s against the dorm rules...”
“I know, I know.” Sakuya sighed and kept scrubbing the dirt from the kitten’s black fur. “But it’s getting colder. I couldn’t just leave him out there.”
Ryo looked at the kitten, who sat silently in the bathroom staring back at him, and sighed. Its fur was wet when Sakuya brought it inside, and it was clear the little guy hadn’t eaten properly in days. Defeated, Ryo resigned himself to fate: he would break as many rules as Sakuya wanted, as long as that little furball stayed safe.
“Alright. I’ll go buy some cat food then.” Sakuya, still focused on cleaning the kitten, paused to look at his roommate.
“Thanks.” He smiled and went back to caring for the kitten.
Later that night, with the kitten dry, fed, and nestled between them on the couch, both of them fell asleep to the sound of the TV. And even though it went against the original plan, the cat eventually became the third resident of their dorm, spending countless nights curled up between the two and switching from one bed to the other.
Near the end of the second semester, the cold started becoming a real problem. At first, the heater was working fine and a few blankets were enough—but that night, it decided to give up completely. Ryo, Sakuya, and of course the cat they were secretly raising in the dorm, were freezing.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Sakuya groaned, curling up in bed. Ryo, who was hugging the cat, felt his jaw tremble.“It’s three in the morning. What kind of heater breaks at three in the morning?”
“Apparently ours.” Ryo hugged the cat even tighter, covering it with the blanket.
One thing about Sakuya: even a slight change in temperature could ruin his mood completely. When the heater broke, he woke up almost immediately, and even though the room was still fairly warm, he made sure to wake Ryo up too, just so they could be uncomfortable together. And he hadn’t stopped complaining since.
“Seriously, we’ve got an important exam tomorrow. How are we supposed to sleep like this?” Sakuya grumbled once more, and Ryo rolled his eyes in exhaustion.
Ryo rubbed his eyes, fatigued by Sakuya’s ranting and noticing the room getting colder by the minute.Overwhelmed by sleepiness, he got out of bed—carrying the cat and his blanket—and walked over to Sakuya’s side of the room. The younger boy was surprised to feel a new blanket being thrown over him, followed by a warm weight settling into the bed.
“What the hell?” Sakuya said, a bit louder than intended, as Ryo scooted even closer until their bodies were pressed together. The cat, realizing it wouldn’t be able to sleep between them that night, crawled to the foot of the bed instead.
“Body heat,” Ryo said simply, pressing his cheek against Sakuya’s. The younger boy sighed and kept grumbling, but now so softly it was nearly inaudible.
“Sakuya,” Ryo called, prompting the younger boy to turn his face fully toward him.
“Hm?” Sakuya mumbled, still half-complaining. Ryo rolled his eyes and cupped his face with both hands, planting a lingering kiss on his lips.
And from that moment on, Sakuya didn’t say another word that night, feeling completely warm.