Chapter Text
007n7 had been yelling in frustration all night, and dear Telamon was Noli tired . He was working out bugs and glitches that irritated him to no end; he was certainly vocal about it. They watched him climb down the top bunk ladder and grab his cane to find a snack in the minifridge. Noli stood quietly, walking over. 007n7 jumped when he felt their arms around him. “What do you want?” he murmured, but Noli grumbled and caressed his arms. “G0 to b3d.” The moon shined on them through the half covered window.
“No.”
“Pl34s3?”
“No.”
“S3v3n.”
“I have to show this to my professor in the morning.”
“Y0u c4n h4v3 bugs, 1t’s 4lr34dy 1mpr3ss1v3 as h3ll.”
“ Noli.”
“1 4m g01ng t0 sh0v3 m3l4t0n1n d0wn y0ur thr04t.”
“Just let me work. If you want attention that bad, go sit on the edge of my bed or something.”
Noli clicked a pen a few times, and 007n7 damn near whimpered. When realization set in, 007n7 glared harder than ever before, blushing furiously for a few seconds.
“Pl34s3?” “...In a bit, I will.”
Noli hummed in acknowledgement, and grabbed the bottle of melatonin, passing it to 007n7. He hesitated before taking two dry, shuddering.
007n7 slipped his glasses off, and put his cane by the bed, painstakingly getting to the top bunk. He continued working on the C00lGUI. Noli heard typing and grumbling for hours, but when it got quiet, they went to check on him. He was dead asleep, head rested on the still powered on C00lGUI, lips parted in sleep.
Noli hesitated before hopping up there with him. 007n7 didn’t mind affection, but he wasn’t used to it – Noli always cuddled up when his guard was down. They slipped off their hoodie, and adjusted 007n7, turning off the C00lGUI. Not caring if they woke him up, they grabbed him by his sides and pulled him close. He stirred, but sought Noli’s warmth rather than waking up. He was out cold.
His skin was pale, and his eyebags were deep. Noli’s hand stroked his jaw gently. They always found those pink braces stupid, but they were so used to them they became a trademark. His blond roots were growing out, they noted, pressing his head to their chest. 007n7 worked too hard for a pathetic loser.
007n7 hadn’t even noticed falling asleep. There was a heavy weight on top of him, but he was too comfortable to open his eyes. He reached his hand up and felt locks… Noli again. He hiked them further against him, kissing their neck lazily before hesitantly opening his eyes. He regretted it when the morning light hit him. Glancing down at the alarm clock, his eyes widened. He had an exam in an hour. He let out a high noise of distress, and heard a faint murmur “1s 4ll th4t n01s3 f0r m3?” . . . “No, I just have an exam in an hour,” he mumbled sleepily in return. “0h.” Noli rolled onto their back, and 007n7 huffed at the loss of contact, rolling over to cuddle back up before they stopped him. “1’m g0nna m4k3 br34kf4st. B1g d4y f0r…” yawn.. “y0u, S3v.” 007n7 paused, a sleepy frown tugging at his lips. He squinted his eyes in the light. “I’m not hungry,” he settled on saying, stretching. “Y0u’v3 s41d th4t f0r 3 d4ys, 4nd y0u’v3 p4ss3d 0ut wh1l3 w4lk1ng tw1c3. P4nc4k3s?” . . . “Yes pleaaaasee.. I love you.” Noli giggled tiredly. He never said that. 007n7 flipped them off when they laughed. “Silence, boy.”
Noli got up, climbing down the ladder and onto the floor. They rummaged through the sad few cabinets, finding the tiny bit of pancake mix left. They grabbed a pan, and hesitated, before pouring it out. They quickly realized it was supposed to go into a bowl , and poured it from the pan to a small mixing bowl. 007n7 had barely been eating, and they would change that. The birds were annoyingly loud outside.
007n7 climbed down the ladder, body aching and balance off, grabbing his cane the second he spotted it for support. He really wished he didn’t need this stupid thing. Slipping on his neon pink glasses, he rummaged through his painfully small closet. He tugged his current shirt off, and pulled his binder over his chest. The zip was satisfying, even if it knocked the breath out of him for a second. The closet was filled with clothes – all too big, but good for comfort – but nothing felt right. He groaned, tugging his hoodie on. He walked over to the kitchen, ditching his cane somewhere along the way because he realllyyy didn’t NEED it, he’d be fine… He wrapped his arms around Noli hurriedly, chasing away the irrational frustration. “Can you get me an Advil?” he mumbled tiredly, humming when they nodded and grabbed one from the medicine cabinet. 007n7 snagged it and grabbed an energy drink to swallow it with. The can cracked open with a hiss and 007n7 swallowed the pill. “Thaank you,” he said. His eyes drifted to the pancakes. “What did you do? ” he asked in astonishment. There was black smoke coming from the pan, the batter was near black and the eggs were unmixed. “Uhm… [HEAD DOWN TO DENNY’S FOR DELICIOUS MILKSHAKES]... m4k1ng p4nc4k3s. H0p3 y0u’r3 hungry.”
007n7 leaned against Noli for support. “No, no… I think this made me less hungry. Let's make ramen.” He grabbed the pan, moving to dump it out, but his legs shook and he nearly fell. “1’ll g3t y0ur c4n3,” they murmured, quickly grabbing it from the other side of the dorm and giving it to 007n7. “Thanks, sorry about that…” he said, continuing to dump out the contents of the pan. He put it in the sink.
007n7 sat on the bottom bunk with Noli, slowly eating his ramen. His movements were slow and reluctant. Noli’s hand carded through his hair. “W4nt m3 t0 g3t y0u s0m3th1ng sm4ll3r?” they murmured in concern. The blankets rustled beneath 007n7 as he shifted. “No, it’s okay,” he said hesitantly, continuing to eat. Halfway through, he put it back into the fridge. He had class in 20 minutes. His sweater felt gross, he’d been wearing it for days and it felt scratchy. “Noli… uh,” he hated to ask, “can I borrow a hoodie? I’ll give it back.” Noli nodded with a shrug, and 007n7 exhaled. Legs aching, he reopened the closet, grabbing a black hoodie from Noli’s side. It was slightly big – Noli was about the same height, but they preferred even larger clothes than 007n7. He tugged it on hastily. Noli noticed how on edge he seemed today, but didn’t mention it.
“Y0u’ll d0 f1n3 t0d4y,” they assured simply, watching the way 007n7 fell onto the bed limply, groaning. “I knowwwww… I’m just… hurting. My cane sucks to move around but it’s the only thing keeping me up, and my back is in agony , and… hff… I’m sorry,” he said quickly, and Noli placed their hands on his back to soothe him, hiking up the hoodie to get to the skin below. “D0n’t 4p0l0g1z3.” They pressed hard, thumbs rubbing and working out tension. 007n7 tensed at first, but he slowly melted into their touch. It didn’t make him magically feel better, but it helped. He let out a soft noise of comfort. Noli flushed slightly at the sound, but did nothing more. “Y0ur C00lGU1 1s 4lr34dy 1ns4n3. Y0u’ll d0 p3rf3ctly.” 007n7 nearly started purring.